WEBVTT - The Renovation, The Ring and The Double Life 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 --> 0:00:21.280 doesn't mean it ends happily ever after. Welcome to Crazy 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.560 and Love, a production of Katie Studios and I Heart Radio. 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:29.639 Today's guests are true crime producers Stephanie Ldiger and Jeff Shane. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:37.080 Episode thirty six, The Case of the Renovation, The Ring, 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:45.599 and the Double Life. The house at to East Copeland 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:50.880 Drive was almost square feet. It had a pool, a garage, apartment, 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:55.680 a fireplace, and five bathrooms. Located just a mile from 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.320 downtown Orlando, Florida, in the upscale neighborhood of Delaney Park, 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.320 it was known for its great schools and expansive gardens. 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:10.120 The property should have been any couple's dream home, but 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.720 for Chanty and Dave Tronas, the Spanish style mansion became 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:19.680 a place of secrets, lies, and unimaginable terror. Five years 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:23.000 before the tragedy that would transpire, Shanty and Dave were 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:27.240 mere strangers who began chatting on match dot Com. Shanty 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.880 was thirty four and living in the Orlando area. Dave 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:35.160 was ten years her senior and located up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:40.679 Despite their distance, the pair fell to connection. Shanty was 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:43.880 a hard working, dedicated single mother who cared deeply about 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:47.560 her eight year old son. Dave was intelligent and charming. 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:53.920 The couple also bonded over the shared experiences of complicated divorces. 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:59.800 Dave and Shanty fell hard for each other fast with 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.520 In just months of meeting, Dave packed up and moved 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:06.320 to Florida to be with Shaunty. One email she wrote 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:11.360 to him sums up the early days of their relationship well, quote, Dave, 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.840 I will have to say, I think this will be 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:20.200 a delicious detour, an amazing, life changing detour. I've had 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.440 a pep in my steps since we started this little 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:27.840 email affair. In February, Shaunty and Dave got married with 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:34.720 the stunning fifteen thousand dollar diamond ring. Here's Stephanie. So 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.040 here's what we know about them when they first met. 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:40.960 Within months of becoming a couple, Dave moved hundreds of 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.280 miles to Florida. He loved the area and bought a 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:48.840 house at two hundred and eighteen East Copeland Drive for 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:53.239 six hundred and seven thousand, five hundred dollars with cash. 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.400 According to the real estate agent who sold him the house, 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:58.679 Dave was like a child when you bought the home. 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:01.160 He was desperate and wanted to get the deal done. 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:03.560 It was sort of off putting to her that he 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.120 was so pushy, but also anyone who bought a home 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.880 can relate to the feeling of just wanting to close 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.399 that deal. But that said, paying cash for a house 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.880 is pretty difficult. Jeff, what did the couple do? Shaunty 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.920 and Dave were both very successful. She ran a fruitful 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:21.640 financial software business and was able to work from home, 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.560 and Dave had recently inherited between four and six million 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.000 dollars from his father, so that would explain why he 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:30.360 was able to pay cash for the house. And so 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.680 I think because they were both maybe business minded, they 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.760 decided to keep their finances very separate. Dave paid for 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.800 the house and didn't end up putting Shaunty on the deed. 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.320 And while at first this worked, it became kind of 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.120 a hot button issue because Shaunty actually moved into the 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.640 home and that's not all. The couple started an expansive 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.920 remodel on the home, and because David paid for the 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.240 home and cash, Shaunty agreed to flip the bill for 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:56.800 the remodel under the guys that she would eventually be 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.680 added to the deep Dave asked his neighbor for her 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:02.560 advice on the remodel. Take a listen. He was asking 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:06.200 me specifically about raising the floor in the living room 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:11.400 to match the kitchen. And I thought, that's a major, 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:16.240 major problem because the doors back there you'd have to 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.800 bring you'd have to replace all those doors, You'd have 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:20.919 to bring those all up to the right height. And 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:22.560 I thought, why would you do that? I mean, I 