I SURVIVED A SERIAL KILLER: The Catfishing Killer

Summary

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Cold Case Files: I SURVIVED A SERIAL KILLER – The Catfishing Killer

Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)
Host/Narrator: Marisa Pinson
Release Date: May 23, 2026
Featured Survivor: Tiffany Taylor

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of Cold Case Files recounts the harrowing survival story of Tiffany Taylor, the only known survivor of serial killer Khalil Wheeler-Weaver—dubbed “The Catfishing Killer”. Through personal testimony, law enforcement insights, and reporting, the episode details the series of murders in Northern New Jersey and the tireless efforts leading to Wheeler-Weaver’s capture and conviction. The narrative is one of trauma, resourcefulness, and ultimately, survival.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to the Case and Survivor (01:23–02:27)

• Khalil Wheeler-Weaver's Arrest and Pattern of Crimes

  • Authorities discuss the "cold, calculating" nature of the murders.
  • A series of murdered women and an attack on a surviving fourth victim (Tiffany Taylor) signaled the presence of a serial killer.

• Tiffany Taylor’s Background

  • Taylor describes her circumstances in 2016: homelessness due to her mother's illness, living in motels, and supporting her family by any means she could.

  Quote [02:27]:
  "My name is Tiffany Taylor and I survived a serial killer. I'm from Jersey City, New Jersey. I was about 34 in 2016..." — Tiffany Taylor

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The Attack: Tiffany Taylor’s Ordeal (02:27–04:43; 07:47–11:27)

• The Setup

  • Tiffany accepted a ride-sharing job for $100, arranged via her friend’s acquaintance. When he arrived, he wore a ski mask and gloves—normal for winter, but later revealed as a disguise.
  • During the ride, her attacker asked her to pull over, and she lost consciousness after being struck.

• The Assault

  • Tiffany awoke to being raped and strangled. Her attacker handcuffed her and wrapped duct tape around her head, revealing himself as Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, a man she had previously encountered and tricked out of money.

  Quote [04:01]:
  "He took off his mask and he said, 'you don't remember me.'...I knew he was a monster and I knew that I was really in trouble." — Tiffany Taylor

• Manipulation and Escape

  • Tiffany used her street smarts and flexibility to break free of one handcuff and manipulated Wheeler-Weaver to grant her partial freedom in exchange for retrieving her phone.
  • She made a daring escape when her friend opened the motel room door, slamming it shut behind her so he couldn't follow.

  Quote [11:27]:
  "I'm very street smart and I think fast. I thought maybe I could manipulate him...If I do pop up missing, they're gonna know who you are." — Tiffany Taylor

  • Police questioned Tiffany but appeared skeptical, suggesting her ordeal might be related to prostitution. She felt unsupported and feared for her safety.

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Linking the Cases: Law Enforcement and Family Investigation (04:50–07:21; 10:10–14:56)

• The Pattern Emerges

  • Investigators and reporters detail preceding crimes: Robin West (19) found murdered in a fire, and later, Sarah Butler (20) and Joanne Brown (33) found strangled, all within the same region and time frame.

• Sarah Butler’s Disappearance

  • Sarah’s family noticed she was missing after meeting someone online (alias: Lil Yacht Rock). They accessed her email and set up a sting operation which contributed to identifying Wheeler-Weaver.

  Quote [10:21]:
  "Sarah Butler was a 20 year old college student who was home for Thanksgiving break…She just disappeared." — Detective

• Investigation Breakthroughs

  • Wheeler-Weaver, employed as a security guard with aspirations to be a police officer, admitted to meeting Sarah but maintained she dropped him off.
  • Cell phone records and coordinated efforts among jurisdictions raised suspicions and built the case against him.

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Forensic Evidence and Final Arrest (15:51–23:05)

• Critical Evidence

  • Sarah Butler’s van and body were found based on phone pings and searches.
  • Joanne Brown’s body is found strangled in the same manner, suggesting a serial pattern.
  • License records linked a car at the crime scenes to Wheeler-Weaver.

  Quote [16:58]:
  "It was an unusual crime scene...It seemed like this person had done something like this before. That's when the serial killer alarms start going off." — Detective

• Arrest and Charges

  • On December 6, 2016, Wheeler-Weaver was arrested for murder.
  • Cumulative investigations from multiple jurisdictions were essential for making the case.

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Trial, Testimony, and Sentencing (22:12–24:10)

• Tiffany Taylor’s Role in Conviction

  • Tiffany learned of Wheeler-Weaver’s arrest from her brother, took the initiative to work with prosecutors, and provided testimony at court.

