Snapped: Women Who Murder - Kathryn Sinkevitch

Episode Date: March 30, 2025

An Arizona man is shot in his garage before he is able to read the results of a paternity test.Season 31, Episode 22Originally aired: Dec 11, 2022Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on th...e Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 From Wondery, I'm Matt Ford. And I'm Alice Levine. And we're the hosts of British Scandal. And for our next series, we're taking you back to the 80s. This is Thatcher's Britain. These are the boom years. But boom is notoriously so often followed by bust. It is.
Starting point is 00:00:18 And that's the case for Asil Nadir. He built one of the UK's biggest conglomerates of the 1980s, a jewel in the FTSE 100, and he built it with just his bare hands, a fertile imagination and a whole heap of lies. Ah yes, the important ingredient. We love lies on British scandal. This sounds absolutely perfect. The only thing that could make it better would be the Prime Minister herself, maybe a trophy wife and a bonkers escape from the law on a two-seater propeller plane.
Starting point is 00:00:49 I live to serve Alice. This story has all that and more. To listen to Thatcher's favourite fraudster follow British Scandal wherever you listen to your podcasts and binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. I'm John Robbins and joining me on How Do You Coke this week is the author, activist and journalist Amanda Knox. This has been my life all along. This is my life and there is no other alternate reality that I should be living. This is it. Just this, is it. Okay. Now what? So that's How Do You Cope with me, John Robbins. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. He was a hardworking family man who left small town Ohio to seek his fortune out West.
Starting point is 00:01:46 He packed everything up that he could in his little car and set out to Arizona. There he met a blonde beauty who stole his heart. She was a little bit daring. On one of their first dates they went skydiving. She seemed like she could be a good person for him, and she was pregnant. I was excited because I was going to have a niece or a nephew. But after almost four years, their desert dreams end in a flash of violence.
Starting point is 00:02:20 He had said, holy s***, and I had heard gunshots, and then I didn't hear anything. 613, we got a subject shot in the vehicle. Investigators unearth an unexpected betrayal. She wanted him to have nothing to do with the baby if he wasn't going to be with her. The more they dig, the darker the truth becomes. He tells me that she just bit me and I had to get stitches.
Starting point is 00:02:49 He's like, I gotta leave her. Can you help me? You got the cameras put them up there, guys. We're looking at the security video, but you don't see who the driver is. During the time that her key card was being scanned, she is still sitting there eating her lunch. The phone pings near her apartment at 116 and then it shuts off. We didn't know where she was, if she was on the run, if she was going to come after any of us. MUSIC December 16, 2016. The bedroom community of Maricopa, Arizona,
Starting point is 00:03:38 sits at the edge of Phoenix's sprawling suburbs and the vast Sonoran desert. It's a little enclave that like a lot of the suburbs of the Phoenix area has has become defined when it used to just be really in the middle of nowhere. It's just before 2 30 p.m. in one of Maricopa's many subdivisions when out of nowhere an unusual sound shatters the midday quiet. We started receiving phone calls of shots fired.
Starting point is 00:04:19 The sound of gunshots ringing out startled a lot of the neighbors. They immediately get on their phones and call 911. Within minutes, two Maricopa police officers cautiously approach the location. They don't know, is this somebody who committed suicide? Is there an active shooter on the loose? Where was the shot, sir?
Starting point is 00:04:42 Right over here? Who lives here? I don't know, sir. I've never seen them. When the first units got on scene, they observed the house with an open garage door and a Lexus Sedans that was running. The officers slowly advance. Six out of thirteen, we got a subject shot in the vehicle. One of the officers could see wounds on the head where there was blood coming out and shattered glass on the left side, the driver's side of the car. Hey man, you with me?
Starting point is 00:05:25 The officer opened the door and Hey man, stay with me buddy. tried to see if the individual was able to make any kind of response. It was clear that the victim was deceased. I've got his wallet here. In the car they found his wallet and the driver's license, said Michael Agadir. And the picture on the driver's license matched the driver.
