Episode 294

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Speaker 4 Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

Speaker 4 My children, oh my god.

Speaker 4 Oh no.

Speaker 6 This one was produced by one of our longtime producers, Mish Barbara Way.

Speaker 9 This is season 12, episode 294 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters

Speaker 12 are real.

Speaker 13 So, when I started this podcast, I didn't realize I was actually starting a small business.

Speaker 15 Yikes.

Speaker 14 There's nothing small about a small business.

Speaker 17 You're working all of the time.

Speaker 20 Thankfully, though, I have a partner with all the tools that I need to be successful.

Speaker 19 You may have heard of them.

Speaker 22 Their name is Shopify.

Speaker 24 Shopify's point-of-sale system is a unified command center for your retail business.

Speaker 26 It brings together in-store and online operations across up to a thousand locations.

Speaker 29 Imagine being able to guarantee that shopping is always convenient.

Speaker 26 Endless aisle, ship to customer, buy online, pick up and store.

Speaker 31 All these things are made simpler to customers so they can shop how they want.

Speaker 32 And staff have all the tools to close the sale every time.

Speaker 33 And let's face it, acquiring new customers is expensive.

Speaker 35 With Shopify POS, you can keep shoppers coming back with personalized experiences and first-party data that give marketing teams a competitive edge.

Speaker 28 In fact, it's proven.

Speaker 10 Based on a report from EY, businesses on Shopify POS see real results, like 22% better total cost of ownership and benefits equivalent to an 8.9% uplift in sales on average relative to the market set surveyed.

Speaker 34 So if you have a retail or online business, then I'll tell you what.

Speaker 14 Shopify is a fantastic partner to have on your side.

Speaker 35 Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify.

Speaker 37 Sign up for your $1 a month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/slash sword and scale.

Speaker 43 All one word.

Speaker 45 Just go to shopify.com slash sword and scale and sign up.

Speaker 38 You'll thank me later.

Speaker 43 You will.

Speaker 9 Shopify.com slash sword and scale.

Speaker 8 It's Thursday night, 9:58 p.m.

Speaker 8 Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,

Speaker 48 my home is where you're coming on. Oh my god,

Speaker 48 give me your address.

Speaker 48 My home, one three two nine North Jamaica Way, Gilbert, Arizona.

Speaker 49 All right, one three two nine North Jamaica.

Speaker 48 Oh Jamaica Way, we have children in in the house. I just saw my wife.
I think she's dead.

Speaker 49 What? What happened to nine North Jamaica? What happened? I don't know.

Speaker 48 I don't know. Is she breathing? No, you look dead.

Speaker 49 Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on.

Speaker 48 Let me just

Speaker 49 get you over the fire. Hold on.
Oh, my God.

Speaker 52 In a tan, two-story house adorned with palm trees and cacti, 36-year-old Mark Eric Pansati crouched next to his unresponsive wife, 33-year-old Sherry Pansati.

Speaker 48 Oh my god, my children, my children, my children.

Speaker 53 Mark was hysterical.

Speaker 39 He kept repeating that he and Sherry's children were home.

Speaker 55 He didn't know what happened.

Speaker 8 All he saw was a wet bathroom and his beautiful wife lying naked in a mess of blood and liquid soap.

Speaker 48 I just found my wife. Okay, sorry.

Speaker 48 She's in the middle of the water.

Speaker 48 I'm in shock, I think. Okay.

Speaker 48 Okay. Alright, I understand, sir.
I'm in my house.

Speaker 48 Okay, okay. My wife is on the bathroom floor, unresponsive.
Look, I'm EMT certified. I am in the military.

Speaker 48 I'm a soldier so I am used to this but not with my wife

Speaker 48 and okay she's unresponsive

Speaker 48 okay can you do me a favor let's start CPR okay how old is your wife my wife is 33

Speaker 48 my god I'm telling you there's not everything that you know there's no moonlight

Speaker 48 there's no problem there's no function

Speaker 51 Mark was a certified EMT and a military man.

Speaker 57 But to see this much blood pooling around the woman he shared his life with was

Speaker 43 unbearable.

Speaker 48 Was she underwater or what did this happen? Do you know?

Speaker 48 Okay. Alright, so my understanding is you were with her earlier, you guys were in the bath, you went to take a nap, and then you came back and she is not responsive to you.
Right.

Speaker 48 Do me a favor, let's get her flat on her back.

Speaker 48 What?

Speaker 48 She's in her back. She's in her back.
She's in okay. There's a big MSOB on her fucking head.
I think she oh my god. I think she slipped.
I know.

Speaker 48 She hits a fucking corner. Oh my god.
Oh my god. She fucking slipped and fell.

Speaker 48 Son of a fucking ancient motherfucker. I'm fucking chilling.

Speaker 48 Okay, let's let's have a CPR, okay?

Speaker 48 Alright, if you're in the MTV,

Speaker 48 okay? I don't know how to deal with this with them. I don't want them to be traumatized.

Speaker 48 They fucking want their mother. Do me a favor, maybe have them leave the room, and then you can start saying

Speaker 48 that.

Speaker 48 Okay.

Speaker 32 Six-year-old Maddie and her baby brother, 18-year-old Max, were asleep in their bedrooms down the hall.

Speaker 46 Mark continued to cry and struggle as he talked to 911.

Speaker 57 Do me a favor.

Speaker 48 Get the heel of your hand in the center of her chest. Put your other hand on top, and let's start CPR, okay?

Speaker 48 Sir, she's purple. She's fucking...
I'm telling you, I know what guys looks like. I'm an Afghanistan war veteran.
Okay. Okay.

Speaker 48 She's gone, sir.

Speaker 39 Mark had seen death overseas.

Speaker 8 He assured the dispatcher that Sherry was long gone.

Speaker 60 I'll tell you what, let me me get your name and do me a favor.

Speaker 48 Step outside so that you can talk to the medics, okay? Okay, okay, okay. Alright, sir, let me get your name.

Speaker 48 Don't go with fucking sirens blaring, okay?

Speaker 48 I don't want my kids to be fucking traumatized, okay?

Speaker 48 Okay, what is your name? Mark Erickson, Saudi.

Speaker 48 Oh, my God. Okay,

Speaker 48 may I call?

Speaker 48 Yes, may I cover her with a she's naked. May I cover her?

Speaker 48 Let's not do that. Let's let medics get there ourselves.
I don't have my children to fight fighter like this. Okay, boy, you said they're in bed, right?

Speaker 48 No, I'm the best from now.

Speaker 48 Okay, I thought you said they were in bed. So let's go.
They're in bed. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. Yes, they're in bed.
They're in bed.

