Sketch of woman found in a swamp reveals twisted case of death and deception

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Investigator Jack Frost, present with the Liberty County, Georgia, territory attorney's office, was 1 of the archetypal detectives called to the country of a swamp successful southbound Georgia connected Dec. 2, 2022.

Investigator Jack Frost: Down present is wherever the hunters had discovered the torso of a pistillate successful the ditch. …

Investigator Jack Frost: The hunters had seen a weapon and a tote and immoderate wipes backmost there.

Detectives recovered a razor-sharp Milwaukee marque knife, a integrative retention tub with what looked similar traces of blood, and wipes.

Erin Moriarty: Do you deliberation whoever brought her retired present had to cognize this area?

Investigator Jack Frost: That would beryllium a … harmless presumption due to the fact that it's truthful desolate.

It would instrumentality 5 days until Frost recovered the remainder of her body. Authorities said it appeared the pistillate had antiaircraft wounds.

Laurie Baio is an adjunct territory lawyer with the Atlantic Judicial Circuit.

Laurie Baio: There's nary 1 that winds up dismembered successful the woods that's not a — a unfortunate of homicide.

Who is the pistillate recovered successful the swamp?

Investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released 2 sketches.

Laurie Baio: There were hundreds and hundreds of calls and leads that came successful done the forensic sketches that were published from civilians calling in.

One telephone came from a pistillate 500 miles distant successful Virginia — Heather Thomas.

Heather Thomas: I was like, whoa, hold a minute. Like, that looks similar Mindi.

Mindi Kassotis.

Laurie Baio: Heather Thomas turned retired arsenic 1 of the radical that recognized the photograph and said this could beryllium Mindi.

Heather recognized Mindi due to the fact that Mindi was joined to Heather's ex-husband, Nick Kassotis, a Naval serviceman — a lawyer successful JAG, the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Nick had traveled the globe and was deployed to Iraq. He served successful Italy and the Pentagon. He dealt with delicate cases involving Afghanistan.

Heather Thomas: He decidedly had an aerial astir him of — of confidence, of, you know, reassurance, but ne'er successful an egotistical way. Cause you could benignant of prime that retired from a mile away.

Heather and Nick got joined successful 2009.

Erin Moriarty: Was helium wearing a uniform?

Heather Thomas: Yes, helium was successful his uniform. I was successful — I had 2 antithetic dresses. It was a precise large deal. … It was a — it was a blessed day.

Heather Thomas: He had a batch of friends, and helium conscionable knew everyone, and helium had a precise outgoing property and conscionable was a talker and loved to work and conscionable was — it was precise antithetic than benignant of however I — I was.

Things started retired well. But eventually, aft six years, their matrimony faded.

Heather Thomas: I felt similar we had grown apart. … I felt similar helium was my champion friend, but astatine the aforesaid time, like, didn't person the romance.

And successful 2015 they divorced.

Nick Kassotis bounced backmost quickly. That aforesaid year, helium started dating Mindi. She was moving arsenic a ineligible caput successful Washington D.C.

Angela Wynn: Mindi was the consummate romanticist for a portion there, right?

Angela Wynn and Morgan Paddock were longtime friends of Mindi. Angela says Mindi met Nick connected a dating app.

Angela Wynn: When she yet did conscionable him, that was conscionable her fairy-tale ending, coming to fruition.

Even Heather was happy.

Heather Thomas: He told maine each astir it. He was truthful excited that they met and I was excited for him.

Nick and Mindi joined successful 2016. Her friends accidental the mates soon started looking for a location and readying a family.

Angela Wynn: That's 1 of the things that, that she wanted, she wanted to person kids.

And Mindi became a podcaster.

Morgan Paddock: We some were connected her podcast.

MINDI KASSOTIS (podcast): Hello, and invited to different occurrence of the "Compelling Women" podcast.

Morgan Paddock: She conscionable wanted to find the stories of women and elevate them.

MINDI KASSOTIS (podcast): I'm Mindi, your host, and I'm truly excited to stock with you different thought-provoking interrogation with a antithetic compelling woman.

Mindi and Nick's beingness seemed good. After leaving progressive duty, helium was inactive practicing law.

Angela Wynn: I was truthful blessed that she was truthful successful emotion and conscionable truthful enamored and acceptable to determination connected to that adjacent signifier of her life.

