Going West: True Crime - Alexander Stevens // 279

Episode Date: February 15, 2023

In January of 2017, the body of a 24-year-old man was found naked at the bottom of a cliff in a state park in Maryland. Although his girlfriend claims he died from the injuries he sustained in the fall, an autopsy revealed his throat had been slit multiple times. As baffling details emerged, she became investigator’s number one suspect. This is the story of Alexander Stevens. BONUS EPISODES patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CAUSE SOURCES 1. Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4886536/Girlfriend-charged-death-man-Maryland-forest.html#comments 2. Alex's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175274461/alexander-arthur-stevens 3. The Daily Item: https://www.dailyitem.com/news/state/filling-in-the-blanks-alexander-stevens-parents-he-worked-to-rectify-bad-or-wrong-situations/article_29a63692-d06a-54a1-aa5c-92406e149c82.html 4. Megan Shaffer vs. the State of Maryland: https://www.courts.state.md.us/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions/0993s18.pdf5. 6. Jay's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218484988/jay-arthur-stevens 7. Cumberland Times-News: https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/filling-in-the-blanks---alexander-stevens-parents-he-worked-to-rectify-bad-or/article_501db8ca-6377-11e7-b7d6-1fe3195e6790.html 8. The Daily Times: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23820440/man-found-dead-was-former-coast-guard/ 9. The Tribune-Democrat: https://www.tribdem.com/news/megan-shaffer-found-guilty-of-2nd-degree-murder-in-death-of-alexander-stevens/article_b0d2c9f4-2bd5-11e8-9dda-57708696be62.html 10. Cumberland Times-News: https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/911-transcripts-include-call-from-megan-shaffer/article_312dc20e-e12e-11e7-8a7e-b70402f5ffbd.html 11. Cumberland Times-News: https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/concert-celebrates-janet-alex-stevens/article_12948bc8-7793-11e9-a30e-3fe64a6ef26c.html 12. The Bottom Line: https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-student-arrested-for-alleged-second-degree-murder/ 13. Megan's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megan.shaffer.543/about 14. Alex's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.stevens.92123 15. The Garrett County Republican: https://www.wvnews.com/garrettrepublican/news/megan-shaffer-sentenced-to-30-years-in-prison-for-second-degree-murder/article_487d0751-30db-5b9a-a536-5d9d723f204d.html 16. The Tribune-Democrat: https://www.tribdem.com/megan-shaffer-trial-begins-with-new-details-in-the-death/article_c66f27a4-3cd2-528d-b5c1-de4a0410e317.html  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on Truecrime fans? I'm your host Teez. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody happy Valentine's Day for listening on the day of. Yes, happy V-Day. Um, I think you saw which two Brandon for recommending this case. This case is freaking nuts. Yeah, I mean the details of this case are just, they're really conflicting and there's probably a lot of different opinions on this case. It's bizarre. It's so bizarre. So thanks again Brandon for putting this on our radar and we're gonna get right into this one All right guys. This is episode 279 of going west. So let's get into it 1.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%

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2.5% 2.5% In January of 2017, the body of a 24-year-old man was found naked at the bottom of a cliff and a state park in Maryland. Although his girlfriend claims he died from the injuries he sustained in the fall, and autopsy revealed his throat had been slit multiple times. As baffling details emerged, she became investigators number one suspect.

This is the story of Alexander Stevens. Alexander Arthur Stevens, known by most as Alex, was born on March 23, 1992 in Allegheny County, Maryland. His parents, Janet and Jay actually welcomed twins, Alex and his sister Tristan, who was born one minute later, which is how far apart I am from my twin too. The family attended their local Methodist church, where Alex's dad Jay sang in the choir, and performed in the Handbell chorus as well as the Wind Ensemble. Jay passed this passion down to Alex, who was gifted with a strong baritone singing voice. While in high school, Alex was very active in his school's theater department, starring

as Sky Master's in in Guys and Dolls, and the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance. He also sang in his school's concert choir and played in band, marching band, and jazz orchestra. Alex's father Jay also passed down his love of travel, instilling in his children the importance of immersing themselves in other cultures, which is so awesome. So Alex really just enjoyed, you know, different trips all over Europe and parts of Asia with his family while he was growing up.

