Going West: True Crime

In June of 2018, a vegan blogger and his son allegedly set sail from California, bound for Hawaii on a three month excursion. After they failed to contact family, it seemed as if they had both vanished at sea. But when one of their bodies washed ashore, their family began to suspect that there was never a boating trip after all. As the father’s complicated history came to light, far more sinister...

In August of 2022, a 33-year-old woman traveled to her hometown in Louisiana from Colorado to purchase a car. But on the road trip back, she called her dad explaining that she was lost, and was having trouble with both her cell service and her GPS system. After the call dropped and her family didn’t hear from her again, she was reported missing…only for her car to turn up abandoned in a different...

In May of 2020, a Colorado woman went missing after she allegedly left her home alone for a Sunday bike ride. That same day, police discovered her bike abandoned in a local ravine, but suspicions led police to believe that the scene may have been staged. But with text, surveillance, and phone ping evidence, police were led to believe that someone in her life was behind what happened to her. This i...

On July 13, 2023, a 59-year-old Long Island architect was arrested in connection to three of the Gilgo Beach Murders. With the release of an indictment document today, a slew of evidence has become available, including cell phone activity and DNA connections. This is the update to episode 313 of Going West on the Gilgo Beach Murders, also known, as the Long Island Serial Killings. BONUS EPISODES A...

In July of 2017, four young men from a small Pennsylvania farming town mysteriously vanished in the span of just one week. It was soon uncovered that they had all fallen victim to murder, but were they connected? Police would soon find out. These are the stories Jimi Patrick, Dean Finocchiaro, Thomas Meo, and Mark Sturgis. Also known as The Lost Boys of Bucks County. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscript...

In July of 2020, a Washington woman went missing after leaving her community garden. The next day, her car was found in downtown Tacoma on fire, and days after that, her body was discovered outside of Seattle. Police initially zeroed in on her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend until they discovered that she’d been going on dates with men from dating apps. This is the story of Diana Davis. BONUS EPISODES...

In May of 2023, a beloved father and doctor in Missouri failed to show up for his shift at the hospital he worked at. He was last spotted on surveillance footage near a mysterious vehicle at a community pool, and a week later, his body was found in an Arkansas lake, with clear signs of foul play. This is the story of John Forsyth. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/p...

In July of 2022, a 16-year-old girl went missing during her walk home from a friend’s house in Georgia. Over seven months later, her remains were found in the woods of an Atlanta suburb. Shortly after her discovery, it was determined that she was killed by an unlikely person who had a history of stalking. This is the murder of Susana Morales. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.ap...

In July of 2022, a 20-year-old woman was killed in a car crash in Maryland during a road trip with her friends. After receiving a disturbing phone call from one of the friends she was traveling with, getting inconsistent accounts from police and those at the scene, and seeing a mismatched autopsy report, her mother is desperately pushing for the truth about what really happened to her daughter. Th...

Between 2010 and 2013, five young men went missing from San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. But are the cases connected? All five families are desperate for answers, and to this day, no trace of any of the men has been found. These are the stories of The California Missing Five. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 P...

In July of 2018, a 26-year-old Washington woman attempted to flee her adoptive mother’s house, but was carried back inside by her brother. She hasn’t been seen by friends or neighbors since, and her family claims she ran away. Strangely, it would be nearly a year-and-a-half until she was reported missing. And as police dove into the lives of her adoptive family, suspicions against them grew. This...

In July of 2006, a 27-year-old woman and her mother set out for a four-mile hike around an idyllic Washington lake. Hours after they started their trek, their bodies were found by fellow hikers, and it was clear that they had been murdered. But how did they meet this tragic fate, and why? These are the stories of Mary Cooper and her daughter, Susanna Stodden, also known as the Pinnacle Lake Murder...

In May of 2010, a 23-year-old woman went missing after meeting at a client’s house on Long Island. Her last known interaction can be heard on a strange and eerie 911 call that was over 20 minutes long. The woman’s body was discovered 19 months after she disappeared on a beach in the neighborhood from which she vanished. But she was not alone. Also buried on the beach were ten other bodies, all of...

In June of 2017, a mail carrier in Mississippi came upon a shocking and disturbing scene when they found a 37-year-old woman hanging from a mailbox. Although her manner of death seemed obvious at first, further digging made everyone in her life question the police’s ruling. This is the story of Jessica Johnson. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-tr...

In July of 1997, a 24-year-old woman went missing during a solo jog in the Wyoming mountains. Last spotted at a local photo shop in her new town, employees remember her being in a hurry to get somewhere. But after that, she was never seen again. This is the story of Amy Bechtel. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: pa...

In March of 2022, a 39-year-old father was found dead in his Utah home from a suspected fentanyl overdose. But in the midst of the investigation, and after his wife published a book about her grieving process, police uncovered suspicious information that led them to a May 2023 arrest. This is the murder of Eric Richins. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goin...

In 2018, a San Francisco man was found dismembered in a fish tank inside his own home. After strange reports from the neighbors, investigators began searching for the culprit of his grisly murder. But with multiple calls to 911, and a large gap of time before the investigation began, did they lose the opportunity to catch the perpetrator? This is the story of Brian Egg. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscr...

In June of 2007, a newly single mother of three vanished from her Colorado home. Shortly after, her car was found burned out, but it would take years for her body to be uncovered. Once police learned she was living what they referred to as a double-life, many potential suspects added themselves to her story, with one person standing out among the rest. This is the story of Paige Birgfeld. BONUS EP...

In July of 2019, a 25-year-old man and new father left his wife’s grandparents’ Nebraska home on foot after an argument, and never returned. He was spotted on multiple surveillance cameras in the area, but then, he seemed to vanish without a trace. This is the story of Chance Englebert. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Pat...

In June of 2020, an 18-year-old Amish girl went missing during the walk home from her Pennsylvania church. Within the first few weeks of her disappearance, while putting together eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage from the area, police were able to unravel the devastating truth about what really happened to her. This is the murder of Linda Stoltzfoos.  BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions:...

In April of 2019, a 22-year-old mom went missing from North Carolina without any of her family or friends realizing, because they continued to receive messages from her as if nothing was wrong. When her mom finally got suspicious and started digging, she found that no one had actually seen her daughter in three months. This is the story of Monica Moynan. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https:/...

In June of 2002, a 19-year-old college student was found murdered at the community swimming pool where she was working for the summer in Kansas. With a composite sketch of the likely suspect, her father did everything he could to raise awareness, including placing a billboard along a local highway. And because of this decision, a crucial tip came in to the police. This is the story of Ali Kemp. BO...

In November of 2021, a 39-year-old man vanished in Los Angeles during an Uber ride across the city in broad daylight. He texted 911 for help along his way, but when the dispatcher reached out, he didn’t respond. He never arrived at his destination, and was never seen again, despite his driver claiming he had been dropped off. But as of this week, some answers have come to the case. This is the sto...

In March of 2023, a young mom of two dropped her children off at daycare, returned home, and then seemingly vanished from inside her own house. The father of her children, with whom she shared the house, borrowed her car to run errands, and claims he returned to find her gone. But if that really is how the day went, as he described, why was her car seen driving down the highway in the opposite dir...

In April of 1994, an 18-year-old woman was abducted from her job in upstate New York. After rumors spread that she had been buried in the woods, and the potential wrongful imprisonment of the prime suspect, police revealed that the young woman was hiding pertinent information from her inner circle that may have led to her death. This is the story of Heidi Allen. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions:...