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[Applause] [Music] [Applause] My name is Steve Mlin. My wife and I have a small farm. Come
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on. We raise sheep, market lambs, and breeding stock. The farm has always been a sideline.
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My primary job was as a special agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Running a farm is a lot
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like working in investigation. Every day presents challenges, pieces of a puzzle
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that need to be put together. Agent Modellin, set the scene for me. Where are we? This is the Saluda
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Mountain Lodge in Saluda, North Carolina. And this was owned by the Mintz family. And Vanessa Mintz had
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worked the night shift as the night manager. She was hilarious. She was hilarious. What do you want Santa Claus
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to bring you? She had a very quick wit. She was this natural maternal life of the party, too. Come back and see us in
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the morning. Okay, we will. Ms. Mintz was very well respected in the community. She was connected through her
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church and her activities. Ms. Mintz worked with young girls in etiquette with beauty pageantss.
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Vanessa helped me with public speaking and building confidence. She was like my support team. She made me a very strong
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independent woman. February 19th, 2011 never leaves my mind. I find it really strange because mom has not text or
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called. You arrive at the lodge. What do you see? I see the door standing open. Jessica came in through the employee
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entrance into the main guest quarters here and immediately noticed her mother in the bed back in the bedroom here.
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This is not right. When she got to here, she could see her mom on the bed. It's very dark and the only illumination in
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the room is coming from the TV. and her mom was on her left side and had her arm
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up over her face. She also called her sister who was a nurse and Andrea said, "Jesus, is she breathing?
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Have you checked her pulse?" And she just screamed, this blood curdling scream. Vanessa had been shot once in the face
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and once in the forearm area. This was certainly a very violent death. There was no forced entry. The cash drawer in
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the front office was open and was empty. There's nothing out of place except for
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her shoes on the bedroom floor and a shotgun shell. The fact that she is in bed in her night clothing, it is my
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opinion she was ambushed. Does that suggest she may have known her killer? Yes. My heart has been ripped out and it's
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laying in there dead with her. This can't be true. This was money and sex driven. And how disgusting is that to
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murder someone for? I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours, the ultimatum. [Music] [Applause]
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[Music] [Music] We see this picture that is mounted before us of one who is very precious to
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our heart. who gave an example in this community. I can't imagine life without her. I
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wouldn't be able to live without her. At a memorial service in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Hey Sam, Jessica
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Freeman. And Andrea Gray paid tribute to their beloved mother, murdered at their
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familyowned Mountain Lodge. Your whole world shatters. Nothing looks right, nothing feels right. That sentiment is
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echoed by Vanessa's husband of two years, Travis McGra. His father, Willie, will never forget his son's reaction. He
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was very emotional about the way he was speaking. You know, he was just like breaking into tears. I think the victim
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here was a well-liked lady. Good lady, sweet lady. Who would have done this to your mom? Not your mom.
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There was fear that a killer was on the loose roaming this beautiful community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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What are you thinking? I just kept thinking we're not safe because Jessica, who whoever did this is still out there,
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correct? Vanessa's life revolved around her loved ones and her deeprooted faith. Mom's
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heart was so big. So big. and she was very trusting and very forgiving to a fault. Vanessa Mintz came from one
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of the most prominent families in this part of North Carolina going back nine generations.
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Her father Carl was a Baptist preacher for 40 years. He and his late wife dedicated their lives to their only
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child. She was our love. She was her mother's heartbeat. Early on, they taught Vanessa the value
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of sacrifice and helping others, taking her on Christian mission trips around the world. She became engrossed in that.
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At 18, Vanessa married her first husband, had daughters Jessica and Andrea, and continued her mission work.
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She also became a successful real estate agent, opening her own company. She loved challenges.
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loved challenges. Even if it was in a field she had no experience in, she thought, "Well, I I can figure this
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out." She'd say, "Well, why not? We can tackle anything." She was unstoppable. So unstoppable, she was soon a prominent
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leader, supporting new businesses and honoring other local women leaders. She was just a mover and a shaker. Longtime
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friend Marca Ble Cunningham. She did not let the grass grow under her feet because she was always busy doing
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something. That something included molding those aspiring young beauty queens like Heather Waldbart who in 2006
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won the town pageant and today is a professional dancer. She always wanted us to go after our dreams. She was
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someone who always wanted like the most for you. While Vanessa was thriving professionally on the personal side of
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life, she was lonely. Her first marriage ended in divorce when the couple grew apart and a second brief marriage failed
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too. But then in early 2008, Vanessa, who had just turned 50, met someone new. She's like, "Ladies, I have met my
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cowboy." It was Travis, 9 years younger, a married father of two, who had just separated from his wife. She was very
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excited about him. It was just a fast friendship that moved into a budding romance that just really took off like
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wildfire. One reason for this burning love was that like Vanessa, Travis believed in
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service. He was in the Air Force reserves. He had also been a firefighter, an EMT, and was now a
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police officer. She loved that he was a civil servant and had his commitment to the Air Force. The romance started when
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Travis was looking for a new home and Vanessa was his real estate agent. Before long, he was courting her. Her
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phone was constantly going off. It was just an explosion of text messages. and him dropping by, dropping by her office,
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bringing treats to the office, um, bringing dinner to her on her shifts down at the motel. Travis was charming
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and loving to her. It has brought the sparkle back to mom's eye. Seems like the perfect fit. It did. Travis's dad
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thought so, too. She took interest in the children. He took interest in her children's children. and uh you know
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there was just a real good happy camaraderie going on there. After Travis's divorce, the couple eloped in
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2009. They just loved life together and they loved doing things together. He was
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such a running partner for her. But someone wanted Vanessa Mintz dead. And I love Vanessa
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and I miss her. She was always good to me. We've got to find this killer. A killer
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who left behind a calling card. We worked the crime scene in great detail and found a crucial piece of evidence
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that only the killer could have left. [Music] It was a beautiful bright sunshiny day
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for February. The details of discovering her mother that Saturday morning are deeply etched
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in Jessica Freeman's mind. While Vanessa had been working the overnight shift at the front desk of the
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family's Mountain Lodge, her husband Travis was 12 miles away, spending the night with his son, 17-year-old Taylor.
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And so the morning of February 19th, 2011, you get up. I get up and I find it really strange that mom had not called
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me. Jessica headed right over to the lodge where she was going to take over from
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her mom. As she approached, she noticed the door was partially open, which again
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was very unusual to her. Um, normally this would be closed. Correct. Chief investigator Steve Mlin. Now, the lights
00:11:00
were off, the shades were closed, the television in here was on. I started calling her name. Mama.
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Mama. And there's no there's no sound, but this TV is so loud. So loud. The only
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light in this room at the time was coming off of the television. So try to imagine that light dancing on the image
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of her mother lying here on the bed in this darkness. It's almost a macob kind of scene. It is. And it's confusing. And
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I look up and there's splattering on the the mattress and her pillow and I said, "Oh, mama, you've got
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to wake up. You have thrown up in the lighting and the situation." She had not put it all together. Her first call was
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to Travis and I said, "You've got to get down here. You've got to get to the motel. I thought you were supposed to be
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at the motel with mom. Mom is sick." He goes, "What do you mean your mom's sick?" I said, "She is sick. you need to
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get down here. Well, I'm at breakfast and I and I was very curt to him. I was rude. And so I called my sister and I'm
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like, "Oh, Andrea, you've got to get down here. Something is terribly wrong with mother." As a nurse, Andrea had
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dealt with trauma. And Andrea said, "Jessica, you've got to look and see if she has a pulse and if there's a rise
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and fall to her chest." And I saw there was no there was no rise and fall to her chest.
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And what was making her face look so funny was that there was a hole in her head.
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Modellin's investigators had quickly confirmed there had been two shotgun blasts. One hit Vanessa's arm. The wound
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there would tend to be a defensive wound. and that second shot to the front of her head. This was a brutal, brutal
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shooting. Yes, it was. Prosecutor Alex Bass. It was obvious that the money was gone from the till. There was no money
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found there. So, the first impression you get is it's a robbery. Just $200 had been taken. But why?
