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Michele Neurauter was found dead at her Corning, New York, home, where she resided with her youngest daughter, Charlotte, from an apparent suicide in late August 2017. However, bruises found on her face were inconsistent with circumstances surrounding suicide by hanging, which led police to launch an investigation into the death of the divorced mother-of-three.
The months-long investigation found evidence, including DNA found on the victim's body and wiretapped conversations between the victim's ex-husband Lloyd and second daughter Karrie, which suggested that the father-daughter duo were involved in he killing.
Karrie eventually confessed that her father gave her an ultimatum and coerced her into participating in the crime because he wanted to avoid paying child support and alimony to his former wife. They both accepted respective plea deals and prison sentences.
This Tuesday, May 23, Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will delve into Michele Neurauter's murder by ex-husband in an episode titled The Ultimatum. The episode airs at 8:00 pm ET, the synopsis of which reads:
"Michele and Lloyd Neurauter are devoted to their three daughters, even after their divorce; when Michele is found dead in her home, police suspect she killed herself; then, they uncover a deadly betrayal too twisted to be true -- except it is true."
Michele Neurauter's murder: Four things to know about the murder by mastermind ex-husband and brainwashed daughter
1) Michele was found with a rope around her neck in an apparent suicide
On August 28, 2017, one of Michele Neurauter's neighbor called 911, after reportedly seeing the mother-of-three standing motionless at the foot of the steps at her Corning, New York, home.
Inside, authorities found Michele, 46, dead with a rope around her neck. They initially declared her death suicide by hanging. The cause of death was considered to be asphyxia, but authorities found strange ligature marks and scratches on her face.
2) Authorities learned about Michele Neurauter's bitter divorce and a prolonged custody battle
Investigators learned that Michele resided with her youngest daughter Charlotte in the house, but the 14-year-old was nowhere to be found. They soon learned that the teen was with the victim's middle child Karrie, 19, who was a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and resided in an apartment nearly 100 miles away in Rochester, New York.
Karrie then divulged crucial information about her parents' divorce and claimed that they had been in a protracted custody battle over the youngest, Charlotte, for five years. Their father Lloyd Neurauter had not only lost the custody battle but was also ordered to pay child support and alimony to Michele.
Oxygen reported that Karrie further stated that she was visiting her mother's house the night before, but stayed there for a short while and took Charlotte with her.
3) Wiretapped phone conversations and DNA linked Lloyd Neurauter and Karrie to the crime
Authorities initially started investigating Michele Neurauter's former husband, Lloyd. He claimed to have been in upstate New York on the night of August 26 and at a hotel in Rochester the next morning while visiting Karrie, before driving home to New Jersey. From there, he flew to California.
Soon, Michele's death was declared a homicide with the marks around her neck being consistent with manual strangulation, and investigators learned about Karrie's failing relationship with the 46-year-old, especially after Lloyd started poisoning her mind against her mother. They also found that Karrie had stayed at the victim's house for longer than what she told police.
Karrie and Lloyd's phones were wiretapped, and the conversations revealed that the father-daughter duo had been plotting to evade interrogation. The later was heard instructing his daughter of ways she could avoid questions by police and lie to them. They were even heard laughing about the situation. Furthermore, Lloyd's DNA was found on the victim's body.
4) Karrie confessed to assisting her father after he gave her an ultimatum
Reports state that Karrie confessed to authorities about her involvement in her mother's murder plot masterminded by her father because he wanted to avoid paying child support and alimony to her mother. She said that Lloyd gave her an ultimatum before Michele Neurauter's murder. Lloyd told her she could
"Either assist him in killing her mother, free him from the financial burden of child support and alimony, and give him custody of his youngest child - or he would kill himself."
As part of the plot, the 19-year-old drove Lloyd to Michele's Corning home, where she kept her younger sister occupied while Lloyd strangled his ex-wife to death in an upstairs bedroom. Together, they both staged the crime scene to make it appear like a suicide.
Karrie pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to one to three years in prison. She was released in 2020 on parole. Lloyd Neurauter pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, custodial interference, and second-degree conspiracy and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Michele Neurauter's murder case is slated to air on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Tuesday, May 23.
