David Grunwald

Summary

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True Crime All The Time – Episode 521: David Grunwald

Release Date: August 6, 2026
Hosts: Mike Ferguson & Mike Gibson
Main Theme:
This episode focuses on the tragic 2016 murder of 16-year-old David Grunwald in Alaska, delving into his background, the investigation, and the disturbing group dynamics among the teenage perpetrators. The hosts reflect on motive, the involvement of multiple teens, and the devastating impact on both the Grunwald family and the families of those convicted.

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Episode Overview

• The episode narrates the disappearance and murder of David Grunwald, a well-liked high school student from Alaska.
• The hosts examine the investigation's progression, the shocking involvement of multiple teenagers, and the senselessness of the crime.
• Throughout, they reflect on themes of parental awareness, group mentality, youth criminality, and justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. David Grunwald’s Background

• Born January 8, 2000, at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to military parents.
• David was described as a conscientious young man: aspiring pilot, engineering club member, computer builder.
• Known as a helpful, drug-averse, and supportive friend.
• Hosts admire his maturity and goals.
  • “He seems like, like he was a really good kid… he had some goals. Sounds like he was a good person to his friends.” – Mike Ferguson (04:37)

2. The Night of the Disappearance – Sunday, November 13, 2016

• David spent the afternoon with girlfriend Victoria, called his mom to say he’d miss curfew due to icy roads, agreed to be home by 9:20pm.
• When not home by curfew, his parents’ concern escalated from worry to panic, illustrating parental intuition about children’s habits.
• (06:01) “Pretty conscientious of him to call and say, I know I got a 9pm curfew. I'm not going to make it. Just want to let you know.” – Ferguson

3. Discovery of David’s Burnt Car & Body

• Parents searched between home and girlfriend’s, eventually reporting him missing.
• David’s Bronco found the next day, burnt beyond recognition, with no remains inside, intensifying panic.
• On December 2, David’s body was found near the Knick River, with a shell casing; he’d been executed after being forced into the woods (08:40–10:17).
• “He was beaten severely and shot once in the head, most likely while looking at the assailants.” – Ferguson (43:16)

4. The Perpetrators Emerge

• Investigation centered on Eric Allmendinger (16), named by David’s girlfriend as a friend he’d possibly visit. Eric and a group of teens arrested over subsequent days and weeks.
• At least five teens ultimately charged: Eric Allmendinger, Dominic Johnson (DJ), Bradley Renfro, Austin Barrett (AB), and Devin Peterson; crimes include first-degree murder, kidnapping, arson, evidence tampering.
• The ringleader role is debated between Johnson and Barrett.

5. Group Dynamics & Lack of Motive

• The act was collective; group mentality likely encouraged escalation.
• “What would make a 16-year-old or a group... want to make this kid walk out into the middle of a remote location... and then shoot him in the head?” – Ferguson (15:04)
• Motive was shockingly trivial: Allmendinger claimed it was because “David had smoked all of his weed” (24:33).
• “Is that really why you would kill somebody?” – Gibson (24:39)
• No real motive identified; hosts repeatedly stress the senseless, impulsive, and callous nature of the crime.

6. Failures and Influences – Parental & Social

• Discussion on how teens can hide problematic behavior from adults.
  • “I think they can do a lot of things without the parents knowing.” – Gibson (29:57)
• Allmendinger’s family recalled Eric as an animal lover and prize-winning baker, but his life spiraled after befriending Devin Peterson and leaving home (31:10–32:12).
• Ferguson questions whether the parents did all they could, noting the impossibility of predicting such tragic outcomes purely from troubled behavior (32:33).

7. The Investigation – Digital Forensics & Confessions

• Investigators used digital data (tablets, phones) to track locations—Eric’s tablet near the burned SUV was pivotal (16:21).
• Search of Eric’s camper found blood and bleach; multiple teens interviewed.
• Eric shifted blame in subsequent interviews; evidence indicated he participated in cleaning and burning the car, and knew critical details (23:03–23:50).
• The group's efforts to hide evidence highlighted their awareness of the crime’s gravity and lack of remorse.

8. Tying Together Multiple Tragedies

• Other crimes surfaced: Devin Peterson’s brother convicted for a separate murder; several teens had histories of kidnapping or other charges.
• Pervasive criminality in associated social circles.
  • “These guys are real winners. It's just horrible stuff.” – Gibson (41:17)

9. Trials, Sentences, & Reflections on Justice

• Each main defendant received long sentences, most eligible for parole only well into middle age:
  • Dominic Johnson: 99 years, parole possible after 36 (58:50)
  • Allmendinger: 99 years, parole possible after 50s (63:18)
  • Barrett: 45 years, parole after 15
  • Renfro: 105 years, parole after 35
• Prosecutors treated all as equally complicit due to inability to establish precise roles.
• “I can't see why they did this, other than they have no value for life.” – Judge Gregory Heath on sentencing (65:00)
• Eric Allmendinger, in court:
  • “I claim full responsibility for Dave dying. He was my friend. He was a good kid, and I killed my friend. That's what happened. I killed somebody's nephew. I killed somebody's son. I destroyed somebody's family…I’m sorry for what I did and I’m sorry for what I didn’t do.” (62:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On senseless violence:
  • “I just don't get it. Why are you even doing this stuff? Why are you even taking the chance of losing that much of your life?” – Ferguson (64:07)
• Community/Family impact:
  • “If you're the [Peterson] parents, you gotta be like, where do we go wrong?...to have two brothers involved in two different murders...that's rough.” – Ferguson (45:49)
• On groupthink and complicity:
  • “When you get a bunch of people together, that groupthink can lead to some bad things.” – Ferguson (66:13)
• On the lack of motive:
  • “Let’s just say it… Would you kill someone over the last of the weed? Absolutely not.” – Ferguson & Gibson (66:23)
• On parental helplessness:
  • “Even if they got past the police interview, as soon as you got out to your truck, you’d be like, all right, tell me what really happened, because I know what you told them is not true.” – Gibson (24:19)

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Important Timestamps

• David’s background and upbringing: 02:03–05:03
• Timeline of disappearance and family response: 06:01–09:03
• Discovery of car and remains: 08:40–10:21
• Initial investigations, Eric identified: 11:55–15:04
• Details of the murder and confessions: 15:49–24:33
• Arrests, motive, lack of remorse: 24:33–26:34
• Group mentality & shifts in blame: 42:21–44:49
• Trials & sentences: 57:01–65:38
• Final reflections on groupthink & senselessness: 65:38–67:26

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Final Reflection

The episode is a sobering look at a crime that shocked an Alaskan community for its brutality, lack of motive, and the youth of those involved. Ferguson and Gibson’s tone is empathetic but direct, frequently expressing their bewilderment and sorrow for both the Grunwald family and the wasted lives of the young perpetrators. The hosts conclude by emphasizing the dangers of negative peer influence and the tragedy of lost potential on all sides.

