EXPLORE WITH US - A Case With The Most INSANE Twist You've Ever Heard: The Case of Lori Isenberg

Episode Date: April 26, 2023

A case with the most INSANE twist you've ever heard...The following podcast episode is not legal advice. Do not rely on the information in this presentation without speaking to a licensed attorney.No one discussed in these videos has been formally diagnosed by EWU and our psychological analysis is based on the general behaviors and traits of the people discussed.

911, what's the address to your emergency? I'm on the lake. I'm sorry, I can't understand you. What's the address? I'm on the lake, but I don't know where. Are you out in a boat? He's in the water? At some point before this 911 call, a tragic accident occurred.

Lori Eisenberg's husband, Larry, disappeared into the freezing water. However, as investigators searched tirelessly for the missing man, They were shocked by a dark secret that came bubbling up to the surface. Prior to this horrific ordeal, 68-year-old Larry and 66-year-old Lori live their lives together as prominent members of the Cougar Gulch community of Cordeline, Idaho. Larry and Lori each had several children from previous relationships, and those close to the couple reported that they never argued and were always complimenting each other. This detail makes what happens next all the more heartbreaking.

On the morning of February 13, 2018, Larry and Lori set off for a sunrise boat ride on Lake Cordillane. But before departing, Larry sent his daughter a photo of the sunrise. Larry also messaged one of his good friends that morning and mentioned not feeling well enough to fish. However, the couple still went ahead with their plans. Then, just a few hours later, the Cootney County Sheriff's Office received that frantic 911 call at 1025 a.m.

You're out in a boat. What? Yeah. Lori's voice sounds panicked. When someone is in fight or flight mode, respiration increases, and mucus membranes dry up. This dryness includes the vocal cords, which can affect the sound of someone's voice.

Then, Lori gave the operator more information about what had happened to her husband. He was driving him. Well, he stood up fast, and he said, the motor that something drove with the motor and so then he

unsipped the cover thing and went to the front of the boat he turned towards me they'd say something like something about the electric motor and he's so

the majority of the chilling body cam footage in this case has never been seen before the footage has been analyzed by a qualified team including a licensed attorney and former criminal prosecutor and a former licensed professional counselor. Officers arrived at the closest shoreline just after 11 a.m.

and sent a rescue fireboat to retrieve Lori and bring her back to shore for medical attention. Deputies pressed Lori for any information she held regarding Larry's last known location. Hey, Lori, my name is Deputy Baum, and I'm with the sheriff's office. I'm just going to try to ask you some questions so we can kind of figure out where to go from here. Okay. Can you tell me, how did you get the bloody note? I fell down. You fell down.

So she fell against the door. I was trying to grab him. Okay. Can you tell me about how far you were when he fell in? Closer to this side, I think. Okay, closer to this side, okay? Did you see any houses or big trees or landmarks? I'm getting in the water.

Okay. It's okay. And he said he didn't feel good and he was doing things weird and then he went up to do the motor and the motor wasn't broken. broke and it was the other motor. Okay. And then I said, why are you doing that? And he turned to look

of me and his face just looked. Okay. It looked awful. And then it just started to fall. And I tried to get the door open and get to him and I grabbed him. I fell. Okay.

Okay. Lori stated that she didn't call 911 until one and a half to two hours after Larry fell overboard because she said she couldn't find a phone during that time. The distraught wife also claimed that Larry broke the ignition switch just before the incident,

which meant that she had to manually get the motor running again. Then, Lori said she zoomed around the area looking for Larry, but chose not to drive the boat back to shore out of fear that she'd lose track of the location, so instead she repeatedly honked the boat's horn in hopes of finding help. It wasn't until she retrieved a blanket to stay warm that she finally found Larry's cell phone and called 911. However, she said the phone fell into the lake after making that call. During this interaction, the officer noted that Lori's emotions regarding the help of law enforcement

appeared to be genuine, desperate, and appreciative. After leaving Lori with the medics again, the officer pulled aside another deputy and informed him that although this appeared to be a tragic accident, they still needed to investigate any possible foul play. Cases like this, even if there's some suspicions of these people in there, because it could be totally legit what they said, and it could be something with you. The officer understands. the importance of building rapport, as he would be more likely to get information from someone if they feel they can trust him. Officers also discuss the difficulty of finding Larry in the water based on the clothes he'd been wearing and their belief that he was likely already dead.

