Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20180121

Behind. He left a house. Was this a husband who did want to be found . It does not sound like a missing person. No, it doesnt. Or could this be Something Else . There was something very wrong. They would launch an undercover operation. It is time to come clean. That would lead to a long shock. Were you ready . I know it has to happen. A disappearance in the desert, and could it be the perfect crime . I can only imagine what is it like to keep that type of a s k secret. H hello and welcome to dateline extra im craig melvin. For eight years, it was a mystery a husband who had simply vanished. On the surface, it didnt make sense, because he had a lucrative job and family he loved, but the investigators were told that he also had a secret. So was he missing or was he i hiding . That question would lead the detectives to a dark discovery, because someone else had a secret, too. Heres josh mankiewicz. There is an old saying that two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. We never talked about what happened or why it happened. Reporter every marriage has its secret, and this one was no different. But what if the secret becomes bigger than you. That was just solving the problem problem. Reporter they were two people who had been unlucky in love the first time around. Back then she was Ellen Sheffield in her early 30s, divorced with a young are child and looking for someone to share that next chapter of her life. And then quite literally in walked mike snyder. I said, hi, mike, how are you doing . Reporter it was the fall of 91. Auto mechanic mike snyder was v visiting a friend at the car dealership where ellen worked. He was curious about the redhead who greeted him with the big hello. He didnt remember who i was, but he got back to work, and called back over to find out who i was. Reporter turned out they had worked together years before. And this time, the quick encounter led to a fixup by mutual friends. Great guy. You know, showed interest in me. Reporter opposites attracted. The quite and introverted mike hit it off with the talkative and outgoing ellen. Hed leave flowers on my car. Wed go out to dinner. He was nice to my son. Reporter and that was important to you . It was very important to me. Absolutely. Reporter and ellen, herself was smitten with mike. He was a skilled mechanic, regarded as one of the very best in albuquerque. He probably worked at least six days a week. He was usually the first one there and the last one to leave. Reporter dave siler worked alongside mike at this dealership. If you had a jeep or an older jeep, mike could fix it. He had a wealth of experience with the skweep product. Reporter and that wealth of knowledge earned him a sixfigure salary. Have oh, yes, i was excited that he was the best. Reporter and part of you knows that it was a irritating to others . Yes. Reporter and mechanic jim hur tau toe called her the fixit problem. What can we do to make the problem go away. That is all she wanted to do was to fix the problem and take care of the customer. Reporter as far as problems, ellens was running on six cylind cylinders. Six weeks after we were dating, he bought me diamond yankees. It was very fast. Reporter so fast that after six months of dating ellen and her 8monthold son michael moved in with him. Did he seem happy . He did. Reporter mike had no ochildren of his own and now he was filling a void in mikes life. El llens sister terri. They would Share Interests and tink mer the garage together. Reporter but it was not long until she noticed that mikes affection was not all that she wished for. We are happy to have valentines day together and we were in love. And he didnt come home. He decided to go out with his friend friends. On valentines day . Yes. And he could not understand why i was upset about that. Reporter but face it not every guy makes a big deal out of valentines day. So ellen shocked it up as not being the most sensitive man. Were you sad . I think i was not just sad, but confused. Reporter but they stayed together and got married and allen was pregnant and they began to build a 4,000squarefoot house in a upscale subdivision in the foothills of the al bu ker can ki mountains. That house was our dream house. Reporter it was ready just in time for the baby. Only mike wasnt ready. He wanted to the stay at work on the day ellen was giving birth. So i called his boz and i said, well, im in the hospital having a baby. And he said, mike is here. I said, yeah, he is. Do you think that you could send him. Reporter once again, not the most sensitive husband, but mike loved that baby girl. They named her elizabeth. She was just the joy of my brothers life. He thought the world of that child. Ellen would come by to bring things by, and mike would get her balloons and candy and soda and give his time to her, and Everything Else stopped. Reporter but behind closed doors mike and ellens marriage was starting to unravel. Ellen said that mike seemed jealous of her success at work. Once i was promoted to service manager, it basically became hurtful and he was stand offish. Reporter and ellen says from the time that elizabeth was conceived, mike had moved out of the bedroom, permanently. We never slept together again. Reporter and so mike andlen began live willing two separate lives in that dream home with their children, but still they stayed together. U i still wanted this marriage to work. I did want to give up. Reporter that is until she learned about that secret, the big secret that would ultimately tear this family apart. I thought that after christmas and everything was done, that i would tell him what i knew. E Perfect Hotel by using tripadvisor thats because tripadvisor lets you start your trip on the right foot. By comparing prices from over 200 booking sites to find the right hotel for you at the lowest price. Saving you up to 30 youll be bathing in savings tripadvisor. 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Reporter you made the rules. He followed is . Yes. Reporter and a marriage that was neither loving or happy. Right. Reporter and eight years of outside lie to the world in the big home that she and her husband mike had worked so hard to build. But el ellen would not leave and determined to make her marriage work. I was not going to be a failure at another marriage. Reporter mike hung on as well, but his sister terri said that mike was thinking of ending it. I believe that he was in the process of leaving her. He was moving belong togs my mothers house. Reporter and mikes daughter elizabeth was 6 years old and very much daddys little girl, and michael, ellens son from ellens first marriage was 17. How was michael towards his father . The older the more harsh. Reporter but then mike snyder got sick and life inside of that home grew much worse for just about everybody in the Snyder Family. His body would go numb, and he would pass out in severe pain. Reporter it was the summer of 2001 when mike went to see a doctor. The doctor said that he believed it was a on osetting case for multiple sclerosis. Reporter multiple sclerosis, no cure for the disease, and it can lead to paralysis and even death. He was put on treatments to slow the progression of the disease. Ellen gave him the shots. It was my place. I was to take care of him. Reporter as time went on, mikes work colleagues like chuck wyatt noticed a physically weaker mike. He was just kind of struggling to make it through the day. We werent told what actually he had or what was going on, but he was not coming into work as often or everyday. Reporter when he could not work at the level he expected of himself, mike went on disability. He was really starting to face it and tried to understand how his life was going to be with m. S. Reporter which only added more stress to the marriage. I am sure that my brother was going through incredible Emotional Turmoil about his physical condition. Reporter maybe that is the reason that mike began waking uplelen in the middle of the night to vent his anger. It was yelling and demeaning and calling names, and telling me how worthless i was. He didnt want to necessarily have the big fights in front of elizabeth and so he would wake me up at 2 00 or 3 00 in the morning reporter and yell at you . Yes. And she was careful not to tell her colleagues about this, because ellen was boss to a bunch of men and if she showed a single chink in the emotional armour she wouldner again be effective. If they see the emotional, that is the focus, and it is all about the woman thing. Reporter they wont respect you anymore . Right. Reporter but she did say aloud that now that mike was sick, she would be there for him as she promised through the good times and the bad. She had to see him