Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 10.25.24 | Elderly Man Tied Up During Home Burglary

Episode Date: October 25, 2024

Caretaker finds her elderly patient tied up after home burglary. Hairstylist threatens her client over $30! 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. A California caretaker calls 911 when she finds her elderly patient tied to a chair in his home. He says two men broke in, beat him until he passed out. When he awoke, he was tied up. The man's valuables, handguns, two cars stolen. Cops put out bolos for the vehicles. When cops find one car that same day, the driver takes off on a high-speed chase, ending in a crash into a fence. The driver identified as Luis Talavera. Nancy, the victim was treated for minor injuries on the scene and did not require hospitalization. When Talavera crashed the stolen car, it burst into flames seconds after he escaped the driver's

seat. Talavera continued fleeing police, but was captured with the help of a canine unit. Investigators are still searching for the second suspect and have not said whether any of the stolen firearms have been recovered. Talavera 31 now charged with home invasion, robbery, kidnap, false imprisonment, and elder abuse. A woman forks over $140 to her hairstylist Michelle Ray for a haircut. Ray then claims the client still owes her $30 more for a haircut four years before. Confused, the client argues with Ray, but Ray's insistent, shouting, you need to pay me now and keep in mind I've got these scissors next to your face. Ray demands more money and becomes so aggressive, the victim runs out of the salon, still wearing her smock, and calls 911.

Michelle Ray, 31, now charged with ag assault. Maybe she'll work in the prison beauty salon. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. In Indiana, justice has finally been served in a case that remained cold for nearly five decades. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner of Crime Online. 69-year-old Fred Bandy Jr. of Goshen, Indiana, was sentenced to life in prison for the 1975 murder of 17-year-old Laurel Jean Mitchell. Mitchell vanished after leaving her job at a local church camp, and her body was discovered in the Elkhart River the following day.

The long-awaited sentencing was handed down by a Noble County judge. Bandy, convicted of first-degree murder earlier this month in a bench trial, will now face life behind bars with the possibility of parole. His attorney has yet to comment on the ruling. This case dates back to August 1975, when Mitchell's disappearance shook the small community of North Webster, located about 140 miles northeast of Indianapolis. After years without answers, a major breakthrough came last year when Bandy, along with 69-year-old John Wayne Lamum of Auburn, Indiana, was charged in connection with her death. Lamum, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month.

In a deposition this past August, Lamum claimed that Bandy raped and drowned Mitchell. While he denied taking part in the killing, he admitted his fear of Bandy prevented him from intervening. The case was revived through advancements in DNA technology. Investigators were able to test evidence that had been preserved since 1975, including Mitchell's clothing. A DNA profile linked Bandy to the crime, with testing determining it was 13 billion times more likely that his DNA was present on the clothing than that of any other unknown person. Prosecutors were also armed with witness testimony. Three individuals, teenagers at the time of the murder, came forward decades later with information implicating both Bandy and Lehman.

Investigators say these witness statements, combined with the DNA evidence, were key in solving this nearly 50-year-old mystery. The Karen Reed murder case continues to stir division in a Massachusetts town, drawing crowds of supporters and inspiring true crime discussions. Now, yellow ducks have entered the controversy. Richard Schiffer Jr., a vocal supporter of Reed, pleaded not guilty to charges of witness intimidation, harassment, and littering. Schiffer admitted to placing rubber ducks and fake $100 bills around town, but claims it's a First Amendment right to support the defense's argument that Reed was framed. Reed, who's awaiting a retrial in January, is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe,

with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm. Her attorneys allege that law enforcement officers were responsible for O'Keefe's death. A mistrial was declared in June when the jury couldn't reach a verdict. Schiffer's rubber duck campaign reportedly references a defense attorney's closing argument, stating that, quote, if it walks like a duck, it's a duck, suggesting Reed was wrongly accused. His attorney plans to seek a dismissal of charges on free speech grounds before their next court date in November. This case has sparked heated debates and confrontations in Canton where O'Keeffe's death occurred, as supporters of Reed clash with those who believe she's guilty.

Thanks, John. Sherelle Brown, 52, having trouble managing diabetes and has two seizures in just two weeks. She takes a Friday off to rest at her Petersburg, Virginia home and babysits her 11-year-old granddaughter that evening. When her husband, Phil, arrives home around 11 p.m., she and the granddaughter are sitting on the porch. He goes inside to change, and when he comes back out, Sherelle's gone. The granddaughter says Sherelle said she was going to get help and would be right back before she walked away. Sherelle left her keys and cell phone behind. She hasn't been seen or heard from in over a year. Sherelle Brown, African-American, 5 feet, 150 pounds, pixie-cut, black hair, brown eyes.

If you have info on Sherelle Brown, please call Petersburg, Virginia, PD, 804-732-4222. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.