But her friends accidental Mindi's beingness began taking immoderate unusual turns.

Morgan Paddock: She erstwhile told me, Morgan, if you knew everything that was going on, similar this is thing that would beryllium similar a best-selling caller oregon — a best-selling movie.

Mindi and Nick started moving astir a lot, surviving successful 3 antithetic states. She seldom saw her friends, they say, and was truthful disquieted astir security, she started communicating done the encrypted Signal app.

Morgan Paddock: We lone ever talked connected Signal. … If we called it was done the Signal app and if we texted, it was done the Signal app.

Erin Moriarty: And whose thought was to usage this Signal app?

Angela Wynn: Oh, Nick.

And Mindi said astatine 1 constituent she was being spied upon.

Morgan Paddock: I retrieve her saying … I whitethorn person had a tail. …

Erin Moriarty: Someone pursuing her.

Morgan Paddock: Yeah, yeah. … It ramped up aft that.

Mindi's beingness ramped up into a bid of alien and alien events.

Morgan Paddock: She told maine … they had been hacked by a hacker group. … Their slope accounts had been wholly frozen. …

Angela Wynn: They didn't person immoderate wealth astatine all.

Morgan Paddock: None.

And she told friends that Nick said they were being surveilled, and that helium told her:

Angela Wynn: We person a information contented now, and present we are, you know, we're successful danger.

Morgan Paddock: Mm-hmm.

Erin Moriarty: She thought her beingness was successful danger?

Angela Wynn: Mm-hmm.

Morgan Paddock: Mm-hmm.

It was, according to Mindi, each connected to Nick and immoderate classified enactment that he had been progressive successful during his clip successful the Navy.

Morgan Paddock: There had to beryllium video surveillance … successful a van down the thoroughfare … to conscionable support watch, to marque definite the comings and goings of their location were safe.

Nick warned Mindi that an undercover squad disguised arsenic histrion surgeons were planting surveillance cameras astir their house.

Morgan Paddock: It sounded crazy. It did dependable brainsick due to the fact that that does dependable similar thing you spot successful a movie oregon work successful a novel. But again, you're talking to Mindi, whose hubby is simply a JAG who has each of this subject clearance. …

By June 2022, Nick and Mindi were surviving successful Savannah. Friends accidental she was acrophobic to permission the house.

Erin Moriarty: Did she dependable scared?

Morgan Paddock: Oh, she was, she was scared.

Tracking down Nick Kassotis

As Mindi's friends disquieted astir the unusual events successful her beingness successful Savannah, 500 miles distant successful Virginia, Heather Thomas had been trying to way down her ex-husband Nick Kassotis for astir 2 years.

Heather Thomas: I tracked him going to … South Carolina. … He had said thing astir Georgia and that was ever successful the backmost of my mind.

He owed her wealth from their divorcement — $1.5 million. A tribunal had ordered him to wage and issued a warrant for his arrest. His instrumentality vocation was present successful jeopardy.

Heather Thomas: If helium was consenting to propulsion distant his … licence to signifier ever, and helium was conscionable gonna propulsion each caution to the wind, you're present dealing with a script wherever you can't presume anything. So, you person to beryllium prepared, I had to beryllium prepared for anything.

Heather had a person who was grooming to beryllium a backstage investigator. Through him she would observe that Nick had been connected the move. She would aboriginal find retired that helium had gone from authorities to state, surviving successful Airbnb's and motels.

Heather didn't cognize it, but Nick and Mindi were present hiding retired successful Savannah, Georgia. That summer, Mindi had told her person Angela that she was pregnant.

Angela Wynn: She was precise excited and precise happy.

But months later, conscionable aft Thanksgiving 2022, Angela got an unexpected telephone from Nick and couldn't judge what helium told her.

Angela Wynn: He called maine … helium told maine that Mindi was gone.

Mindi, Nick said, had died from a abrupt aesculapian problem. But his details were sketchy. He told her she had been cremated. There was nary ceremonial oregon memorial.

Angela Wynn: I'm not proceeding thing from anybody, and I request to cognize what the hellhole is going on. … origin successful my mind, you know, Mindi's not gone until I spot that she is gone and I told him that respective times, similar I request to spot it, I request to spot her, I — I request to spot her.

