Cant see it. Someone wanted him dead. Someone who was hiding something. The details of the case are very salacious. There is sex. There is the allegation of the poisoning. Cleaned out the bank account. Are you trying to accuse me of something . A brother determined to find a killer. How dare anybody do that to my Little Brother . It wasnt supposed to happen like this. A toxic mystery and an emotional trial. Is the jury being out long a bad thing or a good thing . It was a mystery from day one. From that time, right around the end of the hockey season. It made sense of what was happening to Matthew Podolak, matt the hockey amateur, matt the hunter, the fisherman, the athlete. It would make sense from the very first day that Matthew Podolak woke up with the pain in his back. And after what happened in the hospital a couple of months later, nothing made sense after that. [noise] god knows there were accusations. Well yes, plenty of those. And a brother, mark, from whom the stories, the mystery became a kind of obsession. Its had quite an effect on me over the past seven years. The story of what happened to matt podolak, was one of those of, well, you be the judge. Lets begin in the spring of 2006. Matt was 31 years old. Maybe more than ever, he was loving the intense male roughness of Amateur Hockey. He was number 10. And he was good at it. He even managed to keep all his teeth. He started to take it up when he was in high school. And that was really one of his loves. Mark podolak was just a little older. A little more academically accomplished than his kid brother baby. But mark loved him. Loved him for what he was. He was a good kid. I mean he didnt give into any trouble. To be honest with you, my dad is a cop. So, he started to put the fear of god with Me And My Brother when we started growing mark podolak was just a little older. A little more academically accomplished than his kid brother baby. But mark loved him. Loved him for what he was. He was a good kid. I mean he didnt give into any trouble. To be honest with you, my dad is a cop. So, he started to put the fear of god with Me And My Brother when we started growing up. Matt told his mom, patricia, he was going to join the police force when he came home from brooklyn after extending the navy. Brooklyn, ohio, by the way, is one of the towns around the edge of cleveland. Matthew always wanted to be a police officer. Since he was little. His dad, land, was a 39 yearold veteran of the brooklyn pd. There was a point in time where it looked like we may even work together. But life is full of disappointments. Matt did not get the call. And so, instead, he went to work for his uncle who is phoenix Industrial Power coated engine parts for ford, another company. What did you think of that job of his over at the factory . My uncle owned the shop. So he liked it. And he kind of moved up through the ranks. The thing that excited him about it was that he was going to take over. My uncle was kind of grooming him to become the boss. I remember him, in many cases, telling me about how he was looking forward to that. But what matt wanted, perhaps most of all, was a family. And so, when he met holly, Holly Mcfeeture matthew fell in love. He fell in love 100 and 10 . And he really loved holly. There were some people who planned out their lives very carefully. Those people may have taken issue with matt and holly, whose Daughter Samantha was born, give or take, nine months after they met. The marriage part became later they decided. He loved being a dad. He loved that little girl. And loved holly. Holly loved him. Holly told her sister, chrissy, the story of how they mention they got engaged. It was during a romantic weekend in niagara falls, just before samantha was born. Holly was preparing a bubble bath. And she couldnt hear because the faucets running. And heres matt, down on his knee, like hello and then she realized, oh my gosh, youre proposing. That is a kind of romantic little setup. I thought so. The bubbles. I thought that was pretty romantic. After samantha came along, matt and holly, now engaged, went to vegas to witness a friends wedding, lynn kuriko. Did you also make a Force Wedding . Yes, actually. Yes holly and matt said we should do a double wedding. But holly knew that her family would not be happy with that so i think that thats what made them not get married. Didnt get married. But something happened in vegas. Nine months after that, josh was born. From what holly has told me, josh was planned in vegas. Ready or not, matt was not the father of samantha. And the baby boy he nicknamed, little man. And hollys daughter from a previous relationship. Big changes. In a very short time. And, by the end of the hockey season, a lot of things started going wrong. Josh was still very new then. And was stressrf. And with that young family to support he began gambling on the internet. He complained of feeling depressed. So depressed is doctor prescribed anti depressants. And thats about when it started, the pain that is, spasms of back pain. He ignored it. Thinking it will go away on its own. But it just got worse. After weeks of, this holley insisted he go see a doctor. He had been complaining of pain and she finally said that you need to go. Obviously, something is not right. So, she basically, you know had to drag him there. Kidney stones was the diagnosis. The doctor gave matt pills to help to solve it. Four days later, he took a turn for the worse. Way worse. Holly