Speaker 48 Perfect. Okay.
So do me a favor. Fuck, I'm losing it.
I'm sorry. I'm losing it.
I understand. Take a deep breath.
Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Go outside.
I got it. Talk to the medics, okay? Go outside.

Speaker 48 Okay, I'm going outside.

Speaker 48 Okay, perfect. They're almost on scene for you.
Okay. Okay.

Speaker 49 Fire P V is on their way out.

Speaker 49 Okay, perfect. We're arriving on scene.

Speaker 48 Okay. Sir, do you see the uh police officers?

Speaker 51 Mark ran outside the front door to meet the officers as they quietly pulled up the short driveway. He was in a frenzy as he explained what happened and pointed towards the upstairs master bathroom.

Speaker 61 The police rushed inside.

Speaker 8 Mark made sure his children were still asleep and begged the first responders to be quiet.

Speaker 57 He was terrified of traumatizing the kids.

Speaker 39 Officer Mike Bishop was one of the first on the scene.

Speaker 62 He found Sherry in the bathroom and immediately bent down and started doing chest compressions.

Speaker 57 The knees of his pants soon became wet with crimson suds.

Speaker 51 After 20 compressions, he got up and let the EMTs take over.

Speaker 8 Sherry was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors assured Mark that she was in good hands. They would do their best to save her life.

Speaker 51 Mark called Sherry's aunt and uncle to come pick up the kids before he went to the police station.

Speaker 25 With his head buried in his hands, Mark sat across from the detective in his cargo shorts and flip-flops as his leg bounced up and down while he wept.

Speaker 48 This is a digital recorder. You mind if I run it while we're talking? That way I can don't have to take such

Speaker 48 so many notes.

Speaker 51 Mark nodded and also allowed the police to search his home.

Speaker 55 He said he wanted all the help they could get.

Speaker 64 He wanted to know why this happened to his wife.

Speaker 48 Why don't we start with

Speaker 48 a general history of your family and what's been going on in your life and stuff like that? Okay.

Speaker 48 I'm here.

Speaker 48 I met my wife in Wisconsin when I was attending law school.

Speaker 63 Mark and Sherry had met on a dating app back in 2008.

Speaker 51 when Mark was finishing with his legal degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Speaker 48 Ever since we've been together,

Speaker 48 she was born um

Speaker 48 at the same time the tsunami was hitting the island. So the whole time there was like the uh alarms going off because she had uh contractions and stuff.
So

Speaker 48 Fortnite Army Hospital. Yeah, Tennessee, Triple Army Medical Center, the Bing Palace.

Speaker 65 The Panzatis had lived all over the U.S.

Speaker 51 Alabama, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Georgia. This was due to Mark's career in the Army and his higher education pursuits.

Speaker 48 So I was with the 25th Infantry Division.

Speaker 48 And then I deployed with

Speaker 48 CAB, Combat Aviation Brigade, to Ganahar.

Speaker 48 and uh my wa my wife stuck with me. Was that pretty pretty qu pretty soon after the baby was born that you went you were deployed? That's tough.
Yeah.

Speaker 48 So Maddie was uh fourteen months old.

Speaker 48 I um I deployed for seven months, it felt a lot longer.

Speaker 48 Anyways, uh

Speaker 48 very

Speaker 48 strong experience, but my wife was there throughout.

Speaker 48 I g I came back and anyway, so we worked together and tried to buy a house in Hawaii, didn't work out. We moved to a different place.

Speaker 48 Anyways,

Speaker 48 we traveled. We went to the big island.

Speaker 48 My cousin from Spain that came to visit. We went to Japan where my daughter was treated like a star.

Speaker 48 A little blonde girl and stuff. I mean, the Japanese are such cute people and stuff.

Speaker 48 And then I was

Speaker 48 approached by Society Aviation helicopters, so I was approached by a Sikorsky attorney. Who offered me a job in civilian, so I went to the reserves, and then we moved to Connecticut.

Speaker 48 We were there for about a year and a half, freaking 15 months.

Speaker 48 Doing civilian legal for Sikorsky and

Speaker 48 still in the reserve? Correct, correct. So I worked with Cyber Warfare Command, Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn.
I assume you're an officer? I am.

Speaker 48 I'm a captain and was just elected for major.

Speaker 57 All the while, Mark was thriving in his Army career and working his way up to major.

Speaker 51 Sherry had gotten her degree in social work and was pursuing her own talents and income.

Speaker 51 Sherry had even published a children's book and was working on a second for her publisher.

Speaker 66 They were flourishing.

Speaker 51 But after a few months in Arizona, Mark lost his job.

Speaker 48 Yeah, and then for the remainder of the year, I've been unemployed in the civilian side.

Speaker 48 So I've been

Speaker 48 this year, yes, sir.

Speaker 48 And I was just offered a job in Kentucky. Great job.
Super happy. Finally, after all these months, my wife really

Speaker 48 stepped up. I mean, she was the breadwinner.
Anyways, we've found a home together. that we like.

Speaker 48 We've got new furniture for Max.

Speaker 48 Because his furniture is kind of, I don't know if he saw it, but your son. My son, how old is he?

Speaker 48 18 months? 18 months.

Speaker 57 Mark and Cherry had a role reversal when he was unemployed, and she stepped it up as the family's primary earner.

Speaker 8 Mark told the detective that he was proud of his wife for doing that.

Speaker 51 He was grateful and embraced his role as the main parent.

Speaker 48 Anyways, everything's been going great.

Speaker 48 I've been selected for major, BDZ below the zone. I'm ranked really high, I think, among my, you know, I haven't had the appraisal yet, but I think I'll do really well.

Speaker 48 She's been like super supportive, like moving to Kentucky. She likes the job she has here, but she's been supportive.
Like, she knows we have to pay off our debts and everything. Like, it's very

Speaker 48 positive and strong.

Speaker 48 It's a good school for Maddie and

Speaker 48 Mac is starting to talk. He should have been more attacked.
My wife's been supportive.

Speaker 48 Do we have a routine and stuff? Like, it's beautiful. Anyways, and so I'm just...
That's what's happening right now where we are.

Speaker 48 And

Speaker 48 my wife was...

Speaker 48 She was...

Speaker 48 What's the word?

Speaker 48 Anyways, she was ready to have a third child, essentially.

Speaker 67 Even though Sherry liked Arizona and her job there, Mark had been offered a new position in Kentucky, and it made sense to move.

Speaker 25 Sherry had posted on her Facebook page just before her death,

Speaker 68 We've been in Arizona for a year now, so guess what time it is? Time for another cross-country move. Never a dull moment.

Speaker 56 Mark said Sherry had been ovulating, and they were trying to have another baby.

Speaker 43 According to him, things were looking up.

