Florida Woman Used Dating App After Allegedly Killing Her Former NBA Exec Husband

Wife Accused of Fatally Stabbing Former NBA Exec Husband

Three weeks after a former Memphis Grizzlies executive was found dead in his home, authorities have arrested his wife and accused her of fatally stabbing him.

On the morning of Jan. 12, Danielle Redlick of Winter Park, Florida, called 911 to report that there had been a “tragedy at her home.”

She told the dispatcher she had found her husband, Michael, possibly dead, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. When asked why she thought he was dead, Redlick allegedly responded, “He’s been… I just… he’s stiff and he might have had a heart attack. I don’t know.”

The story would be the first of many Redlick would allegedly tell police investigating her husband’s death, according to the affidavit.

While on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, Redlick allegedly changed her story, claiming that the night before she and her husband had gotten into an argument and that he had “stabbed himself,” according to an arrest affidavit.

“I ran and hid in the bathroom and when I came out I was trying to help him and saw he was lying in blood and then I tried to help him and I couldn’t,” Redlick continued. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to do.”

When the dispatcher asked whether she believed her husband had died of a heart attack or the stabbing, Redlick allegedly responded, “Um… probably the stabbing triggered it. I guess. I don’t know. It’s a shoulder wound.”

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Upon arrival at the couple’s home, officers found a bloody scene that appeared to have been tampered with, according to the affidavit.

Michael was dead on the floor near the home’s entrance surrounded by a pool of blood, with bloody towels beside him and a trail of blood leading to the master bedroom.

One officer noted that the home smelled like bleach.

Again, Redlick allegedly changed her story, the affidavit states.

Redlick allegedly said that on the night of her husband’s death, Jan. 11, she was enjoying a McDonald’s hamburger in the kitchen when her husband came in, took a bite and spit the burger in her face. An argument ensued and Redlick grabbed a knife, which she said Michael took from her. He then allegedly began to stab himself.

Then, she allegedly ran to hide in the bathroom, coming out later to find her husband dead on the floor. Unable to find a phone to call for help, Redlick attempted to revive her husband before lying down next to him thinking “‘what am I going to do,’ ” Redlick had allegedly said, according to the affidavit.

In addition to being a former NBA exec, Michael was the University of Central Florid’s director of external affairs and corporate partnerships at the school’s DeVos Sport Business Management Program. He joined U.C.F. in 2013 and made a lasting impression on colleagues and students, Richard Lapchick, chair of the program, told the Sentinel.

While Redlick accepted gifts and meals from grieving friends and family following her husband’s death, police were disproving her stories.

The Medical Examiner declared her husband’s death to be a homicide, the affidavit states, noting that his stab wounds were not self-inflicted and that he suffered injuries that appeared to be defensive.

Investigators also discovered that hours before she called 911 when Redlick allegedly claimed she couldn’t find a phone, the 45-year-old was checking messages on a dating app on her phone. She waited 11 hours to call police, the affidavit states.

Blood taken from the scene also found that Redlick had alcohol in her system. Friends of the couple allegedly told police that Redlick had a drinking problem and on the night of Michael’s death she had gotten angry at one of her children at a youth football game.

One friend described Redlick as violent. Another said that before his death, Michael had described his marriage as “rocky” and would hide his steak knives, saying, “as long as I hide the steak knives everything will be fine.”

On Feb. 5, Redlick was arrested for second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.

Then on Thursday, an Orange County judge ordered Redlick to be held without bond and barred her from having unsupervised contact with her children, according to online court records.

Attorney information was unavailable Thursday. Redlick has not entered a plea.