This is a star-studded story meeting.
We have both Andrea and Blaine.
Love it.
You're listening in to the Dateline Story Meeting.
I just called her because I had a feeling this was going to blow up.
Our producers are swapping tips and story ideas.
He got pretty emotional.
He cried a few times during the interview.
I talked with the ringleader of the friend group, if you will.
It wasn't just a heat of the moment thing.
He was planning on murdering her.
Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly.
I'm Lester Holt.
It's April 16th, and here's what's on our docket.
In Utah, a woman is on trial for allegedly conspiring with her son and daughter to murder her son-in-law.
They said she was the one who got her kids to fall in line and commit murder.
In Dateline Roundup we've got the latest on the appeals of two big-name defendants music mogul Sean Diddy Combs and mommy doomsday Lori Vallow Daybell.
And more on the verdict from the attempted murder trial of Hawaii anesthesiologist Dr. Gerhard Koenig.
They seem to be saying that Gerhard attacked his wife in the heat of passion.
Plus, we talked to a former FBI agent about what American tourists should do if they're a victim of a crime while traveling abroad.
The first thing you need to do is contact that nearest US consulate, and you should have that number in your phone.
But before all that, we're heading to the Bahamas for the latest developments in a case that has captured national attention.
The disappearance of tourist Lynette Hooker.
Was it an accident or something more sinister?
Two months ago Michigan couple Brian and Lynette Hooker docked their yacht Soulmate at Elbow Key in the Bahamas.
Just two more travelers drawn to the island's sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
This is how we do laundry, too.
Success.
All right, we got the grub.
Got groceries.
Delivery.
It's a way of life, man.
But then, two weeks ago, on Easter morning, the picturesque setting became the backdrop of an international mystery, after Brian Hooker paddled the couple's small dinghy to shore alone.
He told authorities his wife had fallen off the boat when it hit rough waters.
A desperate search began.
Underwater drones, military vessels, and helicopters fanned out to look for Lynette.
Here's Brian giving a status update in a voicemail message to his stepdaughter, Carly.
And they have found the flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard.
They haven't found her yet.
But something about Brian's story didn't add up to Carly, and the local police had their suspicions too, that maybe Lynette was the victim not of an accident but a foul play.
Four days after she went missing, Brian was taken into custody for questioning, only to be released days later.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
So what's next for Brian Hooker and the investigation?
Here to bring us.
The latest is our very own, Andrea Canning, who has made her way to the Bahamas to report on the case.
Hi, Andrea.
Hey, Lester.
So to start, tell me about Lynette and Brian Hooker.
What do we know about them?
From what I've gathered from speaking to Lynette's mother Darlene, and Carly, Lynette's daughter, from a previous marriage.
They've been married for almost 25 years.
This is a couple... who really likes adventure, obviously.
You know, we've seen that play out on their social media accounts with their boating.
They had sold their house in Michigan to live full time on their yacht.
And, according to their Instagram, they had sailed through the Gulf of Mexico and made their way to the Bahamas.
So take us back to April 4th.
That's when Brian told police he last saw Lynette.
What do we know about that night?
So, according to a statement by the Royal Bahamas Police, the couple set out around 730 pm in their eight-foot-long hard-bottomed dinghy from Hopetown heading to Elbow Key, where their yacht soulmate was docked.
And this is how they got around, according to Carly.
You know, when you have these big boats, it's easier to just anchor and then take the dinghy to shore.
Brian told authorities that Lynette fell overboard with the keys to the dinghy in her pocket which, according to him, shut the engine off.
He says that Lynette was then carried away by strong currents and he lost sight of her.
Because he said she had the key to the dinghy.
He ends up having to paddle back to shore, which took hours, before he reaches the Marsh Harbor boatyard on Sunday morning.
And that's when the authorities are called.
And he says that his wife, Lynette, has gone missing.
Yeah, and the search got underway.
Family members have appealed for help, of course.
Lynette's daughter, Carly, raised suspicions about Brian's story.
You spoke with her.
What did you learn?
You know, when she heard that her mother had gone missing, she immediately suspected that Brian may have done something to her mother.
She said that Brian sounded monotone and relaxed as he described her mother's disappearance.
She didn't sense panic, desperation.
And the biggest thing is this volatile relationship between her mother and her stepfather, their issues with domestic violence.
Those are her allegations.
He has denied that, Brian.
So we should say that NBC News looked into whether Brian and Lynette's relationship ever came to the attention of law enforcement before now.
What did we find out?
Brian, from what we've seen, has never been arrested for harming Lynette.
