LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — Flanked by his son’s attorneys and his wife and daughter, for the first time in four years, Jim Fallis faces questions over whether his son confessed to the murder of his wife to him in 2012.

But Fallis, the former athletic director at the University of Northern Colorado, instead grimmaced and dodged the question.

“I want to congratulate you,” Fallis said.

FOX31 Denver caught up with Jim Fallis as he was leaving the courtroom where his son told a judge he was not guilty for the 2012 murder of his wife Ashley.

“Sir, are you hiding your son’s murder?” Fallis was asked. He didn’t respond.

Jim Fallis might be an essential witness in the case because a former deputy and a neighbor have since come forward saying they allegedly heard Tom Fallis confess to his father and his mother, Anna.

Fallis left the courthouse waving at the assembled media and laughing. His daughter Natalie used an inappropriate hand gesture as the elevator door closed.

Also in court, a judge considered whether someone leaked news of the grand jury’s indictment of Tom Fallis to FOX31 reporter Justin Joseph. Joseph was in Indiana at the time of Fallis’ arrest.

A judge will rule on this issue later this month. A legal analyst said the issue will likely be dismissed and has no bearing on the question of Fallis’ guilt or innocence.

Fallis’ jury trial is scheduled for March.