Sword and Scale - Episode 258

Episode Date: February 19, 2024

Micheal Redlick was a high-powered sports executive in his mid-sixties living with his kids and much younger wife, Danielle. To onlookers, the Redlick family seemed to have it all, but inside their gorgeous multi-million dollar home, misery had been brewing for decades and it all imploded on January 11, 2018.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. That's tomorrow and that is it for us today and we will leave you with a... I can't do it. We'll do it live. We'll do it live! F*** it! Do it live!

I'll write it and we'll do it live! F***ing thing sucks! This This is Season 11, Episode 258 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. වවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවව� Welcome back, sassholes. Uh, so that didn't go as planned. This episode was supposed to mark the launch of our new website, but uh, when you're dealing with such a complex application that interacts with so many other applications, let's just put it this way. Technology's hard. So we have a few more things to button up before launch,

but it's coming. In the meantime though, there's plenty of sword and scale stories available just for you. Let's get to it, shall we? It was June 14th, 2022 in the pristine Winter Park, Florida courthouse. Outside the sun was shining and birds were chirping as they do. But inside the air conditioned building, a 48 year old housewife and mother of two, Daniel Redlich, was on trial for murdering her husband, Michael.

It was day four of the highly publicized trial as the judge addressed the attorneys in court. Ms. Conlon, Mr. Parnell, are you ready to proceed at this point? It's 11, 20. Do you have a witness lined up ready to proceed at this point? It's 11-20. Do you have a witness lined up ready to go now? We do, Ms. Redlich. Daniel Redlich sat behind her defense team, wearing the same stoic face she had for the last four days. Her salt and pepper hair was twisted up into a bun on the top of her head.

She got up and made her way to the witness stand. The judge then turned to Danielle. My understanding is that you are going to be testifying in your own defense. Is that right? Yes. Do you understand that an individual has a constitutional right, not to testify? Also, you have a right to testify. And if you decide to testify, I will read an instruction to the jury where I will tell them that they need to judge your testimony with the same

weight, well not with the same weight, but in the same manner in which they judge the credibility of the other witnesses. Any questions about that? No. So are you prepared at this point to make a decision on whether you want to testify on your own defense? Yes, I will testify. That is your decision to testify?

Yes, ma'am. Daniel's case had become a media spectacle. Yes, I will testify. That is your decision to testify. Yes, ma'am. Danielle's case had become a media spectacle. Cameras were everywhere. Reporters hovered in the back row. Her children were no longer speaking to her. She had been in jail for the last three years. Her husband was dead.

But Danielle was sitting on the witness stand because of what happened on January 11th of 2019. Okay. Okay. And why do you believe he's deceased? Because he's... I just... he's stiff and he... I just wondered if he might have a heart attack on him. Okay. Did you just find him? No, actually. What happened last night?

It happened last night? Correct. Danielle had called 911 at 9.28 a.m. on January 12, claiming that her husband died the night before. He's 65. Okay. Hold on one second. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, So did you find him this morning? Because I know you said that you believed it happened last night.

Did you see him last night? Was he okay or was? He was not okay last night. We had altercations and I had to have himself and I ran into the bathroom and then I came out. I tried to help him. I thought he was tried to help him. I thought he was lying in the water. You say he was the best.

I tried to help him out. Correct. Yes. Alright. And then I tried to help him. And I woke up sitting up next to him. And I've been trying to figure out what to do. Right. I got you.

I'm going to get you some help, huh? According to Danielle, she and Michael had been fighting the previous evening. This was a common occurrence. Their marriage had been on the rocks for years and it didn't help that alcohol was used as fuel to amp up the intensity of their verbal and physical fights. Are there any weapons on scene now? Oh, nice.

Nice. So, okay, he asked you this. So did he stab himself last night and he packed last night and you just didn't know what to do? Correct I believe so yes. Okay. Were you all drinking? He was. He was. Yes he was. And the altercation was the night before too, but I left the house and took my shoulder with me because he was dancing then too. Were your kids there last night during this altercation? No, they were not.

They were not here, and they're not here now. Danielle and Michael had been married for 17 years and had two children together. Sawyer, who was 10, and Jaden, who was fifteen. On the night of Michael's murder, both kids were having sleepovers at their friends' houses. The Red Lake family lived in a beautiful, Mediterranean-style home in the wealthy suburb of Winter Park. Their front yard was manicured with palm trees, lush grass, and a big circular driveway that housed three cars. Alexis SUV, Alexis sedan, and an Audi.

Inside the house was bright and airy. Tall white columns stood against the terracotta tile, an elegant decor. Out back there was a swimming pool and a lounge area, while across the street was a sparkling lake. Needless to say, this wasn't the kind of neighborhood Was it a heart attack or do you think it was due to the stabbing that he passed away? Probably the stabbing triggered it, I guess. I don't know. It's a shoulder wound. You say it's a shoulder wound? Right.

When the detectives arrived at the house, they found Michael lying face up on the floor in a pair of jeans and black socks. His arms were stretched out beside him like Jesus on the cross. He had a wound in his left shoulder. Michael's blood had dried around his body and on the white walls. But the majority of it had been mopped up with hand towels that were crumbled beside them. There were thick smears of blood throughout the home leading from Michael into the master bedroom and through the hallways. All the trails led to a crusty

pile of bathroom towels and the front entrance next to a mop and bucket. It was as though someone had tried desperately to clean the crime scene, then had just thrown in the towel. Literally. So it's just you and him here right now, right? And your children aren't there? No, we're not. Okay.

