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Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode

November 06, 2025 / 42:15

This episode covers the case of Holly Lynn Wy Monk, a missing soldier whose investigation involved retired Marine gunnery sergeant JC Hawks, her husband John Wy Monk, and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and murder.

Holly, a 24-year-old Army nurse, vanished in July 2008, prompting a search that revealed suspicious circumstances at her apartment, including a fire and missing evidence. Hawks describes the urgency of the investigation as Holly's case coincided with other missing soldiers in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

John Wy Monk, Holly's husband, became a person of interest after inconsistencies in his statements and a history of domestic abuse surfaced. The episode details the investigation's focus on John and his ex-girlfriend, Lindsay, who had harassed Holly.

As the investigation progressed, a Marine named Kyle Alden came forward, admitting to helping John dispose of Holly's body after he allegedly killed her. The episode culminates in the discovery of Holly's remains and the subsequent legal proceedings against John Wy Monk.

Ultimately, John was charged with first-degree murder and received a life sentence without parole, while Alden served a shorter sentence for his involvement. The episode emphasizes the impact of domestic violence and the tragic loss of Holly's life.

TLDR

The episode recounts the investigation into Holly Lynn Wy Monk's disappearance, revealing domestic abuse and her husband's involvement in her murder.

Episode

42:15
00:00:05
[music] My name is JC Hawks. I'm a retired Marine gunnery sergeant and a former Marine Special Agent with
00:00:22
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I was assigned to a missing person investigation to locate Holly Lynn Wim
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Monk. >> Holly just kind of disappeared uh without a trace. Did not show up for work. No one was sure about her
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whereabouts. The search for her started at that point. >> I tried to call her and when she wasn't
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answering the phone for me, like I knew something was wrong because she's going to answer the phone for me.
00:00:50
Holly [music] was such a loving person. When she walked in the room, you knew, okay, this is a good person. You just
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could feel [music] that energy coming from her. >> Holly was a 24year-old young lady. She
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was married to an active duty Marine. >> John Wy Monk was a Marine stationed at Camp Lune, North Carolina.
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>> When we first met, Holly used to say, "I want to be a pediatric nurse." And then somewhere along the way, she
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was like, "I'm going to the army. I can help more people being a military nurse.
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>> When it involves people in uniform, it brings more attention. We had national
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media in Fagetville through most of the summer. I was in the office on a Friday. It was
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in the evening and my boss came in and asked what I had going on. I said, "Not much. I'm just working on some reports."
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He said, "Listen, man. I need you in Fagetville. We've got a missing girl there. There's some suspicious
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circumstances." So I made a call to [music] my wife and headed to Fyville as quick as I could.
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>> So July 9th, 2008, I worked, came home that evening and had a voicemail from Holly asking me to give her a call
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back. I was just too exhausted after the end of a 12-hour shift and I fell straight to sleep.
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When I woke up, I had multiple messages and I called one of them back and they asked me again, "Is Holly with you at
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your apartment?" And at first I was like, "Well, what's going on?" A close friend of hers and co-orker
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decided that she needed to go to Holly's apartment immediately because she thought something was wrong.
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When they get there, they notice as they're looking in the windows that there is smoke damage and they smell
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some fumes. It smells like gasoline, smells like smoke. They're at the apartment and they notice what looks to
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be an intentionally set fire. They're obviously very concerned. They don't see Holly. They call 911. At that point,
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>> I had a chance to tour the entire area. Went into Holly's room. I immediately
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saw on the ground a large deliberately removed piece of carpeting. You got the sense immediately that
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something very bad had happened inside that apartment. >> What they did not find is Holly. There
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was no sign or trace of her at that point. >> Tonight we have an update on a Fort
00:03:24
Bragg soldier missing for days. >> Tonight police remain on >> the summer of 2008 was a very busy time
00:03:31
for the homicide team. We had two service members go missing. We had Megan Tuma who was a United States Army active
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duty person who was actually found deceased in a hotel bathroom. And that murder at that point was
00:03:49
unsolved. A person claiming to be inspired by the Zodiac Killer from decades ago in California
00:03:56
started writing letters to law enforcement and to the Fable Observer. And it just kind of had a lot of people
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nervous and on edge. There was a heightened sense of awareness and urgency that when someone doesn't show
00:04:08
up for work, go look for them because it could be [music] the worst. [screaming]
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>> The NCIS mission is global. >> We're on aircraft carriers. We're in foreign ports. We watch after each
00:04:24
other. We take care of each other. >> NCIS deal with every type of crime. cyber fraud, murder,
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>> general crimes, counter [music] intelligence, counterterrorism. >> Every crime is a tragedy. Involves
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sisters, brothers, husbands. >> It's the only way to find the truth. >> We live in dangerous times
00:04:43
>> and we're never going to give up. >> NCIS, the cases they can't forget. Holly's case is among the most memorable
00:05:07
[music] cases that I've worked. I I will never forget this case because of all the things [music] that Holly was.
