Transcript

Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?

From True Crime News · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 40 min · 6,516 words · 178 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?", an episode of True Crime News published January 19, 2026 (40 min, about 6,516 words). It mentions 18 people, works and ideas, including Nancy Moyer, Melissa Soders, Matthew Soders, Crime Watch Daily, Jason Sanford.

What this episode is about

The disappearance of single mother Nancy Moyer remains a haunting mystery after she vanished from her home, leaving behind an open door and a half-finished glass of wine. Investigators explore tumultuous relationships, including her ex-husband and a colleague with an unsettling obsession, as they piece together the events leading to her last moments.

Key takeaways

  • A half-sipped glass of wine and an open door; could chilling domestic bliss hide darker secrets?
  • Nancy Moyer's case proves: modern parenting's chaos can obscure danger lurking just a basement away.
  • Sometimes the mundane masks the extraordinary—just like a missing mom conjured by a normal Friday night.
  • In a world of arranged marriages, personal secrets can lead to unspeakable tragedies in plain sight.
  • Criminal investigations: where infatuation meets deceit and can unravel even the most heartfelt co-parenting.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Nancy Moyer, Crime Watch Daily, Chris Hansen, Jason Mata
  2. – 10:00: Bill Moyer, Nancy Moyer, David Hower
  3. – 15:00: Nancy Moyer, Bernard Keith How, Tanino, David Hower
  4. – 20:00: Melissa Soders, Nancy Moyer, Spring Creek, Matthew Soders
  5. – 25:00: Harris County, Houston Chronicle, Matthew Soders, Jason Sanford
  6. – 30:00: Jason Sanford, Melissa Soders
  7. – 35:00: Matthew Soders, Melissa Soders, Jason Sanford, Harris County
  8. – 39:52: Matthew Soders, Crime Watch Daily, Melissa Soders, Jason Sanford

Notable quotes from "Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?"

  • Welcome to Crime Watch Daily, everyone.
    about Crime Watch Daily · at
  • Tanina, Washington, an exhausted Nancy Moyer kicked off the weekend by pouring herself a glass of wine. The single mother of two worked full-time for Washington State's…
    about Nancy Moyer · at
  • A suspect number one, but also I saw it as an opportunity to clear my name very quickly. Bill agreed to a polygraph test right away and passed with flying colors.
    about Bill Moyer · at
  • I did interview him because of the close proximity to NY's place.
    about David Hower · at
  • Of Houston. A mother of four vanishes the day after spending Christmas with the new love of her life. Our Nissa Knight is in Texas now with the mystery of Melissa Soders.
    about Harris County · at
  • No response. It's now after 700 p.m. and nearly 8 hours since he's last talked to Melissa. Jason heads to the Harris County Sheriff's Office and files a missing person's report.
    about Jason Sanford · at
  • It's been a full day since anyone has seen or heard from the 26-year-old Texas mother of four, Melissa Soders.
    about Melissa Soders · at
  • Matthew is arrested and charged with his wife's murder. Obviously, you're in custody. You're under arrest.
    about Matthew Soders · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Nancy Moyer — Person · Primary subject (missing person/victim) · 12 mentions · first at
    Central figure of the first case; her disappearance drives the investigation narrative and all related suspects/theories.
  • Melissa Soders — Person · Primary subject (missing person/victim) in second case · 7 mentions · first at
    Her disappearance and homicide form the second major story arc; connects the love triangle and subsequent confession/evidence.
  • Matthew Soders — Person · Primary suspect/charged perpetrator (second case) · 7 mentions · first at
    Estranged husband of Melissa Soders; investigated, later arrested and pleads guilty to her murder.
  • Jason Sanford — Person · Key witness / boyfriend (second case) · 7 mentions · first at
    Melissa Soders' boyfriend; reports her missing, is investigated as a possible suspect, and is stated to be the father of her unborn child.
  • Bill Moyer — Person · Key witness / family member (ex-husband of Nancy Moyer) · 5 mentions · first at
    Reports Nancy missing, provides timeline details (open door, items left behind), and is initially scrutinized then cleared by polygraph.
  • David Hower — Person · Referenced investigator (retired detective) · 3 mentions · first at
    Retired detective assigned to Nancy Moyer's case; explains investigative steps (timeline via utility spike, fingerprints, interviews).
  • Chris Hansen — Person · Host / anchor · 2 mentions · first at
    Introduces segments, frames the investigations, and transitions between the two cases featured in the episode.
    Welcome to Crime Watch Daily, everyone.
  • Bernard Keith How — Person · Referenced convicted killer / person of interest (Nancy Moyer case theory) · 4 mentions · first at
    Confessed murderer in a separate Tanino case; investigated as a possible link to Nancy Moyer due to proximity and meat package found in her freezer.
    Hal eventually confessed to killing the massage therapist and was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison. He says he was high on meth at the time. Cops wondered if he could be tied to NY's.
  • Jason Mata — Person · Field reporter / correspondent (Nancy Moyer segment) · 3 mentions · first at
    On-location correspondent in Washington State presenting the Nancy Moyer case details and interviews.
    Turns on the TV. However, what happened in the next few hours is still a mystery. Our Jason Mata is in Washington State with the details.

