Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / Police arrested 29-year-old Paul Park within 24 hours of murdering Alyssa Lokits

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Police arrested 29-year-old Paul Park within 24 hours of murdering Alyssa Lokits · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right, So this deep dive takes us to Nashville. It's
• 0:03
  the murder of Alissa Lokits and it happened on the
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  Mill Creek Greenway.
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  Speaker 2: It's well, it's really got people talking about safety. You know,
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  how do we keep people safe? And what role does
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  technology play in all of this? And what makes it
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  even more interesting, I think, is this whole thing about
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  license plate readers. I know you've been wanting to talk
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  about those, definitely, and we've got a ton of articles
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  and reports. So we're going to break it all down,
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  what happened, the investigation, and then get into those bigger questions,
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  you know, about technology and keeping people safe all that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you weren't kidding this a lot of stuff.
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  It's a really sad case, but it brings up some
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  really important stuff to.
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  Speaker 2: Talk about it does. So first, can you kind of
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  just set the scene for us. This Mill Creek Greenway,
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  it's like a it's a trail system, right.
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  Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, it's one of those places people go to
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  just get away from the city a little you know,
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  walk their dog, go for a run, be in nature.
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  It's supposed to be safe.
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  Speaker 2: It's just like a little escape exactly. And I think
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  that's what makes this whole thing even more tragic. It's
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  like it reminds us that even in places where we're
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  supposed to feel safe, bad things can still happen, you know.
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  Speaker 1: And it's even more heartbreaking when you hear about Alyssa.
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  She was only thirty four, worked in it cybersecurity. Even
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  talk about safety and security.
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  Speaker 2: It's almost ironic. I mean, think about it. Someone who
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  worked in those fields becomes a victim of something so awful,
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  and in a place where she probably.
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  Speaker 1: Felt comfortable and she lived nearby, right, Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So this was probably, you know, a route she took often,
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  maybe felt very comfortable there, familiar, and then this one
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  Monday evening, everything changes.
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  Speaker 1: So what happened? I mean, what do we know about
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  how this happened?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the police say, this guy, Paul Park, he's twenty nine.
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  He was apparently hiding near the trail, like between some
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  parked cars, and then he comes out and starts following her.
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  Speaker 1: Oh that's creepy.
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  Speaker 2: Witnesses say they heard Alyssa yelling for help, saying she
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  was being attacked, and then gunshots. It's just awful. But
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  you know why, even in those moments, she fought back
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  her yelling. It alerted people nearby, which is so important.
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  Speaker 1: And people saw him running away, didn't they They did.
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  Speaker 2: They were able to give the police descriptions, details that
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  were really helpful in figuring out what happened.
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  Speaker 1: It's scary to think something like that could happen in
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  a place where people are just out trying to enjoy themselves, right,
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  And it.
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  Speaker 2: Really shows how important it is to pay attention to
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  your surroundings, even in places that feel safe, you just
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  never know.
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  Speaker 1: It really does makes you wonder what could have prevented this?
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  Speaker 2: You know, Ray, are there ways we could make these
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  places even safer?
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  Speaker 1: Exactly?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: And this case, well, it's got some twists and turns.
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  Remember those parked cars we were talking about where a
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  park was hiding. Yeah, yeah, turns out one of them
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  had a dash cam, one of those electric cars that's
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  always recording. Oh wow, and get this the camera it
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  didn't just catch him following Alyssa. They got him coming
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  back to his car later.
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  Speaker 2: So they could see who it was.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yep. And apparently he's got scratches like on his
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  arms and something that looks like blood on his clothes.
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  Pretty damning evidence.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, that's incredible. Talk about a lucky break for the investigators.
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  Speaker 1: Right, yea, like something out of a TV show. But
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  here's where it gets even weirder. So the detective working
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  the case, she's looking at the pictures of this Park
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  guy and she's like, wait a minute, I.
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  Speaker 2: Know this guy no way seriously.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Turns out she'd worked the case a few years back,
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  a suicide and Park the guy from the Greenway, he's
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  an identical twin of the guy from her old case.
