The Body of Sherri Malarik Was Found in the Parking Lot of a Winn-Dixie — What Happened?

On the evening of Sept. 21, 2001, Greg and Sherri Malarik were hosting a family party at their home in Cantonment, Fla., when Sherri disappeared. According to Court TV, the couple had been married for seven years and met while stationed in Bermuda with the Navy. Coincidentally, they each had 4-year-old sons when they got together, and went on to have three more children who were all "under the age of 6" when Sherri vanished.

Their children, along with several cousins, were having a sleepover at the Malarik house when Greg asked Sherri to step outside. That was the last time she was seen alive. The next day her body would be found inside her minivan, parked at a Winn-Dixie grocery store. What happened to Sherri Malarik? Here's what we know.

A medical examiner later ruled Sherri's death a homicide and said she died from "two gunshot wounds to the head with a .25 caliber handgun." She was found curled up on the floor of her minivan. The first thing investigators did was speak with everyone at the sleepover. Lisa Leake, Sherri's niece, told police that after Greg beckoned his wife outside, she "heard the sound of a ‘pop’ similar to a firecracker, after which (Gregory) came back inside, immediately took a shower and changed clothes.”

Detective Buddy Nesmith found this information interesting, as it pertained to the crime scene. In an episode of People Investigates, he said the placement of Sherri's body suggested she was "unnaturally shoved into the floorboard for concealment," but that's not the only thing that troubled him. There was a lot of blood in the van, but none outside of it. That was odd. "So we have a crime scene somewhere, but this is not the crime scene," he said at the time.

Detectives began looking at Greg, who told them she was running to the store that night, which explains her location. Still, something felt off so they obtained a search warrant to go through his home. While there, they located Sherri's purse shoved inside a drawer in her bedroom. "I don’t know a woman in the world who goes to the store without her purse or her wallet, now that’s just the bottom line," said Nesmith.

Investigators spoke with Greg over 20 times, during which he denied ever owning a gun. While the murder weapon was never found, what police did uncover was Greg's affair with a woman he met while deployed overseas. Her name is Jennifer Spohn, and the affair continued after Greg had returned home. In fact, Jennifer became friendly with the family and even babysat the Malarik's children.

The case went cold until 2020, when Spohn approached police with new information, per the Pensacola News Journal. Spohn would eventually testify during Greg's second trial that on the night Sherri was killed, he called and asked her to meet him at the Winn-Dixie at 7 p.m. "I pulled up next to the van. He got out of the van and got into the car," she said. She claimed Greg told her that he was forced to shoot Sherri twice as the first bullet didn't kill her.

"He was trying to figure out how to take it back, and he knew he couldn't, and he had to shoot her a second time," testified Spohn. Greg's attorney said that Spohn could have just as easily killed Sherri herself. He also argued that Spohn came up with this story after being interrogated by police for two days straight. It should be noted that Spohn was given immunity for testifying.

In October 2023, Greg was found not guilty after a mistrial in 2022. "I'm grateful for Chris and his team, and I'm glad it's all over now," said Greg to the Pensacola News Journal.

For more on this story, watch People Magazine Investigates: The Soccer Mom Murder at 9 p.m. on Nov. 11. It's available on Investigation Discovery and MAX.