Going West: True Crime - Sydney Loofe // 155

Episode Date: December 8, 2021

In November of 2017, a 24-year-old Nebraska woman matched with another woman on Tinder, and the pair hit it off. But after a second date, she disappeared without a trace. Massive searches took place, but it wasn’t until a friend of the missing woman catfished a suspect on Tinder for information that the details started to come to light. Between witchcraft sex cults, a spree of crimes that weaved through multiple states, and an unlikely relationship, this case truly is as bizarre as it is tragic. This is the story of Sydney Loofe. YOUTUBE VIDEO OF AUBREY AND BAILEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=S7mELOc57Qg&feature=emb_title BONUS EPISODES patreon.com/goingwestpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Heath. And I'm your host, Daphne. And you're listening to going west. Howdy everybody. That's usually your line, Daphne. You always say that when you say howdy. It is my line now. It's a little weird. So big things going out to Shelby D for the case suggestion today. Yes, I know a lot of other people have probably recommended this over the time. I want to say over the years, but this case isn't that old, so thank you so much to Shelby for recommending it. Yeah, and Daphne is a little bit under the weather today. I am. I woke up sick this morning. I have a super sore throat and a runny nose. So if I sound congested, that is why. I feel like there's just something

kind of going around right now. I know. I'm in our community. You know what? And last time something went around, we got it, even though we're so careful. What is up with that? Yeah, I totally feel you. I'm kind of on the mend from being sick right now. I think I got you sick. I think you did too, so thank you. But anyway, if you guys want some bonus episodes, head on over to patreon.com slash going west podcast. We have a ton of extra content for you guys

there. Yes, over 54 bonus episodes, two more coming this month, they're full length. We do a lot of international cases over on our Patreon to a lot of you guys who are international listeners, want international cases. So if you do head on over to Patreon and check it out. Also, there's something I wanted to address. Lately, we've been getting some messages

about some glitches in our episodes. So Keith and I always listen to the episodes beforehand to make sure that everything's good. But yesterday I went and listened to the whole Kara Knot episode because some of you were having trouble listening to that one. And I didn't hear any glitches. So I think it's like an in-app issue.

So make sure you're updated on your apps. I know that Apple Podcast has a lot of issues, particularly. So make sure you're up to date on all your apps, and I'm so sorry about that guys, but it is an app issue it seems. All right, so with that, let's get into today's episode. This is episode 155 of Going West, so let's get into it. In November of 2017, a 24-year-old Nebraska woman matched with another woman on Tinder, and the pair really hit it off. But after a second date, she disappeared without a trace.

Massive searches took place, but it wasn't until a friend of the missing woman catfished a suspect on Tinder for information that the details started to come to light. Between witchcraft sex cults, a spree of crimes that weaved through multiple states and an unlikely relationship, this case truly is as bizarre as it is tragic. This is the story of Sidney Looff. Sidney Irene Looff was born on August 21, 1993 to parents George and Susie Luf in Broken Bone, Nebraska, which is located in Custer County and right smack dab in the middle of Nebraska. Sydney grew up with her younger sister Mackenzie and her older brother Levi, and she was

described as having just a huge heart. She was also extremely passionate about animals animals and she was known as an outdoor person who just loved to be in nature. She was also known as a bit of a tomboy growing up with blonde hair and blue eyes and her family said that she could outfish just about anybody in the family. Her brother Levi even stated quote, "'Sydney was the poster person for caring more about others than she did herself.' He also explained that if he started to like something, so did Sydney because she really looked up to him.

Well, except for the Lakers, she couldn't get on board with that. Sydney and her family lived in Arcadia, Nebraska until she was about seven years old, before her family moved to Nilee, which has a population of around 2,000 residents. During Christmas, Sydney and her younger sister, Mackenzie, would sleep in their older brother Levi's room, and this became a tradition throughout their childhood, where they stayed up late and played games together. Her father George described Sydney as very athletic and was naturally gifted because she played basketball and she also loved golf.

