Latest / NO FILTER / Pregnant model stuffed into refrigerator after 5-day relationship with allegedly _obsessive_ man(MP3_160K)

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Pregnant model stuffed into refrigerator after 5-day relationship with allegedly _obsessive_ man(MP3_160K) · NO FILTER

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A word of warning. This podcast explores graphic and disturbing
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: stories and includes some strong language. It therefore may not
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: be suitable for our young listeners or other folks who
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: may find it disturbing. Hello and welcome to True Crime News,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: the podcast covering high profile and under the radar cases
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: from across the country every week. I'm your host, Anna Garcia,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: our case this week. They'd known each other for just
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: five days, and at the end of this quick romance,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: the part time model was found chopped up and stuffed
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: into her own refrigerator and her luxury apartment building. Police
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: say he's no Prince Charming, but rather a convicted felon
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: with a long violent history. Now he's in jail, charged
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: with her murder. We are recording this on Friday, October
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: twenty fourth of twenty twenty five. Our guest today is
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Gerald Griggs, an attorney, a social justice activist, and incredibly
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: busy man. Gerald is a dear friend of the show.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: We haven't been able to book you because you've been
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: in court so much. It's lovely to see you, Gerald.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: It's great to be here Anna, And actually I'm in
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: between court right now, but I'm just honor feedback on
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: the show.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, So what kind of a room are
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: you in at the courthouse? Are you in the closet?
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: I'm in the conference room next to the court room.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Oh okay, that explains the walls, the bland walls. Well again,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: you're super busy and we're so appreciative. Wonderful to see
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: you again. Okay, let's get right to it. Our case
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: today is out of Los Angeles, where a pregnant model
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: has been murdered and found chopped up stuffed in her refrigerator.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: The victim here is thirty one year old Melissa Mooney.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Police say that she was killed by a man that
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: she had met five days earlier and had a brief
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: but very intense relationship with. That man is forty three
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: year old Mangus Humphrey of Minnesota. The two were introduced
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: by a mutual friend when Mangus was visiting the family
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: in the Long Beach Areas. Father and a brother out here,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: and Melissa was an aspiring model who, according to publish reports,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: worked part time as a model, worked part time as
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: a real estate agent, and worked part time as an escort.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: So she was beautiful, as you've seen in the photos.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: My question to you Gerald, you know, in this case, generally,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: when we see this level of violence, it's generally and
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: it's horrible to make generalities. It's in a relationship that's
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: been going on for a while. This is five days,
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: and the fact that they were introduced by mutual friends
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: that they knew I think, you know, sometimes you disarm
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: yourself a little bit.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Absolutely when you meet somebody through a friend, you already
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: come with some level of comfortability. And so for a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: relationship that was basically in its infancy, to see this
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: level of violence is very, very disturbing, and you would
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: have thought that the friends would have known in the
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: past that.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: They have been issues with this intimate partner.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: But it's very strange to see this level of violence
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: in a very early on a relationship.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: And based on the descriptions because there's been a pre
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: trial hearing and we've been able to get some of
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: the evidence that authorities say they have in this case.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: And you know, it sounds so intense, like they meet
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: and then she's hanging out with his family and his
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: dad's backyard barbecue, they're talking about marriage. I mean, it's
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: really really intense, and then all of a sudden, it
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: becomes an explosive, explosive, violent scene. According to authorities, based
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: on the condition of her body and based on what
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: they believe the trigger was. And they believe that the
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: trigger was two things. One, authorities believe he had become
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: possessive of Melissa, kind of calling her his and again
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: he just met the woman and she is stunning. And
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: then on the reverse, she was also an escort, and
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: so she expected some kind of payment for her time,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: and when she asked for it, that was the last
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: time anybody heard from her.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think what happened here was you
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: had a guy who became immensely infatuated with the young lady,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: and his expectations exceeded what he received. And then of
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: course when she, based on her previous experiences and her business,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: expected more financial compensation, it was an explosive cocktail.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Oh really something. So this happened in early September of
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. Magnus flew to Los Angele to see
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: his father and brother. And as we said, there was
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: a mutual friend here of Melissa who suggested that they
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: all go out. And according to the detailed reporting by
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Courthouse News Service, which covered the pre trial hearing. Magnus,
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: his brother, the mutual friend who has been identified in
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: court and in police records as Kirsten Dawsett, and Melissa
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: all met at a Santa Monica bar where they apparently
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: partied did some cocaine. Magnus and Melissa then end up
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: really hitting it off. After this initial encounter, the two
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: of them have this brief, consensual relationship which became intense
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: and I'm using words of the prosecutors, they're calling it
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: this kind of a relationship.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: According to friends, Magnus began staying at Melissa's apartment shortly
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: after they met in Santa Monica, and that's when he
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: became possessive and they spent practically every hour together. In fact,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: some of the testimony was this that Magnus would that
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: she's quote, that's my girl, that's my woman. Again, very possessive.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, one thing is there's flattery and there's possession
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: and obsession.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: What do you think, Gerald, I think you're right on.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: I think what's happened here was they were caught in
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: a whirlwind. And you know, honestly, if you look at
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: the level of beauty of this young lady. She was
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: well above anything he could ever aspire to have, and
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: he just became infatuated to the point that it was progressive.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was possessive. It was you know, borderline
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: and obsession.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: I'm so glad you said that, because, honestly, as I've
