Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 06.11.24

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

Missouri homeowner facing eviction kills court employee delivering the news, and cop responding to the first shooting. This perp isn't the average trespasser!  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. Larry Acree, 70, is five years behind on property taxes for his nine-acre Missouri property. Court employee Drexel Mack is sent to Acree's home to deliver an eviction notice. As Mack turns to leave, Acree shoots Mack dead. Also firing at two cops, responding to the first shooting, killing one and wounding the other. Nancy, the new owner paid Acree's delinquent taxes and bought the independence property for $260,000. After Mack was shot, neighbors called 911 with reports of gunfire. Responding officers were fired on and Officer Cody Allen was killed. Acree suffered minor injuries when officers returned fire.

Larry Acree, now charged with 18 felonies, including two counts of murder. Florida homeowners called police with reports of a trespasser. When cops arrived, the burglar turns out to be a 10-foot alligator taking a dip in the pool. The gator broke through a panel of the home'sed in pool area to access the water. Fish and wildlife officers quickly trapped the gator, but they cannot promise he won't be a repeat offender. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. Any hopes of Amanda Knox having the legal stain against her removed after being cleared of the 2007 horrific murder of her British roommate

when the two were exchange students in Italy have now been dashed as an Italian court has reconvicted her of slander. With more, here's Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. A panel of appeals in Florence determined that the 36-year-old Knox had wrongly placed the blame for the murder on the Congolese owner of the bar where she was employed. This is now the sixth time an Italian court has made this ruling against the American woman. As a 20-year-old university student, Knox claimed that her statements to the police were misconstrued because of her then-remedial Italian and were coerced by bullying during an intense night of

questioning. Still, the two-judge and six-juror panel upheld the three-year sentence she had previously served during her four years in an Italian jail during the course of the investigation and subsequent trials. The court's reasons for their decision will be made available within a month. In an attempt to clear her name, quote, once and for all, Knox appeared in Florence for the verdict. This was her first court appearance back in Italy since her release in 2011. She was accompanied by her spouse, Christopher Robinson, and remained expressionless during the reading of the verdict. The murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kircher in the picturesque hilltop town of Perugia made

headlines around the globe as suspicion fell on Knox, a 20-year-old Seattle exchange student, and Rafael Solicito, her then-new Italian boyfriend. Flip-flop decisions over the course of nearly eight years in court divided trial viewers on both sides of the Atlantic, making this one of the first trials to be followed closely by social media at the time. Photographers gathered around Knox, her husband, and her legal team as they entered the courtroom around one hour prior to the hearing, demonstrating a continued high level of media attention even after all these years. According to one of her attorneys, Knox was struck in the head by a camera.

As they sat in the front row of the courtroom, Knox's husband examined a small lump on her temple. Luca Lappario Donati, one of Knox's defense attorneys, stated after the court appearance that they planned to file an appeal with Italy's highest court. Back in this country now, as an execution date for Marcellus Williams has been set by the Missouri Supreme Court for September 24th. This despite the fact that the prisoner is still awaiting a hearing regarding his claim that he had no involvement in the crime that led to his landing on death row. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. The execution date was set by the Missouri Supreme Court hours after it decided that

Governor Mike Parson was within his rights last year to dissolve a board of inquiry that had been established six years prior by Parson's predecessor to look into Williams' innocence claim. The 55-year-old Williams was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gale, who was killed during a home invasion in suburban St. Louis. In August 2017, hours before he was scheduled to be executed, the governor in office at the time, Eric Greitens, requested an investigation. In an attempt to prove that the knife used to attack Gale did not belong to Williams, Greitens referenced DNA testing, which was not available at the time of the murder.

Back in January, Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, separately submitted a motion to overturn the murder conviction. Bell expressed his belief that Williams was not responsible for Gale's death, citing the latest DNA findings. Prosecutors may submit a motion to overturn a conviction if they think the prisoner may be innocent or was wrongfully convicted for another reason. This This according to a Missouri law passed in 2021. The latest filing now prompts a hearing before a judge. Thanks John. Amos Morgan, 63, stays at his second home in Juliet, Illinois while working as a contractor for a house flipping business. His wife, Camille, stays at the first home about an hour away in Streeter. Camille gets concerned when Amos does not make his usual stop to visit her after work.

The next morning, Amos doesn't make his usual call before work either. Camille reports husband Amos missing. A co-worker last saw Amos leaving work the day before. His truck is found abandoned in remote Otter Creek Township, that's just north of Streeter, the first home. Amos and Camille's blended family includes 10 children, all extremely concerned due to Amos' health issues. Amos, African-American, 150 pounds, 5'11", he's got a shaved head with a graying goatee. Amos last seen wearing a blue t-shirt, black pants, and work boots with paint on them. If you have info on Amos Morgan,

age 63, now missing a year, please call LaSalle County, Illinois Sheriff's 815-433-2161. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.