Show full transcript 0:50 Yep, even on weekends. 0:51 That's pretty much all he talks about. 0:53 in a good way. 0:55 What's in your wallet? 0:57 Terms apply, see capitalone.com slash bank guy, 1:00 Capital One NA member FDIC. 1:04 Tonight on the season premiere of Date Live. 1:07 I tried to get them to not get married. 1:10 I said, don't do this. 1:11 Kate was telling us how she was scared to death of Matt. 1:15 Kate took the kids and went to Utah 1:17 to get away from Matt. 1:19 Yes. 1:20 I heard that Matt came in with a knife. 1:24 She told me that he seemed agitated. 1:27 My mom heard shots. 1:29 Matt's laying face down. 1:31 She says, Matt is dead. 1:34 We mean Matt's dead. 1:36 We're just trying to ask questions. 1:38 What happened? 1:39 During that entire conversation, 1:41 Mom is whispering the answers to the daughter. 1:43 Like telling her what to say? 1:45 Yes. 1:46 All moms have influence over their children. 1:48 This seems to be something more. 1:50 Yeah, she called all the shots. 1:52 What's going on? 1:53 The knife in Matt's hand that looked like it was backwards. 1:57 He's not a violent person, not an aggressive person. 2:00 This did not make sense. 2:03 We've seen a bunch of text messages about an air tag. 2:06 Somebody wanted to know where Matt was leading up to his killing. 2:10 For sure. 2:11 I knew they liked me. 2:13 I tell my mom we're at war. 2:15 One deadly shooting, two families divided, and a mother of a revelation. 2:21 I'm Lester Holt, and this is State Line. 2:33 Here is Josh Mankiewicz with The Family Plot. 2:42 It's easy to miss American Fork, one of many tidy, scrubbed communities that dot the Utah landscape outside of the Great Salt Lake. 2:53 One of the roughly 11,000 households in American Fork is this one, an unassuming home on a quiet 3:01 street close to good schools, four bedrooms with a finished basement, and a community 3:07 pool in a safe neighborhood. 3:10 You could raise a family here. 3:13 You could teach your kids the difference between right and wrong and how doing the 3:18 right thing isn't always easy. 3:21 This story is about the lessons children learn as they grow up, and what they do with that knowledge. 3:31 9-1-1, what's the address of the emergency? 3:35 July 12th, 2024, 10.15 p.m. Tracy Grist was on with 9-1-1. 3:42 I need an ambulance. 3:44 Tracy, a very involved mother to seven adult children, told the operator a family dispute, had turned violent. 3:53 My daughter's husband came here, and they're going through a separation, and he got a knife. 4:03 The he in that scenario was Tracy's son-in-law, Matt Rastelli, who was, at that moment, faced 4:10 down in Tracy's downstairs hallway. 4:14 Tracy said Matt and her daughter Kate were having marital troubles, and somehow Tracy's 4:19 son, Kevin, got involved. 4:22 And my son shot him? 4:24 If he conscious of breathing? 4:28 I think he's breathing. 4:30 Are you comfortable? 4:30 I think if he's breathing? 4:32 Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, check it. 4:33 Check if he's breathing and check if he's a post. 4:36 Police arrived within minutes. 4:39 Can I come in? 4:40 What's going on? 4:42 What's going on? 4:45 The officer went to Matt. 4:47 He had been shot multiple times 4:49 and was no longer moving. 4:51 in his right hand was a knife. 4:53 Can you step outside, please? 4:55 Where you getting medical? 4:56 5J46, we have a man down. 4:58 He's possibly Echo. 5:00 Possibly Echo, meaning Matt might be beyond help. 5:06 Outside an officer questioned Kevin Alice and his mom Tracy. 5:10 So who is this that's in there? 5:13 That is my daughter's husband. 5:14 Okay, where's daughter? 5:15 My daughter's upstairs. 5:17 Does she still have a firearm on her? 5:18 My daughter, no. 5:19 Okay, who had the firearm? 5:23 I already showed what it was. 5:25 Okay. It's inside. 5:28 Officers work to secure the rest of the house. 5:31 Here you go, please. If there's anyone else inside the house, make it known. 5:37 Matt's wife, Kate Rastelli, was upstairs with their two children ages three and six. 5:44 Hands up. Come down slowly. 5:47 The officer's body cam caught Kate's glimpse of her husband on the floor at the foot of 5:53 the stairs. 5:54 Come down. Come down. 6:11 Is there anyone else in the house? 6:17 It's okay. What's going on today? 6:27 I was upstairs waiting for him to come back. 6:30 I don't know what happened. 6:32 I don't know what happened. 6:33 I heard me yelling. 6:33 I don't know what happened. 6:35 Inside, first responders fought to save Matt's life. 6:40 Is that the only gunshot wound? 6:41 I have no idea. 6:42 I only saw one casing. 6:44 It was too late. 6:45 42-year-old Matt Rastelli was pronounced dead. 6:49 This Utah home was now a crime scene. 6:53 How'd this call come in? 6:55 So it was reported as a shooting in a home. 6:59 Detective Joseph Nordin was on the homicide beat that night. 7:04 I was probably on scene within 30 minutes. 7:07 He searched the home while officers spoke with neighbors. 7:11 They worked on gathering security video from the home across the street 7:15 and noted a neighbor had heard some noises that night 7:18 and called 911 around the time of the shooting. 7:22 I'm pretty sure it was her gunshot. 7:24 The house was sealed and everyone inside taken to the station for questioning. 7:31 Matt and Kate's kids who seemed to have slept through all of it went along too. 7:41 By night's end, detectives knew this much. One man was dead on the floor and another 7:49 had admitted to shooting him. You think this is the end of it? 7:52 No, I think we all pretty much thought it was the beginning of it 7:58 What they had no idea of was just how complicated this was about to get 8:04 You have to be careful 8:06 Because the breakup is where the danger is 8:08 I remember seeing the look on her face that I could tell something was very wrong. It's pure evil 8:13 I tell my mom we're at war 8:15 Do you understand that that makes it look as if you're complicit? 8:18 There are cold cases older than he is. 8:35 At age 28, the untimely passing of Matt Rustelli 8:40 was exactly Detective Joe Nordin's third homicide case 8:44 since he joined the American Fork Police Department. 8:47 I was gonna ask you if this was your first homicide, 8:50 but I'm thinking that the audience might wanna know 8:53 whether this was like your first day on the job, right? 8:56 Cause you look like the oldest son 8:59 of a lot of homicide detectives that I know. 9:00 It is what it is. We're a relatively small agency, so our homicides are kind of few and far between. 9:12 Now the youthful detective became lead investigator in Matt's death. 9:18 He suspected that whatever happened that night centered around Matt and Kate's relationship. 9:25 Their story began back in 2008 in Temecula, California, when Matt walked into a local grocery store. 9:34 Kate stood behind the counter and fixed his sandwich. Soon, small talk turned to something more. 9:41 Kate's sister, Terrilyn Fisher. 9:44 She was just in love with him. She was head over heels for him. 9:48 There was something kinetic about their relationship. 9:51 After seven years together, a beaming Kate announced their engagement on Facebook. 9:57 Kate's dad's stand was happy for his daughter and his soon-to-be son-in-law. 10:03 He was the salt of the earth. He was one of the neatest men I ever met. 10:09 And I thought this was a chance for Katie to have a good life. 10:15 The two wed in 2016, Kate's brother Kevin was one of the groomsmen. 10:21 I love Matt. He is an awesome guy. 10:24 Kate's mom Tracy felt the same. 10:27 You are a Ken daughter of mine. I love you both. 10:32 I love you too. 10:33 Matt's speech was about his choice of Kate. 10:36 I haven't been exactly so perfect with all my decisions, 10:39 but this is the best decision I've ever made in my life. 10:44 Kate lived with Matt and his son from a previous relationship on a remote lot in Temecula. 10:51 Soon the couple had two children of their own. 10:55 Kate became a stay-at-home mom. 10:58 Matt delivered hay to nearby farms and ranches. 11:02 They had a property out there and they always called it the ranch. 11:06 I'm like, that's not a ranch. 