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Investigators wondered, did the killer leave behind an expensive ring on Vanessa's finger? We also noted later
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that on these shelves was a stack of Vanessa's jewelry uh visible and out um where she had taken it off the night
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before. There was no sign of a struggle, but whoever shot Vanessa left behind a clue. The only thing of note in here was
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a pair of Vanessa's shoes right here on the floor and next to them was a single 12- gauge shotgun shell. A spent fired
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shotgun shell. What thief would come in, take the money, and say, "Well, I'm now
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going to go into the bedroom and shoot this person who's asleep." That doesn't make any sense. Exactly my point. A
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robbery would get you six or seven years in North Carolina. Murder gets you life
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or death. Soon, Vanessa's stunned family gathered in front of the lodge. I was so
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scared and I just remember just falling in the dirt with her and we just held each
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other and cried and screamed. I've never screamed like that before in my life. Andrea then called her grandpa Carl
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about his only child. I just put the phone down, told my wife, uh, I said, "Mama, something's something's wrong
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over at the lodge, and I need to go quickly." And out the door I went. And I'll never forget the look on Papa's
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face. This is the man that has been this strength and our foundational rock and nothing, nothing could crumble him.
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The whole thing was completely unimaginable. I'm looking for some derelick that's
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come by, stopped in and robbed and shot then gone. I even said to the FBI that I
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wanted him to turn every stone that was necessary to find perpetrator. I said, I
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want to surrender that person to God for judge and jury. Everyone wondered who it could be. Who
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was this? Is this someone against our family? Is this someone who it was just a roadside robbery?
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You think of all those things because you're trying to make it make sense. I think it's somebody looking for drug
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money or traveling money. And Jessica was already angry at one member of the family, Vanessa's husband, Travis. had
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such anger that he wasn't there to protect her, that he had left her vulnerable and somebody had broken in
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and killed her. And the direction the investigation was heading would soon make everyone far angrier. Travis McGraw
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had a lot of secrets he was not wanting to share. a whole another life that he had.
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[Music] There was blood stains on the bed. There were blood stains on the wall behind her.
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A shocking murder of a beloved mother at her family's Mountaintop Lodge. Cash. missing from the till, a shotgun
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shell on the floor. Despite all that, prosecutor Alex Bass wasn't buying that Vanessa Mince's
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murder was a robbery gone bad. What was striking about the crime scene was that that apartment was as neat as a pin.
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Investigators started from square one. They began looking at all the family members and the first thing they started
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to do was to get the phone records for them. Once police obtained Travis's cell phone records from the phone company,
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they found some romantic text messages. The problem was they weren't from his wife. They led to discovery that he had
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a girlfriend on the side. This is Mary Beth Fiser. She was just 27 when she met 44year-old Travis McGrath,
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Vanessa's husband. He was very charming. He seemed very warm, very kind-hearted,
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um, eager to help, eager to give advice. Travis had followed in his wife's footsteps and was now working for a real
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estate company here in Hendersonville. And that's how he met Mary Beth. She was looking for a new place to live with her
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young son after recently separating from her husband. So, you and Travis went out
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to look at some various properties. He was very helpful. He definitely was there with any phone call to answer the
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phone or answer any text with whatever question I had. And just like Vanessa, Mary Beth found Travis to be an
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impressive fellow. He was in the Air Force. He uh firemen, EMT, police department. What Travis left off
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his resume, Mary Beth says, was that he was married. He just looked at me and said, "No, I don't have anybody. No one
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at all. No one. You're a good boy." She says her relationship with Travis revolved around text messages and phone
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calls. We're going to come out. Did you guys have a romantic relationship? We were not sexually involved at all. I was
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in such a vulnerable state. I wasn't looking so much for a romantically involved relationship. Mary Beth says
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that they didn't have a sexual relationship. So, is she lying? Depends on what sex is, as a a recent president
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once said. No sex, she says, but lots of love. At one point, we shared the words,
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"I love you." But there were warning signs about Travis's commitment. He refused to introduce Mary Beth to his
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children. Did it strike you as odd that he'd never invite you over to his place?
