Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Dancer Gunned Down by Ex in Botched Murder-Suicide After Breakup| Crime Alert 6AM 12.04.2025
Puppy love ends in lead -when an angry ex opens fire on his high school sweetheart. He then turns the gun on himself but survives. A Florida man who frantically reported his GF missing is now facing a murder charge, after her body is found floating in a canal. Plus, don't "Walk this, Way!" Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brianna Aguilera is a huge Texas football fan. Growing up in Laredo, ‘Brie’ cheers for the United High School Longhorns.

As she heads to college, Brie trades burnt orange for maroon and white at Texas A&M. Brianna spends most of her time at the Bush School in pursuit of a political science degree. She’s looking forward to ordering her Aggie ring and prepping for the LSAT next year.

Brie’s planning to head straight to law school after graduation and is well on her way with a 4.0 GPA.

At 12:47 a.m., Austin Police respond to a good Samaritan’s report of an unconscious woman outside the 21 Rio high-rise. The woman is pronounced dead at 12:57 a.m., with officers believing she fell from the building.

Meanwhile, a mother's intuition leads Stephanie to be suspicious as soon as her daughter's phone goes to "do not disturb," especially after she communicates with her daughter that she made it ok to the tailgate party and to keep her phone and location on for safety.

Repeated calls to her daughter's phone, the police, and surrounding hospitals continue to turn up no word on her daughter's whereabouts. This is unlike the behavior the honor student has always shown her family; that is why the family starts to panic.

It’s not until 4 p.m. that afternoon that Stephanie Rodriguez is told her 19-year-old daughter, Brianna Aguilera, is dead. Officers first tell her Brie jumped, then say her friends don’t know how Brie ended up 17 stories below them.

Austin PD recovers Brianna’s phone, though they haven’t said where, returning the device to her grieving mother. Stephanie says her daughter’s texts indicate she got in a fight with one of the other girls staying at the Rio 21 apartment Friday night. When she highlights the texts to an officer, he tells her they are not investigating Brianna’s death as a homicide, and the texts does not change the course of the investigation.

Stephanie Rodriguez does not accept Austin PD’s assumption. Brianna committed suicide. Stephanie, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, insists Brianna was excited to attend the tailgate and had a long list of future plans. Her daughter was also so afraid of heights, she wouldn’t ride roller coasters on her cheer team’s senior trip to Disney World.

Stephanie believes one of the 14 “friends” Brianna was with that night knows what happened to her daughter.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rebecca Park, a northern Michigander who was thirty-eight weeks pregnant when she disappeared, is now at the center of a homicide case as new charges are filed following the discovery of her body and the continued search for her missing baby. A Georgia couple now faces criminal charges after investigators say they abandoned their dog just before leaving the state for a Hawaiian vacation. The grinch who stole Thanksgiving dinner takes an 80-year-old volunteer’s car while she serves meals to the homeless in Portland. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States Marshals Service joins the hunt for Coach Travis Turner, who is listed as a "Missing Person" last seen November 20. The Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of Turner.

Turner's disappearance days before his undefeated football team's playoff game is now even more shocking; the coach is wanted on charges of possessing child pornography and using a computer to solicit a minor.

Virginia State Police say Turner is wanted on warrants for five counts of possessing child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. Police say additional charges are pending.

In the early stages of an investigation into allegations involving the coach, police head to the family home to interview Travis Turner. While on the way, investigators receive a tip that Turner is no longer at the home.

In a shocking update for fugitive Coach Travis Turner, the family says the last contact they had with the husband and father was as he left the family home on foot, walking into the woods with a firearm.

Turner goes into an area described as heavily wooded and mountainous, as investigators are on the way to his house to interview him about recent allegations.

There is no word on if the former coach was contacted ahead of time and fled the scene, but no charges had been filed against him at the time he left the family home. Turner was gone when investigators arrived.

Travis Turner is a former high school football star quarterback who captured three state titles as a player in the mid-90s, and who is now the head football coach at Union High School in Wise County, Virginia.

Turner has been the football coach since 2011, and this year the team is undefeated heading into the state playoffs. Turner and his paralegal wife, Leslie, have been married for going on 25 years and have three children, two boys and a girl.

The recent accusations swirling around football coach Travis Turner are not the first time Union High School has had to deal with allegations involving a coach/teacher.

Timothy Lee Meador, a teacher and coach at Union High School, was arrested on one count of child solicitation and two counts of indecent liberties.

Meador pleaded guilty to two felony charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor by a person in a custodial or supervisory relationship, and was sentenced to one year and three months in prison.

The same lawyer who represented Meador is also representing the Turner family.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After four decades of unanswered questions, new DNA testing has led prosecutors to a suspect they say is responsible for a teenager’s 1984 rape and murder.

In San Antonio, Texas, police say a twenty-one-year-old man shot and killed three co-workers before taking his own life.

In North Carolina, a police officer assigned to a hospital campus was killed during an encounter in the emergency department lobby.

Finally, in a widening federal counter-terrorism investigation, two additional young men have been charged with attempting to aid the Islamic State group.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna Kepner’s death on board a Carnival cruise ship is now ruled a homicide, according to her autopsy report, stating she was “mechanically asphyxiated by another person or persons.”

The medical examiner also finds two bruises on the side of Anna’s neck, writing she may have been held in a ‘bar hold,’ meaning her attacker held an arm across her neck. Anna’s stepbrother may be a suspect in the teen’s murder; the FBI remains silent.

Anna Kepner’s cruise to the Caribbean is a family trip. She’s joined by her grandparents, who took her on her first cruise; her father, Chris Kepner; her stepmother, Shauntel Hudson; and her two siblings and two step-siblings.

Anna’s parents share a room with the two youngest girls, and by their own decision, Anna, her brother, 14, and stepbrother, 16, split a second room. Grandparents Barbara and Jeffrey Kepner remind the teens they have a spare bed in their room if anyone decides they need more space.

During dinner, Anna excuses herself early; sources allege her braces hurt. Surveillance footage shows Anna walking back to and entering the room she shares with her brothers.

After eating, the teen boys come to the room before the youngest sibling ventures out again to explore, leaving Anna and their stepbrother alone.

When he returns, he notes Anna isn’t in bed but assumes she got a second wind and is spending more time with the adults. He goes to sleep with no idea his sister’s body is shoved under the bed just a few feet away.

Though family members released the details of Anna’s autopsy, and court records from stepmom Shauntel Hudson’s divorce proceedings indicate her 16-year-old son, Anna’s stepbrother, may be a suspect in the teen’s murder, the FBI has remained silent on the progress of their investigation.

No charges have been filed.

Anna’s stepmom, Shauntel Hudson, files a motion for a gag order in her divorce proceedings, claiming the public exposure and reporting on the case and subsequent filings could lead to "possible irreversible harm" to the children and family or could jeopardize the investigation and her son’s presumed defense.

The documents request future hearings be closed to the public in the event the 16-year-old is charged in Anna’s death.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rebecca Kay Park was reported missing on Nov. 4 after she was last seen the day before getting into a vehicle outside her mother’s home in Boon Township, Michigan.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A New York judge has dismissed two state-level terrorism-related murder charges against Luigi Mangione.

 The dismissed charges were first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism. The judge ruled that state prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to the grand jury to support the claim that Mangione intended to "intimidate and coerce a civilian population" or influence government policy. That is the legal threshold for state terrorism charges.

Mangione still faces several other serious charges, including a second-degree murder charge and federal charges that could carry the death penalty.  

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, which marks the first such directive by the Trump administration. New York, where the murder occurred, has abolished the death penalty, and Mangione's lawyers are attempting to block the federal death penalty pursuit, arguing the move is a political stunt. 

JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Mayhem in the Morgue on all podcast platforms: https://link.podtrac.com/MayhemMorgue

Content Warning: This episode contains disturbing descriptions of the death of an individual. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you.

It started with a song lyric: “She was a winner that became a doggie’s dinner.” But behind that darkly humorous line lies a story stranger (and sadder) than the myth it inspired. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns investigates the real story behind the tragic death of silent film star Marie Prevost, separating rumor from forensic reality. Through real cases and forensic insight, Dr. Crowns shows how devotion, biology, and the harsh realities of animal scavenging can collide in the aftermath of death.

Highlights

• (0:00) Welcome to Mayhem in the Morgue with Dr. Kendall Crowns

• (0:30) A song lyric leads Dr. Crowns down an unexpected rabbit hole

• (1:00) The real story of Marie Prevost, her silent film fame, heartbreak, and decline

• (2:15) The 1937 discovery, the truth behind the rumor, and how the book Hollywood Babylon distorted the facts

• (4:30) From myth to morgue: the forensic reality of postmortem pet scavenging

• (6:00) How hunger, instinct, and biology drive behavior in dogs, cats, and even rodents

• (7:45) The Chihuahua pack case and the nightmare scene investigators walked into

• (9:15) When pet hoarding turns horrific: 20 cats, one body, and the survival instinct at work

• (11:15) Displacement behavior and the Memphis case involving a loyal dog, a group of raccoons, and the forensic clue that revealed the truth

About the Host: Dr. Kendall Crowns

Dr. Crowns is the Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County, Texas, and a nationally recognized forensic pathologist. He las led death investigations in Travis County, Fort Worth, Chicago, and Kansas. Over his career, he has performed thousands of autopsies and testified in court hundreds of times as an expert witness. A frequent contributor to Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Dr. Crowns brings unparalleled insight into the strange, grisly, and sometimes absurd realities of forensic pathology.

About the Show

Mayhem in the Morgue takes listeners inside the bloody, bizarre, and often unbelievable world of forensic pathology. Hosted by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns, each episode delivers real-life cases from the morgue, the crime scene, and the courtroom. Expect gallows humor, hard truths, and unforgettable investigations.

Connect and Learn More

Learn more about Dr. Kendall Crowns on Linkedin. Catch him regularly on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace and follow Mayhem in the Morgue where you get your podcasts.

If you liked this episode, don’t keep it to yourself—follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave us a review.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

A body matching the description of Rebecca Kay Park is discovered on Tuesday. Rebecca, 22, had not been seen since just before midnight of Nov. 3, and a massive search effort had been underway to locate her, because she was 38 weeks pregnant at the time she went missing. Officials decline to say if the remains of a newborn were also discovered or if the victim was or had been pregnant 

Federal investigations into John Wilson Bennett and Mark Booth Bennett began on November 17, following an off-duty police officer in Norfolk, Virginia, who reportedly heard them planning to "kill police officers and ICE agents.”

A Utah father now sits in jail without bail after prosecutors charged him with child torture and abuse tied to a dangerous mountain hike that nearly killed his three children. 

The LAPD says Celeste Rivas body was not frozen when found in frunk of Tesla registered to D4VD. LAPD Captain and commanding officer of Robbery Homicide Division, Scot Williams, says "the whole frozen thing doesn't make sense, her body was in the car for weeks." 

