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- [00:07]
Spanish-speaking Advertiser
This is Crime House.
- [00:09]
Narrator/Voice Actor
Tonight, a manhunt is underway for a murder suspect out of Washington state. In Longview, police are searching tonight for an armed and dangerous man. They say he stabbed two people.
- [00:19]
Witness/Interviewee
The image that I saw this morning stuck with me. He had a very unusual face.
- [00:24]
Katie Ring
The brutal murder of Don Peters sent chills through a sleepy river town in Washington, turning a place where people went to bed early into a place where no one could get any sleep. The brutal murder of Dawn Peters sent chills through a sleepy river town in Washington, turning a place where people went to bed early into a place where no one could get any sleep. Hi, I'm Katie Ring, a true crime analyst, self defense instructor and fierce advocate for victims. And this is Crime House Daily, your essential true crime companion. Every weekday, morning and night here at Crime House Daily, we will be taking an investigative approach to true crime. We stay on the cases and trials making headlines now. We where justice is still in motion, arrests are still being made, and where new evidence is still coming to light. Every morning, we will make sure you're up to speed on today's biggest crimes with our first watch episodes. And every night we go deeper with our night watch episodes. If you want to follow a case from the first 911 call to the final verdict, you're in the right place. Make sure to follow Crime House Daily wherever you get your podcasts, leave a review, hit five stars. And for ad free listening, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. For video content, head to our YouTube channel, RimehouseDaily. This episode discusses active criminal cases and breaking news. The information we share is based on what's publicly available at the time of recording and may change as new evidence comes to light. We aim to inform, not to decide guilt or innocence. Everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Today we're covering two major cases in the news. The first case takes us to Washington, where a man is awaiting trial for the death of a senior. The second case is the sentencing of Catherine Restelli for the murder of her husband Matt, a plot she carried out with her mother and brother.
- [02:53]
Kristen Bell
Hi, I'm Kristen Bell, and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.
- [02:59]
Katie Ring
We're really doing this, huh?
- [03:01]
Kristen Bell
Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.
- [03:12]
Katie Ring
Bye bye, Truckee.
- [03:13]
Kristen Bell
Of course, we kept the favorite. Hello Other Truckee sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.
- [03:23]
Katie Ring
Before we get into our main stories, we want to share a couple cases we've been keeping an eye on a 57 year old man, Guillermo Cascante is being held without bail as we speak in San Bernardino county after posing as an animal control officer to help an 11 year old girl find her lost dog. The man picked her up off of the street in an ambulance style van and pull a gun on her before sexually assaulting her. Luckily, she was able to escape and ran home when the van stopped. But as detectives dive deeper, they believe she could be one of many victims. So the Crime House Daily team will be keeping this case on our radar. We're also watching the trial of 17 year old Sarah Grace Patrick, the Georgia teen who's accused of killing her parents. She piqued the interest of investigators and the public after posting a series of tik toks that people started to find suspicious. We've got a full night watch episode on this case coming up next week, so stay tuned. A sudden brutal murder. The killer is on the loose and police are desperate to find him. Just a few weeks ago the suspect was caught. But will he face justice? Let's talk about it. On August 5, 2025, 64 year old Dawn Peters was was at home with her family in Longview, Washington. Although she's an older woman, dawn is actually the youngest person in her household. She lives with her husband, her father and her brother in law along with a caretaker. Dawn hasn't had an easy life. She beat breast cancer not once but twice. And yet she never let it get to her. According to her family, she's quote, the kindest woman you could ever meet. And now she's enjoying the peace and quiet in Longview. The sleepy Rivertown is nestled in southwestern Washington state, known for its moss draped maple trees, beautiful nature trails and friendly neighbors. And it's become a popular spot to retire. The kind of place you'd rarely expect trouble to show up, let alone at your doorstep. But tragically for Don Peters, it did. Around 12pm on August 5, Dawn's at home with her family when all of the sudden an intruder barges in. Within seconds, Dawn's quiet afternoon turns into a violent struggle. Before she can even register what's happening, the attacker lunges, stabbing her multiple times. Unfortunately, dawn succumbs to her injuries and but her killer is still on the prowl. He makes his way to someone else in the room. Dawn's brother in law, Andrew. Like Don, there's Not much Andrew can do to defend himself. He's 73 years old and the attacker is much stronger than him. Andrew is stabbed and his throat is slashed. But despite his injuries, he makes a last ditch effort and and does something that saves everyone in the house. There's a panic button nearby, probably for alerting first responders in case of medical emergency. But this