Ep. 90 | The PLOT TWIST Murder No One Saw Coming | Kristil Krug

A young woman disappears, a case grows cold, and unsettling details linger just beneath the surface. The mystery of Kristil Krug remains one of those stories that never quite lets go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:00Speaker 02

  It started with a message from an old name she hadn't heard in years. Unsettling at first, then threatening. And whoever this was knew things only someone watching her could know. And she sensed how this might end, so she documented everything and went to authorities. But what happened next would shock and horrify everyone. Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers, and murder. All things that I love to consume, and I know you do, too, you sick, twisted, beautiful, intellectually-minded freak. And today, we are hopping into a case with plot twist after plot twist. So without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go muck-fire down the highway, slam on the brakes,

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  and bust through this windshield into this plot twist case together.

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  Kristil Krug Grimsrud was born in Boulder, Colorado on November 24th, 1980, and she was raised by her parents Lars and Linda Grimsrud, who saw that she demonstrated exceptional talents from a very young age. She loved the arts and nurturing her creative instincts. And she also excelled in school, particularly in math and science. In bonding with her father in early childhood, she worked closely with Lars consistently through hands-on projects. Because Lars was a retired aerospace engineer, and she would spend countless hours working on classic cars with him in his garage. And it would be their sacred space together, saying, "We'd work on the cars, we'd race the cars.

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  Kristil always felt very comfortable coming over here. If we needed to talk or whatever, this is where we would sit and just enjoy each other's company," Lars would later recall. And their connection through the hobby brought their relationship very close together. And as Linda described, Kristil "loved to just get out and live life." And she grew up with an adventurous spirit that was well-rounded with her dedication to studies. And where she was equally at home performing dance routines onstage or at home reading chemistry books, the balance between her creativity and intelligence served her very well. And her excellence in maths and sciences earned Kristil an academic scholarship to the Colorado School of Mines,

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  where she pursued a degree in biochemical engineering. And she then transferred to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she would finish that pursuit, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemical Engineering. Oh my god, she's really smart! And right alongside her academic achievements, Kristil was deeply passionate for dance and performing arts, as if she wasn't already impressive enough. And she had graced many stages throughout her life, effortlessly impressing anyone that got the chance to see her beautiful performances. And her loved ones recall her ability to just light up a stage, as well as any room she might enter. And after graduating from college, She began a successful career at 19 years old at Agilent Technologies. And she would work on the project management team and was well-known for her creative

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  energy and technical excellence. And colleagues would describe Crystal as a very valuable member to their project management team. So she clearly stood out in her field and made a bold impression. And even later on in life, in the midst of juggling a successful career and family, she encouraged her children to pursue artistic endeavors as well, while maintaining her own creative hobbies. But before the success and family life with kids, shortly after high school and into the beginning of college, Crystal had her first serious boyfriend. And his name was Jack Anthony Holland. And they dated for about a year, breaking up in the fall of 2000. And Anthony had always been a "very friendly, very courteous, he always had good manners",

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  which left a generally positive impression upon Crystal's family, as Linda would recall. But as time passed after their breakup, he periodically tried to come back into Crystal's life, kind of out of the blue. And he initially contacted her in 2002. And despite her apparent lack of interest, he didn't take the hit. And he got in touch again in 2005 and 2010 via Facebook messages, in an attempt to rekindle their love. Dude, back the fuck up. But he just wouldn't take no for an answer, regardless of how she consistently rejected his advances. "He's like, we're meant to be together," she would later recall, describing how persistent he was.

• 5:41Speaker 02

  So by 2016, that persistence had begun to raise some alarm when he, yet again, reached out to Crystal. And at this point, she firmly told him, "This is really creepy for me, you need to stop." She had finally had enough and decided to cut him off. And to finally stop these advances, Crystal deleted her Facebook account, and it seemed to work for her. So finally, she had a bit of peace. So in the mid-2000s, Crystal met Daniel Krug, a respectable man who was building a career in government service and his stability and desire for a family drew her close to him and the two fell in love and Crystal and Daniel seemingly had a really bright future ahead of them

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  because Crystal continued to balance her engineering work and passions and Dan worked for the state at the Department of Public Health and Environment in Glendale and their relationship moved quickly and by 2007 they were married and ready to start a family so their 16 year marriage brought them three kids and as of 2023 they were approximately 14 years old, 11 years old, and 8 years old and the family would settle into Broome Field, Colorado where they were part of a comfortable upscale community and Crystal was a very devoted mother pouring her time and energy into her kids happiness and well-being and she shared her love for the arts with her two daughters and helped foster her son's growing interest in technology

