Starting in 2016, a series of student suicides shook Truman State University. At first, they were seen only as tragedies. But when the same young man appeared at the center of each death, mourning turned to questions--then accusations. Was Brandon Grossheim a compassionate confidant? Or something else entirely? THE PEACEMAKER is a true crime podcast about grief, suspicion, and the most notorious suicide cluster in American history.

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This introductory episode is set at the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity at Truman State University, in the small college town of Kirksville, Missouri. In 2016 and 2017 the fraternity was rocked by a series of suicides, which all happened in disturbingly similar fashion. All of the victims had one thing in common: They were close friends with a student named Brandon Grossheim. Brandon called himself “The Peacemaker” for his supposed abilities to counsel kids in crisis. But as he became tied up in one death after another, the fraternity brothers took action.

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The suicide victims all had one thing in common: they trusted Brandon, and told him intimate details from their lives. The fourth suicide victim, Josh Thomas, told Brandon that he was “the person he trusted more than anybody else.” To understand why, we speak with women who were in Brandon’s life at the time. Despite the fact that people were dying all around him, Brandon was kind of a player, and the women he was involved with describe how Brandon ingratiated himself to them. Some call him manipulative, and one even says she believes he was grooming her for suicide.

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After Brandon Grossheim was kicked out of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, he moved into an off-campus apartment. Soon afterwards, a friend from across the hall named Alex Vogt killed himself. It was as if everywhere Brandon went, suicide followed. During this time, both Brandon and Alex Vogt — and many others in our story — worked at a restaurant called the Wooden Nickel. For this episode we visit the restaurant and look into accusations that it wasn’t just Brandon who caused a disturbance in some of these victims’ lives, it was someone closer to home.

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Following Alex Vogt’s suicide in the Journal Building, things didn’t quiet down. In fact, in the very same room, only five months later, another person died, a young bartender named Glenna Haught. She appears to have drank herself to death, and authorities were shocked to learn that the last person she spoke to, less than an hour before she died, was Brandon Grossheim. Authorities asked Brandon: Why did you leave her alone, when she was so close to death? Why do you have scratches all over your arms? Why was Glenna found nearly naked?

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The Truman State suicides hit the town of Kirksville, Missouri hard. In this episode we investigate the deaths of the first two victims, Alex Mullins and Jake Hughes, close friends from the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity who killed themselves only three weeks apart. Their fraternity brother Brandon Grossheim found both bodies; later, he began wearing Hughes’ clothes and dating his girlfriend. Brandon was also accused of stealing money and drugs out of Hughes’ safe. After two more students soon killed themselves — both also friends with Brandon — parents of victims filed a lawsuit against Brandon and demanded police action against him.

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The Journal Building was where young Kirksville residents went to rage. The apartment building was known for drugs, booze, and wild parties. When two of its residents died within months of each other — in the very same room — police began searching for answers. In this episode, we visit the room where the two victims died, a place some believe is inhabited by ghosts, and investigate Brandon’s claims of innocence in the death of Glenna Haught.

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What if Brandon wasn’t responsible for these deaths? What if the real reason was right under our noses the entire time? Though many victims’ advocates maintain that Brandon is guilty, many others don’t think so. In fact, his defenders point out, each of the suicide victims had previously attempted suicide before, and all of them had major relationship issues. Plus, they tended to be heavy alcohol and drug users, who were also taking powerful prescription medication. In this episode we investigate all possibilities and discuss our conclusions with experts.

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