Going West: True Crime - Irene Gakwa // 278

Episode Date: February 11, 2023

In February of 2022, a 32-year-old nursing student from Kenya went missing in Wyoming after moving there with her boyfriend. Between allegedly burning unknown items in a metal drum, to her phone number being deactivated, police and her family began to wonder if her partner potentially had something to do with her disappearance. This is the story of Irene Gakwa. BONUS EPISODES patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Find Irene Gakwa Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/findirenegawka/ 2. People: https://people.com/crime/irene-gakwa-case-family-kenyan-woman-who-vanished-want-truth/ 3. People: https://people.com/crime/woman-vanished-february-under-suspicious-circumstances-met-boyfriend-craigslist/ 4. Irene's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/reward-for-locating-irene-gakwa 5. CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/02/us/irene-gakwa-missing-wyoming-woman-family-cec/index.html 6. Wyoming Truth: https://wyomingtruth.org/blog-criminal-justice/the-search-for-irene-fiance-of-missing-kenyan-granted-second-continuance-in-irene-gawka-case 7. Where Is Irene? https://www.whereisirene.com/index.php/what-we-know 8. ABC: https://abcnews.go.com/US/family-seeks-answers-month-search-woman-missing-wyoming/story?id=90988796 9. NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/family-still-searching-answers-five-months-after-mysterious-wyoming-disappearance-n1299342 10. Nairobi News: https://nairobinews.nation.africa/ex-lover-of-irene-gakwa-kenyan-missing-in-the-us-arraigned-in-court/ 11. City of Gillette Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CityofGillette/posts/373186474837794 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Today's case was recommended by Anne, so thank you Anne. We remember when this case happened last year and we originally were gonna cover it then, but wanted to kind of wait to see if any more information would come out and it feels like we have waited long enough. So let's crack into this one. Yeah absolutely. It seems that this year this case is actually getting some more movement, so we're really glad to see that. And hopefully, this family will get justice very soon. Yes, and of course, please make sure to share this one because it is still ongoing and her family needs all the help that they can get, which is why we want to cover it.

So thank you in advance for doing that. And let's talk about it. Alright guys, this is episode 278 of Going West, so let's get into it! In February of 2022, a 32-year-old nursing student from Kenya went missing in Wyoming after moving there with her boyfriend. Between allegedly burning unknown items in a metal drum, to her phone number being deactivated, police and her family began to wonder if her partner potentially had something to do with her disappearance. This is the story of Irene Gauqua. Irene Wai Rimu Gakwa was born on July 20, 1989 to Joyce and Francis Gakwa, and the youngest of three children, she joined older brothers Kennedy and Chris. Irene was born and raised

in Nairobi, Kenya, and as the capital and largest city of Kenya, Nairobi is a bustling economic hub of over 4 million people in the city alone and over 10 million people in the entire metropolitan area. And for many travelers, Nairobi is the beginning of their safari excursion, starting at Nairobi National Park, which boasts endangered rhinos, along with cheetahs, lions, giraffe, and more. And Irene and her brothers grew up on a sprawling property outside the city. She is described by her family as sweet and shy, and this is what her brother Chris said of his little sister, quote, she's very kind, loving, she is a very good person."

And her father, Francis, said proudly, quote, "...she was a daddy's girl. She wanted to be around me all the time." A very gentle and sensitive child, Francis remembers a specific instance when a few of the family chickens died after eating the wrong food. And basically when this happened, four-year-old Irene, who was convinced they were just sleeping, brought a blanket to the chicken coop to make sure that they were warm enough. That's so sweet.

I know, it gets sweeter though, because Frances said that obviously he really struggled to break the news to her that they were deceased, especially when she asked if she could make them some hot tea. He fondly remembered that although Irene had lived in Kenya her entire life, she still really admired the scenery and wildlife with wonder and frequently drove well below the speed limit to kind of just relish in the natural beauty of the scenery around her. I think I would too. Yeah, of course. Like, she just never got tired of it.

Like, she always just loved her home. And Irene attended Karoti Girl's secondary school, which is a girl's only boarding school a couple hours away from her home. And there Irene proved to be a very gifted and hardworking student. So after graduating, she decided to venture into the hospitality industry. So she took a job working the front desk at the Nairobi Serena Hotel, which is a five-star hotel in the heart of the city that boasts a massive outdoor pool and dozens of palm trees and greenery all around it. Yeah, it's really pretty.