11:08 That is a dirt lot with tractors. 11:13 And she just thought it was the great ranch life dream. 11:18 It was a dream that did not last. 11:21 The marriage seemed to have more downs than ups. 11:24 Then Matt's business took a hit during the pandemic, adding even more tension. 11:29 Alcohol seems to have lubricated the anger on both sides. 11:34 Kate told Terralyn she was increasingly miserable as Mrs. Matt Rastelli. 11:40 She complained about her husband's verbal abuse and quick temper. 11:44 She would send me videos of him just going off and yelling at her, yelling at the kids. 11:51 Like this one of Matt yelling at Kate for putting wet tortilla chips on his food. 11:57 I had a plate right here, and you actually grabbed and put wet tortilla chips directly in my taco. 12:03 That's okay? That's okay? 12:06 Nobody asked for you to put tortilla chips on my plate. 12:08 It was a different plate. It was an auxiliary plate, Kate. 12:11 No, ow. 12:12 Like, look at this. Like, I can't do this anymore. This sucks. 12:15 I want out. I really want out. I'm done. 12:18 She would say those words. 12:19 Yeah. Yeah. 12:21 Even so, Terralen says Kate was torn between leaving and staying. 12:27 A lot of times with Kate if you told her the relationship was bad she would just get angry. 12:34 She would fight harder for it. 12:36 Terralen says that was true until it wasn't. 12:41 Kate, she held her own pretty well, but the last few months she would cry and 12:47 break down a lot more. 12:49 about seven years into the marriage Kate seemed completely overwhelmed she 12:55 texted her mother Tracy I hate my life mom and this is so bad right now I told 13:02 my mom hey this is we've got to figure out some shelter for Kate your mom says 13:07 come to Utah mm-hmm I'll rent you a car and we'll get you to Utah and I told 13:14 case and whatever you do, don't tell him to his face that you are leaving with the kids to go 13:19 to mom's. He will hurt you. Terilyn knew Matt owned guns and knew how to use them. I didn't hold 13:28 him in very high regard as a person and it showed up a lot. There were lots of circumstances 13:36 where I've seen over the years that my initial instinct on him was correct. 13:40 So, Terilyn helped hatch an escape plan for her sister. 13:47 Without telling Matt, they rented a storage unit and secretly moved some of Kate's things. 13:54 Then they loaded up a rental car, and Kate and the kids headed for Utah and Tracy's home. 14:01 You see this as you helping Kate make a getaway. 14:05 Yeah. 14:06 She'll be safe. 14:07 Yes. 14:08 Kate texted Matt saying she needed some time apart and was going to her mom's in Utah for 14:15 a breather. 14:16 Matt was definitely not happy about that, but eventually seemed to accept it. 14:22 What happens during those couple of weeks that she's in Utah? 14:25 She was happy. 14:26 She was relieved. 14:28 Until three weeks later, when Matt showed up at her mom Tracy's house, eight gunshots 14:34 But not later. He was dead. 14:37 Kate's dad, Stan, who had carried such high hopes for that marriage, was devastated. 14:44 The day Matthew died, my heart broke because I lost a son over this. 14:48 You lost a son-in-law who to you was like a son. 14:52 He was a son. He was a son to me. 14:55 Now this private family drama was about to be put under the bright light of a police investigation. 15:02 What can you tell me about tonight? 15:10 An extraordinary holiday starts at Paragold, the destination for luxury home. 15:16 Elevate the season with unique heirloom quality decor and gifts, hosting essentials and more 15:22 from design's best brands. 15:24 Their largest ever selection has something for every celebration and style. 15:28 Shop in store and online at Paragold.com. 15:33 Paragold. 15:34 Luxury lives here. 15:36 Whoever says saving money is hard, doesn't know that the new customers who bundle and 15:41 save with Progressive save hundreds. 15:44 Because switching your home and auto insurance is better than cutting down on those iced 15:48 lattes you love. 15:49 Switch your home and auto to Progressive and see if you could save and keep sipping 15:53 away. 15:54 Get your quote today at Progressive.com. 15:57 Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, Affiliates and Other Insurers. 16:01 Not available in all states. 16:02 this is the story of the one as a shipping manager he's running the dock 16:07 stocking supplies and making sure every order goes out on time and Granger 16:12 helps him stay prepared from shipping supplies to PPE to hand tools he counts 16:17 on Granger to keep products moving and trucks rolling so his operation runs 16:22 smoothly no matter the shift call 1-800-GRANGER click Granger.com or just 16:27 Stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. 16:42 At police headquarters in American Forg, Utah, 16:45 detectives questioned all of the adults in the house. 16:48 The night Matt Rastelli was killed. 16:51 His wife, Kate, told them about her unhappy marriage. 16:55 I came out here to get away from Matt 16:59 because he's been verbally abusive lately. 17:02 I needed a breather because I was hating going to sleep and I was hating waking up. 17:11 Kate was telling us how she and Matt were going through marital issues and she was just scared 17:17 to death of Matt. 17:18 I was just terrified of him but she did know he was coming out to Utah. 17:24 She said they decided that morning that Matt would make the roughly 10 hour drive to 17:29 American fork, so they could talk. 17:32 I honestly, I was scared. 17:33 I didn't want him to come out, but he was going to come out. 17:38 She described Matt as already seething when they spoke by phone just hours before. 17:45 I guess the drive made him angry, but he was mad that he was coming out, mad that he 17:51 was having to make the drive. 17:54 A little after 10pm, Kate said she heard noises. 17:57 I heard some commotion downstairs like yelling. I couldn't tell whose voice was what okay, and then I heard 18:06 Chots and my mom came to us came upstairs. She said there's been a situation 18:10 Stay upstairs with the babies and I'm gonna call 911 and that said Kate was all she knew 18:19 Tracy also spoke with police and what were you doing when you heard the gun shots? 18:25 You know who this is 18:29 by then Tracy had asked a lawyer who was also a family friend to come to the 18:35 station she told him to join Kevin in the interrogation room what can you tell 18:43 me about tonight I was afraid for my life and I shot the self-defense apparently 18:50 Kate never told him Matt was coming that night Kevin pretty much all he told 18:55 us was, hey, someone showed up, unannounced, uninvited, and I acted in self-defense. 19:01 Tell me more about that. 19:03 Under the advice of the council, I declined to answer. 19:06 It all came through his lawyer. 19:08 The victim was an armed intruder, wielding a knife, entered the house with our permission, 19:15 took him, and Tracy, by surprise, was clearly agitated. 19:21 and that's the point at which he and was to the wall you said was afraid for his 19:30 life and shot himself defense. According to Kevin's attorney Matt had come in 19:36 aggressively backed Kevin up against a wall and threatened him with a knife. He 19:42 was there to bring his wife home. His intent was to take her back. News of the 19:50 shooting reached Kate's sister, 19:52 Terrilyn, back in California. 19:55 It was surreal. 19:56 It was sad. 19:57 Like, there were so many, so many factors. 20:01 Not only had Terrilyn's fear of a violent encounter come true, 20:05 but her younger brother was seriously tangled up in it. 20:10 And I'm thinking, poor Kevin, he 20:11 had to do this to protect Kate. 20:13 I'm so, I'm glad he was there, 20:15 and I'm glad he was able to do it, but that sucks. 20:18 And Terralyn says she felt for Kate and Matt's kids who had just lost their dad. 20:25 Now they're gonna know the kind of person their dad was in that respect, like how 20:29 sad is that? Because that angry confrontation is essentially what you 20:35 were hoping to avoid by helping Kate go to Utah. Yes, exactly because that's 20:43 what happens in domestic situations, whether it's physical or verbal, whatever 20:47 you have to be careful because the break-up is where the danger is. 20:52 Hours after the shooting, police released Kate and her mom Tracy, not Kevin. 