Episode 294

What this episode is about

The content centers around a shocking emergency call made by Mark Eric Pansadi, who discovers his wife, Sherry, unresponsive in the bathroom of their home in Gilbert, Arizona, amidst a distressing scene involving blood and liquid soap. As he struggles to comprehend the situation and address the urgent presence of their children, the call reveals the immediate chaos and tragedy surrounding a potential violent incident.

Key takeaways

• Real monsters lurk in suburbia; Sword and Scale tells eerie tales with raw intensity.
• EMT-certified Mark crumbled under trauma; being 'trained' doesn't shield hearts from horror.
• Irony abounds: Warrior in battle, but lost in the chaos of domestic tragedy.
• Listener discretion advised, but are we prepared for the real world's dark narratives?
• Children's innocence is fragile; Mark's desperate plea: Don't let sirens shatter it.

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 10:00: Aunt Sherry, Sword and Scale, 25th Infantry Division, dating app
2. 10:00 – 20:00: Aunt Sherry, Detective Bishop, Cyber Warfare Command, Hamilton
3. 20:00 – 30:00: Aunt Sherry, Danielle, Detective Bishop, Hallmark
4. 30:00 – 40:00: Aunt Sherry, Danielle, priest, Catholic
5. 40:00 – 50:00: Aunt Sherry, Danielle, Detective Bishop, Maricopa County
6. 50:00 – 1:00:00: Aunt Sherry, Detective Bishop, bathmat, bubble bath
7. 1:00:00 – 1:03:30: Aunt Sherry, prison, Swordandscale.com

Notable quotes from "Episode 294"

• Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

  about Sword and Scale · at 0:00

• My 1329 North Jamaica Way, Gilbert, Arizona.

  about Gilbert, Arizona · at 1:54

• Children's children. My Mark was hysterical. He kept repeating that he and Sherry's children were home.

  about Aunt Sherry · at 2:55

• Come pick up the kids before he went to the police station. With his head buried in his hands, Mark sat across from the detective in his cargo shorts and flip-flops as his leg bounced up and down while he wept.

  about Detective Bishop · at 8:05

• Feeling a little off. Mark had painted a picture of a happy marriage and a family life. But Jerry's best friend, Danielle, had something different to say about Mark. Danielle…

  about Danielle · at 27:27

• I guess what we labeled him as, and I don't know, he did see a psychiatrist as a sex addict. So he was constantly looking at porn. He had been always doing porn websites. Porn, porn, porn.

  about psychiatrist · at 29:03

• Sought help. Sherry was not religious, but he said, Well, let's, go talk to a priest. And so, they were kind of doing some type of marital counseling with a priest in…

  about priest · at 32:08

• His dad was So she told me about how he was in he was in prison. He used to have a lot of money and Eric had told Sherry that he had introduced Eric to pornography when he was seven or eight years old. Your dad has always tried to.

  about prison · at 39:35

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Aunt Sherry — Person · 44 mentions · first at 3:01
• Detective Bishop — Person · 11 mentions · first at 8:10
• Danielle — Person · 11 mentions · first at 27:33
• Mark Eric Pansadi — Person · 2 mentions · first at 2:27
  In a tan two-story house adorned with palm trees and cacti, 36-year-old Mark Eric Pansadi crouched next to his unresponsive wife, 33-year-old Sher Pansi.
• Mish Barber Wei — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:29
  No. [ __ ] This one was produced by one of our longtime producers, Mish Barber Wei.
• Sher Pansi — Person · 1 mention · first at 2:33
  Palm trees and cacti, 36-year-old Mark Eric Pansadi crouched next to his unresponsive wife, 33-year-old Sher Pansi.
• Officer Mike Bishop — Person · 1 mention · first at 7:33
  Asleep and begged the first responders to be quiet. He was terrified of traumatizing the kids. Officer Mike Bishop was one of the first on the scene. He found Sherry in the…
• Sherry's mother — Person · 1 mention · first at 43:03
  Kind, and caring. But that, if you haven't guessed it already, was all a lie. Even Sherry's mother, who knew less than Danielle, knew that Mark had made unthinkable threats to his daughter.
• Ernesto Miranda — Person · 1 mention
• Gillian Flynn — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

• Gone Girl — Book · 1 mention · first at 57:00
  Mark did his best to cover all those tracks. He had a carefully thought out plan like some demented version of Gone Girl. But even with his law degree, military background, EMT…
• Miranda v. Arizona — Book · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

• Sword and Scale — Company · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
• University of Wisconsin Madison — Company · 1 mention · first at 9:01
  Mark and Sherry had met on a dating app back in 2008 when Mark was finishing with his legal degree at University of Wisconsin Madison. Ever since we've been together, join the military. I'm a judge advocate and branch army.
• 25th Infantry Division — Company · 1 mention · first at 9:55
  Career in the army and his higher education pursuits so I was with the 25th infantry division and then I deployed with CAB combat aviation brigade to get a har and my wife stuck with me.
• Cyber Warfare Command — Company · 1 mention · first at 11:26
  Right. So I work with cyber warfare command for Hamilton in Brooklyn.
• Hamilton — Company · 1 mention · first at 11:29
  Right. So I work with cyber warfare command for Hamilton in Brooklyn.
• Hallmark — Company · 1 mention · first at 21:41
  They were trying for a third baby and enjoying every day as it came. Very Hallmark, you know. But now, suddenly, Sherry was dead and the police had to figure out what happened…
• Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) — Company · 1 mention
• Maricopa County Sheriff's Office — Company · 1 mention
• Sikorsky — Company · 1 mention
• Tripler Army Medical Center — Company · 1 mention
• United States Army — Company · 1 mention
• United States Army Reserve — Company · 1 mention

Products & tech

• digital recorder — Product · 1 mention · first at 8:21
  This is a digital recorder. You mind if I run it while we're talking? That way I can don't have to take such so many notes.
• dating app — Product · 1 mention · first at 8:57
  Mark and Sherry had met on a dating app back in 2008 when Mark was finishing with his legal degree at University of Wisconsin Madison. Ever since we've been together, join the military. I'm a judge.
• Simply Sleep — Product · 1 mention · first at 17:36
  Simply sleep. So it's over the quarter.
• bubble bath — Product · 1 mention · first at 53:56
  At her. He said one of the things that she would do is in the bathroom she wouldn't put the cap on like the bubble bath and stuff when she'd give the kids a bubble bath, right?…
• bathmat — Product · 1 mention · first at 56:04
  The officers that were first on scene and from my recollection there was visible blue soap on top of the bathmat and throughout the scene that I don't believe it would have…
• turkey baster — Product · 1 mention · first at 58:04
  They think you're just as stupid as they are. He even said that he thought about getting a turkey baster to suck the blood out. He said this on the stand. I swear. He also…
• Benadryl — Product · 1 mention
• BlueStar — Product · 1 mention
• Risperdal — Product · 1 mention
• soap — Product · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