called her father, matts father a 911. I got a call from holly saying that theres something wrong with matt. So i talked to, matt and he said that i do not feel, good i fell off the couch and im really dizzy. So i said, get in the ambulance. Hollys father, mike arrived and followed him to the hospital, where things went bad fast. It was nerveracking because all we kept hearing about was, okay theyre trying to dial in on his kidney issue. Well, then that medication was making his heart go so than they try to address the heart. And they kept seesawing back and forth. And nobody seem to know really what it was causing . No. Matt faded in and out of consciousness. Doctors told holly and family members, go home, get some rest. And then another few hours later, they called everybody back to the hospital, right away, they said. One look at the icu and Big Brother Mark felt his world come apart. When i saw him in the hospital, its something i could never forget. It seemed like he was in the calm, i knew that if you made it through, he wouldnt be the same. And everyone felt a particular kind of helplessness. Knowing something was killing him. But not knowing, how could they, what it was. Coming up i got a calling and they say you better get here because hes gone into full arrest. How could this happen . All of a sudden, a very healthy 31 year old, young man just winds up dead . A family, simple question, which would take seven years to answer. How can you go into the hospital for Kidney Stones and then die hours later . When dateline continues. Is nothing like it dancing is my passion. But with my moderatetosevere eczema, it hasnt been easy. Now, im staying ahead of it. Dupixent helps heal your skin from within. So, you can clearer skin and noticeably less itch serious allergic reactions can occur, that can be severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pains, or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. Ask your doctor about dupixent [coughing] when caroline has a cough she takes robitussin. 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Arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. I chose arexvy. Rsv . Make it arexvy. The end came on monday morning, the end came on monday morning, july 31, 2006. July 31st 2006. There in the icu, this mysterious ailment that attacked matt overwhelmed his defenses completely. I got a call, and they said you better get here because hes gone into full arrest and weve revived him already, once. So, when i got there it was just downhill. Matts fiancee, Holly Mcfeeture, begged the doctors to keep trying. And holly said, dont stop, dont stop dont stop, matt, dont leave me. It was no use. And, once the doctor or nurse stepped away, holly Just Launched on matt and just wouldnt like they actually had to pull her off of his body he was just 31 years old and now his children were fatherless. And holly, a single mother of three at the funeral, said her sister, she did not take it well. Holly was sitting in her car for about 20 minutes bawling her eyes out before she even went in. I dont even know how i would be able to do that myself, go in and see him lying there in the casket. If that was my fiancee, i probably wouldnt be able to go in that room. Because i would want to scream and cry and ask for him to just be back. Matt and holly son, josh, was just six months old. And he cried, a lot. So, said chrissy, holly repeatedly had to leave the Reception Line to care for her colicky baby. She was in the basement with josh because she was nursing. She had to still take care of her kids and show them that she had to be strong. Hollys friend, rebecca baker, did what she could to help. Especially with that little boy, so young. This poor baby, he wouldve never known his father. How could this happen . All of a sudden, a very healthy 31 year old, young man just winds up dead. Its kind of strange. Kind of strange . It certainly was. Matts brother mark couldnt stop thinking about how strange it was. He had Kidney Stones. How could you go into the hospital for Kidney Stones and then die eight hours later . Exactly what the coroner was wondering when he had a look at some of the damage to matts organs, as if he had been exposed to some toxic chemicals in his environment. Matt had worked for four years for his uncles Phoenix Industrial supervised Assembly Line involved in painting and Powder Coating. Any toxic chemicals there . The corner called hawley to ask said her friend linda curry cothe corner told are that a lot of the Chemical Compounds were similar to what the Chemical Compound was that they had found in him. Right after that, holly called matts uncle, the man who, on the factory seeing the act my brother needed to call the coroner so that he can explain what matthew was exposed to. But soon after the corner talk to matts uncle, after he got a proper list of the chemicals, he pretty much ruled out any industrial caused all of those chemicals were safe to work with. They were osha proved and they had masks to wear. So, if not that, what . Perhaps a cause unhappily all too common but a depressed young man overwhelmed with his sudden responsibility and the pain of his Kidney Stones decided to end it all. It was a Corners Investigator who brought up the subject of matts mother , and she was questioning me would matthew had committed suicide . Never, said his mother. Never but it was his family had to admit, a not unreasonable question given mass depression