Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 5-Year-old disappears from bedroom as her mother sleeps nearby. Where is Elizabeth Shelley?

Episode Date: May 28, 2019

A massive search is underway for missing Utah 5-year-old, Elizabeth Shelley. Is a trusted family member the person responsible for her disappearance?andPolice say 3-year-old Janiyah Brooks was physically and sexually assaulted as her mother sits by and allows the heinous crime to continue Nancy's expert panel weighs in:Judge Ashley Wilcott:    Judge & Trial Attorney Dr. Michelle Dupree:     Medical ExaminerDr. Jolie Silva:     Clinical and forensic psychologistJoseph Scott Morgan:   Forensics expert Damon Arnold:    Weekend Anchor and reporter for WALB News 10Ellen Killoran:  Crime online investigative Reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. everywhere in the grass, a canal, hoping to find five-year-old Elizabeth Shelley. There's not much to go on, and so we don't even know where to start, where to go. Family is just as puzzled as police. Police say Lizzie, as her family calls her, was seen sleeping at 2 a.m. when Mom went to bed. When Mom woke up Saturday morning, Lizzie was gone. She's been hysterical all morning, all day. She's still bawling. It's her worst nightmare. It's the worst thing. She just wants it to go away. She wants her baby back. There you hear Mary Whipple, this little

girl's grandmother, speaking to KTSU-TV in Salt Lake City, speaking to Lauren Steinbrecher. Where is five-year-old Elizabeth Shelley? If you could see her photo, absolutely precious. This little girl, the one I keep looking at, has flowers all over the top of her head. Lucy, my little girl, wanted that. I had little clip-in flowers, and they would cover the entire top of her head, and that's the way she liked it. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. The search is on for a five-year-old little girl, Elizabeth Shelley. Joining me right now, an all-star panel, Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge, lawyer. You can find her at ashleywilcott.com.

Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Dr. Jolie Silva, forensic psychologist. And joining me right now from CrimeOnline.com, where you can read this and all other breaking crime and justice news,en kill lauren ellen please tell me about the disappearance of this little girl i don't understand it she's asleep the mom sees her at 2 a.m 2 a.m is not unusual by the time i get the children to bed and i come and clean the kitchen let the dog out blah blah blah blah, blah, blah. It's 1.32 o'clock. I never go to bed without looking at the twins. Never. And then suddenly in the morning, she's gone. How does that happen,

Ellen? That's right, Nancy. Her mother looked in on her at around 2 a.m. Elizabeth Shelley was asleep. The family calls her Lizzie. A little after 9 a.m. when the mom woke up. Lizzie was gone. Listen. People have been out here all day handing out missing flyers, scouring the neighborhood, but just a few minutes ago, police were able to serve the search warrant on the house, getting a first look inside to see if there are any clues inside the home as to where Elizabeth Shelley could have gone. That's our friend at KTSU-TV, Salt Lake City, Lauren Steinbrecher, outside the home.

Several thoughts colliding in my head at once. Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert, we need you right now, Joe Scott. It is a, from what I can tell, a single-story dwelling wood with a front porch, a front door, windows around the outside of the home that are within climbing reach. They don't look too tall to climb into, to get into, to me. From what I can tell, there are no second story windows. There is a front yard, a side yard on either side, a backyard. There is not an enclosure such as a gate that you'd have to have a gate opener to get into. There's no walls to scale.

That's what I'm seeing. But also, I heard search warrant. Hold on, Joe Scott Morgan. Ashley Wilcott, they needed a search warrant to look in the home? What? Well, Nancy, you know, that's an abundance of caution right there. Let's be honest. By getting the search warrant, they have the right legal means to do it.

So nobody can test it. And then you're not going to have an alleged, you know, fruit of the poisonous tree because you didn't enter properly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was with you there in criminal law, first year law school. I get it. Search warrant. But did you also hear the rest of that sentence? A first look in the home after they get a search warrant.

I'm telling you, my baby girl goes missing. Oh, yeah, I would be dragging the cops in by their collars. Joe Scott Morgan, it's called permission. Yep, it is. You give permission to the cops to get in. I'm you. I'm not getting that. Why did the cops have to go get a search warrant to get into the home? You know what? That's a whole nother can of worms I can investigate. But tell me about the home structure. What do they need to be looking at regarding the disappearance of Elizabeth Shelley,

five years old? Well, first off, with the physical structure, Nancy, one of the things they're going to be looking for is, are there any signs of forced entry? You had mentioned the windows. They're at ground level. I'm taking a look at the home right now. And, yeah, this is plausible that somebody could access the home vis-a-vis that manner.