In addition to performing arts, he loved using visual arts as an outlet, and he was also a very gifted athlete. When he wasn't performing, he competed on his school's football, basketball, track, and cross-country teams. Before graduation, he spent the summer completing a study abroad program at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge, England. And in his limited free time, he loved to take advantage of the very rich natural beauty and just lush wildlife that the area had to offer. His hometown of Frostburg, again in Maryland, is just a short drive away from the state lines of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and it built multiple nearby state parks, hundreds of hiking trails, and the Allegheny Mountains. Alex took great pleasure in spending outdoor time recharging with his family, doing things like stargazing, camping, rock climbing, and hiking. So they were just really big into the outdoors and they spent a lot of time doing that together. And Alex even worked as a lifeguard in the summers

to spend more time outside. His family remembers his gentle, sensitive nature and that he doated on their family pets in his beloved twin sister. A lifelong member of the Boy Scouts, he reached the highest level of Eagle Scout. At his graduation from Mountain Ridge High School in 2010, he delivered the senior address to his class, and after graduation, Alex went on to attend the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, studying engineering. While serving at the Academy, he continued to indulge in his love of music and he sang in the Glee club. But in 2013, so three years into his training, Alex found himself in the middle of a massive controversy

when he was accused of assaulting a female student. A female cadet came forward and said that Alex had gone into her room when she was sleeping and standing above her as she slept, reached under the blanket to grab her thigh. Now the academy took this accusation very seriously. I mean, as they should, but Alex claimed that this was just a misunderstanding. He had been seeing another female cadet at the time

and alleged that it was late and that he had been drunk and then stumbled into the wrong room mistaking the student for his girlfriend. Now while there were no criminal charges leveled against Alex, he was dismissed from the academy following his actions. His father Jay believed his son's account that it was a misunderstanding explaining quote, the academy is the only place that Alex wanted to go to college. Every September they changed rooms. His girlfriend had been in that room, only it was someone else. He turned himself in because of the honor code. Now obviously we don't know exactly what happened here, but we wanted to mention it because

it is a part of the story as a whole, but this is definitely a very sensitive thing to discuss since we don't know every detail. So we're just explaining what we do know, which is what the school said and what his parents said, because that's all we can go off of. So that's what we're doing here. So Alex was less than a year away from graduating when he left or was dismissed, and according to his dad Jay, the sequence of events really devastated him. Jay said his son was never the same after that, saying, quote, I think it just hurt him so

bad. But his mom remembered that, despite this whole situation, Alex always tried to do the right thing. She said, quote, he worked to rectify bad or wrong situations. But it was hard to ignore his new behaviors. He grew his hair out much longer than its usual crew cut. He withdrew from his normally active social,

academic, and athletic life. Jay said this of his son, quote, he was reading about religions, thinking about his place in society. But, when asked if Alex had thought about taking his own life, J said no. Quote, I never, never, ever, ever thought that he was suicidal. I know my son. He had all these plans to do big things.

According to J, he was looking excitedly to the future, despite the detour he had taken. Alex moved back home to Frostburg, Maryland, and began attending Frostburg State University to finish up his degree, majoring in materials, engineering, and economics. There was a definite shift in Alex after leaving the Coast Guard Academy, though not necessarily for the worse. But he did seem to be taking a new approach to his relationship with himself and those around him. He even marked this realization with a life event announcement on Facebook and he wrote quote,

After intoxicating my life with doubt, I filled the void in my soul with horrible things. On this day, February 3rd, 2016, I realized that what I needed was now what I wanted, a healthy and loving lifestyle with prosperous relationships between me and every other human being and living creature. After this day, it has been understandably difficult for those around me to accept these changes, but in time, all will discern that I mean them no ill will, and only want to pursue my passions and dreams for the betterment of myself and everyone around me. Please accept me for who I've become, because I guarantee that this man is millions of times

better than the child you knew before. He also posted a touching tribute to his mom and his twin sister saying, quote, To Janet and Tristan, the women I've spent a majority of my infinitesimally small life with thus far. I say thank you. Thank you for preserving and being such strong role models for women in this bigoted world. Thank you for showing me that limitations inflicted by the world, society, peers, loved ones, and even myself are fallacies, and that worth is self-defined. Thank you for being women, and thank you for embracing it. I love you with all of my heart, for who you are, and who you have allowed me to become

as a truly empathetic man. Feminism is not just for women. Just two weeks before his death, Christmas 2016, Alex was pictured attending Christmas Eve Church services, beaming alongside his parents and his twin sister. His last update was from New Year's Eve of 2016, Frostberg State University, like I said before, where he met fellow student, 20-year-old Megan Schaefer. Some reports prefer to Megan as just a friend or a close friend, but it was most widely reported that the two had been dating.

