Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Shock verdict in Jessica Chambers teen cheerleader burned alive! Will killer walk free?

Episode Date: October 3, 2018

Will the Mississippi man accused of killing teen Jessica Chambers by strangling her and setting her on fire face a third trial? Nancy Grace shifts through what led to a hung jury in the retrial of Quinton Tellis. Her experts include psychologist Caryn Stark, lawyer Ashley Willcott, death scene investigator Joseph Scott Morgan, private investigator Vincent Hill, and Clarion Ledger reporter Therese Apel. Nancy is then joined by forensics expert Karen Smith, medical examiner Dr. Jan Gorniak, & reporter Larry Meagher to discuss the case of an Alabama teen charged with stabbing to death her mother and sister. Another panel of experts -- including Cold Case Research Institute director Sheryl McCollum, Lauren Howard, and lawyer Kathleen Murphy -- join Grace to look at the case against two women charged in the burning death of  6-month-old Levi Cole Ellerbe in Louisiana. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Get action information that you can apply to your everyday life with a focus on preparation, not panic. Go to nancygrace.com now. Use promo code NANCY to get 15% off for your sake, for the sake of your children, your family, and the people you love. Know what to do, know when to do it, and how to do it. Class begins Tuesday, October 16. Go to nancygrace.com and register using promo code NANCY. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Do you remember the moment when you heard your daughter was a fire victim? Oh, yes, ma'am.

I mean, it's just like it was yesterday. You know, it was, I just didn't want to believe it at first when they called me. You know, I thought maybe, you know, she was just burnt just a little bit, you know. Didn't really, couldn't imagine the scale it was, you know. And I asked Barry, was she okay? And, you know, and he got real silent. And he said, no, man, she's not. And that's when my whole world fell you know in a stunning twist uh court watchers are amazed the second jessica chambers murder trial

where a young teen cheerleader out of mississippi was burned alive has has hung. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Straight out to Teress Apel with the Clarion-Ledger newspaper reporter on the case from the beginning. Teress, I don't understand it. Jessica's parents have got to be devastated. Their little girl, their teen girl, found by a motorist, struggling, wandering down the side of the road in nothing but her underwear, her body completely charred black, literally the skin hanging off of her nose and mouth. And the jury hung. Help me, Terese. I think what you just said is what a lot of us felt because the prosecution, you know, this was a retrial. There was a mistrial last time, too. And the prosecution brought so much more evidence and had a much stronger case, while the defense looked a little disorganized. And even as we stood in the parking lot with the rest of the media, the consensus was that, you know, he was probably

guilty among the media folks that were in the parking lot there as you kind of as we talked. I think the interesting thing was that when they came back hung, it was like everybody just thought, are you kidding? And part of it was, you know, after having watched the trial and part of it was, do we have to do this again, again? When you say amongst the media, everyone thought he was, quote, probably guilty. I assume what you meant to say is that he will probably be found guilty because the standard of reasonable doubt is a lot more than, you know, he probably is guilty. Right, right. As an objective journalist, I did definitely phrase that wrong. But it was kind of, what do we think the outcome of this is going to be? My, you know, all of us were saying, you know, my thought is that it's leaning toward guilty is going to be the verdict. Well, how did the jury act when they came out? They should have been hanging their heads. I mean, it was very much just they walked out and sat down. And I think after 12 hours,

roughly, of deliberation, they had called for basically some slides from the presentation. They wanted to see him again. And Paul Rowlett came out and was able to show them those slides, but he was not able to make any commentary. And I believe it was maybe 20, 30 minutes after that that they came back and said they weren't going to be able to make a decision. And you just got the feeling this jury has listened throughout. They've been very attentive. They had asked questions. It did appear to be just really they could not agree. Another issue is, it's my understanding, neither side asked to poll the jurors. Right.

And that kind of shocked me, especially after, you know, I really expected at least the prosecution to poll the jurors. I'm stunned. I am stunned. Joining me along with Terese Apel from the Clarion-Ledger newspaper, Vincent Hill, cop turned PI. Renowned forensics investigator, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet. Ashley Wilcott, judge, lawyer, founder of ChildCrimeWatch.com and New York psychologist joining us from Manhattan, Karen Stark. Ashley Wilcott, never, ever in all the trials I've had, which I can't even count past 100 jury trials, at least, have I ever had a jury trial where the jury was not polled at the end, typically by whoever lost.

