Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Beautiful 28-yo Shannon Graves’ body parts sealed in plastic bags, stored in freezer while look-a-like allegedly steals identity

Episode Date: March 21, 2019

A Youngstown, Ohio, woman who was reported missing in 2017 was discovered dismembered and stored in a freezer six months later. Now, three people are awaiting trial for the murder of Shannan Graves. Nancy Grace explores this disturbing case with experts including South Carolina medical examiner Dr. Michelle Dupre -- author of "Homicide Investigation Field Guide," Atlanta psychologist Dr. Wendy Dickinson -- founder of Grow Counseling, North Carolina family and divorce lawyer John Lemley. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A missing woman's body was the one being stored in a camel freezer. Police have just confirmed that it was Shannon Graves. She hadn't been seen for several months. First News anchor Stan Boney THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND

SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY.

THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL

CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND

SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. THE WOMEN'S IDENTITY WAS FOUND SATURDAY IN A FREEZER IN CAMEL CITY. the identity of the woman found Saturday in a freezer in Camel. Her name is Shannon Graves. She is 28 years old. For a while, she was actually on the Ohio Attorney General's missing persons list. The confirmation of the identity of Shannon Graves was made this afternoon after an autopsy done by the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office. Shannon Graves, just 28 years old,

goes missing for a period of time and then she is reported missing by her family. So how does a body end up in a freezer? First, I want to find out, well, you know, let's just start at the beginning. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I've got an all-star panel lined up to figure this out. How does a woman go? A young woman in the prime of her life, just 28 years old, got her whole life in front of her, got parents, got siblings, people that love her. How does she end up not just in a freezer? You know why it took so long to figure out who it was? She was dismembered.

What, did they just move over the ground beef? They just move her body over and reach through the ground beef down to the frozen pepperoni pizza? How did this happen to this beautiful young girl? I'm looking at her right now. She looks like she should be on the front of some organic, natural living, wholesome magazine. Jackie, look at her. Look how pretty.

I mean, when you, yeah, yeah, that's exactly what I thought. Jackie said it looks like clean living. She's beautiful. I don't mean that in a homely kind of way, like no makeup and frumpy hair, all that. She's beautiful. She's got kind of brownish honey blonde hair pulled over. It looks like a kind of a loose side pony. She's got big, beautiful brown eyes, a very pretty smile. She's just pretty. She looks like the girl next door. With me, Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide.

Dr. Wendy Dickinson, psychologist, founder of Grow Counseling. Stephen Lampley, detective extraordinaire. Kathleen Murphy, veteran trial lawyer out of North Carolina. Nima Haddadi, former California prosecutor, trial veteran. But right now to John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Who is this woman? Why is she in a freezer? Nancy, the way you've described Shannon Elizabeth Graves is really perfect.

You know, she's like somebody's beloved daughter or granddaughter or best friend. And she was all of those things. Yeah, I was going to say correction. She's not like somebody's beloved. She is somebody's beloved daughter. I mean, don't start on beloved children because I have been a nervous wreck about children. My children, they're 11. Nima Haddadi, Dr. Wendy Dickinson.

You may not have heard me go on and on and on about them, but they're 11-year-old twins. They're my world. John David just fractured his foot walking off the playground. And Lucy, Santa, what was he thinking i disagreed with this but santa brought a trampoline lucy jumped on a ball instead of the trampoline and sprained her ankle and then the dog the dachshund mutt hurt his back everybody's sick and i think about it all day long while they're at school yes this woman is beloved her parents probably thought about her all the time, like I think about the twins all the time, John Lindley. And most of her family last remember

seeing Shannon on Christmas Day. Now, her sister Debbie DePaul says that she last saw her almost two months later in mid-February. That's when Debbie says she spent some time with Shannon at her apartment with Shannon's boyfriend. But then Shannon misses two key family events that spring. First, her sister's birthday in March, and then Easter, too, which was a big celebration for the family. On that year in 2017, Easter was on April 16th. Debbie says that it was not unusual for Shannon to go really long periods of time without communicating with family members. However, by the time June arrived,

this is when she had passed a threshold that she'd never crossed before. So Shannon had never gone so long without contacting someone. So that's when the family decided this time was different. Something was wrong. So they filed a missing person report with the Youngstown, Ohio Police Department. Shannon's name was also very quickly added to the Ohio General's missing persons website. When they spoke with police, the family told them that what really bothered them this time about Shannon's disappearance is what she left behind. Her car, her cell phone, and most importantly, her dog.

