NBC Dateline: What happened to Renee Pagel?

Renee Pagel, a Michigan divorced mother-of-three, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom at home in August 2006. She died of over 50 stab wounds to her face, torso, and head and was reportedly resting after en exhausting surgery she underwent five days ago. The grisly crime scene and blood splatter suggested that the attack on her was personal.

Authorities initially suspcted Renee's former husband Michael Pagel after learning of their bitter divorce when the latter sough the victim's house, full custody of their children, and alimoy. But Renee won the custody battle and Michael was expected to pay alimony instead. The case went cold for at least 13 years before shocking details emerged leading to Michael's arrest and a guilty plea.

An upcoming episode of NBC Dateline is scheduled to revisit Renee Pagel's case this Sunday. The episode, titled Window of Opportunity, airs on the channel at 7:00 pm ET on May 21, 2023.

Its synopsis reads as:

"A Michigan community is shocked when a local mother is found stabbed to death. After the case goes cold for more than a decade, a bombshell reignites the investigation. Andrea Canning reports."

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Renee Pagel died of over 50 stab wounds and was bedridden at the time of the attack following a recent surgery

In 2006, Renee Pagel from Courtland Township, Michigan, worked as a nurse practitioner at a hospital and also taught as a health instructor at an education centre. She was a divored mother of three children - seven-year-old twins (a girl and a boy) and a three-year-old daughter. In mid-2006, she donated a kidney to the father of a student. Five days after her surgery, she was found stabbed to death.

On August 5 of that year, local authorities received a disturbing 911 call from Renee's father and stepmother. The 41-year-old mother was found unresponsive in her bedroom in a grisly crime scene with blood on her face, body, all the walls, ceiling, and even on the bed where she was laying.

Renee died of over 50 stab wounds to her face, head, and torso. Moreover, a slit across her palm and several other wounds suggested that she tried to defend herself during the attack while bedridden.

Detectives investigating the case learned about Renee's recent divorce from her husband Michael Pagel. The victim's father said he last saw her the previous evening while picking up the children to take them over to Michael's house, located about 15 minutes away from the crime scene. He claimed to have spoken to her over call later that night.

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The brother of Renee Pagel's former husband saw the murder weapon before it was thrown into a river

Renee Pagel's father made authorities privy to the former couple's bitter divorce, claiming that Michael wanted full custody of the children, the house, and alimony from the victim. But seven weeks before the murder, a judge sided with Renee and requested Michael to pay her alimony instead. When questioned, the latter refused to speak to detectives and asked for a lawyer.

Detectives also suspected Michael's brother Charles, who had a strained relationship with Renee. Charles, who was a truck driver, claimed to have been on the other side of the state when the murder occurred and provided a solid alibi. Weeks turned into months and then years, but the murder case went cold and remained unsolved for over 13 years.

Then in November 2019, shocking revelations emerged after Charles contacted Renee Pagel's best friend Chris Crandle, alleging that Michael was "losing it." Charles eventually admitted that Michael killed the mother-of-three and showed him the alleged murder weapon in 2011 before throwing it in the river.

Authorities recovered the knife from the river and arrested Michael Pagel for his former wife's murder on February 6, 2020. He then agreed to a peal deal and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison in October of that year.

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Learn more about Renee Pagel's murder case on NBC Dateline's episode this Sunday at 7:00 pm ET.