No, we're not. The large serrated knife that Danielle said Michael had stabbed himself with was still on the kitchen floor covered in blood. There were three more bloody knives in the kitchen sink. I actually tilted me and tried to suffocate me first. I actually went for the knife and he was screaming, what are you going to do, do a stab me. He grabbed it. That's when he did it in emotion. And I ran out of the room because I'm on probation. I was scared to death.

Danielle was on probation for battery on an officer and disorderly intoxication after she got in a fight with a friend on an Uber ride last January. When the police arrived on the scene, Danielle was drunk and she fought when the officers tried to restrain her. The embarrassing scene ended after she bit a police officer in the hand. Danielle had been on probation for a year. about how he was going to send me to jail and all that stuff. I was just trying to stay away from him. I heard some moaning and stuff and I was scared. I finally went to check on him. And I could see that he was out of it.

And I was flipping on his blood and it was heavily, heavily bloody. So I tried to, he was out of it. I could see he was already, I was trying to get him bounce him out. Is there a reason why you didn't call last night? Yeah, I'm on probation and I was moving to play and then he didn't get any way to believe me.

I was just trying to get him to wake up. And I was exhausted after I was fallowfully I tried to hurt myself this morning. It doesn't look good for me. The emergency people are here. Okay. I'm going to go ahead and speak with them. Pardon? Go ahead and speak with them. You're going to speak with them? Yeah.

Okay. When the police walked in, they first saw Danielle. She was wearing black and white. She was wearing black and white. She was wearing black and white. She was wearing black and white. Pardon? Go ahead and speak with them. You're going to speak with them? Yeah. Okay. When the police walked in, they first saw Danielle.

She was wearing black and her dark brown hair was wild and messy. She had vomit and blood all over her shirt. Danielle wasn't lying. She had tried to hurt herself. Danielle had hacked deep, jagged cuts into her wrists. But she had cut across, not down. Her wounds would not be fatal. Danielle was taken to the hospital to tend to her wrists and the various bruising and marks all over her. She said she didn't want

to speak with the police unless she had a lawyer present. And she was let go. A few days later, the police would be back, though, for a buckle swap. They weren't buying Danielle's story. They believed that she was the one who murdered Michael and now they were back at her door with warrants. Right now we have a search warrant for your DNA so I'm just going to read that to you, okay? Danielle listened as the officer read off her sheet of paper for five long minutes. Then she got frustrated.

Property seized under this warrant shall be brought before the court and in proper jurisdiction to be disposed of. I did not murder my husband. Please, I don't understand his jargon. A parody to law upon request. Am I clear that you're saying the saliva, when I tried to, when there was resuscitation done, that that second degree murder? No, I'm collecting saliva standards from you as is in this warrant for to be tested. Because of the resuscitation?

Because of other evidence that we have collected. I don't understand. A few days after that, the cops were back, and this time they arrested Danielle for second degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of her husband, Michael Redlich. But it would be years before Danielle found herself on the witness stand.

By that time, her name would be infamous, and rumors about her and Michael would fly from their upper crust social circles, and into the bloodthirsty media who were ready to eat her alive. We're weird creatures, man. We monitor our sleep, we track our fitness goals, and maintain daily to-do lists to stay organized. But why do we overlook our trash? Meet Lomi, the world's first smart waste device. It transforms your food waste into all-natural fertilizer and cuts your trash in half, revolutionizing the way we handle our food waste. In just four hours, Lomi transforms almost anything you eat into nutrient-rich plant

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When the police showed up at the couple's prestigious home in Winter Park, they discovered Danielle covered in vomit and blood. She had cut open her wrists and tried to kill herself. She was rushed to the hospital and Michael was pronounced dead at the scene. Danielle and Michael had been married for almost 20 years, but their relationship had started in a very unconventional way. When did you first meet Michael? Um, I think it was like 1996.

I was about 22, 23 years old. What were the circumstances of you meeting him? Well, I actually met him through my mother. He and I came together under kind of unique circumstances, but prior to us, he was actually dating my mother. Yeah, you heard that right. Danielle met her husband, Michael, when he was dating and eventually married to her mother.

So when they fell in love, Michael was Danielle's stepfather. So was Michael your stepfather at one point? I guess technically, however, I didn't look at him that way. So how do we go from stepdad to something else? My mother and my stepfather had split up after 20 years. And my mom met Michael, and they started dating. And she discovered shortly after they were dating that she had an aggressive stage for breast cancer. And she only had after they were dating that she had an aggressive stage 4

breast cancer. And she only had so long to live. And so they got married in Vegas. And within three to six months after that, she passed away. Michael married Danielle's mother knowing she was terminally ill to help her out with insurance so she would be fully covered through her cancer treatments. So after my mother passed, the two younger children were in high school, my younger

brother and sister, and they were living in the home with Michael and my mother. And so after she passed, my younger brother went to live with my stepfather back with him and my mother asked me if I wanted to move in that he would continue to rent the home that they were renting so that my sister could at least finish another year of high school where she was. And so I agreed and I was working and going to school at the time and that's kind of how things got started. We were just friends. What was he doing? What was his employment at that time? I think he was working for the Cavaliers, the Cleveland Cavaliers at that point.