Speaker 48 And yesterday she had a headache, and so she has heart issues, she has vision issues, she had a piercing headache.

Speaker 48 Anyways, so yeah, so yesterday she wasn't feeling good too good.

Speaker 48 And then

Speaker 48 I've been juicing, you know, the juicer,

Speaker 48 liquid diet, whatever, the Australian dues, you know, like I'm familiar with all that stuff, you know.

Speaker 48 And so she's been eating healthy, I mean, making her breakfast and the family and flossing for my daughter. And

Speaker 48 my son is starting to talk, and everything's going so, so well.

Speaker 25 Mark just couldn't understand why it all had to fall apart now.

Speaker 53 Things were just perfect.

Speaker 48 I do need to know what happened tonight so I can understand what I see at the house. Okay, so we'll go on into that.
All right.

Speaker 48 Okay, so I'll focus on tonight.

Speaker 48 So she came home at like 5.15.

Speaker 51 Mark explained that after Sherry got home from work, he cooked the family a healthy dinner, watched some movies, put the kids to bed, and then decided to spend some quality time together.

Speaker 48 We were trying to have like a romantic night, like a together night. And so I uh I drew a bath for us.

Speaker 48 And so, uh, anyways, I was in there and I was putting uh

Speaker 48 this this deto, the music on

Speaker 48 my cell phone. And so

Speaker 48 anyways, by the time

Speaker 48 my wife came, she was

Speaker 48 pretty excited, I guess, or relaughing or whatever.

Speaker 48 Then she put her clothes and other clothes downstairs

Speaker 48 in the wash.

Speaker 48 Came back upstairs, and then we kind of hung out in the bathtub. We cut her nails, her toenails,

Speaker 48 washed her hair, you know, I was kind of massaging her and stuff, and we just had a beautiful evening, just a very,

Speaker 48 I don't know, like a positive

Speaker 48 evening.

Speaker 48 It wasn't necessarily going through sex or anything like that either. It was sort of just to

Speaker 48 be happy, you know. The past eight months was really stressful, like difficult with the bills, with everything.
Now I have a job and the house we like. We just bought a bedroom set for Max.

Speaker 48 Like everything is coming together. Everything's so wonderful.

Speaker 44 As romantic as it was, Mark soon needed to get out of the tub.

Speaker 43 It gets warm, you know?

Speaker 48 So I got out and I went to bed essentially. And uh

Speaker 48 I take sleeping pills and the rise of ham for anxiety.

Speaker 48 I I've had to do this since my deployment.

Speaker 48 And so anyway, so I slept

Speaker 48 and uh what do you take to sleep? Um, simply, simply sleep. So it's over the counter.

Speaker 48 Yeah, I take three of those. I'm trying to lower my amounts.
I used to each take four. Lately, I've been taking three.
I'm trying to weed myself off.

Speaker 57 Mark took his antidepressant and then three of his over-the-counter sleep meds, a diphenhydramine-based medication.

Speaker 67 Basically, it's like taking a handful of allergy medication like Benadryl.

Speaker 57 You know how much I love Benadryl.

Speaker 7 It can make you really sleepy, knock you out for the whole day.

Speaker 69 It was around this time that the detective got a phone call, and he excused himself and left the room.

Speaker 51 When he returned, he had some bad news for Mark.

Speaker 48 I never want to be the person to have to tell somebody this.

Speaker 48 Mark, but your wife has passed away.

Speaker 48 I'm gonna have the officer outside the room call counselor.

Speaker 48 Would you be able to talk to a counselor? Would that be helpful?

Speaker 48 I can talk to you, man. All right.

Speaker 48 We'll keep talking, but

Speaker 48 I want somebody here that has good resources for you, okay? So I'm going to have them come. And you can

Speaker 70 calmed down and stopped crying, the detective made sure to to get one thing straight.

Speaker 48 I want to make sure you fully understand

Speaker 48 any news,

Speaker 48 anytime there is a

Speaker 48 serious injury, we're there. And you're a lawyer, so I assume that you understand all the...

Speaker 48 You're here voluntarily, so

Speaker 48 for me to ask you questions about what happened tonight, I'm just trying to get enough information to determine what's going on. I got you.
So I don't want you to feel like

Speaker 48 a suspect.

Speaker 48 Well,

Speaker 48 you're not a suspect. You're the only source of information I have.
If you were a suspect, I'd reach Miranda. I would take you into custody, that kind of thing.
You're free to leave.

Speaker 48 Okay.

Speaker 65 Mark was the only source of information.

Speaker 51 And being a lawyer himself, the cops knew he wouldn't be talking with them unless he had nothing to do with this.

Speaker 43 I mean, why would he?

Speaker 18 Unless he's an idiot, of course.

Speaker 50 Everyone was just trying to understand the mysterious way that Sherry had died.

Speaker 43 Mark may have been the only one the cops knew to talk to.

Speaker 7 But as news of her untimely death spread throughout her friends and family, others would come forward, and the investigation would change from an accidental death to something

Speaker 56 much,

Speaker 56 much worse.

Speaker 14 So when I started this podcast, I didn't realize I was actually starting a small business.

Speaker 15 Yikes.

Speaker 14 There's nothing small about a small business.

Speaker 17 You're working all of the time.

Speaker 16 Thankfully, though, I have a partner with all the tools that I need to be successful.

Speaker 19 You may have heard of them.

Speaker 22 Their name is Shopify.

Speaker 24 Shopify's point-of-sale system is a unified command center for your retail business.

Speaker 26 It brings together in-store and online operations across up to a thousand locations.

Speaker 29 Imagine being able to guarantee that shopping is always convenient.

Speaker 5 Endless aisle, ship to customer.

Speaker 13 buy online pick up in store all these things are made simpler to customers so they can shop how they want and staff have all the tools to close the sale every time.

Speaker 33 And let's face it, acquiring new customers is expensive.

Speaker 35 With Shopify POS, you can keep shoppers coming back with personalized experiences and first-party data that give marketing teams a competitive edge.

Speaker 28 In fact, it's proven.

Speaker 10 Based on a report from EY, businesses on Shopify POS see real results, like 22% better total cost of ownership and benefits equivalent to an 8.9% uplift in sales on average relative to the market set surveyed.

Speaker 44 So, if you have a retail or online business, then I'll tell you what, Shopify is a fantastic partner to have on your side.

Speaker 35 Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify.

Speaker 37 Sign up for your $1 a month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/slash sword and scale.

Speaker 43 All one word.

Speaker 45 Just go to shopify.com slash sword and scale and sign up.

Speaker 38 You'll thank me later.

Speaker 9 You will shopify.com slash sword and scale.

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Speaker 56 Lawyer and Army Major Mark Eric Pansati had found his wife Sherry Pansotti dead on their bathroom floor from what appeared to be an accidental fall out of the tub.

