Chapter 1: Childhood Whispers

As a child, my best friend claimed that getting away with murder was easy. At the time, I thought he was just boasting, but now I fear there was more truth in his words than I wanted to believe.

There was always something unsettling about Matthew; he was the type of kid you could picture on the news for all the wrong reasons. I recall the infamous case of Daniel Petric, who, in 2007, took his father’s gun after being denied access to Halo 3. He approached his parents while they watched TV and shot them both in the back of the head, proudly declaring he had a "surprise" for them. When Matthew laughed about how quickly Petric was apprehended, he remarked, "I’d be smarter about it."

Given that our homes were just a few houses apart, we spent a lot of time together, often engrossed in true crime shows, which Matthew had an unusual fascination for. He was captivated by the darkest stories, like that of Katherine Knight, who, in 2000, killed her husband, cooked him, and hung his skin to dry. It was shocking, especially for a couple of twelve-year-olds, but our parents rarely paid attention to what we watched.

Matthew's obsession may have stemmed from a belief that evil lurked everywhere. "Dude, so many people get caught," he mused. "How many do you think escape?" I confidently replied, "Not many; the news would cover it." But Matthew pushed back with a chilling perspective: "What if many deaths are labeled as accidents when they’re actually murders? Like, people slipping or having heart attacks... Maybe some even run over elderly folks for money."

I dismissed his thoughts, but deep down, they unsettled me. Matthew was particularly intrigued by the "piano wire killer," a man who was responsible for the deaths of four women, including his older half-sister. Her body was found in the tunnels beneath Long Island, and it was only then I realized the depth of Matthew's obsession with true crime: he was seeking answers about his sister's murder. He reminisced about her singing to him and playing on swings, and expressed a desire to search for clues in the tunnels that summer.

"Bro," Matthew’s eyes lit up. "That’d be awesome."

That summer, we explored the tunnels—dark, endless utility paths where urban explorers would sneak in to drink and leave graffiti. We found some intriguing but unrelated items: a switchblade, a broken doll, and a wire loop that resembled a bracelet. Matthew insisted the news had gotten it wrong about the killer; he might have been onto something, but the caves offered no signs of the murderer.

After that summer, our interests shifted from true crime to video games. I took up various outdoor activities, while Matthew succumbed to drug use. Our meet-ups grew infrequent, as he increasingly got into trouble with the law.

The last time I heard from him, he was in jail for drug dealing and burglary. When he called, it was a bittersweet reminder of our friendship. "Remember that summer we searched the tunnels?" he asked. I nodded, but it felt like a distant memory. He suggested we explore again, but I was skeptical.

"Sure, we can do that," I replied, knowing he might not follow through.

He asked me for help getting out of jail, which I agreed to. I felt a mix of guilt and nostalgia, especially as he mentioned the loss of his father to suicide, which weighed heavily on him. I offered my support for his family, and he thanked me with a smile, but the gravity of his situation loomed over us both.

"Did you know they found new evidence in the case?" he mentioned cryptically before we parted ways.

Chapter 2: The Search for Truth

The first video, titled "Unlikely Friendship Ends With Gruesome Murder (S3, E2) | I Killed My BFF | Full Episode," delves into the complex dynamics of friendships that take dark turns, reminiscent of my relationship with Matthew.

Despite the promise of a reunion, two days before we were supposed to meet, Matthew's calls stopped. He had often ghosted me, but this felt different. His mother dismissed my concerns, attributing his absence to his imaginative nature. She complained about her back pain, and with Matthew missing, it fell to his little sister, Melisa, to help around the house.

Fearing for Matthew, I reached out to the police, but they speculated he was evading a court date. I decided to revisit the caves we had explored as children.

As I navigated through the overgrown entry, doubt filled my mind. What if I stumbled upon something sinister related to Matthew's disappearance? After Matthew's last hint, I researched the case and was shocked to discover that the "piano wire killer" had confessed after 25 years.

Where was Matthew now? The realization hit me hard—his life was unraveling, and I was searching for him while his family struggled to cope.

Upon arriving at Matthew's house, I found his car but learned he had gone missing days ago. The house was a mess, filled with trash and empty pizza boxes, and his mother was overwhelmed.

Melisa, his little sister, confronted me about the state of the house, and I felt a pang of guilt. I remembered the "KEEP OUT" sign on Matthew's room and sensed a clue might be hidden inside. However, the door was locked.

Determined, I rummaged through the house, recalling Matthew's childhood habit of misplacing keys. I called his mother, who assured me he would return like a "bad coin." While searching, I stumbled upon Matthew's phone, the same one I had seen when I bailed him out.

After several attempts, I finally managed to unlock it and felt my heart race.

The second video, "Man Tries to Murder His Best Friends (S2, E5) | I Killed My BFF | Full Episode," reflects on the lengths some will go for friendship, paralleling my own experiences with Matthew.

Once I was upstairs, I felt an overwhelming dread as I opened the door to his room, revealing a chaotic scene. The smell hit me hard, and in the corner of the closet, I discovered Matthew's lifeless body, curled up as if asleep.

The police later found an email on his phone, containing a link about the piano wire killer's confession—three murders acknowledged, but not his sister’s. The chilling reality set in: Matthew's obsession had become a desperate search for the truth about his family's past.

The investigation revealed that Matthew had died from blunt force trauma, and the circumstances surrounding his sister's and father's deaths remained shrouded in mystery. It seemed his mother, in a panic, might have locked him away, sealing his fate.

In the end, Matthew's fears about the world had been rooted in a darker truth than I could have imagined. I never knew the depth of his suspicions about his mother or the extent of his pain.

Now, as I reflect on our childhood discussions, I can’t help but wonder how many other tragedies remain hidden, labeled as mere accidents, just as Matthew had predicted.

It’s possible my best friend was right all along—there’s far more darkness in the world than we dare to acknowledge.