Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And the story I have for you today is about

a man who terrorized a cluster of New Jersey towns in 2016. A man who, for seemingly no

reason, decided to target some of the most vulnerable women in his community. But it's

also about the women who took matters into their own hands and worked together to stop a

serial killer before he could strike again. This is the story of Khalil Wheeler-Weaver.

© propio poem

It's the morning of November 23rd, 2016, and a woman named Laverne Butler is becoming

increasingly frustrated because her daughter Sarah hasn't returned home.

Sarah had just gotten home from college the day before for Thanksgiving break, and last

night she borrowed the family's Blue Mini van to go see a friend.

She didn't specify who, and as far as I can tell, Laverne didn't really ask, but she

was only supposed to be gone for a few hours.

And listen, she wasn't frustrated that Sarah was out late.

I mean, she was 20 years old after all, but she did have a problem with the fact that

Sarah hadn't called or texted to say that she'd be home later than expected.

Now that it's morning though, Laverne's frustration is actually turning into worry.

She tries calling Sarah, but call after call keeps rolling over to voicemail.

Sarah's sister, Bassania, is also worried, and she's been texting Sarah's friends to see

if anyone has heard from her, but no one has.

And this is super out of the ordinary, so at first they fear that she's gotten

into some kind of accident or something, so they call around to all of the local hospitals

and police stations that are in driving distance of where they live in Montclair, New Jersey,

...