But sadly, during her teen years, Sydney actually developed scoliosis, which impeded her ability to even swing a golf club, because it just put so much strain on her back. Sydney graduated from Neely Oakdale High School, where her dad was actually the principal in the spring of 2011. And after high school, she took a job working

as a cashier at a home improvement store called Menards. And this is kind of like one of those, you know, chain, retail, home improvement stores. And she started working in the neighboring city of Norfolk. Her brother and sister were already living in the much larger city of Lincoln, Nebraska, which is about two and a half hours drive south of Neely. So Sidney decided to transfer to the Menards located on Cornhusker Highway to be closer to her siblings. Because they were just super close, right? Which is awesome. I mean, that's cool that

she wants to be really close to them. That's very sweet. Exactly. So she moved closer to the family. And McKenzie, Sidney's sister, often spent a lot of time over at her sister's house. Usually she would come over and just clean because Sydney absolutely hated cleaning, and the two would just make dinner together and watch Netflix. Around this same time, Sydney saw a posting on Craigslist for a cute little tabby cat for about $20, and she knew that she had to have him. He became her absolute best friend, and she named him

Mimzy. Sydney struggled with a bit of anxiety and depression in her adulthood, so she collected quartz crystals because she believed that they could heal her emotional state, as well as her physical ailments. Her favorite to collect was amethyst because purple was her favorite color. Now, as we mentioned before, Sydney was so caring for others that on numerous occasions, she would offer up her home as a place for friends to stay that were kind of just down on their luck. She absolutely hated to see people treated unfairly

or unloved. In November of 2017, 24-year-old Sydney was still working at Monards, but she told her family that she wasn't content with being there forever. Her real dream, which she told her sister, was to move to Colorado, or possibly the South, and work at a veterinary hospital, because again, she absolutely loved animals.

But for now, she did enjoy her job, and she considered her co-workers some of her very good friends. But even though Sydney had some really great friends and an amazing family to keep her company, she was looking for a romantic relationship. And Sydney had relayed her frustrations in the past to friends after using the dating app Tinder

because every time that she would try to start a relationship with another woman, request to add a male to the scenario to be quickly followed, and that was not what Sydney was looking for. But on November 11th, 2017, she finally felt like she may have hit the jackpot after she matched with a 25-year-old brunette woman named Audrey. And by the way, fun fact, that's how Daphne and I met, we met on Tinder. We did, four whole years ago.

But as a lot of us know, who have used Tinder, it can be a super frustrating process because you just meet a bunch of people, obviously, who you don't connect with and then maybe one day, you do connect with somebody. Yeah, and I think that's, you know, part of Sydney's frustrations is like, you know, she's looking for, you know, a girl to be in a relationship with or a woman to be in a relationship with. And it typically these women are like, hey, can my boyfriend or my husband become involved in this? We make this like a three scenario. They just use it as like a hook up thing or like something to add to their relationship they already have, which I can't imagine how frustrating that was for Sydney because

she's like, I'm just looking for a girl to date and I don't want to be a part of your three-something. Yeah. So anyway, Sydney was really excited about this new dating prospect, and the two began a casual conversation that included the type of food and restaurants that they liked, their love for smoking weed, and other details just kind of like about their childhoods and where they grew up. These messages went on for a few days until Sydney finally got up the nerve to ask Audrey out, and the pair made a plan to go on their first date on Tuesday, November 14th, 2017.

But Sydney had some reservations because again, she wasn't interested in having anyone else involved in their relationship, so she asked Audrey prior to their date if it would just be the two of them, and Audrey replied with, yes of course, LOL. Audrey and Sidney talked about what their first date would look like, and Audrey suggested that the two hang out at a casino close by, and then afterwards maybe head to an upscale dinner. But when Tuesday rolled around, Audrey picked Sidney up from her apartment, and they just spent the whole day driving around in Audrey's car, smoking weed, and getting to know one

another better. And Sidney had recently tried to quit smoking weed, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity, especially with a pretty girl that she was interested in. And Sydney was doing much better with her depression in the days before the date, and she had even been put on a new antidepressant which helped a lot. When the date was over, Audrey dropped Sydney off at her house and Sydney felt like the date went extremely well. She even told her friend Tara, quote, just got done chilling with a super cute girl, I hope she doesn't have a boyfriend. Sydney didn't ask whether or not Audrey had a boyfriend,

but before she went to bed, Sydney received a message on Tinder from Audrey that said, Good night, gorgeous. So Sydney was extremely excited to see Audrey again. So the next day, which was Wednesday, November 15th, they made another plan to get together. Sydney had worked that day and her friend Tara, who was also a coworker, asked Sydney if she was interested in extending her shift at Monards for some extra money.

