EP4 - Were You Her Therapist

Summary

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BETH'S DEAD – EP4: Were You Her Therapist (November 12, 2025)

Podcast: BETH'S DEAD
Host: Monica Padman
Guests: Elizabeth Laime, Andy Rosen
Theme: Exploring the dark side of parasocial relationships and the unraveling of a podcast community mystery, culminating in the revelation that a cherished, deeply-engaged listener was, in fact, a catfishing persona—one of many—created by a single individual.

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Episode Overview

In this tense and emotional fourth episode, Monica Padman continues her investigation into the events that led Elizabeth Laime and Andy Rosen to abruptly shut down their podcasting operation years prior. Building on earlier revelations, the episode focuses on the moment Elizabeth and Andy learned of the supposed suicide of a prolific listener, "Beth," and how it quickly unraveled into a chilling case of multi-character catfishing. The hosts detail the psychological toll, their frantic detective work with IPs and correspondences, and the ultimate horrifying discovery of the catfisher’s true identity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Initial Shock: The "Beth" Email

• Elizabeth receives an email announcing Beth’s death, sparking devastation and confusion.
• Andy’s reaction: He recalls being jarred not only by the news but also by the intensity of Elizabeth’s response, indicating there were emotional layers he didn’t understand since he wasn’t fully aware of Elizabeth’s ongoing private conversations with Beth.
  • Elizabeth Laime: “The last few that I had heard from her seemed like she was doing well. And then I hadn’t heard from her in a few days, and to get that, it just felt like a gut punch.” (02:58)

2. Seeds of Suspicion: Something Feels Off

• Elizabeth’s colleague, Tammy Sager, suggests the situation feels “weird”—particularly the odd behavior attributed to “Beth’s brother” in accessing emails as a first response.

  • Elizabeth Laime: “Tammy pointed out that it was a little bit odd for a brother’s first instinct to be, I’m gonna go get into my sister’s email.” (04:29)

• PayPal and IP investigations begin: Elizabeth notices inconsistencies in Beth’s PayPal info, leading Andy and their tech team to dig into website IP data.

3. The Horror Unfolds: Unmasking the Catfish (06:36–08:04)

• Revelation: By cross-referencing IP addresses, the team discovers that several “different” prominent listeners—Beth, Natasha, Anders, Frank, and a handful of others—are all the same person behind the screen.

  • Elizabeth Laime: “And to our total fucking horror and disbelief, that same IP address also brought up comments from Natasha, from Anders, from Frank, and from a few other characters. I mean, it was a true, like horror film moment.” (06:49)

• Emotional impact: Elizabeth describes the deep sense of betrayal and fear, especially realizing the depth of the emotional investment she’d made in these (now fictionalized) relationships.

  • Andy Rosen: “The thing that stands out to me is you saying to me, you have no idea how much time I’ve put into these people..." (07:38)

4. Safety and Panic: The Fallout

• Personal security adjustments: Elizabeth removes her kids’ photos from social media, changes home locks, and enters a state of hypervigilance.

  • Elizabeth Laime: “My first instinct was just fear because this person seemed very obsessed with us and me.” (11:24)

• Radio silence: Elizabeth ceases communication, and “Beth’s brother” (the catfisher) becomes increasingly aggressive and erratic in their emails, pressing for contact and even bringing up a large ($1,000) donation Beth had made.

5. Creeping Realization and Escalation

• Hostage-like emotional manipulation: The emails from the “brother” grow more emotionally intense, trying to guilt Elizabeth and bait her into responding or calling.

  • Monica Padman (reading an email): “Even if she purchased something illegal from you, I swear to God, I don’t care I just want to know. Please contact me. Please. All caps. Contact me within the next 24 hours.” (22:01)

• Andy and Elizabeth’s response: No direct contact is initiated; instead, anxiety builds as the tone of the emails escalates.

