Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome back to Human Wreckage, the show that
(00:02):
examines the stories of realpeople who found themselves
caught in the fallout of humanchoices, some deliberate, some
negligent, all catastrophic.
Here we examine not just crime,but the conditions that allow
crime to flourish.
We analyze not just tragedy, butthe systems and failures that
let tragedy happen.
Today's episode is one thatshook a community, broke a
(00:22):
family, and exposed deep cracksin criminal justice systems.
It raised uncomfortablequestions about parole
supervision, electronicmonitoring, the meaning of
rehabilitation, and the riskseveryday people don't realize
they walk through until someonethey love is taken.
(01:18):
This is not an easy story, butit is an important one.
February in Ohio has aparticular feeling to a gray
skies, cold air, a sense thatwinter is overstaying its
welcome.
On February 8th, 2017, thecampus of the Ohio State
University moved through the dayas usual.
Students rushed between classeswith coffee cups, buses rumbled
(01:39):
past the oval, and thebrightness of early spring still
felt far away.
Among the crowd was Reagan Tox,a psychology major just months
from graduation.
Those who knew her describe heras intelligent, driven, kind,
and the sort of person whosepresence made a room feel just a
little brighter.
Her friends say she had a laughthat was warm and contagious.
Her family remembers her asdeeply empathetic, grounded, and
(02:02):
full of promise.
At twenty one, Reagan had plansshe'd been interviewing for jobs
and had spent the previoussummer interning at a wildlife
sanctuary.
She wanted to build a careerhelping people, possibly in
clinical psychology.
She lived in an off-campus housewith roommates, kept up a
demanding academic schedule, andlike many students, worked
part-time.
(02:23):
On the evening of February 8th,she was scheduled to work at
Bodga, a popular restaurant andbar in Columbus's short north
district.
It wasn't a particularly busynight.
Wednesday nights rarely are.
At the time, there was no reasonto think anything would happen.
No sense of danger, no sense offorwarning, just a college
student finishing her shift,ready to head home.
(02:44):
In normal true crime narratives,this is where the ominous music
swells, but real life rarelyoffers warnings.
For Reagan, it was just the endof another ordinary shift.
She clocked out around 9.45 PM.
She texted her sister, toldcoworkers she'd see them later,
walked out into the cold night,and made her way to her car
parked a short distance away.
(03:06):
She never arrived home.
When a young adult missesCurfew, or a simply late
returning home, friends andfamily often try not to panic.
College life is unpredictable.
Phones die, plans change, peopleget distracted.
But early on February ninth,Reagan's roommates knew
something was wrong.
She hadn't come home.
She hadn't contacted anyone.
(03:28):
Calls went straight tovoicemail.
By the time morning classesbegan, the uneasy feeling had
shifted to full fledged alarm.
Reagan was responsible.
She didn't just vanish.
Her family, who lived hoursaway, immediately sensed danger.
Her mother Lisa Tokes later saidshe knew something was terribly
wrong almost instantly.
When the Columbus PoliceDepartment received the missing
(03:50):
person's report, they treated itwith urgency.
This was not a situation to waitand see.
Reagan had disappeared afterleaving work at night.
She drove a distinctive silver1999 Acura.
Surveillance footage in theshort north area captured her
last known movements around hercar.
Detectives quickly begansearching for Reagan's vehicle,
(04:10):
interviewing coworkers, pullingsecurity camera footage, and
tracking any digital footprintsthey could find, phone pings,
bank activity, anything thatcould narrow the timeline.
But soon, the search shiftedfrom hopeful to grim.
By mid morning, officersdiscovered Reagan's car
abandoned near Parkwood Avenue,several miles southeast of where
she had last been seen.
(04:31):
The location raised immediatesuspicion.
It was an area known forcriminal activity, not somewhere
a young woman would logically goon her own at night.
The car was abandoned, but notdamaged.
The items inside painted aconfusing picture.
Some things were left, some weremissing.
But one fact was clear there wasno sign of Reagan.
The search intensified.
(04:52):
Helicopters were deployed,ground crews combed nearby
woods.
Students across campus sharedher photo, urging anyone with
information to come forward.
And then, that afternoon, thecall came in from a Metro Parks
employee doing routine rounds inSayoto Grove Metro Park, a quiet
nature preserve just south ofColumbus.
A body had been found.
(05:13):
Authorities confirmed whateveryone had feared.
It was Reagan.
The Toaks family's worldshattered.
