In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 1st, 2023, the Daytona Beach Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at a home in the 600 block of Clark Street. The first thing firefighters noticed upon arriving at the two-story house was that the front door was unlocked. The next thing they noticed was an active fire burning on the second floor. As crews moved through the home to extinguish the flames, they found an unresponsive male lying on the floor of an upstairs bedroom. He was quickly removed from the house so paramedics could assess him. It became clear almost immediately that this was not a fire-related medical emergency. The police were immediately notified. Hey, looks like this guy got [ __ ] murdered, dude. Looks like he got gutted about five times. And they [ __ ] cut him three more times and [ __ ] left him. What? Oh, okay. 50 Central. Is this going to be a stabbing and attempted arson? >> [music] >> Is this how y'all found him? They found him upstairs in a pool of blood. >> Why why I I don't understand why we weren't dispatched here sooner. But somebody was. Alio got dispatched to this looking for a fire alarm getting or somewhere at Clark and uh But when did y'all Is this how y'all found him? Where'd y'all find find him? >> Found him on the second story in that room up there. Okay. On that So y'all brought him out here? >> Yeah. Okay. 50 Central. Got The firefighters are advising they found him inside a bedroom on the second story and they brought him out. Copy. That's how he ended up outside the house. Is there anyone else inside the house? Did y'all clear it? >> Not they've found so far. Okay. We We went Yeah, 21, I'm going to need a couple more units out here. The victim was later identified as 79-year-old Michael Dino Sarasoli. >> [music] >> He was pronounced shortly before 2:00 a.m. and it was clear someone wanted him dead. He had suffered blunt force trauma to the back of his head and multiple stab wounds to his torso. Shortly after, a detective arrived to begin the homicide investigation. [music] So My name is Detective Joey Rosas. I work in the homicide unit with Daytona. Um You uh This call came out as just a fire call, right? Call came out as a fire alarm uh that was a flag down to PDU. Hey notified us. So we came single engine emergency contact. Yep. We got here and no one was here. There was like no PDU that was here. Nobody in the vicinity. Okay. And then was there a fire inside the house at all? There was. What was it more on the upstairs or downstairs? Second floor as soon as you go up the stairwell. It was right in the middle of the floor. To the left side. Near near the wall but not on the wall. Okay. Where was Where was the body at? So you go upstairs up the stairs to the room to the left. >> Yep. He was directly down from the door to the left side. There's a mattress up there with blankets and everything on it. He had a blanket kind of over him but not 100%. So it's kind of a say with pulled over him or whatever but the blanket over his head was exposed. It was smoked out. So being that the fire environment Joe was actually in the building. All right. Basically if it's IDLH and all of that, our first priority is getting people out of the house. So Did you notice any any any wounds on him at the time? I noticed blood on the floor. It was a key sign of something happened. Key sign of something happened? It was around his head so it was unknown to me whether he fell, hit his head or what the case may have been. So I made the order to take him out. And then he was transferred to paramedic carry assessed him. So Okay. As firefighters gave their account, the homicide unit moved quickly. They secured the scene, began building a timeline, and started searching for potentially [music] dangerous suspect. A search warrant was obtained for the home. Inside Sarasoli's upstairs bedroom, investigators found [music] two cell phones, multiple weapons, and golf clubs with blood on the handles. Detectives questioned the homeowner who said a woman named Nicole Max lived at the residence and occupied a first-floor bedroom. She was no stranger to the police due to multiple [music] recent fire and medical calls to the address. To them, she was not known to be dangerous but someone tied to welfare checks [music] and disturbances rather than assaults. Based on the victim's injuries and the fire set inside the [music] home, investigators ruled out justifiable homicide and treated the case as an urgent [music] public safety matter. A bolo was issued to locate Nicole and determine her role. Police also learned from a witness that Nicole had a casual involvement with a man who lived