Ashley Mueller
Appearances
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
You're thinking about your friends, and you're questioning your friends. You're never asking them, hey, did you do something to Lauren? But you're wondering in your mind.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I know. I mean, who do you trust? You can't really trust anybody. And that's terrifying.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
You never meet a stranger, I guess, in the South. That's what makes it so wonderful and comforting.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
You're thinking about your friends, right? And you're questioning your friends. You're never asking them, hey, did you do something to Lauren? But you're wondering in your mind.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
No. I mean, who do you trust? You can't really trust anybody. And that's terrifying.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
When we found out we both were from the North, we just instantly connected on that.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Really no one could vouch for him because we were all doing our own thing. We were all studying.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Essentially that she thought someone was trying to break into her house on a night prior.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
She was infectious. I mean, you couldn't be around her for more than five minutes and not already be having a good time.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
It was completely blocked off. News reporters were there. Sheriff's office was there. Crime scene was there.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
He was trying to make it seem like he was this innocent bystander and a friend of Lauren.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I would tell her how much I miss her and that I love her. and that she's the reason why I am who I am today. I would tell her thank you.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Always. She basically was Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, so we always kind of jibed her for that.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I said, are you ready for whatever we're going to see when we walk in there?
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Eventually, we just all kind of decide we're going to go to sleep now. I mean, mind you, there was alcohol involved, so... Surprise, surprise. Right.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I did not see Lauren that morning. I didn't see Joe that morning either. We just kind of assumed they were in the room together.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Really, you kind of just go into this hole and study constantly and don't really have any contact with anybody.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I said, are you ready for whatever we're going to see when we walk in there? Because at that point in time, you just have this almost sort of dread.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
When she didn't answer, I didn't think anything of it. I assumed she was running. I assumed she was studying somewhere.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
But then a few hours later... Her sister contacted me again and said, hey, this is an emergency. We've been trying to call her and she still is not answering.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
I said, are you ready for whatever we're going to see when we walk in there? Because at that point in time, you just have this almost sort of dread.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
We had to walk pretty far back in the apartment to find a light to turn on. Searched her bedroom, she's not in there.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Her purse, her keys, her cell phone, her ID, all on the couch, her laptop on her bed.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
No her. And Butterbean, her dog, had been at home with her parents in Maryland. So the fact that Butterbean wasn't even there wasn't concerning to us. The fact that she wasn't there hours later, you know, that's when it became real.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Nothing was packed in boxes, but it definitely looked like she was getting her stuff together to be able to pack it.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
She encountered all sorts of people. You know, she would visit the jail often.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
She had thought someone had been stalking her, but we didn't really pay much attention to it because of who Lauren was.
Dateline NBC
The Watcher
Essentially that she thought someone was trying to break into her house a night prior. I think she referred to the person being a hoodlum, making hoodlum.