Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 03.18.24

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Man beats girlfriend to death with toilet tank lid. Drunk driver cruises straight to jail.  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. Romaine Maddox, 36, and William Barrett, 59, get to their Washington, D.C. hotel room. Then, chilling screams pierce the silence. During an argument, Maddox starts punching Barrett and, quote, running her mouth, so he chokes her with his belt. Thinking she's already dead, he's shocked when she wakes up screaming for help. He then punches her, grabs the lid from a toilet tank and hits her multiple times until it breaks into pieces. Hours later, a hotel employee discovers Romaine Maddox lifeless. Nancy, Maddox and Barrett were caught on surveillance footage

wandering the halls naked before the deadly argument. Police tracked Barrett down after reviewing the evidence and while in custody, Barrett admits to the crime, telling cops he fell asleep after the attack. At the time of his arrest, Barrett had blood on his head and face, his cell phone, two pairs of gloves, his boxers and belt. He tries to claim self-defense, recounting a struggle that escalated into fatal violence. William Barrett charged with first-degree murder in the death of Romaine Maddox. An unarmed Florida man goes on a night cruise through the checkpoint of the Pinellas County jail and takes in the sights of the jail property. Deputies quickly stop the man and noticed he's DUI. The drunk driver is booked for

his second DUI at the same jail and released on $3,500 bond. I wonder if he's behind the wheel right now. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. A man wanted in connection with the deaths of a mother and her 11-year-old daughter in Massachusetts has been apprehended by police in California, while charges against another man detained previously have been upgraded to murder. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. This most recent arrest occurred in San Diego during a traffic stop. Police say it was about a week after 27-year-old Chastity Nunez and her daughter Zella Nunez were shot in a parked SUV in a neighborhood of Worcester. The two were later pronounced dead at an area hospital. The U.S.

Marshals Service said that it had doubled a reward in connection with the manhunt from $5,000 to $10,000. The announcement made several hours before the arrest. The suspects were first charged with carrying a firearm without a license and armed assault with the intent to murder. Corral Mangual, who was taken into custody in Worcester, has now entered a not guilty plea to upgraded charges of murder. Given the seriousness of the charges, attorneys on both sides agreed that he should be detained without bond. April 12th is now set as Mangual's next court date.

During a press conference, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said that the man arrested in California would also face murder charges. When that suspect would be transported to Massachusetts was not immediately known. According to police testimony released in court documents, surveillance footage reveals, quote, that the victims parked in their vehicle and that two people walk up to the vehicle and start shooting. The video footage also shows a car matching a witness description, the driver circling the area before the incident and then leaving. Later on, the vehicle was located in Hartford, Connecticut. There's still no word from investigators regarding a possible motive for the killings or if there was a relationship of any kind between the suspects and the victims.

A Wisconsin man has been convicted of fatally stabbing two women, victims' bodies discovered in a Green Bay residence last year. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. Following about an hour of deliberation, the Brown County jury found 49-year-old Richard Sotka guilty of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the deaths of 53-year-old Paula O'Connor of Bellevue and 58-year-old Green Bay resident Rhonda Segelski, this information coming by way of our friends with WLUK-TV. Sotka, also a resident of Green Bay, is due to be sentenced on May 20. He faces two mandatory

life sentences. It was in January of 2023 that Segelski and O'Connor were discovered fatally stabbed inside their residence. A prosecution complaint states that Sotka told police he, quote, snapped and killed the women because he felt humiliated after they laughed at him. He alleged that after the killings, he cut off his mandatory electronic monitoring bracelet, dumped it into a ditch, and traveled to Arkansas, where he was apprehended the same day that the victim's bodies were discovered. Facing accusations of stalking and breaking a restraining order, Sotka was out on bond in Oconto County and ordered to wear the

monitoring device. Thanks, John. Surveillance video shows Richard Albright leaving his New York home for a walk wearing slippers. His blood thinners for three open heart surgeries and his antibiotic for knee replacements are left behind. Two hours later, his wife Kathy calls and texts Richard, but he never responds. Kathy hires a PI who learns Richard gets on a bus and buys a 30-day MetroCard. His credit cards have not been used since. A search of Richard's computer shows he may have been on his way to a museum, but no other clues are found. If you have info on the disappearance of Richard Albright, call NYPD, 212-694-7781.

For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.