Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Donna Adelson Trial Moves Forward in Murder of Son-in-Law |Crime Alert Recap Saturday 08.22.25

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Donna Adelson Trial Moves Forward in Murder of Son-in-Law |Crime Alert Recap Saturday 08.22.25 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alard hourly update breaking crime news Now, I'm Jackie Howard.
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  Speaker 1: A jury is now set in Donna Adelson's murder trial.
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  Speaker 1: She's accused of being one of the masterminds behind the
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  Speaker 1: murder for hire of Van Markel, her former son in law,
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  Speaker 1: and a beloved Florida State University law professor. Authorities alleged
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  Speaker 1: Donna Adleson conspired with her son, Charlie and his then girlfriend.
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  Speaker 1: They were both convicted and now serving life in prison,
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  Speaker 1: along with two other hired hit men. After Charlie Adelson's conviction,
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  Speaker 1: police swarm in and arrest his mother at Miami Airport
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  Speaker 1: as she and husband Harvey are trying to board a
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  Speaker 1: one way ticket to Vietnam, a non extradition country. This
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  Speaker 1: after being caught during a jailhouse phone call.
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  Speaker 2: Investigators caught wind that Charlie Eedelson's conviction was pushing his
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  Speaker 2: mom to do something drastic. During one of the calls,
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  Speaker 2: Donna Adelson tells her son Charlie that they are looking
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  Speaker 2: at places to see if they have extradition, and she's
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  Speaker 2: extradition from Vietnam.
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  Speaker 3: We've been looking it up over and over.
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  Speaker 1: The things changed.
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  Speaker 3: If there is extradition, from Vietnam because we've listed all
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  Speaker 3: the places. I mean, I could go to Korea and
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  Speaker 3: China but did no extraditions, but looking for places with
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  Speaker 3: is no extradition.
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  Speaker 2: One week after that call, Donna and Harvey Aedelson book
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  Speaker 2: a one way ticket to Vietnam and are waiting for
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  Speaker 2: their flight at Miami International Airport when officers arrive and
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  Speaker 2: handcuffed the seventy three year old grandmother and escort her
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  Speaker 2: out of the airport into a waiting squad car. Donna
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  Speaker 2: Aedelson is facing first degree murder and solicitation of murder charges.
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  Speaker 2: When Dan Markle was killed in his driveway, Authorities believe
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  Speaker 2: there was a conspiracy involving several people, including Donna Aedelson,
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  Speaker 2: who got the money and paid the killer.
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  Speaker 1: More than ten years have passed since two Miami gang
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  Speaker 1: members traveled to Tallahassee to murder Dan Markel in his garage.
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  Speaker 1: The dedicated father of two boys succumb to his injuries
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  Speaker 1: the following day. Prosecutors claimed they hit accurred shortly after
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  Speaker 1: a court ruling in mark Hall's favor, stating that his
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  Speaker 1: ex wife, Wendy Adelson, was denied relocation with their two
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  Speaker 1: young boys from Tallahassee to South Florida, where Wendy's wealthy
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  Speaker 1: family resides. If convicted, Donna Adelson faces first degree murder, conspiracy,
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  Speaker 1: and solicitation. War crime and Justice News after this.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Drew Nelson quote. If I die it was greg
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  Speaker 4: That was the last message Kylie Montero sent her sister
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  Speaker 4: before she vanished on August seventh. Two weeks later, police
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  Speaker 4: found her body buried on her boyfriend's property. Gregory Groom,
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  Speaker 4: aged twenty two, is now charged with murder. On Tuesday,
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  Speaker 4: investigators returned to Groom's home and rehob with Massachusetts. After
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  Speaker 4: days of search efforts and interviews, they found human remains
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  Speaker 4: near a shed on his twenty five acre property. Groom
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  Speaker 4: confessed he stabbed.
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  Speaker 3: Us Montero twice in the neck and once in the chest.
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  Speaker 4: The stabling whims of the chest actually broke the plate
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  Speaker 4: of the night off the prosecutor. Giving the narrative in court,
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  Speaker 4: Groom admitted he buried Montero in a five foot hole.
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  Speaker 4: He covered her with brush and dirt and did the
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  Speaker 4: same to cover up the murder scene. Kylie's parents, leaving
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  Speaker 4: court on Wednesday, couldn't say much. We're devastating thank you.
