48 Hours - Find Yura — Manhunt on the Dark Web

Episode Date: March 1, 2020

A teen learns she’s the target of a hit ordered on the dark web. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant goes on a global manhunt to find the shadowy figure behind murder-for-hire sites.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. I'm no different than any other teenager in America. I love my family and my friends. My two dogs and my cat.

I love writing. I love reading. Despite me trying to be a normal teenager, someone does want me dead. this is the picture of me a description of me where i lived where i worked that mastermind 365 posted about me on the murder for hire website yes hi my name is ura we have hundreds of gang members criminals and people who love to kill for money. They are anonymous. You are anonymous. So come and get rid of those nasty problems. This is deadly serious. This is talking about the murder of a human being. It definitely changed my life.

I kept looking over my shoulder. I didn't know who I could trust. I could be killed on my way to work. I could be killed on my way home from school. And that terrified me. You can submit your orders to kill the people you hate. We've got some significant leads on who Yura might be. Do you think you're getting close? Yeah, absolutely. As a dark web intelligence analyst, my job is to uncover that which is hidden.

Is there a chance, as I look up on your screen, that may be our guy? Everyone can be found. Yura can be found. So we are literally a car ride from where we're talking right now to where you believe Yura actually lives. Yes. We're going to make a left at the next street. Goslar, Goslar, Goslar.

Where's the house? It's this one right here. Yeah, it's this house right here. Where Yura might presently live. Man, my heart is racing. That's it. I'm alive. Go. Are you Yura?

Stop recording right now. Oh! 🎵 Late on a frigid night in February 2019, 18-year-old Alexis Stern was driving near her hometown of Big Lake, Minnesota, when she says she noticed a white van in her rearview mirror. So we started driving around town, taking detours. But the van stuck with her. In a growing panic, she called authorities, who later located and spoke with the van's driver.

He claimed he was lost. He didn't know where he was. You have no doubt you were being followed, right? Yeah. Alexis had every reason to be worried because of something that had happened just months earlier when out of nowhere the police had called her. You have to talk to you. It's dire and you need to come now. It's dire, he says. Yes, he said it was urgent. I had no idea what to expect. Did someone die? Is someone hurt? Like, am I in trouble? When Alexis arrived at the police station, she got stunning news.

He was just like, I think you should sit down. Someone put a hit out on you and they want you dead. I was like, this is a joke, right? It was not a joke. On the dark web, someone using the alias Mastermind365 had gone to a Hitman for Hire site and paid about $5,000 worth of Bitcoin for Alexis to be assassinated, giving chilling details. Where I lived, where I worked, my picture of me, a description of me, everything.

FBI and Homeland Security agents soon got involved. Although many dark web sites are scams, Alexis knew someone out there wanted her dead. And that terrified me. Authorities promised to investigate. The aspiring horror book author had read about the dark web, a hidden online marketplace where criminality ranging from human trafficking to illegal weapons is advertised for sale. Even murder. The more you start to dig, the darker it starts to get.

It was in 2017 that 48 Hours first investigated dark web murder for hire. The next year, we exposed about 20 active murder plots. Police received a tip from the CBS News program 48 Hours. 48 Hours alerted law enforcement, leading to arrests in two states and two foreign countries. Our investigation also led us to this mysterious figure known as Europe, who has been operating Hitman's sites for about five years. We don't know his real name or location, but he sent us these video diaries. I am doing this video diary entry to give you official statements.

Looking for criminals on the dark web is not for the faint of heart. For most of her career, this woman has lived in the shadows. I was a member of the intelligence community. Now, she's a CBS News consultant who we hired to help us look for Yura. What makes it challenging is this isn't your traditional law enforcement investigation where there's DNA and there's fingerprints and a weapon and a crime scene. Lisa, as we'll call her, has altered her appearance for this interview. In the world of the dark web, DNA is email addresses, usernames, passwords.

Lisa analyzed Yura's writings. His English is very good. But she says the evidence suggests he is foreign-born and doesn't work alone. There's definitely some support. She says the murder-for-hire sites are all about making big money, and that she found millions of dollars of profits in an online account she believes is linked to Eura. Upwards of, I think, five million. Apparently, about $5,000 of those profits was allegedly paid to kill Alexis Stern.

