A Death in the Family

Summary

Trace of Suspicion: "A Death in the Family" – Episode Summary

Podcast: Trace of Suspicion (Dateline/NBC News)
Host: Josh Mankiewicz
Air Date: March 10, 2026

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Overview

This gripping first episode of Trace of Suspicion delves into the mysterious 2002 death of 23-year-old Marine Sergeant Todd Sommer. What begins as an unexpected tragedy soon spirals into suspicion as Todd’s wife, Cindy Sommer, exhibits unconventional behavior after his death—lavish spending, cosmetic surgery, and wild partying. What really happened to Todd? Was it natural causes, as the autopsy suggested, or something more sinister, as later suspicions and forensic investigations begin to suggest? Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz unpacks the saga, featuring in-depth interviews with Cindy and key figures, painting a portrait of grief, rumor, and a criminal inquiry that took a shocking turn.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Night of Todd’s Death

• Todd’s Sudden Collapse
  Todd, believed to be recovering from a week of stomach illness, collapses at home late at night.

  • Cindy awakes to Todd gasping for breath and witnesses his rapid deterioration ([02:14] Cindy Summers).
  • Despite Cindy’s attempts at CPR, and the rapid arrival of emergency services, Todd dies.
    • "He just looked at me and he said, 'I'm all right. I'm okay. I'm fine.' And then he just fell down and I just kind of freaked out." — Cindy Summers ([02:27])

• Immediate Reactions and 911

  • Cindy’s distress is evident in her recounting of the incident.
  • Neighbor Susan Beach describes arriving to watch Cindy’s children amidst chaos ([05:14] Susan Beach).
  • Wine glasses observed in the bedroom after the fact are never tested, a detail later deemed critical ([09:14] Susan Beach).

Cindy’s Early Behavior and Grief

• Initial Grieving
  Cindy’s coping is immediacy and avoidance—she recounts compartmentalizing her grief, acting as if Todd was simply "on deployment" ([30:30] Cindy Summers).

  • "I'm really good at avoiding and, you know, just compartmentalizing. I think really that's what I did after Todd died…" — Cindy Summers ([30:30])

• Perceptions of Inappropriate Behavior

  • Friends and neighbors describe Cindy partying, shopping, and socializing soon after Todd’s funeral.

    • “She started having a lot of people over and a lot of parties shortly after his funeral.” — Neighbor Denisia Vivia Parra ([04:07]; expanded [33:19])
    • Friends see her at a strip club on the day of Todd's memorial service ([32:21] Chandra Wells).

  • Cindy responds candidly about her behavior:

    • “I didn’t grieve how people thought I should. I didn’t do the things that they thought I should. I did things that they didn’t agree with. My moral compass may have been off.” — Cindy Summers ([34:21])

  • Her financial actions—trust funds for the children, but also a spree of luxury purchases—raise eyebrows:

    • “Yeah, I bought a Tiffany’s ring, and I’m wearing it right now… I thought that it would make me feel better…” — Cindy Summers ([32:49])

Early Investigation and Autopsy

• NCIS Initial Findings

  • Todd's death appears natural at first; routine investigations find no signs of foul play ([27:10] summary; [28:14] NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger).
  • The autopsy: cause of death is stated as heart failure, unusual but not unheard of for a healthy young man.
  • Life insurance and death benefits are paid out quickly to Cindy—“at the time, the standard for the armed services” ([29:23]).

• Gossip and Judgment

  • Rumors swirl in the community about Cindy’s behavior, her relationships, and new spending habits.
  • Neighbors report her children as unsupervised and her home as the new "party central" ([33:19]).

The Case Turns: Suspicion and the Reopened Investigation

• Why Did the Investigation Continue?

  • The case lingers on the desks of multiple NCIS agents due to transfers and reassignments ([34:41]).
  • Red flags: Todd’s age, health, and the circumstances (insurance payoff, Cindy’s behavior) do not sit right with the reviewing agent ([35:52] NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger).

