On the morning of Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, the body of 21-year-old Monica Bixby was discovered behind bushes and berms along a desolate stretch of Highway 79 in Temecula, California.

The aspiring film student had been bound, stabbed, and then strangled the previous night, following a date with an on again, off again lover that did not end well. 

To police, this initially seemed like an open and shut case. 

It was the boyfriend, case closed.

But the more they investigated, the more this case began to unravel. 

And although it took years and a secret plan to unspool a key suspect's alibi, one dedicated detective would discover that Monica was not the only victim in this case.

There was a previously unknown serial killer prowling a rural stretch of highway in Southern California.

This is Crime Adjacent episode 581: The case of the Temecula Hitchhiker Killer, told live in Portland during our tour.

OK, profilers. Can you solve an unsolvable murder?

Join host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick live on stage for Crime Adjacent, the world’s biggest true crime podcast. Every week, at shows across the country, Chase reopens the most haunting, enduring mysteries from the grim underbelly of American true crime and challenges you to solve them.

“An atmospheric and immersive podcast where true crime and psychological thrillers intersect.” — Earworthy

From the Zodiac to the Rest Stop Killer, the Michigan Nightstalker to the Cross Country Killer, each episode unfolds like a real investigation — like the whip smart, nerdy love child of Murder, She Wrote and War of the Worlds — and dares you to unravel the mystery and provide justice for those who need it most.

It looks like a true crime podcast. It sounds like a true crime podcast. But what happens when the cosmology of our escapist entertainment looks terrifyingly like our real world? That’s Crime Adjacent. It’s a fully scripted, intimate, locked-room mystery that pulls back the curtain on our social obsession with true crime and what this fascination with humanity’s darkest impulses says about … us.

“Crime Adjacent is redefining the true crime genre.” — Podcasting Today

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick, a former crime reporter turned contributor for NPR, The New York Times, and McSweeney’s. He uses degrees in sociology and gender studies from UC Berkeley, along with an obsession with criminal profiling, true crime, and Jessica Fletcher, to explore why people commit crimes, why we are enthralled with them, and who, ultimately, pays the price.

So listen closely, profilers. Because with every episode, a new crime is afoot and every detail matters.

It’s not crime. It’s Crime Adjacent. 

New live shows every Wednesday from theaters across America.

Weekly live behind the scenes insights for Crime Adjacent insiders at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.