The episode opens with back-to-back sponsor reads for Grand Canyon University — a private nonprofit Christian university touting 17 years of frozen tuition — and Grainger, the industrial supply company. Tucked between them is a candid snippet from the Dateline producers' morning meeting, where two voices briefly discuss upcoming trials and a Facebook group that brought a case to the team's attention. It's a rare peek behind the curtain, signaling the conversational, behind-the-scenes style that characterizes Dateline True Crime Weekly before the show formally begins.

Alison Barber, NBC News correspondent and host of the Netflix video podcast Allegedly, steps in for regular host Andrea and briskly sets up the episode's agenda. She previews the legal drama in Durham County, North Carolina, where a defense attorney is pointing the finger at a murder victim's roommate; the emotionally charged sentencing hearings for Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann and Utah murder-for-hire mastermind Tracey Grist; and a forensics expert who will explain how cars become crime scenes. The segment efficiently orients listeners before diving into the week's most compelling case.

Week 5 of the Larry Millete trial brought one of the most unusual witnesses in recent memory to a San Diego courtroom: Frank Peavey, the heavyset redheaded man who online goes by Tess Joy — a long-haired blonde spellcaster. Alexis Rivas walks Alison Barber through the testimony, explaining how Larry paid more than $1,000 to up to five different spellcasters and sent Frank 27 messages a day, compared to the typical client's two. ^{[1] — Alexis Rivas "Larry Millete thought he was communicating with Tess Joy, a mystical blonde woman he met online. In court, the jury met Frank Peavey — an S…" 04:38 Play} The spell requests began with pleas for Maya to love him again, then escalated to explicit sexual demands, requests to punish her, and eventually an ask that she suffer a physical injury such as a broken bone. ^{[2] — Alexis Rivas "Larry Millete's messages to spellcasters started with wanting Maya to love him again, then escalated to explicit sexual demands, requests t…" 05:56 Play} The defense pushed back hard in cross-examination: not one spell asked for Maya to disappear or die — all of them wanted her closer. But prosecutors had a powerful counter-point. After Maya vanished on January 7, 2021, every single spell request about her abruptly stopped — a detail the prosecution is using as circumstantial evidence that Larry knew she was gone for good. Rivas also discusses Jamie Laird, Maya's married coworker with whom she was having an affair, whose timeline with Maya is chilling: the anniversary of their relationship was the day she vanished, and his wife gave birth the very next day. The defense sought to name Laird as an alternate suspect, but the judge ruled the evidence insufficient.

The episode pauses for a trio of sponsor reads. Expedia promotes its rewards program with a playful 'doomscroll vacations' hook. Mazda spotlights the all-new CX-5 crossover. Shopify's segment features a first-person testimonial from Shannon Maldonado, founder of Yowie gift shop, who explains how Shopify's dashboard tools for sales tracking and inventory planning helped her build a small business without needing everything to be perfect from the start. Each read is brief and thematically varied before the podcast resumes with the Faith Hedgepeth case.

Faith Hedgepeth was 19 years old, a biology major at UNC, and a member of the Haliwa-Saponi Native American tribe whose dream was to become a pediatrician in her home community. She was murdered in her off-campus apartment on September 7, 2012, with a cryptic handwritten note on a paper fast-food bag found next to her body: 'I'm not stupid, bitch. Jealous.' Nine years passed before an arrest was made — Miguel Salguero Olivares, a Guatemalan man who lived nearby and had no known connection to Faith, whose DNA allegedly matched evidence at the scene. Now, in a stunning pretrial motion, his defense attorney James Rainsford has filed a motion calling Faith's roommate Karina Rosario a material witness and raising pointed questions about her story. ^{[1] — Mike Nardi "The defense attorney for accused killer Miguel Salguero Olivares filed a motion arguing that Faith Hedgepeth's roommate Karina was still in…" 13:55 Play} The motion notes that a 2-inch transfer bloodstain — the kind left when someone with blood on their hands touches a surface — was found in the bathroom exactly where Karina said she had been sitting. The friend who picked Karina up that night reportedly told investigators he spotted a small smudge of blood on her right finger, and a potential blood stain was found on the car's interior door handle. Most critically, the medical examiner placed Faith's time of death at around 2:51 AM, while Karina and her friend said she didn't leave until after 4 AM — meaning, the defense argues, she was home when the murder happened. ^{[2] — Mike Nardi "Medical examiner placed Faith's death at 2:51 AM: The medical examiner determined Faith Hedgepeth died around 2:51 AM — before her roommate…" 17:19 Play} The prosecution has called the motion's contents falsehoods, asked for future pretrial filings to be sealed, and the judge refused but left the door open. Karina has never spoken publicly about the case and has never been charged.

Alison Barber signals the transition to Dateline Roundup — covering the Gilgo Beach and Tracey Grist sentencing hearings — before the episode breaks for three sponsor reads. SiriusXM Aviation promotes its satellite-delivered high-resolution weather data for pilots. Ro Health offers a pathway to a $50 copay on GLP-1 weight-loss medications for those with qualifying insurance. Lemonade Pet Insurance pitches tailor-made coverage that can save pet owners up to 90% on vet bills, with instant claims processing through its app. After the ad block, Dateline booking producer Caitlin Cutt joins Alison Barber for the roundup.