That's something they say Shannon would never in a million years do is leave her dog behind. Oh goodness, no. I want you to take a listen to our friend at WKBN-TV. Shannon Graves, 28-year-old, was added to the Ohio Attorney General's missing persons website earlier this month after concerns about her well-being. Tonight, we reached out to the homeowner who discovered the body. He told us he is too distraught to talk after finding out that it was Shannon Graves in the freezer. Just like you're saying, John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news, CrimeOnline.com. The fact that she left behind her dog. And I want to go for a moment to our new panelist, Atlanta psychologist,

founder of Grow Counseling, Dr. Wendy Dickinson. You know, Dr. Wendy Dickinson, it was a technique I used often in court, but really, I just recently heard a formal name to it. It's called routine evidence, evidence of routine. I would argue to a jury this person departed from their regular routine. And I just noticed it was being called that in the Adnan Syed case, which is part of Serial, the podcast. Here you've got a woman that goes about the same routine all the time. And suddenly you find her cell phone, her purse, and most important, her dog has been abandoned. Yeah, there's obviously something going on when we see somebody who just immediately changes their routine. It's one of the factors that we've looked for in assessing, has there

been a trauma? Is there somebody in the person's life that has impacted them in a way that's caused them to change their routine. We look for maybe a head trauma or something that's organic in nature, kind of a biomechanical issue with them. Because those all point to something's changed, something's different. Well, you know what, I'm glad you're such an optimist dr wendy dickinson because stephen lampley uh from where you and i sit when somebody leaves their dog their cell phone in their purse behind they're dead okay dr wendy dickinson thinks hey maybe they've had a traumatic event maybe they're reeling emotionally i'm like they're dead that's usually true nancy of course there are the outside events where a person has become delirious or injured and is wandering about. But as you and I know, most of the time, that's what's happened.

They're dead somewhere. One way Shannon was remembered was with pictures scattered on the railing throughout the gazebo. There were also candles and boxes of tissues. T-shirts were being sold saluting Youngstown girls on the front and justice for Shannon on the back. Even Shannon's dog Molly now in the care of Debbie was there. It's not the easiest. I have my moments but there's a lot going on so I'm just trying to stay strong and keep going. As people arrived there was some talking but for the most part they were quiet, solemn, remembering Shannon Graves. It's a good thing. It's good for people you know that are missing her and it's uh I think it's good for

awareness of what's going on with the whole thing because it's pretty foul. Yeah, foul is one way to put it. WKBN-TV, Stan Boney reporting right there. You know, I just don't know sometimes how many more of these I can take to Nima Haddadi, former California prosecutor. You, like I, and Lampley have probably seen it all. I guess I could throw Kathleen Murphy and Limley in that. Well our whole panel but Nima do you ever get beaten down when you see another scene of candles and pictures and tissues and stuffed animals because you know someone has been killed and all the candles in the world are not going to bring them back and the only thing left for somebody like you or me to do is to seek justice. That's the only thing I knew to do in court. I would get so overwhelmed with this murder and that murder and this trial molestation and that arson.

It just seemed to make me meaner and meaner and meaner because it's all I could do is fight back. I'm with you. Exact same feelings and candles and pictures. It humanizes everything so much, and it just brings it down to the core, and it's devastating, you know. And the only thing you can do is just push forward and fight and bring justice to these poor, devastated families. And I know, you know, with me from L.A. is Alan Dukin here in the studio, Jackie Howard. Sometimes we talk about, you know, sound or pictures that complement our story, that help explain it. And I'll say sound of vigil.

I'm like, I don't want any vigil. They're like, why? Because it doesn't help. It doesn't help solve the case. So, John Lindley, can we move from the vigil, which I appreciate. I appreciate as a crime victim what that means to the family to have a vigil and remember, Shannon, but I want

results, John Lindley. You tell me this girl is dismembered in a freezer? Uh-huh. What happened next? Well, before they even find her body in the freezer, police began checking jails, prisons, hospitals, anywhere to see if they could find Shannon in any of those facilities. Why did you say that about her? This girl doesn't have a record?

