Love Triangle Ends in Horror Because of This Psycho… the Case of Alex Woodworth

Summary

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True Crime with Kendall Rae Episode Summary

Love Triangle Ends in Horror Because of This Psycho… the Case of Alex Woodworth

Podcast: True Crime with Kendall Rae
Release Date: August 21, 2025
Host: Kendall Rae
Production: Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios

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Overview

In this gripping episode, Kendall Rae investigates the harrowing 2018 murder of Alex Woodworth—a gentle, highly intelligent young man whose life was cut short in a crime fueled by manipulation, lies, and psychological turmoil. Rae approaches the case with her signature empathy, focusing first on Alex as the overlooked victim in a narrative often dominated by the killer, Ezra McCandless. Through meticulous storytelling, direct quotes, and trial audio, she delves into the toxic love triangle, the intricate web of deceit, the crime itself, and the courtroom drama that followed.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Honoring the Victim: Who Was Alex Woodworth?

[01:36–05:45]

• Alex Woodworth (b. 1994, St. Croix Falls, WI) was the eldest of four siblings, beloved by his family and friends.
• Described as deeply kind, intellectual, compassionate, and “someone who loved the unlovely” (his father’s words).
• Excelled academically, received a philosophy degree, tutored, aimed to be a professor.
• Post-college life centered in Eau Claire: worked at Racy Delaney’s café, adored for his warmth and quirky interests.

“He just honestly sounds like someone I would love to be friends with. He sounds like a real salt of the earth, good person.” — Kendall Rae [06:00]

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2. The Introduction of Ezra McCandless

[07:42–14:45]

• Born Monica K. in 1997; changed her name inspired by “Into the Wild”’s Christopher McCandless.
• Early life marked by family instability, but cultivated creativity in art and an eccentric, attention-seeking persona.
• Explored gender identity in high school (“Ezra has called this part of her life a phase... now identifies with she/her pronouns.” — Kendall Rae [10:15]).
• Relationship with older boyfriend Jason Mangels (Ezra was 19, Jason 34).
• Intermingled with Alex and Jason through Eau Claire’s coffee shop community, leading to a tangled, toxic love triangle.

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3. The Love Triangle Becomes a Web of Lies and Betrayals

[15:00–28:40]

• Jason and Alex were friends; both became romantically involved with Ezra.
• Ezra lied about her age, manipulated both men emotionally.
• She also initiated a sexual relationship with Jason’s friend, John Hanse, which led to her making false accusations of sexual assault against him.
• Police found these claims baseless—text messages and witness stories contradicted her narrative.

“She’s just a pathetic, manipulative liar who used these allegations of abuse and assault to excuse her terrible choices...” — Kendall Rae [25:29]

• Following exposure and social fallout (accusations, vandalism, eviction by her mother), Ezra’s life became unravelled.

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4. The Day of the Murder: March 22, 2018

[29:50–34:00]

• Ezra made suspicious, erratic visits around town. Her ex, Jason, sensed something was wrong and found her at Alex’s house.
• Police were called but found no cause for intervention. Ezra and Alex left together.
• Hours later, a bloodied and disheveled Ezra appeared at Don Sipple’s farmhouse, claiming to have been attacked in the woods, unable to recall her name but repeatedly requesting Jason.

911 Call by Don Sipple: “She just says she don’t know. She’s in kind of bad shape.” [32:20]

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5. The Investigation and Discovery of the Crime

[34:05–39:00]

• Medical staff noted Ezra’s injuries did not match her story—most notable was the word “boy” carved into her arm.
• Police soon discovered Alex’s body, brutally stabbed 16 times and left halfway out of Ezra’s car in a muddy field.
• Forensic evidence contradicted any theory of self-defense; initial wounds indicated Alex was ambushed from behind.

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6. Interrogation: Ezra’s Changing Stories

[43:00–57:11]

• In interviews, Ezra gave multiple, inconsistent accounts:
  • First, claimed amnesia.
  • Later, accused Alex of violent attack, describing implausible fights and self-defense maneuvers.
• Detectives poked holes in her stories:

“If Alex really had carved the word ‘boy’ into her arm... he would have had to do it upside down and backwards from his angle. Not to mention, Alex was right handed... it just makes no sense.” — Kendall Rae [42:57]

• Eventually admits: “I carved ‘boy’ into my own arm.” [63:15]

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7. Trial and Prosecution

[66:44–93:40]

• Prosecution: Ezra lured Alex to an isolated spot, killed him, staged the scene, and lied to frame self-defense.

• Defense: Claimed Ezra was battling for her life.

• Telling Details:

  • Ezra’s demeanor in court was dissonant: “smiling, giggling while describing a situation that she said was so violent, it required her to take someone’s life.” — Kendall Rae [71:20]
  • Prosecution exposed her lies regarding the car, wounds, and timeline.
  • Forensic pathologists testified that none of Alex’s wounds would have been instantly fatal; he likely suffered for an extended period.

• Notable Courtroom Moment:

“I would like to see Ezra released from prison at some point in her life... I would like to ruin that for her again and cast her out into the wider world... I want her to agonize with each new person that she meets... Actions have consequences and to simply lock her away... will bar her from the full complement of consequences...” — Alex’s friend, Court Fox [101:34]

• Outcome:
  • Jury found Ezra McCandless guilty of first-degree intentional homicide.
  • Sentenced to life in prison, eligible for parole after 50 years (2070) [90:16, 100:10].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Alex’s Life:

  • “The one person who would be the best at helping me get through this is gone.” — Court Fox, Alex’s friend [64:18]
  • “Alex loved the unlovely.” — Alex’s father, as quoted by Kendall Rae [07:30]

• On Ezra’s Deceit:

  • “She’s just a pathetic, manipulative liar who used these allegations... to excuse her terrible choices.” — Kendall Rae [25:29]
  • “It’s honestly pretty unbelievable just how quickly her story unraveled. But I’m glad that she’s such a stupid liar, because now investigators could see very easily who the real perpetrator was.” — Kendall Rae [64:18]

• Victim Impact:

  • “We will never know where life is leading him. He’s gone. And so is a good part of our lives as well. A hole that can never be filled.” — Alex’s friend (court statement) [95:53]

• On Justice & Sentencing:

  • “Actions have consequences... I would like to see her struggle for friends, employment, housing, knowing that the pall of her actions weigh over her.” — Court Fox [101:34]

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Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:----------:|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:36 | Introduction to Alex Woodworth & his life | | 07:42 | Background on Ezra McCandless | | 14:45 | Ezra’s relationship with Jason Mangle, initiation of love triangle | | 15:00–28:40| False accusations, love triangle complications, Ezra's manipulations | | 29:50 | The day of the crime; Jason’s suspicions; the police’ first involvement | | 32:20 | Don Sipple’s 911 call (Ezra’s post-crime state) | | 34:05 | Discovery of Alex’s body | | 43:00 | Interrogation: Ezra’s series of changing stories | | 57:11 | Detective confronts Ezra, she admits to self-inflicted “boy” carving | | 66:44 | Trial proceedings; prosecution and defense strategies emerge | | 72:13 | Ezra’s testimony: further contradictions, manipulations | | 90:16 | Verdict: Guilty of First-Degree Intentional Homicide | | 91:13 | Victim impact statements; emotional court recollections by Alex’s loved ones | | 100:21 | Ezra's statement at sentencing; attempts at remorse | | 101:34 | Court Fox’s unique sentencing wish |

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Final Thoughts & Tribute to Alex Woodworth

Kendall Rae closes by refocusing on Alex’s memory, urging listeners to honor him, not by fixating on his killer, but through acts of kindness and compassion reflective of the person Alex was.

“Maybe this is cheesy, I don’t know. But perhaps one way that we can honor him is just by being kind to one another today... Go do something the way Alex would do it.” — Kendall Rae [103:26]

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Summary for Listeners

This episode is a masterclass in victim-centered storytelling and critical analysis of courtroom theatrics and forensic evidence. Rae maintains an empathetic but tough tone, dissecting manipulations while championing the dignity of the victim. Listeners will understand not just the mechanics of the crime but the profound emotional fallout and the rare moments of genuine justice within the U.S. legal system.

(Ad, intro, and outro sections have been omitted from this summary.)

Transcript

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[Kendall Rae]

Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today and if you're new to the show, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you. Well guys, today I've got to say, the case that I'm going to be covering I'm going to be telling you about is one of the weirdest cases I have ever come across. There were so many moments when researching this case where I just felt flabbergasted. I mean, I've covered plenty of toxic love triangles, unfortunately, but it will never cease to shock me how far some people are actually willing to take things. I'm going to be telling you about the murder of Alex Woodworth, who seemed like such a sweet soul and his life was brutally taken by someone who was selfishly just trying to fix their own reputation. Now, getting into the case here, of course, as always, I like to start by telling you as much as I can about the victim and Alex. Like I said he seemed like a phenomenal human. And it made me really sad when prepping for this episode, because in pretty much all of the coverage on the case, he is very overshadowed by his killer. And it's, I think, because her behavior is so outlandish and insane that most of the coverage spends most of the time talking about her. But he gets kind of lost in the storytelling oftentimes, and he was a really, really cool person that deserves to be highlighted and talked about. So I want to start out by telling you about him. Of course. So Alexander Woodworth was born on January 1, 1994, in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, to John and Kimberly Woodworth. And he grew up in Osceola, Wisconsin. He was the oldest of four. And that is a role that he really seemed to be amazing at, because all of his siblings just adored him. And here's a sweet example of that. Okay, so his sister Sarah said that when they were kids, she ended up cutting her hair very short because she wanted to fit in with all the neighborhood boys so that she could play with them, but also to spend more time with Alex. And another thing you'll pick up about Alex is he was super, super smart, and he really used that gift to try and help his younger siblings in school. And his sister said that she really struggled with English and Math Girl same. And Alex would spend hours tutoring her and even created her worksheets to help her learn, which I thought was just so cool that he was willing to go the extra mile like that. And it really paid off because she ended up getting the highest score on the English portion of the act, which I remember being very hard. And she credits him for that accomplishment and his natural talents and really just love for academics carried on as he got older. After graduating from high school in 2012, he attended the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, where he received his bachelor's degree in philosophy and a minor in biology. And his fellow students describe Alex as astonishing and impressive, but also very kind, which I think is the most important quality to have. And one of his good friends said that Alex was just remarkable in class and really drew attention for his intelligence. And he recalled wanting to be friends with him so bad that he ended up joining the philosophy book club that Alex had started just to make that friendship happen. And then another friend said he was kind of like this super intellectual, very sensitive person. He just knew everything. So clearly, Alex was an overall very driven and passionate person. And he also seemed to be a very deep person. So naturally, philosophy ended up being just a great passion of his and everyone who knew him said that he was fascinated by different philosophical concepts and could often be found reading or journaling about them. He loved to engage in conversations and debates about different theories. And not because he cared about being right or wrong or like, proving his point at the end of the day, but because he really just wanted to exercise his mind. And, you know, at the end of the day, most people described him as so much more than just being smart and having a lot of, you know, knowledge up in his noggin and a lot of things to say. But he was also just very warm and a caring person who many described as very understanding and truly thoughtful. He just honestly sounds like someone I would love to be friends with. He sounds like a real salt of the earth, good person. And, oh, I loved this. His father once said that Alex loved the unlovely, which I've never heard that before, but that's such a beautiful way to describe someone. He said that his thing was to find stuff that people didn't care for and make sure that they were taken care of. Like, for. For instance, he loved insects, and he would never kill bugs or spiders that were inside, and instead he would, you know, transfer them kindly outside, relocate them, rehome them, however you want to put it, which, honestly, is something I should probably try to do, but I am terrified of spiders. Anyway. I can try to be more like Alex, I guess. And then another friend once talked about how he shared his writing with Alex because he trusted his opinion, which can be a pretty vulnerable thing for a writer to do. But he gave him the support he needed to feel good about the direction of his writing. And that just truly seemed to be who Alex was. He was someone who wanted to help others and make the world a kinder place. And after graduating college, he wanted to go on to graduate school, of course, and work towards eventually becoming a philosophy professor at the University of Oregon. So he decided to stay in Eau Claire while applying for schools, which makes sense because he had built a wonderful community for himself there. So in 2017, while working towards his dreams, he tutored on campus, he filled in as a substitute teacher, and he also worked as a barista at a coffee shop called Racy Delaney's. His co workers and regular customers loved his presence there and described him as friendly, welcoming, and funny. And I guess one of the regulars there said that everyone knew him as the barista who would always listen to weird music and read about philosophy for hours. And to me, it seems like Alex was the type of person who just really didn't give a damn about what anyone thought about him, and he was just proud to be who he was. And I think people really admired that about him. But unfortunately, it was during this time, which seemed to be a great time in Alex's life, that he met the worst person to ever come into his life, and that is Ezra McCandless. Now, Alex first met Ezra at this local bar in Eau Claire called the Joint, and she said that she saw Alex intensely writing. An old. Was so curious that she basically just walked up to him and said, what are you writing? And then he started telling her about the philosophical ideas he was taking notes on, which led them to having a deep conversation. And Ezra was actually there with her boyfriend, Jason, who eventually came over to check in. But that didn't stop the two of them from chatting. And according to her, the two of them talked for hours about their love of spiders, theoretical concepts, and common interests. And after that night, their friendship formed. But before I tell you more about how things evolved between the two of them, I need to tell you more about her. So, Ezra. Ezra. Ezra. My God. Oh, here we go. So her full name is Ezra McCandless, but she was actually born Monica K. On October 6, 1997, to a single mother, Rosalina, who was just 14 years old when she gave birth, and the two of them lived in the small town of Stanley, Wisconsin. Her biological father was never part of her life, but when she was 4, her mom's partner, Joe Shane Carlin, adopted her. So then she became Monica Carlin. And then shortly after that, Joshane and Rosalina had Ezra's younger brother. But the two of them had a very toxic relationship and ended up having a very messy divorce when Ezra was 12 years old. They ended up splitting custody of their young son, but Ezra stayed with her mother, who then started seeing a guy named David Gunnelson. And he would eventually move in with them, marry Rosalina, and they would have a daughter, Ezra's half sister. So when you hear all of this, obviously Ezra's early years seem to be rather tumultuous, but she definitely found an outlet in art, and she was really interested in painting, drawing, and also photography. And while she was in high school, Ezra began exploring her gender identity and experimented with more traditionally masculine hair and clothes. And I want to be very clear on something. Ezra has called this part of her life a phase. And I also want to be clear that those are her words, not mine, and she now identifies with she. Her pronouns, which is why I'm obviously using those today. But Anyway, let's just say Ezra's friends described her as very different from the way that Alex's friends described him. People who knew her described her as a sort of zany person who loved attention, which will become very clear. She liked to stand out, so much so that she covered her car with all these original drawings and doodles that made it very distinct. And then after high school, Ezra attended college in Marionette, Wisconsin, but she ended up dropping out during the first year and moved back in with her mom in Stanley. And it was around this time in 2015 that she got her name officially changed to Ezra McCandless. Now she decided on the first name, seeing it in a book during a family vacation. And I guess the name just gave her a wonderful feeling, which I will say I do love the name Ezra. I think it does give me a wonderful feeling as well. Well, maybe not after learning about her, but I do know some great Ezra's. Anyway, the last name I guess was Inspired by Christopher McCandless. And if you're not familiar with him, because I was not. He was a young man who traveled across North America with only his essentials in the early 90s to explore different areas of nature. But unfortunately he passed away in an abandoned city bus on the Stampede Trail in Fairbanks, Alaska. And ever since then he has become a really fascinating character, especially to nature enthusiasts. So much so that he was the central figure of the popular 1996 book into the Wild and the 2007 movie adaptation which really popularized him more for the younger generations. I don't know about you guys, but the amount of scam text messages and calls and even through telegram that I get are so annoying. I was just talking about it with my cousin this morning. It's insane how many text messages I get every day that are pretending to be like a job recruiter or telling me I just won the lottery and it's like I've always gotten those. But does anyone feel like there's more and more of that lately? Well, when it comes to your money, you deserve to feel safe from fraud and in control. And that's exactly what you can accept with Cash App. I've been using Cash App for years. I fully, fully trust. It's always convenient for me. Easy for me. It's clear to navigate to use. 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So spend with peace of mind today or order a Cash App card in the app or at Cash App Card. And for a limited time, new Cash App customers can use my exclusive exclusive code to earn some additional cash for real. Just download Cash App and use my exclusive referral code TCKR10 in your profile and send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's Bank Partners Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank Member FDIC Instant discounts provided by Cash App, a Block Inc. Brand. Visit Cash App Legal Podcast for full disclo Now Ezra claimed that she related so deeply to Chris's love of nature and philosophy that she took his last name to honor him. But even though she now had this new last name, she was still very indecisive about what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. So after dropping out, she wasn't in a hurry to find a job, so she ended up spending a lot of her free time just hanging out in Eau Claire. And it was there that she met her future boyfriend, Jason Mangle, who was an Army Reserve medic living in town. And I did mention him earlier, but the two of them met one night outside of racy Delanes when Jason stopped in after his bike got a flat tire on his way home from work. The place was closed, but his friend Alex Woodworth was working, so he let him in to grab some coffee. Then Jason sat on a bench outside and let out a huge sigh. And that's when Ezra, who was lying down on another bench nearby, popped up and asked him what he was so upset about.

[Ezra McCandless]

Out.

[Kendall Rae]

