When Heidi's alcoholic husband, Chris, goes missing, she searches far and wide to find him, getting help from Chris' wider family; after a missing person's report is filed, police uncover a dark secret hidden in the basement of the marital home.
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00:00It's been very happy, very connected.
00:12Chris had a crush on her in high school.
00:18She was my stepmom.
00:19I considered her like my best friend.
00:22When Chris and Heidi are in the process of moving, Chris started drinking again.
00:27It was pretty out of control.
00:28His mind was gone.
00:29She hit me across the head twice and I haven't woken up.
00:34Because of the alcohol, he'd been acting strange.
00:36I lost my father, but I also lost my stepmom.
00:40The search took us to this concrete tomb.
00:44The concrete was probably a foot deep.
00:46You wouldn't have known there was a body there.
01:03Paulding County is very small.
01:07Everybody knows everybody.
01:08You didn't have to worry about anything bad happening to you.
01:14Heidi was very well-known in the local area because of her family and their wedding or
01:18catering business, especially with small towns.
01:22I feel like everybody knew Heidi Grant, or the Grant family name at least.
01:28Heidi took pride in planning weddings and making sure everybody's special day was just
01:34right for them.
01:36It was her family business, so it was more than a job to her.
01:41Me and Heidi were good friends.
01:44We chatted a lot.
01:45We'd play in get-togethers.
01:46She was a very likable, funny person.
01:51We liked to go shopping and listen to music together.
01:55She was also there for me, like friends.
01:58We were really close.
02:05Her ex-husband and her have two children.
02:07She has a boy and a girl, but they did not live with her.
02:10They lived with their dad.
02:19Chris had a crush on her in high school.
02:23As they graduated, they both went their separate ways, and then they reconnected later on Facebook.
02:32Chris and Heidi, they were both divorced, and I think that they had a lot in common
02:38as far as that goes.
02:41It was definitely a little weird seeing my dad with someone else, but I really grew to
02:46like her.
02:48It was a really good friendship, but also they were in love too.
02:55When my parents got divorced, I stayed with my mom for a week, and then I would go to
03:00my dad's and Heidi's for a week.
03:04Heidi and I, we did a lot together.
03:07She took me to school every day.
03:11We were really close, like friends.
03:16Heidi was a very big factor in my softball career too.
03:21She was at every single game.
03:33Chris went to AA meetings two, three times a week, and Heidi was very supportive of him
03:39getting help and staying sober.
03:42It was definitely a struggle for Chris.
03:45He would get a handle on it, and then something happened, stress or even happiness, excitement,
03:51and it would trigger him.
03:53Chris was very open with Heidi about his struggles with alcohol.
03:57I think that she thought she could really help him through it and keep him sober.
04:06Chris stopped over one day, and he said that he was going to ask Heidi to marry him.
04:14Chris seemed very excited.
04:15He couldn't wait to propose.
04:16Things were falling into place for Chris and Heidi in Livia.
04:26Chris and Heidi got married at Grant's Catering Hall.
04:30We were all supposed to be there, but COVID had hit, and we weren't able to gather for
04:35that day.
04:36It was just my dad, Heidi, me, and then Heidi's dad.
04:44I was glad to be able to witness it.
04:47They seemed very happy.
04:49It looked like it was going to be very bright in the future.
04:53Shortly after Chris and Heidi got married, they decided to move back to Antwerp, which
05:00was closer to the catering business.
05:07They found a nice little house right in the center of town.
05:13Chris took medications to help him with his drinking.
05:15He took a pill, which if he chose to drink, it would make him really sick, and the pill
05:21was very effective for Chris.
05:24He was in a really good point in his life.
05:26He was really happy.
05:28He stopped taking his medication because he felt happy.
05:32He felt like he could handle life, you know.
05:36That was the wrong thing.
05:38He should have kept taking them.
05:40When Chris and Heidi found this house in Antwerp, and they were in the process of moving, Chris
05:46started drinking again.
05:49When my mom passed away in August of 2021, it affected us a lot.