One friend of Alex's claimed that they dated in the past, but had decided to become just friends, and Megan's Facebook status was set to single. So we may never know the exact nature of their relationship, but I think this gives us a pretty good idea. Megan grew up in Ridgeley, West Virginia, attended Frankfurt High School and moved to Maryland to begin studying at Frostburg State University, majoring in business administration. And in addition to her studies, she worked at a bath and body works. On January 3rd, 2017, Alex and Megan went for a hike.

What initially appeared to be an accident turned out to be the start of a twisted investigation that would land Megan in jail. But let's go back a bit. On the morning of January 4th, 2017, around 7.30 a.m., police received a 911 call from a home in a remote part of the Savage River State Forest asking for help after a hike had gone wrong.

20-year-old Megan Schaefer was calling to say that her boyfriend, Alex Stevens, was still missing in the forest somewhere and likely fatally wounded. She told them that she herself had been severely hurt and was hypothermic. The temperature that night had been around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, so below, and it had been raining. So does not seem like the best time to go for a hike. Yeah, I mean, it makes us wonder why they did and what the story behind that is, because obviously this is just horrible weather to go out and do this, and just very dangerous. So in the chilling 9-1-1 call, the operator asked Megan, where is Alex?

To which Megan responded, he's still in the woods. When asked if she thought he was okay, Megan replied flatly, no, I believe he is dead. When pressed for information, the operator learned that Megan and Alex had set out for a hike the evening prior, headed toward Hyrock in the Savage River State Forest. The Hyrock hike is a moderately difficult two mile loop hike to a beautiful overlook with a very steep decline. Megan claims they had both taken their clothes off and walked to the edge of the cliffs of Hyrock. One or both of them had fallen over 30 feet below, and Megan said she had no recollection of what happened next.

When police and emergency services reached Megan, they found her naked, chilled to the bone and hypothermic, with a broken shoulder and back injuries. She was lying on a couch covered in a blanket in the home that she had broken into. Megan said that she had been wandering the woods for upwards of 12 hours seeking help. She came across a home on Pine Swamp Road that was empty but was able to get the basement door open and used a phone inside to call for help. So let's break this down real quick before we move on

because this is a lot of information that we have to digest here. So basically the two are out hiking, it's raining, it's cold, it's freezing, and they take their clothes off and get completely naked, the both of them. And actually, I feel like we talked about that in a previous episode because we know that

like very severely hypothermic people are sometimes known to take their clothes off because sometimes it's almost like if you're about to freeze to death, you have this state where you almost get too warm. Right, like you're so cold that your body starts getting hot. Right, even though you're not actually hot. Right, yeah. So that could explain that, right? your body starts getting hot. Right, even though you're not actually hot. Right, yeah. So that could explain that, right? But then, yeah, then we have her calling 911.

She is in a house that she broke into because she's freezing to death. And she's saying that Alex is still in the woods. Now, before we keep talking Heath, I think we should play a part of the 911 call because it's one thing for us to tell you what it says and another thing to actually hear it. We do want to mention that it's very hard to understand Megan and we have to remember that

she is suffering from hypothermia. That's probably why she is not speaking very clearly or enunciating her voice. So the 911 operator is kind of repeating what she's saying. That makes it a little easier. Right. is kind of repeating what she's saying that makes it a little easier. Right, but also it's because people say that she is a very petite woman, so she's smaller than five-foot tall, and so she does have a bit of a higher voice. Some people say that it's kind of mousy sounding, not to be rude or anything, but that's how they described it.

So maybe it's like that anyway, and maybe harder to discern over the phone, but the hypothermia doesn't help. So we're going to play a few minutes of that call now. So here we go. Was there anybody else with you that was lost? Yeah, I really wanted to know. There's nobody there. There was one other male.

Okay, are you hurt or injured? Do you need an ambulance? I'm here, you're done. Okay, where's the other person that was with you? You're down the woods. Oh, we're out in the woods, you know? I'm going to leave you in the middle of the night. Okay, just down the phone with me I'm gonna get some information okay yeah sit down on the front porch or sit down somewhere there and wait

for it we're gonna wait till you are you inside the house now yes yeah okay do you are you sure there's no one there yes okay i don't because i mean do you know who's home that is no okay i just found it and you need to call someone okay and you went in got the phone yeah

okay do you know what that okay just stay on the phone i'm not gonna hang up with you until the so you we get some uh some officers out there with you Okay, I mean They're gonna be there shortly. They're looking for you. They've been looking for you all night Okay, I need you to do one thing. I need you to make sure there's no one in the house that may hurt you if you wait If they come out and find you I need you you to haul or make sure there's no one there. Because I don't want...

