I apologize if this has already been discussed elsewhere and am actually shocked it hasn't been brought up on here so maybe I haven't searched in the right place.
I saw this investigation on 20/20 a few weeks ago and it was very clear to me what had happened and I've been researching it on a daily basis since then.
General outline of the case (Ill try to be as objective as possible):
Nancy Pfister, a wealthy, middle-aged woman lived in Aspen and had a house that she would occasionally rent out when she was traveling. She had a long standing friendship with a woman named Katherine Carpenter, who was also her accountant/assistant. The interactions between the two seemed friendly for the most part, but there is a past instance in which Pfister had someone call the police because she was afraid of Carpenter's actions (they had both been drinking).
In the fall of 2013, Pfister wanted to travel to Australia for a few months and rent her house out while she was gone. She found an older married couple (Dr. William 'Trey' and Nancy Styler) to rent the place and also watch her dog while she was gone (the husband is a retired doctor). The Stylers had wanted to become involved in the community there and were introduced/familiarized with many of Pfister's friends, including Carpenter. The Stylers were very friendly with Carpenter and communicated on a regular basis. Carpenter had keys to the house and would stop by Fridays to pick up the dog for the weekend and simply visited on many occasions.
At some point the interactions between Pfister and the Stylers deteriorated and after a few months, Pfister decided to return home early to essentially evict the Stylers in late February 2014. Communication was done primarily through email and Carpenter was acting as the intermediary between Pfister and the Stylers. About a month before her return, Carpenter emailed Pfister to tell her she had Pfister's computers, had changed the locks on Pfister's bedroom closet and had both keys for it. The reason for this was because Carpenter claimed she saw Dr. Styler with his computer connected to Pfisters computer and also thought they might be going through Pfisters belongings in the closet. It doesnt appear that Carpenter confronted them about these matters or brought it to their attention.
During their move out of Pfister's house, the Stylers traded cars with Carpenter for ~3 days because Carpenter's car is larger.
The Stylers rented a room at a local motel and stayed there while they planned to move the remainder of their stuff out of Pfister's house over the next few days.
Pfister returned the 22nd and was picked up by Carpenter at the airport in the Styler's Jaguar. Pfister and Carpenter went back to Pfister's house, unpacked and Carpenter spent the night. The following day, Carpenter returned the Styler's car and gave the Styler's the "demands" of Pfister, which included paying more money in order to retrieve the rest of their items. Carpenter also went shopping at Whole Foods, City Market and RJ PaddyWacks, which is a pet supply store. Carpenter again spent the night at Pfister's house and returned to work at Alpine Bank Monday morning (the 24th). Carpenter claimed that Pfister told her to put a sign up saying that she was jet-lagged and tired and not to bother her.
That same day (the 24th), Dr. Styler was pulled over for speeding and was unable to find the registration or insurance paperwork for the Jaguar.
Later that afternoon, Mrs. Styler contacted Carpenter and said that Pfister wasn't legally justified in evicting the Stylers and keeping their possessions so they were going to go back up to the house with a legal order to get the rest of their property (they had contacted a lawyer regarding the issue). When they arrived they saw that the moving truck they had rented was blocked off by another car they did not recognize so they turned around and left the area.
Mrs. Styler again contacted Carpenter on the 25th and stated that they got the majority of their stuff, but Pfister was nowhere to be seen and there was a strange smell in the house and sheets from Pfister's bed were removed. She was worried that the dog was left alone and said that she cleaned and did the dishes. It was witnessed by others that the Stylers had hired movers and they had helped with everything during the period in which the Stylers were at Pfisters house. When the Stylers arrived on the 25th, there was a handyman at the house named Merlin.
On the 26th in the early afternoon the Stylers sent a text to Carpenter and said that they had moved everything out, but would be back later that evening to pick up the snowblower and some garbage bags they had left outside. Around that same time while Carpenter was working at Alpine Bank, she talked to an acquaintance about how she was worried that the Stylers did something to Pfister because she hadnt heard from Pfister the day before. Later that night, Carpenter entered Pfisters house while on the phone with the same acquaintance. Carpenter specifically noted that prescription bottles were missing and found that the closet door was locked. She said she was going to go back to her home to retrieve the key for the closet. Upon her return to Pfister's house, she opened the closet and found Pfister dead inside thoroughly wrapped in sheets. She left the area and called 911.
In the 911 call, Carpenter accused the Stylers of doing it and also stated that she noticed a small amount of blood on Pfister's bed headboard. Carpenter later told one detective she saw the Styler's car in the area around the time, but then later told a different detective that she didnt see them at all on the 26th. Carpenter also mentioned seeing so much blood on Pfister's head, but the manner in which Pfister was wrapped and how detectives found Pfister would have made it impossible for Carpenter to have seen Pfister's head.
Within 24 hours Carpenter was in possession of $6000 cash belonging to Pfister and valuable rings from a safe deposit box owned by Pfister. She later had her son hide the items in a shed on their property.
