Hot Air (Cassandra Robinson)

Summary

Anatomy of Murder: Hot Air (Cassandra Robinson) Released on June 3, 2025

Hosts:

• Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi: Former New York City Homicide Prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction.
• Scott Weinberger: Investigative Journalist and Former Deputy Sheriff.

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Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "Hot Air (Cassandra Robinson)," Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger delve into the mysterious disappearance and subsequent murder of Cassandra Robinson, a young mother from Pensacola. The episode meticulously dissects the layers of the crime, the victim's background, and the intricate investigation that ultimately unravels a web of deceit and violence.

The Disappearance of Cassandra Robinson

The story begins in June 2018, when Cassandra Robinson is reported missing by her sister, Carlisa. Cassandra had not been seen or heard from since February 1, 2018, the day she left after her one-year-old daughter Evelyn's birthday party. Initial indications suggested that Cassandra might have left voluntarily, but inconsistencies in her behavior raised suspicions among the investigators.

Notable Quote:

"Cassandra may have been missing for over four months. So you can imagine why her family was overwhelmed with fear and worry" - Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi [03:44]

Initial Investigation and Red Flags

Detective Chad Wilhite, assigned to the case, begins by examining Cassandra's relationship with Henry Steiger, her daughter's father. Henry, 28 years Cassandra's senior, became the primary suspect due to conflicting statements and suspicious behavior.

Key Findings:

• Sudden Departure: Cassandra left in her BMW with bags after the birthday party, and her car was later found abandoned at their home ([04:57]).
• Relationship Dynamics: Henry denied a romantic relationship, referring to himself as a "brother figure" to Cassandra, which contradicted the father-daughter relationship.
• Digital Footprint: Cassandra's social media and mobile phone showed no activity post-disappearance, a stark contrast to her previously active online presence.

Notable Quotes:

"When we asked if she left was on her own and he responded she is either not coming back because something happened or occurred against her will. We're like holy cow." - Chad Wilhite [06:58]

"She could not imagine a scenario where Cassandra would have ever left her daughter behind in the custody of the man she was leaving." - Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi [07:54]

Henry Steiger: The Prime Suspect

As detectives delve deeper into Henry's background, they uncover troubling aspects of his character and activities:

• Financial Troubles: Henry was involved in a coffee bean roasting business that was a front for money laundering and cocaine smuggling. He was on probation and under federal investigation ([25:35]).
• Suspicious Behavior: Despite financial crimes, Henry maintained a calm demeanor but exhibited odd habits, such as being overly meticulous about his daughter's cereal preferences ([18:42]).

Notable Quote:

"He deflects blame to everybody else except himself. That is one thing we notice pretty quick." - Chad Wilhite [21:29]

Breakthrough in the Case

The investigation took a pivotal turn when detectives obtained a search warrant for Henry's home, initially targeting financial crimes. During the search, they discovered:

• Large Sums of Money: Hidden cash in unconventional places, including an orange toolbox filled with $100,000 in cash ([32:10]).
• Cassandra's Belongings: The missing purple suitcase containing Cassandra's personal items was found in a storage unit ([32:46]).

A subsequent raid on Henry's property revealed even more damning evidence.

Notable Quote:

"Henry Steiger appears to be preparing to make a quick exit, purchasing a disposable phone and some untraceable phone numbers." - Scott Weinberger [34:07]

Discovery of Cassandra's Body

The detectives' relentless pursuit culminated in the discovery of Cassandra's remains in a trailer owned by Henry Steiger. Hidden within a hot air balloon basket, Casssandra was found in a state of decomposition, confirming foul play.

Notable Quote:

"More than five months since Cassandra Robinson was last seen alive, her remains have been discovered in a trailer owned by her partner, Henry Steiger." - Scott Weinberger [40:16]

Interrogation and Confession

Faced with overwhelming evidence, Henry Steiger's facade began to crumble during interrogation. Initially deflecting blame, his true nature and involvement became evident as he faltered under pressure.

Key Admission:

• Steven confessed that he strangled Cassandra, leading to her death, while their daughter was still in her arms. This act of brutality underscored his capacity for violence ([47:17]).

Notable Quotes:

"Something happened. I don't think it was a planned thing. I don't know what happened, but I know in my heart I don't think it was a planned and on purpose thing." - Henry Steiger [45:36]

"Steiger strangled Cassandra while their one year old child was still in her arms. An act of cruelty hard to fathom." - Scott Weinberger [47:51]

Legal Proceedings and Aftermath

In court, the prosecution presented a compelling case against Henry, emphasizing the evidence and his inconsistencies. Despite his attempts to downplay the relationship and deflect responsibility, the jury found Henry guilty of second-degree murder and accessory to the murder.

Verdict:

• Second-Degree Murder: Henry Steiger was sentenced to 18 months for financial crimes and his role in Cassandra's murder.

Impact: The case not only brought closure to Cassandra's family but also highlighted the systemic issues in recognizing and addressing coercive control in abusive relationships.

Notable Quote:

"His tactics may have worked in private, but they didn't hold up under the real weight of an investigation." - Scott Weinberger [49:52]

Conclusion

The "Hot Air (Cassandra Robinson)" episode serves as a poignant reminder of the intricate layers involved in uncovering the truth behind a murder case. Through meticulous investigation and unwavering determination, Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger illustrate the profound impact of justice on the lives affected by such tragedies.