Companies & orgs

  • Lacrosse County Sheriff's Department — Company · Investigating authority · 8 mentions
    Law enforcement agency handling the investigation into Nancy Moyer's disappearance.
    Late Sunday night, Bill filed a missing person's report with the police. And the next day, the case was turned over to the Thirstston County Sheriff's Department to now retired detective David Hower.
  • Houston Chronicle — Company · Referenced company · 3 mentions · first at
    Newspaper where Matthew Soders' father worked, mentioned in the context of the case.
    Facing a mountain of incriminating evidence, Matthew pleads guilty to murder. His father and copy editor at the Houston Chronicle releases a statement to his own newspaper. He…
  • Washington State Department of Ecology — Company · Employer · 3 mentions
    Nancy Moyer's place of employment
    Tanina, Washington, an exhausted Nancy Moyer kicked off the weekend by pouring herself a glass of wine. The single mother of two worked full-time for Washington State's…

Places & events

  • Harris County — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Location where the case of Melissa Soders' disappearance and murder took place.
  • Tanino — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Location where Nancy Moyer disappeared, central to the investigation.
    When Nancy Moyer vanished from her Tanino, Washington home, detectives were left with very few clues to work with.
  • Spring Creek — Place · Crime scene · 4 mentions · first at
    Location where Melissa Soders' body was dumped
    We ended up finding Melissa's body in a creek, and Melissa had been waited down and was, pretty deep in the water.
  • Washington State — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    State where the disappearance of Nancy Moyer occurred.
    Tanina, Washington, an exhausted Nancy Moyer kicked off the weekend by pouring herself a glass of wine. The single mother of two worked full-time for Washington State's…
  • Tanino, Washington — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Location where Nancy Moyer disappeared
    When Nancy Moyer vanished from her Tanino, Washington home, detectives were left with very few clues to work with.

Media & podcasts

  • Crime Watch Daily — Media · Broadcast · 3 mentions · first at
    The show where the podcast transcript is being broadcasted, featuring crime stories and investigations.

Full transcript with timestamps

I'm Chris Hansen. Right now on Crime Watch Daily from here in New York. Where is Nancy Moyer? Her front door left open. A halfsip glass of wine on the table. There's no sign of the single mother of two.

It was just like she just vanished. Cops put her ex-husband to a lie detector test.

And did they tell you early on they've eliminated you? and uncover a colleague with an obsession.

He was just absolutely infatuated with her. But then the missing mom investigation takes a toy turn.

Here you tell me you did have sex with her. Jason Mata with a case of bedroom secrets.

This new lifestyle of NY's could have led to her demise. Correct. Yes. And the creepy clue in NY's freezer. Then a woman caught between her aranged husband and her grade school sweetheart when she meets a tragic end.

He told you he put the body in a trash can and dust it in Spring Creek. A secret pregnancy and shocking surveillance video.

He did it. He killed her. Of her last moments alive. I could see it and she was scared.

You saw the fear. I saw the fear. Right now, Andrea is with Crime Watch Daily. Jason Mattel with Crime Watch Daily. This

I'm Elizabeth. I'm here with Crime Watch. I'm Michelle from Crime Watch Daily. Anna Garcia from Crime Watch

is Crime Watch Daily. Stay off my We'll find you again. We always do. Welcome to Crime Watch Daily, everyone. I'm Chris Hansen. First up today, a mother of two winds down after a long day, pours herself a glass of wine, turns on the TV. However, what happened in the next few hours is still a mystery. Our Jason Mata is in Washington State with the details.

Chris, how does a mother of two simply vanish from her home? There's one right behind me and no one sees a thing.

No child should have to wonder if their mother left them. Her sister Nancy vanished without a trace, leaving two young girls without a mother. It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth.

Now, does a confessed tiller know more than he's telling? He just absolutely refused to cooperate in any way.