On the 28th, a garbage bag with a bloody hammer was found in a public trashcan within the vicinity of the Stylers motel and right outside of Alpine Bank. Inside that bag were Pfister's prescription bottles, her passport and other various identifying items, the Stylers car registration and insurance information for the Jaguar, inspection info for the Jaguar, another registration for one of the Stylers other cars, miscellaneous paperwork in the Stylers name and also receipts from RJ Paddywacks and City Market with a date stamp of Feb 23rd @ 5:56PM.
Within the next few days, the Stylers were first arrested and then Carpenter was later arrested a number of days after them. The police searched the Stylers motel room and confiscated numerous items. Later in the day that the Stylers were arrested, a motel employee contacted police because he found the key to Pfister's closet in plain sight outside of the Styler's room.
After Carpenter was arrested, the police searched her mothers place and found a receipt in a purse that was from City Market with a date stamp of Feb 23rd @ 5:56PM. While being given a polygraph examination, Carpenter acknowledged it belonged to her.
Items found in Carpenters home allegedly included documents with Pfisters name and bank account information, a notebook and notepad that had Pfisters personal information and a box with documents related to Pfister. Also searched was a storage facility used by Carpenter which, according to court documents, contained a light blue towel with a stain; a small hammer; a left shoe with a red stain; a hose with a red stain; a lint tray from a dryer; and a pillow with a red stain.
Police suspected the Stylers from the start primarily based upon Carpenters accusations and the fact that there was a dispute over money. Dr. Styler has a severe medical condition akin to ALS and it unlikely he would have been able to accomplish this on his own so they assumed his wife had helped him. After spending months in jail in deteriorating health and knowing that both he and his wife would face a long and drawn out criminal trial, Dr. Styler confessed on the condition that they let his wife go and have her exempt from prosecution at any later date. Once prosecutors agreed to the conditions, he stated that he acted alone and because of this, both his wife and Carpenter were released.
Another major fact about the case is that during her trip, there was a $600,000 transaction involving Pfisters bank account and its whereabouts is still being investigated from what I could find. I'm sure you can guess which bank it was...
Aside from Dr. Styler's confession (which was CLEARLY confabulation if you look/listen carefully), I couldn't see ANYTHING that pointed to them committing any crime. It seemed very apparent to me that they were very convenient pawns in this well-orchestrated chain of events that was probably planned for months, if not years. HOWEVER, after scouring the internet and contacting numerous people, Ive found that I might actually be the ONLY person who is certain of the Stylers innocence. I'm not sure if people just heard a confession and just assumed it was accurate and figured the case was solved or if there is some glaringly obvious fact or piece of evidence that I'm overlooking.
I would love to hear any explanations as to why people think the Stylers murdered Nancy Pfister.
I saw this investigation on 20/20 a few weeks ago and it was very clear to me what had happened and I've been researching it on a daily basis since then.
General outline of the case (Ill try to be as objective as possible):
Nancy Pfister, a wealthy, middle-aged woman lived in Aspen and had a house that she would occasionally rent out when she was traveling. She had a long standing friendship with a woman named Katherine Carpenter, who was also her accountant/assistant. The interactions between the two seemed friendly for the most part, but there is a past instance in which Pfister had someone call the police because she was afraid of Carpenter's actions (they had both been drinking).
In the fall of 2013, Pfister wanted to travel to Australia for a few months and rent her house out while she was gone. She found an older married couple (Dr. William 'Trey' and Nancy Styler) to rent the place and also watch her dog while she was gone (the husband is a retired doctor). The Stylers had wanted to become involved in the community there and were introduced/familiarized with many of Pfister's friends, including Carpenter. The Stylers were very friendly with Carpenter and communicated on a regular basis. Carpenter had keys to the house and would stop by Fridays to pick up the dog for the weekend and simply visited on many occasions.
At some point the interactions between Pfister and the Stylers deteriorated and after a few months, Pfister decided to return home early to essentially evict the Stylers in late February 2014. Communication was done primarily through email and Carpenter was acting as the intermediary between Pfister and the Stylers. About a month before her return, Carpenter emailed Pfister to tell her she had Pfister's computers, had changed the locks on Pfister's bedroom closet and had both keys for it. The reason for this was because Carpenter claimed she saw Dr. Styler with his computer connected to Pfisters computer and also thought they might be going through Pfisters belongings in the closet. It doesnt appear that Carpenter confronted them about these matters or brought it to their attention.
During their move out of Pfister's house, the Stylers traded cars with Carpenter for ~3 days because Carpenter's car is larger.
The Stylers rented a room at a local motel and stayed there while they planned to move the remainder of their stuff out of Pfister's house over the next few days.
Pfister returned the 22nd and was picked up by Carpenter at the airport in the Styler's Jaguar. Pfister and Carpenter went back to Pfister's house, unpacked and Carpenter spent the night. The following day, Carpenter returned the Styler's car and gave the Styler's the "demands" of Pfister, which included paying more money in order to retrieve the rest of their items. Carpenter also went shopping at Whole Foods, City Market and RJ PaddyWacks, which is a pet supply store. Carpenter again spent the night at Pfister's house and returned to work at Alpine Bank Monday morning (the 24th). Carpenter claimed that Pfister told her to put a sign up saying that she was jet-lagged and tired and not to bother her.
