transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Happy Friday, Crime Junkies. I feel like someone down at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office might have listened to our most recent episode, or maybe the timing is just a crazy coincidence. But a couple of hours ago, this Friday, the Sheriff's Office finally fulfilled our records request and got us the audio from Dave and Laura Sweetman's domestic violence incident. And I want to do something a little out of the ordinary. While this episode is still top of mind for everyone, I want to share it with you. There are three things that you're going to be hearing, and I'm going to pop in between each. First, I'm going to play for you sound from the body cam footage of a deputy responding to Laura's call that she made to the Sheriff's office. Then, I'm going to play you the entire audio file that she turned over to them of the incident that she was reporting. This is the almost hour and a half long recording she has of her and Dave inside their house when she says he refused to let her leave. And then, I'm going to play you some audio from when the deputy arrested and questioned Dave. This audio answers so many questions and brings up a million more. And I think for those of you who have been in a volatile or abusive relationship, this audio is going to hit home in a hard way. But it is important to hear because these are some of Laura's last recorded words before she died later the same year that this was reported. So first, here is the deputy's interaction with Laura. It has been edited for clarity.

Speaker 2:
[01:55] Hello.

Speaker 3:
[01:56] Who's Laura?

Speaker 2:
[01:58] I'm just going to tell her where my kids are so that nobody knows.

Speaker 3:
[02:14] How are you?

Speaker 2:
[02:15] I'm okay.

Speaker 3:
[02:17] Not injured or anything?

Speaker 2:
[02:17] No. Okay. Do you want me to start on the sketch? So, recently I discovered that my husband has another family. And so over the past few weeks, I've gotten ready to get divorced, and he was at the town this weekend, so I moved my things out of the house. And then he was with two of the kids, so when he got back, I took, I told them I was taking the kids to Walmart really quick, and I just took the kids to a friend's house, and I went back to tell him that I was leaving. But while I was gone, he must have figured that out and seen that enough things were missing from the house. He wasn't inside, and I was looking for him, so I decided to try to leave, and so I had my car parked ready to go out on the street because I knew there was going to be an altercation with him because that's his mode of action. But I ran into him when I was coming out the garage door, and he grabbed me by the shirt and shoved me back in the house. The shirt that you have on? So then we proceeded to argue for about an hour and 20 minutes, and I tried to get out of the house three times, and he grabbed onto my neck.

Speaker 3:
[03:27] Do you have any marks?

Speaker 2:
[03:28] I don't have any marks on my neck. Then he had made threats during the conversation that neither of us was getting out of this alive, that he would kill me, he would kill himself, he did retract that he would kill me and only kill himself. Yeah, but he said, and I have recorded this because I knew this was going to happen, that he had a gun upstairs.

Speaker 3:
[03:50] Have you seen any weapons?

Speaker 2:
[03:52] Yeah, I've seen three weapons.

Speaker 3:
[03:54] What kind of weapon, really?

Speaker 2:
[03:55] There's a gun that looks probably like a nine millimeter or something, a silver one. I looked for it yesterday so I could get rid of it, but I couldn't find it. There's a shotgun, but that isn't loaded. It's probably not even out of the box or loaded, but the nine millimeter probably is loaded wherever it is. Then there's in the garage, but not in the house, there's another gun that looks like a semi-automatic, looks like 100 years old. I don't know if it has any.

Speaker 3:
[04:22] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[04:26] Then basically, he went through the whole, for an hour telling me that he loved me, he wanted to find a way to make this work out, and then after he realized that it wasn't, he basically just was telling me that I needed to get the kids back. I told him that the kids were with the police, because he knows I have pop friends, and then so he allowed me a minute to make a phone call to my friends to have them bring the kids back, but instead I ran, and I came here.

Speaker 3:
[04:56] How many kids do you have in common? Three. Were they there when this was going on? No.

Speaker 2:
[05:00] I had taken them earlier, married with a friend.

Speaker 3:
[05:03] How long have you been married?

Speaker 2:
[05:06] Two years. Okay.

Speaker 3:
[05:11] Now, when you say he has a whole other family, can you explain that for me a little bit?

Speaker 2:
[05:14] Well, basically he had an affair with a woman and they share a child in common, and I don't know what the extent of the relationship is with her.

Speaker 3:
[05:26] Do you know how old that child is?

Speaker 2:
[05:28] I think the kid's almost two, probably like 20 months or something.

Speaker 3:
[05:32] Do you know her name or where she lives?

Speaker 2:
[05:34] Yeah, I have all that information in the car.

Speaker 3:
[05:36] Okay. Do you think he would follow through on any of his threats? Yes. And how often have things like this happened between the two of you?

Speaker 2:
[05:54] I would say early in our marriage, we would have altercations, but never with police involvement.

Speaker 3:
[06:01] Has he ever been arrested for anything?

Speaker 2:
[06:04] Yeah, he has one arrest for assault a few years ago.

Speaker 3:
[06:09] And who did the assault?

Speaker 2:
[06:11] I don't know, I just discovered this in my recent investigative measures.

Speaker 3:
[06:16] Okay. What's his full name?

Speaker 2:
[06:19] David Michael Sweetman.

Speaker 3:
[06:25] Was anybody else present when any of this was going on? You said you had some of it reported.

Speaker 2:
[06:32] I've reported the whole thing. Oh, here.

Speaker 3:
[06:35] Do you mind if I take a copy of the recording off of there?

Speaker 2:
[06:38] Sure.

Speaker 3:
[06:39] I'm just going to put it on my computer and just copy it real quick, until you can maybe have this back. Give me a few seconds. Have you thought about getting order of protection against him yet?

Speaker 2:
[06:52] I don't have one, but I've thought about it.

Speaker 3:
[06:54] Are you going to go do that as soon as possible? Okay. Do you think I'm going to have any problems when I go over there with him?

Speaker 2:
[07:01] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[07:02] What kind of problems do you think he will have?

Speaker 2:
[07:03] He has guns in the house and he's very angry and he doesn't back down.

Speaker 3:
[07:10] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[07:10] And he's already said 50 times he's willing to kill himself.

Speaker 3:
[07:16] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[07:16] So you're definitely going to have a problem if he's there. Plus, she already told them all the kids are with cops. So sorry that sets you up for trouble.

Speaker 3:
[07:24] That's not a problem. I don't mind.

Speaker 2:
[07:27] I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself.

Speaker 3:
[07:28] You said you have three kids in common. How old are they?

Speaker 2:
[07:31] They're five, seven and eight.

Speaker 3:
[07:44] Now, would you be willing to go and testify against him in court? Or is this something that you might be fearful of?

Speaker 2:
[07:53] I will be fearful of it, yes.

Speaker 3:
[07:55] Okay. Well, if he's there, he's most likely gonna go to jail tonight. This isn't something that we take lightly when he threatens to kill you and himself.

Speaker 2:
[08:09] No, I mean, I'm afraid, I'm afraid I feel like my whole life is ruined right now because he's gonna be after me. Okay.

Speaker 3:
[08:18] And also, let my detectives know that that your address redacted from our report, if you think he's gonna be chasing you down.

Speaker 2:
[08:26] I mean, yes, as soon as he gets out. Do you think that if they arrest him, they'll just keep him until the morning?

Speaker 3:
[08:31] Well, it's a DV charge, and he has to see a judge. And unfortunately, the threats right now only fall under misdemeanors, so there's a high probability that he'll be released. But they'll give you a phone call before they do that so you know.

Speaker 2:
[08:47] Okay. Will you update me later, or will I know what's going on?

Speaker 3:
[08:52] I can give you a call if he's there when I get there and take him to jail, just so you're kept in the loop tonight.

Speaker 2:
[08:57] Do you have a card?

Speaker 1:
[09:00] We now understand that Laura's friend, who was a cop in another jurisdiction, gave her some kind of recording device to capture this interaction. It's why the audio you're about to hear is so clear. I'm going to play this audio in full as it was given to us. The only part I'm taking out is a moment where Dave shares something personal with his wife. I can't verify the claims that he's making. And I'm going to let you know where that part is in the clip, just so you're super clear. Now listen with care.

Speaker 4:
[09:35] Where are you?

Speaker 1:
[09:40] Are you in the bathroom?

Speaker 5:
[09:57] David.

Speaker 4:
[10:55] Where are you?

Speaker 5:
[11:13] I'm leaving.

Speaker 6:
[11:14] No.

Speaker 5:
[11:15] Yes, I am.

Speaker 6:
[11:17] No, we're gonna go talk. No, we're gonna go talk. This isn't right.

Speaker 5:
[11:21] We're gonna go talk.

Speaker 7:
[11:21] You know what's not right about it, David?

Speaker 6:
[11:22] You're right, you're right. It's not right. I'm fucked up, I understand. You're right, I'm fucked up, I understand.

Speaker 8:
[11:28] Okay, you have another family.

Speaker 6:
[11:29] No, I don't have a family. I don't have another family. I don't have another family, okay? I've made mistakes. I agree, I am fucked up. I have tried to fix my problems, okay? I really fucking have, okay? I have to take responsibility for another kid. I understand that, okay? I have to fucking do that.

Speaker 7:
[11:49] Can you just let me go?

Speaker 6:
[11:51] No, I don't know because I love you, Laura. I fucking love you more than anything in this world. I love my kids more than anything in this world.

Speaker 7:
[11:57] I don't want to fuck up anything with them.

Speaker 6:
[11:59] No, you're not fucking up anything with anybody else. The only thing I want is you and my kids. That's what I want, Laura. That's all. That's all I want is you and my kids. I don't know how to fix my other problems other than what I'm trying to do now. I'm trying to fix myself. Okay? I'm really fucked up. I'm in a really bad spot right now. Everything in my life is the shit.

Speaker 5:
[12:22] You want me to shoot myself in the head right now?

Speaker 6:
[12:24] Okay, go ahead. Take my kids from you, Laura.

Speaker 7:
[12:26] I don't want to take them away. I just want...

Speaker 6:
[12:28] No, no. That's what's going to happen.

Speaker 7:
[12:29] No, it's not. I promise you.

Speaker 9:
[12:31] I don't want to take them from you.

Speaker 7:
[12:33] I just want us to have a healthy life. This is not healthy for me.

Speaker 5:
[12:36] Okay, what?

Speaker 9:
[12:39] It's not healthy for me either.

Speaker 6:
[12:40] It hasn't been healthy for me for a long time.

Speaker 5:
[12:42] Laura, I've told you.

Speaker 6:
[12:45] The last time we had, or the last few times we've had fights, Laura, you don't love me. You haven't loved me. I love you more than anything in this world. I don't know what I have to do to prove that, but you're my wife. I've never left you. I've never wanted to leave you. You're the only person in this world.

Speaker 7:
[13:09] Do you really think I can stay when you have a kid with someone else?

