The Murder of Ryan Zimmerman: Love, Betrayal, and Justice

The Dark Stories | Crime – Mystery and More

What really happened in that Columbus apartment—and why did it take years to uncover the truth? #casefile #truecrime #truecrimepodcast #youtube She Hid His Head in the Freezer |   In January 2016, skeletal remains found in Mercer County, Ohio, uncovered a horrifying truth: the victim was 21-year-old Ryan Zimmerman, missing since 2015. What unfolded next was a dark tale of betrayal, conflicting confessions, and chilling cruelty. Sarah Buzzard and Naira Jen Whitaker—roommates and spouses—held secrets too disturbing to imagine. As detectives peeled back the layers, a disturbing picture of dismemberment, deceit, and psychological unraveling emerged. Jen would die by suicide during questioning. Sarah would tell not one—but two conflicting versions of events.  In this episode of The Dark Stories, we explore one of Ohio’s most grotesque and complex murder cases. From a body in a freezer to a skull in a soup pot—this is the tragic and horrifying story of Ryan Zimmerman.  True crime stories | Real murder cases | Unsolved mysteries | True crime documentary | Criminal psychology | Missing persons case | Crime investigation | Forensic evidence | Serial killer stories | Cold case files | Creepy unsolved mysteries | Real life crime stories | Crime scene investigation | Dark true crime | Crime and mystery documentaries  True crime stories that shocked the world | Unsolved true crime cases that remain a mystery | Chilling serial killer stories you’ve never heard | Real life true crime documentary full story | Dark true crime cases explained in detail | True crime mystery solved after decades | Unsolved murders that remain a mystery in 2025 | True crime stories with shocking twists | Full true crime documentary with narration | True crime YouTube channel for mystery lovers  #TrueCrime #UnsolvedMysteries #CrimeDocumentary #TrueCrimeCommunity #ColdCases #CrimeStories #SerialKillers #TrueCrimeAddict #TrueCrimeYouTube #DarkStories true crime, true crime stories, real crime cases, crime documentary, unsolved mysteries, true crime YouTube, missing persons, serial killer documentary, cold case files, crime stories 2025, criminal psychology, dark crime cases, real life crime, solved and unsolved murders, forensic investigation, creepy mysteries, true crime explained, shocking true crime

Transcript

00:00Imagine this. January 2016. A dog walker out in Mercer County, Ohio. They stumble upon something just awful.

00:10Yeah, not just trash or, you know, something mundane. Actual human bones.

00:15And specifically a dismembered spine. Just the spine.

00:20Right. The rest of the person. Yeah. Completely missing.

00:22Yeah. Wow. What a truly chilling way to start a year. Hard to even process.

00:27That immediate puzzle is just, it grabs you, doesn't it? A partial skeleton like that throws up so many questions right away.

00:34Like, who was this? How did they end up here?

00:36And the really disturbing one, where are the other body parts?

00:39Exactly.

00:40The cops make horrific discovery in Women's Soup Pop. One, it pulls straight from official police files and even has some footage that hasn't been widely seen.

00:48Okay, so our goal here is to unpack all the critical details, the really surprising, sometimes baffling turns in this investigation. It spanned years.

00:56It really did. And it's more than just a hoodoo in it. It's about understanding the layers, you know?

01:01Some of which are profoundly disturbing. The way the truth finally crawled out is quite something.

01:08It all traces back to that single spine found in 2016.

01:12Wow.

01:12Then, jump forward four years. It's 2020.

01:15Right. And an agent from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation working cold cases finally gets a hit.

01:21A crucial connection. The DNA from those bones, it matches a missing person.

01:2721-year-old Ryan Zimmerman. He'd vanished from Columbus, Ohio, way back in late November 2015. Hadn't been heard from since September, actually.

01:34Think about that gap. Those years of just not knowing for his family.

01:39Absolutely. That 2016 discovery, grim as it was, was maybe the first hint. But it wasn't until 2020, with that DNA match, that they could finally put a name to their loss.

01:47And the details they got then. Just devastating. Investigators contacted Ryan's father, Warren. Confirmed it was his son.

01:54But then came the really awful part. This clearly wasn't an accident or natural causes.

01:59No. They had to tell him parts of Ryan's body were missing. His lower legs, lower arms.

02:03And maybe the most disturbing detail. His skull was gone, too.

02:06That dismemberment. It screams foul play. A deliberate act.

02:12Definitely. It points away from just, you know, an accident or someone wandering off.

02:16Dismembering a body usually means someone's trying to hide it, make it easier to get rid of, harder to identify.

02:21Right. And finding the skull. Well, that's a whole other part of the story we'll get to. And it's just, it's beyond belief, really.

