Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BABY IRIS DEAD After Daddy's JEALOUS MISTRESS Feeds Her Nail Polish Remover, Batteries

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Why do these two phrases end up in one sentence? Beautiful baby girl and acetone poisoning. What is acetone? It's fingernail polish remover. I first found out about acetone when I was investigating and prosecuting arson cases and fires were started with accelerants, flammable liquids containing acetone. It lights up like gas. Beautiful baby dead fingernail polish. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here on Crime Stories and on Sirius XM 111. I am so angry.

Starting point is 00:01:11 I could chew a nail in half. I want justice so badly. When I think about my twins, John, David, and Lucy, at 18 months, the most beautiful, most innocent, tender, sweet, the apple of my eye, the heart of my heart. How in the H-E-double-L Does this beautiful baby, Iris Rita, drink fingernail polish remover? And that is the tip of the iceberg. Let's start at the beginning. Listen. Emergency responders arrive at the home of Bailey Jacoby, where he lives with his girlfriend, Listen. to UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, about an hour away. Four days later, 18-month-old Iris Rita Alfera dies. Her mysterious death shocks the community, and the Newcastle Police Department opens an investigation.

Starting point is 00:02:33 I have an all-star panel to figure out what happened to baby Iris Rita. But first, I want to go to two very special guests joining us. Candice and Frank Alfera. This is the grandma and the granddad of baby Iris. Mr. and Ms. Alfera, thank you for being with us. To you. Oh, thank you. Ms. Alfera, do you remember the moment that you learned baby Iris Rita was dead? Yes, I was holding her hand in the hospital with my daughter. We sat for four days praying and praying that she would open her eyes. But they said her brain was too injured and her organs were failing. And there was no chance of her surviving.

Starting point is 00:03:38 My daughter had to choose to stop life support. Mr. Alfaro, where were you at that moment, Frank? I was right there too in the hospital with her, talking to her and trying to get her to respond. But I knew that she wasn't, she was dead. I knew it. I just tried to get her to respond, and nothing happened. We never left for four days, not for a second.

Starting point is 00:04:16 No, we didn't. You're reminding me of two moments in life. One, standing with my dad, holding on to him as he passed away. And everyone was saying, you can go, feel free, go to heaven. And I was literally whispering in his ear, don't go, don't leave me. You can come, you can make a comeback. You can do this. And then the horrible time I couldn't be with my fiance when he was murdered. And by the time I knew anything, it was over. And I can't even decide which one was worse. But I do know this. You are hearing the distraught

Starting point is 00:05:06 grandparents of baby Iris Rita Alfaro who were there with her when she died. This baby did not have to die. This did not have to happen. The baby airlifted to UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Doctors doing all they could do. But what do we learn when doctors try to determine why did baby Iris die? Listen. An autopsy was performed the day after Iris Alfera passes, and the results are shocking. The cause of death of 18 month old Iris Rita Alfera? Acetone poisoning, which caused the organ failure. Medical experts who examined the baby's body conclude that the child was exposed to acetone just before her hospitalization. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry's office issued a statement that

Starting point is 00:06:01 the medical examiner determined that the child's death was the result of fatal levels of acetone in her blood at the time of death. Joining us in addition to the grandparents of baby Iris, Candace and Frank, who were with her four straight days praying that Iris could rebound, holding her little body as she passed on to heaven. Dr. William Maroney, renowned expert, medical examiner, toxicologist, pathologist, author of American Narcan. Dr. Maroney, thank you for being with us. What is acetone? Acetone is a solvent. It's used in a lot of chemical processes and it's a metabolic byproduct.

