Crime Alert 05.22.24

Newly-wed teacher sexually abuses student for a year. Amish family robbed of their horse and buggy! For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chelsea Grimm attends Pace University in New York to study psychology. She graduates with a master's degree in social work. Putting her degree to good use, she works for the New York City Department of Education as a  social worker. Chelsea Grimm makes a change, heading to the West Coast, and settling in Ocean Beach, California.  Chelsea making plans to meet her parents at a wedding in Connecticut, but when she can't find an airline that will let her fly with her pet Bearded Dragon, Chelsea decides to make it a road trip, using the travel to take photos of forgotten soldiers and other special people at cemeteries across the country. On September 24, Chelsea Grimm leaves San Diego and heads for Connecticut.   Three days into her cross-country trip, Grimm arrives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she meets her sister and a friend. Grimm makes plans to meet the same friend for lunch the next day but cancels the plans.  On that same day, she stops at a motel in Seligman, about 160 miles north of Phoenix. The clerk says Grimm seems confused as she tries to book a room, exchanging Euros instead of US Currency. She mentions wanting to be "off-grid" and asks if there are any places in town that would exchange Euros.   From a motel in Seligman, Arizona, Chelsea Grimm calls her parents and tells them she isn't going to make it to Connecticut on time for the wedding, the trip is taking too long. She tells them she is going to camp out nearby for a couple of days and head back home to San Diego. The next day, September 28, Grimm leaves the motel and heads 40 miles east to a war memorial cemetery in Williams, Arizona. Williams police are alerted to a suspicious vehicle and when the officer checks, he finds Chelsea Grimm seated in her car, crying. She tells the officer she gets emotional taking photos for a lost soldier project and doesn't want to drive while crying.  The officer spends nearly 9 minutes with Grimm and asks if she has a hotel room for the night. She says she is going to camp and the officer directs her not to camp in the city, but she can sleep at Love's Truck Stop nearby, he tells her she won't be bothered there   Two days after talking to the police officer in Williams, Arizona, Grimm finds herself 19 miles west of Williams Ash Fork, Arizona. She is camping out in her Ford Focus SUV. A local woodcutter sees Grimm and talks to her for a few minutes, saying she isn't in distress or need of help. It is September 30. The woodcutter in Ash Fork, Arizona, is the last person to see Chelsea Grimm.  Grimm's parents report her missing on October 4. The next day, her 2019 White Ford Focus SUV is found abandoned on the side of the road with two flat tires in the middle of Forest Service Road 6 in the Kaibad National Forest, northeast of Ash Fork. Inside the vehicle, all of Chelsea Grimm's personal belongings such as her wallet, driver's license, clothes, sleeping bag, and her bearded dragon are gone. Police say there is no evidence of foul play  The area where Grimm's locked SUV is found is an area popular with hunters and loggers. An extensive search is conducted of a 3-mile radius around where her car is discovered. Her family believes that due to the intensity of the search, if Chelsea is in the area, she will be found. Hunters and loggers in the area also strongly believe she is not there. Chelsea Grimm's family hires a private investigator, Kelly Townsend, to help with the case. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Marc Klaas – Founder, KlaasKids Foundation; X: @PollyDad Andrew Stoltmann - Chicago Attorney and Adjunct law professor at Northwestern University, co-author of the book Waging War on Wall Street: My Battles Suing Banks and Brokerage Firms; X: @Stoltmann1971  Dr. Leslie Dobson - Clinical and Forensic Psychologist    Justin Yentes - Private Investigator for Grimm Family and Criminal Defense Investigator at Arizona Investigative Associates  Zara Barker - Reporter, Fox 5 San Diego; X @zarabarkertv   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sucker puncher poses for victim's photo. Suspect leads wild chase, then casually asks for a cigarette.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The day Madeline Soto vanished, her mother, Jennifer, writes in a sworn statement that she saw her daughter getting ready for school that morning.  In a later interview, Jennifer Soto instead says she heard someone in the kitchen. She assumes it's Madeline, but that isn't the only change in the mother's story. Jennifer finally tells investigators she last saw her 13-year-old daughter the night before, when she sent Madeline to another bedroom with Stephan Sterns.  According to Mom, this is a common arrangement when she needs to get a good night's sleep.  Early in the investigation, Stephan Sterns was a person of interest. The day Madeline Soto is reported missing, investigators allegedly found 1,700 sexually explicit images on Sterns's cell phone. Investigators have also said they found images and video on Sterns’ phone showing he molested her for years.  Initially, Stephan Sterns tells investigators he drops the girl off near Hunter's Creek Middle School. However, around that same time, investigators say a license plate reader detected Sterns's car miles away from the school. Using data from license plate readers and surveillance video, investigators track Sterns's car as it travels east from Kissimmee toward St. Cloud and Old Hickory Tree Road, where Madeline Soto's body is found lying face down near bamboo trees covered in debris.  Investigators obtain surveillance video from the morning Madeline Soto is reported missing a trash compactor where a tread from Stephan Sterns's car is found as well as items belonging to Madeline Soto, like her black backpack. Sterns is caught on video throwing these objects in the trash compactor.  Minutes later, Sterns is caught on surveillance video at 7:36 a.m. driving away from the Kissimmee, Florida neighborhood with a female in the front passenger seat.   Investigators believe the female seen at 7:36 a.m. in the surveillance video in the front passenger seat of Stephan Sterns's vehicle is Madeline Soto's dead body propped up and buckled into the seat to appear as a living person, but closer inspection of the video shows her head leaning toward her shoulder with her mouth open.  Sterns is caught on surveillance video again at 8:19 am when he is seen entering the front security gate of the neighborhood with a female, in the same position as the surveillance video. Stephan Sterns's car is seen on surveillance footage again, this time turning into the parking garage of Holiday Inn Club Vacations in Orlando. He drives to the top level of the parking garage and gets out of his car around 9:42 a.m. A man matching Sterns's description is seen allegedly opening the trunk, walking around to the passenger seat, opening the door, and carrying what appears to be a "limp female body" to the trunk of the vehicle. At 9:44 a.m. the vehicle is seen on surveillance video leaving the parking garage and driving away. The Florida State Attorney's office release more than 900 pages of information showing how investigators, using surveillance videos and license plate readers tracked Stephan Sterns leaving an apartment complex in Kissimmee on the morning of February 26, and driving to an area of St. Cloud where Madeline Soto's body is found four days later. It remains unclear as to how Madeline Soto died. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office announced that it filed 60 counts against Sterns, including: Eight counts of Sexual Battery on a Child Under 12 Five counts of Sexual Battery with a Child, 12-18 Seven counts of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation 40 counts of Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child, 10 or More Stephan Sterns will face the death penalty if convicted of the murder of Madeline Soto.  JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:  Terasina Niles - Madeline's Aunt    Jarrett Ferentino – Pennsylvania Attorney/Homicide Prosecutor,; Facebook & Instagram: Jarrett Ferentino; Host: “True Crime Boss” Podcast Dr. Jorey Krawczyn – Police Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: Operation S.O.S. – Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide”  Joe Scott Morgan – Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, “Blood Beneath My Feet,” and Host: “Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;” X: @JoScottForensic Shannon Butler - Investigative Reporter at WFTV-9 Florida See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Son sets father's house on fire, killing stepmom and three pets, because he wants their land. A Texas couple is unsure of who to call when they cross paths with a Kangaroo! For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The man suspected in the bludgeoning death of Rachel Morin is no longer on the run. Harford Sheriff Jeff Gahler announced the arrest of Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador. Police say the 23-year-old is suspected of a murder in his home country and the rape and assault of a 9-year-old California girl and her mother.  Morin's body was found along the Ma & Pa Trail 10 months ago. DNA found at the crime scene matched a home invasion in Los Angeles, leading to the suspect's arrest in Oklahoma.  Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Matthew Mangino – Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County); Author: “The Executioner’s Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States” Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Chris McDonough – Director at the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room” Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Alexis Tereszcuk - CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker at Lead Stories; X:@swimmie2009    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teens burn down wrong home attempting to exact revenge on thief. Perp nearly avoids cops with this hiding spot.