Homicide at Midtown Marriott // 545

Summary

Going West: True Crime

Episode 545: Homicide at Midtown Marriott

Release Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman (aka “T”)
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Episode Overview

The hosts revisit the chilling case of Brian Steven Smith, whose brutal crimes in Anchorage, Alaska, were uncovered in 2019 when a stolen phone led to the discovery of damning photographic and video evidence on an SD card. This episode provides a thorough update since their initial 2021 coverage, detailing new trial developments, additional victims, and the disturbing personality of Smith. Special emphasis is placed on the stories of Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abachuk, Indigenous women who lost their lives to Smith, as well as the failures and heartbreak surrounding the investigation and Smith’s network.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Revisiting the Case: Timeline and Background

• [02:28] Daphne explains that this episode is an extensively updated version of their 2021 coverage, "because a ton more has come out. Like, a trial happened during that time... and there appears to be another victim that we're going to dive into today."
• [02:55] T sets the tone: “Not only do we have one of the worst pieces of shits that we’ve talked about, but also one of the dumbest…”

---

Kathleen Jo Henry: Life, Struggles, and Murder

• [04:48] Daphne shares Kathleen’s background as a member of the Yupiit tribe from Eek, Alaska—a small, mostly Native village with historical struggles, including lack of running water.
• Kathleen’s life was marked by trauma, addiction, and homelessness, yet she remained positive and creative, sharing poetry and aspirations on social media in the weeks before her death.
• [08:23] September 2019: Kathleen, age 30, goes missing in Anchorage. Her remains are found on October 2 near Seward Highway.

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The Discovery: Stolen Phone & Damning Evidence

• [08:50] T details how the case unfolds when Valerie Kastler, another unhoused woman, comes into possession of Smith's phone after an encounter.
• Valerie finds nearly 50 photos and a 20-minute video of a murder and, fearing legal repercussions, discreetly transfers media to an SD card labeled "Homicide at Midtown Marriott," turning it over to police with a fabricated backstory.
• [11:39] Daphne praises Valerie for ultimately coming forward: “In situations like this, police don’t care how you got it... It’s way more important to solve a murder.”

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Brian Steven Smith: Background and Personality

• [12:11] T introduces Smith: Born 1971 in Komani, South Africa; former army and hotel manager; tech and photography enthusiast.
• [14:51] T: “Yeah, the white South African Nazi. Geez.” — underscoring Smith’s racism and online hate speech.
• Smith moved to Alaska in 2014 after marrying an American woman, maintaining a double life marked by predatory and sadistic behavior.

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The Midtown Marriott Murder: Method and Mindset

• [15:19] Daphne describes how Smith used his hotel connections to secure Room 323 at TownPlace Suites, documented himself torturing and murdering Kathleen on camera, and smuggled her body out on a luggage cart.
• [16:47] Daphne recounts Smith’s chilling verbal abuse: “I told you, you ain’t gonna leave here alive.”
• [17:13] T shares further quotes from the footage, including Smith saying: "In my movies, everybody always dies. What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know they're being serial killed." [17:53]
• The hosts dissect the narcissism and fantasy Smith had of sharing his crimes online, drawing comparisons to cases like Luka Magnotta.

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Arrest and Interrogation

• [19:55] T explains Smith’s arrest at Anchorage airport after returning from D.C.: “He barely put up a fight, telling them... 'I do not remember this. I don’t remember the face. I don’t remember. But that’s my truck. That's my voice.'" [20:57]
• Evidence, including photos of the murder and his vehicle’s license plate, left no room for denial.
• Smith admits guilt, drawing a map to another set of remains, connecting him to a previous victim, Veronica Abachuk.

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Veronica Abachuk: The First Known Victim

• [21:46] Daphne shares Veronica’s story: Indigenous woman from Nome, Alaska, missing since July 2018, reported missing by her family after an uncharacteristically long absence.
• Only her skull was found, with a bullet hole, in April 2019; identity was confirmed thanks to Smith's confession.
• Smith claims to have shot Veronica at his home in a fit of frustration—a story met with skepticism by both hosts.
• [26:09] T: “He’s a liar in general. You can’t trust the guy.”

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Missed Warnings: Alicia Youngblood and Law Enforcement

• [35:44] T reveals that Smith’s girlfriend, Alicia Youngblood, tried to alert police about his confessions and videos over a year before the murders were linked to him.
• [37:40] T: Alicia documented Smith’s boasts that, “sex workers were disposable, meant to be consumed and discarded.”
• [38:29] Notable quote from Smith to Alicia, describing his own acts: “I acted a little bit psycho because I enjoyed it so much. It was a huge relief after being good for so many years. I’m still worried you’ll think I messed up.”
• Despite Alicia’s descriptions of murder videos and frequent visits to police, she struggled to provide the concrete evidence needed—her warnings tragically went unmet. Alicia later died by suicide, her mental health damaged by the trauma.

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Smith’s Social Circle: Enablers and the Unwitting

• [44:35] T discusses Smith’s friend, Ian Calhoun, who saw a body in Smith’s truck but claimed to believe it was a sex doll.
• [45:41] Quoting Ian from his bumbling police interview: “You know, I take things lightly, you know? And he says, a sex doll. It's like, oh, whatever... That just gave me the creeps, you know?”
• Ian was never charged, but the hosts remain skeptical of his claims of ignorance.

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The Trial: Evidence, Claims, and Conviction

• [48:08] Daphne covers efforts by Smith’s attorney to block the SD card footage for being “stolen,” which failed; the evidence was admitted.
• Smith pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts, but was convicted and sentenced to 226 years [50:33].
• [50:36] T celebrates: “Fuck, yeah. Love that. Never getting out.”
• The prosecutor labeled Smith as one of the few “truly evil humans in this world.”
• Victim impact statement from Veronica Abachuk’s daughter: “It’s a relief knowing that the defendant will rot... To me, he will always be an unintelligent, sick human being who couldn’t comprehend the meaning of life. Forget the defendant’s name and remember Veronica Abachuk and Kathleen Jo Henry.” [51:27]
• Jurors described trauma from viewing the evidence. [51:59]

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Aftermath: Smith’s Contortions and Additional Victims

• Smith shifted blame, denied rape or murder, and said: “Girls generally like me.” [52:43]
• He downplayed his own confessions and stories as sexual fantasy and foreplay with Alicia, later claiming all his murder boasts were fabrications.
• Potential additional victim: Cassandra Boskovsky, another native woman, missing since August 2019. Deleted photos of her were recovered from Smith’s device; her family is convinced the photos show her body after death, though police cannot confirm with certainty without remains. [57:06–60:44]
• Smith continues to deny involvement in additional murders, despite abundant evidence, and blames "nasty rumors" and law enforcement conspiracies.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Valerie] went through it and she was horrified at what she found. Nearly 50 pictures and videos, as well as a 20 minute video documenting the murder of Kathleen Jo Henry.” — T [10:19]