Starting point is 00:05:55 Moments later, as Maricopa homicide detectives arrive on scene, a man shows up identifying himself as Chris Grindy, Michael's longtime friend and former roommate. I got the call from Mike's sister saying, "'Chris, Chris, Chris, something's wrong. He won't answer his phone. Can you go down and take a look at what's going on there?' And I'm like, sure.
Starting point is 00:06:20 As soon as I turn the corner and see the tape up, I'm like, I need to talk to somebody. Chris is shocked to learn that Michael has been murdered. Michael wasn't involved in criminal activity. He was certainly not the kind of person that had enemies after him. Chris tells police that Michael lived alone. His sister and most of his family lived 28 hours away in Urbana, Ohio. However, his ex-girlfriend and their newborn son live nearby.
Starting point is 00:06:54 The only information I have on her is her name is Katherine Sinkovich. I remember thinking, I can't believe he's gone. He was only in my life for about five or six years, and then gone. Michael Agadir was born on July 26, 1985, in Valparaiso, Indiana. The oldest of four, Michael set an example for his younger siblings. Mike was always caring and really passionate. He was my role model and I think that rubbed off on me.
Starting point is 00:07:35 In 2002, the tight-knit Agadir family moved to Urbana, Ohio, where Michael's love of sports took hold. I spent half my life throwing the football to people, so I started throwing it around to him and he picked up on things quickly. He was part of the football team and I coached. After a year of college, Michael decided he was ready to enter the workforce. He got a job at First Ohio Mortgage Company, and then he ended up for the Chase Bank people in Columbus. In 2010, 25-year-old Michael got an opportunity he couldn't pass up. He liked Phoenix and he liked the weather weather so he interviewed with Wells Fargo.
Starting point is 00:08:27 He accepted the job, packed everything up that he could in his little car and set out to Arizona. As a parent that's your job to help them succeed but it was difficult having him that far away. having him that far away. Less than a year later, Michael's friend Chris Grindy also made the move from Ohio to Arizona and the two became roommates. I got divorced and my brother's like moving down and Mike's already out there. So one of my other calls was to him next and saying, hey, man, I'm moving out there. You want to become roommates? By 2013, Michael's future looked bright,
Starting point is 00:09:12 and he wanted someone to share it with. He told me I'm going to start doing online dating. And I'm like, go for it, dude. I believe the very first date that he ever had on that online was with Catherine. 28-year-old Catherine Sinkevich was working at a local call center in Maricopa when she met Michael online. Eventually, they met in person, and their chemistry was undeniable. I think one of the things about Catherine was that she was a little bit daring to try things.
Starting point is 00:09:51 So one of their first dates, they went skydiving. However, Michael learned that Catherine's carefree exterior masked a tragic past. Catherine's ancestry is Russian. Her family's Russian. She grew up in Southern California. And I believe that she was the youngest of eight children. Her parents were both deceased.
Starting point is 00:10:22 She found her mother dead on the kitchen floor. She was 13. I believe her one sister took her in and raised her. When it came to her painful childhood, Catherine preferred to keep the details to herself. She kept people at arm's length. She was definitely a private person. After dating for several months,
Starting point is 00:10:52 Michael took Catherine to Ohio to meet his family. I was excited because Mike was coming home and I hadn't seen him. She seemed like she could be a good person for Mike. Once back in Arizona, the couple took another big step when Catherine presented Michael with a gift, a dog they named Darwin. He had pictures of the dog and him with the dog in his cube, like the way that you would have your pictures of your child.