Basketball franchise? Yes, but then switched over to Cleveland Browns. Michael had such great insurance and income because he was a high-powered executive handling corporate sponsorship and sales for various major teams all over the country. He traveled a lot and was well respected in his field of expertise. Danielle moved in to help with her younger siblings and ease the transition after her mother's death. That's when the romance started between her and Michael. I was working and he was encouraging me professionally and sort of became friendly,

was very supportive, you know, there's time of loss for both of us when we sort of bonded. And eventually it turned into a romantic relationship. I was going to school and working part-time at one point, or at that time, and he started coming up to the place that I worked. I was a bartender at night, so he started coming up to all the shifts that I was working and just visiting with me. And after that, he started inviting me to do things, more things together, and we sort of, and I grew to enjoy it. And he was kind of worldly and smart. So these are new and exciting things for me. So at some point, it turned into a romantic relationship.

They lived together and played house while Danielle took care of her sister. But the relationship was kept behind closed doors. Then, Michael got a big job offer. He was pretty ambitious with his career at that point. He had practiced law for 13 years and went back to school later in life to pursue his passions in sports. And so, he started to work for, you know, Cleo Brown's and the Cavaliers and professional sports teams. And he was looking for other opportunities and he was moving up in the industry pretty quickly. So there was an opportunity that came upon him to move with the Memphis Grizzlies

and NBA team in Memphis, Tennessee. And he was excited about it and he actually got the job and it was a big move up for him. At the time when he got the Memphis job, were you guys living together? We were. He asked me to up for him. At the time when he got the Memphis job, were you guys living together? We were. He asked me to move with him,

but at that point I hadn't really disclosed to my family that we were actually seeing each other. So I wasn't entirely comfortable with it, just because he had been with my mother and it was just kind of a little bit weird. So I told him no, that I wanted to also stay back with my entire family, lived in Cleveland. So I wasn't willing to do that at that point.

Daniel wasn't ready to admit to her family what was going on between her and Michael, but they were still seeing each other and their bond grew deeper, if not more twisted. He was buying me plane tickets just about every weekend and so he was flying me to Memphis and show me around. And so I think after a year of that, one time he picked me up at the airport and he said he had a surprise and he took me to a place called Mud Island where it's a beautiful neighborhood

on the Mississippi River in Memphis. And he pulled up to a home and he went inside and he said, I bought this for us. It was a beautiful house, it had a pool and it was on the river. And so from there, I went ahead and made the decision to go ahead and move to Memphis. Danielle and Michael began their life together, leaving the memory of being stepfather and

stepdaughter back in Cleveland, where I guess things like that belong. Danielle's family didn't take the news that well, and had a hard time seeing the two together, understandably. When they moved to Memphis, Michael began working as the vice president of corporate sales for the basketball team the Memphis Grizzlies. Go Grizzlies. Go Grizzlies. There he reconnected with an old college friend, Anthony Barone Jr., who was an executive at the franchise. Anthony and Michael went way back. He went back to grad school in 42, so he was kind of a free spirit. He was dating a trapeze artist in grad school in 96. I mean, he was just kind of an out there guy.

Everyone knew the scandalous story of how Danielle and Michael got together. And even Anthony wondered if they ever talked about it or if this strange beginning was part of the tension in their relationship, because it was no secret that their union was filled with tension. I wouldn't ever paint a picture that they were just honky-dory all the time. They were, it was, whenever he showed up, he would hear a story about them in a battle about something. I think they went to counseling together, which I'm not mistaken. And I would always bring it up to him that, are you guys addressing the issue that that

was your mom? And he's like, no, we don't talk about that because they kind of explain that away and justify it in their own heads. And I'm like, I was always shocked to him. I'm like, why are you wondering what the root of the issue is? If she has anger issues, there might be something there with that. Michael confided in Anthony about Danielle's anger. But Anthony also got to witness the couple's volatility firsthand. But Anthony recounted one time when a bunch of In front of me, he never really snapped and started getting salty with her.

But Anthony recounted one time when a bunch of colleagues were meeting at a hotel for drinks and Michael showed up after a fight with Danielle. The car pulled up on the sidewalk and he almost crashed into the place he came into the restaurant. He's like, I'm bad. I look over and he's standing in the door way. And he's got a big scratch, like a claw marks across his right face. And I walked over.

I'm like, oh, what are you doing? Yeah, I checked him outside. Just parked on the sidewalk. He goes, he was throwing plates and she started hitting me. so I had to hit her. That's what he said. I said, what are you doing? So I took him across the street. There's a hotel called the Peabody. He needs to get a room and sit here for a minute. So I called Danielle, she wouldn't answer. A couple days later I checked in and he downplayed it.

Said everything was fine but at the time he had told me that she was throwing plates across the room and breaking stuff trying to hit him. Michael told Anthony that after Danielle threw the plates and scratched his face, he hit her in self-defense. He said, I hit her back at lunchtime, I had to defend myself. I said, what are you talking about? He said she came at me, I could throw him the plates and hit me with one of them, and scraped him. He said he did this, he pointed at his face. And I was like, dude, what are you doing? This isn't healthy.

