CANADA Canada- Amanda Antoni, 31, found dead in her basement, considered suspicious but ruled an accidental fall down stairs, Calgary, 26/10/15, *Netflix*

[GoodGuysWearWhiteHats]

My theory, she’s sitting at the kitchen table looking at her phone. She hears an intruder and leaps up, knocking over the chair and dropping her phone, which skitters away.

She runs to the steps to hide in the basement and falls down the stairs, hitting her head at the bottom. In the process she snags her pants on something (maybe the banister) and they get pulled down. She isn’t too badly injured but is bleeding heavily and stands up after a while. She’s confused and the pulled down pants are preventing her from running.

The intruder looks down the stairs and sees her. Either scared or angry, the intruder picks up the piggy bank and throws it at her. It hits her in the head and this time she is knocked out. The bank’s face is broken and the pieces shoot up the stairs upon impact.

Out of panic or in some lame attempt to cover his/her tracks, the intruder sees she is out cold and retrieves the piggy bank, putting it in its normal spot.

The intruder leaves immediately. She slips in and out of consciousness for a while, crawling around aimlessly but mostly out of it, until she dies. Bleeding out doesn’t take too long but maybe for her the bleeding is slow.

Does that cover all the known facts? I think it was a surprised burglar combined with an accident. Edited to add: and the dog was outside the whole time! I used to sit near the doors knowing the dog was going to want to come in soon.

The piggy bank was not picked up nor picked up and placed back on the shelf. The divot in the wall behind it proves she fell into it. If it had been thrown at her, the large surviving part would have had her skin cells and blood on it. It didn't. It didn't have any areas where even a gloved hand would have removed the dust layer on it. You can't fake a dust layer. You can't replace a dust layer.
Pieces of porcelain don't break and bounce up onto stairs when it's thrown down stairs first. That's not how physics works.
No other footprints were found down there.
The intruder wouldn't care about the piggy bank. Putting that back into position wouldn't make the crime look any more or less like an assault or incriminate the individual any more or less. That isn't making any sense.
Phones don't break like that after accidentally falling onto a hardwood floor. That idea has already been completely disproven with tests. If phones broke that easily, that test video I posted wouldn't exist. Nobody would have a working cell phone after a few weeks of ownership. Nobody.
The house had several pets inside it when the husband came home, including the dog, the police said. I guess the killer let the dog into the house after the attack, or the dog ran in after the killer opened the door and went in and attacked her, and the killer closed the door on the way out, leaving the dog inside. None of the pets ventured down there to check on her for days? That's unheard of. That's outright paranormal. The victim was reported to have said she never liked going into the basement, and the pets didn't do that either, not even after she was injured and dead. It's paranormal.
Anything can be made to fit any kind of theory if selective info is disregarded, but that's not an honest approach.

 

[otto]

It seems that Amanda went head first into the piggy bank that was on a low shelf next to the stairwell landing. Pieces of the piggy bank were embedded in her head. They were also found on the stairs.

If she first hit her head on the piggy bank, then somersaulted down the stairs and hit her head on the concrete basement floor, she could have had a concussion that knocked her out. The fall explains bruising on her body.

We know she stood up and was facing the stairs at the bottom of the stairs, but she made no attempt to go up the stairs. Why not? Confusion from head injury?

My questions are:

• why was the chair tipped over - did it happen before or after she tumbled down the stairs?
• she was talking to her husband on the phone when something happened - what startled her, or was she walking around and tripped over the dog?
• how alert was she while experiencing debilitating migraine and cannabis?

"For those who loved Amanda, there are too many details that can’t be explained away by the idea that she simply fell down the stairs: an overturned chair in the dining room, a broken piggy bank on the ledge (whose fragments were found embedded into her forehead), and the odd fact that the family dog did not go down into the basement to be with her for almost 48 hours."

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/unsolved-mysteries-volume-4-episode-2-body-in-the-basement

Photos: Unsolved Mysteries' Amanda Antoni Case: True Story & Updates

 

[Pseudonymph]

Divot in the wall proves nothing. Something could have hit against it such as a laundry basket, vacuum, or anything a long time ago.

I’m no physicist but things do break and rebound when they hit something hard enough. Such as an orbital bone.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a ceramic piece that has sat and sat in one location for years, but it can develop a sticky dust layer that’s very hard to budge.

Nobody knows if her phone was broken prior to the attack. She was home alone for a period of time. She might have broken it that morning. She might have broken it and thought “oh dammit” and sat down at the table to see if it was working. She then dropped it and it shattered more.

