An Invisible Enemy

New Developments In The Case Of A Young Marine Who Died Suddenly - Was It Natural Causes Or Poison?

(CBS)  This story previously aired on Feb. 7, 2009. It was updated on June 27.

It was February 2002 when Cynthia Sommer, her husband, Marine Sgt. Todd Sommer, and their four children were coming home from a family weekend at an amusement park.

But as Richard Schlesinger reports, no one could have predicted the rollercoaster ride was just beginning.

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"Came back home on Sunday, got the kids to bed. And he said that his heart felt like it had fluttered," Cynthia recalls. "I said 'Should we go to the hospital?' He said 'No, I’m fine. I’m just gonna go to bed.'"

Hours later, Cynthia made the panicked 911 call.

When Todd was pronounced dead a couple of hours later at the hospital, doctors said his heart had given out.

"They explained it the same as - you hear of kids playing baseball and just falling over, that there's no symptoms, there's no warning sign, there's nothing,'" Cynthia remembers.

But there was something: Todd had started feeling sick 10 days before he died. His symptoms started on Friday, Feb. 8.

"Saturday, he started vomiting - had diarrhea, nausea, some stomach cramping. It sounded like food poisoning.”

On Sunday, Todd went to the Marine base clinic. A doctor thought it might be food poisoning and told him to wait it out. When his symptoms got worse, Cynthia turned to her mother for advice.

"The conversation would be, 'Mom, Todd’s fever is up to 102. What should I do?' And, 'I just can’t stop him from throwing up,' and, 'What else can I give him?'" Jan Lippert remembers. "I'd tell her the usual mother’s remedies. And nothing seemed to help."

Todd went back to the doctor two days later. Cynthia says they gave Todd IV fluids and prescription medications.

And by that Saturday, Feb. 16, he seemed to be finally getting better. Todd felt well enough to go on that family outing to the amusement park.

But 48 hours later, he was dead. The official cause of death: cardiac arrhythmia.

Cynthia's mother rushed to be by her daughter's side. "It was a scene that I will never in my entire life ever forget… She was upstairs in their bed and she had one of Todd's shirts," Jan recalls. "She was just clinging, just clinging onto his shirt, and saying how it smelled like Todd and this is all she had left of him, that he was gone."

Todd and Cynthia had met just three years before Todd died. He was 19 and Cynthia, a divorced mother of three, was 25.

"I finally found someone that wanted to be a friend," Cynthia says. "I found someone that I could -- wanted to share my life with.”

Within six months, Todd and Cynthia were married and living in San Diego where Todd was stationed. And before long, the newlyweds added another child to the family.

“We were a great family. And the kids loved him. I loved him,” Cynthia says. "We did family things all the time."

But it all ended in an instant when Todd died. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) opened a routine investigation into Todd Sommer’s death. As the investigation began, NCIS agents found nothing suspicious.

Lippert says her daughter began to face life as a widow. "She wanted to go on and make the most of her life and do it as best as she could.”

It didn’t take long. Cynthia found a new boyfriend and moved to Florida with her four children. Officially, there was no mystery about how Todd had died. The death certificate said natural causes. But one investigator couldn’t shake a bad feeling.

NCIS Special Agent Mark Ridley was in charge of what the service calls a death review panel. It’s the way the NCIS makes sure that all leads are pursued in military deaths, especially when someone, like Todd, dies unexpectedly.

“There were some odd things goin’ on with the investigation that I thought needed additional work," he says. "They were lookin’ at the case as being a natural death from the beginning.”

Ridley felt the autopsy had overlooked important clues -- those symptoms Todd was suffering in the days before he died. "When you look through the medical record it showed that he had vomited several times, maybe 12 to 15 times in the space of a short period of time," he says.

Ridley thought those symptoms and Todd’s sudden death were related. And it all started sounding familiar. The special agent had heard about a similar case in North Carolina and in that case the victims had been poisoned.

“It just so happens that Todd Sommer was exhibiting some of the same things that were found in some of the victims associated with the case," he says. "It resonated with me and when I read that case file it just made me a little bit uncomfortable, based on the symptoms."

Ridley was not ready to close this case. He ordered a rare heavy metals test be performed on Todd’s tissue samples, which had been removed during the autopsy.

Meanwhile, NCIS Special Agent Rob Terwilliger started looking into Sommer's personal life." Going from the day Todd Sommer died and looking at every report, every note, every scrap of paper that was in the case file.”

