Hi, crime, junkies, I'm your hosts, Ashley flowers and I'm bread, and today we wanted to hop in your feed with an extra special ad free, surprise episode. This is a story about a woman who seemed to have everything she could ever want. She had a steady job, a loving husband and a life long best friend, everything seemed to be going perfectly until the day she vanished. This is the story of Esther Holler.

On September thirteen to them an eleven in blooming in Indiana, which is like this college town. It's about our and a half from where I'm sitting right now, and indeed near this woman named Natalie stare, it is her favorite restaurant waiting for her very best friend Esther Hollis to come meet her now. Everyone calls Esther by her nickname, asking like calling her Esther would.

Do you like me, calling you, Brittany, fuel beatitude, sounded on ice on Twitter, the other day someone was like in an old episode, UK Brittany. Any honestly like took me by surprise. I never even consider the hunting with anything other than just think about it. I didn't, I think, aim. Instead, let person, like most my friends, don't even real My name is Brittany, Serbia, so now and asked D Army honestly, based on a lot like you and me, read like they grew up together. They ve been best friends since forever and regardless of any thing else, that's going on in their lives, they make it a point to get together every. Single Tuesday night for just some solid bff time they meet up at the olive garden. They have dinner. They have wine, maybe split a dessert talk about life, all the inside jokes like that. No one else can understand. I love it yeah. It totally sounds like our Wednesday night dollar Mark place that we would do literally a gala day after, like our old jobs for my time,

and in my remarks that I personally am just going to keep to myself for now that much marks now at thirty, two would probably not me or how we might die for sure. So, on this particular night, asked D is running Let me now Natalie waits for fifteen minutes. Then half hour, then a full hour, but there's no sign of sd anywhere. She not picking up her phone she's, not answering her tax and even though this is weird behaviour for Sd Natalie telling herself eels, don't panic, she could about something come up at work. These things happen, we give anything was really wrong leg of asked. He was in the hospital or something Natalie knows that she D heard about it by now, as these husband Brandon totally would have called her. So now I'm just gonna finish her wine and as she's leaving the restaurant. She kind of get this idea, like you know what I'm just going to drive by her house and just like, take a look, make sure every

things got again. This is a small town and when she drives by, she sees the lights on like normal, but she also sees Brandon struck in the dry. Which strikes me as a little bit. I distance she spent enough time over there at the house to know that s usually he's the one who parks in the driveway and Brandon normally parks out on the street, but again not that we are and I mean if ass he wasn't home. Yet you can see that you know Brandon, maybe wouldn't want to park on the street and your card and getting up whatever array and like me he was putting going out and then moving when she came back or I mean really. Does it matter right exactly so again. This isn't anything. That's like keeping her up at night, but the next morning, when she still hasn't heard from her best friend, things are starting. He'll. Often she can't deny that she starting to get nervous, she knows asked he doesn't act like this, and she knows she's gonna be worried until she knows her best friends, okay, which totally get I want to know

someone's, ok, my friends, my husband, otherwise it just garlic eat at you still at about nine a m. This is Wednesday morning: Natalie stops by Estes Workplace she's, a receptionist at this car dealership in town. She is always there by eight thirty on the dot at the absolute latest, but between Natalie goes inside. She sees something shocking Estes desk is empty and when one of the sales guys hurries over to answer one of the phones, that's ringing, he tells Natalie that nasty never showed up for work that day and more than just not showing up like is like she called in. She was no call no share, o Natalie heart Mediately plummet. This isn't right one thing not to shop for dinner: it's a total another thing to miss work without even calling, and that's when this memory

creeps internationally is mine, this memory, that for a second, gives her relief last Tuesday when they were having dinner. She remembers that Estes said something about needing to have an important talk with her husband Brandon and that if the talk didn go well that she actually might go stay with her sister Bethany for a bed. So does Natalie call Bethany. Will more than that. I mean she wants Jack like at this point, put eyes on her best friend, even like just check it and make sure everything's. Ok, if she's out her sisters, it means they have this convent it go well, so Natalie goes over, but in his house, hoping against hope that maybe she'll see as these car in the driveway but is not there when she pulls up and when she talks to Bethany, whose home she says that she hasn't even seen. Sd, unlike the last week hasn't even heard from her in a day or so away and here's the thing Bethany said