But Sydney respectfully declined explaining that she had another date with Audrey that night after work. While at work, Sydney received yet another message from Audrey on Tinder, asking how her day was going. And this made Sydney feel really special, and all of Sydney's co-workers could see how happy she was, and they noticed a little bit of a different pep in her step. After Sydney got off work that evening, she headed home to her apartment and began to get ready for her date.

She was wearing a white top and a beige fleece and she took a selfie with the caption ready for my date before sending it to her mother and a few other friends. The pair hadn't really planned out their date, but were more so interested in just making it a casual night, similar to their first date. They figured that they would just drive around again, talk, and maybe smoke some more weed, and possibly head to an apartment nearby to hang out. At approximately 6.54pm, Sydney received another message from Audrey, explaining that she was waiting in her car downstairs to pick her up. Audrey, explaining that she was waiting in her car downstairs to pick her up. But little did anyone know that this would be the last tender message that Sydney would ever receive, because that night, Sydney Loofe would seemingly vanish into thin air.

The next morning, which was November 16, Sydney was scheduled to work a shift at Monards, but she never showed up. Later that day, Sydney's mother Suzy began to receive a multitude of texts explaining that Sydney had never shown up for work, so she became extremely worried. It was really unlike Sydney to miss a shift, so her family immediately reported her missing to the Lincoln Nebraska Police Department. A welfare check was conducted at Sidney's apartment just to kind of see if any clues could be uncovered that would help

locate her. When police arrived to the apartment, they found Sidney's car parked in the driveway and all of her lights appeared to be on inside the home, but her front door was locked so detectives had to enter her apartment through an unlatched window. But when they got inside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and there was no sign of Sydney. But what really made everyone feel that something was wrong was when Sydney's parents discovered her eyeglasses in her makeup bag on her bed at her apartment. Sydney were contacts that she had to take out every night, and if she had been planning

on being away for a night or two, she would have never left her glasses behind. But to make things even more alarming, Sydney's cat Mimsie's food and water bowls were empty, and she loved her cat and she would have never left him without food. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof.

So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to find Sydney Loof. So now the search was on to where she could be. The communities, Sydney's family and friends, and investigators were working fast to locator, and a Facebook page was set up by her family to help vet tips and spread awareness. Over 27,000 people joined that Facebook page to help.

Flyers were also created that detailed what Sydney looked like, including her tattoos, which were, everything will be wonderful someday on her arm, a yin-yin symbol on her elbow, and the word believe on her wrist. Police were able to find out that Sydney's phone had pinged off of a tower in the town of Wilbur before going dark sometime on the night of the 15th. Wilbur's located about a 45-minute drive south of Lincoln, and it was believed that her date may have taken place there, but there was a problem. Nobody knew who this mystery date Audrey was. Soon, the media had caught wind of Sydney's disappearance, including local news stations, but also Good Morning America and People Magazine.

news stations, but also Good Morning America and People magazine. It was just a complete mystery early on in the investigation. Green ribbons were posted all over town on light posts and mailboxes to signify a missing child by those who shared their support with the Louf family. Sydney's friend Tarex explained that the disappearance felt like a dream, like something that you would only see on TV shows. Although police were somewhat at a standstill, an old friend and coworker of Sydney's name Brooklyn McChrystal decided that she needed to take matters into her own hands to find out what happened to Sydney.

So she became a law detective herself and created her own Tinder profile as bait to see if she could lower in a suspect. Brooklyn knew that Sydney had gone on a date with a woman named Audrey and that this woman lived approximately 32 miles from Lincoln. Brooklyn knew this because she had reached out to Sydney's sister Mackenzie for some information and Mackenzie was able to provide her with a screenshot of Audrey's profile on Tinder that Sydney had sent her prior to her going missing And to be a little bit more detailed for those of you who have never used Tinder

So on your Tinder profile it will show a potential match how far you are from them So in this screenshot it said that Audrey was 32 miles from Sydney when they first matched Brooklyn knew that this was kind of a long shot, but she had to try. So she set up her profile and set her dating preference to women, and miraculously, she got a match. When Brooklyn saw Audrey's profile pop up on her screen, she immediately swiped right. But it wasn't until the following day that she received a match from Audrey. And we did post a photo of the screenshot of at least part of Audrey's profile, so you guys can see what it looks like.

