This unimaginable situation with the MSP began to unfold when first responding officer, Trooper Andrew Woodard, ruled Dominic’s death a suicide just 14 seconds after finding his body, notified Central Dispatch in under one minute, and only then contacted a senior MSP officer, who began instructing Woodard by phone.

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Instead of directing Woodard to correct his call-out with Central Dispatch, secure the scene, and await a detective, his superior did the unthinkable. He began instructing him on the steps to take to conceal his errors by covering up Dominic’s murder. This included efforts by the MSP to mislead the medical examiner investigator (MEI), Kari Duman, and coroner, Dr. Hauche, starting with the immediate removal of key physical evidence of Dominic’s murder from the scene.​

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When 911 was called requesting a welfare check on Dominic inside his home, two Isabella County Sheriff's Deputies provided Woodard an initial assist with the call. The following frames were taken from the body-worn camera video footage of Isabella County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Chaprnka.

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