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:24.400 could understand. I told him, I said, if you want 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.960 your kitchen bigger, bring the kitchen floor out further and 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:31.800 make the breakfast area smaller. But to raise the whole 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:33.640 floor up, to me seemed a little ludicrous. I mean, 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.520 it just seemed crazy. Did it seem as you're looking 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:39.320 around the house and he's explaining what they want to do, 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.800 that it was going to be expensive. Oh, I mean 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:44.400 I could tell it was going to be expensive. I 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:50.240 mean there was no that was not And at that point, um, 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.440 I mean, that's where they were already was like a 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:56.800 two dollar renovation minimum. When you hear that, it just 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:59.240 seems like Dave didn't care about the cost. He was 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.919 on a roll. If the neighbor, who didn't really know 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.200 the specifics of the job could tell it would be 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.240 that expensive, it must have been pretty bad. I can't 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:10.159 imagine Shanty, a hard working single mom, would have loved 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.599 that not only was her home such a mess, but 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.200 that she was also paying for all of it at 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.719 the same time. It would ultimately turn into a life 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:21.240 altering redot. Shanty and Dave had big plans for the house. 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.520 They wanted to open up the main living space and 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:29.120 redo every bathroom and bedroom. The house was torn down 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:34.279 to the studs and the budget ballooned. Like many homeowners 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.760 who attempt a renovation, Shanty and Dave found themselves in 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:44.200 over their heads. Here's Jeff, So, like we said, since 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.240 Day paid for the house, Shanty fronted the costs for 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.680 the HNO, but that again became a problem when the 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:53.279 costs for the remodel reached two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.000 And remember, Shanty wasn't even on the d to the house, 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.800 so while she was investing all this money into the home, 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.359 it wasn't even hers. So the deed to a house 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.839 staff correct me if I'm wrong, is really just states 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:07.000 who the owner of the home is. So if something 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:10.360 were to happen to Dave, let's say, Shaunty, would have 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.360 no steak in the property because she's not on the deed. 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.560 Or moreover, I believe that if Dave decided overnight that 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:19.880 he wanted to sell the property, he wouldn't need her 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.440 permission to do so. And suddenly she's put two hundred 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.400 and fifty thousand dollars into a home that she could 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:29.320 frankly be asked to leave or not benefit from the 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.000 sale of the house. Right So she's investing to make 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.560 this property worth much more than it already is and 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:37.640 not going to see any of the returns. A neighbor 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:40.440 spoke about the dynamics of the relationship. What was your 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:44.720 observations with Dave and jacks Um, Dave was always very 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:48.440 nice to Jackson. He treated like his own son. He 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:52.320 seemed very concerned with his well being. UM like, I 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:56.280 know that he They didn't like Jackson's teacher this year. 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.120 I don't know if it was so much Shaunty, I 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.320 don't know, but Day would always say you don't like Mrs. 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.760 It's not the right fit for Jackson. I think Mrs 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:09.279 was more free form. He needs structure, you know. And 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.560 and for Dave to be that concerned about Jackson, I 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.240 thought was unusual, you know, because it's not your child, 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:17.840 but he talked to him as if it was his 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.040 own child. We were also never able to figure out 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:24.160 what Dave did. By all counts, he was unemployed and 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.880 seemingly living off of the big inheritance he said his 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:30.080 dad left for him. It's interesting, though, that the impression 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.160 the couple was giving was that Shanty was the sole 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.120 provider and supporting Dave. I suppose I could see how 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.440 it would seem that way, since Shanty worked all day 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:41.720 and Dave just sort of hung around. After three years 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.040 of construction and many contractors later, the house on East 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.880 Copeland Drive was no closer to being completed. It had 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:52.040 become so unlivable that Shaunty and Dave began sleeping in 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:57.280 the garage apartment. According to their last contractor, the rehynot 0:07:57.360 --> 0:08:00.400 was causing a strain on the couple and things were tense. 