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Someone's daughter, someone's mother, a nurse, and an officer in the United States Army.
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Fagville is home to the largest military installation in [music] the United States. Uh Fort Bragg has generally
00:05:30
between 50 and 55,000 personnel stationed there. It's its own city. Holly Wy Monk's case uh happened in a
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very bad summer for Fagatville. >> And it got worse with the disappearance of Lieutenant Holly James Wy Monk.
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>> When Holly Wy is missing, a massive search commences. Was her case connected to the murder of Sergeant Megan Tuma and
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this copycat serial killer stalking the streets of Fagville? >> In the Megan Tuma case,
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>> Tuma had arrived at Fort Bragg less than 2 weeks ago from Germany. >> Megan was missing for [music]
00:06:05
approximately a week, but nobody noticed. She was new in town. Her unit didn't report her missing.
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>> Megan had been strangled and left in a bathtub at a local hotel. Investigators
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poured over the taunting letters of her alleged murderer. He claimed to be inspired by California's infamous Zodiac
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Killer, >> who sent letters to the press in San Francisco from 1968 to 1987, claiming
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[music] responsibility for 40 murders. >> Fear that a new serial killer targeting
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female soldiers swept through Fyville. He said he was on a mission to claim more victims.
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>> The army reacts quickly. The Favville Police Department reacts quickly. The community is upset. With no sign of
00:06:47
Holly, investigators were left to sift through the remains of her burned out apartment.
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>> Someone had intentionally poured fluids that were flammable and had set a fire.
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>> They found two bedrooms burned, windows broken, and the smell of gasoline. We
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monk was missing. Her car was still parked outside. >> Whoever had set the fire had absolutely
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no regard for anybody in that building or anybody around it. Agent Hogs believed the [music] fire had
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been set to destroy evidence. The missing carpet was a disturbing clue that indicated Holly might well be dead.
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Carpeting soaks bodily fluids. It s it soaks all types of of physical evidence. Nothing good in our minds came from that
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missing [music] carpet. As the scene began being processed, we observed there to be two missing [music] knives that
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were not in the knife block in the kitchen. We have missing knives. Why do we have missing knives? Uh we look at
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the presence of evidence and also the the absence of things that you think should be there. One of the things we
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started doing is interviewing family and friends of Holly. So family and friends
00:08:01
are who you start talking with. You always want to start closest and then move out.
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So Hawks began his investigation by talking to Holly's husband, Marine Corporal John Wyuk,
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a combat engineer based at Camp Leour, North Carolina. The Marine base is 2 hours east of Fort Bragg, where Holly
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was stationed. Wunk had married Holly a year earlier and split his time between living at Camp Leern and Holly's
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apartment. >> I'm at the point where I have no idea what's going on. Okay. >> We were responsible for painting a a
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picture of John Wy Monk, learning his whereabouts, learning everything that there was to to find out about this
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young man. >> News of Holly's disappearance and the fire at the couple's shared apartment
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was the lead story locally. >> Police spent a lot of time around the missing soldiers apartment. K-9 units
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searched nearby woods. >> Wy Monk said he knew nothing beyond that. He says, "I don't know where she
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is. Haven't talked with her. Um, don't know anything." >> Wim expressed concern for both his wife
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and their apartment. >> This is my wife. All right. Everybody knows that. >> And it's my apartment.
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What the is going on with my wife? You know what I mean? >> The interview broke down after Hawk
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smelled what he thought was liquor on Wyuk's breath. >> You asked me earlier that have am I
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drunk? I'm not drunk, but I have been drinking. Okay? And I don't want the the uh things that I say to be turned
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around. You know what I'm saying? >> I understand. And that's why we're done. Okay.
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>> I understand it, sir. >> We're done talking about everything. Go home and chill out. Okay.
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>> Mhm. >> And I I don't want to I don't want to talk with you now that you know, I can
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smell the odor alcohol on you. I don't want to talk to you about legal stuff while that's in the question in my mind.