Now, is there any way someone could have gained entrance to the home without forcing their way in? Has a window been left open? Has a door been left unlocked? Or does someone have key to the house? And also, we want to take a look at the individuals that are indwelling the house, that location. Is there somebody that was in that house that could have brought harm upon this little girl and essentially facilitated her disappearance? When we are talking about the entry or exit into a home, it's extremely important. You heard Joe Scott Morgan mention, is there a forced entry?

You look at everything. Are there pry marks on the door? Has a screen been removed from a window? Has a screen been cut? You can tell if a screen has been cut from the outside or the inside of the home. All these things matter. Is there a burglar alarm system that should have, could have, would have gone off? Or does someone have access to the home?

Take a listen to this. Go ahead and see, Heidi. Inside the Hirons shortstop, it looks like business as usual. 842. But outside, something unusual. Search crews digging through the garbage, gathering around the dumpster out back. Combing the street. THE LAST THING THEY SAW WAS A LITTLE GIRL GOING THROUGH THE GARBAGE. THE LITTLE GIRL GOING THROUGH THE GARBAGE. THE LITTLE GIRL GOING THROUGH THE GARBAGE. THE LITTLE GIRL GOING THROUGH

THE GARBAGE. AS USUAL, SEARCH CREWS DIGGING THROUGH THE GARBAGE, GATHERING AROUND THE DUMPSTER OUT BACK, COMING THE STREET. OUT BACK, COMING THE STREET. OUT BACK, COMING THE STREET. THE LITTLE GIRL GOES MISSING

AND SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND NOBODY CAN FIND IT. AND SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND NOBODY CAN FIND IT. NO ONE CAN FIND FIVE-YEAR-OLD LIZZIE SHELLY. NO ONE CAN FIND FIVE-YEAR-OLD LIZZIE SHELLY.

NOT HERE IN HYRAM, NOT IN LOGAN NOT HERE IN HYRAM, NOT IN LOGAN WHERE SHE DISAPPEARED FROM HER HOME SATURDAY MORNING. WHERE SHE DISAPPEARED FROM HER HOME SATURDAY MORNING. HOME SATURDAY MORNING. POLICE SAY THEY THINK HER

POLICE SAY THEY THINK HER UNCLE ALEX WHIPPLE KNOWS UNCLE ALEX WHIPPLE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED, BUT HE WON'T SAY. BUT HE WON'T SAY. SO THEY'RE TRYING TO FILL IN THE BLANKS. Police say they think her uncle Alex Whipple knows what happened, but he won't say.

So they're trying to fill in the blanks. The Hiram shortstop gave them some help. Ryan says he saw Whipple Saturday. Disheveled, like he had been on a binge of some kind. That was hours after Lizzie disappeared. To Ellen Killorn, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Who is the uncle, 21-year-old Alex Whipple, and what, if anything, does he have to do with this? Was he in the home that night? Alex Whipple was in the home that Friday night before Elizabeth Shelley went missing.

He stopped by to visit his sister, who is Lizzie's mother. Now, what can you tell me about when police catch up with Alex Whipple? He actually has some of Elizabeth Shelley's clothing in his possession. Police have said that they found evidence, not specifying what item, tying Alex Whipple to the little girl and showing that he was with her outside of the home since she was last seen there. Police also say that he is being uncooperative about the girl's whereabouts. Now that right there, Ashley Wilcott disturbs me. Why would he be uncooperative? Well, that always is a concern with me. When anyone is uncooperative, think about Nancy. Wake up in the middle of the night. The child's gone. I would expect anybody and everybody I know I'm related to I know of is absolutely going to be 100% cooperative with law enforcement because they're going to help me find my child

when they're not cooperative to me. My gut is there's a problem with that person. We know this. The search is going on right now. Cops still at this hour going door to door and getting permission to search homes and yards of residents in neighborhoods surrounding the area the child's father begging via facebook for people to help find his daughter begging the public to pray for his daughter little elizabeth three feet 6 inches, just 40 pounds. She has shoulder-length curly brown hair with bangs and big brown eyes and a full set of beautiful teeth. The tip line, 435-753-7555.