through this, because she says, what kind of wife would i be reporter in sickness and in health health. And right, she would not leave him. Reporter but ellen says he had no problem leaving her. And in fact, mike was spending more and more time away from ellen and the family. He was going back and forth between albuquerque and phoenix, and that is where jeep held the continuing education classes in auto mechanics. He still wanted to go to training, because he had been going to training all along through his work history. Reporter but a twoday trip became three days and then four days and then a week. Ellen was becoming increasingly suspicious of exactly what mike was doing on the long trips away from his family and from her. I felt hurt and betrayed that i had gone along all of this time being the good wife with his m. S. Reporter and one night, mike was in the shower and his cell phone was sitting there on the table next to ellen. Curiosity, she says, got the better of her. She picked up his phone and opened it. Reporter and so there were messages. And soy listened to the messages. Reporter and what a shock that was. One message in particular from a man shed never heard mike mention. Someone named dave simmons. A man that ellen believed was the reason that mike was spending so much time in phoenix. He would talk about how satisfied he was with their sexual contact. That he would be explicit as to what each had done to each other. Reporter so it was not really any question no question. T. Reporter what was going on here . No, none. Reporter it was january 2002 and like so many nights before, mike woke her for the screeching match and it was around 2 00 or 3 00 in the morning, and ellen who had never directly confront ed mike about anything said she knew all about the affair he was having with dave simmons the man from phoenix who left those explicit messages on to cell phone. And there was, ellen says, a heated argument and then mike left the next morning. At the jeep are dealership where mike worked, colleagues knew only that he had been out sick for a while. We didnt know if it was cancer or he had come back or not come back, and we had no idea. Reporter this is like losing the star player. Pretty much, yes. Reporter but his tool box was still at work worth around 40,000 and so everyone assumed that hed return, that is until ellen broke the news about michael leaving town. I asked ellen, so how is mike doing . She said, well, he moved to phoenix or arizona. He was living in arizona. Reporter it was also puzzling to mikes family, because they could understand why mike was not talking to ellen, but why was he not talking to them. His calls went to voice mail. We knew that he was not doing well and thinking about leaving ellen, so we were concerned as to why we had not heard from him. Reporter was everything as it seem ed . Was mike really in phoenix, and if so, what was he doing there . Not only does it hold for 12 hours to reduce denture movement, it also helps provide better bite, seals out 74 more food particles, and enhances your denture fit. In fact, 95 of super poligrip® users surveyed believe it makes them feel more confident eating in public. Eat, speak, and smile with confidence. Try super poligrip® today. Its abor it isnt. Ence in 30,000 precision parts. Its inspected by mercedesbenz factorytrained technicians. Or it isnt. Its backed by an unlimited mileage warranty, or it isnt. For those who never settle, its either mercedesbenz certified preowned, or it isnt. The mercedesbenz certified preowned sales event. Now through february 28th. Only at your authorized mercedesbenz dealer. Mike snyder had disappeared. Friends and family wanted to know why. They also wondered why it appeared that his wife, ellen, was not missing him. Once again, josh mankiewicz. Reporter perhaps the the loanest place on earth is the middle of a bad marriage which is exactly where ellen snyder found herself. But in the Early Morning hours of january 11th, 2002, that came to an end. She had confronted her husband mike snyder with her knowledge of his love affair with another man. And in a rage, she says, mike left his home and his family and d disappeared. You know, it was so calm in the house. It had been a very long lonely time to be married and to be lonely everyday and that loneliness was gone. Reporter and what disappeared with mike was el n ellens second marriage which she says she fought so hard to save. Now it had failed just like her first. On the plus side, she says that mike was no longer there to torment her, belittle her and to shout at her. Reporter so your husband is not waking you up in the middle of the night to yell at you. Right. And so it is just you and the kids now . Are just me and the kids. Reporter ellen says she tried to reach him, but couldnt, and neither could mikes family. He was not returning their calls ooeither. Mikes sister, terri. And so ellen says that he has been gone for a couple of weeks and you are thinking that his m. S. Well, we were concerned. Reporter and the family knew that mike was planning to leave soon, and they knew that, but he was not supposed to leave everyone. He never would have done that to his mother, and look, i dont want to be contact and give me my space, but i am okay. Reporter at work, jim hurtado noticed that ellen was more relax ed as if a weight wa lifted from her shoulders. She seemed happier and more content and more at ease. Reporter and unbeknownst to alla ellen the collapsing marriage was the topic at work. She didnt want other people to know. Reporter and so other people did know, and what they said was that mike was a hothead. Reporter mike had h a rep u reputation at work for having a hot temper, and for being intimidating. Mechanic dave siler worked with limb for a decade. There was a lot of tension, and you could just feel it from him. And you know, a lot of people were very careful around him what they said, what they did. Reporter because mikes fuse could blow. And when it did, you did want to be around. He could blow up at the dispatchers and the supervisors and, you know, the dispatcher would be crying. Reporter so it did not come as a big surprise whenlelen announced that mike had leftt her. He packed up the stuff and moved to phoenix probably going to end up in phoenix, and the marriage must be over. Reporter the rumors spread through the albuquerque auto business quicker than the latest recall. Mike left town, and took the money out of the house, and took all of these things, and just disappeared and then later on now, i was hearing rumors that he was gay, had a male lover and went to the caribbean. Reporter you have any idea who the source of the rumors was . No. Everybody heard it and passed along throughout the dealersh dealerships. Reporter did you believe it . Disappearing was kind of one thing, but being gay, no. Reporter several months passed with no word from mike. And now his side of the family was so concerned that they decided to go to the police. I knew at some point we had to move on. We had to the not just hope that he was out there, but we had to at least explore other options. Reporter down at the Albuquerque Police station sister terri filed a missing persons report. She had a feeling that something had happened to her brother. It is one thing to leave a bad marriage, but quite another to end contact with the daughter mike loved. I know my brother remained steadfast in the love for his daughter, and she was the joy of his life. I believe he fell victim to foul life. I did not have a concrete explanation other than that is just how i felt. That was my gut. Reporter but terri was not pleased with the response that the officer gave them. The officer that took our report was a little arrogant and he said that he is a green adult and he can come and go as he pleasesk, and so at that time, he did not want to write our report. Reporter the police were making the essentially same argument as allen . Yes. Reporter mike snyders name was entered into the National Missing persons database, but nothing much that the police could do or would do. Albuquerque police chief ray schultz. It is not against the law to be a missing person unless there are suspicious circumstances. And mike was to reporter and the police chief said that he had every right to walk away from not only the people he didnt love and those he did. So the investigation was reduced to that of a missing person. And then spring turned to winter and nobody heard from mike snyder, and the expensive tools lay unused at work. And ellen, now a single mom f e filed for divorce and she was awarded the house and the money in the joint account and sole custody of her daughter elizabeth. Reporter when your daughter, mikes daughter would say to you, wheres daddy, what