Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Confessed Killer Blames GF's Murder on Their Pregnancy | Crime Alert 04.28.25

Episode Date: April 28, 2025

Man strangles his pregnant girlfriend, saying she knew children were a dealbreaker. Police search for a turkey in a grocery store, but this one isn't sliced! For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Indiana cops respond to a welfare call from Vidal Wegner to find a pregnant woman's body in his home. Wegner admits the woman's his girlfriend, Ariel Nevels, age 30. When asked if he killed her, Wagner first says, quote, no, dude, I didn't. She did this to herself. He explains when the couple first started dating, they discussed not having any children. But when she became pregnant, Ariel refused an abortion against his wishes. Wagner eventually tells police he strangled Ariel, who was seven months along. Nancy Wengner says he used both hands and his forearm to strangle Nevels in two different ways.

Wengner doubles down in his interview that Nevels was somehow responsible for her own murder. Quote, I told her this is the way. I had a beautiful future set up for us. She wanted to act crazy. She chose this. It didn't have to be this way. Nevels reportedly found out about the pregnancy when she was 10 weeks along and knew immediately she wanted to raise the baby. Nevels is survived by her parents, six siblings, and many other loving family members and friends. Needless to say, Vidal Wegner, 29, now charged with two counts of murder. Cops catch a wild turkey terrorizing customers in a pharmacy. St. Joseph County, Indiana, police respond to a panicked 911 call saying,

We need animal control. It's chasing the customers. Body cam shows officers in the pharmacy with a giant bird standing on top of shelves. An officer finally grabs the wild bird. Police say the officer is now, quote, certified in poultry negotiations. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. A decades-old mystery near Long Island's Gilgo Beach has taken a step forward. Nassau County police have identified the remains of 26-year-old Tanya Denise Jackson,

a U.S. Army veteran from Alabama, and her two-year-old daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes. Jackson was known only as Peaches for years, a nickname from a tattoo. Her remains were found in 1997, her daughters in 2011, both near Ocean Parkway, not far from where multiple other victims were discovered. Police say there's no current link to accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Hureman, who has pleaded not guilty to seven murders. Authorities used advanced DNA testing to identify the pair. Jackson, who served in the Army from 1993 to 1995, was buried with full military honors. The child's father is cooperating with police and is not a suspect. A $25,000 reward is being offered for information. A town hall in northern

Idaho turned chaotic, and now six men are facing charges. Crime Online correspondent Sydney Sumner has the story behind the viral video and the legal fallout. In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, six men have been charged in connection with the forcible removal of Dr. Teresa Borenpole from a February legislative town hall. Five of the men, Paul Truitt, Russell Dunn, Christopher Berg, Jesse Jones, and Alex Truitt IV, are linked to Lear Asset Management, a private security firm whose license was revoked by the city following the incident. A sixth man, Michael Keller, is not associated with the firm, but also faces a battery charge. Boren-Pole, a candidate in the district, had joined the crowd shouting when Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, in plain clothes but wearing his badge, approached her and asked her to leave. When she refused, video shows the sheriff stepping back and filming

as plain-clothes men, without identifying themselves or wearing uniforms, forcibly removed her. Borenpohl was initially cited for battery for allegedly biting one of the men, but that charge was later dropped after prosecutors reviewed video evidence. She has now filed a tort claim against Kootenai County, signaling plans to sue. In a statement, she said the incident and others shared with her since, quote, reinforced the importance of demanding accountability. Kootenai County officials say an outside agency is conducting an independent investigation. Thanks, John. Savannah Standing Bear, 22, tells her mother she's going out. That was over three weeks ago. No one's talked to Savannah since. Mother, Gaila Smith, said Savannah's never gone this long without contacting family.

Savannah, a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe, Pirmalee, South Dakota. She's 5'5", brown eyes, brown hair, with lighter colored streaks in it. Savannah was wearing a black shirt, distressed jeans, white Nike shoes, a tattoo under her right eye that says Gaila, one on her neck that says loyalty, and stars, moons, and a dollar sign on her fingers. There is a $5,000 reward. If you have info on Savannah's location, please dial 605-856-2282. 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 best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.