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:04.360 Shanty was displeased with the time and money being spent, 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.640 and the fact that her husband would not change the deed. 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:13.440 But on Aeen at three fifteen PM, all of that 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:17.960 would seem irrelevant. Nine one one operators in Delaney Park 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:33.400 received this call. Hello, tried to do can you get 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:38.920 her out of the shower? Okay? Is she laying from 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:45.520 on the back? Okay? And you don't know what happened 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:58.560 here or when anything happened? Okay. Through guttural sobs, Dave 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.319 told paramedics he had found his wife unresponsive in the bathtub. 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:08.160 When the police arrived, Shaunty was dead. Dave told the 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.080 detectives that he had been out for a walk with 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:12.760 the dogs and when he came home, he found Shaunty 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:18.560 in the tub. Oddly, police noticed there were no signs 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:23.600 of a struggle or fourth entry. While five thousand dollars 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.120 in cash and Shaunty's beautiful fifteen thousand dollar engagement ring, 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:32.000 we're missing. Many other valuables such as computers, watches, and 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.280 phones were not taken. With very little to go on, 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:43.480 police turned to Dave for answers. Davis brought in for 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.480 questioning and it began what would turn into a marathon 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:50.600 fourteen hour interrogation. Very quickly, he refused a lawyer, so 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:52.400 the cops were free to ask him anything and everything 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:56.040 they wanted and asked him. They did listen to Dave 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.520 describe what he found when he discovered Shaunty in the bathtub. 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:06.680 She's submerged partially, but she's also partially not submerged and 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:12.280 kind of sticking up a little. And it's just extremely 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:17.640 it's awful and it doesn't look natural. Obviously she or 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:24.120 something happened. They try to pick her up, she's she's 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.319 it's hard to pick her up. She's met stick a 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:36.240 sack of potatoes. It's easy. It just to me sounds 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:37.920 so methodical and cold. I mean, at one point he 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:40.560 describes her as a sack of potatoes. To me, that 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.600 seems like a very odd way to describe your now 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:47.439 deceased wife when you find her in the tub. That's 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:49.240 not the only thing that was odd. The cops also 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:51.560 found it strange that, despite telling them he found her 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.920 in the bathtub and immediately calling them on one, the 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:57.080 bathroom was completely dry when they arrived, and Shanty was 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:01.520 only damp, not wet, So then that just didn't that up. Yeah, 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:03.920 that was a big piece to this case. There was 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.440 also some blood found on the bed frame. Dave theorized 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.160 that it could have been from Shaunty's menstrual cycle, so 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:13.959 the question would have been who would possibly want to 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:18.720 hurt the compassionate and successful mother. The detectives just decided 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:26.319 to ask Dave outright, have a listen, any problems? Yeah, okay, 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:33.000 anyone that want to do her home? At the talent 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:35.320 of the interrogation, the cops tried to coax a confession 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.079 out of Dave, but he continued to deny murdering his wife. 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:43.200 You either man a mistake, you're cool boy kill which 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:48.120 may We also know that Shaunty had a two hundred 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:52.160 and fifty thousand dollar life insurance policy and that Dave 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.480 was the beneficiary, But the missing ring in the cash 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:59.640 was always sort of odd and didn't completely add up. Meaning, 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.280 if day I've wanted to hurt Shaunty, why would he 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.600 take that? There really would be no reason other than 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.000 if he was looking to stage it or make the 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.720 scene look as though it was a robbery. Right, But 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:12.160 if he was really trying to make it look like 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.480 a robber, you think he would have taken the cell 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.520 phones or the computers, or the watches or the earrings. 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:21.040 But it seems very pointed to me that just this 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.080 large amount of cash and the ring were taken. I 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:26.040 mean to me. You know, we talk a lot about 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.120 whether you should lawyer her up or not law your up, 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:30.760 and it seems like whether or not you did something 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:32.800 or you didn't do something, having a lawyer is always 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.520 a smart move, especially when you know the cops are 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.120 looking at you for talking to you for fourteen hours. 