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Yes, it did. He was really adamant about his kids not knowing who I was. Then at
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the hospital where Mary Beth worked, she learned from a coworker that Travis was
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married. I'm mad. You're mad? I'm mad. I should have just said adios. Mary Beth says Travis then told a new
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story. He then proceeded to tell me that he wasn't with her now, that they were still business partners. They were
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separated. She lived in one of her properties that she owned. He lived in a another property that they did not live
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together. Now, were you buying that? I bought it. Within weeks, Travis had another
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problem. Vanessa found out about Mary Beth. I'm not exactly sure of the method of how she learned. She just became
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completely withdrawn from me. She couldn't eat. She couldn't drink. She was so sick.
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Jessica and Andrea say their mother was determined to save her marriage and made
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the dramatic decision to confront Mary Beth face to face. The Wednesday night before she died, she went to her
00:21:02
apartment and begged and groveled and pleaded with her to please leave my husband alone. They really said that?
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That's what they said that their mother told them. Oh Lord. Absolutely not. I never met her. This
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didn't happen. No. If it did, then the relationship would have been cut off right there. Then more drama. Mary Beth
00:21:30
says one day she was spending time with Travis and he ignored his ringing cell phone. And I say, "Okay, excuse me. Um,
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can I have your phone?" And I said, "Please show me where your texts are." Mary Beth then read a text message from
00:21:47
Vanessa and it did say, "Thank you for running errands for me today." And I believe I saw the word love in there. I
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shut his phone. I gave it back and I said, "Get out of my house." Mary Beth says Travis burst into tears and pleaded
00:22:03
for forgiveness. They parted and then once I calmed down a bit is when I text him. Her words were plain as day. You
00:22:14
need to make a decision on who you want to be with. And I said, if you want to be with her, then be with her. That's
00:22:22
fine. But you need to make a choice on who you want to be with. Mary Beth's ultimatum came with a deadline. It was
00:22:30
Thursday, and he had until Sunday to decide. Less than 48 hours later, Vanessa was shot to death.
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Travis wrote me, "If you haven't heard yet, Vanessa was at the motel last night. Someone broke in, robbed the cash
00:22:46
drawer, and killed her." You gave Travis an ultimatum. You told him to choose. The next day, Vanessa is murdered.
00:22:57
Did you think that was just a coincidence? It's so weird to say. In my mind, I thought it was a coincidence. I just
00:23:07
didn't want to believe this man was capable of doing something like that. Special Agent Steve Mlin had never
00:23:16
believed that Vanessa was murdered by a stranger. This is not a place you see traveling down the road and think I'll
00:23:23
stop there. You're going to have to have knowledge that this is here, that this exists. And once Mellin got those text
00:23:30
messages from the phone company, he was convinced that Travis was the prime suspect.
00:23:38
And he made one crucial mistake. Sitting right there on the floor, plain as day. That sounds like a big piece of
00:23:45
evidence. Well, it was. It was the big piece of evidence. [Music] That shotgun shell left behind by
00:24:10
Vanessa's killer was a telltale clue. Point down range, pull the trigger, and then pull back on the forearm. That will
00:24:19
eject the fired shotgun shell. And Shane Green of the State Bureau of Investigation demonstrated for us how he
00:24:26
tested Travis's shotgun. The same kind of gun he's using here. The fired shotgun shell that was recovered at the
00:24:34
lodge was one just like this. After the murder, Travis McGra voluntarily gave police the four shotguns he owned. He
00:24:43
was trying to cooperate and had no idea the police had found a shell casing. His
00:24:49
truck had also been searched. In his truck, we found a shotgun shell in the door compartment of the same brand and
00:24:58
size shot uh and specifics as the shell from the crime scene. Among Travis's shotguns was this Mossberg model. So,
00:25:08
Green loaded the same kind of shell that Travis used and fired it. You're telling me you can you can fire
00:25:18
this weapon and there will be distinctive markings on the back of this shotgun shell that would tell you
00:25:25
whether or not this shell was fired from that gun. That's correct. There'll be microscopic markings, imperfections,
00:25:32
striations, scratches. And when Green compared the shells he fired from Travis's gun against the one at the
00:25:39
crime scene, they were almost identical. And how precise is that match in your professional opinion? Uh, in my opinion,
00:25:48
it's a 100% match. Uh, that shotgun shell was fired in the shotgun provided by Travis McGrath. Investigators now had
00:25:57
that forensic evidence on top of the text messages that included Mary Beth's ultimatum. 4 days after the murder,
00:26:06
police arrested Travis McGrath and charged him with firstdegree murder. In that moment when you heard that, my
00:26:15
knees buckled. I just laid my head on the table and Papa said, "No, no, no." But the wheels of justice
00:26:24
turned slowly in this part of North Carolina. Travis spent 13 months in jail and then his family was finally able to
00:26:33
raise his $750,000 bail and he was freed. The sisters say he lurked around them ominously in their neighborhood. We saw
00:26:45
him a lot. He would be on the side of the road. We look at you as you drove by and wave at us or do this. Do this. Mhm.
