307. Patrick de la Cerda: Patrick de la Cerda: A Crime That Shocked a Family

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Murder With My Husband

Episode 307: Patrick de la Cerda: A Crime That Shocked a Family
Air date: February 9, 2026
Hosts: Peyton Moreland & Garrett Moreland

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Episode Overview

This episode of Murder With My Husband explores the tragic and shocking murder of Patrick de la Cerda, a young man in love and on the brink of marrying his soulmate when his life was violently cut short. Peyton and Garrett unpack a story of jealousy, obsession, and unchecked warning signs, focusing on how the past can resurface in the most dangerous of ways. The episode dives deeply into the relationships, the investigation, and the chilling evidence that led to justice being served.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Patrick de la Cerda & Jessica Devnani (04:51–12:42)

• Who was Patrick?
  • 25, described by family as a "go-getter," romantic, and very close with family.
  • Lived in Deltona, Florida, with his father Max.
• Patrick meets Jessica:
  • The pair meet on Plenty of Fish in June 2017 and fall quickly in love despite living 30 miles apart.
  • By December 2017, Patrick proposes; Jessica says yes. Custom engagement ring ordered.

“It only took a few dates for Patrick to fall head over heels for Jessica. And honestly, she felt the same.” — Peyton (08:10)

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2. The Day of the Murder (12:42–14:09)

• February 27, 2018:
  • Patrick’s father receives a call about a package delivery. Patrick doesn’t respond to calls.
  • Jessica, worried by silence, leaves work and drives to Patrick’s house.
  • Neighbor calls 911 after seeing the door open and Patrick’s body—shot four times (head, chest, hip).
• Initial observations:
  • The killer used a high-powered rifle, collected casings from the scene, and took the home’s surveillance hard drive but stole nothing else (not a robbery).

“Jessica actually gets there a few minutes after this 911 call is placed… her fiancé lying there in a pool of his own blood. His body is already cold to the touch.” — Peyton (12:57)

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3. Early Suspects and the Ex-Boyfriend Emerges (14:09–18:15)

• Red herrings:
  • A neighbor with dementia and a history of firing at Patrick’s home is quickly ruled out (he’s in jail).
• Attention shifts:
  • Jessica tells police about her ex, Greg Bender, who called her twice the morning of Patrick’s murder.

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4. Greg Bender’s Background & Obsession (18:15–25:43)

• The relationship:
  • Jessica and Greg met in 2009 when she was 21, he was 42. Toxic, jealous, and controlling.
  • Greg was married to another woman the entire time—Jessica only finds out in 2016.
  • Jessica finally walks away in 2017 after Greg refuses to divorce his wife.
• Greg’s threats:
  • After Jessica met Patrick, Greg stalks, threatens, and even hires a PI to follow them.
  • Direct threats to Patrick: “I know where you live. I’m going to harm you.” and to Jessica: “I’m gonna hire a hitman or I’m just gonna do the job myself.”
  • Patrick installs cameras; both he and Jessica file for restraining orders. Only Jessica gets one.

“She was always terrified of what he might do to the next people she got involved with.” — Peyton (25:03)

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5. Detailed Planning & Discovery of Evidence (29:06–36:12)

• Escalation and aftermath:
  • On February 27, 2018 (the murder), Greg violates the restraining order by calling Jessica.
  • Greg is arrested but not for murder—yet. His estranged wife (Damara Sanchez) contacts police, revealing she found a blue spiral notebook with a murder plan.
• Search and discoveries:
  • Police search Greg’s house and find:
    • The blue notebook with detailed plans (“dispose of clothes plate cracker gloves,” “wait for confirm that he is alone”).
    • A hand-drawn map of Patrick’s property.
    • Gun safe with ammo matching the murder.
    • A burner phone that contacted only Patrick’s father and Greg’s own number.

“In those pages were specific details… Patrick’s house, the fact that he had a dog named Optimus… mulch in Patrick’s yard… things Greg would only know if he had been stalking Patrick.” — Peyton (34:07)

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6. Building the Case & The Trial (37:30–44:09)

• Circumstantial but compelling:
  • No eyewitnesses, DNA, or confession. But plentiful circumstantial proof:
    • Burner phone’s movement and usage
    • Ammunition match; voicemails; detailed murder notes
    • Video placing Greg leaving his home at the right time
  • It takes three years for trial due to case-building.
• In court:
  • Jessica, as star witness, faces defense attempts to discredit her by referencing her cautious meetings with Greg.
  • Defense also tries to implicate Patrick’s father (Max) in an unfounded theory of jealousy—firmly denied by all.

