Sleeping with a Killer (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Michelle Boat - full transcript
Pella Iowa: Michelle Boat, 56, was charged with murdering Tracy Mondabough, 47, on May 18, 2020. Mondabough was dating Boat's estranged husband, Nick Boat, at the time. Boat was convicted of first-degree murder in May 2021.
- [Narrator] May
2020, Pella, Iowa,
a woman is found savagely
murdered in her vehicle.
- She had a horrific
injury to her hand.
It almost took her thumb off.
- [Narrator] Her name
is Tracy Mondabough.
And police suspect the ex-wife
of Tracy's current boyfriend.
Her name is Michelle boat.
- She unleashed hell
on Tracy that day.
She was just not able to deal
with her marriage falling apart.
- I think in her head she
felt that if she removed Tracy
from the situation, that
Nick would come back to her.
- [Narrator] It doesn't
take police long
to find out just what their
suspect has been up to.
- Michelle had been
following Tracy around town
for quite a while that evening.
She stalked Tracy
and then killed her.
- [Narrator] And
Michelle's own words
provide damning evidence.
- Every one of the
things that she did
was a free-will
choice to the point
that she plunged a knife
into Tracy's heart.
- [Narrator] This is the story
of Tracy Mondabough's murder
and how it was solved, the
story of a determined killer
driven by rage and by jealousy.
(Intense music)
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
May 18th, 2020.
Police in the city of
Pella, Iowa, receive a call
about a possible domestic abuse.
- She witnessed what she
thought was a domestic incident
and a couple of people
arguing in the parking lot
and then when one of the
people came around the corner,
she, the witness said that
she was covered in blood
and so that obviously
was very alarming.
- [Narrator] Shortly afterwards,
police arrive on the scene.
(Intense music)
- They found a body,
they didn't know exactly
how long it had been there,
the extent of the injuries
and so they attempted
to perform CPR.
It was unsuccessful.
(Intense music)
- You start to look at
the area around her body.
And you could see that
there was a struggle,
her purse had been knocked out.
Some of her personal items,
her teeth, she wore dentures,
were on the ground as well.
And then you could barely
see into the cab of the truck
but you could see immediately
that there was a
tremendous amount of blood.
- [Narrator] Using
her driver's licence,
police were able to identify
the victim as Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
(Dramatic music)
Police are soon able to
find out more about Tracy.
- This whole thing
was a tragedy.
She had people who loved
her and for most part
had been living her
life, you know, well.
- Her children described
her as a very loving mother
and a very nice person.
Just kind of trying to figure
out her way through life.
- [Narrator] Tracy had
been dating Nick boat.
He is separated from his
wife of over 20 years
and works at a local industrial
and agricultural supplier,
Vermeer corporation.
- Her family was happy
that she had met Nick
and that Nick treated
their mom well.
- He had begun seeing
this woman while married
to Michelle boat and at
some point he told Michelle
that he was leaving her
to go live with Tracy.
- I believe he described
it as the love of his life
and that he now, for the
first time in his life
knew what love really was.
- So, Tracy and Nick
moved in together
and the truck was
Nick boat's truck.
Tracy had dropped
Nick off for work,
had the vehicle that day, took
him lunch from burger king
and had come back to their
apartment after dropping off
and having some lunch with him.
- [Narrator] This was the last
time Tracy was seen alive.
(Dramatic music)
(Light intense music)
Crime scene investigators
begin to examine the scene
and look for evidence.
(Intense music)
- Well first and foremost
when law enforcement arrived
and the Pella police department
were wearing body cameras,
you could tell that the victim
was still seatbelted in.
That was important, at
least from my perspective
because it demonstrated
an ambush attack.
- [Narrator] It is also clear
that there has been
a violent struggle.
- You can tell
Tracy fought back.
She had a horrific
injury to her hand.
It almost took her thumb off.
- She had what many people
refer to as defensive wounds
on her hands.
And then she had a single
stab wound to her chest.
- According to her
medical examiner,
that puncture of her
heart terminated her heart
from beating and so it was
just mere seconds, I think.
Probably less than 30 seconds
and I hope for Tracy's sake,
it was shorter than that.
(Light gentle music)
- [Narrator] One
small but vital clue
captures the attention
of the police.
- At the crime scene, they
had found what looked like
a finger off of a
blue latex glove.
Just the finger,
it looked like it
had been ripped
off of the glove.
- Everyone, whether or
not it's law enforcement
or the EMT crews, fire fighters,
they wear purple gloves,
so the fact that we had a
blue glove at the scene,
this stood out to us.
(Suspenseful music)
- Investigators also learn
something of enormous interest
from some bystanders.
- There was a male and a
female standing outside
and he told me that
a lighter coloured,
he couldn't remember
silver or white vehicle
with a Vermeer sticker
in the front windshield
had left the scene before
the officers arrived.
- Through his dealings
with Nick and Michelle,
lieutenant Cox immediately
put it together
that that was Michelle
boat's Cadillac
which was a critical
blessing that lieutenant Cox
was able to put that all
together very quickly.
- Armed with this information,
investigators are now able
to track down Michelle
boat and pay her a visit.
- She lives probably less
than a mile and a half
from the crime scene.
When they knocked on the door,
not a whole lot
happened initially
because she didn't
answer the door.
I think by the body footage
we were able to calculate
that it's about a
5-minute knocking,
a pounding on the door, pounding
on the side of the house.
(Intense music)
- You could see
inside the residence;
the blinds weren't
pulled on the windows.
They were wide open.
Lieutenant Bigowith
went to the driveway
and was looking
around the Cadillac.
He put his hand up to the wheel,
the front wheel of the car
and said the brake
rotors were still warm.
He could feel the heat
coming off the rotors
which would tell me
that the vehicle's
been driven fairly recently.
So, I went around the side
of the house and I noticed
that there was a light
on in, I didn't know
what the room was.
I thought maybe
it was a bathroom.
So, I pounded on the
side of the house,
on the siding of the house.
About 30 seconds after
that, lieutenant Bigowith
yelled for me and said that
she was coming to the door.
So, I went to the front
porch of the residence.
(Indistinct)
- [Narrator] Police have
caught up with Michelle boat.
She appears calm and collected.
They know they need to find out
if she's connected with the
murder of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
In Pella, Iowa, police
have begun an investigation
into the brutal murder of
47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
The main person of interest
in the investigation
is Michelle boat
whose silver Cadillac
was seen leaving the
scene of the crime.
Police have arrived
at Michelle's home
and after some time,
she's finally opened the door.
- She opened the door and
said, 'hey, what's going on?'
and I asked her if she
could step out first
and then I changed my mind
because she was in a robe
and all that, I asked
her if she minded
if we stepped inside
the residence.
- She claims to not
know why they're there,
she was just taking a shower.
Ultimately officers go inside
and speak with Michelle
and she told them that
she didn't know anything
about what had
happened to Tracy.
(Intense music)
- They knew differently.
They knew that her car was
seen leaving the scene.
Additionally, deputy Bigowith
goes and looks at the vehicle.
There's blood on the
outside of the vehicle
and the brakes on the
vehicle are still warm.