She tried to scope Nick again and again.

Angela Wynn: He conscionable dropped disconnected the look of the earth. …

Angela Wynn: It was a precise hard and confusing time.

At astir the aforesaid time, Nick's ex-wife Heather had besides gotten a connection telling her that Mindi had died successful the hospital.

Heather Thomas: I was contacted saying, hey, you know, Mindi's dead. …

Erin Moriarty: What was your reaction?

Heather Thomas: Horror. I was conscionable like, ohio my God. I felt unspeakable due to the fact that nary substance what our beef was, Nick and my, like, to perceive that a pistillate astir my property is present dormant … I was sad.

And conscionable weeks aft that bittersweet quality was inactive sinking in, Heather received much astonishing quality successful a substance from an acquaintance.

Heather Thomas: This idiosyncratic says Nick is dead.

Nick Kassotis had died successful a car crash.

Heather Thomas: And I said, "Hmm."

Erin Moriarty: So, you didn't judge that then?

Heather Thomas: I instantly didn't judge it. … I'm like, well, thing is fishy here.

But Heather wasn't the lone 1 who heard that Nick had died. Mindi's parents received an email from the information section astatine the tech institution wherever Nick told them helium was working. It read: "I'm precise atrocious to pass you that Nicholas passed distant precocious Wednesday evening."

As Heather tried to get much details Googling quality sites online, she came crossed that constabulary sketch — the 1 that looked truthful overmuch similar Mindi… and called authorities successful Georgia. That helped constabulary marque a affirmative identification, and erstwhile they got a DNA and familial genealogy confirmation, they yet had impervious that the pistillate recovered successful the swamp was, indeed, Mindi Kassotis.

Laurie Baio: Once they fig retired who she is, each of these things that they've been learning astir the grounds recovered astatine the scene, each ties in.

Investigators could find nary grounds of Nick Kassotis dying successful a car crash. What they did find was a caller driver's licence successful a caller name: Nicholas Kilian James Stark. They tracked him to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, wherever helium was present surviving with a 3rd woman — tech idiosyncratic and fabrication writer Samantha Kolesnik. He had told her helium was a widower.

In May 2023, detectives bought Nick Kassotis backmost to Georgia for questioning. He told them a elaborate communicative akin to what Mindi's household and friends had heard – astir being pursued and harassed by chartless individuals connected to authorities enactment helium had done.

Investigator Jack Frost: There was different, a mates antithetic stories … 1 was that determination was, immoderate fallout from immoderate worldly that Nick had done astatine the Pentagon. … He was … imaginable people for a violent group. …

Investigator Jack Frost: It was existent top-secret worldly and that it was truly ace delicate … and astir similar a, you know, concealed cause benignant of beingness wherever they conscionable hid successful plain show but had to benignant of beryllium careful.

The erstwhile buttoned-down, straightlaced lawyer and erstwhile Naval JAG serviceman present looked scruffy. Kassotis claimed that helium reported the conspiracy to the FBI. And that's erstwhile helium says a national cause came to their location offering to support them. His name: Jim McIntyre.

NICK KASSOTIS (interrogation): I came location 1 day, and Mindi said that — that an FBI cause had travel to the location … that, you know, helium was superior astir what was going connected and, you know, wanted to conscionable with america some and speech astir it. …

INVESTIGATOR JACK FROST: And that was Jim?

NICK KASSOTIS: That was Jim.

INVESTIGATOR JACK FROST: Did helium amusement you immoderate credentials oregon anything?

NICK KASSOTIS: I don't recall.

According to Nick, for 4 years, Jim McIntrye took power of everything successful the couple's lives, telling them erstwhile to determination and where.

AGENT TRACY SANDS (interrogation): If Jim told you to leap disconnected a cliff, you were going to spell leap disconnected a cliff?

NICK KASSOTIS: Yes, sir. For — for years — for years we did precisely what Jim told america to do. He wanted afloat entree to our lives. He said helium was keeping america safe. …

INVESTIGATOR JACK FROST: Nick, you unrecorded successful a web of lies…. You speech successful parallel realities. …That's what you're doing here.

NICK KASSOTIS: No, sir.

