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NBC's Dateline recently aired The Phantom, an episode that featured the harrowing Kristil Krug case from 2023.
Kristil Krug was a 39-year-old Colorado mother, living with her husband (Daniel) and three children. Her happy life turned into a living nightmare when she started receiving stalking texts from an ex-boyfriend. Things took a further tragic turn when the police found her beaten body in her home's garage.
Was Kristil Krug actually receiving messages from an ex or was someone catfishing her? The full synopsis of the Dateline episode reads as follows:
''The murder of a Colorado mother seems to point to an obvious suspect, but as investigators dig deeper, they uncover an elaborate plot filled with secrets and deception that turns the entire case upside down.''
More on Dateline: The Phantom in our story.
Dateline: The Phantom - A complete timeline of the harrowing Kristil Krug case
Dateline: The Phantom is unlike any other true crime episode from the show. It will make you think about the limitations and the dark side of technology, and how a minor neglect can escalate into tragedy for someone. Sadly, Kristi Krug had to die for communications companies to cooperate with the police. Here is a comprehensive look back at the full investigation into the Kristil Krug case.
When the nightmare began
According to a police report, Kristil Krug began getting stalking messages from ''Anthony'' on October 2, 2023 (10 weeks before her murder). Kristil assumed Anthony to be Jack Anthony Holland, a man she dated for about one year before college. Anthony's texts suggested that he is interested in getting back together with Kristil Krug and also expressed his wish to meet her. The first text message sent to Kristil and revealed on Dateline is as follows:
“Hope its OK I looked u up. I go to boulder every few weeks and thought we could hook up. U game?”
While Kristil initially ignored the messages, they quickly escalated and became creepy. The police reported that Kristil Krug received regular texts from 'a.holland' email address. They were not only s*xually explicit, but some of them also contained her family photos. Krug started to become paranoid when Anthony sent “saw u at dentist'' on November 8, suggesting that he is physically stalking her.
Dateline victim Kristil Krug took measures for her safety
As Kristil Krug's cousin revealed on Dateline, Krug was of a highly analytical mind and hired a private investigator. She even kept a stalker's log and managed to uncover Anthony's last address in Utah. However, Martinez, the police detective, could not show up at Anthony's house without a warrant. Krug also armed herself and involved the Broomfield Police Department to send undercover officers for her security.
On November 12, 2023, Martinez applied for warrants for Google, TextNow, and Verizon to release information on the phone numbers and email addresses (which were neglected).
The tragedy
On December 14, 2023, Daniel Krug summoned the police for a welfare check at his house. This was when they found Kristil Krug's body in the garage, beaten and fatally stabbed. Police reports showed that Krug was repeatedly beaten in the head to death, following which she was also stabbed in the chest.
This shocking tragedy escalated the case tenfold, and Martinez again served warrants to Google, TextNow, and Verizon. This time, the companies responded within an hour, and the IP address matched with Daniel's work building. Additional searches also revealed that Daniel had purchased a burner phone, which he used to send threatening messages as 'Anthony'.
Justin Marshall, the lead homicide detective, said in a statement to Dateline:
“If the information that we learned pursuant to exigency had been made available in mid-November, we would have known that every communication had originated at the same location — Dan’s work address. We wouldn’t have been as far behind.''
The aftermath
The police concluded that Daniel started stalking his wife because she wanted to end their marriage. However, he later murdered her out of fear of being found out. Daniel was arrested two days after Kristil Krug's murder, but he pleaded not guilty on three charges of first-degree murder, stalking, and criminal impersonation.
While Daniel's lawyers tried their best to mislead the court, he was convicted of his wife's murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
While Kristil's family finally got the closure they deserved, they are still mourning their daughter's death and are enraged by the system's failure. In a statement to Dateline, Kristil's cousin expressed her regret as:
“We have a system failure that needs to be addressed. “They could’ve arrested him weeks before she’s killed, and she could’ve safety planned in a way that could’ve saved her life.''
You can stream Dateline: The Phantom on Peacock.
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