Sword and Scale - Episode 267

Episode Date: June 30, 2024

Amber Smith and Trenton Mallory had a simple life together with two boys and a wedding in the works. Then Amber came home to find their house ransacked and Trenton dead. No one could have expected such a tragedy to hit a small snowy town and the killer only would be revealed as the ice started to melt.

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case. Go to Shopify.com slash Sword and scale to take your retail business to the next level today. Shopify.com slash sword and scale. Sword and scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Hello and welcome to Sword and Scale Season 2 Episode 267. A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real without the endless cackling and and gossip and bullshit. Well, I want to first thank you guys for making a lifelong dream an actual reality for me. We made a television show. Episode three is out right now and it is just, I wish I had words for me. We made a television show. Episode 3 is out right now and it is just...

I wish I had words for it. It's... I'm so proud of what we've done is basically what I'm trying to say. You gotta watch it. You got to at some point. And again, I have to thank our incredible fans, the sassholes for supporting us and helping make this happen. I know it's expensive. I mean everything's expensive these days, but enough of you have signed up for the super tier or VIP tier and that has allowed us to start planning to do two Sword and Scale TV episodes a month. We're gonna start ramping up production right away and the first month of this will be in October. So thank you. Once again, from the bottom of our hearts,

you're making not just mine, but all of our dreams come true. There's a lot of people here with a lot of passion working on this. Thank you. Thank you. shops productivity up to five to ten times more than with traditional arc welding processes. Expand your workforce so you can start doing more and making more. Get the Optics laser advantage now and start changing the welding game. I don't know. 911? Oh hi there! I just got home and was greeting my son and the doctor and my door was open and when I came inside

they fell all over my house and my fiance's home and I didn't see him but the truth is I felt so good the way I watched that girl. Okay, take a deep breath. Now tell me what happened. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I didn't see them. But the truth is, I fell the so-called way I watched that girl.

Okay, take a deep breath, Cori. No, no, tell me what you're doing. I'm not going to tell you. I'm not going to tell you. Okay. Okay, take a deep breath. Tell me the address you're calling from. On March 6th, 2014, a young mother named Amber Smith

arrived back at her Michigan home to find her house had been ransacked. There was stuff thrown everywhere. Afraid there was a burglar inside, she took the other one to the doctor and I just got back home and my, um, uh, my screen door was open and my, and my exterior door was open but my fiance is home so I thought he just left it open and I walked in and I saw stuff all over my counter and on the floor and so I told my kiddo to get his stuff on and get back in the car and um, I ran back out there so I could get my phone and call you. So you think somebody has broken? Amber was terrified as she sat in her car in the snow, begging for help. What is your name?

Amber. Okay Amber, I'm going to help you through this, but I need you to take a deep breath. I'm just, I'm trying to get the information correct. Alright I got you and Amber what is your last name? I'm Anne. Okay and so is your son safe? Is he outside? We're both sitting in the car. Okay alright and about what time did you leave today? Um I left about five after seven maybe. Because I had to stop at the store and get my other kind of snacks to take to class with him. Okay.

And when you left, your fiance was there at the house? Yeah, because the kids wanted him to come with us and they couldn't get him to wake up because he was snoring so loud. 28-year-old Amber was a mother of two boys. One she had with her and the other one was at school. When she left that morning, her fiance Trenton Mallory was still asleep. And does he drive? Like, is his vehicle there? His truck is home.

Okay. But you didn't see him in the house? No, should I go back in? I can't advise you to do that. Amber, you need to use your own judgment. Whatever you do, I'm gonna keep you on the line until the officers get there. Does he have any known medical issues? No.

And why? My partner is sending the officers up that way. What kind of vehicle are you waiting in, Amber? Oh, it's a gold Chevy Malibu. Why is it always a Chevy Malibu? Anyway, let's continue. Now, when you left this morning, you said he was sleeping, he was in the bedroom? Yes, ma'am.

Did you guys have an argument or anything? No, actually, I got I got clumsy with him. We fell asleep on the couch last night watching one of our recorded shows, and he woke me up when he went to bed. And that I know so I get up and he's like come on just go sleep in the bed and I was like okay I quit being so grumpy sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm Well, I double checked because I had to run back inside because I forgot my son's backpack to school.

OK. OK. Amber was too scared to go inside and check on Trenton. She stayed in the car, taking deep breaths, watching the steam from her chattering teeth rise into the cold air. And there's, like, papers and stuff strewn about or what? No, like my entire cabinet like full of medicine and like where we keep all that kind of stuff.

It's like everywhere. It's all over my counter and then in the living room there's books on the floor. So that was as far as I went and I came back out. Amber said she'd been trying to reach Trenton all morning. She was out and about with her two boys. Yeah, and I've been texting him all morning, but I mean, sometimes he's been pretty late, so I didn't think anything of it. And when was the last time you actually talked to him?