Terwilliger dug deeply into Todd’s relationship with his friends, his family, and his outwardly grieving widow. “More and more information came out indicating that his relationship with his wife was not what it seemed.”

The picture the NCIS was painting of Cynthia Sommer was less than flattering.

"Cindy was more of a party girl, was having financial difficulties when Todd was away on deployment,” Terwilliger adds.

The more Terwilliger studied the Sommer family finances, the worse it looked for Cynthia. He quickly discovered she was spending more money than they had -- but it was more what she was looking for. The same day Todd got sick, Cynthia apparently met with a surgeon, inquiring about breast implants.

At the time, the Terwilliger says the couple had about $150 in their bank account. The breast implants would cost nearly $6,000, and would be a huge financial strain on the family.

Cynthia says Todd wanted her to have the operation and has a note on a Valentine's Day card from him that she says proves that. In 2006, she told 48 Hours that she went ahead with the surgery just two months after Todd died.

"After he died, I just… I wanted to escape everything… I know if he were alive and he had that much money, he would have wanted me to do it."

Nearly two and half years after Todd's death, the results of the tests on his tissue samples came back. They showed Marine Sgt. Todd Sommer had been poisoned with a lethal dose of arsenic. But was it murder?

[true_or_not]

Cindy may have been a partier before her husband died. She may have had these characteristics and the military knew this. The military could have killed him and planted the arsnic to make HER look more guilty. But its just a theory. People do grieve in different ways but WOW! She must have been on drugs.

[fush2]

omg...they shouldve never let her go..shes the one who killed him...i mean the evidence is so there...she was after the money to get her boobs done....omg a 23 year old marine!!!so not fair

[stickdog3]

I saw this back in February and again this weekend, this was anti freeze poisioning. He displayed all the classic symptons. Vomiting, nausea, diahrrea, etc. Unfortunately they didn't test for this during the initial autopsy. Arsenic is in nature we injest it everyday, obviously not in lethal amounts. I feel for this guys parents, him getting involved with someone like her, at such a young age (19) with 3 kids already. That was the ultimate trick bag going in. He didn't see the signs. Let this case be a lesson to you mothers out there with sons his age or any age. When meeting women pay attention to the way they talk, act around you, everything. If you think you this might be someone you're interesed in long term ask questions, plenty of questions, don't let sex overwhelm your mind stay focused. I see this every week on "Cheaters" how deceptive these women are, and obviously we see it here on 48 Hours Mystery always keep your eyes and ears wide open when meeting these people, don't get caught up.

[arsenicvic]

Arsenic in Nature is Organic. Big difference from it's Inorganic toxic form. Organic Arsenic becomes Inorganic toxic poison when mixed with Chlorine to name one. Antifreeze would most likely shut down his liver and probably turned him yellow and the symptoms should be quite obvious. Maybe something we all have overlooked but the only positive test was Arsenic.
Your hair, nails, and outer layer of skin are made of Keratin your body produces. Arsenic ingested would cause dry skin and maybe alter the glands in the hair follicle that produce Keratin because it disrupts the Endocrine system. Exposure directly to the skin causes damage to the pore and hair follicle and then the Keratin starts to build up in the pore trying to heal the damage inside like a cut or a scrape on the outside. When the Keratin grows out of the pore on to the skin that would be Keratosis. I assume he just ingested it and since it's a known fact that Arsenic only remains in the blood for a few hours leaves the Liver and Kidney's to filter it out. Theres a huge difference between Chronic and Acute

[csi-lover]

"I needed companionship so I went out and found it". By having sex with 5 guys after Todd died? Wow, is that the American way to grieve, or what? With all those kids, she can have it. It sounds like she got a lucky break, and she knows it.

[virgosal]

Well, Cynthia Sommers must have gotten away with murder but her life is not yet over. Her freedom is only temporary because there's such a thing as Karma and the Higher Power who knows the Truth and Everything will bring that Karma down on her when the time comes, just like OJ. I hope she reads this and prepare for that day because she may be out of a physical prison now but she is still in a prison of her own and she knows it.

[arsenicvic]

Science has come a long way in recent months. It's clear to me as a victim among others what happend here. In a case where Arsenic was not inhaled and was not exposed to the skin it would clog the Liver and the rest would be filtered out as waste through the urine. The result would be abnormal heart beat, increased blood pressure, and an irregular Thyroid resulting in heart arrhythmia or failure. It's only detectable in the blood for a few hours why, becasue it's metal and it stacks up while being filtered in the liver. After ingesting it's difficult to urinate because your pushing metal through your system. In a case where moderate doses were given and the body had time to start the removal process it may only show up in the liver, kidneys, bladder, and urine. What part of the body were the other tissue samples from? As far as the 10 Does comment, it's a completely different reaction when inhaled and exposed to skin. The metal would have to make it's way through the lung and chronic result of the skin would be Keratosis among other problems. I didn't here the experts mention the Endocrine system.

[gramto8]

Actually, if you take small doses of arsenic on a regular basis, your skin is quite clear. It used to be used for that very purpose.

[stickdog3]

Hey gramto8 if an amount less than a penny can kill you, what amount can possibly be taken on a regular basis to clear your skin? I have never heard of this before, where arsenic is used to clear your skin.

[hercule1122]

This case is difficult because the people are so unpredictable. Why on earth would a 19 year old marry a 25 year old female with three kids ( by how many many fathers?)? Everyone is borderline stupid, including the parents. I expect that the wife is the culprit in his death, but the prosecutor did a poor job to say the least and her attorney also seemed to be out to lunch. I too think she used antifreeze to dispatch him, but don't know if NCIS ran tests to see. Guess she will continue to live her empty life of erotica.

[mlupchurch-2009]

and i can guarantee you that they wont let this rest.

[mlupchurch-2009]

well as far as this story tonight... sounds so much like a marine death against Robert Peter Russell against his wife whos body was never found.. Marine law.. is ********.

[cliffps]

Sometimes it takes many years before the culprits are brought to justice and too bad but if she's truly guilty, in time it'll all see the light because I don't think anyone's really giving up on this... she can be called back anytime to face justice, let's not forget that's now hanging over her head for many years to come. Not a fun way to live life.

[cepe10-2009]

Seems like a witch hunt and prosecutor misconduct here.

[piaj-2009]

Do you really think that if Todd had been poisoned with antifreeze they wouldn''t already know that? Mark Ridley made it clear that he suspected Cindy pretty much from the beginning. He would have tested for that way back then. By the way, I am still wondering why he didn''t testify. He couldn''t show up for court but he can certainly show up to discuss this case with the media. Maybe he didn''t testify because the real reason he sent Todd samples off to be tested is because of Cindy''s behavior and nothing else. He had his suspicions because of the way Cindy was acting...She wasn''t grieving "properly" so she must have killed him.

This case is over. Cindy is innocent. Sadly Sgt. Sommer died from Sudden Cardiac Arrhythmia, just like the original ME said.

Lee Cantrell talks to the media about how much arsenic it takes to kill someone but he didn''t say how much it would take for the amounts that was supposed to have been in Todd''s tissues...Why doesn''t he tell the media how he told Laura Gunn BEFORE the trial that he could not testify that Todd died from arsenic? He didn''t share that with Schlesinger, did he?

Glenn Wagner needs to follow through as he testified in court and change the death certificate back. There was no arsenic so arsenic should not be listed as the cause of death.

[padstowabbon]

really hope the family of Todd should not give up and insist on the investigation, as suggested by watch2566, shall exhumes the body and run a test. people just don''t die without any reason at 23!!!

the wife sure has a very strange way to grieve... if she is grieving at all...

[shoelane123]

That military laboratory certainly was not qualified to analyze Todd''s samples for arsenic because (1) this lab botched the analyses, (2) this lab analyzes water samples and not tissue samples, and (3) this military lab was not certified to analyze tissue samples for arsenic. Also, the prosecutor in the case did a very poor job in giving the wife a fair trial because he failed to obtain the proper expert recommendation on a certified laboratory to analyze the tissue samples. This entire case stinks, and the wife, Cynthia should be compensated for her time in jail.
Samuel P. Tucker, Ph.D.
Research Chemist
Cincinnati, Ohio

[jbrauthor]

Dr. Tucker, how did you get your doctorate, via an Internet program. You are truly an example of a dumbed down educational system. First of all Doc, in America the legal system is an adversarial system, the prosecutor isn't trying to give anyone a fair trial. The case stinks all right Doc, but not for the laughable reasons you have given. The Judge who granted the new trial should have been investigated to see if he had been paid off through her new attorney to grant a new trial which is unheard of. Cynthia's screwing 5 guys after her husbands death was a way to celebrate for her as she knew she was about to get the $250.000 insurance payout. Her murdering Todd was well thought out, but her 911 call was pretty phony, notwithstanding lying about giving Todd CPR while she was on the phone. She was a woman with a huge ego who loved turning guys on, as she did in the thong contest in Florida. Thank God some judge at least had the brains to have given this tramp a high enough bail that she got to spend 2 1/2 years in Jail. I wonder how much she paid her last defense lawyer, in addition to the money that he probably back doored to the judge who granted the new trial. Todd's parents should sue this tramp in civil court the way Mr. Goldman did in the OJ Simpson case. As far as you are concerned Dr. Tucker, tell us what dumbed down university awarded you a PHD, so the alumnae can withold future funds.

