Pod Insights True Crime All The Time Kodi Patten and Toni Fratto About this episode Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo was a 16-year-old from West Wendover, Nevada, who was murdered by two teens, one of whom she briefly dated. One suspect was identified quickly, but the other surprised investigators by coming forward on her own weeks later.
Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Kodi Patten and Toni Fratto. Both teens were arrested and charged with the murder of Micaela Costanzo. But Patten and Fratto told several different stories, which clouded the investigation. Investigators had to sift through the evidence to determine precisely what happened to Mickey and who did what. But the motive for the murder remained even more elusive.
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Transcript 10,974 words · 4 speakers
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1:48 Speaker 00 Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 417 of the True Crime All the Time Podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you?
1:58 Speaker 01 Hey, I'm doing good. How about yourself?
2:00 Speaker 00 I'm doing great. We just talked on Patreon about the massive amount of snow that we got this week.
2:08 Speaker 01 We do.
2:09 Speaker 00 And I'm sure other parts did as well, but you know, I'm pretty sore right now from cleaning up the snow.
2:17 Speaker 01 Well, you know, you and manual labor does not really go hand in hand.
2:23 Speaker 00 No, it's not my forte. I'm completely honest about that.
2:29 Speaker 01 No, you're a thinker.
2:30 Speaker 00 A thinker. Um, let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Leanne Kossen.
2:36 Speaker 01 Hey, Leanne.
2:36 Speaker 00 Susanna jumped out to her highest level.
2:38 Speaker 01 Thank you, old Susanna.
2:40 Speaker 00 Uh, Kristen jumped out to her highest level.
2:41 Speaker 01 Well, that's awesome. Thanks, Kristen.
2:43 Speaker 00 Mackenzie.
2:43 Speaker 01 What's going on, Mackenzie?
2:44 Speaker 00 Anne France Tremage.
2:47 Speaker 01 Oh, Anne France Tremage.
2:49 Speaker 00 That's what I'm going with. Allison Gibson.
2:51 Speaker 01 Hey, well, you know, gotta love that, Allison.
2:54 Speaker 00 Amanda Orinberg.
2:55 Speaker 01 Hey, Orinberg.
2:56 Speaker 00 Cleaning Princess Pinky McGee.
2:58 Speaker 01 Man, Princess Pinky.
3:00 Speaker 00 Alana Pitt.
3:02 Speaker 01 I wonder if like related to the Brad Pitt, Michael Pitt, you know, Hollywood-ish pits.
3:08 Speaker 00 Are Brad and Michael related?
3:10 Speaker 01 No.
3:11 Speaker 00 Okay.
3:11 Speaker 01 They're just Hollywood pits, you know?
3:13 Speaker 00 Okay, just other pits.
3:15 Speaker 01 Yes.
3:16 Speaker 00 We had, uh, Xenia.
3:18 Speaker 01 Uh, Xenia, it sounds like a science, sci-fi kind of a show.
3:22 Speaker 00 Yeah, maybe. Yeah. And last but not least, April C.
3:25 Speaker 01 Well, thanks, April C.
3:26 Speaker 00 And then if we go back into the vault. This week, we selected Anna Harvey.
3:32 Speaker 01 Anna Harvey, you're awesome.
3:33 Speaker 00 Yeah, I appreciate the new Patreon support, the continued support. We also had a great PayPal donation from Scott Kane.
3:40 Speaker 01 Hey, thanks, Scott.
3:41 Speaker 00 Yeah, thanks to everyone. So Gibbs, right now, uh, we have an episode out on True Crime All Time Unsolved, where we're talking about Angela Green. And Angela Green was last seen in June 2019. You know, there's a lot of mystery here, twists and turns. Her husband told their daughter that she was committed to a psychiatric institution.
4:05 Speaker 01 Yeah.
4:06 Speaker 00 But then, not long after, came up with a different story and then told police a completely different story.
4:14 Speaker 01 Yeah.
4:14 Speaker 00 So we'll be diving into all of it.
4:16 Speaker 01 Should be very thought provoking.
4:18 Speaker 00 Yeah, I agree. All right, buddy. Are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime All The Time?
4:23 Speaker 01 Let's dive in.
4:25 Speaker 00 We're talking about Cody Patton and Toni Fratto. But we start off talking about Michaela Micky Costanza. She was a 16 year old from West Wendover, Nevada, who was murdered by two teens, one of whom she briefly dated. Now, they identified one suspect pretty quickly, but the other surprised investigators by coming forward on her own weeks later. Michaela Costanzo was born on May 3, 1994 in Elko, Nevada. At the time of her death, she was a student at West Wendover High School. Michaela was a popular student who was involved in basketball and track.
5:08 Speaker 00 She also worked on the school paper and wanted to be an author one day.
5:13 Speaker 01 Really? I wanted to be an author.
5:16 Speaker 00 Did you ever work on your school paper?
5:18 Speaker 01 I worked on the school yearbook.
5:20 Speaker 00 Yes, I did too. Not to, I don't even know if we had a school paper.
5:23 Speaker 01 I don't think we did either.
5:24 Speaker 00 But I do remember being on the, the yearbook, but it was only because this girl I was interested in said she was gonna do it and I was like, okay, I'll do it too.
5:35 Speaker 01 And then, did she not do it though?
5:36 Speaker 00 No, she did it.
5:37 Speaker 01 Oh.
5:38 Speaker 00 That's the, she's the one who inadvertently turned around and stabbed me in my buttocks with a, with the X-acto knife.
5:45 Speaker 01 Maybe she did it on purpose.
5:47 Speaker 00 And ruined my guest jeans and caused blood, you know.
5:52 Speaker 01 I guess you wanted to quit after that.
5:54 Speaker 00 No, strangely, it, it made me like her more.
6:00 Speaker 01 You know, talking about Elko, Nevada, I actually have family in Elko, Nevada.
6:04 Speaker 00 Huh?
6:05 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's okay. Interesting for me. Probably nobody else, but for me, I found it interesting.
6:11 Speaker 00 Could they be possible suspects? Maybe.
6:14 Speaker 01 Most likely, no.
6:16 Speaker 00 Michaela's former classmates had many positive things to say about her. For example, her classmate Heidi Thompson told local outlet KSL, "When things are bad, she always has something good to say to you. She always makes you feel good about everything."
6:33 Speaker 01 Man, I love people like that.
6:34 Speaker 00 Well, let's face it, those are the type of people with whom most people want to be around. Right? Who wants to be around Debbie Downer all day?
6:45 Speaker 01 Nobody I know.
6:45 Speaker 00 You want to be around the people who are positive. You know, they make you feel good about yourself. They brighten the room.
6:53 Speaker 01 Yeah, lift you up.
6:54 Speaker 00 Yes, those are people that you want to hang out with. Michaela disappeared after track practice on March 3rd, 2011. She was captured on camera, leaving school at 5:15 PM.
7:09 Speaker 01 You know, I wonder if we would have had cameras back when I was going to school. One, how much trouble we would all got in.
