
In September of 1977, a 30-year-old woman vanished after a break-up with her eccentric, famous boyfriend. Over a year passed before her decomposing body was found stuffed inside a trunk. So; what drove this once-celebrated socialite to her violent end, and how did her killer manage to hide her in plain sight? This is the murder of Holly Maddux.
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Daphne
You know what a girl's best friend is not diamonds. Her lawyers.
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Daphne
It's our own boutique women representing women.
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Daphne
Make it ring.
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Daphne
Stand up straight and breeze into that room like a storm no one saw coming.
Narrator/Promoter
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He
What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, he.
Daphne
And I'm your host, Daphne.
He
And you're listening to Going West.
Daphne
Hello, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. I cannot believe I only recently learned about this story and that we haven't covered it, but I randomly found it this summer. And when I tell you I was shook and still am. Understatement.
He
Yeah, it feels like this case was not going to find any justice. That it was just going to keep going on for years and years and years and then finally resolved.
Daphne
Yeah, the road is long and truly unreal. You guys are going to be like face, palm to face. Why do I feel like every time I say that I mess it up palm to face?
He
You're going to palm your own fucking faces.
Daphne
By the way, if you guys haven't listened yet. We just came out with an episode a few days ago. The Teen Vampire Murders. That one is also insane. And I can't believe we didn't reference the Lost Boys in that whole episode.
He
Yeah, we talked about Interview with a Vampire for like a brief second, but.
Daphne
Should have been the Lost.
He
Yeah, we didn't get into one of my favorite movies of all time.
Daphne
That's what I'm saying. Like, are we okay?
He
I don't know.
Daphne
Well, without further ado, buckle up and let's get into this one. Damn It I took your luck.
He
All right guys, this is episode 548 of going west. So let's get into it.
Daphne
SA in September of 1977, a 30 year old activist woman vanished after a breakup with her eccentric famous boyfriend. Over a year passed before her mummified remains were found stuffed inside a trunk. So what drove this once celebrated socialite to her violent end? And how did her killer manage to hide her in plain sight? This is the murder of Holly Maddox. Helen Holly Maddox, who went by Holly, we're gonna call her Holly all Day, was born on May 1947 in Tyler, Texas, which is located on the eastern side of the state, about an hour from the border of Louisiana. She was raised in a conservative and religious southern home by her parents, Helen and Fred, and grew up alongside a younger brother named John and three younger sisters named Buffy, Meg and Mary. Holly is remembered as gentle and soft spoken. Her brother John remembered proudly. Quote Holly was a brilliant, elegant, gracious, graceful lady. Her sister Buffy echoed that although Holly was known kinda for her looks and her intelligence, she was never one to make anybody feel uncomfortable or beneath her. She was just a great gal. Holly attended John Tyler High School and was a cheerleader as well as a salutatorian of her class, which I actually had no idea what that was somehow until recently researching this, but it's someone who graduates second in their class, so just under the valedictorian. And she was even voted most likely to succeed. Her high school boyfriend Larry Wells said after her death. Quote she was a very special person. She was unbelievably talented. You just had a feeling there wasn't anything she couldn't do. I know you always say these things about dead people, but it was true. In addition to excelling in academics, Holly was gifted artistically and was known for being a talented writer and dancer. But from a young age she was a free spirit. She longed to break free from the patriarchal surroundings of her Texas upbringing under her father's watchful eye and kind of find herself in a more open minded, diverse, like urban setting. Though Holly fielded multiple scholarship opportunities from Texas universities because she was originally hoping maybe not to go too far from home, she ended up settling quite far from home. She set her sights on the prestigious women's liberal arts college Bryn Mawr, located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And there Holly really embraced that 1970s counterculture vibe and fostered her deep empathy for the disenfranchised, speaking out against the Vietnam War and attending protests and rallies all the time. According to her family, she was Deeply disturbed by what she was seeing in the war overseas. A war in which her brother John actually had been deployed in. And it was during this time of self discovery that she met the man who would alter the course of her life forever. Ira Einhorn.
He
Now, Holly and Ira met in a cafe on her college's campus in 1972. He was charming, if not a bit smug. And Ira approached Holly to tell her that he noticed what she was reading and that he was more interested in her beautiful mind than he was her physical body. Aww, it's already. Ugh, I'm already getting creeper vibes now. Holly was instantly taken with Ira and they began a romantic relationship. So seven years her senior at this point, he was about 32 and she was about 25. Ira was already well known in Philadelphia's activist scene, having attended the esteemed Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. So it seems like they already had something in common that was kind of important to both of them. I mean, not kind of. It was really important to both of them. Ira was known for his charismatic entrancing speeches and was even employed as a guest lecturer at Harvard. Like this guy was friends with Jerry Garcia, who obviously, as many of you guys know, was the co founder of the Grateful Dead, and Abbott, or Abbie Hoffman, who was a radical political and social activist. Ira dubbed himself the Unicorn because his surname, Einhorn, literally translates to one horn in German.
Daphne
Imagine calling yourself the Unicorn. Hey, I'm the Unicorn. Yeah, good to meet ya.
He
We'd just be talking about like a lot of weirdos on this show lately.
Daphne
I feel like weirdos who are also killers. Maybe it's a. It's a trend.
He
The father vampire that we just talked about in last episode. Oh yeah, and we will circle back on the unicorn thing here in a little bit, but we don't want to spoil anything for you guys. Now, Ira touted himself as the founder of Earth Day, though the actual founder, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, disputed this claim later on.