So, we knew her story, what
she was telling us didn't match
the physical evidence
at the scene.
- [Narrator] Police move
to secure Michelle
boat's residence.
(Heavy music)
- They were obviously
very concerned
about maintaining anything
of evidentiary value because,
you know, at this point
it's really looking like
Michelle boat is a person
who might have been
responsible for Tracy's death.
- I went into the basement first
and there was a storage area,
pretty decent-sized storage
area in the basement
of the house and that was
where I heard something.
I couldn't see much,
it was pretty dark.
I had my flashlight and I
couldn't find a light switch.
- You've got to imagine
if you're an officer
going down there, you don't
know exactly what's going on.
You're walking into pitch black.
He actually hears, I
think, the machine going
and it somewhat startles him.
- I heard some movement
back in the darkness
and I just announced,
'police department,
if you're back there, come out.'
and nobody came out
so I continued forward
and realised that the
sound I was hearing
was the washing machine.
- [Narrator] But the
contents of the machine
proved to be of interest.
- There's just one outfit
in the washing machine
which is a little peculiar.
Nobody usually washes
just one pair of pants
and one shirt or whatever,
so he noticed that.
And that ended up being a
crucial piece of evidence.
- [Narrator] Police
believe they have enough
to warrant them taking
Michelle into custody.
- Michelle boat was in
custody within 20 minutes.
You know, I mean there
wasn't the concern
that we have a
killer on the loose
or that this was a
random act of violence.
- We decided to
arrest Michelle boat
on a violation of a
no-contact order that night
and that was brought on by...
I went to Vermeer
corporation and requested
to look at their
security footage.
(Intense music)
When I was reviewing that,
I found video of Michelle
boat's silver Cadillac
following the red f150
that Tracy was driving.
The video shows Michelle
sitting in the same parking lot
as the victim and
Nick and watching them
for about a half an hour and
then once the truck leaves,
Michelle pulls out
and follows the truck.
(Intense music)
Shortly thereafter
we got the phone call
at the police department of the
situation that was going on.
That was when we
started putting together
that this is
first-degree murder,
because she had
this planned out.
She stalked Tracy
and then killed her.
(Light intense music)
- [Narrator] The
investigators now call in
the division of
criminal investigations,
known as the DCI.
(Light intense music)
- Certain law
enforcement agencies
and especially in smaller
communities don't have access
to all of the things that DCI
does, and so when we're able
to make a phone call to them
when something
like this happens,
we inherit a wealth of
resources for the investigation.
- Just knowing that people
that deal with these
types of situations on
a more regular basis
are able to come and back
us up on a case like this
is a huge relief when you're
in the middle of this situation
and wondering what
the next step is.
- When I arrived at the
Pella police department,
I already knew that we had
two crime scenes at that time,
several search warrants
were already underway
and Michelle boat was already
at the police department.
- [Narrator] It is time to
question Michelle in depth.
- Michelle maintained that
she didn't have anything
to do with the injuries
that Tracy had to her chest
or her hands.
She claimed not to have
seen Tracy that evening.
Michelle maintained that
she had just gone out
to get some food, realised
that the line was too long
at the burger place and
turned around and came home
but that she had nothing to
do with the murder at all
or anything that
happened to Tracy.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] To the police,
Michelle boat's reactions
are more than strange.
(Intense music)
- When ultimately law
enforcement tells her
that Tracy's been hurt
severely and Tracy is dead,
Michelle gets this
eerie smile on her face
and she looks at him and goes,
'oh, I guess the lord works
in mysterious ways, ' and to me
that was such a telling comment.
- It was incredibly chilling.
That statement just showed to
me a complete lack of remorse
for what had happened,
that in some ways, I think,
was her saying that, you know,
that she was somehow
justified in what she did,
because this woman had
interfered with her husband.
- As a prosecutor, I
immediately thought
that's something we're
gonna use at trial.
As a human being
I thought, 'wow!
That's really this
woman's mindset.'
(light gentle music)
- [Narrator] Police are
also uncovering more
about Michelle and her life.
- She was kind of
a normal person.
Best we could tell.
You know, she had worked,
she lived in Pella,
and she didn't get arrested
until the times
leading up to this.
- She never stood out
to me as somebody who
would go this far.
In my dealings with her,
she was always fairly...
She was loud, she was...
She was a yelling at the top
of her lungs type of person.
- Something happened with her
that drove her to
a really dark place
and that she was just not able
to deal with her
marriage falling apart.
- [Narrator] Michelle and Nick
had been married for 20 years.
- It was a loveless marriage
for probably more than a decade.
And had turned south in a hurry.
He had told her that he wanted
out of the relationship,
that their marriage was over
and he, in fact, moved out
of the home and at that
point he said she...
She became very angry with him.
- She was so used to Nick
doing whatever she said
that when Nick finally left
and found somebody else
that made him happy, it was
more than she could handle.
- She largely had
no criminal history
but then in the months
leading up to the murder
had kind of started popping up
on Pella police
department's radar.
She assaulted Nick at one point
which resulted in a protective
order being in place
and then Michelle continued
to violate that
protective order.
- I think for 50-some years,
she was just an ordinary person.
But there was certainly
something lingering inside her
that caused her to, and I’m
not even going to say snap
because I don't think she
snapped, I think she did exactly
what she wanted to do.
She absolutely had the
personality of a sociopath
who was driven and
wasn't going to stop
until she achieved her goal.
That was the death
of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Investigators
now have their prime suspect
in custody.
As they put their case together,
Michelle's motive starts
to become clear: Jealousy.
(Intense music)
(Intense music)
In may 2020, in Pella, Iowa,
detectives are learning more
and more about the events
surrounding the murder
of 47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
They have Michelle
boat, the estranged wife
of Tracy's boyfriend,
Nick, in custody.
Pella police have called in
the division of
criminal investigations
and agent Elizabeth
Miller is now
at the Centre of the inquiry.
- One of the first things
that special agent Miller did
was recognise that she
wanted to get photographs
of Michelle boat's body and so
we photographed Michelle boat
head to toe and at first
there was a slight wound
to one of her fingers, a
laceration but barely visible
to the human eye and a
little bit of discolouration.
And she had a small
laceration on her face.
But literally that was it.
It was not anything that
would lead you to believe
this person was just
involved in a violent attack.
- [Narrator] But
there is more to come
from the examination
of Michelle.
- About 36 hours
later on may 20th
is when I took the second
set of photographs.
At this point, you could see a
large bruise on her upper arm
and just more
injuries were apparent
than they were the day before.
Bruises can take a
little while to show up,
so when I don't see an injury
from the first set
of photographs
and then the second time
that you go and
document someone's body
and there's a whole
set of injuries,
it says that there
was an altercation.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Police
seek permission
to conduct a search
of Michelle's home.
- A team of law
enforcement go in the house
and searched it thoroughly,
you know, obviously
we were looking for a knife
or some kind of sharp object
because we were thinking
that that may have caused
the death.
Obviously, we didn't know
for sure at that point,
but anything with
blood on it or hair.
(Dramatic music)
- [Narrator] A calendar in
the house tells itS own story.