They talked For a while, they exchanged Instagram handles before parting ways. And then they started DMing. And just two weeks later, the two of them already started dating. And here's the real kicker, you guys. Ezra was 19 and Jason was 34. And look, sometimes age gaps in relationships oftentimes can work just fine. I'm not here to judge. Oftentimes they're healthy and not a problem. But I gotta say, in my opinion, this specific relationship and the age gap here was kind of sus. Because, I mean, this is in my opinion, but Ezra was a legal adult, but she was 19, she's still a teenager and Jason is 34. That's a pretty big difference. I mean, to think about the life experience and emotional maturity that you go through from 19 to 34. But it is really important to note here that Jason claimed that Ezra led him to believe that she was actually older than she was and that he didn't learn about her exact age until they were deep into their relationship. And I'm not entirely sure if that's how it actually went down. That's according to him. But knowing her track record, which we haven't even gotten into yet, I would not be shocked if she lied to him. But either way, whether age was a factor or not, things between the two of them took off very quickly. Before long, the two of them were calling each other wife and husband and saying, I love you. Ezra confided in him that her home life was toxic and that her mom would pressure her too much. So Jason offered for Ezra to come stay with him and his roommate, and he said that she could just chip in whatever she could until she was able to find a job. And she fully took him up on this offer. And that brings us back to when Ezra met Alex at the joint. Ezra and Jason also regularly went to Racy Delaney's and would often see Alex working there. And like I mentioned, Alex and Jason were friends. And it seems like Racy's had many regulars who became sort of this tight knit community, even nicknaming themselves Racy's Rats. And Ezra and Jason kind of integrated themselves into this group, but behind closed doors, things were getting rocky between them. And In October of 2017, she ended up finding out that she was pregnant and he completely gave her the choice on what to do. She decided not to go through with the pregnancy, and the appointment for that unfortunately fell on her 20th birthday. And going through all of this really took a strain on their relationship. And Jason, I guess, started sleeping on the couch and really isolating himself while Ezra started to seek comfort in her relationship with Alex Woodworth. The two of them, Alex and Ezra, started spending a lot of time together. And at first Jason really encouraged this because he thought the friendship would be a good source of support during this hard time. But somewhere along the way, it turned into a sexual relationship and the two of them started to develop feelings for each other. And Alex even told some of his friends that he was falling in love with. But things weren't exactly smooth between the two of them either. And before long, things took a very intense turn. At some point she was over at his house when he got a cut across his wrist. And I am purposefully being very vague phrasing this because it's not fully clear what happened here. Alex told his friends that it was an accident, yet she told people that he was self harming because she wouldn't leave Jason for him. But Ezra, as I've already really hinted to here and is going to become even more clear as we go, is a super unreliable narrator. She is someone that I just don't trust at all. So I wouldn't be surprised if she made that up. But it also, it could be true. I don't know where Alex was at mentally at this time, but I tend to want to just believe what he said because I have no reason not to believe Alex. But either way, she ends up calling Jason to come help because he has experience as an army medic, so he knew how to tend to wounds. And he came right over. And at this point you got to remember, he has no idea that Alex and Ezra are having an affair. He thinks he's just a friend helping out a friend. And if you think this is all complicated now, it's only going to get more so. So hang in there. And this is when another man enters the mix. In February of 2018, Jason had to go to a field training for a few weeks. So he asked his friend John Hanse to come look after Ezra while he was gone because she had a tendency to isolate herself. Now John and Jason were very close and spent a lot of time together playing Dungeons and Dragons. And sometimes Ezra would join them, or she used to, because at some point along the way she got very self conscious about not fully understanding how to play the game and started just refusing to play anyway. I guess whenever Jason would want to go play Dungeons and Dragons, she would like freak out, throw a complete fit and eventually he would agree to stay home. And so he stopped playing one of his favorite games with his friends as much as he used to, which I think is really sad and manipulative. And so Ezra. But anyways, I guess since the three of them knew each other well, John was trusted to spend time with Ezra while Jason was away. Why she needed someone there, I don't know. I don't know. So one of these nights, John invites Ezra to come over to his house and the two of them start drinking along with his roommate. And yes, she was still under 21 at the time. And, well, turns out Jason shouldn't have trusted Mr. John because they ended up sleeping together that night. And it wasn't the only time, because when he dropped her off the next morning, they hooked up again in Jason's bed. So yeah, super fucked up. And then shortly after that, she texted Jason that she was moving out of the apartment, which he was of course shocked by, and she went to go stay with her mom. And after he got back in town, Ezra was having a hard time in Stanley, but couldn't come back to Jason's because his roommate didn't like her. But even though things weren't great between them, he ended up renting a hotel for the two of them to stay at. And while they were there, Jason ends up taking a look at Ezra's phone. And what does he see? He sees text messages between her and John talking about how they hooked up and wanting to do it again. Brilliant. This one I'm telling you. Now, Jason, of course, was super pissed off and really upset about this whole situation and the two of them started fighting and that's when Ezra decided to tell him that John had actually sexually assaulted her. And I want to quickly clarify here, and this is something that I'm sure a lot of you have already guessed given the nature of Ezra, and you will definitely understand this fully as we continue to go through this case, but these claims about John sexually assaulting Ezra are not true. And I have to just take a moment to say how much I honestly hate people who lie about instances of abuse like this. It's just victims have a hard enough time as it is being believed. And people will point to people like Ezra, the Ezra's of the world, as a reason to not believe others. And it just makes it even more challenging for people who have actually been sexually abused, assaulted, raped, whatever the case may be. And anytime I talk about something like this, I just feel the need to point out that false claims about sexual assault are very, very rare. Okay? And what Ezra did here just pisses me off for so many reasons. Obviously, the reason that I'm telling you about this case is because she does much worse things as time goes on. But yeah, she's just a pathetic, manipulative liar who used these allegations of abuse and assault to excuse her terrible choices and behavior so that her boyfriend wouldn't be mad at her and would stay with her. That's pathetic and disgusting. There was a long time where I didn't give much thought to my bras. I was only looking for something that was comfortable and that was great. I did find a lot of good comfortable bras but everything changed for me and I got some extra lift that just made me fill out my outfits better, made me feel more comfortable once I started using a push up bra. And oh my gosh, when I was younger I first started trying push up bras and they were so uncomfortable and the push up was just ridiculous. It looked fake and they were tight and uncomfortable and it felt like everything was pushed up a little too much. But once I tried the skims push up bra, everything changed for me and now I wear it pretty much every single day. I love the skims push up bra and if I'm not wearing a skims push up bra, I'm wearing a skims T shirt bra. I just think it's so crazy that a push up bra can actually be called comfortable and I truly mean it. They are comfortable. Skims also has great quality underwear. They're buttery soft. I love their fits. Everybody high waisted thong. It's definitely the best thong I've ever tried. It gives me light supporter on my stomach without ever feeling tight or like digging in. And another great thing to note about skims is everything I've ever tried from skims holds up well in the wash. That is not something you can say about a lot of brands out there, especially wash after wash after wash. And I don't use some special like bag or box looking thing to wash my bras. They just go in with the rest of my clothes and they hold up great. They look great. I'm not having any pilling or anything and I've had some of my skims push up bras for like two, three years now. So shop my favorite bras and [e-mail] after you place your order. Be sure to let them know that I sent you select podcast in the survey and be sure to select my show in the drop down menu that follows. But anyway, Jason of course didn't know this at first and so understandably he believed her and he was beyond angry at his friend for doing this. So he went to his friend Josh's house. I know another J name. And he goes over there to confide in someone. And for some reason, which doesn't make sense to me, she came along with him to Josh's house. And while they were there, Jason started to tell him what had happened. And he was getting so worked up that Josh became worried about what he might do. So he ended up calling 911 to diffuse the situation. And when the police arrived, Ezra began telling one of them what was going on. And she asked an officer if she could speak with him privately at the police station. And at this point, obviously, her story is just starting to snowball out of control. But of course, she still kept up with it. And at the station, she told Officer Mark Vang that John had taken advantage of her when she got too drunk, and I had to give it to him. He was incredibly sensitive and supportive towards her during this interview. And an official investigation was open and assigned to Detective Ryan Prock, who asked Ezra for the text between her and John. But she refused, which I'm sure the moment that she refused to share the text messages, they really started to doubt her story. And John, however, was more than willing to give over the text messages, you know, whatever he could do to clear his name. And the text told a completely different story than the one that Ezra was telling them. Here are a few examples of what she sent him when they were together. Now, I have to just give you a warning. These are very graphic. I sometimes cuss in my videos and people get mad at me and are like, I'm watching this with my kids. I'm listening to this with my kids. Please don't cuss. Are you kids should not be watching this show, okay? It's rated explicit. It's. No, no, no, no, no, no. So if your kids are in the room, tell them to leave. But truly, though, this is not a show for kids, okay? I cannot make that more clear. Here are these text messages. Are you going to pound this anytime soon? Working out again does really make you want to fuck everything that's moved. And yes, it said moved. Just let me know when I get my next in n out winky face. Also, hanging and doing art again would be nice because you're more than a good dick. You're more than a good dick. That's so sweet. Now, of course, those texts, they say a lot, but they don't negate a possible assault. But Proc did learn something else that did. He actually interviewed Alex, who said that Ezra told him that she had consensual sex with John. But later really regretted it. And because of that, the case was closed, with no charges brought against anyone. So now, Jason, understandably, was very confused. So he confronted John and Alex while they were all at Raci's one day, and he later confirmed that's when Alex came clean about their relationship, which just caused more pain to everyone involved. Rumors started spreading across Racy's community, and people she once considered friends no longer trusted her and didn't want to be around her. In fact, a fellow friend, Ann Barista, was so freaked out by everything that she even asked Alex if he was worried about Ezra filing a false report against him as sort of retaliation for talking to the police. But he told her that he didn't think she actually would do that. And I think that just shows you that even in the worst times and worst situations, he tried to see the best in people, even people like Ezra. Now, as for Ezra, she wasn't doing well with everything, and she found out that someone had written her phone number and the words me on a stall in the men's bathroom at Racy's. And this really sent her into a spiral. And I just got to put in a little of my opinion. This is purely speculation, in my opinion. I just have to say, I kind of feel like she was the one to write that, just with everything I know about her. And as this case continues, I think you'll agree with me, because she has. It'll make more sense later. I will say, though, I could be wrong. Someone may have really written that about her, and obviously that's terrible. But to make things even worse, her mom kicked her out of the house. And based on what I could gather, her mom, Rosalina, had found out that she and Jason were still in contact, which for some reason started this huge argument. And she left and started to stay with her dad, Joe Shane, who seemed to be supportive and helpful towards her. She was also hired by the Stanley Boyd School District. And while I couldn't figure out exactly what she was employed to do, it seemed like it would be her first steady employment. So even though things were pretty bad on the outside, it seems like internally there was at least an attempt to turn things around. But unfortunately, things would only get tremendously worse. So on March 22, 2018, Jason was hanging out with a friend of his at Racy's, his friend Max. And all of the sudden, Ezra came in. And he immediately thought this was weird because the two of them had texted 600 times the day before and spoke on the phone that morning. But she never mentioned plans to come to Eau Claire. And no, that's not an exaggeration. The two of them literally texted each other 600 times during one day while broken up. Anyway, though Jason said that that day her demeanor seemed odd. He described her as fired up and agitated. And she told him that she was looking for Alex because she wanted to return a hot pad and a bookmark to him. Ezra then approached Jason's friend Max to say that she had a painting for him and asked if he wanted to do an art swap that they had previously talked about, and he agreed. So she drove them to his house. Now, Max later said that she seemed sad and low that day and that she had told him that she was in town to deliver letters that she had written in therapy to different people, which is quite a different reason than she had told Jason. Then, after their art swap, she dropped him back off at Racy's and continued with her plan to find Alex. And Jason just still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. And he became very concerned that something terrible might happen. So he followed his intuition and he rode his bike over to Alex's house to see if she was there and check in on them. And when he got there, he saw that Ezra was there, and he specifically saw her car outside with the engine still running and the driver's side door just wide open, hanging out. Now, for some reason, when he got there, he paced around the area for 45 minutes, which understandably looked weird, and he drew the attention of a neighbor who called the police on him. But before they arrived, he actually heard Ezra say, he can help you. So he ran in and went upstairs to Alex's room, where he said the two of them seemed weird, and they weren't screaming or fighting or anything, but they were acting as if everything was okay. And it seemed like a front, which gave him an eerie feeling. And he suggested that if they wanted to talk that they should do it in public. And by the time that the three of them were walking out of the house, the police arrived. One officer spoke with Ezra and Alex, and another listened to Jason explain why he was so concerned about them. But after assessing the situation, they found no reason for them to intervene. So the police and Jason left while Alex and Ezra got into her car and drove off. And this would sadly be the last time anyone other than Ezra would see Alex alive again. Hours later, around 4pm, an elderly dairy farmer named Don Sipple was getting ready to sit down for dinner when his doorbell frantically rang about six or seven times and when he answered the door, he found Ezra standing on his porch, barefoot, covered in mud, her clothes torn and blood around her mouth. And she told him that she had been attacked in the woods and asked him to bring her to the hospital. So he brought her inside, got her a Chair, and called 91 1. And during this call, which I'm about to play for you, you can hear him just trying to get basic information from her, like, what's your name? Who did this to you? And she just said that she didn't know.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

I'm calling 91 1. What's the address of the emergency? This is Don simple calling, and I have a young lady that just came to my house, and somebody attacked her, and she needs a doctor. Her clothes are all torn and. Okay, and is she injured? Yeah, she's injured. Her. Her mouth is kind of got some blood around it, and her clothes are all torn. Okay. And she's by herself. She's by herself. She walked to my house here just recently. Okay. And can you ask her what her name is? Just hold on a second. Okay. What's your name, ma'? Am? What? You don't know? She's in kind of bad shape. She just says she don't know. And so she came on foot, correct? Yes. Okay. Yep. She just walked to my door.

