Amy Allwine: The Plot That Started Online

On a quiet Sunday morning in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Stephen Allwine returned home from church and made a call no one ever expects to make.

His wife, Amy, had been shot in the basement of their home.

There were no shattered windows. No forced entry. No obvious sign of a struggle. Just a stunned husband, a nine-year-old son upstairs, and a tragedy that felt sudden and impossible.

Amy Allwine was 43 years old. A healthcare worker. A devoted mother. A woman rooted in her faith and her community. By all outward appearances, she was living a steady suburban life.

But as investigators began reconstructing the timeline of that Sunday morning, they discovered something unsettling:

This story may not have started that day at all.

It may have started months earlier.

Online.

In this episode, we unravel a case that weaves together the dark web, cryptocurrency, hidden identities, and the dangerous illusion of anonymity. What begins as a possible home invasion slowly transforms into something far more deliberate — and far more calculated.

How do digital breadcrumbs expose secrets people believe are untraceable?

How long can someone live two separate lives without them colliding?

And what happens when a plan made in the shadows doesn’t unfold the way it was supposed to?

This is the story of Amy Allwine.

And the plot that started online.

To see more about this case, as well as the sources used to create this episode, visit our Blog Here.