Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
An episode of The Interrogation Tapes on ABC 20/20, titled “Sins of the Father,” will air on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET. Focusing on the crimes of Karl Karlsen, the episode synopsis reads, “A man finds himself in the crosshairs of an hours-long interrogation as detectives seek to unlock decades of deadly family secrets after the deaths of his wife and son.”
Karl Karlsen was convicted of the second-degree murder of his son, Levi Karlsen, in 2013, nearly five years after Levi was crushed by his father’s truck. After a plea deal secured him 15 years to life in prison, he pleaded guilty. In 2020, he was also found guilty of the first-degree murder of his first wife, Christina. She was thought to have died in a mysterious fire in their home in 1991, reported Oxygen.
Levi Karlsen was repairing his father’s truck on their farm in November 2008 when the vehicle fell from a single jack and crushed him to death. The father reportedly got hold of the $700,000 payout from the life insurance that Levi registered for 17 days earlier. Karl convinced his son to sign up for insurance and named himself his only beneficiary. Levi was 23 and a divorced father of two at the time of his death.
Per ABC News, Christina Karlsen is reported to have died in a fire in their home in 1991. In similar circumstances, he took a life insurance policy in her name just 19 days before her death. Karl received $200,000 from the policy and moved to New York with his children soon after Christina’s death.
Where is Karl Karlsen now?
Karl Karlsen was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Levi. He was then sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole for the first-degree murder of Christina. According to state records, he is currently incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility.
Although both the murders committed by Karl were ruled as accidents initially, Cindy, his second wife, became suspicious of Levi’s death. She was the one to find Levi dead on the farm. Per The New York Times, Cindy noticed that the $700,000 Karl received from Levi’s insurance was now put into $1.2 million in her name, following which she alerted authorities. She then cooperated with them to get his confession.
Cindy agreed to wear a wire and confront Karl Karlsen about the manner of Levi’s death in a crowded restaurant. He then confessed to her that he removed the front two tires of his truck and made sure it was on a single jack before letting Levi repair it. Authorities then questioned Karl for hours, but he claimed he was innocent. He was then charged with the second-degree murder of Levi and insurance fraud, ABC News reported. Then, in 2020, he was also found guilty of Christina Karlsen’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The upcoming episode of The Interrogation Tapes, an ABC 20/20 true crime docuseries, will delve into the interrogation that led to Karl Karlsen’s trial and conviction. It will air on ABC 20/20 on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
