The American Beauty Murder // 577

In November of 2000, a 26-year-old biotech worker was found dead in his San Diego apartment, laid out on his bed with rose petals scattered around his body and a wedding photograph carefully placed nearby. His death was reported as a suicide by his wife, a county toxicologist, and at first, there was little reason to doubt her. But as investigators began to take a closer look, the line between love and betrayal, and science and deception, started to blur. This is the murder of Greg de Villers, also known as The American Beauty Murder.