6. Paranoia and the Impact on Podcasting

• Podcasting continues—but with paranoia: Despite their distress, Elizabeth and Andy continue to release episodes. However, every listener question is now suspect, and the sense of trust with the audience is shattered.
  • Elizabeth Laime: “Anytime we got a question that seemed remotely interesting...we were worried it was this person.” (15:19)
  • Andy Rosen: “Yeah. I’m so paranoid. I think. Yeah. My alarm goes off way too easily. It’s not calibrated right. Because of this. But to answer your question, we did eventually have to stop.” (16:23)

7. Catfishing in Podcast Early Days

• Contextualizing the naiveté: Monica notes that catfishing on this scale was relatively unheard of in podcasting circles at the time, and the idea of one person creating a network of personas was unimaginable.
  • Elizabeth Laime: “Catfishing, I think, like, that documentary had come out within a year or two before this...but it was a relatively new thing...and I just lived in a naive podcast bubble.” (18:45)

8. Who Was Behind It All?

• Investigative breakthroughs: IP address tracing eventually points to a “professor at a prominent east coast school, in his 60s, living a full life with a family and a full-time job.” The sense of shock is compounded by the perpetrator’s apparent status and normalcy.
  • Elizabeth Laime: “He’s a man living a full life, is a family, a full time job.” (30:20)
  • Andy Rosen: “He’s older, in his 60s. Professor…East coast style. Professor.” (30:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Elizabeth Laime: “To our total fucking horror and disbelief, that same IP address also brought up comments from Natasha, from Anders, from Frank, and from a few other characters. I mean, it was a true, like horror film moment.” (06:49)
• Andy Rosen: “I quickly jumped to bullshit. I’m on team. This is fucked up. And there’s no one that tried to commit suicide. I’m that voice in the conversation…” (11:42)
• Monica Padman: “At that time, because, you know, you’re worried that people are thinking, how could she not know this? This is so obvious...But no one was thinking like that at the time.” (18:32)
• Elizabeth Laime: “My first instinct was just fear because this person seemed very obsessed with us and me...” (11:24)
• Andy Rosen: “There is like an awe that I have that I would have never expected to feel. But zero compassion.” (25:58)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Summary | |-----------|------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:35 | Episode proper starts | Monica introduces the topic & picks up from last week | | 02:44 | Andy on confusion | Admits not having known the depth of Elizabeth’s relationship with Beth | | 04:29 | Tammy Sager’s suspicion | The “brother in the emails” seems fishy | | 06:36 | IP sleuthing | Discovery that all these personas are one person | | 07:38 | Emotional toll of discovery | Elizabeth realizes how deeply invested she was in “Beth” and others | | 11:24 | Security panic | Elizabeth reacts by shoring up her family’s privacy and safety | | 15:19 | Podcasting through fear | Elizabeth: “Anytime we got a question…we were worried it was this person” | | 18:45 | Contextual naivete | They discuss the novelty of such catfishing in early podcast culture | | 22:01 | Manipulative emails escalate | “Beth’s brother” accuses, pleads, and tries to provoke Elizabeth | | 30:20 | Identity revealed | Catfisher is a male, 60s, professor, family, east coast, known figure |

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Tone & Language

• Language is candid, natural, and laced with incredulity, vulnerability, and flashes of dark humor.
• There’s palpable frustration and emotional rawness, especially from Elizabeth and Andy as they recount being manipulated and violated.
• Monica provides empathetic, sometimes philosophical commentary, but also probes for hard details and emotional truth.

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Summary

This pivotal episode of BETH'S DEAD pulls back the curtain on the emotional and investigative journey as Monica, Elizabeth, and Andy piece together how a trusted listener faked their death—and, in fact, had never existed as a real person at all. The scope and sophistication of the catfishing scheme left psychological scars and temporarily destroyed the sense of intimacy and safety that had built their podcast community. Using a mix of digital sleuthing, emotional storytelling, and honest reflection, the trio exposes how parasocial relationships can warp reality and why creators must stay vigilant—even when everything seems safe and earnest.

The episode concludes on a cliffhanger: the man behind the operation is not only real, but a respected academic and family man—forcing everyone to grapple with the unsettling duality of public and private personas in the digital age.