As investigators reconstructedthe timeline, one name emerged
Brian Galsby.
He was twenty nine years old.
He had a violent criminalhistory.
And at the time of Reagan'sdisappearance, he was on
post-release control, the Ohioequivalent of parole.
(05:34):
He wore a GPS ankle monitor.
Despite this, he had beencommitting a series of robberies
in the area eight of thembetween January and early
February 2017.
Women had been targeted,threatened, assaulted, the
pattern was escalating, yet heremained free.
His GPS monitor recorded hislocation constantly, but no one
was actively reviewing the data.
(05:56):
This detail later became one ofthe most shocking revelations of
the case.
The system meant to monitor himwas reactive, not proactive.
Data was collected, but unlesssomeone went back and checked it
after a crime occurred, itserved no real time protective
purpose.
When detectives cross-referencedthe GPS logs, they discovered
what should have been caughtmuch earlier.
(06:16):
His routes matched the robberylocations, and on the night of
february eighth, his movementsaligned with the timeline of
Reagan's disappearance andmurder.
The evidence mounted quickly.
DNA, surveillance, stolen itemsfound in his possession, the GPS
data itself, a firearm linked tothe crime.
It became clear that Gallsby hadapproached Reagan as she walked
(06:38):
to her car after work, forcedher into her vehicle, and
kidnapped her.
He drove her to multiplelocations throughout the night
before ultimately taking her toSayoto Grove Metro Park.
Again, we won't describe thedetails.
We honor the victim by refusingto sensationalize her suffering.
But what must be said is thisReagan's death was preventable.
(06:58):
Not in the magical, hindsight istwentywinny way, but in a
literal way.
The man who killed her wassupposed to be monitored.
And yet, no one was watching.
As the case moved toward trial,Columbus watched closely.
The crime had gripped thecommunity not only because of
its brutality, but because ofwhat it suggested about public
safety and the parole system.
(07:19):
During the proceedings,prosecutors presented
overwhelming evidence tyingGallsby to the crime.
They laid out the timeline, theyconnected dots the monitoring
system had failed to connect.
They showed the GPS data, theyshowed forensic evidence.
They showed how Reagan'sbelongings had been found in his
possession or discarded alonghis route.
The defense attempted to arguemitigating circumstances related
(07:42):
to Gallsby's upbringing andpsychological background, but
the jury had heard enough.
In March 2018, Brian Goldsby wasconvicted on multiple counts,
including aggravated murder,kidnapping, rape, and robbery.
He was sentenced to life inprison without the possibility
of parole.
For many, the verdict felt likejustice.
For Reagan's family, justice isa complicated word.
(08:05):
Nothing brings her back.
Nothing repairs the damage.
But accountability matteredbecause accountability had been
missing when it mattered most.
The aftermath of Reagan's murdersparked statewide conversation.
People asked questions thatdemanded answers.
How could someone with a violentpast be released without
adequate supervision?
Why was a GPS monitor used in apassive way, collecting data
(08:27):
without analyzing it?
Why weren't his previous crimesdetected sooner when the
evidence was literally recordedon his ankle?
The Toxes family demanded notjust answers, but change.
And so began the push for theReagan Toxes Act, a legislative
effort in Ohio aimed atreforming monitoring systems and
strengthening sentencingguidelines for violent
offenders.
(08:47):
The Act proposed significantadjustments, stricter guidelines
for post-release supervision,improved GPS monitoring
protocols, the ability forauthorities to respond more
quickly to high risk behavior,stronger consequences for parole
violations.
The legislation did not movequickly.
Reform never does, but thepublic pressure was immense.
(09:08):
The Tokes family appeared beforelawmakers, speaking through
unimaginable pain, urging themto fix what was broken to ensure
no other family lived throughwhat they endured.
Eventually, in 2018 and 2019,parts of the Reagan Tokes Act
were passed.
The reforms addressed sentencingstructures and gave corrections
departments more flexibility andoversight in supervising
(09:29):
offenders outside prison.
It wasn't perfect.
No law is, but it was movementmovement driven by a young woman
whose life should never havebeen sacrificed to expose flaws
in the system.
True crime often becomes aboutvillains and mysteries.
We talk about criminals, we talkabout motives, we dig into
timelines and procedures.
But this story at its core isnot about a criminal.
(09:52):
It is about Reagan.
Her family lost a daughter.
Her friends lost someone theyloved.
Classmates lost a peer whoinspired them.
