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Hello dear listeners. Whether you're just

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We've put a lot of efforts into them, and they're

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actually super good. And now,

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let's dive into today's story. Mr.

0:42

Mom Killer In

0:48

2007, Washington International Group

0:51

was a successful multi-billion dollar company

0:53

that provided engineering and construction services

0:55

in more than 30 countries

0:58

around the world. Tara

1:00

Grant was a successful, well-educated, and

1:03

well-paid executive in the company. Though

1:07

she was a systems manager based in

1:09

the Detroit, Michigan office, she commuted Monday

1:11

through Friday all over the world. Every

1:15

Friday evening, she would hop back on a

1:17

plane so she could spend the weekends with

1:19

her two young children and husband, Stephen Grant.

1:22

On Valentine's Day 2007, Stephen walked into the Macomb

1:26

County Sheriff's Office to report his

1:28

wife missing. Tara

1:31

DeStrampe grew up in a tiny town called

1:33

Perkins with a population of less than 100,

1:36

located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

1:40

Though the rest of her family was perfectly

1:42

happy with small-town life, Tara was

1:44

destined for more. Even

1:47

from a young age, she wanted to excel in

1:49

her life and longed for the big city life.

1:53

She was determined to go out into the world

1:55

and create her fortune. In

1:58

her teenage years, Tara grew in to

2:00

a brash, outspoken young woman, often

2:02

berating and verbally attacking boyfriends who

2:04

didn't seem strong enough in her

2:06

eyes. She was known

2:08

for her controlling nature and her explosive

2:10

anger. After graduating

2:12

third in her high school class,

2:15

Tara attended Michigan State University in

2:17

Lansing. It was there

2:19

that she first met Stephen Grant. During

2:23

the summer of 1994, Tara was

2:25

just finishing up her degree. Stephen

2:28

was in her immediate group of friends and

2:30

had pursued Tara for several months before she

2:32

finally gave in and accepted his invitation for

2:34

a date. Stephen

2:37

was obnoxious and a bit awkward, but

2:39

he wasn't submissive like other boys that

2:42

Tara had dated. She

2:44

saw potential in him. Though

2:46

he had dropped out of college, he worked in

2:49

the office of a Michigan State Senator and that

2:51

impressed her. Stephen

2:53

often bragged of his aspirations to pursue a

2:55

law degree and she envisioned him having a

2:57

career in politics. Stephen

3:00

knew that Tara had grown up in a tiny

3:02

town and longed for the big city life. On

3:06

their first date, he gave her a tour of Detroit,

3:08

driving her through the mansions of Gross

3:10

Point, the Detroit Institute of Arts and

3:12

taking her for a meal in Greektown.

3:16

Tara was impressed, but what really sealed the

3:18

deal for her was when her grandmother died,

3:21

Stephen showed up unannounced to the funeral

3:23

to console her and charmed her family.

3:26

Tara was in love. That

3:30

December, Tara graduated from university and

3:32

moved in with Stephen. It

3:34

wasn't long after that before he proposed

3:37

and she cheerfully accepted. Eventually,

3:40

Stephen's job with the senator ended and

3:42

he was perpetually having trouble finding work.