• “In my movies, everybody always dies. What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know that they are being serial killed.” — Brian Steven Smith, quoted by T [17:53]

• “He can’t say, I didn’t do it. He can only say, huh? You know, it just doesn’t ring.” — Daphne [20:57], on Smith’s feeble interrogation defense

• “I just turned my boyfriend in for murder?” — Alicia Youngblood, quoted by T [37:40]

• “He’s just a horrible person.” — T [37:40], summing up Smith

• “She explained, ‘He started to strangle her. Well, she freaked out. She was really scared and she was kicking and screaming and fighting... He punched her in the face several times and kicked her, very violent with her.’” — Alicia Youngblood, as retold by Daphne [38:46]

• “Fuck, yeah. Love that. Never getting out.” — T [50:33], after Smith’s sentencing

• “To me, he will always be an unintelligent, sick human being who couldn’t comprehend the meaning of life. Forget the defendant’s name and remember Veronica Abachuk and Kathleen Jo Henry.” — Christy Grimaldi, Veronica’s daughter [51:27]

• “I always see the woman’s side of the argument. Girls generally like me.” — Brian Steven Smith, quoted by T and scoffed at by Daphne [52:43]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:28 – Show overview and update since initial coverage
• 04:48 – Kathleen Jo Henry’s background
• 08:50 – Discovery of evidence on stolen phone and SD card
• 12:11 – Smith’s biography, personality, and move to Alaska
• 15:19 – The Midtown Marriott murder: Smith’s methods and mindset
• 17:53 – Smith’s disturbing on-video commentary and quotes
• 19:55 – Smith’s arrest and interrogation at the airport
• 21:46 – Veronica Abachuk’s case and Smith’s confession
• 35:44 – Alicia Youngblood’s warnings to police; failures in investigation
• 44:35 – Smith’s friend Ian Calhoun and dubious denials
• 48:08 – The 2024 trial: attempts to block evidence, conviction, and sentencing
• 51:27 – Victim impact statements at sentencing
• 57:06 – Cassandra Boskovsky: Possible additional victim and unresolved questions
• 62:01 – Smith’s hotel connections and probable opportunity for more crimes

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Additional Context & Analysis

• The hosts stress the vulnerability of Smith’s victims—Indigenous women experiencing homelessness and addiction—whom Smith targeted as “disposable.”
• They criticize both law enforcement’s slow response to early warnings and the chilling network of enablers, whether intentional or through neglect.
• Daphne and T continually return to the theme of justice, accountability, and the importance of recognizing and remembering the victims rather than sensationalizing the killer.
• Listeners are urged to report information on Cassandra Boskovsky or other potential victims to Anchorage Crimestoppers (907-561-7867).

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Closing Thoughts

The episode is a sobering, detailed look into the failures of both individual and institutional accountability that left vulnerable women at risk, ultimately brought into the light only by chance and a brave informant. Daphne and T call for attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women, reinforce the importance of victim-centered justice, and promise to follow up on further developments in this far-reaching, tragic case.

Transcript

[Daphne]

Morning Zoe.

[T]

Got donuts.

[Daphne]

Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage? Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.

[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

Foreign what is going on? True crime fans?

[Daphne]

I'm your host, T. And I'm your host Daphne.

[T]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Hope you're doing well. The episode of this episode or.

[T]

Whoops, what was that? Did you just glitch?

[Daphne]

The title of this episode might sound familiar to you guys if you've been around for a while because back in 2021. So like four years ago we covered this originally as the story was breaking, but we completely redid it and we added a lot because a ton more has come out Like a trial happened during that time actually in 2024. And there appears to be another victim that we're going to dive into today.

[T]

Also, not only do we have one of the worst pieces of shits that we've talked about on this show for you guys today, but also one of the dumbest pieces of shits that we've talked about on this show.

[Daphne]

No. Get ready to be mad. This is going to be insane. So thank you guys for tuning into this one. Also, I want to mention a couple weeks ago, an interview came out with me on Kayl Lowery's Barely famous podcast that was super fun. We talk a lot about going west and true crime and also my new book, Night Watcher that came out this summer. Whichever you, if you haven't picked it up, you should if you love thriller novels because it actually takes place in the fall. So spooky season is upon us. It's the perfect time to pick it up.

[T]

Yeah, and that episode of Barely Famous came out two days before Daphne's birthday. She spent her birthday in Europe with her mom and sister.

[Daphne]

Yeah, it's been a crazy couple weeks. We also are in Vegas this weekend with Unwell, who is our network busy crazy month.

[T]

Lot of stuff going on. But anyways, let's dive into today's case. All right, guys, this is episode 545 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

In September of 2019, a phone was stolen from an Anchorage, Alaska man and found to contain videos images of the brutal murder of an indigenous woman in a hotel room. As police zeroed in on their suspect, one question remained. Did he have more victims? This is the case of Homicide at Midtown Marriott, the murders of Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abachuk. Kathleen Jo Henry was born on December 22, 1988 and grew up in Eke, which is a small village in southwest Alaska, home to the U Pick tribe of Native Alaskans, of which Kathleen was a member. Now, Eke is located along the Eke river and its historical population has remained very low and primarily native, with a population in 1988 when Kathleen was born of just around 250 people, with over 98% being Alaska natives. And actually before 2019, which is when this story takes place, this village did not have access to running water and instead water was distributed by trucks to different homes in the area. But because this caused health concerns, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium stepped in and gave EEC a grant to provide piped running water. Probably many years too late, but this does appear to be A very isolated area. There's a small airport there. It's been there since the 1950s, but it is very expensive. So this is the area that Kathleen grew up in. So, of course, due to the community struggles, Kathleen had a hard time from a young age. She dropped out of school at 14. She experienced a series of abusive men and even married one of those men, unfortunately. And after several run ins with the law, she wound up in the Highland Mountain Correctional center in Anchorage. But while there, she actually made some positive progress and managed to turn things around. And it was at the age of 23 that she was able to earn her GED. She remained in Anchorage after her release, but she did struggle with her trauma, frequently succumbing to the temptations of drug use and experiencing homelessness. But her outlook remained positive. Like, she posted on Facebook a lot in the weeks before her death, always talking about how excited she was for her future and that she was trying her best to straighten her life out. Like, for example, she also really enjoyed sharing her writing as a creative outlet, especially poetry. So it seems like poetry was really helping her get through a lot of things. Kathleen was often seen at Bean's Cafe, which is an Anchorage shelter and restaurant serving the local homeless population. But In September of 2019, at 30 years old, she vanished, with no indication as to her whereabouts until her body surfaced. On the morning of October 2, 2019, a call came in to police regarding human remains that had been found near milepost 108 of the Seward Highway. And then the arrest of her killer just six days later came about in a very unique and disturbing way. And it followed a year of suspicion that this very person was responsible for at least one other murder.

