Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Florida hostage standoff claims lives of 4 children, new bizarre twist in murder of bride-to-be, Rachel DelTondo

Episode Date: June 12, 2018

A 21-hour-long standoff between police and a man ended with 5 dead -- including 4 children -- and a police officer critically wounded in Orlando, Florida. Police say Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr barricaded himself in an apartment after his girlfriend reported him for domestic violence. Nancy Grace looks at the tragic case with private investigator Vincent Hill, psychologist Caryn Stark, and  reporter John Lemley. The murder of a beautiful young teacher is a mystery with many twists, some involving police officials in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.  BeaverCountian.com reporter John Paul Vranesevich and CrimeOnline reporter Ellen Killoran join Nancy to update the probe of the fatal ambush of Rachael DelTondo. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph, Channel 132. Suspect is barricaded in his apartment. He has four hostages, all children. When you're dealing with children in a hostage situation, it can be a long process. The right words are crucial. We've talked to him several times. OPD hostage negotiators have had roughly half a dozen conversations by cell phone with this suspect. Investigators say he barricaded himself inside an apartment Sunday following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. There was a woman who had met her officers off-site and relayed to her officers that

her boyfriend had battered her. And at some point, there was an exchange of gunfire. We saw from the window, it was with blood on his face. I think he was shot somewhere in the face or something here. It was horrible. It all started off with an argument between the boyfriend and the girlfriend. By the end of it, five people are dead. An officer is wounded. Why did it end this way? We all went to bed last night praying that these four tiny children would

survive a hostage standoff in Orlando, Florida. No one could take in that their own dad, two of them, and mommy's boyfriend to the other two would actually take their lives. We woke up this morning to the worst news. All four children are dead. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. What happened and how could it have been stopped? I'm talking about Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., 35 years old, allegedly gets into an argument with his girlfriend when police are called. Instead of walking out with his hands in the air, he starts shooting at police officers. One officer struck during gunfire exchange. He's at the hospital where he had to undergo surgery. taking the four children hostage to his biological children,

to the biological children of the girlfriend. A man accused of battering his girlfriend shoots an officer and barricades himself in a Florida apartment. Joining me right now, crime stories investigative reporter John Limley, renowned New York psychologist Karen Stark, Joining me right now, Crime Stories investigative reporter John Limley, renowned New York psychologist Karen Stark, former cop, current private investigator Vincent Hill. John Limley, it's so hard for me to take in that this all unfolded really right before our eyes. And when we all fell asleep last night, there were some of the last words on my lips.

Lord, please protect those four little children and be with the cop in surgery. What happened, John? Nancy, this was a long, almost 24-hour ordeal. The standoff began at some point in the later hours of Sunday. They received a call around 1145 Sunday. A woman called, said she had been beaten by Gary Wayne Lindsay at the Westbrook Apartments. The woman had fled the second story apartment to a nearby restaurant on Kirkman Road to actually call police. Officers tried to arrest Lindsey at the apartment,

and that's when the shootout began. And the reality of it all to Vincent Hill, former cop private investigator, is on a domestic, very often the cops go in, they remove the perp, which is typically the man, from the scene. He might get a simple battery at trial from slapping or hitting the woman. He might get a temporary restraining order.

He might be ordered off the premises. And usually, sadly, that's all that happens. That was what he was facing. Am I right about that, Vincent? You're absolutely right, Nancy. But the thing about domestics, and I've been in a hostage situation which stemmed from a domestic, it's the most dangerous situation for a cop to go to. You have emotions that are running high. It's hard to de-escalate that scene. And unfortunately, that's what happened here in

