WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.319 I want to drop you into a very specific, just 2 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:05.519 completely ordinary moment in time. So it's a Wednesday evening, 3 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.359 May twenty seven, twenty twenty. You are standing in your kitchen, 4 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.960 the evening light is filtering through the windows, and you're 5 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:14.039 just standing there doing. 6 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.519 The dishes, right, just a totally normal night exactly. 7 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:19.879 It's the absolute definition of domestic tranquility. And that is 8 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:25.719 exactly where Alicia Cordova was. But then the stillness of 9 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.559 her house just shatters. Her five year old daughter comes 10 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.679 sprinting down the hallway and she's clutching an iPod touch 11 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:35.119 and her face just has that primal panic that no 12 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.439 child should ever wear. She tells her mom. 13 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.920 Something's wrong with that, because just moments before this, that 14 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:43.039 five year old and her brother were on this completely 15 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:46.560 ordinary FaceTime call with their forty year old father, Nick Cordova. 16 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:49.759 He was still at work at his HVAC company, and 17 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.280 right in the middle of this innocent digital connection, the 18 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:55.960 reality on the other end of the screen just fractures. 19 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.520 Yeah. So Alicia takes the device from her daughter, and 20 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.200 what she sees and hears in those next few seconds is, 21 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.519 I mean, it is pure nightmare field. Oh, the camera 22 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.519 is violently rustling around. She hears this terrifying sudden bang, 23 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.480 then screaming and moaning, and she can't see her husband's 24 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:16.760 face anymore, just this chaotic, spinning blur of an office ceiling, 25 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:19.040 the floor, and in the middle of all of it 26 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.959 she sees the brief, chilling flash of a black glove. Wow, 27 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.519 she is completely helpless, just watching an attack unfold through 28 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.879 a three inch screen. And today our mission on this 29 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:32.439 deep dive is to figure out exactly what happened in that. 30 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.560 Room, because it is a massive web to untangle. 31 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:39.359 It really is. We're pulling together hundreds of pages of 32 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:45.120 frankly heavily redacted police files, court documents, and these unreleased 33 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:49.560 surveillance tape descriptions to investigate the unsolved execution style murder 34 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:51.760 of Nick Cordova. We're going to drag you into a 35 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:55.280 story of missing money, constantly shifting stories, and a police 36 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:58.280 investigation that's just full of blinding blind spots. 37 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:00.200 And you really have to understand the stakes here, because 38 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.640 when you actually sit down and look at the investigative materials, 39 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.959 it becomes abundantly clear that this wasn't a random robbery 40 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.319 gone wrong. This is a locked room puzzle. It's a 41 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:12.240 clothes box mystery where the most devastating clues weren't even 42 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.360 hidden in the shadows. They were sitting in plain sight, 43 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.680 just waiting for someone to actually analyze them. 44 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:21.000 Right, So, to figure out how this investigation derailed so spectacularly, 45 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:24.199 we have to start at the physical crime scene. Yeah, 46 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:26.960 because the chaos. I mean it started before the police 47 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:28.280 even stepped inside the building. 48 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.719 It really begins with that agonizing gap right between hearing 49 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.280 the violence on the phone and actually arriving at the scene. 50 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.919 Yeah, put yourself in Alicia's car for that twenty minute drive. 51 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:41.120 She is just hauling down the Arizona Freeway. Her kids 52 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.080 are in the back seat. She is calling everyone trying 53 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.719 to sound the alarm, and when she finally pulls up 54 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.080 to Gilbert Air she parks far. 55 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:51.159 Away, which is such a motherly instinct. 56 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:55.240 Exactly. She deliberately hides her car behind some thick bushes 57 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:57.439 and tells her kids to stay put and just play 58 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:00.479 on her phone because, in her mind, maybe it just 59 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.520 got beaten up and she wants to protect them from 60 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.400 seeing their strong dad bleeding. You know. 61 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.439 Yeah, she doesn't know the extent of it yet. 62 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.000 Right, so she sprints right through the yellow crime scene 63 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:12.000 tape that's already up, screaming for her husband, and for 64 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:16.840 twenty agonizing minutes, officers hold her back until one finally 65 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:20.080 pulls her aside and delivers the five words that just 66 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.840 rewrite her entire universe, which is, your husband is dead. 67 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.960 And in the middle of that, incomprehensible shock, as she 68 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.759 literally falls to the asphalt, her instincts somehow kick in. 69 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.360 She asks this defining question. She says, where is Dave? 70 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:36.560 Is Dave still alive? 