Repeat, 435-7535-5. Repeat. 4-3-5-7-5-3-7-5-5-5. Where is five-year-old Elizabeth? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Well, Albany police tell us a three-year-old is on a ventilator at an Atlanta hospital this evening. APD's Family Protection Unit says the child has some pretty brutal injuries. This all comes after an FPU and Division of Family and Children's Services investigation. So police tell us the child had injuries to her genital area and her ribs, along with swollen hands and an unknown trauma to her head. Now, investigators say she appeared to have some old wounds as well.

This all comes after a call to police about an unknown problem on Monday morning to a home. Police say one of the suspects told police the child was unresponsive once officers got there. What happened to this beautiful three-year-old little girl? If you could see her, the photos of her, she reminds me so much of Lucy at age three. The look in their eyes, the smile on their face, just looking forward to everything there is to learn about the world. Janiyah Brooks, just three years old. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. You were hearing our friend at WALB, Emily Forrester, giving us the latest. You know, Janiyah Brooks had to be airlifted all the way from Albany to Atlanta, all the way to Atlanta.

That is some serious, serious physical damage to Dr. Michelle Dupree, joining me, medical examiner and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. This is what I know about a life flight in my life. I've only known about two. My dad, when he was about to die at Emory Hospital, they had to airlift him to University of Alabama. They were the only ones that would agree to do surgery on him. And my little nephew, a major car crash, got lifted to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and had been in a coma. Now, when somebody gets airlifted, that's a big deal, Dr. Dupree. Yes, Nancy, that is a big deal. And typically that's one of the most severe cases when that person needs urgent medical attention and it's not immediately available in the

surrounding area. I'm talking about a three-year-old little girl, Janiyah Brooks, joining me in All-Star Panel, a juvenile judge, lawyer, anchor. You can find her at AshleyWilcott.com. Dr. Michelle Dupree, Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, and joining me right now, anchor reporter from WALB News 10, Damon Arnold. Damon, thank you for being with us. Damon, first question to you. What alerted police or EMTs to go to the home of Janiyah Brooks? What alerted them?

Why did they show up? They got a phone call from someone who was relatively close with the family who had gotten a glimpse of Janiyah and saw that she was in pretty bad condition and decided to go ahead and place that phone call. And that's what initially sparked interest in police going over there. Okay, wait a minute. Let me back you up with me from WALB News 10, Damon Arnold, who has been there on the scene. So a family member sees her in bad shape

and they called EMT. Now, Damon Arnold, I'm putting you on cross-examination. This is a yes, no answer. Was it the mother or the stepfather? Was it either Crystal Brooks or Gregory Parker that called police? We are told that the stepfather made the call saying that she was unresponsive. Okay, I don't know what exactly that means. Not that I couldn't understand you, Damon, but I don't know what that means, unresponsive. Would she not wake up when you shook her? Was she having trouble breathing? I mean, what does that mean in your world, Dr. Michelle Dupree, when somebody is unresponsive?

Are they passed out cold? Yes, Nancy. Basically, they are unconscious. They are still, they're not considered deceased, but they are unconscious and probably have very low or hard to detect vital signs. To Ashley Wilcott, joining me, juvenile judge and lawyer at AshleyWilcott.com. Now, from what I understood from our friend, Emily Forrester at WALB, that she was airlifted from Albany, Georgia to Atlanta after an investigation by CPS, DFAX, Department of Family and Children's Services, Child Protective Services. You know,

no offense, Ashley Wilcott, because you're a juvenile judge, not that you're connected with CPS, but you hear it all day long. You know, it takes a lot to get CPS to do anything. So when I hear they actually were doing an investigation, that really raises the hair up on my neck to know they were that far along because you can't get them, you know, to do a thing. Every time I hear about child protective services, there's a dead child. It's too late. They've done nothing. So listen, you know, Nancy, I don't know what to say other than this. You're right. Somebody reports child abuse. They open a case. They start an investigation. If they're investigating, then they should see the child. They should see if there are any injuries, any problems that that child needs to be removed from their home and needs treatment.

What bothers me in this case is what you're pointing out. There was an investigation, yet who called police because the child was nonresponsive? The boyfriend. So somewhere there's a system fail. Yeah, you know what? You called it like it is. He's a boyfriend. Damon Arnold joining me, anchor reporter, WALB News 10.

