Fired Fire Captain Pleads Guilty to Gunning Down Girlfriend, Her Young Son | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 03.21.26

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 former captain with California’s wildfire management agency switches to guilty plea in murders of his girlfriend and her second grader son last year to avoid death penalty.  A second Duggar son now in custody charged with lewd and lascivious conduct related to unlawful sexual interactions with a minor. In Georgia, a longtime grocery store manager says he was fired after stepping in to protect an elderly co-worker from shoplifters and suffering a head injury during the attack. A cancer-stricken comic travels 3,000 miles on a murder mission. Although he misses his first target - he guns down & kills his 2nd and then cops say, turned the weapon on himself.    Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy Guthrie missing, the investigation now into it's seventh week. The $1 million reward remains active despite no arrests or significant leads. The FBI is actively examining a "mixed" DNA sample and a home near in which residents moved out when Guthrie went missing. In the meantime, due to pressure regarding the handling of this case, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is facing a recall effort. Join Nancy and her panel of experts for the latest.  If you have information, it can be reported anonymously to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kenny Kinsey, a forensic investigator who testified for the prosecution in the 2023 Murdaugh murder trial, is now independently investigating death of Stephen Smith. He says he believes key opportunities were missed early in the 2015 case. Discovery of Stephen's body reported to 911. He suffered a 7½-inch skull fracture. Smith's death was initially investigated as a hit-and-run but investigators say the evidence did not support that as a cause of death. The body of Stephen Smith has now been exhumed, autopsied and reinterred.    Joining Nancy Grace Today: Eric Bland- Attorney for Sandy Smith & Gloria Satterfield’s Sons- Founder/Partner- Bland Richer, LLP Attorneys at Law, and Co-host of ‘Cup of Justice’ Podcast; X: @TheEricBland Dr. Carla Manly- Clinical Psychologist and Author: “Date Smart: Transform Your Relationships & Love Fearlessly" Dr. Kenny Kinsey - Kenny Kinsey & Associates LLC (forensic expert in Murdaugh murder trial), Orangeburg County Chief Deputy, Crime Scene Reconstruction Expert, and Former SLED Special Agent; X: @DrKennethKinsey Dr. Michelle DuPre- Forensic Consultant, Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner, and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff's Department; Author: "Homicide Investigation Field Guide" & "Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide" Jennifer Wood - Director of Research at FITSNews.com; X: @IndyJenn_  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police in Texas are seeking tips in connection with the disappearance of Nicole “Nikki” Winder, who hasn’t been seen since late February. Winder, 53, was last seen February 25, at around 3 p.m., leaving her place of employment in Bryan. Police located her 2025 white Chevrolet truck on an oil pad site just after 4 p.m., February 25, off FM 974, north of Highway 21, after it had been torched. An additional image captured on the same day showed an ATV in the area between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Authorities are hoping the public can help identify the owner. Anyone with information is asked to call the Brazos County Sheriff's Office at (979) 361-4900.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Oregon father allegedly admitted on Sunday to killing his 11-month-old son after falsely reporting him missing. The suspect in the murder of a 87-year-old Alaska man found dead in the woods not far away a day later. A 92-year-old millionaire developer was found dead and decomposing in a swanky beach home in California’s Hermosa Beach last week, and a suspect was arrested after a seven-hour standoff. A California woman and her boyfriend charged with 27 counts of torture and child abuse related to their treatment of the woman’s 11-year-old niece that included dragging her around on a dog leash. Sydney Sumner reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amie Owens, 46,  has been missing for nearly a year, and her children are begging for help in finding her. Family says the last contact with Amie was over text. Her daughter pleads for information on Amie's location and who she was with. Owens replied, "I'm staying with Jeff in Kentucky." The family does not know Jeff and have no last name for which to search.   Joining Nancy Grace today: Robin Hunter - Daughter  Kayla Johnson - Daughter-in-Law  Jacki Hurtt - Daughter-in-Law  Brian Fitzgibbons – Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security (leads a team of investigators specializing in locating missing persons), Marine and Iraq War Veteran; Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security Dr. Janie Lacy - Licensed Psychotherapist and CEO of Life Counseling Solutions, Author of "How To Heal From A Toxic Relationship: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Mental Health and Happiness," and Host of “Let’s Talk About It with Janie Lacy” Podcast on YouTube; Instagram & Facebook: @JanieLacy Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, ‘Crime Stories’  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pervert on drugs bursts into a woman's home yelling "Honey I'm home," before trying to rape the woman while clutching her 10mo old infant. That was the last in a series of assaults the career criminal conducted that day.  A teen mom is caught filming an upbeat TikTok dance video, while her bashed up baby was dying in the hospital from head trauma. Plus, a tot blows the whistle on mom's harrowing heist. Jennifer Gould reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fourteen-year-old Emily Pike vanishes after sneaking away from a Mesa, Arizona, group home, where she lives. When she does not return, Mesa police are contacted, and she is reported missing. Her mother is not informed until Pike has been missing for a week. Police say the group home must notify her case manager, who would then contact her family or tribe. Authorities post her picture on social media, print flyers, and alert the media that Emily Pike is missing and may have run away. Nearly a month after Pike disappears, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office reports that searchers found the remains of an unidentified female in a wooded area near U.S. 60, about 20 miles northeast of Globe, Arizona. The remains are difficult to identify but appear to belong to a missing Native American girl. Within 24 hours, authorities confirm the remains are those of 14-year-old Emily Pike. The Gila County Sheriff’s Office reports that detectives found the head and torso in large contractor trash bags, while the legs were in separate bags. Investigators search the area but do not find the arms and hands. This information, intended for law enforcement only, is inadvertently shared with friends and family without warning. A preliminary autopsy report notes visible trauma to Pike’s face and head. Authorities do not find clothing, jewelry, or identification with the remains. Investigators believe someone killed Pike elsewhere before dumping her dismembered remains. Her arms and hands remain missing. The sheriff’s office says investigators recovered surveillance footage from Mesa, where Emily was last seen alive, but have not found footage from the rural area where her remains were discovered. Officials urge anyone with information to come forward. A $200,000 reward is available for information leading to Pike’s killer. Joining Nancy Grace today:  Allred Pike Jr.  -  Uncle to Emily  Mary Kim Titla  - Executive Director of UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc.), Native American Youth advocate for over 30 years, Former TV News Broadcaster and First Native American TV Journalist in Arizona; Instagram @marykimtitla, X @MKTitla Dr. John Delatorre -  Licensed Psychologist and Mediator (specializing in forensic psychology); Psychological Consultant to Project Absentis: a nonprofit organization that searches for missing persons; X, IG, and TikTok - @drjohndelatorre Jon Buehler - Former Detective for Modesto Police Department, California; Lead Detective in the Scott Peterson Case Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host of Podcast "Mayhem in the Morgue”, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University) Susan Hendricks - Journalist, Author: “Down the Hill: My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi;" IG @susan_hendricks X @SusanHendicks  Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Hello Kitty sticker helps police track down a Tucson man now accused of opening fire during a road rage incident that left two teenage girls wounded. A two-month-old baby is dead and her mother is fighting for her life after a private ambulance crash in Philadelphia that police say may involve a family member driving under the influence. A massive international crackdown in Thailand is exposing industrial-scale scam centers that use thousands of phones to target Americans for fraud. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State authorities are searching a ranch once owned by Jeffrey Epstein, looking for the bodies of two young girls. Allegations have been made that Epstein may have used Zorro ranch for sexual abuse and sex trafficking of young women. Ten individuals, women, and young girls have come forward saying they were groomed at the ranch, and despite those allegations, the property was never searched while Epstein was alive. A 2019 email reportedly written by an anonymous "former Zorro ranch staffer," forwarded to the FBI, claims at least two victims were buried on the property, accidentally killed while strangled during “rough, fetish” sex. Also, as part of the "truth commission," authorities are investigating claims of medical experimentation on Zorro Ranch. Victims say they were “drugged” and woke up around medical equipment, and told “sex organs and sperm” were “harvested from their bodies.” Epstein is said to have been obsessed with "transhumanism," the science of improving the human population with genetic engineering. Some claim Epstein openly discussed plans to produce his own enhanced bloodline, using the 7,500-acre ranch as a base to inseminate women. Joining Nancy Grace today:  Dr. Bethany Marshall -  Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Lynn Shaw - Founder and Executive Director of Lynn's Warriors (an organization committed to ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation), Host of Lynn's Warriors on YouTube;  X: @lynns_warriors, YouTube: @LynnsWarriors Dr. DeWayne Hendrix  -  Former Warden at the MDC in Brooklyn (also served as a warden in Sheridan, Oregon), Former Senior Warden with the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Founder and President of A New Daylight Foundation, Author: "Who Are You? See it Say it and Seize it;" @anewdaylight (IG)  @drdewaynehendrix (LinkedIn)  @anewdaylight (X-Twitter)  Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan", Instagram @JoScottForensic Dave Mack  -  Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.