Daphne
Embarrassing.
He
Yeah, that's super. Like getting community noted. While Ira did, however, act as the emcee for the first ever Earth Day event in Philadelphia, held at the Fairmount park on April 22, 1970. Gaining renown and recognition, Ira cozied up with many wealthy and influential people that he met as a result of his activism and grew to thrive off of the attention that he received, especially from women. Now, shortly after meeting Holly, they moved in together, which was kind of a sticking point for her father, who didn't believe that they should be living together before Marriage. And he was actually so disappointed in her that they didn't speak for a very long period of time. But Holly was very taken with Ira. Though unlike her, he was unpolished and unrefined. He often reeked of body odor, stinky motherfucker. And sported an unkempt appearance. Hair, long scraggly beard that was sitting around his collarbone. I mean, kind of your typical 1970s.
Daphne
Activist look, which is like, okay, but on top of that being a piece of shit, you know, like we're going to talk about.
He
Yeah. Because when she finally brought him home to her family in Texas, they found him to be obscene and rude. Even worse, Holly's sister Buffy described him as abusive and a Neanderthal. At home in Philadelphia, Ira cheated on her constantly for the years that they were together, and their relationship was almost always on the rocks. But they did stay together after they started dating.
Daphne
Holly also discovered that Ira had strangled one of his former lovers and hit another over the head with a Coke bottle, which, remember, were made of glass. Back in the early to mid-70s, after five stormy years of an on again, off again relationship, Holly had finally had enough and decided to leave him. In August of 1977, when she was 30, she left to New York, where she went to stay with a friend named Joyce Petcheck at Joyce's home in Saltaire, So on Fire Island. Now, Saltaire is a quaint beach community with a population of only about 100 people. So super ideal for the escape that Holly was seeking while she was there. She met a friend of Joyce's named Saul Lapidus at a dinner party and they hit it off. And since she was now single for the next month or so, Holly and Saul enjoyed a whirlwind relationship that offered her the stability, safety and comfort that Ira could never. They took Saul's 26 foot sailboat out on the water. Often they went to the beach and they really soaked up the last few weeks of summer while enjoying each other's company. Saul later recalled, it was magical. It was a very romantic relationship. They were even planning a two week sailing trip together for the fall. So this was not just like a summer fling for them. They wanted to see where this could go. They really liked each other. But Ira caught wind of this and refused to sit back and watch Holly rightfully move on. Saul later explained, quote, she said she was going to go back because Ira was threatening to throw her clothes, her driver's license, her bank accounts out the window. She said, I just have to go back to get him off the wall, he's in one of his moods. I asked her if she wanted me to go with her, and she said, no, no, I can handle it. This has happened before. Holly told Saul that she would be back soon and she left for Philadelphia, but he never saw or heard from her again. 30 year old Holly Maddox was last seen on September 9, 1977, heading to Philadelphia from New York after being summoned by Ira. And I do want to mention that some reports say she left for Philly on the 10th and the 11th, but most of the reports say the 9th, so we'll go with the 9th for now. Now, initially, she wasn't reported missing by either Saul or her family, who were all likely assuming that she would resurface within a few days. You know, she's 30 years old. But on October 2, 1977, she didn't wish her mom a happy birthday, which was entirely unlike Holly, because despite their differences and Holly and her father's rockiness due to her relationship with Ira, she was over Ira now. And even so, her family was loving and very tight knit throughout this entire situation. And she would not have let a birthday or even a holiday pass without checking in or seeing them. Concerned, her family contacted Ira, not knowing the full scope of what was going on between them. But he was extremely unhelpful, telling them that she had a new boyfriend in New York City and that Holly was most likely with. With him.
He
Yeah, and this would seem like a, a fairly easy excuse for Ira to, to use.
Daphne
Yeah. And an easy one for her family to believe, like, oh, you guys broke up and now she's in New York. We didn't know that. Okay, we'll follow up with that.
He
So obviously, with no concrete answers, Holly's family filed a missing persons report on her behalf. But the involvement of the Philadelphia Police Department did little to coax Ira into offering up information about Holly's whereabouts. When detectives questioned Ira, he said that he had last seen her on September 11, 1977, inside his apartment, which was around the same time that she was last seen in New York headed to Philly. So he's admitting that she did come back, despite telling her family that she had a new boyfriend and essentially telling them to ask him.
Daphne
So his story's not really lining up.
He
Well, he says that he had been taking a bath and she left to make a phone call and then complete a grocery run. Ira said that she had been planning to head to their neighborhood grocery co op to buy tofu and bean sprouts and that he hadn't seen her since then. He added that she had taken off without warning about 10 times throughout the course of their relationship, probably trying to paint her as like a wanderer, claiming that he never knew where she was and that she just vanished into thin air. However, he failed to add that these occurrences took place when Ira would cheat on her. So it's like he would cheat on her, she would leave, and then he would be like, oh, well, she's left me before. So it's like, well, yeah, because you cheated on her. Days later, Holly apparently called him at the apartment to tell him, leave me alone, I'm okay. Or so Ira says. But can we really trust this guy?
Daphne
I mean, no. And also, why contact Ira and say that and not anybody in her family? Doesn't really make any sense.
