The COVID Cover-Up: Searching for Gretchen Anthony | Full Episode

foreign [Music] it's never dull in Palm Beach County [Music] we have some of the most famous people in the country or the world living here in our backyard [Music] this is my County this is my town and catching criminals I enjoy it this case began back in March of 2020. schools sporting events and businesses at the time everyone was preoccupied with the coronavirus lockdowns had started Gretchen Anthony was a resident of a well-to-do community in Jupiter Florida right here in Palm Beach County foreign I met David and Gretchen Anthony several years ago at a local gym here first thing that you noticed about her just big blue eyes and a giant smile blonde hair tan athletic [Music] David's very attractive man very Charming he had a big smile as well there was magic there and the energy between them was amazing foreign s issued an order not to leave your home unless absolutely necessary Gretchen Anthony's starts to send text messages to friends and family members stating that she has been diagnosed with the Coronavirus and she describes it as being an acute case a serious case yes foreign they're very concerned they've only talked to her via text no one ever spoke with Gretchen on the phone and she never answered her phone who would go to voicemail yes so efforts were made to speak with her spouse so there's a dual track here where is Gretchen Anthony and where is her husband David Anthony yes neither one can be found police did a welfare check of Gretchen Anthony and what they learned was disturbing so this is where the investigation began investigators were approached by a neighbor she heard a blood curdling scream horribly the fairies had happened this case really hit differently I mean we are talking about someone who is a mother a daughter a sister a friend all I wanted to do was to be able to find her and I wanted to find her alive and so the chase was on [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] back in March 2020 friends and family of Gretchen Anthony were alarmed when they began receiving texts from her saying she had tested positive for Coronavirus you know the news is saying it's serious the town of Palm Beach announced a state of emergency and then all this and numbers are being reported and people are dying the number of confirmed hundreds it was hard for Gretchen Anthony's friends like Kelly Hannah to picture her dying of anything much less this frightening virus at 51 years old Gretchen was a picture of fitness he's worked out at the gym very hard she took her health very seriously Gretchen is someone who is tremendously heart centered she's just radiant and just a very caring beautiful spirit but above all else she was the devoted mother to her 12 year old daughter Gretchen was Raising her child in this house in Jupiter Florida while sharing custody with an ex-husband Gretchen's daughter was her world she was everything to her crochet Mixon an assistant State's attorney for Palm Beach County got involved in Gretchen's case early on there was nothing that Gretchen wouldn't do for her daughter she hated being away from her after her divorce friends say Gretchen fell in love with David Anthony the two met at a local gym where he was a trainer don't forget the 90-minute workout coming this Sunday was he kind of a rock star at the gym oh he was the young hot trainer for sure he has a huge presence David was a popular trainer at a gym owned by Tabitha Hopkins she says he brought in lots of new members he was intelligent well spoken he was Charming she didn't have to tell anybody that there was an attraction there there was absolute Sparks there was magic there no question about it that attraction soon led to the couple getting married at an Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas in 2015. they seemed like the happiest couple ever did you feel like she'd found the man of her dreams absolutely David in all appearances was a phenomenal step parent she called him bonus dad but friends say the couple's dream life came apart in late 2019 when they separated and David moved out of their home it kind of sounded like they both lost themselves a little bit and they were searching more for their own self-identity now Gretchen's Inner Circle was dealing with a potential life or death situation and then all of a sudden there's bizarre cell phone messages [Music] over several days starting on March 23rd friends and family received a series of texts from Gretchen who said she was at home in quarantine she sent this one to her daughter who was staying with her ex-husband good morning tested positive for coronavirus early this morning that means I have to stay here for at least two weeks her daughter replied okay I really hope you get better crochet Mixon says there were multiple texts from Gretchen's phone over the next three days describing her deteriorating condition I consulted with the virus screening hotline and admitted myself into the Jupiter Medical Center's emergency room so this is serious stuff what does the family do with these texts the family finds the text messages that they're getting from Gretchen to be worrisome alarming what Disturbed everyone receiving these texts is that no one not even Gretchen's daughter had received a phone call from her that just there's so many things that are so wrong including these texts claiming that she'd been transferred to an off-site medical facility being run directly by the CDC in Belle Glade more than an hour away in Central Florida but there's a problem there is no CDC facility in Belle Glade Florida so this text message allegedly from Gretchen's own phone apparently was not sent by Gretchen it definitely was not sent by Gretchen Dave Ehrenberg the state attorney for Palm Beach County agrees clearly whoever had sent those text messages were trying to take advantage of this pandemic of the fear out there trying to exploit the situation so things were not adding up and things were not adding up very quickly the family along with friends made the decision to reach out to law enforcement to do a welfare check on Gretchen Anthony I need to get help for my friend that's missing I don't know how to put into words but I know she's been very clear danger right now Jupiter police detective Jared kennerson caught the case on the night shift we reached out to the Jupiter Medical Center and they did not have a record of Gretchen Anthony being a patient at their facility during that time period so all of a sudden this is getting serious yeah that's a huge concern of mine desperate for Clues police checked out the Jupiter Medical Center's parking lot they hit Pay Dirt Gretchen Anthony's Mini Cooper was recovered in the parking lot of Jupiter Medical Center detective kennerson says what they found inside Gretchen's car was worrisome her purse Sitting In Plain Sight I think a woman normally carries their purse with them if Gretchen Anthony is not in a facility in a hospital anywhere being treated for covet if she doesn't have covid and where is Gretchen that was a million dollar question no one knew where Gretchen was [Music] [Music] five days had passed since anyone had seen Gretchen Anthony Jupiter police investigators were determined to find her so they canvassed her neighborhood wearing body cameras looking for Clues they were stunned when a resident approached them to say that early on the morning of Saturday March 21st she heard something terrifying I heard a really serious woman scream like um just screaming like she was being attacked and then I heard her scream no and I heard something about it hurts stop it the scream was really serious did this woman call 9-1-1 she did not some people are apprehensive about calling the police when you heard that story what are you thinking I'm thinking that something definitely happened at Gretchen Anthony's home Saturday morning officers became even more concerned when another neighbor told them he later noticed his soapy substance flowing from underneath Gretchen's garage door somebody was in there cleaning that's what I take from that we discovered that um her entrance door that leads from her patio into her garage that door was locked and it had the key broken off in the in the deadbolt could Gretchen be inside investigators wasted no time finding out they forced entry into the garage and there was no Gretchen inside however they noticed that there was a strong pungent smell of a cleaning agent in the garage with body cameras rolling investigators searched the home several times they found evidence suggesting a violent struggle a broken picture frame shards of glass on Gretchen's bed and a stained towel there was a piece of cloth that had what is referred to as BLS a blood-like substance on it they got a huge break when they discovered neighbors had taken photos of a black Nissan pickup truck parked near Gretchen's home after the terrifying screams and who owns a black Nissan pickup truck I'm David Anthony David Anthony Gretchen's estranged husband his vehicle was there that morning investigators learned from friends and family that Gretchen had filed for divorce in February of 2020. and David had moved in with his mother that's when David's former boss Tabitha Hopkins says he became increasingly unstable he regressed Behavior wise slowly became more hard to manage Gretchen's family told investigators she worried about her safety after the separation and had security cameras installed throughout her home and garage who was she afraid of I was told that she had the cameras installed because David had returned to her home after he left after they'd separated that's correct kennerson discovered those cameras had been removed from the walls possibly to destroy incriminating evidence but he learned that while the cameras were gone the images they once recorded could be recovered from the cloud and we sent a search one to her camera provider it is believed that this could potentially be the best piece of evidence at this point that could give us some direction as to where is Gretchen Anthony while they waited for that crucial evidence investigators scrambled to find out just what David Anthony knew about Gretchen's disappearance they went to look for him at his mother's home again with body cameras rolling Jupiter police hello hi hi Jupiter place sorry to bother you David's mom said she too had received a concerning text from Gretchen Gretchen's been in touch with me because she's in the CDC Center she is the virus okay what CDC Center is she at I don't know she texted me this morning and said she was in there I have the text would you like to see it I'd love to thank you all right no problem okay when officers asked her where her son was they became alarmed he had said he was going to Costa Rica David's mother told them that he packed up his truck and on Tuesday March 24th three days after Gretchen disappeared he grabbed his dog Kobe and hit the road once they know that he is attempting to flee the country he definitely becomes a suspect they are very suspicious of him adding to their suspicion what they discovered on the video retrieved from the Jupiter Medical Center parking lot where Gretchen's car was found there was security footage that showed Gretchen Anthony's Mini Cooper pulling into a parking space and there is a tall figure walking away from her vehicle David Anthony is about six seven six eight and does that look like somebody who could be six seven six eight absolutely investigators were convinced David Anthony was somehow involved in Gretchen's