Pretty Wicked

We wear them, carry them and sleep right next to them, but how much do our devices really know about us? Two days before Christmas in 2015, a mom of two was found dead in the basement of her Connecticut home, and her husband said a masked man in camouflage did it. Her Fitbit remembered that morning a little differently. Come sit with me, and you can tell me who you’d believe.

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Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Connecticut Judicial Branch - State v. Dabate, 351 Conn. 428 (March 11, 2025)

Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice - Richard Dabate Sentenced to 65 Years in Prison for the December 2015 Murder of His Wife, Connie Dabate

UConn School of Law - Connecticut Supreme Court 'On Circuit'

NBC Connecticut - Woman's Death in Ellington Incident Being Investigated As Homicide: State Police

NBC Connecticut - Woman Found Dead in Ellington Home Was Shot to Death: Medical Examiner

FOX61 - Still no answers in Ellington 5 weeks after homicide

Patch - Ellington Woman's Widower Expresses Gratitude for Support

FOX61 - Justice for Connie shirts aim to raise funds for murder victim's sons, keep her memory alive

WWLP (Associated Press) - Vigil marks anniversary of Ellington mom's unsolved slaying

NBC Connecticut - Ellington Man Charged in Wife's 2015 Murder Due in Court

Patch - Ellington Murder Warrant Reads Like Hollywood Script as Husband Arranges $1 Million Bond

NBC Connecticut - Ellington Man Accused of Murdering Wife Posts $1 Million Bond

CBS News - Slain woman's Fitbit data cited in murder case against husband

KIRO 7 - Woman's Fitbit data leads to husband's arrest for her murder

WTVR (CNN Wire) - How police used murdered mom's Fitbit to arrest suspected killer

BleepingComputer - Fitbit and Facebook Data Helps Crack Murder Case

NBC News - Fitbit Murder Case: Richard Dabate Pleads Not Guilty in Wife's Death

Fox News - 'Fitbit murder' suspect slapped with wrongful death suit by slain wife's sister

NBC Connecticut - Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Ellington Man Accused of Killing Wife

FOX61 - Dabate rejects plea deal, case heads to trial

NBC Connecticut - Ellington Husband Accused of Killing Wife Searched 'Poison' Online: Court Documents

NBC Connecticut - Lawyers for Ellington Man Accused in Wife's Killing Ask Judge to Toss Evidence

FOX61 - Judge Denies Defense Motions in Dabate Case, Allows Fitbit Expert Testimony

FOX61 - Rick Dabate trial postponed again, judge orders jury be re-selected

AOL - Dabate lawyers challenge evidence from basement window experiment

NBC Connecticut - Day 2 of Richard Dabate Trial Brings Questions About Murder Suspect's Wounds

FOX61 - Dabate Murder Trial Day Two: Responders Describe Scene

WFSB - Trial of Ellington murder case from 2015 continues

Yahoo News (Journal Inquirer) - Prosecution presents photos of Dabate crime scene in husband's trial

PressReader (The News-Times) - Jurors hear claim intruder killed wife in Fitbit trial

Yahoo News (Journal Inquirer) - Medical examiner testifies about Connie Dabate's wounds during husband's trial

NBC Connecticut - Day 3 of Richard Dabate Trial: Jury Hears Part of Recorded Interview

NBC Connecticut - Richard Dabate Trial Continues With Testimony From Alleged Mistress

WTNH - Dabate Trial: Former mistress takes the stand

Yahoo News (Journal Inquirer) - Witnesses testify Dabate was worried about affects of divorce, unplanned pregnancy

NBC Connecticut - Fitbit Testimony Heard In Richard Dabate Murder Trial

NBC Connecticut - Richard Dabate Takes Stand in Murder Trial

PressReader (Stamford Advocate) - Accused killer Richard Dabate testifies in Conn. Fitbit trial

Yahoo News (Hartford Courant) - Richard Dabate was 'ticking time bomb' in love with two women, running out of time, state says

AOL (Journal Inquirer) - Lawyers in Dabate trial deliver final arguments

Fox News - 'Fitbit' murder trial: jury gets case of rich Connecticut man charged in wife's slaying

