UPDATE: Laura Sweetman

Summary

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Crime Junkie Podcast - "UPDATE: Laura Sweetman"

Host: Ashley Flowers (Audiochuck)
Date: April 18, 2026

Episode Overview

In this gripping special update, Ashley Flowers shares newly-released audio directly connected to the domestic violence investigation of Laura Sweetman—a haunting case that has perplexed listeners since its original airing. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, prompted by public interest and recent requests, provides the pivotal bodycam footage, Laura’s own chilling audio recording from the night in question, and Dave Sweetman’s interview with deputies. This episode immerses listeners in the unfiltered reality of a domestic situation that escalated with tragic finality later the same year, offering both answers and countless new questions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Structure of the Audio (00:00-01:55)

• Ashley Flowers begins with news that the Sheriff’s Office has just released requested records, including bodycam audio and Laura’s recording from the incident.
• The episode is divided into three parts:
  1. Bodycam audio of deputy's first response to Laura.
  2. Laura’s full (edited) recording of the altercation with Dave.
  3. The deputy’s arrest and questioning of Dave.

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2. Bodycam: Deputy’s Initial Response to Laura (01:55-09:00)

• Laura’s Account of Events:

  • Discovered Dave had another family; began readying for divorce (02:00).
  • Removed belongings while Dave was away, then returned to inform him she was leaving.
  • On attempting to leave, Dave allegedly grabbed her by the shirt and neck, forced her back into the house, and held her for over an hour (03:45).
  • Laura reports threats from Dave: "Neither of us was getting out of this alive. That he would kill me, he would kill himself. He did retract that. He would kill me and only kill himself." (03:55)
  • She had the foresight to record the entire encounter (06:38).
  • Laura says Dave has guns in the house and is “very angry and he doesn’t back down” (07:37).
  • She expresses fear for her own life, and for what could happen upon the deputy’s arrival.
  • Laura discusses Dave’s affair, the hidden child, and patterns of controlling, abusive behavior.

• Significance:
  Direct, emotional, and explicitly fearful, Laura’s words frame the subsequent audio and establish the depth of danger she perceived.

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3. Laura’s Full Recording of the Domestic Incident (09:35-79:44)

Note: Only select moments and exchanges are denoted in this summary due to length; content covers the core topics, tone, and escalation.

Themes and Dynamics

• Emotional Turmoil & Manipulation:

  • Dave oscillates between desperate pleas, confessions, and manipulative threats of self-harm ("You want me to shoot myself in the head right now?... If you want me to kill myself, just say so, and I'll do it now." 25:20–25:57).
  • Laura repeatedly states her need to leave for her safety and mental health: “I don't love you anymore, David. I can't. I'm your friend.” (17:33–17:35)
  • Dave alternates between promises to change and guilt-tripping Laura for “destroying the family.”

• Physical and Psychological Control:

  • Laura accuses Dave of physically restraining her: "You’re putting your hands on my neck and you’re dragging me in the house three times." (20:03–20:07)
  • Dave admits to withholding car keys and to not letting her leave at moments, though later minimizes these actions.

• Financial Conflicts:

  • Laura details severe financial strain: “I have nothing. I have this house, which is a noose around my neck... I have my children, and I have my job, and I just try to put my feet every day and lay in my bed.” (28:01–28:23)
  • Disputes arise over money given to Dave’s mistress and their shared debt.

• The Affair and Hidden Child:

  • Laura confronts Dave about his "other family," and the pain this duplicity and ongoing deceit have caused her.
  • Dave blames circumstances but also admits to an affair and the existence of another child (30:01–30:10).

• Patterns of Abuse & Classic Red Flags:

  • Gaslighting: Dave describes Laura’s attempts to leave as “destroying” the family despite her clear safety concerns.
  • Love-bombing, apologies, and promises to change abound, followed by veiled threats about custody and self-harm.
  • Minimization: "Mistakes have been made, but they were mistakes... I'm not perfect... I'm not leading a double life." (27:23–27:30)

• Children as Leverage:

  • Dave is obsessed with the custody of the children: "If it takes me doing something crazy, I'll do it. Because you know I'm capable of it." (78:45–78:54)
  • Laura tries to focus on children’s welfare, but Dave frames any separation as an unforgivable act.

• Notable Emotional Moments:

  • Laura describes her self-esteem plummeting, the weight of being gaslighted, and feeling "like the biggest fucking loser on the planet" (31:28–31:32).
  • Both make references to prior mental health crises (Laura’s heart attack; Dave’s drinking and depression).

Representative Quotes:

• Laura, making her need clear:

  • “Can you just let me go?” (11:49)
  • "I think you have the potential to be a great dad. You are a great dad. You need to be a dad to that kid. But you have never been a good husband." (46:26–46:33)

• Dave’s escalating threats and manipulation:

  • "If you want me to kill myself, just say so, and I'll do it now. And I'm not joking. I've got a gun upstairs. I'll kill myself. Will that make you happy?" (25:44–25:58)
  • "I am not gonna go for that one. A lot of things will happen before my kids will be taken from me, Laura." (78:32–78:54)

• Laura’s despair and resolve:

  • "For the first time in my life, I cannot live knowing that you have a kid with her. And then you... You take my... My stuff and you give it to her. It's a sickness, David. It's sick." (16:44–16:58)

Key Timestamps for Memorable Segments:

• Laura tries and pleads for help as Dave physically restrains her: (19:21–20:07)
• Laura’s statements about her inability to continue, referencing suicidal thoughts and despair: (15:18–15:25)
• Dave’s threats of self-harm and refusal to let Laura leave: (25:20–25:58; 78:45–78:54)
• Financial and infidelity confrontation: (28:00–32:01)

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4. Deputy’s Conversation with Dave Sweetman (Bodycam, After Arrest) (80:19–101:04)

• Dave’s Denials & Revisions:

  • Denies choking Laura or physically restraining her: “I didn't choke her. I didn't touch her." (81:05–81:07)
  • Minimizes threats but acknowledges saying things in emotional distress, including threats of self-harm, but not of violence against Laura ("I may have said something. It's completely possible. I don't think I did." 96:43–97:09).
  • Admits to taking Laura’s car keys to prevent her from leaving—says it was so they could "talk."

• Officer’s Cautious Approach:

  • Explains increased police presence due to Laura's report of threats and weapons.
  • "You’ve got to do your job. I’d rather be here with a bunch of cops and nothing happened than be here by myself." (83:15)
  • Deputy keeps the family court/criminal investigation distinctions clear; notes that allegations alone are not a conviction.

• Disclosure of Additional Context:

  • Dave confirms extra guns at home and office, discusses prior arrests (relating to a road rage incident).
  • Reflects on the impact of the evening, hints that he feels “set up” by Laura’s actions.

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5. Host’s Analysis & Open Questions (101:04–end)

• Ashley Flowers’ Takeaways:

  • The audio "answers so many questions and brings up a million more" (00:55).
  • Neither the police report nor speculation could capture the depth of Laura’s fear and the complexity of their relationship as heard in her own words.
  • Raises investigative leads:
    • What fire was Laura referencing in connection with Dave’s business? (Laura: “What about the fire?” 57:14)
    • Details about the alleged $400,000 tax debt and insurance money Dave expected.
    • The LLC Laura referenced, involving Dave’s mistress and possibly the children’s names.

• Ashley’s Call to the Crime Junkie Community:

  • Solicits information/tips about the fire, the tax/insurance issues, and LLC connections for further investigation.
  • "Just because the episode ends does not mean our reporting stops" (host, closing).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the impact of hearing Laura's last recorded words:

  • Host: "These are some of Laura’s last recorded words before she died later the same year that this was reported. So first, here is the deputy’s interaction with Laura. It has been edited for clarity." (00:55)

• On control and escalation:

  • Dave Sweetman: “If it takes me doing something crazy, I'll do it. Because you know I'm capable of it. And you know I love my children.” (78:45–78:54)

• On lived experience of abuse:

  • Laura Sweetman: “You can’t do this to me. I’m already self-destructing as a person because of all the problems… Fix yourself and come back the person you used to be.” (20:13–20:25)

• Host’s reflection on importance of the audio:

  • Host: “To hear it in her own words. It’s hard to overstate how important this was.” (101:04)

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Thematic Summary & Tone

• Raw and Intimate: The episode forgoes narration in favor of letting Laura and Dave’s direct words illustrate the turbulence, fear, and emotional manipulation at play, allowing listeners to grasp nuances often missing from police reports or secondhand summary.
• Empathetic & Investigative: Ashley’s approach is both compassionate toward victims of domestic violence and indefatigable in her pursuit of investigative threads, calling for crowd-sourced leads.
• Chillingly Real: For those familiar with domestic violence dynamics, the episode is deeply unsettling and validating—showcasing classic signs of manipulation, escalation, and the immense, often invisible, pressure placed on survivors.

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Summary Timeline:

• 00:00–09:00: Deputy’s interview with Laura (her story, context, and warning signs)
• 09:35–79:44: The nearly unbroken, real-time struggle between Laura and Dave—emotional, physical, financial, and psychological
• 80:19–101:04: Deputy’s interview with Dave during/after arrest—his narrative, denials, justifications, and self-presentation
• 101:04–end: Host's reflections, open investigative questions, and call to action

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For Listeners Seeking Key Moments

• Laura’s initial disclosure of violence and fear: 03:40–06:38
• Direct confrontation of affair/child: 11:28–14:00; 30:01–31:00
• Threats and escalation ("I'll kill myself"/“I’m not gonna let you take my kids"): 25:44–25:58; 78:45–78:54
• Dave’s minimization and denial to police: 81:05–84:44
• Host’s analytic recap and call for tips: 101:04–end

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If you can never get enough true crime, Crime Junkie brings you directly into the heart of not just criminal events, but the real, complicated lives affected—inviting the community to help solve what remains unknowable.

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For further information, episode tips, or to contribute to the ongoing investigation, listeners are invited to contact the Crime Junkie team at [e-mail].

Transcript

[Host]

Happy Friday, crime junkies. I feel like someone down at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office might have listened to our most recent episode. Or maybe the timing is just a crazy coincidence, but a couple of hours ago this Friday, the Sheriff's office finally fulfilled our records request and got us the audio from Dave and Laura Sweetman's domestic violence incident. And I want to do something a little out of the ordinary. While this episode is still top of mind for everyone, I want to share it with you. There are three things that you're going to be hearing and I'm going to pop in between each. First, I'm going to play for you sound from the body cam footage of a deputy responding to Laura's call that she made to the sheriff's office. Then I'm gonna play you the entire audio file that she turned over to them of the incident that she was reporting. This is the almost hour and a half long recording she has of her and Dave inside their house when she says he refused to let her leave. And then I'm gonna play you some audio from when the deputy arrested and questioned Dave. This audio answers so many questions and brings up a million more. And I think for those of you who have been in a volatile or abusive relationship, this audio is going to hit home in a hard way. But it is important to hear because these are some of Laura's last recorded words before she died later the same year that this was reported. So first, here is the deputy's interaction with Laura. It has been edited for clarity.

[Dave Sweetman]

Hello?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Who's Laura? I'm just gonna tell her where my kids are so that somebody knows. How are you? I'm okay. Not injured or anything? No. Okay. Do they want me to start from scrat? So recently I discovered that my husband has another family. And so over the past few weeks, I've gotten ready to get divorced. And he was out of town this weekend, so I moved my things out of the house. And then he was with two of the kids. So when he got back, I took. I told him I was taking the kids to Walmart really quick. And I just took the kids to a friend's house and I went back to tell him that I was leaving. But while I was gone, he must have figured that out and see enough that enough things were missing from the house. He wasn't inside, so. And I was looking for him, so I decided to try to leave. And so I had my car, like parked ready to go out on the street because I knew, I knew there was going to Be an altercation with him because that's his mode of action. But I ran into him like when I was coming out the garage door. And he grabbed me by the shirt and shoved me back in the house. And the shirt that you have on. And so then he proceeded to argue for about an hour and 20 minutes. And I tried to get out of the house three times and he grabbed onto my neck. Do you have any marks? I don't have any marks on him, no. And then he had made threats during the conversation that neither of us was getting out of this alive. That he would kill me, he would kill himself. He did retract that. He would kill me and only kill himself. Yeah, like you said. And I have recorded this because I knew this was going to happen, that he had a gun upstairs. Have you seen any weapons? Yeah, I've seen three weapons. What kind of weapons are there? There's a, like a gun that looks probably like a 9 millimeter or something. A silver one. I looked for it yesterday so I could get rid of it, but I couldn't find it. Okay, there's a shotgun, but that isn't load. It's probably not even out the box are loaded.

[Host]

But the.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

The 9mm probably is loaded wherever it is. And then there's in the garage, but not in the house. There's another gun that looks like a semi automatic and looks like 100 years old. I don't know if it has anything with it. And then basically he went through the hole for an hour telling me that he loved me. He wanted to find a way to make this work out. And then after he realized that it wasn't, he basically just was telling me that I needed to get the kids back. I told him that the kids were with the police because he knows I have pop friends and. And then so he allowed me a minute to make a phone call to my friends to have them bring the kids back. But instead I ran. Okay. And I came here. How many kids do you have in common? Were they there when this was going on? No, I had taken them earlier to night with a friend. Okay. How long have you been married? Two years. Okay, now when you say he has a whole other family, explain that for

[Dave Sweetman]

me a little bit.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Oh, yeah. Basically he had an affair with a woman and they share a child in common. And I don't know what the extent of the relationship is with her. You know, how old that child is. I think the kid's almost too. Probably like 20 months or something. Do you know her name or where she Lives? Yeah, I. I have all that information in the car. Okay. Do you think he would follow through on any of his threats? Yes.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And how often have things like this happened between the two of you? I would say early in our marriage we would have altercations, but never with police involvement. Has he ever been arrested for anything? Yeah, he has one arrest for assault a few years ago. And who did he assault? I don't know. I just discovered this in my recent investigative measures. Okay. What's his full name? David Michael Sweetman. Was anybody else present when I this was going on? You said you had some of it recorded. I recorded the whole thing. Do you mind if I take a copy of the recording off of there?

[Laura Sweetman]

Sure.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I'm just gonna put it on my computer and just copy real quick so you can maybe have this back. Give me a few second. Have you thought about getting order of protection against him yet? I don't have one, but it's not about. Are you going to go do that? As soon as possible. Okay. Do you think I'm going to have any problems when I go over there with him? Yes. What kind of problem do you think I'm going to have? He has guns in the house and he's very angry and he doesn't back down. Okay. And he's already said 50 times he's willing to kill himself. Okay. So you're definitely gonna have a problem if he's there. Plus she already told all the kids are with cops, so. Sorry. That sets you up. Not a problem. I don't mind. I'm afraid he's gonna hurt himself. He said you have three kids in common. How old are they? They're 5k, 7 and 8. And so they're all safe right now. Now, would you be willing to go and testify against him in court or is this something that you might be fearful of? I will be fearful of it, yes. Well, if he's there, I'm. He's most likely going to go to jail tonight. This isn't something that we take lightly when he threatens to kill you and himself and. No, I mean, I'm afraid I'm. I'm afraid I feel like my whole life is ruined right now because he's going to be after me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And also let my detectives know that have your address redacted from our report if you think he's going to chasing you down as soon as he gets out. Do you think that if they rest him they'll just keep him until the morning? Well, it's a DV charge So he has to see a judge. And unfortunately, the threats right now only fall under misdemeanor. So there's a high probability that he'll be released. But they'll give you a phone call before they do that. So, you know, will you update me later or will I know what's going on? I can give you a call if I. If he's there when I get there, take him to jail. Just so you're kept in the loop tonight, do you have a card? I will give. I'm going to fill out a little more paperwork.

[Host]

We now understand that Laura's friend, who was a cop in another jurisdiction, gave her some kind of recording device to capture this interaction. It's why the audio you're about to hear is so clear. I'm going to play this audio in full as it was given to us. The only part I'm taking out is a moment where Dave shares something personal with his wife. I can't verify the claims that he's making, and I'm going to let you know where that part is in the clip, just so you're super clear. Now listen with care.

[Laura Sweetman]

Where are you? Are you in the bathroom? David, It. Where are you?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Where are the kids? No. Yes, I am.

[Laura Sweetman]

No, you're not.

I'm gonna go.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, we're gonna go talk. No, we're gonna go talk. This isn't right.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

We're gonna go.

[Laura Sweetman]

What's not right about it?

[Dave Sweetman]

You're right. You're right.

It's not right.

I'm up.

I understand.

You're right.

I'm fucked up. I understand, okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

You have another family.

No, I don't have a family.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't have another family.

I don't have another family, okay?

I've made mistakes. I agree. I am fucked up.

I have tried to fix my problems, okay? I really fucking have, okay? I have to take responsibility for another kid. I understand that, okay?

I have to fucking do that, okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

Can you just let me go? No.

I don't know.

[Dave Sweetman]

Because I love you, Laura. I fucking. I fucking love you more than anything in this world. I love my kids more than anything in this world.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want to fuck up anything with them.

No, you're not fucking up anything with anybody else.

[Dave Sweetman]

The only thing I want is you and my kids.

That's what I want, Laura. That's all. That's all I want is you and my kids.

I don't know how to fix my other problems other than what I'm trying to do now.

I'm trying to Fix myself, okay?

I'm really fucked up.

I'm in a really bad spot right now.

Everything in my life is the shit. You want me to shoot myself in the head right now?

I'm okay. Go ahead. Take my kids from me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Laura, I don't want to take them away. I just want.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no. That's what's gonna happen.

[Laura Sweetman]

No, it's not. I promise you. I don't want to take them from you. I just want us to let them have a healthy life. And this is not healthy for me, okay?

What? It's not healthy for me either.

[Dave Sweetman]

It hasn't been healthy for me for a long time.

[Laura Sweetman]

Laura. I've told you.

[Dave Sweetman]

The last time we had. Or the last few times we've had fights. Laura, you.

[Laura Sweetman]

You don't love me.

[Dave Sweetman]

You haven't loved me. I love you more than anything in this world. I don't know what I have to do to prove that, but you're my wife. I've never left you.

I've never wanted to leave you.

You are the only person.

[Laura Sweetman]

You really think I can stay when you have a kid with someone else?

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura. Yes, I do think you can. And I want you to. And I'm begging you to. What more can I do or say, Laura? What more can I do or say? I will do anything. I will fix anything that I can fix, Laura.

[Laura Sweetman]

You're what I want.

[Dave Sweetman]

I've never once ever considered not having you as my wife. I would rather be dead than not have you. I love you and care about you more than anything. I just don't think you love me. I don't think you love me for a long time. And I really wish you did. I really, really, really wish you did. Because we have beautiful fucking great kids. And I love them more than anything in this world.

[Laura Sweetman]

Also,

[Dave Sweetman]

my family is all I've got. That's all I've got.

[Laura Sweetman]

He's your kid, too. And you need to recognize him and take care of him. And he's their brother.

I understand.

That's their brother.

[Dave Sweetman]

How do.

How do I.

[Laura Sweetman]

How do I.

[Dave Sweetman]

How do I broach that subject with my wife? How do I. How do I acknowledge with my wife?

[Laura Sweetman]

It's done now, and I am happy for him to be a part of your life. You can. She can live here.

No. No, she can't. No, she can't. I don't want any. I don't want anything to do with her. I. Jesus Christ. I've told her a hundred thousand times

[Dave Sweetman]

to leave me the fuck alone.

[Laura Sweetman]

I mean, that's not fair to him, David.

You're right.

It's not.

[Dave Sweetman]

And I try. I try. When I drop off money to her, I see him for a little while and that's it.

[Laura Sweetman]

And I can't afford this house anymore. I lost everything. And I had put all the bills this month on a credit card. I. And then your money goes to her.

No, my money doesn't go to her.

[Dave Sweetman]

It's only a few hundred dollars. And I'm supposed to get fucking my insurance money?

[Laura Sweetman]

You can have it. I don't want a single thing. I just want us to be nice to each other and share the kids or a. Please, David, please.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, don't.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please don't be.

I don't want to mean to. I do not want to be mean to you. I just cannot live. I can't live. I will kill myself.

I'll kill myself. Laura, I need you. You're my wife. Don't leave me. Jesus Christ.

[Dave Sweetman]

I will do anything I can to fix this.

[Laura Sweetman]

There's no.

No. No. I want you. I'll do anything to show you that you're my wife. Laura, I've tried very hard.

[Dave Sweetman]

I really have.

[Laura Sweetman]

Do you have any idea what my life is like? When people have to call me year after year after year and tell me who you're fucking every year?

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not fucking people every year.

[Laura Sweetman]

That's not true.

Then why do I have to live a life where people track me down and tell me things?

First of all, people who try to hurt me.

[Dave Sweetman]

People from my business that try to hurt me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Jesse. Kevin, because he's.

[Dave Sweetman]

I found his fucking child porn on the. Goddamn fucking. On the.

[Laura Sweetman]

On the computer. And I had to give it to his probation officer. Kevin's out to hurt me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Bobby hates me because I. I fucking fired him.

[Laura Sweetman]

I mean, Laura, you do have to

[Dave Sweetman]

realize that there are people that really, really want to see me burn. Jesse especially.

[Laura Sweetman]

He's doing everything he can to burn me.

[Dave Sweetman]

And.

[Laura Sweetman]

And I'm certain he's happy to call you.

I would have screamed, squeezed out a black kid along the way. Would I be alive today, Laura? No, David. It doesn't go both ways. You would have killed me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura.

[Laura Sweetman]

Can I have some self respect? For the first time in my life, I cannot live knowing that you have a kid with her. And then you. You take my. My stuff and you give it to her.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't take stuff and give it to her.

[Laura Sweetman]

The rocking chair, the jogging, strolling. I nursed my baby in that stuff. It's a sickness, David. It's sick.

Okay, then will you help me, please?

I would love to help you and I would love to be your friend. All I want is to take good care of our kids.

Jesus Christ.

We have amazing children, Laura. And I'm not taking away.

You can't take my. No, but you are. That's what you're doing.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're taking you and my kids away.

[Laura Sweetman]

And I don't want any of that to happen.

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura, don't you understand?

What?

[Laura Sweetman]

I love you. Do you love me?

I don't love you anymore, David.

I can't.

I. I'm your friend.

When was the last time you loved me?

[Dave Sweetman]

Because I've loved you this entire time. I really have. I have loved you this entire time. This entire time, this entire 20 fucking years. I have loved you and cared about you more than anything. Do anything you want to me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Put any type of rule and restriction

[Dave Sweetman]

on me that you want.

Just love me and stay with me, please. I care about you and my kids more than anything. I do. I swear that on everything.

I swear it on my wife.

[Laura Sweetman]

I am not here to take them away. I want them to have a happy, pleasant existence with two parents that love

them and don't fight.

I don't want to fight with you, Laura.

I don't want to fight you.

I live in the same houses.

It's you, Laura, I love. Please don't do this.

[Dave Sweetman]

Are you seeing someone else? Have you been seeing someone else?

[Laura Sweetman]

No, I don't care about anyone else. Stop that.

Have you been seeing someone else? Just be honest with me.

No, David.

For one thing, I'm not.

I've never seen anyone else because I did love you and.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no, no, don't.

[Laura Sweetman]

Then let's talk.

[Dave Sweetman]

Don't.

Let's. Are you.

[Laura Sweetman]

Do you swear you've never seen anyone.

I swear, David. I don't care about that. I care about our kids and I want them to be healthy. And it's not healthy for them to see us self destruct.

[Dave Sweetman]

Then let's fix it.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please, let's work together and fix it. Please, let's work together. Can we work together and fix it?

But I need a.

Please, can I have a break or.

No, because you're just.

You're.

That's just.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're just. You're just leaving.

[Laura Sweetman]

I am leaving.

I am leaving.

Please, David.

Help.

David, I want you go.

Why are you doing this?

[Dave Sweetman]

You're saying help.

[Laura Sweetman]

Because I keep dragging me and I'm saying help.

Get from me.

David, I can't.

I. Just go.

No, no, you can't. You've taken my children away. You've taken my children away from me. You've already done it. You didn't just leave. You took my children away. You took my children away from me. You didn't just leave. Your plan is to destroy me just like the rest of them.

No, it's not. I'm the last person.

No, you just yelled. You're right.

Because you're putting your hands on my neck and you're dragging me in the house three times.

I'm trying to talk to you.

Can't.

I love you and care about you.

[Dave Sweetman]

I, I, I.

[Laura Sweetman]

You can't do this to me. You can't do this to me. I'm already self destructing as a person because of all the problems.

Fix it.

What can I do?

Fix yourself and come back the person that you used to be. Build a business. Do something. Not, not, not make it me feel like an idiot all the time because I can't pay all the bills.

And I'm not trying to make you

[Dave Sweetman]

feel like an idiot.

[Laura Sweetman]

I'm gonna get paid off here very shortly. I'm supposed to get a check this week.

Okay?

And I want. No, I want to. I want to. I want to buy our house.

And then, then buy it. You can have it.

No, I don't want it. I want us. I don't want the house without you. I don't want this place without you and the kids. Are you kidding me?

They're gonna be here.

Whatever.

No, they're not. You've already taken them. Where are my kids at?

They're right now visiting the police department

with my friends.

[Dave Sweetman]

You've taken my kids to the police department?

[Laura Sweetman]

No, they're with my friends who are police.

[Dave Sweetman]

You've taken my kids to the fucking police department?

[Laura Sweetman]

Well, why aren't they down here right now officiating?

[Dave Sweetman]

Why aren't your friends your cop friends? That makes so much sense to you. Laura, I want us.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want anybody else. I don't want Beth. He's my kid.

[Dave Sweetman]

And I have to acknowledge that. And I'm gonna have to take care of that and deal with that. But I don't want anybody but you. You're the person I want. You're the person I love. You're my wife.

Laura,

[Laura Sweetman]

you can't do this.

[Dave Sweetman]

You can't do this to me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Forgive me, please.

[Dave Sweetman]

I will do anything. I will fix the problem.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please.

[Dave Sweetman]

Please give me one last chance to fix the problem.

Please.

[Laura Sweetman]

Laura, I'm not trying to hurt you.

No, but you are.

That does not want to Hurt you?

I want to live in my house

and the kids live with you whatever days you want and whatever days meet

and we go to sports and we do everything. But I cannot sleep in this house, Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

No one else has ever been in this house. No one else has ever been with me in this house. I would never disrespect you that way. I have never done anything like that. Yes, I've made a mistake. I agree. Can I please fix the problem, Laura?

[Laura Sweetman]

Please?

Get your money, fix your problems.

[Dave Sweetman]

The problem I want to fix is right here.

I want to fix the problem with you, Laura.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want any other. Any other problems. I don't want any other shit. I want my family,

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura.

[Laura Sweetman]

This is the only good thing I've got. Everything else has turned to shit.

[Dave Sweetman]

It really fucking has.

[Laura Sweetman]

My business has been yanked out from

[Dave Sweetman]

under me by vindictive people who are

[Laura Sweetman]

just trying to destroy me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Seriously.

[Laura Sweetman]

You might think that sounds like fucking

[Dave Sweetman]

paranoia, but it's a fact. It's a God damn fact. People are coming to me from every God damn direction trying to fucking yank me down. They really fucking are. The only thing I've had in my life that's good is you and my children, okay? And you're taking all of that away from me.

[Laura Sweetman]

But you are. You're taking them. They're at a police station.

[Dave Sweetman]

They're at a police station. Right? My kids are at a police station with some lady that they don't even

[Laura Sweetman]

know right now, instead of with their

[Dave Sweetman]

father, who cares about them more than anything.

Ora, please don't do this. Please look at me, Please. Please, Please. I love you. I really do.

Look, I acknowledge I've made fucking mistakes. I'm not fucking perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect. I don't even.

I can't even see perfect from where I'm at.

But could you please, please acknowledge the fact that you know I love you?

You know I love you, don't you?

I love you and care about you

more than anything, Laura.

I do. Seriously, Will you look at me?

[Laura Sweetman]

I love you and I care about you more than anything, Laura. You and my kids are the only

[Dave Sweetman]

thing in my life that's worth anything to me. And I will do anything to keep it.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay, well, anything means.

Give me a break, David, and prove it to me. Fix your problems.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're not coming back.

You won't come back, Laura.

You're gonna walk out right now and what's gonna happen is, like you said, you're done paying for everything. The house is gonna get Foreclosed on. I'm gonna end up being a hermit somewhere and my kids will never. I'll end up shooting myself in the

fucking forehead or drinking myself to death, and then you'll be happy.

If you want me to kill myself, just say so, and I'll do it now.

And I'm not joking.

I've got a gun upstairs.

I'll kill myself.

Will that make you happy?

[Laura Sweetman]

No. David. I want us to do the best thing for the kids.

[Dave Sweetman]

No.

[Laura Sweetman]

I want to. Laura. Jesus, I care about you so much. Don't leave me.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're the only person that I've trusted and cared about for 25 years. Laura, we've been together since we were kids.

[Laura Sweetman]

I know.

[Dave Sweetman]

I care about you more than anything,

[Laura Sweetman]

but my life sucks, David.

So does mine. Can we work together and fix it, please?

I think I deserve something else than

people telling me all the time.

[Dave Sweetman]

All right.

[Laura Sweetman]

Well, first off. First of all, you're right.

[Dave Sweetman]

You do deserve better, and I apologize.

You deserve better.

People should never.

[Laura Sweetman]

These pieces of shit that would call

[Dave Sweetman]

you and say these things are pieces of shit.

Okay, I agree.

And I'll.

I'll get them, okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

They're trying anything they can. You see that?

[Dave Sweetman]

They're trying anything they can to hurt me.

Nothing will make them happier than you to leave me.

[Laura Sweetman]

All it does is hurt me. And I'm sick of being hurt all

the time, time after time after time. Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

It's not as bad as you're making it out to be, though.

[Laura Sweetman]

It's not.

[Dave Sweetman]

Time after time after time after time after time. I've made mistakes, I agree, But I'm not perfect. I agree, But I mean, it's not like. It's not like I went searching for anything. Accidents have happened.

Mistakes have been made.

I swear to God.

Mistakes have been made, but they were mistakes.

They're not there.

I am not perfect.

I agree, okay? I've made mistakes, but it's not like I'm leading a double life.

It's not like I'm living somewhere else.

[Laura Sweetman]

You are leading a double life. You visit her, you bring her money. And so the last few weeks, I've had, like, $14 to buy groceries. And. And she gets your money,

ask me for money.

[Dave Sweetman]

I give her money at the start of the month to help with him, okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

She has a job.

[Dave Sweetman]

I've given her.

[Laura Sweetman]

What about me? Like, that's our money.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, you're right.

[Laura Sweetman]

You're right, But I have got nothing. I have nothing. I have this house, which is a noose around my neck, and I That's it. And I go to work all day, and then I bring you your dinner upstairs, and I have. I have nothing. I have my children, and I have my job, and I just try to put my feet every day and lay in my bed. I'm like, if I could just get my foot on the ground, then.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, then let's fix this together. Please,

[Laura Sweetman]

please, please.

I don't want it, David.

I'll give you every ounce, every.

[Dave Sweetman]

Every penny of money I've got.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't care about money. I just want to. To have a date where I have more than $14 to buy groceries.

Okay, all right.

I load of money.

Okay?

And I have nothing.

Okay, I agree.

[Dave Sweetman]

We've had this problem for a while.

[Laura Sweetman]

Fine with.

She has groceries.

She has her own job. I give her $300 a month.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

I'm not rich.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm barely making it. I'm barely fucking surviving. My business is going in the tank.

[Laura Sweetman]

So what.

What did you think was gonna happen?

Like, I didn't know.

[Dave Sweetman]

I didn't know how I was gonna explain it.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And.

[Laura Sweetman]

Why would you hide your son? He's your son, Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

Because I love you and I care about you, and I didn't want to hurt you.

And I'm embarrassed, but at this point,

pride doesn't mean a goddamn thing to me.

I'm embarrassed beyond all embarrassment.

I didn't know what to do or

how to do it.

Okay.

[Laura Sweetman]

She used to be Maceo's girlfriend.

[Dave Sweetman]

Oh, you already know the whole story. You know everything.

I'm sorry.

[Laura Sweetman]

Go ahead and tell me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay.

She was Maceo's girlfriend.

I was Maceo's friend. We ended up. Just. Somehow it ended up where it ended up. Okay.

She refused to have an abortion.

And there it is. I'm stuck with the goddamn kid.

I. I wanted more than anything to

not have another child.

[Laura Sweetman]

I wanted more than anything starting businesses with her and my kids names, and her name's all over everything together. Like you're a family.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no, that right there was down there at the coffee shop.

Okay? That was.

[Laura Sweetman]

I had to start the llc.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

She.

[Dave Sweetman]

She demanded to be a part of the llc.

I said here, fine.

Then if you can run this, great. And if you can make any money, great. And it never worked out. Not for.

[Laura Sweetman]

Why are my kids names with her?

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, your kids names are on the LLC in case she ever tried to

do something where she tried to take anything that wasn't hers. Okay? That way she's not a majority owner.

I'm not trying. I've never tried to be Mr. Subversive about anything. And I knew someday I'd have to confront this issue.

And I didn't know how I was going to do it. And it really weighed heavy on me.

I don't know. I have no idea or had no

idea how the hell I would deal with this.

This is a huge problem and a huge embarrassment.

I don't know what to do.

[Laura Sweetman]

It's embarrassing to me.

I know, I know, I know.

I'm like the biggest fucking loser on the planet.

No, you're not.

Yeah, I am.

[Dave Sweetman]

Come on. Don't, don't, don't, don't.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't.

I don't even hate you.

I just.

Jesus Christ.

I just.

Can't you see that there to be alone.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't want you to be alone.

[Laura Sweetman]

I. That's the thing that I've never wanted. I've wanted to be with you. I love you. I love you.

[Dave Sweetman]

I've wanted us to be together for

the longest time, okay?

[Laura Sweetman]

But everywhere I go, people are telling me that you're with other people.

Who is saying this? Who was saying this?

It's everybody, everywhere.

[Dave Sweetman]

Everybody, everywhere is saying that.

That I'm with other people or I'm not.

I'm with you.

You're my wife.

You are what I care about.

You are who I love.

I granted, I haven't felt loved back

for a long time, but I've wanted that. I figured maybe once, you know, we got this house situation worked out, then, you know, we, you know, things would be a little bit better for us.

[Laura Sweetman]

I have nothing. I'm 42 years old. I am losing my home, okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

You're not.

[Laura Sweetman]

I have nothing. I have no retirement plan.

I have $400,000 of tax debt, and

they're going to come after me. I talked earlier. They're talking about me because I'm the

only one with a paycheck.

[Dave Sweetman]

Hold on a second. There's no one's coming after you.

[Laura Sweetman]

This is getting handled.

[Dave Sweetman]

This is being handled by Fred. I've got the lawyer's name.

I've got the lawyer's name.

He's handling it. He's.

[Laura Sweetman]

He's really hand.

[Dave Sweetman]

Hey.

This is being handled, okay? You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. Don't think that it doesn't weigh on my head that they're.

That it's sitting out there, but I'm handling it. I'm handling this.

[Laura Sweetman]

And when I talked to a lawyer, he said they'll leave me $2,000 a month to live on and Then I'm gonna be the person paying it back.

[Dave Sweetman]

You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. You don't have $400,000.00 of tax debt.

Okay? The. The IRS, what they did was they

didn't accept those two years worth of

taxes because they were repetitive. The.

The tax change that they made, the $24,000.

Then what they do is they take that, and then they just. They disallow the next two years.

Okay, this is being fixed.

I swear it. This is being fixed. Okay?

I've already paid the attorney. I paid him a year and a half ago, okay? I am working to fix these problems. I really am.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay, well, then come and find me when they're fixed.

I can't. I can't. I can't even find my kids.

[Dave Sweetman]

You've taken my kids away from me. Or I. I don't want to come

[Laura Sweetman]

and find you when I. I wish you would work with me.

I am working with you. And I'd love to see you tomorrow at wrestling.

Laura. No, don't. No. Why can't we be a family? Why can't what? All I want is you. I want you to love me.

[Dave Sweetman]

I want you to love me. I've wanted that.

[Laura Sweetman]

That's all.

[Dave Sweetman]

I've wanted you to love me.

I haven't felt it for a long

time, I can tell you that. Honestly.

I mean, I know you're.

I know you're stressed and you're having

a hard time, but I really am. I do have plans to fix that.

And I did want to fix that,

and I still do want to fix that.

I want.

I want us to be a happy family. My plans were to buy the house, and then.

And then, you know, I probably aren't gonna be able to work very much, but, you know, because I'm not gonna have any money to put back into the business. That's gonna. You know, I'll just have to sell things off as they go. But then at least we don't have that enormous, you know. You know, house bill. I really do have plans to fix this.

I don't know how to fix that.

I can't.

I don't know. I don't know how to deal with that.

[Laura Sweetman]

I. I want.

Okay.

Could. Could you forgive me?

[Dave Sweetman]

I love you.

I know that much.

[Laura Sweetman]

If I gave birth to a black

kid, would you forgive me?

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura, if it meant. If it meant you not leaving and

our family staying together, I'd have to deal with it. I would have to deal with it. That's not bullshit. I would be Hurt. I would be devastated. I'd be feeling all the same things that you're feeling, but I would still love you because you're the person I love, that I married because I loved you and because I cared about you.

And we've been.

We've been through so much.

I can't.

I can't even imagine being with anybody else. I can't imagine wanting to be with anybody else. I don't want to be with anybody else.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want to be with anyone else.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't want any.

[Laura Sweetman]

I can't live like this anymore.

Okay?

It's.

It's. It's so mortifying.

I know. I know. I know.

[Dave Sweetman]

Believe me, I know. There isn't anything that I don't know better. I know that. But how can I. How could I come to you and say, geez, honey, guess what?

I did. I fucked up again.

Not only is.

Is everything else in turmoil, but I'm

a complete fucking idiot.

No.

Look at this enormous fucking blemish mistake I've made. And I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody fucking decided

to, you know, really stick it in my side and call. You know, it's your phone.

I set it down over there. It was in my hand.

That's got to be your. Your police friends.

[Laura Sweetman]

No, I'm on call.

[Dave Sweetman]

So, as you can see, I have no friends in the entire universe, okay? They give two shits about me. Everyone's out to stab me in the back.

[Laura Sweetman]

I am not trying. Trying to hurt us, to make those kids have a great life and help them with their careers and their wrestling and everything. And I think we can do that, but there's no.

[Dave Sweetman]

We can't do that separately, Laura.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

No.

[Dave Sweetman]

Every. Every family that breaks up, the kids

are destroyed by it.

You know that.

[Laura Sweetman]

You know that. You know that as a fact that

[Dave Sweetman]

broken homes are terrible. Look at what Robin is.

[Laura Sweetman]

Make a good one. I'm not vindictive like her.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, well, things like that happen, and

I'm a piece of shit. That would be vindictive because as soon as you're with somebody else, I'm gonna lose it.

But that's going to happen.

It will happen. Or you've turned yourself into a beautiful woman. All you care about is working out and being in shape.

[Laura Sweetman]

Otherwise, it's an antidepressant because it's the

only thing that makes me feel better.

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, I wish I could fucking make you feel better.

Look at what's happened to me.

I've just turned to shit because I have no Fucking dignity or self respect about myself.

I don't care about myself. Will you help me?

[Laura Sweetman]

But I'm not staying in this house, David. Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Laura Sweetman]

Let's work together and make it better. Let's work together and fix it. Let's work together.

[Dave Sweetman]

Please.

[Laura Sweetman]

Let's work together.

I've been doing all I can, okay?

And I died in my room and I didn't fucking care, okay?

That's how bad it is.

[Dave Sweetman]

What do you mean?

[Laura Sweetman]

When I had a heart attack, I knew what was happening and I died. I thought I died in there. And you know what happened is it woke up the next day because.

[Dave Sweetman]

What are you talking about?

[Laura Sweetman]

When I. When I was sick.

When.

[Dave Sweetman]

Was this the first time you had a heart attack?

[Laura Sweetman]

Yes.

I passed out.

I thought I was just done.

And you know why I didn't care? Because at that point I would have rather been dead.

This is like a year ago.

I knew when you took the baby stuff that you had a baby. And I knew you had it with her. And this whole time I've been thinking that I'm crazy. Because you had 14 stories about what

you were doing with the stuff.

And I knew you were with her.

I always know when you're with somebody, okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not with her. I'm not with anybody. I'm with you, first of all. I'm not with her.

You mean everything to me.

You are the only woman in the

world that ever has meant anything to me.

[Laura Sweetman]

But you can't force me into the situation, David.

[Dave Sweetman]

But I'm going to try.

Or I care about you. You're the only thing I care about. I would rather see us both dead than.

No, I'd rather see me dead than not have you in my life. Because my children are going to be destroyed by this. They're going to be destroyed from this and it's all my fault. My children's lives are going to be up because of this. I. I up everything with you. I up everything with my kids.

Everything.

[Laura Sweetman]

I would like to help you.

I just can't stay here.

Please.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't want you to go. Ora. I don't want you to go. I don't want you to go. I don't want you to take my kids. I don't want you to go. They're fucking pictures. You took their pictures. You can't do this to me. You can't do this to me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Laura, Please. Please.

[Dave Sweetman]

Please. Let's us make this better together.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please.

[Dave Sweetman]

Laura. Are you just looking for a way out?

Are you just looking to make your run? Is that really what's going on here? Are you not listening to me at all? You really don't care about anything I'm about to say. Is that. That really it?

[Laura Sweetman]

No, David, I care. I just. I've been over this 800,000 times alone, okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

You've been over what?

[Laura Sweetman]

This whole scenario. And there's not gonna be a way

that I'm gonna feel better about that baby, okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

There's not gonna be a way that

I'm gonna be able to make you feel better about that baby. But can you forgive me for making a mistake?

Because I'm not gonna. The minute you're gone, I'm not running over and being with this baby. I'm not doing that.

[Laura Sweetman]

But you should. It's your obligation.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I'm not going to, okay? I'm not going to run over and be with any. I'm never going to be with that person. I have never, ever.

[Laura Sweetman]

You should.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Ever.

[Laura Sweetman]

For your son. You should have your son. Half the time he is yours. And he deserves to have a good dad, too.

[Dave Sweetman]

Will you accept him into the house?

[Laura Sweetman]

No. Okay, then fight for all your kids because they're yours and they deserve a good, respectable dad.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay? I'm not gonna do anything that's gonna

jeopardize my chance with you,

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not gonna do.

[Laura Sweetman]

You know what? You know I'm a pediatrician, right?

I mean, I. I actually feel bad for that kid because I want him to have you as a dad, Laura. You need to be there for him, too, David.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not gonna do anything that will jeopardize us, Laura. I'm not going to do anything that will jeopardize us.

I'm not going to do it.

I want us. I want you and me.

I want our kids. I want our family. That's what I want. That's the only thing I want. That's the only thing I want. I don't want anything that will jeopardize us. I love you and care about you more than anything. I really do. I love you and care about you more than anything in this entire world or. And I will do anything to prove that I don't want anything but you and my children in my life. That's it. And the only reason why I even had to deal with this other person is. Is because there's a kid there. And yes, it's an enormous mistake. But I do have to. I do have to take a responsibility for the kid in some way. But

I've never brought it up to you.

And I've never admitted this terrible problem because of the problem it's going to cause me.

Because I don't want to lose my family.

I don't want to lose you. I love you. I love my kids. This is all I want, is you and my children. It really is. It really, really is. Laura, what can I do?

What can I do?

Please, tell me. What can I do?

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't know. I think you have the potential to be a great dad. You are a great dad. You need to be a dad to that kid. But you have never been a good husband.

[Dave Sweetman]

I have been a good husband.

I have been a good husband.

I haven't been a perfect husband, but I've been a good husband.

There are a whole lot worse husbands out there. I admit. I've got.

Got issues because, you know, because of how my mom fucked me up. I've got issues. You know, I've got some deep, dark stuff that I've never told you. I got problems that I don't know how to deal with. Okay, but, you know,

[Laura Sweetman]

What do you want to tell me? I mean, if there's stuff that you need to say, then get it off your chest. What?

[Dave Sweetman]

It's really embarrassing.

[Laura Sweetman]

I've been your friend since I was 16 years old.

[Dave Sweetman]

I know, but I never told you before.

I've never. What?

[Host]

This is the part of the recording where Dave shares something personal with Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

Look, I know I'm up, okay? I. I know I'm up, okay? Everybody leaves me.

My mom left me.

Grandma died.

[Laura Sweetman]

It. Sorry that that happened to. I think we should just work on a better situation for our kids, you know? I'm.

[Dave Sweetman]

I am up. I am so up. Okay? There's a lot of wrong with me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay? David, I'm.

[Dave Sweetman]

Will you please help me fix.

[Laura Sweetman]

I would love to help you.

[Dave Sweetman]

Will you please stay my wife?

[Laura Sweetman]

Can I get.

[Dave Sweetman]

Will you please stay my wife?

[Laura Sweetman]

Yes. I care about you more than anything.

I need to be fixing myself. And what about me and this?

Please, I know.

[Dave Sweetman]

I will do anything to help. I will do anything. I will do anything. I will do anything.

Please don't leave. Please don't take my kids.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please.

I will do anything, David.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'll pour my heart out to a psychiatrist. I'll tell them everything. And I will get better. I will get better. I will do anything.

I will do anything to keep you. Anything.

Please don't leave.

Please, please, please. You're the only thing I want in this entire world.

[Laura Sweetman]

I know.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay?

Whatever.

I. I will do Anything to make that.

To make that better. To make it better for you. I will do anything to make it better. I will do anything to make it better.

I will get help. I will be the best husband in

the world to you.

I will be who I've never been. I will do anything.

[Laura Sweetman]

Please.

[Dave Sweetman]

Please. You're the only thing I care about. I don't care about anything in this world except you. At this point in my life. And my kids, of course. These are the things that I care about more than anything. I want you to love me again.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay. We can work on it, David. But I need some recovery time. I.

You.

You cannot imagine what I have been through with this. It's not a very easy thing to get over your spouse having a kid with somebody else. It's not a joke, David.

[Dave Sweetman]

I know it's not.

Aura know.

I made a mistake.

I know I made an enormous mistake. A huge mistake. The biggest mistake ever. And there's no way for me to fix it. There's no way for me to. There's no way that you don't. I can't just fix that. I. I begged and pleaded with this person to please not have a child. Please don't have a child. Please. Please. This is going to destroy my life. Someday it's going to come up and destroy my. You're not going to tell anybody about that, are you?

[Laura Sweetman]

No. I would like to help you. I want a great life for our kids. I want us to get along. That's what I really want.

[Dave Sweetman]

But you don't want anything to do with me.

[Laura Sweetman]

But I do not want to live in this house with you right now. We have major problems and I.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I

[Laura Sweetman]

can barely function right now.

[Dave Sweetman]

I feel the same way, but I have to.

[Laura Sweetman]

And then it get. Got to the point. My student loans. I couldn't defer them anymore. I. There's nothing. I've just. And imagine my self esteem. Imagine how I feel for one second.

[Dave Sweetman]

No.

[Laura Sweetman]

I'm not good enough for you.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I. I can't pay the bills.

[Laura Sweetman]

I can't. I'm just. I try so hard, so many hours every day, and it's never enough.

[Dave Sweetman]

I know.

It's not that you're not good enough. Don't ever.

[Laura Sweetman]

Well, that's how it feels, David.

That I. I was.

[Dave Sweetman]

That I. You know what I am?

[Laura Sweetman]

The loser.

[Dave Sweetman]

You know what I felt? I felt like I haven't been loved. And I felt like I'm not good enough. You're. You're. You're wildly talented.

You're.

You're Beautiful.

[Laura Sweetman]

And then I. I was so excited to tell you about the Top Dog thing. And you said, oh, they probably. It's just. You probably just made a mistake. It's just political.

[Dave Sweetman]

I mean, I was joking, but Jesus.

[Laura Sweetman]

But it just.

[Dave Sweetman]

I. Oh my God.

[Laura Sweetman]

I was so excited for myself.

[Dave Sweetman]

Worried that's the biggest deal I expected.

[Laura Sweetman]

Oh, my God.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're Jesus Christ.

[Laura Sweetman]

You get it every time.

[Dave Sweetman]

You're God. What do you mean? How do you not have the highest self esteem? Look at yourself. You're the most talented person I know. You're so accomplished, you're so good looking. And look at me. I've just turned to shit.

Everything in my life has turned to shit. Haven't you noticed I've gained like fucking £30 in the past year or so? Haven't you noticed how much I'm drinking?

[Laura Sweetman]

I know. And you know what that makes me feel like? That I'm not good enough. I make you happy because then you have to drink just to be around us.

[Dave Sweetman]

No,

I have to drink to escape

the problems I've got. Because I don't know how to come to you for help. I mean, I've got plans in the back of my head and I'm trying

to make them all work out.

But it's like when I tell you about the plan, you're like, what?

I told you I wanted to buy

[Laura Sweetman]

the house, but every single thing you do is illegal.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, it's not every single. I don't do everything illegal.

What do I do that's illegal? My business isn't illegal.

It's not perfect, but it's not illegal.

[Laura Sweetman]

It's not illegal.

What about the fire?

[Dave Sweetman]

That's not. I'm not, I'm not responsible for that.

[Laura Sweetman]

Are you blaming me for that?

I don't know. I'm asking you about it. I'm not blaming you.

No, why would you blame me for that?

I'm asking you.

[Dave Sweetman]

I was here. You were.

[Laura Sweetman]

You were here with me. We were here.

[Dave Sweetman]

I have nothing to do with it. For all I know, fucking Jesse and Chris fucking set the place on fire to fuck me then.

[Laura Sweetman]

I'm not trying to go to prison, Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not trying to be away from my family.

[Laura Sweetman]

I just. Sometimes it seems like if we just did things rationally, you know, and I don't understand what's going on with your business. I mean, just nothing makes sense.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't do things irrationally. Granted, I'm not the most brilliant businessman in the world, but.

I mean,

the tax thing is getting fixed. It is it really is the fucking. The attorney. I had to give him this stuff last week. The stuff that they sent back to us. I gave it to him last week. He said that that's coming up. You can call him. You can call him and ask him if you don't believe me. He's handling that. The, the. It's. It's like an independent arbitrator. He's handling it, okay? I swear to you.

That's being handled.

I talked to the guy from the insurance company. Well, there's two different insurance companies, but

he's got approval already this week.

I heard from him on Thursday. This week he's supposed to send me a check for 30 odd thousand dollars for the one truck. That's 80% of it because he can do that right away. Then he's gonna send me the other 20% of it and then the big truck. It's probably going to take another week because he has to get approval.

But that's, that's like $150,000.

And the attorney's on the attorney for the other insurance company. He said that that has been kicked to a supervisor on the insurance company's side and that that guy's going to more than likely cut a check on that.

And when we do that, that'll be like $400,000. We can buy the house or we'll buy another house.

[Laura Sweetman]

Whatever.

[Dave Sweetman]

Whatever you want, I'll give it all to you. You can have it. You can be in control of everything. I don't care.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want.

[Dave Sweetman]

I just don't want to lose you and my family. Because believe it or not, I really do love you. Believe it or not, okay, I know I'm not perfect.

I know I've made a lot of fucking stupid mistakes. I mean, a lot of stupid mistakes.

I know it. But I really do care about you.

And I really do only want you in this world. That's all I want. You and my kids. That's it. I mean, I want you to love me. I wish. I wish you love me more physically.

I really do.

Honestly. Laura, look at me.

I swear to you, I really wish you loved me physically.

I mean, I know I'm not attractive, you know, I know I'm. You know. You know.

But I'll get in shape. I'll do whatever I have to do. If, you know, if I need to

get in shape, you know, to be more attractive, I will. If I'm not attractive, I'll do anything I have to do.

[Laura Sweetman]

The problem is I don't. I've Lost my own self respect. And it's hard for me to be attracted to you when I'm thinking about you being with her. Okay? That's a big mental barrier.

You just said yourself you wouldn't be

able to handle me being with someone else. You'd lose it.

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, I've lost it. I would lose it, but I'm.

I would.