There's no formal charges of assault or domestic violence or anything like that.
We should say though, that in 2015, Lynette was arrested on charges of assault and battery, simple assault.
The warrant was denied for insufficient evidence as to who started the assault, but Lynette and Brian accused each other, according to a Michigan police report.
All right, so turning back to last week, the U.S.
Coast Guard opens a criminal investigation and Brian is taken into custody by the local police.
What do we know about that?
So we know Brian was interviewed for several hours.
His attorney, Terrell Butler, told reporters that investigators took him in handcuffs to his boat, the Soulmate, while they searched it.
During that search, Lester, she says that he actually lost his footing and fell overboard.
He fell overboard and had to be rescued.
And during the whole ordeal which was again very traumatic for him because he had that experience with his wife he received injury to his knee.
She kind of cited it as, you know, saying, look...
Even Brian fell overboard.
You know in the choppy waters, you know the conditions in the sea can be dangerous.
So after five days in custody, Brian was released.
Did he have anything to say when he got out?
Lester NBC News correspondent Jesse Kirsch sat down with Brian and Brian's attorney advised him not to discuss details of the police interviews or what happened when Lynette disappeared, beyond what he's already said, obviously.
But he did say this.
I've never harmed Lynette and I never would harm Lynette.
And I want to find Lynette.
There's been a lot of talk about you and your relationship.
One of the things that has come out in the last couple weeks is past incidents involving you and your wife, including her spending the night behind bars several years ago, after an incident where police were called to your home.
Do you have anything you'd want to share about that?
No, I would never want to share anything like that in public about any marriage.
Brian was adamant that he will continue the search and said that his future on the boat is unclear without Lynette.
And he broke down crying.
We quit working to do this thing together.
We had a plan.
So I got to work the plan.
And without, there's no point in being in any of it.
I don't even.
It's been 10 days.
It's been a long time.
I don't think I've ever been apart from her in 25 years for this long.
I don't like it.
She wouldn't stop and I'm not going to stop.
And what about the authorities?
We know that they were up against a deadline.
They were only allowed to keep Brian in custody for a certain amount of time.
Did they say anything about their decision to release him?
The Royal Bahamas police commissioner told NBC News that they reached that decision after speaking with prosecutors.
She said Brian remains a suspect in the investigation, which she confirmed is ongoing.
And the family tells me the U.S.
Coast Guard was heading to the Bahamas Wednesday to gather more information in the case.
Okay.
Andrea, we know you've got a lot of work to do as you continue to work this story.
Thank you so much for being on with us.
Thank you, Lester.
On Wednesday, after we taped our conversation with Andrea, a spokesperson for the Royal Bahamas Defense Force announced that the search for Lynette will likely be suspended in the next 48 hours.
So far, the only trace of her that's been found is her flotation device.
And according to his lawyer, Brian has returned to the U.S. because of his mother's health.
But they say he will return to the Bahamas soon.
In a little bit we'll talk to a retired FBI agent about what it's like working a case overseas and get his tips on what to do if you're the victim of a crime abroad.
But first trial begins for the Utah mother accused of plotting with her children to murder her son in law, and the first witness for the prosecution is her daughter.
At 10.06 p.m., July 12, 2024, 42-year-old Matt Rostelli arrived at his mother-in-law Tracy Grist's home in American Fork, Utah.
A minute later, a neighbor heard gunshots and called 911.
Tell me exactly what's going on.
I'm pretty sure I just heard gunshots.
Police arrived to find Matt dead a few feet from the front door with a knife in his hand.
Tracy told police that Matt had entered the house unannounced and that her son Kevin, had shot Matt in self-defense.
But investigators quickly developed a different theory that Matt had been intentionally murdered and that Tracy, his mother-in-law Kevin, his brother-in-law, and even Matt's own wife Kate, were behind it.
All three were charged with murder, and at first, all three denied involvement in the case.
Tracy and Kevin pleaded not guilty.
Then, last year, Kate turned on her brother and mother and pleaded guilty, revealing what she said was a complex plot to end her husband's life.
I'm so very deeply sorry for the pain that I've caused.
I didn't deserve it.
If I had the power to bring him back, I would.
In January, Kate testified against her brother at his trial, and a jury found him guilty of murder.
Now, it's Tracy's turn to face a jury.
Dateline producer Rocio Zamora has been in the courtroom as testimony gets underway.
She's calling us from outside the courthouse in Provo.
Thanks for being with us, Rocio.
You're welcome, Mr. Hyde.
Before we get into Tracy's trial, give us a bit of background on the relationship at the heart of this case Matt and Kate Rustelli.