05:57It affected Chris really bad.
06:00We were all very worried that Chris was drinking again.
06:04Having to lose his mom in life was probably the worst thing he'd ever experienced as far
06:09as loss and pain.
06:11That's what set off, you know, the spiral, I believe, to his drinking again.
06:17When Chris would drink, you know, he'd start out as fun-loving and easygoing, and if he
06:24got really drunk, then it was argumentative.
06:29This time, when Chris started drinking, it was pretty out of control.
06:40When I went to work one morning, Heidi showed up, and she asked me if I could help him move.
06:46Basically, all they had left in Oakwood to move was the heavier stuff.
06:52She said Chris had been drinking.
06:55She didn't want him driving.
06:57And I told her, well, I can't really leave right now, but Dad and my older brother Dave
07:02are down at his house.
07:03I'm sure they would help you get the rest of your stuff out.
07:07So they went, hooked up my dad's trailer, and took it over there.
07:13Just as they were leaving the house, Chris showed up.
07:18He was annoyed that my dad and my brother Dave was there to finish helping them move.
07:24They started arguing in the driveway, and Chris went to grab a hold of my brother Dave,
07:30and Dave grabbed a hold of him and took his legs out from underneath him and put him on
07:34the ground and said, I'm going to let you up, and we'll leave, and that'll be that.
07:40When we got home from work, we found out that an altercation had happened, an argument,
07:44and Chris was drinking.
07:47Heidi and Chris, they were in an argument still.
07:51Heidi did not want to go home and deal with Chris drinking and arguing all night, so she
07:56was coming over to our house.
08:02When she showed up at our house, Heidi was angry is what she was.
08:08She said, I will never let a man destroy me or my family's name again, and she was
08:12very adamant about that.
08:17We're in the Walden County area.
08:19It's all very small town.
08:21Gossips spread like wildfire.
08:24She was more worried about her family name than anything.
08:29Heidi, she was always worried about what could happen if, say, the law was called or, you know.
08:35She didn't want her business, her family's name, dragged through the mud.
09:05On January 13, 2022, a 911 call was made in reference to a domestic dispute that had occurred.
09:24The caller was Christopher Franklin, and he reported that he had been hit in the head
09:29by his wife.
09:31The dispatcher contacted me, and I decided I should go to the residence and just see
09:35what was going on.
09:37The dispatcher didn't report it to me as an active domestic violence incident, which means
09:42that it was going on.
09:43It was something that had already occurred.
09:45Half the party had already left.
09:53When I arrived at the property, Heidi Grant come to the door and stepped out onto the
09:57porch to talk to me.
09:59She was surprised that I was there, and I told her that Christopher had called and alleged
10:04that, you know, she had hit him.
10:06And then she proceeded to tell me that he had been up all night drinking, and he was
10:10now sleeping.
10:12She told me that there had been, you know, no acts of violence between neither one of
10:16them in the house, and she just suspected that, you know, he was intoxicated when he
10:20made the call.
10:22When I asked her if we should go inside and talk to Chris, she said, George, I'd really
10:25rather you not.
10:26If we wake him up, he's probably just going to become agitated.
10:30Then I'll have hell to pay.
10:32We had dealt with Christopher on many occasions.
10:35We did know that he suffered from alcoholism, and I believed what she was telling me, that
10:39he was probably in there passed out.
10:42She said if there was any issues or anything, she'd be sure and call.
10:46And at that point, I left the house.
10:49When I came to the house, my dad wasn't there.
11:00Heidi told me that he was at work.
11:03I packed my bag real quick, and then she took me to Indiana, and I was going to come home
11:09Sunday night.
11:19When Heidi picked me up from the tournament, we came home.
11:26My dad's truck wasn't there.
11:30We watched TV in the living room that night, and she just kept saying, I wonder where your
11:35dad is.
11:36I wonder where your dad is.
11:39The next morning, Heidi told me that she found dad's phone in the bedroom, and she said that
11:45one of his friends tried to call him, and that's how she found it.
