Chapter 1: The Case That Chose Me

In 2012, I took on a case that felt like a punch to the gut—one that would haunt me for years to come.

I can still feel the heavy, sticky Ohio summer pressing in as I sat hunched over my battered office desktop, the court notification glowing on the screen. The case file felt as if it could crush me, and not just because it was thick enough to kill a houseplant. The defendant was accused of two serious crimes, one after another, and the file made it look hopeless—no wiggle room, no mercy, no chance for defense.

I chewed my pencil in the stifling office long after hours, sweat prickling at my back. Then it hit me—maybe this was the point. Maybe he wanted the world to see exactly what he’d done.

He’d set up an audacious, public conspiracy—almost daring everyone to catch him, not hide from them.