Til Death Do Us Part Series Explores Lethal Alternatives to Divorce

“Now I’m waiting til the end of time to hurry up and arrive,” Meat Loaf sang on the seventies radio staple “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” His character had just promised eternal devotion to co-singer Ellen Foley. Investigation Discovery’s upcoming all-new original series Til Death Do Us Part explores couples who didn’t have the patience to wait out their wedding vows. From a suspicious carbon monoxide incident, to a parrot who became an eyewitness to murder, each hour-long episode tells a tragic tale of love turned lethal.” The series unveils the breaking point in each of these relationships when love and murder collide.

‘Til Death Do Us Part features all-new stories of love gone wrong, including “a loving wife turned wiccan, a spouse with a spiraling gambling addiction, and a motorcycle accident that is not what it seems.” The eight-part series premieres Tuesday, July 9 at 10 p.m.

“Love stories twisted by rage, passion soured by obsession, and joy ravaged by paranoia,” reads the official press statement. ‘Til Death Do Us Part follows lovers as they “embark on relationships that end with a destiny no one expected.”  The series shows murder, “like true love, is written in the stars.”

The incidents are illustrated through split-screen archive and originally-shot material. The series features interviews with family, friends, law enforcement and the potential victim of the crime.

Martin Duram was shot to death in his Michigan home in May 2015. His wife Glenna Duram was convicted of his murder after his pet parrot repeated “don’t fucking shoot” in court.  “Marty and Glenna Duram finally get married after nearly twenty years apart,” according to the official synopsis of the premiere episode. “It was love at first sight for Marty when he met Glenna as a teenager in Newaygo County, Michigan. But after dating for a short while, the young couple split up and eventually married other people. Years later, Marty and Glenna reconnect and think their life together is finally meant to be. When the now middle-aged couple is found shot in their own home, the case reveals a bizarre story of drugs, stolen money and a pet parrot who becomes an eyewitness.”

“When Ashlee and Emmett meet at Utah State University, it’s love at first sight,” reads the synopsis of the episode “Three Pops and a Pause,” which premieres Tuesday, July 16 at 10 p.m. “Within six months they marry in the Mormon Temple, sealing their partnership for time and all eternity. Six years later, five young kids and a growing business are putting their relationship under pressure. Then, things come to a head in a violent encounter that blows their seemingly perfect marriage apart in an instant.”

Premiering on Tuesday, July 23 at 10 p.m., the episode “Control, Kill, Delete” explores Matt and Niqué Leili’s love story, which the synopsis calls “a modern romance. They meet online, create a blended family and appear to have it all. Eleven years later, the pressure of family life and Niqué’s demanding career are straining their marriage. Suddenly the illusion of a happy marriage is torn apart forever.”

Jason and Stephanie McClurg met in 2011. They were both single parents recovering from broken marriages and desperate for love. “They have so much in common that friends and family are convinced they’ve finally found their soulmates,” reads the official synopsis. “However, after suffering a series of misfortunes that put their marriage under enormous pressure, their home becomes a tomb, and their picturesque romance crumbles beyond repair.” The episode, “Love Sick,” premieres Tuesday, July 30 at 10 p.m.

In “While You Were Sleeping,” Dr. Mark Wangler and his wife Kathy appear to be living “the middle-class dream: a 29-year marriage, two sons, financial security, and a strong faith,” according to the official synopsis. “But when, a 911 operator in Lima, OH, receives a frantic call from the Wangler household, what at first seems like a tragic accident is later uncovered to be a desperate end to a marriage riddled with secrets, lies and religious fanaticism. The episode premieres Tuesday, August 6 at 10 p.m.

“When devout young Christians Curt Thorngren and Donna Vetter marry in Meridian, Idaho in 1980, they seem set for a life of love and happiness together,” according to the synopsis of the episode “The 22-Year Itch.” “Then, 22 years of wedlock ends in murder. Detectives discover a marriage destroyed by debt, deceit and drug addiction. They identify a suspect, but with no murder weapon, can they secure a conviction?” The episode premieres Tuesday, August 13 at 10 p.m.

“Free-spirted Hope follows her heart to Oklahoma to marry tall, handsome Jerry Meek, but it’s not long before kids come along and the honeymoon is over,” in “Vows, Lies, and Whispers,” which premieres Tuesday, August 20 at 10 p.m. “Feeling trapped in a small town, Hope feels isolated and plagued by gossip, until she finds comfort in Wicca, a religion with roots in paganism. Then, a series of mysterious events shatters the family and baffles police. It will take more than a decade to break the case and reveal the terrible truth of what really happened.”

On October 13, 2013, police receive a call about a car chase on a dusty stretch of road known as the “Death Loop” on Texas State Highway 1604.  Police find a “crashed motorcycle and Francis Hall beside her injured husband, Bill Hall Jr., who later dies in the hospital,” in the episode “Love, Sex, and Trucking.” It seems like a tragic accident, but further investigation reveals a story of “love, infidelity and deadly obsession.” The episode premieres Tuesday, August 27 at 10 p.m.

‘Til Death Do Us Part premieres Tuesday, July 9 at 10 p.m. on Investigation Discovery.

Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City’s Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.