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

[Music] it's never dull in Palm Beach [Music] County we have some of the most famous
people in the country or the world living here in our [Music] backyard this is my County this is my
town and catching criminals I enjoy it this case began back in March of 2020 the Corona virus pandemic shuts
down schools sporting events and businesses at the time everyone was preoccupied with the Corona virus
lockdowns had started gret and Anthony was a resident of a well-to-do community in Jupiter
Florida right here in pal meach County I met David and gret and Anthony several years ago at a local gym
here the first thing that you noticed about her just big blue eyes and a giant smile blond hair tan
[Music] athletic David's very attractive man very Charming he had a big smile as well
there was magic there and the energy between them was [Music] amazing local officials issued an order
not to leave your home unless absolutely necessary gret and Anthony starts to send text messages to friends and family
members stating that she has been diagnosed with the Corona virus and she describes it as being an
acute case a serious case yes they're very concerned they've only talked to her via
text no one ever spoke with Gretchen on the phone and she never answered her phone who would go to voicemail
yes so efforts were made to speak with her spouse so there's a dual track here where is Gretchen Anthony and where is
her husband David Anthony yes neither one can be found police did a welfare check of gret and
Anthony and what they learned was disturbing so this is where the investigation began investigators were approached by a
neighbor she heard a blood curdling scream something horribly nefarious had happened
this case really hit differently I mean we are talking about someone who is a mother a daughter a sister a
friend all I wanted to do was to be able to find her and I wanted to find her alive and so the chase was on
[Music] [Music] back in March 2020 friends and family of Gretchen Anthony were alarmed when they
began receiving texts from her saying she had tested positive for Corona virus you know the news is saying it's serious
the town of Palm Beach announced a state of emergency and then all of a sudden numbers are being reported and people
are dying the number of confirmed cases continues to grow with 2 it was hard for
gret and Anthony's friends like Kelly Hannah to picture her dying of anything much less this frightening virus at 51
years old Gretchen was a picture of Fitness she worked out at the gym very hard she took her health very seriously
Gretchen is someone who is tremendously heart-c centered she's just radiant and just a very
caring beautiful spirit but above all else she was a devoted mother to her 12-year-old
daughter Gretchen was Raising her child in this house in Jupiter Florida while sharing custody with an
ex-husband Gretchen's daughter was her world she was everything to her cret Mixon an assistant State's attorney for
Palm Beach County got involved in Gretchen's case early on there was nothing that Gretchen wouldn't
do for her daughter she hated being away from her after her divorce friends say Gretchen fell in love with David Anthony
the two met at a local gym where he was a trainer De Anthony here don't forget the
90minut workout coming this Sunday was he kind of a rockar at the gym oh he was the young hot trainer for
sure he has a huge presence David was a popular trainer at a gym owned by Tabitha Hopkins nice sh guys
your hle she says he brought in lots of new members he was intelligent well spoken he was Charming she didn't have
to tell anybody that there was an attraction there there was absolute Sparks there was magic there no question
about it that attraction soon led to the couple getting married at an Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas
in 2015 they seemed like the happiest couple ever did you feel like she'd found the man of her dreams
absolutely David in all appearances was a phenomenal stepparent she called him bonus dad but friends say the couple's
dream life came apart in late 2019 when they separated and David moved out of their home and it kind of sounded like
they both lost themselves a little bit and they were searching more for their own
self-identity now Gretchen's Inner Circle was dealing with a potential life or death
situation and then all of a sudden there's bizarre cell phone [Music] messages over several days starting on
March 23rd friends and family received a series of texts from Gretchen who said she was at home in quarantine she sent
this one to her daughter who was was staying with her ex-husband good morning tested positive
for Corona virus early this morning that means I have to stay here for at least 2
weeks her daughter replied okay I really hope you get better crochet Mixon says there were
multiple texts from Gretchen's phone over the next 3 days describing her deteriorating condition I consulted with
the virus screening hotline and admitted myself in to the Jupiter Medical Center's emergency room so this is
serious stuff what does the family do with these texts the family finds the text messages that they're getting from
