Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 6AM 12.11.24 | Teen Charged With Murder After Trying to Bury Newborn

Episode Date: December 11, 2024

A Marietta, Georgia, teen now charged with murder after officers find Leticia Rodriguez's newborn baby dead on the ground. Rodriquez is digging a hole to bury the infant.  Rodriguez, had given birth just hours earlier, alone.  Police say they are investigating whether her family even knew about her pregnancy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Late night, Marietta, Georgia, a 17-year-old girl digs a hole in her backyard. Concerned relatives call 911. Officers find Letitia Rodriguez's newborn baby dead on the ground. The hole intended to be a grave. Rodriguez lives with her family and had gone into labor, delivered the baby all alone. Now, just hours after birth, she needs immediate medical attention. Police say they're investigating whether her family even realized she was pregnant. Nancy, police are releasing new details about the gruesome crime scene,

now saying the newborn baby boy was found clearly injured before his death. Rodriguez claimed the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, so she used a knife to cut it away, lacerating the baby's neck in the process. Rodriguez also used a second knife to, quote, cut out the baby's heart. Rodriguez facing charges of concealing a death, abuse of a dead body, and abandonment. Rodriguez has been additionally charged with dead body, and abandonment. Rodriguez has been additionally charged with aggravated assault and felony murder. A TikTok influencer in Florida arrested for shoplifting after posting a video showcasing her stolen items. Marlena Velez, 22,

allegedly uses a fake barcode at a Target self-checkout to steal $500 worth of stuff. After releasing surveillance footage of Velez in the store, Cape Coral police received an anonymous tip from one of Velez's 300,000 followers. The footage matches a TikTok she posted, showing her shopping at that Target in the very same outfit. Officer Riley Carter says she essentially incriminated herself, showing off her self-checkout loot. Hey, nobody said criminals were smart, did they? More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. Authorities are working to extradite Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect

in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, back to New York to face murder charges. Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a McDonald's customer recognized him and alerted police. Officers found Mangione seated with a laptop wearing a mask. When questioned, he provided false identification, but reportedly became visibly nervous when asked about New York. He was carrying a firearm similar to the one used in the crime, a fake ID linked to the shooter's check-in at a New York hostel,

and a document expressing hostility toward corporate America. This, according to police. 50-year-old Thompson was fatally shot last Wednesday in what investigators describe as a targeted attack. Surveillance footage indicates the gunman fled Manhattan by bus. Mangione, who remains jailed in Pennsylvania, was also charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and other offenses. New York prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant to expedite his extradition. Authorities continue to piece together Mangione's background, which includes a stellar

academic record and past residency in Honolulu, where he reportedly struggled with chronic back pain. Police say Mangione had $10,000 in cash and a passport at the time of his arrest. In Indiana, justice has finally been served in a case that remained cold for nearly five decades. For more, we turn to Sidney Sumner of Crime Online. 69-year-old Fred Bandy Jr. of Goshen, Indiana, was sentenced to life in prison for the 1975 murder of 17-year-old Laurel Jean Mitchell. Mitchell vanished after leaving her job at a local church camp, and her body was discovered in the Elkhart River the following day. The long-awaited sentencing was handed down by a Noble County judge. Bandy, convicted of first-degree murder earlier this month in a bench trial,

will now face life behind bars with the possibility of parole. His attorney has yet to comment on the ruling. This case dates back to August 1975, when Mitchell's disappearance shook the small community of North Webster, located about 140 miles northeast of Indianapolis. After years without answers, a major breakthrough came last year when Bandy, along with 69-year-old John Wayne Lamum of Auburn, Indiana, was charged in connection with her death. Lamum, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month. In a deposition this past August, Lamum claimed that Bandy raped and drowned Mitchell. While he denied taking part in the killing, he admitted his fear of Bandy prevented him

from intervening. The case was revived through advancements in DNA technology. Investigators were able to test evidence that had been preserved since 1975, including Mitchell's clothing. A DNA profile linked Bandy to the crime, with testing determining it was 13 billion times more likely that his DNA was present on the clothing than that of any other unknown person. Prosecutors were also armed with witness testimony. Three individuals, teenagers at the time of the murder, came forward decades later with information implicating both Bandy and Lehman. Investigators say these witness statements, combined with the DNA evidence, were key in solving this nearly 50-year-old mystery.

Thanks, John. A car accident sets off a mysterious chain of events, leading to the disappearance of 21-year-old Stefan Chan. On April 2, 2018, Chan involved in a single-car crash east Templeton, Massachusetts. He calls an Uber to get to Irving, where he vanishes. Tracker dogs briefly pick up a scent, then lose it. Chan's family describes him as visibly stressed in the weeks prior. Authorities conduct extensive searches, including ground teams, drones, reviewing his social media for clues, but no new info emerges. Stephen Chan, Asian, 5'8 to 5'9, 140 pounds, black hair, brown eyes, glasses. Anyone with info, please contact Massachusetts State Police, 508-820-2300.

For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.