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Transcript

[Elizabeth Lame]

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[Andy Rosen]

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[Monica Padman]

This.

[Andy Rosen]

Today'S episode mentions suicide. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please know you are not alone. And help is available in the U.S. dial 988 where you'll have access to free one on one counselors who are there to provide compassionate support. Foreign.

[Monica Padman]

Welcome back to Beth's Den. This is episode four. I'm Monica Padman and I'm here with Elizabeth Lame and Andy Rosen.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Hello.

[Monica Padman]

Okay, so last week we left off hearing the email you got from Anders and then also Beth's brother Jason letting you know that Beth had passed away.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Right.

[Monica Padman]

Okay. So that's really heavy.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I got that email and I was. I was devastated. I mean, obviously.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And Andy, you remember very clearly.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You came. I think I was like taking a nap or something and you came in, I mean, freaking out. I was like, what's, what's going on? And you show me the email.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Were you confused because you didn't really know.

[Andy Rosen]

It was confusing in two ways. One, I wasn't fully in the loop on everything happening. And two, if I'm honest, your reaction was really intense, which I didn't know how to interpret either. It was just kind of like quickly trying to figure out what was going on, sort of.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Right.

[Andy Rosen]

And it didn't. The math didn't quite add up. To me. It's obviously super upsetting to hear anybody try to commit suicide.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

You didn't know the layers.

[Andy Rosen]

I did not know the layers at. That's probably the first time you told me, like, oh, no, I've been talking to her, and I could tell that you felt this responsibility.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Andy Rosen]

So I was getting clued in right then, and it was fast.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Also was like, the last few that I had heard from her seemed like she was doing well. And then it. I hadn't heard from her in a few days, and to get that, it just felt like a gut punch.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I responded to Anders.

[Monica Padman]

You did? Oh, it's sad. You said Anders. What? No, no, no, no, no. I'm beside myself. Is this true? I'm so horrified. Last message I exchanged with Beth was of hope. I don't believe this. Did the brother email you or call? Do you respond to an email to Beth's account? I don't know what to do. This can't be. Would you share with me what the brother's message said? I'm hysterical. I wish I had realized, but I want to go to when you got the email.

[Elizabeth Lame]

At the time I got the email, I had been working on a pilot with Tammy Sager, who is, I think, the world's greatest comedy writer.

[Monica Padman]

But not your mentor.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Don't get it twisted, dear friend. And she and I had sold this pilot, actually. It was called Totally Lame. It was based on Totally Married, our podcast. And we were taking a break, and I went and checked my emails, and I saw that, and I freaked out and went to talk to Andy, and I came back, and I think I sent that email to Anders. And then she got back on with me. And she also was a fan of the podcast and had listened from the very beginning and had heard all of these questions and answers over the last, you know, few months. And I told her what had happened, and her instinct was, this seems weird. And it was kind of a paradigm shift for me, like, oh, wait, could this be weird? Tammy pointed out that it was a little bit odd for a brother's first instinct to be. I'm gonna go get into my sister's email. The first thing I did after Tammy said, this is weird, is I looked up Beth's PayPal account address and saw that it didn't match what I thought it would be. So I Google image searched that, and it was this, like, you know, a family, two story, modest house, but, like, suburban. And I found that odd because I. I thought she had lived in an apartment. I thought she had a roommate. I don't know. It just didn't match up. So that was the first thing. And then Andy and our web people were like, we're going to look up her IP address. We had every comment on our website came with an IP address, as they do, and you can look them up and they show where, like the thing pinged from what tower? So you can place someone pretty close to.

[Andy Rosen]

That's not. That's not exactly how it works. Okay, let's hear your IP address. Every connection to the Internet has its own IP address. So it's not like pinging off towers or anything. Okay, so it's like this building here. We're on an IP address, like every modem, I think.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Oh, I see.

