Relentless | Full Episode | Forensic Files

Nikki loved Seattle. She thought it was the most beautiful city in the world. In January 2006,
my beloved daughter Nicole disappeared. She was my youngest daughter and the absolute
light of my life. We thought, well, maybe somebody abducted her on the way to work.
>> Nicole Pet stands 5' 3 and weighs about 125 lbs. >> Nicole's husband, David, whom Nicole
loved very much, went on television and asked the public to help us find her. >> I just want to know that you're okay.
say that I love you. >> A woman's body was discovered [music] yesterday off De Moines's Memorial Drive
in Burian. >> Got a lot of blackberry growth here and she was tucked up underneath the set of
the blackberry bushes. >> And what was her condition? >> She was naked. She had no clothes on
whatsoever. >> My beautiful daughter, my sweet girl. How anyone could hurt her is just
not feasible to me. [music] >> This murderer is still out there. He may kill another Seattle daughter.
>> You always have to look at who would have opportunity and who might have motive.
>> I said, "David, the the police think you did it." And he said, "The police always
think the husband did it." >> Police say they have interviewed Pete. [music] They say he is not a suspect.
>> It was uh true who done it initially. >> Months and years passed and there wasn't
an arrest, but I knew who did it. So I decided to confront him myself. And when he saw me walk in, it was not
here, Gail. Not here, Gail. >> This [music] morning, we were able to make an arrest and this person will be
brought to justice. >> Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear or affirm? >> There was a threat of of a restraining
order against me because I went into his place of work. I have cried my brains out every day for seven [music] years. I
wasn't going to let her just become another case in their [music] in their files. If he can't take being confronted
by a 72year-old woman, well, I'm sorry, but he's not much of a man if he can't handle that.
>> [music] [music] >> When did you [music] realize something was wrong? when he called Sunday morning.
I was at church and my husband had just come home from church. It had been a quiet morning in Surprise, Arizona. But
now Gail's son-in-law, David, was phoning from Seattle with devastating news. Gail's husband, Rod, took the
call. >> And so when I came home, Rod said, "Gail anne, sit down." And I said, "Well, what
what what's [laughter] the matter?" and he said, "Well, David called and said, Nikki's gone missing."
>> Nikki was Nicole Pet, Gail's youngest daughter. >> So, I called him and said, "David,
what's happening?" He said, "Nikki's gone missing." I said, "Well, what do you mean by that?" He said, "We were
supposed to go to another couple's for dinner last night and she didn't show up."
And I haven't heard from her since. But I I I mean, I thought, "Well, somebody's
abducted her." And so Rod and I grabbed a couple things, threw them in the suitcase, and got on the next airplane
and flew up to Seattle. Gail would soon join forces with her other daughter, Tanya, and they peppered
David with questions. >> We asked if they had had a fight. He said no. I mean, we couldn't find her
anywhere. It was such a nightmare. >> It made no sense. Nicole would never run off without contacting them. They had
always been a close family growing up on picturesque Lake Seamish [music] just outside Seattle.
>> How would you describe your love for Nikki? >> Oh, I don't know how. Just as deep as
the deepest ocean and as high as the highest sky. You know, children are your heart.
She wouldn't miss a day of calling me. Sometimes she'd call me just to say, "Mommy, I love you."
>> She was everything to you. >> She was my everything. She was my heart. >> When the girls were little, Gail
divorced their father. As a single mom, she juggled a family and a globe trotting career.
>> Well, I was the steartist for Pan-Amean and I flew all over the world and sometimes my trips were quite long.
Steartises were were really looked up to in in in our culture back then, weren't
they? >> Yes, they were. And I just always thought of her being so elegant and glamorous and her jetet life.
>> Glamorous and charming. Something Nicole tried emulating back at home. For a while, she became Snow White.