Starting point is 00:11:26 In 2013, Catherine moved into the Tempe home with Michael, Chris, and Darwin. Her personality was energetic. It was bubbly. She was a can-do person. She definitely wanted to take initiative. By the fall of 2015, after two and a half years together, Michael and Catherine moved into their own apartment. Mike helped her get her job at Movement Mortgage and he kind of coached her as far as getting
Starting point is 00:12:01 the job. In the spring of 2016, Michael called his family back home in Ohio to deliver some exciting news. My mom told me that Katherine was pregnant. I was excited because I was gonna have a niece or a nephew and I begged Mike for that all the time. But during her pregnancy, And I was like, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this.
Starting point is 00:12:26 I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this.
Starting point is 00:12:34 I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this.
Starting point is 00:12:42 I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I but there ended up being problems. He decided he couldn't raise a child in that environment, and decided that it was time to leave. He had taken a couple parental classes, and he was looking into buying a crib. He thought after the baby was born, they'd find some even ground. But just months later, this new father is found dead from a gunshot in his own garage.
Starting point is 00:13:18 Authorities begin a sweep of the crime scene, while investigators track down Michael's family and ex, Catherine Sinkovich. They obtained an emergency cell phone ping to figure out where Miss Sinkovich is located. There was no murder weapon, there was no gun found at the scene. The investigator could see the wound to the left side of his temple was obvious. But there's evidence that wasn't the only shot fired.
Starting point is 00:13:50 They noticed that there were three casings on the garage floor. Detectives take a closer look to find where the other two shots landed. They find that Michael was hit not once, but twice. It turns out that he was also shot once in the back. The third shot apparently missed Michael. This was a shocking event to a fairly peaceful suburb.
Starting point is 00:14:14 So something like this to have someone, you know, shot and killed inside the garage was highly unusual and startling for everyone. Coming up, the investigation uncovers shocking footage. There's a figure dressed all in black that runs very quickly up the driveway. And authorities learn the details of a harrowing phone call. I was talking to Mike. I had heard three booms. I knew there was something wrong.
Starting point is 00:14:53 On December 16th, 2016, authorities in Maricopa, Arizona, discovered the body of 31-year-old Michael Agadir in his garage. discovered the body of 31-year-old Michael Agadir in his garage. Three bullets were fired. One of the bullets struck the B pillar. Two of the other three that were fired struck Michael. One in the left side of the head, and then one that had gone through a lower part of the door and seat and was wedged in the body in the back.
Starting point is 00:15:24 Once they had the scene somewhat contained, they did a safety sweep of the house. They made sure there was no other victims inside the house or anyone who was hiding in the house. It didn't appear that there was anything missing. Nothing inside the house looked like it had been ransacked, like it was an attempted robbery. But officers do find something inside that gets their attention.
Starting point is 00:15:55 You got the cameras, put them up here, guys. They noticed there was a home surveillance system in Michael's house. in Michael's house. In order to view the footage, investigators will need permission from a judge. While waiting on the warrant, investigators talk with Michael's neighbors who have gathered outside. All I know is I was sitting in the living room with my aunt
Starting point is 00:16:21 and all I heard was pop, pop, pop. Most report that they don't know Michael, who only recently moved in. However, several do report seeing a vehicle parked in front of his house moments before the shots rang out. No, he's in a way being, he went down there and then went out. But the accounts of who was driving the van are inconsistent at best.
Starting point is 00:16:50 We had quite a few different descriptors of the driver. We had a black male, we had a black female, we had a Hispanic female, we had a white female. email. With minimal details on the driver from neighbors, investigators switch gears and take a look at the footage from Michael's security cameras. You could see a white minivan parked across the street just to the west. The van waiting across the street for a number of minutes. Then you see a subject get out of the car wearing a hoodie. They see footage of Michael's Lexus pulling into the garage.
Starting point is 00:17:40 There's a figure dressed all in black that runs very quickly up the driveway. And then approximately 11 seconds later, this subject is seen running away. In that 11 seconds, Michael was executed. Between the hoodie and the angle of the cameras, investigators can't get a look at the person's face. Authorities are still talking to potential witnesses when they finally get in touch with Michael's family in Ohio. when they finally get in touch with Michael's family in Ohio. His sister Marlee reveals horrifying details about her last conversation with Mike. I was talking to Mike through the Bluetooth in his car.