Orlando Sunday night. You know, I kept telling you this too. Alan Duke joining me from LA. Do you remember the high school teacher, Tad Cummins, that made off with the student, leaving his wife and his world behind? And he's finally found across the country in the Pacific Northwest, hiding out in some commune. Remember I kept saying, I'm so worried this is going to escalate into a hostage situation. I just had that on my mind so heavily. Do you remember that, Alan? Oh, do I. Yes, we watched that drama unfold across the country for weeks,

and we were very worried because this guy had said that he had guns. He had guns, all right. He certainly did. And, you know, in these situations karen stark new york psychologist is so volatile one of my well my best girlfriend uh when i was prosecuting defense lawyer she dealt with dopers killers molesters you name it she said she'd rather defend a doper a dope lord than get involved in a divorce or a domestic because it gets so heated and so crazy they'll drive by the lawyer's house and take a shot at them so i mean that's a sad comment when

you'd rather handle a dope lord and defend them than stick your hand between two people fighting in a domestic because the emotions are so charged, Nancy, I really do understand it, that there's aggression, there's anger, rage, and impulsiveness, as you can see in this particular situation. Back to you, John Limley, Crime Stories investigative reporter. John, so there's a domestic. He's beating her.

Having worked at the Battered Women's Center for nine years in the evenings as a volunteer, it escalates so quickly. What police have to do is try to get in there and de-escalate it. What happened? Well, when this shootout began, Orlando police officer was struck almost immediately. This officer, Kevin Valencia, he suffered a significant injury. He's recovering after surgery, listed in critical condition. At that moment, this is almost 24 hours after the standoff began, officers used some sort of explosive to get into the apartment to try to rescue the children.

And as soon as they enter, they see one child right there on the floor next to the front door already dead. Four children found dead after a standoff, a hostage situation right here, I mean, it sounds like it's in some other country. It's so horrible. They go in to find the four children dead. What do we know about this guy? What provoked him? What went wrong? Vincent Hill, private investigator, you and I have both taken part in hostage situations before. Me, as looking at it to prosecute it, you in the thick of it, what is the SOP, standard operating procedure in a hostage situation, especially when there are children involved? Nancy, you definitely want to de-escalate the situation because an officer's job, number one, is preservation of life. You have to protect and serve, right?

So you want to protect those children in there. So you want to do all you can to de-escalate the situation, to get that individual to eventually come out. But I don't think this individual even had that in his head. But how do you do it how do you do it don't talk police talk to me how do you convince somebody to put their gun down and let the children live well it takes time man so you have to get them to think that you're on their side and that you want to see this through Once you start getting them to believe you're on their side,

that's when you start to build that trust, and eventually they do that. How long did this go on, the standoff, John Limley? The entire timeline from start to finish was approximately 20 hours that all of this took place. Of course, they're still trying to determine at which point the gunman actually killed himself as well. After 20 hours of standoff, police find Gary Wayne Lindsay Jr. dead in a closet, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, all four children he was holding hostage dead from gunshot wounds. Listen. We made entry into the apartment and found that all four children had been killed by the suspect by apparent gunshot wounds.

And here's the suspect for his own life as well. Our hearts go out to all the families involved. And I know everyone has a lot of questions very early on in this investigation at this scene. I also want to give you an update on Officer Kevin Valencia. He remains in critical condition. So we're still asking for his thoughts and prayers as well. This is going down at about 12.30 a.m. last night. It is unclear when 35-year-old Lindsey actually killed the children.

Were they killed at the very beginning? We don't know. They're ages 1, 6, 10, and 11. So you know the 10-year-old and the 11-year-old knew what was happening while they were being held hostage. They knew they were away from Mommy. My children are 10. They still believe in Santa Claus. And to think what this guy did to them,

a police officer taking a bullet wound, having to undergo surgery in the night, all starting over a domestic incident. What do we know about this guy? This guy, whose name will forever be in infamy, Gary Wayne Lindsay Jr. John Lindley, what do we know about him? Records date all the way back to 2008, showing that Lindsay was, at the time this weekend, on felony probation, having pleaded no contest to charges of arson of a dwelling, willful fleeing or eluding law enforcement and domestic battery. Even as recently as 2012, another incident shows that he was arrested on domestic violence. Another incident involving a woman at an apartment complex. And it's still unclear how he was able to continue down this path of you may be out walking

free with all those convictions and on probation and parole precisely precisely law enforcement saying that they were in constant contact with lindsey throughout these 20 hours. And that he was on his cell phone. His cell phone was connected via Wi-Fi. The connection was, as they say, spotty. Can you imagine what those children were going through? They want to go to their mommy's. He's got them up in the night.