time, Andrew uses it to stop a killer. He manages to hit the button and once the alarm goes off, the suspect takes off. When first responders arrive a few minutes later, the scene is something out of a horror movie. Don is dead and Andrew is on the floor covered in blood. But somehow, despite having his throat slashed, he is still alive. Emergency responders rush to Andrew's side and he's airlifted to the hospital. And against all odds, the 73 year old survives. Not only does he survive, Andrew also got a good look at his attacker. And he knows the man who did it. Andrew identifies him as 51 year old Alexander Lee Rogers. The Peters family knows him through what's described as an old family connection. They'd hire him to do handyman work over the past few months and during that time he'd earn the Peters trust, gotten a layout of the house, and most importantly, felt comfortable enough to walk right in. But the most chilling part to all of this, Longview police recognize him too. They came face to face with Alexander just two hours before the attack, around 10am on August 5. He was recorded on police body cam footage speaking speaking with an officer in a parking lot. Nothing about the interaction was criminal though. He was just having issues with his vehicle registration. So the officers sent him on his way with no idea of the horrors that would follow just two hours later. But the interaction does give them a valuable piece of information. Alexander's car is unique. It's a partially spray painted black BMW. Evidence is falling into place very quickly, but there's still a huge question lingering over the investigation. Why? Well, when the authorities look up Alexander Lee Rogers, they realize he's done something like this before. Back in 2002, he was charged with attempted murder for attacking two people in their home with a machete. He was ultimately found guilty of first degree assault and sent to prison for his crime. He was released in late 2024, just 10 months before he attacked Don and Andrew. You think someone might learn their lesson after 22 years? But he clearly hadn't changed. And police were left guessing, what will he do next? It's up to Longview Police department to deliver a ticket. Terrifying psa, an armed and Dangerous man is on the run. Little do they know, he's already left the state. Six terrifying days pass with no sign of Alexander. But on Aug. 11, a new lead finally emerged and it's far away from Longview in Los Angeles. County deputies there announced they got a hit and Alexander's black BMW was found abandoned in a parking lot in Calabasas, California. That means he crossed not one, but two state lines over Washington and Oregon and drove over a thousand miles to Southern California. That's about 16 hours in the car. His car had been located, but Alexander himself is still not nowhere to be found, which means he could be anywhere. This time, though, he didn't get far. Just a day later, on August 12, around 12:45pm A security guard named Luis Martinez is patrolling a temple in the downtown Los Angeles area near Lafayette park, when suddenly, Luis passes a man whose face he recognizes. He. He was about 6 foot 2, with a pronounced brow line, sharp jaw, and most notably, a menacing stare that leaves you deeply unsettled. Luis had seen that face before on the news. He saw the reports on Alexander Lee Rogers. And now the suspected killer is standing right in front of him. Later, Louise spoke with CBS News Los Angeles about the encounter. And here's what he said.
- [11:23]
Witness/Interviewee
He had a very unusual face and that's what I guess triggered my reaction to point him out. We actually made eye contact and when he passed by me, he bit his lip, which is something that people don't do unless you're nervous. And then his step increased so he walked faster. His characteristics and paleness. He was not a. A SoCal guy.
- [11:48]
Katie Ring
Thankfully, Luis doesn't panic and calls 91 1. The police rush to the scene and within minutes, the man responsible for viciously stabbing Dawn Peters and slashing the throat of her brother in law, Andrew Peters is officially captured. After nearly a week on the run, the manhunt was finally over. You would think that a man capable of committing such a gruesome crime would have a violent standoff when police arrived. But no, Alexander Rogers didn't put up a fight and was quietly arrested in downtown Los Angeles. And everything continued on in the city just as normal. But for the Peters family, life had changed forever. And now they're waiting to see if Dawn's killer will be brought to justice. This case is still developing and many details are still coming to light. And things are changing all the time. But we'll keep you posted with any and all updates as things progress. While headlines will continue to stay on Alexander Rogers as he awaits trial, it's Dawn Peters, who should never be forgotten. A woman whose life was stolen in a senseless act and who always put others needs before her own. And in the words of her niece Carly, she truly deserves to be honored.
- [13:15]
Lemonade Pet Insurance Advertiser
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- [13:47]
Katie Ring
And now a message from McAfee I'm.
- [13:49]
Narrator/Voice Actor
Not a real kid and I'm not a real grandpa. We're deep fakes and we're making it harder to tell what's real online.
- [13:58]
Katie Ring
The good news? McAfee can help. McAfee's Scam Detector automatically identifies text and email scams and even deepfakes.
- [14:05]
Narrator/Voice Actor
So if you whippersnappers meet one of.