It's basically this brunette woman and she has this filter on that adds that like a flower crown to your forehead and your head, you know, that one filter. Yeah, I totally know that filter. So that's what her photo was. So Brooklyn began to message Audrey in an attempt to uncover more information. Which by the way is so smart and I can't believe this work. Yeah, like literally so much props to Brooklyn. So Audrey explained that she was at a casino during the messaging

and that she worked for a quote, financial institution and that she was originally from Missouri. Now, Brooklyn was also able to obtain her phone number, and when she did, she brought it straight to police. But when police tried to dial the phone number, they realized that it was a fake created on an app that's used to disguise numbers called Pinger. But what Audrey didn't know was that police had the technology

to uncover the original number that was hidden, and when they did, they realized that it didn't belong to anyone named Audrey. But instead, the number actually belonged to a 23-year-old Wilbur resident named Bailey Boswell. First they called the number and Bailey answered, but she was pretty much unwilling to give her name and any other information, because she had warrants out for her arrest, but she did acknowledge that she had gone on a date with Sydney, but claimed that she had dropped her off at a friend's house on the 16th. The fact that she said, I'm not going to give you my information,

because I've warrants out for my arrest, and you're talking to the police like, what is wrong with you? I don't know. Okay, I'm just going to say it right now. This episode or this case is just fucking bonkers. It is truly insane. So, and we're gonna get into all of that. So, it didn't take long for detectives to use the name that they obtained to track down an apartment address located in Wilbur, where Sydney's phone had last signaled. So, on November 18th, 2017, police paid a visit to this home in order to conduct another welfare

check. And that's when they found out that not only did Bailey Boswell live there, but so did her 51-year-old boyfriend named Aubrey Trail. Now, I don't want us to get confused, so just remember that Bailey's fake Tinder name was Audrey, and her boyfriend's name is Aubrey. So Bailey and Aubrey's landlord explained that the couple were good tenants who always pay their rent on time and never caused any problems. But when police asked if they had noticed anything unfamiliar in the past few days, the

landlords explained that on November 16th, they noticed a very heavy scent of bleach coming from the couple's apartment. This was a huge red flag for investigators, so the next day, which was November 19, police returned to the apartment with a search warrant. When they entered Bailey and Aubrey's apartment, they immediately noticed that strong bleach smell, and also that the place had been recently deep cleaned. Particular portions of the apartment walls had been wiped down, but sadly, no trace of Sydney was found.

And even more alarming, no one could locate Bailey and Aubrey. It appeared that the couple was now on the run, but it wasn't until about a week later that police in the FBI officially announced Bailey and Aubrey as persons of interest in Sydney's case. On November 29th, 2017, while still on the run, the couple decided to do something that no one expected, and they posted videos of themselves to the fine Sydney-Lew Facebook page, in which they claimed their innocence. And this is just like so crazy and weird,

a weird thing to do. That's like a weird thing to take a video of yourself and say, hey, I'm innocent, I didn't do any of this, and then post it to the Facebook page of the person that you're suspected of having something to do with their disappearance. That's just weird. So I wanna play the videos for you guys

to give you a better idea of this situation. Good morning Lincoln and Omaha, and probably several other places. This is Aubrey Trail and this is Bayley Bows Way. I guess y'all also know where is Audrey. But we spent the last few days watching ourselves being slammed and crucified in the newspapers and the news and everything else. So we thought it was time we had our say We're not trying to defend anything. We're not trying to make you believe anything We just feel we should get to say our side since everyone else gets to say theirs

It mean Bailey to about a hundred thousand dollar a year of business and antiques and eBay, the antique malls in Lincoln, Omaha, all this stuff. They will have you believe that I'm still just a criminal running around. But you know, I don't really need to explain all of that because as far as I know, I'm not wanted for anything. I'm a person of interest, and I'm not really running for anything. I mean, naturally I can't go home now because my house has been swarmed, searched, and I'm being looked for. And I assume that I have a warrant out of states that were now, so that can't cancel that out. So this has pretty much cost me my life, and I appreciate that from the Lincoln-Boleys department and the FBI and all those other agencies. But I pray for Sydney, I hope she's found soon. I wish to fan with the best.

