[Music] [Music] hi guys my name is Jack and today we're going to take a look at another horrible case with you in March 2020 the co 19 pandemic hit the United States the entire world began to shut down and people were gripped with shock and fear of an unknown disease on March 23rd 12-year-old daughter Gretchen Anthony who was visiting her father at the time received a text message from her mother good morning I have tested positive for the Corona virus that means I will have to stay home for at least 2 weeks okay I really
hope you feel better Ava replied shortly thereafter the mom stopped sharing the location of her phone with her daughter over the next 3 days friends and family members received several text messages describing Gretchen's deteriorating condition what was strange was that no one could reach the 51-year-old woman she didn't even call her beloved young daughter which was very unlike a loving mom those close to her began to suspect a scenario far worse than even an acute case of coid 19 someone else was sending messages from Gretchen's phone to cover up her disappearance the police got involved
and soon it became clear to investigators looking for Gretchen that someone was indeed using the pandemic to cover up the woman's disappearance Gretchen was born on January 8th 1969 in Doylestown Pennsylvania she spent most of her life up north attending fashion School in New York City before moving to New Jersey where she eventually became a teacher in 2006 the blue-eyed blonde moved to Jupiter the northernmost City in Palm Beach County Florida after working in the County's private schools for 8 years Gretchen decided to try something new and took a job in the human resources department
of Viking utility an electrical contractor the position allowed her to interact with new people which Gretchen enjoyed she considered the workforce her second family her first marriage didn't work out but the former spouses remained on good terms and continued to raise their beloved daughter with shared custody Gretchen LED an active lifestyle and spent a lot of time in sports it was through sports that she met David Anthony charismatic able to charm David who was 7 years younger than Gretchen first became her personal trainer and then her second husband women from all over the county came
to see the young muscular trainer David was a star in the gym and was very popular attracting many new students Gretchen fell in love the romance developed rapidly after a brief engagement the couple got married at the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas so in 2015 Gretchen Stoten crane became Gretchen Stoten Anthony and found in her opinion the husband of her dreams Gretchen's daughter ad adored her stepfather and even called him bonus dad in total the couple lived in marriage for 5 years however the relationship that began with magic and perfect happiness gradually turned into a
woman's fear for her safety when tragedy struck police and later journalists began to inquire about the identity of the second spouse they were in for a lot of surprises as it turned out David Ethan Anthony was originally known as David Anthony Deutsch and then later changed his name David Anthony Deutsch a star college basketball player was arrested in 1997 for robbing a Blockbuster video store with a water pistol and assaulting a police officer in each case he took a plea bargain and spent some time in jail growing up without a father in Palm Beach Gardens
David spent much of his childhood and Adolescence alone he didn't talk much was withdrawn had low self-esteem and was bullied at school for being being overweight he wasn't even allowed to join a Recreational Sports League because he was so much larger than all the other kids not surprisingly as a teenager David struggled with severe depression and developed symptoms that his family believed were consistent with bipolar disorder however he refused to take any medication devoted himself fanatically to sports and really excelled at it after high school David received a scholarship to play college basketball and became
a star on the team he idolized basketball greats and even named his husky Kobe after his favorite basketball player Kobe Bryant on January 26th 2020 the idol will die in a helicopter crash and this event will be another reason for David's unstable behavior in the meantime the smart attractive coach ignores mental problems bathes in deserved popularity and becomes the husband of Gretchen the couple lead an active lifestyle David enjoys bicycling deep sea fishing Ing and kaying Gretchen works out hard at the gym goes to the beach kayaks and does yoga unfortunately only the first two
years of marriage will prove to be happy the remaining 3 years The Smiling blonde will spend trying to leave Gretchen admitted to friends that her husband's Behavior was becoming more and more Manic and at times he insulted her they once even broke up for at least 6 months but got back together Tabitha Hopkins David's former boss at the gym later recalled noticing strange mood swings in David in 2017 things got so bad that Tabitha was forced to fire him for his aggressive behavior especially towards women David was indeed behaving very strangely and was unwilling to