• The Call for Further Testing

  • A recommendation is made to test Todd’s samples for poisons, specifically heavy metals like arsenic ([36:05]).
  • “What happens is that the panel will review it, find that all the investigative leads have been followed, and then they would recommend it for closure.” — NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger ([28:14])
  • "Why don't we have the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology run one more test? Because poison could have been an option here." — NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger ([36:05])

• “This Case Started Because of the Breast Implants”

  • Cindy references that much suspicion and gossip began after people learned about her spending of life insurance on cosmetic surgery ([37:48]).
    • “This case started because of the breast implants.” — Cindy Summers ([37:48])
    • “If she had a nose job, would we be talking about it?” — Cindy Summers ([37:53])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Cindy on Her Shock and Actions:

  • "I went over to him. I'm like, what's the matter?...He said, 'I'm all right... I'm fine.' And then he just fell down and I just kind of freaked out." ([02:27])

• Immediate Wit about Death Benefits:

  • "I turned to an MP... and blurted out a comment about Todd's military life insurance policy, which was worth about a quarter of a million dollars." ([07:22]; explained further [14:35])
  • Cindy herself reflects: "Thinking back now as to why I would have said things like that... I've lost basically our only source of income. I have four kids." ([14:35])

• Perceptions of Cindy’s Grieving:

  • "She went to the strip club down the road the day of her husband's service." — Chandra Wells ([32:21])
  • "Why does it matter? I didn't grieve how people thought I should..." — Cindy Summers ([34:21])

• On the Marriage and Family Life:

  • “We were all hanging out and I met Todd and...there was an instant connection and we just spent that weekend together.” — Cindy Summers ([17:02])
  • “From the minute he met them, he loved them, and the kids loved him. And he looked at them as his own.” — Cindy Summers ([21:28])

• Investigators’ Doubts:

  • "The resident agent in charge... Agree, there's something that just begs the question here." — NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger ([36:05])

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Critical Timestamps

• [02:14] Cindy describes Todd’s collapse
• [03:08] Cindy attempts CPR
• [07:22] Cindy’s comment about life insurance
• [09:14] Susan Beach notes the wine glasses
• [14:35] Cindy asks about the reenlistment bonus
• [17:02–19:06] Cindy recounts whirlwind romance and marriage to Todd
• [22:34–25:31] Timeline of Todd’s final 10 days, illness, and last family outing
• [31:18–33:37] Details of Cindy’s post-death behavior as recalled by friends and neighbors
• [34:41–36:28] NCIS’s evolving suspicions and the eventual decision to test for poisons
• [37:24] Preview of the next episode and mention of breast implants' role in suspicion

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Episode Tone & Style

• Language and Mood: Reflective, investigative, and at times intimate or confessional. The tone alternates between sober narration (Mankiewicz), emotionally charged interviews (Cindy Summers), and speculation or judgment from the community.
• Notable Style: The conversation with Cindy is direct, she’s both defensive and candid, giving listeners a complex view of her state of mind and actions. Mankiewicz’s narration combines empathy with a reporter’s skepticism.

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Conclusion & Next Episode Teaser

The episode closes with a cliffhanger—the results of forensic tests for heavy metals in Todd’s tissues that would ultimately alter the course of the investigation. Cindy acknowledges the ways her life and choices have drawn both scorn and suspicion, setting the stage for the unraveling of both a criminal case and a public spectacle.

Teaser:
“My theory is that somebody put this colorless, odorless, tasteless substance into something he ate, or more likely something he drank and it killed him.” — Cindy Summers ([37:24])

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For listeners interested in true crime, psychological drama, and the intersection of private grief with public scrutiny, this episode provides a meticulously reported, emotionally charged deep dive into a family tragedy that refuses to be neatly contained.

Transcript

[Podcast Host 1]

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[Podcast Host 2]

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[Podcast Host 2]

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[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

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[Podcast Host 2]

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[Podcast Host 1]

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[Podcast Host 2]

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[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Death comes for us all eventually. We can never know exactly when, where, or how. What is known is that the Grim Reaper is always out there waiting, checking our names against a list, like some bill collector on commission. United States Marine Sergeant Todd Sommer had every reason to think his appointment with death was still decades away. After all, he was only 23. Except sometimes the years don't matter. As he got ready for bed that night in February 2002, the Reaper was watching. Todd had been battling some kind of bug for more than a week. Nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains, chills, fever, the full menu of misery. The doctors at the Miramar Marine Base in San Diego thought this might be food poisoning. Maybe that gas station egg roll he had eaten. We do not know how much sleep Todd Summer actually got that night. We do know that at about 1:30 in the morning, his wife Cindy was awakened by the sound of her husband gasping for breath.