NBC Connecticut - Jury Begins Deliberating in Richard Dabate Murder Trial

NBC Connecticut - Deliberations Ongoing in Richard Dabate Murder Trial

Connecticut Public (Associated Press) - Jurors in 'Fitbit murder' trial convict man of killing wife

FOX61 - FOUND GUILTY: Richard Dabate found guilty of all charges in 'Fitbit' murder case

Yahoo News (Hartford Courant) - Family remembers slain Connecticut woman as a humble, generous and caring mother whose life was cut short

PressReader (Hartford Courant) - 'Trial wasn't about a Fitbit'

Yahoo News (The Daily Beast) - Guilty! Two-Timing Connecticut Hubby Is Undone by Murdered Wife's Fitbit

Law&Crime - Jurors convict man of murder after wife's Fitbit data undermined his story about masked intruder killing her

NBC Connecticut - EXCLUSIVE: Richard Dabate Jury Foreperson Says Data Doesn't Lie

FOX61 - Rick Dabate Sentenced to 65 Years for Murdering Wife Connie in "Fitbit Case"

WTNH - Richard Dabate sentenced to 65 years for wife's murder

NBC Connecticut - Ellington Man Sentenced to 65 Years for Murder of Wife in 2015

Oxygen - Connecticut Man Gets 65 Years For Killing Wife In Case Known As The 'Fitbit Murder'

Oxygen - Husband Brutally Killed His Wife and Blamed an Intruder - Her Fitbit Exposed His Lie

Oxygen - Husband Claimed Intruder Tortured Him, Killed His Wife - Until a Fitbit Exposed the Truth

NBC Connecticut - Ellington man's conviction over wife's murder appealed to CT Supreme Court

Nashua Telegraph (Associated Press) - Court upholds conviction in Fitbit murder case despite missteps by prosecutor

Wikipedia - Murder of Connie Dabate

📚 BOOKS

No books were used for this episode.

🎬 DOCS

NBC News - Watch the Dateline episode "The Secrets of Birch View Drive" now1

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If a man drowned in a lake full of alligators, what would you expect to find? In December 2000, a young dad from Tallahassee, Florida, went duck hunting and vanished, and months later, his waders came up out of the water without a single bite mark. His mother never believed he was in that lake.

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Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Wikipedia - Murder of Mike Williams

FindLaw - Williams v. State, Florida First District Court of Appeal (2021)

CBS News - Mother a driving force as jury finds answers to Florida man's 2000 disappearance

CBS News - Trigger man testifies in murder trial featuring "sex, lies and deceit" - and alligators

NBC News - Florida man's death was blamed on alligators at first, but his mom's determination led to the truth

NBC News - Florida woman gets life sentence in husband's death that was initially blamed on alligators

Fox News (Associated Press) - Florida authorities say man missing since 2000 was murdered

FDLE - FDLE provides update in Mike Williams investigation

WCTV - Mike Williams remains found in Leon County, sources say

WCTV - Denise Williams denied bond, trial date set

WCTV - Jury deliberations underway in Denise Williams murder trial

WCTV - Mike Williams case: Mother's fight for answers leads to murder conviction

WCTV - Insurance fraud charges against Denise Williams moving forward

WCTV - Denise Williams appeals murder conviction and life sentence

WCTV - Denise Williams' conspiracy conviction still stands, appeals court rules

WCTV - Florida Supreme Court refuses to review Denise Williams murder conspiracy case

WCTV - Denise Williams resentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy in husband's death

Mysuncoast - Denise Williams resentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy in husband's death

WFSU - Williams Trial Day 1: State, Defense, Lay Out Differing Narratives

WFSU - Williams Trial Day 2: Confessed Shooter Winchester Outlines Motive, Affairs

WFSU - Williams Trial Day 3: Winchester's Ex-Wife Testifies, Defense & Prosecution Rest Their Cases

WFSU - Williams Trial Day 4: Jury Weighs Conspiracy, Murder Charges In Death Of Mike Williams 18 Years Ago

WFSU - Denise Williams Found Guilty Of Conspiracy, 1st Degree Murder & Accessory In Mike Williams' Death

