January 29, 2025 • 41 mins
Autumn Mercado’s coworker at the Huntsman Cancer Institute tells police she is worried something happened to Autumn. Mercado did not show up for work. The nurse reports that Autumn’s husband has a history of domestic violence and fears it may have escalated.
West Jordan police officers respond to 7800 South and Iron Core Lane for a welfare check.
Autumn’s husband, Carlos Mercado Jr., answers the door, visibly intoxicated, with alcohol on his breath. He appears relieved to see them, claiming he was just about to call. As officers follow him inside, they see a woman’s body covered with a blanket at the foot of the stairs.
Mercado struggles to maintain his balance and slurs his speech. He tells officers he found Autumn about six hours earlier but did not realize she was dead. He says he assumed she was sleeping off the drinks they had the night before. Officers notice several open alcohol containers in the kitchen and living room.
Mercado says he and Autumn drank heavily late into the night, and he fell asleep around 4 a.m. When he wakes at 8:40 a.m., he finds Autumn at the bottom of the stairs but cannot wake her. He tells police he believes she passed out from vertigo and fell. Instead of calling 911, he covers her with a blanket, orders a Lyft, and goes to a gas station for more beer, leaving their 1- and 4-year-old children home alone with their mother’s body.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Summer Christiansen - Autumn Mercado Sister
- Philip Dubé – Court-Appointed Counsel, Los Angeles County Public Defenders: Criminal & Constitutional Law; Forensics & Mental Health Advocacy
- Dr. Lisa Long – Forensic Psychologist and Owner of Dr. Long and Associates
- Bill Hernandez – California Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Detective
- Dr. Michelle Dupre – Forensic Pathologist and former Medical Examiner, Author: “Homicide Investigation Field Guide” & “Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide;”Retired Police Detective Lexington County Sheriff’s Department
- Sydney Sumner - Crime Online Investigative Reporter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A husband finds his wife,
a mom of three, dead at the bottom of the stairs.
So what does he do? Of course, he goes on
a beer run. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is
(00:21):
Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
An investigation underway in Salt Lake City, Utah suburbs after
a shocking discovery of a mom of three dead at
the bottom of a flight of stairs.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Bottom is extremely dedicated to her nursing job at the
Huntsman Cancer Institute and is even working toward becoming a
nurse practitioner. When the thirty nine year old mom doesn't
show up to work without calling ahead, coworkers are immediately concerned.
After several failed attempts to call Autumn, a coworker calls
West Jordan Police requesting a welfare check.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Joining me in all star panel, I'm just trying to
get my mind around the husband finding his wife. She's beautiful,
a mom of three at the foot of the stairs.
And did I just hear Let me understand this to
Sidney Sumner, joining us investigative reporter, Did I just hear?
(01:16):
The coworkers where she works as a nurse, they're the
ones that call police, not the husband that finds his
wife comatose at the bottom of the stairs.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Fancy, That's absolutely correct. The red flag was raised when
Autumn did not show up to work that afternoon. Coworkers
were immediately concerned when they couldn't reach her and ask
for a welfare check. They just wanted to make sure
she was okay when she didn't come to work.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Okay, I'm trying to figure out what time she would
normally get to work in the morning. What I'm getting
at Sydney Sumner is how long had Auna been at
the foot of the steps with what the husband walking
back and forth by her? Well, take a listen to
Sergeant Andrew Hercules, West Jordan p D.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
January thirteenth, At approximately two thirty pm, West Jordan Police
officers were dispatched to the area of seventy eight hundred
South and Iron Core Lane to perform a welfare check.
We were initially dispatched to the home just for a
welfare check. It was from a coworker who hadn't been
able to get a hold of the deceased individual.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
From our friends that k s el new is okay.
Hold on Sidney, you know when you told me that
the husband, Carlos Mercatit finds Autumn at the bottom of
the steps and then goes for a beer run. This
is this is what I'm getting at two thirty pm.
West Jordan PD dispatched to the home two thirty So
(02:50):
if she had the morning shift, that means he's been
walking around her body for how many hours?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Nancy? What we know from Mercado's statements is that he
found Autumn in that position just before nine am. She
had been there for roughly six hours when police were
dispatched to the scene. Repeat six hours, Nancy, say that again,
a full six hours, a full six hours. At the
(03:18):
bottom of the stair.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
She had been lying at the foot of the steps
for six hours. And you know what, let me go
straight out to doctor Michelle Dupree, joining US forensic Pathologists,
medical examiner, former detective with Lexington County Sheriffs and author
of multiple books. The most recent one is Money, Mischief, Murder,
the Murdoch Dynasty. The rest of the story. You might
(03:41):
as well get ready to redo that trial, Dr Duprie.
But for my purposes, she's the author of the Homicide
Investigation Field Guide. Doctor Duprix help me figure this out.
I can't. There are extrinsic ways to tell the time
of death, okay, but if I am looking at specifically
(04:04):
the body itself, how do you tell how long a
victim has been dead?
Speaker 6 (04:11):
Well, Nancy, we look at several things. One, we look
at the temperature of the body, but we also have
to compare that to the temperature in the room or
the environment. But we also look for something called rigor mortis,
which is the stiffening of the body. And we look
for liver mortise, which is where the blood settles at
the dependent areas, and that helps us tell.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, doctor Duprie, I got to know you really
well when we were out in the field on the
Murderye case. But let me remind you, we don't all
have medical degrees. So when you're referring to rigor mortis,
when the stiffening of the limbs, then there's live re mortise.
To my understanding is, for instance, when you're lying flat
(04:51):
on your back and your heart is no longer pumping
the blood in your body, fluids in your body settle
to the lowest common point. For instance, if you're on
your back, all your blood settles down to your back,
the back of your legs, your rear end. It settles down.
If you're on your side, it settles all to the side. Okay,
So you look for rigor. You look, how long does
(05:15):
it take for liver re mortis to set in?
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Well, it's we call it fixed, and that's when it
won't change. If you move the position of the body,
that's maybe six to eight hours, maybe twelve hours again,
depending on the circumstances. But before that it still settles.
But if you move the body, then the live re
mortis may move also if you move it early.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Okay, doctor Dupre, I'm about to go to Autumn's sister
summer with us, but I want to clarify one more
thing before I continue to discuss how many hours she
had lain there. I don't know that that's true, doctor Dupre.
The last thing you want to do is have your
facts wrong in front of a jury, because if you're
(05:55):
wrong on one fact, they can discount everything you're going
to say. So how else can you tell? How long
does it take for rigor to set in? And riger
sets in the stiffening of the limbs, but then after
a period of hours it goes away, That's right? How
long til rigor sets in.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
Again, six to eight hours, maybe twelve, depending on the circumstances,
if it's very warm or not. But once that rigor
is broken, for example, once that limb is moved, it
doesn't come back. And so again that's another way we
can tell if the body's been moved. It's a way
we can tell approximately how long the body has been there,
as well as with the lever and the temperature of
the body.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Doctor Dupree really not helping me that much. You're giving
me six to twelve hours, Okay, hold on, I can
back it up from there, depending on what time she
woke Well, I don't know what time she woke up
that morning, you said, dependent on the circumstances. If it's
warm in the home, does that change the time period
(06:55):
for a rigor mortis to set in.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
Yes, it can speed it up. Actually it can make
it appears. But again, this is probably going to be
relatively minimal, given that there's what a six maybe even
only a twelve hour difference. But the biggest thing, the
most important thing, is the position of the body and
the injuries on the body.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
How does that tell me when the time of death.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It doesn't help with the time of death, but it
helps tell us what happened and what maybe happened.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Okay, yeah, I'm still on time of death. Okay, And
my point is, you know, let me go out to
Autumn's sister joining us. Guys, we are talking about a
beautiful young woman. She's thirty nine years old. She's in
the prime of her life. The best thing in the world,
(07:40):
in my opinion, has happened to her. She's got these
three beautiful children. One is age one, one is age four,
one is age fifteen. She is an incredible nurse. She's
working to become a nurse practitioner, which is not easy.
