256: Super SCARY! Serial Killer in Austin, TX?! What is REALLY Going on at Lady Bird Lake?

This week on Serialously with Annie Elise, Austin, Texas—a city known for its music, nightlife, and now…a chilling mystery. One by one, people are disappearing, only to be found dead in Lady Bird Lake. Officials insist these are accidental drownings, but the eerie pattern, unsettling similarities, and strange circumstances have the public questioning everything. Is there something more sinister at play? A predator lurking in the shadows? As speculation grows and new developments emerge, the truth remains murky. Is Austin hiding a dark secret, and could a serial killer be stalking the city?🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks 🔎 Join The Club: https://www.patreon.com/annieelise🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to EXTRA deep dive episodes every week on Apple!https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serialously-with-annie-elise/id1519456164Follow Annie on Socials 📸 🩷Instagram: @ _annieelise💜TikTok: @_annieelise🗞️ Substack: @annieelise 💙Facebook: @10tolife ⭐️Sponsors ⭐️Ollie: Head to http://Ollie.com/ae to use code AE to get 60% off your first box of meals when you subscribe today! Hero Bread: Go to https://www.hero.co/ and use code AE at checkout to get 10% off your order. Shop Annie’s Closet & Must-Haves! 👗Poshmark: https://posh.mk/Tdbki6Ae0RbShopMY: https://shopmy.us/annieeliseAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/10tolife?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_aipsfshop_BKN1ZMCMEZHACVFQ2R75&language=en_USDisclaimer ‣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me.🎙️ Follow the podcast for FREE on all podcast platforms! Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serialously-with-annie-elise/id1519456164Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6HdheEH8WeMTHoe5da34qUAll Other Platforms: https://audioboom.com/channels/5100770-serialously-with-annie-eliseGet Involved or Recommend the Case 💬 About Annie: https://annieelise.com/For Business Inquiries: [email protected] Sources 🔗Beaumont EnterpriseCBS AustinDaily DotDaily MailDifferent DrummerFOX NewsHouston ChronicleKXANMySATexas Monthly*Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. ••••••••••••••••••Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 1:02Annie Elise?

  Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serially.

• 1:25Annie Elise?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serially with me, Annie Elise. The case we're talking about today is one that has been in the works for quite some time because a lot of you guys have been requesting it for well over a year now, maybe even two years. It's taking us to Austin, Texas. And the title of this episode may have already given it away of what case we're talking about today, but it is one of the eeriest and, I don't want to say complex, but almost like confusing, maybe? One of the most confusing cases out there because it's one of those cases where there's so many unanswered questions, so many possibilities, and like, I hate this word, but a lot of spooky things surrounding this case to where it's hard to really make sense of it all. And...

• 2:11Annie Elise?

  Let me just kind of break it down. So for the past several years, there's been something that has just casting this like dark cloud over Austin, Texas. And it all started back in 2022 because bodies of mostly young men just started turning up in a lake that sits right there in the heart of the city, just one after another after another. And what is interesting, too, is that all of these victims have striking similarities, not just in age, but in what they were doing right before they died, because they all went missing in the same popular buzzing nightlife type area, similar to, you know, you might recall Riley Strain in Nashville, but the, you know, the beat of downtown where everybody's hanging

• 2:52Annie Elise?

  out, partying, drinking, it's popular nightlife, and then they just vanish. And then later, of course, turn up in this lake, and it's just happening one after another. So naturally, all of the locals have been freaking out, right? They think that there's a possible serial killer on the loose. I mean, what other conclusion could you really come to, right? However, the police continue to insist that there is absolutely no reason to panic. In fact, they say that there's no obvious signs of foul play and that all of these deaths, simply they're chalking it up to accidental drownings. They basically are saying, you know what, all of these guys, all of these victims, they were out partying, they were drinking heavily, then they accidentally stumbled into the lake, they drown, and that's

• 3:34Annie Elise?

  really all it is. There's nothing bigger at play here. There's no reason to be scared. But despite these reassurances from the police, the community is scared. They are fearful. It's not adding up to them. I mean, maybe you could explain one, two, maybe call it even three accidental drownings, but the amount of bodies that they have been discovering, mm, I don't know, it gives me a little bit of pause, too. So people can't help but wonder, is there something else going on that is darker and deeper here? Could there be a serial killer? Is it the Rainy Street Ripper at Lady Bird Lake? So guys, I'm gonna break it all down for you, but hopefully you don't have nightmares because this case definitely might give you some nightmares. So let's jump right in, buckle up, it is a terrifying one.

• 4:17Speaker 05

  You can call me crazy. I know that what happened to me is gonna make me passionate and like really double down on what I'm saying. And there's something evil going on in this city. There are renewed concerns after a woman was recently found dead.

• 4:30Speaker 06

  In Lady Bird Lake, Austin police say her body was in the water near Brazos and Cesar Chavez, and that her death is not suspicious, but it's one of several bodies found in or near the water this year. Fox 7 Austin's John Krenjak spoke to some people who hang out on the north side of the lake. They say they intentionally avoid Rainy Street because of the bodies that have been found in that area.

• 4:50Speaker 07

  Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood.

• 4:54Speaker 02

  There was about six or seven of us on a flight down from Boston together on Thursday, and we had heard of the disappearances of people, and we were kind of joking with one another, "Oh, watch out for the serial killer in Austin." From the Austin homicide unit, that we look into every possible aspect that we can in all these cases, and nothing has led us to believe that there is any sort of killer, especially serial killer, at play here. And all those other people that died too deserve better than that. And the city didn't do [bleep]. They didn't do anything. And they just said it was accidental. It's not fair. It's too good of a person. All these people were too good to just be thrown to the side. And nothing's been done. And the city needs to do something, and they

• 5:39Speaker 02

  need to do it faster because people will continue to go missing.

• 5:42Annie Elise?

  Okay, so let me just start by describing Austin. And don't take offense if you live in Austin. This isn't casting shade to anybody. You might actually enjoy this and embrace this. But if Texas was a family, I feel like Austin would kind of be the black sheep in all of it. Almost like that weird cousin who wears, you know, the cowboy boots, the tie-dye shirt, maybe is vegan, who knows? Because despite being the capital city, Austin doesn't fit the traditional Texas mold. So much so that for years, Austin has proudly gone with the slogan, "Keep Austin Weird," which for Austin is less of a slogan and more of a way of life. And Austin is a mashup of people. I mean, you're talking football fanatics, foodies, live music lovers, night owls, people who like to party, all of those things. And

• 6:23Annie Elise?

  because Austin originally was attracting artists, misfits, musicians, things of that nature, they've gained a huge popularity over the years. It's kind of become a magnet for tech companies, startups, entrepreneurs, and it's caused hundreds of new people to move there every single day. The population right now sits about a million people. Also become a tourist hotspot, a place where people go to drink, to dance, to listen to music, to party because they have a pretty good nightlife scene. I mean, two spots in particular that are very popular, Sixth Street and Rainy Street. And Sixth Street is legendary for its dive bars, its live music, its, you know, chaotic energy at times. And over time, it earned the nickname Dirty Six, just due to how it had these rowdy crowds, a lot of college students, just people who are really

• 7:08Annie Elise?

  determined to party and party hard and have a good time. And back in the day, Rainy Street was this cute sleepy neighborhood that was filled with little charming bungalow houses. But then, when zoning laws changed in 2005, people started turning those houses into these really cool, unique bars and these nightclubs, just very, very different from traditional bars. So now, it's a popular strip of bars, clubs, lounges, and it attracts more of this older crowd compared to the college crowd that goes to Sixth Street. So just a short walk from both of these streets that are both the major popular ones in Austin. There is another local legend, you could say, and that is Lady Bird Lake. Sometimes it's referred to as Town Lake, and it's this stretch of water that's in the heartbeat of downtown Austin.

• 7:51Annie Elise?

  And it actually spans over 460 acres. Now, because this stretch of water goes for so long and it's so large, there are quite a few bridges throughout it, you know, that go over or pass it where pedestrians can go and walk. And some of them even go there every night to watch the sunset, to watch dusk fall, to just really take in the beautiful scenery. And during the day, people surround the lake and kind of flock to it because there's bike paths, there's hiking trails. People will go on the lake and paddleboard, they'll kayak, just really kind of making it this outdoor playground. So the lake is hugely popular in this city. And the whole area, the trails that go around it, the water itself, it's just constantly full of people. However, in more recent years, the lake has gained a lot of notoriety for darker reasons, scarier reasons,

• 8:35Annie Elise?

  not the fun outdoor playground or where you would go to maybe kayak in the afternoon. Because since 2022, 14 bodies have been pulled out of the water. 14, one-fourth, that is a lot of bodies to pull out of a body of water. And if you go back even fur- Further before 2022, there's even more victims, which don't worry, I will get into that. So as I said, all of these victims that have been being pulled out of the lake all have similar enough resemblances or circumstances such as partying at the nearby bars before going missing. The fact that a lot of them are young men, so many similarities that it really has convinced the locals that there is a serial killer out there, somebody who is targeting this particular type of victim.

• 9:17Annie Elise?

  Locals have even dubbed this, you know, phantom unknown serial killer as the Rainy Street Ripper. In the heart of Austin, Texas, lies a tranquil oasis in the form of a picturesque lake that has long been cherished by locals and visitors alike.

