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Washington Teacher in Complex Marriage Fatally Shot in "Case Loaded with Secrets · Murder Files Unsealed

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the deep dive. So if you try
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to picture the ideal American small town, you know, quiet,
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centered on community, maybe surrounded by fields and orchards, you
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are basically picturing Moxie, Washington. It's Apple Country, exactly, and
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it's the absolute last place anyone would expect to find
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a textbook example of a love triangle just spiraling into
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this cold, calculated act of violence.
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Speaker 2: And yet that is exactly where we're diving today. It's
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really the contrast that defines this whole case. The sources
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we've gone through, they detail the life and the really
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tragic death of a woman named Desiree Sunford. Yeah, and
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when you look at her story, you see this vibrant,
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thirty year old middle school art teacher. She taught at
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will Poto Middle School. Her friends they called her des.
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Speaker 1: And they just described her as someone who thrived on creativity,
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someone who saw the world in color, and whose home
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was just it was a sanctuary of warmth and personality.
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Speaker 2: That sanctuary was completely shattered on the night of April fifth,
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twenty thirty. And this is a story that is just
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it's loaded with secrets, sex, and a really dark obsession.
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Speaker 1: It really forces you to look beneath that that perfect
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idyllic facade of what looked like a completely stable life
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in marriage. Our mission today is to trace these threads
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of betrayal and delusion that led to the death of
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a woman who, and this is according to her best friend,
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had absolutely no enemies.
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Speaker 2: And we really have to begin with the immediate mystery
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of the crime scene itself. Desiree was found shot multiple
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times with a point two two caliber handgun.
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Speaker 1: And her husband, Scott Sunford, he was away. He was
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at a family funeral, which gave him an immediate and pretty.
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Speaker 2: Solid alibi, a very solid alibi. But what's critical for
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the investigators we're talking Detective Dave Johnson and Deputy Ed
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Levesque of the Yucki MC County Sheriff's Office, is that
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the crime scene was clearly staged.
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Speaker 1: Yes, the killer tried, I mean desperately to camouflage the act.
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You had drawers yanked out, possessions just thrown around the room. Right,
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A back door was left ajar, a window screen was removed,
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all of it to suggest a forced entry. A textbook
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botched burglary.
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Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, that's exactly what they wanted the police to believe,
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But the inconsistencies were I mean, there were immediate red flags.
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If you're a common burglar, you go for high value stuff, you.
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Speaker 1: Know, of course, jewelry, cash, electronics.
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Speaker 2: Exactly easily movable items, and none of those were missing.
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And on top of that, there was no actual sign
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of force entry. The door was a jar, but it
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wasn't kicked in.
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Speaker 1: The window screen was removed, but the window itself wasn't broken.
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Speaker 2: It just suggested the intruder either had a key or
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they knew exactly where the weak points of the house were.
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Speaker 1: You know, what really stands out to me is the
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method of the killing itself. This wasn't some struggle with
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a surprised homeowner. A point two two caliber handgun is small,
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but it's incredibly deadly, especially when it's fired multiple times
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at close range. Yeah, the sources all note that the
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shots were delivered with and I'm quoting here chilling precision.
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Speaker 2: That phrase, chilling precision, that's key. It points directly to premeditation,
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to intent. The intent was to kill, not just to
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neutralize a threat during a robbery.
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Speaker 1: It immediately signaled to the detectives that the motive had
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to be personal.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely the target was Desiree herself, so they quickly realized
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they weren't looking for random thief. They were looking for
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someone who knew Desiree's routines, who knew the layout of
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her home, and who harbored some kind of deeply personal grievance.
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Speaker 1: So the question then became who was close enough to
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harbor that much rage?
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Speaker 2: And to answer that we have to unpack the source
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of that rage, starting with the marriage itself. We need
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to explore the cracks in the facade of the Sunford home.
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Speaker 1: Right, So, Desiree and Scott Sunford, they were the classic
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high school sweethearts. They met in Wapato, got married in
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their early twenties. Scott was an Army veteran who was
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a fitness trainer at a local marine recruiting station.
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Speaker 2: The picture of quiet strength, right, stable athletic exactly.
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Speaker 1: They certainly looked like the perfect couple who who had,
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you know, built the American dream right there in Yakima Valley.