(08:01):
It was hard enough for me to go to school
at night and work during the day, much less with
three children. And now she's just gone. What do you
tell the little one year old and the four year
old as a teen hits those teen years, what do
you tell them Mommy's not there to help them to
(08:24):
Summer Christiansen joining us, this is Autumn's sister, Summer. I'm
so sorry. I cannot imagine what you and your family
have gone through. And I'm sorry also that we are
discussing rigor and live re mortis and time of death.
(08:44):
Let's take it back to that day. When did you
learn that your sister had been in a horrible, horrible tragedy.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
I learned that morning. I don't live in the same state,
but two sheriffs came to my house about one point
thirty in the morning, and by the look on their face,
I fell to the ground.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
I don't know why.
Speaker 7 (09:11):
My gut just said it was my sister. They didn't
have any answers for me. They did not know what
was going on. You know, at least they did contact
the sheriff's department in the state that I live in,
and they came to my home, so that I knew
what was happening. But I fell to the floor. I
(09:32):
couldn't breathe. I hyperventilated. It's my sister, It's my little sister.
Speaker 8 (09:39):
You know, you call family, But summer, how did you know?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
How did you know? You said when you saw them,
when they came to the door, you knew. And fell
to the ground.
Speaker 8 (09:50):
It's like it hit me. It just hit me. I
don't know. I can't explain it. It's just something that
hit me.
Speaker 7 (09:56):
And then after I fell to the ground, I looked
up and asked to clarify and he shook his head. Yes,
but don't it just hit me. It was like I
opened that door. I saw his face, the sheriff's face,
and the way he looked, and it just came through
the door.
Speaker 8 (10:13):
I don't know, maybe it was her, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
To doctor Lisa Long joining us, a forensic psychologist, doctor
owner of Doctor Long and Associates, Doctor Lisa, thank you
for being with us. I've heard that recollection from so
many victims families, and I experienced the same thing when
I learned my fiance had been murdered. I got a
(10:37):
call to contact Keith's sister and I knew immediately. I
knew immediately, and it does. It affects your body. I
remember trying to dial the numbers. It was a circular
payphone to contact his sister, and I couldn't dial. I
(10:57):
couldn't get my finger in the little dial slot to
turn the rotary. Just like Summer is saying, what is that?
What happens to you? Nobody told tells you. You know instinctively,
and then your body reacts absolutely.
Speaker 9 (11:16):
Nancy, you know it's a terrible thing for anyone to
go through. It's trauma. It is the shock. I mean
your your brain is actually protecting you in those situations
where oftentimes people describe not really being able to remember
immediate events after or surrounding really traumatic incidents. It is
(11:38):
truly a shock response that you and Summer we're going through,
and it's very unfortunate. No one is ever prepared to
receive that type of information.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Listen to Sergeant Andrew Hercules.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
January thirteenth, at approximately two thirty pm, Western Police officers
were dispound to the area of seventy eight hundred South
and Iron Core Lane to perform a welfare check. We
were initially dispatched to the home just for a welfare check.
It was from a coworker who hadn't been able to
get a hold of the deceased individual.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
From our friends at KSL. Summer, you said you knew
immediately and your reaction was an involuntary physical reaction. You
fell to the ground. How long do you believe Autumn
(12:37):
lay in the floor until police arrived, so they call.
Speaker 8 (12:46):
Her time of death when police found her.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
My sister was a donor, so you know, with being
a donor, you are able to collect if you will.
Twenty four hours beforehand, I ended up getting a phone
call that they were not.
Speaker 8 (13:04):
Going to be able to collect. So that's what I know.
So to me, it was longer than twenty four hours.
My opinion, she.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
Probably was there, I don't know, a day and a
half with her kids just sitting there. Why Carlos is
doing whatever he's doing, and you said it earlier, Nancy,
as he has to step over her body to walk
up the stairs, he has to step over her body
to go into the kitchen and to make food, and
his children are just there with them like nothing.
Speaker 8 (13:38):
I don't it's disgusting, Summer.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Do you know the condition of her body when police
found it and he's home, he's home with the children,
and she's lying there at the foot of the stairs,
cold to the touch.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
I don't know the extent.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
I mean, I know what the police records say, and
Rigor Mortis said in I don't know anything beyond that
yet everything is still under investigation, so I don't know
anything further than that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
To Sydney Summer joining us in addition to Autumn's sister, Summer,
and I can tell you this is taking a huge
emotional toll on her to speak out on her sister's behalf. Sidney,
what was the condition of Autumn's body. What did they
find when they came through that front door.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Nancy, So what police initially saw when they walked into
this building, Carlos Mercado was extremely drunk and they could
see open alcohol containers all over the house. Her children
were not far from her body, which was covered with
a blanket. Underneath that blanket, Autumn was wearing only a
(14:49):
ripped T shirt. She was naked from the waist down.
Her legs and her feet had extreme bruising all down
her legs and her feet. And that's what we know
from police. That's the state of her body. They say
they were signs of rigor mortis, So it's unclear was
(15:10):
that full rigor mortis? Was it starting to set in?
They hadn't released many details about how long they think
Autumn really laid there summer.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Did you know or have you come to learn that
your sister's legs were covered in bruises and she was
naked from the waist down, lying there in a ripped
T shirt with a blanket over her, and the children
all standing around her.
Speaker 7 (15:38):
So I knew the legs from the police report, naked
from the waisttone, So my sister would have never walked
their own naked in front of her kids like that.
She wouldn't have been without underwear, like she would not
have done that. She wouldn't have done it. That's just
not her. I did read that in the police report.
But point was a blanket put over her? And not
(16:01):
only that, a blanket's put over her like we read
the police report. Like, if you say that out loud,
that's that's crazy. You don't pick your wife up, You
don't call someone right away, you don't call an ambulance,
you don't put her in bed, you don't cuddle her,
hold her, do anything. I saw someone fall at a
hospital one time. I ran over there to help pick
(16:23):
them up and call for help.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Simmer, who do you think put the blanket on her?
Do you think the children thought she was asleep and
put a blanket on her? How? How did a blanket
end up on her? And I wonder was it over
her face? Was it over her body like they were
trying to keep her warm? Or did the husband know
(16:46):
that she was dead and put it over her face?
Who put the blanket on her? And why? And how?
Speaker 8 (16:52):
I don't so, of course I only have what's you
know the.
Speaker 7 (16:56):
Police records that Carlos said he had put the blanket
over her. But the way I feel is so is
it so that they don't he doesn't have to look
at her.
Speaker 8 (17:06):
I don't understand. I don't know if it was over
her head or not.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Coworkers sound the alarm when a dedicated Utah nurse and
aspiring nurse practitioner fails to show up to our Monday
morning shift. Police make us startling discovery.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
The husband says he was about to call police. Okay,
Sidney Sumner tells us that reports state that autumn was
cold to the touch. That can take hours for your
body temperature to go from its normal temp ninety eight
(17:48):
point six to cold to the touch, especially when you're
in a structure such as a home with heating for
your body to dip below the ambiyond temperature, the temperature
in the room. What would that require out to you,
(18:08):
doctor Michelle do pre forensic pathologists, medical examiner, what would
that require? How many hours had he been walking by
her dead body as it slipped into rigor mortis? How
long to get cold in am beyond temperature.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Nancy, It usually takes about a decreases about two degrees
centigrade per hour. So if you extrapolate from that or
back date that we don't know the temperature of our body,
but cold to touch would take a few hours. Yes, absolutely,
what more do we know?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Listen?
Speaker 10 (18:46):
Officers have to ask Mercado to keep the children back
from the body while they investigate. Under the blanket, the
woman is naked from the waist down, only wearing a
ripped shirt. Upon closer inspection, her legs are covered in
bruises and rigor mortis is clearly setting in. Based on
husband Carlos Mercado's statements and her driver's license, the body
is identified as Autumn.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Joining me Veterans trial lawyer Philip Dubay, former quarter appointed
Council in the La County PD's office. Dubay, he thought
she was asleep for that long at the food of
the stairs, half naked. He put a blanket on her,
(19:28):
and he said he was about to call police. Hours
had passed, she was already a no show at work.
