Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Gorgeous teen girl ambushed, killed by "masked men"? WHY?

Episode Date: April 10, 2020

Vanessa "Honey" Malone tell mom she'll be right back, she's going to visit some friends. Honey is found shot, her body hidden inside a closet in the friends' home. After 8 years, a break in the case as an arrest is made. Joining Nancy Grace to discuss the breakthrough: Flora Malone - Honey's mother Cassaundra Kennedy - Honey's sister Karyn Greer - CBS 46 Atlanta News Anchor and host of "CSI-Atlanta"  Sheryl McCollum - Forensics Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder Wendy Patrick- California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com   Dr Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Beverly Hills, www.drbethanymarshall.com, Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You have children, right? Or a grandchild or a niece or nephew. Mine are 12 right now. Imagine Honey Malone's mother, her teen girl, Vanessa Honey Malone, just 18 years old. Great grades, never in trouble, even has a job. She comes home. She steps out in the condo complex. The next thing you know, at the door, and mom discovers Honey has been shot dead. Why? Right now, a major break in the case.

I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How does a beautiful, and I mean beautiful, 18-year-old girl end up dead? A girl scrubbed in sunshine. You know, my children now, my twins, John, Dave, and Lucy, are 12. They'll soon be 13. God help me. This young girl, just five years older than them.

I'm talking about a beautiful girl, Vanessa Malone. So sweet. Her nickname is Honey. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. The night of October 23 began to play out like every other night, except somehow Vanessa Honey Malone ends up dead.

Thank you so much for being with us here at Crime Stories on Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. With me, an all-star panel. But first, take a listen to our friends at CBS 46, CSI Atlanta's podcast host, Karen Greer. Police in DeKalb County, Georgia, respond to a call at an apartment complex. Two victims meet police outside. They claim a group of masked men barged into their apartment, tied them up, and locked them in the bathroom. Police walk into the dingy, run-down apartment. They see a trail of blood leading from the front door to a bedroom in the back. There, in the closet, is the body of 18-year-old Vanessa Malone.

Three of Honey's friends were at the apartment that night before Honey got there. They claim three to six men dressed in all black stormed into the apartment. One of Honey's friends was able to get away while the horde of masked bandits tied the other two victims together with an extension cord and locked them in the bathroom. The burglars were ransacking the apartment when the victims heard Honey come in the front door, and then there were gunshots. You are hearing our friend Karen Greer at CBS 46, the news anchor and host of CSI Atlanta with me. As I mentioned, an all-star panel, including Karen Greer from CBS 46 Atlanta, my longtime colleague Cheryl McCollum,

director of the Cold Case Research Institute and forensic expert who took this case national with me, Wendy Patrick, former prosecutor and author of Red Flags on Amazon. You can find her at WendyPatrickPhD.com. Renowned psychoanalyst to the stars, Dr. Bethany Marshall, joining us from Beverly Hills. You can find her at DrBethanyMarshall.com. And two very special guests joining me, and I feel like I know them.

Flora Malone this is Vanessa honey Malone's mother and Cassandra Kennedy her sister ladies thank you for being with us first of all to miss Malone this is honey's mother miss Malone, I feel like over time since I first covered Honey's death, I feel like I've gotten to know you, but nobody understands the grief a mother endures when her child is dead, when her child, much less, is dead from violence. It's not like she got ill and was in the hospital. It's not like she had a car crash. Nothing like that. To have her taken away from you so young, such a beautiful girl with her life in front of her, is something I don't think you ever get over. This day, Miss Malone, do you still feel what you felt the night that Honey was killed? Absolutely, because we miss her every day.

