I was steeling myself for it already because of the massive police presence. They said that they believed that he had been murdered. Craig melvin Craig Rideout, dad of seven, cared deeply about his kids. Robbyn he was a loving man, provider, warm. Craig melvin so it was puzzling and alarming when he vanished. Pj she said, craigs not here. I said, thats weird. I didnt know what was happening. I know something is wrong. I dont know how wrong. Craig melvin a disturbing discovery in the basement. Blood particles were found on the walls. It appeared that there was some kind of ambush. Craig Melvin Revelations about craigs wife. Robbyn craig didnt want to believe there was a romantic relationship between them. It became painfully obvious that there was. Craig melvin and in the park, two young men acting strangely. They identify Colin Rideout and alexander rideout. The victims two sons . The victims two sons. Craig melvin finally, a string of Security Videos would lay bare the bonechilling truth. A diabolical plan is forming here. It appears that way. Pj i was stunned, absolutely stunned. I remember just holding him, crying. This is a family divided like no other. Yeah. [theme music] hello and welcome to dateline the rideouts appeared to be a tightknit family. So when parents Craig And Laura told their seven kids they were divorcing, it came as quite a surprise. Then craig went missing, and a Police Investigation revealed more surprises. It was a mystery that led police to a horrific discovery and a Family Secret as dark as they come. Heres Andrea Canning with devils bathtub. Andrea canning this is devils bathtub. [eerie piano music] a Deep Dark Pond formed by Glaciers Millennia ago. Its hidden and secluded. But beyond the tangle and the weeds, a secret was about to be discovered. We werent we werent ready for this. The sirens in my head, Red Lights going off in my head. Andrea canning the discovery would tell the tale of an allamerican family torn apart and a twisted loyalty hard to comprehend. It was like hitting a Brick Wall and life just stopped. This is the ultimate story of betrayal. Yes. [music playing] Andrea Canning pittsford, new york, a pretty suburb of rochester. Big houses, big families, and top ranked schools that make the people who move here wanna stick around. In this community, you grow up in a bubble. This is the communitys a bubble. Andrea canning the Rideout Family lived in that happy bubble. Chelsea kneuer dated the oldest rideout boy, colin. I remember one of the first times i went over to his house in high school. He was cooking me dinner. And i was like, oh, man, cooking dinner. Thats pretty cool. Very responsible . Chelsea oh, yeah. That was one of the reasons why i fell in love with him. He loved his family. Andrea canning and it was a Big One, three girls, four boys. The Rideout Household was always bustling, family dinners, holidays. Colins parents, Craig And Laura, embraced the chaos. This is craigs sister, robbyn drew. Clearly, they liked being parents. [laughs] they were enjoying this. Right. Andrea canning seven kids . Seven kids. Andrea Canning Dad Craig worked as a Computer Programmer and spent time mentoring kids at his church. Craig is a outwardly personable person. You meet Craig Rideout, youll like him. Andrea Canning Paul Tucci, better known as pj, was craig ridoouts Best Friend. Pj was there when craig fell in love with laura. Pj laura is compassionate. Shes also really intelligent. I mean, she double majored in physics and english 4. 0. Andrea canning as for the rideout kids, they were smart, like their parents, hardworking, articulate. But while they thrived, Family Life took a toll on Craig And Lauras marriage. Laura had been on Bed Rest for some of her pregnancies and money was tight. It circles back, i believe, to some financial hardships. Its understandable. Seven children, bills. Yeah. Andrea canning you know, these are real life real life issues. Andrea canning problems. Craig and laura separated in 2014. Craig took it really hard. He sent an email to me, saying, well, it looks like im getting divorced. I dont think i can talk about it without crying. Andrea canning pj says he wasnt surprised to see the marriage dissolve. Sometimes you get a gut feel. There are a lot of positives that came out of that relationship. But theres also a lot of negatives. Andrea canning oldest Son Colin was away at maritime college when his parents split. I asked him if he was going to be ok. And his first thought was like, im gonna be ok. I have you. But im more concerned about, you know, making sure my siblings are ok. Andrea canning he decided to put Family First and help out his mother. He moved back to rochester and put aside college and his goal of becoming a Navy Seal. He left his kind of, his dream to put his siblings first. What is going to be the Custody Arrangements . The older kids were free to make their own choice. Custody got sticky with the two youngest kids. Andrea canning the divorce still wasnt final in the summer of 2016. And robbyn says there was tension over the shared custody of the six and 12yearold kids, though craig told her he was trying to make the best of a difficult situation. One of the phrases that he used most recently was that he saw light at the end of the tunnel. But it was stressing him out. Andrea canning and on top of that, something weird happened to craig that summer. Someone broke into the townhouse where he had