Because especially after this long, but over two hours? We're in recovery anyways. She's right there. I think she knows until this point. I think so too, but just in case. Finally, medical personnel assisted Lori to an awaiting ambulance for further observation. Next, officers had the Eisenberg's boat towed to a nearby boat launch for evaluation. Upon boarding the vessel, detectives immediately noticed blood spatter in several areas, presumably from Lori's nosebleed. Despite Lori's claims about the ignition switch breaking just before Larry fell into the water, officers located the killed switch and lanyard on the floor.

Investigators found this odd because the killed. switch and lanyard must be attached to the ignition in order for the motor to run. Furthermore, the ignition key had clearly been bent, suggesting that there may have been some kind of struggle. Deputies also found various other keys and Lori's purse, which contained a near-empty naked juice bottle. The items were all seized as evidence, and the boat was then transported to a nearby parking bay for storage. The truck that Larry and Lori had used to tow the boat was also examined. While they didn't find anything particularly out of the ordinary, one officer noted Lori's misplaced cell phone in addition to an unknown spilled liquid in the cup holder

and a bottle of allergy medication with the active ingredient diphynhydramine in the center console, while this type of over-the-counter antihistamine is commonly used to treat allergies, fevers, and cold. It's also known to cause drowsiness. Now, stick a pen in that little detail because it will be very important later. Unfortunately, Lori's lack of accurate knowledge regarding Larry's last known location resulted in a vast search area. Therefore, it was decided that the rescue diver should be dismissed from the scene, and a sonar team should be utilized instead. Search and rescue helicopters also flew back and forth over the expanse of lake, in hopes of spotting Larry, but to no avail. Later that same day, Sonar Rescue team spent three and a half hours on the frigid lake searching for Larry until it was too dark.

to see. However, at this point, the effort was being treated as a recovery mission rather than rescue, as surviving in such harsh conditions would have been nearly impossible. Meanwhile, an officer met with Lori at the hospital where she'd been treated for the nosebleed in an effort to establish a more defined search area by showing her a map of the lake. What we're trying to gather is the best location that we can as far as where you guys were where you think, and it's Larry, right? Initially, Lori's left hand is relaxed and open on her leg. As the detective mentions her husband's name, she clasps her hands, which could be an adapter behavior to help herself feel better.

However, it wouldn't be abnormal for someone in a situation like this to feel stress, especially if they genuinely couldn't remember the exact location that their spouse fell into the water. The deputy also asked Lori for more information regarding how Larry fell into the water, and what exactly had happened with the boat's motor. So let's fast forward up to the point where he starts having his medical issue. Kind of explain that part to me. He had said something about, you know, I'm sort of waking up and he said something about the resort. I think he said there's the resort. And then he stood up. And he sort of, matter of fact, I think it broke the key. He sort of leaned on that key,

sort of odd the way he did it. When asked about the bent ignition key, Lori appeared, confused, as though she was trying to come up with an explanation. Next, Lori explained how she initially attempted to search for her husband in the water, but she still didn't seem to have her story straight. So I was driving around, and then I realized I was turned around, because I didn't remember then I sort of stopped and said, stop going to stop. And thinking back on it now, I think I may have been turned around. I was trying to think about this.

It seems to me we were closer to that I now know that. the east side where it's more trees and less houses, because there weren't a lot of houses, I don't think, that there were a lot of houses right there. But they were sort of far away, and I wasn't looking far away. Sure. I have no idea how long, because I didn't have my phone with me, and his phone is usually in his pockets,

so I assumed his phone was gone. And then... How long did it feel? I mean, obviously, a minute can feel like a lifetime in those situations, but... It could have been a half hour, 45 minutes. Okay. When the detective asks how long it felt like, Lori rubs her hands on her legs and then clasps her hands.

