Hannah Stone

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

You chose to hit play on this podcast today.

Smart choice.

Progressive loves to help people make smart choices.

That's why they offer a tool called AutoQuote Explorer that allows you to compare your progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies.

So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you.

Give it a try after this episode at progressive.com.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates.

Not available in all states or situations.

Prices vary based on how you buy.

Affordable and easy access to therapy is something everyone should have.

It can help you find the silver linings even during tough times.

Telehealth is one-way accessibility is more convenient than ever, thanks to Rula.

Rula isn't just affordable.

They stick with you throughout your journey to make sure you're getting the best therapy and that you're making progress.

With Rula, every provider is carefully vetted and chosen for their expertise, making the first step towards better mental health easy.

Rula starts by asking you some questions about what is important to you and then provides a list of licensed providers who match your preferences.

You can have an appointment as soon as the next day.

Thousands have already trusted Rula to support them on their journey toward improved mental health and overall well-being.

Head over to rula.com slash snapped to get started today.

After you sign up, they ask where you heard about them.

Please support our show and tell them our show sent you.

Go to rula.com slash snapped and take the first step towards better mental health today.

You deserve quality care from someone who cares.

She was a devoted mother who worked hard to raise a young son and a daughter who struggled to fit in.

A good mother that was trying to give her a good life and get her life on the right track.

But when mother and daughter both vanish, a secret menace emerges.

I was shocked.

He was very nervous, very scared for his safety.

Nothing happens like that in Middlebury.

In the heat of summer, a devilish killer collects his due.

They had heard scuffling, they'd heard yelling and screaming.

You would look at him and you would see danger.

He was growling like a lion.

We're hoping she's in there, but you just never know what's behind the door.

Detectives uncover a hotbed of rage, manipulation, and betrayal.

There's no remorse at all.

It's frightening.

It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen.

She was just sitting there.

There was no crying, really, no emotion.

Why she snapped?

Nobody will ever know.

It's a hot summer day in Middlebury, Indiana.

Middlebury is a quaint little town-village type community in the heart of Elkhart County, very rural community.

Crime doesn't happen in Middlebury.

It's the type of place where you could probably keep your door unlocked

and not have to worry about a thing.

On August 5th, 2005, Middlebury police receive a 911 call from a woman who is worried about her sister, 41-year-old Barbara Kim.

It was reported she hadn't showed up for work.

She hadn't been answering any calls.

Barbara was a nurse at Elkhart General Hospital, a very diligent person, very responsible.

It was very unusual that she would have not shown up to work.

The sister says Barbara has joint custody of a five-year-old son, but unexpectedly, she missed a custody exchange that day.

She failed to pick up her son from her ex-husband's residence.

From the information that we were receiving, this was totally out of the norm for Barbara.

She was very concerned that something bad had happened at that point.

The caller gives the address of the home Barbara shares with her 17-year-old daughter, Hannah.

Police respond to the address and note that a red Pontiac van registered to Barbara Keim is parked outside.

The front door is unlocked.

Our initial entry into the house was just to determine that nobody was hurt, injured, unconscious.

The place is eerily quiet.

Hannah and Barbara were both gone.

There was no forced entry.

There was no signs of struggle.

There was no damage that would lead us to assume that there was any foul play.

They were looking for any kind of unusual signs, unusual activity, missing items, just trying to piece together what may have happened.

Then the patrol deputies spot something that could mean trouble.

Barbara's purse was there, Bill Fold was outside of the purse laying next to it.

It appeared to be missing money, credit cards, debit cards, things like that.

It's not very common for someone to just walk away from their life and leave everything behind, including their ID.

That's very alarming.

Barbara Jo Neff had always lived in Elkhart, Indiana.

Barb was born on May 1st, 1964.

I know she had one brother and four sisters.

She had a very significant, close-knit relationship with her sisters.

Barbara was a nurturer, always caring for those around her.

Everybody said she was a wonderful, wonderful person.