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New details emerging after a  21-year-old college student and cheerleader from the University of Kentucky is accused of hiding her newborn inside her college apartment closet.

Laken Snelling is arrested after her infant is found dead in a trash bag inside the closet. An autopsy report only deepens the mystery surrounding the infant's death because the results are found to be inconclusive. Snelling posted baby bump pics before her infant was found dead. 

Authorities allege Snelling gave birth in secret, wrapped her baby in a towel, placed him in a trash bag, and left him in her closet.

According to an arrest report, Lexington police were called to a home on Park Avenue for an unresponsive infant on Wednesday. Police said they found a baby's body in a closet, wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag.

The UK cheerleader is now charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. Court records show Snelling took selfies during birth.

Joining Nancy Grace today,

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The estranged wife of former financier and accused depraved sex trafficker Howard Rubin says he should be allowed bond. Mary Henry, in a letter to the court, say Rubin is actually a loving grandfather who should should be allowed to spend time with his three young grandchildren until trial.  

Former Wall Street money manager Howard Rubin busted by the feds at his Fairfield, Connecticut, home for a decade-long Manhattan sex-trafficking scheme. With the help of his assistant, Jennifer Powers, “Howie” Rubin is accused of luring women into BDSM sex sessions in exchange for cash, then exceeding their consent and torturing and raping his victims.

Rubin accused of luring victims to BDSM sex sessions, first in luxury Manhattan hotels and later in his $18,000-per-month penthouse apartment, equipped with a soundproof “sex dungeon.” Women were bound on a bed or a cross, beaten, and electrocuted. The pleas of those who weren’t gagged went ignored, and the torture often continued even when a woman fell unconscious.  Rubin allegedly paid the women several thousand dollars afterward, including for injuries that required medical attention, like a flipped breast implant.  

10 Jane Does are listed as victims in the indictment, but prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York say there are dozens more and are asking the public for tips. Rubin is charged with 2 counts of sex trafficking, 6 counts of transporting women to engage in prostitution, and bank fraud.  

Howard Rubin’s name becomes a Wall Street commodity in the 1980s while trading bonds at Salomon Brothers. Rubin is profiled in Michael Lewis’ 1989 book Liar’s Poker for his contributions to the development of a collateralized mortgage obligation market.  Rubin goes on to hold senior positions at Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and Soros Fund Management. 

Rubin's successful life doesn't stop him from getting married to fellow financier, Mary Henry. After three children and 36 years of marriage, Henry divorces her husband when he is accused of sexual violence in a civil suit.  

Rubin tasked Jennifer Powers, his “personal assistant,” with recruiting victims. Powers is arrested at her home in a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, accused of running the “day-to-day” operations of Rubin’s sex-trafficking scheme and being paid handsomely. Powers arranged the victims’ travel and coerced them into signing NDAs. This evil empire these two created by victimizing so many is crumbling, and more victims are expected to speak out. 

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarm Heslop has a restless sense of adventure and works various jobs to fund her passion for travel and sailing.

Working as a flight attendant for Flybe in the UK, a waitress in Gibraltar and Malta, and even working in a call center to fund her exotic adventures.

Sarm meets Ryan Bane on Tinder and becomes close enough that she moves to the Virgin Islands and joins Bane onboard his 47-foot luxury catamaran, Siren Song, as a chef.

The "Siren Song" is a working charter yacht available for private charge and is moored in a bay off the western coast of Saint John, US Virgin Islands. Living on board the Siren Song, called the Virgin Islands Premier Luxury Sailing Charter, Sarm is living her best life.

On the evening of March 7, Sarm and Bane go to the Island of Saint John for dinner. Leaving the restaurant, they board a small dinghy for the 200-foot hop to where Siren Song is moored offshore. Bane says Sarm is asleep by 10pm. Around 2:30am, Bane awakens but can't find Sarm.

He takes a dinghy to the shore to report her missing to island police, suggesting she may have fallen overboard. Police tell him to call the Coast Guard. Bane does not notify the coast guard immediately. For reasons unknown, he waits until 11:45 a.m. to notify the Coast Guard that Sarm is missing.

When coast guard officials arrive, an intoxicated Bane refuses to allow them to board the catamaran to conduct a search. Police not being allowed to search the boat leads them to issue citations to Bane on account of not being allowed to search the boat, not having registration documentation, and safety equipment violations.

The nine-hour time gap between when Bane contacts Island Police and the time he calls the coast guard has been questioned by Sarm's family and even a fellow skipper on a boat moored nearby the Siren Song.

The skipper says he heard no shouts from the catamaran, nobody hollering for someone who might have fallen overboard. Sarm's phone, wallet, and passport are left behind on the boat and are turned over to the police.

An intensive search of the coastline begins with dogs on shore, divers in the water, and drones overhead. As word spreads of the missing woman, a local dog walker on Saint John says they heard a scream out at sea, in the direction of where the catamaran is anchored, around the time of Sarm's disappearance.

Jeff Jones, ASAR/Disaster Area Response Team A volunteer, tells Nancy Grace he spoke to the captain there the night she went missing. He actually comes on base Sunday morning and drops anchor about one hundred twenty feet away from the Siren Song, and he is there overnight on the vessel.

He's also a term charter captain with another catamaran for hire, and he saw nothing, heard nothing, and was unaware of any unusual foul play until the next day when the coast guard showed up.

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A beautiful late summer morning in Odessa, Texas, and Jaylin Schwarz is outside jumping on the trampoline.

It's not unusual to see an 8-year-old girl outside playing, jumping on a trampoline, but this isn't fun for Jaylin. She is being punished, forced to jump on a trampoline in over 100-degree temps. If she stops jumping, she loses her water break.

However, she gets tired and thirsty and needs to stop, but the punishment continues, without getting a drink of water. The temperature on the trampoline is 110 degrees; an adult will need water at this point.

Alysha Anderton has two beautiful little girls, sisters born just one year apart. As much as she loves her little ones, Alysha has been fighting a losing battle with addiction, and trying to make a decision in the best interest of her daughters.

She relinquishes her parental rights and allows her stepsister, Ashley Schwarz, and her husband, Daniel, to take over custody of the girls while she works on getting healthy.

Alysha believes this will only be temporary, and she will be able to see the girls often until she is able to be their full-time mom again. Promising to reunite as a family again soon, Ashley is thankful Jaylin and Jayde have a safe and loving home until she is better.

Jumping on a trampoline is something Jaylin Schwarz does for fun. But the activity has been used by her guardians, Ashley and Daniel Schwarz, as a form of punishment. Other innocent activities, such as writing lines to improve her handwriting skills, carrying weights in a hallway, or picking up dog feces, were also used by Jaylin's guardians.

As a punishment, Jaylin is forced to write lines over and over again until she is told to stop, she is forced to carry weights from one end of the hall to the other and back again, or she picks up dog feces with her bare hands. When the chore is not a punishment, she gets to use gloves.

On August 29, this life-threatening punishment of non-stop jumping on the trampoline takes a deadly turn for Jaylin because the door to the house is locked, there is no access to water, and she has been jumping for hours in the hot summer heat.

After three hours of jumping on the trampoline with temperatures hovering around 110 degrees, Jaylin passes out.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A monster uncle with a long rap sheet admits to raping & strangling his 14yo niece...with jumper cables. He tells his lover "I killed Kylie" in a chilling jailhouse call .A drunk granny kills her best friend in a crash, then berates cops for making her take a field sobriety test. Plus, an ex-con's risky repeat...leads to failure & a felony, again. Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Minnesota, the Mall of America is not just a place to shop; being the largest mall in the Western Hemisphere, it is also a tourist attraction.

Located on the spot where the NFL Vikings and Major League Baseball Twins play in Metropolitan Stadium, in the mall's amusement park, a seat from Metropolitan Stadium marks the exact spot Harmon Killebrew's 520th MLB home run landed.

Spanning four floors, locals come to shop, while tourists come to gawk at the sheer size of the mall. 

On a chilly April morning, with snow still on the ground, Kari Hoffmann, her 5-year-old son Landen, a friend, and her son Will arrive at the mall early, before all the stores open. Standing outside the Rain Forest Cafe, third floor, the boys play on a fake rock when a man Kari thinks is an employee walks up to the boys.

Asking if it was ok for the boys to be on the rock, the man tells the moms, very nicely, it's ok, "you can be here." The man then leans down and whispers something in Will's ear.

Later, details uncover that he says, "If you don't get off this rock, I'm going to throw you off.  

As the boys nervously giggle, the man reaches around Will, grabs Landen, and throws the 5-year-old over the third-floor railing. Frozen for a moment, Kari Hoffmann screams as her boy is falling more than three stories to the ground; the shaken mother runs down the escalator to her broken little boy, telling onlookers to pray as she runs. 

Falling 40 feet to the ground, Landen Hoffmann breaks his skull, facial bones, both arms, and a leg, as well as suffers a life-threatening injury to his vena cavae vein running to his heart. Two nurses who work in a cardiac unit happen to be near when this horrific event happens and perform CPR on Landen.

He is taken to the Minneapolis Children's Hospital, where he is immediately rushed into lifesaving surgery, and from there he is placed in the intensive care unit, doctors unsure if he will survive the trauma.  

While stunned onlookers are encouraged by Kari Hoffmann to pray for her son, back up on the third floor, a 68-year-old man tackles the suspect as he runs away, slowing the man down enough so even though he jumped on the railway, cops are able to arrest the man. 

This terror is caused by 24-year-old Emmanuel Aranda, a man known to the mall with a history of arrests for trespassing, cited for throwing items at mall patrons from the top floor of the mall.

Weeks later, he returns to the mall, this time harassing two women and throwing things in a mall restaurant.  

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amber Czech is dead at 20 years old. Police in Minnesota say a coworker who said he didn’t like her, walked over to her workstation and bashed her with a sledgehammer at the manufacturing plant that employed them. A Georgia woman nearly dies after her ex-boyfriend shoots her ten times, kidnaps her, and drove around for hours. A traffic stop in Florida ends with a drunk-driving arrest and an unplanned DoorDash delivery by an officer after the driver passed out at a traffic light. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shanann Rzucek never expects to fall in love with a man who sent her a random friend request, but two years later, she marries Chris Watts and moves from North Carolina to Colorado with her new husband.

Just after celebrating their first anniversary, the couple welcomes baby Bella into the world, and she becomes a big sister to Celeste at two years old. Despite financial struggles, the family is incredibly happy to learn they are expecting a little boy and break the news to Shanann’s parents on a summer vacation to North Carolina.

While Shanann Watts is in North Carolina with Bella and Celeste, Chris Watts makes his move on co-worker Nichol Kessinger. The pair has their first date just a week after Shanann left. Watts tells Kessinger he’s in the process of divorcing Shanann, and the relationship quickly becomes serious.

Kessinger is even looking at wedding dresses!