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>> And I'll let you recont us, whatever. We'll give you our contact numbers and we'll deal with it that way. Okay. Here
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you go, sir. I appreciate that I have a contact number of you guys. >> Hawks returned to Wim Monk to his
00:10:07
command and continued learning about the couple's relationship from Holly's friends and family.
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>> Holly and John met as a result of an introduction by a Marine [music] in John's unit who happened to be Holly's
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brother. He thought John would be a would [music] be interested in meeting his sister.
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>> Holly was deeply in love with him. She cared very much for him. She said that
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he was a very sweet and caring individual, that he was very fun, outgoing, and caring. She enjoyed
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spending time with him. Holly had a son and a daughter with a longtime boyfriend before falling in
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love with Wimunk. The children [music] split time with their parents and were with their father at the time of the
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fire. >> Holly told me that she had her children visit every now and then, and it was
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always a wonderful time for her. She loved having her children visit. Holly and April, both nurses in the maternity
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ward at the Wulmeck Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, grew close. >> I could always rely on her as somebody
00:11:04
to talk to. You could call her in the middle of the night. She'd be half asleep, but she'd be willing to chitchat
00:11:09
with you and find out what was going on. >> As NCIS kept investigating, agents unraveled a complicated marriage. A
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former girlfriend of Wims had resurfaced in his life. Holly told friends the woman was badgering her with angry phone
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calls. She felt harassed. >> Holly never referred [music] to Lindsay by Lindsay. She was just always his
00:11:32
little girlfriend. She was always there. She chose to call Holly at 3:00 in the morning and scream into the phone. And
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it was just random acts like that that I think were were kind of scary for Holly cuz you
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don't know what a person is going to do. >> Holly went to court naming Lindsay publicly. describing the alleged
00:11:55
harassment and asking for a restraining order that would prohibit any contact. Holly [music] wrote,
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>> "I have changed my phone number six times. She has had individuals contact [music] my friends looking for me. This
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has been going on for 8 months. >> A district court judge here in Carmelan County ordered Lindsay to basically stop
00:12:15
bothering Holly. Obviously, there was a history there. Uh there was bad blood, shall we say, between Holly and Lindsay.
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So, she certainly was a person of interest at this point in the investigation. >> Hawks discovered that Lindsay, who lived
00:12:30
out of state, was actually in North Carolina when Holly vanished. So, he brought Lindsay in for an interview.
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>> A reporter from the Fateville Observer in summer of 2008 contacted Lindsay and
00:12:42
spoke to her, and Lindsay said she was shocked that Holly was missing. >> Lindsay said she had [music] nothing to
00:12:48
do with Holly's disappearance. And while agents checked out her story, they soon
00:12:53
got another disturbing [music] tip from witnesses at Holly's building. >> Several residents see a male figure
00:13:01
running. One says running with a bag, getting into a black pickup truck and leaving the complex.
00:13:17
>> A Fort Bragg soldier missing for days. Police remain on the scene at the home
00:13:21
of Holly Wy Monk. >> Police are giving us more information about the missing soldier, but they're
00:13:25
still keeping a tight guard on the scene out here. >> The entire family was holding on to a
00:13:30
thin thread of hope that why Monk would be found alive. Her car was still parked
00:13:34
outside. There was not a doubt in our mind that we were looking into a murder case
00:13:41
[music] and it was looking less and less like a missing person case. >> Investigators were going down three
00:13:47
paths. Pauliey's husband, his ex-girlfriend, and the self-proclaimed Zodiac [music] copycat killer.
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>> It was just a very tense time for people here in the community. With the Marine's wife still missing,
00:14:05
NCIS remained on high alert. >> The mission for us is fairly comprehensive. protecting the innocent.
00:14:20
We take that very seriously. >> Whenever a case breaks, the agency that leads that case, if they could go a
00:14:28
million directions at one time while being thorough, effective, they would do it.
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[music] 24 hours into Holly's disappearance, NCIS agents got their first break in the case.
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>> Law enforcement began questioning people that lived there in the apartment complex that may have seen something,
00:14:54
that may have heard something. And several individuals talked about how on the night of July 9th
00:15:05
that there had been a individual in black clothing running from the area of Holly's apartment getting into a black
00:15:13
pickup truck in dark clothing and leaving the scene. I've covered a lot of homicides here in
00:15:22
Fateville and usually it's people who know each other. As we were doing background leading up
00:15:29
to Holly's disappearance, we discovered some troubling things about the relationship between John and
00:15:36
Holly. All the family and friends that we talked to all told us this story. A volatile relationship existed between
00:15:46
Holly and John certainly leading up to her disappearance. Holly's coworker, April, told
00:15:58
investigators that Wim Monk couldn't handle Holly's superior rank. He was telling her that she wasn't really a
00:16:06
lieutenant. She wasn't really an officer. She was just a nurse and it didn't count.