7:16 Speaker 00 You would have never graduated, first of all.
7:18 Speaker 01 Yeah, it was a chore anyway. You know, even with my Mensa smarts. But, and then you, you know, you wonder what issues could have been solved if they had cameras back then.
7:31 Speaker 00 Oh, a lot.
7:31 Speaker 01 Yeah.
7:32 Speaker 00 You think about the proliferation of video cameras, whether it's security cameras, you know, streets, businesses. But then also like the personal security cameras and ring doorbells and things like that.
7:47 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah.
7:48 Speaker 00 They've solved or helped to solve, you know, quite a few crimes. Michaela normally got a ride home with her sister, but she was out of town. Michaela lived a few blocks away in an apartment with her mother, so she planned to walk home. Michaela's mother became worried when she never showed up and wasn't answering any calls or texts. She was reported missing and the community came together to search for her. It was reported that 135 volunteers began searching on March 5th.
8:23 Speaker 01 Healthy number.
8:24 Speaker 00 Yeah, it's a pretty big number of people volunteering their time. But you know, I go back to, you know, this is a 16 year old girl in high school. You know, how many people either had kids of a similar age or younger, or just had the thought in their head? That, hey, if this was us, if we were in this position, we would hope that as many people would come out as possible. I truly think that's why a lot of people do it. Now, it's also the, you know, the right thing to do. It's out of the goodness of their heart, but I think a lot of it comes from, you know, putting themselves in the position of these other parents.
9:06 Speaker 01 Right.
9:07 Speaker 00 And thinking, you know, how helpless that would be. What if I was in that position? I sure hope people would come out for me.
9:15 Speaker 01 Yeah.
9:16 Speaker 00 That day, a volunteer driving down a desert road, five miles outside town, saw that the ground had been stirred. Michaela's body was found in a shallow grave. At this site, she had multiple injuries and her throat was cut. Michaela's body was publicly identified on March 6, 2011. The West Wendover Police Chief said, there was no suspect or person of interest at that time. And it's important to talk about the timeline here. I mean, you know, you think about a lot of the cases we do. They drag on when you have a missing person.
9:55 Speaker 01 Yeah.
9:56 Speaker 00 It's not the case here. You know, she disappears on the third. The volunteers began searching on the fifth and she's found on the sixth. So this all happened very quickly. Doesn't surprise me that, you know, at that point, police don't have a suspect or person of interest. Or at the very least, they're not ready to disclose that information.
10:20 Speaker 01 But her family at this point is going to be devastated.
10:24 Speaker 00 No, there's no doubt about it. I don't even know, you know, if most of us can comprehend the level of agony that that would be like. You would have to go through it to really have a full understanding. But the community was also in shock. Detectives focused on interviewing Michaela's classmates. You said she was a kind person who would never hurt anyone.
10:51 Speaker 01 Which makes you wonder, well, then who would hurt her?
10:53 Speaker 00 Well, right. I mean, a lot of glowing things being said about her. Now, we've seen in some episodes where, you know, that's kind of the standard line. But behind the scenes, there are some things, but people don't want to say that. You know, they don't want to bring that stuff up. But I think by and large, a lot of the victims we talk about, they are really good people. And so it is a question of who would want to hurt them. But a review of Michaela's phone data led to the identification of a suspect. 18-year-old Cody Creppen, a senior at West Wendover High.
11:34 Speaker 00 Cody and Michaela briefly dated in middle school, according to her friends. So, middle school, it had been a while, right? Since they dated, you wouldn't think, just on the surface, that that would have anything to do with it. Right? You think back to like, middle school boyfriends and girlfriends. It's not like most people are holding some big grudge later on in high school that, you know, you got dumped when you were in the seventh or eighth grade.
12:04 Speaker 01 Or later in life, Diane.
12:08 Speaker 00 Diane dumped you? Cody's parents managed the apartment building where Michaela lived. They hung out with each other at least once a week. But they had been distant for over a year and had barely spoken to each other. Michaela's mother, Cecilia Costanza, told the media that Cody and Michaela were good friends' children. The police learned that Cody was dating 19-year-old Toni Fratto, who was also attending West Wendover High. Cody Patton was arrested and charged with murder on March 7, 2011. So again, the timeline goes missing on the 3rd.
12:50 Speaker 00 Found on the sixth, Cody is arrested on the seventh. This all is happening very, very quickly.
12:59 Speaker 01 Which is great for investigators.
13:02 Speaker 00 Yeah, I would agree. I mean, obviously, the you would like to solve these cases as quickly as possible. You want to solve them correctly, but yeah, quickly as possible. Toni Fratto was questioned, but she wasn't considered a suspect in the weeks that followed the arrest. At a hearing on May 3, 2011, Cody's defense attorney shocked the court by submitting an audio tape of Toni confessing to her involvement in Michaela's murder.
13:33 Speaker 01 I would think they would be really shocked.
13:35 Speaker 00 Yeah, I do believe this would be a very shocking kind of Perry Mason moment. Right? We talk about a lot of pieces of evidence, DNA, kind of one in 38 trillion or some number that conclusively proves, right? This person was there, they did it. But it's a little different when you hear somebody in their own words confess to doing something.
14:03 Speaker 01 Yeah.
14:04 Speaker 00 Now, unless that tape was doctored, altered, there was some type of AI involved, which kind of does scare me a little bit moving forward, I think that would be shocking to everyone. Not to mention, this is a 19 year old girl who is talking about her involvement in murdering another high school girl. Cody's father drove Toni to the law office on April 22. She said she wanted to confess because she felt guilty. So we talked about how Cody was arrested very quickly. It was almost two months later before it kind of came out
14:44 Speaker 00 that, you know, Toni had involvement. And then another month before she confessed.
14:52 Speaker 01 Well, that guilt can eat at you every day.
14:55 Speaker 00 Well, I think to some it can. To some people, it obviously doesn't bother them because some people never come forward. The majority of people don't come forward.
15:06 Speaker 01 Because they don't feel guilty, I don't think.
15:08 Speaker 00 I don't think a lot of people do. According to a police report about the tape, Toni stated that she and Cody took Michaela five miles outside of town to a remote gravel pit near the Utah Nevada border. They beat her unconscious and Toni cut Michaela's throat with a knife. They buried her in a shallow grave and drove past Wendover, Utah to burn the knife in Michaela's possessions at another gravel pit. I mean, the one thing I'm taking from this is just the brutality of it from two fairly young people.
15:48 Speaker 01 Yeah, to beat somebody.
15:50 Speaker 00 This 19-year-old girl says she cut Michaela's throat? Now, we know women are capable of all kinds of heinous things, but it, to me, still is shocking. When you think about, you know, these kids' ages and, I don't know, 19-year-olds kind of ganging up on a 16-year-old, it just seems pretty brutal. However, there were questions about Toni's timeline. Michaela left school at 5:15 PM. Toni and her mother were present at a West Wendover Recreation District meeting at 6:00 PM. Witnesses said they arrived a few minutes before the meeting
16:32 Speaker 00 began. This meant that the murder and disposal of evidence took less than an hour. The police conducted a run-through scenario and determined that 55 minutes was barely enough time. So if she leaves school at 5:15 and this meeting starts at 6, it's less than 45 minutes because they said they showed up a little early.
