Going West: True Crime - Gretchen Anthony // 284

Episode Date: March 4, 2023

In March of 2020, a Florida woman came down with an acute case of Covid–or so her friends and family thought. When they couldn’t get ahold of her, they filed a missing persons report. Then, a search of her home revealed evidence of bloodstains and bleach, and there was still no sign of her. This is the story of Gretchen Anthony. BONUS EPISODES patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Merle's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172414438/merle-james-crain 2. 48 Hours: https://www.amazon.com/COVID-Cover-Up-Searching-Gretchen-Anthony/dp/B08HS6WYLT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1J8LSYVVD2QQY&keywords=gretchen+anthony&qid=1676757446&s=instant-video&sprefix=gretchen+ant%2Cinstant-video%2C133&sr=1-1 3. WPTV: https://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/jupiter/jupiter-man-sentenced-to-38-years-behind-bars-for-wifes-kidnapping-murder4. 5. Gretchen's Obituary: https://www.northwoodfh.com/obituary/gretchen-anthony 6. Palm Beach Post: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2021/01/14/jupiter-man-says-mental-illness-led-him-kill-estranged-wife-gretchen-anthony/4162235001/ 7. CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gretchen-anthony-murder-husband-cover-up-covid-19/ 8. Asbury Park Press: https://www.newspapers.com/image/144350809/?terms=gretchen%20crain&match=1 9. Info Bae: https://www.infobae.com/historias/2022/08/30/el-personal-trainer-que-uso-el-covid-para-tapar-un-femicidio-gritos-desgarradores-y-un-video-revelador/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans, I'm your host Teef. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, thank you so much for tuning in today and thank you to Ashley for recommending today's case This one has such a weird spin on it and it's honestly such a baffling story that I can't believe I had not heard of it until Ashley sent it in So thank you so much again Ashley and just to everybody else who is recommending cases every day and every week Yeah, this is one of those cases where I I mean, it's kind of interesting because during the pandemic, I felt like there were a lot less true crime cases happening because, you know, obviously a lot of people were quarantining and stuff like that,

but this one actually takes place during the pandemic and you'll see the details actually connect to that as well. Yeah, that's what really makes this story so unique is that it happened at the cusp of the pandemic and even relates to COVID in particular and events that came shortly before it. It's just a very, very shocking tale. Well, let's get into today's story. This is episode 284 of Going West, so let's get into it. In March of 2020, a Florida woman came down with an acute case of COVID, or so her friends and family thought. When they couldn't get a hold of her, they filed a missing persons report.

Then, a surge of her home revealed evidence of blood stains and bleach, and there was still no sign of her. When police got a hold of her home security camera footage, they knew exactly who was behind her disappearance and probable murder. This is the story of Gretchen Stoutencrain was born on January 8, 1969 in Doyle's Town, Pennsylvania, which is about 40 miles or 64 kilometers north of the big city of Philadelphia to parents Jane and Mural Crane. Gretchen grew up alongside a twin brother named Jeffrey and a sister named Sarah. Now, eventually, the family did relocate out of Pennsylvania to the neighboring state of New Jersey. And in 1987, Gretchen graduated from

Shore Regional High School in Long Branch, New Jersey. Gretchen, who is very creative and sharp, went on to attend fashion school at Wood Toby Coburn, which is a private career college in New York City. She then moved back to Long Branch, New Jersey to attend Monmouth University. And after graduating from Monmouth, she began teaching at Wall Township Intermediate School in Wall, New Jersey.

A lifelong friend of hers named Kelly Hannah called Gretchen a radiant, caring, loving spirit with a beautiful laugh. Very much ready for a change of pace from the harsh East Coast weather to which she had become accustomed, Gretchen headed south to Florida in 2005 at the age of 36 for a change of pace and scenery. Gretchen continued working in Florida or teaching in Florida, working at both the WISE School and Palm Beach Gardens and the Wellington Preparatory School and Lake Worth. She then moved away from teaching and took up a job in human resources for an electrical company which she reportedly loved.

