UPDATE: Laura Sweetman

Happy Friday crime junkies. I feel like someone down at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office might have listened to our most recent episode, or maybe the timing is just a crazy coincidence. But a couple of hours ago, this Friday, the Sheriff's Office finally fulfilled our records request and got us the audio from Dave and Laura Sweetman's domestic violence incident. And I want to do something a little out of the ordinary.

While this episode is still top of mind for everyone, I want to share it with you. There are three things that you're going to be hearing, and I'm going to pop in between each. First, I'm going to play for you sound from the body cam footage of a deputy responding to Laura's call that she made to the Sheriff's Office. Then I'm going to play you the entire audio file that she turned over to them of the incident that she was reporting.

This is the almost hour and a half long recording she has of her and Dave inside their house when she says he refused to let her leave. And then I'm going to play you some audio from when the deputy arrested and questioned Dave. This audio answers so many questions and brings up a million more. And I think for those of you who have been in a volatile or abusive relationship, this audio is going to hit home in a hard way.

But it is important to hear because these are some of Laura's last recorded words before she died later the same year that this was reported. So first here is the deputies interaction with Laura. It has been edited for clarity. Hello.

Who Laura? I can tell her my kids. How are you? Not injured or anything?

No. Do you want me to start from scratch? So recently I discovered that my husband has another family and so the past few weeks have gotten ready to get divorced and he was at the time this weekend. So I moved to my kids out of the house and then he was with two of the kids.

So then he got back. I took I told him I think it's about my life. I just took the kids to a friend's house and I went back to talk to him that I was leaving. But while I was gone, he must have figured that out and seen enough that nothing was missing from the house.

He wasn't inside. So and as a girlfriend, I decided to try to leave. And so I had my car like parked ready to go out on the street because I knew there was going to be an altercation with him. That's his motivation.

But I ran into him like when I was coming off the garage door and he grabbed me by shirt and shoved me back in the house. And he was in the church. And so then he proceeded to argue for about an hour and 20 minutes and I tried to get out of the house three times and he grabbed onto my neck. Do you have any marks on that?

No. And then he had made a threat during the conversation that was getting out of this lie that he would kill me. He would kill himself. He did retract that he would kill me and only kill himself.

Yeah, but he said I have recorded this because I knew this was going to happen. And he had gone upstairs. Have you seen any weapons? Yeah, I've seen three weapons.

You look kind of like a weapon. There's a gun that looks probably like a 9 millimeter or something. It's over one. I looked for it yesterday so I could get rid of it but I couldn't find it.

There's a shotgun. But that isn't low. It's probably not even out of the box or loaded but the 9 millimeter probably is loaded wherever it is. And then there's in the garage but not in the house.

There's another gun that looks like a semi-automatic. It looks like a hundred years old. I don't know if it has any people in general with it. And then basically he went through the whole for an hour telling me that he loved me.

And I tried to make this work out and then after he realized that it wasn't, he basically just was telling me that I needed to get the kids back. I told him that the kids were with the police because he knows I have top friends. And then he allowed me a minute to make a phone call to my friends to have them bring the kids back. But instead I ran.

I came here. How many kids do you have in common? Were they there when this was gone? No, I had to type in an earlier.

I got a friend. How long have you been married? Two years. Okay.

Now when you say here's a whole other family. Don't that for me? Yeah. Basically he had an affair with a woman and they showed a child in common.

And I don't know what the extent of the relationship was with her. You know how old that child is? I think the kids almost do probably like trying to run stuff up. Do you know her name or where she lives?

Yeah, I have all that information in the car. Okay. Do you think he would follow through on any of his threats? Yes.

Okay. And how often has things like this happen between the two of you? I would say early in our marriage we would have altercations but never with police involvement. Has he ever been arrested for anything?

Yeah. He has one arrest for assault a few years ago. And who did he assault? I don't know.