No, but they've run out of leads. And so they're looking any and everywhere just to see if something has happened along the way. Then a couple of months into the investigation, there's some shocking news coming out of Campbell, Ohio. This is just a 10-minute drive from Youngstown. Word is that a couple living in Campbell have made a horrific discovery in their own house, in their basement, and they think a friend of theirs has something to do with it. Oh, well, don't stop there. Go ahead. Well, the beginning of the story goes back when Ken Eshenbaugh says a friend introduced him to a man named Anthony Gonzalez. Well, Ken says he became friends with Anthony because Ken owned some audio equipment and Anthony was interested in recording rap music.

Fast forward to the middle of the July. This is when Anthony asks Ken for a favor. Anthony tells Ken that the electricity has gone out in his home and he's concerned that some meat he was keeping in a freezer was in danger of thawing, going bad. So when Anthony asked Ken if he could bring the freezer to his home in Campbell, Ken said, sure, no problem. Anthony arrives at night with a friend, according to Ken, bringing the freezer through a back door and into the basement. It wasn't until three days, maybe, Ken says, after the freezer arrived in his house that Ken's wife notices that it's secured with a padlock. He says he doesn't think too much about

it because Anthony could be a little unusual, a little odd at times. That freezer sat in the basement for a few weeks until one Saturday morning when Ken's wife planned to make some spaghetti and meatballs. She thought she would just borrow some hamburger from the freezer and then replace it later. No harm done. Ken's wife told him that she removed the three screws that secured the padlock to the freezer. She must have really wanted spaghetti and meatballs to go into somebody she doesn't know doesn't know freezer in the hopes she might find some hamburger meat in there. Unscrews the padlocks. Gets in there.

I don't believe that for one minute, Kathleen Murphy. She just wanted to know what was in the freezer. She wanted that beef in the freezer. She wanted to eat that spaghetti. They were going to make spaghetti that night, but she didn't want to run to the grocery store. Kathleen, she didn't know what was in there. She didn't know if there was ground beef or anything, but the reality is it doesn't matter why she went into the freezer. What matters is what she found, what she got in there, John Limley. Yeah, she begins rummaging through the freezer

and comes upon a large garbage bag inside. This is when Ken's wife says she immediately got a bad feeling. She put everything back in, replaced the three screws, and called her husband. And when Ken arrives at home, he opens the freezer and found that whatever was inside the bag was frozen solid. So he got out a knife. Is everybody trying to tell me nobody looked in the bag? You know, joining me is Stephen Lampley, a detective extraordinaire. Stephen, everybody better get their story straight and tell the truth. They can't say, wow, I want a spaghetti and meatballs. And I just thought maybe this freezer that's padlocked in the basement that belongs to somebody else might

have some frozen meatballs in it. So I went and broke into it, unscrewed all the hinges, took off the padlock and found a dead body. No, she has to tell the truth. I was curious. I had a bad feeling. I opened the freezer. It's in my basement. I can open whenever I want to in my basement because little lies like that, if it is a lie, maybe she just was on an insatiable quest for meatballs. But even a little lie can ruin a prosecution, Stephen Lampley. Nancy, you're absolutely correct. And you know well more than the rest of us do about prosecuting murder cases. I don't believe that as well. Of course, that's my opinion.

I think you're right. I think she was curious as to what was in the freezer, and that's when they made the discovery on the body parts. And, of course, it's my understanding not all of her body parts were in there. Okay, thank you for that last touch. Not all the body parts were in there. Okay, thank you for that last touch. Not all the body parts were in there. You know, to Dr. Wendy Dickinson, what is it about human curiosity? Why not just admit,

I was curious about why they stored the freezer here, and I opened the padlock. Why make up a story about meatballs? Well, I have to imagine that after she found the body in there, she was completely freaked out and afraid that she was going to be implicated in some way. But I think you're right. At the core of it, it sounds like she's curious and just wanted to know what's in the padlocked fridge, freezer.