The grounds against Nick Kassotis

Nick Kassotis had spun specified an elaborate communicative for detectives they had a hard clip believing thing helium said. They began to fishy that helium had made up everything — that helium was the writer of the email sent to Mindi's parents announcing his death, implicit with a institution helium didn't enactment for.

Investigator Jack Frost: It's benignant of like, yeah, we — we tin spot done each the lies now.

NICK KASSOTIS (interrogation): This is specified a nightmare. Why is this happening?

Detectives began asking him astir Mindi's past days.

Right astir Thanksgiving 2022, portion Nick was retired of town, helium said, Mindi texted him, saying she had taken a autumn and had checked herself into a clinic. He was vague connected details.

AGENT TRACY SANDS (interrogation): Tell maine astir the time that you got called to the doctor's office. …

NICK KASSOTIS: I got a telephone call, I hide from who. I don't cognize if it was idiosyncratic I knew oregon not asking if I could — I don't deliberation it was idiosyncratic I knew — asking if — if I could travel and prime her up — that afternoon.

When Nick arrived, helium told investigators, the doc gave him atrocious news.

NICK KASSOTIS (interrogation): I - I sat down and — and helium — helium said that — that he, you know, was precise atrocious to archer maine that Mindi had passed distant suddenly. …

AGENT TRACY SANDS: So helium said Mindi had passed away?

NICK KASSOTIS: Suddenly. …

AGENT TRACY SANDS: Then what happened?

NICK KASSOTIS: He — helium — I — I was — I was highly upset. I was, you know, I — like, I — I thought I was — I was coming determination conscionable to — conscionable to prime her up and bring her back. Um — helium said — helium said helium — helium wasn't definite what had happened. …

AGENT TRACY SANDS: You spell to this doctor's office. They archer you woman died. You don't inquire to spot her. You instantly —

NICK KASSOTIS: I did inquire to spot her.

AGENT TRACY SANDS: You don't get to spot her.

Nick couldn't archer investigators wherever the installation was, oregon the names of anyone helium spoke to.

AGENT TRACY SANDS(interrogation): You don't forcefully spell immoderate further to spot her. You conscionable instrumentality 'em astatine their word. You don't cognize their names. You don't cognize their addresses. Don't cognize however to instrumentality there, whatever. You conscionable leave.

But if Mindi had died astatine a Savannah clinic, however did her remains extremity up successful a swamp? Nick told detectives helium had nary thought but insisted helium didn't bash it.

What Nick didn't cognize astatine the clip was that detectives were already gathering a lawsuit against him.

Investigator Jack Frost: I deliberation it's casual for radical to deliberation astir doing something, but I deliberation the enactment of doing it and past trying to screen up each the escaped ends aft you've started … astir impossible.

For starters, erstwhile detectives ran a inheritance cheque connected Nick, they discovered helium owned a greenish Ford Explorer — a greenish Ford Explorer that looked conscionable similar the conveyance investigators had spotted connected a surveillance video from a distant pumping presumption adjacent the transgression scene.

Erin Moriarty: And wherefore was that camera truthful important successful this case?

Laurie Baio: Because it captured Nicholas Kassotis' Explorer driving past it, going successful and retired of that area.

And that wasn't all. On a hunch, days aft Frost had processed the transgression scene, helium checked with Home Depot stores, which sold that Milwaukee marque of knife.

LAURIE BAIO: Agent Frost had contacted Home Depot due to the fact that helium had worked different lawsuit and was acquainted with the brands.

One of those knives had been purchased from a store conscionable 50 minutes from the hunting nine with a debit paper belonging to Nick Kassotis.

A surveillance photograph shows Nicholas Kassotis close aft helium paid for that knife.

And determination were much knives. When Frost had checked retired a Bass Pro Shop successful Savannah, helium discovered that Nick Kassotis had besides utilized his debit paper determination and bought a weapon kit designed for hunters.

Investigator Jack Frost: This is simply a seven-piece Pursuit tract dressing kit for animals. This is similar the aforesaid kit that was purchased by Kassotis. … And determination is an assortment of knives.

Erin Moriarty: Oh my God, look, oh. … I'm not touching this. These are precise sharp.

Investigator Jack Frost: Very sharp. … And past determination is besides a bony saw.

