336. The Officer’s Secret

0:00You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is murder with my husband. I'm Payne Moreland. No, I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. The husband. Hello, like for tuning in. Hope you guys are doing good. What do you got, babe? Just another day, just another recording, just another day, and the longest summer of my life. Summer's been really long. It's been extremely hot this year. I feel like it feels so long since hockey season, but it's because towards the end of hockey season, I was, I didn't really go because I was so pregnant. I didn't watch a lot or I was so sick. Yeah. And then now it's like hockey season doesn't start. I feel like until I'm like. Do. Do. And so it's like, this has been the longest break between hockey.

1:00That's what's like it's. I'm hearing. Yeah, in my brain. It is kind of crazy. The, does this come out in September? It's just September, right? No, August 31st, but that week it'll be the first week of September because we're recording on Friday. Yeah. It'll be September. I feel like we just hit August. Now we're September. Next thing you know, it'll be 2027. I just felt like it was 2020. We were all stuck inside and now it's 2027. You know, it's crazy. I'm so excited for Halloween, but also so sad because I'm not planning on decorating as much this year just because of everything else that will be going on with the baby coming. But it's like making me sad because it's my favorite time of the year. That is true. Uh huh. I'm having a hard time like balancing enjoying it while also getting ready for massive change. Yeah. Honestly, I don't really have anything for my 10 seconds. I've just been like getting ready for the baby, getting a bunch of stuff ordered, making

2:05sure we're all prepared for when this little bugger comes out because I have a feeling she's going to come early. Yeah. Working podcast days. Oh, Daisy picked up a chicken or chick. Daisy saw chickens today for the first time. I'm a little chicks and she loved them. Yes, but I do think she thought maybe she was their mother. Yeah. And so she picked one up to move it. And it scared me half to death because those little things are so, so small. And Daisy is small too, but like, I'm not sure you should be picking up a fragile baby chicken your mouth. Yeah, her little mom and stinks kicked in. Yeah. Anyway, so that was kind of cute. That was kind of fun. All right, everyone, that's what I got. So if you're ready and you're listening via audio, then you're probably clean in or you're driving or do something else. If you're watching on Netflix, sit back, relax, listen to some shoe crime. Our sources for this episode are oxygen.com ABC7 New York.com ABC news.com Yahoo.com CBS news.com

3:14Paramount press express.com NBC New York.com ABC news.com New York Post.com crime and investigation.com prime timer.com and day line to serve and protect. It is the promise people make when choosing to become a police officer in oath, not just to themselves, but to everyone that they cross paths with to be a guardian, a safe space, a trustworthy civilian servant. Both on and off duty. It's admirable, commendable, and it comes with a lot of responsibility and power. But as anyone who's experienced that kind of power will tell you, there comes a point where you reach a fork in the road where you must choose. Do you follow the path of sacrifice and selflessness or do you go down the road that will benefit you the most? Because as we know, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

4:15And sometimes those who have promised to serve and protect are more focused on serving their own needs than the needs of others, even if it means becoming the very thing that they swore to protect us from. So today's case starts in a little town on Long Island just outside of New York City called Oceanside. We need to go to the East Coast tomorrow. I know. We need to go to Oceanside. We don't know the East Coast well enough. And it's here in Oceanside, just outside of New York City in 2019, that 32 year old Isaiah Carvalo is trying to reset his life going into his 30s. He had recently gotten separated from his wife of five years who he had a young son with. Isaiah was no stranger to a rocky marriage. His parents got divorced when he was young himself and all growing up while he swore he would never let it happen to him.

5:17Life had its own set of plans. But because of his parents divorced at such a young age, Isaiah actually became very close with his mother, Marianne. He was raising Isaiah and his sister as a single mom when a new man came into their life. And this guy's name was Patrick who Isaiah really did grow to admire and respect as a father figure in his life. Now Patrick and Marianne, Isaiah's mom and now stepparent really, they showed Isaiah what it was like to have a loving, healthy relationship and as he got older, he knew it was something he dreamed of having himself one day. And another thing Isaiah really admired about Patrick, this new guy that had come into his life to raise him, he was a homicide detective. Someone that brought justice to the city for years while working in Queens, New York. However, Isaiah never felt being a police officer was his path.

6:21So instead he got a job working with the caterpillar equipment company. But Isaiah did grow up around the police officer community because Patrick was a homicide detective and many of the officers Patrick worked with became like family over the years in New York, including one newer officer who walked into Patrick's office in 2010 and noticed a framed photo on Patrick's desk and it was of Isaiah. Now keep in mind, Isaiah is a lot older now at this point, but him and Patrick have had this great relationship. Patrick has basically helped raise him. So he does have like a current photo of Isaiah. And this newer officer, well her name was Valerie Sincinelli and she wanted to know if Isaiah the boy in the picture on Patrick's desk, if he was single.

