Unseen - The Fall of the Utah Slasher | The Case of Tiffany Mead | UNSEEN

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

“Shh, don’t scream.”--On the night of July 23rd 2013, Tiffany calmly calls the police asking for help after she injured her own neck in an attempt to take her life, while her ex-husband Kris simply watches her. When the detectives arrive on the scene, it’s clear to them that she didn’t do this herself. Her ex Kris says the opposite, and calls her a liar. As they dig more into the case, time is running out as Kris carries out his own plan to “finish the job”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I took a couple of pictures and just want to verify with you. Yeah. Is that her? Yeah. Okay. This man is in jail for trying to murder his wife. And right now, he's hiring a hitman to finish what he started. What he doesn't know is that the hitman is actually an undercover cop.

So what I was telling me was, you know, make it happen. Yeah. Well, let me throw a number out to you just so I make sure we're on the same page. Yeah. Something in about 5K. Yeah. Does that work? Yeah.

Is there a time period? I mean, is there a... No, no. No? And you're saying, I mean, all the way, right? Not... Yes, you know, have fun. Tiffany Mead, 22-year-old mother of two,

came face to face with death when her husband cut her throat in front of their child. But she survived. Unfortunately, her nightmare was just beginning as Chris Ertman would stop at nothing to see her dead. If I'm not safe, what Chris is in jail, I'm never going to be safe again. It's July 23rd, 2013. At around 1130 p.m., the 911 operator from the Davis County Sheriff's Office

receives this cryptic phone call. 911, what is the address of your emergency? I'm in front of Davis High School. Okay, what's going on there? I tried to commit suicide. My neck's bleeding. I need help. Is anybody with you, Tiffany? Tell her my husband, and then my son.

Okay, can I talk to him? Right away, the operator can tell something's off. Why would her husband let her call 911 herself? Do you have a dry, clean cloth and you can apply pressure to her neck? I got out my shirt. Well, we need something. Are you applying pressure? Yes, she has her hand on her throat.

The husband doesn't seem very worried. The operator begins to wonder if this is really a suicide attempt. Do you know why she did this? I don't know. You let me know when an officer's... Shows up. Minutes later, police arrive on the scene. The officers grab the med kit and walk up to the car, but nothing prepares them for what

they're about to discover. Tiffany is frantic, shaking, losing more and more blood from her wound. Her condition is critical. It was unbelievable. There's no way that somebody's going to be able to survive this. And while one of the officers takes care of Tiffany until the EMTs arrive, the other officer analyzes the scene. All right, walk over this with me.

There was blood on the outside of the door. And I'm thinking, how did that blood get there? I knew that it was called in as an attempted suicide. I'm thinking, what am I looking at here? The baby was crying, and one of the firemen was going to get the baby out of the back of the car. She thought that we were going to hand the baby to her soon-to-be ex-husband. She just blurted out to me. Don't let him take my baby.

He's the one who did this. I didn't do this. While they rush her to the hospital, her husband, Chris, is taken into custody. and brought in for questioning. Well, she tried to commit suicide, and I helped her out. And I actually helped her out. I tried to save her. I assisted him saving her.

I don't know how it happened. I just all telling me she cut her throat. She has a history of being suicidal. People don't commit suicide that way, especially for a mother to do it in front of her child. Didn't make sense to me. I love her. I mean, I wouldn't hurt her.

If I wouldn't hurt her, I wouldn't try to save her life. To be honest, because I love her, I mean. Already, the officer can tell his answers don't add up. But even if Chris is lying, the only way they will really know what happened is if Tiffany can talk. For now, she's still on the operating table, while doctors do everything they can to save her life. It's July 24th the following morning. Lieutenant Jen Daly is put on Tiffany's case. just as they hear that Tiffany made it through surgery and is now ready to talk.

When I worked in Tiffany's room at the hospital, I saw this frail young woman. She undid her bandage and showed me the wound. It was shocking to me that she survived it. So what I would like to do is start from a time you two start calling or texting about this meeting last night. Okay. Clear to the point that you were placed in the ambulance. Okay.

