I had met Sam just two years ago on a road trip to the Grand Canyon with our friends and we had clicked since then we had done over nine such road trips from Yellowstone to Europe and India but then we decided to do the Australian Outback we were young and high on adventure but all that changed when our car broke down hours passed before we saw anyone the sun was sinking into the dust and I was getting worried I had heard that it could be days before you would see anyone in the Australian Outback because
the place was so deserted but that is when a truck finally pulled up the driver Grant was about 50 grizzled and lean with sharp eyes that didn't waste a second to check out my body he offered to help his voice grally his smile a little too wide Sam was relieved but my sick sense felt that something was wrong maybe we should wait for someone else Sam he just I don't know Sam laughed it off I tried to let it go but the whole time we drove with Grant my eyes kept drifting to his hands on
the wheel his fingers tapping out in odd Rhythm he'd glance in the mirror and check me out his questions were strange too personal probing as if he were peeling us apart one layer at a time we stopped at a small shack for gas from where he got us water he must have slipped some something into it because even though I did not drink the water Sam did soon after his eyes started to droop and his word started to slur back on the road Sam's head lulled his hands slipped from mine and my pulse spiked that's
when Grant's face changed he didn't bother with smiles anymore just yanked the van off the road saying that there was a puncture but the next moment he opened my side of the door and slammed a red on my head he then pulled out a set of cable ties tied our hands our feet even gagged us he dragged us into the back of the van and I realized how well prepared he was this wasn't the first time night fell as he drove us deeper into the desert farther from the highway from any hope of rescue I
lost track of time sinking in and out of a fog of Terror when the van finally stopped gr opened the back doors he grabbed Sam first dragging him out and I watched helpless as he tied him to a post in the sand he turned back to me his voice low don't even think about running beautiful just sit tight on those lovely thighs of yours as soon as he was out of sight I forced myself to move working the cable ties against the rough metal floor it was slow agonizing but the ties finally snapped and I
slipped out of the van man I ran into the thick shrubs by the side concealing myself just as Grant turned back from my Hiding Place I watched him walk back to Sam his face Twisted into something cold and inhuman he began taunting him but Sam was disoriented from whatever he had mixed in his water come out now beautiful into my arms or the snakes and spiders will get those thick legs of yours then came the sounds the dull thud of fists the snap of bone I pressed my hands to my mouth tears streaming as I
watched Grant torture Sam trying to lure me out but all I could do was Crouch there in the dirt praying when it was over Grant's voice sliced through the darkness Chloe I know you're out there look he's gone now let me be the man who takes care of you he prowled the scrub with a flashlight sweeping it across the desert floor each time the light passed over me I stopped breathing my muscles clenched to Stone Grant took his time enjoying the hunt calling my name in a mocking tone that made my skin crawl I sat
there until morning too afraid to move my throat was raw from thirst my mind barely holding on finally I stumbled back to the road hoping for a miracle hours later a small truck appeared on the horizon a Dusty Speck growing closer I staggered into the road waving my arms and collapsed as the driver pulled over I woke up in a hospital 2 Days Later swarmed by police officers they set out a hunt and it took them two weeks to finally catch Grant unfortunately Sam's body was never found and Grant did not speak a word of
it the story draws inspiration from the real life murder of Peter falconio in 2001 falconio and his girlfriend Joanna Le were traveling through Australia's remote Outback when they encountered Bradley John Murdoch a local mechanic Murdoch shot falconio then attempted to abduct Le who managed to escape and hide in the dense Outback brush she waited for hours evading Murdoch and eventually flagged down a passing truck to safety Falcon's body was never found but Murdoch was later captured and convicted of his murder serving a life sentence this chilling case remains one of Australia's most infamous vacation tragedies
it was a quiet morning at the RIT Sun Cancun the hotel had its usual holiday energy the pool was full of laughter as the music drifted up from below and everything in that warm Golden Light you only get here but something felt different that morning a heaviness I couldn't shake room 427 was on my list that day I'd been by it yesterday and noticed the do not disturb sign left hanging for days but people were on vacation they'd get up to do their own things and we respected their privacy so I hadn't thought much of
it until I stood there with the cleaning cart by my side listening to the silence inside I knocked twice that careful housekeeping call and a bright voice meant to cut through even the heaviest hangover nothing just a unsettling quiet thick like a fog around the door it was on the third knock that I noticed the was unlocked I looked around wondering if it was an accident the DND sign was still there but then I pushed the door open slowly my heart skipped to beat as it creaked and darkness met me from inside the room the