3:46

In early 1995, Stephen's father offered

3:48

him a job at the family tool and

3:50

die shop in Mount Clemens, just north of

3:52

Detroit. The pay

3:55

wasn't that great, but it was enough to survive

3:57

and Tara liked that it was closer to a

3:59

big city. In

4:01

September 1996, Tara

4:03

and Stephen were married and Tara got

4:05

a temporary job at a company called

4:08

Morrison-Nudson which would later be acquired by

4:10

Washington International Group. She

4:13

was a perfect fit for the company and was

4:15

very focused on her new career. It

4:18

wasn't long before her determination paid off and

4:20

she was quickly offered a permanent position. Though

4:24

money was still tight, the couple

4:26

had their first child, a daughter, in 2000. Two

4:30

years later they had a son. Even

4:33

through the pregnancies, Tara continued climbing

4:36

the corporate ladder, eventually landing a

4:38

high-paying executive job. By

4:42

2003 her job duties required her to travel

4:44

to sites where the company had construction jobs

4:46

all over the globe which left Stephen to

4:48

deal with the children. Stephen,

4:52

still working at the tool and die shop, couldn't

4:54

work and take care of the kids so the

4:56

couple hired an au pair. Through

4:59

the years the grants went through seven different au

5:02

pairs, eventually settling on a

5:04

beautiful 19-year-old from Germany, Verena

5:07

Dieerkes. Stephen

5:10

spent as much time as he could with the kids

5:12

but because of her job, Tara was

5:14

only able to squeeze in the weekends. Although

5:18

the income she brought him was good, Stephen

5:20

resented his wife for leading a jet-setter

5:22

lifestyle while he stayed at home. By

5:26

2006 Tara was making $168,000 a year. Even

5:32

her year-end bonus of $28,000 was more than the measly $19,000

5:34

he was bringing home from

5:38

his father's machine shop. As

5:41

an executive, Tara was on a regular schedule

5:44

of flying Monday through Friday 2,000 miles away

5:47

to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The

5:50

flight was five hours each way but she

5:52

came home to be with the family every

5:54

weekend. Over

5:56

time, Stephen's resentment of Tara continued

5:58

to build. But

6:01

when Tara decided to start taking golf lessons

6:03

on the weekend, it didn't sit

6:05

well with Steven. Tara,

6:08

always wanting to enhance her career, knew

6:10

that lots of business took place on

6:12

the golf course. Frustrated

6:15

and angry with the lack of

6:17

attention from his wife, Steven developed

6:19

a relationship with their young au

6:21

pair, Virena. It

6:25

started out as harmless flirting, but in early

6:27

February 2007, it became physical. It

6:33

started with kissing and continued with him

6:35

requesting sex. On

6:38

Thursday, February 8th, before Tara returned

6:40

home from Puerto Rico, he gave

6:42

her oral sex for the first

6:44

time. While

6:47

Tara was in San Juan that week, she wrote

6:49

a lengthy letter to Steven. In

6:52

the letter, she apologized to him for pushing

6:54

him away and making him feel inadequate. She

6:58

thought it would be a good idea for them to renew

7:00

their wedding vows. Tara

7:02

possibly intended to give him the letter on

7:04

Valentine's Day the following week, but she never

7:07

got the chance. By

7:09

Valentine's Day, Steven had walked into

7:11

the Macomb County Sheriff's Department and

7:13

reported his wife missing. As

7:17

Steven talked to detectives, he gave a

7:19

long and rambling description of what had

7:22

happened five days prior, the night

7:24

she went missing. He

7:26

said that he and Tara argued that Friday night

7:29

over the phone as she drove home from the

7:31

airport. She had been delayed

7:33

by a snowstorm and informed him she would need to

7:35

go right back to San Juan the next day. When

7:39

she got home, they argued for 20 minutes

7:41

more before she made a phone call and told

7:43

someone to come pick her up. He

7:46

assumed she had called the car service she normally

7:48

used to take her to the airport. Steven

7:52

told detectives the last thing she said to him

7:54

was to make sure to bring the car to

7:56

the dealership on Monday to get a dent fixed.

8:00

Then a black car came to the front of the

8:02

house, she got into the back and it drove away.