- [14:08]
Katie Ring
Us, you'll know if they're faking it. They're not making it past us. Get award winning scam detection today. McAfee.com Keep it real. For our second story, Catherine Rastelli is taking a plea deal for the murder of her husband, Matthew Rastelli. But how did this story unravel? We're going to jump right into it. By the summer of 2024, 37 year old Catherine and 42 year old Matthew, who went by Matt, had been married for about seven and a half years. It seems like they'd built a nice life together. The Rosellis lived in Temecula, California, on a seven acre plot of desert wilderness gifted to them by Matt's mom, Diane. It was a beautiful place to raise their kids, who were 3 and 6 years old. But for the past few years their marriage had been on the rocks. When the pandemic struck in 2020, Matt, who was the handyman, lost out on a lot of work. It put a lot of financial stress on their family and Catherine and Matt's relationship suffered as a result. Even when the pandemic ended, things never went back to normal. It got to the point where Catherine was constantly ranting to her friends and family about Matt and they eventually became completely estranged. And on June 20, 2024, Catherine decides she has had enough and without telling Matt, she takes the kids and goes to stay with her mom, 59 year old Tracy Grist, in American Fork, Utah. Katherine is super close with her mom. They text each other all the time and Tracy is very protective of her daughter. Safe to say she is not a fan of Matt. And Tracy is fully on board with Catherine's decision to leave him. Matt's not ready to give up on his family though. He misses his kids and he really doesn't like the idea of them being with a woman who hates him. And he wants to work it out with Catherine and if not for them, for the sake of their kids. Matt encourages Katherine to come home, to start over, to get things back on track. And it seems like maybe she's regretting her decision because she tells Matt that she's ready to give things another shot. So Matt rents a car to drive from Utah back to California. But apparently there's a problem. Katherine says the rental company won't let her take the car because her debit card isn't registered in Utah. A bit weird. And when Matt asks if Tracy can help, Katherine says her mom doesn't have any money on her debit card so she can't pay for it. Double weird. Matt doesn't let that stop him though. If Katherine and the kids can't come to him, he'll go to them. He decides to take his truck and makes the 670 mile drive to Utah. But he's happy to do it, especially if it means getting his family back. And on June 12, 2024, three weeks after Katherine took their kids to American Fork, Matt hits the road. Throughout the trip, he and Catherine text each other about what's going to happen. When Matt gets to her mom's house, Matt tells her he doesn't even want to go inside. Remember, Matt and Tracy really don't like each other. So he wants to wait outside while Catherine gets their two kids and they all pile into the car. But Katherine insists that her mom will be cordial. Tracy says she'll be, quote, sweet as sugar to Matt. And Katherine even says that she'll let Matt stay the night if he's too tired from the drive. Katherine also texts Matt some very specific instructions for his arrival. When he gets there, she doesn't want him to knock or ring the doorbell. The door will be unlocked and he should just go right on in. Then she says, I love you. He texts it back. Matt drives through the rest of the day and gets to Tracy's house in Utah at 10:06pm on July 12, 2024. He does exactly what Catherine tells him to do. He parks and walks right through the door. But when he gets inside, he sees Tracy sitting at the kitchen counter. Catherine's 33 year old brother Kevin Ellis is in the living room. Matt says hi to them both and asks if Catherine is upstairs. Tracy says she is, but Matt doesn't see her come down. Because before he can be reunited with his wife and children, Matt's life is taken from him.
- [18:49]
Spanish-speaking Advertiser
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- [19:19]
Sydney Sweeney
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- [19:45]
Katie Ring
Cities Tweeney Hasbrouck.
- [19:48]
Sydney Sweeney
You see what I did there, right?
- [19:50]
Katie Ring
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- [19:53]
Narrator/Voice Actor
Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds of hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [20:07]
Katie Ring
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [20:10]
Narrator/Voice Actor
Cut the camera. They see us.
- [20:11]
Katie Ring
Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com.
- [20:14]
Narrator/Voice Actor
Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings.
- [20:17]
Spanish-speaking Advertiser
Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.