[Cindy Summers]

He got up and he walked towards the bathroom and turned around and just looked at me and, like, just couldn't catch his breath.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Years later, the memory of that night is still fresh for Cindy.

[Cindy Summers]

I went over to him. I'm like, what's the matter? He just looked at me and he said, I'm all right. I'm okay. I'm fine. And then he just fell down and I just kind of freaked out.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Come on. That is Cindy back in 2002, on the phone to 911911.

[Cindy Summers]

What happened to class?

[Susan Beach]

What happened to him?

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Okay, the family's on the waste of me. Come to us, Summer, right now. Cindy remembered the basics of CPR from her days as a swimmer in middle school and says she did what she could.

[Cindy Summers]

I'd never done it before other than on a dummy. So I really wasn't sure the exact sequence of how things should go.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

A platoon of paramedics, EMTs and cops were only minutes away. But by then it seemed the grim reaper had her husband in a death embrace.

[Cindy Summers]

Then police and fire got there and it was just. They had taken me out of the room and it was just all a blur from there.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

This story is about the why and the how of Todd Summers death that night.

[Cindy Summers]

What?

[Susan Beach]

I love you. I'm gonna be me.

[Cindy Summers]

What am I gonna do?

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It is about the wife he left behind and the questions that have persisted for more than 20 years.

[Cindy Summers]

Well, we learned that they had some money issues.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It is a story about private behavior and public shame.

[Neighbor (Denisia Vivia Parra)]

She started having a lot of people over and a lot of parties shortly after his funeral.

[Cindy Summers]

I understand everybody says it's the sex. We understood how it doesn't look good.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

The experts say that people do some pretty strange things in their grieving. And it is the story about investigators who found reasons to believe Todd Summers sudden death was really a cold and calculated case.

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

This was really strange for a 23 year old, seemingly healthy Marine to die. So why don't we run one more test? Because poison could have been an option here.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

I'm Josh Mankiewicz and this is Trace of Suspicion, a podcast from Dateline. Episode 1 A Death in the Family. The phone woke Susan beach from a dead sleep. Without her glasses, she couldn't tell what time it was, but she knew the voice on the other end of the phone. It was Cindy Summer, the mother of one of her daughter's friends.

[Susan Beach]

She told me that her husband had collapsed on the floor, that she called the paramedics and they were on their way and she needed somebody to stay with her children.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Susan quickly dressed, woke her two kids and hustled them out to the car for the 10 to 15 minute drive to the Summers home.

[Susan Beach]

I noticed that the ambulance and the MPs hadn't arrived yet and I had to figure out where to park. I didn't want to park near her house to be in the way of the paramedics.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Susan did not see Cindy when she and her kids arrived. So she walked in past the stairway that led to the upstairs bedrooms. She assumed Cindy was up there with Todd. Straight ahead, Susan saw Cindy's four kids in the living room.

[Susan Beach]

The kids are talking. I talked to him, but I just can't remember the conversations. I eventually sat on the floor because there was no place to sit.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Although Susan did not see the first responders arrive, she says the children heard them coming through the door.

[Susan Beach]

They were curious, and I think they heard him come, and I had to tell them to stay out of the way.

[Cindy Summers]

I was relieved when they were there because I felt like they could fix everything. That's Cindy, I guess, because they didn't put him on a stretcher and take him right away. You know, I'm like, why aren't they taking him? You know? And I didn't realize that he wasn't stable, that they had to transport when they were stable.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Todd Summer was far from stable. Cindy says she was ushered out of the room, never saw the EMTs frantically performing CPR. She didn't see defibrillator paddles applied or the intravenous drugs paramedics pumped into Todd's body, hoping to restart his heart.

[Cindy Summers]

I didn't know what to do, you know, And I guess I grew up thinking that once the paramedics have them and they go to the hospital, that things turn out okay.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

After about 45 minutes, Todd's body was strapped to a gurney and taken out the front door to a waiting ambulance. Cindy was outside chain smoking nervously when the gurney rolled by. It was then she turned to an MP who was standing there and blurted out a comment about Todd's military life insurance policy, which was worth about a quarter of a million dollars. They joke about a lot, but she never thought that she would actually see it. An innocent comment? Sure. I mean, probably. Well, years later, when Cindy's life went under a microscope, that comment and some others she made that night would be remembered and written down as evidence.

