Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Suspect: 'I'm sorry' for Penn murders; mystery Cancun vacation death

Episode Date: July 14, 2017

A Pennsylvania man confessed & apologized for killing 4 men. Psychologist Caryn Stark & reporter Jamie Stover join Nancy Grace on this story. A dream Cancun vacation turns tragic for a Wisconsin family. Why did police not probe the death of the daughter after an unexplained poolside incident. Radio host David Mack discusses the case with Grace. Blaze reporter Robin Walensky talks about not-so-bright bride who forgot an important detail before hiring a hitman to kill her groom. 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 on Sirius XM Triumph, Channel 132. A shocking confession in the case of the four missing men in Bucks County. Cosmo DiNardo says he killed them all. What do you have to say to these families Cosmo? Anything to say? I'm sorry. The four men have been missing since last week. Cosmo DiNardo's defense attorney says that his client admitted his guilt and told investigators where they can find the bodies. Mr. DiNardo confessed

to the district attorney. The DA promised him the death penalty would be off the table despite confessing to killing and burning the bodies of four young men. Did he act alone? We're hearing this morning there is a second person of interest. You would think at this point we would all be stoic. We would all be jaded. It would simply be just another story, but it's not like that. It's never like that. When I dare to read another story out of Bucks County, I'm still stunned

that the disappearance of four young boys and the prime of their life. One having just finished his freshman year at Loyola on the Dean's List. The other three, all friends and connected in one way or the other. Having gone to high school together. Facebook friends together. Know each other. Two of the very best friends. They're dead. All four of them in a mass grave i'm talking about

the four missing in bucks county police now find at least one body identified in a mass grave at a five million dollar farm report saying the son of the owner is a schizophrenic 20-year-old who had been selling pot and guns for years. The parents remained tight-lipped about their son's activities. With me from WFMZ-TV, Jamie Stover and psychologist from New York, Karen Stark. Jamie, what is the latest? We now learn that there is a so-called mystery accomplice. That was made last night when after the bombshell announcement comes out that Cosmo DiNardo has come forward and confessed 24 hours after those remains were identified, as you mentioned. His attorney comes out, says that he has confessed, all because he's trying to avoid the death

penalty in this. And while his attorney, Paul Lang, sort of dodged the question about there being somebody else potentially involved, the AP now coming out with a source last night saying that there is somebody else that they're potentially looking into, essentially saying that Cosmo DiNardo had help in this. And since Cosmo DiNardo's confession came out, I think a lot of reporters were expecting to see the district attorney come out and make comment on this. You know, you would you would think this would be a big win for the prosecution. What better than having a person of interest come and tell you what happened? But he didn't have any of those news conferences last night.

I'm expecting to have another one today. I'll tell you what I'm thinking about that, Jamie. They're still working. If what they're saying is true, if the reports are true, Alan Duke, I find it impossible for a police officer to give a plea deal in other words let DiNardo plead guilty in exchange for not seeking the death penalty on the luring the ambush the murder of four young boys and now we're learning that he tried to allegedly tried to burn them to hide the bodies I mean where were his parents during all of this when all this has been happening that he tried to allegedly try to burn them to hide the bodies.

I mean, where were his parents during all of this when all of this has been happening? And not only that, reportedly there have been 30 so-called brushes with the law and very few, if any, arrests. How much money does it take for you to have 30 brushes with the law, as they are calling it, and you don't do jail time? How does that work, Alan Duke? 30 brushes with the law. They weren't arrests because they let him go. He did do an involuntary visit, stint, whatever, to a mental health facility.

That's not jail, Alan. At least one. No, but they do that instead of jail. That lasted a couple of months. Because they figure that that can help them. Max, hold on. Karen Stark, you're the psychologist. An involuntary, some people call it a Baker Act, which is a case where a baker had to go to an involuntary commitment.

That's not jail. That can last. Remember when Britney Spears had an involuntary commitment? Was she there a couple of weeks, Max? And they appointed a guardian for her and she came right out 30 brushes with the law jamie stover do you know anything about the 30 brushes with the law i've seen reports of that i am not familiar with with the additional that you're talking about of course we all know about the the gun charge that stemmed from fe. Well, that was refiled this week. And then obviously the other charge, the only charge standing at this point related to this case for the stolen vehicle.

