Episode 7: Sex, Drugs, and Trauma

Summary

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The Peacemaker – Episode 7: Sex, Drugs, and Trauma

Release Date: November 25, 2025
Hosts: Ben Westhoff & Ryan Krull
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts / Coolfire Studios

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Episode Overview

Episode 7 of The Peacemaker delves into the intricate factors behind the infamous suicide cluster at Truman State University, focusing on the complex interplay of sex, drugs, trauma, and mental health issues. The hosts probe the narrative that fraternity brother Brandon Grossheim may have influenced these deaths, juxtaposing this public perception with testimonies from friends, professionals, and those closest to the victims. This episode critically examines the scapegoating of Brandon and considers broader campus and cultural dynamics that contributed to the tragic outcomes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reconsidering Blame: The Case Against Targeting Brandon Grossheim

• Brandon’s Civil Suit: Parents of two victims are suing Brandon, alleging that his influence led to their sons' suicides. Brandon’s lawyer, Curtis Nywald, asserts his client is "not liable of anything yet," emphasizing the toll the case has taken on Brandon despite no formal blame (03:16).
• No Consensus Among Friends: Several close to the victims, like Ethan Trower (ex-boyfriend of victim Josh Thomas), deny Brandon’s culpability. Ethan never met Brandon and doesn’t hold him responsible, nor do his friends (05:09).
• Elena Bora’s Perspective: Elena, a close friend of Josh Thomas, struggles with the community's fixation on Brandon:

  "I have a hard time with all of the emphasis on Brandon because we failed Brandon too. Brandon needed things from us as a community that he did not get." – Elena Bora (06:06)
  She speculates that, at most, Brandon might not have discouraged Josh from suicide, but insists this "in no way does that mean that Brandon killed him."

2. Scrutinizing the Rumors: Suicidal Encouragement and Evidence

• Rumors of Instructions: Stories circulate that Brandon may have aided or encouraged suicide methods; e.g., a claim Brandon and Josh “looked up how to tie a noose” together (06:45–08:10). However, both Elena and another friend, Tristan Weiser, can’t verify these allegations.
• Police and Public Reports: No official evidence or police records substantiate claims that Brandon gave detailed suicide instructions (08:41).
• Complexity Over Simplification: Elena underscores the multifactorial nature of suicide:

  "Josh died of a preventable and fatal psychic wound that could have been healed at any of those moments if we as a community had those systems for healing." – Elena Bora (09:13)

3. Josh Thomas: Trauma, Mental Health Struggles, and Circumstances

• Josh’s Background: Josh Thomas endured severe trauma—he was raped as a teenager and had done sex work. He struggled at Truman State, experiencing isolation and harassment, and faced serious allegations that further stressed him (14:10).
• Suicide Attempts & Substance Use: Multiple prior attempts, substance abuse, and turbulence in relationships marked Josh’s final months. He had difficulty accessing medication due to insurance issues, and frequently drank or used drugs (14:10–16:50).
• Manifesto and Motive: Josh left a detailed suicide note—"T virus Takedown," connecting his suicide directly to his rape and psychological distress, not to Brandon (21:00).

  "I tried fighting off the virus... it just became too strong. No matter how much treatment I got or how many people I surrounded myself with, I just couldn’t win. I’m so sorry. I just can’t do it anymore. I love you all, but I lost." – Josh Thomas (Suicide Manifesto; summarized at 22:32)

4. Youth Suicide Clusters: Alcohol, Drugs & Mental Health

• Historical Context: The episode references other American suicide clusters, notably the 1987 Bergenfield, NJ case, and past research linking teen suicide clusters to substance abuse (28:17–31:32).
• Substance Use and Suicide Risk: Vic Schwartz, a counselor brought to Truman after the deaths, explains:

  "Most drugs impair people’s sense of judgment... Many people who die by suicide have alcohol in their system at the time of their death. The alcohol may have disinhibited them sufficiently to... give them the ability to take actions that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do." – Vic Schwartz (31:55)

• Pharmaceuticals + Alcohol: All suicide victims and Glenna Haut (who died from alcohol-related causes) were on psychiatric medications—antidepressants, antipsychotics, amphetamines—often contra-indicated for use with alcohol (32:52).
• Romantic Relationship Drama as a Recurring Motif: Every victim recently endured heartbreak or tumultuous breakups, echoing themes in literary works like Sorrows of Young Werther (35:45–37:52).