[Andy Rosen]

So basically it's like your stamp of where the communication came from or who's using the Internet, where they are, if that makes sense.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes. So I think it was your idea was to we should look up her IP address. Are the IP addresses on the back end? And our web people were like, yes, if you log in this way, you can see everyone's IP address. And so Andy clicked on Beth's IP address.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah, they were like hyperlinks next to the comments. So it was really easy. You click on the IP address next to the person's name and then it brought up all the comments that that person had made from that IP address.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And to our total fucking horror and disbelief, that same IP address also brought up comments from Natasha, from Anders, from Frank, and from a few other characters. I mean, it was a true, like horror film moment. And I think, especially for me, who had formed such deep relationships, that these were all one person.

[Andy Rosen]

And at this moment in time when we're doing this, we're quickly like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what the fuck? Beth has another IP address. We're clicking that one too, and it's revealing other people. So we whittle it down to like three IP addresses. And so we're scrambling to figure this out. And while we're doing that, Elizabeth, I mean, is like white. And the thing that stands out to me is you saying to me, you have no idea how much time I've put into these people. Like, that was the first time she ever kind of revealed to me like that was the first moment I knew how big of a deal this was to her. Moving forward from there is when I started learning about the behind the scenes interactions.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Everything you've just learned.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah. Not only this is so creepy that it's multiple people, but it's these people.

[Monica Padman]

These people you've been talking to for years. A year.

[Andy Rosen]

More than a year.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah, yeah.

[Monica Padman]

Years.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah, yeah.

[Monica Padman]

This person that we don't know really covered their bases and in a way.

[Andy Rosen]

Too That I think we couldn't even process. You more so than me, I'm sure, were more in shock, but also us just being like, how many people actually is it right? Like, we in this moment are figuring out, okay, well, we have seven, eight, nine people. But we're like, is it. Does anyone listen to our podcast?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Truly, are our stats way off? And this one person, my first thought was, is this Natasha?

[Andy Rosen]

Why was she top of mind?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Because as I said earlier, she did stand out to me as like a super fan who I knew kind of to keep at arm's length because she was such a huge fan and seemed so involved. And I felt with her, I didn't feel this with Beth. I felt with Natasha that, like, if I had given her too much, she would just take and take and take, you know what I mean? Like, it would have become a non stop correspondence. And so my first thought was, oh, my God, is Natasha? And also is. Is Beth okay? Like, I still hadn't even stepped out of the web, right?

[Monica Padman]

Like, they're all still real to you?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Andy Rosen]

I quickly jumped to bullshit. I'm on team. This is fucked up. And there's. There's no one that tried to commit suicide. I'm that voice in the conversation, and I think Tammy is that voice too.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Then it was like, who is this person? And that was its own journey to figuring out who the person was.

[Andy Rosen]

At what point were you convinced that, like, Beth didn't try to commit suicide?

[Elizabeth Lame]

I think pretty quickly, because I think so. We got this email August 6th, and then we have evidence that you and I, Andy, had forwarded stuff to our web designer, Andrea, at Duck Brigade. And I think once we started that you and I both knew. What we knew was one person was playing the role of all these other listeners. We realized. So that one PayPal address, we'd gotten donations from the same address, different PayPal accounts before, same physical address. Yes. What scared me the most in that moment was just the sheer volume and time and emotional energy I'd spent on that and that someone would put me in this position of feeling partially responsible for the loss of a human life. And my gut instinct was, oh, my God. I have talked about my kids on the podcast in a way that now feels reckless. I used to post my kids on Instagram. I wiped them from Instagram. I had. I had Andy get a locksmith to change her locks, which, like, does not make sense. But I was so scrambling. I didn't know who this person was. I was like, has this person shown up as, like, A plumber to her home before.

[Monica Padman]

Right.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And you know, I was going into like, really crazy places. My first instinct was just fear because this person seemed very obsessed with us and me. And the only person that I had interacted with who I thought could be that obsessed with us was Natasha.

[Andy Rosen]

Right, that makes sense.

[Elizabeth Lame]

But I went radio silent on website and email. And at that point in time, Beth's brother started emailing very aggressively.

