Arizona Mom Commits Brutal Murder to Keep Custody of Baby

Our Story begins in a suburb of Maricopa Arizona a man is talking on the phone with his sister as he drives home he turns down the street that connects to his driveway unbeknownst to him this is the final time he will drive down this street he turns into his driveway and pulls into the garage he puts the car in park and tells his sister to hold on as he changes the call over from the car's Bluetooth to his cell phone during what should have been a period of Silence the sister heard her brother say holy sh followed by three loud booms she yelled out for her brother a couple of times but got no response she hung up and tried calling him again but her brother didn't pick up she was unsure of what to do next as she lived multiple states away seconds after the gunshots were fired neighbors called the police within minutes two Maricopa Police Officers arrived on the scene neighbors Point them toward a house with a garage door open and a car inside one of the officers walks up the driveway and towards the driver's side of the car we got a subject shot in the vehicle get R fire quick hey man you with me hey man stay with me buddy before the officers can render Aid to the maale slumped over in the driver's seat they must ensure that the scene is safe and that the threat is over they wait for backup as more officers arrive a team makes entry into the house ultimately they didn't find anyone inside the house and nothing appeared to have been tampered ered with they go back to the victim put pressure on his injuries and check for a pulse the fire department showed up shortly after and connected EKGs to check for a heart rhythm they determined that there was no Aid that could be rendered that would successfully bring the man back he was deceased homicide detectives arrive on the scene through the victim's driver's license he was determined to be 31-year-old Michael Ager Michael was born on July 26th 1985 in Indiana he was the oldest of four children as the big brother Michael set an example for his siblings in 2002 Michael's family moved to Urbana Ohio this is where Michael's love of sports took hold during high school he was on the football team his dad Mark Ager was the coach after a year of college Michael decided he was ready to enter the workforce he got a job at a local mortgage company in 2010 Michael went on a trip to Arizona to visit relatives he enjoyed the area so much that this time he checked out a possible new job after an interview Michael was offer the job and it was an opportunity the 25-year-old could not pass up when he returned home he told his family that he accepted a job offer in Arizona and that he would be moving soon Michael made the move to the Phoenix area and began working at Wells Fargo less than a year later Michael's friend Chris also moved to Arizona the two became roommates by 2013 Michael's future looked bright and he wanted someone to share it with he began online dating the first match he had online was with a woman named Katherine sinkovich eventually they met in person in their chemistry was undeniable she was a very daring person on one of their first dates they went skydiving however Michael learned that Katherine's Carefree exterior masked a tragic past Katherine's ancestry is Russian but she grew up in Southern California as one of eight children both of her parents were deceased when she was 13 she found her mother dead on the kitchen floor Katherine's older sister ended up raising her Catherine kept this painful childhood to herself after dating for several months Michael took Catherine to Ohio to meet his family everything went well and the family thought Catherine was great once back in Arizona the couple took another big step when Catherine presented him with a gift a dog they named Darwin Michael loved this dog to the point where he hung up pictures in their house the same way people hang up pictures of their family in the spring of 2016 Michael called his family to deliver some exciting news Catherine was pregnant everyone in the family was excited but during her pregnancy Michael and Katherine's relationship took a turn for the worse she accused him of cheating on her Michael was shocked by her allegations he tried his best to make her happy but there were just too many problems he decided that he couldn't raise a child in that environment he made the decision to leave he hoped that Catherine would reconcile with him after the baby was born but just months later this new father is found dead in his garage authorities begin a sweep of the crime scene the weapon used to kill Michael was not at the scene however detectives did recover three shell casings inside the garage it was clear that Michael was Ambush as he still had his sunglasses on and his car was left running of the three shots that were fired Michael was hit twice once in the head and once in the back the remaining shot struck the B pillar in front of the house investigators find a shoe imprint in the mud that was likely made by the killer the imprint was between Michaels and his neighbor's house detectives also noticed security cameras around the house but they must wait for a warrant before they can view the footage in the meantime a Man shows up identifying himself as Chris grindy Michael's longtime friend and former roommate he had received a call from Michael's sister telling him that Michael wasn't answering his phone and that something was wrong she asked him if he could drive down and check on him he said sure as soon as he turned the corner on the street he saw the police tape Chris was shocked to hear that Michael had been murdered Michael wasn't involved in any criminal activity so he wasn't the kind of person that would have enemies after him Chris told the police that Michael lived alone and that his sister and most of his family lived 28 hours away in Ohio Chris also told the police that Michael's ex-girlfriend Catherine and their newborn son Liv nearby Chris was suspicious of Catherine from the beginning she physically B beat the hell out of him she needs to know friends Cy I hope we have death on here after talking with Chris investigators then speak with the neighbors several neighbors report Ed seeing a white van leaving the area at a high rate of speed after the shots rang out however the accounts of who was driving the van were inconsistent at best they received multiple descriptions of the driver ranging from a black male to a white female and basically everything in between back at Michael's house with a signed warrant detectives take a look at the surveillance footage a white minivan can be seen parked across the street a few minutes past then as Michael's white Lexus IS seen pulling into the garage a person dressed in all black exits the van the person ran across the front of Michael's house house and up the driveway then 11 seconds later that same person is seen running away toward the minivan the person gets in the van and drives away between the angle of the cameras and the hoodie worn by the as salent investigators were unable to see any identifying characteristics detectives notify next of kin of Michael's death Michael's family Begins the long journey from Ohio to Arizona with the statements made by Chris detectives turn their attention to locating Michael's ex Catherine they look up the make and