When 24-year-old Sydney Loofe matched with a woman named Audrey on Tinder in November 2017, she was simply looking for a connection and a pathway toward belonging. Instead, the Lincoln, Nebraska, home improvement store clerk walked directly into a dark trap engineered by a manipulative con man and his romantic partner. Loofe’s subsequent disappearance, the horrific discovery of her dismembered remains, and the twisted ideology of her killers are now the focus of a new three-part Hulu true-crime docuseries titled Swipe Right on the Devil.
The case remains one of the most chilling examples of online dating predators targeting vulnerable individuals. Beyond the immediate tragedy of Loofe’s murder, the investigation exposed a web of psychological control, bizarre claims of witchcraft, and a relentless pursuit of justice driven by the victim’s family and friends.
The Disappearance and Immediate Red Flags
On November 15, 2017, Sydney Loofe went on what she believed was her second date with "Audrey"—an alias used by 25-year-old Bailey Boswell. Excited by the budding romance, Loofe shared a smiling selfie on Snapchat with the caption, "Ready for my date," before heading out for the evening. It would be the last time her friends and family heard from her alive.
The following morning, alarm bells rang when Loofe failed to report for her shift at Menards. Concerned relatives requested a welfare check at her apartment. When authorities arrived, they found a deeply unsettling scene: Loofe’s vehicle was in the driveway, her purse and work clothes were neatly laid out for her shift, and her cat, Mimsy, had not been fed. These out-of-character details immediately signaled to law enforcement that Loofe had not left voluntarily.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Loofe’s close friend Brooklyn McCrystal took matters into her own hands. Knowing that Loofe had gone on a date the night before, McCrystal created a mock Tinder profile to track down "Audrey." The digital sleuthing paid off; McCrystal successfully matched with Boswell, secured a phone number, and quickly handed the critical contact information over to the Lincoln Police Department.
The Investigation and Digital Footprint
As law enforcement stepped up their efforts, they uncovered a sophisticated trail of deception. Boswell refused to cooperate with authorities, and investigators soon discovered that the phone number she used belonged to a burner phone registered under a false identity.
Tracing the digital footprint led investigators to local motels, where surveillance footage and state-issued identification cards verified Boswell’s identity. The footage also placed her alongside a 52-year-old older man, Aubrey Trail. Cell phone tower data ultimately revealed that Loofe’s phone had last pinged near an apartment shared by Boswell and Trail in Wilber, Nebraska.
When police executed a search warrant at the couple’s residence, the unit smelled heavily of bleach. Boswell and Trail had already paid their rent in advance and fled the area. On November 29, 2017, in an attempt to control the narrative, the pair released a defiant video on social media proclaiming their innocence. Boswell claimed she had dropped Loofe off at a friend’s house after their second date—a complete fabrication.
The evasion did not last long. On November 30, 2017, Trail and Boswell were apprehended near Branson, Missouri, initially on unrelated federal warrants.
A Grisly Discovery and the Dark Reality of the Crime
Nearly three weeks after Loofe vanished, investigators analyzed cellphone movement data to pinpoint rural areas where the suspects’ vehicle had lingered. On December 4, 2017, search teams combed roadside ditches near Edgar, Nebraska.
The search yielded horrifying results. Authorities recovered garbage bags containing Loofe’s clothing, her car keys, her phone, and her dismembered upper arm. A poignant and heartbreaking detail identified by investigators was a tattoo on Loofe’s forearm reading, "Everything will be wonderful someday"—a stark contrast to the brutal reality of her final hours.
According to court testimony and surveillance footage from a Lincoln Home Depot, Trail and Boswell had purchased the tools used to dismember Loofe’s body into 14 pieces hours before the murder took place. Prosecutors later described the couple as sharing "four arms, four legs, and one mind," highlighting how deeply intertwined their malicious impulses were.
Cult Ideology, Witchcraft, and Psychological Control
During subsequent legal proceedings and interviews with filmmakers, a disturbing motive emerged. Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell had been actively cultivating an environment centered around sex, crime, and dark occult beliefs. Trail frequently styled himself as a "powerful warlock" and the leader of a coven, surrounding himself with young women whom he manipulated and abused.
In interviews with filmmakers Brian Biegel and Christopher St. John—conducted over a two-year period via phone and video conferences—Trail made chilling admissions. Commenting on his choice of victim, Trail stated, "I don’t regret killing somebody, but I regret killing… I picked the wrong person."
Filmmaker Christopher St. John noted the chilling nature of that statement. "He has no remorse, but he wishes that he hadn’t chosen someone with such strong family and friends because it led to his capture," St. John explained.
Investigators and prosecutors revealed that multiple women had fallen into Trail and Boswell’s orbit. Victims such as Ana Golyakova and Ashley Hills testified about the severe psychological abuse, physical violence, and rigid rules imposed by Trail, which included mandatory nudity, strict permission protocols for basic activities, and isolation from other people. Trail convinced these vulnerable women that practicing dark magic and acts of violence would grant them "superpowers."
Justice Delivered
The legal fallout concluded with definitive verdicts for both defendants:
- Aubrey Trail was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in 2019. He later pleaded no contest to the improper disposal of human skeletal remains and was sentenced to death in 2021. He remains incarcerated on death row at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in Nebraska.
- Bailey Boswell was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and improper disposal of human skeletal remains in 2020. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in November 2021.
Implications and Modern Cautionary Tales
The tragic murder of Sydney Loofe serves as a dark reminder of the potential dangers lurking behind digital screens and dating applications. While modern technology and apps have transformed how people meet, they also provide predators with an anonymous avenue to identify and isolate vulnerable targets.
At the same time, law enforcement experts emphasize that the swift identification and prosecution of Trail and Boswell were made possible through the rapid mobilization of Loofe’s family, the tenacity of her friends who utilized digital tracking, and the rigorous investigative work of the Lincoln Police Department and the FBI.
As Swipe Right on the Devil brings national attention back to the case, the legacy of Sydney Loofe endures not only through the tragedy of her loss but through the bravery of the surviving women who testified, ensuring that two dangerous killers were permanently removed from society.