71 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:37.479 Right, Dave Sweetman? 72 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.520 Yeah, Dave Sweetman, Nick's business partner. And when you look 73 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.360 at how the first responders encountered Dave, the word bizaar 74 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:44.960 doesn't even begin to cover it. 75 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.360 No, it doesn't. Like. Let's put you in the shoes 76 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:49.879 of the very first responding officer. You arrive at the 77 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:52.680 office building, you walk up to the glass front door, 78 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.639 and before you even touch the handle, you see someone 79 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:59.599 inside standing there, deliberately peeking out through the office blinds, 80 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:00.039 right act. 81 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:01.000 Just staring out. 82 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.199 Yeah, So you draw your weapon. You order the man 83 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:06.919 to open the door and step outside. But the door 84 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.280 only cracks open a few inches, and through that narrow gap, 85 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:14.479 Dave sweetman's hand emerges. He is holding a bloody nine 86 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.720 millimeter sig sour by the barrel, just handing it over right. 87 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.879 He hands it to you, and he's stammering out, I'm 88 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:21.920 his partner, that's my gun. I'm sorry. Oh my god. 89 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.680 So the officer secures the weapon, puts it on the 90 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:28.120 ground and tries to push the front door open, but 91 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.319 it won't budge. Something really heavy is blocking it from 92 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:31.920 the inside. 93 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:33.040 And it's Nick Cordova. 94 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:35.920 It is Nick Cordova's body. He is lying in a 95 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.160 pool of blood, completely unresponsive, with a gunshot wound to 96 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:39.879 the back of his head. 97 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:42.639 Okay, wait, hold on. If I'm a patrol officer and 98 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.319 I know there's a victim physically blocking the only door, 99 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:47.519 I mean, I can't just shut my way in, can 100 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.040 I That seems incredibly messy for a crime scene. 101 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:54.600 Oh, it is the absolute nightmare scenario for preserving forensics. 102 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.680 I mean, when a victim is barring the entry like that, 103 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.959 standard protocol dictates fine eating a secondary point of ingress, 104 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.959 like a back door or a side window. You do 105 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.279 everything possible not to disturb the body or the surrounding 106 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:10.319 blood spatter or the trace evidence on the floor. 107 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:12.040 Right, You don't want to trample everything. 108 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:17.279 Exactly, but in a high adrenaline moment, panic often overrides protocol. 109 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.639 The officer decides to push. He forces the door open, 110 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.040 physically shoving against Nick's body, dragging it across the floor 111 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.439 until it moves just enough for him to squeeze through. 112 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:27.040 Wow. 113 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:32.040 Instantly, the pristine nature of that crime scene is totally compromised. 114 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.759 And runs he finally squeezes inside. I mean it is 115 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.439 total devastation. Yeah. So to the left is the main 116 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.240 office where Nick and Dave had their desks. Nick's desk 117 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.279 is a complete disaster zone. It has been physically shoved 118 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.519 out of plate like you can literally see deep dragged 119 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:46.759 indentse in the carpet. 120 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:47.800 It was a brutal fight. 121 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:50.800 Yeah. The floor is covered in a computer monitor, There's 122 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.439 scattered cash, a bag of contraband. They even find a 123 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:55.360 human tooth. 124 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:57.480 On the floor, which is horrifying. 125 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.240 And bizarrely sitting amidst all this carnage is there's a 126 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:02.480 potato with a hole gouged out of one side. 127 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:03.360 Yeah, the potato. 128 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.639 Right. The internet thinks it was a makeshift silencer, though 129 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:10.000 the police file never actually confirms it. Point is, it's 130 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:12.680 a war zone. There are bullet holes on the wall, 131 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.560 in the desk, in the window. 