Is a coworker not telling the truth here? You're telling me you did have sex with her?

Did the single mother's surprising sex life lead to her demise? I had to step back and blink twice. There were sex toys in there. All kinds of them.

Her family had no idea that was going on in her life. On a freezing cold Friday night in Tanina, Washington, an exhausted Nancy Moyer kicked off the weekend by pouring herself a glass of wine. The single mother of two worked full-time for Washington State's Department of Ecology as an accountant, and her young girls were her everything. When they were real little, she she would call and she they had to send her home from work cuz she was crying because she didn't want to be separated.

Since leaving her husband two years earlier, her daughter's well-being was NY's top priority.

She wanted the kids to have a mother and a father both. And so she was trying real hard

and co-parenting seemed to be working well. Nancy had the girls during the week. Bill had them on weekends. Their main concern was taking care of the kids, keeping the kids' lives as normal and as happy as can be given the circumstances.

With two young kids and a full-time job, NY's weeks were busy, but on weekends, she was free to live the single life.

She had a few dates here and there that I was aware of. But one Friday evening, there was no date planned. Tired, Nancy planned to just chill out. And after work, she first dropped off a co-orker, then stopped by the grocery store. It was around 6:00 p.m. on that Friday. There was a Tonight police officer that I interviewed that was running radar right there at the corner where her house was. And he saw her pull up and she was alone. And he saw her get the bags out and take them into the house. But mysteriously, it was the last time anyone has reported seeing Nancy Moyer.

Though a neighbor believes he heard her later that night, he heard a car. He heard a car door. And just before the car door closing, she said, "Hurry up. Let's get going."

NY's neighbor assumed she was talking to her kids and didn't think much about it. Until 2 days later when she was reported missing. So, it was a normal Sunday night. Bill Moyer was dropping the kids off at his aranged wife's house. But when he gets to the house, he notices something off. I never missed a drop off or pickup, and neither did she. And so, this was 100% out of character for her to be missing and it just it it felt wrong instantly.

Despite the cold outside, NY's front door had been left open. It wasn't unusual. She would walk in the neighborhood sometimes, so I took the kids in and we waited for a few minutes, thinking, "Oh, she'd come back from a walk, but she didn't."

When Nancy didn't show up, Bill took the girls back to his house and returned a little later.

So, we came back again, but um you know, I realized that she she hadn't taken her purse or her keys or her cell phone. All the normal things you would expect to take with you were they're still sitting in the house. I remember a glass of wine was half drank on the table and um you know just things were kind of in their usual places and it was just it was just like she just vanished

right away. NY's sister Sharon knew something was wrong. After being away from them for the weekend, she would never miss meeting them that night to hug them and say hello to them.

Late Sunday night, Bill filed a missing person's report with the police. And the next day, the case was turned over to the Thirstston County Sheriff's Department to now retired detective David Hower.

Where does this case rank on the bizarre nature of it? Top five. Top five between LA and here. Top five.

That unique? Very much so. First up, Detective Howler needed to determine exactly when Nancy disappeared. From what I was able to find in my investigation, it appeared to me that somewhere around 11:30 or 12:00.

Why do you think that? It was a really cold time of year, the front door of the house was found open by Bill. I decided to check the utility bill cuz she had gas heat in the house and I could see where it spiked.

Detectives didn't find anything missing in the house. There was no sign of forced entry and no evidence that anyone else had even been inside.

We fingerprinted two glasses and her fingerprints were on both those glasses. The hope was, you know, if somebody was in there and having a drink with her or something that we'd pick up some fingerprints that weren't hers. We didn't find any. With so few clues in the case, detectives immediately turned their attention to NY's aranged husband. How did you feel when the investigators started to turn their attention to you as a possible person of interest?

I kind of know how it works. I mean, it's statistically the husband's always a suspect number one, but also I I I saw it as an opportunity to clear my name very quickly. Bill agreed to a polygraph test right away and passed with flying colors.

And did they tell you early on they've eliminated you? Yeah, they even went on TV and said the husband is not a suspect.

Yes. Cops then turned their gaze on a coworker. The weekend that she disappeared, he had called and left a message on her phone. So, he was, you know, of high interest. The coworker claims he and Nancy had a date set for that Saturday night.

He was just absolutely infatuated with her from what he told us. He says when he arrived, her front door was open, but Nancy was nowhere to be found. He hollered for her, then left. At the time, Detective Hower says the co-workers alibi for Friday night checked out.

