The Ultimatum | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] My name is Steve Mlin. My wife and I have a small farm. Come
on. We raise sheep, market lambs, and breeding stock. The farm has always been a sideline.
My primary job was as a special agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Running a farm is a lot
like working in investigation. Every day presents challenges, pieces of a puzzle
that need to be put together. Agent Modellin, set the scene for me. Where are we? This is the Saluda
Mountain Lodge in Saluda, North Carolina. And this was owned by the Mintz family. And Vanessa Mintz had
worked the night shift as the night manager. She was hilarious. She was hilarious. What do you want Santa Claus
to bring you? She had a very quick wit. She was this natural maternal life of the party, too. Come back and see us in
the morning. Okay, we will. Ms. Mintz was very well respected in the community. She was connected through her
church and her activities. Ms. Mintz worked with young girls in etiquette with beauty pageantss.
Vanessa helped me with public speaking and building confidence. She was like my support team. She made me a very strong
independent woman. February 19th, 2011 never leaves my mind. I find it really strange because mom has not text or
called. You arrive at the lodge. What do you see? I see the door standing open. Jessica came in through the employee
entrance into the main guest quarters here and immediately noticed her mother in the bed back in the bedroom here.
This is not right. When she got to here, she could see her mom on the bed. It's very dark and the only illumination in
the room is coming from the TV. and her mom was on her left side and had her arm
up over her face. She also called her sister who was a nurse and Andrea said, "Jesus, is she breathing?
Have you checked her pulse?" And she just screamed, this blood curdling scream. Vanessa had been shot once in the face
and once in the forearm area. This was certainly a very violent death. There was no forced entry. The cash drawer in
the front office was open and was empty. There's nothing out of place except for
her shoes on the bedroom floor and a shotgun shell. The fact that she is in bed in her night clothing, it is my
opinion she was ambushed. Does that suggest she may have known her killer? Yes. My heart has been ripped out and it's
laying in there dead with her. This can't be true. This was money and sex driven. And how disgusting is that to
murder someone for? I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours, the ultimatum. [Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Music] We see this picture that is mounted before us of one who is very precious to
our heart. who gave an example in this community. I can't imagine life without her. I
wouldn't be able to live without her. At a memorial service in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Hey Sam, Jessica
Freeman. And Andrea Gray paid tribute to their beloved mother, murdered at their
familyowned Mountain Lodge. Your whole world shatters. Nothing looks right, nothing feels right. That sentiment is
echoed by Vanessa's husband of two years, Travis McGra. His father, Willie, will never forget his son's reaction. He
was very emotional about the way he was speaking. You know, he was just like breaking into tears. I think the victim
here was a well-liked lady. Good lady, sweet lady. Who would have done this to your mom? Not your mom.
There was fear that a killer was on the loose roaming this beautiful community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
What are you thinking? I just kept thinking we're not safe because Jessica, who whoever did this is still out there,
correct? Vanessa's life revolved around her loved ones and her deeprooted faith. Mom's
heart was so big. So big. and she was very trusting and very forgiving to a fault. Vanessa Mintz came from one
of the most prominent families in this part of North Carolina going back nine generations.
Her father Carl was a Baptist preacher for 40 years. He and his late wife dedicated their lives to their only
child. She was our love. She was her mother's heartbeat. Early on, they taught Vanessa the value
of sacrifice and helping others, taking her on Christian mission trips around the world. She became engrossed in that.
At 18, Vanessa married her first husband, had daughters Jessica and Andrea, and continued her mission work.
