- [Operator] 911, what's the
address of your emergency? - [Lori] I need help. I'm on the lake. - [Operator] I'm sorry,
I can't understand you. What's the address? - [Lori] I'm on the lake,
but I don't know where. My husband, he had a stroke and he fell. (Lori cries) - [Operator] Are you out in a boat? - [Lori] Yes. - [Operator] Is he awake? - [Lori] No, he fell in the water. - [Operator] He's in the water? - [Lori] He's gone. I've been looking for him for hours. - [Narrator] At some point,
before this 911 call. a tragic accident occurred. Lori Isenberg's husband,
Larry, disappeared into the freezing water; however, as investigators
searched tirelessly for the missing man, they were shocked by a dark secret that came bubbling up to the surface. Prior to this horrific
ordeal, 68-year-old Larry and 66-year-old Lori
live their lives together as prominent members of
the Cougar Gulch community of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Larry and Lori each had several children from previous relationships
and those close to the couple reported
that they never argued and were always complimenting each other. This detail makes what happens next all
the more heartbreaking. On the morning of February 13th, 2018, Larry and Lori set off
for a sunrise boat ride on Lake Coeur d'Alene, but before departing, Larry
sent his daughter a photo of the sunrise. Larry also messaged one of
his good friends that morning and mentioned not feeling
well enough to fish; however, the couple still
went ahead with their plans. Then, just a few hours later, the Kootenai County
Sheriff's Office received that frantic 911 call at 10:25 AM. - [Operator] Are you out in a boat? - [Lori] Yes. - [Operator] What? - [Lori] Yes. - [Narrator] Lori's voice sounds panicked. When someone is in fight or flight mode, respiration increases and
mucus membranes dry up. This dryness includes the vocal chords, which can affect the
sound of someone's voice. Then Lori gave the
operator more information about what had happened to her husband. - [Lori] He was driving the boat. He stood up fast and he said, "The boat, something
wrong with the motor." And so then he unzipped the cover thing and went to the front of the boat. He turned towards me to say something, like something about the electric motor, and (indistinct) he fell over. - [Narrator] The majority of the chilling body cam footage in this case has never been seen before. The footage has been
analyzed by a qualified team, including a licensed attorney and former criminal prosecutor, and a former licensed
professional counselor. Officers arrived at the closest shoreline just after 11:00 AM and
sent a rescue fireboat to retrieve Lori and bring her back to shore for medical attention. Deputies pressed Lori for any information she held regarding Larry's last known location. - [Deputy Bauman] Hey Lori,
my name's Deputy Bauman. I'm with the Sheriff's Office. I'm just gonna try to
ask you some questions so we can kind of figure out where to go from here, okay? Can you tell me how'd
you get the bloody nose? - I fell down. - [Deputy Bauman] You fell down, okay. - Said she fell against the door. - I was trying to grab him. - [Deputy Bauman] Okay,
can you tell me about how far you were when he fell in? - Closer to this side, I think. - [Deputy Bauman] Okay,
closer to this side, okay. Did you see any houses or
big trees or landmarks? - (indistinct) in the water. - [Deputy Bauman] Okay. It's okay. - No, I didn't see anything. He said he didn't feel good
and he was doing things weird, and then he went up to the motor and the motor wasn't broken. It was the other motor, and then I said, "Why are you doing that?" and turned and looked at me
and his face just looked, it looked awful, and then
he just started to fall, and I tried to get the door open and get to him and I
grabbed him and I fell. - [Deputy Bauman] Okay, okay. - [Narrator] Lori stated
that she didn't call 911 until one and a half to two hours after Larry fell overboard, because she said she couldn't
find a phone during that time. The distraught wife also claimed that Larry broke the ignition switch just before the incident, which meant that she had to manually get the motor running again. Then Lori said she zoomed around
the area looking for Larry, but chose not to drive the
boat back to shore out of fear that she'd lose track of the location, so instead she repeatedly
honked the boat's horn in hopes of finding help. It wasn't until she retrieved
a blanket to stay warm, that she finally found Larry's cell phone and called 911; however,
she said the phone fell into the lake after making that call. During this interaction, the officer noted that Lori's
emotions regarding the help of law enforcement appeared to be genuine, desperate, and appreciative. After leaving Lori with the medics again, the officer pulled aside another deputy and informed him that,
although this appeared to be a tragic accident, they still needed to investigate any possible foul play. - [Officer] In cases like this even if there's something suspicious, or you think something's up, always be supportive, and real sensitive with these people when they're, cause it
could be totally legit what they said and it could be