These are both adapter signs that indicate she's likely feeling stressed by this question. So our sonar team is out there right now. So essentially what happens when we have a big search area like this, our sonar team has to find him first before the dive team. So I'm a member of our dive team. So I will go get Larry. but we can't search an area like that because of the depth. As divers, we can't go that deep for more than about six minutes at a time.

Lori is rubbing her hands together as she asked if they found anything. Another sign of stress. Okay, so they're in our impound lot, as well as your cell phone and the car keys, which were in the truck. Because this is a criminal investigation at this point, we have to keep those until we clear it up and say, okay, no foul play. That's our job to make sure that gets done correctly. You have to keep myself on that whole day. Yes. Five days later, on February 18th, detectives called Lori and asked her to accompany the sonar team on the lake,

as their efforts to locate Larry had still been unsuccessful. While she agreed, Lori couldn't recall any specific landmarks and seemed to offer minimal help to the searchers. This lack of information struck investigators as odd, but even more strange, was her behavior. Throughout the search, Lori would joke around and laugh before suddenly breaking down into tears for no reason. The officer also noticed that she would abruptly stop crying to continue conversations. But, of course, everyone grieves differently, so Lori wasn't considered a suspect in Larry's disappearance. Emotions are very complex. After someone loses a loved one, they may feel guilty for smiling or laughing, because they believe that because of their loss, they shouldn't be happy.

Grief often ebbs and flows, and there may be happy moments followed by very sad ones. However, later that day, the Cootney County Sheriff's Office received two separate calls concerning suspicious activity at Larry and Lori's residence, a remote cabin 20 minutes southwest of town, which they had once called Our Paradise. The callers, both neighbors of the Eisenberg, said that Lori was acting out of character and appeared to have family members helping move all their belongings out of the house, which Lori told them she planned to sell immediately. Furthermore, the neighbors reported unusual sounds coming from the home at night

that they had never heard before Larry's disappearance. While nothing ever came of these supposed strange noises, the reports certainly piqued the interest of investigators. Then on February 21st, a shocking revelation was made that sent the case in a whole new direction. The North Idaho Housing Coalition, where Lori had proudly worked for years, announced that she would no longer be employed due to possible fraudulent activity. As it turns out, the coalition accountant noticed some irregularities and ordered an internal audit, citing the initial theft value to be around $500,000.

This news came as a major shock to those who knew Lori because she had no prior criminal record, and according to law enforcement, seemed like the most normal person you could encounter. Sensing that something wasn't quite right, Larry's children requested to speak with investigators about their concerns. So I don't know why they'd rearrange it to take the boat out in the winter and it's icier and shit. I mean, I'm just trying to park the camper today. That's where I'm soaking wet. It's just a mess and a disaster. Lori's always cold. I just, I don't understand why they'd be out on the lake in the first place. This isn't when they'd be fishing or doing that. Then, Larry's son described Lori's strange behavior in the past few days since his father's

disappearance. The second or third sentence out of her mouth today when I saw her for the first time coming over to help was how we're going to start debuting everything up and I'm gone. Maybe it's just my grief because I've never dealt with grief, but it literally just doesn't feel right. It's important to trust your intuition and gut feelings. It's possible that Larry's son has picked up on some subtle body language cues from Lori that are sending alarm bells ringing in his own head. He's likely spent a decent amount of.

of time with Lori prior to this incident, so he has a good idea of what her typical or baseline behavior is. He may recognize that she's acting different from her baseline, and he may suspect that her altered behavior isn't just a result of grief. Well, and I can tell you what she told me to kind of make some of it makes sense. And you tell me if it's far off, if you've heard something different. Essentially, she told me that they got out to the lake, they wanted to see the sunrise. He took a picture of the Sunn-Eyzed and sent it to his daughter. And was that you? And you received that? Yes. She said about 6.41 on the morning.