[Ezra McCandless]

Okay.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Can you ask her who did this to her? Repeat that, please. Can you ask her who did this to her? Oh, just a second. Do you have any idea who did this to you? This is. Hold on. No, no, she can't. She's pretty distraught, upset, and this is a strange situation when I've never seen. And I've been around a long time. Yeah.

[Kendall Rae]

And I just want to say Don Sipple seems like such a sweet person, and he was really amazing in this moment. He was really trying to do everything that he could to help someone who he thought really needed it. But anyway, first responders arrive, and they begin to treat her. And when they asked her where she was hurt, she just said all over. And then they asked her if there was someone that they should call for her. And she just kept saying, jason Mangle, which is interesting because she said that she didn't know her name, but she sure didn't forget Jason's name. And one of the responding officers asked her what the last thing she remembered was, and she said, getting them off of me, which made them think multiple people possibly had attacked her. They also described seeing scratches, but no wounds or lacerations. And the most significant, significant injury was the word boy carved into her arm. And Aside from all of that, Ezra said that she did have severe abdominal pain, but she was okay enough to walk from inside Don's house to the ambulance stretcher outside. And then she was taken to the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire. And while there, Ezra started to remember a bit more, kind of. She told workers that her name was Monica K. Which, if you remember, is her birth name. And then she also asked them again to call Jason Mengele. Then she remembered that name her that Alex carved boy into her arm while they were at Owen Park. And so once they had his name, police began to search for him because they're thinking that a possibly violent criminal was on the run or hiding, and they wanted to prevent this from happening to other people, of course. So officers searched Owen park, and they didn't find anything. So they went to Alex's house, and his roommate informed them that he wasn't there. They also called his friends and family, but nobody had heard from Alex, and no one had any idea where he was. And his parents were so confused that they thought maybe he and Ezra had been in a car accident, but she wasn't able to remember it. And some of his friends in the Eau Claire area immediately got to work, putting missing persons flyers and spreading the word around town. I just have to say, this seemed like such a chaotic night, and I'm just really impressed by the way that law enforcement, hospital staff, detectives handled everything, because it had to have been really confusing trying to figure out what was going on. And I'm really happy to report that based on everything I've learned, everyone working on this case, like, from start to finish, handled it all with such care and urgency, which is just reassuring when we get to say that about a case. There was a time where I knew that I was wasting money on subscriptions. I didn't know how much I was wasting, but I knew I was wasting. And the reason I didn't actually take the time to cancel them is because they were all ones that required me to call and talk to somebody to get them canceled or to deal with customer service in general, which I just avoid at all costs. I'm a very anxious person. I don't like confrontation even with a stranger through a customer service situation. But Rocket Money takes care of that all for me. And now it's been years where I don't ever waste money on a subscription that I'm no longer using. Or have you ever had a situation where you start a free trial for, like, an app or a service, something, and then you plan on canceling that free trial because you're like, well, I just wanted to kind of check it out. And then you forget. And then you forget and forget and forget. And then it's months later and you realize you've been paying for this thing the entire time. Well, that will never happen if you are using Rocket Money. Once you have Rocket Money, you can use it for subscription management, but you can also use it for budgeting, bill negotiation, and financial goals. If you've never heard of it. It's a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you to lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. Rocket Money shows all of your expense in one place, including subscriptions that you forgot about. And if you see a subscription you no longer want, Rocket Money will help you cancel it. Their dashboard lays out your total financial picture, including bill due dates and paydays, in a way that's easy to digest. You can even automatically create custom budgets based on past spending. And if you've got a goal that you'd like to save for, Rocket Money can analyze your accounts and find the best time each month to put that extra money aside. And a lot of people don't know this about Rocket Money, but they can even try to negotiate to lower your bills for you. Yes, you heard that right. The app automatically scans your bills to find opportunities to save and then goes to work for you to get those better deals. And the best part, they will talk to customer service so you don't have to. Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions, with members saving up to 740 a year when they use all the apps premium features. So cancel all of your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Just go to RocketMoney.com Kendall Ray today, that's RocketMoney.com Kendall Ray once again, RocketMoney. And also keep in mind, this case involved two separate counties because Alex lived in Eau Claire county, but Ezra was discovered in Dunn County. And sometimes in cases that I've covered with multiple counties, there seems to be tension or confusion over jurisdictional issues. But that was absolutely not the case here. It seemed like all of these departments just shared a common goal and were working really well closely together. So it was just really refreshing to see such cohesive, cooperative work. And it's just frustrating that all of those resources couldn't lead to a better conclusion for Alex in the end. So the next day, March 23, officers still hadn't found Alex. So they decided to just start from square one. Officer Justin Gruel and Detective Mark Piper returned to Don Sippel's farm to speak with him. And while officer Gruel was inside talking, Detective Piper waited in the car and started slowly driving down the road to see if he could find anything. And that's when he noticed footprints in the mud. So he followed them down an isolated farm road and found Ezra's car with shoes, blankets, and other objects around it. But then he discovered something truly awful, and that was Alex's body halfway hanging out of the wide open backseat driver's side door. So, of course, when he sees that, he immediately stopped walking and called for the crime scene team. And shortly after they arrived, Alex was pronounced dead by the Dunn county medical examiner, While the Wisconsin state crime lab began assisting in collecting evidence. And it quickly became obvious that he was never a perpetrator, but actually the victim of an incredibly brutal murder. This actually makes me feel sick to say, but he was stabbed 16 times, including in the head, genitals, and torso. And his throat had been slit three times, with some of the wounds inflicted post mortem. And I'm going to say that again, Some of his wounds were inflicted post mortem. Okay, that's what we're dealing here with, Alex. So the investigation was quickly underway. But first came the horrific task. I cannot imagine doing this. Of having to tell his loved ones that they had found him, but in the worst way imaginable. And this is really, really heartbreaking, but Alex's uncle, Dale Hull, was a member of law enforcement, and the family asked him to be the one to communicate with the police while Al was missing. So when he was told about the condition they found Alex in, he had to be the one to tell the rest of his family. I cannot even imagine what that would be like. And he later went on to talk about how traumatizing and painful it was to have to give his beloved in laws the worst information that they could ever receive that they probably would ever receive in their lives. And of course, it was massively heartbreaking to lose him him. But the way that they lost him just didn't make any sense. They were all so confused. So, obviously, investigators needed to speak with Ezra to try and find out what happened here. And the day after the discovery, Detective Ryan Prock went to interview Ezra at the Mayo Clinic's behavioral health facility where she had been transferred. And yes, if you remember, that is the same detective that was the lead on her sexual assault case. And he was actually assigned to the case because he had experience dealing with everybody involved. So he starts the interview by asking Ezra to walk him through everything that had happened the day before. And she tells him everything I've already told you, meaning Max at Racy's to exchange art going to Alex's to return some stuff, and then Jason and the cops showing up. Then she says that when Alex got into her car, they're planning to go to a nearby park, but ended up just driving around aimlessly. And at some point she said she got really anxious behind the wheel. So Alex took over driving. And she said that she had no idea where he drove them to, but she can remember getting out of the car and walking around the woods before, quote, ending up at that old man's house. And then after this proc asks about the word boy being carved into her arm. And she tells him that Alex would use boy and other male pronouns for her as a way to make fun of Ezra's past gender identity. And I just have to say this does not at all sound like something Alex would do. I just flat out don't believe this. I think it's total and obviously I never knew him, but based on everything people say about him, it's. I mean, no one had anything bad to say about Alex, and he was, you know, into philosophy and well read and it seemed like such a deep soul. I don't see him being cruel like that or being judgmental and making fun of someone's gender identity or past gender identity. It just doesn't make any sense. But back to her. Ezra claimed that Alex was sitting in the driver's seat when he took this type of weapon called a tiger claw out of her center console. Now, if you don't know what that is, it's basically multiple little, little daggers that go on knuckles to give someone like Wolverine type claws. So she says that he put these on, grabbed her by the arm while she was in the passenger seat and carved the word into her arm. But here's the big flaw in her story, okay? Boy was on her left arm facing inward. And if you have that type of brain, you can already see why it's a problem. If you don't like me, let me break down why this makes no fucking sense. If Alex really had carved the word boy into her arm, and remember, he's in the driver's seat, she's in the passenger seat, he would have had to use that claw tool to carve it upside down and backwards from his angle. Not to mention, Alex was right handed. So with how they were seated in the car, it would have been just very awkward to accomplish this. It just makes no sense. Also, I have to point out the lining of the letters. The in is pretty damn clear, as if it was done by a knife, not a bunch of these small little razors from this weird claw knife thing. And you can just tell by this point in the interview that detective proc is not buying any of this. So he just goes ahead and lets her continue to lie. And she really seems like one of those people who cannot stop lying. Like anything that pops up into their brain, like, oh, I could potentially lie about this, they just do it. They don't think it through. They just do it.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

It.

[Kendall Rae]

And at some point. This is so weird and unnecessary to lie about this, but they're talking about the clothes that she was wearing during the attack, and she tells him that she was wearing a pair of pants that she made. She didn't. She didn't make them. I don't know why she wanted to tell him this, but she also told him that when she got to the hospital, she kept throwing up, which he knew couldn't have been true because on the ambulance ride, medics had administered zofran, which is an anti nausea medication. And she said that she had peed her pants during the ordeal, but her pants were tested and that was false. But yeah, for the first half of the interview, he just let her, you know, talk in circles and spill any lies that her stupid brain could create and didn't really seem to question anything that she was saying. Of course, in his head, he definitely is. But then about halfway through, he reveals to her that they had found her car. And that means that they had found Alex's body lying on the muddy road hanging outside of her car. And then, wouldn't you know it, Ezra suddenly remembers everything that happened. I choose function because it's the only health platform that gives you access to the kind of data that most people never see and insights to actually take action. That's why top health leaders like Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and Dr. Jeremy London are all behind Function health. And let's have a little moment to talk about mood. We all experience mood. We all experience a wide spectrum of moods. And your mood, it isn't random. It's not always about stress either. Sometimes it's your genes that are pulling strings. There's a specific gene, and actually my psychiatrist told me about this gene. It's called mthfr. And it helps your body process folate, which is a nutrient essential for making DNA. It can disrupt how your brain makes neurotransmitters that keep you steady and clear headed. And here's how it works. MTHFR converts folate into its active form, which your brain needs to make serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Variants in this gene gene can disrupt methylation, a process that clears out homocysteine, which is a compound that fuels inflammation as it builds up. And too much of that can damage your blood vessels and has been linked to depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. And there are some signs that MTHFR mutation might be affecting you. Those include fatigue and low energy, anxiety or depression, migraines and chronic pain. But the good news is you can measure it and you can do something about it. And function gives you access to genetic testing available as an add on to see if you carry MTHFR mutations. Your mood isn't random. Your genes are talking. And function helps you listen and act. So learn more and join using my [e-mail] TCKR.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, what do you think we found at the end of the road, Ezra?