[T]

Now, three days before Kathleen's body was found, on the afternoon of September 30, 2019, the Anchorage Police Department responded to a report that a woman had found an SD card on the sidewalk in Anchorage, in the Anchorage neighborhood of Fairview, specifically on the corner of Fairbank street and 13th Avenue, which is about a block away from a liquor store and other shops on the major road of Gamble street or Alaska Route 1, which contained evidence of a brutal murder. Now, this woman, later identified as Valerie Kastler, eventually begrudgingly admitted that she had actually stolen the pictures, but she had good reason to have done so, meaning that she hadn't actually found this SD card at all. Like Kathleen, Valerie was unhoused. She was struggling with addiction and occasionally dabbled in sex work to make money. So late one evening in September, a man picked her up in his truck for a rendezvous. Then afterward, he brought her to a gas station to pull out cash from an ATM in order to pay her for her services. Of course, we're talking about sex work here. Now, while he was inside, Valerie waited in his car and found a phone which happened to be one of multiple phones that he had in his possession, which he used to record his body. Brutal misdeeds.

[Daphne]

What an insane thing to find.

[T]

Yeah. So crazy that she, that she just happened to take this, you know?

[Daphne]

Yeah. And she's just like, oh, let me look in his phone. And like, you would never expect to find that.

[T]

Right. So Valerie actually discreetly pocketed the phone, not knowing what was on it, but instead just planning to, you know, steal the phone, possibly sell it or whatever, which, honestly is incredible that she did, considering what was on it. So instead of selling or tossing it, she went through it and she was horrified at what she found. Nearly 50 pictures and videos, as well as a 20 minute video documenting the murder of Kathleen Joe Henry. Valerie also stole this man's camera containing the SD card with more footage of the murder, as she'd soon find. But, you know, hoping to avoid culpability for having obtained the phone after performing sex work and then stealing the phone from her client, Valerie transferred the pictures from the phone to an SD card which she named Homicide at Midtown Marriott and claimed that she came across the card on the sidewalk. Of course, as we mentioned. And then she told police that she unfortunately lost the phone in the shuffle. She later explained that she considered not coming forward with the information, but decided that she needed to report it in hopes of stopping this from happening to anybody else.

[Daphne]

Which is really amazing, the fact that she even tried to do it discreetly by saying, oh, I happen to find this. And then amazing that she ended up telling the truth, because in situations like this, police don't care how you got it. It's way more important to them to know that they can solve a murder here. Not that you're a sex worker or that you stole something as small as a phone.

[T]

Yeah, and I totally get her trying to protect herself from that, but. But yeah, I mean, it's, it's great that she was able to do this discreetly and get it to police.

[Daphne]

I mean, good on her.

[T]

Well, the culprit who could be heard on the video footage of the attack and murder was 48 year old Brian Stephen Smith, a man born on March 23, 1971 in Komane, formerly known as Queenstown in eastern South Africa.

[Daphne]

And let's Talk a little bit more about this guy before we dig into what happened here. So Brian had served in the army in his home country and then worked a string of jobs, including at a software firm as a property manager and even attempting to launch his own dating app, although many described him as quiet and standoffish in February of 2013. So, about six years before this story is breaking, when Brian was 42 years old, he met a 63 year old blues musician and US immigration admin officer living in Anchorage, Alaska, named Stephanie Bisland while playing a game online. So he's virtually meeting this woman who lives across the world from him, and they kind of get to talking and they get to liking each other. And then Brian proposed to Stephanie on Skype only a few months later in July, and she said yes, but she wanted to meet him in person. So he followed her nearly 12,000 miles, or over 19,000 kilometers, to Alaska in 2014 from South Africa, which is how he ended up there and living there, and officially became a US citizen after their marriage that same year in 2014. But he only got his visa a month prior to his arrest in September of 2019. Stephanie and Brian love to travel together, especially because Brian was a big fan of photography. He really enjoyed making videos for his YouTube. And so he. He made a ton of travel videos across their various trips. They also spent a bit of time outside in nature together. They loved hiking and observing animals. And Brian, I mean, really, he was a tech fanatic. He owned a GoPro, a drone, and multiple cameras and video cameras. However, part of his fascination with technology involved going online and spouting hateful racist rhetoric to debate heatedly with random people. He was like a racist troll. One post he wrote on Quora reading, whenever black people go in the world, there is an immediate rise in crime, which is so ironic. Like, says the white murderer.

[T]

Yeah, the white South African Nazi. Geez.

[Daphne]

So actually, it goes beyond that even, because a subsequent search of his devices revealed child pornography or child sexual abuse material, as well as a hidden camera placed in a bathroom that featured footage of women using the toilet and a camera peeping through the hole of a front door.

[T]

Yeah, so this guy is just the worst person you could possibly imagine.

[Daphne]

That's why you said in the beginning, I mean, you said he was like one of the worst piece of shits we've talked about. He did so many just creepy fucking things. And the most disturbing discovery was the abject proof of his guilt. The video footage of Brian actively murdering Kathleen Jo Henry. That footage was taken between September 3 and September 6 of 2019. But the murder is believed to have taken place on September 4, which proves that he was taking photos before and after the murder occurred, and, of course, during it. Now, Brian had previously worked as a hotel manager at a Marriott in South Africa. He worked in hotels, so he used his corporate discount to secure room 323 for two nights at the Marriott chain Town Place Suites, located in midtown, just south of downtown Anchorage. This is where the murder occurred. In the disturbing footage, Brian takes great pleasure in scaring and threatening Kathleen, spewing vitriol that was almost as terrible as him beating her. Like, the things he said were so unbelievably disgusting.

[T]

Yeah, he was, you know, really getting off on psychologically getting inside her head as well as physically abusing her.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Like, according to Valerie, Brian taunted Kathleen the whole time, telling her things like, I told you, you ain't gonna leave here alive. The footage included constant disgusting commentary from Brian, which is clear evidence that he was behind the crimes, of course, and just torturing this poor woman in every way he could before ultimately killing her.

