Corrected entry: When Rusty is first charged with the murder, the police obtain a search warrant for his house and they do what appears to be a thorough search. Near the end of the movie, it is revealed that the murder weapon was a roofing hatchet/hammer, kept in a tool crib, stored in the basement of Rusty's house. Given that the police knew the nature of the murder weapon, it is inconceivable that the basement of the house would not have been searched for such a weapon. When Barbara confesses to the murder, we learn how detailed and thorough her plot was. Given her attention to detail, it is hard to understand why she would have not washed the blood and hair from the hatchet/hammer before it was returned to the tool crib.
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Correction: Helen has the hammer hidden elsewhere - not in the house - during the search, and after the trial and Rusty's exoneration, knowing the house won't be searched again, she puts it where Rusty will find it. She WANTS him to know that she killed the woman he was having an affair with.