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Speaker 2: But that's always the danger of a facade, isn't it.
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While they had the house and sustable careers, the fiery
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passion I mean, as is so often the case, it
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cooled it transitioned into what the sources call a comfortable routine.
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Speaker 1: But that comfort was starting to feel well suffocating, especially
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for Desiree.
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Speaker 2: And the strain wasn't just you know, typical marital boredom.
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Scott's career training marine recruits was incredibly demanding.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that means long hours, unexpected travel, long stretches where
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he was just gone. And Desiree, with her quote artistic soul,
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she craved connection, spontaneity, inspiration, and she.
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Speaker 2: Felt that isolation so acutely in their rural setting. The
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sources confirmed this was a slow, really painful erosion of
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their connection.
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Speaker 1: Friends started noticing things. Desire's smile seemed forced, she looked tired,
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emotionally drained.
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Speaker 2: Her sister in law later recalled Desire mentioning these persistent arguments,
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little things that built up. They weren't explosive fight, but
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just these chronic, unresolved tensions about Scott's absence, his emotional withdrawal.
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Speaker 1: She told her friend she felt neglected. She felt like
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she had been replaced by his demanding job and just
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his distance.
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Speaker 2: So she felt neglected by his routine in his job.
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But here is where we hit the absolute core of
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the conflict, the betrayal that created the ultimate vulnerability.
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Speaker 1: The infidelity. Scott wasn't just working late. He was entangled
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with a twenty eight year old coworker at the fitness
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center named Page Blades.
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Speaker 2: And Page was in a way designed to be the
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escape that Scott was looking for. She's described as younger, bold,
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and unapologetic, with this sharp energy that was such a
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stark contrast to the quiet predictability of his life with Desiree.
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Speaker 1: The affair started in late twenty twelve, and by early
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twenty thirteen it had accelerated, I mean dramatically.
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Speaker 2: And Scott caught between these two lives. He tried to
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keep the affair strictly hidden, but that's a near impossible
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thing to do in a tight knit community like Moxie.
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Speaker 1: Secrets in a town they just seep out, don't they
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through whispers and observations.
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Speaker 2: And the police once they started digging into Scott's recent activities,
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they found this painful digital trail. Text messages reviewed by
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investigators showed desire pleading with Scott for reassurance. Oh wow, yeah.
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She wrote things like I know something is wrong, tell
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me what's going on. She was reaching out desperately trying
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to save their relationship.
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Speaker 1: And what was Scott's response. The sources suggest it was
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just classic evasiveness.
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Speaker 2: Noncommittal replies, denial, and what really amounts to gaslighting, making
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Desiree doubt her own intuition. He was actively avoiding the
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responsibility of making a choice.
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Speaker 1: Just allowing his dishonesty to hang in the.
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Speaker 2: Air, exactly, and in doing so, he created this emotional
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vacuum that would later be exploited by someone far, far
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more unstable.
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Speaker 1: That avoidance is so crucial. Scott's actions, the lies, the
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emotional withdrawal, the selfishness, I mean, they're morally damaging on
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their own, but they created the environment where this tragedy
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could actually happen.
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Speaker 2: He didn't pull the trigger, but his choices placed Desiree
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in a position of maximum vulnerability, and that vulnerability, compounded
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by the presence of a third, highly unstable player, was
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about to become fatal.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so let's move into that. Part two introduces that
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third corner of the triangle, the obsession that turned lethal.
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So we have Scott the cheating husband, Desiree the isolated wife,
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and now Page the mistress.
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Speaker 2: But even Page, despite her involvement with Scott. She wasn't
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operating independently. Her life was complex, right.
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Speaker 1: She was a single mother from a broken home.
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Speaker 2: And while she was chasing the passion and excitement Scott offered,
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which he ultimately craved, was stability. She needed commitment, not
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just these secret meetings, and that internal conflict made her
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vulnerable to the influence.
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Speaker 1: Of another man, Marty Grismer.
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Speaker 2: Enter Marty Grismer. He was thirty two, a maintenance worker
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at the school district, and Marty was by all accounts
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kind of a shadow.
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Speaker 1: Figure, prone to brooding silences, known for some instability, but
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reliable enough for odd jobs.