• 9:35Annie Elise?

  But beneath the surface of its serene waters lies a mystery that has haunted the community for over a decade. Rather than being celebrated as a family-friendly water spot, the lake has come to be feared for much more sinister reasons. Since the early 2000s, more than 18 victims have been pulled from Lady Bird Lake after going missing in suspicious circumstances, and many of its other victims have yet to be identified. Now, this whole serial killer mentality first started back on Thursday, July 14th, 2022, because it was a super hot summer day. People were out paddle boarding, kayaking. The lake was full of people. People were out walking their dogs, just enjoying the, you know, scenery and the warm weather.

• 10:18Annie Elise?

  And it was in the afternoon around 3:00 PM and everything just felt normal. Austin was in full-on summer mode. People were enjoying the lake. But then people who were walking around the lake noticed that there was something unusual near 9 East Avenue. It was just around the corner from Rainy Street, that area with all the bars. And they noticed that there was something floating in the water. Now, at first, they thought that, okay, maybe it's debris, maybe it's something harmless, maybe it's even a kayak turned over or something like that. But then, as they got closer, it became way more clear. This was something that definitely was not supposed to be there, because this wasn't just something casual that happened to be in the water. It was a body. Multiple calls came flooding into 9 And within minutes, first responders arrived.

• 11:03Annie Elise?

  Soon after they pulled this body out of the water, it was later identified. It was a 59-year-old man named Ricky Parks, and there wasn't really much known about Ricky. So the police pretty much quickly ruled this as an accidental drowning and then closed the case. You know, nothing to worry about. There was no foul play. They ruled that out. It was just kind of case closed. That's that. And for a few months, that really was what everybody thought happened, that it was an accidental drowning, and everything stayed quiet. There were no headlines, there was no further explanation for Ricky's death, no new reports, just complete silence. You know, people had moved on and almost forgotten about it. It was almost like his death just faded into the background. But then, December rolled around. And now, Austin was settling into winter.

• 11:45Annie Elise?

  Not this bitter, harsh, unforgiving kind of winter, but a winter nonetheless. It wasn't these hot summer days. And because of that, the lively summer energy that once was, was kind of faded off, you know, kind of gone. Now it was like nights were getting, ending earlier, it was getting darker earlier, people weren't packing the park because it was starting to get a little bit cooler, and it was now much emptier. Until all of this just came flooding back because it happened again. Another body was found floating in the water. But just like last time, there were no real headlines, no breaking case, no news, the police just kind of said, you know, still, again, no foul play, it was an accidental drowning. This time, though, it was a 25-year-old man named Christopher Gutierrez. But that was that. Case closed.

• 12:29Annie Elise?

  But then, just nine days later, not months later like before, things took a big twist. Because the body of Jose Moreno was found near a bridge on the South Lamer Boulevard area of the lake. And unlike the previous cases, his death was not written off as a simple drowning. Unlike the other bodies, he had a gunshot wound to his head, and the investigators also discovered that he had driven his truck off a bridge before then ending up in the water. So police investigated, and ultimately, they found that Jose was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that he was shot and killed by a 19-year-old kid named Santiago Perron. They said that he was shot in the early morning hours of December 19th, and When Santiago was found, he said that he shot Hosei because he thought that he was

• 13:14Annie Elise?

  somebody else. It was mistaken identity. Santiago and his friends were trying to meet up with another group at the park, and they had the intent to confront someone who he apparently had a problem with. But then, things got a little crazy, and both groups fled in their cars. Santiago was trying to shoot at somebody from that rival group, but Hosei just happened to drive by right at that moment and got caught in that crossfire. So obviously, a heartbreaking crime, but by all means, you know, not foul play in the sense that it was intentional. It was more accidental or mistaken identity. And at least this body came with some answers. Now, initially, it was pretty alarming when Hosei's body was found, because that was the third body in that year. And despite having more answers than the other two bodies that were found, people did

• 13:59Annie Elise?

  start to get a little bit worried. And their fears only intensified, because just days after his body was found, another body turned up. This time, it was 56-year-old Kyle Thornton. His body was found near the Congress Avenue Bridge, which was less than a mile from Rainey Street. And like with Ricky Parks and Christopher Gutierrez, there was little information about what happened. The news barely even covered his death, so Austin police quickly just closed the investigation, not really looking into it. Once again, they said that his death was due to an accidental drowning, and no foul play was involved. But by this point, the pattern was really getting difficult to ignore, especially by the locals, because bodies were turning up in the same body of water, very often, near Rainey Street.

• 14:44Annie Elise?

  Investigations were just closed almost as soon as they began, and it made people wonder, is this a coincidence? Or is there something more here?

• 14:52Speaker 06

  Police have taken great pains in recent years to try and put the rumors of a serial killer to rest. There's no serial killer at this time. Nothing has, uh, has come to light that would indicate that there is a serial killer. But as the deaths continue, many-

• 15:10Speaker 07

  Just aren't convinced. I feel like they are connected. It's giving the serial killer vibes in the cities.

• 15:17Annie Elise?

  And just when people thought that the circumstances could not get any more unsettling, another body turned up. This time, it was on February 13th, 2023. And this body was 30-year-old Jason John, who he had been missing for eight days before his body was found. Jason had lived in Austin for two years, and despite the relatively short time he had lived in the city, he had grown to absolutely love it. He had a girlfriend, he had tons of friends, he had a dog named Ruffles, who was like his little adventurous sidekick. And Jason was the kind of guy who loved the outdoors. He spent his free time outside, rock climbing, hiking, going through the many scenic trails around the city. But then, one night on February 4th, Jason went out with his friends to Rainy Street. They were going to celebrate a recent promotion,

• 16:02Annie Elise?

  just have fun, unwind, drink a little bit. The night was filled with laughs, with drinks, just all around good vibes. And so much so that it kind of carried through into the early morning hours of February 5th. But then finally, at around 2:00 a.m., Jason decided he was going to call it quits. He was done for the night. And he lived just a 15-minute walk from Rainy Street. And he knew the area like the back of his hand, too, because he spent so much time in the outdoors. So he figured, you know, walking home was really no big deal. But as it turns out, that was the last time that anybody saw him. When Jason's friends and family didn't hear from him the next day, and his neighbors had realized that his dog Ruffles had been home alone for hours, they knew that something was wrong here, because Jason wasn't the type to just vanish, especially not without checking in or making sure that his dog was okay.

• 16:46Annie Elise?

  So by the afternoon of February 5th, he was officially reported as missing. And this time, it was different, because what followed in this report was a frantic citywide search. His friends and family flooded the streets with missing persons flyers. They appeared on local news stations. They were really spreading the news of his disappearance all over social media as well, hoping that somebody, anybody, had seen him. And eventually, they managed to uncover security camera footage of Jason walking home that night. And what's interesting is, in this video, he appeared completely normal. No signs of dis- No signs of, you know, swaying here or there, being overly intoxicated, just a guy walking home after a night out, something that he had done countless times before.

• 17:30Annie Elise?

  However, then, the footage from the last few moments of his walk, the footage that really could have given answers and shed a new light on where he went or what happened to him, that footage was just non-existent. There unfortunately were no cameras in that area of his walk, and so his family was really left to wonder what could have happened. It was the unknown, unaccounted-for minutes, no footage, no witnesses, no information, and they really wanted to know what happened in those missing minutes. And as the days dragged on, his family really began losing hope. By February 13th, after eight long days of searching, they came to the realization that he probably wasn't going to be coming home. Something probably happened to him. Like I said, he wasn't the kind of guy who would just disappear without a trace, and

• 18:15Annie Elise?

  deep down, they all knew that something terrible had happened. Our main thing is we want to find my brother. In good health would be great, but you know, if he has passed, we want to find him, we want to have a proper funeral.

• 18:27Speaker 06

  The John family is beyond frustrated as they move into day eight, wondering where 30-year-old Jason John is.

• 18:33Annie Elise?

  It is the worst nightmare for a family.

• 18:36Speaker 06

  The family of Jason has flown in from New York to get answers. His oldest brother, Rinju, flew in from his home in Dubai to be with his family in Austin during this difficult time.

• 18:46Annie Elise?

  It's tough, but it's the most important thing for family to be together in a tough situation like this.

• 18:52Speaker 06

  His family says they started to notice something was off when Jason didn't answer the family's weekly call on Sunday.

• 18:58Annie Elise?

  So I spoke to my mom on Sunday, and then she's like, oh, Jason didn't pick up his phone, which happens sometimes, and we all get busy in the time difference.

• 19:06Speaker 06

  But alarm bells didn't really go off until Jason's family was told that he hadn't been back home at all on Sunday, leaving his dog, Ruffles, alone.

• 19:15Annie Elise?

  The key thing is, okay, maybe he went out, he stayed at a friend's place, his phone died, that's all possible. But as soon as we knew that she was at home for hours on end, and Jason wasn't back, then we knew something was wrong. So that day, their worst fears were realized. Because that's when his body was found in Lady Bird Lake. He was fully dressed, he was wearing the exact same clothing that he was wearing the night that he went missing. He had his wallet in his pockets, his phone in his pockets. It was literally like just either was placed in this lake or walked into the lake. Now, I will say that his death was connected to a 911 call that was made around the time that Jason decided to head home from the bar on February 5th around 2 a.m. Because a man called 911 around that time saying that he did witness somebody who was

• 19:58Annie Elise?

  stumbling along the pathway along Lady Bird Lake. The caller also said that this person who was stumbling, they could see them vomiting into the lake before then slipping into the water. The witness rushed to help, but when their efforts failed, they ran to a nearby hotel so they could call 911. All I know is he was vomiting profusely. And struggling to walk, stand up. He was heading towards the bank, where it slid down a little bit and he was stumbling pretty fast. He landed five or 10 feet out into the water. Okay, by the time I got to the bank, he was a good 30 feet out. And did you see him come back up, Chris? No, I got right on top of where I believe he was.

• 20:40Annie Elise?

  I slipped around in a circle with a stick, trying to throw around, find him. I couldn't find him. What was he wearing? I couldn't tell, looked like a light colored shirt and maybe some shorter jeans. I couldn't tell from the distance, it was dark down there. How long ago was that? Probably three minutes ago, five minutes ago. As soon as I made it back to shore and got up on land, I ran straight up to the hotel and they called you. Police arrived at the scene around 2:16 a.m., which was very shortly after that 911 call was placed and very soon after he started his walk home. But when they got there, this person who had supposedly fell into the water was nowhere to be found.

• 21:24Annie Elise?

  There were also no signs of a struggle, no footprints, nothing to suggest that this person had even been there at all. Fast forward then to when Jason's body was found and the police started connecting the dots. I mean, they claimed, okay, this man that was referenced in this 911 call, that had to be Jason. That's what makes Most sense, case closed, right? Just another terrible unfortunate circumstance of accidental drowning. Or could the call have been made intentionally to explain away why a body may be found in the lake? So the official autopsy report ruled his death as drowning. And the medical examiner said that his body was typical of somebody who had been in the water for multiple days. There were no significant external or internal injuries. His brain, yes, was slightly swollen, but apparently that can happen in drowning cases.

• 22:09Annie Elise?

  So there were absolutely zero signs of foul play. But Jason's family and friends weren't ready to accept that official explanation because something about it just did not sit right. And when the autopsy report came back, it also revealed a detail that raised major red flags. There was partially undigested food in Jason's stomach. Which if Jason was the one seen vomiting near the water into the water, his stomach should have been mostly empty, right? It also said that the only substance that was found in his system was alcohol. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, no drugs, no toxins, nothing suspicious. But still, his family wasn't convinced, so they decided to request a second autopsy. And this time, the second report came back with a new detail.

• 22:52Annie Elise?

  GHB was in Jason's system. And this is the same drug that is commonly referred to as the date rape drug. Because this drug, it causes confusion, drowsiness, even unconsciousness, especially if it's mixed with alcohol. And I will say, there is this weird movement out there, not movement, but like this weird trend out there. Where younger kids are dosing themselves with GHB, like a small dose. Because they want, you know, it's like the new drug of choice or one of the drugs of choice. But they're doing it in a smaller dose than what a lot of predators will use for the date rape drug. Which personally, can't wrap my head around it. I don't know why anybody would ever want to dose themselves with GHB. I have been slipped the drug unknowingly before. I was in it at a club in LA, I may have talked about it on here.

• 23:36Annie Elise?

  And this guy who I thought was my friend, gave me a shot and it had GHB in it. And it was the scariest night of my life, hands down. Luckily, pretty soon after I consumed it, I knew that something was wrong and I had some friends there at the club as well. And they like rushed me out and took me home, but I was like on the floor of this shower as they were running the shower vomiting all over myself. I couldn't stand up. I couldn't even like open my eyes. It was a nightmare, which thank God my friends were there because God only knows what could have happened if, you know, they hadn't been there and this guy was with me the whole night. But anyway, I do not understand why somebody would willingly dose themselves with that. So anyway, they find GHB in his system. However, the medical examiner had an explanation for this.

• 24:20Annie Elise?

  They said that GHB often occurs naturally in the body after death and that it's all a product of decomposition. However, as you can imagine, for Jason's family, this didn't feel like a good enough reason. They were sure that Jason had been drugged while he was at that bar and that likely he was being watched and then attacked while he was on his way home.

• 24:45Annie Elise?

  All right, we're going to take a quick break because we need to talk about something that is the least fun, but the most important thing that you will probably ever do. And that is protecting the people you love. Life insurance is really about peace of mind, knowing people are set up for whatever situation, no matter what. And PolicyGenius makes finding life insurance so much easier. They're not an insurance company. They are a free online marketplace where you can compare quotes from some of America's top insurers side by side. And if you don't know where to start, their team of licensed experts can help answer your questions, handle the paperwork, and help you find an affordable policy that actually fits your needs and budget.

• 25:24Annie Elise?

  Make a smart move today to help protect their tomorrow. With PolicyGenius, you can see if you can find a 20-year life insurance policy starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage. Head to policygenius.com to compare quotes right now. That's policygenius.com.

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• 26:22Annie Elise?

  So the Austin locals just could not ignore this growing pattern any longer. There were too many deaths in such a short period of time. Similar, you know, circumstances for a lot of them. Too many similarities and too few answers. It just didn't seem like a coincidence anymore. Jason's death marked the first unusual death of 2023. Within three months, four men had been pulled from Lady Bird Lake. These new deaths were a turning point for local residents. Where they had once merely whispered about a dark force running free in their community, they now began to demand that action be taken to keep them safe. And sure enough, exactly one month after Jason went missing, this time on March 5th, 2023, another body was pulled from the water of Lady Bird Lake.

• 27:06Annie Elise?

  This time, it was the body of 40-year-old Clifton Axtell. He was a father of two, and he had been missing since February 25th. And sure enough, he was last seen at a place called Stubbs Barbecue, which was just a few blocks away from Sixth Street. Like the others, details surrounding Clifton's death were pretty scarce, leading a lot of people to just fill in the blanks on their own. And for a while, some people speculated that he might have even taken his own life, possibly jumping off a bridge and doing that. After all, he did, yes, have a history of depression. However, just two days before his disappearance, Clifton went to the doctor and explicitly said that he was not experiencing any sort of suicidal thoughts. So was this really that? Did he really take his own life? Once again, his death was just ruled as accidental drowning,

• 27:51Annie Elise?

  and the case was quickly closed. But like clockwork, almost one month later, it happened again. On April 1st, the body of a 30-year-old man named Jonathan Honey was pulled from the water near Rainy Street. Now Jonathan wasn't an Austin local. He was actually from Washington DC. He had flown into the city to party with his friends for a bachelor party. And on the night of March 31st, Jonathan and his friends hit Rainy Street. They were doing what hundreds of people do every single weekend there: bar hopping, dancing, drinking, having a great time. And at some point Jonathan separated from his friends and then decided to go get something to eat at one of the, you know, many food trucks that line... Up and down that street. That was the last time that anybody saw him alive. When Jonathan didn't return from getting food, his friends became very worried.

• 28:36Annie Elise?

  But all of their calls, their text messages, they went unanswered. And by the next day, they reported him missing. The search didn't last long, though, because on April 1st, his body was discovered floating in the lake. And get this, the lake or the river that flows into the lake is literally just a couple minutes walk from the last place that Jonathan was seen. Now, the autopsy, predictably, ruled his death as an accidental drowning, the exact same conclusion that had been reached with all of the other victims. However, I will say that some of the details this time did not fit the usual pattern. His tox report showed that he had alcohol in his system, which really wasn't a surprise after a big night out drinking, right?

• 29:13Annie Elise?

  It also showed that he had amphetamines in his system, which was quickly explained away because he also had a prescription for ADHD medication, which contained amphetamines. However, there was something unusual in the tox report. Hydroxazine, and I'm hoping I'm saying that right. But this hydroxazine isn't this party drug or anything like that that somebody would take recreationally. It's actually found in medications for allergies, anxiety, it's even used as a sleep aid. One of its main side effects causes drowsiness, which we know could impair somebody, especially if it's mixed with alcohol. Now, some reports did say that the reason this was found in his system was because he took Zyrtec and he took that for allergies and that that contains a small dose of this. But who really knows?

• 29:55Annie Elise?

  And what really set Jonathan's case apart from the others were his injuries. Because unlike the other victims, Jonathan did have visible contusions. One on his left eyelid, another one on the side of his neck. He also had several cuts along his face. And these weren't the kind of injuries that you would expect from somebody who simply tripped and then fell into a body of water. It looked more like injuries that happened from the result of a struggle. So his friends were confused, to say the least, because when Jonathan left to go get food, he was acting completely normal, not overly drunk, not disoriented, nothing like that. So how did he end up in the lake? And more importantly, how did he go from standing in the middle of a street full of people to then drowning in shallow water just blocks away?

• 30:37Annie Elise?

  In fact, his death was so unexplainable and caused so much uproar in the community that they decided to start actively investigating his death themselves. People started walking up and down the shorelines of the lake, trying to really understand how could somebody accidentally drown here?