Starting point is 00:18:35 He had asked me to hold on, to switch over to the phone instead of the car. And the next thing was he had said, holy sh-t. And I had heard three gunshots. And then I didn't hear anything. I knew there was something wrong. Marlee tried calling Michael again to no avail. I knew there was something wrong. Marlee tried calling Michael again to no avail.
Starting point is 00:19:09 It was very hard for me because I'm all the way here in Ohio and I had no way to help him. So I had called my parents and my dad answered. And at the time, I told him that I had heard three booms. I was worried that if I told him that I had heard gunshots, he would think I was being dramatic. So we had called Chris Grundy to go make sure that he's OK. Later, we found out that the police were at his house
Starting point is 00:19:43 within minutes of when I heard gunshots. The detectives couldn't tell us anything over the phone. So we hopped in the car, went to my mom's house, and my mom said that they were sending a sheriff to our house. And so I knew at that point that he was gone. And so I knew at that point that he was gone. Meanwhile, detectives switch their focus back to locating Michael's ex, Catherine, and look up the make and model of her vehicle.
Starting point is 00:20:17 They discover that it's not a white minivan. They discover it's a blue car that doesn't even come close to meeting that description. Even so, investigators are still eager to speak with her. That same day, authorities tracked Katherine to a home in Mesa, just a 40-minute drive from where Michael was shot. When the initial officers arrived, they observed Katherine's vehicle, and they observed a white minivan. Lo and behold, right beside her vehicle
Starting point is 00:20:52 is a white van that meets the exact description of the van that was used by the killer. So we ran that license plate and that came back to the registered owner as a Bridget Hopkins in Mesa. When we were making contact with Catherine Sinkovich at Bridget Hopkins' house, it was a pretty tense situation. Detectives request that everyone in the house come outside. Officers have to pull everyone out for safety reasons, including Bridget, her husband, their children,
Starting point is 00:21:30 as well as Katherine and her newborn. When detectives inform Katherine of Michael's murder, her reaction takes them by surprise. One thing that struck me, she was very stoic. We asked if she and Bridget would be willing to come down and speak to us at the city of Maricopa, our police department. And they consented.
Starting point is 00:21:54 Catherine said, absolutely. When asked about her whereabouts earlier, Catherine tells investigators that she was at the mortgage company where she and Bridget both work all day. Catherine said that she got up, got ready to go to work, dropped her baby off at the babysitter's house, got to work right about 8 o'clock, was there all day.
Starting point is 00:22:20 I left at 5, picked my child up, and then goes over to Bridget's house. Law enforcement continued to ask additional questions, tried to get more details. She invokes and says, I'm not answering any further questions without an attorney present. Investigators move on to Bridget, who explains that she is Catherine's co-worker at the mortgage company and they have known each other for about a year. Bridget corroborates Catherine's alibi. We explained that there had been a homicide with Michael Agadir, who had been in a relationship
Starting point is 00:22:57 with Catherine. So we were trying to establish all the different nexuses. She was very shocked to think that we would even consider Catherine as the suspect in the murder of Michael Agadir. She insisted she went to work, she didn't leave. When was asked what her day was like, she said that she went to work, got to work around eight o'clock.
Starting point is 00:23:23 She left to go get a lunch. She came back, ate her lunch, and then went back to her desk and worked there until she got off of work at approximately 5 o'clock. Even though they have no proof Bridget's van is the one in the surveillance footage, investigators aren't taking any chances. The police had reason to suspect that that vehicle might have been involved, so they seized Bridget's van. But they can't hold on to Bridget or Catherine.
Starting point is 00:23:53 So after getting nowhere with their initial interview with Catherine, but still believing that something wasn't quite right, they went back to the family. And what they discovered really started to concern Maricopa PD and the detectives. Coming up, investigators learn disturbing details about Michael's love life. She grabbed his dog and took off with him.