- [20:21]
Katie Ring
On July 12, 2024, Matthew Restelli walked into his mother in law's house in American Fork, Utah. He thought he was there to pick up his wife Catherine and their kids, then take them back to California. But Catherine and her family had other ideas. That night, Matt is shot in cold blood between six to eight times. The man who shoots him is none other than Catherine's younger brother Kevin Ellis. And he uses their mother's gun to do it. At 10:15pm Tracy dials 911 and tells them that her son shot someone in her house. She's surprised to learn that they had already sent someone because her neighbor had heard the gunshots eight minutes earlier and had called the police. When officers arrive at the scene, they see Matt lying near the entryway stairs. A gun is on the kitchen counter and there are eight bullet casings on the floor. And by 10:22pm, Matt is pronounced dead. When the police question Tracy, Kevin and Catherine, they claim that Matt attacked them. He barged in and came at them with a knife. So Kevin shot him in self defense. But their story doesn't exactly match up with the evidence. There are no signs of forced entry. No one in the home has any defensive wounds. And although Matt does have a knife in his right hand, there's something off about it. He's holding it backwards. All three are taken in for more questioning and the Restelli's kids are taken away by Child Protective Services. The police seize Catherine's phone and start to piece together what really happened. They realize that Matt had not broken into Tracy's house and Catherine was actually the one who did. Told him to come to Utah. She gave him the gate code and she told him to walk through the unlocked door. Nothing about his arrival was a surprise. And it turns out Matt was left handed, but the knife was in his right hand. If he'd attacked Catherine's family, he definitely would have used his dominant hand to do it. So police dig deeper and look way back into Catherine's text history. They end up finding a lot of suspicious exchanges with her mom. At least six months before Matt's death, Catherine and Tracy were texting a lot about him. And at one point, Tracy even threatened to drive out to California to strangle him. So there's definitely a motive. But the police wonder if Catherine was the instigator or if she was just stuck in the middle of it. They find out that a few days before Matt's death, Catherine went on a date. And on July 11, 2024, one day before Matt was killed, Catherine went to see a divorce lawyer. It seemed like Catherine was trying to move on, so her mom started putting together a plan and Catherine's brother Kevin was willing to help. When Tracy encouraged Catherine to stay with her in Utah, Kevin was in Idaho. But he told Catherine over text that if she successfully convinced Matt to drive to Utah from California, Kevin would drive to Utah to meet him there. To prove he was serious, Kevin then sent Catherine a screenshot of Matt's location. It turns out that Catherine put an Apple airtag in Matt's truck when she left. That means from June 20 to July 12, her entire family knew exactly where where he was and was actively tracking him. It's not entirely clear who orchestrated the whole thing, but even if Catherine wasn't the mastermind, she didn't seem to be too upset about her husband's death. On July 13, the day after Matt died, Catherine FaceTimed a friend. Before her phone was confiscated, she told her friend Matt was dead. And when the friend asked how she was doing, Catherine said, quote, it's okay. I'm happy. Catherine also apparently showed her friend the exact spot where Matt died. A few days later, Catherine told Tracy that her friend was interested in true crime. And in response, Tracy said, quote, if I would have known, I would have taken a picture of the body. It seems like Tracy is being insensitive about Matt's death. That seemed to solidify it for investigators. A few days after Matt's death, they arrest Kevin and charge him with first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and obstruction of justice, Two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, possession of a gun as a restricted person, and a misdemeanor drug possession for traces of cocaine they found while searching Tracy's house. Kevin has a criminal past, which shows that between 20077 and 2014, he had prior charges and convictions for Battery and several DUIs in California. Three months later, on October 29, 2024, Catherine and Tracy were also arrested. They're both charged with one count of second degree murder, one count of second degree conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of discharging a firearm, along with two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child and obstruction of justice. Tracy decides to fight the charges. But on July 16th of this year, Catherine agrees to make a deal. In exchange for pleading guilty to the charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and discharging a firearm, the prosecution will dismiss the domestic violence and obstruction of justice charges, and she's also cooperating with the investigation. Catherine says her mom removed the fabric screen door to her house so Matt could open the door easily. She also removed her grandchildren's toys from the normal location in the front room and covered the living room couch to prevent blood stains. On July 11, 2024, right before Kevin shot Matt Tracy. Search when was Donna Adelson arrested? Donna is a woman charged with hiring a hitman to kill her son in law, which is the story we just covered on yesterday's first watch. Feel free to watch it back if you want more info on Donna because it seems that Tracy got a lot of her inspiration from her. Throughout June 2024, they also found other searches on Tracy's phone. Like how old were Dan Markell's kids when Dan was killed? As a reminder, Dan was the son in law Donna hired someone to kill. Another search was for Utah gun law registration. The next how to get my US Passport fast what to do Parental kidnapping and no custody order and more Kevin and Tracy are going to trial in January 2026, so make sure to tune into rimehouse24.7 on Instagram and TikTok for updates. Tonight, tune in to our continuation of our Karen Reid extended series on Night Watch. What do you think? Will Catherine Rustelli get life in prison for her husband's murder? We'll be tracking it in real time today, but in the meantime we make sure to drop your facts, theories or anything you have in the comments. I want to hear it all. Tell us what we should cover next at crimehouse24.7 on TikTok and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube rimehouse daily for ad free listening and more. Join Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts and until then, you stay curious and I'll stay on the case. We'll see you tonight.