Dateline: As Night Fell - 5 harrowing details about Heidy Truman's murder, explored 

Among the tragic cases featured on Dateline is the Heidy Truman murder case. The episode titled, As Night Fell, tracks down the case, exploring how Turman died at her home, followed by her husband becoming a prime suspect.

For years, Dateline has been covering true-crime stories, often highlighting unexpected outcomes of feuds between couples. Similar is the case of Heidy Truman, a married woman who lived with her husband Conrad Truman in Orem, Utah.

As revealed in the Dateline episode, it was on September 30, 2012, when Conrad called 911 at night, claiming his wife had been shot. When investigators went inside the house, they found Heidy Truman's dead body inside the bathroom, with a clear shot to her head.

Following her untimely death, investigators began to search for answers and Conrad was the major suspect. Not only did he give inconsistent answers, but he also lied about the guns found at the crime scene.

So, was it Conrad Truman who killed his wife in 2012? Continue reading for a detailed explanation of the case.

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Five harrowing details from the Heidy Truman case featured on Dateline

As mentioned above, Dateline's episode As Night Fell is about the shocking murder of Heidy Truman and how her husband was initially convicted and later found not guilty of the crime. While Conrad Truman got out of jail after three years, Heidy Truman's murder remains a mystery.

Here are five chilling details about the case:

1) Heidy Truman's dead body was found unclothed and drenched in blood

Soon after Conrad Truman found his wife dead, he called the police. When the officers arrived at their home, they found the victim's dead body without any clothes, surrounded by her blood.

The Dateline episode mentioned the disturbing scene, which immediately raised suspicion as Heidy had gone for a bath. However, she received a gunshot straight into her head, resulting in the woman's immediate death.

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2) Conrad Truman gave shifting stories to the investigators

Another harrowing detail about the Heidy Truman murder case is that her husband kept changing the stories. Initially, the man claimed that he was in the kitchen at the time of the shooting but later said he was in the living room. The Dateline episode also covers how Conrad addressed his concerns.

Not only this, Truman even argued that one of the guns found at the crime scene was his wife Heidy's weapon, but further investigation proved it belonged to him. Truman's inconsistent statement filed doubts about his involvement.

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3) The chilling "Contact gunshot wound" autopsy finding

When Conrad Truman's first trials began, he was accused of killing his wife for financial motives. Heidy had life insurance policies totaling nearly $900,000, and prosecutors claimed that Conrad might have killed his wife for that money.

Not only this, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Edward Leis, explained that the victim suffered a "contact gunshot wound," which means the gun was placed on her head and the trigger was pulled. However, the defense team claimed it was an accident, and Heidy might have pressed the trigger herself.

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4) Gunshot residue was found on Heidy Truman's hand

Another detail about the crime is that the gunshot residue was found on the victim's hand but not on her husband's. The weapons found at their house are also featured in the Dateline episode. While Truman was initially convicted, he was later freed from the charges as there were errors in forensic analysis and investigative assumptions. As per defense attorney, Mark Moffat:

"Conrad Truman was innocent, he never killed his wife. He told police time and time again the night she passed away that he didn’t shoot her, he didn’t shoot her, he didn’t shoot her."

However, Heidy Truman's family didn't seem to have believed Conrad's claim, as Heidy's mother stated:

"The murderer of my daughter has been freed. We hold true to our commitment to advocate for domestic violence awareness in my daughter’s memory. We will continue to support victims and tell Heidy’s story."

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5) Measurement error played a role in Conrad Truman's conviction

During Conrad Truman's first trial, a hallway miscalculation contributed to his conviction. Prosecutors claimed that Heidy didn't kill herself by accident and ended up in the hallway, which was believed to be 13.9 feet long.

However, it was later revealed that the measurement was wrong and the hallway was actually 139 inches (11.7 feet) long. This would have led Conrad to stay behind bars for years for a crime he didn't commit.

Utah County Prosecutor, Tim Taylor, also highlighted the error, saying:

"We acknowledge there was a mistake in the measurements, and if there is a mistake in the measurements and the way things were done then we need to do things the right way, and so I don’t have a problem with that at all."

When Truman was freed of the initial first-degree murder, defense attorney Mark Moffat said:

"It's hard to say what the jury focused on specifically, but those measurements in that house had a big deal to do with it, those diagrams had a big impact on that first trial."

He continued:

"The jury (in the second trial) went to that house, they saw the size of that space, and I think they knew that investigation was heavily flawed."

At first, Truman was given more than ten years in prison for killing Hiedy Truman, but in 2016, all charges were dropped, and Conrad Truman was proven innocent in the murder case.

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