He
Nope, it really does not line up. Months passed with no forward momentum, and her family grew tired of waiting. So they retained two private investigators, Bob Stevens and J. Robert Pierce, both of whom were retired FBI agents. When approached, 37 year old IRA apparently told the men that he believed Holly was living on a commune either in California or India. Though the investigators couldn't find any evidence to support this claim at all. Just more deflection from Ira. The PIs spoke with other friends and acquaintances of Holly and Ira's, including one friend named Jeanie Berman. And Jeannie admitted that she was kind of irritated with Holly at this time because she had a vacant apartment that Holly agreed to move into. Holly had even accepted a set of keys. But she then stood Genie up and never wound up moving in. And obviously it's because Holly is fucking missing.
Daphne
Yeah. So it's kind of interesting that she's upset because in reality, this is actually a concerning thing to note and just proves further that Holly vanished at a weird time.
He
Yeah, it's like you can't really be mad at her when there's a literal missing persons report filed for her.
Daphne
And maybe she didn't know. And she was like, yeah, she totally stood me up. And then it's like, oh, wait, I mean, of course missing.
He
Yeah, that's probably the possibility there. Yeah.
Daphne
Well, investigators then spoke with her friend Joyce, the one from Fire island, who was one of the last of Holly's friends to have contact with her. And Joyce explained that shortly before Holly's disappearance, she had introduced her friend Saul to Holly when Holly had come out for a visit. And then the two had hit it off and began seeing each other. So they went to speak with Saul, and Saul explained that Holly had gotten an angry phone call from Ira. Irate that she had moved on. So Ira told her that she needed to come back to retrieve her things or he was going to throw them out the window, like we just mentioned. Now, Saul was instantly worried by the tone of phone call from Ira, but Holly assured him that she would be okay and that she would be back soon. Of course, Saul was investigated as well and also consented to taking a polygraph examination, which he passed. And it felt very clear that he wasn't involved and was actually very concerned about her whereabouts and missing her, honestly. When the private investigators began snooping around Ira's apartment building, Though located in the neighborhood of Powelton Village in Philly, they found that his neighbors downstairs had been complaining of a terrible smell coming from upstairs, and that they had noticed an acrid brown substance seeping through the ceiling. And get this, they were so sure that it was the stench of decay that they wondered if an animal had become trapped in the wall and died. So the landlord asked to tour Ira's apartment unit to investigate the source of this smell. This is before police are even involved. The neighbors were just like, hey, landlord, something's going on upstairs, and the landlord is just doing his job. But Ira refused to allow him inside. So when investigators caught wind of this, Ira just sort of feigned ignorance, Telling the investigators that he hadn't noticed any sort of off putting smell, and that he had even investigated the source himself, explaining, quote, I looked in my closet. There was no foul odor. Nothing in my closet to cause an odor.
He
And of course, you know, he's not gonna notice any foul smell because he himself has a foul smell. He's a stinky man.
Daphne
Oh, my God. Well, he's a liar. But he claimed that he refused to investigate this apparent smell further because going through Holly's things, which were in the closet, would be too painful, a reminder of her. Oh, sure, like what?
He
I was gonna throw all of her shit out the window. But yeah, looking at her things actually makes it just so, so bad for me.
Daphne
Yeah. And so if there's something in there, I just. I don't care enough to. To bear the weight of the loss of Holly. But the students who lived in the unit below also tipped off the private investigators, Bob and Jay, that Holly and Ira had been involved in ruckus altercations, which occasionally sounded violent. One night, one of the residents remembered hearing a loud thud above him, as if someone's body had been dropped to the floor. So Bob and Jay are finding all of this out, Speaking to this tenant 16 months after Holly's disappearance on January 10, 1979. So after this interview, they pass their findings along to the Philadelphia Police Department.
He
Based on the information gathered by the private investigators, detectives secured a search warrant for Ira's apartment. And on March 28, 1979, police arrived to find him as the large, surly man in a robe that he was that day. Unfriendly and displeased at their presence, detectives began picking apart the apartment. But they were particularly interested in the closet, which was situated above the spot in the ceiling of the apartment below where that liquid had been oozing from the floorboards. It was right above that area. Now, this closet was situated next to the screened in porch, but it was suspiciously padlocked shut. Wonder why? And naturally, Ira claimed that he had lost the key.
Daphne
Sorry, guys, can't check in there.
He
Well, officers said, fuck that, and decided to break into it anyway. And it appeared to just be a storage closet that was packed tightly with cardboard boxes and Ira's belongings. But in one of the boxes was Holly's red and orange woven purse, complete with a small notebook, her wallet and license, as well as her Social Security card and a few papers, pictures, and documents with her name on them. In another box was some of her clothing.
Daphne
So even just from this, it's really suspicious because he is holding pertinent documents and items that belong to her that she needs to be a human being in the world.
He
And also he said that, you know, he was gonna throw all these things out. So if you guys had been broken up and she had just moved on 16 months earlier, you're not gonna keep all that stuff.
Daphne
You're not gonna keep it. And she's also gonna need to get replacements for them, but she's missing.
He
But the scariest part here was that below these cardboard boxes was a steamer trunk. And inside the trunk were newspaper articles dated with the month that Holly disappeared. But what was beneath them was most horrifying for investigators because wrapped in plastic and surrounded by styrofoam plastic bags and air fresheners were Holly's mummified remains.
Daphne
You know what a girl's best friend is, not diamonds. Her lawyers.
Narrator/Promoter
From executive producer Ryan Murphy comes a fiery new legal drama.
Daphne
It's our own boutique, women representing women.
Narrator/Promoter
You can't afford to miss.
Daphne
Make it rain.
Advertiser
Showtime, ladies.
Daphne
Stand up straight, then breeze into that room like a storm no one saw coming.
Narrator/Promoter
Hulu Original Series falls Fair premieres November 4th on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.
Daphne
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He
Oh yes you did.
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He
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What I loved when I use Shopify for my coffee company is it's such an intuitive website. It's so easy to check on your inventory and your sales and your orders. Like if I ever make a company again, I will certainly be using Shopify. So stop seeing carts going abandoned and turn those sales into dollars. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com goingwest go to shopify.com goingwest shopify.com going west before that quick break, he's explained that Holly's mummified remains were found a year and a half after her disappearance in Ira's closet in Ira's apartment. So if that doesn't scream murder on its own. According to the autopsy, 30 year old Holly's skull had been crushed. But one of the most disturbing details was that the medical examiner believed that she had been Locked in the trunk while she was still alive. Just based on the position of her body. According to two of Ira's family, female friends, he had even asked them for help disposing of a trunk. Yes, a trunk which he claimed contained sensitive documents in the days after her murder, but they had declined to do so. So it sat inside his closet for a year and a half instead. And I just wonder exactly what, like, sensit. Hey, can you help me move? I am a large man, and I myself cannot move a trunk of documents. Like, that's so suspicious on its own. And it's weird.
He
Yeah. When I originally read that, I was kind of like, this dude, by the way, I mean, he's a big guy. He's not a small guy. You know, he's a bigger fellow. So I don't know why he would need help from people if it was just documents in there. Because it wasn't.
Daphne
Because it was a body.
He
To be honest, Ira probably could have moved the trunk himself with Holly's remains inside the trunk as well. So I'm not really positive why he didn't do that, but he didn't.
Daphne
He probably couldn't then, or else I'm sure he wouldn't. Unless he didn't know where to put it. Yeah, because that's also possible. He knows if it's in his closet, no one's gonna find it. Unless, of course, they search his home, which they're doing now.
He
But also, if he's, you know, taking the trunk out of his apartment, it's possible that someone could see him doing this. And then when the investigators came around, they're like, hey, yeah, I did see him move a trunk. So.
Daphne
But good thing he didn't, because this is all the evidence that they needed. Now, although Ira was there in the apartment, like, he's literally watching them make this discovery. He wasn't, like, backing into a corner and saying, no, I didn't know. He's not trying to defend himself at all. He was just very nonchalant and looked on casually as they found her. When they told him that they believed they had found Hollywood, he told them flatly, quote, you found what you found.
He
Oh, my God. He literally doesn't care.
Daphne
So he was arrested on the spot, obviously, and said that he believed he was being framed because he was speaking out against government entities in his free time.
He
This guy.
Daphne
I mean, somebody came in my apartment and put her in my trunk with all of her things that I locked up that I lost the key to. You have to believe me.
He
And, you know, back in this time, there was so many conspiracy theorists that were especially like. I feel like in the counterculture kind of era, there was a lot of people that were really into conspiracies. So I'm sure he, you know, is using this because he thinks that that's how he's going to get away with it. It's like, oh, it's all a big conspiracy. The government, they. They know that I know too much about what they're doing, and so they planted her body in my closet.
Daphne
And I feel like that's probably true to that extent. Not that he actually believes that, because he know he did, as we'll get into.
He
Right.
Daphne
But maybe he was doing shit like that because it feels like he would have. He was a part of so many of those movements that maybe he was doing some weird shit.
He
Yeah. And I just want to say that he is. He's just one of those very performative guys.
Daphne
Yes.
He
Where they act like they're. They're for, you know, feminist rights. They act like they're. They're for peace and things like that. But as we're going to talk about later, this is the complete opposite of who Ira was.
Daphne
Well, yeah, I'll get into that now, actually, because I totally agree.
Sponsor Voice
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Daphne
It's very disappointing that he is one of those people who puts on that front of, like, oh, well, I started Earth Day, and it's like, love Earth Day. A, you didn't do that, and B, you don't stand for those type of things in your heart, truly, because you're a bad person. And I'll get into that now because there was obviously a more extensive search of his apartment, and this search revealed disturbing details about his relationship with Holly and also his views on women in general, which were especially shocking, again, for somebody like Ira, who claimed to be an enlightened progressive feminist, because he wasn't. He abused women. He put on this mask that he was a good man who cared about people's rights and a healthy planet, and he didn't.
He
And I think that was kind of part of his ruse. That's. That's how he was able to manipulate women, is that he would tell them that he was this activist that really cared about all these things when, you know, again, that's just not who he was.
Daphne
Well, it's kind of like what he said when he met Holly, that he cared about her brains and her looks like. It's.
He
It's.
Daphne
You're right. It's all a ruse.
He
Look, I'm a good guy. I Actually care about your. Your intelligence. I don't. I don't. Your beauty.
Daphne
Well written. In his diary that was found in his apartment were passages like, quote, sadism. Sounds nice. Run it over your tongue. Contemplate with joy the pain of others to beat a woman. What joy?
He
What.
Daphne
The violence that flowed through my being tonight could result in the murder of that witch I love so deeply. What?
He
That is an insane thing to say.
Daphne
Well, another read, quote, to kill what you love when you can't have it seems so natural. Dafuk. And quote, violence always marks the end of a relationship. This guy doesn't know what peace is.
He
The true colors are really showing through in this. In this diary of his.
