Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Gorgeous Ole Miss Coed body found riddled with gunshots. Bloody clothes to crack the case? WHO MURDERED ALLY KOSTIAL?

Episode Date: July 26, 2019

The body of 21-year-old Ally Kostial was found near a lake twenty miles from campus, shot eight times. Who killed the accomplished coed and what part will bloody clothes play in an arrest? Nancy Grace and a panel of expert delve into the case. With us today: Judge and Trial Attorney Ashley Wilcott, Attorney Jason Oshins, Forensics Expert Karen Smith, Psychologist Caryn Stark, Medical Examiner Dr Michelle Dupree, and Crime Online reporter Ellen Killoran. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We know that Allie Costell was attending summer school here at Ole Miss and was teaching fitness and police believe she was murdered and this morning they're in the middle of a manhunt for her killer. A multi-agency manhunt is underway as concern grips this small Mississippi college town. Authorities hunting for a suspect in the apparent murder of Allie Costell. The 21-year-old senior at the University of Mississippi was found dead over the weekend nearly 20 miles off campus. A deputy on routine patrol finding her body near Sardis Lake in neighboring Harmontown. And this is what it looks like around the lake where authorities found her body.

You can see a number of trees. Also, winding roads get you here. And I've only seen a few houses, so this area is very remote. I am just sick, sick. Another beautiful college student found dead. 21-year-old Allie Costell found dead. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. You were just hearing from our friend Marcus Moore over at ABC. Listen to this. Friends say that Allie Costell had no enemies and was the type of person who would help

anyone out. They can't understand why anyone would want to bring her any harm. She was last seen in Oxford, Mississippi. She was last seen in Oxford, Mississippi. She's on routine patrol, discovered the victim's body near Harmontown. Neighbors tell Fox 13 Memphis the body was found by a picnic table near Sardis Lake, a popular gathering spot, and WBLT reports she had been shot eight times. Back in Allie's home in suburban St. Louis, her father Keith posted on Facebook, we were visited by the Sunset Hills, Missouri police who communicated to us that our beautiful dear Alexandria Allie Costell was the victim of a homicide. What happened to this beautiful young girl?

We know eight gunshot wounds, eight gunshot wounds to a girl that apparently had no enemies whatsoever. But what more is there to know about Allie? You were just hearing from our friend at Fox News, that was Jonathan Seery, but take a listen to Katherine Hessel. We know that Allie graduated from Lindbergh High School behind me in 2016. From there, she went on to Ole Miss and studied marketing. Now, what we don't know is how Allie's body ended up near a lake Saturday morning. A TV station in Mississippi is reporting that Allie was last seen stopping by the door of a bar near campus Friday night, but she never went in. Now, the station also reports authorities close to the case say that Allie went home around midnight, but then left and that her roommates did not hear her leave. Allie's body was found Saturday morning about 20 miles from campus. Lafayette County Sheriff's deputies

spotted it during a routine patrol. Now Allie had been shot eight times. Allie was supposed to graduate from Ole Miss this spring. She had also started the golf club at the school and was the president of it. In a Facebook post, her dad wrote that she was there doing summer classes and also teaching some fitness classes. Oh, my stars, that is just breaking my heart because for so many different reasons. But this girl, Allie Costiel, is just a few years, believe it or not, older than my little twins, age 11. She's just 10 years older than them, 21 years old. She's just a baby herself. And when I hear that her dad was out posting that she was the president of the golf club,

Jackie, look at me. I'm getting chills all the way up and down my arms because just this past couple of 72 hours David and I've been going round and round about should the twins play at school sport is it too much with piano and saxophone and and choir and scouts and to pile something else on them and everything we talk about it's like we've done it ourselves you know as you will i think i'm gonna cry about that father's posting about his little girl alley on the golf club you know why nancy in part because as a parent we all do everything for our children and he he did everything right, so to speak. And she was successful and young and vibrant and doing what every parent dreams of and going to college and playing golf. And yet he couldn't protect her from this unknown evil. And that's the worst, most heartbreaking part.