recently moved. He thought it was no big deal, maybe one of his sons playing a prank. But his sister was worried, and she urged him to report it to police. Andrea Canning Robbyn made a point to talk to her brother every day. July 19th, just a few days after the breakin, was no exception. I said, i call you in the morning, check on you and the kids. Andrea Canning But Morning came and Craig Wasnt returning robbyns calls. If he had been in a meeting and felt his phone go off, he would have sent a response in a meeting, call you later. Andrea canning concerned, robbyn decided to pay a visit to craigs townhouse. And inside that house, the beginning of a dark Family Drama that could never be unwritten. I know something is wrong. I dont know how wrong. What was going on with Craig Rideout . A discovery in the basement was about to provide an ominous clue. Coming up. And found what appeared to be Blood Spatter on the walls. Craig melvin what they found next would change everything. This is a big moment in this case. It is. Craig melvin when dateline continues. [coughing] Copd Hasnt been pretty. Its tough to breathe and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets. But trelegy has shown me that theres still Beauty And Breath to be had. Because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flareups. And with one dose a day, trelegy improves Lung Function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. Trelegy wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, Mouth Or Tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or Eye Pain occur. What a wonderful world ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful. One thing we know is true no matter race, gender, ethnicity. The need to screen when due. For Colon Cancers a priority. Indeed everyone 45 at average risk should screen for Colon Cancer. These folks are getting it done At Home with me, cologuard. Cologuard is a oneofakind way to screen for Colon Cancer thats effective and noninvasive. Its for people 45 at average risk, not high risk. False positive and negative results may occur. Ask your provider for cologuard. I did it my way. Lets say youre deep in a show ask your provider or a game or the game. On a train, At Home, at work. Okay, maybe not at work. Point is at xfinity. Were constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. Thats what i do. Is that Love Island . Andrea Canning Robbyn drew couldnt imagine where her brother craig was. It was a warm summer morning, wednesday, july 20th, 2016. You cant reach him at work. You cant reach him At Home. Right, im getting no response. Andrea canning that breakin was fresh in Robbyns Mind when she decided to leave work at Lunch And Head to craigs townhouse. His Soontobe Exwife Laura was there. She couldnt find him either. She says, oh, i figured it wouldnt be long before someone came looking for him. I dont know where he is. Andrea Canning Laura told robbyn it had been craigs night with the two youngest children. But that morning, laura said the kids texted her to say Dad Wasnt there when they woke up. She sent colin over to get them. Colin was always picking up his siblings. He would drive them places. Andrea Canning Robbyn decided to look around her brothers house. She went upstairs to his bedroom. The door was locked. I thought thats really odd. Did you worry that he might be in the bedroom . I was worried that he might have been in the bedroom. Andrea Canning Something Mightve happened to him . Yes. Andrea canning exactly what, she didnt know. She called 911. Andrea canning deputies from the Monroe County Sheriffs Office arrived at craigs, but they stayed outside. Told Robbyn Theyd need a warrant to search the house. After all, her brother was a grown man and this was his private property. Dave bolton was one of those investigators. He spoke to robbyn briefly. But she had called a number of times. And this made her nervous, not being able to get ahold of him on email or text. Andrea Canning Laura had gone home, but came back to the townhouse with the two young kids to see what was going on. Did she express that she has any idea where craig might be . She didnt. She said that she had no idea where he might be. Andrea Canning Laura told the Deputies Craig was home when the kids were dropped off the night before. Andrea canning then the investigator asked the kids some questions, first, the sixyearold daughter. Andrea canning the 12yearold son told the same story. Andrea canning No One could find craig. Laura texted Pj Tucci. And she said, craigs not here. I said, thats weird. Andrea Canning Colin called chelsea. Were you concerned, just for him . Yeah, i was concerned. You know, nobody wants to hear somebody went missing from their family. And i just assumed he had to step outside or go on a quick trip. Andrea canning late that night, investigators finally had their search warrant. You go inside . We go inside. What do you find . On initial walkthrough, the house is very neat, very well put together. There doesnt appear to be any forced entry. Andrea canning the investigators unlocked the master bedroom. It was undisturbed. No craig. They looked around, found nothing, then headed to the basement. What do you find . Dave theres boxes on the shelves. Theyre all neatly stacked. Everything is kind of in its home, and on the other side, its kind of disheveled. Andrea canning it was messy, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a