Speaker 6:
[13:12] Laura, yes, I do think you can, and I want you to, and I'm begging you to. What more can I do or say, Laura? What more can I do or say? I will do anything. I will fix anything that I can fix, Laura.

Speaker 9:
[13:28] You're what I want.

Speaker 6:
[13:32] I've never once ever considered not having you as my wife. I would rather be dead than not have you. I love you and care about you more than anything. I just don't think you love me, and I don't think you've loved me for a long time, and I really wish you did. I really, really, really wish you did because we have beautiful fucking great kids, and I love them more than anything in this world also. My family is all I've got, that's all I've got.

Speaker 7:
[14:03] He's your kid, too, and you need to recognize him and take care of him, and he's their brother. That's their brother.

Speaker 6:
[14:12] How do I broach that subject with my wife? How do I acknowledge with my wife?

Speaker 7:
[14:17] It's done now, and I am happy for him to be a part of your life. You can leave, she can live here.

Speaker 9:
[14:24] No, no, she can't.

Speaker 6:
[14:26] No, she can't.

Speaker 9:
[14:28] I don't want anything to do with her. I've, Jesus Christ.

Speaker 6:
[14:33] I've told her a hundred thousand times don't leave me to fuck alone.

Speaker 9:
[14:37] I mean, everybody-

Speaker 7:
[14:38] That's not fair to him, David.

Speaker 9:
[14:40] You're right, it's not.

Speaker 6:
[14:41] And I try, I try, when I drop off money to her, I see him for a little while, and that's it.

Speaker 7:
[14:49] And I can't afford this house anymore. I lost everything, and I had to put all the bills this month on the credit card. And then your money goes to her.

Speaker 6:
[14:57] No, my money doesn't go to her, it's only a few hundred dollars. And I'm supposed to get my insurance money.

Speaker 7:
[15:06] I don't want a single thing, I just want us to be nice to each other and share the kids. Please, David, please.

Speaker 9:
[15:12] Laura, no, please, please.

Speaker 7:
[15:15] Please, don't be like this. I don't want to be mean to you. I do not want to be mean to you. I just cannot live. I can't live. I will kill myself.

Speaker 6:
[15:25] I'll kill myself.

Speaker 9:
[15:27] Laura, I need you.

Speaker 6:
[15:29] You're my wife.

Speaker 9:
[15:29] Don't leave me. Jesus Christ.

Speaker 6:
[15:32] I will do anything I can to fix it.

Speaker 9:
[15:36] There's no, no, no, I want you. I will do anything to show you that you're my wife. Laura, I've tried very hard.

Speaker 6:
[15:44] I really have.

Speaker 7:
[15:46] Do you have any idea what my life is like? When people have to call me year after year after year and tell me who you're fucking every year.

Speaker 6:
[15:53] I'm not fucking people every year.

Speaker 9:
[15:55] That's not true.

Speaker 7:
[15:56] Then why do I have to live a life where people track me down and tell me these things?

Speaker 6:
[15:59] First of all, people who try to hurt me, people from my business that try to hurt me, Jesse, Kevin, because he's, I found his fucking child porn on the goddamn fucking, on the computer and I had to give it to his probation officer.

Speaker 5:
[16:17] Kevin's out to hurt me.

Speaker 6:
[16:18] Bobby hates me because I fucking fired him. I mean, Laura, you do have to realize that there are people that really, really want to see me burn. Jesse especially, he's doing everything he can to burn me, and I'm certain he's happy to call you.

Speaker 7:
[16:34] If I would have squeezed out a black kid along the way, would I be alive today?

Speaker 9:
[16:39] Laura.

Speaker 2:
[16:39] No, David.

Speaker 7:
[16:41] It doesn't go both ways.

Speaker 10:
[16:43] You would kill me.

Speaker 9:
[16:44] Laura.

Speaker 7:
[16:47] Can I have some self-respect for the first time in my life? I cannot live knowing that you have a kid with her, and then you take my stuff and you give it to her?

Speaker 6:
[16:58] I don't take stuff and give it to her.

Speaker 7:
[17:00] The rocking chair, the jogging stool, and those, I nursed my baby in that stuff. It's a sickness, David. It's sick.

Speaker 6:
[17:09] Okay, then will you fucking help me, please?

Speaker 7:
[17:12] I would love to help you and I would love to be a friend. And I want us to take good care of our kids. We have amazing children.

Speaker 9:
[17:20] And I'm not taking them away.

Speaker 8:
[17:21] You can't take my, no, you are.

Speaker 9:
[17:23] That's what you're doing.

Speaker 6:
[17:23] You're taking you and my kids away, and I don't want any of that to happen.

Speaker 9:
[17:27] Laura, don't you understand what, I love you. Do you love me?

Speaker 7:
[17:33] I don't love you anymore, David. I can't. I'm your friend.

Speaker 9:
[17:38] When was the last time you loved me?

Speaker 6:
[17:40] Because I've loved you this entire time. I really have. I have loved you this entire time. This entire time, this entire 20 fucking years, I have loved you and cared about you more than anything. Do anything you want to me. Put any type of rule and restriction on me that you want. Just love me and stay with me. Please. I care about you and my kids more than anything. I do. I swear that on everything. I swear it on my life.

Speaker 7:
[18:13] I am not here to take them away. I want them to have a happy, pleasant existence with two parents that love them and don't fight. I don't want to fight with you.

Speaker 9:
[18:20] Laura, I don't want to fight you.

Speaker 7:
[18:21] I just can't live in the same house as you.

Speaker 9:
[18:24] Laura, I want, please don't do this.

Speaker 6:
[18:28] Are you seeing someone else?

Speaker 5:
[18:29] No. Have you been seeing someone else?

Speaker 7:
[18:31] No, I don't care about anyone else. Stop that.

Speaker 5:
[18:34] Have you been seeing someone else?

Speaker 9:
[18:35] Just be honest with me.

Speaker 7:
[18:36] No, David.

Speaker 9:
[18:37] For once, you've been seeing someone else.

Speaker 7:
[18:38] I've never seen anyone else because I did love you and no.

Speaker 6:
[18:42] No, no, don't. Then let's talk. Do you swear you've never seen anyone?

Speaker 7:
[18:48] I swear, David. I don't care about that. I care about our kids and I want them to be healthy and it's not healthy for them to see us self-destruct.

Speaker 6:
[18:59] Then let's fix it, please. Let's work together and fix it, please.

Speaker 9:
[19:03] Let's work together. Can we work together and fix it?

Speaker 10:
[19:05] But I need a break.

Speaker 4:
[19:06] Can I have a break?

Speaker 9:
[19:07] Laura, no, because you're just, you're just leaving.

Speaker 10:
[19:14] I am leaving.

Speaker 7:
[19:14] I am leaving.

Speaker 10:
[19:16] Please, David, help.

Speaker 8:
[19:18] Please, David, I want to go.

Speaker 9:
[19:21] Why are you doing this? You're saying help?

Speaker 8:
[19:24] Because I-

Speaker 9:
[19:25] You're saying help? You're saying help from me?

Speaker 8:
[19:29] David, I can't, I just go?

Speaker 9:
[19:33] No, no, you can't. You've taken my children away. You've taken my children away from me. You've already done it.

Speaker 6:
[19:44] You didn't just leave, you took my children away.

Speaker 9:
[19:50] You took my children away from me. You didn't just leave. Your plan is to destroy me.

Speaker 7:
[19:57] I just know.

Speaker 9:
[19:57] Just like the rest of them.

Speaker 7:
[19:59] No, it's not. I'm the nicest person that you've ever met.

Speaker 9:
[20:03] You're right.

Speaker 7:
[20:03] Because you're putting your hands on my neck and you're dragging me in the house three times now.

Speaker 9:
[20:07] I'm trying to talk to you. I love you and care about you. I can't.

Speaker 6:
[20:13] You can't do this to me.

Speaker 9:
[20:15] You can't do this to me.

Speaker 6:
[20:18] I'm already self-destructing as a person because of all the problems. Fix it.

Speaker 9:
[20:23] What can I do?

Speaker 7:
[20:25] Fix yourself and come back, the person that you used to be. Build a business, do something. But not make me feel like an idiot all the time because I can't pay all the bills.

Speaker 5:
[20:36] And I'm not trying to make you feel like an idiot.

Speaker 9:
[20:38] I'm going to get paid off here very shortly. I'm supposed to get a check this week.

Speaker 10:
[20:45] Okay, and figure it out.

Speaker 9:
[20:47] No, I want to buy our house and then...

Speaker 7:
[20:51] Then buy it. You can have it.

Speaker 6:
[20:53] No, I don't want it.

Speaker 9:
[20:54] I want us.

Speaker 6:
[20:55] I don't want the house without you. I don't want this place without you and the kids. Are you kidding me?

Speaker 7:
[21:02] They're going to be here whatever...

Speaker 9:
[21:03] No, they're not. You've already taken them. Where are my kids at?

Speaker 7:
[21:07] They're right now visiting the police department with my friends.

Speaker 6:
[21:15] You've taken my kids to the police department.

Speaker 8:
[21:18] No, they're with my friends who are police.

Speaker 6:
[21:23] You've taken my kids to the fucking police department.

Speaker 9:
[21:31] Why aren't they down here right now officiating?

Speaker 6:
[21:34] Why aren't your friends, your cop friends?

Speaker 5:
[21:37] That makes so much sense to you, Laura.

Speaker 9:
[21:40] I want us. I don't want anybody else. I don't want Beth.

Speaker 6:
[21:46] He's my kid and I have to acknowledge that, and I'm going to have to take care of that and deal with that.

Speaker 9:
[21:51] But I don't want anybody but you.

Speaker 6:
[21:54] You're the person I want. You're the person I love. You're my wife, Laura.

Speaker 9:
[22:01] You can't do this.

Speaker 6:
[22:03] You can't do this to me. Forgive me, please. I will do anything.

Speaker 5:
[22:09] I will fix the problem. Please.

Speaker 6:
[22:17] Please give me one last chance to fix the problem.

Speaker 5:
[22:22] Please, Laura.

Speaker 10:
[22:23] I'm not trying to hurt you.

Speaker 6:
[22:25] No, but you are.

Speaker 7:
[22:26] I'm the only person that does not want to hurt you. I want to live in my house and the kids live with you whatever days you want and whatever days me and we go to sports and we do everything, but I do not sleep in this house.

Speaker 6:
[22:37] Laura, no one else has ever been in this house. No one else has ever been with me in this house. I would never disrespect you that way. I have never done anything like that. Yes, I've made a mistake. I agree. Can I please fix the problem, Laura? Please.

Speaker 7:
[22:56] Get your money. Fix your problems.

Speaker 6:
[22:59] The problem I want to fix is right here. I want to fix the problem with you, Laura.

Speaker 9:
[23:04] I don't want any other problems. I don't want any other shit. I want my family.

Speaker 6:
[23:11] Laura, this is the only good thing I've got.