[Ezra McCandless]

Was it me? I mean, my stuff.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

What stuff?

[Ezra McCandless]

Was it my car or anything?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

We did find your car. What happened back there, Ezra?

[Ezra McCandless]

In my car? Mm, I don't fully remember.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, what do you remember?

[Ezra McCandless]

I remember being really scared.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And in a lot of pain. Okay.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You know, people make mistakes, Ezra. You know the best way for us to help you is try to figure out what happened in that car. Okay? Medical alert. And I think you know what happened. I really do. I think it did. And I think, you know, something happened in there, right? I know. And I think something happened to Alex. And you know that too, right?

[Ezra McCandless]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. What happened to Alex?

[Ezra McCandless]

I got him off of me.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. Walked me through this. What happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

This is really painful.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, we kind of need to know what happened. Okay? We need to know the truth. We need to know what truly happened. Okay?

[Kendall Rae]

So now her story is much more detailed, very dramatic, but still nonsensical. And I feel that the best way for you to get the picture here is for me to just keep playing the clips for you so you can really understand who we're dealing with here. But of course, I want to warn you that she is purposefully painting Alex as a predator, which is very much not true. So hearing her talk like that is upsetting.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Walk me through Azra. What happened with the truth, please.

[Ezra McCandless]

When I got to the road, Alex wanted to keep going down the road to have some privacy to talk. And I said, well, There's a lot of nature. I'm sure it'll be fine to talk, because I really like to talk in nature. And when he grabbed me, he grabbed me again, and he put me in the back of the car, and he seemed really upset about stuff, and he kept grabbing me, and I just know what to do. And he started cutting my pants.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Who did?

[Ezra McCandless]

Alex.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

He started cutting my pants open and stuff, and I didn't know what to do, and it was really scary. And then he started cutting my shirt off of me, and I didn't know what to do, and I went to go make him stop because he had this arm, and I cut my hand because I kept trying to grab him. And so he kept grabbing me and stuff. And then I finally got free, and I finally got the knife away from him, and then he kept trying to grab me in the back of the car. So I just started defending myself as fast as I could, and then just. It's like it got dark, and then everything. Then I woke up, and he just kept trying to attack me and attack me, and then I know to do, and it's so scary. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life because I've never, ever fought back in my whole life.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so. So you said you had the knife. Where were you cutting him?

[Ezra McCandless]

I just was going anywhere and everywhere I could just to get him off of me and get away from me.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

And did the knife actually make contact with him?

[Ezra McCandless]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And then he just kept grabbing me and grabbing me and grabbing me.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so he kept grabbing you after you were stabbing him?

[Ezra McCandless]

Mm. Okay.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

And then what happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

And then after that, I just. He left the car, and he was laying there, and I didn't know what to do.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so then what happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

And so I just waited, and I was confused and scared, and it was just, like, coming out and out of it. Like, it would get dark for a little bit, and then I would come out of it and panic again and hyperventilate, and then it would get dark again.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And then I just started running.

[Kendall Rae]

Okay. I just have to stop here for a second and say that what Ezra is doing here is beyond disgusting. Evidence did not point to him attacking her out of nowhere the way that she is describing. In fact, it's the exact opposite. Investigators were able to conclude that the first stab wound was to the back of Alex's head, and he had no defensive wounds. So that means he was more than likely just caught off guard by her first initial stabbing. But of Course, she doesn't want to admit that, so instead, she's smearing his name while standing on the back of real survivors stories to try and get away with murder. And she just keeps trying to spin everything that she did in her favor.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Your car, where we found it, how did it get to that dirt road?

[Ezra McCandless]

Alex drove it up the hill a little bit, and then it started getting stuck. So I was like, I can fix it. I can get it out of here. I just need to drive up the road a little farther where it looks like the frost hasn't given out yet.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And so I drove up the road a little bit, and then I got out of the car to try to get, like. Try to see what was going on because it was stuck again. And I was like, I don't know what to do about this car being stuck.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

So I was looking in my car for, like, maybe a boat or anything to put underneath the tire to get traction.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And that's when everything started happening.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. And walk me through again what happened there, Ezra.

[Ezra McCandless]

After I was in the back of my car looking for stuff.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so the car gets stuck. Do you remember what's around you?

[Ezra McCandless]

No, I just remember there's a lot of treats.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so you're in the back seat or you're looking for something you said. Right. What happens then?

[Ezra McCandless]

Alex came after me.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. Walk me through that place. Like how it happened.

[Ezra McCandless]

I was in the backseat and I was looking for stuff, and I was moving things out of the way, trying to find anything to get my car out of there because I was already anxious as it is. And then Alex came up from behind me, and then he just started grabbing me.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

How was he grabbing you?

[Ezra McCandless]

He grabbed me by the throat.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And then he pushed me down.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

When he said he pushed you down, where did he push you down?

[Ezra McCandless]

In the car.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And then he was on top of me and started cutting things. It was really scary.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so he was cutting things on you. What was he cutting again?

[Ezra McCandless]

My pants.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. And then what happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

He cut my pants, and I tried to grab it, and I hurt my hand.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, let's see the hand, please. Okay.

[Ezra McCandless]

And then I was moving a lot, and he cut my leg right here.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, and then what happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

And then after that, I started trying to wrestle him and fight him off of me and kick him, do whatever I could, but I got the knife and then I just started.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

How did you get the knife from him?

[Ezra McCandless]

I grabbed it. I grabbed it from him and I pulled.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

What did you grab, the blade or.

[Ezra McCandless]

I grabbed the blade the one time, and that hurt a lot.

[Kendall Rae]

Okay, I just have to pause and say that this is one of the most ridiculous parts of her story. If she grabbed the knife by the blade and yanked it, you would expect her hand to be very messed up, right? Well, wrong. It must have been made of steel because it was in pretty good shape. There were some scratches on it, but it almost looked like deep paper cuts. I mean, I've literally seen worse hand injuries that people, including myself, have gotten from chopping vegetables. It obviously didn't add up at all to what she was saying. And the lies, of course, they just kept coming.

[Ezra McCandless]

Okay, so freaking out. I was just freaking out.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Do you remember where you ended up stabbing him?

[Ezra McCandless]

I don't really fully know because it was just anything. Everywhere.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay? Anything and everywhere is where you're stabbing him. So was he on top of you? So you have it here. Do you know if you stabbed him in the back or any place.

[Ezra McCandless]

Up or down? But I just. Everywhere.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Did all this stabbing take place in the car or outside?

[Ezra McCandless]

More of it took place outside the car because he went on top of me again.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

He went on top of you again, Outside. So most of the stabbing you said took place outside?

[Ezra McCandless]

It was inside the car. A lot took place, and then not that much else took place outside the car. He was on top of me again.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so you kind of lost me on that part, Ezra. So some of the stabbing took place in the car. A lot of it took place outside.

[Ezra McCandless]

Not a lot. A lot of it took place in the car. And then outside the car, he came after me again.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so when that happened, the car was. He was on top of you. How did you end up getting out?

[Ezra McCandless]

Just kicking and stabbing anywhere and everywhere?

[Kendall Rae]

Now, this also just does not make sense, because according to expert testimony, there simply just wasn't enough blood in the car to suggest that multiple brutal stab wounds occurred in there. And investigators believe that it's possible that blood ended up getting in there because. Because Alex had climbed into the back seat to try and get away from her, and that's why he was found in such an odd position. And at this point, we're at countless lies, but Detective Proc just, you know, lets her keep going.

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[Interviewer/Investigator]

How come you didn't tell me this yesterday when we talked to Ezra?

[Ezra McCandless]

Because it's too scary.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

I know it's scary, but we needed the truth, right? See, it's better to come and tell us the truth so we know what happened.

[Ezra McCandless]

Cause it just was scary and I can't get it out of my head.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

And we're sorry that you went through this. What happened to the knife afterwards? I think I dropped it when I was running. When you say dropped it, where do you think you dropped it?

[Ezra McCandless]

In the grass.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Like, okay, so you know how it's a big mud. You drove up there, like in the grass along the mud trail?

[Ezra McCandless]

I think so.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Or like along the highway?

[Ezra McCandless]

I think along the highway when I was running because I remember falling down a few times because my legs were really weak.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, did you throw it, like, into the field, like a long ways away?

[Ezra McCandless]

No, I think it just dropped.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so someplace between the car and Don's house, you dropped the knife. Okay. Where's his cell phone at?

[Ezra McCandless]

I don't know, because I think I grabbed it with my phone and I was like, okay. And it fell a couple times. So I know that my phone broke, but I don't know because if his.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Phone broke or not, why'd you grab his cell phone?

[Ezra McCandless]

Because I needed to bring it to somebody.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Why?

[Ezra McCandless]

So that it could call.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

So you took his cell phone to call, but you don't know where it is? So do you throw that in the ditch too, with an.

[Ezra McCandless]

I think I dropped it with my phone.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

But I think you guys got her phone, right? Yeah. Cuz you just had an ipod. Correct.

[Ezra McCandless]

So it might be in the ditch. I don't know if I dropped it in d yard or anything.

[Kendall Rae]

Okay, so here she is making it sound like she just happened to drop it. But Alex's phone was found broken into pieces on the side of the road in the mud, which obviously is too soft of a surface for that to make any sense. And she claims that she grabbed the phone to call for help, something that she actually never attempted to do. So investigators believe she took it and smashed it so that he couldn't use it. And at this point in the interview, Detective Proc is starting to wrap things up. But there is one last significant moment.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

One of the questions I have is, after this incident, did you do anything to yourself? Did you harm yourself in any way? But what happened?

[Ezra McCandless]

I didn't harm myself.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You didn't?

[Ezra McCandless]

No. When I fell, I hurt my hand and I bit my tongue.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, and then the boy carved in your arm. Okay. The part that throws me off on that is if I'm sitting here and he's gonna be carving it in, he. It's written perfect with a right hand person, like this.

[Ezra McCandless]

This.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay. If he would write it in, it would have been reversed. Right. How did boy get put in your arm? He didn't do that to you, did he? You carved a boy into your own arm, Is that right? Okay, when did that happen?

[Ezra McCandless]

That happened when I was in the car.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

In the car with him or what?