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  Speaker 4: Groom had first reported Montero missing on the eighth. He
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  Speaker 4: told police she left after an argument. At the time, Montero,
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  Speaker 4: age eighteen, was eleven weeks pregnant. She had taken a
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  Speaker 4: ride share to his house the day before and wanted
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  Speaker 4: to stay there. They argued, and she texted her sister quote,
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  Speaker 4: he threw me on the ground, pulled my hair, strangled me.
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  Speaker 4: My phone is at four percent and if I die,
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  Speaker 4: it was greg Police searched Groom's property last Thursday but
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  Speaker 4: found nothing. Days later, they brought him in for another interview.
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  Speaker 4: They said they would dig. Groom drew them a map.
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  Speaker 4: Officers found the body in the shallow grave twenty yards
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  Speaker 4: from the shed. Groom has been charged with murder, assault
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  Speaker 4: and battery and a pregnant victim, domestic assault, and witness intimidation.
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  Speaker 4: He pleaded not guilty in Taunton District Court. A judge
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  Speaker 4: ordered him held without mail. A probable cause hearing is
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  Speaker 4: set for the tenth next month. Kylee's family thanked the
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  Speaker 4: public undergofundme page and said, quote, this is closure and
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  Speaker 4: we are so thankful for everyone's help in getting here.
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  Speaker 4: The candlelight vigil is planned for Saturday night in a
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  Speaker 4: local park.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Nicole Pardon. A murder trial is underway in Atlanta,
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  Speaker 3: almost three decades after the brutal murder and dismemberment of
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  Speaker 3: Melissa Wolfenbarger. Her husband now stands trial facing charges in
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  Speaker 3: connection with her death. For over twenty years, the case
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  Speaker 3: remained a mystery until recent advancements in DNA technology enabled
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  Speaker 3: investigators to identify her remains and build a case against
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  Speaker 3: her husband, Christopher Wolfenbarger. In twenty twenty four, he was
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  Speaker 3: indicted in charge with murder related to the death of
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  Speaker 3: his wife, who was also the mother of their children.
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  Speaker 3: This week, the testimony of Melissa's mother, Norma Patton, took
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  Speaker 3: a prominent role in the Fulton County courtroom. Patten recounted
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  Speaker 3: her concern when Melissa failed to reach out or visit
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  Speaker 3: her on Christmas Day in nineteen ninety eight. Months later,
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  Speaker 3: Melissa was reported missing. The defense questioned Patten about her
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  Speaker 3: delay in checking on her daughter, highlighting that Melissa did
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  Speaker 3: not have a cell phone or landline phone. They also
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  Speaker 3: suggested that Patten harbored a long standing grudge against Christopher Wolfenbarger. Additionally,
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  Speaker 3: The defense raised doubts about Patten's reliability by referencing her
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  Speaker 3: previous marriage to Carl Patten, a convicted serial killer known
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  Speaker 3: as the Flint River serial Killer who confessed to taking
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  Speaker 3: five lives in the nineteen seventies. It was only after
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  Speaker 3: Carl's arrest in two thousand and three that his DNA
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  Speaker 3: was linked to remains found in Atlanta, which were ultimately
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  Speaker 3: identified as belonging to Melissa, initially believed to be another
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  Speaker 3: of his victims. The DNA evidence turned out to be
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  Speaker 3: crucial in solving two cold cases. Norma testified that she
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  Speaker 3: assisted her home in disposing of some of the victim's bodies,
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  Speaker 3: but avoided legal consequences by securing an immunity agreement in
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  Speaker 3: exchange for her testimony against her husband. Carl Patten passed
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  Speaker 3: away in prison in twenty twenty four.
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  Speaker 4: I helped him disposed of the body.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, okay, so you were involved, Yes, for some of
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  Speaker 3: the murders, you were not involved, is that correct?
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  Speaker 4: That's correct? But you overheard Carl making plans for them.
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  Speaker 5: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: I loved my husband, and you didn't go directly to
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  Speaker 1: the police when you overheard your husband discussing murdering somebody.
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  Speaker 5: No, I did not.
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  Speaker 2: You in fact helped Carl plan.
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  Speaker 4: The killing of Joe and Lyddy. Didn't you? Yes, I
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  Speaker 4: was given amenity for my testimony against him.