WFSU - Denise Williams, Convicted Of Conspiring To Kill Her First Husband, Is Resentenced To 30 Years In Prison

WTXL - Testimony continued in Day 2 of Denise Williams trial

WTXL - Former boss of Mike Williams reflects on his death

WTXL - Murder conviction for Denise Williams reversed by appeals court, conspiracy charge affirmed

WTXL - Judge: Denise Williams to remain in prison on 30 year sentence

Court TV - Florida woman given 30 years in husband's homicide

Law&Crime - Love Triangle Murder Trial: Killer's Ex-Wife Says Denise Williams' Suspicious Comment Alluded to Alleged Murder Plot

Law&Crime - Denise Williams Found Guilty of Murdering Her First Husband

MovieMaker - What Happened to Mike Williams, Missing Duck Hunter From Cold Case Files?

Tallahassee Democrat - 'A nasty, wicked place': How Mike Williams' body was discovered 'by the grace of God'

PorchlightUSA (Tallahassee Democrat archive) - Jennifer Portman's 2006, 2008 and 2010 Tallahassee Democrat reports on Mike Williams

PodScripts - Dateline NBC: Secrets of Lake Seminole (transcript)

PodScripts - 20/20: Mr & Mrs Murder (transcript)

📚 BOOKS

Mikita Brottman - Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida

🎬 DOCS

CBS News - 48 Hours: Cold-Blooded Killer

NBC - Dateline: Secrets of Lake Seminole

TheTVDB - Disappeared: Mystery on Lake Seminole

Apple TV - Mr. & Mrs. Murder (Hulu)

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Imagine hearing about a gruesome murder that the papers are calling satanic, right near where you live, and then having the police tell you your name was on a list next to the body. That’s what happened to about fifteen people in Germany in 2001, after police found a coffin in a young couple’s apartment and a message in blood on the window. The newlyweds called themselves vampires, and they were already gone.

Content note: this episode includes murder and violence, blood drinking, satanic and Nazi imagery, and brief mentions of suicide attempts.

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Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

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Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

TIME - The Devil Made Us Do It

TIME - What's Another Year for Satan's Recruiting Sergeants?

CNN - German satanic couple sentenced

The Irish Times - Satanist couple jailed for killing

Irish Examiner - Satanic murder couple sent to psychiatric hospital

UPI Archives - Analysis: Murder at the Devil's command

IOL - Bloodsucking Satanist killer grips Germany

kath.net - Satanisten-Paar gesteht: Der Teufel gab den Auftrag zum Morden

VICE Germany - Der "Satanist von Witten" soll einen neuen Mord geplant haben

VICE Germany - Drei Jahrzehnte satanistischer Verbrechen im Überblick

Infoportal Rituelle Gewalt - Der sogenannte "Satansmord" von Witten: Daniel und Manuela Ruda

Berliner Zeitung - Ruhe sanft, Freund

Presseportal (ZDF press release) - Als Mörderin verurteilte Satanistin Manuela Ruda bereut ihre Tat

t-online (dpa) - Bochum: Satanist von Witten freigesprochen

t-online - Freispruch im Prozess gegen früheren Satanisten von Witten

Allmystery (reposted 2001 and 2002 trial reports and a 2011 Der Westen article) - Satans Mord?, Seite 5

Allmystery (reposted trial reports, verdict, and the Federal Court of Justice press release) - Satans Mord?, Seite 6

Crime Library - Team Killers, Part Three

Crime Library - Vampires: Manuela and Daniel Ruda

Rafa.at (archive of 2001 and 2002 German press reports, Daniel Ruda's book, and a transcript of TV news clips used in a 2003 song) - Mord in Witten

These Last Days Ministries (reprint of 2002 British trial coverage) - The horror of a 'vampire' murder case

Websleuths (excerpts of 2011 London Evening Standard and Telegraph coverage) - Germany: Daniel Ruda, Satanic killer up for release

podcast.de (Mord hoch zwei episode notes) - Teuflische Verbindung: der Satansmord von Witten, Teil 1

📚 BOOKS

Goodreads - Fehlercode 211: Der Satansmord von Witten, was wirklich geschah, by Daniel Ruda (2004), quoted through the sources above

Goodreads - Der Satan von Witten: Und andere fanatische Ritualmörder, by Guido Grandt, quoted through the sources above

🎬 DOCS

YouTube (WAZ, Der Gerichtsreporter) - Der teuflische Mord von Witten, Teil 1

Apple Podcasts (WAZ, Der Gerichtsreporter) - Der teuflische Mord von Witten, Teil 1

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Settle in, friends, because this Halloween, the vampires are real, or at least they believed they were...

