Pacific Northwest true crime by the campfire.
The gist
What Happens in the Woods follows murders, disappearances, and unresolved cases, often rooted in the Pacific Northwest and nearby communities. The show pairs detailed timelines with conversational frustration over delayed witnesses, missing leads, and systems that fail victims.
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About What Happens in the Woods
What Happens in the Woods is a true crime podcast shaped by Pacific Northwest cases, unresolved questions, and a conversational campfire tone. It is not a distant crime bulletin. The show works through timelines, sightings, suspect theories, family statements, law enforcement decisions, and the stubborn gaps that remain after official answers run out. Recent episodes cover cases involving Ed and Minnie Maurin, Lenoria Jones, Nicholas Francisco, the Cowden family, and the Lewis & Clark Valley murders. The emphasis is often on what people saw, when they spoke up, and why crucial information failed to move faster. Short reactions give the episodes an unfiltered feel. Longer stretches slow down over surveillance footage, bank records, search efforts, missing-person calls, and the difference between rumor and evidence. The show is especially attentive to cases that have faded from public view. It also calls out the lack of attention given to missing Indigenous women and the failures that can happen when agencies do not communicate well. That social conscience sits beside dark humor and everyday banter. Holiday chatter, Patreon notes, listener prompts, and Halloween collaborations soften the edges without turning the subject matter light. The series can branch into famous paranormal claims, as in a Halloween special, but it returns to violence, grief, and unanswered accountability. Its style is plainspoken and sometimes impatient. The conversations make room for confusion, skepticism, and anger when witness behavior or investigative choices seem hard to accept. It is strongest when a case contains conflicting stories, delayed disclosures, or a community that appears to know more than it says. The result is true crime for listeners who want detail, reaction, and local atmosphere in the same feed. The woods are less a setting than a warning sign. Behind each case is the sense that safety can vanish quickly, and that silence often protects the wrong people.
Made for: For true crime listeners who prefer detailed case narration with candid, conversational reactions. It especially suits people drawn to unsolved cases, regional crime history, and victim-focused frustration over unanswered questions.
What sets it apart: The show combines Pacific Northwest case selection with blunt table-talk energy, moving between granular evidence and moral reaction. Its recurring concern with missing Indigenous women and agency communication gaps gives the darker storytelling a sharper civic edge.
In their own words
We're just your average couple, living normal lives, who happen to be obsessed with everything related to true crime. Shortly after relocating to the great Pacific Northwest, we realized there were stories upon gruesome stories to be told from this region. And we want nothing more than to share them with you. So come join us every first and third Friday of the month as we take a deep look into the dark and twisted. It isn't for the feint of heart, but we promise it will be worth it. And remember...what happens in the woods, stays in the woods.
Talks about
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Episodes
- 1
Unsolved cases that need your help
["What Happens in the Woods closes season six by announcing a move to global cases and then turns to two unsolved holiday-season crimes from Washington.", "Sherry Anderson, 50, left Stanwood on December 2, 2000 for breakfast, photo pickup, Walmart, and Christmas shopping before she vanished.", "Linda Tran, seven months pregnant, and her children Austin, 1, and Patricia, 9, were attacked in Tacoma on December 18, 1998 after a porch confrontation and a house fire.", "The episode centers on Anderson's locked Toyota 4Runner at Everett Mall, Tran's burned baseball bat and composite sketch, and the fact that neither case has a solved answer."]
Dec 1, 2023·47m·3 clips - 2
The murders of Ed and Minnie Maurin
Hidden gemWhat Happens in the Woods covers the December 19, 1985 disappearance and deaths of Ed and Minnie Murrin in Lewis County, Washington, after the couple failed to open the door for a church Christmas dinner potluck.
Nov 17, 2023·1h 12m·5 clips - 3
Halloween special with Crimes and Closets
What Happens in the Woods' Halloween collab with Christy and Beth from Crimes and Closets centers on horror movies based on true crime cases, beginning with The Amityville Horror.
Oct 27, 2023·1h 13m·5 clips - 4
What happened to Lenoria Jones?
Hidden gemWhat Happens in the Woods covers the 1995 disappearance of three-year-old Lenoria Jones in Tacoma, Washington, after Berlin Williams called 911 from a Target pay phone at 9:52 a.m.
Oct 20, 2023·1h 5m·4 clips - 5
That's Kouri with a "K", like killer...
What Happens in the Woods opens with October birthdays, a Crimes and Closets Halloween collab, and the launch of the show’s Patreon before shifting to Corey and Eric Richens in Camas, Utah.
Oct 6, 2023·49m·4 clips - 6
Did Alexander Stephen Martin kill Nicholas Francisco?
What Happens in the Woods examines the February 13, 2008 disappearance of Nicholas Francisco from SeaTac, Washington, after he told Christine Carter he would return with sugar for Valentine’s Day cookies.