She also became a successful real estate agent, opening her own company. She loved challenges.
loved challenges. Even if it was in a field she had no experience in, she thought, "Well, I I can figure this
out." She'd say, "Well, why not? We can tackle anything." She was unstoppable. So unstoppable, she was soon a prominent
leader, supporting new businesses and honoring other local women leaders. She was just a mover and a shaker. Longtime
friend Marca Ble Cunningham. She did not let the grass grow under her feet because she was always busy doing
something. That something included molding those aspiring young beauty queens like Heather Waldbart who in 2006
won the town pageant and today is a professional dancer. She always wanted us to go after our dreams. She was
someone who always wanted like the most for you. While Vanessa was thriving professionally on the personal side of
life, she was lonely. Her first marriage ended in divorce when the couple grew apart and a second brief marriage failed
too. But then in early 2008, Vanessa, who had just turned 50, met someone new. She's like, "Ladies, I have met my
cowboy." It was Travis, 9 years younger, a married father of two, who had just separated from his wife. She was very
excited about him. It was just a fast friendship that moved into a budding romance that just really took off like
wildfire. One reason for this burning love was that like Vanessa, Travis believed in
service. He was in the Air Force reserves. He had also been a firefighter, an EMT, and was now a
police officer. She loved that he was a civil servant and had his commitment to the Air Force. The romance started when
Travis was looking for a new home and Vanessa was his real estate agent. Before long, he was courting her. Her
phone was constantly going off. It was just an explosion of text messages. and him dropping by, dropping by her office,
bringing treats to the office, um, bringing dinner to her on her shifts down at the motel. Travis was charming
and loving to her. It has brought the sparkle back to mom's eye. Seems like the perfect fit. It did. Travis's dad
thought so, too. She took interest in the children. He took interest in her children's children. and uh you know
there was just a real good happy camaraderie going on there. After Travis's divorce, the couple eloped in
2009. They just loved life together and they loved doing things together. He was
such a running partner for her. But someone wanted Vanessa Mintz dead. And I love Vanessa
and I miss her. She was always good to me. We've got to find this killer. A killer
who left behind a calling card. We worked the crime scene in great detail and found a crucial piece of evidence
that only the killer could have left. [Music] It was a beautiful bright sunshiny day
for February. The details of discovering her mother that Saturday morning are deeply etched
in Jessica Freeman's mind. While Vanessa had been working the overnight shift at the front desk of the
family's Mountain Lodge, her husband Travis was 12 miles away, spending the night with his son, 17-year-old Taylor.
And so the morning of February 19th, 2011, you get up. I get up and I find it really strange that mom had not called
me. Jessica headed right over to the lodge where she was going to take over from
her mom. As she approached, she noticed the door was partially open, which again
was very unusual to her. Um, normally this would be closed. Correct. Chief investigator Steve Mlin. Now, the lights
were off, the shades were closed, the television in here was on. I started calling her name. Mama.
Mama. And there's no there's no sound, but this TV is so loud. So loud. The only
light in this room at the time was coming off of the television. So try to imagine that light dancing on the image
of her mother lying here on the bed in this darkness. It's almost a macob kind of scene. It is. And it's confusing. And
I look up and there's splattering on the the mattress and her pillow and I said, "Oh, mama, you've got
to wake up. You have thrown up in the lighting and the situation." She had not put it all together. Her first call was
to Travis and I said, "You've got to get down here. You've got to get to the motel. I thought you were supposed to be
at the motel with mom. Mom is sick." He goes, "What do you mean your mom's sick?" I said, "She is sick. you need to
get down here. Well, I'm at breakfast and I and I was very curt to him. I was rude. And so I called my sister and I'm
like, "Oh, Andrea, you've got to get down here. Something is terribly wrong with mother." As a nurse, Andrea had
dealt with trauma. And Andrea said, "Jessica, you've got to look and see if she has a pulse and if there's a rise
and fall to her chest." And I saw there was no there was no rise and fall to her chest.
And what was making her face look so funny was that there was a hole in her head.
Modellin's investigators had quickly confirmed there had been two shotgun blasts. One hit Vanessa's arm. The wound
there would tend to be a defensive wound. and that second shot to the front of her head. This was a brutal, brutal
shooting. Yes, it was. Prosecutor Alex Bass. It was obvious that the money was gone from the till. There was no money
found there. So, the first impression you get is it's a robbery. Just $200 had been taken. But why?