What have you learned?
So Matt and Kate met a while ago.
They actually dated for about eight years before they got married.
They had two children.
I think when they started really hitting a bit of a rough patch was when COVID hit.
They seem to never have really bounced back from that.
So how did Matt end up at Tracy's home in Utah?
That's a nine- or ten-hour drive from the home he shared with Kate and their kids in Southern California.
So Kate one day decided to just leave home without telling Matt.
So he comes home to an empty house.
There's no kids, no Kate.
She later tells him that night that she's in Utah.
She says...
It's too tense.
I need a breather.
I'm taking a couple weeks and then we'll talk later.
So when he goes to Utah he's under the impression that Kate is ready to come home and he's going to go and pick her up and bring her and his kids back home.
So Matt goes to Utah to pick up his family, or so he thought, and ends up shot.
Kate's brother Kevin told police he shot Matt in self-defense.
What made investigators think he wasn't telling the truth?
They said right off the bat, they saw the way Matt's body was positioned.
The knife was facing towards Matt and not towards a would-be aggressor.
One thing they also found when they spoke to Matt's mom was that Matt was actually not right-handed, which is where they found the knife.
It was pretty suspicious.
Some really interesting, minute observations there that obviously could be key in all this.
And what led investigators to believe it wasn't just the shooter Kevin, behind the murder, but also Matt's wife Kate, and his mother-in-law, Tracy.
I think that happened when they started doing a deep dive into their devices.
They find...
Text messages, they find recordings, they find, you know, like all of this evidence that really links Kate specifically and then kind of puts Tracy in this role of plotting this with her daughter.
Well, that brings us to this week as Tracy's trial begins.
Opening statements took place on Tuesday.
How did the prosecution describe Tracy Grist to the jurors?
Well, basically they said she was behind all of it.
You know, she was the ringleader.
She was the one who came up with the plan and got her kids to fall in line and commit murder.
And what evidence did they promise to show the jury to prove that?
The prosecution brought up some texts between Kate and Tracy, specifically one of them where Tracy was upset that Matt was, you know, having an argument with Kate.
Kate reached out to her mom.
We've been fighting so much.
I want out.
To which Tracy Grist responds, I just told your husband, don't mess with my child.
And then a little bit later, I'll just drive nine hours and strangle him.
There was another key piece of evidence that came out, which is there's two 911 calls that were placed that night.
One was from Tracy and one was from her neighbor.
The discrepancy there is that her neighbor calls within two minutes of gunshots.
And Tracy doesn't call until eight minutes after.
So...
If you're in the house, somebody's shot and you don't rush to pick up the phone.
That's what detectives are saying.
Maybe that's when they were waiting for him to die and placing that knife in his hand.
So what is the defense position?
What are they going to say?
Tracy has said that she has no idea how Kevin got the gun, why Matt was shot, that she was in the kitchen and kind of was out of the room.
We all know Kevin shot Matt.
The murder in and of itself is decided.
But what we're here today is about whether or not my client conspired with Kevin and Kate to kill Matt.
And I think, as you go through this case, you will say to yourselves this is the messiest conspiracy I've ever seen.
No real plan.
It's just a moment of craziness.
The prosecution started calling witnesses on Tuesday, and the first person they called was Kate.
Give us a rundown of her testimony.
She says that her mom came to Kate and said, this is what we can do.
We can hurt Matt.
You can bring him out, and either Kevin or I will hurt Matt.
She had said it before.
Like a joke.
Oh, we can get him to come out here and we can just murder him and kill him and make it look like self-defense.
When did it change from a joke to what you knew was happening?
About a week and a half beforehand when I realized that.
A divorce with him would be messy and I would run the risk of losing my children.
Did you ever have any second thoughts about this?
Absolutely.
Before he was murdered?
Yes.
Did you ever express those thoughts?
I did.
I looked her in the eyes.
I said, Mom, I don't want to do this anymore.
She looked me back in the eyes and said, I don't care, I'm doing it anyway.
Tracy's defense attorney pushed back hard on Kate during her cross-examination.
Let's take a listen.
Why do you think the reason is that you chose to be a murderer?
I don't think that's a fair question.
It was planned by my mother.
Is there a reason why you felt murder was the more appropriate end of your relationship with Matt than divorce?
Because my mom posed it as the best idea.
Isn't it fair to say that you're feeding your family, that you're fearful of Matt if he comes to Utah, wouldn't you say?
Yes.
Did you ever tell your family that he never physically assaulted you during your marriage?
I never told them that he was physically abusive to me, but he was very scary.