something totally different. - [Narrator] The officer
understands the importance of building rapport as he would be more
likely to get information from someone if they
feel they can trust him. Officers also discuss the
difficulty of finding Larry in the water based on the
clothes he'd been wearing and their belief that he
was likely already dead. - Because especially
after this long, what? Over two hours, we're in recovery anyways. - [Officer 2] Shh, she's right there. - Oh, I think she knows at this point. - [Officer 2] I think so,
too, but just in case. - [Narrator] Finally, medical
personnel assisted Lori to an awaiting ambulance
for further observation. Next officers had the
Isenberg's boat towed to a nearby boat launch for evaluation. Upon boarding the vessel, detectives immediately
noticed blood spatter in several areas, presumably
from Lori's nose bleed. Despite Lori's claims about
the ignition switch breaking just before Larry fell under the water, officers located the kill
switch and lanyard on the floor. Investigators found this
odd because the kill switch and lanyard must be
attached to the ignition in order for the motor to run. Furthermore, the ignition
key had clearly been bent, suggesting that there may have
been some kind of struggle. Deputies also found various
other keys and Lori's purse, which contained a near
empty Naked juice bottle. The items were all seized as evidence, and the boat was then transported to a nearby parking bay for storage. The truck that Larry and Lori
had used to tow the boat was also examined. While they didn't find
anything particularly out of the ordinary, one officer noted Lori's
misplaced cell phone in addition to an unknown
spilled liquid in the cup holder and a bottle of allergy medication with the act of ingredient diphenhydramine in the center console. While this type of over the counter
antihistamine is commonly used to treat allergies, fevers, and cold, it's also known to cause drowsiness. Now stick a pin in that little detail because it will be very important later. Unfortunately, Lori's lack of
accurate knowledge regarding Larry's last known location
resulted in a vast search area, therefore it was decided
that the rescue diver should be dismissed from the scene and a sonar team should
be utilized instead. Search and rescue helicopters
also flew back and forth over the expanse of lake
in hopes of spotting Larry, but to no avail. Later that same, day sonar
rescue team spent three and a half hours on the
frigid lake searching for Larry until it was too dark to see; however, at this point, the
effort was being treated as a recovery mission rather than rescue, as surviving in such harsh conditions
would've been nearly impossible. Meanwhile, an officer met
with Lori at the hospital, where she'd been treated
for the nose bleed, in an effort to establish
a more defined search area by showing her a map of the lake. - [Deputy] What we're trying
to gather is the best location that we can as far as where you guys were, where you think, and it's Larry, right? OK, Larry. - [Narrator] Initially,
Lori's left hand is relaxed and open on her leg. As the detective mentions
her husband's name, she clasps her hands, which could be an adapter behavior to help herself feel better; however, it wouldn't be abnormal for someone in a situation
like this to feel stress, especially if they
genuinely couldn't remember the exact location that their
spouse fell into the water. The deputy also asked Lori
for more information regarding how Larry fell into the water
and what exactly had happened with the boat's motor. - [Deputy] So let's fast
forward up to the point where he starts having his medical issue, kind of explain that part to me. - [Lori] He had said
something about, you know, I'm sort of waking up
and he said something about the resort. I think he said, "There's the resort," and then he stood up and
he sort of, matter of fact, I think it broke the key. He sort of leaned on the key,
sort of odd the way he did it. - [Narrator] When asked
about the bent ignition key, Lori appeared confused
as though she was trying to come up with an explanation. Next, Lori explained how
she initially attempted to search for her husband in the water, but she still didn't seem
to have her story straight. - [Lori] So I was driving around, and then I realized I was turned around because I do remember then
I sort of stopped and said, "Stop, Lori, stop." And thinking back on it now, I think I may have been turned around. I was trying to think about this. It seems to me, we were a closer to the, I now know the East side
where it's more trees and less houses cause there
weren't a lot of houses. I don't think that there were
a lot of houses right there, but they were sort of far away, and I wasn't looking far away. I have no idea how long, because I didn't have my phone with me, and his phone is usually in his pocket, so I had assumed his
phone was gone, and then. - [Deputy] How long did it feel? I mean, obviously a minute
can feel like a lifetime in those situations, but. - [Lori] It could have been
a half hour, 45 minutes. - [Narrator] When the detective
asks how long it felt like, Lori rubs her hands on her