that she knew ass. He was upset about something going on. Brandon Brandon so had actually been keeping the guest room ready just in case I so she had had the in conversation with empty as Natalie dead, but she hadn't heard anything about her sister coming over, like nothing to make her worry and again to them. Shrilly hadn't, only when talking to her for like a day, so Bethany wasn't on high alert or anything, and at that moment this move when they both realize they haven't talked sure they haven't seen her that's when they both knew that they had no other choice. They had to go to. The police No Natalie Bethany, don't bother calling I one one. I mean bagel directly down to the station and tell them that they want to report and missing persons. Now they get the usual like questions. How long has this person been gone? Do you have any reason to think that they might be in danger or that they would want to leave themselves and not

kind of shares. This look with Bethany and they both not a little bit Natalie, tells the officer everything about how they ve been looking for her, how it's totally unlike her to not show up for work or just a ghost people and naturally also tells the officer something else: So you remember that important thing she wanted to talk to Brandon, about that. She had mentioned too narrowly. Dinner mentioned her sister Thea. Now, even though she didn't outright say the word infidelity asked he made, pretty clear that she had been thinking that her husband, Brandon had been cheating on her and so that choosy before she, sometime in the next week. She was finally going to confront him about it or wait. What do you mean that she like have these feelings, that did you have any proof oral tips off on them it's a little baby. No, like no solid proof. That's why again, she wasn't like throwing around the word infidelity, but she kind of walks Natalie through this feeling

she'd been having in her got four months that something was it right with them. It was only get stronger and stronger, and there was a weird things that kept happening like he would come leader and later saying that he was working way but like his lips and teeth were always like red wine stained when he came home and Finally, when her suspicions were like this all time, high asked he said that she actually check the monthly statements for their credit cards and she found a couple of these really must serious charges. One was for a necklace. The other was for a pair of hearings and the charges were from like months ago and since Brandon had in her any gifts lately and Chino. She didn't buy them. She new or at least believed that he was buying them for someone else right. So now

back any tell all this. The officer who's. Taking all this information down, he's like typing it into the computer system, but as the officer is typing in her name, he suddenly stopped. He says, oh, you don't need to report Esther as missing, because large yeah she's already been reported missing by her husband, Brandon, oh my God, Natalie and Bethany or chilled to the bone- and there shock only gets worse, as the officer keeps talking apparently Brandon. Came in late the night before it, which is basically the early morning hours like of the same day that there there and explained that he and his wife, had an argument earlier in the evening, and she got so he did that she took off, and so he says he waits around, he waits rounding, she's gonna come back and when she wasn't home I too am he says that he got worried that something might have had

and he wanted to file a report. Just in case, you know maybe sure, but hospital or jail, or something as a precaution right. So they took the report, but the officer how held Natalie in Bethany that the police are displaying? The waiting game like there was He hasn't been gone, that long, we're pretty sure she's gonna come back as soon as she cools down, but all this feels so wrong to Natalie and back any. If she What is missing and like Brandon was worried about her. Why wouldn't Brandon have called either one of them or even like check with them to see if she's out one of their houses before saying she's missing and, like I don't know, maybe she's still show but a hostile somewhere. That seems really bizarre to be exactly like. If you get a fight with you husband when you think the first thought is like ocean state with a friend

maybe she's gonna be home, but, like I'm, not gonna, think that something terrible happen within our right, like a friend or a sibling or family member, something not like a hospital or a president for sure yeah This is obviously like they're having the same feeling, but no matter how hard Natalie buttony, try and tell the officer that, like something is wrong here, no matter how much they plea with him to start. Investigation. They can't get anywhere and at some point they stop wasting their breath because they start realizing something this guy is never gonna, take their word over Brandons, because Sea bream. Then is a local prosecutor. This is a small town where all the cops know him and they're gonna listen to their body. Brandon will ya, The only thing Natalie and Bethany can do is go home and re

maybe the police are right and that SD will be back soon, but a week goes by and then two weeks and then a month, and nobody here is a thing from her. It's like asked you just. Fell off the face of the earth and nobody but Natalie in Bethany seem to be doing anything about it and theirs as one point where Natalie like goes back to the police station one day and basically stages sit and she brings her Ipad car journeys pack lunch and literally refuses to leave until the chief of police himself agrees to talk to her girl. That's what I would do for you too so lightly. Love you. But even this doesn't work like he does talk to her, but he gives her like the same old Beale, listen she's, a grown woman who had a fight. She wanted to leave, it's not illegal to go missing and he says: there's no signs of foul play

and there's really nothing. We can do unless something new turns up to tell us otherwise, so that's kind of where things stood at least for the next two months until one day when Natalie gets a call from Bethany Bethany can barely spit the words out when Natalie picks up She is crying she's, hyper ventilating and we can finally talk. She tells Natalie that she is at good will and something caught her eye. It was one of her sisters, favorite shirts and at first she does. She was just like losing like so grief stricken and just missing Estes, so much that she was seeing her in everything, but the closer he looked. She realized she wasn't losing this shirt with you now