He's on the cell phone. Now, cops continue to use other means to contact him, but around 8.30 in the evening, they try to get him one of their phones so they can talk to him more directly. And the cop in charge of handing that phone over noticed immediately, this is at 8.30, that one of the children were visibly dead. So one child we know of was dead at 8.30 p.m. Around nine o'clock, there was a loud boom. The sound was near the entrance to the apartment, And that is where they find Lindsay and all four children dead. Two of the children were his. The other two were related to the woman who ran out of the apartment at the beginning. A lot of people this morning pointing the

finger at her. Why is it always that way? Why didn't she take the children with her? I don't know. But she's not the one that pulled the trigger on four little children. A domestic violence case explodes in the headlines. Listen to what law enforcement says in a late-night presser. How did it all happen? How did the children die? How did the suspect die? So the children died from apparent gunshot wounds,

and it appears the suspect took his life as well. Was it around 9 o'clock that you guys went and entered the home? Not on the exact time, but it's an approximate time. When's the last time you spoke to the suspect? We have been in constant contact both directly and indirectly throughout the day and as late as the 9 o'clock hour. When was the last time you heard from the suspect, though? That's when police made contact with him. When did you hear from the suspect last? The last time we made contact with the suspect was

indirectly around the 830, 9 o'clock hour. When do you think the children were killed? We have no idea. When those four children lost their lives, that will all be part of the investigation. Do you believe we heard a big boom around 9 o'clock? How did that happen? Was it you guys got indication from the suspect that something bad had happened? Is that why you went in the house? So earlier tonight, like I said, we had been in direct and indirect contact with the suspect.

At one point, we were having trouble with the suspect's phone. He had one of those Wi-Fi-only phones, so the connection really wasn't good. And although we were talking with him through other means, we wanted to talk to him on the phone. We tried to introduce one of our phones, and when we did that, we noticed one of the children were obviously deceased, and that's when we decided to start our plans to make entry and try and rescue the rest of the children. Was he dead when you guys arrived,

or did he kill himself after the arrival? I don't understand. When you guys went into the apartment, did he then threaten to kill himself and then kill himself or had he already committed suicide? I would say the SWAT officers found him in the closet already deceased. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph 132. Did you know about a recent law that could leave your personal data exposed online for anybody to find? If you've turned on the news lately, you know the internet has created a dangerous new world. Data breaches expose private information. There's a new cyber security threat every other day. And criminals can sell the identity of you and your family on the dark web.

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What happened? In the very latest Hold On To Your Hat, a police chief has been put on leave, kicked out, escorted Rachel Del Tondo in the middle of all this police fatality? One after the next being suspended, fired, put on leave, you name it. We search for the truth. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Well, it all started right here where Rachel Del Tondo, with stars in her eyes, planned to marry. Take a listen to this. When Rachel got

engaged, mom took over planning a big-time wedding, including a nearly $10,000 gown to be handmade by a New York designer. It was a custom dress. It had to be made to her measurements. The family put down a deposit of more than $4,000. That, according to the contract, was non-refundable DESSERT. THE FAMILY WAS MAKING A MESSAGE TO THE FAMILY THAT THE FAMILY HAD TO MAKE A MESSAGE TO THE WEDDING. IT HAD TO BE MADE TO HER MEASUREMENTS. THE FAMILY PUT DOWN A

DEPOSIT OF MORE THAN $4,000. THAT ACCORDING TO THE CONTRACT WAS NONREFUNDABLE AND NONTRANSFERRABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. THEY BOUGHT THE DRESS AT ANNE GREGORY FOR THE BRIDE IN DORMOND.

RACIAL DEL TONDO WAS MEASURED. THE FAMILY PUT DOWN NEARLY HALF. IT'S MADE TO ORDER. AND THERE'S NO EXCHANGES. NO REFUNDS. It's made to order, and there's no exchanges, no refunds. I understood that. Four months after the contract was signed, the wedding was called off. Lisa Del Tondo called the New York designer to see if they had started on the dress and asked for a refund. I called New York. I did. He told me it couldn't be done.