legs and then clasps her hands. These are both adapter signs that indicate she's
likely feeling stressed by this question. - [Lori] So you didn't
find anything today? - [Deputy] So our sonar team
is out there right now, okay. So essentially what happens
when we have a big search area like this, our sonar team
has to find him first before the dive team, so I'm a member of our dive team, okay. So I will go get Larry, but we can't search an area like that because of the depth. As divers, we can't go that deep for more than about six minutes at a time. - [Narrator] Lori is
rubbing her hands together as she asked if they found
anything, another sign of stress. - [Deputy] Okay, so
they're in our impound lot as well as your cell
phone and the car keys, which were in the truck. Because this is a criminal
investigation at this point, we have to keep those until
we clear it up and say, "Okay, no foul play." That's our job to make sure
that gets done correctly. - [Lori] Do you have to keep
my cell phone that whole time? - [Deputy] Yes. - [Narrator] Five days
later on February 18th, detectives called Lori and asked her to accompany the sonar team on the lake as their efforts to locate Larry had
still been unsuccessful. While she agreed, Lori couldn't recall
any specific landmarks and seemed to offer minimal
help to the searchers. This lack of information
struck investigators as odd, but even more strange was her behavior. Throughout the search, Lori would joke around and laugh before suddenly breaking down
into tears for no reason. The officer also noticed that
she would abruptly stop crying to continue conversations, but of course everyone
grieves differently, so Lori wasn't considered a suspect in Larry's disappearance. Emotions are very complex. After someone loses a loved
one, they may feel guilty for smiling or laughing because they believe that,
because of their loss, they shouldn't be happy. Grief often ebbs and flows, and there may be happy moments
followed by very sad ones; however, later that day, the Kootenai County Sheriff's
Office received two separate calls concerning suspicious activity at Larry and Lori's residence, a remote cabin, 20
minutes Southwest of town, which they had once called our paradise. The callers, both neighbors
of the Isenbergs, said that Lori was acting out of character and appeared to have family
members helping move all their belongings out of the house, which Lori told them she
planned to sell immediately. Furthermore, the neighbors
reported unusual sounds coming from the home at night
that they had never heard before Larry's disappearance. While nothing ever came of
these supposed strange noises, the reports certainly peaked
the interest of investigators. Then on February 21st, a shocking revelation was
made that sent the case in a whole new direction. The North Idaho Housing Coalition, where Lori had proudly
worked for years, announced that she would no longer be employed due to possible fraudulent activity. As it turns out, the
coalition accountant noticed some irregularities and
ordered an internal audit citing the initial theft
value to be around $500,000. This news came as a major
shock to those who knew Lori, because she had no prior criminal record, and according to law enforcement seemed like the most normal
person you could encounter. Sensing that something wasn't quite right, Larry's children requested to speak with investigators
about their concerns. - [Speaker 1] Actually, I don't
know why they'd rearrange it to take the boat out in the winter. It's icier than (beep). I just trying to park the camper today. That's why I'm soaking wet. It's just a mess and a disaster. Lori's always cold. I just don't understand why
they'd be out on the lake in the first place. This isn't when they'd
be fishing or doing that. - [Narrator] Then Larry's son described Lori's strange behavior
in the past few days since his father's disappearance. - [Speaker 1] The second
or third sentence out of her mouth today, when I
saw her for the first time coming over to help was how we're gonna start
divvying everything up and it's just, and I'm gone. Maybe it's just my grief, cause
I've never dealt with grief, but it literally, it just
doesn't feel right to me. - [Narrator] It's important
to trust your intuition and gut feelings. It's possible that
Larry's son has picked up on some subtle body
language cues from Lori that are sending alarm bells
ringing in his own head. He's likely spent a decent amount of time with Lori prior to this incident, so he has a good idea of what her typical or baseline behavior is. He may recognize that
she's acting different from her baseline, and he may suspect that her altered behavior
isn't just a result of grief. - [Deputy] Well, and I can
tell you what she told me to kind of make some of it makes sense, and you tell me if it's far off, if you've heard something different. Essentially she told me that
they got out to the lake, they wanted to see the sunrise. He took a picture of
the sunrise and sent it to his daughter, and was that you? And you received that? And she said about 6:41 in the morning. - [Narrator] The officer
tried to explain Lori's side of the story, but Larry's