5. Reframe: Broader Causes Beyond Brandon

• Patterns Among Victims:
  • Pre-existing trauma
  • Mental illness (including previous suicide attempts)
  • Drug and alcohol abuse
  • Romantic and interpersonal turmoil
• Challenging the Media Narrative: Sensational headlines have painted an oversimplified, villainous portrait of Brandon (“Death Obsessed Frat bro Pushed five People to kill Themselves”), which the hosts argue doesn’t reflect the complex reality (37:52–38:43).
• Looking Ahead: The hosts tease the final episode’s focus on how media mishandling exacerbated public perceptions and the enduring consequences for the individuals and community.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Empathy and Accountability:

  "Brandon needed things from us as a community that he did not get." — Elena Bora (06:06)

• On the Role of the Community:

  "If we as a community had those systems for healing." — Elena Bora (09:13)

• On Learning from Tragedy:

  "I think a lot of the reason I became a therapist is because of what happened with Josh, right?" — Elena Bora (09:51)

• On Suicide Risk and Impulsivity:

  "Drugs impair people’s sense of judgment... The alcohol may have disinhibited them sufficiently to... take actions that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do." — Vic Schwartz (31:55)

• On Media Sensationalism:

  "You wouldn’t know it, though, from some of the headlines in the case... Death Obsessed Frat bro Pushed five People to kill Themselves." — Ben Westhoff (37:52)

• Literary Parallel:

  "I see no end to this misery but the grave." — From The Sorrows of Young Werther, read by Ryan Krull (37:52)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [03:07] — Trigger warning: Depression and Suicide
• [03:16–06:06] — Defense of Brandon Grossheim and the perspectives of friends
• [06:06–08:10] — Elena and rumors of assistance; speculation vs. evidence
• [09:13–10:09] — Systems of support and reflections on community
• [14:10–22:32] — Deep dive on Josh Thomas: trauma, relationships, substance use, suicide note
• [28:17–31:32] — Explaining youth suicide clusters and the role of drugs/alcohol
• [31:55–32:52] — Counselor Vic Schwartz on drugs, alcohol, and suicide risk
• [32:52–37:52] — Prescriptions, heartbreak, and cyclical trauma among victims
• [37:52–38:43] — Critique of media narrative and lead-in to the next episode

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Tone & Style Highlights

The episode’s tone is investigative yet compassionate, refusing easy answers or villains. The hosts prioritize empathy, context, and nuance, spotlighting the fracture lines in both campus culture and the national response to youth suicide.

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Summary Takeaway

Sex, Drugs, and Trauma pushes listeners to look beyond headlines and scapegoats. The Kirksville suicide cluster, it argues, was the tragic result of layered traumas, untreated mental illness, substance abuse, and institutional failures—not the sinister manipulations of one individual. The episode calls for greater community support, understanding, and more sophisticated narratives about grief and accountability.

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If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, support is available—call or text 988 for the suicide and crisis lifeline.

Transcript

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[Ben Westoff]

This episode discusses youth depression and suicide. These topics may be distressing for some listeners.

[Ryan Krull]

I do feel bad for Brian Grosse. I mean, the young man has been accused of a lot of things. He's not been found guilty of anything. He's not liable of anything yet. His name is in every major newspaper across America as a result of being tied into this. And you know, he has suffered as a result of these lawsuits. You know, I understand that the families have lost their children and they're upset, but I do feel bad for Brandon.

[Ben Westoff]

That's the lawyer for Brandon Grosseim named Curtis Nywald. I talked to him ahead of Brandon's civil trial, which is scheduled for next year. Brandon is being sued by the parents of two of the Kirksville suicide victims. They claim that if not for Brandon's influence, their sons would still be alive today. Now, is it predictable that Brandon's lawyer would defend him? Yes, of course. But he's not the only one. Many people we interviewed for this story came to Brandon's defense, even people who were close friends with the victims. This includes Ethan Trower, a former Truman State student. Ethan's ex boyfriend is Josh Thomas, the fourth suicide victim who killed himself in April of 2017 at the Alpha Kappa Lambda house. Ethan says he never met Brandon Grossheim. In fact, he never even heard about Brandon until BuzzFeed News published an article about him in 2019 entitled A Fraternity member who had a fascination with death Allegedly encouraged five People to kill themselves. Suffice it to say, Ethan doesn't blame Brandon and no one else he knows does either.