This morning before I left, I woke him up and told him that I was taking the kids to school and taking Carson to the doctor. OK. So about what time was that? Well, what time did I get out of bed? So I had to read about 20 after 6. Amber and Tretton's 5-year-old son was visibly shaken up in the back seat, watching his mother melt down. I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Tell the kids, tell the child that the officer's on their way. Meltdown. I'm with you. Oh, my heart's going on the house now. I can imagine. I'm sorry, I'm right here with you, okay? Oh. I'm calming down. I'm just calming down, mommy. The dispatcher instructed Amber to drive her car down a bit so police could find her. She backed up her car and waited, breathing heavily.

The police were having trouble finding her address with all the snow banks. Amber's son was scared as she tried her best to coax him down. I know, mommy's not trying to be upset honey, mommy's just a little bit scared right now, okay? You know how when you get scared if you're watching a scary movie, well, mama got a little bit scared too. But I'm a movie, well mama got a little bit scared too. But I'm a girl so I panic a little bit. What'd you say sweetie?

You worried about what? I'm worried about daddy too honey. Finally the police car came around the corner. He's falling down. I don't think he can find it. I'm going to stand out of my car. I waited down him so he could see me. The police car came around the corner. When the officers and ambulance arrived on scene, they greeted a distraught Amber in her driveway.

The snow was piled up and they asked her to wait in her car as they entered the home. Just like Amber had described the house was a wreck, it looked like someone had haphazardly gone through every drawer, pulling out clothing, papers, medicine, and food, and then just throwing it around as though they were looking for something. When they reached the couple's bedroom, they found Trenton. He had been shot in the back of the head

and was lying under the covers. When the police returned to the cold winter air, they told Amber the news. There is absolutely nothing easy to say, to do to make you feel any better at this point. That's why I'm terribly sorry for the mess I made. I'm sorry. But on the flip side of that...

You can help, right? We can figure it out. That's what I'm here for. I'll give you a time of the essence of the situation if that's okay. You... They gave you... I'm sorry. He told them as far as the time you left and that you had a good time laying. What's his name again? I told them as far as the time you left and that you had a good time laying. He's right there.

What's his name again? Tuesday. Is he your fiance or your first name? Trenton. Trenton. Okay. And what does Trenton do? He works for Coke and Patela.

Coke, okay. And what does he do for Coke? In the wintertime he merchandises in the summer. Trenton was a merchandiser and a relief driver for Coca-Cola. He'd been working for the company for many years. He was a hardworking family man who loved Amber and their boys deeply. And how long have you been with him? Like, officially? Five years? and their boys deeply. When were you planning to get married? We didn't have a date set because with Marshall, he's disabled and he gets SSI and he gets

child support from his dad and financially it would have been silly for us to get married right now so we were just kind of waiting. When Carson started kindergarten I was going to try and go back to school for nursing and then we were going to get married after that. Okay. Now are these both Trenton's kids? No, Marshall's not. Marshall's who's? school for nursing and then we were going to get married after that. Okay. Now are these both Trenton's kids? No, Marshall's not. Marshall's whose? Timothy Schramm. When we told Trent or Marshall that he wasn't Marshall's dad, they'd punch in the nose.

He's always been there. Okay. Since the day Marshall was born. Timothy Schramm? Yeah. Where is he now? I don't know, Kingsley I think. He doesn't. We don't have anything to do with him. Okay. Now you say you don't have anything to do with him. Does he have anything to do with Trenton? No. Are they in contact with each other at all? No, they met once when Tim met Marshall. It was the only time he's ever met him.

Okay. That was it. Trenton and Amber had met when she was pregnant with Marshall, her first son, and he had raised the boy as his own. Carson came into the family a year later. So tell me, did they ask you or talk to you about Trenton's night? Night? Yeah, what did you do from 6 o'clock p.m. last night until now?

We ate dinner a little late, we couldn't nap until about 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon. He was really tired and he got up and I was picking him up and about sleeping so long because I was tired too because Carson's been sick so he was up all night. So I cooked dinner, we had spaghetti and watched Spongebob or Breadwinners or something like that on TV while we ate it. We told the kids we could have a picnic because they weren't feeling good. And he kind of hurt my feelings as well, because he didn't have seconds. And I know he hates spaghetti, but I love it. So we ate spaghetti, and then I put the kids in the bathtub. And he watched something on TV while I was doing that,

and Carson and I played Candyland after he got out of the tub. And the kids went to bed. They were still late when they went to bed, because I know Trent said that, you know, hey, it's way past your bedtime. Um, we tucked them in and then we went outside and had a cigarette

and we came in and I made some Kool-Aid and we sat down and watched our shows that we had recorded. And we fell asleep watching the last one, The Americans. We fell asleep on the couch and Trent got up about, I don't know, he told me what time it was,

it was like 3.30 in the morning, he got up and he woke me up. I'm sorry, but this is a lot of details, isn't it? It's like a shocking amount of details for a woman who just found out that her husband was killed. Maybe she's just nervous, but go on Amber. and carried my hand and we went to sleep. Who doesn't like Trent? Who would be his biggest enemies? Everybody likes Trent. He is such a good guy.