[T]

Now, in the footage, Kathleen was recumbent on the carpet of the hotel room as he beat and strangled her, putting up as much of a fight as she could, but clearly exhausted. According to reports, she had also been sexually assaulted before her murder. Like Daphne said, he did it all. Brian, who originally was considered to be an English sounding man, though turned out to be South African, can be heard telling a barely conscious Kathleen, in my movies, everybody always dies. What are my followers going to think of me? People need to know that they are being serial killed.

[Daphne]

It's just so weird. Like, in my movies, like, he's acting like he has all this power. He's making these movies, and what are my followers going to think? As if he's gonna share these and people are gonna know and he's gonna take responsibility. Like, knowing full well, you cannot put these anywhere.

[T]

Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where I actually. People have done that before.

[Daphne]

Well, like on the Dark Web.

[T]

Well, no, actually, there. There has been certain things that have happened on YouTube where someone has showed a dead body.

[Daphne]

Actually, did Luca Magnotto do that?

[T]

I'm not sure if he did. I know that there was this other guy that, like, cut off his dad's head and literally showed it on a YouTube video, but it was, like, wrapped in plastic and bloody. Yeah, it was this whole crazy thing that happened. So it does happen. And I'm sure that that's something that he was going to do. I'm sure he was going to be like, oh, my followers are going to love this. Like, look how fucking cool I am.

[Daphne]

I don't know, though. It feels like he lives such a double life. Like, I was reading this Reddit post of somebody who said that they used to work with him and that Brian worked with his parents as well, and they were all so surprised that he did that or he did all of these things because even though he could be weird sometimes, they never saw him lose his temper or, like, be inappropriate or be creepy. So it seems like some people were privy, as we're going to get into, of course, to this side of him, but I'm like, I would really be surprised if he would post this and just kind of blow up his own life like that.

[T]

Yeah, that. That definitely makes sense now. Although he didn't show his face, Brian could also be heard laughing and seen kicking her, strangling her, and telling her to hurry up and die because his hands were getting tired. And when she eventually did, he used a luggage trolley to smuggle her body out of the hotel and into his truck, which he then used to drive her out to where he buried her alongside the highway, snapping pictures of this process as well.

[Daphne]

Like you said, dumbass.

[T]

Yeah, stupid idiot. Literally leaving a massive trail of evidence. Now, on October 8, 2019, Brian was detained because, of course, Valerie had gone out with him. She knew it was him in that horrific footage. She knew his voice, so she turned him in. Then police questioned him at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after his return from a trip to Washington, D.C. with his wife, Stephanie. She had stayed back on the East Coast. So Brian was apprehended by himself and interrogated for eight hours, during which he coyly downplayed his role in any murders. But when they brought forward the photographic evidence, including photos of Kathleen's remains on his phone, as well as videos with her body and him in them, he barely put up a fight, telling them casually, I do not remember this. I don't remember the face. I don't remember. But that's my truck. That's my truck. It's my voice.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Cause his truck was in the video, including his license plate number that was registered to him and his wife. But it's so interesting that he's saying, I do not remember this. Like that's really his only defense. He can't say, I didn't do it. He can only say, huh? You know, it just doesn't ring.

[T]

Yeah, like that's your last line of defense there, because you have nothing like, it's you. They have everything. They have a mountain of evidence. They have photos and pictures and all this other shit. You're not getting away with this. So, you know, pulling this whole, oh, I don't remember thing, you're an idiot. And he basically knew that he was completely fucked here. So finally, he broke down and admitted his crimes to police, including drawing them a map of where to find the remains of his first known victim, a woman named Veronica Abachuk.

[Daphne]

Veronica Abachuk was born in 1966 in Nome, Alaska, and like Kathleen, is of native descent. She was reported missing in February 2019, but hadn't been seen by her family, which included her four kids, since July of the previous year. So, 2018, when she was around 52 years old, the Anchorage Police department received a tip that she was seen in October of 2018. So a few months later. But this was found to be false. And it does seem like it had been some time before that that she disappeared. Like Kathleen, Veronica was also known to spend time at Bean's Cafe. And like Brian's other victims, Veronica struggled with drug addiction and periodic homelessness, so she would occasionally go for stretches without seeing her loved one. So it seems Brian very much enjoyed taking advantage of vulnerable communities when he would commit his sick crimes.

[T]

And also, he probably knew that there might not be people looking for these victims of his because of the fact that they were houseless. Like, you know, it was the perfect opportunity for him because he's like, I can get away with this because nobody's going to come looking for them.

[Daphne]

Well, yeah, exactly. But even so, even though she. She could be MIA for stretches of times, you know, she had kids, she had a family that cared about her, and they noticed that she had been gone for months and. And even though she would sometimes be gone for a few months, this time, you know, this. This was going on too long, and they. They really felt her family, that something was very wrong here. So In February of 2019, one of her daughters posted on Facebook, quote, prayers for my mother, Veronica Abachuk, filing a police report today and hoping for the best. I just want to cry sometimes, but I'm not alone. Thank you for your support. Now, Veronica's disappearance caused quite a stir in her community, as multiple people attested to what a kind and wonderful person she was. So there. A lot of people did know and love her. Her daughter also wrote that she loved everyone, and her niece said that she was sweet and full of life. Now, like I said before, it wasn't until After Brian was connected to Kathleen's murder that Veronica's remains were confirmed, and she was found to be connected to Brian as well. But Veronica had actually been found six months prior, in April of 2019. So about three months after being reported missing by her family. But the medical examiner had yet to confirm her identity. So it wasn't until this footage was found of Brian. And then Brian said, okay, here are where the remains of my first victim are. And they said, oh, my God, we already found those, and now we know whose they are. And they had been found previously, actually, because a few men were out picking mushrooms near Glen highway when they found her skull with a bullet hole through the right side of it. So it was a clear homicide from the jump, because also no other remains of hers were found and actually still have not been found, only her skull. So here's how they really connected the dots in Brian's confession. After being detained at the airport, Brian admitted to meeting Veronica and bringing her back to his home while his wife was out of town. He wanted to sleep with her, but he demanded that she take a shower because he was concerned that his wife would return and be able to tell that he had brought an unhoused woman home with him, which is just so, so strange. But when she refused, he grew frustrated and stormed out to the garage, retrieved a pistol, and came back into the house to shoot her once in the head, likely before she even realized what he was doing. And of course, this is all according to Brian. So whether or not this is completely true, we really can't be sure. So unlike Kathleen's murder, it seems Veronica was not tortured and abused, but rather killed quite suddenly.