She considered her co-workers basically a second family and she was also very close friends with her boss. Gretchen met and married a man named Jeff Dreyer and the family settled into Jupiter, Florida, which is a beach side city of about 60,000 people just north of West Palm Beach. Gretchen, who maintained an active and very athletic lifestyle, loved being able to go outside every day of the year and head to the beach, and especially loved paddle boarding. In 2008, 39-year-old Gretchen and her husband Jeff welcomed a daughter, and according to her obituary, it said, quote, she was a devoted mother and would say that her daughter was

her greatest accomplishment. But unfortunately, this marriage between Gretchen and Jeff didn't really last very long, and shortly after the birth of their daughter, the two split up. However, they reportedly had a very loving and supportive co-parenting relationship, centering their daughter and her well-being, and both parents stayed close by. So it was just about as good as that type of situation can get. Exactly, they were great co-parents. So when Gretchen's daughter was two, she met a man at a gym that she frequented, and

this man was 39-year-old David Anthony, and he was a trainer there. David was a tall, handsome, charming former college basketball player who was born and raised in West Palm Beach. While his exterior seemed tough and confident, others remember him as a bit insecure and also a bit shy, a trait which complemented Gretchen's warm, outspoken personality. Gretchen's friend Kelly remembered, quote, he was the young hot trainer for sure. He was intelligent, well-spoken. He was charming.

She didn't have to tell anybody that there was an attraction there. There were absolute sparks. There was magic there. No question about it. David's boss, tap of the Hopkins who owned and operated the Orange Theory Fitness where David was a personal trainer, agreed, saying, quote, he has a huge presence.

And Tapeth even claimed that his good looks and charm brought many new clients to the gym, and people also love this guy as a trainer. So by the end of 2014, Gretchen and David were engaged. One friend commented on a picture of the couple saying, quote, you guys fit so perfectly together. Gretchen claimed that David was a loving and supportive partner and stepfather and loved stepping into that role for her daughter.

They met when Gretchen's daughter was just about two years old, so David was like a constant presence in her childhood and knew her almost from the very beginning. In 2015, after a short engagement, Gretchen and David flew across the country and married at a 24-hour Elvis chapel in Las Vegas. From the outside, they seemed to have a very idyllic life and relationship, but by the end of 2019, so after four years of marriage and even more years together, with conflict plaguing them, they decided to separate. And thus, David moved out of their Florida townhouse. Now shortly after on January 8, 2020, Gretchen turned 51 years old and seemed to be enjoying

her newfound freedom. She was staying very active as always and had even started dating again. Now when the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down in March of 2020, Gretchen remained very positive, which her friends had come to count on her for. Her final Facebook post on March 19, 2020, among dozens of photos of harmony. Then, four days later, on Monday, March 23, 2020, with hundreds of positive COVID cases plaguing the state, Gretchen texted some friends and family that she had tested positive, and that she believed it to be a serious case. Her friend Kelly remembered being shocked

that this virus had affected Gretchen so severely because she seemed to be the picture of perfect health. Gretchen stopped answering her phone and wasn't making phone calls, communicating only via text. She texted at least five different friends and family members including her daughter and mother-in-law about her diagnosis, giving them various, including her daughter and mother-in-law about her diagnosis, giving them various information about her treatment

and telling them that she would keep them updated. Gretchen texted her daughter, who was at her dad's house, good morning, tested positive for coronavirus early this morning. That means I have to stay here for at least two weeks. It also means our house is quarantined for two weeks. Don't worry, this medical facility is the best place that I can be. All they do is treat coronavirus cases.

Her daughter responded with, okay, I really hope you get better, followed by a heart and a sad face emoji. So that same day, when Gretchen hadn't reported for work nor given warning that she wouldn't be showing up, her boss and close friend Don Paris texted her quote, ''Gretchen, are you okay?'' and she did not receive a response. And let's talk about how weird that is for a second because she had texted her daughter,

her mother-in-law, and three other people in her life. But didn't let her work know. Yeah, and that is really weird to me because of this wonderful and respectful and responsible woman that she seems to be. Why would she text a bunch of people and not her work? Like, that just doesn't seem right. Yeah, it already seems a bit suspicious here. So later that day, still awaiting a response. Don texted her again, quote,

Hi, please let me know if you need anything. I'm really worried about you. The following morning, which was Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Gretchen responded that she had checked into the emergency room with a fever of 102 degrees and low oxygen, and that she had even fainted. In various other text messages to concerned loved ones, she detailed the mercurial state of her health, including one text where she claimed that she was on a ventilator.