Daphne
And inside Holly's journals were similar sentiments. Talking about how he hit her on multiple occasions and also describing him as sexually aggressive and intimidating when he wasn't getting his way. Strangely, despite the district attorney begging for Ira to be held without bail due to his formidable connections with all of these wealthy people and their very deep pockets, the judge allowed his release without a payment of. Or, sorry, with a payment of just $4,000 or 10% of his $40,000 bail. And disturbingly, his bail was also paid for, and that was by Barbara Bromfman, one of the heiresses to the Seagram spirits and beverage empire, who was only two years older than Ira was. And the reason for this was because she and Ira had been together before and after Holly's disappearance, claiming that she believed in him spiritually and personally and felt he was innocent of the crime. Girl, get a clue.
He
Yeah. What are you. What are we even talking about here?
Daphne
Well, unrelated, but decades later, I just wanted to mention this. Her niece, Claire Bronfman, was indicted as one of the founders of the sex cult Nexium. So, pretty messed up family, the Bronfmans are.
He
Yeah. And if you guys haven't seen that documentary about Nexium, go check it out. I believe it's on Netflix, but it's. It's really eye opening.
Daphne
Yeah, I mean, it's a wild story. So with all of this, Ira, unfortunately was released and free to await his trial with the general public, which we all know he's not gonna do. And I want to bring back or circle back really quick to the unicorn thing. The media dubbed him as the Unicorn killer, Remember? Because of his surname. So it's not super relevant to how he killed her or anything like that, but because he called himself the Unicorn, the media called him the Unicorn Killer. Sometimes.
He
Yeah. Well, guess what, guys? As soon as he was Released, Ira began speaking out to the press about how he was being unfairly framed for his activism and painting himself as a martyr and the victim of sabotage. Of course this guy, this narcissistic prick is gonna do that now. Unfortunately, he maintained many followers who continued to support and believe him, including Barbara, for a while.
Daphne
I mean, he would be such a good cult leader.
He
His pre trial hearing was set for January of 1981, but Ira failed to appear.
Daphne
I'm shocked.
He
Oh yeah, this guy. The guy that's totally gonna wait around for his trial. So at this point, a warrant was issued for his arrest, but it was just too late. He had already fled the country, thanks to his wealthy and influential friends across the globe, who were all willing to help him. Months later, as authorities scrambled for leads, investigators received a tip from an unlikely source. An Irishman who was visiting his family in the United States. He heard about the hunt for Ira Einhorn and noticed the resemblance between the fugitive and a man back in his hometown in Ireland who went by the name of Ben Moore. So this man tipped them off and his claim was investigated. But unfortunately, the United States and Ireland didn't have an extradition treaty until 1983. So the hands of the Irish police were just kind of tied for a couple of years. But either way, Ira then fled Ireland and he remained on the run. Meanwhile, back home in Texas, the Maddox family struggled under the weight of their grief life, especially knowing that the violent, disgusting man who took their daughter away was still on the run.
Daphne
And I'm sure it was all the more painful that from the jump they knew that he was trash in trouble.
He
Yeah, they did not trust this guy. According to Holly's sister Buffy, her parents were never the same after the loss, saying that they lived like ghosts. In 1988, Holly's father, Fred took his own life after a long illness, and her mom Helen, passed away just two years later, never able to see justice for their beloved daughter. Ira, on the other hand, continued to live his life on the run, funded by friends who either believed that he was innocent or didn't know the extent of his brutal, heinous crime. But then a tip came in from a surprising Barbara Bromfman herself. In 1988, at the age of 50 years old, she suddenly gained a conscience. Though she had spent years funding his lifestyle as a fugitive, she read the Unicorn Murder in the Age of Aquarius by author Stephen Levy, which was released in October of 1988, and she was finally convinced of her friend's guilt.
Daphne
She must have been at least A little bit suspicious beforehand, because if she read it right when it came out, she had to have known about it. And then to pick something up and read it, it's not like reading a newspaper headline. It's like to read a whole book. Like, you gotta be dedicated a little bit.
He
Yeah, I'm sure she was like, wow, I really do need to read this so I can figure out all the details of this.
Daphne
Make sure I'm putting my chips in the right place.
He
Yeah. So she eventually offered up an address in Stockholm, Sweden, where Ira could be found. But Ira, of course, was very slippery, and by the time authorities were alerted and arrived at the house, Ira was gone. A Swedish woman named Annika Floden answered the door instead, telling them that she was the owner of the building and that she had been his landlord, though she had known him as Ben Moore, just like that Irishman had said. However, authorities felt that she wasn't being entirely truthful with them.
Daphne
And. Oh, will they really find that out? Well, meanwhile, back in the United States, the Philadelphia district Attorney's office hadn't given up and decided to try Ira in absentia in hopes of maybe gaining a conviction and drumming up enough attention for him to be found out of the country. So in 1993, this would be about three years after Holly's mother died and five years after her dad died, they moved forward with the trial, and sure enough, he was convicted of the murder of Hollywood and sentenced to life in prison.
He
But, of course, they gotta find him.
Daphne
They gotta find him. Yeah. So when Annika was informed of the identity of the man she was harboring, she feigned shock. She was like, what? Are you serious?
He
No way.
Daphne
This guy. But local police and Interpol alike vowed to keep tabs on her because they were like, we don't know about you. We feel like you're hiding something. And she, like Ira, then disappeared. And it wasn't until years later, when Annika would make a mistake while requesting government documents, that the couple would be located again. Yeah, they're dating.