Her compassionate spirit eventually led her to pursue a career in nursing.

When Barbara met fellow Elkhart native Alex Stone, an aspiring minister, the two quickly fell in love and married.

Soon, the couple had a little girl, Hannah Lynn Stone.

Hannah, who was born March 22nd, 1988, her mom, she was happy.

Sadly, over the next two years, the couple drifted from each other.

Barbara and Alex amicably divorced in 1991 and agreed to share joint custody of Hannah.

Five years later, Barbara seized a second chance at happiness when she married Robert Keim, though Hannah didn't always agree with her stepfather.

Robert was a deputy for the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

Him being a cop, he was very stern on Hannah.

In 2000, Barbara Barbara and Robert welcomed a son into the world.

By then, Hannah was nearly a teenager.

Hannah absolutely adored her little brother, but as much as she loved her little brother, she would tell me all the time, my mom loves him more than she loves me.

Barbara reassured Hannah she loved both her children equally, and the little family settled into a new normal.

But then, Barbara and Robert's relationship took a turn, And before Hannah entered high school, the couple filed for divorce.

I don't know what really honestly led to the divorce of her husband.

I just know that Hannah had told me at one point that they had to move to a very tiny two-bedroom apartment in Middlebury.

Once again, Barbara became a single working mother.

Barb was a nurse on the maternity floor at Elkhart General Hospital.

She probably delivered thousands of babies.

She had a huge impact on a lot of people's lives.

Barbara was also an active member of the Brennaman Memorial Missionary Church.

Barb was pretty well involved and she did have support of the patrons of Brennaman.

Hannah went to a couple of youth group stuff there.

Hannah's dad, Alex, was a Methodist minister at another church.

At her last school, Hannah was known as the preacher's daughter.

So when she entered high school in her new hometown of Middlebury, she decided to rebel.

Freshman year in high school, she had transferred and she kind of meshed in with our group of friends because even though we were emo or even goth, she kind of found us as a family and she blended in very well.

Hannah, who had struggled with feeling loved, finally found a group she connected with.

We would just honestly go out driving around, blasting music along the backcountry roads, speeding, you know, typical teenager stuff.

We just thought we were the coolest kids on the block.

Despite the teen rebellion, Barbara loved Hannah unconditionally.

She loved her mom, but you could tell there was kind of like this invisible wall type deal.

She didn't have the same mother-daughter relationship that most mothers have with their daughters, but they had their moments.

They had their good moments.

Barb, she was trying exceptionally hard, you know, between working tons of hours, taking care of a five-year-old, trying to deal with Hannah, keeping her in line.

It wasn't the easiest life for Barbara, but she loved her kids and she had her faith.

It seemed like a new beginning.

But one hot day in August 2005, both Barbara and Hannah vanish from their home.

Any person has the right to disappear if they want to and not be contacted if they don't want to.

I've done investigations like that before where people have walked away and I've made contact with them and they've said, I'm all right, I just want some time by myself.

I don't want family to contact me and I've dropped it from there.

But you never want to just assume that everything's okay.

You want to investigate until you find out that that person is okay.

While searching the apartment, police note every detail, not knowing what might become relevant.

There were some cigarette butts that were in a glass in the living room.

The cigarette butts seemed to stand out in the otherwise neatly kept home.

Investigators check in with the original 911 caller.

Barbara's sisters pointed out Barbara detested cigarette smoke.

Barb hated smoking, you know, her being a nurse, she knows how bad it is for you, and she would not allow cigarettes in that apartment.

We weren't sure if those could have been Hannah's, some friends of hers,

this this kind not at home at that time.

We didn't know.

At that point, there was some suspicious activity, but nothing that screamed out that there had been foul play.

Without a search warrant, investigators cannot process the apartment further, but they do what they can.

We did attempt to go ahead and put out an ATL and attempt to locate with her description.

The daughter was missing.

Mother was missing.

