Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 'Mystery Male' Ruled Out as Match to Anna Kepner Rape Kit | Crime Alert Weekend Recap 06.06.26

Episode Date: June 6, 2026

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert Here's Sydney Silvagni with some of our top stories this week: We're learning from court transcripts that investigators tested a second male cruise passenger as a potential match to DNA recovered from Anna Kepner's rape kit. U.S. officials are now treating Lynette Hooker's Bahamas missing person case as a homicide. 5-year-old Daleza Fregoso is missing in Mexico after police say her father killed her mother in Los Angeles. An accused triple murderer in Hawaii arrested after members of the public spot him hiding in a vacant field. The man accused of infiltrating former state rep C. Wesley Morgan's home and killing his daughter to access his 'survival bunker', may eventually walk free again. Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert, hourly update. Breaking Crime News now. I'm Sydney Silvani. We are looking at a massive development in a federal murder case. Newly unsealed court transcripts have revealed a potential twist in the trial of Timothy Hudson, the 16-year-old accused of assaulting and murdering his 18-year-old step-sister, Anna Kepner, aboard the Carnival Horizon, back in November 2025. Anna's father, stepmother, and other family members join her for a six-day carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean. After their last day at Port in Cozumel, Mexico, Anna heads back to her room early, telling family members she isn't feeling well during dinner.

The next morning, Anna doesn't join her family for breakfast and isn't answering her door. Her family begins a frantic search for the teen on the 14-deck, 4,000 passenger ship. The kept her family frantically searching for Anna when a housekeeper makes a horrifying discovery. The maid starts to gather linens for laundry, but notices the sheet missing off the bed. Making the bed, she notices a pile of life jackets stuffed underneath. Removing the life jackets, she discovers the missing sheet wrapped around Anna's body. Now, if you thought this was just an open-and-shut tragedy, a 145-page detention hearing transcript just threw a wrench into the narrative. Investigators revealed they found DNA from a second mystery male on the victim, an out-of-state

juvenile traveler labeled Minor Witness 2, whom Kepner allegedly had consensual sex with, earlier during the cruise. The defense is jumping all over this, arguing that prosecutors are just making assumptions about the timeline. But before you think this mystery mail is a viable suspect, the FBI already tracked him down and ran the tests. Here's how the evidence stacks up against stepbrother Timothy Hudson. Minor witness, too, was completely excluded from the specific DNA profile linked to the assault. Prosecutor state one vaginal swab was 120-tillion times more likely to match Hudson than a stranger. A second swab was 1.2 septillion times more likely to match him. Additionally, CCTV and phone data show Kepner entering their shared cabin and never leaving. Even worse,

her phone's location data mirrored Hudson's movements right before it was found smashed in a trash bin. Despite the astronomical DNA numbers, the federal judge called the government's case a much closer call than it looks, noting the defense has room to argue. Hudson's trial is locked in for this September. We will see if the jury buys the defense's timeline defense or if those septillion to one odds seal his fate. More crime and justice news after this. Say hello to your new favorite drinks. Introducing new Mick Cafe refreshers. I see cool, undeniably refreshing and available in three flavors. Strawberry watermelon, mango pineapple, and blackberry passion fruit. Only at McDonald's. We have a chilling update out of the Caribbean where

federal investigators are drastically ramping up pressure on a case that has mystified missing persons advocates for weeks. The disappearance of 55-year-old Michigan mother, Lynette Hooker, who vanished last month on her way to a sailboat in the Bahamas, is now officially being treated as a murder investigation. A United States official confirmed a Fox News reporter Mike Ruiz that federal authorities are preparing to meticulously comb through the couple's luxury sailboat, aptly named the soulmate, searching for any forensic evidence pointing to foul play. Suspicion is centered heavily around her husband, 59-year-old Brian Hooker. Brian originally told authorities that his wife accidentally fell overboard on the night of April 5th

during a volatile Caribbean storm that tossed their vessel. While Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime, law enforcement officials are refusing to take his story at face value. Authorities are taking an exhaustive look at their floating home, where the Michigan pair lived while traveling the world. Their most recent vacation turned out to be a doomed trip to the Bahamas. Investigators recently uncovered a highly suspicious detail. The sailboat mysteriously stopped transmitting its GPS location data on the exact night Lynette disappeared, only resuming transmissions the following morning. Furthermore, a friend of Bryan's, Blaine Stevenson, previously said that Brian returned to the sailboat with search

and rescue officials on the morning of April 5th. Federal investigators officially reopened the search last month after newly obtained forensic data suggested glaring inconsistencies in Bryan's timeline of events. Law enforcement officials have since seized the soulmate from the Bahamas, docking it first in Fort Pierce, Florida, before moving it down to Fort Lauderdale. A U.S. official states that the next critical phase involves hauling the massive sailboat completely out of the water and transporting it into a secure warehouse for an elite forensic sweep. In Southern California, a desperate international manhunt is actively underway. A Los Angeles man stands accused of a horrific double crime, allegedly murdering his partner and fleeing across the border with their five-year-old

daughter, triggering an urgent multi-agency Amber Alert. The suspect, 40-year-old Ruben Fragoso-Wares, who was previously named as Ruben Fragoso by the LAPD, has been officially charged with one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death. According to prosecutors, Fregoso allegedly murdered his 36-year-old girlfriend on or about Monday, May 25th, before immediately fleeing to Mexico with their child. If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. Tragically caught in the center of this nightmare is their five-year-old daughter, DeLesa. The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for DeLesa, who was last seen with her father

at around 4 a.m. local time on Sunday, May 24th in the Los Angeles area. Investigators tracking their movements uncovered chilling surveillance footage from a parking garage in San Ysidro, located just near the United States and Mexico border. Captured on Sunday, the footage appears to show for go-so pulling a suitcase as the pair exited the garage. The footage shows the suspect wearing ripped jeans, a black vest, and a black hat, while DeLezza was seen in a light blue shirt and sweatpants. The California Highway Patrol later confirmed that for Goso's vehicle, a white 2019 land rover discovery with California license plate 9-D-AW-715, was located inside the parking lot of the San Ysidro point of entry. However, the father and daughter were nowhere to be found.

In a release shared on Tuesday, May 26, the LAPD stated that investigators learned Fergoso had made explicit statements indicating his intention to flee the country. This discovery followed a welfare check at a home at around 1240 p.m. on Monday, May 25th, where officers found Rubin's wife deceased. The LAPD noted that a preliminary investigation indicates the victim died as a result of violence, confirming that Fregoso was the victim's husband. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hatchman expressed the deep community trauma surrounding the case. Quote, the killing of a mother and the abduction of a young child is the kind of violence that shocks the entire community. I cannot imagine the grief and fear that the innocent child faced as she

was allegedly snatched after her mother was killed. The defendant will face his day in court, and our family violence division will pursue every available resource and work with federal and Mexican law enforcement authorities to seek justice. Detectives are actively seeking any information regarding their whereabouts. Delisa is described as three feet tall, weighing 45 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Ruben Fergoso stands. at 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone who sees them is urged to call 911 immediately or contact the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division at 323-786, 5100.

We turn to Hawaii, where a terrifying multi-day crime spree in a remote paradise has come to an end with a suspect behind bars. A 36-year-old man has been hit with a mountain of criminal charges following the brutal murders of three elderly men on the Big Island. The suspect, Jacob Baker of Pahoa, Hawaii, was apprehended by law enforcement following an intensive manhunt involving both state and federal authorities who had warned the public that Baker was armed and extremely dangerous. On Sunday, officials announced that Baker faces one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder alongside a list of other offenses. He is currently being held without bond. During a news conference, Hawaii police chief Reid Mahuna detailed the extensive charges leveled against the suspect.

Hawaii Police Department officers received information that the possible suspect had been observed hiding within a grassy area in a field. Witnesses reported observing the male party ducking down as passing traffic approached. Investigators subsequently obtained video surveillance footage that corroborated these observations. The surveillance footage also captured the suspect fleeing from the initial property onto an adjacent property. Those severe charges stem from a series of gruesome killings that occurred over a span of just two days in a remote rural part of Pahoa. Police have identified the victims as 69-year-old Robert Schein, 69-year-old John Karsh, and a 79-year-old man whose name has not yet been formally released. All three men were found dead at separate residences. Robert Schein's body was discovered by investigators partially submerged in a cement pond.

Just a few hundred feet away from that location, officers discovered the deceased, 79-year-old victim. The third victim, John Kars, was found dead at a property located roughly 19 miles away. Baker's run from the law ended in Kalapana, approximately 10 miles from Pahoa, after sharp-eyed witnesses noticed suspicious activity in a vacant lot. Police Chief Reid Mahuna explained how surveillance footage and citizen reports directly led to Baker's capture. The suspect, Jacob Baker, at this time, has been arrested for the following offenses. Murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree, theft in the first degree, criminal property damage in the fourth degree, theft in the fourth degree,

an unauthorized entry into a mortar vehicle in the first degree. Chief Mahuna revealed that tactical teams ultimately discovered Baker hiding in a small cave located on a property adjacent to the vacant lot, while the arrest brought immediate relief to the local community, many questions remain unanswered. The police chief noted that investigators have not yet established a clear motive for the rampage, and so far, no known connections have been found between the three elderly victims other than the fact that two of them happened to live near one another. A Shelby County jury has officially decided the fate of Shannon Gilday, the man who violently invaded a Kentucky home in 2022 and murdered 32-year-old Jordan Morgan.

In a decision that fell short of what prosecutors and the victim's family fought for, the 12 jurors rejected the death penalty. Instead, they sentenced Gilday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. It brings a dramatic close to a trial that laid bare the sheer terror of that early morning assault. Driven by a delusional obsession with nuclear war, Gilday broke into the home of former state representative C. Wesley Morgan to access a massive underground survival bunker. Armed with an AR-15, Gilday shot Jordan Morgan more than 20 times as she slept. Jordan's father, Wesley Morgan, recounted the frantic seconds he spent trying to protect his family to her friends at Fox 56. I'm a shot three times. I'm bleeding profusely. I know my daughter's been killed because there's

no other explanation for the shots that I heard. And I'm trying to interdict him before he kills us all. The defense and prosecution offered vastly different pictures to the jury before they deliberated. Special prosecutor Todd Willard argued forcefully for the ultimate punishment, telling jurors there are certain crimes of aggravated murder that deserve the death penalty, and this is one of those. Meanwhile, defense attorney Tom Griffith made an emotional plea for mercy, arguing that Gilday suffers from severe mental illness and genuinely believe the world was ending. Griffith noted that Gilday remained so delusional, he still asks if the jail is strong enough to survive a nuclear attack. But for the Morgan family, the trauma has completely broken them. They spent years living

out of a heavily armed RV too terrified to return home. That's what a parent's supposed to do is provide security and safety to their family in their home. I failed to do that. I failed her miserably. And I can live with that for the rest of my life. And I'll never get over it. Never. She's gone for nothing. As the Morgan family faces the reality that their daughter's killer could eventually taste freedom, they say they are now shifting their focus to fighting for stronger legal protections for victims of violent crime. For the latest crime and justice breaking news, be sure to tune in tomorrow on your favorite podcast app. With this crime alert, I'm Sidney.

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