Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 09.26.23

Episode Date: September 26, 2023

Man kills woman with zip tie for her car. New York cops break up 100-person wedding brawl.  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. As Ma Aperio walks out the door to head for work, Reese Miller attacks her, knocking Aperio to the ground and loops a zip tie around her neck, tightening it till she can't breathe. He drags her body to the side of her home, writes a note apologizing for hurting her, and takes off in her car. Nancy, a neighbor witnessed the attack and called 911. First responders were able to revive Operio, but she was brain dead and on life support. Three days later, Operio's family made the decision to take her off.

Miller's note read that he was, quote, deeply sorry for hurting anyone in the moment. It seemed to be the only choice. While Miller's clothing matched ring doorbell footage of the attack, he also provided a confession. Illinois cops find Miller in Aperio's car three hours later. He's now charged with aggravated carjacking and murder. Dozens of New York police descend on a wedding after an uninvited guest starts a huge fight. Over 100 guests brawl nearly an hour as cops intervene. In the end, the bride's brother, Justice Murphy, arrested for assault after he bit an officer, then punched him in the face. Second guest, Kaywan Wilson, also charged with harassment after shoving an officer to the ground. The wedding venue commented they had never seen a fiasco of this magnitude in 35 years. Wow, think Murphy's

mugshot will make it into the wedding scrapbook? More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. We begin in the U.S. heartland as an Iowa teen has been found guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting deaths of two students earlier this year at an alternative school in Des Moines. With details, here's Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. A jury convicted 19-year-old Preston Walls of crimes other than the first-degree murder charges he'd been facing. This appeared to show that the jury believed Walls when he said he shot the students out of fear for his life. 18-year-old Johnny Dameron and 16-year-old

Rashad Carr died of gunshot wounds on January 23rd at the Starts Right Here education facility. Will Keeps, a rapper and former member of a Chicago gang who founded the Des Moines program for at-risk teenagers, was shot by Walls. For that crime, Walls was found guilty of willful injury inflicting serious injury, but cleared of attempted murder. Walls would have been required to serve a life term in prison if he had been found guilty of first-degree murder. He will be qualified for parole since he was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Carr and voluntary manslaughter in the death of Dameron. In spite of the fact that Walls shot Keeps and killed the two students, the defense lawyer said that he did so because he thought his own life

was in danger. Walls, who was scheduled to graduate from the program two days after the shooting, claimed he believed Dameron and Carr would attack him after he left school because they wouldn't have the chance to do it later. According to the defense throughout the trial, Dameron was carrying a gun to school on the day of the incident. Walls will face sentencing in November. Following the discovery of a woman's body in the trunk of a car parked outside a well-known spa in metro Atlanta,

five adults and a 15-year-old who identify as members of the Soldiers of Christ religious organization have been arrested on murder charges. The discovery, according to investigators, was made outside a Korean spa and sauna in Duluth, some 25 miles northeast of Georgia's capital city. Authorities claim that the staff at the spa don't seem to be connected to the crime. According to arrest warrants, the woman had been starved and assaulted for weeks before her death. Her identity hasn't been made public. The fourth and last defendant in a plot to steal crude oil worth millions of dollars

in western North Dakota has been sentenced. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. Watford City resident Daryl Woody Merrill, who was charged with conspiracy to commit theft in dealing in stolen items, entered a guilty plea. A state district court judge gave him a sentence of almost a year in prison, two years of closely monitored probation, and $200,000 in reparations. Merrill's defense attorney says that the judge had already rejected an early plea bargain that included no time behind bars.

According to prosecutor Ty Skarda, Merrill is the last defendant to receive a term in connection with the case. He told her friends with the Associated Press that he is glad the matter is finished after his team's successful prosecution of those found guilty in the case. After entering guilty pleas, defendants Michael Garcia, Mark McGregor, and Joseph Vandewalker were recently given prison terms of varied lengths. Authorities reported the scheme in 2022, in which truckers Merrill and Vandewalker skimmed crude oil by using equipment to their advantage during deliveries to a Crestwood Midstream facility, and then kept it in tanks outside of Watford City for later sale. A spokesperson for the North Dakota U.S. Attorney's Office has confirmed that there is still an ongoing investigation,

but he would not comment on its current status or potential future legal actions. David McVole says goodbye to his wife, heads to work at Standard Insurance, Portland, Oregon. On lunch break, he calls home to make dinner plans with his wife. A co-worker notices he threw away his food uneaten and left early. Mechvold never makes it home. Next day, his truck found abandoned on a secluded gravel road an hour east of Portland. Police searched woods and the Columbia River several times, no trace of Mechvold. David Mechvold now missing 13 years. If you have info on David

Mechvold, contact Gresham PD 503-618-1639. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.