He
Yep. That's exactly how all that went down.
Daphne
So this is happening the next year in 1994. Basically, Annika had applied for a driver's license in France, though she had used the surname Mallon instead of Float in. However, her previous license was of Swedish issue, of course, and she provided her maiden surname, Float in, and former address, so her application was flagged. And though it took three years, she was finally tracked down in the French countryside in May of 1997. And honestly, investigators were kind of going on A whim. They don't know. They don't know at that point that they were dating. They're just trying to find her because the fact that she disappeared and she was acting very suspicious about Ira. They felt like maybe they were together. And that's why when they tracked her down, they really looked into her in that angle.
He
Yeah, it was kind of like, we need to find the connection to the connection to Ira.
Daphne
But again, that wasn't until May of 1997. So this is still years. Like, this is four years after Ira had been found guilty of murder back.
He
In the United States and decades since the murder of Holly.
Daphne
Yeah, two decades. 20 years. So in 1997, Annika and Ira had been living out their fairy tale in the tiny storybook village of Champagne Mouton in western France.
He
I had to say that.
Daphne
I love it. I love it. I love home alone. So they lived in a converted windmill with a tiled roof, which sounds super cute. And enjoyed tending to their garden, getting to know the locals. But by the way, Ira was remembered as arrogant, so he wasn't making any friends, as well as cooking, drinking wine, and strolling the cobblestone streets like they're living in absolute bliss. Well, slowly, French authorities popped up in the village, posing as tourists and scoping out the couple. On June 18, 1997, they were finally ready to make their arrest, and they apprehended Ira at home, where Annika answered the door, and Ira was naked in bed. Initially, of course, he proclaimed his innocence, saying that his name was actually Eugene Mallon and that he was a mystery writer from the uk Love.
He
They're like, we. We already know that you're not that guy.
Daphne
But regardless of his totally bogus story, he was arrested on the spot, and he spent six months in prison before being released to house arrest.
Narrator/Promoter
Why?
He
I just. I do not get what, like, first they let him go on $4,000, and then he. He flees the country, and now they're like, hey, you finally have him. You finally have him. Don't let this guy out of your sight. They did well. Despite the United States extradition treaty with France, the French magistrate judge felt that it was unfair that the state of Pennsylvania had convicted him in absentia and that Ira would be jailed upon his return. Basically, the French magistrate was like, yeah, it was kind of unfair that they convinced me, convicted him of murder. So we're not going to do this whole extradition thing. Yeah.
Daphne
So instead, we're just gonna let him go.
He
So, guys, this absolute piece of dog shit remained free. And in France, despite the fact that he was there illegally. And he was also convicted of murder. He conducted interviews and even posed nude for Esquire.
Daphne
We don't want to see that boy.
He
Also, like, what are you doing, Esquire? That's so messed up. And he was just enjoying his newfound, like, celebrity status. In a 1997 interview with the Philadelphia Enquirer, the couple openly discussed how Annika had bankrolled their entire life for the last decade, while Ira, of course, had no money, no driver's license, and no passport. I mean, this guy is such a lazy loser, man. So Annika sold the Stockholm, Sweden, apartment that she had owned for years, securing a $100,000 payout, which she used to buy their French farmhouse. Cause Ira hadn't worked since the year after Holly's murder. Obviously, you know, because he's guilty and he's on the run. But also just because, again, like I said, this guy is so lazy and just a complete loser in life.
Daphne
And it gets worse.
He
Annika told the interviewer nonchalantly, I am the wallet.
Daphne
Poor girl.
He
And then, according to Ira, he provided the brain food of the relationship, making it sound like a full time job, while Annika worried about things that he felt were beneath him, such as making money where they would live and the cooking and cleaning.
Daphne
God, I just hate this guy.
He
I'm providing you with the knowledge because I'm so freaking smart.
Daphne
Once again, blow hard. Another blow hard.
He
And then Ira gloated, quote, I don't think I'm totally intuitive.
Daphne
Ugh, puke.
He
He had also written five books and was working on a sixth book, but complained that they would likely never see the light of day because no publisher would want a convicted murderer on their payroll.
Daphne
They're probably shitty books, too.
He
Yeah, they probably suck. For anyone curious about their backstory, by the way, the couple met in London in 1987, and after spending 10 days together, they decided to flee to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. And I do want to mention that Annika came from money because she was the daughter of a couture store magnate in Sweden. So she funded a month of travel for them before moving into the apartment that she owned in Stockholm. So again, she's just. She's using her family's money to put up this murderer.
Daphne
I want to know so badly, like, what's going through her head if she's. She is. What is he giving to her? This brain food thing is such bs. She's giving him everything. A life. She is providing a safe space for a fugitive.
He
Why yeah. And it's just, you know, this guy is very manipulative. And it wasn't until Barbara Bronfman tipped off the police about his whereabouts that he admitted his true identity to Annika.
Daphne
And it's funny, because Barbara, after giving him up, she said that he duped her, quote, duped her. So that's. It does seem like he was very manipulative and good at getting into people's heads to influence them to help him.
He
Yeah, because instead of seeing this as, like, the ultimate red flag, she helped him escape from Stockholm and hid him for years before buying their home in France. Before she left Sweden, her mom asked her about harboring a fugitive. And Annika swore that she didn't know anything about Ira's whereabouts or identity. She only admitted the situation to her mom after her mom told her, I understand if you did it out of love. The couple was so enamored with each other that he even told the interviewer that she was, quote, not another Holly.