• 30:53Speaker 06

  Yet another body has been found in Lady Bird Lake. It was thirty-three-year-old Jonathan Honey, who was here for a bachelor party, and he was also in the Rainy District. He was out on Rainy Street. Family says he was last seen, I believe, at a taco truck. Rescue teams went out yesterday, which was Saturday, April 1st, and they recovered his body, I believe, after a five-hour search. There still aren't many answers, but it obviously leads the question of what is happening here. In just a month, you've had two thirty-to-thirty-three-year-old men from Rainy Street now in the lake. Some are blaming trail lighting, some are thinking this could be targeted.

• 31:25Annie Elise?

  During this, call it, community investigation, many people found that the shoreline was surprisingly shallow in a lot of places, making it even more difficult for people to believe that this full-grown adult could accidentally drown without some other factor being at play here and being involved. And then, two more bodies surfaced in 2023. On April 15th, the body of thirty-year-old Christopher Clark was discovered, and this time, it was discovered about two miles away from Rainy Street. And then, on June 27th, the body of Moga Degala was found only one mile away from Rainy Street. In both cases, they followed the exact same pattern. The bodies were found floating in the water, which had very little information released to the public soon after. The cause

• 32:10Annie Elise?

  of death was ultimately ruled accidental drowning and no foul play being involved. But by this point, these were the fifth and sixth bodies that were pulled from this lake in just six months. So, was it accidental drowning, or was it a dumping ground for a serial killer? And not to mention, all these victims, they were all men, all around roughly the same age, and just vanishing under very similar circumstances, and ultimately, all meeting the same fate: dead inside the water. So it's not hard to believe that the city was buzzing with rumors and theories, right? Everybody was trying to sleuth out the details, figure out the truth here, figure out what was going on. There were theories that were flooding social media, Reddit, Facebook groups, I mean, you name it, saying, "There was this predator who's out

• 32:54Annie Elise?

  there, on the loose, he's lurking around, targeting men who are alone, leaving the bars, possibly under the influence, and then, a predator who's basically..." Picking that as their perfect target. So as the city's in uproar, the police decided they needed to release a statement. They wanted to calm everybody down, bring it all down a notch, try to relax everybody, hoping to, you know, shut down the rumors, ease people's fears. And the statement was interesting because it read, "The Austin Police Department is aware of speculations regarding recent drownings in Lady Bird Lake. Although these cases are still under investigation and evidence is being analyzed, at this time, there is no evidence in any of these cases to support allegations of foul play.

• 33:37Annie Elise?

  While each incident has occurred at the lake, the circumstances, exact locations and demographics surrounding these cases, they vary. Our investigators approach every case with an open mind and objectively examine all available evidence. We work closely with the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, which conducts a parallel investigation into all deaths. The medical examiner performs autopsies in each of these types of death investigations. The results of these autopsies have not revealed any trauma to the bodies nor indication of foul play. One common theme of drownings in Austin this year is the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake, which has numerous access points. Many of these access points can be challenging to see at night.

• 34:22Annie Elise?

  The parks in which most of these drownings have occurred are park areas that close at 10:00 PM and these occur after the park closes. We advise the public to follow the rules on park closures."

• 34:33Speaker 06

  Can't explain why it's seems to be mostly men, but I can say that from the Austin homicide unit that we look into every possible aspect that we can in all these cases and nothing has led us to believe that there is any sort of killer, especially serial killer at play here. Whenever people are out, especially in the bar districts, hopefully people keep an eye on their friends. I think a lot of people end up becoming incredibly intoxicated, which often leads to some people ending up in the water. And I can't speak to exactly how folks end up in the water, right? Every case is completely different. Some of the folks are homeless, sleep by the water and may use that as a bathroom.

• 35:18Speaker 06

  So there's, there's all different circumstances in all of these different cases, but I hope it helps make people feel a little bit better that through our homicide unit.

• 35:28Speaker 03

  We we look at every possible thing that we can in uh in trying to rule out any sort of foul play. And there's just no signs that or any evidence leading to any kind of conclusion that anyone is being killed, other than the ones that we've already classified as homicides.

• 35:47Annie Elise?

  So the statement did put some people at ease, not everybody. There was definitely still speculation going wild, but it did start to put some people at ease. And for a while, it kind of felt like the nightmare had finally ended because months went by without a single body being found in the lake. So the city began to breathe a little bit again. The rumors started to fade away. The fear started to dull, but there were still a couple of people who were questioning it. And you know who I'm talking about, right? Maybe you're one of them being like, okay, the police put out this big statement. So if there is a serial killer on the loose, of course, he's going to go dormant for a little bit, or he's going to try to lay low because there is so much speculation and the heat is on him, you know, things like that. It doesn't mean that it's because all of these were in fact accidental drownings.

• 36:30Annie Elise?

  Everybody was trying to explain away both parts of it, both ways you could look at it. And even though there was generally a feeling of peace in the community and calm, the peace was quickly shattered because on February 5th, 2024, another body was found. Now, what's different is this time it was a woman's body that was found. She was the very first female victim that was connected to these mysterious deaths. And at first, the police claimed that they were investigating her death as a homicide. So this, of course, caused immediate panic. But then, after the panic was already beginning to ensue and everybody was freaked out, they insisted, no, no, no, it's not a homicide. This is just another mysterious death. No details were released, but they were saying, you know, there's no cause of death. There's no explanation. It's just another mystery.

• 37:15Annie Elise?

  And then, sure enough, in April, another body was found near the lake. This time, the body wasn't inside the water, though. It was just near it. And the medical examiner ruled the cause of death as heart related, saying, okay, this person unfortunately had a heart attack and then died right near the lake. But the city barely even had enough time to process this death because just days later, yet another body was pulled from the water. Once again, no No names, no details, just another accidental drowning. So after months of silence, when people's fears were finally starting to subside, there were three new sudden deaths. Then a few months later, on August 6th, 2024, calls flooded into 911 claiming once again, a body was floating in Lady Bird Lake.

• 38:00Annie Elise?

  When the authorities arrived, they found a man in his 60s and he was clearly dead and likely had been dead for quite some time. Can you take a guess what the police's conclusion was? No foul play, just another accidental drowning. And just over a month later, on September 29th, another 911 call. This time, the call was a bit different though, and very, very disturbing. Because a man was spotted near the lake behaving very erratically, waving his arms, punching the air, just clearly in distress. And while the caller was still on the phone with 911 dispatch, this man entered the water and never came back up. First responders rushed to the scene, obviously, and they managed to pull him out of the lake, trying to save him, but unfortunately, it was too late.

• 38:45Annie Elise?

  He was pronounced dead on the spot. Which maybe this one is easier to explain away. It sounds like he was acting erratically, so maybe he was on drugs, maybe there was something else going on. Maybe somebody drugged him, he got away, ended up by the lake. I don't really know. But when you add it all together with how many bodies are being found in this one, you know, radius, this small area, that's kind of wild. And I think it definitely does warrant a closer look. And also, another detail to consider is these are the only bodies that have been officially pulled out of Lady Bird Lake. Because there are a lot of unsettling reports from people out there who believe that they were under the Rainy Street Ripper's attack or pathway of attack, and that they were able to escape being the next victim. Which these stories are wild.

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• 40:06Speaker 06

  I don't know what you've come to expect from a true crime podcast, but I guarantee you Crime Junkie is all of that and more. I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 40:13Speaker 07

  And I'm Britt, and every Monday, we dissect some of the most mysterious cases.

• 40:17Speaker 06

  But listen, we're not just rehashing what you can read for yourself online. We have a team of dedicated investigative reporters and producers who I work with for months on every single episode. But the show still feels like having a conversation with your best friend.

• 40:29Speaker 07

  If your best friend was a detective.

• 40:31Speaker 06

  But like, a good detective.

• 40:33Speaker 07

  So join us and tune into Crime Junkie every Monday.

• 40:35Speaker 06

  Wherever you get your podcasts.

• 40:44Annie Elise?

  In February of 2024, Connor Dresser-Lee had just made a fresh start. He moved to Austin for a new job in sales for a local pest control company, and he was really eager to begin the next chapter of his life. And then, just two days after his move, he decided to celebrate with some friends on Sixth Street. So they hit up a bar where the night started off like any other. But at some point during the night, Connor told his friend that he was gonna go to the bathroom. And when he left, he never came back. Now, his friends didn't panic at first, but then, they spotted him across the street at another bar. So they went and tried to catch up to him, but by the time they crossed the street and got over to that bar, he was gone again. And this time, he was really gone. They couldn't find Connor anywhere. He also wasn't answering any of their phone calls. So panic really started to set in,

• 41:27Annie Elise?

  and all of the friends kind of just like sprang into action. They called the police, local hospitals. They even started plastering missing persons flyers all around the city just hours after his disappearance. I mean, they truly wasted no time at all. But days passed with no sign of Connor. Until finally... Somebody found him crumpled up behind a dumpster in an alley, completely unresponsive. A passerby just happened to spot him and then called 911 for help. Now thankfully Connor was still alive, and when he finally woke up, he found himself in a hospital bed, confused, disoriented. He had no idea how he had gotten there. His memories of that night were completely blank. It was almost like his mind had been wiped clean after leaving the bar. And the tox report revealed something even more disturbing.

• 42:12Annie Elise?