Now with Nick seemingly tied to the knives and the Ford Explorer, they subpoenaed records from his telephone and the Ford's GPS system.

Laurie Baio: The car records showing his conveyance and telephone traveling down to precisely wherever her assemblage is. …

Laurie Baio: He has nary crushed whatsoever to beryllium determination different than that his dismembered woman happens to beryllium recovered determination erstwhile helium told everyone else, she was cremated.

Back successful the interrogation room, detectives confronted Nick with their discoveries.

AGENT TRACY SANDS (interrogation): I mean, who other has the luck of going connected a 25,000-acre spot and getting captured connected video? …

AGENT TRACY SANDS: It conscionable truthful happens your phone, adjacent your car shows intelligibly wherever you were astatine down this agelong ungraded roadworthy that conscionable happened to walk a camera and tracks your each movement. …

INVESTIGATOR JACK FROST: We enactment you and your cellular instrumentality successful your vehicle, retired determination successful these places wherever your wife's assemblage is recovered dismembered with the weapon that you conscionable bought. …

AGENT TRACY SANDS: Why did you termination Mindi?

NICK KASSOTIS: Sir, I didn't termination Mindi.

AGENT TRACY SANDS: You killed Mindi.

NICK KASSOTIS: I did not.

AGENT TRACY SANDS: All the grounds shows that you killed Mindi and volition proceed to show. It's benignant of similar a thousand-piece puzzle. You burned immoderate of the pieces. … But we've got capable to spot a precise wide picture.

But Nick insisted helium was guiltless and pointed the digit astatine the antheral helium says had been controlling their lives: Jim McIntyre.

AGENT TRACY SANDS (interrogation): Are you alleging that Jim killed your wife?

NICK KASSOTIS: I don't know, but I deliberation it's possible. …

NICK KASSOTIS: She should person ne'er been successful this situation. We should person ne'er listened to Jim.

In February 2024, a small implicit a twelvemonth aft Mindi's death, Nick Kassotis was indicted for the execution of Mindi Kassotis.

Doug Weinstein: It's precise hard for maine to judge that Nick Kassotis could execution anyone.

Defense claims accused slayer was duped by enigma man

Phillip McCallar had walked the grounds of the Portal Hunting Club for years earlier the December time successful 2022, erstwhile helium made that gruesome discovery.

Phillip McCallar: Just laying successful the ditch. …

Phillip McCallar: Kind of thought it was a mannequin to commencement with. It didn't look real.

Strewn on the swamp, the remains of the erstwhile vibrant 40-year-old Mindi Kassotis.

More than two-and-a-half years later, her hubby Nick Kassotis, charged with her murder, was successful a Hinesville, Georgia, courtroom.

JUDGE CHARLES ROSE (in court): We'll statesman the proceedings astatine this clip with the opening statements.

This proceedings would beryllium to beryllium dissimilar immoderate different from the get-go.

In an antithetic move, the prosecution forced defence lawyer Doug Weinstein to unfastened his lawsuit first.

Doug Weinstein: I honestly deliberation it was purely … a maneuver to effort to get into my caput a small spot and marque maine disconnected balance.

DOUG WEINSTEIN (in court): Mr. and Mrs. Kassotis were told that they were targets.

Weinstein instantly acceptable the country for the defense: the alleged killer, helium says, was really different unfortunate moving for his life.

DOUG WEINSTEIN (in court): Nick Kassotis is … a antheral who lived successful fear. Relentless all-consuming fear.

Doug Weinstein: It's hard for maine to ever judge that Nick killed Mindi.

Instead, Weinstein told the jury, Nick Kassotis had been duped and deluded by the mysterious fig Jim McIntyre.

DOUG WEINSTEIN (in court): You'll perceive grounds that a antheral telephone – calling himself Jim McIntyre … claiming to beryllium with the FBI told them that their lives were successful danger.

Nick Kassotis is not a killer, helium says — much similar a frightened, hopeless hero.

DOUG WEINSTEIN (in court): A decorated subject veteran. … He served successful Iraq. He was successful the Pentagon.

But Prosecutor Laurie Baio says the existent Nick Kassotis is revealed by the gruesome grounds near behind.

LAURIE BAIO (in court): And unfortunately, you're going to perceive astir the dismemberment.

Baio showed the limb recovered adjacent Mindi's mangled body.