7:23Now Patrick told the 25 year old Valerie a bit about his stepson and how yeah, he actually is in fact single and her reply was hook a girl up. So that's exactly what Patrick did for his stepson and this young girl. He showed Isaiah her photo and the two meet up for a date shortly after that. Now there was a lot to be impressed by when it came to Valerie. She had begun her career back in 2007 working in the domestic violence unit at the Queens NYPD precinct. And a big reason why she even chose to be a cop actually also had to do with her upbringing. Valerie grew up on Long Island as one of five kids and she was raised in a family of police officers too. Her father had won several awards in his position as a police officer. Her brother was an FBI agent so it was in her blood.

8:24But Valerie also experienced a pretty tragic loss earlier on in her life when she was just 18 years old. Her mother who she was close with died suddenly in her sleep. Now Valerie was quickly thrown into the role of the matriarch of the house and at 18 she is forced to kind of grow up faster than she should have. But when Isaiah and Valerie were introduced in 2010, she was actually now a single mom with a two year old girl of her own. Now after just a date or two, Isaiah brought Valerie and her daughter around to spend time with Patrick and his family, even inviting them to Easter dinner at his parents house. And things just sorta take off from there. So that's how Isaiah and Valerie me and how they're kind of like wrapped up in law enforcement

9:26together. Now in 2014, Isaiah and Valerie got married and soon they welcomed a son together. So now they have two kids at home. And things seemed to be going well at work for Valerie too. In 2016, she was named Soldier of the Year for her volunteer work in the local community. And then in 2017, she was awarded for her bravery after catching a bank robber in the act. Everyone said, it's kind of cool. I know Valerie was just this all American modern woman, a decorated police officer who had won a cop of the month of volunteer, a caring wife, and a mother of two young children. Not to mention she was athletic, she was tough as nails, not someone you would ever think to mess with. But the truth was, back at home, underneath all of this, things weren't going as well as they were in her career. By 2019, the arguments between Isaiah and Valerie had reached a boiling point.

10:32And as much as Isaiah fought to avoid the same fate as his parents, it just wasn't working out between them. Isaiah and Valerie separated and began working through a divorce settlement that year. At least until May 17, 2019, when Valerie Sincinelli got a knock. On her front door, just to catch you up, they've met, they're married, they're getting divorced, they're fighting a lot. They're in the process of this divorce, they're separated in 2019 when she gets a knock. Two uniformed officers were standing on Valerie's front porch. She didn't need to be a police officer herself to know that whatever was going on wasn't good. Like an unannounced visit. She invited them in and as they sat her down, they broke some heartbreaking news. Her husband, a strange husband, 32 year old Isaiah was found dead.

11:39They tell Valerie he had been murdered earlier that morning, shot while inside his car. His car and him were found about 50 miles away from where he lived in ocean side in a place called Shirley on Long Island. His car was actually parked in a marina parking lot. He's found dead inside, but other than that, they didn't have much else to share. They were simply just letting her know. They said the investigation was ongoing. There were not any suspects or evidence yet, but they were already starting to put together some leads and they were curious if Valerie knew of anyone who might want Isaiah dead. They were like, listen, we know you're a fellow cop. We know you guys are separated and getting divorced. Can you help us out at all? And in between the shaking and the tears, Valerie told them she actually didn't know if Isaiah had any enemies, though he had been having a hard time making ends meet lately.

12:41So he started a little side business recently selling fireworks. And she's like, I don't know if this will be helpful. This is all I know. And really Valerie seemed to be incomplete disbelief over this entire situation. Thankfully she wasn't alone when the news was broken to her. With her at home was actually her new boyfriend. 54-year-old John Daruba. And he appears just as distressed and heartbroken over this situation as Valerie is. They both seem like this is some shocking news and Valerie seems to think it's heartbreaking. But police also know, okay, this John Daruba is sitting here in this apartment and they know he's part of the reason that Valerie and Isaiah had split up in the first place.