You poll the jury. You look them in the eye and make each one individually say, that was my verdict. And that was my verdict in the jury room. And it is now my verdict. You have to poll the jury. What is going on in this courtroom? I agree with you. That's typically what's done.

I have no idea why they would not poll the jury. It's almost like prosecution was in shock and wasn't thinking and doing the right legal steps, which is to pull the jury. It's wild in this case. Nancy, there's one other thing I just have to say at this point, and that is, you know, I was covering this for law and crime. And one of the things I kept saying was there are too many first responders testifying that they heard her say Eric. And I still believe that that's the reasonable doubt that this jury hangs their hat on. Well, I agree with that 300 percent. Terese Apel, Clarion Ledger, please explain what Ashley is talking about. Well, there were several first responders that they brought up who said that they were at the scene

and that Jessica had said something that sounded like Eric. Now, last year when we tried this case the first time, the first responders, basically the prosecution would ask them, what did you hear her say? And they'd say, well, she said, Eric. This time they went as far as to say, well, what did it sound like? And were you actually standing there or did you, you know, did you have to lean down? Did you get in her face? How far were you from her? You know, things like that. So the prosecution felt that they had countered the Eric thing well enough because they also had two experts who said that

Jessica would have been able to pronounce sounds but not enunciate consonants, really. Well, hold on. Let's back it up a minute and explain exactly what Ashley Wilcott is talking about. The man on trial for the burning murder of Jessica Chambers is a longtime felon, one of her murder in Louisiana of another young girl and his name is Quentin Telles. Phone records indicate do they not Joseph Scott Morgan that Telles was with Jessica throughout the entire day even though he lied to cops about where he was and that was shown to the jury on videotaped audiotaped interrogations. He lied until confronted with phone records that place his telephone, his cell phone, basically on top of her cell phone signal.

Just within the hour or so before her murder, he's with her out in a field. Then their phones go to the spot where the car is found burned to a crisp. His phone goes there. Then video surveillance sees him going into his house, to his house in his sister's car where he keeps a gas can full of gas in a shed, coming out in less than two minutes and going toward the scene of the fire. When first responders got to Jessica Chambers, they said, who did this to you, her throat and mouth and air passageways

were completely charred black. And she said something like, eh, weh, which was interpreted to be Eric. I think it was, tell us. And it's my understanding that is what's caused the confusion, Joseph Scott Morgan. That's what we're talking about. I'm dumbfounded. I share I share with Ashley in this in this state of mind. I can't imagine it. Electronic triangulation, triangulation of the phone signal. Hey, listen, Nancy, we have got a mountain. We've got a mountain of forensic evidence here, electronic evidence. We've got DNA evidence. We've got fire science evidence here that are all solid tiebacks.

And the fact that this case would literally hang on a single utterance that this young, poor girl spoke after her throat had been absolutely destroyed. They even tried to mitigate this by bringing in a speech pathologist to talk to this and they beat this thing to death. We're told the jurors were split 50-50 with their decision. Half were going guilty, half were going not guilty. We knew throughout the day they were having trouble reaching a unanimous verdict, but the state says this time around they wouldn't have done anything differently. They introduced new witnesses. They said that they painted a clearer picture in this trial,

but the defense says they think the jurors were asked to jump to different conclusions in order to put Tellis at the scene. And, of course, there's always going to be questions tied around Jessica Chambers' final words. Part of our system of justice, which we all fight jealously to protect and preserve. Every defendant that comes in this court is entitled to a jury that's as conscientious as you are about the jury's rights. And I respect your decisions. Your inability to reach a verdict does not mean that you've not done an admirable job because you have. And this court appreciates it.

So with that, I'm going to send you, I'm going to declare a mistrial in this case, and I'm going to send you back to your jury room, and we'll be sending you home very shortly. Panola County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Chatham announcing the jury is hung. I don't even know what to think. Joining me, New York psychologist Karen Stark, judge and lawyer, founder of ChildCrimeWatch.com, Ashley Wilcott, death scene investigator Joe Scott Morgan, cop turned PI Vincent Hill,

and reporter from the Clarion Ledger, Teress Apel. I want you to listen to what the speech pathologist, Dr. Carol Higdon, testified to. You have to have the breath pressure first. So if the lungs are damaged, they're not going to be elastic enough to take in the amount, the air to allow that to push on through the vocal folds. And in the pharyngeal area, you said a minute ago, exactly what is that? The laryngeal area is what we call our voice box. It's where our vocal folds are, our larynx. And if those are damaged by inhalation of smoke or fire, would that affect the ability to make an articulate sound? Yes, it would. The vocal folds are very thin and they're

