Officers Realize There's A Body In Families Trash Can | Forensic Files

Whoa. Gun. There's all sorts of blood in her. She's in there. [Music] Is that what you hear?
Police are at the home of Keith and Amber Zado. Amber's mother, Betty, had called 911 earlier that day, asking
officers to check on her daughter. Amber hadn't responded to any calls or messages in 2 days, and Betty feared the
worst. The officers arriving at the scene initially expected a routine missing person's call, but what sat
inside the house would be far more twisted and disturbing than anyone could have imagined. Show me your hand. I got
the dog. Get off the Get around. He's reaching. Stop. When police first arrive at the Zado
home, they encounter something strange. Only Keith and Amber's children answer the door, claiming their parents are
gone and they don't know when they'll be back. This alarms the officers, so they
decide to call Betty, the person who originally dialed 911, hoping she can shed some light on the situation. But
what Betty reveals to officers would quickly transform this simple welfare check into one of the town's most
disturbing mysteries yet. Hello, Betty. It's officer Crowley Aurora Police Department. I'm at the Milan Circle
address. I'm talking to the kids. What's your relation to this family? Just so I
know. I'm their grandma. She didn't take her truck cuz you can see it in the driveway. Yeah, I was wondering about
that. Her phone, the bank card is still in the house. Yeah. Betty, how many times you think she's done that? Well,
she's come over to my house oh, three, four times this year. All right. But it's always been for a
day. What I'd like to do is start where we always start, and that's the last place she was seen. I I don't want to
ask these kids for permission to go in the house. So, I may have to call your son-in-law, talk to him on the phone,
and see if he'll give me permission to go inside. Betty would mention that she had been to
the house earlier that day and noticed a few strange details. Amber's car was still in the driveway of the home and
her phone was left inside the house, as well as all of her credit cards and important documents. These minute
details would prove to be much more important later on. Shortly after this call, Betty and her husband Ronald
arrived at their daughter's home to meet with the police. It's here where Betty would reveal what she believed really
happened to her daughter. Hey, I'm officer Carly. Thanks for coming out. So, I called him, but I left him a
message. He didn't pick the phone up. So, can't just go inside without a warrant. I either need a warrant or his
permission to go inside the house. And that's not your residence, and I can't ask you for permission. Obviously, the
kids are too young for me to ask for permission. So, just want to do it the right way before anything else. If that
makes sense. Yep. When's the last time that you saw the dog? Saturday afternoon when I came to pick up the kids. They
spent the night instead of the event. Was there any problems at that point or was it just pick the kids up? The kids
are gonna stay at her house for the weekend. Everything was fine. My she said hope you feel better. We'll see you
tomorrow. Okay. Pretty. Had there been any drinking at that point? Drink in the evenings. Okay. Oh. Yeah.
And then no sign that there have been any argument or anything like that. As you can see, I'm not I don't want you to
think that I jumped any conclusions, but I'm just trying to put like a kind of a
piece of timeline and kind of behavior as well, too. According to Betty, the family typically had dinner together on
the weekends. And although Keith and Amber occasionally argued, things never turned physical, at least not to her
knowledge. But with no parents home, officers still couldn't legally enter the residence. So, they continued
speaking with Betty, hoping she'd reveal something that could explain Amber's sudden
disappearance. Betty explained that Amber was highly active in the community, volunteering at her
children's elementary school as the treasurer of the parent organization, and everyone around town knew her as a
family first mother, spending most of her time with her children. That's why Amber's disappearance was so puzzling.