The kid said, "Yeah, no, dad was home all that night. He didn't go anywhere." But when a new detective reinterviewed that same coworker about his relationship with Nancy, he heard a much different story.

When when he was interviewed by Detective Howard, he said that he he tried to have sex with her, but he couldn't he couldn't perform. And that she stayed the night, got up, had breakfast with him. When I interviewed him, he had sex. She went home that night. just totally the opposite.

And that's not the only thing Detective Ben Elkins found suspicious. I asked this person, "If you knew where Nancy Moyer's body was, would you tell me?" And this person said quote "No." I look at him like, "Wait a minute here." And I'm, "No, seriously, would you tell me where Nancy Boyer's body was?" And he chuckles, "No."

And then there is this. When first questioned, the coworker submitted to a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. So, is he willing to take one now?

We basically said, "I don't know." The coworker has never been named as a suspect or charged in NY's disappearance, but Detective Elkins plans to question him again. And he's not the only person cops have in their sights. Up next, could a meat salesman charged in a macob murder be involved? We found a package of that meat in the freezer. Or did the missing mom's secret sex life lead to her disappearance? So basically, this new lifestyle of NY's could have led to her demise.

Correct. Yes. One minute appears Nancy Moyer was enjoying a glass of wine and watching her favorite TV show. The next minute she was gone. Jason Mater is back with more on the mystery in the Pacific Northwest. Chris, as investigators try to solve the disappearance of Nancy Moyer, they make a disturbing discovery inside the truck of a man who lived less than a mile away from her. 8 years after Nancy Moyer disappeared, there's still no trace of the mother of two.

We call it a nobody homicide because we don't have a body. No body. But plenty of sex toys have led to new theories. So basically this new lifestyle of NY's could have led to her demise.

Correct. Yes. And unbelievably frozen meat in her freezer. There's a darn good possibility he met Nancy and sold her this meat leads to a person of interest. When Nancy Moyer vanished from her Tanino, Washington home, detectives were left with very few clues to work with.

It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth. Police were never able to find evidence for a murder or develop a suspect in the case, but a gruesome murder in her hometown led to a person of interest.

So, this is one I mean, deranged individual. Oh, absolutely. The tiny town of Tanino was stunned when a local man selling meat was caught riding around with the dead woman in the passenger seat of his delivery truck. Her body still warm. This guy came up behind her, hit her in the back of the head with a hammer, dragged her down into the ditch, took a knife to her, tried cutting her head off when she was still alive, killed her, wrapped her up in a sleeping bag, put her in his pickup truck, and started driving down the road. At first, Bernard Keith How denied killing 60-year-old Vonda Boon. He claimed he found her dead on a popular hiking trail and was going to dispose of her body to save her family from the burial costs.

I read too that he had I don't know how you say this, basically had sex with the corpse.

Yeah, I think it was more of he used something to have sex with her. Hal eventually confessed to killing the massage therapist and was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison. He says he was high on meth at the time. Cops wondered if he could be tied to NY's mysterious disappearance.

I did interview him because of the close proximity to NY's place. Not only did the door-to-door meat salesman live less than a mile from her house, there was another possible connection.

Well, in the inventory of uh NY's refrigerator, we found a package of that meat in the freezer, and it was the same company everything.

So, detectives showed photos of the confessed killer to NY's two daughters. And one of the daughters, the older one, said she, yeah, she recognized him.

Detective Hower was eager to question Keith about the missing mother. He just absolutely refused to cooperate in any way. No polygraph, wasn't going to give any statements, denied ever selling her meat, denied ever knowing her, just and all of that just kind of red run the red flag up even more because I know he was there. NY's family still suspects Howal could be involved.

I certainly haven't ruled him out myself based on the evidence. Unfortunately, a frustrated Detective Elkins has not been able to bring charges or even request the admitted killer who sits in prison.

I would like to at least talk to him and see if he'll talk to me. And if he does, obviously, I want to interview him. But frozen meat, possibly purchased from a confessed killer, wasn't the only thing in Nancy Moyer's home that peaked. Investigators curiosity about what happened to her.

I opened that up and I had to step back and blinked twice. Detective Hower was stunned by what he found inside a bag in the closet of the mildmannered mother of two.

Yeah, there were sex toys in there. All kinds of gels. Was Nancy living a wild life now that she was on her own?

That was the information that was shared with me by her sister. Detectives learned that sex was in fact a big reason why Nancy left her husband.