Okay, got to me. All right, Ole Miss student, just 21 years old, found dead in a homicide, shot eight times at a lake 20 miles away from campus. It takes me back, it really does, to being in college. And of course, I had dropped out after my fiance had passed away. But then when I finally went back, I had to go double time and go to summer school and catch up and was also working in the library and, you know, in my own little world. And I'm thinking about her. She's absolutely stunning. Allie Costiel, teaching these exercise classes and taking classes herself. Guys, let me introduce my all-star lineup as I pull myself back together here. Ashley Wilcott with me that I just went to, judge and trial attorney. You can find her at

ashywilcott.com. Renowned criminal defense attorney Jason Oceans joining me out of New York. Karen Smith, forensics expert and a founder of Bare Bones Consulting. Renowned psychologist joining me out of Manhattan, Karen Starkaren stark dr michelle dupree medical examiner author of homicide investigation field guide and joining me right now crime online dot com investigative reporter ellen kill lauren ellen okay a lot has happened in the last 24 hours and i mean a lot when it comes to ali cost Costiel. But I just want to start where I start every investigation, Ellen, and that is with the body, the forensics, and the timeline. Hit me. Nancy, it was Saturday morning.

A Lafayette County sheriff's deputy was on a routine patrol near Sardis Lake, which is about 30 minutes from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford. He finds the body of Allie Castiel. We know that she was shot eight times and all eight gunshot wounds were in her abdomen, her stomach area, nowhere else on her body. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. Ellen Kaloran, I'm drinking from the fire hydrant right now. I know it doesn't seem like it, but you're giving me a lot of forensic information right now. Let me go straight out to a veteran medical examiner. I can't tell you how much I look up to Dr. Michelle Dupree. Joining me out of South Carolina, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide, Dr. Dupree. This is telling me a lot, which I'm going to learn from Karen Stark, psychologist, and Karen Smith, forensic expert. But eight gunshot wounds to

the abdomen. We know that she had been dead for a period of hours, and she's out by a picnic table near a lake, which means she's out in the elements. All right, break it down for me, Dr. Michelle Dupree. Nancy, eight gunshot wounds is a lot. That's devastating. Eight gunshot wounds to the abdomen. We have so many vital organs in that area. That is a devastating injury. She will bleed to death in no time.

Guys, we're talking about Allie Costiel, a gorgeous 21-year-old Ole Miss student found dead. Karen Stark, I find it, you're the psychologist, and I don't want to read too much into it because in the heat of a moment, and you're pulling a trigger, I don't know if you intend to fire where you end up firing. I don't know if it's happenstance where the bullets land. I don't know how good of a marksman the perp is. I can tell you right now, of course, this is a guy. For instance, in the Jody Arias case, there were about 28 stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the

head. Now, to me, the gunshot wound to the head was clearly, clearly intended for the head. But the other knife wounds I think were intentionally inflicted in certain spots. What does it say to you? Eight bullets to the abdomen. It says that this killer it seems

knew her and wanted that kind of intimacy that close to her and that it was very, very personal, Nancy, because you have to be right there next to her, looking at her as you're shooting her. And it's not just one gunshot wound. Well, you know, Karen Smith, forensic expert, founder of Beer Bones Consulting, eight gunshot wounds. Now let's see, what does that say to you is how many, does that mean the person emptied the entire gun out? Did they reload? That says to me that either they're a heck of a marksman, I mean a sharpshooter, or this was at close range.

I agree with you. You know, as a police officer, we carried 15 rounds in one magazine, one in the chamber, so 16 total. You know, normal civilians, there's nine. You can carry one in the chamber, that would be 10. So I don't know if, you know, if this was a revolver, they would have to reload. If it was a semi-automatic, they may not have had to. But, you know, it goes back to what you said. This was an intimate crime. This wasn't something like a robbery. You know, that mayUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY.

IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY.

IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY.

IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY. THE BODY WAS FOUND IN THE NEARBY HOME NEAR THE SHORE BUSINESSES. THE BODY WAS FOUND IN THE NEARBY HOME NEAR THE SHORE BUSINESSES. THE BODY WAS FOUND IN THE NEARBY HOME NEAR THE SHORE BUSINESSES. THE ONLY THING NEARBY IS ONE BUILDING. THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR THE SHORE TELL ME THE BODY WAS FOUND.

THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR THE SHORE TELL ME THE BODY WAS FOUND. IT'S CRAZY. IT'S JUST SAD. IT'S CRAZY. IT'S JUST SAD. SADNESS FILLS THE

SADNESS FILLS THE SADNESS FILLS THE HEARTS OF ALI KOSTIEL'S FAMILY AND FORMER OLE MISS HEARTS OF ALI KOSTIEL'S FAMILY AND FORMER OLE MISS HEARTS OF ALI KOSTIEL'S FAMILY AND FORMER OLE MISS

CLASSMATES. CLASSMATES. CLASSMATES. CLASSMATES. IT'S VERY VERY SHOCKING. IT'S VERY VERY SHOCKING. IT'S VERY VERY SHOCKING. I WAS LIKE OH MY GOSH IT'S

I WAS LIKE OH MY GOSH IT'S I WAS LIKE OH MY GOSH IT'S CLOSE TO HOME. CLOSE TO HOME. CLOSE TO HOME. DEPUTIES SAY THEY FOUND Deputies say they found the 21-year-old's body while on routine patrol in Harmontown, Mississippi. People who live in a nearby neighborhood tell me the body was found by this picnic table on Beaufort Ridge. Investigators say foul play was involved.

There's somebody that knows somebody. I'm pretty sure. That's the way it goes. Well, of course there's foul play. She shot eight times in the stomach. Not only that, of course, somebody knows something. Why do people always say somebody knows something? Of course, somebody knows something. Even if it's the killer himself, somebody always knows something. Oh, it's just trite. It's just trite. Just, I swear, it's physically putting a bad taste in my mouth. Somebody knows something. I think they knew, of course. I mean, oh, I'm just thinking about the parents. And I just go back to the dad posting about how proud he was of her being on the golf club. Oh, guys, you were just hearing from our friend Alexa Lorenzo at Fox 13 Memphis,

reporting on what we know before the, let me just say, man on the street jumped in saying somebody knows something. So much has happened in the last 12 hours even in the murder of a 21-year-old Ole Miss student. But why, why was Allie Costiel out at Sardis Lake 20 miles away from campus? Take a listen to our friend Alexis Lorenzo. Allie grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She moved to Oxford to study marketing at Ole Miss. ALLY GREW UP IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. SHE MOVED TO OXFORD TO STUDY MARKETING AT OLE MISS. SHE WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY GOLF CLUB, A MEMBER OF A BUSINESS FRATERNITY, AND A GROUP FITNESS INSTRUCTOR.

I SAW SOMETHING ON MY SNATCHAT WHERE THERE WAS A PARTY SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE. DETECTIVES HAVE YET TO SAY WHY ALLY WAS AT THE LAKE. INVESTIGATORS TELL FOX 13 THEY HAVE SEVERAL LEADS IN THIS CASE BUT HAVE NOT RELEASED THOSE

DETAILS. SOMEBODY LIKE THAT WHO'S RUN AROUND OXFORD COULD DO THAT TO SOMEBODY ELSE. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION, CALL YOUR CRIMINAL CENTER. ALLY IS A FAMILY OF FOUR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE

LAND FOR A LONG TIME. SHE'S A FAMILY OF FOUR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE LAND FOR A LONG TIME. Investigators tell Fox 13 they have several leads in this case, but have not released those details. Somebody like that has run around Oxford to do that to somebody else, you know. If you have any information, call your local Crime Stoppers line. A party, a party. You know, I'm just handed in a manuscript for a new book, nonfiction. Haley Dean will have to wait. This is about a crime wave in America and how not to be a victim. And an entire chapter addresses parties that get out of control, parties where you don't know who all is there. You just kind of show up, parties that have been advertised online, and you just jump in. And what got me

involved in that, I know you remember this, Jason Oceans with me, renowned defense attorney out of New York, New Jersey area. Jason Oceans, you and I covered this case together. It was Carly Brooke. And she was the gorgeous young girl that dressed up as Poison Ivy and went to a big Halloween party. I don't know if she knew it had been advertised on Twitter and Facebook. There were like 500, 700 people there. And then she goes missing. And what

made it so hard, Jason, as you'll remember, because you and I sat on the set talking about it, was she was in costume. So nobody, she had on like a red Poison Ivy wig, you know, comic book, Poison Ivy, the villain. She had on the red wig and the outfit so nobody could go, yeah, I saw a blonde-headed girl with glasses wearing jeans and a red t-shirt leave because she was poison ivy. And it made it so much more difficult. My point is that these parties, you go to a party you hear about, you don't know who's there. You don't know who you're coming in contact with. Now, I don't know if that's the case here, but one of the friends says they heard that there was a party out at Sardis Lake. Now, Jason, you have a girl and boy.

