The Suspicious Death of Todd Geib

Todd Geib vanished in the midst of a keg party and bonfire in Casnovia, Michigan during the early morning hours of June 12th, 2005. The 22 year-old was amongst approximately 100 partygoers, and they were in a rural, marshy area of Casnovia with hip-high grass that expanded over 6 miles. Todd rented a room at his cousin’s house on Moon Court on the evening of the party, and he intended to sleep there afterwards. He was last heard from via a series of phone calls that occurred between 12:47am and 12:57am.  Todd called a friend at 12:47am and said that he “had enough” of the party and was going to walk home. At 12:51, he called his sister but only said “I’m in a field”  before the phone call cut off. Todd’s sister called him back, but only heard what she thought was the sound of wind or heavy breathing before the call cut off again. Todd’s phone was used twice over the next few minutes in attempt to call his sister back. The last attempt was at 12:57am. Todd was never heard from again after that.

Once Todd was reported missing, the area where he was last seen was throughly searched 3 separate times. One search included over 1500 volunteers and aircrafts, but unfortunately nothing was found. Then, three weeks later, on July 2nd, 2005, Todd’s body was found in Ovidhall Lake, a remote area near the party site. The couple that found him stated that they found his body standing upright in the water; they distinctly remember it because “his head and shoulders were sticking out of the water.” An autopsy determined that Todd had a .12 blood alcohol content at the time of his death. His cause of death was determined to be drowning, however the manner of death was undetermined. After these findings were made public, the Michigan State Police closed Todd’s case.

Ovidhall Lake creek

Todd’s parents do not believe that his death was an accidental drowning—they believe he was murdered. However, when they initially voiced their beliefs to police officers, they were dismissed. In fact, one officer told Todd’s mother that Todd ended up in the lake because he simply “went for a swim.” But that did not add up—as Todd was found fully clothed with his wallet in his jeans pocket.

Four years later, in 2009, the CEO of Forensic Identification and Profiling Laboratory, Dr. Michael Sikirica, reviewed Todd’s autopsy report and recovery photos. Based on his findings, Dr. Sikirica concluded that Todd, who was missing for three weeks, had only been dead for 2-5 days before he was found. It was also concluded that Todd did not have any water in his lungs—which means he did not die by drowning. These findings were shared with a plethora of investigate professionals from across the world, and all of the professionals agreed with Dr. Sikirica’s conclusion. Despite this, the Michigan State Police reportedly refused to re-open Todd’s case.

Dr. Sikirica

There are many theories that have emerged about what lead to Todd’s death. One particular theory is that somebody drugged Todd, leading him to be incapacitated—and then he was killed. This theory came about after it was revealed that Todd had two different anti-depressants in his system at the time of his death: amitriptyline and desipramine. Todd was not prescribed those medications; additionally it is unlikely that any doctor would prescribe those two medications together, as the combination of the two have been known to cause “an additive effect, which could increase the likelihood of side effects such as hallucinations, confusion, agitation, cardiac arrest, coma, and seizures.” Due to this, it is believed that somebody drugged Todd with the two prescriptions against his will.

Another theory is that Todd was killed by the Smiley Face Killer—a group of murderers who are suspected to have killed several college-aged young men before dumping their remains in a body of water. It has been alleged that the Smiley Face Killer’s victims were found with graffiti and smiley faces near their bodies. However, it is unclear if any of that was found near Todd’s body. Many experts have also expressed their disbelief in the existence of the Smiley Face Killer.

Todd’s case has still not been re-opened, however his family members are desperately hoping to see justice in his case one day. More recently, a team of professionals and Todd’s mother submitted their findings that point to Todd’s death being a homicide to the Muskegon County Prosecutor, and they also requested a full review by a medical examiner. At this time, though, no final reports have been completed.

[Accident vs. Foul Play] [Small Town Mysteries]

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Todd's cause is featured on the Oxygen series 'Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice' which is available here on Amazon.