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When obsession turns to tragedy

June 10, 2023 / 46:00

This episode covers the tragic story of Liam Yowans and Amy Boyer, focusing on obsession, stalking, and the consequences of online behavior. Key discussions include Liam's background, his fixation on Amy, and the events leading to the murder-suicide.

Liam Yowans, from Nashua, New Hampshire, was a reclusive individual who struggled with low self-esteem and social interactions. He created multiple websites to express his thoughts and feelings, including a site dedicated to Amy Boyer, a girl he became infatuated with during high school.

The episode details Liam's unhealthy obsession with Amy, including his stalking behavior and the lengths he went to obtain her personal information. He used an online service to acquire Amy's workplace address, which ultimately led to the tragic events of October 15, 1999.

On that day, after years of fixation, Liam shot Amy multiple times before turning the gun on himself. The episode discusses the aftermath of the incident, including the impact on Amy's family and the legal ramifications for the companies involved in providing Liam with Amy's information.

Finally, the episode highlights the broader implications of Liam's actions, including discussions on internet privacy, stalking laws, and the importance of recognizing warning signs in individuals who may pose a threat.

TLDR

Liam Yowans' obsession with Amy Boyer led to her tragic murder-suicide in 1999, raising issues of stalking and internet privacy.

Episode

46:00
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foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you
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need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for
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a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
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so you wish to enter Liam meowan's mind well be my guest this is the message that greeted
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visitors to the now defunct website amyboya.com clicking a button labeled enter loaded a
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new page that featured a photo of a young man with short hair and a goatee he wore a heavy jacket and sunglasses
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in one hand he hold an assault rifle with a finger resting on the trigger the accompanying text read
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grading infidels I am Leia meowans who am I well if I had 20 people buried in my backyard my neighbors would have
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described me as quiet and basically kept to himself [Music] [Music] [Music] even those closest to Liam yowan's knew
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very little about him Liam hailed from the city of Nashua in the American state of New Hampshire
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he lived there with his divorced mother Aunt niece and whichever of his five older siblings were visiting at the time
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despite being constantly surrounded by people Liam was rarely seen or heard he hardly spoke to his family who left
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him to his own devices at Nashua High School where he attended Liam was referred to as a ghost
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few knew his name and he garnered little attention aside from being teased thin and perspectacled Liam viewed
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himself as so unattractive that he wouldn't let anyone take his picture he never dated or participated in
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extracurricular activities instead wandering the Halls alone and eating lunch by himself in the corner
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living off frozen pizza and soda Liam spent hours alone in his locked bedroom he said at his computer playing video
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games watching pornography and interacting online while the internet was still in its
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infancy in the early 90s its expansion into the home environment allowed recluses like liamie Owens to foster a
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new existence online he created at least four websites for free on web hosting services like
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tripod.com and geocities these sites became Liam's virtual Diaries where he vented his innermost
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thoughts and feelings Liam also wrote fiction in one short story he posted online Liam
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described a young man named Willem who always wanted to belong he's extremely low self-esteem and a
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lack of self-confidence made him quiet and withdrawn an outsider looking in Willem wanted to
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approach others and join in their fun but feared being humiliated Liam wrote Willem remembered one particularly
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regretful moment in his dull uneventful childhood that he wishes he could do over again it was the summer of his 11th
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year at a sword fighting tournament in which almost all the village boys participated
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Willem was standing away from the small crowd of gatherers that cheered on their
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Champions to Victory Willem was alone like a daisy sprouting up from a field of grass
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no wait a minute it was actually more like an acorn that had fallen off its tree helplessly cut off from the other
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Willen drifted away like smoke into another one of his Daydreams one of the ways he kept his sanity in his lonely
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life Willem pictured himself as the Queen's Champion a warrior who stood above the
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others his followers but the happy fantasy turned sour as the queen and all the followers had the
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faces of the villagers of his town how can I be a champion I can't even muster the courage to talk to them