>> And it was, "Don't call me Nikki, call me Snow White." And then she had a very
special Snow White smile. >> But for Nicole, life was no fairy tale. She suffered from a painful
gynecological condition. >> When she was 13, she developed um endometriosis. And from the time she was 13 till the
time she was 21, she'd already had three surgeries. And uh the doctors just put her on pain
pills and pain pills. >> All those pills took their toll. And by the time Nicole got to college, she
became addicted. >> And how long did she stay addicted before she reached that point of, "I
have to do something about this." >> I think she was 23 when she came home and said she needed help. She was in
pain and in tears and and very ashamed of herself. And yes, it was very emotional holding each other and saying,
you know, you'll get through this, sweetheart, and we'll we'll get you through it. And Nicole did get through
it. After spending time in this rehab center, she swore off painkillers and began attending Alcoholics Anonymous,
which also helps with other addictions. And once Nikki got off of these painkillers, did she change? Was the old
Nikki back? Oh, absolutely. A more wonderful Nikki than ever. >> Nicole's life was coming together. She
got a job as a receptionist at a local health club where she met her best friend, Tamara Vanderhden.
>> She was a people person. Yeah, absolutely. Everybody loved her. >> And would you call her a strong person?
>> When I first met her, no. No, she became a very strong person. But when I first met her, she was still
transitioning and and wasn't quite sure of herself. >> That's when Nicole met another health
club employee, a handsome salesman named David Pet. >> And what did she tell you about this
guy? >> She really liked him. She saw a strength in him, I think, that she didn't see in
herself. I think she looked at Dave as somebody that could take care of her. his strength, his confidence, you know,
would protect her. >> They began dating, but Nicole didn't realize she had some competition.
>> I was 20 when I met David. >> Sabrina Strike worked in one of the health club's other locations. So, you
were single? >> Yeah. Yeah, I was. >> And when you met David, he was single >> essentially. Yeah.
essentially because at some point Sabrina learned about David and Nicole's relationship. So if one of your friends
said to you, "So what's he like?" What would you say? >> I'd say he was a nice guy and actually
extremely generous. He was a a very generous guy. Taking me out to lunch, taking me out to dinner, um you know,
bringing over wine. After many romantic times with Sabrina, David proposed to Nicole.
>> I remember that that that hurt. >> April 20th, 2002. A sad day for Sabrina, a joyous one for
Nicole, who married David on the sands of Hawaii. >> I'm very happy, nervous. >> It was beautiful. Very beautiful. Maui
sunset on the beach, barefoot. It was amazing. >> It looked like Snow White was going to
live happily ever after, right? >> It sure did. It really looked like that. >> With her new husband and a new job at a
cell phone company, Nicole, at least on the outside, seemed content. And did Nikki love David?
>> Oh, with all her heart. She was always saying, "My wonderful husband, my brilliant husband, my handsome [music]
husband. She loved him. >> But on the morning of January 28th, 2006, Nicole was gone. Some close
friends knew that Nicole had injured her back and were worried she may once again
become addicted to painkillers. >> In the weeks leading up to her disappearance,
what we talked about were her back problems, the pain she was having, and how she was scared. She didn't want to
take the recommended dose of the painkillers >> and it scared her that she had to take
this again. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. >> And when David began looking through their apartment, he says he noticed an
empty pill bottle. 56 painkillers were missing. Nothing is worse than not knowing
where she is. God, I love her more than life itself. >> After Nicole went missing, Gail went on
Seattle TV to make [music] a desperate plea. If you are in control of your circumstances, please come home because
everybody that loves you is here. >> Nicole Pet stands [music] 5 foot three and >> as an allout search was launched.
Nicole's friends were leaving frantic [music] voicemails looking for her. >> Girlfriend, you have a ton of people
worrying about you. Um, no matter what, >> I don't know what to do. Um, I hope you're okay and I hope you're somewhere
safe. Please give me a call. Let me know you're okay. I'm praying for you. >> We just want to know that you're okay
and that you're loved and everybody's here and everybody cares about you. >> And David, [music] too, made a public
appeal. >> She's always in contact with almost everybody she knows. >> He was telling everyone that it was not
like Nicole to disappear, even for a short time. If she's going to be 5 minutes late for a coffee date, she's
calling, you know, half an hour ahead of time and letting people know because she
doesn't want to put anybody out ever. I worked until 11:00. [music] I got home probably around midnight and and came to
bed and that's the last time I saw her. >> But off camera, David [music] seemed far
less concerned. >> He's just talking like matter of fact, Nikki's gone missing. He
didn't say, "Have you seen emotional?" He's not scared, frightened, worried. >> No. No.
