Unsafe Spaces: Tampa's Missing Men

Unsafe Spaces: Tampa's Missing Men

For close to two decades, gay men in Tampa were disappearing at an alarming rate. It was only as America became more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community that people, and the media, actually started to care that these men were missing. And in the wake of a decades-long battle for equality, it was all the more devastating for the gay community to discover: It was one - or maybe even two - of their own who were responsible for what would become some of Florida’s most heinous and disturbed crimes. Unsafe Spaces continues the style and ambition of host Josh Hallmark's True Crime Bullsh** podcast. It is obsessive, curious, challenging; and examines not just the crimes it covers, but the cultural and political impacts of and on them. Unsafe Spaces arrives in your podcast feed on October 19th.

Episodes

May 22, 2025 12 mins
Wherein we blow up the entire investigation...
Halfway through writing this episode, something happened. An article, a map, and an IM chat changed the way we've been viewing this entire exploration and all of our research. There was a feeling we couldn't shake. The deeper we looked, the more questions we had. And we realized that this whole thing was bigger; so much bigger than we ever oculd have imagined. And so, we pressed pause a...
Mark as Played
Steven Lorenzo's residential history leads Josh to Fort Lauderdale, where three gay men disappeared from the same apartment building sixteen years apart. Updates in one of those cases seem to make Lorenzo a very strong suspect. But where was Scott Schweickert, and is it possible the pair continued killing following the murders of Jason Galehouse and Michael Wachholtz? Plus, two other Florida serial killers targeting gay men complic...
Mark as Played
April 24, 2025 35 mins
In the second season premiere, Josh digs into two years’ of research into the lives and crimes of Steven Lorenzo and Scott Schweickert, in hopes of identifying other victims. A list of 25 missing and murdered men, across multiple jursidctions, launches a deep-dive investigation that examines the lives of these 25 men, Lorenzo & Schweickert, other area serial killers, intersectionality, homophobia, politics, and more. 

This episo...
Mark as Played
April 4, 2025 5 mins
Unsafe Spaces returns on April 24. This season, we continue our investigation into Steven Lorenzo and Scott Schweickert, and the missing and murdered men who may be connected to them. Our investigation takes us across the state of Florida, and into Georgia, Illinois, New York and beyond; and we find it intersects with several other serial killers who were targeting similar victims. Over six episodes, we try to make sense of these m...
Mark as Played
February 1, 2024 28 mins
Mark as Played
January 31, 2024 3 mins
Catch up on all things Studio BOTH/AND for the month of February (and beyond).

This month's news:
• New tours and events
• Unsafe Spaces update
• The Karen & Ellen Letters update
• True Crime Bullsh** update
• New projects
• Our Americana update
• Studio BOTH/AND Launch Party follow-up in The Berkshires this October
• What's happening on Patreon this month

Links:
True Crime Podcast Festival, use promo code JOSH for 15% off
St...
Mark as Played
To better understand Lorenzo and Schweickert, their possible other crimes, and their MOs and victimology, Josh chats with clinical psychologist Dr. Scott (LA Not So Confidential) about killers who work in pairs, BDSM, Antisocial Personality Disorder, psychopathy, narcissism, and how homophobia made their ongoing crimes possible.
Plus: The Warrior gene, behavioral drift, Kanye West, Anita Bryant, and more.

Next episode: 1 February 2...
Mark as Played
January 11, 2024 60 mins
At trial and at sentencing, Lorenzo's many surviving victims testified against him, including the impactful statements made by Albert Perkins, who Lorenzo kidnapped and assaulted in February of 2000. The testimony and eventual plea deals made by both Schweickert and Lorenzo would provide great insight into their MOs and victimology. But at what cost?
Because by some accounts, investigators and the prosecution were as hard on the sur...
Mark as Played
November 16, 2023 37 mins
Scott Schweickert's house is searched, disturbing photos are found on Steven Lorenzo's computer, more Lorenzo assault victims come forward, someone confesses, and another gay man goes missing.

Unsafe Spaces is on a mid-season break, and will return on January 4.

This episode was written, researched, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark
With additional research by: Kaz

Featuring:
• Dr. Scott from LA Not So Confidential
• Drew Macki...
Mark as Played
November 9, 2023 40 mins
Steven Lorenzo's friend and accomplice is identified as Scott Schweickert. And the pair's history is revealed through AOL instant messages and a mutual friend. Tampa PD investigate multiple assaults within the Tampa gay community, leading to an arrest and a second search warrant. And the relationship between Steven and Scott gets complicated.

This episode was written, researched, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark
With additional...
Mark as Played
October 26, 2023 36 mins
Steven Lorenzo comes to the forefront of Tampa PD's investigation into the disappearance of Jason Galehouse and the death of Michael Wachholtz. Lorenzo's criminal history leads to a sting operation that ends in a very haunting search of his home, and lists of some very important names.


This episode was written, researched, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark
With additional research by: Kaz
Featuring: Jason Leroy (The Binge Movie...
Mark as Played
October 19, 2023 42 mins
On December 22, 2003, two gay men were reported missing to Tampa PD. The investigations into their disappearances, would open a Pandora's Box that would force the police, the media, and society to examine how their actions and negligence led to some of Florida's most sinister crimes.

This episode was written, researched, edited, and produced by Josh Hallmark.
With additional research by: Kaz.
Featuring: Eric Schmidt and Dr. Scott (...
Mark as Played
For close to two decades, gay men in Tampa were disappearing at an alarming rate.

It was only as America became more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community that people, and the media, actually started to care that these men were missing.

And in the wake of a decades-long battle for equality, it was all the more devastating for the gay community to discover: It was one - or maybe even two - of their own who were responsible for what would ...
Mark as Played

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