It was this Ike Dolly T teacher that Bethany had made and customize for SD a couple of years ago, but she's looking at it, and she knows she's, not imagining it like it's right here. She knows she would never have given this too goodwill, he goes on to tell narrowly that she became so frantic at that point, just kind of start. Looking around through the racks I mean just like tearing through them all throughout the door, and she said that she found thirteen items Steve before she called Natalie, crying like a holding a mug that she had made where those like paint or on pottery places that name on it like we're talking one of a kind things now anything that would be mistaken. Yeah, as now he is listening to this on the phone. She can like feel her heart pounding in her ears. He had gotten rid of all her stuff. He knew she wasn't coming back in

honestly to me. This is one of the most heart breaking moments of this whole case like, I can't imagine how hard it would be. Standing in this freaking goodwill and sing like are met he's like a barbarian and wander short that I made a for us for that chicks concept would like hanging up with price tag on them, for just anyone to take I really cannot imagine. I would be falling short as one of my same price possessions, I literally or it yesterday. It will like. I will be buried in that shirt, will. Somehow, though, Natalie keeps it together, don't get me wrong, the girl is rising in the parking lot, just totally overcome with grief for missing her best friend on shore and like white hot rage, yeah that so little has been done to find sd and bring her home safe. But once Natalie has cried herself out, she drives overtook brandons to confront him, but before she even

eyes. She noticed something strange his trial. Still in the driveway. It's been there all this time that her best friends been gone, but now it looks different and it takes for a second like put her finger on it. But then she realizes that he has poor new tyres on his trunk. Ok, but that's all it like that strange that's because you didn't know SD, and it wouldn't be strange to anyone who wasn't Natalie people get new tyres all the time night. But what Natalie knows that? None of us knew until this point is that just a couple of months before asked, he went missing. Brandon had just gotten new tyre, they have dislike big fight about it because of how much they cost and he didn't like ask her and but he didn't really like need them or whatever. So there's no way that he needs new tyres again already o from

that moment on now only knew that she, and Anthony were on their own, so they watched Brandon, they drove by his house. They would pop into court on their days like they wanted him to know that they knew but honestly Brandon didn't care. He felt on touchable show Huxtable that Brandon was actually already being seen around town with his new girlfriend. It was his woman named crystal who worked like a waitress at this like little sandwich shop across the street from the court house, where Brandon used to always go and thirteen weeks to the day that faster went missing. Wouldn't you know it crystal moves in their house that seems kind of quick

yeah and mind you at this point, Brennan's basically cut off all contact with asked. Family and Natalie. According to Bethany, he told her tat. It was like just to painful to stay tight and that you really just like wanted to put this whole thing behind him. Put it behind him. It's only been like three months girl. It only gets worse. So that following Tuesday Natalie in Bethany, actually decides like meet up. They really become one confidence in their really only to people in the world who are going through the same thing. So they made up at this like nice, little beast through downtown and after walking to their table. They see Brandon and Crystal together, like all cosy up on the same side of the booth having this room. Take candle lit meal

You can imagine. I mean this is super hard to stomach for both of them, but then Crystal looks up. She actually makes direct eye contact with Natalie and Crystal puts one hand up on her chest so that both Natalie and Bethany can see the ring on her finger. Oh my god, it's to engage to Brandon. Maybe but Natalie Bethany aren't even like thinking about that right now, because they actually recognise, the ring and that's without taking them back. It is this really. Distinctive peace is like a small diamond surrounded by a circle of Opel's, and it's the exact ring that grim Hollis left to ask tee Her will anti war that ring every single day and she never took it off, except when she took it to the jewellers, have cleaned. Though I mean