locally. Detectives went to a nearby address as part of their search. Where we were at at Clark. At Clark? Why were you going there? Cuz he heard that there's a bunch of [ __ ] going on over there. How many people in this house right now? Just me. Okay, you're the only one in the house? Yeah. You live here? Yeah. Okay. All right. Are you looking for Nicole? Where is she at? I have no idea. I don't even stay here because she's a crazy [ __ ] Can we go inside? Make sure she's in there or not in there? >> she ain't here, bro. I promise you. I know. I'm just asking if you would go inside. Like I have no Okay. And so we're not going to be surprised when nobody There's nobody else What about this camper right here next to him in this next lot? Any dogs or anything? >> check the camper though. I have no problem with checking the camper. Is anybody supposed to be in there? No. Okay. You got any dogs or anything? Uh-uh. Okay. She might have came in and got in the camper. I don't know. Cuz she staying in the camper? Where does she stay at? What room? She doesn't stay here. Okay. She stays at Clark. She stays at Clark. Yeah. But she But would she come here and stay in the camper at any time? No. I don't allow her over here. Who's in that camper though? I just put it up to air it out. It's right there in the next one. Um any weapons in there? I have weapons inside. Does she Does she know about those weapons too? >> Uh-uh. All right. All right. Well, that means she could possibly have access to them. >> I lock my door every [ __ ] day. Is that camper unlocked? My [ __ ] is Um no, it's unlocked. No no dogs or nothing in there? You know there's going to be a alarm? Mm-mm. Okay. You want me and y'all to just want to check the camper real quick? Yeah. All right. What about this side over here? My lights on this side. Huh? Who stays there? That's just my room right there. Your room? Yeah. Nobody's in there? No. I I haven't even been staying in there. Dude, just you know when we come through, going to be in a certain way. You want to just stand behind us or out of the way if we while we look through the house. That's it. I'd appreciate it, man. Just for everybody's safety. That's all. Dude, I'm good. Okay. All right. I don't want my [ __ ] tossed up. >> No, we're not going to toss your camper. Can I put some stuff away in my room? Uh just Just hold on, man. We'll just We'll be in and out real quick. I promise you. All right. Listen, if you If you're worried about a bong or something, ain't nobody worried about that, all right? If If anybody's in here, make yourself known. Say that again. Nobody in the house. I got you here. After checking nearby locations, officers broadened their search. Then at approximately 3:26 a.m., officers from the Holly Hills Police Department observed a woman matching Nicole Max's description standing outside a Crystal's restaurant just over 2 miles from the crime scene. She was barefoot and wearing torn clothing. As officers approached, she immediately dropped a knife and a hammer. So Listen, what is that? Meth pipe? Yeah. No, I don't smoke it. >> a favor. Hey. 38415 Central. Is that a meth pipe? Just keep her close. Stay back. Stay back. Stay back. 10-25 with this possible suspect from the Clark Street follow at the Crystal's on Mason. We'll be out with the Daytona. What are you doing? Where'd you get your pants from? You just gave me a second to Oh no, I have pants. Where'd you get the pants from? I have them in my bag. I'll give you pinky swear. You okay? Yeah. I lost my two wheels on the bike. Signal five suspect. and everything. You okay? All right. happened? Where's your cash? You got some blood on your cash. That's my toe. Oh, do you need medical or anything or no? Uh No. No, it's over my toe. >> No, you're good? Yeah, I'm okay. You good? >> Just want to make sure you're okay. What you smoking? I'm like She was in the Negative. Okay. Yeah, I was in the subway. How do you rip sandals off? No, they broke. I'm just grabbing my money and ID. Yeah. These are shorts, but I have I'm just You don't got to No, you don't got to do that. Oh, no, these I was walking around in these earlier. You can ask These are my bottom now. Okay. I just burned my arm right here. Can I put my other stuff or I'm sorry? Can I put my other stuff with this stuff? Yeah, if you want to put your shorts over there. >> What are these? What? I just came from the ocean, so You were at the beach? Yeah. What kind of pills are those? Um I got those from somebody over at the uh park. What's the deal with the hammer? I found it on the bridge. And then I always have a knife with me. Totally. Officers detained Nicole in the Crystal's