8:06

10 minutes later their au pair, Verena,

8:08

came home. When

8:11

detectives asked why Stephen had waited so long

8:13

to report his wife missing, he

8:15

told them it was the suggestion of her boss. Stephen

8:19

had called her work just after she went

8:21

missing and her boss told him he knew

8:23

nothing about Tara needing to go back to

8:25

San Juan early but advised him to wait

8:27

before reporting her missing and he would talk

8:29

to public relations first. Stephen

8:33

had also called Tara's sister and mother but

8:35

neither of them had heard from her. He

8:38

told them he'd be happy to know she was just in a

8:40

hotel with a lover, he just wanted

8:42

to make sure she was okay. Stephen

8:46

told the police he didn't trust Tara's mother

8:48

or her boss and suspected they were both

8:50

lying to him, possibly trying to

8:52

cover up an affair she was having with her

8:54

boss. Stephen

8:57

then confided to the police that he and

8:59

Tara had been to marriage counselling and he

9:01

was considering hiring a divorce lawyer. To

9:04

detectives, this was an immediate red

9:07

flag. Stephen

9:09

then rambled on about the company that she worked

9:11

for. He explained that

9:14

Washington International Group was involved in

9:16

the manufacture of chemical weapons and

9:18

suggested possibly that she had been

9:20

exposed to nerve gas or kidnapped

9:22

by terrorists. Again,

9:25

detectives thought these were extremely odd details

9:27

to add to the story. During

9:31

the questioning, in an attempt to show detectives

9:33

he was honest, Stephen also admitted that he

9:35

had a warrant out for his arrest for

9:37

unpaid traffic tickets. Detectives

9:40

weren't interested in that and let him go

9:42

and started their investigation. When

9:46

asked about their au pair, Verena, and if he

9:48

was having a relationship with her, Stephen

9:51

jokingly replied, she'll never tell and left

9:53

it at that. What

9:56

he didn't tell police was that he and Verena had

9:58

had sex for the first time just minutes

10:00

after he claimed Tara disappeared in the

10:02

black car. The

10:05

interviewing officer also took note of a scratch

10:07

on Stephen's nose and asked if he had

10:09

got into a fight with Tara on the

10:11

night she left. Stephen

10:14

said he hadn't, but he said that

10:16

he told her if she went back to Puerto Rico

10:18

the kids wouldn't even miss her because he was the

10:20

one that took them to soccer every day. Then

10:25

he told the detective he wasn't even sure if

10:27

he wanted Tara to come back and that his

10:29

family all thought she was having an affair with

10:31

her boss. The

10:33

first thing detectives did after Stephen left was

10:35

to call Tara's work. Her

10:38

boss confirmed that she hadn't shown up for work that

10:40

week and had never missed a day of work in

10:42

her 10 years with the company. Tara

10:45

also used a company cell phone and credit card.

10:48

Her employer verified that neither had been used since

10:51

she had arrived home the evening of February 9th.

10:55

The police also contacted Tara's family. Her

10:59

sister told them that she had spoken to

11:01

Tara for 40 minutes during her layover in

11:03

Newark on February 9th and she hadn't mentioned

11:05

anything about going back to Puerto Rico early

11:07

that weekend. Police

11:10

were instantly suspicious of Stephen and assumed

11:13

someone to watch his house, but Stephen

11:15

wasn't stupid and noticed right away. When

11:19

he called the lead investigator to complain, the

11:22

investigator explained that they couldn't be too careful

11:24

and asked if he could come over to

11:26

Stephen's and ask him a few more questions.

11:30

When Detective Sergeant Brian Kozlovski arrived at

11:32

the Grant House, he brought

11:34

Detective Sergeant Pamela McLean with him. Kozlovski

11:37

took Stephen into the kitchen to question

11:39

him all while McLean questioned Verena. Verena

11:43

told Detective McLean that she was out with

11:45

some friends on the Friday evening and when

11:47

she arrived home that night, Tara had already

11:49

gone and the kids were asleep. She

11:52

told the detective that she thought it was odd that

11:54

Tara had left and that she had called a car

11:56

service to take her to the airport. She

11:59

told police that Tara normally drove herself to the

12:01

airport each week. This

12:04

contradicted what Stephen had told the police.

12:06

He told them Tara had always used a car

12:09

service. In the

12:11

kitchen, Detective Kozlovsky asked Stephen

12:13

about the scratch on his nose. Stephen

12:17

claimed he had received the scratch while working at

12:19

the machine shop. He said that

12:21

some metal shavings had got under his safety

12:24

goggles and then showed Kozlovsky scratches and bruises

12:26

on his hands and legs, claiming they were

12:28

all from his work. Kozlovsky

12:31

then asked if Stephen had been having an

12:33

affair. He denied it. He

12:36

said that Tara had had an affair in the past,

12:38

but it was now over. The

12:41

detectives then asked if they could search the

12:43

house and Stephen agreed. Inside

12:46

they found a handgun with two loaded magazines

12:48

and some duct tape in the master bedroom.

