Dateline: 5 harrowing details about Chanin Starbuck's murder, revisited

In December of 2011, a suburban neighborhood in Deer Park, Washington, was the center of a senseless murder investigation. Chanin Starbuck, a 42-year-old mother of five children, was discovered dead in her home, and the case kept many captivated and was revisited by Dateline NBC in its episode entitled "A Cold December Morning." The case had a hot trial, DNA enigmas, and a tragedy that devastated a family.

Over a decade later, Dateline revisited the case, revealing the startling facts that had influenced the investigation and trial.

A closer examination of 5 harrowing details about Chanin Starbuck's murder, revisited, is as follows:

1. The crime scene was staged in a chilling fashion

As officers entered Chanin Starbuck's residence on December 3, 2011, they were greeted by a scene that surpassed the boundaries of an ordinary homicide. The body was found in a sexually suggestive position, and police believed it had been staged that way.

Chanin was strangled, and the state of the body showed a degree of postmortem manipulation that stunned police investigators. The prosecution indicated the scene's staging implied personal motives and willful callousness.

2. Text messages were sent following Chanin having already died

Technology was instrumental in confirming what had happened. Court files and the Dateline evidence confirm that text messages had been sent from Chanin's phone following the estimated time of death. The officials explained that the messages were a deception to create the illusion that she was alive.

The prosecution had claimed that these messages were written and sent by Clay Starbuck, her former husband, on Chanin's phone. The defense had objected, but the electronic evidence was under very close scrutiny during the trial.

3. Clay Starbuck's DNA was detected—but so was unidentified DNA

As depicted in Dateline, forensic analysis disclosed DNA of Clay Starbuck was present on the body of Chanin. Nonetheless, at least one unidentified male's DNA was also discovered. This was significant information utilized by the case for the defense—that other men, apart from Clay Chanin dated using dating websites were probable suspects and failed to get adequately investigated.

The jury did agree with the prosecution's case, though, and Clay Starbuck was found guilty of aggravated first-degree murder and desecration of human remains.

4. The trial teared apart the family

The most highly emotional part of the trial was the public family breakup. During the trial, Chanin's extended family openly fingered Clay Starbuck as the killer and took the stand for the prosecution. Meanwhile, all of Clay and Chanin's five kids stood up for him.

They went to the trial, expressed their faith in his innocence, and have been his supporters even after his conviction. This radical family division was the center of public scrutiny as well as the Dateline show.

5. Appeals have been denied despite continued assertions of innocence

Dateline showed that since his 2013 conviction, Clay Starbuck filed multiple appeals on behalf grounds of prosecutorial misconduct to evidence suppression regarding other suspects. His attorneys argued that Chanin's dating life and unidentified DNA may have been examined more thoroughly.

However, the courts denied those appeals, and his conviction remains in place. To date, he is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Chanin Starbuck's murder is still a case of senseless loss, contradictory accounts, and unresolved questions for some. NBC's Dateline revisited the case in "A Cold December Morning," presenting a minute-by-minute account of the investigation, trial, and its aftermath.

A decade and more on, the case still evokes strong emotions among those who lived through it, both in the courtroom and outside.