Deadly Entanglement

Summary

Dateline NBC: Deadly Entanglement

Release Date: March 18, 2025
Host/Author: NBC News

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Overview

In the gripping episode titled "Deadly Entanglement," Dateline NBC delves deep into the mysterious and tragic murder of Desiree Sunford, an art teacher from Moses Lake, Washington. The case intertwines complex relationships, hidden affairs, and unresolved suspicions that continue to haunt her family and friends years after the crime. This detailed summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn throughout the episode.

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The Tragic Discovery

The story begins in the quiet environs of Yakima County, where Desiree Sunford was found brutally murdered in her home.

• Scott Sunford, Desiree’s husband, recounts the night of the murder:

  "We were searching through the house and I could see Desiree on the floor. She was shot very violently." [01:12]

Desiree was discovered lying in her underwear with multiple gunshot wounds, painting a grim picture of the violence that ensued.

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Unraveling Relationships

Central to the case is the complex relationship triangle between Desiree, her husband Scott, and their mutual friend Paige Blades.

• During interviews, Scott mentions Paige:

  "Desiree and Paige and Scott all knew each other." [01:32]

• Desiree adds poignantly:

  "I was accepted as a part of their marriage." [01:35]

This arrangement, initially harmonious, began to deteriorate seven months before Desiree’s murder, leading to mounting tensions and eventual chaos.

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The Investigation Begins

Detective Dave Johnson, a retired Yakima County Sheriff's Deputy, spearheads the investigation. Early evidence raises suspicions but lacks concrete connections.

• Desiree's mother, Connie, expresses her doubts about Scott’s involvement:

  "His attitude, his behavior, his demeanor, his actions were just gross." [08:03]

Scott’s calm demeanor at the crime scene, coupled with his military background, initially obscures his potential motives.

• Detective Johnson remarks on Scott’s unusual behavior:

  "It just was not the normal response for an individual thinking his wife was hurt or in danger." [18:29]

Despite these red flags, physical evidence such as DNA and shoe prints did not link Scott directly to the crime, leading the investigation to stall.

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Paige Blades Enters the Frame

The plot thickens with Paige Blades' involvement. Her intimate relationship with both Scott and Desiree becomes a focal point of suspicion.

• Paige Blades reveals:

  "I was also sexual with her as well, yes." [31:26]

She describes a deteriorating friendship with Desiree, marked by possessiveness and eventual conflict:

"I was super confused. Why would you wait? Like, why?" [26:36]

The revelation of this three-way relationship introduces multiple angles for potential motives behind Desiree’s murder.

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Marty Grismer’s Confession

A significant breakthrough occurs 14 months post-murder when Marty Grismer, a coworker of Paige at a food processing plant, is implicated through a tip.

• Paige claims Marty confessed:

  "He said, well, you're going to jail." [73:16]

Marty’s confession aligns with specific crime scene details, such as the type of gun used and the method of entry, which he had previously showcased.

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Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Facing mounting evidence, Marty Grismer accepts an Alford plea, reducing his charge from first-degree murder to second-degree. This decision results in a 15-year prison sentence, scheduled for release in 2029.

• Desiree’s family expresses their dissatisfaction:

  "No, it's not good enough, because he's still not admitting any guilt, and he's only getting 15 years." [87:51]

Despite Marty’s confession, lingering suspicions about Scott and Paige persist among those closest to Desiree.

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Lingering Doubts and Unresolved Questions

The family's belief that Scott and Paige might still hold key information remains unshaken, even though no substantive evidence directly links them to the murder. The episode highlights the emotional turmoil and quest for justice faced by Desiree’s loved ones.

• Desiree’s friend, Kayla, reflects:

  "I honestly think that she asked Marty to do what he did." [74:23]

• Scott Sunford provides closure from his perspective:

  "I had nothing to do with it. It's incredibly unfair that I risked my life to do the right thing, and I'm being crucified for existing." [88:39]

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Conclusion

"Deadly Entanglement" presents a multi-layered true-crime narrative that explores the intricate dynamics of personal relationships and their potential to spiral into tragedy. While Marty Grismer's conviction brings some resolution, the episode underscores the lasting impact of Desiree Sunford’s untimely death on her community, emphasizing that some mysteries continue to linger long after legal proceedings conclude.

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Notable Quotes

• Scott Sunford on Finding Desiree:

  "We were searching through the house and I could see Desiree on the floor. She was shot very violently." [01:12]

• Desiree Sunford on Her Relationship:

  "I was accepted as a part of their marriage." [01:35]

• Detective Johnson on Scott’s Behavior:

  "It just was not the normal response for an individual thinking his wife was hurt or in danger." [18:29]

• Paige Blades on Marty’s Motive:

  "He decided that if the baby was Scott's like it was supposed to be, then Desiree would cause issues." [54:24]

• Desiree’s Mother on Scott’s Demeanor:

  "His attitude, his behavior, his demeanor, his actions were just gross." [08:03]

• Desiree Sunford on Marty’s Confession:

  "I can only speak to you about one thing at this point. Sentence this evil being to the harshest prison in our system." [87:19]

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Final Thoughts

The episode serves as a poignant reminder of how personal entanglements can lead to unforeseen and devastating consequences. Dateline NBC masterfully weaves together interviews, testimonies, and investigative insights to present a comprehensive portrayal of Desiree Sunford’s life, her untimely death, and the enduring quest for truth and justice by those left behind.

Transcript

[Lester Holt]

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[Blaine Alexander]

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[Lester Holt]

Tonight on dateline.

[Desiree Sunford]

I hear on the news that Desiree Sunford had been found murdered. And I screamed.

[Blaine Alexander]

We were searching through the house and I could see Desiree on the floor. She was shot very violently. Scott was very talkative. I actually stayed with a friend. What's the friend's name? Oh, her name's Paige.

[Scott Sunford]

You're wondering who is Paige?

[Lester Holt]

That's right. Is he having an affair?

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree and Paige and Scott all knew each other.

[Lester Holt]

Well, yes.

[Desiree Sunford]

I was accepted as a part of their marriage.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige called this tip in. She says, I know who the killer is.

[Lester Holt]

That's right. A name that had never come up before.

[Blaine Alexander]

She's trying to set me up. Saying that killed someone. It makes me sick.

[Desiree Sunford]

A psycho switch her way into their life and created chaos.

[Blaine Alexander]

Talk about twists. I was completely blown away.

[Desiree Sunford]

I risked my life to do the right thing and I'm being crucified.

[Lester Holt]

A husband, a wife, a mistress. Did a three way affair lead to murder? I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. Here's Blaine Alexander with Deadly Entanglement.

[Scott Sunford]

We've all had that fear, that middle of the night, home alone in a dark, empty house kind of fear.

[Blaine Alexander]

I can't imagine what went through her mind.

[Scott Sunford]

We hear a noise and the imagination runs wild. Of course, we usually just. Just shrug it off, go back to sleep and wake up the next morning perfectly fine. This is not that story. The woman in this story woke up alone to that very nightmare. It was around 3:30am Someone was in her house.

[Blaine Alexander]

They'll be there to help her. They'll be there to defend her.

[Scott Sunford]

Someone who was there only to kill and it was pretty clear that this wasn't just a robbery gone wrong.

[Lester Holt]

That's correct.

[Scott Sunford]

A diabolical plot born of sex and obsession, where the killer was as unexpected as the victim.

[Desiree Sunford]

Who would want to kill Tez? She had no enemies and there was just no reason, no reason at all to kill her.

[Scott Sunford]

Yakima County, Washington, where a marriage of mountains and countryside creates a stunning backdrop. Picturesque, certainly, but people here are no strangers to crime. Retired Yakima County Sheriff's Deputy Ed Levesque has patrolled nearly every square mile of this county and seen everything from petty theft to homicide.

[Blaine Alexander]

It's been a ride. I've seen a lot, learned a lot.

[Scott Sunford]

So a late night call to report a possible break in wasn't rare. Like that call on April 7, 2013.

[Desiree Sunford]

Sheriff's office.

[Blaine Alexander]

It came out as like a welfare check. Sometimes they're absolutely nothing and sometimes they're bad.

[Scott Sunford]

Hi, ma'am, this is Scott Sunford. 31 year old Scott Sunford was driving home to Yakima county when he saw a notification. An alarm had gone off at his house where his wife Desiree was home alone. I had three census trips and I've.

[Lester Holt]

Been out of town with family for a funeral.

[Scott Sunford]

My wife was home and I had.

[Desiree Sunford]

Okay, did somebody break into the residence?

[Scott Sunford]

I don't know. I've been out of town. I'm just on my way back and.

[Lester Holt]

I haven't been able to get ahold of the wife.

[Scott Sunford]

Deputies were dispatched to the scene, but Scott got there first. He called 911 again.

[Lester Holt]

I just got home and the board that I have over my back door has been broken and I still haven't heard back from my wife.

[Scott Sunford]

I need an officer here now.

[Desiree Sunford]

She stayed home at this address?

[Lester Holt]

Yes.

[Scott Sunford]

Ed Levesque and two other sheriff's deputies raced to get to Scott. But the house was way out of town.

[Blaine Alexander]

You have to drive down a series of Tulane county roads. There's no street lights out here. Further out you go, the less homes you'll see.

[Scott Sunford]

Scott was still on the line with 911. I'm in the driveway. I haven't tried to enter it yet or anything. He even gave the operator his wife's phone number to call. It went straight to voicemail.

