Cathleen Roth - Snapped: Women Who Murder

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[00:04]
Narrator
A New Mexico teacher vanishes without a trace.
[00:08]
Detective
The newspapers are stacked up and untouched.
[00:11]
Investigator/Police Officer
They saw the dogs were barricaded with an overflowing bowl of food.
[00:17]
Kathleen Roth
I'm very worried. Like this is twilight zone creepy to me.
[00:23]
Narrator
A family member's history of violence puts them at the top of a short list of suspects.
[00:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
He had threatened her with a knife and she ended up calling the police.
[00:37]
Kathleen Roth
I used to always tell her she was a victim of abuse, domestic violence only by a child.
[00:44]
Narrator
But the investigation reveals a more complex and disturbing plot involving fraud, a polyamorous relationship and a woman determined to get revenge.
[00:58]
Investigator/Police Officer
She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda.
[01:04]
Informant/Witness
Saw her as was money and a nuisance.
[01:07]
Detective
She flew into a rage and she snapped.
[01:24]
Narrator
May 6, 2009. It's a warm spring afternoon in Albuquerque, New Mexico when authorities receive an emergency call from a teacher named Catherine Frost. Catherine says she's at the home of a co worker, 61 year old Ellen Roth, and she's worried something has happened to her.
[01:46]
Investigator/Police Officer
Ellen had not come to work for a couple of days and this was very out of character for her.
[01:52]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was always at work on time, snow, rain, whatever it may be, she's not one to just disappear.
[01:59]
Investigator/Police Officer
Katherine heard dogs barking but didn't see any sign of life and was concerned and asked for a welfare check to be done.
[02:10]
Narrator
The Albuquerque Police department is sent to assess the situation.
[02:15]
Detective
When police arrive, the officer notices that the newspapers are stacked up and untouched. And Ms. Frost tells them she fears Ellen may have hurt herself.
[02:28]
Investigator/Police Officer
Catherine was aware of a prior incident that Ellen had had where she allegedly fell out of bed and hurt herself seriously.
[02:41]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
With her falling inside the residence and her not answering the phone, he made the determination that they needed to force entry into the house.
[02:53]
Narrator
Despite Catherine's concern, they don't find Ellen or any indication she's in danger.
[03:01]
Police Officer/Investigator
There were no signs of forced entry. There wasn't anything to suggest that there had been some type of a struggle inside the residence. They did notice that there were two canines that were inside the residence. The animals did have water and a large amount of food that had been placed in the food bowls.
[03:26]
Narrator
But according to Catherine, the dogs are proof something is wrong.
[03:32]
Investigator/Police Officer
Catherine saying she would never have left her dogs. This is not how she treated her dogs. The food bowl wouldn't be overflowing. It almost looked as though somebody had put the dogs in there knowing that it would be days before they would be found. That was a real red flag for them.
[03:50]
Detective
Detectives think who could have hurt Ellen or What could have happened to Ellen if she disappeared?
[04:00]
Police Officer/Investigator
Detectives are concerned as to her whereabouts, and we owed it to the community and her family to find her. Her disappearance was out of character of her, so detectives started doing a deep dive into Ellen's background.
[04:20]
Narrator
Ellen Feder was born April 15, 1948, to Emanuel and Judith Feder. She was one of four children, but the only girl.
[04:33]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
My sister was born in Miami, and then my family moved to Albuquerque. My dad was stationed there. He was a second lieutenant, and he was in the air Force.
[04:47]
Detective
In her younger years, Ellen was a very outgoing person, and she had this appetite for education.
[04:54]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen definitely wanted to go to college. She chose the University of Miami, which was ironic because she was born there, and she started taking classes in education.
[05:03]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She really liked children, so she enjoyed teaching more, I think, than she thought she would.
[05:15]
Narrator
After her undergraduate program, Ellen returned to Albuquerque, where she obtained a master's degree in bilingual education and began her teaching career.
[05:25]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She just loved watching kids growing, teaching them, and then the kids would always come back to visit her. So she felt very well accomplished.
[05:34]
Narrator
When Ellen wasn't teaching, she was out exploring the world.
[05:39]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was very outgoing. She had a lot of friends. She traveled pretty much every summer.
[05:46]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She had gone all over the world. She would tell us stories about her travels. She was very well versed.
[05:59]
Narrator
But there was one thing Ellen seemed to want more than anything else.
[06:04]
Detective
One of Ellen's goals in life, maybe you could say the major goal in life was to be a mother in Albuquerque.
[06:14]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She dated people, but just never found that. Mr. Right. She's in her 30s now and really wanted to settle down and start a family.
[06:28]
Narrator
Finally, in 1986, Ellen believed she found the man she'd been looking for when she met Jerry Roth.
[06:36]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Jerry was a very successful lawyer. He made a lot of money. He seemed to love Ellen and, you know, and took care of Ellen.
[06:50]
Narrator
Just a year after they started dating, Ellen and Jerry got married. But having children of her own proved to be more difficult than she'd hoped.
[07:00]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She tried to have children for many years. I don't believe she could ever get pregnant.
[07:06]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She decided to go the next step. She talked to Jerry about possibly adopting a child. I know at first he was not interested, but over time, he decided that he would go along with that.
[07:23]
Narrator
In 1990, the Roths adopted a newborn son and named him Brian.
[07:29]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
When she brought Brian home, she was extremely happy. She felt complete.
[07:34]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She loved being a mother. She lived for Brian.
[07:41]
Narrator
Unfortunately, the marriage began to suffer soon afterward.
[07:47]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was so wrapped up with Brian. I think she Maybe forgot about her relationship with her husband.
[07:55]
Detective
Less than a year after they adopt Brian, her husband decides to divorce her.
[08:02]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I don't believe she was upset about the divorce. Jerry gave her full custody of Brian and so she was thrilled about that.
[08:17]
Narrator
Raising a son all on her own wasn't easy. But by 2009, Ellen was relaxing into her golden years, excited to see her son building his own future. Brian had married a young woman named Kathleen and appeared to be settling down.
[08:36]
Detective
At this point, Ellen is pretty content with the situation that Brian is starting his adult life. So she's in her 60s and she's looking towards retirement.
[08:53]
Narrator
With her life seemingly going so well, Ellen's sudden disappearance is difficult for anyone to explain.
[09:01]
Detective
Police contact Ellen's brother, John Feeder, and he also reiterates that this is out of the ordinary. So he goes to the apartment.
[09:11]
Narrator
John notices something strange.
[09:16]
Detective
He proceeds to tell them that her 2007 Dodge Caravan is missing.
[09:24]
Investigator/Police Officer
This just further is another piece of the puzzle that leads them to conclude that they need to continue their investigation. They need to do it as quickly as
[09:36]
Kathleen Roth
coming up.
[09:37]
Narrator
A shocking accusation.
[09:40]
Detective
He fears that her son may have something to do with it because of the abusive relationship they have.
[09:50]
Narrator
But investigators find the case more complicated than they imagine.
[09:55]
Informant/Witness
She was a very, very deep sleeper, so it's easy for them to get into the house. They were waiting for her.
[10:09]
Narrator
After confirming that no one has seen his sister Ellen Roth in days, John Feder officially reports her missing with Albuquerque police.
[10:19]
Detective
Her minivan is entered into the system and Ellen is entered as a missing person in ncic.
[10:28]
Narrator
John tells detectives that if something has happened to Ellen, one suspect immediately springs to mind.
[10:36]
Detective
He fears that her son Brian may have something to do with it.
[10:45]
Narrator
According to John, 19 year old Brian has a long history of serious behavioral issues.
[10:53]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I know that Brian had a lot of issues, but she tried to meet the challenges as best she could.
[11:02]
Detective
And as much as he's acting out and difficult, all Ellen knows is to show him love.
[11:11]
Narrator
John says that approach didn't work. Brian began abusing drugs and became more confrontational with his mother.
[11:21]
Detective
It starts to get so bad that Ellen sends him to New Day, which is a recovery center here in Albuquerque. In a sense, Ellen has to do tough love finally and kick him out.
[11:39]
Narrator
It's there that Brian met his future wife, 21 year old fellow patient Kathleen Kit Nielsen.
[11:48]
Detective
They form this strong bond because they feel they have so much in common with their growing pains with both of their family lives.
[12:00]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
Kit and Brian definitely bonded over that sense of being felt very Unwanted. He had felt his entire life that Ellen adopted me as a prop. She's this very wealthy woman. She's made my life so miserable. Kit didn't talk a lot about her family, about her family background. It was clearly something very painful for her.
[12:30]
Narrator
Though finding a kindred spirit in Kathleen initially seemed to bring Brian peace of mind, he eventually fell back into his old ways.
[12:40]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Detectives found out that he had been arrested on March 25 of 2009 for a domestic violence episode with Ellen Roth. He had threatened her with a knife and she ended up calling the police. He was arrested for aggravated assaul with a deadly weapon.
[13:05]
Narrator
Police records show Brian was sentenced to a year of probation. But less than two weeks before her disappearance, Ellen filed another report against him.
[13:17]
Police Officer/Investigator
On 26 April, she checked her bank account and realized that there were some charges that she did not make. She realized that her debit card had been missing.
[13:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Along with the card, she realizes that two diamond rings, a wedding band and a dinner ring and three necklaces are also missing from her residence. She suspects it's Brian. He had access to the house.
[13:49]
Detective
Prior to Ellen calling police, she did some investigating on her own. She calls the bank to see where the purchases were made. The bank tells her that the unauthorized purchases were at Walmart, a tobacco shop and 7 11.
[14:05]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Ellen actually calls the tobacco shop and speaks to one of the employees.
[14:11]
Detective
The clerk is able to describe Brian's appearance. The credit card and Brian's ID both have the last name. And Brian tells the clerk that his mother gave him permission to use her credit card.
[14:28]
Narrator
The fact that Ellen disappeared four days after making this new complaint against her son raises detectives suspicions.
[14:37]
Investigator/Police Officer
Where was Brian during the time that Ellen was missing? Could he have been involved in her disappearance? Obviously at this point you've got one suspect. It's Brian Roth.
[14:53]
Narrator
But Brian's parole officer cast doubt on his involvement.
[14:58]
Police Officer/Investigator
Brian Roth had been arrested on May 1st of 2009 for a probation violation. They did test him for any type of narcotics. He did come back with a dirty sample. So at that time, the probation officer revoked Brian's probation and he was then placed into custody.
[15:22]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
With Brian being incarcerated from May 1 on, there was no way he could have anything physically to do with this.
[15:30]
Detective
So detectives have to look at the case again. What happened if Brian isn't a factor anymore?
[15:41]
Narrator
Four days into their search, police get a break in the case.
[15:46]
Police Officer/Investigator
On May 10th of 2012, telephone call came into the Albuquerque Police Department to report that a vehicle had been located. The caller thought that the vehicle was probably stolen.
[16:01]
Investigator/Police Officer
Law enforcement responds that it matches the description of Elwyn Roth's car. But the license plate on the back of the vehicle does not match the stolen license plate.
[16:14]
Police Officer/Investigator
The officer then decided to look at the vin number. That vin number then came back to the registered owner, which is Ellen Roth.
[16:24]
Narrator
The location of the vehicle provides investigators with a possible clue.
[16:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Ellen was somewhat of a recluse. She would go to work at the school, and then she would go home. So the van being in this part of the town was very uncommon.
[16:43]
Police Officer/Investigator
She lived in the northeast part of albuquerque. For her vehicle to be in the international district just did not make sense. Was she abducted from this location? Was this just a dumping ground for the vehicle? We're looking for any type of trace evidence, any type of DNA, blood, fibers. But detectives noticed that appeared to have been freshly wiped down. Could have been somebody that actually put her in harm's way. And then trying to destroy evidence of
[17:18]
Narrator
Ellen's phone and bank records sets off even more alarm bells.
[17:24]
Police Officer/Investigator
Her phone had not been used, and her debit cards, credit cards, nothing had occurred at all since the time she's missing. So it seems that she just fell off the face of the earth.
[17:39]
Narrator
It's now been a week since anyone saw Ellen Roth. And with no financial activity or ransom demands, investigators increasingly believe there's only one reason why they have a missing woman
[17:55]
Investigator/Police Officer
who's married to routine, who's reliable, who's missed work, has never missed work before. Her dogs aren't well cared for. Her car is found in a strange location, and it's wiped clean.
[18:10]
Detective
They're dealing with a homicide.
[18:13]
Investigator/Police Officer
She's been killed. They don't know who did it. They don't know why or how. At this point,
[18:28]
Narrator
Ellen roth vanished a week ago. And the limited evidence recovered by police is raising major red flags.
[18:39]
Investigator/Police Officer
It's not looking good that Owen is alive at this point. Her credit cards haven't been used. Her telephone hasn't been used. So there's only one thing to surmise. On May 11, this case went from a missing person's case into a homicide case.
[19:01]
Detective
Detectives have to look at who may be the closest person to Ellen, who may have had knowledge of her disappearance, or who may have done something to her. And that person happens to be Brian roth.
[19:16]
Investigator/Police Officer
Just because he was in jail at the time of Ellen's disappearance doesn't mean that he couldn't have orchestrated something.
[19:29]
Narrator
On May 11, investigators pay Brian a visit at the metropolitan detention center in
[19:35]
Detective
Albuquerque, and he comes across to detectives as very concerned. He does tell the detectives that he and his mom didn't have the best relationship. Maybe they butted heads more than once, but he would never wish her harm.
[19:53]
Narrator
Brian says it's likely his mother had some kind of accident because it's happened before.
[20:00]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Bryant went on to tell us about an incident that happened with his mother, Ellen. She had taken her sleeping pills. She'd taken an extra one that night and then somehow fallen out of bed in the middle of the night. When she hit the floor, a lamp fell off the table and struck her in the head.
[20:21]
Police Officer/Investigator
She bled pretty well on the side of her bed.
[20:25]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen and Brian went over to Ellen's house to help clean.
[20:33]
Narrator
Brian says that was the night of April 25, and it was also the last time he saw his mother. Police questioned the accuracy of his story since Ellen reported him for stealing her credit cards and jewelry shortly thereafter.
[20:50]
Investigator/Police Officer
I believe he kind of brushes that off as saying his mother gave him a ring for Kathleen. They walked away from that interview knowing that Brian couldn't have done the act, but he still might be involved in one way or the other.
[21:10]
Narrator
That same afternoon, Investigators bring in 21 year old Kathleen Roth to hear what she has to say.
[21:18]
Police Officer/Investigator
She appeared to be concerned for the safety of her mother in law and wanted to provide as much information as she could.
[21:28]
Informant/Witness
This all seems unusual to you?
[21:30]
Kathleen Roth
Oh yeah, like this is like twilight zone creepy to me.
[21:35]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen corroborated what Brian's statements were about Ellen getting injured. Around the 25th, after the blood was cleaned up, Ellen gave the credit card and told him, go buy something.
[21:50]
Kathleen Roth
I will admit Brian went a bit overboard. We both did. We went to see her the following day on Sunday, apologized and, you know, like, I'm really sorry. Here's, you know, the receipts.
[22:06]
Narrator
According to Kathleen, the situation seemed to be resolved.
[22:12]
Kathleen Roth
It isn't until later on that week, until either Thursday or Friday that she puts a police report out. And rather than both of us getting arrested, only he got arrested. This was just kind of Ellen's little power play, kind of control him. It's not the first time she's done it. Usually she cools down after, drops the charges, forgets that it ever happened. This time she was really upset.
[22:47]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen reported a phone call that she had with Ellen around May 1st. Katherine questioned why she only reported Brian as having any involvement with the credit cards.
[22:57]
Kathleen Roth
She just goes off, you stole from me, you stole my jewelry. She starts like accusing me of all these things. I tell her, I'm like, ellen, I have no idea what you thought about. Like, you need to Calm down, you know.
[23:08]
Informant/Witness
And that was the last time you talked to her?
[23:10]
Kathleen Roth
That was the last time I spoke to her, yes.
[23:12]
Investigator/Police Officer
They ask if they can search her apartment and she willingly lets them. A search is conducted and nothing is found.
[23:24]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
At this point, we can't avoid the fact that Brian was in jail. Kathleen doesn't appear to have anything to do with this. We can't avoid the fact that somebody else might have done it. And we're running out of leads at this time. We need to regroup and start again. We need to re interview everybody that we've interviewed already and see if they have anything else to tell us.
[23:52]
Narrator
Coming up, investigators learn the details of a complicated marriage.
[23:58]
Kathleen Roth
It's a no open polyamorous relationship.
[24:02]
Narrator
And an informant breaks the case wide open.
[24:06]
Informant/Witness
He told me something. All along the law, they made somebody disappear.
[24:19]
Narrator
After speaking with Brian Roth's wife Kathleen and confirming he was in jail when his mother vanished, Albuquerque police find themselves in search of new leads to explain Ellen Roth's disappearance and suspected murder.
[24:35]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Detectives interviewed Katherine Frost again. She again was a co worker and the one who initially called the police.
[24:44]
Narrator
According to Catherine, Ellen didn't have any enemies. Apparently the only source of trouble in her life was her son Brian.
[24:57]
Informant/Witness
When did the trouble start?
[24:59]
Kathleen Roth
Oh, God. Since he was a little kid, he has called her every filthy name in the book. I used to always tell her she was a victim of abuse, domestic violence, only by a child.
[25:17]
Narrator
Detectives also learn something concerning about Kathleen from Ellen's sister in law.
[25:24]
Detective
They learn of a phone call between Ellen and Kathleen. This was after Ellen supposedly fell out of the bed. Ellen's sister in law happened to be visiting at the time.
[25:35]
Narrator
This is the same May 1st phone call that Kathleen admitted to making after Brian's arrest for credit card theft. But the way Ellen's sister in law describes it is quite different.
[25:49]
Police Officer/Investigator
She overheard Kathleen being aggressive towards Ellen.
[25:54]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen was upset and blamed Ellen for Brian being in jail. The fact that she reports Kathleen had one attitude and Kathleen reports that she had another attitude in her statement to law enforcement indicates there's something to be suspicious of.
[26:16]
Narrator
In an effort to discover what else Kathleen might be lying to them about, detectives review Brian's phone calls from jail. One call from May 1st immediately jumps out to investigators.
[26:31]
Detective
He's telling Kathleen, take everything out of the apartment, that we stole the credit card, everything. And Kathleen tells him, I'm on it.
[26:47]
Narrator
This explains why police found no evidence related to the theft when they searched Brian and Kathleen's apartment 10 days later. And it's not the Only revelation in that brief jailhouse phone call.
[27:01]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen is trying to calm him down, and she explains to him that she is at Bella's house.
[27:10]
Investigator/Police Officer
Brian asks her to tell Bella, an unknown person at this point, that he loves her, which raises questions. And it's odd that a man would tell his wife that he loves another woman.
[27:27]
Narrator
On May 28, three weeks after Ellen was last seen alive, Detectives confront Kathleen with the new information they gleaned from the phone call.
[27:38]
Police Officer/Investigator
She did finally admit that she did steal the credit card and that it wasn't given to her as she originally advised.
