Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Carlee Russell calls 911, telling the operator that she sees a toddler walking down the side of an Alabama freeway.  When police arrive, there's no toddler and  Russell is gone. Her car, however, is still parked along the highway. The door is open and the car is running. Forty-nine hours later, Russell returns home, telling investigators in a brief interview that she was abducted by a man with orange hair and a woman.   As the investigation continues, police find some “really strange” internet searches in the hours before she vanished, such as the cut-off age for an AMBER Alert.   Now Russell admits via a statement from her lawyer that there was no toddler or abduction. The 26-year-old was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. With the conviction,  Russell's attorneys agreed to "stipulate and appeal" the case. This legal move will transfer the case to circuit court the case will tried again. Joining Nancy Grace today: James Shelnutt – Attorney – The Shelnutt Law Firm, P.C.; 27-year Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective and Former S.W.A.T. Officer; Twitter: @ShelnuttLawFirm Caryn Stark – Psychologist- Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carnpsych Sheryl McCollum – Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of new podcast, “Zone 7;” Twitter: @149zone7 Lee Reiber – Mobile Device Forensic Expert, COO: Oxygen Forensics, Inc., Author: “Mobile Forensic Investigations: A Guide to Evidence Collection, Analysis, and Presentation” Mike Hadsell – President and Founder of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue; Twitter: @K9River Savannah Sapp – Multimedia Journalist and Reporter for WAFF48 in Alabama; Twitter: @Savannah Sapp/Instagram:@savannahsapp.tv/Facebook:SavannahSappWAFF48  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After high school,  Susan Leigh Vaughan marries David Smith. They have two sons, but the children don't keep the marriage together.  The Smiths separated several times. During one of these separations, Susan Smith begins dating Tom Findlay, the single son of a wealthy mill owner.  Smith is planning a future with her new beau when she gets a Dear John letter from Findley. He explains that he doesn't want an instant family. On the night of October 25, Susan Smith knocks on the door of a house near John D Long Lake. She is hysterical when the man answers the door and tells him to call the police. She says an armed black man just carjacked her at a red light. Her two boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, are still in the car.  For days Susan Smith tells an ever-changing story of the carjacking. Then Susan Smith finally admits what she has done. There never was a hijacker. She went out for a drive with her sons buckled into their car seats in the back. Feeling desperate,  alone, and suicidal, she drove to John D. Long Lake and puts the car in neutral. She jumps out and watches the car sink. Scuba divers locate the vehicle with the boys in the back, still buckled into their seats. Since Susan Smith was convicted and jailed, tabloid news reports claim Smith told prison investigators that she had four sexual encounters with Lieutenant Houston Cagle, a supervisor at South Carolina's Women's Correctional Institution. Cagle admitted having sex with Smith and another prisoner. He was charged with the offenses in August 2000. The 50-year-old Cagle pleaded guilty and spent 3 months in jail. Captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years' probation.    Now Smith's relationship with men turns to pen pals. Several men have written to Smith over the years, with Smith looking to a life outside prison.   In March of 2022, People magazine gained access to letters Smith wrote to a long-distance boyfriend.  In one letter Smith wrote, "I can't wait to build a life with you, leave the past mistakes behind and start fresh, just you and me."  The Messenger has reportedly obtained transcripts of dozens of voice and text messages that Susan Smith traded with at least six men while serving her time in Prison. One man has gone so are as to build a fake life for Susan Smith and himself in the game the Sims also has a pet name for the convicted child killer, "Pookie."  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Tara Malek – Boise, ID, Attorney & Co-owner of Smith + Malek; Former State and Federal Prosecutor; Twitter: @smith_malek Dr. Bethany Marshall – Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills, CA); Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Twitter: @DrBethanyLive  Chris McDonough – Director At the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room” JoScott Morgan – Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University; Author, “Blood Beneath My Feet;” Host: “Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;" Twitter: @JoScottForensic  Dave Mack - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dad call for a ride home from a bar. Instead of picking him up, son runs over him, leaving him for dead.  A Kentucky man puts a whole new spin on "fishing for votes." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The search continues for a Washington state mom who disappeared after a frantic call to 911. That call is the last connection anyone has to missing Mikayla Standridge. The 25-year-old reportedly can be heard screaming for help on the call before the connection is lost. Standridge was last reportedly seen running out of a house in Concrete, Washington early in the morning.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Mardi Martone -  Aunt of the victim Irv Miller- Criminal Defense Attorney: The Miller Firm, Legal Analyst: CBS2 Chicago WBBM-TV and Legal Technical Advisor to “THE GOOD WIFE” and “THE GOOD FIGHT”: CBS Productions Caryn Stark – Psychologist- Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carnpsych Jason Jensen – Private Investigator (Jensen Private Investigations), Cold Case Expert (Salt Lake City, UT), and Co-founder: “Cold Case Coalition;” Investigations; Twitter: @JasonJPI, Facebook/Instagram: “Jensen Investigations” Mike Hadsell - President and Founder of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, PRSAR.org    Nicole Partin - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter; Twitter: @nicolepartin (Naples, FL)  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Woman,  tortured by co-worker giving her a ride home, rescued by police.  Speeder tries to give cops the slip. Officers meet him in his driveway. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arelie Garcia is the youngest of the six children in her family. After high school, Garcia trains in Automotive Mechanics Technology at the Center for Employment Training and works at My Chevrolet in Salinas as a service advisor. Co-worker Miguel Alvarez describes Arelie Garcia as the "happy one" of the group. Garcia maintains a close relationship with her sisters and texts Veronica almost daily. On September 22, Arelie Garcia sends Veronica a message at 6 a.m.,  a simple message of  ‘Good morning, I love you." At 6:30 a.m.,  Garcia is seen on surveillance video leaving her apartment and heading for work. She didn't show up at all. Her sisters begin texting and calling their sister's phone, getting no response.  Garcia's sister, Veronica, logs into Find My iPhone and is surprised to see Arelie Garcia's phone last pinged to a location in Big Sur, about an hour away from Salinas. Her car is found parked on the side of the road. Locked. Garcia was nowhere to be found. Joining Nancy Grace today: Ely Mendoza - Arelie’s Older sister, www.gofundme.com/f/help-find-arelie-garcia; Instagram: bringareliehome_    Wendy Patrick – California Prosecutor, Author of “Why Bad Looks Good” and “Red Flags,” and Host of “Today with Dr. Wendy” on KCBQ in San Diego; Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Dan Corsentino – Former Police Chief, Former Sheriff (served on US Homeland Security Senior Advisory Board), and Private Investigator; Expert witness certified in Federal and State courts in the area of Police Policy    Todd G. Shipley, CFE, CFCE – Cyber Crime Expert, and Author: “Investigating Internet Crimes: An Introduction to Solving Crimes in Cyberspace;” Twitter: @webcase Mike Hadsell – President and Founder of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue; Twitter: @K9River Ricardo Tovar - Journalist, Digital Content Manager for KION Newschannel 46; Twitter: @rtovarg13 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Possibly impaired driver causes fatal bus crash. Suspected porch pirate is a BEAR.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betty and Connor Bowman have a lot in common when they marry.  Betty Bowman graduates from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy with a Pharmaceutical Doctorate. She works as a hospital pharmacist while Connor Bowman gets his Internal Medicine Residency. Betty Bowman takes a position at the Mayo Clinic, so when she falls ill suddenly, the Mayo Clinic is the logical place for treatment.  It seems Betty Bowman is suffering from food poisoning, gastrointestinal distress, and dehydration. Her condition doesn't get any better.  She takes a turn for the worse, with heart problems, and fluid buildup in her lungs. Part of her colon is also removed after doctors discover necrotic tissue. Bowman dies from organ failure. Then the Southeast Minnesota Medical Examiner's Office alerts the Rochester Police Department to the suspicious nature of Betty Bowman's death. The Medical Examiner's office had to halt a cremation order.  According to court records, the Medical Examiner’s Office received a call from CGK- a female friend of the Bowman who said Betty and Connor Bowman were having marital issues and were talking about divorce following infidelity and a deteriorating relationship. In the Criminal Complaint, it is stated that Conner Bowman told the Medical Examiner’s Office that his wife should be cremated immediately, arguing that Betty Bowman did not want to be a cadaver.  Connor Bowman also began asking one of the medical examiner investigators if the toxicology analysis being completed would be more thorough than the analysis typically done at the hospital. Bowman wanted a list of what was specifically going to be tested for. Friends of Betty Bowman began reaching out to investigators. An adult female friend of Betty Bowman told the Rochester Police Department that she had texted Betty Bowman and that Bowman told her she was sick. The friend told the detective that Betty Bowman was normally a healthy person. Another friend said a text from Betty Bowman said she thought a smoothie she had the night before might have caused her illness. Detectives began looking at all options and found husband Connor Bowman had accessed Betty Bowman's patient account using his hospital credentials. From there he was able to locate internet searches conducted by Connor Bowman, a  Poison Specialist.  Connor Bowman was researching COLCHICINE,  a drug used to treat gout.  What's more, he was searching for information in determining what a lethal dose would be, by entering his wife's weight.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Dale Carson – High-profile Criminal Defense Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent, and Former Police Officer (Miami-Dade County); Author: “Arrest-Proof Yourself;” Twitter: @DaleCarsonLaw  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;” Twitter: @rdreeke Dr. Lyle D. Burgoon, Ph.D. – Toxicology Expert, President and CEO of Raptor Pharm & Tox, Ltd., and Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences; Critical Science Podcast: https://critscipod.com; Twitter/X: @DataSciBurgoon  Charles Kelley - Reporter & Weekend Anchor for KTTC News; IG & TikTok: @charliemkelley, FB: Charles Kelley KTTC   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Man drugs spouse, breaks his neck, then stages a crime scene trying to collect insurance.  Imposter cop pulls over a driver, only to find it's an undercover police car. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanksgiving, 2018, Kelsey Berreth talks with her mother that morning and is then seen on video at a local grocery. Two days later, text messages from Berreth's phone were sent to Patrick Frazee, Berreth's fiance, her mother, and her boss, saying she was taking a few days off. After not hearing from her daughter in over a week, Cheryl Berreth asks the police to check on her daughter. Kelsey Berreth is missing.  The investigation into Berreth's disappearance goes on for a month before Patrick Frazee is arrested, and charged with murdering the woman he was supposed to marry. One of the breaks for police was information coming from Frazee's mistress Krystal Lee Kenney. She tells police that Frazee had asked her three times to kill Berreth and when she refused, he did it himself.  Frazee blindfolded Berreth on the pretense of a game of guessing the scent. He then bludgeoned her with a baseball bat, calling Kenney and telling her she had a mess to clean up.  She drives from her home in Idaho to Colorado to clean up the bloody crime scene. She tells police she accompanied Frazee to his nearby ranch, where she said he burned Berreth’s remains as well as her personal belongings. Frazee is convicted on all charges including first-degree murder, solicitation for murder, and tampering with a deceased human body. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, plus 156 years for the other convictions. His appeal was denied  Krystal Lee Kenney accepted a plea deal in exchange for her testimony against Frazee. She was sentenced to three years in prison. After Frazee's conviction, Kenney was sentenced to 18 months in prison for evidence tampering. She has now been released.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Eric Faddis - Partner at Varner Faddis Elite Legal, Former Felony Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation Attorney; Instagram: @e_fad @varnerfaddis; TikTok: @varnerfaddis  Dr. Jorey L. 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” Sheryl McCollum -  CSI, Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of "Zone 7;" Twitter: @149Zone7                                                                          Dr. Tim Gallagher– Medical Examiner, State of Florida; Lecturer: University of Florida Medical School Forensic Medicine; Founder/Host: International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference Alexis Tereszcuk - CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker, Lead Stories; Twitter: @swimmie2009  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.