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Transcript

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[Mike Ferguson]

Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 521 of the True Crime all the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always, is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you?

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, man, I'm excited. We got five, two, one. Okay, like that. Five, two, one.

[Mike Ferguson]

Do I like it? You do. I like what you. I came up counting down with your fingers.

[Mike Gibson]

I rattled the fly, man.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. Are you hoping that catches on like six, seven or.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, six, seven, six, seven.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, I'll be glad when that goes away.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it should be going away soon, I hope.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the Time?

[Mike Gibson]

I'm ready.

[Mike Ferguson]

We're talking about David Grunwald. 16 year old David Grunwald went missing shortly after dropping his girlfriend off one night in November 2016. Investigators soon learned that David mentioned visiting a friend that night. When questioning his friend and his associates, police uncovered details about a horrific murder with seemingly no motive.

[Mike Gibson]

Wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

And those are always ones that, you know, they're kind of hard to understand, right? No clear cut motive. What was the reason? But you know, we'll get into it all. David Benjamin Grunwald was born on January 8, 2000 at the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska to parents Benjamin and Edith Grunwald. Both of David's parents were in the Air Force and National Guard with decades of service between them.

[Mike Gibson]

How cool. Would it be to be born in Alaska wilderness?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, as a baby, are you taking advantage of the wilderness? I would say no.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that's true. I mean I got to think that not everybody was like me that could take that stuff in at an early

[Mike Ferguson]

age, that came out with a full head of hair, ready to go and tackle the world. David wanted to be a pilot and considered joining the military himself someday. At the time of his death, David was just a junior in high school. He was studying aviation and was in his school's engineering club. He built his own computer and fixed up a 1995 Ford Bronco that he bought for just 700.

[Mike Gibson]

That's all impressive. It is, it really is.

[Mike Ferguson]

But you think, and I always hate to say back in the day, and I know people hate when I say it, but used to be able to work on cars a little easier.

[Mike Gibson]

True.

[Mike Ferguson]

Before they became completely computerized. So in 1995, Ford Bronco you could do a little bit more with, I think. And you know, I remember and I kind of went through this phase too where it was kind of in vogue and I think it still is to a large degree. But to build your own computer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

That was like a big deal.

[Commercial Announcer]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

To, to buy the motherboard and the, the RAM and, and all that and kind of put it together in a case.

[Mike Gibson]

And my son in law just did that. But he's, you know, computer guy.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean that's. He works in that field.

[Mike Gibson]

He does, yeah. Yeah. So he knows how to do that. But I was also in an engineer club back in the day. I mean, it's a train engine.

[Mike Ferguson]

I was going to say it was like a train engineer. And you just did it to wear the hat so.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, the hat was pretty cool.

[Mike Ferguson]

The hat was cool. And you had a whistle.

[Mike Gibson]

Yep.

[Mike Ferguson]

That used to go. But it was said that David had a close group of friends and often helped them with rides or gave advice. One friend thanked David for helping him avoid drugs.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that's cool.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, I will say he seems like, like he was a really good kid.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, he had his head on. Right. He had some goals. Sounds like he was a good person to his friends. Helpful, all of that. The night of November 13, 2016 seemed like a normal Sunday. David told his parents he loved them. As he headed out, he spent the afternoon with his girlfriend Victoria.

[Mike Gibson]

I love it that he said, you know, hey, I'm headed out. Love your mom and dad. I think more kids should do that.

[Mike Ferguson]

Do you think kids don't do that?

[Mike Gibson]

I don't.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, I just. I just think more should do it.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know. My kids say it a lot.

[Mike Gibson]

Do they?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. But we are a very I love you family. And, and some families just aren't like that.

[Mike Gibson]

No, I know.

[Mike Ferguson]

But yeah, we, we almost always say it whenever we are going somewhere, you know, because in my way of thinking, you just never know.

[Mike Gibson]

You don't know.

[Mike Ferguson]

Especially when you're. When you research as much true crime as we do, it kind of becomes very obvious.

[Mike Gibson]

For me, it just sounds weird because I'll hear like, parents say, I love you, and the kids are like, yep, I'll see you later.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. Yeah, that's, that's, yeah, kind of weird. But.

[Mike Gibson]

No, your mom probably wants to hear that I love you back.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, I get you.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Around 6:30pm David called his mother, Edith to tell her he was going to miss his 9pm curfew. She factored in the icy roads and told him it was fine if he was home by 9:20.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. So pretty conscientious of him to call and say, I know I got a 9pm curfew. I'm not going to make it. Just want to let you know. So she's like, all right, I'll give you 20 minutes. But after that, I'm laying the hammer down.

[Mike Gibson]

That's right. Because I don't know if I should believe you or not.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right. David dropped Victoria off at her dad's house in Palmer, Alaska around 6:30-7pm But David's parents got worried when he didn't come home by 9:20. They called his girlfriend around 9:40pm she said David left an hour earlier, which would have been about 840.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

David's parents drove up and down the road to his girlfriend's home, worried that he might have gotten into an accident. They drove the road twice before driving to the Alaska State Trooper post in Palmer to report their son missing around 11:45pm David's father said it was totally unlike him to be almost three hours late.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that is extremely late, you know, and the fact that they went up and down the roads that he should have or would have taken and didn't see him, it's alarming.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

And you know, parents know their kids.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

You could have a kid who is so punctual, it's scary.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Never misses a curfew. And then you might have a kid who is not all that worried about it and you got to get on them. So. But you know what your Kids are like, right. So by that, you kind of know when to start worrying and when maybe you don't need to worry as much.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, I would tell my mom, hey, I'll be home in a little, little bit. I'm just here in town. And then she would call around and then eventually find out that I was

[Mike Ferguson]

like three towns over at some girl's house, I'm sure. David's girlfriend, Victoria quickly remembered that David said he. He might go see a friend in Palmer. The next day, November 14, David's Bronco was found on a trail on Bald Mountain Ridge, about 20 minutes from his family's home. And the car was so badly burnt that metal pieces had fallen off and no material was left inside.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

No remains were found in or around the vehicle. Police searched the surrounding area, but they didn't find David. So, I mean, you know, your level of worry as a parent, or in this case, David's parents, goes from worried to extremely worried or shocked or panic stricken or whatever you want to call it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I'd be scared. I mean, what's going. What happened?