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  Speaker 3: Prosecutors say Norma's past has absolutely nothing to do with
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  Speaker 3: her daughter's death, and prosecutors utilized Norma's testimony to illustrate
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  Speaker 3: the alleged abuse that Melissa endured at the hands of
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  Speaker 3: her husband. That contended that Christopher Wolfenbarger murdered Melissa in
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  Speaker 3: late nineteen ninety eight and discarded her remains in trash
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  Speaker 3: bags later discovered by investigators. Jurors also heard from a
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  Speaker 3: former waffle house supervisor who claimed to have noticed signs
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  Speaker 3: of abuse on Melissa. During cross examination, the defense revealed
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  Speaker 3: that the supervisor had an affair with Melissa, suggesting he
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  Speaker 3: might have ulterior motives and casting doubt on his credibility.
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  Speaker 3: The trial is set to proceed this week as jurors
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  Speaker 3: deliberate on the evidence and testimonies in a case that
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  Speaker 3: remained unsolved for over twenty years.
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  Speaker 5: I'm Jennifer Gould, a Las Vegas teen who gunned down
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  Speaker 5: his father after his cell phone was taken away, is
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  Speaker 5: now walking free, and he has his mother to thank
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  Speaker 5: for it. The victim's own wife, seen smiling broadly in court,
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  Speaker 5: became the star witness for her so, helping him get
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  Speaker 5: a slap on the wrist for the slaying. The startling
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  Speaker 5: chain of events began with a common household punishment. Jeremy
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  Speaker 5: Peterson forty five and his wife Abigail confiscated their son
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  Speaker 5: Lincoln's electronics due to his poor grades. But what started
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  Speaker 5: as a simple act of discipline turned deadly on December
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  Speaker 5: twenty eighth, twenty twenty four, as the argument escalated, a
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  Speaker 5: furious Lincoln, just fifteen at the time, grabbed a handgun
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  Speaker 5: from a nearby drawer. With a single fatal shot, he
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  Speaker 5: fired over his shoulder as he fled the room, killing
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  Speaker 5: his father. Here's the nine one one call made from
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  Speaker 5: his distraught sister. Listen, who is he the person who
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  Speaker 5: shot your dad?
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  Speaker 2: Who is he my younger brother? He's pleating a lot.
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  Speaker 5: He's shot it.
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  Speaker 4: HELI John Rail.
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  Speaker 5: Did now sixteen. Lincoln pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with
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  Speaker 5: a deadly weapon. His sentencing in Clark County District Court,
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  Speaker 5: prosecutors fought hard for a prison term of six to
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  Speaker 5: fifteen years, citing the unprovoked violence of the act and
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  Speaker 5: revealing a chilling detail from Lincoln's own sister that her
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  Speaker 5: brother had, weeks earlier waved an unloaded gun at the
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  Speaker 5: family and even pointed it at his own head. Yet
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  Speaker 5: the most powerful voice belonged to the woman whose life
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  Speaker 5: was shattered by her son's bullet. Abigail Peterson told the
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  Speaker 5: court quote, nothing, nothing compares to losing the love of
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  Speaker 5: my life, my husband, and knowing that my own son's
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  Speaker 5: action was the cause. End quote. But her words of
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  Speaker 5: pain were immediately followed by a breathtaking display of forgiveness
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  Speaker 5: that left the court room reeling. Despite the shocking violence
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  Speaker 5: of the crime and the plea from prosecutors, Clark County
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  Speaker 5: District Judge Tierra Jones handed down a stunn lenient sentence
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  Speaker 5: five years of probation. The judge remarked that she had
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  Speaker 5: never seen a defendant with such overwhelming family support. As
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  Speaker 5: the lenient verdict was read, Abigail Peterson's broad smile became
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  Speaker 5: a final jarring image, sealing the boy's escape from prison
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  Speaker 5: and cementing the public's perception of a lenient punishment for
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  Speaker 5: such a violent act. His freedom comes with a few
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  Speaker 5: strings attached, a curfew, mandatory counseling, and the requirement to
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  Speaker 5: earn his ged, But a suspended prison sentence of three
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  Speaker 5: to seven and a half years hangs over him, a
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  Speaker 5: quiet threat that serves as the only reminder of the
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  Speaker 5: life he took, leaving many questioning whether justice was truly
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  Speaker 5: served it all. For the latest crime and justice news,
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  Speaker 5: follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast
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  Speaker 5: app with this crime Alert. I'm Jennifer Goold.