[27:46]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen has told us these credit cards were given to her to use. Now she's saying she's taking it. So she is establishing a path of not being honest and truthful with the detectives.
[28:05]
Narrator
When detectives ask her to tell them about Bella, her answer is more surprising.
[28:12]
Detective
Kathleen tells detectives that Brian was actually dating Bella Gonzalez. She is Brian's girlfriend.
[28:22]
Informant/Witness
What's the deal with that?
[28:24]
Kathleen Roth
It's an open, polyamorous relationship.
[28:27]
Informant/Witness
So is your marriage an arrangement, or you actually love each other?
[28:33]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Both her and Brian, they see other people.
[28:36]
Investigator/Police Officer
It was essentially a marriage of convenience so that they could get insurance, food stamps, and government subsidies.
[28:47]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
They were both obviously very open about their dating other people, but, yeah, there was meaning to them behind this marriage. They were always going to be there for each other.
[28:59]
Narrator
Kathleen also admits she and Ryan were using Ellen for financial gain.
[29:06]
Kathleen Roth
Our relationship with her wasn't a very ethical one. Like, we would see her, and she would help us out with gas, help us out. Out with various bills.
[29:17]
Informant/Witness
Your relationship with her is mostly because of the money?
[29:21]
Kathleen Roth
A lot, yeah.
[29:26]
Narrator
The change in Kathleen's statement raises further red flags. But investigators don't want to make an arrest too soon.
[29:35]
Detective
They decide to let her go because detectives want to see what else Kathleen will do in hopes that she can possibly lead them to where Ellen is.
[29:47]
Police Officer/Investigator
Time has passed, and we still don't know where Ellen is. We don't know if she's alive. We don't know if she's being held captive somewhere. We have no idea where she's at. Brian and Kathleen, at this point in the investigation, were still persons of interest because there were certain things that we wanted to still figure out.
[30:10]
Narrator
Kathleen doesn't make any sister suspicious moves. But on September 1, four months after Ellen disappeared, police finally get the break they've been looking for from an unexpected source.
[30:24]
Detective
He walks into the Edgewood police department. He says he has information about the missing Albuquerque school teacher.
[30:40]
Narrator
Four months after the disappearance of Ellen Roth, A new Witness has come forward claiming to have crucial information. The anonymous informant says he has been wrestling with the decision to come forward with what he knows.
[30:56]
Police Officer/Investigator
He knew of a person by the name of Christopher Donovan, that he was responsible for the teacher in Albuquerque going missing.
[31:09]
Informant/Witness
He was just kind of bragging about it, you know, okay, there was his friend Brian. It was his mom. She was a very, very deep sleeper. So it was easy for them to get into the house. They were waiting for the garage at
[31:20]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
the following morning, Donovan told him a male named James Johnson choked her until she was dead.
[31:29]
Informant/Witness
Pursuit of about like dead weight. He was like, oh, ripples to carry that. Which dead weight was, you know, the pain, basically.
[31:41]
Narrator
When detectives ask why Christopher Donovan and James Johnson would want to kill Ellen Roth, the informant says James is Kathleen Roth's boyfriend.
[31:53]
Detective
This is surprising to detectives because when asked about their open marriage, Kathleen tells detectives about Brian and Bella, but she doesn't mention anything about having a boyfriend.
[32:08]
Investigator/Police Officer
Law enforcement has this statement. It's deemed credible. So now law enforcement has to go out and cooperate.
[32:23]
Informant/Witness
If you were in my, who would you approach first? Who do you think would give the story up first? Out of their personalities? I would just say Chris.
[32:36]
Narrator
Police learn Chris Donovan is an airman stationed at nearby Kirkland Air Force Base. They bring him in for questioning, and he confirms what their informant told them.
[32:49]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
According to Chris Donovan, James Johnson is his roommate. He is also Kathleen Roth's boyfriend. He met them about a year prior. He just started talking about the murder and how they did it. It's like he expected us to ask him and he was ready to tell us.
[33:13]
Informant/Witness
Why did you help Kit and James? I don't even know. I. I guess I just kind of did. I wasn't there. I was not there for the actual murder of Ellen Roth, who choked her. Leave it with James.
[33:31]
Police Officer/Investigator
Christopher advises that he was the driver, and so he dropped off both James and Kathleen to the residence of Ellen's.
[33:42]
Narrator
Chris says he met back up with them later that day and they told him what they'd done.
[33:49]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen has a garage door opener that she was given by Ellen. Kathleen and James Johnson wait in the garage for Ellen to leave for work that morning. They grab her and James chokes her to death. Then they wrap her body, put it in her van, and text Donovan that the deed has been done.
[34:23]
Police Officer/Investigator
He assisted them in moving Ellen's body. They then drive out to Hemis, a remote area in the Hemis mountains. And Christopher notices that there is already a pre dug hole where they place Ellen into that hole,
[34:46]
Informant/Witness
she Was stoked, I think more that James actually did it and she was going out with him, you know, so she was proud of going out with a guy that just murdered. Proud that she could get somebody to come out. Maybe all they saw her as was money and a new. I'm pretty sure she was just trash
[35:05]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
they got rid of.
[35:07]
Informant/Witness
I think so. I think that's kind of fair to say.
[35:11]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
At the end of the interview with Chris Donovan, he was arrested on a warrant for first degree murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. All three players, James Johnson, Chris Donovan and Kathleen Roth, all know what's going on. All participated in it. They are all co conspirators in this situation.
[35:36]
Narrator
Perhaps hoping for leniency, Chris agrees to call James and Kathleen to talk about the crime.
[35:44]
Investigator/Police Officer
The first phone calls are to Kathleen Roth. He basically says, I'm scared, I think they're onto me. And Kathleen responds, don't tell him anything.
[35:56]
Kathleen Roth
You do realize that they're probably like monitoring these phone conversations, right? They're following you. Seriously.
[36:02]
Informant/Witness
Hang up the phone.
[36:03]
Kathleen Roth
I will see you tomorrow.
[36:05]
Investigator/Police Officer
Donovan's telephone calls to James Johnson are much more fruitful.
[36:15]
Informant/Witness
Hey James, you don't think Ellen stinking, do you? Maybe, but I mean it's been raining. I think here that smell like even then any evidence is probably it right now or is gone.
[36:30]
Narrator
It's enough for investigators to obtain arrest warrants for James Johnson and Kathleen Roth. Johnson is arrested on September 24, 2009. Kathleen is taken into custody the following day. There is still one crucial element missing from the case, however.
[36:53]
Police Officer/Investigator
Locating Ellen's body, that was the most important piece of evidence.
[36:58]
Investigator/Police Officer
They didn't have the body so they couldn't delve into, you know, what actually caused her death.
[37:04]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
It is incredibly hard to find somebody in the desert if you have nowhere to start.
[37:20]
Narrator
Kathleen Roth, her boyfriend James Johnson and Chris Donovan have been arrested for the murder of 61 year old Ellen Roth. But prosecutors know without a body it will be a difficult case to convict.
[37:36]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
James Johnson did not want to talk to us. He did not give a statement or anything.
[37:42]
Police Officer/Investigator
Kathleen, right away she invokes her right and does not want to speak to authorities.
[37:51]
Narrator
Since Kathleen stood to profit from her mother in law staying alive. Motive is also an issue. But it becomes clearer when Brian's girlfriend Bella Gonzalez agrees to talk to investigators.
[38:07]
Detective
According to Bella, when Brian was arrested, Kathleen flew into a rage and she snapped because she felt Ellen was taking Brian away from her.
[38:18]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
She got this very strong sense of like not just injustice in the world, but like injustice directly Kind of pointed at her.
[38:30]
Police Officer/Investigator
She thought that she needed to, to do something about it to avenge her husband and decided to take it upon herself to be the mastermind.
[38:40]
Investigator/Police Officer
She wasn't going to let Ellen have the last word. She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda.
[38:54]
Narrator
With Bella's statement, prosecutors feel confident they'll be able to convict Kathleen as the puppet master. But the case never makes it to trial. Instead, Kathleen decides to come clean.
[39:10]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Basically, Kathleen says, all right, I was there. I didn't do it. I just helped move the body.
[39:18]
Police Officer/Investigator
She actually did believe that because she didn't place her hands around Ellen's neck, that she was not responsible for her death.
[39:29]
Narrator
As part of her confession, Kathleen agrees to lead investigators to where Ellen's body is buried.
[39:38]
Police Officer/Investigator
Several detectives caravan to the Hemis Mountains, went to a remote location. Approximately two feet was dug and a blue tarp was being exposed from the hole. They contacted the office of the medical investigator to retrieve Ellen Roth's body.
[40:01]
Narrator
Nearly five months after her disappearance, Ellen's killers are brought to justice.
[40:08]
Investigator/Police Officer
Christopher Donovan pled guilty to 2nd degree homicide, and he received up to a 15 year sentence.
[40:17]
Detective
James Johnson entered a plea deal for 2nd degree murder, conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder, conspiracy to tampering with evidence, and received 28 years in prison. Kathleen Roth pled guilty to 2nd degree murder, Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder, Conspiracy for tampering with evidence, and she received 37 and a half years in prison.
[40:48]
Investigator/Police Officer
Brian wasn't charged. The people involved indicated that he was unaware of what happened and he was in jail at the time the homicide occurred.
[41:02]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I do not believe the perpetrators got what they deserved. Why should they get a chance to live when Ellen doesn't get that chance?
[41:14]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
There's a bunch of kids that relied on this person, Ellen, their mother figure, and they decided to kill her for really nothing but their insecurities. That's what disturbs me about this.
[41:33]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
We never saw something like this happening. How could this happen to us? One of my daughters named her first daughter using Ellen's first name. Her life will always live on and the memories will live on because we'll pass that on the best we can.