Everybody likes him. Enemies? Um... I don't think that there's only one person in this world that we cannot stand and that's my mother. Talk to me about that, why's that? You know her. Who is she?

Darlene Simpson. Okay. That's why I've heard your name before, she tried to get me to call you and she was in jail. She, we won't let her, you know, have anything to do with us because she's crazy. Ember's mother, Darlene, had a criminal history and the two no longer spoke. But in a small town like theirs, it was hard to completely avoid each other.

She told everybody that Marshall died, like all these people she worked with and stuff so she could get money from them in time off work. Like she told everybody that he was dead. Jeez. And so we found out that she got a tattoo to commemorate his death. Like a tattoo on his leg.

Like not a little one, it's like this big, it's huge. Like, and the people that did the tattoo had told us it was for her dead grandson and I sent him a picture and I said, that's my son and he's very much alive. And I told, I was gonna go down to her house and talk to her about it, and she had all of our stuff from, we went out and make a wish trip for Marshall,

because he's terminal, you know. And she had all of our keepsakes and mementos, because she was gonna make us a scrapbook. So Trent said, wait for me, I wanna come with you, because I have a few things to see myself. And we showed up there, and she wouldn't answer the door. She called the cops on us. The officer noted that he'd better look into Darlene,

but he had to focus on the murder. What exactly happened when Amber and Carson arrived home? I kicked off my shoes, and Carson was taking off his stuff, and I came around the corner and I saw the stuff everywhere and they took it out of the safe car so I said, get yourself back on and go outside. Just because, I mean, there was no reason

for meds to be all over my counter like Trent when I do that. So I guess growing up with a police officer, I was taught to be scared of situations like that so I just hurried up back outside and I called 911. And why, if I were to tell you that it's a possibility, okay, that somebody caused the death here, that somebody caused the death to Trenton,

who do you think would do such a thing? Nobody would do that to Trent. Trent buys and trades a lot of stuff, so there's always people coming and going, buying stuff or selling stuff. When you say buy and trade, on Craigs List and other bartering sites. Maybe someone he'd met on one of these shady websites was responsible for this. What was the last thing he sold? I don't know.

He traded a gun. A gun? What kind of gun? What is this? A little tiny shotgun. It's a 410. Um, a gun. A gun? What kind of gun? What is this? A little tiny shotgun. It's a 410. A Winchester.

How can you be sure about this? Some guy named Gordy, he traded it for a TV that we had bought. Trenton and Amber had many guns in the house and other valuables too. They kept cash on hand, but none of that or the guns had been taken. The only thing that was stolen was Trenton's life, which is unusual for a stranger to want to take. If this in fact is a homicide, if it is, I would assume that you would cooperate to the fullest.

Not me taking computers, phones, anything. That's fine. I don't care. Amber was cooperative, but there was something that didn't add up with this whole story. Listening at home, you're probably getting that sense too. Luckily, she was ready and willing to be her overly chatty self with the police. And she, like most women, oh boy, here come the emails,

talked a lot more than she needed to. Optics 2KW Handheld Laser Welder. It's so simple to use, even a rookie can weld like an expert, allowing you to boost your shop's productivity up to 5 to 10 times more than with traditional arc welding processes. Expand your workforce so you can start doing more and making more. Get the Optics laser advantage now and start changing the welding game. 36-year-old Coca-Cola worker and family man Trenton Mallory had been found shot in the back of the head in his bedroom. His fiancee Amber Smith and their son Carson walked into the house to find the place had been turned upside down and that Trenton was dead.

Amber said that Trenton had no enemies. The only person they didn't get along with was Amber's mother, who she said was nuts and had been in and out of jail. Trenton also did a lot of trading online and perhaps someone he had run into did this to him. You never know with the internet. There's a bunch of weirdos out there, especially on Reddit. Just fat, mouth-breathing losers. You know who

you are. Anyway, Amber's boys weren't taken to Trenton's mother's house as she went down to the police station to further help the detectives. How was your relationship with Trav right now? Good. Amazing. Amazing. You know, gosh, when Marshall first got sick, we found out we were pregnant a week before that.

And it was too stressful for us. Like we were two totally different people. And we had to handle the stress together. So we stopped talking for a while. Even though I was pregnant with Carson. And then we've worked really hard on our relationships since Carson's been born. And we kind of know like what makes us so tick.

You know what I mean? Time thing. And we try not to be such selfish people, like we used to be, and it works for us. I mean, the biggest argument we get is, he picks on Carson incessantly, just bugs that kid. And Carson hates it, and it drives me crazy that he does it. And you need to leave him alone. You're too hard on him.