That same day (the 24th), Dr. Styler was pulled over for speeding and was unable to find the registration or insurance paperwork for the Jaguar.
Later that afternoon, Mrs. Styler contacted Carpenter and said that Pfister wasn't legally justified in evicting the Stylers and keeping their possessions so they were going to go back up to the house with a legal order to get the rest of their property (they had contacted a lawyer regarding the issue). When they arrived they saw that the moving truck they had rented was blocked off by another car they did not recognize so they turned around and left the area.
Mrs. Styler again contacted Carpenter on the 25th and stated that they got the majority of their stuff, but Pfister was nowhere to be seen and there was a strange smell in the house and sheets from Pfister's bed were removed. She was worried that the dog was left alone and said that she cleaned and did the dishes. It was witnessed by others that the Stylers had hired movers and they had helped with everything during the period in which the Stylers were at Pfisters house. When the Stylers arrived on the 25th, there was a handyman at the house named Merlin.
On the 26th in the early afternoon the Stylers sent a text to Carpenter and said that they had moved everything out, but would be back later that evening to pick up the snowblower and some garbage bags they had left outside. Around that same time while Carpenter was working at Alpine Bank, she talked to an acquaintance about how she was worried that the Stylers did something to Pfister because she hadnt heard from Pfister the day before. Later that night, Carpenter entered Pfisters house while on the phone with the same acquaintance. Carpenter specifically noted that prescription bottles were missing and found that the closet door was locked. She said she was going to go back to her home to retrieve the key for the closet. Upon her return to Pfister's house, she opened the closet and found Pfister dead inside thoroughly wrapped in sheets. She left the area and called 911.
In the 911 call, Carpenter accused the Stylers of doing it and also stated that she noticed a small amount of blood on Pfister's bed headboard. Carpenter later told one detective she saw the Styler's car in the area around the time, but then later told a different detective that she didnt see them at all on the 26th. Carpenter also mentioned seeing so much blood on Pfister's head, but the manner in which Pfister was wrapped and how detectives found Pfister would have made it impossible for Carpenter to have seen Pfister's head.
Within 24 hours Carpenter was in possession of $6000 cash belonging to Pfister and valuable rings from a safe deposit box owned by Pfister. She later had her son hide the items in a shed on their property.
On the 28th, a garbage bag with a bloody hammer was found in a public trashcan within the vicinity of the Stylers motel and right outside of Alpine Bank. Inside that bag were Pfister's prescription bottles, her passport and other various identifying items, the Stylers car registration and insurance information for the Jaguar, inspection info for the Jaguar, another registration for one of the Stylers other cars, miscellaneous paperwork in the Stylers name and also receipts from RJ Paddywacks and City Market with a date stamp of Feb 23rd @ 5:56PM.
Within the next few days, the Stylers were first arrested and then Carpenter was later arrested a number of days after them. The police searched the Stylers motel room and confiscated numerous items. Later in the day that the Stylers were arrested, a motel employee contacted police because he found the key to Pfister's closet in plain sight outside of the Styler's room.
After Carpenter was arrested, the police searched her mothers place and found a receipt in a purse that was from City Market with a date stamp of Feb 23rd @ 5:56PM. While being given a polygraph examination, Carpenter acknowledged it belonged to her.
Items found in Carpenters home allegedly included documents with Pfisters name and bank account information, a notebook and notepad that had Pfisters personal information and a box with documents related to Pfister. Also searched was a storage facility used by Carpenter which, according to court documents, contained a light blue towel with a stain; a small hammer; a left shoe with a red stain; a hose with a red stain; a lint tray from a dryer; and a pillow with a red stain.
Police suspected the Stylers from the start primarily based upon Carpenters accusations and the fact that there was a dispute over money. Dr. Styler has a severe medical condition akin to ALS and it unlikely he would have been able to accomplish this on his own so they assumed his wife had helped him. After spending months in jail in deteriorating health and knowing that both he and his wife would face a long and drawn out criminal trial, Dr. Styler confessed on the condition that they let his wife go and have her exempt from prosecution at any later date. Once prosecutors agreed to the conditions, he stated that he acted alone and because of this, both his wife and Carpenter were released.
Another major fact about the case is that during her trip, there was a $600,000 transaction involving Pfisters bank account and its whereabouts is still being investigated from what I could find. I'm sure you can guess which bank it was...
Aside from Dr. Styler's confession (which was CLEARLY confabulation if you look/listen carefully), I couldn't see ANYTHING that pointed to them committing any crime. It seemed very apparent to me that they were very convenient pawns in this well-orchestrated chain of events that was probably planned for months, if not years. HOWEVER, after scouring the internet and contacting numerous people, Ive found that I might actually be the ONLY person who is certain of the Stylers innocence. I'm not sure if people just heard a confession and just assumed it was accurate and figured the case was solved or if there is some glaringly obvious fact or piece of evidence that I'm overlooking.
I would love to hear any explanations as to why people think the Stylers murdered Nancy Pfister.