and all. Even though mark believed his brother had that under control. He went to a doctor to get some help with that. The doctor gave him some antidepressants. Did that help . I thought it did. He seemed to be better. But then, matt had a new family now. You know how it is, matt was spending most of his time with holly in the kids and her parents. They, said so maybe mark didnt know. Did you go to his home, his parents house very often . I dont recall him talking about it that much. His connection didnt seem to be that close. It didnt seem to be and mark didnt know, not then anyway, that matt actually asked a friend to remove his hunting guns from his house as if he was afraid, perhaps, he might harm himself. Was he really thinking about killing himself . From what i heard, yes. I heard that he was having thoughts, he had told holly, i think, he had actually told my dad just as she insisted to see the doctor for Kidney Stones, it was holly, said her sister who insisted that he get help for us depression she had sent him to the doctor and got him on medication for that as well. What happened to matt podolak. Who knew . Apparently not the corner. Who had still not issued any official report. And, then finally, three months after matts death, mark got a call from his mother. Come to a family meeting, she told him. She refused to tell them what would be said there. Because, i knew that he would be very, very upset the news was too bizarre, too shocking to share over the phone coming up the whole family was there, and i kind of lost it the coroners report makes it clear, matts death wasnt just strange. It was also highly suspicious we were all thinking it was kidney failure, we were not expecting that. It was my mission to find an answer for this. When dateline continues. Shelves. Shelves smart enough to see, sense, react, restock. So Caramel Swirl is always there for the taking. As the world keeps changing, so does covid19. Thats why this seasons covid19 shots have been updated. Theyre one of the best ways to help protect yourself against covid19. Learn more and schedule at vaccines. Gov Group Singing for Kids Birthday toooo youuuuu sean i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro vid19. jason sean do you mean this one the one with titanium . sean no way i can trade this busted up thing for one. jason maybe stealing wishes from the birthday boy is not your best plan switch to verizon and trade in any iphone and get the new iphone 15 pro on them. sean what . jason yup, and on an amazing network. sean and i dont have to ruin anymore Birthday Parties jason yeah, that ship has sailed. Lets go get you the iphone. Here we go, come on hon. vo trade in any iphone in any condition for a new iphone 15 pro on us. Only on verizon. Cmon, were right there. Cmon baby. Its the only we need. Go, go, go, go ah Touchdown Baby touchdown are your neighbors watching the same game . Yeah, my 5g Home Internet delays the game a bit. But you get used to it. Try these. Theyre noise cancelling earmuffs. I stole them from an airport. Its always something with you, man. Great solid greek salad . Exactly dont delay the game with verizon or tmobile 5g there were just the two of Home Internet. Catch it on the xfinity 10g network. Them. Big brother mark and the kid he looked out for, his Little Brother matt and now matt was dead and nothing made sense to mark podolak. Theres no way that a guy is going to go into the hospital with Kidney Stones and youre going to die because of Kidney Stones. Three months after his death, matt podolaks family gathered for a meeting. Matt family arranged. It before, that they told mark that theyve been discussing a wrongful death suit against the hospital where matt died. My mom called me over and she said, were going to talk with a lawyer, tonight were gonna find out the next steps of whats going to happen. But matts father wasnt exactly straight with her son, that was not what was going to happen so, when i got to her house, the whole family was there and i was like, where is the lawyer . And shes like, hes not here. No lawyer. Something far more disturbing. The autopsy report matts mother did not want her surviving son hearing about this over the phone, afraid of how hed react. And i felt like it was almost like an intervention it was weird it was so surreal so, she sent me down in the whole family was there as a supporting. And they said, we got the corners report back. And it was Antifreeze Poisoning. And i kind of lost it. Antifreeze poisoning . That just yeah. The correct phrase for this at the corners report was chronic intoxication by Ethylene Glycol. Ethylene glycol, being the active intoxicating ingredient in antifreeze. So, i was saying, what is that . Ethylene glycol is antifreeze but chronic . So, it means it happened over a period of time. So once that kind of said in, i was shocked. I was speechless. And thats when something profound happened to mark podolak. Maybe not at that moment but the decision snapped into place. From that moment on, when we found out, it was my mission to find to find an answer for this. A mission complicated by the fact that there was one very big question the coroner couldnt answer. Was matts death the result of some terrible mistake . Or suicide . Or was it murder . Nobody knew. And so, the coroner labeled the manner of death, undetermined. Across town, matts fiancee holly was figuring out the news to. Holly sister, chrissy what did she say . What can y