Gretchen to be worrisome alarming what Disturbed everyone receiving these texts is that no one not even Gretchen's
daughter had received a phone call from her that just there's so many things that are so wrong including these Tex
claiming that she'd been transferred to an off-site medical facility being run directly by the CDC in belglade more
than an hour away in Central Florida but there's a problem there is no CDC facility in belglade Florida so this
text message allegedly from Gretchen's own phone apparently was not sent by Gretchen it definitely was not sent by
Gretchen Dave aronburg the state attorney for Palm Beach County agrees clearly whoever had sent those text
messages were trying to take advantage of this pandemic of the fear out there trying to exploit the situation so
things were not adding up and things were not adding up very quickly the family along with friends
made the decision to reach out to law enforcement to do a welfare check on gret and
Anthony I made get house for my friend that's missing I don't know how to put into words but I know she's in very
great danger right now Jupiter police detective Jared kerson caught the case on the night
shift we reached out to the Jupiter Medical Center and they did not have a record of Gretch and Anthony being a
patient at their facility during that time period so all of a sudden this is getting serious yeah that's a huge
concern of mine desperate for Clues police checked out the Jupiter Medical Center's parking
lot they hit Pay Dirt gret and Anthony's Mini Cooper was recovered in the parking
lot of Jupiter Medical Center detective kenerson says what they found inside Gretchen's car was
worrisome her purse sitting in plain sight I think a woman normally carries their purse with them if gret and
Anthony is not in a facility in a hospital anywhere being treated for Co if she doesn't have covid then where is
Gretchen that was a million dollar question no one knew where Gretchen was [Music]
[Music] 5 days had passed since anyone had seen Gretchen Anthony Jupiter police investigators were determined to find
her so they canvased her neighborhood wearing body cameras looking for Clues they were stunned when a resident
approached them to say that early on the morning of Saturday March 21st she heard
something terrifying I heard a really serious woman scream like um just screaming like she was being
attacked and then I heard her scream no and then I heard something about it hurts stop it the scream was really
serious did this woman call 911 she did not some people are apprehensive about calling the police when you heard that
story what are you thinking I'm thinking that something definitely happened at gret and Anthony's home Saturday morning
officers became even more concerned when another neighbor told them he later noticed a soapy substance flowing from
underneath Gretchen's garage door somebody was in there cleaning that's what I take from that we discovered that
um her entrance door that leads from her patio into her garage that door was locked and it had the key broken off in
the in the dead bolt could Gretchen be inside investigators wasted no time finding out they forced entry into the
garage and there was no Gretchen inside however they noticed that there was a strong pungent smell of a cleaning agent
in the garage with body cameras rolling investigators searched the home several times they found evidence suggesting a
violent struggle a broken picture frame shards of glass on Gretchen's bed and a stained
towel there was a piece of cloth that had what is referred to as BLS a blood-like substance on it they got a
huge break when they discovered neighbors had taken photos of a black Nissan pickup truck parked near
Gretchen's home after the terrifying screams and who owns a black Nissan pickup truck I'm David
Anthony David Anthony Gretchen's estranged husband his vehicle was there that morning investigators learned from
friends at and family that Gretchen had filed for divorce in February of 2020 and David had moved in with his
mother that's when David's former boss Tabitha Hopkins says he became increasingly unstable he regressed
behavior-wise um slowly became more hard to manage Gretchen's family told investigators she worried about her
safety after the separation and had security cameras installed throughout her home and garage who was she afraid
of I was told that she had the cameras installed because David had returned to her home after he left after they'd
separated that's correct kenerson discovered those cameras had been removed from the walls
possibly to destroy incriminating evidence but he learned that while the cameras were gone the images they once
recorded could be recovered from the cloud and we sent a search warrant to her camera provider It is believed that this
could potentially be the best piece of evidence at this point that could give us some direction as to where is Gretch
and Anthony while they waited for that crucial evidence investigators scrambled to find out just what David Anthony knew
about Gretchen's disappearance they went to look for him at his mother's home again with with body cameras