children still weren't buying it. - [Speaker 2] They often
would go boating just go out, But I don't know why they
were out there being so cold. Apparently they were sick. We didn't know they were sick. - [Speaker 1] It's just
something isn't sitting right. - [Narrator] Next, the detective explained how the sonar teams were
working to find Larry. - [Deputy] As far as the search goes, they'll check the high probability area, and then if that yields
no results after a while, cause they'll make passes this way, then they make passes this way, then they do diagonal passes, because if you imagine the way a sonar is, it's like shining a
flashlight and they're looking for shadows that would reflect a person. - [Narrator] At the end
of their conversation, the detective reaffirmed his
theory that Lori had nothing to do with Larry's disappearance. - [Deputy] In my personal opinion, it's not serious enough
to where I would think that some sort of homicide
would occur from it, and again, that is a personal opinion. That is not a professional statement of the Sheriff's Office. - [Narrator] After
Larry's family had left, the detective summarized
their conversation with another officer. - [Deputy] I went and spoke
with the wife yesterday, cause after seeing the stuff in the boat and they're like, "Yeah",
and then speaking with her, it's an accident. And well, when you looked
at the boat, it was where, I mean with the blood, no fishing gear, the key was bent, almost
looked like a struggle, and you're like, and there's just too much to go, "Nah", but I just
said, "Hey, explain it to me." She answered every question
without me asking the question. She answered my questions. - [Narrator] Still, the next
day a search warrant was issued for the Isenberg's home relating to Lori's fraud accusations. The search of Larry and
Lori's home revealed several disturbing pieces of evidence, including black latex
gloves and paper towels with what appeared to
be dried blood on them, a Ziploc bag containing
an unknown white powder, and more suspected dried
blood on a concrete floor, outside the residence. The lead detective working
the case interviewed Lori right away at her home and confronted her with their findings. She claimed the blood
they found on the gloves and paper towels was her own, but insisted that she had no knowledge of the other presumed blood stains. Forensic testing later
revealed that the reddish marks on the concrete floor
had actually been caused by a wood stain that had
dripped while staining boards, but that wasn't enough to
keep Lori off the hook. On February 27th, Lori was arrested without
incident on 40 counts of forgery and one count of grand theft. Lori's bail was set at $75,000 and was posted the following
day by one of her daughters, but a horrifying discovery was still right around the corner. On March 1st, 16 days after Larry vanished into the icy water, a man's body was discovered
floating face down near the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene, roughly three miles from where Lori said Larry went overboard. The property owner told dispatch that the body hadn't been there when they last checked two days before. Officers also didn't see any
signs of suspicious trauma on the body and, based
on the victim's clothing, they felt confident that they
had finally located Larry. Authorities then moved
the body out of the water for further examination. The following day, an autopsy
confirmed the body is Larry, but that's not all the
medical examiner found. Toxicological testing
revealed lethal levels of diphenhydramine, an antihistamine with sedative properties
in Larry's system. While overdoses of this drug are rare, experts agree that this
drug is fast acting and can be fatal when too much is ingested in a short period. Moreover, the medical
examiners finding suggested that Larry had likely died
before entering the water as there were no signs of drowning or a stroke as Lori has claimed. As well, his body appeared to have ceased metabolic activity before entering the water. Authorities chose not to release the autopsy
results immediately, but in an earlier
statement given to police, Lori mentioned that her husband
took numerous pills each day and was often forgetful when it came to taking the correct dosage. It's possible that Lori was being honest about Larry's forgetfulness
with his pills. An alternative theory is
that she was providing this information in advance just in case his body was recovered and the drugs were found in his system. Lori also claimed that Larry
had recently been feeling sick with flu-like symptoms, but no one else seemed
to recall Larry being under the weather when
speaking directly to him. The only time Larry
mentioned being sick was in the text he had sent to his friend the morning he disappeared. Now that's assuming the
message had actually come from Larry of course. A few days later, deputies
interviewed Lori's son regarding some suspicious phone activity, and unlike Larry's children, he was very supportive of his mother. Despite not having Larry's cell phone, an expert analyst identified that it had last pinged off a
tower near Lori's son's home after Larry's disappearance, which was odd given
