13. Kacie Woody: The Origin of Grooming

About this episode

The episode explores the early case of Kacie Woody, a young girl who fell victim to online grooming in 2002.

In 2002, Kacie Woody is a 13-year-old in rural Arkansas using dial-up internet and instant messages on the family computer. A new online “friendship” becomes constant contact, then control. When she disappears, investigators trace chat logs, usernames, and travel records to a suspect moving through motel rooms, rentals, and a storage unit... revealing one of the early cases that defined what we now call grooming.

People in this episode

Host: Frank Battiston

Guest: Kacie Woody

Topics covered

• grooming
• online safety
• true crime
• child exploitation
• internet friendships

Keywords

• grooming
• Kacie Woody
• internet safety
• true crime
• Arkansas
• child safety
• online friendships

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Arkansas

More episodes of Lurkers

• 20. Austin Lee Edwards: Cross Country Catfishing Cop · June 3, 2026 · 27 min
• 19. Morata's Triple Murder (Spain): The Spell and the Debt · May 20, 2026 · 34 min
• 18. Ryan Last & Eli Heacock: 45-Minute Sextortion · May 6, 2026 · 24 min
• 17. Sydney Loofe: The Tinder Mask · April 22, 2026 · 28 min
• 16. Laura Kowal: The Mysterious Disappearance · April 8, 2026 · 30 min
• 15. Ashley Wadsworth: When Love Turned into a Trap · March 25, 2026 · 30 min