>> And unsolicited, he offered up odd bits of information. >> And the first thing he says is, "You
know, we haven't been wearing our wedding rings lately." And um Nikki's been wearing her night guard during the
day, just just when we're going out casually. >> The night guard is a plastic mouthguard
she wore similar to this one to keep from grinding her teeth while she slept. >> Why would he say wearing a night guard?
What would that have to do with anything? >> I don't know. >> He then suggested there was something
sinister about those missing pain pills. >> It sounds like what David is saying is
that our marriage is in trouble and her prescription bottle has been emptied. The suggestion there she's left and
maybe she's doing herself in. >> Well, I didn't think that at the time. My mind was in such a muddle. I wasn't
thinking. >> You're emotional, but he's not >> exactly. After nine long days, >> a woman's body was discovered yesterday
off De Moines's Memorial Drive in Burian. >> Nicole's body was found in a wooded
field near the airport by a man walking by. She had been strangled. >> This is the area where Nicole's body was
found. >> Jake Pavlovich is one of the lead detectives on Nicole's case. And what
was her condition? >> She was naked. She had no clothes on whatsoever. Interestingly enough, the
bottom of her feet were clean. Uh, no cuts, no dirt, so no indication that she had walked back here or been drugged
back here. >> Another clue, the night guard was still in her mouth. >> That night guard really jumps out at
you. The only reason in my mind she has that in is because she's killed inside her own condominium. She never leaves
that house. Shortly after her body was found, when he was interviewed on audio tape by police, David made a point of
again mentioning Nicole's powerful pain pills. >> Where did you think she was at? I didn't
know cuz I saw the pill bottle and I freaked out. I was so scared she relapsed her. That's a lot of pills. It
was I thought maybe she owed or something. >> Nicole's friends like Tamara Vanderhayden were stunned when they
heard the news. And what was that moment like for you? [sighs] >> Dream state, you know, it's real. I knew
it was happening, but it was so surreal that it it didn't really hit me. >> You know, I was crying so hard I
couldn't see through my tears. >> In the midst of her sadness at Nicole's funeral, David made a comment to Gail
that threw her for a loop. David put his arms around me at that point and said, "I didn't think you'd take it so hard."
And that just still rings in my ears. I kept thinking, "Why would he say that? Why would he say that?"
>> And then he did something else that started her thinking David was not behaving like a grieving husband. After
Nicole's body was cremated, David gave her ashes away to an acquaintance. He said he'd given them to Jeffrey, who is
the real estate guy who sold them the condo. >> David gave his wife's ashes to their real estate
agent. >> Yes. >> Why would he do that? >> I asked him that and he he said, "I didn't want to take them home." And I
said, "Well, why didn't you give them to me?" >> He also gave away Nicole's beloved pets
to people who barely knew her. Nicole's friends from her AA group like Dave Tillzer had been skeptical about David
almost from the beginning. >> I thought it was a random act at first. You know, somebody just, you know,
here's this beautiful girl, grabbed her, abducted her, broad daylight, of course,
but then when I started seeing the behavior, right away I said, "No." >> Nicole's friends had noticed David's
aloofness in the past. Looking in his eyes, you can't see emotion. That scares me because that tells me that person is
is blocking something they don't want you to see inside of them. >> Tilzer says, "David always made Nicole
feel insecure." >> She looked up at me and she goes, "Do you think I'm beautiful?" And I said,
"Nikki, you're beautiful inside and out." I said, "Why?" She said, "Oh, it's David. He's being really mean to me."
>> Mean was just the [music] beginning. David continued his secret relationship with Sabrina even during his marriage.
Did you eventually have a sexual relationship with David? >> Um, an actual truly sexual relationship
oddly didn't happen until after they were married. >> Was David someone that you
wanted to spend the rest of your life with? >> I pictured it. Somehow Nicole uncovered
the affair with Sabrina, who she tried to confront by calling from David's cell phone. You were now the other woman.