[Cindy Summers]

I'm not thinking I need to cover anything up. I'm not thinking I need to have a filter for anything. I'm not thinking along those lines at all.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Shortly after the ambulance pulled away, Cindy walked back to the house and told Susan beach that one of the MPs was going to take her to the hospital. The house was chilly, and so once Cindy left, Susan went upstairs in search of pillows and blankets for the children.

[Susan Beach]

I looked in the kids room, and I noticed there was no sheets or blankets or anything. And then I walked over to Cindy and Todd's room and I peeked in.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

The room was just as first responders had left it. Lights on an unmade bed, the place littered with discarded medical packaging from the trauma that had played out on the floor. It was a desperately sad scene, made all the more haunting by some evidence of life the way it had been.

[Susan Beach]

The only thing I really remember was two wine glasses sitting on one of the dressers near bed. They looked like they were half full

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

because none of the first responders who were there that night had the slightest notion that Todd Summers death might one day be considered suspicious or that his home might have been a crime scene. No photos were taken of the room where he died. The contents of those half empty wine glasses were never tested and Susan beach was never questioned. As it turned out, more than a year would pass before investigators and some others would realize that doing those things on the night Todd Summer collapsed might have made all the difference. Friday night on dateline. We don't get too many cases like that. A hit for hire and an undercover sting were just the beginning.

[Cindy Summers]

Some people call this a twisted love story. I think it's true love. To say that this case took a turn no one expected is really the understatement of my career. Nobody saw this coming.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Dateline Friday night at 98 Central, only on NBC.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with music superstar Charlie Puth to talk about his nailing the national anthem at this year's super bowl and the inspiration for his new album drawn from a line about him in a recent Taylor Swift song. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy Summers mind was racing when she climbed into the front seat of an MP's patrol car. Her husband had just collapsed. She had to notify family. What about the kids? What to tell them? And if Todd did not pull through, how would she survive? So many thoughts flashing like Morse code, like an sos.

[Cindy Summers]

I was working at Subway at the time, part time, while the kids were in school for three or four hours a day. You know, do I have enough to eat tomorrow?

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

And Todd, she thought, what about Todd? He'll be okay. Sure. Yeah, he'll be okay.

[Cindy Summers]

I remember feeling like they were gonna, they were gonna fix him. And when he got to the hospital that I wouldn't be able to go right into the room anyway, you know, it wasn't. You don't follow the person into the er, into, you know, the trauma room.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy dug around in her purse for a pack of cigarettes. There were only a couple left.

[Cindy Summers]

I'm just like, I just need a cigarette.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

You ask the MP who was driving

[Cindy Summers]

you to get if I could get some cigarettes. I'm adhd. I like. I am. And I need something to Focus on my brain needs to have. It's not wired right.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

After the cigarette stop, Cindy's mind slowed a bit. She called Todd's mom, her mom, various sisters and brothers, close friends of the family. Todd had collapsed. She told them she did not know why. Yes, he was unconscious. We're on our way to the hospital now. Yes, I'll let you know.

[Cindy Summers]

Get to the hospital. And I remember he was still in the trauma room and they had put me in like a room off to the side. All I knew was that they had said, come in here, you know, a doctor will come and speak with you shortly. And you just sit and wait.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

And you don't know whether that was five minutes or five hours.

[Cindy Summers]

It seemed like an eternity. Yeah.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

You remember the doctor telling you that Todd was dead?

[Cindy Summers]

But yeah, I remember them coming in and, you know, telling me that they had tried everything they could. I don't know if I asked them why or how. I. I don't. I don't remember any of that anymore.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It had only been an hour since Cindy first called 9111 hour. And in that time, everything had changed. Cindy asked to have a few moments alone with her husband's body. She told Todd she loved him. Then she took the wedding band from his finger and placed it on her thumb. As she was leaving the er, a senior Marine officer approached and asked if there was anything the Corps could do for her. That's when Cindy said the second thing that would later come back to haunt her. She asked the officer if she would have to give back Todd's reenlistment bonus.