[Laura Sweetman]

I've lost it, okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

But I would regroup because I don't

want to lose my family and I don't want to lose the woman I love. I don't want to lose that.

[Laura Sweetman]

Why would I lose it?

[Dave Sweetman]

Why would I lose it? Because I don't want to lose the

woman that I care about.

That's why I would lose it. I don't want to lose who I

love and care about and who I want to be with. That's what I don't want to lose. I don't want to lose that. Because you really are the person that I love. You're my wife, Laura. You think if I loved some other woman, why wouldn't I just leave?

Why wouldn't I just try to take half your money and leave?

Why wouldn't I do that?

Why would I even be here arguing

and pleading with you and telling you my deepest and darkest secret? If. If. If I wanted anything other than you,

I'm sure some fucking shyster divorce attorney would say, hey, you helped her all this time.

You could get half of that.

Why wouldn't I do that if I wanted that?

I don't want anything but you. You're what I want.

I don't care about any of that other shit. I want you and my children.

I want my family. That's the only thing in this world that I want. And I know you're probably not being honest with me when you're telling me that you're not seeing another guy. You had to have guys come over here and move all the stuff out.

[Laura Sweetman]

I paid movers. I have a receipt.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, but if you did, I wouldn't fucking be happy. You're right. I'd fucking lose it. But I'm. I. I would have to find a way to get past it.

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't want to hurt you, David. I'm not here.

[Dave Sweetman]

That's all this is doing to me. It's hurting me. Just sticking to it. I. I gotta give you that, Laura. You're sticking to it. I don't want to lose you, and I don't want to lose my kids.

[Laura Sweetman]

And I said I'm. I want to create the best scenario that we can. That's the most positive for them with two parents that love them and don't fight about it. And you want to take them to wrestling, you want to take them to football and. And I'm going to be right there.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I want my kids. I want to. I want to wake up in the house with them. I want to be in the house when they go to sleep. I want, you know, when.

When they wake up in the middle of the night.

You know, when I come out and I say, hey, what you doing, bud? Just going to bathroom, dad. You know, I don't want to lose that. Lord Jesus. This is going to fuck them up. This is going to destroy them. He needs us. Oh, my God. Can you please, please find it in your heart to try to forgive me and let me do everything and anything I can to fix my problems? Can you please, please, please?

[Laura Sweetman]

I don't think that I can live with myself with my self esteem any lower. I feel like crap.

[Dave Sweetman]

Tell me what I can do to make you feel better. Please, Laura. You know you can. You know. You know. You know that you can find a way if you really want to. You just don't want to. You're that mad at me. You don't want to. You just don't want to. But you know, you could. Please.

[Laura Sweetman]

We can't force it to. David, all I'm asking you is to give me a break.

[Dave Sweetman]

Where did you move to?

[Laura Sweetman]

Just to the road in Gilbert.

[Dave Sweetman]

You see, you won't even tell me where. You just. You want to. When are.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Where are the divorce papers?

[Dave Sweetman]

They are.

Are they already here? You've already been talking to lawyers. Where are they at?

[Laura Sweetman]

File them yet.

[Dave Sweetman]

But you have them?

[Laura Sweetman]

Just talking about it.

[Dave Sweetman]

What did you tell the children?

[Laura Sweetman]

I told him I'd be back in a few minutes.

[Dave Sweetman]

And you left him at the police station?

[Laura Sweetman]

Well, I left him with my friend

[Dave Sweetman]

at the police station.

[Laura Sweetman]

She was probably gonna take him there.

[Dave Sweetman]

Where are they spending the night at?

[Laura Sweetman]

With me.

[Dave Sweetman]

Out of their home. Away from their. Away from their rooms, away from their beds. Did you take all their clothes?

[Laura Sweetman]

No, I left their stuff here so they could be here with you and they can be there with me.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not going to be able to live here. Obviously.

[Laura Sweetman]

All of their stuff is here, because I'm not here to hurt you.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, you are here to hurt me. That's fine. You're just like the rest of them. You don't. You. Nobody gives a shit. That's fine.

[Laura Sweetman]

I do give a shit. And I want to help you. I'd be glad to help you. I just can't stay in this house and do it.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, that. Whatever. Okay. Okay. I love you and I care about you and I want you.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay, well, let's work on it. But I can't stay in this house and work on it right now. I'm just so far down. I try to be good. I go to church, I go do exercise, try to do anything to make myself feel better. And I still feel like crying.

[Dave Sweetman]

Why don't you do stuff with me?

[Laura Sweetman]

I asked you if you want to go to church a hundred times.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay.

Why can't we do something that is fun for us together?

Why can't we do stuff together?

Something where I don't have to walk

800 miles on a knee that already hurts. Why can't we do stuff together that will bring us closer together and maybe, you know, hey, there might be a spark between us and you might care about me physically and you might love me again. Why can't we do stuff like that?

[Laura Sweetman]

I'd be happy to start trying to do that, but right now I'm very.

[Dave Sweetman]

You just want to be single?

[Laura Sweetman]

Very. I don't care about that.

[Dave Sweetman]

Put yourself in great shape out there on the market. Have a great time. That's what you want, clearly.

[Laura Sweetman]

No, it's not.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, is Laura. Cuz you don't want me. You haven't wanted me in a very, very long time. I mean, look, I. I know that you're. You're up here and I'm right here.

[Laura Sweetman]

I didn't say that.

[Dave Sweetman]

I understand.

[Laura Sweetman]

I've known for two years that you had a kid and I thought I was crazy.

[Dave Sweetman]

First of all, you haven't known for two years because there hasn't been a kid for two years.

[Laura Sweetman]

His birthday's coming up.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, well, he's not two years old, so. You haven't known for two years that I've had a kid.

Why didn't you, when you cared about

me the last day that you gave a shit? Why don't you say something so we could fix it? Because I didn't know how to say something. And I've wanted to fucking fix this problem. I wanted to fix it because there's

nothing else I want other than this.

[Laura Sweetman]

Because every time I've approached you with these problems, it's.

[Dave Sweetman]

I lose it. Okay, I understand. I lose it. But I've never been faced with the fact of having to lose you.

[Laura Sweetman]

Their stuff is here. They're going to be here. Whatever nights you want. You can do sports with Them every night. And I will be there every night, Laura.

[Dave Sweetman]

I want you as well.

I want you.

So tell me what. What. What track I have to get on to get you back.

[Laura Sweetman]

I want you to let me walk out this door.

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm.

I'm sitting on the floor, and we can talk tomorrow.

[Laura Sweetman]

We can talk next day. We can talk every day.

[Dave Sweetman]

You don't.

You.

You won't. You won't come. He doesn't. He does. I. Pretty sure we hide it pretty good.

[Laura Sweetman]

Really? Yes. Every time you're horribly upset with him, he gets a headache and throws up. He feeds off us all the time. And then when I spend a lot.

[Dave Sweetman]

When does he get a headache and throw up? When did he do this?

[Laura Sweetman]

He's done that three or four times recently. After you yell at him and then go upstairs, he throws up his dinner or he throws up in the bathroom. There's a lot of stress in that kid. Okay. And then in another weird way, when I'm spending a lot of time with him, it'll be like after spring break or something. And I'm really trying to be, like, so positive with him. He goes back to school, gets in a ton of trouble, and I ask him why. He says, because I want to be with you, Mom. I want to. I want to do the fun things that we do last weekend or something. And then I feel like I'm, like, overcompensating. You know what I mean? It's just like this, never ending.

[Dave Sweetman]

And this is going to work out so well with us apart. Well, hey, if you want to fuck up the kids, you want to have fucked up kids, and you want to go out and do whatever you want to do, and you want to see me run off the edge, then go ahead. You got to do what you got here. I took your keys, by the way, because I didn't want you to leave. Go do what you got to do. Laura,

[Laura Sweetman]

I have to go, and I don't want to fight.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I know you don't want to fight with me. You just want to. You want to do this and.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And it's.

[Laura Sweetman]

And I want to see you tomorrow.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, you don't.

You don't. When are my kids coming home?

[Laura Sweetman]

Tomorrow night.

[Dave Sweetman]

Because that's all I'm gonna have to care about because you don't. You. It's clear you don't care about me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Whatever days you want. Tomorrow night after.

[Dave Sweetman]

I want them. I want them every night this week.

[Laura Sweetman]

And then I have the weekend. I mean, the thing is.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I want my children.

You said I can have them anytime I want them. I want them. I want my children.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't know.

I don't have Laura. I don't know. The law isn't.

[Laura Sweetman]

Or.

[Dave Sweetman]

See, you're just telling me you don't

want to be vindictive and hurt me, but that's exactly what you're doing when

you're taking my kids away from me.

That's what you're doing. You're hurting me. You're taking my children away from me. You're hurting me.

You're right.

Now, what you're doing is you're taking an opportune time to leave me with everything hanging over my head. And here you go, Dave.

[Laura Sweetman]

Maybe you can rebuild.

[Dave Sweetman]

There you go, David.

Here you go.

No, that. You know, this is exactly what everybody's wanted. This is exactly what everyone who's been stabbing me in the eye has been hoping for. This is great. This is exactly it.

[Laura Sweetman]

Great, man. They can come home tomorrow after wrestling, and we will.

[Dave Sweetman]

I want my children tonight.

[Laura Sweetman]

We'll both see them every day.

[Dave Sweetman]

I want my children tonight.

I want them to wake up and go to school.

They're gonna wake up when Stacy gets there, take them to school, and that'll be it. I want my children. I want my children tonight. You're gonna leave me alone in this house? You're gonna take my kids and just run off, do whatever to somebody, some strange house.

I don't even know where my kids are. I don't even know where they are

in some strange house.

I want my kids tonight. I want them in their house tonight.

I don't want my. I don't want my children away.

If you want to. If you're gonna fuck me and destroy

me and hurt me, that's fine. I'm gonna have to. I'm gonna have to Pick up my ass and live with it. Okay? I don't know what else to do. That's all I can do.

I wish. I wish I could do anything to

fix this, but you're telling me that it's just not gonna happen. I see it. I smell it. I feel it. It's not gonna happen. You're not gonna forgive me? You're not gonna give me a chance. You're not. You know it. You've said it. That's it. You've got the papers. You're gonna file them, and that's it. You're just waiting to do this to me? I want my children. I want them here. I want them in the house. This isn't fair to Me. This is not fair. And I understand that. Me saying something fair is not probably the right terminology that I should be using. Because I haven't been fair to you. But I want my kids. These are my kids. I love them and care about them. I don't want them in some strange house, they should be in their beds, wake up in their beds, go to school. I want my children here. This isn't fair. This isn't fair to them. You want to talk about not doing things to them? That's exactly what this is doing. The first second of this. What you're doing here is destroying. I'll tell you what. For all the mistakes I've made, the last thing I wanted is to destroy my family. That's the last thing in the world that I've wanted. The last thing is to destroy my family. I don't want them hurt.