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: been looking at all the photos and I've been biting
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: my tongue, i just wanted to spit it out. She's
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: a knockout. She's gorgeous, and he's not all that, you know,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: and he's just not so I can see what he
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: saw on her. It's like, oh my goodness, I finally
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: have I mean, and this is the most beautiful woman
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: I've seen in my life. And we are keeping judgment
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: out about how she earned her living. I'm not going
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: to judge her, but I also want to remind everyone,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: you know, this woman worked three jobs Peter bills, you know,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: and what she arranged between other men. I'm not again,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I'm not judging her here. So the thing here is
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: you look at him, you look at her, and what
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to figure out is what did she see
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: in him.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: She's a hard working young lady working three jobs, trying
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: to make ends meet. And she works this other job
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: as a you know, asked scored sex worker, and so
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: people are going to ask the question, well, why would
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: an exceptionally beautiful woman deal with this guy? And so
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: I think it probably was a little bit of the drugs,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: and then of course the quickness of the relationship, and
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: then of course she probably expected him to help take
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: care of her because she's used to working in these
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: three jobs and I'm sure she used to be in
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: providing funds for her Yeah.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, According to the reporting of Courthouse News Service, things
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: got very intense over two issues. So Melissa, who again
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: was reportedly a sex worker an escort, she expected to
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: be paid for her time with him, and according to
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: the testimony of the LAPD detective on this case, Melissa
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: was trying to figure out how to ask him for money,
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: which is interesting because if she's an escort, usually my
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: belief is if you're in this business, you negotiate things upfront,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: and so this may have been a blurring of the lines.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: This may have been a meeting someone socially. There might
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: have been something about him that you liked, and then
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, it's like, yeah, but if I
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: spend all my time with you. Then I'm not can
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: you help me out of it? So it's interesting the
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: way she asked for something. She shares this dilemma about
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: I don't know how to ask him, you know, to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: remind him, Listen, I'm an escort. You can't spend twenty
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: four hours with me. I got work here, And so
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: she tells her friend Kirsten this, who testified that the
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: two women had a text exchange and that Christen suggested, well,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: why don't you ask him to buy you a five
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: hundred dollars gift card to best S buy very practical here,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: and Melissa responded, he doesn't have it. So I think
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: at this point, Gerald, I think maybe we're having the
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: realization of the guy you think showed up at the
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: party may not be the guy you thought he was.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Absolutely and I'm sure he put on a grand persona
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: when he first met her. I'm sure there would talk
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: about his lavish lifestyle, something that he could, you know,
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: weave a story to get a woman this beautiful to
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: take time out of her busy schedule to be with
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: him every waking hour. So she probably thought she had
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: met a rich guide and when it turned out he
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: was not a rich guy who was trying to possess
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: all of her time.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: That's when the dilemma began.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: The comedian Chris Rock has this great saying about when
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: people are dating that you know, you find out that
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: you're dating someone's representative.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: And the real person shows up.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: And so when the real person showed up, she knew
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: she had a problem exactly.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: So prosecutors claim that she continued to express frustration over
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Magnus not paying for anything because apparently he's staying in
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: her apartment. It's not just time, it's like he's plunked
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: himself down in her life. So it's like, now, hold
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: on a second. So, according to the prosecutors, what started
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: out as a consensual encounter between these two people, and
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I'm quoting here, then evolved into a situation where the
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: victim was wanting to ask the defendant for money, but
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: not knowing exactly how to do it. As we've said, Okay,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: so prosecutors alleged that Magnus saw Melissa as his property,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: so clearly he didn't think he needed to pay for anything,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: including someone testified, including the cocaine that they were snorting.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: So I'm just saying, you know, It's kind of like
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: when you go out for coffee with someone and no
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: one either pays for themselves or no one offers to
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: buy you the cup of coffee. There's some like simple
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: civil things that we do to appreciate the other person.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: It isn't always about a lot of money. I'm just
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: tossing that out there. So Melissa was last seen alive
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: September sixth of twenty twenty three. Surveillance video from her
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: apartment building shows her taking the elevator to her fifth
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: floor apartment September seventh. The next day, Melissa is texting
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Magnus and she sends him two links, one for buying
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: pots and pans on Amazon and the other one for
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: I believe a general electric electric appliance like a toaster oven.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: After she made that request to buy her these things,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: that's when she disappears and it's never seen alive again.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: So she asks for appliances and he wouldn't pay for
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: the cocaine.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: And just to give you more context, she had recently,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: like the month before, moved into this new apartment that
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: she was paying for by herself, living there herself. And
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: that's going to be very important when she disappears because
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: she was expected to go to her old apartment to
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: pick up some stuff. Now, again, I'm not about to
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: judge this woman, certainly not is a victim of crime.
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: Here.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: She's asking for some pots and pans. Do you know
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: what I'm saying?
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: Gerald That she's building a new life in a new
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: apartment and she needs house so appliances to help fill
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: out the apartment. These a reasonable request, especially if you're
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: in a whirlwind relationship and you're going to build a
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: lot guests. They're building a life together in these five days,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: and so it's reasonable to ask for pots and pants
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: an electrical appliance.
