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The Dateline episode The Man Who Talked to Dogs followed the murder of Mark Stover, who had built a billion-dollar empire with his dog training business along with his wife, Linda Opdycke. The couple were in a relationship for 11 years, after which they decided to get married.
Unfortunately, the marriage did not work out, and it was only after 3 years of being a married couple that Linda decided to call it quits. She wanted a divorce and while it shattered Mark, the couple ended their marriage.
Mark allegedly did not take this well and became obsessed with his ex-wife, as Linda claimed. She even said that she was living in constant fear of Mark. It should also be noted here that following her divorce from Mark, Linda was dating Michiel Oakes, who was initially her bodyguard.
Despite the misgivings that Linda had about Mark, it was he who lost his life as he was murdered in his own house. With the ensuing investigation, shocking truths came to light and it was revealed that Oakes had killed Mike.
Let us now explore the harrowing details of the murder of Mike Stover as shown in Dateline.
5 harrowing details about Mark Stover’s murder as shown in Dateline
Mark did not have an easy childhood
Mark’s sister, Vicky Simmons, revealed that her brother could be difficult to deal with, given the kind of upbringing they had. She said that their father passed when Mark was only 18 months old and then they lost one of their sisters as well.
This led to their mother making sure that the remaining children grew up learning how to survive and given the kind of a child Mark was, their mother had a difficult time with him.
Talking about how Mark was troubled and caused their mother tension, Vicky said,
“He was on bad path. He got kicked out of high school for smoking dope ... I think he was stumbling in the dark for a number of those years.”
However, his life changed when Gunther, a German Shepard came into his life.
Also Read: Dateline: The Road Trip- 5 harrowing details about Dr. Teresa Sievers murder, revealed
Mark and Linda’s marriage was not well received by Linda’s mother
As Mark found his true calling after meeting Gunther and devoted his life to dogs, whom he could handle so well, he eventually met Linda Opdycke through his work. Linda’s father was the multimillionaire Wally Opdycke and though Linda initially did not like Mark, she had faith in his capabilities and thus decided to stick with him for matters related to her dog.
The duo, however, soon fell in love and started a relationship. They flourished, both in their personal and professional life, and after 11 years of dating, they decided to get married. While Linda’s father seemed fine with that, her mother, Nancy Corbin, never approved of Mike as she believed he was no match for her daughter and had a darker personality looming inside of him.
Mark and Linda’s marriage did not last
Linda’s mother’s words unfortunately proved to be true as the couple began falling out after their marriage. Linda said that the abusive side of Mark’s personality began to emerge and she got more and more scared of him. Talking about the same, Linda said,
“The last few years of being in a relationship with him was incredibly difficult. The more the business began making money, the more obsessed he became with money... I would buy maybe a $5 item at the grocery store and he would be in a rage about it... For example, an avocado. That was too much money, really upset him.”
Ultimately, it became too much for Linda and she decided to end their marriage; a decision that did not sit well with Mark.
Also Read: Dateline: The Good Husband - 5 harrowing details about Tom Kolman's murder, revisited
Linda accused Mark of stalking her
As Linda told Mark of her decision, he told her, in Linda’s own words,
“You've got war! I'm not going to grant this to you. You've got a big fight on your hands.”
As she wanted to get away from him, Linda moved to Winthrop, Wash. She let Mark remain on her family’s property Kiket Island and even told him that he could keep the business all to himself as she simply wanted to start her life anew.
However, Mark allegedly did not want that and he kept looking for Linda and sent her threatening voicemails.
Also Read: Dateline: Open Water- 5 harrowing details about Micki Kanesaki murder, revisited
Mark was killed by Michiel Oakes
While Linda claimed that Mark made her life difficult, when Mark got murdered, the whole thing took a turn. The police began to investigate and in the process, Linda’s boyfriend, Michiel Oakes’ name came up. It turned out that the two were in a relationship and Oakes was initially her bodyguard.
As shown in Dateline, as the investigation proceeded further, the police, with the help of a couple of witnesses, ultimately unearthed the shocking truth. It turned out that it was Oakes who had killed Mark at his home. Oakes went for a meeting with Mark at his house, and he wore bulletproof vests.
Oakes initially claimed that he had shot Mike for self-defense, but his argument fell flat, and eventually he admitted to killing Mark and using the Swinomish Channel to get rid of the body. As the jury found Oakes guilty, he was given a sentence of 26.5 years.
Dateline can be streamed on Peacock.
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