Ashley Flowers

She went to med school, completed her residency in pediatric neurology, and then worked at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

And Dave became a small business owner.

Now, they got married, and around 2004, they had the first of their three sons.

So from the outside, everything seemed picture perfect.

But people who knew Laura knew that that was not the case.

Laura's close friend, who we're going to call Emily, told us that the Sweetman's marriage was always tumultuous.

Laura and Emily first met around 2009 when Emily started training Laura at the gym.

And in those early days, Emily said that Laura, I mean, originally had like no confidence.

She didn't feel comfortable in her own skin.

But as Laura and Emily got closer, Laura started talking about why.

She'd tell Emily about how her husband would belittle her and make her feel small.

But the more that they trained together and the stronger that Laura got, the more comfortable she started to feel in her own body.

And that's when she really began to open up.

Now, Dave actually trained at that same gym with a different trainer.

And Emily said that her and that trainer would talk about just how different Dave and Laura were.

How there was just something off about Dave that he gave off, quote, the creepy vibes.

And Emily told us she couldn't understand why Laura was with Dave when he seemed so manipulative.

But as they got closer, it became clear that when it came to relationships, Laura just didn't know anything else.

Now, it's important to note that while Laura was opening up to Emily, most other people were still completely in the dark.

I mean, the woman who nannied for Laura and Dave's children, her name's Stacey Miller, she told police that they seemed like a nice, normal, everyday family.