I just discovered this in my recent investigative papers. Okay. What's his following? David.

Michael. Sweden. Was anybody else present when I got this with one? Are you saying you had some of it reported?

I did talk about it. Okay. Do you mind if I take a copy of the report off of them? Sure.

I'm just going to put it on my computer and just copy it real quick. Do you think about this but? Do you think it's a second? Have you thought about getting an order protection against him yet?

I don't have one but I thought about it. Are you going to do that? Yes. Is it possible?

Okay. Do you think I'm going to have any problems when I go over there with him? Yes. What kind of problems you can have?

He has guns in my house and he's very angry and he doesn't back down. Okay. And he's already said 50 times he's willing to kill himself. Okay.

So you're definitely going to have a problem if he's there. Well, sure, I told him because of it. So sorry that sets you up for a second. I've got a problem.

I don't mind. I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself. Can you see the three kids in common? How early?

I'm there. I'm seven and eight. And you should be all safe right now. Okay.

Now, would you be willing to go and testify against him in court or just tell me you might be fearful of? I will be fearful of it. Yes. Okay.

Well, if he's there, he's most likely going to go to jail tonight. This isn't something that we take lightly when he threatens to kill you in himself. No, I mean, I'm afraid. I'm afraid I feel like my whole life is ruined right now because he's going to be after him.

Okay. And also, I'm not glad my detectives know that I have your address redacted from my report. If you think he's going to be chasing me down. Yes.

So do you think that they rest in love with keeping him till the morning? Well, it's a DV chart. So he has to see a judge. And unfortunately, the threats right now only fall under misdemeanor.

So there's a high probability that he'll be released. But they'll give you a phone call before they do that. So you know. Will you open it later?

Or will I know what's going on? I can give you a call if he's there when I get there and take him to jail. Just so you're kept in the middle. I don't know if I want to go.

We now understand that Laura's friend who was a cop in another jurisdiction gave her some kind of recording device to capture this interaction. It's why the audio you're about to hear is so clear. I'm going to play this audio in full as it was given to us. The only part I'm taking out is a moment where Dave shares something personal with his wife.

I can't verify the claims that he's making. And I'm going to let you know where that part is in the clip just so you're super clear. Now listen with care. Where are you?

Are you in the bathroom? David. Where are you? I'm out.

What are you doing? I'm making it. No. I'm making it.

No. No. We're going to go talk. No.

We're going to go talk. This is the right. You're right. You're right.

It's not right. I understand. You're right. I understand.

You have another family. No. I don't have another family. I don't have another family.

I've made mistakes. I agree. I have tried to fix my problems. I really have.

I have to take responsibility for another kid. I understand that. I have to fucking do it. Can you just let me go?

I don't know. I don't know because I love you or I fucking love you more than anything in this world. I love my kids more than anything. I don't want to fuck up anything with them.

No. You're not fucking anything with anybody else. The only thing I want is you and my kids. That's what I want.

That's all. That's all I want. It's you and my kids. I don't know how to fix my other problems other than what I'm trying to do now.

I'm trying to fix myself. I'm really fucked up. I'm in a really bad spot right now. Everything in my life is the shit.

You want me to shoot myself in the head right now? Okay. Go ahead. Take my kids from your work.

I don't want to take them away. I just want to. I just want to take them away. Okay.

What? It's not healthy for me either. It hasn't been healthy for me in it for a long time where I've told you the last time we had or the last few times we had fight to her. You don't love me.

You have a love me. I love you more than anything in this world. I don't know what I have to do to prove that. But you're my wife.

I've never left you. I've never wanted to leave you. You're the only person that's- And you really think I can stay when you have a kid with someone else? Laura, yes I do think you can.

I want you to. I'm begging you to. What more can I do or say Laura? What more can I do or say?

Do anything. I will fix anything that I can fix. You're what I want. I've never once ever considered not having you as my wife.