16:57 Speaker 01 Yeah. And if the police are saying that 55 minutes is pushing it, you got a 10-minute gap there, right?
17:04 Speaker 00 Well, I think that's why they're questioning. You know, did it really happen this way? Confidential sources also claimed that Cody called Toni and directed her to tell the police he was with her at the time of the murder. You think he did that from a prison phone?
17:24 Speaker 01 Probably.
17:25 Speaker 00 Right underneath the big sign that says all of these calls are recorded. Additionally, Cody hadn't implicated Toni during any of his police interviews. She seemed calm and collected in the weeks after the murder, never indicating that she had participated in this violent murder.
17:44 Speaker 01 So it makes you wonder, did she not? And this is all a effort to help Cody out?
17:52 Speaker 00 Yeah, I mean, it's a strange way to help somebody out by admitting your role in a murder. You're really putting yourself on the line, your freedom. Or does it go back to kind of what you said, which was, you know, maybe the guilt just started to eat at her and eat at her until she finally couldn't take it. But because of all this, many believe Toni confessed to a crime she didn't commit. And she did so at Cody's direction. She had been visiting him in prison and talked to him on the phone often. Cody was said to be a controlling and abusive boyfriend. There were reports that they were engaged to be married, but he had recently moved into
18:35 Speaker 00 Toni's parents' home after his parents kicked him out.
18:39 Speaker 01 Always makes you wonder why a kid was kicked out of his own house.
18:43 Speaker 00 Yeah, I mean, I think most of the time something happened and it probably wasn't good.
18:48 Speaker 01 I mean, I, I know that sometimes parents can be.
18:52 Speaker 00 Assholes?
18:53 Speaker 01 Yes.
18:53 Speaker 00 Yes, they can be. But most people don't kick their kids out of the house for no reason. Toni Fratto was arrested on May 5th, 2011 and charged with murder. Although there were doubts about her confession, she provided details of the crime that were not public knowledge. And these were things that would only have been known by someone who was involved. And you do hear that in many cases. It's often why we think police don't disclose certain things, right? They need to be able to corroborate somebody's story if they do come in and confess to a murder. It is pretty damning though.
19:38 Speaker 00 I think when you have details that have never been made public, well, how'd you get those?
19:45 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:45 Speaker 00 If you weren't really there and you weren't really involved.
19:49 Speaker 01 Yeah, so that means either you were there or someone fed you that information.
19:53 Speaker 00 In late May 2011, forensic specialists collected samples from Tony's vehicle, home, and clothing to find trace evidence that could confirm her presence at the crime scene. Investigators also searched the crime scene in the gravel pit where Michaela's belongings were found partially burnt. Tony's preliminary hearing started on July 14, 2011. So at this point, Gibbs, Tony was facing new charges: felony kidnapping, or acting as a principal to kidnapping, conspiracy to commit felony murder, felony murder, or
20:34 Speaker 00 acting as principal to murder, and willfully destroying evidence, or willful destruction of evidence.
20:42 Speaker 01 Well, that's a lot of potential time if found guilty.
20:46 Speaker 00 Yeah, those are serious charges. The prosecution admitted there were some conflict with the timeline of events, but they noted that Tony had confessed twice to the murder, once to Cody Patton's father and once to his legal team. Tony's defense attorney, John Springgate, argued that those confessions came from non-credible sources, and there was no forensic evidence linking her to the crime. Springgate called the taped confession "wholly rubbish" and argued the tape was a violation of attorney-client privilege.
21:23 Speaker 01 So it sounds like he feels like there's some shenanigans going on.
21:27 Speaker 00 Yeah, yeah, I think so. I mean, but he also has a pretty tough job, right? He has to get out from under this taped confession. Like I said, I think a jury would put a lot of stock into a taped confession.
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24:01 Speaker 00 Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was true crime all the time. It's the best way to support the show. The defense noted that Toni was at a public meeting with her mom from six to seven on the night of the murder, but Toni said the murder was carried out by 6:00 PM. Her taped confession was played at the beginning of the preliminary hearing. In the recording, Toni said Michaela had been texting Cody about getting back together, but he didn't want anything to do with her. She said Michaela was in the vehicle when he picked her up that evening.
24:44 Speaker 00 He said he picked Michaela up so that they could talk. They drove outside of town because Michaela didn't want anyone to see us or anything. Michaela became agitated during the drive. Toni said, per the Deseret News, "We didn't want to cause any problems or have any problems. We wanted to work everything out." Now, why is a statement like that so important?
25:09 Speaker 01 Well, I think she's trying to say, "We didn't plan to kill her."
25:14 Speaker 00 Which is a big deal.
25:15 Speaker 01 Sure it is.
25:15 Speaker 00 Right? When you're talking about, you know, was this premeditated or not? Cody stopped the vehicle and he and Michaela got out to talk. This quickly escalated into yelling and shoving. Toni said, "I looked away and then heard a loud thud on the car." She got out of the car and saw Michaela on the ground. Toni said, "Everything from there on out was kind of a blur to me. It went downhill from there." In the recording, she admitted to hitting Michaela on the back with a shovel and said both she and Cody participated in cutting her throat. They buried her and disposed of evidence.
25:56 Speaker 00 So Toni says, you know, she didn't see it, but she heard this loud thud on the car. Well, if true, what would that have been? Maybe, you know, Cody slamming Michaela up against the car. While not good, it's not a deadly act, but from there, it turned deadly pretty quickly.
26:18 Speaker 01 It sure did.
26:20 Speaker 00 Toni says, you know, "I hit her with a shovel and then we both cut her throat."
26:25 Speaker 01 Which means they could have stopped at any point.
26:27 Speaker 00 Yeah, I guess that's kind of where I was getting at. Okay, there's yelling, there's, you know, maybe some shoving or there's an altercation, but pretty tough for Cody probably to say he's in fear for his life.
26:44 Speaker 01 Right.
26:45 Speaker 00 And that, you know, he had to kill this 16-year-old girl in self-defense. It's pretty tough.
26:53 Speaker 01 Yeah, I don't think anybody's feeling bad for him.
26:56 Speaker 00 According to Toni, as they drove away, they asked themselves, what did we just do? What do we do? We didn't know what we had just done. And I have no idea what that feeling would be like.
27:10 Speaker 01 No.
27:11 Speaker 00 To know that you just ended someone's life.
27:15 Speaker 01 But I think if that was something you did, you would have all kinds of thoughts running through your head.
27:21 Speaker 00 Adrenaline, fear, um, there's a, there's a lot of stuff going on inside your body. Toni's defense argued that her recorded statement wasn't credible. Parts of it were made up and elements of her story specifically about how Michaela was killed were not correct. The defense noted that witnesses and school surveillance footage could only place Cody Patton at West Wendover High, not Toni.