13:43Not saying they did anything because we're not even close to them with the story yet. But what I'm trying to say is say you killed someone, cops come to your house, you're supposed to act surprised. Do you think you could do it? No. Like I feel like I would just be like, oh my gosh, and it would just be so obvious that there is nothing like a raw reaction. I think it's pretty difficult to imitate a raw reaction. I think some people, maybe even people who are able to actually kill other people are kind of good at it. But then you have like Chris Watts. Actors are good at it. Actors is an actress. Yeah, but then you have like Chris Watts who you only need to watch two seconds of that police body cam footage to know he's lying. Like it is so he is so uncomfortable. Are you? No, are you serious? He's to the point where he's like having a hard time responding because he's lying. And that's what I mean. It's not that you have to act surprised because it's not like it's a fake like you're an

14:47actor or an actress. It's that if you get caught, you're going to prison for life. Yeah. So all of that combined. Everything is writing on it. Yeah. I actually always think about that because I watch body cam footage a lot, especially of homicide investigations where the killer themselves is the one who calls the cops. So then they are the ones who are on the body cam footage. It is its own little unique corner of true crime because when you're watching this body cam footage in the future and knowing oh, this person actually eventually confesses or eventually gets charged with the murder, you start to like. Yeah, you pick and you just watch it and you're like, wow. This is so uncomfortable. How can they sit here and fall to their knees and whale when like they're faking it? It's it's awkward. Isn't the right word. It's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable. And sometimes it really is.

15:47You know, oftentimes in our stories, we hear of detectives who are like, it just felt wrong. It just felt wrong. I don't really know. You just got a weird vibe. I don't know. Nothing. They really said. But then you watch like body cam footage and you're like, yeah. It just feels wrong. Yeah. That just feels wrong. So police are here. They've just broke the news, but they also know about Valerie and John. They know about this history. So it started not too long ago actually about a year earlier in 2017. John was outside of his house in Queens where Valerie typically patrolled as a cop. He was washing his car that afternoon when Valerie stopped her cruiser with her partner and yelled out to John. She literally yells out of her car. She introduces herself and she's flirting with him. Just this random guy that she comes across washing his car and John flirts back and he

16:50eventually asks her, are you single? Valerie told him no. She was married. But then her partner, her police partner that is sitting in the car with her, chimed in saying she's not happily married though. So clearly Valerie has opened up to people in her life that her marriage isn't going well. And she's open about it enough that she's comfortable enough to just like take a shot and flirt with a random person in front of her partner. Now here's the thing about Valerie and John. There was a big age gap between the two of them about 20 years. But neither one seemed to mind. So despite being married, John and Valerie exchanged Instagram handles and began messaging soon after that. And I do find this little interesting Valerie's username at this time, which again this is 2017. Her username on Instagram is homicide hands.

17:53Oh, which is a police officer. Oh, I guess it's true. Okay. But it is just a little weird, but she is an officer. So I mean, I guess I could do it. Yeah. So her and John are messaging the messages get more and more frequent and tell John asked her, hey, would you be willing to meet up in person? Valerie says yes. But if they were going out in Queens, they had to be careful because Valerie still worked with her father-in-law, Patrick, who introduced her to her husband. And she didn't want word to get back to him that she had been spotted around New York with another man because she is still married. So John agreed to be her little secret. Soon, they were sneaking around meeting up in hotel rooms and John was really starting to fall for her. He even told some of his friends that Valerie was the one. He introduced her to his 14 year old daughter who was excited for her dad since she had been encouraging him to date for a while and keep in mind, he's 20 years older than Valerie.

18:55So he's definitely probably more in a place of I'm looking for a wife. Yeah. Plus, John believed it wasn't one sided. He believed this little affair, this little fling through it that Valerie was falling for him too, despite having a husband and kids at home. There was one point when she was on vacation with Isaiah, her husband, but was texting John throughout the trip. She even sent John a picture after she wrote their names in the sand. It really seemed like she wanted to leave her marriage and she wanted to leave her marriage to be with John because Valerie complained nonstop to John about Isaiah. She said he never paid attention to their children. He was constantly playing video games rather than spending time with the family. And she also told John during this time that Isaiah was abusive. Now John was shocked by this because here was this take no crap police officer who literally

20:00worked in the domestic violence unit with the NYPD. She is loud. She stands up for herself. How could she also be a victim of DV herself? And yet he doesn't doubt her. He doesn't doubt it, especially when they have a close call with Isaiah about six months into this little affair. Okay. Valerie and John were looking for a place to sneak off to and they chose a parking lot in Long Island for that night's location. The two of them were fogging up the windows when they looked up and they see Isaiah wandering around the parking lot looking for Valerie. Oh my gosh. In the middle of the night. Apparently Valerie had forgotten to turn off her iPhone's location tracking that night. Now Isaiah never actually catches John and Valerie in the act because they see him first.

