Suspicious Drownings Part 1: A Deep Dive Into Lady Bird Lake

Missing Magnolias

{PART 1} The string of Lady Bird Lake drownings have become a significant topic of discussion in Austin, Texas. The victims appear to be all men, mostly middle-aged who have gone out to eat with their families, celebrate promotions, bachelor trips, etc. only to have been found dead in the lake. None of the men showed signs of a struggle or assault and there has been no evidence to suggest robbery as a motive. In 2023, four men (Jason Johns, Clifton Axtell, Jonathan Honey, John Christopher Hays-Clark) were found in a short span between the months between February and April, which created a lot of media attention to suggest that perhaps these deaths were targeted attacks. Martin Gutierrez, another victim in 2018, was last seen on CCTV footage running out of bars, acting erratically. This led to speculation about potential drugging involvement.

*We have assembled a panel to help us center this conversation with different points of views.

Joining us from a past episode "The Cajun Death Investigator", is Toby Savoy, who highlights that drowning deaths are not abnormal in big cities, while explaining how drownings can present in autopsy and what drugs are routinely screened for in a toxicology report. We also have filmmaker, Magda Marcella, from the Facebook group Lady Bird Lake Serial Killer/ Rainey Street Killer, here to share her experience in working with the families of the victims and her map that depicts other suspicious drownings going back as far as 2008. We also have host, Dr. Michelle Jeanis, to weigh-in from the criminology perspective.