Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Recent Alabama High School Grads Bludgeons Grandmother to Death | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 08.08.25

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

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 some of our top stories this week: Alabama teen beat grandmother to death with mallet.  Four Pepperdine students killed by speeder. Suspect charged with murder.  A 10-year-old Arizona girl dead,  after what doctors described as torture.  Her father and his girlfriend  charged with her murder after repeated reports to DCF.  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 Jackie Howard, an 18-year-old Alabama woman arrested for allegedly killing her grandmother. Police first arrive at 70-year-old Diane Treist Mobile home for a medical emergency. She was found unresponsive in her front yard with head trauma. A mallet lies near the victim, who is pronounced dead. As detectives interview witnesses, two people report being flagged down by a woman who says, Jalen Lupin beat her grandmother to death. Police locate a neighbor who beat off the teen herself with a mop after a frantic home invasion

attempt. As the 18-year-old tries to push her way into Cheryl Edwards' home, she admits the unthinkable. She had just killed her grandmother. Police say the teen tried to swipe the neighbor's car keys for a quick getaway. The terrifying moments caught on home surveillance video. Cheryl Edwards says she's been friends with Diane Trees, and next to her, store neighbor for almost 10 years. Edward says she often saw treased with cuts and bruises, for which she blamed her dogs. Jalen Lupin now charged with murder and second-degree

burglary. She had just graduated high school a few months ago. More crime and justice news after this. I'm Jennifer Gould. A high-speed horror on Malibu's Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California, California left four Pepperdine University sorority sisters dead. And now Frazier Michael Bohm, the 23-year-old scion of a wealthy family, is fighting for his freedom with a top-tier defense attorney Alan Jackson by his side. Baum, who allegedly plowed his BMW into the co-eds at a staggering 104 miles per hour, has hired the same high-profile lawyer who just defended Karen Reed and her blog. Blockbuster murder case.

Charged with four counts of murder and vehicular manslaughter, Bohm appeared in a Van Nuys courtroom pleading not guilty to the October 17th, 2023 tragedy that shocked the coastal enclave. Your Honor, before the entry of a not guilty plea, which is what we expect, obviously, I would ask the court for one continuance of the arraignment. We have just been brought on the case. The victims, Nyam Ralston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir 21 and Deslin Williams, 21 were Alpha Fee sorority sisters and seniors at Pepperdine's Seaver College of Liberal Arts.

They were standing near parked cars on the notorious dead man's curve stretch of PCH when Boehm's car smashed into three vehicles, killing the women instantly from blunt force trauma. Witnesses say Boe, who was uninjured, tried to flee the wreckage but was stopped by Pepperdine fraternity members who tackled. him. Bome, a former high school baseball star, lives in an $8.7 million Malibu mansion and was driving a BMW gifted to him for his 18th birthday as part of his parents' divorce settlement. Baum was released on a $4 million bond. His new lawyer, Alan Jackson, who previously defended high-profile figures like Harvey Weinstein and Phil Specter said he plans to file a motion to reduce the bail package.

from court. Between two and a half to four and a half seconds prior to the collision, the defendant's vehicle was at a speed of 104 miles an hour. Prosecutors allege that Baum was speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone, with his BMW's black box showing acceleration from 93 miles per hour just seconds before the crash. Baum's previous attorney, Michael Crowe, had claimed Baum was fleeing a road rage incident, a claim that a Los Angeles County Sheriff Sergeant said had no evidence to support. Crowd also disputed the black box data, arguing Boehm's speed was closer to 70 miles per hour based on witness accounts. With Jackson now at the helm, the case has been postponed with the attorney stating he does not expect the trial to begin before the end of 2025.

If convicted, Baum faces the possibility of multiple life sentences. I'm Nicole Parton, the family of a 10-year-old girl believed by authorities to have been tortured before being discovered unresponsive along a highway is now seeking accountability from child welfare officials claiming they overlooked critical details that could have potentially saved the little girl's life. Rebecca Baptiste passed away on July 30, Just three days after being found unresponsive at the junction of two highways, as reported by the police in Holbrook, Arizona. Her father, Richard Baptiste, 32, and his girlfriend, Anisia Woods, 29, have been arrested

in connection with the girl's death, according to the Apache County Sheriff's Office. When officers arrived, they found Rebecca severely dehydrated and malnourished. Prosecutors revealed in court on August 4 that she was missing her toenails. The state of her health led medical professionals to conclude the little girl had been tortured with indications of potential physical and sexual abuse. Rebecca's uncle, Damon Hawkins, described her condition. The little girl was black and blue from head to toe. She had two black eyes at the time she was found.

Empower College Prep, the school Rebecca attended with her siblings, reported that staff members reached out to the Department of Child Safety on Rebecca's behalf more than 12 times between November, 23 and January 25, including three calls in a single week in January, as reported by ABC 15. However, a DCF official contested this figure saying that they only received five calls concerning the girl's well-being. In a statement, DCF officials clarified that only one of the five reports met criteria for a statutory investigation. They have added the other four calls did not align with a statutory definition of abuse or neglect. The department also claimed they had no records of any relatives reporting suspicions of abuse or neglect regarding Rebecca or her siblings.

DCS did not provide any further answers regarding why the school's report did not meet their criteria. The agency announced that its safety analysis review team would conduct a comprehensive examination of the case to identify and address any systematic issues that may have impacted the situation and to implement data-driven changes aimed at preventing similar tragedies in the future. Both Baptiste and Woods face charges of first-degree murder and child abuse, according to court documents, although the records did not specify their pleas or if they have legal representation at this time. The school maintains that they did make those reports to the Department of Children's services more than a dozen times on Rebecca's behalf.

I'm Drew Nelson. New information in the Fort Stewart shooting reveals that an unarmed soldier tackled the gunman moments after he opened fire, wounding five of his fellow troops. The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Sergeant Cornelius Radford. He was an automated logistics sergeant assigned to the second brigade combat team. The attack took place inside the brigade's work area. Radford allegedly used his personal nine-mill. Officials say Radford followed one of his co-workers into a maintenance area and shot him in the chest. He then shot four others. Thankfully, all are in stable condition and all are expected to recover.

Brigadier General John Lubis says three needed surgery. One remains hospitalized in Savannah with a long road ahead to recovery. Soldiers nearby acted fast. One ran Radford and tackled him. Another jumped on top to hold him down until law enforcement arrived. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said those actions, quote, absolutely saved lives. Medals were awarded to six soldiers for their roles in stopping the shooting and helping the wounded. Radford is not a veteran of deployment. He joined the Army in 2018 and had worked at Fort Stewart since 2022.

Officials confirmed he was out on bond from a May DUI arrest in Liberty County. His chain of command did not know about that arrest until after this shooting. His father, Eddie Radford, told the New York Times that his son had been trying to transfer from Fort Stewart and had complained about racism on the base. Radford sent a message to his aunt saying he loved everyone and would be, quote, in a better place because he was about to, quote, go and do something. Investigators are still trying to determine how Radford brought his personal weapon onto the secure base. He is now in pretrial confinement while the Army's Office of Special Trial Counsel considers charges.

A motive has not been released. With this crime alert, I'm Drew Nelson. This is an I-Heart podcast.