Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Coronavirus Crimes: The Next Wave

Episode Date: March 30, 2020

From scams to stupid and dangerous pranks, the list of crimes linked to the coronavirus outbreak grows. Today Nancy Grace and her panel of experts discuss the trend. Joining Nancy Grace today: Wendy Patrick- California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com  James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer (RET) Attorney Dr. Michelle Dupre South Carolina Medical Examiner & Author of “Homicide Investigation Field Guide” Caryn Stark NYC Psychologist, www.carynstark.com  Levi Page - Investigative reporter Crime Online  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Nancy Grace is coming to Fox Nation. I want justice. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace premieres March 9th only on Fox Nation. A supermarket is forced to throw away $35,000 of fresh food at a time when we need it so much? Coronavirus crimes, the next wave. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Welcome, I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for joining us here on Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111.

Take a listen to our friend at USA Today, Jordan Culver. The coronavirus is no joke, but not everyone is taking it seriously. Fox News reports that in Pennsylvania, a woman entered Garrity's supermarket and made her way to the produce aisle. The store's co-owner, Joe Fazula, said she then, quote, proceeded to purposely cough all over the store's fresh food before making her way to the bakery section, meat case, and other parts of the store doing the same. Fazula said about the incident, While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers.

Adding they had to purge the supermarket of everything the woman coughed on, which he estimates to be valued at around $35,000 worth of goods. Fazula says it's all precautionary, however, as he does not believe the woman to be infected and has been problematic for the Hanover Township community before. The woman was identified and criminal charges will now be filed. She is currently at a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. What would possess someone to go into the grocery store and purposefully cough on the produce? That would be the veggies and the fruits. The bakery section and the meat section. Purposefully coughing all over them to suggest you are tainting them with coronavirus.

From that sort of prank to allowing alleged murderers out of jail free to a tiny child clinging to mommy's dead body for days on end after mommy dies with coronavirus. The coronavirus crimes go on. Joining me in all-star panel, Stephen Lampley, detective, author of Outside Your Door at StephenLampley.com. Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, death investigator and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Ashley Wilcott, judge and trial lawyer, Court TV anchor at AshleyWilcott.com. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst. Joining us out of Beverly Hills at Drbethanymarshall.com. And first, to Levi Page, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter.

Levi, I don't understand it. The supermarket has to throw away $35,000 of food. I mean, how long was she in the grocery store? She made her way through produce. Then she got to the bakery section where people are back there baking. And then she made her way through produce. Then she got to the bakery section where people are back there baking. And then she made her way to the meat. That was a long time to cough on all that food. Yes, Nancy. And it was not an accidental cough where, you know, you're trying to cover your mouth. She purposely went over to those areas and started coughing intentionally to try to scare people.

And according to law enforcement in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, she's a nuisance there who has done things like this in the past. It sounds like someone with mental issues. A supermarket in Pennsylvania throws away $35,000 worth of food after a woman deliberately coughs all over the food in a twisted coronavirus prank. Now, the grocery store is saying, well, I don't think she has coronavirus. Well, that's the problem. To Joseph Scott Morgan, Joining Me Death Investigator, you can't look at somebody and tell they've got coronavirus. I mean, it's not like measles where you have red dots all over

your face. It's not like that at all. No, it requires diagnostic observation and testing, Nancy. These people have to be observed. And let me tell you something, she's under psychiatric observation. Stop, stop right there. Because to Dr. Bethany Marshall, I appreciate everything you're saying, Joe Scott Morgan, but let's go to Dr. Bethany Marshall. That's her bailiwick. If you have the wherewithal to understand what's going on with coronavirus and you understand what a threat that is, and as a joke, as a prank, if it is a prank, you go in and cough all over everything in the grocery store to the point they have to throw out 35 grand. She knew what she was doing on many, many levels, Dr. Bethany Marshall.

So don't come up to me and tell me she has some mental illness. Save it for a jury, Bethany. Nancy, I found myself wishing I could meet this person, interview her, see her, and do a full assessment because I had all kinds of thoughts about why she might be a nuisance to society, why she might go into a store, cough over the produce in the bakery. But my main thought was something Reid Malloy, a lead researcher about criminality, once wrote that most crimes are motivated by envy. Envy that other people have a good life, whereas the criminal

does not. And maybe she's standing outside the store. She's looking in. People are happy. They're shopping. They're trying to take care of their families. The store's doing well. It's full of food. And the store's full of food, but she's full of hate, full of envy, feeling outside of society. And she goes in and she just ruins it for everybody. It's like the kid, you know, smashing all the toys and walking out of the playroom because he doesn't feel accepted by the other kids around him. Although this is on a very primitive, malicious, and pathological level. Dr. Bethany, in your practice there on Rodeo Drive, also known as Rodeo, envy, while it is certainly one of the seven deadly sins, is not a defense in the courtroom.

