WEBVTT - The Gym Rat, The Pandemic and The Text Messages 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:03.520 Falling in love is the best feeling in the world. 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:07.560 You see stars, you feel giddy, But sometimes that makes 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:12.960 you do crazy things, and sometimes that means murder. Just 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:15.840 because the story starts out with once upon a Times 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:20.599 doesn't mean it ends happily ever after. Welcome to Crazy 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.919 and Love, a production of Katie Studios and I Heart Radio. 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.479 Today's guests are true crime producers Stephanie Lai Ticker and 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:33.160 Jeff Shane. Episode forty two, The Case of the Gym Rat, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:43.400 the Pandemic, and the Text Messages. In the upscale and 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:48.440 scenic seaside community of Jupiter, Florida, live Gretchen Crane. As 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.880 an HR administrator. Gretchen got paid to help employees fix 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:56.000 their issues. She was a thoughtful and empathetic person and 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.680 this was her dream job. At work, Gretchen was loved 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.920 by colleagues and considered them her second family. The blue eyed, 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.400 blonde haired fifty one year old was described as a 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.760 beautiful person who cared deeply about people. But perhaps the 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.800 person Gretchen love more than anyone was her twelve year 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:18.440 old daughter Ava. Gretchen was a devoted mother and would 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.440 proudly say that Ava was her greatest accomplishment. After a 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.800 divorce from Eva's father, Gretchen was looking to reset her life, 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.240 Hoping to get herself in shape for her second chapter. 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:34.360 Gretchen joined Orange Theory. Orange Theory is a popular gym 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:38.600 chain that involves high intensity workouts. It was there that 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:42.199 she met David Anthony. While chatting with the honky six 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.120 ft seven inch trainer, Gretchen found that her runs on 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.240 the treadmill weren't the only thing getting her heart raising. 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:53.080 There was an undeniable spark between the pair. They complimented 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:56.640 each other. David was calm and reserved and Gretchen was 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:01.360 outspoken and self assured. They were both also active. David 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.000 was a zealous outdoorsman who relish cycling, deep sea fishing, 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:09.280 and kayaking. Gretchen adored going to the beach, paddle boarding 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:13.360 and doing yoga. By December fourteen, the pair were engaged. 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.920 They got married at the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas. 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:21.560 In Aside from his strapping good looks, David was also 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:26.079 an exceptional stepparent to Gretchen's daughter. The little girl called 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:32.440 him her bonus parents. Here's Stephanie. This was a couple 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.079 who had a lot going for them. They were both 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.839 very into the gym, so they did this together both 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.880 as a hobby and in David's case, he was also 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:46.400 a personal trainer. Gretchen was in incredible shape and David 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.520 was a popular trainer who got a lot of female attention. 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:53.320 Apparently he really commanded the attention of most rooms that 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:56.760 he walked into, and when his energy was high, it 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:01.520 felt contagious. If anyone who's ever been to personal trainer, 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:05.480 you know, these are people who take their bodies extremely seriously, 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:10.200 and they're usually big personalities and magnanimous because they really 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.000 need to inspire people. I'm looking at a photograph of 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.480 them right now that will post on our website, and 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.480 she has long blonde hair and is in his arms, 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.359 and she just looks incredibly at ease, and he is very, 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:26.679 very tall, and again, first impression seemed like they're a 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.079 happy couple. Despite all the good they had in their relationship, 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.200 by Gretchen and David had hit sort of a rough 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:36.840 patch and decided to split. According to their friends, they 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.400 had lost themselves in the relationship and they each wanted 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.360 to focus on finding their own self identity. And this 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.760 was not the first time the pair had parted. They 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.160 once had a six month separation, but eventually found their 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:53.040 way back. In December, Gretchen texted a friend about this 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:55.960 split and said that she thought David needs to learn 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.360 how to love himself before he can love anyone else, 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:01.800 and desp the fact that they had broken up and 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.880 gotten back together before. It seemed like this split might 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:10.120 actually have stuck, because on February Gretchen filed for divorce. 