>> Yeah. Um, then I I was now pinned. I was now People knew. >> Was that embarrassing for you?
>> It was incredibly embarrassing. >> Sabrina broke up with David well before Nicole disappeared.
>> I know I've made a very big mistake and I'm not the same person that I was. I
have a husband that I am incredibly committed to. That's nothing like who Dave was.
>> Gail knew nothing of David's cheating. >> But given David's tasteless remark at
the funeral service, she took to heart what the priest said in his eulogy. >> When the priest spoke of evil, he looked
straight at David. And Rod and I looked at each other and we started adding everything up. We said, "How could we be
so stupid?" Because he almost told us in several occasions with hints that he gave us.
>> But hints don't make a murder case. And police did nothing more than question
David Pet. As months passed, Gail went from being a shocked mom steeped in sadness [music]
to a tiger mother determined to avenge her daughter's murder. Every month she called the police to push them to
[music] keep working on the case. >> You know, please, you've got to do something. I mean, a life is gone here.
A very precious life, and we need justice for her. >> And you were persistent. You were a
pitbull. You would not let go of this, would you? >> Yeah. I hate to think of myself as a
pitbull, but I was. [laughter] Gail began a personal campaign of harassment, even leaving a blonde wig
with fake blood on David's doorstep. This is psychological warfare. >> Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I couldn't
get to him any other way. Like I said, he wouldn't talk to me. >> [music] >> I locked myself in my bedroom and hardly
left. I just cried and cried. I knew I'd see her again in heaven. Gail Schneider had no doubt in her mind
that David Pet had killed her daughter. But four long years passed without any arrests.
>> I really felt that not only did David take my sister, that he took my mom as well.
>> Despair turned into hope in 2010. That's when Jake Pavlovich and Mike Melis of
the King County Sheriff's Department were assigned to the case. >> Mike got the case first and he called me
and he said, "Gail, my name is Mike Melis and I'm going to be the last detective on this case." And I said,
"Oh, Mike, I love you. I'm coming to see you." >> She made it very clear to us. She would
be calling us on the phone the 28th of every single month. And frankly, I've heard that before. I've heard parents or
family say, "I'm going to call you and keep keep on you on this case." But she was like clockwork.
>> I just bugged them to death. >> Gail was still keeping track of David, who was seeing other women and had even
become a father with one of them. >> That really hurt because Nikki wanted a baby so badly.
[music] Pouring over the old case file, the new detectives became convinced Nicole had been strangled in her bed
while wearing her night guard. >> She's not going to have that in her mouth. She's not going to wake up, brush
her teeth, and then put it back in and leave the apartment. She's killed inside her own condominium. She never leaves
that house. Inside Nicole's car, which was recovered 20 miles from where her body was found,
was DNA from both Nicole and David. >> When the people from the crime lab swapped the windshield wiper knob, the
steering wheel, and the gear shift knob, Dave's DNA was there, uh, much more of his DNA than Nicole's,
>> which told detectives, >> Dave Pet drove that car. Detective Melis then decided to take a second look at
where David worked. >> Behind me is a 24-hour fitness building where Dave Pets worked during January of
2006, the month leading up to Nicole's death. >> He became fascinated by security camera
video recorded hours after Nicole disappeared. >> You can see on the surveillance images
that Dave was at the front counter at 11:48 in the morning. He leaves and he's out of camera range. Two minutes later,
records show a call from Nicole's cell phone is answered at the front desk at the gym. It lasts 21 seconds. Then David
walks back in. >> He makes a phone call with Nicole's phone. Basically, to make it look like she's
still alive, >> supporting that theory, Melis learns which cell tower pinged during that
call. The tower that connected Nicole's phone for that phone call was right there about 188 yards. It's called cell
site number 75. Detectives now felt they had enough evidence to seek an arrest warrant. When
he pulled in the driveway, he parked right over here in the >> In March 2012, more than six years after
Nicole's murder, Detective Pavlovich came to the bank where David Pet worked as a manager to make a withdrawal.
>> We met him right in the middle of the driveway here and I walked up and I introduced myself. I said, "Hey Dave,
I'm Detective Pavlovich with the sheriff's office. I'd like to talk to you about Nicole's case. You got a
minute?" And he looked down at me and said, "You know, I've really got to get my bank open. Maybe we can talk later.