[Ezra McCandless]

When I was in the car after I woke up the second time.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

So after you stabbed him and you came back into it, as you put it, because you blacked out, that's when you carved this in? Okay, how about that? Cuts to your legs. When did those happen? Happen?

[Ezra McCandless]

Those happened before. And stabbed.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

And who did those?

[Ezra McCandless]

He did those.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Okay, so he cut you here and he cut you on the legs, you're saying, but the boy was done by you. Why?

[Ezra McCandless]

Because I felt really bad because I.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Really wanted to have.

[Ezra McCandless]

And I felt really bad.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You didn't want what to happen? That's her.

[Ezra McCandless]

I didn't want any of it to happen, okay? So I wrote it so that I have to remember what happened and feel bad about it.

[Kendall Rae]

It's honestly pretty unbelievable just how quickly her story unraveled. But I'm glad that she's such a stupid liar, because now investigators could see very easily who the real perpetrator was. Was. Now, while investigators are putting all the pieces together, unraveling the lies, Alex's loved ones are just reeling from how shocking and horrific everything was. And they held a memorial service for him on March 31st at the Osceola Community Church, and around 300 people attended. Their family also received around 500 cards expressing their condolences. Alex's dad said the most impactful one was from a man who said that his son was friends with Alex and at one point was contemplating ending his life. He told Alex about it, and he listened, and he talked him out of it and helped him to find mental health resources. And the card ended with him saying that his son is alive because of Alex, which made his dad think about the strong impact he left in just 24 years and what his legacy could have been if he got to have a full life. And this was just one of the many instances where Alex helped someone who was going through a hard time. I think his friend, Court Fox worded this loss really well when he said, the one person who would be the best at helping me get through this is gone. And while grappling with all of this, his family couldn't even properly put him to rest yet because his body was held as evidence for about four months after his murder. And unfortunately, his loved ones would have to go through many struggles in the fight to get him justice. Now, I'm happy to say that two weeks after the murder, Ezra was arrested and charged with first degree intentional homicide, to which, of course, she pleaded not guilty. In early April, she appeared in court over a video call for a bond hearing. And I gotta say, she looked pissed that she even had to be there. She looks completely unamused and annoyed. And during this, the state was asking for a 700 bond because of the severity of the crime, but the judge ended up setting it to 250,000, which no one ever paid anyway. So Ezra remained in jail. Then on April 25, following a preliminary hearing, judge James Peterson ordered her to undergo a competency evaluation, which ultimately led to her being declared fit to stand trial. But that didn't stop her from trying it. In October, one of her lawyers sent a letter to the judge saying that Ezra wishes to change her plea to not guilty by mental disease or defect. But then In February of 2019, Ezra and her lawyers appeared in court again. And after smiling and greeting her mother, she informed the judge that the plea was changing back to not guilty and she planned to testify at trial. And it seemed like during all the pre trial hearings, the defense was really struggling to come up with a strategy until they eventually, of course, settled on self defense. Now, the trial started on October 15, 2019, and the whole thing was just contentious and dramatic right from the start. Start. In opening statements, the D. A argued that Ezra intentionally lured Alex to be alone with her so that she could kill and frame it as an act of self defense to get Jason back. Which is exactly what I think happened. And detective proc definitely agrees. He later said she was saying anything she could to make herself look like a victim. She thought Jason would maybe look at getting back together with her if she was a victim. Which for Ezra, etc, that makes sense, that motive makes sense. But when you really think about it, it's like, oh my God. And I mean, Ezra's not the only one. I've covered cases with crazy motives like that before where you're just like, wow, you were really willing to take someone's life, their entire life as like a chess piece in your relationship game. It's just, it's hard to wrap your mind around that type of evil and anyone. Anyway, in the defense's opening statements, they argued that she was really in a horrific battle for her life and had no other choice. Which is bullshit in my opinion. I think you all probably agree. So as you can see here, no one was arguing whether or not Ezra killed Alex. Obviously she did, Everyone agrees. But they were arguing why she did it. And the defense used such a gross strategy here. I mean, we do see it all the time. But they decided to attack Alex's character. They tried to make him look like a deviant who had no regard for other people's feelings and was capable of violence. And to try and argue this, you guys, I can't. This is so low. They read his philosophy journals in court, obviously, as a philosophy major and just overall passionate person about philosophy. He would often study philosophers works and take notes on them. So his journal contained his interpretations of very abstract ideas, including, including cannibalism and crime and power. And the defense spun it like he was writing out his own thoughts, like it was a diary or something. And obviously the prosecution clarified that these were his studying materials, not like his personal journal, just ridiculous. But they also called many of his family and friends as witnesses to testify to his true character. And it went against everything the defense was trying to say about him. Now, one of the most significant prosecution witnesses was Jason, which made the energy of the courtroom very bizarre. Of course, Ezra had to act so strange and so extra when Jason came into the room. And I don't think you will be surprised by her behavior at all, because right before he walked in, Ezra had pushed aside the pink blazer that she was wearing and rolled up the sleeves to show that underneath she had on this green cardigan that he had given her. And when he entered the room, she like, straightens up. She looks so excited to see him. It's very flirtatious. You can see her straightening up in her seat and making these weird, flirty facial expressions. And while he's on the stand, Jason talked about their tumultuous relationship, his friendship with Alex, finding out about the infidelity, and most importantly, what he witnessed just hours before the murder. And the whole time, Ezra's just looking at him like he was someone that she had a huge crush on, not like it was her ex boyfriend testifying at her murder trial. And Jason later said it was emotional to see the games never stopped. It was deliberate grip. It was just shocking. I don't understand what her tactic was, but I definitely felt uneasy. It just felt like more of the emotional manipulation that I had been put through. I definitely felt like she thought that showing that to me, like, this is how much I love you still. And once the prosecution rested their case, it was the defense's turn to bring in their star witness, Ezra McCandless. Now, of course, as we've talked about many times, it's always incredibly risky for the defense to put their client on the stand. And I gotta say, say, this choice probably didn't pay off the way that they thought it would. But unless they're stupid, they had to have considered that it probably wouldn't have gone very well anyway. But maybe it was just their last ditch effort. But yeah, her demeanor up there was disgusting. I mean, she seemed like very light and happy. Didn't give the vibes of, hey, I'm at a trial Right now, I'm testifying in my own murder trial. You can see her smiling and giggling while describing a situation that she said was so violent, silent, it required her to take someone's life. And at one point, she even starts laughing after she and her attorney interrupted each other. And of course, I understand that people who've been through traumatic situations sometimes, you know, react when talking about it in a way that wouldn't always make sense, but I promise that is not what is happening here. This is like a strange attempt at main character energy. And I just cannot even imagine what it must have been like for Alex's loved ones to. To sit there while Ezra is talking about how she killed him and she's acting as if she's, like, reviewing a movie or something. But anyway, she was on the stand for hours, and eventually time came for her to recount the events of his actual murder. And when it was that time, her story changed yet again.

[Prosecutor]

Ezra, before we broke for lunch, I was just. I think we were at the point where. Where the police had left. And you and Alex are now leaving his house?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

All right. Whose car were you in?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

My car.

[Prosecutor]

Who was driving?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I was driving.

[Prosecutor]

When you left Alex's car, did you go to drive Alex's car?

[Kendall Rae]

Excuse me?

[Prosecutor]

Your car, Alex's house. Sorry, I'm talking too fast. Did you go to drive anywhere in particular?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No.

[Prosecutor]

What was your intentions?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

It was briefly discussed about maybe possibly going to a park or just somewhere in common to speak. We didn't settle on something.

[Prosecutor]

As you were driving, were you paying much attention to where you were going?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No, just driving.

[Prosecutor]

What was the subject of the conversation between you and Alex as you're leaving his house and starting to drive?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What we had started talking about is like, feelings towards the relationship we had had. And he started to now speak about how he felt about my relationship with Jason and how he felt about our relationship ending.

[Prosecutor]

As he was talking and you were talking, what. What was happening to you and your feelings?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I started feeling anxious. After our conversation being abruptly interrupted. I just. And now we were driving and talking about me and Jason and things like that. I started to feel anxious, just uneasy.

[Prosecutor]

What did you do as a result of that anxiety?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

As a result of my anxiety, I asked him if it would be alright if he could drive for a while.

[Prosecutor]

How did he respond?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

He said yes. Yeah, I can drive. It's fine.

[Prosecutor]

So what happened after he told you he could drive?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

After we briefly parked, we switched drivers and he started to drive me.

[Prosecutor]

Do you know where you were at that Particular point?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No.

[Prosecutor]

When he was driving at that point, did the conversation continue?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

Were you paying attention at all to where he was going?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No, I was trying to focus on what he was saying.

[Prosecutor]

Did you know where he was going or direct him to a certain direction at all?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No, we were just driving.

[Prosecutor]

What was the conversation about then?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

The conversation was more led by him at this point, and he was voicing his opinion about my continuation of the relationship with Jason.

[Prosecutor]

And as that conversation continued, was there at some point that Alex stopped the car?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

Do you know where that was?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

It was just some road.

[Prosecutor]

We just stopped when he stopped the car.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What happened when we stopped the car? Well, when he stopped the car, he just. We sat there for a moment, and the car park past us, not much happened other than he started to pull into what seemed like a driveway.

[Prosecutor]

And was this. Okay, just to clarify, where he initially pulled the car over, was it on the muddy road or was it on a paved road?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

It was on a paved road. Lean turning into the muddy road.

[Kendall Rae]

Hmm. Did you catch that little slip at the end where she said, we parked and then quickly changed it to he parked nice? That, in my book, is a little accidental admission of guilt, not just misspeaking. And the prosecution was arguing that she was the one driving the entire time, which I think is the only way it makes sense. And a witness even took the stand to say that he drove past Ezra's doodle covered car right before they turned onto the farm road, and he saw a female driver in the driver's seat. And the prosecution argued that she didn't drive all that way just to find a park to talk at, because they would have passed so many parks on their way out of Eau Claire. And it truly seems like she was actually driving with the purpose of finding somewhere isolated so no one would see her attack him, which I'm sure most of you agree would make sense if that was her plan the entire time. But of course, she has to completely distance herself from those actions while she's on the stand. Otherwise it won't align with her self defense narrative. And here's the next big part that just makes no sense.

[Prosecutor]

So you're in the mud, you're stuck. What is Alex doing to try to help you get unstuck?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

At that point, he was very quiet. He wasn't doing really much. He kind of stepped back, and he seemed like he was just letting me look and try to figure this out.

[Prosecutor]

The things that were in your trunk. I. I know there's been some pictures shown that There's a couple of knives back in the trunk.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

Were you aware those were in there?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Not consciously, no.