Speaker 9:
[23:13] Everything else has turned to shit.

Speaker 6:
[23:16] It really fucking has. My business has been yanked out from under me by vindictive people who are just trying to destroy me.

Speaker 9:
[23:25] Seriously.

Speaker 6:
[23:28] You might think that sounds like fucking paranoia, but it's a fact. It's a goddamn fact. People are coming to me from every goddamn direction trying to fucking yank me down. They really fucking are. The only thing I've had in my life that's good is you and my children.

Speaker 9:
[23:46] Okay.

Speaker 6:
[23:47] And you're taking all of that away from me.

Speaker 9:
[23:50] But you are. You're taking them.

Speaker 6:
[23:51] They're at a police station. They're at a police station. My kids are at a fucking police station with some fucking lady that they don't even know. Right now, instead of with their father, who cares about them more than anything. Laura, please, don't do this.

Speaker 5:
[24:28] Please, look at me, please.

Speaker 6:
[24:34] Please, please, I love you. I really do, look, I acknowledge, I've made fucking mistakes. I'm not fucking perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect. I can't even see perfect from where I'm at. But could you please, please acknowledge the fact that you know I love you? You know I love you, don't you? I love you and care about you more than anything, Laura.

Speaker 9:
[25:02] I do.

Speaker 6:
[25:07] Seriously, will you look at me?

Speaker 9:
[25:09] I love you and I care about you more than anything, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[25:13] You and my kids are the only thing in my life that's worth anything to me. And I will do anything to keep it.

Speaker 7:
[25:20] Okay, well, anything means give me a break, David. And prove it to me. Fix your problems.

Speaker 6:
[25:27] You're not coming back. You won't come back, Laura. You're gonna walk out right now. And what's gonna happen is, like you said, you're done paying for everything. The house is gonna get foreclosed on. I'm gonna end up being a hermit somewhere. And my kids will never... I'll end up shooting myself in the fucking forehead or drinking myself to death. And then you'll be happy. If you want me to kill myself, just say so and I'll do it now. And I'm not joking. I've got a gun upstairs, I'll kill myself. Will that make you happy?

Speaker 4:
[25:58] No, David. I want us to do the best thing for the kids.

Speaker 5:
[26:02] No, I want to...

Speaker 9:
[26:04] Laura, Jesus, I care about you so much. Don't leave me. You're the only person that I've trusted and cared about for 25 years, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[26:16] We've been together since we were kids.

Speaker 7:
[26:18] I know.

Speaker 6:
[26:20] I care about you more than anything.

Speaker 7:
[26:22] But my life sucks, David.

Speaker 9:
[26:24] So does mine.

Speaker 6:
[26:25] Can we work together and fix it? Please?

Speaker 7:
[26:30] I think I deserve something else than people telling me all the time.

Speaker 9:
[26:34] All right, well, first of all, you're right.

Speaker 6:
[26:36] You do deserve better. And I apologize. You deserve better.

Speaker 5:
[26:41] People should never...

Speaker 6:
[26:43] These pieces of shit that would call you and say these things are pieces of shit. Okay? I agree. And I'll get them. Okay? They're trying anything. Can you see that they're trying anything they can to hurt me? Nothing will make them happier than you to leave me.

Speaker 4:
[27:00] All it does is hurt me.

Speaker 7:
[27:01] And I'm sick of being hurt all the time. Time after time after time. Okay.

Speaker 6:
[27:05] It's not as bad as you're making it out to be though. It's not time after time after time after time after time. I've made mistakes. I agree. But I'm not perfect. I agree. But I mean, it's not like, it's not like I went searching for anything. Accidents have happened. Mistakes have been made. I swear to God. Mistakes have been made. But they were mistakes. They're not, I am not perfect. I agree. Okay. I've made mistakes. But it's not like I'm leading a double life. It's not like I'm living somewhere else.

Speaker 4:
[27:39] You are leading a double life. You visit her, you bring her money.

Speaker 7:
[27:43] And so the last few weeks, I had like $14 to buy groceries and she gets your money.

Speaker 6:
[27:50] Ask me for money. I give her money at the start of the month to help with him. Okay.

Speaker 9:
[27:55] She has a job.

Speaker 6:
[27:56] I've given her three.

Speaker 7:
[27:58] What about me? Like that's our money.

Speaker 6:
[28:00] Okay.

Speaker 9:
[28:01] You're right. You're right.

Speaker 7:
[28:02] And I've got nothing. I have nothing. I have this house, which is a noose around my neck. And that's it. And I go to work all day and then I bring you your dinner upstairs. And I have nothing. I have my children, and I have my job, and I just try to put my feet every day, lay in my bed, and if I just get my foot on the ground, then...

Speaker 6:
[28:23] Okay, then let's fix this together. Please?

Speaker 5:
[28:30] Please? Please?

Speaker 4:
[28:33] I don't want it, David.

Speaker 6:
[28:35] I'll give you every ounce, every penny of money I've got.

Speaker 7:
[28:38] I don't care about money. I just want to have a day where I have more than $14 to buy groceries. Okay.

Speaker 9:
[28:45] All right.

Speaker 6:
[28:45] I didn't...

Speaker 7:
[28:45] I make a load of money.

Speaker 6:
[28:47] Okay.

Speaker 7:
[28:47] And I have nothing.

Speaker 9:
[28:49] Okay.

Speaker 6:
[28:50] I agree. We've had this problem for a while. Fine.

Speaker 7:
[28:55] Sure, she has groceries.

Speaker 6:
[28:59] She has her own job. I gave her $300 a month. Okay.

Speaker 9:
[29:05] I'm not rich.

Speaker 6:
[29:06] I'm barely making it. I'm barely fucking surviving. My business is going in the tank.

Speaker 7:
[29:11] So what did you think was going to happen?

Speaker 9:
[29:13] Like I didn't know.

Speaker 6:
[29:15] I didn't know how I was going to explain this.

Speaker 7:
[29:16] And why would you hide your son? He's your son.

Speaker 6:
[29:20] Laura, because I love you and I care about you and I didn't want to hurt you. And I'm embarrassed. But at this point, pride doesn't mean a goddamn thing to me. I'm embarrassed beyond all embarrassment. I didn't know what to do or how to do it. Okay. She used to be Maceo's girlfriend.

Speaker 5:
[29:45] Oh, you already know the whole story.

Speaker 6:
[29:47] You know everything. I'm sorry. Go ahead and tell me. Okay. She was Maceo's girlfriend. I was Maceo's friend. We ended up just somehow it ended up where it ended up. Okay. She refused to have an abortion. And there it is. I'm stuck with the goddamn kid. I wanted more than anything to not have another child.

Speaker 7:
[30:14] Then why would you be starting businesses with her and my kid's names and her names all over everything together like you're a family?

Speaker 6:
[30:22] No, no. That right there was down there at the coffee shop. Okay. That was, I had to start the LLC. She demanded to be a part of the LLC. I said, here, fine then, if you can run this, great. If you can make any money, great. And it never worked out. Not for a company.

Speaker 4:
[30:38] Why are my kid's names with her?

Speaker 6:
[30:41] Okay. Your kid's names are on the LLC in case she ever tried to do something where she tried to take anything that wasn't hers. Okay. That way she's not a majority owner. I'm not trying, I've never tried to be Mr. Subversive about anything, and I knew someday I'd have to confront this issue. And I didn't know how I was gonna do it, and it really weighed heavy on me. I don't know, I have no idea, or had no idea how the hell I would deal with this. This is a huge problem and a huge embarrassment. I don't know what to do.

Speaker 10:
[31:23] It's embarrassing to me.

Speaker 9:
[31:25] I know, I know, I know.

Speaker 7:
[31:28] I'm like the biggest fucking loser on the planet.

Speaker 6:
[31:31] No, you're not.

Speaker 7:
[31:32] Yeah, I am.

Speaker 6:
[31:35] Come on, don't, don't, don't, don't.

Speaker 10:
[31:39] I don't, I don't even hate you.

Speaker 8:
[31:41] I just, Jesus Christ.

Speaker 7:
[31:44] I just want to be alone.

Speaker 9:
[31:49] I don't want you to be alone. That's the thing that I've never wanted.

Speaker 6:
[31:52] I've wanted to be with you. I love you. I've wanted us to be together for the longest time, okay?

Speaker 7:
[32:04] But everywhere I go, people are telling me that you're with other people.

Speaker 9:
[32:08] Who is saying this? Who was saying this?

Speaker 7:
[32:11] It's everybody everywhere.

Speaker 6:
[32:13] Everybody everywhere is saying that I'm with other people, or I'm not, I'm with you. You're my wife. You are what I care about. You are who I love. Granted, I haven't felt loved back for a long time, but I've wanted that. I figured maybe once we got this house situation worked out, then things would be a little bit better for us.

Speaker 7:
[32:46] I'm 42 years old, I am losing my home.

Speaker 6:
[32:49] Okay, you're not.

Speaker 10:
[32:50] I have nothing.

Speaker 7:
[32:51] I have no retirement plan. I have $400,000 of tax debt, and they're gonna come after me. I've talked to a lawyer, they're talking about me, because I'm the only one with a paycheck.

Speaker 6:
[33:01] Hold on a second. There's no one's coming after you. This is getting handled.

Speaker 9:
[33:07] This is being handled by a...

Speaker 6:
[33:11] Fred, I've got the lawyer's name. I've got the lawyer's name, he's handling it. He's really... Hey, this is being handled. Okay, you don't have $400,000 of tax debt. Don't think that it doesn't weigh on my head that it's sitting out there, but I'm handling it. I'm handling this.

Speaker 7:
[33:30] And when I talk to a lawyer, he said they'll leave me $2,000 a month to live on, and that I'm going to be the person paying it back.

Speaker 6:
[33:39] You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. Okay, the IRS, what they did was, they didn't accept those two years worth of taxes because they were repetitive. The tax change that they made, the $24,000, then what they do is they take that, and then they just, they disallow the next two years. Okay, this is being fixed, I swear it. This is being fixed. Okay, I've already paid the attorney. I paid him a year and a half ago. Okay, I am working to fix these problems. I really am.

Speaker 4:
[34:17] Okay, well, then come and find me when they're fixed.

Speaker 6:
[34:21] I can't, I can't even find my kids. You've taken my kids away from me, Laura. I don't want to come and find you when, I wish you would work with me.

Speaker 7:
[34:29] I am working with you, and I'd love to see you tomorrow at wrestling.

Speaker 9:
[34:33] Laura, no, don't, no. Why can't we be a family? Why can't, what, all I want is you.