Investigators wondered, did the killer leave behind an expensive ring on Vanessa's finger? We also noted later
that on these shelves was a stack of Vanessa's jewelry uh visible and out um where she had taken it off the night
before. There was no sign of a struggle, but whoever shot Vanessa left behind a clue. The only thing of note in here was
a pair of Vanessa's shoes right here on the floor and next to them was a single 12- gauge shotgun shell. A spent fired
shotgun shell. What thief would come in, take the money, and say, "Well, I'm now
going to go into the bedroom and shoot this person who's asleep." That doesn't make any sense. Exactly my point. A
robbery would get you six or seven years in North Carolina. Murder gets you life
or death. Soon, Vanessa's stunned family gathered in front of the lodge. I was so
scared and I just remember just falling in the dirt with her and we just held each
other and cried and screamed. I've never screamed like that before in my life. Andrea then called her grandpa Carl
about his only child. I just put the phone down, told my wife, uh, I said, "Mama, something's something's wrong
over at the lodge, and I need to go quickly." And out the door I went. And I'll never forget the look on Papa's
face. This is the man that has been this strength and our foundational rock and nothing, nothing could crumble him.
The whole thing was completely unimaginable. I'm looking for some derelick that's
come by, stopped in and robbed and shot then gone. I even said to the FBI that I
wanted him to turn every stone that was necessary to find perpetrator. I said, I
want to surrender that person to God for judge and jury. Everyone wondered who it could be. Who
was this? Is this someone against our family? Is this someone who it was just a roadside robbery?
You think of all those things because you're trying to make it make sense. I think it's somebody looking for drug
money or traveling money. And Jessica was already angry at one member of the family, Vanessa's husband, Travis. had
such anger that he wasn't there to protect her, that he had left her vulnerable and somebody had broken in
and killed her. And the direction the investigation was heading would soon make everyone far angrier. Travis McGraw
had a lot of secrets he was not wanting to share. a whole another life that he had.
[Music] There was blood stains on the bed. There were blood stains on the wall behind her.
A shocking murder of a beloved mother at her family's Mountaintop Lodge. Cash. missing from the till, a shotgun
shell on the floor. Despite all that, prosecutor Alex Bass wasn't buying that Vanessa Mince's
murder was a robbery gone bad. What was striking about the crime scene was that that apartment was as neat as a pin.
Investigators started from square one. They began looking at all the family members and the first thing they started
to do was to get the phone records for them. Once police obtained Travis's cell phone records from the phone company,
they found some romantic text messages. The problem was they weren't from his wife. They led to discovery that he had
a girlfriend on the side. This is Mary Beth Fiser. She was just 27 when she met 44year-old Travis McGrath,
Vanessa's husband. He was very charming. He seemed very warm, very kind-hearted,
um, eager to help, eager to give advice. Travis had followed in his wife's footsteps and was now working for a real
estate company here in Hendersonville. And that's how he met Mary Beth. She was looking for a new place to live with her
young son after recently separating from her husband. So, you and Travis went out
to look at some various properties. He was very helpful. He definitely was there with any phone call to answer the
phone or answer any text with whatever question I had. And just like Vanessa, Mary Beth found Travis to be an
impressive fellow. He was in the Air Force. He uh firemen, EMT, police department. What Travis left off
his resume, Mary Beth says, was that he was married. He just looked at me and said, "No, I don't have anybody. No one
at all. No one. You're a good boy." She says her relationship with Travis revolved around text messages and phone
calls. We're going to come out. Did you guys have a romantic relationship? We were not sexually involved at all. I was
in such a vulnerable state. I wasn't looking so much for a romantically involved relationship. Mary Beth says
that they didn't have a sexual relationship. So, is she lying? Depends on what sex is, as a a recent president
once said. No sex, she says, but lots of love. At one point, we shared the words,
"I love you." But there were warning signs about Travis's commitment. He refused to introduce Mary Beth to his
children. Did it strike you as odd that he'd never invite you over to his place?
