Podcasts · TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

15-Year-Old Was Kidnapped. Everyone Knew… But No One Helped

23 Oct 2026 · 45 min

On August 6, 2000, 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz was kidnapped near his home in West Hills, Los Angeles, by drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood and two associates. Hollywood wanted to use Nicholas as leverage to collect a $1,200 drug debt owed by the teenager’s older half-brother, Ben. Nicholas himself did not owe the money.

The group took Nicholas to the Santa Barbara area, where he was held for several days. During that time, he attended parties and interacted with people who knew he had been kidnapped, but no one contacted police. Hollywood eventually ordered his associate Ryan Hoyt to kill Nicholas, offering to cancel Hoyt’s own debt in return.

In the early hours of August 9, Nicholas was taken to a remote area near Lizard’s Mouth in the mountains above Santa Barbara. He was bound and gagged, and Hoyt shot him nine times before his body was concealed in a shallow grave. His remains were discovered on August 12.

Hoyt was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to death; in January 2024, a judge vacated his death sentence, and he is now serving life without parole. Hollywood fled the country and was arrested in Brazil in 2005. He was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder in 2009 and also received life without parole. The case inspired the film Alpha Dog.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)