parking lot until Detective Roses arrived. After some brief rapport-building, he got straight to the reason for the stop. Almost immediately, it became clear she was struggling to keep her story straight, not just in the details, but in how she understood what was happening. You all right tonight? Yeah, I'm okay. I just walk in and then I was at the beach. And then I came to 7-Eleven. And then they pulled me over. Who did? Um I think they already left, the guy that did. Oh. He saw me at 7-Eleven, though. Right. Yeah. So, and then some other guy came talking to me, so So I was just walking and I just came from 7-Eleven. Right. Yeah. So, you were >> came from the hospital, too. I was at the hospital. That's a So, when you walk You walked from home to the beachside? To the bridge, yeah. >> Or to the bri- or to the bridge? All right. And where's Where's home at? What's the address? Right here. That's not an address, ma'am. >> yeah, right here. Um You Like does your >> I got to look at my driver's license. I forget. >> I It's okay. >> right here, over there by that shop next door. Yeah. Oh, next to that the the the old easy uh the old pawn shop? Yeah. Right there? Yeah. Okay, beh- like behind there? Yeah. Okay. All right. Um So, when you left the house today to go to the uh bridge, Mhm. right? What time was that? I don't I'm I'm homeless. Like I just You're homeless? Yeah. Okay. So, do you work anywhere? No. Okay. All right. Can you tell me I So, there's somebody I'm going to show you a photo of. Tell me if he if if this person looks familiar. >> know anybody. Hell no. No. I don't know nobody like that. Query concealed weapon permit. No, that's just Generate photo lineup. Why would I know someone in a lineup? Oh, no, that's that's That's just a photo. Don't The The words The The boxes underneath tell me >> stress, but I don't think so, no. Okay. Might I be around? Let me see. What's his name? His name's Mike. Okay, I know a couple Mikes. Yeah, yeah. >> You know Mike? >> two Mikes. You know how many Mikes? Three, four. Do you know any Mikes that live around here in Daytona or Mhm. Yeah. Do you know this person? Concealed weapon permit. I don't know. That's That's That's just a box. >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> That's a tab Okay, why? So, do you know who this person is? Why? I'm asking you. I don't know. No, I know you're You just said you're asking me and you don't know why you're asking me. >> No, no. I said I said simple is do you know who this person is? And his name his You asked me what his name was and I said his name is Mike. Yeah. I said I know Mike. You know this Do you know this Mike? Do you know this Mike? I've known him, yeah. You do know him? No, I've only known him. I'm sorry? Yeah. Okay, how do you know him? I was with him or by him, yeah. When? Last week I was with him or something. Oh, you did? >> Yeah. What? I thought you were homeless for the past four years. >> No, I told you I'm in a home. At that point, Detective Roses focused on the contradictions in her account. To him, it looked like evasiveness or confusion. What he didn't yet know was that Nicole Max had been living inside a reality that didn't always match the one around her. When's the last time you lived with this this person? Very recently. How recent? Like recently. I don't know. Like like recent? The last month? The last week? The last day? Yeah. >> Like What What is it? What's recent? Yeah. What What's I don't I'm not too sure. What is that? Recently. Like Yeah, right. Is it like a week ago? Because you had told me you'd been homeless for the past >> I'm in a home for four years. Yeah. >> Right, but you had said for the past two years. >> address is over here. Okay. >> Why was Ow, my toe. Okay. So, when's the So, how You said you lived with him? Did you Is that >> Yeah. You did? Yeah, him and the other Mike and the other Mike. Who's the other Mike? Do you know their last name? Um my brother over that way, but I don't remember him. Okay. Yeah. What >> he was staying in like Dallas home or something. Okay. Got you. When's the last time you saw Mike, this Mike, the the one I just showed you a photo of? I don't remember. I've been outside for a little bit. Okay. Have Were you Did you see Well, you went to the gym and you had the panic attack and you went to the hospital. Yeah, I was at the hospital and then I came back outside. >> Then you came back outside. Was Was it still Was it still sunny Was it still sunny out when you got released from Halifax? Yeah. So, with that, that's where I live at. Where? I live at that house. >> What house? What house? Yeah, I know Mike. Okay. Okay. So, I know Mike. It's