Michelle Cuervo (0:00)

So it turns out, you guys, that filming a podcast is a lot of work and you can't just, like, do it. You actually have to, like, plan it. And honestly, like, such a fun experience. I've had a lot of fun. It's not perfect. So please don't yell at me if we're still working on the setup and all the things. Anyway, I guess I should, like, intro this video because I don't know. We're not on TikTok anymore. We're in a lot of different platforms. It is still me at the end of the day sitting in front of a camera, now in front of a microphone. And as lovely as it is to sit here and talk to you guys through the camera, I really do wish you were here. Welcome to I wish you were here. I'm your host, Michelle Cuervo. Let's get into today's story, shall we? Summertime. It can be and would be described as one of the happiest times of the year for many people. School is out, class is done, finals are over. The weather is nice, the sun is out, your friends are around. For students, it can feel like all your responsibilities stop. And for some of those in college, summer is also the time of year that you got to go home, reunite with your parents, your family, reunite with your high school friends. But what if you don't? What if your parents are anticipating your arrival back home, excited to get to see your face every day for the summer, but they don't get to and they find out they actually will never get to see your face ever again? No more hugs, no more laughs, no more conversations. That's what happened to 20 year old Lauren Spier, a sophomore, Indiana University, in the summer of 2011. She was here, she went out, she hung out with friends, and then she was gone, never to be seen again. I have known about this case for years. I've spoken about this case with more of my friends than I can remember because I went to iu. You and I know there's something already so chilling when you hear about a true crime story that happened in the town that you live or lived in. But I cannot explain how differently this case feels to me than any other ones that I've covered. Because I was once a 20 year old girl, a 20 year old sophomore at IU. Just like Lauren, I've walked the exact same streets she disappeared on. I've had nights out that looked like hers. And I was never concerned about something dangerous happening to me. I was never worried about not waking up the next morning. About not getting to go home in the summer to my parents. But that's the thing. I'm sure Lauren wasn't either. But she did disappeared. She never returned home. And now, almost 14 years later, it feels like there are details about this case that are still yet to be uncovered. A book about this case was released last May in 2024, six days before the 13th anniversary of the night that Lauren disappeared. Amazing book written by a reporter, Sean Cohen, who investigated and reported on the case back when it happened in 2011, but then had the opportunity almost 10 years later to spend a lot of time with Lauren's parents, Robert and Charlene, and to be invited into their family home to learn more about Lauren and about the and reported again now with the help of her family. The book was incredibly written and I got a lot of my information from that book, so I wanted to make sure that I did mention that it was a massive reference from me when I dug more into this case and a book that I also highly recommend. In 2009, Rob and Charlene dropped off their daughter for her freshman year at iu. The Spears are from New York, but Lauren was very excited about starting this new chapter in her life at Indiana. When she was only 17 years old, a senior in high school, she met a boy, 19 year old Jesse Wolf, at a Jewish sleepaway camp when he had just finished his freshman year at iu. Jesse Wolf was also from New York and him and Lauren quickly went from being friends to being boyfriend and girlfriend. So it's fair to say that Jesse was also really looking forward to having his girlfriend joining him at IU the following fall. Indiana University, located in Bloomington, Indiana, the best place in the world and Bloomington is what you would describe a college town. The school makes the town and during the school year it's filled with students everywhere. But in the summertime it's definitely a lot more quiet because most students do go home unless you're taking summer classes or you're there for sports. But even in 2011, IU had a solid academic and social reputation. Best school, beautiful campus with a very active social life. It's considered a massive party school with a huge Greek life scene. The party aspect of it can be one of the most fun to some people, but it's also easy to understand how along with all of that you have to be responsible and make sure your priorities are straight. And that was especially something that Lawrence Beier had to consider because of her pre existing heart condition condition. Lauren had been diagnosed with Long QT syndrome, a genetic Heart disorder, which can cause irregular heart rhythms and can be potentially life threatening, especially when paired with stress, tension and or substance use. This of course was something that played a pretty significant role in Lauren's life. Lauren's first two years that IU were great but it was towards the end of her sophomore year and closer to her disappearance that their relationship between her and Jesse went from great to to put it simply, he was older, he was thinking about the future, marriage, settling down and Lauren was a sophomore. She was still very much in her independent. I don't want to think about marriage. I just want to have fun right now and see what happens. Face the night of June 2, 2011 was a Thursday night. 