132 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:18.319 Total violent chaos, a desperate struggle for life. But then 133 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.120 you look twelve feet away, near the far wall of 134 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:24.319 that exact same room, to Dave Sweetman's desk. 135 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.600 Okay, stop right there, twelve feet away. You're telling me 136 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:30.240 two men wrestle a guide to the ground, shoot him, 137 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.120 trash the entire side of the room. But the desk 138 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:35.639 a few feet away didn't have a single paper out 139 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:36.439 of place. 140 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:37.399 Not a single thing. 141 00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:41.120 How is that even physically possible in a small, enclosed office. 142 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.120 I mean, okay, let's unpack this. If a tornado rips 143 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.600 through your house, it doesn't leave one single dining table 144 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:47.959 perfectly set for dinner. 145 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.079 It defies the basic physics of a violent struggle. When 146 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:54.000 bodies are thrashing around, when adrenaline a surging and bullets 147 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:57.839 are flying, destruction isn't neatly contained to a strict ten 148 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:01.199 foot radius. That untouched desk is It's a glaring anomaly. 149 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.040 It looks like a still life painting. The only exception 150 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:06.879 is the bottom right drawer, which is pulled open and 151 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:10.480 contains an empty handgun. Case right, it speaks to a 152 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:15.959 very specific, isolated target, which immediately brings Dave's version of 153 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:17.759 events into question. 154 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.040 Because Dave's narrative begins to show these massive stress fractures 155 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:24.079 almost immediately. So let's look at the story he gives 156 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.360 the police while he's sitting in cuffs at the scene. 157 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.279 He claims he was just sitting at his pristine desk 158 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.959 when two Hispanic men wearing green shirts and COVID style 159 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.079 surgical masks walk in holding a box of free on 160 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:37.160 trying to sell. 161 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.160 It to Nick right like door to door salesman. 162 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.160 Yeah, and Dave says a commotion breaks out. The men 163 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.000 point a gun at him and demand his money. He says, 164 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.360 I gave them my wallet. I gave him the cash 165 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:49.399 in my pocket. Then he claims he was hit on 166 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.920 the head, knocked completely unconscious, and didn't even hear the 167 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:53.839 fetal gunshot. 168 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:57.279 It's a classic robbery gone wrong narrative, but within an 169 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.920 hour the foundation of that story completely collabor oh complete. 170 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:04.319 So an officer is escorting Dave to a patrol car 171 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:08.160 for a formal interview, and standard procedure is to pat 172 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.399 the witness down before putting them in the cruiser. As 173 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:15.279 the officer pats down Dave's front left pants pocket, he 174 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:18.040 feels a thick bulge. 175 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:21.480 And it's over one thousand dollars in cold, hard cash. 176 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:22.920 Over one thousand dollars. 177 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.240 Can you imagine the awkward silence in that moment. I mean, 178 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:28.399 if you're listening to this, you're probably screaming at your 179 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:30.319 phone right now, like, why didn't they arrest Dave on 180 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:33.480 the spot? You literally just told the police I gave 181 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.360 them the money in my pocket. Ye, And now the 182 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:38.360 cop is holding a massive wad of hundreds. 183 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.120 And Dave immediately back pedals. He hastily alters the story 184 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:44.919 right on the spot. He claims, Oh, no, they didn't 185 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:46.720 take all my money. I only gave them the money 186 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:47.799 from my front right pocket. 187 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:51.159 Oh how polite of the armed murderers. Yeah, mid execution, 188 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:53.080 they are kind enough to only empty one of your 189 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:54.799 pockets and just leave you with over a grand in 190 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:55.120 the other. 191 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:56.279 It's absurd, It. 192 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:59.080 Is so absurd. But thankfully the building is rigged with 193 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:01.519 surveillance cameras so we can actually see. 194 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:04.879 What happened exactly. The footage shows two men entering, but 195 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:08.039 they aren't legitimate salesman. The box of free on they 196 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.279 are carrying is completely empty. It actually has a panel 197 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:15.200 cut out of the side, modified specifically to conceal a 198 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:18.960 large firearm. Wow, and after the shooting, the cameras catch 199 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.759 these two men fleeing in a highly distinct vehicle. It's 200 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.440 an older Pre two thousand and three red and silver 201 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:28.120 four f one point fifty with badly faded paint on 202 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:28.519 the roof. 203 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.720 