20:59 Kevin stays in custody. 21:02 That surprised you? 21:04 It did. I remember being very angry at the police department 21:09 and thinking how dare you have someone under arrest who just went through this traumatic 21:14 experience and was trying to protect his sister. 21:17 What did your mom say during that time? 21:19 She was just devastated. 21:21 She was so sad that Kevin was in there. 21:24 Still, Terrilyn had faith detectives would quickly close the case. 21:29 They're going to do their investigation. 21:31 They're going to figure it out. 21:32 We just have to be patient. 21:33 And this is going to go down to self-defense or defense of another. 21:37 For Terrilyn, the picture was simple. 21:40 An enraged husband. 21:42 A cowering wife. 21:44 A brother who came to the rescue. 21:45 you. Compelling? Well, like a lot of pictures. It can change, depending on who's looking 21:54 at it. I immediately thought at that point in time, like something was off. The morning 22:13 after the shooting, Tracy Grist called Matt's mother Diane Rastelli to deliver the news. 22:20 Are you sitting down? Are you with your husband? Real calm? And she says, okay. Matt is 22:27 dead. And my immediate thought was like, you know, my heart sank, like, was he in a car 22:33 accident? You know, did something happen where he went off the road? 22:39 No, Tracy said Matt had been shot by her son, Kevin, in self-defense. 22:44 And I immediately, like, I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't really handle it to tell you 22:49 the truth. And I said, we'll have to call you back. 22:52 Diane hung up and called her youngest son, Mark Rastelli. 22:57 She's very hysterical and just says, that's dead. 23:03 And I'm immediately like, whoa, what? 23:07 And I just say, because she lives across the street, 23:10 I said I will be over immediately. 23:13 Diane and Mark were both in shock. 23:15 They called Tracy back and not wanting to miss any details. 23:20 They recorded that call. 23:23 Tracy, this is Mark. 23:24 I'm here with my mom. 23:28 Can you just tell us from the beginning what you know? 23:34 Yes. 23:35 Tracy told them what she told police. 23:38 Matt showed up around 10 the night before. 23:41 I was alone in the kitchen, 23:44 and I did not hear the doorbell ring. 23:46 I didn't hear a door knock. 23:48 and Matt was in my dining room. 23:54 He was really, really mad 24:00 and very agitated for lack of a better term. 24:08 I said, Kate's upstairs, 24:10 but she's gonna come downstairs. 24:12 And I stayed in the corner of my kitchen 24:15 because I was feeling uncomfortable at that moment. 24:20 He went around the corner and then I heard gunshots. 24:26 Jesus. 24:27 And Matt was on the ground and he had a knife in his hand. 24:36 I told Katie to stay upstairs while I called 911 24:40 because I didn't want her to see it. 24:43 I didn't want to make this a call, by the way, so I'm sorry. 24:49 Nobody wants to make a call like this. 24:56 To Matt's family, none of it made any sense, 25:00 especially the part about Matt furiously barging into the home, 25:05 on the attack and ready for a fight. 25:07 How would you describe him to somebody who didn't know him well? 25:10 Loyal, extremely friendly, like one of the friendliest guys, 25:13 the guy who's going to come up to you and just talk your ear off. 25:16 And you'd come away from that conversation thinking like, that's a good guy. 25:19 Absolutely. 25:20 Now he was never abrasive, never. 25:23 Matt was a real gem in the world. 25:26 What is this? 25:29 Oh, it's a transformer. 25:32 They say Matt loved mountain biking and the outdoors, 25:36 but that most of all, he was a family man. 25:39 The Matt that I knew was somebody that loved his family. 25:42 He loved his children. 25:44 Matt's older brother, Paul Rustelli, was at his son's Little League game in Colorado, 25:50 when Mark called to break the news. 25:52 I was almost, my heart stopped, and then it turns out that we find out that it was Kevin, 25:58 the brother-in-law, my, I immediately thought at that point in time like something was 26:02 off. 26:05 He wasn't alone. 26:06 Matt's mom Diane knew Matt and Kate had fallen on hard times, but she also knew 26:12 who Matt had recently made a business deal 26:14 that promised to ease their financial troubles. 26:18 While Kate and the kids were away, 26:20 Matt told family he also worked on himself. 26:24 He had told me that he wasn't going to drink anything anymore. 26:28 He said, I'm done. 26:29 I'm done with all this. 26:30 We have to change. 26:32 Matt called his mom every night, 26:34 and the night he drove to Utah was no different. 26:38 Diane says he was about two hours away from Tracy's 26:40 when they last spoke. 26:42 And Matt was in good spirits. 26:45 Matt just says, you know what? 26:46 I'm gonna go pick up my family. 26:47 And he was happy about it. 26:49 So there's no fury in his tone. 26:51 There's no anger. 26:53 None. 26:53 This is not a guy who's heading 26:55 for some kind of battle or confrontation. 26:57 No, not at all. 26:59 And believe me, I would listen 27:00 to all those little undertones 27:02 because I've had conversations every night with him. 27:04 You'd know. 27:05 I would know. 27:06 I know my son. 27:07 She also knew her daughter-in-law, and that Kate, she says, was a far cry from the distraught 27:15 woman's sobbing over her late husband's body. 27:22 Matt Rustelli's family knew his marriage had been difficult, but unlike Kate's family, 27:41 they did not see Matt as the issue. 27:44 So, when you hear him described as volatile, violent, unpredictable, abusive, that's not 27:54 the guy you knew. 27:55 Absolutely not. 27:56 No. 27:57 Not one chance. 27:58 And the interesting thing is it almost seems like a projection because anytime I hear that, 28:03 I'm literally hearing the description of his wife. 28:07 To the Rosteles, it was Kate, not Matt, who was volatile and abusive. 28:13 They said Kate had a drinking problem, often becoming belligerent at family gatherings. 28:19 How many times do you see her drunk at family functions? 28:25 Many times. 28:26 Too many to count? 28:27 Oh my gosh, well whenever there was a function early on the answer was yes to all of them. 28:33 To the point where we'd make a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and she'd be too drunk 28:38 to come down and join us for dinner. 28:40 other times they say Kate would lash out at whoever she felt had crossed her I mean you 28:46 could see it in her eyes whenever this would happen it was instantaneously like I'm coming 28:52 after you and there was no stopping it and most of the time it was verbal it was almost 28:58 always verbal just nasty stuff directed other people she was never wrong you know she she 29:04 She would make these comments that were just off the wall and just how she would convey 29:10 herself to the rest of the family. 29:12 It was embarrassing. 29:13 You're making her sound absolutely toxic. 29:16 Toxic. 29:17 Totally toxic. 29:19 Even Tarralyn, who helped her sister escape that marriage, admits Kate could be a lot. 29:26 I love her immensely, but also she's the one who would cause the issue at the family 29:32 gathering. 29:32 She would cause a scene, get upset, quick to anger. 29:40 It was just Kate. 29:41 She's difficult. 29:45 She says the drama only intensified when Kate met Matt. 29:50 Carolyn knew they weren't right for each other 29:52 and says she was pretty honest about that. 29:56 I tried to get them to not get married. 29:59 She was so mad at me because right before they were getting married I told Matt 30:06 not to marry her. I said don't do this. The couple married anyway. At the 30:12 reception, Kate and Terralyn's dad Stan cautioned the new bride. You said to Kate 30:18 in the presence of witnesses, you're marrying into a good family. Don't screw 30:24 it up. Yes. I said that at her wedding because I knew that she would she would somehow make 30:36 a mistake of that. It doesn't sound like Kate took your advice. No, she didn't. No, she didn't. 30:44 Diane also says Kate was not doing her part to make the marriage work. 30:49 She was not helping at all in any financial things that they needed and 30:54 And she kind of had the attitude that, you know, Matt was her stud and she doesn't need 30:58 to work. 30:59 And yet they needed things. 