[Desiree Sunford]

You've reached every comfort and made me.

[Scott Sunford]

A message and I'll get back to.

[Desiree Sunford]

You when I can.

[Scott Sunford]

When Deputy Levesque and his partners finally arrived, they saw a man standing outside pointing a gun and a spotlight at the house.

[Blaine Alexander]

My first thought was that there was a police officer already here. And as I approached him. I could see that he was not a police officer. However, it was a guy standing just outside the. The driver's side of that door with the door open. And I saw that he had a pistol pointed at the house.

[Scott Sunford]

It was Scott.

[Blaine Alexander]

I says, what are you doing with the gun? Did you go inside the house and check on your wife? He says, no. I don't know what I'm gonna find in there.

[Scott Sunford]

Just steps into the dark house. The deputies found Desiree on the floor in her underwear, a bandage on her leg.

[Blaine Alexander]

I could see part of her body. And as I got closer, I could see that she had obviously suffered multiple gunshots. And I could see casings on the floor. I could see a lot of trauma, a lot of blood. And it was obvious that she was deceased. You know, I've been to quite a few homicides that involved firearms, but not like this. Looking at how many times she had been shot, it was obvious to me that person wanted to make sure she was dead.

[Scott Sunford]

So it was that very moment in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere that a wild mystery began. Are there parts of this case that still kind of linger in your mind that still kind of bother you?

[Lester Holt]

There were some red flags that just didn't seem to add up.

[Desiree Sunford]

His attitude, his behavior, his demeanor, his actions were just gross. She just never seemed like she would be that person that would be willing to accept another person in her home, in her marriage.

[Scott Sunford]

What were you thinking when you heard that name?

[Desiree Sunford]

My exact thought was, who the hell's that guy?

[Scott Sunford]

All through the night, detectives and forensic techs arrived at Desiree Sunford's home, Now a crime scene. Desiree's husband, Scott, remained outside the house, no longer holding his gun.

[Blaine Alexander]

We secured the gun, and we put him back of the patrol car.

[Scott Sunford]

Meanwhile, local police broke the terrible news to Desiree's mother, who then called her son Desiree's brother Casey Desiree's dad. That's all she could say.

[Lester Holt]

I think I blacked out a little bit or something, because I was. Next thing I remember, I was on the floor, just talking, crying into the phone with mom.

[Scott Sunford]

It was impossible for Desiree's loved ones to believe she was gone. Kayla Lewis was one of her closest and oldest friends. What stood out about Desiree?

[Desiree Sunford]

Desiree was. Are we allowed to cuss? Sure. Okay. I'm sorry.

[Scott Sunford]

Give me what you feel.

[Desiree Sunford]

She was just a badass. She rode her Harley and carried a sidearm. And she loved art. She did a lot of art herself. But she was just a Good person all around.

[Scott Sunford]

And Desiree loved cars, classic cars. Her dad taught her how to restore anything from a truck to a convertible. And even after he died from cancer when she was 12, she kept working under the hood.

[Lester Holt]

We surprised her with her first car with the chevelle for her 16th birthday. It was a special day. Very special day.

[Desiree Sunford]

Turn the key.

[Scott Sunford]

Of course, at 16, she had another Focus Boys. One in particular. Scott Sunford. Her friend Kim O'Dell says Desiree got a kick out of Scott's goofy side.

[Desiree Sunford]

He was always the jokester, always the prankster, always having a good time. As long as I've known her, it's always been Desiree, her Chevy, and Scott.

[Scott Sunford]

Those three.

[Desiree Sunford]

Those were those three things.

[Scott Sunford]

When did they seriously start talking?

[Desiree Sunford]

She wanted to be done with school and then get married and then start having a family.

[Scott Sunford]

That plan changed a little bit, though.

[Desiree Sunford]

It did because he was enlisted and then had to go to Iraq.

[Scott Sunford]

Scott proposed in 2003. He was 22. She was 21. The wedding was just days before he deployed.

[Lester Holt]

Everybody seemed happy. Desiree and Scott seemed happy.

[Scott Sunford]

While Scott was deployed, Desiree finished college and even earned a graduate degree. Eventually, she got her dream job as an art teacher at Wapato Middle School outside of Yakima. Michelle Howell and Desiree bonded as young teachers.

[Desiree Sunford]

It was nice to have somebody that was relatively my age that was right there.

[Scott Sunford]

You know, every school has a cool teacher where you just want to go and sit and eat your lunch or just go and sit and just talk. It sounds like Desiree.

[Desiree Sunford]

She was one of them.

[Scott Sunford]

Was a cool teacher.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yep, she was definitely one of them.

[Scott Sunford]

By 2012, Scott was back in Washington working at a National Guard training center. The couple adopted a dog and named her Ada. They scraped together enough money to buy a home way out in the country. She's married, her high school. Sweet. They have a home together.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah, and she was so proud of that.

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree and Scott seemed well on their way to building a happy grown up life. But then on April 2, just five days before she was murdered, Desiree came home to find someone had broken into their house and stolen an iPad and a laptop. The burglary shook her up. Scott put up a plywood board over the broken back window, and to calm Desiree's fears, they installed an alarm system. Did Desiree still feel comfortable inside her home?

[Desiree Sunford]

Once the board got up back on the back door, it wasn't the end of the world. She was like, she knew she had her alarm system. She knew that she could take care of herself, handle herself.

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree owned firearms, too, and always kept a gun at her bedside. But neither the alarm nor her gun stopped her killer. And now the terrible news of Desiree's death was everywhere.

[Desiree Sunford]

I was getting ready for work Monday morning and I hear on the news that local art teacher Desiree Sunford had been found killed or murdered. And I stopped and I screamed. I'm like, tell me it's a lie. Tell me it's a lie. Tell me it's a lie.

[Scott Sunford]

Now, down at the sheriff's office, investigators were digging into the case.

[Blaine Alexander]

Do I have your permission to keep recording? Absolutely.

[Scott Sunford]

Starting with Scott Sunford.

[Blaine Alexander]

Are you willing to keep talking to me now about what happened out at your house? Of course.

[Scott Sunford]

Scott explained he had been out of town the day before at his aunt's funeral. When the weather got bad, he called Desiree.

[Blaine Alexander]

It was probably 11 or so. And I told her, you know, it's kind of rainy, it's windy, tired as hell, long day. And they want to do a breakfast get together in the morning. I'm gonna stay here for the night.

[Scott Sunford]

He said he didn't start for home until 5:30 the next evening.

[Blaine Alexander]

All along the drive, I just kept calling her randomly trying to get ahold of her. And he just wasn't getting anything from her. And it was kind of freaking me out.

[Scott Sunford]

He checked his phone again. That's when he noticed the alarm had gone off. Hours earlier, he made that first call to 91 1.

[Desiree Sunford]

Did somebody break into the residence?

[Scott Sunford]

I don't know. Investigators were curious about Scott's last minute decision to stay overnight. They would become even more curious when he told them where he stayed.

[Blaine Alexander]

You stayed at your dad's in Kennewick? No, I actually stayed with a friend. What's the friend's name? Oh, her name's Paige. She's a mutual friend.

[Lester Holt]

A true crime story never really ends. Even when a case is closed, the journey for those left behind is just beginning. Since our DATELINE story aired, Tracy has harnessed her outrage into a mission.

[Scott Sunford]

I had no other option. I had to do something, catch up.

[Lester Holt]

With families, friends and investigators on our bonus series after the Verdict. Ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with strength and courage.

[Desiree Sunford]

It does just change your life.

[Scott Sunford]

But speaking up for these issues helps.

[Lester Holt]

Me keep going to listen to after the verdict. So subscribe to DATELINE Premium on Apple podcasts, Spotify or@dateline premium.com. hey, guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with Don Cheadle to talk about a prolific career that ranges from Oscar worthy drama to the big budget fun of An Ocean's Eleven heist and a spin through the Marvel Universe. Plus his buzzed about new series Fight Night. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.

[Blaine Alexander]

Over the past several days, three females have been found dead.

[Desiree Sunford]

Looks like someone's going after these girls.

[Scott Sunford]

Then they have to know to watch their backs. Streaming now.

[Blaine Alexander]

You really want what will happen if.

[Desiree Sunford]

This will ever happen to you.

[Scott Sunford]

Exactly why I need to keep going on this. Starring Emmy Award winner Amanda Seyfried.

[Lester Holt]

Worry about what you're gonna find.

[Desiree Sunford]

So mindful.

[Lester Holt]

Long Bright River a limited series.

[Scott Sunford]

Streaming now only on Peacock When Desiree Sunford was shot to death during an apparent break in at her home, deputies at the scene noticed right away. Her husband, Scott seemed strangely calm.

[Blaine Alexander]

He had no emotion whatsoever. None whatsoever. It wasn't like he was trying to absorb bad news. I don't believe he ever asked me questions about how his wife died.

[Scott Sunford]

Now Scott was sitting in an interview room.

[Blaine Alexander]

I just didn't know what the hell was going on.

[Scott Sunford]

And something about him didn't sit right with the detective either. He asked Scott why he stayed on with the 911 operator instead of rushing inside to see if his wife was okay.

[Blaine Alexander]

My stomach was churning. I was shaking. I had convinced myself by that point something had to be wrong. Well, I'm just thinking you're a big guy, so if anyone's gonna be willing to go charging in the house and make sure their wife's okay, it would seem to me that it would be you. Well, it's not that I was afraid of anybody being in there. I'll take on 100 people for that's fine. What did you think you might see if you went inside? Roll around a thousand of the worst things you could think of.