Final Thoughts:

"Cassandra, your love for your daughter will forever be part of who she is. And let's all hope that she will forever continue to thrive." - Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi [50:56]

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Production Credits:

• Produced by: Weinberger Media and Frasetti Media
• Executive Producer: Ashley Flowers
• Episode Writer/Producer: Daryl Brown
• Researcher: Kate Cooper
• Editors: Ali Sirwa and Phil Jean Grande

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Note: This summary intentionally excludes advertisements and non-content sections to focus solely on the narrative of Cassandra Robinson's tragic story and the investigative process that led to justice.

Transcript

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[Chad Wilhite]

Did you kill her? He obviously tells us no. He says she could come back any day. When we asked if she left was on her own and he responded she is either not coming back because something happened or occurred against her will. We're like holy cow.

[Scott Weinberger]

I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy Sheriff.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

I'm Anna Sega Nicolasi, former New York City Homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction.

[Scott Weinberger]

And this is Anatomy of Murder.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

There are some days you mark on the calendar that you look forward to. It might be a wedding, a birthday or a favorite holiday. Days that bring friends and loved ones together and promise to put a smile on everyone's face.

[Scott Weinberger]

As we probably all know, sometimes those occasions can bring challenges too. There's all of the anticipation, the buildup, the preparation, and before you know it, the event is over and it's back to the day to day, the routine for others.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Sometimes these milestones and celebrations can put into focus what's missing in their lives. A happy marriage, a child of their own, or a painful loss.

[Scott Weinberger]

Today's story starts with a birthday and ends in tragedy. And what should have been a day marking new beginnings would come to leave a family broken and lives shattered, including that of, of a one year old baby girl.

[Chad Wilhite]

My name is Chad Wilhite. I'm with the Pensacola Police Department and I was assigned to the Criminal Investigations division as a detective.

[Scott Weinberger]

Chad had enjoyed a diverse career within the Pensacola Police Department. He had risen through the ranks, spent a few years investigating white collar financial crime, and now was a part of a team of detectives assigned to Major crimes. But the case that landed on his desk In June of 2018, it wasn't yet on a crime at all.

[Chad Wilhite]

It was a missing person case at that time. And the missing person was a lady by the name of Cassandra Robinson. She had been reported missing by her sister Carlisa. Carlisa told the reporting officer that she had not seen her sister for approximately four months and the last time she had seen her heard from her would have been on February 1st of 2018.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Which means Cassandra may have been missing for over four months. So you can imagine why her family was overwhelmed with fear and worry that something terrible had happened to her and why her case would have been forwarded to detectives in Major Crimes. Another reason for concern, Cassandra was a new mother who had left behind a one year old baby daughter.

[Chad Wilhite]

Cassandra Robinson was typical girl her age. She was active on social media, she had worked as a dancer in one of our local clubs. So she was just normal stay at home person raising her child, involved with her baby's dad.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cassandra and her daughter Evelyn had been living with the child's father, a man by the name of Henry Steiger, in a middle class neighborhood in Pensacola called the Avenues. It certainly wasn't an area that Chad and his colleagues would regularly be called.

[Chad Wilhite]

Out to the area they were living in. Heck, it was I want to say like two blocks from the fire department. So it was a nice little area, nice house.

[Scott Weinberger]

It was one of Chad's colleagues who first spoke to the father of that child, Henry Steiger, a man that was 28 years Cassandra's senior, top of his list of questions. When did you last see the mother of your child?

[Chad Wilhite]

Detective Galloway spoke to Henry on the phone. I believe it was June 11th. Henry told Detective Galloway that on February 1st, which would have been the one year birthday of their daughter Evelyn. After the birthday party, Cassandra left in their BMW and she left with some bags. Henry said, I went to bed, she didn't come back. And when he woke up, somehow the vehicle and the keys were back at the house and Cassandra was gone. And he hadn't seen from her, seen or heard from her since February 1st.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Now according to her sister, Cassandra had faced some challenges in her short life. She was just 25 years old, but had struggled at times with her mental health. And that had played a part in the delay in raising the alarm, because it wasn't the first time that Cassandra had gone off the radar for a bit. But this time, it felt different, and that had everything to do with Cassandra's precious new baby girl. She could not imagine a scenario where Cassandra would have ever left her daughter behind.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, according to his statement to detectives, Henry was less surprised. The couple had never been married, and, in fact, Henry was not even listed in as the father of the baby on the birth certificate. And this had been the source of some friction in their relationship in the past.

[Chad Wilhite]

Henry told Detective Galloway that she had made statements in the past that When Evelyn turned 1 years old, she would be leaving.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So had Cassandra made good on her promise? Had she really made a plan to celebrate her daughter's first birthday and then leave both Henry and their daughter behind? It was a possibility that detectives had to consider.

[Chad Wilhite]

Is she just tired and want to go away, or she was just fed up with, you know, life and needed a break? She suffered from some mental health issues in the past. Maybe she went and got herself checked in and didn't tell no one.

[Scott Weinberger]

But there was also the possibility that Cassandra's sudden departure was not a case of abandonment, but one of escape. The that's because, according to her sister, Cassandra's relationship had been more than just rocky. It had at times become violent.