would you say . I can didnt know. That he had left because he was mad at mommy. Reporter a year after mike left her, ellen says she could no longer afford the home that they built together now that she only had her salary. So she sold the house and she and her kids, michael and elizabeth, moved to a much smaller one. It was fall 2003 when ellen received a followup phone call from the Albuquerque Police department. The investigator wanted to know if she had spoken with mike. And you say what . I say that i dont consider him missing. That he is right where he wants to be. That he left me with his gay boyfriend and i have not heard from him since. Reporter police seemed to find it understandable that perhaps ellen didnt care much about mikes whereabouts at that point. They never asked me anymore questions. Reporter ever show up at your house . No. Reporter whatever suspicions mikes side of the family had, police did not share them, so with a few computer e key st ke and without the familys knowledge and any other investigation, mike snyders name was wiped out of the National Missing persons database. Ellen had said he was not missing, and back then, that was good enough for the police. Will there obviously should been a little bit more investigation done other than the word of ellen snyder. So all of this time that you thought that police were looking for him, they were not looking for him at all. They were not looking for him at all. I trained you. We share a locker. Moose man yo. He gets two name your price tools. He gets two . I literally coined the phrase, we give you Coverage Options based on your budget. Thats me. 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President trump skipped a trip to florida to remain in d. C. On the oneyear anniversary of President Trump taking office, thousands of women took to the streets for womens march across the country. Now, back to dateline. Im craig melvin, and it had been three years since mike sni snyder had disappeared. They suspected that he was a victim of foul play, but what they didnt know that the police were not even looking for him, but that was about to change. Here is josh mankiewicz. We would call missing person, and they would say that someone would get back to us, so in a thr threeyear span we had little to no contact with the Police Department. Reporter turns out they were not looking for most of the time. Right. And in that time, he was not even in the database. Reporter it was now 2005 and it had been three years since mike snyder left his home, his family, his whole life in albuquerque. No one had heard from the master mechanic, and not even his little girl who was now 9 years old, a third grader e. That is a big red flag and maybe the leading one that kept me going, because i knew that my brother would never have left his daughter, ever. Reporter at the jeep dealership where mike had worked for ten years, his name was rarely mentioned in k conversation. After three or four years of mike being gone, it didnt come up too much anymore. We knew that he was sick. We didnt really know if he was still in a hospital somewhere or if he had actually just passed away from the illness. Reporter his tools were no longer lying there unused. Ellens son michael was using them. He had followed in his shoes and he had become a mechanic as well. On the rare occasions when ellen would come by the shop where mike had once worked, his old colleague dave siler would ask have you heard from mike and she would say no. No concern for mike, and she would be like, no, i have not seen mike. Reporter it is often said that the happiest and the saddest of occasions are what bring families together. When mikes family gathered together to mourn the death of mikes father, any hope that the family had left for mikes return, that hope evaporated. That is the last straw that we were all on board that he would have shown up for his own fathers funeral. Reporter but ellen and her children did show up. They had read the death announcement in the newspaper and they came to pay their respects. We were not expecting them and it was strange and caught us off guard, and once again, with rein a state of mourning, and we were not going to be creating any issues and we were not going to have them escorted out. Reporter after all, this was the grandfather of ellens daughter. So e we let them go up to th casket and have bereavement time, and then we noticed that michael was crying uncontrollably, and then my sister and i are looking at each other and poking each other, and thinking what . Reporter michael cried so his the ter cysterically that h ellen had to escort him out of the room. Reporter were he and your father close some. Not per se, he was no closer to my father than my mother and so it was odd okayb kurns that everybody took note of. Reporter and Something Else that took place that day that enraged her. At some point ellen comes up to my sister and asks about my fathers will and wanted to know if there was anything on the will in the profission for mikes daughter. Reporter and she is asking about money. She is asking about money. Reporter and the more that she was asking about it, the more terri felt that ellen knew about his disappearance. She was not acting like a woman who was trying to find the father of her child and we could not understand why she did not seem the least bit concerned about her child not having a father. Reporter it just did not make sense with mikes side of the family and they pleaded with police to take a fresh look at the case. In the spring of 2005, the Albuquerque Police agreed. Assigned was cold case detective mark wilson. The Department Said yes, we will look into it. It is three years and he left a young daughter behind and left a house. Reporter the detective began digging for any information on the missing mechanic. Did any record of him exist. First, we looked into obviously the criminal end to see if maybe he had been stopped or maybe there might be a Police Report on him somewhere. Reporter there is nothing . Right. There is nothing. We also look into the fact that he could be dead somewhere. And you checked the criminal Investigators Office and he is not there. Right. And then i started to look into see if there is any indication of financial records that might indicate that he was working somewhere, and there was once again, we came into a dead end there. Reporter but the detective did discover one very curious thing. It turns out that mike snyder had file d state tax returns fo 2004 and 2005, years after his disappearance. Reporter that doesnt sound like a missing person. No, it doesnt. Reporter what that sounds like to me off of the top of his head is a guy that does not want to be found. It suggests that possibility that he might be alive. Reporter is your brother the type of person who want to or want to the live off of the grid . He had financial mean, but knowhow, i wouldnt think so. I dont know what it takes to live underground so to speak and be a person of a different identity. I dont know if he would even have considered Something Like that. Reporter could mike snyder be hiding and not missing, and if so, why, and from whom . I no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c. Wondering, what if . I let go of all those feelings. Because i am cured with harvoni. Harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. 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Police investigating mike snyders disappearance had evidence pointing in two dr directions, was mike alive and hiding or was he dead and buried . Once again, josh main coe wits. Mankiewicz. Reporter out here in the new mexico desert, the land is dry and vast. There are roads that lead nowhere. An mysteries that go unsolved. Cold case detective mark wilson had been trying to unravel one of those mysteries, the disappearance of albuquerque u native mike snyder. He could have had a successful job anywhere in the country. One that would have shown up on the search . Right, yes. Reporter but there was no trace of him anywhere. It was as if the mas the ter mechanic has simply vanished. There was no indication of anything that would match up to him. Reporter but mike snyder had filed income tax returns in 2004 and 2005, years after he disappeared. It was quite simply very, very odd. With the investigation seeming to stall, detective wilson called the local paper the Albuquerque Journal asking them if theyd file a story on the cold case. Maybe the attention would shake loose some leads. Journalist jeff brock or the. The police were finally willing to say publicly that they believe that it may have been a homicide. Reporter it is no secret in any Homicide Investigation the spouse is always the first to be questioned. But before the detective had a