Both Danielle and Michael were drinkers, and most of their fights escalated when alcohol was involved. What a surprise. No one disputed that Michael was a heavy drinker, but according to Danielle, it was the alcohol that caused his anger to spike. Especially when they were in Memphis and he was under a very angry, or if he drank too much, not a manhandling kind of thing. To outsiders, Danielle was just as crazy as Michael. She had her own issues and anger. But behind closed doors, she had been enduring abuse from her husband, slash stepfather,

for years. Their relationship was incredibly toxic, but neither of them could let it go. Any time that Danielle was seriously hurt by Michael, she forgave him. She became conditioned to accept his outbursts. After all, she'd been with him since she was 23 years old, he was her stepdad and this was her first true love. One particular incident, I remember he was coming home from work every day and he was pretty agitated.

Something was really bothering him. I just remember that it was something had to do with something with two of his bosses. Michael would come home in a huff, angrily start drinking alone and always skip dinner with Danielle. She got fed up with it and one night snapped back. When I said that, he got irritated and said, what are you mad because I don't want to have dinner with you? And I said, well, yeah, kind of at this point because I said, how's the wallowing working out for you? I said something sarcastic and I went to head to the door to leave and he was near the door and he moved in front of the door and I tried to shove past him and I feel like

At that point he just he raises his fist and he just crossed me in the face and I feel like I Don't know like he took out every frustration that he had had that week on me and the next thing I remember was actually laying in his lap and he was stroking me and he was apologizing he was crying and I had looked down I had blood all over me and he was telling me how sorry he was that he's gonna take me out to a nice dinner tomorrow and he wanted to go ahead and take care of me,

let him take care of me that night. After the storm had calmed, Danielle noticed that her tooth was chipped and her face was a wreck. And so I told him, I said, I need to go to the doctor and my face was a wreck. He went into work and he came home early and he said that he had talked to the team doctor, Dr. Azar, and that he was gonna take a look at my face. And was that done? It was.

Did you meet with the doctor? Yeah, and I said, you told him what happened? And he said, well, yeah. And I said, he goes, and I was surprised. And he said, well, if you go to a regular, or another doctor, I could possibly go to jail over this. So did you for this incident that you described, did you tell anybody what had happened at that time? No.

You tell the doctor how it occurred. No. What did you or my insight is what I'm asking for now living? Well, there was still a lot of good. I didn't feel like that was overpowering it. And like I said, he was apologetic and I felt like it was still worth being invested. Did you love him? I did, yes.

Danielle was trapped in a way she didn't even realize. Let's be clear, no amount of abuse in a relationship is acceptable, none, zero. But Danielle justified Michael's physical outbursts towards her because they were few and far between. There was always an imbalance of power between the couple, as you might expect, given its origin. Danielle had been Michael's stepdaughter, and though she never

thought about him as her father figure per se, he was twenty years older. He paid all the bills. He had all the life experience. He purchased the home. He funded their existence. Danielle and Michael had gone to Memphis in hopes of starting a fresh life as a couple. But the unhealthy way in which their relationship began would always loom above them and create sort of a sick power dynamic. Danielle would always be his stepdaughter, no matter what, a perpetual child in the relationship. In 2004, things changed drastically for Danielle and Michael when their daughter Jaden was born. This seemed to bring some joy to the couple and they finally tied the knot after becoming a family of three. I would say that was really good. Right after my daughter was born, we were both just ecstatic over our little girl and

things were going pretty well. We were kind of big fish sort of thing. I was working with a radio group and he was the Memphis Grizzlies and it was kind of exciting. Did it say that way? No, it didn't. No, it didn't last to the point where it was, you know, without tension, problems. After eight years with the Grizzlies, Michael was passed over for a big promotion and he was pissed. That same year, Danielle gave birth to the couple's son, Sawyer, and after that, Michael's

drinking ramped up as his resentment towards work grew stronger. He was agitated and just preoccupied with issues so mean at times, less attentive, and that kind of thing. Then the physical abuse started again. And now Danielle wasn't afraid to fight back. She'd push him, punch him, and throw things. She never backed down. But Michael always won. Soon Michael changed positions and they moved to California. Then they went

to Indiana. But with every new city there was a short honeymoon of bliss and newness until the old problems came back. Their sex life had become non-existent and Danielle began to wonder what was going on. That's when Michael revealed to her that he'd been seeing a doctor to deal with his erectile issues. He was afraid she'd leave him over this and he was embarrassed, especially since he was twenty years older than Danielle. He'd been on Viagra for years and it hadn't been working. Danielle assured Michael she wasn't going anywhere and they decided to go to the doctor together

to figure this out. They were gonna give him testosterone injections to bring up his testosterone levels. And I guess there was some new groundbreaking sort of medicine that he could, I guess there were like injections that would help him get an erection, but he would have to do himself. At home?

Yes. And did he begin doing these treatments? He did, yes. How did this seem to affect both him and your relationship with him, how he's treating you? Well, I thought it was a solution. I thought that at least the physical aspect was solved. And perhaps it was, but I think there was a mental side on his level that wasn't quite

solved. Despite getting his libido back, the testosterone injections changed, Michael. He wasn't the Mike that I met. His behaviors just continued to be bizarre. I think I would liken it to... changed Michael. there was a lot of aggression and it would become hostile. Bulgar comments, like I'm a piece of meat, I'm an object, I'm his property. Some of it would be, I guess he would portray that it was kind of like lost or something, but to me it wasn't appropriate, it wasn't okay.