Was he a live-in? Was he a BF? What was his status in the home? We reported it originally that he was the stepfather, but I'm pretty sure that he was just the boyfriend. The two had two different last names, so I don't believe them to be married. Hey, hey, hey, hey, watch out, watch out. I'm still Nancy Grace, and I'm married to David Lynch. When somebody says Miss Lynch, I think they're talking about David's mother. Okay. So you think he's more the boyfriend as opposed to the stepfather. Is that correct? Correct. Hey, Ashley, Ashley, a question to you to be a formal stepfather. Do you have to go through some legal process like do adopt the

child or is that just a slang term? Well, the legal answer is this. You have to be married to a parent to be considered a stepfather. But a lot of people refer to themselves in practice as a step parent, even if they're not married. But the legal requirement is he's married to her. This little girl. Oh, I'm looking at her. I'm looking at her right now. What a smile. This little girl languishes in the Atlanta hospital on a ventilator. Listen.

The three-year-old that was involved in what Albany police call a heinous crime of child abuse has died. Three-year-old Janiah Brooks, who died in an Atlanta hospital this afternoon at around 1215. Now, she was airlifted from Albany about 24 hours ago and APD's family protection unit says that the child had brutal injuries. Investigators say they've charged two people in this case. Police say that one suspect is Gregory Parker. They told police that the child was unresponsive. Parker is facing several charges including aggravated assault, molestation, rape, and aggravated sodomy. Crystal Brooks is also facing charges. Investigators say that she knew about the child being harshly treated and was there at the time. She is charged with party

to a crime of aggravated battery, battery cruelty to children in the first degree, and giving a false statement initially. You know what? I just feel sick. I feel sick. When I heard these charges, Janiyah Brooks, three years old, take a listen to what the specific charges are for Emily Forrester. Gregory Parker is charged with aggravated child molestation, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery, and cruelty to children in the first degree. Another suspect, Crystal Brooks, is also facing charges in the case. Investigators say that's because she knew about the child being harshly treated and was there at the time. Now, she's charged with party

to a crime of the following charges, aggravated battery, battery cruelty to children in the first degree, along with giving a false statement initially. Now police say the suspects are known to that child. Right now that investigation is ongoing. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Brooks died after being taken off life support, injured by what Albany police are calling a heinous crime of child abuse. WALB News 10's Damon Arnold joins us live now after speaking exclusively with the family of Brooks about the final days leading up to her death. Jim, Janiah's family tells me that they wanted nothing more than to keep her alive and well,

but they understood that it was time for her to rest after so much pain. I kissed, gave her her last kiss. I held her hand when she took her last breath. A family trying to find peace during a time of sorrow after the death of their three-year-old loved one. Janiyah Brooks died Saturday after her family took her off life support. Albany police calling this a heinous crime of child abuse. It was a hard decision, but not a selfish one.

She had brain damage, wounds, and broken fingers. It was a lot. You are hearing our friends Jim Wallace and Damon Arnold at WALB. With me right now is Damon Arnold. Damon, I just, I ought to tell you, I have been to so many funerals, so many crime scenes, so many victims' families' homes and apartments. It's so hard talking to them. But then sometimes it's like they want to talk. I let it out, I guess.

Tell me how the family took the news that this three-year-old little girl was dead. It was really eerie to sit there, honestly, to know that that was Janiyah's biological father and grandmother and her grandfather was also there. And sitting across from him, you could tell he hadn't fully grasped the concept that, A, he had lost a daughter, you know, in such a brutal manner.

He was trying to figure out how to process that. And you could see it in his body language, on his face. And that's why I ended up interviewing the grandmother because there was so much that he was trying to figure out how to save without being angry and still trying to do his daughter justice. You know what's interesting? Joining me now, in addition to Damon Arnold, Joe Scott Morgan, Dr. Michelle Dupree, and Ashley Wilcott,

Dr. Jolie Silva, forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Silva, I recall following up on what Damon Arnold just said after my fiance was murdered. There would be so many days it didn't actually seem real. And I would go to my mom and say, mother, is Keith dead I just I could not get my mind I couldn't understand what had happened and why and it was just a completely normal day and then out of the blue bam violent crime changed all of our lives forever what is that process what when you can't get it through your mind, you can't absorb what's happening. You know, when people lose people in their lives suddenly like that, there's a different grieving process than if somebody dies, let's say, of terminal illness, because there's the shock factor. I mean, your body, not only psychologically, but physically, goes to process information the same level you normally do.

Your entire brain is firing as though, you know, a bear is standing in front of you about to eat you. That's basically how I can describe it. Your entire limbic system is totally on overdrive and you just can't process information, you know, the way you normally would. Or even if, like I said, somebody died of a long term illness, even though there's still a bereavement and a grieving process, it's different when it's sudden like that. Take a listen to Linda Faison. This is Janiah's grandma. She don't have to be afraid now. It's a, you know, here's steps coming to war and said, well, what's going to happen now?