I would rather be dead than not have you. I love you and care about you more than anything. I just don't think you love me. And I don't think you love me for a long time.

I really wish you did. I really really really wish you did because we have beautiful fucking great kids and I love them more than anything in this world also. My family is all I've got. That's all I've got.

You need to recognize him and take care of him and he's their brother. That's their brother. How do I approach that subject with my wife? How do I acknowledge with my wife?

It's done now. And I am happy for him to be a part of your life. You can take a look here. No, she can't.

No, she can't. I don't want anything to do with her. Jesus Christ. I've told her a hundred thousand times that we need a fuck of them.

That's not fair to him David. You're right it's not. And I try. I try.

When I drop off money to her. I see him for a little while and that's it. And I can't afford this housing more. I lost everything.

I had put all the bills in my credit card. Then your money goes to her. No, my money doesn't go to her. It's only a few hundred dollars.

And I'm supposed to get fucking my shirts. I don't want the single king. I just want us to be nice to each other and share the kids. Please David.

No, don't. Please. Don't be. David, I don't want to be too.

I do not want to be too. I just cannot. I can't leave. I will kill myself.

I will kill myself. What I need you. You're my wife. Don't leave me.

Jesus Christ. I will do anything I can to fix it. There's no. No, no, I want you.

I will do anything to show you that you're my wife. I tried very hard. I really have. Do you want me to do what my life is like?

People have to call me year after year after year until we're fucking every year. I'm not fucking people every year. That's not true. I want to live a life for people to track me down and tell me things.

First of all, people who try to hurt me. People from my business that try to hurt me. Jesse Kevin, because he's, I found his fucking child porn on the goddamn fucking, on the computer. I had to give it to his probation officer.

Kevin's out to hurt me. Bobby hates me because I fucking fired him. I mean, Laura, you do have to always have to hurt people that really, really want to see me burn. Jesse especially, he's doing everything he can to burn me.

And I'm certainly he's happy to call me. I would have squeezed out a black kid along the way when I be alive today. Laura. No, David.

It doesn't go both ways. You're going to kill me. Laura. Could I have some self-respect for the first time in my life?

I cannot live knowing that you don't have a kid with her and then you take my stuff and you give it to her. I don't take stuff and give it to her. The rock and cheer, the jaw means for all of those. I've never seen my baby in that stuff.

It's a thickness, David. It's sick. Okay, then. Will you fucking help me, please?

I would love to help you and I would love to be a friend. Laura, I want this to take good care of our kids. Laura, please, please. You have amazing children.

Laura, why not take care of your kids? No, no, no, no. I'm too hard. That's what you're doing.

You're taking you and my kids are like, and I don't want any of that to happen. Don't you understand? What? I love you.

Do you love me? I don't love you anymore, David. I can't. I'm your friend.

I've been here. I have never learned this entire time. I really have. I have loved you this entire time, this entire time, this entire twenty fucking years.

I have loved you and cared about you more than anything. Do anything you want to me. Put any type of rule in a restriction on me that you want. Just love me and stay with me.

Please, I care about you and my kids more than anything. I do. I swear that on everything. I swear it on my life.

Laura, I'm not here to take them away. I want them to have a happy pleasant existence with two parents that love them, and don't fight. I don't want to fight with you. Well, I don't want to live in the same house as you.

Well, please don't do this. Please don't do this. Are you seeing someone else? No.

Have you been seeing someone else? No, I don't care about anyone else. Stop that. Have you been seeing someone else?

No, just be honest with me. No, I've never seen anyone else because I did love you. No, no, no, don't. Then let's talk.

Don't, do you swear you never seen anyone else? I swear David. I don't care about that. I care about our kids and I want them to be healthy and it's not healthy for them to see us as self-destruct.

Then let's fix it, please. Let's work together and fix it, please. What together can we work together and fix it? I need to please.

Can I have a break? No, because you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, I am leaving. I am leaving. Please, David, help!