- Michelle boat was documenting
the amount of days
that Nick had left her.
It went from one days'
gone to 69 days' gone.
She was definitely keeping
track of how long he had left.
- [Narrator] The examiners
make an extraordinary discovery
on Michelle's vehicle.
(Dramatic music)
- One of the things
that was unusual
when we look at the vehicle
that Michelle boat was driving,
attached to the windshield wiper
was a black choker necklace
and inside that choker
or weaved through
it is Tracy Mondabough's hair.
So, during this struggle
somehow, Michelle boat must grab
at Tracy's neck, pulls the
necklace and tosses it.
And for whatever reason,
and I'm glad it happened,
it attached by the magnet
that held it together
to her windshield wiper,
and made it all the way home
still attached.
- It just all fit what
exactly had happened.
There was obviously a
violent struggle and Michelle
at some point threw the
necklace towards the car.
- [Narrator] And there
is more in the car
which supports
the investigators'
developing case
against Michelle boat.
- There were several
pieces of evidence
which suggested that Michelle
boat didn't just decide
in some moment of rage that
she was going to kill Tracy.
I mean first of all, she had
everything that she needed
for murder in her car.
Rubber gloves, binoculars,
there's a few other things
in there that clearly
show that Michelle boat
was thinking about
doing something bad.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] But
police are about
to find the most damning
piece of evidence.
- Lieutenant Bigowith
noticed that when they were
in the bathroom that
the toilet kept running.
That caught his
attention and I believe
he lifted the top of the
tank, saw something in there.
It was a towel with a
set of rubber gloves
with one fingertip missing.
(Intense music)
I went to the crime lab
straightaway from the scene
and then just like the
rubber glove tip from where,
near where Tracy
Mondabough's body was found,
those were taken to the
lab too and matched.
And you don't need
a medical degree
to look at the rubber glove
and see that it fit the tip
that was found at the scene.
- That absolutely
connected the crime scene
with Michelle boat's residence.
It was a perfect fracture match
for the tip of the latex
glove at the crime scene.
And the glove found
in the toilet tank
at Michelle's residence.
- [Narrator] Police are
still searching, however,
for one elusive piece of
evidence: The murder weapon.
- We walked for miles
around this town.
We worked long and hard
trying to find that weapon
and were never able to.
We did take some knives
from the residence
that it could have been
in there, I'm not sure.
But I would like to know
where the knife was.
(Light music)
- [Narrator] The
investigating team dig deeper
and they find out much
more about Michelle
and her motivation.
(Light music)
- There was quite a bit
of digital evidence.
Michelle boat was convinced
that Tracy Mondabough
was the source of all
of her marital problems.
I think that she
had worked herself
into some view of what was going
on that if Tracy were gone,
that her life would
be normal again.
I think in many ways,
Michelle boat believed
that she was the victim
in this circumstance
that someone had come
and taken her husband
and she was not going
to allow that to happen.
(Light music)
- Michelle somehow found
Tracy's ex-boyfriend on Facebook
and sent him a message
saying, 'hey, you should go
get your girlfriend back;
She's with my husband
and if you go get Tracy back,
then I'll get Nick back.'
I think in her head, she felt
that if she removed Tracy
from the situation, that
Nick would come back to her.
- Even her phone
calls from jail,
when she originally gets
arrested, she's totally confused
by why Nick hasn't
visited her at jail,
because Tracy's gone now.
Where else would he go?
Of course he would
come back to her.
- [Narrator] Michelle's stalking
had become an obsession.
- There was evidence
that Michelle
had been trying to
track Tracy down.
She followed Tracy one time
to Ottumwa and the police
had to be called down there.
So, it was clear that
Michelle was interested
in knowing where Tracy was
and she was clearly filled
with rage towards Tracy.
- When you lose your identity
and potentially lose your
major source of your
income, you feel helpless
and discarded and everything
you've built your whole
life around is gone.
And so that's her rage.
She couldn't let it go.
(Light intense music)
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] When voice
messages from Michelle
to Nick surface, it's clear
that Michelle's intense rage
had reached a dangerous level
and that her behaviour
had become unpredictable.
- They were awful.
Michelle had left, I
think it was something
in the neighbourhood of eight
to 10 voicemail messages
and Nick had chosen
to save them.
- They were from weeks
earlier, all explaining
that how upset Michelle
was about Nick leaving
and dating Tracy.
Talking about Tracy
in a derogatory way
and quite frankly
laying out her plan
and that was to harm Tracy.
- You know these messages
sometimes are just 15 seconds
of screaming,
sometimes they're...
She's played songs, and
sometimes she's talking
and when she's talking, the
voice messages made everyone
in our office, that kind
of the hair on the back
of your neck stand up.
(Intense music)
- It's not just the
words, it's the tone.
The hate.
The anger.
It's palpable and it's chilling.
- The motivation was
clear and that was
that she definitely wanted
to harm Tracy and, you know,
do serious harm to her.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Police
have their killer.
Now they need to piece
together the events that led
to the jealousy-motivated
murder of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
(Intense music)
Police in Iowa are continuing
their investigation
into the murder of
47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
They've arrested Michelle
boat, the estranged wife
of Tracy's boyfriend, Nick.
Now they're trying to piece
together Michelle's movements
on the day of the killing.
- She maintained she had
left to go get dinner
and then when she got to the
drive through at the Culver's,
the line was too long
so she drove back home.
The problem was she was
missing about an hour
from her timeline.
Her story just
didn't make sense.
- I believe that
Michelle boat had decided
she was going to kill Tracy.
She didn't know
exactly when or where
but it was something that
had been growing in her mind
over the course of those
69 days since Nick left
and especially since the
time that she realized
that Tracy was part
of the equation.
And so, I think, probably
that evening she did go
to try to get something to
eat and she noticed the truck.
She saw who was driving it
and I think at that point,
she just realised
this is my chance.
- [Narrator] The CCTV
footage which police recover
becomes key to furthering
the investigation.
- We ended up through
investigation finding
that Michelle had
been following Tracy
around town for quite
a while that evening.
It started at burger king.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Tracy pulls into
the burger king drive through
at 7.20pm.
(Intense music)
- Michelle followed
Tracy to the burger king
and parked in the parking
lot of the strip mall,
a ways away, so Tracy
would not have noticed her.
You can see her on surveillance
footage from the burger king
and from the Culver's
surveillance footage,
get out of her car and then
go to the trunk compartment.
- Michelle boat had,
as we called it,
kind of a murder kit.
She had rubber gloves,
she had a hammer,
she clearly had a knife,
she had a crowbar.
She had all of those
things with her
in that vehicle.
I think some of those things
were located in the trunk
of her vehicle.
That's why while she was
waiting for Michelle,
she got ready, she armed
herself, she prepared.
She followed her.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] The next stop
is the Vermeer facility
where Nick works.
(Intense music)
- You first see Tracy
pull in to Vermeer
and then less than 40 seconds
later, Michelle boat pulls in.
- What we see is Tracy
pulling in to the parking lot,
driving the truck she was
found in and meeting Nick
and Michelle pulls in
sort of behind them.
Our theory was
she was trying not
to be detected by
Nick and Tracy.