[Chad Wilhite]

According to her, it was a somewhat volatile relationship. At one point, according to Carlisa, Henry had beaten Cassandra up pretty good in the past, but she would never report it to law enforcement or to anyone that could help her get out of the situation she was in.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

A friend of Cassandra's had a similar story to tell of Cassandra making plans to move on and away from Henry.

[Chad Wilhite]

Detective Galloway had interviewed one of Cassandra's friends. Henry had been messing around in their relationship, so she was gonna pack her and Evelyn's stuff, and they were gonna go live at her grandma's house.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

It's a decision that, sadly, many women, mothers and people are forced to make every day, uprooting their lives to escape an unhealthy relationship, putting their mental and physical safety above all else. But in this situation, one thing really didn't make sense, and that was, why would Cassandra have left her daughter behind in the custody of the man she was leaving? If she was really looking for a fresh start, there would be no doubt from her sister and her friends. That she would have taken her child with her.

[Scott Weinberger]

And so, armed with what they had learned from both henry, the child's father, and cassandra's sister and friends, they began their search for the missing woman. A search that started like so many do these days online, today's world, just.

[Chad Wilhite]

Like it was in, what, five, seven years ago. Everybody's glued to their phone, and they're glued to social media.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Cassandra's sister told police that cassandra was no different. And checking her social media accounts was typically the best way to keep track of her daily movements.

[Chad Wilhite]

She was able to provide us with, obviously, a phone number. She was able to provide us with the social media. Her favorite social media site, which would have been facebook and instagram, so we're able to get usernames and handler names off of those in order to help further along the investigation, Search warrants focused.

[Scott Weinberger]

On cassandra's preferred social media platforms. And that's where police noticed the first glaring red flags. Because despite cassandra being an active poster in the past, her socials showed no activity since February 1, the day she went missing. In fact, her Last post at 6:22pm was a video of cassandra holding her young child and singing. A video filmed by Henry. Now, to everyone on the outside world, it looked like just a family enjoying a special day.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Checks with her cell carrier showed her mobile phone hadn't been active either. The last known communication was the phone accessing a signal tower. Besides the interstate close to Pensacola, i110.

[Chad Wilhite]

Is a Super long road. It runs from literally the east coast to the west coast of the whole United states. But it pinged up there. That was the last place it had pinged.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

That mobile phone activity was on February 2, the day after the party. Could that be cassandra making her way out of pensacola, out of florida, or something else?

[Scott Weinberger]

For a young girl usually prolific on social media, this sudden change in behavior, or what we might call a change in her digital footprint, was highly significant. So anestiga, as you know, as an investigator, while you always have to take into consideration that if you're a missing person, is intentionally trying to be off the grid, so to speak, it could also involve their social media. The. So to try to answer that question, you turn to something detectives refer to as proof of life. Start searching for things like credit card usage, which is obviously near the top of that list. Just think about it on a daily basis, how many establishments you walk into, Getting gas in your car, going to the dry cleaners. You're leaving those digital breadcrumbs. So it's much easier to Trace that in this day and age. So I think I see a lack of. That is a red flag.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

I think for sure it is. But again, depending on how savvy the person who is now missing is, like, they might know to just get cash. Right. And if we look at Cassandra, of course, like, sudden changes are often suspicious, but the specifics of every person's life can be very telling. And I think you said it just at the beginning of what you were talking about there, Scott. Like, here she is in a problematic relationship. Maybe she needs an escape. She's a young mother. Plus, the hilly relationship. These are things that sometimes people just need. You know, whether she was because she was overwhelmed or something having to do with any past mental health issues, we just don't know. But regardless, like, while there were plausible reasons why Cassandra had left home and maybe stopped using her phone, there was also enough reasons to believe that her sudden disappearance was not of her own volition. And detectives in Pensacola weren't comfortable with the idea that Cassandra had simply left. And while it was still a leap to suspect foul play. And again, remember what Scott said about that proof of life digital footpr here. When they looked at it all, they decided to search the property where Cassandra and Henry had been living to see if there were any clues where she might be.

[Chad Wilhite]

They searched inside of the house, outside of the house. They used ground penetrating radar to make sure that. To see if there was anything buried in the backyard that maybe would help solve this mystery. All that was that was done with negative results.

[Scott Weinberger]

Those detectives weren't just looking to rule out the presence of Cassandra's body. They were seeing if there was any indication of violence, any signs that the scene had been cleaned up or covered up, but they drew a blank.

[Chad Wilhite]

There was no signs of a struggle or blood or anything found inside the residence that would lead us to believe that she was harmed inside the residence, at least physically attacked, maybe inside the residence where she would receive some type of injury.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So what had happened to Cassandra? Chad picked up the case with no active leads, but lots of unanswered questions.

[Chad Wilhite]

There's something going on in her past that we don't know about. Was there people that we don't know about that maybe harmed her? Did Henry harm her? We don't know. There's a lot of things that were going on or potentially going on that we had to look into.

[Scott Weinberger]

Stepping into a case that's already started. Chad needed to go over all of the basic facts and to see things for himself. I've seen this multiple times in my career. No matter how good the handover may be, how good the paperwork was filled out, nothing beats going through the facts from the very beginning.