Speaker 6:
[34:42] I want you to love me. I want you to love me. I've wanted that, that's all I've wanted, is you to love me. I haven't felt it for a long time. I can tell you that honestly. I mean, I know you're, I know you're stressed and you're having a hard time, but I really am, I do have plans to fix that and I did want to fix that. And I still do want to fix that. I want us to be a happy family. My plans were to buy the house and then, you know, I probably aren't going to be able to work very much, but you know, because I'm not going to have any money to put back into the business. And that's going to, you know, I'll just have to sell things off as they go. But then, at least, we don't have that enormous, you know, house build. I really do have plans to fix this. I don't know how to fix that. I can't, I don't know how to deal with that. I want...

Speaker 7:
[35:50] Okay, could you forgive me?

Speaker 6:
[35:56] I love you. I know that much.

Speaker 7:
[36:00] If I gave birth to a black kid, would you forgive me?

Speaker 6:
[36:03] Laura, if it meant you not leaving and our family staying together, I'd have to deal with it. I would have to deal with it. That's not bullshit. I would be hurt. I would be devastated. I would be feeling all the same things that you're feeling, but I would still love you because you're the person I've loved and I'm married because I love you and because I cared about you. And we've been, we've been through so much. I can't, I can't even imagine being with anybody else. I can't imagine wanting to be with anybody else. I don't want to be with anybody else.

Speaker 7:
[36:46] I don't want to be with anyone else.

Speaker 6:
[36:47] I don't want any.

Speaker 8:
[36:48] I just can't live like this anymore.

Speaker 9:
[36:51] Okay.

Speaker 7:
[36:51] It's, it's, it's so mortifying.

Speaker 9:
[36:55] I know.

Speaker 6:
[36:57] I know.

Speaker 9:
[36:59] I know.

Speaker 6:
[37:01] Believe me, I know. There isn't anything that I don't know better. I know that, but how could I, how could I come to you and say, geez, honey, guess what I did? I fucked up again. Not only is everything else in turmoil, but I'm a complete fucking idiot. And look at this enormous fucking blemish mistake I've made. And I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody fucking decided to, to really stick it in my side and call you.

Speaker 11:
[37:39] It's your phone. I set it down over there. It was in my hand. That's gotta be your police friends.

Speaker 4:
[38:00] No, I'm on call.

Speaker 6:
[38:28] So as you can see, I have no friends in the entire universe. They give two shits about me. Everyone's out stabbing me in the back, trying to fucking hurt us.

Speaker 4:
[38:38] I want us to make those kids have a great life and help them with their careers and their wrestling and everything. And I think we can do that, but there's no-

Speaker 6:
[38:46] We can't do that separately. Laura, no, every family that breaks up, the kids are destroyed by it. You know that, you know that, you know that as a fact that broken homes are terrible. Look at what Robin is-

Speaker 4:
[39:04] Why don't you make a good one?

Speaker 10:
[39:05] I'm not vindictive like her.

Speaker 6:
[39:07] Yeah, well, things like that happen, and I'm a piece of shit that would be vindictive because as soon as you're with somebody else, I'm going to lose it.

Speaker 10:
[39:15] I don't even-

Speaker 6:
[39:16] But that's going to happen, it will happen. Or you've turned yourself into a beautiful woman. All you care about is working out and being in shape.

Speaker 7:
[39:25] Because otherwise, it's an antidepressant because it's the only thing that makes me feel better.

Speaker 6:
[39:31] Well, I wish I could fucking make you feel better. Look at what's happened to me. I've just turned to shit because I have no fucking dignity or self-respect about myself. I don't care about myself.

Speaker 7:
[39:42] You've changed everything.

Speaker 6:
[39:44] Will you help me?

Speaker 7:
[39:45] But I'm not staying in this house, David, okay?

Speaker 5:
[39:49] No, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 6:
[39:54] Let's work together and make it better. Let's work together and fix it.

Speaker 9:
[39:59] Let's work together.

Speaker 6:
[40:02] Please, let's work together.

Speaker 7:
[40:03] I've been doing all I can.

Speaker 9:
[40:07] Okay.

Speaker 7:
[40:10] I died in my room and I didn't fucking care. That's how bad it is.

Speaker 6:
[40:17] What do you mean you died?

Speaker 8:
[40:18] I had a heart attack.

Speaker 7:
[40:21] I knew what was happening and I died. I thought I died in there and then you know what happened? It just woke up the next day.

Speaker 9:
[40:26] What are you talking about?

Speaker 7:
[40:27] When I, when I was sick.

Speaker 9:
[40:32] When was this? The first time you had a heart attack?

Speaker 7:
[40:38] I passed out.

Speaker 10:
[40:39] I thought I was just done and you know what?

Speaker 7:
[40:41] I didn't care. Cause at that point I would have rather been dead.

Speaker 6:
[40:47] This is like a year ago.

Speaker 7:
[40:52] I know when you took the baby stuff that you had a baby and I knew you had it with her. And this whole time I've been thinking that I'm crazy.

Speaker 10:
[41:03] Cause you had 14 stories about what you were doing with the stuff and I knew you were with her.

Speaker 7:
[41:07] I always know when you're with somebody.

Speaker 6:
[41:09] Okay. I'm not with her. I'm not with anybody. I'm with you, first of all. I'm not with her. You mean everything to me. You are the only woman in the world that ever has meant anything to me.

Speaker 7:
[41:30] But you can't force me into this situation, David.

Speaker 6:
[41:40] But I'm going to try, Laura, I care about you. You're the only thing I care about. I would rather see us both dead than, no, I'd rather see me dead than not have you in my life. Because my children are going to be destroyed by this. They're going to be destroyed from this. And it's all my fault. My children's lives are going to be fucked up because of this.

Speaker 11:
[42:10] I fucked up everything with you.

Speaker 6:
[42:11] I fucked up everything with my kids. Everything.

Speaker 7:
[42:21] I would like to help you. I just can't stay here, please.

Speaker 5:
[42:28] I don't want you to go, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[42:30] I don't want you to go. I don't want you to go.

Speaker 5:
[42:34] I don't want you to take my kids. I don't want you to go. They are fucking pictures.

Speaker 6:
[42:48] You took their pictures.

Speaker 5:
[42:56] You can't do this to me. You can't do this to me, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[43:02] Please, please, please, let's us make this better together. Please, Laura, are you just looking for a way out?

Speaker 5:
[43:11] Are you just looking to make you run?

Speaker 6:
[43:13] Is that really what's going on here? Are you not listening to me at all? You really don't care about anything I'm about to say? Is that really it?

Speaker 4:
[43:22] No, David, I care.

Speaker 7:
[43:23] I just, I've been over this 800,000 times alone, okay?

Speaker 6:
[43:29] You've been over what?

Speaker 7:
[43:30] This whole scenario. And there's not gonna be a way that I'm gonna feel better about that baby.

Speaker 6:
[43:36] Okay, there's not gonna be a way that I'm gonna be able to make you feel better about that baby, but can you forgive me for making a mistake? Because I'm not gonna, the minute you're gone, I'm not running over and being with this baby. I'm not doing that.

Speaker 7:
[43:49] But you should, it's your obligation.

Speaker 6:
[43:50] No, I'm not going to. Okay, I'm not going to run over and be with any, I'm never going to be with that person. I have never, ever, ever.

Speaker 8:
[43:59] You should fight for your son.

Speaker 7:
[44:00] You should have your son half the time. He is yours and he deserves to have a good dad too.

Speaker 6:
[44:07] Well, will you accept him into the house?

Speaker 7:
[44:11] No.

Speaker 6:
[44:12] Okay then.

Speaker 7:
[44:12] You should fight for all your kids, because they're yours and they deserve a good, respectable dad.

Speaker 6:
[44:17] Okay, I'm not gonna do anything that's gonna jeopardize my chance with you. Laura, I'm not gonna do-

Speaker 7:
[44:26] You know I'm a pre-nutrition, right? I mean, I actually feel bad for that kid, because I want him to have you as a dad.

Speaker 6:
[44:33] Laura.

Speaker 7:
[44:34] You need to be there for him too, David.

Speaker 6:
[44:36] I'm not gonna do anything that will jeopardize us. Laura, I'm not gonna do anything that will jeopardize us. I'm not gonna do it. I want us. I want you and me. I want our kids. I want our family. That's what I want. That's the only thing I want. That's the only thing I want. I don't want anything that will jeopardize us. I love you and care about you more than anything. I really do. I love you and care about you more than anything in this entire world, Laura, and I will do anything to prove that. I don't want anything but you and my children in my life. That's it. And the only reason why I even had to deal with this other person is because there's a kid there. And yes, it's an enormous mistake, you know, but I do have to, I, you know, do have to take a responsibility for the kid in some way. But I don't, I've never brought it up to you and I've never admitted, you know, this terrible problem because of the problem it's going to cause me. Because I don't want to lose my family. I don't want to lose you. I love you. I love my kids. This is all I want, is you and my children. It really is. It really, really is, Laura. What can I do? What can I do? Please tell me, what can I do?

Speaker 4:
[46:27] I don't know.

Speaker 7:
[46:29] I think you have the potential to be a great dad. You are a great dad.

Speaker 4:
[46:32] You need to be a dad to that kid.

Speaker 7:
[46:35] But you've never been a good husband.

Speaker 6:
[46:37] I have been a good husband. I have been a good husband. I haven't been a perfect husband, but I've been a good husband. There are a whole lot worse husbands out there. I admit, I've got issues because of how my mom fucked me up. I've got issues. I've got some deep dark stuff that I've never told you. I got problems that I don't know how to deal with. Okay, but you know.

Speaker 4:
[47:29] What do you want to tell me? I mean, if there's stuff that you need to say, then get it off your chest.

Speaker 11:
[48:01] It's really embarrassing.

Speaker 4:
[48:05] Okay, well, I've been your friend since I was 16 years old.

Speaker 6:
[48:08] I know, but I never told you before. I've never...

Speaker 11:
[48:11] What?

Speaker 1:
[48:13] This is the part of the recording where Dave shares something personal with Laura.

Speaker 4:
[48:27] Everybody fucking leaves me.

Speaker 5:
[48:29] My mom left me, grandma died.

Speaker 4:
[49:29] Sorry that that happened to you. I think we should just work on a better situation for our kids, you know?

Speaker 7:
[50:08] Laura.

Speaker 5:
[50:12] I'm, I'm done.

Speaker 6:
[50:16] I'm so fucked up, okay?

Speaker 5:
[50:20] There's a lot of shit wrong with me.

Speaker 7:
[50:22] Okay, David, I'm your friend.

Speaker 5:
[50:23] Will you please help me fix and thank me?

Speaker 7:
[50:25] I would love to help you.

Speaker 5:
[50:27] Will you please stay my wife?

Speaker 7:
[50:29] Can I, can I?

Speaker 5:
[50:30] Will you please stay my wife?

Speaker 10:
[50:32] Do you care about me?

Speaker 6:
[50:33] Yes, I care about you more than anything, Laura.

Speaker 10:
[50:35] I need to be fixing myself and you, baby. What about me and David?

