Viswa Vanapalli
Stacy Feldman was pronounced dead at her home in Denver, Colorado, in March 2015. However, the investigation into the 44-year-old’s death went on for years before a resolution was found. NBC News’ ‘Dateline: The Sisterhood’ focuses on the differing opinions regarding what happened to Stacy and why her husband, Robert Feldman, was viewed as the suspect.
Stacy Feldman’s Cause of Death Remained a Mystery Until 2017
Stacy Feldman had been living in Denver, Colorado, at the time of the incident. She’d married Robert Feldman in Montreal, Canada, around a decade prior in 2005, and they had a son and a daughter together. The 44-year-old was a prominent member of the community; she worked for a nonprofit organization that aids in searching for a cure for a liver condition, in addition to being the President of the parent-teacher organization at Southmoor Elementary School in Denver.
Sometime in the early evening of March 1, 2015, Robert called 911 to report that he found his wife unresponsive in the bathtub. First responders arrived but pronounced her dead soon after that. At the time, an autopsy conducted by the medical examiner revealed that Stacy had injuries, but those could have been a result of trying to resuscitate her.
While the doctor stated that drowning could not be excluded, the cause and manner of death were ruled undetermined. However, in 2017, another doctor who went through the autopsy reports stated Stacy’s injuries resulted from an assault and were inconsistent with revival efforts. He opined that she was suffocated or strangled and also suffered blunt force trauma.
Stacy Feldman’s Husband Turned Out to be Her Perpetrator
Robert Feldman initially told the police that he’d returned home from a workout to find Stacy unresponsive in their bathtub, leading him to call 911. But a few months later, he changed his statement, claiming he came home sometime around noon but also hadn’t seen his wife before leaving. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until the police heard from Susan McBride in June 2015 that the case saw any updates.
Susan told the police she’d first encountered Robert on Tinder in February 2015 but under a different name. He had told her he was separated from his wife, leading her to continue their conversations. She even revealed they’d had sex during their second meeting, only to soon suspect he was lying. She later found Stacy’s email address, which led her to email her on the morning of March 1, 2015, to check if they really were separated.
According to Susan, Stacy quickly responded and confirmed that she and Robert were not separated before adding that he had cheated on her before too, and that she was finally “done with him.” This was only hours before her husband called 911, asserting he’d found his wife unresponsive in the bathroom. But alas, it wasn’t until December 2017 that the authorities brought in outside help to take a second look at Stacy’s cause and manner of death.
The medical examiner, William “Bill” Smock, later testified that injuries on Stacy’s upper extremities were consistent with “knee pressure being applied from a straddled assailant.” He then made it clear that he believed she died from suffocation, strangulation, or a combination of both. Furthermore, he stated that per the marks on her body, Stacy was clothed at some point when she was attacked and had a watch on her wrist. These were at odds with Robert’s claims that she died while in the shower after slipping and falling in the bathtub.
The authorities then came to believe that Robert killed Stacy after she found out about his affair. While he was arrested in February 2018, there were several delays before this case was brought to trial in April 2022. The prosecution had Dr. Smock testify and added there was blood under one of Stacy’s fingernails that matched Robert’s DNA. It also came to light he’d collected $751,910 from her life insurance shortly following her death.
Susan McBride’s testimony also played a crucial for the prosecution, especially as she confirmed that Robert had indeed cheated on his wife with her. Furthermore, it was reported that he had tried to have relationships with at least five other women during the time after his wife’s death. One of them, Stephanie Schumaker, accused him of sexual assault as well. In the end, Robert was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sent to prison for life, bringing the curtain down on a tragic case that ultimately left two children without their parents.
Read More: Where is Robert Feldman Now?