Summary5 min read

Snapped: Women Who Murder – Cathleen Roth (Aug 2, 2026)

Podcast Summary

Overview

This episode investigates the disappearance and murder of 61-year-old Albuquerque teacher Ellen Roth. As detectives unravel the mystery behind her vanishing, the case escalates from a missing person report into a web of family conflict, financial motives, polyamorous relationships, and a multi-person conspiracy. Through interviews, police reports, and confessions, the story details how Ellen’s daughter-in-law, Kathleen Roth, became the mastermind behind her murder.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ellen Roth's Disappearance & Initial Investigation

On May 6, 2009, authorities are called to Ellen Roth's home by her coworker Catherine Frost, who reports her missing after she's absent from work—an unusual occurrence for the reliable teacher. (01:24)
- Red Flags: Newspapers are piling up, dogs are left with overflowing food and water, and Ellen’s van is missing. (00:08, 03:26, 09:16)
The police find no signs of forced entry or struggle in Ellen’s house. (03:00)
Ellen’s brother, John Feder, confirms her behavior is out of character and notices her vehicle is gone. (09:01)

2. Family Background & Tensions

Ellen is described as loving, dedicated, and accomplished, with a passion for education and travel. Her greatest wish was to be a mother. (04:20–07:33)
She adopts Brian Roth in 1990. The marriage ends but Ellen secures full custody. (07:06–08:02)
Brian, her son, demonstrates behavioral issues, drug use, and becomes increasingly confrontational and abusive toward Ellen. (10:45–11:21)
- "I used to always tell her she was a victim of abuse, domestic violence only by a child." — Kathleen Roth (00:36, 25:01)

3. Brian Roth & Kathleen "Kit" Nielsen’s Relationship

Brian meets Kathleen at a recovery center; they bond over troubled family lives. (11:39)
The situation escalates as Brian is arrested for threatening Ellen with a knife (13:04) and is later reported for theft by Ellen. (16:53)
Brian is incarcerated on May 1, ahead of Ellen’s disappearance, providing him an alibi. (14:58, 15:21)

4. Initial Suspicions & Shift in Investigation

Police initially suspect Brian given his violent history, but his incarceration timetable clears him of physical involvement. (15:21, 21:10)
Kathleen Roth participates voluntarily in questioning and corroborates Brian’s alibi but inconsistencies in her story begin to surface. (21:18–22:46)

5. Fraud, Finances, and Polyamory

Investigation uncovers fraud (stolen credit cards/jewelry), with both Brian and Kathleen benefitting financially from Ellen. (16:53–17:24, 29:06)
- "Our relationship with her wasn’t a very ethical one... she would help us out with gas, help us out with various bills." — Kathleen Roth (29:06)
- "Your relationship with her is mostly because of the money?" — "A lot, yeah." — Kathleen Roth (29:17–29:20)
Kathleen reveals she and Brian maintained an open, polyamorous marriage, with each having other partners for personal and financial reasons. (23:57, 28:23)
Kathleen's own relationship with Ellen is fraught, and she admits to exploiting her. (29:06)

