Unsolved Mysteries – Body in the Basement

By starrymag | August 6, 2024

By: Sammi Turano

 

 

October 26^th, 2015. Amanda Antoni is found dead in the basement of her home in Alberta, Canada. Her husband calls authorities to report her death, saying that she is lifeless and covered in blood. Police arrive to the house and check things out, finding a smashed piggy bank on the way to the basement.

Amanda is found covered in blood with blunt force trauma to her head. Another officer is with the husband, trying to keep him calm. The death is considered suspicious.

Authorities immediately begin to investigate the case. Amanda was 31 at the time of her death and was in full rigor mortis when she was found. Nothing was missing from the home and there was no signs of robbery or breaking and entering. A chair was tipped over and her phone was broken, leading them to believe there was a sign of a struggle before she died.

Due to the nature of how she was found, her death was considered a homicide. It is believed that the piggy bank was used as a weapon and that she had been sexually assaulted before her death.

Amanda’s mom Linda and brothers Allen and  Darrell remember getting the call from Amanda’s husband with the news about her death. They share memories of her and how she was the baby of the family, coming in as a foster child that was later adopted.

Amanda was remembered as a fun person who loved animals and life. She married her husband Lee in 2009 and despite their love for one another, had struggles, especially when it came to Lee staying employed.

Darrell remembers being questioned by the police and how Lee wasn’t around at that time. He and Allen also talked about how Amanda and Lee would fight. They didn’t suspect him outright, but think he acted impulsively at times.

Lee was also questioned and claimed that he left the Friday before Amanda died to visit his mother. He also claimed he never spent a night apart from Amanda since they had been together. He maintained his innocence the entire time.

Surveillance video at gas stations and stores en route to Lee’s mom’s house gave him an alibi, but there was a question as to if he hired someone to kill Amanda. There was no evidence of this or Lee being involved, so he is cleared as a suspect.

Lee talks about Amanda and their time together. He understands why he was a suspect and wants to know who killed his wife.

Amanda was actually supposed to be with Lee on his trip but backed out at the last minute due to being ill. Both Lee and Linda talked to Amanda that Friday, but nobody heard from her since Saturday.

During the last call on Saturday, Lee remembers the dog barking, a Lond sound in the background and the phone going dead. He never heard from her again. He didn’t think much about it at first, figuring she was busy or with family. Since they didn’t talk, he figured he would surprise her the next day by coming home early.

When he got home, the door was locked. Lee let himself in, let the dog out and went to look for Amanda. When he didn’t find her, he checked the basement, even though he knew she hated it. That is when he found her body and called 911. He recalls the call, the experience of finding her and breaks down in tears.

The next day, a press conference is held to discuss the death and assure people an investigation is underway. Police were concerned about an intruder and turned to a crime scene unit to gather evidence and look into the blood stains. Due to the nature of the blood splatters, it made things that much harder.

There were twelve impressions in the blood, mostly from footprints, two of which faced up the stairs. However, they were of bare feet rather than shoes and it looked like there were slipper impressions and smears…as if someone tried to clean it up. Blood drops were also found.

There were also no fingerprints at the scene.

Samples were taken from the scene. Since there was no sign of forced entry, it is inferred that someone had a key or got in from the unlocked back door. There was also a possibility that someone came into the backyard via an alley, which was always a concern for the couple.

Police also looked into the possibility of a stalker.

Neighbors remember hearing the dog barking and a yelp, as well as someone running from the yard.

More people are questioned and several electronics and diaries are looked into.

The possibility of an affair was also looked into, but there was no evidence of this.

There was no evidence of any bad behavior on Amanda’s part, nor did she seem to have any enemies. However, Lee suspected that his sister may have been involved since they played a part in social services taking her daughter away due the sister’s drug use. She began to threaten Amanda, leaving her frightened.

Lee’s sister was then questioned, but again, there was no evidence that she was involved.

Six weeks later, a toxicology report found cannabis in Amanda’s system. It also concluded that she had blunt force trauma and bled to death. There were bruises, but only the right orbital bone was broken.

The DNA testing showed no semen, so sexual assault was ruled out. There was also no other DNA found other than Amanda’s.

Another theory suggested that her death was an accident by falling down the stairs, breaking the piggy bank as she fell. However…did she fall on her own or was she pushed? The phone was also eight feet away from her, which put a wrench in this theory, as did the position of the piggy bank

The amount of blood and bruises on her body also cast doubt on the theory, as did the overturned chair. However, there was a chance she was moving around after the fall, causing the footprints and  blood smears. The animals never going downstairs also cast doubt in things, especially since their one dog Ruby was so affectionate.

There are still many unanswered questions in this case. Her family questions why she never tried to make it up the stairs and believe the person who killed her stayed in the house for awhile afterwards.

The cause of death remains undetermined.

Her family misses and thinks of her every day and will not rest until they find out what happened to her.