31:01 They needed things. 31:01 They had a lot of repairs with the equipment, you know, the tractors and the diesels. 31:07 And they had a lot of repairs. 31:09 And I would see little glimmers of, hey, she's learning how to cook. 31:13 She's learning how to bake. 31:14 Little glimmers. 31:16 But it just was only a glimmer. 31:19 It just didn't last. 31:21 One of those glimmers was when Kate quit drinking, though it soon became clear she had exchanged 31:27 one vice for another. 31:30 She was using marijuana dab. 31:32 I don't know what that is. 31:33 They're basically, it's kind of a jelly type of concentrated marijuana that's in little 31:38 jars and I think they use a water pipe to put it in. 31:42 So it's a stronger way. 31:43 I think it's much stronger, yeah. 31:45 According to friends and family, Kate dabbed so much during the day, she had this designated 31:51 smoking camper at home. 31:54 Things became so heated that Kate got physical with Matt, and she was arrested for domestic 32:01 violence. 32:03 Her case was dismissed once Kate completed anger management classes. 32:08 Those did not seem to help. 32:12 By March of 2022, the Rusteli family had seen enough. 32:18 We were not going to involve Kate anymore because of how volatile she was as a human being. 32:23 That father's day, they told Matt as much, then that rubbed Matt the wrong way. 32:29 Yes, Matt was. 32:31 He was pissed. 32:33 I mean, literally, he just grabbed stuff and he left. 32:36 Last time I saw him, last time I spoke to him. 32:38 By the time Matt was killed, Paul and Mark had not spoken with their brother in more 32:44 than two years. 32:45 The issue was Kate. 32:48 I said explicitly to my mom, she isolated him, I need to call him. 32:54 And that's the step that I to this day will regret not doing. 32:59 You didn't call him. 33:00 I didn't call him. 33:01 I didn't want to get dragged back in to their nonsense, to their drama, but I 33:06 I had no thought that this was my only opportunity to call my brother. 33:10 So if I'm given the opportunity to call someone in need, you know, I will call them in a split 33:16 second moments notice because I'm not going to miss out on what I missed out the first 33:19 time. 33:27 You want to stop a second? 33:28 No, I'm good. 33:29 I just can't not tear up thinking about that. 33:37 The Rusteli family wrestled with grief, along with growing doubt about what really 33:44 took place in the living room that night. 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Switch your 36:11 home and auto to Progressive and see if you could save and keep sipping away. 36:15 Get your quote today at Progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance 36:19 Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states. Two days 36:33 days after Matt Rastelli was killed, his mom received a message, Kate wanted to talk. 36:41 By now both Diane and Mark were suspicious of her. 36:45 So once again, they recorded the call. 36:49 So tell me what's on your mind. 37:00 I'm sorry, yes, I'm just supposed to have it. 37:02 So when Kate says we need to have a good funeral, that's asking for money. 37:08 Yes. 37:08 As far as a memorial service for Matt, you have all the cards in your hand for that event. 37:16 So, you know, you will have to do what you wish to do. 37:21 Okay, I have no money. I won't figure out when I will do that then. 37:31 It seemed Kate had dealt with the grief phase and moved straight to the go fund me part. 37:38 Your husband is dead and you're ready to just instantaneously talk about funerals 37:44 and move on when we still don't know at all what happened. 37:47 Diane pressed Kate for answers. 37:50 And do you believe that this particular shooting was justified? 37:54 That's when she heard another voice in the background. 38:04 I hear your mom in the background. 38:07 She's giving you answers. 38:08 And during that entire conversation, mom is whispering the answers. 38:13 Like whispering, like telling her what to say? 38:16 Yes. 38:16 I understand. 38:18 I understand. 38:19 When you hear Tracy coaching Kate, what do you think? 38:28 Diane wanted to know more about the gun, which Tracy said she bought for protection 38:33 during the pandemic and how it got out of its lock box in the garage. 38:38 To me, somebody brought that gun out of the garage. 38:44 I was not downstairs. I do not know what happened, okay? 38:47 I cannot give you any answers, Diane. 38:50 Kate told Diane Tracy had tried to help Matt after he was shot, but couldn't say how. 38:56 Getting nowhere with Kate, Diane asked to speak with Tracy. 39:01 Mom to mom. 39:03 Hi, you know, Tracy, when were you able to give life-saving measures to Matt? 39:08 I'm in so much shock. I can't have this the conversation going over the experience again because I am so sad 39:28 I just need some time 39:30 Did you really try to save him Tracy? Did you really try to save him? I was on the phone. I 39:39 Did Kevin try to save him? 39:41 Yes 39:42 And what did he do? I don't know 39:46 The moment the phone call ends I tell my mom they did this and we're at war 39:52 The Rastellis were so disturbed by the call, they handed it over to investigators working the case. 39:58 The detectives had also discovered some interesting information in the days after the shooting. 40:05 It had to do with Matt's trip to his mother-in-law's house on the day he was killed. 40:11 Matt and Kate's home in California to American Fork, Utah is a drive of roughly 10 hours. 40:18 Matt made this drive in his truck alone. 40:21 except Matt was not really alone. 40:25 Someone was following his every move. 40:29 Police learned there was an air tag in Matt's truck. 40:34 I mean, the conclusion is inescapable that somebody wanted to know where Matt was, 40:39 leading up to his killing. 40:41 Yeah, that's what it seemed like for sure. 40:44 They needed to find out who investigators had asked Kate for her phone the night of the shooting. 40:50 Now, Detective Nordin searched it for any mention of an air tag. 40:56 And that's where we see a bunch of text messages about an air tag. 41:02 He discovered the air tag could be accessed by most of Kate's family, including her sisters 41:08 Terrilyn and Rachel and her brother Kevin. 41:12 I was able to find a picture that was sent to Catherine from one of her sisters that 41:18 that had the air tag location and it was labeled truck. 41:22 And just in case you have any lingering doubts 41:25 about how Kate's family felt about Matt, 41:28 this was the emoji they assigned to his air tag. 41:33 In the weeks leading up to the shooting, 41:35 the family members texted each other 41:37 about Matt's location. 41:39 Kevin wrote to Kate, the tag is still active. 41:43 And just five minutes before Matt arrived at the house, 41:47 This from Sister Rachel to Kevin saying Matt was in the neighboring town of Orem 41:55 Kate sisters were helping her track Matt 41:59 Yes, you questioned Rachel and Terrell about their involvement in this. No, we we attempted to or at least Rachel 42:08 Told us that she 42:11 Was advised by counsel not to talk to us 42:16 Terralyn says she never spoke with police either. 42:19 If she had, she says, she would have explained the air tag was perfectly innocent. 42:25 It was your idea to put the air tag in the truck. 42:28 It was my idea. 42:29 But Kate actually did it. 42:30 Kate did it. 42:31 Yeah. 42:32 I have air tag PTSD. 42:36 So it was my daughter's air tag. 42:38 We had it on her, tied it to her shoe at Disneyland. 42:41 land. 42:42 Terralyn says that's what gave her the idea. 42:46 On the day Terralyn helped her sister leave California and Matt behind, she says she coaxed 42:53 a hesitant Kate into placing the air tag inside Matt's truck before leaving. 