Yes, it did. He was really adamant about his kids not knowing who I was. Then at
the hospital where Mary Beth worked, she learned from a coworker that Travis was
married. I'm mad. You're mad? I'm mad. I should have just said adios. Mary Beth says Travis then told a new
story. He then proceeded to tell me that he wasn't with her now, that they were still business partners. They were
separated. She lived in one of her properties that she owned. He lived in a another property that they did not live
together. Now, were you buying that? I bought it. Within weeks, Travis had another
problem. Vanessa found out about Mary Beth. I'm not exactly sure of the method of how she learned. She just became
completely withdrawn from me. She couldn't eat. She couldn't drink. She was so sick.
Jessica and Andrea say their mother was determined to save her marriage and made
the dramatic decision to confront Mary Beth face to face. The Wednesday night before she died, she went to her
apartment and begged and groveled and pleaded with her to please leave my husband alone. They really said that?
That's what they said that their mother told them. Oh Lord. Absolutely not. I never met her. This
didn't happen. No. If it did, then the relationship would have been cut off right there. Then more drama. Mary Beth
says one day she was spending time with Travis and he ignored his ringing cell phone. And I say, "Okay, excuse me. Um,
can I have your phone?" And I said, "Please show me where your texts are." Mary Beth then read a text message from
Vanessa and it did say, "Thank you for running errands for me today." And I believe I saw the word love in there. I
shut his phone. I gave it back and I said, "Get out of my house." Mary Beth says Travis burst into tears and pleaded
for forgiveness. They parted and then once I calmed down a bit is when I text him. Her words were plain as day. You
need to make a decision on who you want to be with. And I said, if you want to be with her, then be with her. That's
fine. But you need to make a choice on who you want to be with. Mary Beth's ultimatum came with a deadline. It was
Thursday, and he had until Sunday to decide. Less than 48 hours later, Vanessa was shot to death.
Travis wrote me, "If you haven't heard yet, Vanessa was at the motel last night. Someone broke in, robbed the cash
drawer, and killed her." You gave Travis an ultimatum. You told him to choose. The next day, Vanessa is murdered.
Did you think that was just a coincidence? It's so weird to say. In my mind, I thought it was a coincidence. I just
didn't want to believe this man was capable of doing something like that. Special Agent Steve Mlin had never
believed that Vanessa was murdered by a stranger. This is not a place you see traveling down the road and think I'll
stop there. You're going to have to have knowledge that this is here, that this exists. And once Mellin got those text
messages from the phone company, he was convinced that Travis was the prime suspect.
And he made one crucial mistake. Sitting right there on the floor, plain as day. That sounds like a big piece of
evidence. Well, it was. It was the big piece of evidence. [Music] That shotgun shell left behind by
Vanessa's killer was a telltale clue. Point down range, pull the trigger, and then pull back on the forearm. That will
eject the fired shotgun shell. And Shane Green of the State Bureau of Investigation demonstrated for us how he
tested Travis's shotgun. The same kind of gun he's using here. The fired shotgun shell that was recovered at the
lodge was one just like this. After the murder, Travis McGra voluntarily gave police the four shotguns he owned. He
was trying to cooperate and had no idea the police had found a shell casing. His
truck had also been searched. In his truck, we found a shotgun shell in the door compartment of the same brand and
size shot uh and specifics as the shell from the crime scene. Among Travis's shotguns was this Mossberg model. So,
Green loaded the same kind of shell that Travis used and fired it. You're telling me you can you can fire
this weapon and there will be distinctive markings on the back of this shotgun shell that would tell you
whether or not this shell was fired from that gun. That's correct. There'll be microscopic markings, imperfections,
striations, scratches. And when Green compared the shells he fired from Travis's gun against the one at the
crime scene, they were almost identical. And how precise is that match in your professional opinion? Uh, in my opinion,
it's a 100% match. Uh, that shotgun shell was fired in the shotgun provided by Travis McGrath. Investigators now had
that forensic evidence on top of the text messages that included Mary Beth's ultimatum. 4 days after the murder,
police arrested Travis McGrath and charged him with firstdegree murder. In that moment when you heard that, my
knees buckled. I just laid my head on the table and Papa said, "No, no, no." But the wheels of justice
turned slowly in this part of North Carolina. Travis spent 13 months in jail and then his family was finally able to
raise his $750,000 bail and he was freed. The sisters say he lurked around them ominously in their neighborhood. We saw
him a lot. He would be on the side of the road. We look at you as you drove by and wave at us or do this. Do this. Mhm.