[Monica Padman]

Okay. Monday, August 8th Elizabeth Lame. This is Beth's brother again. I'm going through her email, trying to take care of the things I can for her, but I'm trying to respect her privacy as much as possible. I couldn't help but notice though, some of the things you had corresponded about. Are you Beth's counselor or therapist? I'm desperate to figure out what's happened here. It just doesn't make any sense to me or anyone else that I've talked to so far. If she is your patient or if you have any insight, please email me here or call me at. You can call 24 7. I am just desperate to know what has happened to my sister.

[Elizabeth Lame]

So now that the cat's out of the bag and we can be a little bit more upfront about this, like, hearing this, I'm like, how could you not piece together that I. That it was a podcast that she listened to, like, going through all the emails that we just went through and like a quick Google search of me would have given him the information. You know, now I'm starting to see, like, that whoever this is is starting to kind of panic a little bit and it's getting a little sloppy.

[Monica Padman]

Sure.

[Andy Rosen]

We're also applying all of our attention to this. This takes over our lives.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

You feel totally unsafe.

[Andy Rosen]

Like, it's all we're thinking about and it's all we're thinking about in a very busy time for both of us. And we have these two little kids, but we're like, stressed out, freaked out, and we're like, watching this like a hawk. High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a SOFI personal loan. A Sofi personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got super speed since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign. Visit sofi.compower to learn more. That's s o-fi.com P-O-W-E-R loans originated by SoFi Bank. NA member FDIC terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.

[Monica Padman]

And did you guys continue to podcast during this time?

[Elizabeth Lame]

We did, because this is one thing I will say, as you know, I mean, consistency in podcasting is so important.

[Monica Padman]

It is.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And actually, I feel like the first time we had coffee.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I brought this up to you. Like, I think that just being consistent puts you ahead of the curve in such a big way, because people just. Well, now things are different, but that.

[Monica Padman]

When they were like, is still a huge part of it.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. And so having started in 2010, and, I mean, at this point in time, we had three, four podcasts going, plus our jobs, plus two little kids. I actually think I only took one week off after having my kids. I mean, and I really prided myself in that. Like, we did not step away. And so we kept podcasting, but, golly, it was hard. And we felt so, like, exposed and vulnerable. And I'm sure if you go back and listen to those episodes, that's what I'm curious about. Yeah, I bet there's a big difference.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah. And also, you're still taking listener questions.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

Yet you don't know if any of them are real.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Here's what I will say about this person is they did a really good job of crafting these characters.

[Monica Padman]

I know.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And so. And also the questions, as you heard me going, this is a good one. It's a thinker. Like, their questions were exciting. Anytime we got a question that seemed remotely interesting.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

We were worried it was this person.

[Monica Padman]

Okay, so you've been answering random qu. Random same, same person questions. Who knows how many.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. And those are just the ones that left comments. I mean, there may have been many more before. I don't know. So it made us pretty paranoid to keep podcasting. It made us not trust the questions. And, Monica, you even know because you're on our Patreon.

[Monica Padman]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lame]

We sometimes do these live streams, and we'll, like, go back in time and read questions and re. Give our advice on them.

[Monica Padman]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And recently, I mean, I was like, we can't even keep doing this now, because every question we look at back in time, Andy's like, it's bullshit.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah. I'm so paranoid. I think. Yeah. My alarm goes off way too easily. It's not calibrated right. Because of this. But to answer your question, we did eventually have to stop.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. Because it was just feeling way too weird.

[Andy Rosen]

So, like, a year later, I think. Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah. And then you guys were gone for a really long time.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

And then the Lord answered my prayers. You came back you came back for me with Nobody's listening. Right.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah. We really missed podcasting. And so we did come back.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. Like moth to a flame.

[Andy Rosen]

But a new format for the show.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes. It feels a lot safer because it's just me and Andy talking like no one's listening.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And so having duped us in that way was tough.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Feeling really frightened because of someone spent so much time and energy to do this to us.

