Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Special Ed Teacher Charged After Sex With Student | Crime Alert Recap Saturday

Episode Date: April 5, 2025

Downers Grove police take a report from the South High student and his mother. The texts were sent between the victim and his teacher and soccer coach Christina Formella on a December morning in 2023, seemingly about a sexual encounter. The victim tells police after weeks of flirting, Formella slammed the door to her classroom, and the two had sex during what should have been a tutoring session.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Jackie Howard. You don't have anything on you? You can grab whatever you need. Whatever I need? Yeah, whatever you need. If you're following your person, you're going to grab it. Christina Formella is visibly confused when she's put into the back of a police car as part of an investigation.

But an investigation into what? As a Downers Grove, Illinois mom sets up her 15-year-old son's new iPhone using his iCloud account, she comes across a hidden text conversation and drags her son straight to the police station. The conversation is a discussion of a sexual encounter with his love interest, his married 30-year-old special ed teacher, Christina Formella. The victim tells the police after weeks of flirting, Formella slammed the door to her classroom and the two had sex during what was supposed to have been a tutoring session. Formella is arrested with her husband of just eight months in the car.

Is she going somewhere? Yeah, we're going to explain everything to you guys, so go ahead and turn around for me. Excuse me, is my husband coming with? Yes, he's taking his phone over down. We're staying in touch with him. We're just going to downer's grove, uh, 10 minutes away. No, I know, but I really would prefer that my husband's with me. Of course. Am I in trouble? Like I'm, I'm so lost right now. I'm sure you don't want a tissue or something. I'm feeling I'm going to throw up. A bag? Mostly. All right. Formella denies having a romantic relationship with the teen, claiming she's a good person and everybody comes after her because of her good looks.

In the same breath, she calls the boy a stalker, insisting he sent the texts to himself. Christina Formella is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and criminal sexual assault. Formella denies all allegations against her. For more on this ongoing investigation, tune in to Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Monday on Dr. Phil's Merritt Street Media, 6, 9, and midnight Eastern. Check your local listings for channel assignments or subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast on your favorite podcasting app. More crime and justice news after this. I'm Nicole Parton. Sean Diddy Combs is now facing five criminal charges linked to his federal sex trafficking case. The fresh indictment revealed by federal prosecutors in New York today

includes an additional count each of sex trafficking and transportation for prostitution. These new allegations involve a second victim. According to the indictment, Combs 55 was previously facing three counts, which encompassed sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for prostitution, based on an indictment first filed in September 2024. This indictment focuses on the alleged freak-offs, which prosecutors described as elaborate and produced sex performances that the music mogul is accused of coercing individuals to participate in. It is claimed that Combs and his associates would entice individuals under the guise of a romantic relationship before resorting to, quote, force, threats of force,

and coercion to compel their involvement in the freak-offs. The new charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion asserts that Combs recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized, and solicited victim two and attempted, aided, and abetted, and willfully caused victim two to engage in commercial sex acts, fully aware and recklessly indifferent to the fact that victim two was engaging in commercial sex act as a result of force, fraud, and coercion. The added count of transportation for prostitution is also linked to the claim made by victim two. The earlier charges of sex trafficking and transportation for prostitution were solely connected to the allegations from victim one. However, the racketeering charge

remains unchanged in the new superseding indictment. Combs is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting his trial on federal charges set for May 5, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Additionally, he is named as a defendant in a numerous amount of lawsuits, more than 12, alleging sexual misconduct. Combs has denied all allegations against him. I'm Drew Nelson. A frantic 911 call from a Florida grandfather sparks a murder investigation after he finds his daughter dead and her toddler missing inside a blood-soaked home. On March 26th of 2024, just before noon, Sarah Gamma's father unlocked the front door at her

home in Plantation. He and his wife had gotten worried, their daughter not answering her phone. Her husband, Gene Carlos Aponte, was also not replying. They had expected him to drop off the kids at their house that morning. Inside, they found the family's four-month-old baby crying in a swing. Then they saw the blood. My daughter's been assaulted. I think she's dead. There's blood all over the place. I'm walking in it too right now. My daughter, she looks like her throat has been slashed.

We're looking for the son. As they went through the house, they found Aponte unconscious in the bedroom. They couldn't find their grandson. Police later found two-year-old Ethan Aponte face down in the backyard pool with stab wounds to his neck. Sarah Gamma had been stabbed 28 times. She had wounds to her face, neck, abdomen, and spine. Her son had four stab wounds and drowned. In the kitchen, detectives found two blood-covered knives, cut-up food on a child's plate, and a baby bottle between Gamma's legs. Blood marked the floors, walls, and led out to the lake.

In the water, police recovered both parents' phones. Jean Carlos Aponte, the 40-year-old Marine Corps veteran, had labored breathing and a faint pulse. Medics gave him Narcan at the scene. Police believe he tried to overdose after killing his family. He later told a nurse, quote, that's crazy, and mouthed to officers, quote, I'm sorry, I did it. Texts and camera footage inside the home revealed a fight that morning. Surveillance caught a child screaming, slamming sounds, and shouting. Gamma's search history showed that she had discovered Aponte having an affair and was researching divorce. In one unsent text message, she said, quote, call 911. Aponte was

arrested days later and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He's being held without bond in Broward County. Gamma's parents said they had no warning signs. They believed the couple was happy. Ethan would have turned three the following week. His baby brother survived. I'm Jennifer Gould. In a shocking case of alleged marital discord turned deadly conspiracy, an Ohio teacher has been accused of soliciting one of her own high

school students to murder her estranged husband for a mere $2,000. Here she is addressing the judge in court. Who is the juvenile involved in this case? Have a seat in the back. I'll have your attorney have a discussion with you, okay? Stephanie Demetrius, a teacher at the Academy for Urban Scholars High School in Columbus, allegedly offered the student a down payment before her arrest. According to Franklin County Municipal Court documents, Demetrius, 44, was arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to commit murder. The chilling plot allegedly unfolded when Demetrius approached the unnamed student at the school, offering a paltry sum of two thousand bucks to shoot her estranged husband. Authorities say the alarming situation came to light thanks to the vigilance of the student's mom, who found incriminating details on her kid's phone and promptly alerted officials. Sergeant James Fuqua of the Columbus Division of Police spoke at the

news conference. This particular teacher was attempting to groom this young person into committing murder. We're unsure of the specific reason as to why this teacher chose this particular student. Court documents revealed that Demetrius allegedly provided the student with a $250 cash down payment. Furthermore, police obtained a digital recording in which Demetrius reportedly reassured the student that the remaining $1,750 was forthcoming. The teacher also allegedly provided the student with crucial details about her estranged husband's routine, including the fact that he worked from home and the times when their kids would be out of the house. When the student inquired about potential noise from the gunfire and concerned neighbors, Demetrius allegedly

dismissed the concerns. While a public defender for Demetrius denied the allegations during a virtual court hearing, calling them a fabrication. Further details point a very troubling picture of the couple's fractured relationship. Franklin County Domestic Relations Court records indicate that Demetrius filed for divorce from her husband, Carlington Demetrius, in April of 2024, marking her second attempt to end the marriage. Adding another layer to the allegations, Carlington Demetrius filed for emergency custody of their children in July of 2024, detailing a series of disturbing incidents involving his estranged wife.

These allegations include violations of a stay-away order, breaking into his home, theft, and even a claim that she used scissors to stab him while one of their kids was present. The filing also alleges instances of arson, property damage, and the intentional disruption of basic utilities at his home. Stephanie Demetrius is now facing felony charges that could carry a life sentence if she is convicted. Demetrius has been released on a $150,000 cash security bond. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for April 11th. For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Jennifer Gould. This is an iHeart Podcast.