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Speaker 2: And this is critical. He was the sun Fred's handyman,
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which meant he wasn't a stranger. He had intimate knowledge
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of their homes, workings, their routines.
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Speaker 1: And the connection between Marty and Paige. It was long standing, right,
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It went way back, all.
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Speaker 2: The way back to their youth. He harbored these unrequited
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but undimmed feelings for her. He was the one she
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called when her car broke down. He was the one
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who listened to her complain about Scott, about her loneliness.
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Speaker 1: So to Marty page wasn't just a friend, she was
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an ideal, a symbol of the perfect life. He felt
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the world owed him, and he saw himself as her protector.
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Speaker 2: So we have this simmering emotional cocktail, right Scott's betrayal,
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Desre's isolation, Page's conflict, and then Marty's decades long unrequited fixation.
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Speaker 1: And then in the spring of twenty thirteen, everything just
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reaches its boiling point with one piece of news.
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Speaker 2: The fatal trigger. Paige informed both Scott and Marty that
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she was pregnant. This was in March of twenty thirteen.
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Speaker 1: And allegedly the child was Scott's allegedly.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, this news completely destabilized Scott, who we all had
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to reckon with the impending reality of a divorce, second family.
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But for Marty. For Marty this was the ultimate catalyst
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for his dangerous delusion.
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Speaker 1: We really need to spend some time on this delusion
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because it's the absolute essence of the motive here. How
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did the news of Page's pregnancy by another man inspire
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him to commit murder?
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Speaker 2: Marty's perception was just It was utterly warped by his obsession.
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He didn't see the complexity of the situation he saw
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a simple obstruction. He fixated on Desiree, seeing her not
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as a person, but as the anchor holding back Page's
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future happiness with Scott.
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Speaker 1: So, in Marty's twisted logic, the problem wasn't Scott's cheating
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or his inability to commit. The problem was the wife
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who stood in the way of his ideal couple being
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together exactly.
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Speaker 2: A former colleague even testified about this fixation, noting that
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Marty was so obsessed it was like he thought quote
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eliminating her would clear the path for everyone.
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Speaker 1: Wow.
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Speaker 2: For Marty, who felt marginalized and passed over his whole life,
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this became his grand opportunity. Killing Desiree was not just
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an active service to Page, it was an active, twisted justice.
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It was a way to insert himself into the heart
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of the drama as the hero, the protector, and finally
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win Page's affection and eternal loyalty.
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Speaker 1: He saw murder as a logical step toward redemption for
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himself and for Page.
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Speaker 2: Which is just chilling, and that deep seated delusion leads
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directly to the next critical event, the dry run.
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Speaker 1: Right. This was just three days before the murder on
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April second, twenty thirteen, the Sunford's home was burglarized. At
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the time, it just seemed minor and inconvenience, but.
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Speaker 2: Marty later confessed this was his dry run. He had
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used anology gained as their handyman. He knew which window
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might be unsecured, he knew the best time to enter.
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He rifled through drawers, tossed things around, disturbed electronics.
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Speaker 1: But intentionally left anything of significant value right.
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Speaker 2: The primary goal was to heighten their paranoia. He wanted
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to make the Sunfords believe they were vulnerable to random theft,
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so that when the real attack came three days later,
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it would look like a continuation, an escalation of that
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first attempt.
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Speaker 1: He wanted to embed the narrative of a random criminal
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target precisely.
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Speaker 2: But this tactical decision, I mean it backfired catastrophically on them, because,
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rattled by the dry run, Scott and Desiree immediately took
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steps to protect themselves.
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Speaker 1: They installed a basic wireless security system linked to their
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phones for real time alerts.
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Speaker 2: It's the ultimate tragic irony, isn't it. The very action
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Marty took to create his cover story ended up creating
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the crucial piece of evidence that would eventually trap him.
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Speaker 1: That security system, installed only days before Desiree was killed,
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became the silent witness to the exact moment the crime
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was committed.
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Speaker 2: And not just a silent witness, but a piece of
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technology that recorded his entry, his movements, and his specific
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attempts to briefly disable the system alerts. Knowledge he got
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through his own research, which shows even more premeditation.
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Speaker 1: That one small, crucial act of self defense spurred by
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Marty's own dry run, would prove pivotal years later.