Starting point is 00:06:55 But there's one thing we never have. Acetone is never in food. Acetone is never supposed to be ingested. It's toxic. It's neurotoxic. It goes to the brain. it goes to the nerves, it shuts off body functions, and it's so toxic that we don't measure it in milligrams. We measure it in parts per million because it can become toxic as a vapor. So to drink a liquid is even worse. It's acute and it does damage that is irreversible. And unlike a poison that may be an opioid and you have a reversal agent like Narcan, there is no reversal agent, especially in a delicate 18-month-old baby that still doesn't have the functional vital capacity to repair like an adult. It's neurotoxic. It'll damage the heart. It'll damage eyes. It'll damage lungs. It'll damage the liver, but it damages the brain first. Dr. Maroney, how many children do you

Starting point is 00:08:07 have? Well, five, but two biological. I have some other like, you know, adopted kind of kids. Do you remember when they were 18 months old? Oh, yeah. That was actually one of my favorite times with the twins. They were learning. It took them longer to learn to walk because they were so, so, so premature. But they were learning to walk. And Lucy would crawl on one leg and drag the other leg to her side. She kind of went sideways like a crab. And at 18 months, we were teaching them to walk. And it was one of the most wonderful times of my life.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Candice Alfaro, tell me about Iris at 18 months. At 18 months, Iris' mama taught her sign language because she talked a lot. She said a lot of words, but she didn't have sentences yet. So Iris knew any sign language that there was to know. Her mother was so amazing. I used to tell my daughter how proud I was of her for being the best mother I could imagine. She'd sit with that baby, and she'd tell her cookie, cookie, and she would do the sign language for it, and that baby picked up on everything. I have a video of her walking towards her mother at Christmas. She was opening gifts. She saw Santa's cookies, and she was going to bite bite one and Em didn't want her to eat it.

Starting point is 00:09:48 So she's walking towards her mom and she's signing to her mother. Oh, my stars. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace you know i'm curious about something dr william maroney said renail medical examiner you said that acetone is toxic even as a vapor and i'm thinking about something dr maroney i usually don't do my nails. Okay. Because when I was a trial lawyer, I thought that was too flashy to have long painted nails in front of a jury. And I know, call it crazy, but that's what I thought. But I've been in nail salons and there have been times I've had to actually leave because I felt like I couldn't breathe. Right.

Starting point is 00:10:47 And I'm wondering if that's acetone or like when you take off, if I take off Lucy's fingernail polish, my daughter, sometimes I have to step back from it because it's so overwhelming to me. It is. It's strong. Yes. And neurotoxic accumulates because it doesn't exit the body right away, and it dulls your thinking, and the brain controls how you breathe, so it stops normal breathing and heartbeats, but it damages the brain at a level that you can understand. If I had to give you a different example, if you took a gallon of Everclear vodka and forced that a one-year-old, that's the amount of damage from alcohol, the damage from acetone. It's the same thing.

Starting point is 00:11:37 What led up to this? Take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. During a weekend visitation at her father's house, Bailey Jacoby goes to the grocery store, leaving Iris with his live-in girlfriend, Alicia Owens. As he is preparing to check out at the grocery store, Alicia Owens calls Jacoby and tells him that something is wrong with Iris. She isn't acting like herself. She is unresponsive. Jacoby tells Owens to call 911, and he rushes out of the grocery store, leaving his groceries at the checkout line.

Starting point is 00:12:11 Owens was feeding Iris, and the baby appeared to have cramped up and fell off the bed. She said she was in nursing training, and she tried to perform chest compressions. She called Jacoby, and he told her to call 911. Joining us now is Alexis Tereschuk, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Alexis, wait a minute.

Starting point is 00:12:28 Are you telling me the live-in, Alicia Owens, is in nurse training? Yeah. But I don't understand Alexis Tereschuk because if she is in nursing training and the baby cramps up and falls off the bed and is unresponsive. Why does she have to call the boyfriend to have him tell her to call 911? She was only at the mattress where she fell off the bed. It was only six inches off the floor. And then she said she started doing chest compressions because the baby wasn't breathing.