Daphne
You know, if you're being accused of Holly's murder, you don't say that like, what is wrong with you?
He
I mean, clearly, he's an idiot.
Daphne
Well. After years of red tape, the Philadelphia Police Department finally convinced the French government to release Ira into their custody, even passing a law setting aside his 1993 conviction. The district attorney's office also had to agree that they would not pursue the death penalty in his case, also that they could get him back to the U.S. like, they're. They're like, we just. We gotta do what we gotta do.
He
I don't understand why the French government is so adamant about, like, protecting him.
Daphne
You know, I don't know. It's honestly kind of sick. But Holly's siblings were really pushing for the state of Pennsylvania to allow him another trial, Even then traveling to France to advocate for their sister. Annika and Ira hoped to retain renowned Philadelphia attorney Norris Gelman, but they would have to sell their home in the French countryside to afford him. So ultimately, they decided against it, which is just feels like, lose your home or go to prison.
He
I mean, Annika was like, I'm not losing my French countryside home.
Daphne
So true. It's her money, right? Well, Annika also chose not to travel to the States to support him during his trial, fearing that she would be arrested for harboring a fugitive, which she was very much knowingly doing. She explained, quote, I am personally fine on my own, which is a help. But the amount of disappointment we've faced during this year has been wrenching. Ira appealed his extradition for three years, but was unsuccessful. And finally, in July of 2001, he was approached for his arrest. And guess what he did. He slit his throat in front of the officers.
He
Of course, he's gonna take the coward's way out if he can.
Daphne
Well, don't worry, because he didn't die before justice was served. He was treated, and he was brought home to Pennsylvania. Anyway, when asked who he believed could have possibly killed Holly. Cause remember, he's innocent, guys, he mused about the CIA or the FBI, among other government agencies. Agencies still claiming that he believed he had too much intel about the government's paranormal research.
He
This guy. I feel like this guy must have taken way too much acid back in the day because his brain is scrambled. Like, he's like, yeah, the government is after me because I know about their paranormal stuff. I have all this information on Area 51.
Daphne
I. I honestly, though, I wonder. I feel like, again, maybe not maybe that's true, but he's obviously just lying. Like, he's obviously trying to come up with something that he thinks is a valid other kind of route.
He
Yeah, he's using his days as an activist because that's probably the only time in his life when he felt important as an excuse for the reason why Holly's body was found in his closet.
Daphne
But in my mind, there's no way he actually believes that. He didn't. He's just. He's just trying to pull it over on everybody else, of course.
He
Ira's trial commenced in 2002, so approximately 20 years later than it was supposed to. A former friend of his named Michael Hoffman Claimed that Ira admitted to attacking an ex girlfriend, Adding that quote, he thought that at the base of all human interaction was violence. At the base of our internal being was violence. One of the jurors described Ira as having a God complex, which, of course, we believe as well. And also brought to the stand was the owner of a bookstore who had a visit from Ira in order to purchase books on mummification.
Daphne
So he knew he couldn't move her body on his own, and he had to come up with a solution that could keep her in his apartment back in the day. So he got a book from a bookstore on mummification to learn how to mummify her so he could keep her himself. That is so beyond creepy.
He
Yeah. Disturbing. Ira took the stand in his own trial, is the final witness, and told the court that, admittedly, he had been cheating and there had been fights about his infidelity, but he denied having anything to do with Holly's murder and said that he was shocked when her body was found in his closet.
Daphne
No, this was such an if I can't have you, no one can thing. She probably came back to get her stuff and to end things and he couldn't take it.
He
Yeah, he just could not deal. He described being devastated at the loss and that the discovery, quote, ripped me to pieces, adding, quote, I went somewhere to cry. I was really upset. I couldn't believe that was holly in my trunk. It was an impossible situation. I broke up for days. But the account that he offered was in direct contrast to his actual behavior on the scene. Remember, like we said, he had been so nonchalant and unhelpful. Remember when we said, oh, you found what you found? In October of 2002, 62 year old Ira was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For the second time in his life, he was stone faced as the verdict was read. Sadly, Annika never seemed to fully believe that her partner was capable of what he was being accused of.
Daphne
Yeah, she actually admitted in an interview, quote, some of the evidence presented is devastating. It really is. And of course I feel the impact of that. But still, the actual proof and all this indication that there are doubts, they remain with me. And the decision Ira made of leaving his country in 81 is, I feel, an unfortunate one. But this is the decision he made. But he made it based on his sense that he wouldn't receive a fair trial, not as it has been claimed, because he's guilty. He has consistently been very strong on that. He is innocent. You are so brainwashed.
He
Yeah. It's just crazy that even after all of the details and all of the evidence came out, that you still are trying to defend this guy.
Daphne
And she also complained that the jury made their final decision too quickly because it took them like two and a half hours to seal his fate and decide that they were gonna send off a guilty verdict. And she felt like that was too fast.
He
Yeah. Body found in his closet journals talking about how he loved beating women. Okay. Too fast, huh?
Daphne
Right. She argued, quote, I have not personally seen the behavior that he is accused of. And maybe that's true. Maybe he wasn't abusive with her. Maybe he knew he couldn't be like that anymore. But that doesn't change what he did in the past. That doesn't mean he wasn't violent to somebody else.
He
Yeah. You could be a killer and then live out the rest of your life if obviously, if you're not caught, live out the rest of your life and never kill anybody and act like you're this Ned Flanders type neighbor.