[stickdog3]

To the staff at 48 Hours Mystery, I absolutely love your show. I lookk forward every Saturday nite to viewing it. The Show this past Saturday was especially troubling. I was wondering if you could contac that Marines family and have them to continue to pursue this case, are if you could help them, like you did in that case last week about Sonia from the Phillipines who killed 2 of hewr husbands. Anywas try and help this Marines family hire a private pathologist who can run tissue samples of him and check for all types of poisoning. Trust me, she did it, its just finding how she did it. So far shes beat the odds, lets put the odds back in her husbands favor.

[stickdog3]

I remember this case, I live here in L.A. and The Times extensively covered this case. Its truly sad. That guy was in over his head from Day 1. Her getting out of jail is insanity. The NCIS blew this one. I do believe the mother is involved in this as well. It may not have been arsenic, but it was another substance, like one other blogger on here suggested, Antifreeze. He showed all the classic systems of antifreeze poisoning. It could have been easily slipped into his soda. Congress has been trying to get anti freeze manufactures to make it more bitter tasting, because of the surge in spouses doing their significant others in with this common product. Anti freeze tastes like it looks its a sweet taste. It stopped me from accepting drinks of Gatorade from my girlfriends, lovers, and associates. Don''t ever accept a drink of Gatorade from someone you''ve have bitter arguments with. This girl is going to rot in hell, for disrespecting that guys family and disposing of him as if he were a paper towel, sleeping with 5 of his friends within 72 hours of his death is unreal. Are you kidding me? I hope I don''t see here walking the street. May God have mercy on that guys soul. And I hope they continue to check those tissue samples, theres got to be a test that can be used to detect various poisons. She should be in jail, and never released, ever.

[sassalin]

robs60,

Yea..because there are no guily people in jail. They are all innocent and it was the lawyers fault.

Your son is a criminal and so is this lady. Deal with it.

[roscoezzz]

I saw this same story on DATELINE NBC last year and they went more in depth with this girl''s defense attorney. He did a horrible job with the arsenic theory of death.
The NCIS on this case also did a pretty bad job. The arsenic was mixed with something else and was botched. So, my question is this, HOW DID THIS YOUNG AND HEALTHY 23 YEAR OLD DIE?
As for the wife''s behavior after he died. Well, talk about no respect. It''s no wonder her kids were taken away. She could still be tried for her husband''s death too. Interesting....

[robs60]

Don''t know how to start with what I want but!!!
On your show about the young lady & marine husband.I
caught just by chance last nite!!
I see she had a attorney out of Stuart ,Fl. Robert Udell
My son used this guy for 2 appeals!!With failure.
He sits in Fl. prison for 10 years for nothing!
Basically!!!Is there any way you people could have Ms. Sommers or her family contact me??I AM in Mich.
I need to talk with them about this attorney only!!\ sincerely Robert Sills

[watch2566]

IF you have not watched something
die from arsenic poison, then you can''t really have any idea just what agony this death is. We had a cotton farmer to the North of our pasture. Cotton defoliant is 75% arsenic/25% diesel
The wind was blowing hard from the North when the farmer was spraying and the defoliant came over onto our pasture. We were not home, when we arrive home about 10pm,
we heard screaming when we pulled in the drive way, and rushed to the barn, to find 10 does dead and the last one in agony. The nearest neighbors had left messages asking what was wrong
with the does. No way that children in the apartment were still asleep when the EMT arrived, that this man was in bed with some discomfort, got up and dropped dead is not the reaction that I witnessed. The lab report on the stomach content, of the last doe to die had .00015 ppm, of arsenic ALL tissue of the animals liver/kidney had arsenic
I watched the entire trial, and didn''t believe it then, she was convicted because of her conduct, each of
us has to grieve in our own way... shock causes strange behavior
She could have killed him, but not
with arsenic.