20 year old Lauren found herself in her apartment at Smallwood Plaza deciding whether to spend the night hanging out with her boyfriend Jesse or hanging out with some of her other friends. The NBA finals were going on and Jesse was watching the game with some of his API buddies. API is a Jewish frat at iu and because the two of them had been arguing, Lauren made the decision to hang out with one of her friends, a guy called David Ron, and to go with him to one of their friends apartment to watch the game. They're there watching the game. Lauren really hasn't eaten much all day. She has an empty stomach and she's drinking a bottle of wine. And Lauren was a small girl, a petite girl, 4ft 11 inches tall and weighed approximately 90 to 95 pounds. So progressively as you can imagine throughout the night, she was getting more and more visibly intoxicated. At one point throughout the game, Jesse, her boyfriend, is still texting Lauren, hinting at the idea of the two of them having a sleepover. But another boy is also texting her, another student that she had just met a weekend prior, Corey Rossman. Lauren met Corey at the Indy 500, one of the most famous car races in the world, which a lot of IU students attend. And when Corey met Lauren for the first time, it's been said that he was very direct, very flirty, clearly showing interest in her, going so far as to even tell his friends that he didn't care that she had a boyfriend. So that night in June, Jesse and Corey are both texting Lauren wanting to hang out. Corey inviting Lauren to a pregame at her friend's Jason or Jay Rosenbaum's townhouse that was just up the street. Both Corey and Jay lived in those townhomes, they were neighbors. And Lauren ended up deciding to leave her apartment building and to go to those townhomes to that pre game with her friend David. Jesse on the other hand, wasn't really hearing back from Lauren and he assumed that she was just watching the game and then was going to go to sleep at her own apartment by herself. He had no idea that his girlfriend was at actually just starting her night. She went to that pregame, saw both Jay and Corey. At one point she spilled a drink on her shirt. Cory offered to put her shirt in his dryer back at his apartment. Lauren accepted. So the two of them walked a couple doors down to his apartment where his roommate Mike Beth was working on a paper for summer class. Corey put Lauren's shirt in the dryer, Lauren now only wearing her pants and her bra and the two of them sat on the couch. Meanwhile, back at the pregame, David noticed that Lauren was gone. She wasn't texting him back, so he walked over to Cory's place thinking that she might be there. He poked his head in, saw Corey and Lauren sitting on his couch, Lauren with no shirt on. And he was like what is going on here? At that point Corey grabbed Lauren's shirt from the dryer. Lauren put her shirt back on. But David was ready to call it a night and he asked Lauren if she was ready to go back with him to Smallwood because they both lived at the same apartment building. But Lauren wasn't. She wanted to go to the bars. He gave up eventually trying to convince her to come back with him. So he left on her own and texted Lauren on his walk home saying, quote, be careful. Let me know if you need me. The pregame at Jay's house was also winding down. A group of them getting ready to go to Kilroy's, the most well known sports bar at iu. Jay also walks over to Cory's store to let Cory and Lauren know that they are heading out and inviting the two of them to come with. But Cory just looked at Jay and told him, quote, we might go later because according to Corey's roommate Mike, Corey wanted to get a few more drinks in him before he headed out to Kilroy's. And keep in mind the atmosphere. We're talking about college town. Almost everything is within walking distance. Kilroy's was back then and still is now pretty much the most popular bar at iu. It's the go to place. By the time that Cory and Lauren do make it to Kilroy's, it's about 2am Lauren manages to get in with her fake ID. Corey keeps buying her drinks. The two of them are showing no signs of slowing down when they're outside in the patio area. Lauren at one point kicks off her shoes. And then around 2:30am, the two of them leave Kilroyce. By that point, Lauren was very much under the influence. She could barely stand on her own two feet. She forgot her shoes there, forgot her phone there. But she did still have her wristlet which had her key card to get her into Smallwood, her apartment, apartment building, which is where her and Cory headed to next. They take the elevator to the fifth floor, which is her floor. Still very out of it. Lauren is moving slow, leaning against the wall, stumbling, attempting to walk on her own. And then four guys step out of the elevator. One of those guys, Zach Oakes, was friends with Lauren and knew her boyfriend Jesse. So they see her in this state with Corey, who to them is a random boy, and