While Tiffany describes the events, Lieutenant Daly discovers that what she suspected is true. He told me that if I wanted to get my child support check, that I would have to meet him. He told me not to bring anyone. He kept reminding me to come along. Tiffany replies that she will have to bring two-year-old Noah with her. At the last minute, Chris picks this out-of-the-way park to meet. I got out of the car and I walked around the back of my car. He just started walking towards me. He had this look.

He was so determined coming at me. I didn't know what he was going to do. I was terrified. She's backing away, but Chris keeps walking, following her around the car. Suddenly, he grabs her in a bear hug, rendering Tiffany helpless. I reminded him that Noah was there, and he could hear and see everything that was going on. And he had his hand over my mouth. and with his right hand he reached in his right pocket and he pulled out of a knife

and he looked me in the eyes and he slipped my throat and as he's slitting my throat he says shh don't scream Tiffany tries to lift her hand up to her neck but Chris holds her hand down minutes past as Chris is looking at Tiffany losing blood she warns him that she's getting dizzy Chris opens a car door and sits her down. I had to stay calm because I had to get my baby to safety.

He said the only way you would let me get help is if we got back together and I dropped the divorce. And so I told him that I would get back together with him and that I loved him. And then he sealed it with a kiss and kissed me. The next thing Chris tells her is they have to ditch the knife. He gets in the passenger seat, shuts the door, and Tiffany starts to drop.

with one hand on her neck. All she can think about is getting her baby to safety. After a few minutes, Tiffany stops the car in front of a school. I was going to call 911, and he said that we had to come up with a story. So he told me to tell them that I was trying to commit suicide because he knows I'm on antidepressants. And he thought it would be believable. Okay, what's going on there? I tried to commit suicide.

My neck's bleeding. I need help. When the officers get there, Tiffany waits for the right moment. She's praying for an opportunity to tell them the truth. But Chris is two feet away, and her baby boy Noah is within his reach. Then, just as an officer goes to pick up Noah, she breaks down, yelling not to give her baby to her husband. She tells them he did this. He tried to kill her.

Without hesitation, the officers put Chris into custody. He was the suicidal mess. The last time I heard she was on an anti-depressant through something like that. I would kill her. I love her. I was trying to save our marriage. Watch your knee. It's July 24th. Lieutenant Daly is finishing her interrogation at the hospital. The officer can tell that Tiffany is in bad shape, but she's coherent and thorough. Unlike Chris, who can't seem to remember much and tries to avoid the conversation, it becomes clear that they are dealing with a dangerous individual.

Is there anything else that you think I need to know? Just that he's a very violent person. And if he's done this once, he'll do it again. She's a liar. At this point, I'm placing that arrest for attempt to honest. To be honest, I don't care. I'm not given about right stuff. Chris, you're under again in one way, okay?

Before Chris goes to trial, Lieutenant Daly has to prove that Chris did it. Without that proof, Chris will be released within a year, with nothing to stop him from trying to kill Tiffany again. The only possible evidence lies in the knife he ditched himself, as it would have his prints. We ended up searching close to a mile area, but ultimately we couldn't find a knife. Tiffany's life was in danger. I had to do something. While Tiffany is recovering at home, she lives in fear that Chris might be getting out soon, but she's not alone. Lieutenant Jen Daly takes the initiative to listen to jail phone calls of Chris, hoping in one of them he'll confess.

This call is subject to recording and monitoring. What else you do? Anything good? Nothing new, not good. Now, you better talk to dad about that because he worries. I know what to say and not to say. His dad was very good at reminding him. Don't talk about that night.

You know, remember all calls are recorded. Me and mom don't trust nobody. I don't. But after six months of listening to hours of conversations between Chris and his parents. Daly hasn't heard any useful information. She's beginning to lose hope as the day of the trial approaches.

Time is running out. I never heard anything that I was looking for. I was failing Tiffany. My children gave me the strength that I needed. There's nothing more important in my life than those two little boys. And I was afraid after what Chris had just done to me, what he would be willing to do

to my kids. My gut kept telling me, you've got to keep listening. It's there, it's there. Hello. Chris, what's going on? Write down this name of Raymond. Raymond?