It simply wasn't like her to spontaneously leave her kids alone. But this confusion would only heighten when
Betty showed officers something that made the case even more unsettling. A note suggesting Amber might have harmed
herself. The note is what concerns me. Do you mind if I read that? I don't have a problem. Is this a copy of it or is
this Yes, I made a copy. I don't know. This is the original. Okay. I didn't want to just from my report. I'm going
to have to take the original for evidence for property at some point. Okay. Okay. But I'm going to sit and
read this in the meantime. The note Betty had discovered earlier read in part, "I haven't been the best
wife. I deserve everything and all the horrible thoughts you think of me. I have always had in my mind. Make sure my
mom has to identify my body. Everyone would be better off without me." At first glance, the note appears as a
tragic heartfelt goodbye. Amber seemingly detailing years of self-doubt, despair, and emotional pain. But
something about this note didn't align with what police knew about Amber. According to her mother, whenever Amber
and Keith fought, Amber always stayed at her parents' house and had never just disappeared. Certainly not without
contacting her family first. And although Betty clarified that her daughter had a history of self harm,
ideiation, and emotional struggles, the notes tone sounded off, especially the disturbingly specific instructions for
her own mother to identify her body, which seemed strangely cruel to investigators. These unusual details
hinted at the chilling possibility that the note wasn't exactly what it appeared. They began to suspect Amber
might not have written these words freely. Something wasn't right. So based on these signs, officers
decided to speak with Betty again. This time on the oddities found inside the note. Do you think it's something that
would he harm her in any way? Would you have any either information or inkling that that might happen? No. Okay. Um, if
she had walked away, I mean, I'm I'm just wondering where else or how far she could have gone. She has walked to our
house. We're in Yeah. um when she's been drinking and I understand. Of course. She's made it. I
agree. That's why I'm so concerned. And that's where that's why I search Sunrise
Park cuz that's the closest park to here. And I don't know why in my head it's you're not going to do it in your
home. Yeah. Betty would also find the note strange, but doesn't think Keith would have
anything to do with Amber's disappearance. At this point, nothing makes sense. So, without any further
clues, officers decide to move to the next step in their investigation, searching the
property. As we know, without the homeowner's permission, officers still can't go inside the house without a
proper search warrant. Fortunately, by using the kids, they were able to get on the phone with Amber's husband, Keith,
hoping to get the permission they needed. Dad, the cops are here and they want to
talk to you. Is this Keith? Yes, this is Keith. Keith, this officer Crowley with
you police. How are you? I'm all right, officer. How are you? I'd like to go over a couple series of events and then
ask you for permission if I could go in inside your house. And where we start uh
searches is the last place she was seen and that would be your house. But I don't I don't have a warrant and I'm
asking you for permission to go inside your house. Do you? Go ahead, man. Luckily, Keith seemed to have no problem
letting officers search his home. While one officer continued his conversation with Keith, another would immediately
begin searching the property, completely unaware they were both minutes away from
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debt.com/inssanity. With that said, let's get back to the investigation. One of the officers was about to search the
family's home with no idea just how close they were to discovering the gruesome scene hidden in plain sight. So
Keith gave uh verbal consent for us to go in the house. I'm just going to go in. You want to come with me? I will.
Because I'd like you to show. Okay. Um where did you find the notebooks? In the garage. In the garage. They literally
live there. Okay. Let's start there. So Keith, what's I mean in a bigger picture, what's going on, man? Leav
drink a lot. We fight a lot and she likes to walk away or actually drive away. and I took her keys from her so
she couldn't drive away. She grabbed her purse, slammed her phone on the ground,
and left. And I have not seen her since. Did you actually see her leave or you just assume she left? No, sir. I I
begged her to stay on the couch. We We thought a little bit more. And I said, "Well, whatever happened. You sleep out
here on the couch. I'm going inside." And I went inside. I don't know. It was like 2 or 3 in the morning. And then
when I woke up at 9 10:00 Sunday morning, there was a letter on the [ __ ] coffee table. Has she ever
threatened uh to hurt herself in the past or was this No, she has. The last 5 years it's been her go-to.
And that's what I try to telling grandma and grandpa too is she does this to me all the time almost every weekend.
She'll leave you and then she won't come back till Monday or Tuesday and then my
kids get all mad at me because I let her back in. I hope you don't mind me asking
your personal questions, but is it possible she's seeing somebody else and she stays there? Oh, for sure. For sure.
She's been That's another thing. That's why we fight all the time. She's been seeing somebody for about 5 years now
and we don't pay our bills. We're always That's why we always fight, man. Based on Keith and Betty's statements, both
were aware Amber had struggled emotionally in the past, but neither realized just how serious the situation
had become or how tragically wrong their assumptions would soon turn out to be. Where exactly was the book when you
found it? Right there. Okay. And you recognized her handwriting? Yes. Okay. It's unmistakable. Okay. Okay. This
argument I mean you guys are arguing about about her seeing somebody or you guys arguing about lots of stuff. Well,
that always comes into play. But, uh, this particular argument was about her not paying my mortgage for 6 months. I
gave her all my money. I just cash my check and she pays all the bills. And lately, she hasn't been paying her
bills. Hey, Keith, did it get physical at all or was it just arguing? Yeah, we've been physical a couple times, but
I want to say Saturday night. No. You know, this is a fair question. Is there any chance that you you hurt her in any
way? I [ __ ] hope not, dude. I [ __ ] hope not. But yeah, there's a possibility. I mean, I'm hoping not, but
like I said, I don't remember [ __ ] Me and Amber go through this [ __ ] all the
time, and she always comes back. Okay. Only thing I'm worried about is she always goes to her [ __ ] mom's house.
