Crime Alert 05.24.23

Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was murdered before her baby was cut out of her body, according to police. The teen mom went missing as she tried to pick up baby clothes from someone she met online in a motherhood forum.  Now the mother/daughter duo who killed Ochoa-Lopez will spend decades behind bars.    Clarisa Figueroa, 51, told a judge she understood that she would be in jail for the rest of her life, as the judge sentenced her to 50 years behind bars. Both Figueroa and her daughter, Desiree Figueroa, were charged with first-degree murder for the brutal slaying of Ochoa-Lopez.  Prosecutors said they lured Ochoa-Lopez to their home on April 23, 2019, with the promise of baby supplies. The duo then strangled Ochoa-Lopez when she arrived and cut the baby from her womb, in an attempt to keep the infant as their own.  Two months later, the infant, Yovanny Lopez, passed away from brain damage, along with complications from a prolapsed umbilical cord and placenta. In January, Desiree Figueroa pleaded guilty to murder and took a plea deal, which allowed her to receive 30 years in prison in exchange for testimony against her mother.  Joining Nancy Grace Today  Troy Slaten - Los Angeles Defense Lawyer Steven Lampley - Former Detective Dr. Bethany Marshall -  Psychoanalyst Dr. Kris Sperry - Retired Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Georgia   Dave Mack - Crimeoneline.com Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kouri Richins defense team has a strategy to argue every piece of evidence the prosecution has, in an effort to have the case against her dismissed. The prosecutors are working hard to not let that happen during the preliminary hearing. As both sides are preparing to provide the court with their evidence, the prosecution says they need at least three full days to present their case for the judge. Noting the amount of time that will be needed to conduct the hearing, the judge moved the case to June 18 to June 21. The Kouri Richins defense will be to stand up to each piece of evidence and have the case dismissed before ever getting to trial  The judge allows prosecutors to introduce evidence that Kouri looked into getting a divorce and had a law firm on retainer.  After receiving a consultation. Kouri allegedly tells her bother that she ended the consultation because she didn't want half of everything and wants to walk away clean and free.  However, the court may reasonably infer the opposite is true as it appears Kouri Richins didn't want half of everything. Prosecutors say she wanted everything and to that end, planned to cause Eric Richins' death  The investigation into the death of Eric Richins show text messages between Kouri Richins and her mother, Lisa Darden, show great disdain for Eric on Lisa Darden's part. Investigators include in their report that right before her significant other dies, Lisa Darden is added to her will.   The detective writes, based on Lisa Darden’s proximity to her partner’s suspicious overdose death, and her relationship with Kouri, it is possible she was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric’s death."   JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:  Greg Skordas - Friend and Spokesperson for victim Eric Richins Troy Slaten - Criminal Defense Attorney, Slaten Lawyers, APC; Twitter @TroySlaten Dr Ernest Chiodo - Toxicologist, Physician, Biomedical Engineer, Attorney, Author: “Toxic Tort: Medical and Legal Elements”, www.ernestpchiodo.com,  Justin Boardman - Former Detective, West Valley City Police Department Special Victim’s Unit, Boardman Training & Consulting  Elaine Aradillas - Investigative Journalist Previously worked at People magazine and The Messenger.  X/Twitter: @elaineja  Instagram: @the_elaine  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mom tries to keep first responders from helping toddler overdosing on meth. Thieves steal car, but return ashes.   For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ella Adler joins a group of twelve for wakeboarding on Biscayne Bay over Mother’s Day weekend.  The girls take turns on two wakeboards towed behind the boat.  Ella ends up in the water. Still wearing a life vest, she makes it back over to the board and clings to it as she’s towed back to the yacht. While Ella’s still in the water, another boat gets dangerously close and shows no sign of stopping. Moments later, the boat strikes Ella, forcing her underneath. When Ella floats back up to the surface, she’s limp and there’s blood in the water. Ella dies before anyone can get her to shore.   The boat that hit Ella never slowed down, despite a legal requirement to stop, call law enforcement, and give aid. Maritime lawyers have contested claims the boat operator may not have realized they hit someone, saying anyone aboard would have felt the hit. A witness saw a fishing boat pass the gray yacht, and heard screams and distress calls over the yacht’s radio. They describe the boat as a light blue center console with dark blue bottom paint and three to four outboard engines.   JOINING NANCY TODAY Daniel Grammes - Maritime Lawyer / Attorney at Lipcon Margulies & Winkleman;  Insta: @dgram01 Phil Odom – Boating Accident Reconstructionist, Owner of H2O Investigations, and Former Law Enforcement; Facebook: H20 Investigations Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Dr. Michelle DuPre – Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Author: “Homicide Investigation Field Guide” & “Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide;” Forensic Consultant Sydney Sumner - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Student assaults two teachers. Handcuffed trespasser chucks burger at Florida cop.