And crucially, the cameras in the lobby catch audio. They 204 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.159 catch the gunshot, and moments after the killers flee, they 205 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.120 catch Dave's voice off camera yelling help me. 206 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:38.799 So. 207 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.080 Based on this tape, the police officially cleared Dave Sweetman 208 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:43.799 as the literal trigger man. 209 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:47.159 Right, But the specific language investigators use in their official 210 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:49.840 file is really critical. Here they state they no longer 211 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:52.799 suspect Dave as the direct shooter. However, they follow that 212 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:57.039 up by writing his involvement remains unclear. In a criminal investigation, 213 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.279 you are always looking for the invisible hand. What's fast 214 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.519 here is just because you don't have gunshot residue on 215 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:04.720 your knuckles, that doesn't mean your hands are clean. It 216 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:06.639 simply means the violence was outsourced. 217 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:09.720 Right, And if this wasn't a random robbery, for pocket cash, 218 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.399 which we know it wasn't because they left Nick's wallet 219 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:14.600 full of cash right on his body. Then what is 220 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.600 the motive why execute Nick Cordova. To figure that out, 221 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.080 you really have to follow the money straight into the 222 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:23.080 toxic heart of Nick and Dave's partnership. 223 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:26.000 Yeah, let's rewind to twenty seventeen. Let's look at the 224 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:30.000 genesis of this tragedy. Nick was this beloved family man 225 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.519 who naturally stepped up as a father figure to his 226 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:36.000 younger siblings. He wanted to be his own boss, so 227 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.519 an old friend named Frank offered to sell Nick a 228 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:40.559 fifty percent steak in Gilbert Air. 229 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:44.600 But Frank gave Nick a very explicit warning. Frank told 230 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:47.840 Nick that his business partner, Dave Sweetman was quote a 231 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:51.360 shadypos and if you pull Dave's records you find a 232 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:55.279 rap sheet featuring assault, disorderly conduct, trespassing, and fraud. 233 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:57.840 Right, Frank was the operational guy and Dave was the 234 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:00.799 money guy. Frank wanted out specifically because Dave, but Nick 235 00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:03.159 believed he could handle it, so he buys him and 236 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:06.879 for two years things actually seem stable, but then the 237 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.200 financial bleed begins. 238 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:10.879 Yeah, so fast forward to March twenty twenty. This is 239 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:14.279 just two months before the murder. Dave quietly drains thirty 240 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:17.240 thousand dollars out of the company account, and when Nick 241 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:20.360 confronts him, Dave just brushes it off. He's like, oh, 242 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:22.279 I have a debt to pay, but I promise I'll 243 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:22.759 put it back. 244 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:23.879 But he never does. 245 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:27.320 No, he never does. Instead, in April he drains another 246 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:28.120 fifteen thousand. 247 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.720 That is forty five thousand dollars, vanishing into thin air 248 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:34.759 in a matter of weeks. The tension in that office 249 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.600 must have been just suffocating. 250 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:41.559 Nick comes home completely unschooled. He tells Alisha he thinks 251 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:44.240 Dave is doing something illegal with his other companies, but 252 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:48.440 it escalates way past financial stress. By May. Nick tells 253 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.600 Alisia he feels like he's being washed, and then he 254 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.879 drops a total bombshell. He tells her he's terrified Dave's 255 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:55.480 going to hire it man to take him out. 256 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.679 And you have to ask, why would Dave do that? 257 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.000 What is the mechanism that turns a bad business partner 258 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.279 into a lucrative murder. It is a specific type of 259 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:05.360 insurance known as a key man policy. 260 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.639 Okay, break that down for me. How does a guy 261 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:10.200 with a known fraud record even get approved to benefit 262 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:11.120 from something like that. 263 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:15.080 Well, a key man policy is essentially a financial safety 264 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.039 net for a company. Think of it like a prenuptial 265 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.080 agreement for a business, but with a deadly loophole. If 266 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:25.879 one partner dies unexpectedly, the policy pays out to the 267 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:30.240 surviving partner so the business doesn't completely collapse. Okay, now, 268 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:34.159 when Frank was Dave's partner, Dave tried repeatedly to force 269 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:37.840 Frank to sign one, but Frank vehemently refused. He literally 270 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:40.320 told Dave, I want to be worth more alive than dead. 271 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:40.799 Wow. 272 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:44.159 Yeah, But Nick, who is trusting and eager to make 273 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.320 the business work, had signed it. The combined payout of 274 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:51.840 those policies upon Nick's death was a staggering eight million dollars. 