• prison — Concept · 3 mentions · first at 39:38
• psychiatrist — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 29:05
• priest — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 32:13
• Judge Advocate — Concept · 1 mention · first at 9:06
  With his legal degree at University of Wisconsin Madison. Ever since we've been together, join the military. I'm a judge advocate and branch army.
• tsunami — Concept · 1 mention · first at 9:26
  She was born at the same time the tsunami was hitting the island.
• juicing — Concept · 1 mention · first at 14:56
  And then I've been juicing, the juicer.
• liquid diet — Concept · 1 mention · first at 15:00
  Liquid diet, whatever the Australian dude, like all that stuff, and so she's been eating healthy.
• Miranda — Concept · 1 mention · first at 19:43
  Only source of information I have. If you were a suspect, I'd reach you, Miranda. I would take you into custody.
• STD testing — Concept · 1 mention · first at 29:40
  Found out about this I think via his phone and computer. and she had gone into the doctor and had all kinds of STD testing to make sure that you know she was pregnant and…
• child pornography — Concept · 1 mention · first at 30:37
  While they were in Connecticut. I do know Sherry does have evidence and I don't know where it is of some child pornography. there was one time she walked in on him. This was in…
• marital counseling — Concept · 1 mention · first at 32:16
  Go talk to a priest. And so, they were kind of doing some type of marital counseling with a priest in Connecticut. And Eric also was getting on meds. He was seeing a psychiatrist.
• Catholic — Concept · 1 mention · first at 32:37
  Surprised because the priest told Sher to leave him, and I was surprised at that. I was raised Catholic, so I thought, Oh, that's interesting.
• strangulation — Concept · 1 mention · first at 52:28
  If she just slipped. She had bruising on her spine consistent with violent shaking, and strangulation could not be ruled out. She had multiple blunt force injuries to the back…
• police psychologist — Concept · 1 mention · first at 54:32
  This story to his six-year-old child, believe it or not, who then relayed it back almost verbatim to the police psychologist.
• antidepressants — Concept · 1 mention
• diphenhydramine — Concept · 1 mention
• EMT — Concept · 1 mention
• hematoma — Concept · 1 mention
• luminol testing — Concept · 1 mention
• second-degree murder — Concept · 1 mention
• sex addiction — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Gilbert, Arizona — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:54
• North Jamaica Way — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:54
  My 1329 North Jamaica Way, Gilbert, Arizona.
• Oshkosh — Place · 1 mention · first at 41:22
  Now, I know this last week she text me and said, Oh my gosh, Erica got a call from a job in Oshkosh. Oshkosh is an hour and a half away from her parents' home. Okay. And I…
• Maricopa County — Place · 1 mention · first at 46:32
  Maricopa County detectives now realize that the image Mark painted himself as was a far cry from reality.

Sponsors

• Swordandscale.com — Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 1:02:00
  Now. Sword andcale.com, it's called Plus. Starts at 10 bucks a month. Swordandscale.com.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. My children. Oh my god. No. [ __ ] This one was produced by one of our longtime producers, Mish Barber Wei. This is season 12, episode 294 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.

0:53 Heat. Heat. It's Thursday night. 9:58 p.m. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

1:48 911. Oh my god. What's going on? Give me Give me your address. My 1329 North Jamaica Way, Gilbert, Arizona.

2:00 All right. 1329 North Jamaica. Jamaica Way. We have children in the house. I just saw my wife. I think she's dead.

2:10 139 North Jama. What happened? I don't know. I don't know. Is she breathing? No. She looks dead.

2:18 Okay. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Let Let me just get you over the fire. Hold on.

2:23 Oh my god. In a tan two-story house adorned with palm trees and cacti, 36-year-old Mark Eric Pansadi crouched next to his unresponsive wife, 33-year-old Sher Pansi.

2:37 Okay. And what's going on tonight? There are children in the house. I think I I just found my wife. I She's not breathing. She's I I believe she's dead and she's in the bathroom and there's water and soap everywhere and there's blood. I think there's there's a big in my Oh my god. Oh my god. My children's children. My

2:58 Mark was hysterical. He kept repeating that he and Sherry's children were home. He didn't know what happened. All he saw was a wet bathroom and his beautiful wife lying naked in a mess of blood and liquid soap. Sir, do me a favor. Take a deep breath for me. Okay. Okay. I need to have a clear understanding of exactly what's going on. I have I just found my wife. Okay. Sorry. Okay. She's she's in I'm in shock. I think Okay.

3:25 Okay. All right. I understand, sir. I'm going to work with you. Okay. Okay. Okay. My My wife is on the bathroom floor unresponsive. Look, I'm EMT certified. I am in the military.

3:37 I'm I'm a soldier, so I am used to this. annoying my wife and Okay, she's unresponsive.

3:46 Okay, can you do me a favor? Let's start CPR. Okay. How old is your wife? My wife is 33.

3:52 Okay. My god. I'm telling you, you're not breathing. There's no There's no moment of lungs. There's no problem. There's no [ __ ] What the [ __ ]

4:02 Mark was a certified EMT and a military man. But to see this much blood pooling around the woman he shared his life with was unbearable.

4:12 Was she underwater or how did this happen? Do you know? We were taking a bath earlier in the day and I left her in the bathtub. I went to sleep and I woke up and she wasn't next to me. So she for her and I couldn't open the bathroom door and her legs were in the way and they were really pale and now I see her on the [ __ ] floor.

4:33 Okay. All right. So, my understanding is you were with her earlier. You guys were in the bath. You went to take a nap and then you came back and she is not responsive to you.

4:41 Right. Do me a favor. Let's get her flat on her back. What? She's in her back. She's in her back. She's in her back. There's a big M on her [ __ ] head. I think she Oh my god. I think she slipped. I know. She hit a [ __ ] corner. Oh my god. Oh my god. She [ __ ] slipped and fell. Son of a [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] My [ __ ] children.

5:06 [ __ ] Okay, let's let's let's start CPR. Okay. All right. Get over there, man.

5:13 Instructions. Okay. Children in the house. However, please don't [ __ ] traumatize them. Okay. I don't know how to deal with this with them. I don't want them to be traumatized. I don't [ __ ] want them.