  Connor had a cocktail of drugs in his system. Fentanyl, methamphetamine, and even ketamine. A truly deadly combination that Connor did not remember taking any of. And in an interview with a publication called The Daily Dot, he recounted the very few fragmented memories that he did have of that night. He says, "One thing I remember from the night is that we met a group of people. It was me and Jaden. We were at this one bar, and then there was like this group of people, and they had like a weird vibe. What was weird is I only drank like one or two drinks and I felt crazy, fucked up, you know? And then I remember we talked to this one group and they were weird, and that's it. Now the hospital just kind of brushed everything off as an overdose,

• 42:56Annie Elise?

  treating him like your average partygoer who just maybe, you know, partied a little too hard and maybe took some drugs that they didn't know what they truly were, or drank some drinks that weren't covered, or something like that. They didn't really believe him when he insisted that he never took any of those drugs, especially intentionally. And despite that his wallet and his phone were also missing, the incident was really just chalked up to a wild night gone wrong, and there was no thorough investigation conducted." Which I gotta say, that's really weird because obviously, that has foul play written all over it, right? Whether or not he intentionally took the drugs, I would come to the conclusion that he probably didn't take those willingly, because his phone and his wallet was also missing, which to me indicates that there was a robbery that took place.

• 43:40Annie Elise?

  So I would imagine it's that same weird group who probably drugged him, and then robbed him, and maybe even had something more sinister planned. I don't know, but how you just come to the conclusion of that of like, "Oh, they're missing all their stuff, and he had a mixture of three drugs." Drugs in his system when he doesn't have a history of doing drugs recreationally. How does that math equate? It doesn't make any sense, right? And another one of these stories, which was one of the most disturbing stories, is from 38-year-old Jeff Jones, a guy from Boston, who traveled over to Austin in June 2023 for a friend's bachelor party. Jeff and his group arrived in the city on June 22nd, just really excited, ready to party, ready to experience Austin's nightlife that is, you know, so iconic. So that night, they decided to kick off their trip with a really nice dinner and then head to the bars along Sixth Street.

• 44:25Annie Elise?

  The group was having a great time. They were laughing. They were drinking. They were dancing. It was a normal night until it wasn't. At around 1 a.m. on June 23rd, Jeff got separated from his group, and it wasn't anything alarming at first because that happens all the time around crowded bars, right? Sometimes it's like jam-packed, shoulder to shoulder. You miss each other in a crowd. You end up reuniting at some point. But his friends tried finding him, texting him, calling him, but Jeff just didn't answer. They last heard from him around 1:30 a.m., but after that, it was just radio silence. But then, three hours later, an anonymous call came into 911, anonymous, okay? And this caller was cool, calm, collected, almost detached.

• 45:10Annie Elise?

  And they reported seeing a body that was lying underneath one of the street bridges which crosses over Lady Bird Lake. And it was later discovered that that body was Jeff.

• 45:20Speaker 02

  I was found at about 4:30 in the morning at the bottom of a ravine. I actually was right next to a river that would lead to Lady Bird Lake. I'll twist to it as well. I was found right next to the creek where another individual a few years back also was found there. Unfortunately, he had passed away. But yeah, that lake, that leads right to Lady Bird Lake. And I was found at about

• 45:44Speaker 06

  4:30 in the morning after disappearing from the group around 1:00. So it is a strange amount of time that I had. And then it was just kind of an innocent bystander who had found me and reported it anonymously. So I would, it would be interesting to find out a little bit more about that person. I always thought it was kind of odd that I, why did they see me at the bottom of a creek? And bed, you know, in the middle of the night randomly.

• 46:06Annie Elise?

  When the emergency responders had found Jeff, he was severely injured. He was broken, battered, literally clinging to life. That is not an exaggeration. So he was rushed to the hospital and he actually, when he got there, had to go under several emergency surgeries. He had to repair damage to his kidneys, liver, his lungs, his spleen even had to be removed entirely. I mean, this guy was beaten to a pulp and his injuries didn't stop there. He had several broken vertebrae, a shattered shoulder, a fractured elbow and several broken ribs. He was in such critical condition, in fact, that the doctors had to place him in a medically induced coma. They were trying to help his body recover and that was the only way to allow his body to recover.

• 46:51Annie Elise?

  He didn't wake up for almost two weeks. And when he finally did wake up and open his eyes, I mean, Jeff was confused. He was scared. He also said that while he was in this coma, he had very vivid dreams, so real that these dreams felt like he was just living his ordinary life back in Boston. So then waking up, being hooked up to all of these machines, this hospital bed, all of these things, surrounded by people who were explaining to him what happened. It just didn't even feel real to him at all. It ended up taking days for Jeff to accept what had happened to him. But the most unsettling thing was that Jeff had no memory of what happened the night that he was injured. None at all, except for the fact that he felt relatively normal before he got separated from his friends.

• 47:34Speaker 06

  I had no idea what had happened because my, my recollection faded away while we were still at dinner. So. To me, I woke up about, about a week and a half into it. They took me out of, they had me in an induced coma. And um, yeah, I had no idea where I was or what had happened. And I had, you know, a bunch of staples all over my body. And it was a quite, quite a harrowing experience, I would say, at that point, even, it took me a few days to really even understand what was going on.

• 48:01Annie Elise?

  He hadn't been super drunk. He was 6'3". He was a big guy who could handle his alcohol. On top of that, he had been pacing himself on purpose that night because he knew that it was going to be a long bachelor party weekend. So he didn't want to overdo it on day one and then be out of commission for days and have the worst hangover of all time. So it was definitely confusing. And like I said, just to go back to the GHB conversation and when I was drugged firsthand, it wipes your memory. It truly does. For me, I only remember, it's, it's just like what they had reported. It's fragments. I remember being handed the shot and we were actually, he was like a promoter for the club, which is so embarrassing. So we were, he had like access to all the different areas of the club and we were like in the kitchen part.

• 48:43Annie Elise?

  And maybe it was the office. I honestly can't even remember. It was something like, you know, in the back of the club. And he hands me the clear shot glass with the tequila and now what I know was drugs. And the next thing I remember is being out by one of the like velvet booth type areas. I think the, uh, the club was called Wonderland. I'm almost positive it was. And it was like Alice in Wonderland theme. I remember being out by one of those booths and kind of like looking at my friend AJ and like being like, something's wrong. I don't feel right. And then the next memory I have was being back at my friend's apartment on the floor of the shower with the water on, vomiting. And then the next thing I remember was waking up and not really having a memory of what happened. It was like just three little memories from that night.

• 49:26Annie Elise?

  And so for all of these people who are reporting, I don't do drugs. I, drugs are my system, but I've never done drugs. I don't remember anything. How did I get here? That is definitely a result of being drugged. That's what it does. It wipes your memory. But here, now you have this guy, this 6'3" guy who's intentionally pacing himself, handling his alcohol. He's now been in a coma for weeks. He was beat to a pulp. And the official story was that he just was drunk, super drunk. Drunk and accidentally fell off the bridge. But Jeff was not gonna buy this story. He knew that this wasn't like him. He wouldn't just get so wasted and so drugged up that he would fall off a fucking bridge. Also, the bridge that they say he fell off of, it wasn't some open ledge. It had high walls, high barriers. It wasn't something that you would just trip over and then fall overboard.

• 50:11Annie Elise?

  And also, remember that 911 call that was made? The person who was cool, calm, collected, knew exactly what was going on and identified somebody being found. Just like that earlier 911 call when somebody said, oh, I think I see somebody in Lady Bird Lake. And quickly gets off, just too coincidental, right? And where there's smoke, there's fire. And Jeff too, thought that this was super suspicious. He said that the spot that he was found at, it wasn't even easy to see from the bridge. So it was almost like this person who called 911 was specifically looking for him? Or they knew specifically where he was? Because a regular pedestrian walking that bridge would not have had the visibility to see where he was. So how'd they know he was there? And also, if you're calling 911, let me just ask you personally.

• 50:53Annie Elise?

  If you're calling 911, saying you see a body lying under a bridge? Or somebody in a lake? Or somebody not moving? Are you cool, calm and collected? Are you also asking to be anonymous? Probably not. I mean, if you are, I would really like to know your reasoning. If it's me, I'm calling 911 and I'm saying, oh my God, there's a body here. I don't know what to do. Do you want me to go near it? Do you want me to try to help them? Do you want me to see if they're alive? My name's Annie, what can I help you with? Like, that seems to me at least, like, the normal course of action and how you would respond. Something just was not equating here. So Jeff, he theorized and tried to make sense of it. And he's like, what if the person who called 911 was the same person who pushed him off that bridge? What if that same person drugged him? He was convinced by this point that he was targeted.

• 51:38Annie Elise?

  He was a predator's clear-cut target. And possibly even the predator who was the rumored serial killer roaming the streets of Austin.