02:29So naturally, the investigation pivots. Who was around Ryan right before he disappeared?

02:33His roommates in Columbus, that would be Corey Buzzard, Sarah Buzzard.

02:37And Sarah's girlfriend at the time, Jen Whitaker. They later got married, Sarah and Jen, also known as Nenera Jen Whitaker.

02:44Okay. So these personal relationships, they become absolutely central, don't they?

02:48Definitely. Understanding the dynamics there between Ryan and Corey, Sarah, Jen, and what was happening right around the time he vanished.

02:55That's the key.

02:56So fast forward again. August 2021. It's nearly six years after Ryan went missing.

03:02And officers finally track down Sarah and Jen married, now living at Sarah's mother's place.

03:07But they find them on a theft warrant. Seems unrelated at first.

03:10Yeah. The YouTube report nails it, calling it a twisted and unpredictable turn.

03:15What starts as a minor charge just unravels into something way, way darker.

03:19It really shows how investigations can just veer off, right? A theft warrant, cracks open, a cold case murder.

03:26Exactly. So how did that happen? How did they connect those dots?

03:29Well, let's go into the interrogation room. First, they talked to Sarah about Ryan.

03:33She and Jen both refer to him as Emma, saying Ryan was starting to transition.

03:38It's worth noting, Ryan's family hasn't confirmed this name or the transition.

03:42Okay. So Sarah's explaining the living situation.

03:45Yeah. She says Ryan moved in with her and Corey, her husband then. Jen moved in later. Corey apparently met Ryan online.

03:53Right.

03:53And Sarah mentions Corey wanted to explore polyamory, bringing Ryan into it, which she says she wasn't okay with.

04:00You immediately notice that unconventional setup, these complex dynamics in a house.

04:06Yeah.

04:06They can definitely breed tension. Significant in a missing person case.

04:10For sure. Sarah claims Ryan was only there about two months.

04:14Yes. She says they asked him to leave because things ended with Corey and he hadn't found a job.

04:19Who's story is?

04:21He packed his stuff, left on September 25th, the last day anyone supposedly heard from him and got into some car that picked him up.

04:28There's always a but in these situations, isn't there?

04:31There is. A detail that just feels wrong.

04:35Sarah mentions Ryan left his own car behind.

04:38Whoa, hang on. That's a huge red flag right there.

04:41Isn't it?

04:41If you're just moving out, why leave your car? Especially, I think the report mentioned, with keys and a full tank, it just doesn't track with simply leaving.

04:49Exactly. And Ryan's dad, Warren, he knew something was seriously wrong when that car turned up. Abandoned. License plate gone. The Ryan stuff's still inside.

04:58Okay.

04:58And get this. A neighbor actually saw Ryan's car being dropped off near the apartment by a tow truck.

05:04When?

05:05About half an hour after, Sarah claimed Ryan had already left in that other mystery car.

05:09Oh, wow. Okay, so that timeline just completely falls apart.

05:12Her story about him leaving in another car doesn't line up at all with the witness seeing a tow truck.

05:18It really suggests she was trying to mislead them from the very beginning about how Ryan left or didn't leave.

05:23You got it. Now let's look at Jen's initial story. She talks to detectives too.

05:28And same story.

05:30Mostly corroborates Ryan or Emma living there. Describes him as quiet, keeping to himself.

05:36Okay.

05:36She also brings up the tension over Corey wanting Ryan in this trifecta relationship, which Jen says she didn't want either.

05:42But then Jen admits something interesting. She drove Ryan's car after he supposedly left.

05:49She admits that.

05:50Yeah. Says Sarah was with her. The car broke down and they had to get it towed.

05:54Okay, so both of them seem to be like carefully building the story, right? Choosing details to steer clear of suspicion.

06:01Feels that way.

06:02But Jen admitting she drove his car after he supposedly vanished. That just chips way even more at their story. Makes you look harder at them.

06:09Definitely. And things are about to get much darker.

06:11Detectives drop the bomb on Sarah. Ryan is dead. Murdered.

06:16How does she react?

06:17They don't just tell her that. They hit her with evidence. They found her old car.

06:21Okay.

06:22And in the trunk, reddish stains. Tested positive for suspected blood.

06:27Oh, wow. That's huge.

06:29And not just the car. They found evidence inside the apartment too. Specifically in the bathroom.

06:34So the blood evidence directly contradicts the he just moved out story.

06:38Completely.

06:38It points to violence. And finding it in her old car in their apartment, that links them directly to whatever happened to Ryan.

06:47And then comes maybe the weirdest, most chilling part yet.

06:50There's more.

06:50They confront her about the blood in the apartment near the bathtub. Jen, when confronted later, just denies everything vehemently.