5:23 Maybe if I ever maybe have them leave the room and then you can start with sleeping. They're sleeping. asleep. You were all okay.

5:32 6-year-old Maddie and her baby brother, 18-year-old Max, were asleep in their bedrooms down the hall. Mark continued to cry and struggle as he talked to 911.

5:42 Do me a favor. Get the heel of your hand in the center of her chest. Put your other hand on top and let's start CPR. Okay,

5:48 sir. She's purple. She's [ __ ] I'm telling you, I know what you guys look like. I'm an Afghanistan war veteran. Okay,

5:56 she's gone. Mark had seen death overseas. He assured the dispatcher that Sherry was long gone.

6:05 I'll tell you what. Let me get your name and see me if they ever step outside so that you can talk to the medics. Okay.

6:09 Okay. Okay. Okay. All right, sir. Let me get your name. Don't Don't come with [ __ ] sirens glaring, okay? I don't want my kids to be [ __ ] traumatized. Okay.

6:17 Okay. What is your name? Mark Eric. I'm sorry. Oh my god. Okay. May I cover 2036457588?

6:27 Yes. May I cover her with a She's naked. May I cover her? Let's not do that. Let's let the medics get there.

6:34 I don't want my children to fight her like this. Okay. Well, you said they're in bed, right?

6:39 No, I thought you said they were in bed. So, let's They're in bed. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes, they're in bed. They're in bed.

6:47 Okay. So, do me a favor. [ __ ] I'm losing it. I'm sorry. I'm losing it. I understand. Take a deep breath.

6:52 Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. Go outside. Talk to the medics. Okay. Go outside. Okay. I'm going outside.

6:57 Go. Okay. Perfect. They're almost on scene for you. Okay. Okay. Fired is on their way also.

7:04 Okay. Perfect. We're arriving on scene. Okay. Sir, do you see them the uh police officers?

7:10 Mark ran outside the front door to meet the officers as they quietly pulled up the short driveway. He was in a frenzy as he explained what happened and pointed towards the upstairs master bathroom. The police rushed inside. Mark made sure his children were still asleep and begged the first responders to be quiet. He was terrified of traumatizing the kids. Officer Mike Bishop was one of the first on the scene. He found Sherry in the bathroom and immediately bent down and started doing chest compressions. The knees of his pants soon became wet with crimson suds. After 20 compressions, he got up and let the EMTs take over. Sherry was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors assured Mark that she was in good hands. They would do their best to save her life.

8:03 Mark called Sher's aunt and uncle to come pick up the kids before he went to the police station. With his head buried in his hands, Mark sat across from the detective in his cargo shorts and flip-flops as his leg bounced up and down while he wept.

8:21 This is a digital recorder. You mind if I run it while we're talking? That way I can don't have to take such so many notes.

8:29 Mark nodded and also allowed the police to search his home. He said he wanted all the help they could get. He wanted to know why this happened to his wife.

8:40 Why don't we start with a general history of your family and what's been going on in your life and and stuff like that?

8:48 Okay. Um, I'm married. I met my wife in Wisconsin when I was attending law school.

8:57 Mark and Sherry had met on a dating app back in 2008 when Mark was finishing with his legal degree at University of Wisconsin Madison. Ever since we've been together, join the military. I'm a judge advocate and branch army.

9:15 We went to live in Hawaii together. Our daughter was born there. Okay. She was born um at the same time the tsunami was hitting the island.

9:29 So the whole time there was like the alarms going off and she had the contractions and stuff. So

9:36 born army hospital uh yeah uh famously privile army medical center the pink palace

9:42 the pensadis had lived all over the US Alabama Hawaii Georgia this was due to Mark's career in the army and his higher education pursuits

9:55 so I was with the 25th infantry division um and then I deployed with uh CAB combat aviation brigade to get a har and uh my my wife stuck with me.

10:09 Was that pretty pretty pretty soon after the baby was born that you went you were deployed? That's tough.

10:15 Yeah. So, Maddie was uh 14 months old. I um I deployed for 7 months. It felt a lot longer. Anyways, uh very strong experience, but my wife was there throughout I came back and anyways we worked together and tried to buy a house in Hawaii. Didn't work out. We moved to a different place. Anyways, uh we traveled. We went to the big island with my cousin from Spain that came to visit. We went to Japan where my daughter was like treated like a like a star. uh

10:55 got a little blonde girl and stuff. I mean the Japanese are such cute people and stuff and then I was approached by so I was aviation helicopters. So I was approached by a sigorski attorney offered me a job in civilian so I went to reserves and then we moved to Connecticut. We were there for about a year and a half, 14 15 months

11:20 doing civilian legal forski and right still in the reserve. Correct. Right. So I work with uh cyber warfare command for Hamilton in Brooklyn.

11:31 I assume you're an officer. Yeah, I'm a captain and I just like for major. All the while Mark was thriving in his army career and working his way up to major. Sherry had gotten her degree in social work and was pursuing her own talents and income. Sherry had even published a children's book and was working on a second for her publisher. They were flourishing. But after a few months in Arizona, Mark lost his job.

12:02 Yeah. And then for the remainder of the year, I've been unemployed in the civilian side. So I've been

12:08 Is that this year? This year. Yes, sir. And I was just offered a job in Kentucky. Great job. Super happy finally after all these months. My wife really stepped up. I mean, she was the bread winner. Anyways, we found a a home together that we like. We got new furniture for Max because his furniture is kind of I don't know if you saw it.

12:38 Your son? My son? Okay. How old is he? 18 months. 18 months. Mark and Cherry had a role reversal when he was unemployed and she stepped it up as the family's primary earner. Mark told the detective that he was proud of his wife for doing that. He was grateful and embraced his role as the main parent.

13:01 Anyways, everything's been going great. Um, I've been selected for major BDZ below the zone. I'm ranked really high, I think, among my, you know, I haven't had the appraisal yet, but I think I'll do really well. She's been like super supportive, like moving to Kentucky. She likes the job she she has here, but she's been supportive. Like, she knows we have to pay off our debts and everything. Like, it's very positive and strong. And it's a good school for Maddie. And Mac is starting to talk. He said, "Good morning. back to my wife who was born.

13:38 Then we have a routine and stuff like it's beautiful. Anyways, and so I'm just that's what's happening right now where we are. And uh my wife was uh she was what's what's the word? Um anyways, she was ready to have a third child essentially.