Speaker 5:
[50:41] Please, I know I will do anything to help.

Speaker 6:
[50:43] I will do anything. I will do anything. I will do anything.

Speaker 5:
[50:49] Please don't leave.

Speaker 6:
[50:50] Please don't take my kids.

Speaker 7:
[50:51] Please, I will do anything.

Speaker 10:
[50:52] I'm not taking them, David. We're just going to work together.

Speaker 5:
[50:56] I'll pour my heart out to a psychiatrist.

Speaker 6:
[50:58] I'll tell him everything and I will get better. I will get better. I will do anything. I will do anything to keep you. Anything. Please don't leave. Please. Please. Please. You're the only thing I want in this entire world.

Speaker 10:
[51:17] What about my mental health?

Speaker 6:
[51:18] Okay, whatever. I will do anything to make that better, to make it better for you. I will do anything to make it better. I will do anything to make it better. I will get help. I will be the best husband in the world to you. I will be who I've never been. I will do anything. Please. Please. You're the only thing I care about. I don't care about anything in this world except you at this point in my life. And my kids, of course. These are the things that I care about more than anything. I want you to love me again.

Speaker 4:
[52:01] Okay. We can work on it, David. But I need some recovery time. I... you cannot imagine what I have been through with this. It's not a very easy thing to get over your spouse having a kid with somebody else.

Speaker 10:
[52:23] It's not a joke, David.

Speaker 11:
[52:25] I know it's not, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[52:28] I know I made a mistake. I know I made an enormous mistake. A huge mistake. The biggest mistake ever. And there's no way for me to fix it. There's no way for me to, there's no way that you don't, I can't just fix that. I begged and pleaded with this person to please not have a child. Please don't have a child. Please, please, this is going to destroy my life. Someday it's gonna come up and destroy my life.

Speaker 5:
[53:41] You're not gonna tell anybody about that, are you?

Speaker 4:
[53:43] No, David.

Speaker 10:
[53:48] I would like to help you.

Speaker 2:
[53:50] I want a great life for our kids.

Speaker 4:
[53:51] I want us to get along. That's what I really want.

Speaker 6:
[53:56] But you don't want anything to do with me.

Speaker 4:
[53:59] I do not want to live in this house with you right now. We have major problems, and I can barely function right now.

Speaker 6:
[54:14] I feel the same way.

Speaker 4:
[54:16] But I have to, and then it got to the point. My student loans, I couldn't defer them anymore. There's nothing. I've just, and imagine my self-esteem.

Speaker 8:
[54:27] Imagine how I feel for one second. No, I have.

Speaker 10:
[54:31] That I'm not good enough for you.

Speaker 11:
[54:33] No, I have.

Speaker 8:
[54:33] I can't pay the bills. I can't, I'm just, I try so hard, so many hours every day. And it's never enough.

Speaker 11:
[54:44] I know. It's not that you're not good enough. Don't ever think that you're bad.

Speaker 7:
[54:50] Well, that's how it feels, David, that I, I'm, what's that?

Speaker 6:
[54:55] You know what I felt?

Speaker 5:
[54:56] I'm the loser.

Speaker 6:
[54:57] You know what I felt? I feel like I haven't been loved, and I feel like I'm not good enough. You're, you're, you're wildly talented.

Speaker 5:
[55:09] You're, you're beautiful.

Speaker 7:
[55:12] And then I was so excited to tell you about the top doc thing, and you said, oh, they probably, it's just, you probably just made a mistake. It's just political. I mean.

Speaker 9:
[55:20] I was joking, but it, Jesus.

Speaker 7:
[55:22] But it just, I, oh my God.

Speaker 10:
[55:24] I was so excited for myself.

Speaker 7:
[55:27] Because it's the biggest deal.

Speaker 6:
[55:29] I expected, oh my God, you're, Jesus Christ, you get it every time. You're, God, what do you mean? How do you not have the highest self-esteem? Look at yourself. You're the most talented person I know. You're so accomplished, you're so good looking. And look at me. I've just turned to shit. Everything in my life has turned to shit. Haven't you noticed I've gained like fucking 30 pounds in the past year or so? Haven't you noticed how much I'm drinking?

Speaker 4:
[56:15] I know, and you know what that makes me feel like? That I'm not good enough.

Speaker 7:
[56:19] I don't make you happy because then you have to drink just to be around it.

Speaker 6:
[56:23] No. I have to drink to escape the problems I've got. Because I don't know how to come to you for help. I mean, I've got plans in the back of my head and I'm trying to make them all work out. But it's like when I tell you about the plan, you're like, when I told you I wanted to buy the house.

Speaker 7:
[56:50] Yeah, but every single thing you do is illegal.

Speaker 6:
[56:55] No, it's not. I don't do everything illegal.

Speaker 5:
[57:00] What do I do that's illegal?

Speaker 6:
[57:02] My business isn't illegal. It's not perfect, but it's not illegal.

Speaker 5:
[57:13] It's not illegal.

Speaker 10:
[57:14] What about the fire?

Speaker 6:
[57:16] That's not, I'm not responsible for that. Are you blaming me for that?

Speaker 4:
[57:22] I don't know, I'm asking you about it. I'm not blaming you. No.

Speaker 5:
[57:26] Why would you blame me for that?

Speaker 4:
[57:28] I'm asking you.

Speaker 9:
[57:30] I was here, you were here with me.

Speaker 6:
[57:33] We were here.

Speaker 9:
[57:36] I have nothing to do with it.

Speaker 6:
[57:39] For all I know, fucking, Jesse and Chris fucking set the place on fire to fuck me then.

Speaker 9:
[57:48] I'm not trying to go to prison, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[57:51] I'm not trying to fucking be away from my family.

Speaker 4:
[57:57] I just sometimes it seems like if we just did things rationally, and I don't understand what's going on with your business, I mean, just nothing makes sense.

Speaker 6:
[58:11] I don't do things irrationally. Granted, I'm not the most brilliant businessman in the world, but I don't do things irrationally. I mean, the tax thing is getting fixed, it is. It really is. The fucking, the attorney, I had to give him the stuff last week. The stuff that they sent back to us, I gave it to him last week. He said that that's coming up. You can call him. You can call him and ask him if you don't believe me. He's handling that fucking, it's like an independent arbitrator. He's handling it, okay? I swear to you, that's being handled. I talked to the guy from the insurance company, well, there's two different insurance companies, but he's got approval already this week. I heard from him on Thursday. This week, he's supposed to send me a check for $30,000 for the one truck. That's 80% of it, because he can do that right away. Then he's gonna send me the other 20% of it. And then the big truck is probably gonna take another week because he has to get approval, but that's like $150,000. And the attorney for the other insurance company, he said that that has been kicked to a supervisor on the insurance company's side, and that that guy is going to more than likely cut a check on that. And when we do that, that'll be like $400,000. We can buy the house, or we'll buy another house, whatever, whatever you want. I'll give it all to you. You can have it. You can be in control of everything. I don't care. I just don't want to lose you and my family. Because believe it or not, I really do love you. Believe it or not. Okay, I know I'm not perfect. I know I've made a lot of fucking stupid mistakes. I mean a lot of stupid mistakes. I know it. But I really do care about you, and I really do only want you in this world. That's all I want. You and my kids. That's it. I mean, I want you to love me. I wish you loved me more physically. I really do. Honestly, Laura, look at me. I swear to you. I really wish you loved me physically. I mean, I know I'm not attractive. I know I'm, you know, but I'll get in shape. I'll do whatever I have to do. If I need to get in shape to be more attractive, I will. If I'm not attractive, I'll do anything I have to do.

Speaker 4:
[61:16] Problem is I don't, I've lost my own self-respect and it's hard for me to be attracted to you when I'm thinking about you being with her. Okay, that's a big mental barrier.

Speaker 7:
[61:30] You just said yourself, you wouldn't be able to handle me being with someone else, you'd lose it.

Speaker 8:
[61:36] Well, I've lost it.

Speaker 6:
[61:38] I would lose it, but I'm-

Speaker 4:
[61:39] I've lost it.

Speaker 6:
[61:40] Okay, but I would regroup because I don't want to lose my family and I don't want to lose the woman I love. I don't want to lose that.

Speaker 9:
[61:49] Why would I lose it? Why would I lose it?

Speaker 6:
[61:51] Because I don't want to lose the woman that I care about. That's why I would lose it. I don't want to lose who I love and care about and who I want to be with. That's what I don't want to lose. I don't want to lose that. Because you really are the person that I love. You're my wife, Laura. You think if I loved some other woman, why wouldn't I just leave? Why wouldn't I just try to take half your money and leave? Why wouldn't I do that? Why would I even be here arguing and pleading with you and telling you my deepest and darkest fucking secret if I wanted anything other than you? I'm sure some fucking shyster divorce attorney would say, hey, you helped her all this time, you could get half of that. Why wouldn't I do that if I wanted that? I don't want anything but you. You're what I want. I don't care about any of that other shit. I want you and my children. I want my family. That's the only thing in this world that I want. And I know you're probably not being honest with me when you're telling me that you're not seeing another guy. You had to have guys come over here and move all the stuff out.

Speaker 4:
[63:34] I paid movers, I haven't received.

Speaker 6:
[63:38] Okay. But if you did, I wouldn't fucking be happy. You're right, I'd fucking lose it, but I would have to find a way to get past it.

Speaker 4:
[64:00] I don't want to hurt you, David. I'm not here to...

Speaker 6:
[64:03] That's all this is doing to me, is hurting me. Just sticking to it, I gotta give you that, Laura.

Speaker 11:
[64:09] You're sticking to it.

Speaker 6:
[64:11] I don't want to lose you, and I don't want to lose my kids.

Speaker 4:
[64:14] And I said, I want to create the best scenario that we can, that's the most positive for them, with two parents that love them and don't fight about it. And you want to take them to wrestling, you want to take them to football, and I'm gonna be right there.

Speaker 6:
[64:25] No, I want my kids, I want to wake up in the house with them. I want to be in the house when they go to sleep. I want, you know, when they wake up in the middle of the night, you know, when I come out and I say, hey, what you doing, bud?

Speaker 11:
[64:38] I'm just going to the bathroom, dad.

Speaker 6:
[64:40] You know, I don't want to lose that. Lord Jesus, this is going to fuck them up. This is going to destroy them. He needs us. Oh my God.

Speaker 11:
[65:18] Can you please, please find it in your heart to try to forgive me and let me do everything and anything I can to fix my problems? Can you please, please, please?

Speaker 4:
[65:39] I don't think that I can live with myself with my self esteem any lower.

Speaker 1:
[65:46] I feel like crap.

Speaker 6:
[65:51] Tell me what I can do to make you feel better, please. Or you know you can, you know, you know, you know that you can find a way if you really want to, you just don't want to. You're that mad at me. You don't want to. You just don't want to. But you know you could.