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine waking up inside a body bag, declared dead and transported to a funeral home, where you find yourself short of breath, BUT STILL BREATHING! In this episode of Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan we will explore something that is happening far more often than you think, people being declared dead, who wake up on a table in a funeral home!  And how to make sure you are not Buried Alive! Subscribe to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan : Apple Podcasts Spotify iHeart Transcript Highlights  00:00:08 Introduction: worst nightmare come true  00:03:02 Discussion being buried alive   00:07:28 Talk about funeral homes  00:11:49 Discussion of hospice care nursing  00:16:29 Discussion of soldier Battle of the Bulge  00:20:24 Talk about forensic pathology  00:24:46 Discussion of dead body, signs of death  00:28:30 Discussion of death investigation  00:31:34 Talk about people declared dead, waking up in funeral home  00:34:16 Discussion of death and declaring someone dead  00:38:04 Conclusion: cautionary tale, death investigation is important See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesse Lee Calhoun has been indicted on second-degree murder, charged in the death of 24-year-old Charity Lynn Perry, 31-year-old Bridget Leann Webster, and 32-year-old Joanna Speaks. Prosecutors say they’re still investigating the deaths of at least two additional women, Kristin Smith and Ashley Real. He’s also facing three charges of second-degree abuse of a corpse.  All three women were found dead under suspicious circumstances in wooded or secluded areas around Portland last year.  Detectives have linked the murders to a man granted early release from his sentence. Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, was granted early release after he joined a group of inmates fighting devastating wildfires. Calhoun had been sentenced to four years in prison for felonies including burglary, unauthorized possession of a stolen vehicle, and injuring a police officer and a police dog as they attempted to arrest him. Calhoun's clemency has been revoked, and he is back behind bars.   Joining Nancy Grace Today: Jarrett Ferentino- Homicide Prosecutor, Facebook & Instagram: Jarrett Ferentino  Caryn Stark - Psychologist- Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carnpsych Sheryl McCollum - Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of new podcast, "Zone 7;" Twitter: @ColdCaseTips  Dr. Todd M. Barr - Board-Certified Anatomic/Clinical/Forensic Pathologist (Ohio); Testified in Shawn Grate serial killer case, and featured in "Thin Places: Essays From In Between" by Jordan Kisner Annette Newell - KXL News, Host of "Speaking Freely with Annette Newell;" Alpha Media USA (based in Portland, Oregon); Twitter: @AnnetteNewell16       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the way to Bridgerton City Park in southern New Jersey, Noema Alavez Perez takes her children, Dulce Maria Alavez, 5, and her 3-year-old brother to get ice cream. Once at the park, the children play on the swings as Noema is in her car about 30 yards away helping her sister with homework on the phone. Seeing her son crying by the swings, Perez walks toward him to find out what is going on and finds someone has thrown his ice cream on the ground, noticing Dulce is not on the swings with her brother. No longer concerned about her sons' ice cream, Noema Perez begins scanning the park for Dulce. Noema Alavez Perez was about 30 yards away from her children playing on swings in the park, and when she couldn't find Dulce for a few minutes, she thought her daughter was hiding, trying to be funny. Dulce has never run off before, but Perez doesn't see her anywhere in the park. Asking everyone standing near the basketball court if they have seen Dulce Maria Alavez, she hears several stories of the 5-year-old running behind houses with two different men and another child.  Living every parent's biggest nightmare, Perez calls 911 to report her daughter missing in the park. JOINING NANCY TODAY: Noema Alavez - Mother of Dulce Alavez   Brenda Trinadad - Family friend and advocate for Dulce Alavez Kathleen Murphy – North Carolina Family Attorney  Dr. Chloe Carmichael – Clinical Psychologist, Women’s Health Magazine Advisory Board;’ Author: ‘Nervous Energy: Harness The Power of Your Anxiety;’ X: @DrChloe  Irv Brandt – (Retired) US Marshals Service International Investigations Branch, Author: “GOING SOLO: The Gospel of Luke,” and “SOLO JOURNEY: Buddha Knights;” X: @JackSoloAuthor Claudia Vargas -  Investigative Reporter at NBC10 Philadelphia; Documentary “Somebody Knows Something: The Disappearance of Dulce” is now steaming on Peacock; X: @ByClaudiaVargas   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.