6. Break in the Case: The Informant

Four months after the disappearance, an informant implicates Christopher Donovan (airman), James Johnson (Kathleen’s boyfriend), and Kathleen in the murder. (30:24–31:28)
James Johnson and Kathleen wait for Ellen in her garage, James strangles her, and Donovan assists in disposing the body in a mountain grave. (33:31–34:22)
- "She was stoked...that James actually did it and she was going out with him." — Informant (34:45)
- “She wasn't going to let Ellen have the last word. She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda.” — Investigator/Police Officer (38:39)

7. The Conspiracy and the Motive

Kathleen portrayed as the orchestrator, fueled by resentment and financial motive.
- “She snapped because she felt Ellen was taking Brian away from her.” — Bella Gonzalez (38:18)

8. Confessions, Arrests, and Justice

Christopher Donovan confesses, provides details, and cooperates in phone calls that confirm involvement of all conspirators. (35:36–36:29)
Kathleen eventually confesses to helping dispose of the body and leads police to Ellen's burial site. (39:09–39:37)
Sentences:
- Christopher Donovan: Pled guilty to second-degree homicide, 15 years.
- James Johnson: Plea deal for second-degree murder and related charges, 28 years.
- Kathleen Roth: Pled guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy, 37.5 years. (40:08–40:48)
Brian Roth is not charged; others confirm he was unaware and in jail.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

Ellen's devotion as a mother:
- "She loved being a mother. She lived for Brian." — Family Member (07:33)
On Ellen's character:
- “She's not one to just disappear.” — Family Member (01:51)
On Kathleen's financial motives:
- "Our relationship with her wasn't a very ethical one..." — Kathleen Roth (29:06)
On manipulation and revenge:
- "She wasn't going to let Ellen have the last word. She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda." — Investigator (38:39)
On tragic loss:
- “There’s a bunch of kids that relied on this person, Ellen, their mother figure, and they decided to kill her for really nothing but their insecurities.” — Prosecutor/Lead Detective (41:13)

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------|-----------| | Discovery of Ellen’s disappearance | 00:04–03:26 | | Ellen’s family history & motherhood | 04:20–08:02 | | Brian’s troubled youth and escalation | 10:45–11:21 | | Ellen’s police reports against Brian | 13:16–13:29 | | Shift from missing person to homicide | 18:09–19:00 | | Kathleen’s conflicting statements | 21:18–22:46 | | Discovery of polyamorous arrangement | 23:57–24:01, 28:23–28:46 | | Informant breaks the case | 30:24–31:28 | | Description of murder and cover-up | 33:31–34:22 | | Kathleen leads police to Ellen’s body | 39:28–39:37 | | Sentencing and aftermath | 40:08–41:33 |

Conclusion

The murder of Ellen Roth, unravelled through careful police work and confessions, exposes a dark tale of family dysfunction, manipulation, and greed. The investigation spotlights both the vulnerability and strength of Ellen as a mother, teacher, and person, while highlighting the devastating consequences of unchecked resentment and exploitation within families.

For more true crime stories like this, Snapped: Women Who Murder releases episodes every Sunday.

