Accident or Murder?

0:00 Speaker 1: The shot that ended a fairy tale, the tragic death

0:03 Speaker 1: of Danielle Nemets. The call came in just before evening.

0:07 Speaker 1: A frightened neighbor dialed nine to one one, their voice shaking,

0:11 Speaker 1: I think somebody's just been shot in my neighborhood. Moments earlier,

0:16 Speaker 1: a loud bang had echoed through a quiet apartment complex

0:19 Speaker 1: in Lakewood, Washington. Then came the screams, terrified cries from

0:24 Speaker 1: behind a closed door. No one knew it yet, but

0:27 Speaker 1: inside that apartment, a young woman named Danielle Nemetz was

0:31 Speaker 1: already dead. She was only nineteen years old. The man

0:35 Speaker 1: standing nearby was her husband, twenty one year old Skyler Nemets,

0:40 Speaker 1: And in the years that followed, one question would divide families, investigators, prosecutors,

0:45 Speaker 1: and jurors alike. Did Skuyler intentionally kill the woman he

0:49 Speaker 1: loved or was it a terrible accident that destroyed two

0:52 Speaker 1: lives in a single instant, A love story straight out

0:56 Speaker 1: of a fairy tale. When Skyler and Danielle first met,

1:00 Speaker 1: it felt like destiny. Friends described it as the kind

1:03 Speaker 1: of romance people read about in storybooks. The attraction was immediate. Skyler,

1:09 Speaker 1: a recent high school graduate preparing to join the Army,

1:13 Speaker 1: met Danielle through Facebook. Danielle was still a junior in

1:16 Speaker 1: high school, a bubbly cheerleader with a contagious smile and

1:20 Speaker 1: enough energy to light up any room. She had a

1:23 Speaker 1: way of making people feel special. Teachers loved her, friends

1:27 Speaker 1: adored her. Coaches remembered her as fearless as a cheerleader flyer.

1:33 Speaker 1: She soared high above crowds and smiled the entire time.

1:36 Speaker 1: But beneath that bright personality was a young woman who

1:39 Speaker 1: had endured heartbreaking loss. Her mother died of cancer when

1:43 Speaker 1: Danielle was only a toddler. Years later, the grandmother who

1:47 Speaker 1: helped raise her also passed away. Despite the hardships, Danielle

1:52 Speaker 1: never allowed tragedy to define her. She kept smiling, kept dreaming,

1:57 Speaker 1: and when she met Skuyler, she believe she had finally

2:01 Speaker 1: found the future she always wanted. Falling fast, the relationship

2:06 Speaker 1: moved quickly, very quickly. Within a month of meeting, Danielle

2:10 Speaker 1: moved into Skuyler's mother's home. Skyler's mother, Denette Heller, welcomed

2:16 Speaker 1: her with open arms. Danielle called her mom three months

2:20 Speaker 1: after meeting. Skyler proposed five months after their first date,

2:24 Speaker 1: they were married. The ceremony lasted only minutes. Skyler wore

2:29 Speaker 1: his military uniform. Danielle couldn't stop smiling. To many people,

2:34 Speaker 1: it seemed rushed. To them, it felt perfect. Danielle believed

2:38 Speaker 1: she had found her forever life as a military wife.

2:42 Speaker 1: After Skyler completed boot camp, the couple moved to Washington State,

2:47 Speaker 1: near Joint Base Lewis McCord. First life seemed promising, but

2:52 Speaker 1: military life brought challenges. Skyler was frequently away for training exercises,

2:58 Speaker 1: sometimes for weeks at a time. Danielle found herself isolated

3:02 Speaker 1: from her friends, family, and the life she had known

3:05 Speaker 1: in California. She missed people, she missed home. Most of all,

3:10 Speaker 1: she missed Skuyler, Yet she remained devoted to him. Friends

3:14 Speaker 1: said she constantly talked about how much she loved being married,

3:18 Speaker 1: how proud she was to be Skuyler's wife. Warning signs

3:22 Speaker 1: not everyone believed the marriage was as perfect as it appeared.

3:26 Speaker 1: Some of Danielle's closest friends worried. Her best friend, MICHAELA,

3:31 Speaker 1: noticed subtle changes. Danielle seemed anxious at times. She felt

3:36 Speaker 1: pressure to keep the apartment spotless before Skuyler returned home.

3:40 Speaker 1: There were also stories about Skuyler's temper. Danielle once revealed

3:44 Speaker 1: that he had smashed her cell phone during an argument.