Oh! Just... Oh, yeah, this... Okay, is there anyone answering ya? No! Just tell them you need help. I need help! Okay.

May work! This is people that you have now from the federal government. Okay. So, are you injured or you just need a name once because of your cold? No. You're cold? Both. Both. How are you injured? I think I'm working on it. Okay, what happened? I fell off a cliff. Okay, you fell off a cliff. Okay, you fell off a cliff?

Yes. Okay. What's your name? Megan? Megan, what's your last name? Megan. Shaper. Megan, shaper, okay.

Shaper, shaper. Okay, Megan, just stay on the phone. Where's the other person that you were with? What's his name? Alex. Alex, what? Steven. Alex, Steven's, and where's Alex? He's still in the woods.

Okay, was he okay? No. Is he hurt or is he... He's okay. He's not believing death. Were you thinking he's dead? Yes. Did you both fall off the cliff?

Yes! Okay, okay, just stay on the phone with me. She's here. Okay, just... Okay. I'm going to get... I'm getting... Name you once started too, okay?

Please, you... The officers are on their way. I'm sure it's true, sir. How old are you? I'm 20 years old. That will... Okay, please? Yeah, okay.

We need to send part form down there to his problem. Yeah, I'm going to, I would. Okay. Okay, I'm like I said, I'm just going to get some questions. I'm going to stay on the phone with you until the officers get there. Okay, when did you fall? Last night. Okay.

Is there any serious bleeding? Yeah, I'm bleeding as deep as I am. Okay. Okay, what part of the body is injured? I'm not sure. You're not sure? Okay. It's a fucking hurt. Okay, alright, we're setting the pyramid. Just sit down there and don't move unless absolutely necessary.

Okay. From doing either drink anything, okay? Just sit still and wait for help to arrive. Okay. And you're sure that Alex wasn't able to move? Okay. Okay. Okay. Just stay on the line. I'm going to mute my mic, but I'm going to be able to hear you.

I'm going to dispatch an ambulance. Okay. Okay. I'm still here. Okay. All right, so that kind of better explains how we described it, because I told you guys she had flatly said that she believes that Alex is dead. Now you kind of know why. And yeah, they're still, while on this phone call, on this particular part of it, they're

still trying to find Alex, but at least they can find Megan and then kind of go from there. Yeah, and what's also really interesting is just going back for just a second, when we were talking about the possibility of like taking your clothes off during hypothermia, there's also some really weird details that are coming up that may also explain why they had taken their clothes off, but we're gonna get into that.

Yeah, I mean, it's just going to get so much weirder. Yes, it definitely is. So about two hours later, a Maryland State Police helicopter spotted Alex, lying face down in the water of a drainage ditch, about a mile and a half, or a little over two kilometers, from the base of the lookout that he had supposedly fallen from. Now, he was pronounced dead immediately, but here's the really strange part. His throat had been slashed multiple times. A knife with a seven inch blade was found near his head in the water.

He, like Megan, was also naked. And that morning, Megan's story changed constantly. She couldn't seem to clarify if they had jumped purposefully, fallen due to an accident or a struggle between the two of them, or if they had been climbing down and simply tripped. So while being transported to the hospital, which took about 40 minutes, she explained her account of the events of the night before,

but her story was a bit different each time. Initially, she claimed that Alex had survived the fall, and been able to get up and walk away, but that he fell to the ground later in their journey, and then he died there. Then, she claimed that he had fallen onto his knife and died there. Falling onto his knife. Yeah, no. And when we get into the details, you'll understand why I say no. Then she changed her story again and said that they had reached the water in which he was found, and he concluded that he wanted to kill himself, which he wound up doing there, where he was located by police the following morning.

Now, according to the paramedic with whom she was speaking, Megan said, quote, this is probably not going to look good, but when they find the knife, my handprints will be on the knife. All right, before that quick break, he let us know that Alex was found at the bottom of a cliff with multiple slash wounds to his neck. And Megan's story is changing a lot. But one of the most alarming things that he told us is that Megan said to the paramedics, quote, this is probably not going to look good, but when you find the knife, my hand prints will be on the knife.