“This is something I hate about… the defense side of cases. They just make people look bad… especially when they make, like, a victim look bad and they can’t defend themselves. Messed up.” — Garrett (41:48)

• Conviction:
  • After four days of testimony, Greg Bender is found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

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7. Aftermath & Reflections (44:09–46:35)

• Lingering pain:
  • Patrick’s parents give Jessica her long-awaited engagement ring on her 30th birthday.
  • Jessica’s victim statement: “We were going to have the fairytale dream and live happily ever after. But this dream never became a reality because it was taken away by this man sitting in the courtroom today.” (44:42)
• Host reflections:
  • Both hosts express empathy and heartbreak for Jessica, Patrick’s family, and all affected.
  • They raise somber questions about the (in)effectiveness of restraining orders and gun control in preventing such tragedies.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He just pulls out his handy dandy notebook and is like, was it fentanyl or was it…? Wait, what am I doing again?”
  — Peyton, humorously highlighting Greg’s chilling (and foolish) detailed documentation of his murder plot. (35:13)
• “If you think about it, if he burned the notebook, maybe he thought he would… Like, it’s gone… But it was just sitting on the garbage bin…”
  — Peyton (36:26)
• “It’s insane… This is really well thought out in a bad way. Like, are you trying to get caught?”
  — Garrett (36:15)
• “Just senseless. I mean, I hope he rots in prison, hope he hates his life… My heart always goes out to the victim and their families.”
  — Garrett (45:25)
• “My heart just goes out to Jessica, her family, Patrick’s family, everyone who was dragged through the mud at trial. I hope they know that there are tons of people listening to this right now that back them and love them.”
  — Peyton (45:59)

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Key Timestamps

• 04:51 – Start of story: Introducing Patrick, the engagement, and background.
• 12:42 – Discovery of the murder.
• 14:09 – Initial suspects and introduction of Greg Bender.
• 18:15 – Jessica explains her history with Greg and the buildup to the crime.
• 25:03 – Details on Greg’s threats and failed restraining order for Patrick.
• 29:06 – Greg’s ex-wife provides the crucial evidence (the notebook).
• 33:52–36:12 – Search of Greg’s house and incriminating discoveries.
• 37:30–40:07 – Legal challenges and breakthrough: connecting Greg to the crime.
• 41:46–43:29 – Defense tries to blame Jessica and Patrick’s father at trial.
• 44:09–45:25 – Verdict and sentencing; Jessica’s impact statement.

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Tone & Host Dynamics

Peyton maintains compassion and careful empathy for victims as she narrates, while Garrett injects skepticism, dry humor, and emotional realness—especially when reflecting on justice and survivors. They balance each other, never losing sight of the humanity at the heart of the tragedy.

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Conclusion

Episode 307 of Murder With My Husband serves as a powerful case study in how the dangers of toxic relationships and ignored threats can escalate to tragic consequences. Through thorough storytelling, remarkable evidence, and courtroom drama, the episode honors Patrick and gives voice to the devastating loss felt by Jessica and his family—while asking thought-provoking questions about justice, prevention, and healing.

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Transcript

[Peyton Moreland]

Tax season and that big deadline will be here before you know it. And every year you just want to know that everything's actually being handled. But sometimes it just doesn't feel that way. You're tracking down receipts, paperwork and then appointments to get all situated and then crickets. Hello. Weeks go by and you start wondering, did they even get my documents? You're sending follow up emails, texts, calls that go straight to voicemail.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

Do what you do and let TurboTax handle it this year. Visit TurboTax.com today. That's TurboTax.com only available with TurboTax full service experts. All right you guys, we are jumping into an ad and I want to talk to you about article. Article is furniture and I love it so much. If you ever watch into the dark, I have put like a bookcase I got from article in the back of that set and it is so nice, but honestly not as expensive as what you would think when it arrived. The quality was good. It looks so expensive, but coming from article it is affordable. Article makes it effortless to create a stylish, long lasting home at an unbeatable price. An article takes great care in curating its collection, focusing solely on high quality, meaningful pieces that will stand the test of time. I mean you can immediately tell the difference in quality when you receive an article piece. It's so, so nice to have a place that has quality, upscale furniture for not the upscale price. Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of a hundred dollars or more. So to claim visit article.com husband and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. That's article.com husband for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with my husband. I'm Peyton Moreland.

[Garrett Moreland]

And I'm Garrett Moreland.

[Peyton Moreland]

And he's the husband.

[Garrett Moreland]

I'm the husband. Welcome back. Another week, another episode. Here we are. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching on Netflix. We love you guys. That's what I got. We're excited because you might not be able to tell, but if you go watch one of our other episodes on Netflix and then you rewatch this one on Netflix, Peyton and I spent hours and hours and hours relighting and redoing our entire set.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah. Can't you tell?

[Garrett Moreland]

If you can't tell, Damn, that sucks. But if you can tell, thank you. A lot of it is a bunch of little stuff. We added a lot more lights. We just wanted to upgrade things a little bit. We. Hopefully we sound the same because we still got our good mics and our good audio. So we're chilling. We're ready to go. We're excited to be here, and we're excited that we were able to switch things around a little bit. Don't want to ramble too much or have too many announcements, but we dropped.

[Peyton Moreland]

Some new merch, and I actually wore this, I think, on one of my live streams, maybe that I do on my ig, and everyone's like, oh, my gosh, where's the merch? So it is available now. It is so cute. It's kind of like a. What would you call that? Varsity collection. Yeah, I guess you could say. Yeah. So go check it out. Mwmhshop.com we got some new merch.

[Garrett Moreland]

Really cute. Not going to lie.

[Peyton Moreland]

All right, Gar, do you have your.