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Willem was at Rock Bottom now he knew that wherever he went there would be people just like the ones
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surrounding him now that he would have to communicate with he knew they would look at him and laugh
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at his lanky appearance the way he was sure everyone else did in 1993 while in the eighth grade Liam
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meowans attended a church youth group meeting where he encountered a fellow Nashua High student
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although they didn't have any significant interaction Liam was instantly enamored with this mystery
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girl it wasn't until the 10th grade that they crossed paths again the pair were assigned to the same
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algebra class where Liam heard the girl's name for the first time Amy Boyer shortly after Liam was on the school bus
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when another male student began making strange noises for a laugh a girl yelled out playfully for the boy
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to shut up Liam turned his head and realized it was Amy Boyer the otherwise unremarkable interaction
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was a defining moment for Liam he posted about it on his website it was the moment he fell in love
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[Music] Amy Boyer was the stark contrast of Liam yowens described as gentle caring and
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loving she never left home without giving her mother and stepfather an Embrace and telling them she loved them
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whether it was going to concerts with her older brother having cookouts with her friends or helping her little sister
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with homework Amy valued every person in her life she held on to every friend she ever met
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when she wasn't studying or working at a local ice cream shop Amy camped with her
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family and sailed on their boat she loved the outdoors and everything associated with it
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she lived a full and happy life and looked forward to her future Liam yowens created a public website
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dedicated to Amy and his feelings for her titled amyboya.com on the side he posted identifying
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details about Amy including her full name physical descriptions and where she lived
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he surreptitiously obtained pictures of Amy that he posted and gushed over he analyzed each encounter the pair had
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in one instance Amy drove past Lamb with a friend and playfully yelled out High on his website Liam wrote
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I was so [ __ ] up in the head it didn't even register to respond in his senior year Liam enrolled in the
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same classes as Amy hoping it would draw them together I need a daily intake of Amy he admitted
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online when Amy apparently caught wind of his Crush Liam was mortified he pondered about it online writing
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this actually is not necessarily a bad thing as this only heightens Amy's awareness of me in a major way
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from that point on whenever Liam and Amy were in the same vicinity Liam felt like
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Amy was thinking about him they once passed by one another in the School lunchroom
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Liam avoided making contact but Amy brushed against him in a way that Liam perceived as intentional
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dissecting her behavior online Liam wrote she would act as though she didn't notice me whether or not I was staring
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at her to pretend that you don't notice someone uses twice as much concentration on that
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person than if you just ignored them on Valentine's Day Liam noticed that Amy was holding a rose
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he later watched from a window as Amy spoke with the male student Liam sensed that Amy knew he was
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watching she glanced in his Direction three times the person Amy was talking to became her
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boyfriend watching the two of them make out made Liam feel insane he was certain Amy was purposely
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taunting him regardless his infatuation continued to grow Amy disembarked the school bus on
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Woodbury Drive leading Liam to assume that's where she lived at night he drove down the cul-de-sac
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and took pictures of all the ranch style houses hoping to identify Amy's home Liam disclosed online
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I won't even tell you why I did this I can't imagine the absurdity of it he eventually spotted Amy's car parked
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out the front of a home with a foe wishing well on the lawn and a large welcome sign near the door
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describing the sighting Liam wrote when I saw that car and looked at that house and realized Amy was asleep in
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there endorphins flew it was like crack cocaine I have never felt that kind of a
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rush in my life Liam took the role of film to be developed at a local pharmacy when a store clerk saw that the film
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contained nothing but images of a straight car and house they became unnerved and contacted authorities
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Liam returned to the store only to be greeted by a police officer who informed him that the photos had been destroyed