[Prosecutor]

Do you know how they got in the back of your trunk?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

There's always various knives from moving place to place between my mom's and my dad's and from. There was a lot of things in my trunk from moving out of my apartment. So somewhere between moves after not finding.

[Prosecutor]

Anything to move the car.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

What was. What were you going to do next?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Breathe. I was feeling. I was like, oh, great. I don't know where I am. I have no idea. I'm stuck in the mud. I don't know what to do. Just. I need to breathe. I went over to the hitch of the trail and I decided to sit on it. And I was just trying to breathe through the anxiety and the feelings of being stuck, not knowing where I am. And I was just kind of looking out into the woods, sitting on this hitch of sorts.

[Prosecutor]

During this time, were you facing towards Alex or away from Alex?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I was facing away from Alex towards the woods.

[Prosecutor]

Did there come a time where, as you were facing away from. From Alex towards the woods, that he approached you at all?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes, he had approached me from behind.

[Prosecutor]

Well, since he's from behind, how do you know he's there?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I could feel him. I could feel that he was there. I could hear him approach. I could feel just that somebody was.

[Prosecutor]

Behind me when he approached. What happened has.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

As I was sitting there, he approached me from behind and he wrapped his arms around me. It was kind of a hug. He held me there for a little while.

[Prosecutor]

Did you say anything?

[Ezra McCandless]

I.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Kind of tensed. I didn't really reciprocate the hug. And it was kind of a silent moment between us, but I felt awkward and uneasy. And I wasn't. I wasn't in a. It wasn't a time for me to feel like I wanted a hug, I guess.

[Prosecutor]

And let me ask you something else. Do you know whether or not Alex had a phone with him?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

Did you have a working phone with you?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No.

[Prosecutor]

You had your ipod, I gather?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

And the phone without the minutes?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Ezra McCandless]

All right.

[Prosecutor]

Did you ask Alex at any point to make a phone call on his phone to try and get.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No.

[Prosecutor]

A tow truck?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

No.

[Prosecutor]

Did he offer to make any calls or try to get a tow truck?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

It was a very brief, kind of quick conversation about should we call somebody for this? And I was like, I can handle it. I think so. No, we did not make a phone call.

[Prosecutor]

Did Alex say anything else to you after he had eventually come Over.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

He suggested that I might want to lay down for a while and maybe just relax.

[Prosecutor]

What did you think when Alex said that?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I just shrugged and was like, all right, maybe, and I decided to walk back towards the car.

[Prosecutor]

When you walked back to the car, did you go in the car?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I went into the car, yes.

[Prosecutor]

Where in the car did you return?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I returned to the car. I returned to the driver's side. Back door was open, and I approached into the car. I kind of looked around a little bit, moved some things a little more, and that's how I was getting into the car was from the back.

[Prosecutor]

Why were you going to the back seat and not the front seat?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I was thinking maybe he's right. I need to lay down for a little bit.

[Ezra McCandless]

Bit.

[Prosecutor]

Did you lie down?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I did.

[Kendall Rae]

Okay, so we have to unpack this. So first things first. The knives. All the knives in the trunk. It's pretty wild to hear someone say they just have several knives in their car for no particular reason. Like what? But I think the defense was attempting something with this. When the police were searching her dad's home, he mentioned to them that one of his knives was missing and it was later discovered to be the murder weapon. So it seems like Ezra took the knife before meeting with Alex, which the prosecution would use to point towards premeditation. I think the defense was, like, trying to argue, no big deal if that knife ended up in her car. She has a habit of just keeping knives in there, and I don't think that questioning did any favors for her, clearly. But anyway, the next bit I want to focus on is how unbelievable it is that Alex would just sit there watching her frantically look for things to get them unsteady, stuck, and that he wouldn't just call for help. I mean, come on. She describes herself as being on the verge of a panic attack, but they both just ignore the easiest solution, and instead, he just tells her to rest and relax. I mean, their car is stuck in the mud. They're not on some deserted island. They could just call someone before deciding to lie down and give up, and we'll never know what happened right after the car got stuck. But I don't believe this version for a second. And I think she has acted committing perjury on the stand because she's Ezra. Of course she is.

[Prosecutor]

At some point after lying down, did Alex join you?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes, he did join me.

[Prosecutor]

Was Alex speaking to you at that point?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes, he started to speak to me at this point. Yes.

[Prosecutor]

Can you tell us the words you heard Alex speak to you?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What he said to me at this time was he started to describe me and not in a third person sense. And he also started to speak of how he deserves this.

[Prosecutor]

Well, let's just stop because I don't know what you mean by he describes you in a third person sense. Can you tell us specifically what you remember him saying?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Specifically what I remember him saying is, Ezra is beautiful. Ezra is my shining sun. Ezra in the sense he kept saying my name and then something after that. Ezra is so handsome.

[Prosecutor]

Did he do anything with respect to your glasses?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes. He started to do things slowly and methodically. He first removed my glasses. After he asks me a few times if I can see him. And I tell him, no, I can't see you, Alex. I. I can't see him, but I can feel him start to touch my clothes.

[Prosecutor]

What's going through your head?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What's going through my head at this time is I don't know what he. I. I was in assuming what I thought I knew what he wanted and I wasn't sure and I was anxious and I. What was going on was going through my head.

[Prosecutor]

Okay, I want to get back to his actions as you were quiet.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor]

What is he doing besides kissing you?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What does he do after he kisses me and I pull my head back a bit. I felt he. It touched the hem of my sweater. I could feel a pull on it. I wasn't sure at the time really what he was doing, but I could feel it start to give away. It felt looser. And my sweater had been opened.

[Prosecutor]

Did you know how he had opened your sweater?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I. After I felt my sweater start to give away, I took. Took off the scarf and I could see that he was cutting my sweater.

[Prosecutor]

He's cut through your sweater. He's cut through your shirt. He's cut a little bit into your T shirt. You have felt something on your stomach, I believe. And after that, what does he do next?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

After that, he starts to cut through my pants. He's starting near the button, well below that. It's on the front of my pants or the inner thigh. You can say. I can feel that he's pulled on it to give room so that he can cut through.

[Prosecutor]

Was there besides your pants, was he cutting through anything else at this point?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

At this point he had cut through my tights as well.

[Prosecutor]

Where on your pants and your tights has he cut through at this point?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

At this point? He had cut through the inner thigh area of my pants and tight tights.

[Prosecutor]

After he's cutting through your pants and your tights what happens next? Do you feel anything different at some point?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What was different at this point is that I could feel the knife start to graze and cut into my skin.

[Prosecutor]

What are you afraid of now?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I'm afraid he's going to kill me.

[Prosecutor]

As you're afraid he's going to kill you at some point. Why are you afraid he's going to kill you? Let me just first ask that.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I'm afraid he's going to kill me because he has a knife. And I'm afraid that he's going to take whatever he wants and he's just going to finish this. I. I was wondering if he was going to kill me and then he was going to kill himself so that he didn't have to be alone.

[Kendall Rae]

God, she is just so infuriating. This doesn't even make sense. Just a few days ago, Alex was separating himself from her. Her. And didn't show a single sign that he so desperately wanted her. And the way that she's describing him is just so over the top, like he's some maniacal villain in a movie. And then moments after this, Ezra talks, well, lies about the attack. But I'm hesitant to play more of it because it's honestly just disturbing and upsetting to hear her try to spin such brutal violence in her favor, but just know it's all nonsense and. And paints Alex as a violent deviant, but paints her as an angelic victim who had no choice but to hurt him to save herself. Like, for instance, in this version, she knees him in the groin so that he drops the knife and she quickly grabs it to start stabbing him, which is very different from her grabbing the blade. But this story fits better with the evidence. Then she stops stabbing him. They somehow end up outside of the car, and Alex tells her that he needs help going to the bathroom. So of course she wants to help him because. Because she's the best person in the world, after all. But when she approached him, he began attacking her again. So she had no choice but to deliver one last stab to the side of his stomach, which forced him to stop. And after all of this violence, she says that she sat down in the backseat of the car while Alex was still outside with multiple stab wounds. He took off his jacket, put it on the ground, and laid down on it. And one of the most upsetting parts about this case. Case. Oh, my God. This, like, truly disturbed me thinking about it. But there is actually a good chance that Alex could have been trying to walk and talk after the attack, like he was still aware of what was going on. And that is coming from a forensic pathologist who testified that because none of the stabs were to his heart or his spinal cord or any major artery, that he could have still had function of his motor skills and he wouldn't have died right away. Which means he suffered. He was probably in a lot of pain and. And really suffered. And not only that. Ugh, this is just hard to talk about. But he was probably conscious, according to experts, while she was cutting herself and trying to stage the scene to make it look like it was all self defense, which just makes me feel sick. Now, at this point in her story, she's preparing to run off, but before she makes a break for it, she cuts boy into her arm.

[Prosecutor]

What do you do with that knife?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

What I did with that knife is I looked down and I opened my sleeve with the tip of it, and I hastily scratched the word boy into my arm.

[Prosecutor]

Okay, everyone wants to know, why did you scratch boy into your arm?

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I've thought about it, and when I think about this, I don't know at that time, it's something that just happened. It was just a reaction. I really. I'm. I don't know why I did this.

[Kendall Rae]

So there you have it. She said that she was the one who cut boy into her arm, and she said she doesn't know why she did it, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with her initial plan to try and frame Alex before she realized what an idiot she was setting it up that way. And I really do wonder, because she seems so confident in her lying and like always has been, if maybe after this testimony, she really believed that she fooled everyone. Like she really just nailed that. And I wonder if she really thought maybe she would get away with it. But anyway, after three weeks of testimony, 50 witnesses, and over 500 pieces of evidence, the jury took only three hours to find Ezra McCandless guilty.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Mr. McCandless, please rise.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

We, the jury, find the defense, Defendant.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Ezra J. McCandless, guilty of first degree.

[Kendall Rae]

Intentional homicide as charged in the information.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

And the answer to the special verdict question is yes, use the dangerous weapon. And you may be seated.

[Kendall Rae]

All right, ladies and gentlemen, is this your verdict? All right, now, if you're listening to the podcast version of the show, let me tell you, her reaction to this was the first time that she showed sort of some remorse for her actions. Then, In February of 2020, it came time for Ezra's sentencing. And I just have to say, the victim's impact statements during this hearing were incredibly Emotional, they're very tough to listen to. And you can just hear how loved Alex was. So many of his friends and family spoke about what an amazing person Alex was and what a devastating loss they felt.

[Ezra McCandless]

He was such a kind and loving man that despite him knowing how unstable.

