Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 10.27.23

Episode Date: October 27, 2023

Woman held hostage by man she was seeing. Man tries to rob a bank... from behind a locked door.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Caleb Fass, 29, meets a woman on Facebook dating. They date about two weeks. He invites her to visit his home for the first time. When she tries to leave, he won't let her. For three days, Caleb, for three days,

Caleb Fass beats her, sex assaults her, uses a gun to threaten her. She finally escapes when he drinks a bottle of wine and passes out, running to a nearby church to call 911. First responders find her visibly shaken, her right eye swollen shut. She's taken to a hospital for several serious blunt force injuries. Nancy, the unidentified victim, reported that Fast beat her so badly she was urinating blood throughout the ordeal. After the first beating, Fast ordered the woman to remove her clothes and fearing more physical harm, she did so, after which Fast sexually assaulted her. With Fast passed out, the woman was able to leave his home on foot,

calling 911 a few minutes before 5 a.m. Fast now charged with false imprisonment, battery, ag assault, and sex assault. Online daters, beware. Here's a lesson on how not to rob a bank. Michael Nash heads to an Anchorage First National Bank, but he can't get inside. The lobby doesn't open until 10, and the front doors are locked. He sees a supervisor inside and waves him down. Nash then passes the supervisor a note that reads, this is a robbery. While Nash washes

through the glass, the supervisor calls Alaska police. Michael Nash, 49, now charged with bank robbery and he never put a toe in the bank. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. After his lawyers accused the court clerk in his trial of influencing the jury, a South Carolina appeals court is now allowing Alex Murdoch to seek a judge to overturn his murder convictions and life sentence and provide him a new trial. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. The appeals court ruling means that convicted murderer Alex Murdoch

will now be allowed to argue that jury manipulation influenced the outcome of his trial on charges of killing his wife and child. The one-paragraph decision could now pave the way for a full hearing, one in which witnesses under oath could include the jurors who deliberated a few hours after the six-week trial, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, and even Judge Clifton Newman, who has been widely praised for his handling of the case. Even if his conviction is overturned, Murdahl will not be released from prison. Last month, he pled guilty to financial crimes for taking millions of dollars from disadvantaged

personal injury victims, as well as a settlement for the family of his former housekeeper, who died in an accident at his home. Murdaugh is awaiting the judge's decision on his punishment, which for those offenses would most likely involve years, if not decades, in prison. After hearing from three jurors who said that Hill had advised some of them not to believe Murdaugh when he testified in his own defense, Murdaugh's attorneys filed an appeal last month. They allege that in addition to having private chats with the jury foreperson, the court clerk, who was responsible for assisting jurors and making sure the trial proceeded smoothly, also put pressure on jurors to reach a decision quickly.

The day, time, and location of the hearing will be scheduled later. Now to New Mexico, as federal prosecutors announced that an Albuquerque man found guilty of the 2019 shooting death of a U.S. postal worker has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Xavier Zamora was given the sentence more than a year after entering a guilty plea to the second-degree murder of a government employee, this according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico. Zamora also entered a guilty plea for the use of a firearm during a violent crime that claimed a life. Prosecutors say that while on his delivery

route, Jose Hernandez witnessed Zamora, then 17 years old, in an argument with his mother outside their residence. Hernandez approached the pair and made an effort to defuse the conflict. That's when, according to investigators, Zamora hit and shoved Hernandez. After that, the teenager went inside the house to get a gun, then shot the mail carrier in the abdomen. Hernandez died less than a half hour later. Court filings state that the gun he used was never located. Overseas now, as allies of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny say three of his attorneys have been detained by Russian police after their houses were searched. Once again,

Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. The arrests coincide with mounting pressure on critics of the Kremlin. On social media, Navalny ally Ivan Zdenov says that the action was an attempt to, quote, completely isolate Navalny. Although facing a 19-year prison sentence, 47-year-old Navalny has been able to stay up to date on news and send out regular communications while incarcerated since January of 2021. Zdenov stated that the three lawyers were the targets of raids, part of a criminal case related to allegations that they belonged to an extremist organization. Following the search, all three were taken into custody, presumably as suspects in the

investigation, this according to Navalny's team. When the three of them appeared in court later that day, a pretrial detention order was issued pending an investigation and trial. According to independent Russian media, the offices of another lawyer representing Navalny were also raided, but the targeted attorney was not in Russia at the time. Sierra Chapman visits her ex-boyfriend in the Dayton suburbs to swap personal items after the breakup. She's seen on video leaving his home 4.30 a.m. in her silver 2014 Cadillac SUV, but she never makes it home. Chapman's teen son calls his aunt when mom never makes it and they report her missing. Ten days later, her SUVs found abandoned 25 miles south,

parked in a residential area, Middleton. Her purse, the belongings she picked up, all still in her car. Her family says she has no friends or family in that area, no reason to be there. Sierra Chapman now missing over 10 months. There's a $20,000 reward for info leading to her discovery. Please call Dayton PD 937-333-2677. That's 937-333-CO867. 937-222-STOP. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com.

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.