Brutal throat slashing of Utah mom takes investigation on an unexpected path

Tiffany had already been rushed to the hospital, but before she left, she changed her story — telling deputies that it was actually her estranged husband, Kris Ertmann, who attacked her.Sgt. Bob Thompson: She told Deputy Sorensen ... And I'm thinkin', "How did that blood get there?"The detective learned Tiffany and her husband had first met up at a secluded park a mile away, where investigators found a second scene.Sgt. Bob Thompson: I could see the blood … So now I know, "OK, this must have happened outside of the car."Erin Moriarty: And before she started driving.Sgt. Bob Thompson: Right. she's trying to say I slit her throat.According to Ertmann, Tiffany was taking antidepressants:KRIS ERTMANN: She has a history of being s — suicidal.Sgt. Bob Thompson: people don't commit suicide that way. Erin Moriarty: And what's going through your head?Sgt. Bob Thompson: That he did this.Ertmann was arrested and charged with attempted murder — attempted because somehow, despite the devastating injuries, Tiffany Mead survived.Erin Moriarty: Show me where he cut you.Tiffany Mead: He started over here [holding her finger to the left side of her neck and dragging it across] ... He went straight acrossed [sic], and he stopped right before my artery on this side.It's been more than five years, but Tiffany is permanently scarred.Erin Moriarty: Every time you look in the mirror, are you reminded of that night?Tiffany Mead [nods to affirm]: I avoid looking in the mirror as much as possible.Lt. Jen Daley: You know, this girl is strong. And you have Kris Ertmann saying one thing and you have Tiffany Mead saying a completely different thing.Lt. Jen Daley:  He said, she said.They didn't even have the knife used to slit Tiffany Mead's throat. …  It's very difficult without some physical evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.Adding to Daley and Thompson's concerns — a month after the attack, the judge received an unsigned letter:Sgt. Bob Thompson [reading letter]: "I am a good friend of Tiffany, but I can't see letting this happen to Kris for his kids' sake."The letter writer claimed Tiffany had cut her own throat and was trying to frame Kris Ertmann —  exactly what Ertmann had told police.Erin Moriarty: Any side do you think, "Oh my God, that could be true"?Sgt. Bob Thompson: We took this as something that was credible. Tiffany Mead: I didn't even know anyone named Mary at that time.Erin Moriarty: Who do you think arranged for that letter?Tiffany Mead: There's no doubt in my mind that Kris did it.Davis County attorneys Richard Larsen and Jason Nelson also suspected an Ertmann connection, but they still needed proof to tie Ertmann to the letter and to bolster their attempted murder case against him.Richard Larsen: We were absolutely convinced that he had inflicted the injury. Erin Moriarty:  What's your fear if he gets out?Lt. Jen Daley: He'll try it again.Lt. Jen Daley: I was angry, internally angry … I couldn't even wrap my head around it that you could do that to a human being in front of a child, and a year later you're free to walk around.Richard Larsen: She looked us — at us and said, "That's not good enough."Jen Daley knew that making sure Kris Ertmann stayed locked up was the only way to keep Tiffany alive. Lt. Jen Daley: …and I said … "I want to start listening to jail phone calls."A month after Ertmann was arrested Daley started listening to his phone calls — something every inmate is warned about repeatedly.JAIL CALL RECORDING: Hello, this is a prepaid collect call from [Kris] an inmate at Davis County Jail, Utah. What's been the toughest for you?Tiffany Mead: Getting use to all my new fears, things that most people don't think twice about.For Tiffany Mead, memories of that harrowing July night are everywhere.Tiffany Mead: Driving at night, the sound of dripping water …Erin Moriarty: Dripping water, why?Tiffany Mead: Because I heard my blood dripping in the car into a pool.Lieutenant Jen Daley was convinced that keeping Kris Ertmann behind bars was the only way to keep Tiffany safe. Do you want me to send it?KRIS ERTMANN: Yeah, you can do that.Erin Moriarty: You got him.Lt. Jen Daley: On obstructing charges. Davis County detectives Bob Thompson and Jen Daley were convinced that, even from jail, Kris Ertmann was still trying to kill his wife — they just couldn't prove it.Lt. Jen Daley: We were done at that point, or so we thought…And then out of the blue, Daley heard from an "old friend," a jailhouse informant who had given her information in the past. Tell him to come here for a second.Erin Moriarty: That's Kris Ertmann?Det. Jim Kelly: Uh-huh [affirms].Erin Moriarty: And he's taking a look at you because he wants to get — Det. Jim Kelly: He wants to see …  who is this person that's gonna come do this for me.But looking is all Ertmann does. Prosecutor Jason Nelson got the call.Jason Nelson: I was not very happy … we weren't gonna be extorted by someone trying to leverage us with evidence of a potential first-degree felony.They quickly moved the snitch out of the cellblock, but Bob Thompson was convinced he'd already tipped off Ertmann.Erin Moriarty:  It's all over.Sgt. Bob Thompson: That's what it felt like. He knows it's a gamble with long odds: would Kris Ertmann be willing to talk to him?Erin Moriarty: You don't know whether he's gonna pick up the phone or not, right?Det. Jim Kelly: No. Jen Daley:  I can hear myself talking, "Please, Lord. JIM KELLY]: What's up, man?KRIS ERTMANN: Not much … how are you?HIT MAN [DET. JIM KELLY]: Is that right?KRIS ERTMANN: Yeah.HIT MAN [DET. Exactly.Ertmann had backed out before, so Kelly needs to find out if he is really serious about killing his wife.Erin Moriarty: Some people say, you know, "I want to kill my wife." And then other people say, "I want to kill my wife."Det. Jim Kelly: Right.Erin Moriarty: What kind of things did you ask him to make sure he really wanted her dead?Det. Jim Kelly: Uh-huh [affirms]. Det. Jim Kelly: Three or four times tried to say things like … you know, "we're going all the way?" …and making him affirm that.Erin Moriarty: And he just says, "Yeah, go have fun."Det. Jim Kelly: Yeah. JIM KELLY]: Does that work?KRIS ERTMANN: Yeah.Kelly had the green light from Ertmann — but just to be sure, he asked again:HIT MAN [DET. JIM KELLY]: So just so we're clear, I'm talking about, you know, we're not – there's no way to come back from it once I do it.KRIS ERTMANN: I know.HIT MAN [DET. JIM KELLY]: OK, well I'll — I'll — I'm planning on taking care of it this weekend.KRIS ERTMANN: Kay.Back in her office, Daley gets the news she had been praying for.Lt. Jen Daley: And I went from complete almost despair that we lost this case to elation like I haven't felt [snaps fingers] in a blink of an eye. Lt. Jen Daley: That man committed more felonies in the jail than he did when he was free.It took Daley and Thompson almost a year to get the evidence they had hoped would keep Kris Ertmann locked up, but the case would never go to trial.Erin Moriarty: Disappointed?Lt. Jen Daley: No. For Tiffany. Four years after his plea, Kris Ertmann appears before the parole board.Jen Daley makes the 150-mile drive to be at the hearing – and to support Tiffany.Lt. Jen Daley: I, in my career, have never attended a parole hearing, and I won't miss one of his … I hope that I can help keep him there as long as possible.Erin Moriarty: He's that dangerous?Lt. Jen Daley: Yes. At Tiffany's side, is Butters, her very protective emotional support dog. Jen Daley: I don't know why the cards fell the way they did … I'm just grateful it all worked out for Tiffany Mead, because I got involved into this job in 1989 to help people and I can say I helped one person.Kristopher Ertmann was not granted parole.