Starting point is 00:13:00 So then she panicked and called the baby's father. And he's the one that told her. So she didn't even think to call 911. She called him first. That just right there doesn't make sense to me. Larry Forletta is joining us from Newcastle, private investigator, founder of Forletta Investigative Security Consulting. You can find him online at F-C-I-S-L-L-C, Berletta Investigative Security Consulting, former law enforcement. Larry, right there, if she is training to be a nurse, the first thing you do is call 911. I wouldn't try to hunt down David and go, wow, what do you think I should do? My baby's unresponsive and she fell off the bed.

Starting point is 00:13:47 What do you think? Oh, hell no. You called 911 right then. That acetone is so strong, so bad, that the baby didn't have a chance from right then as soon as she ingested it.

Starting point is 00:14:00 Jarrett Fiorentino, homicide prosecutor in Pennsylvania, this jurisdiction, you can find him at JarrettFiorentino.com. He's the host of True Crime Boss podcast. Jarrett, thank you for being with us. I've prosecuted a lot of cases where children have been killed. A lot of times we've seen cases where children pick something up and eat it. How many times do we have, oh, this child picked up a pot brownie at school and ate it, or this or that?

Starting point is 00:14:31 I find it really hard to believe that an 18-month-old is, A, going to get access to something like fingernail polish. That's supposed to be out of their reach. But, B, even if they get it, they're going to not only take a sip, but continue drinking it. It's got to taste horrible. Nancy, this is a highly suspicious situation. A child of 18 months would certainly reject acetone. And just to be exposed at that level, this would certainly jump right out at the medical treaters. And it's highly suspicious and the explanation in the

Starting point is 00:15:06 description given to this point would really draw the suspicions of the treaters at this point alexis terescha you're raising a wonderful little boy and i discussed this with you when it happened it's before you had your baby i was giving john John David a bath and I turned around. I had him laying on the bed to put lotion on him. I turned around to get a towel. He fell off the bed and it was high up. It was a good two feet off the ground or three. And I did not call David and say, wow, what should I do? I mean, John David cried for a minute. Then he acted normal. I picked him up, wrapped him up in a towel, butt naked and ran, ran out onto the street at, uh, somewhere along first Avenue and started screaming for a cab. All right. Went straight to the doctor.

Starting point is 00:15:59 I did not learn my lesson. Alexis, about three weeks later, I did the same thing. I turned around one minute to get the lotion for Lucy. She fell off the bed. Same scenario. My point is, it's not making sense to me. I don't believe a baby. It might pick something up and take a bite, but if it tastes bad, they'll just spit it out. They won't keep drinking, chugging. Finger nail polish remover. No, you can't even get a baby to eat broccoli, much less drinkging fingernail polish remover no you can't even get a baby to eat broccoli much less drink fingernail polish remover this is absolutely not the truth about how this child ingested the poison and this is what is really okay it's all all upsetting but this this is gonna This is going to blow your head off. There were warning signs. Listen to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com.

Starting point is 00:16:52 Iris Rita Alfera is a bubbly, active toddler. She loves watching Miss Rachel on YouTube and has even learned some sign language while watching the program. When Iris' mother, Emily, is changing her diaper, she sees some water beads and gets concerned. Emily takes Iris to the hospital where doctors watch over the little girl. Over the next few days, she passes about 20 water beads. She also passes three button-shaped batteries and a metal screw. After four days, Emily is able to take Iris home. What is a water bead? Who knows what is a water bead? Anybody jump in. What is a water bead?

Starting point is 00:17:27 It's a little thing that kids play with. They're really small. They start out about the size of your fingernail, but then when they hit water, they expand. And she probably wanted her to hurt her in her digestive system when they all expanded. But the baby passed them out. Okay, hold on just a minute.