Yep. Aren't they about this age? Yeah, 20 and 17 right there. You got it, Nancy. I mean, this girl, Allie Costiel, is 21 years old. And when I look back, let's say 21, I can't even remember what I was doing. Oh, yeah, college and about to go to law school. I would just get in the car and drive off, go running at night.

That was my favorite time to run. What an idiot when I look back on it. If she had gone to a party, she probably didn't think twice about it, Jason. No, I'm sure she didn't. And certainly you parallel the ages and, you know, the invincibility of age and not thinking about, you know, such things. You know, who's there and how to recognize everybody and, you know, such things, you know, who's there and how to recognize everybody and, you know, a level of comfort. And that creates opportunity, as you know, for, you know, for predators. That's what they wait for. They wait for opportunity and seize it.

And they take the vulnerable. A lot happening in the last 12 hours. Ellen Killorn with me, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. I also have learned that this remote area includes a fishing camp and an area where locals and college students ride ATVs on weekends when the water is low. And according to a local news station, I learned the water had been high on Friday and Saturday, so there was less activity in the area. Ellen Killoran, what more can you tell me, A, about the discovery of her body, who found it, what time of the day or night was it found, was 911 called immediately, was she clothed, was she face up or face down, were there any other markings on her body such as ligature or

bruising, was she wearing her shoes, if not, were her shoes and her clothing in the same area? What more can you tell me, if anything, about the area and the discovery of her body? Like you said, Nancy, Sardis Lake is a popular area with locals and students. But police said this past weekend traffic to the area was low, and it's very, very hard to get to. You don't accidentally happen upon Sardis Lake. If you're going there, you have to know where you're going. We don't know if there was anyone else there. We know that Allie had gone home to her apartment at around midnight, but she left again. Her roommates didn't hear her leave. The next thing we know that a deputy on a routine patrol at the lake Saturday morning finds her body. We didn't know

anything about the condition of her body and we still don't know much at all. We don't know the positioning. We don't know if there were additional injuries. Police have been very, very tight-lipped because this is an active investigation. You know, Ashley Wilcott seemed to have been to a lot of different colleges and universities, but before I went to Mercer and NYU, I started off at Valdosta State University down on the Georgia-Florida line, and I was just thinking, and I hadn't thought about this since I left Valdosta, that people were always having parties at some lakes down in Florida, and it wasn't that far away. Or lakes, you know, out in rural remote areas, there were always like cookouts and picnics, big parties. And I never thought twice about

hitching a ride with someone I, you know, kind of knew and going to the party and just assuming I would get home. Okay. I mean, I never thought twice about it, Ashley. Right. Well, there's so many risk factors with college anyways, but think about the parties. I grew up in Texas and at Texas schools, same way you'd go out to the lakes, you'd go tubing and you'd have huge parties on the river, on the lake. And one of the things, Nancy, is to keep in mind that it's not just about going to the party. It's all the associated risk factors. You don't know who's there or you may choose to have a drink. You may have too many drinks or you may have something in a drink, even if it's just a soft drink so that somebody slipped in. They're just a lot of risk factors. The other thing that disturbs me in this case, we don't yet know, did she know this guy?

Maybe this was someone she was seeing, that she was spending time with, that she had a relationship. You're absolutely right, Ashley Wilcott. Guys, you can find Ashley at AshleyWilcott.com. But as I've been telling you a lot, breaking in the last 12 to 24 hours, take a listen to Fox 13 Memphis reporter Greg Coy. Brandon Thiesfeld grew up in Fort Worth, Dallas area in Texas, of course. But tonight he's in a Fayette County jail and he's awaiting trial for murder. But we got a chance to look at his social media accounts before they were purged.