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: So she wasn't asking for a lot.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: No, I don't think so, especially if he's staying there.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: It's like, if you're staying here, you're eating my food,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: You're not taking me out for dinner. I'm you know,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: this is just me speculating. And she's like, you say
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: you want to marry me, I just moved into this apartment.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Since you wouldn't buy me dinner last night, or you
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: won't take me out, can you can you do me
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: a favor? You know, like when you have a house guest,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: could you do something nice? Like pick up some flowers,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: pick up the groceries, or buy me some pots and pants.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is really what we're talking about. And
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I think that's why. You know, first of all, I'm
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: upset about any family losing a loved one. And she
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: had a sister, and she had parents and you know, family,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: extended family. But what she asked for, oh my, could
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: it be any more mundane?
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: No, it couldn't be more mean mundane.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, you would expect, you know, something big to
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: set somebody off. I mean, you know, we're not judging
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: the type of work she does did, but if somebody asked, hey,
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: you been staying with me for five days, I need
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: five thousand dollars for my time.
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: That would be something more.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: You'd see an argument, not not full fledged murder and
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: hide the body, those.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Type of things.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Ask for pots and pans and you to help out
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: around the house, that's not unreasonable.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. So you know, she's never seen again, meaning
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: never seen again alive. However, Magnus is seen on security
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: cameras entering the apartment building using Malise's keyfob. He reportedly
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: entered the residence carrying some plastic grocery bags. Authorities claim
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: that he was later seen leaving the apartment throwing away
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: a big black bag. Police say he then drove from
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach to return his father's
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: car that he guess he was barring during this trip,
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: and then he flew home to Minnesota. A few days later.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Her family becomes very upset because they haven't heard from her.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: They asked police to do a welfare check. On September ninth,
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: she was expected to go to her old residence to
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: pick up some of her old stuff to move into
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: her current apartment. When she didn't show up, her sister
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: contacted the police and September tenth, they request this welfare check. Apparently,
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: the authorities arrive and they couldn't make contact with anyone
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: in the residence and they didn't enter the apartment. Gerald,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: can you explain to me. We hear a lot about
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: welfare checks, and we hear, I mean, most of the time,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: thank god, everything will be okay, But this is how
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: some people are honestly discovered murdered. And we also hear
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: about the police went but there was no one home,
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: and then police went again. Like what do you do
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: in a situation like this.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really difficult for Belice because again, you still
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: have certain rights. You know, they're just going to do
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: a welfare check, so they have the opportunity to do
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: basically a first tear stop type of engagement where they
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: can just knock on the door. If nobody answered it,
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: then they can't of course go in because they don't
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: have a warrant or are they going to ask, you know,
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: the property management have you seen this curse? But they
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: can't really do more than a regular civilian at that
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: point because there's no indication that something has happened or
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: there's a crime. So sometimes you know, they're prevented in
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: doing all things they possibly could.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: And thank you for explaining that, clarifying it, because the
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: rest of us are quick to react, oh my god,
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: they should have you know, this was a missed opportunity
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: kind of thing, and you blame the police for not
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: doing anything. And I think it's important that we understand
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: at this point, she didn't show up somewhere. True people
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: hadn't heard from her. But it's not like I'm hearing
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: here and we don't have all the details yet until
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: this goes to trial. It's not like I'm hearing. Here
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: she was in the presence of a dangerous man and
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: we think he did something that's not doesn't sound like
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: what people were seeing because they were seeing him be
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: affectionate toward her, which is going to come in for
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: the defense during this pre trial hearing and Wor'll talk
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: about that in just a second. So back to the
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: police doing a doorknock, so you know, they couldn't make
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: contact with anyone. So now at this point, Melissa's mother
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: is very worried. So now it's September twelfth, a few
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: days later, and she contacts the building management and she says, please,
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: can you let the police into my daughter's unit. And
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: apparently that was enough for the police and for the
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: building manager to leave them to let them into the apartment.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: And when they get into the apartment, the first thing
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: the police noticed that doesn't make any sense is all
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: the perishables that should be in the refrigerator are all
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: over the counter. So they're like, well, that's weird, right,
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: what they were not prepared for. And this becomes a
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: very big part also of the prosecutor's cases. As you know,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: especially in big cities, police have got to witness some
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: horrific level of violence and see horrible things that can
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: never be unseen. And what they saw when they opened
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the refrigerator so shook the police officers that it is
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: apparent on the body cam how ill they were. So
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: can you imagine what they saw when they opened that door.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: I mean for train law enforcement that had probably been
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: doing is some of them for decades for them to
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: be as rama tize as they were. And these are
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: people that respond to murder scenes, they respond to auto
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: accidents where they've been fatalities. These are individuals that respond
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: to mass killings and shootings and protests. To be that shaken,
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: they had to witness something that was on the level
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: of the Son of Sam or you know, some serial
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: killer for them, maybe that shaking.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: It's so violent what they saw and what was done
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: to this young lady. It was just so jarring and disturbing.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: So the scene is gruesome. Malisa's body, the blood from
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: her body had already started to pull down under the
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: refrigerator and was bleeding out. Her body was found with
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: electric cords and clothing using to find her and to
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: gag her. She had been gagged with her own clothing,
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: which then had been shoved in her mouth, and then
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: some other clothes were covering her head. But it was
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: described in a way that her head had been snapped
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: back in the most unnatural way, that it could not
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: have naturally done that. And it also looks like her
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: back was whipped with cables. Police believed that she was tortured.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: And what the medical examiner cannot figure out is, and
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: this is beyond me, the medical examiner cannot figure out
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: if she was alive or dead when she was placed
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: in the refrigerator, and if she was alive, she would
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: be barely alive given the state of her body. She
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: had a fractured rib, lacerations, abrasions, contusions to the face, head, neck,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: upper left arm. It was awful. It was. Police say
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: that this was not a quick death, that she was
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: really tortured over an extended period of time. I know
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: we sent you a copy of the autop report. I
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: looked at the autopsy report. I gotta tell you I
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: had to stop.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've seen a lot of gruesome autopsies. This. I
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: can see why the police were traumatized because, as you
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: stated clearly, this was a prolonged brutal beating and a
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: horrible horrific way to die. But it's also confusing as
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: to how long this would have occurred and the level
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: of brutality sadism it would take to do something like this, And.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: That, to me is kind of the area I want
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: to examine here because a lot of times, you know,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: things can happen in a fit of anger, a fit
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: of rage, you know, blind love. There are a million
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: terms for this, but this doesn't sound like this.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: This sounds like calculated torture. This sounds like an individual
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: was upset to the point they started to inflict pain
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: over a long period of time to send a brutal
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: message that ultimately led in a gruesome death.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: And also it doesn't feel and again, he is innocent
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: until proven guilty, and he says he is not guilty,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: and his defense attorneys have made it clear that they say,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: and they said in this pre trial, he didn't do it,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: and you don't have the evidence. A jury will make
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: that decision, and perhaps some judges, but based on her
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: condition and what was done to her, I feel like
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: this is not the first time. How can I put this?