[T]

Well, yeah, I mean, and again, like you said, it's. It's very possible that he did abuse and torture her and that he's just making this up. Like, oh, yeah, I. I didn't do those things. I just shot her in the head.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And it's as like he said before, oh, I don't remember this. So it's like he. He's a liar in general.

[T]

You can't trust the guy.

[Daphne]

And he. He obviously is coming forward with. With stuff. So it seems like maybe at first he was saying, oh, I don't remember this even happening regarding Kathleen's murder because he was trying to get away with it when he knew he couldn't. You know, now he's telling the truth, but we don't know exactly how true this really is.

[T]

Yeah. And I kind of feel like most killers kind of want to, like, soft confess. Yeah. You know, they don't always tell all the details because sometimes they don't want to make themselves look even more bad by telling all the details. So they're like, oh, yeah, it wasn't as bad as you guys think. Well, you killed a person, so.

[Daphne]

Exactly. But it's interesting here because he also could have said something like, she came at me and I shot her in the head in self defense. But he didn't say that. So I'm like, maybe this is true. Like, I don't really know.

[T]

Yeah, who knows?

[Daphne]

Well, Brian then said that he dumped her body in the wilderness where it was later found, or at least her skull was, as far as we know, and then returned home to scrub the carpet where Veronica fell to her death so that his wife would not be suspicious after all this was coming out. The search of their home even found some of the blood that he had failed to soak up from within the carpet months earlier. So after admitting to all of this, after all coming to light, after police are finding the evidence to back up the admissions, Brian Smith was officially arrested for the murders of Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abachuk on October 8, 2019. One of my favorite things about fall is all this seasonal food. You know, we've got our pumpkin stuff, our fun Halloween candy. We get to experiment with all these cozy new recipes. Even yesterday, Heath, you can attest, I ordered a bunch of Halloween candy on Instacart, including caramel apple candy corn, by the way.

[T]

Oh yes, you did.

[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

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[Daphne]

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[T]

Yeah, we're talking endless aisle ship to customer, buy online pick up in store. All made simpler so customers can shop how they want and staff have the tools to close the sale every time.

[Daphne]

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[T]

So before that quick break, we were telling you guys that Brian Smith was officially charged with two counts of murder. And in an interview after Brian's arrest, his wife Stephanie told the reporter, quote, you know, if he is actually a sociopath, then he's very good, you know, but I don't think he is. Even after a search warrant was carried out on their home, Stephanie maintained that she loved her husband and believed in his innocence, saying, quote, it comes down to for better or for worse, this is the worst.

[Daphne]

Um, yeah. Yeah.

[T]

And I think, you know, obviously things are gonna definitely change over the course of this investigation.

[Daphne]

That just feels like such a horrific thing to say. This is the worst. Like, this is the worst it'll get. He's charged with murder. Like what?

[T]

Yeah, I think, you know, she probably was believing that maybe he wasn't responsible for these things. Maybe something would come out that would exonerate him, you know. But no, the evidence was very clear. But she added that she wasn't sure. She believed that her husband was responsible for what he was being accused of, saying, quote, I think it was a terrible thing that happened to this girl. If he did it and they can really prove that he did, then, you know, I will love the man that he was.

[Daphne]

Girl, wait until you find out what's on the SD card. The denial will end there.

[T]

Yeah. Well, she even recalled her husband as a good man and a good provider, though he may have had a, quote, bit of a temper.

[Daphne]

And maybe that's true. Like, it's understandable to be in denial if the person that you see the majority of the time doesn't present themselves as someone who could do something so horrific. Which makes it really interesting that she is saying that she doesn't think that he's a psychopath, because clearly, Brian is incredibly mentally disturbed and has these different sides to him, or at least is good at hiding some behavioral elements.

[T]

Yeah, I mean, it's very clear that even though she knows he has a bit of a temper, she does not know the extent of and really how deep the crazy goes with Brian. But also, whether Stephanie cared to admit it or not, Brian was known to cheat on her in both long and short term and paid in unpaid arrangements. Like he would frequently hire sex workers when she was traveling or out of the house. And he also had a drinking problem as well. But not only this. I mean, on top of all of this, Brian also had a girlfriend, a single mother of six named Alicia Youngblood, who actually came forward to turn him in over a year before Valerie Cassler found that damning evidence on Brian's phone and the SD card.

[Daphne]

A year before? That's crazy.

[T]

Yeah. And yet Stephanie stayed, and Brian just continued to cheat and murder. Now, for anybody wondering, Alicia and Brian had met at work, and they struck up a friendship before a budding romantic relationship kind of took over. At the time, Alysha had been a bit down on her luck after losing her job. So she had moved to Alaska from Texas for a fresh start. And then she met Brian. But get this. After months of seeing each other, she began to suspect that Brian was involved in potentially heinous acts against women. So he apparently wasn't completely hiding this behavior from everyone, because Shakily, Alysha told the Anchorage Police Department on August 14, 2018. So, remember, before he was arrested for murder, I just turned my boyfriend in for murder? Like, she called it a year ahead of time. She explained that Brian believed that sex workers were disposable, that he likened them to food, saying they were meant to be consumed and discarded.

[Daphne]

So disgusting.

[T]

Yeah, he's just a horrible person. Now, also, according to Alicia, he had murder victims back in South Africa, the videos of which she apparently had seen on his phone. As part of his sexual fantasies. He would tell her of the murders that he committed to gauge her reaction, hoping to glean More information from him on these murders. Alicia began egging him on during their conversations, you know, acting like she was eager to see the footage of his crimes in hopes of building a case against him. You know, obviously little did he know any of this. In one conversation he told her, quote, I acted a little bit psycho because I enjoyed it so much. It was a huge relief after being good for so many years. I'm still worried you'll think I messed up.

[Daphne]

Yeah, it's like he finally is like, oh, I can share all this and isn't this so exciting? And inside she's like, you sick fuck.

[T]

Yeah, he's basically like, oh my God, you're a psychopath like me. You totally get me. And the whole time she's like, no, I'm gonna use this to bury you.

[Daphne]

And he's like spilling all this horrific stuff. Well, in one video that Alicia claims Brian showed her, she explained, quote, he started to strangle her. Well, she freaked out. She was really scared and she was kicking and screaming and fighting. And so he got her over the seat, he started to choke her. Once he got her dead, he was driving around, you know, because it was like 2 o' clock in the morning. He was trying to find somewhere to put her. He punched her in the face several times and kicked her, very violent with her. And again, this is all coming out over a year before he is being accused of murdering a woman and videotaping it. So it's like I completely believe everything she's saying. I think it would be a little different if this came out afterwards. And she then said, oh wait, I saw this too. Not to say that it couldn't be true then, but we know that he filmed these things. We know that this is how he acts. And here she is describing all of it before anybody else has seen it.