I started thinking there's more to this than just a missing persons.

Everything's not right.

You know, after a few hours or overnight, sometimes you don't know.

We're putting the vehicle description out there, talking to hospitals, other departments.

Seeking witnesses, police also question neighbors.

We did have an officer go out there and try to, you know,

get information of what they heard during the time period that Thursday night to Friday morning.

And there was one gentleman that said that he heard something going on in the hallway or in the apartment below.

They heard scuffling, they'd heard yelling, and they thought it was just a domestic fight.

Now detectives worry that something sinister happened inside the apartment.

Coming up, investigators discover the first indications of a possible abduction.

We found some ATM matrols and this is not normal behavior.

And detectives realize they're on the trail of a monster.

Their worst nightmares are coming to fruition.

As an Indiana summer heats up, relatives are worried about 41-year-old Barbara Kim and her 17-year-old daughter, Hannah.

The call came out as a welfare check, which means usually the check on a person they haven't been able to contact.

Responding investigators have found cigarette butts in a glass inside their apartment.

Barbara's sisters, they found that to be unusual because she didn't allow smoking in her home.

And Barbara's purse was lying on her bed.

It was open.

Her bill fold was outside of the purse.

The credit card was missing, and some cash was missing from her wallet.

When somebody leaves behind any means of getting through the day, their money, the bill fold ID, that's alarming in itself.

When you have red flags like that, you want to err on the side of caution.

You have to carry everything to the fullest to make sure that person's all right.

Neighbors have reported hearing sounds of a struggle coming from Barb and Hannah's apartment.

They did not want to call the police department because they don't want to bother anybody with it.

Smaller towns, the people tend not to call the police because they don't want to cause any ruckus or report something that's not necessary or waste our time.

I've told people millions of times, you know, hey, this is our job.

Call us anytime.

Let us decide whether or not something should be done about it.

Middlebury police ask surrounding agencies to be on the lookout for Barbara and Hannah, and Middlebury deputies keep a watch on the home.

Checked on the residents a few times during the night, looking for any kind of movement.

Anybody would come back and did not observe any.

We were still interviewing people, friends, relatives, and things of that nature.

From the first of an investigation into someone being missing, you want to try to identify the last persons that would have had information on those folks that's verifiable.

As another stifling August day begins, Barbara's ex-husband, Robert Kime, contacts Middlebury Police.

Mr.

Kim was a law enforcement officer at that time, and he called us with concerns.

Robert confirms that Barbara was supposed to pick up their five-year-old son from his house the previous day,

but she never showed up.

From what we had been told,

this is not normal behavior.

Robert tells police he's very worried.

We knew they were friends, even though they were no longer together.

he gave us her cell phone number to try to contact her and all this and he was very helpful in the investigation i don't believe that he was ever a suspect in the crime

next police question alex stone barbara's first husband and hannah's father Alex says he doesn't know where Barbara or Hannah are.

The worried father agrees to file an official missing persons report for his missing teen daughter.

But without more evidence or a witness coming forward, there's little more police can do.

Then, less than 24 hours after the initial 911 call that first sent police to Barbara's apartment, investigators receive another call from one of Barbara's neighbors who say they just witnessed a new development in the case moments earlier.

There was some folks in the neighborhood who had observed a couple of people who were taking out trash to the dumpster.

The neighbor explains they also saw the people load boxes into Barbara's red van.

They described the female as dark hair and heavy, and the man that was with her as a thin dude.

Neighbors reported taking one of the vehicles that did belong to Barbara.

Patrol deputies rush back to the apartment they'd checked earlier to investigate the new lead.

We gained entry to the apartment by a family member and found the house had been cleaned.

The cigarette butts were gone.

Her purse and the keys of the vehicle were all gone.

Why would someone clean the home and then take the van?

Authorities believe it may have been an attempt to get rid of evidence, but evidence of what?

Somebody had came back later and cleaned up the apartment stuff to try to hide any evidence, and we didn't know we really had a crime until that point.