They're the ones that call police, and then when police arrived,
they have to ask him to get the children away
from their mother's naked, cold body. What is wrong with him?
Speaker 11 (19:48):
Well, he was drunk as a skunk. He was hungover. Still,
Remember he and the wife had had a night of drinking,
so obviously he wasn't of clear mind at the time.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I don't know that she had been drinking. That's just
what you say, you think I'm listening to him. Oh okay,
and also told the police he thought she was asleep.
Speaker 11 (20:09):
Well, the MB report will bear that out. We'll find
out if she had any alcohol in her system when
they do. The talks run on. But to me, the
case really hinges on whether or not you even have
a homicide, And so far all we know is she
reported to him that she had vertigo, And if she
had vertigo and fell down the stairs, and maybe in
(20:29):
a fit of panic, he left her there because of
the dB history that he's had with her, it's understandable.
Does anybody condone it, No, But it goes to what
his state.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Of mind was put up. DEBEI are you married?
Speaker 12 (20:45):
Oh no, No, Well, before you ever do get married, uh,
make sure your wife, your future wife, your pretend wife,
knows that if.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
You found her half naked, covered in bruises at the
foot of the stairs, you wouldn't just walk around her
body for hours on end. Okay that you would call
for assistance. And isn't it true, Philip Dubay that voluntary
use of drugs or alcohol is not a defense under
(21:20):
the law. So for you to say, oh, he was drunk,
I believe you said drunk as a skunk. That's no
defense to anything. If that were true, the Fulton County
jail would be empty right now. Everybody would say, oh,
miss Grace, I was drunk. That's bs. So don't even
start with me that he was drunk. I don't care
that he was drunk, and Lady Justice doesn't care, and
(21:41):
the law is on my side here.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Carlos Mercado Junior has a hard time maintaining his balance
and slurs his speech while speaking with officers. His breath
smells of alcohol, as he explains he found on him
roughly six hours ago, but did not realize she was dead.
Mercado says he assumed she was sleeping off the numerous
drinks they shared the night before. Officers noticed several open
(22:05):
alcohol containers in the kitchen and living room.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Joining me right now is a domestic violence and sex
assault expert. Bill Hernandez is joining us. He is a
detective in California, Bill, Thank you for being with us. Bill,
having prosecuted violent felonies my entire career and working at
the Battered Women's Center as a volunteer for nine years
on the hotline. How many times, I mean, can you
(22:32):
even count them that the husband, partner, boyfriend, ex whatever,
claims quote I was drunk, as if that somehow absolves
them from what they've done. They're always drunk. Do you care?
Does that mean she's not dead? Does that mean that
other women were not attacked because the perp is drunk?
Speaker 13 (22:54):
No, it certainly doesn't mean that they weren't attacked, and
it certainly does matter in thestigation how intoxicated this person was.
We always do want to ask that type of question,
but it really doesn't go to what happened during the incident.
It doesn't state the facts.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
In addition to what police find when they get there,
they then get evidence of a lift ride listen.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Mercato tells police that he and Autumn were drinking heavily
late into the night and he fell asleep around four am.
When he wakes at eight forty am, Autumn is at
the bottom of the stairs and Mercado cannot wake her.
Mercato tells police he believes Autumn must have passed out
from vertigo and fallen down the stairs. Mercato admits that
(23:43):
instead of calling nine to one one, he covers Autumn
with a blanket and orders a lift ride. Mercato makes
a trip to a nearby gas station for a beer run,
leaving their one and four year old children home alone
with mommy's body.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Debay a beer ride. A beer run, he finds his
wife's dead body at the foot of the stairs six
hours by his admission, according to her sister, is likely
much longer, and goes for a beer run, leaving a
one year old and four year old child alone with
(24:21):
mommy's body hovering around it.
Speaker 11 (24:27):
You can be a fourteen carrot jerk without being a killer.
The man was obviously drunk. He wanted to resume where
he left off. Does that mean anybody would condone it?
Certainly not, But that's not an element of murder. The
real question here is what's going to happen regarding the
child abandonment problem that he's got.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Now.
Speaker 11 (24:46):
Obviously, nobody wants to leave their spouse when they've fallen
down the stairs from vertigo. But if you are drunk,
if your blotto. You're not in the right state of
mind to act like an otherwise sober person. So for now,
there's not enough evidence to charge him with a homicide.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
A nurse, mom of three found dead at the bottom
of stairs in her home. Is it an accident or
is there more to the story?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
This is by far not the first time a wife
has been found dead at the foot of the stairs
from an accident. I recall distinctly the Kathleen Peterson case.
Kathleen found at the foot of the stairs. The defense,
wait for it was that an owl had flown into
(25:41):
the home, attacked her and made her fall down the stairs,
and then I guess the owl found its way out
the front door.
Speaker 10 (25:52):
Listen, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of
the couple staircase.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Peterson's husband is not list of Michael Peterson.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
The cop was on me instantly.
Speaker 7 (26:03):
There was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
Speaker 8 (26:05):
The injuries are not consistently the fall down the stairs.
Speaker 7 (26:08):
The charge first degree murder.
Speaker 8 (26:12):
The d is trying to say that I died till
her mother.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
There's no murder web, there's no motivor.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
But we're sitting behind our died We've never occurred to
Michael Peterson that people wouldn't believe it. That's really what
this is all about.
Speaker 8 (26:27):
He thought he'd get away with it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That's where our friends at Netflix. The husband in that case,
Michael Peterson, was tried. Then after a lot of legal wrangling,
after being found guilty and then the legal wrangling, he
ended up taking a plea to involuntary manslaughter. But listen
to this nine one one call you.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
Roch Peters.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Whyn't turn asking what kind of a super including the conscious?
Worse conscious?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
No, she's not conscious?
Speaker 2 (27:06):
How many stairs to do all there?
Speaker 9 (27:08):
How many for bears?
Speaker 1 (27:10):
How many stairs?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Fifteen forty?
Speaker 9 (27:14):
I don't know.
Speaker 12 (27:15):
Please get somebody her.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Brother way straight out to Summer Christensen. This is Autumn's sister, Summer.
In that case, the husband claimed an owl flew in
and attacked his wife. He claimed she had been drinking,
in other words, putting the blame on her as I
recall she had had a glass of wine and now
she's dead. It then came out that he had a
(27:39):
prior relationship with another woman in Germany who was found
dead at the foot of the stairs in this case.
In that case, he claimed an owl is responsible. And
a glass of wine or intake of alcohol, and this
(28:00):
case we're hearing vertigo and that Autumn had been drinking.
Why is it always seemingly the victim's fault. She's at
the bottom of the stairs dead.
Speaker 8 (28:11):
I don't even know what to say to that.
Speaker 7 (28:13):
To be honest with you, I do feel in my
heart and my gut that a phone call could have
been made to help save her life.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
What are you being told about the bruises on her body?
Speaker 7 (28:24):
Nothing yet, that everything is still under investigation, that it'll
take weeks for the full investigation to be complete.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That brings to mind the case of Susanne Seals. Listen.
Speaker 11 (28:39):
He said it was an accident and she appeared to
have fallen down the stairs.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I got the call from Scott and he said Susanne
is dead and I said, no, she isn't. He said,
but accidents do happen, which of course is true.
Speaker 9 (28:55):
We found blood stains that is obviously suspicious.
Speaker 10 (28:58):
Of course you didn't who's but what we didn't know?
Speaker 4 (29:02):
We knew that sooner onto some we were gonna have
to spend some time on.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
My son in law has just been arrested for the
murder of my daughter, another woman dead at the foot
of the stairs. That's from our friends at Dateline to
Sydney Sumner joining US Crime online dot Com investigative reporter, Sidney,
what can you tell me about the bruises on her body?