The world lost someone who hadmore to give someone who helped
animals, volunteered her time,cared deeply for others, and had
plans for a future that wastaken from her.
When you look at photos ofReagan, you don't see a true
(10:12):
crime case.
You see a real person with realhopes, someone who should have
graduated in may twentyseventeen, celebrated her
accomplishments, and moved intothe next chapter of her life.
Instead, her memory became arallying point for justice
reform.
It is important to acknowledgeboth truths that she lived a
meaningful life, and that herdeath served as a catalyst for
(10:33):
change.
But we must never allow thesecond to overshadow the first.
More than eight years havepassed since the night Reagan
disappeared.
Time has moved forward, but theloss remains.
So does her legacy.
The Tox family continues toadvocate for improved safety
measures and reforms.
Scholarships exist in her honor.
Awareness programs have beencreated.
(10:54):
Students at Ohio State stillhear her name not as a
cautionary tale, but as areminder of humanity,
vulnerability, and theimportance of systemic
responsibility.
Her case is studied in criminaljustice classes.
It is referenced in policydiscussions.
It influences how monitoringtechnology is used and how
parole guidelines arestructured.
(11:15):
Change is slow, but her impactis real.
Before we close, I want to speakdirectly to listeners because
true crime, when consumedresponsibly, is not just about
stories.
It's about awareness.
Reagan did everything a personis supposed to do.
She worked a job.
She parked in a populated area.
She walked to her car.
(11:35):
She lived her life.
The responsibility for whathappened to her does not lie
with her.
It lies with the man whocommitted the crime.
And it lies with the systemsthat should have prevented him
from having the opportunity.
If there is a takeaway fromtoday's episode, let it be this.
Safety is not an individualresponsibility alone.
It is a collective one shared bypolicymakers, communities,
(11:56):
institutions, and all of us whodemand better.
Reagan deserved better.
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of Human
Wreckage.
This has been the story ofReagan Tokes, a case that
exposed systemic failures,influenced legislative reform,
and forever changed those whoknew and loved her.
If you or someone you know hasbeen affected by violent crime,
(12:17):
resources are available.
Please don't hesitate to seeksupport.
This is Human Wreckage, where weconfront the stories that force
us to confront ourselves.
Welcome back to Human Wreckage, the show that
(00:02):
examines the stories of realpeople who found themselves
caught in the fallout of humanchoices, some deliberate, some
negligent, all catastrophic.
Here we examine not just crime,but the conditions that allow
crime to flourish.
We analyze not just tragedy, butthe systems and failures that
let tragedy happen.
Today's episode is one thatshook a community, broke a
(00:22):
family, and exposed deep cracksin criminal justice systems.
It raised uncomfortablequestions about parole
supervision, electronicmonitoring, the meaning of
rehabilitation, and the riskseveryday people don't realize
they walk through until someonethey love is taken.
(01:18):
This is not an easy story, butit is an important one.
February in Ohio has aparticular feeling to a gray
skies, cold air, a sense thatwinter is overstaying its
welcome.
On February 8th, 2017, thecampus of the Ohio State
University moved through the dayas usual.
Students rushed between classeswith coffee cups, buses rumbled
(01:39):
past the oval, and thebrightness of early spring still
felt far away.
Among the crowd was Reagan Tox,a psychology major just months
from graduation.
Those who knew her describe heras intelligent, driven, kind,
and the sort of person whosepresence made a room feel just a
little brighter.
Her friends say she had a laughthat was warm and contagious.
Her family remembers her asdeeply empathetic, grounded, and
(02:02):
full of promise.
At twenty one, Reagan had plansshe'd been interviewing for jobs
and had spent the previoussummer interning at a wildlife
sanctuary.
She wanted to build a careerhelping people, possibly in
clinical psychology.
She lived in an off-campus housewith roommates, kept up a
demanding academic schedule, andlike many students, worked
part-time.
(02:23):
On the evening of February 8th,she was scheduled to work at
Bodga, a popular restaurant andbar in Columbus's short north
district.
It wasn't a particularly busynight.
Wednesday nights rarely are.
At the time, there was no reasonto think anything would happen.
No sense of danger, no sense offorwarning, just a college
student finishing her shift,ready to head home.
(02:44):
In normal true crime narratives,this is where the ominous music
swells, but real life rarelyoffers warnings.
For Reagan, it was just the endof another ordinary shift.
She clocked out around 9.45 PM.