Speaker 4:
[66:34] We can't force it, David. All I'm asking you is to give me a break.

Speaker 6:
[66:40] Where did you move to?

Speaker 4:
[66:43] Just to the road in Gilbert.

Speaker 6:
[66:48] You see, you won't even tell me where... You just... You want to... Where are the divorce papers? Are they already here? You've already been talking to lawyers. Where are they at?

Speaker 4:
[67:00] I didn't file them yet.

Speaker 11:
[67:02] But you have them.

Speaker 4:
[67:04] Just talking about it.

Speaker 5:
[67:15] What did you tell the children?

Speaker 4:
[67:17] I told them I'd be back in a few minutes.

Speaker 11:
[67:21] And you left them at the police station?

Speaker 4:
[67:23] Well, I left them with my friend.

Speaker 11:
[67:25] At the police station.

Speaker 4:
[67:25] And she was probably gonna take them here.

Speaker 11:
[67:28] Where are they spending the night at?

Speaker 4:
[67:30] With me.

Speaker 6:
[67:34] Out of their home, away from their rooms, away from their beds. Did you take all their clothes?

Speaker 4:
[67:40] No, I left their stuff here so they could be here with you, and it can be there with me.

Speaker 6:
[67:45] I'm not gonna be able to live here, obviously.

Speaker 4:
[67:55] All of their stuff is here.

Speaker 10:
[68:00] Because I'm not here to hurt you.

Speaker 6:
[68:02] No, you are here to hurt me, that's fine.

Speaker 11:
[68:04] You're just like the rest of them.

Speaker 6:
[68:09] Nobody gives a shit, that's fine.

Speaker 4:
[68:11] I do give a shit, and I want to help you. I'd be glad to help you. I just can't stay in this house and do nothing.

Speaker 6:
[68:16] No, that, whatever, okay. Okay, I love you and I care about you and I want you.

Speaker 4:
[68:23] Okay, well, let's work on it, but I can't stay in this house and work on it. Right now, I'm just so far down.

Speaker 8:
[68:30] I try to be good.

Speaker 2:
[68:31] I go to church.

Speaker 8:
[68:32] I go do exercise.

Speaker 4:
[68:34] I try to do anything to make myself feel better, and I still feel like crap.

Speaker 6:
[68:37] Why don't you do stuff with me?

Speaker 4:
[68:40] Why don't you ask if you want to go to church a hundred times and a hundred times a day?

Speaker 6:
[68:43] Why can't we do something that is fun for us together? Why can't we do stuff together? Something where I don't have to walk 800 miles on a knee that already hurts. Why can't we do stuff together that will bring us closer together? And maybe, you know, hey, there might be a spark between us and you might care about me physically and you might love me again. Why can't we do stuff like that?

Speaker 4:
[69:11] I'd be happy to start trying to do that, but right now I'm very-

Speaker 6:
[69:15] You just want to be single.

Speaker 8:
[69:16] Very, I don't care about that.

Speaker 6:
[69:18] Put yourself in great shape out there on the market.

Speaker 11:
[69:21] Have a great time. That's what you want, clearly.

Speaker 4:
[69:23] No, it's not.

Speaker 11:
[69:27] Yeah, it is, Laura.

Speaker 6:
[69:29] Cause you don't want me.

Speaker 11:
[69:31] You haven't wanted me in a very, very long time.

Speaker 6:
[69:37] I mean, look, I know that you're up here and I'm right here.

Speaker 4:
[69:42] I didn't see that.

Speaker 11:
[69:43] I understand.

Speaker 4:
[69:43] I've known for two years that you had a kid and I thought I was crazy.

Speaker 6:
[69:47] First of all, you haven't known for two years because there hasn't been a kid for two years.

Speaker 4:
[69:51] Well, his birthday is coming up.

Speaker 11:
[69:52] Okay.

Speaker 6:
[69:52] Well, he's not two years old, so you haven't known for two years that I've had a kid. Why didn't you, when you cared about me, the last day that you gave a shit, why didn't you say something so we could fix it? Because I didn't know how to say something. I've wanted to fucking fix this problem. I've wanted to fix it because there's nothing else I want other than this.

Speaker 4:
[70:17] Because every time I've approached you with these problems, it's...

Speaker 6:
[70:24] I lose it? Okay, I understand. I lose it. But I've never been faced with the fact of having to lose you.

Speaker 4:
[70:50] Here, they're gonna be here whatever nights you want. Yeah, you can do sports with them every night, and I will be there every night.

Speaker 11:
[71:10] Laura, I want you as well. I want you.

Speaker 6:
[71:19] So tell me what track I have to get on to get you back.

Speaker 4:
[71:24] I want you to let me walk out this door.

Speaker 6:
[71:27] I'm sitting on the floor.

Speaker 4:
[71:30] And we can talk tomorrow, we can talk the next day, we can talk every day about...

Speaker 5:
[71:35] You won't come back.

Speaker 6:
[71:51] He doesn't, I'm pretty sure we hide it pretty good.

Speaker 5:
[72:02] Really? Yes.

Speaker 8:
[72:04] Every time you're horribly upset with him, he gets a headache and throws up.

Speaker 4:
[72:09] He feeds us all the time. And then when I spend a lot of...

Speaker 5:
[72:13] When did he get a headache and throw up?

Speaker 4:
[72:15] When did he do this? He's done that three or four times recently. After you yell at him, and then you go upstairs, he throws up his dinner, or he throws up in the bathroom. There's a lot of stress on that kid, okay? And then in another weird way, when I'm spending a lot of time with him, it'll be like after spring break or something, and I'm really trying to be like so positive with him. He goes back to school and gets in a ton of trouble. When I ask him why, he says, Cause I want to be with you, Mom. I want to do the fun things that we did last weekend or something. And then I feel like I'm like overcompensating.

Speaker 8:
[72:46] You know what I mean? It's just like this never-ending...

Speaker 6:
[72:49] And this is going to work out so well with us apart. Well, hey, if you want to fuck up the kids, you want to have fucked up kids, and you want to go out and do whatever you want to do, and you want to see me run off the edge, then go ahead.

Speaker 5:
[73:05] You got to do what you got here.

Speaker 11:
[73:07] I took your keys, by the way, because I didn't want you to leave.

Speaker 5:
[73:11] Go do what you got to do, Laura.

Speaker 2:
[73:16] I have to go, and I don't want to fight with you.

Speaker 6:
[73:18] No, I know you don't want to fight with me. You just want to do this, and it's...

Speaker 7:
[73:23] And I want to see you tomorrow at my wedding.

Speaker 2:
[73:25] No, you don't.

Speaker 6:
[73:25] You don't...

Speaker 8:
[73:26] I will be there myself.

Speaker 6:
[73:29] When are my kids coming home?

Speaker 8:
[73:31] Tomorrow night.

Speaker 6:
[73:32] Because that's all I'm going to have to care about, because you don't...

Speaker 5:
[73:36] It's clear you don't care about me.

Speaker 10:
[73:37] Whatever days you want, tomorrow night after...

Speaker 6:
[73:40] I want them every night this week.

Speaker 4:
[73:43] And then I have the weekend? I mean, the thing is...

Speaker 6:
[73:46] No, I want my children. You said I can have them anytime I want them. I want them. I want my children.

Speaker 4:
[73:54] Okay, but the law is half-and-half.

Speaker 6:
[73:56] Laura, I don't know. The law isn't. Laura, see, you're just telling me you don't want to be vindictive and hurt me. But that's exactly what you're doing. When you're taking my kids away from me, that's what you're doing. You're hurting me. You're taking my children away from me. You're hurting me. You're right now, what you're doing is you're taking an opportune time to leave me with everything hanging over my head. And here you go, Dave. Maybe you can... Here you go, David. Here you go, David. Here you go. No, that, you know, this is exactly what everybody's wanted. This is exactly what, where everyone who's been stabbing in the eye has been hoping for. This is great.

Speaker 5:
[74:37] This is exactly it.

Speaker 4:
[74:44] They can come home tomorrow after wrestling.

Speaker 10:
[74:48] And we will see.

Speaker 5:
[74:49] I want my children tonight.

Speaker 4:
[74:51] We'll both see them every day.

Speaker 6:
[74:53] I want my children tonight. I want them to wake up and go to school. They're gonna wake up when Stacey gets here, take them to school, and that'll be it. I want my children. I want my children tonight. You're gonna leave me alone in this house. You're gonna take my kids and just run off, and do whatever to somebody in some strange house. I don't even know where my kids are. I don't even know where they are. In some strange house, I want my kids tonight. I want them in their house tonight. I don't want my children away. If you're gonna fuck me and destroy me and hurt me, that's fine. I'm gonna have to pick up my ass and live with it. Okay, I don't know what else to do. That's all I can do. I wish I could do anything to fix this, but you're telling me that it's just not gonna happen. I see it, I smell it, I feel it. It's not gonna happen. You're not gonna forgive me. You're not gonna give me a chance. You're not. You know it. You've said it, that's it. You've got the papers, you're gonna file them and that's it. You're just waiting to do this to me. I want my children, I want them here. I want them in the house. This isn't fair to me. It's not, this is not fair. And I understand that me saying something fair is not probably the right terminology that I should be using, because I haven't been fair to you. But I want my kids, these are my kids. I love them and care about them. I don't want them in some strange house. They should be in their beds. Wake up in their beds, go to school. I want my children here. This isn't fair. This isn't fair to them. You want to talk about not doing things to them? That's exactly what this is doing. The first second of this, what you're doing here, is destroying. I'll tell you what, for all the mistakes I've made, the last thing I've wanted is to destroy my family. That's the last thing in the world that I've wanted. The last thing is to destroy my family. I don't want them hurt. I've never wanted you hurt. Never once have I wanted you hurt. That's why I've obviously concealed everything, because I've never wanted you hurt, ever. Because I care about you and I love you. But I love my kids, too. They're a piece of me.

Speaker 11:
[77:54] I can't be without my children.

Speaker 6:
[77:57] If you've gotta go, then you've gotta go. And you've gotta go be sane, that's fine. But I've got, I've gotta have my children. These are my sons. These are a piece of me. These are the only things in this world that are proof that I've been here. There's, I have nothing else. I have no family, nothing. Fucking hell, I've got a half-ass uncle. Are you kidding me? This is the family. This is the only family I've got, is those boys. That's what I love. That's what I care about. You can't take them from me. You cannot. I'm not going to, I'm not going to, no, I'm not going to go for that one. A lot of things will happen before my kids will be taken from me, Laura. You can go spend the night at your cop friend's house, date a cop, all whatever you got to do. But my kids are going to be with me, come hell or high water. I'm sorry, but I've got to fight me now. These are my children. And if it takes me doing something crazy, I'll do it because you know I'm capable of it and you know I love my children. Those are the two things you're not going to cross. Do not take my children. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? Where are my children?