She got married to William Younger. They had kids. So the way Sharon, her her sister, had explained it was that Nancy expressed how she wanted to go out and do things that she hadn't done. She was out playing the field. She was out bar hopping. She was out drinking with friends, co-workers from work. When someone's doing that and they're not sharing that with a best friend or a sister, the victimology when it comes to that is very difficult to retrace those steps of who she was associating with, where she was going.

And there is more adding to the mystery. Cops discovered things that indicate Nancy Moyer may have been living in a secret world of sexual fantasy.

I found some other stuff in there that that it kind of makes me think that she could have decided to take off and live a life that she's been fantasizing about.

As much as NY's family wants to believe she's still alive, it's not something that seems possible to them. She would never leave her daughters. Her daughters were her world.

One thing everyone agrees on, someone out there knows what happened to Nancy Moyer and her sister Sharon has this message for that person. I would just ask them to [snorts] remember that she was a mother and a daughter and a granddaughter and a sister and a friend [snorts] and she doesn't deserve to be forgotten. She deserves to be put to rest [snorts] and for her kids to be able to mourn her properly. Detectives are hoping the person responsible for NY's disappearance has bragged to someone about what they've done. And now that person is ready to come forward and help solve this case.

If you know anything, you can submit a tip anonymously at crimewatchdaily.com. Coming up, a mother of four vanishes. New developments in the headline making case out of Houston. Was it a love triangle turned deadly? The clues leading up to a chilling call.

He told you he put the body in a trash can and dumped it in Spring Creek. Yep. That's next.

It was the case that captivated the city of Houston. A mother of four vanishes the day after spending Christmas with the new love of her life. Our Nissa Knight is in Texas now with the mystery of Melissa Soders. He was looking into her eyes and she was looking into his before she died. An alleged love triangle.

Why are you going to make love to me and then go home with him? A labyrinth of lies.

He did it. He killed her. Leading investigators to a horrific discovery that will expose pure evil.

He absolutely truly believed that there's no way that he would be caught. Texas justice.

Yes. Yeah. It's the holidays in Houston, Texas. Festive lights illuminate the city while others flash ominously on a 911 switchboard.

If he told you he put the body in a trash can and dumped it in Spring Creek. Two days before this shocking 911 call. It's Christmas morning for 26-year-olds Jason Sanford and Melissa Soders.

You know, we were happy. Everything was going right. The Texas sweethearts are spending their first holiday together as a couple. She told me that she didn't usually get to spend Christmas or anything with her parents. So, that was one thing she wanted to do. And so, we went and we saw her parents for Christmas.

Jason and Melissa met in grade school and only recently reconnected. It was like nothing else mattered. It was like it was just her and I.

Except it wasn't. Melissa is in the middle of a messy divorce with her soontobe ex-husband, 28-year-old Matthew Soders. And they have four young daughters together, ranging from 18 months to 8 years old.

Matthew and Melissa married at a young age. They were basically teenagers. They grew up together over a 9-year period. Um, they were together

as seen during happier times in this cell phone video. All right. Now, we're watching Melissa crack open her crab. Say hi to the camera honey. But as most people do, they drift apart as they get older.

Heartbroken, Matthew files for divorce. Melissa, the manager of a fast food restaurant, grants him full custody of their children while she gets her finances in order.

She didn't have a job where she could support her four daughters. So, she left him with that knowing that his parents would help him until she got more stable on her feet with Jason. Matthew's father, David Soders, is a wellrespected journalist. He works as a copy editor at the area's largest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle.

Matthew came from a good family in that he was adopted by a very good family, along with his twin sister from an orphanage in Nicaragua. And while Melissa knows her kids are in good hands with Matthew's parents, she misses them desperately.

She's never spent a Christmas without her babies, and she wanted to see them. So, the day after Christmas, she does just that. The plan is to meet her aranged husband and her youngest daughter at a local fast food restaurant.

We spoke on the phone until he showed up. And as soon as she he showed up, she told me and she hung up.

Jason is expecting a phone call from Melissa following her family visit. I've been trying to call her, text her.

He waits all day to hear from her. No response. It's now after 700 p.m. and nearly 8 hours since he's last talked to Melissa. Jason heads to the Harris County Sheriff's Office and files a missing person's report.

It was very overwhelming everything that was going through my head. Melissa's family is notified that she is missing. Her aunt Belinda traveling back to Nevada from Texas touches down just in time to catch the frantic phone call. I just got home from Christmas and um my oldest sister told me that she was missing and I'm like, "What are you talking about? We just seen her. What do you mean she's missing?"

It doesn't take long for the media to get wind of the story and the missing Houston woman becomes headline news.

It got a lot of attention because it's Christmas time. A mother of four is missing.