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  and both her and Daniel worked hard at their jobs and the family so outwardly and inwardly they had built a loving home and life together with secure careers and well-adjusted kids but after a while Crystal and Daniel started to struggle a bit and their marriage had begun to kind of fall apart and Daniel admitted that they were no longer sleeping in the same bedroom and had said he wanted to file divorce and Crystal would confide in her family that she was kind of feeling the same way so she had started looking into divorce attorneys and intended to seek full custody of the kids when she did but despite their marital troubles the two maintained appearances publicly and for the children which was necessary for the situation they would find themselves caught up in

• 7:52Speaker 02

  so on October 2nd, 2023, Crystal received a strange text from Anthony on an unfamiliar number Anthony being her old boyfriend that was super clingy and crazy and he said he'd be visiting the Boulder area and boldly asked if Crystal wanted to hook up And she was startled because it had been years since she had heard from him. And with her Facebook account no longer active, she thought she had put this chapter of her life behind her. And still, having no desire to reconnect, Crystal ignored the message. And the next day, she was hit with several more new messages. But their tone quickly escalated, reaching a hostile and vulgar level. So sensing that she was ignoring him, Anthony said, quote, "You should kill yourself.

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  Don't waste my time." Unquote. Oh my god. So this shift in seriousness greatly concerned Crystal. And as Detective Andrew Martinez, who would soon look into this specific case, noted, quote, "It's a pretty extreme reaction to not getting a response." Unquote. So Crystal was on edge because this first contact had been alarming because, quote, "He's never said this kind of stuff to me before." Unquote, as she later admitted. And it felt as if she was suddenly targeted out of nowhere, and she now had a stalker. But the nightmare was only beginning. So as weeks passed, the harassment only grew more intense.

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  And what started as an unwanted reconnection attempt had become a full-blown stalking campaign. And Crystal began to receive what felt like an unending wave of concerning messages and emails, just steadily becoming more and more menacing by the day. And notably, the emails were coming from the address [email protected]. And this led to them jokingly calling Anthony "Kickman", in an attempt to lighten the rather heavy situation. But still, threats became more pointed, and not just towards her, but now also towards Daniel. And one email warned, quote, "I'll get rid of him and then we can be together." Unquote. And another taunted, quote, "You don't want him, I know you want me."

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  Unquote. And fears were heightened by Kickman's somehow intimate knowledge of their lives. His one message read, quote, "Saw you at dentist, see you soon."

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  Oh my god, it's so fucking creepy.

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  And Crystal had actually just been to a dentist appointment confirming that he had been watching her. And in another instance, the stalker commented on the expired registration stickers on her license plate, further suggesting he was watching the vehicle. And disturbing photographs were soon sent showing Daniel getting out of his car at work. So this just cemented that the stalker was fixated on both of them. And who knew if the children would be next at this point? So everybody was really on edge. So Crystal now believed their entire family was under threat. So heading into November, she was exhausted and constantly looking over her shoulder, quote, "It has definitely made me paranoid everywhere I go," unquote, she would later recall. Because seemingly, there was something new every single day.

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  The stalker was relentless, leaving her to fear that, quote, "Every corner presents some sort of danger," unquote. As Detective Martinez described, Kickman seemed to be everywhere and knew everything. But Crystal refused to just let this go without a fight. And from early on, she took proactive steps to go against the stalker's crusade. So to try to create some order from the chaos, she thoroughly logged each incident, creating a "stalker log," because she's insanely smart, including every relevant detail from her encounters with Kickman. And after she received the photo of Daniel at work and a subsequent conversation with her father, Crystal went to the police on November 7th to share her findings.

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  And she met with Detective Martinez, who was assigned to her case, and recalled that she, quote, "Just kind of took over," unquote, the interview room, laying out everything that had happened so far. So Detective Martinez was very impressed by her record-keeping. Quote, "The stalker log included everything: dates, times, locations, follow-up points," unquote. And Crystal did everything she could to express her fears while staying analytically grounded to explain the situation. Quote, "I keep trying to remind myself this is intending to be terrorizing. This is intending to scare me," unquote. So her proactive approach demonstrated the severity of the situation to law enforcement. And with her detail- file authorities were now looking into the case.