And I mean, that's like the biggest fight we did. And we just don't fight because he grew up with parents that fought. I grew up with parents that fought. And it was just never something we wanted for our children. So, you know, we'd rather not say anything than fight, but even, you know, now we've gotten past any of that. Like I can't even remember the last time we had a fight.

It's just not what we do. We do not. Financially, how are you guys doing financially? Yeah, I don't really take care of it too much, but I mean, it comes and goes. In the winter, we struggle more than we do in the summer, because his hours at work get cut. He makes most of his money in the summertime.

Money's driving side lower. So how much does he make per year, do you know? Like 30. I think he made 38 last year. Does he do any other side jobs or anything? No, he just is treating the tree And we see training. I mean don't talk to me about that

like bartering like My keys and you give me a shoe Give me a chance. No No, I think he has a policy through his work. He gets hurt on the job. But we don't have life insurance policies. Any IRAs, investments or anything like that? No. Amber and Trenton lived paycheck to paycheck. Like most young couples these days.

She claimed she didn't know much about his finances. I studied criminal justice and psychology. But Amber didn't finish her degree. She partied too much and was just using college as a way to free herself from her parents. There's a lot of that. If you're a senior in college and haven't figured out what you want to do for the rest of your life, then you're not going to be able to do anything. You're going to be a part of a family. You're going to be a lot of that. If you're a senior in college and haven't figured out

what you wanna do for the rest of your life, then maybe you're one of these people. So Amber dropped out and she went home. You know, I've known Trent for a long time. We went on a blind date 10 years ago and I chased that boy, chased that boy and he just said, I want anything to do with me. And we were the greatest friends.

But then I decided to go off and get engaged to somebody else and he was interested in me. And then at that point, he wasn't at a point in his life that was okay with me. He drank a lot and he constantly called me for rides home from the bar because he couldn't drive or because he was going to go home with the nasty bartender. You know, so that was our relationship

for the first four years I knew him. And it was fine. And then Marshall came along and, you know, he loves kids. Like, there is nothing in this world that Trent ever wanted more than to be a dad. Like he just always went to house full of kids. And actually we just talked about it two days ago when his niece was born. How I shouldn't have gotten my tubes tied because he's left town for the month.

And you know, once he started hanging around when Marshall was born, you know, we realized that we know each other better than most married couples know each other because we're best friends. And, you know, we tried to date and then the stuff happened in Marshall and, you know, it was just too much stress for me, like trying to deal with a dying child when I was pregnant. But then after Carson was born, you know, we figured it out. Though they didn't start in the most conventional way, Trenton and Amber grew together and made a little family

that they were proud of. You know, the first probably year was a struggle, you know, trying to figure out how to deal with each other because, you know, he came from living at his parents' house until he lived on his own with me. So, you know, he was messy and inconsiderate and drove me nuts, you know, and I was bossy and then he drove me nuts.

So, you know, once we figured out the dance of how to live with another human being, you know, then it was great. But Marshall was a sick kid. He had a heart transplant at age one. And then the poor boy had to battle cancer. His medical issues were a huge strain on the family and were something that would always be at the forefront of Amber and Trenton's minds. Even now, we have to take off at home. So if Marshall gets sick, we've got to go out safe. And then we've got to find someone to take us in. It's hard enough to find someone

to take one care of that alone too. Medical bills piled up as the couple had to invest in medicine and care. So Amber took to the local media to spread the word and fundraise money to pay for her son's treatments. The media coverage worked and the couple were able to pay for Marshall's medical bills with kindness from strangers. They received make-a-wish trips and other forms of charity to help Marshall live an exceptional life. It was all experimental medicine so it was, you know, everything had to be paid for by us. You know, insurance companies don't want to foot a bill

that isn't FDA approved. But it had been hours since Amber had found out that Trenton was dead. And now that she had calmed down a bit, they had to ask a couple of tough questions. And the only thing I can think about is how I'm supposed to live my life without him. How my kids are supposed to be okay without him. I imagine if you said that somebody got into the safe, then they took our money, you know, which, whatever.

But I don't know why anybody would hurt Trent, because if they needed the money that bad, you just gave it to them. Amber and Trenton had a safe with about $800 in it and some guns in the house. But nothing was touched. And something like this, no offense, but something like this, you always look first, inside out. Okay? What that means is,

as circle of friends, as circle of family, is we're going to do a full victimology So we're going to do a full, it's called victimology. We're going to do a full victimology. We're going to know everything we want to know about Trent, okay? And that's what I'm asking you for. So these are the cases you look inside out. So you look at family first, okay? And then once you eliminate, you just keep working your way out, right?

Do you understand that? Okay, so, and I'll be lying to you if I didn't tell you that, you know, we do have to look at you, okay? Everybody, so, and I'll be lying to you if I didn't tell you that, you know, we do have to look at you. Okay, everybody's a suspect, right? I'm going to ask you if you had any part or did you play any part whatsoever in Trenton's death. No.