Starting point is 00:17:51 I'm looking them up right now. Water beads. What do you do with them, Alexis? You play with them in the bathtub. You put your baby in the bath. My son loved them. Wait, they look like the baby would want to eat them. Well, I think to me, 18 months is too young for them. It, they look like the baby would want to eat them. Well, I think to me,

Starting point is 00:18:06 18 months is too young for them. It really, really is. I mean, they look like candy. They kind of look like grapes. They do. Exactly. They look like candy, but you put them in the water and they play and you're right there. You sit there in the back. You never let your child be alone in the bathtub. I think that's a bad idea. I'm just putting it out there about water beads. Come on, Dr. Maroney, back me up on this. They're tempting. They look like something yummy. Yeah, but I would never give an 18-month-old water bead.

Starting point is 00:18:34 Oh, no. She says it would be too young, 18-month-old, to play with. Even if you're standing there watching her. Agree. Alexis Tereshak, i understand 20 water beads she poopied 20 water beads and three batteries and a metal screw did i get that right exactly right the water the water beads well okay so water beads are going to be soft right they're like a little gel as you said they're like a grape a battery even if it's little is hard

Starting point is 00:19:05 she's a tiny child this is not something that she would have just picked up off of the ground and eaten on her own and then thought oh let me have another battery those were so tasty this is not something that that she would have done organically at all these are hard substances. Candice Alfaro, how big was the screw that Iris passed? It was a little like attacking screw. A what? Attacking screw. Dr. William Maroney, attacking screw. What could that and batteries do to a child?

Starting point is 00:19:42 Now, I understand the water beads are full of water. So unless you choke on it, it's not going to kill you. But what does all this do to the baby's system? What's really important is that batteries contain heavy metals and acids, and it would eat away inside and cause erosion in the GI tract and internal bleeding. It's the exact same thing a screw would do. They're trying to cause bleeding inside the baby and toxic elements from a battery inside the baby. That's some kind of homicide by proxy or something. Guys, right there, right there, don't you agree, Jarrett Fiorentino? There should have been a major investigation

Starting point is 00:20:35 about why the baby is eating water beads and screws. I mean, even if no one fed that to her, still there's something very wrong that she's getting access to this kind of material and can ingest it. Nancy, any one of these items, the Orbeez, water beads, the screw, or the button-sized battery should trigger the suspicions of the medical providers when Emily discovered them in her diaper. All three together, there is no natural explanation for why these would end up in Iris' digestional tract and her diaper. It's just, it absolutely should have spawned an investigation and the suspicions of everyone. And Nancy, hospital staff, they're mandated reporters. You know, the nurses, the doctors, any person that's in a hospital room and came into contact with that baby was a mandated reporter.

Starting point is 00:21:33 So I'm curious, was a child abuse report filed at that time? Because hospitals, especially children's hospitals, they are very used to filing reports. Excuse me. They are very used to filing reports because Excuse me. They are very used to filing reports because they see child abuse cases all the time. So I'm wondering what happened at this point with in terms of filing. I'm wondering that too. You're hearing Dr. Bethany Marshall, renowned psychoanalyst joining us out of LA. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. So I'm curious and everybody about those water beads.

Starting point is 00:22:06 Remember, one of you mentioned at the beginning, I think it was you, Alexis, they expand. So you swallow one. It expands in your body. I can't imagine this child having swallowed 20 of these things and nobody noticed. Then batteries, then a screw. So what happened? Listen. After the incident with Iris ingesting water beads, batteries, and a screw, Pennsylvania Child Youth Services, CYS, inspects the home of both parents and, according to Newsweek, finds no issue at either residence. Iris lives with her mother full-time, but she continues to

Starting point is 00:22:44 visit her dad at his house, where Bailey Jacoby lives with his girlfriend, Alicia Linnae Owens. Okay, back to the grandparents, Candace and Frank Alfaro. Mrs. Alfaro, when she had ingested water beads, batteries, and a screw, who had she been with? She was with her father Wednesday night and she started passing them Thursday afternoon. Okay, and yet what do they do? They send the baby, this beautiful defenseless baby Iris, right back to the home with the dad and the live-in all slung up with him and she dies. Where the H-E-L-L is the investigation? What happened to DFACS, Department of Family and Children Services, or CPS, Child Protective Services? Why did they send her right back into the lion's den and now she's dead. It's not the first time. Does the name Josh Powell ring a bell? Because I will never forget it. Take a listen to the social worker