And then after this, the paramedics notified law enforcement that they should meet Megan at the hospital because they heard that and they're saying, okay, the police are going to want to talk to you. We've got a situation here. So Megan sustained frostbite as well as a broken shoulder and severe back injuries. Between January 4th, 2017, when she was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries and two days later, January 6th, when she had been discharged, she was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries. And two days later, January 6th, when she had been discharged, she was interviewed by

police three separate times. In her first interview, Megan explained that she and Alex had gone up to the cliff to take part in what she called a cleansing of some type. And this is where we're getting into some strange details here. Yes, we are. So she remembered that she and Alex had disrobed and walked to the edge of the cliffs at Hyrock, sorry, when they had slipped and fall into the base of the cliff due to the rain. So she's saying they got naked and they both just happened to slip off a cliff.

Meghan explained that they laid there in excruciating pain for a while before they attempted to walk and seek help. At some point on their journey, she said Alex slit his own throat. Meghan denied having anything to do with his death and that she had no intent to hurt or kill herself. The second time she spoke with investigators, she maintained her original story that they had slipped and fallen and that Alex was in pain from his injuries from the fall and that he had slid his own throat to put himself out of his misery. The next time she was interviewed, though, her statement changed significantly. This time, Megan remembered that Alex had actually pulled her down with him like off the cliff, holding her hand around his hand against the knife at his throat as they fell to

the depths below the cliff. She explained that while holding her hand over the knife, Alex slit his own throat multiple times. I just I that detail just doesn't get less weird because she is you know obviously she's changing her story a lot but now she's saying he made me slit his throat with him like his own throat. Yeah, it's just so strange. So this time she indicated that he may have intended to kill himself when he jumped off the cliff, and that he had simply brought her along for support. However, an autopsy was quick to poke holes in many of Megan's theories, because Alex

had sustained at least seven swipes of the blade across his throat, in what the medical examiner described as a sowing motion. Yeah, a sowing motion. That's the one detail that just really gets me. Well, actually, also, they were so forceful that they had severed his carotid artery and his jugular vein, and had even nicked the bone in his spinal column. Like that's how deep this knife went into his neck.

He also had broken ribs and a punctured lung. So obviously waiting through these inconsistencies and Megan's account, doubt really crept into the minds of investigators. On the evening of January 3rd, after not having heard from her brother, Tristan grew very worried, and texted Alex's middle school best friend, Steven, asking if he had seen or heard from Alex. But Steven hadn't. Concerned, he decided to set out looking for him on his own.

Steven decided to check some of the places that the friends had frequented together, one of which was high rock. At the base of the trail, Steven found Alex's car, which had been left with the hood open. The entire body of the vehicle had been drenched with a chemical substance, which was possibly motor oil, a bottle of which was found on the roof of the car. It was parked next to a car Stephen didn't recognize, this was later identified as Megan's car. So after walking the trail for about a mile, or 1.6 kilometers in the pitch black and

rain, using only his cell phone flashlight to guide him, Alex's friend stumbled upon a series of strange discoveries. Alex's beloved cat, Sabila, had apparently been left in a pet carrier near the end of the trail. He had only recently gotten this cat, posting a new profile picture with his fluffy green-eyed black cat perched upon his shoulders while he drove. The caption read, quote, meat-sabila. And actually that particular picture is the one that was used most widely in press releases and articles about Alex's case because he looked very different than he used to, no longer the clean-cut young student that he appeared to be at the academy. So this led some to believe that he had in fact been engaging in some sort of ritual, starting

his life anew or ending it on purpose after the sacrifice of himself and his animals. Now near this carrier that was containing the cat, there were burned down candles that looked as if they had been lit for hours. So when I said that these details are going to get really strange, now we know that there is a cat and a pet carrier and there's melted candles situated along the trail. I mean, that's just so damn weird. It just, yeah, it's just totally insane. So there was a backpack that had also appeared to be covered in an oily substance and contained clothing. substance and contained clothing. Now inside, Steven noted women's underwear and a pair of jeans, glasses, and a belt that Steven recognized as Alex's.