The show, I believe, showed the dog outside barking frantically. She obviously only left him out before she got hurt or someone else did, or the show was inaccurate. I don’t know.

My cats wouldn’t check on me unless they were hungry. They are very sweet but cats are cats. A dog? Could the dog get down the stairs? My old dog couldn’t go down stairs.

Nothing is paranormal. We just lack a timeline of events.

 

[otto]

Divot in the wall proves nothing. Something could have hit against it such as a laundry basket, vacuum, or anything a long time ago.

I’m no physicist but things do break and rebound when they hit something hard enough. Such as an orbital bone.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a ceramic piece that has sat and sat in one location for years, but it can develop a sticky dust layer that’s very hard to budge.

Nobody knows if her phone was broken prior to the attack. She was home alone for a period of time. She might have broken it that morning. She might have broken it and thought “oh dammit” and sat down at the table to see if it was working. She then dropped it and it shattered more.

The show, I believe, showed the dog outside barking frantically. She obviously only left him out before she got hurt or someone else did, or the show was inaccurate. I don’t know.

My cats wouldn’t check on me unless they were hungry. They are very sweet but cats are cats. A dog? Could the dog get down the stairs? My old dog couldn’t go down stairs.

Nothing is paranormal. We just lack a timeline of events.

She was talking to her husband on the phone at 7:06 p.m. when the phone call abruptly ended. He was unable to contact her afterward. That is the time that something happened. Her husband found her 44 hours later at the bottom of the stairwell.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

I have some concerns and interests that I welcome help with:
1) Does anybody know the address of the house she died in, or can you please mark it's location on a map and post an image of that? I have some suspicions about the history of the house that I'd like to try and research through government records, based on the following...

<RSBM> I'm in a bit of a hurry today, but this is what I could find close in regards for an address. If I had time to watch news footage in the doc where they show the house, might be able to narrow it down if there's a visual on Google Maps:

Amanda Antoni's husband Lee found her dead in their home(opens in a new tab) in the 0-100 block of Castledale Way N.E. on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.

New 'Unsolved Mysteries' episode examines death of Calgary woman

The death of a Calgary woman almost a decade ago is the focus of a new episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries.'

calgary.ctvnews.ca

Witnesses saw someone running off after they heard the dog bark differently than it usually barked, yelped, and the woman scream. Not days later. So there was nothing that should have prevented the animals from checking on the body over the next few minutes, hours, or days.

<RSBM> I wondered about this too - neighbors saw someone running away, so hard for perp to stick around upstairs to prevent animals going down and keep Amanda spooked to come up the stairs. I thought maybe attacker had an accomplice or someone outside 'to keep watch' while he/she confronted Amanda inside. Accomplice gets spooked things went sideways or escalated to such violence and bailed to not be more involved. Main attacker stuck around unsure maybe what to do if an accidental type murder. JMO MOO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

1) If this was an accident (it obviously wasn't), could someone really accidentally drop an iphone, even one from 2015, without a protective case, onto a hardwood floor (which is rather soft compared to concrete or stone) and break its screen and it instantly stopped working? iphones can work even if their screen was broken, so this would take tremendous energy to break the screen AND instantly stop the phone from working. I found videos of people who did drop tests of this exact thing 8 years ago, and not once did the iphone sustain any damage being REPEATEDLY dropped onto a hardwood floor, let alone sustain a broken screen and it stopped working. So this proves the iphone was violently thrown down, which is not what happens in an accidental trip.

I'm sure I had this exact same phone and dropped it on hard cement while in Disneyland and the screen cracked into a gazillion pieces. I had no phone protection case on it whatsover, it was a bare bones phone dropped from my hands from elbow length on hard concrete.

I agree - my phone still worked just fine after, just screen was cracked and that was a HARD drop on concrete. I do not believe a drop on kitchen floor would do this damage either - Amanda's phone stopped working due to smash, being manually turned off or died/ran out of battery.

I have also witnessed someone grab a phone from someone, and stomp on it with their heel/foot (no shoe on just sock). That broke the screen and killed the phone completely, it did not work at all after that. So that's another scenario that could've happened.

2) If you've ever tripped and fallen, or ever seen someone trip and fall, or watched videos of that, people always fall in a fairly straight line. They don't go one direction, then turn 90 degrees, then go 8 feet and fall down stairs. That's not how people trip and fall. If this was an accidental trip, the iphone and the chair indicate that she would have had to trip, turn 90 degrees, knock over the chair, and keep falling for 8 feet before reaching the stairs and keep falling. That's just the most ludicrous thing ever. Try and replicate that. Just try.