11:49When Chris would drink, he would get in his car and take off, and we were always concerned
11:53with driving, you know, and drinking, and getting in an accident, and not just hurting
11:58himself, but somebody else.
12:01Heidi told me that she drove around looking for him.
12:05She said that she called local hospitals, local police stations, local bars.
12:16That Tuesday morning when I woke up, he still wasn't home, and that's when I really got
12:20concerned.
12:23Heidi took me looking for him, going around places that he would be.
12:31I asked Heidi if she called the police and to file a missing persons report, and she
12:36said that they couldn't do anything because he was an adult and that he could just leave
12:42on his own.
12:51That Thursday when I went back to my mom's house, I was more nervous that something bad
12:58happened to him.
12:59Something definitely didn't feel right.
13:02I was definitely really worried.
13:07My dad always wanted me to do my best.
13:09He always pushed me to do my best.
13:12He was a very big support in my softball.
13:15He would come practice with me.
13:17He would tell me what I was doing wrong and try to help me fix it.
13:23He was really funny, and he always had to crack a joke or make someone laugh.
13:34I told my mom more details about it and said that I was really worried.
13:39She then texted my uncle Dave about it and said, Dad has been missing for this many days.
13:47Heidi talked about Chris was struggling with suicide.
13:51She talked about this song that he sent to everybody on his friends list, like on Facebook
13:56or Messenger, and it was a suicide song.
14:05Heidi said that Chris's vehicle was out at the catering business with the door open,
14:12the keys, his wallet, everything was left in the vehicle with tracks leading down to
14:19the river.
14:20It sounded like maybe he killed himself and jumped in the river.
14:25Dave, my brother-in-law, walked the river and the pass over there for days looking for
14:30him because he thought that maybe he had committed suicide over there.
14:36Holden, County Sheriff's Office.
14:39Hello, my name is Dave Franklin.
14:44My brother-in-law called the Holden County Sheriff's Department to report his brother
14:49Chris missing.
14:50I'm from Dane, Ohio.
14:51I need to make a silver alert.
14:52Apparently my brother has been gone since Sunday.
14:58His workplace said that he hadn't been there that whole week.
15:02That's when Dave thought, you know, I need to call and file a missing persons report.
15:07We had to find out where he was at.
15:10Okay, what's your brother's name?
15:13Chris Franklin.
15:14His wife's name is Heidi Graham.
15:16Okay.
15:17What did she call?
15:18I couldn't tell you.
15:21I coach high school wrestling when I'm not working at the police department.
15:25I was at a wrestling tournament and that's when I received a call from my officer telling
15:29me that he had a missing persons case and that it was Christopher Franklin.
15:34I asked the officer, you know, who was making the report and he told me that it was Christopher
15:42Franklin's brother, Dave Franklin, and that Heidi had not.
15:46He had gathered a little bit more information and some things that he told me seemed a little
15:52off to me.
15:54The officer told me that Heidi had found Christopher Franklin's truck at the place of business
15:59where she worked and then also that she had found Christopher's cell phone underneath
16:04the bed.
16:06That's when I decided to head back to Antwerp and speak with Heidi Grant.
16:11Hi.
16:12Are you Heidi?
16:16Come on back, Heidi.
16:19Come on back.
16:20He's back here on the phone.
16:21Just have a seat over there.
16:22Thank you for coming out.
16:23I greatly appreciate it.
16:24Okay.
16:25I appreciate it.
16:27My suspicions were starting to rise that, you know, there was just definitely more to
16:30the story than him just going off somewhere.
16:32Tell me where he's at.
16:33That's all I need to know.
16:35Just tell me where he's at, Heidi.
16:36I can't have it.
16:37This is such a nightmare.
16:46Okay.
16:47What's your husband's name?
16:49Chris.
16:50C-H-R-I-S-F-R-A-N.
16:52My wife, Captain Clemens, is always usually right there with me, assisting me.
16:56So, when I interviewed Heidi, she was in the room with me.
16:59How long have you been married?
17:01Since November 27th.