[Chad Wilhite]

We want to start back with an initial interview of the person who has the closest ties to Cassandra, which would be Henry Steiger.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Would the father of Cassandra's daughter provide a reasonable rationale for her sudden disappearance? Or would detectives uncover evidence that the 25 year old mom was not just missing, she'd been murdered.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

In the four months since Cassandra Robinson disappeared, Henry and their one year old daughter had moved to a new house in Perdido Key about 30 minutes away from the house they shared in February of 2018.

[Chad Wilhite]

The house is on a golf course out by the beach. It is very nice out there. In fact, you got to go through a gate guard to get out there. As you say, call it gated community.

[Scott Weinberger]

The two detectives planned to go in cold, ask a couple of questions, shake the tree a little bit, and just see what falls out. Either Henry would be consistent with his story that Cassandra had simply deserted him and her daughter, disappearing without a trace just hours after their daughter's first birthday party, or he'd slip up and give them something to explore. And they had one big advantage.

[Chad Wilhite]

He doesn't know we're coming. We wanted to have the element of surprise on our side. Obviously, being in law enforcement for 20 something years now, at the time it was only like 15. But anytime you have the element of surprise, it's gonna be on our side. We don't have time to plan for what he's gonna tell us. You don't have time to leave.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

But even with the surprise visit of two Pensacola detectives at his door, Henry was welcoming.

[Chad Wilhite]

Henry's there along with Evelyn. And we talked to Henry for two, two and a half hours. We just have pretty candid conversation with him. But what I thought was weird is Evelyn was one years old, well, a little over one at this point. Kid could barely walk. He held her literally the entire time. And he would feed while we were there. Evelyn, Apple jacks. Apple Jacks are an orange color and a greenish color cereal, and I can't remember which one it was. But he refused to give her either the green or the orangish red one. He'd only give him the same exact color. And it was immediately like, this guy, there's something wrong with this guy.

[Scott Weinberger]

And I'm sure, as everyone realizes, having some strange habits isn't a crime. But there are the kind of details that a detective tends to to log just in case it becomes relevant later on in an investigation.

[Chad Wilhite]

He seemed to be willing to want to help, seem to be somewhat concerned. Obviously, the last place he had seen or heard from her was on February 1. He had said that during their conversation that evening. Cassandra said she wanted to go on a well deserved vacation. But he did not know where she had went.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

An extended vacation. And the more the two detectives pushed and probed, the more Henry was able to remember about this impromptu holiday. According to Henry, Cassandra had talked about going to Bermuda and had even borrowed some money from a friend to fund the trip.

[Chad Wilhite]

So we start asking about, well, if she's Going on vacation. Does she have a passport? How is she going to get in and out of the United States? I'm assuming you got to have a passport. And he didn't believe she had a passport.

[Scott Weinberger]

Chad's investigator instincts were telling him that something wasn't right. Cassandra taking herself away to Bermuda without her child, without telling her sister and never returning. It just didn't add up. But more than that was that Henry had never tried to reach out to ask her about her return, Never wondered if anything could have happened to her that would have prevented her from coming home.

[Chad Wilhite]

I asked, have you attempted to contact Cassandra? Whether it be through email, text message, phone calls. He said he had not attempted to contact her because he did not want to bother her while she was on her well deserved vacation. I thought that was very odd. We kind of just put that in the back of our mind and we keep on talking to him.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The two detectives asked to take a tour of the house with Henry leading the way.

[Chad Wilhite]

So he walks us around the house and shows us where their bathroom's at, walks us to a closet. While we're in the closet, Henry points to several suitcases. There's a silver one and a purple one. And he tells us that when Cassandra left, she took the matching suitcases with her to those other two. So we know now we're probably looking for a silver suitcase and a purple suitcase now.

[Scott Weinberger]

Detectives had already done their background on Henry. He worked wait for it as a hot air balloon pilot. And by the looks of the house, the ballooning business was good. But there was evidence of some financial problems that had attracted the attention of the feds. And it appeared that he was currently on probation and still under investigation.

[Chad Wilhite]

He goes into the story, but it really didn't make sense to us. Henry deflects blame to everybody else except himself. That is one thing we notice pretty quick. It's always somebody else's fault. It's never Henry Steiger's fault.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The more time the detectives spent with Henry, the more he seemed to have a strange take on his relationship with Cassandra. Because according to 53 year old Henry, it was never a romantic relationship at all.

[Chad Wilhite]

He at one point referred to himself as acting like a brother figure to her and taking care of her. Thinking to myself, a brother figure, who the heck sleeps with their sister then and has a baby with them? If you're a brother figure, that's, that's crazy. It's another one of those things that we later figure out that I don't know what to believe when it comes out of Henry Steiger's mouth.

[Scott Weinberger]

Henry was calm and collected and seemed to have the answers for all of the detectives questions. But he was prone to the one thing that is like catnip to a veteran oversharing.

[Chad Wilhite]

We directly ask him, did you kill her? And he obviously tells us no. But he makes a couple of statements that we find very, I don't want to say troubling but something that we want to follow up on. In one of them he says she could come back any day. She could be in some type of rehab center or she could be indisposed of it's pretty telling. He responded, she is either not coming back because something happened or occurred against her will. We're like holy cow. After those two statements. I believe Henry harmed her and now we just got to figure out how he harmed her and where she may be.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And again, Scott, that term you always use like brf, big red flag. If concerned, why not call the police or at least notify her family that he was worried that she wasn't planning to come back. Like something definitely does make you sit up from the second you hear it.