Like a gun thing. I don't know. He would do this. I guess you could interpret it
how you wanted to. Even with the strong case against Travis, prosecutors then offered him a plea deal consulting with
Vanessa's daughters. seconddegree murder with a sentence of 16 to 20 years. They
wanted him to plead guilty rather than rolling the dice at trial since the only physical evidence was that shotgun
shell. And so we all just felt like that this was in God's hands and if this was the
way that the state felt they needed to proceed, we are supportive of the state and we would move forward. On the advice
of his lawyer, Travis accepted the deal. But when the day came in March of 2014 to finalize it, please be seated. A
shocking development. So at this point, the state would ask, does the defendant wish to accept the state's plea offer or
not? At the last moment, Travis changed his mind about pleading guilty. I think it's because in my heart and in
his heart knows he's innocent. We had a conversation to that effect privately that he told me that he was innocent
looking dead into my eyes. How can you not just be horribly, horribly disappointed? I mean, we were really
thinking that today at the end of the day, we could be at the end of this chapter.
Three long years after their mother's murder. I'm thankful that we're finally to this point. It's We're exhausted.
Jessica, Andrea, and their families are finally headed to court for the trial of
Travis McGra. Call your first witness, Heidi Laam. I mean, it was loud enough. Heidi Laam, a friend of Vanessa's, takes
the stand. Heidi was staying at the lodge the night of the murder and was startled awake. It was definitely a
whooing sound. I I felt like something was banging against the building, probably the echo. So, it was it it was
pretty loud. Unable to fall back to sleep, Heidi left the lodge. She noticed Travis's red truck. And where was the
red truck parked? Parked in front of the breezeway. Remember, Travis had told police that he'd spent the night with
his son here at Vanessa's house about 12 miles from the lodge. Heidi's testimony
contradicts his story. Captain William Boschain. Air Force Major William Boschain. Travis's former commander,
then testifies that he contacted police shortly after word spread that Vanessa had been murdered. Why? Because Travis
had already tried to collect on the $100,000 military life insurance policy he had on Vanessa.
Why did this cause you concern? I was shocked that within 10 to 12 hours I was rece
[Music] within 10 to 12 hours I was receiving an email inquiring about insurance. Miss
Fisher, you come around this morning. Then it was time for the prosecution's star witness to take the stand. Travis's
former girlfriend, Mary Beth Fischer, who continues to insist their relationship was platonic. It was not a
physical relationship as a married couple or a boyfriend, girlfriend would have that element of
it. It was just heavy texting and it did get emotional through texting. You're two adults, both been in marriages in
the past. It seems like a very normal next step that you would have been romantic, had a physical relationship.