chance to reach out to ellen, she was calling him, complaining about that article. And she said, where did you get this information . She was upset that it portrayed that he was just a innocent man, father that had disappeared. Reporter the article didnt implicate you . Yes, it did. Reporter i mean, i read it, and it does not lay the blame at u your feet . Yes, it does. Reporter what did she tell you . That she and michael had a heated discussion and the next morning when she woke up he was gone, and he had not taken a vehicle. Reporter ellen told the detective that she was pretty sure that he had moved to phoenix the home of his lover dave simmons, but most recently, she believed he had moved on the the caribbean. She said he is probably on an island somewhere. We had looked at land in st. Croix and as far as i knew he had gone the st. Croix. Reporter and that is where he was with dave simmons . Correct. Reporter in fact, ellen said she had spoken to him over the years years. Yes. Reporter you heard his voice . Yes. Reporter and maybe where he was, he was not angry anymore, but the two of you were talking in a nonangry way about the kid kids . No, i think that we were still angry, and i think that i told him that we were still angry. Reporter but that he was gone and he was not coming back. Correct. Reporter mikes sister the terri had not heard the accusations that he was secretly gay, and ellen had not shared that until that time. Reporter she had told other people. She did not throw that out to us. Reporter did you believe that . No, i did not believe that my brother was gay. That is one of the components that the detective wanted to check out. He asked ellen to come down to the Police Department to meet with him in person, and only she wouldnt. She said that he is not missing, and i said that we want to find him, and asking her to come in to help us find him, and she would not come in. Reporter and so ellen and detective wilson never did meet face to face. She claimed she had given him all of the information that he had. Reporter well, you were not giving him what he need, because he wanted to meet with you. He never ever asked me to come down. Ever. Reporter instead, ellen mailed the detective some paperwork that she had found in mikes desk, a Western Union transfer from mike snider to dave simmons in the amount of 200, a uhaul receipt with dave simmons name and number, and a copy of mikes cell phone bill from december of 2001 right before he disappeared which showed a number of phone calls to that same phone number. You gave detective wilson all of the documentation that you had on dave simmons . Yes. Reporter but ellen no longer had the voice mail the one she claims to have on mikes cell phone, the sexually explicit one on the phone from dave simmons. Reporter the only proof that they had a relationship is the voice mails that dont exist anymore. Well, people who knew mike, they would know that he would not send anybody money, ever, unless there was some sort of relationship there. Reporter so mike was supporting this guy . I never found enough money that he was supporting him, but he was definitely helping him out. Reporter police say that her information didnt lead anywhere, and the detective did not locate him in the caribbean and when he tried to kcontact a dave simmons in phoenix, he never had a contact. And that other allegation got ellens neighbors talking about things they had seen years before. They had seen michael and ellen digging behind the garage, and digging a hole. Reporter when is that . Around the time that michael went missing, and she said that she remembered seeing them out behind the garage with shovels. Reporter that was pretty intriguing to the detective. It sounded like a viable lead. So in 2006 with the current home yoown ers permission, they brought two dog handle errs to search the neighbors property, and a neighbor showed them where a flowering tree had been planted in 2002 a year after mike had disappeared. My suspicion was that they had planted a tree to hide the body. Reporter the handlers let the dogs loose on the property, and at first they showed little interest that is until they went under the flowering tree, and incredibly both dogs independently of one another gave their cadaver alert. The dog handler said that this is an indication that the scent is coming up through the tree. But she said well, the body could be ten feet down here or 30 feet over there if indeed there was a body there. Detective wilson had a new theory, maybeb he never left home after all. Was this to be big break that the detective needed. The detective discussed it with mike ice sister. Of course i get excited and intrigue and anxious and i start asking him questions. Reporter the team started to dig deeper, but the ground was hard. What did you find . We didnt find anything, and the dogs were not excited about the hole itself. Reporter and soon the trail went cold. The tip that seemed like gold and mikes sister the terri was crushed. The detective was deflated. Are i had to think that maybe the body was somewhere else. I had a feeling that mike snyder was dead somewhere. Reporter the digging here was over, but metaphorically at least detective wilson held a shovel and he was trying to get to the bottom of what ellen snider was doing around the time that her husband mysteriously disappeared, and it was not long before he found someone thatlelen worked with who offered unusual help. The coworker said, i have a gun if youd like to use it if that will help. Like an unjection™. Xeljanz xr. A once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. 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With the botox® savings program, most people with commercial insurance pay nothing outofpocket. Talk to your doctor and visit botox®cmsavings. Com to enroll. Return iing to the secret. After investigators best lead came up empty, the mike snyder case came cold. And then out of the blue, one of ellen snyders cowoshg workers forward and shed new light on the mystery. Once again, josh mankiewicz. Reporter it had been four years since mike snyder had gone missing. Four years since he had left his family, including his young daughter in his hometown of albuquerque, new mexico. In 2006, the Albuquerque Journal ran an article on the missing mechanic and father. The cold case which had been virtually dead for years was suddenly picking up steam. Reporter jeff proctor. It triggered some tip s to te Police Department and it got people, you know, talking about this as something other than a husband who had walked off on his family. Reporter for the first time Albuquerque Police were publicly calling the case a Homicide Investigation. And that caught the attention of a man named frank. He said, im the one who lent her the gun. If you think that she is a suspect in this, i dont want my family in danger, and so i want to turn the gun over to you. Reporter frank was a retired military and straight by the book guy who had befriended ellen snyder when they worked together in 2001. She was telling people that he yells at her all of the time. Reporter it was christmas 2001, and ellen says that the daily fighting and the snyder home had escalated. Mikes multiple sclerosis had grown progressively worse and with it, so had his anger. He would push me around, and he hit me. Reporter he hit you how many times . One time . Three or four. Reporter ellen now held an executive level position at a large dealership. She was the boss to 30 mechanics and making upwards to 90,000 a year. Shed put your feet to the fire and make sure that you got the job done and move over. She was no pushover. No, she was no pushover. She stood up for herself . Yes. Reporter but inside of the walls of the home, ellens rank was near the bottom. He became very condescending and controlling and where i could go, and who i could see. Reporter at home, mike made the rules and el llen obeyed th. Reporter you had a significant executive job at a big company. Yes. Reporter so you are not some shrinking violet at home cowering under her husbands direction. But when it came to being home and opening the door, i was a shrinking violet, that is how things were. He ran the show. It was two different ellens and two different lives. Reporter detective wilson interviewed el llens old boss, man named james kasell and he said that he remembered an incident when ellen came to work with bruises. She was wearing the sunglasses, and i said, why are you wearing the sunglasses, and she off the sunglasses and she had a nice shiner. I asked her what the heck happened to you, and she stated to me that supposedly mike and michael got into some battle and mike was beating the crap out of him and she jumped in the middle of it, and of course, she took the