21:02He's clearly on to something like he's out looking for her in the middle of the night. That's wild. And Valerie was desperately trying to keep the truth from him, which was why John found it weird when Valerie told him to come over one night to the house she shared with Isaiah. This wasn't like something they normally did. So John said when he pulled up his heart started racing as he noticed that Isaiah's car was in the driveway. And that was when Valerie texted him, oh, I don't want you to come in. Just stay in the car, park about a block away and then quote, watch the show. What's up? 10 minutes later, a police car pulls up an outcomes Isaiah in handcuffs. He was placed under arrest that night for supposedly smacking her phone out of her hand. This is something Valerie obviously as a cop knows is considered disorderly conduct.

22:06This is an offense under the New York laws. Now I don't know if she told John, oh, he only got arrested that night because he knocked my property out of my hand. Or if she just let him believe that this was like a full blown. And I'm not saying that's not aggressive or abusive. I just don't know what details if she lied. You just kind of let it up to whatever John's imagination. Yes. And that's because her husband's getting walked out in handcuffs. And clearly this was planned because she texted John beforehand so that he could see this. And I don't know if she's doing this to prove to him that their relationship is violent. I don't really know the point other than that this has been reported. Come. So after this apparently, Isaiah packs up his things and moves out of the house. I guess maybe he's over it because she called the cops on him for hitting her phone out of her hands, whatever it was.

23:08Just to get her off his back, he pleaded guilty to the charges and decided to just file for divorce. So meanwhile, John and Valerie are basically free to carry on with this affair, but they no longer really have to do it in secret because her own husband filed for divorce. But it wasn't all puppy dogs and rainbows from there. It wasn't like, okay, we're finally getting divorced and I can go be with my lover. No, John began struggling financially, mostly because of his new relationship with Valerie. He was paying for almost everything in her life, new jewelry clothing, tires and breaks for her car. He was helping her out with her kids and her mortgage payments. Obviously because her husband filed for divorce and moved out. Now, it got to a point where John wasn't even able to make some of the payments on his own house in Queens because he was spending so much money on Valerie. She wasn't exactly showing gratitude for it.

24:10Instead, John said that once her and her husband were officially going through separation and divorce, he started to notice more and more how Valerie had a jealous streak in her. But we're not talking about other women, okay? Apparently, Valerie is showing jealous behavior of his relationship with his 14 year old daughter. Oh. Which is just like, I don't even know what's going on right now. It's just a weird case. It just feels so wrong to get mad at a man for having a good relationship with his daughter and you thinking, well, I should come first, like above the kid. You know what I mean? Yeah. Obviously, it's not her child, but still just not a good place to put anyone in.

25:13Now, John noticed Valerie would give him a hard time whenever he chose his daughter over her. She would want to know why he was spending money on her and not on Valerie and her own two kids. I bet you that happens a lot though. Oh, it's got to. Because it's all. I mean, I guess I say it's weird, but I bet you it happens all the time. I feel like it's a very easy and I think it's sorry. I think it's more of not jealous of the kid, but because that kid's connected to the X and not your own. I think it's probably where it stems from if I were to guess. I don't know. Let me say this very carefully. I don't want my words to be this can shrewd. I do not in the slightest think this is okay. I think people should seek help for behavior like this because it is coming from insecurity, most likely from ego in the same sentence. Psychologically, it is an easier concept to understand than other concepts that we see

26:13in truth. Honestly, I mean, not that I don't think it's weird, but like, but it happens all the time. So I don't know if I think it's. Which is why I think you're saying that's because it almost feels like you can psychologically see how this happens. I still don't think it's okay. It comes to a point where it drove a wedge between John and his daughter. So now his own daughter is like your new girlfriend just wants you to move on with her and her kids. She wants to forget about me. Keep in mind, this is his only child, but John just couldn't pull himself out of it. He said he was addicted to Valerie. She was almost like a drug to him. However, things come to a head about 11 months into their romance. One day, Valerie came out of the shower to see John texting someone and she demanded to know who he was texting. And John, who knew Valerie was envious of his daughter said, oh, it's just an email. I'm sending an email. Now Valerie didn't believe him. So instead, she grabbed her gun out of a duffel bag.