06:57But with Sarah, the detectives bring up Google searches. Searches on her phone.

07:03About what?

07:03About. Painting with blood and interest in consuming blood.

07:06Wait, what? Seriously?

07:08Seriously. And also, searched about jumpstarting Ryan's car after it broke down.

07:12Those online searches? That adds a really, really unsettling layer. What does that say about her mindset? It's like, macabre. Could offer some dark insight.

07:22Yeah. Unsurprisingly, Sarah lawyers up at this point. Makes sense.

07:27So, the detectives turn back to Jen. Tell her Ryan's dead. Tell her about the blood evidence.

07:33And she still denies it.

07:34Continued denial. Calls it a fever dream.

07:37They push harder blood in the trunk. Blood by the bathtub where part of Ryan's body, or Emma's body as they sometimes say, was found.

07:45Even with the physical evidence staring her in the face, she's sticking to denial. But the pressure must be immense.

07:53And then they bring up the Google searches again with Jen.

07:55Blood searches.

07:56Yep. They mention the deep dives, their term into Sarah's phone. Painting with blood, drinking blood. Jen keeps saying she knows nothing about it. But things are about to escalate fast.

08:07Using Sarah's search history against Jen, that's a clear tactic. Trying to crack her denial by showing this disturbing stuff linked to her partner.

08:14Exactly. Because then they go back to Sarah. And now they have her Google search history. Specifically, how to start Ryan's car after it conked out.

08:23Ah, the digital footprint. Undeniable.

08:26Faced with that, Sarah's story finally crumbles. She confesses.

08:30To what exactly?

08:31She says it was an accident. Claims she was angry. Pushed Ryan coming out of the bathroom. They argued she choked him.

08:37Choked him.

08:38Then she says she just panicked.

08:39Okay, that's a major break. But an accident? That feels off, considering what we know comes next. The dismemberment, the disposal.

08:49It sounds way more deliberate than panic.

08:51I agree. It feels like maybe she's trying to minimize things, her role, maybe.

08:55Could be. An attempt to downplay the severity. So, she's confessed to choking him. What about Jen?

09:01Jen's still in the other room. Total denial. But the detectives tell Jen, look, Sarah confessed. To everything. Including you helping dismember Ryan's body.

09:10Ah, the classic interrogation move. Confronting one with the other's alleged confession.

09:15Trying to break her story.

09:16Does it work?

09:17It seems to rattle her, but Jen still denies it. Calls Sarah a liar. But Sarah keeps talking, revealing these horrific details.

09:24Like what?

09:24She says Jen was downstairs, heard the fight, came up, and then together they had to figure out how to get rid of it. Her words.

09:32Okay.

09:33Sarah claims they dismembered Ryan.

09:34Yeah.

09:35In the bathtub, using a saw from the shed.

09:37Oh, God.

09:38She says she did most of the cutting, but Jen helped initially. At the joints, elbows, wrists, ankles, knees.

09:45The methodical detail there. It just completely shreds the accident claim. This was calculated. Grimly calculated.

09:53Then the plan. Put the remains in Ryan's car. Drive to Illinois. Dump the car. Take a bus back.

10:00But the car wouldn't start, right? After a gas station stopped.

10:03Exactly. So plan B. Transfer the Tupperware bin containing body parts into Sarah's car.

10:07In broad daylight. At a gas station.

10:10Apparently. Then they just lift Ryan's car there on the roadside.

10:13The sheer nerve, or maybe desperation to move, remains like that out in the open. It's hard to fathom.

10:20And disposing of the limbs, Sarah says they just pulled over at random public dumpsters along the way to Illinois and threw him out.

10:27Discarded in dumpsters.

10:28But wait. It gets even more disturbing with the rest of the remains. His limbs and head were handled differently.

10:34Differently how? Random disposal for some parts, but not others. Why?

10:38That's the question. Because investigators eventually find several boxes. Human remains inside. Back at Sarah's mother's house.

10:45Okay.

10:45And inside a pot.

10:46Right.

10:47Filled with some kind of thick, sludgy stuff. Hidden under trash bags. They find it.

10:53Don't tell me.

10:54Ryan's skull.

10:55In a pot. Oh my god. That is just beyond macabre.

11:00Keeping the head like that. Concealing it separately. It's deeply, deeply disturbing.

11:05Well, this is all coming out from Sarah's confession. Jen is still denying everything back at the mother's house.

11:10Still sticking to her story.

11:12But then the detectives there get the update. Sarah's confessed. Everything. Including Jen helping with the dismemberment.

11:18So they confront Jen with that definitive news.

11:20Yes. And she still denies it. But then, just as they move to formally arrest her, it takes this incredibly tragic turn.