Maybe later, but not now. I got to get my bank open. And so we walked him back out to the car, put the handcuffs on,
and placed him under arrest. >> At the arraignment, it was my 71st birthday, and it was the best birthday
present I've ever had in my life. >> Is your true name Martin David Pets? >> Yes. to see David Pets with shackles on
his arms and feet and that orange jumpsuit. I've never had a better gift in 71 years.
>> Please rise. The Spirit Court of the State of Washington King County is now in session.
>> On September 9th, 2013, David Pet went on trial. >> Sorry. Would you bring the jury in,
please? Because prosecutors couldn't prove premeditation, he was charged with seconddegree murder.
>> This was not a shooting on a busy street with 15 witnesses. >> Prosecutor Carla Carlstrom.
>> When someone is killed in the privacy of their own home when no one else is around, sometimes you can get away with
murder. The defendant had it all figured out. He'd done the big things right and
he almost got away with it. But it's the little things that can do you in. >> What happened to Nicole is a mystery.
>> David's lawyer, Cooper Offenbacher. >> The state's case, which is based on these surrounding circumstances, what we
call circumstantial evidence. It's not based on any direct evidence. And it's not going to show that David Petle's
life. Precisely the challenge facing the prosecution, the circumstantial nature of their case. Key to their strategy,
David's motive for murder. His lust for other women while married to Nicole. >> You said he came up to your place after
dropping you off. >> Um, and what happened at your place? >> We had sex. >> There was no shortage of witnesses.
>> I'd like to direct your attention to one night in particular where there was some
physical contact. Do you remember that? >> Yes. >> Okay. And who did it involve?
>> Me and Katie and Dave. >> Okay. And just tell us what happened. >> It was just the three of us kissing.
>> Ironically, David insisted in his police interview that he wasn't that interested
in sex. >> I don't have much of a libido. It's kind of opposite roles of what the stereotype
is. >> But in fact, he had once put ecstasy in Nicole's drink to get the kind of sex he
wanted. He told me that he would put it in her Red Bull. He was just trying to loosen her up to get her to do a
threesome. And >> to show David's true feelings for Nicole, they brought his former longtime
girlfriend Sabrina to the stand. >> I asked him why he was getting married. And he said that at that point it was
too late to back out of it. It was all damning testimony, portraying David as coldhearted and selfish.
>> Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear or? >> But to seal the deal, prosecutors drew
on their strongest weapon and David's biggest nightmare. >> And I said, "How do you look at yourself
every morning when you shave? [music] I was going to just make it my lifetime work to make sure that there is justice
for her. >> Gail's 7-year quest for justice for her daughter Nicole now dramatically rests
entirely on her shoulders. State calls Gail Shiner. >> Raise your right hand, please. He's
wearing a back brace because of a recent surgery. Gail looked down at her son-in-law seated at the defense table.
She finally gets to tell a jury her story. Starting the day after Nicole went missing. When he opened the door
and he's walking us back to her bathroom, he said, "Lately, we haven't been wearing our wedding rings, and
Nikki's been wearing her mouth guard when she goes out." And then when we got to the bathroom, he showed us an empty
bottle of pills. >> At last, Gail gets to tell jurors about that one sentence of David's that has
haunted her. >> Did he make any comment to you in relation to Nicole's death at that
funeral? >> You know, he did. It was a really strange thing, but he put his arms
around me and said, "I didn't think you'd take it so hard." >> But when the defense attorney, Cooper
Offenbacher, gets to cross-examine Gail, he basically accuses her of harassing and taunting [music] an innocent man.
>> Miss Schneider, over the years, you have contacted David regarding the circumstances surrounding
Nicole's disappearance. Is that fair to say? And on more than one occasion, you have
called him in the middle of the night, 12:30 on a Friday night, and left him a voicemail asking where he was on January
28th. >> Yeah, just about the time that I figured it she was murdered. >> Gail won't back down. She is proud of
her psychological campaign against David, including that wig incident one Halloween. You and a friend took a
blonde wig and put some red ink on it and hung [clears throat] it in a bag on David's doororknob. Is that correct?