just you and me talking, so >> Okay, yeah, I know Mike. Okay. All right, did y'all date? No, I've only seen him a handful of times. Okay. >> Yeah. Okay. So, you know Mike. Mhm. And you used to live with Mike. >> Yes. And when's the last time you saw Mike? I don't remember cuz I was at the hospital and then I came back out. Okay. So, did you see him today? No, I don't think so. Okay. All right. Okay. Yeah. Based on Nicole's inconsistencies and the circumstances of where and how she was found, Detective Roses believed he had enough probable cause for an arrest. Well, it's going to go with you. You said I could go with you earlier. Joey. I told you because we don't have We don't have a cage. Yes, so because of my Okay, let's go. Yeah, we don't have a Hold on, one second. I'm putting your money right here. Okay. fancy equipment here. Oh, right here. Going? Right over here. Okay. Right over here. I ain't getting nothing to drink. I'll get you something to drink. I'll get you something to Hold on. All right. Say my babe. Okay, got your name. Do you have something to drink yourself? I do not. Okay, I'll get you something to drink once I get you back to the police station. All right. I got to go. Let's go. Okay. So, I have to search you. All right. All right. All right. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, let's go. And this shit's hurting me. Okay. Ma'am, I can't get If you lean If you lean forward and if you lean back Yeah, if you lean back, it'll fit just perfectly. I'm not comfortable. I know, I know. She like it. Okay, hold on, one I'm not I'm not refusing. I'm not refusing I'm not refusing I'm not being aggressive. >> Okay, you can't get You can't get out. Give me a second. You're not listening. I need to stand up. Your legs and your arms. I'm not Hold on, listen. Look, I'm not being aggressive. Look, let me get my flashlight. No one said you're aggressive. Hold on, look. Look, do you see that opening? I don't like that. You have to sit back like that. >> That's the only way to go. I can't breathe. I'm not comfortable. It'll be okay. We'll get the AC on. Can I get another officer, please? I'm not being I'm not Detective Wallace. I'm not being rude. I'm not I'm not being aggressive. Do you want to try to sit in there and see how it feels? Maybe try to sit >> It yes, if you don't sit in there the right way, it's literally there's an imprint for your arms. You see that? You have to sit back in there like you just have to put your arms back there. I'm not comfortable. I'm just not comfortable. Nicole, this is the only way you can be transported. We're going right up the road. It's not that far. >> we have another officer? We don't. The quickest we can do this is the quickest you can be done. >> Look, we could We could have been there by now. It is like literally 7 minutes on the road if we hit every light. I'm hurting really bad. What are you I'm not being rude. I'm not >> What hurts? My body. Everything hurts. Okay. Everything hurts. I don't want to be back there. I'm not comfortable. Hold on. We're right there. >> want to be back there. I'm not comfortable. What's hurting your feet? Yeah, everything. Well, I see your toe looks a little hurt. Do you want to lean against the car? Okay. Can you put your feet up a little bit? They're trying to figure something out if you want to sit down so your feet don't hurt. Nicole, you can sit with your feet down. What's wrong with your toe? I'm just not comfortable. Why? What's wrong? I really need something to drink. Okay. Really badly. The quicker you get out there, the quicker you can get something. I got a Diet Mountain Dew. Please. Yes. Will you sit in the car? Yes. Promise? Yes. Okay. Yes. If she If I give her a Diet Mountain Dew, she'll sit in my car. No, I'm good. Like you got a Diet I got a Diet Mountain Dew. Mickey things in here. Okay. So. I would like another. Nicole, Nicole, get in the car. I'm not refusing. Well, I've given you everything you've asked for. I want to drink another drink. What is that? It's a Diet Mountain Dew. Can I have it? Yes, we got it. We got to We got to move along here. All right. It don't taste like Diet Mountain Dew. Do you want to see me open it? No, I'm I'm good. Okay. I was going to taste it for lunch. That's what you're doing? Yeah, it was part of my lunch. Finish your soda and we got to go. Okay. We got to move this along. >> You're going with me? I'm not. I'm going home. Okay. Me and Joey will be following you. Okay. I'll be back in a few hours though. I'm going with you. Finish your drink. Okay. All right, this is the time to go. Yeah. All right, Nicole, get in the car. >> All right. All right. Thank you. All