Lori's said it had fallen into the lake on February 13th. Still, her son denied
ever being in possession of the device saying, "I swear on my life, on my children's life. I have no knowledge of that phone. I love Larry and I will do
anything to help you guys." When someone makes such
an extreme statement, such as swearing on their life,
the life of a family member, or even referencing God, this can sometimes be an
indicator of deception. They may be trying to
convince you to believe them by attempting to dress up the lie; however, it's important to
not take a single indicator as proof that someone is lying. You need to look at the whole picture and multiple indicators, not just one. This type of language
is also only a red flag if you get a baseline of
how they speak normally. If someone uses this type of language when discussing innocuous things, it wouldn't be considered a red flag; however, if they only
start adding this type of language during touchy topics, it would be something to pay attention to. Then, around late May, Lori
missed two court dates related to the fraud case and was
reported to be on the lam. As a result, a $500,000 warrant was issued for her arrest with bounty
hunters hot on her trail. In the meantime, investigators
continued questioning those close to Larry and Lori, and before long cracks in their perfect
relationship began to emerge. For example, one source remarked that, while they appeared happy together, Larry had made several
comments in recent months about Lori's excessive spending habits, specifically about how much she helped her
children financially. Investigators also learned
that Lori had a history of betrayal as she had
allegedly been unfaithful to her first husband
with three different men, one of which was Larry, not
to mention her disloyalty to the coalition board of directors who had treated her very
well over the years. Detectives also uncovered
handwritten changes to Larry's will that
had reportedly been made by Lori roughly a month
before his passing. The modifications left
80% of Larry's estate to Lori's children and only 20% to his own biological children. Money, drugs, and love are
the three most common motives for murder and anyone
with any of these motives in relation to the victim
will be looked at closely. With Lori still on the run, authorities release the
autopsy results to the public and labeled the case a full-fledged
homicide investigation. While medical professionals
typically advise between 100 and 1,000
nanograms of diphenhydramine for adults, the report stated that Larry's body contained
a staggering 7,100 nanograms of the drug at the time of his death. Authorities even
interviewed Larry's doctor to see if they'd noticed any
signs of an imminent stroke or other medical anomalies. Still they reported he was
the healthiest he'd been in his adult life. The doctor also commented
that diphenhydramine would not have been prescribed or suggested to Larry given his age. Based on all the evidence gathered, investigators theorized that
Lori had sent Larry's daughter the text message that morning
before poisoning Larry by mixing the drug in the bottle of Naked juice found aboard the boat although that assumption has
not been publicly verified. Then after succumbing to the effect of the diphenhydramine toxicity, he fell overboard just off
shore from his recovery site. They also believed that Lori intentionally
used the trolling motor to drive the boat away from that location before calling 911. The remaining question was why. Neither possess life insurance, so that was ruled out as a motive; however, detectives
learn that if Larry died, Lori would become the
benefactor of their estate, thus allowing her to pay
the restitution required for her criminal theft. They also discerned from
speaking with friends and family that, at the time of his death, Larry didn't know what Lori had been doing at the North Idaho Housing Coalition and that he would've been very upset upon finding out about
her criminal behavior. Her alleged motive of
financial gain was potentially confirmed when a source
close to the family, believed to be one of Lori's
children, told investigators that when they asked her
why she had stolen the money from the North Idaho Housing Coalition, she stated, "I did it for you guys because I'm trying to help you guys out. What am I supposed to do
when my daughters need help and are crying? I did it for you guys." Here, Lori is refusing
to take responsibility for her own actions and instead is blaming her children. It's possible that she felt
judgment from her kids about what she did, so she attempted to manipulate
them into feeling grateful by claiming that she
only took it for them. Finally in July, after
two months on the run, Lori turned herself into the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. It's believed she'd
been staying with family in California during this time. Of course, investigators
were eager to speak with Lori regarding the
suspected murder of her husband, but they had to wait until
the fraud case was settled in court. Six months later, Lori entered a guilty plead
to three counts of wire fraud and one count of federal program theft. She was sentenced to five