[Lester Holt]

It just was not the normal response for an individual thinking his wife was hurt or in danger.

[Scott Sunford]

Yakima County Sheriff's Detective Dave Johnson, now retired, worked Desiree's case. And this is somebody who presumably could have handled a situation he knows his way around a firearm. He's got a gun.

[Lester Holt]

Yes. He's well trained. He has served in combat. So he would be able to handle the situation, in our opinion.

[Scott Sunford]

The detective interviewing Scott asked about his military service.

[Blaine Alexander]

I got blown up a few times, but nothing really well. I got shot too, but I was wearing body armor. How are you coping with that? Well, according to the military, I'm what they call mentally resilient. They said I deal with things quite well.

[Scott Sunford]

The detective switched topics and asked Scott about spending the night away after his aunt's funeral.

[Blaine Alexander]

Then you stayed at your dad's in Kennewick? No, I actually stayed with a friend. What's the friend's name? Oh, her name's Paige.

[Scott Sunford]

At this point, you're wondering, who is Paige?

[Lester Holt]

That's right. It's not a normal event. Unless he's having an affair with this lady.

[Blaine Alexander]

She a mutual friend?

[Scott Sunford]

A mutual friend of his and Desiree's.

[Blaine Alexander]

Did Desiree know that you were going to Paige's? I don't know. Honestly. It's not something you had discussed with her? No.

[Scott Sunford]

The red flags are just piling up on this guy at this point.

[Lester Holt]

It is. There's more to this relationship than what he's telling us.

[Blaine Alexander]

Was it just a platonic friendship, or were you. Did you have a sexual relationship with Paige? You know, I shouldn't go there because it's kind of rude, but. Well, Des didn't want me to say anything to anybody. At one point, her and Paige had a little thing going for a while there. Little experiment. Okay, so it was Desiree and Paige who had the sexual relationship. Yeah, but not. You're in Paige. Or we all did. Sometimes you're in Paige, too. Honestly, we all did. Okay.

[Scott Sunford]

I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?

[Lester Holt]

We did not know that was something. Sometimes you think you heard everything and something new comes up.

[Scott Sunford]

Did it seem as though he was trying to almost downplay his affair with Paige by saying that Desiree was involved? Desiree knew about it. She was good with all of it.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah. It was no big deal. We needed to find out as much as possible about their relationship. Was there a major jealousy going on?

[Scott Sunford]

The detective asked Scott if he knew of anyone who had a problem with Desiree.

[Blaine Alexander]

Nothing. I mean, who hates an art teacher if it's an elective?

[Scott Sunford]

The detective took a break and stepped out.

[Blaine Alexander]

Just sit tight for a second. Keep together.

[Scott Sunford]

And Scott kept the conversation going with himself.

[Blaine Alexander]

Knock it off. No tears. Don't think about your wife. Don't think about. Stop shaking. Stop shaking. Calm down.

[Scott Sunford]

Quit.

[Blaine Alexander]

Tear up, man. Suck it up. Suck it up.

[Lester Holt]

All the suspects I've interviewed over the years, that's. That's one of the first times I've seen that he was just like, he's really psyching himself up, that he wanted to have his emotions in control.

[Scott Sunford]

Was that suspicious to you?

[Lester Holt]

Very suspicious. Very suspicious.

[Scott Sunford]

Meanwhile, investigators had been gathering evidence there was some DNA under Desiree's fingernails?

[Lester Holt]

That's correct. That was sent to the lab.

[Scott Sunford]

There was also a shoe print on the carpet a few feet from Desiree's body.

[Lester Holt]

The person who made that print had stepped in some blood.

[Blaine Alexander]

You were wearing those shoes when we went to the house.

[Scott Sunford]

How important was that piece of evidence?

[Lester Holt]

If we found the correct shoe, that would match that, that would be very huge.

[Scott Sunford]

They also collected security video from the area looking for Scott's car. And they took his phone. Then they let him go.

[Blaine Alexander]

So we can about wrap it up here.

[Lester Holt]

There was nothing that we could even come remotely close to charging him with the murder of his wife just because he. He was acting funny.

[Scott Sunford]

But by the time he walked out of the sheriff's office, detectives weren't the only ones wondering about Scott. After Iraq, he was a different Scott.

[Desiree Sunford]

Different.

[Scott Sunford]

The students at Wapato Middle School were struggling. Desiree Sunford, the cool art teacher in room 147, was gone.

[Desiree Sunford]

When kids started finding out, those were tough conversations.

[Scott Sunford]

How were they taking it?

[Desiree Sunford]

We had a couple kiddos get really angry, really angry.

[Scott Sunford]

Fellow teacher Michelle Howell was heartbroken, too. But she put on a brave face.

[Desiree Sunford]

In education, you can't think about yourself. You gotta think about your kids.

[Scott Sunford]

Still, she realized just how raw her emotions were when a student came up to her during lunch break.

[Desiree Sunford]

And she goes, I'm sorry that your heart hurts, and I just broke down. And she goes, I'm gonna let you cry. Sure. But the commentary that swirled about what happened and how it happened and who did it, that's where the tininess of this valley starts to really play in.

[Scott Sunford]

So there were all sorts of wild theories flying around, Stupid theories.

[Desiree Sunford]

There were supposedly that one of our kids had done it, and then an angry parent had done it. You just wanted to put cotton in your ears so you don't listen. Who would want to kill Tez? Nobody.

[Scott Sunford]

People in Desiree's hometown of Moses Lake were both sad and stumped.

[Desiree Sunford]

She had no enemies. She was an amazing person. And there was just no reason, no reason at all to kill her.

[Scott Sunford]

At first, Kayla thought it could have been related to the burglary that happened a week earlier. Did you think person came back?

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah. I mean, that would be, I mean, a logical explanation.

[Scott Sunford]

When Kayla checked in with Desiree's mother, Connie, she learned about Scott's strange behavior at the crime scene.

[Desiree Sunford]

She told me that Scott called the police because he didn't want to go in. And she was very upset about it because he, you know, is military. He had a weapon, but he wouldn't go in to see if his wife was okay.

[Scott Sunford]

You've known him for much of his life. You've known him for years. Were you upset?

[Desiree Sunford]

I think initially I just questioned it, like, why? But I think if I were put in the same position, I cannot tell you how I would react.

[Scott Sunford]

And Kayla wasn't surprised that Scott seemed unemotional at the crime scene. For the Scott that, you know, that's not outside of his character.

[Desiree Sunford]

Correct. He was not an emotional person, so it wasn't out of character for him.

[Scott Sunford]

Michelle wasn't willing to give Scott that pass.

[Desiree Sunford]

You could not pay me enough to stand outside if I thought that someone I loved or someone that I cared about was hurt or dying or dead inside anywhere.

[Scott Sunford]

So when you heard that, what did that make you think?

[Desiree Sunford]

I was super confused. I was really confused. Why would you wait? Like, why? What would stop you? Like, what if she was still alive?

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree's brother Casey, wondered if Scott knew more than he was letting on.

[Lester Holt]

I never told mom this. I never told anybody. And I kept saying to myself, if Scott had anything to do with this, it's one of those gut feelings that there was something he wasn't saying telling us.

[Scott Sunford]

Kim O'Dell had the same gut feeling. She had known Scott since middle school, and she saw how much his time in the army had changed him after Iraq. He was a different Scott.

[Desiree Sunford]

Different how? Completely different. Just a darker sense of humor about things.

[Scott Sunford]

Did Desiree ever say anything about it?

[Desiree Sunford]

A little bit here and there.

[Scott Sunford]

So she noticed a shift, too?

[Desiree Sunford]

She did. I think we all did, especially those of us that were. That were close before and after.

[Scott Sunford]

People in Desiree's life noticed Scott seemed more detached, less loving. And there was another reason their marriage may not have been rock solid. Had you heard that Desiree was stepping out on Scott?

[Desiree Sunford]

I did.

[Scott Sunford]

Years earlier, Kim found out Desiree had cheated on Scott before they were married. Did she ever tell Scott about this?

[Desiree Sunford]

She did.

[Scott Sunford]

Did they have to try and patch things up? What did that look like?

[Desiree Sunford]

I think that there was a lot of trust lost in that, and I think that it was slowly them trying to rebuild.

[Scott Sunford]

Between Desiree's infidelity and the change she saw in Scott, Kim wondered if Scott had just snapped.

[Desiree Sunford]

I thought Scott lost his mind. Scott found out about things that had happened in the past, and he lost his mind.

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree's loved ones were grasping for answers. But what they didn't know was detectives thought they might already have one in Paige Blades, who was about to tell investigators her story.

[Blaine Alexander]

Was there ever Any jealousy or anger over the relationship?

[Desiree Sunford]

No. She became, I wouldn't say so much jealous, but a little bit more possessive of him.

[Scott Sunford]

Detectives wasted no time in contacting the other woman in Scott's and maybe Desiree's life, Paige Blades. How quickly did you go see her?

[Lester Holt]

It was later that morning. It was around 8, 9 o'clock that morning.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige said she didn't have money for gas, so detectives drove almost two hours to her house. She was 23, shared a young son with an ex boyfriend, and she worked at a food processing plant in Moses Lake.

[Blaine Alexander]

I understand that you're a friend of Scott and Desiree.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah.

[Scott Sunford]

How long did you talk with her?

[Lester Holt]

We probably talked with her an hour, hour and a half.