12:52

Stephen told them he had just forgotten to put away the

12:54

gun. On

12:56

the master bedroom nightstand they found a red

12:58

photo journal that belonged to Verena. This

13:02

struck detectives as odd because the journal was

13:04

in the master bedroom and not in Verena's

13:06

own bedroom. When

13:09

detectives checked the walk-in closet, they noticed

13:12

there were no empty spaces where Tara

13:14

kept all of her business suits. Her

13:17

suitcase was still in the closet, but Stephen explained

13:19

that she had packed a second suitcase for the

13:21

trip. The

13:23

following day Stephen was pulled over and arrested

13:26

for driving on a suspended licence. Stephen

13:29

complained that the police were just using that as

13:31

an excuse to detain him. After

13:34

the arrest police searched his car and

13:36

found two envelopes of cash totalling $3,000.

13:38

Stephen immediately

13:42

hired the most expensive attorney in town

13:44

and was released on bail within six

13:46

hours. From

13:48

that point forward Stephen was much more

13:51

cautious. He

13:53

refused to answer any questions without his

13:55

attorney present and only in writing. problem

14:00

talking to the media, though. He

14:02

loved to cry in front of the cameras, pleading

14:04

for the safe return of his wife. He

14:08

naturally had strange facial expressions and

14:10

bulging eyes which only made his

14:12

crying seem more awkward and forced.

14:16

Initially, his appearances were filled

14:18

with tears, but over time

14:20

the tears dried up and he began

14:22

complaining about her excessive business travel and

14:24

the possibility that she was having an

14:26

affair. I

14:28

get that she has to travel for business, but

14:30

too much is too much and that was too

14:32

much. A

14:35

couple of years ago, Tara and I did have a

14:37

problem in our marriage with a, I

14:39

don't want to call it an infidelity, but

14:41

pretty close to an infidelity. The

14:45

denigration of his wife didn't play well

14:47

with the local TV viewers who began

14:49

to question his sincerity. The

14:52

police asked Stephen to take a polygraph,

14:54

but he denied their request. Instead,

14:57

he and his attorney opted to have him

14:59

take a polygraph privately, but police

15:01

assumed he must have failed the test as

15:04

Stephen kept the results to himself. Having

15:08

seen Stephen on the nightly news, a

15:10

former girlfriend of his came forward and

15:12

told police she had recently received emails

15:14

from him which read, I

15:16

am still in need of some excitement in

15:18

my day, wink, wink. I

15:20

just think of marriage vows like speed limits. Sometimes

15:23

you have to break them. As

15:27

police looked further into Stephen's explanation of

15:29

Tara's disappearance, they came across more and

15:31

more holes in the story. Airline

15:35

records showed no flights with Tara on

15:37

them and her normal flight booking for

15:39

the following Monday had gone unused. Her

15:43

cell phone records also didn't show a call at

15:45

the time that Stephen said she called a car

15:47

service. The last call on

15:49

her phone was to Stephen 18 minutes

15:51

before she had arrived home that night. Despite

15:55

Stephen claiming she always used a car service,

15:57

she had actually only used a car service

16:00

once in the past year. Police

16:03

verified that she almost always drove herself to

16:05

the airport and parked her car in the

16:07

airport parking lot during the week. Additionally,

16:12

nothing had been charged to her credit card since she

16:14

had paid for the airport parking at the lot that

16:16

night on her way home. Stephen's

16:19

cell phone records, however, were much

16:22

busier. That

16:24

evening he had called Verena four times.

16:28

In the days following her disappearance, Stephen

16:30

had called Tara's phone six times pleading

16:32

for her to come home. Hey,

16:35

I get that you're pissed at me. I

16:38

just left the house. I have to go to

16:40

the bank for my dad. Verena's

16:42

at the house with the kids. Please,

16:44

at least call your kids. It's

16:47

ridiculous, Tara. It's not right. Just

16:50

call please so I can talk to you.

16:52

They didn't get to see you last night. It's

16:56

me. Call us. Just

16:58

let us know what's going on. The

17:00

kids and I would like to talk to you. Please.

17:03

I just don't know what the deal is, so call me.

17:06

We're here. I'm just ordering

17:08

pizza for dinner, so we'll be here. I'm

17:11

just going to have it delivered, I think. So call us.

17:14

Bye. In

17:16

other messages he showed his anger. Tara,

17:20

next time I call you, pick up your phone.