I know we don't have the autopsy report yet, but
(29:27):
we've been able to glean a little bit from police
reports and statements.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Nancy. What the report says about the bruising on Autumn's
body is her legs and her feet were extremely discolored.
That's what we took to minas bruising on her legs
and feet. They noted particularly her feet were bruised, which
is very odd. I cannot think of a reason that
those bruises would be there from an injury that happened
(29:55):
in her life.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Doctor Michelle Dupree, What does that indicate to you? Her
legs and feet badly bruised?
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Nancy? The first thing I think of is actually defensive wounds.
Oftentimes anyone may fight off an attacker with their arms
and legs and feet, and you know, if the bruises
are on her feet, I think that would be highly
suspicious for defensive wounds.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
You know, that's a really good point doctor Michelle Dupree.
When I try to explain defensive wounds to a jury,
imagine someone coming at you with a baseball bat. The
first thing you do is put your hands up over
your face. And that's why we often see defensive wounds
along the outside of the arms, the outside of the hands,
and that bruising. Even though a blow is struck here,
(30:40):
the bruising will go into the hand. Often we see
a victim if they're already in the floor or say
in the bed or in a sitting position, not necessarily
prone on the floor, they curl up in a fetal
position and you will find a lot of bruising on
the legs and the feet where they're instinctively trying to
(31:02):
protect their internal organs. Is that how it works, doctor Dupree.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
Absolutely, Nancy, you gave a perfect description. That's exactly what happened.
You're trying to defend yourself, and the way to do
that is with your arms, your legs, your feet, basically
anything to protect that core of your body.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
That's what it sounds like to me.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
A Utah nurse found in her home cop say hubby
buys beer before calling nine to one one.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
He didn't just buy beer. He got a lift ride
to go buy beer and come home and get drunk
while his wife is lying in the floor, cold to
the touch, covered in bruises, and half naked. Why it's
not the first time suspect a person of interest, let's say,
(31:52):
suddenly got an attack of the hungries after the death.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Listen, federal agents line up raaking through garbage searching for
twenty month old Quinton Simon's remains. Meanwhile, Leilanie Simon, the
only suspect in her son's disappearance, Her mother, Billy Jo Howell,
and others are spotted out at the popular Tybee Island bar.
Their waiters say they took Shantz, got flirty, and even
(32:16):
demanded one waiter's phone number. Their party ran up a
tab of over three hundred dollars while protesters stood in
front of the family's home demanding justice for Quinton.
Speaker 9 (32:26):
Not just that.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
I'm sure we all remember the case of Micah Miller.
Speaker 10 (32:32):
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is buzzing with rumors that pastor
John Paul Miller is dating again and has possibly even remarried.
Miller was previously seen out to dinner with a member
of his congregation just four days after Micah Miller's suicide,
less than twenty four hours after his home is rated
by the FBI, Miller is seen with the same woman
having lunch at McAllister's Deli. This time, the pair cap
(32:55):
their distance and appeared tense when entering and leaving the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Again. In that case, Michael Miller's case, they passed. Her
husband has not been charged in relation to her death.
To Summer Christensen, has he contacted you at all since
Autumn's death.
Speaker 8 (33:10):
Yes, he tried reaching out to me from a phone number.
I did not know that it was him.
Speaker 7 (33:17):
I actually thought it was maybe someone from the police department.
The first thing he said to me was, I didn't
do it. Not my condolences, I'm sorry about leaving the kids. Nothing.
Maybe I'm sorry. I Edmit's guilt. I don't know, but no,
nothing other than he didn't do it, and he has
(33:39):
clothing for the children that my family can pick up.
Speaker 8 (33:43):
I froze. I couldn't say anything. I wanted to scream,
I wanted to yell. I froze. I couldn't say anything.
I was just silent.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Autumn sisters say they thought her relationship with Mercato was
happy and loving older sister, Summer. Christiansen Ward says she
had no idea about the previous domestic violence charges and
believes her sister's marriage was much different behind closed doors.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Summer, did you ever have any idea that there was
domestic violence in their marriage?
Speaker 7 (34:14):
We so, I was saying, my family know, not until
I guess she would say it was too late. Right
in front of us family gatherings. They were loving to
each other. It wasn't until more recently that you can
only you know, so many times, you can only fall
(34:35):
down the stairs. You know how many more times?
Speaker 8 (34:39):
I don't know. Things started to come together, but she's
not with us, like.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Summer, is too true that you were told he Carlos
Mercado pushed her down the stairs in the past. It's
not the first time.
Speaker 7 (34:54):
So after her passing, yes, someone came forward and said
that she had reached out to them.
Speaker 8 (35:03):
Because Carlos had pushed her down the stairs.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
So a few of her friends, at least one knew
about the domestic violence Sydney. Wasn't there a previous domestic
violence charge?
Speaker 11 (35:14):
Nancy?
Speaker 4 (35:15):
There were several. The first they were not yet married,
still engaged in twenty nineteen and there was a domestic
violence assault charge against Mercado. Then again two years later
in twenty twenty one, there was another charge filed, but
(35:37):
law enforcement could not get in touch with Autumn to
successfully prosecute the case. Again, a year later, Mercado assaulted
Autumn again, just months after completing court ordered anger management
and counseling for the initial charge back in twenty nineteen.
(35:57):
So there were several documented cases of mastic violence from
Mercado against Autumn, and it seems those who saw her
on a daily basis had some idea that this was
going on. The coworker that called for the welfare check
actually mentioned to police she was worried about Autumn because
of their domestic violence history.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
You know, it's interesting Summer that nobody in the family knew.
But you know what, that is not uncommon. In fact,
that's normal. It's very rare that a domestic victim will
open up and tell people. For some reason, they keep
it a secret. How did she portray her marriage to you?
Speaker 7 (36:44):
He was her night in shining armor. She protected him,
She definitely protected him. Like I said, it wasn't until
things started not adding up. And it's like, there's only
so many times certain things can happen. And I hate
to think that she was dealing with this for as
long as they were together. She wanted us to love him.
(37:10):
She protected him. He didn't protect her, but she definitely
protected him.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Doctor Lise Long, psychologists joining us. Why why do the
victims try to protect the abuser?
Speaker 9 (37:23):
It is part of the abuse cycle, you know. You
go through periods of trying to get back together, strengthen
the relationship, and they're living in an environment that is
fear based. You know, it's chaos within the environment, and
they're under a lot of pressure by the perpetrator to
(37:47):
make them look good publicly.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
You know, I think part of it, doctor Lesa. I'm
certainly in a shrink, but they want that image. People
women grow up thinking they're going to have this wonderful husband,
this happy life, you know, like in the Harrmark movie
or and the Christmas card photos, and that's you know,
sold to us, and we buy into it and think
(38:12):
that's the way it's supposed to be, and somehow if
it's not really that way, you're the big failure.
Speaker 9 (38:19):
Absolutely, Nancy, you know, and that is part of the
domestic violence. The abuse cycle is that victims often internalize
guilt and shame for being victims of abuse when you know, obviously,
logically we know that's not the way, that they're not
the cause of it, but that is exactly what happens,
(38:43):
and then it creates a cycle of feeling shame to
speak out to get help, and then we end up
in situations like this.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Summer. What is your message tonight? I know the children
are with Autumn's family, What do they remember about the
day Mommy was at the foot of the stairs.
Speaker 8 (39:09):
I will never ask, at least the four year old.
What I will tell you is that he has night terrors.
Do I think that he knows Mommy is gone?
Speaker 9 (39:21):
I do, I do.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
But what I would want people to remember one is
if you are suffering from domestic violence, please reach out.
Reach out to your family. Even if if you confide
and others or work coworkers or other friends, then I
would ask you, you know, coworkers, other friends, whoever it is,
reach out to the family, call someone, Please do something.
(39:46):
I don't want them to end up like my sister.
But I also want my sister to be remembered. Like
I said, she is not only beautiful, on the inside
or on the outside, but also on the inside. She
was nurturing, she was loving. Her hugs were big, they
were warm.