Whether she's envious of other people who are in there shopping with their families, for whatever reason, she did this. Clearly, she knew what she was doing. And Ashley Wilcott, judge and trial lawyer, the reality is if you know at the time of the incident that what you're doing is wrong, you are not insane under the law. And I'm referring to the old McNaughton test, which was brought over to our country from the common law in Great Britain. It's not statutory law. It's case law. That's what that means. Common law. The reality is if she knew what she was doing was wrong, then she was saying at the time of the incident, Ashley, yes, no. Yes, completely agree. The good news is they are pressing charges against people who are engaging in idiotic behaviors that amount to a crime. Well, I want you to listen to this for those of you that think that mental defect or envy is going to be some type of offense. Take a listen to the products liquor Feister.

OK, this is from KT TN News audio of Cody Feister. Okay. This is from KT TN News. Audio of Cody Feister. Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth. Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth. Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth. Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth. Who's scared of coronavirus? Okay. You can stop now. I've heard it. Thank you so much, Jackie, for letting me hear that like 10 times over. Levi Page, that's not the woman that was coughing over the produce. And, okay, by the way, everybody, you are now to wash your produce. If you just rinsed it off with water, don't do that. Squirt soap on there.

Wash it thoroughly. Rinse it thoroughly, rinse it thoroughly, dry it thoroughly before you eat it because of people just like the 35 grand theft. But who to you, Levi Pays joining me, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, who the hey is Cody Feister? He's a 26-year-old Missouri man, Nancy, and he uploaded that video to Snapchat and he was saying, who's scared of the coronavirus? And he started licking things in Walmart like deodorant and toiletries. And he's now charged with knowingly causing a false belief or fear that a condition involving danger to life existed. So he is now in trouble. And he was caught, Nancy, because people saw his Snapchat and they started reporting him to law enforcement and they identified him and arrested him.

Okay, now wait a minute. So what exactly did he do besides release an inane video? What did he do? So he was in Walmart and he was taking his tongue and licking items like deodorant and toiletries. You know, these are items that are becoming very rare, and here he is licking them, dragging his tongue across them on Snapchat for the attention. And he got the attention all right. To Stephen Lampley, detective and author of Outside Your Door, StephenLampley.com.

Stephen, you're the detective, but when someone commits a crime like this, which is really a terroristic threat in my mind, when someone puts it on video and releases it, that's a whole other level. What does that mean to you when a criminal does something like that, if this is to be considered a crime? I mean, it is. He's creating it. He's not only creating a hazard, he is creating a terrorist threat. He is doing a terrorist act by the law, as I understand it. And not only is he doing that, he's creating an environment of or could be creating an environment of panic among people who see this. And we already have a very serious situation, not only across the world. So, you

know, when you're doing something like that, you're simply perpetuating this situation. We're at 85,000 cases just in the United States. And to have somebody do that, whether he's infected or not, is simply ludicrous. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. For those of you just joining us, thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Coronavirus crimes, the next wave. There are so many coronavirus crimes. We couldn't fit them all into mentioning in just one hour.

But I want you to take a listen to a guy named Justin Rhodes, his own debut on video. Listen. Definitely tested positive for coronavirus. debut on video. Listen. My throat's a little itchy. But, other than that, I'm not coughing. If I got it, y'all gonna get it too. F*** all y'all. That's how I feel about it.

I am positive for COVID-19. Well, there's clearly no doubt as to the identity of the alleged perpetrator, claiming, quote, if I've got it, y'all gone get it, too. A man who claims to have coronavirus arrested after traipsing up and down the aisles at a busy Walmart, videoing himself on Facebook Live, claiming to have COVID-19. You know, it seems like it never ends. Out to you, Levi Page, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. What can you tell me about this guy, Justin Rhodes? So Justin Rhodes has been charged, Nancy, with perpetrating a hoax that is a felony in a public building and disorderly conduct.

