Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Prosecutors Seek Death in Horrific 'Rolling Dungeon' Child Abuse Case | Crime Alert 09.08.26

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Prosecutors Seek Death in Horrific 'Rolling Dungeon' Child Abuse Case | Crime Alert 09.08.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Silvani.
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  Speaker 1: We begin in Florida, where prosecutors are seeking the death
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  Speaker 1: penalty in a horrific child abuse case. Florida Attorney General
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  Speaker 1: James Uthmier announced his office will seek the death penalty
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  Speaker 1: for two adults accused of keeping four young children locked
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  Speaker 1: inside the cab of a commercial tractor trailer for over
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  Speaker 1: six years. 51-year-old Keisha Monique Epps and her 37-year-old fiancé,
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  Speaker 1: Tamara Martian Stewart, faced severe felony charges after authorities discovered
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  Speaker 1: four children, two 5-year-olds, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old, trapped
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  Speaker 1: in what officials describe as a rolling prison. According to
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  Speaker 1: court documents and statements made by Attorney General Uthmeyer during
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  Speaker 1: a Kissimmee press conference, Epps worked as a long-haul truck
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  Speaker 1: driver operating between Miami and Atlanta. She and Stewart allegedly
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  Speaker 1: lived inside the truck's cab with the children. Investigators report
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  Speaker 1: the children endured years of physical and sexual abuse, extreme neglect,
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  Speaker 1: and horrific living conditions. Florida law permits prosecutors to seek
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  Speaker 1: capital punishment for adults convicted of sexual battery against a
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  Speaker 1: child under 12, and Uthmeyer emphasized his office intends to
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  Speaker 1: pursue execution. Law enforcement reports reveal the two young girls
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  Speaker 1: suffered repeated sexual abuse by Stewart for years. Stewart admitted
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  Speaker 1: during questioning that he committed three sexual batteries against one girl.
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  Speaker 1: When the two young boys witnessed the sexual abuse and
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  Speaker 1: confronted Stewart, he allegedly punched both boys in the head.
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  Speaker 1: Investigators note one child was found to have an untreated
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  Speaker 1: sexually transmitted infection. Court filings detail that the children repeatedly
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  Speaker 1: reported the abuse to Epps and saw her witness the
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  Speaker 1: acts directly. Rather than protecting them, Epps reportedly called them
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  Speaker 1: derogatory names and left them alone with Stewart while driving, sleeping,
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  Speaker 1: or showering. The children were kept trapped inside the sleeper
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  Speaker 1: cab for the majority of their days, denied access to restrooms, showers,
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  Speaker 1: or outdoor exercise. Uthmeyer stated the children were forced to
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  Speaker 1: use plastic cups and paper bags as restrooms. While making
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  Speaker 1: stops along her route, the adults used restrooms and showered,
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  Speaker 1: leaving the kids locked inside what Uthmeyer termed a rolling dungeon.
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  Speaker 1: Detectives noted the children walked with an unnatural gait due
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  Speaker 1: to prolonged confinement, were denied schooling for five years, were
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  Speaker 1: poorly fed, and received zero medical care. One girl recalled
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  Speaker 1: burning herself badly with cooked noodles, resulting in significant blood loss,
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  Speaker 1: yet neither adult sought medical treatment, leaving a permanent scar.
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  Speaker 1: Both adults were arrested August 6th and are held in
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  Speaker 1: Duval County Jail, facing multiple felony charges. More crime and
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  Speaker 1: justice news after this. Turning to Missouri, a dispute at
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  Speaker 1: a St. Louis fast food restaurant ended in gunfire, leaving
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  Speaker 1: a 14-year-old girl hospitalized and a worker facing heavy felony charges.
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  Speaker 1: The St. Louis Police Department reports the incident unfolded Saturday
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  Speaker 1: near Van Deventer and Laclaide Avenues. Court records identify the
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  Speaker 1: suspect as 27-year-old Adam White, an employee at a Jimmy
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  Speaker 1: John's restaurant where the confrontation began. According to police statements
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  Speaker 1: posted on X and court filings, a verbal argument broke
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  Speaker 1: out inside the establishment involving a former female employee and
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  Speaker 1: several individuals associated with the restaurant, including White. The victim's mother,
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  Speaker 1: her mother's boyfriend, and the 14-year-old girl were present. The
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  Speaker 1: confrontation escalated into the parking lot. As the former employee,
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  Speaker 1: her boyfriend, and her daughter drove away, White allegedly fired
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  Speaker 1: multiple rounds into the rear of the moving car. Investigators
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  Speaker 1: found ballistic damage to the trunk, and one bullet struck
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  Speaker 1: the 14-year-old girl in her left leg. She was rushed
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  Speaker 1: to a hospital in stable condition. Police state White initially
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  Speaker 1: fled but returned and was taken into custody. After being
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  Speaker 1: read his Miranda rights, White admitted to firing at the
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  Speaker 1: vehicle and told detectives he hid the gun at his home.
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  Speaker 1: White is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful
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  Speaker 1: use of a weapon, and child endangerment, and is held
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  Speaker 1: without bond. Finally, in Florida, a Miami high-rise apartment became
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  Speaker 1: the scene of a fatal domestic stabbing early Friday morning.
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  Speaker 1: Authorities arrested 36-year-old Stefano Cremasco Cicero, an operating manager for
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  Speaker 1: an Argentinian restaurant, charging him with second-degree murder with a
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  Speaker 1: weapon following the death of his mother. According to an
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  Speaker 1: arrest affidavit, Miami police were called to the Solitaire Brickell
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  Speaker 1: apartments just after 5 a.m. on September 4. A food
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  Speaker 1: delivery driver reported that Cremasco Cicero let her into the building,
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  Speaker 1: asked her to call 911, and passed his phone to her.
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  Speaker 1: When police arrived, Cremasco Cicero approached officers and allegedly stated,
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  Speaker 1: I was defending myself. Upon entering his 47th floor apartment,
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  Speaker 1: officers discovered his mother lying behind the front door, covered
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  Speaker 1: in blood with multiple severe stab wounds. She was pronounced
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  Speaker 1: dead at the scene, and investigators recovered several bloodstained kitchen
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  Speaker 1: knives inside. Miami Police Spokesperson Kenia Follett noted the incident
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  Speaker 1: appears to be an isolated domestic event. Investigators contacted Cremasco
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  Speaker 1: Cicero's wife in Paris, who revealed he and his mother,
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  Speaker 1: who was visiting from Mexico, had not been close since
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  Speaker 1: his parents' divorce, adding he was under heavy stress opening
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  Speaker 1: a new restaurant in Coconut Grove. Surveillance footage captured the
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  Speaker 1: mother and son returning at 10.32 p.m., but at 4.26 a.m.,
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  Speaker 1: Cremasco Cicero entered the elevator alone, wearing bloody clothing and
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  Speaker 1: carrying a knife. Records show he is held at Miami-Dade
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  Speaker 1: Jail on an immigration hold. For more crime and justice news,
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  Speaker 1: be sure to join us for Crime Stories with Nancy
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  Speaker 1: Grace on Fox 1, YouTube, Sirius XM, and now streaming
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  Speaker 1: on Tubi. With this crime alert, I'm Sydney Silvani.