LAURIE BAIO (in court): A Milwaukee, orangish handled achromatic sheathed knife.

Kassotis' DNA was not recovered astatine the transgression country but that weapon is the aforesaid brand, investigators say— arsenic the 1 seen nether his arm.

LAURIE BAIO (in court): That's him connected surveillance from Home Depot.

On the aforesaid time that authorities accidental Mindi whitethorn person been murdered.

Along with the facts and forensics, the assemblage heard tales of betrayal, including 1 by Kassotis' 3rd wife, Samantha Kolesnik. She believed she had joined a loving widower—but aboriginal learned that Mindi was inactive live erstwhile Nick archetypal started messaging her.

Laurie Baio: She had nary thought that – that helium was starring this treble life.

SAMANTHA KOLESNIK (in court): I don't deliberation words volition ever seizure however I felt, but I felt if I had to take immoderate words, I'd accidental horrified, shocked … traumatized, violated, deceived.

Samantha besides told jurors Nick wanted to rapidly commencement a family.

SAMANTHA KOLESNIK (in court): I went to a, a preconception assignment … close astir the day of our marriage. Yep.

CAMERON NELSON (in court): Nick and I met astatine Naval Justice School successful 2008.

Retired Commander Cameron Nelson described the "Nick" that she and others had erstwhile believed was an honorable, arrogant patriot. She received a superior crab diagnosis.

CAMERON NELSON (in court): And I was scheduled to deploy aboard the USNS Comfort. …

CAMERON NELSON (in court): Unfortunately, I wasn't capable to spell connected that deployment.

Kassotis, she told the jury, stepped up and stepped in.

CAMERON NELSON (in court): Nick instantly volunteered to instrumentality that deployment truthful that I could absorption connected treatment.

But that aforesaid Nick Kassotis, she says, besides betrayed her trust. When helium told her that his fiscal accounts had been hacked, she lent him wealth and adjacent gave him a recognition card.

GREG MCCONNELL (in court): How overmuch did the suspect complaint to that recognition card? …

CAMERON NELSON: Approximately $198,000. …

GREG MCCONNELL: Has helium ever paid a penny towards that debt?

CAMERON NELSON: Not a penny.

The antheral Cameron thought was a patriot, present seemed similar a calculating conman.

CAMERON NELSON (in court): And we decided that it was conscionable not sustainable to proceed to let him to get money.

First woman Heather Thomas testified astir her ain betrayal, with its tribunal bid for Kassotis to wage up connected their divorcement agreement.

GREG MCCONNELL (in court): Did the suspect cooperate with the divorcement obligations?

HEATHER THOMAS: No.

GREG MCCONNELL: Did that origin immoderate benignant of hardship to you?

HEATHER THOMAS: Of course. … It enactment maine done a batch of affectional stress. …

GREG MCCONNELL: Did helium ever comply with that tribunal bid for the $1.5 million, and the involvement and the lawyer fees?

HEATHER THOMAS: No.

The assemblage watched that video of Kassotis' greenish Ford Explorer little than a mile from wherever Mindi's remains were found.

LAURIE BAIO (in court):And that camera captured that vehicle, is that correct?

AGENT TRACY SANDS: The h2o pumping presumption camera, yes.

Special Agent Tracy Sands said helium wasn't conscionable sifting done carnal evidence. He had been connected a hunt for a prima witness.

LAURIE BAIO (in court): Did you ever marque an effort to find Jim McIntyre?

AGENT TRACY SANDS: Yes ma'am I did. … There was lone 1 successful this area, successful the Savannah area.

And this McIntyre was decidedly not an FBI agent.

AGENT TRACY SANDS: An older gentleman. … He managed a institution that sold dental implants. …

LAURIE BAIO: Could you place immoderate transportation betwixt that Jim McIntyre to this case?

AGENT TRACY SANDS: I could not.

It's a almighty circumstantial lawsuit against Nick Kassotis that lone 1 antheral tin rebut.

For much than 3 hours, Kassotis repeated to the assemblage his communicative astir the enigma antheral who helium insists controlled each item of Mindi's beingness and his.

NICK KASSOTIS (in court): I gave Jim McIntyre entree to virtually everything. … He had entree to our home. … He had each of our slope accounts.

Erin Moriarty: Why would an accomplished lawyer perceive to immoderate feline who conscionable shows up and bash immoderate helium says?

Doug Weinstein: Well, is — that's the million-dollar question, right? Why would helium bash that? All I tin deliberation is panic.

The defence offered nary pictures of McIntyre, nary records — conscionable Kassotis' testimony.

NICK KASSOTIS (in court): I had nary crushed to uncertainty that helium was who helium said helium was.

And Kassotis claimed helium was lone successful the country wherever his wife's remains were recovered due to the fact that the manipulative McIntyre had told him to spell there.

DOUG WEINSTEIN (in court): Did you termination your wife, Mindi Kassotis?

NICK KASSOTIS: I perfectly did not. … I would ne'er person wounded Mindi. …

DOUG WEINSTEIN: Did you dismember her body?

NICK KASSOTIS: No, perfectly not.

Then what astir that weapon cradled nether his arm? Kassotis said it wasn't astir murder. It was for location betterment — a breached screen.

NICK KASSOTIS: I was having a precise hard clip keeping the netting connected it and keeping it secured up there. So, I was looking for thing that benignant of agelong and thin.

Erin Moriarty: What is Nick's strongest defense?

Doug Weinstein: His strongest defence is it's wholly circumstantial. There was zero grounds presented astatine proceedings of however Mindi was killed and frankly, oh, however — wherever Mindi was killed. They don't know.

Attorney Weinstein closed his defence with this reminder to the jurors.

Doug Weinstein: The authorities has an incredibly precocious load to meet. … Because they person got to amusement guilt beyond a tenable doubt. … And they haven't done that. They conscionable — they conscionable haven't done that.

As the proceedings wrapped up, the enigma antheral Jim McIntyre ne'er appeared successful the Georgia courtroom.

LAURIE BAIO (in court): Can't find a idiosyncratic that doesn't exist. …

LAURIE BAIO (in court): I taxable to you determination is nary Jim. …

LAURIE BAIO (in court): He killed her. He took her from everyone — a agleam light, kind, bully natured. … I taxable to you, Mindi, she deserves your attention. This lawsuit is astir her. … Look astatine the grounds and travel backmost with what is the lone due result — blameworthy of each charges.

What was Nick Kassotis' motive to kill?

Nick Kassotis and his lawyer had hoped to person the assemblage that helium wasn't susceptible of sidesplitting his woman Mindi, but idiosyncratic other was.

Doug Weinstein: It is not my occupation to fig retired who killed Mindi Kassotis. That is the state's job. It's a immense job. It's an important job. And it's a precocious burden. …

Erin Moriarty: What's the motive for idiosyncratic other to termination her?

Doug Weinstein: Well, again, we spell backmost to Jim McIntyre. … That's the lone idiosyncratic that could perchance — that's the lone person.

The mysterious Jim McIntyre.

Erin Moriarty: Prosecutors accidental determination is nary Jim McIntyre, that helium doesn't exist. Do you person immoderate grounds helium does? …

Doug Weinstein: I – I person nary grounds that Jim McIntyre exists.

Erin Moriarty: Do you person a representation of him?

Doug Weinstein: I person nary picture.

Erin Moriarty: Any benignant of documentation that showed that helium worked for a national agency?

Doug Weinstein: All that we person connected Jim McIntyre is what Nick has told Mindi. … If I had immoderate mode to beryllium that Jim McIntyre existed, you would've seen it astatine the trial. …

Erin Moriarty: Why should anyone judge Nick Kassotis' communicative erstwhile he's a liar? …

DOUG WEINSTEIN: He lies a lot. … He told immoderate large lies, but thing similar murdering your wife. …

Doug Weinstein: I conscionable garbage to instrumentality the leap of, due to the fact that you prevarication astir definite things, you're a murderer. I just, it's conscionable excessively acold for maine to go.

Even authoritative Laurie Baio admitted that, contempt Kassotis' inconsistencies, jurors mightiness person doubts astir his guilt.

Laurie Baio: If you look astatine him connected paper, helium looks similar Prince Charming. My ma and dada would've said, ohio my gosh, he's a fantastic catch. … He looks fantastic. So wherefore wouldn't you judge him?

But Baio says Kassotis has been fooling radical for years.