Now, amidst all this wedding dress confusion, and I'll circle back to a $ thousand dollar wedding dress that really stretched the family budget but that's what everybody wanted the fairy tale wedding then her death listen it's shameful that this woman was painted with with a police report that had been written that did not result in criminal charges so it was a personal vendetta against her at the time. Joining me right now, John Paul Vranesevich, editor, reporter with TheBeaverCounty.com. He initially published the police report that resulted in Del Tonda's firing, and he has been on the story since the very, very beginning. John Paul Vranesevich, thank you so much for being with us. It's hard to say,

let's start at the beginning in a story like this, but let's start at the beginning, then we'll circle back to why are all the cops getting fired over this? Start at the beginning, John Paul. The beginning of the story when I covered it was late last year in October when I received an anonymous email that contained a leak from the Aliquippa Police Department of sensitive law enforcement database information related to Rachel Del Tondo. It was information from what we can in Pennsylvania call our JNET system, which is a justice net system that keeps information about individuals, information such as your driver's license, data, that sort of data. It got leaked from the department.

Okay, hold on just a moment. Guys, again with me, the man who originally broke the story, John Paul Verneshevitz with the BeaverCounty.com. John Paul, I recall in the district attorney's office and when I was a fed, we had access to all sorts of private information. And I never really thought twice about it, John Paul. I mean, I never thought about, wow, I could copy this and leak it to somebody. I would just, you know, for instance, a bond hearing. I had a bond hearing in the afternoon. I'd race back and run an NCIC and a GCIC, in other words, a federal report and a state report on whoever was trying to get a bond. I'd print it off and run out of the office over to the courthouse. I never realized or even considered at my fingertips was the ability to destroy people's lives. But that's what happened here. I wasn't thinking, oh, this is a secure computer,

nobody can get this unless they've had a fingerprint and a lie detector and blah, blah, blah. But that's exactly what you're talking about, John Paul. Yeah, along with that sensitive information, also included in the leak that I received was a copy of a police report related to an incident back in February of 2016 in which Rachel Del Tondo was discovered by Aliquippa police with a 17-year-old student at about 2 o'clock in the morning in a parked car in a parking lot. Hold on, John Paul. I'm sorry, but every sentence you utter is like a tripwire.

It's like a bomb blowing up. Guys, did you hear what John Paul just said? Karen Stark, joining me, renowned New York psychologist, you know, he just trips off his tongue. But did you hear what he said? Before her engagement was broken, she's caught by cops in a car. There's nothing wrong with sitting in a car. But as I always say, Karen, nothing good happens after midnight. 2 a.m. in a car parked in a parking lot with a teen boy in the car. The car's turned off and the windows are all steamed up. That's not a

good look, Karen Stark. And then her engagement is broken off. But it's not just that it's a bad look, Nancy. Here is somebody who is in a position of authority and she's with a 17-year-old in a parked car, a boy, and she's taking advantage of this particular child if this allegation is true. Now hold on, hold on just a moment. Hold your horses, Nellie. CrimeOnline.com reporter Ellen Killoran. Ellen, street name E.K.

Ellen, there was never any, well, not a suggestion. Everybody suggested it, but there was never any proof that she had any type of indecent relation. Let me just put it that way since, you know, we're on Sirius XM 132 and I don't know if my twins might turn it on. There was never any proof that any relations were going on in the car. Isn't that true, Ellen? That's correct. She and the boy were both questioned. They both said that they were just talking, that there was nothing going on, and they were both released. I have heard, and perhaps John can speak to this as well, that she had begged, even though she said there was nothing going on, she had begged no one to talk about it because she didn't want her fiance to find out at the time.