We're still in shock. I mean, you took a big part of our lives away from us. You know, sometimes, Cheryl McCollum, you know my twins very well. I look at them and I imagine, you know, when they get 18 and they, I hope, go away to college, I think about how empty our home will be without them. I don't know what I did before them. I don't know what I'm going to do after they go away. Do you remember Cheryl McCollum when Honey, when it first hit the news, Honey Malone had been killed? Yes. And I remember the first time that I met her mom, she came to the college and tracked me down and just wanted help. I mean, she was begging,

begging for help. I mean, she just wanted help from anybody. And, you know, she touched me so much that the way she talked about honey, I just felt kind of a connection. And I thought we're going to do everything we can to try to help her. You know, I'm curious, Cheryl McCollum, why do you think Honey's mother had to seek you out? Of course, you're an expert. I mean, that goes without saying. But why wasn't she getting answers to what happened to her daughter? I think law enforcement wanted to play it close to the vest, as sometimes they do, and she wasn't getting a lot of response that she was craving.

She had said it herself, that she just felt like she was this crazy person that her mind could not rest because she had so many questions, and they were not providing these answers for her that she was desperate for, Nancy. Back to Honey's mother, Ms. Malone. Ms. Flora, that day, and I know Honey was living with you, and you picked her up from work. Where was she working? She worked at a little company called C.W. Price.

What was that? A little, kind of like a mini Ross. And you picked her up from work that day? Yes, I drove her to work. I took her early so she could get her nails done and eat before work. And then I picked her up around 9.35, 9.40. It was a typical Tuesday. Then what happened? What happened then?

We came home. She was telling me she had a long day. She was tired. And I said, okay. And then she was talking to somebody. And then she said, well, I'm going to go out and I'm going to be right back. Right. And I said, well, you're tired, so just stay home. She's like, no, I'll be right back. Right. And I said, well, you're tired. So just stay home. She's like, no, I'll be right

back. And then she left out and came right back in, walked around the whole condo all the way back to my room. And she's like, I love you, mom. I'm like, I love you too. And it, it, it didn't seem strange until after I found out what happened, that maybe she knew. I have one of these minds that has, I like to fill in the blanks of everything. So when she said she was going out, you just assumed that she was walking around the neighborhood. Yes, I figured she would stop by just a person that's really close

because she doesn't have a car, and nobody was there to pick her up. So she said she would stop by just a person that's really close because she doesn't have a car, and nobody was there to pick her up. So she said she would be right back, so I figured she would go someplace. You know, I'm looking at her picture right now, Ms. Malone, and I'm looking. She's got her hair pulled up and then down and curls on the side. That's the way my sister wore her hair in high school. How long would it take, honey, to do those curls?

She had natural curly hair. Really? She had to wet it. She would just wet it. Because she looks like a model. Guys, if you want to see this gorgeous girl, go to CrimeOnline.com. I'm just looking at her, the whole world in front of her. How did it all go wrong you know to dr.

Bethany Marshall psycho illness joining me out of Beverly Hills dr. Bethany I still speak about my dad Mac usually as if he's still alive because to me he's so real to me all the time in fact I, I've got a shirt right here that I wear all the time. Have you noticed when Ms. Malone is speaking, it sounds as if Honey is still alive? What does that mean? What is that? And don't tell me there's something wrong with us, Dr. Bethany. I know, Nancy, because she is alive in her heart and in her mind and her inner memories.

And Miss Malone loved Honey. And I saw that picture too of Honey. She had the blue nails. She had the jeans on. She's kind of posed like a model. She is such a gorgeous girl. And the day that she left her mother's house, she had worked a long shift. She'd gotten her nails done. This was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her who was leading such a good life. Do you know how many 18-year-olds don't want to work? And this girl went out and was working

and was supporting herself and taking care of herself. I would say that her mother speaks of her in the present tense because she is alive. Her mother has kept her alive in memory. You have kept her alive. We have kept her alive. Cheryl McCollum, she is active in all of our minds. We are all attached to her and engaged with her beyond the grave because she is meaningful to us. And her mother has done what every victim of crime should do.

She has made meaning out of this situation and hopefully this helps other victims to keep the memories of their loved ones alive too. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. For all of you just joining us, we are bringing you breaking news and the sudden and shocking death of a beautiful 18-year-old girl, Honey Malone. What happened? How does a gorgeous 18-year-old girl, world in front of her, living at home with mom, having a job, continuing with school, how does she end up dead in a closet?