Speaker 4:
[79:14] I'll get them.

Speaker 6:
[79:16] No, I'll get them. I want my children. I'm not going to just trust you. Where are my children?

Speaker 4:
[79:29] They're with the police.

Speaker 6:
[79:31] All right, will you have the police bring them here? No, you can do this here.

Speaker 10:
[79:40] Let me step outside, okay?

Speaker 1:
[79:44] At this point, Laura steps out and makes a call to the person who has her kids. And then the audio cuts off. When the deputies go to arrest Dave, they have not listened to this whole recording yet, but they show up with a huge police presence, mostly because of the threats Laura accused Dave of making and the weapons that she said he had. The following body cam audio of their conversation with Dave has been edited for time and clarity, and it's going to pick up at the point where Dave has already been put in handcuffs.

Speaker 3:
[80:19] The reason I'm here is your wife, after she left, she called the sheriff's office, saying that you and her were involved in altercation, where she alleged that you wouldn't let her leave, you tried to choke her a couple of times, and every time she would go out the door, you would grab her by the throat and pull her back in, while you guys talked for, I think it was an hour, hour and a half. I'm talking about what she's alleging. She said during which time you threatened that neither one of you would get out of it alive, you would kill her and yourself, then you took that back and said you would only kill yourself, which, that in itself I have a problem with because I don't want to.

Speaker 11:
[81:06] I didn't choke her, I didn't touch her, I didn't grab her.

Speaker 3:
[81:09] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[81:10] I asked her if she wanted me, you know, I was at that point, I get home from a trip, you know, taking my children to a wrestling tournament. Gone all weekend, and I'm slapped in the face with mistakes that I've made, which, you know, I fully acknowledge, you know, the mistakes that I've made.

Speaker 3:
[81:29] Okay, well, what started the whole thing tonight?

Speaker 11:
[81:33] She handed me a notebook saying that the reason why she's leaving is because I've had an affair.

Speaker 3:
[81:40] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[81:41] And, you know, I told her that, you know, I wanted to make it right.

Speaker 3:
[81:46] I wanted to make it better.

Speaker 11:
[81:48] I didn't want her to leave. Please don't leave me, you know, and in the, in the, you know, what I kill myself thing, I asked if that was something that she wanted. I'm like, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to, you know, do you want me to shoot myself? What do you want me to do? What do I need to do to prove to you how much I love you and care about you?

Speaker 3:
[82:06] Okay. In the course of conversation, did you make reference to you killing both of you and her?

Speaker 11:
[82:14] No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. In fact, I didn't even say I would kill my, I asked if that's what she wanted.

Speaker 3:
[82:22] Okay. Because I have an hour and I think 20 minutes worth of audio recordings that I haven't listened to yet that has the whole conversation you guys had. Okay. That's why I'm asking you before I go in spend an hour and 20 minutes listening to it. What am I going to do about that?

Speaker 11:
[82:38] No, no, I don't think I said that I would kill her ever. No.

Speaker 3:
[82:43] You don't think or you didn't?

Speaker 11:
[82:45] I don't think I did.

Speaker 3:
[82:46] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[82:47] Well, look, I was really upset. I was very, very, very upset. Okay.

Speaker 3:
[82:54] But she was very fearful when she was talking to me, which is why you see the police presence you see here when I came to talk to you.

Speaker 11:
[83:02] Understood.

Speaker 3:
[83:03] Because she was worried that you might do something when we get here, whether it be, there's something like shoot at us, shoot yourself, all the things that we want to prevent. That's why there was a show of force.

Speaker 11:
[83:14] I hear you.

Speaker 3:
[83:15] I hear you.

Speaker 11:
[83:16] You've got to do your job.

Speaker 3:
[83:17] I'd rather be here with a bunch of cops and nothing happened than be here by myself and have to wait for somebody to show up.

Speaker 11:
[83:22] Sure. Understood. Understood. A lot of crazy stuff going on. No, like I said, I don't think I ever said it would kill me.

Speaker 3:
[83:33] No.

Speaker 11:
[83:36] Obviously, I would never do that. The simple fact that she's the mother of my children, I love her very much and I care for her very much.

Speaker 3:
[83:44] Unfortunately, people do stupid things. You see it on the news all the time. People love each other and they still shoot each other. You're right. In moments of anger and... Yeah.

Speaker 11:
[83:53] Well, yeah. Irrational thinking, yes, I understand. And sure, at that point, I was probably very irrational, but not to the point where I'm going to punch her or choke her or any of that stuff.

Speaker 3:
[84:08] Okay. Would you have said anything to make her concerned that you would be coming after her? To where she would have to be fearful of you?

Speaker 11:
[84:19] Well, I did say, you know, I'm not going to let you take my kids.

Speaker 3:
[84:22] Okay. I'm not going to let you take my kids.

Speaker 11:
[84:25] You know I'm not going to let you take my kids.

Speaker 3:
[84:27] Was there any threat to any other bodily harm? Not to the extent of killing her, but something else that she would have been fearful of?

Speaker 11:
[84:34] What do you mean?

Speaker 3:
[84:35] That's what I'm asking you. Like if she was to take the kids, would you hurt her?

Speaker 11:
[84:40] No, no, no. I mean, obviously, I mean, if she's going to leave and I can't get her to forgive me and understand, you know, and she's past the point of understanding, then okay, then I've got to go into, hey, I've got to fight for my kids.

Speaker 3:
[84:57] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[84:57] I've got to fight for my kids. I've got to get an attorney. I mean, if you look on my phone, that's, you know, when you called, that's what I was doing. I was working up Arizona Divorce Law.

Speaker 3:
[85:07] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[85:07] You know, it's right there on my phone, you know.

Speaker 3:
[85:10] And how many kids do you share together?

Speaker 11:
[85:12] Three.

Speaker 3:
[85:12] Three. And how long have you guys been married?

Speaker 11:
[85:15] Since 1991.

Speaker 3:
[85:17] It's a long time.

Speaker 11:
[85:19] Yeah, it's 22 years.

Speaker 3:
[85:22] Now, was there any type of physical altercation between either you or her putting her hands on you or anything?

Speaker 11:
[85:31] No, I mean, when the only time we ever even got body to body was, was I, you know, I hugged her and she didn't want to hug me back.

Speaker 3:
[85:43] Okay. And then when was this tug as you call it?

Speaker 11:
[85:46] What's that?

Speaker 3:
[85:49] I have to kind of have it all laid out.

Speaker 11:
[85:51] I got you.

Speaker 3:
[85:51] I got you. I got to get things from your perspective.

Speaker 11:
[85:54] I got you. I got you. Um, she, uh...

Speaker 3:
[86:03] Was it like at the door? Did you pull her back inside when you did it? What? Tell me what happened there.

Speaker 11:
[86:10] Um, okay, so I knew something was going on.

Speaker 3:
[86:15] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[86:16] When I first came home, she, um, she immediately took the kid and said, we're going to Walmart. So I was just like, okay, so I go in the house, I'm starting to put stuff away in, and the bedroom door is locked. I'm like, okay, why is the bedroom door locked? I'm looking around for one of those little things to open the door, can't find it. So I go around to the back door, and I go in there, the bedroom, and everything's gone. And I'm like, oh shit, what, what just happened here? So I start calling her, I'm like, hey, you know, are you still at Walmart? Uh, no, I'm not, I'm like, okay, what time are you coming back? Can you bring a pizza? You know, I'm trying to feel what's going on here. She says, sure, bring the pizza. So it had been a while. So I'm getting ready to leave. So, you know, cause I think maybe she's at another friend of her house, a friend of hers house.

Speaker 3:
[87:13] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[87:14] So I pull out and I see her pull in. So I pull in, you know, turn around, come back.

Speaker 3:
[87:21] She said, your pizza's upstairs.

Speaker 11:
[87:23] And I met her at the garage to the house door.

Speaker 3:
[87:28] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[87:28] She was coming out. And I'm like, hey, let's talk because I knew something was going on. She hands me this and says, something to the effect of, I can't do this anymore. And we start talking, we, you know, and I'm just, you know, I don't, I don't strike her or anything. I know I did put my arms around her. I'm like, hey, you know, come on, let's talk. Let's talk, please. Let's talk. We move into the living room. We're talking there. But, but before, hold on, but before I went in the house, I reached into her car and I took the car keys.

Speaker 3:
[88:21] Which one was her car?

Speaker 11:
[88:23] Well, it's not here. The Tahoe.

Speaker 3:
[88:24] The Tahoe? Okay.

Speaker 11:
[88:25] I took the Tahoe keys, put it in my pocket because I wanted to talk to her.

Speaker 3:
[88:29] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[88:33] So, we get towards the back door, we're talking. I don't remember everything that was said. Basically, I'm pleading to give me another chance. She has the dog, and I think she's going to take the dog for a walk. So, we start to walk outside, and then... I was like towards the driveway side, and she, I don't know if she was letting the dog go or what, but she started to bolt that way, and I'm like, hey, let's talk, let's talk, let's talk, come on, let's talk, let's talk. And I do think she said something like, you're not letting me leave. Okay. Now that I'm thinking about all this in hindsight, I feel like I must have set up for this, because I do believe she did say something like that. You're not letting me leave. I'm just like, I just want to talk to you.

Speaker 3:
[89:50] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[89:50] I love you, I want to talk to you. And we talked for a while longer, and I bared my soul, and she's just like, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do, and I'm like, okay. I give her back her keys, and I'm like, if you're going, you're going. You got to go, you got to go. She didn't know I had the keys. I took them out of my pocket and gave them to her. I'm like, here, you're going to need these.

Speaker 3:
[90:12] Did her, you at any point take her phone away from her?

Speaker 11:
[90:17] I didn't take her phone from her. She carries two phones by the way.

Speaker 3:
[90:20] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[90:23] I had my arms around her, I was hugging her, I was like, please, please, please don't go. And her phone is in one of those little slip things, and it slipped in my hand.

Speaker 3:
[90:30] I just set it down.

Speaker 11:
[90:33] And I, in fact, told her, I'm like, cause like, her phone went off or something like that, and she didn't realize it on my, you know, what's over here, it's on the couch. I set it down, I didn't realize, you know, I was more focused on talking to her. But she still had another phone with her, by the way. I mean, if she really felt in fear of her life, she could have called or, you know.

Speaker 3:
[90:54] Now, during your conversation with her while you were inside, did you stand between her and the door to make her think she couldn't leave or anything?

Speaker 11:
[91:02] No, I sat on the ground. I was sitting on the ground.

Speaker 3:
[91:06] Where at? In the home of a couple of girls.

Speaker 11:
[91:10] I was home a couple of times. I leaned back on to the bar.

Speaker 3:
[91:24] Okay. The kitchen area?