[Ryan Krull]

I know none of my friends who were friends with Josh. They didn't blame him. I know that.

[Ben Westoff]

We also talked to a young woman named Elena Bora, who during her time at Truman State, was close friends with Josh Thomas.

[Elena Bora]

Yeah, Josh and I were very close. I saw him every day. Like how much I would see my partner now, you know, in an earlier.

[Ben Westoff]

Episode, Elena described how Josh was a life of the party type, famous for his twerking at Truman State. Josh became friends with Brandon Grosseim, and they worked together at Polly I's pizza. And then when Josh was found hanging at the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity house, a piece of paper with Brandon's email addresses was found next to his body. Josh's friend Elena knows these stories. She knows all the stories about Brandon, and yet she doesn't blame him.

[Elena Bora]

I have a hard time with all of the emphasis on Brandon because we failed Brandon too. Brandon needed things from us as a community that he did not get. I think the worst thing that we can accuse him of is I think it's possible that he did not disclose discouraged Josh from dying by suicide. And I think it's possible that they were spending time together and looked up how to tie a noose. But in no way does that mean that Brandon killed him.

[Ben Westoff]

This was kind of a record skip moment when I heard her say this. Here we were talking about how she didn't blame Brandon, when all of a sudden she said it's possible that together they looked up how to tie a new. What exactly was going on here? This podcast series tells the story of the most infamous suicide cluster in American history. It's a production of iHeart podcasts and Coolfire Studios. I'm your host, Ben Westoff, along with Ryan Krull. This is the peacemaker. Alaina Bora went to Truman State, but now lives back in Kansas City, where she's from. At Truman, she was close friends with the suicide victim Josh Thomas. When we talked on the phone, she spoke a lot about Josh and also about Brandon Grosseim, whom she also knew. I was shocked to hear her say she thought it was possible. They looked up how to tie a noose together, and I asked her if she had any evidence of this.

[Elena Bora]

No, Josh never talked to me about any of that.

[Ben Westoff]

Is that just. Are you just guessing that could have happened?

[Elena Bora]

This is just in my mind, worst case scenario, what possibly we could pin on Brandon.

[Ben Westoff]

She also said she hadn't heard anyone accuse Brandon of this, but I had. Near the beginning of this series, you'll recall a woman named Tristan Weiser said Brandon sent text messages to the second suicide victim, Jake Hughes, about how to end it.

[Elena Bora]

I remember he had texted Jake things about how to do it and how to end it if he really wanted to put himself out of it. I remember that being said. How to tie it. I believe it was how to tie it. How to tie a knot that would.

[Ben Westoff]

Need to be done. Tristan also could not verify this claim. Hearing this type of allegation twice certainly made my ears prick up. It's not something that the police were aware of at all. At least it's not in their public reports. I was surprised though, that this didn't really seem to concern Elena. She didn't see Brandon as the boogeyman. Instead, she saw the situation as a lot more complex, like Brandon is not.

[Elena Bora]

The reason Josh died. Truman is not the reason Josh died. The person who caused this first trauma in Josh is not the reason Josh died. Josh died of a preventable and fatal psychic wound that could have been healed at any of those moments if we as a community had those systems for healing.

[Ben Westoff]

Elena brings really good energy. She's extremely thoughtful and eloquent. She actually said she learned a lot of difficult but important lessons from Josh's suicide. It helped inspire her, in fact, to become a therapist.

[Elena Bora]

I think a lot of the reason I became a therapist is because of what happened with Josh, right? I think I was looking to fix myself. I think I thought I was broken and I think I was looking for a way to understand what happened and stop it from happening to people closest to me.

[Ben Westoff]

Given all of her professional training, not to mention her empathetic demeanor, Elena is exactly the kind of friend I'd want if I were in the midst of a tragedy like the Kirksville suicide cluster. To be honest, talking with her made me wonder what would have happened if she was the one who was close with all of those kids who died rather than Brandon. I suspect she would have given them better advice.