Also, can we just talk about how crazy this is that his, like, one of his best friends is the one that happened to discover all this? Yeah, that's, that to me is, I mean, that's a really good friend for going out there and looking for Alex, but also for Steven to go and stumble upon all these really strange clues that must have been horrifying. But also just weird that he happened to find it before. Police not saying that it's suspicious, but it is just weird that somebody that didn't have any idea where Alex was and just presumed he would be here stumbled upon all this stuff. Right, but it gets even stranger because right next to the back pack

was another bottle of motor oil, also Sabila's collar and drenched bath towels. Stephen tried to look for Alex but couldn't see anything off the edge of the lookout. So he texted Alex quote, I have your cat, but again, see anything off the edge of the lookout. So he texted Alex, quote, I have your cat, but again, he received no response. He returned to his car with Sabilla and dropped her at Alex's parents' house. Then after this, Steven returned home around 2am on January 4th, and then later that morning was summoned back to the area by investigators to be interviewed. Steven remembers their last interaction as positive just a few days prior, and that Alex

had been looking forward to finishing up his degree, and he also wanted to write more music. Some sources claimed that Alex's family dog, Sid, had been left by the couple in a graveyard before the hike. The graveyard was one that Steven claimed that he and Alex had frequented. I guess they kind of enjoyed like the tranquility of it and having picnics there, which I mean, I like to do that too, so I guess it's not that weird. But Alex's dad disputed the claims that this was any sort of ritualistic or sacrificial

offering and explained, quote, the cat was Alex's cat the cat was never harmed Alex's friend Stephen agreed saying quote he didn't want to harm animals and even added that Alex had adopted a plant-based diet to avoid eating meat because he loved animals so much but what's strange is like why then why is the cat there I don't know why. Why are the candles there? Like it none of it makes sense. Right. The cats at the top of a mountain. Yeah, it's super weird. And also in its carrier. So it's like, you know, it would make more sense if like your dog is there wandering around with its leash on. Like you went on a hike

with your dog. People do that all the time. Right. Why would you bring your cat in a carrier on a hike? It doesn't make sense. So, the Stevens Family Dog Sid was also found safe and was returned to them. And Alex had apparently asked to take the dog for a walk on the afternoon that he went for the hike. In one interview that he granted, Jay, his dad, said that Sid was sitting happily at his feet and that he had not been harmed or endangered. But if you can imagine it, this was not the strangest or most shocking detail of the case, because on December 28th, 2016, so one week before his death, Alex had named Megan the beneficiary of his investment account, an account which contained $188,000 and $3.98. And I mean, I hate to keep using these words like strange and weird and bizarre, but it's

like- There's not that many synonyms. What else can you say about this case? Yeah, I mean, it's crazy. Why would he do that if they were just good friends or even if they were casual boyfriend, girlfriend? It's, let's keep going. So yeah, let's talk about this investment account. So on December 28th, 2016, exactly one week before his death, Alex closed an investment account with

Steffel, an investment banking company worth over 30 billion dollars. The entirety of his funds, which again was 188,000 and $3.98, was transferred to Edward Jones, which is another financial services company. But why he chose to move all this money is pretty unclear. But when he did, he named Megan Schaeffer the sole beneficiary, meaning that if and when Alex died, the money would be left to her. One of the strangest details of this already flabbergasting case is that this was barely discussed in the courtroom as a potential motive. While it seemed pretty obvious

that the money provided a clear motive for Megan, it didn't have any bearing on her sentencing. Jay was able to step in on his son's behalf and stop the transfer, requesting that the court issue a restraining order for this account. And also, the Stevens family hired lawyers to aid in the fight for the money

to stay in the family where it belonged. Now Megan and her family, meanwhile, declined to grant interviews or comment on the case. Megan's lawyer simply said, quote, shaffer and her family are distressed over the situation, and that it was quote, very upsetting. Meanwhile, Alex's family was fielding speculation that Alex had been involved in illegal operations in order to gain this money. But Jay disputed these claims telling one reporter quote, money was given to Alex over time. He did some investing on his own. He was a

confident lad. It's straight law abiding money. Jay explained that Alex's great aunt had set aside some money in a trust for him and his sister Tristan before she passed away, which could explain where, you know, a part of this money had come from. So after his great aunt did pass away and the twins turned 18, the money was theirs at that point. But J. explained that Alex was responsible about it,

saving it and investing it, instead of just blowing it like many other teenagers may have done. Or just young people, yeah, before you really know what to do with money. But by March of 2017, Alex's death was officially ruled a homicide. So about a couple months later,

they're already thinking that this is a homicide, not already thinking because it's pretty fucking obvious, but within two months that ruling was made. So it took months, but there were finally charges filed against Megan Schaeffer on September 12, 2017, which was the day that she turned 21 actually. On September 14, she was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, as well as assisting to commit or attempt to commit suicide and manslaughter. She posted bail, which was set at $100,000, and it was put up by her parents and went home to a wait trial.

The case moved swiftly and by March of 2018, so within about a little over a year of his death, she was in court to fight for her alleged innocence. The state's attorney, speaking on behalf of Alex Stevens, said this of Megan, quote, she chose to tell lies. This is not a suicide. Megan's attorney responded with, quote, Use your common sense, reserve your judgment. Her lawyer also accused Alex of drug use, by the way.

