Officers Realize There's A Body In Families Trash Can

Whoa. Gun. There's all sorts of blood in her. She's in there. [Music]. Is that what you hear? Police are at the home of Keith and. Amber Zado. Amber's mother, Betty, had.

called 911 earlier that day, asking. officers to check on her daughter. Amber. hadn't responded to any calls or. messages in 2 days, and Betty feared the. worst. The officers arriving at the. scene initially expected a routine. missing person's call, but what sat. inside the house would be far more. twisted and disturbing than anyone could. have imagined. Show me your hand. I got. the dog. Get off the Get around. He's.

reaching. Stop. When police first arrive at the Zado. home, they encounter something strange. Only Keith and Amber's children answer. the door, claiming their parents are. gone and they don't know when they'll be. back. This alarms the officers, so they. decide to call Betty, the person who. originally dialed 911, hoping she can. shed some light on the situation. But. what Betty reveals to officers would. quickly transform this simple welfare. check into one of the town's most.

disturbing mysteries yet. Hello, Betty. It's officer Crowley Aurora Police. Department. I'm at the Milan Circle. address. I'm talking to the kids. What's. your relation to this family? Just so I. know. I'm their grandma. She didn't take. her truck cuz you can see it in the. driveway. Yeah, I was wondering about. that. Her phone, the bank card is still. in the house. Yeah. Betty, how many. times you think she's done that? Well, she's come over to my. house oh, three, four times this year.

All right. But it's always been for a. day. What I'd like to do is start where. we always start, and that's the last. place she was seen. I I don't want to. ask these kids for permission to go in. the house. So, I may have to call your. son-in-law, talk to him on the phone, and see if he'll give me permission to. go inside. Betty would mention that she had been to. the house earlier that day and noticed a. few strange details. Amber's car was. still in the driveway of the home and. her phone was left inside the house, as.

well as all of her credit cards and. important documents. These minute. details would prove to be much more. important later on. Shortly after this. call, Betty and her husband Ronald. arrived at their daughter's home to meet. with the police. It's here where Betty. would reveal what she believed really. happened to her daughter. Hey, I'm. officer Carly. Thanks for coming out. So, I called him, but I left him a. message. He didn't pick the phone up. So, can't just go inside without a. warrant. I either need a warrant or his. permission to go inside the house. And.

that's not your residence, and I can't. ask you for permission. Obviously, the. kids are too young for me to ask for. permission. So, just want to do it the. right way before anything else. If that. makes sense. Yep. When's the last time. that you saw the dog? Saturday afternoon. when I came to pick up the kids. They. spent the night instead of the event. Was there any problems at that point or. was it just pick the kids up? The kids. are gonna stay at her house for the. weekend. Everything was fine. My she. said hope you feel better. We'll see you. tomorrow. Okay. Pretty. Had there been.

any drinking at that point? Drink in the evenings. Okay. Oh. Yeah. And then no sign that there have been. any argument or anything like that. As. you can see, I'm not I don't want you to. think that I jumped any conclusions, but. I'm just trying to put like a kind of a. piece of timeline and kind of behavior. as well, too. According to Betty, the. family typically had dinner together on. the weekends. And although Keith and. Amber occasionally argued, things never. turned physical, at least not to her. knowledge. But with no parents home,

officers still couldn't legally enter. the residence. So, they continued. speaking with Betty, hoping she'd reveal. something that could explain Amber's. sudden. disappearance. Betty explained that. Amber was highly active in the. community, volunteering at her. children's elementary school as the. treasurer of the parent organization, and everyone around town knew her as a. family first mother, spending most of. her time with her children. That's why. Amber's disappearance was so puzzling. It simply wasn't like her to. spontaneously leave her kids alone. But.

this confusion would only heighten when. Betty showed officers something that. made the case even more unsettling. A. note suggesting Amber might have harmed. herself. The note is what concerns me. Do you mind if I read that? I don't have. a problem. Is this a copy of it or is. this Yes, I made a copy. I don't know. This is the original. Okay. I didn't. want to just from my report. I'm going. to have to take the original for. evidence for property at some point. Okay. Okay. But I'm going to sit and. read this in the meantime. The note Betty had discovered earlier.

read in part, "I haven't been the best. wife. I deserve everything and all the. horrible thoughts you think of me. I. have always had in my mind. Make sure my. mom has to identify my body. Everyone. would be better off without me." At. first glance, the note appears as a. tragic heartfelt goodbye. Amber. seemingly detailing years of self-doubt, despair, and emotional pain. But. something about this note didn't align. with what police knew about Amber.

