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Nicole Pietz, the 32-year-old resident of Lynnwood, went missing on February 28, 2013, and her body was found nine days later in Burien. She was in a seemingly content marriage with David Pietz and was slated to receive her coin commemorating eight years of sobriety at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Renton when she disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
While David Pietz reported her missing, all suspicions pointed toward him. His DNA was found all over Nicole's car which was recovered 20 miles away from where her body was found. Besides, investigators claimed that Nicole Pietz was murdered indoors and her body was carried out to the area where it was dumped.
The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode Secrets in Seattle explores the shocking details of Nicole Pietz's murder trying to uncover the reasons behind the crime as the synopsis reads:
"Nicole Pietz was a well-liked fitness executive married to the man of her dreams. Then one night, she didn't show up for dinner with her husband and friends. Had Nici's troubled past caught up with her or did someone want to harm her?"
Five shocking details about Nicole Pietz's murder
1) Nicole Pietz's body was found with her retainer inside her mouth
Nicole Pietz's naked body was discovered on February 06, 2006, with deep bruises on her body, blunt trauma on her face, and signs of hemorrhages around her neck and eyes indicating strangulation. Her body was dumped in a wooded area in Burien, Washington. She had no shoes on but her feet were clean.
The most surprising discovery was of her retainer still inside her mouth. Her car was recovered 20 miles from the spot where her body was found.
2) David Pietz showcased a certain coldness towards his wife's death which drew suspicion from Nicole's family
David Pietz had been reported to be behaving unnaturally calm after his wife's loss. According to CBS News, Gael Schneider, mother of Nicole Pietz said,
"David put his arms around me at that point and said, 'I didn't think you'd take it so hard.' And that still rings in my ears. I kept thinking, 'Why would he say that? Why would he say that?'"
He gave away his wife's ashes to Jeffrey, his real estate agent and parted with her beloved pets as lesser-known people adopted them. He disregarded Nicole's absence from their Lynnwood condominium when he allegedly returned home at 11 p.m. on January 27. David was also reported to act surprised when Nicole did not turn up at the friend’s dinner party they were supposed to attend the following day.
David Pietz continued seeing other women over the next seven years and had a child with a partner as well.
3) David Pietz had numerous extramarital affairs
As Jake Pavlovich and Mike Mellis of the King County Sheriff's Office took over the case, four women were identified to have shared an alleged extramarital relationship with David after his marriage with Nicole. He was already seeing Sabrina Lucia Strieck since he was going out with Nicole. Strieck stated via King 5 News,
"He told me he cared about me. I asked him why he was getting married, he said that at that point, it was too late to back out of it."
The three other women, Renee Stewart, Samantha Duffy and Julie Hansen-Freeman along with Strieck took the stand during Pietz's hearing in 2013.
Pietz had shared with the investigators of having a low libido. However, he had also spiked his wife’s Red Bull with Ecstasy at a Seattle nightclub to persuade her into a threesome. Judge Hayden mentioned,
"At the very least, I regard it as an act of domestic violence against your wife,” and at worst, second-degree rape. You don’t spike an addict’s drink … You did it for your own sexual satisfaction.”
4) Nicole Pietz struggled with addiction in her growing years
Nicole Pietz struggled with endometriosis from the age of 13. Gael Schneider shared with CBS News,
"When she was 13 she developed endometriosis," Gael explained. "... from the time she was 13 till the time she was 21, she'd already had three surgeries. And-- the doctors just put her on pain pills and pain pills..."
However, Nicole sought help when she was 23 and overcame her addiction. She attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and spent some time in rehabilitation before she became eight years sober.
She was dealing with "screaming pain" in her back and was prescribed pain medications with weekly check-ups with her doctor during the time she was murdered.
5) David Pietz was sentenced to 220 months for second-degree murder
A surveillance video from 24-Hour Fitness proved David placed a call from Nicole's phone to his work front desk at 11:50 a.m. on January 28, 2013. The cell phone pinged to a tower 188 yards away from the building. The investigators got hold of a warrant and arrested him on March 21, 2012, from the bank in Kirkland where he used to work.
According to ABC News, the trial lasted a month but it took one and a half days for five women and seven men to reach a verdict. He was sentenced to 220 months or almost 18 years in prison by the King County Superior Court judge Michael Hayden.