• 12:28Speaker 02

  But even then she wouldn't just sit back and wait. So ever determined to find her stalker, Crystal hired a private investigator as well, hoping to find where Anthony was. And she and Daniel installed security cameras around the house to catch any suspicious behavior as well. And she also decided to arm herself as the situation became more serious. Her father insisted that she carry one of his guns for protection, saying, quote, "She was scared. I said, well, this sounds serious enough. You need to start carrying. You'll use one of my guns for, for right now." Unquote. Lars would recount. And she earned a concealed carry permit and took firearm safety classes. So Crystal was motivated to do everything she possibly could to keep her family safe,

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  even in a time of extreme uncertainty. So the stalker situation had soon taken over the whole household and the Krug family lived in constant fear and unease. And they were all drawn into this as targets or collateral. And Detective Martinez saw how spooked Daniel was, just like Crystal. And the kids were now aware of what was going on. So it was very intense because an outside maniac threatened their very lives. And the Broomfield police recognized this was more than just a routine stalking complaint. And so they increased their vigilance and patrols were heightened and undercover officers kept watch on the home. And the psychological stress on Crystal and Daniel was unfathomable. And texts and emails came at all hours of the day.

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  So naturally they were jumpy and were required to be on constant alert. And Daniel would recount, quote, "I went to the grocery store briefly on Tuesday and someone behind me dropped a can and I fucking panicked. So what am I doing? I'm panicking and I'm doing a shit job of protecting my wife. So I'm not, I'm not doing good." Unquote. So their everyday lives were stripped of their normal routines and replaced with precautions. And in late November, Crystal shared a very dark thought with her sister Jenna and brother Josh. And she said she could feel a violent end approaching, saying, quote, "It's either going to be me." or him that's dead and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it's

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  not me unquote so as Crystal desperately seeks help the official investigation struggled to progress because obtaining information from tech companies proved to be painstakingly slow and Detective Martinez was tasked with filing search warrants and subpoenas to get the necessary data on the phone numbers and emails that the stalker was using such as IP addresses and account info but weeks passed with no useful response because sometimes these big tech companies will take their sweet ass time and or push back on providing requested information why I don't know because they're big asshole tech companies but Detective Martinez admitted that the necessary information was being slow walked even as the stalking

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  continued so by mid-November Crystal's private investigator had discovered that Anthony was actually living in Eagle Mountain Utah and she emphatically delivered the news to Detective Martinez yet to her surprise he chose not to contact Anthony directly at that point in time and he explained that ideally he wanted to have enough digital evidence and an arrest warrant in hand before confronting him because from his perspective if they went to Anthony without the necessary proof it could make the situation worse or cause him to flee saying quote I explained to Crystal that we wanted to gather as much evidence as possible and ideally obtain an arrest warrant so when law enforcement

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  does go to Anthony's door we can take him into custody and not have to walk away unquote so with no arrest or identification of Kickman Crystal grew more and more frustrated with authorities as December arrived and at this point she was just feeling helpless and worried that the case may not have been the priority she once thought quote she made the comment that she felt they had abandoned her that that they weren't doing things aggressively enough unquote Lars her father would later recall of the situation so waiting at the mercy of the bureaucracy was agonizing for her and Linda remembers that Crystal just Broke down. Quote, "It was just heartbreaking. She was just in tears. What am I gonna do?

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  How am I going to live?" Unquote. And she felt like time was just running out. And sadly, she would be right. So December 14th began like any other Thursday for the Krug's. Crystal got the kids ready for the day as usual and went to drop off two of her three children to school. And she returned just before 8 a.m. to get ready to start her own day. And Daniel took the third child to the bus stop before heading to work. So all appeared to be pretty normal. Quote, "Mornings are very routine in this house," as Daniel later described. But on his commute to work, Daniel received a text message from Crystal asking if he could pick up one of the kids after school. And he responded, asking what time he needed to be there, but she didn't respond.

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  And he didn't think too much of it at first, but as he sent a few more texts throughout the morning, something was definitely off. And it wasn't like her to go silent mid-conversation. So Crystal's silence had become legitimately worrisome to Daniel. And at around noon, he tried calling her, but he got no answer. And his concern reached the point that he was compelled to call the Broomfield Police Department's non-emergency line and request a welfare check on her. And his voice appeared very anxious, but focused on the recorded call. Quote, "I don't think this is an emergency, but this feels really weird."

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  My wife isn't responding to text messages or phone calls?

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  And Officer John O'Hare was dispatched to the Krug household, arriving at approximately 12:28 p.m. And he knocked on the front door, but no one answered, leading him to have a look around the premises. And as he peered into the garage window, he saw a horrifying sight. Because he would see a woman was lying on the garage floor, apparently lifeless with visible head injuries.

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  151, send medical. I got a female down in the garage.