According to her mother, whenever Amber. and Keith fought, Amber always stayed at. her parents' house and had never just. disappeared. Certainly not without. contacting her family first. And. although Betty clarified that her. daughter had a history of self harm, ideiation, and emotional struggles, the. notes tone sounded off, especially the. disturbingly specific instructions for. her own mother to identify her body, which seemed strangely cruel to.

investigators. These unusual details. hinted at the chilling possibility that. the note wasn't exactly what it. appeared. They began to suspect Amber. might not have written these words. freely. Something wasn't. right. So based on these signs, officers. decided to speak with Betty again. This. time on the oddities found inside the. note. Do you think it's something that. would he harm her in any way? Would you. have any either information or inkling. that that might happen? No. Okay. Um, if.

she had walked away, I mean, I'm I'm. just wondering where else or how far she. could have gone. She has walked to our. house. We're in Yeah. um when she's been drinking and I. understand. Of course. She's made it. I. agree. That's why I'm so concerned. And. that's where that's why I search Sunrise. Park cuz that's the closest park to. here. And I don't know why in my head. it's you're not going to do it in your.

home. Yeah. Betty would also find the note strange, but doesn't think Keith would have. anything to do with Amber's. disappearance. At this point, nothing. makes sense. So, without any further. clues, officers decide to move to the. next step in their investigation, searching the. property. As we know, without the. homeowner's permission, officers still.

can't go inside the house without a. proper search warrant. Fortunately, by. using the kids, they were able to get on. the phone with Amber's husband, Keith, hoping to get the permission they. needed. Dad, the cops are here and they want to. talk to you. Is this Keith? Yes, this is. Keith. Keith, this officer Crowley with. you police. How are you? I'm all right, officer. How are you? I'd like to go. over a couple series of events and then. ask you for permission if I could go in.

inside your house. And where we start uh. searches is the last place she was seen. and that would be your house. But I. don't I don't have a warrant and I'm. asking you for permission to go inside. your house. Do you? Go ahead, man. Luckily, Keith seemed to have no problem. letting officers search his home. While. one officer continued his conversation. with Keith, another would immediately. begin searching the property, completely. unaware they were both minutes away from. uncovering the horrifying truth. But. before we continue, it's worth noting.

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of the officers was about to search the. family's home with no idea just how. close they were to discovering the. gruesome scene hidden in plain sight. So. Keith gave uh verbal consent for us to. go in the house. I'm just going to go. in. You want to come with me? I will. Because I'd like you to show. Okay. Um. where did you find the notebooks? In the. garage. In the garage. They literally. live there. Okay. Let's start there. So Keith, what's I mean in a bigger.

picture, what's going on, man? Leav. drink a lot. We fight a lot and she. likes to walk away or actually drive. away. and I took her keys from her so. she couldn't drive away. She grabbed her. purse, slammed her phone on the ground, and left. And I have not seen her since. Did you actually see her leave or you. just assume she left? No, sir. I I. begged her to stay on the couch. We We. thought a little bit more. And I said, "Well, whatever happened. You sleep out. here on the couch. I'm going inside.". And I went inside. I don't know. It was. like 2 or 3 in the morning. And then.

when I woke up at 9 10:00 Sunday. morning, there was a letter on the. [ __ ] coffee table. Has she ever. threatened uh to hurt herself in the. past or was this No, she has. The last 5. years it's been her go-to. And that's what I try to telling grandma. and grandpa too is she does this to me. all the time almost every weekend. She'll leave you and then she won't come. back till Monday or Tuesday and then my. kids get all mad at me because I let her. back in. I hope you don't mind me asking. your personal questions, but is it.

possible she's seeing somebody else and. she stays there? Oh, for sure. For sure. She's been That's another thing. That's. why we fight all the time. She's been. seeing somebody for about 5 years now. and we don't pay our bills. We're always. That's why we always fight, man. Based. on Keith and Betty's statements, both. were aware Amber had struggled. emotionally in the past, but neither. realized just how serious the situation. had become or how tragically wrong their. assumptions would soon turn out to be. Where exactly was the book when you.