And he walked into that Walmart in Albemarle, North Carolina and he says I have tested positive for coronavirus which was a lie he had not and he said I was told to self-quarantine and he was broadcasting on Facebook live and he says if I got it y'all gonna get it. You know where did you tell me this is in North Carolina is there a lockdown or quarantine yet in North Carolina? Levi do you know? It's a state of emergency there. And this guy is walking up and down the aisles of a busy Walmart bragging that he's got coronavirus? Uh-uh.

N-O. Straight out to you, Ashley Wilcott, judge and trial lawyer. This is a host, a plethora of crimes. It is. Now, whether they're going to charge him and go through with it, I don't know. They're emptying out the jails right now to relieve the coronavirus problems within the jail. So I don't know where they're going to put this guy, but this equals a felony of terroristic threat. Terroristic threat is when you threaten to kill or harm someone.

And basically that there's evidence of it. It's on a phone message. It's in an email. It's in a text or in this case, in a video. What about it, Ashley? Well, first of all, criminals aren't smart. So thankfully he did a video. There was a video of it. Secondly, you know, thank goodness they're throwing the book at these people that they are actually charging them with felonies. He's charged with felonies, as you just pointed out. So whether or not he stays in jail, I'm thrilled that they are arresting and charging with these crimes. I would hope a judge, because it's a threat regarding coronavirus, would absolutely not let him out of jail simply because of the pandemic. But here is the conundrum.

They're letting people out of jail because of coronavirus. So what, are they going to put him in jail and then let him out? Here is a direct threat to all of us, and he's bragging about it on facebook live i don't know if the name falcone george falcone means anything to you yet but it will take a listen to our friends at fox 5 good day new york speaking of george falcone listen a man in new jersey has been charged with terroristic threats after prosecutors say that he coughed on a food store employee. He was identified as George Falcone, a freehold. New Jersey's attorney general says the incident happened at a supermarket last Sunday

when the worker thought Falcone was standing just a little bit too close to her and her food. According to the attorney general, when the woman asked Falcone to step back, he instead leaned in and coughed and said he had the coronavirus. Falcone was also charged with obstruction and harassment. He was issued a summons, no word yet, on a court day. This is what I know. Americans who are purposefully exposing and infecting others with coronavirus can be charged as terrorists, i.e. terroristic threats. What can you tell me about this guy, Levi? Nancy, he is of Freehold, New Jersey, and he was arguing with an employee at a Wegmans store, and he started coughing on her and telling her that he had coronavirus. The police were called, and he refused to give police his name, his driver's license.

They identified him as George Falcone, and he was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat, harassment, and obstruction of justice. And the obstruction of justice charge comes from when he was refusing to cooperate with police and even tell them his name. He argued with them for 40 minutes. Do we know how old this guy is, Falcone? How old is he? His age has not been released yet. Well, I know he's old enough to know better. Take a listen to the governor, Phil Murphy, in a coronavirus press update. Prove that there are both knuckleheads out there on the one hand and on the other hand we see them and we're enforcing behavior. Chargers are being brought against a defendant who got into a dispute with an employee of Wegmans, coughed on the woman and told her after doing so that he had coronavirus. He then refused to cooperate with the police to either

give them their his name or his driver's license for more than 40 minutes. A summons is being issued for terroristic threats, harassment and obstruction. This is not an EO violation per se, but it demonstrates active law enforcement in the steps that we are taking. I want to give Manalapan Police Department a shout out and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office a shout out. And as Pat knows better than anybody, as Jared knows better than anybody, we are up and down the state and we will not take any noncompliant behavior. You were hearing right there the attorney general in that state. But now we learn that these coronavirus pranks, also known as terroristic threats, no geographical boundaries. man, Moneyball Star, is trying to sell, trying to hawk fake cures for coronavirus to over two million people. He's right in there with Jim Baker. Take a listen to our friends at ABC7. This is Mark Brown. A Southern California man who claimed he created a cure for the

coronavirus is in federal custody tonight, accused of trying to scam people out of their money. He got a million hits on Instagram, which proved to be his undoing. This is Keith Middlebrook. Yes, I created the cure that shuts down the COVID-19. On his social media videos, Keith Middlebrook claimed he'd created the cure for coronavirus over six weeks. Makes the cells from the coronavirus detach, release, and die within 48 hours. This is it right here, the preloaded injection. He also promised this pill would make you immune to the virus.