The officer tried to explain Lori's side of the story, but Larry's children still weren't buying it. They often would go voting, just throughout, but I don't know why. They were out there being so cold. Apparently they were sick. We didn't know they were sick.

It's just something isn't sitting. Next, the detective explained how the sonar teams were working to find Larry. As far as they, the search goes, they'll check the high probability area. And then if that yields no results after a while, because they'll make passes this way,

then they make passes this way, then they do diagonal passes, because if you imagine the way a sonar is, it's like shining a flashlight, and they're looking for shadows that would reflect a person. At the end of their conversation, the detective reaffirmed his theory that Lori had nothing to do with Larry's disappearance.

In my personal opinion, it's not serious enough to where I would, think that some sort of homicide would occur from it. And again, that is a personal opinion. That is not a professional statement of the sheriff's office. After Larry's family had left, the detectives summarized their conversation with another officer. I went and spoke with the wife yesterday

because after seeing the stuff in the boat and they're like, yeah, there's stuff. And then speaking with her, it's an accident. And when you looked at the boat, it was where, I mean, with the blood, no fishing gear, the key was bent, almost looked like a struggle, and you're like, and then it's just too much to go, nah, but I just said, hey, explain it to me. She answered every question without me asking the question.

She answered my questions. Still, the next day, a search warrant was issued for the Eisenberg home relating to Lori's fraud accusations. The search of Larry and Laurie's home revealed several disturbing pieces of evidence, including black latex gloves and paper towels with what appeared to be dried blood on them, a Ziploc bag containing an unknown white powder and more suspected dried blood on a concrete floor outside the residence. The lead detective working the case interviewed Laurie right away at her home

and confronted her with their findings. She claimed the blood they found on the gloves and paper towels was her own, but insisted that she had no knowledge of the other presumed bloodstains. Forensic testing later revealed that the reddish marks on the concrete floor had actually been caused by a wood stain that had dripped while staining boards, but that wasn't enough to keep Lori off the hook. On February 27th, Lori was arrested without incident on 40 counts of forgery and one count of grand theft. Lori's bail was set at $75,000 and was posted the following day by one of her daughters,

but a horrifying discovery was still right around the corner. On March 1st, 16 days after Larry vanished into the icy water, a man's body was discovered floating face down near the shoreline of Lake Cordilline. roughly three miles from where Lori said Larry went overboard. The property owner told dispatch that the body hadn't been there when they last checked two days before. Officers also didn't see any signs of suspicious trauma on the body, and based on the victim's clothing, they felt confident that they had finally located Larry. Authorities then moved the body out of the water for further examination.

The following day, an autopsy confirmed the body is Larry, but that's not all the medical examiner found. Toxicological testing revealed lethal levels of diphenhydramine and antihistamine with sedative properties in Larry's system. While overdoses of this drug are rare, experts agree that this drug is fast acting and can be fatal when too much is ingested in a short period. Moreover, the medical examiner's finding suggested that Larry had likely died before entering the water, as there were no signs of drowning or a stroke, as Lori has claimed. As well, his body appeared to have ceased metabolic activity before. entering the water. Authorities chose not to release the autopsy results immediately, but in an earlier statement given to police, Lori mentioned that her husband took numerous pills each day and was often

forgetful when it came to taking the correct dosage. It's possible that Lori was being honest about Larry's forgetfulness with his pills. An alternative theory is that she was providing this information in advance just in case his body was recovered, and the drugs were found in a system. Lorry also claimed that Larry had recently been feeling sick with flu-like symptoms, but no one else seemed to recall Larry being under the weather when speaking directly to him. The only time Larry mentioned being sick was in the text he had sent to his friend the morning he disappeared. Now, that's assuming the message had actually come from Larry, of course. A few days later, deputies interviewed Lori's son regarding some suspicious phone activity, and unlike Larry's children, he was very

supportive of his mother. Despite not having Larry's cell phone, an expert analyst. A lot of identify that it had last pined off a tower near Lori's son's home after Larry's disappearance, which was odd given Lori said it had fallen into the lake on February 13th. Still, her son denied ever being in possession of the device, saying, I swear on my life, on my children's life, I have no knowledge of that phone. I love Larry and I will do anything to help you guys. When someone makes such an extreme statement, such as swearing on their life, the life of a family member, or even referencing God,