Speaker 51 The couple's young children were still sleeping down the hall when Mark called 911 in hysterical tears.

Speaker 69 Now he found himself alone and terrified as to what the future would hold for his family.

Speaker 20 Mark told the police that he had a happy marriage.

Speaker 67 He had just received a new job offer in Kentucky, so the family was preparing to pack up and move yet again.

Speaker 62 They were trying for a third baby and enjoying every day as it came.

Speaker 58 Very hallmark, you know?

Speaker 46 But now, suddenly, Sherry was dead, and the police had to figure out what happened on the night in question.

Speaker 51 Despite his emotions, Mark composed himself and continued speaking with the detective.

Speaker 48 Which is surprising because usually when I take the pills and stuff, I wake up later.

Speaker 48 One o'clock, maybe, or something, two o'clock. There's a kind of a pattern, like a cycle.

Speaker 48 And this time, it was something different. Like I kind of woke up.

Speaker 48 Which bed were you in? Upstairs.

Speaker 48 And uh

Speaker 48 I was kind of listening and I could hear the TV still playing downstairs.

Speaker 48 And uh

Speaker 48 I said there was still a light in the bathroom.

Speaker 48 So I'm like, she's still in the bathroom. So I was gonna tell her to come over.

Speaker 48 And I tried to open the door and I couldn't.

Speaker 48 Something was blocking it and I pushed.

Speaker 48 And I can fucking see her face.

Speaker 48 And your feet are like really white.

Speaker 48 And uh,

Speaker 48 and so I call out for her. I'm like, what the fuck? Like, Sherry?

Speaker 48 And finally, I push. I had to push quite a bit.

Speaker 48 And I was like pushing her body like with a door. Like her legs were going sideways.

Speaker 47 Mark said he was groggy from the sleep medication, but after he saw his wife's cold, white feet on on the floor, his adrenaline kicked in.

Speaker 48 And then I noticed her head. It looked fucked up.
It looked, there was blood.

Speaker 48 And she had like hematomas and stuff.

Speaker 48 And I recognized that after the injuries. Was she face down or

Speaker 48 she was on her back? She was on her back, sir.

Speaker 48 And was her head towards the door or her feet towards the door?

Speaker 48 The feet were toward the door. The feet were blocking.
The legs of feet were blocking.

Speaker 48 Inside moved. So I don't know, because I did push her, so I'm I'm not sure how she was originally.
Like,

Speaker 48 I were thinking.

Speaker 48 You said you saw Hematomas. Where were they? Yeah, it was the first thing I noticed was the blood on that fucking corner.
God damn it, the fucking corner.

Speaker 48 I thought about it several times with with Maddie and stuff. She always made everything so wet, you know, was I have to put towels in the ground and stuff.

Speaker 48 And slipping stuff in that fucking corner. Like I put it.
Like the corner of the sink or? No, the corner of the, like between the shower and the bathtub.

Speaker 48 There's a really dangerous freaking corner right here.

Speaker 32 Mark said there was a sharp, dangerous corner between the bathtub and the sink.

Speaker 59 When they bathed the kids in the bathtub, you would put towels down to cover it.

Speaker 67 He was convinced that Sherry had hit her head on that.

Speaker 48 And I noticed there was blood all over that fucking thing.

Speaker 48 And uh,

Speaker 48 and anyways, I freaked out. I fucking call her a name.

Speaker 48 And uh, and I I slipped. It was like slippery.

Speaker 48 You went in though? Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, I went in there.

Speaker 48 Were you wearing any clothes or were you naked?

Speaker 48 I think I was wearing these clothes. I was wearing these clothes.

Speaker 48 And I did the I'm CPR certified and stuff, you know. So I did the, I was observed, listen, all that stuff.

Speaker 48 It didn't look good, the face colors, the discoloration there, there was the patches, and I got

Speaker 48 and she had like her, and she didn't look good.

Speaker 48 And

Speaker 48 I freaked out.

Speaker 48 I noticed her lungs weren't moving. I immediately called my mom.

Speaker 62 Mark was an Army major, a trained EMT, and a lawyer.

Speaker 67 If anyone would be useful in this situation, it was him.

Speaker 58 Mark said he didn't remember much after he got on the phone with 911.

Speaker 54 His memory was just a blur of chaos.

Speaker 54 I remember the rest, honestly.

Speaker 54 It only to do like mouth-to-mouth, but I knew that was not.

Speaker 54 It was too too far for that. I could tell.
Like, it was blood and, like, it was purple and stuff.

Speaker 48 So, did you ever do the mouth-to-mouth? No, no, sir. Okay, no, sir.

Speaker 36 Now, let me ask you a question.

Speaker 8 If your wife, the mother of your children, was lying unresponsive on the floor, cold, white, you know,

Speaker 62 don't you think you would maybe,

Speaker 43 oh, I don't know.

Speaker 43 Um.

Speaker 56 Attempt, maybe?

Speaker 10 Possibly?

Speaker 60 To

Speaker 16 save her life somehow?

Speaker 43 I mean,

Speaker 59 am I the only one who would actually do that?

Speaker 18 I don't think so, right?

Speaker 55 But apparently, Mark is one of the other types.

Speaker 48 But did you ever do any compressions? No, sir. Okay, so you just you just evaluate and I did.
I did.

Speaker 48 And I did touch and touch her. I did touch her.
You've been through the same military training. Exactly.
So I did the arteries and all that stuff, like the legs. So you stretch for a pulse,

Speaker 48 listen and feel for

Speaker 48 writing and stuff like that. Well, I could tell she slipped.
I mean, it looked like she fucking slipped in that son of its corner. And I noticed water and soap and all that stuff.

Speaker 48 And then the carpet was all like. So was the bathtub overflowing or was it just from like getting out of the water? Flashing.
Yeah, no. So there was no water.
You didn't have to turn the water off.

Speaker 48 No, no, no, no.

Speaker 36 So, the tub was not overflowing.

Speaker 7 Mark did not do chest compressions or try CPR on his wife.

Speaker 11 Mark's theory was that Sherry got out of the bath, slipped, fell, and hit her head.

Speaker 7 This was all feeling a little off.

Speaker 44 Mark had painted a picture of a happy marriage and a family life, but Sherry's best friend Danielle had something different to say about Mark.

Speaker 36 Danielle actually refers to Mark as Eric.

Speaker 66 He went by Mark Eric professionally, but sometimes just Eric to his family and friends.

Speaker 60 Her husband Eric,

Speaker 60 how do I say it? Looks really great on paper. So he's a lawyer, he's charming, he's well-liked, he's good-looking,

Speaker 60 he likes to cook all of these different things.