Michelle was sitting there
watching the whole time.
She waited a half an hour
and watched them eat dinner.
He kissed Tracy goodbye
and they parted ways
and that was the last
time that he ever saw her.
- And that's what
fuelled this whole thing
is the realisation that this
is really over in that moment
when she realised
it was really over,
having seen them
in that parking lot
and having a passionate kiss
that Michelle hadn't had
from him in years.
And that was the kindling
that lit the fire.
- The vehicles leave
and once again,
Tracy's vehicle pulls out of
Vermeer, Michelle is following
and then just down the road
probably half a mile or so away,
there's security cameras on
the back side of a church
that identified both
vehicles driving away.
(Suspenseful music)
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Tragically,
police believe
that the final stop is murder.
- From all the evidence
it appears that
Tracy Mondabough pulls
into the parking spot,
turns the car off, but before
she unhooks her seatbelt,
she's attacked.
(Scary music)
At that point, we believe
that Michelle boat
clearly wearing gloves
and armed with a knife
attacks and at that point
that's when the eyewitness
and what I call the kind
of the sound witness
hear what's going on.
- Tracy was found still
wearing her seatbelt
and that to me was one
of the most critical
pieces of evidence,
because it was very telling
about what had happened.
Knowing that she
was still in her seatbelt
told me something, I
think, that was critical
and that was that this
was all one altercation,
that there was no break
in the fight, that likely
when Michelle boat
approached Tracy,
that she had a knife with
her, that she didn't leave
to go get the knife or leave
to put rubber gloves on,
that she approached with
the knife and I think
that really said a
lot about her intent,
what she meant to do
when she got there.
(Scary music)
- [Narrator] DNA evidence
allows investigators
to connect all the dots.
- We were able to use DNA to
tie the two separate areas
of town together through
the DNA from the crime scene
to Michelle boat's
residence and back.
- That's what linked
her to the scene.
There weren't any eyewitnesses
that could tell who she was,
so yes, the DNA was very
important to that aspect.
(Intense music)
- Michelle boat's vehicle
had a piece of jewelry
with magnets on it, it
was a, like a choker,
and that had black
hair that came back
as Tracy Mondabough's
DNA on that hair.
There were blood splatters all
over the side of the Cadillac
and in multiple different
areas around the car
that all came back as
Tracy Mondabough's DNA.
(Intense music)
- The rubber glove
was found wrapped up
in a towel in the toilet tank.
It did have Tracy's
blood, DNA on it.
And it did match up with the
rubber glove tip that was found
at the crime scene which
also had Tracy's DNA on it.
(Intense music)
- Tracy Mondabough
fought like hell.
She had inside her hands,
Michelle boat's hair.
So, her ability to even
in death be certain
that she was gonna bring
her killer to justice,
she fought back and she fought
back in a way that allowed us
to use what she found
to advance our case.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] As police prepare
their prosecution for trial,
they believe they
have a very good case.
- Once we saw that
she followed Tracy,
that and the nature of
the attack, the fact
that we had a knife
used, it was close combat
for lack of a better
term, and multiple stabs
because we knew that there
was the injury that killed her
and the injury to her hand
that in my mind this was
murder in the first degree.
This was premeditated homicide
with malice aforethought.
Every one of the things that
she did was a free-will choice
that she made on
her own to the point
that she plunged a knife
into Tracy's heart.
(Intense music)
- All of the evidence
that existed in this case
and you didn't have
to believe all of it,
you could just
believe any one of it,
and you would find
Michelle boat guilty.
- This physical evidence, it
eliminates the plausibility
of being able to argue that
your client wasn't there,
that this wasn't them.
That was when we knew it,
we had to pursue a
manslaughter Defence
or a lesser included defense.
- [Narrator] Given
the relationship
between the parties involved,
the trial was always going
to be an emotional one.
- She kept it together fairly
well and I'm not gonna say
she was persuasive but she
was at times sympathetic.
I mean you're married to
a person for 20-plus years
and they all of a sudden tell
you somewhat out of the blue,
blindsiding you that they
want out of this relationship,
and while you still are
dealing with the emotions
of maybe I can win
that person back,
you realise they've already
moved on to someone else.
I think for Michelle, it
was just too much too quick
and she wasn't
gonna tolerate it.
- I think at that point she
was still playing a part.
When we were testifying,
there was not a
whole lot of emotion.
When she testified
or Nick testified,
there was a lot of
emotion on her part,
or what appeared to be emotion.
- I think that Michelle did
the best she could to try
to manipulate the facts
into what would help her,
but given what I knew
about what the evidence was
and what she said, they didn't
coincide with each other.
- [Narrator] The jury
reaches a guilty verdict
within 45 minutes.
- I felt relieved more than
anything else because I think
the truth is that Michelle
boat killed Tracy Mondabough
and she had planned it and
she meant to do it and I...
And just to finally
have the jury say,
'that's what we think happened
too, ' it was a good feeling.
- Having a first-degree
murder verdict
is always a great
form of justice.
However, it still took a loss
of life to get that verdict.
(Gentle music)
- Sentencing was about eight
weeks later, give or take and,
honestly, I think it probably
took less than 15 minutes
which was amazing and Michelle
boat is now gonna spend
the rest of her
natural-born life in prison.
(Gentle music)
(Soft music)
- [Narrator] Michelle
receives her sentence,
but was justice
done in this case?
- I think justice exists.
If it didn't, you know, my
job would be meaningless
if I didn't find that
there was justice in it.
But in order to get justice,
something bad has to happen.
- In a sort of cold way in
my job, the file's closed,
so there's that but I bet
if you asked that question
of Tracy's family or Nick,
they would probably have a
different answer for you.
I'm sure they're probably
still dealing with a lot.
(Dramatic music)
- There's nothing
that any of us can do
to bring Tracy Mondabough back.
That's what would be
justice is being able to
snap your fingers
and all of a sudden,
bring a person back to life.
But to the extent of
what we're allowed to do,
under our criminal justice
system, the jury got it right:
Michelle boat is exactly
where she deserves to be.
- I think Michelle made
a choice to take a,
the life of someone she deemed
was a threat to her marriage.
She did not show any remorse.
I don't know if I would
say cold-blooded killer,
but I don't think that she
feels bad about what she did.
- It's just a reminder to me
that people who are seemingly
normal, seemingly, you know,
good people, can be capable
of really bad things.
It's so hard not to
just think what if.
You know?
What if Michelle just would
have taken a second to breathe
and turn her car
around that day,
that Tracy would still be alive.
It's just, it's sad to see
how all of the circumstances
came together for
Tracy to lose her life.
(Dramatic music)
- [Narrator] The murder of
Tracy is a case with jealousy
at itS heart, solved
by a dedicated team.
- I would describe this case
as good old-fashioned
police work.
The way that pella pd was
so quick to find Michelle
and to take control
of that situation.
- It just shows that even
in a town like pella,
very small compared to a
lot of towns and cities,
and we don't deal
with this very often
but when we do have
something like this happen,
we're still able to step up
and take care of the job.
- You don't ever forget
the murder cases,
you don't forget the
big ones and I think
that's absolutely true.