Why do you have a padlock on your freezer? That's not normal. And I'll tell you another reason I'm worried to Nima Haddadi, former California prosecutor. Nima, you know this jury charge as well as I do. I'm sure the jury, it is their, the sole province of a jury to determine credibility of a witness. In other words, are they telling the truth or not? Not the judge, not the prosecutor, not the defense. And there is a jury charge that the judge gives at the end of every case before the jury makes the deliberations. And it is if you disbelieve the witness in any part, in some, in part, in whole, you're entitled to throw out all of their testimony from your deliberations.

Now, think about it, Nima. Follow me along with this for a moment. Tell me what you think. If that's true and you have one nut back in the jury room and they decide this woman that opens the padlock is lying about why she went into the freezer, they could throw out all of her testimony. You know what that leaves? A perfect story for the defense. That she did it, that she and her husband did it. And they're trying to pin it on somebody else, because if you could throw out all of her testimony about discovering the body, then the state's got a problem. Yeah, this is pretty terrible for the prosecution. When you have a witness that even a little bit, a little white lie could destroy their credibility.

And that would be the end of their entire testimony. And without this piece, it will make this case difficult for the prosecution. So bottom line, I believe the woman is completely innocent. I think she got curious and opened up the freezer as I would to padlock freezer in my basement. No way. And she found the worst discovery of all, a dead body. So question, how did Shannon Graves get into the freezer? Not on her own because she's dismembered. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Youngstown City Prosecutor Dana Lance said just after Graves was last seen five months ago, Layton moved in, drove Graves' car, used her cell phone, and even cared for her dog. Then on July 24th, a witness told police Leighton and Nevoa moved a padlocked freezer to a Devitt Avenue home in Camel. Five days later, the homeowner called police after finding human remains inside. Well, that's certainly a love match. Arturo Nevoa, who is Shannon's then boyfriend at the time she goes missing her live-in he's already slung up with another woman John Limley another woman who is driving Graves's car using her cell phone taking care of her dog what right and this name Arturo Nivoa is one we haven't heard yet because that's not the name he was using when he was with his girlfriend. Also, when he was with

these friends that were keeping a friend, a freezer. Let me guess. Arturo Novoa is the same guy. I think you said Anthony that wanted somebody else to, quote, store his freezer. So correct. Anthony Gonzalez and Arturo Novoa, one in the same, but his name is really Arturo Navoa. You know what I always love? And let me throw this to Dr. Wendy Dickinson, Atlanta psychologist, founder of Grow Counseling. I love reading an indictment to a jury because, you know, when you start a felony case, the prosecution reads the indictment. And I love reading that indictment out loud, especially when there are a string of aliases behind the defendant's name. For instance, Jackie Howard, aka also known as

Jay Ho, also known as the Jack. And you go on and on and on and on. And finally, the jury's like, I don't have an alias. I don't have a, quote, street name. Why does this person have so many names? Having multiple names is never a sign of good things, Wendy. Yeah, I mean, when you look at somebody who has a string of multiple names, you start to wonder what is it that they're trying to cover up. You know, we look at behavior that's outside of the normal curve of behavior. And like you said, most of us use one name. We're straightforward about who we are.

That's our identity. When somebody has these versions of themselves and they're trying to portray in different ways, it starts to raise questions about what their real intentions are. Same thing, Alan Deak, when a guy has multiple cell phones. Alan, I'm always suspicious. Why have more than one cell phone? Who do you want to call on one phone versus the other phone? Alan? Well, one's for business and one's for family. Mm-hmm. Okay. Let me go back to you, John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter.

So we figured this much out. But what I don't know, who is Layton? I know Arturo Nivoa, a.k.a. Anthony. Who is Layton? That is Arturo Nivoa's new girlfriend, Katrina Layton. Or maybe she's not a new girlfriend. Maybe she's been a girlfriend the whole time. That's for investigators to find out. Both of them have been booked into the county jail. Youngstown police tell us that although Nevoa denied knowing

anything about a body inside a freezer, he had the keys to the padlock when he was arrested. Okay, that's pretty damning to Dr. Michelle Dupree. Now we really need you. Dr. Dupree, medical examiner out of South Carolina, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Just the title alone makes me want to stay up at night and read that. And sadly, I'm not kidding. Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Wow. Okay, Dr. Michelle Dupree, we know that this young girl, 28 years old, Shannon Graves, is in the freezer. She's dismembered. How do you salvage a frozen body? And what does literally nonstop freezing temperature do to human remains? I'm going to answer those all very good questions. And there's several things we have to consider. One is we do have to defrost the body, but we have to do it in such a way so that it doesn't occur rapidly.