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Speaker 2: And despite the shock of that dry run in the
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new alarm, the murder still happened. Once the scene was secured,
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the real work for law enforcement began.
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Speaker 1: So let's trace how detective Johnson and Deputy Levesque approached
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this chaotic scene and moved from a theory of random
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crime to one of internal betrayal.
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Speaker 2: The initial assessment, as we said, focused on the stage
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nature of the crime. But even when they started looking
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at Scott, who's the natural first suspect, they had to
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deal with the challenge of a rural homicide.
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Speaker 1: Resources are stretched thin in a place like Yakima County.
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Speaker 2: Exactly, they didn't have a massive forensics team and they
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were dealing with limited manpower and a lot of competing cases.
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Speaker 1: Now, Scott's alibi, the funeral out of town, that checked
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out pretty quickly, but his behavior when he got back
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to Moxy was suspicious enough to keep him high on
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the list.
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Speaker 2: He was described as detached, which you know in itself
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isn't damning. People grieve differently, but when you couple that
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with his apparent lack of profound emotional grief, it raised eyebrows.
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Speaker 1: One deputy specifically noted that Scott's scened more concerned with
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logistics than grief, and he kept asking pointed questions about
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the insurance policy and the home security system.
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Speaker 2: So that combination the affair rumors that were already swirling
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in that strange demeanor, it made him look very guilty,
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even if he wasn't the one who physically pulled the trigger.
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Speaker 1: And this scrutiny naturally led investigators directly to Page Blades,
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the known mistress.
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Speaker 2: She tearfully admitted the relationship with Scott, but vehemently denied
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any involvement in the murder. However, her testimony and the
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phone records began to pull in that unstable element connected
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to her Marty Grismer.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so Marty comes under intense scrutiny. Why him specifically, Well,
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for a few reasons. First, his history of instability and
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that obsession with Page was pretty easy to trace once
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they started asking questions around town. Second, he had privileged access.
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He was the handyman. He knew the structural weak points
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of the house, and he knew about the timing of
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the dry run and the new security system installation.
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Speaker 2: That's the key. What specific elevated him from just a
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person of interest to a key suspect was the digital
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footprint the phone records. Phone records cross referenced with Pages
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revealed these late night, urgent calls between Marty and Page
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in the seventy two hours leading up to Desiree's death.
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This wasn't just casual conversation.
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Speaker 1: It suggested conspiracy, or at the very least, that Marty
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was intensely communicating with Page about the marital tensions that
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were about to erupt into violence. Right.
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Speaker 2: But despite all these strong threads of suspicion, the evidence
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just wasn't strong enough for an arrest, and the case
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hit a devastating roadblock.
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Speaker 1: It went cold for over two years. It was relegated
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to the backlog of rural homicides. That must have been
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just crushing for everyone involved.
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Speaker 2: It was profoundly frustrating Detective Johnson, according to those close
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to the investigation, he kept Desiree's case file front and
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center on his desk. He kept her smiling yearbook photo
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pinned to his board, a constant reminder that this wasn't
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just a file number.
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Speaker 1: Without concrete physical evidence linking Marty directly to the bullet
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or the location, all they had was a circumstantial case, and.
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Speaker 2: That's based mostly on suspicion in rumors, which is incredibly
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difficult to prosecute.
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Speaker 1: So the breakthrough, when it finally arrived in late twenty fifteen,
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it didn't come from forensics. It came from a conscience
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that was just burdened by guilt.
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Speaker 2: That's such a critical distinction. The turning point was page Blades.
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She was now a mother raising her child, the very
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child who was the catalyst for this entire disaster.
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Speaker 1: And the sources indicate she was grappling with this intense,
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unrelenting guilt over the part her actions and her secrets
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played in Desiree's death.
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Speaker 2: So she finally approached authorities, and she offered a bombshell revelation.
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She confirmed Marty's total obsession and his premeditation. She revealed
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that Marty had been bragging about taking care of the
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problem for her sake.
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Speaker 1: And this provided the motive and the conspiracy link the
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investigators had been missing, and she.
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Speaker 2: Didn't stop at a general confession. Her testimony included these
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chilling specific details.
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Speaker 1: Of the plan involved what kind of details.
