When firefighters respond to a blaze at a suburban Atlanta apartment complex in September of 2025,

they find the remains of an accomplished playwright, along with clear signs of foul play.

Investigators seek the public's help in identifying a neighborhood prowler believed to have been targeting women,

like the victim who lived alone in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Thanks for listening to Last Seen Alive.

I'm your host Leah, crime analyst by day, and true crime storyteller by night.

And as always, I'm your co-host, Scott.

A quick heads up.

This episode contains brief mention of the subject of sexual assault. We won't go into any graphic detail, but still, please listen with care.

I must say, we almost have a theme this month of apartment fires.

This is remarkably similar to the Makiko Kasahara case we just covered, yeah, but this one is much more recent and there's a huge opportunity for the public to help and make sure that the case does not go unsolved for more

than two decades like Makikos. So as anyone who's not a first-time listener knows, we don't always

cover recent cases like this. The unsolved homicides and disappearances we cover range from the 1980s to present day.

And this case is one of the most recent, if not the most recent we've ever covered, having occurred

only about four months prior to this recording. And the case's recency is surpassed only by its

solvability. We're covering this case because investigators are actively seeking information from the public, and there's a more than decent quality photo of an unidentified person of interests face, which is pretty incredible.

Yeah, it's always hard for us to do, like, really recent cases, because we always hold on to hope that they're going to be solved before our case or our episodes could make a real impact on the case.

Yes, that's usually how I feel. I usually hold out. I think, you know, maybe investigators, you know, they have this in the bag. It's going to be solved soon. And I don't need to do an episode. But in this case, investigators are actively appealing for the public. so I thought, you know, if we can spread the word, that would be great.

It's guaranteed that there are people out there who would recognize the man from the photo. Maybe, especially if you live in the Smyrna, Georgia area, you're one of them. So please take a look at the photo, which we've linked to in the show notes, and let investigators know if you have any information whatsoever that could benefit their efforts to solve this case.

This offender's behavior suggests that they may have stalked and attempted to target multiple

victims before ultimately committing the murder we're about to discuss. If not apprehended,

they could potentially harm or kill again. So by sharing any information you have with investigators,

...