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in hindsight Liam realized he should have taken other random images to detract from the others
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as he left the pharmacy the officer sarcastically remarked you're welcome Liam knew he was being perceived as
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strange but that didn't bother him at all by the time Leah meowans graduated from
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Nashua High in 1997. he'd spent two years fixated on Amy Boyer he enrolled at the Rochester Institute
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of Technology in New York state putting 400 miles between him and Amy this did a little to curb his
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infatuation during mid-semester breaks Liam returned to Nashua on one occasion he borrowed his mother's
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car and drove to Amy's house at 2 30 A.M he parked out the front and watched ten minutes later a car approached from
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down the road it was Amy scared of being spotted Liam tried to drive away but his car wouldn't start
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he had to get out and walk to a payphone writing about this close encounter online Liam said
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I called a tow truck at 3am to get my car from my first attempt at stalking and you know what
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turns out I was so scared that I forgot to put the car in park to start it who didn't say life was fun
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[Music] despite this close call Liam yowans kept a watchful lie over Amy's home sitting across the road in his mother's
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car he'd smoke cigarettes while logging the movements of Amy's family although it was rare that he'd catch a
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glimpse of Amy herself she typically left home before 7am to attend a dental hygiene course
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afterwards she went to one of her two jobs Amy was now the manager of the ice cream
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shop while also working as an orthodontist's assistant she often didn't get home until midnight
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while other nights were spent at her boyfriend's house this frustrated lamb but still he
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persisted eventually he stopped seeing Amy's car on Woodbury Drive altogether Liam suspected Amy had cottoned onto the
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fact he was observing her he felt flattered Liam told one of his sisters about his
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self-confessed obsession with Amy and took her with him to Woodbury Drive this time Amy's car was parked out the
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front Liam was convinced that was a setup by police to catch him stalking a short while later Amy's car
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disappeared again this indicator to Liam that the sting was off he continued parking on Woodbury Drive
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and on one occasion a police car drove by Liam now had no doubt that they were on
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to him after a year of studying at Rochester Institute of Technology Liam dropped out
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dormitory life simply wasn't for him he cried uncontrollably on the bus ride to Nashua feeling sorry for himself
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he lasted a semester at a local College before taking on unskilled night shift work where he could be left alone
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outside of work he was either holed up in his bedroom or out driving around weeks went by and Liam's family saw less
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and less of him they knew he was depressed and wondered where he went in the middle of the night
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but no one discussed it with Liam nor did they enter his bedroom where Liam mostly sat hunched over his
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computer typing about his increasingly morose life in one poem he wrote one day Fades into another people I used
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to know go on together but I stay where I was where I am alone and forgotten I Stay
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adding to Liam's low self-esteem was the fact that he had a condition known as sunken chest disorder
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this caused his ribs to stick out unnaturally he pleaded with his mother to get plastic surgery to fix it but she
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refused and called the request silly enraged Liam threw a china cabinet down a flight of stairs
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it was the first time he had lashed out aggressively and his mother subsequently
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called the police when they arrived Liam threatened to kill himself remarking why don't I just buy a gun
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Liam's mother assured police that her son wasn't serious and the matter was dismissed
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he was arrested for criminal threatening and criminal mischief and ordered to attend to anger management classes
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in reality Liam had been thinking about taking his own life for a while and was upset that his mother dismissed his cry
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for help he visited suicide forums online where he divulged that he'd attempted self-harm but had vomited before he
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could go through with it Liam's charges prohibited him from purchasing Firearms but he saved up to
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buy a shotgun regardless when he went to get the gun it was unavailable Liam feared the police would find out
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and punish him he made a plan to drive his car into a tree at high speed but lost his nerve