>> I thought we just threw it on his doorstep, but maybe we did. I don't remember.
>> But one way or the other, you put that near the condo. >> Yep. >> Often Bacher recounts the times that
Gail showed up at David's workplaces. Once Gail handd delivered a message to her son-in-law.
And what you wrote on the note to David was, "David, we're planning to buy a house just a few minutes from here, and
I will be in here every day to make your life as miserable as you've made mine."
The new detective has vowed to get you, you murderer. How do you live with yourself?
>> Yep. Yes, sir. That's exactly what I said. >> But Gail didn't stop there. >> And didn't you also tell the other
employees in the bank that he had murdered your daughter? Well, as he is making sure I walk out. He just couldn't
stand to have me around. I just said he murdered my daughter. Hey, you know, my life has been I have
cried my brains out every day for seven years. If he can't take a being confronted by a 72year-old woman, well,
I'm sorry, but he's not much of a man if he can't handle that. You got some guts, Gail. You got some
guts. You were in his face. You were letting him know you're not getting away with this.
>> Yes. >> Mother-in-law from hell, right? >> Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Well, you know, Peter,
you have children. You know how you love them. You You do anything for your children. If I didn't have Tanya and and
Rod, I would have I would have forgot what my religion tells me, and I would have killed myself. I didn't want to
live. >> Be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing about the truth. >> I do, your honor.
>> Prosecution's case goes on for 10 days with 57 witnesses. When it's the defense's turn, lead attorney David
Allen has a strategy to suggest that Nicole had become a drug addict again, living on the edge.
Your >> honor, the defense calls Dr. Carol Wayne to the stand. Raise your right hand.
>> Dr. Way was Nicole's physician. She was treating Nicole for that back injury in
the months before her death. Way knew all about Nicole's history with pain pill addiction.
>> She called the office on November 30th and reported that she was taking Vicodin
and ibuprofen and the the Flexeril had not been effective. >> Okay. And did you prescribe pain
medication? Yes, I gave her more pain medication on that date. >> What type of medication or what was the
name of it? >> It was more Vicodin again. >> In December, 6 weeks before she died,
Nicole tells Dr. Way that she had been taking another narcotic painkiller prescribed by a different doctor.
>> She was taking Oxycodone, one half to one pill every four to six hours. Oxycodone, a powerful,
potentially addicting drug contained in Percoet. >> Did you prescribe her additional
medication at that visit on December 12th? >> Yes, I gave her 30 tabs of Percoet.
>> Nicole had become more desperate, telling Dr. Way that her pain was unrelenting and demanding more pain
medication. Her descriptive word for her pain is screaming. Screaming pain. >> And you were seeing her once a week?
>> I was. >> And was that because of your concerns about addiction? >> Addiction and her medical problem that
she by that time had had enough narcotics prescribed to her that she may well be currently addicted again, but of
necessity because of her pain. >> With that, if you'll give your attention to counsel.
>> The ability. The defense rests. >> David Pet is all alone with no family support in the courtroom [music] as
closing arguments begin. Prosecutor Kristen Richardson. >> We know Nicole Pets now. We know her
husband, the defendant. We know how she died. We know how he lied. Miss Pet was going
through some very difficult times with her back injury and her addiction. And addiction is a
terribly powerful malady. She did fall off the wagon really, really badly. >> Rebuttal.
>> Thank you. The defendant killed her. Nicole Pets thought up until those last few minutes that she had married the man
of her dreams. That dream in those minutes turned into a nightmare. >> On October 10th, the jury gets the case.
A full day of deliberation comes [music] and goes. The jury of five women and seven men leaves for the weekend and
still no verdict. >> My greatest fear is that some girl on the jury will say, "Oh, he's too
good-looking to do something like that." Could David's charms with the ladies be
working for [music] him one more time [music] please rise in session. >> Bring the jury in.
7 [snorts] years, 8 months, and 17 [music] days since Nicole Pet was murdered. >> Please be seated with the exception.
>> It's judgment day. >> Has the jury reached a verdict? We haven't. [sighs] >> Oh, so so scary.