  Quote [22:48]:
  "When I saw his face, I felt like I saw a ghost. I was scared. But I'm very proud of myself for being strong enough to testify against him." — Tiffany Taylor

• Verdict and Sentencing

  • Wheeler-Weaver was convicted of three murders and the attempted murder of Tiffany Taylor.
  • He received a 160-year sentence with 145 years before parole eligibility.

  Quote [24:10]:
  "The purpose of the sentence is that this defendant never walk among society again. I was very glad that I could give the families that closure." — Detective

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Survivor’s Message and Reflections (24:36–24:55)

• Tiffany’s Empowerment

  • Despite skepticism from authorities, Tiffany’s persistence and bravery were crucial.
  • She encourages other victims to speak out and not give up hope for justice.

  Quote [24:36]:
  "For all the women out there that been through something like this, be brave. Don't be scared to speak up. If you do, people will start to listen after a while. Just keep trying." — Tiffany Taylor

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tiffany Taylor on Survival & Street Smarts (11:27):
  "I'm very street smart and I think fast...If I do pop up missing, they're gonna know who you are."

• Law Enforcement on Serial Killer Patterns (16:58):
  "It was an unusual crime scene...It seemed like this person had done something like this before. That's when the serial killer alarms start going off."

• Tiffany Taylor’s Testimony (22:48):
  "When I saw his face, I felt like I saw a ghost. I was scared. But I'm very proud of myself..."

• Sentencing Statement (24:10):
  "The purpose of the sentence is that this defendant never walk among society again." — Detective

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:23–02:27 | Introduction to Khalil Wheeler-Weaver’s arrest and serial pattern | | 02:27–07:21 | Tiffany Taylor’s background and detailed account of the attack | | 10:10–12:07 | Sarah Butler’s disappearance and her family’s investigation | | 11:27–13:20 | Tiffany Taylor’s manipulation and escape | | 13:55–14:56 | The sting on Wheeler-Weaver using the online alias "Lil Yacht Rock" | | 15:51–16:54 | Discovery of key evidence, search for Sarah Butler, and body recovery | | 17:26–18:24 | Connecting the crimes; police make the decision to arrest Wheeler-Weaver | | 20:18–21:31 | Arrest, linking with Robin West’s case, forensics, and case consolidation | | 22:12–24:10 | Trial, Tiffany Taylor’s impactful testimony, conviction, and sentencing | | 24:36–24:55 | Tiffany's empowering message to other survivors |

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

Tone:
The episode is tense and emotional yet factual—amplified by Tiffany Taylor’s raw, powerful storytelling and the brisk, matter-of-fact descriptions from law enforcement and reporters.

Takeaways:

• Tiffany Taylor’s quick thinking and resilience not only saved her life but played a pivotal role in ending a violent spree.
• The case highlights systemic issues, including the disbelief of survivors—especially those in marginalized or stigmatized circumstances.
• Family and community efforts, alongside coordinated police work and digital forensics, were crucial in linking the crimes and bringing Wheeler-Weaver to justice.

Final Reflection (24:55): Tiffany Taylor’s message to survivors caps the episode—urging perseverance and courage in pursuit of truth and justice.

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Transcript

[Tiffany Taylor]

Mom, can you tell me a story?

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

Sure.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Was she brave?

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Did she have to fight a dragon?

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

Nope.

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Was it scary?

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Did the car have a sunroof?

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

It did, actually. Okay, good story.

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

Car buying you'll want to tell stories about.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

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[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Police arrested 20 year old Khalil Wheeler

[Advertiser / Sponsor]

Weaver last night at his house in Orange.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Involved murders that had been executed in sort of a cold, calculating way.

[Detective / Police Officer]

911, where is your emergency? There's a fire in somebody's house.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Oh my God.

[Reporter / Investigator]

They find a body and the remains could not be identified.

[Detective / Police Officer]

We believed he strangled her and then set the building on fire to cover his tracks.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Three women murdered.

[Detective / Police Officer]

A fourth woman attacked and nearly killed. That's when the serial killer alarms start going off and we didn't know if more people would die.

[Tiffany Taylor]

He took off his mask and he said, you don't remember me. He had handcuffed my hands behind my back. Then he was right behind me going upstairs to the room. I knew he was a monster and I knew that I was really in trouble.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

Real people who faced death and live to tell how this is. I survived a serial killer.