seek help the Man became obsessed with the end of the world and loaded three large bags of rice several pots pans and 10 pairs of shoes into his truck in 2018 his family believed this episode was a symptom of bipolar and manic depressive disorder bad period periods were followed by good ones in which David tried to do something about his behavior he even managed to get Tabitha Hopkins to give him his job back by assuring the gym owner that he was trying to be a better person and attending self-improvement seminars Tabitha softened there was no
denying David's Effectiveness as a trainer the clients were delighted with him over time as the mental illness continued untreated David's condition worsened Gretchen recognized that her husband had problems and shared this with friends sometimes she said she would lock herself in their bedroom just to increase the distance between them I noticed this crazy look in his eyes she texted a friend Don one morning in late December David was gaining momentum and the spouse didn't know what he was capable of I'm watching him on the cameras and waiting for him to go to bed Gretchen wrote
another evening then I'll go downstairs get a knife and put it under my pillow just in case and hopefully sleep that that same year on Christmas Eve Gretchen couldn't find her personal belongings she searched the house looked in David's backpack and found her wedding ring passport driver's license credit cards and some money the incident so Disturbed Gretchen that she texted Don her boss and friend that she was afraid of her own husband by the end of the month Gretchen made the decision to end the tumultuous relationship in December 2019 she forced David to move out
of the townhouse to her mother's house who lived nearby and changed the locks it was during this time that David's colleagues noticed a gradual change in his behavior most of the time the trainer was one of the first to arrive at the gym but after the events in the family he began to come later and later seemed more and more withdrawn and Sullen on January 26th Kobe Bryant David's Idol dies when Kobe Bryant passed away some something happened Tabitha recalls you'd think David and Kobe Bryant were best friends he was traumatized by it in the
days that followed David was hysterical crying and wailing in front of the fitness club groups he led and refusing to go home despite his emotionally fragile state David took an active role in a controversial self-improvement program called gratitude training which critics likened to a cult he spent thousands of dollars on seminars but refused to tell his family what he was doing during the sessions David's behavior regressed on February 24th he failed to show up for work when Tabitha tried to find out if he was okay he attacked her and the supervisor made the decision to
terminate the employee permanently this time Tabitha caught a glimpse of David's frightening rage and was truly frightened Hopkins texted Gretchen about the incident and asked her to be careful that's the last time I talked to Gretchen she would later say 4 days later on February 28th 2020 just weeks before her disappearance Gretchen files for divorce David's stability is rapidly going downhill and he is becoming increasingly hostile on March 7th the woman David had begun dating booked a seat at an unusual art class they were to drink wine and draw pictures under the guidance of the
instructor however the evening did not go according to plan when David wished to hug His companion during the class class and she rejected the attempt he jumped up yelled at her in the middle of the class and ran outside David's Behavior frightened the young woman and she decided not to continue the interaction telling him that he could not stay with her tonight when they got to the house where David had left his truck it became clear that David had different ideas about the matter David whom she'd only known for a month had decided to move
in with her duffel bags filled with men's clothes were spread out on her bed and dining din room table and food from his mother's house was stashed in the freezer Kobe David's husky was running around in the backyard David left only after a new friend called her neighborhood security company when Gretchen went missing her family told investigators that David was returning to her home after he left the young woman was concerned for her safety and installed surveillance cameras throughout the house and garage on March 11th the World Health Organization declared a pandemic a few Days
Later David believing the pandemic to be an end of the world prophecy showed up at Gretchen's House in the early morning hours he believed the world was coming to an end and walked around the windows trying to convince his almost ex-wife to go with him to Costa Rica where he thought they could escape the virus after a few hours Gretchen relented and allowed David into the house that evening a patrolling police officer noticed David visibly nervous and sweaty strutting around outside a Rivier a beach restaurant and at one point approaching a group of teenage girls
the officer noticed David's license plate partially covered with black duct tape and headed toward him David claimed that his 12-year-old stepdaughter had taped the license plate and began to act even more nervous the man ignored the police officer's orders not to move yanked open the door of his truck and began searching for something under the seat fearing what would happen next the officer pointed a gun at David and ordered him to the ground when the officer looked under the driver's seat where David was trying to reach they found a large knife David was arrested for