27:51 Speaker 01 Well, that's not good for Cody.
27:52 Speaker 00 No, I would say not, especially with, you know, the defense trying to argue that, you know, the timeline doesn't make sense, her confession was bogus. The defense called on Cody's father, Kip Patton. According to Deseret News, the defense said Patton found out about Toni's involvement based on a conversation with Cody during the jail visit on April 13th. Cody and his father passed handwritten notes to each other to avoid being overheard. So you don't know enough not to, you know, spill everything on the phone, but you're gonna pass handwritten notes during the, the jail visit so nobody overhears you.
28:36 Speaker 01 But if you have nothing to hide, why even do that?
28:39 Speaker 00 Why are you worried about being overheard?
28:41 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:42 Speaker 00 Yeah, I would say it doesn't prove anything, but it certainly doesn't, uh, doesn't look good. On April 16th, Toni confessed her involvement to Kip Patton and allegedly showed him the areas associated with the crime. As reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, Toni told him Cody began digging a hole while she and Michaela stayed in the car. When the girls got out, Toni hit Michaela in the back of the head with a shovel. She and Cody both kicked and punched Michaela and dragged her to the hole and stabbed her. And again, the more we talk about it, just, it's just such a brutal crime.
29:21 Speaker 01 But it sounds weird that you're gonna sit in a car while someone digs a grave.
29:26 Speaker 00 Yeah, I mean, if Michaela knew that's what he was doing, then that would be pretty strange. Toni admitted that after the murder, she and Cody went to a swimming pool to clean up. They picked up Cody's cousin and his girlfriend in Wendover and went to McDonald's. Because that's where you go after you've killed a 16-year-old girl.
29:50 Speaker 01 Get yourself a Happy Meal?
29:52 Speaker 00 Yeah, or a Big Mac, or some McNuggets, or something. Kip drove her to Cody's attorney's office on April 22nd to confess because she said she wanted to come forward with it. She didn't want Cody to pay for something they both participated in. So, you know, to me, if what Kip is saying is true, then it does kind of go back to, you know, maybe a guilty conscience, and that's why she decided to come forward.
30:21 Speaker 01 It's interesting, though, Kip wasted no time getting her up there to tell for her to confess.
30:29 Speaker 00 Yeah, now is he doing that for her, or is he doing that for himself and his son?
30:34 Speaker 01 Be a little self-serving there.
30:35 Speaker 00 Yeah, it could be viewed that way. Toni's parents were out of town on this day. Kip knew they didn't want her speaking to an attorney without them present.
30:46 Speaker 01 But he didn't care, did he?
30:48 Speaker 00 And no, and maybe he planned it for that day because of that very fact. Kip also testified that Tony and Michaela Costanza didn't get along and said Tony and Cody were talking about getting married. Cody was baptized into the LDS church in January 2011, so that the two could get married in the temple. Michaela's autopsy photos were presented at the preliminary hearing. She suffered bruises to her back, stab and slash wounds to the face and neck, and one wound that cut her jugular vein. The chief medical examiner of Washoe County
31:28 Speaker 00 testified that she bled to death and her wounds could have been inflicted by a burned knife or a shovel found under Toni Fratto's trailer in West Wendover.
31:40 Speaker 01 So they have, so they have a potential murder weapon?
31:44 Speaker 00 Yeah, it doesn't sound to me as though they were able to, you know, pinpoint it specifically. Seventeen-year-old Tiffany Rasmussen, Michaela's best friend, testified that Michaela and Cody dated in middle school, but she grew to dislike him. They had barely spoken to each other in more than a year. And, you know, to me, it seems so very strange that if they hadn't spoken in more than a year, now all of a sudden they're, they're, they're getting together, the three of them are going in the car together.
32:19 Speaker 01 And she's telling them that she wants them to drive out of town so no one sees us talking?
32:24 Speaker 00 Yeah.
32:25 Speaker 01 Doesn't make sense.
32:25 Speaker 00 So weird. Michaela received unusual texts from Cody Patton on the day she went missing. Tiffany testified that Cody texted Michaela, he was wanting to do a project, but didn't explain what kind of project. He said he would pick her up from school. Michaela was just as confused as I was. And I could see why she would be confused. This is a guy she hadn't talked to in, in over a year and all of a sudden she's getting texts from him. Hey, I'll pick you up. Let's do this project.
33:00 Speaker 00 What are you talking about? The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Michaela's track coach saw Cody pull up shortly before 5:00 PM. Tony was ordered to stand trial on July 16th, 2011. Kip Patton's preliminary hearing started on August 2nd. Kip Patton testified about Cody's confession on the night of his arrest. When they were alone, Cody whispered that he didn't actually kill Michaela. Kip asked, "What?" And Cody said, "Never mind." Again, a lot of this is coming from Cody's dad, Kip. Obviously, as a dad, he doesn't want to see his son go away for, you know, a long time,
33:44 Speaker 00 potentially the rest of his life. Does that mean necessarily he's lying? No.
33:50 Speaker 01 No, this could be the truth.
33:51 Speaker 00 It could be, but you'd also have to say he has a vested interest.
33:56 Speaker 01 And if you really wanted to sell the whole Tony was involved story, this is a good place to kind of layer that in.
34:05 Speaker 00 And it sounds like he's trying to paint a picture that not only was Tony involved, she was the main killer. It wasn't my son Cody. Kip said he didn't realize what his son was implying because of the emotional stress of the situation they were in. Kip asked Cody several times why the murder occurred, but Cody failed to give an explanation. The prosecution played Cody's interview with the police on the night of March 6th, 2011. According to KSL, investigators gave Cody time to talk to his father. Kip told Cody to tell detectives what they needed to know, saying, "You gotta go all the way.
34:51 Speaker 00 You need to put this to bed as quickly as you can. Get it done. The family needs their answers." And that's, you know, kind of an amazing statement by a father who I'm sure is worried about, you know, what's going to happen to his son. If that's what he really said, and that's what was reported, he was basically saying, "You gotta tell the truth and you gotta lay it all out there." Cody eventually said that Michaela seemed interested in getting back together, but he wasn't willing to leave Tony.
35:25 Speaker 01 Which conflicts with what Michaela's friend had said.
35:29 Speaker 00 We think about, you know, any trial, any hearing, really, what, what is it? It's a series of conflicting statements made by two different sides. Right? That, that's essentially what a trial is.
35:43 Speaker 01 Yeah. You're just trying to sell yours a little bit better than the other side.
35:46 Speaker 00 Right. And you're usually saying the opposite or something different than what the other side is saying. Cody explained that he and Michaela argued while he was driving her. He stopped the vehicle and they got out to continue arguing. Things got physical because Michaela kept pushing him. He eventually pushed her back and said, she just fell back and hit her head on the back bumper of the car. She didn't get up. And again, in some of these stories, and obviously it's hard to, to say 100% who's telling the truth and who's not. What I will say is that, you know, this is starting out as a very convenient story for Cody.
36:30 Speaker 01 It is.
