Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Defense Rests in Delphi Trial | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 11.09.24

Episode Date: November 9, 2024

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert Here's one of our top stories this week.  The  defense in the Richard Allen murder trial surprised the judge and the prosecution resting its case, calling only about half the witnesses planned.  Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Drew Nelson. On day 17 of the Delphi murders trial in Indiana, the state presented its rebuttal witnesses following the defense's unexpected move to rest its case. Richard Allen, the 52-year-old man accused in the 2017 killings of teenagers Abby Williams

and Libby German German chose not to testify in his own defense. The trial, which has spanned nearly three weeks, has seen both sides call numerous experts and witnesses in an attempt to either prove or disprove Allen's connection to the murders near the Monon High Bridge. With closing arguments set for today, the prosecution is aiming to solidify its case by challenging the defense's portrayal of Allen's mental state and confinement conditions. The first rebuttal witness called by the state was Breanne Wilbur, who previously testified about her time on the Delphi Trails February 13th of 2017, the day the two girls

went missing. Wilbur, who captured a Snapchat photo at the Freedom Bridge that day, confirmed to the court that she arrived at the bridge around 1225 p.m. and walked to the Monon High Bridge. She stated that she didn't see anyone matching the description of bridge guy or any young girls during her time on the trail. Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin pressed Wilbur on her ability to recall specific details from seven years ago, suggesting that her memory might not be entirely reliable. Wilbur stood fast, noting that her discussions with police shortly after the event had helped her remember key details. During a redirected examination, Prosecutor Stacey Diener emphasized Wilbur's assertion that the events of that day had a lasting impression on her,

reinforcing the credibility of her testimony. The state then called Indiana State Police Master Trooper Brian Harshman, who had previously analyzed audio evidence in the case. Harshman, who reviewed numerous recordings, testified earlier that he believed Allen's voice matched the voice captured in the infamous Bridge Guy recording, saying to the girls, quote, down the hill. Harshman described Allen's experiences in solitary confinement at Westville Correctional Facility, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, and Cass County Jail. Harshman noted that while Allen had faced extreme isolation, he was able to communicate with neighboring inmates at Westville and participated in brief moments of recreation. But he also mentioned that Allen had displayed

concerning behavior, including verbal threats to Cass County Jail staff, an observation that was stricken from the record following objections from the defense. Up next, a psychiatrist says Richard Allen was stable after receiving antipsychotics, but the video evidence could suggest otherwise. I'm Dave Mack. A heart-wrenching moment in a Cleveland courtroom when a teen killer is sentenced for murdering his friend. Stephen Sopko from Parma has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of 14-year-old Braylon Harge.

The 17-year-old was convicted of aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault in connection with the fatal shooting. The sentencing hearing was an emotional experience with the victim's mother, Sierra LaFleur, delivering a powerful victim impact statement. She held her son's ashes in an urn as she addressed the court. Take a listen. I want to say thank you to the prosecutors and detectives and everybody for bringing me justice for my baby. On November 5th, 2023, Sopko lured Harge to his girlfriend's house near East 90th Street and Edmonds Avenue in Cleveland. Once there, he executed a calculated and brutal act of violence, firing multiple shots into Harge's back as he bent down to tie his shoe.

The young victim was left to die in the street. During his trial, prosecutors detailed how the then 16-year-old shot the 14-year-old more than a dozen times in the back. The Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit linked Sopko to the murder through phone and social media records and ballistic evidence. LaFleur's testimony was particularly poignant as she described the immense pain and suffering she has endured since the loss of her son. She spoke of Harge's bright future and his dreams, which were cruelly extinguished by Sopko's actions. Judge Nancy First condemned Sopko's actions, describing the crime as a, quote, cruel and brutal offense, end quote.

She imposed a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 31 years. The teen did not react when Judge Nancy First shared that his fate, Sopko, was tried as an adult. The motive for the murder remains unknown. I'm Nicole Parton. To South Carolina, a story difficult to report. Heather Bainert, a 14-year-old little girl who suffered from cerebral palsy, died in April, hours after her father carried her gray, cold, lifeless body into the hospital in Greenville. An autopsy performed a few days later showed the girl whose legs had rotted so badly that one witness said they looked like, quote, raw meat. The little girl had been neglected

for many, many months, this according to the Cherokee County coroner. It was, in fact, the absolute worst case of child neglect this medical examiner had ever encountered. Last Thursday, a jury convicted Baynard's dad, David, her mom, Bobby Joe, and her 21-year-old brother, Edward, of murder and other crimes associated with the girl's gruesome death. She suffered and she went through minute by minute, according to prosecutors, not just for hours, not for a day, not for a week, he said, ladies and gentlemen. This girl suffered day by day. For more, here's Barry Barnett. It's her body that's the evidence of this.

The house just probably neglected to let it do all this because her body alone is in that situation. The girl's parents, 55-year-old David Baynard and Bobby Joe Baynard, 45, were sentenced to life in prison as well as 20 years for infliction of great bodily injury on a child. Meanwhile, the girl's brother, Edward Baynard, who was an employee at Access Healthcare, had made more than $25,000 over 18 months as his sister's personal caregiver. He was convicted of the same crime and given equally stiff sentence of 30 years for murder, 20 years for inflicting great bodily injury. The horrific story began when David, the father, brought his daughter to the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. NBC reports that the child was unresponsive and cold,

yet neither parent showed any emotion or sense of urgency. Police reports say David, the father, sat in the waiting room playing games on his cell phone while the doctors worked on his dying daughter, who was pronounced dead later that night. When police went to the family's home in Camp Ferry, they said the shocking discovery made them physically sick. Junk and garbage was piled several feet high inside the home. NBC News affiliates said that the animal feces and urine and human feces was piled inches high inside the home. Police reports say the house was filled with 40 malnourished flea infested pets. Also that the home was infested with maggots,

roaches and piles of trash. Those bugs had infested the open wounds inside the 14-year-old girl, causing her to have a severe infection and ultimately die. This is the worst case of neglect that we have ever seen in the county, said Detective Mueller. Doctors and coroners testified they had never seen anyone in such horrible shape, with one witness saying it would have been better if the girl had died swiftly instead of enduring such a terrible long-lasting suffering. Prosecutors were equally shocked. Nobody in the world, especially a child, deserves to suffer like this, said the prosecution. It was horrible. Heather was left to rot to death. Her parents and brother will spend the rest of their life behind bars. For the latest crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update

on your favorite podcasting app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Nicole Parton. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.