17:22

It's absolute bullshit that you can't call me or

17:25

your kids. I know you're mad. I'm

17:27

mad too. You traveling this much

17:29

is not right. During

17:32

the initial interview, Stephen had mentioned several

17:34

times that he and Tara spent quite

17:36

a bit of time exercising in nearby

17:38

Stoney Creek Park. The

17:41

police now suspected that Stephen had killed

17:43

his wife and possibly dumped her body

17:45

in the park. Eight

17:48

days after her disappearance, police began

17:50

an extensive search of the area. Stoney

17:55

Creek Park was over 4,000 acres of thick woods and swamps.

18:00

Cynthia carried the story of the search

18:02

and Stephen spoke to the cameras several

18:04

times playing the role of grieving husband.

18:07

Please call anybody. Call

18:09

the police. Call me. Call

18:11

my in-laws. Call someone. On

18:15

the afternoon of February 28th, a

18:17

woman was walking along Mount Vernon Road on

18:19

the edge of Stony Creek Park, not far

18:21

from the Grant's home. Just

18:24

a few yards from the roadway she noticed

18:27

something plastic crammed between the branches of a

18:29

fallen tree. When

18:31

she got closer, she could see

18:33

that it was a large, one-gallon, ziplock

18:36

bag with something red inside. The

18:39

red color stood out in stark contrast to

18:41

the snowy surroundings. When

18:44

she picked up the bag, she could see that

18:46

the red was from blood pooling in the bottom of

18:48

the bag. Inside

18:51

the bag, police found four clear

18:53

plastic garbage bags, one pair of

18:55

latex gloves, metal shavings, a

18:57

7-Eleven bag and another ziplock bag. All

19:01

the items were covered in human blood. Using

19:05

the newly found evidence, detectives were

19:07

able to get two search warrants, one

19:10

for Stephen Grant's home and another for his

19:12

father's tool and die shop. When

19:16

police broke the door down at the tool and

19:18

die shop, they found a dark and messy metal

19:20

shop. Several lathes, presses

19:22

and other work equipment were covered with

19:24

thick metal dust. What

19:27

stood out to investigators was a large,

19:29

clean, square-shaped area on the floor. It

19:33

looked as if someone had laid a tarp there. On

19:37

the floor directly under the door handle, they found

19:39

what seemed to be a few tiny drops of

19:41

blood. Simultaneously,

19:45

another group of police showed up at the Grant's

19:47

house. When Stephen wasn't home,

19:49

live news cameras filmed as officers entered

19:51

the house. When

19:54

Stephen arrived home shortly after the police had

19:56

entered, they stopped his car as he drove

19:58

up the street. Police

20:00

requested him not to disturb the search and

20:02

he was calm and cooperative, but asked officers

20:04

if he could take his dog for a

20:06

walk. Police

20:09

agreed and Stephen put a leash on his

20:11

dog and walked down the snowy streets while

20:13

television cameras watched him leave. As

20:17

investigators searched the house, they

20:19

noticed a green rubber-made tub with a blue

20:21

lid in the garage next to a little

20:23

red wagon full of children's toys. Chief

20:27

Kozlovsky pulled off the lid to the tub

20:29

and found a pile of black plastic bags

20:32

stacked near the top. He

20:34

touched the top one and noticed it was soft

20:37

and mushy. As

20:39

he tugged at the black bags, it tore

20:42

and showed another bag and another bag.

20:45

As he got deeper, he came to

20:47

a clear plastic bag smeared with blood. Using

20:51

a flashlight, Kozlovsky initially thought

20:53

possibly Stephen was storing some deer

20:55

meat in the freezing cult garage,

20:58

but as he dug deeper, he found a

21:01

woman's bra. It

21:03

was clear this was the body of Tara Graham.

21:07

The tub was filled with Tara's frozen

21:09

torso. The arms were

21:11

severed at the shoulders and the legs

21:13

were severed at the tops of the thighs. Her

21:16

head, arms and legs were all

21:19

missing. The

21:21

torso still wore the grey and tailored blouse

21:23

that Stephen had told police she was wearing

21:25

when she disappeared. Investigators

21:29

now realize that Stephen had been walking the dog

21:31

for more than an hour and hadn't returned to

21:33

the house. He was on the

21:35

run and the manhunt began.

