Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Ex Sets Fire to Home Over Missed Concert | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 10.04.25

Transcript

Ex Sets Fire to Home Over Missed Concert | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 10.04.25 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Crime a Lord hourly update Breaking Crime News Now, I'm
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Dave Mack. Amy Beth Taylor loses more than just her
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: cool after her ex blew her off and a little
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: waging concert they planned to attend, so she set his
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: heart sol Alabama house on fire. Taylor, forty six, made
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: even more irate by the fact that the ex avoided
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: her calls. According to an affidavit, Taylor walked into a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: shed on the property and quote threatened to burn down
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the man's home or the shed. Not long after Taylor
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: was seen leaving the shed, a witness tells police a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: woman living on the property called her, saying her room
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: is filled with smoke. When the woman, who also lives
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: in the home, opens the door of her room, the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: rest of the house was filled with smoke. Police arrests
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Taylor and book her into the Morgan County Jail, bail
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: set at twenty thousand dollars with orders to not contact
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: the property owner, her ex, or any of the witnesses.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Amy Beth Taylor, forty six, now charged with first degree arson.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: More crime Injustice News. After this, I'm Jennifer Gould.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: The suburban streets of Cranford, New Jersey were instantly transformed
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: into the scene of a calculated execution, a whrror. The
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: victim's families insist was no accident. A seventeen year old
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: driver allegedly ended months of harassment by deliberately striking two
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: teenagers riding an e bike, leaving the two girls, Maria
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: and Niotis and Isabella Solis, both seventeen, to die in
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: the roadway. The perpetrator I did as, seventeen year old
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Vincent Battaloro from neighboring Garwood, was taken into custody shortly
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: after the incident. He has been charged with two counts
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: of first degree murder. The grotesque details reveal a chilling
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: lack of remorse. Witnesses say the crash occurred around five
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: twenty six pm on the fortieth block of Burnside Avenue.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Lauo allegedly struck the girls while driving a black twenty
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: twenty one Jeep Compass with tinted windows. According to witnesses,
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: he then continued driving, dragging one of the bikes and
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: victims beneath his jeep until the bike disabled the suv,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: forcing it to stop. High school student Amandapota spoke to
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: the media.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: It's just absolutely sickening, Like I literally wanted to puke.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: It was so horrible. I just feel so awful for
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: the family and the mother that I saw.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: It was just it was really bad.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Battlauo then fled the scene on foot. Niotis and Salas
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: were rushed to area hospitals, but sadly died of their
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: catastrophic injuries. The families of the victims have since issued
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: an impassioned statement stating quote, this was not an ebych
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: accident and it was not a hit and run. This
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: was murder in the first degree end quote. They confirmed
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: that the suspect had been plotting this attack against Maria
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: for months, explicitly targeting her. Is a Billa was killed,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: they say, only because she was in the wrong place
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: at the wrong time. Neighbors and friends corroborated the claims.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: These two neighbors spoke to the media he's been.
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: Parked up front of her house's line online and swallowing
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: yeah it was.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: The school was notified, the police were notified, like for
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: three months now, and nothing happened. No, he was never stopped.
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: No.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Despite the escalating threat, which was allegedly reported to the
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Cranford Public schools and led Maria to file police complaints.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: The lethal assault was not averted. Battalora was identified and
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: issued fifteen municipal citations for the incident, including leaving the
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: scene of an accident, reckless driving, speeding, and driving without
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: a license or insurance. He is the nephew of Westfield
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Police Chief Christopher Battaloro, who issued a statement condemning his
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: nephew's actions and demanding full legal consequences. Although the proceedings
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: are currently sealed as a juvenile matter and Union County
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Family Court, the severity of the charges first degree murder
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: means prosecutors can seek to waive the case to adult court,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: which is legally possible for juveniles fifteen or older. In
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: homicide cases. Anyone with any information is urged to contact
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: the Union County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force at nine
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: zero eight three seven zero four three one eight or
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Branford Police at nine zero eight two seven six zero
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: one seven to one.
