MO - 2nd woman found dead in firefighter's home - Frontenac, MO (suburban St. Louis)

[iluvmua]

What was Grace willing to gain by staying with this guy?

Was it bc he's a firefighter with great health, insurance benefits etc ?

 

[Dre]

Those texts were painful, after reading all 229 pages I feel strongly that this man is capable of murder. The level of cruelty and degradation was so disturbing and triggering.

 

[al66pine]

Ending to Relationship? MoD?

.... RD...--he should have ended things with her instead of the back and forth)....
.... other items from the police report....
-prior Critical Incident Report where GH threatened suicide while married to her first husband (incidentally when that relationship was falling part as well)....

snipped for focus @duckduck Thx for your post & thoughts.

As to ^ comment, HE "should have ended things with her," couldn't that be said re GH, that SHE should have ended things w him?

Per ^ she threatened suicide as first marriage was disintegrating. Was the selfie w gun to her head taken about that time? Or, if at a later rocky patch w RD, it is one fact supporting suicide finding.

Regardless of MoD, her death must have been devastating to her daughters and many others.

BTW I have not read or heard all info from various sources at podcaster's channel or LE reports. Not that it matters but not sure whether I agree or disagree w med examiner's finding of GH's MoD as suicide.

 

[Joe Friday]

Hopefully the ME took hair samples from Sarah and it can be determined if she had been using the medications found in her system for any length of time.

It didn't sound like RD suspected or lead LE to think she may have hurt herself. The case came across to me as a sudden death due to perhaps a medical issue she had.

JMO

 

[Lusitana]

What was Grace willing to gain by staying with this guy?

Was it bc he's a firefighter with great health, insurance benefits etc ?

She wanted a family.

 

[al66pine]

What Did GH Want from RD?

She wanted a family.

@Lusitana That's a possibility.

Many of her texts w RD said she wanted to marry him, and during her prenancy, she welcomed the baby and carried on about how he would love the baby & be a good father, etc. Reading 120(?)+ pages of texts, imo, largely wishful thinking on her part.

GH already had four daughters (ages unknown to me, not suggesting anyone sleuth them) from her prior marriage.

IIUC (per another post here), those four were (mostly?) living w her ex-husband/their Father in their former marital home.

Difficult for me to foresee a happy or even tranquil family evolving w RD, w or w'out a baby (and w or w'out her four dau's) from GH's dreamworld. But ICBTotallyW. imo

 

[Lusitana]

What Did GH Want from RD?

@Lusitana That's a possibility.

Many of her texts w RD said she wanted to marry him, and during her prenancy, she welcomed the baby and carried on about how he would love the baby & be a good father, etc. Reading 120(?)+ pages of texts, imo, largely wishful thinking on her part.

GH already had four daughters (ages unknown to me, not suggesting anyone sleuth them) from her prior marriage.

IIUC (per another post here), those four were (mostly?) living w her ex-husband/their Father in their former marital home.

Difficult for me to foresee a happy or even tranquil family evolving w RD, w or w'out a baby (and w or w'out her four dau's) from GH's dreamworld. But ICBTotallyW. imo

She wanted a family with him even though he said many times that a) he didn't want her kids around, and b) he would be present for their baby but wouldn't be in a relationship with her anymore.

In my opinion, they were both super toxic. He could've just called the police and have her removed from the home, change the locks, etc. He never did any of that and she just kept going back. Weird dynamic.

 

[al66pine]

She wanted a family with him even though he said many times that a) he didn't want her kids around, and b) he would be present for their baby but wouldn't be in a relationship with her anymore.
In my opinion, they were both super toxic. He could've just called the police and have her removed from the home, change the locks, etc. He never did any of that and she just kept going back. Weird dynamic.

@Lusitana Well said.
"Being present" for baby sounds like a lame promise. imo

 

[devilsangeldoc]

otto said:
As a firefighter, having first aid and some paramedic training, what does he know about injections?

Devilsangeldoc said:
I must have missed the "some paramedic training" but if that was said, he is not a paramedic. So minimal or nothing about injections. For our jurisdiction, FF are typically required to maintain a BLS EMT-B qualification so possibly something like an epipen only.

IME, in our jurisdiction, succs /roc/ versed would be drugs in our protocol for rapid sequence intubation, however, they are rarely used. I've seen it maybe once in the field, and that was when we called for air support level 1 transport and state trooper helo had a trooper paramedic on-board. And EMS doesn't carry it, we'd have to check it out from the hospital lockbox where its accounted for and tracked also. So I highly ⁰doubt he had any access to any succs. That's not happening.

 

[devilsangeldoc]

Actually there were pictures included in the police file that show her holding a gun to the same side of the head that the entrance wound was. She had taken a selfie. There were a few issues where she had threatened to harm herself with a gun. In one case the sister had to get the gun from her.

Yes. I haven't seen the AR or police file pics, but IME can say this scenario with left sided entry wound is quite easy holding the gun in reverse with head turned right and using thumbs to pull trigger. I know I'm late to the party and sure this had already been pointed out.

 

[devilsangeldoc]

Autopsy Info. CoD = Drug Intoxication. MoD, Undetermined.
Daily Mail. Mar 5 - 6, 2024.

"Doctor girlfriend of firefighter died from a lethal cocktail of drugs at home, autopsy reveals - three years after his fiancé was found shot dead...
- Dr. Sarah Sweeney's cause of death was drug intoxication and her manner of death remains undetermined."