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: We see Russians and criminals, you know, they fine tune
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: what it is that they do and how they do it.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: I don't this does not look like a first time
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: attempt here.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: If his defense is that he's not the one who
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: did this, the best thing that his defense attorneys can
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: do is point to a season serial killer. Because this
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: is dahm er s. This is when I say this
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: was bad. It was beyond bad. So I can see
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: them trying to set that up that somebody else did this,
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: But they're going to have to be able to paint
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: a picture of whoever else did this is experienced in
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: inflicting this level of trauma over this prolonged period of time.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: And let's remind everyone, this building has cameras apparently everywhere,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: which she's everyone coming in and out. We know when
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: she was last seen alive, we know when she was
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: found dead. So I mean, unless it's the invisible man,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: you're going to see who's been in and out of
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: that apartment.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And I mean Los Angeles is one of the
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: most surveil cities in the world.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: That building is very highly savailed.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: So I didn't say it was a winning argument, but
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: I can see how they're setting it up.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. So here's the other thing that the autopsy
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: found Melissa was two months pregnant at the time. So
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: now a baby's been lost in this violence.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Yes, and that's one of the most distressing parts of
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: all of this in reading that autopsy.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, now police quickly zeroed in on their number one suspect,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: which would have been the new man in her life,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: who was in and out in five days, who happens
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: to have a very long and violent criminal history, and
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: apparently more than that. So police say that they located
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: his DNA on in her body, and that it came
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: up with a match on the criminal database because he
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: is a criminal. He's a convicted felon, so that's not
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: a surprise. But again on the opposite side of this argument,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: it's not a surprise he was with her for five days.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: No one is denying that he was there.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you would expect his DNA to be on her.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: They've been with each other for five days and all
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: kinds of situations, including intimate situations, so you would expect
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: his DNA to be present.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: What I find interesting, Gerald, And again I don't know
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: all the details of this. He wasn't arrested for five months.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: It took five months to arrest him. It was February
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: of twenty twenty four. Does that seem like an awfully
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: long time to go after someone when you have a
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: poor woman that has like been you know, murdered in
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: her apartment and you got some reasonable evidence to have
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: at least a conversation with the man.
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it does seem like that. It took a while.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: You know, I can see being conscientious in your investigation,
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: But five months and he would have been the only
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: loan suspect with the only person who had DNA on
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: her person and was the last person she was seen
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: alive with. I mean, he would at least want to
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: have a conversation with him, and if, of course he
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: lawyers up, then you take the next appropriate steps to
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: continue in front of your investigation.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: I don't know if this was a mitigating factor because
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: I don't know exactly what was going on in Magnus's
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: criminal world, because when he went back to Minnesota, he
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: had a lot to deal with beyond you know, the
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: charges that he's currently facing. At the time of his arrest,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: he was on federal probation for a narcotics offense. He
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: was initially arrested at his Minnesota home on an unrelated
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: federal warrant. That's how they first picked him up, and
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: then he was extradited back to Los Angeles in charged
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: with her murder. So he's a man that's got a
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: lot of cases that he's got to defend himself against. Okay,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: you know what, even even liars can sometimes tell the truth,
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: and sometimes criminals do not commit the crime. Right, absolutely, right,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: We can't just assume that. On October sixteenth of twenty
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: twenty five, we're talking. Last week, a Los Angeles judge
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Magnus to face
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: trial for Malisa's torture and murder. And this was a
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: pre trial hearing prosecutor. Prosecutors revealed some of the evidence
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: in the case, including graphic images and bodycam video of
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: the officers discovering the body. So we kind of know
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: how bad that is. Now. Magnus has a defense attorney,
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Michael Lembrose, and he's denied that Magus had anything to
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: do with this murder. Characterizing the evidence in the prosecutor's cases,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: quote Thinn in an interview with The La Times, Michael
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: noted that there were no witnesses to the alleged killing,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: and in the couple's courtship, which we know is short.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Friends did not testify that they witnessed any violence or aggression.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Thoughts on that.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: Thoughts are, you know, they were only together for five days,
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: so they would have never seen anything like this. But
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: it's also building a defense to say it must have
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: been somebody else, because there's no indication in the course
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: of this relationship that anybody witnessed anything. But then we
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: also have to recognize that the most brutal and heinous
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: crimes are never done when people are around, So I
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: think it kind of cuts both ways.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: Makes sense, makes sense to me. A major point of
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: contention during the pre trial and about this whole concept
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: of are we going forward with the trial which we
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: now know that we are, is the premeditation part of it,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: and Magnus's attorney claims that prosecutors have not come up
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: with any evidence to show premeditation or the intent to torture,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: claiming that at worst, the fatal incident was an emotional outburst.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: Ye. Yeah, I don't know if I want to go
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: that route, simply because the medical evidence is going to show.