[T]

And I don't know why, but if you go to our socials and you look up the pictures of Brian and you see the pictures of Brian, he just has like the face of a serial killer. Like, he just has this really disturbing face where you're like, you look at his eyes and you're like, that guy fucking kills people.

[Daphne]

I know which picture you're talking about.

[T]

You know what I'm saying?

[Daphne]

Wide eyed picture.

[T]

Yeah, he just, he looks like an evil motherfucker.

[Daphne]

I mean, yeah, you know, it's like, wouldn't put it past him. And there's, we'll put, we'll post a photo of him and his wife as well. I mean, just knowing the type of person he Was overall the type of online trolling he did. The, the hateful speech that he spewed. He just like, overall, I mean, doesn't he just.

[T]

I'm showing Daphne a picture right now. Doesn't he just look like, like he, like he thinks that homeless people and sex workers are disposable. Doesn't he just look like that?

[Daphne]

Like he's got that. He's like a white gopher.

[T]

Yeah, he's just like a white kind of middle aged man. But his eyes just look so evil to me.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I, I see what you mean.

[T]

Anyway, sorry. No, you're good. We'll.

[Daphne]

We'll definitely post that picture on all the other ones on our socials. We're on Instagram @goingwest podcast and then we are also on Facebook. That's where, by the way, as you guys probably already know, you can find photos for every case that we discuss. Now, according to Alicia, this victim, the one that's in the video that she was just describing, where he was choking her and, and she was freaking out. And then it's two o' clock in the morning and he's driving around trying to figure out where to put her. Alicia said that she was a young South African girl who was only about 15 years old. So Alicia spent months logging details and coming back to the Anchorage Police Department with updates on her findings from this kind of COVID investigation of hers. But every time that she came in, because again, she's collecting this over months and she is actively seeing Brian and egging him on constantly to try to get evidence. And then she's sneaking into the police department and saying, okay, here's what else I got. And the police officers are telling her that they needed more concrete evidence and they were just kind of brushing her off, even after the video footage that she had seen on his camera and his phone was described in depth to them. And to be fair, without actually presenting that footage and tying it to a real person, there's not very much they can do.

[T]

Sure.

[Daphne]

But. Hello. You know, it's like, let's figure something out. Let's figure out how to make this work because she's coming to you time and time again and this is serious.

[T]

Yeah. And I don't know, of course we don't know what the conversation really was between police and Alicia. If it was like, like, hey, you know, like, we really want to help you here, but we just, we need a little bit more. Or if it was just like, yeah, that doesn't sound believable. You know what I'm Saying, yeah, it's. It's hard to know how those conversations went down.

[Daphne]

Yeah, either way, they weren't really buying it or they weren't making steps to figure out if this was real or not.

[T]

Right.

[Daphne]

And sadly, Alicia took her own life suddenly on July 4, 2021. But it's unknown if this had anything to do with. With the stress and shock of finding out that Brian was a murderer or if she had other struggles that she was dealing with. But before her death, she said in an interview with the Anchorage Police Department, I can't do this anymore. He's getting more wild, and I'm just so tired. Stressed is not the word. Please call me if you find her. She's referring to the girl from the video that she had watched previously that we just talked about. Then she continues to say, I would feel better if she was found and end a lot of my guilt, too. So, yeah, there's a lot of critics of the police department's investigation that say that Kathleen, and potentially other women who remain unknown, as well as, of course, Veronica, could have been spared if Alicia's claims and fears were taken seriously. Well, let's quickly talk about Brian's best friend and confidant, a man named Ian Calhoun. He was never indicted on any charges, and he pretty much took the easy way out by pleading the fifth. But he is believed to know a lot more about Brian's crimes than he has admitted. Ian was brought in for questioning, but he was not held accountable for information that he withheld from the investigation, which may have kept other victims safe.

[T]

Now, Brian was open with Ian about his insatiable sexual appetite, if you can even call it that, and frequently complained that Stephanie, who was over 20 years his senior, was incapable of fulfilling his needs. And remember, of course, Brian had shown some very serious pedophilic like behavior prior to this. But at one point, Brian even showed Ian Kathleen's body and the back of his Ford Ranger. But Ian claimed that he believed that somehow it was just a sex doll. When detectives pushed back on this questioning how he possibly could have believed that a deceased, bloodied human body was a rubber sex doll, Ian maintained that he had been smoking weed and drinking that night and that he took Brian's account at face value. Basically, he's like, I just believed Brian because he told me it was sex doll and fake.

[Daphne]

But also, if Brian is willing to share this with Ian, like, what else has he shared with Ian that Ian is not coming forward about because he doesn't want to be culpable while stumbling.

[T]

Over his words, nervously, Ian told detectives, quote, you know, I take things lightly, you know? And he says, a sex doll. It's like, oh, whatever. And it was like. Like, that just kind of gave me the creeps, you know? I didn't. I don't. I don't know. It was just that gut feeling, you know? And it's like. That's like, okay, let's go drink. Like, I want to. Let's go. I'm. I'm reading this. This is exactly what he fucking said. He's a moron. I don't want to talk anymore about that. And that's when we went and drank. And that was. That was kind of that, like, what? Great job, bro. Come on, now.

[Daphne]

He's clearly very nervous, stumbling a lot, you know. You know. You know, you know, like.

[T]

Like. Well, yeah, and it's probably because, you know, if I just said, you know, it's probably because Ian knows that Brian is not a good person, and he.

[Daphne]

And he knows that what he's saying is such. And that he is potentially gonna get in trouble, even though no charges were brought against him because there's not enough evidence. But it does feel like at least somebody else knew what Brian was up to and didn't stop him.

[T]

Sure. And Ian even admitted that they were mostly friends because he felt bad for Brian, claiming that he didn't have any friends.

[Daphne]

Sure.

[T]

So he's like, oh, yeah, I just felt bad. So I hung out with a fucking murdering weirdo. Well, according to Ian, he also complained frequently about his wife and their lack of sex life. And Ian knew that he had. That Brian had frequently hired sex workers. Ian added to detectives. I swear to God, guys, I want to help you. Even telling them that he would testify against his friend. Yet he never confessed to knowing anything more than he admitted and chose not to report what he had seen of his friend's clearly deranged and depraved behavior. Brian has also declined that this is the case and the hands of police are just basically tied. However, Brian seemed to brag to Ian about his activity, including sending him a text during the early morning hours of the day that he killed Kathleen, telling Ian that he was having fun and that he wanted to share. So, beyond sick, crazy, Brian has also continuously defended Ian, saying that he wouldn't talk about Ian's knowledge of the murders out of protection for Ian, but that their conversation that night had nothing to do with Kathleen's murder.