36:31 Speaker 00 And it's almost painting him as a victim. Right? She's pushing me. She's getting physical with me. And eventually, you know, I had to defend myself. He said, when Michaela regained consciousness, they got into a struggle and Cody shoved her again. Michaela fell backwards and hit her head on a rock, which caused a seizure. Cody claimed he tried to pick Michaela up and put her in the car, but she continued struggling. He thought knocking her unconscious would help. So he hit her in the head with a shovel. Cody said, she made a really horrible sound that I can't get out of my head.
37:14 Speaker 00 So the question that I would put to you, Gibbs is, You know, you're on a jury and you're hearing this story. Where does it rank on your believability scale?
37:27 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's pretty, pretty low.
37:30 Speaker 00 Mine too.
37:30 Speaker 01 Yeah.
37:31 Speaker 00 You know, he, he pushes her, she hits her head on the, the car. He pushes her again, she hits her head on a rock. And then by his way of thinking, it would just be better if she was unconscious. So I'm going to pick up this shovel and I'm going to hit her in the head with it. After she's already had two substantial blows to the head. First of all, why do you have the shovel with you in the first place?
37:57 Speaker 01 Exactly.
37:58 Speaker 00 Is it because you were digging a hole that you were later going to place Michaela's body in? I mean, I know you carry a lot of stuff in your truck.
38:08 Speaker 01 I do.
38:09 Speaker 00 I do not routinely carry around a shovel. I mean, you know, you have duct tape, zip ties, shovels.
38:19 Speaker 01 Again.
38:20 Speaker 00 All kinds of things.
38:22 Speaker 01 That's just for a fun Saturday night.
38:23 Speaker 00 Yeah. You never know what's going to happen, but you know, in all seriousness, it, I get it. You're trying to kind of worm your way out of the known facts and what's been said already. But please explain the shovel to me. When somebody already said that you were outside the car, digging the shallow grave where she was ultimately found. Cody said he panicked, he was afraid. He removed Michaela's clothing because he thought it would make her decompose faster. He considered taking her body to the dump, but couldn't bring himself to do it.
39:04 Speaker 00 He was asked about the plastic zip ties found on Michaela's wrist and said it was all part of the plan to dump her body.
39:13 Speaker 01 A zip tie to dump her body?
39:16 Speaker 00 So now, again, you've got a shovel with you. You have zip ties. Either these things are just a part of your everyday repertoire of, of things you're carrying around in your car. Or. You took a kit with you because you knew what was going to happen.
39:35 Speaker 01 Yeah, which makes it more premeditated, right?
39:39 Speaker 00 Yes, absolutely. Now, could you make the argument that it might be easier to carry somebody's body? If their hands and feet were zip tied? Yeah, you could make that argument. But to me, you have to explain why you already had these items with you.
39:58 Speaker 01 Right.
39:59 Speaker 00 Before, an argument that you had no idea was going to break out did.
40:05 Speaker 01 You just happen to have some zip ties and shovel and all that in your car because it's normal for you.
40:13 Speaker 00 He claimed he burned Michaela's clothes and put her body in a shallow grave. He sat there for about two hours and cried before he picked up Tony Franda. So, I mean, the one thing is clear, Gibbs. In this confession, Cody never said Tony was with him at all during the murder. He never even puts her in the car, doesn't have her hitting Michaela, nothing. At the end of the interview, Cody said, can I just say on the record that I'm sorry? I hate being me, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that it had to happen to someone who didn't deserve. Okay, yes, she did not deserve it.
40:59 Speaker 00 But the part I don't understand is how were you in the wrong place at the wrong time? That part I don't get. Again, you see this with a lot of people. They'll say a little bit of truth, then they'll say a bunch of stuff that that is trying to soften or diminish their role in the crime. Outside court, Cody's defense attorney noted that no physical or forensic evidence had been presented against him, and he believed Tony was the main culprit. Well, he's got to pin it on somebody else, right? To get his client off.
41:36 Speaker 01 Of course. If he doesn't, they're going to continue to go after his client.
41:41 Speaker 00 But doesn't it make it tougher? You know, that. Cody did this, this entire interview and never once said that Tony was with them. Tony did anything, that Tony was even there. The defense noted that there was no concrete evidence presented of when exactly the crime occurred in the video of Cody and Michaela leaving the school four minutes apart did not constitute a kidnapping. And I could see where maybe that argument does have a little bit of merit. On the second day of the preliminary hearing, the court heard that the sleeves of Michaela's sweater were tied in a knot allegedly used to bind her.
42:24 Speaker 00 Testing found Michaela's DNA and two other profiles on the sweater. The other profiles had low levels of DNA, but one of them matched Cody. The other profile was so low, it couldn't be conclusively matched to Toni Fratto. There was no blood found on the shovel used to hit Michaela. After Cody's hearing, Cassie Fratto told the media that her daughter was with her from 5 to 7 p.m. The night of the murder. When speaking about the confession tape, she said Tony loved Cody and at the time would have done anything to protect him. And you know, let's face it, Gibbs, you and I have talked about young love a lot, many,
43:09 Speaker 00 many times.
43:10 Speaker 01 Yeah.
43:11 Speaker 00 Now, I get it, you know, they're 19 or what, they're a little older, but still, this is still what you would consider to be young love.
43:22 Speaker 01 Yeah.
43:23 Speaker 00 And, and everything is magnified at that point in your life. You think this person's the one, you think you're, you're gonna buy a house and have the white picket fence and two and a half cars and two and a half babies and two and a half men. I don't know, but you know what I'm saying?
43:42 Speaker 01 Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You believe, hold heart, Lee, this is the one.
43:45 Speaker 00 Yeah. You believe every relationship is the one. I think a lot of people do at that age. Now, is it out of the realm of possibility that Tony would have done anything from Cody?
43:57 Speaker 01 It's possible.
43:58 Speaker 00 It is possible.
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44:41 Speaker 00 Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. 21+, physically present in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia only. Void in Canada. Eligibility restrictions apply. Non-withdrawable spins issued at 50 spins per day for 20 days. Valid for select games only and expire each day after 24 hours. Spins values vary. See terms at casino.draftkings.com/promos. Ends November 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. In January 2012, Toni Fratto signed a plea deal agreeing to plead guilty to second degree murder with a sentencing enhancement
45:26 Speaker 00 for using a deadly weapon, which would spare her from the death penalty or life without parole. She also agreed to testify against Cody Patton. So obviously by this time, she's not thinking that she's going to end up with Cody.
45:43 Speaker 01 No.
45:43 Speaker 00 For the rest of her life. She's about, how do I not get put to death? And how do I not spend the rest of my life in prison? And it sounds to me like they probably didn't offer Cody this deal. Right? This deal is for Toni because they don't have as much against Toni as they do Cody.
46:06 Speaker 01 Yeah, I'm thinking they feel like Cody's the main culprit here.