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: This is a prolonged traumatic event that led to her death.
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: So if it's a heat of passion thing, you know,
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: maybe you know that's you know, reduction down from malice
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: murder to voluntary.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: But it's got to be an instant heat of passion,
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: not a prolonged beating and.
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: Mutilation of a body that's hidden in refrigerator.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So remember how I said to you. It just
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: doesn't seem like if it's this, you know, if it
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: was a heat of the moment thing, and then you know,
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: you try and get rid of the evidence. The level
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: of torture here does not seem like a first time.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: It just doesn't because to me, it feels very detailed
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: and calculated. If I've never taken a part of body before,
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: how am I going to know? Do you know what
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's just it's not as easy as people
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: think it is. And even though he's a big guy
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: and she was petite, so prosecutors claim that a former
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: girlfriend of Magnus's had a similar claims to have a
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: similar situation in which he allegedly beat her up. The
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: ex girlfriend testified that after they broke up, Magnus beat
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: her for nearly three hours before allegedly threatening to kill her,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: her mother, and her dog. If she ever told police.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: See, Now, that's the level of aggression that that's concerning,
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: because you know, breaking up with somebody should never cause
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: you to threaten to harm them or harm them, let
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: alone harm another person and an animal. So I think
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: that his lawyers are going to have to work really
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: hard to keep that evidence out because if a jury
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: here is that you did this to your ex girlfriend,
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: threatened her mother and the dog, that's gonna be problematic.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Very And I'm always so curious, do you have a
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: like a rule of THUMBA We recently had a case
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: where such evidence was actually introduced and allowed for the
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: jury to hear, and I was like, wow, I don't
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: see that a lot of times because it's often felt like,
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: you know, you're really not giving the defendant fairness here
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: if you can introduce a history, is there like do
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: you feel like if you have to say a percentage,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: how often is a previous crime like that permitted to
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: be used at trial?
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: Most of the time at Georgia, so they have what's
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: called similar transactions evidence, and that's usually the strongest evidence
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: against somebody. Now you're not supposed to be able to
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: prove their character or conformity therewith. But it can show
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: other things like motive, bent of mind, course of conduct,
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: and other things. But that's the most damaging evidence. Forget
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: about trying the case at bar. If the jury believes
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: you did the other thing, they're going to convict you,
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: regardless of how strong the evidence of the actual crime is.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: So it's very damning evidence, and that's why we as
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: defense attorneys always try to argue to keep it out.
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: And again in Magnus's case, if that evidence comes in,
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: it's going to be a very very tough, uphill battle
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: for his defense attorney.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not looking good for Magnus right now.
• 32:53
  Speaker 3: No, it's not.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: No, it's not. So here's the other thing, Prosecutors that
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: these two attacks, one which was deadly in the one
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: which is from a former girlfriend, have a lot of parallels,
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: which again you're noticing that is could be very damaging,
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: you know, because both women severely beaten with electrical cords. Now,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: I know cords are you know, available all within a house.
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: I get that, but there is a consistency here, at
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: least with the alleged evidence. Also, here's the other thing.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: I didn't mention this about Melissa. Her hair been pulled out.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Chunks of her hair had been pulled out, and this woman,
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: the ex girlfriend, said the same thing. Fit he pulled
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: her hair out and then he locked her in a closet.
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is looking very very similar. I mean you
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: have the hair pulling, the extension cord, and then stuffing
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: the body into a closed area. I can see a
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: prosecutor making that argument that when he gets extremely angry,
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: he takes a long period of time to torture the individual,
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: beat them severely, injure them, and then stuffed them in
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: a close enclosed area. So you know, it's gonna be
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: very difficult to keep this evidence out. But his lawyer's
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: gonna have to do a very hard yeoman's job to
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: keep this out because if it comes in that you
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: stuff this other woman will not stuff.
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: It would put her in a closet.
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: It's not far fast that you would, you know, do
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: what was a lass step happened and stuff somebody in
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: a refrigerator.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: Well, Magnus has pleaded not guilty to the charges of
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: murder and torture, and he remains behind bars, held without bail,
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: and it is considered dangerous also, plus he's got a
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: bunch of other warrants out there. It's possible that prosecutors
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: can seek the death penalty. We really don't know. And
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: even here in California, I like to remind everyone, the
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: death penalty has an essence, been stayed, so no one
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: has been executed in more than a decade. And so
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: even though jurys still can give the death penalty, it
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: doesn't they sit on death row. It's we're a little
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: different in California. Melissa's family members attended this hearing. They
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: are hoping for justice, obviously for their loved one. Her
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: sister said after the hearing quote, no matter how I feel,
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: there's nothing I can do. I just want justice for
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: my sister. She was honestly a great person. She was amazing.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: We miss her all so much. We are grateful and
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: thankful that he's been caught. Please pray for our family
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: and this hearing. This hearing took place just short of
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: what would have been Melisa's thirty fourth birthday.