Just to be clear, there is no cure, no vaccine, no drug that stops coronavirus. The U.S. attorney says this was a scam aimed at extracting money from gullible people and injecting it into Middlebrook's bank account. He was then soliciting investments in his company and promising massive profits in return. OK, I appreciate the pun, Mark Brown, injecting it into his bank account. I like it. OK, even I have a tiny sense of humor. Okay. Keith Middlebrook. This guy is a star. He's been in Thor, Iron Man, Moneyball, many others. This actor, 53 years old, old enough to know better, has over 2 million followers and had reached at least 1 million of them to buy his fake cure. Okay, now take a listen to once again, ABC 7's Mark Brown. I've been studying cell tissue and chemical biology for well over two decades. I'm beyond

qualified. I think omniscient. The word is omniscient, which means all-knowing. Middlebrook clearly was not. FBI undercover agents busted him for allegedly trying to sell them the phony medicine. Now, the 53-year-old with homes in Westwood, Newport Beach, and Murrieta is socially isolated in jail. He's charged with one count of wire fraud. He could get 20 years in prison. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. I have investigated and prosecuted literally thousands of felony cases. I have covered literally thousands of cases of missing people, adults, and children, unsolved homicides, violent crimes. My question is, what can we do about it? I don't want to just sit back and report on it. I want to take action. And I know you must

feel the same way. And here is the news. We have all worked so hard to bring to you Don't Be a Victim, Fighting Back Against America's Crime Wave, a brand new book. You can pre-order now. Go to CrimeOnline.com. This book is for everyone. It even includes how to stay safe while you travel, in hotels, if you're abroad. What do you do to make sure you come home safely to your family? Don't be a victim fighting back against America's crime wave. Available for pre-order now. CrimeOnline.com. Pre-order now and know that portions of our proceeds goes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about an actor named Keith Middlebrook.

So straight out to you, Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics professor at Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. What is it that he's claiming is a coronavirus cure? He's claiming that he has some kind of magic potion that literally you can take and it will kill this virus. And no such virus, no such cure actually exists, Nancy. This is a very robust virus that's out there

that actually has a very long surface life. And so the fact that some guy who obviously is an actor says he worked six weeks and came up with a cure for covid19 he's saying quote and i'm reading this directly from what he said to two over two million people a patent pending cure, a treatment that prevents coronavirus infection. He claims that he now is immune from coronavirus. He's solicited a $300,000 investment. He also claims to have cured a coronavirus patient by injecting the patient with his medicine. So to you, oh dear, oh dear, Jackie, do you need to see this photo of him? He's got on practically nothing. And he is all bulked up like he's been spending. If my husband came home like

that, I'd say, I would say you're spending way too much time in the gym. Get back to the office. Anyway, that's a whole nother can of worms. Do we have any idea, Levi Page from Crime Online, what exactly is in his quote, injection? We have no idea what's in his injection, Nancy, but we do know that he, you know, was claiming that there were celebrities like Magic Johnson that he worked with and was at the, on the board of directors of his company. Local news contacted him and he denied knowing who Keith Middlebrook was. So this guy is a scammer through and through, and he was caught by the FBI. They actually were tipped off about what he was doing on social media.

So they started messaging him, and they said, Can you meet me? I'm going to give you money. And can you meet me in exchange'm going to give you money. And can you meet me in exchange for these pills and injectables? And he did. And he was caught by an undercover FBI agent. And now he's charged with wire fraud and he faces 20 years behind bars. Let me go straight out to Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining me out of Beverly Hills at drbethanymarshall.com. Dr. Bethany, you try to hit me with the mentally ill because of envy defense, which I totally reject earlier.

Now, that may apply to some of your patients lying out there on your very expensive couch when they buy a $9,000 pair of boots, but coughing and sneezing on produce, licking things in the Walmart, claiming you've got COVID-19. This one may be the one that concerns me the most because I think of my grandmother, Lucy, who I named my daughter after, who helped raise me by the way. And she got to a point where, well, she refused to dress up for church. That's what it was, which drove my mother over the edge, but she would watch televangelists. Okay. My grandmother. All right. Let's not judge. So, um, Jim Baker is online selling his silver solution, which is colloidal silver to, to cure coronavirus. Now we've got this guy who's been an actor in major movies, hawking this to about 2.4 million people. And let me give you a quote, Dr. Bethany.