brunt of it. Reporter was she giving the classic batters wife explanation nfor the bruises . A few days later, cassel said that he heard yelling in her office. I hear world war iii breaking out in the office next to me. A guy was screaming. Reporter and it turns out that the voice stands to none other than mike snyder. She is standing on her side of the desk and he is on that side of the desk, and he is just screaming. He stops when i barge in amend he looks at me. I told him, you know, you cant do this here. And he basically told me that i needed to mind my own fing business. Reporter her colleague frank having nothing but good intenti intentions volunteered to loan ellen a 32 caliber semi automatic pistol. I explained to her how to use it and ten minute please dont shoot yourself lesson. I never had one before, and he offered me the gun when he saw my bruises, and i put it in the back of the closet. Reporter why not gather up the kids and leave . It was christmas time and i had a 6yearold daughter. Reporter and the police looked for Domestic Abuse or calls to 911 and he found none. Did they are have altercation s throughout the marriage . I would image, because most couples do. Reporter will there is no documentation of the Police Coming to your house . I know that. Reporter it is a few months later when ellen returned the gun to his colleague. He looked at it, and he looked at her and he said, where is the bullets. Reporter ellen said that a friend had taken her to a gun range and shown her how to use it. Easy to analyze and take action . 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Reporter detective wilson continued to look for mike snyder, but he had to focus on the 20 other cold cases that needed his attention, but then in 2010, the phone call came that would break this case, a kcon fi den shall informant who said that he knew exactly where mike snyder was. Where are you going . With uncle mike now. Reporter you had looked in the yard and not found anything, and not found mike anywhere, and not going to say that it was not going anywhere, but it certainly did not seem to be point iing immediately to any resolution. Correct. Reporter that is when you get this call. Yes. Detective mark wilson was sitting in his office when a most unexpected call came in. The caller a confidential source who said that he had information on mike snyder. Who was this confidential source . Somebody who was a friend with michael sheffield. Reporter el llens son . Ellens son. Reporter his name was patrick a 27yearold motorcycle technician, and he and ellens son had gone to high school together, and they were close friend friends. He had been living with me in my house with my son, rentfree. Reporter out of the goodness of your heart. Because he was michaels friend, yes. He was a good friend. He needed this break. Reporter not only was he michael sheffields good friend, he was also ellens employee at the r and s kawasaki dealership where he shoes with the service manager. My boss was giving me a lot of heat about andrews productivity and comeback, and so he told me in december that he wanted to let him go, but he wanted to wait until after christmas, and i kept him longer than i would have, but he was a friend. Reporter in the first week of january 2010, ellen fired patrick. She could not have known just how lifealtering that decision would be. Reporter what did he say . He didnt say too much. He just loaded up his stuff and left. Reporter of course, ellen didnt know that patrick knew the secret. Reporter and he went to the police. And he went to the police. Reporter and now patrick was in the starbucks with detective wilson letting him in on the eightyearold secret. Reporter so he did not come forward with the civic duty r or the goodness of his heart, but reven revenge. Yes. Reporter but you will take it . Yes. Reporter he said that he knew that mike snyder had been killed and buried in the former yard of their home, and how did he know this . That his best friend michael had told him and on more than one occasi occasion. He said that he had told him about it right after it, and if they were years later drinking or whatever, he would break down and tell him the story. Reporter do you believe it . Yes. Reporter so this is one more person telling you to look in backyard. But had you looked there yes, it seemed like credible information and patrick seemed to corob rate it. Reporter and so he drove with a hidden microphone to michaels home and said that they needed to speak privately are. He told him that the police had contacted him about the disappearance of mike snyder, and he didnt know what to do. They are really freaking me out, and i wanted to come to you and what do i say or not say, and they were at my house for like two hours, so i needed to know if they were in my house for like two hours. So i just need to know from you like what i should do. Tell them you dont know anything. I just dont want them to get to you and stuff, too. Oh, i know how to handle myself. Im just scared. Yeah. Because they seem to like know a lot of things, too. Like what . Theyre saying something about hearing gunshots and also saying they might know what the weapon is. Do you still have that . Oh, no. Good. Well, what do you want me to tell them next week . Just, dude, i dont know anything . Just keep saying that . Yeah. If they want like your number and stuff, should i give it to them . Yeah. And then came the big question, the one the police had coached patrick to ask is he still there . As far as i know, under a big slab of concrete. It was now time for detective wilson to pay a visit to michael sheffield, ellen snyders son and mike snyders stepson and begin to unravel an eightyearold mystery. You wouldnt happen to have some place where we could sit down, would you . Coming up the interrogation begins. Michael, its time to come clean, its over. Can they get at the truth after all these years. I can only imagine what it would be like keeping that type of secret. When you look at the mercedesbenz glc. With its hightech cameras and radar, contemporary cockpit, 360 Degree Network of driverassist technologies and sporty performance whats most impressive about the glc . All depends on your point of view. Lease the glc300 for 449 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. We cantwhy . Y here flat toilet paper ill never get clean way ahead of you. Charmin ultra strong. It cleans better. Its four times stronger and you can use less. Enjoy the go with charmin. Keep it comin love. If you keep on eating, well keep it comin. All you can eat riblets and tenders at applebees. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. It was friday, january 29, 2010, and it was business as usual in the Service Department at this albuquerque saab dealership located on the west side of town. That is, until detective mark wilson and three of his colleagues from the Cold Case Team showed up. You wouldnt happen to have some place where we can sit down and talk, would you . Just want to chat. It they were there to speak with 25yearold mechanic michael sheffield. He didnt seem to be surprised that the Police Showed up at his work. He said, sure, we have a breakroom we can go talk in. So we went to his break room and we conducted an interview with him there. We work the Violent Crimes section of the apd. We are going to ask you questions, all right . That we already know the absence answers to. You knew this day was coming ever since you were about 17 years old. How you answer the questions and your honesty here is really going to change your life from this moment on, okay . All right. Detective wilson here has been investigating the disappearance of your stepfather. Why dont you tell me right now what you know that happened to your stepdad, Michael Snyder. Michael snyder who helped raise you. He left us. At first, michael tells the same story that ellen his mom has told since the day mike snyder first disappeared. He had a partner in phoenix. Michael huh . Remember what i told you. Right. He had a lover in phoenix. He lefts us. No. Thats what my mother told me. Thats what your mother told you. Think about when you were 17 years old and what you woke up to one night. You pretty sure thats what your statement is going to be to the District Attorney . Youre not going to find his were not going to find his body . I sure as hell hope not. Its time to come clean. I am. Im not sure what youre talking about. As far as im concerned he left us. He did. He left my sister and i. Do you know what its like trying to raise her . I was 17. She had no father figure anymore. He said, well, as far as i know he ran off with a guy and left my mother and sister and i behind and denied that he knew anything. So hes still telling the story hes been