Things started to kind of speed up after that.

You know, this definitely is escalating.

I mean, this is really serious.

You know, what we're working here is we're pretty sure we got a kidnap in abduction type situation.

Investigators update the Be On the Lookout alert to include Barbara's red van as well as Hannah's vehicle.

The new witness statements also allow authorities to subpoena Barbara's cell phone and financial records.

We were able to contact the phone company and they were able to give us a detailed record of times and places that the phone had been used within that period of time.

There was nothing there.

There hadn't been any activity.

Barbara's cell phone use had been steady before she was reported missing.

Then it stopped abruptly on August 4th.

I decided to go ahead and get a hold of her bank and see any transactions had occurred on her account in the last 24 hours.

My chief was able to get a bank manager to come in on a Saturday, I believe, and in Pulse Rem Records, and we found some ATM withdrawals.

According to the bank records, someone withdrew the money from a teacher's credit union in Middlebury.

The transaction was made shortly after 10 p.m.

on August 4th, one day before Barbara was reported missing.

Barbara's records reveal another ominous fact.

She almost never took money out of ATMs.

First thing you think is her kidnapped and being taken to ATMs, forced to withdraw money.

A lot of ATM machines do have surveillance, so that's easy to find out if she's withdrawing her own money or if somebody else is withdrawing money.

Unfortunately, getting the surveillance video will take time.

This happened on a Saturday, and we were doing all this on a Saturday when things were closed.

So we were trying to get some information compiled and brought together to continue with more ways of finding her.

Bank records also show another suspicious transaction on the day Barbara was reported missing.

The police were able to determine that a check had been cashed from her TCU account in the amount of $800.

The check was made out for vehicle repair.

And that check had been made payable to Aaron McDonald.

Coming up, investigators race to interrogate a new suspect.

He thought harm was going to come to him by talking to us and giving us the truth.

And everyone fears that Barbara's time is running out.

I think the theme here would be good versus evil.

I got on the radio and called anybody who was available to come help me.

One hot Indiana summer, After Barbara Kim and her teenage daughter Hannah were reported missing, Middlebury, Indiana police trace a check cashed on Barbara's account to a a man named Aaron McDonald.

Police went looking for Aaron McDonald to ask him questions about where he came into his money.

We were very fortunate with Mr.

McDonald.

We had contact before on minor issues, and we were able to locate him.

And I think Officer Jarek found him at a friend's house somewhere outside of town, but...

brought him back in and I think that's where things really started to turn was when we brought Aaron in.

On August 7th, 2005, at the Middlebury Police Department, investigators question the 17-year-old.

Aaron explains he knows Hannah through church and school.

Aaron McDonald, he went to church too.

You know, I have a couple friends that, you know, said, you know, oh, he was in my youth group with me.

He was such a great kid, and he was.

Aaron insists he knows nothing about the disappearance of Barbara or Hannah.

He claims he didn't even know they were missing.

He explains the check by saying that he and his friend Nate recently did some transmission work on Barbara's van.

Authorities don't buy it.

We knew Mr.

McDonald was not a mechanic licensed in a way.

We found that highly suspicious.

Investigators ask Aaron to provide contact information for his friend Nate.

This show is sponsored by Liquid IV.

Hey, it's Stephanie Gomolko with oxygen.com.

Soaking up the last bits of summer sometimes means more time in the sun.

I trust Liquid IV to keep me hydrated, whether I'm squeezing in another pool day, weekend trip, or running in the park.

I used to drink so much water and found my lips would still be so dry.

Liquid IV helps me stay hydrated, so that doesn't happen.

Liquid IV is packed with electrolytes, essential vitamins, and clinically tested nutrients that turn ordinary water into extraordinary hydration.

Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone.

My favorite flavor hands down is Firecracker.

I'm obsessed and I have it every day.

It's delicious with ice-cold water and tastes like summer in a bottle.