Quote, I have developed the cure for the coronavirus, COVID-19. L.A. patient tested positive for coronavirus, got up and walked out 51 hours after my injection. That is according to an official affidavit that we've gotten our hands on. Help me, Dr. Bethany. What is your defense this time? What does he have to be jealous of? Come on. I know you're in his head right now and you're rationalizing why he did this. Here's what I like to do. I like to take all these perpetrators and kind of analogize them to other crimes which are familiar because we're in such unfamiliar times with the coronavirus. So the guy who posts himself on Snapchat kind of

seems like the flasher. The guy who coughs all over the woman in the grocery store seems like the updated version of road rage. This guy, like Jim Baker, is the updated version of the cult leader. So he has two and a half million followers on Instagram. He's probably been grooming them for some time. He's been engaging in low-level cons, benefiting from them, grooming them, establishing relationships. And what he's done is he's playing on their most primitive fears. So what's happening during this pandemic is the amygdala, the primitive part of the brain that ensured our survival as a species, is getting very activated and panicky. And in the face of the unknown, we read in our worst possible fears and fantasies. So he's tapping into that fear part, which is not really governed by logic in any way. It is not logical that he has come up with a cure, right? I mean, anybody who

just reads the paper or has a basic knowledge of science knows that, but these frightened people are engaging what we call magical thinking, looking for a cure, And he is preying on them like a cult leader. Why are you saying magical thinking? What do you mean by that? What I mean by magical thinking is when we become... In this context. Oh, in this context that they are so invested in believing in him and in staying well and being a part of this online group who probably looks up to him

and worships them that their thought process bypasses logic it's like wishful thinking fantasy thinking they want to invest there's a big difference between fantasy thinking and magical thinking in this case i'm stunned at someone with so many opportunities taking advantage of people that don't know any better. Praying on them. And the reason I brought in my grandmother, Lucy, is because the elderly specifically are susceptible to coronavirus. We know that. They are the ones watching infomercials like with Jim Baker or falling for a cure like this bit actor has tried to sell online. But that's not the end of the next wave of coronavirus crimes. An alleged killer has just been erased from Hamilton County Jail and the victim's family,

the murder victim's family, is blaming the coronavirus response. Take a listen to our friends at WLWT News 5. This is Jatara McGee. This is the worst pain you can ever feel. More than nine months after Margaret Williams lost her son, Tony Williams, that pain is still fresh. Anything can happen, but anything. The shooting was caught on surveillance video near Vice Mayor Chris Smitherman's office in Bond Hill. The alleged killer was caught days later. So it's devastating to know that D'Angelo Stone is out walking these streets and my family is still suffering, still crying, still trying to accept this. Now awaiting trial out of handcuffs, D'Angelo Stone's Friday release comes as the Hamilton

County Justice Center releases some non-violent low-level offenders to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 inside the jail. Stone is facing multiple felonies, including murder and having weapons under disability. Can you imagine how that mother feels Margaret Williams, her son's alleged murderer, has walked free because the jail fears the criminals may catch coronavirus. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. be subject to the sheriff's review. But because of the facts of the case and the situation in both cases, they are certainly good candidates to be released. Stone's defense attorney, Jay Clark, took advantage of the timing to fight for a lower bond. The prosecution objected, but a judge reduced Stone's million-dollar bond to 10% of $100,000. I asked Clark if his client would still be in jail if it wasn't for the coronavirus. The short answer to your question is I don't know. Williams didn't know Stone was

getting out. I should have got a knock on the door or a phone call. Her 78-year-old mother is waiting on results from a coronavirus test so she understands the serious health threat. But I also understand humanity. I understand justice. Now Clark says that his client is innocent and isn't a flight risk. The Williams, they disagree. Tony Williams would have been 38 this year and has three children, one as young as two. Our friend WLWT News 5 reporter Jatara McGee reporting the attorney reportedly taking advantage of the coronavirus scare to get an accused killer out from behind bars. And the victim's family didn't even know anything about it until it was too late. That's really the tip of the iceberg. But back to Dr. Bethany Marshall.

Psycho Allen's joining us out of Beverly Hills. Dr. Bethany, I remember I got off the air. I went up to my office. I was on 3rd Avenue at the corner of 40th and 3rd at Court TV and looked outside, fired up my computer and I had a letter, an email from a viewer to tell me my fiance's murderer had gotten out of jail sometime before. I had no idea. None. What do you make of the jail instead of enforcing measures to contain or quell coronavirus, letting everybody out? Alleged killers, Dr. Bethany.