Dead in a closet. Take a listen to our friends at CBS 46 CSI Atlanta. This is special guest host Karen Greer. She was found in a bedroom closet, shot once in the back and again in her chest. We're talking about grown people that have weapons in the apartment. And she was the least of the threat. And she was the one murdered. I just, I can't wrap my head around that.

Her two friends, a man and a woman, had been tied up in the bathroom by an unknown number of masked men with guns who had kicked down their door. But why was Honey the only one harmed? No one. No one was pistol whipped, nobody was stabbed, nobody was hurt. Her family believes Honey's friends truly know what happened and possibly played a part in her death. I just

want to sleep. Police remain tight-lipped about the investigation. We need answers. I want to wake up and hear the phone ringing. Detective called me in and said, yeah, we got him. We got him. This is what happened. Guys, you're hearing our friend Karen Greer of CSI Atlanta podcast. And joining me right now is Karen Greer, along with my longtime colleague, director of the Cold Case Research Institute, Cheryl McCollum. Karen Greer, you and Cheryl have been on this case since the beginning, and it has taken a really long time to crack. I want to go back to that night because so many things are wrong for me with what I'm hearing about the crime scene. It's not fitting together, and when it's not fitting together, that means I'm missing a piece of the puzzle or

somebody's lying. For a girl like Honey Malone to end up dead in a closet in an apartment where some of her friends have been masked men. That sounds like it's out of a movie, a made up drama. me what you recall, Karen, regarding the night, what you have learned about the night that Honey Malone, 18-year-old innocent girl, ends up dead, gunshot wounds, in a closet. Cheryl, you know, we've talked about this. Cheryl and I walked that crime scene. We went from, you know, where Honey's house was to the apartment where she lost her life. None of this makes sense. You know, I've got children too. You talk about the twins, you know, mine are now 21 and 24. And I can't imagine them showing up at a friend's apartment

and then being tied up, the friend supposedly, and she's killed. No one else in the apartment was hurt. They were just supposedly tied up. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Right there, Karen Greer. You sound like, oh, they were in the kitchen having pizza. But you're saying, oh, they were tied up in another room. No, that's not normal.

And for Flora Malone, her daughter says, I'm going to go outside. That's like John Davis saying, Mom, can I go ride my bike? Or can Cameron come over and we go ride our bikes? And I'm fine. You don't expect to hear shots ring out. And then the friends end up in a closet. She's in a closet, and they're in another room tied up, Karen. And you never hear anything from police.

I mean, the story just from the beginning just had too many holes. She's sitting there waiting for her beautiful daughter to come back home, worried because she did hear loud noises. Never do police knock on her door to tell her something happened. Someone else told her. A supposed friend told her. Oh, really? That's an important fact. Cheryl McCollum, when a friend knows your daughter has been killed before the cops know, there's something way wrong with that scenario, with that timeline. Weigh in, Cheryl McCollum. There is something wrong with that timeline. The friend did not even live in Stone Mountain at the time,

but he was in the vicinity, which is questionable. And he knew that Honey had been shot. He told her specifically. And at this point, the police had not even identified him. Well, to me, that makes him a witness or a suspect right there. Somebody comes to your door before police even know what happened? Absolutely. Word hasn't gotten around the neighborhood in there.

Oh, yeah, ma'am, Honey's been shot. I mean, to you, Flora Malone, do you recall when that happened, when the friend came to the door and told you Honey had been shot? He came to the door, but the police was already at the apartment. But the police never told me who it was. But I'm guessing that the people that was in the apartment told him it was honey because he came to that door and he said honey's gone I'm still I'm still very suspicious why would he why would the friends tell him and they don't tell the police Cassandra Kennedy is with me

this is honey Malone's sister Cassandra what do you remember of that night? And I'm like, oh, my God, mom was wrong, was wrong, was wrong. She's like, I think my worst nightmare has happened. And I'm like, what? Just say what it is. She was like, I think Vanessa was shot or something. I don't even remember the exact words. But I hung up so fast. I hung up so fast. I sped to her house.