46:12 Speaker 00 Or at least they feel that's what they can prove. But at the same time, they don't want Tony to get away scot-free. So if they can strike a plea deal, maybe it's good for both sides. So she's going to testify against him. But this time, the story had changed. Tony admitted to being present during the murder and admitted to hitting Michaela with the shovel. But she said she sat on Michaela's legs while Cody Patton cut her throat. You remember before, you know, it was Tony cut her throat.
46:48 Speaker 01 Right.
46:48 Speaker 00 And then it was they both cut her throat.
46:50 Speaker 01 Now it says Cody cut her throat.
46:52 Speaker 00 Yeah. So now this is like the third version at least. On January 27th, Tony officially pleaded guilty to second degree murder. And on April 16th, 2012, Tony was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and a 20-year enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. She was eligible for parole for the murder charge after 10 years. But even if granted parole, she would still have to serve eight years of her enhancement penalty, meaning at the very least, she would have to serve a minimum of 18 years. And, you know, 18 years is a far cry from the death penalty. It's a far cry from life with no parole.
47:35 Speaker 01 Sure is.
47:36 Speaker 00 But 18 years is still nothing to sneeze at.
47:38 Speaker 01 Well, that's a good chunk of your adult life.
47:41 Speaker 00 It really is. Now, the family may not believe that. They may not think that that's anywhere near good enough. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Judge Daniel Papetz described Michaela's wounds to the court and said, she suffered during the attack. It took a long time for her to die. Horrible suffering. That's what he said. The judge added, while there are many facts explaining what happened, I don't have any information about why this happened. That's the big question that remains. And I'm, you know, I was thinking about this plea deal for Tony. And I just wonder how much of it is the prosecution fearing that?
48:29 Speaker 00 They're just not rock solid in their case. And there's a chance that she could get off completely. And that would be the worst thing of all.
48:40 Speaker 01 Of course. Yeah, I think it's plausible.
48:43 Speaker 00 The judge noted that Tony had no prior criminal record, was active in church, was well liked in school. The judge told her per Deseret News. That's what makes this even more puzzling, that a person like you could participate in such a terrible crime. I hope that someday, Ms. Fratto, that you'll be able to get your life back in order. You have to live with this forever. And that is a very true statement. Again, I think for some people, it's not that hard to do. They don't sit around and think about what they've done. It doesn't nag at them. But this is not a hardened serial killer.
49:25 Speaker 01 No.
49:26 Speaker 00 And as the years go on, it probably is going to be something that, you know, she thinks about every day. Hopefully she, you know, deeply regrets her role. Defense attorney John Springgate argued that Tony never would have been arrested if she didn't come forward because she felt guilty, since there was no forensic evidence linking her to the crime.
49:50 Speaker 01 That's a good point.
49:51 Speaker 00 And it's, yeah, it's potentially very true. But why did she feel guilty? Was it because she really did, you know, have a role in this? You know, she hit Michaela. Maybe she cut her throat. Maybe she held her down. Either way, she participated. Or, you know, at one point she said she only came forward because she didn't think Cody should have to be in this thing alone. You know, that didn't make any sense to me.
50:20 Speaker 01 Maybe she also had some pressure by a.
50:23 Speaker 00 Cody's dad.
50:24 Speaker 01 Cody's dad.
50:24 Speaker 00 Yeah, I had that thought as well. Toni's attorney noted that she scored below average on her psychological evaluation and was mentally and physically abused by Cody Patton. In January 2011, Cody was captured on camera at West Wendover High, pushing Toni against the wall and lifting her legs off the ground while he choked her. And apparently this wasn't the first time he physically abused her. Springgate explained that Toni was a sheep and not a black widow. He said she had the mental and emotional maturity of a 15 year old and was controlled by a boyfriend who was jealous and possessive and isolating.
51:09 Speaker 00 And again, all of that could be true. If she had been controlled by Cody to, you know, this really terrible degree, is it out of the realm of possibility that, you know, through some of these calls, these visits, he said, hey, I need you to do this for me.
51:29 Speaker 01 Right.
51:29 Speaker 00 I need you to come in and, and admit your part, take some heat off of me, that even though he was behind bars, she was still scared of it.
51:40 Speaker 01 She easily could have been.
51:41 Speaker 00 And, and thought, well, there's still a chance he gets out and what's he going to do to me then? I don't think you can dismiss some of that. I'm not saying that's exactly what happened. I'm saying, I think you have to at least entertain the option or the possibility.
52:00 Speaker 01 Yeah. And at that point, maybe Cody's dad had something to play in it as well.
52:07 Speaker 00 Yeah, because it does sound like maybe he exerted a little bit of pressure. How much? We don't know. He had a vested interest.
52:14 Speaker 01 He did.
52:15 Speaker 00 In doing so.
52:16 Speaker 01 You know, he knew that Toni's parents didn't want her talking to anybody, but yet he drove Toni up to the police station.
52:27 Speaker 00 Toni spoke to the Costanzo family in court, saying, I know what I did was wrong and therefore I'm taking responsibility for my actions. I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry for what I did not do. And that is protect Michaela. And again,
52:45 Speaker 00 That's kind of what you would like to hear, right, from people. Now, it may ring hollow to the family, and she may not mean a word of it, but you hope she's sincere because what she's saying is what you would think most criminals would feel or should feel. And but that's not always the case. Letters to the judge described Tony as a kind and gentle person and a good student. Her mother, Cassie, said she changed in the year before the murder. The family allowed Cody to move into their home about six weeks before the murder because they feared Tony would leave if they didn't. And again, is that because she was so in
53:28 Speaker 00 love with Cody, she would have done anything to be with him? Or was that because she was being controlled so much by Cody?
53:38 Speaker 01 I'm thinking it was probably more of the controlling factor.
53:41 Speaker 00 Yeah, I think it could have been either one or maybe a little bit of both. I don't know. Cassie noted that since being incarcerated and away from Cody, Tony returned to the person she used to be. And there's no doubt that people can change. Once they enter a relationship with someone, depending on, you know, what type of person it is that they're entering into a relationship with.
54:07 Speaker 01 Yeah.
54:08 Speaker 00 Her father Claude also wrote an email to the Salt Lake Tribune and said, we thought Cody was really trying to put his life in order. He's always had a lot of problems. The side of Cody, which we knew, is completely different from the Cody we know now. Well, I hope so, because I would hope you wouldn't let him be with your daughter.
54:30 Speaker 01 If you knew this?
54:31 Speaker 00 If you knew the side of him back then that you know now. Cassie told the media there were elements of the case that weren't public. As quoted by Deseret News, she said, there's things that lead up to that night that no one is aware of.
54:47 Speaker 01 Yeah.
54:48 Speaker 00 She said that when Cody picked Tony up that night, he had already been driving around with Mikhail in his truck. For 90 minutes. Toni had no idea what was going to happen and believed her life was in danger. She didn't believe that she would ever see her family again. She knew her life was in danger. She knew Cody very well. We all knew Cody very well. She knew Cody and she knew the frame of mind he was in that night. And she knew as soon as she got in the car, she told me, Mom, I knew I wasn't coming home. So there's one thing that jumps out at me there and it's that her mom saying, we all knew Cody very well.