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: I'm Nicole Parton. A man is accused of killing his
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: wife just days after police had transported him back to
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: her home following an arrest related to a violent domestic altercation.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: The Arlington Police Department reported that officers first responded to
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: a call about a domestic dispute at the residence of
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: fifty three year old Mary Spears on September seventeen. Upon arrival,
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: authorities discovered that Mary's husband, fifty five year old Frederick Spears,
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: who had recently been permitted to stay with her, had
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: engaged in a heated argument with a family member. During
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: this dispute, he allegedly brandished two kitchen knives and threatened
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: the other individual. Frederick was taken into custody and charged
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: with aggravated assault related to family violence, subsequently posting bail
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: the next day. The police report details that shortly after
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: his release from the Arlington City Jail on September eighteen,
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: Frederick requested a ride to miss Spears' home from an
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: officer at the front desk from the Public Safety Center.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: An officer was assigned to accompany him, but once at
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: the residence, Frederick once again began an argument with a
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: family member. The officer ultimately told him to leave, and
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: he did. On the morning of September twenty two, a
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: family member received a troubling message from Frederick that raised alarm,
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: prompting her to check on Mary. Upon searching for her,
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: the family member found Mary unresponsive in the backyard, suffering
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: from multiple stab wounds. Detectives later found that Frederick had
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: sent messages to both Mary and other family members suggesting
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: his involvement in her murder. Law enforcement eventually located Frederick
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: at another residence, where he allegedly brandished a knife and
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: began inflicting wounds on himself. He reportedly refused to comply
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: with officers orders to drop the weapon, leading them to
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: use less lethal rounds, which allowed them to safely apprehend him.
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: As part of his bond conditions, that emergency protective order
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: was issued, prohibiting Frederick from returning to Mary's home or
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: contacting her or in any family members. The department expressed
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: regret for arranging transportation back to the home and is
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: currently conducting a thorough administrative review to assess whether policy
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: or procedural changes are necessary to prevent similar situations in
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: the future. Frederick Spears now faces murder charges.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: I'm Drew Nelson, a Detroit man whose kindness went viral
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: after helping a stranger, is now the victim of a
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: shocking family betrayal. Curtis Dixon, aged sixty, was kidnapped, beaten,
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: and left tied up beside his burning suv on September one.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Federal agents say his own nephew and four others conspired
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: to rob him after he received one hundred thousand dollars
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: from TikTok influencer Zachary Darryniowski.
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: I got one hundred thousand dollars for you.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: Oh my god.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has charged
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: Roland Terrell Chapman, like A Lowez Martinez, Deniquia Stroman, Aisha Stroman,
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: and Kenneth Paul Anderson with conspiring to commit kidnapping. Investigators
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: say Dixon was lured by Lopez Martinez, who told him
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: her car had broken down. When he stopped to help,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: armed suspects ambushed him, tied his hands and feet, and
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: demanded money. They forced him to withdraw cash from ATMs
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: and took him to his home, where two other suspects
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: tied up his wife and stole a safe. Police later
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: found Dixon near his burning gmc yukon Denali. Witnesses pulled
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: him from the fire just in time. Phone calls and
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: ATM footage led federal agents to the suspects. Chapman, who
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: is Dixon's nephew, was heard on a jail call before
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: the crime saying, quote, I said that in word, better
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: not make me turn a hustle. In another call, he said, quote,
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: I need some racks, real quick racks, meaning thousands of dollars.
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: Search warrants turned up stolen items, guns, and drugs at
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: the suspects homes. The case unfolded just weeks after Dixon
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: became known worldwide for his viral active kindness. In August,
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: he helped Doraniowski, who was pretending to be blind, outside
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: American Jewelry and loan. When Dorniowski revealed the truth, he
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: gave Dixon one thousand dollars and later surprised him with
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: a new caller and one hundred thousand dollars raised through
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: a GoFundMe campaign. Dixon recalls the moment he tells me
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: not blind.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: I'm like, WHOA, So I'm testing him? I say how
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: many fingers? He says too.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: After that, my life's just changed. Dixon said he planned
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: to use the money to rebuild his life after falling
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: behind on bills. He told Diurniowski he was going to
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: pawn his wedding ring to pay his electric bill the
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: day they met. All five suspects remain in custody. The
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: ATF says the investigation is ongoing. For the latest crime
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: favorite podcast app. But this Crime Alert, I'm Drew Nelson.