Crime Junkie

Podbit · Crime Junkie

MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Tripp Brazeale

Explore episode Jun 8, 2026
True Crime
Preston Cox's Cryptic Words About Bynum

MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Tripp Brazeale · Jun 8, 2026 True Crime

Civilian ride-along Preston Cox told PI Cody Turner he 'hated that it ended that way' but couldn't have done anything 'without getting Mr. Bynum in trouble.' He then moved out of the area and abandoned his law enforcement career — saying only that 'it's not worth it.'

Where this was said

The Civilian Ride-Along: Preston Cox's Cryptic Confession

At 1:05:40 · chapter starts 56:40

One of the most startling revelations is that Bynum was not alone in his truck that night: 21-year-old mechanic Preston Cox was riding along, keen to see if law enforcement was a career he wanted to pursue. On camera at 12:45 AM, you can hear Preston say he's 'highly thinking' about going into law enforcement after the thrill of the chase. At 12:50 AM, just a minute before Bynum shuts the camera off, you can hear Preston ask in a hushed voice: 'You on camera?' And then he mouths something to Bynum that the host has watched at every speed and cannot decipher. Shortly after the incident, Preston moved out of the area and decided not to pursue law enforcement. When PI Cody Turner tracked him down, Preston said, 'I hate that it ended that way. I really do. But I couldn't have done anything in my power to change what happened without getting Mr. Bynum in trouble.' He then said, 'I'm a ride-along,' and declined to say more.

Similar podbits

True Crime
Cocaine Inside a Boa Constrictor: The Wildlife-Drug Trade Overlap

#2536 - Eric Goode & Jeremy McBride · Aug 6, 2026 True Crime

The illegal wildlife trade and the drug trade aren't just parallel industries — they actively overlap. Smugglers force-fed cocaine to boa constrictors to evade customs, packed drugs beneath layers of live animals in crates with spitting cobras on top, and exploited the chronic under-resourcing of US Fish and Wildlife inspection teams.

True Crime
Anson Wong: The Global Kingpin of Reptile Smuggling

#2536 - Eric Goode & Jeremy McBride · Aug 6, 2026 True Crime

Anson Wong from Malaysia was the Pablo Escobar of the global reptile trade, supplying rare animals — including Komodo dragons — to buyers across the world. He was caught in a sting, extradited to the US, and served the longest wildlife crime sentence at the time. The animals seized from him went on to stock some of America's biggest zoos.