When her parents found out, they weren't taking any chances. You left Minnesota? Yes. We just started driving. It was scary. But who would want her dead? Alexis thought she knew. Back in 2016, she was a high school sophomore, struggling with her self-esteem. She was just 15 when a friend introduced her to an older man online. I ended up meeting a guy named Adrian. Adrian Fry.

Yes, Adrian Fry. She was intrigued to learn that Adrian Fry lived in England. I was always partial to British accents, so I thought it was kind of a bonus. Adrian was 20. He said he was training to be an accountant and liked to stream video games online. His screen name, Rocket Wind. What is up, ladies and gentlemen? My name is Rocket Wind, and welcome to another patch. I wanted to have a boyfriend, and it was the perfect opportunity. In August of 2016, Fry flew to Minnesota and got a hotel room near her house.

This is Adrian right here. Yes. Do your parents have any idea this is going on? No, they had no idea. The two began a relationship. Alexis had just turned 16. He was already pretty much talking about getting married, honestly. He was 100% set on being with me. Adrienne Fry visited Alexis twice more in the summer of 2017 and in the spring

of 2018. She says her feelings were changing. He really started trying to control my normal everyday life. They had considered themselves a couple for about two years when Alexis told Adrian it was over. He freaked out. He did not like that at all. It was a lot of pleading, a lot of begging. A few months later, when she told him she had a new boyfriend, she says he became angry. Pretty much saying you deserve everything horrible that happens to you. Do you sense that he's basically sending you a message? 100%. And what is that message? That it's not going to end that great for me. Join the conversation with the 48 Hours

team on Facebook and Twitter. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X.

In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free

right now. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Someone could sneak into the house and kill me.

I could be killed on my way home from school. We asked Alexis Stern to read the disturbing emails between the person who wanted her dead, codenamed Mastermind365, and Yura, the alleged murder-for-hire kingpin on the dark web. I can see on your website that the services you offer are murder, assault, arson. Kidnapping is the job that I had in mind. Mastermind 365 sent this picture of Alexis to Eura. Then for some reason, about a week later, he upgraded his order from kidnapping to, I would just like this person dead. I would just like this person to be shot and killed. It was another cold and clinical Minnesota hit order that triggered our original Dark Web Murder for Hire investigation.

In 2016, a 43-year-old dog trainer named Amy Allwine was killed in nearby Cottage Grove. Police questioned her husband, Stephen. We're a normal family. There's there's nothing unique, nothing strange. Like Mastermind365, Stephen Allwine had paid Jura thousands of dollars to arrange a hit. When it didn't happen, Allwine took matters into his own hands and shot his wife in the head. In 2018, he was convicted of murder. Do you have any doubt in your mind who put out the contract on your life? I have no doubt in my mind that it is Adrian Fry.

Adrian Fry, her ex-boyfriend from England. When she saw the kill order dated July 15th, she says the timing suddenly made sense to her. What had happened the day before, July 14th? That is when I told Adrian that I was dating someone else. And it wasn't just the timing of the hit order. She says it was the language, too. It sounds very British. I would just like this person dead. But if there's any more information you would like, inbox me. I don't know anyone in America that uses the term inbox me.

Adrian, on the other hand, often would say that. Alexis noticed Mastermind365 sometimes referred to himself with a lowercase i. She says when Adrian wrote her, he did the same thing. She also saw that Mastermind365 wrote thank you as one word. In Adrian's messages to her, he'd done that too. It's a quirk that would become more significant later in our investigation. And there was more. Mastermind 365 to Euro. My problem is that I don't currently have an extra five grand, but I will have it in about a week's time. This part is from Adrian to me. If there is a chance you may like me in years time,

then I will happily wait. The phrases weeks time and years time are common in British English. In writing them, both Mastermind365 and Adrian Fry had left off an apostrophe. So there's a couple of phrases that matches Adrian's patterns. Yes. She also realized Mastermind 365 seemed to have grown impatient with Yura over time. And that's when she saw one particular message that sent a shiver up her spine. Do you guys sell guns? I need a pistol with a silencer.