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: I condoss to their family.
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: I do hope that they get justice and hold whoever
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: is responsible accountable for what happened to them.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: I do too, I do too, And you know this
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: is also a reminder how slowly justice works. This murder
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: occurred in September of twenty three. We are in October
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: of twenty five. This is a pre trial. We haven't
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: even hit trial yet.
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the wheels of justice turned slowly, They turned real slow.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah. We'll be watching this case. It is time for
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: our comments section. These are the crime cases you all
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: are talking about on social media. And here's our producer,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: Will Updike, Hey, Will Wake, welcome back. You were off
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: last week on vacation. Did you have a nice, nice
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: time off?
• 36:45
  Speaker 4: I did. I was in London for just over a
• 36:47
  Speaker 4: week and it was delightful. It was a It was
• 36:50
  Speaker 4: a nice change of pace from la where it's still
• 36:52
  Speaker 4: been like eighty five degrees. To get some fall and
• 36:56
  Speaker 4: some some fall with some fall weather, see some changing leaves.
• 37:00
  Speaker 4: But I'm back. We're hitting the ground running. We got
• 37:03
  Speaker 4: a case for this common section. I'm calling it a
• 37:06
  Speaker 4: case where shooting your shot goes wrong. This one comes
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: out of Nassau County, New York, where a former state
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: trooper will do jail time after faking his own shooting
• 37:16
  Speaker 4: to try and impress an ex girlfriend.
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: Now to impress a girl, I mean, come on, now.
• 37:22
  Speaker 4: An ex no less, like not even a new one.
• 37:24
  Speaker 4: It's like someone you know, someone you maybe already blew
• 37:27
  Speaker 4: it with and so to some extremes here, Yeah, good
• 37:33
  Speaker 4: one there, Gerald, So are now convicted here Thomas and J.
• 37:40
  Speaker 4: Masha is a former state trooper. He pleaded guilty to
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: a felony charge of tampering with evidence, along with two
• 37:47
  Speaker 4: misdemeanors for falsely reporting an incident and official misconduct for
• 37:51
  Speaker 4: these shenanigans which allegedly occurred, not even allegedly which occurred
• 37:55
  Speaker 4: while Thomas here was on duty. So this all began
• 37:58
  Speaker 4: about a year ago on October thirtieth of twenty twenty four,
• 38:01
  Speaker 4: when Thomas reported he had been shot in the leg
• 38:04
  Speaker 4: during a traffic stop. So he told authorities that the
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: driver of a Dodge Charger, who was allegedly a dark
• 38:10
  Speaker 4: skinned male wearing a bataklava mask, had shot him before
• 38:14
  Speaker 4: leaving the scene. Police obviously took this threat very seriously.
• 38:18
  Speaker 4: You know, you have an officer wounded. They put out
• 38:22
  Speaker 4: an alert for the fake suspects vehicle here, and they
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: start beginning a thorough investigation as Thomas is being taken
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: to the hospital for treatment. They're not wasting any time
• 38:31
  Speaker 4: on this one. So on the scene, detectives discovered two
• 38:35
  Speaker 4: twenty two caliber shell casings, but immediately everything else isn't
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: really lining up. They can't find any video evidence identifying
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: the charger Thomas mentioned, and there doesn't there doesn't seem
• 38:49
  Speaker 4: to be anything at the scene to corroborate this version
• 38:52
  Speaker 4: of events. There's no projectiles found. They have these casings,
• 38:55
  Speaker 4: but there's no projectiles anywhere, there's no tire marks, no
• 38:59
  Speaker 4: witnesses see the shooting or the suspect, and this charger
• 39:03
  Speaker 4: also isn't captured anywhere in the area on license plate raiders,
• 39:07
  Speaker 4: so it got a phantom sort of suspect here. It's
• 39:10
  Speaker 4: all looking very suspicious, and then, of course officers start
• 39:14
  Speaker 4: to look into Thomas's own movements on the day of
• 39:17
  Speaker 4: the shooting, and a very different story starts to come
• 39:19
  Speaker 4: to life. Eventually, they get a warrant to search his
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: family home, and that revealed a twenty two caliber rifle
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: that he owned, So investigators allegedly eventually determined that what
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: happened was that Thomas placed these two twenty two caliber
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: showcasings himself at this patrol post before traveling to a
• 39:42
  Speaker 4: different location shooting himself and then heading back to the
• 39:46
  Speaker 4: patrol post where he reported the shooting, which man, I
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: cannot imagine the agony of a.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: Shot leg ca Yeah, of a like having to.
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: Go through shooting yourself and then getting in your car
• 40:00
  Speaker 4: and driving somewhere to then report it.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: Man, is not well, very unwell.
• 40:07
  Speaker 4: Very unwell. And that was actually part of the sentence here,
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: which I'll get into in just a second.
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: But see I could be a judge.
