Nate (5:50)

Lol.

Mike (5:51)

What does that mean? That's what you're thinking, at least. A few days go by and more messages come through. I can't stop. You seem like the type that likes to be choked, force fed and held down. Your stomach turns. He's included a photo. It's a collage of your own selfies overlaid with a sea of penises. Does this person know that you like to do collages? Is this their twisted way of turning something you enjoy into something disturbing? The next message isn't from Kun Joe. It's from a random text me number I will never get you. Was it real? Who could be doing this and why? Could it be someone you knew at another time in your life? Could it be someone you've never met? They're obviously dedicated to the con, because the creepy messages just don't let up. It's April now, and you're sitting at your dining room table with a big poster board laid out in front of you. As you meticulously glue and place each new image, you get another message. It's the same text me number, but this time they've sent something new. Something much scarier. You don't want to look, but you can't help yourself, can you? The video opens and your heart sinks. It's you Right there, sitting at your dining room table. The camera is low, like the voyeur was crouched just outside the patio furniture, filming you through the window. You feel your heart pounding in your throat as you replay the video again and again. You look at the angle and the way the camera dips slightly, as if the person holding it was crouching. They were there, right there, only feet away from you. And you never even knew it. That's it. This isn't someone just being weird. This is dangerous. This is someone making unwanted contact. You close the tab and click the phone icon, frantically punching in 91 1. You tell them everything. The messages, the video. How it feels like you're being hunted. They listen and you file a report. But it doesn't make you feel much better, does it? So you grab your journal and you start writing.

Ellie (8:56)

Why can't I stop the thoughts in my head? I don't want to look. I don't feel safe. I don't feel safe. I don't feel safe. No one loves me.

Mike (9:05)

These are the words of 23 year old Ellie.

Ellie (9:09)

Don't ignore your gut or red flags. You can sense evil. Stay in tune with your senses.

Mike (9:17)

She wrote it, but it wasn't enough. She still felt the weight of the anonymous voyeur pressing down on her every day.

Ellie (9:26)

There is no comfort. There is no safety. Only acid. In my reign. The world will go on without me. I don't matter. But sadly, I do exist.

Mike (9:37)

For Ellie, the fear wasn't just in the messages or the video. It was in everything. The way she thought about herself. She felt like no one could help. She felt completely alone. And the truth was, she was alone. No one was taking her seriously. The cop who filed the official statement was supposed to be in charge of Ellie's case, but he failed to log important evidence and the whole thing was on a path to nowhere. Some cops are better than others, I guess. In the middle of this, Ellie was still looking for connection, something to hold onto in the chaos. She was talking to a lot of people. Some of them were guys she liked. But nothing was panning out the way she'd hoped. That's when Nate Peters texted her. Nate Peters wasn't a close friend, but they'd hung out before. They'd smoked together. They'd gone to a few of the same parties. He was familiar. And in this moment, familiar felt safe.

Nate (10:44)

Hey, stranger.

Ellie (10:45)

Who dis?

Nate (10:47)

Nate. How's it going? New number, my bad.

Ellie (10:50)

Nate who?

Nate (10:52)

Peters. Do you know a lot of Nates? Lol.

Ellie (10:56)

Yes. Actually hoping it was you though, for Ellie.

Mike (10:59)

These conversations were a small escape. Over the next few weeks, they kept in touch. And by late July, they were making plans to meet up and rekindle their friendship.

Nate (11:10)

What you doing later?

Ellie (11:12)

Like what time later?

Nate (11:14)

I have no clue. Probably late. So I shouldn't even ask.

Ellie (11:17)

Yeah, if my mom's home, I wouldn't want you to come over.

Mike (11:20)

In the early morning of July 28, 2018, when they both knew Ellie's mom wouldn't be around, Nate suggested they hang out. Ellie agreed.

Nate (11:32)

I'm not bringing my phone. Is it cool if I just knock?

Ellie (11:36)

Ring the doorbell a few times? All at once?

Nate (11:39)

See you soon.

Mike (11:40)

Ellie left her house that night, unaware that everything was about to change. The streets were dark and empty, just like her life had felt for the last few months. It was late and she was tired. Tired of being scared and tired of feeling alone there in the stillness of the air. She convinced herself that this was just another hangout, that Nate was just a friend. The alarm bells in her head fell silent. She didn't know at the time that sometimes the familiar can hide the greatest danger. Sometimes trusting the wrong person can be a fatal mistake.

Nate (12:36)

SA.

Mike (13:17)

At just 23 years old, Ellie Wyke was a free spirited soul trying to navigate the loneliness and uncertainty of young adulthood in West Chester, Ohio. You know, the entertainment hub of the U.S. just kidding. Don't ever go to Ohio. It sucks. Anywho, Ellie longed for connection, filling her days with art journaling and fleeting friendships. But beneath her vibrant exterior was a growing sense of fear. For months, Ellie had been targeted by an anonymous stalker. Unsettling messages had escalated to invasive voyeuristic videos. Her world, once chaotic but manageable, was becoming dangerous. Despite making a report to the police, Ellie's cries for help went unanswered. Her journal entries reveal the depth of her fear and isolation. Still, Ellie tried to move forward, clinging to hope that familiarity could bring comfort. When an old friend, Nate Peters, reached out, Ellie hoped she'd find that comfort. On July 28, 2018, the two made plans to meet up. After sending the text messages that arranged their meeting, Ellie was never heard from again. At first, her absence didn't raise alarms. It wasn't unusual for her to disappear for a day or two. She was after all, a so called free spirit and had a tendency to drift between friend groups. But when Ellie's mom returned home on August 1 after spending a few days with her boyfriend, she couldn't reach her daughter. The house was eerily quiet. Ellie's car had not moved and she wasn't answering the phone. That's when her mom made a call to the Westchester police. The investigation began slowly. Ellie's lifestyle made it hard to pin down where she might have gone. And at first, the police treated her disappearance like a young adult who'd simply walked away. Apparently, none of the detectives working the case thought to connect the stalking report to her disappearance. But Ellie's friends reminded them, offering up text messages where Ellie had told them, each separately about her stalker. To one friend, she said, that person.

Ellie (15:42)

Started sending me texts again, and she.

Mike (15:45)

Sent this to someone else.

Ellie (15:47)

Did I tell you someone's been stalking me? Like, they've been taking videos, looking inside my house, watching me, and then sending them to me. I can't afford to move right now, and I'm probably gonna delete my Facebook. I'm also buying a taser soon. My problem is the person stalking me is anonymous, so idk how much danger I'm in.