When police searched a remote stretch of Long Island coastline in 2010 looking for a missing woman, they found far more than they bargained for: 11 sets of human remains, some wrapped in burlap, some dismembered. Rex Heuermann — an architect, husband, and father from Long Island — pled guilty this past April to murdering 7 of the women and admitted responsibility for an 8th. Caitlin Cutt sets the scene for Alison Barber: a packed courtroom, families who had waited years for answers, and a defendant who walked in emotionless in a suit with a blue shirt and yellow tie. ^{[1] — Caitlin Cutt "Rex Heuermann walked into sentencing emotionless and left with 3 life sentences, no possibility of parole. The judge called him a 'disgusti…" 21:20 Play} Victim impact statements were read for each of the 8 women, and Valerie Mack's family delivered some of the most powerful words of the hearing. Her son, who had grown up believing his mother had willingly left him after they played video games together the night before she disappeared, told the court what had been stolen from him. Heuermann spoke briefly, offering only a hollow acknowledgment: 'I am responsible for what was said in this room today.' Judge Timothy Mazzei wasn't satisfied, pressing the killer on whether he felt even a sliver of remorse for his victims before delivering a withering verdict: 'You're a disgusting and despicable small man. And you're a coward.' ^{[2] — Judge Timothy Mazzei "You're a disgusting and despicable small man. And you're a coward." 24:59 Play} Heuermann was sentenced to 3 counts of life without the possibility of parole.

In July 2024, Matthew Ristelli drove to his mother-in-law Tracey Grist's home in Utah, believing he was picking up his wife and children. Minutes after arriving, he was shot dead. Caitlin Cutt explains how investigators quickly rejected Tracey's self-defense claim and built a case showing the killing was premeditated: Tracey, the prosecution argued, had orchestrated an ambush using her daughter Kate as bait and her son Kevin Ellis as the shooter. Kate pleaded guilty and testified against her own family. ^{[1] — Caitlin Cutt "Tracey Grist masterminded the ambush murder of Matthew Ristelli in 2024 by convincing her daughter to lure him to the house, where her son …" 25:20 Play} At sentencing, Matthew's younger brother Jonathan addressed Tracey directly, telling her that a grandmother is supposed to protect her grandchildren, not destroy their future. Judge Roger Griffin's words were equally harsh: he called Tracey 'incredibly dangerous' and said her willingness to kill for convenience overcame any rehabilitative potential. ^{[2] — Judge Roger Griffin "In the court's view, you're incredibly dangerous, and your character and actions show that any rehabilitative needs are overcome by your wi…" 27:14 Play} Griffin sentenced her to 15 years to life for murder, with additional consecutive sentences for conspiracy and two domestic violence charges — all to run back to back, not concurrently.

Cars have become crime scenes, murder weapons, and silent witnesses in an increasing number of high-profile cases — from Karen Reed to McKenzie Sherrillah to the alleged David singer case involving a body found in a Tesla trunk. Dr. Mike McCutcheon, a former detective sergeant with over 21 years of experience, joins Alison Barber to explain the forensic framework that turns a vehicle into evidence. He breaks down three layers: the exterior (tire treads with unique characteristics like embedded rocks, cuts, or flat repairs that match crime scene patterns), the interior (fingerprints on door handles, windows, steering wheels, and especially touchscreens, which he jokes are essentially fingerprint collection devices), and telematics (GPS and navigation data that establishes where a car has been and when). ^{[1] — Dr. Mike McCutcheon "A car has three forensic layers: the exterior, the interior, and the telematics. Unique tire characteristics can match a tread at a crime s…" 29:20 Play} Everyday detritus — coffee cups, straws, food wrappers, and receipts — provides both DNA and location evidence that, cross-referenced with telematics, creates a forensic timeline. When a car is a secondary scene rather than the primary crime location, Luminol or Blue Star reveals cleaned-up bloodstains, while digital forensics trace the vehicle's route back to the original scene — a painstaking process involving gas station surveillance footage and hours of cross-referencing. ^{[2] — Dr. Mike McCutcheon "If a body is transported in a car rather than killed there, investigators use Luminol to detect cleaned-up blood and vehicle telematics to …" 32:00 Play} McCutcheon closes with a memorable case: an ex-boyfriend caught trying to firebomb his ex-girlfriend's house using gasoline in apple juice jars with cloth wicks — undone by a single matching sock found in his car.

Alison Barber wraps up by promoting colleague Keith Morrison's new podcast series Five Miles from Home, which chronicles the murder of 16-year-old track star Mickey Costanzo — the first four episodes are available now, with early ad-free access to remaining episodes through Dateline Premium. She also teases Friday's Dateline NBC special, Secrets Unmasked, described as involving a bizarre silicone face mask clue. The episode concludes with full production credits — producers, sound designer Jesse McGinty, executive producer Paul Ryan, and senior executive producer Liz Cole — and a final sponsor read for Capital One Bank, highlighting no fees or minimums on checking accounts and the bank's café locations open seven days a week.