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:14
  Speaker 4: Obviously a lot of resources went into investigating this, and
• 40:19
  Speaker 4: the district attorney there in Nasau County categorizes Thomas's actions
• 40:22
  Speaker 4: as disgraceful, adding his lies wasted hundreds of hours of
• 40:26
  Speaker 4: law enforcement manpower, deeply cost taxpayers in Nassau County, and
• 40:31
  Speaker 4: betrayed the public's trust of those in uniform. The DA
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: also revealed the motive, saying that Thomas shot himself so
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: he could sort of garner public sympathy. And then also
• 40:41
  Speaker 4: there was an ex girlfriend that he was trying to impress,
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: which just makes it all the more embarrassing. Like I
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: even like the.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: But how is this going to impress her? Please explain
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: this part to me, or maybe he hadn't thought it
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: out well.
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: You know you look like a hero maybe who's but
• 40:56
  Speaker 4: you didn't. Yeah, like you didn't really prevent anything. It
• 41:00
  Speaker 4: could be one thing if yeah, you had, like I don't.
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: Know, you rescued the baby from the burning bills exactly exactly,
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: you had like jumped in front of a car to
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: save a kid or something like that, or like this.
• 41:09
  Speaker 4: You know, the shooting was to prevent someone, you know,
• 41:12
  Speaker 4: being mugged or something. But just a traffic stop where
• 41:15
  Speaker 4: you get shot. I don't know that it's necessarily you know,
• 41:19
  Speaker 4: really changing things or your ex's opinion of you. But
• 41:23
  Speaker 4: as I said, Thomas did plead guilty to these charges,
• 41:26
  Speaker 4: and he was just sentenced to six months behind bars
• 41:29
  Speaker 4: along with five years of probation. He was also ordered
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: to pay two hundred and eighty nine thousand, five hundred
• 41:35
  Speaker 4: and eleven dollars in restitution, and he will be required
• 41:39
  Speaker 4: to undergo mental health treatments. To Anna's point, so, speaking
• 41:43
  Speaker 4: through his attorney, Thomas said that the man is mortified
• 41:47
  Speaker 4: by his actions and happy to finally get on with
• 41:50
  Speaker 4: his life.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: If not perhaps a little too late.
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: I think the time to finally get on with your
• 41:56
  Speaker 4: life was, you know, after this relationship was in the
• 41:58
  Speaker 4: rear view mirror. You know, maybe just maybe just start again.
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, these things usually do not work out well. But
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: here's the thing. I mean, you have someone who's a
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: police officer, so presumably you should have a little bit
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: better understanding of evidence bullet trajectories. So if you're gonna
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: do something, presumably you're doing it with some skill in education.
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: Right, this is a state trooper, and I feel like
• 42:27
  Speaker 4: there was They're just like there immediately. It must have
• 42:30
  Speaker 4: seemed so suspicious. The lack of tire like of of
• 42:34
  Speaker 4: another set of tire marks at the scene is like
• 42:37
  Speaker 4: one of those things that like, how did you not
• 42:39
  Speaker 4: think about that one? If you're saying that it was
• 42:42
  Speaker 4: the traffic stop.
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: Well, or the lack of calling in the traffic stock
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: over the radio, or the lack of dash cam or
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: or body cam or flop cameras. But the biggest thing
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: that really concerns me is the description of a suspect, Yes,
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: a Dodge charger with a dark complexed individual. Does he
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: not understand that if there was anybody remotely in the
• 43:10
  Speaker 2: area that met that met that description, that could have
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: been a death sentence And so the punishment was not
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: harsh enough.
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: Five years with six months in custody.
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: He should have done more than that, because in this
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: particular climate, with the relations between the African American community
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: and law enforcement, that could have been a death sentence.
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: Do you think though, because he's a cop, that you know,
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: a state trooper and may very well be suffering from
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: some very clear mental and emotional issues, that he got
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: a little bit of leniency there?
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: I think so.
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, being that he's ex law enforcement
• 43:48
  Speaker 2: and he probably doesn't have anything on his record.
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: The judge looked at it in the situation.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: Be lean, but we have to be clear when you
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: violate the public trust like that.
• 43:58
  Speaker 3: She held to a higher standard, not a low standard.
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: And to make up that level of intricacy, but be
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: so bad at it, you know, it just shows that
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: he really wasn't the brightest tool that the toolshit.
• 44:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, Common just agreed. Candy Man said they got
• 44:14
  Speaker 4: to stop handing out police recruitment forms at comic Con,
• 44:17
  Speaker 4: which I don't know, I don't know where this officer
• 44:20
  Speaker 4: was plucked from, but maybe not the best and the
• 44:23
  Speaker 4: brightest in this one. You know, a lot of people
• 44:26
  Speaker 4: were just absolutely baffled by this super Brett said it
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: would have been easier getting another girlfriend that doesn't need to.
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: Be impressed, which yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 44:36
  Speaker 4: Again, maybe waited a little bit too long to finally
• 44:39
  Speaker 4: move on with his life. Nana's ranch wanted to know
• 44:43
  Speaker 4: is she impressed, which I could not find any reports of.
• 44:46
  Speaker 4: I could not find any statements from the girlfriend here.
• 44:49
  Speaker 4: I imagine you would want to keep your name and
• 44:52
  Speaker 4: identity as far away from this story as humanly possible.
• 44:55
  Speaker 4: But I cannot imagine that she was impressed. I cannot
• 44:59
  Speaker 4: imagine that hearing you know, even if you believe the
• 45:04
  Speaker 4: initial story that your ex was shot in the leg
• 45:06
  Speaker 4: at a traffic stop, like you know, caused a sudden
• 45:09
  Speaker 4: change of heart or was that impressive?