So according to her dad Irene's goal in this chapter of her life was to meet new people and make friends, but her work left her feeling unfulfilled. So she set her sights on helping those in need and decided to become a nurse. Francis felt like this was totally written in the stars for his daughter, who had a penchant for selflessness. He said, quote, she has such a big heart and was always caring for others. Francis remembers that his daughter's generosity began at a young age. Growing up, she used to cook and deliver meals to a local orphanage and always brought them gifts at Christmas time.

God, that's just amazing. She's such a fantastic person. So eventually, Irene decided that she wanted to move to the United States. Initially, her parents kind of discouraged her for moving abroad and they worried for her well-being with her being close to 10,000 miles or 16,000 kilometers from home. Naturally. But her brother's Kennedy and Chris, who had already moved to the States about seven years prior, assured them that it would be the best thing for both Irene and her nursing

career. And then she could be near her brother, so it's not like she was totally alone. Right, she was totally alone. But Irene herself even had some doubts. Frances had recently retired and was struggling with some health issues, and with her being so nurturing, she wanted to be there for him. But ultimately, she decided to move away and follow her dreams. So in 2019, 30-year-old Irene left Nairobi for Meridian Idaho, or her brothers were living

at the time. And for those who don't know, Meridian is actually the second largest city in Idaho after Boise with just over 100,000 people, and it's situated just 20 minutes west of Boise. Yeah, it's like right next to Boise. So when Irene got to Meridian, she began attending the College of Western Idaho, which is located in nearby Namba. She kept in constant contact with her parents, speaking almost every single day, which

is really important to remember, shocked them almost every day. And the family would actually gather together on opposite sides of the world for group video calls, so everyone was very involved since again, they were super close. Francis remembers his daughter calling in the middle of the night sometimes to talk to him, knowing that he would always pick up since Nairobi is 10 hours ahead of Idaho time, so the middle of the night for her would be the middle of the day for her parents. Irene lived with her brother Chris in Moridian for about 9 months after relocating, and then she found a room to rent from someone.

Kennedy remembers a very difficult transition for Irene, saying quote, when she first moved here, it was a little different. It took her a little while to get used to everything. It was good to see her let loose and making friends with people. I mean, I can't imagine like moving to a different country that speaks a different language than your native language. Right. And like, having that adjustment.

Yeah, and her family primarily speaks Swahili. So it's like having to adjust to speaking English and also just being somewhere totally different in the States must be really hard for adjusting. Oh, yeah, definitely. So this, this is totally fair. This would happen to anybody. But shortly after Irene moved to the States, she met a man on Craigslist named Nathan Heitman.

Now, strangely, Irene was very brief on the details of their relationship, and she mostly kept him from her parents back in Kenya, which is behavior that her dad Francis found very uncharacteristic of his daughter, who normally shared everything with them. And even her brothers only found out about Irene's new relationship through one of Irene's friends, so she didn't even tell her brothers. Francis remarked, quote, it was 180 degrees of what I knew of Irene. Chris and Kennedy were used to seeing her at least once a week after she moved out of Chris's

house, but claim that things started to change when she met Nathan Heitman. They told their sister that they wanted to meet him and she reluctantly agreed. Reluctantly agreed. Yes. Key word reluctantly. Yes. So Chris, her brother explained, quote, We're a very close family.

She would come and hang out with us, She had some friends and would hang out, But things didn't go well when she met Nate. That's when things started to go downhill, And I feel like Nate is the one Who kind of pushed her away from the family. Irene's brothers met Nate in a few times, But they didn't really click with him,

And they actually found him to be a bit cold. Kennedy remembered, quote, he seemed quiet, didn't say much. He told me he doesn't really have any friends. Irene began seeing and speaking to her family significantly less, and the brothers say that Nathan is to blame. Kennedy called him controlling and said that Nathan Quote started isolating us from our sister. In July of 2020, Nathan purchased a promise ring for Irene and presented it to her to commemorate their six-month dating anniversary and also Irene's 30-second birthday. Before he did, he texted Kennedy Quote,

I wanted to get your input as head of the house before making any big plans. I wanted to give her the ring with her close family together, because she would hate the grand public gesture that I would prefer. Kennedy responded by telling him to quote, take things slow, don't be in hurry. But Nathan made a joke about being interrogated by him and then said quote, I can imagine if someone came into my family requesting my blessing for my sister. I would have a lot of questions. So jokes aside, I understand the importance and seriousness of it all.

