The broadcast opens with a familiar greeting, setting the stage for a story steeped in personal drama and shocking crime. The subject of today’s story is a case that generated widespread controversy in America, largely due to the many conflicting opinions surrounding the verdict. Ultimately, the audience is left to judge whether the sentence handed down to the suspect was justified.

The victim in this complex narrative was a Filipina named Michelle Rivera Nice, aged 34, originally from Bukidnon. Michelle was the fourth of seven siblings, hailing from a poor family. She became the first among her siblings to immigrate to America.

According to her sister, Michelle was intelligent and harbored a strong desire to travel to America. As a teenager, she actively sought out a pen-pal. Her persistent efforts led her to connect with the man who would eventually become her husband: Jonathan Nice.

Jonathan Nice was a professor of microbiology at a university. Colleagues, friends, and family described him as quiet and shy, which explained his limited dating history.

However, he was considered exceptionally intelligent and diligent in his research, particularly in science and mathematics. Despite being described as handsome, Jonathan maintained a small circle of friends and had few romantic relationships.

It was a radio advertisement, suggested by a friend, concerning Filipina pen-pals that led Jonathan to Michelle. Several reports indicate that Michelle was widely believed to be a mail-order bride. In 1989, Jonathan traveled to the Philippines to meet Michelle, and by 1990, the two were married. Jonathan was 39 years old at the time, while Michelle was just 19. Jonathan later recounted that Michelle assured him the age gap was irrelevant, as long as they were in love.

After a short waiting period, Michelle joined Jonathan in America. They had three children together during their marriage. Neighbors and friends frequently described Michelle as kind and attentive to her children. Reports also emerged that Jonathan provided significant financial support to Michelle’s relatives in the Philippines, including purchasing new homes for them.

The Nice family’s wealth originated from Jonathan’s deep focus on asthma research, a disease from which he himself suffered. In 1995, Jonathan founded his own company after his asthma research showed promising results. Jonathan had reportedly discovered a potential breakthrough that could revolutionize asthma treatment and possibly offer a permanent cure.

Due to the groundbreaking nature of his research, Jonathan’s company attracted numerous investors, receiving millions in funding for research and clinical trials. He secured investments totaling no less than $100 million, or an estimated P5 billion, in addition to contributing his personal wealth.

Jonathan established his company in New York, but he and his family moved to a 20-room house with extensive grounds in New Jersey. They hired a gardener, Miguel De Jesus, to help maintain the expansive garden, a feature Michelle had specifically requested.

By all appearances, Jonathan and Michelle had achieved the American dream. However, in 2002, the company encountered financial hardship during an economic crisis. The investors’ funds were depleting, and the promised medication remained in clinical trials, meaning the company was not yet generating revenue.

Consequently, in March 2003, Jonathan resigned as CEO of the company he founded after it was acquired by another entity. This left Jonathan unemployed, but it gave him more time to spend with his family and children. Michelle, meanwhile, took a part-time job at a mall.

Although unemployed, Jonathan continued to receive an allowance from his former company, enabling the family to maintain their lifestyle and continue purchasing necessities. However, the loss of his company and status reportedly caused Jonathan to become easily irritable.

Problems soon arose, leading to the deterioration of the couple’s relationship. Michelle’s father, who briefly lived with them, reported that Jonathan frequently drank heavily, leading to arguments where property was sometimes damaged. Michelle’s sister confirmed that Michelle considered divorcing Jonathan due to his excessive drinking and increasing jealousy.

Unbeknownst to Jonathan, a more significant betrayal was unfolding as his professional life collapsed. In October 2002, Michelle began a relationship with their gardener, Miguel De Jesus.

Reports indicate they often met at inexpensive hotels. Miguel was described as being in his 30s, significantly younger and more physically fit than Jonathan. Reports also noted that Miguel, an immigrant from Guatemala, had multiple Social Security numbers, was an absentee father, and was known to be a scammer.

On July 10, 2003, while Jonathan was at home, he received a phone call from a man demanding $500,000, nearly P28 million, in exchange for not releasing an audio and sex video of his wife with another man. The man played the audio tape for Jonathan, who immediately recognized Michelle’s voice. The caller threatened to release the evidence publicly if Jonathan did not pay, although he did not specify how the transfer would take place.