[Garrett Moreland]

10 seconds for my 10 seconds this week? I will make it quick. I say that every week. I got a little sick. I was sick. Today's the first day that I'm feeling better. I was sick for a long time. I was sick for, like a week. Feeling good. I'm healthy. No worries there. Peyton wants another dog. She's been trying to convince me of getting in their dog. Literally. Today in the car, we went and got. We go to Dutch Bros every single day, as you guys know. We're on the way back. Payton's like, hey, look at this. Like, what is it? Like, it's a puppy on this. What do you. What do you have. What do you have to say for yourself?

[Peyton Moreland]

I have so much love to give. That's a good one.

[Garrett Moreland]

I like that.

[Peyton Moreland]

And there's so many pups that need homes. They can all just come to mind.

[Garrett Moreland]

Payton was another puppy. We are holding off on having another puppy. So it's not happening right now. Sorry, everybody, but that's what I got this week. Puppies and being sick. So on that note, let's hop into today's case.

[Peyton Moreland]

Our sources for this episode are oxygen.com newsjournal online.com case law.findlaw.com that's life.com tillmanfuneralhome.com crimeandcoffeecouple.WordPress clickorlando.com dailymail.com cbs.com and A Plan to Kill Season 1 Episode 6. You know, I think most people in this world deserve a second chance at happiness. An opportunity to leave the past behind and move forward with their lives. Especially when it comes to love. Because sometimes we really just choose the wrong people. We ignore the red flags, we rush into things. But I believe each relationship, good or bad, teaches us something about ourselves. It is a lesson on what we want, what we don't want in the future. So when someone is brave enough to walk away from a situation that doesn't serve them, I have a lot of respect for that. Unfortunately, it is not always that easy to shut the door and never look back. Because for some of us, the past refuses to stay in the past. And instead it haunts us. It torments us and will stop at nothing to get what it wants. Even if it is destroys us. It's 2018 in the small town of Deltona, Florida, a quiet suburban community between Orlando and Daytona beach. Now, for 25 year old Patrick De La Serda, this is home. A place where he's ready to start the next chapter of his life. Being that he's in his mid-20s now, Patrick's pretty close with his family. So close in fact, that he shares the same home and construction job with his dad, Max. Patrick and his dad Max, living together now. His family described Patrick as a go getter. Someone who lived every day to its absolute fullest. His mother, Patricia also described him as a romantic. Someone who always dreamed of meeting the perfect person, settling down and starting a family of his own. A dream that actually started to come to fruition a year before, back in June of 2017. That was when Patrick had met a 28 year old bank teller named Jessica Devnani. He met Jessica on a dating app called Plenty of Fish and only took a few dates for Patrick to fall head over heels for Jessica.

[Garrett Moreland]

That's kind of a smart name.

[Peyton Moreland]

Plenty of Fish.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

Is that the first time you thought that?

[Garrett Moreland]

What do you mean?

[Peyton Moreland]

Like when you, you've heard of Plenty of Fish, you've never heard of the dinner fish?

[Garrett Moreland]

Babe, I, I just turned 56. Yeah, okay, guys, for those I'm not 56, I'm 30k. 31. Same thing. Chill. But no, I never use Dating app because it was like I met motion. I had motion Can a white boy get a little motion? No. But I met you, and it was right around the time I feel like dating apps were becoming more popular.

[Peyton Moreland]

So I didn't have a dating app either.

[Garrett Moreland]

See, because you have motion.

[Peyton Moreland]

No, I just, again, they weren't that popular yet. I feel like that's funny. So it only took a few dates for Patrick to fall head over heels for Jessica. And honestly, she felt the same. She saw him as the full package. And even though the 2 lived about 30 miles away from one another, with Jessica in Orlando, their relationship escalated pretty quickly. They started taking trips together and talked about a future with one another. Even Patrick's dad, Max, who he lived with, could see that this was the person for Patrick. He had found the one in Jessica. So In December of 2017, Patrick actually took the next step. He bought Jessica a ring and got down on one knee, and Jessica said yes. Patrick told her, okay, this ring I'm proposing with, it's just a placeholder. He wanted her to pick out something custom, something that she really loved, but he still wanted to be able to propose to her and keep it a surprise. This was basically just another gesture that showed how romantic and caring Patrick really was. He cared that the proposal was. Was a surprise. And then he also cared that she gets a ring she loves. And as they worked together to design this ring, the two already started coming up with plans for their wedding. They were considering two different places. Either West Palm Beach, Florida, where they actually planned to move eventually, or France, where Patrick's mother, Patricia, was from. Now, by the end of February, Jessica's custom engagement ring was finished and was supposed to be on the way any day now. She couldn't wait to try it on for the very first time. That point, Patrick and Jessica seemed more in love than ever. On the night of February 26, 2018, Patrick left Jessica a voicemail. He said, quote, I love you. Good night. Sweet dreams. In the morning, I'll call you. I'll send you a text when I wake up a little later. All right, Love you. Good night. Bye. It was a voicemail that would be played over and over by Jessica in the years to come, because was actually the last one Patrick would ever leave her. Now, on the morning of February 27th, Patrick was home alone while his father was out on a construction job that was about 70 miles away. That morning, he texted Jessica, as always, told her he loved her and wished her a good day at work, and again promised to call her a little later like he always did. But shortly after 7:38am Max, his father, tries to call Patrick. He had just gotten a call that someone was there to deliver a package for him and it needed to be signed. For now, Max thought it was probably the engagement ring that Patrick and Jessica were waiting on. See, Max and Patrick's property was behind this big gated fence. So Max had a sign on the gate that said to text or call if something needed to be delivered. So none of this was unusual. What was strange was the fact that Patrick wasn't answering his calls or his texts after Max said, hey, there's someone there with a delivery. Especially because he knew Patrick had been anxiously waiting for this ring to come. So instead, hours went by with no word from Patrick. So Max calls Jessica to see if she's heard from him and she says no. Actually I've been a bit worried too. She hasn't spoken to Patrick since that morning. That's when she decides, okay, I'm gonna leave work early. I'm gonna go check on Patrick. Now his dad is saying he's not answering. At this point, she's kind of feeling like something might be wrong. So around 11am she makes the 30 mile drive from Orlando to Deltona. And meanwhile, back at Patrick's property, a neighbor is actually calling. 91 1. She had stopped by the home and noticed that the front door was wide open. And she had also noticed that Patrick de Lacerda was bleeding right inside the entrance of his home. And when the operator asks her if she wants to perform cpr, the caller says no. And she says it's because it's pretty obvious that Patrick is already dead.