[Cindy Summers]

Thinking back now as to why I would have said things like that or thought things like that would just really be. I've lost basically our only source of income. I have four kids. We can hardly make ends meet now.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Indelicate, perhaps, unbecoming under the circumstances, maybe. But Cindy Summer didn't need to be clairvoyant to see that she had no hope of supporting her family on what she earned working at a sandwich shop. Once assured that no, she would not have to return Todd's re enlistment money, Cindy called Susan beach, who was still at her house watching the kids.

[Susan Beach]

She told me that Todd was gone. And there was a pause of silence because I was, you know, I was pretty shocked about it. And the next thing I remember is asking her how she was. And she told me she was fine at the moment and that she had come to terms with it or if she has accepted it. Something to that nature c sounded normal.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy told Susan she was Coming home. Home to the children and home to the new realities of a world quite different from the one that had existed when she climbed into her own bed just a few hours earlier.

[Susan Beach]

The only thing I recall when she got back is that she wanted to hold the youngest child. And she's holding him and she sat down in a chair and she was staring at a picture of Todd.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

One can only imagine what Cindy must have been thinking as she looked at that photo of Todd.

[Cindy Summers]

Got married barefoot on the beach. You know, really wasn't a very big wedding.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It had been a true whirlwind romance beginning in January of 1999. Cindy was living in Dearborn, Michigan at the time. She had three kids, ages 8 to 3, a girl and two boys. And she was in the midst of divorcing her first husband, Dan. And Todd. Well, Todd was a young Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Cindy had gone down to North Carolina to visit a different Marine she had met online, but ended up falling for that guy's roommate, Todd Sommer.

[Cindy Summers]

We were all hanging out and I met Todd and we just. There was an instant connection and we just spent that weekend together.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Soon, Cindy found herself driving 400 miles south from Dearborn to meet with Todd, who was himself driving 450 miles north from Camp Lejeune. They would rendezvous in Charleston, West Virginia.

[Cindy Summers]

I think we both had like an eight hour trip or, you know, seven hour trip or whatever, but that was like kind of the closest that. Yeah. And we would only really get. I mean, he would leave Friday after work and I would leave and we would meet there late Friday night and he would leave on Sunday morning. So we would, we didn't have a whole lot of time.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

You know, when you're, when you're in that kind of relationship where you're only with the other person for this little, tiny, focused amount of time, that can make things pretty intense.

[Cindy Summers]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

These days, Cindy looks much as she did back then. Still slender, still with long brown hair parted in the middle and still brimming with restless energy. Cindy no longer smokes. To help her maintain focus, she does have a close relationship with a vape pen. You remember when he proposed, he didn't

[Cindy Summers]

do a get down on one knee and propose. I think it was more of a we're going to get married kind of a thing. And I think it was, you know, this is what, this is what we're going to do. I mean, we, within a couple of months we had started talking about it and we didn't, we weren't Dating for that long.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

In July 1999, just weeks after her divorce was final, Cindy and Todd married in the Florida Keys.

[Cindy Summers]

His family was from Islamorada, Key Largo area, so.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

So they.

[Cindy Summers]

They were all Florida Keys, so, yeah, there was. They were there. And then some. Some of his friends from high school were there.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

And your side.

[Cindy Summers]

The kids were there.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It had been a glorious day. Cindy radiant in her blue satin dress, Todd decked out in his marine dress blues.

[Cindy Summers]

I mean, I don't know a whole lot of girls that don't think a man in his dress blues is not sexy.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Unfortunately, Cindy did not get to spend much time with that sexy marine on the beach.

[Cindy Summers]

I was still living in Michigan. He was still living in the barracks at Camp Lejeune. Once you get married, it takes a while for housing and for all of that stuff to go through and all that. And he was getting ready to be deployed when I found out I was pregnant.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

It is a tough way to start a marriage. But Cindy says each separation was met with a surge of affection. While Todd was aboard ship in the Mediterranean, they kept in touch with passionate letters and emails, fervent imaginings of how perfect their lives would be once they could all live together. The baby, another boy, was born in April 2000, a month after Todd returned. Seven months later, Todd deployed again. That is the job. Cindy's new life involved living on a Marine base far from home and raising four kids on an enlisted man's salary.

