Dateline: Unforgettable, airing soon on Oxygen, will examine the tragic death of a youngster in Nevada called Micaela Costanzo. On March 3, 2011, Micaela disappeared; two days later, his body was discovered in a grave. The program explores the horrific tragedy from every angle. A teen’s murder rocks a Nevada town, leading to two unusual characters confessing, according to the episode’s synopsis on Oxygen. What happened to Micaela Costanzo is described in great detail here.
Who is Micaela Costanzo?
Nevadan high school senior Micaela Costanzo. At 16, she established herself as a leader and athlete within her peer group. Micaela wasn’t just in charge of athletics for the school paper; she was also an editor. Micaela Costanzo vanished on March 3 after school track practice was over. A review of the surveillance tape shows that she departed the building around 5:15 p.m. Since Costanzo’s sister was out of town and unable to offer her a ride, Costanzo opted to walk instead. She did not answer her family’s calls and messages for quite some time, and they began to worry. Micaela Costanzo’s body was discovered by a volunteer in a grave two days later, which was a complete and total shock to everyone. It was later determined that Costanzo had been struck with a shovel. Costanzo had a plastic tie around his arm, which the police also discovered.
How did Micaela Costanzo die?
After discovering calls and texts from Costanzo to his boyhood buddy Kody Patten, the police quickly focused their investigation on Patten. Police said Patten last saw Costanzo and her boyfriend outside their school. Authorities found Patten dating Toni Fratto, who was envious of her boyfriend’s closeness with Costanzo. He said that he and Costanzo got into an altercation while driving after school because Costanzo wanted him to end his engagement with Fratto and start dating her.
Patten insisted on continuing the engagement, and when Costanzo became violent, Patten shoved her, causing her to go into convulsions. He struck her over the head with a shovel, sliced her neck, and buried her. After then, Patten was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. When Patten’s lawyer played a recorded confession from Fratto, things became even more convoluted. Fratto changed her statement, even more when she confessed to the police after her arrest. She said that Patten told her they had to murder Costanzo and had her stand watch as he used a shovel to kill the man.
During a meeting to discuss a plea offer, Patten altered his tale, even more, saying that Fratto intended to confront Costanzo about their connection and fight it out with her. To escape execution, both Fratto and Patten finally entered guilty pleas. Patten pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with no parole and Fratto to second-degree murder with parole after 18 years.
Dateline: Unforgettable Season 2 details
Under the Desert Sky is the first episode of Dateline: Unforgettable’s second season about Micaela Constanzo’s murder. On the second season of Dateline: Unforgettable, you’ll see reports from journalists like Keith Morrison, Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, and Dennis Murphy, to name a few. Season two of Dateline: Unforgettable premieres on Oxygen on June 7 at 8 p.m. ET.