[Scott Weinberger]

You know when you ask a question like that, normally the answer would be giving reasons why she would not be dead. Right. Maybe she's with a friend who doesn't want to talk to me. Or maybe she's incapacitated, lying in a hospital bed, something other anecdote then giving an indication that she may no longer be alive.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And again during this conversation. It is now the end of June 2018 and at this point, Cassandra's been missing for nearly five months. Detectives have strong suspicions that her partner Henry knows much more than he's telling them. But they also still can't discount the idea that she had been planning on leaving Henry and maybe leaving their one year old daughter at home.

[Scott Weinberger]

And that is partly due to one specific text message sent from Cassandra to Henry on the day she disappeared. A text message telling him their relationship was over.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

There was also Internet searches made on Cassandra's phone that indicated she was looking into ways that she could add Henry's name to her daughter's birth certificate to make him financially responsible to care for their child. She was even searching for local hotels and had sent messages asking a friend to send her $300 via PayPal. In short, she was making plans, maybe plans that she was stopped from carrying out.

[Scott Weinberger]

But his story about a planned vacation, one from which she never returned, just seemed too implausible, Especially for the mother of a child that was still nursing. And so with nothing More than a hunch that he was hiding something, Chad took a much deeper look into his suspect's life story in a search of hints that everything was not as it seemed.

[Chad Wilhite]

And what we find out is he is involved in a coffee bean roasting business. And the two people he's involved in this business with is a lady by the name of Nadina and a guy by the name of Julian Mazor. Henry refers to Julian as his right hand man. Kind of does everything for him. His driver, his business associate, his basically this Dubois. Probably be a better way to describe Julian.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Chad hoped that these two colleagues could help piece together a part of the story, or at least help corroborate Henry's version of events. Chad started with Henry's female colleague.

[Chad Wilhite]

We explained to her why we're there and what we're working, she states during that interview. It was on around the February 1st or 2nd, she receives a text message from Henry saying, hey, I have a surprise for you. He's like, okay. So she goes over and picks him up and lo and behold, Henry's holding this child.

[Scott Weinberger]

Incredibly, Henry had never revealed to his close colleague Nadine that he even had a child. And apparently for a good reason.

[Chad Wilhite]

The whole child caught her off guard because according to Nadina, she believed that her and Henry were in a relationship since about 2013. So about five years.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So Henry had revealed to this partner of five years that he was not only having a relationship with another woman, but that he was the father of her child.

[Chad Wilhite]

Henry tells her that you know about Cassandra, just briefly about her, but during that conversation, according to Nadina, he says Cassandra is only used for her breast milk.

[Scott Weinberger]

And keep in mind this big reveal happened just a day or so after Cassandra had supposedly left him. And immediately Henry was disclosing with some pride, it seems his daughter to his other girlfriend was that because he already knew Cassandra was never coming back.

[Mint Mobile Representative]

Nadina couldn't offer any insight into what.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Else may have happened on February 1st. She hadn't known Cassandra even existed, so she couldn't provide any information about her possible whereabouts. But Chad hoped that Henry's other business partner, a man named Julian, might have had more information to share.

[Chad Wilhite]

Julian confirmed that, yeah, he is a business associate with Steiger and they were involved in this coffee bean business. He described his involvement as the driver. He would drive Henry around town wherever he needed to go, and basically he was at his beck and call. If Henry needed something, he would take care of it.

[Scott Weinberger]

So I don't know many hot air balloonists with a coffee Business side hustle that require a chauffeur. But nevertheless, this Julian would prove to be a source of some critical information, because on February 1, just before baby Evelyn's birthday party, Julian remembered running Henry around town.

[Chad Wilhite]

For some reason, it stuck out in Julian's mind that he, on that particular day of the morning of, he drove to multiple DMV locations with Henry that were both in Escamia county, which is the county that Pensacola is in, and Santa Rosa county, which is the next county over, and also to several different Wells Fargo banks.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And why was this important? Because supposedly Henry wasn't allowed to open bank accounts due to his federal probation and financial misdemeanors. So Julian had opened some for him. And he'd acquired property on Henry's behalf too.

[Chad Wilhite]

He said he had had two vehicles put in his name. We learned about a storage unit at the Noah's Ark storage, which is like literally two blocks from the police department.

[Scott Weinberger]

So Henry and Julian were up to no good hiding assets from the authorities and opening bank accounts behind the back of the feds. In fact, those multiple trips to Wells Fargo banks were an effort to deposit a large amount of cash without having to declare where the money came from.

[Chad Wilhite]

Henry had given him $40,000 in cash to deposit in the bank. And Henry had told him, you can't put more than $9,999 in $0.99 account at one time. And I asked him, well, didn't Henry tell you why you can't do that? He told him about the banking reporting regulations, which $10,000 or more they have to fill out a SARS report. So Henry explained that to him, and he needed to do multiple deposits at the various banks branches of the Wells Fargo.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

During their search for Cassandra, detectives had now stumbled on evidence of a money laundering scheme. But in addition to painting a clearer picture of Henry Steiger and his criminal background, it also gave them good reason to obtain a search warrant for his proper. Whether that search would also reveal clues about Cassandra's fate was still unknown.

