Tracking a Crime
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Who was David Nixon and what was his background?
A friend of mine introduced us. All I knew was that he was in real estate. David was nice, very charming, easy to get along with. We've always had a good time. He had a lot of ambition, a lot of good ideas.
David is the kind of person that makes people feel good.
He could sell you just about anything.
He could sell a screen door to a submarine.
It's just how he was.
What was the nature of David Nixon and Tracy Frame's relationship?
Tracy was the new girlfriend. She really wanted to take over. She was going to be in charge. That was her mode of operation.
Donna, she was his ex-wife. It was weird. I liked him and his personality. If he had a son, that didn't matter to me. Tracy was nice. Just about everything was good at the beginning. Well, I started finding out stuff. He gambled like crazy. David owed everybody money.
Very paranoid. Taped everything.
Prostitutes, call girls.
David left with cash. He had $25,000 with him.
This was a pretty brutal crime. Just cold, calculated murder.
He was shot and burned.
in the parking lot. He had been wrapped in what appeared to be an electric blanket. And then outside of that was what appeared to be a blue plastic tarp.
If you're going to kill somebody, you would do it for a reason. David and Donna didn't get along. She had a half a million reasons.
Donna has gained everything. She wanted the house.
How was David Nixon found and what were the initial crime scene details?
Tracy was the only one who had anything against him, really. Somebody's lying. If I wasn't walking in my shoes, I wouldn't believe somebody telling me the story.
Secrets and Lies on Grapevine Lake.
It was the middle of the night when forensic death investigator John Briggs got the call to report to the scene of a homicide.
As soon as you get out of the vehicle, you can smell a burning odor. The body was wrapped in several items that had burned during the fire but were not totally consumed. There was the remains of a blue plastic camping tarp. Then around all that was rope.
The body was still smoldering as Riggs carefully rolled it over, hoping to identify the victim.
I could not even tell if it was a male or a female. But based upon the face, I knew it was a Caucasian person.
When police first arrived at this crime scene in Grand Prairie, TX in April of 2002, the intense heat from the fire had damaged the body to such a degree that crime scene investigators had to spend hours delicately recovering the remains. The police found tire tracks and some fiber materials, but little else by way of evidence. The medical examiner determined the victim was a man in his 40s killed by a single gunshot wound to the heart. But his identity was a mystery. Dental records would later confirm the victim as 40-year-old David Nixon, a successful realtor from nearby Grapevine, Texas.
I knew the second he never called me back, because he would never not call me back. I knew something had happened.
14-year-old Nicholas is David Nixon's son. That's your favorite picture?
Where was this?
Cobble. I was deep-sea fishing. This was in a steamboat. We were snowmobiling.
You had a great smile on your dad. He idolized his father, a bear of a man, at 6'4", 240 pounds.
Trustworthy, dependable, protective. Anybody who knew him knew that he would do just about anything for anybody.
Everyone that knew him well just talked about how much he loved you.
He was always bragging about something I did.
Nicholas's mother, Donalella, is David Nixon's first wife. They married in 1990.
What were the key clues and evidence found by investigators?
Years later, she still has fond memories.
Charming, vivacious, and full of life. And you never know what you're going to get. Love surprises.
Love surprises.
Love surprises.
Nicholas, their only child, was born the following year. Anything for Nicholas.
Crazy about him.
David soon found success selling real estate, becoming a top agent, eventually brokering million-dollar deals on high-end properties in the affluent suburbs north of Dallas.
He hardly ever slept. It was bigger, better, faster. It was always a race. It was always about competition.
Their marriage ended badly in 1995 after David had an affair with flight attendant Lisa Hill. They married and divorced within two years. But David wasn't single for long. Before his divorce was final, he met another woman, an attractive 27-year-old accountant named Tracy Frame.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who was David Nixon and what was his background?
0:12–0:44
2
What was the nature of David Nixon and Tracy Frame's relationship?
0:44–2:16
3
How was David Nixon found and what were the initial crime scene details?
2:16–5:23
4
What were the key clues and evidence found by investigators?
5:23–7:17
5
What was Tracy Frame's involvement and how did police interrogate her?
7:17–8:49
6
What motives and conflicts existed between Tracy Frame and David Nixon?
8:49–10:08
7
How did the investigation progress leading to Tracy Frame's arrest?
10:08–11:52
8
What was the aftermath for Tracy Frame and the community?
11:52–42:37
Speakers
15 identified
Narrator 17 min
Tracy Smith 5 min
Detective 3 min
Donna Lella (David Nixon's first wife) 2 min
Donald Fear (Tracy's defense attorney) 2 min
Unidentified Friend of Taylor 2 min
Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Stacey Miranda 1 min
Investigator Mike Mayhew 1 min
Ad Voiceover
Unknown Speaker
Kaylin Moore
Morgan Absher
Prosecutor
News Reporter
Unknown