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  Patrol police!

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  So O'Hare urgently reported in requesting backup and medical assistance. And when they got there, they would force entry and discover it was indeed Crystal. And unfortunately, she would have no pulse and had blunt force trauma and a stab wound on her chest. And she would be pronounced dead at 12:43 PM. And police taped off the house because it was now a crime scene. So upon hearing the news that something was wrong at the home, Daniel left work and raced back to get there. And when he arrived, police informed him that his wife had been found dead. And he would collapse in utter pain, crying uncontrollably in the driveway as responders held him back from the scene.

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  And victim advocate Heather Ates described- It's a weird feeling standing there when somebody's being told, "I'm sorry, but your loved one has died." So she guided him to the patrol car and comforted him by rubbing his back. And through his tears, Daniel's first clear concern was for his kids. In the car, he was pretty focused on the kids. He was very adamant about wanting to be the one to tell his children. So amidst the chaos and confusion, he insisted that he had to be the one to tell the kids what had happened. And authorities took Daniel down to the station, both for his own comfort and also to gather whatever information that could help to catch the killer. Quote, "This man has been going through a stalking case with his wife, and now she is gone." Unquote.

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  And it appeared that Kickman had finally made good on his threats and took Crystal out once and for all. And once Daniel had calmed down, they spoke to him for his statement. And he described the routine morning. They got the kids to school and she seemed fine when he left for work. And he told of the text message she sent him and how odd it was that she never responded and eventually that led to the welfare check call. And though distraught, he cooperated in every way he could, answering questions and providing ideas as to what may have happened. And he said that Crystal was a fighter and she had to have struggled with the intruder. He just- simply seemed to be trying to pick up the pieces that remained from this awful outcome.

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  So with Crystal deceased and the known history of a stalking ex, authorities immediately focused on locating Anthony. And Detective Martinez later admitted, quote, "My initial assumption was that Anthony Holland had gone to her home and murdered her." Unquote. And Broomfield Police contacted authorities in Utah to find and bring Anthony in for questioning. And that afternoon, Eagle Mountain Police showed up at his doorstep, and he was at home watching TV when he heard several bangs on his front door. And he opened it to find eight officers standing before him, and they immediately treated him as a suspect, asking him,

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  Have you ever heard of the name Crystal Krug?

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  And he admitted that-

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  That was my very first girlfriend ever.

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  And the officers didn't reveal why they were there, but Anthony thought they were going to arrest him. Quote, "I honestly thought I was going to jail for something." Unquote. But he would say that he didn't even know for what. So they continued asking where he had been that day and if he could prove his whereabouts. And fortunately for him, he had an alibi. And only a few hours earlier, he had been shopping at a Kohl's near his home. And he had a receipt showing a timestamp of 12:16 PM on December 14th for a green sweatshirt.

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  What'd you buy?

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  A sweatshirt, this one right here.

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  The purchase was made at 12:16 PM.

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  And with Crystal's murder taking place around 8 AM that morning, there was no way that Anthony could have killed her and made the eight-hour return trip back to Utah by noon. And he went even further to provide employment records verifying that he had still been clocking in for work during the alleged stalking timeframe. And after police cross-checked the claims, they told him he was free to go and wished him a better day. And though, great news for Anthony, it left several unanswered questions for the situation back in Broomfield. It was back to square one now. So now that their prime suspect, for months including the stalker, had been eliminated, Broomfield authorities had to pivot quickly.

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  And investigators wasted no time gathering any forensic and digital evidence that they could. And while examining the house, they discovered that several of the home cameras had been turned off. And one had been covered with blue masking tape, which led them to check in with the neighbors in hopes that nearby cameras may have caught something. And since this case had turned into a homicide, Detective Randy Pilick, a digital forensic examiner, was able to fast-track the requests previously made by Detective Martinez to tech companies for information on the accounts in question. And despite being so slow before, they were magically able to provide all of the desired information within an hour. Starting to think this could have saved her life if they were quicker before, but who's to say?

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  But the first big break was with the email records. And the IP logs showed that two of the email accounts used to harass Crystal were sent from the same IP address. And that address being the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

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  Both came back to the same IP address. That IP address was the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

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  None other than Daniel's workplace, her husband's workplace. And one of the email accounts had even been created on a secure network at the department. So this discovery hit the investigative team hard. And unexpectedly, they were now faced with the possibility that Crystal's stalker may already be sitting right in front of them. So detectives confronted Daniel in the interrogation room where he had been sitting for a bit now.

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  Who do you think killed her?