[Daphne]

What else were you doing that night? Nothing.

[T]

I just think it's kind of crazy because maybe The Ian's assessment is correct, that he did feel bad for Brian, because it's like Brian's like, oh, well, my only friend, I'll protect you from the knowledge that you know about my crimes. I won't tell police that you know these things.

[Daphne]

You know, maybe like, Ian knows that he knows more and he's afraid of getting in trouble. And the fact that he knows that Brian is protecting him and not saying, yeah, well, I told you that they're both kind of protecting each other just so that I. I'm sure Ian doesn't want to get in trouble. And even though, as we know, he could easily make a deal with police not to get in any trouble if he'll just testify against Brian, but he's really not doing that. And so, so still he's not in trouble. He's probably like, I don't want to get involved, which is pretty messed up because it does feel like he knows more. Well, Brian's trial commenced in February of 2024, which is a big reason, like I said, that we wanted to recover this because that was a couple years after our original episode came out. Now, his lawyer attempted to block the admission of the evidence from the SD card into consideration due to the fact that it was stolen and claiming that it had been, quote, tampered with. But the evidence was found to be admissible in court. And thank God, because that was such a crucial piece to this case.

[T]

I mean, that's really so stupid. It's like, hey, yeah, we did find, like, you know, the murder on this SD card, but it was stolen, though, so can we really trust this? It's like, yeah, obviously.

[Daphne]

And they're trying everything they can. You know, they, they. They don't want him to go down for it. And they know how big of a piece of evidence this is. That's why it's like, thankfully it was able to be used because there's so much on this SD card. And still. Brian pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts stacked against him. But on February 22, 2024, he was convicted of all 14 counts, including first degree murder, sexual assault, tampering with physical evidence, and misconduct involving a corpse. And he was sentenced to 226 years in prison.

[T]

Fuck, yeah. Love that. Never getting out. Yeah.

[Daphne]

Brian chose not to testify in his own defense, nor did he speak at his sentencing. But the prosecutor delivered a scathing statement on behalf of Brian's victim, saying to the court, as long as I've been doing this work, I still believe that most people are good and There are very, very few truly evil humans in this world. Mr. Smith is one of them. He is a person that should never be permitted to walk among us. He should spend the rest of his life in jail, and your sentence should make a statement that the women's lives that he stole so brutally mattered. One of Veronica's daughters, Christy Grimaldi, spoke at his sentencing, telling the court, it's a relief knowing that the defendant will rot. I hope he is swarmed with guilt someday, knowing he's stalled so many people's joy. To me, he will always be an unintelligent, sick human being who couldn't comprehend the meaning of life. Forget the defendant's name and remember Veronica Abachuk and Kathleen Jo Henry. After the verdict was announced, one of the jurors claimed that the jury was collectively traumatized by what they were forced to watch as evidence and that he would need therapy as a result of it. I mean, understandably so.

[T]

Could you even imagine having to witness everything that was on that SD card?

[Daphne]

I mean, even what we described that he said, and what was done to her, like, actually having to sit and watch all of it, look at all the pictures? Like, I don't. I don't know how anybody could get over that.

[T]

Yeah, you'd have to probably immediately go into counseling.

[Daphne]

Well, ever the victim. After his sentence, Brian attempted to garner sympathy and continued to proclaim his innocence despite the absolutely damning evidence against him. Walking back his own claims. In the interrogation room after his arrest at the airport, he said smugly, quote, I always see the woman's side of the argument. Girls generally like me.

[T]

No, they don't.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I don't. I don't think that's true.

[T]

Yeah, they do. Not like you.

[Daphne]

He also denied ever having raped or assaulted any woman, bragging that he didn't need to force or intimidate women to get them to have sex with him.

[T]

Oh, my God, this guy is such a narcissist. Like, he's like, oh, yeah, girls just naturally like me. I don't have to. I don't have to force them to be with me.

[Daphne]

He knows how this makes him look. And instead of worried about looking like a vicious killer, he's like, oh, people are gonna think that I, like, need to assault and pay women to. To be intimate with me.

[T]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

What a loser.

[T]

There are bigger things, you know, aside from that. Yeah, the fact that you're a murderer. In an interview with the press after his sentencing was handed down, he gave an account that was in direct contrast to what he told police himself of Veronica's murder. He explained, that lady that was on my couch, she walked out of my house. No, she didn't. We obviously know that. When questioned about the videos of him naked with Veronica in his home, he claims that she left shortly thereafter and that any footage of Veronica on the ground was a simple case of mistaken identity. It was actually his girlfriend at the time, Alicia Youngblood. He went on to blame Alicia for much of what was reported about him, claiming that it became a thrilling act of foreplay between them and that Alicia became aroused at the idea of him murdering innocent girls and women.

[Daphne]

Always got to point it at somebody else.

[T]

Yep. He shared with her that he had killed between six and 12 women back in South Africa, Though he claimed that these were all fabrications, explaining, it started off one person, and then she rewarded me with crazy stuff. And when that story died down, I said to her, oh, but, you know, there was another one. A second one. And, like, crazy sex. And then a few days later, oh, there was another one. You know, I was milking that. I'm a guy. I'm sorry. I'm a guy, you know. So one point, we got to six people. And I went back to. Then I started killing people in America now. Okay. Because all the people in Africa are dead now. So I've gotta go to America. But I went back later on and I said, oh, there was even more people, you know. But by then, she had lost interest in the Africans. I think the most I told her was, like, 12 people. Additionally, he admitted to four or five murders in the States. And of course, we do believe that these claims are serious based on what we know he did to Kathleen, Joe Henry and Veronica Abachuk.

[Daphne]

Yeah. At least believe that he's responsible for more murders. Like, this is a sick piece of shit. And there's no way that there's only two victims on his roster, if you will. Like, I really believe that there are more.

[T]

However, Brian was pretty quick to clarify, quote, but I have not ever killed anyone. These were fantasy stories. They were not real.

[Daphne]

This is why we can't believe him, because now he's saying, oh, I never killed anybody. We know that you did. So I don't believe that you didn't kill anybody else and that all the stories you told Alicia are fake because you're saying you didn't do anything at all, and we know you did.