rolling Jupiter police hello hi hi Jupiter police sorry to bother you David's mom said she too
had received a concerning text from Gretchen Gretchen's been in touch with me cuz she's in the CDC Center she has
the virus okay what CDC Center is she at I don't know she texted me this morning
and said she was in there I have the text would you like to see it I would love to thank you here all right no
problem okay when officers asked her where her son was they became alarmed he had said he
was going to Costa Rica David's mother told them that he packed up his truck and on Tuesday March
24th 3 days after Gretchen disappeared he grabbed his dog Kobe and hit the road once they know that he is attempting to
flee the country he definitely becomes a suspect they are very suspicious of him adding to their suspicion what they
discovered on the video retrieved from the Jupiter Medical Center parking lot where Gretchen's car was
found there was security footage that showed Gretchen Anthony's Mini Cooper pulling into a parking space and there
is a tall figure walking away from her vehicle David Anthony is about 6768 and does that look like somebody
who could be 6768 absolutely investigators were convinced David Anthony was somehow involved in
Gretchen's disappearance Now tracking grechen's cell phone could be the key to finding David they find the Gretchen's
phone is hanging off a tower um in the area of Pensacola Florida that's like 600 miles away yes her phone is on the
Move there's a lot of moving Parts here right so we're trying to still answer the question where is gret and Anthony
where is David Anthony and so these cell phone records become a very critical part in in locating David Anthony
investigators say phone records help track David across Florida as he left a paper and video trail cameras recorded
him stopping at jewelry stores to sell Gretchen's jewelry one store owner shared a memorable
conversation that he came in wanting to sell some jewelry um that had been left to him by a family member that had died
from covid-19 Co yes Co strikes again Co strikes again and in all these videos that we were
able to obtain from these different businesses nowhere was Gretchen seen while David Anthony was leaving a
tantalizing trail of electronic breadcrumbs he had one huge Advantage remember they had learned from
his mother that he was on his way to Costa Rica and could be long gone we are not operating days behind David Anthony
under understanding that his intentions at this point are to leave the country so it's now from his perspective Catch
Me If You Can yes now we're on the hunt for David Anthony tour friend Kelly Hannah
Gretchen Anthony was someone who connected instantly with everyone she met oh she was so radiant and just had
this gentle gracefulness about her had the most beautiful laugh someone who should somehow be
protected from harm in a perfect world you would hope and pray those people have Angels around
them to keep them safe but now Gretchen had been missing for six days what is going on and why is my beautiful
friend missing assistant prosecutor crese Mixon knew the key to finding Gretchen was
finding her estranged husband David Anthony she had been told David was on the run to Costa Rica and had a head
start we're trying to make up time we're trying to move quickly and play catchup
investigators tracked Gretchen and dve cell phone signals which appeared to place both phones traveling together
heading Westward across Texas now does that suggest the two of them maybe on a trip together that she could possibly
still be alive it suggests that their phones are pinging together to me detective Jared kenerson didn't know
what happened to Gretchen but feared the worst as he waited for evidence taken from Gretchen's home to come back from
the lab he issued a bolo an alert to be on the lookout for David's black Nissan truck
his vehicle was listed as a felony vehicle investigators dug into David's past and what they learned was
stunning so David Anthony originally was known as David Anthony Deutsch and then
later changed his name to David Anthony nobody knew that he's local here to the Palm Beach area he went to the same High
School my children went to it was weird weird that nobody realized that there was a
difference nobody realized for instance that as David Anthony Deutsch a star college basketball player he held up a
Blockbuster Video Store armed with a squirt gun and assaulted a police officer he reached a plea deal in each
case and spent a short stint in jail David Anthony has had a history of of criminal conduct it's not that uncommon
for someone with a Criminal past to try to escape that past Tabitha Hopkins David's former boss at the gym in
Jupiter had noticed something odd about David he's very talented and his skill level was amazing but his moods could be
high or low do you feel as though he does have this jual and hide personality 100% Tabitha says he became so difficult
to manage she was forced to fire him in 2017 she gave him a second chance a few years later but by early 2020 he was