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He was really putting her down. I started to overhear some of these phone calls and I could hear John being
00:16:22
really hard on her. During one of our shifts, he called multiple times and just ranted and raved
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and treated her like she was nothing. I took her phone away. I literally grabbed it out of her hand, hung up on
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him, and took it away from her. I said, "No." I said, "You do not need to deal with this. It's not fair. It's not
00:16:42
right." The verbal abuse soon turned physical when Holly began [music] coming to work
00:16:48
with bruises, which she documented in these photos that investigators recovered on her cell phone. She came in
00:16:56
with a busted lip one day. Another day she came in with what appeared to be bruising around her eye. And she never
00:17:05
really spoke to us about where these injuries came from. We were very worried about Holly.
00:17:12
>> I wish I had have done more. I felt like it was more important for me to be that
00:17:17
best friend and not say anything. But part of me wish I could [music] have told somebody.
00:17:25
>> Shortly before Holly's [music] disappearance, Traa says she learned about an incident that truly terrified
00:17:32
Holly. >> One day she called me and she was just crying. She was hysterical. He like had
00:17:40
a bullet and he had showed her the bullet. >> The bullet literally had Holly's name on
00:17:49
it. >> He had like carved initials in the bullet and it was like this is your bullet and this is my bullet.
00:18:00
>> He produced a gun. and he put it to his head and threatened suicide. And then he
00:18:04
put the gun to Holly's head and threatened to murder her. >> Holly had enough. Fearing for her life,
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she sent her children to live with their biological father and sought a restraining order.
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>> On May 19th of 2008, Holly had taken out a restraining order against John. uh
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that was in place for about 10 days, just a temporary order, and then she had to appear in court about 10 days later
00:18:33
in order to keep the restraining order in place. >> But when it came time to face [music]
00:18:38
Wim Monk in court, Holly couldn't bring herself to follow through with the charges.
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>> I never think she thought John was going to hurt her because when a person loves
00:18:49
you, you don't think that they're going to hurt you. >> Holly did not show up for that court
00:18:53
date. So, as a result, the restraining order was dismissed and no longer in place. She was estranged from John that
00:19:01
they had been going through a difficult transition uh leading to divorce. >> A Fort Bragg soldier missing for days.
00:19:08
>> Police spent a lot of time around the missing solders's apartment. K-9 units searched nearby woods.
00:19:13
>> But when news of Holly's disappearance reached her circle of friends, they [music] were convinced why Monk was
00:19:20
responsible. The first thing that crosses my mind is, "Oh my god, that son [music] of a [ __ ]
00:19:25
did it. He actually did it." >> We were focusing our efforts on John Wy Monk, either to eliminate him or include
00:19:35
him as being involved in Holly's disappearance. [music] >> NCIS agents no longer had their sights
00:19:41
on the self-proclaimed Zodiac copycat, or Lindsay, who was ultimately cleared. But it's what she revealed about Wim
00:19:48
Monk's behavior the day Holly vanished that now had investigators fearing [music] the worst.
00:19:53
>> Lindsay mentioned that he seemed very upset and angry early on Wednesday, July
00:19:58
9th. He said that he was going to take care of Holly [music] and Lindsay says that
00:20:04
he had a gun with him. At this point, John Wamik is a suspect, but we did not have anything
00:20:12
specifically to link him >> to her disappearance. >> Hey, John. Jeff Lville. >> Y Monk wasn't talking.
00:20:23
>> I choose not to answer any further questions, so I have a lawyer present. Okay. I'm sorry for the waste of time.
00:20:30
>> No worries. But NCIS kept him under constant surveillance while they tried to uncover
00:20:36
hard evidence connecting Wim Monk to Holly's disappearance. Was he the killer? And could he get away with it?
00:20:44
>> NCIS agents began knocking on every door that we could aboard Camp Learner. >> And soon a new name hit NCIS's radar.