[Kendall Rae]

You were.

[Ezra McCandless]

He was still willing to give you compassion.

[Kendall Rae]

He left with you that fateful day.

[Ezra McCandless]

Believing he was going to help you in some way. And instead you took his life. He definitely is not the monster you attempted to portray him as. There's a quote that I read not long after Alex's death. And although I don't recall the author, I wanted to share it today because it its simplicity, which rings true in regards to grieving. Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love as we continue to mourn for Alex and will continue to honor his life by sharing the memories he left us with over the years. It's been one year, 10 months and 16 days. And Ezra, while we continue to mourn Alex's passing. And hard not to notice that throughout the trial, we never saw any sign of sadness, shame, compassion, or the slightest bit of remorse in what you had done. You're so caught up in your own lies and behavior, consistently taking advantage of those around you. You took somebody's life.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

I could tell you and tell everybody in this courtroom that Alexander Woodworth never raised a knife to you to hurt.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You in any way.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

There was no self defense. He just didn't have it in his.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Character to hurt anyone.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

So if the knife was never in his hand, then Ezra attacked and destroyed.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

One of the most caring people in this world. She took away one of the most beautiful minds that I have ever known.

[Ezra McCandless]

Good morning. We found out Alex was dead. I knew it was the defendant. I don't know how. I just knew. I sat in a living room full of our old friends, my friends, and cried for months. We held one another, sobbing, struggling, trying to understand the sweetest man that we all loved. He was soft and gentle. He never once made me feel bad. He was receptive to my feelings, understanding, kind, compassionate. And I'm not only heartbroken, but I'm full of rage. I'm sad that so many times Alex told me about his siblings who he loved so much. And to see them at his funeral, something that I can't grasp.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

I knew I wanted to be this man's friend. Cause his kindness, his empathy, his humor, his ungodly intellect just radiated out from him. And becoming his friend was the easiest.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Thing.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

Because he so loved people. He just as people have spoken his joy came from other people.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

His.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

Most enjoyable moments in life were just interacting with people. And when you did, his face lit up and all of that incredible intellect and mind was trained right on you. He was so engaged, interested, it could almost be daunting to have such an intellect fully focused on you. But it was out of genuine kindness and interest. To say that he was my best friend is almost limiting what he was to me.

[Kendall Rae]

We'll never see Alex again.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Never see smile, never hear his weird hymn with humor, or see the hope that he had and shared with so many others.

[Kendall Rae]

We will never know where life is leading him.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

He's gone. And so is a good part of our lives as well. A hole that can never be filled.

[Kendall Rae]

We ended each one of our witness.

[Ezra McCandless]

Preparation meetings with one question.

[Kendall Rae]

Was Alex the type of person who was more concerned with himself or more concerned with others?

[Ezra McCandless]

And every single response was a resounding more concerned with others.

[Kendall Rae]

Without a doubt, Alex was only 24.

[Ezra McCandless]

Years old and was going places. He was pursuing his dreams to become a professor. Some of his writings were getting published.

[Prosecutor]

And no doubt he was going to.

[Ezra McCandless]

Make this world a better place.

[Kendall Rae]

And there were actually quite a few people who spoke on Ezra's side during the defense impact statements. But the most significant one probably came from Don Sipple late November.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

I didn't know what what prompted me to do it, but I wrote Ezra a letter at the jail And a couple three weeks later, 6 December, she responded with a big brown envelope and a letter and two different pieces of art like I've never seen before. She drew them herself. That was the nicest art I've ever seen and one of the nicest letters I've ever seen. And after I read them all, I wish you guys could see them. In other words, I still have them. We continued on and now there's five total letters back and forth. I sure wish you could see them. But that first letter I got don't happen too easy for me me. But it brought me to tears. That letter I got from her. We all make mistakes in this world. If you haven't, you haven't done much. But hopefully we learn by the mistakes. I'm sure you all can think of something, maybe some more than one. But we've all made some mistakes.

[Ezra McCandless]

Stakes.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

All I can hope for Ezra is that someday she can come out of this and be a beautiful, wonderful citizen in our area. I'm sure hoping that might happen.

[Kendall Rae]

And look, we might be quick to judge someone who kept in contact with a murderer like this, But I kind of understand why he would. I mean, she showed up at his home. Home, covered in blood, seemingly traumatized and attacked, only for him to learn that she was a violent criminal. I mean, that must have been just a real mind. So I can sort of understand how you would feel some sympathy for someone that you saw in that state and want to talk to them to try and, I guess, make sense of everything. I mean, I've never been in that position. And Don's older. I just. I give him a pass on it. Then Ezra took her turn. Turn.

[Ezra McCandless]

Hi.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

I would like to address your honor and the courts and Alex's family, but.

[Ezra McCandless]

Most of all, Alex's parents. I want to say how sorry I am.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

That they have lost their son, but sorry doesn't cut it in my mind.

[Ezra McCandless]

That word is not enough and never will be enough for this loss.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

And I recognize that. I don't think I could ever find.

[Ezra McCandless]

Words that will be enough to express.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

This, especially to them. The pain they feel is unimaginable.

[Ezra McCandless]

I want to express how sorry I.

[Ezra McCandless (Testifying)]

Am for this loss because it is such a great loss. I recognize and completely acknowledge this pain.

[Ezra McCandless]

And I'm so sorry. I loved Alex very much, and I also feel a great loss. And I'm so sorry. Thank you for letting me say this.

[Kendall Rae]

Just when I thought I couldn't be any more infuriated by this, she had to go and say that. I mean, after everything that's happened, she still is so desperate to find a way to make herself look like the victim. It's like, I feel everyone in life knows people like that who are just so set on being a victim. Of course, not everyone in our lives like that goes and does something like this is. Ends up being a murderer, but you know what I mean. I just can't stand people like this. But especially as Ezra, oh, my gosh, if I was in that courtroom. But thankfully, the judge was not at all swayed by her little performance there. And he sentenced her ass to life in prison, unfortunately, with the possibility of parole after 50 years. But thankfully, Ezra McCandless will be spending a very long time behind bars, exactly where she belongs. And even if she's eligible for release, it won't be until 2070 when she's in her seventh. And what's interesting here is Alex's friend, Court Fox, actually asked for this type of sentencing in his victim's impact statement. And I thought his reason was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. So I really wanted to share it.

[Judge/Jury Foreperson]

With you, but I am absolutely Certain that Alex would have asked for some sort of leniency because he did fully believe that every human being is possessed with infinite potential. And to squander that potential is perhaps the greatest sin. But I'm not as kind of man as Alex was. But I still have to agree with him. I would like to see Ezra released from prison at some point in her life. I care not when, not for a chance of forgiveness or to find some sort of salvation, but because after decades in prison, she will find inevitably some sort of normalcy, some sort of stability. It will become her life and she will, if not be happy with it, be acquainted with it. I would like to ruin that for her again and cast her out into the wider world. I would like to see her struggle for friends, employment, housing, knowing that the pall of her actions weigh over her. I want her to agonize with each new person that she meets. Is she upfront about what she's done? Or does she hide it and have to live with the anxiety of oh my God, what if they find out? I want more chaos in her life after she's found normalcy. Actions have consequences and to simply lock her away for the rest of her life will bar her from the full complement of consequences that she could suffer for this. And I would like to see that. I don't care when, but personally, that is what I would like.

[Kendall Rae]

I totally understand why he would want this. And I think Ezra is exactly where she belongs. I mean, someone who is willing to take someone's life in this extremely brutal way, letting him slowly suffer while you're staging the scene and then lie about it in such a dramatic way to make it look like he's this monster who attacked her. Which couldn't be further from his character, clearly. And just trying to damage anything that's left left of his reputation when he's not even alive to defend himself. It's so sick. It's so evil. Everything about her is evil. And I think she's just a massive danger to society and needs to be locked up for a long ass time. I mean, I would say life in prison without the possibility of parole would be my ideal situation for Ezra. But you know, we'll take what we can get here. Not to mention, and I know this isn't part of the case, but she also lied about being sexually assaulted. I mean, endless. People go through the hell of trying to get their story believed believed in a world where it's already hard to be believed. And we don't need the Ezras of the world making it even harder and making people believe that everyone out there just wants to lie for personal gain. But honestly, I can't waste a single moment more of my energy talking or thinking about Ezra McCandless. So I'm done speaking about her. I did. I guess I'm not done. I have one more thing to tell you. She didn't stop her nonsense after the conviction. She did release a statement shortly after her sentencing. And I've decided I don't even want to read it because I don't want to glorify it. There's no point. If you want to look it up on your own, you can. But she basically just blamed the media for painting her terribly and said she didn't deserve any of this. Big shocker. Exactly what I thought. And of course, I'm sure you guessed it already, but she did file an appeal, but it was denied. Oh, and then I can't not tell you this. Not only does she dye her hair bleach blonde in jail, which actually doesn't matter at all. Whatever. It just looks kind of funny to me. But she did decide to start selling her art from prison. It seems like someone from the outside is running pages online to help her. And I really hate to say it, but it appears people are actually buying this shit. And I just have to say, who is buying Ezra's art? It's not even good. People who, like, communicate with and purchase things from people in prison blow my mind. At least for, like, murderers, you know what I mean? But anyway, we're done talking about her. I do want to quickly talk about Alex again before I go, because, like I said, he just so often gets overshadowed in his own story. So I would just like to reiterate one more time that Alex Woodworth was a beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend who made a profound impact on those who knew him. And the world really could have used more time with him. God, this case is just so brutal. It was really interesting at times, but really, really difficult. And I'm just so heartbroken for Alex books and everyone who loved him. And I've been really trying to think of a way to sort of honor him after all this. Especially because I thought the coverage on this case from, like, most of the big networks and whatever publications and stuff was, like, pretty disgusting that he was barely even mentioned. So anyway, maybe this is cheesy. I don't know. But perhaps one way that we can honor him is just by being kind to one another today. Like, maybe go on, on and go. Compliment someone, Give them a smile, offer to help them with their homework or whatever it is in their lives. Go do something the way Alex would do it. The world can be really tough sometimes. I feel like it's been very rough lately and it's easy to get jaded by it. But small acts of thoughtfulness towards someone can really make all the difference. So if someone pops up in your mind, someone that's going through a hard time, pull a page right from Alex's book, do exactly what he's doing did for his friend, and maybe reach out and give them support. Because you never know, it could, it could make a major impact on them. Alex just seemed to spread so much kindness in his life and since he's not here to do that anymore because of an evil person, maybe we can carry that torch for him. That is going to be it for me today. Guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel which will be linked or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.

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