I was thinking about this too. Do they fall in a straight line or break their fall with arm, elbow, outstretched hand? If she fell from top of those first stairs, I would think she'd cover head or face with hands or have both hands outstretched or if on an angle bring hands/elbows up the her ear/face, most people instinctually cover their head with arms/hands. MOO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

She runs to the steps to hide in the basement and falls down the stairs, hitting her head at the bottom. In the process she snags her pants on something (maybe the banister) and they get pulled down. She isn’t too badly injured but is bleeding heavily and stands up after a while. She’s confused and the pulled down pants are preventing her from running.

RSBM: I can't see the pants down due to banister. My clothes catch all the time on things around the house and they almost always usually rip or tug and pull me back.

Weird thought here but just thought of it - does anyone else think it's strange (another odd coincidence) that the day she's wearing fancy underwear, her pants get pulled down somehow? I feel like someone was really angry, maybe wanted to confront her or prove something perhaps while Lee was away.

They get in her face, maybe accuse her of cheating with Lee away or something and chase her around and pull her pants down to expose her underwear, call her some names or shame her kinda thing. The pants down if down by someone was to humiliate her and maybe make a statement. Thinking aloud, all MOO as usual.

Does that cover all the known facts? I think it was a surprised burglar combined with an accident. Edited to add: and the dog was outside the whole time! I used to sit near the doors knowing the dog was going to want to come in soon.

I think the footage of the dog outside was after Lee said he let the dog out to pee when he got home and news just captured that footage?

 

[callmehenry]

Apologies if this has already been said but anyone else find it odd that her and her husband had been texting / in communication all day but the minute he can’t get hold of her he suddenly thinks ‘well I’ll wait until I get back Monday to see if she’s ok’. I don’t think he did it but it’s weird to me how communication goes from 100% to nothing. Why not phone a friend or family member to check on her or call the police for a welfare check??
I also think the chair was possibly caused by the dog jumping or similar. I don’t think it was related to her death

 

[otto]

Amanda and her husband were talking to each other on the phone when the phone was disconnected. It was 7:06-7:10 pm.

He said, during interviews, that he did not think that she was dead. He thought her phone battery needed to be charged, and that she might be spending time with siblings. He returned home early - planning to surprise her.

Amanda and Lee's phone call. Their dog suddenly barks, and they are disconnected. Saturday, October 24, 2015, 7:06 – 7:10 p.m.

Unsolved Mysteries' Amanda Antoni Case: True Story & Updates

Amanda Antoni was found dead in October 2015.

screenrant.com

 

[dotr]

,

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Apologies if this has already been said but anyone else find it odd that her and her husband had been texting / in communication all day but the minute he can’t get hold of her he suddenly thinks ‘well I’ll wait until I get back Monday to see if she’s ok’. I don’t think he did it but it’s weird to me how communication goes from 100% to nothing. Why not phone a friend or family member to check on her or call the police for a welfare check??
I also think the chair was possibly caused by the dog jumping or similar. I don’t think it was related to her death

Yes another strange thing about the timing of events - the sudden stop in texting. I am also confused as IIRC didn't she want a divorce? But then in the doc, they show the texts between them and she says I love you... I'll take that with a grain of salt as couples can be up and down like that. I would love to read those texts and context.

I also read on another forum someone mentioned if she had a migraine she would not be on a screen so much that day as the consensus is most of those who suffer migraines almost always avoid screens.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

To add to my comment above - about reading on another forum someone mentioned if she had a migraine she would not be on a screen so much that day as the consensus is most of those who suffer migraines almost always avoid screens.

I wonder if the migraine was an excuse for her not to go with him? If she was growing apart from him, she might've wanted space. I don't know... I feel like she was set up, tested or something or being 'kept an eye on' for some reason to be caught doing something and confronted and it went sideways. I don't think the husband did it himself, but it's so strange he was on the phone with her when something went down and that's a major alibi. JMO

 

[Lalalacasbah]

Amanda and her husband were talking to each other on the phone when the phone was disconnected. It was 7:06-7:10 pm.

He said, during interviews, that he did not think that she was dead. He thought her phone battery needed to be charged, and that she might be spending time with siblings. He returned home early - planning to surprise her.

Amanda and Lee's phone call. Their dog suddenly barks, and they are disconnected. Saturday, October 24, 2015, 7:06 – 7:10 p.m.

Unsolved Mysteries' Amanda Antoni Case: True Story & Updates

Amanda Antoni was found dead in October 2015.

screenrant.com

I find that an odd choice of words too (I'm such a cynic!), that he wanted to surprise her.

