The horrifying true story behind Susie Casey's brutal murder

Footprint in the Dust on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered traces the disappearance and murder of Susie Casey, a 34-year-old mother of four who worked in health care in Glendive, Montana. Casey worked in local health care.

She vanished within steps of her apartment door on April 12, 2008, and the episode follows the early-morning scene and the case built on phone records, surveillance video, and interviews.

The two-hour docudrama covers April 2008 through the 2013 verdict. At the time, Casey was separated and moving through a divorce from her second husband, Ted Casey, and was seeing Brad Holzer. She was dropped near her door before sunrise and disappeared minutes later. Oxygen lists a re-air of Season 9 episode 23 on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 11 pm.

Craig Melvin from Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (Image via Oxygen)

---

Susie Casey case timeline

On April 12, 2008, Susie was dropped off about 20 steps from her apartment sometime after 5 am. The family could not reach her later that morning, and officers found signs that suggested a struggle at the door. A multi-agency search began that day.

In early May, crews recovered her body from the Yellowstone River. An autopsy found she had been strangled before the river recovery, according to the Independent Record.

---

Susie Casey case investigation

Detectives examined three men who were in her orbit at the time: her estranged husband Ted Casey, her boyfriend Brad Holzer, and her first husband Walter “Marty” Larson. Interviews and records helped rule out Ted and Brad. Surveillance images and call logs then pointed the work toward Larson, who lived in Billings.

Prosecutors later said he drove to Glendive, waited outside the building, and attacked her in anger, according to KULR 8’s trial coverage on August 20, 2013. Court filings also described a van that appeared to have been cleaned shortly after the disappearance, which became part of the state’s theory in front of jurors, per the same outlet.

Susie Casey's home from Dateline: Footprint in the Dust (Image via Facebook/ Dateline NBC)

Investigators testified about a fresh car-wash receipt and wet, scrubbed flooring in Larson’s minivan, details they argued suggested an attempt to remove trace evidence. Bank security video also captured a vehicle matching his near the apartment before and after the drop-off, according to reports.

Prosecutors said Larson acted out of jealousy after learning Casey was in a relationship with Brad Holzer and believed reconciliation was possible.

---

Susie Casey case: Verdict and sentence

After a four-year investigation and a 2013 trial, a jury found Walter “Marty” Larson guilty of deliberate homicide. A judge imposed a 100-year prison term plus 10 years for tampering, with parole eligibility only after 30 years. Family members delivered statements at sentencing that described the toll of the search and the years without answers.

---

Footprint in the Dust (Season 9, episode 23) re-airs on Oxygen on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 11 pm. The series is also available to stream on fuboTV, YouTube TV, NBC, and Oxygen on supported plans.