00:20:52
>> NCIS began talking to some of John's friends, associates, co-workers uh there
00:20:58
at the Marine Base. And one name that came up was uh Kyle Alden. >> [music] >> 48 hours into Holly's disappearance,
00:21:34
Investigators were desperate for answers. [music] And with the clock still ticking, NCIS
00:21:44
returned [music] to John Wyuk's base at Camp Leour, searching for clues. >> We started to perform just some very
00:21:52
traditional police work and immediately began knocking on doors. That's when NCIS got a tip about a
00:22:02
Marine who was looking to borrow a pickup truck. >> We eventually found a young man by the
00:22:09
name of Kyle Halden. A few Marines heard about Kyle asking if he could borrow their pickup truck
00:22:17
because he needed to help a friend move some things that would not fit in a car.
00:22:22
And this we found interesting because it just so happened to occur on the 9th of
00:22:27
July, which is the day prior to Holly going missing. Remember, witnesses reported seeing
00:22:35
someone flee from Holly's apartment in a black pickup truck the night she vanished.
00:22:44
>> I want to make sure that you understand this is quick. You're not being detained. On July 12th, Kyle Alden
00:22:50
agreed to meet without a lawyer. >> Do you understand that? >> Yes, sir. >> All right.
00:22:55
>> We brought Alden to our offices for an interrogation that the Fateville homicide detectives would conduct. One
00:23:03
of my partners met with Alden and asked him about this truck, about his whereabouts on the 9th and 10th of July.
00:23:13
And Alden essentially explained that he did in fact borrow a truck and that he was in fact contemplating helping a
00:23:20
friend move. >> Investigators would learn that friend was John Wy Monk. >> He asked [music] if I if I can come to
00:23:32
pay bill and give him a hand. >> Okay. What do you tell him? >> Tell him. Yeah, not a problem. The
00:23:38
Marine Corps, not unlike the other armed services, there exists a very strong bond between Marines.
00:23:49
[music] Kyle was another active duty Marine. He was assigned to John's unit. They were close enough to where if the
00:23:55
phone rang and somebody said, "Hey, I need help with something." The other guy is going to come and try to help him.
00:24:01
>> How does [music] he sound at this point in time? >> He sounds kind of distraught. Something
00:24:05
didn't add up. He's like, "Yeah, you can't say anything about this, but I need your help doing something."
00:24:11
It's like, "Okay, good to go." >> Alden says, "Why Monk abruptly called off their plan, so he went home to pay
00:24:20
some bills." >> I think he [music] could sense that my partner knew that he was lying
00:24:25
>> and later corrected his statement by saying, "Hey, I I lied about the last part when I said I was going to go pay
00:24:32
the bill. I was actually meeting with my wife. We had sex and so that's where I was.
00:24:38
>> But what Alden didn't know is that investigators had already spoken with his wife. What would you say if I told
00:24:45
you I talked to your wife and she said what you just told me ain't the truth. >> Maybe she doesn't remember cuz she was
00:24:54
out of it from the pentails that they said. >> The time a man know his wife spends
00:25:00
together, they normally remember that kind of stuff. All right. Yes, sir. So if your wife ain't lying to me and you
00:25:06
ain't lying to me, what do we have? [music] >> A big misunderstanding. >> But it was crystal clear that Alden was
00:25:14
stonewalling the investigation. >> In talking to people that know him, his wife, and other things, you develop an
00:25:22
idea of the person that you're dealing with. And what he was demonstrating to us during the initial hours of this
00:25:28
investigation led me to believe that he was happy to lie to people. You know what I want you to say? I'm
00:25:35
going to tell you what I want you to say. What I want you to say is the truth. >> Alden was never under arrest, but
00:25:43
because he was a Marine, he was never allowed to leave NCIS's custody either and remained on base.
00:25:51
>> I want you to be honest with me. I want you to >> For 3 days, investigators pressed Alden
00:25:56
for answers. >> I want you to tell me what happened. I got to find Harley. For God's sakes,
00:26:01
where's Holly at? I do not know. >> Okay. He would give investigators a little, but they didn't feel like he was
00:26:06
giving them the whole truth. >> But Alden's cool demeanor suddenly changes when he's shown photos of
00:26:13
Holly's children. >> I can't help but think about these two kids. Something bad happened to Holly.
00:26:24
Something bad happened in that apartment. Okay, that's what I'm figuring out now.
00:26:30
Realizing he'd been boxed into a corner, Alden admits to helping Wyuk remove items from Holly's apartment the night
00:26:37
she vanished. But what happened to Holly? You know I know what happened. Okay. Why ain't Holly calling me on the phone
00:26:48
and telling me I'm coming to talk to you later? Why ain't she doing that? >> She's probably going to
00:26:58
Where's Holly at? I had no idea. >> I didn't want to think that he did it. I didn't want to think that it was
00:27:05
possible. >> Investigators felt close to getting a confession, but Alden wouldn't budge.