After being together that long and it's one of the first times apart, it sounds kinda cheesy to me. He could've just said he wanted to get back home as he was tired, drained, sad about the stuff with his mom, wanted to relax, etc. "I want to surprise my wife by getting home early" sounds quasi romaticized. Like I said, I'm cynical

 

[callmehenry]

To add to my comment above - about reading on another forum someone mentioned if she had a migraine she would not be on a screen so much that day as the consensus is most of those who suffer migraines almost always avoid screens.

I wonder if the migraine was an excuse for her not to go with him? If she was growing apart from him, she might've wanted space. I don't know... I feel like she was set up, tested or something or being 'kept an eye on' for some reason to be caught doing something and confronted and it went sideways. I don't think the husband did it himself, but it's so strange he was on the phone with her when something went down and that's a major alibi. JMO

I also thought the migraine was more of an excuse but then perhaps she just didn’t want to spend a weekend with his mom, not everyone loves their in-laws do they!
Also the husband was on cctv buying gas so we know he didn’t do it but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know who did do it. Plus, as you say, he was on the phone with her at the exact time something happened which is odd to me also

 

[callmehenry]

I find that an odd choice of words too (I'm such a cynic!), that he wanted to surprise her.

After being together that long and it's one of the first times apart, it sounds kinda cheesy to me. He could've just said he wanted to get back home as he was tired, drained, sad about the stuff with his mom, wanted to relax, etc. "I want to surprise my wife by getting home early" sounds quasi romaticized. Like I said, I'm cynical

Yes, an odd choice of phrase indeed. Also ironic that he ended up being the one surprised (if he was!)

 

[stonedgnome]

Are you thinking accident now or still NOT accident?

What veers me towards not accident the most is wild circumstances and "the odds":

1. Timing #1: The one time the couple are apart she happens to get killed
2. Timing #2: It seems the only people who maybe knew her hubby was away would have been close to them? I'm assuming this by what it sounded like in the doc
3. Angle of the fall: JMO but I feel like it would have to be the craziest odds to fall down a few stairs, on the exact and right angle with such force to create a wound in that delicate soft tissue (temple-ish) area and embed in her head and tragically lead to her death. To me, that just seems ludicrous. But, MOO and only my little thought

JMO, IMO

Still NOT an accident IMO.

 

[otto]

Other than the tipped-over chair, I'm leaning towards accident. The chair has no explanation, unless, while she was on the phone, the dog barked, she stood up quickly, knocked over the chair, lunged towards the dog, dropped her phone, went head first into the piggy bank, lost her balance, and somersaulted down the stairs.

Amanda had cannabis in her system. It's unknown what levels she needed to loose balance and analytical thinking ability.

The hypothetical 'murder weapon' was the piggy bank, and there is evidence that her head impacted the piggy bank while it was sitting on the shelf next to the landing. There is evidence that the piggy bank was not touched, or moved off the shelf, before or after Amanda's head contacted the piggy bank.

There is evidence of the piggy bank on the stairs. The only explanation is that Amanda's head contacted the piggy bank, pieces of the piggy bank are embedded in her head, and fragments fell out of her head as she tumbled down the stairs.

How many times did she hit her head?

1. hit the piggy bank with her head
2. fragments of the piggy bank on the stairs
3. hit her head on the concrete basement floor when she landed?

There's no evidence that anyone, other than the victim, was at the bottom of the stairs. Every fragment of evidence, blood drops, foot prints and blood smears belonged to Amanda.

There's evidence that Amanda bled to death. Between hitting the piggy bank and dying, there is evidence that she fell, stood up, left large blood drops on top of smeared blood, moved around in the blood while lying on the floor, smeared blood around, stood facing the stairs, but did not walk up the stairs.

Amanda had some bruising on her body, which could be explained by falling down the stairs.

Time of death is between 7-7:30 P.M., shortly after the call with her husband abruptly ended.

"If the wound is bad enough to cause rapid blood loss, bleeding to death can happen as quickly as 5 minutes. If the bleeding is slower but continuous, days can pass before bleeding to death is occurs.​

https://study.com/academy/lesson/symptoms-of-bleeding-out.html

A neighbour came forward, at some point, to say that someone was in the yard. It's possible that someone was cutting through the yard. It might not be relevant. See 100 block of Castledale Way NE : map

Husband has been ruled out. His sister has been ruled out. Nothing on electronic devices supports a private friendship that Amanda was pursuing. She was not getting divorced, but she expressed frustration to her siblings that her husband was having trouble keeping a job.

Amanda's pants were "down around her knees." Bleeding out is associated with hypothermia. As she was dying, did she feel hot and want to remove her clothing?