Mike (16:04)

Police began pouring through Ellie's phone records, and buried within them was a name. And now we're going to play a little game called Am I Smarter than the average Sasshole? Can you guess what name it was? I mean, we've only mentioned one, and it wasn't Leroy Jenkins. It was Nate Peters. Nate had been in contact with Ellie just hours before she vanished. Naturally, he was the best place to start.

Nate (16:34)

You go by Nate, by the way? Yeah. How'd you meet her? Everybody seems to meet this girl at concerts or camping. No. So, because she was friends with Zach, I was over hanging out with Zach, and I guess she had some, like, mental breakdown at the time. We've hung out, like, a total of maybe three times, and then, like, outside of the. The Zach situation, but even then, it was only maybe for an hour, so. Okay. I knew she had, like, bipolar or other mental issues and stuff, so she was prescribed to pills and things, but that's. That's about all I know. Like I said, we weren't, like, we weren't really close or anything. So what do you think about all this? I have no idea what's going on. I hope she's okay. I haven't seen her in. Six, seven months? Something like that. Okay. When's the last time you talked to her? Probably about last time I saw her. When's the last time you had phone conversations with. Probably longer than that. I. She'll call me, but I usually text. Okay. When's the last time you texted with her? Oh, I attempted to call her as soon as I found out what she was missing. What day Was that the second? I think, yeah. Like, as soon as I found out, I was like, you're. My phone doesn't have anything passport on it. So it's been minimum six months since I've actually talked to her.

Mike (17:57)

Though Nate was adamant about this, the text messages suggested otherwise, so detectives pressed him. It made sense that he'd use a texting app to make these final plans if Nate was the reason for Ellie's disappearance.

Nate (18:12)

Have you ever used a texting app again? You're not in trouble anymore. Here's what you gotta remember. Yeah. Okay. I'm looking for this girl. Yeah. Okay. Everyone's looking for this girl, right? You're looking for this girl. I'm looking for this group. Just gotta remember that we do investigations before we come talking. So some of these questions I'm asking, I kind of know the answers to. Yeah. And I'm kind of trying to see if you're gonna be honest with me. Sure. Okay. So would it surprise you if I told you that. That you were using a text app at some point to communicate with her? Kick. I don't know if I maybe text now. You have two F text now. I never text me any of that. All right, so you had no plans to meet up with her over the weekend before she went missing. Okay, what I'm dealing with is I'm dealing with a lot of social media and a lot of apps that hide who people are with me. Yeah. And I just. I'm not quite sure that some of the stuff you're telling me is completely accurate at this point. I think you've had more contact with her text wise, but, you know, I don't. I don't know that for a fact.

Mike (19:21)

As the interview went on, detectives noticed that Nate seemed to be trying to steer the conversation. It seemed like he wanted to shift the blame onto someone else.

Nate (19:31)

These text apps, if you will. Yeah. They give you a number, so when we see them, they start popping up as numbers. Okay. You with me? Yeah. What do you think happened to her? I mean, you know better than I do. No, honestly, I tell you the truth, I have no idea. You know, I don't know if, like, she wanted to just, like, pack up and run away or if she got anything like that to you. Like I said, I hadn't talked to her since before March. You guys ever more than friends? You ever slept with her? Because, I mean, she's. There's nothing wrong with it. Yeah, no, no. There's a lot of indications that she was, you know, free with herself, which Is fine, I guess. Not against. That's what I've heard. But, no, because she had also talked to me about how she'd been, like, raped and stuff. Okay. So I wanted to at least be that sort of guy that would not press that sort of guy who raped her, if you will. The only person that I know was a guy named Michael Sprouts, but that. That was, like, years and years ago, and, you know, I haven't seen him, and even longer than that. Okay, so did she have any concerns about him hanging around here recently? Not that I know of. Okay. You know, kind of concerns me because she had told me that he had done that to her, and then she had mentioned she had family members that had done that to her, and then it. And then, like, one of her ex boyfriends she said had done it to her, and it's one of those. It seems like, you know, at what point do you say, is this person actually crying wool. Right. Or is there just, like, an anomalous person that constantly just can't wait?

Mike (21:02)

So this Michael Strauss guy was the next person to be hunted down. But in the meantime, the police plan to take Nate's phone in for evaluation. The next time they saw him, they had a search warrant in hand.

Nate (21:16)

We get lied to all the time. We definitely know quite a bit about the iOS system, as well, and we have resources to show us that if an app's been deleted or not, we have resources to show us deleted information from a phone. But is there any way we could. We could arrange a time today to. To download certain information off of your phone within a. Within this time frame to. To verify that what you're telling us is true? Is that something that you would be. That you would even consider? Sure. No, I understand. Understand. And that's. That's. That's well within your right, and I. And I respect you for. For knowing your rights. What I. What I would have to tell you, though, is, is that I do. I do have a warrant to take your phone, but I've been totally upfront with you. I'm not lying to you. The reason that I gave you is. Is. Is totally honest. Someone is trying to use. What I believe someone is trying to use a number associated with you or at least linked to you to show that you had contact with Elite much more recent than you're telling us.

Mike (22:23)

Someone is trying to use a number associated with you. Why is this cop trying to give away their game plan? Why is he acting like the suspect's defense attorney? I mean, I'm all for citizens having rights. But do we really need to handhold and spoon feed suspects? Their only possible defense strategy. It's almost like he's saying, hey, dummy, say that you didn't have your phone on you. Say you gave it to a buddy or something. Despite these detectives seemingly really wanting to give the suspect some helpful legal tips during the interrogation, their actual job now required them to gather information on this new lead, Michael Strauss. To better understand him, they reached out to someone who had known Michael for years. His neighbor.

Nate (23:17)

I'm a BCI agent. Nice to meet you. I just wonder if I could sit down with you and ask you some questions. You do with Tristan or Michael? I really can't say. Not Tristan. Do you know. Are you friends with anybody that lives over there? Yeah, they're like family to me, with all of them. Tristan and Noah, not Michael. Yeah. So I'm not really asking about them. Okay. Oh, yeah, don't ask about Michael.

Mike (23:44)

This kid, also in his early 20s, had grown up next to the Strauss family for over 15 years and was close friends with Michael's brother, but Michael, not so much.

Nate (23:57)

Those two are, like, my best friends. And, I mean, I know Michael. Has Michael been living there the whole time, or. Pretty much. He lived in California, I think, for, like, three months, and that was recently. Okay. When did he come back, do you know? Like, a month or two ago? Within the last. Yeah. Have you ever seen who drives which car? Like, which cars does Michael drive specifically? What I'm interested in that. I don't think he has a car or. He probably. He probably doesn't have a dialed license, if I had to guess. I mean, what do you know about him? From meat. Now you're smiling. He's an interesting character. There's a lot about him. This stuff in his room is kind of weird. Like, I guess he, like, doesn't like the government and stuff like that. He used to have, like, in his basement, like, a flag that said Marines, and then, like, he wrote, like, lies on it, and then, like, one that said, like, U.S. army, and it said, like, deception or something. Okay. Stuff like that.