But for one journalist, the story is painfully personal. Remember, Matthew's father works for the Houston Chronicle, placing him smack dab in the middle of the news coverage of his own daughter-in-law's disappearance.

As tragic as it can get, then a huge break in the case. Less than 24 hours from the time Melissa is reported missing, the Harris County Sheriff's Department receives a bizarre 911 call.

Harris County 911. You need police, fire ambulance. Police. It's a woman on the line requesting to remain anonymous, claiming to be Matthew Soder's neighbor.

An apartment next door to me. The caller tells dispatch she made an unexpected visit to Matthew's apartment and when she looked inside,

I saw someone's feet on the ground. So, you went to the apartment and saw someone's feet.

Mhm. Okay. All right. I'll get a deputy out to you. Okay. Okay. In a matter of minutes, a deputy arrives on scene and questions the caller in person. The investigator records the conversation.

I went to the door and started knocking and you know he was sad with his daughter was like, you know, why is she crying? He's like, oh no, she was just upset and the door was open and all I saw were two feet.

Yeah. And they wasn't moving and it was human feet. Mhm. I can tell they were female. The neighbor thought and said, "Whose feet are those behind the couch?" And he said, "None of your business." And slammed the door in their face.

Fearing someone's life could be in danger, deputies raced to Matthew's apartment. They have no idea what they're about to walk into.

The deputies show up. Matthew was already gone at this point. And when cops barged through the apartment door, there's no body or evidence of a crime. We didn't have anything linking Matthew.

Still trying to piece together the caller's disturbing eyewitness account, detectives call Matthew down to the station for questioning.

Oh god, I need to be okay. Anxious detectives start questioning Matthew immediately.

Anything crazy happened inside the apartment? No. Then Matthew offers up details cops never saw coming.

But I did ask her, "Does Jason know that we're still intimate with each other?" No, I haven't told him that. Why are you going to make love to me and then go home with him?

That's right. Matthew claims he and his ex are in the middle of a love triangle and Melissa is the sexual aggressor.

We sit on the couch watch a movie of The Walking Dead and then she kind of inch over close. I'm like, "Please don't kiss me." She's like, "I can't help it."

Then detectives ask Matthew how the visit ended. She turns around, looks at me, and goes, "I'm a horrible mother." "No, you're not, Matt. I'm a horrible wife. I don't understand how you love me so much. I've hurt you so bad.

Matthew tells cops their conversation lasted 30 minutes and then Melissa left. And when she left the apartment over in Param, he said she just left on foot.

Yes. Took off walking. Any idea where she was going to? No. I was like, "We can take you back to McDonald's." She goes, "Leave me alone."

That's when detectives holding their cards close to their vest reveal the ace up their sleeve. They ask Matthew about the alleged visit from his neighbor.

Did she come by the apartment? No. Sure. She didn't come to the apartment, knock on the door, come by the apartment.

No, not at all. Any reason why she'd say that she saw you and Melissa at the apartment?

No, she wasn't there at the apartment. Detectives ask Matthew if he will take a polygraph test.

That'll be clear soon enough. We don't need the poly to do anything. Matthew is defiant. He denies any involvement in his aranged wife's disappearance.

Is there anything else you can tell us right now that would help us find Melissa?

Looking to that guy, Jason. Coming up, cops turn up the heat. We had two main suspects.

Jason and Matthew. Correct. And explosive new evidence surfaces. A surveillance video. Could these be her last moments alive? Melissa Soders dropped off her boyfriend at work and then she planned on heading to a fast food restaurant to pick up one of her daughters. However, somewhere along that path, Soders would disappear. Our Narissa Knight is back in Texas with more.

It's been a full day since anyone has seen or heard from the 26-year-old Texas mother of four, Melissa Soders. Then, breaking news. A surveillance video surfaces.

It came out over the TV news. Her and Jason were on camera. The video is from Christmas Day at a local business run by Jason Sanford's godparents. As seen here, Melissa and Jason enter the business. There's plenty of smiles and even gifts exchanged. But in less than 24 hours from the time this video is recorded,

there was no sign of her. No phone call, no nothing. Then deputies get a tip. A white 1995 Honda Accord matching the description of Melissa's car is spotted in the parking lot of a truck stop off Interstate 45.

They found her car. It's located roughly 8 miles from Matthew's apartment, the last known place she visited before vanishing.

What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What's going on inside? Well, I told my family Matthew has something to do with it.

She told me as soon I wasn't I was here when that happened. And the first thing out of her mouth was, "Matthew had something to do with this.