[Scott Weinberger]

So ianasinga, you know, as investigators always look to best ways to utilize as many tools as they can in a tool belt to get information. And here they have a situation where they likely don't have enough to even think about a search warrant for a crime like murder. But they need to get into his home to determine if they can gain any information that connects to Cassandra's disappearance. And here was a pretty cool way to get in.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And it's all about Chad's background, which is obviously unrelated to a Missing persons or any potential murder investigation. And it just shows how all these things that you may not even realize, how they can really help connect dots and move investigations forward, how they can be utilized. Like, it's Chad's experience in white collar crime that really now started to help move things quickly.

[Chad Wilhite]

So the. The good thing with being in, when I was in fraud is I made a lot of connections at these banks. I mean, I can call our prosecutor and be like, hey, man, I need a subpoena for bank records from, you know, Wells Fargo. And literally it'll be in my email in like a couple of minutes. And I'm talking to the people at Wells Fargo. I'm like, look, all I need is this right now. I need something official from y' all, showing these deposits, and they do us a solid and get us what we need.

[Scott Weinberger]

So using all of that, on June 29, Pensacola Police Department returned to Henry's home, this time with that search warrant. And as we mentioned, while the search warrant was written for a financial crime, these are also homicide detectives with experience in working crime scenes. So while they're in there, they're also going to keep a close eye to see if anything could be tied to Cassandra's disappearance.

[Chad Wilhite]

During the search warrant, we find just a lot of money wrapped up in like three by five cards. A lot of that money just in weird places.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So a thorough search warrant execution often takes a really long time. I mean, it can take on the quick end, many hours. Working methodically around the room, looking inside everything. And one officer, while doing that, was searching the garage, made a huge find.

[Chad Wilhite]

Comes across a orange colored toolbox. And when he opens it up, there's approximately $100,000 in cash wrapped up in the bank wrappers.

[Scott Weinberger]

But the search went beyond Henry's home. That storage unit that Julian had mentioned, it included that too.

[Chad Wilhite]

We found some airline receipts. Nothing to assist in the money laundering case, but what we did see was the matching purple suitcase that Cassandra supposedly left with was in that storage unit. And in that purple suitcase was ladies clothing, shoes, brush, and various other items.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

A packed suitcase, filled items with belonging to Cassandra. Evidence that maybe she was planning a trip, but that she never reached her destination.

[Scott Weinberger]

Chad's experience told him that five months after the last sighting, the chances of finding Cassandra alive were growing dim. But if she had been harmed or worse, he was determined to find out how and why, and ultimately, who was responsible.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

As for Henry Stone, he was not exactly doing the kinds of things typical, at least for an innocent man.

[Chad Wilhite]

On July 2, we get a call from the sheriff's department out of all people that there is a guy named Henry Steiger at a dollar general about 20 minutes from the police department with a child. And he was out there buying like a disposable phone and some gift cards like Visa gift cards.

[Scott Weinberger]

Henry Steiger appears to be preparing to make a quick exit, purchasing a disposable phone and some untraceable phone numbers. Chad and his team had raced to his home where they had met him with an arrest warrant.

[Chad Wilhite]

That's when he again first learns the terms murder and homicide in this search warrant. I just got a dumb look on his face.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The detectives hunch about Steiger skipping town were right. At his residence they found packed suitcases by the front door.

[Chad Wilhite]

We got there just in time that we believe we did when we took him into custody. Searching him, we find two like prepaid cell phones, a bunch of keys and some cash.

[Scott Weinberger]

Whether he would escape the mounting evidence that he had something to do with Cassandra's disappearance was still a looming question.

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

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[Scott Weinberger]

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[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

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[Scott Weinberger]

Henry Steiger was now in custody on white collar charges. His daughter was taken in by the authorities until detectives could determine if he was responsible for Cassandra's disappearance and possible homicide.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

In the meantime, another detective had begun building a picture of all the other known associates of Henry Steiger that he may have contacted to help him make his escape from Pensacola. And what they found was that Henry enjoyed a hobby of beekeeping. And he had a friend in the beekeeping world named William Shelby Johnson, balloonist, beekeeper, and fraudster.

[Scott Weinberger]

As a suspect, Henry Steiger looked pretty unique. And in order to keep building the most complete picture they could, Chad invited this William Johnson in for an interview.

[Chad Wilhite]

So he comes down on July temp and explains to us that he's actually doing construction work for Steiger at a business in downtown Pensacola that Steiger has the plans to convert into a coffee shop, which we didn't think was too strange because it, you know, he's in this coffee business.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The interview didn't last long, with the friend offering up little help. But shortly after being escorted out of the building, Henry's buddy made a quick beeline back to the station.

[Chad Wilhite]

By the time Detective Alerson and I get back up to our offices, the officer who's working the front desk calls us and says, hey, Shelby said there's something he forgot to tell y' all and want y' all to come down. I'm like, oh, okay. So we go down there, and he says, hey, I forgot to tell y' all that back in the middle of June, Henry was getting grief from his HOA about a trailer he had parked in his driveway. And I told him he could park his trailer out on my empty land lot thing and that he could leave it there for a while.