42:59 I told Kate I said we should put an air tag in the truck because that way you know if 43:06 he starts to follow you. 43:07 We were trying to keep her safe. 43:08 if she was terrified that night, 43:10 that he would follow her to my mom's. 43:11 Do you understand that that makes it look 43:13 as if you're complicit in a plot to track Matt? 43:15 Oh, I'm very aware that that makes me look complicit. 43:19 I've never regretted something more 43:21 than the stupid emoji I made on that air tag 43:23 or giving her the air tag to put on the truck. 43:28 Two families, two very different stories. 43:33 Detectives would have to do some more digging. 43:35 So where do you start? 43:36 With the evidence, just like every investigation, 43:40 we just started with the physical evidence. 43:42 That evidence was about to reveal a lot more 43:45 about the night Matt Rastelli was killed. 44:03 Detective Nordin had the difficult job 44:06 of sorting through the tangled knot 44:08 that was Matt and Kate's relationship. 44:12 He began the way all good detectives do 44:14 by following the evidence. 44:17 First, what was found at the crime scene. 44:20 Right off the bat was a knife in Matt's hand, so the way it was in his hand it looked like 44:27 it was backwards. 44:29 Meaning the knife's finger grip was facing Matt's palm, and the backside of the handle 44:34 was pressed against his fingers. 44:37 The way he was holding it, it didn't look like he was holding it in a manner to like 44:41 hurt people, to like slash or stab anyone. 44:45 Now look at Matt's flip flops. 44:47 They're not on his feet. 44:48 In the body cam video, you can see them placed neatly by the front door. 44:55 Who storms in for a home invasion? 44:59 But first, politely takes off their shoes. 45:02 Matt Rustelli was not some hardened criminal. 45:05 Uh, no, I don't think so. 45:08 And from Matt's mom Diane, Nordeen learned something truly fascinating. 45:14 Nice found in his right hand, but he's left-handed. 45:16 Correct. 45:17 Correct. 45:17 If Kevin's telling the truth, Matt Rustelli literally brought a knife to a gunfight, right? 45:23 And he's also holding it the wrong way, and in his non-dominant hand. 45:29 Correct. 45:29 So, from early on, this is sort of feeling like not self-defense. 45:34 Correct. 45:36 Police found the gun Kevin used to kill Matt on the kitchen counter when they arrived, 45:41 and they also searched Kevin. 45:44 So I'm going to have you stand up, I'm just going to pat you down real quick, okay?" 45:47 Kevin told them he had a holster on him. 45:51 I've only got a little bit of holster in my pocket, that's it. 45:55 You can ask any gun owner or any cop if they wear a holster at 10 o'clock at night and 46:00 they're home sitting around with the family and the answer is no, like you just don't 46:04 do that. 46:04 But you would wear one if you were expecting to use it. 46:07 Correct. 46:08 Correct. 46:09 From Matt's autopsy, the location of one of his gunshot wounds raised another question. 46:15 In his right hand, his non-dominant hand that he was holding the knife in, there was a gunshot 46:21 wound that went through his wrist. 46:23 And that's significant because being shot through the wrist would cause you to drop 46:27 a knife. 46:28 That's what I would assume, yeah. 46:31 That's one more piece of evidence that says somebody staged this by putting the 46:35 knife in Matt's hand. 46:36 Correct. 46:38 So, had Kevin been too eager to defend Kate that night, and then maybe tried to cover 46:45 it up, Terralen says Kevin had long considered himself, the family's protector. 46:52 Kevin will always say I'll be here for you, if you need anything I'm here for you. 46:56 Terralen says that remained true even as Kevin battled his own demons. 47:02 The night of the shooting, detectives found a rolled up dollar bill in Kevin's 47:06 bedroom that tested positive for cocaine. That's something we need to 47:12 investigate to see if that is what led to the homicide or not or if that 47:16 influenced it in any way. Or whether he's given himself sort of a shot of 47:20 courage before doing the shooting. Yeah, that's definitely a possibility as 47:24 well. 47:25 Terralan says Kevin was always sweet, but struggled after his fiance ended their engagement three 47:33 years before. 47:35 After that breakup, he was really, really depressed in a dark spot. 47:39 And he'd talked about suicide. 47:44 That's when Kevin moved back home in every sense of that term. 47:50 My mom would still make his bed for him. 47:52 She'd still give him 20 bucks every night to go to the pool hall. 47:56 She would pay for his drinks, brought him a car, told him to get a job numerous times, 48:03 but she'd say it's my baby. I'm going to take care of him. He's sad. 48:09 Sounds like he was completely dependent on your mom. 48:12 He was. 48:14 Even as Detective Nordin learned more about this family, 48:18 he continued to focus on the crime scene. 48:20 To establish a timeline for the evening, 48:24 he paid close attention to that security video 48:26 from the house across the street. 48:29 Matt did capture Matt's truck pulling up to the house. 48:33 What time was that? 48:34 10-06. 48:35 The next door neighbor says she hears gunshots at 10-07. 48:39 Correct. 48:40 Yeah, I believe she said she waited about a minute or two 48:42 before she called 9-1-1. 48:45 Meaning Matt was only in the house for about 60 seconds 48:48 before he was shot. 48:51 The neighbor's 911 call was logged at 10.09 p.m. 48:55 Tracy doesn't call until 10.15. 49:00 Correct. 49:02 So about eight minutes passed from when the shots were fired 49:07 to when Tracy called police. 49:10 What do you think happened during those minutes? 49:12 So that's something we're trying to find out. 49:18 If you've been waiting for the right time 49:20 to tackle your weight loss calls, this is it. 49:22 HERS now offers access to an affordable range of FDA-approved GLP-1 medications, 49:26 including the Bogovie pill and the Bogovie pen. 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Older now and living a solitary life in the Swiss Elbs. 50:30 She's visited by Ridgway, a literary agent who's determined to convince her to write one more Ripley 50:36 novel. Heismith refuses the offer unless Ridgway can dream up the perfect murder along with her. 50:43 Watch A Talent For Murder in theaters October 23rd. 50:48 Everybody hates bank fees, right? 50:51 That's where Chime comes in. 50:54 They're changing the way people bank. 50:56 Chime offers fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, monthly fees, or minimum balance fees. 51:03 You get 5% cash back on ChimeCard and a category of choice, big gas or groceries. 51:09 Plus, you can grow your money faster with a savings rate that is nine times the national 51:16 average, and spot me that you overdraft up to $200 fee-free. 51:22 Join the millions who are already banking fee-free at the chime.com slash dateline. 51:28 That's chime.com slash dateline. 51:31 Sign up now. 51:33 Only takes a few minutes. 51:34 Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. 51:41 Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits applied. Go to chime.com 51:46 slash disclosures for details. Investigators had questions about Kate's mom Tracy Grist 52:00 and about why she waited so long to call 911 on the night Matt was shot. 52:07 They learned she had a complicated past. 52:11 What was it like growing up with Tracy as a mom? 52:15 In a lot of ways it was magical. 52:17 My mom was the mom that all my friends wished they had. 52:21 Terilyn says there was a little less magic than she got older. 52:26 I feel like she had a couple more kids than she could really handle. 52:29 There are seven total? 52:30 Yes, there are seven of us. 52:31 So I'm the oldest. 52:33 My dad and my mom had four kids. 52:35 How many marriages? 52:36 Four. 52:37 Those were followed by four contentious divorces. 52:42 Stan, husband number one, says his split with Tracy 52:46 was terrible. 52:48 In the custody fight between the two of you, 52:52 she accused you of abusing the children. 52:55 And I'm going to say this. 52:57 As God is my witness, that is a bunch of bull 53:01 because I never touched my children. 