I'm scared." The car was a recent purchase by Melissa and her boyfriend Jason Sanford, a man cops know very little about. But that's about to change when cops pull his police records. Jason's rap sheet reveals a violent past that's not so in the past. Just three months before his girlfriend went missing, the 26-year-old was arrested and charged with assault. Now, cops wonder if Melissa's aranged husband was right when he told them,

"Jason's a bad guy. Jason might have done this. Jason's the one you need to be looking at."

So, they do and ask Jason to come down to the sheriff's office. The conversation is recorded and detectives discover more than an assault record. There's a marriage license, too.

You're still currently married. Is that correct? Yes. But Jason claims he is going through a divorce. And what about that recent assault charge?

It was my best friend for 14 years. Found out that, you know, he was sleeping with my wife and I got mad and we got into a little tussle on the street.

So far, Jason seems to have an explanation for everything. Then the milliondoll question.

Let me just go ahead and get this out of the way. I'll go ahead and ask you right now. Did you have anything to do with Melissa's disappearance?

Not at all. Not at all. Did you do anything to harm? Never. Never. That was my angel. I loved her. I would give everything for her.

And one final question. Would he take a polygraph test? You have any problem doing that?

Not at all. Not at all. Anything you need. What was your impression of Jason after interviewing him? Did you think he had something to do with Melissa's disappearance?

Initially, we weren't really sure, but this case has more twists and turns than a Texas twostep. When Melissa's best friend speaks with detectives, she paints a frightening picture of Melissa and Matthew's marriage. A relationship she says is filled with obsession.

She would like basically almost call me in tears, like saying, "He won't leave me alone. He wants me back." Constantly.

Terror. Did she ever say anything to you about, you know, being scared about something happening? Was she afraid of

She was afraid to go over there. And then something nightmares are made of. She told me one time that he tried kidnapping her from work one night.

At this point, despite all the information coming in, detectives can't be sure who is responsible for Melissa's disappearance. And

we had two main suspects that we were looking at almost immediately. Both Jason and Matthew.

Correct. As detectives try to figure out who is telling the truth, another 911 call lights up the switchboard at the Harris County Dispatch.

Harris County 911, please fire. I'm going to kick somebody in. You want to turn somebody in?

Coming up. They couldn't stop badness. It's a killer confession. They said I did something that you really could have. I Melissa

and a gruesome discovery. He's a monster. For seven excruciatingly long days, Melissa Sodor's family has been wondering what happened to the mother of four. They were finally about to get that answer. And police were about to slap the cuffs on a truly callous suspect. Once again, here's Nerissa Knight.

Where is Houston mother of four Melissa Soders? Detectives narrow their suspects down to two. Melissa's aranged husband, Matthew Soders, and her current boyfriend, Jason Sanford. But that's about to change.

County 911 police fire. Um, I'm going to tip somebody in. This 911 caller is scared and wants to remain anonymous.

I don't want my name to come out. But she has no problem blurting out one name. Matthew.

What is Matthew's last name? Do you know? Soders. I know him. He was a really good friend of mine.

Friend, it's way more than that. The woman on the other end of the line claims to be Matthew Soders's lover. She tells dispatch that after Melissa went missing, Matthew stopped by her place.

And he come over last night, so wet from head to toe. Truck was all muddy. And then she drops this.

He said he blacked out and snapped and choked her to death and dumped their body in Spring Creek in a trash can.

He told you he put the body in a trash can and dumped it in Spring Creek. Yes. Police contact Texas Aquaarch, a volunteer search and recovery team with access to boats, divers, and sonar equipment. We got a lot of challenges out there with all that debris that's in the water.

Then investigators ask Matthew's girlfriend if she'd be willing to wear wire and get him to confess once again. She agrees and sets up a meeting with her lover 3 days later. A digital voice recorder given to her by detectives records their conversation. got a good case. Told him all it would what happened.

Matthew goes on to tell her he's confident he'll get away with murdering Melissa since cops haven't found a body.

Cuz right now they haven't found it. I don't think they're going to find you. Matthew's lover pushes him to turn himself in.

Then I'll do. Then the woman makes an appeal for human decency. I just think he should give her the proper burial. Tip it in from an old school. Open.

The cops are listening to every sorted detail. He really didn't believe that there's any way that we could figure this out or there was any way that we could pin this on him.

Then there's another big break in the case. Detectives receive information about an area of the creek where Matthew could have dumped Melissa's body.

It's a familiar space. He goes fishing there. That's his favorite spot. I just had the gut feeling.