17:03Two months.
17:04Two months.
17:05I did know Heidi before this happened.
17:08I used to babysit her children when they were little.
17:11When you live in a small community, you know everybody.
17:14Everybody is everybody's neighbor or relative in this town.
17:17Okay.
17:18When did you last see him, talk to him?
17:21It was Sunday.
17:24I left at about 10 or 16.
17:27So, the last time that Heidi actually told us she had seen Chris would have been on that
17:32Sunday morning.
17:34She had gone to pick up Chris's daughter, Olivia, from a softball tournament.
17:39I left, and before I left, I had asked him to come with me so I could make sure he stayed
17:47sober.
17:48And he's like, I don't feel like going there.
17:50And he's like, I'm going to try to go over to Oakwood and get more stuff.
17:53And I looked at him and I said, if you pick that bottle back up, don't come back until
17:57you're sober.
17:58And that was the last thing I said to him.
18:01Heidi said that when she returned with Olivia, his truck was gone.
18:05So, I went in, I checked the house.
18:07He wasn't there.
18:09So, I just assumed he was in Oakwood getting stuff, because that's what he said he was
18:13going to do.
18:14The next morning, when Heidi got up, she said she drove to the Oakwood home thinking he'd
18:19probably crash there from drinking, because she had told him not to come home if he was
18:23going to drink.
18:25Heidi said she just drove around to different spots in an attempt to locate where Chris
18:30might be.
18:31And then, at one point, Olivia even was with her.
18:36We drove up and down.
18:38I don't remember what day it was, but we drove up and down.
18:41Heidi indicated that a few days after Chris had been gone, she located his truck at the
18:47back of her business.
18:49So, what day did you find his truck?
18:53That was Tuesday.
18:54But I was, like, shocked to see his truck sitting behind our warehouse.
18:57And, like, I never even thought to look there.
18:59I just assumed he had his truck.
19:02She said it was odd that she found the truck there.
19:04The door was a little bit ajar, keys on the ground.
19:07So, she thought that was strange, because he really loved his truck.
19:10Chris would have never left his truck.
19:12Okay.
19:13Now, let's go to the 13th, when I was there.
19:16Um, 13th.
19:21Um, what time did you come home in the morning?
19:25Ah.
19:30There was a point in the interview where her demeanor totally changed.
19:38She started to become somewhat emotional.
19:41She seemed more agitated than anything.
19:43I don't remember.
19:44She was really struggling to find the answers to the questions I was asking her.
19:49What time did he get up, you say, Saturday?
19:53I don't remember.
19:56I'm sorry.
19:57What's wrong?
19:59It gets me confused when I just keep going back and forth in time.
20:03I could tell that, you know, there was something there.
20:05There was something more than what she was telling me.
20:09I want you to listen to me.
20:11I want you to really listen to me really good here, okay?
20:15It's really important for you.
20:17You and I both know that you know where he's at, and I need you to tell me that.
20:21I wanted Heidi to tell me the truth so that we could, you know, locate Christopher.
20:25You and I both know that you took his truck out there.
20:28I did earlier in the week when he was drinking to keep him from...
20:32Listen, I'm telling you.
20:34I need to know what happened to him.
20:37I don't know, George. I don't...
20:39Yes, you do. Listen to me.
20:40I want to help you. Listen. Yes, you do.
20:42No, you don't.
20:43Yes, you do. Now listen to me.
20:45I probably pleaded with Heidi an additional 20 to 30 minutes, but she continued.
20:49She continued to stick with her story that she had no idea where he was.
20:52I need to know where he's at. You and I both know you know where he's at, Heidi.
20:56I just need you to tell me.
20:58You and I both know...
20:59I'm not a bad person.
21:00You're not a bad person.
21:02When Heidi made the statement, I'm not a bad person, and became emotional,
21:06I felt that she knew more than what she was telling me.
21:09Please, just tell me where he's at.
21:11His family's going to want to know.
21:12I know. I know.
21:14Tell me where he's at.