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: Now? I would not want to be the inspiration for
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: this event.
• 45:16
  Speaker 4: No, absolutely not gonna close this one out on a
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: comment from Sarah True Crime. They're great, they comment on
• 45:23
  Speaker 4: a lot of our stuff. They said, well, it was
• 45:24
  Speaker 4: worth a shot, was it?
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: Though?
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't know.
• 45:29
  Speaker 4: It's six months jail time, five years probation and that
• 45:32
  Speaker 4: restitution as if it was if it was worth it? Yeah,
• 45:37
  Speaker 4: even if you did impress them, and they were like also,
• 45:40
  Speaker 4: I will wait for you. You will wait figure six
• 45:43
  Speaker 4: months jail sentence to be over, and we will never
• 45:47
  Speaker 4: travel during your five year probation. You still gottah, you
• 45:51
  Speaker 4: still gotta mand up with that two hundred and eighty
• 45:53
  Speaker 4: nine thousand dollars. So you are going to be going
• 45:55
  Speaker 4: Dutch on dates for a while a while. But that'll
• 45:59
  Speaker 4: do it for those CAUs Anna, do you have any
• 46:02
  Speaker 4: additional comments you'd like to share from our wonderful listeners,
• 46:04
  Speaker 4: from wonderful viewers.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So we have this great community on YouTube and
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: that's where we get your really specific comments on cases
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: and I love to read them respond to them. For
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: those of you who are new to the podcast. And
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: so this is about last week's podcast, which is the
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: case of Suzanne Simpson, that mom from Texas, mom of
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: four who's a real estate agent and she disappeared presumed dead.
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: Her husband's been charged with her murder and they've never
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: found her body. And the reason we updated the case
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: was because her sister, who has been so upset about
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: not finding her sister's body, police say she's been harassing
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: his family. And so now the sister of the victim
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: has been charged with harassing the family and we were
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: all talking about you know, it is against the law,
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: you cannot harass, you know, harass people, But do you
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: have some sympathy and the process of everyone's just in
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: a bad place and they just want to find Suzanne's body.
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: So these are some of the comments. This is from
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: Adriana Perezmorrow nine to eight seven. It is crazy how
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: the legal system holds the victims more accountable than the perpetrators.
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: Crime insider official rites, crazy world when the victims end
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: up on trial instead of the perpetrators. And then min
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: mew four three two five. The neighbors hearing scream, saw
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: the couple fighting, then saw Suzanne being chased into the woods,
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: and they didn't think of calling nine to one one
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: or simply calling the non emergency line.
• 47:41
  Speaker 4: That was one of those things about the case that
• 47:44
  Speaker 4: did really that did really like raise some question marks
• 47:48
  Speaker 4: for me. Because they heard a scream. They even like
• 47:50
  Speaker 4: went back into their house to grab a flashlight because
• 47:52
  Speaker 4: they saw this like physical altercation allegedly, and yeah, that
• 47:58
  Speaker 4: the police weren't called. Then you know, who knows what
• 48:01
  Speaker 4: happened and who knows what happened with Suzanne. But you
• 48:03
  Speaker 4: gotta wonder if you know, maybe maybe at least her
• 48:06
  Speaker 4: body couldn't have been found.
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: Maybe exactly right, because still there's no idea where Suzanne's
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: body is. And this is what I appreciate about all
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: of you. You know, sometimes we'll ask a question about
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: what would justice look like in a case or and
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: that one was so complicated because you know, everyone has
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: some compassion for the poor sister who honestly, I think
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: the woman's just been pushed beyond right. We all have
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: a breaking point. That doesn't mean it's okay. I'm not
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: defending what she did, but we can all kind of
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: understand the pressure and the suffering that these families go through.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: So I love it when you all jump in and
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: you give us your opinions, your insight, or things that
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: bother you about the case. And that is why I
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: love doing this podcast, because it's a conversation with all
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: of you. So it's a I love hearing from you.
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: You know that I love you, guys, she sure does.
• 48:59
  Speaker 4: You can leave those on any one of our videos.
• 49:01
  Speaker 4: If you'd like to be included in this comment section,
• 49:03
  Speaker 4: go ahead check out our community slash post page over
• 49:06
  Speaker 4: on YouTube. But that'll do it for this week's comments section.
• 49:09
  Speaker 4: Until next time, don't do crime Gerald.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: It is always such a pleasure having you on. It's
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: been way way too long. I want to get to
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: where people can follow and find you because you're always
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: working on so many cases, high profile cases we haven't
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: heard of. I mean, you're everywhere, and then in between
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: there you're fighting for justice.
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: So they can follow me on all social platforms at
• 49:31
  Speaker 2: Attorney Griggs on all platforms, or on my YouTube page
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: at Attorney Greeks a justice fighter and so I just
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: love coming on. I love the community. As you said,
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: I read the comments. I'll probably be in the comments
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: on this one, but I just appreciate. So follow me
• 49:45
  Speaker 2: on all social media platforms at Attorney Grigs terrific.
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: You can find me at anaj Newsxana. With one end.
• 49:51
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• 49:53
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• 49:57
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• 50:03
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• 50:06
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• 50:09
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• 50:13
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• 50:16
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• 50:18
  Speaker 1: the podcast. I want to remind you crime never stops,
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: said neither do Le.