He's asked you to help him get a gun with a silencer. What does that tell you? It sounds like he is willing to take matters into his own hands if it doesn't get done. Just like Stephen Allwine. And that's what worries our dark web expert, Lisa. She believes Yura's websites are a scam and that frustrated clients may be moved to violence. The fact that he's a scammer as opposed to an actual hitman for hire provider does not remove the fact that he is a threat or is a criminal.

There are people out there who believe it is a real hitman website. Alexa Stern says after more than a year with little apparent progress on her case, she became frustrated and agreed to try her luck with us. I decided I might as well take a chance and see what 48 hours can help me with. She is determined to see justice catch up to the man she says ordered her murder and the person who promised to arrange it. Lisa, we have always thought in our investigation that Yura must live overseas. Are we right?

No, Peter. Yura might live right here in New York City. Tonight's 48 Hours will continue. The Hitman Marketplace is like any other auction site. It brings customers and vendors together. He's still out there somewhere. The CyberGhost Eura. Still uncatchable in a hidden world. Still a confounding mystery. It's probably no surprise that our global manhunt for Eura began on a computer.

So I ventured into a very strange place for the first time in my life, the dark web. So I ventured into a very strange place for the first time in my life, the dark web. In 2018, we wrote to him on his website asking for an interview. Much to our surprise, he agreed to sit down with us on camera in London. We were already there to interview a self-styled cybercrime researcher named Chris Montero, who'd been monitoring Eura and his hitman sites for more than three years. And some people attracted to the website are very, very nasty individuals. So we've flown from New York to London, rented this studio. You can see the lights behind me for the big interview.

New York to London, rented this studio. You can see the lights behind me for the big interview. And we even brought in a master of disguise who's going to camouflage Yura's face. Now all we need is him. The elusive Yura never showed up, claiming we could have been followed by police. But he did start sending us those video statements. We will be waiting for you to come place your orders and get rid of your problems. Eura, who seems to enjoy taunting 48 Hours, sent us this email last June. Unfortunately, after your show, the business has decreased tremendously. People concluded that the site is a scam. Yura even claimed he's going legit, moving away from the murder-for-hire sites into the real world. I opened a restaurant

business, and I live nice. Lisa, our dark web expert, doubts Yura has left his criminal past behind. He's still very much in business. He's still working. Absolutely. And as the cases of Amy Allwine and Alexis Stern show, even if Yura's hitman sites are scams, the customers paying him to have people killed are horrifyingly real. A lot of people want other people killed.

Correct. All across the United States. And the world, yes. Lisa is determined to unmask Jura. Everyone can be found. Jura can be found. And she quickly spotted her first clue. A massive trail of hacked digital data.

Digging through that treasure trove, Lisa believes she's unearthed a few gold nuggets. Hi, this is Eura again. Including Eura's likely password from one of his early Murder for Hire sites. In this case, we've got this very unique password of Frenza22. F-R-U-N-Z-A 22. So this sounds like a lead. From a digital forensics perspective, this is a huge lead. Lisa immediately launched a worldwide search across the dark web

and the regular internet for that password possibly linked to Europe. In a matter of hours, she zeroed in on two hits from different sides of the planet. Just on the Google search. Friends at 22 actually led us to Moldova, all places. The Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state in Eastern Europe. There's a village here called Fronza. It's also a common last name. Fronza 22 gave us all this intelligence with which to work with

and narrow down who Europe possibly could be. Lisa discovered that the online seller of this car in Moldova had also used FRONZA 22. Could there be a link? The license plate for this car obviously gives us more information. Do you have an answer yet as to who owns this vehicle? Unfortunately, we do not. We're coordinating with people on the ground in Moldova to see who this car is actually registered to.

