Going West: True Crime

In August of 2016, a 27-year-old woman was on a run in a rural area of Princeton, Massachusetts and never returned home. When her body was found that evening with disturbing injuries, including burns to various parts of her body, a man-hunt ensued to catch the culprit. And when police found their perpetrator, multiple women came forward to tell their stories about him. This is the story of Vanessa...

In September of 2023, a 19-year-old man allegedly left a friend’s birthday party after a weekend of fun in Oklahoma. But when someone stumbled upon his body on the side of the road in the early morning hours, brutally killed, numerous police organizations jumped in the help. With everyone at the party keeping quiet about the evening, and deleting all video and photo proof of the night, everyone is...

In August of 2023, a 37-year-old woman headed out for a beautiful summer hike two hours before sunset. When darkness fell upon the day and she hadn’t returned home, her boyfriend discovered her car still at the trailhead late in the night, prompting him to call police and report her missing. When her body was found the following day, she and the scene were processed, quickly leading investigators...

In March of 2023, a 58-year-old woman headed to a Seattle Mariners game with a man she had met at Costco two weeks prior. But after enjoying their date, even snapping a photo together in the stands, she went missing. When the following day brought strange text messages sent from her phone, and a report that her son had been abducted from his bed, investigators started to piece together a disturbin...

In March of 2009, a 23-year-old woman went hiking with her boyfriend on a beautiful trail in Oregon that included a narrow path along a cliffside. When she fell to her death and an investigation began, her boyfriend’s story continued to falter and change, as sinister happenings from his past emerged. This is the story of Rhonda Casto.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com...

In August of 2020, a 33-year-old woman headed out for the day in Tacoma, Washington, but never returned home. An investigation quickly began in hopes of tracking her down, but instead, police uncovered unsettling surveillance footage showing a man clad in a black fedora hat and face coverings leaving her abandoned vehicle. With this man dubbed “The Hat Man”, her phone being found on the floor of t...

In August of 2015, a 28-year-old woman was enjoying a summer evening out on a boat when she supposedly jumped into the dangerous waters below and disappeared. When her body was found floating in the same Florida river the following morning, police compiled numerous 911 calls and questioned the last person who had seen her, uncovering the tragic details that unfolded. This is the story of Crystal P...

In March of 1990, a 14-year-old girl went missing while walking alone through a wooded area near the beach in Jupiter, Florida. Just hours after her disappearance, her body was found in those very woods, murdered and assaulted, just weeks after a Ouija board told her and her friends that she would be the first of them to die. This is the story of Rachel Hurley. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

In April of 2024, an incredibly bright and beloved 19-year-old woman went missing after going on a first date with a man in Milwaukee. When her dismembered leg was found off a bluff of Lake Michigan and her car ablaze on the other side of town, security footage and phone pings helped police uncover her killer quickly - only to discover what they described as a sex dungeon in his basement, with blo...

In March of 2009, a California girl headed out of her house to play with friends in her neighborhood, and was captured on surveillance footage skipping down the street. When she failed to return home for dinner, her family reported her missing. As the days ticked by with no sign of her, the FBI created a profile of their suspect. But this profile would prove to be completely incorrect, and the  re...

In August of 2014, a 38-year-old California man was shot at work in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong. But as detectives dug deeper into his personal life, a clear suspect emerged in the form of violent Bible analogies and poisoned pudding. This is the murder of Robert Limon. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon...

In November of 2002, a married New York research scientist found herself embroiled in a workplace love triangle. But when a 911 call was made to alert authorities of an attack, an obsession would lead to murder. Months later, a similar attack would help detectives pinpoint their culprit and unravel a tangled web of lies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information...

In the small town of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a 14-year-old girl went missing after leaving home. In a case where it seemed no attention was paid and no real investigation took place, an unbelievable story unfolded in front of everyone’s eyes years later regarding what really happened to her. With the discovery of a predatory security guard, the bodies of two other missing girls in the area, and...

In April of 2017, a 43-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was getting ready to take a trip to her native Poland to visit her father for his birthday. Then, just before she was set to leave on the trip, she canceled via text, simply stating that she wouldn’t be able to come. But her parents point out that the text was sent in broken Polish, despite it being her first language. When her car was found ab...

In April of 2023, a 22-year-old woman was found dead in a burning vehicle in Arizona after being abducted from her apartment’s parking garage. As the gruesome details of her murder came to light, such as bleach being found in her throat, her family desperately wondered, who was the depraved person behind her death? And why did they do this to her? This is the murder of Mercedes Vega. Hosted by Sim...

In April of 1992, a 24-year-old woman headed in to a night shift at work in Massachusetts. But when her co-worker arrived the next morning, she noticed a few unsettling things: Her car was still in the parking lot, the door was unlocked, and the OPEN sign was still on. When the woman’s body was found in the woods, police persevered to find her killer. And thanks to a shocking letter, they’d get th...

In April of 1988, an Indiana girl was abducted off the streets of her neighborhood while walking alone after hanging out with friends. After her body was found, the investigation into her murder intensified, but hundreds of suspects surfacing in the case. With the killer taunting the police and public via a scribbled message on a nearby barn about the murder, and threatening letters left for other...

In March of 1997, a 26-year-old woman disappeared in the middle of the night while driving home from her job as a cocktail waitress in North Carolina. First, her Jeep was found on the side of the road, still idling. Then, when her body was discovered, a shocking suspect revealed themselves. This is the story of Kim Medlin. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

In March of 2013, a 53-year-old nurse was stabbed to death by a hooded figure in broad daylight outside of her lawyer’s office in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. With the help of the attack and flee caught on multiple surveillance cameras, an intense investigation began to hunt down the culprit of her brutal murder. This is the story of Aliza Sherman. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts...

In February of 2003, a 15-year-old girl left her Nebraska home early in the morning to deliver newspapers, and never returned home. When her body was found in the basement of an abandoned lake house, an intense local investigation uncovered her killer. This is the murder of Heather Guerrero. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id144815139...

In March of 1974, a 17-year-old girl in Coconut Grove, Florida, headed to her father’s workplace to collect a few dollars of lunch money. Last seen hitchhiking next to a major highway, she vanished before she made it to either of her destinations. What ensued was a relentless search by her mother, countless harassing phone calls from her alleged kidnapper, and rumors of a motorcycle gang abduction...

In February of 1999, a teenage girl went missing while heading home from school in the Bronx. When her body was found days later in a dumpster behind a video rental store, police worked to find the person responsible. But after the case went cold, DNA technology would prove the devastating and shocking identity of her killer. This is the story of Minerliz Soriano. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

In March of 2020, a 23-year-old Indigenous woman went missing while taking a walk outside her Haida Gwaii, BC home. Despite the fact that she had confided in loved ones about having a stalker, her case received very little attention due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Do what really happened to her? And does someone in her community hold the key? This is the story of Shaylanna Brown. BO...

In December of 2019, a 28-year-old realtor headed to an appointment with a prospective client and vanished. When her body was found in an alleyway, police uncovered the details of her grisly kidnapping and worked hard to put her killers behind bars. With the help of surveillance footage and the knowledge of a threat being put on her family, police narrowed in on story people for the crime. This is...

In February of 2005, a couple went out for drinks with friends at a bar in Philadelphia, heading out just before midnight. But during their drive home, they vanished, seemingly into thin air, and neither they, nor their car, has been seen since. This is the story of Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id...