[Cindy Summers]

Groceries, insurance, you know, when we had cell phones, I think that we lived as much as we could within our means, but it's hard to do on that type of salary.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Shortly after Todd returned from that second deployment in the summer of 2001, he was handed transfer orders to Marine Corps Air station Miramar. So the family packed up again and moved to Southern California. And it was there, in that pink stucco house on the Miramar base, that this young family finally seemed to find their groove. By all accounts, Todd loved hanging out with the kids and being a dad. He was so close with. With Cindy's children from that first marriage that Todd even talked of adopting them.

[Cindy Summers]

He loved them.

[Neighbor (Denisia Vivia Parra)]

He.

[Cindy Summers]

From the minute he met them, he loved them, and the kids loved him. And he looked at them as his own and treated them as his own.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

A lot of guys, particularly guys in their early 20s, would not be so anxious to marry a woman who came complete with a family.

[Cindy Summers]

Right. I think for me, the allure of that was great. You know, I was coming out of a terrible relationship, so meeting somebody that was Interested in the things that I was interested in and loved the family and loved the kids. I was drawn to that and I think that he was drawn to kind of the instant family.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Then came February 8, 2002, 10 days before Todd died. On that Friday, Todd and some other Marines went to El Centro, about a hundred miles east of San Diego. The assignment was to scout a location for an upcoming training exercise.

[Cindy Summers]

This wasn't something that he had never done before or anything. Came home and was not feeling well and thought they stopped at a roadside gas station and he had gotten egg rolls and.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

And he thought maybe that made him sick.

[Cindy Summers]

Thought maybe that made him sick.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Do you remember what he said about his symptoms?

[Cindy Summers]

His symptoms were food poisoning. He just, he had diarrhea, vomiting. Then it turned into almost like a flu to where he had fever. And I couldn't. I remember I called my mom because I couldn't, I couldn't get the fever down and I couldn't get him to hold down any liquids.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Had it been that egg roll that made Todd sick or had it been something else? Maybe something he came in contact with while in El Centro? Hard to say. None of the other Marines on that trip got sick. Whatever the cause, for the next 10 days Todd felt lousy. He missed a few days of work when he went to the base clinic. The doctors did some tests and gave

[Cindy Summers]

him a prescription and he had started to get better. After I believe the second trip to the clinic. He had started to get better and was feeling well enough that he wanted to take the kids to Knott's Berry Farms in la.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Knott's Berry Farm is an amusement park. Rides, roller coasters, the works. The summer family made a weekend of it. Cindy says Todd and the kids had a ball.

[Cindy Summers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He seemed to, yeah, he seemed to kind of be over that hump. Wasn't 100%, but enough to where, I mean it wasn't like I had to drag him out of bed.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

He was into it.

[Cindy Summers]

He was into it. He was ready, he wanted to go. He drove, you know, we kids had a great time. They rode roller coasters.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Sunday, February 17th was their last day at the amusement park. And as it turned out, the last day of Todd summers life. That trip had taken a lot out of him. He asked Cindy to take the wheel on the drive home.

[Cindy Summers]

Yeah, he always did the driving but I don't know if that raised any flags just because I knew he had been sick and being a human, you know, like, oh, you've been sick and you just had a big day. Yeah, I'll drive you rest kind of a thing. And the kids fell asleep in the car, drove home, got home and got everybody tucked into bed and went up to bed.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

A few hours later, Cindy woke to the sound of her husband gasping for breathing.

[Cindy Summers]

I'm like, what's the matter? He said, I'm all right. I'm okay. I'm fine. And then he just fell down.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy says that's when she made that call to 91 1.

[Susan Beach]

Come on.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

911. That was the moment her life changed. It was also day one of an investigation that would last another five years.

[Willie Geist]

Hey guys, Willie Geist here. We're celebrating 10 years of Sunday Today by hosting a very special Sunday Sit Down Live event. And our guest is one of the biggest stars on the planet, Ryan Reynolds. We're taking our conversation to the stage in front of an audience of you for one night only at City Winery in New York on April 7th. An intimate in person evening I promise you won't want to miss. Tickets are limited, so grab yours [e-mail]

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

if you ever needed to be persuaded that bad things can happen anywhere, then take a journey with us. From compelling mysteries to in depth investigations. Our DATELINE episodes are available as podcasts.

[Podcast Host 1]

You can hear the latest stories every Tuesday.