3:47 Speaker 1: Although he immediately bought her a new one, the incident

3:51 Speaker 1: troubled those who cared about her. Former neighbor, James Peltier,

3:55 Speaker 1: became especially concerned. He loved Danielle like a daughter. He

3:59 Speaker 1: warned her that if she ever wanted to leave Skyler,

4:02 Speaker 1: she would always have somewhere safe to go. But Danielle

4:05 Speaker 1: never wanted to hear it. She loved Skyler and she

4:09 Speaker 1: forgave him every time. October sixteenth, twenty fourteen, after nearly

4:15 Speaker 1: three weeks of military field training in eastern Washington, Skyler

4:19 Speaker 1: was finally coming home. Danielle was thrilled. She spent the

4:23 Speaker 1: day preparing. She bathed the dogs, bought candles, cleaned the apartment,

4:29 Speaker 1: ordered pizza. She couldn't wait to see her husband. When

4:32 Speaker 1: Skyler arrived home that afternoon, the reunion seemed joyful. They

4:37 Speaker 1: ate together, relaxed together. Friends who spoke with Danielle that

4:41 Speaker 1: evening said she sounded happy. One of the last people

4:45 Speaker 1: to talk to her was Mikaela during a FaceTime call.

4:48 Speaker 1: Danielle sat at her computer desk while Skyler lounged in

4:51 Speaker 1: the background. She climbed onto his lap. They laughed, everything

4:56 Speaker 1: appeared normal. Before hanging up, Danielle told her friend, I

5:01 Speaker 1: love you so much and I can't wait to talk

5:03 Speaker 1: to you next. Twelve minutes later, she was dead the gunshot.

5:09 Speaker 1: According to Skyler, Danielle brought her AR fifteen rifle into

5:13 Speaker 1: the second bedroom and asked him to put it away.

5:16 Speaker 1: The rifle had been a birthday gift from him. Both

5:19 Speaker 1: of them enjoyed shooting. Both knew how to handle firearms.

5:23 Speaker 1: Danielle sat down at her computer, her back faced Skyler.

5:27 Speaker 1: Skyler claimed he picked up the rifle to make sure

5:30 Speaker 1: it was unloaded before storing it. He said he looked

5:33 Speaker 1: into the chamber, saw nothing, believed it was empty. Then

5:38 Speaker 1: everything changed. The rifle discharged. A single bullet struck Danielle

5:43 Speaker 1: in the back of the head. The round continued through

5:46 Speaker 1: her computer screen. Death was instantaneous. Skyler later described the

5:51 Speaker 1: moment as pure horror. The last words he remembered saying

5:55 Speaker 1: to her were I love you girl. Suspicion begins to

6:00 Speaker 1: Detectives arrived quickly from the beginning. Many found Schuyler's explanation

6:05 Speaker 1: difficult to believe. He was not an inexperienced gun owner.

6:09 Speaker 1: He grew up around firearms. He was an Army infantry soldier.

6:14 Speaker 1: He understood gun safety. Investigators focused on several troubling facts.

6:19 Speaker 1: Skyler never called nine to one one a neighbor did.

6:23 Speaker 1: There was no evidence that he attempted life saving measures.

6:27 Speaker 1: He later admitted placing the rifle back in the closet.

6:30 Speaker 1: He also emptied alcohol bottles and discarded them. To prosecutors,

6:35 Speaker 1: these actions looked suspicious to them. It looked like someone

6:39 Speaker 1: trying to hide evidence, not someone reacting to an accident.

6:44 Speaker 1: The theory of murder, prosecutors believe jealousy was the motive.

6:48 Speaker 1: They uncovered text messages showing Skuyler's possessive side, messages where

6:53 Speaker 1: he insulted Danielle, messages questioning her friendships, particularly her friendship

6:59 Speaker 1: with a former classmate named Jeremy Henry. The prosecution claimed

7:03 Speaker 1: Skyler became furious after discovering Jeremy had accompanied Danielle when

7:08 Speaker 1: she purchased alcohol while Skyler was away. Army friend Anthony

7:12 Speaker 1: Foss testified that Skuyler appeared angry when he learned the truth.

7:16 Speaker 1: Prosecutors argued that jealousy simmered beneath the surface, then exploded.

