Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - MANHUNT: 'Chucky' Masked Suspect Terrorizing Philadelphia | Crime Alert 08.21.26

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

Philadelphia police have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect accused of wearing a horror mask and terrorizing Center City pedestrians. In South Florida, a mother faces severe felony charges after allegedly setting a kitchen fire and pouring hot candle wax on her young daughters. Meanwhile, California cold case investigators have utilized forensic genetic genealogy to identify the fifty-year-old desert remains of a teenager missing since 1973. Sydney Silvagni reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they finally eat the veggies? Will the pastos survive the first bite? Will the lunchbox come home empty, half full, or come home at all? And will you finish episode 8 before you're done slicing the cucumbers?

Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Craved Netflix and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on Internet with a two-year term and auto-pay. credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Crime alert, hourly update. Breaking crime news now. I'm Sidney. An intense manhunt is underway in Philadelphia as authority search for a suspect accused of wearing a creepy, chucky-style Halloween mask while terrorizing innocent pedestrians across Center City. Philadelphia Police announced Thursday that an arrest warrant has been issued for 22-year-old Zymeer Hughes following a series of disturbing early morning encounters near City Hall.

According to Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith, investigators believe Hughes ran up at least six victims, attempting to scare, harass, and antagonize them while wearing the horror mask. Surveillance video captured one chilling incident showing the suspect aggressively chasing a female jogger through the streets. Captain Smith revealed that as the suspect pursued the woman, he chillingly asked her, Are you ready to die? The terrified jogger ran screaming for help and injured her leg during the ordeal. Investigators note that throughout these attacks, the suspect held a cell phone in his left hand,

apparently filming the victim's reactions for his own purposes. Another victim, Jamika Wilson, is sharing her face-to-face encounter with the suspect. Early Wednesday morning, Wilson was walking to a soul cycle class when she spotted the suspect following a woman outside City Hall. Wilson managed to wave and get her attention, allowing her to sprint away. The attacker then turned his focus toward a man carrying a heavy box, chasing him into a business and briefly struggling over the front door. That's when the masked man set his sights on Wilson. Faced with a split-second decision, Wilson chose to stand her ground and fight back,

recounting her thoughts to Fox News Digital. That was like, I have long straps, my bags are heavy. I think that the wisest thing in this scenario, especially from what I have seen, so far is actually to fight. Normally that wouldn't be my first inclination without having more information, but because he was so listless, because he didn't really seem to have intent or like a true goal. I was like, okay, well, I think that my chances are better than none. Wilson, a former art school student who had taken a stage combat course, relied on her training to confront the attacker. After turning around, she assessed that the suspect did not appear to be

holding any weapons, as she detailed to Fox News Digital. He looks the pretty much the entire physical altercation. He seemed surprised that I had turned around initially. I also was analyzing him because, again, I'm not going to strike if I know that you have a weapon. I'm doing the due diligence to make sure that I'm doing the safest thing, but he wasn't doing those same things. And so it seemed like he was seeming confused. I saw his like head like tilt from side to side, like trying to figure out what he's supposed to be doing in the scenario. Taking advantage of the suspect's vulnerable stance, Wilson delivered a swift kick directly to his chest, causing him to stumble backward and flee. During his escape, the suspect pulled the mask down,

exposing part of his face to a surveillance camera. Police quickly released that image, leading to his identification as Zymer Hughes. Officials warned that Hughes may have already fled Pennsylvania, as he has known ties to California and Nevada. Philadelphia police are currently working alongside the U.S. Marshal Service to track him down and take him into custody. Once captured, Hughes faces serious charges, including terror. terrorist threats, harassment, simple assault, and intimidation. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact Philadelphia police at 215-68 tips.

More crime and justice news after this. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they finally eat the veggies? Will the pesto survive the first bite? Will the lunchbox come home empty, half full, or come home at all? And will you finish episode 8 before you're done slats? slicing the cucumbers? Get Bell purefiber internet with craved Netflix and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for

details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. In South Florida, a mother is behind bars, facing severe felony charges after allegedly setting a fire inside her home while her two young daughters were inside, then pouring hot candle wax on them. 26-year-old Melisa Campos Sanchez was arrested Monday, August 17th by Miami-Dade authorities and charged with first-degree arson, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect. The investigation began Sunday after Miami-Dade fire rescue responded to a kitchen fire at the residence. An arson investigator determined the blaze was intentionally set using an open flame. Authority subsequently learned Campo Sanchez posted two disturbing videos to her Instagram account. In one video, she reportedly wears a silver

mask while spraying liquid onto clothing on the kitchen floor before lighting it with a red lighter. In the second video, she uses lit candles to pour melted hot wax onto her own leg and onto her daughter's hands. Investigators interviewed the eldest daughter who recounted seeing her mother ignite clothing, throw a glass mug, and dance before dousing the flames with water. The child confirmed that Campos Sanchez then poured hot wax on them. Campo Sanchez was sedated at a hospital before being booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Institution. Turning to California, cold case investigators have finally identified human remains found partially buried in the desert 50 years ago. According to an August 11th release from the Riverside County District

Attorney's Office, the victim has been identified as 19-year-old Rebecca Jean McMahon, also known as Becky Solace. McMahon was reported missing by her family on July 3, 1973, roughly a month after she was last seen in Bell Gardens, California, mentioning a trip to Palm Springs. Her body was found in hot springs on January 19th, 1974. For decades, fingerprint and dental comparisons failed to produce a match. In 2024, the regional cold case homicide team re-examined the evidence using forensic investigative genetic genealogy. Laboratory technicians extracted DNA from bone samples and uploaded the profile to a consumer ancestry database, finding a potential close relative. McMan was a Caucasian female with long brown hair and hazel eyes, standing 5 foot 3 to 5 foot 4 and weighing

120 to 145 pounds, with distinct tattoos of an SS on her ankle and a butterfly on her chest. Investigators urge anyone with information to contact the cold case unit. For more crime and justice news, be sure to join us for crime stories with Nancy Grace on Fox 1, YouTube, series XM, and now streaming on 2B. With this crime alert, I'm Sidney Silvani. This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human.