What do you expect next at this trial, and how long is the trial expected to last?
The trial is slated for three weeks.
I've been hearing that it might be a little less than that.
I'm curious, do you think Kevin will testify against his mom?
That's actually something that I've been kind of waiting to hear also.
The prosecution has released their witness list, and Kevin is on it.
We'll have to wait and see.
Well, Rocio, lots of good information there.
I know you're anxious to get back in the courthouse, so thank you for dropping by.
Thank you, Lester.
Thank you.
Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup.
We've got updates in rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs' fight to get out of prison and more on the verdict in the trial of the Hawaii anesthesiologist accused of attempting to murder his wife.
Plus, a former FBI agent has tips for American tourists who are the victims of crime abroad.
Welcome back.
Joining me for this week's Roundup is Dateline producer Michelle Madigan.
Thanks for being here, Michelle.
Thanks for having me.
Well, first we're heading to Hawaii, where last week we brought you the breaking news that a verdict has been reached in the attempted murder trial of Gerhard Koenig, the Maui anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife while on a hike for her birthday.
The jury in this case finds the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
Michelle, the verdict surprised everyone, the defense and the prosecution.
Explain why.
The verdict was definitely unexpected.
The prosecution had asked the jury to find him guilty of attempted second-degree murder.
Of course, the defense wanted an acquittal.
The jury found Gerhardt guilty of a lesser charge attempted manslaughter under extreme mental and emotional distress.
With this verdict, they seem to be saying that Gerhardt attacked his wife in the heat of passion.
So what is next for Gerhardt Koenig?
His sentencing is scheduled for August 13th.
Prosecutors are seeking the maximum they can get, 20 years in prison.
And the low end of the charge would be probation, no prison time at all.
And Gerhardt's lawyer says they plan to appeal.
Okay, we'll definitely be watching to see what happens there.
We'll be right back. on two counts of interstate prostitution.
He is currently serving a sentence of four years and two months.
His defense team says that conviction should be overturned.
Michelle, tell us a little bit about the hearing itself.
The hearing happened last week and took about two hours.
Sean Combs was not in attendance.
The proceeding was heavy on legal technicalities, with judges pushing back and asking questions on both sides.
So what did the defense say?
The defense argued that the judge gave Combs an overly harsh sentence.
They also referenced the Mann Act, which is the law that bans transporting people for prostitution.
The defense brought up examples of other people convicted of Mann Act crimes who only got months in prison, not years.
This sentence was the highest sentence ever imposed for a Mann Act defendant sentenced under the same base offense level in criminal history.
When can we expect a decision?
The judges did not give a date as to when they will reach a decision, but as things stand, Combs is expected to be released in 2028.
Okay well Michelle, for our final story, another high-profile defendant has an appeal in the works Lori Vallow Daybell or, as many Dateline viewers know, her Mommy Doomsday.
Michelle, just give us a quick recap here.
It's a complicated one.
It is.
Lori was convicted by an Idaho jury in 2023 for murdering her two children, 7-year-old Joshua J.J.
Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, the wife of Chad Daybell, who then became Lori's fifth husband.
Lori was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and last year she sat down for a memorable interview, of course, with Keith Morrison.
You're the most hated mom in America.
I heard that.
Are you misunderstood?
Absolutely.
So, Michelle, what are her attorneys arguing?
Lori's defense team has asked the Idaho Supreme Court to either throw out her conviction or grant her a new trial.
Her attorney says her right to counsel was violated when a judge disqualified her attorney of choice, Mark Means.
The court removed him because he had previously represented her husband and co-defendant, Chad Daybell.
Lori's defense argues that this was not a real conflict of interest because Means only worked with Chad.
Very briefly.
They also argue that the prosecution prejudiced the jury against Lori by talking about the death of her previous husband, Charles Vallow, during the trial.
When can we expect a decision from the Supreme Court?
There's no hearing scheduled yet, so we can expect at least months before we know more.
All right.
Well, Michelle, thank you for the updates.
Thanks, Lester.
Earlier in the episode, we told you about the disappearance of Lynette Hooker and the ongoing investigation into her husband, Brian.
What police are calling a search and rescue mission for a 56 year old woman who vanished at sea in the Bahamas is intensifying.
It raises a bigger question.
What actually happens when something goes wrong overseas and you're an American?
Who investigates?
Who has jurisdiction?
And what should you expect if you find yourself caught up in a situation like that?
Here to help us break it all down is retired FBI Assistant Director of Counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi, who spent more than two decades working cases, including investigations that crossed international lines.