But she was never charged with any wrongdoing. Is that true, John Paul? I had talked to Rachel Del Tondo before her death, and she had denied saying that. But your reporter is correct that that statement is in the police report from Alquippa Police. But there's where we get another interesting turn. Although this incident happened in February of 2016, the police released both individuals. No one was charged at the time. They didn't enter a report into their system until a year later, sometime around April and May of 2017, is when the Aliquippa police, for some reason,

decided to write an incident report in their system about that night from a year prior. I didn't know that, John Paul Vernesevich. With me from the beavercounty.com, John Paul Vernesevich with me from the beavercountian.com John Paul Vernesevich that is a very odd John Paul regarding police procedure now that's the first time I've learned that that particular fact that they find her in the car and I'm looking at her photo right now and everybody on the program right now Vincent Hill Karen karen stark ellen kaloran john paul vernesovich you know the photo it's her with her hands on her hips she looks like she's at a hotel i think i see luggage in the background and the staircase beautiful staircase she's got on a

gorgeous sequined mini dress she's beautiful big smile on her face. Obviously, it's some event. I didn't know, John Paul, that one year after this young teacher is caught in the car with a teen boy, that's when they file the report. Because you know, John Paul, that's contrary to police procedure. So many times I would try to find cops that I had subpoenaed on various cases, and it would be six o'clock in the morning, John Paul, when I was trying to get everybody assembled at the courthouse for trial that day, they would still be at HQ filling out reports from the night before, exhausted. They would come in bleary-eyed and tired to testify in my trial and then go home and sleep. So they would stay, John Paul, and fill out those reports because that was

their job. But here they waited a year. Here's my question. How soon after this report was filed on this secretly encrypted computer, J-Net, was it leaked? So the report was created in April or May of 2017 about the incident from February of 2016. And then it was leaked to me, several other media outlets, and her employer, the school where she worked, in October of last year, October of 2017. Okay. So about five months after they created the report, the leak that I received from the individual alleged that it was a cover-up and that the police had not followed proper procedure, as you noted. And that was the purported reason why this individual was leaking the information publicly. Shortly after the leak occurred, she was suspended from her teaching position pending an investigation about that incident that occurred at that point a year and a half earlier,

and she was still on suspension from her position when she was murdered. So they wait a year to file the report, which I did not know, which is highly, highly unusual. Then a few months after it's finally reported, it gets leaked. And John Paul Vernesevich is telling us the cover-up, is the cover-up that was exposed by leaking the report that they hadn't filed the report, is that the big cover-up? What were they covering up and for who? What the alleged cover-up was in the leak was that because of Rachel Del Tondo's relationships with certain individuals in the city and their relationships with the police department, as well as relationships that the boy that she was caught in the car with had with individuals in the town, that the police basically just washed their hands of the incident and didn't follow proper procedure.

And that was the gist or the pretext for the leak. What relationships? You left me hanging, John Paul. What relationships were so important they didn't file a report? The information I have is that the young man who was found in the vehicle with Rachel Del Tondo is related to the mayor of the town. And Rachel Del Tondo's fiance, who is mentioned in the police report as Frank, who is Frank Catropa, ex-fiance. Now, Frank Catropa is a well-known businessman from the town and had been a significant donor to the police department. He had helped to acquire a SUV for them to use with their drug canine dog, among other things.

John Paul Vranesevich. I'm just letting this soak in. Alan, are you there? Did you hear that, what he just told us? This is a twisted, bizarre case. That's a bombshell. Yeah. I kept wondering why all the drama when they weren't even doing anything wrong that we can tell.

As a matter of fact, she was apparently involved with somebody else related to this young boy but they weren't even doing anything wrong that's why i didn't understand the big drama about it this teacher caught in the car 2 a.m with a teen boy okay it looks bad but apparently nothing untoward occurred in there. So why the drama? And John Paul Vernesevich, with the Beaver Countonian, just dropped a bomb on me. She is related. I mean, she's engaged to a super rich guy who has donated a lot to the police department. And the teen boy is a relative of the mayor. Well, the plot is thickening.

I know you all hate it, Vincent Hill, private investigator, when I start quoting Shakespeare. But here it comes. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. It's all blown up in everybody's faces. Vincent Hill, private investigator, how many times have you seen cases that start? And it's just no more than a hill of beans. But by the end, the cover up, everything blows up and there are a lot of casualties. Yeah, Nancy, something in the milk here is not clean. What I can tell you is I doubt this was a random act. I mean, we're looking at a town with one murder average per year, eight robberies per year.

So you're not looking at a high crime rate, 10,000 people in that small town. So this is someone that had a very particular vendetta against her, especially the way she was shot, how many times she was shot. And now that we hear that the kid she was in the car with is related to the mayor. The boyfriend had a lot of money. There's something going on here, Nancy. When this all falls over, it's going to shock a lot of people. I feel like I have landed in a basket of snakes. Listen to this. Having a meeting right now with all the detectives that are working on the case.

As you know, this is an ongoing homicide investigation. We have an active group with the Pennsylvania State Police, the Beaver County Detective Bureau, and the Aliquippa Police Department working very hard together. It's very sad. You have a very quiet, a very quaint neighborhood where this tragedy happened. We obviously regret this. We have prayers and sympathies for the families. The Aliquippa name gets thrown out there a lot, and it should not. This was a very nice, quiet neighborhood, and to have this invade This was a very nice, quiet neighborhood, and to have this invade any family is sad. We're working hard to solve this problem together.

The police departments of Beaver County work very well together. We'll let you know as soon as we have one. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph 132. If you're over the age of 50 and considering buying an annuity in the next 60 days, I have some important news for you. Don't buy an annuity until you understand the pros and cons of annuities. A free book to help you maximize your retirement income from television host and three-time author Josh Melberg has been released. This book reveals little-known truths about annuity strategies in simple-to-understand terms. Grab a pen right now because we are about to offer you this free book that unlocks the five little-known secrets we believe baby boomers and seniors should know before buying an annuity. Call 800-835-0176 now and you'll receive a free copy of Josh Melberg's book,

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Members get unlimited searches, so you can also look up those close to you and make sure they're not hiding something. Visit truthfinder.com slash Nancy. Enter your own name. Get started. Results may vary, not a solicitation for legal services. If you owe the IRS back taxes, payroll taxes, or have not filed your returns, the IRS will get you. They can take

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Go to truthfinder.com slash Nancy and enter any name to get started. I'm Nancy Grace and you are listening to the Triumph Channel, Sirius XM 132. Well, the plot is thickening in the murder of a gorgeous young school teacher, Rachel Del Tonda. Well, I thought the scenario had calmed down and assumed that investigations were being done, and we would soon have the answer. That is anything but the truth. As a matter of fact, in the last hours, police personnel are dropping like flies within the police department there in Alquippa where Rachel was murdered. Why? With me, Vincent Hill, private investigator, Karen Stark, renowned New York psychologist, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, Ellen Killorn, and superstar editor and reporter with the BeaverCountian.com, who initially broke this story, John Paul Vranesevich.

And boy, have I been wanting to talk to you. Now we are learning of an intricate series of connections between the teacher, the police department, the teen boy in her car at 2 a.m., and the mayor. No one is a suspect. Everyone is a suspect. No one is named a person of interest or a formal suspect now. Let's just put that out there. John Paul Vranesevich. So they wait a year to file the report. It gets filed. A couple of months later, someone with access to government-protected J-Net leaks it. To whom is it leaked? At this point, we do not know. What the Aliquippa police, well, the former Aliquippa police chief, Don Couch, had said was that the leak of the information, he dubbed that a quote-unquote clerical error. He refused to disclose

who it was provided to. Who said that? That was the former police chief, Donald Couch. A clerical error. Wow. What a coinkydink, a coincidence, a clerical error. And it just happened to be leaked to the media and to what, the fiance, the rich fiance? We do not have confirmation that it was, that it was leaked to him at this point. Thank you for correcting me. Go ahead. After the report came out that this information had been leaked, the Pennsylvania State Police announced that they were launching a criminal investigation into the Aliquippa Police Department as a result of this leak. That investigation, as last I've heard, remains open. In March of this year, the Pennsylvania State Police executed a search warrant on the Aliquippa City Building as part of a grand jury investigation into the city and its police department. And that was according to State Police Lieutenant

Eric Hermick at the time. Wow. It's like Medusa. There are so many snakes coming out of this. It's like a multi-tentacled sea creature. It's going to be hard to know in which direction to go. As a matter of fact, the fact that there are so many potential suspects with motive to kill the young teacher on Mother's Day, shooting her dead in a targeted attack after she comes home from an ice cream parlor with friends that Sunday evening, Mother's Day as a matter of fact. It could be anybody, listen. We're getting video cameras, we are downloading information, we are interviewing witnesses, we are doing everything we can. Investigating everyone that was driving around Aliquippa that night that was anywhere near this young lady's house. John Paul, that evening, that night, that 2 a.m. incident that started the whole domino effect, no charges were ever leveled against Rachel Del Tondo or the boy, of course.

But after the report was leaked, the fiancé breaks up with her. She's stuck with this wedding dress. And they go on TV for a little, let me say, consumer help segment to try to get some of the money back. Listen. Del Tondo says she told the local bridal salon she'd pay the balance and take delivery of the dress. I wanted the gown so I could sell it. Del Tondo says the salon never delivered the dress and refused to refund her money so she took the owner to small claims court. It says disposition default judgment for plaintiff. Court papers indicate the salon owner did not appear for

the hearing. As a result, he was ordered to pay the Del Tondo's more than $4,600. He had 30 days to write us a check or file an appeal. And he didn't either? He didn't either. Salon owner Gregory Cherico. In an email, he told me, December got by me with two deaths in the family. We will be sending a certified check out to Del Tondo. Thanks for your efforts. His attorney sent us a letter stating, Mr. Cherico denies that Ann Gregory owed any money to Ms. Del Tondo as she was given the purchase contract. Had an opportunity to review the terms of the contract, which unambiguously advised her that the custom order for her bridal gown could not be refunded. So after this TV appearance, the whole town and more, the whole region,

knows about the broken engagement, the $10,000 wedding dress, and what Rachel Del Tonda looks like. Then she's gunned down on Mother's Day Sunday evening in her parents' front yard. I have reason to believe, John Paul, that she was targeted, that someone was waiting for her to appear. They knew she was coming back in a vehicle. She had barely gotten out of the vehicle when she was gunned down, multiple gunshot wounds, still waiting to find out if they were at close range or not. What do we know about her murder specifically, John Paul? I know you have the very latest on the cops being fired and put on leave and under investigation, but I'm still hung up on her

murder. Do we know if any of the shots were close range? What do we know about her autopsy? Yeah, there's been no autopsy information released other than the coroner confirming that this was a homicide. She was shot multiple times, upwards of 10. And I am told from my law enforcement sources that it was at close range and that she had positioned herself in what is being described to me by law enforcement sources that it was at close range and that she had positioned herself in what is being described to me by law enforcement in a defensive posture prior to being shot. Did you say it was or was not at close range? It was. Vincent Hill, you know, you and I had speculated about that when it first happened,

that we thought either it had to be like a sniper hit from somewhere in the bushes or a close range. This is not like a robbery because nothing was missing. It was not a sex attack, clearly. And now John Paul is stating that she was in a defensive posture. That could mean that there were bullet wounds on her arms or hands as she held her hands up to her face. At some point, very often, victims go down on the ground. They curl up in a ball like a fetal position. What does it say to you? You're the former cop, now private investigator. Well, Nancy, it quite clearly tells me she saw it coming. So likely the shooter made sure Rachel knew she was there before those shots were fired.

