48 Hours: Grapes of Wrath - How a $800,000 business deal in Napa Valley ended up in murder

The 48 Hours: Grapes of Wrath is among the most horrifying murder-suicide cases from 2015. For years, the true-crime TV show has been featuring cases that will shock people, and this one is about the tragic ends of two businessmen.

It was on March 16, 2015, when businessman Emad Tawfilis and vineyard owner Robert Dahl decided a meet at Dahl Vineyards in Napa Valley. This meeting was scheduled after the two men got into conflict following their partnership and eventually planned to make a financial settlement.

However, little did anyone know that the day would result in the breaking point of a bitter and messy financial fight between the two men. It all started with Emad Tawfilis, a wealthy Silicon Valley investor willing to expand his business into wine.

So he teamed up with Robert Dahl, an ambitious entrepreneur from Minnesota. Dahl had once run a mold removal company before moving to Napa with dreams of making it big in the wine world. At first, he worked on the lower end of the business, bottling unlabeled wines often called "shiners."

As explained in the 48 Hours episode, Tawfilis trusted Dahl and, in 2013, gave him $800,000 in cash, reportedly stuffed inside a gym bag, to help build the winery. Over time, his total investment grew to $1.2 million, which was supposed to fund the launch of Dahl Vineyards. Dahl had convinced him that using cash would secure better deals and quicker returns. But the partnership soon fell apart.

Keep reading to find out what happened next.

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48 Hours: Grapes of Wrath uncovers the horrifying murder-suicide case from 2015

The 48 Hours: Grapes of Wrath episode follows the 2015 murder-suicide case involving an investor and vineyard owner. As explained earlier, Emad Tawfilis gave his partner a whopping $800,000 in cash, hoping that Dahl would use it only to build the business and bring greater returns.

Soon, Tawfilis realized that Dahl had been dishonest and wasn't using the money for the wine business. Reports later showed Dahl had been spending lavishly, putting cash into other ventures like a craft brewery that was losing about $100,000 each month.

As revealed in the 48 Hours episode, Dahl also had a shady past in 1989. He’d been convicted of felony swindling in Minnesota and even served jail time. Many others had accused him of not repaying debts, including former partners and contractors.

When Tawfilis found out that one of Dahl’s companies, Patio Wine, didn’t even exist anymore, he sued him in 2014. The court took the case seriously: a judge hit Dahl with an 18-count contempt order. Tawfilis even hired private investigator Dawn King to dig deeper. King uncovered a trail of lawsuits, unpaid bills, and theft accusations that stretched back to Dahl’s earlier years in Minnesota.

Also Read: 5 chilling facts about Morgan Metzer's home intrusion case, explored as shown on 48 Hours

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The deadly meeting which resulted in a murder and suicide explored in 48 Hours

The 48 Hours episode continues and reveals that on March 16, 2015, Tawfilis and Dahl decided to meet at the Dahl Vineyards and try reaching an agreement. Their lawyers joined in over a conference call, and at first, things seemed calm. It looked like they were close to settling.

But then, out of nowhere, Dahl changed his mind. He offered a smaller amount, which was much less, and refused to pay the amount he had earlier agreed to pay to Tawfilis. Since this was unplanned and enepeted, the lawyers ended the call, hoping the men would reach a conclusion on their own.

Moments later, the situation turned violent. Dahl pulled out a .22-caliber handgun with a silencer and shot Tawfilis inside the winery. Wounded and panicked, Tawfilis ran outside through the vineyard while calling 911, telling the dispatcher that Dahl was trying to kill him.

Dahl then chased him in his SUV, firing more shots as he drove. The 48 Hours episode explains that the sound of gunfire was captured on the 911 recording. Tawfilis was hit multiple times. Four bullets that weren’t immediately fatal and one that struck his head. When police arrived, they saw Dahl get out of his vehicle, walk up to Tawfilis’s body, and shoot him again, finishing the attack.

After killing Tawfilis, Dahl fled. Police chased him into the hills near the vineyard, where he eventually crashed into a gate on private property. As officers closed in, Dahl shot himself in the head, ending his life.

Also Read: Dateline: Out There in the Dark - A complete timeline of the Brandy Daniels murder case, revisited

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What happened after Robert Dahl killed Emad Tawfilis and himself

The 48 Hours episode goes deep into the case and also reveals that the police found a handwritten manifesto inside Dahl's office. He tried to make Tawfilis sign an agreement at gunpoint and acted like a victim.

Not only this, the authorities also found disturbing items inside Dahl's car, which explained that he had already planned to kill Emad Tawfilis. Hundreds of bullets, duct tape, gloves, a tarp, flex cuffs, and a magnetic gun holder, what police later called a "murder kit."

Since the incident was incredibly disturbing to witness, the enforcement and emergency responders involved have to take stress debriefing sessions. Later, people associated with Dahl through business also admitted that they could have been his next target.

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Also Read: Dateline: The Necklace — 5 harrowing details about private investigator Taylor Wright's murder, explored

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