It does. And now looking back, I kind of wondered why he didn't want that. Yeah. Mary Beth tells the jury about
that ultimatum she texted to Travis. If you want to be with her, then be with her. But make that choice on who you
want to be with exclusively is what I text him. And then I said, "Then let let me have an answer on Sunday." Did there
come a point? Mary Beth tells the court she only asked Travis about Vanessa's death one time. The only thing I've ever
said to him about this whole case was, "How do you feel now after all this has happened?" And his response was, "I feel
relieved for her because of financial issues that she was having." Vanessa's family says money was a bit tight at
that time, but no serious problems. Prosecutors laid out their strong evidence about that shotgun shell, which
they said put Travis in the room where Vanessa was shot. Only one witness remained who could refute that story.
Travis himself. Did you shoot your wife with that shell? No, sir, I did not. He testifies that he went target shooting
the day before on this open land near the airport and had put the spent shotgun shells in his pocket. After I
went shooting that day, I felt like I'd pulled all the shells out of my pocket when I changed clothes if that one fell
out of my pants. That's where it's come from. But that's the only way a shell got my gun. Got into the Slooh Mountain
Lodge that night. But there's a problem with Travis's story. A cell phone expert
testifies that the cell phone in Travis's pocket that day was nowhere near where he said he was target
shooting. Finally, I have two Air Force Achievement medals, an Air Force accommodation medal. Travis falls back
on his resume. And so, we did everything we could to keep the fire contained to one side of the base. Trying to charm
the jurors. I was given another Air Force Achievement Medal just as he had charmed Vanessa and Mary Beth. What
could he possibly have to say? It's like being in the room with pure evil. It feels gross. You didn't feel the need to
tell her that you were married to Vanessa Mix, did you? No, sir. You were in love with Mary Beth, weren't you?
Yes, sir. You wanted to be with her, did you? Yes, sir. Tell the court about that. But defense attorney Tony Dalton
doesn't want the jury to think that love was Travis's motive for murder. Did you
kill Vanessa because of that deadline? Absolutely not. Nobody deserved what Vanessa got? No.
The defense calls Taylor McGraw. But Travis has one more hope to sway the jury. His now 20-year-old son, Taylor,
testifies that he believes his father was in the house with him all night because nothing woke him up. Pretty much
anyone walked past the room, they would even if the door was closed because of the vibrations, it would cause the dog
to bark. So the only way your father could get out of the house, out of that room, was to go past the dog. Correct.
What other signs? But on crossexamination, Taylor acknowledges he wasn't exactly a
light sleeper. Do you recall telling the FBI agents that when you sleep, you sleep like a rock? Yes, sir. But Willie
McGrath is convinced that his son is innocent. And he hopes the jury will find it impossible to believe that a
former military man and police officer would have been so careless as to leave behind a shotgun shell and keep a murder
weapon at his house and then give it to police. My son is probably arrogant. Uh he's a little uh highrung and uh but he
ain't stupid. [Music] [Music] No sir. After seven days of testimony, 17 witnesses,
85 exhibits, this being a first-degree murder case, it's high stakes. Closing statements begin. But I submit to you,
not being a faithful husband doesn't mean you're a murderer. Defense attorney Tony Dalton reminds jurors to focus on
the facts and not Travis's questionable character. Mr. McGraw, you may find to be a person of bad judgment.
You may find his character to be not up to your standards, but that's not the question here. Give Mr. McGraw a fair
trial. And if you find a reasonable doubt, find this man not guilty. That's what I want to talk about first.
Prosecutor Bass takes his turn saying all the evidence points to Travis McGra's guilt. The defendant did it. He
had every reason to do it. He had the means and the motive and the ability and the smarts to try to frame it up as a
robbery, but he wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. That's because Travis left behind that shotgun shell,
the critical piece of physical evidence tying him to the crime. And that was the
defendant's biggest error cuz that shell landed on the floor. But in the passionate heat of trying to
escape, he didn't go back in that darkened room. Bass tells jurors the motive for murder.
He was in love or what passes in the mind of Travis Mcra love because we all know that that's an infatuation.