[Mike Ferguson]

And maybe scared is the best word.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, this was not a small fire that did a little bit of damage. This whole car was engulfed. Obviously you have metal pieces falling off the car. Okay. It got really hot.

[Mike Gibson]

It did.

[Mike Ferguson]

Several days later, Edith Grunwald told news outlet KTU that David's friend was named Eric, but she had never met him. In a late November interview with the Anchorage Daily News, his parents noted that his phone pinged at least once off a tower near Palmer that night. On December 2, 2016, human remains were found by the Knick river outside Palmer. A shell casing was found near the remains, and these remains were soon identified as David Grunwald.

[Mike Gibson]

So, I mean, worst possible news for the parents, but is it. I mean, it's terrible.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, absolutely.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, you know, he didn't die in, in the blaze. Right. The fire, but he's still, he's dead.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. You, you know something happened to him.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because there is that. We do a lot of unsolved cases as well. So there's that thing that people always talk about where not knowing is, is very tough. And some people go the rest of their lives not knowing what happened to their loved one. Now, the Grunwald family knows, but it's a, it's a horrible ending.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, the Knick River, I hope I'm saying that right. You and I did a serial killer case many, many years ago.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

That involved this river and about a Thousand people told me how to say it and I can't remember. So hopefully I got it right. You know, that's, that's the problem. You know, we get a lot of people who call, leave a voicemail, more emails. Right. Saying, hey, this is, you messed this one up. This is how it said, or whatever. But if we don't say it for four years, four or five years, very little chance I'm gonna remember.

[Mike Gibson]

I know I seen message about the Honduras one. We just did how we said that name wrong. Oh, I'm sure like One of the TE's was silent or something. Like how would, how would you know?

[Mike Ferguson]

Absolutely. It happens even more so in, you know, when we do cases in other countries. But we've messed plenty of US cities and things like that.

[Mike Gibson]

Arkansas, wasn't that one that we had has a lot of weird name.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oklahoma.

[Mike Gibson]

That's what it was.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, we've messed a lot up in Oklahoma. There are a lot of city names that I think are rooted in maybe Native American heritage and they're pronounced differently than the way they look. But on December 3rd, Alaska State Troopers arrested 16 year old Eric Almendinger. They soon announced that Eric was charged and as an adult with first degree murder and kidnapping. I mean, 16 years old. Young, very young. You think back when you were 16 years old.

[Mike Gibson]

Yep.

[Mike Ferguson]

Wearing your singlet, wrestling other boys, getting sweaty. It's not something I was into, but I know that that was a big part of your life.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sweaty wrestling with other boys. But it's 16 years old. You're just starting to come into your own. Right. You really are at 16. Most people, especially when you and I were 16, we were chomping at the bit to get our driver's license. Nowadays, I swear, like, kids are waiting.

[Mike Gibson]

They're fine. They don't want to drive. No.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, they're waiting a lot longer. You know, in our generation, it was like, all right, the day you turn 16, man, you're down.

[Mike Gibson]

I just hit the microphone.

[Mike Ferguson]

The microphone. But you're down at the, the thing trying to get your test scheduled or whatever it is.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I remember I, I did the fast track to get mine. It was like, did everything in three days, like the courses and all that. You had to pay a little extra, but I got you so you can go ahead and get your license. And you were good, you know, so.

[Mike Ferguson]

And you had to go out on a date with the instructor.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, you know, you do what you got to do.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sometimes you got to do what you got to do, but, you know, to be charged at 16 years old with not just a crime.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But first degree murder in kidnapping.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's almost unbelievable.

[Mike Gibson]

But you know, you think about this 16 year old to be able to do those things.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. If he did it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, he deserves it. Right. If he did it. It's just tough to believe that that's something that 16 year olds are capable thinking about or. Yeah, it's tough for me. And Alaska State trooper dispatch report noted others involved in this incident have been identified but have not been charged as of yet. Okay, so you can take that to mean this wasn't a lone act. Right. By this Eric Almendinger, there were other people involved. State troopers had been visiting the Allmendinger home almost daily because David's girlfriend told them he mentioned visiting Eric. According to court documents released in December 2016, David was Pistol whipped, driven to a remote location, forced to walk 200ft into the woods, and then shot once in the head. And we just got done talking about what a good kid this was.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

What would make a 16 year old or a group of similar aged children. They are technically children. Kids at that point want to make this kid walk out into the middle of a remote location, a forest, and. And then shoot him in the head.

[Mike Gibson]

Almost like execution style.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, it was an execution, I think. Yeah, I think you could say that. A tip from another team led troopers to David's body. In his interview with police, Eric Allmendinger denied pulling the trigger and said another teen shot David, who begged for his life. But obviously that means if you're Eric, you were there.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because you can't even give that information if you're not there to witness it. According to court documents, troopers first located and spoke to Eric on November 16th. He denied seeing David on the night he disappeared and claimed that he took a cab to Anchorage. Troopers determined Eric was lighting. Lighting. Let's go with lying. I would say lying because data from his tablet indicated it was near David's SUV on the night it burned.

[Mike Gibson]

I think a lot of people forget in this digital age. Yep. There's a lot of things being captured on all those devices, from the smartwatch, from your smartphone to your smart tablet to your. I don't know. I mean, there's.

[Mike Ferguson]

Everything's so smart.

[Mike Gibson]

Everything's so smart. Exactly.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I think you're right. I, you know, we've heard like the Fitbits have been big in a couple of murders and, you know, just things maybe that you don't realize. I think most people know Their phone is kind of, you'd hope, giving away their location. I don't know how many people maybe think about a tablet as much or like a Fitbit or, or things like that, but a lot, a lot of things are tracking us nowadays.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I mean your vehicles.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

If you have something inserted in you, like a device, like a medical something for your heart.

[Mike Ferguson]

Do you have something in this location here?

[Mike Gibson]

Not yet.

[Mike Ferguson]

Iron Man.

[Mike Gibson]

Not yet. You know, if I do, I would like to have the Iron man thing. That'd be kind of cool.

[Mike Ferguson]

That'd be badass.

[Mike Gibson]

It would. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

So police obtained a search warrant for Eric's home on November 29th. And they found a camper on the property with what they described as an overwhelming smell of bleach. That's always going to get, you know, a little bit of attention. It is Right in the wake of a horrific crime. But then they found blood on the floor, walls and toilets. So. All right, you're using bleach. We've said it right. It's hard to clean up blood, especially to completely erase it from a crime scene. On December 2, police interviewed an acquaintance of Eric who said that Eric and a 16 year old named D.J. showed up at his house on November 13th. Eric said he killed David and needed advice. The acquaintance sent him away. Okay. I'm telling you, man, if I'm 16 years old and a guy I know shows up at my door and says, hey, I just killed someone, I need your help. Friendship over.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely.