Mike (24:57)

What the neighbor says next would become crucial information for detectives once they had Michael Strauss in an interrogation room.

Nate (25:05)

Like, in high school, he played football, but he seemed a lot more, I guess, normal in high school. Yeah, I mean, I guess he's not that crazy, but what do you know? What about him? Most people think he is. What about him is crazy? The stuff that he wears, the music that he listens to, stuff like that. What's he do for a living. Yeah. I don't think he's had a job in a while, but he always has some story that we know isn't true about, like, some job that he's doing or something. But he actually. It's hard to tell. It's hard to tell the truth from the non truth because he actually. When he went to California, I know he did something there. Like, man, you wouldn't believe the amount of stories this guy says. Like, at one point, he said he was going there to roll blunts for Snoop Dogg. He said, like, he said. He said he's gonna be an actor. He said he's gonna be a film director, tattoo artist. Because, like, Tristan and Noah, they think it's funny. And especially Noah will, like, tell me everything he says just because they think it's funny. Like, tell me his stories and stuff. Like, famous people that he's met. We know he hasn't met all the time. Does he seem to believe it? Like, he travels, like. Yeah, he does. He seems to believe his own lives. Yeah. And he gets really, really defensive if, like, somebody calls him out for lying. More so than most people would, I think. But, I mean, they're just hard to believe. I mean, you probably know about, like, the flashing incident that he had a few years ago, right? Yeah, we do. How'd you find out about it? Actually, there's a video of it on the Internet that all you have to do is type in his name, and it pops right up.

Mike (26:52)

This flashing incident wasn't just a strange rumor. It was a documented crime. Michael Strauss had been convicted of jerking off in a grocery store parking lot, an act that landed him a year of probation. To Michael's neighbor, it was just another odd chapter in his long history of strange behavior. But for detectives, it was something they'd tuck away in the back of their minds. And yet, despite his oddities, Michael could come across as completely ordinary, at least on the surface.

Nate (27:33)

Does he ever say anything weird about women or. When you're talking to him. He seems pretty normal when you're talking to him, other than just the crazy stories.

Mike (27:45)

When the time came to bring Michael in for questioning, they already knew what to expect. A man who couldn't resist spinning stories. Pretty quickly, though, detectives realized that Michael's neighbor had not been exaggerating.

Nate (28:00)

You said you were doing some work. Yeah, filmmaker. Okay. Yeah. How long have you been doing that? Five years, Six years. I was producing, and now I'm kind of, like, directing and making my own stuff and everything. I travel a lot. It's fun. I've been living in Cali for a while and then I just move back, visit my family, all that kind of stuff. And then I go back there in like a month.

Mike (28:21)

The plan was just to let Michael talk. Detectives wanted to get to know this strange guy with long dreadlocks piled on top of his head. They wanted to make a false connection, making him feel like he could trust them. You can't. You can't. By the way. You can't trust cops. This was the same approach they took with everyone they interviewed in this case. If they scared anyone away, they could lose a potential lead and Ellie may never be found.

Nate (28:54)

I wake up and I draw every day. Sure. Even if it's the littlest thing. I always say, don't have no zero days. Always be doing something. What you draw today? What'd you draw? Guitar player. Dimebag. That's one of my favorite guitar. But Pantera. But I. He died in front of me when I was like 14 years old. He got that I was there when he got shot on stage.

Mike (29:14)

All right, all right. Do you guys believe that? Me neither.

Nate (29:18)

Are you okay? Like, yeah. So we'll kind of explain everything that's. That's going on. You're about to talk to two of the lowest key people. Okay, you talk to. Which is. Which is. Which is tonight. We both worked in the detective section and we've got this case of Ellie White who's missing. And they came to my house already about it. Yeah, like I told the detectives that came to my house, it's like, I haven't seen this girl. I haven't talked to her in about five years. Four or five years. Right. What we do when we gather, we get names and we start comparing those. We start looking into things and a couple things they wrote down. I don't. I don't really. I don't really understand. I don't really think it was that good of an interview and. Or with me or with. In general. Trust me, this is the first. This is the first of many we're going to do. Yeah. Okay, so. So you got like your own. You got your own place out there? Yeah, I'm staying with my girl that I'm dating. Oh, cool, cool, cool. So what kind of movies you into? I mean, all kinds. I like horror movies, but I like. That's. I don't know if that always makes people. I don't know if that makes it judgmental or not, but like fan people face horror movies. And I did a documentary therapy is what I'm Doing right now? Is that. Is that more so your thing or like what you. I like it, but I don't want to be like pigeonholed to just do that to us. Oh, absolutely. You know, so like I have a few ideas and do that. So is it like crazy, like crazy horror stuff? Like, I like psychological stuff. I don't like the excessive, like goofy, you know, slasher type. You're not a saw kind of guy? Saw's cool. Like I said, I know a couple. Mark Berg is the producer. So he started Saw franchise and he would help work with me and all that kind of stuff. Trying not to name drop or anything. No, I like it when you. I know that guy. So do you travel with. I mean, not always. How do you like, do you. Does that call? Do you fly out there? Yeah, usually. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, then was cost would he got a package that. Oh, do you just like package? I make pretty good money. Like lately I've been actually made more money last year than I've made my entire life. Oh, cool. So, yeah, like I said, I'm finally getting reward from all the hard work.

Mike (31:16)

Bci, or Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, sat with Michael for hours. This was no junior varsity interrogation. These guys knew what they were doing as they took their time to build a rapport with him. This was a psychological chess match. And the detectives were the only ones who could see the board.

Nate (31:40)

Well, paparazzi's annoying. That's one thing. Like you just. You're not even being a celebrity, just being like trying to go to a restaurant or something. Yeah. And then it's paparazzi thinking that like, dude, can we get by? You know, like it's. I guess it's illegal, but I don't know, you know, You've never been. You've never been intrigued to do that, that type of. No. Cuz I don't really glorify celebrities or anything. I don't really think it's that important and I think it's harassment. You know what I mean? Like, you're following people around. There's been car accidents.

Mike (32:05)

Like, you know, so according to Michael, following someone around with a camera is harassment. Got it. I wonder how Scarlett Johansson feels about that.