What are you doing? What? You're staying healthy? Because I'm just being here.

You're grabbing me. You're staying healthy. David, I can't, I just go. No, no, you can't.

You've taken my children away. You've taken my children away from me. You've already done it. You didn't just leave.

You took my children away. You took my children away from me. You didn't just leave. Your plan is to destroy me.

I just, no, you're not. Just like the rest of it. No, it's not. No, it's not.

You're the best person. No, you're right. Because you're putting your hands on my neck and you're dragging me in the house. I'm trying to talk to you.

I can't. I love you and care about you. I can't do this to me. You can't do this to me.

I'm already self-destructing as a person because of all the problems. Fix it. What can I do? Fix yourself and come back.

The person that you used to be. Build a business. Do something. What?

Not, not, not make it, me feel like an idiot all the time because I can't pay all the bills. I'm not trying to make you feel like an idiot. I'm supposed to get a check this week. Okay.

Hey, I want to buy our house and then buy it. You can have it. No, I don't want the house without you. I don't want this place without you and the kids.

Are you kidding me? Oh, they're going to be here. No, they're not. You're already taking them.

Where are my kids at? They're right now visiting the police department. With my friends. You've taken my kids to the police department.

No, they're with my friends who are police. You've taken my kids to the police department. I don't think that's right now. I'm officiating.

Why aren't your friends, your, your, your tough friends? That makes so much sense to you, Laura. I want us. I don't want anybody else.

I don't want Beth. He's my kid and I have to acknowledge that and I'm going to have to take care of that and deal with that. But I don't want anybody but you. You're the person I want.

You're the person I love. You're my wife, Laura. You can't do this. You can't do this to me.

Forgive me, please. I will do anything. I will fix the problem. Please.

Give me one last chance to fix the problem. Please, Laura. I'm not trying to hurt you. No, you're not.

I want to hurt you. I want to live in my house and the kids live with you whatever days you want, whatever days you want, whatever days me and to go to sports and we do everything but I'm not sleeping in this house. Laura, no one else has ever been in this house. No one else has ever been in this house.

I would never disrespect you that way. I've never done anything like that. Yes, I've made a mistake. I agree.

Can I please fix the problem, Laura? Please. Get your money. Fix your problems.

The problem I want to fix is right here. I want to fix the problem with you, Laura. I don't want any other problems. I want any other shit.

I want my family. Well, this is the only good thing I've got. Everything else has turned to shit. It really fucking has.

My business has been yanked out to my community by vindicted people who are just trying to destroy me. Seriously. You might think that sounds like fucking paranoid but it's a fact. It's a goddamn fact.

People are coming from every goddamn direction trying to fucking get me down. They really fucking are. The only thing I've had in my life that's good is you and my children. You're taking all of that away from me.

You're taking that they're at a police station. They're at a police station. I might just drive a fucking police station with some fucking lady that they don't even know. Right now, it's done with their father who cares about them more than anything.

Laura, please. Don't do this. Please. Look at me.

Please. Please. Please. I love you.

I really do. I acknowledge I've made fucking mistakes. I'm not fucking perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect.

I can't even see perfect from where I'm at. Could you please? Please acknowledge the fact that you know I love you. You know I love you.

Don't you? I love you and care about you more than anything, Laura. I do. Seriously.

Will you look at me? I love you and I care about you more than anything. Laura, you and my kids are the only thing in my life that's worth anything to me. And I will do anything to keep it.

Okay, well anything means giving me a break, David. And prove it to me. Pics your problems. You're not coming back.

You won't come back, Laura. You're gonna walk out right now. And what's gonna happen is, like you said, you're gonna be paying for everything. The house I'm gonna get four clothes on.

I'm gonna end up being a hermit somewhere. And my kids will never, I'll end up shooting myself in the fucking 400 drinking myself to death. And then you'll be happy. If you want me to kill myself, just say so and I'll do it now.