Savor the last bits of summer with Liquid IV.

Tear, pour, live more.

Go to liquidiv.com and get 20% off your first purchase with code snapped at checkout.

That's 20% off your first order with code snapped at liquidiv.com.

Let's go.

Bravos, the real housewives of Salt Lake City are back.

Here we are, ladies.

I don't like it.

And they're taking things to the next level.

You know, some people just get on your nerves.

You questioned every single thing I have.

You're supposed to be my sister.

I am your sister.

I know you're not.

We have to be honest about this.

I'm afraid.

You should pay the glosses off.

No one sues the bottom.

They all go for the top.

Can I have the crazy pill that y'all took?

Apparently, you're already taking it.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, September 16th, I'm Bravo.

And streaming, I'm Peacock.

Moving quickly in hopes of finding the mother and daughter before it's too late, police track down and interview Nate within 20 minutes.

His mom was there, and I do remember that

he was very nervous.

Nate was kind of Aaron's alibi, but when they had interviewed Nate, he said nope Aaron was definitely not with me at this time at this date

investigators press him for more

he thought harm was gonna come to him by by talking to us and giving us the truth

what is the truth that Nate is so afraid to tell

His mom really encouraged him to tell us what happened for the benefit of Barbara and to find out if she's safe or not.

So that's when then Nate came forward and told us what he had heard.

Nate claims that Aaron asked him to lie about receiving the $800 for automotive work.

He adds that Aaron told him about a crime, one involving Barbara's daughter, Hannah, and Hannah's boyfriend, 18-year-old Spencer Krimpitz.

Police know Spencer from previous run-ins.

He would walk around downtown in a black trench coat and just cause alarm in a small town.

The way he dressed, the way he walked, his demeanor, he wanted to make a statement.

He wanted to intimidate people.

Spencer Krepitz just had a very,

I hate to say the word, an evil look in his eye.

Hannah had met Spencer a few months earlier at a place called The Post.

The Post basically was a place for teenagers to hang out.

They always had like local bands playing there.

They had like a little kitchen cafe type deal down in the basement.

And Hannah was hanging out with a group of friends at the Post and she had met Spencer.

And a couple weeks later, she tells me, Hey, there's this guy.

He's going to take me out on a date and everything.

And I'm like, oh, cool.

What's his name?

And she was like, oh, it's Spencer.

When I met Spencer, he just kind of offered me a cigarette.

And I said, no, thank you.

I don't smoke.

He's like, why?

We're all going to die anyways.

It doesn't matter.

Barbara Kine had real concerns about Spencer that the subject of their arguments had largely centered on Hannah's relationship with Spencer Krembins.

Hannah changed and everybody knew it.

She kind of became withdrawn from our group of friends.

And Barb was concerned that Hannah was dating a guy that was a couple years older than her.

And she felt like he was kind of steering her down a path that Barb didn't quite agree with.

She just had a bad feeling about the guy, did not like him, didn't like his attitude towards her, towards Hannah.

Barb didn't want Hannah to be with Spencer anymore.

She had forbade them from seeing each other.

But the warm freedom of summer brought the teens closer than ever.

Hannah knew she could get away with it during the summer.

Nate claims that this is why Barbara Kim has disappeared.

Finally, Nate reveals to police what Aaron allegedly told him.

He said that Aaron and Spencer and Hannah had taken Barbara against her will out into a cornfield.

and shot her.

It's a stunning new claim, one that rattles authorities.

I remember throughout the initial part of the investigation thinking maybe these kids took Barbara and forced her to give them money.

And then all of a sudden, the oh wow factor kicks in that this is a homicide investigation.

But why would a teen girl, her boyfriend, and a friend from church murder the girl's mom?

We have the same crimes as the bigger cities, just on a smaller scale.

You know, theft and burglary and everything else.

But it's definitely rare to have a murder there.

As Middlebury authorities question Nate, police in the nearby town of Goshen are helping out on the search for Barbara and Hannah.