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.360 Just a few weeks after filing, the impending divorce would 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:18.039 be the last thing on anyone's mind. The world was 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:23.000 now dealing with COVID nineteen. Businesses in schools shut down, 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:26.880 and people were forced to quarantine in their homes. Thousands 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:30.640 of Americans were getting sick and dying every day. It 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:34.200 seemed no one was immune, not even healthy and active 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:37.280 fifty one year old Gretchen, who came down with coronavirus. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:43.520 On Monday, March nine am, Gretchen sent a text to 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:47.640 her daughter Eva, good morning, awoke to shortness of breath, 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:53.279 checked into e R awaiting test kits hopefully by ten am. 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:58.320 Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted. Here's Jeff. For 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:02.120 the next few days, it seemed gretchen state was getting worse, 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.000 and she continued to text family and friends with her 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:09.480 health updates. She texted her daughter, good morning. Tested positive 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.560 for coronavirus early this morning. That means I have to 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:14.760 stay here for at least two weeks. It also means 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.000 our house is quarantined for two weeks. Another text read, 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:20.920 I am on a ventilator due to coronavirus, and yet 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.800 another text read after checking into the R today, I 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.440 passed out due to high fever hundred and two degrees 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.640 and low oxygen levels. Because it was an acute case, 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.480 they transferred me to an off site medical facility being 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.680 run directly by the CDC and Coronavirus Task Force. According 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.440 to Gretchen's text, this facility was more than an hour 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.039 away in Bell Glade, Florida, and this seemed really serious. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.120 We remember what the early days of coronavirus were like 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:49.039 and it could be considered life and death. So it 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:52.599 was no surprise when Gretchen's loved ones were really alarmed 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:55.400 and worried. Not only did it seem like her health 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:58.920 was deteriorating, but aside from just a few short texts, 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:02.000 nobody could get hold of her, and when they pressed 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.799 her for why, she wasn't answering her phone or couldn't 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.240 actually speak to anybody. Gretchen wrote, and this is a 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:12.120 direct quote, the coronavirus is causing my right lung to 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.159 work extra hard to help me breathe. No visitors, no 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.880 phone calls, and I'm limited to a little bit of 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.240 cell phone use because the doctors think the radiation from 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:24.279 my phone is causing my immune system to not fight 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.560 the virus like it should. I'm staying strong as it 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:31.719 could be worse. I promise you'll all stay strong for me, Okay. 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:36.680 End quote. On March, fed up with not being able 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.359 to talk to her, Gretchen's ex husband and the father 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:41.680 of her daughter, a man named Jeff went to the 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.440 Jupiter Medical Center to see if he could track Gretchen down. 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:46.920 In the parking lot, he spotted her dark blue Mini 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.200 Cooper on the passenger side floor was her purse. When 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.679 he went inside to ask the r physician to speak 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:55.280 with Gretchen, the employee told him that she was in 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.919 fact once a patient, but hadn't been to the facility 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:01.159 since two thousand and eight, so despite texting people that 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.600 she was at the hospital, she hadn't actually been there. 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.960 In years, Jeff, the ex husband, thought perhaps she was 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:09.360 at the CDC facility instead. As it turns out, despite 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:13.280 texting people and really clearly stating that she was at 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.280 the CDC facility in Bell Glade, there was no such 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.680 facility in that area. Now people are really starting to worry. 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.560 We're going to take a break. We'll be back in 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:41.200 just a moment. Was Gretchen so sick she was losing 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:45.360 her mind? Was she trying to keep her actual location secret? 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:48.840 Or was someone holding her hostage and forcing her to 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.760 send those texts? With many more questions than answered, it 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:56.840 seemed only one thing was clear. Gretchen Anthony was missing. 0:07:58.120 --> 0:08:02.119 Now officially terrified, Chin's family called nine one one on March, 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:05.760 the police went to her house for a welfare check. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.640 There they spoke to a few neighbors, one of whom 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.200 had a story worth telling. A few days ago. On 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:15.440 the morning of March, this neighbor had heard a woman screaming. 