Daphne
Wait, who?
He
Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.
Daphne
Oh, I don't watch that.
He
Okay, well, never mind. Somebody out there is gonna know what I'm talking about.
Daphne
But, you know, I. I do find it hard to believe that he wasn't ever violent or expressed any violent behavior. Just knowing how violent he was, not only to Holly, but to other women and people and how he, like even his friends said, felt that violence was at our core as human beings.
He
So, I mean, he was the one that frickin wrote about it.
Daphne
You know, I. I don't believe. I mean, it's hard for me to believe that Annika never saw that, but I don't know. Well, Ira apparently admitted to having had anger issues with women in the past, but told her that he had been working through them and that she believed him wholeheartedly. So it's like he's even saying that, oh, yeah, I wasn't violent with her, but I did tell her that I was violent with other people in the past, and she believed that I was healing from that. But again, that's still coming from her. The Maddox siblings filed a lawsuit against Ira for the wrongful death of their sister. And ultimately, they won, and Ira was ordered to pay them $907 million. Though being behind bars, they were confident that they would never see a payout.
He
I mean, and again, this guy didn't have a job for like 40 years of his life or 30 years of his life. Yeah, he's never going to be able to pay them back.
Daphne
He delivers us brain food. We don't need real hands.
He
That's the real hard work.
Daphne
After the verdict, Holly's sister Meg said sadly, quote, he's really convinced everything that's gone against him is so highly unethical. There is no room in his mind for the victim because he's made himself the victim. So true. Iris spent the rest of his life in prison in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and he died of natural causes on April 3, 2020, never admitting what he did to Holly Maddox. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.
He
Yes, thanks for sticking around for this very ridiculous story, because I just can't believe all the chances that Ira was given over the years. I mean, it took decades, and it's only because he continued to stay on the run with the help of people.
Daphne
What a phony of a man, you know? Terrible, terrible guy. So, so wild, this story. I still can't believe it.
He
There's this one saying that I always love to say. I mean, it's not true for everyone, but there's a saying that goes punk rock people are mean people or, sorry, they're good people who act mean and hippies are mean people who act nice. And that is always kind of, that's always kind of rang true with me because it's like sometimes these type of guys, these performative activists can be some of the worst people on the planet.
Daphne
So true. And not to say that hippies can't be good, nice people, but true. He was very, you know, like he had said, oh, she went up for tofu and bean sprouts. And it's like, he's probably like, I'm a vegetarian. I love animals. I love all people. And then behind the scenes, he's just killing dogs. He's a monster. Oh, yeah. I mean, wouldn't be surprised.
He
Yeah. Because this guy is exactly the opposite of all of the morality that he claims.
Daphne
Yeah. He is hiding behind good messages with horrible, horrible actions.
He
Well, thankfully, justice was eventually served in this case. And I just feel so terrible that it took so long for Holly's family.
Daphne
I completely agree. Especially because her parents couldn't see justice. And it really took so long. So disturbingly long. Anyway, but thank you guys so much for tuning in. Make sure to follow us on socials and go look at the post for this case and all the other cases we cover. If you want to see photos of Ira and of course of Holly, check it out. We're on Instagram at Going west podcast. We are also on Facebook Going West True Crime. And we're on Tik Tok.
He
All right, guys, so for everybody out.
Daphne
There in the world, don't be a stranger.
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Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman
Release Date: October 24, 2025
This episode of Going West dives into the haunting and twisted case of Holly Maddux, a compassionate and bright young woman whose 1977 murder exposed shocking cruelty, narcissism, and decades-long injustice. Through detailed storytelling, Daphne and Heath unravel not just Holly’s tragic end, but also the manipulations and sociopathic patterns of her killer, the notorious Ira Einhorn—"The Unicorn Killer." The hosts highlight the failings of the justice system, the devastation wrought on Holly’s family, and the disturbing contradictions behind Einhorn’s "progressive" public persona.
| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------|----------------| | Introductions, overview | 01:30–03:06 | | Who was Holly Maddux? | 03:06–07:14 | | Relationship with Ira, warning signs | 07:14–11:06 | | Holly's breakup, new romance, disappearance | 11:06–14:18 | | The investigation, PI discoveries | 14:18–21:09 | | Search warrant, finding Holly's remains | 21:09–23:47 | | Crime details, Ira’s cold reaction | 28:36–35:23 | | Investigation into Ira’s reputation/diaries | 34:11–36:10 | | Ira’s bail and escape | 36:10–41:27 | | Global manhunt, Annika Floden | 41:27–44:07 | | Living in France, capture, extradition battle | 44:07–51:53 | | Extradition, final trial, conviction | 51:53–58:43 | | Reflections, family impact, final thoughts | 58:43–61:25 |
Daphne and Heath maintain their hallmark conversational—sometimes irreverent—tone throughout, balancing factual reporting with personal reactions, disbelief, and empathy for Holly and her family. They use humor to underscore the grotesque absurdity of Ira’s narcissism, yet show clear, genuine sorrow for the loss and inordinate suffering endured by Holly’s loved ones.
This episode is a comprehensive, emotionally resonant look at a case fraught with red flags, institutional failures, and almost surreal levels of narcissistic manipulation. Holly Maddux’s memory is honored by tracing the long path to justice—and listeners are left reflecting on the lessons about trust, performative activism, and the need for vigilance, especially when justice is long delayed.
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Justice for Holly—after decades, but never enough for lost time.