So there's as little damage as possible to the skin and to the tissue. How do you do that? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You just told me something I've never thought of. I've had plenty of cases where the body had been frozen. But you're telling me you have to unthaw it in a particular way so as to decrease the likelihood of damage? What do you mean by that? Well, so that if we need to do microscopic studies, and we always try to do microscopic studies in our autopsies, so that we can preserve as much tissue as possible without the frozen artifact.

So we just defrost it slowly. You mean you just let the body sit there? You certainly don't warm it up in any way, do you? That's right. We just let it mostly sit there. Okay. So let me understand this. The body parts are in garbage bags, John Limley? Yes, correct. Okay. What happens then? The meatball aficionado finds the dead body in the padlocked freezer whoopsie I unscrewed the padlock and calls her husband I still don't believe that without knowing what was in the garbage bag she called her husband I think she looked in there and she saw a body but that's just me but they better get that nailed down before they go to trial the husband comes home they confirm it's

a body and then what happens this is when very quickly police discover the identity of Arturo Navoa, aka Anthony Gonzalez, and his girlfriend, charge them. Now, as for this girlfriend, Katrina Layton, it's discovered that during this time period, she had, since Shannon's disappearance, she had essentially taken over Shannon's life, even taking care of her dog and driving her car after her appearance. And one important point, Katrina Layton was also the one who bought that freezer where the body was kept for who knows how long. OK, this is what I don't understand. And I'm not to that point yet because I don't know all the facts. But how, how does one person murder somebody and dismember the body and everybody else just goes along with it? I'm going to go out to my partner in crime, Alan Duke. Alan, you and I have covered so many cases.

You were at CNN long before me. You were with me so many nights at HLN. We covered so many cases where people commit a crime which is bad enough but those other people around it in the mix that knew what had happened that went a lot here you've got this woman layton i guess wearing her clothes taking care of her dog driving her car i mean she's got to know yeah it's like the in the tara grinstead case the trial going on uh Bo Dukes helped his friend Ryan burned the body in a pecan orchard why would you do that you didn't kill that person

why would you have anything to do with I I don't get I'm gonna have to go to shrink on that but let me get the rest of the facts so Lindley they they identify that it is Shannon no no they don't yet they identify that the freezer was brought over there by Arturo Nevoa under the name Anthony. And then they piece together that the girlfriend, Leighton, has been driving Shannon's car and taking care of her dog. Okay, then what happens? Well, they discovered that after Shannon was killed and locked away in that freezer, this girlfriend, Katrina Layton, she had claimed Graves' identity and lived her life, but she didn't really, you know, she didn't go to the point of, you know, changing her name and identification and such. Nivoa and Layton allegedly moved inside of Shannon's home,

used her credit cards, even caring for her dog, all the while the community is searching for this young woman. So basically, Katrina moved in with Arturo, started living Shannon's life. She didn't hold herself out to be Shannon. She just lived her life using her phone, caring for a dog. Apparently, the two just wanted... Driving her car, wearing her clothes. I mean, that is impersonating her, John Lindley. Kathleen Murphy, that's going to look horrible if this ever goes to court, that she just walked into somebody's home. How could she argue she didn't know anything had happened to Shannon Grace

when she's taking care of her dog, wearing her clothes, driving her car, and using her cell phone with all of her contacts in it? Oh, Nancy, she didn't say she was impersonating the person. She said she was just using her item, using her ID, using her home, taking care of her dog. But to her, that's not impersonating. Her boyfriend, her apartment, her car, her driver's license, her credit cards, her dog, her cell phone. I mean. But she's not impersonating the person.

What am I missing? That is impersonating. That's what she said. I come into your house and I start wearing your clothes, taking care of your children, and having dinner with your husband, driving your car, and calling people on your cell phone. I'm going to say I'm not impersonating you.