[Tiffany Taylor]

My name is Tiffany Taylor and I survived a serial killer. I'm from Jersey City, New Jersey. I was about 34 in 2016. At that time, I was homeless. My mom had ovarian cancer and she beat it, thank God. But we lost everything. So we were staying at different hotels. November 15th, I was staying at motel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with my friend. It was his birthday and the plan was just chill, watch some movies. But I had got a call from my best friend at the time. She was telling me her friend needed a ride to Pennsylvania. He was supposed to give me about $100. I was always thinking about the next day, how I'm gonna pay for the room. So I definitely jumped on the offer. She gave me his number and we started texting back and forth. I believe it was eight that night. He kind of just popped up at the room. He had on gloves and a ski mask, you know, that pulls over. But it didn't look too suspect because that's like the style for guys in the wintertime. We got into the car and I started to drive off. He then asked me, can I pull over because he had to use the bathroom. So I pull over down the side block not far from that hotel. That's basically the last thing I remember. I'm thinking he might have hit me because I had pain in the back of my head. And I. I don't know, but I know I went out and I woke up to him raping me and choking me out. He was whispering in my ear, like, I wish we was in a room. I would have demolished you. I think he got off of seeing fear. I went out of consciousness at least three times. He was a monster.

[Detective / Police Officer]

911, where is your emergency?

[Tiffany Taylor]

There's a fire in somebody's house. Oh, my God.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

Adam Wells is an assistant Essex county prosecutor.

[Detective / Police Officer]

A little more than two months before Tiffany Taylor was attacked, there was a fire at an abandoned house in the city of Orange, New Jersey.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

David Porter is a reporter for the Associated Press.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Firefighters respond, and they eventually find a body that is so damaged from the fire that the remains could not be identified.

[Detective / Police Officer]

It took about two weeks of investigation to identify positively those remains as Robin West.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Robin west was 19 years old, and she had been working in the sex trade on and off over the years. Before her disappearance.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Before the fire, Ms. West's good friend reported her missing in Union Township. She described that a man pulled up in a car and pointed to Robin west and indicated for her to get in the car. After that, Robin west went missing.

[Tiffany Taylor]

He was choking me out and raping me at the same time. I tried to scratch his face, and he said, don't do that. That's when I saw the handcuffs. And he handcuffed my hands behind my back. Then after that, he pulls out duct tape and he wrapped it around my head like a gift, like this. Then he took off his mask and he said, you don't remember me? Seven months before I was attacked, my same friend had this guy that she was prostituting with. When he saw me, he had this really big obsession. But being that I was raised a Jehovah witness, I was strictly against having sex for money. But one day he offered a couple hundred dollars. I was being blinded by fast money and I said, yeah, sure, I'll meet up with you. He had me meet him at this place and he gave me $200 up front. And that's when I said, oh, I forgot the condoms in the car. I went downstairs and hopped in the car. I just took his cash and left. I never thought that I would see him again after that. When he revealed himself to me, that's when I remembered exactly who he was. His name was Khalil Willow Weaver. I knew that I was really in trouble.

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[Tiffany Taylor]

The duct tape has started lifting up from like here from me, sweating and crying. I remember saying to him, you almost killed me. And he said, no, I was just putting you to sleep. I know what I was doing.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Just one week after Tiffany Taylor was attacked in Elizabeth, Sarah Butler went missing in Montclair. Sarah Butler was a 20 year old college student who was home for Thanksgiving break.

[Reporter / Investigator]

On the night of November 22, 2016, Sarah Butler takes her mom's minivan and

[Detective / Police Officer]

then disappears the next day. Her mother actually went around trying to find out, does anyone know where Sarah is? She just disappeared. That night, Sarah's mother went to Montclair police to file a formal missing persons report.

[Reporter / Investigator]

In addition to reaching out to police, Sarah Butler's family and friends take the investigation a little bit into their own hands.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Sarah's best friend, who was very close to her, knew that Sarah was going to go meet a guy she'd met online. But she didn't know all the particulars. She also knew the password to her email account. So they logged in.

[Reporter / Investigator]

They wanted to see who she might have been in contact with. In the hours and days before she

[Detective / Police Officer]

disappeared, Sarah had met this man, Lil Yacht Rock, over a particular social networking site that was focused on meeting people in your immediate geographic area. She actually said to him, you're not a serial killer, right? Eventually she did agree to meet up with him. So they wanted to find him.

[Tiffany Taylor]

I'm very street smart and I think fast. I thought Maybe I could manipulate him and try to have him follow what I say instead. So I said, you know my phone with our text messages going back and forth, I left it in the room. If I do pop up missing, they're gonna know who you are. And he started to panic. I said, look, if you take me back to the room, I'll retrieve the cell phone if you promise to let me go.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Tiffany's a very smart woman. She is also the definition of a survivor. And she was very clever in playing him.