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.000 It sounded like she was being attacked. The screaming lass 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:21.280 in about fifteen minutes, and despite the serious nature of 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.560 the noises, this neighbor never called men one one. Eventually, 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:27.960 that neighbor gave a statement to police but their statement 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:30.480 wasn't the only thing that they were concerned about, because 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.560 police also noticed a trail of some sort of soapy 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:38.000 substance coming from Gretchen's garage, and remember her garage is 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.120 closed at the time, and at the side of the door, 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.520 they also found that a lock had a key broken 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:47.720 off into it, meaning somebody had tried to break the 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:51.400 lock and probably the key snapped inside of it. And 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.679 as police found their way into the garage, they found 0:08:54.960 --> 0:09:01.040 bleach footprints accompanied by an overwhelming smell of cleaning products, 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:04.640 and it looked like something really messy had obviously happened 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.120 there and that someone had attempted to really clean it up. 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.360 After looking around the garage, the police went into the house. 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.200 They were hopeful that Gretchen might be inside, but what 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.320 detectives found was signs of a violent struggle, a broken 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.760 picture frame, shards of glass on Gretchen's bed, and a 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.880 stained towel. The towel had BLS on it, and what 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:28.000 BLS means is a blood like substance. The police also 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:31.000 noted that security cameras around the home had seemingly been 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.960 ripped off of the walls. They contacted the company to 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.560 see if they could retrieve the video from the cloud. 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.280 It was clear that something bad had happened to Grutchen 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.440 in the home, but there were still no signs of 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:44.480 the mother. Police got another huge break when a different 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.640 neighbor told them they had seen this sketchy looking black 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:51.040 truck the same morning that the other neighbor had heard 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.280 blood curdling screams. In fact, they were so creeped out 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.959 by this truck they even took a picture of the vehicle. 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.560 In the picture, which is a black Nissan up truck. 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.920 Police could actually make out the license plate. Well, who 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:07.680 did it belonged to? Stuff Gretchen's a strange husband, David Anthony, 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:10.560 and this photo meant that David had been very close 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:13.320 to Gretchen's house the last day she was seen alive. 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.560 But at this point, where is David because nobody knows 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:20.800 where he is. So police started to figure out David's movements, 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:23.839 and what they found was that after Gretchen filed for 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.880 divorce in February, David moved in with his mom, so 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:30.439 police went to her home to find David. When they arrived, 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:32.800 David's mother told the police that she had last seen 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.840 him on March. Now Remember that was three days after 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.720 Gretchen has last and seen alive. David's mom told the 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:40.840 detectives that she didn't know where her son was. He 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.559 had packed up his truck and left. David's mom notably 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.200 asked detectives if the visit was about Gretchen, as she 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.800 had gotten texts from her saying that she had seemed 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.520 pretty sick. So all this didn't look good for David. 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.800 He was last seen outside of Gretchen's home the last 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:56.760 time she was seen alive, and then he seemingly disappears. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.760 Can you imagine? And to add further suspicion, police were 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.240 able to retrieve the security footage from the Jupiter Medical 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:08.079 Facility where Gretchen's car had been found earlier. They could 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.320 see her Minnie Cooper, pulling into the lot, but she 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:15.040 never got out of the car. Instead, a very tall 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.280 man exited the vehicle and walked out of frame. And 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:22.000 remember David is six seven. With David looking like a 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.680 likely suspect, police got a notification that Gretchen's phone was 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:30.280 pinging about six hundred miles away in Pensacola, Florida. Her 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:33.200 and David's phones were both moving across the state and 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:37.240 into Louisiana. Detectives wondered if the pair could be on 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:41.160 the run together. As the detectives worked to track down 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.720 David and Gretchen, police began looking into David's past. They 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.400 found that he grew up with a single mother in 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:50.040 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Painfully shy, he usually didn't speak 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:53.520 unless spoken to. David was overweight as a young man 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:55.440 and had a low self esteem, which made him a 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.160 constant target for bullies at school because he was so 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.480 much bigger than other kids. He hadn't and allowed to 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.720 join recreational sports leagues. As he got older, he continued 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.240 to struggle with severe depression and showed signs of bipolar disorder. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.240 He refused to take any medication, instead becoming obsessed with fitness. 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.440 He got in great shape and got a scholarship to 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.800 play at basketball in college. It was there he fell 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.600 in love with Kobe Bryant. He idolized the athlete and 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.960 even int his dog after the star. He fell into 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.640 some trouble when he held up a Blockbuster video store 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.320 with a water gun. Another point, he also assaulted a 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.760 police officer. He reached a plea deal in both of 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:32.199 those cases and spent a short time in jail. As 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.640 we know, he eventually got it together and became a 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.440 popular and successful trainer at Orange Theory for over six years. However, 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.520 that seems to have ended pretty poorly as well. While 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.200 at first his clients seemed to love his high energy 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.400 and his good looks, at some point his behavior changed. 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.679 David was usually the first person at work and at 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:54.560 the gym in the morning, but in January he started 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:57.640 to come in later and later and later, apparently, and 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:02.319 according to his coworkers, his behavior vier shifted noticeably. Those 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.840 closest to him said they believed it was a combo 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:09.240 of his relationship issues with Gretchen and also the death 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.199 of Kobe Bryant. As we heard, he was a huge fan, 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:17.199 but didn't know him personally, and apparently Kobe's death really 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.679 sent him into its hail spin. And we can all 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:24.640 agree that that was a hideous tragedy, but David took 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:28.240 it harder than most, almost as if they were best friends, 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.560 when in fact they had never met. David continued to 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.480 go to work and to try to get other people, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:37.199 but it was clear something was off. He became involved 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:41.960 in a controversial self improvement program called Gratitude Training, which 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.760 has been compared to a cult. There, he spent thousands 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.400 and thousands of dollars on seminars That all seemed to 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:52.240 come to a head on February when David failed to 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.400 show up at work at all, leaving everybody at his 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:59.160 gym completely locked out, and at that point his boss 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:02.800 confronted him him he erupted into a bit of a rage. 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.240 As a result, he was fired, and it turned out 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:07.920 that wasn't the first time he had been in trouble 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:11.199 at work. A research shows that David had been fired 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:15.920 at least twice for aggressive behavior towards women. That's a 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.440 big deal, and he was able to convince his boss 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.120 to give him another shot, But this time the not 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:24.600 showing up to work with the final straw. Yes, his 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:27.680 boss was so shaken by that encounter the morning that 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.400 he didn't show up to work that she actually texted 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.280 Gretchen in all caps saying stay away from him. Just 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.560 four days after that text, Gretchen filed for divorce and 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:41.160 the plot thickens. Just a few weeks later, David was 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:44.520 arrested for following teenage girls at a local mall. Think 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:47.320 about that. Listen to the body camp footage from when 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:57.760 he was arrested. Yeah, yeah, like a place. You know, 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:01.160 it's really shocking to hear. And David spent just a 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.520 few days in jail before posting bail and was released 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:09.000 just three days before Gretchen disappeared. It's clear he is spiraling. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:11.560 So back in March of twenty, with both Gretchen and 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.480 David missing, the police were actually able to track down 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:17.280 David using his cell phone, using the cell phone towers 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.000 that they were able to locate him on various surveillance cameras, 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:22.360 one of which was at a local pawn shop where 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.280 he could be seen selling Gretchen's possessions. When the police 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.040 went to the store, the manager actually remember David because 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.120 of the story he told. Apparently, he said that the 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.280 jewelry he had been selling was left to him by 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.160 a loved one who had died from COVID nineteen. Unfortunately, 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:37.840 by the time the cops had gotten there, David was 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.080 long gone and they always seemed to be just one 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.760 step behind him. It really was becoming a huge game 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:44.800 of cat and mouse at this point. You know, David 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:47.160 would turn on his cell phone and then that would 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.760 send a ping, and then detectives would run to that location, 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:53.560 and then he would turn it off and disappear. So 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:59.160 again this kept happening, but finally, on March, David's phone 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.960 pinged in New Mexico, nearly one thousand, nine hundred miles 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.360 away from Jupiter, and local officers were able to track 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.240 him down in his truck and in the passenger seat 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.840 was his dog, Kobe. Take a listen to what he 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:15.160 told the cops who arrested him lost. I heard she 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:20.840 was in a CDC facility treatments for coronavirus. Even worse 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.520 than that. Without having enough evidence to hold him, David 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:29.880 was released. By March, Jupiter police finally received the surveillance 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.360 footage from Gretchen's home. Remember cameras had looked like they'd 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.280 been ripped out of the walls. At least contacted the 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.920 company asking to retrieve the footage, and what they found 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.440 painted a truly disturbing picture of what happened to the 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.400 fifty year old mother. In the video, David could be 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.960 seen pacing outside the home shortly after six am, seemingly 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:51.560 waiting for Gretchen. Six minutes later, Gretchen enters the frame. 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.720 What are you doing, she demanded to her estranged husband. 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.600 The video then showed David forcing her into the garage. 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:01.080 Off camera, she could be heard screaming. Gretchen began yelling 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:04.240 for her Amazon Alexa device, Alexa, turn on the garage 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.760 light she called. The camera then picked up a loud 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:10.720 thud sound and Gretchen's muffled cries. At this point, she 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.320 shouted three times for Alexa to call nine on one. 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.200 By her third play, her voice was fading before finally 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:20.240 it went silent tragically an unbeknownst to Gretchen, you actually 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:22.480 have to enable Alexa to call nine on one before 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.560 being able to do so. For anyone who owns one 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.320 of these devices, you can do that on your Alexa app. 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.280 As the detectives combed through the footage, they located one 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.960 shot where Gretchen was covered in blood as David paced 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.320 around her in the garage. At the end of the video, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.040 David realized he could be seen on the surveillance In 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:40.919 the shot, he walks up to the camera and then 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.399 pulls it down. The freeze frame of this shot is 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:46.320 one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. It's 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:51.600 literally David seconds after killing his estranged wife. We've posted 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.800 it on our Instagram at Katie Underscore Studios if you 0:17:54.840 --> 0:18:00.159 want to see it for yourself. Let's stop here for 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:17.560 another break. With the surveillance footage, the police finally had 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:21.360 enough to get a warrant for David's arrest. In New Mexico, 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.040 officials comb the streets looking for the man they believe 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:29.600 killed Gretchen. At a little before midnight on March they 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.480 found him outside a comedian store. Listen to audio from 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:38.040 the moment David was taken into custody. There's a warrant 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:40.000 for your arrest, and I'm gonna explain that when we 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.320 get down to go back to that. Excuse me, what 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:47.919 homicide for whom? Who do you think? That's why I 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.760 said much we'll talk about the dead quarters. Okay. It 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:53.879 really is one of those photos. If you do a 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:58.960 side by side with this picture, to your point, he 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:04.439 literally just murdered Gretchen and the original photo that we 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:07.159 have of them in happier days. It just goes to 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.680 show you really can't judge any book by its cover, 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.480 and beautiful as they may look, this is the face 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:17.439 of pure evil. Back at the station, David told the 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:20.199 police that he hadn't harmed Gretchen, but she was actually alive. 