[Garrett Moreland]

91 1, where's your emergency? Has been shot and killed. When did that happen? I don't know. You don't want to turn cpr, correct? No, no. He's dead. He's cold.

[Peyton Moreland]

So Jessica actually gets there a few few minutes after this 911 call is placed and before the police can even arrive, she also walks up and sees her fiance lying there in a pool of his own blood. His body is already cold to the touch. A minutes later, sheriff's deputies arrive on the scene and they determine that Patrick had been shot four times through the head, chest and hip.

[Garrett Moreland]

Geez, dude.

[Peyton Moreland]

And it's pretty obvious just by looking at him that the weapon of choice was a high powered rifle.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

They could also tell because the killer had left behind two unique shell casings that are used in semi automatic weapons. But the attacker had seemingly collected the other four casings. Since we know six shots were fired in total, it appeared as though Patrick had almost been ambushed here, answered the door, only to find his killer standing there on the other side. Now, luckily, Max and Patrick did have security cameras set up around their house.

[Garrett Moreland]

I'm talking about, I want to see the cameras.

[Peyton Moreland]

But when police went into the home to try and locate the footage, they find that Patrick's computer and hard drive from the home security system is missing. What's odd is there's nothing else that appears to be missing from the home. So if this wasn't a robbery, this was definitely a planned out, orchestrated attack. Which obviously means now it was time to look at suspects. And there seemed to be one right from the start. Patrick and Max had another neighbor who was an army veteran, supposedly suffering from dementia. Turns out Patrick and this neighbor had exchanged some words in the past.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, man.

[Peyton Moreland]

And on one particular evening, things escalated. The neighbor went inside, grabbed his gun, and started firing towards Patrick's house. Now, thankfully, no one was injured, but Patrick called the police, who then sent an entire SWAT team to deal with this. The man was tackled and taken into custody. So the police look into this report and they're obviously like, hey, he has a neighbor feud. This is a potential suspect. Maybe he felt like he hadn't settled the score against Patrick. But there was one big problem. The neighbor was currently in jail. It's a pretty good alibi, honestly. So they quickly scratch him off the list. But this is when his father, Max, tells police there might be another person of interest. During his interview with them, he mentions the call he'd got earlier from the delivery driver and the fact that Patrick was shot seemingly right as he opened up the front door. Well, that doesn't look good for whoever dropped off that package. And Max also remembers that the delivery driver had asked for Patrick by name. So Max had said, okay, let me call my son and I'll call you right back. What's your number? But the delivery driver refused to leave any details with Max, which is why he thought this was a bit strange. He's like, what if this wasn't actually a delivery driver? Now, meanwhile, a distraught Jessica is also brought down to the station and is speaking with police. And when asked if she thought or knew of any enemies that Patrick might have, she says there is one person who might have wanted to hurt him. Her ex boyfriend of 8 years, a 50 year old man named Greg Bender. Okay, this episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. All right you guys, we are getting into an ad and Quints is all about elevated essentials that feel effortless. If you've listened to this podcast at all, you know I love quints. One of my favorite things is my silk skirts. I have them in all lengths from Quints and I've had them for years. They also have cashmere that is not as expensive as other stores and is so soft and beautiful. Everything you get from Quints is is quality. They've got the wardrobe staples with quality that's made to last 100%. Organic cotton sweaters premium denim made with stretch for all day comfort luxe cotton cashmere blends perfect for the changing seasons. Everything you need for a wardrobe that actually lasts. And Quince uses the highest quality materials like 100% European linen and organic cotton.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

Quince.com husband she said that Greg was, even to this day, still in love with her and was not happy about her whirlwind romance with Patrick.

[Garrett Moreland]

Gosh, dude.

[Peyton Moreland]

In fact, she hadn't heard from Greg in months, but he had actually called her that morning, not once, but twice. Jessica refused to answer because she's like, why is my ex boyfriend calling me? But now with everything that's happened, she's like, maybe those calls weren't a coincidence. So let's talk about Greg, the ex boyfriend.

[Garrett Moreland]

I feel like I'm not gonna lie, Greg.