right. All right, let me get the can. One more drink. I don't want it. Yeah, one more. All right, let me have the can. They don't taste like that. Hold on, I'm not done, ma'am. You said one more drink. I'm not done. Nicole, no, don't [ __ ] do that. I [ __ ] want Oh, oh, oh. She's doing it on purpose. What? Yep, yep. Nicole. WHAT IN THE [ __ ] OH. WE GOT CHARGED. OH, YEAH. OH, I'M NOT I'M NOT worried about that. She's trying to get rid of the [ __ ] evidence. Yep. Let's get her to the station and get her out. Nicole's attempt to wash away evidence failed. Officers would later describe her behavior as frantic and disorganized, more panicked than calculated. She was transported to the Daytona Beach Police Department for evidence collection, including DNA swabs and her clothing. Earlier, she had invoked her right to an attorney. Later, a second detective tried to see if she would be willing to speak. Excuse me. Yes, ma'am. I don't share a walk on the way. All right. Look at that. The table's cleaner than it's been in a while. Okay. Yeah, that's soft. All right, Miss Nicole. Yeah, what's going on, Dave? Um so, my I know you were talking to Detective Roses earlier. Yeah, he said he was going to get me the paperwork. I don't really know what it was regarding. >> What kind of paperwork? He read me something. I don't know what it was. Okay. Yeah. All right. I don't recall. Okay. Uh So, um my understanding is earlier and I don't know what I said. I'll be I got nothing to do today, so I'll be happy. I'll sit here and talk to you all day long. >> Okay. But my understanding is earlier with and maybe I don't I don't know why. I don't know exactly what happened, um but at some point you said you told Detective Roses you don't want to talk anymore. No, yeah, I didn't I I didn't comprehend. So, that's why I don't feel comfortable talking >> Okay. uh with how he was reading it. And so, I need to So, let's Well, finish what you're doing and then talk >> Yeah, I just need to wipe my eye cuz Okay. I had the mango bites, so as you know What happened to your eye? Oh, nothing. Just the mascara and everything. Yeah, just had a rough one. All right, I hate when mascara gets in my eye. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Um yeah, and nothing like horrific or anything. Just you know. All right. So, I know earlier when you were talking to Detective Roses, you guys were on the side of the road, you know, there's probably cars driving It was whatever. Now that we're here, okay, you have We're having some coffee together. All right. >> but like I said, I know you told Detective Roses you don't want to talk anymore. Maybe you Maybe you wanted to that you wanted an attorney, but you just said maybe you didn't comprehend what he was saying. Yeah, we did talk and Okay. So, like I said, I'll be happy to sit with you and talk to you and explain everything to you. Um when I opened the door, I was just going to explain to you what was going on and you said you wanted to talk to me. Is that correct? I just want to listen cuz I don't I don't recall what's going on. All right. Um So, I have no idea really, but Okay. Yeah, so I want him to repeat it to So, when he picks me up, I wasn't there. He picked you up? No, no, he picks me up. >> Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. You know, like he's right on the side of the road and I got you. Okay. And all the cops, like you said, all the cops coming in and I'm looking around like this like I have no clue what's going on right now. Well, like I said, I will be happy to talk to you all day long. I'll explain everything to you. Yeah. You know what I mean? This is obviously I think this is a better a better setting to have a to have a discussion. >> Oh, Dave, you said you were going to take these off. No, those can't come off. Oh, that's why you got them on there. >> but because you're being cooperative now, you know, they can stay >> guys just arrest me and say investigation. So, let me So, that's what So, you Let me explain that to you. Okay. But be because earlier you mentioned to Detective Roses that that you wanted an attorney, I'm going to Have you ever been arrested before? Yeah, but not really No, like not for anything >> Nothing crazy? >> No, not to where like we had to do that. I don't even know what that is consisting of. Okay. Are you familiar with your your constitutional rights or your Miranda rights? Um No. Okay. No, okay. So, I do remember a problem there. Okay, cuz I do have post main strikes and actually I've had driver's license issues and then I also had assault and battery dropped down to a misdemeanor. Okay. Um So, obviously whenever you're whenever you're um