Cheryln Cadle, a grandmother of eleven who has only previously written short newspaper stories about true crime, feels an intense calling to reach out to Chris Watts—serving five consecutive life sentences for the murder of his pregnant wife and two little girls—and write a book about his story.

Cadle is surprised to receive a letter back, knowing Watts receives hundreds of letters. When Cadle meets with Watts behind bars, he says he will not speak to her about the murders—but he will write letters about what really happened on August 13th.

Watts writes to Cadle that he “never would have killed his family” if he hadn’t met Nikki, his Anadarko co-worker, Nichol Kessinger. Cadle says Watts was ‘mesmerized’ by Kessinger and felt she gave him a respect Shanann never did. Watts writes as his relationship with Kessinger grew, he actually contemplated killing his family for weeks.

Even before his homicidal daydreams, Watts tries to end Shanann’s pregnancy by giving her oxycodone, because Nikki tells him she wanted to give him his first son.

Watts addresses some of his letters to Shanann and the girls directly, discussing how badly it hurts that they’re gone. Watts often refers to them in the present tense, and Cadle observes Watts acts more like they died in an accident than that he murdered them.

Cadle also notices Watts never once apologizes to them for what happened. Confronted with that omission, Watts tells Cadle he didn’t realize he never expressed his remorse and says he is sorry.

Cadle says the few times Watts discusses the murders with her in person, his eyes turn almost black.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Cheryln Cadle - CC Publishing, Author of “The Murders of Christopher Watts” and “The Many Faces of Christopher Watts: A 5-year Update”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The late Sheriff Buford Pusser, long celebrated as a fearless lawman and the inspiration for the film Walking Tall, is now believed to have murdered his wife nearly sixty years ago.

In Illinois, a jury has convicted former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson of second-degree murder in the death of Sonya Massey, a Springfield woman who called 911 to report a possible prowler.

In Nebraska, a man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a parish priest in a small town north of Omaha.

In northeast Ohio, a Cleveland woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the fatal stabbing of a three-year-old boy outside a grocery store.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 31 years after O.J. Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, in a wrongful death civil trial, Simpson’s estate finally agrees to pay damages awarded to Goldman’s family in 1997.

While the jury granted the families $33.5 million, Simpson’s estate has agreed to pay Ron's father, Fred Goldman, $58 million plus interest.

It’s unclear what spurred the change of heart; executor Malcolm Lavergne previously swore to never pay Goldman a dollar.

Although the estate accepts the $58 million claim, the executor says he expects to collect only $500,000 to $1 million total in assets. The estate plans to auction off Simpson's possessions to raise money. Though Lavergne agrees to the $58 million payout, it’s unclear whether the estate can afford the full amount.

Executor Malcolm Lavergne says the estate plans to pay out as much of the sum as possible as items continue to be auctioned off. However, Lavergne claims several items were stolen, and of those that have been located, legal battles to recover them are still ongoing.

One year after Simpson is acquitted in criminal court, a civil trial begins. The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman sue Simpson for their wrongful deaths. The civil trial lasts five months, the 12-person jury finding OJ Simpson responsible for the murders of Nicole and Ron.

The jury awards $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Ron Goldman's parents, and determine Simpson should pay $25 million in punitive damages to both victims’ families.

The Goldman family isn’t the only one Simpson owes money. Simpson’s estate owes federal taxes and state taxes as well. While Lavergne agrees to the Goldman settlement.

He says his priority is paying off the IRS. Lavergne is doubling down on skirting the California taxes, saying the state will have to sue to recover the $637,000 claim they filed with the estate.

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police now say the remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez were partially frozen when they were found in the trunk of a Tesla belonging to D4VD.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heading into the ninth month of her pregnancy, Emma Baum finds out on October 4 that she is already dilated one centimeter.

Six days later, knowing the baby will be here soon, Emma has her sister drive her to boyfriend and father-to-be Antwon Butler's house in Gary, Indiana, Thursday evening. Emma tells her sister she will see her tomorrow and goes inside.

On Friday, Emma Baum does not reach out to her family members even though they are expecting her to come home. After waiting all weekend, Emma's mother, Jamie Baum, calls Butler and asks to speak to Emma. Antwon Butler tells Jamie that Emma isn't there...he saw her leave with a girl in a car.

However, Butler changes his story several times, and the family believes he is being less than truthful. The family reports Emma Baum missing and tells the police Antwon Butler was the last person to see Emma.

As it happens, Antwon Butler has an outstanding warrant for failure to appear, so he is picked up and taken to jail on charges not related to his missing girlfriend.

Weeks of searching for Emma have led to no results, and the family of Emma Baum are at a loss for what to do next.

Standing in front of Antwon Butler's house in Gary, the family asks local TV crews to get the word out, begging for the safe return of the mom of three and her newborn.

 Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margaret Anselmo, 45, a floral designer, mother of two, left her apartment on the morning of January 3rd, 1997,  to cash a check. A delivery driver found her body, face down in a snowy alley later that day. She had been raped and beaten to death. Police believed she was the victim of an apparent random act of violence. Her cause of death was due to blunt force trauma to the head. Her killer, not identified. Until now. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack look at the life and brutal death of Margaret Anselmo as her very cold case from 1997 heats up, thaws out, and a suspect is identified. To find out how you can help Othram Labs continue the quest to solve the unsolvable, thaw out the coldest of cold cases, go to www.dnasolves.com

Transcribe Highlights
00:00.00 Introduction telling stories of the dead

03:01.22 January 3, 1997 Margaret Anselmo going to cash a check

08:26.31 Drag marks in the alley

14:08.92 Did Margaret have a regular route she took?

19:53.22 STR looking into the "known suspects"

24:20.14 Othram labs looks like a "starship"

29:14.34 Suicide is rarely mentioned in press

33:44.91 One piece of puzzle helps connect

34:11.62 Police say "if suspect was alive, he would be charged"

39:08.10 Donating to Othram

41:00.92 Conclusion

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man in New York now faces four years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing the unlicensed revolver he fired during a deadly confrontation with a mugger in Queens. Pras from the rap group the Fugees is going to prison for 14 years after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentences him for a sweeping foreign influence scheme that moved millions of dollars into U.S. politics.

Her body was discovered hidden under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests.New Concerns for Brittany Spears as She's Seen Leaving Wine Bar With Drink in Hand.

An American Idol power couple's killer has been deemed too unhinged for trial; justice is stalled in the Hollywood horror, for now.  A wrestler's ex-wife & her lover have been nabbed for his execution hours after the ink dried on the divorce papers. Plus, threes a crowd, but not in jail.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As accused killer Stephan Sterns adjusts to life in a jail cell, he complains to his brother via email about everything from the size of his cell to the noise, filth, and eating utensils.

Sterns complains his bed mat is flat with very little cushion left, his cell is small and filthy, and he claims there are spots on the wall that appear to be bloody fingerprints. Now, he will be dealing with this situation for the rest of his life. Stephan Sterns, sentenced to multiple life sentences. 

After Sterns' arrest, it is emails from Sterns' mother that contain shocking information, as she is encouraging him to tell the truth. Sterns' mother believes other people are involved in the murder of Maddie, and she tells her son to stop protecting these people.

Knowing the emails are not private and protected, Stern's mother alludes to a woman being involved in the case, saying she is "disgusted that she is free and you are not when this is not all your fault." 

Some of the emails between Stephan Sterns and his mother seem a bit heavy-handed, trying to make it seem as though Sterns is a "stand-up guy" who wouldn't be a "rat," possibly to try and help her son as he prepares to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Stern's mother says, "I keep thinking about how you would not ever rat out a friend," and later adds, "It really made me mad, and I felt like you valued them over us when you let them get away with stuff. Don't be doing that again." 

Stern's mother says things like, "We all know [redacted] was heavily involved in this, and I am disgusted that she is free, and you are not when this is not all your fault!!"

"You need to think about yourself more and her less. She sure isn't thinking of you and how she can help you right now. That whole family is willing to stay quiet and let you take the fall for everything."

 JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the weeks before and after the release of the Federline book, Britney Spears is regularly posting on X and Instagram. Recent reports detail incidents of Britney Spears filmed driving erratically after leaving restaurants, sparking concern for the pop star.

Paparazi follows Spears and a friend at a local restaurant, documenting on video Spears seemingly unsteady on her feet and toasting the entire restaurant. The video of her dangerous driving - crossing the double yellow line, failing to maintain her lane and worse goes viral and friends and family in public and private share deep concerns about Spears, scared she is heading down the same path that put her in a conservatorship. And, allegedly, Spears does it again, drinking and driving. 

After scaring friends and fans with her disappearance from social media, Britney Spears has gone on a somewhat positive social media rampage, hitting up Instagram and posting a video showing her hanging out with Kim and Khloé Kardashian and her manager, Cade Hudson

Captioning the video clip Britney says "Such a warm, beautiful, kind family... Thank you for allowing me to play with your kids and dinner!!! It was an honor to spend time with you guys! Happy Holidays,"

Heading into the holiday season, friends say Britney has a clear priority in her life, rebuilding her relationship with her sons. Federline has been attacking Spears saying their boys don't have a relationship with their mother, but Britney is doing all she can to reconnect with Sean Preston and Jayden James. She recently resumed communication with both of her sons and hopes to have meaningful time together over the holidays.

Candace Owens says Lou Taylor built a house in Thousand Oaks where Britney stayed for a long time. Owens says big companies try to control famous people by saying they are having mental health issues and putting them on a "5150 hold."

Owens says this is what happened to Kanye West. During her rant, Owens claims Taylor's church is linked to the CIA and the "hippie movement" was a plan top break Christian faith.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mother of Danielle Staley, who vanished in California earlier this month, says her boyfriend of 13 years has been abusive. Two cases of parricide both result in quick arrests, one outside the U.S.! Sydney Sumner reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A relaxing Caribbean cruise turns into a waking nightmare when crew members discover apassenger dead just hours before the Carnival Horizon returns to Miami.

The FBI is now investigating 18-year-old Anna Kepner’s mysterious death, not commenting on whether foul play
is suspected. Now, Titusville, Florida, is grieving the loss of the high school senior with a bright future, and looking for answers.

Anna Kepner, 18, starts her senior year at Temple Christian School excited about her future. Anna paints her parking spot to match her favorite movie, Clueless, and is ecstatic to be back on the field, cheering for the Lions.

Anna loves the water and is licensed to boat and scuba certified. She enjoys making TikTok videos with her friends and brother. Anna plans on joining the military after high school, already in talks with recruiters. In fact, she’s waiting on the results of her ASVAB testing to determine which jobs will suit her best.

Anna’s family says, “She was the best child you could ever meet,” and a people person, who “drew you in with her smile and the way she carried herself.”

Anna was deeply involved in her community, volunteering with local businesses and her grandparents’ senior living community. She was close with her "Meemaw," who will dearly miss her "Anna Banana."

