"Every true crime story has one thing in common. Nothing is as it seems." — Ashley Flowers (Introduces a recurring theme of deception and misdirection in criminal investigations.)
"She was sweet and kind and happy most of the time, but she also had a very deep and introspective side as seen by some of the poetry that she left behind. She would write about questioning herself and her place in the world and say that nobody ever really knew the whole her." — Ashley Flowers (Offers insight into the victim's personality, suggesting a private and complex inner life.)
"The families left wondering was it somebody in Susie's life should they still be looking at her boyfriend did police dismiss the Nike man too quickly was it a stranger or was it this serial killer they have so many questions..." — Ashley Flowers (Summarizes the unresolved questions and multiple potential avenues of investigation in the case.)
The episode begins by introducing Suzanne Lyle, a driven computer science student who transferred to SUNY Albany in 1998. Her parents harbored suspicions that her move was influenced by her long-term boyfriend, Richard, whom she met in high school through an online computer club, a novel concept at the time that initially concerned her parents. Suzanne was described as intelligent and private, with an introspective side evidenced in her poetry, though her family believed she was generally happy. Her disappearance occurred on March 3, 1998, when Richard alerted her parents that he hadn't heard from her since the previous night. Initial campus police investigations found her dorm room undisturbed, and she did not attend her classes, fueling her family's conviction that something was seriously wrong.
Further investigation revealed Suzanne worked at a computer electronics store and left work via the back of the mall around 9:20 pm on a bus. A witness later recalled seeing her disembarking the bus around 9:45 pm, but her exact destination or subsequent actions remain unknown. Crucially, her dorm access card was never used that night, and her roommates did not hear her characteristic jangling keys, indicating she never made it back to her room. A significant lead emerged when Suzanne's mother checked her banking records, discovering an ATM withdrawal of $20 near where she caught the bus, another $20 at the mall, and then, while on the phone with the bank, a real-time third withdrawal of $20. This third transaction, made at a convenience store ATM less than three miles from campus, became a focal point for the investigation when state police became involved, though surveillance footage from the store was unhelpful as the ATM was out of frame.
The investigation focused on identifying individuals present at the convenience store around the time of the ATM transaction. While most were ruled out, an unidentified man, dubbed the "Nike Man" due to his hat, emerged as a person of interest. A composite sketch was released, and later, this individual was identified as someone who worked at Suzanne's college and had a prior conviction for rape and assault. Despite multiple interviews, police never released his name or publicly labeled him a suspect, eventually letting him go. The episode also explores the uncanny similarities to the 1985 disappearance of Karen Wilson from the same campus, another unsolved case involving a young female student. The lingering questions about the "Nike Man," potential links to other serial offenders, and the complexities surrounding Richard's behavior and alibi continue to shroud Suzanne Lyle's disappearance in mystery.