He was getting hostile and he was actually hurting me often during these episodes. You're saying that physically would harm you? Yes. Is this why you're being intimate or? Or he's being sexually aggressive, yes. Testosterone is essential for men to function properly, to be men.

But we all know that, you know, with that comes other things. The hormone helps men maintain muscle mass, bone health, and libido. As men age, their testosterone levels can decrease, and about one in five men around the age of 60, which happens to be Michael's age when he started testosterone therapy, undergo this kind of treatment to help with their sex life and mental function. But testosterone therapy also has a downside.

It can cause heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. Furthermore, injecting the hormone back into a 60-year-old man seems to be messing with the body's natural aging process. Michael had his libido back, but at what cost? He was regressing mentally and being filled with hormonal emotions and reactivity. He was going to be going out of town for a work function for the week. And so he called me from work the day before and said, I'm going to bring home some movies and dinner.

We're going to spend some time together tonight. And I said, OK, so he brought home dinner and alcohol. During the movie, Michael tried to make a move on his wife. But he was aggressive and drunk. She shied away. But he was aggressive and drunk. She shied away. This made him angry and he started drinking more until he passed out on the couch. The next morning he woke up irritated and a fight began.

So I'm in my bathroom at that point and I'm brushing my teeth and we're having this conversation and the next thing I know, something hits me in the back of the head and I look and it's, there's a box of tampons on the floor and I said, did you just hit me with that? And he said, yeah, are you calling me a PUSSY? And I said, no, what are you talking about? And he said that I had left the box of tampons on his side of the sink. What was I trying to say and

This is just was very strange to me And I said, I don't know those were just just happened to be there. I didn't do that on purpose Didn't clean the bathroom. Sorry And I was upset and I said maybe you are acting like that. Um, up us. That's why and I walked away from them That's when Danielle felt Michaels arms grab her around her throat. And basically he was choking me out. I started to pass out. I remember falling and I remember thinking to myself, oh my God, is he going to kill

me? And I remember reaching up and I fell to my knees. And the next thing I know I was sort of aware and I was looking up at him and he was just staring at me with this like surprised expression on his face and he just, he reached out his hand and he said, I'm sorry. And I just crawled away from him into a corner and I just, I was really frightened at that point. This is when things between Danielle and Michael really start to deteriorate.

Michael was extra aggressive because of the testosterone therapy, and Danielle was depressed, turning debuts to push away reality. My alcohol was becoming a real issue. I started to drink more at that point. I was obviously concerned about these issues, but I thought to myself, you know, I wanted to stay in the marriage. I loved him. My kids were still very young. I just thought if we could get past this issue and begin to curb drinking, we could probably be okay. Then in 2012, the family moved again, and this time they found themselves in beautiful

Winter Park, Florida. Michael took a much less stressful job at the University of Central Florida along with a pay cut so he could focus on Danielle and the kids. They tried to change all the unhealthy aspects of their marriage but the same issues kept coming back again and again as they do. He was still drinking heavily and I know that at one point we started sleeping separately because of this and he was coming into the room at night drunk and basically attacking me. He was taking my pants off and he was and this was becoming like a daily thing and I

don't know if he was trying to work something out with him in his own mind but it wasn't working for me and when I refused he would he slapped me or he'd get hostile with me and then the next day he'd apologize. In 2016 Danielle and Michael finally had enough. They were sleeping in separate rooms. The kids were older and were catching on to the fighting and the drinking. There was a particular incident where he pushed me into a dresser and I fell and cut my head on the corner. And he took me to the emergency room with the kids

and I remember lying to the kids about what happened and also to the doctors in the emergency room. Why would you do that? Just, I didn't, first of all, I didn't want the kids to know, and secondly, to avoid any kind of legal issues. Things were at an all-time low now. Michael was aggressive and drunk all of the time. Danielle was resentful and felt trapped. She started drinking more and acting out her

misery on innocent parties. Remember at the top of the episode how we mentioned that Danielle was on probation when Michael was killed? Well, she had resisted arrest after getting into a fight with a girlfriend in an Uber. Here's that friend describing the incident. I went out one night with her for a mommy night out. We went out, had a really great time, and then all of a sudden it was like a switch after a couple drinks and very abusive, even verbally, even like starting swinging at me where I called the winter park police or actually flag them down and that's okay so she when you say verbally it was actually

towards you know not towards her yes it was what was she upset about I don't know it was it's just something triggered her and I don't know what it was, but that was the night she was taken away by Winter Park police and I think she was for three days and some... how long ago was that? I think that was two years ago. So Michael decided to move out. Danielle continued to be a full-time mom and she was also back in school. Jaden and Sawyer felt the tension between their parents growing. Here's Jayden.

Last January my parents were on pretty bad terms because of some... You know they always tell me they're like you're too young to understand so I don't know the exact reasoning like yet I guess. But my dad moved out because they were separating, but they weren't getting a divorce. So he moved out in April of last year, and he moved back in, I think, late October. They've always had an off and on relationship

for, I think, the past five or six years. Michael's exit from the family home was short-lived. He returned in the fall and things got worse. They decided to live together but stay separated. Michael started dating another woman and Danielle got jealous. Danielle, despite her own alcohol consumption, started attending Al Anon meetings, which is a support group for family and friends of alcoholics. She even downloaded a few dating apps of her own and started chatting with men.