they're like, what's going on here? They tell Corey to take Lauren to her apartment safely and to leave. Cory keeps saying, I got this, I got this, I got her. Until eventually they start argu doing and Zach punches Cory in the face, completely knocking him out. Then those four guys run away because they didn't want to get in trouble for just punching him in the face. Cory is on the ground. Lauren's still there. We don't even know if she was aware or conscious enough to know what just happened. And this is when things get weird because even though the two of them were feet away from Lauren's door, Corey grabs Lauren and decides now to take her back to his apartment. It's almost 3am Now. Cory and Lauren are stumbling around holding each other. Cory trying to keep Lauren from falling to the ground. They make it downstairs out of her apartment building and start walking towards the townhouses where Corey lives, which are three blocks up the street. So by this point, it's the middle of the night, obviously it's dark outside. It feels like they're the only two people walking outside. Lauren, this small petite girl, has not eaten for hours. She's probably exhausted not only from not eating, but also from it now being three in the morning from off the drinks and the possible substances that she took throughout the hours of the night. She's not in a very conscious state and she's struggling to walk. And on top of that, Corey has no idea. But Lauren has that genetic heart disease disorder that was a very serious condition and all of her close friends knew about it. But she had just met Cory the week prior, so he had no idea, meaning that he was not being careful at all. But it really was something that needed to be taken seriously because pretty much anything could make her heart start beating irregularly, which could be in turn very dangerous, especially when mixed with anything else in her system, it could be fatal. But again, Cory doesn't know it, so he's not taking any precautions whatsoever. Around halfway, on their way, they reach 10th in college, which is another apartment building. For whatever, whatever reason, When Corey sees a door propped open to that apartment building, he carries Lauren over his shoulder and he goes inside and up to the second floor. He knocks on the door of an apartment of another one of his friends, but nobody answers. Still with Lauren over his shoulder, he walks back down the stairs, out of that building and into an empty parking lot. Lauren tries to stand up on her own two feet, but she can't. And she falls backwards, slamming her head on the concrete floor. We know this because a bartender who had just gotten off work was walking out of her job and she heard the sound of Lauren's head hitting the floor. But she eventually walked away. Corey picks Lauren back up again, again. Walking towards an alley that leads to his townhouse, Lauren tries to stand up again. She falls again, face first onto the pavement. And her reaction is so delayed, she can't put her hands down to protect her from the fall. So her face went straight into the pavement. She was unable to keep herself up. She got back up, fell again. Corey eventually helped her sit on the curb as he stepped away to make a phone call. It's 2:55 in the morning. He makes a call to one of his friends from his hometown in Massachusetts, a girl called Brooke. But she doesn't answer. So Corey lunches Lauren yet again, back over his shoulder to carry her the rest of the way to his townhouse. So again, in these townhouse lived Corey Rossman and his roommate Mike Beth, and two doors down live Jay Rosenbaum, who had the pregame earlier that night and who had a friend of his in town, a guy named David Blesnak. So what happened once Corey and Lauren entered that building? We only know from what those four guys have said because back then there were no security cameras in their building building before that point of the night at Kilroy's, on their walk at Lauren's apartment building, there were CCTV cameras, witnesses, people around, and enough evidence to put a solid timeline together. But once Lauren entered that building, she disappeared without a trace. And the only four people who would know something, who would know anything at all to say what happened to Lauren would be them. The only people who would know for A fact that Lauren Spear left those townhomes alive or if she didn't, would be them. From the recollection of those four boys, if they were all saying the truth and their stories were put together, this sounds like what happened in what would turn out to be Lauren's final hour. So allegedly, according to Corey's roommate Mike, Cory and Lauren entered his apartment and they were in bad shape. Clearly, Mike even said that Corey threw up shortly after they walked in and then he went to bed. Cory's lawyer would later claim that Corey suffered memory loss from being punched in the face earlier that night. So even though he was the one that spent almost the entire night with Lauren, he doesn't have anything to say as far as what happened to her because he doesn't remember. Mike now left with a sleeping Corey and a drunk. Lauren claimed that he didn't want to be responsible for Lauren, so he thought that he should walk the two doors down to Jay's door where Jay and his friend from out of town were hanging out to basically