00:26:54
Like a gun thing. I don't know. He would do this. I guess you could interpret it
00:26:58
how you wanted to. Even with the strong case against Travis, prosecutors then offered him a plea deal consulting with
00:27:06
Vanessa's daughters. seconddegree murder with a sentence of 16 to 20 years. They
00:27:13
wanted him to plead guilty rather than rolling the dice at trial since the only physical evidence was that shotgun
00:27:21
shell. And so we all just felt like that this was in God's hands and if this was the
00:27:28
way that the state felt they needed to proceed, we are supportive of the state and we would move forward. On the advice
00:27:34
of his lawyer, Travis accepted the deal. But when the day came in March of 2014 to finalize it, please be seated. A
00:27:44
shocking development. So at this point, the state would ask, does the defendant wish to accept the state's plea offer or
00:27:51
not? At the last moment, Travis changed his mind about pleading guilty. I think it's because in my heart and in
00:28:03
his heart knows he's innocent. We had a conversation to that effect privately that he told me that he was innocent
00:28:09
looking dead into my eyes. How can you not just be horribly, horribly disappointed? I mean, we were really
00:28:17
thinking that today at the end of the day, we could be at the end of this chapter.
00:28:26
Three long years after their mother's murder. I'm thankful that we're finally to this point. It's We're exhausted.
00:28:35
Jessica, Andrea, and their families are finally headed to court for the trial of
00:28:41
Travis McGra. Call your first witness, Heidi Laam. I mean, it was loud enough. Heidi Laam, a friend of Vanessa's, takes
00:28:50
the stand. Heidi was staying at the lodge the night of the murder and was startled awake. It was definitely a
00:28:57
whooing sound. I I felt like something was banging against the building, probably the echo. So, it was it it was
00:29:05
pretty loud. Unable to fall back to sleep, Heidi left the lodge. She noticed Travis's red truck. And where was the
00:29:14
red truck parked? Parked in front of the breezeway. Remember, Travis had told police that he'd spent the night with
00:29:21
his son here at Vanessa's house about 12 miles from the lodge. Heidi's testimony
00:29:28
contradicts his story. Captain William Boschain. Air Force Major William Boschain. Travis's former commander,
00:29:36
then testifies that he contacted police shortly after word spread that Vanessa had been murdered. Why? Because Travis
00:29:45
had already tried to collect on the $100,000 military life insurance policy he had on Vanessa.
00:29:53
Why did this cause you concern? I was shocked that within 10 to 12 hours I was rece
00:30:02
[Music] within 10 to 12 hours I was receiving an email inquiring about insurance. Miss
00:30:09
Fisher, you come around this morning. Then it was time for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand. Travis's
00:30:16
former girlfriend, Mary Beth Fischer, who continues to insist their relationship was platonic. It was not a
00:30:25
physical relationship as a married couple or a boyfriend, girlfriend would have that element of
00:30:33
it. It was just heavy texting and it did get emotional through texting. You're two adults, both been in marriages in
00:30:43
the past. It seems like a very normal next step that you would have been romantic, had a physical relationship.