found it? Right there. Okay. And you. recognized her handwriting? Yes. Okay. It's unmistakable. Okay. Okay. This. argument I mean you guys are arguing. about about her seeing somebody or you. guys arguing about lots of stuff. Well, that always comes into play. But, uh, this particular argument was about her. not paying my mortgage for 6 months. I. gave her all my money. I just cash my. check and she pays all the bills. And. lately, she hasn't been paying her. bills. Hey, Keith, did it get physical. at all or was it just arguing? Yeah,

we've been physical a couple times, but. I want to say Saturday night. No. You. know, this is a fair question. Is there. any chance that you you hurt her in any. way? I [ __ ] hope not, dude. I [ __ ]. hope not. But yeah, there's a. possibility. I mean, I'm hoping not, but. like I said, I don't remember [ __ ] Me. and Amber go through this [ __ ] all the. time, and she always comes back. Okay. Only thing I'm worried about is she. always goes to her [ __ ] mom's house. She doesn't go anywhere. She does go. somewhere else, but she always ends up. at her mom's house. Listening carefully. to Keith's account, the officer.

initially found him credible as he. described an argument about money and. Amber's alleged infidelity. But the. officer's concern grew when Keith. admitted he'd been heavily intoxicated. and couldn't remember if things turned. physical. Suddenly, the possibility that. Amber hadn't actually walked away became. disturbingly real. Officers now. suspected more clues were hidden inside. the home. A drunken fight, maybe getting. physical. Whatever happened, the answers. were likely somewhere.

inside. He gave me permission. I have it. on my uh my body camera. Recorded it. Okay. He uh gave me full permission to. look look in the house. So, are these let them out? Are they. generally friendly? Normally, yes. Okay, good. Just cuz. Yeah. Did we look in. there? It doesn't open. It doesn't look. like it's been disturbed cuz there's. debris on the top of it. But we You want.

to work on opening it? Yeah. Close. As officers continued their search, their body language indicated something. was off. Careful not to alarm the. family. Neither officers openly. acknowledged it yet, but they both. recognized the unmistakable stench. hanging in the air, the odor of decay.

At this point, the only thing they were. looking for was the source of that. disturbing smell. Top finish off up top. Kind of like a. flat. No, it's just that. it's right here. Oh,

whoa. Yeah. Gun. Magazine. Okay. Do. you do we want to call someone? Yeah. One second. Okay. Yeah. Um, wow.

We'll have you stay inside, please. [Music]. She's in there. Inside the trash can in the garage was a. gun and underneath that was Amber's. decaying body with a gunshot wound to. the head discarded with the rest of the.

garbage. This was now a crime scene and. police immediately began to suspect that. this was far from self-inflicted. But when I searched the house, my feel. was, you know, something funky. I looked. in that trash bin, okay? There was. nothing in it. Okay. Well, when was. that? When did I was here about 9:00. a.m.? Okay. There was not I would have. noticed that. Okay. The top was the.

carpets and because of the smell, I. literally. I'm going to forensic files. Um it was. not there. So, somebody's been here. Okay. And the kids were sleeping and. they are unaware of being here. Okay. But so somebody Okay. did that. Okay, what's your first name? Ron. Ron, can. you get the kids? They're still waiting. your house. Strangely, although Betty.

had noticed the same foul odor of decay. earlier, she didn't realize its. implications. Instead, believing, or. perhaps choosing to believe, that all. this concern was simply because of the. firearm police discovered in the trash. can. Betty didn't know it yet, but her. statement would soon cast serious. suspicion on her, making detectives. question whether she herself had played. a role in Amber's death. For now, though, officers had to secure the area. and move Amber's family away from the.

gruesome scene. I don't want the kids to. see. I mean, this. isn't. So, if you lift here, I mean, obviously there's a gun there, but if. you lift here, you can see her foot. It's a It's a She weighs about. 160 170. lbs. Right there where your hand. is there. body. So I called Reno. He's calling MCU and I.

know he sent you, too. While officers. waited for the major crimes unit to. arrive and process the scene for. forensic evidence, they began to grapple. with several troubling inconsistencies. surrounding Amber's family. Keith had. admitted to being heavily intoxicated. the night Amber disappeared. He couldn't. say for certain whether his argument. with Amber had turned violent, only that. things had gotten heated and that much. of the night was a blur. But Keith. wasn't the only one officers considered. a suspect. Amber's mother, Betty,

claimed she had checked the trash can. earlier that morning and had seen no. sign of Amber's body or the gun. Yet, just hours later, both appeared right. there in plain sight. Exactly where she. swore she'd already searched. Even. stranger to officers was Betty's. demeanor. Despite the horrifying. situation unfolding around her and the. possibility that her daughter had taken. her own life, she remained unusually. calm, at times even casual. And then.