21:45

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with hope and actionable

22:18

insights. Steven,

22:27

of course, knew exactly what the police

22:29

would find. When

22:32

he left the house with his dog, he

22:34

phoned his friend, Mike Zanlungo, a neighbour in

22:36

the same subdivision. Steven

22:39

told Mike that he needed to borrow his truck

22:41

for a bit so he could go visit his

22:43

children at his sister's house. Mike

22:45

later said that trusting him was the biggest mistake

22:48

of his life. Steven

22:51

took Mike's truck and headed towards his

22:53

sister Kelly's house. He called

22:55

his sister as he drove. She

22:57

told him they weren't at home but were at

22:59

their church having a fish fry. Steven

23:03

drove to the church and met his sister in the

23:05

hallway. She immediately noticed

23:07

he was extremely agitated and

23:09

disoriented. He told Kelly,

23:12

I'm going to get arrested. They

23:14

told me if they find a drop of blood in my house,

23:16

I'm going to prison. Steven

23:19

then kissed his kids goodbye and drove to his

23:21

sister's house to drop off the dog. When

23:24

he got to the house, he looked for her 38 handgun

23:27

but couldn't find it. Instead,

23:31

he grabbed a full bottle of Vicodin that he

23:33

found in the medicine cabinet and got back in

23:35

the truck. He

23:37

drove toward Lansing, Michigan, drinking whiskey and

23:39

taking Vicodin the whole way. Along

23:42

the route, he stopped to buy razor

23:45

blades, a prepaid burner phone, a notebook,

23:47

Tylenol PM, a black Sharpie pen

23:49

and a plastic toy gun. He

23:53

was intent on killing himself but was worried that

23:55

he wouldn't have the nerve to do it himself.

24:00

Sharpie pen and marked over the red end cap

24:02

of the toy gun. He

24:04

hoped that if the police found him, he could pull the

24:06

gun on them and they would shoot and kill him. As

24:10

he drove, Stephen avoided highways and took

24:12

the back roads. He

24:14

stopped again to get five hundred dollars out

24:16

of an ATM and bought more whisky and

24:18

some Baileys Irish cream. Highly

24:21

intoxicated and crying, Stephen

24:24

called his sister one last time and called

24:26

Verena, who was now in Germany. At

24:30

1.30am he made one last call to his

24:32

attorney who encouraged him not to kill himself

24:34

and to come back home, telling him that

24:37

his kids needed him. Stephen

24:40

cried. She treated us like

24:43

shit. It's her fault this

24:45

happened. Everyone hates me,

24:47

but it's her fault. She

24:49

cheated on me. She left us alone. We

24:52

meant nothing to her. Tell

24:54

my kids I love them. I

24:56

tried to be a good dad. I did.

25:00

I love them so damn much. At

25:03

3.30am Stephen called his attorney

25:05

again, telling him it was all

25:08

an accident and the only way out of it was if

25:10

he ended his own life. Barely

25:13

able to speak from the drugs and

25:15

alcohol, Stephen again called Verena and then

25:17

called his sister Kelly one last time.

25:21

He told Kelly he was in the wilderness state

25:23

park and was planning on killing himself. Police

25:27

were already waiting outside her home. After

25:30

the call she walked outside and told officers where

25:32

to find him. Detective

25:34

Kozlowski's phone rang and when he saw

25:36

that it was an international number he

25:38

knew that it was Verena Dieke's calling

25:40

from Germany. Verena was

25:42

crying and had just gotten off the phone

25:44

with Stephen. Everything

25:47

he said was a lie. Everything.

25:50

And I believed everything. He

25:53

told me it was an accident. He said she

25:55

smacked me and she yelled at me and I pushed

25:57

her back and she banged her head and was dead.

26:02

Initially, Verena denied having an affair with

26:04

Steven, but eventually admitted that it

26:06

was true. We

26:08

liked each other. We liked each other

26:10

more than we should. And it

26:12

started about four weeks ago. It

26:15

was just talking. I don't know what. Maybe

26:17

because Tara was always gone. And

26:20

then, it just happened. But

26:22

it was never physical. On that, I

26:25

swear. We kissed, but that's

26:27

all. Steve

26:29

Kozlowski questioned her more and got her to admit

26:31

that Steven had performed oral sex on her. But

26:35

it was just one time. And

26:37

it was before that happened to Tara. It

26:39

was before February the 9th. Verena

26:43

then told the detective that Steven intended

26:45

to kill himself. Helicopters

26:48

scoured the vast wilderness state park

26:50

and quickly found his abandoned truck.