"Hypothermia in trauma patients is a common condition. It is aggravated by traumatic hemorrhage, which leads to hypovolemic shock. This hypovolemic shock results in a lethal triad of hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis, leading to ongoing bleeding."​

Hypothermia in Trauma

Hypothermia in trauma patients is a common condition. It is aggravated by traumatic hemorrhage, which leads to hypovolemic shock. This hypovolemic shock results in a lethal triad of hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis, leading to ongoing bleeding. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[thebedbug]

1) Either she fell into the piggy bank headfirst and then tumbled down the stairs or 2) someone picked it up, smashed her in the head, and then placed it back on the ledge where it (apparently) normally sat.

There's just zero evidence that anyone else was in that house.

I mentioned it before, but I think many are overlooking the role cannabis could've played in her impairment.

 

[DarkSkink]

Came here thinking there might be more and better details on the case. I feel like these crime shows often leave out or downplay certain elements to enhance the "mysterious" narrative. Alas... I don't see anything else available.

Based on the evidence the show provided, I'm going to have to agree her death is most likely the result of a horrible accident.

My take:

Husband away and finally has a night to herself. Headache. Puts on the fancy panties. Gets really high. Talking on phone. Trips (maybe over the dog). Crashes into piggy bank with head and rolls down stairs. Badly injured. Disoriented. At times unconscious. Never able to gather herself enough to make it out of basement and dies of blood loss.

Phone was simply tossed at she lost balance. Tipped over chair in kitchen is unrelated to her death.

I was thinking the same thing.

If she stepped on the dog's paw or scared it, that might also explain the tipped over chair. The dog could have panicked and ran.

 

[DarkSkink]

Other than the tipped-over chair, I'm leaning towards accident. The chair has no explanation, unless, while she was on the phone, the dog barked, she stood up quickly, knocked over the chair, lunged towards the dog, dropped her phone, went head first into the piggy bank, lost her balance, and somersaulted down the stairs.

Amanda had cannabis in her system. It's unknown what levels she needed to loose balance and analytical thinking ability.

The hypothetical 'murder weapon' was the piggy bank, and there is evidence that her head impacted the piggy bank while it was sitting on the shelf next to the landing. There is evidence that the piggy bank was not touched, or moved off the shelf, before or after Amanda's head contacted the piggy bank.

There is evidence of the piggy bank on the stairs. The only explanation is that Amanda's head contacted the piggy bank, pieces of the piggy bank are embedded in her head, and fragments fell out of her head as she tumbled down the stairs.

How many times did she hit her head?

1. hit the piggy bank with her head
2. fragments of the piggy bank on the stairs
3. hit her head on the concrete basement floor when she landed?

There's no evidence that anyone, other than the victim, was at the bottom of the stairs. Every fragment of evidence, blood drops, foot prints and blood smears belonged to Amanda.

There's evidence that Amanda bled to death. Between hitting the piggy bank and dying, there is evidence that she fell, stood up, left large blood drops on top of smeared blood, moved around in the blood while lying on the floor, smeared blood around, stood facing the stairs, but did not walk up the stairs.

Amanda had some bruising on her body, which could be explained by falling down the stairs.

Time of death is between 7-7:30 P.M., shortly after the call with her husband abruptly ended.

"If the wound is bad enough to cause rapid blood loss, bleeding to death can happen as quickly as 5 minutes. If the bleeding is slower but continuous, days can pass before bleeding to death is occurs.​

https://study.com/academy/lesson/symptoms-of-bleeding-out.html

A neighbour came forward, at some point, to say that someone was in the yard. It's possible that someone was cutting through the yard. It might not be relevant. See 100 block of Castledale Way NE : map

Husband has been ruled out. His sister has been ruled out. Nothing on electronic devices supports a private friendship that Amanda was pursuing. She was not getting divorced, but she expressed frustration to her siblings that her husband was having trouble keeping a job.

Amanda's pants were "down around her knees." Bleeding out is associated with hypothermia. As she was dying, did she feel hot and want to remove her clothing?

"Hypothermia in trauma patients is a common condition. It is aggravated by traumatic hemorrhage, which leads to hypovolemic shock. This hypovolemic shock results in a lethal triad of hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis, leading to ongoing bleeding."​

Hypothermia in Trauma

Hypothermia in trauma patients is a common condition. It is aggravated by traumatic hemorrhage, which leads to hypovolemic shock. This hypovolemic shock results in a lethal triad of hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis, leading to ongoing bleeding. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Agreed.

The dog could have knocked over the chair in a panic after being stepped on.

The chair was on the other side of the table from the phone.