Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 09.08.23

Episode Date: September 8, 2023

Man kills, dismembers roommate over purported stolen mail. Upset parent attacks youth soccer coach.  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. John Hallett, 48, accuses his roommate, Paul Gonzalez, of stealing his mail. But then he attacks Gonzalez, hitting him with a crutch and choking him dead over the mail. Then he leaves the body in the bedroom for days, then drags it down to the basement, where it sits for 56 more days. Then he dismembers his roommate and dumps the pieces in trash cans. Nancy, investigators taking a second look into what was previously considered a 2017 missing persons case used a cadaver dog to uncover possible human remains in the home's basement

last year. The home was previously owned by a local non- possible human remains in the home's basement last year. The home was previously owned by a local non-profit helping to house the city's homeless population. Hallett and Gonzalez were placed in the home together, but Hallett was paranoid that Gonzalez was trying to get him kicked out of the program. After connecting the remains to Gonzalez, police were challenged with tracking Hallett down. Well, it takes six years to pull all the evidence together, but finally John Hallett arrested for murder. Youth soccer coach Vince Villanueva notices a player on the sidelines with his dad and asks if he's okay. The dad, Laron Hoxa, replies he's not and asks to speak to Villanueva. The coach agrees but looks away and misses Hoxa lunging at him with a metal water bottle. Hoxa beats the coach with a bottle until parents pull him off and call 911.

Coach Villanueva suffers a fractured orbital wall. Hoxa, previously serving an 11-year sentence for violent crimes, now charged with malicious wounding. All at a youth soccer game. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. Following his being spotted on a trail cam at one of the top botanical gardens in the country, authorities have relocated and widened their search for a convicted killer who escaped from a Metro

Philadelphia jail last week. Here's Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Since his escape on August 31st, there have been five sightings of 34-year-old Danilo Cavalcante. The inmate from Chester County Prison was last seen on Labor Day in Longwood Gardens, when surveillance videos showed him walking through the area carrying a duffel bag, a backpack, and a hooded sweater. As a result of that sighting, officials concluded that the escapee had probably slipped through detectives' original perimeter, leading investigators to look farther south. However, authorities say that Cavalcante's activities indicate that he is feeling the pressure of the extensive search and that his options are becoming more limited.

In 2021, a jury found Cavalcante guilty of killing Deborah Brandao. Authorities say he is extremely dangerous and is also wanted in his native Brazil for a murder there from 2017. According to the prosecution, he killed his ex-girlfriend to prevent her from informing the authorities about the accusations leveled against him in Brazil. After Brandao was killed, Cavalcante was apprehended in Virginia, and investigators suspect he was attempting to return to Brazil. Police have been looking for Cavalcante using drones, helicopters, and dogs. They have also been broadcasting a message in Portuguese that was recorded by Cavalcante's mother,

pleading with him to quietly surrender. Authorities have advised area residents to keep their homes and vehicles locked, while two nearby school districts decided to cancel classes as a precaution due to the expanded search. Now to Canada, as jury selection is underway for the trial of a man accused of intentionally running over and killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario. Nathaniel Veltman, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, has entered a not guilty plea. The Avzal family was out for a walk on the evening of June 6, 2021, when Veltman is accused of purposefully running over the family with his truck. Four first-degree murder counts and one attempted murder charge have been brought against him.

Christopher Hicks, Veltman's defense attorney, filed not guilty pleas on Veltman's behalf as the court registrar read the allegations to the defendant. Last year, Superior Court Judge Renee Pomerantz ruled that the case warranted a change of venue. The trial was then transferred from London to Windsor, Ontario. Back in this country now, as the validity of a state law permitting judges to impose the death penalty is being contested by a man awaiting sentencing for the killing of a Missouri police officer. Once again, Crime Online, Sidney Sumner. 45-year-old Ian McCarthy was found guilty in June by a jury of first-degree murder in the 2017 shooting death of Clinton police officer

Gary Lee Michael Jr. during a traffic check. Following days of deliberation, the panel informed the court that it was unable to decide between the death penalty or life in prison without parole. They are the only two possible sentences under state law for first-degree murder. McCarthy's attorneys submitted a motion to a Jackson County judge requesting that the state legislation be ruled unconstitutional and that McCarthy be given a life sentence. The motion is set to be considered by Judge Marco Roldan at the sentencing. The only states with a death penalty that still enable judges to condemn people to death are Missouri and Indiana. J.C. Kawekla, 19, gets her first job at Oklahoma Kmart. She gets dressed day one, asks her sister to give her a ride to and from. J.C.'s sister drops her off, waits till she goes

inside before she drives away. When she comes back, J.C.'s not waiting and the other employees don't have a clue where she may be. No one has heard from Jacey since. The teen now missing 15 years. Jacey, 5'4", colors her hair dark blonde. She has a scar on her forehead from a car crash in childhood. If you know or think you know anything about Jacey Kwekla's disappearance, please call Lawton PD 580-581-3240. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.