Starting point is 00:24:20 It was devastating when it happened. He got permission from the owner of the house to install video cameras so that he would have proof. I'm Afua Hirsch. I'm Peter Frankopen. And in our podcast, Legacy, we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history. This season, we're talking about the singer and songwriter
Starting point is 00:24:50 John Lennon. His band, The Beatles, smashed musical conventions, caused hysterical adulation, and are still the biggest selling band of all time. But that adoration obscured a complex and combustible character. He might have been singing Give Peace a Chance, but his personal life was often far from peaceful. So who was the man behind the round glasses and how does his legacy hold up today?
Starting point is 00:25:14 What about you, Afford? What's going to ring your bell about John Lennon? Is it the man, the music? There is something about the iconography of Lennon. He's got such mystique around him and I cannot wait to dig in and separate facts from fiction and find out who he really was. And of course, he started the Russian Revolution in 1917. Oh no, that's a different Lenin altogether. Follow legacy now from wherever you get your podcasts. And binge entire seasons early and ad free on Wondery Plus. I'm Mike Bubbins.
Starting point is 00:25:43 I'm Ellis James. And I'm Steph Guerrero. And we're convinced that our podcast, The Socially Distanced Sports Bar, is going to be your new favourite comedy podcast with just a little bit of sport thrown in. You don't have to love sport, like sport or even know anything about sport to listen. Because nobody has conversations which stay on topic. And it's the same on our podcast. We might start off talking about ice hockey but end up discussing, I don't know, 1980s British sitcom Alo Alo instead.
Starting point is 00:26:10 Imagine using the word nuance in your pitch for Alo Alo. He's not cheating on his wife, he's French. It's a different culture. If you like me and Mammoth or you like Alice in Fantasy Football League then you'll love our podcast. Follow The Socially Distant Sports Bar wherever you get your podcasts. The Socially Distant Sports Bar, it's not about asymmetrical overlords. James, podcasting from his study, and you have to say that's magnificent. Investigators in Maricopa, Arizona are looking into the execution-style murder of 31-year-old
Starting point is 00:26:51 Michael Agadir. While Michael's ex, Catherine, is unwilling to talk about their relationship with investigators, they find that his loved ones have plenty to say. When Mike and Katherine first got together, he said that they could have fun together. Mike was highly intelligent, and Katherine's pretty intelligent too, so they could have conversations on that same level.
Starting point is 00:27:17 When I first met her, she really was a very nice, kind person. But just months into her relationship with Michael, Catherine's behavior took a sharp turn. She would just go off and break dishes, do crazy things, throw things around. Catherine was a very jealous person. Once she accused him of cheating on her with me, his sister, and then I think she realized how ridiculous that sounded.
Starting point is 00:27:56 And then the accusation turned into I helped him cheat on her. I helped him cheat on her. Michael's friend and former roommate Chris Grinde had a front row seat to Catherine's erratic behavior. I saw that she really wasn't this nice person, that she really was a controlling person, and she started to control his actions when I wanted to do something with him. She was a very passive-aggressive person. She would just make, you know, snide comments. At that point, said, I'm done, I'm not gonna live with her,
Starting point is 00:28:34 and I put in my notice to the landlord. Friends and families say Mike held on, even as things started to deteriorate. He always was generous about everything, so in his mind he wants to be the savior. Financially she was struggling. He stayed because he truly felt like he wanted to help her in her situation no matter what. Michael's loved ones say that the verbal abuse eventually turned physical. She had knocked him out two or three different times. She had head-butted him.