very pliable. And if there's anything that attaches to those cords, it's going to keep them from moving the way they should. I use my hands like this. But I tell students all the time, the cords are to look like this. But if there's anything impinging like a growth or something hanging on the cord, they're not going to close and open the way they're supposed to. And that affects sound? It does. You are hearing speech pathologist Dr. Carolyn Higdon testifying in court. Jessica Chambers' horrific burns would have kept her from speaking because her lungs could not have pushed the air through her voice box. It's very plain to me. I don't understand. DeVincent Hill, cop turned PI. What went wrong? I mean, to me, the phone records themselves, the text of him pestering her all day

long for sex and her saying no. And then she's found naked except for her underwear, her rear end, and the soles of her feet were the only things unburned. Clearly, she had been in that car, forced back on a car seat before she was burned alive. There's no doubt in my mind who else would it have been but him. I agree, Nancy, but I think what the jury was up against and here's why we have the 50 50 not only did you have the 10 first responders saying she said eric or derrick the fire chief said when he asked her name she said jessica chamber so i'm sure half that jury's mind you have the speech uh speech pathologist whoa whoa whoa i've got jackie whoa whoa hold on hold on hold on good looking jack, what are you over there saying? One of the firefighters said, she said Jessica Tabor.

Yeah, she's right, Vincent Hill. She's right. When she said Jessica Tabor, she couldn't enunciate. Hello. She's right. She's right. But my point is, she was able to articulate enough for him to understand the word Jessica. That's because he knew that Karen Stark, psychologist, can you do something with Vincent Hill, please?

Because they knew she was saying Jessica Chambers because they knew it was Jessica Chambers. So when she said chamber, they knew she meant chambers. Just like when she said, I know she's saying, tell us the phone records. Tell me who did this thing. You know, Nancy, when I think about this, I think it's really a shame that anybody asked her any questions at all, because that little bit of her attempting to speak and coming out with words that they could use to say this is what she said wound up being used against her so that this man who obviously was there and involved doesn't get to serve the sentence that he deserves and I hate to say that because I'm not a jury I wasn't sitting there but

why do you hate to say it if you think it's the truth? Why would anyone hate to say something they think is the truth? Because the jury didn't find him guilty and that's so horrific given the circumstances that it makes you wish that he didn't say anything. I just don't even know what to think, Karen.

So that justice could have been served. Karen, I've got to ask you another question. I'm sitting here looking right at a photo of Quentin Tellis all dressed up and well-groomed, flanked by all his lawyers in court. When I tried cases, I would not even look over at the defendant to my right. I would not ever even look over there. I would look at the jury, which was always to immediately beside council table, the state's council table, the witness chair and the judge. Never.

And now I remember why very distinctly, because it absolutely makes me sick to look at his face and know he did this thing. And we know the backdrop that he's wanted for another murder in Louisiana of a young grad student, a young student, Mandy So. Yes, yes. And he was with her right before her murder, her torture murder, multiple stab wounds dead. He has her ATM. He's trying to put his own family up to using her ATM and getting all the money out. And those wounds, according to police, of Mandy So, were inflicted 30 plus knife wounds to get her to give up the ATM password. Oh, yeah.

See, I know that is happening in the back in the backdrop. I know this guy's criminal history, which the jury didn't know. And I know, most importantly, the phone records. And you got to ask. You got to ask to Ashley Wilcott, you're a judge, you're a lawyer. Why would he lie to police? Why lie about it? If you're trying to find the killer of a girl you know, and a girl you claim to be friends with, why wouldn't you tell the truth? Why would you lie? Oh, you lie because you're covering up. You lie because you did it and you

don't want to get caught. And you, once you lie, you can't remember what story you told. So you continue to lie, which he continued to do in this case. I think that's clearly indicative of the fact that he committed this crime. Well, somebody agrees with you besides me. ATF agent Scott Meadows, listen to his testimony. In this particular case, do you believe that Quentin was being deceptive purposely? I do indeed, yes, sir. And when would Quentin change the deception that he was putting on y'all in the videos? When confronted with the evidence. And once you confronted him with the evidence,

did he agree with what you confronted him with? His story changed to match what he was just showing. And through the years of dealing with interviews, do people have a reason to lie or be deceptive? They do. And what would that reason be? Because they're guilty. Out to Teress Apel with the Clarion-Ledger.