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  And still clinging to his original theory, he replied,

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  I think it's Kate. I think it's Anthony.

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  And when they told him that Anthony had an airtight alibi and could not have been the killer or a person sending the messages, he was stunned.

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  That I have nothing. And I'm terrified to bring my children home. What are you terrified of? If it wasn't him, who was it?

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  Because if it wasn't Anthony and the real killer was still out there, then he still feared for the lives of his remaining family. And at this point, detectives observed that Daniel's body language dramatically changed. As he went from his former slouched-over depressive posture to... Took a defensive posture. He sat back in the couch a little bit.

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  He crossed his arms, kinda like, "I have nothing to explain."

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  And in a moment, he had transformed from sorrowful to on-guard. And Detective Jennifer King-Sullivan noted that as soon as suspicions seemed to creep towards him, he became careful and unemotional. And she imagined Dan's head spinning, thinking about, "What else are they gonna find?" Because did Daniel know more than he was letting on? And Detective King-Sullivan asked-

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  If you were watching these facts unfold in front of you in a movie, what would you say happened? There has to be someone who's-

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  And his evasive answer did little to convince them. But they still needed more, and they'd have to let him go until they could get it. So as the digital evidence was poured over, more and more incriminating details were discovered. And financial records would show that several burner phones had been purchased with a Visa card, and that card was traced and registered under Daniel Krug. And furthermore, the location data from one of those disposable phones showed that it had been present in the same locations, directly alongside Daniel's personal cellphone multiple times. Guy's a fucking idiot. Thank god, though. And the forensic tech team also examined the "stalker" photo of Daniel in his work parking lot that was sent to Crystal.

• 26:43Speaker 02

  And after a much closer look, it was determined that the photo had actually been taken by a phone that was in selfie mode, using a timer. Guy was taking selfies of himself, in a parking lot. Oh my god. And the phone had just been propped up on the back of his car, next to his. And Daniel had taken it himself to make it seem like someone was watching him. Which is kind of insane, in and of itself, looking at the photo itself, because in hindsight, it seems so obvious, but, I digress. And after digging into the home's security logs, they discovered that Crystal's phone had been used to disable the system at 8:15 a.m. And the team at the house determined that the blue masking tape used to cover the Ring Doorbell camera had originated from the Krug's kitchen.

• 27:29Speaker 02

  Guy couldn't even buy masking tape, I guess. And next, they discovered that the suspicious text messages sent from Crystal's phone that morning had actually been scheduled ahead of time. I swear, those guys are so fucking stupid. And Crystal's phone data showed that messages had been drafted and sent on a delay timer to send later in the morning. And Pelak explained, quote, "We believe Crystal was already deceased by the time that they were sent." And at least three messages went out from Crystal's phone in this way. The one to Daniel, asking about picking up the kids, and then one each to Crystal's father and/or brother, and to Detective Martinez. And the messages appeared to be a way for Daniel to give himself an alibi, as they

• 28:13Speaker 02

  were sent at 8:56 a.m. after he had already left the house. And Daniel's movements that morning were also suspicious. And neighborhood camera footage saw Dan leaving his house at 8:24 a.m., which was about 30 minutes later than he normally did. And in addition to disabling and disrupting the cameras at his home, he manually deactivated his car's dash cam on the way to work, where he would arrive around 9:27 a.m. And last, but certainly not least, Daniel's search history revealed that he had asked Google some particularly concerning questions.

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  Internet searches like, "What happens when you're knocked unconscious? Do people really go unconscious when hit in the head? How hard for head trauma to go unconscious?"

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  And, quote, "How do I kill my wife and get away with it?" Unquote, just kidding, that last one was me, but might as well be, you know? Like, this guy is scum. Stupid-ass scum. Oh my god, I feel like so bad for Crystal and her kids and her family and stuff. I just can't, I can't believe the audacity of this fucking idiot. So obviously, these, uh, Google questions aren't criminal on their own, but in the context of the current situation, it doesn't look too good for Daniel. But as the prosecution would later highlight, quote, "All searches were the day before the murder, it was rather damning," unquote. Daniel had essentially researched the exact way that Crystal would end up dead the

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  next morning. And the fact that these questions were searched the night before demonstrated proof of premeditation, AKA first degree murder. So just two days after Crystal's murder on December 16th, Broomfield detectives felt that they had enough evidence to move against Daniel. And they quietly acquired a warrant for his arrest, charging him with the murder and related stalking of his wife, Crystal. But given the rather elaborate means of deception that he had pulled off up to this point, authorities were cautious to keep him from fleeing or harming himself once he realized that they truly knew it was him. So that day, a team of officers surveilled Daniel's movements with around eight unmarked cars. And eventually, he went to a local grocery store where the team followed his vehicle

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  into the parking lot, and they felt that this was their shot, saying, quote, "We wait for him to park, we quickly converge on his car," unquote, Detective King Sullivan would later recount. So officers with guns drawn ordered Daniel to step out of his car, and he was completely caught by surprise. And they would pull him out and handcuff him on the spot, placing him under arrest for the murder of Crystal. And bystanders would watch in shock as this seemingly ordinary man was dragged away by police. But Detective Martinez confronts Daniel with a final question.