55:31 Speaker 00 Pretty much insinuating that they knew that this was not a good guy, that he, he was doing things that weren't good, either with her daughter, to her daughter, but yet you allow him to live in your house. Why? She said it was because they feared Toni would run away.
55:51 Speaker 01 Yeah.
55:52 Speaker 00 And maybe that's true.
55:53 Speaker 01 At least you can control the situation, or you, at least you think you can control the situation by having them there.
56:00 Speaker 00 Yeah, obviously they couldn't because look how it turned out.
56:02 Speaker 01 Right.
56:02 Speaker 00 But I, I get what you're saying. You think you can if they're, they're living under your roof. When asked why Toni went along with the murder and didn't try to help, defense attorney John Springgate said, he didn't have an answer. He said, we're pretty clear that adolescents do unbelievably stupid things. And her psychological profile shows that while she's 19 years old now, mentally and emotionally, she is much younger. And typically adolescents don't think things out. I'm not going to try Mr. Patton's case. But according to the statements and according to everything we know, it was Mr. Patton who was getting all the materials together.
56:44 Speaker 00 It was Mr. Patton who said she had to die. So you can draw your own conclusion. Who was the organizer? But the girl I was representing did not seem like an organizer to me. And again, you know, each defense attorney is going to run down the other person.
57:02 Speaker 01 Of course they will.
57:02 Speaker 00 So what they have to do. But you know, let's kind of think about it logically a little bit. You know, was it Tony who brought along the shovel and the zip ties? Or was it Cody? I mean, I think the answer to that question tells you who the organizer.
57:20 Speaker 01 Yes.
57:21 Speaker 00 Was and who had it in their mind that Michaela was going to be hurt if not killed that night. On May 9th, 2012, Cody Patton agreed to a plea deal for first degree murder with the deadly weapon enhancement in order to avoid the death penalty. So he must have felt pretty sure that if he went to trial, there was no way he was winning that thing. And he was taking his chances with getting the death penalty.
57:51 Speaker 01 He sure, yeah, sure was.
57:53 Speaker 00 Cody's attorney, John Olson, said he denied cutting Michaela's throat and had a different account of events. Shocking that two different people involved would have two different accounts of events. Olson also said that Tony's journals were full of venom towards Michaela. As reported by KSL, Cody's involvement was initially bridging the girls together for a fight, but things went bad really fast and people panicked. There's plenty of blame to go around in this case between the two of them. And to be honest with you, Gibbs, I think I believe that part. I don't think Cody is blameless at all.
58:37 Speaker 01 No.
58:38 Speaker 00 If anything, more likely than not, he's the mastermind.
58:42 Speaker 01 Yeah, he led this.
58:44 Speaker 00 But it also seems to me that Tony had a pretty strong level of involvement. You know, did she hit Michaela? Did she participate in cutting her throat? But even if she just held her down so that Cody could cut her throat.
59:02 Speaker 01 He's guilty.
59:03 Speaker 00 That is a very high level of involvement. You still participated in the murder of a, a young girl. On August 24th, 2012, Cody was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In court, Michaela's father demanded to know why Cody killed his daughter. When it was Cody's turn to speak, he said he went over the events of that day in his mind, but he didn't have a reason. The Deseret News quoted him as saying, "I've sat and tried to go over it and over it. There's no reason, there's no why, no justification for it. Sorry's not enough. I apologize for everything. I'm sorry.
59:47 Speaker 00 I can't describe what happened, can't even begin to describe it. Sorry isn't enough. I wish I could ask for forgiveness, but I don't feel I deserve it."
59:58 Speaker 01 So do you believe somebody when they say things like that?
1:00:02 Speaker 00 I do think there are some times when people do things and they're not quite sure why they did it. You know, it's so impulsive, but I'm not getting the feeling of that here. And part of that for me is the shovel, the zip ties, what seems to be some level of premeditation.
1:00:23 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:00:23 Speaker 00 Well, to have a level of premeditation, don't you kind of have to know not only what you're planning to do, but why you're doing it?
1:00:35 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:00:36 Speaker 00 Why, why would you start down the path if you have no idea why you're doing it?
1:00:42 Speaker 01 According to Tony, at one point, he was digging a hole. Why Michaela was in the backseat with Tony?
1:00:49 Speaker 00 Hence the shovel.
1:00:50 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:00:51 Speaker 00 But I like the part where he says, "I wish I could ask for forgiveness, but I don't feel I deserve it." I don't think anyone feels you deserve it.
1:01:00 Speaker 01 So don't ask.
1:01:01 Speaker 00 But outside of your immediate family, and maybe they don't even at this point. Cody said Michaela was good to him and she didn't deserve what happened to her. He recited part of a poem. Michaela wrote the disgust, a glimmer of beauty beneath all the ugly in the world. Cody wrote a letter to the judge before sentencing and said, he did not intend for Tony to cut Michaela's throat. However, the judge said at sentencing, the evidence doesn't support your statement. I don't believe you. You were the primary perpetrator of the murder.
1:01:37 Speaker 01 Yeah, even at this point, it sounds like he's trying to still influence how things were done.
1:01:42 Speaker 00 Yes. I didn't intend for Tony to cut Michaela's throat. I did, it's not, I didn't intend to cut Michaela's throat. He said, I didn't intend for Tony to cut Michaela's throat.
1:01:55 Speaker 01 This is way of saying, yeah, I didn't cut her throat, Judge.
1:01:57 Speaker 00 And I didn't, I didn't mean for her to, but she did it anyway. And the judge is saying, you know what? You're full of it. I'm, I don't believe a word you're saying. Cody's family also spoke in court. His mother, Donna, said the crime was unlike him and Michaela was Cody's best friend. She mentioned that Cody had EMT training and was accepted into the Marines. He was even given a deployment date before the murder. So he did have plans, right? He had things that were coming up. What I didn't understand was his mom saying, Michaela was Cody's best friend. We just heard earlier, they hadn't talked in over a year.
1:02:40 Speaker 01 Yeah. What kind of best friend is that?
1:02:42 Speaker 00 Tony's diaries were never presented in court. Cody's attorney, John Olson, discussed these diaries with Dateline in 2013, saying, it was pretty clear. This was a young woman who did not like Mickey Costanzo. It was clear that she was jealous of Mickey and worried her boyfriend would find Mickey a better companion. She was a very insecure young woman. She was overflowing in self doubt. Well, you know what? A lot of 16, 17, 18, 19 year old kids are.
1:03:17 Speaker 01 Sure they are.
1:03:18 Speaker 00 They're insecure, have a lot of self doubt.
1:03:22 Speaker 01 Doesn't always mean they're the ones that kill somebody or initiate.
1:03:26 Speaker 00 Yeah, as you know, as we wrap this one up, though, isn't that kind of the main mystery here to this story? You know, we know who lost their life, and that was Michaela. We know who was convicted. That was Cody and Tony. What we don't know for sure, because they've told a bunch of different conflicting stories, is were they both involved equally? Was Tony not involved at all? Was Tony even there? I believe she was, but I also believe the, what the judge said. And that's that Cody was kind of the, the main perpetrator. He was the driving force.
