Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Mystery surrounding brutal twin-murders of woman on date with hockey pro

Episode Date: May 14, 2019

Who killed Darren Partch, and Wendi MIller -- a former hockey pro and a woman who advocates for children in family court?The investigation led to a man who was already behind bars for a California crime spree.Nancy's Expert Panel Weighs In:Vincent Hill: Private InvestigatorDr. Bethany Marshall: PsychoanalystKathleen Murphy: Family attorneyDr. William Morrone: Medical ExaminerRobyn Walenski: Crime online investigative Reporter 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. The search for a missing Costa Mesa woman has turned into a double homicide investigation. Wendy Miller and Darren Parch were found shot to death in his Newport Beach townhome. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. What happened? Take a listen to CBS 2 LA. And we don't believe that Newport Beach police have anyone in custody yet. Investigators just left this complex a short time ago. This is where the bodies were found late Sunday night.

Now, according to the coroner's office, take a look at the victims. They have been identified as 48-year-old Wendy Miller and 38-year-old Darren Parch. They were found in Parch's apartment by his roommate, but that roommate says he didn't see any signs of a break-in. Police haven't said anything about the cause of death, but Miller's son put a statement out on social media saying POLICE SAY THE MOTHER OF THE MOTHER WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD BY A FIREFIGHTER. POLICE HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAUSE OF DEATH BUT MILLER'S SON PUT A STATEMENT OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SAYING HIS MOM HAD BEEN SHOT.

MILLER WAS THE CEO OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT FOUGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN. SHE WAS LAST SEEN FRIDAY NIGHT LEAVING A BAR IN LAGUNA BEACH. FRIENDS SAID SHE DID SEND A TEXT THE NEXT MORNING.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IT JUST SAID WE MADE IT SAFELY. DID YOU MAKE IT HOME OKAY? SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. said we made it safely did you make it home okay something along those lines so she was checking in but she didn't say where she was and she wasn't at home a real mystery for friends of the victims now we are told by police that they have or they haven't had any information about a possible suspect what happened in a double murder case? This is what we believe. The first burglary attempt occurred around 11 30 at night and was interrupted by a resident. The would-be burglar fired a single round from a gun and that bullet was found lodged outside the home. We are learning. Now remember that's at about midnight. Then the second

case 5 a.m. What we think happened the alleged perp leaves the first burglary attempt and moves on. The homeowner has reviewed surveillance video and sees someone tries to open the front door but no entry was made and the would-be burglar runs away police begin investigating those two incidents but then what we know is that the man who was being held in suspicion of robbing an attempted robbery of two homes is now arrested in connection with the murders of a former professional hockey player and a mother of two. Here's Michelle Gillay at KCAL CBS 9 LA. Solving the double murder of Wendy Miller and Darren Parch is currently the number one priority for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers say no one has been arrested

for the homicides, but the community is safe. Without getting into specifics of the case, because as we know, it's an open investigation and we have to maintain that integrity. I can tell you that by talking with the investigators that we have out there, that the information that they're yielding, that there is definitely not a threat to our society. The victims, according to friends, had met on the dance floor at the Sandpiper Lounge in Laguna Beach Friday night. Wendy Miller drove Darren Parch home to his condominium about a mile from her home in Costa Mesa. A roommate police say found them Sunday night dead in Villa Siena, unit number five. A bright light, unforgettable friend, and children's rights champion, say those who knew the 48-year-old divorced mother best. Alicia Journey is an

advisory board member for Wendy Miller's non-profit Wings for Justice, which protects kids in the family court system. Miller's death leaves a huge void, Journey told me, but her supporters and advocates will see that her work is carried on. I want to go straight out to Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. Kathleen, we now know the about Jamone Buggs' past? He has a very, very clear record. He has domestic violence allegations. And in fact, he should have been tagged as a very dangerous person. And the fact that this was not random is concerning. This was intentional. Kathleen, when you say it was not random is concerning. This was intentional.

