Oh my gosh. Is he still I'm so sorry. >> This is Hannah Lee Gage and she just found her boyfriend shot dead in their kitchen by their mutual friend. >> I literally thought it was a flashlight, sir. It's a trigger, dude. It's a trigger. At first, officers believe it [music] could have been an accidental shot. But as detectives dig deeper, they would uncover a twisted love triangle where each person hides a dark secret and where a shy, quiet kid can turn evil in the blink of an eye. >> I just don't understand if like he was mad. >> He never hangs out really with anybody. [music] Very quiet. >> If I fail at something, I feel stupid. So, I aimed at it, pulled the trigger, the rest is played out. In the early hours of December 31st, just one day before New Year's, the Lake Stevens Police Department receives a terrifying call. On the line is 23-year-old Hannah Lee Gage, watching in horror as her boyfriend bleeds out from a gunshot wound to the chest. >> Hurry, someone's been shot. Someone's been shot. Hurry. Oh my god. I don't even know. I wasn't paying attention. My friend just grabbed my other friend's gun and I think he was just trying to play around me. I shot him. >> The man with the gun. Where is he? >> He's in my kitchen. He's yelling for me to help. I feel like I need to help. Okay. What is his name? >> What's your name? Huh? >> What's your name? >> Officers rushed to the scene knowing the situation is dire. The victim may be moments away from death while the killer stands watching. And what they'd find inside wasn't just a horrific scene. It was the end result of obsession turning into violence. >> They're here. They're here. >> Okay. Go to the door. Get the officers. >> Oh my gosh. >> Where's the gun? >> Police. >> Come on. Neil, >> please. >> I'm inside. >> Neil, >> there's the ambulance on my way. >> They are. >> I literally thought the gun was a flashlight cuz he was using it as a flashlight. We were looking for a cat and I saw that I was using a flashlight. I hope I did not. >> Just one right there. >> Yes. One shot. >> Is he okay? >> No, he's not okay. >> On the floor lies 27year-old Neil Forestier, shot in the chest and no longer breathing. Paramedics arrive within minutes, fighting desperately to bring the young man back to life. Just a few feet away stands his friend [music] Joshua, insisting the shooting was an accident. But as the officer escorts him outside, reality begins to sink in. trigger, dude. It's a trigger. You have to >> stay over there. Stay over there. >> I'm so sorry. >> I did not know. I'm so sorry. >> I swear to God, I did not know it was a concealed weapon. I did not know he concealed a loaded weapon or anything like that. >> Okay. [clears throat] I'm going to read you your rights, though. Okay. Okay. So, don't say anything until I read you your rights, sir. I haven't worked in a few hours, buddy. >> All Joshua can say is, "I'm sorry." But what immediately catches the officer off guard is that he doesn't even sound upset at all. More worrying about his morning shift. He doesn't appear overly intoxicated either, leading the officers to suspect he's hiding something far darker. Still, with Joshua insisting it was an accident, the officer turns to the only other witness, Hannah. But what Hannah would reveal to the officers would dismantle Joshua's claims, making it clear this wasn't just an accident between friends. Joshua was actually a stalker and she barely knew him at all. >> He's going to [music] bring you out to his car and get you started on a statement. >> Wait, I got it. >> I got it. >> I have a cat, so I just don't want anything. >> Was Josh That's the name, right? I don't know. I asked him when I was on the phone with the police and he said it's Josh. I know him but I just don't know him that well. >> Like we've met at the bar like a couple of times. >> And he just asked if he could come over to my house so he could sober up for an hour and then he was going to go home and I said yeah that's fine. >> I took his gun out his waistbands. So him and Josh put [music] box. >> Josh started it like he was like playing doing it acting around and then he was like oh we could do that if [music] you want like we could just start with 10% and then go up. Unbeknownst to Hannah, Joshua was consumed by jealousy. He perceived himself as a nobody, a failure at everything. While Neil was a Navy veteran, a rising MMA fighter, and the boyfriend of the woman he desired. But this is when Hannah would voice what everyone is thinking, exposing just how ridiculous Joshua's excuse for the shooting really is. You sometimes say that when like you know with our gun we punch out like >> Yeah. I never saw him grab the gun or point the gun. I just heard it and I was like I didn't really understand what it was. I just felt the ring in my ear and it almost felt like something like ricocheted. >> How close would you say? >> I I was so close. Like we were all so close. My kitchen is small to small apartment. We were all in that small little kitchen. >> Did Neil say anything? >> No. >> He wasn't talking. He didn't say nothing. No, but he was still awake for a little bit. Like he collapsed and his eyes closed and everything or rolled back. But I feel like since we were drinking, like I feel like I can't even fully process what all just happened. >> Yeah, there's nothing that you could have done. >> I just don't understand if like he was mad. I don't really understand how he could think a gun is just a flashlight. >> I didn't see the gun. Is there a flashlight on the gun? >> I'm pretty sure there is a flashlight on the gun, but you would have to pull the trigger to a gun to make it go off. Hannah is exactly right. A gun doesn't go off by itself, nor can it be mistaken for a flashlight, which means police might be dealing with a far more deliberate act than they initially thought. By now, Joshua has arrived at Snomish County Jail, where