This can sometimes be an indicator of deception. They may be trying to convince you to believe them by attempting to dress up the lie. However, it's important to not take a single indicator as proof that someone is lying. You need to look at the whole picture and multiple indicators, not just one. This type of language is also only a red flag if you get a baseline of how they speak normally. If someone uses this type of language when discussing innocuous things, it wouldn't be considered a red flag. However, if they only start adding this type of language during touchy topics, it would be something to pay attention to. Then, around late May, Lori missed two court dates related to the fraud case and was reported to be on the lamb.

As a result, a $500,000 warrant was issued for her arrest, with bounty hunters hot on her trail. In the meantime, investigators continued questioning those close to Larry and Lori, and before long, cracks in their perfect relationship began to emerge. For example, one source remarked that while they appeared happy together, Larry had made several comments in recent months about Lori's excessive spending habits, specifically about how much she helped her children financially. Investigators also learned that Lori had a history of betrayal, as she had allegedly been unfaithful to her first husband with three different men, one of which was Larry, not to mention her disloyalty to the Coalition Board of Directors, who had treated her very well over the years. detectives also uncovered handwritten changes to Larry's will that had reportedly been made by Lori, roughly a month before his passing. The modifications left 80% of Larry's estate to Lori's children, and only 20% to his own biological children. Money, drugs, and love are the three most common motives for murder,

and anyone with any of these motives in relation to the victim will be looked at closely. With Lori still on the run, authorities release the autopsy results to the public, and labeled the case a full-fledged homicide investigation. While medical professionals typically advise between 100 and a thousand nanograms of diphenhydramine for adults, the report stated that Larry's body contained a staggering 7,100 nanograms of the drug at the time of his death. Authorities even interviewed Larry's doctor to see if they had noticed any signs of an imminent stroke or other medical anomalies. Still, they reported he was the healthiest he'd been in his adult life. The doctor also commented that diphynhydramine would not have been prescribed or suggested to Larry, given his age.

Based on all the evidence gathered, investigators theorized that Lori had sent Larry's daughter the text message that morning before poisoning Larry by mixing the drug in the bottle of naked juice found aboard the boat, although that assumption has not been publicly verified. Then, after succumbing to the effect of the diphynhydramine toxicity, he fell overboard just offshore from his recovery site. They also believed that Lori intentionally used the trolling motor to drive the boat away from that location before calling 911. The remaining question was, why? Neither possessed life insurance so that was ruled out as a motive. However, detectives learned that if Larry died, Lori would become the benefactor of their estate,

thus allowing her to pay the restitution required for her criminal theft. They also discern from speaking with friends and family that at the time of his death, Larry didn't know what Lori had been doing at the North Idaho Housing Coalition and that he would have been very upset upon finding out about her criminal behavior. Her alleged motive of financial gain was potentially confirmed when a source close to the family, believed to be one of Lori's children, told investigators that when they asked her why she had stolen the money from the North Idaho Housing Coalition, she stated,

I did it for you guys because I'm trying to help you guys out. What am I supposed to do when my daughters need help and are crying? I did it for you guys. Here, Lori is refusing to take responsibility for her own actions and instead is blaming her children. It's possible that she felt judgment from her kids about what she did, so she attempted to manipulate them into feeling grateful by claiming that she only took it for them.