there was the note supposedly written by. Amber. Its wording struck investigators. as strange, too composed, almost. performative. Still, in a situation as. dark and desperate as. contemplating, people sometimes write in. ways that defy logic or expectations. At. this point, everyone's stories seemed. suspiciously incomplete, and anyone. could be responsible in the eyes of. detectives. Investigators started. realizing that Amber's murder might be.

far more complicated than they initially. thought. So, to investigate these disturbing. possibilities, police knew they'd soon. need to sit down with Amber's family and. carefully interview each member to. uncover who might be hiding something. But before doing that, officers needed. to finish one crucial step, a final. thorough search of the Zotto home, carefully looking for any signs of. violence or attempted cover up. And sure. enough, it didn't take long before they.

started noticing blood spatter. throughout the house. So, a lot of these carpet pieces meant I. wonder if the carpet went all the way. back or. I see like spattered length. So, the. book was right here. Well, there was. space open with the last page showing. and that bill was on top of it. No red. pen.

Um, get blood on the light switch. [Music]. Uh, we've. got a lot of blood on the sink. Yeah. So, we left I mean, we left it the. way we found it as well, too. you know, the way the door was when we searched, but yeah, she found a little bit of. obvious blood in the kick in the kitchen. and the sink as well, too. So, within.

minutes, officers found clear evidence. that something violent had occurred. before Amber's body ended up in the. trash can. Their first sign that foul. play was likely involved. Additionally, the major crimes unit documented. critical forensic evidence, including. the silver revolver found over Amber's. concealed body, blood spatter around the. trash can, and debris deliberately. placed to hide her remains. Despite. these findings pointing towards foul. play, detectives still needed clarity on.

whether Amber's death was a premeditated. act or the result of a heated argument. that spiraled violently out of control. But they had two major issues preventing. them from answering this crucial. question. First, Keith was nowhere to be. seen and his phone had gone completely. unreachable. Second, and most important, detectives had yet to determine exactly. who was responsible because at this. point, several people remained under. suspicion, including Amber's mother and. even her own children. Police didn't.

know it yet, but in the coming hours, these questions would be fully answered, and the case would take a completely. unexpected turn. So to fill in these gaps, all of Amber's. closest family members were transported. to the police station for questioning. Detectives hoped they could uncover each. member's potential motives, credibility, and who was hiding secrets and finally. reveal who might actually be responsible. for Amber's murder. I don't want to falsely alarm you, but I.

also believe in being as honest as we. can uh with with loved ones. Um, we may have we may have found Amber. No. Yeah, but we're not but we're not. we're not we're not completely sure yet. Ron, just just do. it. Just Just do it. We're not pointing. fingers or making accusations at this. time, but is there any reason Keith.

would hurt her? I don't know. I I really don't. I I. wished I could tell you more. I told. him, either accidentally or. intentionally, would he hurt or kill. her? If he were to mistreat her, would. she protect him? She probably would. So, I went out there and I seen the. letter or the it was a 4 and 1/2 page. note and it's very important. I looked. in that trash bin. Okay. It had an. ungodly trash odor. Okay.

honestly. But I tried to there's some. carpet squares were on the top. I tried. to lift up make sure there was nothing. under it. Okay. But I thought I don't. know what I was expecting but I did. So. I absolutely looked in that bin. Okay. And that'll be important. Um and didn't. see anything and I went out. Let's talk. a little bit about I guess the fighting. and what do you do you know why?

Yeah I do know why. Okay. My mom cheats. on my dad and like she's not good at it, I guess. And like so he finds out and. then they just go at it because she like. tries to lie about it. Like he has. evidence of her doing it and so like. it's like Yeah. Okay. And the last. Saturday is in just a couple days ago. Yeah. La last Friday was the last time I. seen her. Okay. Did you talk to her at. all on the phone or anything? No, she. came over for dinner because my grandma. was cooking dinner and she came over.

had and then she left and then Yeah. And. then you were there from Saturday. Friday all the way to Sunday. Okay. After speaking with Amber's family, investigators finally had some clarity. Betty remained adamant she'd checked. that trash can that morning, insisting. the gun and Amber's body weren't there, which made her case seem more. suspicious. Meanwhile, Amber's father, Ronald, was shocked by his daughter's. death and found it was hard to believe. Keith was capable of harming her. As for.