Now, Alex's friend, Steven, admitted that he had combined LSD and cough syrup in the past, leading him to have a hallucinogenic episode. Steven claimed, quote, he went through phases but was improving. According to Stephen, Alex was, quote, pretty much clean of drug use and even alcohol at the time of his death.

In her trial, Megan claimed that the initial conflicting statements that she gave to the paramedic on her journey to the hospital shouldn't be held against her as she had been in a state of shock, and she was still trying to process the sequence of events. Now that I do agree with in a way, like if she was suffering from hypothermia, she had just gone through like this insane experience

of being in the woods and wandering around for 12 hours while she's freezing to death. I do get that, but we know that she was interviewed over the next three days, and her story changed even then. So how do you explain that? I would also be really interested to know if she was ever tested at the hospital for certain types of drugs in her system.

I would like to know that as well. Yeah. So her lawyers argued that if her statements were to be admissible in court, she should have been read her Miranda rights. When Megan arrived at the hospital, you know, when she was originally admitted, she was told her family was there waiting to see her, but that she would have to give a statement to police first.

She claimed she was again not given the option to have legal counsel present or read her Miranda rights. But ultimately, this did not place enough doubt in the minds of the judges and jury, and on July 25th, 2018, Megan was convicted. After deliberating for just four hours, the jury found her guilty of all three charges leveled against her in the death of Alexander Stevens. The judge called her behavior quote, heinous and vicious. Shocked, Megan was seen crying and shaking her head. She was observed in court as stoic and emotionless throughout the trial until her verdict was finally read. The relief among Alex's friends and family, however, was palpable. The Stevens is sat in the front row holding hands and even hugged the homicide detective

when the verdict was finally read. His twin Tristan addressed the court bluntly, saying, quote, Alex was brutally murdered. His head was nearly severed from his body. She talked of how they were best friends and spoke every day, even when they had moved out of their parents house. She explained that their father Jay had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and that Alex was her biggest support system, and had been there for both her and her mother to lean on. She said, quote, I miss him so much, I'll never forget him, and my pain will be with me until I die. I mean, you're having a twin too. It's such a special bond. Obviously having a sibling or a loved one.

It's just as strong, but like having a twin, there's just something special about that. Like you're connected since birth. I can't imagine what that would feel like losing your twin. Absolutely. It'd be like losing your other half. Yeah, like my twin is my other half. So Alex's mom Janet also read a victim impact statement explaining how much her son's death had affected her life, including anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping, ultimately leading her to early retirement. She said sadly quote, nothing, absolutely nothing can prepare you for the death of a child. While obviously very heartbroken at how quickly this dark turn of events took place, this

Stevens family was very thankful to law enforcement for maintaining their pursuit of justice. It would have been easy for a case like this to kind of slip through the cracks given that the only person who really knew what had happened that night was dead. So Jay said thankfully that the officers were quote, so kind and comforting throughout the whole proceeding. But he also added that the verdict didn't necessarily bring them any comfort, saying quote, we don't have joy. It's so sad." Many came to Alex's defense posthumously, claiming there was no way that he had anything to do with his own death. Janet remembered her son fondly as having a quote, white night

personality, saying, quote, Alex went out of his way to help others. Alex's grandma said, quote, I'm feeling wonderful that we've gotten justice, but I feel bad for that little girl. Was it worth taking a life, taking Alex from us? And his twin sister Tristan agreed with this saying that she was glad that they found justice for him, but basically in the trial, Megan's lawyers kind of used these tactics, claiming that Alex had been abusive to her and that she was scared of Alex. Now, there's no evidence that this was true and really like everything else in this case,

it was just Megan's word against Alex's who was no longer able to speak for himself. So, this is what Tristan said about Megan claiming that Alex was abusive. She said, quote, a lot of things were said in there just to get her off. Megan made it up in here just to make him look awful. Anyone who knew him was disgusted by that. He was a wonderful person. Yeah, I mean, it seems like that would be the only defense that they could really take in that scenario because yeah, but it's the thing is though is I feel like it's a risky move to make anyway because she said that they fell off the cliff and then she said that she helped him commit suicide. So now you saying that he was abusive to

you is more so putting you in the position of I killed him because he was abusive to me and I was defending myself, that's not what you said happened. So now you're just changing the story even more, which makes it hard for us to believe anything you say. Yeah, and I believe that they use this angle because of the whole the part where she basically said that her like Alex grabbed her hand and the knife and like forced her to cut his own throat,