Finally, in July, after two months on the run, Lori turned herself into the Cootney County Sheriff's Office. It's believed she'd been staying with family in California during this time. Of course, investigators were eager to speak with Lori regarding the suspected murder of her husband, but they had to wait until the fraud case was settled in court. Six months later, Lori entered a guilty plea to three counts of wire fraud and one count of federal program theft. She was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Following an extensive investigation, Lori's four daughters also entered guilty pleas for single counts of conspiracy

to commit federal program theft. They were each sentenced to house arrest and probation, with over $50,000 to be paid in fines. Following her sentencing, Lori was interviewed about Larry's suspicious death, and detective started by giving her a rundown of the story they had so far. You got sent to the lake early that morning, gone and bow. That's the way he had a stroke and then fell in the water. Is that fairly accurate as far as the course of events? I thought he had a stroke. I didn't know what was wrong. There is a significant delay in Lori responding to the detective's question. behavioral pauses can be indicators of deception,

but it does depend on the context of the question. Some questions require thought, while other questions should lead to a fairly quick response. Lori has likely talked about what happened that day multiple times by this point, so if her story was true, this should have been a fairly easy question to answer. Then detectives got right down to the hard questions.

So the end result is, quite frankly, did you kill Larry or did you kill Larry? And that's what we got to dial the facts in to support one way or another. Prior to the detective asking if she killed Larry, Lori's body was still. However, as soon as he mentioned the possibility that she was involved in Larry's death, her foot started tapping, which is likely an anchor point movement signaling her anxiety. When someone is sitting in a chair, their body is anchored to the floor in three areas, buttocks, back, and feet.

If there's movement in any of these areas after a question is, asked, it could indicate that the person is feeling stressed. They also asked her directly about the results of Larry's autopsy. So then we come to the part where Larry is autopsied in a detoxicology unit. And there is a large, large quantity of dithin-highamine, aka Venetil, aka a. I really wouldn't be a cough medicine. It's pretty much a Benadryl situation. Any ideas?

Yeah. Despite her denial of any involvement in her husband's death, detectives continue to press her about other incriminating pieces of evidence. There's a lot of things within your phone records. There's a lot of things within your Facebook records. You've got searches about depth charts. Can you explain that? No.

I start asking me in questions like that. I should have a right to hear you. After shutting down the interview, Lori expressed confusion over the information being spread by local newspapers. Because I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't know. Updings that have come up, I've never, I don't know where people are coming up with these things. In an effort to keep the interview going, detectives asked Lori again if she could explain the

suspicious activity they uncovered from her phone's internet history during a trip she and Larry had taken to Florida shortly before his death. Your research and drowning articles, moaning accidents, and so forth. And then on 28th, you had left to go south. Lori then remained silent as the detectives returned to discussing Larry's cause of death. He would have definitely, based on everything we hear, and by your own words, his strive to be healthy that he would have contacted somebody. Lori, for all intents of purposes, it looks like you might have had some.

something to do with Larry's death. Everybody that I talked to talks of how much of a picture perfect relationship you guys and how much has loved each other. And so Lori appears to be close to tears as the detectives say that

others reported Lori and Larry loved each other. She starts picking at her pants, likely an adapt a reaction to reduce her stress. Nevertheless, her motive was crystal clear to detectives. What is there Larry, or Lori, pardon me, points to a concern of Larry finding out and, in a lack of a better work,

taking care of that problem before he did. Finally, in February 2020, two years after Larry's death, Lori was subsequently charged with first-degree murder. She entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder one year later, meaning she believed herself innocent, but felt confident that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to convict her if she stood trial. So in May 2021, 67-year-old Lori appeared in court for sentencing. Prosecutors laid out the evidence to show that Lori had premeditated the murder of her husband to avoid further consequences of her embezzlement scheme. Still, she refused to admit any wrongdoing and painted a very different picture of that morning's events for the court. A bizarre story she hadn't yet

told investigators. According to Lori, she had intended to take the Diphon Hydrameen herself, but unbeknownst to her, Larry consumed it while she was asleep on the boat. Unfortunately for Lori, the judge didn't buy her story, and as a result, she was sentenced to life in prison with 30 years fixed.