Yeah, and just Facebook him and tell him that I'm in here. Wow, it's been almost six months, and this is the first time I ever heard you say anything about a friend, so to speak. And so I wrote the name on a little sticky pad. And I walked down the hall to Sergeant Thompson's office, and I said,

him for me. Raymond, whose last name remains anonymous, has served time in the county jail, but is no longer behind bars. After looking into his file, Lieutenant Daly discovers that Raymond has spent some time in the same block as Chris Ertman. Daly knows this is a big break. We contacted Raymond's probation officer and made arrangements to go meet. We want to ask you some questions about when you were in our jail.

Did you get to know a guy named Christopher Ertman? Oh, yeah, yeah. Did he ever talk about the situation he was in with his ex-wife and all that stuff? Yeah. Tell me about that. What happened in jail, stayed in jail, man. There's a time to do what's right. This is one of those moments in the alone.

There wasn't a lot of details. Like, I guess he admitted guilt. like that he's the one that cut her throat or tried to cut her throat this is the confession daily and Sergeant Thompson have been waiting for but there's more out of intuition

Sergeant Bob Thompson asks the following question did he ever ask you to do anything to hit me uh yeah you just asked me if I had the connections to arrange her bad things happened

what a bad thing to arrange her death specifically. He's trying to hire a hitman. This is bad. This is terribly bad. He wanted to have me kill. He wanted to have someone else do what he couldn't. Whenever the question was asked, I tactfully avoided it.

And I guess in a way, kind of like left the question unanswered. There's a coldness in his eyes, man. So you never know, man. Sometimes it's the quiet people. For her safety's sake, Lieutenant Daly goes to visit Tiffany and tells her everything that Chris Erdman is inside a jail,

orchestrating her murder. I remember everyone was asleep, just sitting on the floor, crying and thinking, if I'm not safe while Chris is in jail, I'm never going to be safe again. Tiffany worries that at any moment a hitman hired by Chris

will come up to her in the streets, or even at her, her house, it seems that Chris will stop at nothing until she's dead. We had her house put on extra patrol. I remember telling her if you're scared and it's 2 o'clock in the morning, I'll come up to your house myself. You don't have to hold this burden alone. Lieutenant Daly and Bob Thompson decide to counterattack and ask Raymond to meet with Chris,

hoping to get Chris on tape, ordering the hit on his ex-wife. What's up, bro? Oh, I don't know. What about you? He stood nothing to gain whatsoever. It deserves a lot of respect that he would make that. decision when he certainly didn't have to. Remember that work that you needed done though?

Yeah. Dude, I've got that guy, bro. I can't do that this time, no. Should I try to negotiate a little bit and see what I can do or what? Um, wait on that. Chris refusing to take the bait shocks the officers. There's a chance he knows he's being played. If that's the case, Tiffany is in grave danger.

The date of the trial, June 2014, is closing in. They must find proof before then. Tiffany's life was in danger. There were days I could actually feel panic for her. We were done at that point or so we thought. Then, another inmate comes forward from within the jail. He claims he's been approached by Chris. Though they don't necessarily trust this informer,

he does know things only Chris could have told him. Did he give me any clues to why he cut her throat? She left him, rejection. I told me he offered him. How many do something? Kill it. I'm getting him every opportunity to let me know back out and he's not. So besides...

Just get more aggressive with him if you want to have done more. This inmate is a career criminal, and he is deep connections. If anybody could hire somebody, it was him. This is their last chance to nail Chris before it's too late, but the risk is extremely high, as the inmate is far from reliable. Sadly, they don't have any other option. They arranged to send an undercover cop to pose as the hitman and meet with the inmate and Chris. Yeah, just pass the bull for a minute. He'll come by and watch him a second.

Okay. The man in the jumpsuit is the informer, and the undercover cop is waiting for him to invite Chris over. Yeah, just let me know. You'll see, yeah, you'll see it. Where's Earthman? How much man to come here for a second? I don't know. Okay, I think he's going on behind him.

Notice how Chris doesn't sit down to talk. He only passes on a paper. It's the address. where Tiffany lives. Tiffany's actual home address, and that was chilling. He's on board with this. Okay, see that? Yeah, okay.

That's just where you can see that. That's the parent's dad just right there. I'll go check it out. I'll come back and talk to him then. Chris is being told that the hitman will go on site to take pictures to make sure he has the right target. For now, the undercover cop is denied access to Chris directly. he will have to play along and come back at another time.