Family members hope she is remembered for her generosity and spirit and how she lived her 18 years to the fullest.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Michigan father who was about to taste freedom is suddenly hit with murder charges & a $60mil bond...accused of killing his 3 kids after disastrous Thanksgiving custody visit. The boys vanished without a trace in 2010. 

A Tennessee tot is dead, tortured at the hands of his father's girlfriend. Plus, a thief tries to make money off mourning. Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shocking information uncovered by the LAPD has the investigation spotlight finally pointing on David Anthony Burke.

Investigators have developed new information leading to the belief that Celeste likely died in the spring of this year, and the death is being tentatively treated as a possible homicide, but officials are waiting on an official cause of death from the medical examiner.

The LAPD has been working on a timeline of activity for Celeste Rivas Hernandez and Burke, and an insider with the police investigation says they have been able to determine that in the spring of this year, Burke took a secret trip in the middle of the night to a remote area of Santa Barbara County. Burke remains in the area for several hours.

As Burke becomes a suspect in the possible homicide of a child, police say it is likely Burke had help in dismembering and disposing of Celeste’s body. Burke still has not made a public announcement about Celeste being found in his car, and after initially saying Burke was cooperating with the investigation, the singer has not been cooperative during the last two months.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A DoorDash delivery driver in upstate New York faces serious criminal charges after she recorded a naked customer inside his home and posted the video online, as she accuses him of sexual assault. A small Missouri city will pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit after a blind and deaf Shih Tzu dog was shot by a police officer. Drew Nelson reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve and Kristi Goncalves join Nancy Grace to share their heartfelt feelings of the recent controversial "Lifetime" movie depicting the brutal murders of their daughter Kaylee, along with three other Idaho college friends. They also touch on their journey of grief and the justice system.

On the third anniversary of the Moscow Murders, Judge Hippler rules Kohberger has to pay additional restitution to the families of Kaylee and Maddie of about $3,000, the cost of the urns now holding the remains of the best friends. Kohberger argued he didn't have the money to pay the restitution because he is in prison for the rest of his life. The judge tosses that notion stating Kohberger received nearly $30,000 in county jails while awaiting trial, most of it coming from his family.

Hippler also points out Kohberger is a young man who can earn money through prison employment. Kohberger will "receive sufficient amounts over his life to at least come close to meeting his financial restitution obligations. The compensation ruling for the Goncalves and Mogen families is in addition to the nearly $300,000 Kohberger is already ordered to pay the families.

However, in a shocking announcement from the bench, Hippler says Kohberger can legally make money from selling his story, saying the Idaho law "leaves open the potential for Defendant to receive money from media contracts in the future"  and such earnings will not be accessible to victims for restitution payments.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin police say new investigative work has advanced the long-unsolved 1991 “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” murder case, one of the city’s most enduring cold cases.

A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called 911 seeking help.

In Nebraska, a man has pleaded guilty to murder and related charges for killing a Catholic priest during a 2023 break-in at the priest’s home.

A Cuyahoga County, Ohio jury has found Bionca Ellis guilty on all counts in the stabbing death of 3-year-old Julian Wood outside a North Olmsted grocery store.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The House Oversight Committee releases more than 20,000 documents subpoenaed from
Epstein’s estate, on the heels of a smaller release of emails implying President Trump knew
about Epstein’s abuse.

 The documents include thousands of emails with high-profile contacts, financial and property records, excerpts from James Patterson’s Filthy Rich, and records of Epstein’s ‘fixers’ desperate attempts to improve his public image.

 Republican congressman Thomas Massie implies Donald Trump's ordering of a fresh investigation is making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the files on the late sex offender from becoming public.

President Trump’s ‘Ghislaine Maxwell problem’ is just as serious as his ‘Epstein problem.’
Maxwell’s transfer to ‘Club Fed’ just days after assuring Deputy Attorney General Blanche
Trump did not participate in the abuse; it appears to be quite the ‘quid pro quo.’

 In addition to the low-security facility’s general privileges, Maxwell is reportedly demanding VIP treatment that has the warden complaining she’s “tired of being Maxwell’s bitch.”

Maxwell reportedly receives custom meals in her cell and enjoys private exercise time and access
to service puppies. Warden Tanisha Hall has been ordered to make all requested
accommodations for Maxwell, including carrying out secretarial duties on her behalf, providing
snacks for her private meetings with guests, letting her visitors bring in computers, and
punishing staff members who refuse to cooperate. 

And Attorney Alan Dershowitz joins Nancy to discuss the latest developments in the Epstein Files and share his unique insight into the case. The emeritus Harvard Law professor was accused of having sex with “Jane Doe #3”—identified in court documents as Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Dershowitz long maintained his innocence, and in 2022 Giuffre withdrew those accusations and admitted she may have misidentified Dershowitz. He tells Nancy why he wants "everything out there" in the Epstein case. 

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly three decades after the civil judgment against O.J. Simpson, his estate is finally taking steps to pay Fred Goldman—father of Ron Goldman, who was killed alongside Nicole Brown Simpson in 1994.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Zone 7 on all podcast platforms: https://link.podtrac.com/rkmb6ssw

Day after day, case after case, Tom Smith returned to the job with a clear sense of purpose: protect, respond, and stand with the people beside him. On this episode of Zone7, Sheryl McCollum talks with the retired NYPD detective about the path that led him from patrol work to the Joint Terrorism Task Force and ultimately, to a lifetime of service recognized at the national level. Tom shares how his father shaped his calling, how partnership becomes its own lifeline, and how a series of events during one 12-hour shift in the Bronx has stayed with him ever since.

 Highlights:

Guest Bio:

Tom Smithis a retired NYPD detective and 2024 National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame inductee. Over 30 years of service, he worked in patrol, narcotics, and robbery investigations and spent 17 years working with the FBI/NYPD on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including an overseas deployment to Afghanistan. Tom co-hosts the podcast Gold Shields, lectures on criminal justice and terrorism and provides investigative commentary for national media outlets.

---

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, forensic and crime scene expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. She is the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a national collaboration that advances techniques for solving cold cases and assists families and law enforcement with unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnappings.

 Social Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida Man kills 2 kids after sexually assaulting 1, sets mobile home on fire 

Investigation underway in the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner. 

Wisconsin investigators say they have uncovered one of the worst child-neglect cases the state has ever seen: a 14-year-old girl rescued from a trailer park home in the town of Oneida weighing just 35 pounds. The FBI continues the search for six people who vanished from a rental home in Missouri, in relation to an online cult. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna Kepner, 18, starts her senior year at Temple Christian School, excited about her future.

Anna paints her parking spot to match her favorite movie,"Clueless," and is ecstatic to be back on the field, cheering for the Lions. She loves the water and is licensed to boat and scuba-certified. She also enjoys making TikTok videos with her friends and brother.

Anna plans on joining the military after high school and is already in talks with recruiters. In fact, she’s waiting on the results of her ASVAB testing to determine which jobs will suit her best.

Anna Kepner, a cheerleader, was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship during a recent western Caribbean voyage that ended in Miami on Saturday, November 8, 2025. The FBI is now investigating the death.

Carnival has stated it is fully cooperating with the investigation. The cause of death has not been released, and an autopsy is pending.

 Anna Kepner's Celebration of Life will be held November 20.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida prosecutors alleged that a 13-year-old boy who killed his mother in 2023 was inspired by the “Friday the 13th” horror franchise. Skelton brothers’ father charged with their murders nearly 15 years later. A convicted rapist and his girlfriend were sentenced Thursday after they pleaded guilty to a murder-for-hire plot against the prosecutor and judge in his rape case. Police in Ohio are searching for a 16-year-old girl who has not been seen since Sunday. Sydney Sumner reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Melodee Buzzard is first reported missing, school officials fear the little girl hasn’t been seen in more than a year.

The school district discovers Melodee was seen much more recently, enrolling in another year of homeschooling.
Santa Barbara County sheriffs then find that her mom, Ashlee Buzzard, left Lompoc with Melodee on October 7; they were spotted together at a car rental.

Security footage caught Melodee for the last time on October 9. Buzzard returns home the next day, alone. Melodee has now been missing for 35 days.

The only photo authorities have of Melodee is more than two years out of date, as the little girl is “homeschooled” in Vandenberg Village, just north of Lompoc, California.

Ashley Buzzard was arrested on Nov 7 for false imprisonment, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. Ashley's arrest was for false imprisonment. This is not a child-related charge. So, this arrest is not related to Melodee. And it's not related to the ongoing missing person case directly. But, it is a case that came up amid this missing person case.

Four days after her arrest, Ashlee Buzzard entered a not guilty plea to false imprisonment. Prosecutors argue that Buzzard should remain incarcerated due to her flight risk and potential for violence.

However, her attorneys counter that she does not own a vehicle and did not specifically threaten Brewer with a box cutter. The judge agrees to grant Buzzard bail under close supervision and orders Buzzard to stay away from Brewer.
The 40-year-old is once again walking free.

Anyone with information asked to contact Santa Barbara County investigators at 805-681-4150. Anonymous calls can be made to the tip line at 805-681-4171. Contact the FBI at 800-225-5324.

Anonymous tipsters can also share information online to the sheriff’s office.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Vet-Turned-Postal Worker is found crushed to death inside a giant mail sorting machine just days after his proposal. Fellow employees didn't find him until 8 hours later. 

A new lawsuit exposes an Army OBGYN's sick secret; it also states the military knew he was a "pervert in a uniform" and still allowed him to continue his alleged 'care.' Plus, a rollercoaster rider is KO'ed by a feathered foe...now, she's filed. Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could Britney Spears face charges after her most recent headline of bad driving, or possibly drunk driving, putting others lives in danger, not to mention her own safety?

Britney Spears deletes her Instagram account, but within a week, Spears returns with a lingerie pic and a cryptic message within one week of deleting her account.

Britney is no stranger to making headlines in tabloids, TMZ claims Spears is in danger of going broke, but Entertainment Tonight and Spears’ lawyer says she has multiple revenue streams, and Radar Online reports Spears is partying hard after the break-up with Paul Soliz.

Just last month, on October 22, Britney was seen at a Mexican restaurant in Thousand Oaks, California, unsteady on her feet, and then later caught on video driving dangerously in her car.

Manager of RED-O, Oliver Wynn, says Britney was not intoxicated, and that the pop star did not order alcohol to drink with her quesadilla. Wynn also says Britney, the pop princess, was nice to fans, talking and taking photos.

However, when leaving the restaurant, the staff try to prevent Britney from driving, but she gets behind the wheel of her BMW anyway and proceeds to drive dangerously.

Video shows Britney has trouble maintaining her lane, turning fast making U-turn, and tires screech.

Shockingly, the pop star claims on social media she was not out, that there is a Britney "lookalike" seen, not her.

Kevin Federline, Britney's ex-husband and the father of her two sons, releases a book about Britney, "You Thought You Knew."

He makes outrageous claims of Spears using cocaine while pregnant, hitting one of her sons, and more.

