They were standing knee-deep at the site of an old pig pen in Marlowe, New Hampshire.

It was March of 1988, and the beginning of New England's fifth season, mud season.

This was a particularly thick kind of mud too, the stuff that would pull your bean boots

straight off your foot if you didn't step just right.

But a tip told them that this was the exact spot they needed to dig.

It had been 10 years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. He was reported missing in 1979

and an investigation followed, but foul play wasn't suspected.

Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusations sent investigators to this very spot,

a muddy pig pen in small town Marlowe, New Hampshire.

A muddy pig pen on the property of Marlowe, New Hampshire's police chief.

I'm Kylie Lo and this is the case of Russell Bean, on Dark Down East.

A deathbed confession, the unburdening of secrets kept for a lifetime as that life comes to an end.

They hold a prominent place in religion and spirituality, as well as the legal arena.

In the right circumstances, this end of life testimony is admissible evidence in a criminal trial.

Deathbed confessions have given us answers to questions left lingering for years,

reigniting cold investigations, closing out some high profile and lesser known cases,

and giving closure to families, however long overdue it may be.

In early March of 1988, as Clifton Chambers neared his final days on this earth,

his family was by his side. I don't know the specific circumstances of the conversation,

the way Clifton may have waited for a private moment with his daughter.

Asking her to come closer and speaking in a whispered voice so as to prevent any eaves

dropping on the information he was about to share, the secret he'd been keeping for a better

...