years in federal prison. Following an extensive investigation, Lori's four daughters
also entered guilty pleas for single counts of conspiracy to commit federal program theft. They were each sentenced to house arrest and probation with over
$50,000 to be paid in fines. Following her sentencing, Lori was interviewed about
Larry's suspicious death. and detectives started
by giving her a rundown of the story they had so far. - You got said to the
lake early that morning, got on a boat. That's the way he had a stroke and then fell into the water. Is that fairly accurate as
far as the course of events? - I don't think I thought he had a stroke. I didn't know what was wrong. - [Narrator] There is a significant delay in Lori responding to
the detective's question. Behavioral pauses can be
indicators of deception, but it does depend on the
context of the question. Some questions require thought while other questions should lead to a fairly quick response. Lori has likely talked about what happened that day multiple times by this point, so if her story was true, this should have been a fairly
easy question to answer. Then detectives got right
down to the hard questions. - So the end result is quite frankly, did you kill Larry or
didn't you kill Larry? And that's what we gotta dial the facts in to support one way or another. - [Narrator] Prior to the detective asking if she killed Larry,
Lori's body was still, however, as soon as he
mentioned the possibility that she was involved in Larry's death, her foot started tapping, which is likely an anchor point movement signaling her anxiety. When someone is sitting in a chair, their body is anchored to
the floor in three areas, buttocks, back, and feet. If there's movement in any of these areas after a question is asked, it could indicate that the
person is feeling stressed. They also asked her
directly about the results of Larry's autopsy. - So then we come to the part where Larry's autopsied and
they do toxicology on him and there is a large, large quantity of diphenhydramine AKA Benadryl, AKA, well, it really wouldn't
be a cough medicine. It's pretty much a Benadryl situation. Any ideas? - No. - Okay. - [Narrator] Despite her
denial of any involvement in her husband's death, detectives continue to press her about other incriminating
pieces of evidence. - There's a lot of things
within your phone records. There's a lot of things
within your Facebook records. You've got searches about depth charts. Can you explain that? - [Lori] No, I think if you're gonna start asking me questions like that, I should have my attorney here. - [Narrator] After shutting
down the interview, Lori expressed confusion over
the information being spread by local newspapers. - Because I don't really see things. I don't even know what
you're talking about. I don't know of things that have come up. I've never, I don't know
where people are coming up with these things. - [Narrator] In an effort to keep the interview going,
detectives ask Lori again if she could explain the
suspicious activity they uncovered from her phone's internet history during a trip she and Larry had taken to Florida shortly before his death. - You're researching drowning
articles and boating accidents and so forth, and then on the
28th you had left to go South. - [Narrator] Lori then remained silent as the detectives returned
to discussing Larry's cause of death. - He would've definitely,
based on everything we hear, in his or your own words,
he'd strive to be healthy, that he would've contacted somebody, Lori, for all intents and purposes, it looks like you might have had something to do with Larry's death. Everybody that I talked
to talks of how much of a picture perfect
relationship you guys had, how much you guys loved
each other, and so, - [Narrator] Lori appears
to be close to tears as the detectives say
that others reported Lori and Larry loved each other. She starts picking at her pants, likely an adapter reaction
to reduce her stress. Nevertheless, her motive was
crystal clear to detectives. - What is there, Larry or
Lori, pardon me, points to a concern of Larry finding out and, in a lack of a better word, taking care of that problem before he did. - [Narrator] Finally in February, 2020, two years after Larry's death, Lori was subsequently charged
with first degree murder. She entered an Alfred plea to second degree murder one year later, meaning she believed herself innocent, but felt confident that
there was sufficient evidence for a jury to convict
her if she stood trial, so in May 2021, 67-year-old
Lori appeared in court for sentencing. Prosecutors laid out the evidence to show that Lori had
premeditated the murder of her husband to avoid
further consequences of her embezzlement scheme. Still, she refused to admit any wrongdoing and painted a very different picture of that morning's events for the court, a bizarre story she hadn't
yet told investigators. According to Lori, she had intended to take
the diphenhydramine herself, but unbeknownst to her, Larry consumed it while
she was asleep on the boat. Unfortunately for Lori, the
judge didn't buy her story, and as a result, she was
sentenced to life in prison with 30 years fixed.