27:16Keep in mind, she's a police officer and points it right at John's face. She told him if he ever lied to her again, she would quote, blow his head off. So this interaction gets to the point that John knew he had to do something. So he calls NYPD and spoke to their internal affairs office. I am going to speculate right now what's going to happen. I'm guessing that the husband wasn't actually abusive and she's nuts. That's what I think is going on right now, but I'm going to feel pretty bad if that's not true. So hopefully that's what happened. No matter what, this behavior is alarming and abusive that she is showing to John. I mean, yeah. So he calls NYPD and he's like, listen, your cop Valerie, yeah, she held her gun to me and said that she would blow my head off. And I'm kind of in fear of my life, like that she so easily did this, that she works for

28:20the police. Now, thankfully, the NYPD took his complaint seriously. They took away Valerie's gun and they put her on modified duty while they looked deeper into the matter. And they also moved her off the domestic violence unit and switched her over to the video interactive patrol enhanced response units. Nice. Otherwise known as the Viper, which Garrett would be part of the Viper. No, not sure. I'd be secret agent. I'd be out there doing crazy stuff. Okay. The Viper unit monitors the security cameras around the city. Yeah. I bet you that you don't want to do security cameras. You're obsessed with security cameras. It's true, but I bet you the Viper. No fit to see anyone who's on the Viper, but I bet you everyone who's on the Viper is trying to get out of the Viper. It could be wrong. It is probably a lot of useless footage. Yeah. But when they do hit gold, that's got to feel pretty good. But I would assume like, I don't know how much about the chain of command and how it works.

29:20But people are trying to get to certain positions. Her bosses are like, you work in the domestic violence unit and you held a gun to your boyfriend's head and threatened to kill him. That's crazy. So you're getting moved to Viper because he reported it. We're looking more into it and John breaks up with her. Okay. She's like, I'm not putting up with this behavior. This is not healthy. So Valerie hits an all time low. Okay. So she has destroyed her marriage to be with John. She's going through this divorce. And now John just broke up with her and she just got her gun taken away and demoted at work. Nice. And Isaiah is also ready to close the chapter on her too. Like I said, in late 2017, Isaiah is really ready to move forward with the divorce proceedings. And it was at this same time that his stepdad Patrick gave him some news. John had come to him saying they thought they could help Isaiah out with his divorce.

30:23And this is where this case really takes a twist. Okay. Because Patrick, who works with Isaiah's wife that he's divorcing, comes to him and says, Hey, someone came and visited me and said they could help you out. It was John Daruba or ex boyfriend. He's hitting him out of left field and not knowing what he had to say. Isaiah actually accepts an invitation to meet up with John, basically his ex wife's boyfriend, ex boyfriend at a restaurant. And this is when John kind of breaks everything to Isaiah. They get to the restaurant and he's like, listen, yes, I'm her ex boyfriend like we broke up. So we had been having an affair while you guys were still married, definitely since before the separation. John wanted to apologize about the role he had played and how he had definitely believed Valerie when she told him Isaiah was the abusive one in the marriage.

31:27John told him he also found text messages on Valerie's phone between her and Isaiah. And when he saw Isaiah texting her about how badly he wanted to make things work for the sake of their son, he realized that Isaiah probably wasn't the monster she'd made him out to be basically John meets up with Isaiah because he wants to clear his conscience and make things right with Isaiah. Now of course, that didn't change the past, but it did help John really close the book on Valerie because he's now kind of taken team Isaiah, at least for a little while. Now Valerie continues calling John throughout the rest of 2017 and 2018. She's like, please don't leave me. I love you. And it got to be so much that John actually filed a restraining order against her. And then around March of 2018, she violated that restraining order by making contact with

32:27John yet again. And if I had to try and digest this psychology as someone who does not have a degree in this and is speaking just purely from my human experience, I would say everything crashing down on Valerie from the evidence we have about her personality. This was probably absolutely devastating to her that everything crashed down. And now John not only wants nothing to do with her, but literally wants nothing to do with her so much. And I'm assuming she just can't handle it like her ego and how she got herself in this situation cannot handle the fact that he doesn't want her anymore. And so she's going to the lengths of literally breaking a restraining order to try and get with him to try to win him back. Yeah. I mean, I think that she has probably always been like this and that people like this are

33:30used to getting their way all the time. And so when they don't get their way, it's usually not very happy. So it happens. You meet people that get their way all the time and we all see it whether it's like you're at a restaurant or you're at a bagel shop or you're anywhere, right? When people are used to getting their way out of time, they don't get their way. Yeah. Whether it's in a work, business, whatever it is, usually it's an unhappy site. My guess would be she doesn't even really like John that much. Her ego just cannot handle this blow to the point that her own brain is convincing her that in order to feel better and to have her ego feel better, she just needs him to like her again, like she literally can't handle it, which is why she's breaking this restraining order. And after this time that she breaks the restraining order in March of 2018, John had her arrested. But John knew if he wanted this to be over, he would have to face her in court for what

34:33he imagined would be one last time. Instead, the opposite happened. On the day of the hearing for this, John claims he and Valerie go to court and he hasn't seen her. He makes eye contact with her when she entered the courtroom and he said it was like all the feelings he had for her came rushing back. And I'm just like, John, no, don't fall for this. So the two, I guess continue to make eye contact or make eyes at each other throughout the trial about him having a restraining order on her. And when they broke for recess, Valerie's dad actually walks up to John and asks him a favor. He's like, Hey, would you just consider dropping the charges? Oh my gosh. So Valerie doesn't lose her job. He basically tries to play on his heartstrings. He's like, that's her livelihood.

