Florida Woman Allegedly Stabbed Husband, then Swiped on Dating App as He Lay Dying
At 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 12, Danielle Redlick called 911, her voice shaking and broken, to report that her husband, Michael, 65, had suffered a “tragedy” in their upscale home in Winter Park, Florida.
“He’s stiff, and he might have had a heart attack,” she told the dispatcher.
But soon, the 45-year-old mother of two’s story changed: “We had an altercation, and he stabbed himself, and I ran into the bathroom,” she said, sniffling. “And I tried to help him, I saw him lying in blood.” When the dispatcher asked her to clarify what killed Michael — a heart attack or the stabbing — Danielle said, “Probably the stabbing triggered it, I guess. I don’t know.”
Upon arrival at the couple’s home, officers found a bloody scene that appeared to have been tampered with, according to an arrest affidavit.
Michael Redlick, an executive at the University of Central Florida who once worked for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, was dead on the floor near the home’s entrance. He was surrounded by a pool of blood, with bloody towels beside him and a trail of blood leading to the master bedroom.
One officer noted that the home smelled like bleach.
The Medical Examiner declared her husband’s death to be a homicide, the affidavit states, noting that his stab wounds were not self-inflicted and that he suffered injuries that appeared to be defensive.
Authorities also noted Danielle waited 11 hours to call 911. During that time, police allege she checked messages on a dating app on her phone.
Three weeks after Michael’s death, Danielle was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
“They didn’t have a perfect marriage . . . everybody knew that,” a neighbor tells PEOPLE in is current issue. “But murder? Nobody saw that coming.”
Friends told authorities that there have long been signs of trouble. One friend told police that Danielle was allegedly violent, according to the affidavit. Another friend said that before his death, Michael had described his marriage as “rocky” and would hide his steak knives, saying, “as long as I hide the steak knives everything will be fine.”
A judge ordered that Danielle be held without bond. She has pleaded not guilty.
Her attorney did not return PEOPLE’s message for comment