Okay. It's your job. It's fine. Okay. All right, so let's say our first level, so we know that the kids didn't do it, right? Right. Okay. And you're saying that you had nothing to do with that?

Right. So now what's her next love? Who? Does he hang out with anybody at work? He just thinks that one is. Amber continued to sniffle and cry as she recounted all the happy days she had with Trenton. The little things about their relationship,

like how he would call her bossy, or that she was always running a little late for work and she'd make his coffee and lay out his uniform. Happy little memories flowed out of her between the tears. Then the detectives honed in. So he was shot. But it appears that he was sleeping, or less occurred. What? So this means that just a little bit, a little bit hot, OK? Do you see what I'm saying? No. So let's break down everything, all right?

So I got to, I got to look at this, look at this one, it's Texas, go ahead, OK? We're on a broad daylight house in the middle of nowhere, right? There's a truck parked in the driveway, okay? The door's open, the machine reverse, right? And then all of a sudden a person is shot in his sleep. The house. Does that sound odd to you?

Anybody killing another person sounds odd to me sure it happens sometimes Well right I understand that but it does have some but I'm saying you take all those variables and put them into into the basket look at it go something's kind of odd right because Hey, how then would somebody know that you're not there how would they know that nobody's probably may have a truck parked there so you have to assume that somebody's there right so I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's you know there's there's several things that can happen something like this okay one is that you could have done it right just saying you could have paid to have somebody do it for you. I'm just

talking these are variables that we have to look at, okay? Or it's just some random random chance act that this occurred. And up here with something like this it's just not random. So there's gotta be a reason. Okay?, you know, so let's dive into reasons. Reasons would be drug deal going bad. Somebody owes somebody a lot of money, they're not paying it. Right? Is there anybody in your family, anybody that trying to close money to that? We don't know about I need to know any dark secret that you or him may have. I need to know any dark secret that you or him may have. I don't know. I mean, the dark secrets, we don't have any.

OK. So. Amber swore there were no secrets, nothing hidden beneath the surface. But the detectives knew more. Sorry, I see you're a little bit of a lie detector test. May I ask you that same question? No, I would still say no. OK. And would you be willing to take a lie detector test And with that, the detective left. Amber sat quietly, sniffling and hugging herself in her

winter coat. Minutes passed. And then the detective came back. two possibly three witnesses now that did not see anybody go into that house or any car pull into that driveway. I don't know what you want me to tell you. I wasn't home. How can we explain that? I'm just telling you we have two possibly three say no we did not see any car go into that driveway or anybody go into that house. Okay. I don't know how to explain that. I didn't see anybody coming from the other side of the home.

Right, so who could possibly do this? No idea. Things were not looking so good for Amber. Yes, she had an alibi that checked out going to the drug store, dropping her child off at school, going to her stepsister's house, and then back home. But no one had seen a single car or person go into the house the day Trenton was murdered.

Amber said the couple had no secrets, but that just wasn't true. About a month ago, there was a recall. What car were they recalling? The one I'm driving now. The one you're driving? true. over it just because Marshall had to get to the doctor. And it was quite the situation. I felt like a dumb ass afterwards, but it was what it was. So they took the car and we got the car back. Okay. Well, we started talking about killing yourself. What were you doing? What do you mean?

How was it? Did you have a gun? Did you have? Yeah, there was a gun in the house, but. There's a lot of guns in your house. Yeah, I know. Trent's a big hunter. I don't hunt, so.

Okay. Actually, you taught me how'm trans at Big Hunter. I don't hunt, so. Okay. Actually, you taught me how to shoot a 410 the other day, the little one that you treated. And that was exciting for me. Amber's car had been repossessed because a couple had fallen behind on payments. Then there was another money issue that the police just couldn't ignore. There was about $900 in checks that you wrote just couldn't ignore. Not only had Amber written bad checks and had her car repossessed, but she had been aggressively flirting with other men on Facebook.

How well do you know Ryan Hunter? Ryan Hunter? I used to work with him. Pardon? I used to work with him at Walmart. OK. How well do you know him? He cheated on his wife and me. I didn't work with him at Walmart. Okay, how long have you known him? He cheated on his wife and me.

I didn't work there. Okay. And what was the last time you contacted him? Well, Trent and I saw him the other day. Gordon, he was in service for E-Berks, but we hadn't seen him too long. I talked to him. Marshall was hospitalized, and I talked to him. Marshall was hospitalized. I talked to him then. That was 2011?

Was it last time you talked to him? We talked on Facebook. Maybe it was 2012. I don't know. It was a couple years ago. It was when Marshall was hospitalized. Right. Well, it was actually it was 68 months ago. in Marshall, I was hospitalized. Right, well it was actually 68 months ago. When was it? Yeah, and uh, Seems like longer than that. And you were specifically asked for names of the flock.

