The Grenade | EP 1 | Season 3

Nancy Glass (0:02)

In the past, I've said, we're going to tell you a story unlike anything you've ever heard before. But this one, this one is something totally new and totally shocking.

We'll start with the newscast from Colorado.

SPEAKER_2 (0:20)

We begin here on night 30 with the jury awarding more than $21 million to a couple in Steamboat Springs.

Mandelin (0:26)

Cindy got a lot of money.

SPEAKER_4 (0:28)

$21 million and that was a huge amount of money.

SPEAKER_5 (0:31)

There's no way I can wrap my brain around someone doing this to their own child.

SPEAKER_2 (0:37)

The case where a jury found parental alienation on steroids.

Cindy (0:42)

I never ever thought something so small and inconsequential would lead to me losing my kids for life. I mean, my kids want nothing to do with me.

Nancy Glass (0:52)

This is a story about how far someone will go, the lies they'll tell and the lives they'll ruin in order to get what they want.

SPEAKER_4 (1:01)

I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth.

SPEAKER_5 (1:04)

Why would you start dating a wealthy woman and then abuse the children?

Cindy (1:09)

The judge in the family court said, I'm going to take your kids away. Cindy's effectively been erased from her kids' lives.

Nancy Glass (1:19)

We're going to tell you about a family destroyed by damage that can never be undone.

Mandelin (1:25)

There was a lot more going on in the background.

SPEAKER_7 (1:29)

It's the worst example I've ever seen of what somebody can do when they have unlimited resources.

SPEAKER_8 (1:35)

One side wins and the other side loses. And in the end, the people who lose the most are the kids.

Cindy (1:41)

It's probably one of the most tragic cases I've seen.

SPEAKER_7 (1:43)

This is a guy who's very used to just paying money and getting his way.

Nancy Glass (1:47)

Three children are at the center of this and one parent who's determined to control the narrative.

SPEAKER_7 (1:54)

I'm not this asshole, like just trying to pull these kids away from Cindy. I don't think they're safe.

Nancy Glass (2:08)

I'm Nancy Glass and this is Season 3 of Burden of Guilt, Episode 1, The Grenade.

When I first learned about this, it sounded like it was all about child abuse allegations, and they were serious. But were they true? Or were they just made up to weaponize children and punish a spouse in the cruelest way possible? But before we go there, let's meet the people involved.

At the center, a mother of three named Cindy. Cindy's an early riser. Every morning, she has the same routine. She takes her dog out, makes a cup of coffee, and grabs her iPad. Lately, she's been using one of those language apps to learn French.

Cindy (2:58)

One of my kids decided last semester he's going to learn French, so I'm trying to get some conversational phrases that I can use with him. I also do the New York Times puzzles and connections. I love that game.

Nancy Glass (3:12)

Her most pressing goal is always the same, just to keep her mind occupied.

Cindy (3:17)

I would recommend anybody going through this situation that they have a good, good distraction. Because when you're in the learning part of your brain, you can't be stuck in that emotional part of your brain.

Nancy Glass (3:30)

Okay, let's go back to the beginning here. In 1997, Cindy was in grad school to become a geologist. One weekend, her friends organized a ski trip.

Cindy tagged along. She was single at the time, and her friends decided to set her up on a blind date. She met the guy on the mountain, but right away, things on the slopes did not go well.

Cindy (3:55)

Within an hour, I'm having problems, I'm getting blisters, and I'm like, I gotta pull over and put something on my feet. And he says, okay, see you later. And he takes off, and he leaves me.

And I'm like, okay, I'm already not liking this guy.

Nancy Glass (4:13)

Well, who can blame her? Left all alone, Cindy managed to put some bandages on her feet, and then she tried to find her way back to the ski hut.

Cindy (4:22)

I'm already starting to panic a little bit because I'm by myself. And I'm falling down, and I'm falling in creeks, and I'm still by myself. And I'm like, okay, just follow the tracks, Cindy, you'll be fine.

All of a sudden, the tracks kind of spread out in this big meadow. And I don't know which way to go. I'm starting to get really worried now.