26:54

Within a few hours, searchers followed footsteps

26:57

leading away from the truck and found

26:59

his plastic gun, the notebook, and a

27:01

half-empty bottle of whisky. By

27:05

7am, searchers found Steven, barely conscious

27:07

in the snow beneath a tree. His

27:10

body temperature was down to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Suffering

27:16

from severe hypothermia and frostbite, Steven

27:18

was airlifted to the nearest hospital. That

27:23

morning, police searched Stony Creek Park again.

27:26

This time they found one of Tara's hands, her

27:29

feet, a leg, and chunks

27:31

of her flesh. Still

27:34

in intensive care, Steven was

27:36

charged with murder and handcuffed to his

27:38

hospital bed. Though

27:41

still suffering from hypothermia, Steven just couldn't

27:44

keep his mouth shut. His

27:46

attorney had dropped him as a client. Steven

27:49

called Detective Kozlowski and told him he wanted

27:51

to talk. When

27:55

Confronted with the evidence against him, he

27:57

rambled on for almost four hours in

27:59

a long, detailed. Confession from his

28:01

hospital bed. He

28:03

explained the Torah had come home that night

28:05

and they continued the argument that it started

28:07

on the phone. He.

28:10

Said the during their eleven year marriage, Tara

28:12

had constantly belittles him and he had had

28:14

enough of it. When.

28:17

She slaps him in the bedroom. His anger

28:19

grew out of control. He

28:21

said he told the rain or that when he

28:24

hit her she fell and hit her head but

28:26

that was alive. He had

28:28

actually strangled her to death on the bedroom

28:30

floor. Grant.

28:33

I was ready to go to bed and it just

28:36

kept getting worse and worse. Than.

28:38

When she smacked me, I lost it. Tara

28:41

had as long as I can remember,

28:43

she belittled me and. And

28:45

her one way. She knew if

28:47

he hit me, I'd hit her back. Grub.

28:51

She said. I got to do what

28:53

I have to do in my job and it's none of your

28:56

business. So. She started to

28:58

turn around and I grabbed her wrist. Just

29:00

stop. I said. You're Not

29:02

going anywhere. And I said

29:05

we're going to finish this conversation And

29:07

she slaps me. And after

29:09

that, I don't really remember what happened. She

29:11

fell. I know the

29:13

she been the back of our head on the floor and

29:15

then she said something like. That said,

29:18

I'm going to take the kids. You're going

29:20

to be fucking homeless. You're a piece of shit.

29:23

And I tutor on the carpet. She'd.

29:26

Started to get back up when I put my hand on

29:28

her neck. I grabbed her neck and

29:30

choked her. Detective.

29:32

Mcclain. Were. You looking

29:34

at her face. Grant.

29:37

Know. What he did have. Detected

29:41

Mccain. What?

29:43

Did you cover things up with. Current.

29:47

Gray. Underwear or a great he shut. Detective

29:51

Kozlowski. How did you

29:53

know that she had died? Grant.

29:56

When she stopped moving. And I

29:58

was worried. I was. Really worried.

30:02

The. Grand children were asleep in their rooms down

30:05

the whole while Stephen murdered their mother. Immediately

30:09

after strangling his wife, Stephen sent

30:11

a text to Irena. You.

30:13

Owe me a kiss, He

30:17

left a note saying the same thing on her

30:19

pillow. Then returned to his dead

30:21

wife on the bedroom floor. Grant.

30:24

Tight one of his belt surround her neck

30:26

and dragged down the stairs and into the

30:28

carriage. He put

30:31

her body in the back of her I Susie Trooper

30:33

as he v. And

30:36

I dropped her. She was too

30:38

hard to pick up and the belt broken. She

30:40

fell. He was the most

30:42

disgusting noise. He just sounded

30:44

like dropping a watermelon on the cement. Moments

30:48

later, the Raina returned home. And

30:51

I kept thinking we've got a body in this Garrett.

30:54

What the hell do I do with the body. And

30:56

thinking I killed my wife. I

30:58

was thinking my life was over. Stephen.

31:01

Explain to detectives that he let the body sit

31:04

in the back of the as he's he. all

31:06

of that Saturday. On

31:08

Sunday, he drove her body to his father's

31:11

tool and die shop where he used the

31:13

tools that to dismember her. So.