275 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:55.000 Eight million dollars. Here's where it gets really interesting. Let's 276 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.639 look at Tuesday, May twenty six, literally the day before 277 00:12:57.679 --> 00:12:59.759 the murder. Nick had just gotten back from a camping 278 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.200 tree and decided to take an extra day off. Back 279 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.480 at the office, the manager tells police that Dave spent 280 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:07.960 that entire Tuesday nervously pacing the office, walking in and out, 281 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:10.480 constantly asking her Where's Nick? When is Nick coming in? 282 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:14.360 It is highly aberrant behavior for a random Tuesday afternoon. 283 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:17.679 Yeah, it's like a stage director nervously pacing behind the curtain, 284 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:19.639 waiting for his lead actor to hit his mark so 285 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.600 the deadly play can begin. But the lead actor didn't 286 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.080 show up on Tuesday, so the curtain had to rise 287 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:26.440 on Wednesday exactly. 288 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:29.000 And when you lay out these pieces a missing forty 289 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.799 five thousand dollars, an eight million dollar insurance motive, and 290 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.960 explicit fear of a hit man and a partner lying 291 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:38.960 about a wat of cash at the crime scene, you 292 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:44.039 would expect a massive targeted investigation. Right, You expect swift arrests. 293 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.000 But instead you hit a brick wall, a wall made 294 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:51.720 entirely of redacted documents and baffling police blind spots, which 295 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:54.320 brings us to the FOIA tape five years later. 296 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:57.240 Right, this takes us to March twenty twenty five, because 297 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:00.600 for years the police completely denied Alicia access to the 298 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.480 internal surveillance footage. 299 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.080 Which is wild to me. Why do police departments stonewall 300 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.600 families like this? Shouldn't a widow have the right to 301 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.159 see the evidence in her own husband's murder. 302 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.799 In theory, Yes, absolutely, But mechanically, police departments often use 303 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:17.559 the ongoing investigation exemption under the Freedom of Information Act 304 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.840 to just lock down all records. They argue that releasing 305 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:25.600 anything could tip off suspects, so families literally have to 306 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.240 lawyer up and physically soothe the department to compel a 307 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.200 judge to release the files. Wow, and that's exactly what 308 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:34.000 Alicia did and she won. 309 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:38.480 So picture this picture Alicia, the greeting widow, sitting in 310 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:41.240 a cold room down at the precinct, staring at a monitor, 311 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:44.000 about to watch the last moments of her husband's life, 312 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:47.200 the moment she has play. She sees Dave getting ready 313 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:49.279 to leave for the day. He walks up to the 314 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.039 glass front door, and instead of walking out, he stops. 315 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.960 He deliberately separates the blinds and peaks. 316 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.279 Outside, staring out into the lot. 317 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.759 Yeah. And at that exact precise second, the red and 318 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.720 so Ford F one to fifty pulls up. Dave then 319 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.279 turns and walks back to his desk. Alicia yells in 320 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.279 the priescinct, pause the tape. Why would he be peeking 321 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:10.480 through the blinds right then unless he was expecting someone? 322 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.000 Ray and Dave had told police, He just quote forgot 323 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:13.799 a bill on his desk. 324 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:14.399 Oh, come on. 325 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:18.360 The timing just defies coincidence entirely, and as the paper 326 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:22.720 rolls on, the reality the execution becomes horribly clear. The 327 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:27.480 two killers enter wearing gloves and construction hard hats, which 328 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:31.159 is precisely why there was zero suspect DNA found at 329 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:31.720 the scene. 330 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.440 The police had told Alicia the cameras didn't capture the 331 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:38.639 actual struggle, and that was true, but they didn't tell 332 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:39.440 her about the audio. 