I'm gonna remember
Tracy Mondabough
for the rest of my life.
(Dramatic music)
2020, Pella, Iowa,
a woman is found savagely
murdered in her vehicle.
- She had a horrific
injury to her hand.
It almost took her thumb off.
- [Narrator] Her name
is Tracy Mondabough.
And police suspect the ex-wife
of Tracy's current boyfriend.
Her name is Michelle boat.
- She unleashed hell
on Tracy that day.
She was just not able to deal
with her marriage falling apart.
- I think in her head she
felt that if she removed Tracy
from the situation, that
Nick would come back to her.
- [Narrator] It doesn't
take police long
to find out just what their
suspect has been up to.
- Michelle had been
following Tracy around town
for quite a while that evening.
She stalked Tracy
and then killed her.
- [Narrator] And
Michelle's own words
provide damning evidence.
- Every one of the
things that she did
was a free-will
choice to the point
that she plunged a knife
into Tracy's heart.
- [Narrator] This is the story
of Tracy Mondabough's murder
and how it was solved, the
story of a determined killer
driven by rage and by jealousy.
(Intense music)
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
May 18th, 2020.
Police in the city of
Pella, Iowa, receive a call
about a possible domestic abuse.
- She witnessed what she
thought was a domestic incident
and a couple of people
arguing in the parking lot
and then when one of the
people came around the corner,
she, the witness said that
she was covered in blood
and so that obviously
was very alarming.
- [Narrator] Shortly afterwards,
police arrive on the scene.
(Intense music)
- They found a body,
they didn't know exactly
how long it had been there,
the extent of the injuries
and so they attempted
to perform CPR.
It was unsuccessful.
(Intense music)
- You start to look at
the area around her body.
And you could see that
there was a struggle,
her purse had been knocked out.
Some of her personal items,
her teeth, she wore dentures,
were on the ground as well.
And then you could barely
see into the cab of the truck
but you could see immediately
that there was a
tremendous amount of blood.
- [Narrator] Using
her driver's licence,
police were able to identify
the victim as Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
(Dramatic music)
Police are soon able to
find out more about Tracy.
- This whole thing
was a tragedy.
She had people who loved
her and for most part
had been living her
life, you know, well.
- Her children described
her as a very loving mother
and a very nice person.
Just kind of trying to figure
out her way through life.
- [Narrator] Tracy had
been dating Nick boat.
He is separated from his
wife of over 20 years
and works at a local industrial
and agricultural supplier,
Vermeer corporation.
- Her family was happy
that she had met Nick
and that Nick treated
their mom well.
- He had begun seeing
this woman while married
to Michelle boat and at
some point he told Michelle
that he was leaving her
to go live with Tracy.
- I believe he described
it as the love of his life
and that he now, for the
first time in his life
knew what love really was.
- So, Tracy and Nick
moved in together
and the truck was
Nick boat's truck.
Tracy had dropped
Nick off for work,
had the vehicle that day, took
him lunch from burger king
and had come back to their
apartment after dropping off
and having some lunch with him.
- [Narrator] This was the last
time Tracy was seen alive.
(Dramatic music)
(Light intense music)
Crime scene investigators
begin to examine the scene
and look for evidence.
(Intense music)
- Well first and foremost
when law enforcement arrived
and the Pella police department
were wearing body cameras,
you could tell that the victim
was still seatbelted in.
That was important, at
least from my perspective
because it demonstrated
an ambush attack.
- [Narrator] It is also clear
that there has been
a violent struggle.
- You can tell
Tracy fought back.
She had a horrific
injury to her hand.
It almost took her thumb off.
- She had what many people
refer to as defensive wounds
on her hands.
And then she had a single
stab wound to her chest.
- According to her
medical examiner,
that puncture of her
heart terminated her heart
from beating and so it was
just mere seconds, I think.
Probably less than 30 seconds
and I hope for Tracy's sake,
it was shorter than that.
(Light gentle music)
- [Narrator] One
small but vital clue
captures the attention
of the police.
- At the crime scene, they
had found what looked like
a finger off of a
blue latex glove.
Just the finger,
it looked like it
had been ripped
off of the glove.
- Everyone, whether or
not it's law enforcement
or the EMT crews, fire fighters,
they wear purple gloves,
so the fact that we had a
blue glove at the scene,
this stood out to us.
(Suspenseful music)
- Investigators also learn
something of enormous interest
from some bystanders.
- There was a male and a
female standing outside
and he told me that
a lighter coloured,
he couldn't remember
silver or white vehicle
with a Vermeer sticker
in the front windshield
had left the scene before
the officers arrived.
- Through his dealings
with Nick and Michelle,
lieutenant Cox immediately
put it together
that that was Michelle
boat's Cadillac
which was a critical
blessing that lieutenant Cox
was able to put that all
together very quickly.
- Armed with this information,
investigators are now able
to track down Michelle
boat and pay her a visit.
- She lives probably less
than a mile and a half
from the crime scene.
When they knocked on the door,
not a whole lot
happened initially
because she didn't
answer the door.
I think by the body footage
we were able to calculate
that it's about a
5-minute knocking,
a pounding on the door, pounding
on the side of the house.
(Intense music)
- You could see
inside the residence;
the blinds weren't
pulled on the windows.
They were wide open.
Lieutenant Bigowith
went to the driveway
and was looking
around the Cadillac.
He put his hand up to the wheel,
the front wheel of the car
and said the brake
rotors were still warm.
He could feel the heat
coming off the rotors
which would tell me
that the vehicle's
been driven fairly recently.
So, I went around the side
of the house and I noticed
that there was a light
on in, I didn't know
what the room was.
I thought maybe
it was a bathroom.
So, I pounded on the
side of the house,
on the siding of the house.
About 30 seconds after
that, lieutenant Bigowith
yelled for me and said that
she was coming to the door.
So, I went to the front
porch of the residence.
(Indistinct)
- [Narrator] Police have
caught up with Michelle boat.
She appears calm and collected.
They know they need to find out
if she's connected with the
murder of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
In Pella, Iowa, police
have begun an investigation
into the brutal murder of
47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
The main person of interest
in the investigation
is Michelle boat
whose silver Cadillac
was seen leaving the
scene of the crime.
Police have arrived
at Michelle's home
and after some time,
she's finally opened the door.
- She opened the door and
said, 'hey, what's going on?'
and I asked her if she
could step out first
and then I changed my mind
because she was in a robe
and all that, I asked
her if she minded
if we stepped inside
the residence.
- She claims to not
know why they're there,
she was just taking a shower.
Ultimately officers go inside
and speak with Michelle
and she told them that
she didn't know anything
about what had
happened to Tracy.
(Intense music)
- They knew differently.
They knew that her car was
seen leaving the scene.
Additionally, deputy Bigowith
goes and looks at the vehicle.
There's blood on the
outside of the vehicle
and the brakes on the
vehicle are still warm.
So, we knew her story, what
she was telling us didn't match
the physical evidence
at the scene.
- [Narrator] Police move
to secure Michelle
boat's residence.