I'm sorry that she wasn't with you on Thanksgiving. And that's pretty much all I can say for now. Here's Bailey to tell you whatever she wants to. I'm fixing to step aside and get out of this. Thank you for listening. Hi, good morning. I'm Bailey, Audrey, I'm Tinder and a few other names because I have warrants, but this really isn't about me. This is about Sydney. And I'm just kind of

want to tell you what I've already told the Lincoln police more than one time. I met her on a Tuesday. We drove around Lincoln, smoked weed, had a great time. We hit it off, a drop-drop at home, picked it up the next night at our house. We drove around smoked weed again, made our way to my house where we smoked wax and shatter and I gave her a quarter of an ounce of some really good weed. I went to take her home and she asked me to drop her off at a friend's house. So I did so. I gave her my number. We were planning to go to the casino that weekend. I mean I haven't heard from her since. I just I really don't even know what else to say. I've seen all this stuff on the news presses and the magazines and the news and I just I guess I just want the family to know that I'm

truly sorry and I didn't have anything to do with this and I hope that Sydney is found very soon She is a sweet amazing girl I don't know bad you have anything else to say I Hope also that Sydney found soon. We wish to family the best. We're sorry you're going through this. As far as all this stuff that the police department is putting in the papers, putting on the news, what they're feeding to the media, what they want the media to know. There was nothing I can do about that. There's nothing she can do about that because the Police Department is going to do what suits them best. Yeah, I know that's coming from a criminal. So, you know, you'll believe what you will as far as the Police Department is concerned, but as far as I'm concerned, what they're chasing us around like dogs,

I wish to family the best. I mean, no disrespect to anyone. I wish Sydney the best, but as far as the police department. Yeah. So that video is nine minutes long and we'll link the YouTube video if you guys want to watch it and listen to the entire thing We just kind of put certain parts of it and during the whole video It's it's pretty much like they're sitting in a car and Bailey is holding the camera You can see part of Aubrey's face. He's wearing a black beanie and Bailey is wearing a black zipped-up hoodie all the way up and a hood You can't see any of her hair like you can just see her face. And then she has these like massive sunglasses on

and she's just like staring at the camera while Aubrey is talking forever. Yeah, it's just a really, really awkward video. And I don't know again, why you would post this to Sydney Loose missing Facebook page like that's just so weird. It's really weird. And then later another video came out of Aubrey

and you can see his whole face, he's like sitting in a room and he's talking for another nine minutes and change. It's just bizarre. Going back to the first video, so a detective working on the case was made aware of it and that it was posted to the Facebook page on November 29th. But later that night, the second video was posted by Bailey and Aubrey. And this was right around midnight so the detective believed that wherever the couple posted this video from, is likely where they were going to stay for the night, which is super smart.

So he worked very quickly to inform Facebook of the situation in order to obtain an IP address, which was then connected to a Verizon wireless number. Verizon was then able to assist in tracking the location of the phone, which led investigators to a motel called the Windmill Inn in Branson, Missouri. And for reference, Branson, Missouri is around a six-hour drive from Lincoln, Nebraska, so that's how far they had driven. But because there was no physical evidence that Bailey and or Aubrey did anything to Sydney, because she was technically still missing at this point, brands and police working alongside

the FBI had to arrest the couple on unrelated warrants. Bailey and Aubrey were taken into custody on November 30, 2017, and placed under a federal hold in a branch in jail until further information could be obtained. Bayley had been arrested for failure to appear in court for these possession of marijuana charges, and Aubrey for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. So back in Nebraska, the search for Sydney continued, and a spokesperson for the FBI indicated that there was still hope of finding Sydney alive. Over 50 law enforcement officers and hundreds of volunteers gathered, and the effort to find

her, and billboards in Lincoln as well as Omaha were created, asking for the public's help. Sydney's father's student friend, a camera is urging anyone who could help the investigation to do the right thing and to contact police. It had now been more than two weeks since Sydney vanished, but Bayley and Aubrey maintained their innocence. Through extensive cell phone data analyzation, police were able to narrow the search down to a small town where they believed Sydney might be located. And this was the town of Edgar Nebraska, with a population of under 500 residents located

