Unsolved Mysteriesis one of the preeminent mystery documentary series that arguably inspired so many that came after it. On the air since 1987, first presented wonderfully by the signature trench coat-wearing Robert Stack, the series has seen multiple iterations through the decades. Most recently,it was brought back by Netflix in 2019 in the form of a reboot. This one doesn’t have a host but still covers cold cases involving everything from murder to strange disappearances and paranormal activity.
Through the four volumes to date, the latest of which includes five episodes released in July 2024, there have been a few episodes, in particular, that haunt viewers more than others. These are the episodes that keep viewers up at night after watching. One, in particular, is arguably the most haunting. While it involvesa horrific death, it might not even have been a murder.
This Unsolved Mysteries Episode Haunts Me
In the latest fourth volume ofUnsolved Mysteries,the second episode is titled “Body in the Basement.” It covers the mysterious death of Amanda Antoni. She and her husband, Lee, were to travel from their hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to help his mother for the weekend in Saskatchewan, a 7-9-hour drive away. But a debilitating headache resulted in Amanda deciding to stay back at the last minute. Lee was in constant communication with Amanda to see how she was feeling. But during one conversation, he heard their dog Ruby bark and yelp, a crunch, and the phone cut out.
He didn’t think much of it, suspecting that her phone’s battery died or she dropped and broke it. He continued to try to text and call her but got no answer. While he started to worry, he claimed that he didn’t want to think the worst. Plus, the last thing she told him was that her migraine was starting to improve. But when he arrived home several days later, he was met with a gruesome scene. Unable to find his wife in the house, he ventured into the basement, a room of the home she did not like to go into. It was there that he saw her lifeless body lying in apool of blood. Shocked, he contacted the police, who started their investigation.
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So much of the case initially seems fishy, and the fingers pointed in multiple directions. The spouse is always considered first, but Lee was cleared of any involvement, given that his alibi of being out of town was easy to confirm. Still,some wonder if he could have hired someone to kill his wife. But there didn’t appear to be any logical motive for doing so. Then, there’s his sister,a drug addictwho he says made no secret of her disdain for Amanda. But could she have done something so heinous?
The pair lived in an unsavory neighborhood with a high crime rate where all types of characters were known to hang out. With an alleyway behind their backyard, someone might have been able to sneak into the backyard and open the back door. The area was frequented by transients entering backyards looking for recyclables. Lee let Ruby out as soon as he arrived home but could not recall if the back door was locked or unlocked. Nonetheless, nothing else looked askew in the home, aside from her phone on the floor and an overturned chair, suggesting an assailant didn’t force themselves in.
What Sends Chills up and Down the Spine
The gruesome nature of the death later confirmed to be caused by blunt force trauma, which led to Amanda bleeding to death, was bad enough.But the small clues made it even stranger. Two footsteps at the bottom of the stairs suggest that Amanda walked right to the edge of the stairwell but did not ascend. Drops of blood linked to her further indicate that she got up at some point with blood dripping from her head but never made it back up the stairs. What’s more, despite her being in the basement for almost two days, Ruby never went down to check on her or stay by her side, as Lee expected the dog would likely do.
An ornament that was confirmed to be involved in the trauma to Amanda’s head sat at the top of the stairs. One theory is that she tripped or even passed out and hit her head on the ornament, then fell down the stairs. It’s possible she was so disoriented and had already sufferedso much traumathat, despite being able to walk up to the base of the stairwell, the signals would not go from her brain to her legs to physically walk up them. Nonetheless, the image of her standing there, unable to move, combined with the reenactment of this moment, is chilling.
What’s particularly jarring is that there were no signs of the dog’s footprints anywhere, suggesting that Ruby did not, at any point, go down to check on her. Even if the dog did not lie by her side, authorities suspected to at least see paw prints as the pup went downstairs and circled around her. But there was nothing.
There weren’t any other footprints either, nor anyone else’s DNA, or signs of anyone else having been in the basement at all. It did not appear that anyone tried to wipe away their footprints or DNA. Given all this evidence, or rather lack thereof,it led authorities to rule that Amanda’s death was likely a tragic accident.
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Still, viewers can’t help but feel something in the pits of their stomachs. Lee was not beloved by her family, who resented that at one point in their relationship, she was the sole breadwinner while he had trouble holding down a job. Her family also can’t shake the fact that a chair was overturned in the dining room. That, however, could be explained if Amanda already hit her head and was trying to use the chair for leverage when she fell, bringing it down with her.
Still, learning how Ruby sat happily on the main level of the home for close to 48 hours without seeing if Amanda was okay gives fans an eerie feeling.Was the dog prevented from descending the stairs, and was Amanda so terrified of what was upstairs that she chose not to try and go there? That sounds more far-fetched thanthe accidental theory.
The case has fans terrified and curious for a definitive conclusion. This isn’t an episode to watch alone or late at night. Seeing a beautiful young woman with her entire life ahead of her lying dead in a basement and knowing she had, at one point,risen while bloodied and in pain and didn’t (or couldn’t) call for help is downright bone-chilling.
What Fans Think About the Unsolved Mysteries Episode
After the episode was released, it didn’t take fans long to devise their own theories. One of the most interesting pieces of commentary comes from RedditorAbuliglig2, who claims to be a doctor with 24 years of experience.They believe that the accidental death theory is plausible. They purport that her migraine, along with thecannabis in her system, which her husband confirmed she used for relief when she got the debilitating headaches, could have caused disorientation and impaired her coordination. They believe she could have tripped over the dog, which would explain Ruby’s yelp, hit her head on the ornament, and fallen down the stairs. Redditordavismcgravisadds that once footage and images of the entrance to the basement is revealed in the episode, it “becomes way more plausible that it was a freak accident.”
Now, adding a head injury to the disorientation and confusion she was already feeling, Abuliglig2 believes Amanda could have been stumbling around, unable to make rational decisions (like climbing up the stairs to get help). She may have even thought she needed to rest on the floor for a bit before trying again, not registering that she was dying from the blood loss. Abuliglig2 also, however, expresses disbelief that Lee did not at least ask a friend, family member, or neighbor to check on her after she stopped answering her phone. But they do add that they can’t explain why the dog did not go into the basement.
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Other Redditors, however, think Ruby’s seemingly odd response isn’t all that surprising.Panicnarwhalsays they once passed out on the kitchen floor after hitting their head and were lying unconscious for close to an hour. During this time,their three dogs never came to check on themdespite being in the same room (this was confirmed by watching their security camera footage). So, they believe it’s possible Ruby never bothered to go to the dark basement. Many others substantiated this, saying their dogs have run and hid when they have fallen or outright avoided areas where something bad happened.
Bottom line:most people believe that Amanda Antoni’s death was nothing more than a tragic accident. Still, despite the belief that no nefarious murderer was entering the home and performing heinous acts on the woman, as is the case in many other episodes ofUnsolved Mysteries,“Body in the Basement” is still one of the most frightening episodes.
It all comes down to not knowing the truth and imagining what Amanda’s last moments might have been like. It is heartbreaking to believe that she had enough strength to get up but couldn’t bring herself to go in the right direction to get help.The vision of her standing at the bottom of the stairs, her bloody footprints confirming this, is disturbing. “Body in the Basement” remains one of a fewUnsolved Mysteriesepisodes that haunt me more than any other for this very reason.WatchUnsolved MysteriesonNetflix.