Janiyah's grandmother says the damage could not be undone despite their prayers. Even if she had survived, we all think about all the doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists or what have you to help bring her back hold. I don't believe that she would have ever been hold. Janiyah's father, Daryl Faison, was at work when he got the call about his daughter. He rushed to be by her side, but

says the call will always haunt him. At 12, 15, she just wanted to be with the Lord. You know, I think it's best for us, you know. She won't have to struggle no more. He beat him heartbroken.

Now the family is preparing to say their final goodbyes as they lay Heaven's newest angel to rest. I wish I was there to be there for her and, you know, took her in my arms like I was supposed to, but I couldn't. To Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge and lawyer at AshleyWilcott.com, several things are just slapping me in the face right now. I feel like I'm colliding with them. The fact that the grandmother says she doesn't have to be afraid at night anymore, what's going to happen tonight? And broken fingers and old wounds.

All of those things are raising red flags to me about what this case, how it's going to unfold, Ashley. Absolutely. So that's the key, old wounds. And there's so much horrific damage to this little three-year-old it could not have all been inflicted at one time which means people knew someone knew there were signs there were symptoms there were um they were concerned about or all these things that a should have been reported and b during the investigation this child should have been removed from the home to joseph scott morgan forensics expert author of of Blood Beneath My Feet, Joe Scott, broken fingers. What does that tell you?

That this death, this death is, it borders on torture, it sounds like, Nancy. And remember, we need to continue to focus on this. And this is why this girl, this little baby did not sustain a fatal injury. She sustained multiple injuries. And for every single injury, that's a point in time. It's almost like a historical marker. So we can begin to kind of go back in time and unfold what happened. She can't speak to us anymore. But, you know, they talked about the age of these injuries, that some were old. And the aging of this is going to give us an opportunity to get an idea. How long has she been suffering the sustained trauma over a period of time? And there's all kinds of things that are coming down the road here. We've got the sexual

assault evidence. We've got this torture-like event with her hand. And then not to mention this head injury that she sustained. So every piece of this is going to be interconnected, but yet it's going to be like on a long timeline relative to her little life. You know, I'm just thinking this through to Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. One, I was prosecuting a murder case. And in doing that, I met all the victim's family. And one of the sisters of the murder victim is an adult survivor of child molestation.

I remember her telling me that when she was little, she knew her dad was going to come molest her, rape her. And she thought if she put rubber bands on her, on her doorknob, it would keep him out, that the door wouldn't work. I mean, in her mind, that was true. And I'm just thinking about what the grandma said, how she won't have to wonder every night what was going to happen. In other words, it's the stepfather, the boyfriend, Gregory Parker, going to come in her room and rape her at three years old. You know, the mother had to know. She had to know. Weigh in. Yes, Nancy, I totally agree with you. This is just a horrific crime, and someone knew. The fact that these injuries are dated, that there are several injuries that are older, shows the chronicity.

This has been happening over a long period of time. This is inexcusable. Someone knew. crime stories with nancy grace we're gonna let you go because now you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night or any time of the day and wonder when is it gonna going to be the next time? When am I going to have to go through this the next time? You're hearing Janiah's grandmother, Linda Foles, facing speaking. When will be the next time that you, a three-year-old, are brutally molested? To Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, what do the broken fingers on this child mean to you forensically? Likely was being tortured. Lots of reasons that someone may have done that, or lots of ways they

may have done it. They may have broken them intentionally, trying to discipline the child, or just simply make the child cry. To Joe Scott Morgan, does it mean in any way that the child was fighting back? No, I doubt that that is the case, Nancy. To sustain these kinds of injuries, I think that it was something that was probably purposed. And it can be anything from, you know, the perpetrator bending these fingers back individually, or it could be a crushing event, which again is horrific enough. Maybe the child in some way tried in an attempt to fight back, but if that's the case, it was met with this kind of punishment. To Dr. Michelle Dupree, how does a child die of a brutal rape? How can that kill a child, a three-year-old? A child can die from several

ways because of that. There can be trauma internally. They can suffer internal bleeding. They can also die from associated injuries with that. So it really just depends on sort of that totality of circumstances. To Damon Arnold joining me, anchor reporter with WALB News 10. Well, in this case, I'm sad to report this three-year-old little girl has a plethora of injuries that could have caused her death, a severe and brutal rape. How did the mother not hear this child screaming? I mean, in this home, she was there. How did she not know? Her ribs, severe injuries to her ribs, swollen hands. I don't know why her hands are swollen, her fingers broken, trauma to her head. She was hit in the head.