53:04 I never hurt them." Terry Bishop was best friends with Tracy for three decades. She 53:11 says Tracy invented stories about all her exes. After she would marry one of them 53:18 and it didn't work out, then what? All of a sudden she was saying things that 53:23 were not true. Exactly. She always got custody. She always got custody. And she 53:28 did and said whatever she had to say or do to get custody. She says that's 53:34 because Tracy lived for her children. 53:37 When Tracy heard from her daughter, Kate, 53:39 things weren't going well with Matt. 53:42 She got involved. 53:44 Investigators dug up a text thread 53:45 from January of that year. 53:48 In it, Tracy told Kate, 53:50 I just told your husband, don't mess with my child. 53:53 I want you to know I meant that. 53:56 He should not mess with you. 53:58 He asked if it was a threat. 54:01 Even years earlier, 54:03 Tracy had confided in Terry just how much she disliked Matt. 54:08 Tracy said, well, I hate Terralyn's husband, 54:11 and I hate Katie's husband, 54:13 but I hate Katie's husband the most, 54:15 and then she said, I could kill him. 54:19 Terralyn describes her mom as charismatic but troubled. 54:24 And there's this. 54:25 Tracy had a rap sheet, mostly, for stealing. 54:30 A lot has been made of Tracy. 54:33 being a thief, stealing money from people, like literally like going into the purses 54:40 and wallets of people whose house she's in or who come to her house or people she 54:45 encounter. You seen that? Yeah. So that's true. Yeah. It started when I was little. 54:57 We were super broke. We were super broke. And I think my mom's shop lifted here 55:04 in there. The Rostellis said that at Madden Cade's wedding, Tracy actually stole money meant for the 55:13 happy couple. Zero question my brother's mind and also zero question in Katie's mind. She knew 55:21 about it too, to the point where they would hide things when her mom came over. Then there was 55:27 Terry. One day in 2022, Tracy came over for a visit while Terry was going through chemo 55:34 treatment. A few days later Terry noticed some things were missing. $13,000 in cash and a handgun 55:44 and silver and gold coins. And you think that was Tracy? It was the maid or Tracy 55:50 and when I called her and confronted her and said I'd called the police she begged me not to call 55:56 the police and I said Tracy it's a gun. I mean I have to call the police and they took a gun. 56:03 Terry did file a report. 56:06 Police said they could not make an arrest without proof. 56:09 And so Terry set a boundary with her longtime bestie. 56:14 And so I said we can no longer be friends. 56:18 Tracy denied stealing from Terry, 56:21 but seemed fine with that long friendship being over, 56:25 as long as she didn't get into trouble. 56:28 She has a way of talking her way out of things 56:31 things that blows my mind, blows my mind. 56:36 Terilyn struggled to accept her mom's intentions as anything but good. 56:42 Loving. 56:43 Yes. 56:44 Intense. 56:46 I call her eccentric. 56:47 Manipulative. 56:49 Very. 56:50 But I think that's why she's so charming. 56:54 She's so charming. 56:55 And a chronic liar? 56:57 Yeah. 56:59 Yeah. 57:01 I feel like it was always laced with good intention or also never wanting to get caught 57:07 with anything. 57:08 Those are two different things. 57:10 Yeah. 57:11 I feel like I have blinders not because she's my mom in a lot of respects. 57:16 Investigators did not have blinders. 57:18 And as they dug through Tracy's cell phone, Detective Nordeen noticed multiple searches 57:24 of a name dateline viewers will know quite well. 57:28 The Adelson case. 57:30 Yeah. 57:31 I honestly didn't know about the case when I was looking into this. 57:36 In case you need a refresher, Donna Adelson is a Florida grandmother who was arrested 57:42 and found guilty of conspiring with her son and others to murder her former son-in-law, 57:49 Dan Markell. 57:51 It all happened against the backdrop of a bitter divorce and a custody battle. 57:57 Less than two weeks before Matt was killed, Tracy looked up Adelson-Donna, Adelson-Donna 58:04 Movies and TV shows, and new Dateline episode January 19th, Donna Adelson arrested at the 58:12 airport. 58:14 To Tarrelin, those searches did not sound all that suspicious. 58:18 Your mom looking at the Adelson case suggests that she's looking for 58:25 plots like this one in which a family member is killed by other family members 58:30 for reasons of relationships and not money. 58:37 I'm like, oh, that makes sense. That was an act of trial. 58:39 I'm a dateline fanatic or a true crime fanatic like she is too. 58:44 So that could have just been one of the cases we were looking up. 58:46 Well, that wasn't all investigators found on Tracy's file. 58:51 There was also an audio recording of a conversation Kate had with a divorce attorney one day before 58:58 Matt drove to Utah. 59:00 What's that attorney tell her? 59:02 So that attorney pretty much told her, like, hey, you're SOL. 59:06 He could file something and he'd hand you back. 59:10 If you want to get a divorce from him, you have to go back to California. 59:13 If you want to stay in Utah with the kids, 59:17 like you need to establish residency, 59:20 which, you know, Catherine knows will take a long time. 59:23 So Kate would be at a disadvantage 59:26 in any potential custody battle, 59:29 something Tracy knew all about from her own experiences. 59:34 This was looking more and more like that famous Adelson case. 59:39 A controlling mother, an obliging son, 59:42 A looming battle for custody of the children and questions about what others in the family 59:49 knew about a murder. 60:06 Investigators had a long list of questions for Tracy, her son Kevin, and her daughter, 60:12 Matt's wife Kate. 60:14 Some of those were answered when the phone rang and it was this woman calling. 60:20 Tell me how you met Kate. 60:21 I met her online through Instagram. 60:23 You guys had a pretty good connection right away. 60:25 We did. 60:26 Her name is Stephanie Slocum. 60:29 Her friendship with Kate developed exclusively online, where they chatted daily on Instagram 60:36 and in video group chats on Discord. 60:39 Stephanie says that at least through a webcam, Kate's life looked great. 60:46 She baked cookies, you know, she did all the stuff for her husband while he had his 60:51 own work. 60:51 And I was like, wow, what a perfect woman I'd 60:53 look to be like her. 60:55 It wasn't long before Stephanie felt Kate's online persona 60:59 was not grounded in reality. 61:02 The happy marriage that Kate was sort of describing 61:06 might be more what she wanted than what was really happening. 61:10 Yes, yes. 61:12 According to Stephanie, most of Matt and Kate's arguments 61:16 stemmed from Kate's admitted infidelity. 61:19 She cheated on Matt. 61:21 Yes. 61:22 Numerous times? 61:23 Yes. 61:24 Then came the morning of July 12th. 61:27 That's when Kate found out Matt would be driving to Utah. 61:31 She left a message for her friends online 61:34 that could be read different ways. 61:37 Kate sends a message to your group chat, 61:40 which says, 61:41 Wish me luck. 61:44 I have to do big girl things today. 61:48 anybody say to her what do you mean what big girl things yeah I think somebody 61:51 did and she never responded the day after Matt was killed Stephanie saw Kate in 61:57 the video group chat I remember seeing the look on her face that I could tell 62:01 something was very wrong and she just told me that she needed to talk to me 62:05 they jumped off the chat and onto FaceTime and she got right on the 62:11 screen and was like Matt's dead and I was just kind of in shock and I told her 62:17 that I'm sorry and she told me it's okay I'm happy and she hung up the phone and 62:22 went back to discord. It's okay I'm happy. Her words exactly. 