"Oxycodone, the seizure and pain medication Gabapentin and antihistamine Diphenhydramine were found in Sweeney's system."

"On Tuesday, a toxicology report from the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed the doctor's cause of death was drug intoxication, but the manner remains undetermined...."

" 'Dr. Sweeney was found with no obvious signs of trauma discovered on her body, and our investigation, at this point, supports that she was home alone leading up to her death,' the Frontenac Police Department stated."
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

FWIW, per wiki, Gabapentin** "is an anticonvulsant medication primarily used to treat partial seizures and neuropathic pain.[4]... It is moderately effective: about 30–40% of those given gabapentin for diabetic neuropathy or postherpetic neuralgia have a meaningful benefit.[9]" (sbm)
"Sleepiness and dizziness are the most common side effects. Serious side effects include an INCREASED RISK OF SUICIDE, respiratory depression, and allergic reactions.[4]" <- my CAPS.
"Overdose
"Through excessive ingestion, accidental or otherwise, persons may experience overdose symptoms including drowsiness, sedation, blurred vision, slurred speech, somnolence, uncontrollable jerking motions, and anxiety. A very high amount taken is associated with breathing suppression, coma, and possibly DEATH, particularly if combined with alcohol or opioids.[73][75]" <--- my caps
______________________________

*

Dr. Sarah Sweeney cause of death revealed

A toxicology report from the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office revealed Dr. Sarah Sweeney's cause of death was drug intoxication and her manner of death remains 'undetermined.'

www.dailymail.co.uk

** Gabapentin - Wikipedia

Thank you for the info confirmation and why I'm not always such a fan of these drugs. And the importance of a good support system for vulnerable people like SS, since its not always possible to be your own advocate. As a disabled vet, I am prescribed these as well for TBI nerve pain and never liked such side effects (esp. after I discovered, on my own research, the increased suicide risk! And worsening my TBI head and neck symptoms like dizziness and sedated sluggishness and drowsiness, decreased cognition...Yet they stayed too dismissive and *some* didn't care to hear us. Not helpful for PTS either) I hope her death was only accidental and not intended. Did they live together? I'd be interested to know, with him as a fire captain, whether he tried to help her manage her care at all. He should be accustomed to ppl in distress needing some help. But I suppose she could have told him it's under control, and respected her assessments as a doctor.

 

[devilsangeldoc]

Anaphylaxis can be sudden and result in death. I think it would depend on the trigger and activation of the Mast Cells.

Absolutely, can die from respiratory arrest, hypotension. All I needed to see was "anaphylaxis" and know it could mean life threatening emergency and can come on suddenly. And then learning one of her meds was an intihistamine for MCAS. *sweaty palms*

 

[devilsangeldoc]

Further, the highly trained first responder made NO attempt at first aid or CPR for the human within his arm's reach.

Fingers crossed that LE handles things differently this time.

(Anyone else thinking about Stacy Peterson and Kathleen Savio???)

jmho ymmv lrr

He probably found no pulse or breathing after witnessing a fatal head shot incompatible with life. No life saving measures would be indicated. Just an EG, as I've not seen any actual crime scene photos.

ADR, I believe it's quite possible LE handled this correctly the first time.

 

[devilsangeldoc]

That doesn't sit well with me either. I'm curious whether there's any validity to the claim that the GSR tests are unreliable.

The theory seems to be that someone who is in the vicinity of shooting will have some GSR, but that doesn't point to guilt. Cross contamination seems to be the major concern. Although the presence of GSR is not evidence of murder, it is a piece of the puzzle.

Discussion about GSR tests:Interpol Review of Gunshot Residue 2019 to 2021

It's meant to be considered within parameters and used as just one of the tools in the toolbox to provide guidance and support conclusions and not definitive in itself, or reliable enough to meet legal standards esp when challenged in a court of law. There are so many variables to consider, such as GSR pollution, secondary transfer contamination, lack of uniform accepted forensic standards, and many other sources with components with characteristics consistent with GSR that can be misleading and mimick a false positive for it. They may also have chosen to do an initial presumptive test on scene that showed inconclusive/cross contamination/absence and instead found enough evidence to support suicide. IMO
Just throwing out some thoughts.

 

[bitesizedcrime]

I've been digging into Sarah's case (and Grace's too) and came across Sarah's incident report from the Frontenac PD. I am a little confused by part of it and was wondering if anyone could shed some light! The "Occurrence Details" section lists the Date/Time from 10:41 on 1/11/24 to 6:30 on 1/13/24. Why would the occurrence have begun 2 days before the 911 call?

 

[Joe Friday]

I've been digging into Sarah's case (and Grace's too) and came across Sarah's incident report from the Frontenac PD. I am a little confused by part of it and was wondering if anyone could shed some light! The "Occurrence Details" section lists the Date/Time from 10:41 on 1/11/24 to 6:30 on 1/13/24. Why would the occurrence have begun 2 days before the 911 call?

View attachment 611906

Maybe the last known time Robert had physical contact with Sarah. In other words the last time he knew she was OK.

IIRC he was working. For most firefighters a shift is several days long while sleeping at the station. The times given may be the times when he left the house to go to work and the time when he found her.

JMO

 

[bitesizedcrime]

Maybe the last known time Robert had physical contact with Sarah. In other words the last time he knew she was OK.

IIRC he was working. For most firefighters a shift is several days long while sleeping at the station. The times given may be the times when he left the house to go to work and the time when he found her.

JMO

That makes a lot of sense, I didn't even think about him being at work for several days at a time. Thanks for the insight!