[Peyton Moreland]

He and Jessica had met on a dating app back in 2009 when Greg was 42 and Jessica was 21. Greg was a successful hedge fund manager. He lived in this big house in a fancy neighborhood right outside of Orlando. He was the kind of guy who loved fast cars, guns, and living an expensive, luxurious lifestyle. Basically, he was the polar opposite of Patrick. But Jessica and Greg went on to have this pretty long relationship, and six years in, Craig actually proposed to her. And while Jessica said yes, she probably had some doubts about the marriage. They weren't exactly a healthy couple. In fact, things had been pretty toxic and on and off for those six years. And Greg apparently showed his true colors. Early on, when Jessica told him about someone else she had been seeing, Greg began stalking the Other guy found out where he lived and said if he ever came near Jessica again, he would tie him up and make him regret it. Greg's jealousy was a constant problem in the relationship. But Jessica admitted she was a bit naive when she said yes to his proposal. That she was in love with him and she wasn't interested at the time in being with anyone else. At least that was how she felt until 2016. That year, Greg was hospitalized after undergoing a medical procedure and Jessica showed up to offer her support. But when she got to the room, there was another woman sitting by Greg's bedside.

[Garrett Moreland]

Okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

Confused, Jessica explains to this random woman that she was his fiance. Like my ring. To which the other woman responded, I'm his wife.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, no.

[Peyton Moreland]

So that's when Jessica realized Greg had been living this double life. Their entire engagement has happened.

[Garrett Moreland]

How? How do people pull that off? Because I've heard of cases too where people have like full on kids and families in other countries and they just don't know and they somehow have a full blown relationship with somebody else. Yeah, like how? I just don't understand how.

[Peyton Moreland]

And here's the thing, it's like the projection of him being like super jealous and overly protective of his 21 year old girlfriend who, when he has a whole wife. So she realizes in this moment, oh my gosh, our relationship was a lie. But when Greg recovered and left the hospital a few days later, he called Jessica, begging her to fix things. He's like, listen, yes, I'm married. But it wasn't serious. It was just a business arrangement. He only married the other woman so her son could go to the good schools in the district he lived in. I don't know whether Jessica believed this or not, but she gave Greg an ultimatum. After that she said, you have until the end of the year to leave and divorce your wife, or I'm leaving. But 2016 comes and goes and Greg doesn't make any moves to get divorced. So in 2017, she gives the ring back to Greg and says, that's it, I'm done. But Greg doesn't let her walk out of his life that easily. As we probably guessed. Says things like, you can't do this to me. I'm not going to let you go. And no matter how much she tries to ignore him, he keeps pursuing her to the point where she actually has to block his number and his accounts on several apps. And then she creates new profiles just to hide from him. All of which only pushes Jessica further away from this long term relationship she had been in. And by February 2017, she is back on dating websites where she connects with 24 year old Patrick De La Serta that June. And that's when things start to get pretty ugly. Obviously she's happy to have met Patrick. But Greg comes across Patrick's Facebook page when him and Jessica start dating. He sees that this guy on Facebook is dating his ex girlfriend.

[Garrett Moreland]

The ego on this guy is mind.

[Peyton Moreland]

Blowing because turns to his wife and.

[Garrett Moreland]

Is like, yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Peyton Moreland]

My girlfriend.

[Garrett Moreland]

To have a full blown wife.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah.

[Garrett Moreland]

And kids and then be dating somebody else, but then being mad because your ex girlfriend. Yeah. It's just. That's insane.

[Peyton Moreland]

Isn't cheating on you, by the way, like left you.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

And is in a new relationship. So he sees the two of them together on Facebook and he starts sending Patrick threatening messages saying things like, quote, I know where you live. I'm going to harm you. And then Greg says things to Jessica like, quote, I'm gonna hire a hitman or I'm just gonna do the job myself in regards to hurting Patrick. In fact, it was threats like this that actually made Patrick install those security cameras around his and his dad's home in the first place. There was even a point where Jessica felt compelled to meet up with Greg in person to just try and like, sever ties. Tried to make him understand, just talk him down off the ledge. Like, you can't keep threatening my new boyfriend. You've got to let this go. She felt that if she gave him what he wanted, maybe goes on, you know, meets up with him, maybe he'd back off, that maybe he wouldn't actually hurt anyone.

[Garrett Moreland]

This is sad. This is horrible.

[Peyton Moreland]

What Jessica didn't realize was at this point, Greg had actually hired a PI to follow him and Jessica on. Like when she would meet up with him and secretly film them and then sent that film to Patrick saying, oh, she's going on dates with me, she's meeting up with me. She's doing this behind your back. You should break up with her. And I'm not going to lie, it did work a little because Patrick was like, Jessica, like, why are you even meeting up with him? They did fight about it. She explains though. She's like, I'm trying to get him off her back. Like, let him down gently, like, try to sever it slowly so that he can just leave us alone. And Patrick forgives her. He understands. Greg doesn't give up, though. The threats continued, some of which were left on voicemails.

[Garrett Moreland]

I'm making a phone call. I'm giving instructions, and I'm going to have my. My plan put into action.