00:27:12
>> We knew that there was more to what he was saying. He wasn't at a point where
00:27:16
he wanted to tell us what really happened. >> But everything was about to change when
00:27:22
NCIS got a call they never expected. We received a phone call and that gentleman asked me if I was looking for
00:27:30
a little blonde girl. I said, "Yes, I am." And he said, "I think I've got her. >> [music]
00:27:51
>> I received a phone call from a firefighter from the North Carolina Division of Forestry and what I remember
00:27:56
him asking me, "Hey man, you looking for a blonde girl?" And I said, "Yes, I am."
00:28:02
>> While detectives questioned Alden, NCIS got a tip about a suspicious fire nearly
00:28:07
20 m from Alden and Wyuk's base at Camp Learn. He said that he was on a road in the Sneez Fairy [music] area. The Sneezy
00:28:15
area is south of Camp Leern. It's a rural area. There's not a lot of people around, especially [music] undercover of
00:28:22
darkness, to see what's going on. It's a good place to get rid of something that
00:28:25
you don't want anybody to find. Down this path, maybe about a half a mile, it opens up into a clearing.
00:28:36
And in the center of that clearing, basically there was a uh a shallow grave. >> There beneath the smoldering ash,
00:28:45
investigators uncovered human remains. [music] >> Fagville detectives are still working on
00:28:52
a definitive identification on the remains. [music] >> It was just a blip on the news saying
00:28:58
that what body was found and it just it just hit me. I just knew it. [music] >> That's Holly. They found her.
00:29:07
[music] >> An autopsy would confirm it was Holly. [music] >> Crime scene video shot by deputies shows
00:29:16
the shallow grave containing the remains of Holly Wonk. >> Her dad actually called me and said
00:29:22
before you hear it on TV, you know, I want to I want to tell you. And I didn't expect that.
00:29:31
I [music] still felt like she was going to call me. And when I actually saw it on the news,
00:29:40
[snorts] >> at Holly scene and at at the scenes of other victims that other agents and I
00:29:50
have [music] have been at, you can't afford to become emotional about it. Uh because if if you if you if [music] you
00:29:56
are, you're you're not good to the team. at night when we go home and be with [music] our families uh and and me with
00:30:06
my wife. Um we would share what we could with [music] with them and it and and that's when you get the the human
00:30:13
element. That's when you get the the emotion behind it when you watch the reaction in their faces when you tell
00:30:18
them what you had to do at work today. It was a [music] pretty gruesome, difficult scene to collect evidence
00:30:27
from. It was like something out of a horror movie. Holly's body had been dismembered
00:30:35
and set on fire. Investigators sorted through the ash and debris, uncovering critical clues into
00:30:42
Holly's murder. There were some knives and a hatchet that were also found. And what was
00:30:48
interesting and critical evidence about this is these knives fit a knife set that was missing from Holly's apartment.
00:30:56
Those knives were a perfect match and [music] provided a crucial link connecting the crime scene to Holly's
00:31:03
apartment fire. You >> realize you're in trouble. You in some trouble. >> Okay. >> They say, "Look, you're not telling us
00:31:09
the truth. We just found her body." And at that point, he becomes mo much more forthcoming about what they did.
00:31:16
>> Look at her now. You tell me. Tell me the rest of it. Tell me the rest of it.
00:31:19
>> After misleading investigators for 3 days, Alden begins to unravel. I went out there. You know exactly what I saw.
00:31:28
>> I can kind of imagine what you saw. >> Okay. Tell me what you imagine that I saw out there.
00:31:32
>> I imagine there was a hole. >> Alden ultimately told us everything that he had received a call from John. He
00:31:38
didn't know why he was going to Fagville, but he agreed to do it because he and John were Marines in the same
00:31:43
unit. Once he arrived, however, John told him that he had killed her and needed his help getting rid of Holly's
00:31:48
body. >> What did he say? He's like, "We were arguing." It's like I killed her. I didn't ask him how he killed her.
00:32:00
I said, "Why?" He's like, "I didn't mean to. I don't know if he hit her, shot her, or whatever. Told me that she
00:32:07
didn't die right away, so he had to hit her again." And I told him, "I don't want to hear
00:32:12
that." He's like, "The look in her eye, he he'd never seen anything like it. the
00:32:19
look in her eye. Every word that I heard just made my stomach turn that much more.