Speaker 60 Things were good in their beginning of their relationship.

Speaker 60 But then things kind of took a turn. So there's some information.

Speaker 60 He was in the military. He was stationed in Alabama.
They were in Hawaii. Then they were in Connecticut and then Arizona.

Speaker 64 Danielle's tale lined up with Mark's.

Speaker 20 But she knew some much darker things.

Speaker 60 There's been some things that have happened in the past.

Speaker 60 He has...

Speaker 60 very mentally unstable. So he's

Speaker 60 had a lot of

Speaker 60 instability regarding suicide. I know this was more in Connecticut.
He sought treatment. He was on medications.

Speaker 60 There was times where he would just take a dose of medicine and not be able to wake up or she'd find him with the kids running all over the place. He'd be out of it.

Speaker 43 And there was more.

Speaker 60 I guess what we labeled him as, and I don't know, he did see a psychiatrist as a sex addict.

Speaker 60 So he was constantly looking at porn. He had been always doing porn websites, porn, porn, porn.

Speaker 60 He had a job where he traveled a lot. He was in Turkey at one point.

Speaker 60 He had solicited prostitutes there and she was pregnant with her second son.

Speaker 60 So she, I remember when he came back, she found out about this, I think, beyond his phone and computer, and she had gone into the doctor and had all kinds of STD testing to make sure that you know she was pregnant and things like that.

Speaker 60 He also has had

Speaker 60 issues maintaining the job. So I think

Speaker 60 something happened in the military where he was also walked in on looking at pornography and things like that.

Speaker 60 But anyways,

Speaker 60 please let me know if you have questions or anything.

Speaker 63 You can say that again.

Speaker 66 Danielle was like a floodgate of information.

Speaker 56 And the detective was dumbfounded by this seedy side of Mark.

Speaker 44 That couldn't have been further from the composed, kind, and well-spoken man he consoled at this very same police station.

Speaker 51 Danielle said that Mark's porn and cheating loomed all throughout the time Sherry was pregnant with their second child.

Speaker 43 Then things hit a breaking point while they were in Connecticut.

Speaker 60 I do know Sherry does have evidence, and I don't know where it is, of some child pornography.

Speaker 60 There was one time she walked in on him. This was in Connecticut, by the way.
This is probably in the last three years.

Speaker 60 She walked in on him masturbating to

Speaker 60 a

Speaker 60 five or six-year-old girl, getting anally raped.

Speaker 56 After catching Mark in the act with violent child porn, Sherry had had enough.

Speaker 60 She left him. Her uncle, Joe, who has the kids right now, he came to Connecticut to get her out of there.

Speaker 60 And he left when

Speaker 60 he was at home and

Speaker 60 he drove her and she came here. Her goal was, was to leave him.
And she didn't have any money. And when she came here, he pretty much put all the, you know, I mean, he controlled the money.

Speaker 60 He did not give her any money. She stayed at her mother's house.

Speaker 60 I tried to help her out as much as possible. I invited her to stay at my house, groceries, you know, things like that.

Speaker 47 Danielle tried her best to help Sherry get out of her marriage, but Sherry wanted to make it work.

Speaker 43 She had no money, and leaving Mark wasn't financially viable right then and there.

Speaker 60 Yeah, so things were worse. I know in Fanatica, when she went back, they had agreed Eric was going to seek help.

Speaker 48 They sought help.

Speaker 60 Sherry was not religious, but he said, well, let's, you know, go talk to a priest. And so they were kind of doing some type of marital counseling with a priest in Connecticut.
And

Speaker 60 Eric also was getting on meds. He was seeing a psychiatrist.
They wanted to have him go to a treatment center. He didn't want to.

Speaker 60 And I know the priest, I remember being surprised because the priest told Sherry to leave him. And I was surprised at that.
I was raised Catholic, so I thought, oh my gosh, that's interesting.

Speaker 60 It's like last resort type stuff. Exactly.

Speaker 42 Being a Catholic herself, Danielle figured things were really grim if a priest had agreed that Sherry should leave Mark.

Speaker 60 And so that was that. And then things just kind of got worse.
Max was born. And that's kind of ensued.

Speaker 57 After Max was born and Mark was seeking help, the family relocated to Arizona, where things didn't really get much better.

Speaker 51 The family was dwindling their savings and between Mark's high student loan payments and cost of living, they were drowning in debt.

Speaker 30 When they moved from Connecticut to Arizona, they had to take out a loan of $45,000 for closing costs, which put an even bigger strain on their marriage.

Speaker 60 So he's had higher-up jobs. And unfortunately, authorities figures haven't it's been issue

Speaker 60 habitual issues with him because he's really lasted a job a year or less. He's often fired from jobs.
The recent one, he was fired in Arizona. He's been unemployed for nine months and

Speaker 60 shares did not work until the last three months. So they've been living off of savings.

Speaker 60 He borrowed money from someone in Florida. I do know because she confided in me about everything.
So I know they were really in financial ruins.

Speaker 60 She, and I haven't seen the text message, she said they were probably about $140,000 in debt.

Speaker 56 Then Sherry got a job, which felt like a glimmer of hope, but it only made Mark worse.

Speaker 60 Sherry got a job three months ago. It was her first job.

Speaker 60 That's a being, you know, a stay-at-home mom.

Speaker 60 Eric has always been very controlling. They got into a lot of fights about cleaning, ironing his shirts.
That was her job to iron his shirts. If he was going to go anywhere, she had to pack a bag.

Speaker 60 She had to wake up in the morning and, you know, make him bright, you know, that kind of thing.

Speaker 60 And so since he lost his job, I know he was working out a lot. That was his thing.
He'd go to the gym. He lifted weights.
He worked out a lot. And he really did his own thing.

Speaker 60 Now, since Sherry was working, for the first two months she was working, I feel like she was working for about 90 days. For the first two months, he was home with the kids by themselves.

Speaker 60 And then Maddie, Maddie, who's six, started school about a month ago.

Speaker 60 And so that was a huge change. Sherry would go to work.
She was very worried for the safety of her children.

Speaker 60 She confided in me that Max, her youngest son, who's almost 20 months, had fallen down the stairs a couple times because Eric was on the computer the whole time.

Speaker 63 With his oldest daughter in first grade and just baby Max to take care of, Mark started slipping back into his old online addictions.

Speaker 62 Mark was a negligent, resentful father who did not want to be at home with his kids while his wife earned money for the family.

Speaker 60 I believe it was about a month ago, she took in Max, maybe two months, took in Max for his 18-19 month appointment.