She texted her sister, toldcoworkers she'd see them later,
walked out into the cold night,and made her way to her car
parked a short distance away.
(03:06):
She never arrived home.
When a young adult missesCurfew, or a simply late
returning home, friends andfamily often try not to panic.
College life is unpredictable.
Phones die, plans change, peopleget distracted.
But early on February ninth,Reagan's roommates knew
something was wrong.
She hadn't come home.
She hadn't contacted anyone.
(03:28):
Calls went straight tovoicemail.
By the time morning classesbegan, the uneasy feeling had
shifted to full fledged alarm.
Reagan was responsible.
She didn't just vanish.
Her family, who lived hoursaway, immediately sensed danger.
Her mother Lisa Tokes later saidshe knew something was terribly
wrong almost instantly.
When the Columbus PoliceDepartment received the missing
(03:50):
person's report, they treated itwith urgency.
This was not a situation to waitand see.
Reagan had disappeared afterleaving work at night.
She drove a distinctive silver1999 Acura.
Surveillance footage in theshort north area captured her
last known movements around hercar.
Detectives quickly begansearching for Reagan's vehicle,
(04:10):
interviewing coworkers, pullingsecurity camera footage, and
tracking any digital footprintsthey could find, phone pings,
bank activity, anything thatcould narrow the timeline.
But soon, the search shiftedfrom hopeful to grim.
By mid morning, officersdiscovered Reagan's car
abandoned near Parkwood Avenue,several miles southeast of where
she had last been seen.
(04:31):
The location raised immediatesuspicion.
It was an area known forcriminal activity, not somewhere
a young woman would logically goon her own at night.
The car was abandoned, but notdamaged.
The items inside painted aconfusing picture.
Some things were left, some weremissing.
But one fact was clear there wasno sign of Reagan.
The search intensified.
(04:52):
Helicopters were deployed,ground crews combed nearby
woods.
Students across campus sharedher photo, urging anyone with
information to come forward.
And then, that afternoon, thecall came in from a Metro Parks
employee doing routine rounds inSayoto Grove Metro Park, a quiet
nature preserve just south ofColumbus.
A body had been found.
(05:13):
Authorities confirmed whateveryone had feared.
It was Reagan.
The Toaks family's worldshattered.
As investigators reconstructedthe timeline, one name emerged
Brian Galsby.
He was twenty nine years old.
He had a violent criminalhistory.
And at the time of Reagan'sdisappearance, he was on
post-release control, the Ohioequivalent of parole.
(05:34):
He wore a GPS ankle monitor.
Despite this, he had beencommitting a series of robberies
in the area eight of thembetween January and early
February 2017.
Women had been targeted,threatened, assaulted, the
pattern was escalating, yet heremained free.
His GPS monitor recorded hislocation constantly, but no one
was actively reviewing the data.
(05:56):
This detail later became one ofthe most shocking revelations of
the case.
The system meant to monitor himwas reactive, not proactive.
Data was collected, but unlesssomeone went back and checked it
after a crime occurred, itserved no real time protective
purpose.
When detectives cross-referencedthe GPS logs, they discovered
what should have been caughtmuch earlier.
(06:16):
His routes matched the robberylocations, and on the night of
february eighth, his movementsaligned with the timeline of
Reagan's disappearance andmurder.
The evidence mounted quickly.
DNA, surveillance, stolen itemsfound in his possession, the GPS
data itself, a firearm linked tothe crime.
It became clear that Gallsby hadapproached Reagan as she walked
(06:38):
to her car after work, forcedher into her vehicle, and
kidnapped her.
He drove her to multiplelocations throughout the night
before ultimately taking her toSayoto Grove Metro Park.
Again, we won't describe thedetails.
We honor the victim by refusingto sensationalize her suffering.
But what must be said is thisReagan's death was preventable.
(06:58):
Not in the magical, hindsight istwentywinny way, but in a
literal way.
The man who killed her wassupposed to be monitored.
And yet, no one was watching.
As the case moved toward trial,Columbus watched closely.
The crime had gripped thecommunity not only because of
its brutality, but because ofwhat it suggested about public
safety and the parole system.
(07:19):
During the proceedings,prosecutors presented
overwhelming evidence tyingGallsby to the crime.
They laid out the timeline, theyconnected dots the monitoring
system had failed to connect.
They showed the GPS data, theyshowed forensic evidence.
They showed how Reagan'sbelongings had been found in his
possession or discarded alonghis route.