curtains were drawn tight as if to keep the light out ma'am sir it's house keeping I called loudly waiting for a response as I slowly shuffled in there were no voices no hint of laughter or movement only Stillness that made my pulse Quicken as I stepped in my eyes adjusted to the dimness the bed was slightly unmade a sheet crumpled halfway across shoes were left in a strange pattern on the carpet like someone had stepped out quickly never intending to come back a faint smell hung in the air not the usual leftover perfume or sunscreen
no this was sharper something bitter and metallic that seemed to settle heavy in my lungs I felt a cold prickle at the back of my neck something was warning me that this wasn't right but the smell that coppery Edge the Curiosity in me had to know the smell grew stronger as I moved closer to the bathroom each step making it harder to ignore that metallic scent hit me again and again stronger each time almost sour I whispered calling out in a trembling voice but the only answer was silence an echo that seemed to bounce right
back at me then I saw it a dark smudged streak trailing from the bed to the bathroom door a line too dark to be anything but blood my hands shook as I reached for the bathroom door fingers barely gripping the handle every Instinct screamed to me to leave to close the door to call someone else but something stronger a horrible kind of curiosity pushed me to open it the door opened slowly and I froze inside the light from the bathroom cast a faint glow across the tiles and there lying twisted and still was her body
slumped in the tub the girl lay there in the bathtub with her head tipped to one side eyes half open and glassy staring into nothing her skin was pale his bruises darkened along her neck and arms and there on her wrists were dark angry marks like she'd been held down forced still while someone took the life away from her the water was pink swirling in lazy circles in the tub like some Grim Twisted snow globe holding a nightmare I tried to breathe but the air was thick and the smell of iron filled my lungs until
I thought I'd choke I backed up my foot slipping on the tile my eyes glued to her face she'd been beautiful once long dark hair soft features but now her lips were split swollen her face held this look as if the last thing she'd seen wasn't of this world but something from the depths something so dark it had Frozen her Terror forever I turned to leave to run but something kept me there staring as if I were in a trance I wanted to scream but my voice wouldn't come and then as I took one last
look I thought I saw her eyes just for a second flicker like she was still there trapped somehow watching me pleading but it was just a trick of the light a horror that burned into my mind that I'd never forget I stumbled out of the room feeling the walls press in around me every shadow held a shape every sound stretched out like a whisper something reminding me of The Awful Truth I'd just seen when the police finally arrived I watched them enter room 427 their eyes hard their faces pale as they took in the scene
they didn't speak much they didn't have to everything was in that room every dark detail was etched into the carpet the walls the tub as they wield her out of room 427 the cat was out of the box sativa Tru was just 26 she had been here with her boyfriend Taylor Allen they come from Washington for what should have been a sunny Escape in Cancun but just hours before she messaged friends telling them she and Allan had argued her friends grew worried when she went silent after that she'd never checked out never answered Allan had
beaten her to death it was a crime of passion it was something cold and calculated the boyfriend was arrested and his blank indifferent face was all over the screen staring right at us like he did didn't care what he'd done when I closed my eyes that night I saw her outline under that sheet this story is based on the murder of sativa sativa trenu 26 and her boyfriend Taylor Allen 31 were vacationing for the Thanksgiving holiday in Cancun Mexico a hotel worker found her inside her room on the 27th of November and called 911 to
report an unconscious woman according to the Mexican police transo was killed the previous night on 26th November Allen was arrested for femicide by Mexican authorities according to the transo family it is believed that Allen remains in prison in Mexico it all started with a phone call in the middle of the night two British tourists were found dead on Sir beach one of those Paradise Islands that Travelers are so drawn to the bodies half naked and brutally beaten showed signs of violence the worst part the girl Hannah wither redge had been wed I knew this case
wouldn't be easy but I never imagined it would be so complex the morg it's not a pleasant place but it's where everything begins Salvador Loro the forensic examiner was going over the bodies when I arrived he told me they couldn't do fingerprint analysis we don't have the right technology he murmured and he examined Hannah's body still I couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't add up Salvador with his perpetually Trembling Hands handed me a small crumpled piece of paper an invitation to a party which had been found in the hands of David Miller one of
the victims who had drowned Eric laflor was the name of the host a seemingly ordinary tourist but the coincidence that he had arrived on the same flight as the victims and rented the large hall for a party left me uneasy easy I spoke to my colleague Ricardo he's always been there for me in situations like this I told him about Eric laflor you're right he'll be a key figure I'll try to check the City Records just to see if I can find anything interesting he suggested Ricardo always had good ideas and his help was never