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.679 He said. Gretchen had uncovered illegal activities at the company 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:27.000 where she worked and someone was after her. According to him, 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.040 this caused the couple to split down, and at some 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.040 point she freaked out and bolted. David told the police 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:33.880 that was the last time he had seen her lives, 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.200 but the cops were not buying any of this. When 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:40.560 detectives asked David about the COVID texts, this is what 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:44.000 he said. You have her phone, you sent the text messages. 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:46.720 You planted her car to put her medical center. Because 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:51.040 you're on video doing it, you have it. She had 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:53.600 me do it. You put your hand over her mouth 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:58.320 and racked her into the garage on video DA During 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:02.600 the two hour interrogation, David told cops Scretchen was alive, 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:06.879 literally thirty five times thirty five times. It was almost 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.840 as though he was willing her back into existence and 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.359 convincing himself of his own lies. The detectives attempted to 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.000 take a different approach and appealed to his softer side 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:19.480 by using Gretchen's daughter, the one he had a great 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:21.800 relationship with. I was the one who taught her how 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:26.879 to ride it by school, and you know what's right 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:33.400 for her, Well, you're hurting her indirectly by not letting 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:36.920 us know where her mom is. You have to ask her. 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:39.760 We can't ask her. She's dead. She's dead, her mother 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:45.920 still alive, alive? You are you didn't even like you 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:53.119 didn't even you're not even you and everybody who's going 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:55.480 to look at you like that. At one point, the 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:58.880 cops played a recording that Ava, Gretchen's daughter had made 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:01.000 for David, pleading with to tell the police what he 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:04.600 had done, but David had none of it. After two hours, 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:08.240 David stopped the interrogation and asked to see a lawyer. 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:11.399 At this point, it really didn't matter, as he was 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:15.439 charged with second degree murder at last, and was extradited 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.840 to Florida. However, the prosecution know they had a big issue. 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:22.359 Without an actual body, it's so difficult to get a 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:26.240 guilty verdict, so step in December, officials ended up offering 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.520 David a pleadale. If he pled guilty to second degree murder, 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:32.280 he would serve only thirty eight years in prison, but 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:35.720 in exchange for that, he would help lead authorities to 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:39.919 locate Grussians remains. It was a deal he accepted. I 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.600 hate this deal. This makes me crazy, but I could 0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:46.840 imagine as Grettians loved ones want answers, but the idea 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:50.600 that he would one day walk free is so haunting. Yeah, 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:53.439 it's a fine line because you want to give the 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:56.920 family closure and help ensure that the right person gets 0:21:56.920 --> 0:22:00.320 put away for the crime. So prosecution walks. You know, 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.600 a fine line between getting answers and also putting the 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:09.560 right person in jail. On December, nine months to the 0:22:09.640 --> 0:22:13.359 day after Gretchen went missing, David pointed authorities to a 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:18.280 patch of grass behind a walmart. Buried there was his wife, Gretchen. 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:21.320 She had been wrapped in a blanket and buried in 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:25.000 a shallow grave. Her cause of death was stab wounds 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:28.720 to the neck and torso. At his sentencing, David made 0:22:28.720 --> 0:22:34.600 a statement about why he murdered Gretchen wylusiens and I 0:22:34.640 --> 0:22:38.320 guess an end of the world policy, an armagat that 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:42.879 I bought Compelo skate amount of the cost. Instead of 0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:46.440 being a man, I chose of your coward, I try 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:48.960 to steal what was a line. In the process, I 0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:54.240 ended his life for Lifehoad Volume for life had leading 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:59.639 still that life, Gretchen's loved ones bought none of it. 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:03.200 When it was her sister's time to speak, she didn't 0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:06.919 hold anything back. Now, I would like to say some 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:11.159 words to the defendant, whose name and being are not 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:16.200 worthy of the air we all breathe. Your statement will 0:23:16.240 --> 0:23:21.920 never mean anything to anyone. You are a fraud. Gretchen 0:23:22.080 --> 0:23:28.400 had a huge heart and saved your life when your 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:33.840 car fell on you. Yet you killed Gretchen in that 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:40.439 same garage where she saved your life. You are pure evil. 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:45.760 You stole a mother away from her child, a daughter 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:50.399 away from her mother, a sister away from my brother 0:23:50.480 --> 0:23:54.320 and me, and aunt's away from my children, and a 0:23:54.359 --> 0:23:59.800 friend away from so many, all who loved her abundantly. 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:11.040