Speaker 60 Joseph went to the doctor and Maddie, the daughter, had told the doctor that Max fell down the stairs due to. And I don't know if the doctor was asking questions or anything,

Speaker 60 but

Speaker 60 he got very angry and said in front of the doctor, Maddie, you get over here. I'm going to smoke you.
And that was something interesting because I had never heard Sherry ever say anything about that.

Speaker 60 And I asked Sherry, did he ever thank Maddie? And she said, no, not that she was aware of.

Speaker 60 And then the doctor appointment was done. He was waiting in line to, you know, for paperwork.
And he lost it in the doctor's office.

Speaker 60 He, you you know, punched it, threw down the paperwork, walked out from the door. It was like this big ordeal.

Speaker 59 Danielle said that Mark had really been going downhill since Sherry became the breadwinner.

Speaker 57 And his emotions were off the charts.

Speaker 60 I want to say it was maybe four to six weeks ago. They had gone somewhere in Arizona, maybe for a hike or something, and he had lost it in the car over, I don't recall.
He took a phone.

Speaker 60 He said he was going to throw it out. Kids were screaming in the background.
he was stopping the car. It was a very, you know, dramatic,

Speaker 60 you know, something had happened.

Speaker 60 The thing about Eric was that he could turn his mood like that.

Speaker 60 And so Sherry was kind of

Speaker 60 eggshell, like sitting on eggshells. I know he, you know, punched a wall, you know, a hole in the wall in their house in Connecticut,

Speaker 60 that kind of thing. He was very hot-tempered.

Speaker 56 Mark was an angry, emotional guy, and Sherry felt stuck.

Speaker 57 But to the outside world on social media, the couple were very active and presented only the very best parts of their family life.

Speaker 53 Sherry would post pictures of their hiking trips to the Grand Canyon.

Speaker 51 She'd boast in videos about her daughter going off to school, and she'd give her friends updates on the forts that kids would build when it was too hot to play outside.

Speaker 16 Mark did the same.

Speaker 67 He showed off being promoted to major and had recently posted a picture of a meal a civilian bought him at a fancy restaurant after she thanked him for his service.

Speaker 71 Thank you, ma'am, he wrote.

Speaker 19 I feel humbled and grateful.

Speaker 43 To the world, Sherry and Mark looked like a happy, loving family of four.

Speaker 51 But inside, they were bubbling over with secrets that all stemmed from Mark's disgusting porn habit.

Speaker 60 She had found a picture of a girl or something, a woman on his phone and asked him about it. And he said, oh, she's from some pornography website.

Speaker 60 And so she said to him, well, show me, show me the website. And he couldn't.
And he got very, very upset about that. And she told him that.

Speaker 60 She was down for the kids and that she really wanted nothing to do with him sexually

Speaker 60 that

Speaker 60 he could do whatever he wanted, that he was there for the kids, and he, like that, completely blew up. Now, I don't, that was the only time we talked about that.
I don't know anything about that.

Speaker 51 But what Danielle did know was that Mark's issues with violence and sexual perversion all stemmed from one person.

Speaker 60 His dad was,

Speaker 60 so you should tell me about how he was in, he was in prison. He used to have a lot of money.
And Eric had told Sherry that he had introduced Eric to pornography when he was seven or eight years old.

Speaker 60 Your dad is always trying to get mail order bright, things like that. I don't know anything more than that.

Speaker 44 Oh, and the reason his porn-peddling dad was in prison was no big deal.

Speaker 51 Just for, you know, killing someone in a fit of rage.

Speaker 60 So Eric's dad was in prison for killing a man in Spain.

Speaker 60 It was a Dutch tourist

Speaker 60 over road race.

Speaker 56 Just chew on this for a second.

Speaker 22 Things in Arizona were bad, but then Mark got a job offer in Kentucky and the family was set to move again.

Speaker 68 Remember, Sherry had written on her Facebook page just four days before her death, We've been in Arizona for a year now, so guess what time it is?

Speaker 68 Time for another cross-country move. Never a dull moment.

Speaker 51 Hints of resentment hung in her post.

Speaker 25 And behind closed doors, she told Mark she was sick of the instability in her family.

Speaker 24 But she agreed to go to Kentucky because of one reason.

Speaker 60 And Kentucky came up, and she wasn't thrilled about it. But her main thing, because I was always trying to be positive with her, was that she was going to be closer to Wisconsin.

Speaker 60 Her main dream was she wanted to get back to Wisconsin. She had family and friends here.
She wanted just kind of down-to-earth life for her family.

Speaker 60 And And she was only going to be a couple hours away, eight hours away. Now, I know this last week she texted me and said, oh, my gosh, Eric got a call from a job in Oshkosh.

Speaker 60 Oshkosh is an hour and a half away from her parents' home.

Speaker 60 And I said, oh, my goodness, wow, that's excellent. But she said at that point.
that Eric said absolutely not, that he had already signed the contract for this new job in Kentucky.

Speaker 51 The idea of moving to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a dream come true for Sherry.

Speaker 67 Finally, she would be closer to her family and friends.

Speaker 37 The possibility of leaving Mark was in bloom.

Speaker 28 But he stomped out that dream.

Speaker 53 Of course he did.

Speaker 65 If Sherry was closer to the safety of her family and friends, then she would surely leave him.

Speaker 51 Mark may have been sick, but he was not stupid.

Speaker 25 But Danielle and Sherry talked every day, like best friends do.

Speaker 16 Sherry had an exit strategy and she told Danielle everything.

Speaker 60 And her plan was that she wanted to leave in a couple of years. She was very fearful for her children.

Speaker 60 She was fearful to leave the house and have 50-50 custody and have him taking care of the kids when he couldn't even take care of himself in that regard.

Speaker 60 Right. So

Speaker 60 no discussion with her about having more children?

Speaker 60 Absolutely not.

Speaker 60 She said, the thought of a third child sounds really great to me if I had a different life, if I was with someone else.

Speaker 32 Danielle had spilled the tea, as they say.

Speaker 16 And boy, was it potent.

Speaker 20 Mark had put up an excellent front for the police.

Speaker 71 He'd come across as believable, kind, and caring.

Speaker 19 But that,

Speaker 8 if you haven't guessed it already, was all a lie.

Speaker 58 Even Sherry's mother, who knew less than Danielle, knew that Mark had made unthinkable threats to his daughter.

Speaker 72 Well, Sherry and Erica had issues with their marriage ongoing for, I would say, probably the last three years.

Speaker 72 And

Speaker 72 last year,

Speaker 72 last March,

Speaker 72 she asked me

Speaker 72 to come visit, and I did.

Speaker 72 And when I got there, she said that things weren't going well, that they weren't getting along, that she wanted to come back to Wisconsin.

Speaker 72 She told me

Speaker 51 Sherry's mom broke down into inaudible sobs.