It's like a 30-minute drive. It probably took 20. And I sat with my mom until I got there maybe 1130. We didn't find out. They didn't confirm to us that it was like to us finding out it was Vanessa. It was unbelievable. You know, to Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags on Amazon, Wendy, it's interesting to me, and I've heard this from so many victims, and I guess looking back, I experienced it myself and still do when regular people find out someone in your family has been murdered they think somehow that that reflects on you that it would never happen to them that you're somehow of a lower class because you're a crime victim.

You just have a certain stigma. I can't really put my finger on it. I don't know the right word to say it. But I remember speaking with Chucky Mock's mom after her Chucky had been murdered, and she said people would say things like, well, a good mom wouldn't have let him go ride his bike. They somehow treat you different as if it could never happen to them, and somehow, because you're you, it happened to you.

Have you ever, I can't describe it, Wendy. What is that? Yeah, you know, Nancy, I've experienced it as well, and it's one of those things that unless you're actually in the scenario, it's really hard to put into words. I know our psychology guests probably can probably do it very well also. But when it actually happens to you, it's not fair. It's like people don't know what to say.

And so it's almost like they assume the worst and they wonder some kind of guilt by association. And we're talking about crime victims. And I mean, I've been listening and watching. I know more about Honey than I think many of our listeners because I've spent so much time actually learning about her as a person and the loving family she comes from. And it is unimaginable that they've had to be re-traumatized, as you mentioned, Nancy, simply by virtue of having a beloved daughter be the victim of this type of crime. And I join many of our listeners and viewers across the world in being just so thankful that there's finally been an arrest made. We can't bring back honey, but maybe we can bring finally the adjuster to justice. I want to cut up to what you were saying about her family.

Ms. Malone, how many children do you have? I have the two girls. And both of them just really perfect from a parent's point of view. Got through school, went out and got jobs. They're physically beautiful. You live in a nice apartment area. It's not like it's a high crime area. Nothing like that.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we are talking about the sudden death of Honey Malone, murdered an 18-year-old girl who just went outside in her condo complex, not apartment, it's a condo complex. And the next thing you know, mom hears a knock, knock, knock at the door and finds out her teen girl who has never been in trouble at all, beautiful, responsible, educated, everything is dead. To Dr. Bethany

Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us out of Beverly Hills, what is that stigma that crime victims' families bear? Like somehow you're in a rotten class of people because you're hanging around thugs and criminals. That's not what happens. Nancy, it's not what happened at all. I was thinking actually beyond the stigma when you were talking about this to the fact that when you are a parent and you know, because you've had the twins and they're almost 13 years old, your primary job is to keep your children safe, right? That is your job. Of course, you're going to educate them, nurture them, feed them, you know, provide everything for them so they have a great life. But do you remember when the twins were little, if they so much as scraped a knee, you would feel

guilty like you caused it to happen. Or if they fell over, you would think, oh, I'm a bad mom. We call it omnipotent guilt, the belief that you're all powerful and therefore any bad thing that happens to your child is all your fault. Bethany, can I tell you a little known story? Please do. I was in CNN Center. The twins were with me. We were about to go to air.

I had left something in my office. I handed the twin to a producer, a female producer, both of air. I had left something in my office. I handed the twin to a producer, a female producer, both of them. One was sitting on the floor plate. The other I was holding. I gave, it was John David to her. I ran to my office. I said, be careful with the water bottle. Don't let him get near the cat I ran to my office I came back and guess what John David had swallowed the water cap and it was stuck right there you know I reached my hand down in his mouth and fished it out immediately he couldn't breathe long story short I still think about that today it's dramatic to this day even though he is 12 when I Long story short, I still think about that today. It's traumatic. To this day, even though he is 12, when I give him a drink, I hold the cap. Yes, I still blame myself.