(Heavy music)
- They were obviously
very concerned
about maintaining anything
of evidentiary value because,
you know, at this point
it's really looking like
Michelle boat is a person
who might have been
responsible for Tracy's death.
- I went into the basement first
and there was a storage area,
pretty decent-sized storage
area in the basement
of the house and that was
where I heard something.
I couldn't see much,
it was pretty dark.
I had my flashlight and I
couldn't find a light switch.
- You've got to imagine
if you're an officer
going down there, you don't
know exactly what's going on.
You're walking into pitch black.
He actually hears, I
think, the machine going
and it somewhat startles him.
- I heard some movement
back in the darkness
and I just announced,
'police department,
if you're back there, come out.'
and nobody came out
so I continued forward
and realised that the
sound I was hearing
was the washing machine.
- [Narrator] But the
contents of the machine
proved to be of interest.
- There's just one outfit
in the washing machine
which is a little peculiar.
Nobody usually washes
just one pair of pants
and one shirt or whatever,
so he noticed that.
And that ended up being a
crucial piece of evidence.
- [Narrator] Police
believe they have enough
to warrant them taking
Michelle into custody.
- Michelle boat was in
custody within 20 minutes.
You know, I mean there
wasn't the concern
that we have a
killer on the loose
or that this was a
random act of violence.
- We decided to
arrest Michelle boat
on a violation of a
no-contact order that night
and that was brought on by...
I went to Vermeer
corporation and requested
to look at their
security footage.
(Intense music)
When I was reviewing that,
I found video of Michelle
boat's silver Cadillac
following the red f150
that Tracy was driving.
The video shows Michelle
sitting in the same parking lot
as the victim and
Nick and watching them
for about a half an hour and
then once the truck leaves,
Michelle pulls out
and follows the truck.
(Intense music)
Shortly thereafter
we got the phone call
at the police department of the
situation that was going on.
That was when we
started putting together
that this is
first-degree murder,
because she had
this planned out.
She stalked Tracy
and then killed her.
(Light intense music)
- [Narrator] The
investigators now call in
the division of
criminal investigations,
known as the DCI.
(Light intense music)
- Certain law
enforcement agencies
and especially in smaller
communities don't have access
to all of the things that DCI
does, and so when we're able
to make a phone call to them
when something
like this happens,
we inherit a wealth of
resources for the investigation.
- Just knowing that people
that deal with these
types of situations on
a more regular basis
are able to come and back
us up on a case like this
is a huge relief when you're
in the middle of this situation
and wondering what
the next step is.
- When I arrived at the
Pella police department,
I already knew that we had
two crime scenes at that time,
several search warrants
were already underway
and Michelle boat was already
at the police department.
- [Narrator] It is time to
question Michelle in depth.
- Michelle maintained that
she didn't have anything
to do with the injuries
that Tracy had to her chest
or her hands.
She claimed not to have
seen Tracy that evening.
Michelle maintained that
she had just gone out
to get some food, realised
that the line was too long
at the burger place and
turned around and came home
but that she had nothing to
do with the murder at all
or anything that
happened to Tracy.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] To the police,
Michelle boat's reactions
are more than strange.
(Intense music)
- When ultimately law
enforcement tells her
that Tracy's been hurt
severely and Tracy is dead,
Michelle gets this
eerie smile on her face
and she looks at him and goes,
'oh, I guess the lord works
in mysterious ways, ' and to me
that was such a telling comment.
- It was incredibly chilling.
That statement just showed to
me a complete lack of remorse
for what had happened,
that in some ways, I think,
was her saying that, you know,
that she was somehow
justified in what she did,
because this woman had
interfered with her husband.
- As a prosecutor, I
immediately thought
that's something we're
gonna use at trial.
As a human being
I thought, 'wow!
That's really this
woman's mindset.'
(light gentle music)
- [Narrator] Police are
also uncovering more
about Michelle and her life.
- She was kind of
a normal person.
Best we could tell.
You know, she had worked,
she lived in Pella,
and she didn't get arrested
until the times
leading up to this.
- She never stood out
to me as somebody who
would go this far.
In my dealings with her,
she was always fairly...
She was loud, she was...
She was a yelling at the top
of her lungs type of person.
- Something happened with her
that drove her to
a really dark place
and that she was just not able
to deal with her
marriage falling apart.
- [Narrator] Michelle and Nick
had been married for 20 years.
- It was a loveless marriage
for probably more than a decade.
And had turned south in a hurry.
He had told her that he wanted
out of the relationship,
that their marriage was over
and he, in fact, moved out
of the home and at that
point he said she...
She became very angry with him.
- She was so used to Nick
doing whatever she said
that when Nick finally left
and found somebody else
that made him happy, it was
more than she could handle.
- She largely had
no criminal history
but then in the months
leading up to the murder
had kind of started popping up
on Pella police
department's radar.
She assaulted Nick at one point
which resulted in a protective
order being in place
and then Michelle continued
to violate that
protective order.
- I think for 50-some years,
she was just an ordinary person.
But there was certainly
something lingering inside her
that caused her to, and I’m
not even going to say snap
because I don't think she
snapped, I think she did exactly
what she wanted to do.
She absolutely had the
personality of a sociopath
who was driven and
wasn't going to stop
until she achieved her goal.
That was the death
of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Investigators
now have their prime suspect
in custody.
As they put their case together,
Michelle's motive starts
to become clear: Jealousy.
(Intense music)
(Intense music)
In may 2020, in Pella, Iowa,
detectives are learning more
and more about the events
surrounding the murder
of 47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
They have Michelle
boat, the estranged wife
of Tracy's boyfriend,
Nick, in custody.
Pella police have called in
the division of
criminal investigations
and agent Elizabeth
Miller is now
at the Centre of the inquiry.
- One of the first things
that special agent Miller did
was recognise that she
wanted to get photographs
of Michelle boat's body and so
we photographed Michelle boat
head to toe and at first
there was a slight wound
to one of her fingers, a
laceration but barely visible
to the human eye and a
little bit of discolouration.
And she had a small
laceration on her face.
But literally that was it.
It was not anything that
would lead you to believe
this person was just
involved in a violent attack.
- [Narrator] But
there is more to come
from the examination
of Michelle.
- About 36 hours
later on may 20th
is when I took the second
set of photographs.
At this point, you could see a
large bruise on her upper arm
and just more
injuries were apparent
than they were the day before.
Bruises can take a
little while to show up,
so when I don't see an injury
from the first set
of photographs
and then the second time
that you go and
document someone's body
and there's a whole
set of injuries,
it says that there
was an altercation.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Police
seek permission
to conduct a search
of Michelle's home.
- A team of law
enforcement go in the house
and searched it thoroughly,
you know, obviously
we were looking for a knife
or some kind of sharp object
because we were thinking
that that may have caused
the death.
Obviously, we didn't know
for sure at that point,
but anything with
blood on it or hair.
(Dramatic music)
- [Narrator] A calendar in
the house tells itS own story.
- Michelle boat was documenting
the amount of days
that Nick had left her.
It went from one days'
gone to 69 days' gone.
She was definitely keeping
track of how long he had left.
- [Narrator] The examiners
make an extraordinary discovery
on Michelle's vehicle.