[Peyton Moreland]

Greg said things like, I'm giving instructions. I'm going to put my plan in action, seemingly about hiring a hitman. And that's when Jessica and Patrick actually decide to go to the court for a restraining order. Both of them filed for protection against Greg, her much older ex boyfriend. But only Jessica was granted that protection. Patrick's order was denied, which is terrifying because Jessica actually said in interviews that she was never afraid of Greg hurting her. She was always terrified of what he might do to the next people she got involved with.

[Garrett Moreland]

Now it's really sad because there really isn't much you can do about it. Even say, let's say the restraining order was granted. It's not like there's a bubble around you that stops somebody from coming close.

[Peyton Moreland]

To you most of the time.

[Garrett Moreland]

Like, if that person wants to kill you still, they probably will.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now, a part of this restraining order actually required Greg to turn over his large gun collection.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

They were like, you got to get rid of your guns. This was in December of 2017. He never does. Just like Eric said, they don't ever really obey it. But after Jessica said, things did start to quiet down a little bit. Like, after she got the restraining order, the voicemail stopped. The Facebook threats came to an end. It seemed like maybe Greg had finally come to terms with reality. So two months go by with radio silence from Greg. That was until February 27, 2018, when she saw Greg Bender's name come up on her phone that day. And then her fiance ends up murdered in his doorway. And she realizes something is seriously wrong. Now, hearing all of this, police are like, okay, forget the neighbor guy who's in jail. We have obviously found our primary suspect. Like, this is suspect 101. But they need more evidence. So they ask Jessica, hey, would you be willing to help us out? Call Greg and see if you can get him to confess. And she agrees. She tries. With officers listening in. Greg tells her he saw the news about Patrick's death. He's so sorry for her loss. But Jessica puts him on the spot, tells him, hey, I know you did this. You told me so many times you were gonna hire a hitman. You told me you were going to kill Patrick. She asks him point blank, did you shoot him? Now, on this phone call, Greg denies it, says, absolutely not. Like, I'm your friend. I would not do that. But obviously, Jessica's like, okay, you're lying. Realizing that the call is going nowhere Police try another tactic. They can't arrest Greg just based on his history of threats, but they can't arrest him for violating his restraining order against Jessica, since he did call call her twice earlier that day, which he's not allowed to do. So they track Greg down and they get him into custody. But they can't keep him for long if he's not going to confess. He's working on making bail. They're gonna have to move quickly if they want to file charges for murder, which either means extracting a confession or finding more evidence that he is the one who killed Patrick. Now, unfortunately for Greg Bender, he's made more than one enemy. And when he gets arrested, all of these enemies are willing to speak out. So that night, when Greg was behind bars, detectives received a phone call from none other than Greg Bender's now estranged wife. This is the same wife who he told Jessica he was married to as a business arrangement after they had met in the hospital. Now, her name is Damara Sanchez, and she has something she wants to share with the police about her husband after finding out he'd been arrested.

[Garrett Moreland]

Okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

She's pretty nervous and clearly terrified. So the police tell her, hey, let's just meet secretly. They pick a spot in a secluded parking spot and set a time for the following day, February 28th. And here's what she tells them during this little meetup. In December of 2017, she and Greg finally did decide to get divorced. She was packing her things to move out of the house they shared when she stumbled across something. It was a blue spiral notebook that, according to her, belonged to Greg. So she opened it, and inside she found what sounded or looked like an elaborate plan for a murder.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

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[Garrett Moreland]

And.

[Peyton Moreland]

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[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah, she wanted to be done. I don't blame her.

[Peyton Moreland]

What else is she gonna do? Yeah, that was until she saw the news about Patrick. She knew about his connection to Jessica and the plan in the spiral notebook that she had found read sounded almost identical to the crime that had been committed against Patrick. So that's when she goes to police, and this actually gives them enough to get a search warrant for Greg's house. They're like, if he was planning the murder in his house, we can now search his house. They move fast on that. While Greg is still behind bars for violating his parole, police execute the warrant.

[Garrett Moreland]

On his home, which is good, because then he can't go and clean anything up. He can't move things.

[Peyton Moreland]

Right.

[Garrett Moreland]

It's a great time.

[Peyton Moreland]

So the detectives feel like this is probably a shot in the dark. I mean, what are the odds that this guy just left evidence around the house, incriminating him? But the second they get inside and look through his home office, what do they find?

[Garrett Moreland]

The notebook.

[Peyton Moreland]

Spiral blue notebook, just like his estranged wife had described. And in those pages were specific details, not only about a random murder, but about Patrick's house. Like the fact that he had a dog named optimus who was, quote, slow and old written in the notebook and that there was mulch in Patrick's yard, which he notes he could use for cover. This is obviously things Greg would only know if he had been stalking Patrick and literally planning out this murder. The difference was, Greg wrote about how he planned to tell Patrick that he was just going to rob him, and then his plan was to inject him with a mixture of heroin and fentanyl to make it look like he'd overdosed. That didn't work. He was just gonna suffocate Patrick to death. Imagine just, like, listing all this out.

[Garrett Moreland]

I was gonna say, who writes this down? Like, what? Nobody.

[Peyton Moreland]

Is he afraid he's gonna lose it?

[Garrett Moreland]

No, but nobody writes it down. It's only insane people that write this down, because no normal person would be writing this down.

[Peyton Moreland]

He just pulls out his handy dandy notebook and is like, was it fentanyl or was it.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah. Wait, what am I doing again?