increasingly unstable I basically said what's going on what's wrong with you you you are not the same person that I
knew Tabitha says she was forced to fire him again and this time she caught a glimpse of David's frightening
rage that look I'd never seen before he was angry shaken tab texted Gretchen at the time separated from David with a
warning stay away from him she had said that he is crazy and that's the last time I talked to Gretchen that was
February of 2020 then a few weeks later just 7 days before Gretchen disappeared this
happened can I get up no Get Down Standing Up Get Down police received a report that David was allegedly
following teenage girls at a nearby shopping center once again police body cameras were rolling when they
approached him I I get out now get out with Kobe sitting quietly in the truck he's got a dog in the
car David lashed out and was charged with resisting arrest resisting me sir on your out like an airplane David spent
just a few days in jail you have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in the
court of law investigators learned he posted bail and was released just 3 days before Gretchen
disappeared we're going to stand up all right now as they tracked him cross country they knew they had a volatile
man on the loose and he was being KY he would turn on cell phones um and we would be able to get a location and then
he would turn cell phones off David's phone pinged here in posos Texas more than 1600 miles away from
Jupiter the next day David's phone pinged here in Los cruus New Mexico kerson immediately reached out to
Los cruus police for help still tracking his phone and armed with the description of the truck Las
cruus police located David and pulled him over Put Your Hands Up Up When officers asked David about Gretchen he
told them she had covid um last I heard she was in a CDC facility getting treatment for uh Corona virus Los cruus
police seized David's truck and his possessions including his phone and Gretchen's phone but they didn't have
enough evidence to bring David in for questioning so along with Kobe he was allowed to just walk away where does he
go I don't know where he went but I knew that he he was in Las cruus on foot and
you're here in Florida what do you do we are waiting the results of Gretchen Anthony's video
cameras Jupiter police finally received electronic recordings from Gretchen's home they released portions of that
evidence like this video from security cameras revealing a tall figure hidden in the Shadows on the patio waiting to
Ambush her the figure moves throughout the patio area other footage was too disturbing to release to 48 hours
including the moment Gretchen appears on the patio and the figure forces her into
the garage investigators also retrieved recordings from Gretchen's Alexa device where she can be heard calling out for
help she was screaming for Alexa to call 911 she's calling out to that electronic
box call 911 in other words call the police Gretchen didn't know it but unless you specifically program your
Alexa device to do so it does not call the police in an emergency do you think if the Alexa unit had called 911 that
gret and Anthony might be alive today it's possible video retrieved from cameras in
the garage show the last images of Gretchen alive there comes a point where this person that we see grab Gretchen
muffle her screams and take her into the garage this person looks up at the camera realizes that it's a camera and
proceeds to take that camera and snatch it down off the wall and throws it on the floor and what do you
see we see David Anthony looking up into the camera we knew that David Anthony killed grin Anthony he was the
killer investigators finally had the proof they needed to make an arrest detective kenerson raced to Los crusis
to look for David Anthony we searched um homeless areas we searched hotels were you nervous he's going to
get away I was very nervous I didn't know where he could have [Music] gone that evening officers got a lucky
break when they spotted David walking his dog Kobe David was detained and Kobe was taken to a
shelter hey David who are you my name is Jared kenerson I'm a detective with the
Jupiter Police Department with all 6' 7 in of David Anthony crammed into the back seat of a small police car
detective kenerson knelt down and looked directly in the eyes at the man he was certain had killed
Gretchen there's a warrant for your arrest and I'm going to explain that when we get bound back to the excuse me
what homicide for who who do you think that's why ask the hor we'll talk about it the headquarters
okay okay all right kerson had his man but still had one looming question we still don't have a body
where is Gretch and Anthony see what evidence investigators pulled from the cloud at 48 hours.com
[Music] right handcuff right handcuff gotting to cut off culation after a Manhunt
Crossing Six States spanning nearly 2,000 miles David Anthony was finally in custody for the murder of his estranged
wife Gretchen hi David my name is Kelly Jupiter detectives Kelly Sanders and Jared kenerson would interrogate him
here at the State Police Headquarters in Los crusis New Mexico they had one goal get David to