telling for six, seven years. Yes. We have information, all right . That you assisted your mom in burying your stepfather in this backyard. No. No . Do you think we are here by chance . Do you think were making this up . I dont know where you got your information, but i would never no. Thats a terrible crime. Repeatedly the detective tells michael that its time for him to confess. I need you to be honest with us and i need you to right here, on this picture, show us where you buried the body. I dont know where hes buried. I didnt i didnt bury a body. Yes, you did. How long did it take him to come off that story . After we told him that we had information that he knew where the body was and went a little further and told him that we heard him talking about it, he came forward after we showed him that we had evidence. So tell us what happened and exactly where you buried the body. I need know whats going to happen to my mom. The detectives had broken him and the story came spilling out after eight years of lies. It was Early Morning january 2002 michael said when he woke to the sound of gunshots and a called 911. My mother comes in and says everythings all right. So i hung up the call. He must have hung up just in time because theres no record of a 911 call from the snyder home that day. I was just i didnt know what to do. I was so scared. That was a tough position for a 17yearold. Did you know she had a gun . No. A few days later, in a second interview, Michael Told Police this mom tells me what had happened. What did she tell you . She told me shed shot him in defense. She was scared. Okay. Told me she shouldnt have done it. Im sorry, but could you help me with this . And i was scared at the time. I didnt know what to do. And so, he says, he reluctantly p helped his mother wrap mike snyders dead body in a waterproof tarp, place it in a hole in the backyard, and put some construction waste on top of it. Whats going through your mind at this time . God, i dont want to get caught. God, i dont want to go to jail. What am i doing . And michael had told detectives about the breakdown he had at mr. Snyders funeral, the one the Snyder Family thought so peculiar. I couldnt handle it. I just had a breakdown then. So we leave. Familys staring at me. And shes outside talking to me. And she says, is this my fault . Is this about what happened . And i dont remember saying anything back. Okay. But now it was, you know it was about that. I had the feeling that he was glad to finally get it off his chest. He broke down somewhat, and i can only imagine what it would be like keeping that type of a secret. The detective showed michael photographs of the snyders property as it it looked in 2002. And had michael circle where he believed his stepfathers body was buried. Did michael believe that he was on the hook legally for his part in this . I think he probably knew that he was. He knew that he was an accomplice in the case. A few miles away, michaels mom ellen snyder was ending her work day. Had whi came out from work, his girlfriend came by. She was sitting in her car next to my car. She says, you need to get in the car. She told ellen that michael had called. The police had shown up at his work and they knew the secret. So i called my mom and i said, i need to come over. And she was, like, are you okay . Ed and i said no. And, with that, ellens mother phoned an old acquaintance of hers, a defense attorney named penny adrian. Her mom calls me p up, said, i think we have a problem. There was apparently something very wrong. The next morning ellen went to meet with adrienne. By then, the story was breaking. Breaking news Albuquerque Police have an active crime scene vision going on. Police tell us a confidential source told them that the remains of snyder are buried underneath the garage of this home. She just sat really stiffly in front of me. She said, have you heard about themging for a body in the Northeast Heights . And i said, well, you couldnt not hear about it. I mean, it was on all of the television stations and all over the newspaper. And she said, well, my exhusband is buried there because i shot him. Coming up since my new years resolution to be safe stuff, people keep asking me if i miss the mayhem . Does waiting around trying to protect your house from a lighting strike give me the same rush as being golfballsized hail . Of course not. But if you can stick to your new years resolution, then i can stick to mine and be the best road flare i can. What . You couldnt even last two weeks . In that case, consider mayhem officially back. So get allstate. And be better protected in 2018 from mayhem. Like me. Advil liquigels minis. Our first concentrated pill that rushes powerful relief. A small size. Thats fast, cause its liquid. Youll ask. What pain . Advil liquigels minis. North albuquerque acres is known for its large subdivisions in the foothills of the sandia mountains, not for crime scene vehicles and newspapers flying overhead. But in february 2010, this was the scene in front of the home where ellen and mike snyder once lived. Out in the street it was a zoo. Reporters like jeff proctor were staked out for three days while men with jackhammers and backhoes began tearing up the garage floor. We continue to follow breaking news right now. If you lived in albuquerque, you would have had to wear ear plugs not to hear about it. We just spoke to the police chief and he told us that the police is here looking for the remains of Michael Snyder. Mechanic jim hertata, a longtime friend of ellens, was at work when the news broke. I couldnt believe it. So you really believed that he had left her and he was in phoenix. Yeah. Police began cutting through the concrete of what was now a sixcar garage. But the job of finding mike snyders remains proved difficult. The garage floor was a solid foot of steel reinforced concrete. Police say they will resume digging tomorrow. The excavation went on for two more days. Finally, on the third day, searchers uncovered a waterproof tarp. Inside were the remains of mike snyder. Ellen was saying mike was in phoenix, mike this, mike that, all along mike wasnt in phoenix. For mikes family, the finality was devastating. To not know for eight years and to somewhat hold onto hope and to have that hope finally just pulled out from under you was very difficult for all of us. Ellen snyder sat in defense attorney penny adrians office knowing an arrest was imminent. They had found the body, and she wanted to get it over with. She said, we just cant go on like this. So adrian informed the police that ellen snyder was ready to turn herself in. That following friday i met with the Police Detectives at her office, gave a full statement. I want you to understand these are your constitutional rights. She gave police a 2 1 2hour confession and her version of events is quite a story. Woke me up. 2 00, 3 00 in the morning, were arguing, pushing, you know, back and forth. And i told him, i know all about you and dave simmons. I know that youre gay. Ellen says she had recently grown more courageous in her dealings with mike. And on that night she had confronted her husband over what she says was a secret gay affair. And im yelling at him and hes yelling at me. And i told him, i said, im going to tell everybody. Im going to tell everybody about you. And hes telling me, you will never tell anybody about me. You are not going to tell anything. Theres nothing to tell. Hes denying it. Hes screaming at me. Hes i have never seen him so angry. Ever. She says she ran to the bedroom and got the gun from the closet, the gun that her colleague frank had loaned her. I said, i have a gun. Hes laughing at me telling me im a coward and im never, ever going to tell anybody. So hes taunting you, saying you dont have the courage to shoot me. Taunting me. Calling me, you know, a bitch and telling me what a rotten person i am. Screaming at me. And, in that moment of fear, ellen says, she pulled the trigger. Not once, not twice, but repeatedly. I emptied the gun. I had never been so afraid in my life. He turned around and ran way from you. He did. And you kept shooting. I did. He just turned and i ran and i kept shooting. How far did he get . Ten feet. Then what happened . Then he fell down. Elizabeth, mike and ellens 6yearold daughter, was fast asleep in the bedroom. She didnt wake up. But ellens son michael, 17, was in his bedroom and he did. He was calling 911. I told him, just hang up, michael. And he hung up. And he hung up. And i sat down on the step waiting for the police to come. But the police never did show. I covered him up. I told michael to get ready for school. I told him, i shot mike, you need to just go to school. How was michael doing at this point . I thought he was doing okay. But evidently michael