And I'm not joking. I've got a gun upstairs. I'll kill myself. Will that make you happy?

No, David. I want us to do the best thing for the kids. No, Laura, Jesus, I care about you so much. Don't lead me.

You're the only person that I've trusted and cared about for 25 years, Laura. We've been to get this into our kids. I care about you more than anything. But my life sucks, David.

Still does mine. Can we work together and fix it? Please? I think I deserve something else than people telling me all the time.

First of all, you're right. You do deserve better. And I apologize. You deserve better.

People should never, these pieces of shit that would call you and say these things are pieces of shit. Okay? I agree. And I'll get them.

Okay. They're trying anything that can you see that they're trying anything that can't hurt me? Nothing will make them happier than you believe me. All that does is hurt me.

I agree. Okay. It's not as bad as you're making it out to be though. It's not time after time after time after time after time after time.

I've made mistakes. I agree. But I'm not perfect. I agree.

But I mean, it's not like I went searching for anything. Accidents have happened. Mistakes have been made. I swear to God.

Mistakes have been made. And but they were mistakes. They're not, I'm not perfect. I agree.

Okay. I've made mistakes. It's, but it's not like I'm, I'm reading a double life. It's not like I'm living somewhere else.

You are leaving a double life. You, you, you bring her money and something. The last few weeks I got like $14 to buy groceries and she gets your money. Ask me for money.

I give her money at the start of the month to help with him. Okay. She has a job. I've given her.

What about me? That's our money. Okay. You're right.

You're right. I've got nothing. I have nothing. I have this house which is a news around my neck.

And I, and I go to work all day and then I bring you a dinner upstairs and I have, I have nothing. I have my children and I have my job and I just try to put my feet every day of my bed. I'm like if I could just get my foot on the ground. Okay.

Then let's fix this together. Please. I'll give you all every ounce, every, every penny money I've got. I don't care about money.

I just want to have a day where I have more than $14 to buy groceries. Okay. I didn't fuck old money and I have nothing. Okay.

I agree. We've had this problem for a while. Fine. She has groceries.

She has her own job. I give her $300 a month. Okay. I'm not rich.

I'm barely making it. I'm barely fucking surviving. My business is going in the tank. So what, what did you think was going to happen?

Like I didn't know. I didn't know how I was going to explain. Am I too high at your son? He's your son.

Well, because I love you and I care about you and I didn't want to hurt you. And I'm embarrassed. But at this point, try this. I'm going to goddamn thing to me.

I'm embarrassed beyond all embarrassment. I didn't know what to do or how to do it. Okay. She used to be Macyos girlfriend.

I know. Oh, you already know the whole story? You know everything? I'm sorry.

Go ahead and tell me. Okay. She was Macyos girlfriend. I was Macyos friend.

We ended up just somehow. It ended up where it ended up. Okay. She refused to have an abortion.

And there it is. I'm stuck with a goddamn kid. I wanted more than anything to not have another child. Why would you start any businesses with her and my kids names and her names all over everything together like Europe.

No, no. That right there was down there at the coffee shop. Okay. That was I had to start the LLC.

She demanded to be a part of the LLC. I said here, fine then. If you can run this great and if you can make any money great, it never worked out. Not for her.

I am my kids names with her. Okay. Your kids names are on the LLC in case she ever tried to do something or she tried to take anything. That wasn't hers.

Okay. That way she's not a majority owner. I'm not trying, I've never tried to be Mr. Subversion about anything.

And I knew someday I'd have to confront this issue. And I didn't know how I was going to do it. And it really weighed heavy on me. I don't know.

I have no idea or had no idea how the hell I would deal with this. This is a huge problem and a huge embarrassment. I don't know what to do. It's embarrassing to me.

I know. I know. I know. I like the biggest fucking loser on the planet.

No, you're not. I am. Come on. Don't.

Don't. I don't. I don't even hate you. Jesus Christ.