And can you imagine what honey's mom has been through? Okay, so Nancy, I don't want to betray your confidentiality. So I won't tell you the specifics. But right after the twins were born, I remember you pulled me aside on set and you told me you had all these fears of bad things happening to them. And I'll never forget the stories you told me. Again, the smallest little thing would be your fault. So imagine you give your child permission to go visit a friend's house or go for a walk or something benign, and then they're murdered. How does that disrupt the very fabric of your psyche of parenthood? And speaking of trauma, you know, trauma is when there's a sudden, unanticipated, horrible event for which there's no prior

learning, meaning nothing in your life has prepared you for this. Nothing, nothing, nothing has taught you how to cope. Well, brace yourself. I hope everybody's sitting down for this. Take a listen to our friend Julia Reynolds at Fox 5 News. I'll do whatever it takes because she is my baby. Flora Malone says she's offering a reward for information about her daughter's murder. She's only 18 years old. She had dreams. She had a family who loved her, friends who loved her. 18-year-old Vanessa Malone, called Honey by family and friends, was shot several times after police say she interrupted an armed robbery at this apartment complex.

It happened 17 days ago. This homicide is our top priority in the office right now. We're working at every different angle possible. We really need help from the community. Detective Lynn Shuler says Honey Malone walked in on four to six men who tied up three people inside and were armed with semi-automatic weapons. The three victims that we had tied up in the bathroom all heard her come in and then they heard the shots. So it appears that she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Wrong place, wrong time. How many times have we heard that? But then everything went silent.

Any neighbors or actors or players or witnesses afraid they would be killed too if they came forward. Take a listen to Fox 5. While police are following leads, they're not sure they will pan out and say this case may hinge on people in the community calling in anonymously. People over there know what happened. We just need somebody to come forward and let us know. Deep down, they have to have a heart someplace. They have to not think that it's right for these people to be out on the street

thinking that they can just have fun and play their video games and go hang out at the mall. Honey Malone's friends are also seeking justice and are continuing their social media campaign for information. Their Facebook page called R.I.P. Honey has generated more than 125,000 followers. But the months pass and still no resolution. Honey's mother, Flora, seeks out help from the Cold Case Research Institute, Cheryl McCollum. Take a listen to our friend Anna Garcia at Crime Watch Daily. Cops believe Honey stumbled upon an armed robbery.

I believe it was a home invasion robbery with the main purpose to steal the drugs and the money out of that apartment. Invasion may be an understatement. Honey's friends who were in the apartment told cops between three and six men with guns kicked down the door. They claim they were beaten and tied up with a belt and the cord of an electric razor

and herded into the shower. And then gunshots pierced the night. Honey was shot once in the back. A second shot to the chest, the bullet plunging straight through her heart. While the robbers were ransacking the apartment, I believe Honey walked in. And when she turned to leave, that's when she was shot. When she turned to leave? Yes.

So you think she was trying to get out of there when she was shot? Yes. To Sharon McCollum, Director of Cold Case Research Institute, Forensics Expert, tell me about the scene. Tell me, because I find it really hard to believe that three people tied up in the bathtub know nothing, armed intruders, nobody can identify. Then Honey, who's just leaving her mom's condo to go visit a friend, walks in the door and she's gunned down. What does the scene tell you, Cheryl McCollum?

Honey is shot in the living room of a one-bedroom apartment in the back. Nancy, she is then drug through the apartment, leaving a trail of blood where she is thrown in the closet of the master's bedroom where she's shot. Wait, wait, wait. Where, based on the trail of blood, where was she shot? Right by the front door trying to to leave, in the back. Okay, so that's where the theory is coming from, that she came in, she tried to leave, hence the shot in the back, and that's where the blood trail starts. Got it. Go ahead. When she's in the closet, she is shot a second time in the chest.

Now, to me, that means they're making sure she is not going to survive. Then they steal her cell phone and leave the apartment, leaving the two alleged victims tied up in the bathroom unharmed. They weren't slapped. They weren't kicked. They weren't punched. They weren't even threatened. They were just put in the bathroom. Yeah, I don't like it karen greer with me uh investigative reporter news anchor at cbs 46 atlanta and host of csi atlanta which we're linking to at crimeonline.com so you can find out about that as well karen greer i don't get it if they're masked why did they have to shoot vanessa honey malone when the others were just

tied up and left in the bathroom they saw the same thing honey did so why did they live and honey had to be shot dead is there a chance the ones supposedly tied up in the bathroom were not i just heard that karen greer. Karen Greer says supposedly tied up. Mm-hmm. Go ahead. Yeah. It just does not make sense. They're three to six, four to six.

The numbers don't even add up. Nothing about what was told to police is the same. And to have these people tied up with, I think it was twist ties in one part, a belt, some kind of cable. No one knew what they were tied up with. My cat could get out of a belt, okay? Tied up with a belt. I am not buying why they lived, Karen Greer, and Honey had to be shot dead. crime stories with nancy grace

guys we're talking about a sudden break in the case in the murder of a beautiful young girl in atlanta native honey mal. Take a listen to our friends Crime Watch Daily correspondent Anna Garcia. Flora and Honey's sister Cassandra believe Honey was lured to the apartment to silence her. Why don't you believe that she walked into a robbery? I believe that they thought she knew something or saw something and was worried that she was going to tell. She wouldn't just walk into a kicked in door to see what happened. That's not her. So you think this whole home invasion robbery theory is what? A setup to make it look like it was a robbery so they can get off.

One troubling question. Why was Honey's cell phone found far away from the murder scene? We tracked her cell phone after the murder to a location about a half mile away where it stayed there until it died. So how did Honey's cell phone end up half a mile away? It was stolen during the incident. Why would they take her cell phone? They've already killed her. What do they need her cell phone? They've already killed her.

What do they need her cell phone for? Thinking that maybe she could call for help? No, they're just easy to resell on the street. But Honey's family doesn't buy that explanation. I don't buy it either. Karen Greer, CBS 46 Atlanta News anchor, host of CSI Atlanta. Karen, that was an excellent point. This girl would never go into an apartment with the door already kicked in.

Wouldn't happen. I think the people in the bathtub are all lying about what happened, which makes me wonder why. Why would they lie about it unless somehow they were part of something much more nefarious? Karen Greer, help me understand this scenario. I know in talking to Flora, I remember her saying, honey was tired. She was going to lay down. She was resting in her room.

Then she got a phone call. Then she said, mom, I'll be right back. So I believe that story that she was lured there and once she got there everyone appeared to be against her she was the one that was brutally murdered and then all of her supposed friends alleged friends kind of turned i knew nothing and just left her there to die. It's the worst story you can ever imagine. What could she possibly have seen? This girl has never even been stopped as a juvenile for jaywalking for Pete's sake. She's every parent's dream as opposed to a nightmare. You know, Cheryl McCollum, I tell my twins all the time, listen, even if somebody at school, because they're A students, I want that A, Cheryl.

I feel like I deserve those A's, as much tutoring as I do. But I say, don't even let anybody look at your paper. Because if somebody cheats off you, you're going to be the one that gets kicked out, both of you. You'll boil in the same pot. In other words, your friends that you make, this young girl, Vanessa Honey Malone, I think went to go see friends and they all turned on her because they were part of something nefarious. Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind she was lured there. The only thing stolen from that apartment that night was Honey's cell phone and her life.

I want to go back to Honey's mother, Flora Malone, and her sister, Cassandra Kennedy. Miss Malone, in her whole life, your daughter had never once been in any trouble. She was a great student. She had a job. I don't want to hear their names, but who were these friends? Were they school friends, neighborhood friends? Who were they? Well, I've never met any of them, but I'm hearing that she liked to go over there and play cards and listen to music and hang out because she considered them friends. You know what's interesting to Wendy Patrick?