Speaker 48 Try to relax and

Speaker 73 that way I can clearly understand what you're saying.

Speaker 73 It sounded like you said that she had concerns that he was going to kill her.

Speaker 60 She told me that he threatened to kill her.

Speaker 44 But Sherry wasn't ready to leave Mark yet.

Speaker 39 She made a point of repeating that over and over.

Speaker 51 She stayed with him for one reason and one reason only.

Speaker 60 She never said that she was looking to divorce Eric right now. She never said anything like that to me.
But I remember her saying, I would say in the last month, she said,

Speaker 60 something about my kids are legal residents of Arizona. And that's when, you know, she had said something about, well, you know, I might stay, work my job a little bit.

Speaker 60 Maddie's just started school and whatever. And then, you know, that's all I know.
So she wanted a more stable life for the kids

Speaker 60 as far as

Speaker 60 school.

Speaker 60 Absolutely. And what I can tell you,

Speaker 60 the only reason, and she told me this over and over again, the only reason why she never left Europe was because of her children.

Speaker 60 If it wasn't because of her children, she would have been gone a long time ago. She was

Speaker 60 the best mom, never complained, just did everything. And even though her life at home was horrible with her husband and all of that,

Speaker 60 you know, she was definitely the rock for her children.

Speaker 51 Meanwhile, the detectives had an autopsy performed on Sherry's body and began examining the scene in a new light.

Speaker 63 Detective Bishop noticed many physical pieces of evidence that did not line up with Mark's story.

Speaker 51 Mark was now their prime suspect, and He was going to have to face the truth. Maybe Mark had been able to keep Sherry physically away from her friends and family.

Speaker 67 Maybe he was able to make sure she held a brave face to the world, but he couldn't stop her from confiding in the people that she loved and revealing all of his dirty, disgusting secrets.

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Speaker 51 After speaking with Sherry Pansati's best friends and other family members, Maricopa County detectives now realize that the image Mark painted himself as was a far cry from reality.

Speaker 67 Mark was a porn, addicted, violent, angry, jobless man in debt and on the brink of losing his sanity.

Speaker 66 I think that describes most men these days, actually, but I'll leave it at that.

Speaker 65 Anyway, Sherry had caught him with child porn, and that's a crime that she should have definitely turned him in for.

Speaker 54 But she didn't.

Speaker 39 Sherry had plans to go.

Speaker 65 She had to think of herself, and the couple was in a ton of debt.

Speaker 51 She had to be strategic.

Speaker 25 Sherry's aunt and uncle had taken the Pansati's children after she died, died, and they had overheard Mark on the phone telling a different story than the one he told detectives.

Speaker 60 I thought that he told the coroner that they had been watching Netflix downstairs,

Speaker 60 that she hadn't come back, and he, I think he used the word to the coroner that he was maybe frustrated and annoyed. I'm pretty sure he used the word annoyed.

Speaker 60 So he went to look for her and she wasn't in the bedroom.

Speaker 69 And Sherry's brother confirmed that all the things Danielle had said about Mark were true.

Speaker 43 He also revealed a little more.

Speaker 48 She was afraid of Eric and that Eric literally told her that if she filed for a divorce against him, that he would kill her family.

Speaker 48 And that's something she told you, he said?

Speaker 48 Yes.

Speaker 48 Or did she tell your mother and your mother told you?

Speaker 48 No, she told me that directly.

Speaker 48 And she had told me that if anything ever happened to her, like if she died unexpectedly that we should suspect that Eric was the cause.

Speaker 70 Informed with this new information detective bishop began to examine the scene differently and came up with a new theory about how Sherry died.

Speaker 60 I believe she was killed in the master bathroom of her home. I believe that

Speaker 60 she received multiple injuries to her upper back and neck and head

Speaker 60 through a

Speaker 60 physical altercation.

Speaker 60 Also, her nose and upper lip were injured. I believe she succumbed to those injuries and her body was staged in the master bathroom for police to find.

Speaker 60 Well, my theory, and if the prosecutors are okay with me giving my theory, is that

Speaker 60 The

Speaker 60 linear injuries on her back and upper neck and head

Speaker 60 were probably a result of being forcibly thrown against the tile ledge at the back of the bathroom, bathtub rather.

Speaker 60 The blood that was visible to me on that night was diluted with water and appeared to me like

Speaker 60 maybe a head that was already bloody had been placed there.

Speaker 46 Detective Bishop believed that Mark killed Sherry in the tub, using the sharp edge of the tile between the tub and shower to repeatedly bludgeon her head and back until she bled out.

Speaker 51 Remember, Mark kept saying he thought that corner was dangerous?

Speaker 20 He relentlessly repeated that he was sure Sherry slipped and hit her head on that tile.

Speaker 60 I found out later that not only had he

Speaker 60 pushed the

Speaker 60 thought or tried to convey clearly the dangerous situation in the bathroom with the ledge and how he had pointed it out before and he knew that this ledge was going to hurt somebody at some point.

Speaker 60 He passed that along to other people as long as me.

Speaker 60 I felt like when I found out that this was included in his conversations to almost everybody, that that was an indicator that

Speaker 60 there was more to the story than this slip and fall that he had portrayed to me.

Speaker 60 If she had slipped and hit her head on that ledge, the ledge would have caused the bleeding to start, but her head would already be gone. It would be down on the floor.

Speaker 60 So that's why I would expect more blood on the floor than

Speaker 60 I wouldn't even expect to see much or any blood on

Speaker 60 the ledge itself.

Speaker 51 Sherry's blood was telling a new story.

Speaker 67 Not only did luminol testing reveal that more blood had been cleaned up, but it had also been moved around.

Speaker 7 This sick fuck

Speaker 47 moved around his wife's blood to stage the scene.

Speaker 60 There was a lot of blood that just wasn't at the scene and I did notice that and I did make that

Speaker 60 statement in my first first or second

Speaker 60 supplement to the case is that there was just not enough blood on the floor to account for the stains and for the injuries. But I wasn't fully aware of the injuries at that point.

Speaker 60 You have to understand that

Speaker 60 I never saw the body until the autopsy. And that was after the fact.

Speaker 60 So I gained more information and more suspicion and more knowledge about her injuries after the fact that let me know that this top where there was no blood visible

Speaker 60 should be checked for blood that wasn't isn't visible and that's what luminol is used to do or blue star or whatever chemical she used that used to see blood where there is no visible blood.

Speaker 43 The autopsy showed that Sherry had injuries to her head and back, which would not have been possible if she just slipped.

Speaker 51 She had bruising on her spine consistent with violent shaking, and strangulation could not be ruled out.

Speaker 25 She had multiple blunt force injuries to the back of her head, upper neck, and back.