But the most compelling clue, Lisa says, connects Yura's possible password to a standard email address here in the United States. I was able to identify that with a very high probability with an older Russian woman in New York. Lisa thinks the woman could be Yura's relative. The cyber search for Yura and his anonymous dark web connections will involve a tedious, time-consuming process of following digital breadcrumbs. One piece of evidence stands on its own, and you look at it as a breadcrumb,

and you try to chase that for a bit, and then you find another breadcrumb. And collectively, when you start to add all of these things up, you have a higher confidence assessment. I keep my identity private. Everything that could help with recognition. As our global hunt for Eura intensifies, we're reminded that his borderless reach from the bottom of the internet has left shattered lives in his wake. Some of the internet has left shattered lives in his wake. Amy Allwine, murdered. And others marked for death, living in perpetual fear.

There are people around the world in danger, and I had to do something about it. What Chris Montero did was secretly hack into Eura's websites, dredging up disturbing emails from clients ordering grisly hits and passing them on to 48 hours. We immediately informed law enforcement. Three cases we investigated in 2018 in Illinois, Tennessee and California have led to explosive conclusions. Do you understand the terror that you have caused? Woodridge, Illinois. Tina Jones, a registered nurse, got involved with a married colleague. When he ended the affair, she allegedly paid Ura about $12,000 to kill the man's wife. 18 CF, 8 Kirtline, Tina Jones.

That's Jones, brother, and approaching the bench. This was a nurse, someone who saves lives. Truth really is stranger than fiction. So, in newly released video, Woodridge Police Sergeant Daniel Murray, acting on the 48 Hours tip, brought a chillingly calm Tina Jones in for questioning. The easier it will go for everybody involved. So I'm just going to ask you right now. Did you make any threat or did you try to have somebody do something on your behalf to Jeff's wife? No. Okay. You're sure about that?

Pause. You buying it? No. Okay. You're sure about that? Yeah. Paws, you buying it? No. Why not? She just doesn't come off as believable. I really don't know. Okay. Moments later, the truth. What you got to tell me now? I did. You did? Yeah. Tina Jones just pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder. Last August, Tina Jones just pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder. Last August, Tina Jones learned her fate. She will spend the next 10 years in prison. 418 Allison. 48 Hours also tipped off Detective Michael Ulrey in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Who broke the news to then 22-year-old Sydney Miner, a single mom. Someone went on the dark web. There is a murder for hire website, and someone has paid to have you murdered. What? What? What? Sidney, who was pregnant with her second child,

quickly identified the father of her unborn baby as a suspect, Brandon States. Sidney says he had pressured her to get an abortion. He's married. Didn't know it at the time. The only person in our mind was Brandon States because it was his child and she refused to get rid of the child. Brandon States eventually pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated murder. Last March, the Army specialist was sentenced by a military court to 15 years in Fort Leavenworth.

By his final court hearing, Sidney had given birth to a little girl named Sailor. Brandon States asked to meet his daughter before going to prison. Sidney reluctantly agreed and handed the little girl to the man who had paid money to kill them both. Give me a sense of what was going through your mind at that moment. Fear. A lot of fear. She had to meet him in a courtroom with police officers and armed guards. I told him, I'll never forgive you for what you've done.

Around the same time, in San Luis Obispo, California, this man awaits trial. We know that you wanted your stepmother murdered, but we don't know why. Why did you do it? Tonight's 48 Hours will continue. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge?

Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of monopoly introducing the best idea yet a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who brought them to life. Like did you know that Super Mario the best-selling video game character of all time only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party.

So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's just The Best Idea Yet. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little known British territory called Pitcairn and it harboured a deep, dark scandal.

There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island

to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Late last year, Bo Brigham, a one-time YouTube star, I never did it for the money. I did it because I had a lot of time on my hands. is on trial for solicitation of murder after 48 hours tipped authorities to his case. In 2018, Brigham allegedly had paid Ura to arrange the assassination of his stepmother. During questioning by detectives, he seemed to acknowledge ordering the hit.