She appeared to have old wounds on her body. I don't get it, Damon Arnold. How did the mother, Crystal Brooks, not know what was going on? She should go down with Gregory Parker, the same as him. And I fully believe if we're going to have the death penalty, this is the case for it. Tell me about the mother, Damon Arnold. She knew about what was going on with Janiyah and Mr. Parker. Again, I mean, that's suspected and alleged, and maybe that's just the reporter in me. But, you know, she's being charged, of course, you know,

with, you know, giving a false statement. So to some extent she knew. And from speaking with the biological father, she was keeping him at bay, his words. You know, he wasn't allowed to come around, Janiyah, for, you know, probably the last year of her life, which tells you another story. Yeah, that she's intentionally covering something up. I'm looking at now, I've switched Ashley Wolcott from the picture of her all cute and precious with her hair done up and a little, I swear I think Lucy had that same shirt from Target with a little white puppy on the front of her shirt with hearts all around it, big smile. Now I'm looking at a photo that her aunt shared and it shows Janiyah hooked up to a ventilator in the hospital. And you know what? This is the kind of photo I don't want to look at, but this is the kind of photo I would have to show a jury because I would want them to know the suffering that this child endured on a ventilator at three years old.

This child should be playing with a water hose and going to vacation Bible school or playing all summer. She's dead, Ashley, after living off a ventilator. I'm just sick about it. Yeah. A picture's worth a thousand words, Nancy. A picture of her on a ventilator tells the jury everything they need to know. And remember, Nancy, she did not go from the picture. I've seen that picture you're referencing. She's a beautiful little girl. Look at that smile on her face. Every little girl is beautiful, but the smile, right? So you have to remember there are steps between that picture and the end of her life. Many, many steps that if I were the

prosecutor, I'm going to outline every single step, every single injury. And I would emphasize again that the mother knew this was happening to her own child and did nothing to protect her. Well, Ashley Wilcott and Damon Arnold, you're backed up not by your own observations only, but according to police, the mother, Crystal Brooks, quote, not only knew about the child being harshly treated I know, according to police, Gregory Parker is the one that raped this little girl, beat her, killed her, but the mother stood by. The one, the one a child calls out for at night, the one that they run to when they graduate, the one that they expect to sacrifice everything and love them no matter what, mommy.

And let me just say, Crystal Brooks knew what was happening in that home. Damon Arnold, tell me about the home. Is there any way she could not have known? Absolutely not. With the photos that were given to me by the dad and some of the sustained injuries that you saw in those photos, there was just no way that anyone who was in Janiah's presence did not know that something was off there.

And I'm telling you what I don't want to Jolie Silva, Dr. Jolie Silva, forensic psychiatrist. Very often juries will look at a mom and they will inside, internally, maybe even subconsciously, identify with their own mother and will not convict a mom. But in this case, this three-year-old baby girl dies after being molested and beaten by the boyfriend. Police say the mother not only knew of the abuse, but witnessed it. As far as I'm concerned, she may not be the devil, but she's the devil's henchman. When you look at something like this, you think, how could there not be, you know, pure evil, right? How could there not be people that are born purely evil? When you look at

something like this, when you look at a mother who was likely there, not, I mean, and not just one time, probably repeatedly knowing this was going on to her own three-year-old, you know, and what is this mother like, what it was her life like where she had a baby of her own and can allow this to happen in her presence. What is, what was her life like? I mean, there's very little doubt in my mind that she had a history of trauma herself, you know, that the way that her brain is made up, she is not capable of remorse, of putting herself in her child's shoes, not just for these incidents, probably ever for the, for the duration of the three years. You know, I don't really care about what she went through in her life.

I'm sorry for that. But what I care about right now is she's responsible for this three-year-old baby girl. The baby girl has been raped and beaten, and she's dead. And the mom, frankly, needs a death penalty just like the boyfriend does. Nancy. Jump in. We just got word from Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards. He says that Gregory Parker will be charged with felony murder in the death of three-year-old Janiyah Brooks. We wait as justice unfolds in the case of three-year-old Janiyah Brooks. When I

think of that little girl being buried with her hands swollen, all of her fingers broken, fearing every night what was going to happen to her that night with no one there to protect her as Mommy stood by and let it happen. Rest in peace, little Janiyah. Gregory Parker, Crystal Brooks, go straight to hell. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.