unwelcome I went straight to the hotel where the couple were staying but something strange happened there was no record of Eric laflor at the hotel it was as if he had never existed when I reported this to my superiors they immediately blocked me they told me I couldn't investigate further without proper authorization the hotel its staff everything gave me a bad feeling I couldn't stand by and watch so I decided to take matters into my own hands I went to the scene of the crime a deserted beach with salty cold air there wasn't much information
left the officers had already searched everything to be honest their lack of Prof professionalism frightens me this scene was compromised but Ricardo sent me an interesting piece of information only one vehicle had been rented on the island in recent weeks a lorri the photos didn't reveal much but it was enough to follow the trail I decided to take Ricardo's advice again why don't we check the security cameras I went to the local surveillance Center and spoke to Eduardo the manager I knew I could trust him we spent hours going through the foot footage until we
saw the truck in question it was on its way to a remote area of the island although the cameras only covered part of the route it was something I could use armed with that information I went there there was blood on the floor stains that had been hastily cleaned up I knew I was on a something big but I didn't realize how dangerous it was I called Salvador the forensic expert and asked him to tell the officers to come and investigate I insist Ed that he personally carry out a blood test I think we've at
least got that that's the most basic thing several days of pass since my last report I finally got the authorization I needed to investigate the hotel I was eager to get to the bottom of things the reception area was quite quiet in fact the receptionist offered to take me to the main hall herself and they had prepared something very special for me as a gesture of Goodwill I expected it to be something of great importance but judging by their words they were probably just trying to get me drunk to get rid of me still I
wasn't going to be distracted I told them that I wanted access to the rooms in the lower part and they said that they would do it but only after the gift when I arrived at the hall I didn't find any party or people what I saw stopped me in my tracks bodies Salvador the forensic expert Ricardo my assistant who had told me every detail of the case and Eduardo the man who helped me with the cameras all dead how and why I didn't have time to think about it the police stormed the hall and immediately
pointed to me as the main suspect they accused me of killing the tourists and all the collaborators it was ridiculous but the case had already been built the prosecutor presented evidence that seemed impossible to refute my fingerprints on the car and on the bodies but how they told me it was impossible to lift fingerprints with the equipment they had that's what I tried to explain I told you all this in detail straight from my diary and here I am standing before you telling you every step I took every clue I followed every mistake I made
trying to convince you that I didn't do it I told you how I discovered that there was someone else someone powerful behind it all Eric laflor wasn't just any tourist as I said he was connected to the highest Circles of power he even had meetings with a prominent congressman from the island an Untouchable man it was obvious that I had been set up but why the new forensic expert whom I had never seen before delivered the final blow in the trial claiming that he had always been in charge and that this so-called Salvador never existed
he said that the fingerprints on the van and the bodies were mine as if it were irrefutable but I knew it was impossible I had never touched those bodies Salvador the original forensic expert had died and with him the whole truth and Eduardo the only person who could have confirmed my version was also dead the most outrageous thing was that there were two other men obviously beaten and tortured who claimed to be my accomplice I'd never seen these men before but they produced photos with them that was clearly doctored there was nothing I could do
I was sentenced to life imprisonment everything was too perfectly orchestrated every piece carefully placed to incriminate me I left the courtroom in silence and as I passed through the doors I saw him Eric laflor sitting in a nearby restaurant enjoying his meal as if nothing had happened he looked at me and his smile froze my soul he was the hidden killer and now while I was on my way to prison he was free and laughing in September 2014 the bodies of two British tourists Hannah witheridge and David Miller were found on Sye Beach Co tow
Thailand both had been brutally murdered Hannah was raped and beaten while David was beaten and drowned Thai police Under Pressure over the potential impact on tourism launched an investigation and quickly arrested two Burmese migrant workers Z Lynn and W Foe on the basis of DNA evidence and confessions obtained after lengthy interrogation however the defendants claimed that their confessions had been extracted under torture the case Drew International criticism for the mishandling of evidence possible contamination of the crime scene and lack of due process despite the irregularities in the investigation the two Burmese men were sentenced to
death in 2015 in 2020 their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by the king of Thailand