In the summer of 2001, police in a small city in western Germany walked into an apartment draped in black, with a coffin in the living room, a dead body, a message in blood on the window, and a list of names warning that the people on it were next. The newlyweds who lived there were gone, and the race was on to find them before anyone on that list got hurt.

SHOW NOTES

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Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

TIME - The Devil Made Us Do It

TIME - What's Another Year for Satan's Recruiting Sergeants?

CNN - German satanic couple sentenced

The Irish Times - Satanist couple jailed for killing

Irish Examiner - Satanic murder couple sent to psychiatric hospital

UPI Archives - Analysis: Murder at the Devil's command

IOL - Bloodsucking Satanist killer grips Germany

kath.net - Satanisten-Paar gesteht: Der Teufel gab den Auftrag zum Morden

VICE Germany - Der "Satanist von Witten" soll einen neuen Mord geplant haben

VICE Germany - Drei Jahrzehnte satanistischer Verbrechen im Überblick

Infoportal Rituelle Gewalt - Der sogenannte "Satansmord" von Witten: Daniel und Manuela Ruda

Berliner Zeitung - Ruhe sanft, Freund

Presseportal (ZDF press release) - Als Mörderin verurteilte Satanistin Manuela Ruda bereut ihre Tat

t-online (dpa) - Bochum: Satanist von Witten freigesprochen

t-online - Freispruch im Prozess gegen früheren Satanisten von Witten

Allmystery (reposted 2001 and 2002 trial reports and a 2011 Der Westen article) - Satans Mord?, Seite 5

Allmystery (reposted trial reports, verdict, and the Federal Court of Justice press release) - Satans Mord?, Seite 6

Crime Library - Team Killers, Part Three

Crime Library - Vampires: Manuela and Daniel Ruda

Rafa.at (archive of 2001 and 2002 German press reports, Daniel Ruda's book, and a transcript of TV news clips used in a 2003 song) - Mord in Witten

These Last Days Ministries (reprint of 2002 British trial coverage) - The horror of a 'vampire' murder case

Websleuths (excerpts of 2011 London Evening Standard and Telegraph coverage) - Germany: Daniel Ruda, Satanic killer up for release

podcast.de (Mord hoch zwei episode notes) - Teuflische Verbindung: der Satansmord von Witten, Teil 1

📚 BOOKS

Goodreads - Fehlercode 211: Der Satansmord von Witten, was wirklich geschah, by Daniel Ruda (2004), quoted through the sources above

Goodreads - Der Satan von Witten: Und andere fanatische Ritualmörder, by Guido Grandt, quoted through the sources above

🎬 DOCS

YouTube (WAZ, Der Gerichtsreporter) - Der teuflische Mord von Witten, Teil 1

Apple Podcasts (WAZ, Der Gerichtsreporter) - Der teuflische Mord von Witten, Teil 1

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Some werewolf stories are just campfire tales, but this one ended with a real confession in a real courtroom. In the 1840s, in a quiet corner of northwest Spain, a gentle shopkeeper offered to walk the local women and their children over the mountains to good jobs up north, and every time, he came home alone with happy news and letters saying they were doing just fine. When he was finally caught, he swore a curse had turned him into a wolf. Come sit with me, and you can tell me if you believe a word of it.