[Mike Ferguson]

We're done.

[Mike Gibson]

Bye.

[Mike Ferguson]

Not to mention the fact that I'm picking up the phone, I'm calling police.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. I'd be like, what'd you do with the gun? Do you still have it on you?

[Mike Ferguson]

You're getting all the information.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Ahead of time so that you can give to police.

[Mike Gibson]

I'll make sure he doesn't have that gun on him still.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, that's true. Before you say no to him.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Police also spoke to D.J. who consulted an attorney and led the police to David's body. After David's body was found, police interviewed Eric again. He was questioned for about six hours with his father and grandmother present. Remember, he is only 16 years old.

[Mike Gibson]

How difficult that had to be for the parent and grandparents.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, I don't know. I mean, imagine you have two kids. I have two kids. Imagine one of your kids being accused of murder. Yeah, I, I can't, I can't even imagine it. The thoughts that would be going through my mind. And obviously you want to protect your kids as much as you can, but how much can you protect them if they killed somebody?

[Mike Gibson]

That's true. I guess all I can do is bring that attorney in right away.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, that's all you can do. At first he said he didn't know anything about David's death, but you know, they, they're not going to stop with that. They continued to push him for answers. Eric soon admitted that David came to his home to drink and smoke marijuana in the camper. While doing so, DJ Texted Eric asking him to bring a gun to the camper. Eric handed a.40 caliber gun to D.J. who bludgeoned David with it. Eric admitted he stood by and did nothing to stop it while it happened. He said he accompanied D.J. as the teen, loaded David into his Bronco, drove him to the river, and made David walk into the woods and shot him.

[Mike Gibson]

So he first beat David with the gun, this dj DJ Did.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yep.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay.

[Mike Ferguson]

According to.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. And then him and Eric got him in the Bronco, drove out there, and then DJ Walked him down the path and shot him. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

To me, that's the takeaway right. From this interview is he's putting himself there.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But he's essentially laying all of this on DJ however, in a second recounting of the incident, Eric blamed the shooting on another 16 year old named AB.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay, well, that's a problem now. Story's changing.

[Mike Ferguson]

Story's changing, which is never good. Eric acknowledged burning David's Bronco, taking a cab from the site, cleaning the camper, and burning a blood soaked rug. So, okay, you start off by saying you were there when it all happened, but you didn't do any of it besides give the gun to this DJ guy.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now DJ Is nowhere to be found. It's a guy named Ab who killed him. But now you've said I burned his Bronco.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I then took a cab, went back to the camper, cleaned up all the blood, all of that.

[Mike Gibson]

As the father and grandmother sitting there, I mean, I'd be like, what the heck did we do wrong in raising this kid to think that that was okay.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and the other thing is, as a parent, a lot of times, you know when your kid is lying.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, police are good at it. But a parent has spent this person's whole life right with them. Right. They've seen them their whole life. I know when my kids are alive.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I do.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, if they. Even if they got past the police interview, as soon as you got out to your truck, you'd be like, all right, yeah, tell me what really happened, because I know what you told them is not true.

[Mike Ferguson]

Let's cut the you know what.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

The only motive investigators could get from Eric was that David had smoked all of his wheat.

[Mike Gibson]

Is that really why you would kill somebody? You know you smoked all my weed. Damn it, I'm gonna kill you.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean, if. Even if it's true, the weed is already gone.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

What good is killing this individual going to do?

[Mike Gibson]

Damage is done. So he smoked all the weed. He got mad. That'd be like me if I ate all your masa Chips. I mean, I don't think you would want to hurt me, but I know you like your masa chips.

[Mike Ferguson]

Let's just put it. Let's just say it wouldn't be good.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because those are my snack of choice not to give a. A plug because they're not paying us. I wish they would because I do love those chips.

[Mike Gibson]

I mean, I did take two bags home with me last week that you didn't know about. I don't think you knew. Maybe you did.

[Mike Ferguson]

I just docked your pay. It was said that Eric showed very little remorse. On December 9, 2016, four more teenagers were charged in connection with David's murder.

[Mike Gibson]

Wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

And let's talk about remorse a little bit.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure.

[Mike Ferguson]

I get it. You have basically said two different people killed David.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But could you not at least show some remorse just for the fact that a 16 year old is dead and

[Mike Gibson]

you were there and witnessed. Yeah. According to his account.

[Mike Ferguson]

Even if, according to you, you didn't pull, you weren't the one that pulled the trigger. I feel like it'd be very easy to show remorse, I would think. But that's easy for us to say because we have that in.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, some of these people, they just don't have it, man. And it's a scary thing, really is. A Palmer grand jury charged Dominic Johnson and Bradley Renfro, both 16, with first and second degree murder and evidence tampering. They were charged as adults and I know that's a kind of a sticky subject for some people.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

My take is, you know, if you're 16, 17 years old and you kill someone in this type of way.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Meaning you purposefully did it, is essentially like you said, an execution. I have no issues with you being charged as an adult.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I'm good with it too. You know, you, you made that decision. You have the capability of understanding right from wrong.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. 19 year old Austin Barrett was charged with first and second degree murder and kidnapping. 18 year old Devin Peterson was charged with three counts of tampering and first degree hindering prosecution. So according to prosecutors, the DJ in Eric Allmendinger statement was Dominic Johnson. Dominic was the one who told Eric to get the gun and the one who bludgeoned David. Prosecutors noted that David was shot and killed by either Dominic Johnson or Austin Barrett. So Austin would be the ab. Right. In the second confession, the teens drove to Devin Peterson's house for advice after the fact. Devin admitted to state troopers that he saw Eric and Dominic that night, but told them they were stupid and sent them away because he didn't want the trouble. So that's why he got charged with tampering and hindering prosecution, which is tough because he really wasn't involved in this. These guys just happened to show up at his house. But once he had that knowledge, he

[Mike Gibson]

didn't do anything with it.

[Mike Ferguson]

He didn't do anything with it, and they really put him in a terrible position.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

He just should have done something with the information he had.

[Mike Gibson]

Right. Makes you wonder why they showed up to his house for advice. Like, why would they go to him for advice?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Maybe they thought he knew something about this. I have no idea. Prosecutors accused Eric, Bradley, Dominic, and Austin of acting as principals or accomplices in David's murder and accused them of restraining and kidnapping David and destroying evidence. Devin was accused of suppressing or concealing a 9 millimeter pistol and a 40 caliber pistol used in the crime and was allegedly involved in burning David's vehicle. Sources also reported that Devin and Bradley Renfro were arrested back in June 2016 for kidnapping, but it was unclear if they faced charges.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on with this kidnapping stuff?