Thank you for joining us, Frank.
It's my pleasure.
I hope I can help.
Well, Frank, let's start with your experience.
You spent years at the FBI.
And when you hear about situations like the one we mentioned in the Bahamas, what stands out to you right away?
So first, this gets very personal for me because I spent years in the number two position at FBI Miami, which had extraterritorial jurisdiction for the Caribbean and Latin America.
So I'm familiar with the procedures here.
The good news is that there are American laws that allow federal agencies to investigate crimes against Americans abroad.
The more interesting news is that you're always working with the permission and at the behest of the host nation and their police agency.
So it sounds like a little bit of a tightrope there at times when something happens involving an American in another country who actually is in charge of the investigation.
Is it entirely local law enforcement at the top?
For sure.
The federal agencies like the FBI or the Coast Guard Investigative Service would never come in and ask, for example, the Royal Bahamian Police to step aside and pronounce that they're in charge.
The local country and their authorities are always in charge.
Yes, we would explain.
This is our citizen who may be a victim and we would very much like permission to work alongside them or even separately.
And with millions of Americans traveling abroad each year, situations like this seem like they're bound to happen.
If you become the victim of a crime, even something like a robbery, how does the investigation typically unfold?
So first, as to the commonality of this, understand that, for example, with regard to FBI Miami, there's an entire squad, that's an extraterritorial squad that does nothing but respond to Latin America and crimes against Americans there, number one.
I always advise Americans who are traveling abroad to go online and register with the nearest US consulate.
Let them know that you're coming.
You're going to be there.
Secondly, keep a copy of your passport, a photo of it, on your phone in case you lose contact.
Your actual password
But the first thing you need to do in the event of any incident is contact that nearest US consulate, and you should have that number in your phone.
So from your experience, what tends to make these cross-border cases more complicated?
There's no question that the diplomatic challenge and the relationship challenge and the laws of that nation always differ from ours.
So, for example, we're hearing in the Bahamas case that we're learning that their laws allow them to detain someone for days.
Mr. Hooker has just been released. has been released, but he was held for five days.
We don't do that here in the United States.
And interviews are different.
And what you can say and do during an interview, polygraph exams and whether they're even permitted.
Everything is different.
Do these type of cases tend to move more slowly?
What are some of the big factors that can delay getting to the answers?
Yeah look, that applies to all different countries with all different senses of urgencies and hoops that they have to jump through.
And then, of course look, you've got different levels and caliber of investigative skills and experience.
All of that has to be handled very gingerly.
And yes, they do move slowly.
You may remember, many years ago, the case of the high school girl who was missing in Aruba on a school trip.
Yes, Natalie Holloway went on and on and on.
And, you know, let's hope that's not what we're dealing with here.
Well, for someone listening who may be about to travel internationally, what's the one thing they should keep in mind if something unexpected happens?
Yeah, that is.
First let everybody back home know where you are and where you're going and stay in touch with them and give them points of contact at the hotel or wherever you're staying.
Next, and understand...
For example, how to call the police.
911 may work in the United States, but they may have an entirely different number to dial for the police.
Check in with your hotel, check the safety, and don't be afraid to report something suspicious.
And for someone who may be thinking that I'm an American, that in itself is a shield from investigation or prosecution.
What's the reality?
Oh, the reality is very much the opposite, because you could find yourself absolutely arrested, as Mr Hooker did.
He was detained.
They could have, if they had enough evidence actually charged him, and he'd find himself locked up for quite some time pending the outcome of a trial.
So you're not immune.
Yes, you do have the backing of the US government to try and assist you, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook just because of where you come from.
All right.
Well, Frank, it's great talking to you.
Thanks so much for the important info.
Anytime, Lester.
Please go online and vote for Dateline.
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We've included the voting link in our episode description.
And coming up this Friday, Keith has an all-new episode on a case he's been following for years and one we've been tracking right here on True Crime Weekly.
It involves the shooting of a couple inside their Lake Tahoe, California home, a mysterious figure caught on security camera and an exclusive interview with the man at the center of it all, a former Major League Baseball player.
I've got to be challenging because we don't have much time, I have to tell you.
I think you need to stop with those questions.
Well, why?
You can watch Deadly Swagger this Friday at 9 8 Central on NBC or you can stream it starting Saturday on Peacock.
I hope you'll join us.
Thanks for listening.
Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Caroline Casey, and Kiani Reed.
Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone-Groff and Aria Young.
Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Kurloff.
Production and fact-checking help by Audrey Abrahams.
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Original music by Jesse McGinty.
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And Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline.
Have a great day, everybody.