Fine. Have it your way. Nima Haddadi, former California prosecutor, she's in deep, deep trouble. Yeah, she is. This is pretty terrible. Using somebody's ID, using the car, everything, that is impersonating somebody and seems like she's an accessory. There's no way she could have known about any of this. She needs to find a really good defense attorney and separate

herself and start to fight as soon as possible. Take a listen to Youngstown Lieutenant Doug Bobovnik and our friend, a WBN-TV. There were two arrests made. Two individuals were arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, and then the other individual was also additionally charged with obstructing justice in connection with the remains found in Campbell. We believe that we are investigating it because we believe that it originated in the city of Youngstown and was taken to Camel. Are those two people Arturo Navoa and Katrina Taylor? That's correct.

Can you tell us where in Camel, what street, what house it was? It was on Devitt Avenue in Camel. What can you say about the body that was found? It appears to be a female. However, we weren't able to closely examine it. The body was taken to Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, where there's going to be a forensic examination early this week. We'll be able to determine, hopefully, the cause of death.

The next step's today in a murder case that has garnered national attention. Two people accused in the murder of a woman and then putting her body in a freezer were in court today. First News reporter Tyler Trill was there and has the latest from the courtroom. NATIONAL ATTENTION. TWO PEOPLE ACCUSED IN THE MURDER OF A WOMAN AND THEN PUTTING HER BODY IN A FREEZER WERE IN COURT TODAY. FIRST NEWS REPORTER TYLER TRILL WAS THERE AND HAS THE LATEST FROM THE COURTROOM. THE COUPLE YOUNGSTOWN POLICE ACCUSED OF HIDING A MISSING WOMAN'S BODY INSIDE A FREEZER

PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO ALL THREE OF THEIR CHARGES INSIDE A MAHONING COUNTY COURTROOM THIS MORNING. ARTURO NOVOA AND KATRINA LAYTON ARE CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED MURDER, TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE AND ABUSE OF A CORPSE AFTER POLICE DISCOVERED THE BODY OF SHANNON GRAVES IN A are charged with aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse after police discovered the body of Shannon Graves in a freezer in a

Camel home in July. They've both been in Mahoning County Jail ever since. Graves is the ex girlfriend of Navo. The two live together in a home in Youngstown. Prosecutors say Katrina Layton then assumed Shannon Graves life after she had died. Bond was set at $1,000,000 for both Navo and Layton she had died. The bond was set at a million dollars for both Nivoa and LaTon back in July.

That bond continues. Out to John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. I noticed that these two are charged now with aggravated murder of this beautiful young girl, Shannon Graves, but two other people are charged with obstructing justice. So, bottom line, this Ohio man, 31 years old, Arturo Nivoa, hid his girlfriend's body in a freezer while living with another woman, also in her 30s, who assumed Shannon Graves' identity. It's Arturo Nivoa and Katrina Layton, arrested by Youngstown Police.

I learned about this story conveniently at a restaurant slash bar, I was not drinking, across the street from the courthouse in Youngstown. And what I heard left me shocked and upset, not just about the murder, but the fact that people would stand by and be part of this scheme. To John Lindley, I noticed that two people are charged, Nevoa and Layton, with Shannon's murder. But who are the other two people that are charged with obstruction? The names in the indictment, Andrew Herman and Michelle Enfield,

these two were charged on engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with evidence, 12 counts there, and abuse of a corpse. In short, they assisted Navoa with getting rid, hiding the body of Shannon Graves. I just want to make sure, John, we have one thing. The two names you read out, they're not the meatball lover, right? They're not the people that claim they find the body and they're shocked. Okay, so they're in the clear. They're the good guys in this scenario. Who are these two other people? How could they, you know, I don't get it. Nima Haddadi, former California prosecutor. I've seen it before where other people just stand by and let

something horrible happen and help in the cover-up and do nothing yeah this is pretty terrible um it seems like they actually helped conceal it seems like with that obstruction of justice charge they helped conceal the crime as well and then um it's just disgusting and the apartment that they lived in was actually Shannon Graves' apartment. Arturo Nivoa, the boyfriend, and then Layton, basically assume her life, all her belongings. They take over her life. These two have now landed in a court of law. Take a listen to this.