Nate (32:16)

Well, it's too. It's. Sometimes it's like. Well, when you're behind the camera too, you're probably looking at. You look at things. So my mind works with like, I just. Yeah, I look at everything like a big canvas, you know, so. Yeah, I don't look at every little individual Right. So I mean, everything that. And I don't mean to totally get on topic, I just think is so interesting sometimes, but when you look at things, it's almost like you're. I don't know, are you, like, mentally filming? Like, it's a filter. You have like a filter. You just think, like, this would look good on camera, and then you just start imagining that that's what you're pretty much. I guess. Yeah. You get it. Like, it's like you're like, oh, this is interesting. Like you. Something can happen to you and you're like, oh, that would be interesting to jot down or that's an interesting visual or. You know what I mean? Like, so, like, when you go see photography, like, you see things like, okay, that's a good shot, you know, like, that's. That's really all I'm done too. So I'm. I love photography and I have a camera. I can tell. Like you. Like I said, you're now. But I don't always. But I don't always carry my camera with. I don't always have my camera. And you wish you had it. You're like, I wish I. Yeah, well, sometimes there's something I know I want to take a picture of. So, you know, I'll. I'll snap it with my phone and I might like, geotag it to know where. See, I'm like 21st century guy. Yeah, you are. But you can mark it and then you can come back and maybe try to compose the same sort. Well, that's what I really just do it in the moment. Like I said, like taking the moment to be like, oh, there you go. Yeah. But to do that, you don't. You'd have to have your. You'd have to have your. Your stuff with you. True. So I try to keep a camera on me at all timesr. Yeah. Or something like, I keep it on my. I carry. I wear a fanny pack sometimes.

Mike (33:46)

I always carry a camera. A seemingly innocent comment, but I'm sure by now you can see exactly what these detectives were doing. They weren't just making small talk. They were laying out the. The groundwork connecting Michael's words to pieces of Ellie's case that we already know. The voyeuristic videos, the terrifying intimate knowledge her stalker had of her life. But while suspicion mounted against Michael, there was still another loose end to tie. Nate Peters detectives had taken his phone in for evaluation, and now they were ready to return it, having learned some surprising information.

Nate (34:31)

And then on, let's see, on. Maybe on May 28, she. She texts you and says something, or. Excuse me, someone else is calling themselves Nate Peters and is texting me. It's confusing. Lol. And then you reply with surprise. I think you say, wtf? And then she responds that the subject is sending another female asking if it's her, meaning asking if it's Ellie. So my question is, is that we know that not only did Ellie. Ellie text you, but she also, I think, called you a few times. Was there any. Ever. Was there a follow up conversation or a follow up phone call saying who that might have been trying. Trying reporting to be you? No. And I'll tell you. Do you remember that conversation, though? No, not at all. Okay, because. And I tell you, like, I, you know, scouts honor swear the last time I ever remembered actually talking to her. Yeah. You know, which is what surprised me if that was on my phone in the first place, because now I'm actually kind of blown away. Yeah. If you want to look at it, it's. So if you go to your text messages from her, you have to scroll again, obviously, all the way back to 2017, but you'll. Oh, from. Okay. Yeah, it's 2017. It's a while ago when you guys were still kicking it, I was gonna say. So that's probably why. And that's why it's kind of important. Because if someone's trying to be you all the way back to 2017, we want to know who it is. What? The crazy. I know, right? That's why I'm saying, man. It's just. It's kind of spooky stuff.

Mike (35:59)

Ah, now I get it. He's tricking him. Wait, he tricked me. I take it back. This guy's really good. At this point, detectives were pretty certain Michael Strauss had been the one not only stalking Ellie using anonymous phone numbers, but also the one posing as Nate Peters. So they start by explaining Ellie's story to Michael. They tell him about the night she received the creepy video of herself shot through the window.

Nate (36:32)

It was like a self therapy thing. She would make collages that cut pictures out of magazines. I did that too. How she feels good, put them together. Like an art, like an image. Well, I guess it is artsy, but it probably is some sort of therapy. And. And the video is over. So we start looking around. We keep researching things, and I want you to hear this whole. I want to hear this whole thing out. So we have these text messages that included the video link and the number those came back to. But when we researched this number, we found that the most commonly called number was your mom. Okay, so we have the link from the video and your mom, and there's some. Some number that's in common. Okay, so she called my mom. Somebody. Whoever contacted her. Now, I'm not saying Ellie did, but whoever contacted her also contacted your mom.

Mike (37:34)

Not looking good, Michael. Not looking good.

Nate (37:38)

So I don't know if someone's, like, creeping you or what. So we got sound, right? Hold this. Hold this thing out. So I got this number, and I've seen it. I. So see this connection and the number when they. The number got researched and comes back to, like, Doom Studio or Doom Dread guy. So now I wonder if someone's setting up a profile. I don't know if someone's setting up a profile with you, say, for Dread. That sounds like my old, old email. Right? That's what I'm. That sounds like now you're starting to get why you're here. I don't know if someone's posing as you. Okay. Hear this whole thing out. Yeah. So I got this. And I've got someone watching her backyard. So what do I. What am I looking at? Looking at maybe a trespassing. I'm looking at maybe a. Maybe a voyeurism. Stalking has to be a pattern of. Pattern of events to do that. So, you know, that's like, hey, I got robbed. Someone broke into my car. That's not robbery. It's not really stalking. They're misdemeanor charges. It's not a big deal. Yeah, I need to rule out without a doubt before I can really go any further, because I don't. I need to. I need to figure out, like, someone need to figure out what's going on, or like, I. I had people make a fake Facebook with me one time that had all my pictures and stuff in my name, and it wasn't my Facebook. And I reported to Facebook, and they got it taken down. Okay, so. But that doesn't sound. You need. So you need to be engaged with me on this. Okay. And you need to. We need to. I know you keep looking at the clock time. I can't worry. I can't worry about the time right now because this is. I gotta. I'm gonna get through this.

Mike (39:18)

Either someone extraordinarily dedicated to the ruse was creeping on Michael, or you could live in reality and choose to believe that the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. Michael's life had become a shadow of Ellie's, spent watching, waiting, and anonymously weaving himself into her world. Michael Strauss had stalked her. Michael Strauss had planned this whole thing.

Nate (39:50)

We're just. We're just trying to clear stuff up. Yeah, I can tell you. I can tell you. On May 31, if I had a timeline, it said May 31. And that. And that number gets established. I know that a message got sent out to seven. Seven women that says, hey, stranger. And I know Ellie. I fish. You fish? Not really. Ellie took the bait. Okay. Ellie took the bait. The others, it might have been like, hey, what up? Whatever. I don't know this. Ellie took the bait, and. Yeah, I probably did do something like that. And I probably. And I probably did. Like I said, I messed around. I probably. I did mess with people. And the thing is, I don't have names to numbers, and I messed with a bunch of numbers and I sprinkled before. I do. Like. I don't do refrigerator running or whatever, but that is kind of funny. Just a classic. It is a classic. Here you go. Get it. But say that's not. Well, that's not. I'm not trying to. Like, that's not a. I'm not lying, but, like, that's. I would never send a video or. So tell me about. Tell me about the sending out of the. Like, the text blast. Hey, stranger. So were you. I mean, you were casting. I'm like. Well, it's when I'm in. It's when I'm out in Cali or whatever, I text people, and I just, like. I'd be like. Especially if I. They're all. I have, like, a whole stuff of what old phone numbers I used to have or whatever. And I don't know. It's from my old contact list. Okay.

Mike (41:13)

He has an excuse for everything, doesn't he?

Nate (41:16)

Dude, I'm not trying to say you're like a. You're the serial. And it's only an issue because you're missing right now. And that's the problem. It become. Becomes an issue. So when. When you did that and. And she kind of took the bait, so to speak. Yeah. Because I think we're. I think we're both understanding that that was you doing that, so. Yeah, but it wasn't. It's really, really obvious it was you doing it. I don't want to insult anybody's intelligence or whatever, but it's not like. But you weren't talking to her as you. No, I didn't act like I was nobody or somebody. You were. You know what I mean? Like, I would, like, come up with a name, and then I'd be like, oh, yeah, that's her. Or like, I'll be like, oh, it's Ben. Well, the name became. The name became up. Up with was Nate Peters. See? How do I remember that? Well, I'm telling. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah. Here's the one thing going on in the room right now. You have absolutely 100. No reason to doubt what I'm saying. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So I just wanted to throw that out there. I'm not the guy that I'm not. I don't bluff, and I don't. Because I don't want to seem like that guy. So. So you were Nate P. Peters, and I think you. I think you know Nate Peters. And. And when you said, hey. When you said, hey, stranger. She said, who's this? And you said, nate. And she said, it's Nate who? And you say, lol. What do you know a lot of Nates. I'm Nate Peters. She's like, oh, hey, what's up? Starting a conversation. And then as that conversation progresses, that initial conversation, you ask her, I hear you're being watched. Now we've established that this is you talking. So I don't know if you heard from someone. I don't know how that could happen. I heard someone's watching you. And she says, you know what I'm talking about. I know what you mean, and I know what you said. I heard someone's watching you. And she's like, hey, I don't want to talk. Don't ruin this. That creeps me out. You're like, okay, because. So now we've established that you. So as those conversations are going on, there's nothing. There's nothing inappropriate about them. There's nothing. Let's. Let's take this white elephant out of the room. Yeah. You weren't necessarily honest when we first started talking because you said you hadn't contacted her in five years, but I know you contact her up all the way until July 29th, I guess. Yeah. I have a Contact her as myself. It was a joke. And it looks bad. I get it. Okay, so it looks horrible. We know. We know about it. We know it looks bad. We know it looks horrible. But we have to get by the optics of things. I've got a text number that is being used for this app, and it's contacting her posing as somebody else. And I don't know how you got like. Have you ever called Nate. I mean, how Nate Peters? I don't know. I. I guess as someone I just. The name that came to mind because I'm sure She even knows. That's like freaking the most random thing in the world. I mean, how. I mean, like, why not freaking Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I mean, how would you even know? Like, see, here's what I was wondering. Did you ever think that the real name Peters would contact her? Like, at the same time? Probably even funnier. I mean, I don't know. That's like, weird. Like, what the fuck? Like, I. I guess you don't. It's. You probably. It's hard to see the humor in this, especially because this is a missing person's case. But, like, I can. I know what you're talking. It's like that crank Yankers or whatever. I get it. I get it. I get that. Okay. I don't think the CEO. You don't think people are out to get me? You think I'm like a conspiracy nut or something? No, I don't want to come off like a big conspiracy thing. And I'm not a. So I'm not. You know. But I'm also. Coincidences are. I don't. Sometimes you really got to beat me over the head with stuff to convince me. And in this line of work, coincidences and just. That conspiracy thing is. Is just. It's just rare. Yeah. And if it happens once in a lifetime where someone goes out of their way to totally do something, long range. But I got this video that's a. That's of you on my account. On your account. My email's been used, my phone number has been used. All this stuff is getting towards your. Your phone number that's attached to the IP address that comes back to the WI fi in your house. And I'm trying to show you that I don't know how this is being woven. Yeah. There's a commonality between all of those things. I said they're the way things are on paper. They're the way things really are. Dude, look, if you stood in her backyard and if you stood in your backyard, jerked off, filmed it, what the ever. Okay. Okay. It's embarrassing. I get it. I can't say I can own it. I'm not going to put it up on a billboard. Whatever it happens, it happened. And it's just so tightly linked to stuff. I don't want to run down that rabbit hole. I don't think. Here's what I don't think happened. I don't think someone decided. Let's see, who am I going to? Micah Strauss. I'll set up a number. I'll contact people. I'm Gonna get a video. I'm gonna somehow plant it in his. Yeah, yeah. But. But when you put that. When. When you. When you go to bake a cake and you got a list of 10 ingredients and you got eight of them, you don't get a cake. It comes out with some. You don't know what it is. You missed an incredible. If I. If I were to take out one of these things, I think this all makes sense. But with all of these things together, man, it looks like a cake.

Mike (46:56)

As the hours dragged on, it became painfully clear. Coaxing Michael Strauss into a single, honest answer was like pulling teeth. Every lie they unraveled seemed to take an eternity. And they hadn't even broached the serious questions yet, the ones that could take this from an interrogation to a real confession. Detectives had spent hours dancing around Michael Strauss's lies, playing a slow game of psychological chess. Every question, every comment, every seemingly innocuous detail was meticulously designed to chip away at his defense. Despite the mounting suspicion, Ellie was still missing, for her friends and family, the clock was ticking. The groundwork had been laid in his interrogation, and now it was time to confront. Confront the truth head on. Detectives started to introduce more and more of the damning evidence they had gathered. Ellie Wyke went missing on July 29, 2018. But her phone turned on for a brief moment on July 31st. It turned on just long enough to ping off a cell phone tower.

Nate (48:50)

If this is a cell phone tower and the cell phone tower covers an area this big, and where this phone hit. I'm able to isolate that. That phone hit an area this big. Okay. And your house is here. Yeah. That doesn't. Okay, that doesn't make sense to me. No. So not being a believer in circum. In. In coincidences with. With everything I'm looking at, I'm like, the phone's there. It could be. Or like, she was driving. So tell me how it could. Tell me how it could be there. She was on the road. Her car is. Her car has not moved. Her car is at the house. I don't know. That's something that. See, that's why. I don't know why. That's the accusation that I don't know. Not an accusation. It's total fact. And I'm not accusing. No, I wouldn't have her phone. I wouldn't turn it on. I wouldn't. Yeah, and I'm not Scooby Doo, but it's like, I just don't know what meddling kids, you know, like, Wizards. I don't know who helped her get out. I don't know. You know what I mean? Like, that's the thing. The stuff that I did year ago or prior to that. No messages. Yeah, that's one thing, but I don't know. But that's the stuff we have to get answers to and clear up. And I have, right? Absolutely. You have, absolutely. So that's so freaking embarrassing. But it's whatever. It's the truth and I'm glad. Whatever. I'm glad you guys know. Well, it's like I'm glad you guys know. And knowing. It's like talking on the phone is different than actually like, hey, let's go do this. Let's go run away together. Right? You know what I mean? Like, I would never run away with someone like her. I would never, you know, even. I would never hurt anybody like her. You know what I mean? So it's just like that's. I don't know. I don't know what else to tell you guys, but the fact of the matter is someone out there knows and, and what happens is a lot of times when we have these conversations real summer, like the video thing, if someone knows something and they think, they think such worst case scenario. All my. Like you probably thought if you said that you made that video that the next thing that was going to happen was put your hands up on the wall, you're going to jail, you're going to be on the news. No, not that level. I just feel like you're making it seem like I knew more than I do and like I'm telling you right now. But you did. No, I knew. I'm saying, but something happened in the past. Yeah, right, the past. Yeah, well, my current day. I don't. Like I said, I don't know what to tell you. Right. But the. But we're calling the past July 28. So it's not really like to me, that felt like a long time ago because I've been dealing with a lot of crap. Like, it's okay, but it's not like we're talking like, you know. Sure. And yeah, it seems like, yeah, it's too close. The timeline is too close for something like that for what I did and for what this happened. So that, that's. That's concerning to me. Okay. You know, I totally, I totally understand.

Mike (51:28)

At this point, the. The conversation cools down and the two detectives leave for a minute to grab some water. Michael is only alone for a short time, but as soon as the door closes, he's talking to himself.

Nate (51:55)

Stupid. Why am I so fucking stupid for that? Why did I do that?

Mike (52:01)

When the detective comes back into the room, they propose that Michael take a polygraph test. They're still very cautious with their wording, and they reassure him that he's not a suspect. They even tell him confidentially that they know he'll pass the test. Reassuring him. They just need to clear him, get it out of the way, you know? Of course, they want to push this investigation as far as possible before he fully realizes he's in deep shit and finally asks for a lawyer like he should have done to begin with. Kind of shocking he hasn't realized it yet, right? But like I always say, criminals are dumb. That's why they're criminals.

Nate (52:43)

I've got about three or four things, other things I want to talk to you about. And by law, if I want to ask you those things, I have to feed you and there's food coming. I need to know more about your. Where your room is in your house is. Do you sleep in the basement or do you sleep in an upstairs bedroom? Okay, so you have a bedroom. So I have some people that were over at your house. It's just being thorough, and it wasn't clear what. Where your. Where your room is. So. Searching my house. I'm. I'm here. I don't know. That's. That's why I got, like, computer guys walking around. I don't know what they're doing. But there was some confusions to. Because I think there's stuff there, and I don't want them. I don't want to screw anything up or take something that belongs to somebody else or do whatever. So, yeah, we have some reason to believe that there's a white car involved. And there's a white car at your residence, Grant. It's not registered or to you or whatever, but I think you've operated a white car before. And then when I look at it even deeper, I think, well, yeah, you've operated a white car before and not all the time. As a matter of fact, not even. Not even a. Ask my parents. Ask them. Right? Not even tell you. Not even a fraction of a percentage of the time you were in that car and you were videoing women. And this is once again swayed on paper. You're videotaping joggers. And then when we looked at the search history, there's videotape and joggers. There's a search where you mentioned the woman's name in Mason, because it's probably on the police report. Yeah, but it was like. That was. That was all research.

Mike (54:25)

How frustrating is this guy? These detectives are very, very patient. This is insanity, dude.

Nate (54:32)

I know, but you catch what I'm saying? I can't put that on the warrant. I'm just telling you, I'm just trying to spell to you what is, is why we're doing. Because you want to know why your parents house.

Mike (54:41)

At this point, detectives think maybe he's got something to do with the other case too. Back in January of the same year, a woman in Mason, Ohio, reported to police that a guy wearing a hoodie grabbed her from behind while she was jogging alone. She screamed and he let her go. Why would Michael be researching this specific case?

Nate (55:04)

So we got you in a white car and I got you doing the thing. And then we have the search history and the search history. And this is where it all kind of circles back around. It's, you know, Mason jogger, jogger, jogger, attack raping jogger, forceful rape, ambush rape, porno video. I'm not saying they're all related, but when it go under, get this straight, I do not condone rape or anything. Not saying you do it or sexual harassment or anything like that. Okay, but it has her name. And then it's like jogger, rape, ambush, rape, women, joggers. Where do women jog in Westchester? Something else. And then I don't think I ever searched where do women jog in Westchester? I'm sorry, that's not. That can't be a search. That is. I searched maybe like where to jog in Westchester. I didn't search where do women jog. I would never do that. That wouldn't be part of this. Maybe you look, maybe, maybe, maybe I read into that. Just seeing you, I swear that's something I know I would never Google. And that's the thing that's like when I did that research for the script, it was after that because people said she was lying about being attacked. And it said. And I didn't know if it was a rape or not. So I searched if it was a rape or whatever. Where this all goes back around is I got, I got the, the videos in the, in the white car in Mason and women joggers. And I got this searches and, and I was saying the searches are sequentially and they end up with a porn video. And I didn't look at the video, so I don't know what the video was of and I don't really want to know right now. I watched a lot of. I watch Blower, Dublin types of porn. If that's the lucky. What? I watch different. A lot of types of different porn. Like, I'm sorry. Like, that's the conversation. Whatever. I watch different types of those. Different types of genres of porn.

Mike (56:45)

Yeah, Michael, we already know your giant pervasive. The point they're trying to make is that you search for information on this local jogger attack, and then you opened up a new tab and started masturbating the porn immediately afterwards. You get it.

Nate (57:02)

Bondage, the absent S and M. The full body. Full body latex suits. Why are you asking me? Because that's on your searches. Oh, my God, Really? Yeah. So that's why I'm wondering if you click on some. Something and you're just like, oh, I know. It's a full body light 2 sex suit. It's for movie. It's a movie outfit for a script. It sounds like American. American Horse drive. Yeah, it's like that. Okay. Yeah, but it's like. Yeah, it's. It's. It's one of the costumes. I actually doing a short film. These searches I don't use against me because it's like that's. Well, once again, they can be explained. Yeah, but when. When the. When the theme of those is whether it's for research or personal whatever, and they're. They're sexual in nature. That fits right back into the circle of there's. Well, that sounds like someone that would do this video that would do that. And then if I want to say stalk, terrorize, whatever, to send it to this person. Thank God you didn't send the part where you're doing. No, take your business. Because I would. Then that would have sent her off the over the edge. Taking the video, going, clipping it out. Send it to her, asking about her, what her reaction was to it posing as somebody else while you're talking to her. And the first part of that conversation is about, hey, I heard you're being watched. So it's kind of bringing it back up. And it kind of seems. I was really gonna stop the conversation there. That's when I was like, ah, whatever. Kind of stimulates that fear. And it's that whole thing that we have. We have this. So I had. I had a piece of added to me, and I don't. I don't. I don't know where. I don't know where it fits in. What's the piece? Well, they found her ID in your room, so. Micah. Her id? Yeah, her driver's license that was issued in July. I Would not know where that is. That doesn't mean that can't be true. You can't say that's true. Yeah, we're not making none of it.

Mike (58:58)

They found.

Nate (58:59)

They found her id. They found a lock for hair. Makes sense. It's in one of your art portfolio binders. And I got a team of guys looking at stuff now. Look, I know. So here's where, here's where I say this. That. See, that's. That's. It doesn't. You're like. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense and I need to make sense of it. Why would she have. Why would I have her license on me? All right? I can't even begin to guess why. There's a book on Ted Bundy and there's all kinds of stuff and then I've taken. I've taken a lot of classes on it. I'm not a self proclaimed behavioral analyst by any stretch, but I understand that people do stuff and people do stuff for dumb reasons. And I'm a trained interviewer. And I'm a trained interrogator. So tell me what you think. Do you think I would. Something like that? You think I'm a serial killer or a kidnapper or anything like that? I. I didn't, I didn't. I didn't start this yesterday. And there's. There's a lot of things I hear. And what I hear is you want me to explain why that driver's license and why that hair is in your house. I don't. You have no reason to. You want me to explain knowing full well I can't. I can't explain why it's there. Makes me sick. And when you say there's only one reason, what's the one reason? Well, I mean, one reason is that someone put it there. Someone. Not me. Someone that access to the house. Me. It's not yet. And I'm. Like I said, I hate to say, but I'm always home, so I don't know how that would get me. You know what I mean? Well, we gotta. We gotta get to. We gotta get to the bottom of this. We've got to get to the bottom of this. You know? I don't want to get to it. There's no bottom. It just keeps going. Well, the next thing you know, there was a. Be like fingernails in my attic or something like that. And like, it's just, like it just doesn't sound real. Well, I, I don't think we'll look for that. But I, you know, we're working, we gotta exit and you know, we have, we have standards from her. Standards? What do you mean? So we have like known samples from her. We have known samples of the hair. It's why, it's like, it's like, like putting myself on a chopping block. Like, oh, let me keep evidence of stuff around my house. You asked me why, you asked me why, why keep it. And I, I guess if you're asking me hypothetically why, why would, why would a person keep something like that? It would be a momento of what's happened. And one of the reasons I went through all that book is, you know, there's some dudes that do that, right? They keep driver's license, they keep an earring.

Mike (61:37)

Some of you think getting gaslit by your partner is a rough ride. Imagine being gaslit by a rapist murderer for 12 hours straight. Then tell me about defund the police and all that nonsense.

Nate (61:50)

She's been off the grid for 23 going on 24 days. I don't think, once again, I don't think it's a cathodic good, but I don't think that's good at all. I don't know. It's a quantum leap thin that she's not alive. I have never, never have I ever heard of a situation where someone would have gone to such great pains to frame somebody other than TV ever. Or to the length of me doing something. That's what I'm asking. Like, would you ever think that I would, or anybody would just out of the blue decide to be like, oh, I'm taking someone's license, taking this? No, but to be fair, I, I, I would. There are people that have gone to great lengths to develop some sort of mental relationship with somebody that, that ends up resulting in somebody's death. And they take a momento, and they take a momento up it. Okay, that's more believable.

Mike (62:58)

Along with her driver's license and a lock of Ellie's hair, detectives found a small pink stone. All this was inside a little tin deep inside of a crate in Michael's basement bedroom. His super secret stash where nobody will ever find it. You know, it was sandwiched between old art portfolios. Ooh, I guess the cops will never find it there, huh, Michael? What an idiot. As they looked over the case evidence, they noticed the same pink stone hanging around Ellie's neck in an old selfie. But they couldn't get him to admit to anything. Not wanting to scare him out of another interview, they took his phone for analysis. Took his DNA and told him that they talked to him again when he came to pick it up. When the next day came, a cruiser showed up to Michael's house and arrested him for stalking.

Nate (63:54)

Charges are being pressed against him. Okay, who said that? Black chick? The cop. The cop that arrested me. The deputy? Yeah. I'm arrested for stalking. He doesn't have jurisdiction. I don't know anything about that. Yeah. Okay, we'll sort this out. You can pick and choose. What if there's something you don't want to talk about? You're like, well, this is what. It's a lot. Lots changed. Okay. Okay. Thought about a lot since we talked in the last 12 hours. All right? And that's why it's like I. I spent this morning talking with my family. Okay. And kissing them and showing how much I love them. And I found like, emotional. Hey, man, you're okay. But just think. I want you to think. I want you to think about this. If you. If we. If we start going into something that you don't feel comfortable with. Dude, I want your help. I don't want to make you upset. No. I don't know a lot of things about my comfort. Me being comfortable right now does not matter. Well, it matters. No, listen. Well, we're looking out for you, so it matters a great deal to us. I appreciate that. And like I said, I know actors. I know when people are put on an act. You seem very upset, man. What's up? Like my mom, I love my family. I get that. We know you do.

Mike (65:02)

Then Michael finally starts to open up. He explains that, get this, he makes porn movies in his free time. And that Ellie apparently wanted to star in one of his porn films for payment. That's what he says they plan to do. The night they met up, you know, the night that she thought she'd be hanging out with Nate Peters.

Nate (65:25)

That's why I said that night when I was texting her to come over. I did. What night are we talking about? 20. The 20th, 28th, 29th, 29. Saturday night, Sunday morning, I left my house. I took my parents car. I go and leave and get her in the car and I get to go over there. Okay, you just drive over to her house. Okay. I didn't bring my phone or anything like that. I just brought my GoPro camera. Okay. We. I knocked on the door and was you were gonna make the video or were you gonna like, hey, do you want to make a video? I didn't mention to her at that point. Okay. And then When I. I knocked on the door, she let me in. We went. We went inside and we talked. I st. She's like, I'm waiting for my friends to get here. I'm waiting for my friends to get here. I'm like, okay. And I'm like, hey, you want to shoot this? You want to shoot something? I just, like, show her the camera. And she's like, how much? How much? I said, one thirty and eighth a week. And she's like, give me a quarter. You'll give me an eighth and so be joining with me. And I said, I don't have a joint right now, but I'll give you a quarter. And then she's like, okay, this is so messed up now. Sorry. Like, we. And then she's like, all right, so we. I like, we should film it in your house. And I took. And we had the GoPro camera, and she, like, ran up the steps. Kind of act like the camera's chasing her up the steps. POV and all that. Runs in her room, and I jump in her bed, and, like, I had, like, handcuffs, and I'm just like, oh, my God. So, you know. And I locked her. It wasn't, like, playful, because I was like, you know. You know, I was, like, yelling at her and stuff, and we were all. She's like, no, don't, don't, don't. And there was nobody there. There was nobody home. And so we do that, and we have sex with filming. And then, yeah, she's like. So she's, like, strong, but it was like. It's the. You know, like a strangle. Like, oh. You know, in the bag and all that kind of stuff. Do that. She sits there for a little bit, and she's like. And she's, like, crying, are you okay? She's like, yeah, I just had a bad day. I've had a long day, and I miss my mom and all this kind of stuff. I'm like, where's my words? Oh, she goes out of town with her boyfriend all the time and talks about that and everything. And we've already talked about that, so she's just repeating it, and she goes on and on. And then she. She. We go outside on the porch, smoke again, and her friends are sitting in the car. They get out of the car, and I come on. They're, like, parked right three houses down from me, and they get everything. She goes with them. And that's the last freaking time I saw her.

Mike (67:58)

Even just as it felt like they'd get a confession from him. It was Just another dead end. Again, Michael claimed that when the police first came to his house to ask about Ellie, he had destroyed the SD card holding their corporate quote unquote consensual sex tape, complete with handcuffs, strangling, and, oh, yeah, a bag over Ellie's head. According to Michael himself, it was like.

Nate (68:24)

Side, side position, and we had sex on the side or whatever. And that's why I might hand around her throat. And so that's. And then, like, that's when I cut them and. Yeah. And it pretty much ends after that. Okay. She acts like she just, like, she, like, falls asleep, and I think she was falling asleep. Okay. Oh, so is this. Is this like snuff torture porn? Kind of, yeah. Okay. So did end with you choking her.

Mike (68:46)

Okay.

Nate (68:47)

Yeah. And then that's when she's just like. And then whatever, she's dead. Okay. And I guess that's what we always do. And I just like her, like. Yeah. Cover her head up and poke holes where noses and act like she's not alive anymore. It's really up. Okay. So I'm just trying to get it. So you. You put. Do you put a bag over it again towards the end? No. Okay. You see, she dies from being choked.

Mike (69:11)

He gets so close to telling the truth, but then it's almost like he's incapable. Like he's unable to see himself as what he really is. I wonder if that's contagious. He describes this snuff torture porn video that he planned to sell, and the details of what he admits he did to Ellie add to the case another dark coincidence. He says after hours upon hours of painstaking interrogation, even without a full confession, Michael had revealed enough cracks in his story for detectives to piece together a detailed picture. August 24, 2018, was the date of Michael's last BCI interrogation. And on the same day, Ellie's body was located in a ditch near the corner of a farming field. She was found within a quarter of a mile of Michael's house. Her shallow grave was concealed by shrubbery, with a barbed wire fence dividing it from the rest of the field. A square shovel was discovered nearby. Ellie's remains, mostly skeletonized, told a story that was heartbreaking and horrifying. Wrapped in a bed sheet and a purple blanket, her arms and legs were bound with duct tape, and a bag had been tied over her head. A cord was also entangled with her body. The coroner determined her cause of death to be asphyxiation, so it's possible this was the murder weapon. Though Michael hadn't spelled it out. He'd said enough. Enough to lead detectives to Ellie and charge him with her murder. Meanwhile, as law enforcement swarmed the field gathering evidence and preparing for the removal of Ellie's body, a bright rainbow stretched across the sky above the crime scene. Everyone noticed it. People cried and took photos. 29 year old Michael Strauss eventually pleaded guilty to all his crimes. His sensing brought to light the horrific reality of her final moments, something that her family had not understood up until that point. During his sentencing, Strauss appeared in court with two black eyes, the work of his fellow inmates. The judge handed down a maximum sentence, 15 years to life for murder, plus an additional two and a half years for stalking and abuse of a corpse. With no possibility of parole for at least 17 and a half years, Strauss will spend the better part of his life behind bars. On the day Ellie's family laid her to rest, something remarkable happened. As mourners gathered at the church to say their final goodbyes, a bright neon rainbow stretched across the sky. It was just like the one that appeared the day her body was found. For Ellie's family and friends, these rainbows became a symbol of light piercing through unimaginable darkness. Her mother described them as a sign, a reminder of Ellie's enduring presence even in her absence. Ellie's story is one of loss, but also of resilience. In her journal, she wrote about her struggles, her fears, her dreams. Though her life was cut tragically short, her words remain a testament to her spirit. Don't ignore your gut or red flags, she wrote. You can sense evil. Stay in tune with your senses. It's a lesson for all of us to trust our instincts, to protect one another, and to remember, even in the shadows of the darkest storm, you may find a rainbow. Well, that's AI Mike signing off. Can you believe some idiots online think this is AI? They think I'm AI. Like, how fucking dumb do you have to be? AI would never be allowed to say all the shit I say. But there's no shortage of stupid in the world, so there's that. Speaking of stupid, go check out our stupid merch at store storage swordandscale.com and if you haven't signed up for plus, well, it's how we pay for all this stuff. So if you like this stuff being around in the universe, then, you know, throw in a couple bucks and help support it. Otherwise, it may not be here tomorrow. We could make money like every other podcast, but we don't want to push shitty products on you via advertising that you probably shouldn't. Be buying anyway. So we have to do some filtering around here and that, you know, lowers our revenue and that makes it hard for us to pay our employees and our bills. So this is an extra long guilt trip to tell you that if you've been enjoying Sword and Scale for the last X number of years for free, maybe throw in 10 bucks this month. You know, it's not a lot to ask. 10 bucks is not a lot to ask for years of entertainment and then you can listen to all the back catalog and cancel at the end of the month like you always do anyway. All right. I guess that's my sales pitch. I'm not really good at sales. I'm more a podcast guy, moderately good at that. So I guess I'm rambling at this point. So if you want to support us, head on over to swordsgill.com, join plus see you next week. Stay safe.

Nate (75:35)

Sam sa Sam sa.