21:16In the back of my mind, I'm thinking, she's done something to him.
21:20Just tell me where he's at, Heidi.
21:22This is such a nightmare.
21:23I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that you've got to go through this.
21:26And I think he was probably somewhat mean to you.
21:29I think he yelled at you. I feel bad for you.
21:32I think it's horrible that a woman like you got to put up with things like that.
21:35But right now, Heidi, we got to start doing what's right for me, for you, for everybody, his family.
21:41We just need to know where he's at.
21:43At one point, I think I threw out there, you know, if something has happened to him,
21:48and you know where he is, we just need to find Chris.
21:51At that point, Heidi became emotional.
21:53Heidi, you and I both know that you know where he is.
21:56They won't hate me.
21:57They won't hate you.
22:03I just really kind of pressed her and pleaded with her, essentially, to just tell me the truth.
22:09Heidi, listen to me. We all make mistakes. Trust me.
22:12I've made mistakes in my life. We've all made mistakes, Heidi.
22:15This happened in my life.
22:16His daughter is gone.
22:19But then finally, she started opening up.
22:23She reiterated to me that Christopher's mind was gone because of the alcohol.
22:28He'd been acting strange.
22:31His mind was gone.
22:33He didn't know who I was.
22:35And he was trying.
22:38He was trying.
22:42I told him he was trying to see. He was swinging the bat at me.
22:45He was trying to hit me, and I kept dodging it.
22:48Oh, God!
22:50It's okay. You're doing good, Heidi. Just continue on.
22:53Please.
22:54I'm sorry.
22:56It's okay, Heidi. I believe you.
22:59When Heidi finally started telling what we believed to be the truth,
23:03she did seem a little more emotional, a little more upset.
23:06But still, I'm thinking, is he alive? Is he hurt?
23:12He was trying.
23:14He was trying to kill me.
23:16Okay.
23:17He was...
23:18He had totally let down on me.
23:21Okay.
23:22Okay.
23:25So I called my friend and I said, I need protection.
23:30And I was hoping when I went back that he would be okay.
23:35I see. Just continue on. I know it's hard.
23:38Just tell me.
23:39So I had a gun.
23:40I understand.
23:42I understand.
23:45Heidi told me that she had a friend that had firearms.
23:49You know, that morning, she called the friend and asked him if, you know,
23:53she could still get that gun.
23:55At that point, I kind of knew something was really wrong here.
23:59They're not going to hate you, Heidi.
24:02Heidi, they know what kind of person he was.
24:04Everybody that...
24:05It's okay.
24:07To find out the multitude of what she did,
24:11it was quite shocking to me as an officer.
24:20You just need to know where he's at, Heidi.
24:22You and I both know that you know where he is.
24:24They're not going to hate you, Heidi.
24:28So in the morning of January 13th, Heidi tells us she entered her home
24:33and Chris was there, and she said he was kind of out of his mind.
24:37He grabbed Libby's ball bat out of her bag
24:40and was like trying to swing it at me, so I just ran out the door.
24:44When she left the home to go get the gun,
24:48Chris actually dialed 911 and said that his wife had beaten him.
24:54Heidi told me that she drove to a town nearby,
24:58retrieved the gun, and then returned back to Antwerp.
25:01She alleges after she walked into the back door,
25:04her husband, Chris, gets up, and he is completely out of his mind.
25:08He doesn't know who she is.
25:10He's flailing the bat. She's dodging him.
25:13He just kept coming at me.
25:15He just kept coming at me.
25:17He just kept coming at me.
25:19He's flailing the bat. She's dodging him.
25:22He just kept coming at me, and I knew he was going to bash my head in.
25:26And I was just...
25:31She said she's scared to death for her life,
25:33and she reaches in her pocket, grabs the gun.
25:37I didn't notice he was holding it.
25:40Let's see.
25:42And I was just trying to scare him, and it went off,
25:45and I hit him, and he fell over.
25:50Hearing that from Heidi, I was almost winded.
25:54I would have never thought in a million years
25:56that this would even happen in our community.
