People Magazine Investigates Recap for Soccer Mom Murder
-This week’s People Magazine Investigates looks into the murder of Sherri Panzer Malarik.
-Her son Jacob remembers living in Bermuda since Sherri was a Navy air traffic controller. Her sister Tina recalls their growing up years and how they were best friends growing up.
-Sherri would join the Navy and marry a man named Greg, becoming the stepmom to his son. The two of them would go on to have three more children.
On September 21, 2001, Tina and her husband Jeff, along with Sherri and Greg, would go to a Navy khaki ball. They would stay out until about 10:30pm and go their separate ways. Jeff remembers getting a call from Greg, wondering where Sheri was. He claimed she went out for milk and ever came home. Tina offered to come over so he could look for her, but Greg declined.
-Greg would call back the next morning, saying Sherri was still gone. Jeff would go to look for her and find Sherri in her car in the parking lot….dead. He called 911 and wondered how he was going to break the news to her family.
-An investigation began, and it is inferred that due to evidence at the crime scene, it looked as if she might have been killed elsewhere. She had no know enemies, but Tina claimed that Sherri told her that Greg was having an affair with a woman named Jennifer Spohn.
-Greg is then questioned by the police. While he shared the details of that fatal night, he admitted that Jennifer stopped by to return a lawnmower. Further questioning brings the affair to light, while investigators wonder why Jennifer stopped by that night and if she knew what happened.
-The autopsy showed that Sherri was shot twice in the head.
-Tina revealed that Greg wanted a divorce, but Sherri did not.
-The kids are then questioned and reveal their own details of what they recall happened that night…and that Greg had recently purchased a gun, which he claimed was a gift for Sherri.
-Sherri’s purse and wallet were also found in the home, which puts doubt on the story that she had gone out for milk.
-Despite the suspicion on Greg and Jennifer, there was not enough evidence against them, causing the case to go cold.
-By 2010, Greg and Jennifer would be living together, but the situation would not last long.
-In 2014, the Navy Criminal Investigation Service took a closer look into the case and planned on arresting Greg first, in hopes that Jennifer would give more details. However, the arrest wouldn’t happen until March 6, 2020.
-The kids were floored by this turn of events, but not necessarily surprised.
-Jennifer is then questioned in Illinois, where she now lived. She claimed that she picked him up and drove him from the store where Sherri was found. They corroborated the lawnmower story to explain her presence. It wasn’t until later that she realized what had happened, but claimed she had no idea what happened to the gun….at first. She would later admit that he had her dump the gun and other evidence over the side of the bridge.
-Due to her cooperation, Jennifer had full immunity, upsetting Tera, Greg and Sherri’s daughter. While she knows her father was responsible for the murder, she suspected that Jennifer was more involved than she let on.
-The kids are all divided on Greg’s arrest and fate.
-Jennifer would be the star witness in Greg’s trial in 2022. However, his defense attorney thinks she is actually the one responsible for the murder/
-The first trial ended with a hung jury, so a second trial was held in 2023. This time, the kids (who are now grown up) were questioned.
-Greg was found not guilty, leaving the family in a state of shock and confusion.
-The case remains unsolved to this day.