Searchers focused their sonar detectors in that area of the creek. There was something very interesting. I was looking and I really studied it hard last night.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day come and go. It's now January 2nd and day seven in the search for Melissa Soders.

We believe that Matthew was the one that's killed Melissa, but we haven't found her body yet. Then just downstream, search team spots something below the water.

We ended up finding Melissa's body in a creek, and Melissa had been waited down and was, you know, pretty deep in the water.

And how do they know it's Melissa? The corner's office will make the official identification, but there's one thing the cops zero in on. It's a tattoo near her hipbone. Four letters, one word. Matt. It wasn't until they they called me asking me for information about identifying marks on her body, tattoos, stuff like that that it hit me. Oh my god, she she is dead.

Melissa's family is devastated. They tore my heart out. I just couldn't imagine. It was a shock. It was a shock.

The coroner officially identifies the body as Melissa Soders, but due to the cold wintertime water and the body being submerged for 7 days.

Unfortunately, the medical examiner's office could not tell us an exact cause of death. But they ended up ruling the case, what they call homicidal violence. In other words, you know, someone did something to her. They just can't say exactly what. Still, cops are ready to get their man.

As soon as we found Melissa's body, we were able to get the warrant for Matthew's arrest. So, we knew that Matthew had an idea that this was coming.

Undercover special ops teams are watching the house, ready to strike if Matthew tries to make a break for it. Then there's movement

and we saw Matthew attempting to leave the house with his dad. Matthew is arrested and charged with his wife's murder. Obviously, you're in custody. You're under arrest. You know, you've been charged with murder. You know, we now have Melissa's body. There you go. Melissa's been found.

Unlike their last interview, Matthew doesn't want to talk to anyone except his lawyer.

News cameras are there as Matthew Soders appears in court. Matthew Sers, you're here on a charge of capital murder, and I'm led to believe it involves the murder of two people, including a a unborn child.

That's right. Matthew's aranged wife was 2 months pregnant at the time of her murder.

According to some of Melissa's friends, she had pictures on her phone of the positive pregnancy test.

The baby wasn't Matthews. Jason was the father of her baby. Sadly, a baby he will never meet.

I mean, it was it was heartbreaking. I didn't want to believe it. We think that maybe Matthew uh saw some of the stuff on her phone related to the pregnancy. Maybe that's what caused him uh to snap.

After gathering all the evidence, prosecutors believe Matthew knew his wife was pregnant when he killed her. But they aren't sure they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

They are forced to vacate the capital murder charge. We ended up pleading him to the crime of murder where we don't have to prove that she knew she's pregnant, but just that he wanted to kill her.

Facing a mountain of incriminating evidence, Matthew pleads guilty to murder. His father and copy editor at the Houston Chronicle releases a statement to his own newspaper. He says, quote, "I'm proud of him for taking responsibility and sparing everybody a trial, and no trial means we will never hear Matthew's side of the story." So, we reached out to him. Since Matthew Soders was put behind bars, he hasn't talked to anyone. However, today he was scheduled for an exclusive Crime Watch daily interview with me from behind bars. However, when we arrived, he wouldn't even come out of his cell.

But whatever Matthew's story, it doesn't change the fact Melissa is gone. Why leave the kids without a mother and a father? He was adopted himself. He was at an orphanage when his parents adopted him and his twin sister. He would know what it's like, you know, to not have parents. Melissa's children remain with Matthew's parents while their father serves out a 60-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years. But Melissa's family claims they got a worse sentence. Life without Melissa.

What would you say to Melissa? I miss you and I love you. I wish you were here. [snorts]

And I will never forget her ever. [snorts]

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?"?

Chris Hansen (Host), Jason Mata (Guest), Elizabeth (Guest), Michelle (Guest), Anna Garcia (Guest), Sharon (Guest), David Hower (Guest), Matthew Soders (Guest).

What is "Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?" about?

The disappearance of single mother Nancy Moyer remains a haunting mystery after she vanished from her home, leaving behind an open door and a half-finished glass of wine. Investigators explore tumultuous relationships, including her ex-husband and a colleague with an unsettling obsession, as they piece together the events leading to her last moments.

What is mentioned in this True Crime News episode?

18 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Nancy Moyer, Melissa Soders, Matthew Soders, Crime Watch Daily, Jason Sanford, Bill Moyer. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Did the shocking sex life of a single mom lead to her disappearance?"?

The episode runs 40 min; the transcript is about 6,516 words in 178 timestamped sections.

More from True Crime News

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.