[Monica Padman]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Lame]

But then the emails from Jason and then Natasha and Anders started to become a little bit unhinged on Tuesday.

[Monica Padman]

This is all escalating so fast. I mean, these are. It's all within, like, a week. Yeah. Beth emails. This is Jason again. Just after 4am, my amazing sister Beth passed away. We are all completely devastated. My only hope is that she reunited with our mother. Thank you all for the love and kindness you gave to my sister. And that was to you and Anders. Because Andersen responds to the group and says, I'm so sorry, you guys. So at this point, you know that this is all the same person.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

So they're basically CCing themselves.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Exactly.

[Monica Padman]

That's wild.

[Andy Rosen]

When they pulled that move, we were like, pathetic. What a piece of shit.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Andy Rosen]

Right. Like, we were at that point, we were really angry that in that email especially. Right.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Monica Padman]

Responding to themselves.

[Andy Rosen]

We were really upset.

[Monica Padman]

What is hard to remember is podcasting was not what it is today.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Monica Padman]

At that time, because, you know, you're worried that people are thinking, how could she not know this? This is so obvious, and this is crazy. But no one was thinking like that at the time.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Catfishing, I think, like, that documentary had come out within a year or two before this. Don't quote me on that. But it was a relatively new thing, and it was always one person. It was usually like, kind of a romantic relationship. I'd never heard of it being multiple people. And I just lived in a naive podcast bubble. Like, our fans were so amazing.

[Monica Padman]

Your fan.

[Elizabeth Lame]

We. My one. Our one fan. Well, we know exactly.

[Monica Padman]

Exactly. What if you found out it was me?

[Andy Rosen]

Oh, my God.

[Monica Padman]

What if that was the end of this? Oh, my God.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Do you want to know something crazy? So in preparation for this podcast, when I was making these binders, I was searching the IP addresses in the comments to pull out all of this person's comments to put in a separate document. And one of the IP addresses matched one of Andy's very best friends.

[Monica Padman]

What?

[Elizabeth Lame]

And for just a moment, I. I emailed Andy, and I was like, I'm. Or I texted him. We don't email we're married. But I was like, I'm freaking out, like, and it got in my head into a way. Now, by this point in time, obviously we know exactly who this person is and we'll get into all of that. But I was like, is this Josh? You know, And I was so confused. And luckily our web. Our web people, like set us straight and we're like, no, that person just was in LA at that time and.

[Andy Rosen]

That particular IP address was used from a cell phone. So it was like, oh, this IP address was just like the AT&T IP address on this particular day. And our web people could literally confirm that the person we end up finding it. It is. Was in LA that day too. So it was like, yeah, thank God it wasn't my buddy Josh.

[Elizabeth Lame]

But it really threw us for a loop for a second.

[Monica Padman]

Now, okay, this is the type of thing that on serial, when it was like the cell phone pings and it's stuff no one understands. I don't understand it. I don't know how.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Well, you guys, I obviously don't.

[Monica Padman]

So even when you say that, that makes me question, well, what if it's all these people and they had this, this situation?

[Andy Rosen]

Because the. The more telling thing is typically the IP addresses aren't like the cell phone out tower ones. It is like the modems that are in people's houses. And this all led to a person in a few very specific places.

[Monica Padman]

Okay. Okay.

[Andy Rosen]

And yeah, so the anomaly was like, when this person was in la, then LA people popped up.

[Monica Padman]

Right.

[Andy Rosen]

But we were able to. It was very easy to like sleuth it because of the locations.

[Monica Padman]

Okay, you guys are pissed.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Monica Padman]

You're pissed.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Scared. You're scared, Paranoid.

[Monica Padman]

Okay, the next email from Jason. The subject line is a thousand dollars question mark.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Oh, boy. That's right.

[Monica Padman]

This is Beth's brother. Again, I'm trying to understand my sister's last month since her behavior essentially added up to an unintentional suicide. I'm also trying not to read her correspondence in order to leave her some privacy. Okay, but.

[Andy Rosen]

Okay, you are. But I'm in her email.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah, I saw, however, that Beth paid you $1,000. That has me concerned. That would have been a huge amount of money for Beth, so I really can't imagine what she bought from you. Clearly, I don't know you or what you do, but I feel like I need to know what she thought was worth so much during such a miserable time. Even if she purchased something illegal from you, I swear to God, I don't care I just want to know. Please contact me. Please. All caps. Contact me within the next 24 hours. And after that, I have to start making funeral arrangements. You can email me here or call me or text me. I thought I understood my sister's last weeks until I saw this purchase. Please, I need to know what it was.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. So this person starts, like, really baiting me to call this number.

[Monica Padman]

And are you guys like, I want to call the number?

[Andy Rosen]

No.

[Elizabeth Lame]

No. I'm like, I don't want anything. I want this person to go away.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And as these emails become more and more intense, like, the more freaked out we get.

[Monica Padman]

Okay, next email. I'm begging you. Subject line, all caps. I don't understand. My sister has died. I don't know what her relationship to you was. Then I see that she gave you $1,000. I tried contacting you every way I can think of. I even started a Twitter account just to contact you. I thought you were just not seeing these messages until you blocked my Twitter account. I don't know what the issue is. Even a simple go to hell would tell me more than you have. For the last time, please contact me. I had just one question for you. My sister died scared and in pain and gave you what would have seemed like a fortune to her, yet you're not willing to talk to me once.

[Andy Rosen]

It's interesting having distance from this now, because in that moment, we were so obviously so angry, scared and paranoid.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah.

[Andy Rosen]

But now it is. It is interesting to think that, like, oh, my God, this thing that they'd put so much time in, for over a year, they're freaking out that it's over, that they don't get to play with these puppet strings anymore.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah, 100%.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And also, I think freaking out as to why it ended, you know, because I did go radio silent right. When we found out that she had attempted suicide. And.

[Andy Rosen]

Well, I think they know that was a. Speaking of big swings, that was a big swing that they took.

[Monica Padman]

It was.

[Andy Rosen]

And it backfired.

[Elizabeth Lame]

No, no. But I think they're wondering why it backfired. I don't think that they know at this point how we could have figured out that something was fishy.

[Monica Padman]

I mean, they're spiraling majorly in this, similar to what's happening with you guys, but in a much. Right.

[Elizabeth Lame]

In this very moment, in a much.

[Andy Rosen]

More devastating way for them.

[Monica Padman]

Yes, yes, it's true. I mean, if we're gonna.

[Andy Rosen]

Their life's work is being pulled right out from under them.

[Monica Padman]

And of course, I like, you know, it feels so horrific. And the details of the emails of all of these people and their backstories and her mom has died.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And as you pointed out, her name is Beth.

[Monica Padman]

Her name is Beth.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

I mean, it feels so violating.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes.

[Monica Padman]

Extremely violating. Yet if I'm going to step in this person's point of view, in some ways, I believe, and you know, this is just, I guess what we do on. On the show, whether it's good or bad, but try to lend some compassion. What was happening to you was happening to this person. You were slowly getting sucked into a thing that was then far beyond. You had no control over it. And I would bet a similar thing was happening here, where it started with like, I'm gonna write a question in as a. As a person.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Right.

[Andy Rosen]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Monica Padman]

And that was fun. And that gave that person something. And then a year and a half later, here we are.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Right.

[Andy Rosen]

I have zero, zero, zero compassion for this person. But I will say, revisiting this stuff with you guys, I have had moments where I'm kind of impressed, like, just how intricate it all is. There is like an awe that I have that I would have never expected to feel. But zero compassion.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah. That's fair. Okay, so later that day, again from Beth. What the hell? Subject line. I've been dying to know why my sister Beth gave you $1,000. It just didn't make any sense to me since she was simultaneously ignoring her own well being to a fatal degree. My guess was that she had bought something from you. Since I wasn't getting any clarification from you, I made an exception and read the exchanges Beth had with you. I. I'm sorry, but now I'm upset. My sister donated $1,000 to you. You haven't even acknowledged her death. Beth evidently thought you were some kind of friend to her. You may be a nice person, but it's clear to me that she was wrong. Ignore what I said earlier. I have no desire to ever speak to you. Natasha also is sending you an email. I think Anders sent you a note about Beth's passing, right? It's so incredibly sad. Did he tell you that they have determined finally the cause of all this? It's you, Elizabeth. No, she doesn't say that. It somehow makes the whole thing worse. I can't help but feel that her fiance and his family are responsible for her death. But even though I only spoke to Beth by phone, I've been really shaken by her passing. I'm so sorry for all this. Regards, Natasha.

[Andy Rosen]

This is kind of A tame email.

[Monica Padman]

Wait, Elizabeth, you responded?

[Elizabeth Lame]

What?

[Andy Rosen]

Really?

[Monica Padman]

On Monday, August 8, while all this is happening, Natasha emails. Elizabeth, I understand that Anders has told you what is happening with Beth. Correct? Very sad. I don't know if you've had any contact with her brother, so I apologize if I'm repeating things that you've heard already. Anders called her brother Jason this morning because he spent some time studying neurology at university. The outlook for Beth is not as bright as I had hoped, though she can speak a bit. Beth can't seem to process what other people are. Oh, this is before you were told.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Okay.

[Monica Padman]

Oh, Lord. Okay, this is before you were told she was died.

[Elizabeth Lame]

And when did I respond to that?

[Monica Padman]

You responded, oh, wow. This has all been so awful. Wishing you all the best.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I knew at that point.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

At that point you knew. Then Natasha says, and this is two days later. I think Anders sent you the note about Beth's passing, Right?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Got it. Yeah.

[Monica Padman]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. So Natasha's in and out. Anders is in and out. Natasha again on August 11th. This is once you'd gone silent. Elizabeth, I'm surprised to have not heard from you about this development. This makes me worried for you. Are you all right?

[Elizabeth Lame]

You know, I have so many questions that I never want to pose to this person, but, like, I would love to know the answers to. And one of them is, was that donation made specifically so that this could be played later as a. Wait, what she donated?

[Monica Padman]

Of course, it's adding more ties to you. Yeah, I think sometimes narcissists do this where they make you indebted to them.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Right? Was it all calculated and, like, did they know the end when they started?

[Monica Padman]

Right. Or did it get out of hand?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Was it just following where the wind blew? And, you know, I. I'm just. I'm curious about that.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah, me too. There's so many unanswered questions. But also, just to be clear, you guys do know who it is, right?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah, like, for sure.

[Andy Rosen]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yeah. And figuring out who it is is kind of its own whole journey, which we'll get to.

[Monica Padman]

Can you say who it is?

[Andy Rosen]

It's weird. I mean, now it even feels weird just saying, revealing who it is, because, like, I'm getting freaked out.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I know I'm like, I'm scared of him and he's still out there, but.

[Monica Padman]

Yeah. How about no names? Maybe we can avoid names, but is there anything about this person we can say?

[Elizabeth Lame]

Yes. Okay. So he's a man living a full life, is a family, a full time job.

[Andy Rosen]

He's older, in his 60s. Professor.

[Monica Padman]

Professor, yeah.

[Andy Rosen]

East coast style. Professor.

[Elizabeth Lame]

Prominent east coast school.

[Monica Padman]

Oh my God.

[Elizabeth Lame]

I know. So, yeah, he's actually. We were shocked to figure it out, but he's in a position of power and status and is a known figure.

[Andy Rosen]

If you don't want to wait for more Beth's Dead. You can binge the entire series today at patreon.com bethsdead where all 10 episodes are available ad free right now. Best Dead is presented by armchair experts Monica Padman and nobody's listening, right? It is produced and edited by Andy Rosen, Elizabeth Lame and Monica Padman. Additional engineering by Rob Hollis. Music and sound by Andy Rosen. Special thanks to Andrea and Gabe at Duck Brigade and Tammy Sager.