I remember going on some f***ing stupid site and I was in a rage just sending a bunch of stuff. I do not deny he went to the site. I absolutely deny that he had any intention whatsoever of hurting his stepmother. Defense attorney Ilan Funky Bilu says Brigham wasn't serious. Evidence shows Brigham paid less than $3 in Bitcoin toward the $5,000 hit. Bitcoin toward the $5,000 hit. If there was true intent, it wouldn't stop at $2.95. After nearly three weeks of testimony, it takes the jury seven hours to find Brigham guilty of solicitation of murder. And a month later. So I just came out of the courtroom. He was sentenced to just three years in state prison. But with credit for time served, he was released last month. Alexis Stern is frustrated that in her case, there hasn't even been an arrest.

case, there hasn't even been an arrest. 48 Hours tracked her ex-boyfriend, Adrian Fry, to this house in the city of Bath, England. And we're watching the place. So far, he hasn't emerged. The man who took the kill order Adrian allegedly made is still at large, too. But Lisa says finding Yura may partly depend on exposing and flipping the people who work with him. Everyone has a network, right? We uncovered information about an important thread in Yura's web. A thread stretching all the way to the sprawling city of Kolkata, India, and a computer contractor named Santo Sharma. Eura contracted Santo Sharma to assist him with digital marketing and promotion. Eura had become so brazen, he actually was promoting his dark web

sites on the regular internet by hiring a marketing specialist. Our producer in India, Arshad Zargar, spent weeks looking for Sharma. But we managed to track down both his addresses. both his addresses. We tipped authorities who summoned Sharma to the police station. After they questioned him, Sharma agreed to an interview with us. We asked him about the sites he created on the regular internet to advertise Eurus sites on the dark web. What are the websites that you created for him? I have created murderforhire.com, besamafia.com, hireahitman.com. He insisted he was just an everyday internet marketer hired on a freelance job. Have you ever spoken to him? No, I just chat with him, chat and email. I have asked for a phone number, but he didn't send me.

He said they're not in touch at all anymore, and that he doesn't know Yura's real name or location, but wishes he did, because Yura scammed him too. Yura still owes him about $400, and he has been trying to get in touch with him, asking for the money. Sharma was released without charges. But hacker Chris Montero says Yura's operations took a body blow. The work of 48 hours investigating Santosh Sharma in India,

that was very important in shutting down his advertising operations. Santosh Sharma in India. That was very important in shutting down his advertising operations. Lisa wants to see Yura shut down completely, and she believes she's getting close to finding him. And it'll be right up here, right on the right. I'm gonna drop my head down. My heart is racing. And we're closing in on Adrian Fry, too. He lives in this house west of London. Here we go. Let's see what happens. Hey, good evening. We staked out Adrian Fry's house in England. The young man Alexis believes ordered her murder and asked Yura about obtaining a gun.

For days, it seemed like nobody was home. Then one night in early February... Take a look at this. A car has pulled up in front of the house, so we're going to head over now and go knock on the door. Here we go. Let's see what happens. And see if we can speak face-to-face... with Adrian Fry.

Hey, good evening. My name is Peter Van Sant. I was wondering if Adrian's here. Adrian's brother answered the door, saying Adrian was visiting friends. He gave us the name of a nearby town, and we went to check it out, but couldn't find him. Would you ever meet with Adrian Fry again? Not unless he's behind bars. But that now seems unlikely.

Last November, Alexis Stern received a letter from the FBI saying the case was being closed because the United States Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute. But authorities never explained why the case was dropped and refused to tell 48 Hours what, if anything, they had ever done to investigate Adrian Fry or Jura. To all law enforcement, just try and close our site if you can. In our own two-year global search for Eura, we've been stood up in the UK. What did he say?

I don't think he's coming. Found Eura's marketing guru in India. I have created murderforhired.com, besamafia.com. But not Eura himself. And hit a dead end with that car ad in Moldova, where we had hired a local researcher to track down the owners. Lisa now believes it's just a coincidence that Frunze22 appeared in the car ad. There's no direct correlation.

In January, we followed Lisa's lead to a woman in New York City, who Lisa now believes is Jura's mother-in-law. We've just left Manhattan. Where are we heading? Queens. Maybe we'll find Jura. I hope so.