333 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:41.240 Yeah, the audio is the worst part. 334 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:44.279 Alicia sits in that room and listens to her husband 335 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.399 fighting for his life. She hears the FaceTime call with 336 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.480 her own children happening in the background. She hears Nick 337 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.559 desperately yelling for help, and what does she hear from 338 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:58.440 Dave Sweetman? Complete silence, complete silence until Nick breaks free, 339 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.200 runs into the lobby toward the door, and the masked 340 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:03.559 man steps up behind him and fires a single shot 341 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:06.279 into the back of his head. Alicia had to watch 342 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.360 her husband be slaughtered, knowing the police possess this tape 343 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:09.960 from day. 344 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.919 One, And the really frustrating part is the investigative failures 345 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:15.919 don't stop inside that building just two minutes down the road. 346 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:18.240 The missteps multiply exponentially. 347 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:19.960 You're talking about the gas patient footage. 348 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.879 Yes, just two minutes after the murder, that incredibly distinct 349 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:29.080 red and silver truck pulls into a convenience store. A 350 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.840 chovy man in a dark shirt and boots gits out. 351 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.559 He walks into the brightly let store to pay for gas, 352 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:38.840 and the overhead camera captures a crystal clear, high definition 353 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.240 shot of his face. Wow, he's not wearing the mask anymore. 354 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:45.240 It is undeniably him. You look at this photo and 355 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.840 think anyone who has ever met this man would recognize 356 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:49.679 him instantly. 357 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:53.240 It is the golden ticket of a homicide investigation, a 358 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.519 clean facial shot of a primary suspect escaping the scene. 359 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:01.200 Yet inexplicably, the Gilbert Police Department sits on this image. 360 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:03.080 They do not release it to the public for over 361 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:05.599 two weeks, unbelief. By the time it hits the local news, 362 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:07.599 the trail is ice cold, and when Alisha asks the 363 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.279 police why, she gets handed over two hundred pages of 364 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:14.400 police files essentially painted black with redaction. Inc She has 365 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:16.640 never been given a copy of Nick's autopsy report. They 366 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.759 have never released the ballistics we don't even know what 367 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.480 caliber bullet killed Nick, or if they ever actually tested 368 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:23.680 Day's nine milimeter to prove it had never been fired 369 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:24.319 like he claimed. 370 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:26.960 If we connect this to the bigger picture, this is 371 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:31.200 where systemic failure takes root. Alicia gets an investigator who 372 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.200 promises arrests, shows her a PowerPoint of the evidence, and 373 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.440 then two weeks later that detective is quietly demoted to patrol. 374 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:44.200 The rotating door of detectives practically guarantees that institutional knowledge. 375 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:45.880 Is lost, right, it just vanishes. 376 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.359 And we have to view this within the broader context 377 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.599 of the department itself. The Gilbert Police Department is currently 378 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.920 under active review by the Arizona Attorney General's Office over 379 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:58.720 allegations that the town may have illegally destroyed or withheld 380 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:03.000 police records. While they deny the allegations, the shroud of 381 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.079 secrecy covering this case is suffocating. 382 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:07.839 Let me ask you this directly, why hasn't there been 383 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:11.640 a forensic accountant tracing that missing forty five thousand dollars well, 384 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:14.640 I mean Dave Draine's thirty grand, then fifteen grand in 385 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:19.119 cash Mere weeks before a professional gloved hit squad shows up. 386 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:21.519 You don't pay a hit man with an IOU, you 387 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.720 pay them an untraceable cash. Why wasn't that money trail 388 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:25.920 followed to the ends of the earth. 389 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.759 Because tracing financial crimes requires specialized resources and dedication that 390 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:35.079 frankly patrol level of homicide units often lack. Law enforcement 391 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:38.359 today suffers from what we call the CSI effect. They 392 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:42.720 tunnel visions strictly on physical DNA, but these killers ensured 393 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:46.079 no DNA was left behind by wearing gloves and hard hats. 394 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.559 When a department limits their view strictly to biology, they 395 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:53.160 remain completely blind to the financial mechanisms They missed the 396 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:54.960 invisible hand that funded the trigger. 397 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.920 Yeah, that makes so much sense, and the aftermath of 398 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.680 this case is just a masterclass and adding insult to 399 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:04.519 fatal injury. Nine months after Nick died, Gilbert Air ran 400 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:07.440 out of money and filed for bankruptcy. Despite an eight 401 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:11.200