American Monster on ID: What happened to Sherri Ponsati?

The murder of Sherri Ponsati brought the small town of Gibert, Arizona, to a standstill. The mother of two was found dead in her bathroom after an alleged slip and fall in September 2017. She was found unresponsive and unconscious with a large amount of bath soap, which had turned the floor slippery.

The investigations into her murder led to the conviction of her U.S. Air Force veteran husband, Mark Eric Ponsati. Sherri had multiple blunt force injuries, broken ribs, a nose injury, and bruising in her spine and brain, per the Gilbert Sun News.

The American Monster episode titled "We Were Fooled" showcases the murder of Sherri Ponsati through Investigation Discovery on June 23, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST. The official synopsis reads,

"Mark-Eric and Sherri Ponsati have a picture-perfect life, and the arrival of two children completes their family. When Mark-Eric reports that Sherri has had a tragic accident, their world falls apart."

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Who was Sherri Ponsati?

Sherri Ponsati was born to Sherri Mae Ponsati in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, in a tight-knit family. She graduated from Johnson Creek High School in 2003 and worked at Bethesda, an organization that helps re-home people.

Following this, she worked with a nonprofit group home that looked after individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was also the author of the children’s book, Wilbert’s Blue Whale Tale.

Sherri met Mark Eric Ponsati on an online dating website in September 2008, when the latter was studying law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, having served with the U.S. Air Force. The two got married in June 2010 and parented two children thereafter - Maddie and Max.

According to multiple reports, Sherri and Mark had been going through issues in their marriage and had considered legal separation a few times.

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How did Sherri Ponsati die?

The 911 call which came from the Ponsati household on September 7 at 9:58 p.m. local time alerted officials about Sherri Ponsati's fall in the bathroom. First responders from the Gilbert Police Department found Sherri was unresponsive on her bathroom floor. According to the Gilbert Sun News, Mark told the operator that Sherri had hit her head and that he had found the bathroom full of soap, water, and blood. Per AZ Central, he shared,

“She’s purple, I’m telling you I know what death looks like, I’m an Afghanistan war veteran.”

The first responders had asked Mark to perform CPR on his wife, but he reportedly refused to do so. Officer Kyle Peterson performed 20 compressions, and the authorities checked for a pulse and a heartbeat, which they failed to find. Ponsati was taken to the Banner Gateway Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. local time.

The reports from the medical examiner suggested Sherri had multiple blunt-force injuries, abrasions on her head, neck, and upper back, and fractures on her ribs and skull. The report also stated that strangulation or asphyxia could not be ruled out.

The investigations into the death of Sherri Ponsati brought forth an image of her marriage contrasting to what Mark had mentioned in his statement with the help of witness statements from close ones. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and convicted of the same.

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Watch all the details on American Monster's second episode as it airs on Investigation Discovery on Sunday.