which may come off as like him forcing her to do something. So therefore they're like running with this. Oh, well, maybe he was abusive to her and was forcing her to do these things. Yeah, it's just it's obviously if that's true, it's not okay, but it just it's hard to know if that is true because there's so many different stories flying around from Megan and from Megan's lawyers. And actually, one of Alex's ex-girlfriends spoke out and agreed with Tristan, saying, quote, Alex did not have a mean bone in his body. Megan's family was present in the courtroom

at the time as well, at the time that she was found guilty, but declined to comment and have not granted interviews. Megan was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Cumberland, Maryland, where she remains today. In 2019, Megan appealed her case, but her conviction was upheld. This case just leaves us with an infuriating lack of answers, and obviously many armchair detectives believe that Megan is, in fact, innocent,

and that she was simply brought into whatever kind of like spiritual journey that Alex had been partaking in. But the truth is that maybe we will never fully know. But to me, really, one of the biggest pieces of this case is the whole beneficiary of his investment account. And it really is just, it's very reminiscent of when a husband kills his wife or a wife kills her husband or whatever

when there is a big life insurance policy. It's very similar to that. There's a motive there. It seems there is. It seems like that to that. There's a motive there. It seems there is. It seems like that would be a motive to possibly kill somebody. But obviously, there's a lot that happened that night. Knowing how Megan was found with hypothermia

and she had all these injuries, like did she also fall off the cliff? Did they fall off together? Did they jump? Did she try to slice his throat and then push him and she fell to or she had to be or she had to injure herself to make her point of the story seem accurate like

what the fuck happened yeah that's that i mean it seems like again there's just not a lot of answers was she i mean was the fall bad enough to where she was trying to quote put him out of his misery uh... the other thing that i wanted to go trying to quote put him out of his misery. The other thing that I wanted to go back to is the fact that there was motor oil found all over the car. Thank you.

Because was there intention to light this car on fire? Was she trying to burn evidence? Yeah, or did he was he the one that poured the oil on the car before they went up the mountain? I mean, I don't know. But why would he pour motor oil on his own car and then there was some found on his backpack? Like, what is that about? Because you're not gonna go back

after you have fallen off a cliff or if you decided to actually take your life and jump off a cliff, you're not gonna go back to light your car on fire because you're dead. Right, but then it's also like, there was a bottle of motor oil found on top of his car and next to his backpack. So it's like, why are the bottles left there?

They're not set on fire. Why was the cat there? What were the candles for? Was this a suicide pact? I just, I don't know why it would be, you know, like. Oh well, I just, I mean, I'm just thinking possibly because of the candles and the fact that their possessions were on the mountain.

But again, this is all pure speculation, and we just don't know. And that's the strangest thing about this case, is that Megan really didn't relay all that much information. She obviously backed herself up. Well, that was the problem, as she said, she didn't really remember much. Did she not remember much? Because she had experienced horrific trauma herself physically and mentally? Or is she saying that because she doesn't want to tell the truth?

Yeah, I mean, it's just all around. It's just incredibly bizarre. I agree. So sadly, in 2020, Alex's dad, Jay succumbed to his illness and the Stevens family was left without both father and son. At Alex's trial, Jay had said, quote, I never dreamed I would outlive my son. If I could change places with him, I would. We lost so much when we lost to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Friday we'll have an

all new case for you guys to dive into. Please let us know what you think about this case. Yeah, I really want to know what you guys think. I feel like you and I are a little biased but I think it's because this is what you and I believe but also because she was convicted so it's not totally wrong for us to do that and to be on that side. But I really would love to think or love to know if you guys think that she is guilty or if she's innocent and what could have happened. I mean, like Heath said, a lot of it is pure speculation because there's so many missing pieces to the puzzle, but it's still interesting to talk about and just sad that this had to happen at all. Just these two young people, one who lost their life,

one who kind of lost their life in another way, who's imprisoned for many, many years. Yeah, so where you guys can actually comment on this case is on our social medias. You can hit us up over on Instagram at Going Going West Podcast, Twitter, at Going West Pod, and also we have a Facebook discussion group. Yes, please let us know, share the story, share our posts, whatever you guys want to do, and thank you in advance for doing so and for listening.

Oh, and quickly I just wanted to mention that if you do want to see photos from this case and every other case that we've ever covered, you can find those on any of our socials. So go take a look. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

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