[Peyton Moreland]

What was I gonna do? Crazy, gross.

[Garrett Moreland]

Weird.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now, obviously, it seems like Greg pivoted. He got to the property and pretended to act like a delivery man to lure Patrick into a vulnerable position. When he opened the door to sign for the package, Greg shot him, hoping the crime would just seem random. Still, it was clear that Greg had thought this crime out, because among those pages were notes like, quote, dispose of clothes plate cracker gloves. Put duct tape on the bottom of a second pair of shoes so there's no tread prints. Wait for confirm that he is alone. Turn off cell phones as for additional evidence, detectives also discovered a hand drawn map sitting on the top of his garage bin that shows the exact location of Patrick's house.

[Garrett Moreland]

This is crazy.

[Peyton Moreland]

This is like a couple things.

[Garrett Moreland]

This is like really well thought out in a bad way.

[Peyton Moreland]

I'm like, are you trying to get caught? You're literally leaving a blueprint. Like, this is worse than having a Home Depot receipt.

[Garrett Moreland]

If you think about it, if he burned the notebook, maybe he thought he would. Like, it's gone. There's no this all happens after that so fast.

[Peyton Moreland]

So maybe, maybe he thought I'd be able to get rid of it. I mean, it was sitting on the garbage bin, so maybe he was just planning on throwing it away. But Also, like, it's 2017 and we know that you've been stalking this guy. Why do you have a map that has the exact location of Patrick's house? Like, you're overboard. You know where he lives, you know what I mean? Like, it's almost begging to get caught. And when they run this map for Prince later, the only ones on it are Greg's.

[Garrett Moreland]

All right. I mean, this is open and shut 100%.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now, on top of that, they find a gun safe inside his walk in closet. And it has the same ammunition that was used to kill Patrick. And while they don't find the murder weapon itself, they do find a bunch of other guns which are still in violation of his parole. And Jessica can confirm that she remembered him owning an AR15 semi automatic rifle when they were still together. This is the same gun that would later end her future fiance's life.

[Garrett Moreland]

So sad.

[Peyton Moreland]

A gun that detectives were sure was now in the bottom of a lake somewhere. Now, meanwhile, down at the station, 50 year old Greg Bender's paying his bail for that previous arrest. He is released. I mean, they're trying to move fast, but he still is able to get out. He's heading home. When he gets there, he finds police at his house, literally searching it, executing a search warrant. And before he can even step inside, they're like, ah, turn around, you're back under arrest. They place him back in handcuffs, they send him back to county jail, and this time for first degree murder charges. Here's the problem, though. We have no eyewitnesses, we have no DNA at the crime scene, we have no confession, we have a lot of probable cause and a lot of circumstantial evidence. We just don't have anything directly tying him on the front porch to Patrick's body, if that makes sense.

[Garrett Moreland]

No, no, it makes sense. I'M just trying to think. Yeah, I mean, I guess everything is.

[Peyton Moreland]

Circumstantial, but it does feel like it's conviction worthy.

[Garrett Moreland]

No, 100%. It just sucks when it's all circumstantial.

[Peyton Moreland]

But prosecutors are like, let's just keep building. Let's make this an airtight case. And they find a couple more things of note. Like one of Greg's neighbors actually had a security camera. They find some security footage. And the video shows Greg leaving his house in his car around 6:13am on the morning of February 27th. That is roughly an hour before Max got that call that a delivery person was waiting at the gate trying to get Patrick to come to the door and sign for a package, which we now can infer was the killer. Now, there's also some information on a burner phone that Greg had in his possession. And the data from the phone shows it only ever called two numbers. Greg's own personal phone and Max, Patrick's dad, confirming basically with evidence that he was the delivery person who called just moments before Patrick opened the door and was killed. Now, data on the phone also showed it sat at Greg's house for weeks leading up to the murder premeditation. And only left once to travel to Patrick's property the day he was killed. Meaning it was likely bought with the sole intention of being used for the murder plan. He didn't want to call Max on his own phone. Now, prosecutors also ran some bullet casings that were found in Greg's desk drawer. They discovered they were an exact match with the two that were left behind at the crime scene.

[Garrett Moreland]

Interesting. Okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

Unfortunately, it would be about three years before any of this could be presented in.

[Garrett Moreland]

Crazy. I mean, this used to bother me a lot, and it still does for, like, the families and the victim that are involved because they have to wait so long to get justice. But the only upside is that usually that person is in prison during this time.

[Peyton Moreland]

Usually the reason it's taking long is because they're building an airtight case. It's not always just.

[Garrett Moreland]

There's turn of waits.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yes. You have the few who are, like, just trying to wait on purpose, like, trying to just.

[Garrett Moreland]

But a lot of the times there is reasons behind it. Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

So as Patrick's friends and family waited for that time to come, Jessica's 30th birthday happened. And on that day, Patrick's parents actually gave her a birthday present that she would never forget. The real engagement ring that Patrick had never gotten to give her, the one that was supposed to be delivered A ring that she's actually wearing when it came time for Greg Bender's trial in May of 2021, which is devastating. And also just like, that's so heartbreaking. Heart wrenching.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

So Jessica is the star witness at trial and a pawn in the defense's arguments. Now, while Jessica told the jury about Greg's history of control, jealousy, and threats, the defense used those secretly recorded meetups as a way to try and discredit her. They pointed to how she agreed to meet up willingly with Greg after she was already with Patrick, how she was leading Greg on letting him rub her leg, hold her hand, kiss her head.

