After the murder Hilgendorf and Dayton fled the scene of the crime, they collected as much evidence as possible and headed to Denise Templeton's house in North Amana. Hilgendorf parked his black, 1994 Ford Explorer in Templeton's garage, and changed his clothes.
The next morning, Dayton and Hilgendorf drove Denise Templeton's car into Marengo for questioning.
Dayton initially stated that she was sleeping at Denise Templeton's house at the time of the murder. Her false alibi didn't last long. After 4 hours of questioning she left the police station at noon so that she could get her medication in Belle Plaine. On her way to Belle Plaine Jessica called Denise Templeton and told Templeton not to allow the police permission to search Hilgendorfs vehicle because; "they would all go to prison for a long time". What Jessica did not know was that the police were at Templeton's residence and they overheard her conversation with Templeton.
Hilgendorf refused to allow permission to search his vehicle because it held drugs and drug paraphernalia. The police took a look inside Hilgendorf's Ford Explorer from the outside, without touching touching any part of his vehicle. They spotted a glove that appeared to have blood on it, an object wrapped in a towel near the console area, and a dark colored bag in the back.
Hilgendorf finally gave the police permission to search his vehicle. They found: