Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 12.14.23

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

Teacher's aide slaps student. Do they make a 'Career Criminal' Barbie?  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 group of middle school students in class completing a drawing assignment all except one 14-year-old who's not following directions. That's when the teacher's assistant, Ute Galloway, slaps the child across the face. The Eustis Middle School principal notified parents who call police. Nancy Galloway reportedly attempted to apologize to the boy immediately after hitting him, but the boy and his parents insisted the incident solicited more than an apology. Police reviewed surveillance footage from the classroom and relied on witness statements from

two other students to confirm what was alleged. Galloway is reportedly still employed by Lake County schools, but will move to a role that does not involve working with students. Ute Galloway, 61, faces one count of child abuse. It's Barbie's catchphrase, you can be anything, even a thief. Emine Thompson, 26, steals 800 bucks of Barbie toys from a Walmart in Buffalo, then leads cops on a high-speed chase. Worried about other drivers, cops stop the chase and catch up with Thompson the next day.

She's charged with larceny, fleeing an officer, and traffic offenses. Barbie would be so disappointed. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. Prosecutors in Texas have withdrawn murder charges against two individuals involved in the stabbing death of a 23-year-old Seattle resident. This while the third suspect is still on trial. For more, here's Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Last year, two of the people arrested

in Marcella Botello Valadez's 2020 murder removed their ankle monitors and fled the nation while free on bond, garnering international attention. Lisa Dykes is still accused of murder. Her trial started last week and continues. However, according to recently made public court documents, a judge granted the prosecution's Friday request to drop the murder charges against the other woman and man who are also accused of killing Botella Valadez in the interest of justice. A representative for the Dallas County District Attorney's Office has not yet stated why the murder charges against Nina Moreno and Charles Anthony Beltran were dropped. The two are still facing charges of tampering with evidence in connection with Botella Valadez's death, whose remains were discovered in the woods months after she was reported missing in Dallas. In testimony on Friday, 34-year-old Beltran said he shared a home with Dykes in Moreno.

He claimed that after meeting Botella Valadez at a nightclub, they proceeded to his place and engaged in sexual activity. He claimed that while Dykes stabbed Botella Valadez, he went to sleep and woke up to shouting. When Dykes' attorney questioned Beltran, he admitted to lying to investigators at first about what had happened. According to court records, the three were apprehended six months after Botelho Valadez went missing in October 2020. Moreno and Dykes were released on $500,000 bonds, but they simultaneously removed their GPS trackers and departed the country last Christmas. The trio were finally apprehended in Cambodia by Cambodian police, who were assisted by the FBI. The man suspected of killing seven people at a suburban Chicago July 4 parade last year has now dismissed his public defenders and declared his intention to represent himself during the trial, which is scheduled to begin in February. For carrying out the incident in Highland Park, Illinois, Robert Cremo III is

accused of 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 attempted murder counts, and 48 counts of aggravated violence. Numerous people, including children, suffered injuries. Judge Victoria Rossetti repeatedly questioned Cremo about the potential consequences of a guilty verdict, which might include multiple life terms. She advised him to think again before choosing to represent himself. Three Chilean nationals have been apprehended in connection to a string of burglaries of mansions and other high-end homes located in suburban Detroit and across the state of Michigan. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the accusations, saying the three are suspected in eight break-ins after arriving in the Detroit region on a flight from Los Angeles on February 1st. Nessel described them as being

part of an international crime ring that targeted the lavish homes of affluent Michigan residents. The burglaries, according to Nessel, are thought to be carried out by, quote, non-citizen temporary residents from countries in South America who travel to the United States and the state of Michigan specifically in order to conduct these burglaries, and that there may be more out there. The three suspects are accused of committing both home invasion and conducting a criminal enterprise due to similar burglaries they are presently being held in Indiana. Thanks, John. Miranda Connor, a stay-at-home mom of two, calls her own mom asking for her help. Her mom sends rent money, but that's the last contact they have. February 3, this year, Connor's picked up by an Uber and driven to a location in Federal Heights, Colorado

to meet someone. She was seen in the early morning hours that day but never goes home. Her roommate files a missing persons report with Denver cops. Connors phone pings in the area around 4 a.m. the next day. The phones later found abandoned near the complex where she's last seen. Foul play suspected. A $2,000 reward offered. Connor last seen wearing a purple sweater and a gray puffer jacket. She has an OK hand symbol on her right forearm and a Winnie the Pooh on her left shoulder. A tiger on her left forearm. If you have info on Miranda Connor, please contact Denver PD 720-913-2000 or Federal Heights PD 303-428-8833.

For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.