Teacher’s Husband Exposes Wife’s Relationship with Teen

Do you guys have, do you understand that you can't have sexual relations with students? Absolutely, absolutely. This now former first grade teacher is admitting to having sex with a student at her school. And then it just kind of spiraled and we started flirting. Hi, I'm Karen Slaughter. If you love untangling mysteries and uncovering the truth behind what really happened, I think you'll love The Good Daughter. Charlie, go! Sam! Now my best-selling novel is finally coming to life and I got to write every episode. You should have died in them woods. Your father should have been a better shot. Starring Rose Byrne, Megan Fahey, and Brendan Gleeson. From page to screen, don't miss The Good Daughter, now streaming only on Peacock. I'm here, Charlie, and I'm not going away. We just got the body cam video that shows how police learned of what this teacher was doing with a boy much younger than her. And, uh. On her phone last week, I saw that she was talking to a six-year-old boy. How her husband went right to authorities after learning his wife had crossed the line. We're on the case presented by Law & Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. It's hard to imagine what the emotion would be like to find out that your spouse is stepping out on your relationship. Or your marriage. But then to find out that it's with an underage teen. That is so much worse. And that is what happened in Washington State. And a man called police to come investigate his wife. And so. You guys had. You guys made out. Kissing? Is that making out? Okay, so you make out and then you have sex. And then you go home. Does this all happen in this pickup? Yeah. That's Mackenzie Knott. Yeah. In an interrogation room in St. John, Washington. A town of about 600 people along the Idaho border. Mackenzie was married for about four years. And in September of 2025, she started teaching in the local public school district. She was a first grade teacher. At this school, kids went all the way up to 12th grade. It is a small town, so that's not uncommon. Mackenzie's marriage, police say, wasn't going well. She accused her husband of infidelity in the past. She said that she had cheated on her husband in the past. And she said this marriage. was on its way to a divorce. This relationship was full of anger. But then on May 9th, at around 1130 at night, police get a call from Mackenzie's husband. In the body cam video we have, it is dark. But you can hear the concerns that he has when police meet him at his front door. What's. Just fill me in. I know I've read the screenshots and stuff, but. How long has she been employed there? This is her first year. Okay. And, uh, I went on her phone last week and saw that she was talking to a six-year-old boy. How did you know he's sixteen? Because he goes to school there. Okay. You know who. You know the kid? Yeah. Personally? Yeah. So, our families are, like, super good friends and stuff. Gotcha. And, uh, found this out. And, uh, I made the screenshots to talk about it. Um, I mean, if you go through the collogues and stuff, I mean, he admitted to me that, yeah. they. definitely. did sleep together. I mean, there was a screenshot there that said, "Yeah." Yeah. You know. Okay. Did he ever tell it to you verbally, or just that screenshot? What's that? Did he ever tell it to you verbally, or is it just that screenshot? Well, I mean, he told me verbally on the phone. Okay. But, um, also, you know, it was that screenshot. Perfect. Okay. So, both ways, he's told you. Right. According to the affidavit, Mackenzie's husband discovered messages on her phone that he said proves she had sex with a sixteen-year-old. This boy's a junior in high school. The husband also says that he messaged the boy, quote, "That doesn't matter. You bleeped my wife, and now there's an issue." And the teen allegedly responded, "Yeah." How many times did she tell you they had sex? Uh, just once. This is what happened last week. We went on her phone on Sunday, um, until she was texting him. And she promised me that it was only just a little kiss or whatever. And then. I got her to admit that it definitely did have sex. Okay. And, uh, he's dead. And he's never caught her, probably. Yeah. Nothing much, but that would be whatever it is. Looks like maybe she's going upstairs. Do you guys have any firearms in your home? I have one upstairs. Um. Does she have access to it? It's hidden in the closet. It's like on the top shelf. Okay. Hopefully it doesn't have to be a thing. No, not necessarily. Do you mind if we come inside? Yeah, go for it. Okay. Deputies enter the house and they find Mackenzie and they bring her outside to chat. What's going on today? Why is your husband calling us? There's been a lot of infidelity mutually within the relationship. A lot of anger going on right now, to be completely honest with you. Yeah, that's all I really have to say to you at this point. There's a lot of mutual anger, mutual hatred going on right now. Okay. When did that start? We've been married for four years now and consistently throughout our marriage, it's been. Okay. Very unloyal, very unhealthy. I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, thank you. Okay. What does he do for work? He's a mechanic for Pullman Disposal. Okay. And you're a school teacher? Mm-hmm. Okay. What grade do you teach? First grade. Okay. Okay. So infidelity going both ways. Is that the argument that's going on tonight? He said you guys were arguing. Yeah, so about eight months ago, he had stepped out on me. And then there's just been a constant distrust of anything that I do, anything that he does type of a thing. Okay. Because there has been things that have happened in the past, and so we just haven't. There's been no trust. So no matter what I do, no matter what he does, there's no. There's no trust on either end. Gotcha. If that makes sense. Yeah. That's a hard place to be in America. Yeah, very hard. Yeah. Okay. Where do you foresee yourself going from here with him? For me, myself, and for my son, it's not a place I want my son to be in. I would like to be. Divorce is definitely what needs to happen at this point, given whatever, however things have panned out. It's gotten extremely worse, I would say, within the last month. Why do you say that? Charlie, go! Sam! Now my best-selling novel is finally coming to life, and I got to write every episode. From page to screen, don't miss The Good Daughter, now streaming. Only on Peacock. There's a lot of alcohol abuse that goes on on the other party. Okay. It's gotten really bad. Yeah. Got it. To the point where, like, I. I love him dearly, I really do. In my heart, I do. Sure. And I want my son to have his dad. In whatever capacity that is. Okay. But him and I together is not. It's not a. It's not a thing that should happen. Okay. That's fair. You can both love a kid together and. Yeah. Not have to love each other all the time. Okay. Okay. What's. What's. Tonight that caused him to be so upset and feel the need to call us? So we. We have friends over. One friend that is a really dear friend to me, and we. We're kind of opening up. I'm talking about it like they were talking about their relationship and things like that, and it just kind of escalated. And then him and the other husband left to go to the bar and we were here chatting. And then he just came back really escalated. Okay. And just kind of started coming at me, questioning things, and it just. It just spiraled. Okay. What was he questioning you about? Cheating on him. Okay. Mm-hmm. Have you. Have you been. It sounds like it goes both ways, but have you been recently? Not recently. No, I have in the past, but not recently, no. Okay. Okay. What was. And in the past, there's nothing been anything physical on my part. Okay. Emotional cheating. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. What was he accusing you of tonight? He was accusing me of being with another individual in the area. Okay. Yeah. So he told us that you told him that that happened, No. okay no why would he tell me that that you had sex with another person i mean cheating is not a crime but no he's just upset and wants you not to be here i yeah i think there's a lot of upset feelings i think there's a lot of hatred going on right now if i'm going to be honest with you yeah and i think i don't know about you but when you're mad about something i think you would do anything in your power kind of to um make it not only make yourself believe that but make that other person feel like they should feel like that too okay okay i just um it's really unfortunate to be honest with you there's a three-year-old little boy upstairs that's involved in the situation and it's really unfortunate okay there's another kid sleeping down here yes that would be my friend's kid yeah okay the deputy then asks mckenzie about this underage teen they believe she had sex with tell me about him um he's a boy that goes to school here um he's a very flirtatious boy with any individual he encounters um there's been accusations of him and other teachers at the school so there's there's that at play as well and i think there's that's where that comes from okay what was your guys's conversation tonight but he had left to go to the bar and he had just stated that he thought that there was a problem with him and i think that's where that comes from i think it was something that had happened there okay can you tell me about the messages the snapchat messages um so to be completely honest with you there was a situation in saint john at taco trauma where my husband had supplied alcohol to this individual person um that i was not okay with and okay and i had reached out to him to confirm that because i saw him have a beer that i saw my husband hand him remind me when taco trauma is taco would have been a couple months ago a couple months back okay um so i was trying to figure out that what was was what was going on because like i said there is a there's a chronic alcohol issue there um knowing the evidence that law enforcement would gather in this case you do wonder if at this point mackenzie thought that the story that she was telling would get her out of this situation she claims that the messages show that she was just trying to meet up with the teenager because she wanted to make sure that her husband wasn't buying him alcohol it sounds like you guys are trying to meet up that's my reasoning that's my reasoning behind the whole thing but