1:04:09 Speaker 00 If I had to put money on it, I would say, you know, it was Cody who had the shovel. It was Cody who brought the zip ties. Now, did Tony go along with him because she loved him or because she was afraid of him? Or because she hated Michaela? I don't know.
1:04:26 Speaker 01 Yeah, it could be a combination of those.
1:04:28 Speaker 00 It could be, yeah, it could be a combination of, of all of it. But it is one of the, the strange things in this case is that, you know, Cody said a lot, but hasn't said why Michaela died. Nobody said that. What did he say? I don't know. I don't know. I think tough enough that you lost a loved one, but to hear the perpetrator said, I don't even know why I did it. I think that would be tough as well. Toni Fratto lost her first bid for parole in April 2021. According to an online document published by the Nevada Department of Corrections, Toni was denied parole in February 2024
1:05:12 Speaker 00 and will be eligible for consideration in May 2028.
1:05:17 Speaker 01 Three years plus away, right?
1:05:19 Speaker 00 Yeah, it sounds like she comes up maybe every three or four years, something like that. But again, you know, the motive behind. The murder of Michaela Costanzo is still so unclear. Authorities seem to agree that Cody Patton was the main perpetrator. I still think there are questions about whether Tony participated. You know, was it because she was controlled by Cody? Or was it because she wanted to? You know, her and Cody were angry with Michaela because she allegedly wanted to get back together with Cody. Cody didn't want to, and Tony would have been upset because, hey, you're trying to, you know, steal my boyfriend.
1:06:03 Speaker 01 At the end of the day, you have these high school students making a really bad decision. But they decided that either Cody or Cody and Tony decided that Michaela needed to die. And for what? Because they thought that they loved each other and they didn't like the other one. I mean, it's so pathetic.
1:06:26 Speaker 00 Well, you know, most of the murders that we talk about are senseless. I mean, essentially, they're all senseless, right? But I think to some degree, some are even more so. And this is one of them. It wasn't like there was even robbery involved or, um, you know, anything like that. And I don't even know that Michaela wanted anything to do with Cody.
1:06:51 Speaker 01 Exactly.
1:06:52 Speaker 00 So, I mean, it just is strange all the way around. But again, if you're going to try to get into the mind of a high school student, you're going to struggle to try to figure that out.
1:07:05 Speaker 01 For sure.
1:07:06 Speaker 00 It's not an easy place to navigate. But that's it for our episode on Cody Patton and Toni Fratto. We got some voicemails, Gibbs, you want to check those out?
1:07:16 Speaker 01 Let's hear them.
1:07:17 Speaker 02 And I can give you this California from Vegas. So I have officially just caught up with all of Tcat and Unhalt. And I just pay for the year of Patreon. So I am starting that because I have not been on any of it. So I was waiting until I got caught up on both of these to go and start at the beginning for Patreon. So I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything that you guys do and just keeping us, you know, entertained and giving us all these facts and just all the details that we wouldn't be able to get anywhere else.
1:08:02 Speaker 02 You are literally the only podcast that I listen to and I am just so grateful to have you guys to listen to literally all day long. And at night when I'm playing my video games. So I hope you have a wonderful new year and can't wait to listen to you guys next year. Stay safe and keep your own home safe. Bye.
1:08:27 Speaker 00 All right. Awesome. Thank you so much for the email. A lot of kind words. Appreciate all of those.
1:08:32 Speaker 01 Appreciate the voicemail.
1:08:33 Speaker 00 Yeah. What did I say? Email? Oh, I'm glad you caught that. Thank you. She really piqued my interest though, when she started talking about video games.
1:08:40 Speaker 01 Ah, you're a gamer.
1:08:42 Speaker 00 I know. I gotta know what type of video game she's playing while she's listening to True Crime all the time.
1:08:47 Speaker 01 I just like she got the message of you cannot listen to anybody else but our podcast.
1:08:53 Speaker 00 That is not true. You can listen to whatever you want, but also also please listen to her.
1:09:01 Speaker 03 Hello, my name is Hannah and I'm from Michigan, so not too far away from you guys. Um, but I just thought I would leave a message because I have been listening to you guys since I was a teenager. And now I'm adult and I'm married and I just think it's crazy that you guys have been part of my life since I was about seventeen. And I just turned twenty-six. So it's crazy that I've been listening to you for all the time. I'm sure your guys' lives have changed a lot, but I always listen to you while I was at work, while driving. And I've been keeping up with the podcast the whole time. I am pretty sure I've listened to every single episode.
1:09:47 Speaker 03 Um, but just want to let you guys know that I think you're hilarious and entertaining, but also I love the dignity you give. Um, the victims of the crimes and the backstory that you give on the criminals. So I really enjoy the podcast. It has been for a very long time. Yeah, keep your own time ticking.
1:10:08 Speaker 00 Wow. I mean, I think that really puts it into perspective.
1:10:11 Speaker 01 It really does. It was, yeah, wow.
1:10:15 Speaker 00 I mean, if you think about it, my youngest was like 10 or 11. And that is mind blowing because, you know, she's in a year or two, gonna finish up her bachelor's in nursing.
1:10:30 Speaker 01 Yeah, that's true.
1:10:32 Speaker 00 That's unbelievable.
1:10:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:10:34 Speaker 00 How things have, now, things for me, they haven't changed at all, hardly.
1:10:37 Speaker 01 No.
1:10:38 Speaker 00 Now, except for the fact that I was working with you.
1:10:42 Speaker 01 Right.
1:10:43 Speaker 00 The first couple of years that we were doing the podcast and then I got laid off. But ever since that time, there's not much that has changed.
1:10:51 Speaker 01 Well.
1:10:52 Speaker 00 Same coffee maker, you know, same desk.
1:10:56 Speaker 01 But the people around you in your life, there's been a lot of.
1:10:59 Speaker 00 There has been a lot of change.
1:11:00 Speaker 01 I mean, just, I mean, like me, I was about her age when we started the podcast, you know? And here we are.
1:11:06 Speaker 00 You're 26.
1:11:07 Speaker 01 Yeah, I'm 26 year old.
1:11:08 Speaker 00 And now you're.
1:11:09 Speaker 01 I look older than I am.
1:11:11 Speaker 00 You're 34 or 35.
1:11:14 Speaker 00 And have been for the last 20 years.
1:11:16 Speaker 01 Sure. Some people might say, hey, you look more like you're 58. I'm like, no, I'm not 58.
1:11:22 Speaker 00 Uh, but we appreciate the voicemails.
1:11:24 Speaker 01 We do.
1:11:24 Speaker 00 We had no mailbag. So that's it, buddy, for another episode of True Crime All The Time. So for Mike.
1:11:30 Speaker 01 And Gibby.
1:11:31 Speaker 00 Stay safe and keep your own time ticking.
Previous The Murder of Cari Farver Next Steve Pankey Page updated November 13, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated