Victoria Goodwin Reached out to Grant Amato After Seeing Him in a True Crime Documentary
Victoria Goodwin and Grant Amato got "spiritually married."
Published June 6 2025, 4:34 p.m. ET
In August 2019, The Ledger reported that Grant Amato was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the murders of his mother, father, and brother Cody in January of the same year. Amato killed his family after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of their money on a cam girl he fell in love with. He was living with them at the time and after a brief stint in rehab for pornography addiction, Amato was given a zero-tolerance ultimatum. That didn't work for him.
Although prison tends to keep inmates busy, there are plenty of opportunities to slide deeper into bad behavior. According to Channel 13 Victoria Goodwin reached out to Amato in May 2024 after watching CTRL+ALT+DESIRE, a documentary about his crimes. One could argue that Goodwin knew he would be susceptible to a new friendship with an attractive woman. They started out as penpals and eventually Goodwin was asking him to kill her husband.
Victoria Goodwin and Grant Amato's relationship was pretty toxic.
Per documents obtained by Channel 13, Goodwin described their relationship as "pen pals." The arrest report includes multiple messages exchanged between the two in which they discuss payment apps. At one point, Goodwin was married to Aaron Goodwin, of Ghost Adventures fame, and at one point shared Aaron's location with Amato. She also provided Amato with logistical information such as Aaron's schedule and when he would be filming.
In October 2024, Goodwin told Amato that Aaron would never accept a divorce, and wondered if her actions made her a bad person. "Because I chose to end his existence," she said. "Not divorce." Despite that moment of self-reflection, Goodwin still texted Amato a picture of her with Aaron and a separate photo of his black Dodge minivan. While this was happening, Amato was in touch with a man named Gordo who he was trying to hire to kill Aaron. The plan unraveled when Amato's phone was seized in prison.
Victoria Goodwin has been sentenced in her murder-for-hire plot.
In April 2025, Goodwin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Two months later, she was sentenced to 36–90 months in prison, per USA Today. At her sentencing, Court TV cameras captured Goodwin's statement which she gave while shaking. She began by apologizing to Aaron for the "pain and anxiety" she caused him and promised to never speak to him again so he can find the peace he deserves. Goodwin also vowed to eventually leave the state of Nevada so he had no reason to fear her.
Aaron's victim impact statement was far more emotional and read while he was openly weeping in court. He described their marriage as loving and believed he was spending the rest of his life with his best friend. In September 2024, Aaron found out Goodwin had cheated on him with multiple men, including Amato. He "gave her the option of divorce," but she chose to try and work things out.
It's through Aaron's words that we discover Goodwin and Amato were more than just friends. They fell in love and got "spiritually married," which resulted in Goodwin referring to Aaron as the "first husband." This betrayal and the murder-for-hire plot led Aaron to "fear for his life." He told the court that he has hired security and is in therapy. It was Aaron's wish that his ex-wife receive prison time, which she has.