Then, the sheriff's office gets the most disturbing news. The informer refuses to cooperate any further unless he gets a reduced sentence. Frankly, we're not going to let him go. He had a case that involved a victim. That victim needed justice too, and we simply weren't going to cave into his demands. They know the inmate will go tell the whole thing to Chris and ruin the operation. They have to act quickly. Right away, they request an immediate removal of the inmate from the jail,

not knowing if it's already too late. Lieutenant Jen Daly insists that they continue on with the plan and send in the undercover cop to meet with Chris directly. This was our final play. Today was the day it was going to work or it was going to fail. What's up, man? How much? How are you? Good. How are you?

I'm just chilling. I took a couple of pictures and just want to verify with you. I had just this anxious energy all over me, and I paced around my desk. Just this worry, just this incredible worry for really a stranger. I didn't know her until this case, but she was going to die. Yeah. You see that?

Yeah. Is that right? Yeah. Is that her? Yeah. Okay. So what she was telling me was, you know, make it happen. Yeah.

Yeah. You know. Have fun. And you're saying, I mean, all the way, right? Yeah, have fun. Okay. So when do you want me to have this done by? Whenever you can. Is there a time period?

I mean, is there a... No, no. No? Sooner the better. Sooner the better? Yeah. Okay. Let me throw a number out to you just so I make sure we're on the same page.

Yeah. Something in about 5K. Yeah. Does that work? Yeah. So, but just so we're clear, I'm talking about, you know, we're not, there's no way to come back from it once I'm, once I do. You're good with that? Yeah, yeah.

I just remember at that moment while we were watching inside my being, the stress went away that fast. I literally jumped out of my chair and I remember just like, yes, we got him, we got him. Lieutenant Daly makes the call to Tiffany, the one she's been waiting for for months. You don't have to be scared anymore. You don't have to worry anymore. He's going to be in there a hell of a lot longer than he was ever going to be off that original charge. Along with the attempted murder charge, the prosecutor now added a solicitation to commit aggravated murder charge. I was so relieved.

It was probably the safest I had been since all of it started. I told her, thank you for saving my life. Because of the overwork. overwhelming proof against him, Chris pled no contest to the charges. Mr. Burton, sir, is there anything that you would like to tell the court today? I'm you, whatever happened happened, and I mean I'll take place for it, yeah, I did it. I was not in my right mind. Are you not dangerous?

As Chris has confessed, there is no need for Tiffany to testify. She is, however, granted permission to issue a statement to the court. Your Honor, I did not know where to begin in telling you how this crime has impacted me. Some people are afraid of the boogeyman. He is just a figment of their imagination. My boogeyman lives in brief. I was starting to take my power back from him and show him that I can move on from the horrendous thing that he did to me. He will try again to finish what he has attempted three times already.

It is this concern that causes me to plead again to impose the maximum sentence. It's possible. Chris Ertman receives a sentence of five years to life, meaning he is eligible for parole after five years. But during that time, Tiffany is getting ready. Every day she's getting stronger and refuses to live as a victim. And with the help of Lieutenant Daly, she's preparing for the parole hearing. I have to do everything in my power to keep this monster locked away.

A Davis County man in prison for slashing his now ex-wife's throat and hiring a hitman to try and kill her had a parole hearing today. Tiffany Meade testifies making it clear of what she believes his intentions would be if he were ever to get out of prison. Davis County Sheriff's Captain Jen Daly was there to support Mead. ...like from her any better for you, sweetheart. And after all she went through, Tiffany continues to win over the monster that tried to take her life. Chris was denied parole at his hearing for or Jen to show up to these parole hearings and to write to the parole board to help me fight. That means the world to me.

As long as I am alive, I will continue to stand and I gap between Christopher Irton and Tiffany made. Today, Tiffany is well on her way to recovery. She is remarried and her two little boys are happy and safe. She is hard at work, becoming a powerful voice against domestic violence. violence. She is forever grateful for all the people who helped her with her own battle, and most especially for Lieutenant Jen Daly. I do think that Jen Daly is my guardian angel. That woman has moved mountains. This job takes its toll on us, but it's this situation that makes it all worthwhile.