resisting arrest but posted bail a few days later and was released the pandemic was gaining momentum in the early 20s of March some states began Banning people from leaving their homes Gretchen like everyone else was trying to figure out how to live in the new realities she shared informational videos about the virus and how to stay safe posting memes and jokes mocking the absurdity of The New Normal on Thursday March 19th she posted a quote from a meditation blog when there is chaos around you the wisest choice is to create peace within yourself after that
her profile was no longer active and she stopped answering calls and messages this moment divided life into before and after for all of her near and dear ones texting from gret and Anthony's phone to friends and family began on March 23rd 2020 over the course of several days friends and family received a series of messages from Gretchen stating that she was quarantined at home then describing her deteriorating condition and hospitalization in the emergency room at Jupiter Medical Center another message claimed she was transferred to another CDC facility that did not exist on March 24th Don
Paris Gretchen's supervisor and friend received a message from her saying I tested positive for Corona virus early this morning this is bad bad news but I am at a Corona virus CDC Treatment Center that only handles coid cases the good news is that my blood type can potentially be used in treatment I'm not sure if you remember when I said I have a strain of mad cow disease in my blood well that strain is important for Gathering more answers and finding a cure for safety reasons Dr Sinclair and her team strongly encourage program participants to
keep contact only with immediate family members I chose my mom Gretchen's ex-husband who had his 12-year-old stepdaughter visiting also began receiving messages from Gretchen saying that the Center for Disease Control and prevention CDC had quarantined her she could be placed in a medically induced coma and she would no longer be able to write Jeff dryer didn't believe these reports he was confused by the multiple text errors and abbreviations the manner of speech in the messages sounded more like David Anthony and Jeff became alarmed in addition it bothered everyone who received these messages that no one
not even his daughter Gretchen never called friends couldn't imagine Gretchen dying of anything since at 51 she was in good shape and took her health very seriously when calls to the medical center confirmed that gret and Anthony had not been admitted there the family along with friends decided to contact the police to check if their loved one was doing well gret and Anthony's boss told police that she was last at work on March 20th and when he called her in insurance company to see if she was receiving Medical Care anywhere they said there had been
no referrals under her policy to process treatment Jupiter police detective Jared kennerson contacted Jupiter Medical Center and found that the hospital's records did not mention anything about such a patient in fact police found that Gretchen had not been to Jupiter Medical Center since 2008 police checked the Medical Center parking lot and found a Mini Cooper in the parking lot in the car Gretchen's purse was lying in the most visible spot causing Patrol officers to become concerned officers went to the missing person's home what they discovered at Gretchen's home was alarming and turned a simple visit
into a potential murder investigation a neighbor approached the officers and gave them the disturbing information early Saturday morning on Saturday March 21st I heard a very desperate female screaming as if she was being attacked and then I heard her scream no and then I heard something like it hurts stop the scream was really serious unfortunately Gretchen didn't call Emergency Services some people are just wary of calling the police officers became even more concerned when another neighbor told them he later noticed a soapy substance leaking from under Gretchen's garage door the front door leading to the
garage was locked and the key was broken in the deadbolt when officers were able to open the door they detected a strong pungent odor of cleaning product in the garage using body cameras Patrol officers searched the house several times they found evidence of a violent struggle a broken picture frame shards of glass on Gretchen's bed and a soil towel officers noticed that surveillance cameras inside the house had been removed from the walls possibly to destroy compromising evidence and sent a request to a service provider to recover the footage from the cloud police officials made inquiries
and discovered that a neighbor had taken a photo of a black Nissan pickup truck parked outside Gretchen's home after the terrifying screams the exact same pickup truck was owned by Gretchen's almost ex-husband David Anthony who suddenly decided to leave his mother told police that her son packed up his truck and hit the road on Tuesday March 24th 2020 saying he was going to Costa Rica their suspicions were heightened when they saw on video taken in the parking lot of Jupiter Medical Center where Gretchen's car was found a Mini Cooper pull into a parking space and