[Tiffany Taylor]

I'm double jointed and flexible, so I knew how to break out of cuffs. So at this point, I'm out of one cuff. And when he pulled up to the hotel room, I had to slip the handcuff back on so he didn't notice that I was out. He took the duct tape off, and I remember him pulling me out the car. He put my coat that I had over me to try to hide the cuffs. Then he was right behind me going upstairs to the room. I kick on the door. My friend opens it. I immediately run in, slammed that door so hard behind me. He knew he couldn't get to me, so he ran off. I called my best friend at the time, and I was yelling at her, saying, you know, your friend tried to kill me just now. And I remember her saying, why would he do something like that? And I'm trying to explain to my friend at the hotel room what's happening. And he calls 911.

[Detective / Police Officer]

What injuries do you. What injuries do you have? Look at my face. And the duct tape for the what?

[Tiffany Taylor]

I had abrasions from him taking the duct tape and putting it on and taking it back off.

[Detective / Police Officer]

So you let him duct tape you or what happened? I just need to know.

[Tiffany Taylor]

He put the handcuffs on me first. He choked me out, and after he

[Detective / Police Officer]

showed me one hand, what was all happening. All happened in the car.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Yeah, they probably thought it was maybe a prostitution thing that went bad, but they really did not believe me at all. They said that they'll keep me posted. And they left. I felt like I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to and thought he was going to come back looking for me. I was very scared for my life. Those are like the longest days of my life.

[Detective / Police Officer]

A couple days after Sarah Butler went missing, Sarah's best friend, Sarah's sister, and Sarah's sister's best friend set up an account on that same social network that Sarah had been communicating with online, which, you know, I've been sort of casually really referring to as the. The Catfishing incident. And within an hour, Little Yacht Rock sends a message asking, you know, does she want to meet him?

[Reporter / Investigator]

Sarah's family and friends were determined to find out what had happened to her.

[Detective / Police Officer]

So they set up a date at a restaurant nearby. And then they went to the Montclair police. And so the Montclair police actually went as well. Before Little Yacht Rock even got out of the car, the Montclair police identified themselves. They said they were working on a missing persons investigation and would he cooperate. And lo and behold, Lil Yacht Rock turned out to be Khalil Wheeler Weaver. He ended up following the police in his own car back to Montclair police headquarters and talking to them for a little bit there.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Khalil Wheeler weaver was a 20 year old. He lived in Orange. He held down two jobs as a security guard, and he was interested in becoming a police officer.

[Detective / Police Officer]

He does admit that he met up with Sarah. He told them, Sarah came and picked me up. I got in, we drove around a little bit. He says he asked to get dropped back off. So she drops him back off at this parking lot. At that point, they had no reason to believe he was anything other than a witness, so they let him go.

[Reporter / Investigator]

At this point, we have Sarah Butler missing from Montclair. Tiffany Taylor attacked Elizabeth and Robin west disappearing in Union Township, and then her body being found in Orange. So right now, you've got four different jurisdictions, and perpetrators can slip through the cracks because not all of those jurisdictions necessarily communicate.

[Detective / Police Officer]

At least early on, when Sarah disappeared, her whole family put out information on social media with pictures of Sarah and pictures of the van. And three days after Sarah disappeared, a family friend did in fact spot the van. It was in an out of the way parking lot in the middle of this industrial park. The friend calls both the Butler family and the police. Once the van was recovered, we had tangible evidence that Sarah didn't just run off in her mom's car. Something bad had happened.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Essex county investigators begin combing through Sarah Butler's phone records and where her phone was last recorded by the nearest cell phone tower.

[Detective / Police Officer]

One of the last places her phone pinged was in the general area of West Orange near the Eagle Rock reservation.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Eagle Rock reservation, sort of a mountainous area not far from Montclair.

[Detective / Police Officer]

There was a fairly extensive search. And nine days after Sarah went missing, her remains were recovered concealed under brush.

[Reporter / Investigator]

She had been strangled with her own pants, and they had been found around her neck.

[Detective / Police Officer]

It was an unusual crime scene. The manner of the killing, the extent to which the body was concealed, and the Car being dumped someplace else. It seemed like this person had done something like this before. That's when the serial killer alarms start going off and we didn't know if more people would die then. Four days after Sarah's remains were recovered, Joanne Brown's remains were were recovered in an abandoned house.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Joanne Brown was 33. She had been living on the margins of society and was working in the sex trade at the time of her death. She was found on a set of stairs with a woman's blazer around her neck that she had been strangled with. So now investigators have two women who have been killed in the same fashion in the same basic geographic area.