hand off Lauren to them. Because Jay knew Lauren very well. I think he even knew her before college. I think they may have been friends in high school. Jay's story is that when he had Lauren, she wasn't sober, but she was fine enough. He said that he told her to walk in a straight line inside of his apartment to make sure that she was fine and she was able to to. So because Jay thought that she was fine enough to walk home in the dark by herself, without shoes, without a phone, he sent her off. He said he double checked with Lauren to make sure that she was fine and Lauren swore that she was. So he watched her walk out of his front door and leave. His story changed slightly later on when he said that he actually went up to his second story balcony inside of his apartment and watched Lauren walk out from there and yelled out to her saying, quote, text me when you find your phone. So all that to say the last time that Lauren was seen, it was by Jay. It was around 4 in the morning. She had no shoes, no phone, no purse. She was intoxicated, also injured from the multiple falls on hard concrete with bruises already forming on her face, walking home alone in the dark the three blocks to try and get back to her apartment. But Lauren never made it home. And almost 14 years later, her body still has never been found. The next morning, Jesse woke up and tried to call Lauren. As far as he knew, his girlfriend had gone to bed early and he was now trying to get a hold of her but his calls were going unanswered. That was until a random man picked up. An employee from Kilroyce picked up and said the phone had been left there the night prior. You can imagine how confused Jesse was given that he had no idea that Lauren went out the night prior. That same morning at Smallwood Plaza, Lauren's roommate Hadar Tamir realized that Lauren hadn't slept in her bed the night before. And she walked over to another apartment where a group of boys were at to ask them if they had seen Lauren. That group of boys knew Zach Oakes, the boy who punched Cory in the face the night before. The night before when they saw Corey and Lauren at Smallwood. So they texted Zach to let him know that Lauren never came home. To which Zach responded, quote, no way. Jesse is now calling her roommate as well as a bunch of Lauren's friends asking if they had seen her or if they had heard from her at all. And it wasn't alarming to her friends straight away because it wasn't unusual for Lauren to sleep in into the early afternoon, especially after the kind of night that she had had. Or honestly it wasn't unlike Lauren to fall asleep somewhere that wasn't her apartment and wake up in a random place place wondering how she got there. But there was panic in Jesse's voice and it was noticeable that he was pretty concerned. So a group of her friends got together to start looking for Lauren. Eventually, when they were walking around looking for Lauren, they bumped into Corey and Jay who both said that they had been with Lauren the night prior and said that she had left their townhouse quote pretty messed up. During their own little search, one of the girls found Lauren keys in an alleyway. After that Jay and Corey separated from the group and they went back to their townhomes homes together. Lauren's friends went back to Smallwood to Lauren's apartment where they met up with Jesse to continue to try and figure out what to do next. They called different hospitals, they called the jail, but Lauren was nowhere. So around 4:30pm they decided to drive down to the police station to officially report 20 year old Lauren Spear missing. On the drive there, Jesse called Lauren's older sister. Lauren's older sister called her dad who then also told Charlene, Lauren's mother. Rob and Charlene booked the first flight out that they could and they were in Bloomington by that Saturday. Keep in mind, Lauren disappeared that Friday. Their first stop was to the police station. Their second was to a copy center to start printing out pictures and posters with Lauren's. Face on them. Within 48 hours, Corey Rossman and Jay Rosenbaum had lawyered up and Jay's friend David Blesnak from out of town that had been there the night of Lauren's disappearance. He left Bloomington without ever talking to authorities. Jesse's parents flew in and met Lauren's parents for the first time, offering to help in any way they could, even offering for Jesse to take a polygraph test to clear his name. But the following day, Jesse's mom said that it was too much for Jesse, and she said they had to leave. They flew out that next day. Laurence mom Charlene herself made a public appeal. In those first few days of the investigation, she spoke to the person or the people who knew more than what they were letting on, saying, quote, my first thing is to say to the person that has Lauren or that has harmed Lauren, shame on you. Shame on you. I am extremely disappointed by the fact that only one of Lauren's friends has called the police department, the Bloomington police department, with any 10 tips, end quote. She ended her statement with, quote, lauren, I love you with all my heart and soul. Don't take my appearance of despair to mean I'm not as strong as ever. I'm not determined as ever. I am here for you 100%. I will never leave you. I love you with all my heart and I need you back. End quote. A