True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII (Wattys2025)

The Murder of Michele MacNeill

Michele Marie MacNeill, née Somers, (January 15, 1957 – April 11, 2007) was an American homemaker and model. Michele was married for nearly 30 years to the physician Martin MacNeill and was the mother of eight children. She died in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on April 11, 2007, while at home recovering from cosmetic surgery performed eight days earlier. At her husband's request, the operating surgeon prescribed four medicines for her recovery; two of the drugs, Diazepam and Oxycodone, would not normally be prescribed to his patients.

Michele had been concerned during her recovery that Martin was having an affair and that she had been given medication by him inappropriately. Her daughter Alexis, a medical student at that time, then took responsibility for giving Michele her medicine. Michele recovered sufficiently for Alexis to return to school but Michele died the following day. Initially, police and autopsy reports concluded that Michele died of cardiovascular disease, but after being pressed to review the toxicology report, the state's chief medical examiner found that the combination of medicines in her body could have contributed to cardiac death.

During the trial, which began on October 17, 2013, Chief Prosecutor Chad Grunander stated, "It was an almost perfect murder, [MacNeill] pumped her full of drugs that he knew would be difficult to detect once she was dead." Martin MacNeill was convicted of Michele's murder and obstruction of justice in a widely publicized case involving marital infidelity, sexual abuse, and outward religious devotion.

Martin MacNeill was sentenced to 17 years to life. He committed suicide in prison in April 2017.

Personal life

Michele Marie Somers was born in 1957, the daughter of Milton and Helen Somers. Michele grew up in Concord, California, where she played violin, acted, and was a cheerleader and homecoming queen. She was a straight-A student and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Michele was an exchange student in Switzerland, a model, and Miss Concord in 1976.

Michele met Martin MacNeill (February 1, 1956 - April 9, 2017) at an activity for LDS young adults. Martin joined the military in 1973 at the age of 17. He was placed on disability leave for mental health reasons in 1975, and received veterans' benefits for years. Michele eloped with Martin, and the couple was married on February 21, 1978. Four months after the marriage, Martin served a six-month jail sentence for forgery, theft, and fraud.

In 2007, the MacNeill family lived in a gated community in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and was active in their LDS congregation. Michele was the mother of eight children: Rachel, Vanessa, Alexis, Damian, Giselle, Elle, Sabrina, and Ada—the latter four of whom were supposedly adopted from Ukraine. However, although Ada MacNeill was adopted by Michele and Martin, Ada is the daughter of Vanessa MacNeill, and Michele and Martin's biological granddaughter.

Martin MacNeill was the medical director of the Utah State Development Center in American Fork, Utah. Martin had served as an LDS bishop (lay leader of a congregation). He was formerly a physician practicing in Pleasant Grove, had served in the military, and had received a law degree, though he did not practice law. Investigators later determined that Martin had falsified university transcripts to enter the California medical school where he earned his degree in osteopathic medicine, and also falsified his later application to J. Reuben Clark Law School.

He was reputedly dissatisfied with his marriage, made statements about wanting a divorce, and had extramarital affairs—including a relationship with Gypsy Willis—before and after the death of his wife. Martin and Michele had been married for 29 years, 2 months, and 10 days at the time of her death.

On January 16, 2010, MacNeill's 24-year-old son, Damian Alexander MacNeill, committed suicide. He was a law student at New York Law School at the time. Before Damian's death, the Utah County Attorney's Office sent a letter to New York Law School stating that "investigators in the Utah County Attorney's Office deemed him [Damian] to be a very dangerous individual who possessed homicidal impulses and discussed the 'joys of killing,'" and that "Damian was present in Pleasant Grove on the date of his mother's death."