26:05She said the final shot, she stood over him as he laid on the floor,
26:09and she shot him the final time.
26:12How many times do you think you shot him?
26:14I don't know. I didn't...
26:16Okay.
26:18If you shoot somebody one time and you're in true fear,
26:21and she alleged he went backwards and fell down,
26:23he's no longer a threat at that point.
26:26She could have picked up the phone and dialed 911
26:29and got him the help that he needed.
26:31She didn't have to eliminate his life.
26:33Heidi was telling me that all of this had occurred
26:35the same day that I had arrived at the house.
26:39When I was there, Heidi, Heidi killed me.
26:41She was already dead.
26:43Is that why you were so hesitant to let me in?
26:46Well, because he was laying there dead,
26:50and I knew you would arrest me right on the spot,
26:52and I was flipping the f*** out.
26:55That contradicted what I saw that day on the porch.
26:58There was no emotion from her whatsoever
27:00to indicate to me that she had just killed someone.
27:03Essentially, Christopher was just laying on the other side of the door, deceased.
27:07After she had confessed to shooting Chris,
27:10it was really important that I find out where Christopher's body was.
27:15I wrapped him up in plastic,
27:19and I took him, I had to muscle him down into the basement,
27:24and I buried him under cement.
27:31She laid Chris out flat up against an interior wall,
27:36then took cinder blocks and leveled them up like too high,
27:41and then got the cement.
27:43Was there other cement down in the basement?
27:46Where did you get the cement?
27:47I bought it.
27:48Like in bags, or where did you buy the cement at?
27:52I paid cash for it at Menard's.
27:55I've done mortar work before,
27:58and it was the only thing I, I, I, the ground's frozen,
28:01I didn't know what to do, I was freaking out.
28:06I'm not a murderer.
28:08I understand.
28:11She said it took her two or three separate trips
28:13to acquire enough cement to entomb him in the basement,
28:16and then she also said that she'd hid the firearm
28:19at a location in the basement.
28:21The area where, where, where this occurred at, is there,
28:24did you clean that area, or how did that happen?
28:28Just tell me how you, did you buy the material?
28:31Blood on the carpet, so I, I rented a rug doctor,
28:34I paid cash for it.
28:36You know, based off of Heidi's actions
28:38and what she told me, led me to believe,
28:40you know, she's pretty cold.
28:44At the conclusion of that interview,
28:45she was charged with, with murder,
28:47and transported to the Paulding Jail.
28:52I was floored.
28:53I couldn't believe that she had killed him
28:56and put him in the basement.
28:59And for her to do that to Chris
29:02and put her family through that,
29:04that's really terrible.
29:06That, that's, that's not something
29:10a, a human being does to somebody.
29:17Heidi was adamant that she had killed Chris
29:20out of self-defense.
29:23She'd claimed due to his illnesses,
29:25he's out of his mind, and she never wavered from that.
29:28She said she had to shoot Chris because she was afraid
29:31that he was going to kill her.
29:34Had a jury believed that Heidi had acted in self-defense,
29:38she would be found not guilty.
29:40We just couldn't stop at Heidi telling us
29:43that she had shot Chris out of self-defense.
29:47We had to continue to investigate.
29:50We knew she had been lying to us previous in the interview,
29:53and to get those details were so important.
29:58To find out exactly what did happen in that home.
30:01We obtained a search warrant for Heidi's house
30:04as it's now a crime scene.
30:06The forensic agents went in to gather evidence
30:10in the upstairs where the crime occurred.
30:14The search for Chris's body took us to this concrete tomb.
30:21We were able to, you know, dismantle the top of it
30:23because there was a piece of wood laying across it.
30:26And then that's where we realized that, you know,
30:28the concrete was probably approximately maybe a foot deep
30:32with his body encased in it.
30:35She really did her due diligence with securing him in that
30:38and covering it up.
30:40You wouldn't have known there was a body there.
30:43Down in the basement underneath the stairwell
30:46were some shelves with boxes.