[Cindy Summers]

For more, follow Dateline NBC on Amazon Music or just ask Alexa. Play the podcast Dateline NBC on Amazon Music.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Great storytelling with a twist from the true crime original. The day after Todd Sommer died, investigators from ncis, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, came to the summer's home. You might know of NCIS or its reputation for conducting thorough, science driven investigations from the long running TV show. The agents assigned to this case interviewed Cindy, took a look around the house and saw nothing out of the ordinary. This appeared to be a routine death investigation, the kind that is performed anytime an active duty service member dies on a naval or marine base. Standard toxicology tests showed no sign of illegal drugs or anything else suspicious in Todd's body. The doctor who did the autopsy concluded he had died from heart failure. That is unusual in a man of 23, but not unheard of. With no hint of foul play, all that was left to be done was to have an NCIS review panel sign off on the final report.

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

What happens is that the panel will review it, find that all the investigative leads have been followed, and then they would recommend it for closure.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That's Rob Terwilliger, one of at least a half dozen NCIS agents who would work this case over the next three

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

years with that recommendation, that case would undergo a second tier and then they would close the case in Washington D.C.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

in the meantime, the machinery of military death and grief ground on. Samples of Todd's organs and blood were preserved for future analysis. The rest of what had been Todd's summer was cremated. Three memorial services were held for Todd. One at Miramar Marine Base where he died, one for relatives in Tennessee, and another in Florida where his parents lived. This is Cindy speaking at one of them.

[Cindy Summers]

I bring in people and a lot of people.

[Susan Beach]

See you in the morning, say your prayers. Dean would always say that to me.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy's financial fears were also put to rest, at least temporarily, by the prompt payout of Todd's death benefits. She received a $6,000 death gratuity from the military the day after Todd died and a $250,000 life insurance payout a month later. At the time, the standard for the armed services. After consulting with Todd's family, she decided to use half the money to establish trust funds for the children.

[Cindy Summers]

There was talk of just buying a house or, you know, what was going to happen, and we decided on setting up trust funds for the children.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

You've heard different people grieve in different ways. That's what experts say whenever someone veers off script and starts behaving in unexpected or unsettling ways after a death in the family. In retrospect, that could certainly be said of the way Cindy Summer dealt with the sudden death of her 23 year old Marine sergeant husband.

[Cindy Summers]

I'm really good at avoiding and, you know, just compartmentalizing. I think really that's what I did after Todd died was just compartmentalize and put it, put it in my brain that he was on deployment.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Compartmentalizing may have been Cindy's way of coping, but over the next three months, her behavior struck many as conduct unbecoming a Marine widow. Some would call it disrespectful, disgraceful, even others called it suspicious. It all started on the night after Todd died. Cindy left the kids with Todd's mom, Yvonne, who had just flown in from Florida, while Cindy went out with her friends.

[Susan Beach]

And it got to be late, it was after midnight and I did call her cell phone and I believe I suggested that she come home, which she did.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That's Yvonne Summer, Todd's mom.

[Susan Beach]

But when she came home, she came into the room where I was staying and she told me to mind my own business, that she would grieve her way and I could grieve my way.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Cindy's way of grieving. It appeared Was the equivalent of accelerating past the funeral procession and flooring it in the fast lane.

[Cindy Summers]

You'd expect her to be depressed and staying at home, and that wasn't happening.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That's Chandra Wells, one of Cindy's friends from the subway shop where she worked.

[Cindy Summers]

She went to the strip club down the road the day of her husband's service.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

She went to the strip club down the street the day of her husband's funeral.

[Cindy Summers]

Alone with other people, with some of her girlfriends.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Once Cindy received the death benefit checks, friends say she began spending money like it was on fire. Designer clothes, fancy dinners, whatever. They said Cindy was picking up the checks.

[Cindy Summers]

Yeah, I bought a Tiffany's ring, and I'm wearing it right now.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

I see. It's very pretty.

[Cindy Summers]

Yeah, I thought that it would make me feel better. I liked the way that it felt. I touch it all the time, you know, and it's. And it's a reminder of where I've been.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

As for her neighbors at Miramar, well, they said Cindy's children seemed always to be outside and largely unsupervised after Todd's death. That while Cindy's home became party central,

[Neighbor (Denisia Vivia Parra)]

Once she started having a lot of people over and a lot of parties Shortly after his funeral, a lot of the neighbors and people that lived around was just like, you know, what's going on over there? And she got over that pretty quickly.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That's Denisia Vivia Parra, one of Cindy's neighbors.