00:30:51
It does. And now looking back, I kind of wondered why he didn't want that. Yeah. Mary Beth tells the jury about
00:30:59
that ultimatum she texted to Travis. If you want to be with her, then be with her. But make that choice on who you
00:31:06
want to be with exclusively is what I text him. And then I said, "Then let let me have an answer on Sunday." Did there
00:31:15
come a point? Mary Beth tells the court she only asked Travis about Vanessa's death one time. The only thing I've ever
00:31:23
said to him about this whole case was, "How do you feel now after all this has happened?" And his response was, "I feel
00:31:31
relieved for her because of financial issues that she was having." Vanessa's family says money was a bit tight at
00:31:40
that time, but no serious problems. Prosecutors laid out their strong evidence about that shotgun shell, which
00:31:48
they said put Travis in the room where Vanessa was shot. Only one witness remained who could refute that story.
00:31:56
Travis himself. Did you shoot your wife with that shell? No, sir, I did not. He testifies that he went target shooting
00:32:03
the day before on this open land near the airport and had put the spent shotgun shells in his pocket. After I
00:32:11
went shooting that day, I felt like I'd pulled all the shells out of my pocket when I changed clothes if that one fell
00:32:17
out of my pants. That's where it's come from. But that's the only way a shell got my gun. Got into the Slooh Mountain
00:32:22
Lodge that night. But there's a problem with Travis's story. A cell phone expert
00:32:27
testifies that the cell phone in Travis's pocket that day was nowhere near where he said he was target
00:32:35
shooting. Finally, I have two Air Force Achievement medals, an Air Force accommodation medal. Travis falls back
00:32:41
on his resume. And so, we did everything we could to keep the fire contained to one side of the base. Trying to charm
00:32:48
the jurors. I was given another Air Force Achievement Medal just as he had charmed Vanessa and Mary Beth. What
00:32:55
could he possibly have to say? It's like being in the room with pure evil. It feels gross. You didn't feel the need to
00:33:03
tell her that you were married to Vanessa Mix, did you? No, sir. You were in love with Mary Beth, weren't you?
00:33:10
Yes, sir. You wanted to be with her, did you? Yes, sir. Tell the court about that. But defense attorney Tony Dalton
00:33:17
doesn't want the jury to think that love was Travis's motive for murder. Did you
00:33:23
kill Vanessa because of that deadline? Absolutely not. Nobody deserved what Vanessa got? No.
00:33:31
The defense calls Taylor McGraw. But Travis has one more hope to sway the jury. His now 20-year-old son, Taylor,
00:33:40
testifies that he believes his father was in the house with him all night because nothing woke him up. Pretty much
00:33:49
anyone walked past the room, they would even if the door was closed because of the vibrations, it would cause the dog
00:33:55
to bark. So the only way your father could get out of the house, out of that room, was to go past the dog. Correct.
00:34:02
What other signs? But on crossexamination, Taylor acknowledges he wasn't exactly a
00:34:09
light sleeper. Do you recall telling the FBI agents that when you sleep, you sleep like a rock? Yes, sir. But Willie
00:34:19
McGrath is convinced that his son is innocent. And he hopes the jury will find it impossible to believe that a
00:34:26
former military man and police officer would have been so careless as to leave behind a shotgun shell and keep a murder
00:34:35
weapon at his house and then give it to police. My son is probably arrogant. Uh he's a little uh highrung and uh but he
00:34:46
ain't stupid. [Music] [Music] No sir. After seven days of testimony, 17 witnesses,
00:35:07
85 exhibits, this being a first-degree murder case, it's high stakes. Closing statements begin. But I submit to you,
00:35:15
not being a faithful husband doesn't mean you're a murderer. Defense attorney Tony Dalton reminds jurors to focus on
00:35:22
the facts and not Travis's questionable character. Mr. McGraw, you may find to be a person of bad judgment.
00:35:30
You may find his character to be not up to your standards, but that's not the question here. Give Mr. McGraw a fair
00:35:39
trial. And if you find a reasonable doubt, find this man not guilty. That's what I want to talk about first.
00:35:46
Prosecutor Bass takes his turn saying all the evidence points to Travis McGra's guilt. The defendant did it. He
00:35:56
had every reason to do it. He had the means and the motive and the ability and the smarts to try to frame it up as a
00:36:03
robbery, but he wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. That's because Travis left behind that shotgun shell,
00:36:11
the critical piece of physical evidence tying him to the crime. And that was the
00:36:18
defendant's biggest error cuz that shell landed on the floor. But in the passionate heat of trying to
00:36:27
escape, he didn't go back in that darkened room. Bass tells jurors the motive for murder.
00:36:35
He was in love or what passes in the mind of Travis Mcra love because we all know that that's an infatuation.
00:36:43
And by killing Vanessa, Travis thought he would have what he craved, $100,000 of insurance money, maybe even Vanessa's
00:36:52
house. enough to impress his new girlfriend. The defendant had every reason in this
00:36:59
case to kill his wife and he can go on being a white knight from Barry Beth. When you start putting all those facts
00:37:06
and circumstances together and then put the evidence of motive on top of that, you get a complete picture of this
00:37:13
defendant. The picture that you have of this defendant is guilty. All right, members of the
00:37:20
jury, all the evidence has been presented. It is now After some final instructions, when you have unanimously
00:37:27
agreed upon a verdict, notify the baiff by knocking on the jury room door. The judge sends the jury out and the wait
00:37:34
for that knock begins. Hoping for a quick verdict. No one strays too far from the courtroom.
00:37:42
Vanessa's family on one side, Travis's on the other. I'm really nervous about the whole thing. I'm on edge a little
00:37:50
bit, especially since the jury's not come back in yet. Travis, he's got a confident feeling about it. 2 hours
00:37:58
pass. What's that weight like? It's so hard. The minutes are heavy. Every sound, every creep in that old
00:38:09
courthouse room, you just Is that the knock at the door? We'll be in recess till 9:30 in the morning. The jury is
00:38:17
dismissed for the day. I was chair bring jury in and returns the next morning. We
00:38:22
just sitting there just praying on nice edge. Lunchtime passes, but still no knock. More waiting in the
00:38:32
courtroom. Throughout deliberations, Vanessa's family prays. It's all too much for Jessica.
00:38:41
[Music] All right, ladies and gentlemen, I understand there is a verdict. Finally,
00:38:48
after 8 hours of deliberating, the feeling in the room, the energy, it was just electric when that knock came upon
00:38:55
that door that the jury was ready. All right, madam clerk, would you take the verdict, please? Judgement day.
00:39:04
Mr. Person, you have returned to open court as a unanimous verdict of the jury that the defendant Travis McGraw is
00:39:10
guilty of first degree murder. is the right of the jury. Guilty. Guilty. And when you hear that word,
00:39:19
after all you've been through, it's just members of the jury. And just minutes after the verdict, he's slapped
00:39:27
with the maximum sentence. The sentence would be by the court a life in prison without parole. Good luck. And to hear
00:39:34
those words, guilty and you will spend life in prison. I felt like since February 19th, 2011 that
00:39:46
I finally took a deep breath. The former police officer is now a convicted murderer. You could have walked away and
00:39:56
left. You did not have to kill her. I don't want to have feelings of anger because he's going to be getting his
00:40:06
just reward. Do you sit at night and wonder to yourself, I may have been the motive that Travis used to murder his
00:40:15
wife? I have thought about that and I feel bad that that thought is out there because
00:40:24
honestly, nobody thinks that when they're involved in this situation or give some somebody an ultimatum that
00:40:30
that person would go and shoot the person that they're involved with to get out of the situation.
00:40:37
That's just not reasonable. Normal people don't do that. For the Mintz family and the community
00:40:44
she once served, come back and see us. Vanessa's spirit lives on. Hey, Jessica, it's mom. Jessica treasures this last
00:40:53
voicemail from her mom. I was just calling to say hello and to check on you. I hope everything's going well for
00:41:00
you. I love you. And the influence she had on everyone around her. I want my mother to be remembered for who she was,
00:41:10
not how she died. A passionate Renaissance woman that was able to tackle the world and to be near
00:41:20
her was to be blessed. [Music]