And we found out that he wasn't trying to hide or he simply was unaware that the police were looking for him for murder. This surveillance picture shows Brandon Thiesfeld walking into a gas station Monday morning in South Memphis to buy gas and juice. The 22-year-old murder suspect unaware the officers were following him and ready to arrest him. I just saw police over there at the gas station. I checked his social media accounts. Gone is his Facebook account, but before it was removed,

we found pictures of him with friends and a 2017 post that criticizes Ole Miss' decision to remove a Confederate statue on campus. On Twitter, I found three retweets from him two days after Alexandria Ali Castiel's body was found. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Brandon Fiesfeld's father is an anesthesiologist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is speaking out saying that his son is innocent. He's asking people to withhold judgment of Brandon for now. 22-year-old Brandon Fiesfeld is a student at Ole Miss University. He was arrested Monday afternoon and held overnight in the Lafayette County, Mississippi jail. Today, he made his first court appearance on charges of

murdering 21-year-old Allie Castillo. The suspect's father is a doctor in Fort Worth and runs a pain clinic. Dr. Daniel Thiesfeld released a statement saying, I know my son is innocent and I have reason to believe that I can't share anything now, but I would that. I'll give him the presumption of innocence. You are hearing from KMOV news reporter Russell Kinsall reporting on Brandon Thiesfeld's father. Who is Brandon Thiesfeld? What could the father know that nobody else knows? With me, Ashley Wilcott, Jason Oceans, Karen Smith, Karen Stark, Dr. Michelle Dupree, and Ellen Killorn. Who is Brandon Thiesfeld? Ellen Killorn, what do we know?

We know that Brandon was also taking summer classes at Ole Miss. We know that Brandon and Allie were photographed together as far back as 2016, which would have been both of their freshman year. So they've known each other. Wait, hold on. Let me process what you're saying. They've known each other since 2016. That's right. It's 2019. Now, if that were their freshman year, that would have been the fall, the fall of 2016. So fall 2017, 2018. So they've known each other about two and a half years, because it's not fall of 2019 yet, but two and a half, three years. And there's a picture of them together. Ellen, are they at a dance or do they happen to be standing next to each other at a party, golf club event? I mean, what's the context

of the photo? Well, there are multiple photos, Nancy, but all of them appear to be taken at some kind of a social gathering. In one or possibly two of the photos, they are dressed. They're wearing lathes. They're dressed as though they've gone to an event that's a Hawaiian theme. It's very festive. They have their arms around each other. These aren't random candid photos. They're posing for the camera. They know each other. Well, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Okay, Karen Starr, psychologist from Manhattan. Granted, they know each other. I'm not saying that they're not or we're not dating. But, you know, when you're at a college event and you're at a Hawaiian party, everybody's wearing a lei, everybody's dressed Hawaiian, and you can walk up to anybody and put your arm around them. I mean, when I do a book signing or any kind of event, every person comes up to me. I give them a big hug. But that doesn't mean I'm dating them. When I do a book signing or any kind of event, every person comes up to me.

I give them a big hug. But that doesn't mean I'm dating them. Not that I know of, anyway. So Karen Stark, a lot can be construed by body language. Agree, disagree? Oh, without a doubt. You can definitely look at body language. Except it seems to me, Nancy, if you look at the photograph, that they're very comfortable with each other.

They seem that she seems relaxed. He seems relaxed. It doesn't look like a stranger. Okay, I agree that they've got to know each other. You know, Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation, Field Guy, we know she suffered of eight gunshot wounds. Now, we are getting information from a friend of Brandon Theisfelds, and the father's insisting he's innocent, his father, that he often would

carry a Glock weapon in his car, in his truck, that had eight rounds in it. What do you make of that, Dr. Dupree? Well, Nancy, that certainly is a coincidence. And you know what we say in enforcement, we don't really like coincidences. So what would happen is when the bullets are recovered from the body, they would test fire the gun and match that up to see if the bullets were fired from that weapon. I want to go to Karen Smith, forensics expert, founder of Bare Bones Consulting. Weigh in, Karen. Dr. Dupree is right on. That's exactly what they're going to do.

Any bullets that are recovered from the body, they'll do microscopical examination on those. The striations that are created when the bullet is fired through the muzzle, those are kind of like a fingerprint on that projectile. They'll test fire the gun that was found in Brandon's truck and they'll do a microscopical comparison. And, you know, the chances that another gun fired that bullet are absolutely astronomical.

