Most people go to the gym expecting awkward eye contact, broken treadmills, and maybe someone grunting too loudly while lifting weights, not a true crime plot twist waiting in the sauna. You never really think you’re making casual small talk with a murderer until you are.
When TikToker Reed (@reedcrosgrove) was in her last year of high school, she unknowingly interacted with a murderer at the gym. She later found out who he was.
That day, she decided to do something out of the ordinary. She had her mom call her out of school for the day and headed to the gym. It was the first time she had ever been to the gym at 1 p.m. on a weekday. She was used to going in the evenings.
She did her usual workout before going into the co-ed sauna to relax. There were already seven or eight other people inside. She ended up sitting next to a guy who was chatting with another guy, and they brought her into the conversation.
Reed noticed that the guy sitting next to her was fully clothed. He was wearing boots, a T-shirt, and jewelry. She thought it was odd that he was wearing clothes in a sauna.
Eventually, other people joined in on the conversation. Everyone had a blast cracking jokes and telling stories. Reed was having such a good time that she stayed for 25 to 30 minutes before leaving.
It felt like one of those random social moments where strangers unexpectedly click.
However, later that evening, the experience took a horrifying turn. Reed was hanging out at her friend’s house when her mom texted her and informed her that someone at the gym had been arrested.
“It wasn’t in the nicest part of town, so that wasn’t the most shocking thing,” she said.
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“I assumed somebody got arrested in the parking lot or on the busy street next to it, but then she sends me an article, and I click on it, and sure enough, so and so got arrested at my gym at 2 p.m., so like 10 minutes after I had left that day.”
The article included a picture of the guy she had been chatting with. He was arrested for murder and attempted murder. He had a loaded gun in his gym locker and one in his car in the parking lot.
The realization completely rattled her. One moment, she had been laughing and chatting with him like any ordinary stranger. The next, she was finding out that he was allegedly connected to violent crimes.
It forced her to think about how little people truly know about the strangers they interact with every single day. For Reed, it was a chilling reminder that dangerous people don’t always look dangerous.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