She also told multiple people that her doctors were encouraging her to only communicate with immediate family. I don't know what kind of doctors would say that to anyone. What do they have to do with... No. Yeah, what's the point? No, why would they have anything to do with who she texts makes no sense? So she explained that she was being treated at a medical facility run by centers for disease control in Belgrade, Florida, which is an hour away.

Her text read, Tested positive for coronavirus early this morning. That's the bad news, but I'm at a CDC coronavirus treatment facility that only handles COVID cases. The good news is that my blood type has potential to be used in the cure. Not sure if you remember me saying that I have a strain of mad cow disease in my blood. Well, that strain is significant in gathering more answers to find a cure. For safety purposes, Dr. Sinclair and her team

are strongly recommending that we maintain contact with immediate family members only. I'm using my mom. But the weird thing here, guys, is that there was no CDC facility in Belgrade. Yeah, that's the big twist here. So things are already not looking great. So Gretchen told her ex-husband Jeff, who was at home with her daughter, that if he

didn't hear from her, it was because she had been placed in a medically-induced coma. As if she's just expecting that to happen, by the way, if you don't hear from me, I'm in a coma? Yeah, but here's the thing, Jeff was immediately skeptical about this, citing that Gretchen's text, which seemed hastily composed and contained multiple errors and abbreviations, did not sound like Gretchen. They did, however, sound like someone that she knew, her estranged husband, David. So her family and friends who were shocked and confused at this swift and dire turn of

events called in reinforcements requesting a welfare check from the police. Now the 911 caller said, quote, I need to get help from my friend that's missing. I don't know how to put it into words, but I know she's in very grave danger right now. So first, investigators reached out to the Jupiter Medical Center, which had no record of her being a COVID patient there. And in fact, she had not visited that place since 2008. They did, however, find Gretchen's black mini-cooper parked in the parking lot outside of the center.

And inside her car, was her purse still perched on the floor of the front passenger seat. So please pull the security camera footage from the parking lot and found no evidence of Gretchen having parked her car there. But what they did see was a tall male figure dressed in dark clothing, emerging and then walking away from her car. Which is so creepy, and that in itself, as if there weren't so many other red flags in this case, like this is like, okay, something is, something is off here.

Yeah, now they're really starting to catch on. So, please begin canvassing the neighborhood searching for her, and when they did, they came upon another disturbing clue. They were approached by Gretchen's neighbor, who said that she heard a blood-curdling scream on the morning of Saturday, March 21, 2020. Two days before text came from Gretchen's phone, regarding a supposed case of COVID. In the neighbor's words, they said, quote, I heard a really serious woman scream,

like just screaming, like she was being attacked. And then I heard her scream, no. And then I heard something about, it hurts, stop it. The scream was really serious. Now, obviously, hindsight is 2020, like I understand that maybe the neighbor thought that someone was messing around or something and that it probably wasn't serious but it is always

best to call the police if you heard anything like this that sounds worrisome. I've called the police a couple times in my life about things that ended up being nothing nefarious but really seemed to be. And both times, the officers told me that they were glad I called just in case. Even one of them was this really weird situation that happened last summer, where we thought that someone was in a car accident on the hill above us, remember that?

Oh yeah, I do remember that. And they were like laying on their horn, and we were like, did something happen up there? We were so creeped out. Yeah, there was like lights flashing, and they were hunking their horns. Yeah, so we called police because we were just like, is there something life threatening something happen up there? We were so creeped out. Yeah, there was like lights flashing and they were hunking their horns. Yeah, so we called police because we were just like, is there something life threatening going on up there?