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instead he went to the police station and confessed to trying to obtain a firearm he intended to use to take his
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own life the officer allegedly told Liam to go home and sleep it off writing about the experience online Liam
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said they missed their chance to report my statement and institutionalize me oh well
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Liam meowans avoided a criminal conviction and completed his three court mandated anger management classes which
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he mocked Online for being ineffective his firearm prohibitions were subsequently lifted
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Liam went to a Walmart store in the neighboring state of Vermont he chose a 22 caliber rifle with little
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thought calling it a small step into that world he then went to the bordering state of
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Maine into a different Walmart where he purchased the second rifle over time Liam obtained four more rifles
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with each new purchase he became more confident that no one was going to stop him
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Liam posted pictures of his guns on his website and discussed what he could do with them
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on a page titled mass murder Liam revealed that one of his favorite things in life was seeing the breaking news
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Banner appear on TV he relished the aerial shots of people running from a building as a SWAT team
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converged with their guns drawn admitted he wrote to his website visitors you love it too you think it's
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horrible but you still watch it don't you taking inspiration from spree Killers he
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admired Liam fantasized about returning to Nashua High during lunchtime and firing indiscriminately at students in
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the courtyard he hoped to emulate a high school shooting that had recently occurred
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elsewhere in the United States Liam went to Nashua hire to enact his plan but couldn't go through with it
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he screamed and cried in his car before driving on finally Liam purchased the nine
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millimeter semi-automatic pistol from a seller advertising it in the want ads he posted a picture of it online writing
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I took this baby home I just said wow Liam meowans used his website to air his fantasies about killing multiple people
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but there was one fantasy in particular that he zeroed in on over the many years he had spent
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stalking Amy Boyer Liam reached the conclusion that he no longer loved her he confessed online
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I wish I did but I don't despite this change in his feelings Liam wrote I need to stop Amy from having a life
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he wanted her to die Liam gave multiple vague reasons as to why this included Vengeance against
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unidentified people he felt wanted to punish him the Nashua Police Department was also a
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driving force Liam believed that they were aware of his stalking and were attempting to stop
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him he wanted to debate them at their own game succeed where they failed it appeared that Liam was losing his
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grasp on reality his online posts became inarticulate incoherent ramblings they implied a personal relationship
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between himself and his readers though made little sense from an outsider's perspective
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his thoughts were also becoming increasingly dark and disturbing Liam wrote of a plan he had for
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Christmas day of 1999. Amy's family would have four close friends visiting them from Florida
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Liam envisioned lighting the house on fire save for one exit he'd then kill each member of Amy's
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family as they rushed out Liam was forced to call the plan off when he noticed that Amy's stepfather's
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truck was no longer at the family home Liam suspected they were on to him he concluded it was no longer feasible
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to Target Amy at home but finding an alternative spot was difficult without raising suspicion
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Liam hadn't stalked Amy Beyond her home and he didn't know where her workplace was located
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he rarely had his mother's car so he couldn't simply tail Amy around to figure out where exactly she went
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throughout the day in Late July 1999 Liam came across an internet-based investigation service
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titled docusearch.com the company touted the ability to find personal information about any
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individual including their work address all they needed was the person's social security number
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Liam was inspired he contacted docusearch requesting Amy Boyer's date of birth hoping he could
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use it to obtain her social security number Liam provided his name and contact details paying the 20 fee via card
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[Music] a docue search employee called lamb to verify his order asking no questions
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about why he wanted the information the next day docusearch provided Liam with the birth dates of several Amy