Can Tellus be tried again? Yes, he can. And I think right now there's a lot of hard decisions being made about that. With the case in Louisiana, he's going straight back there, and they've got a couple of other charges on him in addition to what's going on with the other murder. And so I guess they're going to wait and see what's going on with Louisiana, how that pans out before they really focus on trying to tell us here in Mississippi again.

Well, I tell you, I really believe at this juncture to you, Ashley Wilcott, that they need to bring in a special prosecutor. I'm volunteering myself to go and try this case and try to get a guilty verdict. And I mean that because something is not working with the prosecution. I don't know if it's the jury selection. I don't know what it is. But this guy brutally murdered Jessica Chambers, probably raped her too, although he's not charged with it, Ashley. I think that they have to do something different. I agree with you completely because the other piece of this is they even this second trial did something different. They tried to get rid of the whole she said Eric to first responders is the person who did it by actually having an

expert testify. It wasn't possible for her to articulate that. Whether or not you agree with that expert, they went an extra step to try to present the evidence the best that they could, but they're still not getting a conviction. So something needs to be done differently. Perhaps another change of venue is something they need to consider along with a special prosecutor. What haunts me is hearing Ben Chambers telling me about how he raced to the hospital, beating a helicopter to get to his daughter, and never got to speak to her before she died. You know what? This guy needs to be in jail. And Mississippi doesn't need to count on Louisiana to do their duty.

We received a call a little bit after 1 o'clock from one, what we believe to be one of the victims, saying that her sister was trying to stab her. A 15-year-old girl now accused of fatally stabbing her mother and sister dead? How does this happen? Limestone County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Stephen Young says the teen is being charged as a juvenile. What went wrong joining me from the jurisdiction talk to host david mack david what do we know as you mentioned they are treating her as a juvenile which means they're sealing everything it's a little difficult to get information however we

do know that that the 9-1-1 call that was heard they could hear the mother and the older daughter pleading for her to please stop when police police arrived, they had been to the house before. They'd had other involvement with this family in the past over domestic violence issues. And when police showed up, the 15-year-old was stabbing herself in the head, the neck, and the chest. What we know right now is that a mother and a daughter are both dead. Investigators say they have an audio recording of the girl, the teen girl, brutally murdering her teen sister and her mother, but they have no idea what sparked this. The stabbing deaths of Rosa and daughter Rosa have just occurred, and it was moments after the teen girl victim calls 911. You hear the girl begging and pleading for help and you hear the mother actually taking her last breaths and dying

on the phone. Joining me right now, renowned psychologist Dr. Karen Stark, medical examiner out of the Fulton County jurisdiction, Dr. Jan Gorniak, talk show host, David Mack, forensics expert, Karen Smith, and CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, Larry Mayher. Karen Stark, it's really hard for me to believe there were no warning signs this was going to happen with a teen girl nancy there had to have been warning signs and i can't imagine that there were none just like you because this is somebody who in fact has she's a sociopath she's able to kill so you see those kinds of signs very early on they needed to look at what was happening in school and what happened when she was around animals, you know, all the things that we look for when you're talking about

someone who's capable of committing murder. The teen sister, quote, had a great smile, just beautiful. One of the recollections a teacher at her school said is that how much she loved and took care of all of her friends that if you were her friend quote you were well cared for I'm just wondering about the sibling relationship you know because I notice Karen Stark whenever I say oh John David you're so precious Lucy says am I precious or you know it's just it's so funny how much that the sibling rivalry bruise just beneath the surface even in good fun and this has erupted to a 15 year old girl stabbing her teen sister dad and the mother too that's that's how you know nancy that there's psychosis involved in this that it's much more than just regular sibling rivalry.

Because, yes, siblings are competitive. That's not unusual. And you see it all the time. But when you have a situation like this, where it gets to the point where she's killing her sister, that means that this person has extreme emotional problems. You're not talking about somebody who's just a teenager going through the usual trials and tribulations that teenagers go through. And I'm not saying it's a mental illness

where she didn't know right from wrong, but it certainly speaks to antisocial personality and someone who has the capacity to kill because they can't deal with their rage and jealousy. I'm looking at a photo right now of the mother, Rosa, and the teen girl that is now dead. And they're both so beautiful. Nobody has any idea what sparked this. The last moments of their lives were caught on a 911 call that we are not playing. To Dr.

