Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BF Forces Woman to Write "Goodbye" Letters to Her Children | Crime Alert 03.20.25

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

Man holding his girlfriend hostage threatens her life and forces her to write goodbyes to her children. Air pods help cops catch disgruntled employee turned thief.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace, breaking crime news now. Illinois cops get a disturbing 911 call from a woman who says her boyfriend's been holding her hostage three days. The bruised and bloody woman says Mercado Quintero attacked her when she tried to break up, then bound her hands with electrical tape and rope. Quintero threatened to kill her and fired a gun into up, then bound her hands with electrical tape and rope. Quintero threatened to kill her and fired a gun into the floor, inches from her foot. Most unnerving, he forced her to write goodbye letters to all of her children. Nancy, the woman was finally able

to call 911 when Quintero left for work. Police found her with two black eyes and other bruises. Officers recovered both the goodbye letters and the handgun Quintero threatened her with in his home. Quintero was arrested when he returned to the home that evening. The victim said to be released from the hospital and recovering from the terrifying ordeal. Mercado Quintero, 44, now charged with kidnapping, domestic abuse, assault and gun violations. Mechanics at Fort Myers, Florida, Nissan arrived to work to find their toolboxes missing. The items inside worth roughly $100,000. Detectives don't have much to go on until one of the mechanics says he left AirPods in his toolbox and they're pinging

from a storage facility 10 miles away. Officers tracked down the AirPods to Michael Hohner's unit. Turns out, Hohner had recently been fired from Nissan and blamed the other mechanics for him getting fired. Cops find Hohner at his new job with Audi, where he's arrested for grand theft and burglary. Bye-bye job at Audi. More crime and Justice News after this. Now with the latest Crime and Justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. In the Idaho student murder case, prosecutors say Daniel Koberger's defense team will argue that DNA evidence tying him to the crime scene could have been planted. Lada County Prosecutor Bill Thompson claims in a new court filing that Koberger's attorneys won't dispute the presence of his DNA on a knife sheath found in the victim's home, but will argue it doesn't prove he was there and may have been placed by someone else. Koberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho

students, Ethan Chapin, Zaina Kernodle, Madison Mogan, and Kaylee Gonsalves in their off-campus home in November 2022. Investigators say they used genetic genealogy to link Koberger to the knife sheath. His defense tried to exclude that evidence, but a judge ruled it will remain in the case. Prosecutors say they won't present the genealogy findings at trial,

only that a tip led them to Koberger. The trial is set to begin August 11th and could last more than three months. If convicted, Koberger could face the death penalty. In Troy, Michigan, a deadly explosion inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber has led to criminal charges against four individuals. Crime Online correspondent Sydney Sumner has the details. On January 31st, 5-year-old Thomas Cooper was undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the Oxford Center in Troy, Michigan, when a pressurized chamber exploded, killing him instantly.

His mother, standing nearby, was injured trying to save him. Hyperbaric therapy delivers pure oxygen in a pressurized environment, making it highly combustible. While the FDA approves it for conditions like severe burns and decompression sickness, the Oxford Center administered it for unapproved uses such as ADHD and sleep apnea. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says the facility neglected critical safety measures. The center's founder, Tamela Peterson, facility manager Gary Markin, and safety manager Jeffrey Mosteller faced second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Chamber operator Alita Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and falsifying medical records. Investigators

found the facility was operating outdated equipment without proper accreditation. The case raises serious concerns about the risks of unregulated medical treatments. Thanks, John. Tiara McWilliams leaves her boyfriend shortly after the birth of their daughter, Amira, moving from Houston to Wisconsin. After years of Amira's father asking, Tiara agrees to let Amira, now five, spend the summer with dad. However, when summer ends, he refuses to return the little girl. Tiara travels to Houston to get Amira back, but dad refuses to leave Amira alone with Tiara. With no formal custody agreement, police refuse to assist Tiara, who eventually returns home confused.

Four years after dropping her off with her father, Tierra learns he's been incarcerated for months. No one has seen Amira for six months. Her dad claims he left Amira with a woman in Waco, Texas, but police cannot locate anyone matching his description at the address he provided. Amira, African American, would now be 16. If you have info on Amira Dedrick, please call Houston PD 713-884-3131 or call Waco PD about Amira Dedrick 254-750-7500. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our very best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.