model of her vehicle and discover that she drives a blue car not a white minivan that same day authorities Tracked Down Catherine to a home in Mesa just a 40-minute drive from where Michael was shot when the officers arrive they observe Catherine's vehicle and a white minivan in the driveway they run the van's license plate it comes back to a Bridget Hopkins they make contact with both Katherine and Bridget at the residence when detectives inform Catherine of Michael's death she displays no emotion detectives asked both Catherine and Bridget to come down to the police department they both agreed when ask about her whereabouts Catherine states that she was at work all day she works with Bridget at a mortgage company during the interview Catherine was acting as if she couldn't be bothered with answering the questions no I need sleep yeah we all would like to have some sleep but unfortunately there was homicide give me a lawyer give you a lawyer yeah I don't not to speak to you guys anymore with Catherine lawyering up investigators shift their attention to Bridget she explains that she is Catherine's cooworker and that she has known Catherine for about a year Bridget corroborates Catherine's Alibi of being at work all day detectives inform Bridget that they're investigating a homicide she was shocked to think that they would consider Catherine a suspect in the murder Bridget said that she stayed at work all day except for when she went to pick up lunch with Bridget's vehicle matching the description given by Neighbors in the van in the surveillance footage detectives had reason to believe that Bridget's van was involved so They seized her vehicle they found two pieces of evidence inside a shoe print of dirt which would be consistent with someone stepping into a puddle of Mud the other was a dark black sweatshirt that was similar to the one worn by the killer in the video with no hard evidence directly tying Catherine or Bridget to the murder they must let both of them go when Michael's family arrives in Maricopa they share disturbing details about Michael's love life with investigators Michael's loved ones had a lot to say about Michael and Catherine's relationship in the beginning the two seemed great together but just months into the relationship Katherine's Behavior took a sharp turn when angered which they said didn't take much she would break dishes and throw things around she had also accused Michael of cheating on her with his sister when she realized how crazy that sounded she then said that his sister must have helped him cheat on her Michael's friend and former roommate Chris grindy had a front row seat to Catherine's erratic Behavior Chris described her as a very manipulative and controlling person shortly after Catherine moved in Chris moved out Michael tried his best to hold on even as the relationship deteriorated he tried to make things work but the verbal abuse turned and physical she had knocked him out on multiple occasions she had also headbutted him in March 2016 Catherine revealed that she was pregnant Michael told friends and family that he had no plans to marry her but that he wanted to support his child not long after the news of the pregnancy Michael was finally ready to break it off 4 months after moving out Chris received a call from Michael Michael said that Catherine had bitten him and that it required stitches because of all this Michael decided to leave around 8 months before he was found dead Michael took the dog Darwin and moved into a home in Maricopa Catherine was Furious she hired a private investigator to find out where he lived she waited for him to leave one day grabbed the dog Darwin and left with him investigators learned that Michael tried to take legal action on his own against Catherine yet an order of protection put in place in April of 2016 he had also gotten permission from the owner of the house he rented to install video cameras in case any other incidents took place however Catherine refused to let up following the birth of her son in October 201 16 she launched a vicious and hurtful campaign against Michael he was just starting to get his parental rights after this was happening Catherine announced in court that Michael wasn't the Father the court judge ordered that there be DNA testing in fact when Michael was returning home on the day he was killed he was returning home from taking the parental test with this new information about Catherine detectives head to the mortgage company where she works with her friend Bridget they speak with building security and asked to see surveillance footage from the day of the murder Detectives find that less than a minute after Bridget left the cubicle area to eat lunch in the breakroom Catherine is seen leaving the building a minute later at 12:34 p.m. a van can be seen leaving the parking lot at 3:19 p.m. about 3 hours later the van returns 1 minute after that Catherine is seen entering the building what had Catherine been up to for those 3 hours the next day detectives obtain a warrant for Catherine's cell phone records her cell phone pings show her leaving work at around 12:30 p.m. then near her apartment at 1:16 p.m. after that the phone shuts off the next time the phone pings is at 3:22 p.m. back at the mortgage company 4 days after the murder detectives returned to the mortgage company they learned that Catherine hadn't shown up for work but that Bridget was there they confront Bridget with the fact that Catherine used her van she had no idea that Catherine had taken her vehicle she told detectives that Catherine was determined to keep Michael away from the baby she wanted him to have nothing to do with the baby if he wasn't going to be with her atherine told Bridget that she was the victim of the relationship with all of the evidence detectives had enough for an arrest Morant for Catherine however she had not been heard from since being released on the 17th police check her home but she and the baby are nowhere to be found a day later the police received a call from a friend of Catherine he said that Catherine had called him and asked if she could stay with him she also asked him not to look into Michael's death this odd comment caused him to contact the police law enforcement rushed to the man's home Catherine that you not turn around stop turn around my boy put your hands behind your head The Fugitive task force went in and arrested Catherine she had the baby with her but showed no concern that she was leaving without the child her son was unharmed and taken to the Arizona Department of Child Safety 2 days after the arrest was made the paternity test results came back Michael was in fact the Father Michael's mother Leslie was then able to take custody of the child in May 2019 Catherine's trial began nearly all of the evidence against her was was circumstantial prosecutors alleged that on December 16th 2016 Catherine stole Bridget's van Keys she then snuck away from work waited for Michael to return home and then fired three shots into his car on May 7th 2019 the jury delivered its verdict guilty Catherine was sentenced to life in prison without parole

Channel: Law&Crime Network

Views: 39,966

Keywords: law and crime, law and crime network, true crime, truecrime, true crime videos, court, trials, law&crime

Id: FHvca68iFWU

Length: 12min 48sec (768 seconds)

Published: Sun May 19 2024