31:16

I looked around the shop. I was

31:18

looking for something. I was looking for a

31:20

hacksaw or something. At

31:23

some point I threw up. And I

31:25

threw up again. And then I drank some

31:27

more whiskey. And then I just tell

31:29

myself, look, if you don't do this, you're going

31:31

to prison for the rest of your life. And

31:34

I kept cutting your up. Worried.

31:36

That the body would smell. He put

31:39

the body parts back into the A C V and

31:41

came home to spend the rest of the day with

31:43

Verena and the kids. I

31:46

tried to make things as normal as possible for

31:48

everybody. And I continuously flirted with the

31:51

Raina because I thought that was the only way

31:53

I was gonna be able to get through this.

31:56

that sunday evening stephen put the kids read slide

31:58

in the back of the and

32:01

at 3am he snuck out of the house

32:03

and drove to Stoney Creek Park to dispose

32:05

of the body parts. At

32:08

the park he piled the body parts onto the sled

32:10

and dragged it up a hill, but

32:12

things went wrong. And

32:14

as soon as I started going it was like

32:16

keystone cops. The sled took

32:18

off and now I'm chasing after this sled that has

32:20

my wife's cut up body in it down a hill.

32:23

Finally got it stopped when it fell over and it broke.

32:27

So now all these pieces have now fallen all over

32:29

the place. So

32:31

Tara's torso I took and I buried

32:33

in the snow. And then the pieces I put

32:35

on the sled and I buried that in the snow. I'd

32:39

done a very very bad job of hiding anything.

32:41

It's right there in the open. By

32:45

Tuesday evening he was worried that he had done a

32:47

poor job of hiding the body parts and returned to

32:49

the park. He

32:51

cut open the clear plastic bags that he'd

32:53

wrapped the pieces in and distributed the parts

32:55

randomly throughout the park leaving

32:58

one ziplock bag near the road that was

33:00

later found. The

33:03

following week when Stephen heard that the police were

33:05

going to search the park he went back to

33:07

gather the pieces. I

33:10

thought I'm screwed. They're

33:12

going to find that because that torso at this

33:14

point is still buried in the snow. I

33:17

had to dig it out. It was frozen in

33:19

the ground. I threw it over my

33:21

shoulder and carried it. Confused

33:24

and worried that he would get caught, Stephen

33:27

moved the body parts back and forth several

33:29

times eventually storing the torso in

33:31

his garage. And

33:34

I kept thinking I got away with this. I

33:37

can't believe I got away with this. Search

33:41

teams found other parts of Tara in the

33:43

area where the first ziplock bag was discovered.

33:47

Stephen had cut her body into 14

33:49

different pieces but some parts were

33:51

never recovered. It

33:53

was assumed that animals may have made off with

33:55

the missing parts. Despite

33:58

his recorded confession, which

34:00

Steven also wrote and signed, he

34:03

pleaded not guilty. Verena,

34:05

who had returned to Germany, came back

34:08

for the trial to testify against Steven.

34:11

She told the jury how her employer constantly

34:13

tried to kiss her, exposed himself

34:16

to her and eventually, just moments after

34:18

he killed his wife, had sex with

34:20

her. On

34:23

Friday, December 21st, 2007, the

34:26

jury found Steven Grant guilty of second-degree

34:28

murder and sentenced him to 50 years

34:30

in prison. Steven

34:33

tried to appeal the decision but was denied

34:35

and will likely spend 50 to 80 years

34:38

behind bars. Tara's

34:41

sister was given control of the

34:43

estate and custody of their two

34:45

children, but their grandfather, Steven's father,

34:47

was denied visitation rights. Steven's

34:50

father tried desperately to regain visitation

34:52

rights but eventually lost hope and

34:55

committed suicide in June 2008. Tara's

35:00

children now participate in a yearly

35:02

walk called Tara's Walk. The

35:05

walk has raised tens of thousands of dollars to

35:07

help the victims of domestic violence. Thanks

35:28

for listening to True Crime Sleep Stories.

35:31

If you aren't asleep yet, consider following the

35:33

show. Maybe our next story

35:35

will give you the peace of mind you

35:37

desperately need. Or not.