[T]

Yeah, he is a serial killer. I mean, it's crazy, because in time, I feel like we're gonna see other crimes probably from other countries that are connected to Brian. But he called the accusations against him nasty rumors and said that he was merely the scapegoat for Anchorage Police Department or for the Anchorage Police Department and the District Attorney's office, who had framed him by planting incriminating evidence on his devices. You're not that important, buddy, he said conspiratorially. As far as I'm concerned, it was either the FBI or the apd. Whoever killed them, those two ladies is still out there. Essentially, he blamed the whole thing on the depraved sexual appetite of Alicia, who's no longer around to defend herself. And as for the origin of the video footage of the teenage girl from South Africa, Brian claimed that he found it on the Internet and merely took credit for it.

[Daphne]

On top of all of this, though, she has not been officially confirmed as one of Brian's victims, the Anchorage Police Department suspects that Brian is to blame for the disappearance of Cassandra Boskovsky, who is yet another native woman who disappeared from Anchorage. Cassandra Lee Boskovsky was born in usinki, Alaska, in 1981, and she was a member of the Kodiak tribe. And like his other victims, she struggled intermittently with addiction, homelessness, and prison time. And she was known to engage in sex work. So very similar profile to the other victims that we know Brian took advantage of. And three photos of Cassandra were found among Brian's treasure trove of heinous footage.

[T]

Oh, he totally did it then, right?

[Daphne]

Yeah. 150. Brian had actually deleted those photos of Cassandra from his phone, seemingly in a desperate attempt to cover his tracks. But luckily, the police were able to recover these, leading them to believe that he was the last person to see her alive before he murdered her. Though the Anchorage Police Department cannot say with abject certainty that the woman pictured is Cassandra, her family feels differently. In fact, they were so sure that the pictures are Cassandra that they petitioned to have her declared legally dead in 2024. Her family connected her to the pictures found in Brian's possession after they were released in hopes of drumming up leads. And her family even recognized her piercings and her butterfly tattoo. So it does very much seem like it's her. And I just want to say we tried to find the pictures because apparently they were released to the public. But I found one image of the three photos, like, on poster boards being displayed in court. And in the photo of these images, all the faces are blurred out. So. But it appears like the photos were taken at night and the woman is laying on the ground. And in one of them, you can really see that her face is super exposed. So I imagine if you knew this person, you would very easily be able to confirm their identity. But it looks like they might have been taken after she was deceased.

[T]

Yeah, I mean, they. They're very, very scary looking photos. I mean, it looks like she's laying on the ground.

[Daphne]

She is wearing clothes.

[T]

She is wearing clothes. But it does look like she is.

[Daphne]

Possibly deceased, deceased or passed out. Whether that was when he found her or after he killed her or what. Like, we really can't be sure. We can't even really see the photos, like I said. But. But we'll post what we can see of them so you guys can see. Go check those out on our socials.

[T]

And of course, like you said, her family would know best.

[Daphne]

Yeah, they very much believe that this is her. But of course, being very careful with what moves they make for the sake of accuracy, Anchorage Police Department Detective Brendan Lee clarified, quote, to this day at the Anchorage Police Department, we have not been able to 100 identify the female in the photos as Cassandra. We have obviously been in contact with the family who have looked at the photos and feel strongly and believe it is her. But at this time, we haven't been able to 100% identify her. And then of course, there is the issue of her remains not being found. So they can't even confirm she's deceased. You know, like I said, they have to be very careful, even though I'm sure they agree with the family.

[T]

Sure. And there is a process to all of this.

[Daphne]

Well, a little bit more on her actual disappearance. So her aunt and cousin last saw her in August of 2019. So, you know, a couple months before Kathleen Jo Henry was murdered and reported her missing the following month, but they never saw her again. Her aunt Terry said sadly, quote, nobody heard from her since. Not one of us. Brian actually admitted, though, to hiring Cassandra for sex work, but of course maintains that she was alive when he left her in the hotel room after having sex with her and taking pictures of her, which is exactly what he said about the other women. So it feels very hard to trust this monster. And I do want to say, like we mentioned earlier, he had a lot of hotel connections and he worked at a hotel. A lot of reports said that around the time of his arrest, he was a maintenance worker at a hotel. I forgot to mention that earlier. So if he did murder Cassandra in a hotel room, it probably would have been easy for him to dispose of her body. Which makes me think of Dexter resurrection for anybody who has watched it. If the fact knowing that he worked for this hotel chain, he could have snuck around quite easily.

[T]

Yeah. And at this point, it's. It's like almost every. It's crazy to me that he actually had, like, girlfriends and a wife and stuff like that, because it feels like any sex worker that came across Brian was a potential victim, because a lot.

[Daphne]

Of them were, which is why it feels like he probably has so many more victims.

[T]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

And there are a lot more women that he has murdered, because someone like Cassandra, when we covered this case a couple years ago, she wasn't even a whisper in the wind. We had no idea that she could be connected to him. So how many more women are out there like Cassandra? And actually, just in case anybody's wondering, Brian excused away the eerie pictures of Cassandra in his possession, you know, of her seemingly lifeless body, by claiming that she had too much to drink and was passed out drunk on the floor. And by the way, even if that were true, why would you take a photo of it like, it's because she probably is passed out or deceased. And he got off on the violence that he committed against women. Though Brian's trial is behind him, law enforcement in Alaska continue to push for answers regarding other possible victims. South African officials also believe that he may have victims back home. So if you have any information about the disappearance of Cassandra Boskovsky or any information about additional murders that can be attributed to Brian Smith, please call anchorage Crimestoppers at 907-561-7867. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of going west.

[T]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I can't believe how much information has come out in the years since we've covered this case. I mean, the fact that there's, you know, potentially more victims all over the world that Brian is responsible for, it's seriously horrific.

[Daphne]

This is one that you and I have mentally come back to a lot over the years, in the four years since we learned about it and covered it, because. Because it's truly such an unbelievably disturbing case. I'm so glad that he was convicted and there. That there is some justice. But, I mean, what a coward. Not admitting to it and just making everything so complicated. Like, he would do that. He would confess and then take it away and make stupid excuses that don't line up with anything and lie and lie and lie. Like, what a shithead.

[T]

Yeah. And if you want to see photos of this shithead, head on over to our socials as well as the victims, of course, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram goingwestpodcast. We're also on TikTok. We've got a Facebook as well. We have two pages on Facebook. And let us know what you think about this case, this investigation. It's so hard to call it a case because it feels like it's so many cases.

[Daphne]

I know there's truly a lot going on in this story. Thank you guys for tuning in for it once again, if you did hear it back in the day. We will be coming at you with some more cases this month as we're creeping into Halloween time. A lot more spooky cases, actually. In particular, the one that we have coming for you on Friday is very, very spooky. So tune in and we'll see you guys then.

[T]

All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the.

[Daphne]

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