Speaker 8 (40:01):
She was a nurse. I say this all the time.
Speaker 7 (40:03):
If you were cared for by my sister, you knew
you were going to be taken care of. She gave
off that demeanor and that confidence and that, you know,
just her the way she was when she cared for people.
She but her number one pride and joy were her
three children. Her three kids were her pride and joy,
(40:24):
and she loved them with everything she had. I really
want my sister to be remembered for the wonderful person
that she was, the amazing woman that she was. I
do want justice for her, but I want her to
be remembered for who she is and not the woman
at the bottom of the stairs where her kids were
there to watch her. She's an amazing, wonderful woman.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
If you or someone you know is suffering domestic violence,
please call toll free eight hundred seven ninety nine seven
two three three. Eight hundred seven ninety nine seven two
three three. We wait as just as sun falls. Goodbye, friend,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A husband finds his wife,
a mom of three, dead at the bottom of the stairs.
So what does he do? Of course, he goes on
a beer run. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is
(00:21):
Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
An investigation underway in Salt Lake City, Utah suburbs after
a shocking discovery of a mom of three dead at
the bottom of a flight of stairs.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Bottom is extremely dedicated to her nursing job at the
Huntsman Cancer Institute and is even working toward becoming a
nurse practitioner. When the thirty nine year old mom doesn't
show up to work without calling ahead, coworkers are immediately concerned.
After several failed attempts to call Autumn, a coworker calls
West Jordan Police requesting a welfare check.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Joining me in all star panel, I'm just trying to
get my mind around the husband finding his wife. She's beautiful,
a mom of three at the foot of the stairs.
And did I just hear Let me understand this to
Sidney Sumner, joining us investigative reporter, Did I just hear?
(01:16):
The coworkers where she works as a nurse, they're the
ones that call police, not the husband that finds his
wife comatose at the bottom of the stairs.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Fancy, That's absolutely correct. The red flag was raised when
Autumn did not show up to work that afternoon. Coworkers
were immediately concerned when they couldn't reach her and ask
for a welfare check. They just wanted to make sure
she was okay when she didn't come to work.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Okay, I'm trying to figure out what time she would
normally get to work in the morning. What I'm getting
at Sydney Sumner is how long had Auna been at
the foot of the steps with what the husband walking
back and forth by her? Well, take a listen to
Sergeant Andrew Hercules, West Jordan p D.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
January thirteenth, At approximately two thirty pm, West Jordan Police
officers were dispatched to the area of seventy eight hundred
South and Iron Core Lane to perform a welfare check.
We were initially dispatched to the home just for a
welfare check. It was from a coworker who hadn't been
able to get a hold of the deceased individual.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
From our friends that k s el new is okay.
Hold on Sidney, you know when you told me that
the husband, Carlos Mercatit finds Autumn at the bottom of
the steps and then goes for a beer run. This
is this is what I'm getting at two thirty pm.
West Jordan PD dispatched to the home two thirty So
(02:50):
if she had the morning shift, that means he's been
walking around her body for how many hours?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Nancy? What we know from Mercado's statements is that he
found Autumn in that position just before nine am. She
had been there for roughly six hours when police were
dispatched to the scene. Repeat six hours, Nancy, say that again,
a full six hours, a full six hours. At the
(03:18):
bottom of the stair.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
She had been lying at the foot of the steps
for six hours. And you know what, let me go
straight out to doctor Michelle Dupree, joining US forensic Pathologists,
medical examiner, former detective with Lexington County Sheriffs and author
of multiple books. The most recent one is Money, Mischief, Murder,
the Murdoch Dynasty. The rest of the story. You might
(03:41):
as well get ready to redo that trial, Dr Duprie.
But for my purposes, she's the author of the Homicide
Investigation Field Guide. Doctor Duprix help me figure this out.
I can't. There are extrinsic ways to tell the time
of death, okay, but if I am looking at specifically
(04:04):
the body itself, how do you tell how long a
victim has been dead?
Speaker 6 (04:11):
Well, Nancy, we look at several things. One, we look
at the temperature of the body, but we also have
to compare that to the temperature in the room or
the environment. But we also look for something called rigor mortis,
which is the stiffening of the body. And we look
for liver mortise, which is where the blood settles at
the dependent areas, and that helps us tell.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, doctor Duprie, I got to know you really
well when we were out in the field on the
Murderye case. But let me remind you, we don't all
have medical degrees. So when you're referring to rigor mortis,
when the stiffening of the limbs, then there's live re mortise.
To my understanding is, for instance, when you're lying flat
(04:51):
on your back and your heart is no longer pumping
the blood in your body, fluids in your body settle
to the lowest common point. For instance, if you're on
your back, all your blood settles down to your back,
the back of your legs, your rear end. It settles down.
If you're on your side, it settles all to the side. Okay,
So you look for rigor. You look, how long does
(05:15):
it take for liver re mortis to set in?
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Well, it's we call it fixed, and that's when it
won't change. If you move the position of the body,
that's maybe six to eight hours, maybe twelve hours again,
depending on the circumstances. But before that it still settles.
But if you move the body, then the live re
mortis may move also if you move it early.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Okay, doctor Dupre, I'm about to go to Autumn's sister
summer with us, but I want to clarify one more
thing before I continue to discuss how many hours she
had lain there. I don't know that that's true, doctor Dupre.
The last thing you want to do is have your
facts wrong in front of a jury, because if you're
(05:55):
wrong on one fact, they can discount everything you're going
to say. So how else can you tell? How long
does it take for rigor to set in? And riger
sets in the stiffening of the limbs, but then after
a period of hours it goes away, That's right? How
long til rigor sets in.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
Again, six to eight hours, maybe twelve, depending on the circumstances,
if it's very warm or not. But once that rigor
is broken, for example, once that limb is moved, it
doesn't come back. And so again that's another way we
can tell if the body's been moved. It's a way
we can tell approximately how long the body has been there,
as well as with the lever and the temperature of
the body.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Doctor Dupree really not helping me that much. You're giving
me six to twelve hours, Okay, hold on, I can
back it up from there, depending on what time she
woke Well, I don't know what time she woke up
that morning, you said, dependent on the circumstances. If it's
warm in the home, does that change the time period
(06:55):
for a rigor mortis to set in.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
Yes, it can speed it up. Actually it can make
it appears. But again, this is probably going to be
relatively minimal, given that there's what a six maybe even
only a twelve hour difference. But the biggest thing, the
most important thing, is the position of the body and
the injuries on the body.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
How does that tell me when the time of death.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It doesn't help with the time of death, but it
helps tell us what happened and what maybe happened.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Okay, yeah, I'm still on time of death. Okay, And
my point is, you know, let me go out to
Autumn's sister joining us. Guys, we are talking about a
beautiful young woman. She's thirty nine years old. She's in
the prime of her life. The best thing in the world,
(07:40):
in my opinion, has happened to her. She's got these
three beautiful children. One is age one, one is age four,
one is age fifteen. She is an incredible nurse. She's
working to become a nurse practitioner, which is not easy.
(08:01):
It was hard enough for me to go to school
at night and work during the day, much less with
three children. And now she's just gone. What do you
tell the little one year old and the four year
old as a teen hits those teen years, what do
you tell them Mommy's not there to help them to
(08:24):
Summer Christiansen joining us, this is Autumn's sister, Summer. I'm
so sorry. I cannot imagine what you and your family
have gone through. And I'm sorry also that we are
discussing rigor and live re mortis and time of death.
(08:44):
Let's take it back to that day. When did you
learn that your sister had been in a horrible, horrible tragedy.
Speaker 7 (08:54):
I learned that morning. I don't live in the same state,
but two sheriffs came to my house about one point
thirty in the morning, and by the look on their face,
I fell to the ground.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
I don't know why.
Speaker 7 (09:11):
My gut just said it was my sister. They didn't
have any answers for me. They did not know what
was going on. You know, at least they did contact
the sheriff's department in the state that I live in,
and they came to my home, so that I knew
what was happening. But I fell to the floor. I
(09:32):
couldn't breathe. I hyperventilated. It's my sister, It's my little sister.