[Scott Sunford]

How did she come across to you in that conversation?

[Lester Holt]

Didn't seem to be too concerned.

[Blaine Alexander]

Can you just kind of tell me in your own words about your relationship with him, how long you've known him?

[Desiree Sunford]

I met Scott in February 2011, and we became friends. I met his wife, Desiree in May of the same year. We were friends. We all hung out. We did stuff together.

[Blaine Alexander]

What was the nature of your relationship with Scott?

[Desiree Sunford]

He's my best friend. He helped me sober up. He helped me with a lot of personal issues that I was going through.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige said she and Scott soon became more than friends.

[Desiree Sunford]

We became intimate probably later that first year, and his wife knew about it. I was accepted as a part of their marriage. I was. I. I had a relationship right along with both of them. In their bed. I shared food costs. I cooked, I cleaned.

[Blaine Alexander]

So you were involved in a sexual relationship with Scott and Desiree? No about it.

[Desiree Sunford]

I was also sexual with her as well, yes.

[Scott Sunford]

Just as Scott had told them. Paige said it was all good, that Desiree was perfectly comfortable with the arrangement. Until she wasn't. That was about seven months before her murder.

[Desiree Sunford]

She became, I wouldn't say so much jealous, but a little bit more possessive of him. And it kind of went away. When she started feeling uncomfortable, we kind of ended it. It was completely amicable, agreed upon. We stayed friends. There's never been an issue.

[Scott Sunford]

So now you're getting a different picture, perhaps, of this relationship than the one that Scott was portraying, that Desiree wasn't completely on board with their dealings.

[Lester Holt]

That's correct.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige said her relationship with Desiree may have cooled, but the affair with Scott continued right up until the night of Desiree's murder.

[Lester Holt]

Scott was still involved with her, and I'm not sure if Desiree knew that he was still involved with her.

[Blaine Alexander]

When was the Last time that you.

[Desiree Sunford]

Saw Scott, Last Saturday, two nights ago, he came. He had a funeral in Tri Cities, and he had to bet for nothing back here to spend the night.

[Scott Sunford]

As she talked, detectives thought she sounded a little too practiced.

[Blaine Alexander]

Your story seems very. It's almost too clean. It seems like rehearsed and perhaps coached from Scott, because your stories match too well.

[Lester Holt]

We asked her if Scott had told her to give him an alibi or tell her what to tell the police or anything like that, and she said no. He never talked to her other than he notified her that Desiree had been killed. If you know anything regarding this death.

[Blaine Alexander]

And you're trying to make up a.

[Lester Holt]

Story or protect Scott, the truth is going to come out eventually.

[Blaine Alexander]

And the longer you hide things, you're not being honest with us. And truth, you could be charged.

[Desiree Sunford]

I understand.

[Scott Sunford]

Did she come across as believable to you?

[Lester Holt]

For the most part, yes.

[Scott Sunford]

But there was still a bit of doubt there somewhere.

[Lester Holt]

There was. We weren't sure if she was really telling us the truth.

[Scott Sunford]

Do you kind of put a bookmark next to her name, thinking she's somebody we're gonna have to dig further into?

[Lester Holt]

Yeah. We need to find out how deep a relationship they have. Did they see each other more than what she was telling us or what Scott was telling us?

[Blaine Alexander]

Is there anything that you would like to add to this statement?

[Scott Sunford]

I hope to catch her later. When detectives spoke to those close to Desiree, Paige's and Scott's stories of a lovely, amicable three way didn't seem plausible. Kim said she'd never heard of Paige. Desiree never mentioned her as a friend?

[Desiree Sunford]

Nope.

[Scott Sunford]

When you first hear about her and kind of her connection in their world, what did you think?

[Desiree Sunford]

It just seemed an odd situation. Like, as far as them having a relationship, the three of them, I didn't ever see it from her. I just didn't see that she would ever venture into that.

[Scott Sunford]

Kayla hadn't heard of Paige either.

[Desiree Sunford]

Never heard of her name before.

[Scott Sunford]

She also didn't buy the idea of a three way affair.

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, my gosh. It's like one of those crazy movies, the things you only see in movies.

[Scott Sunford]

So the idea of her allowing another woman to even enter the relationship, that's not the Desiree you know?

[Desiree Sunford]

No, that's not the Desiree I know.

[Scott Sunford]

But could Desiree have hidden such an affair to detectives? Anything seemed possible in a case that would be loaded with secrets.

[Desiree Sunford]

We had just found out about three weeks before the shooting that I was pregnant.

[Lester Holt]

Auto insurance can all seem the same until it comes time to use it. So don't get stuck paying more for less coverage. Switch to USA auto insurance and you could start saving money in no time. Get a quote today. Restrictions apply. Now they had the final answer. Or did they? Nothing has more suspense than a Dateline mystery. And no one wants to wait to find out what happens next. That's why everyone needs Dateline Premium, where listening is always ad free. You get the whole story and nothing but the story. Or do you? Yes, actually you do. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Dateline premium.com 5 immersive worlds 1amazing theme park.

[Scott Sunford]

Get ready to explore the all new Universal Epic Universe. Featuring the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

[Lester Holt]

Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, how.

[Scott Sunford]

To train your Dragon, Isle of Burke and Dark Universe. Epic Universe opens May 22 at Universal Orlando Resort.

[Lester Holt]

Our universe will never be the same. Tickets and packages on sale [e-mail].

[Scott Sunford]

Two weeks after Desiree was killed, her family and friends gathered for a funeral as unique as the woman herself.

[Desiree Sunford]

They had her Harley in there and inside the church. Yeah, there was a beautiful poem that I don't know who read, but it was the dash, and it was basically talking about, you know, the day you're born and then the dash and then the day you die, and they want to focus on the dash that time.

[Scott Sunford]

When you think about that poem with Desiree, did you feel that she lived that dash to the fullest?

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, yeah. What other Harley? Driving, gun slinging, art teacher, car restoring.

[Scott Sunford]

Yeah, she did it all.

[Desiree Sunford]

She did.

[Scott Sunford]

Scott was there at the funeral, of course, but for Michelle, that memory is not a pleasant one.

[Desiree Sunford]

If I lost my spouse, if I lost someone that I loved and someone that I cared about, sure as hell wouldn't be smiling at their funeral. Scott was smiling multiple occasions. We watched him on his phone walk outside because the back part of the church that we were in, this open venue, there was a wall of windows, and he's on his phone smoking a cigarette outside with a smile on his face.

[Scott Sunford]

Detective Johnson was hearing similar stories that Scott just didn't seem like the grieving spouse.

[Lester Holt]

Just a couple days after the funeral, he was talking to a young lady at a motorcycle dealership. He asked for a hug, which is kind of normal and, you know, need a little emotional support. Then he asked her out to dinner.

[Scott Sunford]

Like on a date.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah. It just didn't seem to add up that he was really devastated by the death of Desiree.

[Scott Sunford]

Now, devil's advocate. You never know how somebody's Going to react in a traumatic situation. This is a military man. Perhaps he just was stoic by nature. This was perhaps his defense mechanism when hearing this hard news.

[Lester Holt]

That's correct. Each individual handles different stress in their lives, handled it different. And we had no. Did not know what would be normal for his reaction.

[Scott Sunford]

But their suspicions were based on more than his demeanor. About two months after the murder, investigators got what sounded like explosive news. You get a tip that Paige was pregnant with Scott's baby when the murder happened. What did you think when you heard that?

[Lester Holt]

That definitely would be a motive to get Desiree out of the picture.

[Scott Sunford]

Does that change this picture for you at all?

[Lester Holt]

It makes us work harder to find out if there's any connection that would. Did Paige commit this crime, or did Scott have Paige do it for him? It was just more unanswered questions for the investigation.

[Scott Sunford]

But then some questions were answered when the lab results came back. The DNA found under Desiree's fingernails was male DNA. But wasn't Scott's DNA.

[Lester Holt]

It was not.

[Scott Sunford]

Results on the bloody shoe print also came in. No connection to Scott.

[Lester Holt]

We had nothing in the house that matched any type of shoes that he had in the house.

[Scott Sunford]

And the evidence from his phone. When you were going through that cell phone data, did it tell you where Scott and Paige were at the time of the killing?

[Lester Holt]

It showed that he was in the Tri Cities area during those times. It was on the route that he would take, so nothing was suspicious.

[Scott Sunford]

They confirmed that Scott's phone wasn't at the scene of the crime. Neither was Paige's. And all those gas station security cameras, they checked. There was no sign of Scott's car near his home at the time of the murder. It's like you've got a lot of shiny pennies, but they're not adding up too much. At this point, does your investigation start to go cold?

[Lester Holt]

Oh, yes.

[Scott Sunford]

But as the investigation of Scott seemed to cool, interest in Page was about to get white hot with revelations of some hostile texts. There was one where a Page texted Desiree and said, I'm fairly convinced that in the event of your demise, I would be the chosen one.

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, my gosh.

[Scott Sunford]

A wannabe boyfriend with a bizarre motive.

[Desiree Sunford]

He worships the ground I walk on. He's obsessed with me.

[Scott Sunford]

And even an attempted sting.

[Desiree Sunford]

Will you talk about it if I come over next weekend?

[Scott Sunford]

Just how did Paige fit into to this twisted case? We would try to find out for ourselves. There are people who would look at this and say that you came into their marriage and basically just Tore it apart.

[Desiree Sunford]

No, I definitely wasn't there to destroy their marriage.