When we came to work that night, Middlebury gave us a description of the vehicles, looking for Barb Kheim, and we got license plate numbers too.

That muggy evening, Goshen officers make a crucial discovery in the parking lot of a motel.

When I drove in there,

I saw both vehicles immediately.

The play numbers were identical to what we had been given.

And one of them had a broken-out window.

Plus, there was a bunch of vomit on the side of one of the vehicles.

Authorities cannot waste a single moment in determining why those vans are there.

The Goshen Police Department decided they wanted to go ahead and make entry because it was some distance between our town and it was a good 20 minutes, which can make a difference.

I got on the radio and called anybody who was available to come help me.

I got three or four guys right away, and we put people at the exits and entrance of the hotels.

And then we went inside to the front desk, asked if Spencer had registered there.

The motel clerk tells police that Spencer Krimpitz is registered.

The clerk clerk doesn't know who might be in his room with him.

It has been two days since anyone has seen Barbara Kim.

We're hoping she's in there and still alive, of course, but

you just never know what's behind the door.

Two days after Barbara Kim and her daughter, Hannah Stone, were reported missing, investigators believe they have tracked Hannah's boyfriend, 18-year-old Spencer Krimpitz, to a motel in Goshen, Indiana.

Goshen police suspect Spencer might be armed, so they hope to surprise him.

We enter unannounced and quickly, because we don't know who's on that room.

The officers find two people inside.

We're both laying in bed, and we announced ourselves to police.

No resistance at all.

Officers quickly identify the two as Spencer Krimpetz and Hannah Stone.

Hannah or Spencer didn't say a word, didn't ask why we were coming in there, didn't ask why they were being handcuffed or nothing.

Authorities transport the suspects to the Goshen Police Department for questioning.

12 miles away in Middlebury, investigators seek to re-interview Aaron McDonald.

But before they find Aaron, his conscience gets the better of him.

Aaron had called me at 5 o'clock in the morning on Sunday and asked me if I would come to his house in Middlebury.

I walked in and he was crying and I hugged him and I said, what's the matter?

And he said,

you know,

he said, Spencer

killed a lady.

He goes, and so I was with him.

And immediately

I went into like a shock.

He wanted to leave.

He said, take me to your house.

And I figured that that wasn't a good idea.

Shortly thereafter, I was maybe 15, 20 minutes, the police came to the door.

Patrol deputies take Aaron into custody and transport him to the Goshen Police Department, where Hannah Stone and Spencer Krimpitz are being held.

Now that Aaron knew that the other two were found, he came clean and told more of the truth.

Aaron was more of a follower, I believe.

He was just a loner, somebody that wanted to be a part of something and be with people.

Aaron, he had a good childhood.

He had a good family, but as he progressed through elementary school, he started falling behind

and he's struggling.

And he'd come home after school and he would be sad and cry because the kids said he was stupid.

He wanted so much to be accepted.

He wanted to have friends.

I think that played a lot into when he finally was accepted by Spencer.

You know, people like Spencer, they prey on people like Aaron.

Aaron tells investigators that Hannah told him she was having problems with her mother, and Hannah was ready to end those problems.

Aaron said that Hannah had planned to have her mom killed.

They had came over to Aaron's house prior to going to get Mrs.

Kim,

and they were smoking marijuana with Aaron.

And they kept asking Aaron to go with them.

There was a plan to secure a gun, and Aaron McDonald was able to secure a gun from someone he knew.

I think they were holding out to Aaron, hey, you know what?

She's got a lot of money.

Aaron went for money because in Aaron's mind, if they said that he could get $400, they'd give him $400.

I mean, he would have thought, wow, you know, that's like a million bucks to him.

I mean, it's not right, and I'm not defending him, but he went to take money.

Aaron tells police that the three of them drove to Barbara's apartment, and Hannah came up with a way to get inside without a struggle.