35:34Her kids as well being depend on it. She just, she likes you. Can you please just drop the charges? She held the gun in my head. No, thank you, sir. John caved. He goes back in the courtroom and says, I'd like to drop the charges. I made it all up. Oh, hello. He even admits to perjury. Oh, no. He doesn't have to go. And you know what happens next? She kills Isaiah. And that wasn't even the end of it. Oh my gosh. You've got to be kidding me. After that day in court, the two of them rekindle their relationship. Oh my gosh. John, what? Hello? Can't stay away. And Valerie definitely is filling on top of the world because she's one. Like this is what this is all she wanted. Look, this is what they do. This is what they do. Valerie says she's willing to put the past in the past, which is so ironic. Valerie is the one who's like, listen, I will forgive you for calling my boss on me and getting me demoted.

36:35I will forgive you for taming up with my ex husband. I will forgive you for taking a restraining order out on me. Let's just have a fresh start. Nice. And John's like, yeah, you're right. I am a horrible person. So by that summer, the two were living under Valerie's roof with her son, but it wasn't long until history started to repeat itself. She still refused to accept John's daughter. Nothing changed. She's still the same person. She just finally got John to like her back again. And she's also like, not only do I not accept your teenage daughter, I don't want her living with us. And once again, John allows her to have her way. He told Dateline, quote, I was so in love with her. Anything she wanted me to do, I would do. So John arranged for his teenage daughter to go live with some friends of his because Valerie, his cuckoo girlfriend, doesn't like her.

37:40And yet Valerie continues to fixate on his relationship with his daughter. She begins stalking his daughter on social media to find out where she was. But he gave in time. She wanted to know everything she was posting, doing who she was hanging out with. It got to a point where Valerie asked John to cover up the tattoo of his daughter's name that he had. And he did it. But John admitted he didn't always feel like he had a choice. If he didn't obey Valerie's rules, she would take drastic measures. He knows this just as well as anyone. She would lock him out of the house. There were nights she forced him to sleep in his car. It was getting wildly out of control. It was abusive. John isn't sure how to stop it or get out. And then comes the accident. Around fall of 2018, Valerie was transporting an inmate at work and they tried to attack her. They almost broke her shoulder leading to an extensive surgery. And after that, she was in bed for about three weeks.

38:40John ends up playing the role of caretaker, tending to her every need. That also meant dishing out her medication, a cocktail of painkillers and Xanax. And around the same time, the divorce proceedings between her and Isaiah were coming to a head. And when Valerie learned that Isaiah was actually entitled to some of her pension, she lost it. She started saying things to John about how Isaiah had to go. He was ruining her life. He was going to take her money. Now, at first, John believed it was just the medication she was on, like talking like this that she wasn't thinking straight. But as time went on, Valerie healed the medication subsided. She doesn't stop talking about getting rid of her ex-husband. Valerie even started asked, John, do you know anyone who could help me out with this? John's like, no, but she didn't let up. And eventually she makes an even crazier proposal.

39:42One day, Valerie said something to John along the lines of, you know, if your daughter was dead too, we could just live with my two kids. We'd be rid of everyone that's causing us issues and we would be happy. Oh my gosh, this is crazy. And it was in this moment that apparently everything changed for John despite the abusive, mentally, emotionally relationship he was in. This was no longer a wife who was upset about a divorce. This was a crazed maniac who was now threatening to kill his own child to make their life easier. But instead of going to the police, John tries to just diffuse Valerie. He even pretended to entertain it. Maybe she would change her mind. So he told Valerie he found someone who could do the hit. Take out both Isaiah and his daughter for seven grand.

40:43Now, of course, John was not actually speaking anybody. Nor did he have any intention of falling through with it. But Valerie apparently did. She took seven thousand dollars out of the bank and gave it to John for the supposed hitman. And instead, John goes straight to the FBI. Now after telling them about Valerie's plan and going as far as to take out cash for it, the police come up with a plan of their own and you have to imagine like he shows up to the FBI. He's like, I have the literal cash. She's been talking about hiring a hitman to kill her ex husband and my daughter. And I was just trying to see if you know, maybe she was just going through something. But then she actually took the money out. She literally wants to do this. So they want to record John's conversations with Valerie going forward. So now John is kind of becoming a little informant as he should. So starting around May 8th, 2019, nine days before Valerie ends up getting the knock on