>> You don't know which way this is going to go. >> You don't. The tension is almost unbearable as
mother and daughter await to learn David Pete's fate. >> We the jury find the defendant Martin
David Pety of the crime of murder in the second degree as charged signed [snorts] by the
presiding jury. Is this the verdict of the jury? >> It is. Yes, it is. >> Justice for Nicole at last.
>> Yes, your honor. >> Guilty. >> Number two. >> Guilty. It was the best moment. Made all
my mom's hard work finally paid off. >> Juror number 12, is this your verdict? >> Yes.
>> She will [snorts] be able to rest. >> Tears of joy and also love for everybody
that was there supporting us, the jury, just love. I wanted to hug every single person in there.
And if the verdict was anything but guilty, I know I would have lost my mom forever. Handcuffed, a stonefaced David
Pets is led past Nicole's family. >> What the hell, Pet? >> Do you look at you? >> No. He's a coward.
>> Gail. >> More than seven years you've waited for this moment. When you heard the word
guilty, Gail, what that moment was like for you? >> Oh, absolutely. Uh I just wanted justice for my daughter
and we got it. >> Yeah, we did it. These last seven and a half years have been torture for us.
She'll never come back and I'll never get to hold her again. And by the horrible way she was murdered, I didn't
ever get to kiss her goodbye. I never got to say goodbye to her. Martin David Pets is a low-life scumbag,
a cheater, a manipulator. I wish I could think of more words, but he's the devil to me.
>> And where do you go from here? Uh, >> certainly David's going to appeal this.
There are appeal issues. >> Pete's defense attorney, David Allen, says he will fight on,
>> but do you believe the jury was wrong in in their decision? >> Uh, let's have another question.
>> For the detectives who brought this cold case back to life and promised Gail they
would solve it, there is vindication. When this group of detectives that have worked on this case for so long, the
common sense was that Dave Pets was the killer and nobody else. I think Dave Pet
is a guy who got in over his head emotionally and couldn't control himself. >> Is he a psychopath?
I'm not an expert in that. What I will tell you is that he strangled his own wife in his own condominium and then
continued to live there. Is that the definition of a psychopath? Maybe not the classical one you'll find in a book,
but it certainly rings true with me. >> In a case where no obvious motive stood out, it is left to those who knew Pete's
best to speculate. >> Why do you think David killed? >> I don't think that he thought she was
the perfect woman, not representing what he saw as what he deserved, what his life should have looked like. um the
wealth, you know, the right car, >> things like that. >> And in a private moment, alone in her
room just hours after David had been convicted, Gail says she spoke aloud to her beloved daughter.
>> We did it, honey. We did it. You knew we would. >> The photo that they have of Nicole with
the halo for her Halloween costume, she was an angel and now she is a real angel. and
I miss her. >> Gail now hopes that with Justice, her final challenge will be to find the
compassion to forgive. >> I know she had forgiven him the minute her soul left her [music] body because
that was Nikki. So, I just need to get to that point where [music] I can forgive him, too.
>> [music] >> Hey. [music] Hey. Hey. [music] >> [music]

A heartbroken mother launches a one-woman psychological warfare campaign to taunt her daughter's alleged killer -- but can she get him to crack? Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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Brief Summary

Gail Schneider fights for justice after her daughter Nicole Pet is murdered by her husband David Pet, leading to his arrest and trial.

Key points

Nicole's Disappearance. In January 2006, Nicole Pet vanished, leaving her family in despair.
The Discovery of Nicole's Body. Nicole's body was found, leading to a shocking revelation about her death.
The Search for Justice. Gail becomes a relentless advocate for justice after her daughter's murder remains unsolved for years.
A Mother's Love. Gail expresses her deep love for her daughter, who was the light of her life.
David's Odd Behavior. David's actions and comments after Nicole's death raise suspicions among family and friends.
David Pet's Arrest. Detective Pavlovich confronts David Pet about Nicole's case, leading to his arrest.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I wasn't going to let her just become another case in their files.

Gail's determination to seek justice for Nicole.

2:35WatchDec 16, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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