Hannah Stone knocked on the door so that her mother would not be suspicious, and Barbara answered the door for Hannah.

Hannah was at the door, and Hannah said that she needed to get some clothes.

At that point, Spencer Spencer and Aaron, who had been hiding near the door, pounced, jumped on her.

When they jumped on her, she had made some screaming noises.

Spencer tied her up with duct tape, taped her mouth.

While they're doing that, Erin's going through the house to try to find

some money,

and they get her debit card.

That's when Aaron and

Spencer went ahead and took physical force of Mrs.

Kynes.

Then they proceeded to take her out to her vehicle.

They put her in the van and drove around.

Hannah stayed behind.

Her purpose in staying behind was so that neighbors wouldn't be alerted.

They were concerned that someone might have heard or may come looking for her.

According to Aaron, the men followed Hannah's plan to get cash from Barbara.

They went to various ATM machines to access her account in efforts to get money.

Aaron claims that Spencer then began driving as if he were scouting for a specific place.

Spencer drives around, Aaron said, quite a bit.

Gipster driving around, and finally they go to Napanee in Kosciasco County.

They were just probably a mile or two past the county line into Kosciasco County.

According to Aaron, Spencer parked near a field and pulled Barbara out of the van.

She was wondering where she was.

Like she was begging and pleading, Spencer, asking where she was.

Aaron says that Spencer began walking Barbara into the field.

Aaron had started to walk in.

He had a bad feeling.

He got some cold feet, went back to the van and waited.

Aaron hears a gunshot.

Spencer comes back, and Aaron said he was growling like

a lion or something.

And he was growling, and he had blood all over his face and all over him.

Investigators tell Aaron he needs to take them to the site where Barbara was allegedly shot.

He had given information to police that the body was located in a cornfield.

He wasn't quite sure, but he felt he could map it out if they drove him.

And so they put him in a car.

We left El Car County and crossed over into Casiasco County.

He had described a bridge of some sort near where he believed the murder took place.

And as we crossed over a little bridge, he had indicated that this was the location.

Coming up, police discovered the brutal truth about the fate of Barbara Keim.

Asked her if she knew the Lord's Prayer.

She said she did.

And he said, well, you better start saying it.

How could somebody do this?

You know, it just seems so unbelievable.

As temperatures and tensions rise in rural Indiana, Aaron McDonald leads police to what he claims is the location of the body of missing nurse Barbara Kim.

The police officers at his instruction or direction went into the field.

As you got closer, there certainly was the unmistakable presence of a figure that was on the ground.

She was on her back.

The body will later be identified as that of Barbara Kim.

From that point forward, all of the work went back into how did we get here?

To get answers, police interrogate Spencer.

Confronted with Aaron's statement and the discovery of the body, Spencer confesses and finally tells investigators everything,

including the parts Aaron did not see.

They take her to a cornfield.

Spencer put her on her knees and Spencer was behind her.

Spencer tells her he's going to kill her, says to her,

do you want to pray?

He asked her if she knew the Lord's Prayer.

She said she did.

And he said, well, you better start saying it.

That had to be a very terrorizing situation to have considerable amount of time with people knowing that you're not coming out of this situation alive.

She shakily said the Lord's Prayer,

but didn't say amen at the end.

And he said, you're not going to say amen?

And then when she says amen, he fires a shot in the back of her head

And was fascinated by watching her body fall to the ground.

My chief, when he came out of the interview with Spencer, he was like, wow, that kid scares me.

He said,

that boy's evil.

But the plan to murder Barbara Kim came from her daughter, Hannah Stone.

Both Spencer and Aaron said that Hannah was the mastermind behind this plan.

Barb didn't like Spencer and didn't like them being together.

So Hannah was just, you know, we can solve all this by just getting rid of my mom.

So they concocted this idea to get rid of Barb.

Investigators confront Hannah Stone about her role in the death of her mother.

At first, she denies everything.

She didn't know anything and didn't know what was going on.

Like she was trying to play the victim.