Jan Gorniak joining us, the defendant, the suspect, was found in the home with very superficial cuts to her own body after she murders her mom and sister. What does that mean, superficial cuts to her body? Superficial means that they didn't go deep. So it's just like more of like a scrape, whether it's from, I'm not sure if it's from the sharp force injury or the sharp force implement that they used to injure her mom and her sister, or does she have an abrasion on her knee? Was there a sign of a struggle or a sign of a struggle? That's all I can say. So superficial, meaning they're not deep, they're not fatal, they're not

sutured or anything like that. To Karen Smith, a forensics expert joining us out of the Florida jurisdiction. Karen, when we look at the crime, when we look at the scene, what will we be able to tell about how this incident went down? Well, the blood evidence is going to be key. You can tell from blood evidence where the perpetrator may have been in relation to the victim. When you have a stabbing, that is a close quarter combat situation. You have to be right up on the person. So when you look at the blood spatter, is it close to the floor? Is it up on the wall? Is it on the furniture? Was there movement? Was there a pursuit through the house after one of the victims? Those are going to be telling as well where the victims were stabbed on their body. Was it in the back? Was it in the front? Was it in their neck? Was it in their leg?

Are there defensive wounds? And this young girl who apparently perpetrated this crime, they're going to be looking closely at her injuries as well. And to Dr. Jan Gorniak, following up on what Karen Smith has just told us, Dr. Gorniak, she's right. If you're looking at where their stab wounds in the back and where they found lying on their back. That would suggest to me that the attack first started from behind. We also know, Dr. Gorniak, that on the 911 call, you can hear the victims begging her to stop stabbing them, the mother and her teen girl. Dr. Gorniak, you cannot date stab wounds, like tell which one was first, or can you? Nancy, you're absolutely correct. We cannot

tell which one came first. One thing that's important, like you said, I mean, there could be stab wounds in the back. That doesn't mean those were inflicted first. Obviously, people are going to turn to get away from it. So you can have stab wounds or incised wounds of the hands or defensive wounds, and then they're trying to turn around. But also, depending on where that stab wound is in the back, is it immediately fatal? So someone actually talking and saying, stop, you know, hearing that doesn't mean they weren't stabbed at the time, but they could have had fatal injuries. They just hadn't succumbed to them at that time. Joining me is Larry May, her CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Larry, what more do we know? Nancy, deputies say the evidence that they collected from the scene suggests the 15-year-old was actually cutting on herself, trying to commit suicide, apparently,

when the attack began, that she apparently turned the knife on her sister and mother when they found her cutting herself. She has been charged with two counts of capital murder. And as we had mentioned earlier, she's being charged as a juvenile, which means her name is not being made public. And most of the record about the crime scene has been sealed. We have learned that while the victims are begging their attacker, their sister or daughter, to stop, several knives were used in the double homicide. So this teen girl was armed with multiple knives as she killed her mother and her sister. Take a listen to the Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely speaking to WHNT. In my 47 years as a law enforcement, probably one of the worst calls that I've sat and listened to.

Probably one of the more saddest situations I've ever seen. As you know, we had a six-month baby that was a victim of a first-degree murder in a fire. We have arrested one female in that case. The investigation is still ongoing. Butch, did the suspect know the family, know the mother? Do we know anything about that yet? Yes. This individual had a relationship with the family and certainly had access to the child.

So, you know, we're still vetting through those things, but it wasn't a random act, which is important for us to put out. It certainly was an individual who knew the child and had access to the child. A woman, 25 years old, allegedly kidnaps a baby boy along with two men, then set the little baby on fire, leaving him to die on a Louisiana railroad track. I want justice. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Take a listen to this neighbor.

The initial 911 call went out at 910. We were outside, so it had to be like 8 30 8 45 and if you someone just came and took your baby i'm pretty sure we would have saw it or heard it or anything we did not see nothing the only time we saw her is when she was running to the manager's office and knocking on the door you are hearing a neighbor describing the actions of the mom that night joining me right now cheryl mccullum director of the cold case night. Joining me right now, Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Research Institute, Lauren Howard, renowned New York psychotherapist, Joseph Scott Morgan, death investigator, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon,

Professor Forensics, Jacksonville State University, and Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina lawyer. Joining me right now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Larry Mayher. Larry, start at the beginning. How does a tiny infant end up being burned alive on railroad tracks? The story began with a 911 call from the child's mother who claimed that two men had kicked in her door, splashed her in the face with a caustic material like maize, and then made off with her child. The child was found a mile or so away on fire.