(Dramatic music)
- One of the things
that was unusual
when we look at the vehicle
that Michelle boat was driving,
attached to the windshield wiper
was a black choker necklace
and inside that choker
or weaved through
it is Tracy Mondabough's hair.
So, during this struggle
somehow, Michelle boat must grab
at Tracy's neck, pulls the
necklace and tosses it.
And for whatever reason,
and I'm glad it happened,
it attached by the magnet
that held it together
to her windshield wiper,
and made it all the way home
still attached.
- It just all fit what
exactly had happened.
There was obviously a
violent struggle and Michelle
at some point threw the
necklace towards the car.
- [Narrator] And there
is more in the car
which supports
the investigators'
developing case
against Michelle boat.
- There were several
pieces of evidence
which suggested that Michelle
boat didn't just decide
in some moment of rage that
she was going to kill Tracy.
I mean first of all, she had
everything that she needed
for murder in her car.
Rubber gloves, binoculars,
there's a few other things
in there that clearly
show that Michelle boat
was thinking about
doing something bad.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] But
police are about
to find the most damning
piece of evidence.
- Lieutenant Bigowith
noticed that when they were
in the bathroom that
the toilet kept running.
That caught his
attention and I believe
he lifted the top of the
tank, saw something in there.
It was a towel with a
set of rubber gloves
with one fingertip missing.
(Intense music)
I went to the crime lab
straightaway from the scene
and then just like the
rubber glove tip from where,
near where Tracy
Mondabough's body was found,
those were taken to the
lab too and matched.
And you don't need
a medical degree
to look at the rubber glove
and see that it fit the tip
that was found at the scene.
- That absolutely
connected the crime scene
with Michelle boat's residence.
It was a perfect fracture match
for the tip of the latex
glove at the crime scene.
And the glove found
in the toilet tank
at Michelle's residence.
- [Narrator] Police are
still searching, however,
for one elusive piece of
evidence: The murder weapon.
- We walked for miles
around this town.
We worked long and hard
trying to find that weapon
and were never able to.
We did take some knives
from the residence
that it could have been
in there, I'm not sure.
But I would like to know
where the knife was.
(Light music)
- [Narrator] The
investigating team dig deeper
and they find out much
more about Michelle
and her motivation.
(Light music)
- There was quite a bit
of digital evidence.
Michelle boat was convinced
that Tracy Mondabough
was the source of all
of her marital problems.
I think that she
had worked herself
into some view of what was going
on that if Tracy were gone,
that her life would
be normal again.
I think in many ways,
Michelle boat believed
that she was the victim
in this circumstance
that someone had come
and taken her husband
and she was not going
to allow that to happen.
(Light music)
- Michelle somehow found
Tracy's ex-boyfriend on Facebook
and sent him a message
saying, 'hey, you should go
get your girlfriend back;
She's with my husband
and if you go get Tracy back,
then I'll get Nick back.'
I think in her head, she felt
that if she removed Tracy
from the situation, that
Nick would come back to her.
- Even her phone
calls from jail,
when she originally gets
arrested, she's totally confused
by why Nick hasn't
visited her at jail,
because Tracy's gone now.
Where else would he go?
Of course he would
come back to her.
- [Narrator] Michelle's stalking
had become an obsession.
- There was evidence
that Michelle
had been trying to
track Tracy down.
She followed Tracy one time
to Ottumwa and the police
had to be called down there.
So, it was clear that
Michelle was interested
in knowing where Tracy was
and she was clearly filled
with rage towards Tracy.
- When you lose your identity
and potentially lose your
major source of your
income, you feel helpless
and discarded and everything
you've built your whole
life around is gone.
And so that's her rage.
She couldn't let it go.
(Light intense music)
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] When voice
messages from Michelle
to Nick surface, it's clear
that Michelle's intense rage
had reached a dangerous level
and that her behaviour
had become unpredictable.
- They were awful.
Michelle had left, I
think it was something
in the neighbourhood of eight
to 10 voicemail messages
and Nick had chosen
to save them.
- They were from weeks
earlier, all explaining
that how upset Michelle
was about Nick leaving
and dating Tracy.
Talking about Tracy
in a derogatory way
and quite frankly
laying out her plan
and that was to harm Tracy.
- You know these messages
sometimes are just 15 seconds
of screaming,
sometimes they're...
She's played songs, and
sometimes she's talking
and when she's talking, the
voice messages made everyone
in our office, that kind
of the hair on the back
of your neck stand up.
(Intense music)
- It's not just the
words, it's the tone.
The hate.
The anger.
It's palpable and it's chilling.
- The motivation was
clear and that was
that she definitely wanted
to harm Tracy and, you know,
do serious harm to her.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Police
have their killer.
Now they need to piece
together the events that led
to the jealousy-motivated
murder of Tracy Mondabough.
(Intense music)
(Intense music)
Police in Iowa are continuing
their investigation
into the murder of
47-year-old Tracy Mondabough.
They've arrested Michelle
boat, the estranged wife
of Tracy's boyfriend, Nick.
Now they're trying to piece
together Michelle's movements
on the day of the killing.
- She maintained she had
left to go get dinner
and then when she got to the
drive through at the Culver's,
the line was too long
so she drove back home.
The problem was she was
missing about an hour
from her timeline.
Her story just
didn't make sense.
- I believe that
Michelle boat had decided
she was going to kill Tracy.
She didn't know
exactly when or where
but it was something that
had been growing in her mind
over the course of those
69 days since Nick left
and especially since the
time that she realized
that Tracy was part
of the equation.
And so, I think, probably
that evening she did go
to try to get something to
eat and she noticed the truck.
She saw who was driving it
and I think at that point,
she just realised
this is my chance.
- [Narrator] The CCTV
footage which police recover
becomes key to furthering
the investigation.
- We ended up through
investigation finding
that Michelle had
been following Tracy
around town for quite
a while that evening.
It started at burger king.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Tracy pulls into
the burger king drive through
at 7.20pm.
(Intense music)
- Michelle followed
Tracy to the burger king
and parked in the parking
lot of the strip mall,
a ways away, so Tracy
would not have noticed her.
You can see her on surveillance
footage from the burger king
and from the Culver's
surveillance footage,
get out of her car and then
go to the trunk compartment.
- Michelle boat had,
as we called it,
kind of a murder kit.
She had rubber gloves,
she had a hammer,
she clearly had a knife,
she had a crowbar.
She had all of those
things with her
in that vehicle.
I think some of those things
were located in the trunk
of her vehicle.
That's why while she was
waiting for Michelle,
she got ready, she armed
herself, she prepared.
She followed her.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] The next stop
is the Vermeer facility
where Nick works.
(Intense music)
- You first see Tracy
pull in to Vermeer
and then less than 40 seconds
later, Michelle boat pulls in.
- What we see is Tracy
pulling in to the parking lot,
driving the truck she was
found in and meeting Nick
and Michelle pulls in
sort of behind them.
Our theory was
she was trying not
to be detected by
Nick and Tracy.
Michelle was sitting there
watching the whole time.
She waited a half an hour
and watched them eat dinner.