Kathleen, when you say it's not random, it's intentional, what do you mean? Well, I've learned that the killer had been going through his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend's telephone looking up names of people she's called. And he found one of the victims, that was Darren and went to Darren's home for purposes of of harming him so you know what's interesting to Dr. Bethany Marshall psychoanalyst you can find her at drbethanymarshall.com Bethany at first police say there's no connection but I believe there is I didn't think there was a connection at first either until I just learned this on the show. I thought this was random. And the reason I thought it was random is that he appears to have been on a crime spree. Didn't it seem that way to you? I mean, he breaks into one house, he shoots at the house as he's leaving. There's multiple burglaries. He's driving around a

neighborhood. Did you see the photo of him working out on the beach? He's huge. He's driving around a neighborhood. Did you see the photo of him working out on the beach? He's huge. He's a trainer at Equinox. So my thought about this before just now learning about the phone that he broke into his girlfriend's phone was that maybe he was in some bipolar episode or on steroids. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No,uh. No. He's getting away with a string of burglaries and attempted burglaries. He is in his right mind. He went through her phone, found guys he thought she had called and tracked them down and tried to kill them. But that seems to be two different MOs. This is what's confusing. There's the string of

burglaries, but then he's going after the men that his girlfriend dated. Doesn't that seem like two different MOs? No, actually, Dr. Bethany Marshall, while it does seem like two different MOs, modus operandi, method of operation, to Dr. William Maroney, let's examiner and author of American Narcan. You can find it on Amazon. Incredible book. Dr. Maroney, the problem is us. Will we try to put on a criminal what their MO is? Will we say things like, oh, it can't be him. It doesn't fit his M.O. They change their M.O. Look at serial killers throughout the past. Sometimes they stick with the same M.O. Sometimes they depart. I mean, for Pete, say, look at Ted Bundy. OK, first of all, he started out luring women in with his charm. Right. Get in my B.W. and I will kill you. Now we'll go out on a date. Let's go for a walk. Let's go here. Let's go there.

They end up dead. In the end, he was getting anybody and everybody. He murdered one little girl who's 12 or 13 years old, just beat her dead. Then he goes into the Chi Omega house and beats everybody dead with a baseball bat. He didn't stick with the same M.O. So for us to say, rightfully, as Bethany's pointed out, it's a different M.O. Doesn't matter, Maroney. I think evil evolves as it has to, to continue to be evil. If it means physical harm to other people, it evolves to do physical harm. If it means larceny and theft, it means larceny and theft. If it means writing bad checks to finance itself, that's evil the way they walk and breathe to accommodate their disease. Anything you need to do to maintain evil.

And he's obviously wired wrong upstairs. Who is this guy, Jamon Buggs? Take a listen to Eileen Frere, ABC7. Neighbors say that the suspect moved into this apartment complex here in Huntington Beach back in September. Now, Newport Beach police say when they arrested him in connection with the crimes in that city, he was already in custody for unrelated crimes in Irvine. Police allege J'mon Bugs is behind the double murder of Darren Parch, a 38-year-old former minor league hockey

player, and 48-year-old Wendy Miller, the founder of the non-profit Wings for Justice. We care about children and believe they need to be protected. Her family says she was last seen alive leaving a bar in Laguna Beach. Friends say she had given Parch a ride home. Their bodies discovered Easter Sunday inside Parch's Newport Beach home. My hands shake. Just to know that I even said hi to him makes me real uncomfortable to know that somebody like that lived here. Buggs' neighbors in Huntington Beach know him as the well-built guy. His Facebook page says he worked as a personal trainer at gyms in Marietta and Huntington Beach. I'm not a friendly guy or anything. I would see him, you know,

just go in and out and in and out and all the people going in and out. One neighbor who only wanted to be identified as Mary Ann recalls hearing a recent violent fight inside the 44-year-old's apartment. I look out my window and I see a blonde woman running from his apartment and then I see the house. Police say the victim was a woman who was trying to rob a 24 year old's apartment. I look out my window and I see a blonde woman running from his apartment and then I see him take off after her, but I don't know who that

woman was. Court records show bugs is a convicted felon. He also had a domestic violence hearing scheduled next month involving another woman in unrelated cases, police say video captures him allegedly trying to burglarize two homes in Irvine over the weekend. He's accused of firing his handgun at one of the houses. Police say he was arrested Monday morning after a short pursuit

and after barricading himself in an unoccupied home. He's pleaded not guilty to those charges. crime stories with nancy grace double murder suspect jamone bugs has a long history of violent crimes according to orange county court records in 1994 bugs committed batter and an officer in San Diego. A year later, in 1995, there was an assault with a deadly weapon charge. Buggs had firearms violations and a charge of grand theft in 1996. In 2000, he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. But that's not all. You are hearing our friend Stacey Butler at KCAL CBS 9.

Listen. In the following years, he had four domestic violence convictions and two DUIs. Just three months ago, OC court records show Bugg's live-in girlfriend filed a domestic violence charge and a restraining order against him. Neighbors in this Huntington Beach apartment complex say the two lived together in this apartment about a year, but they moved out in January. Buggs moved into this apartment in Huntington Beach and his girlfriend rented a room in this Huntington Beach home. Neighbors on this quiet street say they often saw the couple sitting in his car outside the home together. January 15th, court records show that the

girlfriend filed the charge of domestic violence and a restraining order against Buggs. That's when a caretaker inside this home says she saw Buggs break into the home trying to get to his girlfriend upstairs. The caretaker says the girlfriend called police, but before they could get there, he took off. She moved out of that home. No one we spoke with knows where that girlfriend is. Employees at this Huntington Beach Jeep dealership say they had no idea. The quiet car salesman who started working there just over a month ago had a long criminal history. Just one week after he was due in court for that domestic violence hearing April 11th,

police say Buggs murdered 38-year-old Darren Parch and 48-year-old Wendy Miller. The two just met at a bar last Friday night. Now he's facing two murder charges with special circumstances. That is who Jason Buggs is. And would you agree, Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us from LA, that for every time there is a call about a domestic relations violent act or when someone is actually arrested on a crime, there are dozens and dozens of other crimes they're never apprehended for. Dozens of other crimes. And also in terms of the victim, it takes women on average nine times to leave a domestic violence infusedinfused relationship before they are finally able to leave for good. So this is not the first time he aggressed against this woman

that he was in a relationship with who finally left him. And good thing he's behind bars. He'd probably still be stalking her. To John Cardillo joining us, former NYPD. Man, you've seen it all, John. Weigh in. All right. So I'm looking at this a little differently than my colleagues, the doctors here. Remember, the only reason there's a working theory that he was looking for a man that his girlfriend might have been involved with is because a detective allegedly said that to a resident. Detectives aren't always going to be honest with residents. Also remember, the woman, Ms. Miller, worked with abused women. So another working theory, I bet my last dollar on it, is that they might have intercepted. They might have intercepted a text in that search warrant between his battered girlfriend or a previous one and Ms. Miller. Maybe she was

counseling her. Maybe she was getting her some outreach, some help. Now, the reason I'm not looking at these as two separate incidents, the reason he might have kicked in other doors and fired shots, this is an apartment complex, right? This could have been townhouse complex. He might've known he was looking, for example, a white SUV was parked in front of one resident, kicks in the door, realizes the person he's looking for isn't there, and he's kicking in doors until he finds his intended victims. But one thing is for sure, Nancy, we did an estimate back when I was in a robbery and gun unit that for every crime we caught a guy for, he probably pulled off on average about seven that we didn't. So with this guy's history, yeah, I completely concur. We're looking

at a guy with a history of violent crime, but think the motive is still unclear i do think though one of the reasons you played an initial clip that detectives told the community there was no risk they probably already had him on custody in custody were trying to elicit a confession but had the video knew they had the right guy knew there was no more risk to the community we know know that professional hockey player Darren Parch and Wendy Miller found dead. Another thing to Dr. William Maroney, medical examiner, author of American Narcan, the cops also said that Wendy Miller did not suffer. That means to me that very likely shot her execution style once in the head. That's usually it.