I don't know what happened.

Eventually, Hannah admits she was there at the apartment, but she claims it was Spencer's idea to rob her mother, and she never thought he would kill her.

Prosecutors decide to charge Hannah, Spencer, and Aaron equally.

Based upon the evidence, we determined that there were three charges: criminal confinement, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder.

And so all three were charged with the same offense.

They all initially pled not guilty.

News of the arrests leaves the small community of Middlebury reeling.

Currently, we have in custody on preliminary charges of murder three individuals.

I heard it over the news and I just dropped to my knees and I screamed to the point where I was, I was hoarse.

Like, I couldn't understand

why,

what, you know, how.

At the arraignment, Spencer Crimpett seems to enjoy the attention.

I will never forget seeing Spencer.

That image will be stuck in my head forever.

He was transported from the jail to the courthouse.

And the way that he came out of that car, he stuck his tongue out and his tongue, I felt like it came all the way down to his chin almost.

His eyes were blazed over.

He just looked like he was possessed by the devil.

It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen.

I was shocked.

Nothing happens like that in Middlebury.

In early 2006, Aaron McDonald pleads guilty.

Aaron McDonald was given an opportunity to enter a plea to the three charges, and he gets 65 years for his participation.

Did he pull the trigger?

No, but he was as responsible as the trigger puller because of his engagement and his activity.

I don't know Spencer and I don't know Hannah, but I know Aaron.

I just, I can't wrap my head around how the kid I know and love

ended up in that situation.

You know, I just, I can't figure it out.

On March 10th, 2006, Spencer Krimpetz pleads guilty to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon.

He said that he basically pulled the trigger, killed Barb Kheim to please the girl he loved.

On March 30th, 2006, Spencer Krimpetz is sentenced for his crimes.

I do remember at his sentencing that he said, if you're going to give me life in prison without parole, then you might as well just give me the death sentence.

But the judge made the determination that it would be life without parole.

Spencer decides to give himself a death sentence.

Spencer committed suicide.

You know, he took the coward's way out.

You decided to take someone's life, and then you're going to take your own life because you can't deal with the repercussions?

No.

In March 2006, Hannah Stone also pleads guilty to the same charges as Spencer.

Hannah Stone, through her counsel, we gave her an offer that she could enter a plea of guilty to the three offenses and face a stipulated sentence of 100 years.

None of this happens without Hannah Stone, because Hannah Stone is ultimately the one who made the decision to to kill her mother.

There's no question about that.

She is someone who committed a horrendous act, and you can't help but wonder what happened that she could have such an expression of hatred for the woman who gave her life.

She knew Spencer was going to kill her mother.

She knew what she was doing, and her mom's not here because of her actions and the actions of Spencer.

Hannah's callous actions also left a young boy, her little brother, heartbroken and motherless.

The son cries.

The son would wake up in the middle of the night crying, mommy, mommy, right after the killing happened.

I just want to end this by expressing my condolences to the family of Barbara Keim.

I'm sorry that Barbara was taken from them.

I know the pain that they've suffered is certainly a very hard,

hard loss.

Barb may not have thought she had such a huge impact, you know, because she was such a humble person, but

I think if she had seen how many people actually turned out at her viewing and funeral, she would have seen a lot of people did care.

A lot of people did care and love her.

She was just this devout Christian woman who just loved helping other people out.

I feel like the community definitely lost an angel.

Hannah Stone is scheduled to be released in 2053.

She will be 65 years old.

She is forbidden to have any contact with her younger brother.

How hard is it to kill a planet?

Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining, and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere.

When you see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene.

Are we really safe?

Is our water safe?

You destroyed our top.

And crimes like that, they don't just happen.

We call things accidents.

There is no accident.

This was 100%

preventable.

They're the result of choices by people.

Ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime.

These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet.

Stories of scams, murders, and cover-ups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the Earth or destroy it.

Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad-free right now by joining Wonder Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.