a tall figure the height of David Anthony emerged from the vehicle investigators began tracking Gretchen's cell phone and found that it was registered in the Pensacola Florida area as would later be confirmed David had driven just 600 miles to Pensacola Florida's westernmost city after stopping at a couple of local pawn shops to sell some women's jewelry he and his dog Kobe continued West stopping for one night at a hotel in posos Texas before settling in Los crusis New Mexico while 2,000 mil away David contacted detectives and reported that Gretchen was alive and in no danger
he explained that his spouse had provided him with a written statement which he read aloud over the phone according to the statement Gretchen discovered Financial crimes at her job and fled Florida with David fearing for her life the statement also said she also fled from her first ex-husband Jeff detectives didn't believe it and continued to investigate they tracked Gretchen and David's cell phone signals which indicated that the two phones were together expecting the worst detectives obtained a warrant to impound the truck on March 29th and Enlisted the help of Los crusis police to arrange a
traffic stop Los crusis police detained David seized the truck and property including his phone and Gretchen's phone but they still didn't have enough evidence to call him in for questioning he was allowed to just walk away on March Mar 30th 2020 Jupiter police obtained electronic records from Gretchen's home and investigators finally learned the truth on the morning of March 21st David lurked silently on the porch overlooking the back of the garage in his hands he held an elongated object 6 minutes later Gretchen appeared in the footage the video shows David forcibly driving her into the
garage and a scream can be heard over the footage first Gretchen yelled to the Amazon a device in the garage Alexa turn on the lights in the garage the surveillance camera audio then captured a muffled thud and Gretchen's muffled screams she then yelled to Alexa again Alexa call 911 Gretchen didn't know that unless she specifically programmed her smart speaker to call 911 the device wouldn't call the police in an emergency after a while David's face appeared in the frame his hands wearing gloves in one shot Gretchen's bloody head could be seen as he walked around
the garage investigators have seen enough on March 30th detectives get a warrant for David's arrest Gretchen's case went from being a missing person's case to a murder investigation detective kenerson rushed to Los crues shortly before midnight March 31st police arrested David outside a convenience store Jupiter detectives questioned him at the State Police Headquarters in Los Cruses New Mexico they had one goal to get David to reveal the whereabouts of Gretchen's body and the detectives failed David claimed that Gretchen was alive in fact during the interrogation David Anthony made this claim 35 times detectives even tried
using a voice recording of Gretchen's daughter whom David really loved with her father's permission the Girl recorded her request David it's Ava I love you I'm scared I miss my mom she told him I need to know where my mom is please do the right thing and tell me where my mom is please I love you detectives played the tape to David but he remained indifferent while behind bars he refused to say anything about what had happened to Gretchen in his typical restraint he remained silent for months David knew it would be difficult for the
prosecutor to get a conviction without Gretchen's body he was charged with second degree murder and extradited to Florida while David was in custody in Palm Beach County Florida a grand jury indicted him for kidnapping and upgraded the murder charge from second degree to first-degree murder this was a turning point and in December 2020 after 8 months in prison the criminal took a plea deal with the prosecutor the fact is that he could have faced the death penalty for first-degree murder under the terms of the deal David would plead guilty to Second deegree murder in exchange
for a 38-year prison sentence the main condition of the deal was that he would leave investigators to Gretchen's body on December 21st 9 months after Gretchen Anthony disappeared David Anthony admitted what everyone already knew he killed his wife Gretchen's body was found wrapped in a blanket 3 miles from her home in the woods behind a Walmart store and near a nursing home investigators determined she died from stab wounds to her neck and torso there were several defensive wounds she was fighting for her life at the sentencing hearing David Anthony said the co 19 pandemic was
a contributing factor to his crime because he saw the pandemic as Armageddon from which he had to flee my delusions saw the co pandemic as a prophecy of the end of the world an Armageddon that I felt compelled to avoid at all costs under the terms of the plea agreement David Anthony was sentenced to 38 years in prison on January 14th 2021 he is currently serving his sentence at the Martin Correctional Institution in Florida thank thanks for watching guys that was Jack with you subscribe to the channel there are many shocking stories ahead