Starting point is 00:23:58 that led his two children right up to his front door before they were murdered by an axe and the house blew up. Everybody knew he had killed his wife, Susan Cox. Killed her. Never found her body. So what does D-Fax do? Oh, they make sure the children go right back to daddy. Listen to this 911 call and don't feel sorry for the defects worker. Listen. He won't let me in the house. Whose house is it? He's got the kids in the house and he won't let me in. It's a supervised visit. I understand. Whose house is it? Josh Powell. Okay, so you don't live there, right?

Starting point is 00:24:52 No, I don't. No, I'm contracted to the state to provide supervised visitation. I see. Okay. Okay, so you're supposed to be there to supervise Josh Powell's visit with the children. Yes, that's correct. And how did... Okay, so you're supposed to be there to supervise Josh Powell's visit with the children. Yes, that's correct. And he's the husband of missing Susan Powell. How did he...

Starting point is 00:25:11 This is a high-profile case. How did he gain access to the children before you got there? I was one step in back of them. Okay, so they went into the house and then he locked you out? Yes, he shut the door right in my face. Yeah, I smell gas, so let me save my own sorry skin and get out of here, even though I know two helpless little boys are in there with him where I smell gas. She even says, this is a high profile case. You darn right. So what was she

Starting point is 00:25:45 thinking? Let me go ahead and screw this thing up and I'll leave and leave them in there. And there's more. Listen. You know what? Just stop it, Cindy. I can't stand to even hear her voice. She's in the driveway talking about saving herself, and the house explodes. When the two little boys are found, their necks have been chopped with an axe, and practically all the evidence is destroyed. Yeah, defects did a great job on that one. And what about little Harmony Montgomery? Do you remember Harmony? Because I sure do.

Starting point is 00:26:36 Harmony Montgomery had been abused and mistreated. Her mom deserted her and she was with her father who abused her even her biological uncle called and reported to defects he had seen her with a black eye what happened she disappeared all that's been left found of her is some type of a gooey substance that was found where her body was decomposing. We managed to match up DNA. Take a listen to Dave Mackin, 24, from Crime Online. Harmony Montgomery was placed in the custody of the Department of Child and Families in 2014 when she was two months old. She remained in the custody of DCF until February of 2019 when Harmony's father, Adam Montgomery, was awarded custody by the Juvenile Court of Massachusetts. Harmony Montgomery was last seen by her biological mother, Crystal Sori, Easter 2019.

Starting point is 00:27:39 After the video call with Harmony, her mother says Adam Montgomery blocked all contact with her. In November 2021, Crystal Sori calls police and tells them about Harmony and how she can't find her. Police try and make contact. Failing that, DCF is called. Even though Harmony Montgomery had been in and out of foster care for most of her short life, a judge placed her with her father. And now nobody, including DCF, seems to know what happened to her or where she is. Because she was murdered by her father after CPS put her back in the custody of her father. And I've got so many pages of cases where little babies, children are given back to their abusers and then die. I mean, this child has 20 water beads, batteries and screws coming out of

Starting point is 00:28:26 her rear end. How hard do you think that was for this little girl to pass all that? But yet, where do they send her? Straight back to, as I said, the lion's den. Listen to this. Police obtained the cell phones of Owens and Jacoby. Forensic extractions of Owens' cell phone show she searched online for topics such as if your child drinks a lot of nail polish remover, what happens? And what happens if a baby eats nail polish? And how many cases have there been from babies dying from eating nail polish? Another search on Owens' phone was in how many cases have kids died from eating nail polish? Another search on Owen's phone was, in how many cases have kids died from eating water beads, water beads harmful, water beads near me,

Starting point is 00:29:13 and beauty products that are poisonous to kids? According to the Newcastle News, those searches were a month before Iris was hospitalized from the water beads. If these searches had been done after baby Iris went to the doctor, they might be a little more understandable, but they were all ahead of time. Jarrett Fiorentino, this woman, this living girlfriend, nurse in training, according to her, might as well take out a billboard on 3rd Avenue and say, I murdered a baby. These, I hear nothing more than intent. Nancy, just lying in wait, planning.