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As family and friends hold a beachside service for Mica Miller, John Paul Miller delivers a eulogy for his estranged wife at Solid Rock at Market Common. Miller seems to cry as he talks about how he tried to raise Mica from the dead. He claims he laid down with his wife about 4 times and when he took a dog tag necklace Mica had given him to the mall to get it fixed, he saw a woman wearing "Mica's dress" with the same tattoo and hairstyle, he calls out "Mica!" but it was her sister, thought he raised Mica from the dead. Since the first days of the investigation into Miller's death, the Robeson County Sheriff's Office has been in contact with the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office for assistance. Based on information gathered during the investigation and jurisdiction reasons, the Sheriff's office has now requested assistance from both agencies. Mica Miller's body is found in Robeson County, North Carolina, but Mica lives in South Carolina and purchases the gun near her home in Myrtle Beach. Joining Nancy Grace today:  Sierra Francis - Sister of Mica Miller Regina Ward -  Attorney for Sierra Francis; Regina Ward Law FirmAllicia  Young -  Mica and John-Paul Miller's former friend Traci Brown – Body Language Expert & Author: “How to Detect Lies, Fraud and Identity Theft;” X: @Tracibrown37  Brian Foley –  Board-certified Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Chief Prosecutor in Harris County, (Houston) Texas; Author: “What Prosecutors Don’t Tell You” (not yet published); Instagram @brianfoleylawpllc/ Youtube – @brianfoleylawyer/X: @brianpllc Dr. Bethany Marshall – Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills); X: @DrBethanyLive/ Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Appearing in “Paris in Love” on Peacock; BOOK: “Deal Breaker: When to work on a relationship and when to walk away” Kayla Brantley – Reporter, DailyMail.com; X: @_KaylaBrantley, Instagram: @KaylaBrantley      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Man ties girlfriend to a sign post in the Nevada desert and suffocates her. Brother's "hangry" outburst lands him behind bars for battery by chicken wing.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mercedes Vega is seen on video at 9:15 p.m. leaving her apartment complex in Tempe, Arizona. In the video Vega is seen walking with her face looking down as if she was on Facetime. Mercedes Vegas is texting multiple people on the night of April 16. And looking at those messages as a whole, she is either going to meet friends for Sushi, meet other friends at "Dave&Busters,"  or, as she indicates in another text, go to work. In one of her text messages Mercedes Vega says, "I just feel weird, like maybe I shouldn't go anywhere."  In the early morning hours of April 17, the Harquahala Fire Department responds to a report of a burning car on the “north hand shoulder” of the I-10 highway, west of Tonopah, Arizona. Firefighters find a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu on fire. Once the fire is put out, a deceased human body is found in the rear passenger seat.  At 1:15 a.m.  Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies are called to a scene to assist the Arizona Department of Public Safety on a death investigation.  Investigators talk to the man who called law enforcement about the car on fire. Robert Miller tells officials he saw a person walking outside the vehicle.   Using fingerprints, investigators can identify the woman found inside the burning Malibu as 22-year-old Mercedes Vega. The 2018 Chevrolet Malibu in which her body was found, does not belong to Vega. The car has a Salvage Title vehicle registered to State Farm Insurance and the burning car is 60 miles from Vega's Tempe, Arizona apartment. Mercedes' 2019, White, Dodge Charger is found illegally parked near First Street and Farmer Avenue, 1.5 miles south of where she lives. According to her mother, the car is parked while running with the keys in the ignition so it would be stolen or towed.  The MCSO has video surveillance of Vega's Charger from the time it is left parked on the road until the time police recover it. Vega didn't park it where it was found.  Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s report states the cause of death was “conflagration, blunt force and ballistic injuries," and the Manner of Death is Homicide.  The death report also states she has blunt force trauma and gunshot injuries that contributed to her death, and an odor of bleach within the larynx.  The report notes the presence of gloves and bleach found in front of the car and lighter fluid in the backseat.  JOINING NANCY TODAY:  Tom and Erika Pillsbury - Mercedes Vega's parents,  FB: Justice for Mercedes Marianna Vega  Sarah Ford – Legal Director of South Carolina Victim Assistance Network, Former Prosecutor (focusing on crimes against women and children) & Host of “Stepping Toward Justice” podcast; X: @Sarahafordfordesq 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. Michelle DuPre – Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Author: “Homicide Investigation Field Guide” & “Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide;” Forensic Consultant Bianca Buono – Reporter, 12 News (Phoenix, AZ), X: @BiancaBuono See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Man tries to shoot pastor during live-streamed services. This neighbor really must've really needed a cup of sugar! For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ashlin Couch, former roommate of the Idaho students killed, is speaking out. Couch transferred her lease at 1122 King Road to Xana Kernodle just six months before Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves were slain in the home. Couch remembers getting an alert from the University and immediately reaching out to friends still in Moscow. Couch’s last text to Mogen before learning of her death was “Are you OK?” Couch followed up in a group chat with friends, “Has anyone heard from Maddie?” Couch says the thought that the murders could have happened earlier is unsettling, commenting that ‘you never know how long someone is watching your house.’ We also learn a friend of an officer working on the Bryan Kohberger murder investigation says Kohberger was very careful in the days before his arrest. The source says the cop followed Kohberger in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, and observed him wearing plastic gloves while picking up groceries at a local Giant store. The cop also said that Kohberger’s cellphone pings matched the movements of the victims for weeks before the murders. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Mark Tate - Trial Lawyer / Legal Analyst - Tate Law Group- TateLawGroup.com 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, coldcasefoundation.org,  Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room”  Joe Scott Morgan – Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, “Blood Beneath My Feet,” and Host: “Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;” Twitter/X: @JoScottForensic Dave Mack- CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.