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  Do you want me to tell your kids that you killed their mother, or do you want somebody else to?

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  Listen. That, in the most respectful way, that man is a hero, Detective Martinez. That is a movie moment, fuck you, into this monster's face, and I appreciate Detective Martinez so much for saying that. Just a punch right in the gut after Daniel's adamant demanding that he be the one to tell the kids of Crystal's death. And Daniel did not answer the question, shocking, instead saying he wanted to talk with his lawyer and then went silent. And Daniel Krug was now in custody and accused of being Crystal's stalker and Crystal's killer. So once Daniel had been arrested, detectives and prosecutors worked to lay out the full story they had uncovered.

• 31:49Speaker 02

  And it was abundantly clear that Daniel had orchestrated the entire stalking campaign against Crystal. And he secretly posed as Anthony Holland, starting in early October of 2003, sending those texts then emails through burner phones and fake accounts. And every threat from Kickman had come from the man living in Crystal's own house, and likely even taunting her from the same room at times. But why? What possessed him to do something so awful to the people he cared about? And investigators believe his motive was born from desperation and a desire to control the situation slowly slipping from his hands. Because Crystal wanted a divorce, and Daniel couldn't live with that, so he created a

• 32:34Speaker 02

  plan to terrorize her into staying with him. And he had hoped that pretending to be a menacing ex, that Crystal would fear for her life and need to lean on him for support and protection, thus reconsidering her desire to leave him. Just a pathetic attempt. And as the prosecution later put it, "Daniel decided to 'play puppet master' to win her back." And it was an insanely elaborate way to gaslight and control Crystal. And for weeks, the plan played out, but not the way that Daniel had hoped. And instead of leaning on him, Crystal remained guarded and even suspicious at one point, saying to Daniel, "I can't rule you out as the stalker."

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  So this, added on with authorities closing in on the truth of the stalker's identity, made Daniel realize his time was almost up. And once he had become convinced that Crystal was truly going to leave him, and further that he feared he could be exposed as the stalker, he chose to end her life instead. "She was putting the pieces together and he was running out of time," said Senior DA Kate Armstrong. Basically, if he couldn't have her, then nobody else could. So Daniel finalized his plan on the evening of December 13th, as seen from his Google searches. And the following morning, he went about the usual routine, pretending everything was normal as Crystal left to take the kids to school. And at some point-

• 33:59Speaker 02

  He took one of his daughters to the bus stop and when Crystal returned and pulled into the garage around 8 a.m., he was waiting for her and he struck her in the head with a blunt object, giving her two or three skull fractures and rendering her unconscious, or at least defenseless. And then he stabbed her above the heart, which would kill her. And Daniel proceeded to stage the aftermath of the crime scene. And he would disable the cameras and he would cover up the Ring doorbell camera. And he prepped the drafted texts for his alibi and then he cleaned up and left for work like nothing happened, like the monster that he is. And he then periodically texted and then called Crystal's phone to further support his shitty alibi. But all in all, Daniel just desired to own

• 34:44Speaker 02

  Crystal. And when she tried to break free, he chose to destroy her rather than let her live her life. And as DA Brian Mason would later say, quote, "In planning and executing this horrific crime, Daniel Krug terrorized his wife, his children, and an innocent man, all in order to control and then murder a woman who no longer wanted to be with him." Unquote. And she paid for his insecurity with her life. But she actually wasn't the first one to suffer from his tactics. And as investigators took a deeper look into Daniel's past, they discovered that this was not the only time that he had stalked a partner. And a former girlfriend of Daniel's came forward with her story. And when she

• 35:29Speaker 02

  broke up with Daniel in the 1990s, he employed tactics that eerily matched the tactics used against Crystal. And as authorities noted, he allegedly created fake online personas to send her harassing messages. And this went on for months. Unfortunately, she was never actually physically harmed, and thus Daniel wasn't criminally charged. But her account established a pattern of obsessive controlling behavior that seemed to be established well before he even met Crystal. And it looked like Daniel had this dark tendency all along, hidden underneath his otherwise normal appearance. So Daniel was formally charged with multiple felonies. Including first degree murder, two counts of stalking, and criminal impersonation.