He kissed Tracy goodbye
and they parted ways
and that was the last
time that he ever saw her.
- And that's what
fuelled this whole thing
is the realisation that this
is really over in that moment
when she realised
it was really over,
having seen them
in that parking lot
and having a passionate kiss
that Michelle hadn't had
from him in years.
And that was the kindling
that lit the fire.
- The vehicles leave
and once again,
Tracy's vehicle pulls out of
Vermeer, Michelle is following
and then just down the road
probably half a mile or so away,
there's security cameras on
the back side of a church
that identified both
vehicles driving away.
(Suspenseful music)
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] Tragically,
police believe
that the final stop is murder.
- From all the evidence
it appears that
Tracy Mondabough pulls
into the parking spot,
turns the car off, but before
she unhooks her seatbelt,
she's attacked.
(Scary music)
At that point, we believe
that Michelle boat
clearly wearing gloves
and armed with a knife
attacks and at that point
that's when the eyewitness
and what I call the kind
of the sound witness
hear what's going on.
- Tracy was found still
wearing her seatbelt
and that to me was one
of the most critical
pieces of evidence,
because it was very telling
about what had happened.
Knowing that she
was still in her seatbelt
told me something, I
think, that was critical
and that was that this
was all one altercation,
that there was no break
in the fight, that likely
when Michelle boat
approached Tracy,
that she had a knife with
her, that she didn't leave
to go get the knife or leave
to put rubber gloves on,
that she approached with
the knife and I think
that really said a
lot about her intent,
what she meant to do
when she got there.
(Scary music)
- [Narrator] DNA evidence
allows investigators
to connect all the dots.
- We were able to use DNA to
tie the two separate areas
of town together through
the DNA from the crime scene
to Michelle boat's
residence and back.
- That's what linked
her to the scene.
There weren't any eyewitnesses
that could tell who she was,
so yes, the DNA was very
important to that aspect.
(Intense music)
- Michelle boat's vehicle
had a piece of jewelry
with magnets on it, it
was a, like a choker,
and that had black
hair that came back
as Tracy Mondabough's
DNA on that hair.
There were blood splatters all
over the side of the Cadillac
and in multiple different
areas around the car
that all came back as
Tracy Mondabough's DNA.
(Intense music)
- The rubber glove
was found wrapped up
in a towel in the toilet tank.
It did have Tracy's
blood, DNA on it.
And it did match up with the
rubber glove tip that was found
at the crime scene which
also had Tracy's DNA on it.
(Intense music)
- Tracy Mondabough
fought like hell.
She had inside her hands,
Michelle boat's hair.
So, her ability to even
in death be certain
that she was gonna bring
her killer to justice,
she fought back and she fought
back in a way that allowed us
to use what she found
to advance our case.
(Intense music)
- [Narrator] As police prepare
their prosecution for trial,
they believe they
have a very good case.
- Once we saw that
she followed Tracy,
that and the nature of
the attack, the fact
that we had a knife
used, it was close combat
for lack of a better
term, and multiple stabs
because we knew that there
was the injury that killed her
and the injury to her hand
that in my mind this was
murder in the first degree.
This was premeditated homicide
with malice aforethought.
Every one of the things that
she did was a free-will choice
that she made on
her own to the point
that she plunged a knife
into Tracy's heart.
(Intense music)
- All of the evidence
that existed in this case
and you didn't have
to believe all of it,
you could just
believe any one of it,
and you would find
Michelle boat guilty.
- This physical evidence, it
eliminates the plausibility
of being able to argue that
your client wasn't there,
that this wasn't them.
That was when we knew it,
we had to pursue a
manslaughter Defence
or a lesser included defense.
- [Narrator] Given
the relationship
between the parties involved,
the trial was always going
to be an emotional one.
- She kept it together fairly
well and I'm not gonna say
she was persuasive but she
was at times sympathetic.
I mean you're married to
a person for 20-plus years
and they all of a sudden tell
you somewhat out of the blue,
blindsiding you that they
want out of this relationship,
and while you still are
dealing with the emotions
of maybe I can win
that person back,
you realise they've already
moved on to someone else.
I think for Michelle, it
was just too much too quick
and she wasn't
gonna tolerate it.
- I think at that point she
was still playing a part.
When we were testifying,
there was not a
whole lot of emotion.
When she testified
or Nick testified,
there was a lot of
emotion on her part,
or what appeared to be emotion.
- I think that Michelle did
the best she could to try
to manipulate the facts
into what would help her,
but given what I knew
about what the evidence was
and what she said, they didn't
coincide with each other.
- [Narrator] The jury
reaches a guilty verdict
within 45 minutes.
- I felt relieved more than
anything else because I think
the truth is that Michelle
boat killed Tracy Mondabough
and she had planned it and
she meant to do it and I...
And just to finally
have the jury say,
'that's what we think happened
too, ' it was a good feeling.
- Having a first-degree
murder verdict
is always a great
form of justice.
However, it still took a loss
of life to get that verdict.
(Gentle music)
- Sentencing was about eight
weeks later, give or take and,
honestly, I think it probably
took less than 15 minutes
which was amazing and Michelle
boat is now gonna spend
the rest of her
natural-born life in prison.
(Gentle music)
(Soft music)
- [Narrator] Michelle
receives her sentence,
but was justice
done in this case?
- I think justice exists.
If it didn't, you know, my
job would be meaningless
if I didn't find that
there was justice in it.
But in order to get justice,
something bad has to happen.
- In a sort of cold way in
my job, the file's closed,
so there's that but I bet
if you asked that question
of Tracy's family or Nick,
they would probably have a
different answer for you.
I'm sure they're probably
still dealing with a lot.
(Dramatic music)
- There's nothing
that any of us can do
to bring Tracy Mondabough back.
That's what would be
justice is being able to
snap your fingers
and all of a sudden,
bring a person back to life.
But to the extent of
what we're allowed to do,
under our criminal justice
system, the jury got it right:
Michelle boat is exactly
where she deserves to be.
- I think Michelle made
a choice to take a,
the life of someone she deemed
was a threat to her marriage.
She did not show any remorse.
I don't know if I would
say cold-blooded killer,
but I don't think that she
feels bad about what she did.
- It's just a reminder to me
that people who are seemingly
normal, seemingly, you know,
good people, can be capable
of really bad things.
It's so hard not to
just think what if.
You know?
What if Michelle just would
have taken a second to breathe
and turn her car
around that day,
that Tracy would still be alive.
It's just, it's sad to see
how all of the circumstances
came together for
Tracy to lose her life.
(Dramatic music)
- [Narrator] The murder of
Tracy is a case with jealousy
at itS heart, solved
by a dedicated team.
- I would describe this case
as good old-fashioned
police work.
The way that pella pd was
so quick to find Michelle
and to take control
of that situation.
- It just shows that even
in a town like pella,
very small compared to a
lot of towns and cities,
and we don't deal
with this very often
but when we do have
something like this happen,
we're still able to step up
and take care of the job.
- You don't ever forget
the murder cases,
you don't forget the
big ones and I think
that's absolutely true.
I'm gonna remember
Tracy Mondabough
for the rest of my life.
(Dramatic music)