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Transcript217 lines

[00:04]
Narrator
A New Mexico teacher vanishes without a trace.
[00:08]
Detective
The newspapers are stacked up and untouched.
[00:11]
Investigator/Police Officer
They saw the dogs were barricaded with an overflowing bowl of food.
[00:17]
Kathleen Roth
I'm very worried. Like this is twilight zone creepy to me.
[00:23]
Narrator
A family member's history of violence puts them at the top of a short list of suspects.
[00:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
He had threatened her with a knife and she ended up calling the police.
[00:37]
Kathleen Roth
I used to always tell her she was a victim of abuse, domestic violence only by a child.
[00:44]
Narrator
But the investigation reveals a more complex and disturbing plot involving fraud, a polyamorous relationship and a woman determined to get revenge.
[00:58]
Investigator/Police Officer
She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda.
[01:04]
Informant/Witness
Saw her as was money and a nuisance.
[01:07]
Detective
She flew into a rage and she snapped.
[01:24]
Narrator
May 6, 2009. It's a warm spring afternoon in Albuquerque, New Mexico when authorities receive an emergency call from a teacher named Catherine Frost. Catherine says she's at the home of a co worker, 61 year old Ellen Roth, and she's worried something has happened to her.
[01:46]
Investigator/Police Officer
Ellen had not come to work for a couple of days and this was very out of character for her.
[01:52]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was always at work on time, snow, rain, whatever it may be, she's not one to just disappear.
[01:59]
Investigator/Police Officer
Katherine heard dogs barking but didn't see any sign of life and was concerned and asked for a welfare check to be done.
[02:10]
Narrator
The Albuquerque Police department is sent to assess the situation.
[02:15]
Detective
When police arrive, the officer notices that the newspapers are stacked up and untouched. And Ms. Frost tells them she fears Ellen may have hurt herself.
[02:28]
Investigator/Police Officer
Catherine was aware of a prior incident that Ellen had had where she allegedly fell out of bed and hurt herself seriously.
[02:41]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
With her falling inside the residence and her not answering the phone, he made the determination that they needed to force entry into the house.
[02:53]
Narrator
Despite Catherine's concern, they don't find Ellen or any indication she's in danger.
[03:01]
Police Officer/Investigator
There were no signs of forced entry. There wasn't anything to suggest that there had been some type of a struggle inside the residence. They did notice that there were two canines that were inside the residence. The animals did have water and a large amount of food that had been placed in the food bowls.
[03:26]
Narrator
But according to Catherine, the dogs are proof something is wrong.
[03:32]
Investigator/Police Officer
Catherine saying she would never have left her dogs. This is not how she treated her dogs. The food bowl wouldn't be overflowing. It almost looked as though somebody had put the dogs in there knowing that it would be days before they would be found. That was a real red flag for them.
[03:50]
Detective
Detectives think who could have hurt Ellen or What could have happened to Ellen if she disappeared?
[04:00]
Police Officer/Investigator
Detectives are concerned as to her whereabouts, and we owed it to the community and her family to find her. Her disappearance was out of character of her, so detectives started doing a deep dive into Ellen's background.
[04:20]
Narrator
Ellen Feder was born April 15, 1948, to Emanuel and Judith Feder. She was one of four children, but the only girl.
[04:33]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
My sister was born in Miami, and then my family moved to Albuquerque. My dad was stationed there. He was a second lieutenant, and he was in the air Force.
[04:47]
Detective
In her younger years, Ellen was a very outgoing person, and she had this appetite for education.
[04:54]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen definitely wanted to go to college. She chose the University of Miami, which was ironic because she was born there, and she started taking classes in education.
[05:03]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She really liked children, so she enjoyed teaching more, I think, than she thought she would.
[05:15]
Narrator
After her undergraduate program, Ellen returned to Albuquerque, where she obtained a master's degree in bilingual education and began her teaching career.
[05:25]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She just loved watching kids growing, teaching them, and then the kids would always come back to visit her. So she felt very well accomplished.
[05:34]
Narrator
When Ellen wasn't teaching, she was out exploring the world.
[05:39]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was very outgoing. She had a lot of friends. She traveled pretty much every summer.
[05:46]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She had gone all over the world. She would tell us stories about her travels. She was very well versed.
[05:59]
Narrator
But there was one thing Ellen seemed to want more than anything else.
[06:04]
Detective
One of Ellen's goals in life, maybe you could say the major goal in life was to be a mother in Albuquerque.
[06:14]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She dated people, but just never found that. Mr. Right. She's in her 30s now and really wanted to settle down and start a family.
[06:28]
Narrator
Finally, in 1986, Ellen believed she found the man she'd been looking for when she met Jerry Roth.
[06:36]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Jerry was a very successful lawyer. He made a lot of money. He seemed to love Ellen and, you know, and took care of Ellen.
[06:50]
Narrator
Just a year after they started dating, Ellen and Jerry got married. But having children of her own proved to be more difficult than she'd hoped.
[07:00]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She tried to have children for many years. I don't believe she could ever get pregnant.
[07:06]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
She decided to go the next step. She talked to Jerry about possibly adopting a child. I know at first he was not interested, but over time, he decided that he would go along with that.
[07:23]
Narrator
In 1990, the Roths adopted a newborn son and named him Brian.
[07:29]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
When she brought Brian home, she was extremely happy. She felt complete.
[07:34]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
She loved being a mother. She lived for Brian.
[07:41]
Narrator
Unfortunately, the marriage began to suffer soon afterward.
[07:47]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
Ellen was so wrapped up with Brian. I think she Maybe forgot about her relationship with her husband.
[07:55]
Detective
Less than a year after they adopt Brian, her husband decides to divorce her.
[08:02]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I don't believe she was upset about the divorce. Jerry gave her full custody of Brian and so she was thrilled about that.
[08:17]
Narrator
Raising a son all on her own wasn't easy. But by 2009, Ellen was relaxing into her golden years, excited to see her son building his own future. Brian had married a young woman named Kathleen and appeared to be settling down.
[08:36]
Detective
At this point, Ellen is pretty content with the situation that Brian is starting his adult life. So she's in her 60s and she's looking towards retirement.
[08:53]
Narrator
With her life seemingly going so well, Ellen's sudden disappearance is difficult for anyone to explain.
[09:01]
Detective
Police contact Ellen's brother, John Feeder, and he also reiterates that this is out of the ordinary. So he goes to the apartment.
[09:11]
Narrator
John notices something strange.
[09:16]
Detective
He proceeds to tell them that her 2007 Dodge Caravan is missing.
[09:24]
Investigator/Police Officer
This just further is another piece of the puzzle that leads them to conclude that they need to continue their investigation. They need to do it as quickly as
[09:36]
Kathleen Roth
coming up.
[09:37]
Narrator
A shocking accusation.
[09:40]
Detective
He fears that her son may have something to do with it because of the abusive relationship they have.
[09:50]
Narrator
But investigators find the case more complicated than they imagine.
[09:55]
Informant/Witness
She was a very, very deep sleeper, so it's easy for them to get into the house. They were waiting for her.
[10:09]
Narrator
After confirming that no one has seen his sister Ellen Roth in days, John Feder officially reports her missing with Albuquerque police.
[10:19]
Detective
Her minivan is entered into the system and Ellen is entered as a missing person in ncic.
[10:28]
Narrator
John tells detectives that if something has happened to Ellen, one suspect immediately springs to mind.
[10:36]
Detective
He fears that her son Brian may have something to do with it.
[10:45]
Narrator
According to John, 19 year old Brian has a long history of serious behavioral issues.
[10:53]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I know that Brian had a lot of issues, but she tried to meet the challenges as best she could.
[11:02]
Detective
And as much as he's acting out and difficult, all Ellen knows is to show him love.
[11:11]
Narrator
John says that approach didn't work. Brian began abusing drugs and became more confrontational with his mother.
[11:21]
Detective
It starts to get so bad that Ellen sends him to New Day, which is a recovery center here in Albuquerque. In a sense, Ellen has to do tough love finally and kick him out.
[11:39]
Narrator
It's there that Brian met his future wife, 21 year old fellow patient Kathleen Kit Nielsen.
[11:48]
Detective
They form this strong bond because they feel they have so much in common with their growing pains with both of their family lives.
[12:00]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
Kit and Brian definitely bonded over that sense of being felt very Unwanted. He had felt his entire life that Ellen adopted me as a prop. She's this very wealthy woman. She's made my life so miserable. Kit didn't talk a lot about her family, about her family background. It was clearly something very painful for her.
[12:30]
Narrator
Though finding a kindred spirit in Kathleen initially seemed to bring Brian peace of mind, he eventually fell back into his old ways.
[12:40]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Detectives found out that he had been arrested on March 25 of 2009 for a domestic violence episode with Ellen Roth. He had threatened her with a knife and she ended up calling the police. He was arrested for aggravated assaul with a deadly weapon.
[13:05]
Narrator
Police records show Brian was sentenced to a year of probation. But less than two weeks before her disappearance, Ellen filed another report against him.
[13:17]
Police Officer/Investigator
On 26 April, she checked her bank account and realized that there were some charges that she did not make. She realized that her debit card had been missing.
[13:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Along with the card, she realizes that two diamond rings, a wedding band and a dinner ring and three necklaces are also missing from her residence. She suspects it's Brian. He had access to the house.
[13:49]
Detective
Prior to Ellen calling police, she did some investigating on her own. She calls the bank to see where the purchases were made. The bank tells her that the unauthorized purchases were at Walmart, a tobacco shop and 7 11.