Sep 15, 2023·1h 5m·4 clips - 7
Cowden Family Murders
What Happens in the Woods examines the unsolved 1974 disappearance and murders of Richard and Belinda Cowden, their children David and Melissa, and their dog Droopy in Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains.
Aug 18, 2023·43m·3 clips - 8
The Lewis & Clark Valley murders
Hidden gemWhat Happens in the Woods examines disappearances and homicides connected to the Lewis Clark Valley near the Washington-Idaho border between 1979 and 1982.
Aug 4, 2023·1h 8m·4 clips - 9
The Tragedy at Seattle Pacific University
Hidden gemWhat Happens in the Woods examines the June 5, 2014 mass shooting at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington, where one student was killed and several people were injured.
Jul 21, 2023·1h·4 clips - 10
The Brides of Christ of Corvallis Oregon
Hidden gemWhat Happens in the Woods examines Franz Edmund Crayfield’s Church of the Brides of Christ, which formed near Corvallis, Oregon, in 1903.
Jul 7, 2023·56m·4 clips - 11
WTF Wednesday )%)^
May 17, 2023·51m - 12
WTF Wednesday )%)%
May 3, 2023·44m - 13
WTF Wednesday )%)$
Apr 26, 2023·56m - 14
WTF Wednesday )%)#
Apr 19, 2023·51m - 15
WTF Wednesday )%)@
Apr 12, 2023·46m - 16
WTF Wednesday S)%E)!
Apr 5, 2023·1h 3m - 17
A Brave 8 year old Shasta Groene and the Justice system that failed her
Jan 20, 2023·1h 6m - 18
The Canadian Greyhound Bus Cannibal
Jan 6, 2023·59m - 19
WHITW Podcast presents: Carmita Thompson of Missing in the PNW Podcast
Dec 9, 2022·38m - 20
That time the United States Army took on the Crips
Nov 18, 2022·1h 10m - 21
Halloween Collaboration with Crimes and Closets
A true crime podcast hosted by a couple sharing gruesome stories from the Pacific Northwest, with this episode featuring a crossover with another true crime podcast.
Oct 28, 2022·1h 21m - 22
PNW True Crime Fest 2022 LIVE Podcast
Oct 14, 2022·58m - 23
Kaylee Birdzell: A Family gets closure but, not Justice
Sep 30, 2022·49m - 24
Anybody know how to time travel?? Asking for a friend.
This episode discusses the dangers of online dating, using a case from the Pacific Northwest as an example.
Sep 16, 2022·1h 6m - 25
Karma never forgets and neither does DNA
Sep 2, 2022·54m - 26
A dastardly fiend slayed my daughter
Aug 19, 2022·1h 14m - 27
Central Park 5
Jul 15, 2022·59m - 28
WTF Wednesday $^
Jul 6, 2022·57m - 29
WTF Wednesday $%
Jun 29, 2022·52m - 30
WTF Wednesday $$
Jun 22, 2022·40m - 31
WTF Wednesday $#
Jun 15, 2022·41m - 32
WTF $@
Jun 8, 2022·34m - 33
WTF $!
Jun 1, 2022·37m - 34
Dixmoor 5 Part 2
Apr 20, 2022·1h 45m - 35
The Dixmoor 5
Apr 13, 2022·58m - 36
From the case files of Robert Keppel: Morris Frampton
Apr 1, 2022·1h 13m - 37
Steve Titus Guilty!! Until proven Innocent!
Mar 18, 2022·1h 10m - 38
A killer in "The Jungle" DeWayne Lee Harris
Mar 4, 2022·1h 16m - 39
A champion of equality for all Edwin T. Pratt
Feb 18, 2022·1h 9m - 40
Occult, Stalker or Magic the Gathering? The murders of Michael Johnston and Rochelle Robinson.
Feb 4, 2022·1h 16m - 41
"The South Hill Rapist" Fredrick Kevin Coe
Jan 21, 2022·1h 41m - 42
Femme Fatale Evelyn Dick
Dec 31, 2021·1h 41m - 43
Serial Arsonist The "Spector" Paul Keller
Dec 17, 2021·1h 2m - 44
"The Happy Face Killer" Keith Jesperson
Dec 3, 2021·1h 26m - 45
"The coin shop killer" Charles T. Sinclair
Nov 19, 2021·1h 19m - 46
Benjamin Harris III; a look at what role mental health plays in our justice system
Nov 5, 2021·1h 7m - 47
Bryan Johnston interview
A bonus episode featuring an interview with author Brian Johnston about his book on the 1921 kidnapping of George Weyerhaeuser in the Pacific Northwest.
Nov 3, 2021·35m - 48
Halloween special 2021
Oct 29, 2021·1h 22m - 49
WTFWednesday!!!¡¡¡¡¡¡
Oct 20, 2021·50m - 50
WTF Wednesday!!!¡¡¡¡¡
Oct 13, 2021·39m