disappearance Now tracking Gretchen's cell phone could be the key to finding David they find that Gretchen's phone is hanging off a tower I'm in the area of Pensacola Florida that's like 600 miles away yes her phone is on the move there's a lot of moving Parts here right so we're trying to still answer the question where is Gretchen Anthony where is David Anthony and so these cell phone records become a very critical part in in locating David Anthony investigators say phone records help track David across Florida as he left a paper and video trail cameras recorded him stopping at jewelry stores to sell Gretchen's jewelry one store owner shared a memorable conversation that he came in wanting to sell some jewelry that had been left to him by a family member that had died from covet 19. covet yes covet strikes again covet strikes again and in all these videos that we were able to obtain from these different businesses nowhere was Gretchen seen while David Anthony was leaving a tantalizing trail of electronic breadcrumbs he had one huge advantage remember they had learned from his mother that he was on his way to Costa Rica Hood be long gone we are not operating days behind David Anthony understanding that his intentions at this point are to leave the country so it's now from his perspective catch me if you can yes now we're on the hunt for David Anthony thank you to her friend Kelly Hannah Gretchen Anthony was someone who connected instantly with everyone she met oh she was so had this gentle gracefulness about her had the most beautiful laugh someone who should somehow be protected from harm in a perfect world you would hope and pray those people have Angels around them to keep them safe now Gretchen had been missing for six days what is going on and why is my beautiful friend missing assistant prosecutor Chris Shea Mixon knew the key to finding Gretchen was finding her estranged husband David Anthony she had been told David was on the run to Costa Rica and had a head start we're trying to make up time we're trying to move quickly and play catch-up investigators tracked Gretchen's and David's cell phone signals which appeared to place both phones traveling together heading Westward across Texas now does that suggest that two of them may be on a trip together that she could possibly still be alive it suggested their phones are pinged together to me detective Jared kennerson didn't know what happened to Gretchen but feared the worst as he waited for evidence taken from Gretchen's home to come back from the lab he issued a bolo an alert to be on the lookout for David's black Nissan truck his vehicle was listed as a felony vehicle investigators dug into David's past and what they learned was stunning so Dave and Anthony originally was known as David Anthony Deutsch and then later changed his name to David Anthony nobody knew that he's local here to the Palm Beach area he went to the same High School my children went to it was weird that nobody realized that there was a difference nobody realized for instance that as David Anthony Deutsch a star college basketball player he held up a Blockbuster Video Store armed with a squirt gun and assaulted a police officer he reached a plea deal in each case and spent a short stint in jail David Anthony has had a history of criminal conduct it's not that uncommon for someone with a Criminal pass to try to escape that past Tabitha Hopkins David's former boss at the gym in Jupiter had noticed something odd about David he's very talented and his skill level was amazing but his moods could be high or low do you feel as though he does have this Jekyll and Hyde personality 100 Tabitha says he became so difficult to manage she was forced to fire him in 2017. she gave him a second chance a few years later but by early 2020 he was increasingly unstable I basically said what's going on what's wrong with you you are not the same person that I knew Tabitha says she was forced to fire him again and this time she caught a glimpse of David's frightening rage that look I've never seen before he was angry shaken Tabitha texted Gretchen at the time separated from David with a warning stay away from him she had said that he is crazy and that's the last time I talked to Gretchen that was February of 2020. 00 then a few weeks later just seven days before Gretchen disappeared this happened can I get up no get down police received a report that David was allegedly following teenage girls at a nearby shopping center once again police body cameras were rolling when they approached him with Kobe sitting quietly in the truck David lashed out and was charged with resisting arrest blood on your face out like an airplane David spent just a few days in jail you had the right remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law investigators learned he posted bail and was released just three days before Gretchen disappeared I'm gonna stand up all right now as they tracked him cross country they knew they had a volatile man on the loose and he was being cagey he would turn on cell phones and we would be able to get a location and then he would turn cell phones off foreign pinged here in Pecos Texas more than 1600 miles away from Jupiter the next day David's phone pinged here in Las Cruces New Mexico [Music] immediately reached out to Las Cruces police for help ing his phone and inscription of the truck Las Cruces Police located David and pulled him over when officers asked David about Gretchen he told them she had coveted um last I heard she was on a CDC facility and getting treatment for uh chronovirus Las Cruces Police seized David's truck and his possessions including his phone and Gretchen's phone but they didn't have enough evidence to bring David in for questioning so along with Kobe he was allowed