• 51:46Speaker 06

  And then they also had done a toxicology screen and they did find roofaline in my system. So, and there was no other substances outside of that. There's no way to really know because I don't have, unfortunately, any memory of the actual event. But yeah, somebody had drugged me and either tried to rob me? Or, you know, maybe it was part of whatever this murdering situation is. Not really sure, but obviously something had happened. And it seemed odd too, that a few of the other guys in our group also. Had gone home with, you know, abnormally level, high levels of confusion and more than just typical intoxication. It was definitely quite a, quite a revelation. I mean, I had never really contemplated my own mortality at all. I'm in my mid 30s, so it's not even something

• 52:29Speaker 06

  you think about really. We, we had actually heard about it when we were going down. There was about six or seven of us on a flight down from Boston together on Thursday and we had heard of the disappearances of people and we were kind of joking with one another, oh, watch out for the serial killer in Austin and, you know, to wake up and then realize that, you know, it could have actually been a target of somebody in that exact situation we were laughing about was definitely a shock. Um, yeah, I mean, I hadn't, I had heard about it, but I hadn't really, I obviously did a lot more research afterwards, started realizing that I fit the profile of, you know, a 20 or 30 something male who've been disappearing at an increasing rate over

• 53:11Speaker 06

  the past few years in Austin. So it's, um, yeah, it's really unfortunate and I don't know that I believe that it's really a serial killer, but I do think that the drug is that, you know, these drugs that are, that can knock you out are very prevalent and easily available for people down there. And if, if you want to take advantage of someone, it's a great way to do it. You completely incapacitate someone within an hour or so. So I think that, that may be the real issue is just that, that that drug is, is kind of running rampant around, around major cities. Yeah, I think it's something that really needs to be addressed at this point. I mean, with the fact that you have this many people disappearing in your city, whether it's a serial killer or not, I feel like that's not good for tourism and you would think that they would want

• 53:52Speaker 06

  to eradicate that issue, um, sooner than later. It's, uh, it's crazy. But, um, yeah, hopefully, you know, me having these conversations can get some awareness and, and at least, um, help people be a little more safe when they're, when they're down there and in a few other cities around the country, which seem to have kind of similar issues going on. Do you guys have any reason to believe there was anything suspicious surrounding the incident involving Jeff Jones? No. And I, I, from what I had heard, he just had no recollection of the events of that night, but, uh, the officers that had responded.

• 54:26Annie Elise?

  ...out there, found him at the bottom of the, uh, to find him on the ground. So again, without like video or anything, uh, definitive to, to show, um, that there was any foul play, everything pointed to the fact that he had just fallen. And another man thinks that he may have been a target as well. 21-year-old Christian Pugh vanished after a night out in November of 2019. On the night of November 17th, Christian had been out bar hopping with his friends all along Rainy Street and everything was going normal, everything was fine. But Christian was last seen around 1:30 a.m. Similar to Jeff, similar to Connor, similar to so many of these people, right around that 1:30, 2 o'clock hour, Christian had gotten separated from his group of friends after that night

• 55:10Annie Elise?

  out on Rainy Street. And just like Jeff and Connor, when his friends tried to text him or call him, there was no response. Now, what ensued for the next couple of days was an ultimate frantic search. Multiple law enforcement agencies combed the area. They were desperately searching for Christian. And even more weird, when the police checked surveillance footage from the bar where he was last seen, there was absolutely no sign of him leaving. It was almost like he walked into this bar and then just vanished, just ceased to exist at all. But 60 hours, six zero, 60 hours after he disappeared, Christian was finally found. He was found unconscious and barely clinging to life. His body was found deep in the brush along this trail, right alongside surrounding Lady Bird Lake.

• 55:55Annie Elise?

  It was hidden under the shadow of one of these bridges, just in the brush, deep in there, hidden away, tucked away. And in fact, he was so well concealed, that it's likely that somebody would have ever found him by accident. His body wasn't found near a busy path where a casual jogger or biker would maybe stumble across it. It was almost like somebody hid him there on purpose, in a place where they thought that nobody would ever look. His body was also a mile away, on the opposite side of the lake from where he was last seen. And that kind of just begs the question of, how'd he even get there? When first responders reached his body, Christian was in critical condition. And he had injuries that were so severe that, like the others, he was rushed to the hospital and he was immediately placed in a coma, and this coma lasted an entire month.

• 56:39Annie Elise?

  Now, let me just say, somebody's body has to be really badly injured to be placed in a medically induced coma. So now, here you have two people, very similar circumstances, who just vanished from their friends and beaten or injured so badly to where they needed to be placed in a medically induced coma at the same area, by the same lake, after partying on the same strip of bars. Hmm, again, at what point can you not chalk this up to a coincidence? That is too many similarities, and all of these are men, all of these are men who are out partying, like, there's too many similarities. But once again, the official report from the Austin Police Department said it's nothing more than a tragic accident.

• 57:21Annie Elise?

  Christian had fallen from this bridge by accident, probably was drunk, case closed. But his injuries, they told a very different story because his body was battered. He had multiple traumatic injuries, the kind that don't line up with this simple fall off of a bridge. And even if he had fallen off of a bridge, how did he end up then so hidden, so deep in the brush, so far away from where gravity would have naturally taken him if he fell off a bridge? No way. And like, they're saying he fell from a bridge, he was so injured because of the impact of that fall, but then he somehow managed to move himself all the way into this deep, hidden brush? Make that make sense? So Christian's family never accepted that this was just an accident.

• 58:02Annie Elise?

  They believed that Christian had been drugged, attacked, and then intentionally thrown from the bridge, then left for dead in this secluded spot where nobody was supposed to find him. And guys, it just gets weirder.

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• 59:00Annie Elise?

  Now while many people believe that these men just happened to escape the clutches of a serial killer, others believe that this serial killer has been active for much longer than originally believed. After the string of deaths since 2022, police have also started to reexamine older cases and start to look at them with fresh eyes, cases that once did seem like accidents or isolated incidents. But now, they seem very eerily familiar. For example, the death of Riyadh Hamad in 2008. Riyadh was a 55-year-old schoolteacher who was reported missing by his family on April 14, 2008. This was after he didn't return home after going to a nearby pharmacy. Then, two days later, he was found

• 59:42Annie Elise?

  on the south side of Lady Bird Lake and he had duct tape over his eyes and mouth. He also had injuries to his face, his body, and his hands and his feet were bound. Despite these concerning circumstances, police ruled this death as a suicide. Which tell me what person is taking their own life and putting duct tape over their eyes, their mouth, and binding their feet and hands? How does that work? Like, how do you even justify that, right? To me, and I'm not trying to like be critical of the police department, but to me, it almost seems like the police are more concerned with marketing Austin as this safe, beautiful community where people can go and tourists can come and everybody can have a great

• 1:00:25Annie Elise?

  time and feel safe. So they're trying to explain away all these deaths, rather than look at the writing on the wall and say, "Uh, something doesn't feel right here. Maybe they need to put somebody in undercover. Maybe they need to put more surveillance out there." I don't know, but how do you come to these conclusions? How do you say that that was self-inflicted and somebody's duct taping their eyes and their mouth and binding their hands and feet and also have injuries to their face and body? Like, what? Are you out of your mind? And in May 2008, just weeks after Riyadh's mysterious death, another teacher vanished. And of course, this teacher also vanished under eerily similar circumstances. Now, this teacher was a woman, and she had left her house late at night to make a quick run to the grocery But when she went to the grocery store, she never returned.

• 1:01:09Annie Elise?

  Days passed and her family grew, obviously increasingly desperate. They filed missing persons reports, they were putting flyers out, they were pleading for help, they just wanted answers. But then, a few days later, her body was discovered by a group of fishermen. And can you take a guess where it was discovered? Right there, in Lady Bird Lake. But what really stood out wasn't just where she was found, but more so the condition of her body when she was found. Because despite having been missing for only a few days at that point, her body was severely decomposed, far more than what would be expected in such a short amount of time. It just didn't make sense. Then, fast forward to 2012 and the police found a 21-year-old named Cole Christensen, dead right there in a creek near Lady Bird Lake.

• 1:01:53Annie Elise?

  His body was found by somebody passing by. Like so many of these cases, the police didn't really conduct much of an investigation. They just said his death wasn't suspicious and his official cause of death has never even been released. Then, between February of 2014 and 2016, just a two-year period, five more bodies were found. And these bodies were all belonging to people between 20 years old and 35 years old. And like all of the other cases we've talked about, they were out drinking, out with friends, vanished and then turned up in Lady Bird Lake or near Lady Bird Lake. Later that same year, 25-year-old Christian White was in Austin attending the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

• 1:02:35Annie Elise?

  And one night, he got separated from his friends and then, like the others, disappeared. They reported him missing and his body was found in a river that connected to Lady Bird Lake. His tox report showed a slew of drugs in his system. However, unofficial cause of death was never revealed. And despite the tragic nature of all of these deaths, at the time, there wasn't a clear pattern or link between them. I mean, Austin is a pretty big city with over 40 to 50 homicides a year. So the sheer size of the city really made it difficult to connect these individual deaths to one another. It was hard to say whether they were anything more than just random occurrences. But one of the most concerning deaths happened just weeks later, because 25-year-old Martin Gutierrez had recently moved to Austin after graduating from Texas Tech University.

• 1:03:19Speaker 02

  Martin, such a good kid. He was a little bit younger than me, he's like six years younger than me. Such a happy, happy individual, very optimistic, painfully optimistic, he's such a great person.

• 1:03:32Speaker 02

  Um, you know, he went to Texas Tech, graduated, and he always used to come here to Austin all the time. And then, uh, when he graduated, he came and moved in with me. And so that's what ultimately brought him here to, to Austin. He was the, the baby of the group. You guys were really close. Sounds like you were really close. Very, very much so. We went to the gym every day, like we did everything the same. Watched the same stupid movies all the time on repeat, you know, just, you know, those kinds of things.

