Audrey Anna Newell, 29, was found dead on January 19, 2017, in a gravel area alongside Marine View Drive in Tacoma, Washington. Investigators determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the back of her head. A half-full bottle of Corona and a brown paper bag containing a six-pack of the same beer were found near her body; that six-pack was traced to a 7-Eleven in Seattle.

Surveillance from January 19 showed Newell with a man later identified as 25-year-old Jess Charles Golden; the footage shows them buying two six-packs of Corona and boarding light rail to SeaTac, then leaving in a vehicle registered to Golden. Golden at first gave police an alternate account, later admitting he had met Newell (known to him as Lexi), offered her a place to stay, then claimed she robbed him at knifepoint. A drop of what appeared to be blood was found on the passenger door threshold of his vehicle, and tire tracks on his car matched those at the scene. Searches of his phone showed queries about the depths of Lake Washington, Puget Sound, and a local river; the murder weapon was never recovered.

Golden was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, later pleading guilty and receiving an 18-year prison sentence.

Did anyone who knew Audrey or saw her around mid-January 2017 notice her traveling with anyone or acting differently?