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Boyers but not the Amy Boyer he was looking for Liam email docusearch with Amy's home
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address hoping to get better results he also placed an order for her social security number
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[Music] in early August docusearch obtained to Amy Boyer's details from a credit
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reporting agency they provided this information to Liam meowans in exchange for 45 dollars
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armed with Amy's social security number Liam submitted a new request for her workplace address
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unable to find this information at first docusarch hired a private investigator named Michelle Gambino who specialized
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in proper pre-tax subterfuge phone calls and informative telephone conversations
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it was Michelle's job to place a pretext call to Amy this meant collecting information under
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false pretense Michelle called Amy and pretended to be affiliated with an insurance company
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that owed Amy an overpayment refund by referencing Amy's social security number date of birth and home address
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Amy thought it was a legitimate call she willingly handed over the address of the dentist office where she worked
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Liam meowans paid 109 for this information all up and only took him a month and a
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half to gain all the Intel he needed posting an update on his website Liam wrote
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and docusearch pulled through amazingly it's like a dream it's actually obscene what you can find
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out about people on the internet Liam drove to Amy's workplace on Main Street but her car was nowhere to be
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seen he returned multiple times over the following weeks failing to find any sign
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of Amy each time they invented online writing why isn't she there why why why am becoming increasingly agitated
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whenever I scream [ __ ] [ __ ] at the top of my lungs I do it in the car on the
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highway windows rolled up but today I did it on Main Street and everyone heard me
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by the next day Liam had come to town but admitted I'm afraid that if I calm down too much
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fear might take over me Liam typically drove by the dentist office in the mornings but on September
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30 he went at 4pm for the first time he saw Amy leaving he realized she worked in the afternoons
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and that's why he hadn't encountered her sooner it was such a rush Liam described online
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zero fear I had my gun and still didn't go in I pray to God that I won't have any fear
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when I go there Liam meowans now had all he needed to pull off the final stages of what he'd
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coined to plan Amy it was in operation five years in the making back in the 10th grade when Liam had
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first fallen in love with Amy Boyer on the school bus his growing affection was immediately followed by depression
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he described the feeling on his website saying looks like it's suicide for me car
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accident wrists a few days later Liam added hey why don't I kill Amy too Liam detailed playing Amy extensively on
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his website I have always lusted for the death of Amy he wrote I'll lay in weight across the strait
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further down at 4pm when she gets in I'll drive up to her car blocking her in window to window I'll shoot her with my
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glock Liam continued to return to the dentist office on Main Street one Tuesday he spotted Amy waiting at a
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red light she looked wonderful like seeing God herself Liam wrote on his website
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I may be mistaking these feelings of Euphoria for love maybe it's because I only see her in my dreams
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when I see her in real life I feel like my dreams mix with reality why didn't I do anything it was really
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fast I didn't have time to process what was happening also I can't just hang around she must never see me there
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by the following month of October Liam was growing scared he'd been back and forth to the dentist
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office many times and was starting to question whether he could go through with playing Amy
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on the afternoon of Tuesday October 12 Liam pulled up near Amy's car he waited from 435 to 505 but Amy didn't
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show up Liam flew into a rage destroying things and screaming [ __ ] at the top of his
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lungs later he repeatedly wrote online why am I killing her shortly before 4pm on Friday October 15
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Liam posted a short message on his website referring to a person named Peter it read
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see if I did it the text was followed by a clickable link that opened to a New Hampshire news
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website just after 4 15 PM 20 year old Amy Boyer finished work at the dentist office
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she and two of her co-workers happily discussed their plans for the weekend as they walked to their cars parked on a