[Scott Sunford]

What had seemed to be mounting evidence against Scott Sunford was amounting to very little. And the investigation into Desiree's murder seemed like it had gone quiet. How hard was that time for you?

[Desiree Sunford]

It was awful. It was awful. There was all the other headlines, all the other things going on, and she was forgotten.

[Scott Sunford]

But her students didn't forget, and they still wanted answers.

[Desiree Sunford]

When they became eighth graders, they were like, whatever happened to that teacher? Like, did they ever figure out who did it? And I would just say, I don't know, and I would move on. It's not really a conversation you want to have with a 13 or 14 year old.

[Scott Sunford]

Sure. Michelle thought an art project dedicated to Desiree might help.

[Desiree Sunford]

We spent a Saturday creating this piece of artwork that is up in our library. We innovated her classroom and used all of her pastels and just built this thing. And then I took it to my classroom and any of the kids who wanted to come in and be part of that and put their artwork on there for her and create a tile of their own for her is what we called it.

[Scott Sunford]

Yeah.

[Desiree Sunford]

And they did.

[Scott Sunford]

That's beautiful. Meanwhile, investigators were taking a harder look at Paige Blades, the third wheel in the Sunfords marriage. Turns out there was another man in Paige's orbit. She'd brought him up in her interview with the detectives.

[Blaine Alexander]

During the time that you've known Desiree and Scott, have you ever known them to have problems with anyone else? Do they have any other enemies or people that don't like them?

[Desiree Sunford]

My ex hates both of them with a passion. But aside from that, I can't really think of them anybody.

[Blaine Alexander]

And who is your ex?

[Desiree Sunford]

Dylan Williams.

[Blaine Alexander]

Have you ever known him to be a violent person?

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, he has violent tendencies, but he's not. He's not violent without provocation.

[Blaine Alexander]

So what do you mean by violent tendencies?

[Desiree Sunford]

If he's attacked, he'll attack.

[Blaine Alexander]

And you said that he. He hates Scott.

[Scott Sunford]

And detectives learned Paige's ex boyfriend, Dylan, had actually been involved in a shooting death two years earlier. He told officers two men came to his home in Moses Lake and assaulted him. So he shot one of them in self defense. It was ruled a justifiable homicide. You did bring Dylan in to talk to him, correct?

[Lester Holt]

Oh, certainly. We wanted to find out the relationship that he had with Paige. Did he know anything about the relationship between Scott Page? Did he know anything about Desiree?

[Scott Sunford]

Did you ask him where he was the night that Desiree was killed?

[Lester Holt]

Certainly.

[Scott Sunford]

What did he tell you he was.

[Lester Holt]

Home in Moses Lake area at the.

[Scott Sunford]

Time of Desiree's murder? He had two firearms registered in his name, but neither was the same caliber as the gun that killed Desiree, and his alibi checked out. What's more, when Paige gave birth toward the end of the year, Dylan asked for a paternity test. It showed the baby was his, not Scott's. So in the end, Paige's baby didn't matter to the case. But that didn't mean there weren't serious problems between Paige, Scott and Desiree. In the months before the murder. Investigators learned a whole lot about that when the digital evidence finally came back. There it was a trove of eye opening texts between Desiree and Paige that told a dramatically new story about the two women and Scott.

[Lester Holt]

He was not being very honest with us. He was not being forthright about his relationship with his wife, or it really isn't relationship with Paige.

[Scott Sunford]

The texts began more than a year before the murder and early on showed a close friendship between the two women. Desiree wrote, you're my only close girlfriend. Paige answered, that's good to know. I am able to talk to you more openly than I am with most. They alluded to one night that wasn't strictly platonic. Desiree wrote, and honestly, I did enjoy that night. There are aspects there that are different with a woman than a man. Paige responded, I very much miss having a woman to play with. But there was no evidence that they were engaged in an ongoing affair. In fact, about three weeks later, the texts showed Desiree getting tired of Paige living in her home. She wanted more privacy with Scott. Desaray wrote, it's starting to wear out, so the idea of you here for a week and who knows what next scares me. Where the hell is our time? Paige responded, typically that means there's a problem in your marriage and you might want to decide what to do with it. Desiree wrote, me not wanting a friend here all the time with my husband means there's marital issues. Wth what does this tell you about Paige and Desiree and their relationship?

[Lester Holt]

It was deteriorating. They weren't the friends that they started out to be and that there was becoming a wedge in Scott and Desiree's relationship, that Desiree was becoming more jealous of Paige and just did not want her involved at their home.

[Scott Sunford]

The texts revealed something else. Not only was Desiree unhappy, she had no idea Scott and Paige were intimate. She texted Paige, I still have to say that you two doing anything sexual would bother me. Paige answered, he and I doing anything sexual is out of the question. In her messages, it doesn't seem that Desiree has any knowledge or thought that Paige and Scott are intimate at all.

[Lester Holt]

As far as we could tell that Desiree did not know that this affair was going on.

[Scott Sunford]

From the texts, it's clear Desiree was worried about her marriage and Paige was making it worse. In some exchanges, she was downright brutal. There was one where Paige texted Desiree and said, I'm fairly convinced that in the event of your demise, I would be the chosen one.

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh my gosh.

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree says, huh? And Paige goes on to say, if you ever die and he needs a wife, I'm half convinced that would be me. Even just watching you, I can see that still upsets you.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yes, it does. Like why? Why would you even say that?

[Scott Sunford]

After that, Desiree finally pushed back, telling Paige to stay away for good texting. I'm going to ask nicely for you to distance yourself from me, my home, and my family. Paige's response? Not a problem. I've been wanting to do away with you for quite a while now. And then she hurled a couple of obscenities at Desiree. I would imagine this is an important detail in your investigation.

[Lester Holt]

It gave us an indication that maybe there was a motive, that they wanted Desiree out of their relationship so Scott and Paige to move on with their life.

[Scott Sunford]

As provocative as the texts were, they didn't reveal a murder plot. But another call to the tip line was about to change everything.

[Lester Holt]

Well, that gives us a new spark in our investigation. Now we have a name, a name.

[Scott Sunford]

And a wild story about a stranger with a strange obsession.

[Blaine Alexander]

The last thing you want to hear.

[Lester Holt]

When you need your auto insurance most is a robot with countless irrelevant menu options. Which is why with USAA Auto Insurance, you'll get great service that is easy.

[Blaine Alexander]

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[Lester Holt]

Get a quote Today, restrictions apply. A true crime story never really ends. Even when a case is closed. The journey for those left behind is just beginning. Since our Dateline story aired, Tracy has harnessed her outrage into a mission.

[Scott Sunford]

I had no other option. I had to do something.

[Lester Holt]

Catch up with families, friends and investigators on our bonus series after the Verdict. Ordinary people facing every extraordinary circumstances with strength and courage.

[Desiree Sunford]

It does just change your life.

[Scott Sunford]

But speaking up for these issues helps me keep going.

[Lester Holt]

To listen to after the Verdict, subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or at datelinepremium.com hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down Podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with Don Cheadle to talk about a prolific career that ranges from Oscar worthy drama to the big budget fun of An Ocean's Eleven heist and a spin through the Marvel universe. Plus his buzzed about new series, Fight Night. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcast.

[Scott Sunford]

Almost 14 months had passed since Desiree Sunford's murder when out of nowhere, a woman called the Yakima Sheriff's tip line and left a message. What did the caller say?

[Lester Holt]

It said that the person that killed Desiree Sunford was Amarti Grismer.

[Scott Sunford]

And that's it? No other details?

[Lester Holt]

No other details. It's just a name that had never come up in the investigation before and.

[Scott Sunford]

That just breathes new life into this investigation.

[Lester Holt]

Now we got. We got somebody to.

[Scott Sunford]

To go after who was Marty Grismer to figure that out. Job number one was to find the tipster.

[Lester Holt]

So we had to do some tracking to find out who called that tip in.

[Scott Sunford]

They traced the phone call, and when they got their answer, they couldn't believe it. Who was it?

[Lester Holt]

It was Paige Blade.

[Scott Sunford]

You've not spoken to her in months, but now suddenly she's saying she knows who the killer is. Where did that come from?

[Lester Holt]

It came out of the blue.

[Blaine Alexander]

Well, I really appreciate you coming forward with this information.

[Lester Holt]

We brought HG Acoma. We sat down and. Okay, you just can't drop this bomb on us. How do you know this? Tell us everything that you know about this Marty Grismer. What does he do for a living?

[Desiree Sunford]

He's a teammate at the plant that I work at.

[Blaine Alexander]

You guys dated for a short time, right?

[Desiree Sunford]

Very, very briefly.

[Scott Sunford]

Marty had recently gotten married. Still, Paige said he kept asking her for sex and would hit on her at work. She let him know that wasn't happening. Ever. But he was a friend. A really good friend.

[Desiree Sunford]

He's the one that got me the house. He bought my car outright cash. I still haven't paid him back for it. He pays my insurance. He's done my grocery shopping. He's taken very well care of me.

[Scott Sunford]

He was like her fixer, she said would do anything for her. Something she suggested he took too far.

[Desiree Sunford]

We had just found out about three weeks before the shooting that I was pregnant. Marty was one of the first people that I told. And apparently he decided that if the baby was Scott's like it was supposed to be, then Desiree would cause issues.

[Scott Sunford]

And Paige claimed Marty recently told her he took care of those issues.