00:32:26
>> Alden told us that Holly's remains were ultimately placed in what what we in the
00:32:32
Marine Corps refer to as a seabag. >> After loading Holly's body into the pickup truck, Alden says Wim Monk set
00:32:40
fire to the apartment to destroy the evidence. And then they made the 3-hour drive back to Camp Leern
00:32:49
and ultimately arrived in Sneed's Ferry. They then dig a shallow grave. They place Holly's remains inside that
00:33:00
grave [music] and they attempt to burn Holly's remains. >> I was sitting there thinking, "What the
00:33:06
hell am I doing? Why am I getting myself into this? Why am I getting myself into
00:33:10
this?" Common sense may tell someone once you hear that someone has killed their wife, why do you still carry on?
00:33:18
And I think one thing is within the military structure, rank is very important. And John outranked Kyle. He
00:33:24
had someone who outranked him asking for help with the situation. And I think Kyle made the very poor decision to
00:33:33
participate in this cover up. The Marine in me was angry that that man had the title that me and other Marines have
00:33:40
based on what he did and the decisions that he made. [music] I absolutely do not call him a Marine. We're different
00:33:48
now. The whole time we've been talking, you ain't called her name. I want to hear
00:33:53
you say Holly. Her name was Holly Lynn James. And I'm not even going to put he his name his last name ain't even worth
00:34:02
being attached to hers. So, her name was Holly Lynn James. >> After confessing to his role in Holly's
00:34:09
disappearance, investigators took an unusual step, demanding an apology. >> Tell her you're sorry.
00:34:15
>> I'm sorry. >> Tell her children you're sorry. Say, "I'm sorry that you ain't got no mama no
00:34:21
more." >> Sorry that you ain't got no mama no more. >> There's about as much feeling in what
00:34:25
you just said is in this cup right there. Okay. That's about how much feeling you got.
00:34:32
You know, you're going with us cuz you want no arrest. >> Yes, sir. >> Alden was charged with seconddegree
00:34:39
arson and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Lieutenant Holly James Wyuk. Now, NCIS had one thing left to
00:34:47
do. >> We knew at this point that John Wyuk had committed this murder. >> But would the confession of an admitted
00:34:54
liar be enough to seal Wyuk's fate? Once we had Alden's statements, once we had what we believed were Holly's
00:35:15
remains, [music] Fateville Police Department homicide squad swore warrants for the arrest of John Wy Monk.
00:35:21
>> Only a year before, Holly had married Jon and told friends he was sweet and good to her children. Now love had
00:35:27
turned to hate and Wim Monk was about to be arrested for Holly's murder. >> We went to John's unit where we knew him
00:35:34
to be. I expected that his head would be down, that he would look defeated, that
00:35:40
he would be emotional. He was seated, his head was up. He didn't to me look like he really had a care in the world.
00:35:47
>> I identified myself to John Wy as a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I told him to
00:35:54
stand up and I told him that he was under military apprehension for the murder of Holly Lyn Wim.
00:36:00
>> He complied immediately. He looked at my partner and looked at me. The Marines
00:36:05
present were watching. He said nothing to any of us. He had a facial expression that told me he knew exactly what was
00:36:11
happening and that he was content. >> Holly was one [music] of three female soldiers murdered in that terrible
00:36:18
summer of 2008 in Fagatville, North Carolina. There was no serial killer. Authorities believe Sergeant Megan
00:36:25
Tuma's killer, a fellow soldier with whom she was having an affair, wrote those so-called Zodiac letters.
00:36:34
Monday, July 14th, John Wy was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Holly Wy. She had actually died from a
00:36:42
gunshot wound to the head. He was also charged with seconddegree arson and conspiracy to commit seconddegree arson.
00:36:51
>> The criminal case was just beginning, as was the emotional fallout. Holly's commanding officer selected Holly's
00:36:58
friend, Lieutenant April Wartz, for what the military considers a special honor.
00:37:02
>> I had the chance to accompany the remains back home from the the funeral home in Fateville to the airport in
00:37:10
Detroit [music] and we drove back down to Deuke, Iowa. It was there in Holly's hometown that April first [music] met
00:37:18
Holly's father, Jesse James. >> Holly's dad welcomed me like a member of the family, like I'd been her best
00:37:25
friend since childhood, and I'll never forget it. It was a really nice experience in a
00:37:32
very dark, dark time. Jesse was especially close to his daughter and spoke to her in the days
00:37:39
before her murder as he recalled in this interview for the university where he was the dean of admissions.
