Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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: Kenneth “Tray” GoberDr. Bethany MarshallFil WatersAlex CanoSee 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: www.drbethanymarshall.comwww.uspasecurity.comwww.wcyb.comSee 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: Spencer AronfeldDr. Janie LacyRobert CrispinSee 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: Dr. Bethany MarshallTom SmithSheryl McCollumJoseph Scott MorganChristina AguayoSee 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, www.drbethanymarshall.com 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: Dr. Bethany MarshallLynn ShawMegan PalinSee 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: Kenneth “Tray” Gober-Caryn StarkLynn WarriorsErica MillerSee 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 Killabrew's 520th MLB homerun 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, snow still on the ground, Kari Hoffmann, her 5-year-old son Landen, and 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 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 a life threatening injury to his vena cava 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 life saving 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. Kessigner 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 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 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”, website: www.cherylncadle.com 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 is 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 swearing 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 aren’t the only ones 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: www.sassgo.orgSee 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.