[14:05]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Ellen actually calls the tobacco shop and speaks to one of the employees.
[14:11]
Detective
The clerk is able to describe Brian's appearance. The credit card and Brian's ID both have the last name. And Brian tells the clerk that his mother gave him permission to use her credit card.
[14:28]
Narrator
The fact that Ellen disappeared four days after making this new complaint against her son raises detectives suspicions.
[14:37]
Investigator/Police Officer
Where was Brian during the time that Ellen was missing? Could he have been involved in her disappearance? Obviously at this point you've got one suspect. It's Brian Roth.
[14:53]
Narrator
But Brian's parole officer cast doubt on his involvement.
[14:58]
Police Officer/Investigator
Brian Roth had been arrested on May 1st of 2009 for a probation violation. They did test him for any type of narcotics. He did come back with a dirty sample. So at that time, the probation officer revoked Brian's probation and he was then placed into custody.
[15:22]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
With Brian being incarcerated from May 1 on, there was no way he could have anything physically to do with this.
[15:30]
Detective
So detectives have to look at the case again. What happened if Brian isn't a factor anymore?
[15:41]
Narrator
Four days into their search, police get a break in the case.
[15:46]
Police Officer/Investigator
On May 10th of 2012, telephone call came into the Albuquerque Police Department to report that a vehicle had been located. The caller thought that the vehicle was probably stolen.
[16:01]
Investigator/Police Officer
Law enforcement responds that it matches the description of Elwyn Roth's car. But the license plate on the back of the vehicle does not match the stolen license plate.
[16:14]
Police Officer/Investigator
The officer then decided to look at the vin number. That vin number then came back to the registered owner, which is Ellen Roth.
[16:24]
Narrator
The location of the vehicle provides investigators with a possible clue.
[16:30]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Ellen was somewhat of a recluse. She would go to work at the school, and then she would go home. So the van being in this part of the town was very uncommon.
[16:43]
Police Officer/Investigator
She lived in the northeast part of albuquerque. For her vehicle to be in the international district just did not make sense. Was she abducted from this location? Was this just a dumping ground for the vehicle? We're looking for any type of trace evidence, any type of DNA, blood, fibers. But detectives noticed that appeared to have been freshly wiped down. Could have been somebody that actually put her in harm's way. And then trying to destroy evidence of
[17:18]
Narrator
Ellen's phone and bank records sets off even more alarm bells.
[17:24]
Police Officer/Investigator
Her phone had not been used, and her debit cards, credit cards, nothing had occurred at all since the time she's missing. So it seems that she just fell off the face of the earth.
[17:39]
Narrator
It's now been a week since anyone saw Ellen Roth. And with no financial activity or ransom demands, investigators increasingly believe there's only one reason why they have a missing woman
[17:55]
Investigator/Police Officer
who's married to routine, who's reliable, who's missed work, has never missed work before. Her dogs aren't well cared for. Her car is found in a strange location, and it's wiped clean.
[18:10]
Detective
They're dealing with a homicide.
[18:13]
Investigator/Police Officer
She's been killed. They don't know who did it. They don't know why or how. At this point,
[18:28]
Narrator
Ellen roth vanished a week ago. And the limited evidence recovered by police is raising major red flags.
[18:39]
Investigator/Police Officer
It's not looking good that Owen is alive at this point. Her credit cards haven't been used. Her telephone hasn't been used. So there's only one thing to surmise. On May 11, this case went from a missing person's case into a homicide case.
[19:01]
Detective
Detectives have to look at who may be the closest person to Ellen, who may have had knowledge of her disappearance, or who may have done something to her. And that person happens to be Brian roth.
[19:16]
Investigator/Police Officer
Just because he was in jail at the time of Ellen's disappearance doesn't mean that he couldn't have orchestrated something.
[19:29]
Narrator
On May 11, investigators pay Brian a visit at the metropolitan detention center in
[19:35]
Detective
Albuquerque, and he comes across to detectives as very concerned. He does tell the detectives that he and his mom didn't have the best relationship. Maybe they butted heads more than once, but he would never wish her harm.
[19:53]
Narrator
Brian says it's likely his mother had some kind of accident because it's happened before.
[20:00]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Bryant went on to tell us about an incident that happened with his mother, Ellen. She had taken her sleeping pills. She'd taken an extra one that night and then somehow fallen out of bed in the middle of the night. When she hit the floor, a lamp fell off the table and struck her in the head.
[20:21]
Police Officer/Investigator
She bled pretty well on the side of her bed.
[20:25]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen and Brian went over to Ellen's house to help clean.
[20:33]
Narrator
Brian says that was the night of April 25, and it was also the last time he saw his mother. Police questioned the accuracy of his story since Ellen reported him for stealing her credit cards and jewelry shortly thereafter.
[20:50]
Investigator/Police Officer
I believe he kind of brushes that off as saying his mother gave him a ring for Kathleen. They walked away from that interview knowing that Brian couldn't have done the act, but he still might be involved in one way or the other.
[21:10]
Narrator
That same afternoon, Investigators bring in 21 year old Kathleen Roth to hear what she has to say.
[21:18]
Police Officer/Investigator
She appeared to be concerned for the safety of her mother in law and wanted to provide as much information as she could.
[21:28]
Informant/Witness
This all seems unusual to you?
[21:30]
Kathleen Roth
Oh yeah, like this is like twilight zone creepy to me.
[21:35]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen corroborated what Brian's statements were about Ellen getting injured. Around the 25th, after the blood was cleaned up, Ellen gave the credit card and told him, go buy something.
[21:50]
Kathleen Roth
I will admit Brian went a bit overboard. We both did. We went to see her the following day on Sunday, apologized and, you know, like, I'm really sorry. Here's, you know, the receipts.
[22:06]
Narrator
According to Kathleen, the situation seemed to be resolved.
[22:12]
Kathleen Roth
It isn't until later on that week, until either Thursday or Friday that she puts a police report out. And rather than both of us getting arrested, only he got arrested. This was just kind of Ellen's little power play, kind of control him. It's not the first time she's done it. Usually she cools down after, drops the charges, forgets that it ever happened. This time she was really upset.
[22:47]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen reported a phone call that she had with Ellen around May 1st. Katherine questioned why she only reported Brian as having any involvement with the credit cards.
[22:57]
Kathleen Roth
She just goes off, you stole from me, you stole my jewelry. She starts like accusing me of all these things. I tell her, I'm like, ellen, I have no idea what you thought about. Like, you need to Calm down, you know.
[23:08]
Informant/Witness
And that was the last time you talked to her?
[23:10]
Kathleen Roth
That was the last time I spoke to her, yes.
[23:12]
Investigator/Police Officer
They ask if they can search her apartment and she willingly lets them. A search is conducted and nothing is found.
[23:24]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
At this point, we can't avoid the fact that Brian was in jail. Kathleen doesn't appear to have anything to do with this. We can't avoid the fact that somebody else might have done it. And we're running out of leads at this time. We need to regroup and start again. We need to re interview everybody that we've interviewed already and see if they have anything else to tell us.
[23:52]
Narrator
Coming up, investigators learn the details of a complicated marriage.
[23:58]
Kathleen Roth
It's a no open polyamorous relationship.
[24:02]
Narrator
And an informant breaks the case wide open.
[24:06]
Informant/Witness
He told me something. All along the law, they made somebody disappear.
[24:19]
Narrator
After speaking with Brian Roth's wife Kathleen and confirming he was in jail when his mother vanished, Albuquerque police find themselves in search of new leads to explain Ellen Roth's disappearance and suspected murder.
[24:35]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Detectives interviewed Katherine Frost again. She again was a co worker and the one who initially called the police.
[24:44]
Narrator
According to Catherine, Ellen didn't have any enemies. Apparently the only source of trouble in her life was her son Brian.
[24:57]
Informant/Witness
When did the trouble start?
[24:59]
Kathleen Roth
Oh, God. Since he was a little kid, he has called her every filthy name in the book. I used to always tell her she was a victim of abuse, domestic violence, only by a child.
[25:17]
Narrator
Detectives also learn something concerning about Kathleen from Ellen's sister in law.
[25:24]
Detective
They learn of a phone call between Ellen and Kathleen. This was after Ellen supposedly fell out of the bed. Ellen's sister in law happened to be visiting at the time.
[25:35]
Narrator
This is the same May 1st phone call that Kathleen admitted to making after Brian's arrest for credit card theft. But the way Ellen's sister in law describes it is quite different.
[25:49]
Police Officer/Investigator
She overheard Kathleen being aggressive towards Ellen.
[25:54]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen was upset and blamed Ellen for Brian being in jail. The fact that she reports Kathleen had one attitude and Kathleen reports that she had another attitude in her statement to law enforcement indicates there's something to be suspicious of.
[26:16]
Narrator
In an effort to discover what else Kathleen might be lying to them about, detectives review Brian's phone calls from jail. One call from May 1st immediately jumps out to investigators.
[26:31]
Detective
He's telling Kathleen, take everything out of the apartment, that we stole the credit card, everything. And Kathleen tells him, I'm on it.
[26:47]
Narrator
This explains why police found no evidence related to the theft when they searched Brian and Kathleen's apartment 10 days later. And it's not the Only revelation in that brief jailhouse phone call.
[27:01]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen is trying to calm him down, and she explains to him that she is at Bella's house.
[27:10]
Investigator/Police Officer
Brian asks her to tell Bella, an unknown person at this point, that he loves her, which raises questions. And it's odd that a man would tell his wife that he loves another woman.
[27:27]
Narrator
On May 28, three weeks after Ellen was last seen alive, Detectives confront Kathleen with the new information they gleaned from the phone call.
[27:38]
Police Officer/Investigator
She did finally admit that she did steal the credit card and that it wasn't given to her as she originally advised.
