Texas Monthly True Crime: The Problem With Erik

Red agrees to a risky operation to help the investigation: going undercover to get Adam Carey and Bryon Brockway talking about the murders while the FBI listens in.

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Facing the blackmail threat, Erik Maund decides not to pay up or go to the police. Instead, he turns to Gil Peled, a security guy at the Maund family car dealership who seems qualified to solve sensitive problems. Built like a bodybuilder, Peled claimed to have experience in the Israeli special forces, and had spent years in Hollywood protecting Charlie Sheen. But Gil Peled isn’t quite the success story he pretends to be.

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In early 2020, Erik Maund—an executive at one of the top Toyota dealerships in the country, founded by his grandfather—had a problem. A stranger was blackmailing him for having an extramarital affair. Erik’s response to the threat set off a series of fateful decisions that left two people dead. One of those victims was Holly Williams, a Nashville woman who trained as an esthetician, loved to party in the local EDM scene, and also worked as an escort. After months in an abusive relationship, she’d been trying to get her life on track when Erik requested a date.

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Bill Lanway met Holly Williams through mutual friends in the Nashville EDM scene. Soon after they started dating, he moved into her apartment. It was only then, after snooping around on her phone, that he discovered Holly was an escort. Bill reacted with jealousy and violence against Holly, but the scheme he hatched next put them both in peril.

Audio subscribers to Texas Monthly can get early access to episodes of the series, plus exclusive interviews and audio. Visit texasmonthly.com/audio to join.

Erik Maund had it all. A wife and kids, a mansion by the Austin Country Club golf course, and an executive position with his family’s car dealership. But in March 2020, a message from a stranger put everything at risk. Someone knew Erik had an affair with an escort, and wanted money to keep quiet. Erik didn’t pay the money, though. He didn’t go to the cops, either. Instead, he paid Charlie Sheen’s former bodyguard and a couple of special ops-trained security contractors to confront the blackmailer. Things didn’t go according to plan.

In “The Problem with Erik,” host Katy Vine and producer Ana Worrel tell the twisted story of what came next: a perfect storm of secrets, mistaken identities, and tragic miscommunications that left two people dead.

It's the latest true crime series from the Texas Monthly team behind “Tom Brown’s Body,” “Stephenville,” and "Shane and Sally," coming July 2.



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Sharing White Devil, a new podcast from our friends at Campside Media. Late at night in May of 2021, a single gunshot shattered the silence along the beach at Belize’s luxurious Alaia resort. In White Devil, Josh Dean dives into one of the biggest, splashiest, and most perplexing crime stories you’ve never heard: The shooting death of renowned cop Henry Jemott by a Canadian property developer. In investigating, the craggy depths of Belize are brought to the surface: Its quirks, its corruption, and the all pervasive influence of one family in particular. You can binge the rest of White Devil https://link.chtbl.com/texasmonthlywhitedevil

In the final episode of Shane and Sally, victims in a series of unsolved attacks at the lakes surrounding San Angelo wonder if their assailants were also the ones who killed Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly. Investigators discuss the possibility that someone in law enforcement could know more about the murders than they’ve let on. And we explore how new DNA technology, and a new cold case investigative unit, could finally bring fresh leads in the case.

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In this episode, we explore the last of four suspects investigators have named in their investigation into Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly’s murders. In the eighties, Heath Davis was a violent drug dealer with a tough reputation around town, who associated with other main suspects in this case. Davis says he’s turned his life around today and that he has been unfairly targeted by investigators. But a witness in the investigation tells us there’s more about Heath’s past that he hasn’t answered for, and she says it’s time for the truth to come out.

Get 18 Free Meals, plus Free Shipping on your first box, and Free Dessert for Life, at HomeChef.com/TEXASCRIME.  Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.

The investigation continues with a look at a third suspect, Jimmy Burnett, who appears to have written his own notes as he tried to solve the murders of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly. But his ex-girlfriend Laura says he knew more than he let on. In this episode, we take our investigation halfway around the world to track down Burnett, who, according to the authorities, moved to the Philippines and then faked his own death.

Get 18 Free Meals, plus Free Shipping on your first box, and Free Dessert for Life, at HomeChef.com/TEXASCRIME.  Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.