41:44the door from police, John started wearing a wire around the house. It's a giant risk, but he committed to do the part. I'm just like, never mind. I'm not going to say anything because it's mean turtish John. Okay, I'm going to say just Kim. I'm going to say don't say it. Not going to say it. If the roles reverse in this as a girl, we would be talking about how it's emotionally abusive relationship. It is. He's being groomed. It's true. He even went to get matching till death tattoos with her to just keep up this charade. Oh my God. I mean, I get that. He's trying to be safe. He's trying to die. Yeah. Meanwhile, a clueless Valerie keeps hounding him. When are these murders going to happen? Like I paid you. I gave you the money. When is this going to happen? So John puts his daughter into hiding and pretended to text with the hitman saying, hey, the hit would happen near Isaiah's office in Long Island. John even got the two of them on tape talking about how the murder.

42:47John even gets the two of them talking on tape about how the murder would not look as suspicious at that location since it was in a bad part of town. And as for John's daughter, Valerie seemed equally as eager to remove her from the equation with these hits. And told her that that situation was a bit trickier since the hitman didn't want to kill her near her school. So Valerie, again, this is all on tape because he's now working under cover. Like how does she just believe all this? Like she's kind of dumb. I think she's a little egoistic. That's what I mean. The fact that she's just thinking all this is actually happening is hilarious. It's funny. Maybe he's a good actor. Maybe he's doing a good job undercover. She's crazy keeping up the charade. So she's like, oh, let me tell you how we can murder your daughter. At one point, she says, quote, OK, so she leaves school. You said he knows exactly where she lives, right? So what's the problem? She told John, he should quote, run her the F over.

43:51How about that? OK. At this point, the FBI have they have the entire Sunday. Right. They just need a cherry on top. I just don't rest her at this point. And they had to work fast because if Valerie didn't think John's hitman was going to follow through, she might just do it herself, find one of her own. So around May 16th, the FBI went to one more person that they need to clue in on this undercover operation. Isaiah. Isaiah himself agents went to his parents house where he was now living and told him, hey, so yeah, we've actually been working with John, you know, the guy that your wife cheated on you with because she's trying to kill his daughter and you. And we've been working undercover with him. We have it all on wire. She's really trying to get you killed. So we got to fake your death. Would you agree? Can you help us so we can put her in jail? He's like, sure. Yeah. Obviously. So on May 17th, they led Isaiah to the same parking lot that was discussed between John, Valerie and the supposed fake hitman.

44:54They had him sit in his car. They tossed broken glass on him while he hunched over in the passenger side. And then they took dozens of photos from all different angles to find the best one. And at this point, you might be thinking you've heard this story before, but we have covered two cases now on this show of women who have hired tried or attempted to hire hitman and or hitman to take out their husbands. And then in one of the other cases, the husband also participated in a fake photo shoot to try to make it seem real. And then the other one, there was no photo shoot, but they did lie to her. So that might be why you're being like this sounds familiar. I guess we have quite the M O here. I also think how uncomfortable would that be to like be with all these FBI agents you don't know, you show up to this location. They're like, hey, look dead. Yeah. Play dead. Like, look dead. We got to get a good picture. It's just so weird and uncomfortable. So over at Valerie's house, John, her boyfriend, knew what the plan was.

45:56He was waiting with baited breath, knowing a knock would be coming to Valerie's front door any minute. He also knew Isaiah was not dead, but Valerie doesn't know this. She thinks the hit has gone through. They go over there. They knock on the door. They tell her that Isaiah's dead. We're back to the beginning around 10 a.m. that knock finally comes in the same knock we talked about earlier. Valerie welcomed the officers in their home. She pretended to be shocked and heartbroken, even offered up a possible motive. Remember, she's like, well, maybe robbery over his fireworks side hustle. Remember now, after the waterworks subsided, the officers left and said they'd return with more news later. But now it was John's time to shine, though he didn't have to do much almost as soon as the door shut behind the officers on tape. She told John, delete every conversation you had with the hit man.

46:57But before you could even do that, a text message came in from the supposed hit man that was actually the FBI agent. It was the photos that had been taken of Isaiah that proved he was dead. So John's like, look, the hit man just sent me the photos. I confused the wider dragging the song so long so that it's an open. There's no way to argue it. There's no difference. Okay, but it's like how? Also, you don't think this is a little fun for them? Sure, but she's kind of going to redact this. Like, okay, like chop chop. But most of the time they're investigating a murder that has already happened. This is the one time they actually get to save something. But it's also dangerous to be just letting a drag on the song. Like, okay, let's move on. Let's arrest her. Chop chop. I think their excuse would be we don't want her to be able to have any angle in quote. Okay, but there's zero angles at this point. It's kind of ridiculous. Sorry, just I'm just saying. What if false and she grabbed a knife right now and stabbed John? It's like, oh, actually, if we would have came in ten minutes earlier, that wouldn't have happened. Yeah. I don't know, just same. So he shows her the pictures, the fake pictures.

