Trenton Dee Mallory was 35 when he was found dead in the master bedroom of his Levering, Michigan home on March 6, 2014. Described by family as warm and good with people, he worked for Coca-Cola in Petoskey, enjoyed hunting, fishing and 4-wheeling, and took great joy in his children. His fiancée, 28-year-old Amber Smith, called 911 saying she’d returned to find the house ransacked and feared a robber might still be inside.

Investigators concluded Mallory died of a single gunshot wound to the head and that the scene had been staged to look like a home invasion. The murder weapon was found buried in a snowbank near Smith’s sister’s driveway. Prosecutors said the gun’s loading process would have taken a couple of minutes, a detail cited as evidence of premeditation; financial problems in the couple’s life were presented as a possible motive. Smith was arrested, tried and convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and felony-firearm possession and sentenced to life without parole plus two years. Anyone who knew Trent or has information about his last days is asked to come forward.