Matthew John Hoffman was a strange guy. He was in a constant flux of being a quiet, yet unassuming guy to then having bouts of strange and off-putting behavior. It was his love of trees that gave him comfort and seemed to keep him settled at times, but on November 9, 2010 he broke into a quiet home in Apple Valley, Ohio, brutally taking the lives of Tina Hermann, her 11 year old son Kody and her best friend Stephanie Sprang, before leaving with 13 year old Sarah Maynard in his clutches.

Soon, Hoffman's obsession with trees would become the defining piece of this killer's pathology. In Part 1, we discuss his puzzling history, the lives of Tina, Kody and Stephanie, and the house of horrors he brought Sarah back to.

Check out this amazing book about the case!

The Girl in the Leaves by Robert Scott

***US WEIRDOS Pre-Order The Butcher and the Wren: Here *****

UK WEIRDOS Pre-Order a SIGNED copy of The Butcher and the Wren from Waterstones!!

HelloFresh: Get sixteen free meals, plus three gifts, with code morbid16 at HELLOFRESH.com/morbid16

Warby Parker: Try 5 pairs of glasses at home for free at warbyparker.com/morbid

Prose: Take your FREE in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first

order today by going to Prose.com/morbid

Solo Stove: Just go to solostove.com and remember, you get $20 off when you use promo code MORBID!

CareOf: For 50% off your first Care/of order of $40 or more, go to TakeCareOf .comand enter code morbid50

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

US Senator Calls on Justice Department to Investigate Pornhub