The defense attempted to arguemitigating circumstances related
(07:42):
to Gallsby's upbringing andpsychological background, but
the jury had heard enough.
In March 2018, Brian Goldsby wasconvicted on multiple counts,
including aggravated murder,kidnapping, rape, and robbery.
He was sentenced to life inprison without the possibility
of parole.
For many, the verdict felt likejustice.
For Reagan's family, justice isa complicated word.
(08:05):
Nothing brings her back.
Nothing repairs the damage.
But accountability matteredbecause accountability had been
missing when it mattered most.
The aftermath of Reagan's murdersparked statewide conversation.
People asked questions thatdemanded answers.
How could someone with a violentpast be released without
adequate supervision?
Why was a GPS monitor used in apassive way, collecting data
(08:27):
without analyzing it?
Why weren't his previous crimesdetected sooner when the
evidence was literally recordedon his ankle?
The Toxes family demanded notjust answers, but change.
And so began the push for theReagan Toxes Act, a legislative
effort in Ohio aimed atreforming monitoring systems and
strengthening sentencingguidelines for violent
offenders.
(08:47):
The Act proposed significantadjustments, stricter guidelines
for post-release supervision,improved GPS monitoring
protocols, the ability forauthorities to respond more
quickly to high risk behavior,stronger consequences for parole
violations.
The legislation did not movequickly.
Reform never does, but thepublic pressure was immense.
(09:08):
The Tokes family appeared beforelawmakers, speaking through
unimaginable pain, urging themto fix what was broken to ensure
no other family lived throughwhat they endured.
Eventually, in 2018 and 2019,parts of the Reagan Tokes Act
were passed.
The reforms addressed sentencingstructures and gave corrections
departments more flexibility andoversight in supervising
(09:29):
offenders outside prison.
It wasn't perfect.
No law is, but it was movementmovement driven by a young woman
whose life should never havebeen sacrificed to expose flaws
in the system.
True crime often becomes aboutvillains and mysteries.
We talk about criminals, we talkabout motives, we dig into
timelines and procedures.
But this story at its core isnot about a criminal.
(09:52):
It is about Reagan.
Her family lost a daughter.
Her friends lost someone theyloved.
Classmates lost a peer whoinspired them.
The world lost someone who hadmore to give someone who helped
animals, volunteered her time,cared deeply for others, and had
plans for a future that wastaken from her.
When you look at photos ofReagan, you don't see a true
(10:12):
crime case.
You see a real person with realhopes, someone who should have
graduated in may twentyseventeen, celebrated her
accomplishments, and moved intothe next chapter of her life.
Instead, her memory became arallying point for justice
reform.
It is important to acknowledgeboth truths that she lived a
meaningful life, and that herdeath served as a catalyst for
(10:33):
change.
But we must never allow thesecond to overshadow the first.
More than eight years havepassed since the night Reagan
disappeared.
Time has moved forward, but theloss remains.
So does her legacy.
The Tox family continues toadvocate for improved safety
measures and reforms.
Scholarships exist in her honor.
Awareness programs have beencreated.
(10:54):
Students at Ohio State stillhear her name not as a
cautionary tale, but as areminder of humanity,
vulnerability, and theimportance of systemic
responsibility.
Her case is studied in criminaljustice classes.
It is referenced in policydiscussions.
It influences how monitoringtechnology is used and how
parole guidelines arestructured.
(11:15):
Change is slow, but her impactis real.
Before we close, I want to speakdirectly to listeners because
true crime, when consumedresponsibly, is not just about
stories.
It's about awareness.
Reagan did everything a personis supposed to do.
She worked a job.
She parked in a populated area.
She walked to her car.
(11:35):
She lived her life.
The responsibility for whathappened to her does not lie
with her.
It lies with the man whocommitted the crime.
And it lies with the systemsthat should have prevented him
from having the opportunity.
If there is a takeaway fromtoday's episode, let it be this.
Safety is not an individualresponsibility alone.
It is a collective one shared bypolicymakers, communities,
(11:56):
institutions, and all of us whodemand better.
Reagan deserved better.
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of Human
Wreckage.
This has been the story ofReagan Tokes, a case that
exposed systemic failures,influenced legislative reform,
and forever changed those whoknew and loved her.
If you or someone you know hasbeen affected by violent crime,
(12:17):
resources are available.
Please don't hesitate to seeksupport.
This is Human Wreckage, where weconfront the stories that force
us to confront ourselves.
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