Excuse me? Correct. And we have those. 68 months ago? That's correct. And uh, you actually, in those messages, had expressed the fact that that's just something you do. That, I mean, we're in the

process of getting those. He read them off to me last night about two in the morning. Okay. Was anyone else really stunned by the detective saying asking him to fuck? That was quite a shocker. Amber was looking worse and worse. Then they told her that if her DNA just happened to be on any of the bullets, she would be in big trouble. What I'm asking you is a simple question. There may be a lot of, excuse me, a lot of 22 shells in your house.

But is that 22 shell the one that we have? Okay. Potentially it has anything in DNA on that shell. Is that gonna come back to you? No. You better be absolutely certain because I'm telling you right now, what you're saying is not necessarily true.

Okay. Okay. So I mean, is there, I just need a way to explain away that. I can't explain it for you. What? Why is that? My answer? Yeah, what I'm saying is-

I did not shoot Trent, so. Based on what we have when we talk about your cell phone, when we talk about eyewitnesses, all right, and we're talking about true evidence. Based on that, I'm telling you there's no doubt whatsoever that you're involved in this, no doubt. There are two reasons, and I tried to explain that a little bit to you yesterday, about it being two reasons. One is a person that was just caught in the middle of something that did something they're not supposed to, that they were not normally doing, just snapped, okay, or a person who's just simply psychotic, okay?

All right, so when we talk about this, when we talk about this, we're talking about something that are two totally different people, right? Okay, and now we're trying to understand, right, who you are, all right? I'm telling you, you put it in a situation, and I'm telling you right now

that the evidence right here is not going away, and it's only getting stronger, all right, did you have anything to do with this? No. All right, did you have any knowledge that this was occurring? No. Okay, and I'm telling you right now that that's not true. Amber was adamant about the details

of her whereabouts that day, and that she had nothing to do with the crime. But the evidence was stacking up against her. You see, not only had her car been repoed and she was writing bad checks, but Amber had started to gamble. At first, she and Trenton would go to the casino together. Amber won big one evening

and thought that was her ticket to financial freedom. Of course, if you have more than three brain cells, you know that's a really dumb thing to think. But Amber thought it and she kept going. She hit the casino alone and when she wasn't there, she'd be gambling on her phone at night. on her phone at night. By the time Trenton was dead, she'd racked up $25,000 in gambling debt, all in her husband's name. As the police continued digging in, they found out that the couple's house was about to be foreclosed. Amber had been taking out payday loans with a 300% interest rate. They were swimming in debt, but it was all falling under Trenton, under his name, under his credit. The debts were all in his name, but Amber was the one who kept mounting it on with her gambling.

But Amber was the one who kept mounting it on with her gambling. The police let her go. They didn't have enough to arrest her, at least not yet. But they were looking into her. She was the closest to Trenton, the only one in his life who had a reason to need him gone. But then again, without him, her children had no father and she had no support system or family. There was no life insurance or cash out on either. Would she really have done this to the love of her life? As the weeks passed and the snow started to melt, Amber's stepsister found something in her driveway that would seal Amber's fate. Cha-ching. That's my impression of a sexy cash register.

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Expand your workforce so you can start doing more and making more. Get the Optics Laser Advantage now and start changing the welding game. 28-year-old Amber Smith had come home to find her house ransacked and her fiance shot in the back of the head while sleeping. At first the police felt bad for Amber, but as they began their investigation, her entire story seemed suspicious, and they thought that Amber was involved. Not only was nothing of value stolen from the home, but Amber and Trenton were having major money troubles, and that always spells bigger problems. Amber had become addicted to gambling, and had racked up almost $25,000 in debt and

their finances were buckling beneath them. Bad checks, high-interest payday loans, and foreclosures were mounting. However, Amber was the one handling the finances, someone who should have never touched the finances to begin with. one handling, the finances. Someone who should have never touched the finances to begin with. Besides Trenton being the breadwinner and everything being in his name, Amber was in charge of the spending.

She was good at it. So the cops were on to Amber. Her story was sketchy and she'd lied about their money issues. She cried during her interviews, but the sniffles were empty. Still, without DNA evidence or a confession, they couldn't arrest Amber, so she was released. March turned to April and heavy snow banks began to slowly melt. That's when Amber's stepsister walked outside

and saw something odd in her driveway. It was a long brown thing in the snow. She got closer and noticed it's a gun, the kind Trenton had been murdered with. Remember, Amber had said that she stopped by her sister's house on the day Trenton was killed. So her stepsister called the police and they mic'd her up and had her call Amber. Hello? Hey. Hey. Where you at? Where she goes.

Okay. Um, I need to talk to you. Like, it's really important and I need to talk to you. Okay, um, where are you? I'm at home. I need to talk to you like right now. Oh, do I have my phone or do you need me to be right now? Um, I need to- Okay, I'll find it.