But Nancy, it is a big problem. It's a big problem here in Los Angeles that the prison population is being infected with COVID-19. It is true. The public deserves to know it. And it's such a complicated situation. It's kind of beyond my pay grade. But I think that what the jail should have done was warned the family. I think they should have used greater discrimination. There are so many people who cannot postpone. They end up in the criminal system for low level

offenses. And whereas you may go on and get out. But in this case, Nancy, I agree with you. A murderer should not have been let out. These are very, very unusual times. This family whose son and father and husband was murdered are already extremely traumatized, and I think attorneys need to use some discretion when advocating for their clients. I mean, obviously, this defense attorney is doing his job, but this one really slipped through the cracks. And like when you fired up your computer.

And I also don't know the answer. Ashley Wolcott, you know, when I was trying cases for so long in inner city Atlanta, we would have bond calendars every day. I know the jails are overcrowded. They have been for a long time. That is wrong. Low level criminals. Sure. I think they should be out. I think they should not be using a bed in jail, but killers, I don't want to condemn anybody to coronavirus, but I also don't want killers walking free. Well, I agree. Coronavirus, in my opinion, as a judge, should not be a reason for individuals who have been accused of multiple felonies, including like in this case, murder, to get out of jail. So I agree. The low-level non-violent makes sense. That's a good, smart way to approach the overcrowding and the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the problem is, I don't think that

that can extend, and it's up to the judge, but they really have to carefully weigh it. It shouldn't extend to somebody who has felony charges like murder, in my opinion, because there's no reason because of the coronavirus that they should be allowed to get out of jail, first of all. Second of all, it's a uniform problem across the nation and lack of communication. I would suggest that that family absolutely should have been notified that was happening. Well, it's not just there. It's all across the country. Accused felons are walking free because we're afraid they'll get coronavirus behind bars. But then what if they get out and commit another crime as recidivism rates show

that they will? So we save the prisoner and then kill another innocent person. I don't know the answer, but I know this is wrong. Take a listen to our friends at WXIA 11 Alive. A noon and child alone for hours after health care worker mom dies of coronavirus. A very sad update. The Piedmont health care community is mourning tonight. They tell us the Coweta County coroner confirmed a mammogram technician has died as a result of COVID-19. Let's learn more about her tonight. The coroner says 42-year-old Deidre Wilkes died last Thursday and did not have any underlying health issues.

Authorities say several public safety workers came in contact with Wilkes and those workers are now self-quarantined. Straight out to Levi Page, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Levi, what happened? So Nancy, this is extremely sad. Deidre Wilkes, she's a 42-year-old woman. She worked as a mammogram technician at Piedmont Noonan Hospital just outside of Atlanta and she was discovered dead by law enforcement that was conducting a welfare check on her. And she tested positive for coronavirus after she had passed away. And the sad part is that she was dead for 12 to 16 hours, according to the Coweta County Coroner Richard Hawk, and her four-year-old daughter was left alone with her during that time. The baby

girl is now living with her father now, but she had been dead for 12 to 16 hours before law enforcement located her and got her child out of the home. To Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, give me the implications, the health implications of the child being there laying with a mom who has died alone of coronavirus with her child home, of course. What does that mean for the baby? Well, it means for the baby that the child probably at some point in time would have been touching her mother as she would have been in life. But during this period of time, the child's trying to raise the mother, get the mother to wake up, this sort of thing.

For those of us that are parents, we're aware of this. And she would have been probably attempting to hug her mother. And so these types of things that there was a recent report that came out that the coronavirus now has an indication that it still is very robust even after death in the dead. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Break that down for me, what you just said. Yeah, what this means is that the virus itself is not like some of the other viruses that we have encountered along the way over the years, the virus doesn't just suddenly die after, say, three to four hours. It actually is very robust. It can survive outside of a living host on surfaces, certainly on the surface of the skin. And if the mother had been coughing, for instance, and she had kind of aspirate that was on her mouth that was issuing from her nose, this sort of thing.

If the child came into contact with that. When you say aspirate, you mean a liquid, mucus from the nose or a stick from the mouth? Yeah, it could be a mucoid, yeah, mucus, this sort of thing. And sometimes, unfortunately, Nancy, even after death, this will occur, kind of leeching out, if you will. If the child came into contact with that, this is very virulent. The child could in fact contract the virus. And I'd like to quickly point out, be careful regarding your children that are on TikTok like mine are. A California influencer, Lars, now says he's in the hospital with coronavirus after a TikTok challenge, posting video of himself licking a toilet bowl. At a time when we're to be pulling together to fight coronavirus, instead, some people are taking advantage of it.

Coronavirus crimes, the next wave goes on and we wait for justice to unfold. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.