Crime Alert 08.29.18

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: Kari Hoffmann, Landen's mother, Author of "Miracle at The Mall" Dr. Thomas Coyne - Chief Medical Examiner, District 2 Medical Examiner's Office, State of Florida; Forensic Pathologist, Toxicologist, Neuropathologist; X: @DrTMCoyne\ Dave Mack - 'Crime Stories' Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Nov 45min

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.

26 Nov 7min

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.

25 Nov 49min

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.

25 Nov 5min

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: Chris Melcher - Celebrity Lawyer and Partner at Walzer Melcher & Yoda (with deep experience in complex family law litigation) Dr. Cheryl Arutt- Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Specializing in Trauma Recovery, PTSD and EMDR; website: CreativeEMDR.com, IG: @askdrcheryl Jon Buehler - Former Detective for Modesto Police Department, California (31 years in Robbery and Homicide), Detective in Scott Peterson Investigation Shannon Henry - President & Founder of SASS Go (Surviving Assault Standing Strong: a nonprofit on a mission to eradicate abuse, trafficking and violence against women and girls globally) Case Consultant, and Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Education; @sassgoglobal on FB, Instagram, X, and TikTok Alexis Tereszcuk - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Nov 42min

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.

24 Nov 6min

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: Jamie Baum - Mother Jason Waddell - Father Abby Smith - Sister Paige Baum - Sister Gregory Morse – Partner at the law firm of King Morse, PLLC. Current CJA counsel (Southern District of Florida), Former West Palm Beach Public Defender’s Office. Author: “The Untested" Dr. Shari Schwartz – Forensic Psychologist (Specializing in Capital Mitigation and Victim Advocacy), and Author: “Criminal Behavior” and “Where Law and Psychology Intersect: Issues in Legal Psychology;” X: @TrialDoc Brian Fitzgibbons – VP of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security, Kingsman Philanthropic’s 2022 rescue missions of women and children in Ukraine; Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security Lisette Guillen - On-site host of 'Case Files Chicago;' Facebook: chicagolisette, IG: Lisette Guillen, LinkedIn: Lisette Guillen, TikTok: Bluangelwings See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Nov 45min

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 Highlights00:00.00 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 ConclusionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Nov 41min