00:37:45
>> Holly said, "Dad, it's going to be a nasty divorce. Not sure what nasty divorce conjured up in my mind. I
00:37:52
suppose that I thought they would fight, but the thought that he would murder Molly [snorts] is a thought that never
00:38:00
occurred to me." District Attorney Billy West says the state, armed with Kyle Alden's detailed
00:38:06
confession and his agreement to testify, sought the death penalty for John Wyuk.
00:38:10
It took two years for the case to get to court. >> John Wy reached a plea agreement with
00:38:16
the state where he would plead guilty to first-degree murder as well as arson, conspiracy to commit arson, and that he
00:38:24
would serve life without the possibility of parole. John Wyuk accepted his fate,
00:38:30
but never apologized or provided any insight into why he murdered Holly when he appeared at his sentencing.
00:38:37
>> North Carolina, we do not have allecution where the accused or the defendant actually explains what they
00:38:42
did on the day of the crime. Kyle Alden plead guilty to his responsibility in the case and that was
00:38:50
that he was an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and he also was guilty of secondderee arson and
00:38:57
conspiracy to commit seconddegree arson. Kyle Alden served 3 years of a potential
00:39:04
5-year sentence. Today he's free. >> Both men were dishonorably discharged. I'm so angry.
00:39:15
He took my friend. He took a daughter. He took a mother most of all. So, two kids grow up
00:39:24
without their mother. You know that that's hard. The only time I actually met her
00:39:30
children were during the funeral. They were three and six. I remember thinking that little girl
00:39:36
is the spitting image of her mother. That is a little Holly right there. her little boy. They handed him a folded
00:39:44
up flag and the look on his face is a look that will always be with me. That look of pain.
00:39:54
Some people search a lifetime to find a friend like Holly and I had that. I had a friend like that.
00:40:04
Sometimes I'll hear [music] somebody's voice and it'll remind me of her voice or a laugh and it'll just take me back
00:40:12
to our [music] graduation day, how the sun hit her hair and how she was smiling that [music] day.
00:40:29
What's it like to lose a child? Everyone in your family goes through grief and their own certain [clears throat]
00:40:38
way. >> I know [music] that in the years after Holly's death, he actually went around
00:40:44
speaking and bringing awareness to domestic violence, specifically domestic violence in the military.
00:40:51
>> I think what adds to the grief of a death of a man is that he's supposed to protect his father.
00:41:04
I don't want to speak for Mr. [music] James. I will say that myself and the other folks that
00:41:10
agreed to to do this interview did so because he wanted his daughter's story told in the most accurate and truthful
00:41:19
way possible. 48 hours. To miss it would be a crime. >> Were [music] you at all prepared for
00:41:39
what happened in this case? [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 85
    Biggest twist
  • 80
    Most emotional

Episode Highlights

  • Harassment and Fear
    Holly faced harassment from her husband's ex-girlfriend, leading to a restraining order.
    “I have changed my phone number six times.”
    @ 12m 00s
    November 06, 2025
  • Holly's Disappearance
    Holly Lynn Wim Monk goes missing, prompting a massive search effort.
    “The entire family was holding on to a thin thread of hope.”
    @ 13m 30s
    November 06, 2025
  • A Troubling Relationship
    Investigators uncover a volatile relationship between Holly and her husband John.
    “A volatile relationship existed between Holly and John certainly leading up to her disappearance.”
    @ 15m 38s
    November 06, 2025
  • Discovery of Remains
    Investigators uncover human remains in a shallow grave, confirming the worst fears.
    “That's Holly. They found her.”
    @ 29m 00s
    November 06, 2025
  • The Confession
    Alden admits to helping dispose of Holly's body after being pressured by investigators.
    “I went out there. You know exactly what I saw.”
    @ 31m 25s
    November 06, 2025
  • Life Sentences
    Both Alden and Wyuk face justice for their roles in Holly's murder.
    “John Wy reached a plea agreement... serve life without the possibility of parole.”
    @ 38m 16s
    November 06, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • Holly was such a loving person.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode
  • I have changed my phone number six times.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode
  • He had like carved initials in the bullet.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode
  • Something bad happened to Holly.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode
  • Her name was Holly Lynn James.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode
  • He took my friend. He took a daughter. He took a mother.
    Did missing Army nurse fall prey to a serial killer targeting military women? | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Missing Person Case00:39
  • Holly's Character00:50
  • Harassment Issues12:00
  • Investigation Begins14:48
  • Alden's Interrogation22:59
  • Friendship Bonds23:41
  • Emotional Fallout36:56
  • Holly's Legacy40:46

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown