Mom of Four Hacked to Death by Man on Early Release | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 07.12.25

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In 1960, Lady Bird Lake was built by the city of Austin. The river-like reservoir was created as a cooling pond for Austin's then-new city power plant. The 416-acre lake is now primarily used for recreation, but many in the area are now concerned is it the hunting ground for a killer. There have been multiple deaths reported since 2022.  The total now up to 38 deaths.   Even though police have given no indication there are signs of foul play, social media has lit up with speculation. According to the San Antonio Current, rumors of a serial killer hunting young men and dumping their bodies in Lady Bird Lake ran rampant. That's when Police recovered the bodies of Jason John, Clifton Axtell, Jonathon Honey, and Christopher Hays-Clark — all between the ages of 20 and 40 and all recovered from Lady Bird Lake. Reegan Aparicio says she has no doubts that her longtime boyfriend Chris Hays-Clark was placed in Lady Bird Lake. The dental nurse says despite police assurances that there was no foul play in Hays-Clark's death, she believes he was already dead when he went into the water. Many citizens are worried.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Reegan Aparicio - Mother to Christopher Clark's (son) Friend, GoFundMe:  Alan Bennett – Former Assistant District Attorney; Partner at Gunter, Bennett, and Anthes Dr. Dana Anderson – Forensic Psychologist, Forensic Expert; Twitter: @psychologydrcom, TikTok: @psychologydr Dennis Franks - Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent, President of Investigative & Security Global Solutions Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School  Brianna Hollis - Crime Reporter, KXAN News; IG: @brihollis_, X: @brihollisNEWS, FB: Brianna Hollis News  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lead up to James Craig’s trial has been bizarre.....two postponements, three different attorney teams, five added charges and a crazy action from an attorney, who allegedly set his own house on fire. Still, the Aurora dentist’s trial finally got underway yesterday.  Craig faces six  felony counts:  Murder in the first degree  Two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence  Three counts of solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree  Court Documents show Craig, jailed on a murder charge of his wife, Angela Craig, still allegedly worked to convince inmates, a former mistress and even one of his own children to tamper with evidence, to plant it to make it look like Angela Craig wanted to kill herself.   Prosecutors say James Craig even made a botched murder-for-hire attempt on the case’s lead detective just before a second attempt at trial  last year.   Craig allegedly offered people cash and dental work in return for a coverup .   Craig insists  he ordered poison because she asked him to.  James Craig and his wife Angela were married for over 20 years. They created a beautiful family of six, loving, happy family, happy children. Between work and taking care of their children, the Craigs still manage to fit a workout into their daily routine. The husband and wife go for a run or hit the gym together almost every day, and when they return home, James Craig makes protein shakes or fruit smoothies for breakfast while Angela delves into getting the kids ready for the day.    Angela complains of having a really nasty headache, along with problems focusing her eyesight.  She goes to the hospital saying she felt tingly and cold.   Doctors cannot figure out what's wrong with her.   Angela goes to the hospital multiple times, only to be sent home.  When she goes back for a third time, that's when she's checked in and her condition deteriorates, coding quickly.  Angela passes away.  One of Summer Brooks’ dental assistants recalls opening a package for Dr. Craig—that had potassium cyanide in it. She googles the symptoms of cyanide poisoning, and is horrified at how closely they match Angela’s symptoms. She immediately calls Craig’s partner, Ryan Redfearn, hoping he has some other explanation for the contents of the package...but he doesn’t. While visiting Angela, Redfearn tells a nurse about the cyanide, explaining there’s no medical use for the element in their practice. As a mandatory reporter, the nurse calls police.   With suspicions raised, Angela Craig is sent for an autopsy with additional toxicology screening. Tests reveal the otherwise healthy mom of six died of poisoning from both cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a common ingredient in eyedrops. While investigators have no definitive evidence Angela’s food and drinks were poisoned with cyanide, the tests reveal her cyanide levels increased while she was in the hospital.    Police then check Craig's computer finding strange searches.  One of them was how to poison someone, how to make poison and top five or top 10 undetectable poisons that people won't be able to find after someone has died and will not signal foul play. Less than 24 hours after his wife’s death, dentist James Toliver Craig is arrested for Angela’s murder and additionally charged with tampering with evidence. A 52-page arrest affidavit details Craig’s concerning computer searches, three poison orders, an ongoing affair, and proof Craig took several measures to cover his tracks.    Police then learn the dentist  allegedly tried to hire his cellmate to kill Aurora PD’s lead detective Bobbi Jo Olson for $20,000. Calling Olson the “worst, dirtiest detective,” James Craig tried to recruit Nathaniel Harris to take her out for cash or free dental work. Olson wasn’t the only person on his list. Craig also asked Harris to kill another Aurora PD officer and two inmates ‘Roger’ and ‘Tommy.’  Joining Nancy Grace today: Eric Faddis - Trial Lawyer and TV Legal Analyst, Founding Partner of Varner Faddis Elite Legal, former felony prosecutor and current criminal defense and civil litigation attorney Dr. Shavaun Scott -  Psychotherapist, Author of “The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence” Fil Waters  - Former homicide detective for the Houston police department, President & CEO of Kindred spirits Investigations & Security, Inc., kindredspiritsinvestigations.com Dr Ernest Chiodo  - Attorney, Physician, Biomedical Engineer, Toxicologist, Author: “Toxic Tort: Medical and Legal Elements”, www.ernestpchiodo.com Steffan Tubbs -  Host:  'Arsenic, DDS - The Bizarre Case of Dr. James Craig'; Former patient of James Craig See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, disgraced music mogul, begins a new fight for a lighter sentence. It remains unclear when the rapper will learn his punishment. Currently, Combs is preparing for his sentencing, which is scheduled for October 3, 2025. Combs was sent back to jail to await sentencing after a dramatic verdict day that saw him cleared of the most serious charges he faced—a partial victory. However, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. It remains uncertain how much longer the disgraced rapper—who has already spent nine months in jail—may remain behind bars following his sentencing. Diddy has not been seen in public since September 2024, after his arrest on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. His attorneys told the judge that he is willing to comply with the strictest bail conditions, especially after enduring ten grueling months in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is housed with high-profile inmates such as Luigi Mangione and Sam Bankman-Fried. Combs’ trial has been explosive, featuring bizarre sexual testimony, explicit videos, and references to some of Hollywood’s biggest names. A central figure in the trial was Cassie, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend and the state’s star witness, who testified while visibly pregnant.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Arizona man faces multiple charges after his girlfriend told police she had escaped from a shed where he’d held her while assaulting her for several days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Sherri Papini, a young mom and wife, pleads guilty to making false statements and one count of mail fraud in connection with lying about being kidnapped in 2016, she recently came forward to switch her story once again denying she was ever held captive Sherri Papini went to jail after admitting her alleged 2016 kidnapping was a hoax, but after her release, she’s giving a different explanation now to why she should be viewed as innocent of those charges. Sherri Papini gained worldwide attention in 2016 when she went missing for 22 days after she is abducted while out on a jog near her home just north of Redding California. Sherri is reported missing on January 2022 by her husband Keith, after she was reported going for a jog in her neighborhood. California young mom makes headlines in 2016 when she goes missing while on a jog near her Redding, California, home and her ever changing stories haven't stopped since. First big development is when she shockingly is rescued on a road 22 days after her alleged abduction, Thanksgiving Day. The young mom is rescued after being seen running down a highway in distress. She isd arrested for falsely telling authorities she had been abducted and tortured, claiming she was beaten and branded by captors.  Ultimately, the mother of two is ultimately arrested in 2022 for orchestrating her own abduction. She pleads guilty to a federal judge later that year and is sentenced to 18 months in jail for committing mail fraud and lying to a federal officer about being kidnapped. Sherri Papini admits to lying about being kidnapped in 2016 but now claims she did not lie about being held captive in the new docuseries Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie. Earlier this year, Investigation Discovery’s Caught in the Lie featuring Sherri Panini, illustrates claims by Papini that James Reyes is allegedly responsible for her kidnapping. Reyes disputes the allegations when interviewed by government officials and is never officially charged in connection to her kidnapping. Joining Nancy Grace today, Darryl Cohen - Former Assistant District Attorney (Fulton County, Georgia) Former Assistant State Attorney (Florida), Defense Attorney, Cohen, Cooper, Estep, & Allen, CCEAlaw.com, Facebook: "Darryl B Cohen", Twitter: @DarrylBCohen Dr. Stephen M. Diggs - Sherri Papini’s therapist, California licensed psychologist, Owner / Director of NYSA Therapy, Author of “Secondhand Girl: From Foster Care to Borderline Personality to Peace”, website: nysatherapy.com Sheriff Michael Johnson - Sheriff of Shasta County, his department investigated the “original” Sherri Papini case Traci Brown - Body language expert, Author: “How to Detect Lies, Fraud and Identity Theft”, www.BodyLanguageTrainer.com, Twitter: @Tracibrown37  Kelli Saam - Anchor at Action News Now, the CBS and NBC affiliate in Redding, CA, website: actionnewsnow.com, X: @KelliSaam, Instagram and Facebook: @KelliSaamNews  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From scoring perfect 10's and public adoration at the 1984 Olympics to public shock! Gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton's DUI arrest...is caught on camera & her behavior towards the cops is far from gold.  A husband poisons his Dementia-stricken wife's drink, then smothers her in a grisly murder -- her blue tongue gave it away. Plus, some real-life heroes rescue a pair of toddlers in a hot car. Jennifer Gould reports.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean 'Diddy" Combs' legal team drops push for expedited sentencing. Defense attorneys sought to expedite Combs' sentencing after his verdict last week, but indicated they conferred with federal prosecutors and agree on the original date proposed last week by Judge Subramanian. The decision was made yesterday, Tuesday (July 8) during a virtual quick hearing that was scheduled after Combs’ legal team requested an expedited hearing. Sentencing date set for Sean “Diddy” Combs following his federal conviction, the disgraced rap mogul will learn his fate on Oct. 3, 2025, after being found guilty on two federal counts of transporting women across state lines for prostitution but being found not guilty on the more serious crimes that can carry up to life in prison, racketing and sex trafficking. Combs' defense team is reportedly pushing for the minimum sentence of 21 to 27 months behind bars. The prosecution, on the other hand, says the sentencing guidelines call for 51 to 63 months and allegedly will likely seek an even longer sentence. Judge Subramanian previously noted the time Combs already spent in jail will count towards his final sentence. The native New Yorker and rap mogul has been jailed since his initial arrest last September and will remain behind bars until his sentencing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced on October 3 in New York after a federal jury found him guilty on two counts of transporting individuals to engage in prostitution. As new civil suits are piling up, Diddy's male escorts are spilling the tea. Brian Kohberger's signed guilty plea is now public. A California man is behind bars after police say he tried to slip back into the country just days after the body of his missing ex-girlfriend was found. A former MTV 16 and Pregnant star is back in jail in Georgia, charged in a man's fentanyl death just weeks after losing her teenage son. An Indiana man is behind bars for murder after police say he hunted down and killed a sex offender who had been released from prison just weeks earlier for molesting his young family member. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Colorado husband and father arrested again in connection with the murder of his wife years after previous charges were dropped, a grand jury indicts Barry Morphew on first-degree murder. In 2021, Morphew was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence after his wife Suzanne went missing on Mother's Day in 2020, but those charges were later dropped before his trial date and a year before Suzanne's remains were found. Suzanne Morphew, 49, last seen on Mother's Day, May 10, 2020, in Maysville, Colorado after leaving her home for a bike ride. Later that evening, Suzanne's mountain bike is found near the home and her helmet found in a different location nearby a few days later. A massive search for Suzanne spans over a three-year period until her remains are uncovered in a shallow grave in Saguache just a few hundred feet down a dirt road, the indictment states. An autopsy report states drugs typically used to tranquilize animals were found in her system. Morphew was all smiles at his court appearance. Join Nancy Grace to unfold what's next for Barry Morphew. Joining Nancy Grace today: Tisha Leewaye- Friend of Suzanne Morphew  Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker: When to work on a relationship and when to walk away” Also featured in hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock,  www.drbethanymarshall.com , Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter: @DrBethanyLive  Chris McDonough - Director At the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective, Worked over 300 Homicides in 25 year career, Trained the first Native American Homicide Task Force; & Host of YouTube channel, "The Interview Room" www.coldcasefoundation.org/chris-mcdonough  Dr. Thomas Coyne - Chief Medical Examiner, District 2 Medical Examiner's Office, State of Florida; Forensic Pathologist, Toxicologist, Neuropathologist; X: @DrTMCoyne; Derek Smith  Criminal Defense Attorney, website: dwsmithlegal.com   Dave Mack - Crime Stories Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.