Ghost Adventurer star wails in court as he comes face to face with wife who tried to kill him
On Wednesday, a Nevada judge sentenced Victoria Goodwin, 32, to 36 to 90 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to conspiring to have her husband killed while he was on a filming trip in California.
Court documents revealed that Victoria contacted Florida inmate Grant Amato - who is serving a life sentence for murdering his parents and brother - and offered him $11,500 to carry out the hit, with a $2,500 down payment already made.
But, her devious plan unraveled when prison authorities seized Amato's phone and discovered disturbing communications between him and Victoria.
Investigators said she instructed him to make Aaron's death look like an accident and provided detailed information about his travel plans and routines.
At her sentencing, Victoria apologized to Aaron, saying she would 'always hold love for him' and promised he would 'never be in danger of her again.'
Aaron, 49, wept as he described the betrayal of discovering that the 'love of his life' had not only cheated on him but had tried to have him killed.
'For seven years I thought I was in the most loving relationship of marriage with my best friend, someone who I trusted with my whole heart and laughed with every day,' the paranormal investigator said.
Failing to hold back tears, he said after he found out his then-wife was 'cheating on him with several men,' he gave her options for a path forward. One option was divorce and another was 'trying to work things out' because he just 'loves her so much.'
Aaron went on to recount how Victoria initially expressed regret and begged not to lose him.
'She didn't want to lose me,' he recalled. 'She was so sorry for the pain she caused me. At least that's what she told me.'
He then revealed the extent of her betrayal. 'Now discovering she put a hit out to kill me more than once, got blackmailed, and spent almost our entire savings to keep it quiet.'
He also told the court that Victoria had even 'got spiritually married' to the man she enlisted to kill him.
In his emotional statement, Aaron said the experience has left him deeply scarred and in constant fear for his life.
'This has led me to fear for my life. I've hired armed security for weeks, not knowing if it was over or not,' he said. 'I cry every day, I feel so low. She grew me into a person I never was. I will always wonder why.'
He accused Victoria of attempting to keep him from speaking at the sentencing, claiming he only learned of the murder plot when detectives informed him.
'Now, behind bars, she's trying to manipulate through lawyers and trying to silence me to not come here today,' he said.
The murder plot was set to unfold in October 2024 while Aaron was filming Ghost Adventures in California. The show follows Aaron and three other men as they explore reportedly haunted locations and investigate paranormal activity.
Prosecutors cited chilling messages recovered from Amato's phone. One message from Amato to a hitman read: 'He's asleep right now in the hotel room… I need to know what's going on. Can I get an update. Was it done?'
In another message, Victoria wrote to Amato: 'Am I a bad person? Because I chose to end his existence. Not divorce.'
When questioned by authorities, Victoria claimed she first learned about Amato through a true crime documentary and began corresponding with him.
She described their relationship as 'pen pals' and admitted that she and Aaron had been experiencing marital problems, which led her to 'connect' with Amato.
According to divorce documents obtained by Court TV, Aaron and Victoria married in May 2020.
Following her arrest, Aaron filed for divorce on March 12, stating: 'The views, tastes, likes, and dislikes of Husband and Wife have become incompatible to the extent that it has become impossible for them to live together as husband and wife in marital harmony. There is no possibility of reconciliation between Husband and Wife.'
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