Starting point is 00:29:14 He'd tell me that they had a fight and he didn't know if he wanted to stay in the relationship. And I'm like, you don't have to stay like that, subject yourself to that kind of abuse. In March of 2016, their relationship was hanging on by a thread when Catherine revealed that she was pregnant. I remember saying, I hope you're not gonna marry her. He's like, yeah, no, that won't happen, but I definitely wanna support my child. I know that won't happen, but I definitely want to support my child. Friends and family say that not long after getting the news of Catherine's pregnancy, Michael was finally ready to break it off.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Four months after moving out, Chris got a call from Michael. He tells me that she just bit me. I had to get stitches. I'm like, wow. And he's like, I got to leave her. Can you help me? And I'm like, sure. It's just that this relationship can't go on.
Starting point is 00:30:14 This craziness can't go on. Around eight months before he was found dead, Michael took the dog, Darwin, and moved into a home in Maricopa. Catherine was furious. She hired a private investigator, found where he lived. She had to pick a time when he was gone.
Starting point is 00:30:38 The dog door was open, so all she had to do is call him. She grabbed Darwin and took off with him. It was devastating when it happened. Investigators learn that Michael had tried to take legal action of his own against Catherine. They discovered that there was an order of protection that Michael had filed in April of 2016 against his ex-girlfriend Catherine. He got permission from the owner of the house
Starting point is 00:31:07 to install video cameras so that if any other incidents would happen, that he would have proof. However, Catherine refused to let up. Following the birth of their son in October 2016, However, Katherine refused to let up. Following the birth of their son in October 2016, she launched a vicious and hurtful campaign. He was just in the process of starting to get visitations and establish his parental rights. In court, she announced that, well,
Starting point is 00:31:47 Mike wasn't the father of the baby. I never believed that. He never believed that. The family court judge determined that there would be DNA testing. In fact, Marley says when she was on the phone with Michael at the time of the murder, he was returning home from taking the test. He was going to prove that his son was his son so that hopefully he could see him soon.
Starting point is 00:32:20 In light of the new information about Catherine, investigators head to the mortgage company where she works with her friend Bridget. They check in with building security and ask to see surveillance footage from the day of the murder. And they spot a white van. We're looking at the security video of the building. We see the white minivan pulling into the parking lot. But a few hours later, the van leaves. They see Bridget's white minivan shortly thereafter leaving the parking lot at 1234.
Starting point is 00:32:56 They see Bridget's van returning at 319 in the afternoon, so a little short of three hours it was gone. in the afternoon, so a little short of three hours, it was gone. The murder happened at 2.30, and they realized that that fit into the timeline of when the van was gone, when the murder happened, and when the van returned to the workplace. Our confidence was really high
Starting point is 00:33:23 that this was the same van used in the homicide. But who was driving the van? You can see the van, but with the angle and the way it's driving, you don't see who the driver is. We were wondering if Bridget was involved in this homicide. Movement Mortgage uses a key card to log their people in and out of the building. We have Bridget's key card again leaving at 12 33 and then returning at 3 20. That is in the time frame that Michael was murdered.
Starting point is 00:33:59 Bridget told them she never left that day. Suddenly their suspicion was focused directly on Bridget told them she never left that day. Suddenly their suspicion was focused directly on Bridget. Coming up, investigators uncover the identity of the mysterious driver. They decided they should look at any interior cameras. They're absolutely shocked at what they find. And more evidence surfaces from the mortgage office. She had done research about how to turn her phone off
Starting point is 00:34:26 or hide it so that you could not be tracked. December 19th, 2016. Three days after the murder of Michael Agadir, authorities visit the workplace of Michael's ex-girlfriend Catherine Sinkovich. Investigators are honing in on Catherine's co-worker and close friend Bridget whose key card shows her leaving work shortly before Michael's murder, contrary to what she told police. They decided they should look at any interior cameras.