[Garrett Moreland]

This is something I hate about.

[Peyton Moreland]

Also, like.

[Garrett Moreland]

Like the defense side of cases. Like, this is they make the. They just make people look so bad. And especially when they make, like, a victim look bad and they can't defend themselves. Messed up.

[Peyton Moreland]

Also, like, what's a girl to do with an obsessed ex boyfriend? Like, if she's really genuinely trying to get him to stop, she's going to say, ew, no, don't kiss me, no. Like you're gonna piss him off. She's trying to get him.

[Garrett Moreland]

She's legit scared.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yes.

[Garrett Moreland]

And guess what? She was scared for a valid reason. Because he literally killed her feelings, using.

[Peyton Moreland]

Any way she can think of of what can I do to psychologically get into this guy's head and get him to get away from us?

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

She argued that she found all of this unusual because it wasn't his typical behavior when they were together. And it wasn't until later that she realized he was actually touching her and doing all of this for the hidden cameras that he was planning to share with Patrick. Jessica told the jury that she met up with Greg to subdue the situation, hoping it would eliminate some of the threats the couple was receiving. At one point, the defense even tried to point to Max, Patrick's father, as a suspect. Again, just like Garrett said. The defense's way of just, like, re. Victimizing and dragging everyone through the mind trial.

[Garrett Moreland]

I hate it.

[Peyton Moreland]

They said there were discrepancies about where Max said he was and where he actually was on the day of the murder, to which Max defended himself by saying he was always on different sites for his job and likely just got confused about where he was scheduled. Like, I'm constantly going back and forth. Still, they said Max had motive because he had feelings for Jessica.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, give me.

[Peyton Moreland]

This is what they say. Oh, well, he was actually in love with her fiance. Now, imagine hearing this. This is something both he and Jessica insist was absolutely not true. But, like, this is disgusting. The evidence brought forth by the prosecution far outweighed any hearsay mentioned by the defense. Between the bullet casings, the threatening voicemails, the restraining order, and the detailed murder plan in his little handy dandy notebook, there was little room for doubt. After four days of testimony, the jury left to deliberate. And when they came back, they announced that Greg Bender was guilty of first degree murder.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah, Good.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now, in Florida, that automatically meant a life sentence without the possibility of parole. But there's one thing Patrick's family and Jessica are actually left wondering. If Patrick had been granted a restraining order against Greg, would he still be alive today? Or would the outcome honestly have still been the same?

[Garrett Moreland]

Just my opinion laying weighing in. I don't know. I think that he probably would have done anyways. He seemed pretty set on killing him. I mean, and it's horrible. It's so sad.

[Peyton Moreland]

Greg still had his gun collection, even though he was supposed to hand it over as part of the order. We know that that was never strictly enforced. No cops showed up to his home saying, hey, give us the guns. And because of that, one of those exact weapons was used to take Patrick's life and Jessica's future with him. Which is why Jessica actually looked at Greg during her sentencing hearing when she gave his impact statement. She said, quote, we were going to have the fairytale dream and live happily ever after. But this dream never became a reality because it was taken away by this man sitting in the courtroom today. And that is the murder of Patrick De La Cerda.

[Garrett Moreland]

Just senseless. I mean, I hope he rots in prison, hope he hates his life, but all I got. Horrible. Absolutely horrible. My heart always goes out to the victim and their families.

[Peyton Moreland]

It's also horrible because there's so much nuance and complexity to Jessica surviving, but her ex boyfriend being the one who murdered her fiance. And then you add, just on top of that, the fact that they were in their fairytale stage of relationship, they hadn't known each other that long, they just got engaged. Like, this is the most devastating heartbreak a woman can feel.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

And it. My heart just goes out to Jessica, her family, Patrick's family, everyone who was dragged through the mud at trial. I hope they know that there are tons of people listening to this right now that back them and love them and want justice for Patrick. And we got a little bit of that with Greg being put away in prison. All right, you guys, that is our episode for today, and we will see you next time with another one. I love it and I hate it. Goodbye.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts (Sabrina d' Anaroga and Corinne Vien)]

Power, fame, obsession, betrayal. These are more than headlines. They are the forces behind some of the most unforgettable crimes in history.

[Peyton Moreland]

We're Sabrina d' Anaroga and Corinne Vien, the the hosts of Two Girls, One Ghost, and our newest show, Crimes of A Crime House Original.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts (Sabrina d' Anaroga and Corinne Vien)]

Powered by Pave Studios, Crimes of is a weekly true crime anthology series that explores a new theme each season, from unsolved murders, mysterious disappearances, and more.

[Peyton Moreland]

And since it's Valentine's season, we're exploring Crimes of passion. When love turns into obsession, passion twists into paranoia, and jealousy pushes people beyond the edge of reason.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts (Sabrina d' Anaroga and Corinne Vien)]

From suburban axe murders to interstellar love triangles, these are the stories where I love you becomes I'll kill you. Listen to and follow Crimes of on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. New episodes out every Tuesday.