[Scott Weinberger]

A trailer owned by Henry Steiger parked on Shelby's land. A trailer the detectives hadn't known existed.

[Chad Wilhite]

We drive out there, and this trailer is tucked back in, like, a wooded area and is surrounded by all the honeybees that he is using to produce the honey. Detective Hourson. She gets out of the vehicle that I'm driving, walks over to the trailer. Me, I don't like pain. I refuse to get out because I don't want to get stung by these bees. I hear Detective Alverson start yelling to get my attention. So I walk over There. And there's a vent near the front of the trailer. She's like, smell that. Tell me what you smell. And it's literally about throw up, right then. It is obviously the smell of decomposition going on.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

It is a smell all too familiar for those in the field. That can signal the arrival of a critical turn in an investigation, often with the most tragic results.

[Chad Wilhite]

When we open the back of the trailer, the first thing we see is the hot air balloon basket that the people stand in. If you they're on a hot air balloon. Then when we remove the basket, which was several hundred pounds, those things are heavy. We see two green barrels that have a large metal locking device at the top of each one. The first one we open is. There's nothing in it. It's like pristine, crystal clean. The second one, once we remove the screw, we find Cassandra inside that barrel.

[Scott Weinberger]

More than five months since Cassandra Robinson was last seen alive, her remains have been discovered in a trailer owned by her partner, Henry Steiger.

[Chad Wilhite]

It appears that she was stuffed in the barrel feet first. She's wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans, and it's got a bag over her head. And the barrel has a couple inches of bodily fluid in it. It's 100% a homicide. Now, during the search, we just find a bunch of stuff that belongs to Cassandra. A wallet, her id, Florida Medicare card, gift cards. We find the other missing suitcase.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The forensic pathologist would later determine that the cause of death was homicidal violence of undetermined means. In short, she had been murdered. And her body was stored in a place where someone hoped she'd never be found.

[Scott Weinberger]

The person suspected of doing both, the man they already had in custody and the father of her child, Henry Steiger. Detectives wasted no time in sitting down to do an interview. One which starts with a litany of complaints about how the cops had treated him. This is audio from that police interview.

[I]

I lost my business. I lost the coffee fund that I draw from tomorrow to drive. That business I lost. I guess you have my car now, too. My child is separated from me, which is the worst thing, and I can't pay the rent, so I'm losing the house.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Detectives began their questioning by asking Steiger again about his relationship with Cassandra, keeping the discovery of her body a secret, at least for the time being.

[I]

She wanted our relationship to be more than it was, and she was dissatisfied with our relationship in that I could not give her honestly what she wanted. She wanted more of a peer to peer, romantic partnership kind of relationship. We have been that to some degree, off and on throughout the time. But mostly it became me babysitting her and becoming a caretaker for her and helping her.

[Scott Weinberger]

But Henry denied that relationship was ever abusive or violent, telling detectives that their unusual arrangement was actually no different than many other couples.

[I]

If you were to take all of the negative text messages between she and I and build a case against me, you could make me look like a bad guy.

[J]

Right.

[I]

This was a regular relationship with a normal amount of frustrating texts and a normal amount of compassionate texts.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Sure.

[I]

And normal amount.

[J]

Right, right.

[I]

But this was a typical cross section of a typical relationship.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

But after allowing Steiger to go on about his, quote, normal relationship with Cassandra, they changed gears and asked Steiger about his friend William the beekeeper and the trailer in his yard.

[Scott Weinberger]

And with the mention of that trailer, I imagine he expected these questions. We're gonna sting.

[J]

We talked to Shelby for a while, and he explained, you know, he was doing the project down there, but he had originally met you, I think, through making honey. Is that correct? How long have you known him?

[I]

A few years. Through honey?

[J]

Through making honey.

[I]

I've been doing honey for a few years. Yeah.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cool.

[J]

We talked a little bit about it, but not too much. He didn't have. He was busy. He didn't have a lot of time to talk about it. I asked him about different things, and he said that you had a trailer on his property that had the balloon stuff in it. How long has it been parked there?

[I]

I don't know. He would know.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Henry didn't show it, but he had to have been thinking that with the mention of the trailer, his lies had finally caught up with him, because all of a sudden, Steiger seemed much less chatty.

[J]

Chad and I went over to have a look at it because, you know, we're interested in everything because we're looking for Cassandras. And I detected an odor, an odor that I recognize very well from doing this job, and it's the odor of decomposition of a human body.

[Scott Weinberger]

The interview had taken a noticeable turn. Steiger knew the police were onto him, and the detectives were urging, urging him to admit what he had done.

[J]

Something happened. Something happened. I don't think it was a planned thing. I don't know what happened, but I know in my heart I don't think it was a planned and on purpose thing, because you love little Evelyn, and I don't think you would do anything to harm Evelyn or Anne.

[I]

Of course not.

[J]

Something happened, and I need to know from you what happened. I don't. I don't want my mind to be spending and everybody else's mind to be spending. I just need to know what happened, and I need to know it from you.

[I]

Well, it is a story that I don't think anyone would believe, and that's my problem.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The story he concocted next was not only hard to believe, it also began to reveal the true depths of Steiger's duplicity and depravity.