7:22 Speaker 1: Their theory was simple. Skuyler waited until Danielle finished her

7:26 Speaker 1: phone call, pointed the rifle at her, and pulled the trigger,

7:30 Speaker 1: an execution disguised as an accident. The defense fights back.

7:35 Speaker 1: Skuyler's attorney, Michael Stewart, saw the case differently. He believed

7:40 Speaker 1: the shooting was a tragic mistake, not murder. The defense

7:45 Speaker 1: challenged the prosecution's timeline and motive. Other soldiers contradicted parts

7:50 Speaker 1: of Anthony Foss's testimony. Firearms experts testified that AR fifteen

7:55 Speaker 1: rifles can remain loaded even when someone mistakenly believes they

7:59 Speaker 1: have cleared them. Jurors learned that a round could stay

8:02 Speaker 1: hidden in the chamber a shooter might honestly think the

8:05 Speaker 1: weapon was empty. The defense argued that Skuyler's mistakes after

8:09 Speaker 1: the shooting were the actions of a traumatized young man

8:12 Speaker 1: in shock, not a killer covering his tracks. Skuyler takes

8:17 Speaker 1: the stand against his lawyer's advice. Skuyler testified he looked

8:22 Speaker 1: directly at jurors and broke down. He admitted responsibility, but

8:27 Speaker 1: denied murder again and again. I did not intend to

8:31 Speaker 1: hurt my wife. I never meant to hurt her. I

8:35 Speaker 1: loved her. He described seeing Danielle after the shot, seeing

8:39 Speaker 1: that she was gone, knowing instantly that nothing could bring

8:42 Speaker 1: her back. The court room sat silent as he cried.

8:46 Speaker 1: Some believed him, others didn't. A difficult decision, jurors spent

8:52 Speaker 1: seven long days deliberating. No one questioned that Schuyler pulled

8:56 Speaker 1: the trigger. The challenge was determining his intent. Was he

9:00 Speaker 1: a jealous husband who executed his wife or a reckless

9:04 Speaker 1: young soldier who made a fatal mistake. The jury examined

9:08 Speaker 1: every detail, every testimony, every contradiction. Eventually they reached a conclusion.

9:15 Speaker 1: The evidence did not prove premeditated murder beyond a reasonable doubt,

9:19 Speaker 1: but it also did not excuse Skyler's actions. The verdict,

9:24 Speaker 1: the court room held its breath. The four persons stood.

9:28 Speaker 1: The verdict was read not guilty of first degree murder,

9:32 Speaker 1: guilty of first degree manslaughter. The jury determined that Skyler

9:36 Speaker 1: had recklessly caused Danielle's death, not intentionally, but through negligence

9:41 Speaker 1: so severe that it became a crime. Skyler lowered his head.

9:46 Speaker 1: His mother cried. Danielle's loved one sat silently. No verdict

9:50 Speaker 1: could bring her back. Sentencing weeks later, Skuyler returned to court,

9:56 Speaker 1: this time for sentencing. He stood before the judge and

10:00 Speaker 1: accepted responsibility. It was my actions and my actions alone.

10:05 Speaker 1: I was reckless and negligent. I'm sorry to Danielle. I'm

10:09 Speaker 1: sorry to her family. I accept any punishment you give me.

10:14 Speaker 1: The judge sentenced him to thirteen and a half years

10:17 Speaker 1: in prison, the maximum sentence allowed for the conviction. Danielle's legacy.

10:22 Speaker 1: For many, the case remains heartbreaking because of what was lost.

10:27 Speaker 1: Danielle wasn't remembered as a victim. First, she was remembered

10:31 Speaker 1: as the cheerful girl who hugged everyone, the cheerleader who

10:34 Speaker 1: loved life, the friend who always smiled, the young woman

10:38 Speaker 1: who dreamed of building a family and a future. One

10:42 Speaker 1: juror later said he would never forget a video shown

10:45 Speaker 1: during the trial. In it, Danielle was happily shooting a rifle,

10:49 Speaker 1: smiling into the camera afterward. A bright smile, a hopeful future,

10:54 Speaker 1: a life full of possibilities, A future that ended with

10:58 Speaker 1: a single gunshot in a smaller part meant on an

11:00 Speaker 1: October evening, and while courtz eventually decided what crime had occurred,

11:05 Speaker 1: one truth remained undeniable. A young woman who was deeply

11:09 Speaker 1: loved was gone forever, and everyone connected to her would

11:12 Speaker 1: carry that loss for the rest of their lives.