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, I don't know. Also, this seems like a. A bad group of kids.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And they're doing bad things. And it wasn't, you know, just this one thing where David was killed. Obviously they had been doing some things before that. Some of them, at least. After news of the arrest came out, people on social media criticized the Allmendinger family and asked how such a violent crime could go on so close to the house without adults knowing.

[Mike Gibson]

I understand, but today's world, the way kids are, I think they can do a lot of things without the parents knowing. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But you say today's world, you and I did a lot of things that our parents never knew about.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely. They still don't know about, you know, they're never. They would never know about. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So I. I don't know that this is a new thing. I don't know that it's directly tied into today's world.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I just think it's been, you know, for a very long time. Kids have hid things from their parents. And I, I get it. The. The family of a murderer or accused murderer, they're going to catch some flag.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

There's just no way around it. But how can you say, you know, or make the assumption they should have known that this was going on? I think that's tough. I think it is, too, with the way kids hide stuff from their. Their parents. Rod and Myler Almendinger Eric's father and grandmother said they didn't know what happened to turn a regular kid into a criminal. They said Eric was an animal lover, played basketball, and won a prize at the state fair for baking.

[Mike Gibson]

Maybe they were a special type of brownie.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I don't think so. I don't think you usually win prizes at the state fair for those, but he normally lived with his mother and visited his father on weekends. They said Eric was doing well in school until he befriended Devin Peterson. In the summer of 2015, Rod banned Devin from visiting because he thought he was a bad influence. Eric stopped visiting his father regularly at that point. By the summer of 2016, Eric wasn't living with his mother anymore. He was essentially homeless and. And moving around to houses that served as drug dealing bases.

[Mike Gibson]

All right, well, that's where things start going bad.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, this kid took a nosedive. Yeah, right. In a short period of time, at least. From what his father has said, it does make it seem like it coincided with this friendship with Devin Peterson.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. So, I mean, at that point, maybe there's some things that the parents probably knew, but what can they control of that now?

[Mike Ferguson]

Here's the thing, though. When you're 16 years old, you can't essentially be homeless.

[Mike Gibson]

Not technically. Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right. You can't make that decision.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So I don't know who they called. I don't know what they did. I mean, there's some stuff there that maybe they might not have done correctly because it does sound like they knew about some of this. But, you know, knowing that he was going to murder this kid, that's a little tough, right?

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

Twas a lovely suv, an inexplicably queenly offer.

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

In late October, Eric's father and grandmother agreed to let him stay at the house with another teen. Rod enrolled them in an alternative school and tried to keep them at home. When they snuck out to get drunk, he gave them one last chance. The other teen left, but he returned a week later. David Grunwald gave the teen a ride. So, you know, again, I think the father is trying something here. He doesn't Want his son out doing bad things. He wants him home where he can keep an eye on him. It sounds like maybe the concession was, okay, I'll let this other guy live here as well, but you guys gotta follow the rules and, you know, you can't be doing this and that, you

[Mike Gibson]

know, do some of this alternative school stuff. So that keep you out of trouble.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. David's parents, Ben and Edith, said during a previous interview that they called Rod Allmendinger a few hours after David didn't come home. Rod said his son wasn't there and said something along the lines of, those kids are fucked.

[Mike Gibson]

That would be an interesting response to get.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Now, obviously, when this was reported by the Anchorage Daily News, they. They didn't use the. That word, but I'm going to use it because I think it's very descriptive while not being descriptive at all, if that makes sense.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's impactful and then you have to dissect. Well, what does he mean when he says that? Yeah, that he's given them chance after chance or his son and whoever else is living there, they just can't walk to straight and narrow.

[Mike Gibson]

Or does he know something?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, it is being said in response to David having gone missing. It's a strange response to me in that context. When the Anchorage Daily News asked about this, Rod explained he was worried Edith was calling the police and the teens would get in trouble for not being home. He didn't know what happened at the trailer. He assumed Eric and the other teen were watching TV in a downstairs bedroom until the teen said Eric wasn't there. But obviously there was something going on. To say that about your son and another person or a group of people, that's not a good thing.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

When you say that.

[Mike Gibson]

No. Saying something like that, things are messed up.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. So back to your point. Is it a general, you know, they're jacked up, or does he know something more than what he's letting on? Rod said he didn't see David come back to his home or anyone else go in the trailer, which was normally locked. He didn't hear from Eric until 4:00am that night. that point, David's parents were looking for him. And he said that Eric said just everybody chill out. He's probably just hanging out with somebody else and being late.

[Mike Gibson]

Easy thing to say.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, it is. And I mean, if you're a parent, I'm. I mean, does that seem out of the ordinary?

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

Then it doesn't raise any alarm bells, I don't think.

[Mike Gibson]

Not at all.

[Mike Ferguson]

Rod Looked inside the trailer once to see if David was hiding there. He said he didn't see any blood, but he also didn't look in the bathroom. He didn't realize the group of teens may have returned to the trailer on Thanksgiving weekend and doused it in bleach and burned the carpet. He was on a trip and locked the door once he saw it had been opened. Eric told his dad he needed to get something from the trailer. So, you know, the other thing is when it's thought to have happened kind of on your property.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. People are going to be a little more upset at you about that. Yeah, I get that thinking. You know who's in control here, right? Who's watching over things?

[Mike Gibson]

How didn't you know that since that trailer was on your property and it's your trailer.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. In February 2017, Damien Peterson, the older brother of Devin, was indicted for second degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault for the death of 16 year old Frankie Woodford. What is going on in the Peterson household, man? Or in all these kids households? I don't know. Back in June 2016, troopers responded to a Holman Wasilla for a report of an underage teen with a gunshot wound. The grand jury found that Frankie Woodford's gunshot wound was not self inflicted. In January 2018, David's parents filed a civil lawsuit accusing several people of supplying the pistol used in the murder. The suit named two other teens who allegedly gave the murder weapon to four of the defendants in exchange for drugs. The teens, mothers, and the owner of the gun were were also named in the suit.

[Mike Gibson]

I bet they were.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hey, you know, if you've got a gun, you have a really big responsibility.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure do.

[Mike Ferguson]

To make sure that that gun doesn't fall into the hands of people who shouldn't have it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Lock it up.

[Mike Ferguson]

On January 19, 2018, Devin Peterson entered a change of plea agreement, admitting that he helped hide the pistol after the murder. He also admitted to providing gas cans to burn David's vehicle. He pleaded guilty to first degree tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution. On May 14, 2018, Devin was sentenced to three years in federal prison and four years of supervised release for distribution of marijuana to minors. And the federal sentence will be served consecutively to his state sentence.