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side street less than a block away Amy bid the others goodbye and got into her vehicle
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a Nissan Sentra then sped up the street and came to a sudden stop by her driver's side door
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a male yelled Amy's name then came a series of loud bangs just as onlookers registered what was
00:29:53
going on there was one final Bang Amy Boyer had been shot by 21 year old Liam yowens with a nine millimeter
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semi-automatic pistol Liam then turned to the gun on himself he was pronounced dead at the scene
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Amy was rushed to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries she had sustained upwards of 10 gunshots
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to the head and upper body for the most part it was an open and shut case from the crime scene alone
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police knew almost everything they needed to know except why Liam yowens killed Amy Boyer
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Liam's family were reluctant to talk they told investigators that Liam was withdrawn depressed and that he mostly
00:30:44
went unnoticed this was supported by a former classmate of lambs who said he was one of those people you don't
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even know he is there at all a colleague described Liam as a mediocre employee who ignored customers
00:31:04
investigators failed to identify a single friend of lambs with one detective telling the media
00:31:11
not one person can tell me that this kid had one friend in the whole world someone who has no human contact this is
00:31:19
contrary to the human psyche this kid was a bomb ready to go off the night of the murder-suicide
00:31:29
detectives arrived at lamyawan's home they found Liam's bedroom to be filthy and disorganized
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six rifles were propped up against one war and over 100 rounds of ammunition were strewn across the floor
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of the seven Firearms Liam owned all were found to have been purchased illegally
00:31:52
Liam's mother told detectives that it had been weak since she had stepped foot in her son's room hence she never saw
00:31:59
his collection of guns and ammo on a small desk surrounded by soda bottles and cigarette baths was Liam's
00:32:08
personal computer examination of it revealed the website amyboya.com it exposed the depths of Liam's lethal
00:32:18
obsession with Amy described as a shrine the content from his website along with three others
00:32:25
maintained by Liam produced a police report over 500 pages long everyone in the Nashua Community
00:32:33
including Amy's loved ones were stunned Liam suspected that Amy her family and the police were aware of his stalking
00:32:46
but this couldn't be further from the truth no one in Nashua knew not even Amy had she known Amy's mother was certain
00:32:55
she would have raised the alarm aside from Liam's websites there were other red flags
00:33:02
but Liam played such an insignificant role in others lives that no one noticed the science
00:33:10
on the National High School alumni's website Liam listed his address as the seventh circle of hell
00:33:17
he described his occupation as obsessed stalker slash murderer a search of Liam's internet history
00:33:25
revealed websites dedicated to murder serial killers and other violent and morbid content
00:33:32
on one of his websites Liam wrote extensively about wanting to kill a former classmate named Darwin
00:33:39
one day he drove past Owen's house and saw him taking out the trash Liam wrote as I drove by we looked each other
00:33:49
Square in the eye I was stunned on another occasion Owen entered the convenience store where Liam worked
00:33:58
Leon felt that Owen had pretended not to notice him so he started bringing a gun
00:34:03
to work Liam wrote if Ellen came back I'd blow his brains out but he never came again
00:34:13
eventually I stopped bringing my gun into work Owen was so close to death when questioned Owen had no recollection
00:34:24
of either of these encounters it became evident that Liam had over analyzed many of his encounters with
00:34:30
others and had therefore interpreted things irrationally many of the experiences lay him
00:34:37
chronicled online were found to be largely fabricated this was abundantly clear when it came
00:34:44
to Amy Boyer Amy had never mentioned Liam meowans to anybody by all accounts they'd never even had a
00:34:52
conversation and Amy's friends were certain she wouldn't have remembered Liam's name
00:34:58
everything Liam wrote about Amy paying him any attention appeared to be completely misinterpreted situations he
00:35:06
over analyzed to fuel his misguided beliefs at no point did Amy or anyone close to
00:35:16
her type her name into a search engine and uncover amyboya.com when Amy's stepfather Tim ramsberg
00:35:23
viewed the lengthy police report about Liam's online presence he was brought to tears
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he wondered why anyone who viewed Liam's websites hadn't reported them to the police
00:35:36
within 24 hours of Amy Boyer's murder Liam's online Diaries were deleted by their host websites and scrubbed from
00:35:44
the internet the companies denied any responsibility claiming they would have informed
00:35:50
authorities if they were aware of Liam's online activity a spokesperson for tripod.com said that
00:35:57
they did their best to monitor online threats but the technology to weed out such Pages didn't yet exist
00:36:04
just performing an ordinary search for words like hate and kill turned up an unfathomable volume of material
00:36:14
according to the host sites Liam's posts had only attracted single digit traffic
00:36:20
they suspected this visitor was Liam himself in response Amy's stepfather Tim said
00:36:29
do we create websites so that no one will see them of course not I don't think for a minute that Liam
00:36:36
meowans thought no one was going to see this he was screaming for help and we failed
00:36:42
miserably [Music] given the pages no longer existed investigators couldn't ascertain how
00:36:50
many people might have witnessed Lamb's online content however experts did recover a message in
00:36:56
the guestbook of one of Lamb's websites that read nice page very informative keep it up
00:37:05
this indicated that at least one person had indeed stumbled across his side and failed to report it