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My main takeaway from my conversation with Elena was that she's right. The reasons people kill themselves can be complex. It's not just necessarily one thing or one person. In fact, each of these Kirksville suicide victims, every single one of them, had serious problems long before their friendships with Brandon Take Josh Thomas. As I mentioned, he was the fourth suicide victim in this cluster. He had just recently joined Alpha Kappa Lambda, and he was pretty gung ho about it, according to his friends. But he was not what you would think of as a typical frat broke. He was gay, and he was out of the closet. Although that actually wasn't a very big deal at akl. What many people didn't know is that Josh had a very dark past. He had been raped when he was younger and had done sex work. His time at Truman State was very difficult as well. In early 2017, he faced a sexual harassment charge from another male student following an incident at an AKL mixer. This is AKL member Austin Kerwood talking to police. He was, like, hitting the guy. He didn't know this, but the guy wasn't gay, and he made him uncomfortable. And so he filed a grievance against him. Josh, he said that the resolution was that he had to go to, like, an alcoholic class or something. The other student mentioned in this dispute filed a Title IX complaint, which apparently Josh apologized and the student forgave him. Then, in March, on a spring break trip, Josh attempted to take his own life. He'd traveled to South Padre island in Texas with a bunch of friends and fraternity brothers. At one point on that trip, he put a belt around his neck, and at another point, he threatened to stab himself with a steak knife. It's hard to know exactly what prompted this. According to a report that was later commissioned by Truman State, Josh had been rejected by a guy on a dating app. The guy in the dating app apparently called Josh fat. Another friend of Josh's believed he felt like he wasn't living up to the expectations he had set for himself. Himself. Once he was back in Kirksville following that tumultuous spring break, Josh told his fraternity brothers he was going through a rough patch. Still, he insisted he was now feeling better. But the truth is, he had other issues. He'd been taking antidepressants, but a few months earlier had been told to stop because they were no longer covered by his father's health insurance. He saw a counselor and at some point went on a different antidepressant. But his medication was supplemented with lots of alcohol. According to many sources, he was drinking quite heavily at this time. He also smoked weed. One of Josh's ex boyfriends said Josh was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Another of Josh's ex boy boyfriend, Ethan Trower, believed that while they were dating, Josh was cheating on him. And so, in response, Josh's boyfriend Ethan started cutting himself and said he would commit suicide if Josh wasn't there, according to a police report. Fortunately, Ethan never killed himself. I spoke with him not long ago, and it sounds like he's doing a lot better. But what jumps out at me is just how much suicide was on everyone's minds during this era. In the midst of the suicide cluster, all sorts of Truman State students were thinking dark thoughts. In fact, when Brandon Grossheim met with the guidance counselor, he gave her a list of people he believed were fragile and needed counseling. The list included six people. As we alluded to before, Grossheim seemed to keep close track of everyone he knew who was emotionally disturbed. Fortunately, no one on this list ended up killing themselves. But something else that's startling is how frequently people in our story would use suicide threats as weapons. That is, they would threaten to kill themselves in order to coax love from someone, or intimacy, or sex. You might remember the two women we talked about earlier in the series who claimed Brandon Grosseim seduced them by implying he'd have nothing to live for if they didn't sleep with him. Then there was the third suicide victim, Alex Vogt, who said he'd kill himself if his girlfriend Madeline, broke up with him. She stayed together with him, but he killed himself anyway. In the Kirksville suicide cluster, only one victim left a suicide note, at least that we know about. That was Josh Tavis, and it was actually something like a manifesto. The night of his death began like this. On the evening of April 5, 2017, he drove to St. Louis for a panic at the disco concert. When he returned home that night, very late, he came over to the fraternity. Now, keep in mind that while Josh was a member of akl, he didn't live at the house. He lived in the dorms. But for some reason, that night after the concert, he came to the house, and apparently without talking to anyone, he entered a storage room on the fraternity's second floor. It's not entirely clear what all this room was used for, beyond storing a bunch of old chairs and other items, but it was somewhere Josh could get some privacy, and he sat down at a table and began typing on his laptop. He appears to have been in a state of extreme agitation. One Quora page he'd opened posed the question, does it hurt to die of a sleeping pill overdose? He was also writing a personal essay, one that ultimately doubled as his suicide note. And then, at some point after 4am he hung himself in the room with a dog leash. Josh was found soon after. A fraternity member's girlfriend found a napkin that Josh had slipped under the door before he killed himself. On the napkin was written, smoke a bowl in my memory. Stay perfect, guys. Josh. The napkin had $48 cash inside of it. But that wasn't all. It turns out Josh had left another napkin which was draped over his laptop, which said, read me. It referenced the essay he'd written still sitting there open on his laptop. This essay, the manifesto, was Josh's suicide note. It described Josh's trauma following being raped at age 15. The essay was called T virus Takedown, with T standing for trauma and the virus a metaphor for his unrelenting psychological distress from the rape. I tried fighting off the virus, he concluded in the essay. It just became too strong. No matter how much treatment I got or how many people I surrounded myself with, I just couldn't win. I'm so sorry. I just can't do it anymore. I love you all, but I lost. Now, as for the piece of paper with Brandon's email addresses that was found near Josh's body, it's not clear where that came from. It may have fallen out of Josh's pocket. Why he would have had it is also unclear. According to the civil lawsuit filed against Brandon, at one point, Josh told Brandon he was the person he trusted more than anyone else. But Brandon told the New Yorker that at the time of Josh's death, Brandon's phone was broken and that they hadn't spoken for a bit. Whatever the case, Josh's suicide manifesto made one thing very clear. He drew a direct line from being raped to committing suicide. There was nothing about Brandon in the essay. And so for that reason, it seems difficult to blame Brandon for his death. Listen, I'm not trying to let Brandon off the hook, and I'm not saying it's entirely clear cut. If Brandon helped Josh look up suicide techniques, for example, that's inexcusable. But Josh undoubtedly had strong demons. There was his trauma from the rape, not to mention self loathing for some of his own actions. His substance abuse may have been a contributing factor too. Not to mention his on again, off again use of antidepressants. There was clearly a lot more at play here than just the influence of Brandon Grossheim. Like we've said over and over, it's a disturbing pattern how close Brandon was to all of these guys who killed themselves. But there were other patterns as well, like previous suicide attempts, recent bad breakups with lovers, and major substance abuse issues. These patterns make one wonder. What if Brandon Grosseim wasn't to blame for these deaths? What if instead, the problem was trauma, sex and drugs.