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smallville Actress Allison Mack Speaks the First Time About NXIVM in a CBC podcast. The founder of 1-800-411-PAIN is arrested after allegedly bringing a loaded gun onto a Miami-Dade high school campus. A Michigan mother accused of killing her 3-year-old son to “make room” for a baby with her boyfriend has admitted to the crime. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesse Mack Butler, star baseball player for the Stillwater High School Pioneers, has been receiving offers at NCAA colleges.

Jesse’s family is deeply tied to Stillwater and Oklahoma State University. The father, Mack Butler, served as the Cowboy’s football director for 16 years, and now his wife and daughter also work for OK State’s football program.

Butler appears to be a typical All-American teenager, but his ex-girlfriends allege he’s extremely violent.

The star teenage athlete, serial rapist, who strangles his girlfriends for a laugh, got a slap on his hand by serving NO jail time on 11 charges, securing a sweetheart deal classifying him as a "youthful offender."

The now 18-year-old’s "treatment plan" is sealed, but he will attend counseling, complete community service, and abide by strict curfews. Should he fail any aspect of the plan, Jesse Butler will serve the 10-year sentence he would have received as an adult behind bars.

One of his victims is choked so badly she is taken to the ER. Girls were bleeding from their private areas and sustained injuries during the assaults.

The perp was facing a potential 78 years in prison, but instead the judge decided for the perp's violent behavior. He would receive a slap on the wrist after attacking multiple women, even sending one to the hospital.

And another time, just before Butler can put his penis inside another victim, a woman approaches Butler’s car and says she’s calling police. Butler drives "LS" back to her own car. 

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After four decades of unanswered questions, new DNA testing has led prosecutors to a suspect they say is responsible for a teenager’s 1984 rape and murder.

In San Antonio, Texas, police say a twenty-one-year-old man shot and killed three co-workers before taking his own life.

In North Carolina, a police officer assigned to a hospital campus was killed during an encounter in the emergency department lobby.

Finally, in a widening federal counter-terrorism investigation, two additional young men have been charged with attempting to aid the Islamic State group.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 6, the Tipton family is enjoying their first holiday season in their new home.

Dean and Heather have already put up the Christmas tree, and their children rearrange the girls’ bedroom into a ‘movie theater’ so they can have a Christmas movie marathon. Heather finds Koral, Lily, and Dakota’s beds pushed together, with Logan and Aiden on the lower part of a trundle bed, as she puts them to sleep before heading to her overnight shift.

Dean also turns in, expecting his brother to return from work around 4 a.m.  

Dakota, 7, heads downstairs in the middle of the night for a glass of water. Dakota thinks she hears her uncle coming home after a late shift, but seeing a man she doesn’t recognize, Dakota drops to the floor behind a kitchen counter.

The stranger hears a stool shift where Dakota is hiding and immediately lunges for the little girl. Dakota barely escapes his grasp, booking it back to the bedroom she shares with her sibling. Pulling the covers over her head doesn’t make this monster go away.

After stabbing Dakota through her bedsheets, throwing her to the floor, and stomping on her head, Ronald Exantus turns the Tipton’s kitchen knife on 6-year-old Logan, sleeping on the floor. Dakota comes to, and see Exantus stabbing Logan in the head, and her brother’s blood-curdling screams wake up her older sisters. 

Lily manages to slip past Exantus downstairs to her parents’ room, while Koral tries to turn Exantus’ attention away from Logan.  

Once Dean Tipton understands Lily truly has seen a stranger, he dashes upstairs, coming face-to-face with blood-covered, knife-wielding Exantus on the top landing. Dean tells Koral to get her siblings to safety and call 911.

Koral grabs Dakota and Aiden, telling Logan she’ll come back for him. With Lily, Dakota, and Aiden locked safely in their parents’ room, Koral calls 911, telling the operator her dad is wrestling with a burglar.

Dean Tipton holds Ronald Exantus until police arrive, but first responders can do nothing to help Logan.  

Ronald Exantus, the man who attacked the Tipton family in their sleep, killing 6-year-old Logan, is released from prison more than 10 years early. The surviving Tiptons and the nation are outraged, calling Exantus’ release a gross miscarriage of justice.

Members of the Parole Board have been receiving death threats but claim the decision did not lie with them, blaming the state’s ‘Mandatory Supervised Release’ law.

State representatives are now pushing to enact ‘Logan’s Law,’ which would require hospitalization for the criminally insane. 

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, who has been missing since early October, was arrested Friday by Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies, but officials said the arrest was unrelated to her daughter’s disappearance. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jussie Smollett, hate crime hoaxer, chosen for Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 4.

It's a reality competition show on Fox where stars undergo military-style training and extreme challenges. This appearance marks Smollett's return to the network and public life following the fallout from his 2019 hate crime allegations. 

Now, Smollett has had to withdraw from the reality competition on medical grounds. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Mayhem in the Morgue on all podcast platforms: https://link.podtrac.com/MayhemMorgue

Content Warning: This episode contains disturbing descriptions of the death of an individual. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you.

In the stillness of dawn at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, a baby’s cry echoes through the halls, breaking the silence of the morgue. In this special Halloween episode of Mayhem in the Morgue,Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns shares eerie encounters from his forensic pathology career that defy explanation. From the spectral Lady in Red who visits dying patients to a gruesome Halloween murder displayed on a suburban porch, these stories teeter on the edge of science and the supernatural.

Highlights

About the Host: Dr. Kendall Crowns

Dr. Crowns is the Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County, Texas, and a nationally recognized forensic pathologist. He las led death investigations in Travis County, Fort Worth, Chicago, and Kansas. Over his career, he has performed thousands of autopsies and testified in court hundreds of times as an expert witness. A frequent contributor to Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,Dr. Crowns brings unparalleled insight into the strange, grisly, and sometimes absurd realities of forensic pathology.

About the Show

Mayhem in the Morgue takes listeners inside the bloody, bizarre, and often unbelievable world of forensic pathology. Hosted by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns, each episode delivers real-life cases from the morgue, the crime scene, and the courtroom. Expect gallows humor, hard truths, and unforgettable investigations.

Connect and Learn More

Learn more about Dr. Kendall Crowns on Linkedin. Catch him regularly on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace and follow Mayhem in the Morgue where you get your podcasts.

📣 If you liked this episode, don’t keep it to yourself—follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave us a review.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

 An octogenarian survived brutal sexual assault. 

An Ohio juvenile judge gave a stern warning after a boy failed to show for court on serious felony charges: a warrant would be issued for his arrest the next time he misses a hearing. 

In Dearborn Heights, Michigan, former residents expose years of alleged sexual, physical, and psychological abuse inside Vista Maria, a once-celebrated, soon-to-close residential treatment facility for at-risk girls.

The House Oversight Committee have called on former Prince Andrew, now referred to as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, to answer questions about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.

A fast-food cashier is facing a half dozen felony charges after super-sizing his rage & threatening to shoot a customer over a dinner delay!

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cohasset man Brian Walshe has been indicted for the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, who vanished in January 2023, after a New Year's Eve party.

Prosecutors say the 48-year-old husband dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body in multiple trash cans in the area. Police have recovered blood-stained items from the home, including a hacksaw.

Walshe has pleaded 'not guilty' to first-degree murder. As he awaits his trial at the Norfolk County jail in Dedham, we learn Walshe was stabbed behind bars. He was taken to a Boston hospital to be treated for his injuries and released later that night.

According to the Norfolk County Sheriff's office, he was assaulted with a "makeshift blunt instrument."  The attack was recorded on jailhouse video.

Walshe's next competency hearing is set for November 14. Jury selection is set to begin November 18.  

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miranda Corsette's estate files a wrongful-death lawsuit against Grindr, the app through which she  met her  killer. The estate trying to hold the app responsible for the teen's death after being introduced to a male adult. Grindr argued the dispute should go to arbitration, rather than to a trial. Now a judge has agreed. 

A 12-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Tom Barber states that Corsette, in creating the Grindr account, "had agreed to terms and conditions that included arbitration of legal disputes." Barber ruled that when Corsette electronically signed to create her account, an agreement exits that   “broadly covers any dispute, claim, or controversy between Corsette and Grinder, agreeing to resolve disputes through arbitration.” 

This despite the fact that the 16-year-old was restrained, beaten and tortured for several days. Corsette was suffocated when a pool ball,  wrapped in a sock was shoved into her mouth, and then her head and face were wrapped in saran wrap.

The judge said “Corsette agreed to Grindr’s terms of service each of  three times she created  Grindr accounts.”  

 Court documents reveal that at least six people knew Steven Gress, 37, and Michelle Brandes, 35, were holding Miranda against her will before she died.

Gress allegedly sent photos of Miranda, visibly bruised, to three people, including his mother. She told police she did not view the images but admitted her son tried to talk to her about Miranda. She said she shut down the conversation, telling him she didn’t want to know.

At least two neighbors reportedly saw Miranda in distress at the home. A woman who lived with Gress and Brandes witnessed a week of torture, the murder, and the clean-up that followed.

The documents also outline a detailed timeline, including a trip to celebrate Brandes’ birthday at a Popeyes restaurant—while Miranda’s dismembered remains allegedly sat in Gress’ trunk.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a shocking video going viral online, the attempted murder of a police officer is caught on video.

At 11:56 a.m., a Whitpain Township Police Sergeant attempts to stop a white Mercedes G-Wagon, but the vehicle speeds away with the suspect driving erratically, at high speed, crossing over the concrete median. The officer discontinues the chase once it gets out of hand, putting others' lives in danger, but he does alert other departments to be on the lookout.

Later, at 12:39 p.m., Plymouth Township police respond to Doubletree Guest Suites, where the Mercedes G-Wagon is spotted.

Pulling directly behind the Mercedes, activating lights, the Mercedes, allegedly driven by Dalton Janiczek, is thrown into reverse, and the $130,000 vehicle is used as a battering ram against the patrol unit, striking the police vehicle multiple times.

The officer gets out of his patrol car and orders Janiczek to stop, but Janiczek does the opposite and floors the Mercedes, attempting to hit the officer, who now discharges his firearm in defense.

The officer is injured during this car attack, and while on the ground, he attempts to put a tourniquet on his wounded leg, while he also watches as Janiczek circles the parking lot and heads back to hit him again, and again, and again.

 Janiczek flees the parking lot. Thankfully, the attempted murder of a police officer is caught on tape.

Dalton Janiczek is no stranger to local police. In the week before his arrest, he had been involved in several incidents in the area, including a threat to bomb a police station.

Janiczek lives a life of privilege with his high-flying, locally famous attorney father, Lee Janiczek, growing up in Amber, Pennsylvania, in a $1.4 million dollar home.

Janiczek graduated from LaSalle College High School in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and then spent two years at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, where he was on the rowing team.