Speaker 8 (09:39):
You know, you call family, But summer, how did you know?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
How did you know? You said when you saw them,
when they came to the door, you knew. And fell
to the ground.
Speaker 8 (09:50):
It's like it hit me. It just hit me. I
don't know. I can't explain it. It's just something that
hit me.
Speaker 7 (09:56):
And then after I fell to the ground, I looked
up and asked to clarify and he shook his head. Yes,
but don't it just hit me. It was like I
opened that door. I saw his face, the sheriff's face,
and the way he looked, and it just came through
the door.
Speaker 8 (10:13):
I don't know, maybe it was her, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
To doctor Lisa Long joining us, a forensic psychologist, doctor
owner of Doctor Long and Associates, Doctor Lisa, thank you
for being with us. I've heard that recollection from so
many victims families, and I experienced the same thing when
I learned my fiance had been murdered. I got a
(10:37):
call to contact Keith's sister and I knew immediately. I
knew immediately, and it does. It affects your body. I
remember trying to dial the numbers. It was a circular
payphone to contact his sister, and I couldn't dial. I
(10:57):
couldn't get my finger in the little dial slot to
turn the rotary. Just like Summer is saying, what is that?
What happens to you? Nobody told tells you. You know instinctively,
and then your body reacts absolutely.
Speaker 9 (11:16):
Nancy, you know it's a terrible thing for anyone to
go through. It's trauma. It is the shock. I mean
your your brain is actually protecting you in those situations
where oftentimes people describe not really being able to remember
immediate events after or surrounding really traumatic incidents. It is
(11:38):
truly a shock response that you and Summer we're going through,
and it's very unfortunate. No one is ever prepared to
receive that type of information.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Listen to Sergeant Andrew Hercules.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
January thirteenth, at approximately two thirty pm, Western Police officers
were dispound to the area of seventy eight hundred South
and Iron Core Lane to perform a welfare check. We
were initially dispatched to the home just for a welfare check.
It was from a coworker who hadn't been able to
get a hold of the deceased individual.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
From our friends at KSL. Summer, you said you knew
immediately and your reaction was an involuntary physical reaction. You
fell to the ground. How long do you believe Autumn
(12:37):
lay in the floor until police arrived, so they call.
Speaker 8 (12:46):
Her time of death when police found her.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
My sister was a donor, so you know, with being
a donor, you are able to collect if you will.
Twenty four hours beforehand, I ended up getting a phone
call that they were not.
Speaker 8 (13:04):
Going to be able to collect. So that's what I know.
So to me, it was longer than twenty four hours.
My opinion, she.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
Probably was there, I don't know, a day and a
half with her kids just sitting there. Why Carlos is
doing whatever he's doing, and you said it earlier, Nancy,
as he has to step over her body to walk
up the stairs, he has to step over her body
to go into the kitchen and to make food, and
his children are just there with them like nothing.
Speaker 8 (13:38):
I don't it's disgusting, Summer.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Do you know the condition of her body when police
found it and he's home, he's home with the children,
and she's lying there at the foot of the stairs,
cold to the touch.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
I don't know the extent.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
I mean, I know what the police records say, and
Rigor Mortis said in I don't know anything beyond that
yet everything is still under investigation, so I don't know
anything further than that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
To Sydney Summer joining us in addition to Autumn's sister, Summer,
and I can tell you this is taking a huge
emotional toll on her to speak out on her sister's behalf. Sidney,
what was the condition of Autumn's body. What did they
find when they came through that front door.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Nancy, So what police initially saw when they walked into
this building, Carlos Mercado was extremely drunk and they could
see open alcohol containers all over the house. Her children
were not far from her body, which was covered with
a blanket. Underneath that blanket, Autumn was wearing only a
(14:49):
ripped T shirt. She was naked from the waist down.
Her legs and her feet had extreme bruising all down
her legs and her feet. And that's what we know
from police. That's the state of her body. They say
they were signs of rigor mortis, So it's unclear was
(15:10):
that full rigor mortis? Was it starting to set in?
They hadn't released many details about how long they think
Autumn really laid there summer.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Did you know or have you come to learn that
your sister's legs were covered in bruises and she was
naked from the waist down, lying there in a ripped
T shirt with a blanket over her, and the children
all standing around her.
Speaker 7 (15:38):
So I knew the legs from the police report, naked
from the waisttone, So my sister would have never walked
their own naked in front of her kids like that.
She wouldn't have been without underwear, like she would not
have done that. She wouldn't have done it. That's just
not her. I did read that in the police report.
But point was a blanket put over her? And not
(16:01):
only that, a blanket's put over her like we read
the police report. Like, if you say that out loud,
that's that's crazy. You don't pick your wife up, You
don't call someone right away, you don't call an ambulance,
you don't put her in bed, you don't cuddle her,
hold her, do anything. I saw someone fall at a
hospital one time. I ran over there to help pick
(16:23):
them up and call for help.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Simmer, who do you think put the blanket on her?
Do you think the children thought she was asleep and
put a blanket on her? How? How did a blanket
end up on her? And I wonder was it over
her face? Was it over her body like they were
trying to keep her warm? Or did the husband know
(16:46):
that she was dead and put it over her face?
Who put the blanket on her? And why? And how?
Speaker 8 (16:52):
I don't so, of course I only have what's you
know the.
Speaker 7 (16:56):
Police records that Carlos said he had put the blanket
over her. But the way I feel is so is
it so that they don't he doesn't have to look
at her.
Speaker 8 (17:06):
I don't understand. I don't know if it was over
her head or not.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Coworkers sound the alarm when a dedicated Utah nurse and
aspiring nurse practitioner fails to show up to our Monday
morning shift. Police make us startling discovery.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
The husband says he was about to call police. Okay,
Sidney Sumner tells us that reports state that autumn was
cold to the touch. That can take hours for your
body temperature to go from its normal temp ninety eight
(17:48):
point six to cold to the touch, especially when you're
in a structure such as a home with heating for
your body to dip below the ambiyond temperature, the temperature
in the room. What would that require out to you,
(18:08):
doctor Michelle do pre forensic pathologists, medical examiner, what would
that require? How many hours had he been walking by
her dead body as it slipped into rigor mortis? How
long to get cold in am beyond temperature.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Nancy, It usually takes about a decreases about two degrees
centigrade per hour. So if you extrapolate from that or
back date that we don't know the temperature of our body,
but cold to touch would take a few hours. Yes, absolutely,
what more do we know?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Listen?
Speaker 10 (18:46):
Officers have to ask Mercado to keep the children back
from the body while they investigate. Under the blanket, the
woman is naked from the waist down, only wearing a
ripped shirt. Upon closer inspection, her legs are covered in
bruises and rigor mortis is clearly setting in. Based on
husband Carlos Mercado's statements and her driver's license, the body
is identified as Autumn.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Joining me Veterans trial lawyer Philip Dubay, former quarter appointed
Council in the La County PD's office. Dubay, he thought
she was asleep for that long at the food of
the stairs, half naked. He put a blanket on her,
(19:28):
and he said he was about to call police. Hours
had passed, she was already a no show at work.
They're the ones that call police, and then when police arrived,
they have to ask him to get the children away
from their mother's naked, cold body. What is wrong with him?
Speaker 11 (19:48):
Well, he was drunk as a skunk. He was hungover. Still,
Remember he and the wife had had a night of drinking,
so obviously he wasn't of clear mind at the time.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
I don't know that she had been drinking. That's just
what you say, you think I'm listening to him. Oh okay,
and also told the police he thought she was asleep.
Speaker 11 (20:09):
Well, the MB report will bear that out. We'll find
out if she had any alcohol in her system when
they do. The talks run on. But to me, the
case really hinges on whether or not you even have
a homicide, And so far all we know is she
reported to him that she had vertigo, And if she
had vertigo and fell down the stairs, and maybe in
(20:29):
a fit of panic, he left her there because of
the dB history that he's had with her, it's understandable.
