Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 01.06.25 | Uncle Dies Protecting Niece After Offering Stranded Man Ride

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

66-year-old veteran stabbed to death protecting his niece from her acquaintance that needed a ride. Lyft passenger undresses in the backseat! 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. Rodney Watson, 66, and his niece head to Watson's Burton, South Carolina home. They see a hitchhiker. The niece recognizes him as Mitchell Slick Good. Rodney offers him a ride, but on the way, an argument breaks out between Good and the niece. When they arrive, Good pulls Rodney's niece from the car and beats her. Rodney Watson tries to break up the fight, but Good stabs him six times with a machete. Nancy, cops arrive to Good still swinging the machete and Watson on the ground, bleeding. Good flees the scene and Watson is rushed to the hospital, but dies of his injuries,

the fatal wound, a severed artery in Watson's left arm. Good eventually returns to the scene and Watson is rushed to the hospital but dies of his injuries, the fatal wound, a severed artery in Watson's left arm. Good eventually returns to the scene where he's arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. In court, Good tries to provide an alibi, but when that falls through, admits to the stabbing, claiming he acted out of fear. Michael Good, 50, convicted of Rodney Watson's murder and sentenced to life in prison. A Florida Lyft driver picks up his rider with no issues. Just a few minutes in, he hears an odd noise from the back seat. Adjusting his rearview mirror, he looks to see what's happening and is shocked to see the 48-year-old passenger taking off his clothes.

The driver tells him to stop, but he doesn't. The driver pulls over, cancels the ride, and calls police. The rider tells police he, quote, got a little naked after he was overcome with a, quote, feeling. The unnamed Lyft passenger now charged with public indecency. Ew. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley.

New details this hour on the devastating truck attack in New Orleans that claimed multiple lives and left a city in mourning. Authorities say Shamshu Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas, drove a rented pickup onto a crowded sidewalk, bypassing police barriers. The truck struck pedestrians and left bodies scattered along the street, described by witnesses as a scene from a nightmare. Police Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick called the act evil, stating the driver intentionally bypassed safety measures. Jabbar was killed after opening fire on officers, wounding two who are now in stable condition. Weapons, including an AR-style rifle and improvised explosive devices, were recovered. The FBI is investigating Jabbar's potential links

to terror groups, noting a flag associated with the Islamic State found on the truck. Surveillance footage suggests other individuals may have been involved, but their connection remains unclear. The attack coincides with explosions in Honolulu and Las Vegas. While federal officials are investigating possible links, no conclusions have been drawn. Hundreds of survivors of physical and sexual abuse at two state-run reform schools in Florida are set to receive compensation after decades of silence about the atrocities they endured as children. We turn to Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for more. The abuse, which occurred more than 50 years ago at the Dozer School for Boys in Mariana and its sister school in Okeechobee, came to light following years of survivor testimonies

and investigations. At its peak in the 1960s, the Dozer School housed about 500 boys, many committed for minor offenses or as orphans. Allegations of brutal beatings, sexual assaults, and mysterious deaths plagued the institution throughout its century-long operation. Researchers uncovered unmarked graves at the school, where nearly 100 boys died between 1900 and 1973, some from gunshot wounds or blunt force trauma. Ahead of a December 31st deadline, over 800 individuals submitted claims for restitution, describing severe abuse by school staff. Florida lawmakers allocated $20 million last year to be shared among the survivors. This follows the state's 2017 formal apology, where survivors like Bryant Middleton recounted their experiences, including brutal punishments for minor infractions during their time at Dozer.

The school was closed in 2011 after state and federal investigations revealed appalling conditions and documented decades of abuse. Now, the resilience of survivors is being recognized in the new film, Nickel Boys, based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel inspired by the Dozer school. Whitehead says he hopes the story ensures the victims and their suffering are never forgotten. Thanks, John. Friends and family realize they haven't heard from Gina Jo

Ratliff for days. Last person to see her, close friend Jessica Frazier. Gina tells Frazier the person she's with is, quote, very upset and taking it out on her. Gina previously said she was in Macon, Georgia with Tim Crow. A week after Gina is reported missing, a woman named Callie Goolsbee is found shot dead on the side of the road southwest Macon. The GBI suspects Tim Crow is responsible for Goolsbee's death. Crow runs from cops when they try to arrest him and ends the chase by shooting himself in the head. There are no other leads on Gina's whereabouts. Gina Jo Ratliff, 5'1", 130 pounds, reddish brown hair, blue eyes. If you have info on Gina Jo Ratliff, please call Bibb County Sheriff's 478-751-7500. 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 best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.

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