to just walk away where does he go I don't know where he went but I knew that he he was in Las Cruces on foot and you're here in Florida what do you do we are awaiting the results of Gretchen Anthony's video cameras Jupiter police finally received the electronic recordings from Gretchen's home they released portions of that evidence like this video from security cameras revealing a tall figure hidden in the Shadows on the patio waiting to Ambush her the figure moves throughout the patio areas other footage was too disturbing to release to 48 hours including the moment Gretchen appears on the patio and the figure forces her into the garage investigators also retrieved recordings from Gretchen's Alexa device where she can be heard calling out for help she was screaming for Alexa to call 9-1-1 she's calling out to that electronic box call 9-1-1 in other words call the police Gretchen didn't know it but unless you specifically program your Alexa device to do so it does not call the police in an emergency do you think if the Alexa unit had called 9-1-1 that Gretchen Anthony might be alive today it's possible video retrieved from cameras in the garage show the last images of Gretchen alive there comes a point where this person that we see grab Gretchen muffle her screams and take her into the garage this person looks up at the camera realizes that it's a camera and proceeds to take that camera and snatch it down off the wall and throws it on the floor and what do you see we see David Anthony looking up into the camera we knew that David Anthony killed Gretchen Anthony he was the Killer investigators finally had the proof they needed to make an arrest detective kennerson raced to Las Cruces to look for David Anthony we searched homeless areas we searched hotels were you nervous he's going to get away I was very nervous I didn't know where he could have gone [Music] that evening officers got a lucky break when they spotted David walking his dog Kobe David was detained and Kobe was taken to a shelter hey David my name is Jerry Jupiter Police Department with all six feet seven inches of David Anthony crammed into the back seat of a small police car detective kennerson knelt down and looked directly in the eyes at the man he was certain had killed Gretchen there's a warrant for your arrest and I'm gonna explain that when we get down back to the excuse me what homicide for who do you think we'll talk about it that of course okay okay all right kennerson had his man but still had one looming question we still don't have a body where is Gretchen Anthony see what evidence investigators pulled from the cloud at 48hours.com [Music] after a man hunt Crossing Six States spanning nearly 2 000 miles David Anthony was finally in custody for the murder of his estranged wife Gretchen Jupiter detectives Kelly Sanders and Jared kenerson would interrogate him here at the State Police Headquarters in Las Cruces New Mexico they had one goal get David to reveal the location of Gretchen's body we were in search of the truth we're in search of where is Gretchen Anthony I wanted to be able to tell her family tell her daughter I know where she is and that was very important to us right away David made it clear it wouldn't be easy we have obtained a warrant for your arrest for murder okay she's alive kennerson was stunned when David claimed Gretchen wasn't dead I I was in disbelief I I knew that she wasn't with us anymore but he's defiant with you that's correct defiant and dishonest police say the story David told was pure fiction she was traveling with me up into El Paso we were driving separate vehicles so she she bolted he said Gretchen was on the run because she discovered illegal activities at the company where she worked and someone was after her are you buying any of this I'm not buying it now when asked about the text messages sent from Gretchen's phone claiming she had coveted David was evasive there was no record of her being at any hospital for covet 19. okay zero record does it doesn't mean anything when the detectives pushed harder insisting David sent the messages he pushed right back you have you home you sent the text messages you planted her car at Jupiter Medical Center because you're on video doing it she had me do it kenderson and Sanders even confronted David with the evidence captured on Gretchen's own video system you put your hand okay dragged her into the garage it's on video David's story never changed he repeatedly told the detectives Gretchen was alive Gretchen's still alive in fact during the course of the interrogation David Anthony made that claim he's still alive person's alive she's still alive she's still alive 35 times in fact he says that over and over and over that she's alive why is he saying that he's trying to deflect David's trying to deflect away from himself with each denial the detective's anger Rose it's very frustrating because we know she's not alive we have evidence of her not being alive so kennerson switched tactics and tried to appeal to David's bond with Gretchen's young daughter you see that little girl right there for a brief moment it seemed like it might work I was the one who taught her how to ride a bicycle yep and that is awesome then do what's right for her I would never hurt her yeah I've never heard either one well you're hurting her indirectly by not letting us know where her mom is we can't ask her she's dead her mother's still alive and then David tried a new tactic he dared them to prove their case you don't have video of me killing her show it to me show me the video show me the video her dead body show me the video I know that it exists okay the detectives decided it was time to take a break they left and sent officers to adjust David's handcuffs kenderson came back alone this time