Starting point is 00:29:50 They're horrific. These searches, when you consider what happened to baby Iris, it's so much information is gleaned from reviewing these cell phones. And as you said, if these were after the fact, she could be looking for answers as far as what happened to Iris. They're before. It's before she passed these items. And clearly, it's after she administered these items to the baby. You know, to Candace Alfera and Frank Alfera, these are Iris' maternal grandparents who treated Iris as their baby, just 18 months old.

Starting point is 00:30:27 What went through your mind, Mrs. Alfira, when you found out about the girlfriend's Google searches? My heart was broken that anybody could do that to a baby, let alone our baby. I never, ever thought that we would be living without her. I had so much hate, so much hate. When I look at these texts, I mean, these searches, Dr. Bethany Marshall, I want you to hear more of the girlfriend. This is Alicia Owen's internet searches. Listen to Sydney Sumner, Crime Online. The investigation into Alicia Owen's cell phone reveals that before Iris was hospitalized, Owen searched for symptoms of swallowing a battery, what happens if a baby swallows a battery, and mom warns parents dangers of water beads. Then, over the weekend,

Starting point is 00:31:26 Iris visited her father and later passed the water beads and batteries at her mother's home. Owen searched medications that can be poisoning a child. Think about it, Dr. Bethany. Think about these searches. If your child drinks a lot of nail polish remover, what happens? What happens if a baby eats nail polish? How many cases have there been from babies dying from eating nail polish? Nancy, you know, I just think about what little baby Iris suffered when she was in the care of this woman, because what we're seeing is, you know, the water beads that were ingested, the screws, the batteries. But what we're not really able to wrap our mind around is other forms of maltreatment. What did she feed the baby?

Starting point is 00:32:15 How did she hold the baby? What did the baby have nutrition? Did she hit the baby? Did she, you know, drop the baby purposely on the floor? I mean, these are just the forms of abuse that are measurable. But as we all know, there are forms of child abuse that are not measurable and that we can't even fathom. So, you know, an 18-month-old is sentient, is emotional, loves the people around them, you know, thinks of all adults as lovable, lovable figures, wants to be held. And yet she was with this monster who is doing, inflicting all kinds of harm.

Starting point is 00:32:51 It just makes me shudder to think of what was happening in that household. And of course, Jira Fiorentino, while a polygraph is typically not allowed into evidence at a criminal trial. Evidence of searches about how to beat a polygraph absolutely are admissible. Listen to Rachel Bonilla, crimeonline.com. During the days Iris Alfira was in the hospital as well as the day after she passes away, investigators discover numerous online searches conducted on Alicia Owens' phone

Starting point is 00:33:24 for information on how to pass a polygraph test back to candace and frank alfira mr alfira thank you again for being with us when you found out about these internet searches what went through your mind i i just couldn't believe that she could do that i mean mean, like I said, it's bad enough to search something like that, but to actually go through it and do it to that poor little innocent baby. I just, I don't know. I can't explain. It's just hard. It's just real hard.