• 36:14Speaker 02

  And each charge was, of course, very serious, with the murder charge alone carrying a life sentence. And he would plead not guilty to all counts like the fucking idiot he is, saying he was falsely accused and sticking to his "someone else must have done it" story. But by April 2025, it was time for the trial by jury in Broomfield County District Court. And during the trial, the defense pointed to the lack of direct physical evidence in an attempt to sow doubt, because there were technically no fingerprints or DNA, and they argued of Daniels that were conclusively found at the murder or even on Crystal's body. And furthermore, the murder weapons, the blunt object and the sharp object, were never

• 36:55Speaker 02

  recovered, which the defense claimed was another factor supporting an unknown assailant. And the defense also pointed out that there was a partial DNA profile from the crime that did not match Daniels. And none of Daniel's blood was found on his clothing, or in his car, or anywhere associated with the crime. Quote, "There is absolutely no physical evidence on Mr. Krug's clothing. There's no blood found on the car, inside or out. It's searched three times." And defense attorney Philip Giegel argued to the jury that his daughter even confirmed that the clothes he wore later on were the same that he had dropped her off with at the bus that morning. And the defense continued by attacking the police investigation, claiming it to be sloppy.

• 37:38Speaker 02

  And defense lawyer Joe Morales even went so far as to label Detective Martinez as "lazy and incompetent," arguing that the whole thing was mishandled from the beginning. And he noted that police didn't fingerprint Crystal's phone to confirm the scheduled texts. And without the forensic proof, they could never be 100% sure. Just glazing over all the IP address stuff, but okay. But the prosecution, on the other hand, led by Deputy DA's Stephanie Fritz and Kate Armstrong, introduced the mountain of digital and circumstantial evidence, tying Daniel to the crime piece by piece. And they took the jury through the whole story. Daniel's motives, desperation for control.

• 38:19Speaker 02

  The fake emails tied to his IP at work, the burner phones following his phone, and the gift card in his name used to purchase them, and the staged selfie on a timer, which is so embarrassing, and the security system being disabled from Crystal's phone, and the delayed text to establish his own alibi, his Google searches from the night before, and they even had Daniel's former girlfriend testify to the stalking that she endured, showing that this was his character and not a one-off scenario. And all the points laid out in such a fashion painted a pretty clear picture, and not one that was in favor of dumbass Daniel. And the trial would last a little over two weeks, and finally, it was time for the jury to deliberate.

• 39:02Speaker 02

  And they did so for about a day and a half, returning with the verdict on April 17, 2025. And the jury foreperson stood before the court, and Daniel Krug was found guilty on all counts.

• 39:13Speaker 13

  Please rise for the jury. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of count number two, stalking, extreme emotional distress.

• 39:24Speaker 07

  Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. And at that point, I think I started breathing again.

• 39:30Speaker 02

  And other family members in attendance shared the sentiment. And when they were interviewed later, the jurors said the digital evidence was so overwhelming that they had no doubt he was guilty. And Broomfield Chief of Police, Ania Hembleman, praised the investigative team and expressed gratitude to the jury, saying, quote, "I am extremely pleased with the verdict and proud of everyone who came together to make this trial a success." Jurors agreed the evidence and testimony against Daniel Krug was both conclusive and damning. "While we know it won't bring Crystal back to her family and friends, we hope it closes a painful chapter in their lives," unquote. And though it, indeed, would not bring Crystal back, her mother, Linda, spoke of how at least life can go on now, saying, quote,

• 40:15Speaker 02

  "Every day is a difficult day. You wake up and you feel the pain, and then you just try to go on with your day," unquote. So now, given a first-degree murder conviction, Daniel faced a life sentence in prison. And on April 18, Judge Priscilla Lowe officially sentenced Daniel to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional nine and a half years for the stalking and criminal impersonation to be served consecutively. So Daniel would never be free again. And he was 44 years old at sentencing, meaning he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. But that didn't stop Daniel from continuing his proclaim to his innocence.