00:37:13
in Liam's final post 15 minutes before the murder suicide he posted a link to a new site that would later report on the
00:37:21
killing along with the message Peter see if I did it police uncovered emails between Liam and
00:37:30
Peter who was reportedly from Greece and had goated the troubled young man Liam wrote online
00:37:38
Peter recommends I go on a rampage but I don't know the true identity of Peter and his full
00:37:46
role in Liam the Allen's crimes remains a mystery Tim remsberg became an outspoken
00:37:55
advocate for website hosts monitoring their content however federal law protected internet
00:38:01
companies from liability for material their customers posted on personal websites
00:38:08
instead Amy's family pursued a docue search the online company that Liam paid to uncover Amy Boyer's personal
00:38:15
information in April 2000 Amy's family filed a federal lawsuit against the docu search
00:38:23
for negligence and invasion of privacy Amy's mother Helen ramsberg said if this had happened to one of Amy's
00:38:32
friends I know she would have come to us wanting to do something docusearch's business was lucrative with
00:38:41
the just two employees and a handful of independent contractors the company grossed over one million dollars a year
00:38:48
selling personal information docusearch claimed that they could find anything about anybody
00:38:55
yet neither dokey search or at subcontractors took any steps to determine who Liam meowans was or why he
00:39:03
wanted Amy Boyer's personal information had they simply typed either Liam or Amy's name into any free search engine
00:39:11
they would have found his website documenting his intent to kill at the time Liam was seeking the
00:39:19
company's Services ndocusearch had been notified that their website was being used by potential
00:39:24
stalkers intent to do harm two days before docusearch staged the pretext call to Amy to deceptively
00:39:33
obtain her workplace address another client was attempting to obtain the address of a young Texan woman
00:39:40
in that case a docu search investigator made a pretext call to the woman's mother
00:39:46
she realized that they were trying to deceive her and revealed to docusearch that her daughter had a restraining
00:39:53
order against their client [Music] the remsburgs argued that docusert should have notified Amy that Liam was
00:40:01
requesting her personal information the company should have also made sure Liam was obtaining the information for a
00:40:07
legitimate purpose speaking with ABC's 2020 an internet expert and lawyer said if Liam the Allens had walked into the
00:40:18
national detective agency the detective sitting behind the desk could have looked at him and said this guy's a nut
00:40:25
I don't want any part of this over the internet you don't have that ability to judge someone's demeanor and
00:40:33
judge whether you think this is someone you want to do business with you're just opening up a door and
00:40:39
allowing anyone who wants to come through it to do so foreign search claimed they quote could not have
00:40:48
reasonably foreseen that providing Liam meowans with Amy Boyer's work address would result in a premeditated murder
00:40:55
they called the expectation that they search records of each prospective client unreasonable and asked
00:41:03
are we supposed to give every client a personality disorder exam docusearch also argued that providing
00:41:11
Liam with Amy's work address was incidental given he knew her home address anyway
00:41:18
as far as docusarch and similar companies were concerned even if the sale of personal information was blocked
00:41:24
this information was still easily obtainable in Amy's case docusearch said the fact that we're being sued for
00:41:34
providing public information is absurd it's not a secret where Amy works her neighbors her friends know where she
00:41:44
worked they also said pre-texting was a perfectly legitimate way of private investigation and accused the lawsuit of
00:41:53
being motivated by money [Music] in March 2004 four years after Amy's murder the ramsburgs received an 85 000
00:42:03
settlement from docusearch it was as close to Justice being served as they could expect
00:42:11
but it wasn't about the money Amy's family simply wanted to fuel awareness about the way private
00:42:18
information was sold on the internet Tim remsberg has since facilitated A reproduction of amyboya.com for people
00:42:26
to educate themselves explaining if just one person in the whole wide internet would have told us about this
00:42:34
page we would have had a very merry Christmas Tim and Helen ramsburg appeared on news
00:42:45
programs around the country and testified before Congress to support new laws on internet privacy
00:42:52
Tim said not a minute goes by that your thoughts don't revert back to it you can get
00:42:59
engrossed in a project but as soon as you're done you think of Amy and how mad it makes you
00:43:06
in October 2000 Amy Boyer's law was introduced to address the issue of cyber stalking
00:43:13
it highlighted problems like inconsistent stalking laws between states as well as gun control and the
00:43:19
sale of personal information without consent Amy Boyer's law spurred a discussion
00:43:25
over privacy versus protection ultimately it wasn't enacted Helen remsberg warned parents
00:43:36
we want other people to do what we didn't know how to do back then put your name your children's names in a
00:43:43
search engine and see what might be out there Liam yellen's Behavior has been used as
00:43:50
a guide to help identify the potential for explosive violence in young men red flags include obsessive Behavior
00:43:58
irritability poor judgment death threats and withdrawal although as one detective conceded it's
00:44:07
impossible to rationalize Liam's irrational mind and therefore one cannot expect any closure
00:44:16
when Amy's funeral was held in downtown Nashua a large crowd of mourners gathered including loved ones locals the
00:44:24
media and police Liam's funeral was held the following afternoon only his family attended
00:44:34
Amy's 11 year old sister struggled to comprehend what led to Amy's death when her father delivered the news she
00:44:42
pounded against his chest wailing why Daddy Amy's sister later Panda letter to Liam
00:44:51
yellen's family seeking answers in it she asked how come you never asked him how was
00:45:00
your day why didn't you play games with him foreign [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most shocking
  • 90
    Most controversial
  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Biggest twist