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  Speaker 2: You're kidding, So they're twins identical? That's wild. What are
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  the odds? Right?
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  Speaker 1: It's crazy. But it just goes to show sometimes these
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  cases they break in the strangest ways. You never know
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  what little detail is going to be the key, that's for.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, And it makes you think, like all the advancements
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  in technology, sometimes it's still good old fashioned human memory
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  that cracks the case totally.
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  Speaker 1: But speaking of technology, this case has really gotten people
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  talking about license play readers, the LPRs.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, they've been in the news a lot lately.
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  Speaker 1: The police chief, he's convinced these things could have caught
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  park Way faster. Really how so, apparently Park he lived
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  really close to where they were already planning on putting
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  in one of these LPR systems. I just hadn't gotten
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  around to it yet.
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  Speaker 2: Wow. That's that's almost eerie, like if only it had
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  been in place a little sooner exactly.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what's sparking the debate, like is this the
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  kind of technology we need to make our community safer
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  or is it going too far?
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  Speaker 2: Right? It's that balance safety versus privacy.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly, and it's not an easy question to answer. But
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  the mayor he's saying, Look, they're considering it, but they've
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  got a limited budget and right now the priority is
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  getting more police officers on the streets.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean it makes you think, right, what's the
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  right way to use our resources to make a difference?
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  Speaker 1: Right? Tough decisions. Yeah, but it sounds like these license
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  plate readers they're still on the table.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's controversial. Some people see it as like
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  big brother, you know, watching everything we do.
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  Speaker 1: Right, I get that, But I mean you've been looking
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  into this. How do they even work these things? Well,
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  it's actually pretty straightforward. They're basically just cameras, but they're
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  designed to read license plates. Obviously, they record the number,
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  the date, time, even where the car was all that
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  gets stored in database.
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  Speaker 2: And the police can just what search it whenever they
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  want pretty much.
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  Speaker 1: So like in this case, if they had a reader
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  set up by the greenway, they might have gotten parts
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  car on camera and boom, that's it. They know who
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  to look for.
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  Speaker 2: So it could speed things.
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  Speaker 1: Up potentially, Yeah, but it's not that simple. I mean,
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  do we really want cameras everywhere recording our every move?
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  What about our privacy?
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  Speaker 2: Exactly? It's a slippery slope and who gets to decide
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  who can see that information, how long they keep it.
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  There's gotta be some rules, right.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, you start down that road, it can get kind
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  of scary. And that's what makes this whole thing so tricky.
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  We want to be safe, but not at the cost
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  of our freedom, you know, for sure.
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  Speaker 2: It's about finding that balance. And I don't think there's
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  an easy answer, but it's a conversation we need to have.
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  Technology is only going to get more advanced, so we've
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  got to figure out how to use it responsibly.
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  Speaker 1: So what's happening right now? I mean, while they're figuring
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  all this out, what are they doing to keep people
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  safe on these trails?
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  Speaker 2: Well, for now, they're just doing more patrols, more cops
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  on bikes and cars, just being visible.
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  Speaker 1: So people feel safer, at least for now exactly.
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  Speaker 2: It's a start, but in the long run it's going
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  to take a lot more than that to solve this.
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  Speaker 1: This whole thing has been really eye opening. It's like
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  a story about one tragic crime, but it opens up
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  all these questions about safety, privacy, technology.
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  Speaker 2: It's a lot, it is and I think the biggest
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  takeaway here is we all need to be part of
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  this conversation. It's about our communities, our safety, our rights.
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  Speaker 1: So true, we've got to stay in formed, stay engaged,
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  and make sure our voices are heard. Absolutely well, that
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  was heavy but important. Always appreciate these deep dives, even
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  when they get you know, intense.
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  Speaker 2: Me too, always makes you think that's.
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  Speaker 1: The point, right. Anyway, we'd love to hear from you,
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  our listeners. What are your thoughts on all of this?
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  License plate readers, privacy, safety on our streets, head over
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  to our socials. Let's keep this conversation going and until
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  next time, thanks for joining us for the deep dive.