Sarah Sweeney: Texts reveal Missouri doctor feared 'abusive and murderer' firefighter fiance before her sudden death

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

WESTWOOD, MISSOURI: Living with her firefighter fiance Robert Daus, was "scary," according to the Missouri doctor who was found dead at his house in January 2024.

Before she died, she had confided to her friend her fears that stemmed from a rumor that her boyfriend was a "murderer," who had killed his previous partner.

Sarah Sweeney wrote about her concerns

On the morning of March 17, 2022, podiatrist Sarah Sweeney wrote to Danielle Mankunas, her former coworker and friend, about her concerns.

In messages, she wrote, "I have had to move in with my boyfriend the "murderer" [sic], which has been scary at times."

Despite the financial and professional risks, Sweeney was trying to convince Mankunas to support her lawsuit against her former employer, Dr. Franklin Harry, and his Best Foot Forward (BFF) clinic at the time.

According to the documents, she filed a complaint in November 2022 alleging that during her brief employment there in 2021, she experienced sexual harassment, gender and disability discrimination, and retaliation.

During the investigation, Attorney Mark D Murphy tried to ascertain Sweeney's mental state in a counterclaim filed by Harry and BFF.

Murphy wrote, alluding to her correspondence with Mankunas, "[Daus was] abusive and suspected of murdering ex-girlfriend, according to Sweeney."

When Sweeney, 39, was discovered dead at Daus' Westwood home in the early hours of January 13, the investigation was still ongoing.

Sarah Sweeney's body had 'no signs of trauma'

Law enforcement claims that although her body displayed "no apparent signs of trauma," the incident is being investigated further while the results of the autopsy are awaited.

Sweeney was cut off from her stepfather and mother at the time of her death due to their worries about Daus, her mother, Teresa Sweeney Light, informed.

Four years prior, local fire captain Daus' had reported to emergency personnel that his then-fiancee, Grace Holland, had allegedly shot herself in front of him at his previous Creve Coeur address.

Holland, 35, was initially found to have committed suicide, but her family later named Daus in a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming he was abusive and domineering.

After Holland's family insisted that she did not commit suicide, local authorities asked the St Louis County Police to review the incident in 2022, Sgt Tracy Panus told The New York Post.

According to Panus, the St Louis County Police submitted to the prosecution their results in early December.

Light wrote that she stopped responding to her loved ones' messages when they forwarded articles to her about the concerning issue.

Robert Daus has not been charged or arrested

According to court documents, US District Judge Ronnie L White halted the case on Tuesday, January 30 due to Sweeney's passing.

Officials are awaiting the medical examiner's report on Sweeney's demise, and they are also reexamining Holland's alleged suicide.

"This case was ruled a Suicide by the Medical Examiner’s office long before we became involved. At the conclusion of our investigation, as with every other death investigation, we never made a determination of the manner of death. This ruling is solely the responsibility of the Medical Examiner," regarding the county's investigation, Panus told The Post.

The investigation is still ongoing and the death is still being investigated as suspicious. The prosecutor's office will have the final say on whether to press criminal charges or take any other necessary steps, he continued.

First investigating Holland's death, Creve Coeur Police Chief Jeff Hartman told Fox News Digital, "If the investigation rules [Sweeney] [died] as a result of a homicide, her death should be fully investigated as such, and I pray the person responsible is held accountable."

“I would also expect increased scrutiny on the Creve Coeur case as a result. However, we have not received the ruling on the cause of death for Sarah yet,” he asserted.

On January 24, Daus, meanwhile, was observed wandering around his neighborhood, according to the outlet. He has not been charged or placed under arrest in either case.