then deputies bring more evidence to the table that proves her story is just not adding up what does it mean when you send him a uh photo of you in bed saying is that your way of saying you will stay for me what does that mean um to be completely honest with you i was very intoxicated at that point and i i don't i do not recollect that i don't have any recollection of that that you okay i don't have any recollection of that okay so when you're trying to meet up with him you're trying to meet up with him to confirm that he's been having alcohol that he shouldn't have right given by your husband yeah which you don't approve of okay mackenzie continues to try to talk her way out of this i'm just confused because that will you try to talk her way out of this you're telling me doesn't make sense with what i'm reading when it says see you in five with a goofy smiley face with the tongue out and then ubering extra what does that mean like i said there was a lot of alcohol involved that night and i i don't i do not have a lot of recollection of that oh okay okay and it looks like a missed call so didn't answer um do you guys talk on the phone often okay you guys it looks like you communicate through snapchat do you communicate any other ways no it was just that and that just that evening okay so you've never snapchatted him any other time other than that evening no okay do you remember when that was it had been last weekend oh okay so these happened last weekend not during tacorama or taco what is it taco trauma yeah that was a couple months prior yeah okay so how do we communicate then i didn't i just got really angry over hi i'm karen slaughter if you love untangling mysteries and uncovering the truth behind what really happened i think you'll love the good daughter now my best-selling novel is finally coming to life and i got to write every episode you should have died in them woods your father should have been a better shot starring rose byrne megan fahey and brendan gleason from page to screen don't miss the good daughter now streaming only on peacock i'm here for you charlie and i'm not going away what's happening okay what do you mean by things happening um a lots lots of mornings waking up not knowing where he is lots of situations with alcohol being involved where i was i was really hurt i'm really uncomfortable with what had gone on um what had been going going on um yeah okay why would you guys have had sex i have no idea i can't give you an answer for that i can't give you an answer for that at all but all i can tell you is being a 16 year old boy i don't i don't know him and garrett are friends so there's there's that as well okay so this is a pretty i mean it's a pretty bold accusation yeah i mean he's 16 age consent 16 um but he's upset and doesn't want you to stay here tonight which we've got to figure out like where are we going from here you know which to be to be honest with you i pay rent here um we're both on the lease here so sure we gotta get along though right right but his parents also live 10 minutes from here so he's he's got a place to go if he really needs to um and i i i understand you guys are you guys are doing your job you have to do what you um and if i need to go i can i can pack up my things i have a sister that lives in colfax i have a mom that lives in lacrosse if i my dad lives in walla walla if i really had to do that but i uh yeah okay um but i think moving forward there's um yeah there's definitely gonna have to be a parenting plan and a divorce deputies then speak to a friend of the couple and they also talk to mackenzie's husband once more and then they circle back to mackenzie okay anything else you think i should know saint john like okay is he a junior okay and you guys just know each other from family sounds like y'all family friends and have been yeah ever okay okay okay well so here's where i'm at i have your side of the story i have other people's sides okay they're not quite adding up so obviously someone's not not telling the truth okay i would love for you to be able to tell me the truth about why you're here and why you're here what happened if if you know it's just a simple matter of kissing and you know infidelity in your relationship we can get out of your hair and let you guys go to divorce court and that's a civil matter and and not not in our realm right so um as far as um infidelity like i said that that has been going on for quite some time on both parts okay so and that night that um like i said i was very intoxicated um like i'm on lexapro as a prescription and i tend to black out very easily so a lot of that night is very very fuzzy for me i'm gonna be honest with you okay but you remember texting him i do remember texting him yes okay did you guys end up meeting up like you were texting about um we ended up meeting up and talking about things where'd you guys meet up right down there like in like standing in the middle of street or were you like in a car or something yeah like out in the middle of the street okay yeah okay how did he get here he doesn't okay he doesn't live in town does he no okay all right well so here's where i'm at okay there's two sides of every story i've been told by multiple people that you know you had sexual relationships with someone under the age of 16 that goes to school you work at okay so right now you're gonna be under arrest for sexual misconduct with Minor. Mr. Hensby on your back. Give us just a second. Step to Paul 5, one in custody. We're going to walk that way and go to your car. I'm going to let him help you down the step. There we go. Mackenzie's put under arrest and she's brought back to the police station. The next day, she sits down with deputies in a jail jumpsuit. She's read her rights. And she agrees to talk. It's here where she comes clean. Can I just start off by saying that I'm really sorry for not telling you everything last night. Absolutely. Yeah. I was really terrified. I was really scared. I understand that. This is a scary situation. I was afraid of what I should say or shouldn't say. I didn't know. I was really scared. Okay. I'm going to take notes while we talk. Okay? Yep. Okay. That way if you say something, I don't have to interrupt you. Okay? I'm going to just write, "You're really sorry." And I will make sure that that's noted. Okay? Okay. What really happened? Um, so my husband and I have, like, seen him at community events, like, hung out with him here and there. Um, so I have known who he wants to be hung out before in, like, a community setting. Um, been drinking that night. Mm-hmm. And, um. And we were, like, like, both Snapchatting him, if that makes sense, like, talking to him like a friend kind of. Um, and then went to bed, and I was still talking to him. And then, um. Two minutes. If you love untangling mysteries and uncovering the truth behind what really happened, I think you'll love "The Good Daughter." Charlie, go! Sam! From page to screen, don't miss "The Good Daughter," now streaming only on Peacock. One thing led to another, and we ended up on a Snapchat call. And, um. A lot of it is a little bit fuzzy for me, because I was. Heavily under the influence. Um, but I remember being on a Snapchat call with him, and then we were talking about, like, hanging out and getting together. And then that's when we started, like, talking back and forth about that. And then he, um. Showed up, like, down at the end of my road, and I met him down there. Um, and at first, it was very, like, we were just talking, communicating, um. And then. It just kind of spiraled, like, we started flirting, then started making out, and then it just led to. Having sex. When you say "sex," what does that mean to you? Um. Like, there's different kinds of sex, so when you say "sex," like, what is, what does that mean? Like. What do you, what do you mean? Like. I'm confused on what you're trying to ask. Yeah, so, like, sex to some people means different things, and so we always try to clarify, like, does sex mean you put, or he put his. Yes. And it happened for a little bit, and then I think we, we both started to feel kind of, like, uncomfortable, and, like, it wasn't. We knew it wasn't what should be happening. Um, and we stopped, and then I went home. Mackenzie then goes into graphic detail about. Having sex with the boy, and she explains how she and the boy met. I think the thing that's really hard, too, is, um. And I, like, have seen him at a lot of events with, like, people our age, um. And I'm not saying that that's, like, uh, making it okay or anything, but in my mind. I, we, I wasn't. Trying to be, like, gross like that, if that makes sense. Like, I wasn't. We were in the back. Doing the same thing that we were in the front. Mackenzie says the combination of her crumbling marriage and alcohol created the situation that she's now in. Has anything like this ever happened before? No. When I, um, talked to you last night about, um, like, having issues in our marriage of being unfaithful, um. There has been another male in the past that I have talked to just, like, texted. But other than that, no. There's not been nothing like this on, on my part that has happened like that. Okay. Since Sunday, um, have you communicated at all? My keys in his pickup by accident. Um, and so the next morning, I asked him if they were in. Not the next morning, because I was getting ready to go to work on Monday and I couldn't find them. So I told , like, I don't think I have my keys. So I texted him and was like, I really don't have my keys, they're in your pickup. And he didn't respond. And then texted him and he responded back to and left my keys on the porch. Okay. And then on last night, when I heard going to. Was on the phone with the cops, I called him on my friend's phone to let him know what was going on. Okay. Because I kind of felt like he had a right to know. And also I kind of wanted to, like, gauge what he was feeling. Like the whole situation. Does that make sense? What did he tell you? Um. He was very short on the phone. Just very, like, okay, okay, I'm sorry. And then, um, I. I said something to him about, like, this is what is probably going to happen. This is what. Saying or whatever. And, um, he was like, yeah, well, you are 25 and I'm 16. And I was like, yes, you're correct. But you cannot say that nothing that happened wasn't consensual. And he was like, you're right. And then the phone was very just quiet. And then I was like, yeah. And then, you know. Okay. Well, we're kind of right. That, you know, he's 16. Andrew consent is 16. You're 25. You're not some creepy old lady, you know. Kind of feels like that. You know. Yeah. I know. But you're not. You're 25. You're young. You're beautiful. Um. Do you guys have. I mean, do you understand that you can't have sexual relations with students at your school? Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. Absolutely. Um, I think. Why do you know that you're not supposed to do that? Okay. Um, it's just a. There's a big, um. I mean, I'm not his teacher personally, but even if, like, say I was his mentor or something, there would be a conflict there. Like, if. I'm not saying that would happen because I'm the first grade teacher and he's in high school and we don't cross paths at school at all. But he knows you're a school teacher. Right. And there could be, like, I don't know, what if I was asked to chaperone a dance or something like that. Like, that would be a really big issue. Is that something that first grade teachers do, is chaperone dancing? No, but if I was ever at a small school. Or like sports or other things? Maybe, yeah. It's a small school, so everyone kind of chips in and does everything. So that's the only thing I can think of. But as of this year, I haven't had any, like, had to be around him at school, if that makes sense. And in some of the text messages I've seen between the two of you after this happens, you are concerned about him talking to J*****. Or something about J***** you're concerned about. What was that about? So J***** is a teacher in the high school who, I'm not trying to get her in trouble by any means, but has had. A lot of concerns of being inappropriate with her students. And he had told me multiple times that J***** chats to him all the time and, like, J***** wants to meet J***** in this, whatever. And he goes around telling a lot of people like that. Like, J***** heard him say that. I heard him say that out in public. And I just had asked him, like, I would appreciate if you don't talk about me like you did J*****. God. Yeah. You didn't want this to get out in the public? No. Why not? Because it was really embarrassing. It was really a shame. I wish that. and it just never happened. Like I said, it's a small town. It is. Now it does seem, based off what police have alleged, that Mackenzie was. Charlie, go! Sam! Honest in this setting. She then asks the deputy. I wish I had a magic eight ball to give you all the answers. I can tell you you're going to have court tomorrow. There's going to be. The news media outlets are already reaching out to get information. So there's going to be. It's going to be in the media tomorrow. He won't be named in any of that because he's a minor. Right. But you will leave because that's how the system works at this point. Right. So. And tomorrow they'll tell you a lot more about the next steps. And tomorrow's court case or court hearing is just an initial appearance. So it's just, this is what was alleged, this is the crime, guilty, not guilty. And me being. And then at that point is when you also, like, do you want an attorney, do you want your own court appointed, do your own thing, whatever, that'll all be with the judge. Okay. So nothing will be, like, set in stone, like, we won't know. Right, yeah, tomorrow's just an initial appearance. So what are the. Potential outcomes of tomorrow, like. Like, there's a bill, you're staying here, like, what's the. So I don't know the answer, but that will be decided tomorrow, is whether you can. The options are no bail, bail, or the judge can choose to release your O.R., which is on your own recognizance, and then there's usually some restriction. What does that mean? So he'll release you without you having to pay, it's just you sign, and there's usually. These conditions are associated with that. And I, you know, they'll go over those with you tomorrow. Okay. Is there. I know you can't answer anything because you're not, like, a. You're not the judge, but. With me being, like, feeling so terrible, and just talking about what happened, does that give me any, like, leeway? Not leeway, but. You know what I mean? Like. Again, I can't answer that. That's up to the prosecutor. But I will put that. I'm sorry. Put all your emotional, like, you know, how very sincere you've been. You know, I think sometimes people tell you what happened, but they're. About it. You know? And I think that's different than what you're doing right now, where you're being very honest, very open. You know, you're understanding that you messed up, but. This is also something in my right mind I never would have even thought of doing. In July, just roughly two months after her arrest, Mackenzie Knott pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, which is a felony. This is video of her in court for KREM television. In August, Mackenzie was sentenced to six months in jail, which is the minimum. And after her release, she does have to serve a year of probation, and she is going to register as a sex offender for the next decade. The judge. Also hit her with a protective order to stay away from the victim for five years. That will do it for On The Case. Presented by Law & Crime, I'm Chris Stewart. See you next time. On The Case