• 1:03:58Annie Elise?

  He moved in with his brother Mitchell and with his sister-in-law Whitney, and all three of them supposedly got along great. They loved going out together. So one night, along with a few of their friends, all three of them went out to dinner. And then after dinner, Martin decided to go out with some friends out on Rainy Street. So they started out at one bar, which I want to say and make it clear, Martin did not have a drink at this bar. Then they went to another bar called Luster Pearl, and at this bar, Martin had exactly one drink. He and his friends then wandered over to another bar called Alibi, and apparently, once they got there, Martin was eventually thrown out. The bouncers at Alibi said that he was behaving very strangely. That was the reason he was thrown out. So because of that, Martin separated from his friends, and then he started heading down

• 1:04:41Annie Elise?

  south Rainy Street, all by himself, alone. Sounds familiar, right? And sure enough, Martin didn't make it home that night, and never came home the next day either. This caused his brother and his sister-in-law to, of course, you know, panic and really start to worry.

• 1:04:55Speaker 02

  Him and I were a victim of routine. You know, we went to the gym, you know, like six days a week. Uh, so whenever I got off of work at 2:30, I'd come home, clean the house or whatever, and then he'd get off of work at five, and then we'd go to the gym. Like, we had a set routine that we did all the time. And I texted him, I was like, hey, man, where, where you at? You know, and he was very dependable. He never missed a day of work. He was, you know, always, always there, very predictable. And he didn't answer. And then we called his work, and he didn't go to work, which was... Unheard of. Um, so we called around, called the, the buddies he was with the previous night and they said that he had just left and, um, they didn't know where he was. And then so we called

• 1:05:36Speaker 02

  around and I was like, well, maybe he's, you know, at his girlfriend's house and, uh, and he wasn't there. So we knew something was immediately off within like an hour of not making it to the gym. I knew something was off. And then, uh, the next day I went to like local hospitals, like Seaton Facilities, St. David's, asking around if there were any John Does that were found or, or brought to their facilities or anything like that. Um, and there was nothing.

• 1:06:02Annie Elise?

  Mitch Gutierrez filed a police report and started searching for Martin as any family member would do. He remembers what Martin's friends told him about the night that he vanished.

• 1:06:13Speaker 02

  So it was a Sunday night. Um, he went out to go meet up with the buddies that were just watching Sunday night football, uh, out there on Rainy Street. Um, they went to one bar. They weren't there very long. Then went to another bar called Luster Pearl. Um, from Luster Pearl, my bro, my brother was perfectly fine. And then he went to the bar next door called Alibi. By the time he made it to Alibi, he could barely even stand. He was slurring his speech. According to my friends, they were like, what's wrong with Martin? Like, you know, it's not him. And I know my brother through and through, you know, we'd go out all the time. We'd drink and what I saw in that footage that the, the bar owner let us see, that wasn't him. I don't know what was going on, but from one, one moment he was okay and then he wasn't. And so unfortunately

• 1:06:58Speaker 02

  with the bar, there's an inside area and then you go to the back area where the bathrooms are and then you can actually exit on the outside, which is what he did. So the buddies that he were, he was with, didn't even realize that he was gone. They figured, oh, he went to the bathroom or whatever. And then they texted him after, you know, like maybe 10, 15 minutes, like, hey, where are you at? No response.

• 1:07:18Annie Elise?

  Martin's family reported him is missing and a large search ensued. Martin's disappearance was all over the news. Flyers were everywhere.

• 1:07:26Speaker 02

  It's been almost three days and Martin Gutierrez is still missing. His friends and family searched for him all day today, but nothing turned up. They are not giving up though. K U's Patrick Perez is live on Rainy Street near downtown Austin where they put up posters. Patrick?

• 1:07:44Speaker 02

  Well, Mike, this is a poster. Martin's friends and family have placed throughout Rainy Street and

• 1:07:49Speaker 07

  surrounding area. They're hoping that someone will recognize him from that picture and know where he is. Now, throughout the day, search crews have been in the air, on the water, and on the ground, looking for Martin. His friends and family were out there to checking places he may have wandered off to in the dark. Many of them drove at least five hours just to help search for him. Martin's friends last saw him early Monday morning at the Alibi on Rainy Street. He tried to find a ride home, but he never made it. Nearly 72 hours later, his family hopes he'll turn up soon.

• 1:08:20Speaker 07

  I'm hoping he's not in the water that had drowned. I'm hoping someone didn't hurt him and he's down somewhere and he can't do anything, or someone took him. I just don't want to think that he's behind a dumpster somewhere.

• 1:08:34Speaker 07

  At a press conference earlier today, a detective said they don't suspect foul play, but an APD spokesperson later told me they haven't ruled it out just yet. Martin's family is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who has any information about where he may be. They'll also be here tomorrow morning, bright and early, working on Thanksgiving to find him. We're live in downtown Austin tonight. I'm Patrick Perez, KBU News.

• 1:08:57Annie Elise?

  Finally, after a week of searching, a body was found near the area where Martin was last seen on surveillance footage. His body was in the lake, and he was also wearing the same clothing as the night that he went missing. And like almost all of the other deaths, the medical examiner in this case determined that his cause of death was drowning. But Martin's family just was not convinced, because he had this very large contusion on the back of his head, and the medical examiner never gave an answer as to what that could have been from, what could have caused it. But in any event, the police closed the case almost as soon as they opened it.

• 1:09:30Speaker 02

  He had water in his lungs, but on the autopsy report, he had a large contusion on the back of his head, in the occipital region of his head. And I just find it hard to believe that, you know, this kid was like the best swimmer in the world, but swimming aside, like, it was like 20 degrees. There was no way he would ever hop in that water or whatever. They said it was an accidental drowning. There was no way. Like, there's no logical sense for him to be anywhere near that water. Mitch Gutierrez fears that someone harmed

• 1:09:59Speaker 07

  His brother and he's not satisfied with the answers he was given about his brother's cause of death.

• 1:10:04Speaker 02

  I'm in the medical field, you know, not to say I'm an expert in autopsies and whatnot, but I'm an ICU nurse practitioner and dead people don't bleed. So if you have a large contusion on the back of your head, that means you were bruising. That means you had to have time to bruise. Dead people don't bleed. And he had a contusion on the back of his head. They said, well, maybe he hit his head when he fell in the water. Well, if he fell, hit his head in the water, drowned, he would have never had a contusion on the back of his head.

• 1:10:29Annie Elise?

  His family has been insanely vocal about Martin's death and they are sure that somebody did something intentionally to hurt him. His sister-in-law Whitney told that same publication, The Daily Dot, "Something I feel very deeply happened to him that night. There was no indication of him trying to hurt himself or commit suicide. He wasn't in any secretive groups trying to meet up with secretive people. Something happened to him." His brother says he is just numb. He looked every day for Martin Gutierrez, who disappeared after a night of drinks on Rainy Street. And a week later, just Monday, authorities pulled his body out of Lady Bird Lake.

• 1:11:04Speaker 07

  Tonight, Gutierrez' family still don't know why he ended up in the water, but they hope something changes so this doesn't happen to anyone else. KBS Patrick Perez spoke with Martin's brother tonight. Patrick? Mike and Queda, these last few days have been really rough for Martin's family. On Monday, they had a strong feeling it was his body Cruz had pulled out of the water, but they had to wait until the next morning to know for sure. But what they still want to know is, why didn't Martin make it home? You know, he lived right up here. And I come home and the house is empty. He's gone. Mitchell Gutierrez still doesn't know what to think about the circumstances surrounding his brother's death.

• 1:11:48Speaker 07

  It's absolutely gut-wrenching and I just feel numb at this point. Cruz pulled 25-year-old Martin Gutierrez's body out of Lady Bird Lake Monday, a week after he disappeared from Rainy Street in downtown Austin. You know, you get some kind of closure with finding him, but it's just not full yet. We just wanted to know what happened to him. What happened after Martin left the alibi bar and why he didn't get a ride home? We take Ubers everywhere, everywhere. He took an Uber to get there.

• 1:12:21Speaker 02

  I don't know, just something's not right. And it just, I just don't have that closure because something just doesn't connect.

• 1:12:28Annie Elise?

  Needless to say, there's an obvious sense of unease that is just sweeping through the city, still to this day.

• 1:12:34Speaker 07

  There are renewed concerns after a woman was recently found dead in Lady Bird Lake. Austin police say her body was in the water near Brazos and Cesar Chavez, and that her death is not suspicious, but it's one of several bodies found in or near the water this year. Fox 7 Austin's John Krenjak spoke to some people who hang out on the north side of the lake. They say they intentionally avoid Rainy Street because of the bodies that have been found in that area. But to hear about deaths like this, this far west, that's sparking renewed concerns about safety.

• 1:13:04Speaker 03

  Very scary, especially given that I live in this neighborhood. Concern among people who hang out near Lady Bird Lake Monday after the body of a woman was found Sunday morning in the water near Brazos and Cesar Chavez. A 911 call was received from a kayaker who was paddling upstream and observed some type of object in the water. Police say it appears the woman was homeless, in her 60s, and may have been trying to keep warm when she somehow ended up in the water. Detectives do not suspect foul play. There's nothing that appears to be suspicious. There's no type of connection that they believe. No connection to the at least five other deaths in or near Lady Bird Lake just this year.