She doesn't go anywhere. She does go somewhere else, but she always ends up at her mom's house. Listening carefully
to Keith's account, the officer initially found him credible as he described an argument about money and
Amber's alleged infidelity. But the officer's concern grew when Keith admitted he'd been heavily intoxicated
and couldn't remember if things turned physical. Suddenly, the possibility that Amber hadn't actually walked away became
disturbingly real. Officers now suspected more clues were hidden inside the home. A drunken fight, maybe getting
physical. Whatever happened, the answers were likely somewhere inside. He gave me permission. I have it
on my uh my body camera. Recorded it. Okay. He uh gave me full permission to look look in the house. So,
are these let them out? Are they generally friendly? Normally, yes. Okay, good. Just cuz. Yeah. Did we look in
there? It doesn't open. It doesn't look like it's been disturbed cuz there's debris on the top of it. But we You want
to work on opening it? Yeah. Close. As officers continued their search, their body language indicated something
was off. Careful not to alarm the family. Neither officers openly acknowledged it yet, but they both
recognized the unmistakable stench hanging in the air, the odor of decay. At this point, the only thing they were
looking for was the source of that disturbing smell. Top finish off up top. Kind of like a
flat. No, it's just that it's right here. Oh, whoa. Yeah. Gun. Magazine. Okay. Do
you do we want to call someone? Yeah. One second. Okay. Yeah. Um, wow. We'll have you stay inside, please.
[Music] She's in there. Inside the trash can in the garage was a gun and underneath that was Amber's
decaying body with a gunshot wound to the head discarded with the rest of the garbage. This was now a crime scene and
police immediately began to suspect that this was far from self-inflicted. But when I searched the house, my feel
was, you know, something funky. I looked in that trash bin, okay? There was nothing in it. Okay. Well, when was
that? When did I was here about 9:00 a.m.? Okay. There was not I would have noticed that. Okay. The top was the
carpets and because of the smell, I literally I'm going to forensic files. Um it was
not there. So, somebody's been here. Okay. And the kids were sleeping and they are unaware of being here. Okay.
But so somebody Okay. did that. Okay, what's your first name? Ron. Ron, can you get the kids? They're still waiting
your house. Strangely, although Betty had noticed the same foul odor of decay earlier, she didn't realize its
implications. Instead, believing, or perhaps choosing to believe, that all this concern was simply because of the
firearm police discovered in the trash can. Betty didn't know it yet, but her statement would soon cast serious
suspicion on her, making detectives question whether she herself had played a role in Amber's death. For now,
though, officers had to secure the area and move Amber's family away from the gruesome scene. I don't want the kids to
see. I mean, this isn't. So, if you lift here, I mean, obviously there's a gun there, but if
you lift here, you can see her foot. It's a It's a She weighs about 160 170 lbs. Right there where your hand
is there body. So I called Reno. He's calling MCU and I know he sent you, too. While officers
waited for the major crimes unit to arrive and process the scene for forensic evidence, they began to grapple
with several troubling inconsistencies surrounding Amber's family. Keith had admitted to being heavily intoxicated
the night Amber disappeared. He couldn't say for certain whether his argument with Amber had turned violent, only that
things had gotten heated and that much of the night was a blur. But Keith wasn't the only one officers considered
a suspect. Amber's mother, Betty, claimed she had checked the trash can earlier that morning and had seen no
sign of Amber's body or the gun. Yet, just hours later, both appeared right there in plain sight. Exactly where she
swore she'd already searched. Even stranger to officers was Betty's demeanor. Despite the horrifying
situation unfolding around her and the possibility that her daughter had taken her own life, she remained unusually
calm, at times even casual. And then there was the note supposedly written by Amber. Its wording struck investigators
as strange, too composed, almost performative. Still, in a situation as dark and desperate as
contemplating, people sometimes write in ways that defy logic or expectations. At
this point, everyone's stories seemed suspiciously incomplete, and anyone could be responsible in the eyes of
detectives. Investigators started realizing that Amber's murder might be far more complicated than they initially
thought. So, to investigate these disturbing possibilities, police knew they'd soon
need to sit down with Amber's family and carefully interview each member to uncover who might be hiding something.