I just want to be alone. I don't want you to be alone. That's the thing that I've never wanted. I've wanted to be with you.

I love you. I love you. I've wanted us to be together for the longest time. Okay.

But everywhere I go people are telling me that you're with other people. Who was saying this? Who was saying this? It's everybody everywhere.

Everybody everywhere is saying that I'm with other people or I'm not. I'm with you. You're my wife. You're what I care about.

You're who I love. I, granted I haven't felt loved back for a long time. But I've wanted that. I figured maybe once we got this house situation worked out then things would be a little bit better for us.

42 years old. I am losing my home. Okay. You're not.

I haven't retired yet. I have $400,000 of tax debt. Okay. And then we come after me.

I talked earlier. They're talking about me. Because I'm only one with a paycheck. Hold on a second.

There's no one coming after you. This is getting handled. This is being handled by Fred. I've got the word's name.

I've got the word's name. He's handling it. He's really. Hey.

Okay. You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. Don't think that it doesn't weigh on my head that they're sitting out there. But I'm handling it.

I'm handling this. And when I talked to a lawyer, he said they'll leave me $2,000 and I'll live on. And then I'm going to be the person paying that back. You don't have $400,000 of tax debt.

You don't have $400,000 of tax debt. Okay. The IRS, what they did was they didn't accept those two years worth of taxes because they were repetitive. The tax changed, that they made the $24,000.

Then what they do is they take that and then they just they disallow the next two years. Okay. I swear it. This is being fixed.

Okay. I've already paid the attorney. I paid him a year and a half ago. Okay.

I am working to fix these problems. I really am. Okay. Well, then come and find me when they're fixed.

I can't, I can't, I can't even find my kids. You've taken my kids away from me. I don't want to come and find you when I wish you would work with me. I am working with you and I'd love to see you tomorrow at wrestling.

No, no, no. Why can't we be a family? Why can't? What?

All I want is you. I want you to love me. I want you to love me. I've wanted that.

That's all I wanted is you to love me. I haven't felt it for a long time. I can tell you that honestly. I mean, I know you're, I know you're stressed and you're having a hard time, but I really am.

I do have plans to fix that and I did want to fix that and I still do want to fix that. I want us to be a happy family. My plans were to buy the house and then, and then, you know, I probably, I'm going to be able to work very much, but you know, because I'm not going to have any money to put back into the business and that's going to, you know, I'll just have to sell things off as they go. But then at least we don't have that enormous, you know, you know, house bill.

I really do have plans to fix this. I don't know how to fix that. I can't, I don't know how to deal with that. I want.

Okay, could, could you forgive me? I love you. I know that much. If I came first, black kid, would you forgive me?

Laura, if it meant, if it meant you not leaving and our family staying together, I'd have to deal with it. I would have to deal with it. That's not bullshit. I would be hurt.

I would be devastated. I'd be feeling all the same things that you're feeling, but I would still love you because you're the person I love that I married because I love you and because I cared about you and we've been through so much. I can't, I mean, I can't even imagine being with anybody else. I can't imagine wanting to be with anybody else.

I don't want to be with anybody else. I don't want to be with anyone else. I don't want to be with anyone else. I can't live like this anymore.

Okay. It's, it's so mortifying. I know. I know.

I know. Believe me. I know. There isn't anything that I don't know better.

I know that. But how can I, how can I come to you and say, geez honey, guess what I did? I fucked up again. Not only is everything else in turmoil, but I'm a complete fucking idiot.

I'm like, look at this enormous fucking blemish mistake I've made. And I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody fucking decided to, to, you know, really stick it in my side and call you. That's your phone. I said it on the phone.

It was in my hand. That's gotta be your, your voice friends. No, I'm cold. So as you can see, I have no friends in the entire universe.

Okay. They give two shits about me. Everyone's out the fucking stabbing in the back. I am not trying to try to fucking her.