13:59 Mhm. Even though Sherry liked Arizona and her job there, Mark had been offered a new position in Kentucky and it made sense to move. Sherry had posted on her Facebook page just before her death.

14:14 We've been in Arizona for a year now, so guess what time it is? Time for another crossount move. Never a dull moment.

14:24 Mark said Sher had been ovulating and they were trying to have another baby. According to him, things were looking up.

14:32 And yesterday she had a headache. And so she has heart issues, she has vision issues, she had a piercing headache. Uh um anyways, so yeah. So, yesterday she wasn't feeling too too good. And then uh I've been uh juicing, you know, uh the juicer.

14:59 Mhm. Liquid diet, whatever the Australian dude, you know, like all that stuff, you know, and so she's been eating healthy. I've been making her breakfast and the family and flossing for my daughter and my son is starting to talk and everything's going so so well. Mark just couldn't understand why it all had to fall apart now. Things were just perfect.

15:24 I do need to know what happened tonight so I can understand what I see at the house. Okay.

15:28 So, we'll go on into that. All right. Okay. So, um I'll focus on tonight. So, she came home at like 5:15. Mark explained that after Sherry got home from work, he cooked the family a healthy dinner, watched some movies, put the kids to bed, and then decided to spend some quality time together. And we were trying to have like a romantic night, like a together night. And so I uh I drew a bath for us. And so, uh, anyways, I was in there and I was putting uh disp on on my cell phone. And so, by the time I, you know, my wife came, she was, uh, pretty excited, I guess, or laughing or whatever. Then she put her clothes and other clothes downstairs in the wash.

16:26 came back upstairs and then we kind of hung out in the bathtub. We cut her nails, her toenails. Um like washed her hair and I was kind of massaging her and stuff and we just had beautiful evening. Just a very I don't know like a positive evening. It wasn't necessarily going through sex or anything like that either. It was sort of just to be happy. You know,

16:54 the past 8 months was really stressful, really difficult with the bills with everything. Now I have a job and the house we like. We just bought a bedroom set for Max. Like everything is coming together. Everything's so wonderful.

17:07 As romantic as it was, Mark soon needed to get out of the tub. He gets warm. You know,

17:13 almost too hot in bathtubs, so she likes to stay longer. So, I got out and I went to bed essentially and uh I take sleeping pills and the rise pan for anxiety. I I've had to do this since my deployment and so anyway, so I slept and uh

17:34 what do you take to sleep? Um simply simply sleep. So it's over the quarter. Yeah, I take three of those. I'm trying to lower my the amount I take. He used to take four. Lately, I've been taking three and trying to we myself off.

17:49 Mark took his anti-depressant and then three of his over-the-counter sleep meds, a dyenhydramine based medication. Basically, it's like taking a handful of allergy medication like benadryil. You know how much I love benadryil. It can make you really sleepy, knock you out for the whole day. It was around this time that the detective got a phone call and he excused himself and left the room. When he returned, he had some bad news for Mark.

18:18 I never want to be the person to have to tell somebody this, but your your wife has passed away.

18:25 Oh, [ __ ] I'm going to have the officer outside the room call counselor. Would you be able to talk to a counselor?

18:44 Would that be helpful? I can talk to you, man. All right. I We'll keep talking, but

18:51 No. I want somebody here that has good resources for you. Okay. So, I'm going to have him calm, and you can you can you want

18:58 No. No. After Mark calmed down and stopped crying, the detective made sure to get one thing straight.

19:07 I want to make sure you fully understand. Any news in there? anytime anytime there is a uh a serious injury, we're we're there. And you're you're a lawyer, so I assume that you understand all the you're you're here voluntarily, so um for me to ask you questions about what happened tonight. I'm I'm just trying to get enough information to determine what's going on.

19:30 I got you. Um so I don't want you to feel like Okay. Well, you're not a suspect. You're you're the only source of information I have. If you were a suspect, I'd reach you, Miranda. I would take you into custody. That kind of thing. You're free to leave. You you all the

19:49 Okay. Mark was the only source of information. And being a lawyer himself, the cops knew he wouldn't be talking with them unless he had nothing to do with this. I mean, why would he? Unless he's an idiot, of course. Everyone was just trying to understand the mysterious way that Sherry had died. Mark may have been the only one the cops knew to talk to. But as news of her untimely death spread throughout her friends and family, others would come forward and the investigation would change from an accidental death to something much much worse.

20:58 lawyer and army major Mark Eric Pansadi. had found his wife, Sherry Pensad, dead on their bathroom floor from what appeared to be an accidental fall out of the tub. The couple's young children were still sleeping down the hall when Mark called 911 in hysterical tears. Now, he found himself alone and terrified as to what the future would hold for his family. Mark told the police that he had a happy marriage. He had just received a new job offer in Kentucky. So, the family was preparing to pack up and move yet again.

21:36 They were trying for a third baby and enjoying every day as it came. Very Hallmark, you know. But now, suddenly, Sherry was dead and the police had to figure out what happened on the night in question. Despite his emotions, Mark composed himself and continued speaking with the detective.

21:56 Yeah. All of a sudden, I woke up, which is surprising cuz usually when you take the pills and stuff, I wake up later.

22:01 Mhm. Like 1:00 maybe or something. 2:00. There's a kind of a pattern like at a cycle.

22:07 And this time it was something different. I I kind of woke up. Which bed were you in?

22:12 Upstairs. And uh I was kind of listening and I could hear the TV still playing downstairs. And uh I said there was still light bathroom. And so I'm like, she's still in the bathroom, so I was going to tell her to come over. And I tried to open the door and I couldn't. Something was blocking it. And I pushed. And I can [ __ ] see your [ __ ] feet. And your feet are like really white. And uh and so I call out for her. I'm like, "What the fuck?" like Sherry and finally I push had to push quite a bit and it was like pushing her body like with a with a door like her legs were going sideways.

23:05 Mark said he was groggy from the sleep medication but after he saw his wife's cold white feet on the floor his adrenaline kicked in

23:14 and then I noticed her head and it looked [ __ ] up. It looked there was blood and she had like heatas and stuff and I recognized that I've seen injuries.

23:25 Was she face down or she was on her back? She was on her back. And was her head towards the door or her feet towards the door?