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.480 You're bound to say something that will frame you in 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:42.720 a bad light or give something up that you don't 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.200 want to give up. I mean, obviously the cops thought 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:46.680 he was the lead suspect at this time that they're 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:48.400 talking to be fourteen hours. They had nothing else to 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.599 go off of at this point, and he refused a 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:54.400 lawyer because in some cases that does look bad if 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.520 you're suddenly feeling as though you need counsel to discuss 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.720 a scene that you just walked into. I can see 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.680 both sides of that, right, I mean, for fourteen hours. 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.600 If he doesn't crack after fourteen hours, perhaps he really 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:10.040 doesn't have anything to hide. And of course he wants 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.080 to find the murderer, so theoretically he's going to say 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.160 everything and anything he knows so that the police could 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.880 get off of him as a main suspect and onto 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:24.480 finding the person who is still at large with Dave A. Freeman. 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:28.920 The police looked at other suspects. First was Shanty's ex husband. 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.080 They had a bitter divorce and shared custody of their son. 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.720 Could he have killed her to get control of their child? 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:39.640 Police also honed in on a local homeless man who 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.480 was known to hang around to Leaney Park. Do you 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:49.959 recognize her? No? Right? Have you ever seen her before? No? No? Okay? 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.640 You ever spoken to her or nothing? No? Okay? Do 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.880 you recognize this fan? No? I don't. All right, I'm 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.800 showing him a picture of David Michael Old Churnis and 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:03.880 have you ever had a conversation with him? For any reason? 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.439 I'm out here to something in the morning is because 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:11.000 I needed to ask you whether or not, um you 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.160 had been in her home or seen her or harmed 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.280 her in any way. Have you ever been in her home? 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.880 Have you ever harmed her in any way? Okay? Did 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:25.400 you kill her? No? No? Would you have any reason 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:29.520 to the police were very thorough with their investigation. We 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.280 know they looked at Shanty's acts husband and a local 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.320 homeless man, but they were ultimately able to clear them 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:39.400 both because they had airtight allillies. So naturally, the investigators 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.400 look back at Dave and kind of what he has 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:44.000 going on in his life, and when they started going 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.040 through his credit card statements, they found one thing that 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:49.640 struck them as strange. On his statement, he had a 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.400 recurring thirty five dollar payment to a place called the 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.840 Club or Lando. And it turns out the Club Orlando 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:58.400 is a men's gym, but is known to host some 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:02.280 more toward activities than average twenty four hour fitness. Yeah, 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.920 this is a very confusing topic because, on the one hand, 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:07.760 we know that Dave is married, so why would he 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.480 be paying for a membership at a men's hook up Jim. 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.000 That said, it's also quite possible he was just going 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.840 to the gym to work out that also happened to 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.680 be a hook up Jim, he didn't necessarily have to 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:23.360 partake in that. Yeah, it's interesting because you can look 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:27.680 at these two things as separate issues or potentially related. 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.440 On the one hand, he might not have been doing anything, 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:33.600 that's one possibility, or he might have been actually going 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:35.840 and hooking up with guys, and that might not have 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:39.040 to do with the murder of his wife. But it 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.320 does tell us that maybe he's being deceitful to either 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.280 the police because he didn't tell him upfront that he 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.280 is cheating on his wife, or he's being deceitful to 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:51.200 Shanti because he's lying to her about what he's doing 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:54.760 outside of their marriage. In any case, it is circumstantial evidence, 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.120 but it does point to maybe his character and calls 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.040 into question what he's saying. Is that because he's clearly 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.800 not being truthful, that's exactly right. It does paint a 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:08.720 picture of him that's simply not favorable. We're going to 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.200 take a break. We'll be back in just a moment. 