Then Nathan concluded the conversation by telling Kennedy that he could ask Nathan anything about his intentions with Irene, and that he was willing to show quote, proof of his commitment to her. Well, Kennedy cautioned that there was no need to rush and that the couple should quote, take it one step at a time unless you are in a hurry. Nathan inquired about Kenyan values and traditions and very much wanted to be included in them,

saying quote, I would like to know I am not stepping on any values. It is a serious commitment that I have not made to someone since I was 18. Then Nathan hosted the brothers for dinner at his home, although he declined to bring up the ring or a proposal to them, which is kind of weird because it seems like that was a lot of the reason they were coming over, but also kind of like a get to know you dinner is what it really was. Yeah. Kennedy called the dinner fine, although he remarked that Nathan's home was oddly barren

and devoid of furniture or decoration, which he thought was just really strange. Afterward, Nathan again texted Kennedy asking for his approval. And Kennedy responded honestly that they quote needed more time to get to know him. It was at this point that the brothers claimed the couple began to pull away. Yeah, because now Nathan is not getting what he wants. He wants this approval from the brothers and they're kind of saying like, well, you know, we don't really know you. Let's like pump the brakes here a bit. Which is fair. I mean, they're not just gonna say yes, just because you want a yes. Like, we don't know you do.

So if you want our approval, take the time to earn it. Exactly. But obviously, Nathan is now like, all right, fuck you guys, then I'm just gonna do my own thing. So, or well, is what I'm assuming is how it seems. So Kennedy explained, quote, I think he expected us to jump on the wagon and approve. I kept telling him it was my sister's decision and I wasn't the one to approve and that it would take time for us to get to know him.

After this, the brothers and Nathan had almost no communication. Then in July of 2021, Irene made a drastic change. Chris remembers that suddenly, quote, she was moving to Arizona because it was much warmer. Apparently, sick of the frigid Idaho winters because they do get very cold, Irene seemed ready to relocate but gave very little explanation as to why other than the whole warm weather thing. She came back to visit the brothers in November, so months later, of that same year to spend Thanksgiving with them, and she stayed with Chris and his family.

And that is the last time that they saw their sister. Irene didn't even tell her parents about the move until February of 2022, which is 7-8 months after the move even occurred. And when she did tell them, she said that she had moved to San Antonio, Texas. So not Arizona. Right. So she's telling the brothers she goes to Arizona, then she's telling her parents she's going to Texas.

So it seems if you guys can't already tell that this appears to be a very controlling relationship. Well, of course. And then they video-chatted. And Francis recalled that she looked tired and run down, so he recommended that she drink more milk and take a hot bath. He remembers her saying that she missed Kenyan food immensely, especially the fresh fish and beef.

So they decided that she would come home for Christmas that year. Remember, this is February, so Christmas is a very far away, 10 whole months away. And that would actually be her first visit since she moved to the US three years prior. And from that day on, Irene refused to talk on the phone or video chat with her family, which she previously did all the time.

Chris remembers, quote, she would say that her phone is not working. The microphone that her phone is not working. The microphone on the phone is not working. I guess it had fallen in water. She then told both of her brothers and her dad that she was getting a new phone number to which Chris replied quote, and that to me just didn't make any sense because you could just buy a new phone. He also noticed that she had been texting mostly in English when she and

her family normally communicated and again, like as we mentioned, Swahili. Text from Irene came farther and farther apart. It began to sound less and less like they were coming from Irene. On March 8, 2022, Frances wished his daughter a happy international women's day. Which is so adorable. Yeah. To which she did not respond. Which is so adorable. Yeah. To which she did not respond. So this is very unlike her.

Then the following day, she texted him simply, I will text from new number. Francis responded with Sawa, which means all right and thanks, followed by UcuPoa, which translates roughly to your cool or are you okay? But Irene did not respond to this. 13 hours passed and her father Francis texted her again saying, are you okay? To which he also did not receive a response.