Yeah. Did you score? Um, I went up to Mike's house and when I was leaving there I noticed something in the snowbank and when I stopped to get it... I, I, no I put it there yesterday. And I was going to stop at Mike's house today and talk to him.

You put the gun in the yard? I just, I just bought it because I wanted something for home protection. And I was gonna stop at Mike's house today and talk to him. You put the gun in the yard? I just bought it because I wanted something for home protection. Sure. Why wouldn't you say something? No, I tried to call you twice, three times yesterday. And I tried to call my cell phone too, twice. Oh my god. No, honey, I tried to call my cell phone too, twice. Oh my god.

No honey, I tried to call. Okay, this scares the shit out of me. No, no, no, I understand that. And I tried to call you this morning too. That's why I stayed at Marky's house for so long, because I was waiting to get ahold of you so I could get home. I did not get home, I stopped by on mail. Okay, well, I was just freaked out because it looked a whole... What did you do with it? I didn't touch it.

Oh, okay. Are you kidding me? I didn't know it. I mean, it looks a lot like the... It looks like a lot like the gun that they had a picture of. Oh, I told you they said there was a gun missing. So I was just shaking. I freaked right out. Oh, God.

No, I didn't mean to freak you out. I tried to get a hold of you. Gotta say, I think the stepsister is doing an excellent job here on this call. It's very believable. It's okay. It just freaks me out. I mean, it just looks like it had been there a while. And, you know, I,

I don't know, I just, my brain is just racing right now. It's just, like I said, it's just defined it there. And it looked like it, you know, just the snow had melted or something. I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, I was just, Amber said she'd be right over and the police were waiting at her stepsister's house, sticking out the scene to see if she grabbed the gun. Just in time, she rolled up in her Chevy Malibu.

But the cops had already taken the weapon out of the snow and into their possession. The police watched as Amber shuffled around the snowbank looking for the gun. shuffled around the snowbank looking for the gun. She's getting in her car. Yep, she is. Go, go, go, go. Then Amber called her stepsister back and tried to make up a story as to why the gun was no longer there.

Listen carefully. We were just absolutely misunderstood when he said to me, I was buying a gun from a person named Snow and asked them to meet me at my house. Stopping somebody's stucking stuck in your school bank. So you were going to meet somebody at Mike's house to buy it? But that's what I said today instead of yesterday because I couldn't get a hold of Mike

because I figured that way I wasn't all alone. I just don't, I don't even know what to think right now. I just... I don't know. I just feel like I'm just in such a shitty position. I'm fucking pissed. I just don't get this. I absolutely... I don't either.

I just don't get this at I absolutely, I just don't get this at all. I don't either. Amber tried to say she was meeting a guy named Snow to buy a gun to protect herself. Not that she left it in the snow bank. Okay, Amber, whatever you say. I love you, but I knew you didn't do this, whatever you say. I'm just feeling part of it, I just don't understand all this. I don't understand either, but no, I can't do it. Alright, well, I'm going to try and pull myself together, but I just need to talk to you, so...

I don't know. I guess hopefully we'll get some answers here soon. So that would be the hope. When the police directly confronted Amber about the gun in the driveway, the walls began to close in on her. What did your sister tell you about the gun in the driveway? She said you should call me in the driveway. And anything? So you don't have any idea? No. What did your sister tell you about the gun in the driveway? She said you should call me in the driveway.

And anything? Nothing. So you don't have any idea? No. Because it appears to maybe be the same gun that we're looking for. That's what she told me. It's interesting that it ended up in your sister's driveway. It would be interesting.

Well, I think we probably need to talk about this a little bit, don't you? Well, it's what we're doing. Remember what I told you before last time when we ended our conversation about the truth and how the truth is always going to come back and we're going to figure it out? Yes. Well this is the point right now, you're going to have your story started on rather. Okay. We've told enough things that are half-truths, untruths, and just flat-out lies at this point that they're all coming back to bite you.

I didn't do anything. Well, it's not working out that way, Amber, and you can continue to deny that, but we know that's not the truth. We've now collected the murder weapon that killed your fiancee out of your sister's driveway. Okay? And that, where do you think that is right now? I have no idea. That's at the lab being processed

for a lot of different things, a lot of different trace evidence stuff. Okay? It's all gonna come back to you. It's all already coming back to you. Your story that you told us is falling apart in the midst of all this. It's coming apart. I told you that's what's going to happen. Did I not? I did. Amber had painted herself into a corner and she had no more lies up her sleeve. No more sob stories

to throw out. No more ways to make herself the victim. The gun was being processed. She was toast. The gig's up. We know. We're not looking for anybody else. We found our person and here she is. We've given you the opportunity to tell the truth again and again and again and you refuse to do so because you're only thinking of yourself.

