Warning, the following episode contains intense and explicit descriptions of domestic violence, suicide, and a highly traumatic death involving fire.

The information presented in this episode is based on publicly available records, family statements, and alleged accounts.

This podcast is for informational purposes only.

We are not law enforcement, legal

professionals, or medical experts, and we're not accusing anyone of any crimes. Listener discretion

is advised. I'm Ashley. And I'm Ricky. And you are listening to Crime Salad. to crime salad.

February 8th, 2018, it was brutally cold, even by Minnesota standards, the kind of cold where the air is sharp enough to sting your lungs the second you step outside.

Temperatures have dropped well below negative 30. Wind chill was hitting around negative 25.

And snow banks were piled four to five feet high at the end of every driveway in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Doors stayed shut. Neighbors hadn't seen each other in weeks. And in one apartment building, while the silence and cold kept everyone in, a 24-year-old man was burning alive inside his

apartment. Police arrived, but they didn't go in. For 38 minutes, he was in there, alone, burned over 90% of his body,

blind from the smoke, choking on fumes. He eventually forced his way out, collapsed in the hallway,

and died hours later. His death was rolled a suicide before he was even pronounced dead.

His name was David Elmquist, and his family has spent the last six years saying that's not what happened.

And when you look at the available scene photos, the testimony, the investigation, or lack of one, it's hard to disagree with them.

Plymouth is one of those suburbs that regularly lands on the money magazines

best places to live list. It's a city of cul-de-sacs, manicured lawns, and a deep feeling of safety.

It's about 10 miles west of Minneapolis. It's a hockey hair and SUV kind of town.

People move there for the YZTA School District and the massive Plymouth Community Center.

It's the kind of place where the worst thing that could happen is a garage door freezing shut.

But behind that image, something happened that this community and one family has never

been able to move past. David was someone people gravitated toward. He was someone that people

...