Their last exchange was on March 9th, 2022. Starting to worry now, he contacted Irene's brothers, who had also had strange interactions with her in the past few weeks. So they compared their notes and discovered that she had told her brothers and her father different destinations for her move out of state. And it really wasn't like Irene to lie, and especially not to her family. Well and remember, her parents just found out that she moved a few weeks ago from this point, her brothers knew ahead of time, but they thought she lived in Arizona. Her parents think that she moved to Texas.

So now suddenly they're like, wait, she told you she was here and she told us she was here, like what the hell? Right, but what's really interesting is that a friend of Irene's confirmed that she had actually moved to Gillette Wyoming with Nathan, so not Texas or Arizona like she had told different family members. A quick Google search confirmed this, that she was in Wyoming. So at this point, Kennedy and Chris attempted to report her missing in Idaho, but when officers informed them that the report would need to come from Gillette Wyoming, they

made the 13-hour trek across the T-tons to Wyoming on March 20th. Officially filing a Missing Persons report for their 32-year-old sister Irene Gauqua. Before that quick break, we explained that Irene's brothers traveled 13 hours by car to Gillette Wyoming, where their sister had allegedly moved with Nathan and officially reported her missing. Police were able to access Irene's phone records and they determined that it had last been used about two to three weeks earlier in Gillette in early March, likely the last time any of them had spoken to her. So obviously this is very alarming because that's three weeks of no phone activity from Irene

at all. Exactly. And actually one of the most alarming details from her phone record was that her WhatsApp, which is what she used to communicate with her family, was deleted on March 8th after the last time she spoke with her father, then two days later on March 10th, her phone number was deactivated all together. So not only like you're saying what she's just not talking to her family, she essentially does not have a phone anymore.

This phone number is deactivated. She doesn't have the apps that she would use to communicate with her family. So there's just no point of communication at all. And I also want to note that the timeline on her actual website says that it had last been used on March 4th, 2022, but the screenshots of her conversation on WhatsApp continue until March 9th, 2022. And the timeline also says that her WhatsApp was deleted on March 8th, but the last message to her dad was on March 9th, so there's just a little bit of conflicting information circulating

and I just wanted to mention it. So on April 14th, 2022 in Gillette up until her disappearance. The man is considered a person of interest. He has not made himself available to detectives looking to resolve questions that exist in the investigation. Which as we know, is something that's really odd in itself. Like this is your girlfriend, and she's's missing and you don't want to help you don't want to talk to investigators where are you hiding then.

Well it gets even more weird here because this was not actually Irene and Nathan's first hiccup. Shortly after moving in together back in Meridian Idaho, which was during the summer of 2020, Nathan filed a police report against Irene for theft. On the morning of August 18, 2020, Nathan went into the local police station and reported that Irene used his credit card to purchase a plane ticket home to Nairobi for $9,176. Nathan claimed that he had left his wallet containing his credit cards on the kitchen counter when he left his apartment. He didn't know about the charge until an employee from the travel website orbits through

which this flight was actually booked, called to verify this purchase. Now Nathan then called his bank, reported the charges as fraud, and cancelled his credit cards. He told police that the couple had been together for about six months at that point, but that they had been having problems lately. He claimed that they had not discussed the credit card charge and that it was blatant theft. On top of that, he wanted to proceed with criminal charges.

Later that day, police showed up at Irene and Nathan's apartment to question her. Now, her laptop did indicate that she had visited Orvids.com, but Irene vehemently denied purchasing the tickets, claiming that she would have not done so without discussing it first with Nathan. So Irene basically surmised that Nathan had made the purchase himself. Three weeks later, Nathan called the police station and withdrew the report and his account of what happened. He claimed that a former coworker had broken into the apartment, snapped a picture of his credit card, and then used a computer application to hack into Nathan's computer and purchase the ticket.

Which is so fucking weird. It just sounds like a bizarre scenario. But also, why would your coworker break into your apartment to buy a, to take a picture of your credit card to buy a ticket to Nairobi? For your girlfriend. Like what? That's so weird.

