Following the murder, police interrogated Gauger for 18 hours. Detectives lied to Gauger, claiming they had found blood-soaked clothes in Gauger’s bedroom and that he had failed a polygraph test. Gauger was instructed to discuss a hypothetical situation and describe how he would have killed his parents during a possible alcohol-induced blackout. The interrogation was not tape-recorded and Gauger did not sign a confession. His hypothetical statements were later used in court in support of a claim that Gauger confessed to the crime. In 1996, he was granted an appeal and his alleged confession was thrown out. Without that evidence they were forced to drop the charges. James Schneider and Randall E. Miller, members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, were later convicted of the murders. Gauger was pardoned in 2002.