There's no sign of bruising. There's no sign of blood. There's no exsanguination. And it's straightforward and simple. The only other thing you would do. You know, why do you keep saying that? Why do you keep throwing out the word exsanguination? Why don't you just say it in regular people talk?

I'm already impressed with you, Maroney. I'm very impressed with all your degrees and your experience and all your books. I'm here to teach other people, too. Okay, what's extinguination? Go ahead. It's the clinical loss of blood that leads to a fatal event and death, usually through a large vessel. Wait, you remember last time you did that, I made you spell it and you had to look it up. Why don't you just say she bled out?

She bled out. There ain't no evidence to bled out. She bled out. She was shot. Bled out. So, Dr. Maroney, when they say euphemisms like, we don't believe she suffered, that means she was shot in the head

and she was dead before she even knew what was happening. I think, I mean, that's my interpretation of what that means. To Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, let's talk about what Dr. Bethany said earlier about how many times it takes for a domestic violence victim to finally leave. Now we've got Wendy Miller dead and a pro hockey player, Darren Parch. Not only does it take an enormous amount of energy to leave a domestic violence situation, but if you're going through the court systems and you're a victim of domestic violence,

it is horrible, Nancy. It's horrible. And they don't get any support. And the woman that was killed in this particular case, I believe her name is Wendy Miller. She had a foundation that helped and supported women and men who were in domestic violence situations. It was called Wings for Justice. And I am sickened and heartbroken over this whole murder. And I can only say to you that I deal on a day-to-day basis with what victims of domestic violence have to go through in the family court system, and it's a problem. This guy by the name of Jamon Buggs, the defendant in this case, is the founder of a personal training company called Do It Again. All right. We also know he has an extensive criminal past. It's called, excuse me, do it again

nine. That's what I'm learning from his LinkedIn profile. He wrote on LinkedIn, Jamon specializes in designing training programs for clients' individual goals. I evaluate strength, balance, flexibility, and cardio, which is incorporated in design. In addition to Jamal's success as a performance enhancement specialist for Do It Again 9. Okay, you know what? He's also a convicted felon who had just gone on a spree of crimes. And one thing I don't get John Cardillo, former NYPD, is why he was out to start with. Not only why he was out to start with, I was thinking that I was looking at his rap sheet about three seconds ago before you came to me, Nancy. But think about something else. Who were the morons at the car dealership who hired this career felon and allowed him access to

people's personal information and credit information. Their credit card numbers, checking account numbers, social security numbers. I mean, a lot of people dropped a lot of balls with this guy over the years. He should have been sitting in a cell somewhere, not out to kill someone. Certainly not out there having you put your social security number and checking account info down on a car loan application. I'm trying to figure out what was his real connection to wendy miller and or darren parch what do you think kathleen murphy connection to darren because he was stalking and intended to hurt darren wendy just happened to be there and it's

a very oh i'm so upset nancy i'm so upset that both of these people were murdered. I'm so upset that he was out. I'm so upset at the court systems for allowing him to even be out. crime stories with nancy grace i'm nancy grace this is crime stories thank you for being with us take a listen to cbs2 la neighbors here were anxious when police were searching for the killer who took two lives in one of these condos. So they are both reassured and shocked by the news that police found their suspect already behind bars. Take a look. 44-year-old Jamone Buggs of Huntington Beach is set to be arraigned today. He is suspected of killing Costa Mesa mom Wendy Miller

and former minor league hockey player Darren Parch. Buggs' neighbors tell us he's a personal HE WAS A FRIEND OF A BUSINESS MANAGER. HE WAS A FRIEND OF A BUSINESS MANAGER. HE IS SUSPECTED OF KILLING COASTA MESA MOM WENDY MILLER AND FORMER MINOR LEAGUE HOCKEY PLAYER DARREN PARCH. BUCKS NEIGHBORS TELL US HE IS A PERSONAL TRAINER AND HIS LINKEDIN PROFILE STATES HE

WORKS AT THE EQUINOX GYM IN HUNTINGTON BEACH. BUT WHEN DETECTIVES WENT TO LOOK FOR BUCKS THEY DISCOVERED HE HAD ALREADY BEEN ARRESTED ON MONDAY AS A SUSPECT IN SEPARATE BURGLARIES. THE VICTIMS OF THE DOUBLE MURDER HERE IN NEWPORT BEACH WERE FOUND SUNDAY NIGHT BY A ROOMMATE THEY HAD REPORTEDLY MET EARLIER IN THE EVENING AND HAD BEEN SHOT.

VIDEO NOW WAS RELEASED BY IRVINE POLICE WHICH THEY BELIEVE SHOWS BUGS TRYING TO BREAK INTO TWO OTHER HOMES OVER THE WEEKEND. IN ONE CASE, OFFICERS SAY THE BURGLAR FIRED A GUN WHEN THE HOMEOWNER INTERRUPTED THE

CRIME. NOBODY WAS HURT. BUGS HUNTINGTON BEACH NEIGHBORS TOLD US THEY KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG WHEN POLICE ENTERED HIS APARTMENT WITH A SEARCH WARRANT. The first burglary attempt was

a search warrant. The first attempt was a search warrant. The first attempt was a search warrant. After the crime, nobody was hurt. Buggs Huntington Beach neighbors told us they knew something was wrong when police entered his apartment with a search warrant. The first burglary attempt occurred around 1130 at night and was interrupted by a resident. The would-be burglar fired a single round from a gun and that bullet was found lodged outside the home we are learning. Now remember, that's at about midnight. and that bullet was found lodged outside the home we are learning. Now remember, that's at about midnight.

Then the second case, 5 a.m. What we think happened, the alleged perp leaves the first burglary attempt and moves on. The homeowner has reviewed surveillance video and sees someone tries to open the front door, but no entry was made, and the would-be burglar runs away police begin investigating those two incidents but then what we know is that the man who was being held in suspicion of robbing an attempted robbery of two homes is now arrested in connection with the murders of a former professional hockey player and a mother of two. And one thing I don't get, John Cardillo, former NYPD, you and others say no connection to the victims, which is very hard for me to believe. Kathleen Murphy, give me your theory on his connection to Darren Parch. His ex-girlfriend had called Darren Parch for reasons that I'm not aware of.

And this stalker was going through the phone list of his ex-girlfriend's phone calls. And that's how he came upon Darren. What does that mean, Dr. Bethany Marshall? Yeah, who's this? Cardillo, jump in. Yeah, let me jump in because I don't think there's no connection. What I'm saying is the only evidence we have that he had a connection to Darren Parch and not Ms. Miller is one anecdotal alleged comment from a detective to a resident. That's all we have. We have no confirmation of that. I'm as convinced that they need to look into his connection to Miller. Miller ran a center for battered women. I think the connection, if I had to bet on the connection today, I'm less inclined

to believe that one anecdotal comment that the resident who was kind of in shock that her neighbors were murdered, the accuracy of that statement, then he found something on the phone of one of the women he was dating and abusing that connected that woman to Stephanie Miller, and Miller probably advising that person to go to a shelter, to talk to the police, to have him prosecuted, to seek a restraining order. That, me is more of a motive and that's why you shoot miller dead the point blank in the head you kill her i think he was looking for her not the retired hockey player interesting interesting to uh dr bethany marshall dr bethany i worked at the atlanta better women's for nine years, and we had to keep everything secret, the location, the volunteers.

Because of the very reason Cardillo is describing. That's right. Enraged abusers will come after you for trying to help the battered woman. That's exactly what they do, Nancy. They target the whole treatment center. They target the policemen who help the women. They target the woman's families. They target the counselors. They target everyone. And in terms of how he got to Miller, it's unclear if it's because she owned the center or she was connected to a

woman she was helping. The fact that sticks out to me the most, and maybe because I work out at Equinox here in Beverly Hills, is that he was a trainer at Equinox. And so he had access not only to client financial records when he was at the car dealership, but you're in a position of trust when you are a trainer. And it gave him this sort of legitimacy. I mean, Equinoxes are very swanky gyms.

They're very expensive gym memberships. They're all over the United States, especially the West Coast, the East Coast. The trainers there are super friendly. They have their Instagrams. They give out their information to everybody. Everybody gives and exchanges social media information. So to him, he found another job that was kind of like a hunting ground. And so this guy went under the radar.

He's this vicious, homicidal stalker, went under the radar working at a car dealership and then at a squeaky clean Equinox and nobody caught him. Nobody caught him, Nancy. Listen. Thank you for always wanting to listen and truly wanting to know what was going on in my life. Wendy Miller's son fights back tears as he reads a letter to his late mother at her funeral in Irvine today. I miss you so much and I loved you even more. Sincerely, Luke. Friends and family packed into Mariner's church to remember the mother of two who was murdered along with her friend Darren Parch in Parch's Newport Beach home Easter weekend. According to court records, the two were shot by Jamone Buggs, a Huntington Beach personal trainer. A detective believes Buggs left Parcher's residence and

traveled to Irvine to commit another violent crime. According to court records, Buggs tried to break into several Irvine homes, including this woman's. She says detectives told her Buggs was looking for someone who was linked to his ex-girlfriend. He was looking for someone with the same name as my boyfriend, but he had a picture of what the guy looked like, and so I think when he looked in and saw the two Asian guys playing games, he knew it wasn't the guy that he was looking for, and so he left. In another attempted break-in in the same neighborhood, police say Buggs' gun went off. Court records indicate

those bullets were later connected to the bullets fired at the double murder scene in Newport Beach. By the time detectives linked the break-ins to the homicides, Irvine police had managed to arrest Buggs and locate his gun. Newport Beach then arrested Buggs for Miller and Parch's murders while he was already in custody. Well, a friend of Buggs' ex-girlfriend reportedly said that Buggs was trying to hurt him and anyone else that Buggs thought his ex-girlfriend was involved with. The ex-girlfriend and Darren Parch had only messaged each other a few times. Typically on a murder charge, you get life or life without parole. But when there are two murder victims, that qualifies as mass murder under the law,

and that is a special circumstance for which the death penalty can be sought. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to lie. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

Her name is a day up a day of Shabani beautiful inside and out, say her close friends who also say they're worried sick sick over the 25 year old who's been missing since February 23rd. We just we just pray for her and hopefully she's gonna show up. Her acting teacher saying she'd never missed a class until that fateful day February 23rd when she was last seen near her apartment complex on Wilcox and Hollywood Boulevard. Since then say sources her phone has not been used. And the girl who used to post daily on her social media accounts has gone silent. We are talking about a beautiful young girl, a missing model.

Well, a body has been found in a shallow California grave. But what do we know? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Lee Egan. Crime Online where you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news. Lee, I want to start with how she goes missing. Tell me that and then we'll figure out from what we know if this is her in the shallow grave. Well Nancy, what we know is at around 11 a.m. February 23rd, 2018, she sends a text to a friend

asking for red candles and then after that, nothing. There was no activity on any of her social media accounts, and she was extremely active on all of those. No text messages. Her phone shut off shortly after her last message, and then she's just gone, completely disappeared. Joining me right now, juvenile court judge, trial attorney. You can find her at AshleyWilcott.com. Ashley Wilcott, that's significant. Now, that doesn't tell me any intricacies or any details of her disappearance,

but more and more, cops are looking at your cell phone, your social media. If you're an active poster or you live on your cell phone, you're constantly texting and then suddenly it goes quiet. That's a big circumstantial piece of evidence. Absolutely. It's a great clue, especially Nancy, given this, we all know that those who enjoy social media don't usually take a break or not do it unless they've gone on a little weekend trip or a vacation, but then they go right back to the social media. So when someone doesn't, like she didn't on Monday, that's a huge clue that there's a problem. The other thing I have to say is, boy, does it not give you a clue to hear that she reached out to a friend about getting red candles, which to me suggests a romantic weekend, a weekend away with someone special, and then disappears.

Wow. I wouldn't think that at all. I would think red candles. Oh, I'm sticking them in a candle holder somewhere that I hope and pray to God the twins never light and burn down the house. You think romantic weekend away. Okay. I'm just going to take that with a box of salt.

Take a listen to our friends at KTLA. This is Rick Chambers. They hit the sidewalk this evening here in Hollywood, getting the word out about Adia Shabani, who disappeared six days ago. I don't know. I don't know what to think. I just want to find her. The 25-year-old actress left her apartment here at the Duet on Wilcox in Hollywood last Friday at about noon. And no one has seen her since, which is out of character.

This is not her. This is not her. Something is going on with her. We don't know where she is. It's just so sad. We're just hoping she's alive. At first, friends thought Shabani was just busy. But then she missed an important class here at the Stella Adler Theater. So those same friends asked the LAPD to do a welfare check back at her apartment. You know, right there, you're hearing what leads up to the announcement

that this beautiful young actress, Adia Shabani, has gone missing. She really is gorgeous. In the acting world, you know, you meet so many different people. You're constantly going for tryouts and auditions. To Karen Stark joining me, psychologist at karenstark.com, joining me today out of New York. Karen Stark, thank you for being with us. You know, Karen, in that line of business, you're constantly meeting different people at all of these auditions. It's not like a lot of people go to their office every day and they're around the same people every day.

So you kind of have a smaller group of people to suspect. When you're out doing auditions, traveling from one place to the next, trying to get a gig, it really widens up the scope of investigation. It does. It definitely does. But she had so many people that she was staying in touch with and so many friends that after a while, she knew enough people that they were worried about her. And I suspect that under those circumstances, they really did know her and they understood that something was definitely wrong. You know, I'm just thinking about the discovery of a body in a shallow grave.

Here is KTTV's Phil Schumann. Listen. A shallow grave. This is about 50 miles north of Sacramento. The LAPD says they believe the remains are Shabani's. That is not 100 percent. They do not yet have a cause of death, though they are saying they believe that Shabani was the victim of a homicide. Let's hear from Captain Hayes. Los Angeles police divers were searching that area and walking the shores. There was a water's edge where they found what they believed to be a shallow grave. When we checked it, we were able to determine that it contained human remains. But because of the condition of the area, we were not able to recover the body immediately. You know, I want to go out to our friend, Dr. William Maroney, Deputy Medical Examiner, Bay County, Michigan,

author of American Narcan on Amazon. To Dr. William Maroney, how do you go about identifying remains that have been out in the desert in a shallow grave? And what does that temperature and those circumstances do to the body? The first thing you have to look at is a chart of humidity and temperature to judge backwards and calculate how old or how long it's been there. And that's going to entail entomology, the study of insects that eat carrion and carnage and break the body down based on temperature and humidity. And if they can collect blowfly larva and date it. You know, I always hear that, Dr. Maroney. I always hear when you're looking at forensic etymology,

in other words, the age of bugs that have been attracted to the body. It's not terribly new, but in the big history of forensics, it's new. And I always hear about blowfly. It develops at a certain rate. And if you look at the rate of the development of the maggot, you can tell how long it's been there. You know how long it takes for a maggot to appear. And that way you can kind of determine roughly the time of death. How does it work? If you could break it down for me in words, we can all understand Dr. Maroney. The first insect to be drawn to a dead body based on smell and decomposition is the blowfly. And the blowfly sets up eggs that hatch in a couple days and then help decomposition

and eat tissue. And then they grow through stages that take a various number of partial weeks. And then those maggots turn into flies themselves. And they're able to trace that. Ashley Wilcott joining us. This guy, this person of interest, Chris Spots, what do you believe was at the heart of her murder? Crime of passion. I think no matter what, hands down, this is a crime of passion. Something about, again, leaving with the suitcases, with the red candles, the fact that she had the trauma that she endured, where she was buried, how far away. I think it was a crime of passion. And then they said, uh-oh, we've got to do something with this body, and this is what we're going to do.

Ashley Wilcott, I agree with you, because this guy, 33-year-old Chris Spots, had been Adia's boyfriend, okay? And he had been engaged to another woman. We know that there was a high-speed police chase. At the end, he kills himself. Why would he do that if he were not somehow involved with this? If you have information, tip line 213-486-6890. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.