reveal the location of Gretchen's body we were in search of the truth we're in search of where is gret and Anthony I
wanted to be able to tell her family tell her daughter I know where she is and that was very important to us right
away David made it clear it wouldn't be be easy we have obtained a warrant for your arrest for
murder okay she's alive kerson was stunned when David claimed Gretchen wasn't dead I I I was
in disbelief I I I knew that she wasn't with us anymore but he's defiant with you that's correct defiant and dishonest
police say the story David told was pure fiction she was traveling with me okay up until Al Paso we were driving
separate vehicles so she she she boled he said Gretchen was on the run because she discovered illegal activities at the
company where she worked and someone was after her are you buying any of this I'm
not buying it now when asked about the text messages sent from Gretchen's phone claiming she had Co David was evasive
there was no record of her being at any hospital for covid-19 okay zero record doesn't doesn't mean anything when the
detectives pushed harder insisting David sent the messages he pushed right back you have her phone you sent the text
messages you planted her car at Jupiter Medical Center because you're on video doing
it have all that information do it she had me do it kenerson and Sanders even confronted David with the evidence
captured on Gretch 's own video system you put your hand over her mouth and dragged her into the garage it's on
video David still alive David's story never changed he repeatedly told the detectives Gretchen was alive Gretchen's
still alive in fact during the course of the interrogation David Anthony made that claim she still Alive's alive I
told him that she's still alive she's still alive 35 times in fact he says that over and over and over that she's
alive why is he saying that he's trying to deflect David is trying to deflect away from
himself with each denial the detective's anger Rose it's very frustrated because
we know she's not alive we have evidence of her not being alive so kenerson switched tactics and tried to appeal to
David's bond with Gretchen's young daughter you see that little girl right there I want you to look at her I her
look at I know you look at her real good and for a brief moment it seemed like it
might work I was the one who taught her how to ride a bicycle and she a hoop and
use her awareness yep and that it's awesome then do what's right for her I would never hurt her not I would never
hurt either one of them well you're hurting her indirectly by not letting us know where her mom is you have to ask
her we can't ask her she's dead she's dead her mother is still alive that's alive and then David tried a new tactic
he dared them to prove their case we don't have video of me killing her how do you know what we have show it to me
show me the video her dead body show me the video her dead body is right there show me the video I know that it exists
okay then show it to me the detectives decided it was time to take a break they left and sent officers to
adjust David's handcuffs you want water kerson came back alone this time quiet and
friendly he made one last emotional plea by playing an audio recording of Gretchen's daughter begging David to
tell them where they could find her mother even that didn't work raised a girl since she was 2 years old David
claimed falsely that it wasn't Gretchen's daughter's voice infuriated kenerson decided to let him have it you
to you didn't even like you didn't even you didn't you're not even doing your homework monster do your homework Jared
you are a monster for and everybody is going to look at you like that after more than two hours David abruptly ended
the interview I'll ask for a lawyer no problem I'm not asking any more questions I'm still wondering where
Gretchen is um I wasn't able to leave that interview um knowing where she was um and that didn't necessarily sit well
with me David Anthony was charged with second deegree murder and extradited to Florida Days Later his dog Kobe was
adopted by new owners in Jupiter David's arrest made the news according to a just released
arrest report a neighbor heard a woman's blood curdling scream at about 6:00 in the morning March
21st when Kelly Hannah saw the story she says it broke her heart I just sat down
on my bedroom floor and just cried my eyes out cried my eyes out for her daughter for her sisters for her parents
for everyone that loved her David's former boss Tabitha Hopkins felt she'd lost two friends it was just
shocking I wanted to believe it wasn't true but it was obviously prosecutor Dave aronburg had
evidence and a suspect in custody but he knew getting a conviction wouldn't be easy the most troubling thing for the
family and for all of us quite frankly was that we did not have Gretchen's body and when you don't have a body those are
challenging cases to prosecute and David Anthony knew it while David Anthony was held in
custody in Palm Beach County Florida a grand jury indicted him on the charge of kidnapping and raised the murder charge