We don't know. Yeah, and then just a few minutes later, they drove past and they're like, it was so creepy though, because they were like, we don't see anybody up here. It was like a very ghostly moment for us. That was really creepy. But anyway, they had also told me,

thank you for calling us anyway, because if it was something we would have wanted to know. So I guess I wonder, like if the neighbor had called at the time and officers had come by her house, what they would have discovered then, days before they actually did check on Gretchen. Right, and I'm not trying to put any blame on this neighbor

and say that they did anything wrong because obviously they didn't, but the way that they're describing it to police is that it sounded very serious. Yeah. So it's like, you would think maybe you would want to call, but you know. Right. But that's why I said to, like, I understand if maybe at the time they didn't, they're like, oh, maybe it's just somebody messing around, which I think we all kind of have that feeling

when we see or hear something. Oh, well, what if, what if they're just playing, you they're just playing yeah what if i'm looking silly by you know like uh... you're right what if i look like i'm blowing this out of proportion right that's what is that let's let's rather have that then you actually skipping out on something that matters you know such as a little f.y. now this neighbor seemed to be the only one that heard anything but another

neighbor reported observing a soapy substance Now, this neighbor seemed to be the only one that heard anything, but another neighbor reported observing a soapy substance flowing out from beneath her garage door around the same time. When police gained entry into Gretchen's townhouse, they knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong for her. While there was still no sign of Gretchen herself, the key had been broken off in the door that led from the patio to the garage. On top of this, they were overwhelmed by the smell of a cleaning agent likely bleach,

and there were remnants of it on the floor of the garage as well. Broken glass could be found on Gretchen's bed and a framed picture had fallen in the hallway. There was a towel with what looked like blood on it, although it appeared that someone had attempted to clean it off. So Gretchen did actually have security cameras placed around the house, but they had been torn down, which obviously is terrifying in itself. Somebody's trying to stop people from viewing whatever is going on inside this house. Yeah, trying to potentially destroy evidence. But luckily the images and video from the camera would still have been uploaded to the cloud before it was torn down.

So investigators were thrilled at the prospect of having actual footage to work with. When police asked her neighbors if they had seen anyone in the vicinity of her home that day, multiple neighbors were called seeing a black Nissan pickup truck on the same morning that the neighbor heard the screaming, which was, you know, a couple days before she was texting people that she had COVID. But guess who drove a black Nissan pickup truck? Ratchet's estranged husband, David Anthony. So before that quick break, we were talking about how neighbors saw this black Nissan pickup truck that police found out belonged to David Anthony in the neighborhood on that Saturday morning when the neighbor heard those screams

So it was at this point that investigators became aware of Gretchen having filed for divorce giving David a perceived motive to hurt her After the couple separated he moved back in with his mother But let's talk about David for just a second. So David had grown up in Palm Beach Gardens with a single mother and struggled as a child. Contrary to his physique and his adulthood, he was reportedly a bit overweight and was bullied for it. He appeared swollen and withdrawn, and as a teenager he exhibited mood swings and signs of depression. And his mother believed him to possibly have bipolar disorder,

but David refused medication and treatment for this. High school was a turning point for him as he became devoted to playing basketball, even earning a scholarship to play in college. But this time in his life was also plagued by conflict because investigators learned that while he was in school at Eckerd College and St. Petersburg, Florida, David had held up a blockbuster video store and assaulted a police officer.

Detectives also discovered that David Anthony wasn't even his real name. It was actually David Anthony Deutsch. He had changed it after his legal troubles. David's boss, again who was Tabitha Hopkins, remembered him as a volatile employee, and she had had so many issues with him that she actually had to fire him twice. Tabitha remembered, quote, he was an excellent orange theory coach, but his moods were up and down, and he wasn't manageable. He was difficult. I cared about him so much because he was so talented. He was so great.

But it was a constant chess game with him. In 2017, Tabitha said, his mood swings had become so unpredictable and scary that she had to fire him. But when he took her out to coffee and plight her with stories about how he was changing and working on himself, she reluctantly agreed to give him a second chance. But after he and Gretchen separated, he began spiraling downward once again. Two months before Gretchen's disappearance, as many of us know, on January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and eight other people died in a tragic helicopter

crash in Calabasas, California. And after this happened, David seemed to snap. Now, Kobe was David's idol, so much so that he even named his dog Kobe. And Tabitha remembers him openly sobbing in and around the gym in the days following the crash, even breaking down while leading classes. But when other employees offered to cover for him, he exploded at them. Tabitha remembered, quote, when Kobe Bryant passed away, something happened. You would have thought that he and Kobe were best friends.

