True Crime Bullsh**: The Israel Keyes Investigation

Season 7 Finale – Episode 0714 | Changes

Host: Josh Hallmark
Release Date: March 19, 2026

Episode Overview

This season finale, titled “Changes,” is a deep reflection on the evolving and often ambiguous nature of the investigation into serial killer Israel Keyes. Host Josh Hallmark recounts the journey of the True Crime Bullsh** team as they grapple with shifting evidence, new leads, and the importance of allowing perspectives to change in the face of new information. The episode revisits a previously unreleased investigation in Arkansas, connecting it to Keyes' potential activities in the American South, and concludes by urging the necessity of remaining adaptive and open-minded in cold case work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolving Nature of the Keyes Investigation

[01:41]

• Hallmark opens by emphasizing the ever-changing landscape of the investigation:

  "As time goes on and things change with and across the FBI, local law enforcement does and missing persons cases, we're constantly learning more about Israel Keyes. We receive new files, new tips, new info from HALA, new sightings, new points of contact and each one of those changes what we know and what we thought we knew."

• The podcast reflects the challenges and necessity of accepting uncertainty and being willing to change minds as new facts emerge.
• Hallmark recounts an episode from 18 months prior that never aired because its evidence felt too circumstantial, using this as a case study in responsible investigative standards.

2. The Arkansas Tip: A Case Study in Uncertainty

[07:10]

• A detailed email from a listener in Arkansas describes two possible encounters with Israel Keyes between 2005 and 2008 at:
  • University of Arkansas Student Union
  • Lowe’s Home Improvement in Springdale, AR
• Notable details:
  • The distinctive laugh of the man she suspected was Keyes.
  • The Lowe’s customer purchased a bucket, concrete, and used a contractor discount.
  • Links to Beaver Lake, where bodies with “homemade concrete weights” were reportedly recovered.
  • Proximity to Highway 412, which has longstanding ties to unsolved cases (the “NamUs 45” missing girls) previously considered in connection with Keyes.

Quote:

“It’s the laugh that makes me certain it was him…His hair was long and gross.”
— Arkansas tipster’s email [07:54]

3. Rethinking Geographic Focus: Route 412 & Highway 71

[16:54]

• The team connects the Arkansas sightings to names and places already orbiting their investigation—Carthage, MO; Springdale and Fayetteville, AR—all close to crucial interstates and the Ozark Mountains.
• Hallmark recounts an earlier tip from Carthage, MO, where a woman recalled Keyes soliciting handyman jobs in Spring 2006, mapping to the same geographic corridor and migratory path as the Arkansas tip.
• Patterns emerge:
  • Spring disappearances of young girls across Missouri and Tennessee
  • Keyes' computer searches for cases along Route 412, suggesting a planned or patterned approach to victim selection

4. Investigating Beaver Lake and the Limits of Evidence

[26:52]

• The team attempts to confirm alleged claims about bodies found in Beaver Lake weighted with concrete—matching Keyes’ known methods.
• Despite at least 132 drownings and stories of “homemade concrete anchors,” no media or law enforcement record definitively supports the claims, revealing the difficulties inherent in crowdsourced or anecdotal leads.
• Connections drawn between Beaver Lake, Table Rock Lake (MO), and the wider region underscore both potential and limitations in finding patterns.

5. The Reddit Revelation: The Hazards of Online Sleuthing

[37:07]

• Hallmark discovers the language from the Arkansas tipster's email appearing verbatim on Reddit a day before the email, prompting fears the tip was fabricated or “trolling.”
• After contacting the tipster and later interviewing her, Hallmark finds her credible, noting she provided receipts, schedules, and details consistent with “holdback” material.
• Raises issues of memory distortion, the risk of contamination by online information, and the ethics of relying on community submissions.

Quote:

“At a minimum we believed that she believed it was Keyes. At most, we felt it garnered further investigation.”
— Josh Hallmark [40:10]

6. The Broader Southern “Hotspot” Theory

[40:40]

• Even if the Arkansas sighting didn’t hold, a constellation of Keyes-related anomalies formed a “circle around Arkansas and Route 412,” including:
  • Wichita, KS
  • Various Missouri towns
  • Tennessee towns (notably the NamUs 45 cases)
  • Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas
• Subsequent new evidence ties Keyes more firmly to the South:
  • His car rental contacts/sex worker numbers with southern area codes
  • Confirmed trips and connections to Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas
  • Connections to missing-person cases (e.g., Barbara Blount in Louisiana)
  • A literal Arkansas map found among Keyes’ possessions

7. Methodological Reflection: Change as Principle

[43:20]

• Hallmark stresses the importance of discarding dogma and allowing for the possibility of being wrong:

  “Normalize changing your mind based on new information… Your opinion is only as valuable as the information you have. And the information you have will always change and evolve. Thus, so should your opinion.”

• Questions arise about:
  • The extent of Keyes' geographic span
  • His use of his social circle in facilitating crimes
  • Potential for accomplices
  • Willingness to revisit previously dismissed theories

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On investigative humility:

  “If I’ve learned anything from this investigation, it’s that there’s no room for dogma or ego. That in order to best know the world, you have to be willing to know nothing about the world.”
  — Josh Hallmark, [03:32]

• On the Arkansas tip and regional connections:

  "The lake’s northernmost point is less than seven miles from the Arkansas Missouri state line."
  — Josh Hallmark, [26:52]

• On reevaluating the broader investigation:

  “One giant circle around Arkansas and Route 412. One giant hotspot with a clear center.”
  — Josh Hallmark, [38:14]

• On the necessity for continuous reevaluation:

  “The more you decide you know about a person, the less space you give them to be who they actually are. You stop seeing what’s in front of you.”
  — Josh Hallmark, [44:10]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:41] – Introduction to the finale and the investigation’s ever-changing nature
• [07:10] – Reading and analyzing the Arkansas email tip
• [15:28] – Discussion of the Carthage, MO tip and connecting regional sightings
• [16:54] – Mapping disappearances and tips in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee
• [26:52] – Deep dive into Beaver Lake’s history and its significance
• [37:07] – The Reddit post revelation and interview with the Arkansas tipster
• [40:40] – The emergence of an American South “hotspot” for Keyes’ activities
• [43:20] – Reflection on the principle of change in long-running investigations
• [47:00+] – Closing credits, acknowledgment of team members and Patreon supporters

Conclusion & Forward Look

Josh Hallmark concludes the finale with a powerful meditation on the value of remaining flexible, evidence-driven, and self-critical in complex investigations like the Israel Keyes case. The episode sets up new regional priorities for Season 8, including several overlooked or newly connected areas such as Arkansas and the American South. Hallmark pledges to continue challenging assumptions and following the evidence, wherever it leads.

For listeners new to the series, “Changes” encapsulates the intellectual rigor, openness, and evolving perspective that define True Crime Bullsh and invites them to see true crime investigation as a process, not a destination.**