Yeah, this is just like, has lies written all over it. And one of Irene's closest friends, whose name is Susan Minkovsky, questioned, quote, if you're in a relationship with someone, why wouldn't you wake her up to ask her before going to the police? She was sleeping in bed, and she's referring to when he actually went to the police. She was at home. So why would you storm off to the police, not really knowing what's going on? Instead of being like, hey, did you make this purchase

right it's like it's like it's making shit up yeah you could have just asked her she's right there it's just weird so season who had actually grown up with irine and canya and also now lived in the u.s. aspiring to be a nurse as well said irine would have also known not to fly luftonza which is the airline on which the ticket was booked, which was multiple times more expensive than itineraries on other airlines. So obviously that's another red flag.

Yeah, like this is one of the most expensive flights she could have purchased. So why would she do that? So Susan had every reason to be concerned about her friend's relationship with Nathan, given that she had visited and stayed with them in Meridian just two months prior to the airline ticket incident. Susan and her husband flew out to visit Irene without even knowing that they weren't even dating, initially just thinking that he was a roommate of hers. Like Irene's brothers, Susan remembered Nathan's home as eerily barren and said that when she and her husband came over for dinner, they ate on the floor.

Yeah, that's... Lucky, doesn't even have a dining table. Yeah, I mean, God, this whole situation seems to me like...it feels very like mail order bride type of situation where, you know, he's basically like, I don't have anything and I'm a slob, but I want you to date me, you know. Well, and I think the weirdest thing about him not having a lot of furniture, to me, feels like he's ready to move, you know, like he's kind of on the go, he's not settled, and that's kind of weird to me too. So, I mean, I don't know if that's why, but.

Yeah, that's also a good point. So Susan described the feeling of unease that she got from Nathan in the hold that he had over Irene. She agreed with Kennedy's assessment that he was controlling, remembering that he always needed to know where she was going, and was insistent upon accompanying Irene to every gathering that she attended,

even if it was just Kenyan family and friends. Susan described Irene as shy, against any public displays of affection and a homebody. But she said this about Nathan, quote, he wanted the whole world to know about Irene. He was very excited to meet us. He talked about planning a trip to Kenya and wanted them to be together. Irene wanted to take it slow. And Irene had actually pulled Susan aside on that very visit to talk about how she didn't think the relationship was going to work out.

Irene had also confided that Nathan had given her what she called a pre-engagement ring, and she felt uncomfortable wearing it. Susan suggested that Irene convey her feelings of hesitation, but before she knew it, the couple had moved out of state together. After Susan's visit, Nathan reached out to her questioning whether Irene had been cheating on him. And according to Susan, she said, quote, he was accusing Irene of cheating. I thought it was weird because he was going deep into personal details of Irene.

I only met him on that one visit to Idaho, and we come from a culture where we don't discuss personal details. Before we continue, I kind of want to recap. Like, he wanted to speed things up with Irene. She wanted to take things slow. She family was really important to her. She loved being near her brothers. She loved talking to her family every day. Suddenly he's in the picture. He wants to move her out of state and doesn't want her to talk to her family so often. Doesn't care anymore about

her brother's approval of their relationship. And now he thinks that she's randomly cheating on him. Like there's a lot of insecurity in here, but it also just really goes to show you how controlling of her he really was. You know, it appears that Nathan feels like Irene is his possession. And actually this boyfriend that Nathan suspected Irene of cheating on him with was back in Kenya, a boyfriend from a few years prior with whom she stayed in touch with. Between baseless accusations of cheating and likely fabricating a stolen credit card, Susan was very alarmed for Irene, saying, quote, I told her that these were some serious charges,

and I cautioned her about staying in a relationship with them. It was around this time that Susan remembers Irene's starting to withdraw from their friendship, as well as, of course, her relationship with her family. And according to Susan, Irene was basically radio silent after this interaction. Now let's take a moment to talk a little bit more about Nathan Heitman.