couple months later, in August, police and the FBI searched the landfill where Bloomington's trash is delivered. But it is important to note that in the morning hours of June 3rd of 2011, the day that Lauren was reported missing, the dumpsters in the area where she was last seen were emptied and the landfill wasn't searched until August. But regardless, when it was searched for nine days, they combed through more than 4,100 tons of waste. The air was thick, the work was brutal, and the odds were overwhelming. But still they searched. Because if Lauren had ended up there, they weren't going to let her story end in silence. But they had no luck. Another month passed, and then another, and then another. And for the next year, after Lauren's disappearance, police were conducting an investigation. They were speaking to people, following leads, but it really felt like they were getting nowhere. Charlene and Robert continue to visit Bloomington as often as as they could, even hiring a private investigator of their own from New York to send to Bloomington and investigate deeper. They ran and still do social media campaigns and did and do everything in their power to keep Lauren's story alive in the public eye. But to this day, Lawrence disappearance remains unsolved and the information that has been released to the public isn't much. With that being said, as far as I understand, it has always been and still is the Spears belief that someone knows what happened to their daughter and is just refusing to to talk. Now to put it into perspective what the spirit's point of view is on this situation. What specifically Charlene's point of view is I want to read a letter that Charlene posted online nearing Lauren's ninth month anniversary of her being gone. That letter was titled quote, you know where she is. It's kind of a lengthy letter, but I do think it's an important one to read to give you a perspective of where their head was at in 2012. And remember Lauren's mother, Charlene is the one who wrote this. She wrote this March 2nd of 2012. It reads. To whom this may concern Thoughts on a Page. You and I share unique roles. We are both insiders, forever bound by the senseless circumstances of June 3, 2011. You were with Lauren. You know what happened and you know where she is. Maybe you spend every day trying to forget. I am Lauren's mother. I have a front row seat in this never ending nightmare. The smallest task requires tremendous effort. Being home, going places for the first time where Lauren has been hearing one of her favorite songs. Hearing a song she would love but may never hear. Waiting at a light. Waiting in line. Always. Always on edge. Always waiting for a phone call which will tell Lauren has been found. Or even that the smallest piece of information has made its way into the right hands. Waiting to find out if a Twitter rumor is true. Waiting to hear if the body recently found is Lauren's. Imagine waiting to hear if a body that was just discovered is your daughter's. I spend every day trying to find answers to the questions which will end this mystery. Whatever the events of the night, you hold the key to what happened to Lauren at night's end. I wonder if you give Lauren a second thought. I wonder what type of person it takes. It takes to watch our grief as we face another day. I think about you all the time. I wish for one instant you were in our place. Waiting. Praying. Hoping. I wish you knew what it felt like to have lost a loved one. Missing. The despair that comes from the realization that someone knows the whereabouts of your missing child is indescribable. I wish you could feel the heartache. I would be lying if I said I didn't wish you were experiencing the same excruciating pain we are. I wish for Today I held your fate in my hand. Nine months. A lot can happen in nine months. The miracle of life, the joy of a child joining a family, and all that she brings. Nine months is a long time to maintain the silence of one so determined to keep a secret. I know there's not much I can control. I know all of our efforts to date have not resulted in finding Lauren. Nine months is a long time. Memories fade and life goes on. But I promise to never let you forget. I promise to be a constant reminder should your memory fail you. I can do that. At the end. Very the very least, we will never stop looking for Lauren. You should know that we are just as determined to find Lauren today as we were on June 3, 2011. Hoping today is the day Charlene Spear. And by the way, Charlene wrote that in 2011. All these years later, she still continues to post on social media and writes about how she wants today to be the day that they find Lauren. And still now she will end some of the posts with saying, hoping today is the day. Which I think is so sweet, but also so heartbreaking because she's been writing that sentence for almost 14 years. It is one, if not the most popular belief, belief that Lauren Spear passed away from an accidental overdose. Because of the alcohol and the mix of drugs Lauren was consuming that night, on top of her heart condition and or medication she was taking, it is a very, very high possibility that she lost her life as an accidental overdose or due to her heart condition. And if she did pass away at someone else's apartment, panic may have set in. People there may have freaked out and decided to hide her body to eliminate the possibility of them getting in any trouble. Trouble in connection to her death, a guy named Corey Hammersley was once a student and an athlete at iu. But a year after Lauren's disappearance, he ended up getting arrested and sentenced to 24 years at an Indiana State Prison. While serving his prison sentence, a picture of Lauren came up on the tv. He looked at her picture and said, quote, man, I knew the guys who did that, end quote. And then explained to another inmate that Lauren passed away at a party with a group of students. He said, quote, they were drinking and doing a ecstasy. She OD'd. It scared them. They didn't know what to do with her and they took her down to the Ohio river and got rid of her, disposed of her body, end quote. However, traces of Lauren or any signs of her in that river have never been found. In 2013, Lauren's parents filed civil lawsuits against Corey Rossman, Jay Rosenbaum and Mike Beth for their involvement with Thorne leading up to her disappearance. They stated that because they were with Thorne that night, they were responsible for making sure that she was okay, but they neglected to make that sure that she made it home safely, which likely led to her death. However, in 2013 and 2014, the judge dismissed those lawsuits claiming that one it wasn't really their duty to make sure that Lauren was okay and two that because of the lack of evidence there was no way of knowing if they did or didn't have anything to do with her disappearance. Over the years several theories have emerged about what happened to Lauren Spierer in those early hours of June 3, 2011. The one of course we just talked about about it being an accidental OD or having to do something with her heart condition. But if that were the case case, why has no one said anything? Why did no one call for help? Why the silence? There is also the possibility that Lauren did run into somebody else after she left that town. Host Possibly someone like serial killer Israel Keys. Israel Keys is said to have been in Indiana on or around the same time that Lawrence Beard disappeared. And I do have a video of Israel Keys covered on my TikTok. Insane case, insane guy. But the idea of his involvement still remains a topic of interest. But it is important to note that it is is speculative and not supported by any concrete evidence. The last one I want to touch on is again the idea that Lauren ran into somebody else and was abducted. A name connected to that theory is Daniel Messel. 49 year old Daniel Messel was arrested and later convicted of killing Hannah Wilson, a 22 year old senior at IU. Just like Lauren, Hannah had been out in downtown Bloomington on a Thursday night. She began her night with her friends sometime around 1:30am they were went to Kilroy's, the same bar that Lauren had visited the night that she disappeared. But Hannah's friends noticed that she had one too many so they decided to call her a ride and send her home. But Hannah never made it home. By morning, Hannah's body was discovered near State Road 45 in nearby Brown county just outside of Bloomington. Because of the similarities between Hannah and Lauren, Daniel's name is often spoken about in connection to Lauren's case. But again there is no evidence to support that either. For Charlene and Rob Spier, Lauren's parents, losing their daughter was really a nightmare that that started and never ended. From day one they've spent time after time after time pushing for answers, holding vigils Sifting through rumors, speaking out, staying on social media, working with private investigators. They have quite literally done everything in their power just to try and get some answers. Now their reality has become one that no parent should ever face. They understand and realize that they will never see Lauren alive again. And all they are fighting for now is answers. They just want to know what happens happened. They just want to know where their daughter is so they can lay her to rest. They've described life since Lawrence vanished as a permanent before and after a fracture that time can't heal. And yet they keep searching. Because until there are answers, there is no peace for them. On the screen if you're watching the video version of this is the name of the Facebook page her family made to give updates on Lauren's case. If you want to go over there to show them love and support today, Lauren spear would be 34 years old. Old. I cannot express this enough. I also think that someone is lying. I also think that someone is withholding information and not saying the full truth. If you know anything about the disappearance of Lawrence Fear, please contact the Bloomington Police Department or submit an anonymous tip. Her family is still waiting and they're still fighting for answers all these years later. That is all I have for episode one. Thank you guys so much for spending time with me today. I hope you guys are having the best day. If not, go do something to make it the best day. Make somebody happy and I will see you in my next video. Massive kiss on the forehead to every single one of you. Thank you guys for tuning in for episode one. I will see you soon. For episode two you can listen to I wish you were here with Michelle Cuervo anywhere you get your podcast video version also available on YouTube. Love you.