To Cheryl McCollum, Cold Case Research Institute director, I find that very odd for two men to show up at the front door, spray you in the face with maize or pepper spray, to get your baby for what? Just to burn it alive. And I know the baby was alive at the time. I wish it had not been, but it was airlifted to the hospital in the hopes of saving it. So it had to be alive when EMTs got to the fire. Correct, Nancy. The idea that two men that are unknown to her would spray her in the face of what she believes was Mace or said it was, and that she ran. Well, if Mace impeded her vision at all, she ran where? And left her children behind in great danger and not one but two men like you said decide to take only one of the children

and murder him for what reason in such a horrific manner to joe scott morgan you make a living as a death investigator weigh in on the scene of the fire yeah you you've got you've got a just imagine nancy you've got a a fully involved fire of a small child sitting where the small child is literally the fuel for this fire in the midst of a railroad track. It's going to be very specific. They apparently doused this child in gasoline. burn area where the child was seated and as well as well as the child itself is just crusted, crusted as a result of being burned at this point in time. It boggles the imagination relative to this and the evidence that they're going to

collect at the scene will involve collection of accelerants and anything else that's left behind, like the clothing that may have been burned off the body. But then they take the child, airlift the child to Shreveport, which is really not that far away from Natchitoches, and the child was pronounced dead at the hospital. So they will have had to go to the hospital and collect evidence there as well. To Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. Kathleen, I hear infants being stolen or tricking the mom out of handing over the baby to sell the baby or keep the baby as their own. But I don't understand taking the baby just to kill the baby in such a gruesome manner. The baby's name was Levi, and I am sick to my stomach to hear about this. She poured gasoline all over him, burned him alive, turned around, and went to work.

Smith worked a few miles away at IHOP. She walked into work like any other day, like nothing was wrong. Except back on Brita Road, a fire was raging. First responders found Levi on his stomach in the fire. 90% of his little body was burned. That is Josh Rogers from KTBS-TV describing what Felicia Smith apparently told investigators about baby Levi's horrific death. Now here's Josh at KTBS examining the relationship between the woman accused of killing baby Levi and Levi's own mother. From the ashes of the fire, the mystery emerged. Who is Felicia Smith? Why did investigators arrest her and Levi's death? More investigating by KTBS revealed Barker and Smith were girlfriends,

romantically involved, and a newborn baby is a large time commitment. Sources tell KTBS jealousy may have gotten the best of Smith, so she sought a solution. A handwritten note in a court record says Smith confessed. And now, breaking news in the case. First police have now arrested the mother of a six-month-old killed in a fire in Natchitoches Parish and the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's office says 22-year-old Hannah Barker was arrested and charged with first-degree

murder. Earlier this week, 25-year-old Felicia Smith was also arrested in the death of six-month-old Levi Ellerbee. Police now say she could face another charge on top of the first-degree murder charge. Police are telling us that Smith and Barker knew each other before the homicide. We talk with the Louisiana State Fire Marshal who says more arrests could be coming. Our biggest responsibility in the Fire Marshal's office when there's a fire, but more importantly, the situation here where there's been a death, is that we owe the facts to not only the family, the friends, but the public. And I'm very proud of the method in which we're seeking these facts and making sure we get it right. That is from our friends at KSLA reporting the arrest of the mother as well.

Larry Mayher, weigh in. A fire marshal's investigator testified at a bond hearing that Smith is identified as a girlfriend, romantically, of the mother, Hannah Barker. Smith confessed to setting the baby on fire. According to the investigator, Smith says she did it on instructions from the baby's mother. Smith says killing little Levi was all Hannah Barker's idea, initially saying she wanted him shot to death and then to burn him until, quote, he was bones, unquote. Smith said she put Levi on the ground next to the railroad track, poured gasoline on him, set him on fire, and then went to work a regular shift at an IHOP restaurant. Kathleen Murphy, family lawyer out of North Carolina, I firmly believe this is a death penalty case. What do you think? that she was not a part of this and that she was sprayed with mace,

but there's no mace, no chemical that was found at the crime scene. The clear motive in this case is that she asked this woman, would you do anything for me, even kill Levi? And I think it's adding up. She's changed her story so many times, and she was a part of this investigation, a part of this crime. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.