So Nathan grew up in Orville, California, which is about an hour north of Sacramento. His parents divorced when he was young and they both remarried, so he has multiple step siblings and half siblings, though he is now a strange from all of them. When Nathan was in his early 20s, his mother Evelyn was murdered by his stepfather in their home, which is something that according to Nathan's step sister, he understandably never recovered from. His stepmom echoed, quote, he just kind of lost it after his mom died. With that, Nathan severed ties with both sides of his family, and that's when he left

California for Idaho. He was working on a T-Mobile store in Idaho when he met Chala, who would be a friend of his, and kind of like on again, off again, girlfriend, for years to come. Nathan told Chala that he only worked at T-Mobile to fill his time, and that his real career was international banking and computer hacking oh my god interesting right oh my god a local Wyoming journalist spent weeks tracking down details about Nathan's history and just like verifying claims that he had made to different friends and family over

the years and found that his resume stated that he attended the university of North Carolina obtaining a bachelor degree of science in our bachelor's of science degree in economics. However, the university was unable to confirm his attendance. So he's putting this degree on his resume that appears to not exist. I mean, he's a big fat liar. He is. Nathan's friend, Chala, said of this quote,

Nate is a huge fantasist. His resume also stated that he had worked at City Bank as a financial analyst, managing accounts worth tens of millions of dollars. But City Bank was also unable to confirm his employment. Chala said, quote, he likes to present himself as a secret agent. He told me he has dealings all over Europe.

Oh my god, this is just so annoying and so punchable. Like the fact that you think you're some sort of like international spy, you're none of that. You work at T-Mobile, dude. He's a weirdo. So Chala and Nathan maintained a friendship and a kind of casual courtship until she says he became

too possessive over her and it made her feel really uncomfortable. You don't say. She decided that he was more serious about her than she was about him. So she severed their romantic relationship, but they did for whatever reason stay friends. And Chala actually met Irene briefly before she and Nathan moved to Wyoming, and she called her the sweetest girl and said that she was glowing with joy over the move. But,

you know, is this just kind of to say face in front of Nathan? And so she's acting like she wants to move to Wyoming when she really didn't's acting like she wants to move to Wyoming when she really didn't or did she want to move to Wyoming? We may never know. Right. In April of 2022, so within a couple weeks of Irene being reported missing, Nathan was questioned by law enforcement and police even conducted an eight hour search of his house. But Irene was still nowhere to

be found. Nathan simply claimed that he didn't know where Irene was despite the fact that they had moved to Wyoming together and been dating for two years. He explained that one night in late February of 2022, so a couple weeks before she last spoke with her family and two months before saying this, she left the house with her belongings in trash bags and got into a dark colored SUV. This to me, this right here is exactly what I would imagine someone who thinks that their computer hacker and international spy would say, oh, she got into a dark colored

SUV randomly and drove off like dude this is not a movie. Well yeah I mean of course I mean it could have been like an Uber right but the way he's kind of the way he's wording it of like she just gets off in the night and and then he doesn't see her again because he says that after this he didn't see or hear from her again but remember neither did her family so where the hell did she go this how convenient that she just left in a dark SUV and you never saw her again, like... Right. Doesn't that just tie it up in a nice bow?

But despite denying his involvement on May 10, 2022, Nathan Heitman was arrested by Gillette Police. While it was not yet confirmed to be related to the disappearance of Irene Gauqua, the police investigation uncovered other illegal activity that he had been up to since she had last been seen. The press released by the police announcing his arrest, red quote, on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at approximately 3.30 pm, the Gillette Police Department arrested Nathan J. Hyattman.

Hyattman, a person of interest in the Irene Gauqua Missing Persons case, has been charged with two felony counts of theft, one felony count of unlawful use of a credit card, and two felony counts of crimes against intellectual property. Irene is the victim of these crimes. Heitman has declined interview requests from the Gillette Police Department. The investigation into the disappearance of 32-year-old Irene Gauqua continues.

Information obtained through investigation suggests Irene went missing under suspicious circumstances. Irene was last seen in a video call with her parents on February 24th, 2022. Irene was reported missing to the Gillette Police Department on March 20th, 2022 by her brother. Detectives continue to process information obtained through tips, leads, and searches.

