Dateline: Who is Ellen Snyder and what do we know about her crimes? Disturbing details of a 2002 homicide, revealed

Dateline exposed the unsettling story of Ellen Snyder and the murder of her husband, Mike Snyder. It was one of Albuquerque’s long-buried and horrible crimes that had been lingering for years. For years, family, friends, and authorities could not solve the disappearance of Mike. He was a well-established auto mechanic in New Mexico who disappeared in 2002, leaving people wondering whether he had just walked off his life or if there was something wrong with him.

But things were not what they seemed to be about his disappearance, as it was a lot more shocking, darker, and far-reaching.

In one of the episodes of Dateline, this grim case was brought to the limelight. It showed how the wife of Mike, Ellen Snyder, was the centerpiece of this story the whole time. The disturbing truth of what truly happened on that fateful day back in 2002 was brought to light by new revelations regarding the crime, the motivation behind the act, and the final incident involving the discovery of Mike's death.

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The disturbing details behind the 2002 homicide by Ellen Snyder

Mike Snyder was shot by his wife, Ellen Snyder, during an argument at their home. Mike was 43 years old and living with multiple sclerosis, which left him disabled. On that fateful day in 2002, Ellen ended up shooting him eight times, killing him.

The nature of their argument and intentions that drove Ellen to act are some of the factors that have received mixed testimonies. Ellen continued to point out a long history of problems in their marriage that included Mike allegedly being abusive and possibly involved with a gay lover. However, many people close to Mike had doubts about these claims and thought they did not match the man they knew.

After shooting, Ellen buried Mike in the backyard of their house under a cement pavement close to the garage. She also took the help of her teenage son from her previous marriage, as well as the heavy equipment operators who dug the grave without their knowledge.

Mike Snyder’s disappearance had been unsolved for eight years, in part because New Mexico had a statute of limitations of six years on second-degree murder at the time. This loophole in the law complicated the matter since it was tough to prosecute criminals at the time the case was finally unearthed.

This case was turned around when Ellen's son from a previous marriage told a friend what had occurred. The friend later reported to the police and exposed the long-held secret, and there was a fresh investigation. It was proven that Ellen deliberately killed Mike and went out of her way to disguise the crime by destroying evidence and lying that Mike was not dead.

The task of prosecutors was to demonstrate premeditation as the sentence of first-degree murder had no time limit; however, some points revealed the murder was likely the result of a spontaneous encounter rather than planned.

Ellen Snyder ultimately entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge that she consented to waive the statute of limitations for. She was also found guilty of other crimes that were connected with tax fraud and evidence tampering.

The judge gave her an 11-year prison sentence, the maximum term in the plea agreement, but she was paroled after approximately eight years. The sentence has been criticized as being too soft on one of the most terrible crimes that has already taken years of deceit.

Additionally, the tragic story sparked legislative efforts in New Mexico to change the statute of limitations for specific homicide charges.

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Dateline NBC episode: “The Secret”

On September 30, 2011, Dateline aired an episode hosted by Lester Holt, with reporting by Josh Mankiewicz, called The Secret. The episode delved into a chilling case of the disappearance and murder of Mike Snyder and how the net of plots his wife tied up contributed to concealing the truth for almost eight years.

The Dateline episode started with a seemingly stable lifestyle of the couple in a high-end Albuquerque neighborhood. Highly regarded mechanic Snyder disappears in 2002, and this leaves his family and friends in the dark.

Dateline revealed the conflict within the family, especially the strain on their marriage caused by Ellen's growing career as a service manager at a Kawasaki dealership. The more the inconsistencies came to play out, the more detectives became suspicious. Some neighbors mentioned seeing Ellen and her son digging in the backyard, but without any concrete evidence, the case weakened.

The enquiry took a crucial turn in 2010 when an informant surfaced. This man was a friend of Ellen's teenage son, who confessed to knowing about Mike's murder and burial.

Ellen and her son had a dramatic undercover encounter, which was described by Dateline. Wired with a hidden microphone, Ellen's son approached Ellen pretending to just catch up, which finally caused her to slip. The video revealed long-held facts and sparked a final round of investigation.

The detective work led to the former backyard of Ellen Snyder, which was broken through by reinforced concrete. Three days later, they found a tarp-covered body of Mike Snyder.

Dateline captured Ellen’s eventual confession: on January 11, 2002, after suspecting that Mike had a gay lover, she shot him during an argument because the situation had started to get out of control. She proceeded to hide his body in the backyard with the assistance of her teenage son.

The episode revealed one of the main legal turns: New Mexico's six-year statute of limitations (on second-degree murder) had already expired by the time the body was discovered. Prosecutors had to bring first-degree murder charges, but they did not have evidence of premeditation.

In the later stages, Ellen pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as well as tampering with evidence and tax fraud offenses, under a plea bargain, and got an 11-year sentence, as she waived the limitations.

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