Starting point is 00:35:09 That way they could actually establish that Bridget did in fact leave, that it was her key card in her hand when she left. Investigators view the interior footage of the cubicles. They're absolutely shocked at what they find. During the time that her key card was being scanned, Bridget is still sitting there, eating her lunch. When they look at the footage,
Starting point is 00:35:33 it's not Bridget that's leaving the building, it's Catherine who's leaving the building, and she's using Bridget's key card. Michael was killed around 2.30 in the afternoon, and then Catherine is seen walking right back into Movement Morgange at 3.20. They're obviously piecing that together that it was Catherine driving Bridget's van.
Starting point is 00:36:00 Over the next 24 hours, investigators work to find more evidence connecting Katherine to the murder. Detectives obtain a warrant for her cell phone records. By tracking the pings, they know that she left work shortly after 1230. The phone pings near her apartment at 116 and then it shuts off. The next time the phone pings is at 322 when she's back at movement mortgage. Her phone went dark during the time of Michael's murder.
Starting point is 00:36:35 It appears that Catherine powered her phone off during the time the murder was committed, a suspicion that is bolstered by a search of her work computer. It showed that she had done research about how to turn her phone off or hide it so that you could not be tracked. Four days after the murder, detectives returned to the mortgage company. They learned Catherine didn't show up for work, but Bridget is there.
Starting point is 00:37:07 Law enforcement has a suspect, Katherine. What they don't know is Bridget's involvement. So what they decide to do is to press Bridget. And they start confronting her with the fact that Katherine used her ID card, Katherine used her vehicle, used her keys to drive. And she started breaking down and crying.
Starting point is 00:37:31 She didn't know that Catherine had taken her van and her car to go in and out. Bridget admits that she and Katherine bonded over their troubled relationships. She says Katherine was determined to keep Michael away from the baby. Katherine wanted him to have nothing to do with the baby if he wasn't going to be with her. She tried to show herself as being a victim of the relationship, saying that Michael was at fault and she was the victim. Bridget disclosed to me that Catherine had told her that we're gonna leave these guys
Starting point is 00:38:10 and we're gonna raise our kids together. But now that she sees Catherine's promises were empty, she feels betrayed. Catherine was only using Bridget as a means to an end. So the detectives ask her whether she'll participate in the confrontation call. The confrontation call is when a friend calls the suspect while law enforcement is sitting there recording
Starting point is 00:38:39 the entire conversation. Detectives listen in as Bridget makes the call. During the confrontation call, Bridget expresses her great concern about the fact that, you know, the police think that she may have been in on this. And Catherine doesn't seem too concerned. All Sinkovich would sit there and say was, they can't prove that if I did or did not do this.
Starting point is 00:39:08 Then she finally disconnected from the call from Bridget. Ultimately, because she was willing to participate in the call, they eventually believed Bridget that she didn't know about what Catherine has done. After the call, Bridget is released and is not charged with any crime. But Catherine's statements during the call add to the mounting evidence against her. With the surveillance video, the cell phone evidence, and then the confrontation call, we've got Catherine in Bridget's van.
Starting point is 00:39:37 We know we've got motive. They had enough for an arrest warrant for Catherine. After being released on the 17th, Catherine was not heard from.. They had enough for an arrest warrant for Catherine. After being released on the 17th, Catherine was not heard from. Police got a warrant to search her residence. Police search warrant, open the door! Armed with the warrant, Maricopa police
Starting point is 00:40:03 set out to arrest Catherine. Police search warrant, Maricopa police set out to arrest Katherine. She's not there. The baby's not there. We are looking for Katherine and she's trying to run from us. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were tracking the movement. They were developing a plan. Coming up, investigators receive a lead on Catherine's whereabouts. Police receive a call from a friend of hers. They said that she is on her way to his house.