Starting point is 00:34:00 Did you guys ever meet the girlfriend before this incident? No, not really. My daughter asked him if she could meet her. She said, you know, because she was going to be with her daughter, that she would like to have a meeting and sit down and talk to her. And he refused. And Emily said, just please don't leave Iris with her because she's young and it's not her baby. She won't have the patience that I have or you have and he left the baby. He left the baby

Starting point is 00:34:35 with the live-in. Guys, it's not just the ingestion of fingernail polish remover, batteries, and a screw. It's so much more than that that was done to this little baby Iris. Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. Doctors at UPMC Children's Child Advocacy Center reported to police that Iris suffered a subdural hematoma and bilateral retinal hemorrhages. It was also determined acetone was present in her blood and her body was found in organ failure. The Newcastle News reports one doctor indicated the injuries occurred during the weekend while Iris was in the custody of Owens and Jacoby. Another physician indicated that because of the nature and severity of the baby's condition, any reasonable caretaker would have recognized significant alterations with Iris' cognition and function immediately after the event that caused the injuries.

Starting point is 00:35:30 Owens and Jacoby told police Iris had vomited a few times but otherwise seemed normal. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Dr. William Maroney joining us, preeminent medical examiner and toxicologist. Dr. Maroney, what does all that mean? Subdural hematoma, bilateral retinal hemorrhages, organ failure, high levels of acetone. What does all this mean? What it means is that acetone was the least of her problems. That baby was shaken and had its head slammed into a table or slammed into a wall. That baby has a brain bleed, an organized red cell platelets brain bleed, just like a car accident hitting a windshield,

Starting point is 00:36:36 but it has its hands and against furniture or a wall. There's multiple layers of fatal incidents here. This is demonic. Larry Forletta, private investigator and founder of Forletta Investigative Security Consulting. Larry, how would you go about proving this case? I mean, we've got the internet searches. What else would you look for? I think you look

Starting point is 00:37:05 at note of what was behind this. I think it's clear this was premeditated, all the researches that she did on the internet. And the one thing about acetone that I wanted to add, as a retired DEA agent, acetone is commonly used to make, it's one of the ingredients that makes methamphetamine. So it is a volatile substance and it's extremely dangerous. And that's why a lot of times that meth labs blow up. So it's that dangerous, even handling this type of product. So it's acetone because Larry and all the years I prosecuted would hear about a house blowing, just blowing up spontaneously. We're like, somebody would say, do you think they had a gas leak? I'm like, no, they were cooking up meth

Starting point is 00:37:52 and it blew up. So acetone is what makes the house blow up. It's part of, yeah, it's part of the chemical process that the drug traffickers use and add it with some other ingredients like freon phosphorus, it becomes very volatile. And that's the danger of acetone besides the, you know, what effect it has ingested because you'll see a lot of the methamphetamine users actually have sores on the outer part of their faces. And it's just it's really devastating to a human body. To Sheriff Tarantino, of course, the state never has to prove the motive. But a jury is going to want to know why would the living girlfriend, daddy's girlfriend, do this to the baby? Nancy, I've seen this and I know you've seen it.

Starting point is 00:38:47 It's jealousy. It's another little woman in her boyfriend's life. It's a constant reminder of Emily, Jacoby's ex and Iris's mommy. I mean, that's what this is about. It's total jealousy and selfishness. And that's where we've seen these kinds of cases in the past. This woman would rather see Iris out of the picture so she could move forward with her relationship as the only woman in Jacoby's life. Candace Alfera, Frank Alfera, is this true?

Starting point is 00:39:21 Why would the girlfriend, daddy's girlfriend, hate baby Iris so much, Ms. Alfaro? She was so jealous of Emily and the relationship they had as co-parenting. They were wonderful together. I will say that. She would call him if he wanted the baby on a day that he wasn't supposed to have her, Emily said here. If Emily wanted the baby early for something, he would say, come get her. They were wonderful together, co-parenting, and she was so jealous that she turned him against Emily. Then the baby was in the way. Once she got rid of Emily and made Bailey and