23:33 Uh the feet were toward the door. The feet were blocking the legs. The feet were blocking moved. So I don't know because I did push her. So I'm not sure how she was originally. Like I were thinking

23:45 you said you saw hematomas. Where were they? Yeah, it was the first thing I noticed were the blood on that [ __ ] corner. God damn it. In the [ __ ] corner. I thought about it several times with Maddie and stuff cuz they always make everything so wet, you know? I have to put towels in the ground and stuff and slipping and stuff in a [ __ ] corner. Like I put

24:05 like the corner of the sink or No, the corner of the like between the shower and the bathtub. There's a really dangerous freaking corner right there. Mark said there was a sharp, dangerous corner between the bathtub and the sink. When they bathed the kids in the bathtub, he would put towels down to cover it. He was convinced that Sherry had hit her head on that.

24:27 And I I noticed blood all over that [ __ ] thing. And uh and anyways, I freaked out. I [ __ ] call her name. And uh and I I slipped. It was like slippery. I just

24:45 You went in though. You went back. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I went in there. And Were you wearing any clothes or were you naked or

24:51 I was What was I? I think I was wearing these clothes. I wasn't wearing these clothes

24:56 and I did the uh I'm CPR certified and stuff, you know. So, I did the I was observed, listening, all that stuff.

25:02 It didn't look good. the face colors, the discoloration there was the patches and I um and she had her I mean she looked she didn't look good and uh I I freaked out and I noticed her lungs weren't moving. I immediately called 911.

25:18 Mark was an army major, a trained EMT and a lawyer. If anyone would be useful in this situation, it was him. Mark said he didn't remember much after he got on the phone with 911. His memory was just a blur of chaos.

25:35 Yeah, I remember the rest. Honestly, it only to do like mouth to mouth, but I knew that was not it was too too far for that. I could tell like it was blood and like it was purple and stuff.

25:50 So, did you ever do the mouth mouth? No. No, sir. Okay. No, sir. Now, let me ask you a question. If your wife, the mother of your children, was lying unresponsive on the floor, cold, white, you know, don't you think you would maybe Oh, I don't know. Um, attempt maybe possibly to save her life somehow. I mean, am I the only one who would actually do that? I don't think so. Right. But apparently Mark is one of the other types.

26:33 Um, but did you ever do any compressions? No, sir. Okay. So, you just you just evaluated?

26:38 I did. I did. Yeah. And I did touch her. I didn't touch her. You've been through the same military training. So, I did the arteries and all that stuff like the leg.

26:46 So, you check for pulse. You listen listen and feel for writing and stuff like that. I could tell she slipped. I mean, it looked like she [ __ ] slipped in that son of a [ __ ] corner and I noticed uh water and soap and all that stuff. And then the carpet was all like

27:01 So, was the bathtub overflowing or was it just from like getting out the water flashing? Yeah. No. So, there was no water. You didn't have to turn the water off?

27:10 No. No. No. No. So, the tub was not overflowing. Mark did not do chest compressions or try CPR on his wife. Mark's theory was that Sherry got out of the bath, slipped, fell, and hit her head. This was all feeling a little off. Mark had painted a picture of a happy marriage and a family life. But Jerry's best friend, Danielle, had something different to say about Mark. Danielle actually refers to Mark as Eric. He went by Mark Eric professionally, but sometimes just Eric to his family and friends. her husband, Eric, how do I say it, looks really great on paper. So, he's a lawyer, he's charming, um he's wellliked, he's good-looking, um he likes to cook, all of these different things.

28:03 Things were good in their beginning of their relationship. Um but then things kind of took a turn. So, there's some information. He lived he he was in the military. He was stationed in Alabama. They were in Hawaii. Uh then they were in Connecticut and then Arizona.

28:21 Danielle's tale lined up with Markx, but she knew some much darker things. There's been some things that have happened in the past. Um he has very mentally unstable. So he's um been had a lot of um uh instability regarding suicide. I know this was more in Connecticut. He sought treatment. He was on medications. There was times where he would just take a dose of medicine and not be able to wake up or he'd find him with the kids running all over the place. He'd be out of it.

29:02 And there was more. I guess what we labeled him as, and I don't know, he did see a psychiatrist um as a sex addict. So he was constantly looking at porn. He had been always doing porn websites. Porn, porn, porn. Um he had a job where he traveled a lot. He was in Turkey at one point. He had solicited prostitutes there and she was pregnant with her second son.

29:31 So she I remember when he came back she found out about this I think via his phone and computer. um and she had gone into the doctor and had all kinds of STD testing to make sure that you know she was pregnant and things like that. He also has had um issues maintaining a job. So I think when something happened in the military where he was also walked in on looking at pornography and things like that.

29:58 Um but anyways, please let me know if you have questions or anything in you can say that again. Danielle was like a floodgate of information. And the detective was dumbfounded by this seedy side of Mark that couldn't have been further from the composed, kind, and wellspoken man he consoled at this very same police station. Danielle said that Mark's porn and cheating loomed all throughout the time Sherry was pregnant with their second child. Then things hit a breaking point while they were in Connecticut. I do know Sherry does have evidence and I don't know where it is of some child pornography. Um there was one time she walked in on him. This was in Connecticut by the way. So this is probably in the last 3 years. Um he she walked in on him u masturbating to a five or sixyear-old girl getting emily raped

31:00 after catching Mark in the act with violent child porn. Sherry had had enough. She left him. Her uncle Joe, who has the kids right now, he came to Connecticut to get her out of there. and he left when she was at he was at home and he drove her and she came here. Her goal was was to leave him and she didn't have any money and when she came here he pretty much put all that, you know, I mean he he controlled the money. He did not give her any money. She stayed at her mother's house.

31:41 I tried to help her out as much as possible. Um, I invited her to to stay at my house, groceries, my, you know, things like that.

31:50 Danielle tried her best to help Sherry get out of her marriage, but Sherry wanted to make it work. She had no money, and leaving Mark wasn't financially viable right then and there.

32:01 Yeah. So, things were worse. I know in Sonatic when she went back, they had agreed Eric was going to seek help. They sought help. Sherry was not religious, but he said, "Well, let's, you know, go talk to a priest." And so, they were kind of doing some type of marital counseling with a priest in Connecticut. And Eric also was getting on meds. He was seeing a psychiatrist. They wanted to have him go to a treatment center. He didn't want to. Um, and I know the priest, I remember being surprised because the priest told Sher to leave him, and I was surprised at that. I was raised Catholic, so I thought, "Oh, that's interesting."

32:40 It's like last resort type stuff. Exactly. Being a Catholic herself, Danielle figured things were really creme if a priest had agreed that Sherry should leave Mark.