Starting point is 00:40:49 But will it be too late? She had license plates that she could have swapped out. After a five-day investigation into the murder of Michael Agadir, authorities are poised to arrest his ex, Catherine Sinkovich. Only Catherine has disappeared into thin air, leaving everyone on edge. We all knew that she did it, but know we didn't know where she was if she was on the run if she was gonna come after any of us. One day after the warrant is issued investigators get a break. Police receive a call from a friend and former co-worker of Katherine says that he's been in contact with her on the phone. He had just received a phone call from Katherine asking him if he would allow her to stay at
Starting point is 00:41:50 his place. But she said, don't look into Michael's death, which then caused him to want to know why. So he's concerned that she might come there and kill him as well. Law enforcement rushes to the home in Avondale. The fugitive task force team rushed in and arrested her. The police sees her vehicle. And she had license plates that she could have swapped out to put on her vehicle.
Starting point is 00:42:21 Was clearly indicia that she was fleeing. Authorities also find Catherine's newborn son safe and unharmed. Police called in the Arizona Department of Child Safety. They took custody of the little baby. At no time did she ever express any concern for the child. She was very cold. Back at the station, Katherine maintains her silence
Starting point is 00:42:51 and refuses to give a statement. Katherine's arrest is good news for Michael's family, but nothing compares to what comes next. The paternity results came back that Michael, in fact, was the baby's father. Two days after the arrest, Michael's mom, Leslie, was able to take custody of the child. There were some crazy feelings that get bounced around.
Starting point is 00:43:20 That was Michael's son, but it's, it's also Catherine Sinkovich's son. You know, dealing with the whole situation of losing his dad. We need Michael's son as much as he needs us, no doubt about that. In May 2019, Catherine's trial begins. Prosecutors are aware of the obstacles they face. Obviously, we wish we had the murder weapon. We don't have a confession. Almost all evidence is circumstantial. New lab results from Bridget's minivan
Starting point is 00:43:58 bolster the prosecution's case. It did come back and show that there was significant gunshot residue in the minivan. We have her taking a vehicle that was not hers. We have her driving to her residence during the middle of a workday when she said she was working, turned her phone off. We have GSR results, gunshot residue results. P.S. The prosecutors allege that on December 16, 2016, Catherine stole Bridget's ID card and van keys, snuck away from work, waited for Michael to return home, and then fired three shots into his car.
Starting point is 00:44:55 The final straw for her violence was him pushing for paternity. The defense pretty much put up their argument that beyond reasonable doubt was not met because there was no murder weapon and there was no real eyewitness to to the killing. On May 7th 2019 the jury delivers its verdict. Guilty. She was sentenced to natural life in prison without parole. I absolutely think she got what she deserved. But I still think that's getting off a little easier. You know, she can have her family visit her, call and talk to her,
Starting point is 00:45:33 but at least she's not able to do it to someone else. The trial brings an end to a painful chapter for the Agadir family, but their grief and their love for Michael live on. There's never closure. There is figuring out what you have to do, how you have to be to be able to move on and live. We felt that if Mike had a choice, you know, he probably would have willingly given his life to save his son, but by killing Mike, she gave Mike his wish. You know, he wanted
Starting point is 00:46:21 her, wanted the baby away from her, wanted the baby to be safe. He's been with us since the day he was eight weeks old. Following the trial, Catherine appealed her conviction. In October 2020, the court upheld its ruling. She is currently serving a life sentence in Arizona at Perryville Prison. Abuse is never okay. If you or someone you love is in an abusive relationship, there is help available.
Starting point is 00:46:49 Call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. In the early hours of December 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson stepped out onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan. This assailant pulls out a weapon and starts firing at him. We're talking about the CEO of the biggest private health insurance corporation in the world and the suspect he's been identified as Luigi Nicholas man, Johnny became one
Starting point is 00:47:17 of the most divisive figures in modern criminal history was targeted premeditated and meant to sow terror. I'm Jesse Weber host of Luigi produced by law and crime and twist this is more than a true crime investigation we explore a uniquely American moment that could change the country forever. He's awoken the people to a true issue. Finally maybe this would lead rich and powerful people to
Starting point is 00:47:44 acknowledge the barbaric nature of our healthcare system. Listen to Law and Crime's Luigi exclusively on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify, or Apple podcasts.

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