Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 02.28.24

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

Judge shoots ex-boyfriend in the head, when he wakes up, screaming, she insists he did it himself. Argument over grits leaves lots of evidence for police.  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. Michael McCoy, 54, wakes up in the night screaming with head pain and blindness in one eye. That's not surprising since he's actually been shot in the head by his girlfriend, a Pennsylvania judge. That night, McCoy tries once again to end their relationship. The judge, Sonia McKnight, leaves, but comes back while McCoy's not home, using a spare key to get into the house. Nancy, McCoy says he found McKnight waiting for him on the couch, wearing pajamas,

obviously intending to spend the night. McCoy heads to bed, leaving the woman on the couch. When McCoy awoke screaming, McKnight entered the room and asked, quote, Mike, what did you do to yourself? McKnight denies involvement entirely, claiming McCoy's gunshot wound was self-inflicted, but gunpowder evidence suggests otherwise. McKnight charged with attempted murder and ag assault. Just tell it to the judge. No, wait, you are the judge.

Picture this, a 64-year-old woman covered in grits. Cops arrive at Isla Johnson's Florida home to find her and her daughter, Jaquilla Mobley, 28, in a violent brawl over cooking. Daughter Mobley, allegedly drunk, grabs the grits Mom's cooking and hurls them at Mommy's face. Isla Johnson refuses to press charges against her daughter, but the law intervenes. Mobley booked for battery. Buy grits. Or they at least cheese grits. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley.

We begin in Wisconsin as formal charges of child negligence have been leveled against the mother of a three-year-old boy who disappeared about a week ago. Also charged, the man with whom the child was staying. With more, here's Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Prosecutors claim that Elijah Vu's mother sent him to live with the man at the Two Rivers home where he was last seen on February 20th. Police and locals have searched, but Elijah has not yet been found. Now, Manitowoc County has formally charged his mother, 31-year-old Katrina Bauer of Wisconsin Dells, with one felony count of party to a crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. She's being held on a $15,000 bond.

39-year-old Jesse Bong of Two Rivers, the man with whom Elijah had been living, was formally charged with one count of party to a crime child neglect and is being held on a $20,000 bond. According to court documents, Bauer and Vong have now made their first court appearances. Preliminary hearings are now scheduled for March 7th. Our friends with WBAY-TV are reporting that according to Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacqueline LeBray, Bauer sent Elijah to stay with Vong for disciplinary purposes and was not in Two Rivers, which is roughly 30 miles southeast of Green Bay, when Elijah went missing. The TV station cites a criminal complaint as saying Bauer told police that she had left

Elijah with Vong on February 12th because she wanted him to train her son, quote, to be a man. She had planned to pick him up on February 23rd. On February 20th, Vong contacted law enforcement and reported Elijah missing. The complaint also states that Vong had taken a nap that morning and brought Elijah into the bedroom with him. Three hours later, when he awakened, Vong says Elijah had vanished. We're also learning from the complaint that Vong admitted to authorities that he was in a relationship with Bauer and that he had been attempting to assist in disciplining the child.

Testimony in a New Mexico courtroom turns emotional and heated as an eyewitness describes the deadly 2021 shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a movie rehearsal. The witness talking of gun misfires, crew members walking out, and a, quote, ludicrous speed of work. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer for the upcoming Western film Rust, is now on trial for involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, with testimony continuing this week. Baldwin was slated to face trial in July on a single

charge of involuntary manslaughter in the murder of cinematographer Helena Hutchins. He is pleaded not guilty to the charge. Defense lawyers have emphasized Gutierrez-Reed's unique disadvantage and vulnerability at the time as a 24-year-old armorer working part-time and not a member of any union, this on a set where few ventured to raise safety issues with Baldwin directly. In recent days, the focus of testimony has been on the actor's handling of the revolver that killed Hutchins. Also shown was footage of Baldwin twice rehearsing a cross-draw maneuver for the camera on October 21, 2021, just before the fatal shooting later that day. No video of the actual shooting has been discovered

by investigators. Searing testimony from Ross Adiego, a frontline Russ crew member who assisted in guiding the film's camera, accompanied the video of Baldwin. Adiego claimed to have made eye contact with the injured Hutchins and attempted to comfort injured director Joel Souza in the moments following the gunshot. The prosecution contends Gutierrez-Reed is at fault for bringing live ammunition to the movie set. Thanks, John. Jesse Aker, 19, mysteriously vanishes after visiting friends and getting a tattoo in Rantil, Illinois. Aker had plans to travel to Indianapolis via Chicago, but never arrives. He does not have a cell phone and carries little cash and clothing. Jesse, African-American male, black hair, brown eyes, ears pierced. He has a Capricorn tattoo on his chest,

a dragon tattoo on his left arm. If you have info about missing teen Jesse Aker, please contact Urbana-Illinois PD 217-384-2330. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.