He was traumatized by it. I mean, I get this to a certain extent, I'm hoping we're both about to say something. Yeah, I get this to a certain extent, but it's like, come on, man, you didn't even, you didn't know Kobe Bryant, yeah, I get it, that it's your idol. I was sad too, and a lot of people were very sad.

I mean, I think there was also such a, such a, a freak thing to happen. Yeah. Especially with his daughter dying as well, like that was such a sad time for everybody, especially with his daughter dying as well. Like that was such a sad time for everybody, whether you're a fan or not. Like that was such a shocking thing to happen. And so devastating that so many people lost their lives. But yeah, just the fact that his whole being shifted after this in a negative way

is what really stands out here. Yeah, it's like he's basically losing his mind over the situation and can't do his job and he's yelling at employees and it's just too much. And this continued on for weeks because even almost a month later on February 24th, 2020, David missed work all together. And this was a day that he was supposed to open the gym up and lead a class early in the morning, which left a bunch of gym members waiting outside the facility. When Tabitha approached him about this, he screamed at her and she was forced to terminate his employment for good.

With his career and marriage just in shambles, David was out of control. And Tabitha had actually texted Gretchen a warning that he was struggling and that she needed to stay away from him. And Gretchen agreed that he had been acting, quote, crazy. Tabitha said, there's no in-between with him. Basically, you never knew what David you were going to get. And that was the last exchange that the two women had. And it was at this time that Gretchen had security cameras installed in her house just in case.

Yes, so she actually put those security cameras in her house, I think, because of David. Yeah, which is so sad and terrifying that she feels like she has to do that just based on his erratic behavior. Right. So it's her and everybody else. So one week before Gretchen was last seen on March 14th, 2020, David was apprehended by police after multiple reports that he was following teenage girls around a shopping mall. They attempted to arrest him and David fought back against them physically while trying to escape with Kobe, whom he left in a car while he was inside the mall. Remember his dog?

Yeah. He spent four days in jail for this offense before being released on bail. After this, police visited his mother's house hoping to speak with him. David's mother, who was very compliant and helpful, actually claimed that she had been in touch with Gretchen about her illness, showing police the text that she had been sent from Gretchen about how she was reportedly in this CDC facility being treated for COVID.

When asked where David was, his mother said that he had gone to Costa Rica. Now, according to her, on March 24, 2020, three days after Gretchen had last been seen, David had packed up his truck, including his dog, Kobe, and driven away from Jupiter, Florida. They were thankfully able to track him through his location on his phone and Gretchen's as well. So both phones were currently pinging near Pensacola, Florida, which is about 600 miles or almost 1,000 kilometers

away from where they lived. So it's a sketchy. I mean, he's saying he's going to Costa Rica after his wife is like nowhere to be found, saying that she's at a CDC facility, but nobody can find any trace of that being true. And then her car was actually found somewhere else and now both of their phones are being tracked in Pensacola 600 miles away like now.

So investigators followed closely behind him making the trek to Pensacola and they picked up a trail of clues that David had left that would lead them right to Gretchen. Along the way, David had stopped at multiple pawn shops and jewelry stores and was later discovered to have been gradually selling Gretchen's jewelry. This guy's such a piece of shit. He's trying really hard. He's trying really hard. So apparently he told one shopkeeper that it had belonged to a relative

who had just died from COVID-19. Yeah, this seems to be like his whole thing. Just COVID-19. Yeah, he's a whole, his whole excuse for everything. So and it's interesting because that this was so early, and this was in March, this was before you and I got laid off from our jobs and many other people did, because I think that happened in April.

Yeah. And so this is very early to be so well-versed on how things supposedly go. And just using this as an excuse so quickly when it's like just coming up, you know, before just on the cusp of things really like breaking down. Right. So David alone appeared on the security camera footage

and there was no sign of Gretchen. At this point, it had been six days since anyone had seen her. And that day, which was Friday, March 27, 2020, Gretchen and David's phones started pinging in Pecos, Texas, and detectives issued a bulletin to Texas State officers to be on the lookout for David's black Nissan pickup truck and corresponding license plate. Because now it looks like he might be going to Mexico and he's trying to flee the country. Right.