from second degree to First could he have faced the death penalty with these charges potentially yes for first degree
murder one traic one but the search for Gretchen Anthony's remains continued that was the thing he had in his favor
if this ever went to trial it was almost as though it was his ticket it was the worst part of it for me
the fact that he was able to use evidence of his crime as leverage that fact also weighed heavily
on Gretchen's family the thought of Gretchen being out there alone forever was very unsettling for
them I think the family wanted life in prison but they wanted Grudge him December 2020 with the winter
holidays looming it was becoming tragically apparent that authorities may never find Gretchen without her allege
killer help and so we entered into negotiations with David Anthony's defense lawyer and were're able to work
out a settlement of 38 years in prison that settlement required David Anthony to plead guilty to second degree
murder and reveal the location of Gretchen's remains David Anthony appeared in court today
pleading guilty David Anthony pleads guilty 9 months to the day after Gretch and Anthony went missing David Anthony
finally admits what everyone already knew he murdered his wife we were able to find Gretchen that
day it was a Le because I know that is what her family wanted and to be able to give that to
them it meant a lot David Anthony chose this nondescript patch of grass just a few miles from
Gretchen's House behind a Walmart and next to a retirement home to hide his wife's remains detective Jared kenerson
took us theree how does someone bury a body here and not get caught I I I don't know I don't know this discovery that
must have been quite a moment for you it it was very emotional for me it was very
emotional for um for all of us that were involved after months of uncertainty Gretchen's family could finally lay her
to rest and I could see as hard of a time as this has been or had been for the family I could see that there was some
sort of Peace an autopsy was performed which explained why that neighbor heard screams the morning Gretchen
disappeared what was the cause of death cause of death um was stab wounds to the
neck and to the Torso there were some defensive wounds she fought for her life [Music]
you used what you did to negotiate something for yourself you are pure evil Gretchen's Sister Sarah Carey and
the rest of their family came face to face with David Anthony at his sentencing hearing you stole a mother
away from her child a daughter away from her mother you you are a monster you are a
coward you can never be forgiven then it came time for the man who created all this pain to speak and
he gave a bizarre explanation for his actions my illusion saw the co pandemic as an end of the world
prophecy an arm again that I felt compelled to escape no matter the cost instead of being a man I chose to
be a coward I tried to steal what wasn't mine and in the process I ended the life her life had value her life had
meaning and I stole that life I'll call BS on that hard hogwash that's appalling absolutely
appalling and he left so many questions unanswered we will never know we will never know
we will never know why he ended Gretchen's life I think that's the hardest question
to ask is why and sometimes you just need to believe that there are higher powers
in place that have a bigger plan and now Gretchen's friends and family are left trying to make sense of
it all how is re's daughter doing you know children are resilient she is blessed to have her father in her life
and she appears to be doing well if one person was touched by how much she loved people by how much she
loved her child by how much she just loved living life to the fullest then her life mattered
[Music] when he was 13 He committed an unthinkable crime it was just a brutal brutal killing 28 years behind bars now
he's out I can live in society as any other live can he what's next for Eric Smith 48 Hours next on CBS

A mother disappears. Texts reveal she has coronavirus – was someone using COVID to cover up a killing? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Gretchen Anthony's disappearance leads to her estranged husband David's arrest for murder after alarming texts and evidence of a struggle.

Key points

Gretchen's Alarming Texts. Friends and family receive concerning texts from Gretchen claiming she has COVID-19.
The Disturbing Discovery. Police find evidence of a violent struggle in Gretchen's home.
David's Disturbing Past. Investigators uncover David Anthony's criminal history and unstable behavior.
David Anthony's Arrest. Detective Kenerson races to find David Anthony after he becomes the prime suspect in Gretchen's murder.
The Interrogation. Detectives confront David Anthony with evidence of his wife's murder, but he insists she is alive.
Gretchen's Remains Found. David Anthony pleads guilty to second-degree murder and reveals the location of Gretchen's body.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This case really hit differently.

Reflecting on the emotional impact of the case.

3:05WatchMay 19, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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