It took three months of digging through digital clues for Lisa to uncover what she calls strong evidence against the man she now believes is Yura. It includes a link to that unusual password, Frunza22. And 48 Hours discovered an email address that included Gunn and Killa, connected to the man Lisa found in New York City. It was enough to make me pause when I saw that email address. Lisa believes the man had moved to the U.S. from overseas in the 1990s, and now owns a large repair business, registered some kind of tech company,

and most recently bought a restaurant. I have high confidence that this man is very likely Jura. What's that confidence level, if you put it in a percentage? 75 to 80, which is in intelligence terms quite high. Lisa says there's no such thing as 100% certainty on the secretive dark web. That's why we decided not to name the man or show his face. And we're in a position where we can take a look down a sidewalk and see if he approaches. We spotted him on a public sidewalk.

Hey, how you doing? I'm Peter Van Sant with CBS News, and we have some questions we'd like to get answered if we if we may. That's him. Our investigation of murder for hire on the dark web has led us here. And I want to ask you, are you Yura? Who? Yura. I don't know who you are. My name is ***. Yura is a person who has run various murder for hire sites on the dark web.

What are you talking about? Can you explain yourself? I then asked him about Frunze 22, that potentially incriminating password. How do you explain that on the BESA mafia website, the administrator uses a password, Frunze 22? Lisa says to pay special attention to the man's reaction after I mentioned the password. The minute you hit him with the evidence, that is the key piece of evidence in this case. The password. The password. He immediately then shuts down and starts going, no, no, no, no, I don't want to be here. He then did something I've never seen before.

Before we start anything, I want to make sure the whole world knows what's going on. He started streaming our conversation live on Facebook, where he began speaking more to his followers than to me. What's up, guys? Something is going on. I got some guys over here. This in itself is taking control of the communication. He wants his words and his voice to be heard and not yours.

You can answer my question. There's no euros here. We also tried to ask the man about another striking similarity between him and Jura in the real world. Well, Jura wrote us and said that he'd recently taken his money and opened a new restaurant. Would you have done that? And what restaurant are you talking about again? This restaurant, not far from where we met him. He opened the place in 2018.

Just six months later, Jura wrote 48 Hours that he had done the same. Do you run these Murder for Hire websites? He's calling me some stupid names. Stop recording right now. As his anger grew... I'm going to smack the shit out of Stop recording right now. As his anger grew, I'm going to smack the s*** out of your camera right now. I'm telling you. The man suddenly made us an offer. No cameras allowed.

Do you have any idea who is here? I have no idea who's you, Reese. You want to talk to me privately? Let's go to the office. Me and you sit down. We'll talk without this. I turned him down because the situation was starting to feel dangerous. Oh, hey, guys. And our conversation... Who you think you are? I'm just asking you, who you think you are? ...was about to take a major hit.

I'm a reporter, investigative reporter, that's been following this for over a year. Hey, come on now, don't do that. That was just on a video of Akmati being assaulted. Don't do this. No, you're assaulting me right now. I'm asking you a question. Yes, we need the police to be here. I didn't hit you.

I hit your camera and you did it with your own hands. We quickly left the scene. They chickened out, ran away. And the man, still angry, continued to stream live. Stupid website. Some freak created something, used my identity. Someone's using my identity. He's confirming that the information that we've presented to him is legit. I'm asking you a question.

Based on all of the evidence that has been accumulated, my confidence is still quite high. In fact, she says, having seen the video, it's even higher. Around 80 to 90 percent. Over the next two weeks, we reached out to the man four times, requesting an on-camera interview at CBS News. Do give a call back and let us know your decision. We were eager to hear any explanation for the apparent links between him and Europe. He apologized for his actions. Who you think you are? But never sat down on camera. Adrian, this is Peter Van Sant. Neither did Adrian Fry, Neither did Adrian Fry, though he did text us.

Hi, Peter. I can assure you that I did not go onto the online web to hire a hitman or anyone to kill Alexis. But it was his last text, declining our interview request, that startled us. Thank you for the opportunity, he wrote. We realized that just like Mastermind365, Adrian had once again written thank you as one word. 48 Hours has alerted the NYPD to the new developments in our dark web investigation. I need the police. I want something done. We see the body on the floor. Are we sure he's not here anymore? Did you see who did this thing? Yes!

I was going to help him find the person that did this. So why was she arrested? 48 Hours, Saturday at 10, 9 Central on CBS. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.