His grandfather, Dr. Lee J. Janiczek, the longest-serving commissioner in Springfield Township,
retired in 2019 after 44 years of public service.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Georgia woman says that a man accused of killing a teen last month at a Walmart randomly stabbed her in 2021. A young boy found wandering alone in Milwaukee earlier this week is related to a woman found shot to death in an alley on the same day. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says missing 9-year-old California girl, Melodee Buzzard, was spotted in a small Utah town last month. Sydney Sumner reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psychotherapist Katie Ong calls her regular nanny, Samantha Rae Booth, when she is going to be out of town.

For two years, Booth has cared for Ong's 3-year-old without incident. Katie becomes concerned when she can't get Booth on the phone just before 8 p.m., so she calls her dad, David Ong, to go by the house and make sure everything is ok.

David Ong arrives at his daughter's Royal Oak home to check on his granddaughter, but once he arrives, he, too, goes silent. When Katie can't get her father back on the phone, she calls her brother-in-law, Douglas Smith, explains the situation, and asks if he will go to the house and see what is going on.

Smith arrives at the home at 9:25 p.m. The front door is wide open. Smith hears noises coming from the basement and calls out to the nanny.

Booth does not respond, so Smith goes down to the basement and is shocked to find Booth covered in blood in a "manic state" and David Ong lying on the floor with severe head injuries. The 83-year-old grandpa, called "the gentle giant" by his family, did everything he could to protect his granddaughter from a screwdriver attack.

Douglas Smith and his niece are sent to the hospital while first responders try to save David Ong in the basement.  The elder Ong is pronounced dead on the scene in the basement.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She blames her high-end heels for the fatal crash that killed a man out on his first date. But her pricey shoes won't keep Kristina Chambers out of prison! The "Perfect Neighbor" who gunned down a woman through a closed door is now threatening to sue the victim's grieving family! Plus, a furry fugitive gets rescued by the fuzz!  Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private Investigator Steve Fischer is on the David Anthony Burke case out of Hollywood, California, investigating what took place in a mansion rented by Burke and his manager.

The owner of the mansion tasks Fischer with determining if Celeste ever stayed in the mansion and when the last time she was seen on the property was. During this PI job, Steve uncovers strange, sadistic items allegedly even for a Hollywood mansion. Fischer turned the items over to LAPD.

Bottles of prescription pain medication and drug paraphernalia are recovered again, not by LAPD when they served a search warrant after Celeste was identified as the body found in Burke's Tesla, but by Private Investigator Steve Fischer. 

During the time Burke was living in the mansion, other people were staying there, as well as men and women. Their personal belongings were recovered in the guest bedrooms, bathroom cabinets, and bedside tables. 

Fischer has been studying surveillance footage, talking to neighbors, and gathering a timeline around Celeste and Burke's Tesla to determine when she was last alive. 

Burke was in town the day the unkempt Tesla was last moved, July 29.  Fischer has identified the driver. 

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas teacher Chelsea Spillers, 33, is found dead inside her home, and her half-naked husband is nabbed hours later for her murder. The sister of a Houston, Texas man found hanging and burned under a freeway overpass says her brother was murdered—and she’s begging for justice. A South Carolina death row inmate who once taunted investigators with messages written in his victim’s blood has chosen to die by firing squad. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shortly after 7:40 a.m., Alyssa Castro and her boyfriend are in their car in their south Wichita neighborhood when a neighbor waves them down.

As the woman approaches, they see what appears to be blood on the woman's hands. The woman asks to borrow a phone to call 911, then takes off with the phone back into a house.

911 dispatch is called about a possible stabbing and relays a message to first responders that a woman says there has been a stabbing in her home.

Dispatch relays information that the person calling says the stabbing was in self-defense. She was trying to save herself from her mother.

Arriving at the home at 7:52 a.m., Wichita police find a woman outside the home with cuts on her hands and blood on her clothing.

Inside the house, they find 81-year-old Anita Avers unresponsive in her bed with multiple stab wounds. Both women are taken to the hospital.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The late Sheriff Buford Pusser, long celebrated as a fearless lawman and the inspiration for the film Walking Tall, is now believed to have murdered his wife nearly sixty years ago.

In Illinois, a jury has convicted former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson of second-degree murder in the death of Sonya Massey, a Springfield woman who called 911 to report a possible prowler.

In Nebraska, a man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a parish priest in a small town north of Omaha.

In northeast Ohio, a Cleveland woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the fatal stabbing of a three-year-old boy outside a grocery store.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few months after Epstein walked free, Prince Andrew corresponds with the convicted sex offender, promising to make plans for a trip to New York, as “it would be good to catch up in person.”

Andrew claims his December trip to Epstein’s New York mansion was planned solely to break the news he must cut contact with the financier.

However, in a January email to Epstein, Andrew writes, “Keep in close touch, and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”

The Met Police investigate claims Prince Andrew tried to involve his tax-funded Met Protection Officer and Queen Elizabeth’s deputy press secretary in a smear campaign against Virginia Giuffre.

Metropolitan Police are told to re-investigate Virginia Giuffre’s sex abuse allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor following removal of his royal titles.

But Scotland Yard claims they will not pursue a criminal investigation after Giuffre's initial allegations or her civil case.

Prince Andrew may face more than just eviction! Republic, a pressure group that pushes to see the monarchy abolished, instructed lawyers to begin an investigation into the prince.

Anonymous plaintiffs file lawsuits against Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon, claiming the institutions illicitly enabled Epstein’s trafficking activities.

Both banks are accused of ignoring the illegal activity, with Bank of America turning a blind eye to Epstein’s use of a victim’s account to pay her and other victims off, and Mellon failed to flag nearly $378 million in victim payments as suspicious.

Joining Nancy Grace:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A heartbreaking story out of Georgia, where a local church became the scene of a tragic and deeply disturbing crime.

Former news anchor arrested after elderly mother’s murder.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A New York judge has dismissed two state-level terrorism-related murder charges against Luigi Mangione.

 The dismissed charges were first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism. The judge ruled that state prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to the grand jury to support the claim that Mangione intended to "intimidate and coerce a civilian population" or influence government policy. That is the legal threshold for state terrorism charges.

Mangione still faces several other serious charges, including a second-degree murder charge and federal charges that could carry the death penalty.  

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, which marks the first such directive by the Trump administration. New York, where the murder occurred, has abolished the death penalty, and Mangione's lawyers are attempting to block the federal death penalty pursuit, arguing the move is a political stunt. 

JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kada Scott, 23, a recent graduate of Penn State working an overnight job at an assisted living facility, vanishes shortly after arriving for her shift on October 4.

 A massive search effort takes place until police get a very specific anonymous tip that leads them to Kada's body on October 18. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack break down the clues that helped police collar a suspect and what investigators really discovered when the remains of Kada Scott were found in a shallow grave.

Keon King, a 21-year-old man whom police allege was the last person in contact with Scott, has since been arrested and charged with murder, arson, and tampering with evidence in connection with the case.

Transcribe Highlights

00:00.03 Introduction - College Professor

02:18.15 Kada Scott, Penn State Graduate

05:11.97 Working in assisted living facility from 10pm-6am

09:15.54 Kada met someone in the parking lot

14:56.56 Working overnight makes your really tired 

19:26.79 Police don't always share everything they know

24:44.66 Cell phones connect to towers, place us in certain places

30:04.26 Suspect will focus on the abandoned building

35:33.89 Before cell phones, you had to find a phone booth

40:33.21 Kada had gunshot wound to the head

46:02.73 Kidnapped October 4, body found October 18

51:06.81 We will do follow-up, Conclusion

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

Husband rejects divorce, kills wife. 

Sean "Diddy" Combs Prison Release Date Revealed

A neighbor’s quick action stops a toddler's kidnapping attempt in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

A Michigan dad is cuffed for threatening to shoot up his son's school, the meltdown all over a missed snack.

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian Brückner, the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, has been released from a German prison. He served a seven-year sentence for a separate and unrelated rape conviction. He  is now under strict supervision, including an electronic ankle monitor, having had his passport surrendered. Although he is free from prison, German prosecutors still consider him the prime suspect in the McCann disappearance and will continue investigating the case.

German national Christian Brueckner was named a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann.

Brueckner, 44, had been is currently serving a 7-year prison sentence in Germany for raping an elderly American woman in 2005.  Three-year-old Maddie went missing from a vacation rental while on a family holiday in Portugal. 

A Portuguese prosecutor in Braunschweig, Germany, has been pursuing a case against Brueckner since June 2020.    

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A beautiful and brilliant medical doctor, Dr. Teresa Sievers, takes her family on a vacation trip to visit extended relatives with her husband and her two little girls. 

Teresa comes home early, leaving family behind in Connecticut so she can go to work the next morning. Mark Sievers calls a co-worker of his wife to go to the home and check on her when she doesn't show up. 

Dr. Teresa Sievers was found brutally bludgeoned, still wearing the outfit, complete with high-heeled shoes, she wore home from the airport Sunday night. The kitchen is covered in blood, a hammer by her side. 

Husband Mark Sievers is ultimately charged with murder, accused of arranging for his childhood friend, Curtis Wayne Wright, to murder his wife.

Wright pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder, cooperating with prosecutors in Mark Sievers's trial.  Sievers is convicted and now is appealing his death sentence. 

 Joining Nancy Grace to discuss the case:

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kohberger’s life behind bars consists of monotonous days in a restrictive housing unit. For the most part, Kohberger spends 23 hours a day alone in his cell. He eats his meals there and is restrained anytime he’s moved. Every day, the admitted quadruple-killer is allowed one hour in an outdoor ‘cage.’  Inmates say are usually covered in feces and urine. He may only shower every other day. Kohberger can request access to a heavily-monitored tablet stocked with games and email. He reportedly  pens multiple complaints to IMSI staff.  

The plea deal isn’t keeping Bryan Kohberger as quietly locked away as originally hoped. The convicted quadruple-murderer is now contesting his financial restitution to the victims. He argues he should not have to pay the victims’ families because they benefitted from several GoFundMe pages and did not suffer ‘economic loss.’ Kohberger also points out even if he wanted to pay, he has no way to raise the funds, seeing as he will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.  

Joining Nancy Grace today

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Jersey prosecutors have released audio from multiple 911 calls which were placed last month after a 17-year-old boy allegedly ran over two girls. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A resident at Grant Luxury Condos heads downstairs, but stops short when they see a severed human foot at the bottom of the second-floor stairwell that looks too real to be a Halloween decoration. The resident reports it to a doorman, who calls 911 in a panic, after discovering the rest of a woman’s body three floors up. Investigators swarm the high-rise and determine the victim fell at least 20 stories.  

When the fall victim is identified as Caitlin Tracey, her husband, Adam Beckerink is arrested. Beckerink reported Caitlin missing just the day before she was discovered dead on the second floor of their building. Beckerink claimed he hadn’t seen Caitlin in months, but surveillance footage shows them at the Grant together, just three days prior to Caitlin’s death. With no real proof Beckerink committed a crime, Chicago Police are forced to release Beckerink 48 hours later.  

