Crime Alert 05.08.24

Madi Brooks, 19, leaves Reggie’s Bar with four young men who offer to give her a ride home. A few blocks from the bar, the driver pulls over and starts to video as the two men in the backseat ‘have sex’ with an extremely intoxicated Brooks. Afterward, Brooks cannot tell the men her address and, according to them, insists on getting out of the car. Just before 3 a.m., a Lyft driver strikes something in the road. It’s Madi Brooks. She dies of her injuries at a hospital. The four men have been charged in this case, three of them with third-degree rape, and one is charged as a principal to third-degree rape, which means he was present for the alleged crime, but did nothing to stop it.  Reportedly,  there are concerns that District Judge Gail Horne Ray will not remain neutral while presiding over the trial of Madison Brooks’ four alleged rapists. Last year, Judge Ray reduced an accused rapist’s bail without allowing prosecutors to argue against the decision. Just last month, Ray moved to overturn a 1972 rape conviction when asked to consider allowing the convict parole. Her son, Nelson Taylor Jr., is also a convicted serial rapist.    Joining Nancy Grace today Ashley Bausteret - Mom of Madison Brooks Dr. Jeff Kieliszewski – Forensic Psychologist, Author: “Dark Sides;” YouTube: Dr. Jeff Kielisze Jarrett Ferentino - Jarrett Ferentino – Homicide Prosecutor; Facebook & Instagram: Jarrett Ferentino; Host: “True Crime Boss” Podcast Bill Hernandez – California Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Detective Kiran Chawla –  Emmy & Murrow Award-winning Investigative Reporter: “Unfiltered with Kiran;” Facebook & YouTube: Unfiltered with Kiran/ Twitter: @Kiran_Chawla23, TikTok: @unfilteredkiran See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Woman's body burned after married boyfriend kills her. Angry paralyzed man slaps brother with his dirty diaper.  For more crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just after returning to classes at the University of Georgia for the spring semester, Tara Baker heads to the law library for a study session. At a quarter to 10, Baker calls her friend from the library to make sure she got home safe, mentioning she's heading home shortly. The next morning, Baker misses her 9:30 class.   In the mid-morning hours of January 19th, Athens-Clarke County firefighters are called to an apartment fire at 160 Fawn Drive. Firefighters break down a locked door to access the unit, and find a fire had broken out in the bedroom and burned through the roof. Among the rubble, fire-fighters discover the body of a young woman, later identified as first-year law student Tara Louise Baker.  Police do not release Baker’s cause of death, but tell the public they believe she was murdered, the attacker a stranger to Baker. Investigators consider the possibility that Baker’s murder is connected to a Christmas day arson at a complex just a block from Baker’s. No one was home when someone entered the unit and set fire to a pile of clothes. Police also look at Baker’s boyfriend, but he passes a polygraph test and his alibi is confirmed. Investigators focus on a theory that a stranger broke into Baker’s apartment. Police reveal that Baker was beaten, stabbed, strangled, and potentially sexually assaulted.   23 years after Tara Baker’s body is found in her burning apartment, the GBI in partnership with Athens-Clarke County Police arrest a man suspected of her murder. Edrick Faust, 48, is put behind bars for 9 charges related to Baker’s sexual assault and murder. Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Fran Longwell - Former Deputy State’s Attorney (Calvert County, MD), Former Assistant State’s Attorney (Prince George’s County, MD) Deputy States attorney in Calvert County specializing in child abuse, sex offenses and homicides  Dr. Angela Arnold - (Atlanta, GA) Psychiatrist, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital, Voted My Buckhead’s Best Psychiatric Practice of 2024, AngelaArnoldMD.com Shera LaPoint -  Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogist with DNA Labs International, Author: “The Gene Hunter”  Nicolle Brock - Firefighter, EMT, and arson expert Sheryl McCollum- Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Host of new podcast: Zone 7, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips  Dr. Kendall Crowns- Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University Alexis Tereszcuk –(CA) CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker, leadstories.com, @swimmie2009  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior citizen kills wife in the hospital because he cannot afford her medical bills. Dad threatens daughter's Uber driver with a gun.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mother of five,  Crystal Rogers is last seen July 3 by her live-in boyfriend, Brooks Houck. Crystal Rogers mother, Sherry Ballard, reports her missing on July 5. Later that day, Crystal Rogers red Chevy Malibu is found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway. The car has a flat tire, but Rogers' keys, phone and purse are still inside. 16-months later, Crystal Rogers is still missing and her father, Sherry Ballard's husband, Tommy Ballard, is murdered in the early morning hours as he prepares to go hunting on his own property with his 12-year-old grandson. Ballard is shot from an undetermined distance, but his property backs up against the Bluegrass Parkway. It's a fast getaway in either direction for a gunman. On this episode of Body Bags, Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack explore the disappearance of Crystal Rogers and the murder of her dad, Tommy Ballard.  Plus, Joseph Scott Morgan  explains how prosecutors can prove Crystal Rogers was murdered,  even though they haven't found her body. Subscribe to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan : Apple Podcasts Spotify iHeart Transcribe Highlights 00:12.12 Introduction of growing up with PaPaw Morgan03:34.36 Discuss Crystal Rogers missing, her father Tommy Ballard murdered06:15.27 Discussion of Bardstown Kentucky 07:46.82 Discussion of why Brooks Houck didn't report Rogers missing08:13.81 Talk about Crystal Rogers car found on Bluegrass parkway15:45.34 Talk Rogers car found with flat tire, she is still missing18:16.83 Discussion of Brooks Houck, suspect, brother is police officer21:13.58 Discussion of police letting Houck talk to his brother on phone26:27.16 Talk about tracking dogs pick up Crystal Rogers scent at farm, but not at her car31:09.10. Discussion 16 months after Crystal Rogers vanishes, her dad, Tommy Ballard killed34:36.43 Discussion of how bullet twists the skin39:02.99 Discussion of Tommy Ballard hunting, murdered on his own property40:52.53 Discussion of murder charges without a body43:45.73 Conclusion - waiting for trial   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 early January 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, but he's headed to jail anyway.   