[27:46]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Kathleen has told us these credit cards were given to her to use. Now she's saying she's taking it. So she is establishing a path of not being honest and truthful with the detectives.
[28:05]
Narrator
When detectives ask her to tell them about Bella, her answer is more surprising.
[28:12]
Detective
Kathleen tells detectives that Brian was actually dating Bella Gonzalez. She is Brian's girlfriend.
[28:22]
Informant/Witness
What's the deal with that?
[28:24]
Kathleen Roth
It's an open, polyamorous relationship.
[28:27]
Informant/Witness
So is your marriage an arrangement, or you actually love each other?
[28:33]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Both her and Brian, they see other people.
[28:36]
Investigator/Police Officer
It was essentially a marriage of convenience so that they could get insurance, food stamps, and government subsidies.
[28:47]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
They were both obviously very open about their dating other people, but, yeah, there was meaning to them behind this marriage. They were always going to be there for each other.
[28:59]
Narrator
Kathleen also admits she and Ryan were using Ellen for financial gain.
[29:06]
Kathleen Roth
Our relationship with her wasn't a very ethical one. Like, we would see her, and she would help us out with gas, help us out. Out with various bills.
[29:17]
Informant/Witness
Your relationship with her is mostly because of the money?
[29:21]
Kathleen Roth
A lot, yeah.
[29:26]
Narrator
The change in Kathleen's statement raises further red flags. But investigators don't want to make an arrest too soon.
[29:35]
Detective
They decide to let her go because detectives want to see what else Kathleen will do in hopes that she can possibly lead them to where Ellen is.
[29:47]
Police Officer/Investigator
Time has passed, and we still don't know where Ellen is. We don't know if she's alive. We don't know if she's being held captive somewhere. We have no idea where she's at. Brian and Kathleen, at this point in the investigation, were still persons of interest because there were certain things that we wanted to still figure out.
[30:10]
Narrator
Kathleen doesn't make any sister suspicious moves. But on September 1, four months after Ellen disappeared, police finally get the break they've been looking for from an unexpected source.
[30:24]
Detective
He walks into the Edgewood police department. He says he has information about the missing Albuquerque school teacher.
[30:40]
Narrator
Four months after the disappearance of Ellen Roth, A new Witness has come forward claiming to have crucial information. The anonymous informant says he has been wrestling with the decision to come forward with what he knows.
[30:56]
Police Officer/Investigator
He knew of a person by the name of Christopher Donovan, that he was responsible for the teacher in Albuquerque going missing.
[31:09]
Informant/Witness
He was just kind of bragging about it, you know, okay, there was his friend Brian. It was his mom. She was a very, very deep sleeper. So it was easy for them to get into the house. They were waiting for the garage at
[31:20]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
the following morning, Donovan told him a male named James Johnson choked her until she was dead.
[31:29]
Informant/Witness
Pursuit of about like dead weight. He was like, oh, ripples to carry that. Which dead weight was, you know, the pain, basically.
[31:41]
Narrator
When detectives ask why Christopher Donovan and James Johnson would want to kill Ellen Roth, the informant says James is Kathleen Roth's boyfriend.
[31:53]
Detective
This is surprising to detectives because when asked about their open marriage, Kathleen tells detectives about Brian and Bella, but she doesn't mention anything about having a boyfriend.
[32:08]
Investigator/Police Officer
Law enforcement has this statement. It's deemed credible. So now law enforcement has to go out and cooperate.
[32:23]
Informant/Witness
If you were in my, who would you approach first? Who do you think would give the story up first? Out of their personalities? I would just say Chris.
[32:36]
Narrator
Police learn Chris Donovan is an airman stationed at nearby Kirkland Air Force Base. They bring him in for questioning, and he confirms what their informant told them.
[32:49]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
According to Chris Donovan, James Johnson is his roommate. He is also Kathleen Roth's boyfriend. He met them about a year prior. He just started talking about the murder and how they did it. It's like he expected us to ask him and he was ready to tell us.
[33:13]
Informant/Witness
Why did you help Kit and James? I don't even know. I. I guess I just kind of did. I wasn't there. I was not there for the actual murder of Ellen Roth, who choked her. Leave it with James.
[33:31]
Police Officer/Investigator
Christopher advises that he was the driver, and so he dropped off both James and Kathleen to the residence of Ellen's.
[33:42]
Narrator
Chris says he met back up with them later that day and they told him what they'd done.
[33:49]
Investigator/Police Officer
Kathleen has a garage door opener that she was given by Ellen. Kathleen and James Johnson wait in the garage for Ellen to leave for work that morning. They grab her and James chokes her to death. Then they wrap her body, put it in her van, and text Donovan that the deed has been done.
[34:23]
Police Officer/Investigator
He assisted them in moving Ellen's body. They then drive out to Hemis, a remote area in the Hemis mountains. And Christopher notices that there is already a pre dug hole where they place Ellen into that hole,
[34:46]
Informant/Witness
she Was stoked, I think more that James actually did it and she was going out with him, you know, so she was proud of going out with a guy that just murdered. Proud that she could get somebody to come out. Maybe all they saw her as was money and a new. I'm pretty sure she was just trash
[35:05]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
they got rid of.
[35:07]
Informant/Witness
I think so. I think that's kind of fair to say.
[35:11]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
At the end of the interview with Chris Donovan, he was arrested on a warrant for first degree murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. All three players, James Johnson, Chris Donovan and Kathleen Roth, all know what's going on. All participated in it. They are all co conspirators in this situation.
[35:36]
Narrator
Perhaps hoping for leniency, Chris agrees to call James and Kathleen to talk about the crime.
[35:44]
Investigator/Police Officer
The first phone calls are to Kathleen Roth. He basically says, I'm scared, I think they're onto me. And Kathleen responds, don't tell him anything.
[35:56]
Kathleen Roth
You do realize that they're probably like monitoring these phone conversations, right? They're following you. Seriously.
[36:02]
Informant/Witness
Hang up the phone.
[36:03]
Kathleen Roth
I will see you tomorrow.
[36:05]
Investigator/Police Officer
Donovan's telephone calls to James Johnson are much more fruitful.
[36:15]
Informant/Witness
Hey James, you don't think Ellen stinking, do you? Maybe, but I mean it's been raining. I think here that smell like even then any evidence is probably it right now or is gone.
[36:30]
Narrator
It's enough for investigators to obtain arrest warrants for James Johnson and Kathleen Roth. Johnson is arrested on September 24, 2009. Kathleen is taken into custody the following day. There is still one crucial element missing from the case, however.
[36:53]
Police Officer/Investigator
Locating Ellen's body, that was the most important piece of evidence.
[36:58]
Investigator/Police Officer
They didn't have the body so they couldn't delve into, you know, what actually caused her death.
[37:04]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
It is incredibly hard to find somebody in the desert if you have nowhere to start.
[37:20]
Narrator
Kathleen Roth, her boyfriend James Johnson and Chris Donovan have been arrested for the murder of 61 year old Ellen Roth. But prosecutors know without a body it will be a difficult case to convict.
[37:36]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
James Johnson did not want to talk to us. He did not give a statement or anything.
[37:42]
Police Officer/Investigator
Kathleen, right away she invokes her right and does not want to speak to authorities.
[37:51]
Narrator
Since Kathleen stood to profit from her mother in law staying alive. Motive is also an issue. But it becomes clearer when Brian's girlfriend Bella Gonzalez agrees to talk to investigators.
[38:07]
Detective
According to Bella, when Brian was arrested, Kathleen flew into a rage and she snapped because she felt Ellen was taking Brian away from her.
[38:18]
Brian's Girlfriend (Bella Gonzalez)
She got this very strong sense of like not just injustice in the world, but like injustice directly Kind of pointed at her.
[38:30]
Police Officer/Investigator
She thought that she needed to, to do something about it to avenge her husband and decided to take it upon herself to be the mastermind.
[38:40]
Investigator/Police Officer
She wasn't going to let Ellen have the last word. She pulled a lot of people into this situation to fulfill her agenda.
[38:54]
Narrator
With Bella's statement, prosecutors feel confident they'll be able to convict Kathleen as the puppet master. But the case never makes it to trial. Instead, Kathleen decides to come clean.
[39:10]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
Basically, Kathleen says, all right, I was there. I didn't do it. I just helped move the body.
[39:18]
Police Officer/Investigator
She actually did believe that because she didn't place her hands around Ellen's neck, that she was not responsible for her death.
[39:29]
Narrator
As part of her confession, Kathleen agrees to lead investigators to where Ellen's body is buried.
[39:38]
Police Officer/Investigator
Several detectives caravan to the Hemis Mountains, went to a remote location. Approximately two feet was dug and a blue tarp was being exposed from the hole. They contacted the office of the medical investigator to retrieve Ellen Roth's body.
[40:01]
Narrator
Nearly five months after her disappearance, Ellen's killers are brought to justice.
[40:08]
Investigator/Police Officer
Christopher Donovan pled guilty to 2nd degree homicide, and he received up to a 15 year sentence.
[40:17]
Detective
James Johnson entered a plea deal for 2nd degree murder, conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder, conspiracy to tampering with evidence, and received 28 years in prison. Kathleen Roth pled guilty to 2nd degree murder, Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder, Conspiracy for tampering with evidence, and she received 37 and a half years in prison.
[40:48]
Investigator/Police Officer
Brian wasn't charged. The people involved indicated that he was unaware of what happened and he was in jail at the time the homicide occurred.
[41:02]
Friend or Colleague of Ellen
I do not believe the perpetrators got what they deserved. Why should they get a chance to live when Ellen doesn't get that chance?
[41:14]
Prosecutor/Lead Detective
There's a bunch of kids that relied on this person, Ellen, their mother figure, and they decided to kill her for really nothing but their insecurities. That's what disturbs me about this.
[41:33]
Family Member (possibly Ellen's sibling)
We never saw something like this happening. How could this happen to us? One of my daughters named her first daughter using Ellen's first name. Her life will always live on and the memories will live on because we'll pass that on the best we can.