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Speaker 2: She detailed how Marty had followed Desiree home from school,
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meticulously noting her daily routines when she was most likely
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to be alone. Crucially, she detailed the acquisition of the
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murder weapon, a point two to two caliber pistol he
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got from a shady pawnshop connection in Ellensburg.
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Speaker 1: Wow.
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Speaker 2: And the detail that truly solidifies the premeditation. She recalled
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Marty practicing his shot in a deserted field, using soda
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cans as targets to make sure he was accurate.
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Speaker 1: This wasn't a moment of passion, This was a calculated
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execution planned weeks in advance.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that sheer calculation in Page's testimony allowed the
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investigators to finally move into Part four, gathering the irrefutable
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evidence that would tighten the noose around Marty Grismer.
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Speaker 1: So the physical link came almost immediately after Page's account.
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Speaker 2: It did based on her information, investigators got a warrant
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to raid Marty's storage unit, and there, wrapped carefully in oilcloth,
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they found gun parts, specific the barrel and the slide
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of a point two to two handgun.
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Speaker 1: And the ballistics experts got to work right away. This
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is the moment where technology and physical evidence irrevocably link
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Marty to the crime.
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Speaker 2: It's the smoking gun. Literally Friended ballistics experts confirmed that
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the rifling marks, those are the unique grooves imparted onto
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a bullet by the gun's barrel. From the recovered barrel
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matched the bullets extracted during Desiree's autopsy.
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Speaker 1: A definitive map.
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Speaker 2: It's a definitive match, and the shell casings found on
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the Sunford living room floor aligned perfectly with the recovered components.
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We're talking about a ninety nine point nine percent certainty.
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The physical evidence was overwhelming.
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Speaker 1: But even with that physical proof, the prosecution worked to
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make sure their case was built on multiple unshakable, circumstantial pillars.
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They needed to show intent, opportunity and behavior.
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Speaker 2: They certainly did, and the first powerful pillar came from
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a witness who knew Marty intimately, his ex wife, Beth Maxwell.
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Speaker 1: What does she have to say, Well, even.
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Speaker 2: Though they were long divorced, she reported his erratic behavior,
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his bouts of raid, his cryptic mutterings about having to
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fix mistakes, and crucially, she remember finding a hidden box
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of point two to two ammunition in his garage, tucked
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away behind some tools.
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Speaker 1: Which corroborates Page's statement about him getting the weapon and
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ammunition exactly.
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Speaker 2: The second pillar relies on the technology the Sunfords installed
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after Marty's dry run that new security footage. Initially it
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was too grainy to be of much use, but.
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Speaker 1: This is where investigative persistence really shines.
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Speaker 2: Right It is FBI technicians were able to enhance that
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grainy footage, and what the enhancement revealed was critical. Almost
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an accidental identification a discernible figure moving through the house
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that exhibited Marty's distinctive gait, his limp from an old injury.
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Speaker 1: So that places a figure with his specific physical characteristics
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at the exact location during the time of the murder.
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Speaker 2: And that ties directly into his technical knowledge and access.
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He wasn't just walking into a random house. He knew
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exactly how to bypass the initial alerts right.
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Speaker 1: He later conceded that he had disabled the security camera
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alert briefly using a trick he learned from online forums
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to create a short window of opportunity.
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Speaker 2: And that specific knowledge, coupled with his pre existing access
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as a handyman who knew the unsecured window he'd used before,
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it just dismantled any possible defense that he was an
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accidental intruder.
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Speaker 1: And finally, the cell phone pings. Even if he tried
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to disable the house security, his own personal device was
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tracking his location.
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Speaker 2: The cellular data was conclusive using cell tower triangulation, authorities
19:31
placed Marty's cell phone near the Sunford home during that
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crucial time window on the night of the murder.
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Speaker 1: So when you layer all of that, the gun parts,
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the ex wife's testimony, his intimate knowledge of the home
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and the security system, the limp in the video, and
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the cell phone pings.
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Speaker 2: The case was airtight. It demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt
19:51
that Marty Grismer was the killer.
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Speaker 1: Let's just recount the narrative of that night one last time.
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With all the added details from Page and the evidence.
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So Marty, disguised in dark clothing, he enters through that familiar,
20:00
unsecured window.