[Mike Gibson]

I think it was probably a good move on his part to plead.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't know, you know, maybe they gave him a deal on that, but then at the same time, he's got three years in federal prison after that.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

That he has to serve. So, going back to what's going on in the Peterson household, I don't know these two brothers. One was convicted of murder, the other one for tampering and hindering prosecution, and also for, you know, distribution of marijuana to minors. It's not good stuff.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

According to the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Alaska, during a search of Peterson's home, Alaska State Troopers found a photograph of an underage girl performing a sex act on Peterson. In a subsequent search, they found a video showing the sexual assault of an incapacitated underaged girl. The video was taken at a party attended by Peterson and others in July 2016. During the party, Devin gave the girl marijuana, contributing to her extreme intoxication and assault that night.

[Mike Gibson]

These guys are real winners.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's just horrible stuff. It is all the way around. On May 31, 2018, Eric Almendinger was found guilty of first degree murder, three counts of second degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, vehicle theft, and arson.

[Mike Gibson]

He got hit hard.

[Mike Ferguson]

They really stacked the charges on him.

[Mike Gibson]

Did.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I'm cool with that.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because, you know, let's face it, a lot of times some charges get dropped, some get pled down. So, you know, they. They kind of have to stack them up. But it's not like he didn't do all these things he did.

[Mike Gibson]

Right, Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

They're not making up charges. They just charged him with everything they could. The trial didn't establish who fired the fatal shot, but Eric was seen as complicit, and I think that's tough. Right. You have multiple stories of who fired the shot, but I think a lot of times, in the eyes of the law, you're all equally guilty.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, you gave the gun or you participated in the kidnapping. It's kind of just one big ball of wax.

[Mike Gibson]

You can look at it that way. Right. Like, that person would. Would still be alive if you didn't kidnap them and if you didn't bring that gun to the party and you didn't pull the trigger. So all three of you have an equal share.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, sometimes you just can't figure it out, but you know that everybody's involved. The jury heard from the medical examiner who testified that David had a small amount of marijuana in his system. He had injuries to his head and extremities showing he went through a struggle and tried to defend himself with his arms and hands. He was beaten severely and shot once in the head, most likely while looking at the Assailants. So this wasn't. Somebody walked up behind him.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

And shot him. There was a fight, he was beaten, and somebody pulled out a gun and shot him. What sounds to be face to face. The jury viewed Eric's interrogation video where he initially admitted he was present during the crime, but he said he wasn't the killer. His story changed several times as we talked about. He admitted he was there for the beating, shooting, and evidence tampering. Said there were five people in the car, including himself. He claimed Dominic Johnson was driving and was the one who took David through the woods and shot him. However, earlier at trial, the defense claimed Austin Barrett was the shooter. In his police interview, Eric said he was scared he would be killed if he didn't go along with everything. He said that Devin Peterson was the one who said they should burn the vehicle. He was on board with this, but it wasn't fully his idea. Okay, I mean, what do you make? Right? Some of this is some cya. I feel like you're trying to diminish your role and put as much as you can onto the other people.

[Mike Gibson]

Deflect it. Deflect it.

[Mike Ferguson]

So it does make it tough, right, to get to the bottom of exactly who did what. And the one thing that he couldn't do or he didn't do was give an answer as to motive. Yeah, right. What was the motive?

[Mike Gibson]

Why did you do it for these

[Mike Ferguson]

people, these kids, to want to kill David Grunwald? On August 20, 2018, Devin Peterson was sentenced to six years in state prison for evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. And let's not forget, right, he's got another three years for the marijuana charge. I. I don't know if he then later got charged with some of the child abuse, sexual material.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, yeah, right.

[Mike Ferguson]

I didn't see anything about that. I can't imagine he wasn't. Maybe that added to it. I don't know. On October 4, 2018, Damian Peterson was sentenced to 18 years with 5 years suspended and 5 years of parole for the shooting of Frankie Woodford. I mean, if you're like the Peterson family, I hate to say it, but if you're their parents, you got to be like, where do we go wrong?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Where do. Where do we fail these kids?

[Mike Ferguson]

And we don't know much about their family or their childhood or their lives or, or whatever, but, I mean, to have two brothers involved in two different murders. Right, that's rough.

[Mike Gibson]

And all the other crimes.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, and yeah, on top of all the other stuff, according to the Matsu Valley Frontiersman. The events that transpired were unclear. It was also unclear why no one knew sooner that Frankie did not shoot himself. Right, so this goes to the Damien Peterson crime. Yeah, there was a period of time where they thought maybe he shot himself. A group of young men, including Damien and Devin Peterson and Austin Barrett were at the house where an adult was present, but there was no supervision. Damien was manipulating a stolen Glock pistol by taking bullets out of the magazine and putting them back in. Frankie left another room of the house to join his friends because he was being bullied. The room he walked into was the same room where Peterson was playing with the pistol. According to Austin Barrett, Damien was pointing the gun at people and pulling the trigger. It was assumed he was doing it to scare Frankie and instead fatally shot him. And this is exactly why you don't play around with guns.

[Mike Gibson]

You don't.

[Mike Ferguson]

You just absolutely do not. And you have to abide by that kind of overarching rule, which is you have to treat every gun as though it's loaded.

[Mike Gibson]

You have to.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, you absolutely have to. Damien claimed he didn't know the gun was loaded even though he was the one manipulating it. Yeah, he knew when the gun went off, everyone fled the room screaming that Frankie shot himself. He told first responders on the scene that he didn't shoot himself. Frankie was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. And very interesting that he was alive long enough to tell first responders that, no, I didn't shoot myself. So I'm not really sure why. There was a thought in the beginning that he did.

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[Mike Ferguson]

Alaska State Troopers investigated, but found no one to charge until Austin Barrett told troopers about the incident during the investigation of the murder of David Grunwald.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, they were able to kind of drag that out of him.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and how interesting is that? Right? If this case never happens, does Frankie's murder ever get solved?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. At least you get him on something.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe not. On December 27, 2018, Dominic Johnson was found guilty on all charges, including first degree murder, kidnapping, second degree murder intending serious injury, and second degree murder with extreme indifference, felony murder, evidence tampering, assault, vehicle theft, and three counts of arson.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, man. Heavy hit. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

These are, you know, young people who are having the book thrown at them. But to me, it's very well deserved.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely.

[Mike Ferguson]

What they did was absolutely heinous. Prosecutors presented a Snapchat video showing Johnson talking about hitting someone in the head as hard as he could. Also, I'm starting to think some of these kids might not have been that bright.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

Why are you on Snapchat talking about hurting people?