Starting point is 00:40:08 Em separate completely as co-parents, she had to get rid of Iris. That's what I said. The baby was a wedge between those two. And she was just jealous and she had to get rid of the baby. And that's what she did. Dr. Bethany, have you ever seen jealousy manifest like this? You know, Nancy, unfortunately, I have. And sadly, you know, even in my Beverly Hills office, with very wealthy, affluent families, once there's a divorce, and once a child is shared back and forth between households, all kinds of negative emotions begin to intrude. And I think one of the most difficult things for mothers when their babies go back and forth between households is the thought that another child and they always want to meet the other woman. They want to make sure that the baby is safe. They want to know, you know, who is this person? Well, my baby is interested in that person's care. But then when envy and jealousy begin to get intruded into the situation,

Starting point is 00:41:18 it is really, really horrible. And when DFACS gets involved to reunite children with their families, they really want both biological parents to be involved in the baby's life, even if they're in separate households. So they tend not to listen to these very nuanced situations where the baby's left alone with a non-biological caretaker who hates the baby. And Alicia hated this baby because this baby was the tie between her boyfriend and the boyfriend's. And speaking of the boyfriend, to hate with him being the boyfriend, he is Iris's biological father. That's his first duty he needs to get the death penalty just like her they both need the maximum sentence why should he walk free and her be the one he knew what was happening it was happening on his watch right right yes that's right. He found his daughter. He put that witch evil person first and his daughter second. When I gave him that warning about the water beads, he should have opened his eyes and watched.

Starting point is 00:42:35 What has your life been like, Mrs. Alfaro, since this happened to baby Iris? My heart is broken. I will will never ever know what happiness is again i'm not being dramatic i'm not being anything i look at my daughter and my heart breaks and i think of my granddaughter and it breaks again i have to watch my daughter without her baby i have to think i go past an ice cream store and I think my daughter will never take her baby to the park or to get ice cream ever again. How does she live with this? How does she live with it? How do I live watching my daughter without her baby, with a broken heart. Mr. Alfira, Iris' grandfather, what has your life been like since Iris was killed?

Starting point is 00:43:35 Oh, it's been horrible. I got a hole in my heart that'll never, that'll always be there. And I just miss that baby. I love that baby. And I just miss that baby. I love that baby. And I worry about my daughter, too, because of what happened here. And she doesn't have her. She had outfits, matching outfits for both of them all the time. Every time she took her out, she always had her on her hip.

Starting point is 00:44:03 She took her everywhere. And I just loved that baby. She bought her a big, what's that called, playpen. It was like five foot across by six foot long. And I used to get in there and play with the baby. And I just, it's just horrible. It's just terrible. I don't understand it. I just don't understand it. I just don't know how you put one foot in front of the other. Because,

Starting point is 00:44:34 you know, after my fiance was murdered, I thought I knew all about grief. But when I had the twins, my children, I just don't even know how I could live or if I could live if they were taken away from me. And I want you to know that ever since we found out about Iris, I found out because somebody tweeted it to me. I didn't know anything about her case. But as soon as I found out about it, I passed it on to our whole staff and we have been praying for baby Iris for you, the two of you and for Iris' mom

Starting point is 00:45:12 ever since we found out what happened but I want you to know we are also praying for justice and let it rain down we want justice but it will never bring the baby back. Anything that happens will never bring that poor baby back.

Starting point is 00:45:30 All we have is pictures and texts and ashes. That's all we have of the baby. We will continue to highlight the case to hopefully make the prosecutors seek the maximum. Please join us again and please know you are in our prayers. If you know or think you know of a child in danger, please call our friends at Child Help 800-422-4453. 800-422- 4453 Goodbye.

Starting point is 00:46:14 This is an iHeart Podcast.

Pet Camera - EBO Air 2

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BABY IRIS DEAD After Daddy's JEALOUS MISTRESS Feeds Her Nail Polish Remover, Batteries

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.

Your Ad Here

Pet Camera - EBO Air 2

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BABY IRIS DEAD After Daddy's JEALOUS MISTRESS Feeds Her Nail Polish Remover, Batteries

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.