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Speaker 2: He was in the house for only minutes. He was
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looking for Desiree, who was home alone. The forces described
20:08
the shots not as professional but as frantic.
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Speaker 1: He fired four times, hitting her in the chest and
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abdomen as she confronted him, likely startling him in the darkness.
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Speaker 2: Then he quickly exited through the back door, staging that
20:22
burglary look one last time before fleeing into the night.
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Speaker 1: And the twisted irony of his actions immediately following the murder,
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it just showcases the depth of his self delusion.
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Speaker 2: It's truly astonishing. Marty returned to his routine immediately. He
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played the concerned friend to Page, offered her comfort. He
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even attended Desire's memorial service. Oh way, yes, standing there
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offering condolences and consoling Page, who was simultaneously just racked
20:48
with horror knowing the truth. He was acting out this
20:51
fantasy of being the hero who had cleared the path
20:53
for his ideal life while standing feet away from the
20:56
victim's grieving family.
20:57
Speaker 1: Just an incredible display of a fractured psycho Okay, so
21:01
we've traced the secrets, the obsession, and the violence. Let's
21:05
move to Part five, the resolution, the aftermath, and the
21:09
lasting legacy of Desiree Sunford.
21:12
Speaker 2: The overwhelming evidence gathered by the police finally led to
21:15
Marty Grismer's trial, which was scheduled for early twenty seventeen.
21:19
But facing that combination of Page's detailed confession, the ballistics,
21:23
and the digital data, Marty made a strategic legal decision.
21:27
Speaker 1: Right on the eve of opening argument.
21:29
Speaker 2: He entered an Alfred play. This is a critical legal
21:32
maneuver and it's important to understand. It means the defendant
21:35
doesn't actually confess guilt, but he legally acknowledges that the
21:39
prosecution has enough evidence to secure a conviction beyond a
21:43
reasonable doubt.
21:44
Speaker 1: So the strategic advantage for Marty was avoiding the trauma
21:47
and exposure of a lengthy trial and potentially getting a
21:50
slightly lesser sentence than if a jury convicted him after
21:53
hearing all the gory details, and.
21:55
Speaker 2: The prosecution was comfortable accepting it because the evidence was
21:58
so strong, they got the conviction without the risk in
22:00
a long emotional trial where any single piece of evidence
22:04
might be successfully.
22:05
Speaker 1: Challenged despite not verbally confessing in court, The sources offer
22:09
that chilling Sidebard detail Marty reportedly whispered to his attorney,
22:14
I did it to protect her.
22:15
Speaker 2: And that inadmissible whisper. It just confirms the whole psychological
22:19
narrative we've explored. The murder was never really about desiree.
22:23
It was about protecting his warped ideal of page and
22:26
securing his place in her life. It was about perceived
22:28
protection and unrequited desire, driving an act of ultimate violence.
22:33
Speaker 1: The sentencing took place on January eighth, twenty seventeen. Judge
22:37
Oscar Armstrong's sentence Marty to fifteen years, which was on
22:41
the low end of Washington sentencing guidelines.
22:43
Speaker 2: The judge weighed the severity of the premeditation heavily, noting
22:47
this was a carefully planned act, not a spontaneous crime
22:50
of passion, but Marty's lack of a prior violent criminal
22:53
history allowed the judge to lean toward.
22:55
Speaker 1: That lower range and his current status.
22:57
Speaker 2: Marty, now thirty seven, is serving his sentence in the
23:00
minimum security unit at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla, Walla.
23:03
He will be eligible for parole in twenty twenty eight.
23:05
Speaker 1: The emotional weight of the case was really laid bare
23:08
through the victim's voices. Desire's brother, Casey Cast delivered a
23:12
powerful impact statement during the sentencing.
23:15
Speaker 2: Casey's statement was a real focal point of that hearing.
23:18
He stood before Marty and just articulated the family's profound,
23:22
irreparable loss. He said, you stole my sister's light, her laughter,
23:27
her future. No plea erases.
23:29
Speaker 1: That the conviction provides legal closure, but Casey's words just
23:33
underscore that the emotional and personal loss is fundamentally incomplete, and.
23:38
Speaker 2: We have to address the long term consequences for the
23:41
surviving parties. Scott Sunford and Page Blades because the ripples
23:45
of betrayal and responsibility continued long after Marty was imprisoned.