🖤 FOLLOW PRETTY WICKED

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Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

The Black Spain - Manuel Blanco Romasanta: The Werewolf of Allariz

Revista Quadernos de Criminología - Romasanta, el hombre lobo gallego

GCiencia - Que foi Manuel(a) Blanco Romasanta? 1: o 'home do unto' que puido nacer muller

GCiencia - Que foi Manuel (a) Blanco Romasanta? 2: A detención, a confesión e o xuízo

GCiencia - Que foi Manuel (a) Blanco Romasanta? e 3: A morte e os misterios sen resolver

La Senda del Crimen - Crónica negra: la leyenda de "El Hombre Lobo de Allariz"

Mundo Enfermo (reprinting Interviú) - Manuel Blanco Romasanta: El único "hombre lobo" procesado judicialmente en España

El Faro de Ceuta - ¿Dónde descansa el Hombre Lobo de Allariz?

Diario de León - Hermanos Castro Vicente: "Manuel Romasanta, 'El hombre-lobo', tuvo mucha relación con León y el Bierzo"

Diario de León - La pista berciana del hombre lobo

Diario de León - El enigma de la tumba de Romasanta, asesino en serie y 'hombre lobo'

El Español - Cuando el pueblo toledano de Nombela pensó que convivía con un hombre lobo

La Mañana - Una mala fada

Ribeira Sacra Tourism - The Galician Werewolf

Wikipedia - Manuel Blanco Romasanta

Wikipedia (Spanish) - Manuel Blanco Romasanta

La Agenda del Crimen - Romasanta, el Hombre Lobo de Allariz

El Español - Romasanta: La historia real de un hombre lobo gallego

📚 BOOKS

Simón Lorda et al., in VI Jornadas Internacionais de História da Psiquiatria e Saúde Mental (2016), via AGSM - El Dr. Joseph Durand de Gros y el caso del hombre lobo Blanco Romasanta (1853): ¿Un "braidista" en la corte de Isabel II?

🎬 DOCS

Netflix - Netflix Presents Our 2026 Series and Films and Announces New Projects

Vaca Films - Netflix announces the series LOBO, produced by Vaca Films

Xunta de Galicia - López Campos visita el equipo de la serie 'Lobo'

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Have you ever answered an ad from a stranger online and not thought twice about it? In the fall of 2007, a bright, joyful 24-year-old in Minnesota replied to a Craigslist post from a mom named Amy who needed a babysitter, and she drove out to a quiet house in the suburbs to meet her, and she never came home.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

FindLaw - State v. Anderson, Supreme Court of Minnesota (2010)

MPR News - Teen charged in death of Minn. woman who answered Craigslist ad

MPR News - Victim in Craigslist murder remembered for warmth, energy

MPR News - Indictments made in Craigslist killing

MPR News - Craigslist founder helps memorialize murder victim

CBS News - Teen Charged In Craigslist Nanny Slaying

CBS News - Craigslist Killer Gets Life Without Parole

NBC News - Police: Woman inquires about online ad, killed

NBC News - Teen charged with killing woman seeking job

NBC News - Killer who lured victim with online ad gets life

Fox News - 19 year old charged in death of woman answering craigslist ad

ABC News - Ad for Online Nanny Lured Woman to Her Death

ABC News - Craigslist Killer Lured Victim With Baby Sitter Ad

Minnesota Daily - Coverage of Katherine Olson's death and the criminal complaint, October 2007

Arizona Daily Wildcat (U-Wire) - Murder brings Craigslist safety in question

Star Tribune - Asperger's diagnosis is rejected in Craigslist trial

Star Tribune - Defense: Shy youth's desire for sex led to 'Craigslist' killing

The Village Voice - Craig Newmark Speaks at Victim's Memorial in Wake of Craigslist Killings

The Village Voice - Craigslist Founder Speaks on Minneapolis "Craigslist Killer" Victim

Savage Pacer - Family finds solace 10 years after Craigslist murder

Worldwide Faith News (ELCA News Service) - Memorial concert on May 3 to benefit ELCA's St. Olaf scholarship

Crime Library - Katherine Ann Olson Lured to Her Death by Internet Classifieds

Crime Library - Katherine Ann Olson Lured to Her Death by Internet Classifieds, continued

Crime Library - Police Have Strong Evidence That Michael John Anderson Was Katherine Ann Olson's Killer

Crime Library - Police Have Strong Evidence, continued

Crime Library - The Illicit List: Minnesota Murder, No Mystery

Crime Library - The Illicit List: The Death of Katherine Olson

Westword - Letters, from the week of May 14, 2009

A&E - Richard Beasley, Philip Markoff and Others: The Many Faces of the Craigslist Killer

Wikipedia - Murder of Katherine Ann Olson

📚 BOOKS

No books were used to research this episode.