was not okay. He skipped school that day and he told his friend patrick about the horror he had gone through. Did you talk to him about this . Or from the first minute that this happened did this sort of become the thing youre not talking about . Right. We never talked about it. Once you said to him, i shot mike, go to school . We didnt talk about it. Later, with michael and elizabeth at school, ellen planned to move the body into the garage, but there was a problem. Trying to get him situated to where i could get him a board under him to move him into the garage. And you couldnt do it alone. I couldnt do it alone. So you asked your son. So i asked my son. Yep. You asked michael to help you move the body. Yes. He didnt want to. I asked him please. He said okay. 17yearold michael reluctantly agreed. Were you aware that you were asking him to essentially help you commit a crime . I wasnt in the frame of mind to believe it as such. Yet at the time you were willing to do that instead of the other option, which is call the cops and face the music. Yes. At that point i was just solving a problem. So the tears and regret that im seeing now, you werent feeling that then. No. Never cried. Because at the time ellen says she was on auto pilot and needed to dispose of a body. And how did she do that . In the want ads she found a guy with a backhoe who came out to the house and dug a hole. Did you tell the guy why you were doing this . He didnt ask. Ellen and her son michael wrapped snyders body in a tarp and put plastic bags on his hands and then, in the dark of night, they moved him onto a dolly and into the hole. Your son helping you this time or not . Yeah. I asked him to help me throw some dirt on top of him. He said okay. They filled the hole with leftover construction waste so the body couldnt be seen. The next day ellen went back to the paper, found a different guy who had a bobcat and hired him to fill in the hole. And you buried a body. And i buried a body. And then she came up with her story. You got better at telling that story as time went on. Yeah, as time went on it became a bigger and bigger story. It was the end of her 2 1 2hour statement to police, and ellen snyder wanted to get one last thing on the record. Is there anything else you want to say before we turn off the recorders . The one thing i want to say is, im not im not a horrible killer. And, with that, 50yearold ellen snyder was charged with firstdegree murder and held on 1 million bail. Albuquerque police announced theyve arrested the exwife of an albuquerque man who vanished eight years ago. An eightyearold coverup was over, but another story line was just beginning. Did mike snyder have it coming . Was ellen guilty of anything . And what could be proven after so many years . Coming up a startling police discovery. It appeared to me that Michael Snyder was laying in his bed when he was shot. And something more startling still. She could walk away from this. She might have committed firstdegree murder and gotten away with this. 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She admits she shot and killed her husband mike snyder in the Early Morning hours of january 2002. She admits that she buried his body and then lied about his disappearance for years. But she does not admit to being guilty of murder. You dont think of yourself as a murderer. No, i dont. I was saving my own life. It came down that night to me or him. She says its a case of survival. But ask detective mark wilson, and he calls it Something Else. I believe this is a an evil woman who planned this from the beginning. Maybe she did fear for her life. There are people who say they saw her with bruises. Sure. And its a possibility. Possibility there was a bruise. Or it could have been something she set up to look like that to go along with her story because it was getting closer to the time where she was going to kill him. But even if it was an act of selfdefense that caused ellen snyder to shoot her husband, why hadnt she called the police . Usually when abused women kill their abusers, they call the police and theyre sitting there with the gun when the police drive up. Okay. They dont try to evade responsibility they admit what they did and say, i didnt have any choice, pretty much as youre saying to me now. But they dont bury the body and tell a series of pretty good lies over a long period of time. Thats pretty unusual. Okay. Which suggests to some people that theres more to this story than youre telling. They didnt live through what we lived through. They werent there that night. With ellen snyder now sitting in jail, detective wilson was trying to determine if the shooting happened the way ellen now said it did. Because, after all, how believable was ellen . When we tried to gather information six, seven years later, we dont have the actual crime scene. At that time, they would have seen blood streams from where he first got shot to where the body was laying to where the bullet projectiles had stopped. Ellen claimed that mike woke her up yelling and that they fought in the family room where mike slept. Im in the middle of the family room and hes about as far as you and i facing me. And what happened then . He steps forward and i start shooting. Using some creative detective work, wilson had an idea. He remembered something that michael, ellens son, had mentioned in his interview with police. Something about a stereo speaker. Apparently not all of the bullets hit the body. One of them went through a speaker, like the bottom of a speaker. Okay. I still have that speaker. The detective went back to the house with michael, asked him to show where the speaker was positioned on the floor and where it was in relation to where mike slept. And detective wilson came to this hypothesis. It appeared to me that Michael Snyder was laying in his bed when he was shot. Not up and advancing on ellen to do her harm . The detective went back to the house with michael, asked him to show where the speaker was positioned on the floor and where it was in relation to where mike slept. And detective wilson came to this hypothesis. It appeared to me that Michael Snyder was laying in his bed when he was shot. Not up and advancing on ellen to do her harm . Exactly. And the medical investigator reported that the projectiles came up through the victims body from down in the stomach area into the shoulder area. Almost as if the person was lying flat and the shooter was standing at his feet. Yes. My estimation was that the body was on the mattresses when he was being fired at. He may have gotten up and started running, if it didnt kill him right away. And there was Something Else the detective uncoughed that appeared a lot more sinister than a woman in fear for her life. It seemed ellen snyder had actually made a pretty penny off mikes death. Just months after she shot her husband and filed for divorce, ellen was awarded the couples home and the cash in their joint account. And remember those tax returns that had been filed in mikes name after he disappeared . Turns out it was ellen who had filed them in order to get a refund. She also cashed out mikes 60,00 401 k and she continued to collect the disability checks that mike had been getting because of his multiple sclerosis. You kept cashing those checks for a year. Those checks were deposited into my account, yes. Totalling about how much we took legendary and made it liberating. We took safe and made it daring. We took intelligent, and made it utterly irresistible. We took the most advanced eclass ever and made the most exciting eclass ever. The 2018 eclass coupe and sedan. Lease the e300 sedan for 569 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. Ayep, and my teeth are yellow. . Time for whitestrips. 