62:28 Stephanie says that wasn't the end of Kate's odd behavior. She wanted to talk 62:34 to me later that afternoon and she was getting I think this was when she was 62:40 getting ready for a date. A date? Yes. Her husband is dead, what, not even 24 hours at 62:46 that point? Not even 24 hours. And she's going on a date? Yes. Yes. And she was getting ready 62:51 doing hair and makeup and everything. Within days of Matt's death, investigators learned 62:57 Kate had searched online for how soon is too soon to tell somebody love them and five 63:05 ways to get rid of hickeys. It sounds like Kate did not waste a moment after 63:11 her husband was killed, resuming a very active social life with other men. It was 63:16 like this never happened. It was like Matt never even existed. After that, 63:22 Stephanie called police and eventually cut off contact with Kate. She told 63:27 Detective Nordeen all about Kate's disturbing behavior. He added it to 63:33 his growing case file, which now included this, the provenance of that knife found in Matt's hand. 63:41 After weeks of investigating, Nordeen learned that exact type of knife had been sent to a house 63:48 Tracy was visiting. So you think that Tracy got her hands on that knife that way? Correct. 63:55 Investigators now believed Tracy and Kate lured Matt to Utah that day, 64:00 where Kevin was waiting to kill him. 64:03 Once it was done, police said, 64:05 they planted the knife in Matt's hand 64:07 to make him look like the attacker. 64:11 Three and a half months after Matt Rastelli was shot, 64:15 police arrested Tracy. 64:20 And then Kate, when she arrived 64:22 to pick up one of her children from school. 64:24 Kate, make any statements at that time? 64:26 She was very, very volatile, very upset. 64:30 Detective Nordin met Tracy back at the station. 64:34 I walked in there and advised her of her rights, 64:36 and she just kind of had like a thousand-yard stare almost. 64:40 She just looked like she wasn't quite all there 64:42 trying to wrap her head around what that was going on. 64:46 For Matt's family, the arrests cemented 64:49 what they had suspected all along. 64:52 I just shook inside. 64:54 Absolutely just shook inside. 64:56 We see now that you did betray me 64:58 me, you betrayed our family and what you've done. 65:02 Terilyn found out about the arrests 65:04 when her mom called from behind bars. 65:08 And I remember her saying, I'm so confused. 65:10 I'm so confused. 65:12 And so this went exactly the opposite of the way 65:14 you thought it was going to. 65:15 Yes, I did. 65:19 Terilyn remained convinced of their innocence. 65:24 It made me frustrated and sad when people would try to 65:30 I'd say, no, I think they did this. 65:32 I'm like, then you don't know them that well 65:34 because they wouldn't do this. 65:36 Well, that was before she heard these recordings made 65:41 during the last hours of Matt Rastelli's life. 65:45 What do you want, what do you want to do? 65:47 I want you to be comfortable. 65:49 I will be, I just because I have my family. 65:52 Okay, well good. 65:57 With the seasons changing, 65:59 now is the perfect time to get ahead 66:01 of the cold and flu season. 66:02 But staying prepared shouldn't be an overpaying for your prescriptions, and that's where 66:07 GoodRx comes in. 66:08 GoodRx makes it easy to play control of your health and your budget with savings and preventive 66:14 cold and flu medications and your everyday prescriptions. 66:17 GoodRx is free, super easy to use. 66:20 You just search for your medication on their website or app, compare prices and bring 66:25 the free coupon to show your pharmacist. 66:27 Check GoodRx to save at over 70,000 local pharmacies nationwide or get 66:32 prescriptions delivered right to your front door. Remember, GoodRx is not 66:36 insurance but it works whether you have insurance or not and it could beat your 66:41 insurance copay price. So save time and money in your prescriptions this 66:45 season. Check out GoodRx at GoodRx.com slash 66:48 dateline. That's GoodRx.com slash dateline. In a talent for murder, Oscar 66:54 winner Helen Mirren stars as the notorious Patricia Heismith, author of The Talented Mr. Ripley. 67:00 Older now and living a solitary life in the Swiss Elbs. She's visited by Ridgeway, 67:06 a literary agent who's determined to convince her to write one more Ripley novel. 67:10 Heismith refuses the offer unless Ridgeway can dream up the perfect murder along with her. 67:17 Watch A Talent for Murder in theaters October 23rd. 67:21 Having lots of choices sounds like it would be great. 67:24 Who doesn't want more flavors of ice cream? 67:27 It turns out the answer is us. 67:30 Too many choices can make us anxious, overwhelmed. 67:33 I'm Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain Podcast and YouTube Channel. 67:38 Each week, Hidden Brain brings you fascinating, science-backed insights about human behavior. 67:44 So the next time you have to choose, choose Hidden Brain on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, 67:49 YouTube or hiddenbrain.org. 68:01 Kevin, Tracy, and Kate were together charged with the murder of Matt Rustelli. 68:07 All three pleaded not guilty. 68:10 Terrell and watched Kevin's preliminary hearing online from her home. 68:15 I was sitting there probably folding laundry. 68:18 She heard Detective Nordeen testify about texts between Kate and Tracy. 68:22 Tracy. 68:23 Texts that revealed Matt never wanted to come to Utah in the first place. 68:28 What he did want was for Kate to come to California instead. 68:33 Here's Kate texting her mom. 68:35 Matt doesn't want to drive out. 68:38 He's depositing money for me to rent a car. 68:41 And Tracy's reply, nope. 68:44 Tracy told Kate to say she'd heard her ankle. 68:48 Saying, I have a sprained ankle, I can't drive. 68:50 Yes. 68:51 So in other words, Matt, you have to come here. 68:54 Correct. 68:56 Still on the stand, the detective revealed this. 69:00 Kate had recorded six separate phone calls with her husband on the day he was killed. 69:06 First, Kate told Matt she was unable to make the drive home. 69:14 Hey, um, I'm, I'm at a loss right now, Matt. 69:19 Okay, just chill out. 69:20 They won't rent me the car. 69:22 Kate said she didn't have a credit card. Matt suggested she rent the car in her mom's name. 69:29 You need me to go at nine o'clock and put more money in your account? Kate pushed back. 69:40 If there's any problem on the way home I'm f**king, if there's any sort of pick up on the 69:46 way home I'm f**king. 69:47 I understand that Matt was hesitant to make the 10-hour drive in his old truck, 69:55 The one with the air tag in it. 69:58 I don't think our 250 should be driving up that far. 70:01 Really? 70:02 Well, I mean, I guess I could have it. 70:05 Kate insisted. 70:07 You can't just roll the dice with the truck. 70:08 It's that f***ing sketchy. 70:10 In the end, Matt agreed to drive the truck, 70:13 but worried about it dying on them. 70:16 But I think when I get there, I don't think I want to turn the truck off. 70:18 Okay. 70:20 So I just want to get the car seats in, load up, and just kind of take off. 70:23 Is that OK to be doable? 70:26 Yeah. 70:27 Tracy's house was inside a gated community. 70:31 Kate texted Matt the gate code. 70:34 She asked him many times, are you going to come inside? 70:37 Are you going to come inside? 70:39 Oh. 70:40 Are you going to come inside and help me load up? 70:42 Yeah. 70:43 OK. 70:44 Yeah. 70:45 The front door is always unlocked, OK? 70:47 You can just walk right in the door. 70:49 The door is always unlocked. 70:51 I mean, it's like she's baiting a trap. 70:52 Yeah, so that's what it looks like. 70:54 Matt does not sound angry or confrontational. 70:58 Nothing in those phone calls suggests he was upset 71:01 or that Kate was terrified of him, as she told police. 71:06 Yeah, I was going. 71:07 Good. How are you? 71:08 Pretty good. What's going on? 71:09 I was just going to see how your driver's going. 71:11 I'm just passing that abandoned water park. 71:13 Oh, fine. Cool. 71:16 You hear Matt acting aggressive or threatening in any way? 71:19 No, no, he's super calm and cool collected and nice you're gonna come in though, right? 71:29 Yeah, no, it's gonna be easy. No, it's gonna be easy. I mean you can cure her 71:34 Just eager for him to come inside just come inside. I mean, it's just it's awful to be honest 71:42 Matt's family was in court that day and heard those recordings. I was saddened by that 71:47 You know, just the luring, just like, oh my God, this is so horrible. 