🎬 DOCS

CNN - Nancy Grace, broadcast transcript, October 29, 2007

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They say Friday the 13th is unlucky for a reason. Well, on one Friday the 13th back in 1980, in a quiet Texas suburb where everybody goes to the same church and everybody knows everybody's business, that superstition came true in the worst way. Because that morning, a young mom and Sunday school teacher was found dead in her own home, and nobody could make sense of it. She had the husband, the two girls, the whole life.

So who would do this? Well, friends, the answer had been sitting in the next pew the whole time. This week, a friendship, a secret, and one summer morning that turned a quiet Texas town upside down.

SHOW NOTES

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New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Texas Monthly - Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair

A&E - The Betty Gore Murder: Could 41 Axe Blows Be Self-Defense?

TODAY - The true story of Candy Montgomery that inspired 'Love and Death'

TODAY - Where are Candy and Pat Montgomery from 'Love and Death' now?

Oxygen - What Happened To Candy Montgomery, Betty Gore?

Newsweek - What Happened to Candy Montgomery and Where Is She Now?

Biography - Where Is Acquitted Murderer Candy Montgomery Now?

📚 BOOKS

Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs - John Bloom and Jim Atkinson (Open Road Media, 1984)

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He said he only turned his back for a second. In the summer of 2006, a youth pastor from Las Vegas and his wife drove to Zion National Park for their 10th anniversary, and they started up the famously dangerous trail called Angels Landing in the dark, hoping to catch the sunrise from the top. He said he went to move their backpacks, and when he turned around, she was gone, and for almost 20 years, it was officially just a tragic accident.

SHOW NOTES

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New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

NBC News - Former Vegas youth pastor charged with murder 20 years after his wife's deadly fall at Zion National Park

NBC News - David Vander Meer, former Vegas youth pastor charged in wife's murder, dies before court appearance

NBC News - Ex-youth pastor accused in wife's 2006 death lived lavishly after insurance payout, authorities allege

CNN - 20 years after his wife fell to her death in Utah, a youth pastor's story unravels

PEOPLE (via AOL) - Cheating pastor sent teenage mistress to confront wife during church tryst months before murder

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Las Vegas man David Vander Meer arrested in 2006 death of wife at Zion National Park

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Bernadette Vander Meer's family reacts to arrest of her ex-husband

Las Vegas Review-Journal - David Vander Meer dies before hearing in 2006 case involving wife's death

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Las Vegas school where Vander Meer counseled issues statement; 'not enough,' parent says

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Bombshell murder charge renews questions about other deaths at Angels Landing

Las Vegas Review-Journal - 'No winners in any of this,' former pastor says of Vander Meer death

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Clark County sheriff addresses Vander Meer case, calls in-custody death 'unique'

Las Vegas Review-Journal - 'A real angelic being': Friend reflects on Bernadette Vander Meer's life and death

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Las Vegas church rehired David Vander Meer as youth pastor despite hearing concerns, former staff say

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Hiker falls to death at Angels Landing in Zion National Park (April 2026)

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Bernadette Vander Meer obituary, published Aug. 26, 2006 (via Legacy.com)

KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas - 20 years later: What led investigators to charge an ex-Las Vegas youth pastor with murder in his wife's death

KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas - Family of Las Vegas woman speaks out after husband charged with her murder nearly 20 years later

ABC News - Former youth pastor dies day he was set to appear in court for the 2006 death of his wife

News 3 Las Vegas (KSNV) - 'Suspected him all along': Parents react to arrest of Las Vegas man for wife's death

News 3 Las Vegas (KSNV) - 'She's been vindicated': Family reflects after 2006 Zion murder suspect's death

News 3 Las Vegas (KSNV) - Former youth pastor in Las Vegas arrested in wife's 20-year-old murder case