• 40:56Speaker 02

  And he even wrote to ABC's 2020 insisting that he, quote, "will fight this wrongful conviction on appeal," unquote. He was simply a man unjustly accused, and he played the part well. And on recorded calls from his time in jail after the verdict, he was heard complaining that the prosecution, quote, "never produced a single piece of hard evidence," unquote, against him, and that his family needed to stick by him because the real killer was still out there, somewhere. And he would plead for sympathy, sounding depressed more often than not, desperate for anyone to side with him as he suffered. And eventually, Daniel's brother Jeremy confronted him on one of the calls, saying, quote, "Support is dwindling. You know, Mom and Dad won't believe you very much.

• 41:40Speaker 02

  I want to believe you very much. There's a lot that's come out, and as imaginative as I can be with finding explanations and ways to theorize how that, you know, this or that could have been the, the reality, um, some of it beyond even my creativity," unquote. So his own family was unable to reconcile what he did when faced with the evidence.

• 42:03Speaker 03

  I think that says enough.

• 42:05Speaker 02

  And in the end, Daniel had resorted back to the pattern of lying to his loved ones just as he had lied to everyone else. And Daniel remains imprisoned at the Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado. Thank God. And in the wake of Crystal's death, a number of glaring failures were exposed in the system, especially the delay in response from tech companies when they received the stalking warrants. And her family, spearheaded by her cousin Becky Ivanoff, decided to channel their grief into pushing for change. And Becky is a former domestic violence prosecutor and has teamed up with Oregon Representative Kevin Mannix to propose Crystal's Law. And the law aims to protect victims of stalking and domestic violence by speeding up

• 42:48Speaker 02

  the process in which tech and communication companies work with law enforcement during such cases. And it would force these tech and communication companies to provide requested info from search warrants related to stalking or domestic violence cases within 48 hours. Because in these sorts of cases, time is critical, as any delay could cost a life, as in Crystal's case. And Becky has been extremely vocal about this issue, firmly believing that Crystal's murder would have been prevented had the information been provided sooner, saying, "I absolutely believe that Crystal would be alive today because law enforcement would have had the information necessary to arrest her true perpetrator, and she could have made a safety plan for herself to ensure that she was protected."

• 43:33Speaker 02

  And this is further supported by the fact that some information from the warrants was not returned until after her death, despite being requested weeks before the murder occurred. And somehow, the process that had taken a significant amount of time miraculously was expedited within the hour, once the situation had escalated to murder. So this should have been done much, much, much sooner. And Rep. Mannix, alongside Becky, had announced that he is formally introducing Crystal's Law in the Oregon State Legislature this month, which is January 2026. And in addition to compelling companies to act within the 48-hour window, they will also receive civil protection in those circumstances, in an effort to remove any reason that those

• 44:16Speaker 02

  companies would delay in providing the requested information. And they hope that Oregon will be the first to implement the law, setting the precedent for other states to follow or even reaching the federal level. And Becky says, "Crystal did everything right. The system operated as it's currently designed, and she still got killed." So this legislation is a way to remember and honor Crystal, and works to ensure that a situation like this never happens again to anyone else. And I think the work they're doing is absolutely amazing, and absolutely... Honors Crystal. But one of the most devastating parts of the story is that three children were left without parents. Their mother being killed by their father and their father now being in jail for life

• 45:01Speaker 02

  and their, their mother being deceased. Daniel took everything away from them. And after Daniel's arrest, they were taken in by a relative and are being raised by family members who love them. And members of the community have also rallied together in their support and a local couple even contacted Crystal's relatives to ask if they could raise money to renovate their bedrooms as they currently were staying in offices and gym spaces. And they got approval and the kids were ecstatic, so they started a GoFundMe to build each kid's dream bedroom. And another GoFundMe was also started for the kids as a way to help their daily lives and has since raised over $60,000. And all the proceeds from this video will be going to that fundraiser and I will also

• 45:44Speaker 02

  link it down below if you can at all afford to give anything away to this family to help support those children. But these endeavors aim to give the kids some comfort and a fresh start. And their grandfather Lars has found solace in the loss of his daughters through sharing his passion for cars as he once did with Crystal. And he brings the kids into his garage workshop, teaching them to work on those classics just as she did when she was young. Saying, quote, "They run that same electric screwdriver and can tear a carbureator apart", unquote, Lars would say, reflecting on just how much Crystal would have loved to see it. And they honor her memory that way. So that is that for the Crystal Krug case.

• 46:27Speaker 02

  My heart always, as always, always goes out to the family. Again, if you want to donate to the GoFundMe, I'll, I'll link that down below. The proceeds from this video will be going to that GoFundMe 100%. I will also be donating on top of that. Um, and yeah, just stay safe out there. I appreciate you guys and I will see you in the next one. All right. Bye.

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