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.880 So much of these cases are not necessarily about physical evidence, 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.240 but what the police perceive as your character and the 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.680 type of person that you are. And whether he's lying 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:36.480 to the police or he's lying to his wife, it 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:38.800 certainly doesn't make him look like a good person, right, 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.280 And to that end, the two don't necessarily go hand 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:46.640 in hand. Just because he's maybe stepping out and either 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.720 exercising at the gym or exercising at the gym and 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.880 stepping out on his marriage. Again, that doesn't make him 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:58.600 a murderer or a murderer of Shaunty specifically, as police 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.440 looked at all the pieces to a puzzle, everything led 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:07.399 back to Dave. One he had motive. Financially he stood 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.640 to gain with Shaunty dead personally, she might have been 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:17.720 enraged over his extramarital activities. Two he had opportunity. Dave 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.439 was admittedly the last person to see her alive. This 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:26.640 was enough to make an arrest, and on August, four 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:31.040 months after Shanty's death, Dave was officially charged with her murder. 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.280 Dave had been staying at his mother's house, and when 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:37.840 the police searched his things, they found the supposedly missing 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:42.000 ring in a suitcase. To them, it was the nail 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:48.520 in Dave's coffin. Finding the ring was a very big 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:50.639 deal and a break in the case, and as the 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:54.280 prosecution built their case, detectives got a tip that would 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.040 send them right back to where it all began. A 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.280 former friend of Dave's in Minnesota said that Dave had 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:05.040 been poisoning his ex wife, a woman named Carol. In Minnesota, 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:08.159 detectives learned that Carol had in fact suffered from a 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:11.520 series of health issues. She always spoke about chronic pain 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:15.639 and gut issues, and she also acknowledged to police that 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:19.560 Dave cooked most of her meals. Listen to this, who 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:24.440 cooked in the home? We both did? He primarily cooked 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:29.560 in the home um in the early days. I I 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:31.440 don't remember. I think he might have done a lot 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:35.439 of the cooking. He's a better cook than I. You 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:37.480 mentioned the chef thinks, so that makes sense that he 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.920 was inspiring chef after that three m He did a 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:45.560 lot of the cooking early on. I don't know if 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.680 we did a lot of it, but I mean he 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:57.120 I honestly don't remember the meals. Okay, such an odd description. Now, 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:00.280 listen to the cops when they asked Carol directly if 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:03.520 Dave was poisoning her, would there have been any reason 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.960 to believe that you could have been given something poisoned, 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:11.240 given certain supplements, things along those lines that could have 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.479 caused any of the medical issues. But how does this 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.320 all play into Shaunty's story. Eight weeks before her dath, 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:20.000 Shahnty had an emergency appenducting me. As it turns out, 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.679 appendicitis and poisoning have very similar symptoms, So the theory 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.680 was that potentially Dave had been poisoning his ex wife 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:30.159 Carol and his current wife Shaunty. He even admitted in 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.280 his interrogation that Shaunty had digestion problems. She hasn't found 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:40.480 since the appendant me that she can eat regularly and 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:44.000 feel good. While it seemed very possible that Dave had 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:48.360 a pattern of poisoning the women he supposedly loved, detectives 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:52.720 just could never really prove it. Shaunty's autopsy was very clear. 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.760 It said that she died of strangulation and blunt force trauma. 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:00.359 And while this whole theory about the poison was creeping 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:05.960 and very weird, it essentially took a backseat. While in Minnesota, 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:10.840 detectives also made another discovery about Dave's deceptions. So we 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.240 know that Dave had told Shaunty he inherited four to 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:16.000 six million dollars from his dad. It was how he 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:18.880 paid cash for the house, But it turned out that 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:21.399 was a lot. He never inherited any money, and he 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:23.399 most likely used all his savings to pay for the 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:26.920 house in cash. Why would he lie about that, Deshaunty? 