Detectives are asking the public for any information concerning a grey or silver-colored Subaru Cross track with Idaho license plates which may have been seen trespassing on private property or appearing out of place in rural areas of Campbell County between February 24th, 2022 and March 20th, 2022. The Gillette Police Department is also requesting information regarding the possibility of a 55 gallon metal drum which may have been burned and or abandoned within the county. Now according to Nathan's neighbors, shortly after Irene was last seen, Nathan was spotted

burning a fire in a large metal drum in his backyard. Which is just as suspicious as it gets. I mean, it really is. What else, what else are you doing? What else could be in there? I don't know. I guess you could be burning trash or something, but. But I mean, I just, do you hear about people doing that? Just burning trash or metal drums in their backyard? I just feel, I mean, maybe people do that. I don't do that. But I feel like do that comes up a lot in cases like this. Yeah, and I think just given the circumstances of the situation and this crime or the you know the alleged crime here, it just does make it look

more suspicious. But also the timing of this makes everything so much more difficult. Like the fact that there is one whole month where Irene's whereabouts are just unknown to her family and the public and really only to Nathan. So obviously living in a different state and a different country, her family didn't really know what to do because she had texted them that she was going to get a new number and then suddenly she's unreachable so they're like did she get a new number or did something happen to her and that's why it took so much time for them to report her missing because they just didn't know what was going on.

Yeah, I mean Nathan's just trying to... Yeah, he's trying to hide as much information from friends and family as he can. Right, and in addition to the suspicion that Nathan himself had deleted Irene's WhatsApp account and then of course deactivated her phone number, he had deleted her email account and was confirmed to have used her credit card after she went missing, which also looks really bad for him because it's like, oh you don't know where she is yet you're using her credit card and you deleted her email. Why? Why?

But it gets worse because February 25th, 2022, which is the day after Irene was last seen on video chat by her father, Nathan used Irene's card to purchase boots, jeans, and a shovel from the local Walmart. And then you have to wonder, if you made this purchase on her card so that it couldn't be traced back to him as easily, even though it was. Yeah.

Like, maybe in his mind, he's thinking, oh, well, didn't come from my card, so maybe they won't be able to trace it back to me, but they did. And then after this, he transferred $3666.46 out of Irene's account and into his own in a series of eight transfers, which is a really specific number, but also he's giving himself thousands of dollars from Irene. Yeah, but he's also taking it very slowly.

I mean, this is eight transactions. Just bizarre. So Nathan pleaded not guilty to the charges and has continued to proclaim innocence in Irene's disappearance. His bond was set at just $10,000. So on June 8, 2022, he made bond and was released. So for now, Nathan Heitman is a free man.

His trial, which was originally set for January of 2023, has been delayed multiple times and is now set for April 3rd. Again, not in relation to her disappearance, just in relation to these other charges. Right, the other charges. Both he and his attorneys have declined interview requests, but neighbors and community members have observed that he has been a recluse in the home that he used to share with Irene, you know, still living in Wyoming. He rarely leaves, and he frequently gets food and groceries delivered to the house.

Meanwhile, her friends and family wait in agony. Her dad Francis said in an interview recently quote, I just want to know the truth. I'm still hopeful, but my hope is dwindling. And to me it's just so obvious that Nathan was likely, I have to say likely, although I believe without a doubt he was, the last person to see Irene and knows exactly what happened to her because in my opinion, he did whatever that thing is. And his behavior after she went missing, and before for that matter, was so shady. It was. But it just makes you wonder why. We know that her family is still holding out hope,

but unfortunately, it seems like Nathan stole her life away. But what would be the reason why he would do this? Like, was it because she wanted to leave him after all? As it appears she did, did she even want to move to Wyoming? Or is this entirely his narrative? And maybe he was so upset by the thought of her wanting out that he ended her life?

Like, you know what I mean? That's where it's kind of pointing to, but it's like, why did you do this? I did this. I did this. Right, yeah. And it feels to me like he took advantage of a situation where she was new to the US.

She didn't have many friends. She just had her two brothers that were living in Idaho. And of course, Susan, and she did know a few other people, but he probably thought that he could take advantage of the situation, she did know a few other people, but he probably thought that he could take advantage of the situation, get her into a relationship, control that relationship, but then when he realized maybe things

aren't really working the way he wanted them to, then he had to take drastic measures. That's just my opinion here. Yeah, I agree. You know, but that's just the way it feels. It's just so sad. You can't force someone to love you people the great thing here though is that the Gillette community has advocated for the family the best way that they

can which is obviously amazing considering that she didn't really get much of a chance to be part of the community I mean she only lived there for what six months or I guess about eight months but but one local woman, Stacey Kester, started to go fund me hoping to bring forward more information. She wrote on the page quote, �Irene�s ex-Viance recently attempted to file a protection restraining order against me, trying to halt our search efforts and keep us from sharing Irene�s story. All help is greatly appreciated to achieve our goal. We need to find Irene and help her family get closure. Irene is a daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. Her family misses her dearly.