quiet and friendly he made one last emotional plea by playing an audio recording of Gretchen's daughter begging David to tell them where they could find her mother even that didn't work there isn't a girl since she was two years old David claimed falsely that it wasn't Gretchen's daughter's voice infuriated kenerson decided to let him have it had nothing to do with it he didn't even like you didn't even and everybody is going to look at you like that after more than two hours David abruptly ended the interview I'll ask for a lawyer no problem I'm not asking you what questions I'm still wondering where Gretchen is um I wasn't able to leave that interview um knowing where she was um and that didn't necessarily sit well with me David Anthony was charged with second-degree murder and extradited to Florida Days Later his dog Kobe was adopted by new owners in Jupiter David's arrest made the news according to a just released arrest report a neighbor heard a woman's blood curdling scream at about six in the morning March 21st when Kelly Hannah saw the story she says it broke her heart I just sat down on my bedroom floor and just cried my eyes out cried my eyes out for her daughter for her sisters for her parents for everyone that loved her David's former boss Tabitha Hopkins felt she'd lost two friends it was just shocking I wanted to believe it wasn't true but it was obviously prosecutor Dave Ehrenberg had evidence and a suspect in custody but he knew getting a conviction wouldn't be easy the most troubling thing for the family and for all of us quite frankly was that we did not have Gretchen's body and when you don't have a body those are challenging cases to prosecute and David Anthony knew it while David Anthony was held in custody in Palm Beach County Florida a grand jury indicted him on the charge of kidnapping and raised the murder charge from second degree to First could he have faced the death penalty with these charges potentially yes for first-degree murder one traffic one but this search for Gretchen Anthony's remains continued that was the thing he had in his favor if this ever went to trial it was almost as though it was his ticket it was the worst part of it for me the fact that he was able to use evidence of his crime as Leverage that fact also weighed heavily on Gretchen's family the thought of Gretchen being out there alone forever was very unsettling for them I think the family wanted life in prison but they want to Grudge him December 2020 with the winter holidays looming it was becoming tragically apparent that authorities may never find Gretchen without her alleged Killer's help and so we entered into negotiations with David Anthony's defense lawyer and we're able to work out a settlement of 38 years in prison that settlement required David Anthony to plead guilty to second-degree murder and reveal the location of Gretchen's remains pleads guilty nine months to the day after Gretchen Anthony went missing David Anthony finally admits what everyone already knew he murdered his wife we were able to find Gretchen that day it was a relief because I know that is what her family wanted and to be able to give that to them it meant a lot David Anthony chose this nondescript patch of grass just a few miles from Gretchen's House behind a Walmart and next to a retirement home to hide his wife's remains detective Jared kenerson took us there how does someone bury a body here and not get caught I I don't know I don't know this discovery that must have been quite a moment for you it was very emotional for me it was very emotional for um for all of us that were involved after months of uncertainty Gretchen's family could finally lay her to rest and I could see as hard of a time as this has been or had been for the family I could see that there was some sort of peace and autopsy was performed which explained why that neighbor heard screams the morning Gretchen disappeared what was the cause of death cause of death was stab wounds to the neck and to the Torso there were some defensive wounds she fought for her life [Music] you used what you did to negotiate something for yourself you are pure evil Gretchen's Sister Sarah Carey and the rest of their family came face to face with David Anthony at his sentencing hearing you stole a mother away from her child a daughter away from her mother you are a monster you are a coward you can never be forgiven then it came time for the man who created all this pain to speak and he gave a bizarre explanation for his actions my solution so that could be fair didn't get an end of the world prophecy with Armageddon that I felt compelled to escape no matter the cost instead of being a man I chose to be a coward I tried to steal what was in mine and the process I ended the life her life had values her life had meaning and I stole that way I'll call BS on that hard hogwash that's appalling absolutely appalling and he left so many questions unanswered we will never know we will never know we will never know why he ended Gretchen's life I think that's the hardest question to ask is why and sometimes you just need to believe that there are higher powers in place that have a bigger plan and now Gretchen's friends and family are left trying to make sense of it all how is Gretchen's daughter doing you know children are resilient she is blessed to have her father in her life and she appears to be doing well if one person was touched by how much she loved people by how much she loved her child by how much she just loved living life to the fullest then her life mattered [Music] foreign [Music] what's next for Eric Smith 48 Hours next on CBS

Channel: 48 Hours

Views: 2,312,764

Keywords: 48 hours, cbs news, COVID-19

Id: X4C4cCtS88s

Length: 42min 25sec (2545 seconds)

Published: Fri May 19 2023