Texas Monthly True Crime: The Problem With Erik

Texas Monthly True Crime: The Problem With Erik

Erik Maund had it all. A wife and kids, a mansion by the Austin Country Club golf course, and an executive position with his family’s car dealership. But in March 2020, a message from a stranger put everything at risk. Someone knew Erik had an affair with an escort, and wanted money to keep quiet. Erik didn’t pay the money, though. He didn’t go to the cops, either. Instead, he paid Charlie Sheen’s former bodyguard and a couple of special ops-trained security contractors to confront the blackmailer. Things didn’t go according to plan. In “The Problem with Erik,” host Katy Vine and producer Ana Worrel tell the twisted story of what came next: a perfect storm of secrets, mistaken identities, and tragic miscommunications that left two people dead. From the Texas Monthly team behind “Tom Brown’s Body,” “Stephenville,” and "Shane and Sally" comes the latest true story of crime and justice in the Lone Star State. For more Texas Monthly productions, visit texasmonthly.com/podcasts

Episodes

September 14, 2020 3 mins
None
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“Someone is lying. And it’s hard to know who’s lying and who’s not.”
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October 6, 2020 42 mins
"My gut tells me he hasn't left Hemphill County. I think he's here somewhere, and I don't know if he intends to come out in the next day or two."
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"Makes you want to go to the church, get on your knees and say a few words, right?
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October 20, 2020 39 mins
"I'm sitting there thinking, 'Oh God, I'm so scared right now.' I couldn't convince them. And so I just let them hammer me."
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October 27, 2020 44 mins
“It's kind of strange that your investigator calls this search, and lo and behold, right after he starts the search, a cell phone is found.”
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November 3, 2020 28 mins
"I'm like, 'What the heck is that?' So, I walk around some shrubs, and as I get closer I can see that it kind of looks like bone."
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November 10, 2020 41 mins
"The people of the town are calling us and saying, 'Do we have a monster that lives in our community?' I wish I could give them Solace."
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November 17, 2020 42 mins
"I'm definitely more paranoid wherever I go. I definitely watch my back more and pay attention to what's going on around me."
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October 7, 2021 3 mins
There have finally been a couple of developments in the case. But will they lead to the truth about what happened to Tom?
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"I'll never lose that hope. It could be five years from today. The door is always open at our office for anything that will bring resolution to this case."
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June 13, 2023 3 mins
From the moment Susan Woods was found dead at home in the summer of 1987, everyone in Stephenville, Texas—including the police—was certain she’d been killed by her estranged husband.

That left the real culprit free to prey on others. In "Stephenville," best-selling author Bryan Burrough returns to his small-town Texas roots to explore a murder case that went cold for nearly two decades. Only now, after discovering a voice from beyon...
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June 20, 2023 46 mins
In the summer of 1987, 30-year-old Susan Woods was living alone in her hometown of Stephenville, Texas, piecing her life back together after being abandoned by her husband. Then, one sweltering July evening, Susan’s father came to check on her.

For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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June 20, 2023 39 mins
After Susan Woods was killed, just about everyone in Stephenville—including the police—figured they knew who’d done it. Her estranged husband, Michael Woods, was a long-haired biker who smoked pot and played rock music—a complete misfit in the “Cowboy Capital of the World.” For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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June 27, 2023 28 mins
Nearly twenty years after Susan Woods's murder, Stephenville Police Lieutenant Don Miller takes up the case. And with Michael Woods's cooperation, and help from new technology, Don finally makes a break in the case. But what he uncovers raises even more questions about why Susan was killed—and how her killer evaded justice for so long.

For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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July 4, 2023 40 mins
In 1988, Shannon Myers survived a brutal attack by Joseph Scott Hatley, the man whose fingerprints were also present at the scene of Susan Woods’s murder. Her statement to police—which included his chilling confession—created an opportunity to put Hatley behind bars for both crimes.

For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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July 11, 2023 37 mins
Lt. Don Miller discovers the hand-written life story of the man who killed Susan Woods. The murderer, it turns out, wasn't a stranger or an outsider to Stephenville, but a local boy nobody suspected.

For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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July 18, 2023 41 mins
In the series finale, Scott Hatley’s journal tells the story of how he built a new life on the run from police. And when the truth comes out, people in Stephenville must confront how little they knew about the man who killed Susan Woods.

For more on this and every episode, visit texasmonthly.com/stephenville
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March 5, 2024 5 mins
On July 4, 1988, 16-year-old Shane Stewart and 18-year-old Sally McNelly went out for the night in the West Texas town of San Angelo. They watched the fireworks, stopped for burgers, and drove to the lake outside of town. They were never seen alive again.

For 35 years, their murders have haunted their family and friends, and frustrated generations of investigators from the local police to the FBI. Hosts Rob D’Amico and Karen Jacobs ...
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March 19, 2024 51 mins
On July 4, 1988, sixteen-year-old Shane Stewart and eighteen-year-old Sally McNelly went out for the night in their West Texas hometown of San Angelo. They watched the fireworks, stopped for burgers, and drove out to the lake outside of town. They were never seen alive again. That summer, as their parents waited for news from the authorities, Shane’s father Marshall began an investigation of his own, discovering the teens may have ...
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