basement, until they noticed something alarming. Dave we more closely examined the area and found what appeared to be Blood Spatter on the walls and on the shelving unit. Andrea canning Crime Scene Techs sprayed the Basement Floor with luminol and found even more blood, blood that someone tried to wipe away. Then, a discovery inside a garbage bag. Dave we find what appears to be a garrote. Its two handles with some paracord knotted so that you could hold on to both handles and use it as a ligature. Andrea canning a weapon used for strangulation. The evidence was telling them a story, one that wouldnt end well for Craig Rideout. Dave we were pretty sure we had our murder scene. This is a big moment in this case. It is. Craig melvin coming up, a bombshell about Craig Rideouts soontobe exwife. Robbyn craig didnt want to believe that there was a romantic relationship between them. I think over time it became painfully obvious that there was. Craig melvin and then, just off a country road, a passerby sees something that will transform the case. Craig melvin when dateline continues. Ill be honest. By the end of the day, my floors. Yeesh. But who has the time to clean . Thats why i love my swiffer wetjet. Its a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. Wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. Look at that swiffer wetjet. Choose advil liquigels for faster, stronger and longerlasting relief than tylenol rapid release gels. Because advil Targets Pain at the source of inflammation. So for faster pain relief, advil the pain away. Andrea canning it was late aafternoon, july 20th, 2016. N. Craig rideout, father of seven, had been missing since early that morning. Investigators had discovered a horrid scene in craigs basement, a scene that told them he wasnt coming home. Dave were starting to find more and more items with a lot of blood on them. Andrea canning Craigs Sister Robbyn was waiting outside, watching the Police Action unfold in front of her brothers townhouse. And then one of the Monroe County investigators brought somebody over to me, saying this is our violent crime advocate. Did your Heart Sink when it did. And they told me that they believed that he had been murdered. Andrea canning murdered in his own home . Investigators surmised it happened overnight while his young children slept. Who would do such a thing . Craigs sister told Investigator Bolton about that breakin at craigs home a few days earlier. He says he was Upstairs Sleeping in his bed, when, in the middle of night, he was woken by somebody pulling a hair from his arm. The male ran out of the bedroom and ultimately out of the house. Andrea Canning Craig told his sister he thought it was a prank, didnt know what to make of it. Nor did robbyn. But she had some other information for the investigator, details about her brothers marriage. Andrea canning how long had Craig Rideout and Laura Rideout been separated for . About two years. And it hadnt been a good separation. It hadnt been. Andrea canning the reason . Laura had a new man in her life. And it was, well, awkward would be an understatement. Her boyfriend was craigs old buddy, Pj Tucci. Andrea Canning Paul Tucci goes from being Craig Rideouts Best Friend to now being Craig Rideouts estranged wifes boyfriend. Yes. So that doesnt always work out so well for relationships. [laughs] certainly not between the two of them. Andrea canning Craig And Laura had been close friends with pj and his wife jennifer for many years. Robbyn all of the kids, the tucci and the rideout kids, really grew up together. They would go out together. They had parties together. Andrea canning but around the same time that laura and Craigs Marriage was falling apart, Pjs Wife died from liver disease. Pj says he leaned on laura for support, and laura began confiding in pj. Andrea canning his Best Friend. His former Best Friend, yes. Andrea canning in a romantic relationship now . At first, craig didnt want to believe that there was a romantic relationship going on between them. And i think over time it became painfully obvious that there was. I didnt know i was going to fall in love with laura. But that happened over time. Does craig know about this . Yeah, craig sent me an email. What did it say . It said he says, i dont know if you found yourself in a damsel in Distress Situation and youre just helping, or you have romantic feelings towards laura. Either way, im happy. Thats big of him. I thought it was, i thought it was an interesting thing. I dont know what he was trying to elicit. Andrea canning it was certainly interesting to the Homicide Detective. But before Investigator Bolton could run down that juicy lead, he got some news. Two counties over, a shovel had been left by the side of the road. And 50 feet into the woods, a mans body was discovered. Andrea canning could it be craig . The victims Identity Wasnt obvious right away. His killer or killers had used some kind of acid to intentionally disfigure his face. That sounds like someone had a major grudge with this person. It certainly seemed like they werent interested in him being found. Andrea canning but even though the victim was unrecognizable, deputies were able to id him pretty quickly. The answer was found in his pocket. When the body was found, the victims phone was ringing. The person popping up on the Caller Id . It was robbyn drew, craigs sister. As i was trying to reach him, the Cell Phone was ringing in