Cory and Curtis Lovelace: How their story unfolded
A stay-at-home mother in the small town of Quincy, Illinois, turns up dead the morning of Valentine's Day 2006 -- eight years later, her husband is charged with murder.
Watch: "48 Hours:" Death on Valentine's Day
Cory Didriksen was described by friends and family as a fun loving woman who would brighten up any room she walked into.
Curtis and Cory Lovelace
Cory married her college sweetheart, Curtis Lovelace, in 1991.
The Lovelace family
Cory and Curtis had four children together. In 1993, their first child, daughter Lyndsay, was born.They would later have three sons: Logan, Lincoln, and Larson. The family settled in their hometown of Quincy, Illinois.
Curtis Lovelace
Curtis Lovelace, a college football star, was a man of high stature in the Quincy community. He was an assistant district attorney, served on the Quincy school board, and became a captain in the Illinois National Guard.
Cory and Curtis Lovelace
While Curtis Lovelace had spent years focused on his professional life, the long hours away from Cory and the kids were starting to take a toll on their personal life.
Neighbors say that in the months leading up to Cory’s death, they had heard loud and contentious arguments between the couple. By many accounts, both were heavy drinkers.
The Lovelace home
On the morning of Feb. 14, 2006, Curtis found Cory dead in their bed.
Although her death was marked as “undetermined” by the forensic pathologist, the case was closed.
Curtis moved on with his life, getting married for a second time, and then a third time.
Curtis Lovelace arrested
Life seemed normal again for Curtis Lovelace until August 2014, when he was arrested and charged for the murder of his first wife, Cory Lovelace, eight years after her death.
A new look at the case
In 2014, Adam Gibson, a newly promoted detective with the Quincy Police Department had taken another look at the case and consulted with other forensic pathologists on Cory Lovelace’s cause of death. The answer several of the doctors gave him was that Cory had been suffocated.
A jury deadlocks
In January 2016, Curtis Lovelace went on trial for Cory’s death. The jury deadlocked, and the judge declared a mistrial. Lovelace was released on bond several months later.
Curtis Lovelace retried
In March 2017, Curtis Lovelace was once again facing a jury for allegedly murdering Cory Lovelace. This time, the trial was moved from Quincy to Springfield, Ill.
Curtis Lovelace speaks out
In his first television interview, Curtis Lovelace, seen here with wife Christine, talks with “48 Hours” correspondent Maureen Maher about the case.