71:52 Bodycam footage shows Matt left his truck running with his flashers on while he went 71:57 inside, for what he apparently thought would be a quick trip. 72:01 She was told to be packed and ready to go that evening. 72:04 She didn't pack a thing. 72:05 And the fact that they would even say, well, Matt came in aggressively, was going to 72:08 kill everybody, he's like, no, he wasn't. 72:11 Matt loved those kids. 72:13 Matt wanted his family. 72:15 For Carolyn, her family's staunch defender. It was an eye-opening moment. 72:22 I remember hearing those calls and just, what the eff? What is happening? 72:30 Because those are not the calls of a furious Matt who's coming over there to have a confrontation. 72:35 No, not at all. And it wasn't until I heard those calls that I knew they lied to me. 72:41 I mean, just to theorize, if Kate had not recorded her conversation with Matt or if she 72:48 had deleted it, this might have gone differently. 72:50 They might not have been charged. 72:52 You would still believe everything your mom and Kate told you. 72:55 Probably. 72:56 I probably would have been their defender till the very end. 72:59 And people probably would have called me a fool. 73:02 You feel like a fool. 73:03 I do. 73:06 I feel embarrassed for how much I defended them. 73:09 Two questions. 73:10 intelligence. Why would Kate record such incriminating evidence? And second, why would she hang 73:19 on to it? 73:20 I have no idea, but, you know, at this point I'm glad she did. 73:26 That's because not long after those calls came to light, prosecutors received a different 73:31 call. Kate had something she wanted to tell them. You believed her? 73:36 to some extent. I mean, clearly, you know, she's in it for her best interest. 73:57 July 2025. After a year of denying any involvement in her husband Matt's death, 74:04 Kate Rustelli suddenly changed her tune. She asked for a plea deal. 74:10 In exchange for a reduced sentence, Kate agreed to provide details about the plot to kill Matt. 74:18 Prosecutor James Watabe, you believed her. 74:21 To some extent. I mean, clearly, you know, she's in it for her best interest. 74:28 Kate will be eligible for parole in 2036. 74:32 At her sentencing, she apologized. 74:37 I'm so very deeply sorry for the pain that I've caused. 74:42 I understand that my apology will never be enough to heal the hurt that Matt's death 74:47 has caused and continues to cause. 74:51 At this point, the least I can do is speak the truth on what happened to give Matt and 74:55 his family the justice they deserve. 74:58 It meant Kate would testify against her own brother and her mother. 75:05 First up, Kevin. 75:08 Kate admitted she and her mom prepared the house that night for both Matt's visit and 75:14 his murder. 75:15 We were getting ready for his arrival by putting toys away, putting blankets over the couch 75:22 to avoid blood spatter. 75:24 Any other preparations? 75:25 The screen was removed from the front door. 75:27 Why was the screen door removed? 75:29 To make it easier for him to come in and have it not be a deterrent. 75:34 Kate remained evasive when it came to her brother's involvement in the murder. 75:39 Prosecutor David Brown. 75:41 She was still protecting Kevin. 75:44 In the days leading up to Matt coming out, did you talk to him about Matt? 75:53 I don't recall if I did or not. 75:55 On the night of the murder, Kate said she was upstairs when she heard gunshots. 76:00 I heard Matt say ow, ow, and then after that... 76:19 He might still be kicking, like, like to be careful. 76:24 Kevin's defense attorney, Scott Williams, 76:26 never denied his client pulled the trigger. 76:30 He insisted. 76:31 Kevin was just a sucker, easily roped into murder. 76:35 You said there was a conspiracy here. 76:38 It just didn't involve Kevin. 76:39 There were two peas in a in the pod not three Tracy and Kate absolutely and they 76:46 sort of dragged Kevin in by saying Matt's coming over he's violent he's 76:51 gonna hurt your sister or if Kate's talking he's gonna hurt me there's some 76:54 cocaine here's a gun if you don't do it I guess I'll have to pull the trigger 77:00 on cross-examination Kate seemed to get over her initial hesitancy about 77:06 turning on her brother. She stunned everyone by admitting that Kevin was in 77:11 on the conspiracy to kill Matt. Kate testified she, Kevin, and their mom Tracy 77:18 spoke about the plot the day Matt was driving out. We had a little bit of a 77:23 discussion and that was it. And that's the first time she had ever said that. 77:29 after being pressed by prosecutors who wanted desperately for her to say that. 77:39 The jury took six hours to reach a verdict. 77:47 Guilty of murder. 77:50 Then came the verdict on the conspiracy charge. 78:00 Why do you think Kevin was acquitted of conspiracy? 78:05 I'm not sure. I think the defense did a great job and I think the jury felt sorry for him. 78:10 I felt like maybe that was a bone they were throwing in. 78:14 The jury might not have felt so much sympathy for him. 78:18 Had they known what would be revealed at Kevin's sentencing hearing just two months later? 78:23 Thank you. Please be seated. 78:25 The prosecutor played a post-verdict phone call between Taralyn and Kevin, who talked 78:32 from inside the lock-up about what he had told his mother before the shooting. 78:38 I literally wondered, I said, this will change so many lives, you know how many lives it's 78:43 going to change. 78:45 Oh my God, you said that to her? 78:46 Wow. 78:47 Yes. 78:49 This is a thing you can't take back. 78:52 I said that to her. 78:53 By the time you heard that recorded phone call of Kevin, he'd already been acquitted 78:58 of conspiracy. 79:00 That's correct. 79:01 If you reverse those two things, he gets convicted. 79:05 Correct. 79:06 Was your client not aware that phone calls from jail are recorded and monitored? 79:13 So... 79:13 I'm guessing you might... 79:14 Welcome to my profession. 79:17 The judge imposed the maximum sentence. 79:19 Kevin will spend 15 years to life in prison. 79:24 You clearly could have backed out and said no and stopped. 79:29 And this incident wouldn't have occurred. 79:33 Stan Alice struggled to take it all in. 79:36 A dead son-in-law, someone he loved. 79:39 Two of his kids in jail. 79:42 And all of it prosecutors believed because of his ex-wife Tracy. 79:47 You being the investigative reporter 79:49 and you've seen stuff like this all the time. 79:55 How am I supposed to move on from this? 79:58 Does that make sense when I'm asking you? 80:01 There's a myth out there that some legal proceeding 80:05 can somehow turn the clock back 80:08 to when your kids were not convicted murderers 80:11 and Matt was still alive. 80:13 You will, because you have other children, 80:16 figure out a way to go forward from this. 80:19 One trial remained. 80:25 You tell me, without Tracy's involvement, Matt's still alive. 80:29 Absolutely. 80:30 Kate wouldn't have done this on her own. 80:32 Kevin wouldn't have done this on his own. 80:34 No. 80:34 This is Tracy's hand over all of this. 80:37 This is. 80:39 Tracy's trial began in April, 2026 with prosecutors painting a portrait of a spiteful woman 80:46 who killed not for money or passion, 80:49 but because she couldn't stand not being in control. 80:54 Fueled by her hate for Matthew, inspired by her interest in true crime, 81:00 Tracy planned and executed a knockoff of the Donna Adelson conspiracy. 81:06 Wendy Adelson was Donna Adelson's daughter. 81:09 Detective Nordin testified about Tracy's searches for that one particular case. 81:15 So she searches Adelson-Donna, Adelson-Donna movies and TV shows, new 81:21 dateline episode. Did Tracy miss the part where Donna Adelson is arrested? You know 81:26 that was one of her last searches is when was Donna Adelson arrested so so I 81:29 think she thought she maybe she could do it better. Unlike Donna Adelson, Tracy 81:34 took the stand in her own defense. Could she talk her way out of trouble one
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