23:49
Speaker 1: Scott, whose infidelity initiated this entire, deadly spiral, He's now
23:53
remarried and living in Spokane.
23:54
Speaker 2: His life is permanently marked by the consequences of his actions.
23:58
He's expressed deep remorse in interview, recognizing the moral liability
24:02
he holds. He admitted, I never imagined my mistakes would
24:05
cost her life. My infidelity was wrong, but I truly
24:07
didn't know about Marty or his obsession.
24:09
Speaker 1: He may not have committed the crime, but the source
24:12
material is clear. The community and Scott himself, they grapple
24:16
with the fact that his secrets created the opportunity for
24:18
a predator.
24:19
Speaker 2: To act and Page Blades the mistress, the catalyst, the
24:23
unwilling recipient of Marty's protection. She is living a life
24:27
defined by regret and this quiet quest for atonement.
24:31
Speaker 1: She's living in anonymity, raising her child, and in a
24:34
deeply poignant twist, she named her child after Desiree, which
24:38
is yeah.
24:40
Speaker 2: It's perhaps a constant daily reminder of the life that
24:43
was sacrificed because of the secrets she kept and the
24:45
obsession she fostered. She's reportedly volunteering at women's shelters, seemingly
24:50
seeking to atone for the guilt she carries. She told
24:53
a correspondent, I live with the what IFFs every single day.
24:56
Speaker 1: Despite the tragedy and the moral failings of those involved,
25:00
Desiree's light really does endure. Through the advocacy of her loved.
25:03
Speaker 2: Ones, her family channeled their grief into a positive force.
25:06
Casey cast established the desire sunfrud Art Foundation, which provides
25:10
funding and scholarships for at risk youth in the Achima area.
25:13
It connects directly back to DES's passion for creativity and teaching.
25:17
Speaker 1: And her friends Kim Odell and Michelle Howell. They maintain
25:20
a beautiful living memorial garden at Willpotter Middle School where
25:25
sunflowers Desiree's favorite bloom every spring.
25:28
Speaker 2: It's a way of honoring the shared sentiment of all
25:30
who knew her des deserved better.
25:33
Speaker 1: So this deep dive into the Sunford case reveals that
25:36
the idyllic, small town setting of Moxie was a crucible
25:40
where normal marital strife, amplified by Scott's absence and Desiree's isolation,
25:45
became fertile ground for extreme obsession.
25:47
Speaker 2: That is the ultimate takeaway. Scott's initial betrayal and his
25:51
evasion created the weakness. Marty Grismer, the shadow figure nursing
25:56
this unrequited, decades long obsession, saw the pregnancy as a
25:59
man and use that weakness to execute a specific, premeditated
26:04
act of violence.
26:04
Speaker 1: And the stage crime scene meant to look random. It
26:07
failed because of the complexity of the human relationships involved.
26:10
Speaker 2: And critically because of the technology installed only days before
26:14
the murder, which provided irrefutable proof of his presence.
26:17
Speaker 1: When you look back at how close Marty came to
26:19
getting away with this, it's chilling. The initial investigations stalled
26:22
completely until Page, two years later, finally broke.
26:25
Speaker 2: Indeed, the source material offers a final powerful reflection on
26:29
the nature of consequence and betrayal, summed up best by
26:33
one correspondent covering the case. In the end, it wasn't
26:36
a stranger at the door, but the monsters we invite
26:39
into our lives.
26:40
Speaker 1: The entire case serves as a powerful cautionary tale about
26:44
the corrosive power of secrets and the long reach of
26:47
moral liability.
26:48
Speaker 2: And consider this, Marty's tactical mistake. That dry run is
26:53
what spurred Desirae in Scott to install the security system.
26:56
Had he skipped that step, or had Page never confessed,
26:59
he might they'll be walking free. What really stands out
27:02
to you about how quickly and how decisively that last
27:05
minute technological precaution turned a cold case into a conviction.
27:09
Speaker 1: That's a profound thought to leave with. It really underscores
27:12
how often the simplest decisions, in this case, buying a
27:15
home security camera can determine whether justice is served. Thank you,
27:18
for diving deep into the complexities of this tragic story
27:21
with us today a pleasure as always