• 1:13:46Speaker 07

  Now that you mentioned the body was found in this area, maybe I will double think about like just walking late at night here.

• 1:13:53Speaker 03

  Three other deaths around the lake this year were also ruled not suspicious. In April, a fisherman spotted a person floating in the water at the east end of the lake near Craig Field. In July, a man was suffering from blunt force trauma on the trail near Rainy Street. The man was pronounced dead a short time later. And in September...

• 1:14:12Speaker 07

  A body was found along a trail near the lake off Pleasant Valley. It's shocking, obviously. Like, I don't know. It's like, I don't know. Do I feel safe to come and walk?

• 1:14:23Annie Elise?

  With all the inconsistencies and seemingly incomplete tox reports and medical reports, also pair that with the unexplained injuries, the rushed investigations, I mean, people aren't convinced that these deaths are not connected. And in a statement to a local newspaper, the police said, "The Austin Police Department homicide unit investigates each death in the city to determine if it is suspicious. Following the initial investigations, a medical examiner does a hands-on body exam to determine if there are any signs of physical injuries. The investigation then goes to the tox unit to determine if there is any internal damage. Through this process, one death near Lady Bird Lake in December of

• 1:15:02Annie Elise?

  2022 was ruled a homicide. The other deaths in and around Lady Bird Lake are not considered suspicious due to the results of these investigations." But despite this official stance, residents are not convinced. Some are even convinced that the police might be intentionally withholding information so that they could avoid sparking panic among the tourists. Because remember, Austin's nightlife is a huge tourist destination. Many also point to the striking similarities between all of the victims, mostly young men in their 20s and 30s, who are just conventionally attractive, have dark features, most of them are out and about on Sixth or Rainy Street with friends, and then just disappear. And despite the reassurances from the police, the locals are not backing down. People are

• 1:15:47Annie Elise?

  banding together, encouraging one another to really start taking extra precautions, using the buddy system, not going out alone, staying alert, keeping close to friends. More and more bars are also providing drug testing strips to their customers so that if you get a drink or leave your drink to go to the bathroom, or somebody buys you a drink, you can test it and actually see if you are being drugged. I gotta say, if the bars are rolling that out and offering that to their customers, first of all, amazing work. I mean, good on you. But also, that tells me that they even suspect that there is probably somebody intentionally drugging people in these bars. July of 2024, a petition was launched that is called Austin Police Department acknowledged that the Austin drownings may not be accidents.

• 1:16:31Annie Elise?

  And this petition has already collected thousands of signatures. But despite the growing public concern, the police have yet to announce any further investigation into these deaths. But the victims' families are also not just taking this lightly, they're demanding action as well. Many of them are convinced that somebody is responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. And they're even saying, you know what, even if these deaths were accidents, which we don't believe that they are, the police need to step up and fix things, you know, step up their efforts. So with that, and what I mean by that is, they're calling for major improvements to the all-around area. They're asking for a fence around the lake, more lighting, increased police patrol at night, additional cameras on those trails that surround the lakes.

• 1:17:14Annie Elise?

  I mean, things to where there's more monitoring and more safety precautions put in place.

• 1:17:20Speaker 02

  It is pitch black. You can't see anything. This is what the Lady Bird Lake Trail looks like at night. I mean, it is, it gets dark. I mean, there is no lighting. That's what Mitchell Gutierrez has been fighting to change since 2018. He wants lights and cameras installed on this trail. Something he's wanted since his younger brother Martin went missing here four years ago. His body found one week later in the lake. People are dying. Around families are just being crushed and devastated through all of this. And something needs to be done. This to be something that changes Austin. We want that trail to be lit up. It's hard to believe in 2023, that entire trail has no cameras on it, there's no, very

• 1:18:05Speaker 02

  little lighting, it's incredibly dark over there. That has to be fixed. The families recently sat down with state leaders to discuss the idea of lights and cameras on the trail. Mitchell says he hasn't heard much pushback, only from environmentalists claiming it's not safe. As much as I love, you know, the environment, trees, birds and everything, it's not worth a human life. I don't give [bleep] about that when in comparison if it could have prevented Jason from going through all this. Now both families feel their plea for change might actually become a reality. If and when it happens, Mitchell says it'll be the ultimate testimony to both Jason's and Martin's life.

• 1:18:48Speaker 02

  Surveillance and lighting will mean that we actually made a change. That something happened that my brother's death won't go in vain.

• 1:18:56Annie Elise?

  And while some of these changes have been implemented, a lot of locals feel like it still just isn't enough. They still feel that there's this sense of danger out there and it just continues to linger. A lot of the people believe that Austin is the perfect praying ground. You have people who are going out late night, heavy drinking, visitors who are unfamiliar with the area, so it almost seems like a perfect playground for a predator. Easy targets, easy people, easy way to slip things in their drink. And look, I will be honest, I would say that everybody's pretty split. While a lot of people do suspect there is a serial killer out on the loose, there are a lot of people, even in the Austin area, who are saying it probably is just accidental drownings. I don't think there's a serial killer out there, you know, I think everybody's overreacting.

• 1:19:41Annie Elise?

  So people are very divided. But then, in April of 2024, a bartender posted a very disturbing account on Reddit. Now, I'll just say this, we don't know what's reliable information on Reddit, right? People can post anything and everything over there. Despite this, the story quickly gained a lot of attention because according to this post, a customer came into this bar, approached this bartender, and just claimed to be the Rainy Street Ripper. And the poster on Reddit described him as a white man in his 40s, he had light brown hair, a muscular build, and he stood at around 5 feet 10 inches. But what was most chilling was the comment that this person allegedly said to this bartender, you know, not just the one of him being the Rainy Street Ripper, but that he claimed

• 1:20:26Annie Elise?

  he was, quote, Killing homos. Now, I don't know if a serial killer would randomly just announce that to a bartender, although I have to say, most of the bodies and victims being men, not that they've ever been confirmed to be gay or not. Maybe there's something to that if he thinks that they're gay. I don't really know. But I also don't know if a serial killer is just gonna up and like out themselves to a bartender, or if like they said it in more of a, not joking kind of way, but like, you know, unassuming kind of way. We know that sometimes in these cases, serial killers do get proud and they wanna brag. So, I don't know. Take it how you want. Do your own research. And I am interested to hear your thoughts, cuz I don't really know what to think. My guess is that it's probably not real, but like I said, the post did get a lot of traction.

• 1:21:09Annie Elise?

  And one thing I think we can all agree on, I would at least hope, is that we do need more information to truly see if these deaths are connected. I mean, did they all go to the same bars? Did they have any other injuries? Were they all drugged with the same kind of drug? Did the men have anything else in common? Like, are there any connecting factors? Now, weirdly, in all of these circumstances, the police never said why they immediately ruled out foul play in all of these deaths. People also bring up that certain drugs, like GHB, for example, can quickly metabolize and not even show up in autopsies. So, how many were drugged that we don't even know about? But again, I wanna know what you guys think. Are people making something out of nothing? Are they just seeing what they wanna see? Or is there really something deeper going on here?

• 1:21:52Annie Elise?

  And if you're from Austin, let me know what the community is saying right now, too. Let me know either on Spotify comments or in the review section on Apple, since that's the best way we can connect. And on Spotify, it's actually cool cuz I can comment back to you, or I can't do that in the review section, but still, it's a way for us to engage. Um, but I'm curious to know what you guys think. Like I said, this has been one that has been in the works for a while now, because so many people have been asking for coverage of this. And I felt like it was finally time. There, to me, there's just, I always say, where there's smoke, there's fire. And something just doesn't really sit right with me. I could understand people being drunk and accidentally falling into the water and drowning. It's very similar to Riley's strain, although I know a lot of people believe that there was foul play involved in that. So, I, like, I could definitely see-

• 1:22:37Annie Elise?

  But then you layer in the drugs in their system. You add in the injuries, some that had such severe injuries, they were put into a medically induced coma. You add in the weird vanishing act from all of them. Something just doesn't feel right here. Not at all. I mean, at best, at best, I would argue that somebody's at least drugging these people and then it's an accident, whether it's falling off the bridge or drowning, but that somebody still is behind it because they're the ones drugging them without their knowledge. But that's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is that they're drugged, then targeted, and then killed, right? So let me know what you guys think. Thank you so much for tuning in to another deep dive over here on Serialously.

• 1:23:21Annie Elise?

  My usual sign off is something like of don't do this that's related to the case. And I don't want to say don't go to Austin because I love Austin, but I will say, don't ever leave your drink unattended. Stay safe, watch your back, be nice, don't kill people. Don't leave your drink unattended and don't ever accept a drink from a stranger unless it is like not even a bottle of beer that has the cap still on. Just don't, don't. All right, guys, I'll be back with you on Thursday for headline highlights where we break down everything happening this week in the true crime world. And so I will talk with you then. All right, thanks for tuning in and until the next one, like I said, stay safe, be nice, don't kill people and don't accept any drinks from randos. All right, bye, guys.