Things with Michael were destroyed. He was dating. Why couldn't she test the waters too? But this, all of this, was happening under their expensive roof in Winter Park, Florida. All the decades of tension, fighting, testosterone, and alcohol were brewing like a sick stew in the walls of their multi-million dollar estate. Danielle filed for divorce. Nasty emails were exchanged. Michael screamed at Danielle in public. 9-1-1 was called more than a few times. 9-1-1, Janie, police fire, medical.

Yes. We need a car here at 1231 Temple Drive, Winter Park, Florida. There's a woman at the danger to herself and to others right now. Not for all the gentlemen at the danger to our... I'm sorry. Pardon me. Pardon me? Leave the address. 1231 Temple Drive, Winter Park, Florida.

No. Okay, stay on the line. I'm going to have to transfer us over to Winter Park. Let me talk first when they answer, okay? You better go into your room. I'm going to call you. Where are you, Dan? 911, do you need to leave Fire on Medical?

This is Seminole to transfer for police at 1231 Temple Drive. There is no...le, the transfer for police at 1231 Temple Drive. Yeah. Yeah. I will call you back. I will call you back in five minutes. I'll call you back in five minutes. What is going on there? Hello? Yeah, I'm still there. He didn't give me a lot of information. He just said that there was a woman who was a danger to herself. Maybe it was their rocky, weird beginning, or the fact that Michael had once been her stepfather and that would always create a power struggle between the two of them, no

matter what. Michael had slept with Danielle's mother. I mean, how couldn't it affect their relationship? He had loved her for years and seen her through her last days of cancer. But Danielle and Michael never talked about this. Instead, they fought, they drank, and they tried to pretend these were only things standing in the way of their happiness. Then came January of 2018. Okay. And why do you believe he's the same? Because he's stiff and he's... I just wondered if he might have a heart attack on the low. Okay. Did you just find him? No, actually. It happened last night.

It happened last night? Correct. When Danielle first called 911, she said she thought Michael had had a heart attack. Then she said he stabbed himself. Michael had bled out from a single stab wound between his left shoulder and chest. It was a small wound, but the knife had coincidentally plunged into Michael's auxiliary fold, causing his basilic vein to rupture. The stab was somewhat of a bullseye. It was a million-to-one shot. Weird how fate does that sometimes. According to the couple's daughter, things had been tense in the home that whole week, leading up to Michael's death.

But just recently, like just this week, it's been rocky again. Last year, my dad met this woman and my parents were separated at that time and that was when they were saying, okay, we're going to get a divorce. So he, I guess he was talking to this other woman and my mom, like, was really hurt by that. And she had, like, an app on her phone, not a dating app. She told me it was for, she showed me the app. It was for, like, work or something, because she's trying to get back into work, because she hasn't had a job in a while.

And some random guy was like flirting with her or something but she didn't respond and my dad saw that and I think that's what caused like an argument. Was it a reason? Yeah, I think that was like what went on this week from that's what I'm thinking. Through all the years of fighting and abuse, Danielle did her best to protect her children from knowing the truth. Children are innocent and don't ask to be caught up in their parents' emotional turmoil and drama. Yet they always find themselves there, somehow.

The one time that I saw a mark on my dad's face was because they were arguing and my mom had a ring on and I guess she maybe you know bravely like that yeah I'm just describing what you just showed me but like the back of the hand yes has he ever hit her or left any marks on her I think so as the police gathered information and the prosecution started to develop a case against Danielle, the public caught wind of the story and Danielle became a monster in the media. Then one day, the police got a call from a woman who used to know Michael. I don't have the case number that I'm calling about. I'm calling about Mike Redlick's death and the arrest of Danielle Redlick.

I have information that I don't know if it's relevant, but I believe that I needed to share about Mike Redlick. So if you could please give me a call back. That would be great. Hi, this is Detective Dallas with the Winter Park Police. I was trying to reach Dr. Bergen. Oh, yes, speaking. Hi, how are you, ma'am?

We got a message from him yesterday. Thanks for calling back. So I was calling with information about Mike Redlich that I don't know if it's relevant or not, but I just sort of was feeling like I should be calling somebody and telling somebody So 14 nine years ago when I was 13 and he was 17 and he was my sister's boyfriend in Ohio he sexually assaulted me, it was probably rape. And I didn't tell anybody at the time, and it didn't actually tell my sister until 2013,

at which time she contacted him about it, and then got an extremely threatening letter back from an attorney from him. And I just didn't know if there would have been any other sexual abuse, sexual assault rape, and I thought I needed to report this to somebody." It took years for Danielle's trial to begin, and by that time, Jaden was no longer speaking to her mother.