8 News Now (KLAS) - 'Vindicated': Henderson family of woman killed in 2006 rejoice over former husband's arrest

8 News Now (KLAS) - Family of Zion NP murder victim reacts to suspect's jailhouse suicide

8 News Now (KLAS) - Inside the relationship of Vander Meer and teen girl: Affidavit outlines timeline

8 News Now (KLAS) - Charges filed against Las Vegas man for allegedly murdering wife during Angels Landing hike in 2006

KSL - Husband charged in 2006 death of wife in Angel's Landing fall

KUTV - Former youth pastor charged in wife's death accused of relationship with underage girl

ABC4 Utah - Charges filed against Las Vegas man for allegedly murdering wife during Angels Landing hike in 2006

Fox 13 Utah - Man charged with wife's murder at Zion allegedly had affair with underage girl

Fox News - Former Las Vegas youth pastor accused of murder in death of wife at Zion National Park

St. George News - Details emerge in cold case alleging husband pushed wife to her death at Zion National Park

Backpacker - Man accused of pushing wife off of Angels Landing found dead before court date

The Washington Times - Former Las Vegas pastor dies in custody after being charged in wife's murder at Zion National Park

Deseret News - Texas man identified as hiker who fell at Angels Landing at Zion National Park

📚 BOOKS

None for this episode, this case broke in June 2026, so all research comes from court documents and news coverage.

🎬 DOCS

None yet - this story is only weeks old. Expect coverage to follow!

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In the winter of 1959, ten experienced hikers set out on a route rated at the highest difficulty level their country had. One turned back early, and the other nine never came home. When searchers found the camp, the tent had been cut open from the inside, and the bodies were scattered across the snow, some barely dressed, some with injuries that made no sense at all. The official investigation ran three months and closed with a conclusion so vague that people are still arguing about it sixty years later. This week we are going up that mountain.

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New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

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If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

This episode was written and researched by Chloe Kibbe.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Communications Earth & Environment (Nature) - Mechanisms of slab avalanche release and impact in the Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959

National Geographic - Has science solved history's greatest adventure mystery?

BBC News - Dyatlov Pass: Russia opens new investigation into 1959 mystery

The New Yorker - Has an Old Soviet Mystery at Last Been Solved?

Smithsonian Magazine - Has Science Solved the Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident?

Dyatlov Pass (archive site) - Case files, autopsy reports, diaries, and photographs

The Guardian - Dyatlov Pass mystery: Russian prosecutors say avalanche killed hikers

📚 BOOKS

Donnie Eichar - Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

Keith McCloskey - Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

🎬 DOCS

Prime Video - Dead Mountain: The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)

Discovery - Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives (2014)

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What would you think if you walked into your friend’s house and found her purse, her keys, and her little dog all right where they should be, but no sign of her anywhere? In June 1992, the night after their high school graduation, two friends went back to the house where one of them lived with her mom in Springfield, Missouri, and by the next afternoon, all three of them had vanished. Their cars were still parked outside, the front door was unlocked, and the one thing broken was the glass shade on the porch light, and more than 30 years later, nobody knows what happened inside that house.

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Pretty Wicked is written, researched, and hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

Wikipedia - Springfield Three

City of Springfield, MO - Three Missing Women

FBI ViCAP - The Springfield Three - Springfield, Missouri

KY3 - The Springfield Three: What we know about the cold case

KY3 - The Springfield 3: June 7 marks 34 years since the disappearance

KY3 - Three Missing Women: A look back at the case 27 years later

NBC Dateline - 30 years later family still seeking answers

Newsweek - Three Women Vanished. More Than 30 Years Later, No One Knows What Happened

Springfield Daily Citizen - Missing women: Theories and investigations into The Springfield Three cold case

Unresolved - The Springfield Three, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

The Charley Project - Suzanne Elizabeth Streeter

True Crime Society - The missing Springfield Three

Ozarks First - Crime Traveler: The case of Springfield Three continues to haunt the city 30 years later

True Crime News - Crime Watch Daily investigates the mysterious disappearance of 'the Springfield Three'

🎬 DOCS

Crime Watch Daily - The Springfield Three investigation (2017)

NBC Dateline - Missing in America: The Springfield Three

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