[Neighbor (Denisia Vivia Parra)]

A couple months after, when it just kept on going. And there's just a lot. A lot of people over there all the time, and other guys driving her husband's cars. And that was just kind of odd for me to have, you know, other men driving his vehicles and coming in and out all the time. But, you know, I never said anything to her about it. I just noticed it and just went on my way.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That is just what people could see from the outside. Behind closed doors, Cindy kept herself busy with multiple lovers. Some were male, Some were female. Some were marines who had known Todd.

[Cindy Summers]

I'm not ashamed. I mean, having a threesome isn't anything that's out of the ordinary or that doesn't happen. Why does it matter? I didn't grieve how people thought I should. I didn't do the things that they thought I should. I did things that they didn't agree with. My moral compass may have been off.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

According to the medical examiner, Todd Summer had died of natural causes, Heart failure, pure and simple. Still, the case had lingered in part because the cast of NCIS special agents investigating. It kept changing. There were transfers, reassignments and retirements. Personnel changes that every few months required someone new to review the file, get up to speed and take the final steps necessary to close the case. Todd Sommer had been dead for more than a year by the time the file finally made it to the desk of the resident field agent in charge for final review. And it was at this moment that the agent in charge balked. A young healthy Marine was suddenly dead. Insurance money. And based on what investigators had heard from other Marines at Miramar, the wife had not exactly acted as a grieving widow was expected to act. Something about this case, he thought, didn't pass the smell test.

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

In this particular investigation, the consensus was this was really strange for a 23 year old, seemingly healthy Marine to die.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

That's NCIS agent Rob Terwilliger again, the lead agent there.

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

The resident agent in charge of the field office when he reviewed that case on the death review panel. Agree, there's something that just begs the question here. So in his mind, why don't we have the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology run one more test? Because poison could have been an option here.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Remember, the initial toxicology report had only checked Todd Sommers body for street drugs or high levels of prescription drugs, not for poisons. So frozen samples of blood, urine, liver and kidney that had been harvested from Todd Sommers body were pulled from cold storage and packaged for ship commitment to the Armed Forces Institute of pathology in Washington D.C. and so they took the

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

tissues of Sergeant Sommer and tested those for heavy presence of heavy metals.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

And it was then, in the spring of 2003, more than a year after his collapse, that the death investigation of Marine Sergeant Todd Summer took a wild, unexpected, expected and utterly bizarre turn.

[Cindy Summers]

Next time, my theory is that somebody put this colorless, odorless, tasteless substance into something he ate, or more likely something he drank and it killed him.

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

Cindy's had a colorful life.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Pretty much some of the things we've

[NCIS Agent Rob Terwilliger]

found throughout the course of the investigation.

[Cindy Summers]

This case started because of the breast implants.

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

Think about it.

[Cindy Summers]

If she had a nose job, would we even be talking about it?

[Narrator (Josh Mankiewicz)]

This podcast is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Tim Beacham is the producer. Marshall Housefeld, Brian Drew and Meredith Kramer are audio editors. Molly DeRosa is associate producer. Rachel Young is field producer. Adam Gorfin is co executive producer. Paul Ryan is executive producer. And Liz Cole is senior executive producer from NBC News. Audio sound mixing by Rich Cutler.

[Podcast Host 1]

People act like the culture war started five minutes ago.

[Podcast Host 2]

Meanwhile, adults have been panicking about books since forever.

[Podcast Host 1]

Band Camp, our top ranked podcast about banned books, is back for its 10th season. This time around, we're reading J.D. salinger's classic the Catcher in the Rye. We're reading the book out loud compared to cover to cover. One chapter per episode, by the way.

[Podcast Host 2]

We have no clue what's gonna happen. We should have read this book in school. I don't know why neither of us did. So you're basically gonna hear us stumbling over words, trying to figure it out as we go. It's going to be embarrassing. It's going to be chaos.

[Podcast Host 1]

So if you've never read it before but always wanted to, or you want to experience it again through a set of new eyes, now's your chance.

[Podcast Host 2]

That sounds like your kind of show. You already know where to find us. That's Band camp. Band, like in banned books? Not banned like tubas and snare drums.