[Blaine Alexander]

Let me just make Sure. I understand. He believed that, well, you were pregnant at that time. You thought it was Scott's baby. He believed it was Scott's baby. He thought that Desiree was gonna make problems for the two of you. And so he decided the best way to fix that problem was to eliminate her. So that you could be happy.

[Desiree Sunford]

So that we could move forward.

[Scott Sunford]

Yes. The baby wasn't Scott's. Of course. Paige insisted Marty didn't make this confession until more than a year after Desiree's murder. She said she was shocked when Marty told her, especially since her relationship with Scott had cooled and Scott was with another woman. She said Marty offered to take care of that, too.

[Desiree Sunford]

I was explaining to him what was.

[Lester Holt]

Going on with you and Scott.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah, he just. He asked me, you want me to take care of her like I did the last time?

[Scott Sunford]

And that, she said, is when she decided to call the tip line. When you look at the motive for Marty, that he killed Desiree so that this woman that he was obsessed with could be happy with another man who wasn't. Wasn't him. Have you ever heard a motive like that?

[Lester Holt]

No, I've never had a case like that before. That just didn't make sense.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige said Marty described Desiree's murder in detail. She said Marty had been to the house before and knew there was a key hidden near the front door.

[Desiree Sunford]

He got the key. He went in the front door because he knew that that was the closest to the bedroom. The alarm went off when we opened the door, and Ada came out barking. DEZ came out right behind her, and he shot her. He shot her three times. She went down.

[Scott Sunford]

These were very specific details about this crime.

[Lester Holt]

That's correct.

[Scott Sunford]

Details that only the killer or somebody there would have known.

[Lester Holt]

Right.

[Scott Sunford]

And those details were gruesome.

[Desiree Sunford]

I don't remember how many bullets. He said it was a full clip. He got closer to her as she was trying to crawl away.

[Lester Holt]

He made it look like a burglary. He took the board off the door and make it look like that's how the entry was.

[Desiree Sunford]

He went back inside again, grabbed a jewelry box off of her dresser, and.

[Lester Holt]

He left, locked the door, put the key back where it was hiding. And this all happened around 3. 3:30 that morning.

[Scott Sunford]

He even told her the type of gun he used.

[Blaine Alexander]

Marty said it was a 9 millimeter. Did he say what kind of what brand?

[Desiree Sunford]

I don't think he mentioned the brand.

[Scott Sunford]

It all lined up with what detectives found at the crime scene. Paige said Marty told her he headed home and got rid of the Evidence.

[Desiree Sunford]

Started a fire in the burn barrel. Burned all of the clothes, his shoes, his gloves. Got in the shower, got ready for work, and he went to work.

[Scott Sunford]

What was her demeanor when she sat down and told you what Marty had said? Did she seem scared?

[Lester Holt]

Very emotional. She broke down and cried, just. She just couldn't believe that he would do such a thing.

[Scott Sunford]

Did you believe her?

[Lester Holt]

We didn't have any reason not to believe her at this point. She certainly brought Marty to the front of the investigation, and we needed to do as much research and investigating how he would be involved.

[Scott Sunford]

And they had an idea of how to find those answers.

[Blaine Alexander]

If you're the shadow age of another conversation with him, do you think he would talk to you about it more?

[Desiree Sunford]

I'm sure he would. He worships the gourmet walk on. He's obsessed with me.

[Scott Sunford]

But Marty wouldn't make it easy.

[Blaine Alexander]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Desiree Sunford]

Never done anything.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige Blades had just told Yakima detectives that Marty Grismer, her co worker and sometimes fixer, had confessed to murdering Desiree Sunford. What did you think? As you're listening to this, we were.

[Lester Holt]

Wanting to believe her, that this was the suspect that was involved. We were also wanting her to maybe get him to tell this story again.

[Scott Sunford]

Ideally, they'd record that conversation. So they asked Paige to meet Marty again, this time wearing a wire.

[Blaine Alexander]

Today's date is August 8, 2014.

[Scott Sunford]

Eight days later, she and Marty. Marty got together at a Starbucks near work.

[Lester Holt]

What is the word that we are using if something's bad happened that you were gonna say?

[Desiree Sunford]

Avalanche.

[Lester Holt]

We had a team of undercover officers. We were hoping to actually hear what Marty had to say about it in his own words.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige tried to coax the story out of Marty.

[Desiree Sunford]

Because I know that you said that there was no evidence, so I'm just wondering for sure, for sure if there's nothing.

[Blaine Alexander]

I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have anything, never done anything.

[Desiree Sunford]

You can't freak me out, put me in full on panic mode and then just be like, nope, I don't know what you're talking about.

[Lester Holt]

But it did not go as we planned. Marty seemed to be looking around like he was being set up.

[Scott Sunford]

Kind of like he was onto you.

[Lester Holt]

Maybe. Maybe he caught a glimpse of somebody or Paige was hinky about how she was trying to ask him.

[Scott Sunford]

As undercover officers snapped photos of Paige and Marty leaving the coffee shop, Paige persisted.

[Desiree Sunford]

Will you talk about it if I come over next weekend in your house? Where you know that nobody is listening.

[Blaine Alexander]

I might just strip you down first.

[Desiree Sunford]

Strip me down first.

[Blaine Alexander]

Gotta make sure you got nothing on you. Yeah.

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, right. Yeah.

[Scott Sunford]

The conversation ended there.

[Lester Holt]

We didn't get anything. Just he was acting suspiciously. But you can't take that into court.

[Scott Sunford]

Disappointing for you.

[Lester Holt]

It was. We thought he would tell her everything again, but that just didn't happen.

[Scott Sunford]

Marty had no criminal history. His DNA wasn't in the system. So they scoured every other part of his life and took a closer look at his family.

[Lester Holt]

He wasn't going to get any type of relationship with Paige. So he married this other woman.

[Scott Sunford]

Beth.

[Lester Holt]

Yes. He was just moving on with his life.

[Scott Sunford]

This is Beth Maxwell. She met Marty on a dating site in May 2013, a month after Desiree's murder. What was it about Marty that caught your eye? He didn't judge me because I'm a.

[Desiree Sunford]

Bigger girl, so, you know, it's something.

[Scott Sunford]

That I get judged for a lot.

[Desiree Sunford]

He just accepted me for who I was.

[Scott Sunford]

The polite man she met online seemed like a true gentleman in person. He just was a charmer, kind of. He was what I wanted, what I've always wanted.

[Desiree Sunford]

He opened the car door for me.

[Scott Sunford]

And Marty quickly fit into Beth's life, becoming a father figure to her young son. He was amazing. He was the dad that I've always wanted my son to have. Was that a big factor in you saying, hey, this guy's the one? Yeah, it was. And my son picked up on it right away, too. Like, he's like, that's. That's my Marty dad. That's what he called him. It was a whirlwind romance. After just four months together, they got married. Why so quickly?

[Desiree Sunford]

We were like, why wait?

[Scott Sunford]

Like, if that's what we feel, why not just go for all? Seemed too good to be true. So much so that Beth felt blindsided by Marty's choice of a best man. His best friend. Paige. I want to make sure I'm getting this right. Marty's best man was Paige. A woman? Yes. How did that sit with you? I didn't sit with. Great with me. Beth met Paige for the first time on their wedding day. She wanted to dress exactly like Marty. It was a big fight. She seemed very controlling, like this is what she wanted done, so he had.

[Desiree Sunford]

To do it her way.

[Scott Sunford]

The honeymoon phase was short. Beth noticed that Marty prioritized Paige above all else, including her. I found out that he had bought her car, was paying her rent.

[Desiree Sunford]

Had he bought you a car? No, he never bought me a car. He bought her food a lot of times.

[Scott Sunford]

Bought her food? Like groceries and stuff?

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah.

[Scott Sunford]

That's a love language. Mm. You were married to a man who was seemingly completely devoted to another woman. You believed that Paige had feelings for your husband? I think so. And that he had feelings for her.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah, definitely.

[Scott Sunford]

I started really having issues with it because I'm like, why is the best.

[Desiree Sunford]

Friend getting treated better than the wife?

[Scott Sunford]

In fact, one of Beth's friends told her Paige had bragged about her power over Marty. She actually told my best friend that she could steal Marty away. Did you believe that she had some control over him in some way? He was just that obsessed over her, and there was just no changing it at all. Beth was wondering just what she'd gotten herself into. When there's a knock at the door and there's six to seven people at my door. Police officers.

[Desiree Sunford]

Police officers. Yeah.

[Scott Sunford]

Detectives.

[Desiree Sunford]

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[Scott Sunford]

It's everything you want in an SUV.

[Desiree Sunford]

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[Lester Holt]

Over the past.

[Blaine Alexander]

Several days, three females have been found dead.

[Desiree Sunford]

Looks like someone's going after these girls.

[Scott Sunford]

Then they have to know to watch their backs. Streaming now.

[Blaine Alexander]

You really want what happened if it's when it happened to you.

[Scott Sunford]

Exactly why I need to keep going on this.

[Lester Holt]

Starring Emmy award winner Amanda Seyfried. Worry about what you're gonna find.

[Desiree Sunford]

So am I.

[Lester Holt]

Long Bright River, a limited series streaming.

[Scott Sunford]

Now only on Peacock.

[Blaine Alexander]

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[Lester Holt]

Come on.

[Scott Sunford]

Let's do this.

[Lester Holt]

To subscribe, download start today from the.

[Scott Sunford]

App store on your Apple device now.