[Detective / Police Officer]

It would be extraordinary for these things to happen and not to be related.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Investigators are able to determine that Khalil Wheeler Weaver was the last person to be in contact with Sarah Butler before she disappeared. And even more important, his cell phone records show that he was in the area of Eagle Rock reservation around the time she went missing.

[Detective / Police Officer]

We had a very strong suspicion that he was the killer. So on the 6th of December, we made the decision that we were gonna place him under arrest before anyone else would killed.

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[Detective / Police Officer]

On the 6th of December we made the decision that we were going to place Wheeler Weaver under arrest for the murder of Sarah Butler. Police arrested 20 year old Kahlil Wheeler Weaver last night at his house in Orange and we filed additional charges for the murder of Joanne Brown. Once we charged him with the two murders, we believed that it was very unlikely that those were the only crimes this person had ever committed. So we did a law enforcement database search to see who else had ever tried to look up Khalil Wheeler Weaver and one of the places we found was Union Township and the disappearance of Robin west, whose remains were recovered in an abandoned house fire.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Robin west was working on and off in the sex industry and on that particular night she and a friend friend were approached by a man in a car and when Robin west got in the car, her friend was savvy enough to write down the license plate number.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Union Township police officer ran that license plate. It came back to Khalil Wheeler Weaver. The story he told them was that he dropped her off at this industrial building and that that was the last place he saw her. At that point in their investigation, they hit a dead end.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Robin West's case then remains unsolved for more than three months until Essex county authorities charge Khalil Wheeler Weaver.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Once the Homicide Task force took over the investigation, we started looking into where Wheeler Weaver's phone put him on the night Robin west disappeared.

[Reporter / Investigator]

Investigators discovered that Khalil Wheeler Weaver was in the vicinity of the house where Robin West's body was found at the time the fire was started.

[Detective / Police Officer]

So we believed he strangled her and then set the building on fire to cover his tracks. After he's arrested. Khalil Wheeler Weaver was brought for his arraignment on the charges of murder.

[Tiffany Taylor]

My brother saw it on the news and called me. I was so relieved and happy when I found out that he was in custody. I wanted to do whatever I could do to. To make sure that this guy did not come home. So I went and spoke to the prosecutors myself.

[Detective / Police Officer]

She came to the court because she knew he's the same person who had attacked her and that she had not been taken seriously by the authorities that she'd reported it to in the past. These are no joke, real handcuffs. These are the handcuffs that were on Ms. Taylor's arm.

[Tiffany Taylor]

When the police arrived, I went to court and I testified against him. When I saw his face, I felt like I saw a ghost. I was scared. But I'm very proud of myself for being strong enough to testify against him.

[Detective / Police Officer]

On December 19, 2019, Khalil Willow was convicted by a Essex county jury of the murders of Joanne Brown, Sarah Butler and Robin west, as well as the attempted murder of Tiffany Taylor.

[Tiffany Taylor]

I definitely felt like justice was served and I definitely feel like I had a part in it.

[Reporter / Investigator]

In the fall of 2021, five years after the murders were committed, Khalil Wheeler Weaver was sentenced in Essex County Superior Court. At the sentencing hearing. That's what everybody's waiting for, to hear the person speak. You want to hear some kind of remorse or explanation. I have maintained and expressed my innocence.

[Tiffany Taylor]

I was not the person who committed these crimes. I just want to say, as far as him saying that he still didn't do it makes me feel like he has no type of remorse about it at all. And I hope you don't show any remorse on him just like he's not showing any remorse and you give him the maximum time.

[Detective / Police Officer]

I sentenced the defendant to 160 years. 145 years of parole ineligibility. The purpose of the sentence is that this defendant never walk among society again. I was very glad that I could give the families that closure. And I was relieved that he would never walk free again.

[Tiffany Taylor]

For all the women out there that been through something like this, be brave. Don't be scared to speak up. If you do, people will start to listen after a while. Just keep trying.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

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[Detective / Police Officer]

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[Reporter / Investigator]

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[Detective / Police Officer]

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[Reporter / Investigator]

and they were all free.

[Detective / Police Officer]

The truth is that it's just so Beautiful on Pluto TV.

[Reporter / Investigator]

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[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

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[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

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[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

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[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

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[Detective / Police Officer]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on

[Reporter / Investigator]

car insurance with Liberty Mutual.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Narrator / Advertiser / Reporter]

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird.

[Detective / Police Officer]

What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual Together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Detective / Police Officer]

Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.

[Tiffany Taylor]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Advertiser / Sponsor]

This podcast is sponsored by IQ Bar.

[Mom / Narrator (Carvana ad)]

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