11:29What happens?

11:29Jen pulls a small handgun out of her purse. And right there, at the scene, she takes her own life.

11:35Oh no. A self-inflicted gunshot.

11:37Yeah.

11:38Wow. That just ends her side of the story. Any chance of getting her full account is gone. Adds another layer of darkness.

11:44Months go by after Jen's death. And then Sarah. She gives a completely new version of events.

11:48A second confession. How different is it?

11:51Very different. Now, she claims that on the morning Ryan died, Jen, she calls her Naira, sometimes started talking about killing him.

11:59So now Jen's the instigator.

12:01According to this news story, yes. Sarah says she didn't take Jen seriously at first, but then Jen started gathering things.

12:09Trash bags, bleach, the saw.

12:12Premeditation.

12:12Mm-hmm. Sarah claims she tried to talk Jen out of it, but Jen basically said she'd do it anyway.

12:17This is a massive shift. Sarah's painting herself as reluctant, trying to stop it, and Jen as the driving force. It totally contradicts the accidental choking story.

12:27Completely. In this version, Sarah says Jen soaked a rag in bleach, had vinegar nearby, thinking it would make poison gas.

12:34Okay.

12:35And that Jen held the bleach rag over Ryan's mouth after Sarah had choked him initially.

12:39So the method of killing changes, too.

12:41And the skull. Now, Sarah says Jen put it in a trash bag, cut it off, and put it in their freezer.

12:45It's the freezer. The details keep changing, and getting somehow even more gruesome. It makes you really question which parts of either story are true.

12:53How much is Sarah now shifting blame onto Jen, who can't refute it?

12:57It's impossible to know for sure. In this second account, Sarah says she helped get rid of the forearms and calves, but Jen handled the hands and feet, also put them in the freezer.

13:05Hands and feet in the freezer, too.

13:07Then, on the drive to Illinois, Sarah claims Jen directed where to dump the other parts, including the torso that ended up in Mercer County, and the head.

13:16Jen allegedly put it in that soup bin, bagged it, kept it in the shed, and moved it with them every time they relocated.

13:23So this paints Jen as meticulously controlling the entire horrific process, disposal and all, with Sarah as more of a helper acting under orders.

13:32Exactly. And this second confession introduces a really, really disturbing alleged motive.

13:37What motive does she claim now?

13:40Sarah says Jen believed Ryan didn't deserve to be out in the world to ruin someone else's life.

13:44Why?

13:45Because Jen was apparently very critical of Ryan's gender transition presentation.

13:49Had strong ideas about how someone should transition.

13:52Felt Ryan wasn't doing it right according to her standards.

13:55That is chilling.

13:55So the alleged motive is rooted in prejudice, intolerance about his transition.

14:02That's what Sarah claims Jen felt.

14:04She also said Jen often called Ryan a disgusting human being.

14:08It's such a stark contrast to her first confession, which seemed aimed at protecting Jen.

14:12If that motive is true, it's incredibly disturbing, prejudice fueling such extreme violence.

14:18It adds a whole other layer of ugliness to this.

14:21So after all these twists, turns, conflicting stories, where did it end up legally?

14:28Well, despite the changing narratives, Sarah Buzzard pleaded guilty, January 2022.

14:33Guilty to what?

14:34Murder, among other charges.

14:35She got life in prison, possibility of parole, but only after 30 years.

14:3930 years.

14:40And Ryan's father, Warren?

14:42He made a statement.

14:44Heartbreakingly simple, really.

14:45Just said no one can hurt him anymore.

14:47Oh, man.

14:47This case, it just highlights how incredibly difficult it can be to nail down the absolute truth, you know?

14:53Especially with conflicting stories and tragically one key person unable to give their account anymore.

14:58Sarah's shifting stories leave so many questions.

15:01What exactly happened?

15:02How much was Sarah?

15:03How much was Jen?

15:04Jen's death means we'll likely never know the full picture from her perspective.

15:08It just hangs there.

15:09And that really leaves us and everyone listening with this unsettling thought, doesn't it?

15:14What truly drove this?

15:16Was it some twisted sense of justice in Jen's mind, as Sarah claimed?

15:20Was it pure prejudice or something else entirely, something we can't even grasp?

15:24This deep dive into Ryan Zimmerman's tragic death, it shows not just the capacity for horrific violence,

15:30but also how truth can be bent, hidden, maybe even lost.

15:34Really makes you think.

15:35It absolutely does.

15:36What do you even make of a case like this in the end?

15:38What do you always expect?

15:39How?

15:39What do you expect?

15:41What do you expect?

15:41How did you expect that?

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16:04Where do you have tooriath to lead?

16:05What do you think?

16:06What do you think?

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