[Lester Holt]

Terms apply. Cancel anytime through Apple under profile settings.

[Scott Sunford]

19 months after Desiree's murder, police and sheriff's deputies were at Marty Grismer's door. What did you say to him to convince him to come with you?

[Lester Holt]

We just told him that we're investigating the death of Desiree Sanford. He said, no problem. He got a shirt, got dressed, came down to the office. He didn't lawyer up in a police.

[Scott Sunford]

Department before they started out easy.

[Blaine Alexander]

What's your relationship with Paige? It's been complicated over the years. I mean, she was the best man at my wedding, so, I mean, she was my best friend for a while there. Were you two involved in a sexual relationship at one time? Not exactly, no. We just fooled around a bit early on.

[Scott Sunford]

Marty said Paige told him all about her affair with Scott.

[Blaine Alexander]

Did you hear Paige and Scott talk about Scott relationship with Desiree? And Paige's relationship with Desiree? Were you aware of that whole love triangle that was going on? Yes, Paige told me about that. So I understanding that Paige and Desiree had a falling out? I guess. I mean, to an extent, yeah. Did you ever hear Paige or Scott talk about wanting to hurt Desiree or wanting misery gone or wanting her out of the picture? Nothing specifically, no. I think Paige had said she wanted him to divorce his wife. Did she talk about how she would get her out of the picture? No. I never got any indication of violence from her for. So. So what was your. Was she talking strictly divorce? Well, I. I don't know if it was that or if it was just, you know, trying to expose things just to get better Desiree to pick fights and get her to leave him?

[Scott Sunford]

I don't know. As you're listening to him, what are you thinking? This is your first time that you're face to face with Marty.

[Lester Holt]

Okay. Marty, if you didn't do it and Paige or Scott did it, you're covering it for him.

[Scott Sunford]

Whatever happened with Scott and Desiree and Paige, Marty said he was an impartial observer and only that. And all through that first part of that interview, his guard is pretty much down, correct?

[Lester Holt]

He was. Didn't seem to be under too much stress at that point.

[Scott Sunford]

Detectives listened to Marty for about half an hour, and now the softball portion of the interview was over.

[Blaine Alexander]

Have you ever told Paige that you would take care of anyone for her or anyone that makes her mad? You take them out for you? No, I've never said that to her in another world.

[Scott Sunford]

They told Marty they'd been doing some research about him, had gotten a call from his boss, and they said that.

[Blaine Alexander]

You were suspended from work for having gun parts. Yeah. At work. Okay, tell me about that. What kind of gun parts are we talking about? I had a gun bill that I left there. A gun barrel? Yeah.

[Lester Holt]

Marty was kind of a gun nut. He liked to buy guns and. And buy gun parts.

[Scott Sunford]

Except he seemed to have forgotten how he got this particular gun barrel.

[Blaine Alexander]

Okay. And who did you get it from? I don't recall. I've had it for quite. I've had it for a year or so.

[Scott Sunford]

The fact is, detectives knew all about the gun barrel. They'd gotten it from Marty's boss and had rushed it to the lab. And what do you know?

[Lester Holt]

The lab came back that the barrel that we found, that barrel was used to kill Desiree.

[Scott Sunford]

So now you've got hard evidence linking him to this crime.

[Lester Holt]

That's correct. That is the smoking gun, so to speak.

[Scott Sunford]

Almost exactly that.

[Lester Holt]

Exactly.

[Scott Sunford]

Marty seemed to realize this interview was going in a very bad direction.

[Lester Holt]

There's a vein in the side of his head that just was really protruding. He was under a great deal of stress during this interview, and you could tell by his eyes and that he was just trying to think before he spoke. He was in hyper stress, and that.

[Scott Sunford]

Was only going to get worse as detectives got to the point.

[Blaine Alexander]

Did you ever offer to kill Desiree Sunford for Paige? No, I haven't. I've never offered to kill anyone for anything. It's not in my nature. My difficulty for you is that Paige is saying that you are the one who shot and killed Desiree Sanford. She said that you confessed that to her. Can't believe that pitch is doing that. I mean, trying to win my life here. What? Help us figure out where you got that barrel. Okay. Because Paige has put you smack in the middle of a murder investigation she's trying to engineer. Set me up here. Do something. I was saying to you that that killed someone other.

[Scott Sunford]

That.

[Blaine Alexander]

Makes me sick.

[Lester Holt]

His emotions were all over the page to a point where he was almost physically sick.

[Scott Sunford]

Like getting ready to vomit.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah. He said he was about ready to get sick.

[Scott Sunford]

And then he said he remembered something. He said Paige did have his gun fitted with that barrel at the time of the murder.

[Lester Holt]

So you loaned the gun to Paige?

[Blaine Alexander]

I loaned the gun to her early last year. This was around February.

[Desiree Sunford]

I know.

[Scott Sunford]

She had it for a while until May, he said. Well, after the murder. And then Marty turned. Turned the tables on Paige and said he had long suspected she had something to do with Desiree's murder.

[Blaine Alexander]

I have no reason to hide anything anymore. I have to protect my wife. I have to protect my son. I can't protect others.

[Lester Holt]

When did you come to a conclusion that you say an ad in two plus two that our neater of the guns.

[Desiree Sunford]

You must have done it.

[Lester Holt]

When did that?

[Blaine Alexander]

Couple months after I got everything back.

[Scott Sunford]

The detectives weren't buying was his gun barrel. And they'd found it right where he left it.

[Lester Holt]

You know exactly what happened.

[Blaine Alexander]

How would I know exactly what happened?

[Lester Holt]

Because you're involved up to your eyeballs in this case. All the evidence is on your shoulders right now.

[Blaine Alexander]

I didn't just kill anyone.

[Lester Holt]

But you're going to jail.

[Blaine Alexander]

What are you going to arrest me for?

[Scott Sunford]

And that is what they did.

[Lester Holt]

He just couldn't believe that he was being charged with murder.

[Scott Sunford]

But two other people remained on the detective's radar. Scott and Paige.

[Lester Holt]

It was just that thought in the back of our head that still she's got to be involved and Scott's got to be involved. We still have nothing to tie them other than this relationship that they were all involved in.

[Scott Sunford]

We also had a few questions for Paige. Did you and Scott conspire with Marty to have her killed? November 13, 2014. 19 months after Desiree Sunford was found shot to death in her home, Marty Grismer was charged with her murder. Desiree's friend Kayla thought someone else should have been locked up along with him. Paige Blades.

[Desiree Sunford]

I am thinking the psycho biatch squiggled her way into their life and created chaos. And now my friend is dead over it. A needless death. I just. It's unreal. I honestly think that she asked Marty to do what he did.

[Scott Sunford]

Even after Marty's arrest, Paige's role in the Sunfords marriage remained something of a mystery to Desiree's family and friends and to investigators too. You were still looking at her. You still didn't think her hands were completely clean here.

[Lester Holt]

It was just that thought in the back of our head that still she's got to be involved. But we still have nothing to tie them other than this relationship that they were all involved in.

[Scott Sunford]

Do you think that there are things that people get more.

[Desiree Sunford]

There are a lot of things that people get wrong about me. There are a lot of assumptions.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige blades is 35 years old now, the mother of four kids. She works in customer relations, and she says she still has strong feelings for and about Desiree Sunford.

[Desiree Sunford]

I love Des, and I don't say that past tense. She's still special to me. There's no part of me that ever wanted anything bad to happen to her.

[Scott Sunford]

It's been more than a decade since Paige's entanglement with Desiree, Scott, and Marty. Do you feel like you're a different person now?

[Desiree Sunford]

Oh, absolutely. I am a completely different person.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige says she's worked hard to battle addiction, money problems, and the ghosts of a turbulent, abusive childhood. She admits to a pattern of troubled relationships, like what she had with Scott and Desiree.

[Desiree Sunford]

We became very good friends and eventually friends with benefits, and eventually we didn't have a relationship anymore.

[Scott Sunford]

She met Scott in early 2011. They were partying, hanging out. Paige says when she finally met Desiree, they became fast friends. And in fact, it was Desiree's idea for her to stay with them.

[Desiree Sunford]

They were in a one bedroom apartment, and they had a California king bed, and she was like, there's plenty of room. All three of us shared the bed.

[Scott Sunford]

So she invited you into the bed?

[Blaine Alexander]

Mm.

[Desiree Sunford]

And she's the one who put Scott.

[Scott Sunford]

In the middle during that bed arrangement. Were you all sexually active?

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah.

[Scott Sunford]

Everybody with each other?

[Desiree Sunford]

Not all together, but I was sexually active with Scott, and I was sexually active with dez.

[Scott Sunford]

In those text messages, Paige and Desiree carried on flirty exchanges. But in other messages, it seems Paige wasn't being honest about her relationship with Scott. At one point, Desiree texted you, I still have to say that you two doing anything sexual would bother me. And you responded, yeah, he and I doing anything sexual is out of the question. Was that true?

[Desiree Sunford]

I honestly don't remember that conversation.

[Scott Sunford]

Did you ever mislead Desiree into thinking that you and Scott weren't sexually active?

[Desiree Sunford]

Not as far as I know or remember.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige says she does remember when Desiree's patience reached the breaking point. She writes this. I'm done with the drama and the bs. I'm going to ask nicely for you to distance yourself from me, my home, and my family. And you respond, in part, not a problem. I've been wanting to do away with you for quite a while now, and then go on to call her some names that I can't repeat on tv. It sounds like you didn't take too kindly to her telling you to stay away.