Does anybody condone it, No, But it goes to what
his state.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Of mind was put up. DEBEI are you married?
Speaker 12 (20:45):
Oh no, No, Well, before you ever do get married, uh,
make sure your wife, your future wife, your pretend wife,
knows that if.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
You found her half naked, covered in bruises at the
foot of the stairs, you wouldn't just walk around her
body for hours on end. Okay that you would call
for assistance. And isn't it true, Philip Dubay that voluntary
use of drugs or alcohol is not a defense under
(21:20):
the law. So for you to say, oh, he was drunk,
I believe you said drunk as a skunk. That's no
defense to anything. If that were true, the Fulton County
jail would be empty right now. Everybody would say, oh,
miss Grace, I was drunk. That's bs. So don't even
start with me that he was drunk. I don't care
that he was drunk, and Lady Justice doesn't care, and
(21:41):
the law is on my side here.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Carlos Mercado Junior has a hard time maintaining his balance
and slurs his speech while speaking with officers. His breath
smells of alcohol, as he explains he found on him
roughly six hours ago, but did not realize she was dead.
Mercado says he assumed she was sleeping off the numerous
drinks they shared the night before. Officers noticed several open
(22:05):
alcohol containers in the kitchen and living room.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Joining me right now is a domestic violence and sex
assault expert. Bill Hernandez is joining us. He is a
detective in California, Bill, Thank you for being with us. Bill,
having prosecuted violent felonies my entire career and working at
the Battered Women's Center as a volunteer for nine years
on the hotline. How many times, I mean, can you
(22:32):
even count them that the husband, partner, boyfriend, ex whatever,
claims quote I was drunk, as if that somehow absolves
them from what they've done. They're always drunk. Do you care?
Does that mean she's not dead? Does that mean that
other women were not attacked because the perp is drunk?
Speaker 13 (22:54):
No, it certainly doesn't mean that they weren't attacked, and
it certainly does matter in thestigation how intoxicated this person was.
We always do want to ask that type of question,
but it really doesn't go to what happened during the incident.
It doesn't state the facts.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
In addition to what police find when they get there,
they then get evidence of a lift ride listen.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Mercato tells police that he and Autumn were drinking heavily
late into the night and he fell asleep around four am.
When he wakes at eight forty am, Autumn is at
the bottom of the stairs and Mercado cannot wake her.
Mercato tells police he believes Autumn must have passed out
from vertigo and fallen down the stairs. Mercato admits that
(23:43):
instead of calling nine to one one, he covers Autumn
with a blanket and orders a lift ride. Mercato makes
a trip to a nearby gas station for a beer run,
leaving their one and four year old children home alone
with mommy's body.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Debay a beer ride. A beer run, he finds his
wife's dead body at the foot of the stairs six
hours by his admission, according to her sister, is likely
much longer, and goes for a beer run, leaving a
one year old and four year old child alone with
(24:21):
mommy's body hovering around it.
Speaker 11 (24:27):
You can be a fourteen carrot jerk without being a killer.
The man was obviously drunk. He wanted to resume where
he left off. Does that mean anybody would condone it?
Certainly not, But that's not an element of murder. The
real question here is what's going to happen regarding the
child abandonment problem that he's got.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Now.
Speaker 11 (24:46):
Obviously, nobody wants to leave their spouse when they've fallen
down the stairs from vertigo. But if you are drunk,
if your blotto. You're not in the right state of
mind to act like an otherwise sober person. So for now,
there's not enough evidence to charge him with a homicide.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
A nurse, mom of three found dead at the bottom
of stairs in her home. Is it an accident or
is there more to the story?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
This is by far not the first time a wife
has been found dead at the foot of the stairs
from an accident. I recall distinctly the Kathleen Peterson case.
Kathleen found at the foot of the stairs. The defense,
wait for it was that an owl had flown into
(25:41):
the home, attacked her and made her fall down the stairs,
and then I guess the owl found its way out
the front door.
Speaker 10 (25:52):
Listen, Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of
the couple staircase.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Peterson's husband is not list of Michael Peterson.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
The cop was on me instantly.
Speaker 7 (26:03):
There was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
Speaker 8 (26:05):
The injuries are not consistently the fall down the stairs.
Speaker 7 (26:08):
The charge first degree murder.
Speaker 8 (26:12):
The d is trying to say that I died till
her mother.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
There's no murder web, there's no motivor.
Speaker 7 (26:17):
But we're sitting behind our died We've never occurred to
Michael Peterson that people wouldn't believe it. That's really what
this is all about.
Speaker 8 (26:27):
He thought he'd get away with it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
That's where our friends at Netflix. The husband in that case,
Michael Peterson, was tried. Then after a lot of legal wrangling,
after being found guilty and then the legal wrangling, he
ended up taking a plea to involuntary manslaughter. But listen
to this nine one one call you.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
Roch Peters.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Whyn't turn asking what kind of a super including the conscious?
Worse conscious?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
No, she's not conscious?
Speaker 2 (27:06):
How many stairs to do all there?
Speaker 9 (27:08):
How many for bears?
Speaker 1 (27:10):
How many stairs?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Fifteen forty?
Speaker 9 (27:14):
I don't know.
Speaker 12 (27:15):
Please get somebody her.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Brother way straight out to Summer Christensen. This is Autumn's sister, Summer.
In that case, the husband claimed an owl flew in
and attacked his wife. He claimed she had been drinking,
in other words, putting the blame on her as I
recall she had had a glass of wine and now
she's dead. It then came out that he had a
(27:39):
prior relationship with another woman in Germany who was found
dead at the foot of the stairs in this case.
In that case, he claimed an owl is responsible. And
a glass of wine or intake of alcohol, and this
(28:00):
case we're hearing vertigo and that Autumn had been drinking.
Why is it always seemingly the victim's fault. She's at
the bottom of the stairs dead.
Speaker 8 (28:11):
I don't even know what to say to that.
Speaker 7 (28:13):
To be honest with you, I do feel in my
heart and my gut that a phone call could have
been made to help save her life.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
What are you being told about the bruises on her body?
Speaker 7 (28:24):
Nothing yet, that everything is still under investigation, that it'll
take weeks for the full investigation to be complete.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
That brings to mind the case of Susanne Seals. Listen.
Speaker 11 (28:39):
He said it was an accident and she appeared to
have fallen down the stairs.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I got the call from Scott and he said Susanne
is dead and I said, no, she isn't. He said,
but accidents do happen, which of course is true.
Speaker 9 (28:55):
We found blood stains that is obviously suspicious.
Speaker 10 (28:58):
Of course you didn't who's but what we didn't know?
Speaker 4 (29:02):
We knew that sooner onto some we were gonna have
to spend some time on.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
My son in law has just been arrested for the
murder of my daughter, another woman dead at the foot
of the stairs. That's from our friends at Dateline to
Sydney Sumner joining US Crime online dot Com investigative reporter, Sidney,
what can you tell me about the bruises on her body?
I know we don't have the autopsy report yet, but
(29:27):
we've been able to glean a little bit from police
reports and statements.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Nancy. What the report says about the bruising on Autumn's
body is her legs and her feet were extremely discolored.
That's what we took to minas bruising on her legs
and feet. They noted particularly her feet were bruised, which
is very odd. I cannot think of a reason that
those bruises would be there from an injury that happened
(29:55):
in her life.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Doctor Michelle Dupree, What does that indicate to you? Her
legs and feet badly bruised?
Speaker 6 (30:03):
Nancy? The first thing I think of is actually defensive wounds.
Oftentimes anyone may fight off an attacker with their arms
and legs and feet, and you know, if the bruises
are on her feet, I think that would be highly
suspicious for defensive wounds.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
You know, that's a really good point doctor Michelle Dupree.