But before doing that, officers needed to finish one crucial step, a final thorough search of the Zotto home,
carefully looking for any signs of violence or attempted cover up. And sure enough, it didn't take long before they
started noticing blood spatter throughout the house. So, a lot of these carpet pieces meant I
wonder if the carpet went all the way back or I see like spattered length. So, the
book was right here. Well, there was space open with the last page showing and that bill was on top of it. No red
pen. Um, get blood on the light switch. [Music] Uh, we've got a lot of blood on the sink.
Yeah. So, we left I mean, we left it the way we found it as well, too. you know,
the way the door was when we searched, but yeah, she found a little bit of obvious blood in the kick in the kitchen
and the sink as well, too. So, within minutes, officers found clear evidence that something violent had occurred
before Amber's body ended up in the trash can. Their first sign that foul play was likely involved. Additionally,
the major crimes unit documented critical forensic evidence, including the silver revolver found over Amber's
concealed body, blood spatter around the trash can, and debris deliberately placed to hide her remains. Despite
these findings pointing towards foul play, detectives still needed clarity on whether Amber's death was a premeditated
act or the result of a heated argument that spiraled violently out of control. But they had two major issues preventing
them from answering this crucial question. First, Keith was nowhere to be seen and his phone had gone completely
unreachable. Second, and most important, detectives had yet to determine exactly
who was responsible because at this point, several people remained under suspicion, including Amber's mother and
even her own children. Police didn't know it yet, but in the coming hours, these questions would be fully answered,
and the case would take a completely unexpected turn. So to fill in these gaps, all of Amber's
closest family members were transported to the police station for questioning. Detectives hoped they could uncover each
member's potential motives, credibility, and who was hiding secrets and finally reveal who might actually be responsible
for Amber's murder. I don't want to falsely alarm you, but I also believe in being as honest as we
can uh with with loved ones. Um, we may have we may have found Amber. No. Yeah, but we're not but we're not
we're not we're not completely sure yet. Ron, just just do it. Just Just do it. We're not pointing
fingers or making accusations at this time, but is there any reason Keith would hurt her?
I don't know. I I really don't. I I wished I could tell you more. I told him, either accidentally or
intentionally, would he hurt or kill her? If he were to mistreat her, would she protect him? She probably would.
So, I went out there and I seen the letter or the it was a 4 and 1/2 page note and it's very important. I looked
in that trash bin. Okay. It had an ungodly trash odor. Okay. honestly. But I tried to there's some
carpet squares were on the top. I tried to lift up make sure there was nothing under it. Okay. But I thought I don't
know what I was expecting but I did. So I absolutely looked in that bin. Okay. And that'll be important. Um and didn't
see anything and I went out. Let's talk a little bit about I guess the fighting and what do you do you know why?
Yeah I do know why. Okay. My mom cheats on my dad and like she's not good at it,
I guess. And like so he finds out and then they just go at it because she like tries to lie about it. Like he has
evidence of her doing it and so like it's like Yeah. Okay. And the last Saturday is in just a couple days ago.
Yeah. La last Friday was the last time I seen her. Okay. Did you talk to her at all on the phone or anything? No, she
came over for dinner because my grandma was cooking dinner and she came over. had and then she left and then Yeah. And
then you were there from Saturday. Friday all the way to Sunday. Okay. After speaking with Amber's family,
investigators finally had some clarity. Betty remained adamant she'd checked that trash can that morning, insisting
the gun and Amber's body weren't there, which made her case seem more suspicious. Meanwhile, Amber's father,
Ronald, was shocked by his daughter's death and found it was hard to believe Keith was capable of harming her. As for
Amber's children, Annabelle explained they'd both been staying at their grandparents house during the weekend,
clarifying why they didn't hear the gunshot that ended their mother's life. However, Annabelle's unusual calmness
and detailed awareness of her parents' unstable marriage raised some concerns about exactly what else the children
might know or could still be protecting. After concluding the interviews, investigators were preparing to search
for Keith Zadto, the one critical piece still missing. But just before they could act, they received unexpected news
from Keith's sister, Susan Russ. It turns out Keith had visited her just hours earlier, and what he confessed
would finally expose the horrifying truth behind Amber's murder. I saw my brother park up there
and so I got the dogs out and I didn't know the front door was open and he just came in and I seen it on his face and he
goes, "You know, I don't hate you." I knew that was the first thing out of his mouth. And he said, "I know. I love you.