he will be held for hours while police gather evidence. During this time, guilt begins to eat away at Joshua. He knows Neil didn't deserve what happened to him, and he's terrified the police won't buy his accident [music] story, but this is when devastating news comes back from the scene. Despite the [music] paramedic's best efforts, Neil Forestier had passed away. Neil was a religious man with a deep love for his country. He served in the Navy and later pursued a career as a professional mixed martial artist. Neil enjoyed making people happy, which is why he tried to befriend Joshua, making what happened to him all the more tragic. With Joshua in custody, detectives race to gather every piece of evidence before interviewing him. So, they call the bartender who served drinks to the group just hours before the horrific shooting. She knows all three of them well, and to the detective's surprise, she seems to be on Joshua's side, portraying him as someone who wouldn't hurt a fly. So you normally see they're what you would call maybe a regulars. >> Yeah. >> Do they usually come in together or do they usually hang out together? >> Uh Josh never hangs out really with anybody. He is very quiet. No, he seemed honestly he seemed like a little bit like he might have had asberers or something. Probably the last person I would have ever [laughter] expected to have heard this about. >> The bartender is shocked to learn what Joshua has done, [music] suggesting that it may have been nothing more than a tragic accident. But what she's about to reveal hints at Joshua's darker motive, showing how a quiet, [music] shy kid can turn evil in the blink of an eye. >> This past weekend, he did go hang out with Hannah. She is like very gregarious or like >> outgoing that way. >> Would you maybe describe her as flirty? >> She's very flirty. >> Okay. >> And she was and she honestly the night that that happened started dancing with him and and I can see >> dancing with Josh or dancing with me. with Josh >> like bodyto body kind of. >> Yeah. But nobody seemed upset like Neil just went mad. >> Did you see Hannah like making out with Josh at all or just dancing? >> I didn't do that. It wouldn't have surprised [laughter] me. >> Okay. And have you ever heard uh Josh express any kind of feelings about anybody in the bar or Hannah at all? >> Yeah, he like he like stares a lot but it seems not like creepy, more like very observational. um almost like he like wishes he knew to talk to people but doesn't. >> He almost seems like a really a really nice person and seems really sweet too and I could see where he might misread situations. >> Armed with a clearer understanding of the group's dynamics, the detectives hope they have enough leverage to get a confession from Joshua. So 4 days after Joshua's arrest, the detectives bring him in for questioning. Veteran detective Kristen Parnell will lead the investigation. She knows exactly how to handle suspects like Joshua. By using Joshua's own insecurities against him, Parnell will uncover his repressed feelings for Hannah and reveal the true motive behind the murder. >> Um, you remember me, Detective Parnell. The reason I came down here was cuz like some more stuff has come up and I just kind of wanted to follow up with you and get some more questions answered. Okay. >> Parnell knows there are holes in Joshua's story and she starts with one of them. the twisted reason he chose to go to Hannah's house instead of his own. >> You'd been up for a while, had a couple drinks at Creekide, and then asked Hannah for if he could go back to her apartment, right? >> Yeah. Just in case if I uh was to pass out. >> Why did you decide to go to her place versus just getting a ride home? Is there something that would have been unsafe about going? I mean, there would have, but at the time, I just I also wanted to head home. Uh, no, not not head home, but head to Hannah's, hang out with her for a little bit, just in case if I was to fall asleep there. >> You guys did the play fighting thing. >> Yeah. It just came out out of the blue of me knowing that I've gotten into a couple of fist fights in the past, >> you know, and I told him that I was pretty good at fighting. I was throwing good punches and stuff and then he got his on me and I'd say he did did better than me >> cuz he got, you know, hurt, right? >> It didn't hurt. It knocked the wind out of you. >> It knock it knocked me back and I was kind of breathing a little hard >> for for a little bit. >> And then he kind of put his hand on my shoulder, said, "Are you okay?" You know, and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little winded out." Just moments before the shooting, Joshua had asked Neil to playf fight and test each other's strength. What Joshua didn't know, however, was that Neil was a professional fighter. But what irritated Joshua the most wasn't the punch itself, but Neil's reaction afterward. He simply placed a hand on Joshua's shoulder [music] and asked if he was okay. A gesture that only made him feel more humiliated and emasculated. But there's something else in Joshua's story that catches Detective [music] Parnell's attention. Tell me about the last time you were punched in the gut like that. >> Uh, this was back when I was in middle school. Um, that was my in recent memory that was my last fight that I remember being in. And the guy I was fighting did suck me in the gut pretty good >> around the same type of punch that Neil gave me. >> How did you feel in middle school when you got punched like that? >> At the time I was not experienced, so I was in pain. I mean, it sounds like you kind of flashed back to that and sometimes when when something happens that reminds us of a previous experience, it's kind of like you're back in that previous experience. Did you feel like that? >> Not necessarily. I did feel like I was about to go on my knees like it like I did in