Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers. And this is one of two mini episodes that we're

releasing today. So if you're just tuning in, be sure to check out your feed after you listen to

this episode. And this episode is about a young mother trying to get back on her feet to care for

her daughters. But someone got in the way of that when they took the woman's life. And at the

same time, her youngest daughter goes missing. The connection seems too close to write off as a

coincidence and investigators need your help getting the people with answers to talk. This is

the story of Nikki and Ariana Fitz.

It's the morning of April 2nd, 2016. And a woman named Goyette wakes up to this strange text

message from her roommate Nicole Fitz, who goes by Nikki. Goyette sees that at some point in the middle

of the night, Nikki had texted her saying that she was going to go to Fresno, California with a

friend named Sam. But Fresno is like four hours away from where they live in San Francisco. And

Nikki doesn't have a car. Now Goyette has never even heard of a friend named Sam, and Nikki's not

the type of person who just takes off with little warning. But what makes this all extra strange is

this memory that Goyette has of the way that Nikki left the night before. At the time, it wasn't

concerning, but now in hindsight and in light of this message, it's just kind of gnawing at her.

You see, Nikki had left some time in the evening saying that she was going to go meet someone

at a local restaurant and then she'd be back soon. But she didn't come back. And by the time Goyette

went to bed, she still wasn't home. Now, Nikki is 32 years old, and she has every right to take off

on some mystery trip and not tell her roommate about every friend she has. But Goyette's confusion

only grows when she gets on Facebook and sees that Nikki made a post at like one 13 in the morning

that reads quote, spending time with my three year old need this break. So Nikki does have a little

girl, Ariana, but she's two, not three. And in the post, the word break is spelled B-R-A-K-E-N-T-B-R-E-A-K.

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