Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Man Killed Confronting Line-Cutter at Convenience Store Toilet | Crime Alert 6AM 01.28.26

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

A man is killed after confronting another man who cut the line at a convenience store toilet. A Florida woman convicted of killing her terminally ill husband inside a hospital room is now speaking publicly, three years after the shooting that triggered a lockdown and an hours-long standoff. A Kansas community is mourning the loss of a young teacher remembered for her warmth, her joy, and a love so visible that friends say it radiated in the color yellow. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Danny Lynn Caster, 52, stops at a Phoenix quick trip. As he's waiting in line to use the restroom, D'Andre Franklin, 25, tries to cut the line. Caster intervenes in his shot at least once in the head by Franklin. Danny Caster, dead at the scene. Straight out to Drew Nelson for more. That's right, Nancy. A senseless shooting all over a toilet. Phoenix, Arizona police say Castor was shot and killed inside the QT near East Oak Street on the 20th. Family members say Caster is dead because he spoke up and was shot because of it. Caster was rushed to a hospital but did not survive.

Police arrested 25-year-old D'Andre Franklin the next day and charged him with second-degree murder. He's being held on a $1 million bond. Caster's sister Delca Caster says the loss is overwhelming, speaking with our TV news partners at Fox 10 Phoenix along with her son Aidan. We've been thicker than thieves since we were kids. He was funny, told really great jokes. He always had a huge heart for animals. Danny was literally the person that would give you the shirt off of his back. Dilka says it felt like just any other day until.

We're all still honestly in shock. He left for work on Friday and now he's never coming home. Caster's niece Shelby says the final moments are hard to think of. I just want to say to him that I really love him and that I'm sorry that he had to go for this and that he was probably scared. Relatives describe Castor as funny, kind, and devoted to his dog, his truck, and his family. They say he did nothing wrong and was not even looking for trouble. A memorial now sits outside the gas station.

The family says they plan to attend every court hearing, hoping accountability will follow a moment they say should never have happened. Thanks, Drew. More crime and justice news after this. A Kansas community is mourning the loss of a young teacher remembered for her warmth, her joy, and a love so visible that friends say it radiated in the color yellow. Rebecca Ruber was 28 years old. She taught second grade at Riverside Elementary School in Emporia. On Monday evening, a somber prayer service filled the city as family, friends, coworkers, and students gathered to honor her life.

Those who knew Ruber say she had a rare way of making people feel seen and accepted. Speaking with WIBW, fellow second grade teacher Brandy Taylor described her. as someone whose presence immediately put others at ease. The most chill, fun, and relaxed person I've ever been around. Favorite color was yellow, and everyone knew it. Taylor says Ruber loved her students deeply and created a classroom built on kindness. She even had a nickname for them, calling them Rubers Goobers. Taylor says Ruber never judged anyone and treated every person with the same care.

Emporia police say Ruber was last seen late Friday night after leaving. leaving the town royal bar following what investigators described as a minor verbal disagreement with a friend. Surveillance video showed her walking alone. Her body was later found in the woods about 300 yards from where she was last seen. Authorities say early indications suggest Ruber may have died from hypothermia during the heavy snow that moved through the area. Police say there are no signs of foul play, an autopsy is pending. At the prayer service, Ruger's brother Aaron Ruber spoke about the sister he grew up with. Just a goofy individual who just brought joy to everybody's life.

And I know she loved her students more than anything else as well, and that's what I really respected about her. She was incredibly smart, kind, funny, loving. Aaron Ruber says his sister's capacity for forgiveness and love was unmatched, even toward people who had treated her poorly. It didn't matter whether you're a mean, bully person. She would love you the next day. I think we should pass that on, especially now.

At Riverside Elementary, staff and students are finding ways to keep her memory alive, planning to plant a flower garden in her honor. A Florida woman convicted of killing her terminally ill husband inside a hospital room is now speaking publicly three years after the shooting that triggered a lockdown and an hours-long standoff at the hospital. Ellen Gilland is 79. She served one year in prison after pleading no contest to manslaughter and multiple assault charges for shooting her husband Jerry Gilland in his hospital bed at Advent Health, Daytona Beach, in January, 23. She is now out of custody and serving 12 years of probation. In an exclusive interview with our TV news partners at Fox 35 Orlando, Gillen said they believed they had run out of options as Jerry's condition worsened.

She described the emotional toll of knowing what was coming. I knew how difficult it would be to be without him, not just my best friend, but all of the things that we did for each other. Police say Gillen brought a gun into the hospital, shot her husband once, then planned to take her own life but could not go through with it. When staff entered the room, she pointed the gun at them, leading to a prolonged standoff that ended after officers used a flashbang to take her into custody. Gieland told Fox 35 she had never been in trouble before that day and said prison was a shock.

Most of them would help you if you cornered them and said, I need help. There were a few of them that were very rude and shouting and name-calling. Gillen also revealed she suffered a heart attack about six weeks into her sentence, which she believes was caused by stress. She spent much of her incarceration in the infirmary before being released early. Now back in the community, Gillen says life after prison has been difficult. She's required to report regularly and comply with strict conditions while trying to rebuild her life. Trying to find housing, trying to find a job, having to make it to parole or your probation officer. Gillen says she is accepting the consequences of her actions.

She's now advocating for medically assistant death to be illegalized in Florida, saying families facing terminal illness should have clearer options than the ones she believed she had at the time. Thanks, Drew. For the latest Crime and Justice News, go to crimeonline.com, and please join us for our daily podcast, crime stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and help solve, unsolved, hummusled,

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an I-Heart podcast, guaranteed human.