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Say, yeah, i took your advice and had geico help with renters insurance it was really easy. Easy. Thatd be nice. Phone for help with chairs, say chair. Phone for help with bookcases, say bookcase. Bookcase. I thought this was the dresser . Isnt that the bed . Phone im sorry, i didnt understand. Phone for help with chairs, say chair. Does this mean were not going out . Bookcase. See how easy renters insurance can be at geico. Com. Just months after she shot her husband and filed for divorce, ellen was awarded the couples home and the cash in their joint account. And remember those tax returns that had been filed in mikes name after he disappeared . Turns out it was ellen who had filed them in order to get a refund. She also cashed out mikes 60,00 401 k and she continued to collect the disability checks that mike had been getting because of his multiple sclerosis. You kept cashing those checks for a year. Those checks were deposited into my account, yes. Totalling about how much money . About four grand a month. That must have helped. It did. So the argument could be made that you made some money out of this. So are you implying that it was it was because of that that it occurred . Is that what youre implying . Im not implying it. Im saying you made money out of the death of your husband. I did not make a substantial amount of money out of the death of my husband, no. It was now the job of prosecutor david waymeyer to put together a case for a jury to hear. Covering up the crime i think would be our best evidence in terms of trying to convince a jury that her intent at the time of the killing was something along the lines of a premeditated murder. But the prosecution found itself in a rather unusual predicament. Eight years had passed since the shooting, and in that time the statute of limitations had run out on any charge other than firstdegree murder. That meant, in order to get any conviction at all, prosecutors would have to prove to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, that ellen snyder planned mike snyders murder. And with no crime scene and little in the way of forensics, that was going to be hard to prove. So, in her view, it was selfdefense, but maybe she was guilty of manslaughter or seconddegree murder. But you couldnt prosecute her for either of those offenses. Thats correct. The statute of limitations here in new mexico on a state case like this prohibited us from Going Forward on any of those lesser types of offenses. Ellen snyders defense attorney penny adrian knew a firstdegree murder conviction could mean a life sentence for ellen but felt the prosecution would have a tough time making their case. The premeditation would be hard to prove, but, even harder, would be to prove that she did not act in selfdefense, given all the things that were going on with mike. Adrian says ellen acted, after years of emotional and physical abuse. This guy was treating her horribly. Thats right. And had been for a long, long time. And she couldnt leave him . No. No. And thats what the cycle of abuse is all about. Theres an isolation. Theres a dependency. Theres a demeaning factor. And those things all go together until the abuser has turned the abused into someone who thinks that he or she because it happens both ways is a worthless person. Would ellen snyder spend the rest of her life behind bars . Or had she committed the perfect murder . Is it possible shes going to walk . I mean, its certainly possible in this case. She could walk away from this. She might have committed firstdegree murder and gotten away with it. Mines way better. This ones below market price and has bluetooth. Same here, but this one has Leather Seats use the cars. Com app to compare price, features and value. Are you reluctant to eat in public because of your denture . Try super poligrip® it holds for 12 hours to reduce denture movement, helps provide better bite, seals out 74 more food particles, and enhances your denture fit. Try super poligrip®. We know life can be hectic. Thats why, at xfinity, weve been working hard to simplify your experiences with us. Now, with instant text and email updates, youll always be up to date. You can easily add premium channels, so you dont miss your favorite show. And with just a single word, find all the answers youre looking for because getting what you need should be simple, fast, and easy. Download the xfinity my account app or go online today. Ellen snyder sitting in jail, facing a murder charge for killing mike, they waited for justice. Mikes sister terri. How could you look at us, the family, in the face and tell us that you have no idea where mike is at or you just spoke to mike and mike is doing just fine . Thus, giving all of you hope. Thus giving all of us hope. Its beyond me how any one person can do that. Its unimaginable. Finally, ellen snyder would pay the price for the murder of mike snyder and the coverup that followed. At least thats what mikes side of the family fully expected. But there was that problem with the statute of limitations expired on anything less than firstdegree murder. There was the chance ellen snyder could be found not guilty. Mikes family was willing to risk that. We felt that strongly that it was premeditated, and, you know, that was a gamble we were willing to take. But when it comes to murder, prosecutor david waymeyer isnt willing to gamble. Maybe she gets convicted of firstdegree murder and maybe thats what she did all along and that would have been justice. But with an all or nothing where youre trying to convince beyond a reasonable doubt 12 jurors you didnt want to roll the dice. Thats a huge risk to roll the dice and not have somebody held accountable at all for the death of another human being. And it was a risk for ellen, too. She knew that going to trial could mean a possible life sentence. One month before the case was set for trial, prosecutors offered ellen a plea deal, which she accepted. Ultimately, ellen snyder agreed to waive the statute of limitations restrictions and plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, admitting that she shot her husband. She also pled guilty to tampering with evidence for the burying and concealment of mikes body. Falsifying tax returns. And to one count of tax fraud for filing mikes tax returns after his death. In all, the maximum sentence possible was not life in prison but just 11 years. Mikes side of the family was devastated. So whether shes sentenced to 4 years, 5 years, 8 years, 11 years, shes still getting away with it in your view. Shes definitely getting away with murder. Nothing is going to be long enough for us. This past july family and friends of both ellen and mike gathered in the district courthouse for ellens sentencing. Ellens son michael was there in support of his mom, just as he had been on the day she shot her husband. Michael was still a minor when the killing happened and so, in exchange for his cooperation, he was given immunity and faced no charges. As we sit here, youre about to go into that courtroom and a judge is going to pronounce sentence. Yep. You ready for whats coming . How do you say youre ready for that . I know that it has to happen, and i know it has to happen for this to be over. So i dont know that i can say yes, im ready, but its going to happen. We have what became eight years of concealment, of lies. The prosecution asked the judge to give ellen snyder the maximum sentence of 11 years. She could have been looking at a total of 339 years. Ellens defense attorney asked the judge for some leniency. She does ask, your honor, that the Court Sentence her to five years in prison, which will allow her to at least be at her daughters graduation from college. The judge addressed ellen directly, focusing on that construction waste she had buried on top of her husbands body. It was reported that you unceremoniously threw trash in the same hole that mr. Snyder had been placed. And, with that, ellen was given the maximum sentence of 11 years behind bars. Ms. Snyder, hopefully once you are released you can get things together and go forward in life. And she hopes to. But, for now, ellen says she worries most about her children, daughter elizabeth now a 16yearold high school junior. She was only 6 when her father disappeared from her life. You told her you had been lying to her all those years. I did. What did she say . She was most concerned about losing her mom. Shes been to see me every week. Shes such a remarkable young woman. She loves me. But ellen says the greatest regret of her life was putting her son michael in the middle of a coverup. You said that you always looked out for him and that he always looked out for you. I didnt do such a good job. You didnt. And hes such a remarkable man. I know you wish you had shielded him from that. Yep. I get the feeling you have way more regret about that than about what happened. Absolutely. The shooting happened for a reason. The shooting happened. It was too much to give michael. No one but ellen snyder will ever know exactly what happened inside the walls of that dream home in the Early Morning hours of january 2002. That will forever remain a mystery. But one thing is clear ellen snyder is something of an expert on how to live a life of secrets and lies. One thing we know about you for sure is that youre pretty good at telling a lie. Okay. And the truth is, if you hadnt fired the wrong person, i think youd still be telling that lie today. Youre right. I cant dispute that. You have some sense of regret now . Absolutely. Im sorry that it ever happened. Im sorry for mike. Im sorry for my family. Im sorry for his family. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Though there was no body, no murder weapon and even though he himself was by no means