So after that, the phones were detected and lost Cruces, New Mexico, only about an hour away from the border of Mexico. So it did appear that he was making a run for it. But you know, potentially not to Costa Rica like his mom had thought. Yeah, so I wonder if that was just like a ruse or if he did plan to go to Costa Rica after getting into Mexico. Sure, I mean that could have been the scenario.

So luckily, Los Cruces Local Police spotted his vehicle after being in contact with police and Jupiter and they pulled him over, guns drawn to question him. When they asked about his wife's whereabouts, David said, quote, last I heard she was in a CDC facility getting treatment for coronavirus. Unfortunately, with nothing tying him directly to Gretchen's disappearance, police were forced to release him. They did, however, seize his truck

and both of their phones, hoping to uncover more information. So now, he has basically nowhere to go. Well, also, he's saying, oh, last night I heard she was in, she had COVID, like, and you have her phone, dude? Yeah, pretty weird.

But I guess he could, you know, catch a taxi or whatever, or an uber somewhere, but he doesn't have his phone. It's also March of 2020, and I don't know if things like that were really operating very much, but yeah, at this point, he does not have a truck. Or a phone.

Right, or a phone, yes, you're right. So meanwhile, back in Jupiter, Florida, the security camera footage was released, and what police found was nothing short of haunting. On the day that Gretchen was last seen, again Saturday, March 21st, 2020, David could be seen lurking on her patio, dressed in black and pacing and circles, waiting for her, like an animal stalking its prey. Gretchen appeared on the patio and David, towering over her at six feet seven inches tall, put his hand over her mouth and forced her into the garage. What happened then is a mystery because the security

camera in the garage was pointing away from them but audio footage from gretchen's Alexa was also recovered and she could be heard screaming for Alexa to call 911 so i did read that i think alexa can do that but you have to specifically program her to do it which gretchen had not uh... but definitely understandable why she thinks that alexic possibly would be able to do it, which Gretchen had not, but definitely understandable why she thinks that

Alexa possibly would be able to do that. But unfortunately in this scenario, it did not work out. Yeah, but so sad that we know that she was trying to have Alexa do that for her. So later, the garage security camera footage showed David dressed in a blue t-shirt, tennis shoes, a black sweater, black pants, and a baseball cap, looking directly into the camera while loading Gretchen's car with bags and unknown items. He then locks eyes with the camera before tearing it down, making us know that he was behind all of that.

With the release of the footage, even with a few minutes on account for, police knew exactly what David had done to gretchen. Now hoping that he was still in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Detective Jared Kennerson flew from Jupiter to Las Cruces to scour the area for David. They checked anywhere that they suspected him of hiding out like hotels, motels, and homeless encampments, and pursued the streets just hoping to catch him on foot. They eventually did apprehend him and he was walking his dog, Kobe, and approaching him, Detective Kennererson told David, quote,

there's a warrant for your arrest, to which David replied, is totally fainting surprise for what. And then the detective basically said, homicide. And David looked shocked and said, for who? Detective Kenerson said very bluntly, who do you think? Interesting that he's trying to deny his involvement. It's like somebody's dead what? Yeah, it's like dude, you're caught, man.

Like they were on security footage, bro. Yeah. You have her phone. Like, he did a terrible job. Yeah, he really did. So when being questioned at the police station, David explained that he and Gretchen had actually been traveling together up until they reached El Paso, Texas.

He explained that they had been driving together just in separate vehicles, and that she had just, quote, bolted, and he no longer knew where she was headed. Well, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, she just took off on me. He explained that Gretchen was on the run because of suspected legal activity at the company at which she worked, and that she was worried that someone was after her. He claimed going off the grid together was her idea. And when detectives intimated that David himself had sent the text detailing her struggle with

COVID-19, telling him that there was no record of her having been hospitalized, David retorted calmly that that didn't mean anything. He then claimed that Gretchen had orchestrated all of that to cover her tracks and enlisted David's help. He swore up and down that she was still alive and even challenged police to show him the video evidence of him handling her dead body, which as we said, due to the angle of the security camera in the garage, police did not have. So after hours of questioning, David refused to go any further without a lawyer.