And by killing Vanessa, Travis thought he would have what he craved, $100,000 of insurance money, maybe even Vanessa's
house. enough to impress his new girlfriend. The defendant had every reason in this
case to kill his wife and he can go on being a white knight from Barry Beth. When you start putting all those facts
and circumstances together and then put the evidence of motive on top of that, you get a complete picture of this
defendant. The picture that you have of this defendant is guilty. All right, members of the
jury, all the evidence has been presented. It is now After some final instructions, when you have unanimously
agreed upon a verdict, notify the baiff by knocking on the jury room door. The judge sends the jury out and the wait
for that knock begins. Hoping for a quick verdict. No one strays too far from the courtroom.
Vanessa's family on one side, Travis's on the other. I'm really nervous about the whole thing. I'm on edge a little
bit, especially since the jury's not come back in yet. Travis, he's got a confident feeling about it. 2 hours
pass. What's that weight like? It's so hard. The minutes are heavy. Every sound, every creep in that old
courthouse room, you just Is that the knock at the door? We'll be in recess till 9:30 in the morning. The jury is
dismissed for the day. I was chair bring jury in and returns the next morning. We
just sitting there just praying on nice edge. Lunchtime passes, but still no knock. More waiting in the
courtroom. Throughout deliberations, Vanessa's family prays. It's all too much for Jessica.
[Music] All right, ladies and gentlemen, I understand there is a verdict. Finally,
after 8 hours of deliberating, the feeling in the room, the energy, it was just electric when that knock came upon
that door that the jury was ready. All right, madam clerk, would you take the verdict, please? Judgement day.
Mr. Person, you have returned to open court as a unanimous verdict of the jury that the defendant Travis McGraw is
guilty of first degree murder. is the right of the jury. Guilty. Guilty. And when you hear that word,
after all you've been through, it's just members of the jury. And just minutes after the verdict, he's slapped
with the maximum sentence. The sentence would be by the court a life in prison without parole. Good luck. And to hear
those words, guilty and you will spend life in prison. I felt like since February 19th, 2011 that
I finally took a deep breath. The former police officer is now a convicted murderer. You could have walked away and
left. You did not have to kill her. I don't want to have feelings of anger because he's going to be getting his
just reward. Do you sit at night and wonder to yourself, I may have been the motive that Travis used to murder his
wife? I have thought about that and I feel bad that that thought is out there because
honestly, nobody thinks that when they're involved in this situation or give some somebody an ultimatum that
that person would go and shoot the person that they're involved with to get out of the situation.
That's just not reasonable. Normal people don't do that. For the Mintz family and the community
she once served, come back and see us. Vanessa's spirit lives on. Hey, Jessica, it's mom. Jessica treasures this last
voicemail from her mom. I was just calling to say hello and to check on you. I hope everything's going well for
you. I love you. And the influence she had on everyone around her. I want my mother to be remembered for who she was,
not how she died. A passionate Renaissance woman that was able to tackle the world and to be near
her was to be blessed. [Music]

Two daughters are determined to find their mother's killer. Will the investigation expose hidden secrets? "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

Vanessa Mintz was murdered; her husband Travis was convicted after evidence linked him to the crime.

Key points

The Tragic Murder of Vanessa Mintz. Vanessa Mintz was found murdered in her family's lodge, leaving the community in shock.
Uncovering Secrets. As the investigation unfolds, secrets about Vanessa's husband Travis begin to surface.
The Telltale Shotgun Shell. A crucial piece of evidence links Travis to the crime scene, raising suspicions.
Travis McGrath Arrested. Police arrested Travis McGrath four days after the murder, charging him with first-degree murder.
Shocking Plea Deal Rejected. Travis McGrath changes his mind at the last moment about pleading guilty.
Guilty Verdict. After hours of deliberation, the jury finds Travis McGrath guilty of first-degree murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Your whole world shatters. Nothing looks right, nothing feels right.

Describing the aftermath of Vanessa's murder.

4:26WatchAug 6, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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