Some reports suggested Jonathan had long suspected Michelle’s infidelity but chose to ignore it. Others claimed Jonathan closely monitored Michelle, calling her repeatedly to check her location whenever she was out.

On July 23, 2003, Jonathan obtained Miguel’s cellphone number, called him, and told him to stay away from his wife and family, having already fired him previously. Jonathan then confronted Michelle, who admitted to the affair with Miguel, stating it began in October 2002 and ended on July 10, the day Jonathan received the extortion call. It was never proven whether Miguel De Jesus was the man who made the extortion call.

Despite the profound disappointment of discovering Michelle’s betrayal, Jonathan did not immediately seek a divorce. Instead, he sought police assistance against Miguel, which introduced him to Detective Daniel. During the investigation, Michelle confirmed her affair with Miguel De Jesus, admitting their relationship was almost two years old and that they frequently dated and stayed at hotels whenever possible.

Jonathan filed a harassment complaint and a restraining order against Miguel. Michelle claimed that Miguel suddenly began to show interest in the value of their family assets, asking how much their house was worth and attempting to borrow money, which Michelle refused. Michelle also stated that Miguel pressured her to divorce Jonathan. When asked by the police if she wanted a divorce, Michelle paused, looked at the ceiling, and replied, “No. Jonathan wants us to stay together for the children.”

On August 21, 2003, Jonathan won his case, and the judge issued a two-year restraining order against Miguel, prohibiting him from contacting, approaching, or seeing Michelle, particularly at her workplace at the mall, or any member of the Nice family. Jonathan simply told Miguel, “Just stay away from my wife. That’s all I ask. If you see her, look the other way.”

However, months later, Michelle and Miguel met again. The tragedy occurred in the early hours of January 16, 2004. It was cold and snowing. A car was found crashed into a creek. Ambulances and police immediately responded, but it was too late for the woman driving, the sole occupant of the vehicle. The victim was Michelle Nice, Jonathan’s wife.

Police initiated an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. They noticed a suitcase filled with numerous clothes in the back seat. They also found snowshoe footprints on the passenger side of the car, suggesting another person had been inside and walked away from the scene. Detective Daniel, who recognized Michelle immediately from handling her previous harassment case just months earlier, was among the first on the scene.

Detective Daniel immediately suspected that the extensive and severe injuries Michelle sustained were not consistent with a typical accident, especially since the car was not totaled and the creek was not deep. This led him to Jonathan, where he took a statement and informed him of the accident.

Jonathan told Detective Daniel he did not know where Michelle had gone after work. He claimed he last spoke to her at 4:00 p.m., when she said she would be home by 1:00 a.m. Jonathan added that based on past experience, he knew Michelle would not stick to that time and sometimes returned home in the morning. He stated he had been busy caring for the house and the children and was deeply saddened by his wife’s death.

Jonathan told the detective that after Michelle’s infidelity, he thought things would get better. He admitted they only argued when Michelle mentioned moving out or getting a divorce. When Detective Daniel asked about their last fight, Jonathan’s response was, “Last night.”

This reply immediately raised suspicion, as Jonathan had initially claimed he last spoke to Michelle in the afternoon. Detective Daniel pressed Jonathan further, noticing injuries on his hands. It was then that Jonathan uttered the phrase, “I didn’t mean to kill her.”

Jonathan then admitted that Michelle had returned home around midnight. They fought because Michelle appeared ready to leave him, and he had discovered she had met with Miguel. Jonathan even knew they had checked into a motel just hours before she returned home.

The argument escalated into a physical altercation. Jonathan claimed Michelle tried to hurt him, striking him with her handbag and a high-heeled shoe. He said he tried to restrain her and accidentally pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor. He was shocked when he realized his wife was dead.

Jonathan then explained how he faked the car accident to conceal the evidence. He claimed he placed Michelle in the driver’s seat of the SUV while he sat in the passenger seat. He then drove the car into the creek and left Michelle’s body, walking home since the creek was nearby.

Forensic evidence confirmed Jonathan’s confession: the snowshoe footprints found at the scene matched his shoes. Traces of blood were found in the garage and bathroom of the Nice home. However, police found no stiletto heel at the crash site. Jonathan was charged with murder and covering up a crime in the killing of his wife, Michelle.

The autopsy further contradicted Jonathan’s accident story, revealing that the severe injuries to Michelle’s head and face were not sustained in the fabricated crash. Instead, they were the result of blunt force trauma, implying the injuries were deliberate.

The subsequent trial became a sensation in America, resembling a dramatic movie plot: a successful, wealthy professor married to a beautiful, much younger Filipina, whose life fell apart through financial ruin and infidelity, culminating in a crime. After his arrest, Jonathan posted a $1 million bail, choosing to be confined to a detention center rather than jail during the trial.

Jonathan pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, maintaining that Michelle’s death was an accident. The prosecution argued how an accident could be claimed when he had gone to the extreme of staging a crash and pushing his wife’s lifeless body into a creek. They questioned why Jonathan did not call 911 immediately after the incident at home and pointed to the deliberately inflicted, severe injuries to Michelle’s head.

Jonathan’s defense lawyers countered that the accident would never have happened if Michelle had been faithful to her husband and family. They questioned how she could spend hours in motels with Miguel instead of caring for her children. They argued that Michelle and Miguel had plotted to extort money from Jonathan as a precondition for divorce.

The defense claimed Michelle attempted to kill Jonathan, and the resulting struggle was an act of self-defense that tragically led to Michelle’s accidental fall and fatal head injury. They argued that Jonathan panicked, which led him to cover up the death. They also pointed out that if Jonathan truly wanted to kill Michelle, he had the scientific knowledge to create a poison.

The prosecution countered that the case was about Jonathan’s murder of Michelle, not her infidelity. They argued that Jonathan’s extreme jealousy and inability to control his wife’s actions led to his rage and his decision to kill her after she told him she was leaving. Forensic evidence supported the prosecution, proving Michelle’s head injuries were intentionally inflicted, not accidental.

The defense maintained that Jonathan acted in self-defense, claiming Michelle struck him first, and her fall was an unfortunate consequence of him protecting himself, with her head accidentally hitting the floor. During the initial investigation, Jonathan had tried to shift blame onto Miguel, but Miguel had a valid alibi for the night of the crime, and he testified in court, admitting to the affair.

As the trial progressed, the prosecution offered a clearer explanation of the events of January 15, 2004. According to reports, Michelle planned to meet Miguel around 9:15 p.m. After meeting, they drove to Hamilton Plaza, where Michelle parked her Toyota Land Cruiser. They then traveled to a motel. Reports detailed that after sex, they showered, Michelle changed clothes, and even applied perfume.

They left the motel, returned to Michelle’s car, and parted ways. Miguel then drove to a bar for drinks before returning home, hoping to convince his live-in girlfriend he had simply been out drinking.

Michelle arrived at her driveway around 12:30 a.m. on January 16, 2004. Jonathan emerged from the house, pulled Michelle from the car, and violently slammed her face and body onto the ground. It is believed Jonathan struck Michelle multiple times. When she stopped moving and he found no pulse, Jonathan realized his wife was dead.

After a month-long trial, the jury reached a surprising verdict: Jonathan was convicted of passion provocation manslaughter, not murder. This classification suggested the killing was unintentional and occurred during a moment of emotional distress, or passion, provoked by Michelle’s infidelity and the discovery that she had met with Miguel the night of the crime.

The decision shocked many and deeply disappointed the prosecution. Jonathan Nice was sentenced to only eight years in prison for the killing of his wife, Michelle. He claimed he still loved Michelle despite her infidelity. Custody of the children was given to Jonathan’s parents.

Jonathan began his sentence in 2004. He received parole in December 2010 for good conduct, ultimately serving only five years. He went to live with his parents and children in Pennsylvania. Jonathan wrote a book about Michelle’s death, but it was not successful, with readers claiming the story was inconsistent and deviated from the trial’s facts.

So, where is Jonathan now? In 2020, Jonathan, then 76 years old, reportedly became Editor-in-Chief of an online site for cancer research.

However, authorities received complaints that Jonathan was selling fake medication for dogs, claiming it could cure cancer and guaranteed recovery. Jonathan allegedly sold almost $1 million, or P56 million, worth of fake medicine to over 900 victims.

In December 2022, a federal jury indicted Jonathan Nice on charges of wire fraud and interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs. If convicted, Jonathan faces a possible sentence of 32 years in prison and millions in fines.

The irony of fate is stark: a man who killed his wife received a mere five-year sentence, but years later, he faces the possibility of life imprisonment due to his consistent pattern of deceit and fraud. What do you think truly happened in the relationship between Jonathan and Michelle?