47:59Okay. Just like, look, he's actually dead. Again, all of this is caught on tape. But after hearing Valerie tell John to delete the photos in their conversation, the police are like, okay, we don't want them actually deleting anything or her deleting anything. So we mean to move in. So seconds later, again, they just walked out seconds later. There's another knock at the door. They open it. Valerie is placed under arrest. When she gets to Brooklyn where she's booked, this is when they finally tell her, oh, Isaiah is actually still alive. They let her go this whole time being confused. Her plot was a dud. John had been wearing wires. Isaiah was in on the whole thing. Everyone was in on the whole thing and you're being charged with conspiracy to commit murder. I'm curious to see what her conviction is because obviously hiring a hitman is horrible, but she didn't kill anyone. So I feel like there tend to be all over the place. Sometimes there are five years, sometimes there are 25 years.

49:00Yeah. They never seem to be very consistent. Yeah. I would agree with that. So I know you said there's no defense, but our girl Valerie comes with a defense. I mean, I'm sure they all do. She blames it solely on John. Or in her defense team say John coerced Valerie to make these statements knowing the FBI was listening in. They said he sent her up. They said any conversation she entertained was purely statements of fantasy about killing her ex and John's daughter and John saw this as an opportunity to exploit her vulnerability. They also argued that no money ever changed hands outside of John and Valerie. They're like, no, like a hitman never actually got this money. She just gave the money to John, which normally in these cases, they do try to get the money transfer. They take it a step further saying actually, it seems like Isaiah and John have conspired to work together to ruin Valerie's life. Like aren't we here in these two seem to be targeting her?

50:02You know, sometimes people just don't deserve a defense. Like I get we live in a country where that's obviously important, but you have unique situations like this where it's like, okay. Yeah. We're just going to waste taxpayer dollars and whatever, but I don't think it's going to funny. And then another thing they bring up is they're like, also why did it take John so long to go talk to the police when she apparently had been talking about killing these people for a while? And the prosecution has a reason for that. They say he was in love with Valerie. He was under her spell. There was a little abuse, a little grooming going on there. Maybe Lacey's going on, yeah. He didn't want to ruin things with her. He really wanted to see the best in her, but clearly when he realizes she's dead serious, he does go to police and that's all that matters. So at the end of this in April of 2021, Valerie decides to change her plea and she agrees to a plea deal. The murder for higher charges were dropped and instead she pleaded guilty to obstruction

51:04of justice for encouraging John to delete that photo and the text messages. Valerie was given four years in prison. Told you guys, which is exactly exactly what I said. They tend to be all over the place. You plan to hire someone and you can get out of jail in four years. It's insane. The thing that really, really sent it over was the fact that no money was actually ever given to a hitman. That was like, you know, that's ridiculous thing. Like how much more evidence do you need? That is so. Even though they were trying to cross their teeth and dot their eyes, they still ended up leaving a loophole that to them proved this was not a murder for higher. No one was ever hired. Oh, okay. Did it go to jury? Was it just a judge who decided that she pleads her, did they give her a plea deal? Oh my God. They didn't want to take their chances. You guys are kidding me right now. So she pleads and she apologizes and she says, quote, can't believe I allowed myself to get to that place, that dark place.

52:05Isaiah is one of the few victims we get to cover who actually walked away with his life. Yeah, seriously. And he says he owes that to John for going to the FBI. Ballerary was released in October, 2022. Since then, Isaiah says, I'm actually still constantly looking over my shoulder because she tried to kill me once, like what's stopping her from doing it? She only had four years in prison. But the situation did come with a silver lining. He was given custody of his son an outcome that could have gone completely different, had Valerie Cincinnati actually gotten her way. And that is the attempted murder of Isaiah Carvalo. That's the crazy part is you can go to jail for like 15 years for dealing marijuana, but you attempted to kill someone for years or robbing a bank where you don't have a few years. You'll change when you get out. Like how? That's a little fresher. How is this not the same thing as armed robbery? Yeah. Like how is it like hiring, attempting to hire a hitman, not the same thing as going

53:12somewhere with a deadly weapon and using threat? Yeah. I don't know. It's a crazy case. Thank you guys so much for listening and we will see you next time with another one. I love it. I hate it. Bye.