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[Ben Westoff]

As shocking as the Kirksville suicide Cluster was, clusters in particular aren't anything new in the US this phenomenon came onto many people's radars in the 1980s. Early in this series, we talked about a famous suicide cluster from 1987 in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Two young men are and a pair of sisters entered into a suicide pact and then died after sitting in a running car in a closed garage. The case was highly publicized and inspired as many as 35 imitators, all of whom killed themselves in similar ways. After the Bergenfield deaths, the New York Times published a story with the headline Youth Suicide a Common Pattern. The story quoted a professor of child psychiatry at Columbia University named Dr. David Schaefer, who said that suicide pacts like this one were actually very uncommon. But, he added, in a high proportion of youth suicides, particularly among older teenagers, drugs or alcohol are involved. In Another story from 1987, the Bergen County Record wrote, most authorities attribute the suicide epidemic to the soaring incidence of drug and alcohol abuse in the last decades. The story also quoted an expert who said substance abuse was implicated in more than 60% of teenage suicides. For the Kirksville suicide cluster victims, drugs and alcohol were simply part of the landscape. According to everyone we talked to, booze was an integral part of the Truman State University experience, and drug use was rampant at the two locations where the deaths took place, the Alpha Kappa Lambda house and the Journal Building apartment complex. I think that's a highly Overlooked aspect of this story. Alex Mullins, the first suicide victim, had been drinking the night of his death and sent a message to his fraternity brothers reading, if anyone has drugs in Kirksville, that is here, please hit me up. I don't care the price. Not having a good night, just need to forget. Jake Hughes, the second victim, dealt drugs. He did LSD and according to one of his fraternity brothers, suffered from substance abuse, though the member didn't specify which substance Hughes had also been drinking the night of his death. Alex Vogt, the third victim, also took LSD and, like the first two victims, had been drinking the night of his death. Josh Thomas, the fourth victim, was in aa, according to one of his friends, and was likely high the night of his death, according to one of his fraternity brothers. Glenna Hott, who died of a ruptured liver, had been recently told by a doctor that if she didn't stop drinking, she would die. According to her autopsy, severe acute alcohol intoxication may have contributed to her death. The fact that many, if not all of the victims had been drinking or using drugs the nights of their deaths may be significant, according to a counselor we talked to named Vic Schwartz. Vic Schwartz was brought to Truman in the wake of the deaths to speak to students on campus.

[Ryan Krull]

Most drugs impair people's sense of judgment and their ability to evaluate things clearly. Certainly when people are intoxicated, they're. You know, we talk about people being disinhibited. So people who are intoxicated or high on drugs will, you know, almost we. We take for granted that they will do things they might not on, in other circumstances, be willing to do. Many people who die by suicide have alcohol in their system at the time of their death. The alcohol may have disinhibited them sufficiently to, you know, sort of give them the quote, unquote. But I hate using the term courage, but give them the ability to take actions that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do because, you know, they. They'd have the ability to evaluate the consequences of what they're doing.

[Ben Westoff]

Now, of course, lots of young people, lots of college students, drink too much, smoke weed, do psychedelics, you name it, and then they just go on with their lives. But I think there's an important distinction here because most of the Kirksville victims had extensive mental health issues. All four suicide victims had tried killing themselves before, and they weren't just abusing alcohol and illegal drugs. They were also on highly potent pharmaceutical drug cocktails. All four suicide victims and Glenna Haut took prescription medications ranging from antidepressants and antipsychotics to benzodiazepines and amphetamines. These were prescribed by doctors. Yes, but make no mistake, they are extremely powerful drugs, and many explicitly warn against combining with alcohol. Even antidepressants have been connected to suicide. In 2004, the FDA began requiring all antidepressants to carry a warning, saying that they may increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behavior in children and adolescents. A 2010 paper in the scientific journal CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics said antidepressants can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in certain patients under certain conditions. When it comes to the Kirksville deaths, it's impossible to sort out if and how all of these substances, pharmaceutical and otherwise, affected the victims. And it's also difficult to untangle Brandon Grossheim from all of this. After all, Brandon was dropping acid and smoking weed and drinking with many members of this group. It may have been irresponsible of him to do so, but he certainly wasn't the only one. One thing we can't blame Brandon for was the victim's romantic troubles. And that was another major factor in deaths. Because right down the line, every single one of the victims, the two Alex's Jake, Josh and Glenna, had suffered recent heartbreak. Alex Mullin's girlfriend had broken up with him the night before he died. It's kind of a devastating story. According to a police report, they'd been drifting apart when he saw her at a Kirksville bar that night and they hugged. A bit later, he sent her a message from across the bar asking if they were still together. And then she basically broke up with him over text. Jake Hughes, meanwhile, was in a big fight with his girlfriend the night of his death. He remained really upset about Alex Mullins death three weeks earlier, and he didn't think his girlfriend was doing enough to support him in his time of mourning. When Alex Vogt's girlfriend said she wanted to break up with him, he threatened suicide. She ended up staying with him, but he still killed himself. Then there was the case of Josh Thomas. As noted, Josh had been raped at age 15 and he'd more recently had all sorts of relationship issues. He felt guilty for having cheated on a boyfriend, and then a different boyfriend had also suspected him of cheating. Finally, there was Glenna Hott, who also had major relationship drama. She just had a huge fight with her boyfriend over her drinking, and then, after leaving their home, appears to have drank herself to death. Remember the Sorrows of Young Werther, the 18th century novel by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that depicts the suicide of a heartbroken young man. The themes of this book reverberate in many ways with the stories of the Kirksville suicide cluster. You can almost imagine that some of these young people's interior monologues were like those of young Werther, who falls in love with a woman named Charlotte. The problem is that Charlotte is promised to another man and can never be his. Here's producer Ryan reading from the book as Werther talks to himself. I have so much and my feeling.

[Ryan Krull]

For her devours everything.

[Ben Westoff]

I have so much and without her everything is nothing.

[Ryan Krull]

I have no prayer anymore but her no shape or form but hers appears in my imagination and everything in the world all around me. I see only her in relation to adieu.

[Ben Westoff]

I see no end to this misery but the grave. All of this to say that while there's certainly a strong case to be made for Brandon Grossheim's culpability in these deaths, there's also a strong case against it. There's a lot of nuance to these stories, and it takes time to sort through them all. You wouldn't know it, though, from some of the headlines in the case Death Obsessed Frat bro Pushed five People to kill Themselves. Read the New York Post headline. Read cnn. A fraternity member gave step by step directions to five people who then killed themselves, a lawsuit alleges in our next and final episode, we'll talk about how the media not only got the story wrong, but may have brainwashed people against Brandon. We'll sort through everything that actually happened with Brandon and try to give a final assessment of his role in the Kirksville suicide cluster. We'll also explore the surprising reverberations this story has had on own its victims, the fraternity and school, and the entire city of Kirksville. That's next time on the Peacemaker. The Peacemaker is a production of Cool Fire Studios and iHeart Podcasts. It's hosted by me, Ben Westoff and Ryan Kroll. Our executive producers are Jeff Keane, David Johnson and Steve Lubert. Music and audio engineering by Brent Johnson. Executive producers for iHeart podcasts are Katrina Norvell and Nikki Etor. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, there are resources available to you. Please call the suicide and crisis lifeline988 you.

[Ryan Krull]

So Usually on okay Story Time, our audience will send in their relationship problems and the okay Storytime Squad gives some good advice. Goofly. But today we're not giving out our usual advice. Our producer Riley says we're giving something Else. So what are we doing today, Riley? Today we're playing a little game. Game. Game. Says the man. I bought special gifts for you guys from ebay. Each one picked with one of you in mind. Yeah, Dakota, if you want to.

[Elena Bora]

Yes.

[Ryan Krull]

All right. There is a gift at my feet. Open that. And now it is in my hand. I feel like it's got to be our resident gamer. Key. This is the rectangle of childhood. It's a portable game console.

[Ben Westoff]

I used to have this as a kid.

[Ryan Krull]

This game console. I used to play all the time. And you know when your mom came.

[Ben Westoff]

Into the room when you're a kid.

[Ryan Krull]

And like you're pretending to sleep. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ben Westoff]

But Riley, what a thoughtful gift. Yeah, right.

[Ryan Krull]

You're crushing it. But we have one more gift. Yeah. Open it.

[Ben Westoff]

Oh, camera.

[Ryan Krull]

Yeah, an old timey camera.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser]

That's right.

[Ryan Krull]

Classic. This is awesome. Yeah, because you know how I love to take pictures of my travels. Yeah, you're always somewhere, whether it's in Kyrgyzstan with some nomads or just New York, you know, with a nice little. A piece of trash or a rat little.

[Ben Westoff]

Nice picture taking pictures with the birds.

[Elena Bora]

So.

[Ryan Krull]

Right. You got all of this from ebay, dude, ebay. It was really fun finding it with you guys. Like I much had so very specific things for each one of you.

[Ben Westoff]

Yeah, it was all there. Thanks, Riley.

[Ryan Krull]

And thank you, ebay. And guys, shop ebay for millions of fines, each with a story. EBay, things people love.

[Guardian Bikes Advertiser]

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[Annabe Sofa Advertiser]

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[Jacob Goldstein]

Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Business software is expensive, and when you buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate. Odoo solves that, because all Odoo software is connected on a single, affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data. Odoo has over 60 apps available for any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting. All linked and talking to each other. Check out Odoo at o d o o.com that's o d o o.com Ah.

[Ben Westoff]

Greetings from my bath festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money. Getting 5% cash back when I pay in 4. No fees, no interest.

[Ryan Krull]

I used it to get this portable spa with jets.

[Ben Westoff]

Now the bubbles can cling to my.

[Ryan Krull]

Sculpted but pruney body.

[Ben Westoff]

Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal. Save the offer in the app ends 1231.

[Ryan Krull]

See paypal.com promoter points can be redeemed for cash and more.

[Ben Westoff]

Paying for subject to terms and approval. PayPal Inc. And MLS 910457 this is an iHeart podcast.

[Narrator/Host]

Guaranteed human.