Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 12.25.24 | Parents Keep Children in Cages 'For Their Own Safety'

Episode Date: December 25, 2024

Parents keep their young children in cages for more than 12 hours 'for their own safety.' Criminal who may believe he's Santa doesn't make it down the chimney.  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. Minnesota cops get several concerning calls about the Cotton family's four young children. During a welfare check, they find a two-year-old with a diaper duct taped to her skin, trapped in a playpen by a dog cage. In a bedroom, two more children, ages five and seven, locked in a cage surrounding a bunk bed. Parents Christina and Benjamin Cotton say they keep the children locked up at night for their own safety. The parents, quote, overslept. That's why the children had not been released from their cages yet. Officers say the children had been in cages for more than 13 hours.

Nancy, one other child, a nine-year-old, is found unrestrained in the basement. All five children showed signs of physical abuse, and the 5- and 7-year-old described being hit really hard, hit with a belt, and having their hands duct taped behind their backs if chores were not completed. The 9-year-old refused to discuss the abuse, saying their parents, quote, didn't want them talking about trouble their parents, quote, didn't want them talking about trouble and to, quote, keep it in the family. The Cottons were originally charged with 16 counts each, but 15 of those charges are dismissed. Benjamin Cotton, 42, Christina Cotton,

40, take a plea deal and get four-year sentences for one count each of child torture. Wow, I wonder how they're going to like it in a cage. When Massachusetts cops pull up in the middle of a drug deal, the dealer takes off running. The man climbs the side of a home, runs across roofs before he disappears. A homeowner alerts cops it sounds like someone's screaming in his chimney. The drug dealer thought he could shimmy down the chimney and escape through the home, but guess what? He's not Santa. He gets stuck halfway down and begs cops to come get him. An officer laughs and calls the suspect an idiot before grabbing firefighters to knock out enough bricks to pull the man free. He's now behind bars on drug charges and many outstanding warrants. Ho, ho, ho on drug charges and many outstanding warrants.

More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Lindley. A chilling case in Manhattan as a man faces dual charges in the fatal shooting of a United Healthcare executive. Crime Online's Sydney Sumner has the latest on the legal battles and the deeper implications. 26-year-old Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and terrorism in a Manhattan courtroom. Mangione is accused of killing Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in a targeted attack last month. The Manhattan District Attorney filed state charges last week,

including murder as an act of terrorism, while federal prosecutors pursue parallel charges that could carry the death penalty. Authorities say Mangione ambushed Thompson in midtown Manhattan as the executive headed to an investor conference. Mangione's arrest followed a five-day manhunt ending at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. Police say he was carrying the alleged murder weapon, a fake ID, and a notebook expressing hostility toward wealthy executives in the health insurance industry. His defense team claims public comments from officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have jeopardized his right to a fair trial. But Judge Gregory Caro assured the court that proceedings will remain impartial. Prosecutors described the killing as a deliberate act of terror designed to shock and intimidate.

The crime has shaken corporate America, with some executives reporting an uptick in threats. Thompson, a 20-year-old veteran of UnitedHealthcare and a father of two, was remembered as a respected leader in the industry. The state trial is expected to proceed first, with life in prison without parole as the maximum sentence. Federal prosecutors are still weighing the possibility of seeking the death penalty. A woman who pleaded guilty to a 1990 murder in which she dressed as a clown to kill the wife of a man she later married has now been released from prison, thus ending a case deemed strange even by Florida standards.

Sheila Keene Warren, now 61, served 18 months following a plea deal last year for second-degree murder in the shooting death of Marlene Warren. In a case full of unusual twists, authorities say Marlene Warren was shot by a person dressed as a clown who handed her balloons before pulling a gun. The crime remained unsolved for decades. Keene Warren, who was suspected early on, wasn't arrested until 2017, when updated DNA testing reportedly linked her to the crime scene. At the time of the killing, she worked for Marlene Warren's husband, Michael, and witnesses claimed she was having an affair with him, a claim both denied. Two years after the murder, Michael and Sheila married and eventually moved to Virginia, where they ran a

restaurant. Sheila Keene Warren's release ends a case that has haunted Palm Beach County for over 30 years. Thanks, John. Lakira Goldsmith, 20, has a date. Asked her grandmother to babysit her two-year-old son at their Montgomery, Alabama apartment. The date goes well. The couple says goodnight. Through the window, Lakira's grandma sees her getting out of the car, but she never makes it to the door.

Around 2 a.m., LakKira asked to borrow a maintenance worker's phone. He steps away while she makes a call. When he comes back, she's gone. His phone left where she was standing. LaKira's family reports are missing that day. Searches turn up nothing. LaKira Goldsmith, African-American, 5'4", long black hair, brown eyes, last seen wearing a black velvet dress. She's got severe asthma. She left her inhaler behind. If you have info on LaKira Goldsmith, please call Montgomery, Alabama PD 334-625-2810. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com and please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace.

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