When I try to explain defensive wounds to a jury,
imagine someone coming at you with a baseball bat. The
first thing you do is put your hands up over
your face. And that's why we often see defensive wounds
along the outside of the arms, the outside of the hands,
and that bruising. Even though a blow is struck here,
(30:40):
the bruising will go into the hand. Often we see
a victim if they're already in the floor or say
in the bed or in a sitting position, not necessarily
prone on the floor, they curl up in a fetal
position and you will find a lot of bruising on
the legs and the feet where they're instinctively trying to
(31:02):
protect their internal organs. Is that how it works, doctor Dupree.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
Absolutely, Nancy, you gave a perfect description. That's exactly what happened.
You're trying to defend yourself, and the way to do
that is with your arms, your legs, your feet, basically
anything to protect that core of your body.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
That's what it sounds like to me.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
A Utah nurse found in her home cop say hubby
buys beer before calling nine to one one.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
He didn't just buy beer. He got a lift ride
to go buy beer and come home and get drunk
while his wife is lying in the floor, cold to
the touch, covered in bruises, and half naked. Why it's
not the first time suspect a person of interest, let's say,
(31:52):
suddenly got an attack of the hungries after the death.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Listen, federal agents line up raaking through garbage searching for
twenty month old Quinton Simon's remains. Meanwhile, Leilanie Simon, the
only suspect in her son's disappearance, Her mother, Billy Jo Howell,
and others are spotted out at the popular Tybee Island bar.
Their waiters say they took Shantz, got flirty, and even
(32:16):
demanded one waiter's phone number. Their party ran up a
tab of over three hundred dollars while protesters stood in
front of the family's home demanding justice for Quinton.
Speaker 9 (32:26):
Not just that.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
I'm sure we all remember the case of Micah Miller.
Speaker 10 (32:32):
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is buzzing with rumors that pastor
John Paul Miller is dating again and has possibly even remarried.
Miller was previously seen out to dinner with a member
of his congregation just four days after Micah Miller's suicide,
less than twenty four hours after his home is rated
by the FBI, Miller is seen with the same woman
having lunch at McAllister's Deli. This time, the pair cap
(32:55):
their distance and appeared tense when entering and leaving the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Again. In that case, Michael Miller's case, they passed. Her
husband has not been charged in relation to her death.
To Summer Christensen, has he contacted you at all since
Autumn's death.
Speaker 8 (33:10):
Yes, he tried reaching out to me from a phone number.
I did not know that it was him.
Speaker 7 (33:17):
I actually thought it was maybe someone from the police department.
The first thing he said to me was, I didn't
do it. Not my condolences, I'm sorry about leaving the kids. Nothing.
Maybe I'm sorry. I Edmit's guilt. I don't know, but no,
nothing other than he didn't do it, and he has
(33:39):
clothing for the children that my family can pick up.
Speaker 8 (33:43):
I froze. I couldn't say anything. I wanted to scream,
I wanted to yell. I froze. I couldn't say anything.
I was just silent.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Autumn sisters say they thought her relationship with Mercato was
happy and loving older sister, Summer. Christiansen Ward says she
had no idea about the previous domestic violence charges and
believes her sister's marriage was much different behind closed doors.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Summer, did you ever have any idea that there was
domestic violence in their marriage?
Speaker 7 (34:14):
We so, I was saying, my family know, not until
I guess she would say it was too late. Right
in front of us family gatherings. They were loving to
each other. It wasn't until more recently that you can
only you know, so many times, you can only fall
(34:35):
down the stairs. You know how many more times?
Speaker 8 (34:39):
I don't know. Things started to come together, but she's
not with us, like.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Summer, is too true that you were told he Carlos
Mercado pushed her down the stairs in the past. It's
not the first time.
Speaker 7 (34:54):
So after her passing, yes, someone came forward and said
that she had reached out to them.
Speaker 8 (35:03):
Because Carlos had pushed her down the stairs.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
So a few of her friends, at least one knew
about the domestic violence Sydney. Wasn't there a previous domestic
violence charge?
Speaker 11 (35:14):
Nancy?
Speaker 4 (35:15):
There were several. The first they were not yet married,
still engaged in twenty nineteen and there was a domestic
violence assault charge against Mercado. Then again two years later
in twenty twenty one, there was another charge filed, but
(35:37):
law enforcement could not get in touch with Autumn to
successfully prosecute the case. Again, a year later, Mercado assaulted
Autumn again, just months after completing court ordered anger management
and counseling for the initial charge back in twenty nineteen.
(35:57):
So there were several documented cases of mastic violence from
Mercado against Autumn, and it seems those who saw her
on a daily basis had some idea that this was
going on. The coworker that called for the welfare check
actually mentioned to police she was worried about Autumn because
of their domestic violence history.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
You know, it's interesting Summer that nobody in the family knew.
But you know what, that is not uncommon. In fact,
that's normal. It's very rare that a domestic victim will
open up and tell people. For some reason, they keep
it a secret. How did she portray her marriage to you?
Speaker 7 (36:44):
He was her night in shining armor. She protected him,
She definitely protected him. Like I said, it wasn't until
things started not adding up. And it's like, there's only
so many times certain things can happen. And I hate
to think that she was dealing with this for as
long as they were together. She wanted us to love him.
(37:10):
She protected him. He didn't protect her, but she definitely
protected him.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Doctor Lise Long, psychologists joining us. Why why do the
victims try to protect the abuser?
Speaker 9 (37:23):
It is part of the abuse cycle, you know. You
go through periods of trying to get back together, strengthen
the relationship, and they're living in an environment that is
fear based. You know, it's chaos within the environment, and
they're under a lot of pressure by the perpetrator to
(37:47):
make them look good publicly.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
You know, I think part of it, doctor Lesa. I'm
certainly in a shrink, but they want that image. People
women grow up thinking they're going to have this wonderful husband,
this happy life, you know, like in the Harrmark movie
or and the Christmas card photos, and that's you know,
sold to us, and we buy into it and think
(38:12):
that's the way it's supposed to be, and somehow if
it's not really that way, you're the big failure.
Speaker 9 (38:19):
Absolutely, Nancy, you know, and that is part of the
domestic violence. The abuse cycle is that victims often internalize
guilt and shame for being victims of abuse when you know, obviously,
logically we know that's not the way, that they're not
the cause of it, but that is exactly what happens,
(38:43):
and then it creates a cycle of feeling shame to
speak out to get help, and then we end up
in situations like this.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Summer. What is your message tonight? I know the children
are with Autumn's family, What do they remember about the
day Mommy was at the foot of the stairs.
Speaker 8 (39:09):
I will never ask, at least the four year old.
What I will tell you is that he has night terrors.
Do I think that he knows Mommy is gone?
Speaker 9 (39:21):
I do, I do.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
But what I would want people to remember one is
if you are suffering from domestic violence, please reach out.
Reach out to your family. Even if if you confide
and others or work coworkers or other friends, then I
would ask you, you know, coworkers, other friends, whoever it is,
reach out to the family, call someone, Please do something.
(39:46):
I don't want them to end up like my sister.
But I also want my sister to be remembered. Like
I said, she is not only beautiful, on the inside
or on the outside, but also on the inside. She
was nurturing, she was loving. Her hugs were big, they
were warm.
Speaker 8 (40:01):
She was a nurse. I say this all the time.
Speaker 7 (40:03):
If you were cared for by my sister, you knew
you were going to be taken care of. She gave
off that demeanor and that confidence and that, you know,
just her the way she was when she cared for people.
She but her number one pride and joy were her
three children. Her three kids were her pride and joy,
(40:24):
and she loved them with everything she had. I really
want my sister to be remembered for the wonderful person
that she was, the amazing woman that she was. I
do want justice for her, but I want her to
be remembered for who she is and not the woman
at the bottom of the stairs where her kids were
there to watch her. She's an amazing, wonderful woman.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
If you or someone you know is suffering domestic violence,
please call toll free eight hundred seven ninety nine seven
two three three. Eight hundred seven ninety nine seven two
three three. We wait as just as sun falls. Goodbye, friend,
Host
Nancy Grace
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