How did Craig Rideout die? Details of the Devil’s Bathtub murder case explored

The murder of Craig Rideout in 2016 occupied the headlines in the nation for over a year after evidence was fished out of the local lake named Devil’s Bathtub. Craig's body was discovered in a wooded area in Jerusalem, Yates County a day after he was reported missing with the police.

Trigger warning: Mention of strangulation, murder, and assault in detail.

Craig's face and hands were disfigured on purpose with a caustic chemical (acid) while his cheekbone was fractured. The autopsy reports suggested that he had been strangulated with a garrote severing his carotid artery. He was brutally beaten and had multiple cuts all over his body by his ex-wife, Laura Rideout, as her sons, Colin and Alexander, helped.

The See No Evil episode titled The Devil's Bathtub showcases the murder of Craig Rideout as it airs on July 9, 2024, at 7 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads,

"In 2016, father Craig Rideout is reported missing after a strange home intrusion; within hours, police find a body matching Craig's description fifty miles away; using surveillance footage and forensics, detectives unravel an unbelievable plot."

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How was Craig Rideout killed?

The brutal murder of the 50-year-old IT Specialist from Rochester, Craig Rideout, was one of the most remarkable cases in the area as the killers were found to be his family. According to ABC 13 WHAM, prosecutors in the case argued that Craig had been strangled in the basement of his five-bedroom Penfield home.

Craig was last seen alive on July 19, 2016, before he was reported missing by his sister, Robbyn Drew, per Spectrum News. After calling 911, Robbyn swung by his residence to find his ex-wife, Laura, cleaning the kitchen counter. She suspected foul play and alerted the officials.

However, the following day a body was found in a wooded area in a field in Jerusalem, Yates County. The authorities identified it as Craig Rideout using dental records. His cheekbone had been fractured and his face and neck had multiple cuts, per Democrat and Chronicle.

The medical examiner determined that he had been strangled with a homemade garrote to an extent where his carotid artery was ruptured. Craig had suffered blows to the head as well indicating that he had been beaten up.

Craig's body was wrapped in a tarp and his face and hands were doused with a caustic drain cleaner to prevent identification, per a PEOPLE report.

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What evidence was found from Devil’s Bathtub?

Craig Rideout's body was found in Yates County in the early hours of July 20, 2016. The pings from his cellphone proved that the disfigured body belonged to him besides identification using dental records, per Spectrum News.

As surveillance footage from roads and businesses proved Laura and her sons, Colin and Alexander to be behind the gory murder, the authorities fished out key evidence from a pond named Devil's Bathtub in Mendon Ponds Park.

The recovered items from Devil's Bathtub included drain cleaner, tarps, bungee cords, and work gloves, per the Democrat and Chronicle. The forensic reports further tied the mother and sons to the murder as the DNA sample from the recovered bloodied clothes matched both the defendants and the victim.

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Find out all the details of Craig Rideout's murder as the See No Evil episode re-airs on Investigation Discovery on Tuesday.