32:51 And so that was that and then things just kind of got worse. Uh Max was born and that's kind of ensued. After Max was born and Mark was [clears throat] seeking help, the family relocated to Arizona where things didn't really get much better. The family was dwindling their savings and between Mark's high student loan payments and cost of living, they were drowning in debt. When they moved from Connecticut to Arizona, they had to take out a loan of $45,000 for closing costs, which put an even bigger strain on their marriage.

33:31 So, he's had um higher up jobs and unfortunately authority figures haven't it's been is habitual issues with him because he's really lasted a job a year or less. He's often fired from jobs. The recent one he was fired in Arizona. Um he's been unemployed for 9 months and Sharon did not work until the last three months. So, they've been living off of savings. Um, he borrowed money from someone in Florida. I do know because she confided in me um about everything. So, I know they were really in financial ruins. Um, she and I have sent a text message. She she said they were probably about $140,000 in debt.

34:21 Then Sherry got a job, which felt like a glimmer of hope, but it only made Mark worse. Sherry got a job three months ago. It was our first job. Um, back from being, you know, stay-at-home mom. Um, Eric has always been very controlling. They got into a lot of fights about cleaning, ironing his shirts. That was her job to iron his shirts. If he was going to go anywhere, she had to pack his bag. She had to wake up in the morning and, you know, make him, you know, that kind of thing, right?

34:50 And so, since he lost his job, I know he was working out a lot. That was his thing. He go to the gym, he lift weights, he worked out a lot. and he really did his own thing. Now, since Sherry was working for the first two months, she was working. I feel like she was working for about 90 days. For the first two months, he was home with the kids by themselves. And then Maddie, who is six, started school about a month ago right?

35:15 And so that was a huge change. Sherry would go to work. She was very worried for the safety of her children. Mhm.

35:22 She confided in me that Max, her youngest son, who's uh almost 20 months, had fallen down the stairs a couple times um because Eric was on the computer the whole time.

35:33 With his oldest daughter in first grade and just baby Max to take care of, Mark started slipping back into his old online addictions. Mark was a negligent, resentful father who did not want to be at home with his kids while his wife earned money for the family. Um, I believe it was about a month ago, she took in Max, maybe two months, took in Max for his uh 18 19month appointment. Eric went to the doctor and Maddie, the the daughter, had told the doctor that Max fell down the stairs two times. And I don't know what the doctor was asking questions or anything, but he got very angry and said in front of the doctor, "Maddie, you get over here. I'm going to spank you." And that was something interesting because I had never heard Sherry ever say anything about that. And I asked Sherry, "Did he ever spank Maddie?" She said, "No, not that she was aware of." And then the doctor appointment was done. He was

36:35 waiting in line to to you know for paperwork and he lost it in the doctor's office. He you know punched threw down the paperwork, walked out for the door. It was like this big ordeal.

36:48 Danielle said that Mark had really been going downhill since Sherry became the bread winner and his emotions were off the charts.

36:57 I want to say it was maybe four to six weeks ago. They had gone somewhere in Arizona, maybe for a hike or something, and he had lost it in the car over, I don't recall. He took her phone, he said he was going to throw it out. Kids were screaming in the background. He was stopping the car. It was a very, you know dramatic you know, something had happened,

37:18 right? The thing about Eric was that he could turn his mood like that. And so Sherry was kind of eggshell like stepping on eggshells. I know he, you know, punched a wall, you know, a hole in the wall in their house in Connecticut. Um, that kind of thing. He was very hottempered.

37:40 Mark was an angry, emotional guy and Sherry felt stuck. But to the outside world on social media, the couple were very active and presented only the very best parts of their family life. Sherry would post pictures of their hiking trips to the Grand Canyon. She'd boast in videos about her daughter going off to school and she'd give her friends updates on the forts that kids would build when it was too hot to play outside. Mark did the same. He showed off being promoted to major and had recently posted a picture of a meal a civilian bought him at a fancy restaurant after she thanked him for his service. "Thank you, ma'am," he wrote. "I feel humbled and grateful."

38:30 To the world, Sherry and Mark looked like a happy, loving family of four, but inside they were bubbling over with secrets that all stemmed from Mark's disgusting porn habit. he had found a picture of a girl or something, a woman on his phone and asked her him about it and he said, "Oh, she's from some pornography website." And so she said to him, "Well, show me show me the website." And he couldn't. And he got very, very upset about that. And she told him that she was there for the kids and that she really wanted nothing to do with him sexually and that he could do whatever he wanted, but he was there for the kids and he like that completely blew up. Now I don't that was the only time he talked about that. I don't know anything about that. But what Danielle did know was that Mark's issues with violence and sexual perversion all stemmed from one person.

39:35 His dad was So she told me about how he was in he was in prison. He used to have a lot of money and Eric had told Sherry that he had introduced Eric to pornography when he was seven or eight years old. Your dad has always tried to get mail order by things like that. I don't know anything more than that. Oh, and the reason his porn peddling dad was in prison, it was no big deal. Just for, you know, killing someone in a fit of rage.

40:03 So, Eric's dad was in prison for killing a man in Spain. It was a Dutch It was a Dutch tourist um over road rage.

40:14 Just chew on this for a second. Things in Arizona were bad, but then Mark got a job offer in Kentucky and the family was set to move again. Remember, Sher had written on her Facebook page just 4 days before her death, "We've been in Arizona for a year now, so guess what time it is? Time for another cross-country move. Never a dull moment." Hints of resentment hung in her post. And behind closed doors, she told Mark she was sick of the instability in her family, but she agreed to go to Kentucky because of one reason.

40:53 And Kentucky came up and she wasn't thrilled about it. But her main thing, cuz I was always trying to be positive with her, was that she was going to be closer to Wisconsin. Her main dream was she wanted to get back to Wisconsin. She had family and friends here. She wanted just kind of down to earth life for her family. And she was only going to be a couple hours away, eight hours away. Now, I know this last week she text me and said, "Oh my gosh, Erica got a call from a job in Oshkosh. Oshkosh is an hour and a half away from her parents' home." Okay. And I said, "Oh my goodness, wow, that's excellent." But she said at that point that Eric said absolutely not. that he had already signed the contract for this new job in Kentucky.

41:39 The idea of moving to Oshkosh, Wisconsin was a dream come true for Sherry. Finally, she would be closer to her family and friends. The possibility of leaving Mark was in bloom. But he stomped out that dream. Of course, he did. If Sherry was closer to the safety of her family and friends, then she would surely leave him. Mark may have been sick, but he was not stupid. But Danielle and Sherry talked every day like best friends do. Sherry had an exit strategy, and she told Danielle everything.

42:14 And her plan was that she wanted to leave in a couple of years. She was very fearful for her children. She was fearful to leave the house and have 50/50 custody and have him taking care of the kids when he couldn't even take care of himself in that regard.

42:31 All right. So, no, no discussion with her about having more children. Absolutely not. She said, "The thought of a third child sounds really great to me if I had a different like if I was with someone else."

42:45 Danielle had spilled the tea, as they say. And boy, was it potent. Mark had put up an excellent front for the police. He'd come across as believable, kind, and caring. But that, if you haven't guessed it already, was all a lie. Even Sherry's mother, who knew less than Danielle, knew that Mark had made unthinkable threats to his daughter.

43:11 Well, Sherry and Erica had issues with their marriage ongoing for I would say probably the last three years. And last year, last March, she asked me to come visit and I did. And when I got there, she said that things weren't going well, that they weren't getting along, and she wanted to come back to Wisconsin. She told me that Cherry's mom broke down into inaudible sobs. try to relax and and that way I can clearly understand what you're saying. It sounded like you said that she had concerns that he was going to kill her.

43:58 That's right. That's okay. She told me that he threatened to kill her. But Sherry wasn't ready to leave Mark yet. She made a point of repeating that over and over. She stayed with him for one reason and one reason only. She never said that she was looking to divorce Eric right now. She never said anything like that to me, but I remember her saying, I would say in the last month, she said I something about my kids are legal residents of Arizona. And that's when, you know, she had said something about, well, you know, I might stay work my job a little bit. Maddie started school and whatever. And then, you know, that's all I know. So, she wanted a more stable life for the kids as far as

44:46 Yes. And so, absolutely. And what I can tell you, the only reason, and she told me this over and over again, the only reason why she never left Eric was because of her children. If it wasn't because of her children, she would have been gone a long time ago. She was the best mom. Never complained. Just did everything. And even though her her life at home was horrible with her husband and all that, you know, she was definitely the rock for her children.

45:16 Meanwhile, the detectives had an autopsy performed on Sherry's body and began examining the scene in a new light. Detective Bishop noticed many physical pieces of evidence that did not line up with Mark's story. Mark was now their prime suspect and he was going to have to face the truth. Maybe Mark had been able to keep Sherry physically away from her friends and family. Maybe he was able to make sure she held a brave face to the world, but he couldn't stop her from confiding in the people that she loved and revealing all of his dirty, disgusting secrets.

46:27 after speaking. with Sher Pensad's best friends and other family members. Maricopa County detectives now realize that the image Mark painted himself as was a far cry from reality. Mark was a porn addicted, violent, angry, jobless man in debt and on the brink of losing his sanity. I think that describes most men these days actually, but I'll leave it at that. Anyway, Sherry had caught him with child porn, and that's a crime that she should have definitely turned him in for, but she didn't. Sherry had plans to go. She had to think of herself, and the couple was in a ton of debt. She had to be strategic.

47:12 Sherry's aunt and uncle had taken the Pensad's children after she died and they had overheard Mark on the phone telling a different story than the one he told detectives. I thought that he told a coroner that they had been watching Netflix downstairs,

47:29 right, that she hadn't come back and he um I think he used the word to the corner that he was maybe frustrated and annoyed. I'm pretty sure he used the word annoyed. So he went to look

47:42 um for her and she wasn't in the bedroom. And Sherry's brother confirmed that all the things Danielle had said about Mark were true. He also revealed a little more.

47:53 She was afraid of Eric and that Eric literally told her that if if she filed for a divorce against him that he would kill her family.

48:03 And that's something that she told you he said. Yes. And she or did she tell your mother and your mother told you?

48:10 No, she told me that directly. Okay. And she had told me that if anything ever happened to her, like if she died unexpectedly, that we should suspect that Eric was the cause.

48:22 Armed with this new information, Detective Bishop began to examine the scene differently and came up with a new theory about how Sherry died.

48:31 I believe she was killed in the master bathroom of her home. I believe that uh she received multiple injuries to her upper back and neck and head uh through a uh physical altercation. Also, her nose and upper lip were injured. Uh I believe she succumbed to those injuries and uh her body was staged in the uh master bathroom for police to find. Well, my theory and uh if the prosecutors are okay with me giving my theory is that the line linear injuries on her back and upper neck and head um were probably a result of being forcefully thrown against the tile ledge at the back of the bathroom uh bathtub rather.

49:25 The blood that was visible to me on that night uh was diluted with water and appeared to me like a maybe a head that was already bloody had been placed there.

49:40 Detective Bishop believed that Mark killed Sherry in the tub using the sharp edge of the tile between the tub and shower to repeatedly bludgeon her head and back until she bled out. Remember Mark kept saying he thought that corner was dangerous. He relentlessly repeated that he was sure Sherry slipped and hit her head on that tile. I found out later um that not only had he um pushed the thought or tried to convey clearly the dangerous situation in the bathroom with the ledge and how he had pointed it out before and he knew that this ledge was going to hurt somebody at some point. He he passed that along to other people as long as me. He was I felt like when I found out that this was included in his conversations to almost everybody that that was an indicator that um that there was more to the story than this slip and fall that he had portrayed to me. If she had slipped and hit her head on that

50:44 ledge, the ledge would have caused the bleeding to start, but her head would already be gone. It would be down on the floor. So that's why I would expect more blood on the floor than I was. I wouldn't even expect to see much or any blood on the on the ledge itself.

51:02 Sherry's blood was telling a new story. Not only did luminal testing reveal that more blood had been cleaned up, but it had also been moved around. This sick [ __ ] moved around his wife's blood to stage the scene.

51:21 There was a lot of blood that just wasn't at the scene. And I did notice that and I did make that um statement in my first first or second um supplement to the case is that there was just not enough blood on the floor to account for the stains and and for the injuries, but I wasn't fully aware of the injuries at that point. You have to understand that I didn't I never saw the body until the autopsy and that was after the fact.

51:50 Okay. So, I gained more information and more suspicion and more knowledge about her injuries after the fact that let me know that this top where there was no blood visible should be checked for blood that was isn't visible. And that's what lumininal is used to do or blue star or whatever chemical she used

52:14 that used to see blood where there is no visible blood. The autopsy showed that Sherry had injuries to her head and back, which would not have been possible if she just slipped. She had bruising on her spine consistent with violent shaking, and strangulation could not be ruled out. She had multiple blunt force injuries to the back of her head, upper neck, and back. That would have been one violent, thrashing, and repeating fall. And there were other physical details that Detective Bishop noticed were suspicious.

52:50 I found it odd that two people took a bath and their clothes were downstairs in the washer.

52:57 Mark had planned this all out very well. And he was using his legal training to cover his tracks, feeding the same believable story about Sherry slipping on some soap due to her own negligence. Blaming the victim, they call it. I don't think people like it these days. Anyway, here's Sherry's brother describing what Mark told him after she died. And he told me he told me, you know, what had happened and and uh basically like he said that Sherry had a history of the house of like not putting things back. Like for example, you know, when she'd cook, she would leave the cooking oil out and not put the cap on it and things like that. And was really particular about that kind of stuff. And he said he'd always nag at her about it.

53:45 Yeah. Which I can totally see that. And he said that Sherry would do it so often that eventually he stopped nagging at her. He said one of the things that she would do is in the bathroom she wouldn't put the cap on like the bubble bath and stuff when she'd give the kids a bubble bath,

54:02 right? And I and honestly I could I totally believe that she I could see her doing that cuz I mean I've lived with her too. And um he thinks that uh she she didn't put the cap on the bubble bath and somehow it got tipped over when she was in the bathroom and when she went to get out of the shower, you know, the the ground was completely soaked in soap.

54:23 Mhm. And uh she slipped. Mark even told this story to his six-year-old child, believe it or not, who then relayed it back almost verbatim to the police psychologist.

54:36 Guess what? He was sleeping when that happened. And then guess what? Woke him up.

54:42 Oh, that woke him up. And then guess what? What? He didn't know where to find him.

54:48 Little peep. He what? He didn't know where to find his teeth. Like little bull peep.

54:53 Oh, okay. like my mom. Okay. And guess what? And she looked in the bathroom. Then there there we saw the blood on her head of death. [clears throat]

55:08 Did you see that blood with your very own eyes? No. I didn't see any of that. Only my dad. Detective Bishop believed that there was no way the soap could have landed the way it did if Sherry slipped on it. Mark's story was good, but gravity's way better.

55:28 Uh yeah, the the soap especially was odd because the soap container was found in a tipped over uh position on the floor. And uh if you I think you probably got the gist from our experiment that if you if you knocked over a bottle of soap, the soap would be emanating from the area where the [clears throat] container is. Um the officers that were first on scene and from my recollection there was visible blue soap on top of the bathmat and throughout the throughout the scene that I don't believe it would have been possible for the soap to emanate from the area where the bottle was on top of the to get up onto the uh the bath mat And I don't think that u the amount of soap that was missing is physically possible from turning that container over. So if you knock over a container of blue soap, it's only going to drain to the area where the lip of the spout is. It won't drain the inch and a half,

56:47 2 in below that spout because gravity won't allow it to flow upwards and out of the bottle. Mark did his best to cover all those tracks. He had a carefully thought out plan like some demented version of Gone Girl. But even with his law degree, military background, EMT training, and perfectionism or autism, Mark could not get one over on the detectives. They were too thorough. And only a week after Sherry's death, Mark was arrested for murder. His bail was set at $1 million. When it came time to pull Mark in front of a jury of his peers, he stuck to his story. He took the stand and added some more elaborate details about how he tried to save her life before he called 911.

57:42 He said that his EMT training kicked in and he did try to give her mouth to mouth, but there was so much blood and, you know, he just couldn't. You know, it's just some people are so stupid and they think you're stupid, too. They think they can get away with things cuz they think you're just as stupid as they are. He even said that he thought about getting a turkey baster to suck the blood out. He said this on the stand. I swear. He also tried to justify the injuries to her face by saying he slipped and fell on her, but he didn't admit that to the police. He never said that until that moment. So, he claimed that was why he refused to try CPR or chest compressions when the dispatcher asked him to. He claimed that he felt like a bull in a china shop after his fall and that he would only make things worse. I mean, his wife was dead, but he would only make things worse. That's what he said. I want to wake up, man.

58:42 I'm sorry. Just [ __ ] make me wake up, please. [ __ ] Oh my god. Her father, her brother. [clears throat] Mark Eric Pensadi presented well to the world. He was handsome, fit, accomplished, and successful. On social media, he bragged about his career advances and his happy family. But behind closed doors, he was a pornobsessed cheater and a pedophile who slept with prostitutes and threatened his wife. He masturbated to child porn. And he was such a negligent dad that he let his baby fall down the stairs multiple times under his watch.

59:37 What a piece of [ __ ] He knew that Sherry was going to leave him. I mean, why wouldn't she leave him? I'm sure that he thought that if he were Sherry, he would leave him, too. But he was afraid of this, and he wanted control over the situation. Mark had to control his wife. Like, he couldn't control his own life. What he didn't have control over was the people in her life and who she chose to share her secrets to and his disgusting secrets to as well. They knew everything. Sherry may have been sickened by her husband's perversions, but she wasn't too embarrassed about it to let everyone around her know who was actually hiding behind Mark's smile.

1:00:25 So when his perfect little murder plan was missing a few important pieces, the humiliating confessions Sherry had made about her husband became the most powerful ammo for cops. Now Mark Pensadi will be in prison until September 7th, 2042. He received the maximum sentence for seconddegree murder. When he gets out, his daughter will be 31 and his son will be 26. I'm sure they will want nothing to do with him. He will be alone, left to sink deeper into his porn addiction and drown in his own loneliness. But I think there's a better way to end this story. There's a lesson to be learned here. Perhaps a little safety PSA.

1:01:19 If you can hear my voice right now and you're thinking that maybe some of your traits are similar to Marks, maybe rethink your life. Maybe rethink a lot of things.

1:01:50 We're putting out a lot of free episodes right now, but that's going to stop soon and they're all going to be behind a payw wall. So, you might as well join now. Sword andcale.com, it's called Plus. Starts at 10 bucks a month. Swordandscale.com.

1:02:42 Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Questions about this episode

What is "Episode 294" about?

The content centers around a shocking emergency call made by Mark Eric Pansadi, who discovers his wife, Sherry, unresponsive in the bathroom of their home in Gilbert, Arizona, amidst a distressing scene involving blood and liquid soap. As he struggles to comprehend the situation and address the urgent presence of their children, the call reveals the immediate chaos and tragedy surrounding a…

What is mentioned in this Sword and Scale episode?

60 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Aunt Sherry, Detective Bishop, Danielle, prison, Sword and Scale, Mark Eric Pansadi. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Episode 294"?

The episode runs 1 h 4 min; the transcript is about 9,700 words in 172 timestamped sections.

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