The next steps today in a murder case that has garnered national attention. Two people accused in the murder of a woman and then putting her body in a freezer were in court today. First News reporter Tyler Trill was there and has the latest from the courtroom. The couple Youngstown police accused of hiding a missing woman's body inside a freezer pleaded not guilty to all three of their charges inside a Mahoney County courtroom this morning. Arturo Novoa and Katrina Layton are charged with aggravated murder, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse after police discovered the body of Shannon Graves in a freezer in a Camel home in July. They've both been in Mahoning County Jail ever since. Graves is the ex-girlfriend of Navoa.

Graves' family reported her missing back in February. The two lived together in a home in Youngstown. Prosecutors say Katrina Layton then assumed Shannon Graves' life after she had died. Bond was set at a million dollars for both Nevoa and Layton back in July. That bond continues. Law enforcement also searched the couple's home, those that were charged with obstructing and helping hide the body. And they say, quote, the measures this group allegedly took to cover up the gruesome homicide are incomprehensible.

That's from the AG Mike DeWing. These three defendants are accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in attempt to mislead authorities and conceal the atrocious crime. Wow. How long they got away with her body being dismembered and frozen in a freezer sitting in somebody else's basement is just amazing to me. To Detective Stephen Lampley, how do you get away with something for that long? Well, Nancy, it depends on the situation. Look at Jeffrey Dahmer, for instance. Of course, this is no way, this is not a serial killing, but Jeffrey Dahmer got away with this forever. I mean, it seemed like it was an eternity that he was killing and getting away with it, and B was using a freezer himself. It just depends on the circumstance. It can be done,

and it has been done, and may be done again. I'm also learning that the missing woman's body, of course discovered in a freezer, was not complete. Her entire body has still not been found. I've also learned she was only identified through fingerprints in DNA. To medical examiner and author Dr. Michelle Dupree, what does that tell you? They had to identify her through fingerprints and DNA. Well, that tells me basically that the body was in a condition that it was unidentifiable by any other means. And identifying a deceased person through

fingerprints is relatively easy as long as we have tissue again that we can use to get a fingerprint from and something to match it to well in my mind nema hadati i don't know if you're thinking like me but what it tells me is she doesn't have a head they cannot identify her there cannot be a facial recognition they had to use fingerprints and dna that's what it tells me nema i don't know but i mean they couldn't identify her through dental records they could not identify her through facial recognition. They had to use her fingerprints, Nima. Yeah, this points to me, this was all premeditated. They thought about this.

This was done in a very articulate and disgusting manner and was well thought out. It's terrible. But Nancy, she may not have had a head, but she also could have just been too decomposed to have visual recognition. And unless we have something to compare dental records to, and we have an idea who that person is, there's no database in the sky for everybody's dental records. So fingerprints are an excellent way to do that. You know, what does that do to a family, Dr. Wendy Dickinson, that you don't have your child's whole body to bury? Potentially her head or some other part of her body is missing. Well, I mean, it's obviously a trauma on top of a trauma. I mean, the family has already been

through so much with her being missing and not knowing what's happening and finding out all of these details. But then not to be able to have the closure of being able to bury her and see her for one last time. It's extremely difficult on the family, on their grieving process, and really can lead to some pretty complex ramifications for the grieving. To John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where does the case stand now? Well, before I get to that, it's interesting to point out because we've talked about where these extra body parts that were missing have gone. This indictment shows that they disposed of Graves' body by both chopping it up, the parts that they found in the freezer,

and dissolving part of it in acid before sticking it in the freezer. Prosecutors allege that these people helped burn Graves' possessions, used her phone and car, and earlier this month, one of them, Eienfeld, even threatened someone who dared to ask her questions about Shannon and her disappearance. So at this point, first of all, Katrina Layton reached a plea deal. She was able to avoid sentencing by simply agreeing to testify against her boyfriend. Now, the other two, the trial date at this point is set for June 3rd, and this is when Arturo Navoa and his co-defendants,

Andrew Herman and his wife, Michelle Eienfeld, they will all go to trial on murder and disposal of Graves' body. At this hour, Arturo Navoa heading to trial for murder and disposal of Graves' body. At this hour, Arturo Navoa heading to trial for murder and abuse of a corpse. But what I will never understand is why other people willingly go along with evil and stand by and let it happen and do nothing. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.