So, Stacy took to TikTok to make videos spreading awareness about Irene's disappearance, but many of those were ordered by Nathan's legal team to be taken down. Stacey's also aiding in the production of a crime show focusing on Irene's disappearance called Never Seen Again, and this is for Paramount Plus. So keep your eyes peeled for that to help support the path of justice for Irene. Stacey, along with other concerned community members, have orchestrated multiple volunteer searches, including searches on horseback. Stacey remains at the forefront of the efforts to find out what happened to Irene, while

another local woman named Jennifer Coker has also been documenting the case developments in a multi-part blog on the website, The Wyoming Truth, from which much of this information for this case was sourced. The grassroots effort from community members means that her family can remain hopeful that answers will be found and justice will be served. Kennedy, her brother said, quote, We're not trying to tell them, please, how to do their job.

We just want to know of vital information before we read about it in court documents or the news. We will continue to fight for my sister, who is not here to defend herself until justice is served. We will not quit until the day we find out what happened to Irene. Sadly, Kennedy also blames himself for Irene's fate. He said, quote, I can't help but think that this is my fault. I wish we could have been there for my sister." I understand what he's saying, but it's not his fault. I mean, like hindsight is 2020. And if they felt that she was in real danger, I believe that they would have stepped in sooner

because they cared about her so much. But this is a very difficult situation to navigate, and that's why it's important to understand the signs So that people in Chris and Kennedy's situation can try to step in sooner and Possibly help their loved one before anything to drastic happens But but they didn't know obviously or else they would have done something Yeah, and I really truly believe that and honestly this happens way too often Yeah, it does which like I'm saying is why it's important to kind of recognize And I really truly believe that. And honestly, this happens way too often. Like it does.

Which like I'm saying is why it's important to kind of recognize these different signs of somebody being too controlling over a loved one. And unfortunately, there's also not a whole lot you can do in some situations because like Irene, 32 year old woman, you know, she can do whatever she wants. Absolutely. But I do feel like in certain situations,

she was asking for help. Just like that conversation she had with Susan, she was saying, I don't wanna be in this relationship, but nobody really understood what she was really saying. And that's nobody's fault. Yeah, and it must have been hard to kind of relay that information to her friend. Absolutely.

And that's an issue as well, is that maybe she felt like she couldn't be honest because there's a lot of guilt in relationships like this and maybe Irene just didn't know how to say it, especially from her culture where they don't share a lot of personal details about relationships and such, like we mentioned as well. Right. So she was in a really difficult position. If you have any information

about the disappearance of Irene Gauqua, please call the Gillette Wyoming Crime Stoppers at 307-228-4276 Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of going west. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode And on Tuesday we'll have an all-new case for you guys to dive into Please don't forget to share I read story whether it's this episode or her missing poster. We're going to post photos of her and all that kind of stuff on our socials. Our Instagram is at going West podcast. Twitter is at going West pod and we're also on Facebook. If you want to just hook up going West, you know, obviously sharing her photo, especially if you're in the US or particularly in Idaho or Wyoming, that's helpful, but anywhere you are, just help spread her story and brings it to more eyes and ears, which

is what her family really needs right now. Yeah, I mean, it's very, very important to share this story for many different reasons, also because we want to keep the pressure on this case, because as of right now, Nathan is a free man. He is a recluse out in Wyoming. And there's gonna be more developments. And we'll try to keep you guys posted on what's going on in April about those felony charges

and see if anything else comes of that. Yes, we're definitely gonna be posting about those, but you made a great point. Irene is still missing at this point. So whether Nathan did something to her or not, she's still missing and there's no actual answers of what happened to her, even though we're all kind of speculating

and feeling a certain way, there's still no actual answers. So thank you guys so much for listening. Thanks for tuning in to get another episode of Going West and we'll see you next time. All right guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you. you