about an hour west of Wilbur. It was there that the unthinkable would be discovered in a marsh of captails at the intersection of a gravel road. On December 4, 2017, law enforcement tracked cell phone records to the area where they noticed a black trash bag discarded in some weeds. And when they opened it up, they discovered a horrifying sight. Inside were a pair of severed human arms, and on those arms were very distinct tattoos, and they knew right away that they belong to Sydney. Tragically, 13 separate black plastic bags were discovered on clay county roads over the

next 24 hours. And inside each, we're a different part of Sydney's body. And I cannot imagine being the person that had to look through these bags. I don't understand that for any of the dismemberment cases that we cover because it's so hard to even think about, you know, or even talk about, but imagine being the person that has to like, discover that.

Yeah, and open them up. And you're just hoping like, oh man, I just hope that there's trash inside this one and then you open it up. And there's just more human remains. I know. And the only part of Sydney's body, by the way, that wasn't discovered was Sydney's upper

left arm from her elbow to her shoulder, just on one of her arms, but everything else was found. So an autopsy report revealed that Sydney's cause of death was likely strangulation, and police determined that she was likely killed very quickly and caught off guard. In a more disturbing detail, many of Sydney's internal organs were missing, including her tongue, heart, and left lung. And there was no blood left in her body when she was discovered, meaning someone had drained it.

Or, I mean, I know that we kinda talked about this in the Ashley Young case from a couple weeks ago. That might just be something that happens when you dismember somebody as horrifying as that is to say or think about just because, you know. Yeah, I mean, I totally get where you're coming from. Right, so maybe someone didn't drain it, it just came out, you know what I'm saying?

So because of this, the examiner had to find another way to retrieve toxicology, but when she did, it appeared that alcohol and antidepressants were found in Sydney's system. And it was also determined that a mechanical saw was not used for dismemberment, but rather a hand saw or possibly a hacksaw. And just remember that detail.

So now with Sydney's body being found, and the last two people to see her in custody, police focused their attention back on Bailey and Aubrey, and discovered a little bit more about the unlikely couple. They met each other in the fall of 2016 and began dating a short time later. So just a clarification then, Bailey would have been 22 and Aubrey would have been 50. Yes, correct. And actually when they met, Bailey had previously been like a star athlete when she met Aubrey.

When she was in high school, right? Right, yeah, when she was in high school, sorry. So, but I think that gives a good background kind of like who she was before she met this guy and then who she was after. Right, so after the two had began dating, they started to embark on a crime spree that would last years and weave through many states including Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee,

Iowa, Kansas, and of course Nebraska. At first, the couple focused on petty theft, and then they progressed to writing bad checks, then eventually they up the stakes. On one occasion, Aubrey conned a couple in Kansas out of $400,000. And to explain a little bit about this situation, so Aubrey basically told this couple that hey, there's this million dollar coin in Paris, I can get it for you, but you've got to pay for my airfare and also give me know, give me the money to buy this coin And so they agreed and he just took the money so it was worth, you know $400,000 is what this couple gave Aubrey and he just took it

I just don't get that like I know these people are victims of a crime So I'm not victim blaming but I just am so surprised that they would give up that amount of money and just be so trustworthy I wonder how like maybe if Aubrey was very good at coaxing people, you know, good manipulation. He was, he was actually very, very convincing. We're gonna talk about that right now. So on another occasion, the couple actually cleaned up their appearance and disguised themselves as wealthy bidders

at an antique auction house in Pennsylvania, where they forged a bad check for $28,000 for antique collectible coins. And at this time, Bailey only had about $200 in her bank account, so this check was definitely not going through. Aubrey even used a cane and announced himself as Bailey's father to make the act more believable. That's so creepy.

Just because they're literally like 30 years apart, so he's just to say that, oh god, I don't know, it's just me. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty weird. It's just weird to like to understand that the age difference is big, and then to be like, oh yeah, I'm or dad, like in your her partner. Yeah, and they're using this whole scenario to like con people.