[Mike Gibson]

Because they think they can do that video and it will disappear and nobody will ever see it or talk about it. They forget all this computer forensic stuff where they can get a lot of that information. Still.

[Mike Ferguson]

Is Snapchat the one that disappears?

[Mike Gibson]

Yes.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. I've never used Snapchat, so I don't really know how it works, but you're right. You might think it disappears, but it doesn't mean there's not a way to get to it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Or that somebody maybe somehow screenshot something or saved it. Somehow saved it. The defense argued that cell data showed Johnson was elsewhere when the murder occurred. But prosecutors countered that data is not always accurate to the exact location. Prosecutors argued the notion that Johnson, who reportedly instigated the beating, was removing himself from the situation was implausible. And I get what they're saying, Right? If he starts beating David right, then what? He just leaves the area before the shooting occurs? Is it out of the question? No, but I get why they're trying to paint it as implausible.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, he's there, he's there.

[Mike Ferguson]

He just all of a sudden gets up and leaves by the time the shooting occurs. Bradley Renfro went to trial in September 2019. He testified in his own defense. He was asked if he assisted with the murder, and he answered by saying, not willingly.

[Mike Gibson]

Not willingly. Okay. Someone forced you to do it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, he did admit to lying to state troopers, and that he was intoxicated on marijuana and alcohol at the time of the murder. He had no problems with David and David had never done anything wrong to him. But he admitted he didn't really know him. Bradley testified that during the attack he was fearful and didn't do anything. When Dominic let David out of a bathroom he had been locked in and pistol whipped him, he believed Dominic hit David seven to 10 times. Dominic said he only meant to knock David out. But the severity of the situation started to set in and it all just happened so fast.

[Mike Gibson]

They always say that it all just happened so fast.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, well, you went from what, at least according to them, thinking you were going to hit this guy a couple of times. We still don't know why.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe it was because he smoked all the weed. I don't know.

[Mike Gibson]

Could have been. Seems stupid.

[Mike Ferguson]

But he hits him more times than he thought he did. And now he's really, really hurt. Much more so than what they were aiming to do. So they decided they had to kill him. I mean, I think that's what they're trying to say.

[Mike Gibson]

So too.

[Mike Ferguson]

Austin Barrett was allegedly holding another pistol and quote, standing guard, standing guard. He said something to the effect of going to get in the truck and go for a ride. Now he demanded that Bradley pick David up off the floor. At this point, he was starting to get scared. After the shooting, they took David's vehicle to try to get rid of it. Bradley was trying to find a way out of the situation, but his friends wouldn't let him. Right. This is all his testimony. They made him buy the gas to burn the Bronco. According to Bradley is quoted by Alaska news source. Dominic said that I had to do it because he said I hadn't participated in this. And he made me go get the gas because I looked like I didn't want to be part of it.

[Mike Gibson]

So he's kind of treating it as some of these gangs do, like everybody's got to take a part in it. That way we're all guilty so no one will talk about it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, that's a good point. Now, I think if I'm a juror, I'm viewing this as Bradley trying to worm his way out of it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And make an excuse that he unwillingly had to do some of these things because these other people wouldn't let him leave. On October 8, 2019, Bradley Renfro was found guilty of murder, kidnapping and vehicle theft. On February 7, 2020, Austin Barrett pleaded guilty to second degree murder at a January hearing. Austin's murder indictment was Thrown out after a judge ruled that the troopers who interviewed him failed to acknowledge his right to remain silent when he pleaded the fifth at the beginning of the interview.

[Mike Gibson]

How do you mess up like that?

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know. I don't know. You know, I watch a lot of body cam videos and there's a lot of gray area, even in those of when they do the Miranda rights, they don't really need to do them unless they're going to be asking questions about the crime.

[Mike Gibson]

So police body cam videos.

[Mike Ferguson]

What?

[Mike Gibson]

I say just body cam video.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, I just assume people knew what I was talking about. Your mind is going to go somewhere else. I know that, but. But yes, police body cam videos. Seven indictment charges were dismissed because they relied so heavily on the interview. Prosecutors listed numerous factors that helped the state come to a plea agreement, including Austin's remorse and being a witness in the shooting of 16 year old Frankie Woodford. And again, it's fascinating how these two different cases became intertwined.

[Mike Gibson]

Right. With different individuals.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. They really had nothing to do with each other. But I don't think or I'm not sure Frankie's case would have been solved had it not been for the murder of David Grunwald.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Prosecutors agreed that without Austin's statement and the fact that he did not have a cell phone with him at the time of the murder, the case would be a gamble to take to trial. So I think he had some things going in his favor. Right. Sometimes luck is on your side. On November 20, 2020, Austin Barrett was the first of four sentenced for his role in the murder. He received a 45 year sentence with 10 years of probation.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Wow.

[Mike Gibson]

That's healthy.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's healthy. And that's after having some of his indictments thrown out.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Austin will be eligible for discretionary parole after serving 15 years of his sentence. And with credit for time served, it may only be about 11 additional years before he can apply for parole. So he, I mean, he was in jail for like four years before.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

He was even convicted. Seems light.

[Mike Gibson]

It does, Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I get it.

[Mike Gibson]

But I mean, he might not get out then either.

[Mike Ferguson]

He might not again. I. I don't want to lose sight of the fact that, you know, some of these individuals were, you know, like 16 years old.

[Mike Gibson]

That's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

At the hearing, Austin's defense attorney presented a theory that David imprinted on Eric Allmendinger, leading to his introduction to a different world than the one he was raised in. And it's an interesting theory. The term imprinted is not something that you hear a lot in the world of true crime. You hear it a lot like on nature shows or, you know, things like that. But we talked about David's background. I think he was a good kid.

[Mike Gibson]

Seemed like it.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I think he might have got involved with some people who maybe weren't as good.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Warren is on the up and up and weren't on a great path. On May 5, 2021, Dominic Johnson received a 99 year sentence for assault and kidnapping, evidence tampering and murder. The judge suspended 20 years and said Johnson would be eligible for parole in 36 years.

[Mike Gibson]

Pretty good.

[Mike Ferguson]

That's healthy.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I mean that's, that's no joke to do a minimum of 36 years in prison.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now he could still get out and be like my age, but that's a large chunk of your life that you're forfeiting.

[Mike Gibson]

It is. I don't know if he has any other charges from anything else could be added onto it down the road.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, we don't know. The judge noted, per the Anchorage Daily News, who actually led David in the woods, who pulled the trigger? We'll never really know.