30:49The gun was retrieved from one of them boxes.
30:53Chief Clemens was able to get footage of Heidi.
30:56As she made multiple visits,
30:58she gathered different things to clean up that scene.
31:08Heidi appeared to be very jovial.
31:12You would not have known that she had just killed
31:14her husband that day.
31:23Probably the most shocking thing for me of that footage
31:27was when she's at the counter and she has the rug doctor.
31:32She looks at the clerk and asks the clerk
31:34if they get good reviews on that piece of equipment.
31:37Couldn't believe that, you know, her state of mind,
31:40she would ask that knowing what she was about to do.
31:43During the investigation, we had actually taken time
31:46to look at Heidi's Facebook, kind of see what's on there.
31:49We actually found that during the time that Chris
31:52would have been in the basement,
31:54she was selling items from her home.
31:57People were asked to come to her home to pick up those items.
32:02These were definitely not the actions of a woman in distress.
32:05You know, she was just going about her daily life,
32:07just normal as can be.
32:10This case created a high volume of video footage,
32:13surveillance footage, that we obtained from all different sources,
32:16but the main one was a business right next door to Heidi's home.
32:21When we were looking through the footage,
32:23just days after the incident,
32:25there's a clip where this red truck is present.
32:28Footage was too grainy to show a clear plate number.
32:31You could tell by the footage, you know, he was a male,
32:33probably in his 40s or 50s, you know, wore glasses.
32:38He is seen in the video helping Heidi, bringing out a freezer,
32:42loading that into his red truck.
32:46He places that freezer in his red truck and drives away with it.
32:50So, of course, it's lots of questions in our mind.
32:53And so it was imperative to find out, who is this guy?
32:57What role does he play?
33:09Through our investigation, we were able to figure out
33:12who was in that red truck.
33:15His name was Neil Deamer.
33:18I felt it was really important to speak with him
33:20and find out, you know, what he knew, if he knew anything at all.
33:27He said that him and Heidi had developed a friendship several years back
33:31and that they had always just stayed in contact off and on.
33:34Neil was at the home with Heidi.
33:36He thought it was an ex-husband, that he was supposed to be helping,
33:39and he was a drunk, he wasn't going to help.
33:41While at the home, he was helping her move things around,
33:45and one thing was a non-working freezer that she needed rid of
33:49because it was just in the way.
33:51So Neil actually loaded that into his truck
33:53and he disposed that at his workplace.
33:57Neil adamantly denied any knowledge of Chris being murdered in that home.
34:04During the interview, I asked him if him and Heidi had an intimate relationship
34:08and he indicated that they did.
34:11Neil indicated that before they moved the furniture
34:14and disposed of the freezer, that he and Heidi
34:18had actually had sex on the living room floor.
34:22Listening to Neil tell us that they had had sex
34:25right above where Chris was laying,
34:28I was absolutely shocked.
34:31I'm thinking, what kind of woman are we really dealing with?
34:36I didn't believe this was self-defense for several reasons.
34:41A normal person, I would think, would act rationally
34:44in a self-defense situation, and she'd have called the police.
34:47And the fact that I was there that morning
34:50and he was dead on the other side of the door,
34:53that would have been her opportunity to tell me, you know,
34:56that that's what occurred.
34:59So we continued to investigate to make sure that we could prove
35:02this was an absolute murder
35:04and not a self-defense case like she was alleging.
35:09It was important that, you know, if that did happen,
35:11that I find the evidence to prove that Heidi lied.
35:16During our search, we were informed that there was a possible witness
35:20that was an employee of the Pit Stop gas station
35:23that may have seen Chris the morning of the incident.
35:27The Pit Stop is probably less than a block away
35:30from where Chris's house is.
35:34When I spoke with the employee,
35:36she indicated that Chris had come in and purchased cigarettes.
35:41She said that his shirt was bloody.
35:44He had a, like, a knot or a black eye,
35:48and his face had blood on it.
35:51She had asked him if he needed help,
35:53and he told her that he was OK,
35:54and that he'd already called the police.
