How (Not) to Get Rid of a Body

I got the feeling in my heart that I knew Nick was gone.

We have to hand it to the criminal.

A conscious effort was made to conceal this crime

from everyone.

Little did we know how gruesome, how terrifying,

how sinister, and dark this case was going to become.

I can't even believe that somebody

could do this to a human being.

I don't know if they thought

they were outsmarting us.

You start questioning, is he really here?

He was a control freak, master manipulator.

This case never gets solved if it's not for incredible

outside-the-box thinking.

Nick was missing for a year.

That's a lot of time to get rid of a body.

On February 9 of 2017, the Massillon Police Department

was contacted by the Barberton Police Department that is

located just northwest of us.

and they advised that a Nick Stein,

a 25-year-old male, was possibly missing,

and they wanted us to do a welfare check in our area.

A woman named Paula Cline called the Barberton Police

Department almost in an emergency state,

believing that Nicholas Stein was missing

and possibly harmed.

It's very hard to convince a police officer or even

a detective that a 25-year-old boy is gone.

Not that he's ran away.

Not that he's missing because he wants to be.

I'm like, no, you don't understand.

I can show you text messages every day.

I can show you phone calls every day.

Nick was just like my second son.

When my son Gunner got sick with brain cancer,

most children, they just walk away because they fear

the sick child. But Nick was his biggest fan.

Nick kept him laughing, playing video games,

hung out with him like he was just a normal kid.

He never gave up on Gunner, who is still alive today

and he's 31 years old.

Nick had a heart of gold, would do anything for anybody.

We learned Nick came from a challenged background

in regards to his family.

That being said, probably resilient,

looking to do more.

I kept in touch constantly with him,

in text messages, on social media, the telephone.

He, um, would always call me for advice.

Then he struggled with just trying to even find a job

in the area.

So as an investigator, you'll first turn

to social media, bank accounts, records, phones.

All activity had stopped in regards to Nick Stein

and his personal life.

Nick just disappeared.

But we learned he came to Massillon

as he met a man named Bryan Gentry.

Nick believed that he could better his future

by working with Bryan.

Nick told me he wasn't making any money, and he said,

"Bryan's giving me some work."

I said, "Oh, I know this guy, you know, I don't trust him."

But he believed everything Bryan told him.

So we decide we want to interview Bryan Gentry.

Bryan Gentry was renting a house on 8th Street.

He was a decorated war veteran who fought four tours in

Afghanistan before he was ultimately discharged from

the military after suffering a severe injury.

Him and his girlfriend, Kristen Lain,

they decided they wanted to start a tree trimming business

with Nick to cut trees in the summer and to plow snow

in the winter.

And with it being seasonal work, they decided it would be

best to save gas money, and to save time,

that Nick just move in with them.

The couple had three small children living in

the house with them, and then also another roommate,

Carl Spencer, an old friend of Bryan Gentry's

from middle school.

Bryan took charge of the house. He was the ringmaster.

They were very cooperative, invited us in,

answered our questions.

When we first arrived at the location,

everything looked normal.

When interviewed, the occupants of the house

stated that Nick Stein had left on Wednesday, February 1,

and had not been seen since.

They had been the last people that were known to have seen

Nick Stein before he was reported missing on February 9.

The residents there were worried about Nick

and his whereabouts.

But Bryan said that one of the reasons why Nick may have

wanted to leave Massillon was because

he possibly owed some people money.

Carl Spencer had stated that he remembered Nick Stein

had left the house and was going downtown to

a local restaurant, and was getting a ride

back to Barberton.

We did spend hours looking for video footage from local

residents, business, and ultimately...

...there was no video located.

This information provided by Carl Spencer ultimately

leads you to question, was he trying to be deceptive

and mislead investigators?

So Carl was asked to come to the station

for further interview.

During our interviews, we're looking for potential

signs that he already attempting to deceive us.

And that deception can run very deep.

As a detective, you're digging deeper

into that individual.

You're always looking to get to the truth as fast as you can.

Through Carl's interview, investigators found out that

the 8th Street address was not your typical residence.

There was a lot going on behind the scenes.

Apparently, there was an argument, and Nick got upset

and left that evening.

Carl Spencer said that Bryan would allow

Nick to have sex with Kristen,

but only if they would ask Bryan first

before they did so.

Bryan was well aware of the sex triangle,

but Nick was such a kind-hearted, lovable person.

He wanted to find a girlfriend to love him and get married

and have a family.

He probably treated her better than she'd ever been treated.

Once we found out about this love triangle, we didn't know

what dark alleys this was going to take us into.

We looked back on those first interviews.

A lot of details weren't given.

And that's why it was imperative that we return

to the residence.

And upon further conversation with Kristen Lain,

she did state that she was in a relationship with Nick Stein

and also Bryan.

And she said that Nick wanted to have an exclusive

relationship with her, and there was an argument.

Kristen stated that she was not interested in being in

an exclusive relationship, and that Nick got upset

and left that evening.

Once we hear this, we started wondering, there is

way more going on here than just a missing person.

When the two guys are sexually active with a single female,

then somebody lets their feelings get involved,

bad things tend to happen.

So during questioning, the occupants invited us into

the home to have a further look.

When we went into the basement,

we had to climb down a ladder. The stairs were missing.

I asked Bryan about the stairs, and he said that due to

his injuries in the Army, the VA recommended that

he replace the stairs.

So he took them out,

and they were going to be replaced shortly.

While we're interviewing them, there was a mattress down in

the basement that had a stain.

So I asked Kristen about this stain.

And she said, "Oh, no, I spilled cola on the mattress."

But if something bad did happen to Nick, I thought to myself,

is this evidence?

We decided that we were gonna swab this spot

and send it off to be tested.

After we left that house on 8th Street,

Detective Dadisman and I, we looked at each other

and thought, where's Nick?

I'm going to find Nick one way or another.

Little did we know how horrific this case was going to get.

The Massillon Police Department was advised that Nick Stein,

a 25-year-old male, was possibly missing from

his residence on 8th Street.

After we interviewed the occupants of the house,

We began to think this was a cat and mouse game.

Are these individuals trying to steer you in

the wrong direction?

And seeing that stain on the mattress certainly

sparked interest

that it potentially could yield DNA of a victim.

If it was blood, whose blood is it?

About a week later, we get the information back

that it was not human blood, that it was, in fact,

soda that Kristen had spilled on the mattress,

just like she told us.

It's certainly a letdown emotionally,

and sometimes you feel like you have to

start over at square one.

Without a body, we're like, man, where do we go from here?

If, in fact, Bryan or Kristen

or Carl did do something to Nick Stein, these people went

to great extents to conceal any kind of evidence.

At that time, Paula Cline is calling.

And I felt motivated by wanting to give her answers.

Calling Detective Slutz, he's probably thinking

I'm crazy.

But I was Nick's voice. I was the only voice Nick had.

Nick's father passed away in 2008.

And then after that, his mother struggled to get on

her feet and make it because she hadn't worked for a few years.

It was just him and his brother.

So I was like Nick's second mom.