You're my best friend." Okay. And then I said, "It's Amber that's trying to keep
us apart." Okay. And he just looked at me, started crying. I said, "Oh my god, what do you do?"
Okay. And I asked him if Amber was okay. And then he looked at me and he said, "You know what? I don't remember
anything." Okay? I just remember waking up and seeing her on the ground. Okay. I asked him what the hell happened to
tell me what he did. Okay. Said they were they had been drinking and biting all night. Okay. It
was over money. I guess Keith opened some bills and found out that the house had been foreclosed on. Okay.
that Amber pulled out the gun and and he hit my brother with it and then Keith said he took it away
and it just happened like that. He said he blinked his eyes and that was it. He said I blinked my eyes too and I opened
them and I hit her on the ground. Susan's testimony finally cleared up everything for investigators. Keith
himself admitted he'd woken up from a blackout to find Amber dead and openly acknowledged a violent confrontation
that spiraled completely out of control. It was now clearer than ever that Keith
Zadto was at the heart of Amber's murder, and it was time to track him down. Just a couple of hours after
detectives left Susan's house, Aurora police received a call they never expected. Keith Zadto had surfaced at
his sister's house again, ready to surrender. By now, officers knew Keith had already killed once, and for all
they knew, he was still armed and dangerous. So, they came prepared. A SWAT team descended upon the location,
ready to take Keith down if he made even the slightest wrong move. It's got to be up one more. It's this
one, right? 79. 79's this one. All right. Sorry. Ready? Watch out, Bubba. Show me your hands. Front door, ma'am.
Come to me. Out. I see him. I see him. Come to me. Come on out. Turn right. Point to me. Come to me. I got a guy
out. Got that. Hands up, everybody. Hands up, please. Very good. Walk to my voice. Go. Hands up. Stop. Stop.
Just shoot. Just walk towards me. Nice and easy. Okay. All right. We'll talk to you in No, no, we're not. We're not.
We're not gonna hurt him. Okay. Walk towards me. Put him down. No. No. No. Just keep
walking. Walk towards this guy. Very good. You're good, man. Very good. Very good. Very good. Right here.
Right there, man. Yes, sir. Long guns. Yeah. Feel free to go ahead. Hold on. It all looks normal. Bro, you
just want to hold it. I'll be back with you. [Music] You guys good? Is that your mom? And who else is the
other lady? Gotcha. Okay, man. We haven't. Very good. We appreciate you coming out, bud. Yes, sir. We'll explain
it all to you. Okay. I heard. Okay, buddy. Okay. Okay. There you go. remember much.
Finally, after hours of uncertainty, Keith Zadto surrendered to Aurora police without incident. He was immediately
taken into custody and formally processed for the murder of his wife, Amber. Keith would go on to admit to
killing Amber late Saturday night, claiming his gun accidentally went off during a drunken argument over money and
infidelity. Though he insisted he couldn't remember placing her body in the trash or concealing the crime, Keith
accepted responsibility for her death. However, Betty's earlier statement surrounding the infamous trash can
remained unclear, and investigators were never able to determine why she didn't see the gun or Amber's body that
morning. In May of 2021, Keith Zadto was found guilty of first-degree murder and
sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

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Police arrived at the home of Keith and Amber Zotto after Amber's mother, Bette, called 911 earlier that day. Amber hadn't answered any calls or messages for two days, and Bette feared something was wrong. When police arrived, they'd discover something horrifying...

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Brief Summary

Amber Zadto's murder leads police to uncover a tragic family mystery involving her husband and mother.

Key points

Amber's Disturbing Disappearance. Amber Zado goes missing, prompting a police welfare check that uncovers a chilling mystery.
The Strange Note. A note found by Amber's mother suggests self-harm, but its tone raises suspicion.
The Gruesome Discovery. Police find Amber's body in a trash can, raising suspicions of foul play.
The Unraveling Truth. Detectives uncover the shocking truth behind Amber's murder as family members are questioned.
Keith's Confession. Keith Zadto surrenders to police, admitting to the murder of his wife Amber.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The note is what concerns me.

4:39WatchApr 23, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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