35:56Hello?
36:00Based on the 911 records,
36:02we was able to determine that Chris must have went to the gas station
36:06minutes after making the 911 call.
36:10This eyewitness account was very crucial
36:12in determining the fact that he had been assaulted by Heidi,
36:16and without that witness,
36:17we wouldn't know whether or not that truly did happen.
36:22So talking to the gas station attendant
36:24really turned things around for us.
36:27We knew if Heidi wasn't the victim,
36:29she was alleging she was.
36:31Heidi never wavered from that this was self-defense.
36:38But I believe the evidence shows
36:40that Heidi Grant contemplated murdering her husband.
36:47I think she was tired of the alcoholism.
36:51I think she was worried about her reputation in our community.
36:54I think when she arrived home in the morning,
37:00she struck him with either a ball bat or a table leg.
37:05He makes the 911 call.
37:10She then left to get the gun.
37:13He obviously left and went to the gas station,
37:16purchased some items, returned back home.
37:21She returns.
37:25And then shoots him.
37:27She shot him 10 times.
37:31That just screams volumes to me
37:33of the hate and the rage she must have had for her husband.
37:37She made mention that it was really difficult for her
37:39to get him down to the basement all by herself.
37:44She has to drag him over there.
37:45When she got him to the top of the stairs,
37:47she just shoved him like a sled.
37:49She gets him to the bottom of the stairs,
37:51and then she has to drag him up where she was going to bury him.
37:55And then encased him in a tomb in the basement.
38:02As far as the motive, my speculation is
38:04she just felt that being in this small community,
38:08living with an alcoholic,
38:09she didn't want that type of image.
38:12And she basically removed Chris from her life,
38:16and it wouldn't hurt her family's business.
38:19It's absolutely heartbreaking that the life of a human
38:22wasn't as important as her reputation in our small village.
38:27In conclusion of collecting all of the evidence,
38:29Heidi was charged and indicted by a county grand jury
38:33with aggravated murder.
38:41Heidi pled not guilty
38:42and was sticking to the story of self-defense.
38:47Heidi took the stand during the trial,
38:49which is very uncommon for a defendant.
38:51She was pleading her case of self-defense to the jury.
38:55There's a lot riding on her testimony.
38:58If they truly believed in their mind
39:00that she was a victim of this domestic situation,
39:04she could walk away.
39:06And then there would be no justice for Chris and his loved ones.
39:12I was very confident in the fact that we would get a conviction,
39:16but you never know what a jury may or may not believe.
39:22Once the jury came back with a decision,
39:27of course, you heard weeping from the family that loved Chris,
39:30gasps from the family that loved her,
39:33and she sat motionless and said nothing.
39:37Heidi Grant's sentence was 15 to life for murder.
39:39She got a mandatory one year for the use of the firearm.
39:44Heidi was also sentenced to additional 30 months
39:47for tampering with evidence,
39:49and that all has to be served consecutively,
39:52so she will be in jail for a very long time.
39:56When I heard that she'd been found guilty of murder,
39:59I was happy about it,
40:01but in the same time, I was very concerned.
40:05I was worried that she would be in jail for a very long time.
40:09I was worried that she would be in jail for a very long time.
40:13In the same time, sad.
40:16It just ruined a lot of lives.
40:18I'm glad she didn't get away with it.
40:24It's been about two years,
40:26and I still look at how my life could have been
40:30if none of this would have happened.
40:32When Heidi murdered my dad,
40:34I not only lost my father,
40:36but I also lost her,
40:38which she was my stepmom.
40:40I considered her like my best friend,
40:43and I lost that, too.
40:46I miss Chris's laughter.
40:49He seemed to laugh a lot.
40:51He liked to make people joke, you know.
40:53I miss that time that we don't have now.
40:58He was a good brother.
41:03And I miss him.
41:11She had to choose between Joe or her family.
41:15He was losing control.
41:17That was when he finally went full psycho.
41:21When I looked at him, it wasn't human.
41:25It was evil.