Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 12.02.24 | Child Tells Neighbor Parents Love Her, While They Starve Her

Episode Date: December 2, 2024

7-year-old wearing diapers sized for a 3-year-old dies in the hospital from neglect. Woman faking identity tries to blame age discrepancy on botox! 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. A neighbor finds Violet Mitchell, just seven, sitting on her front porch crying. Violet says she's hungry, so the neighbor cooks her a meal. Violet refuses to talk about what's happening at home, and she has to be taken back. Two days later, the little girl, Violet Mitchell, pronounced dead in an Oklahoma hospital. She only weighs 29 pounds, covered in bruises. Doctors find a plastic baby bottle lodged in her small intestine.

Nancy, the only thing Violet told her neighbor about her parents is that they loved her. Violet was admitted to the hospital wrapped in a blanket and wearing a diaper size for a three-year-old. Violet's cousin, another seven-year-old girl, tells police that Violet was frequently left tied up in a crib once for nearly a month straight. She says Violet was fed little else but bread, and she had watched as Violet's mother glued her mouth shut. Violet's aunt and uncle were arrested at the hospital after doctors overheard phone conversations leading them to believe they knew about the abuse. Parents from hell, Lisa Mitchell and Anthony Yoko, now charged with child neglect and aggravated

child abuse. Veronica Torres, 44, claims her home was destroyed when Milton and Helene swept through Florida. She wants hurricane aid, but her zip code was not affected by the hurricanes. The government, however, does not know her mother no longer resides at the address on her driver's license. Torres applies for the aid under her mother's name, but when she goes to pick up her check, city employees floored that Torres looks so young, expecting a woman in her 70s. Torres explains it all and thanks Botox treatments for her youthful appearance, but city employees are not convinced. Police are called. Veronica Torres now charged with falsifying official documents. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley.

In New Hampshire, a former youth detention center leader has been convicted in a disturbing case stemming from abuse decades ago. We turn to Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for more. A jury found 70-year-old Bradley Asbury guilty on two counts of accomplice to aggravated sexual assault. Prosecutors say Asbury restrained a 14-year-old boy, Michael Gilpatrick, while other staff members carried out the attack in 1998. Asbury faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced in January. The verdict follows a four-day trial and three days of jury deliberation. Gilpatrick, now 41, testified that speaking out was part of his healing process. He described the attack as an out-of-body experience

and said he wanted to hold those responsible accountable. Defense attorneys argued there was no corroborating evidence, calling Gilpatrick's account inconsistent and motivated by financial gain. Prosecutors countered that the key details of the assault remained unchanged over time. Asbury is one of 11 former staff members charged after a 2019 investigation uncovered widespread abuse at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester and related facilities. The case has sparked over 1,100 civil lawsuits alleging abuse spanning six decades. In a related civil trial earlier this year,

a jury awarded $38 million to another victim, though that amount is under appeal. Mississippi's Attorney General is pushing for an execution date for Charles Ray Crawford, a death row inmate for 30 years. The 58-year-old Crawford was convicted in 1994 of kidnapping and murdering Christy Ray, a 20-year-old community college student in Tippa County. Jurors cited a prior rape conviction as a key factor in sentencing him to death. Crawford's attorneys argued the execution request is premature as they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier, a federal appeals court denied Crawford's claim that his trial defense was constitutionally ineffective. A dissenting judge highlighted concerns over his mental health evaluation, calling it inadequate.

A neurologist later testified Crawford's severe brain injuries and epilepsy may have impaired his understanding during the crime. Despite multiple appeals, the state argues Crawford has exhausted all legal options. His legal team insists the fight isn't over. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision will determine the next steps in this case, now over four decades old. Thanks, John. Sherry Jackson, 56, has a normal day at work and says goodbye to co-workers 5 p.m. before leaving the Southeast Houston, Texas office for her commute home. She doesn't come home that night and doesn't answer texts or calls from family. When she doesn't show up to work the next day, her family reports her missing. Sherry took her belongings with her when she left work.

Her car's gone from the office. Her car has not been recovered. Sherry Jackson, African American, 5'8", 135 pounds, relaxed shoulder length, black hair, brown eyes, pierced ears, a tattoo of a rose on her shoulder, a burn scar on her right arm. If you have info on missing Sherry Jackson, please contact Houston PD 832-394-1840 or Texas EquiSearch at 281-309-9500. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. And please, won't you join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.