The Medical Examiner finds Caitlin’s body “pulverized,” suffering multiple injuries while falling 24 floors. The report notes multiple skull fractures, a deep gaping laceration on the back of her head exposing cranial content, cuts and bruises to her face and neck, a badly broken nose, internal organs sliced, and a severed foot. Caitlyn also suffered an 11-inch laceration on her torso and the coroner made note of a 12-by-10-inch area of intense Black and Brown abrasions on her back. Raising even more questions, cocaine and an erectile dysfunction drug, tadalafil are found in Caitlin's system. 

 Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An estranged husband is behind bars accused of poisoning his wife with a chemical brew in a chilling ambush. Cops say he vowed to "make her swallow bleach" after dishonoring their vows & filing for divorce. A man kills his love rival in a twisted attempt at a reconciliation with his ex. Plus, a jogger shows off her resting 'witch' face! Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britney Spears'  behavior spiraling out of control has some intimating an intervention to put a stop to the slide.

As ex-husband Kevin Federline releases the book, "You Thought You Knew," about fighting Britney for his children, Britney is captured on video at an upscale restaurant, dropping items on the floor, unsteady on her feet, and wobbling, lifting her glass as if to toast the entire restaurant.

Leaving the restaurant, Britney struggles to maintain her balance as a friend holds her hand, guiding her outside.  Britney gets behind the wheel of her black BMW despite protests from restaurant employees trying to prevent her from driving.

Driving erratically, ignoring road signs, and squealing her tires as she makes a U-turn against the posted "no U-turn" sign, Britney speeds away from the restaurant. She has trouble maintaining her lane, swerving onto the shoulder, and crossing the center line into oncoming traffic.

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Utah shooting suspect Tyler Robinson will be allowed to wear civilian clothing in court while awaiting trial for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but a judge has ruled he must remain restrained during proceedings for safety reasons. A North Carolina woman says a DNA test revealed she was conceived secretly using sperm from her mother’s fertility doctor more than 40 years ago. A man dressed as a Nazi officer is arrested in downtown Athens, Georgia, after allegedly hitting a University of Georgia student in the face with a glass pitcher. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A review of past findings in Ellen Greenberg's death is complete.

The Chief Medical Examiner of Philadelphia, Dr. Lindsay Simon, issued a 32-page report and wrote, "Since Ellen was anxious over grades she had given her elementary school students, and because she was capable of inflicting over 20 stab wounds to the head, chest, neck, and back, her death is ruled a suicide."

Simon writes, "Many of these stab and incised wounds would best be categorized as hesitation wounds."  The report also notes the lack of defensive wounds. The pathologist performing Greenberg's autopsy in 2011 documented 20 wounds; Simon's report includes 23. 

In the Final Analysis of Ellen's Death, Dr. Lindsay Simon, Chief Medical Examiner of Philadelphia, writes, "Ellen was found dead in her apartment with twenty-three stab and incised wounds. These wounds were limited to her posterior head/neck, right neck, and central front torso.

While the distribution of injuries is admittedly unusual, the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself. Many of these stab and incised wounds would best be categorized as hesitation wounds. No defensive injuries were identified on her body. There was no evidence to indicate Ellen was incapacitated or incapable of defending herself." 

Simon says,"The fiancé's DNA was not detected on the knife used to inflict the injuries. His self-reported timeline of events is corroborated by phone logs, text messages, surveillance footage, keycard swipes, and police interviews.

No evidence was provided to indicate Ellen was in an abusive relationship with her fiancé. There was no evidence of a third party being in the apartment on the day of Ellen's death, nor was anyone else's DNA detected on the knife used to inflict the injuries on Ellen's body. No findings of a struggle were found at the scene, and no valuables were missing. 

Simon concludes, "The manner of Ellen Greenberg's death is best classified as 'suicide.'" All opinions stated in this report are expressed with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

Dr. Simon ends with "The undersigned reserves the right to amend any statements or opinions if presented with additional significant information."

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin police say DNA testing has identified a new suspect in the 1991 killings of four teenage girls at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop — a case that shocked the city and remained unsolved for years.

In the St. Louis region, investigators have solved a 1994 cold case after exhuming remains and using modern DNA testing to identify a man long known only as “John Doe.”

In Los Angeles, police say a major burglary ring responsible for nearly 100 residential break-ins has been dismantled following months of investigation.

Finally, a national snapshot: the FBI’s latest annual report shows U.S. violent crime fell about 4½ percent in 2024, while property crime dropped nearly 8 percent — continuing a multi-year decline after the sharp increases seen during the pandemic.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Scholtes runs errands, then heads inside once he's home just before 1 p.m. 

He leaves his 2-year-old daughter, Parker, in the running car in the driveway with the air conditioner on Scholtes has a habit of leaving the children in the car alone and knows from previous experience his Acura MDX will automatically shut off the engine and air conditioner after 30 minutes.  

Wife, Dr Erika Scholtes arrives home around 4pm and sees husband Chris and their two older daughters ages 9 and 5, but doesn't see Parker. Chris begins looking in all the rooms of the house, then suddenly runs outside. The outside temperature is 109 degrees when 2-year-old Parker is removed from the vehicle unresponsive, strapped in her child restraint system  

Chris Scholtes calls 911 as Dr Erika Scholtes performs CPR on her daughter.   Parker is transported to the same hospital her mother works as an anesthesiologist, Banner University Medical Center. 

At 4:58 p.m. Parker is pronounced dead. Christopher Scholtes is charged with child abuse and second degree murder.

6 months before his trial is to start, Scholtes is offered a plea deal from prosecutors that would require him to plead guilty to second-degree murder, but he would be sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison. Scholtes turns it down.

Days before his trial is to start, a shocking announcement, Scholtes agrees to plead guilty.  The Pima County Attorney's office says he will face 20 to 30 years behind bars and is ineligible for parole. 

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A troubling case out of California has authorities searching for a missing 9-year-old girl — Melodee Buzzard — who hasn’t been seen in weeks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A jury finds Sean "Diddy" Combs guilty of two counts relating to transporting individuals for prostitution, but the rap mogul is acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

The first day of deliberations split the jury, leaving Combs receiving a partial verdict. Jurors sent a note saying they reached a verdict on counts two through five, meaning they were unable to reach a consensus on the racketeering charge, one of the biggest charges. 

After the verdict, Combs' attorneys ask for bail. He doesn't get it, instead getting a 50-month prison sentence. Now the conversation has already turned to what will happen when Diddy gets out of jail. 

After serving his prison sentence, Sean "Diddy" Combs will face five years of supervised release with strict guidelines.  

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Zone 7 on all podcast platforms: https://link.podtrac.com/Zone7

In this episode of Zone 7,Sheryl McCollum welcomes back Georgia Durante, whose remarkable life story took another unbelievable turn. While watching a true crime documentary, Georgia did not expect to see her photograph among evidence connected to convicted serial killer Joseph Naso. Sheryl and Georgia discuss how that moment unfolded, how it ties to the unsolved “Alphabet Killer” cases in Rochester, New York, and the shocking realization that Georgia once worked with a man who would later be convicted of multiple murders. Georgia also reflects on her plan to confront him in prison, and why she believes she might have been “the one who got away.”

Guest Bio and Links:

Georgia Durante is a former model, getaway driver for the mob, and author of The Company She Keeps. Her modeling career began at the age of 12, and by 17 she was one of America’s most recognizable faces as the "Kodak Girl.” After escaping an abusive marriage and a life tied to organized crime, Georgia rebuilt herself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stunt drivers. Listeners can learn more about Georgia at her website https://www.georgiadurante.com/ or on Facebook @GeorgiaDurante. 

 The Company She Keeps by Georgia Durante

Watch the 2025 docuseries Death Row Confidential: Secrets of a Serial Killer on Prime Video or Oxygen.

Missed Georgia Durante’s first Zone 7 episode? The Company She Keeps | Georgia Durante

Highlights:

Enjoying Zone 7? Leave a rating and review. Your feedback helps others find the show and supports our mission to educate and investigate.

---

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, forensic and crime scene expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. She is the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a national collaboration that advances techniques for solving cold cases and assists families and law enforcement with unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnappings.

Social Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

The case of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas and her alleged boyfriend, Interscope recording artist David, continues, without a peep from the singer.

A West Virginia man is facing serious charges after allegedly threatening to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other public figures.

A Houston housewife is on trial for a fatal DUI crash that left a man dead while on a first date. She blames her pricey heels for causing her Porsche to collide into him. 

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donna Adelson receives a life sentence for her role in the murder of former son-in-law Dan Markel. After nearly three weeks of testimony, a jury takes just three hours to find the 75-year-old guilty of all three charges levied against her.

Adelson is convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit killing, and first-degree murder in the hit on her former son-in-law Dan Markel.

Adelson has filed a motion for a new trial, claiming multiple instances of jury misconduct, bias from the judge, and a lack of evidence to support the verdict.

The 18-page motion comes just two weeks after Adelson’s conviction and includes a request to interview two of the jurors who decided her fate.

Adelson accuses the jury foreperson, juror number seven, of failing to follow the judge’s instructions on speaking out about the case.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Alec Baldwin driving with his brother Stephen crash into a tree.  Baldwin posted on Instagram that a "big garbage truck the size of a whale" cut him off. 

He says to avoid a collision, he crashed his wife's car into a "big, fat tree," crushing his wife's car.  There were no injuries.

 Video from the truck company shows a different story. It puts Baldwin in the headlines again after two people were shot on the set of his movie "Rust."

Director of photography Halyna Hutchins died, and director Joel Souza was wounded. Reports say first assistant director David Halls picked up one of three prop guns set up by armorer Hannah Gutierrez and yelled, “cold gun.”

"Cold gun" is industry slang meaning the gun does not contain live rounds. Halls gave the gun to Baldwin, who used it to rehearse a scene.

According to the search warrant, Baldwin aimed the weapon at the camera when he fired, striking Hutchins and Souza.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturday night, 10:15 p.m., Knox County, Tennessee, 911 gets a report of shots fired on Stanley Road.

When deputies arrive, a woman claiming her "crazy ex" is on the property points officers toward a wooded area. Announcing their presence with shouts of "Sheriff's Office," a defiant voice from the woods curses the deputies. Someone begins throwing rocks.

The dark, wooded area provides cover for the suspect, who claims to have a gun.

Deputy Swanger can't get a clear view. Swanger orders the suspect to "show me your hands." As he enters the brush, he is met with an ambush of rocks.  Swanger is hit full force on the head and falls to the ground.

Deputies rush to Swanger, who is "knocked out," and drag him from the woods to safety. A bloody gash is clearly visible. Deputy Swanger is unsteady on his feet.

Swanger is admitted into the ICU at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he ends up on a ventilator in a coma.