[I]

I'm at peace with what occurred. I understand it. I'm not happy about it, but I understand it. I don't think I can get anyone else to understand it. So I haven't. I haven't explained it to anyone. I haven't shared it with anyone.

[J]

How Cassandra wound up in this barrel, sealed in your balloon tray, parked in Shelby's property. I'm trying to figure that out, how in the world that could happen. But you're not leaving me any other choice but to leave. To believe this is a bad thing and a monster did that, and I don't want to believe that. That's why it's giving you the opportunity to tell me why.

[I]

Well, you think I need the opportunity to explain to you? With a professional assistance.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

According to Steiger, he had arrived home to find Cassandra in the bathroom, having taken her own life, supposedly by using a ligature around her neck. Steiger claimed that then, in a panic, he had set about concealing Cassandra's death and her body.

[Scott Weinberger]

Given the state of decomposition to the body, an exact cause of death had been difficult to determine. So detectives knew that Steiger's version of her death might be hard to disprove. But there was one person detectives thought could help. Henry Schoeffer and his right hand man, Julian Massor.

[Chad Wilhite]

We arrest Julian on the money laundering, conspiracy and destructuring the deposits. He spends the night in jail, and he comes down on the 26th. His interview's long.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Massour first revealed the source of those large amounts of cash. It turned out that he and Steiger's coffee business was nothing more than a front for a cocaine smuggling scheme. As for Cassandra's death, he had information about that, too.

[Chad Wilhite]

Then he tells us about a conversation that him and Henry have on the night of the first, where he goes into all this philosophical talking mess that he likes to use to just use in plain English. And during that, he says, Henry tells him that he basically grabs her by the throat, chokes her out. The baby, she's holding baby at the time. The baby slides down, hits the ground, and then he has to put her in one of those black totes. And that's how he gets the body moved out of the house that night.

[Scott Weinberger]

Steiger strangled Cassandra while their one year old child was still in her arms. An act of cruelty hard to fathom. He and Massor then set about covering his his tracks, hiding the body and disposing of her electronics, clothes and personal items. All in an attempt to stage what he had once called an extended vacation.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Steiger was then soon arrested for the murder of Cassandra Robinson. And a year after the investigation first began, the trial started and a jury was asked if they would believe the prosecutor's evidence that Henry had murdered Cassandra on the day of their daughter's birthday. Or Henry's version that Cassandra had suffered from depression and had taken her on life.

[Scott Weinberger]

After four days of testimony, Henry Steiger was found guilty of second degree murder and was sentenced to 18 months for the financial crimes and also being an accessory to the murder after the fact.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

For Chad, it's a case he'll never forget.

[Mint Mobile Representative]

Not the least of which because of that little girl, Cassandra's one year old.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Child, the girl who ultimately lost her mother and father on her first birthday.

[Chad Wilhite]

I've gotten a pretty good relationship with Evelyn and her adoptive parents. So every year at Christmas, police department sponsors a, like a Christmas party for kids in our area we've come in contact with whose parents are like victims of crimes. And Evelyn is the only child that gets invited back every year. So I get to see Evelyn every year, which is kind of cool. Get invited to a birthday party. So I'm going to her birthday party once or twice. Just a bunch of good folks her family is, and I'm trying not to cry. All she knows is that the family member she's with now is her mom. They haven't told her the story. She'll obviously maybe find out one day, maybe not. But she is thriving.

[Scott Weinberger]

When it comes to cases like this. Recognizing coercive control isn't just about spotting red flags behind closed doors. It's about understanding how deeply that need for dominance can embed itself into every interaction. For someone like Henry Steiger, that control didn't stop when Cassandra was gone. It followed him into the interrogation room. He sat across from detectives, trying to steer the narrative, manipulate the moment, and walk out untouched, just like he had done in his relationship. But here's what also stood out to me. His tactics may have worked in private, but they didn't hold up under the real weight of an investigation. This case is a reminder that coercive control doesn't end with an act of violence. It continues until someone draws the line and exposes the truth. And in this case, that line was drawn by the investigators who refuse to let the lies stand in the way of justice for Cassandra.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Murder here, one life lost and another forever altered. Cassandra was killed and her one year old child deprived of her biological mom. Every loving parent wants their child to be loved and to thrive. So I think we should end where Cassandra would likely have wanted us to on her daughter. Daughter Cassandra loved her little girl and to hear that she's being cared for, loved and thriving, that is everything every parent, especially in their absence, would want. Cassandra, your love for your daughter will forever be part of who she is. And let's all hope that she will forever continue to thrive. Tune in next week for another new episode of Anatomy of Murder.

[Scott Weinberger]

Anatomy of Murder is an audio Chuck.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Original, produced and created by Weinberger Media and Frasetti Media.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ashley Flowers is Executive producer.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

This episode was written and produced by Daryl Brown, researched by Kate Cooper, edited by Ali Sirwa and Phil Jean Grande. So what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?

[Oregon Lottery Representative]

In the summer, all of Oregon is our playground thanks to our incredible park system. That's why it's so cool that Oregon Lottery gameplay like video lottery or cash Pop helps support tons of parks projects statewide like accessible trails at Silver Falls State park or upgrades to your favorite dog park and Newburgh. It's just one way a little lottery play for many Oregonians can add up to a lot of good the Oregon Lottery. Together we do good things. Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only. Must be 18 or older to play.