Yeah, which is also creepy, like just creepy people. Well, it's gonna get even more creepy. Well, it's going to get even more creepy. Actually, it's about the to get the creepiest. So here we go. So the weirdest part to us of this couple's entire story is that before Sydney's disappearance, they convinced multiple women that they met on Tinder that Aubrey was a vampire with the ability to fly

and that Bailey was a queen witch who led a Covenant witches and these women not only believe them, but they also helped Aubrey and Bailey steal and sell rare antiques. And we're not talking about some like sexy vampire here. We're not talking about David from the last boys or Edward Cullen.

We're talking about a literal toad man. He's a toad man, sorry. It's, of course we posted photos. You guys should go look, but yeah, totally agree. So these women did later testify that Aubrey and Bailey often talked about killing women and that Aubrey wanted to torture someone for sexual gratification.

So Aubrey posed as a sugar daddy, often involving other women and he and Bailey's relationship, which is sad because that's exactly what Sydney didn't want. Yeah, that's like the opposite of what Sydney wanted. So Aubrey would offer to pay these women's bills and give them money in exchange for their help in the schemes that they pulled, but also as personal sex slaves. And in fact, one of Aubrey and Bailey's house rules for the women was to be nude at all times inside the home. Aubrey also told the women that he groomed that the only way they could become an official

witch is if they killed someone. And these women eventually did realize that the pressure to be involved in this kind of sexual witch cult was far too much, so they ended up leaving the group. But that didn't stop Bailey and Aubrey from stalking more prey on Tinder for their fantasies. And this is just wild to me. You know that these women, of course these women are victims of this as well, but like what a weird twist to this story that they had this whole like culty situation going on. And that's kind of what they were more than likely trying to get Sidney into as well.

Yeah, and one of the women that they recruited actually believed that Aubrey could read her mind in her thoughts. So, you know, she took this very, very seriously. And at one point, Aubrey actually asked this woman to kill another member of the cult because she was quote, too nice. But that didn't happen because those two women actually left this cult prior to Sydney's disappearance.

Well, good thing. Yeah. So police were able to uncover that on November 15th, 2017, the day Bailey and Sydney were set to go on their second date, Bailey and Aubrey were caught on surveillance tape walking into a local home depot to purchase a hacksaw, plastic drop cloths, and saw blades. Then the couple purchased a meat grinder and a folding saw from a local antique shop down the street.

This is so fucking scary. So scary. Especially because this is before the date with Sydney. It's like this was definitely premeditated, especially knowing what was done to Sydney and then knowing that they purchased all these items so, so horrifying. Yeah, and it just gets even creepier and even more sad.

So after they bought these items, they traveled to the minards that Sydney worked at, and just as she was starting her shift, Aubrey walked into the store and passed by Sydney to check her out. He was then caught on camera glancing over his shoulder to watch her almost as if he was stalking his prey. And at this point they had not met. No, they had not met. So without buying anything, Aubrey left the store and reconvened with Bailey in the parking

lot. And as they left, Bailey sent the text message, which we mentioned earlier, to Sydney that asked how her day was going. And that makes the text even creepier where that she was outside and knowing that Aubrey was inside. Right. And Sydney had no idea that Aubrey or Bailey were in the parking lot. And she probably didn't even know who Aubrey was.

Exactly. So they knew full well what they were going to do that night. In June of 2018, Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail were formally charged with Sydneyney Loose murder after spending months in jail on fraud charges as well as the charges that we previously mentioned. In June of 2019, so a year later, Aubrey Trail's trial began in which he pled not guilty, explaining that he did in fact kill Sidney, but that it was a terrible accident. Funny that he didn't mention this terrible accident in his Facebook videos.

Right. He was just telling a whole different story. So he said that during a sexual act, he accidentally strangled Sydney, and that was how she died. An FBI agent working the case who had previously interviewed Aubrey said that Aubrey had become uncomfortable in an interrogation room with all the cameras and asked the agent to speak with him in the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, Aubrey leaned into the agent's ear and said, quote, life, and they gain more power when they kill, which is creepy as hell. So this incident was relayed in the courtroom, but more shockingly, during Aubrey's trial,

while the prosecution was interviewing a witness, he screamed out, Bailey is innocent and I curse you all before using a piece of a razor blade to slash his own throat in front of the jury. And this is just super wild, like, what a shock. You can watch this video on YouTube. Could you imagine I'm like being in that courtroom and I mean, oh my God, that's just such

an intense thing to do. So the court of course was adjourned for that day, but that didn't stop the jury from finding 53-year-old Aubrey Trail guilty of first-degree murder, and they sentenced him to death a few days later. Next up was Bailey Boswell, whose trial began in October of 2021.