I've never wanted you hurt.

Never once have I wanted you hurt. That's why I've obviously concealed everything. Because I've never wanted you hurt, ever. Because I care about you and I love you. But I love my kids too. They're a piece of me. I can't be without my children. If you've got to go, then you've got to go. And you gotta go be sane. That's fine. But I've gotta have my children. These are my sons. These are a piece of me. These are the only things in this world that are proof that I've been here. I have nothing else. I have no family. Nothing. Fuckin I've got a half assed uncle. Are you kidding me? This is the family. This is. The only family I've got is those boys. That's what I love. That's what I care about. You can't take them from me. You cannot. I'm not gonna. I am not gonna. No. I'm not gonna go for that one. A lot of things will happen before my kids will be taken from me. Laura. You can go spend the night at your cop friend's house, date a cop, all.

Whatever you got to do.

But my kids are gonna be with me come hell or high water. I'm sorry, but I've got to fight me now. These are my children. And if it takes me doing something crazy, I'll do it. Because you know I'm capable of it. And you know I love my children. Those are the two things you're not gonna cross. Do not take my children. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? Where are my children?

[Laura Sweetman]

I'll get them.

[Dave Sweetman]

No. I'll get them. I want my children. I'm not gonna just trust you. Where are my children?

[Laura Sweetman]

They're with the police.

[Dave Sweetman]

All right, will you have the police bring them here? No, you can do this.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Here.

[Laura Sweetman]

Let me step outside. Okay?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And I'll.

[Host]

At this point, Laura steps out and makes a call to the person who has her kids. And then the audio cuts off when the deputies go to arrest Dave. They have not listened to this whole recording yet, but they show up with a huge police presence, mostly because of the threats Laura accused Dave of making and the weapons that she said he had. The following body cam audio of their conversation with Dave has been edited for time and clarity, and it's going to pick up at the point where Dave has already been put in handcuffs.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

The reason I'm here is your wife. After she left, she called the sheriff's office saying that you and her were involved in an altercation where she alleged that you wouldn't let her leave. You tried to choke her a couple times. Every time she would go out the door, you would grab her by the throat and pull her back in. While you guys talked for, I think it was, what, an hour, hour and a half? I'm talking. What she's alleging. She said, during which time you threatened that neither one of you would get

[Dave Sweetman]

out of it alive.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

You would kill her and yourself. Then you took that back and said you would only kill yourself, which that, in itself I have a problem with,

[Dave Sweetman]

because I don't want.

I didn't choke her.

I didn't touch her. I didn't grab her, Okay? I asked her if she wanted me. You know, I. I was. At that point, I'm. I get home from a trip, you know, taking my children to a wrestling tournament, gone all weekend, and I'm slapped in the face with mistakes that I've made, which, you know, I fully acknowledge, you know, the mistakes that I've made.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay, well, what started the whole thing tonight,

[Dave Sweetman]

she handed me a notebook saying that the reason why she's leaving is because I've had an affair.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

And, you know, I. I told her that, you know, I wanted to make it right. I wanted to make it better. I didn't want her to leave. Please don't leave me. You know, and in the. In the, you know, would I kill myself thing, I. I asked if that was something that she wanted. I'm like, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to, you know, do you want me to shoot myself? What do you want me to do? What. What do I need to do. To prove to you how much I love you and care about you.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Course of conversation. Did you make reference to you killing both of you and her or.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, absolutely not. Absolutely. I. And in fact, I didn't even say I would. I would kill my. I asked her if that's what she wanted.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Because I had. Have an hour and I think 20 minutes worth of audio recordings that I haven't listened to yet. That has the whole conversation you guys had. Okay. That's why I'm asking you before I go ahead and spend an hour and 20 minutes listening to it, what am I going to hear on there?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no, I, I don't. I don't think I. I said that I would kill her ever.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

No, you don't think or you didn't?

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't think I did. Okay, well, look, I was really upset, you know, I was. Was, you know.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Right. Very, very, very upset. Okay. But she was very fearful when she was talking to me, which is why, you see.

[Dave Sweetman]

Sure.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

The police presence you see here when I came to talk to you.

[Dave Sweetman]

Understood.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Is because she was worried that you might do something when we get here, whether it be. Do something like shoot at us, shoot yourself, all the things that we wanted to prevent. That's why there was a show of force.

[Dave Sweetman]

I hear you.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I hear. Because you've got to do your job. I'd rather be here with a bunch of cops and nothing happened than be here by myself and have to wait for somebody to show up. Sure.

[Dave Sweetman]

Understood. Understood.

A lot of.

A lot of crazy stuff going on these days. No, I. Like I said, I, you know, I. I don't think I ever said it was killing.

[Laura Sweetman]

No.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

And I. Obviously, I would never do that for the simple fact that she's the mother of my children and I love her very much in the care for him.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Unfortunately, people do stupid things. You see it on the news all the time. People love each other and they still shoot each other.

[Dave Sweetman]

Oh, you're right. You're right.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

In moments of anger and.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah. Well, yeah. Irrational. Irrational thinking. Yes, I, I understand. And, and sure, I, I was at that point. I was probably very irrational, but not to the point where I'm gonna, you know, punch her or. Or choke her or any of that stuff.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Would you have said anything to make her concerned that you would be coming after her to where she would have to be fearful of you?

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, I did say, you know, hey, I'm not going to let you take my kids.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

I'm not going to let you take My kids, you know, I'm not going to let you take my kids.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Was there any threat to any other bodily harm? Not to the extent of killing her, but something else that she would have been fearful of.

[Dave Sweetman]

What do you mean?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

That's what I, What I'm asking you. Like, if she was to take the kids where you hurt her.

[Dave Sweetman]

No, no, no, I.

No, I mean, obviously, I mean, if she's gonna leave and I can't get her to forgive me and understand, you know, and, and she's past the point of understanding, then, okay, then I, you know, I've got to go into, Hey, I gotta fight for my kids, okay? I've got to fight for my kids. You know, I've got to get an attorney. I mean, if you look on my phone, that's, you know, when you called, that's what I was doing. I was looking up Arizona divorce law.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

You know, it's right there on my phone, you know.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And how many kids do you share together?

[Dave Sweetman]

Three.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Three. And how long have you guys been married?

[Dave Sweetman]

Since 1991.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

It's a long time.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, it's 20, 22 years now.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Was there any type of fil. Physical altercation between either you or her putting her hands on you or anything?

[Dave Sweetman]

No.

I mean, when the, the only time we ever even got body to body

[Laura Sweetman]

was,

[Dave Sweetman]

was I, you know, I hugged her and she didn't want to hug me back. Okay, and then when was this hug,

[Deputy / Police Officer]

as you call it? I have to kind of have it all laid out.

[Dave Sweetman]

I got you.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I got to get things from your perspective.

[Dave Sweetman]

I got you.

She.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Was it, like at the door? And did you pull her back inside when you did it?

[Dave Sweetman]

What.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Tell me what happened there. Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

So I knew, so something was going on.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

When I first came home, she, she immediately took the kids and said, we're going to Walmart. So I was just like, okay. So I go in the house, I'm starting to put stuff away in, and the bedroom door is locked. I'm like, okay, why is the bedroom door. I'm looking around for one of those little things to, you know, open the door, can't find it. So I go around to the back door and I go in the, the, the bedroom and everything's gone. And I'm like, oh, what. What just happened here? So I start calling her. I'm like, hey, you know, are you still at Walmart?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

No, I'm not.

[Dave Sweetman]

So I'm like, okay, what time you coming back? Can you bring a pizza? You know, I'm trying to feel what's going on here? She said, sure, bring a pizza. So it had been a while. So I'm getting ready to leave, so, you know, because I think maybe she's at another friend of her house, our friend of hers house, okay? So I pull out, and I see her pull in. So I pull in, you know, I turn around, come back. She said, your pizza's upstairs. And I met her at the garage to the house door, okay? She was coming out, and I'm like, hey, what's talk? Because I knew something was going on. She hands me this and says

[Deputy / Police Officer]

something

[Dave Sweetman]

to the effect of, I can't do this anymore. And we start talking. We, you know, and. And I'm just, you know, I don't. I don't, you know, strike her or anything.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I.

[Dave Sweetman]

You know, I know I did put my arms around her. I'm. I'm like, hey, you know, come on, we'll see. Talk. Let's talk. Please, let's talk. We move into the living room. We're talking there. But. But before. Hold on. But before I. I went in the house, I reached into her. Her car, and I took the car keys.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Which one was her car?

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, it's not here, Okay? I took the Tahoe keys, put in my pocket because I wanted to talk to her, okay? So we. We get towards the back door. We're talking. I don't remember everything that was said. You know, basically, I'm pleading, okay. You know, to, you know, give me another chance. She has the dog, and I think she's gonna take the dog for a walk. So we start to walk outside,

[Deputy / Police Officer]

and then.

[Dave Sweetman]

I was. I was like, towards the. The driveway side, and she. I don't know if, like, she was letting the dog go or what, but she, like, started to bolt that way, and I'm like, hold on. Let's talk. Let's talk. Let's talk. Come on, let's talk. Let's talk. And I. I do think she said something like, you're not letting me leave.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

Now that I'm thinking about all this, in hindsight, not feel like I must have set up for this, because I do believe she did say something. You're not letting me leave. And I'm just like, you know, I just want to talk to you.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay?

[Dave Sweetman]

I love you. I want to talk to you. And, you know, we talked for a while longer, and, you know, when I, you know, bared my soul, and she's just like, you know, you know, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do you know, And I'm like, okay. You know, I give her back her keys. I'm like, if you're going, you're going. You know, you got to go, you got to go. She didn't know I had the keys. I took them out of my pocket

[Deputy / Police Officer]

and told them, like, you're going to need these. Did her, you at any point take her phone away from her?

[Dave Sweetman]

I didn't take her phone from her. She, she carries two phones, by the way.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

I, I, I had my arms around, I was hugging her. I was like, please, please, please don't go. And her phone is in one of those little slip things, and it slipped in my hand. I just set it down, okay? And, and I, and I, in fact, told her, I'm like, Because, like, her phone went off or something like that, and she didn't realize it. I'm like, you know, it's over here. It's on the couch. I set it down. I didn't realize, you know, I was more focused on talking to her.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Right.

[Dave Sweetman]

But she still had another phone with her.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

By the way. I mean, if she really felt in fear of her life, she could have called or, you know.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Now, during your conversation with her while you were inside, did you stand between her and the door to make her think she couldn't leave or anything?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I, I sat on the ground. I was sitting on the ground.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Where in the home?

[Dave Sweetman]

I was. Oh, I, I, I. A couple times I leaned back onto the

[Laura Sweetman]

narrative.

[Dave Sweetman]

What the hell you call, like, the bar?

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Like the kitchen area?

[Dave Sweetman]

Yes. Okay. And she was, she was sitting on the edge of the couch by the door. Okay. While I was talking to her. And, I mean, if she, you know, if she wanted to, you know, she could have walked right out. And I think I made reference to that. You know, if you're, you know, if you want to walk out, you can walk out. You know, I'm, I'm, you know, I love you. I'm trying to salvage this, okay? So, you know, that was it.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

And then she, I told her, you know, I'm like, hey, you know. You know, she's like, you can have the kids anytime you want them. I'm like, well, then, you know, I want them. You know, I want them now. I want them tonight, you know. You know, they're, they're, they're, you know, she told me she, she left them with her friend, the, you know, the cop who's gonna, you know, take him to the police station. I'm like, my kids are at a Police station. No, they don't know what's going on with. With their dad.

They don't know anything.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Anything. Do you or her have any kids from any other relationships?

[Dave Sweetman]

I do, which is part of the problem.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay, what about her? Does she have any kids from any other relationship or just the three that you guys have?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, she. No, she's okay. I mean, I've known her since she was.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Well, I'm just asking. I'm just going to count for everything. Okay. All right.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's, you know, that's basically it. And I'm just like, you know, where are my kids? Where are my kids? You know, I want my kids. I want them tonight. I want my kids. She's like, okay, well, let me. Let me go. Let me go call. I'm like. I'm like, no, have your friend bring the kids here.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

You know, let me.

[Dave Sweetman]

She's like, let me go pick them up.

Bring them.

I'm not. No, have your. Have your friend bring them here or we'll go get them. You know, I don't trust that, and rightfully so. So she goes outside. She. I don't know if she feigned to make a phone call or actually made a phone call, but then, you know, I sat inside for, you know, 10, 15 minutes before, you know, I walked outside, knowing what I already know, that you left.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Up until today, have you guys had any other problems? Have you been arguing more lately? Anything like that?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, actually, no. I mean, we. I mean, we're civil to each other. I mean, we have. We haven't been perfect, but the closest time we've had to,

you know, any.

Any argument was probably Jesus, eight months ago. And we just, you know, I thought at that point maybe we were going to, you know, you know, hit the skits. You know, I was just like, you know, I. You know, I want to have my kids if, you know, if we're not going to be together, I want to have, you know, primary custody of my kids.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

Which I do believe is the.

You know, honestly, now, in hindsight, I

believe that this entire night was engineered to, you know, to make me look like a jackass, which.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Well, as far as the kids go, I don't. What I'm doing doesn't determine who gets custody of who or anything. That has to go through a family court judge, and the family court judge has to decide. That has nothing to do with what's

[Dave Sweetman]

going on right now.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Who has custody of the kids. Understood.

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, obviously, if. If she's going to try you know, she's obviously trying to get me into trouble. If she can get me into trouble, then that, you know, that weighs against me.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Well, again, this is a criminal side versus the family court side. Well, I mean, yeah, they can tie

[Dave Sweetman]

together, but this, if I'm, if I'm

a criminal, they're not going to give me.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

This won't be a deciding factor if you're going to get your kids or not. Oh no. And you still have to be convicted right now you're not guilty of any crimes. You have to be go through the court process before you're found guilty and convicted of a crime and be, as you said, a criminal.

[Dave Sweetman]

I understand, but I mean, I mean

[Deputy / Police Officer]

tonight is just enough. Tonight allegations are one thing, it's not a definite thing. She made allegations. So that's why I'm here investigating things. Because I, I haven't listened to the whole hour and 20 minute long recording that she gave me.

[Laura Sweetman]

Okay.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

That's sitting on my computer right now to listen to.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

And I'm trying to get to the bottom of what would actually happen because sometimes even just because she's the one that called 911 or, or the non emergency doesn't mean everything went the way she said it went. That's why I'm here to talk to you as well. Sure.

[Dave Sweetman]

I mean I was a rational, you know, I was an idiot, but mean. I was, you know, begging for my.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

The reason you saw the presence though was because of what she told me initially about firearms. You may not be cooperative this and that. So rather than take a chance, I got you. I, I didn't do. You came out just fine. You cooperated just fine.

[Dave Sweetman]

But I had to, I'm calmer now.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

You know, I'm, I'm trying to, I'm

[Dave Sweetman]

trying to piece together all of this

[Deputy / Police Officer]

for my safety, for all their safety. That's why things went down the way they do. It does, it doesn't increase the severity of anything. You just, you don't have to, you

[Dave Sweetman]

don't have to explain that. I understand that. I mean my, my only negative thought right now is like, Jesus Christ, did I say something that I didn't mean that's going to be used against me? You know, I'm trying to think right. Did I say something ridiculous that I didn't mean and I don't think I did.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Well, as far as eing said, the things that I'm most concerned about is if you threaten to kill her or yourself.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, those are the two things that I, I, I don't think I. Look, it's possible you look at it

or read it or.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Well, I'm gonna have to listen to it. Yeah, I'm not for sure.

[Dave Sweetman]

I don't, I mean, look, I mean I, I may have said something. It's. It's completely possible. I don't think I did. But I mean, I was in there for a long time. Time, you know, begging for my, you know, my life, my livelihood, you know, my life, you know, trying to salvage what was there. And if I said something stupid, it would definitely be. The only way I could chalk it up to anything is just being a rational thought.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

Nothing behind it.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

All right, now off the subject. Where are the weapons in the house?

[Dave Sweetman]

Upstairs in the, It's like a, it's like a little closet area and if you, if you go into that, there's

[Laura Sweetman]

a,

[Dave Sweetman]

It's a, it's to the far like if you walk in it, to the far left hand side there's a, like a shotgun case and it's got a shotgun in it with a,

[Deputy / Police Officer]

the

[Dave Sweetman]

trigger guard and some of what we did. And the, actually the, The pistol is probably with it in the case.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay, so is it just the two guns?

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

All right.

[Dave Sweetman]

And that. Well, and then at my office I have a gun.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. And your office is in Phoenix?

[Dave Sweetman]

Yes.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Now would you be okay with me to take him for tonight as a safekeeping thing and hold on to him so there's no allegations in the future?

[Dave Sweetman]

No, I, I don't. Obviously not. I don't want, you know, I don't to want not to go through any of that if, if I don't have to.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

You know, I, I honestly, I, I. Irregardless of anything that has been said, I don't feel as though I've done anything to, you know, put anyone in jeopardy or harm.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. So. All right, well, I'm going go talk to my partners a little bit and I got to listen to some of that right now recording. So I kind of know what if any of the allegations were true. Cuz I'm not going to charge you with things you didn't do or allegedly didn't do.

[Dave Sweetman]

Okay, well, I mean, I appreciate it. All right.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

I try to do my job as fair as possible.

[Dave Sweetman]

I got you. Okay. Are these as loose as they.

I'm just, I'm.

I've been a long time since I've been in any handcuffs in Hipp.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

What were your handcuffs before?

[Dave Sweetman]

Had a guy road rage me about four years ago right out here. I was in My big tow truck. So I pulled into the Center Divide because more than, you know, where two lanes go to one, I pulled in that, you know, the suicide line, because I don't want the guy seeing where I live.

Right.

And I just stopped there, and I sat there. The guy turned around and came back.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Now, were you arrested for that or.

[Dave Sweetman]

Yeah, actually. Well, what happened was, is the guy. I never got out of my truck. The guy kicked my door in.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

The officer. Gilbert.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Officer.

[Dave Sweetman]

He. He took me down and charged me with either disorderly conduct or something, and it got wiped away because there was no evidence.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. Did you go to jail that night or just going to kill?

[Dave Sweetman]

I came. Yeah. They had me drive my truck in here. They took me down, booked me in. Okay. And then that same officer drove me back. I think once he realized the. That, you know, I didn't do anything, he. Because he came out the next day and apologized.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Okay. So, I mean, you're kind of a big guy. I'll put a second set on so you have a little bit of room to move.

[Dave Sweetman]

Well, thank you.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

So go ahead.

[Dave Sweetman]

And I guess the fat part of me.

[Deputy / Police Officer]

Go ahead and step out and then face the vehicle. Okay. That way it'll give you more room so it's not as much pressure on your shoulder. I got the lock facing you. Just keep facing the truck. Okay.

[Dave Sweetman]

Gotcha.

[Host]

My reporter, Nicole and I found this audio incredibly insightful. I mean, we could spend all day guessing how Laura felt about her marriage or her safety when leaving that marriage, but you can only get so much when trying to read between black and white lines on a police report. To hear it in her own words. I mean, it's hard to overstate how important this was. So thank you to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for fulfilling this request. This is how it's supposed to work. And I think hearing this now raises a lot more questions, not just about Laura's case, but even about Nick Cordova's, too. If you remember from Nick Cordova's episode, Dave had told officers that the gun he had in his office he had just gotten because of a domestic custody dispute that he was having in 2020. Well, maybe that gun was new, but Dave was pretty clear here. He had a gun in his office as early as 2013. Did something just get lost in translation, or should we read more into that? I also think Laura had a lot of information about Dave's business dealings, information that I think could be critical to understanding how this man operated then and in 2020, maybe even now, and a couple of questions are top of mind for me coming out of hearing this one. What fire was Laura referencing? Does anyone out there know about a fire that happened which was somehow connected to one of Dave's businesses? Second, what is the deal with this $400,000 of tax debt that Laura is talking about being in that they're going to be coming after her for? And more importantly, I would love to know more about all those insurance payouts that Dave seemed to be expecting to help them get in a good spot. And third, and finally, we obviously looked into all the businesses Dave had in his name, but at one point, Laura accused Dave of starting a business with his mistress and putting his and Laura's children's names on the LLC to ensure the woman wouldn't become a majority owner or take anything that wasn't hers. Now I feel like I have to go down another rabbit hole. Does this LLC still exist? What is it? Do any of you out there know? You guys have been incredible with reaching out and sharing information. This audio that we got is not the only tip we've gotten in relation to this case. And I promise when we have more, I'll be back. In the meantime, keep it coming, you guys. I said it before, but I mean it. Just because the episode ends does not mean our reporting stops. So you can reach out to us anytime by emailing tipsoudiochuck.com we'll be back Monday with our regularly scheduled programming.