whenever you're talking to the police in certain situations, there are some things that we have to inform you of your rights. So, I'm going to read And this Okay. >> So, I'm going to read them to you, okay? >> Okay. All right. So, Nicole, you have the right to remain silent and anything you say may be used as evidence against you. You have a right >> Okay, see. Yeah, the right to remain silent and what to be used against me? Anything that you say can be used as evidence against you. Oh, okay. All right. I understand that. Yep. You understand that? Um the evidence can be used against you. Yeah. I'm not I'm not going to agree with that cuz I don't know what evidence is being used against me. >> what I'm saying is say right now if you were to tell me that you, you know, you killed JFK. That could be used >> never say anything like that. I wouldn't say that example. Yeah, but or if you said you stole, you know, a candy bar from Wawa. I'm not a crazy person, so I don't do that often. Okay, very good. >> Okay. All right. All right, thank you. >> Nicole, you also have a right to an attorney and have him or her with you now or at any time during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. >> [clears throat] >> Okay? If at any time you wish to stop talking, if at any time you wish to stop talking and or have an attorney present, all questioning will be stopped at your request. Does that make sense? You know what I >> A little bit a little bit, yeah. So, at my request Yep. Say Yeah, if anything somebody requests something, it can be stopped. >> Yep, Okay, so I have an understanding. Do you understand those those those those rights that I just read you? Do you understand them? I have no idea what that is. >> Okay. With those rights in mind, do you want to speak to me right now? No, no, I do not. No, no. I want an attorney cuz I have no clue what's going on. Okay. Yeah, at all. Okay. At all. All right. Okay. Like I don't even know why I'm here. Nicole was arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and resisting, then released. At that point, detectives did not yet have grounds to charge her with murder. Over the following weeks, investigators methodically documented evidence, reviewed witness statements, prior calls to the home, and Nicole's inconsistent accounts to reconstruct what had happened. As that picture came into focus, detectives sought a warrant on August 3rd, 2023, a judge issued a felony warrant charging Nicole Max with first-degree premeditated murder. She was taken into custody 2 days later. At the time, detectives could only work with what was visible, blood, weapons, fire, and a suspect whose story kept shifting. What they could not yet see was what had been shaping Nicole Max's behavior beneath the surface. That part of the story would not emerge until much later inside a courtroom. By the time the case reached court, that disconnect finally had a name. A defense psychiatrist testified that Nicole Max suffered from schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and post-traumatic stress disorder. He said that at the time of the killing, she was delusional, off her medication, and hearing voices. In that altered reality, she believed she was being drugged, assaulted, and monitored, and that she was in immediate danger. It felt completely real to her, even if it did not match the reality detectives were investigating. Long before Clark Street, Nicole Max's life was marked by instability. >> [music] >> Estranged from much of her family, she moved frequently, was rumored to be affiliated with a motorcycle gang, and lived without a permanent home. Her history included abusive relationships that left her isolated and dependent on unstable environments for survival. She had been prescribed psychotropic medication and carried long-documented mental health struggles. At times, she referred to herself as the rooster, a nickname reflected in her social media. Her online presence was filled with selfies, often taken in mirrors marked with handwritten phrases, images that suggested a deeply inward symbolic way of expressing herself. In the end, Nicole Max did not take the case to trial. Instead, she pleaded no contest to charges of second-degree murder, arson of a dwelling, tampering with physical evidence, and resisting an officer with violence. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison, with the court ordering psychiatric treatment while in custody. It was a resolution that acknowledged both the severity of her crime and the profound mental illness that, according to testimony, shaped how Nicole Max experienced the world when it happened. >> [music] [music] [music]