The death of a Missouri podiatrist at her fiance’s apartment last month has brought renewed attention to the death of fire captain Robert Daus’s previous fiancee, Grace Holland, who allegedly shot herself in front of him.
Dr. Sarah Sweeney, 39, was found dead at Daus’s apartment on January 13, and her death is being treated as suspicious pending autopsy results, although her body had no obvious signs of trauma, The New York Post reported.
Meanwhile, texts with a friend and former coworker indicate she may have been afraid of Daus, calling him a “murderer” in a one text, although she later cut off contact with her family after they sent her articles about Holland’s July 2020 death.
St. Louis County police began a new probe of the 35-year-old Holland’s death in 2022 at the request of local authorities as Holland’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Daus, claiming he either shot her himself or that his abuse led her to take her own life.
Sgt. Tracy Panus told The Post that review was completed and sent to the prosecutor’s office in December.
“This case was ruled a Suicide by the Medical Examiner’s office long before we became involved,” Panus said. “At the conclusion of our investigation, as with every other death investigation, we never made a determination of the manner of death. This ruling is solely the responsibility of the Medical Examiner.”
“At this point, the case is still classified as a suspicious death and remains active. It will be incumbent upon the prosecutor’s office to decide if any further action is required or if any criminal charges will be filed,” he said.
Sweeney was trying to persuade her friend, Danielle Mankunas, to support her lawsuit against her former employer when she sent her a text on March 17, 2022.
“I have had to move in with my boyfriend the ‘murderer’ [sic] which has been scary at times,” she wrote, The Post said.
In November of that year, Sweeney filed suit against Dr. Franklin Harry and the Best Foot Forward Clinic, where she worked briefly in 2021, claiming sexual harassment, gender and disability discrimination, and retaliation. Harry and his clinic filed a counterclaim,
Their attorney, Mark D. Murphy, requested the communications between Sweeney and Mankunas to determine Sweeney’s mental state.
“[A]ccording to Sweeney [Daus was] abusive and suspected of murdering a previous girlfriend,” Murphy wrote in court documents.
The suit and countersuit were ongoing, but a judge ordered a stay in light of Sweeney’s death.
Daus has not been charged with a crime.
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[Featured image: Sarah Sweeney, Robert Daus, and Grace Holland/Facebook]