[Mike Gibson]

No, we know it's going to be one of X amount of people.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes. ADA Melissa Winning or Howard said the crime was 100% a group effort. And I think they had to treat the prosecution that like that. Right. Had to kind of go after everybody as a whole because they didn't know who exactly pulled the trigger. The prosecution noted that in Snapchat messages, videos and other digital data, Johnson's own words indicated he was a willing participant and an active insider of violence. Although Johnson led police to the body, his assistance was outweighed by his participation, which is how it should be.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's great that you decide to assist the police in very few times. Is it going to let you get off scot free?

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

You might get a reduced sentence, but I don't think you should get off scot free at all. On August 8, 2022, Eric Allmendinger was sentenced to 99 years in PR. Prosecutors noted that Eric was the only one in the group who actually knew David. They attended high school together. A jailhouse phone call between Austin Barrett and his grandmother was played during the hearing in which Barrett said he fired the fatal shot. Okay. Not a phone call you should be having.

[Mike Gibson]

Not at all.

[Mike Ferguson]

Again, why do people not know that these phone calls are recorded? It literally says it right by the phone.

[Mike Gibson]

I know. So if you ever go, go to prison. Careful what you say on the Phone.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

And on the. You know, if you go to one of the older ones, where you're sitting across from the glass aisle, you know, from each other.

[Mike Ferguson]

The glass aisle.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, the.

[Mike Ferguson]

The partition.

[Mike Gibson]

Partition.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

Plexiglass.

[Mike Ferguson]

Definitely not glass.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, yeah. Be.

[Mike Ferguson]

That would be a bad move.

[Mike Gibson]

Just, you know, when you pick that little phone up there, be careful what you say.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, you definitely should. Eric said he wasn't asking for leniency, and he didn't claim the excuses that came up in his defense, such as expert testimony about brain development in young people. And there's always that, right? 16 years old, your brain's not fully developed. We know that. It doesn't fully develop, I think, until you're about 25 years old.

[Mike Gibson]

65. I'm still working on mine for you.

[Mike Ferguson]

65, but for most people, I think right around 25 is what I've always heard. The Anchorage Daily News quoted him as saying, I claim full responsibility for Dave dying. He was my friend. He was a good kid, and I killed my friend. That's what happened. I killed somebody's nephew. I killed somebody's son. I destroyed somebody's family. He apologized to David's family. He said, I'm sure the words coming out of my mouth are irrelevant to them, and. But if it means anything, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did, and I'm sorry for what I didn't do. And it's kind of refreshing. Again, you don't know how much of this is real, but he doesn't have to say these things.

[Mike Gibson]

He doesn't.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, the I'm sorrys, I don't always buy those, but he is saying, I killed David.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

I killed my friend. He's admitting to all. All of this stuff now. He's been convicted, so.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Why not? But even still, people don't do that a lot of the time. Prosecutor Melissa Howard noted that Eric repeatedly violated jail rules, including being caught with a homemade knife and fighting with another inmate. In 2019, he assaulted a. A CO Again, I don't know that a lot of these people were good kids.

[Mike Gibson]

I don't think they were.

[Mike Ferguson]

The judge left room for discretionary parole and noted that Eric will be a little over 50 at the time of his first possible parole hearing. If he becomes eligible.

[Mike Gibson]

Your age.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, he'll be my age. And think about what happens or what has happened with us right between the ages of 16 and, let's say, 54. 53. 54, right. I'm 53 years old. Everything in my Life has happened between those two ages.

[Mike Gibson]

Pretty important time frame it is.

[Mike Ferguson]

And that is you're spending it with a bunch of dudes who may or may not shower.

[Mike Gibson]

True.

[Mike Ferguson]

You're not going to have any dates. Or if you are, they're probably not going to be the kind that you would like to have.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, probably not going to be fun.

[Mike Ferguson]

It just. To me, all of this stuff is so senseless. I just don't get it. Why are you even doing this stuff? Why are you even taking the chance of losing that much of your life? On August 17, 2022, Bradley Rimfro was sentenced to 105 years in prison for murder, kidnapping, and evidence tampering. He was the last defendant to be sentenced. Court proceedings indicated that Bradley arrived at the property when three friends pistol whipped David. He offered suggestions on where the murder should take place and afterwards planned to destroy evidence and bought gasoline to burn the vehicle. During sentencing, Judge Gregory Heath remarked on the crime, saying, I can't see why they did this, other than they have no value for life. And I think that's pretty apparent.

[Mike Gibson]

I think so. I think that's exactly what it is.

[Mike Ferguson]

Heath found that David was driven for nearly half an hour to the woods and was emotionally tortured. Heath remarked, to walk someone in the woods and execute them, it takes a darkness in these boys. Although Bradley's total sentence added up to 105 years, he'll be eligible for parole at age 51 after serving 35 years. Nearly 10 years later, the murder of David Grunwald still has no clear motive. And who exactly pulled the trigger is unconfirmed. Like I said.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

It was a senseless, horrific crime committed by a group of teenagers who seem to be inciting and encouraging violence in each other.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And, you know, I think some of it is this group think, right. This group mentality, you know, would any of these people have done it on their own? I don't know. So I don't know. Maybe. But I think when you get a bunch of people together, that group thing can kind of lead to some bad things sometimes.

[Mike Gibson]

And it gives those people confidence, maybe.

[Mike Ferguson]

Or now they're like, okay, if you think it's a good idea, I'm in, or whatever it is.

[Mike Gibson]

But confirmation.

[Mike Ferguson]

Confirmation that. That maybe it's okay. I just, you know. Okay. Did he smoke the last of the weed? Maybe. Is that a reason to kill somebody? Absolutely not.

[Mike Gibson]

I would not think so either.

[Mike Ferguson]

Not that there's a lot of great reasons, but that would be at the bottom of the list.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. I mean, I get it. You really liked your weed, but get some more. You know, if that's what you want, you might have to wait a week to get paid. Whatever.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then the other thing that always strikes me is when you have this many people involved in a murder.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Number one. It's very hard for people to keep their mouth shut, which people didn't do in this one either. But also, and more importantly for me is how do you get X number of people to all go along with something that they know is wrong? Right. They know it's not the right thing to do, but yet everybody kind of falls in line and says, yeah, this is what we're going to do.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. What scare tactics were used to make that happen?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I. I just. I don't understand it at all. But that's it for our episode on David Grunwald. If you love the show, make sure you hit that subscribe button. If you're on YouTube, if you're listening, keep listening.

[Mike Gibson]

Tell people about us. Tell your friends and family.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, we don't say it all the time, but word of mouth about the podcast really helps us out.

[Mike Gibson]

It does.

[Mike Ferguson]

But that's it for another episode of True Crime all the Time. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.