So David's dog, Kobe, was taken to a shelter and put up for adoption, and we are happy to report that he was quickly adopted by a new family. Love to hear it. Yeah, we do. And David was extra-dited back to Florida and officially charged with second-degree murder, although they still did not have Gretchen's body. Police then posed a settlement to David and his lawyers, promising a reduced sentence if he pled guilty to second-degree murder and told them where Gretchen's body was. David agreed to this and told them where Gretchen's body was. David agreed to this and they recovered Gretchen's body the same day. She had been hastily buried in a shallow makeshift grave and a small wooded area behind a Walmart.

And somehow, no one had seen or heard him disposing of her body. In January of 2021, so the following year, David was sentenced to 38 years in prison, minus the 295 days that he had already served. David offered a very flimsy explanation as to why he did what he did, again using COVID as an excuse for his behavior, saying, quote, My illusions saw the COVID pandemic as an end of the world prophecy. An armageddon that I felt compelled to escape no matter the cost. Instead of being a man, I chose to be a coward. I tried to steal what wasn't mine. And in the process,

I ended a life. Her life had value, her life had meaning, and I stole that life. What do you say in a situation like this? How can my words have any weight given my crime? When will the pain end, knowing that I am the cause of it? Coming from me, what words can console a family who has lost someone so dear so tragically? I disgrace my family and brought shame upon my name. There is no excuse for what I've done. Gretchen was beautiful, kind, smart, giving, and she loved with her whole heart.

She was someone who brought light into this dark world. She tried so hard to help me shake out my own darkness and to see all the beautiful things that life has to offer. He continued through tears, quote, it hurts so much, but it will never compare to the hurt I've caused to everyone. Yeah, and you know, that's really nice and all, but still the fact that you're trying to blame this scenario on COVID and this end of world, end of time's prophecy, I mean, I'm glad that you're taking responsibility, but that still doesn't mean that you're not a piece of shit. It's also kind of hard to weigh how truthful this is, you know, and how sincere this is,

because for somebody who can commit something like that, are you just spewing bullshit, are you just trying to make people feel sorry for you, or do you really mean this? Well, that's what it feels like to me because here's the thing, when he killed her, he had so much time to turn himself in to go to the police if he was really remorseful,

but what did he do? He stole her jewelry. He took off to fucking Texas and pawned her stuff and tried to get away. And we know that from the security footage, like you told us earlier, that he was pacing outside waiting for her. So that was his time to plan to think, to stop himself and he didn't. Yeah, and also he spun this web of lies about her having COVID and being in the hospital and all these things texting her family these things. Man, I just, I don't believe you.

And as you guys can imagine, the courtroom, especially Gretchen's family, was not buying this either. Gretchen's sister Sarah read a victim impact statement to David saying, quote, Gretchen's sister Sarah read a victim impact statement to David saying, quote, You used what you did to negotiate something for yourself. You are pure evil. You stole a mother away from her child, a daughter away from her mother. You are a monster, you are a coward, you can never be forgiven. You killed Gretchen in the same garage where she saved your life.

And according to Sarah, this was in reference to an accident, or one of their cars had actually fallen on top of him in the garage that was attached to the townhouse, and Grechin was the one to come to his rescue. Sarah told David, quote, you are a monster. Grechin's legacy lives on in her beloved daughter, who still resides in Jupiter with her father. Sarasad quote, her biggest joy in life was her daughter. She loved her with every ounce of her being. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Going West.

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and also, sorry about so many uh, POS's that I dropped in this episode, but just how I'm feeling. Yeah, I think I dropped maybe three. You know what? In the end, when you were saying, I don't believe you, I was like, man, you haven't said piece of shit once. Oh no, I did. Oh you did?

Man, where was I? I don't know. In your own world. Damn, all right. But we will have an episode for you guys on Tuesday. Yeah, thank you guys for tuning into this crazy story. Again, thank you so much to Ashley for recommending it. I just feel so much for Gretchen and her family

for such a ruthless murder that didn't have to happen of just a guy who lost his fucking mind. Yeah, extremely senseless. It's like just because your life is going in the shitter doesn't mean you need to ruin everybody else's life. Yeah, and take down such a wonderful woman with you. Exactly. Well, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Make sure you share it. Also, thank you to anybody who's been leaving us reviews. We really appreciate that. Yeah, it helps get the show more recognized, which are always trying to do, but we appreciate every one of you who sticks with us and keeps listening to our episodes, it means the world to us.

Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

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