Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 12.27.23

Episode Date: December 27, 2023

Catholic priest stabbed dead inside home.  Drunk restaurant patron chucks uneaten food at other customers.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Nebraska police rushed to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church after a 911 call reporting a break-in. When they get there, they find the rectory where Reverend Stephen Gutzel lives broken into. Inside, Kiara Williams standing over Gutzel with a knife. Goetzel transported to the

hospital but dies of his injuries. Nancy, Goetzel called 911 while the suspect stood across from him in the kitchen. While on the phone, the suspect grabbed a knife and stabbed the priest. Back in 2007, Goetzel was convicted of embezzling more than $100,000 from another church, but authorities do not believe Goetzel's crime was a motive for the attack. Kier Williams, 43, now charged with the murder of the Catholic priest Stephen Goetzel. Drunk, Anthony Lessa leaves his table at a Florida seafood restaurant and starts pelting other customers with gator nuggets. They ain't chicken nuggets, but from alligator meat.

Lessa then heads outside the restaurant where a life-size statue of a manatee stands, and to the horror of families eating, he begins to grope and molest the manatee, while making suggestive faces at employees desperately trying to get him to stop. Cops are called and less than 23 charged with D.C. disorderly conduct. Oh, that poor manatee. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's Jackie Howard. A mother who took her six-year-old boy to a hotel in Ohio for a special day of fun and then shot and killed him, has now received a life sentence. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online.

As part of a plea agreement with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, 31-year-old Denisha Brent of Parma, Ohio, pled guilty to aggravated murder and other crimes. As a result, the prosecution dismissed charges that might have resulted in her receiving the death penalty. She won't be eligible for parole for at least 35 years after serving her time. Both the defense and the prosecution agreed that Brent had a history of mental illness, including a schizophrenia diagnosis. She was found to be competent to stand trial nevertheless following a court-mandated mental health evaluation. According to the authorities, in April 2021, Brent drove her son, Kamir, to a hotel in Brooklyn so he could use their indoor pool. She also lavished him with candy during their time at the hotel. She did, however, ultimately shoot the boy 11 times in their room.

After that, she phoned the police and reported that roughly 30 minutes earlier, an unidentified man had shot her and her son in their room. After that, she phoned the police and reported that roughly 30 minutes earlier, an unidentified man had shot her and her son in their room. Authorities said she later admitted to fabricating the story. The motive behind the killing has still not been revealed by officials. A Utah mother of six has pleaded guilty to child abuse charges. Ruby Franke will serve time in prison for attempting to convince her two youngest children that they were evil, possessed, and in need of punishment for their sins. Standing before a court shackled and in a white and gray jail uniform, Ruby Frankie closed her eyes, took a deep breath before speaking. She then pleaded guilty to each of her first three counts. She held back on some emotion

on the fourth count and then spoke, saying, with my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children guilty. Prosecutors detailed some of the abuse the children endured, including Frankie forcing her son's head underwater, smothering him with her hands and kicking him while wearing boots. Frankie also forced her 10-year-old daughter to run barefoot on roads and withheld food and water as punishment. According to the Tribune, Frankie claims her longtime business partner, Jody Hildebrandt, twisted their friendship.

Frankie claims Hildebrandt isolated her from her extended family and older children and her husband, Kevin Frankie. She says this distorted her sense of morality shaped by Ms. Hildebrandt's influence. Franke accepted a prison sentence as part of a plea agreement. She will be sentenced in February. After a twile that Jonathan Majors thought would prove him innocent and elevate him back to the position of rising Hollywood star, he has been found guilty of beating his ex-girlfriend. Majors was

subsequently fired by Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios shortly after the verdict. Once again, Sydney Sumner. 34-year-old Majors was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of one minor assault charge and one harassment violation. The charges stemmed from a March dispute with his then girlfriend, Grace Jabari. She said he assaulted her in a vehicle, leaving her in what she described as excruciating pain. Majors' attorneys claimed Jabari was the aggressor. Majors, who was found not guilty of aggravated harassment in another assault charge, cast a downward glance and remained silent during the reading of the verdict. As he exited the courthouse, he declined to comment.

Following the conviction, Marvel and Disney promptly removed the Creed 3 star from all planned projects. This according to a person close to the studio who spoke anonymously because he was not allowed to discuss the case in public. Sentencing for majors is scheduled for February 6th. Thanks, Jackie. Chelsea Grimm makes plans to go to a family wedding in Connecticut with her parents. Grimm decides to drive after finding out her pet lizard would not be allowed on a plane. She drives from San Diego to Phoenix where she spends the night with her sister and a friend. Grimm cancels lunch plans with the group the next day and insists she needs to get going. That evening, she tries to book a room at a motel in Seligman, a detour from the route to Connecticut.

She seems disoriented and tries to give the desk attendant euros. Grimm calls her parents to let them know she won't make the wedding, so she's turning back. In the days after that call, there are several reports of Grimm sleeping in her car in Arizona. Three days after the last sighting, her car is found in a remote wooded area with two flat tires, her purse, the lizard, and a sleeping bag missing from the unlocked car. There's been no activity on her bank account or phone for three months. If you have info on Chelsea Grimm, please call Coconino County

Sheriff's 928-774-4523. 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.