Sounak Sengupta
NBC’s ‘Dateline: Secrets of the Snake River’ chronicles how Charles Capone murdered his estranged wife, Rachael Anderson, in Moscow, Idaho, in April 2010. While her body was never found, Charles’ accomplice, David Stone, testified against him in court and helped authorities sentence the perpetrator. David was also sentenced for his part in helping Charles cover up his crime.
Who is David Stone?
Ex-army man David C. Stone, of Moscow, Idaho, served as a volunteer firefighter after retiring from the army. He was arrested in early 2013 on murder charges of his friend’s wife, Rachael Anderson. According to reports, Rachael was last seen on April 16, 2010. Hailing from Clarkston, Washington, the 40-year-old mother of four was going through a separation from her husband, Charles A. Capone. The couple was married in September 2009, but Rachael filed for divorce within three months of their wedding.
On April 16, 2010, she went to her estranged husband’s car repair shop in Moscow, Idaho, to check on the status of her borrowed car, a white 1997 GMC Yukon. After she failed to show up at the pathology lab, where she worked for two consecutive days, one of her daughters filed a missing person report with the police. Her missing vehicle was found near a bus station in Lewiston, Idaho, on April 21. Before her disappearance, Rachael had filed numerous complaints against Charles’ continuing harassment and stalking.
In April 2013, Charles and David were charged with Rachael’s murder and taken into custody. However, David struck a plea deal with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Charles in his murder trial. He pleaded guilty to failure to contact the coroner or law enforcement to report a dead body in Latah County court in December 2013. His defense counsel claimed he was not part of the murder but came in after it happened. His attorney also claimed David wanted to come forward with information about the crime.
During his plea hearing, Prosecutor Bill Thompson stated, “Mr. Stone has given information that we hope will help the investigators locate Rachael.” According to court documents, David claimed he saw Charles choking his estranged wife on April 16. He also alleged Charles threatened his family, so he helped him dispose of the body. He aided Charles in putting the corpse inside the back of the latter’s Dodge Durango SUV and covered her body with garbage bags. They drove to a bridge and threw the body into the Snake River, weighing it down with heavy snow chains.
David Stone is Out of Prison Now
Afterward, they abandoned her vehicle in Lewiston. He testified in the trial that he was afraid of Charles after allegedly seeing a Satan-like look on his face when he was strangling his estranged wife to death. According to court documents, David claimed prison time had changed him and desired to do the right thing. However, one of David’s former co-workers for the city of Moscow, Christopher Porter, alleged David originally asked him to kill his wife, Alisa Stone.
Latah County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Tim Besst claimed Christopher alleged David promised him $10,000 to kill Alisa, who had a substantial life insurance policy. However, he called it off and told Christopher he and Charles had made a pact to murder each other’s spouses. Tim said, “In early March 2010, Stone contacted Porter and advised he no longer needed him to kill his wife. Stone said that he and Capone had concocted a scheme to kill each other’s wives.”
As a part of his plea deal, David was sentenced to a minimum of three and a maximum of seven years in prison on October 29, 2014. However, due to the time served, he was eligible for parole in a year and a half. The sentence was passed, keeping in mind the number of years Rachael was missing before the case got a breakthrough. During David’s sentencing, Rachael’s daughter, Amber Griswold, read a statement accusing him of covering up the crime.
She said, “His decision has affected us greatly.” David apologized to the family and stated, “To say that I could imagine how you feel would be wrong. What I would like to say is that I am genuinely and sincerely sorry.” He has since claimed he now lives in remorse. According to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole in Boise as well as recent reports, the 52-year-old was released to Idaho’s Region 4 on July 27, and today, he continues to reside in Idaho’s Region 4.
Read More: Rachael Anderson Murder: Where is Charles Capone Now?