If there is any question in their minds before I mean they know not like, if she really had run away like the police insist she did, she would have never left that behind. That ring meant the world to her, and so this is it like looking at as both Natalie in Bethany now know the truth be and a shadow of a doubt in their mind, SD is never coming back. She's, probably dead and no matter what law enforcement says. They are one hundred and fifty percent sure that Brandon had something to do with it. Okay, but they can't prove it. No, not without her body or some really compelling evidence, and so they wait. Finally, in October of two thousand and twelve, this is thirteen months after

the rusty, disappeared. Natalie comes up with an idea. She knows that if she and Bethany ever want to see any kind of justice for ASCII, then it's up to them to take things into their own hands and Bethany agrees. It takes a little bit of planning they're in no hurry. They want to do this right and first up is Bethany. You see Bethany works in insurance, so she forges this fat life insurance policy, brandons name with crystal listed as the sole benefit. Sheer before the ink even has time to dry Natalie is on deck. She calls brandons office pretending to be now. She knows that Brandons in court, so she leaves this message telling him to meet your coat crystal

motel of highway, one, oh nine after work, she's got a surprise for him. Brandon takes the bait and he had to their straight after work, he's so cocky, but he forgets he's heading straight to Natalie Home turf, a place that she's worked as a housekeeper, for you years, she picked a quiet room down at the end of a long, hallway puts a tart on the floor and waits for the key to turn in the lock If anyone saw a woman in a boat out on Lake Monroe that night, they never say anything. You know if they saw its policies and college kids out skinny dipping nothing to worry about. It takes a few weeks before the police come by the motel to ask if she'd heard anything from Brandon, Alice, as the officer tells her. Brandon went missing under very mysterious circumstances,

and no one's heard from him in several days and Natalie is shocked. I mean what a tragedy and ass she tells police she's, really worried about Brandon Sister in LAW Bethany because she's just been through, so much so much loss in such a short time here and I'm sure Bethany told please it's been in a really hard to cope with everything. That's been going on. Well, yes, that and police so I want to know, can Natalie confirm Bethany story that they were together. The night Brandon Disappear, which yeah? Of course she can. You know they ve been some cool sick, graze anatomy. They made a frozen pizza, split, a bottle of wine, I mean if they were to check their phones, are gonna ping in the same location. They were together all night when they leave Natalie can't be anything but angry it. In a week there investigating

you're a week when Brandon goes missing, but over a year after asked, he went missing. There still had never been a real investigation into her case. And that's when she knew that they made the right decision now. The next that Natalie and Bethany go to olive garden together. Brandons, maybe fiance crystal, is actually at the bar waiting for them, and girl looks rough like hermit stairs. Breaking off her lipstick is like a little bit smeared and as soon as she sees Natalie Bethany, she reeks out research dreaming and making a scene in the middle of this restaurant. She keeps telling them that she knows that they killed branded in their trying, depended on harshly like just repeating this over and over, and she keeps saying like one day: she's gonna approve she's, calling them name she's, making rats. I mean the whole nine yards, while they're just standing looking totally shocked. No poor Bethany aims.

Starts. Crying a little Natalie tries to comfort her, while crystal makes the worst kind of seem possible until final, this poor waiter manages managers get her out the door door are threatening to call the cops cops honour, basically to get her ITALY, oh my god, now all garden manager. You know he apologizes like ten ways to Sunday. He says you, it wasn't we're gonna take her. The whole meal have a nice dinner will get so so so so sorry, so they sit down. They each have a glass of wine and when no one's looking, they do a toast. A toast to ask these memory and two Brandon staying gone for a long long time Because if there is one thing they learned from him, it's that, if there is no body, then no crime April fool.

Crime junkie. If you haven't picked up on it by now, then you are definitely not a Taylor Swift fan, but we are. We loved her song, nobody, no crime from evermore and we thought it'd be really fun. Just imagine what the story would be like you know, if were real crime, chunky episode, Yours I made. This was John into at one hundred percent fiction, not based on any crime, that I had no idea if Taylor Swift has ever even heard of our tiny show before, but I like to believe that deep down in her heart of her, maybe she's a little bit of a true crime, drunk gimme. Clearly she has rightly nobody writes that song. If they don't love true crime, a little bit I mean

they may be thrown Natalie mains into the mix. I'm pretty sure I heard some good bye, Earl reference as far as those later drops and being fine in your feed for April fool's day. But if anyone out there knows Taylor tell her, we love yeah

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