I'm assuming probably because of COVID. So the prosecution sought the death penalty for her role in October of 2021, I'm assuming probably because of COVID. So the prosecution sought the death penalty for her role in Sydney's murder, but she pleaded with the judge to spare her life claiming that her daughter, quote, needs a mommy. And by the way, I'm not sure if Bailey cared for her daughter, I'm pretty sure this was, you know, a child that she had from a previous relationship. So the defense tried to blame Bailey's actions on trauma that she endured by an abusive ex-boyfriend, and also claimed that she was under Aubrey Trail's spell. Which I just think is such bullshit because, like, just knowing what we know about Bailey

and all the things that she has done, like, she- you're not allowed to paint yourself as a victim here. Yeah, you're not innocent here. Like, you murdered and dismembered a woman. Yeah, so the defense tried to paint Bailey as a victim to her much older boyfriend, but the prosecution wasn't having any of that. And provided the court with video and photographic evidence, that proved that Bailey was, quote, living the good life with Aubrey, which included trips to Vegas as well as lavish gifts and money. One video even showed Bailey fanning a bunch of cash

and throwing it up into the air to drop all over herself. So it doesn't really seem like you're having a bad time. Yeah, and I mean, just, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but just thinking too about all the cons that she committed with Aubrey and the fact that she tried to convince women to kill other people. Like, girl, you... This is all you.

Yeah, she was in it. She was full well in it. I mean, Aubrey is obviously just as bad, but, well, she is just as bad, essentially. Yeah. And, you know, to make matters even worse, during her time in jail awaiting trial, Bailey also sent sexual letters to different men in exchange for money. And she even used the jail phone to engage in phone sex to get money transferred into her jail account.

I didn't even know you could get away with such a thing. Yeah, it's just so weird. Like could you make yourself look any worse? Like you're in jail already and now you're making like sex calls to men for money. And obviously this is not to discredit phone sex workers in general at all. So back to the trial. So Bailey's defense team fired back explaining that she had been, quote, pimped out by her ex-boyfriend when she met Aubrey, who she thought would change her life for the better,

and she was apparently grateful for that until she became afraid of him. She said that he demanded she do what he said, or he would kill her. I do not buy this for a second. For these reasons, Bailey was spared the death penalty, but was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole

on November 8, 2021, so this just happened. For Sydney's family, they will never get to see her beautiful smile again, or watch her fall in love, or achieve her dream of becoming a veterinarian. A scholarship fund was set up in Sydney's name, and the punk-a-trib of Nebraska dedicated to concrete bench located in Riverside Park in her memory, with a plaque that says, now fishing with the angels. The Loofs wore purple that day, which was Sydney's favorite color. Unfortunately, we may never know exactly what happened to Sydney on that November night

in 2017, but one thing we do know to be true, as that Bayley Boswell and Aubrey Trail are exactly where they belong, behind bars until the end of their days. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this very tragic episode of Going West. This is just such a wild story. I mean just absolutely unbelievable. And so senseless too. It doesn't even make sense why they killed her like really thinking about it.

If they were planning her murder before I I mean, honestly, I feel like they did believe they were witches and felt like killing Sydney would give them more powers. I really think that's what they thought, which is really, really sickening and sad. Yeah, literally. So thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Thank you for getting through my incredibly easily, boys. Yeah, sorry about the sickness on our end. Yes. But, oh, yeah, and you're still you're still recovering too

So you know that's teensy bit of nasal But thank you guys so much Thank you for listening to our show. Thank you for sharing it. It means the world to us and if anybody has any other Case suggestions were always open to them you can email us at going west podcast at gmail.com And we like to read those and check the cases out. Yeah, I mean, we have a really, really long list of cases. So we're doing our best to get through them, but we do really appreciate each and every suggestion. Yeah, so thank you guys. Alright, so for everybody out there in the world,

don't be a stranger. Thank you. you