How many times did I prosecute a case where there would be four teens and a stolen car and that I'll say it's not my car and then the driver it would be their car and the other teens are caught in the same mess and they all get charged who you hang out with it's not your fault you don't always know who you're hanging out with Wendy it's so true it's why we tell our kids show me your friends and I'll show you your future. We really are guilty by association in the eyes sometimes of law enforcement, of the community. And that is why when we're warming up a cold case like this, talking about who is socializing with who, it is imperative. And I'm so pleased that you, that Honey had such a loving mother and sister that are able to show us who she really was so we can actually know that. You know, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor and author, even when John David is

playing his games online, I get right up in the picture and see who he's on with. If there's not a picture, I'm like, who is that? Who is that? Let me hear their voice. I know it drives them crazy, but I want to know. This girl had never once been in trouble. To Cheryl McCollum, I'm not buying anything they're saying about the crime scene. I don't think the people were tied up and put in the bathtub. I think, like you and Karen Greer do, that she was lured there because somehow she had seen or knew something had gone on and she had to be gotten rid of. Take a listen, guys. In the last hours, a major break in the case. An arrest has been made in the murder of Honey Malone. This good news comes with mixed emotions for Honey's family. They spoke exclusively to me

about how they're dealing with all of this. I want to wake up and hear the phone ring and detective called me in and say, yeah, we got him. We got him. Flora Malone got that call just three months after this interview. DeKalb County police making an arrest in the 2012 murder of her 18-year-old daughter, Vanessa Honey Malone. She was shot to death inside her friend's Stone Mountain apartment. They drug a trail of blood of my sister on the carpet and put her in the closet. After years of frustration and grief, justice finally feels in sight for Flora and her daughter Cassandra. Just grateful that I'm alive to see this coming because I worried about that sometimes. DeKalb County police arresting 35-year-old Donald

Ash Friday at his mother's home in Stone Mountain. We do believe that multiple people are responsible for this crime and the investigation is ongoing. We hope more arrests will follow. You are hearing the police speaking out on the arrest that has just happened of 35-year-old Donald Ash. To Karen Greer, CBS 46 Atlanta anchor and host of CSI Atlanta podcast. Karen Greer, who is this guy, 35-year-old Donald Ash? What did he have to do with this young girl? Interesting that he seemed to know everybody involved in all of this. Interesting to note that Flora and Cassandra were no strangers to this gentleman. So this could be very interesting to see if in fact he's going to turn in the other people who might have been in that apartment or who were in that apartment when he was there

when Honey was killed. Flora Malone, do you know Donald Ash? He's never agreed to meet with us. Me and Cassandra have tried several times over the years. Cassandra, did you know this guy before Honey was killed? No. Okay, so you did not know him. Cheryl McCollum, who is this guy? And can't we make him roll over on everybody else in that apartment? Well, they knew him by a nickname. So he went by Mercy. So they knew of him. And he was supposedly at the apartment earlier in the day, but he left before law enforcement showed up.

The person he was meeting at the apartment, they also are aware of and know of this person, and he goes by Yat. So, yes, absolutely, law enforcement has got to go back and re-interview these people. And I've made it very, very clear, the first one that talks gets the deal. So somebody needs a role on somebody. Oh, they will. They will. To Flora Malone and Cassandra Kennedy, I'm so relieved that at least one arrest has been made.

Flora Malone, honey's mother, what is your message to everybody else that was in that apartment and had anything to do with your daughter's death? My advice to anybody who even knows what happened is go ahead and say no. Because I don't know who else is going to be charged or what the charge will be. But I know they would feel better if they could get this off their chest. They have to. To Cheryl McCollum, Director of Cold Case Research Institute, for any people that have information that are willing to come forward, where can they call?

They need to call the Cab County Police, or if they don't want to call the police, they can certainly call, you know, Channel 46, CBS. They can call Atlanta Crime Stoppers. There's a plethora of people they can call with information, and it's imperative they do so. They can even leave a message on Honey's Facebook page. Karen Greer, tell me the number that you guys have that anyone with information can dial. 404-327-3000. 404-327-3000. And you can even send us an email at cbsatlanta46.com. We do get a lot of anonymous tips,

and I will say, Cheryl and I have been looking through some tips that people have been sending us for weeks. So we try to make sure that law enforcement gets a hold of those and that any leads that we may get are followed.

For right now, a major break in the murder of this 18-year-old girl scrubbed in sunshine, Vanessa Honey Malone. But it ain't over yet. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.