the past, but I was holding on to the counters. >> The gun was [music] guessing on the counter in front of you then, too. >> Yeah. >> Neil's punch triggered a repressed memory in Joshua. the last time he was hit in the stomach, even if he refuses to admit it. But the detective doesn't stop there. She keeps pressing Joshua on the real reason he shot Neil, methodically dismantling his claim that it was an accident. >> What was going through your head then right at that moment when you're bent over on the counter and like kind of trying to catch your breath again. What are you What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What? Tell me what that >> I was I was kind of s I was thinking like, "Wow, this guy knows how to punch, you know." Yeah. >> And I was impressed [music] by how hard he punched. I I don't like failing at anything. If I fail at something, I feel stupid. And so after after going through the thought process, I kind of paced through the kitchen a little bit. Then after pacing for a little bit, I saw the gun and the rest is played out. said last time that you know [music] you were you were a little upset that I hit hit you that hard, right? >> Well, I wasn't upset. I was [music] like I said, I was surprised. I looked at down at the counter and then saw the gun. I'm I was also curious on how his the flashlight part of the thing gun [music] worked and thought that the muzzle part was the flashlight. >> Your your goal was to pull the trigger and fire around. Okay. because [music] you had just gotten punched again by this guy who was sleeping with a girl that you want to be sleeping with [music] if we're being honest, right? >> So, I aimed at it, pulled the trigger that answered my question and led me into a shock. >> Neil was everything Joshua is not. Successful, confident, liked by others. Being out punched by him only deepened Joshua's sense of inferiority. All of this is obvious to Detective Parnell, but not to Joshua. He still wants her to believe it was nothing more than an accident. But take a closer look at Joshua. Does his reaction to the shooting seem genuine or merely performative? >> Neil gets hit and goes to the ground and you I know you went and grabbed a towel and you're trying to stop the bleeding and stuff. What? Like what are you thinking and feeling while you're >> I I felt like a a complete for just randomly picking up a gun that I did not know what to really do with. like I like I I just felt stupid like I wanted to cry and you know just seeing her cry and you know and that was making me making me feel more like a really bad friend like made me question myself like why like why would I do something stupid? [music] >> Joshua says he felt guilty but the detective isn't convinced. He's always wanted people to like him and this might just be his attempt to win Parnell's sympathy. She catches on immediately and plans to use it to her advantage. Unbeknownst to Joshua, the police have confiscated his bag and what they find inside is troubling to say the least. >> Talk to me about your your backpack that you were carrying around with you. >> I keep like tools like flathead screwdrivers and stuff like what my favorite hobby to do is like taking apart old throwing away electronics and collecting scrap metal, you know, and then one day wanted to make money off of scrap metal. Talk to me about the other stuff that was in there. >> Like what? Like >> so we have your back. >> I would have thought so. >> So tell me about the other stuff that's in there that you don't want to talk about. [clears throat] We're at a point where I feel like we should be able to be honest, right? And I think I've already demonstrated that it's hard to lie to me. I've been lied to a lot. So I'm really good at knowing when people are lying or when people are withholding. And you are not going to tell me anything in this room that I have not heard before. So you're not going to make me uncomfortable. You are not going to make me think badly about you. For me, I I do this all the time. It's hard to think without looking inside my bag. >> What about anything that was in your bag? >> Trying to remember what was all in there. >> Uh just in just if we were wanted to get a little, you know, frisky or whatever. >> Okay. >> At this point, Detective Parnell can already tell that Joshua's actions are tied to his feelings for Hannah and his hatred of Neil. So, she presses him to reveal the real reason he went to Hannah's house. something connected to the disturbing contents found in the bag. >> Maybe you're a little hopeful that you get to play with those with Hannah. >> Uh, no. I never wanted to have with Hannah. I never had the thought process of having I've seen her flirting with other guys and I'm like, she is flirting with other dudes, so it probably wouldn't be worth it. >> Come on. Like, I mean, I thought about it, yes, but I didn't I wasn't going to ask her. >> Oh, no. That's a weird question to say. you want to go back, >> but I mean, [clears throat] >> but I I didn't like I I Yes, I did. Like I did thought about >> Right. And kind of like we talked about before, like, hey, if you had gotten back there and one thing led to another, you weren't going to tell her no, right? >> Yeah, that's okay. >> Detective Parnell has just masterfully uncovered the truth from Joshua, even if he doesn't realize it yet. He's been consumed by jealousy for months, forced to watch someone else be with the woman he desires and humiliate him in front of her. The loss of Neil Forestier deeply impacted the city of [music] Lake Stevens where the community mourns a man who loved his country, proudly served in the Navy, and always [music] tried to help others. The interview ends with Joshua Matthew Kelly being charged with seconddegree murder and first-degree manslaughter. He's now awaiting his court hearing and if convicted, he could face up to 18 years in prison.