Amber's children, Annabelle explained. they'd both been staying at their. grandparents house during the weekend, clarifying why they didn't hear the. gunshot that ended their mother's life. However, Annabelle's unusual calmness. and detailed awareness of her parents'. unstable marriage raised some concerns. about exactly what else the children. might know or could still be protecting. After concluding the interviews, investigators were preparing to search. for Keith Zadto, the one critical piece.

still missing. But just before they. could act, they received unexpected news. from Keith's sister, Susan Russ. It. turns out Keith had visited her just. hours earlier, and what he confessed. would finally expose the horrifying. truth behind Amber's. murder. I saw my brother park up there. and so I got the dogs out and I didn't.

know the front door was open and he just. came in and I seen it on his face and he. goes, "You know, I don't hate you." I. knew that was the first thing out of his. mouth. And he said, "I know. I love you. You're my best friend." Okay. And then I. said, "It's Amber that's trying to keep. us apart." Okay. And he just looked at. me, started crying. I said, "Oh my god, what do you do?". Okay. And I asked him if Amber was. okay. And then he looked at me and he. said, "You know what? I don't remember.

anything." Okay? I just remember waking. up and seeing her on the ground. Okay. I asked him what the hell happened to. tell me what he did. Okay. Said they were they had been. drinking and biting all night. Okay. It. was over money. I guess Keith opened. some bills and found out that the house. had been foreclosed on. Okay. that Amber pulled out the.

gun and and he hit my brother with it. and then Keith said he took it away. and it just happened like that. He said. he blinked his eyes and that was it. He. said I blinked my eyes too and I opened. them and I hit her on the ground. Susan's testimony finally cleared up. everything for investigators. Keith. himself admitted he'd woken up from a. blackout to find Amber dead and openly. acknowledged a violent confrontation.

that spiraled completely out of control. It was now clearer than ever that Keith. Zadto was at the heart of Amber's. murder, and it was time to track him. down. Just a couple of hours after. detectives left Susan's house, Aurora. police received a call they never. expected. Keith Zadto had surfaced at. his sister's house again, ready to. surrender. By now, officers knew Keith. had already killed once, and for all. they knew, he was still armed and. dangerous. So, they came prepared. A.

SWAT team descended upon the location, ready to take Keith down if he made even. the slightest wrong move. It's got to be up one more. It's this. one, right? 79. 79's this one. All. right. Sorry. Ready? Watch out, Bubba. Show me your hands. Front door, ma'am. Come to me. Out. I see him. I see him. Come to me. Come on out. Turn right.

Point to me. Come to me. I got a guy. out. Got that. Hands up, everybody. Hands up, please. Very good. Walk to my. voice. Go. Hands up. Stop. Stop. Just shoot. Just walk towards me. Nice. and easy. Okay. All right. We'll talk to. you in No, no, we're not. We're not. We're not gonna hurt him. Okay. Walk. towards me. Put him down. No. No. No. Just keep.

walking. Walk towards this guy. Very. good. You're good, man. Very good. Very. good. Very good. Right here. Right there, man. Yes, sir. Long guns. Yeah. Feel free to go. ahead. Hold on. It all looks normal. Bro, you. just want to hold it. I'll be back with. you. [Music]. You guys good? Is that your mom? And who else is the. other lady? Gotcha. Okay, man. We.

haven't. Very good. We appreciate you. coming out, bud. Yes, sir. We'll explain. it all to you. Okay. I heard. Okay, buddy. Okay. Okay. There you go. remember much. Finally, after hours of uncertainty, Keith Zadto surrendered to Aurora police. without incident. He was immediately. taken into custody and formally. processed for the murder of his wife, Amber. Keith would go on to admit to.

killing Amber late Saturday night, claiming his gun accidentally went off. during a drunken argument over money and. infidelity. Though he insisted he. couldn't remember placing her body in. the trash or concealing the crime, Keith. accepted responsibility for her death. However, Betty's earlier statement. surrounding the infamous trash can. remained unclear, and investigators were. never able to determine why she didn't. see the gun or Amber's body that. morning. In May of 2021, Keith Zadto was.

found guilty of first-degree murder and. sentenced to life imprisonment without. the possibility of parole.