Laurie Baio: He gaslighted everybody. … Not anserine people, not radical that are unaware. And they each bought it.

Including Mindi.

Laurie Baio: She believed him. I mean, there's nary 1 disputes that Mindi ne'er near the house, that she was terrified and that she stayed location each infinitesimal of her life, acrophobic that if she left, that she'd beryllium killed.

The existent story, says Baio, was overmuch much mundane. Nick Kassotis was hiding, she says, due to the fact that helium didn't privation to wage his ex-wife.

Erin Moriarty: Was Nick Kassotis gaslighting his woman and making her judge that their lives were successful information erstwhile successful information he's conscionable moving from a debt?

Doug Weinstein: You know, that's possible, but —

Erin Moriarty: I mean, he's a prosecutor, he's a lawyer. He mightiness beryllium capable to person her of that. …

Doug Weinstein: He besides knows however to grip the ineligible system. So, there's a million-and-a-half-dollar judgement against him. … There's each kinds of ways to get escaped of this debt. You don't request to unrecorded a miserable beingness for 5 years due to the fact that of a judgement that you can't pay.

But wherefore termination Mindi?

Erin Moriarty: Why bash you judge Nick Kassotis killed his wife? What — what's the motive for it?

Laurie Baio: That was the hardest question to answer. …

Erin Moriarty: But a assemblage needs —

Laurie Baio: — but juries privation to know. … It was my statement to the assemblage that everybody said, Nick wanted a family. He wanted kids. He truly wanted to person kids. …

Erin Moriarty: But — truthful wherefore termination her?

Laurie Baio: I deliberation helium recovered retired she wasn't pregnant.

In fact, Mindi's decease certificate said she was not pregnant.

Jurors took conscionable a small implicit an hr to scope a verdict.

JUDGE CHARLES ROSE: It's my knowing that the assemblage has reached a verdict.

CLERK: Count 1, malice murder, guilty. Count 2, felony murder, guilty.

Guilty connected each charges.

Doug Weinstein: I don't judge for a minute, Nick ever expected a blameworthy verdict to travel back.

Before sentencing, Mindi's person Morgan Paddock spoke straight to Kassotis.

MORGAN PADDOCK (in court): She loved you and trusted you to archer her the truth, to support her, to unrecorded retired your matrimony vows. And yet you were the 1 that she needed extortion from.

The justice sentenced Nick Kassotis to beingness without parole.

Erin Moriarty: Why did truthful galore radical judge Nick Kassotis? …

Doug Weinstein: You know, each — each I person are questions from this case, right? Just — I don't person answers. … So galore radical … assemblage grads, professionals, vocation Navy officers believed everything that Nick and Mindi told them astir … wherefore they were surviving the life. … And I deliberation it's due to the fact that … erstwhile Nick would archer them something, they, they believed him.

The radical successful his beingness are inactive struggling with the betrayal.

Erin Moriarty: Is that hard for you past to deliberation that you were joined to this antheral who past killed his wife?

Heather Thomas: The happening that I conflict with, I deliberation adjacent present is the information that survivor's guilt is precise real. … Out of the 2 of us, I astir apt had — helium astir apt had much reasons to possibly possibly travel aft me. …

Heather Thomas: I trusted him with my literal beingness and I believed him.

Mindi's friends present judge that they were each betrayed by Nick. But they anticipation Mindi volition beryllium remembered, not arsenic a victim, but a pistillate who saw the airy successful different women and tried to seizure that successful a podcast.

Morgan Paddock: And it was beautiful, and it was peculiar and it was talking to a person … and knowing that she had a level and she wanted to usage it for good.

MINDI KASSOTIS (podcast): The "Compelling Women" podcast is written and hosted by me, Mindi Kassotis. … Thank you truthful overmuch for listening to the archetypal play … and I committedness to beryllium backmost with different play arsenic soon arsenic I can.

Produced by Chuck Stevenson and Jamie Stolz. Elena DiFiore, Ryan Smith and Tamara Weitzman are the improvement producers. Chelsea Narvaez is the subordinate producer. Marcus Balsam and Greg Kaplan are the editors. Anthony Batson is the elder broadcast producer. Nancy Kramer is the enforcement communicative editor. Judy Tygard is the enforcement producer.

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