Danielle had been in jail for years, and still nobody knew the truth about what had happened on the night that Michael was killed. The couple's history of physical abuse had been kept quiet. Danielle hid secrets to protect herself, her kids, and her marriage. But now, it was all about to come to the surface. The truth would finally The truth would finally be told, and the fate of Danielle's future was in the hands for the murder of her husband, Michael Redlich. Danielle had never told anyone the truth about what had actually happened the night Michael died. But now, on the witness stand and in front of the entire country, the 48-year-old housewife

was about to let out her demons and allow a jury to decide her fate. Can you explain more? Well, I was scared and, you know, it's just in fear for my life. I thought he snapped and I could die. Danielle finally admitted that she did stab Michael. She was responsible for the fatal wound. Why were you in fear for your life? Why did you think that you could die in that circumstance? Just how he had me pinned down and I couldn't breathe. And so just to look in his eye, his anger, then I couldn't get away.

During the week leading up to the murder, Michael found out Danielle was texting another man. He followed her to the gap and screamed at her, accusing her of having an affair. He punched her in the face while she was doing yoga in their bedroom one afternoon, giving her a black eye. Danielle and the kids had made a plan to leave via text message, which the defense lawyer read out in court. Jaden and Sawyer were scared of Michael when he drank and started tossing his alcohol down the toilet. The house was filled with tension, fear, and misery. As the family was getting ready for Sawyer's soccer game that evening, Michael started harassing Danielle. He starts following me around the house, harassing me more of the same type of comments.

Well, not necessarily vulgar, but at that point he was threatening to take the house and leave me penniless and send me back where he found me, take the kids, and I better not come to the football game or he's going to tell everybody what a whore and bitch I am, what I did. Danielle started packing her son's football bag and then hidden the closet to escape the screaming. That's when Michael came in and snatched Danielle's phone from her hands. He's yelling at my son to get his uniform on.

In the meantime, he takes my phone and walks out the front door with it. What do you do? Do you follow him? Yes. And what happens at the front door? I follow him. I said, Mike, I need my phone and walks out the front door with it. What do you do? Do you follow him? Yes. And what happens at the front door? I follow him. I said, Mike, I need my phone. Give me my phone.

You know, and he's refusing. And he says, no, I'll just take it with me and throw it in the lake if I feel like it. So I'm desperate for my phone. I run back into the house and I grab some eggs and I bring him out to the front and throw him out his car." The tension faded as Sawyer walked out into the driveway. Michael and Sawyer went to his football game and Danielle showed up later to watch as well. Both the kids went to friends' houses, and Michael and Danielle found themselves home alone.

Michael poured himself a vodka and stared at his wife across the kitchen island. All right. Here we go. And I said, actually, as a matter of fact, yes. We're gonna have to go back to our old arrangements then. By old arrangements, what do you mean? Living separately. How does he respond to that? He's just staring at me. He's not really saying anything at that point. And then I make a comment

that he looks really crazy and disturbing. Just looking at me goes, where are you going to go? You're going out? And I said, I'm going to go get something to eat. And he said, well, I'm going out to see what kind of women I can pick up. Okay. Is there any more conversation or do you leave? Then I leave.

Where do you go? McDonald's. When Danielle got home with her burger and wine, Michael burst into the kitchen. He swaggered over her, snatched her phone and her sandwich, then took a big bite. Michael started yelling about the guy Danielle had been texting. She got up and retorted that maybe she would start seeing him. I walked, going to walk through the kitchen and I'm turning to throw the bag of food onto the center island. And that's when he comes up behind me and grabs me.

I just shift to the left and I trip up on my feet and I fall to the ground. And then I feel something hit me in the back of the ground. And then I hear, I feel something hit me in the back of the head. I was on my knees, so as I was coming up, he grabbed me by the collar, and I felt our heads collide. And at that point, I grabbed the center island and I reached up to pull myself up to face him this way.

And that's when he takes his right hand. So he grabs me here and slams me down onto the center island counter. Danielle had been here before at the mercy of Michael's hands and his will. Michael pushed Danielle's head into the counter and held her down. She was stuck.

And he cocks his fist back, I can see him. And he's, I feel like he's gonna punch me in the face. down. She was getting short of breath under the weight of Michael's body and his fingers stuck in her nose. She couldn't move. All that she had free was her arm. I've got a free arm here and the drawer in front of me is the only thing I can do

and I know that there's items in there. What's a knife? Ladles, knives. What are you finding a knife? A knife. Pulled the knife out and I don't know if you saw it, but he released my head, so I'm able to move. Go ahead.

He says, where are you gonna stab me? And I take the knife and I position it to move. Go ahead. He says, where are you going to stab me? And I take the knife and I position it and face it toward him. He immediately just goes right in and points me back and stabs him at that point. How were you positioned at the point of stabbing? Basically on the back of the island and pinned by him. At that point, are you able to get out? After I stabbed him, yes. Daniel swung the knife and punctured one stab wound into Michael's shoulder. A hole in one, some might say. Then she dropped the knife, ran upstairs and hid in the master bathroom.

She sat there for a moment, praying Michael wouldn't follow her. As Danielle tried to think of what to do next, she could hear Michael yelling her name and walking up the stairs. She didn't move. I was just hoping and praying he wasn't coming in there, but also thinking to myself, what am I going to do? This is crazy. I gotta get out of here. Did you believe that you had killed him? Oh, no, not at all. I just didn't think it was a fatal exchange. Like I said, I thought he was coming after me still. I thought it probably made a matter, if anything.

I didn't even know that. I knew he'd probably be hurt, but... Danielle sat there by herself. Michael's calls to her got quiet. She wasn't sure if Michael was waiting for her or gone from the house, so she just sat there, waiting, working up the nerve to make her next move. She didn't hear anything for about 20 minutes, so she slowly opened the bathroom door. That's when she saw blood. Danielle slowly followed the blood trail down the stairs to the living room where she saw

her husband lying on his back. I'm just looking at him and I'm trying to figure it out. And at that point, I was thinking, oh my gosh, did he die? I put my ear and my hands on his chest to see if I can hear or see if he's breathing." Danielle lifted Michael's shirt and saw the stab wound. Did this kill him or did he have a heart attack? I didn't know what was going on. Danielle frantically searched the house for her phone.

When she finally found it, she tried to call 911 but dialed the number twice and it didn't connect. So, she tried to call 911 but dialed the number twice and it didn't connect. So she panicked. The gravity of what had happened sunk in and she started giving Michael CPR. She hovered over his body and cried, thinking about the last 20 years together. Her kids, their family, their life. Everything. I just, I think I just made a series of really bad decisions at that point.

How had it all ended here? Her brain was in a fog. She reread text messages from her kids. She deleted any exchanges she had with Michael and then deleted the texts with the man they had been arguing about. She tried to wipe up the blood and gave up. She cried and hugged Michael until she passed out. When she woke up, the floor to sun was shining through the French doors in their living room. Michael was turning purple. I was thinking about my kids, like I said, and I thought, you know, maybe it's just better that I go with him. And so then I googled, you know, how to slit your wrists.

And that's what I attempted to do at that point. It took one long night and a failed suicide attempt before Danielle finally called 911. Michael was long gone. Her wrists were open wounds. The house was a murder scene. This is how their marriage would end. This was it. Michael was a well-respected and well-liked executive in the sports world. Danielle's trial was very public. Michael's colleagues and friends all stood strong and tried to preserve his legacy by throwing doubt at Danielle's credibility.

They slagged her in the media and asked that justice be served. But these work friends didn't know what happened inside the Redlich House. No one did, except for Danielle and Michael. Even their children were protected from the whole truth. The jury deliberated for just over two hours before coming back with their verdict. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, my understanding is that you have reached a verdict. Is that correct?

Yes. Would you please hand the verdict forms to the deputy, please? State of Florida versus Danielle Justine-Rever. Verdict as to count one, we the jury find the defendant not guilty. Verdict as to count one, we the jury find the defendant not guilty. Verdict as to count two, we the jury find the defendant guilty of tampering with physical evidence as charged in the information.

So say we all, signed your badge number 283, four person, dated at Orlando, Orange County, Florida on the 17th day of June, 2022. at Orlando, Orange County, Florida on the 17th day of June 2022. Danielle was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of tampering with evidence. The judge sentenced her to a year of probation and she got credit for time served in prison. Danielle would walk out of the courtroom, a free woman, but no smile could be seen on her face. She had lost Michael.

Her kids weren't no longer in her custody and her daughter had cut off all ties. The Redlich family was shattered. But weren't they always kind of broken. Daniel's trial was highly publicized. Her testimony was watched by millions of people all over the country, and one comment seemed to repeat itself over and over. Viewers were shocked at how credible Danielle was on the stand. They empathized with her. They believed her. Unlike the dramatic testimonies of Amber Heard or Jody Arias, Danielle was

calm, reserved, and completely honest. She didn't try to make herself look innocent. She told the truth about her own shortcomings no matter how bad they made her look. Commenters said that when they first read about Danielle on the media, they thought she was guilty for sure. But after hearing her tell her story, they were transformed. There was no doubt that this woman had endured decades of abuse and that she was trapped in a marriage that was headed for disaster. Believe all women is a dangerous precedent to set, I think for obvious reasons. But so is in this country. Why it shouldn't be replaced with a fucking hashtag on Twitter or X or whatever the fuck it's called.

When someone is found guilty of a crime, we must give them the chance to tell their story to a jury of their peers, rather than the rabid social media landscape of literal vultures. We must listen to the evidence. We must think critically for ourselves and go over the facts with care. I know it must be sounding like a different language, the things that are coming out of my mouth, but please try to listen and try to fucking understand. We must seek truth instead of our internal biases Created by

marketing campaigns meant to sell us more beer or Maple syrup or whatever else they want to sell Nothing about the Redlich family was conventional Not the way it began, certainly not the way it ended. But that doesn't change the fact that Danielle was a battered woman.

Michael's death was a result of self-defense. And absolutely nothing about the way this story ended is fair. nothing about the way this story ended is fair. But what about life ever truly is? Alright, well that's going to do it for another one. Thanks so much for joining us. Over the coming weeks, there may be a few issues. The site may experience a few intermittent problems and we ask you to please be patient because, you know, we're doing stuff in the background to launch this new thing.

So just be patient with us. Please try not to overwhelm our support staff, which is already overwhelmed. And we'll launch soon, right? Be patient. Stay safe. වවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවව� Hey Mike, it's. from Dayton, Ohio. Just wanted to say, do not get rid of our phone messages until you play mine. Because I've been listening for six years and still haven't had my voice on the podcast. Also, you better not fuck up this TV show because I'm really, really, really looking forward to it. Keep doing what you're doing. Love ya. Bye.Dabada…