Julia: It’s like they have no respect for victimology. You can’t just switch back and forth from chopping up individuals to dismembering couples.

Helen: That’s probably why the two cases weren’t linked initially. Watts was a murdered runaway from Dallas found in Humble, and the Webers were a Louisiana couple traveling back from a visit to family. First their car was found abandoned on the roadside; then their bodies were found in Brazos Bend State Park. A higher-risk kill, different victimology, but similar MO.

Julia: And no one was looking for a serial killer, so there wasn’t anything to stop Lena and Brady Voss.

Helen: That’s right. In fact, the time between victims was getting a little shorter, so if anything, it looks like there would have been more murders. But instead, on October third, the next-door neighbor Michael Tremaine went to the Vosses’ house for a drink. The couples had been friends for over a year. They had dinners together, the guys had worked on a garden project together, and Lena Voss was godmother to the Tremaine’s baby. But on this night, Lena was out of town.

Julia: Or so Brady said.

Helen: That’s the story, anyway, and the reason Michael went over while his wife stayed home with the baby. The guys had a couple of beers, and then something happened. In Michael’s statement, he says he “heard a noise and from upstairs, a sound like something falling.” Brady jumps up and runs upstairs, Michael follows him, and he gets there right after Brady kills his last victim, Shelby Jackson.

Julia: And Michael just walks in on it?

Helen: Apparently it was some kind of a murder room, all covered in tarp with cameras and video monitors on the walls.

Julia: We have to talk about those later.

Helen: And according to Michael, Brady kicks the dead body back into the room, grabs him—

Julia: Grabs Michael—

Helen: Yes, grabs him by the arm, pulls him into the room, and slams the door. Then Brady dismembers the body, wraps it in the tarp, and they carry it down to Brady’s garage and load it into one of the trucks there. During this time, Brady has a couple more drinks, and when the body’s packed in the truck, he asks Michael if he wants to dump it. Michael delays, telling him the moon’s pretty bright, that they’ll have better luck the next night, and that he thinks there’s a place under the bridge that might be good.

Julia: Basically bullshitting.

Helen: And this is as good a time as any to take a break and talk about the internet speculation. People are wondering: Why did he stay there so long? Why did he help Brady? Why didn’t he call the police right away or run screaming?

Julia: Because we all think that’s what we’d do.