You're not thinking of those kids. The two things that mean the most to you in this life, you're not thinking about. You're only thinking about you. It's time to think about them. There were no other tire tracks in her driveway. They connected Amber to the murder weapon. The hard evidence was smacking Amber right in the face and yet she did not crack. Is this what we're gonna do all day? We're not going away. I did ask you to go away. You just said it.

But again, they still couldn't arrest her without the lab results. If Amber's prints were on the bullet or the gun, that's it, she'd be done for. Game over. The police were so close. So they brought her in one more time. And like a good, bold-faced, psychopathic liar, she showed up and took the emotional battery. gun that casing that we found how it belongs to that gun you were possessed that gun you took a picture on your phone with that gun and you hit us hit this gun in the snowbank it doesn't get any more clear than that not just getting any more clear than that so right now, you're just a cold-blooded killer.

That's what you are. You shot her fiance in his sleep. Never saw it coming. Is that who you are? No. So what are you? We know you're not just a grieving fiance. Are you?

That's not what you are. I just cried for fun. We know you're not just a grieving fiance, are you? That's not what you are. I just tried to find you. I didn't do anything. That's not true. I'm telling you, we'll be on there. So are we finished? Everyone thought Amber did it.

Everyone. The cops, me, you listening at home. Even Trenton's mother, who had loved Amber like a daughter. There was absolutely no other explanation. The theory was that Amber got up that morning, packed her kids in the car, and then ran inside and shot Trenton while he slept. Then she took the gun with her on her errands to create an alibi, and in the end dropped the weapon in the snowbank at her sister's house, knowing

it would be concealed for at least a month in the cold. As for the why, all the debts were in Trenton's name and the couple wasn't married yet. If she killed him, then the debt would also die. That's the thinking inside her noodle. That's how simple it is. That's how dumb it is. Criminals are not smart guys. In her mind, she thought she'd end up as a grieving widow able to fundraise her way out

of debt with her newfound misery. Victimhood these days pays a premium after all. The plan was pretty solid actually, as long as Amber stuck to her story. But the bullets matched the gun, and she was busted with science. Amber went to trial for Trenton's murder in October of 2014. She was arrested in the spring of 2014, and by the fall she was facing the courtroom and the jury. Amber sat sadly in her pink t-shirt barely looking up during the trial. It was hard to know what she was thinking. She had

no expression on her sullen face as the litigators went over every one of her missteps in great detail, showing the video of her digging for the gun in the snow bank. It took the jury less than an hour to find her guilty of premeditated first degree murder. Amber will be in prison for the rest of her life without the possibility of parole. The entire time that Amber was grilled by police, they kept telling her to think of her family. Think of her sons.

Think of anyone except yourself, Amber. Amber's very sick child had been through enough in his short life. He had battled cancer and a heart transplant. And now his father was dead and his mother was going to prison. When Amber was doing her media circuit to raise money for Marshall's treatments, she said something almost psychic about the strength of her boy. Maybe he was put here to teach the world a lesson that, you know, if he can go through all of this and be happy, then what are we all complaining about? We don't know if Marshall is happy or his his brother for that matter. But we do know that they have the love and support of Trenton's family to keep them thriving. As if Marshall hadn't been

through enough, his own mother, the woman who was supposed to protect him from harm and love him forever, cast the greatest darkness onto her own child instead. Ember is a cold-hearted killer and she is right where she belongs... for eternity. Well, that's going to do it. Buy some merch, swordandskill.com. Stay safe. So Hi, so I noticed you're upping your tiers, but what's going on? Are you taking tiers away from $5 tier subscribers?

Because I noticed there's a lot of shows that you are having out there, but they're not on the regular tier feed. So what's going on? I mean just trying to... I mean what's going on? I mean what's going on? Why do I need to pay more money to get more stories? I think you should just focus on plus and regular sorting scale and stop trying to do sorting scale

nightmare sorting scale, monstro I mean it's too much I really honestly think I've been following you for years honestly you do these things and you do them until you don't and then there's no consistency. So just handle that. Thank you. But I don't think there should be... I don't know why I should pay $20 to get some extra shows that I've already subscribed to. To get those extra shows that everybody else does not pay for. Thanks, bye. So Cha-ching. That's my impression of a sexy cash register.

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Shopify has everything you need to sell in person. With Shopify, you get a powerhouse selling partner that effortlessly unites your in-person and online sales into one source of truth. Track every sale across your business in one place and know exactly what's in stock. Connect with customers in line and online. Shopify helps you drive store traffic with plug and play tools built for marketing campaigns from TikTok to Instagram and beyond.

Get hardware that fits your business. Take payments by smartphone, transform your tablet into a point of sale system, or use Spotify's POS GoMobile device for a battle-tested solution. Plus, Shopify's award-winning help is there to support your success every step of the way. Do retail right with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash sword and scale, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash sword and scale to take your retail business to the next level today. Shopify.com slash sword and scale.