So that is some really, really serious forensic evidence that they're going to have to overcome if that's the case. Well, I'm looking at a photo right now that Brandon Thiesville's dad posted on Facebook, calling his son a, quote, gun tactile expert and i'm guessing there's a picture of a man bending over a younger guy the younger guy is at target he's watching or supervising a younger guy at shooting target practice and i'm guessing one of those guys the younger, is Brandon, based on what the dad posted. His own dad posting his son is a gun tactile expert. Take a listen to our friends KMOV. This is Russell Kinsall.

Castile was last seen Friday night on a surveillance camera at a bar in Oxford, Mississippi, where Ole Miss is located. A deputy found her body Saturday morning near a lake that's about 30 miles from campus. Local media in Mississippi is reporting she was shot eight times, but the Sheriff's Department said they can't confirm that until an autopsy is completed. A relative of Castile's told News 4 that Allie and Brandon dated off and on. They both were students at Ole Miss. Thiesfeld is from Fort Worth, Texas, but graduated high school from San Marcos Academy, a private Baptist school in San Marcos, Texas. Castile was attending

summer school. She was a marketing major and on track to graduate next year. The chancellor at Ole Miss released a statement expressing sympathy for Castile's family, friends, and classmates. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help pay for funeral expenses. Guys, I'm learning from Fox 13 Memphis that Thiesville was tracked to a gas station in South Memphis using his cell phone and credit card. He was spotted entering the store at the station wearing an Ole Miss shirt. After his pickup truck was spotted by a patrol

officer, cops swarmed the gas station and blocked him there in the gas station. Straight back to Ellen Kalora, what more do we know about his detainment? Well, Nancy, one thing that I think is important to note is how quickly he was arrested. Ali was found dead hours after she was last seen before she could have even been reported missing. And investigators somehow knew enough to track Brandon Thiesfeld's movements via his cell phone and his credit card. Two days had gone by. He's in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis police are already working in cooperation with authorities in Lafayette County, and they surround him at a gas station where, like you said, he's seen on surveillance camera wearing an Ole Miss t-shirt.

We know that at the time of his arrest, there was blood on his clothes and authorities found a weapon in his truck. You know, to Jason Ocean's veteran criminal defense attorney, what a lot of people would call good police work, like me, a defense attorney will have a field day with that claiming that cops honed in on him first without considering other suspects if the arrest was that quick. I mean, to me, two days isn't that quick, but some people would argue it is. I don't disagree, Nancy, but, you know, just here in the very, you know, circumstantial early stages and describing, you know, everything that we're hearing doesn't look good for Brandon. But, you know, ballistic tests, ballistic tests of the basic element, right? It's not DNA or, you know, sorting through any of that. So as been discussed,

that'll be pretty, you know, definitive as to matching the bullets to that gun. So at least at the moment, not looking good at all. To Karen Smith, forensic expert, founder of Bare Bones Consulting. Karen, weigh in on the ballistics. Well, you've got the ballistics that we've talked about. Gun, if it's a Glock, that's a semi-automatic. It ejects casings. The casings can also be matched to the gun.

You have ejector pin marks. You have firing pin marks. Those can also be microscopically matched to the gun. Another thing, I heard that blood was found on the clothing. Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Karen Smith. Yes. Okay. You've gone into warp five here. Explain to everybody listening, what do you mean by when a gun and a shot is fired, you leave ejector pin marks? Just break down what you just said.

Sure. When you have a semi-automatic gun, the casings automatically eject as the triggers pull, and they usually eject up and to the right off of a Glock. That can position the shooter. That can position where the person was along with maybe if the ground is wet, there may be some shoe prints or scuff marks. Based on that, you take those casings that are fired and you can do microscopic comparison of the firing pin mark. That's where the firing pin strikes that casing and fires the bullet out the gun. There's an ejector pin mark where the bullet is ejected.