Speaker 11:
[91:26] Yes. Okay. She was sitting on the edge of the couch by the door. Okay. While I was talking to her. And I mean, if she wanted to, she could have walked right out. And I think I made reference to that. If you want to walk out, you can walk out. I love you. I'm trying to salvage this.

Speaker 5:
[91:44] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[91:46] So that was it. And then she, I told her, I'm like, hey, she's like, you can have the kids anytime you want them. I'm like, well, then, you know, I want them. I want them now. I want them tonight, you know? You know, they're, they're, they're, you know, she told me she, she left them with her friend, you know, the cop who's gonna, you know, take them to the police station. I'm like, my kids are at a police station. No, they don't know what's going on with their dad. They don't know anything.

Speaker 3:
[92:12] Do you or her have any kids from any other relationships?

Speaker 11:
[92:16] I do, which is part of the problem.

Speaker 3:
[92:19] What about her? Does she have any kids from any other relationship or just the three that you guys have?

Speaker 11:
[92:24] No, she doesn't. I've known her since she was a kid.

Speaker 3:
[92:28] I'm just asking. I'm just going to count for everybody. Okay.

Speaker 11:
[92:30] All right.

Speaker 3:
[92:33] That's basically it.

Speaker 11:
[92:34] I'm just like, where are my kids? Where are my kids? I want my kids. I want them tonight. She's like, okay, well, let me go call. I'm like, no, have your friend bring the kids here. She's like, let me go pick them up and bring them here. I'm like, no, have your friend bring them here or we'll go get them. I don't trust that, and rightfully so. So she goes outside. I don't know if she famed to make a phone call or actually made a phone call. But then I sat inside for 10, 15 minutes before I walked outside, knowing what I already know that she left.

Speaker 3:
[93:10] Okay. Up until today, have you guys had any other problems? Have you been arguing more lately?

Speaker 11:
[93:19] No. Actually, no. I mean, we're civil to each other. I mean, we haven't been perfect, but the closest time we've had to any argument was probably, Jesus, eight months ago. And we just, you know, I thought at that point maybe we were going to, you know, hit the skits. You know, I was just like, you know, I want to have my kids, if we're not going to be together, I want to have primary custody of my kids. Which I do believe is the, you know, honestly now in hindsight, I believe that this entire night was engineered to, you know, to make me look like a jackass.

Speaker 3:
[94:03] Which, well, as far as the kids go, I don't, what I'm doing doesn't determine who gets custody of who or anything. That has to go through a family court judge and the family court judge has to decide that. It has nothing to do with what's going on right now, who has custody of the kids.

Speaker 11:
[94:20] Understood. Well, obviously, if she's going to try, you know, she's obviously trying to get me into trouble. If she can get me into trouble, then that, you know, that weighs against me.

Speaker 3:
[94:31] Well, again, this is a criminal side versus the family court side. Well, I mean, yeah, they can tie together, but this...

Speaker 11:
[94:39] If I'm a criminal, they're not going to give me...

Speaker 3:
[94:41] This won't be a deciding factor if you're going to get your kids or not. Now, and you still have to be convicted. Right now, you're not guilty of any crimes. You have to go through the court process before you're found guilty and convicted of a crime and be, as you said, a criminal.

Speaker 11:
[94:59] I understand, but I mean, I mean... Tonight is just...

Speaker 3:
[95:02] Tonight, allegations are one thing. That's not a definite thing. She made allegations, so that's why I'm here investigating things. Because I haven't listened to the whole hour and 20-minute long recording that she gave me.

Speaker 11:
[95:15] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[95:15] That's sitting on my computer right now to listen to.

Speaker 11:
[95:18] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[95:19] And I'm trying to get to the bottom of what would actually happen. Because sometimes even just because she's the one that called 911, or the non-numbered number doesn't mean everything went the way she said it went.

Speaker 11:
[95:31] I got you.

Speaker 3:
[95:31] That's why I'm here talking to you as well.

Speaker 11:
[95:33] Yeah, I mean, sure. I mean, I was a rational, you know, I was an idiot. I mean, I was begging for my...

Speaker 3:
[95:39] The reason you saw the presence, though, was because of what she told me initially about firearms. You may not be cooperative, this and that. So rather than take a chance. I got you. I didn't do it. You came out just fine. You cooperated just fine. But I had to...

Speaker 11:
[95:55] Well, I'm calmer now. I'm trying to piece together all of it.

Speaker 3:
[95:58] For my safety, for all their safety, that's why things went down the way they did. It doesn't increase the severity of anything.

Speaker 11:
[96:05] You don't have to explain that. I understand that. I mean, my only negative thought right now is like, Jesus Christ, did I say something that I didn't mean that's going to be used against me? You know, I'm trying to think right. Did I say something ridiculous that I didn't mean? And I don't think I did.

Speaker 3:
[96:25] Well, as far as anything said, the thing that I'm most concerned about is if you threaten to kill her or yourself. Those are the two things that work.

Speaker 11:
[96:36] I don't think I did.

Speaker 3:
[96:38] Look, it's possible.

Speaker 5:
[96:39] You can look at it or read it or...

Speaker 3:
[96:41] Well, I'm going to have to listen to it. Not for sure.

Speaker 5:
[96:43] I don't...

Speaker 11:
[96:44] I mean, look, I mean, I may have said something.

Speaker 3:
[96:48] It's completely possible.

Speaker 11:
[96:49] I don't think I did. But, I mean, I was in there for a long time, you know, begging for my, you know, my life, my livelihood, you know, my life, my life, you know, trying to salvage what was there. And if I said something stupid, it would definitely be... The only way I could chalk it up to anything is just being a rational thought.

Speaker 3:
[97:10] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[97:10] Nothing behind it.

Speaker 3:
[97:11] All right. Now, off the subject, what are the weapons in the house?

Speaker 11:
[97:15] Um, upstairs in the, um... It's like a, it's like a little, uh, closet area. And if you, if you go into that, there's a, um... To the far, if you walk in it, to the far left-hand side, there's a shotgun case, and it's got a shotgun in it with a trigger guard, and it's unloaded, and the...

Speaker 5:
[98:03] Actually, the...

Speaker 11:
[98:11] The pistol is probably with it in the case.

Speaker 3:
[98:16] Okay, so is it just the two guns?

Speaker 11:
[98:18] Yeah.

Speaker 5:
[98:18] All right.

Speaker 11:
[98:19] And that, well, and then at my office, I have a gun.

Speaker 3:
[98:21] Okay, and your office in Phoenix? Yes. Now, would you be okay with me to take him for tonight as a safekeeping thing and hold on to him so there's no allegations in the future? Oh, no.

Speaker 11:
[98:31] No, I don't, obviously not. I don't want, you know, I don't want to have to go through any of that if I don't have to.

Speaker 3:
[98:37] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[98:38] You know, I honestly, irregardless of anything that has been said, I don't feel as though I've done anything to, you know, put anyone in jeopardy or harm.

Speaker 3:
[98:53] Okay. Well, I'm going to go talk to my partners a little bit, and I got to listen to some of that recording, so I kind of know what, if any of the allegations were true, because I'm not going to charge you with things you didn't do, or allegedly didn't do. Okay.

Speaker 5:
[99:14] Well, I mean, I appreciate it.

Speaker 3:
[99:16] All right. I try to do my job as fair as possible.

Speaker 5:
[99:18] I got you.

Speaker 3:
[99:19] Okay.

Speaker 11:
[99:20] These are loosely, I've been a long time since I've been in any handcuffs in this world.

Speaker 3:
[99:27] What were your handcuffs before?

Speaker 11:
[99:31] I had a guy road rage me about four years ago, right out here. I was in my big tow truck, so I pulled into the center divide because more than two lanes go to one. Pulled in that, you know, the suicide line, let him walk the guy, seen where I live.

Speaker 3:
[99:49] Right.

Speaker 11:
[99:49] And I just stopped there and sat there. That turned out I came back.

Speaker 3:
[99:54] Now were you arrested for that?

Speaker 11:
[99:55] Well, actually, well, what happened was, is the guy, I never got out of my truck, the guy kicked my door in. The officer, Gilbert Officer, he took me down and charged me with either disorderly conduct or something. And it got wiped away because there was no evidence.

Speaker 3:
[100:17] Okay, did you go to jail that night, or just get a ticket?

Speaker 11:
[100:20] I came, yeah, they had me drive my truck in here, they took me down, booked me in, and then that same officer drove me back. I think once he realized that, you know, I didn't do anything, because he came out the next day and apologized.

Speaker 3:
[100:37] Okay. So, I mean, you know. You're kind of a big guy, but I'll put a second set on you so you have a little bit of room to move.

Speaker 5:
[100:44] Well, thank you.

Speaker 3:
[100:46] So go ahead and...

Speaker 11:
[100:47] I guess the fat part of me...

Speaker 3:
[100:49] Go ahead and step out and then face the vehicle, okay? That way, it'll give you more room without as much pressure on your shoulder. I got the lock facing you. You can't just keep facing the truck, okay? Got you.

Speaker 1:
[101:04] My reporter Nicole and I found this audio incredibly insightful. I mean, we could spend all day guessing how Laura felt about her marriage or her safety when leaving that marriage. But you can only get so much when trying to read between black and white lines on a police report. To hear it in her own words. I mean, it's hard to overstate how important this was. So thank you to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for fulfilling this request. This is how it's supposed to work. And I think hearing this now raises a lot more questions, not just about Laura's case, but even about Nick Cordova's too. If you remember from Nick Cordova's episode, Dave had told officers that the gun he had in his office, he had just gotten because of a domestic custody dispute that he was having in 2020. Well, maybe that gun was new, but Dave was pretty clear here. He had a gun in his office as early as 2013. Did something just get lost in translation? Or should we read more into that? I also think Laura had a lot of information about Dave's business dealings. Information that I think could be critical to understanding how this man operated then and in 2020, maybe even now. And a couple of questions are top of mind for me coming out of hearing this. One, what fire was Laura referencing? Does anyone out there know about a fire that happened which was somehow connected to one of Dave's businesses? Second, what is the deal with this $400,000 of tax debt that Laura is talking about being in, that they're going to be coming after her for? And more importantly, I would love to know more about all those insurance payouts that Dave seemed to be expecting to help them get in a good spot. And third and finally, we obviously looked into all the businesses Dave had in his name. But at one point, Laura accused Dave of starting a business with his mistress and putting his and Laura's children's names on the LLC to ensure the woman wouldn't become a majority owner or take anything that wasn't hers. Now I feel like I have to go down another rabbit hole. Does this LLC still exist? What is it? Do any of you out there know? You guys have been incredible with reaching out and sharing information. This audio that we got is not the only tip we've gotten in relation to this case. And I promise, when we have more, I'll be back. In the meantime, keep it coming, you guys. I said it before, but I mean it. Just because the episode ends does not mean our reporting stops. So you can reach out to us anytime by emailing tips at audiochuck.com. We'll be back Monday with our regularly scheduled programming.