The Case of David Elmquist | Part 1

David Scott Elmquist died as the result of a fire. His family wants a new investigation into his death by an independent prosecutor. Help the Elmquist family as they seek justice for David.

MY FILMING GEAR

MY FAVORITE CRIME BOOKS

#justicefordavidscottelmquist #truthfordavid #gavinfish

Some links are affiliate links.

[GavinFish]

At 9:12, I accidentally say "Emily's sister" when I meant to say "David's sister." Sorry about that, everyone. I misspoke and didn't catch it during the editing process. I think I was meaning to say "sister-in-law, " and got ahead of myself.

[cassie]

I work in healthcare. Hitting and screaming at someone is the opposite of de-escalating the situation. Toxic people like to create chaos wherever they go and Emily's own words tell us how toxic she is. Everyone is different, but people with mental illnesses are not inherently violent. Nor are they necessarily a danger to themselves or others.

[cassie]

Toxic and narcissistic relationships need to be talked about more. This relationship was as toxic as it gets and David was just as naive as I was when marrying a narcissistic person. His wife's behavior was emotionally abusive and we need to start taking that more seriously. He ended up dead because he didn't see her behavior for what it was and he was trying to be the "good Christian spouse" and make a toxic situation work. The church and the justice system need to catch up and recognize that emotional abuse IS domestic abuse. The stress of it causes physical damage to the victim (in this case David's mental health) and victims are DYING from this type of abuse!

[catkoladis]

My daughter and I watched Sherrilyn talk about this case. We were immediately moved to go to sign the petition for an investigator to really look into David's death. Clearly his relationship was toxic, and we were in awe at the lack of a real investigation. Thank you both for getting this case out into the light! "Mental health issues" doesn't automatically mean homicidal or suicidal. It's so frustrating that many people (especially those in official roles) continue to push that agenda.

[toasted_.coconut]

So at the court hearing that decided rather or not David would be released none of his immediate family attended to speak to the Judge? Interesting decision to leave it to Emily, whom they say they don't trust, to advocate for him.

Remind me, who failed David?

[HaveFaith_]

The day before the horrific tragedy happened David told his parents he was going to leave Emily & move back home. Don’t come for me, but I truly believe Emily lit David on fire. So many things are off about this case. She was abusive & controlling. Look how she even acted in front of his family. Emily is a liar 🤥 PERIOD! David was isolated, she didn’t want him to have anyone in his life, but her. Law enforcement & the Justice System dropped the ball. WHY in the heck did they wait so long to go into the apartment. If they were that worried about David doing something to the officers they had ways to protect themselves. I’m not a detective & I can see all that discrepancies in this case 😢.
She reminds me of my children’s dad, it gives me chills. In the beginning he was so charming, loving, kind, & treated me well. After our 2nd daughter he started being manipulative, emotionally, & financially abusive. Then he became physically abusive! He made sure I had no friends & I couldn’t even talk to or see my own family. I had no one besides my daughters & him.. in front of people he acted like a good man. Behind closed doors it was a different story. It was like Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde. I left & never looked back. The day I left he choked me, I knew if I didn’t leave for good he would kill me.

[cosmicshy]

It's absolutely creepy imo how absolutely emotionless she is about the love of her life. Talking about him; she might as well be reading the weekly weather report. It wouldn't be surprising if he was enjoying working away from her bc of how she treated him & he just needed to feel like he could breathe by getting far away from her abuse. If my husband were down like that (naked on the floor) I'd be in tears & holding him & calling the best psychiatrists along with emergency mental assistance. She doesn't even sound upset, rattled or her voice breaking. No tears. Emotionless, abusive narcissist.

[badger]

I am so glad this case is getting more attention. It has haunted me ever since I saw it covered on Sherrilyn Dale's channel & there's so much that doesn't make sense. His family seem like such good people & parents, his father in particular, are working so hard to get this case to be looked at again by those who have the power to do something about it & I'm so glad that you are doing a deep dive into this. I don't doubt that David was going through a tough time with his mental health but I truly do not believe David did this to himself, especially given the sequence of events the night it occurred. I also don't believe LE/prosecutors have handled this properly from the time they arrived on scene while David was still on fire to this moment. I hope your look into the situation will get David's story out to more people & lead getting the case fully reopened or at least looked into by an independent investigator

[wildzenventures]

I think it’s fabulous that you are helping to bring this injustice into the light. What a horrific situation, David’s family deserves answers and justice.

[lbmartinet]

Your telling of the story and evidence and everything that comes with it, especially the human perspective rather than a standard documentary style, is brilliant. Thanks for the content and production. I found you thru someone else talking on the DUI Guy law channel.

[starflower]

Having experienced a friend and a brother-in-law who had mental health issues, this breaks my heart. David limited his wife’s involvement in his care, so why would the court consider her opinion in this situation? Make it make sense!

[HaveFaith_]

I’ve been following you for awhile now. Thank you for doing these videos! You’re one of my favorites. There are a handful of True Crime YouTubers who do a PHENOMENAL job. You do deep dives. Treat each case & victims with respect. I can tell you put so much love into each video. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!! We appreciate you, respect, & love you.

[UnimaginativeUsername]

Thank you for bringing stories to light that often aren't spoken about elsewhere on YT true crime channels. Your passion and dedication to helping families find justice and truth rather than simply creating videos for audience shock value or morbid fascination etc is truly admirable and more importantly purposeful. Also love how much research you do, and all the documentation you find and share on your site & Patreon. You deal with facts and remain humbly unbiased.

What you said at the beginning about people making mistakes and not wanting to admit them is such a significant point. So many investigations have gone way off track because of pride, money, pressure to close cases, prejudice, closed-mindedness, flaws in obtaining evidence, corruption, nepotism, etc etc, which is really painful and scary to know... for the sake of the victims, their loved ones, and anyone wrongfully accused.

I'll be following this case and hope the Elmquist family stay strong.

[Crochetedbymichi]

Another sad case 🥺
Thank you Gavin.
I could listen to you for hours. You have me invested.

[purpleandred]

Gavin, you have such a way of telling a story .. a very heartbreaking case indeed. I am so interested in hearing more and I can't wait for Parts 2 and 3.

[claudiadresel]

Sounds like Emily, demeaned David in any way she could. Instead of working with him, she sure as heck worked against him. I haven't heard the whole story but I can see her driving him into the ground. So sad. Also, I question the integrity of certain prosecutors and lawyers in MN. Especially, if they are close to a certain Politician.

[kelly]

I am so glad i saw your post about the files before i watched this. I got SO much out of it after reading the files and examining the photos. The recordings were very telling. Great job. I went through all that info and you fit it all into 90 mins. Look forward to more on this case. I've noticed some things that haven't been mentioned! Lol

[lisaswanson]

This case is so sad and disturbing! I just can’t imagine what David’s thoughts were that evening.

[Inspiringami]

The wedding incident with flipping him off, that's a good sign of a major lack in emotional regulation. I'd feel humiliated if I did something like that. And for her to say that she didn't do that. Shows more of her character. Doesn't take responsibility for her actions.

[patricial]

Narcissists will seek out empaths and target them. I think David found himself in an impossible situation and was trying to please his wife and, in a way, even before the incident, he sacrificed himself for her. She was not worthy of his love to be sure but I really think he was trying to do the right thing and be a good husband.