That's a small little mark on the casing as well. So all of these ballistic tests, along with the projectiles that may have been recovered from her body and from the ground, if that's the case, all of those can be linked right back to that Glock that was allegedly found in his car. In the last hours, a very chilling and disturbing tweet on the day Allie's body is found? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Friends say that Allie Costell had no enemies and was the type of person who would help anyone out. They can't understand why anyone would want to bring her any harm. She was last seen in Oxford, Mississippi late Friday. The very next day, Lafayette County deputies on routine patrol discovered the victim's body near Harmontown. Neighbors tell Fox 13 Memphis the body was found by a picnic table near Sardis Lake, a popular gathering spot, and WBLT reports she had been

shot eight times. Back in Allie's home in suburban St. Louis, her father Keith posted on Facebook, we were visited by the Sunset Hills, Missouri police who communicated to us that our beautiful, dear Alexandria Allie Costell was the victim of a homicide. You are hearing our friends at ABC. That was Marcus Moore reporting. Now we know a 22-year-old fellow student Brandon Thiesville has been taken into custody. He was sworn by police at a local gas station. He was wearing an Ole Miss t-shirt. Apparently had bloody clothes in his truck and a weapon was taken out of his truck. Allie shot eight times. Straight out to

Karen Stark, psychologist joining me. Karen Stark psychologist joining me Karen Stark the father is insisting his son is innocent what do you make of it that he and this is a doctor a medical doctor who runs a pain clinic is the father of Brandon Thiesville says he has information that other people do not have what do you make of it well it's possible Nancy possible, Nancy. He's also his father. And, you know, as a parent, it's very hard to believe that your child is capable of this kind of a crime. So it doesn't surprise me at all that his father would go out of his way to say that his son is innocent. Does he really have some kind of proof that his son is innocent? I would be surprised because the police went after him. But it doesn't surprise me that a father would come to his son's

defense. Yeah. To Ashley Wilcott, judge and trial lawyer, you can find her at ashleywilcott.com. Ashley, what do you make of him the day Allie's body is found? And these pictures do look like they were dating. That Hawaiian party picture E.K. was talking about, they do look like they're dating. You know, he's got his arm around her. She's got her arm around him. It's not, you know, that probative, but to me it looks like they're dating. But what do you make of the day her body's found, and even if they weren't dating, they're friends, and she's missing, and he is liking

a tweet. And let me be clear, it is a computer-generated image that he liked, and it's from that horrible game Call of Duty. And you've got a gamer aiming a gun at an airport, split with a picture of a woman at the same location, and it reads, quote, she'll never see it coming. Now, that post was liked by an account belonging to Brandon Theiesfeld reportedly. Here's what I make of that, Nancy. Can you imagine if I were on the bench, I would expect to hear that as part of the evidence against him in a trial against him for murder? Because it goes to premeditation or it also goes to showing circumstantial evidence that he had the wherewithal, that he had the mindset that he did it, that it's an admission of sorts. So, you know, I think it means that if he did this, it was cold, it was calculated, and it goes to a state of mind and that he did have the ability to actually kill someone in cold blood. You know, it's amazing to me how your whole life can change in the span of

just a couple of hours. Allie was last seen. She had been, I think, out with friends, came home, and then she left again around midnight. At 10.30 a.m., her body was found. Everything happened in 10 short hours, and Allie's gone. She's gone forever. Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. What more, if anything, can we learn from Allie Costiel's body? Nancy, the body is a wealth of information. Body is a crime scene in and of itself in crimes like this. There may be trace evidence, hairs, fibers.

We've even lifted fingerprints off of bodies. So there's still a lot more information that we could gather. To Ellen Kalor and CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, what more are we learning? Nancy, since we're talking about tweets that he liked, I thought I should mention a tweet that he actually wrote himself the very same day that Allie Costiel's body was found. He wrote a tweet himself on July 21st, and it said, it's a reference to the song, You Dropped a Bomb on Me, which is an old, old song.

But the tweet says, You dropped a bomb on me, my number one pick for groovy song of the summer. Now, okay, Ellen, if you don't mind, could you say that one more time just very slowly you dropped a bomb on me my number one pick for groovy song of the summer guys we're learning more information it's very unclear what the relationship was like between the two of these leading up to her murder but one of her friends wrote about her relationship with Thiesville on Twitter. And it's got to be confirmed.

Quote, he harassed her for years, took advantage of her for years. I spent countless nights holding Allie close, drying her tears about this monster. Okay. To me, that says a lot. What about it, Ashley? Nancy, I can't, you know,

that says so. Did they have a relationship? They didn't have a good relationship. And the person to describe a male and a female's life as a monster is indicative of there being a lot of problems in that relationship and it not being what I would call a good person. Guys, if you have any information at all, whether it's important or not, if you know anything, please call Lafayette County Sheriff's at 662-234-6421. Repeat, 662-234-6421. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.