[Desiree Sunford]

That was the big fight. I know that I was out of line with how I responded to her. There were a lot of other things that were going on in my life at the time that were compounding stress.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige moved out, but she Kept seeing Scott. There are people who would look at this and say that you came into their marriage and basically just tore it apart.

[Desiree Sunford]

No, I definitely wasn't there to destroy their marriage.

[Scott Sunford]

Did you want to be with him?

[Desiree Sunford]

No.

[Scott Sunford]

Would you have wanted to be his wife? Have a relationship with him? Solely?

[Desiree Sunford]

No. Him solely? No.

[Scott Sunford]

I'm going to get you to respond to one more text thread between you and Desiree. You write, I'm fairly convinced that in the event of your demise, I would be the chosen one. Desiree says, huh? And you say, if you ever die and he needs a wife, I'm half convinced that would be me. What was that about?

[Desiree Sunford]

I still don't remember. And that one's come up quite a few times, too.

[Scott Sunford]

At the time, Paige shared details of her life with another. Another friend, Marty Grismer.

[Desiree Sunford]

He was my rock for a little while. He would go on a grocery run for me if I needed, or if I needed to borrow gas money, then I would get it from him. He was the only person that I had that I could turn to if I had a struggle.

[Scott Sunford]

Why was Marty doing all of these things for you?

[Desiree Sunford]

I assume that it had something to do with his undying love for me, as he would say.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige says she told Marty all about her rift with Desiree, that she was still seeing Scott and pregnant with his child. Paige insists she never thought his moral support would turn to murder and was shocked when Marty confessed to killing Desiree. He went into excruciating detail of what he did to Desiree. This was somebody who was your friend. How hard was this for you to listen to?

[Desiree Sunford]

It was not just hard. It was a devastating blow. Who was this person that I had let into my life?

[Scott Sunford]

So some people would look at this and say, you had to have planted some sort of seed in his mind by talking about Scott, by talking about the fact that you believed you were pregnant with his baby. That would make him think, if I get rid of Desiree, I'm making Paige happy.

[Desiree Sunford]

I honestly don't know. I don't know or understand how Marty's mind works. I honestly never have.

[Scott Sunford]

There are many people who believe that you conspired with Marty, that you wanted Desiree out of the picture so that you could be with Scott, and that you essentially put Marty up to killing her.

[Desiree Sunford]

Never.

[Scott Sunford]

No truth to that?

[Desiree Sunford]

None whatsoever. I. I've heard that quite a few times, but never in a million years. There. There was never any reason for that to happen.

[Scott Sunford]

Did you and Scott conspire with Marty to have her killed?

[Desiree Sunford]

No. Absolutely not.

[Scott Sunford]

Her friends would say, if you hadn't been in the picture, if it weren't for you, Desiree would have never gotten killed. That she would still be alive today. How do you respond to that?

[Desiree Sunford]

I don't think that's fair. I believe that if Marty hadn't been in my life, describing would still be alive. I understand that to a lot of people, it probably seems like and feels like I am central to everything, but from my own side, I'm on the outside looking in. I didn't feel like I was the one in the center.

[Scott Sunford]

Maybe not. But her testimony would be key to the case against Marty. Prosecutors had to worry, whose case would she actually help, Theirs or the defense's?

[Blaine Alexander]

This case investigation raised a lot of questions, and some of those questions will never be answered.

[Scott Sunford]

Paige Blades may have turned Marty in, but no one close to Desiree saw that as a selfless act. You buy the trying to do the right thing?

[Desiree Sunford]

No. No. I believe she was feeling the guilt, and I don't think there was. I'm gonna be the one to solve it. I don't. I think it was a guilty conscience.

[Scott Sunford]

But there's no denying it. It was Paige's tip that got them to Marty. Still, it wasn't an easy case. There was no crime scene DNA matching Marty, no shoe of his that matched the bloody shoe print, and no video of him in that area at the time of the murder. Then, as Marty sat in jail awaiting trial, a call came in from the plant manager at Marty's job.

[Lester Holt]

They were cleaning out a dumpster, and they found the jewelry box. They found the laptop and the iPad.

[Scott Sunford]

The stolen laptop and iPad taken from Desiree and Scott's house when it was burglarized five days before the murder. But that jewelry box was key. It connected Marty directly to the murder. Page had told investigators that Marty said he took it the night he killed Desiree. It was also found, along with a big clue as to who left it there. A receipt with the name Marty Grismer. That's big.

[Lester Holt]

That's huge. Marty must have done the first burglary, too, and he didn't get rid of anything. It was not very bright to keep all this stuff involved in a burglary and a homicide.

[Scott Sunford]

A month later, detectives got a call from Marty's cellmate at the jail. And he's had some interesting conversations with Marty.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah, Marty's talking about the evidence that's against him.

[Scott Sunford]

And he was also talking about Paige. The cellmate said Marty was furious with her.

[Blaine Alexander]

He's Telling me that Paige didn't stab him in the back, not that he did everything for this girl.

[Scott Sunford]

She had turned him in. Paige would be the star witness against him at his trial. So Marty suggested a way his cellmate could solve his problem. Kill Paige and a friend of hers.

[Blaine Alexander]

He said, well, I don't mind giving you 20, 30,000 to make these two people disappear.

[Scott Sunford]

That's quite a swing. Going from doing anything for Paige, obsessed with her, will kill for her, to, according to the cellmate, wanting to put out a hit to get rid of her.

[Lester Holt]

Yeah, he's trying to save his own skin.

[Scott Sunford]

At this point, no hit ever happened. And the cellmate got cold feet and refused to testify, which didn't help prosecutors, who were already dealing with a difficult circumstantial case full of imperfect evidence and maybe worse, two possible alternate suspects. You had wondered about Scott and Paige's involvement from the very beginning. Were you concerned that the defense might try and use that as an alternate theory?

[Lester Holt]

Certainly. It could easily have been used. That's why we offered the plea.

[Blaine Alexander]

This case investigation raised a lot of questions, and some of those questions will never be answered.

[Scott Sunford]

In December of 2017, Marty Grismer was offered a deal. His first degree murder charge would be reduced to second if he took what's called an Alford plea, admitting there's enough evidence to convict without actually admitting guilt. Desert. Rae's brother felt there was no choice.

[Lester Holt]

Prosecutor told us he'll at least get something if he takes this plea. And we're like, well, we've gotta at least give him something. We can't run the risk of him just walking free.

[Scott Sunford]

Casey attended the sentencing hearing with his mother, Connie. She spoke to the court.

[Desiree Sunford]

Your Honor, I can only speak to you about one thing at this point. Sentence this evil being to the harshest prison in our system. He deserves to be among other evil.

[Scott Sunford]

In the end, Marty Grismer was sentenced to just 15 years in prison. He's scheduled to be released in 2029. Desiree's friends and family were angry. They didn't think Desiree got justice. Was that good enough?

[Desiree Sunford]

No, it's not good enough, because he's still not admitting any guilt, and he's only getting 15 years.

[Scott Sunford]

They also remain angry at Scott. While he was never charged in the case, they're certain his affair with Paige led to Desiree's murder.

[Desiree Sunford]

The bottom line is that Desiree would still be alive today if Scott had been faithful.

[Scott Sunford]

Scott moved away after Desiree died. He's now remarried. As for Paige, she was never charged either. But still, Desiree's loved ones cannot shake the idea that she was involved. There are many people who believe that you got away with murder, that you should be in prison, too.

[Desiree Sunford]

I've heard that.

[Scott Sunford]

What would you say to them?

[Desiree Sunford]

I had nothing to do with it. It's incredibly unfair that I risked my life to do the right thing, and I'm being crucified for existing.

[Scott Sunford]

Still, the people who loved Desiree say they try not to dwell on Scott or Paige. They want to focus on the good, on Desiree.

[Desiree Sunford]

If you were lucky enough to get to know Des, you'd want everybody else to know it, too.

[Scott Sunford]

Desiree's mother, Connie, had to sell her daughter's beloved Chevelle to pay for her headstone.

[Desiree Sunford]

Hey, Des. It's been a while.

[Scott Sunford]

Connie died before it was installed. She's buried next to her daughter. It's a beautiful headstone.

[Desiree Sunford]

Yeah, she loved the dolphins. And she did love roses. That's her Chevy and her little Tweety bird.

[Scott Sunford]

She loved Tweety. Yeah, it's all her. Desiree Sunford, the beloved Harley riding art teacher.

[Desiree Sunford]

It just makes everything so real when you come here and see it. Sure, sure that she's not gonna just show up in your driveway on a.

[Lester Holt]

That's all for this edition of Dateline. And check out our talking Dateline podcast. Blaine Alexander and Josh Mankiewicz will go behind the scenes of tonight's episode, available Wednesday in the Dateline feed. Wherever you get your podcasts, we'll see you again next Friday at 9, 8 Central. I'm Lester Holt. For all of us at NBC News, good night. A true crime story never really ends. Even when a case is closed, the journey for those left behind is just beginning. Since our DATELINE story aired, Tracy has harnessed her outrage into a mission.

[Scott Sunford]

I had no other option. I had to do something.

[Lester Holt]

Catch up with families, friends and investigators on our bonus series, after the Verdict. Ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with strength and courage.

[Scott Sunford]

It does just change your life. But speaking up for these issues helps me keep going.

[Lester Holt]

To listen to after the Verdict, subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, [e-mail].