Speaker 58 That would have been one violent thrashing and repeating fall.

Speaker 51 And there were other physical details that Detective Bishop noticed were suspicious.

Speaker 67 Mark had planned this all out very well, and he was using his legal training to cover his tracks, feeding the same believable story about Sherry slipping on some soap due to her own negligence.

Speaker 71 Blaming the victim, they call it.

Speaker 39 I don't think people like it these days.

Speaker 41 Anyway, here's Sherry's brother describing what Mark told him after she died.

Speaker 48 cooking oil out and not put the cap on it and things like that. And Sheriff was really particular about that kind of stuff.

Speaker 48 And he said he would always nag at her about it, which I can totally totally see that and he said that sherry would do it so often that eventually he stopped nagging at her he said one of the things that she would do is in the bathroom she wouldn't put the cap on like the bubble bath and stuff like she'd give the kids a bubble bath right and i and honestly i i could i totally believe that she

Speaker 48 i could see her doing that because i mean i live with her too

Speaker 48 And he thinks that she didn't put the cap on the bubble bath and somehow it got kicked over when she was in the bathroom.

Speaker 48 And when she went to get out of the shower, you know, the ground was completely soaked in soap,

Speaker 48 and uh, she slipped.

Speaker 50 Mark even told this story to his six-year-old child, believe it or not, who then relayed it back almost verbatim to the police psychologist.

Speaker 51 Guess what? He was sleeping when that happened, and then guess what? Just

Speaker 51 woke him up, oh God, woke him up, and then guess what? What? He didn't know where to find him

Speaker 75 little peep he what he didn't know where to find his sheep like a little old peep oh okay like my mom okay

Speaker 75 guess what and she pulled in the bathroom

Speaker 75 oh window

Speaker 75 there he saw the blood on her head of death

Speaker 75 did you see that blood with your very own eyes no

Speaker 75 i didn't see any of that only my bad didn't come anymore oh here we go

Speaker 51 Detective Bishop believed that there was no way the soap could have landed the way it did if Sherry slipped on it. Mark's story was good, but gravity's way better.

Speaker 60 Yeah, the soap especially was odd because the soap container was found in a tipped over

Speaker 60 position on the floor. And

Speaker 60 if you I think you probably got the gist from our experiment that if you

Speaker 60 if you knocked over a bottle of soap, the soap would be emanating from the area where

Speaker 60 the container is.

Speaker 60 The officers that were first on scene,

Speaker 60 and from my recollection, there was visible blue soap on top of the bath mat.

Speaker 60 And

Speaker 60 throughout the scene, that I don't believe it would have been possible for the soap to emanate from the area where the bottle was on top of the

Speaker 60 to get up onto the

Speaker 60 bath mat. And I don't think that

Speaker 60 the amount of soap that was missing is physically possible from turning that container over.

Speaker 60 So if you knock over a container of blue soap, it's only going to drain to the area where the lip of the spout is.

Speaker 60 It won't drain an inch and a half, two inches below that spout because gravity won't allow it to flow upwards and out of the bottle.

Speaker 52 Mark did his best to cover all those tracks.

Speaker 28 He had a carefully thought-out plan, like some demented version of Gone Girl.

Speaker 35 But even with his law degree, military background, EMT training, and perfectionism, or autism, Mark could not get one over on the detectives.

Speaker 51 They were too thorough, and only a week after Sherry's death, Mark was arrested for murder. His bail was set at $1 million.

Speaker 67 When it came time to pull Mark in front of a jury of his peers, he stuck to his story.

Speaker 5 He took the stand and added some more elaborate details about how he tried to save her life before he called 911.

Speaker 58 He said that his EMT training kicked in and he did try to give her mouth to mouth, but there was so much blood and, you know, you just couldn't, you know.

Speaker 52 It's just some people are so stupid.

Speaker 50 And they think you're stupid too.

Speaker 39 They think they can get away with things because they think you're just as stupid as they are.

Speaker 65 He even said that he thought about getting a turkey baster to suck the blood out.

Speaker 39 He said this on the stand.

Speaker 22 I swear.

Speaker 28 He also tried to justify the injuries to her face by saying he slipped and fell on her.

Speaker 56 but he didn't admit that to the police.

Speaker 57 He never said that until that moment.

Speaker 52 So he claimed that was why he refused to try CPR or chest compressions when the dispatcher asked him to.

Speaker 59 He claimed that he felt like a bull in a china shop after his fall and that he would only make things worse.

Speaker 67 I mean, his wife was dead, but he would only make things worse.

Speaker 52 That's what he said.

Speaker 48 I wanna wake up, man. I'm just gonna fucking make me wake up, please.

Speaker 48 Oh my god, her father, her brother.

Speaker 20 Mark Eric Pansati presented well to the world.

Speaker 41 He was handsome, fit, accomplished, and successful.

Speaker 32 On social media, he bragged about his career advances and his happy family.

Speaker 43 But But behind closed doors, he was a porn-obsessed cheater and a pedophile who slept with prostitutes and threatened his wife.

Speaker 20 He masturbated the child porn, and he was such a negligent dad that he let his baby fall down the stairs multiple times under his watch.

Speaker 23 What a piece of shit.

Speaker 50 He knew that Sherry was going to leave him.

Speaker 15 I mean, why wouldn't she leave him?

Speaker 28 I'm sure that he thought that if he were Sherry, he would leave him too.

Speaker 59 But he was afraid of this, and he wanted control over the situation.

Speaker 7 Mark had to control his wife like he couldn't control his own life.

Speaker 53 What he didn't have control over was the people in her life and who she chose to share her secrets to, and his disgusting secrets too, as well.

Speaker 43 They knew everything.

Speaker 64 Sherry may have been sickened by her husband's perversions, but she wasn't too embarrassed about it to let everyone around her know who was actually hiding behind Mark's smile.

Speaker 24 So when his perfect little murder plan was missing a few important pieces, the humiliating confessions Sherry had made about her husband became the most powerful ammo for cops.

Speaker 67 Now, Mark Pensati will be in prison until September 7th, 2042.

Speaker 51 He received the maximum sentence for second-degree murder. When he gets out, his daughter will be 31, and his son will be 26.

Speaker 43 I'm sure they will want nothing to do with him. He will be alone, left to sink deeper into his porn addiction and drown in his own loneliness.

Speaker 8 But I think there's a better way to end this story.

Speaker 39 There's a lesson to be learned here.

Speaker 53 Perhaps a little safety PSA.

Speaker 11 If you can hear my voice right now, and you're thinking that maybe some of your traits are similar to Mark's,

Speaker 55 maybe

Speaker 53 rethink your life.

Speaker 19 Maybe

Speaker 7 rethink a lot of things.

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