A Massachusetts federal judge sentenced Brian Walshe to three years in prison for art fraud.   He was ordered to serve 37 months in prison. He'll have three years of supervised release after, if he is not serving time for the murder of his wife.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: David Studdard - Spalding County, Ga. Assistant District Attorney; Former Police Officer  Caryn Stark - Psychologist; Twitter: @carnpsych Tom Ruskin - Private Investigator, President of the CMP Protective and Investigative Group, Inc.; Former New York City Police Detective Investigator; Twitter: @tomruskin  Julie Lewis - President & CEO, Digital Mountain, Inc. Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth); Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Bob Ward - Reporter for Boston 25 News; Twitter: Bward3, FB: Bob Ward Boston 25 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Rebecca Grossman awaits sentencing for mowing down Mark and Jacob Iskander while the Iskander family walked through a crosswalk, Grossman has allegedly been misusing her jail phone privileges. Prosecutors say the recorded calls document potential criminal conspiracies, such as requests to disclose protected discovery, discussion of various attempts to interfere with witnesses and their testimony, and attempts to tamper with the jury and influence a judge from behind bars. In one call, Grossman tells her husband to call Scott Erickson, her ex-lover and former major league pitcher, and "tell him to get on a video and that he needs to confess.” In another, Grossman is said to have told her 19-year-old daughter, Alexis, to release the body-camera video footage from the deputy on the scene even though that footage has been sealed. Her daughter responds, "I will." Grossman's private investigator, Paul Stuckey, also allegedly contacted at least two jurors from Grossman's trial. The DA argues that the only way Stuckey could have found out juror names would be to access a pre-dealing jury list, which amounts to both jury tampering and illegally having jurors' personal information. The Iskander family also accuses Grossman of "playing games" in court, by hiring a new defense attorney, James Spertus, currently representing Diana Teran from the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. Teran is charged with 11 felonies for allegedly misusing confidential law enforcement records. Before she was charged, Teran oversaw the prosecutors in Grossman's second-degree murder trial. Because of this, the DA reassigned the prosecutors from the case due to a potential conflict of interest. The DA's office backtracked on the move days later, reinstating the original prosecutors on the case. At a hearing addressing Spertus' conflict of interest, Judge Joseph Brandolino says he sees no sign of conflict and Grossman’s sentencing hearing will go on as scheduled on June 10. Grossman is expected back in court in early June to address Spertus' recent filing for a new trial. 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 Robin Dreeke – Behavior Expert & Retired FBI Special Agent / Chief of the FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program; Author: “Sizing People Up: A Veteran FBI Agents Manual for Behavior Prediction;” X: @rdreekeke  Dr. Jan Gorniak – Medical Examiner, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (Las Vegas, NV), Board Certified Forensic Pathologist Eamon Murphy - Writer for 'The Acorn' Newspaper in California  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mother beats two adopted children, killing 4-year-old boy. Car theft foiled, by woman's inability to drive a manual.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newly filed court documents reveal what investigators did to find the bodies of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley after they go missing en route to Butler's son's birthday party.  OSBI, the FBI, and the Texas County Sheriff’s Department follow cell phone pings to find a horrific scene, a 10-foot-deep hole, eight and a half miles from Butler's abandoned car, in a pasture on farmland leased by Tad Cullum.  Documents reveal investigators uncover a chest freezer, at the bottom of the hole. Once the freezer is open the search for Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley ends. Their bodies are inside the freezer along with personal items that do not belong to either of them.  Among the items are the handle of a saw, a taser, and bloody clothes including two pairs of Wrangler Blue Jeans, a black belt, and two sweatshirts. Other items found at the burial site include duct tape with possible blood, a taser/flashlight, electrical cording and tape, two ratchet straps, and a black K-Bar knife in sheath, with possible blood on it.  Inside Cora and Cole Twombly's truck, cops find a Taurus 380 handgun with a full magazine of hollow point ammunition and a live round in the chamber, stun guns, cat litter used for liquid absorption of trace evidence, biological/DNA evidence, digital photos, special scans, and all other evidence of the crime of murder. We also learn from the new documents that Paul Grice was seen with bandages on his hand in the days after the moms' disappearance and asking incriminating questions after their bodies were recovered. Grice asked a friend how long the state lab would take to process DNA evidence and how long DNA would last in the dirt. Grice says he is concerned about his DNA being in the hole that Butler and Kelley were found in because he had been to the Twombly residence. Grice also asks if he knows how to get a "guy and his family" into Mexico.  Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Alan Bennett – Former Assistant District Attorney; Partner at Gunter, Bennett, and Anthes  Dr. Angela Arnold – Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA. Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital 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 Lauren Conlin – Investigative Journalist, Host of The Outlier Podcast, and also Host of “Corruption: What Happened to Grant Solomon; X- @Conlin_Lauren/ Instagram- @LaurenEmilyConlin/YouTube- @LaurenConlin4 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25-year-old kills his mother during an argument. High music festival attendee takes a chunk out of cop.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.