The suspect, 44-year-old Christopher Michael Hensley, is caught and charged.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania authorities said on Thursday that missing Kada Scott, found dead on Saturday, was fatally shot in the head. The mother of missing California girl Melodee Buzzard returned home alone earlier this month after renting a car and taking a road trip with her daughter. Sydney Sumner reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir, "Nobody’s Girl", details how Jeffrey Epstein regularly boasted he could blackmail powerful men using videos of them abusing young women. The threat always there that he could destroy their careers and livelihood. 

The book also describes in excruciating detail how Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her into Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring. She discusses being ‘lent out’ to ‘scores of wealthy, powerful people’ including a foreign dignitary, who made her think she would ‘die a sex slave.’  

Joining Nancy Grace today,

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A son is behind bars, after he allegedly bludgeoned his mom over bills, then tried to burn her body in a fire pit; that's where cops found her charred spinal cord. A dad drives into a flood zone, despite warning, killing his toddler. Now, he's facing felony charges. Plus, a cheerleader fatally shot at a bonfire - will live on...in others, thanks to her monumental gifts. Jennifer Gould reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mladen Trifunovic, the owner of the home Burke was renting for $20,000 a month, has hired private investigator Steve Fischer to try and find out what was happening in the home he owns.

Fischer was hired shortly after a forced-search entry search warrant was served at the home. Nobody was home when police served a search warrant, and no paperwork was left behind to indicate what was being sought or what was taken. Fischer is helping provide additional information for law enforcement and make sure nothing is missed in the search for what happened to Celeste.

The LAPD says Celeste had been deceased for weeks before being discovered in Burke's Tesla. Private investigator Steve Fischer says he has seen surveillance video from neighbor homes and knows exactly when the Tesla was last moved and who moved it to the location from where it was towed, in very late July, but cannot reveal that yet.

The Tesla owned by Burke had been his daily driver for a long time, regularly getting the car cleaned inside and out. However, when the Tesla was towed, it was dirty with body damage.

PI Fischer says it looks like the car had been "off-road" in the desert with wheel wells beat up and a huge dent in the back. While his former daily driver sits dirty by the curb for weeks, Burke keeps a clean, red Tesla in the garage.

Surveillance cameras in the Hollywood Hills build a complete timeline showing when Burke's Tesla was parked on Bluebird Avenue, who parked it, and whether anything was placed in the vehicle after it was parked.

There is also no evidence indicating Celeste's body was transferred into the Tesla AFTER it was parked on the street.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A judge declares Oakley Carlson legally dead. Her mother, Jordan Bowers, released from prison weeks before the ruling, remains a suspect. Damning revelations from Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir. Drew Nelson reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kada Scott's remains have been found in a wooded area behind an abandoned school in East Germantown. 

Kada, 23, was last seen shortly after arriving for a shift at an assisted living facility in Chestnut Hill.  

Police began searching the area on Saturday, Oct. 18, near the vacant Ada H. Lewis Middle School for Scott after receiving a "very specific" anonymous tip at around 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, authorities said.

Police previously searched the area of the school and arboretum in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia but reported only finding some physical evidence, without commenting on what evidence was uncovered. Community members voice anger and frustration at police while gathering behind the crime scene tape during the search on Saturday, saying they could have found the body sooner.

Investigators discover a person of interest. As the investigation continued, police determined 23-year-old Keon King of Dover, Delaware, is now a suspect. 

Keon King had a criminal record prior to his alleged involvement in Scott’s kidnapping. Investigators say King kidnapped and assaulted another victim earlier in the year. 

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Albany, New York, authorities announced they have solved the killing of 50-year-old Catherine Blackburn, who was found raped, stabbed, and bludgeoned in her home in September 1964 — more than six decades ago.

Also in New York State, a former guard has been found guilty in the death of a handcuffed inmate.

Philadelphia police have discovered human remains in the case of a missing woman and have arrested a suspect.

A 38-year-old man, Cody Balmer, has pleaded guilty to a series of charges in what prosecutors described as a politically motivated assault on the home of Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Santa Barbara sheriffs have been desperately searching for now 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard for quite some time.  The only photo authorities have of Melodee is over two years old, as the little girl is ‘homeschooled’ in Vandenberg Village, just north of Lompoc.
California.

Santa Barbara Sheriff's deputies attempt a welfare check but find no one at Ashlee Buzzard’s. home. Officers return the next day, finally making contact with Melodee’s mom. Melodee is not at home, and according to the Sheriff’s office, Buzzard cannot provide a “clear explanation” of Melodee’s whereabouts.

Melodee is just six months old when her father passes away in a car crash. Melodee is described as a very sweet and loving little girl, who loves spending time with her cousins and flashing her beautiful smile.

Ashlee Buzzard raises her daughter on her own and slowly pulls away from family. Melodee’s father’s family hasn’t seen the little girl in years.

Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Barbara Sheriffs at 805-681-4150.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Philadelphia, authorities have uncovered human remains while searching for Kada Scott, a woman reported missing two weeks ago after leaving her job at a nursing home.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor Meyer plans a Valentine's Day dinner for his wife, Deborah, with the theme "Bring Paris to You." Pulling out all the stops, he has their children draw pictures of the Eiffel Tower to decorate the table, buys Deborah a beautiful new dress, and orders food from their favorite Japanese steakhouse. After a lovely dinner, he gives his wife a Valentine's Day card with a personal message, and they dance to their wedding song.

When the song ends, Deborah does not react as Taylor hopes, and they begin to argue. She leaves the house for about 20 minutes. When she returns, Taylor accuses her of cheating with a coworker and claims she visited her boyfriend, who had just gotten off work. He demands to see the messages on her watch and check her phone. When she refuses, a physical fight breaks out. Taylor pins her to the ground, sits on her back, and chokes her while grabbing the phone.

He finds a number saved as "My Best Friend Emily" and calls it. A man answers. Taylor tells him, "It's your... fault."

Deborah continues to struggle and challenges her husband, asking, "What are you going to do, kill me? You're going to hurt me and leave our kids with no parents?" She hits Taylor in the head with a water bottle. He responds by striking her in the head with a wine bottle.

Deborah screams for help, calling for her children and the police. The person on the other end of the call hears her cries. When Deborah becomes unresponsive, Taylor goes to the kitchen, grabs "a big-ass knife," and stabs her 40 times.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Follow Mayhem in the Morgue on all podcast platforms: https://link.podtrac.com/MayhemMorgue

What happens when a classroom of fourth graders learns that their guest speaker once autopsied a Star Wars actor? In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns recounts his career day presentations, the bizarre questions kids love to ask, and the one time he was derailed by a child named Monty. From explaining forensic pathology to grade schoolers to calming a room full of kids convinced that Darth Vader actually killed someone, this story shows that sometimes the toughest crowd is not in a courtroom, but a classroom.

Highlights

About the Host: Dr. Kendall Crowns

Dr. Crowns is the Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County, Texas, and a nationally recognized forensic pathologist. He las led death investigations in Travis County, Fort Worth, Chicago, and Kansas. Over his career, he has performed thousands of autopsies and testified in court hundreds of times as an expert witness. A frequent contributor to Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,Dr. Crowns brings unparalleled insight into the strange, grisly, and sometimes absurd realities of forensic pathology.

About the Show

Mayhem in the Morgue takes listeners inside the bloody, bizarre, and often unbelievable world of forensic pathology. Hosted by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns, each episode delivers real-life cases from the morgue, the crime scene, and the courtroom. Expect gallows humor, hard truths, and unforgettable investigations, ranging from courtroom drama to deaths that even seasoned pathologists struggle to explain.

Connect and Learn More

Learn more about Dr. Kendall Crowns on Linkedin, catch him regularly on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace and follow Mayhem in the Morgue where you get your podcasts.

📣 If you liked this episode, don’t keep it to yourself—follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave us a review.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

Officials insist beloved teacher Ellen Greenberg killed herself, even after new evidence & a new documentary about the case emerges. Her furious family vows to continue to fight for justice!

Authorities in Santa Barbara County launched a search for a 9-year-old girl who has not been seen in a year, and who has not been seen in a photograph in two.

A Denver TV meteorologist reveals the moment when a stalker had her cornered. Florida sets a 15th execution date, setting a modern record.

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle claims he was tricked by federal prosecutors into pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Those charges led to a jury conviction, and now Fogle remains housed at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Colorado. He was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months. His earliest possible release date is set for March 24, 2029.

Fogle rose to fame after claiming he lost more than 200 lbs. with a diet of Subway sandwiches. He appeared in ads for the franchise for over a decade.  In 2015, Fogle was fired after he admitted to having sex with at least two minors and to obtaining child pornography of at least 12 others.

Now, we learn that one of Fogle's prison jobs is making sandwiches in the prison café. 

Joining Nancy Grace today: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police arrest prominent New York architect Rex Heuerman in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Rex Heuerman,59, is charged in multiple deaths of women whose bodies were found buried. These include Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello.   

The women's remains were found along Gilgo Beach in Long Island within 500 feet of each other. However, investigators have found a total of  eleven bodies but Heuerman is not charged in all. Seven so far.    Heuermann claims he is innocent. 

Now a judge rules that evidence collected through cutting-edge DNA technology will be admissible at his trial. Prosecutors say the DNA points directly at Rex Heuermann. The technology specializes in extracting nuclear DNA from damaged or hard-to-get samples, such as rootless hair, like those found on six of the victims. 

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the days before Kada Scott's disappearance, she tells friends she’s being harassed online and over the phone. Kada goes to work at an upscale assisted living facility for a 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. shift.

Shortly after arriving at work, Kada walks out, car still in the parking lot, and no cameras. Kada's phone goes straight to voicemail; the phone is possibly now dead, and there is no social media activity.

Two weeks into the investigation,   investigators announced the arrest of Keon King, 21, for Kada’s kidnapping, but Kada is still missing.  Investigators beg the public for help to track down King’s 1999 gold Toyota Camry, Pennsylvania plate MSX0797.
Hours after that request, a resident at Gypsy Lane Condos remembers a car matching that description had been parked in the lot for almost a week.

Officers descend on the community, where King’s family lives, cordoning off the parking lot to search. The Toyota is towed when police confirm it belongs to King.

Surveillance footage shows the car entering the gated Gypsy Lane parking lot 5 days before police tow it. A resident opens the gate for the driver, who sits in the car for about 35 minutes before leaving. It’s unclear if King was behind the wheel.

Just two weeks before Kada’s disappearance, King listed the car for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

Police are also spreading out from the last search at Awbury Arboretum. Acting on a tip, officers search across the street at the now-abandoned Ada Lewis Middle School.

During a grid search outside the locked building, they recover some of Kada’s belongings: her debit card and pink phone case. 

Joining Nancy Grace:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Texas woman was arrested last week after her 11-year-old autistic son was reportedly found severely underweight and with other injuries indicative of abuse. Investigators believe they know the identities of the shooters who opened fire at a crowded South Carolina bar on Sunday, killing four people and wounding 20 others. Sydney Sumner reports. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.