Because if she was shot in the back first, she likely wouldn't be in a defensive position. So she saw who did this. She knew who did this right before she died. John Paul Vernesevich with the BeaverCounty and.com, you wrote that an internal memo was circulated or was originated with the Aliquippa PD showing the department had been very critical of a Sergeant Watkins' behavior the night of Rachel's murder. What does that mean? So one of the last people to see Rachel Del Tondo alive was one of her friends who was driving the vehicle that dropped her off back at home that night, who is a minor, so I've not named her. But she is the daughter of Sergeant Kenneth Watkins. So one of the last people to see Rachel alive is the daughter of the police. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

OK. Last people see Rachel live is the daughter of the police. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay. John Paul Vernesevich. It gets even more knotted up. So that night, the dead teacher is having ice cream with the police chief's daughter? The sergeant's daughter. Sergeant. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, go ahead. This is Sergeant Kenneth Watkins' daughter that drops her off before the shooting. After the shooting occurred and police arrived, Sergeant Watkins was off duty that night. He shows up to the crime scene after it's been taped off along with his minor daughter. He brings her, and they show up to the crime scene, and he's off duty and he, according to documents I've obtained, drafted by a police captain, Seelock, he then dives underneath the police tape and potentially compromises the crime scene. With his daughter. Okay. Now, the memo said something to the effect, I've showed no respect for the crime scene. What does that mean? According to the memo, he was on more than one occasion ordered by on-duty officers not to go underneath the police tape into the crime scene area,

and that he on more than one occasion went ahead and went underneath the crime scene tape into the crime scene. And the language used by Captain Seelock at the time is he could have contaminated the crime scene, quote unquote. OK, tell me what's happening now, John Paul, because we understand that police have been suspended, that they're under investigation. What's happening? Why are so many cops dropping like flies within the department? All right. Here's what I can tell you. We know that Sergeant Kenneth Watkins was placed on paid administrative leave because of his daughter's involvement as a witness in the case is the official reason why. Internal memos show

that the then police chief wanted to take or wants to take disciplinary action for him disobeying on-duty officers and crossing the crime scene tape. After that incident, and this is now taking us to last Wednesday, the police chief at a council meeting, Chief Donald Couch, the council voted unanimously to put him on a paid administrative suspension. There is conflicting information on the reason for that. The town's solicitor, Myron Sandwich, says it is because of complaints from his fellow officers and it is a personnel issue. A councilman, Matthew Modis, from the town, has said that he has firsthand information that the police chief is the subject of a state police investigation. And that is the rationale that he has publicly provided for his vote to suspend the chief. Council then appointed an investigation, though, under investigation for what? Because of all this? It appears to be unrelated to the Del Tondo matter. It appears to be part of a

larger investigation into public corruption in the town. After his suspension, the council appoints then-assistant chief Percival to become acting chief. Less than 48 hours after he is named acting chief, he is arrested by the Beaver County detectives and is charged with distributing sexually explicit materials to a minor, and that minor was the daughter of Sergeant Kenneth Watkins, the same girl who had dropped off Rachel Felton. Oh, my stars. I need a flow chart for all of this.

Let me ask you this. John Paul Vernesevich from the BeaverCounty.com. Reports state that Del Tondo had told someone, had stated that she was going to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into the Aliquippa Police Department shortly before she was murdered. What do you know of that? So that report originated from the defense attorney of the teenager that she had been found in the car with. My reporting contradicts that. I do not believe, based on everything that I've found, that she was, at least in the near term, going to testify before that grand jury. That being said, I have reported publicly since her murder that she was a confidential source for

my publication related to corruption in the town and that she had been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Pennsylvania State Police. And during those interviews, she did give statements related to alleged corruption in the town. Wait a minute. She had been a source to you, a CI, a confidential informant? She had been a confidential journalistic source for my investigative reporting into allegations of corruption in the town prior to her murder. When you say corruption, what do you mean? What is siphoning money? What?

I, at this point, not publicly reported what the nature of her discussions with me or the state police were. And I am doing that partially at the request of law enforcement officials who tell me that those sorts of public discussions right now could in some ways hinder ongoing investigations. So out of respect for that, I have not yet publicly begun my reporting on those matters. John Paul Vernicevich, please keep your head down. I'm telling you, this is a lot bigger than any of us imagined at the beginning. And I agree with Rachel Del Tondo's mother, who has recently renewed her calls to take the Aliquippa police out of this investigation and bring in an outside agency to investigate the murder of her daughter. John Paul, Vincent, Karen, Ellen, thank you. The search for the truth in this girl's brutal murder goes on.

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