Episode Highlights

  • Liam's Obsession with Amy Boyer
    Liam became infatuated with Amy, documenting every interaction online.
    “It was the moment he fell in love”
    @ 06m 31s
    June 10, 2023
  • The Dark Turn
    Liam's mental state deteriorated as he plotted against Amy and others.
    “I need to stop Amy from having a life”
    @ 20m 18s
    June 10, 2023
  • Acquiring Amy's Information
    Liam used an online service to obtain personal details about Amy.
    “It's actually obscene what you can find out about people on the internet”
    @ 24m 57s
    June 10, 2023
  • Liam's Obsession with Amy
    Liam detailed his obsession with Amy Boyer on his website, describing it as a shrine.
    “I have always lusted for the death of Amy he wrote”
    @ 27m 07s
    June 10, 2023
  • The Tragic Murder-Suicide
    On October 15, Liam shot Amy Boyer before turning the gun on himself.
    “Amy Boyer had been shot by 21 year old Liam Yowens”
    @ 29m 58s
    June 10, 2023
  • The Aftermath and Lawsuit
    Amy's family pursued a lawsuit against the company that provided Liam's information.
    “If this had happened to one of Amy's friends, I know she would have come to us”
    @ 38m 30s
    June 10, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • they missed their chance to report my statement and institutionalize me oh well.
    When obsession turns to tragedy
  • It was such a rush Liam described online.
    When obsession turns to tragedy
  • I may be mistaking these feelings of Euphoria for love.
    When obsession turns to tragedy
  • Do we create websites so that no one will see them?
    When obsession turns to tragedy
  • Not a minute goes by that your thoughts don't revert back to it.
    When obsession turns to tragedy

Key Moments

  • Infatuation Begins06:31
  • Stalking Escalates20:18
  • Information Gathering24:57
  • Fear and Anxiety25:43
  • First Encounter25:57
  • Growing Obsession26:33
  • Murder-Suicide30:05
  • Family's Grief44:34

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown