I wanted to happen. I just want her to come back. Whoever she's with or whoever she left with I just want them to bring her back, you know, bring her bring her back. I don't know if she's safe. I don't know if she might have gotten into that level. I know that she's going through something, too. >> 20-year-old Madeline Pantoja has been missing for days. The detective on the case brings a man into the interrogation room hoping for answers. But he doesn't realize the man across from the table is the one who hit her where no one would ever think to search. With every hour that passes, the chance of finding her alive fades. But the truth is closer than anyone thinks. >> She and a random account popped up telling us that and she stopped being active on Facebook and that account started being active on Facebook and started telling us that she was dead. >> I I She like my brother said yesterday, she slipped up, but I didn't hear it. But she said, "When they find the body." Like, what do you mean, "When they find the body?" She She could have been like, "When they find her." But she said the body. >> On May 9th, 2023, Jasmine drops her friend Madeline off at her apartment complex in Midland, Texas. At the time, it seemed like an ordinary goodbye. Neither of them knows it'll be the last time anyone sees Madeline alive. The next evening, Madeline's boyfriend Mario calls her brother Roberto, but Madeline is nowhere to be found and no one can reach her. That immediately raises concern. She had plans to meet her friends and disappearing without telling anyone was completely out of character for her. Worried that something may have happened, Roberto calls 911 and reports his sister missing. A short time later, an officer arrives at the apartment complex and speaks with Jasmine and Roberto. Something about the situation doesn't feel right to her, so she calls in a missing person's detective. The detective immediately starts piecing together Madeline's last 48 hours. Then investigators uncover something unsettling. Around 1:30 a.m., a neighbor heard a man and woman screaming inside Madeline's apartment. But arguments and shouting weren't unusual in the unit, so the neighbor thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. By the following day, Madeline's friends still can't reach her. That night, with help from a maintenance worker, they finally get inside her apartment. And almost immediately things don't add up. Madeline's purse, keys, and phone are still inside. Her dog hasn't been fed or given water, something her friends say she would never allow. And then they notice something else. The coffee table is missing. These details raise a much bigger question. If Madeline left on her own, why did she leave behind most everything she would normally take with her? The next day, police returned for a closer look. And the apartment reveals even more signs that something may have gone wrong. There's a hole punched through the bathroom door, another in the bedroom door, and this one has strands of hair caught in the splintered wood. For the next 10 days, the search for Madeline continues to grow. But investigators are also looking closely at the people around her. Mario tells detectives he stayed home all day and hadn't spoken to Madeline since their phone call the night before. At first, they have little to challenge his story. Then they find something they didn't have during the first interview. CCTV shows Mario's truck near Madeline's apartment complex shortly before 2:00 a.m. Detectives ask him to come back in voluntarily. This time, they aren't going in empty-handed. They have footage that places his truck near the complex and a very different timeline to ask him about. >> Well, since we met yesterday, you know, we talked about a few things and covered some of that stuff and sometimes we miss things as we're talking. So, is there anything that we didn't cover >> Okay, so yes, sir. So, like, you know, everything just happened so quickly yesterday, you know, everything just it's just out of nowhere everything just came out of nowhere, you know. Um, like I said, um, so that day, which was uh, Wednesday, correct? Wednesday, yesterday. So, Wednesday, I did forget to mention on Wednesday that I when I did leave my mom's house, or my dad my parents' house, when I left that house, I stayed there with my uncle for about 15 minutes and then my my cousin called me. And then, well, he's been going through the same as me, you know, breakup and depression and all that. And he called and he said, "Hey, would you like to go have a couple of drinks with me?" I was like, "Yeah, well, we can have like two or three, four, you know, at the most." I do have the receipt for all that and at what time I was there. And we went to I don't know what bar it's called, but it's the one right there by Wall Street Casino, the top of it. So, we stayed there for about an hour, for a good hour. I I think we left it around 11:00 and then we went to my house and then from there I went to drop him off at his house. And then from there I went right back to my house and then that's when I stayed there with my uncle until we watched the whole movie and we fell asleep and I think the last time that I was up was I think the latest that I had stayed up 2:23. That was a >> Right from the start, Mario seems unusually prepared. He brings up bar receipts and exact times to establish where he was and when he arrived. But why is he so eager to explain his whereabouts before detectives even press him? >> So, let's let's figure out so I'm not guessing around here. You said that this was Wednesday? >> Yeah, yes, sir. >> So, what day was Wednesday? May >> May 10th. >> May 10th. >> Yes, sir. >> So, >> [clears throat] >> what makes the timelines hard is going back and trying to look over everything. Now, you got your phone with you. Sometimes our phones help kind of set up some of that stuff. Let's just go back May 10th when you woke up. About what time did you wake up and let's figure [clears throat] out your day from there. >> May 10th, the moment that I had woke up on May 10th, give me 1 second. So, the moment that I had woken up was at exactly 8:12 p.m. >> p.m. or 8:00? >> p.m. 8:12 p.m. because I I fell asleep at at 3:00. I fell asleep at 3:00 p.m. because I took my my medication. Then I woke up 5 hours later, which was at 8:12 p.m. >> Okay. >> And then I was up since then. And then like I said, I contacted her brother to have her have him ask her, "Hey, can you give him a call?" She gave me a call and it was at around 9:00. She gave me that call and she was like, "Stop bothering my family to call me. Stop calling my friends to call me to call you. Stop calling my my my dad, my mom to call you." And I was like, "Okay, but I'm not calling to bother you in any type of way. I'm just calling you to reassure you because I just didn't want her to overthink about why I was asleep for so long, you know? I've I've been on medication and she I could tell she was really just frustrated, irritated, and just upset, you know? Obviously, cuz I am bugging her family to contact her to contact me. >> So, >> As detectives go through Mario's messages with Madeline, his version of their relationship starts to take shape. He portrays himself as the rejected boyfriend who stayed calm and respected her boundaries. He insists their 9:00 p.m. conversation was the last time they spoke. For now, detectives let him stick to that story, but they already know there's more digital evidence to examine, and it may reveal what really happened that night. >> So, from there, she just she just Um let me read you the messages first. So, from there, I had texted her and I sent her the screenshot about me being asleep, and I was like, "So, you can tell I've been asleep. I have not answered anyone cuz I've been out." And then I asked her, "Who are you with? Why stress me out like this and not answer answer my texts at least. I know you see me texting you." And then, that's when she had called. I guess that's when her brother finally had told her to call me. She called, we talked, and then she ended the call cuz obviously she was already frustrated. And then she she texted me, "First of all, I'm not even around her." cuz I said on the call the last thing I said on the call was like, "Every time you're with your friends, you always act you always have a big ego like this. You you you start treating me like you don't care about what's happening." >> [snorts] >> And I said, "I heard her cough. How are you going to lie? I didn't And then she said, "I didn't know I coughed or I don't have the ability to cough." I was like, "She coughed. I heard the background." And I was like, "Bro, leave me alone already. I'mma leave you alone. Stop doing this if you don't want me anymore. Cool? I'm done because I'm just just want her to leave me alone with this with all the assuming and overthinking stuff. Like, it's making my depression my anxiety rise even more than what it already is, so." And then she said, "You're going to act like I'm the problem, then okay. But just remember you asked for this. I mean, I never said anything about her being a problem. I was like, "I didn't ask for anything I didn't ask for shit." I've been asleep, and I wake up to an assumption. And then she said, "You just leave me alone now." I will respect her wishes. I said, "I just wanted to reassure you, but you have a big ego when you're with your friends." And then I replied to what her message that she had sent about respect her wishes. And I said, "It shows how much you try, but it's cool. So be it. I care about you a lot." But, if this is how you're around your friends with me, cool. I see. And then she sent the entitlement. And she put, "You think I need to try for you?" I said, "You're right. I'll leave you alone now. But, [ __ ] it. I won't come around anymore, so we don't bump heads anymore. Goodbye and have a blessed life for real." That was the last text message I sent at 9:06 p.m. I don't know exactly what time she left me on read. But, >> know you sent it at 9:06. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 9:06 exact. >> And then, what time was it that you called her brother? >> I called her brother. Give me one second. I have the call right here. Uh Junior. Called Junior. Outgoing call. I called him at 8:31. >> And then, what time did she call you back? >> She called me at 9:00. >> At 9:00. So, you texted between >> She called me at 9:00. 9:06. 9:00. That That Wait. Uh repeat that. I'm sorry. >> You texted her between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 06. >> No, I I was already texting her the moment that I woke up. I was already texting her at 8:12. That's when I had woke up, and I was already texting her. And she was ignoring my text all the way until 8:50. Until finally, at 9:00 is when she called me. So. >> And then, so the last time that you sent any type of communication to her was 9:06 p.m. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. >> That was the last text message I had her and and from there she didn't text me back. She didn't even reply to me. I gave her one last call. Didn't answer. And so like, "Okay, well, I'm going to do what my mom and my dad told me to do. Just give her seven What go as long as I could without texting her or talking to her or even seeing her. >> So, um as far as your relationship with her goes, y'all started in May. >> Yes, sir, last year. >> And that was May 2022. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. And then how was it that you met her? >> Um we met through social media. And at first we didn't really talk much. Um we we would text here and there. Not not as much though cuz I I know that she was still talking to her ex. And so, uh one day she went out of town. It was in the month of May as well. She went out of town to Austin. And and they got uh pulled over. And they had weed with them. And nobody wanted to take the blame, so she took the blame. And then her friend called me out of the blue cuz she didn't text me all day. So, I was just And you know, I kept texting her texting her, "Hey, what's going on? You know, are you not going to text me back no more or are you with your ex out of town or you know, what's what's going on? Don't Don't play with my feelings. Don't Don't don't just use me, you know?" And then uh her friend finally called me and she was like, "Hey, just let you know, well, she's in jail right now. Just so you don't be you know, overthinking her, thinking things that she's not doing, you know?" And I was like, "Oh, all right. Well, that makes me feel a lot better. Yeah, that's cool." So, I drove all the way over there to bond her out. And >> Traveling hundreds of miles to meet someone he barely knew suggests that his interest in her became intense very quickly. Mario portrays Madeleine as someone who relied on him from the start. By describing her as overly dependent and claiming that she left her job to stay close to him, he attempts to shift attention away from his own controlling and jealous behavior. >> So, >> [clears throat] >> during the breakup part, during all of this stuff, >> Mhm. >> um and I I guess we'll even go before then cuz that's kind of what it sounds like. I had a neighbor who told you that we had neighbors saying that there was some argument going on between the two of you. So, was that a Was that a constant thing? Did that come up towards the end? >> Well, no. It It was It was pretty constant. It was always just overthinking and assuming that always caused us to argue over irrelevant things. Like, if I were to get home late from work, she would assume that I was with with another girl or I was cheating on her or I was always doing something behind her back and, you know, I'm already frustrated from work. I'm already stressed out and obviously we would just bump heads and just go back and forth. Yeah, we we we would argue pretty much almost every other day over cheating or one of us cheating. It was mostly her just saying, "Oh, I know you're cheating on me. I know you're seeing another girl." Or stuff like that. So, we would argue a lot because of that. >> And um would you argue with her about the same things? >> No. I would only The only thing that I would argue about is whenever she would stay late at her friend's house. Like, sometimes she would come home at like 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and like I would tell her like, "You told me you were going to be there till 10:00, 11:00. You're not getting home till 2:00 in the morning." Like, like be honest. Tell me the truth. Who are you with? And then the moment that I start questioning her, she starts like, "You never [ __ ] trust me." Or, you know, she would I don't know. I guess I would irritate her or, you know, I would just aggravate her because I would question her and I mean, obviously yes, if you're in a relationship with somebody, you know, you should trust them, but you know, she had friends or her friends the friends that she's friends with her brothers are her exes practically, so I was always very insecure about being her being out late with that friend because you know, obviously your her brother is is your ex, like who's not going to feel insecure about that? So, there was a couple times where I would antagonize her and question her about stuff like that, but most of the time it was just her always trying to question me, like be honest, are you cheating on me, who are you with, who are you with, have you been cheating on somebody, or stuff like that. >> Madeleine's repeated confrontations with him about staying out late revealed the insecurity and tension within their relationship. Although he blames her for overthinking, he also admits that he deliberately provokes her by questioning her about her exes. In unhealthy relationships, this kind of monitoring, pressure, and jealousy can become especially intense when one person attempts to distance themselves or leave permanently. >> Now on my Patreon, watch the interrogation of a father accused of killing his baby. The detective snaps and starts hitting him on camera. See the full video at patreon.com/strangerstoriesplus. >> Stuff like that. >> Did you fully trust her? >> Yeah. Of course. Just in the times that she was out at 2:00 in the morning, no, I didn't. Not in that moment, no. >> Was that often? >> Mhm. Probably like every 2 weeks she would go out. >> Did you trust her when she >> Not go out as in partying, but like, you know, go out and be with her friends and smoke and do whatever, you know, girls do. I don't know. >> Did you trust her when she was with this friend that dropped her off? >> What friend? >> Whatever she went back on the 11th. He said that she was out with He thought it was >> Oh, I I don't know what friends that she was with that day. >> But you could hear the coughing. >> Yes, I could hear people coughing in the background, yes sir. >> Did you trust her on that? >> Well, yeah, well, I mean, obviously I can't you know, I can't tell her anything about who she's with because obviously we're not together and I know me questioning her all the time at when we were in a relationship was kind of a big deal of our relationship falling apart was because of me always questioning her, asking her questions and just antagonizing her, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, since we broken up, I tried not to like questioning her about who she's with, what she's doing or has she been seeing guys? I I try not to do that cuz I'm you know, I just don't want to bump heads anymore. I just don't want to be intruding in her life and making her feel like all he wants to do is fight, you know? So, >> Well, because you don't ask her those questions, doesn't mean that you can't have them in your head. >> Yeah, no, of course. I >> But, detectives aren't taking Mario's story at face value. While he sits through the interview, investigators are quietly testing every part of his alibi. They contact his family and cousin to verify where he says he was. They subpoena his phone records hoping the location data can show whether his movements match his story. They also search his truck looking for anything that could connect him to Madeline or the night she disappeared. And as investigators build a timeline from every angle, they turn to someone who may know Madeline better than anyone, her friend Karen. >> Right now, the reason why you were asked to come in today and talk to me is cuz we just need to know a lot more about Madeline as person. >> Okay. >> You know? >> Uh yeah. >> Um we're trying to understand as much as we can about who she is and the things that she does on a daily basis and kind of her routine to see if we can have anything that will connect us or give us better ideas. When is the last time that you saw Madeline? >> Like what is the story? >> Like, together? >> Um at that time we left my apartment at 11:59. He dropped her off. I have doorbell camera uh footage. >> 11:59, what day? >> Um on May 10th. >> Okay. And how long was she with you guys that day? >> That day, she was with me cuz my boyfriend was at work most of the day. But she was with me since like around 11. >> Karen also points investigators towards someone else who has been strongly defending Mario, his sister Sammy. She has become one of the most vocal people standing behind his version of events. >> And her sister her sister has been harassing all of us on social media. >> [snorts] >> What's her name? >> Sammy Sam Samantha Tacone. >> What's she go by on the internet? >> Sammy. >> Sammy? >> And after I called her out and said like, "You're making it really obvious that your brother is guilty and that I think God." She and a random account popped up telling us that and she stopped being active on Facebook and that account started being active on Facebook and started telling us that she was dead and that she deserved it and that And they shouldn't [snorts] have answered her, but she was just saying so many things that it was because you were all that makeup on her face. And that it was because she dressed cute or whatever. And that's just like that's why she's dead and with laughing faces all over like And her account stopped being at her real account stopped being active on Facebook and another one of my friends is like, "Sammy, please stop. Like, this isn't okay. Like, we know it's you. Please stop and that account left and another one was made. >> Now the detective wants to know more about Madeline's personal life and Karen reveals something that raises his eyebrows. Was she with anybody before that? >> Yes, she was. Uh she was actually with my other roommate. His name is Nathan Rodriguez. >> Okay. >> Um [clears throat] I actually called him the night that we were looking for her. Um but he told me that he hadn't seen her and that Madeline >> Nathan? >> Yes. Yes, Nathan Rodriguez. I think his full name is Nathaniel Rodriguez. He's a triplet. >> How was that relationship? >> They were I mean, they were rocky. They didn't never like I was there for most of it, you know? >> Mhm. >> Um they were together for 3 years. They were like really funny together. Something honest when she started dating Mario, I didn't really think she made her as happy or she didn't look as happy. Um they broke up because Nathan cheated on her. Um >> As the investigation widens, the detectives begin looking at Nathan, too. In a missing person case, investigators have to consider every possibility including whether a rejected advance could have turned into something more serious. But Nathan isn't the only new name on their radar. Another person keeps coming up. 17-year-old Aleah. Police bring her in for questioning hoping her account can help fill another gap in Madeline's timeline. >> Okay. Um so [clears throat] I'm sure you've probably heard um we have an investigation going on right now for a missing person. Um, been trying to get as much details, uh, as we can. Of course, a lot of stuff that keeps coming up and other things that we have to follow up with. So, uh, do you do you know Madeline? >> I didn't know her. >> Didn't know her. Okay. Um, did you know Mario? >> Um, no. His sister's my best friend. >> Okay, his sister is your >> Sorry. >> So, Sammy's Mario's sister? >> Yes. >> Okay. Are you, uh, are you social media friends with her, too? >> Mhm. >> Are you friends what what are y'all friends on? >> On Facebook. >> Facebook. Cuz Sammy's name keeps coming up a lot on >> Sammy took her to my house. >> Did she, I guess did she been in arguments and stuff on Facebook over this? Have you seen any of that kind of stuff? >> all of it, but I haven't got into it because it's none of my business. >> Do you think she knows something about what's going on? >> I mean, well, that's her brother, so I mean, I think cuz I know when my brother had his accident with the girl, I knew everything, so why wouldn't she know? She just said that Madeline was crazy and that she would always assume stuff. Like that the brother was doing stuff behind her back. And she was like, "I don't think my brother would do something like that, but if he did" like she was saying if. And like I we just always ask her questions and like she really doesn't say anything, but she just says like if my brother did, but I don't think he would. Like those are her words like if. So, I don't know if she thinks he did it or if she knows and acting like she don't when she's talking to me. >> That when he got home that same day that I don't know what she was saying like why she brought that up cuz I hadn't even said anything. She was like, "But we did go through his truck and I didn't see no evidence in there." Like how why are you looking through his truck the same day he gets there? Like it was just it didn't add up to me and it bothered me, so I just left it alone. But she said that when he got home that she went through his truck and everything and there was no evidence in there of him hurting Madeline. But this was like I guess before the police questioned him or I don't know if it was after or But she said that she went through his truck and she didn't see no evidence of anything. So, my dad asked her a question and was like, "Do you think he probably if he didn't if there was no blood involved, do you think Who was it? And it was my brother who was like, "Do you think he strangled her?" And then he was She was just like got quiet and she put her head down. She didn't really say anything to speak of She has to. >> Well, we didn't We get different information. Different names come up and all of that. But we were told somebody that goes by the name Monique. >> No, that's me. >> Yeah. That may have some information as far as the body being hidden or that you actually saw the body. >> Not I'm not yet. If there is a body and if she's dead, not yet. But I feel like Sammy's starting to get comfortable. I mean, because I've been picking her up like not almost every day, but like when we drink and stuff, like she doesn't have a problem talking about it. And I I She like my brother said yesterday she slipped up. But I didn't hear it. That she said, "When they find the body." Like, what do you mean, "When they find the body?" She just Did she could have been like, "When they find her?" She said the body. >> Do you think that the body is hidden somewhere? >> My brothers and sisters tell me yes, but I don't want to believe that because like >> But as detectives dig deeper, Sammy's story starts raising more questions. She suggests that another girl, Kathleen, was with Mario on Wednesday night, May 10th, the same night Madeline disappeared. That makes Kathleen an important part of Mario's timeline. So, now investigators bring her in for questioning hoping her account can either support his story or reveal another gap in it. >> See, did you know Madeline at all? >> No, sir. >> Okay. Do you know Mario at all? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. Can you just kind of tell me what your relationship was with Mario? >> It was just like on and off type of sexual relationship, I guess you could say. That's all it was. >> Okay. You and him were never dating or >> No, sir. >> anything like [clears throat] that? >> No. >> But, um like when how recent has this been? >> Um Well, I think like probably like a month ago is when cuz I he had had me blocked like my number and everything. And about a month ago, he had randomly just texted me and like was saying how I was doing or whatever. And like we started talking again and like I would go to his house or whatever and just hang out with him and stuff like that. >> So, um he tried to call you on the morning morning of the 11th, I believe. >> Mhm. >> Do you remember having this call from him? >> Well, I have uh screenshots on my phone that I could show you. >> Okay, what? >> Yeah. Um cuz I had her cuz people were like coming at me like talking mess to me saying I had something to do with them and stuff like that like on social media and stuff and I was like I don't even know this girl like it's not my fault that I was talking to him, you know what I mean? But, Tuesday It was Tuesday night Wednesday morning I had went over there to his house and I stayed the night there. And then I left 8:00 8:00 in the morning. I could show you the messages down here. Cuz I had texted him like after I left and I told him like have a good day or whatever, you know? >> Mhm. >> Let me see. I guess. I know. I know. Cuz I told him my phone was dying down here. >> Don't worry. >> Yeah. I texted him at 8:15 in the morning. I said have a good day or whatever and I stopped sharing my location with him cuz he had sent me this like to find my way to get over there. And I had stayed with him Tuesday night, Wednesday morning I left and then like when I was looking back at it at it I had like got the times mixed up or whatever and I had thought it was Wednesday night at 12:50 but I didn't realize it was Tuesday night and my mom's the one that caught that and cuz Samantha, his sister, is commenting on Facebook, like tagging me and stuff saying that I was with him that night. And then so I was like, "What the hell?" Like, you know, like I don't even know like you know I wasn't with him so I go and look at all my [ __ ] and I like look back on my tracks, you know, and I wasn't with him and I was just like, "What the fuck?" Like, "Why would you say that I was with him?" Like, you know, cuz you all these people are coming on like my post and talking talking mess and stuff like that, like but yeah, I was saying >> According to Kathleen, she wasn't with Mario on the night of May 10th or the early hours of May 11th, the very window when Madeline is believed to have disappeared. Now Mario's timeline is starting to fall apart. With no one able to confirm his whereabouts, investigators are left with one person who may hold the answers. Mario himself. >> Do you need food or restroom or anything like that, do you? Appreciate that. What's going on? >> No, I just have an anxiety now. I'm just overthinking now. So what did she say? Just did she say? I'm worried about it, too. I'm trying not to freak out because trying to just stay calm cuz of my feelings, obviously, but you know, I I sit here and I start overthinking, you know. I don't want nothing to happen to her. I just want her to come back. Whoever she's with or whoever she left with, I just want them to bring her back, you know, bring her bring her back. I'm just trying not to freak out cuz I do want her to be safe. I want her to be okay right now. And I know that she's probably in her head like going crazy right now cuz I I don't know if she's safe. I don't know if she might get that. I don't I know that she's going through something, too. I'm just trying not to panic. >> Why would you think she was kidnapped? >> Cuz the way her friends said like her phone was still there, her keys were still there, her purse was still there. So, she must have left with somebody she knew. Or not left, she might have might have just went downstairs to smoke with somebody or do something with somebody. >> The account suggests that Madeline was abducted while heading downstairs to smoke. With the encounter being presented as a mysterious stranger entering the story. However, evidence found inside her apartment tells a more troubling story. Police discovered dirty mop water, hair caught on a damaged door, and a missing comforter. Adding to the suspicion, Mario claimed that he was the last person to see Madeline, saying that he had seen her on May 9th. >> That's You know, being on the third floor like that is a long way to have to go. >> Go downstairs, yeah. >> I mean, do you think something like that could have happened to her? >> Well, I know that you know she back then whenever she we lived at her old apartment or before I lived with her at the old apartment, you know, she would always be going downstairs to smoke with her friends and be with her friends and be in the car with her friend. So, and now I don't know because of how private she became, how she didn't let me know anything in her life anymore. Like we she completely distanced herself from me. And now I you know, I was always her safety, I was always like the protector, you know? I was always constantly knowing what she was doing, who she was with. And now I don't. Now I don't know who she ends up with. I don't know who she goes to anymore. I don't I don't know any any of that. And it makes me just worry a lot. >> Um what was it about her that got you so close to her? >> Um just the way she treated me. I mean, I've never talked to anybody that would immediately cook me food and take me out to dates and buy me buy me things. Never had anybody do that for me. And it immediately it just made me like see her as a different person. Like, I'd never met somebody as uh like kind kind like her, you know? Not a lot of people would Not a lot of people would cook for you not dating and not a lot of people would buy you things not dating, you know? It was just the small things that she would do for me. >> What other kind of good qualities did she have? >> Um just good qualities as in >> Just a person. >> As a person she is, she's just funny, funny, loving, caring. She the way that she cared for somebody. Like, if she knew you had a stressful day, she would do whatever she can. She would cook you a good hot meal. Massage you. Ready up that shower. Get your clothes ready for you right next to the shower. She was just what a wife would be is what she was. That's what she That's That's That's how best I can >> When Mario describes Madelyn's role in preparing meals and taking care of the household chores, it becomes clear that he placed great importance on her domestic responsibilities. He viewed her according to his idea of what a wife should be. However, when she began to move away from those expectations, his sense of entitlement was challenged creating a growing tension that the detectives believe eventually led to the tragic events inside her apartment. >> how best I can explain it. >> Did you ever think about you and her getting married? >> Yeah. Hell yeah. I still do. >> Did Did have uh conversations about it at all? You you >> plenty >> of times. Plenty, plenty of times. >> What was the the hold up? >> What was the hold up? >> You're asking me? >> Because she wanted to wait a year. She wanted to wait a whole year until I could finally ask her dad permission to marry her, and then we would get married. >> Okay. So, you were going to have you were going to ask [clears throat] her dad permission and do that whole route. >> Mhm. >> Um they didn't mind that y'all were living together though, were they? >> No, they were they were actually pretty happy that, you know, she actually found somebody that is taking care of her, helping her doing everything. >> Okay. Um and then up until April, um you [clears throat] said that she left you. >> Mhm. >> What was it that she said to to end things? >> She just didn't want to go through this anymore. She didn't want to go through that. Watching me do that to myself. So. >> Well, since y'all still talked every day, was it much different than when y'all weren't actually together? >> Mhm. >> [clears throat] >> What was the biggest differences? >> Just not being able to love each other anymore. Hug each other, kiss each other, and hold hands anymore. Not even go out to dinner. Not even go watch a movie together. It's just always at home and watch a movie there at home, and that's that. >> But you still loved her. >> Mhm. And she still loved me. She would tell me all the time, I I I love you so much, and I miss you so much, but I don't think we can get back together. That's what she would always tell me. >> Why didn't she think y'all could get back together? >> Because she didn't want to go through watching me do that again to myself. >> Trying to arrange a marriage while still coping with the emotional impact of a recent breakup has caused Mario to experience a significant psychological struggle. >> Um but I've talked to you for however long that we've talked today, um I talked to you there at the house, all that stuff. We've got a whole series talked to you, all of these things. Um it seems like there was something that really kind of set something off with you when I stepped out and brought you your water back. Like I could tell [clears throat] from your >> Yeah, cuz the way that you said like do you think she's safe? And it just made me overthink like what if she's not safe? What if she's not, you know? It may it may it makes somebody overthink, especially somebody that has anxiety and has panic attacks. Yeah, it may it made me overthink like what if she isn't safe? What if she's not okay right now? >> Cuz I wouldn't say anything like that cuz I want that to happen. >> No, of course. No, of course, but it's just, you know, just something that was said and it just make makes me overthink. It makes anyone overthink, especially in a time like this, you know? >> The more time that we have that goes by >> it just gets worse and worse. >> It starts bringing up a lot of concerns, a lot about what it is that could have gone on. >> Yes, sir. >> It doesn't sound like anybody knows her better than they >> Yes, sir. >> So, we're trying to figure out something as to what would have led to this happening, what would have led to everything else that went on. >> Mhm. >> And then um the as far as the grandma's house goes >> Mhm. >> um was it some you said that your cousin called you when you were at your grandma's? >> Yeah, when I was already laying in bed. >> Okay. And you're sure it was at 11:09 um p.m.? >> Yes, sir. P.M. >> Do you want to double check just to make sure that she's >> Mhm. 11:09. >> Um so, should there be any reason that any type of cameras capture your vehicle being driven in the city of Midland after [clears throat] that time period? >> Mhm. >> Nothing else should come up regarding your camera your vehicle being anywhere on any type of camera. And >> if something like that were to come up and your license plate was picked up on a camera in the city of Midland after that time period, how would you explain it? >> There's there's no possible way. I mean, I was at home the whole time and my uncle had my keys, so there was no possible way of my truck even leaving. >> Anywhere within the city? What about the county? >> Nowhere. >> Is there any reason that there'd be any camera that would pick your vehicle up leaving that house at any time after 11:00? >> No, sir. Nothing like that. No, sir. >> Is there anything that you've told me today looking back at that hasn't been completely truthful? >> No, sir. That's everything. That's practically hour by hour. >> So, you've got most everything situated that you need to get situated. >> Yes, sir. >> And you're still good talking with everything. We're we're coming up to the end of everything. So, I just want to make sure. Do you have any kind of questions for me or anything like that? >> No, sir. >> Okay. >> Other than I mean, are we good to go? >> Yeah, I just got to go grab one more thing and I'll let you know where we're going. >> So, I'm not allowed to leave right now? >> Uh no, not yet. >> Hey, boss. >> All right. You know what to set up for me? >> Yes, sir. >> And let me see your phone. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. Do you uh have any issue providing your passcode? >> No, sir. >> So, I'm going to go ahead and put your phone in airplane mode and we're going to have a warrant for your phone to gather some of this information for corroboration. You okay with me having that >> Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, of course. >> What's the uh passcode to your phone? >> 020 042222 >> 042222. Okay. And then as far as your finger goes, >> Yes, sir. >> do you have any issues with us photographing it? >> No. >> Nothing like that? >> No, sir. >> Taking the wrapping off of all of that? Yeah. >> Handing over his phone password and allowing the officers to photograph the injuries on his hands significantly changed the direction of Mario's interrogation. >> So, I can't leave right now in any type of way? >> No. We still have some investigative measures that are going on. Pending those cuz it's obviously the vehicle's here or the vehicle's in our custody and it's being searched. Your phone [snorts] is not going to be subject to that. So, while we're doing some of this, you're still going to have to be here. >> So, am I being detained now? >> Yeah. It It I know it sucks, but we're going to It's just It's one of those things that, you know, I mean, it is what it is. It's our jobs. It's not like we're saying you did this. So, I'm being arrested now? No. No. >> You're just detained. Okay. >> On May 20th, Texas Rangers used cell phone records to narrow their search to a remote area east of Midland. Human remains were discovered at the location and jewelry found with the remains helped investigators identify them as Madeline. Later, sources close to the case stated that she had been hidden inside a missing sofa table, although police never officially confirmed this detail. Mario was arrested that same afternoon and held on a $3 million bond. A Dallas County autopsy determined that Madeline died from strangulation and suffocation along with severe blunt force injuries. Nearly 3 years later, the case came to an end. On February 20th, 2026, Mario pleaded guilty to murder and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder and an additional 20 years for tampering. Thanks for watching. If you want ad-free videos and exclusive content you won't find on YouTube, join my Patreon. You can also check out the Stranger Stories merch if you'd like to support the channel and pick up something for yourself at the same time. Both are linked in the description below. And before you go, don't forget to leave a like and a comment. I'll try to read every single one. Thanks again, and I'll see you in the next one.