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:29.840 I wonder if it was because Shanty was successful and 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:33.320 had her own money and Dave wanted to seem like 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:35.800 he did too, and he didn't need her for her money. 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:40.440 He wanted to appear independently wealthy. Eleven months after the murder, 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:45.440 another twist would shock investigators. Dave's former defense attorney, who 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:48.560 made since replaced, turned in a set of bloody sheets 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:52.359 and a green cord to the police. According to the lawyer, 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:55.560 he had acquired the items from the garage apartment after 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:59.800 the murder. However, he never turned them into police or 0:20:59.880 --> 0:21:04.000 the prosecution. Could the sheets prove Dave killed Shaunty in 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:09.640 their bedroom, was the green cord the murder weapon? As 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:13.800 the lawyer was investigated for withholding key evidence. Please got 0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:21.080 another shocking phone call. Dave's cellmate came forward with quite 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:24.240 a story. The cellmate told officials that they bonded over 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:28.520 their love of obscure hallucinogens, including one that came from 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:31.800 a frog. According to the cell mate, Dave said he 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:35.640 could use frog poison to kill someone. He also said 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:39.080 that Dave confessed to murder. The cellmates said that Dave 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:42.440 told him Shanty found a gay hook up app on 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:45.760 his phone and completely freaked out. They had a big fight, 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:49.280 he blacked out and then he killed her and While 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:52.600 all of this sound plausible, including the whole frog thing, 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:55.840 it couldn't be corroborated and there were no records of 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:59.320 Dave having any app like that on his phone. So ultimately, 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:07.000 while intr staying, the cellmate story was dismissed, let's stop 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:23.480 here for another break. So will cops couldn't do anything 0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:26.159 with the cellmate story. They still had these bloody sheets 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:28.600 and the green cord to look out, So let's just 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:32.160 talk this through. According to the police, what happened that night. 0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:35.600 Police think that Shanty is sitting there getting ready for bed, 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:38.800 taking her earrings out as you would, and she had 0:22:38.840 --> 0:22:42.480 one earring out, one on the nightstand, and that's when 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:45.840 Dave came up behind her and attacked her. The attack 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:48.359 would explain the blood that was found not only on 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:50.600 the sheets, but also the bed frame. You know, the 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:53.199 same bed frame that Dave thought was just her period 0:22:53.200 --> 0:22:56.200 blood on it. The sheets had way more blood which 0:22:56.640 --> 0:23:00.359 would not possibly be from a woman's menstrual cycle. So 0:23:00.400 --> 0:23:02.399 the cops think that he attacks are there's blood, and 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:04.159 then at some point he starts to strangle over the 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:07.760 green cord. Now the green cord had no DNA evidence 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:10.520 on it, but police didn't find it for months, so 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:12.480 Dave could have easily cleaned it up after the murder. 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:16.080 And if that theory is true, that meant Dave sat 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:20.360 with Shaunty's body for hours before calling. Think about that. 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:24.120 The cops believed that Dave passed the time doing very 0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:28.440 mundane chores like cleaning the house and literally walking the dogs, 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:32.679 all while his wife was dead upstairs. We pulled some 0:23:32.720 --> 0:23:35.000 audio from a phone called Dave had with his mom 0:23:35.080 --> 0:23:37.359 while in jail to give you some insight into his 0:23:37.400 --> 0:23:40.800 frame of mind. Take a listen. You should be taking 0:23:40.800 --> 0:23:44.119 care of your own stuff. I can't shouldn't be in jail, 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:46.960 but you shouldn't be in jail. But we can't change 0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:49.200 that if that's not my fault. It's not your fault 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:52.280 that you're in jail. No, I didn't do anything. It's 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:56.560 not my fault. So why did they put you in jail? Then? Who? 0:23:57.000 --> 0:23:59.280 You understand? Because there's something we have to go through 0:23:59.359 --> 0:24:02.639 until we can done with it. We already talked about this, right, 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:06.280 I don't remember anymore. I didn't think that I would 0:24:06.320 --> 0:24:08.359 ever have to be that you would be in jail 0:24:08.440 --> 0:24:12.040 and I would have to be doing your Why didn't 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:15.080 think I would either, So comm you should then that 0:24:15.240 --> 0:24:17.880 you're not doing you're really not doing. You shouldn't be there. 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:22.000 I didn't do anyva. It's not my fault. Okay, then 0:24:22.000 --> 0:24:26.280 why are you there? Because sometimes you have to defend yourself. 0:24:27.000 --> 0:24:29.359 You can really hear the frustration and contempt in his 0:24:29.440 --> 0:24:32.119 mom's voice, and to me, it sounds like Dave's just 0:24:32.200 --> 0:24:37.400