If that is true, you know, then the system's got blood on their hands. Because if that's true, they've let this guy walk free, marching around his parents multi-million dollar 70 acre estate however many acres it is dressed in camo carrying a gun and selling pot and nobody did anything why because he's rich i want to know the answer to that but another thing i want to know is about this mystery accomplice and there are more than just so-called rumors to support that theory. In the night, police converged on another home and made an arrest.

Speculation reports are that that arrest is connected to these four missing, now presumed dead, boys. Now, a theory is emerging that Cosmo DiNardo, the 20-year-old son of this real estate magnate, is schizophrenic. What exactly does that mean? Or are we heading right down the path to a mental defense in this? Karen, what do you know? Well, it's very hard to say whether, in fact, the defense would use that or might try to. I would suspect they would. But if

he is, if he has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, Nancy, that means that there is a potential for harm. And schizophrenia, there's no way to really know when the delusions or the hallucinations would get somebody to commit violence, would force them. After all, if you're a paranoid schizophrenic, you think that things are happening to you, and you believe that people are out to get you. And in that case, you're not of sane mind, so you can't be able to make that judgment.

And there is a propensity toward violence, usually against themselves more than someone else, but it is always there. Which leads me to the question, if he has been diagnosed with this so long ago then why is he still walking around selling pot driving with access to guns if you look on his facebook he's in some sneaker aficionado club online and you see ammunition interspersed with the shoes it's it's very upsetting i mean for him to be in that condition we can't help that

all we can do is treat that but then to let him him have the potential to harm other people and now four are dead. That is, that to me is a crime. How his parents let that happen. So what, how do you treat, Karen, schizophrenia? You have to use anti-psychotic drugs, Nancy. And almost all, most of the time, I really would say that when people are given the proper treatment, these things don't happen. The problem is it's very hard for parents to accept that this changed person is their child, that they might be in danger or anyone else is in danger. And that you find very, very often, that parents really can't look at it. And it's not that they want to be like that.

It's more like they can't believe that their child is capable of this kind of violence. Doesn't schizophrenia often hit in the late teens in men? Yes. So you've had a whole lifetime, really, say 15, 17 years with a child that's perfectly normal, lovable, trusting, sweet, does well in school, a mother's dream, and then suddenly it's like the lights go off and schizophrenia takes a hold of them. I guess it is

hard for the parents to accept that i guess it's even harder for the parents to accept that their young son is now dead because of someone else not managing their child or not reining their child in or getting the correct treatment or if he did have the correct treatment, then there was nothing that could be done about this. Those are the two choices. What we are also hearing from sources, Jamie Stover, WFMZ-TV, if you can comment on this, that a schizophrenic killer's, quote, accomplice has been arrested. That DiNardo, who is in fact a drug dealer, I mean, if he's schizophrenic, he's able to keep his wits about him to sell drugs, tells police he murdered four men for, quote, cheating him in a pot deal and then burned their bodies with the help of a mystery person.

That's what we're seeing come out. That's what we saw come out last night from reports from the Associated Press. But, you know, it's also interesting, and I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but last night we also came across screenshots showing supposed-to-be conversations that were happening after these disappearances would have had, in which a friend was asking his buddy Cosmo about his friend Dean missing. And we're seeing how Cosmo was responding to friends asking about friends missing.

And these are screenshots that I guess friends had saved for whatever reason. Yeah, I saw it and it was shocking. It was cold, cruel cruel and callous what he reportedly if these are his screenshots what he was saying about his friend he went to high school with one of the missing boys and i think was on that facebook sneaker chat room with him so what did he say jam Jamie? A friend asks, your buddy Dean is missing. Aren't you worried about buddy dead Dean? And this user named Cosmo says, I mean, I know the kid, but yeah, I feel bad for his parents. And then he goes on to

make allegations about his friend Dean having DUIs, getting arrested for things like stolen bikes. He refers to him as he's a pill-popping junkie who had two DUIs and got popped for stolen bikes and guns. He probably just jumped parole or probation. Yeah, I think that's a little projecting.

There is no evidence any of these victims had any kind of a past like that. In fact, I know for a fact one was a dean student for Pete's sake. That, that's, that, I don't believe that. I think he is projecting his own persona and trashing the victims. And the reality is, Karen Stark, if he is to be believed, he has killed them, burned their bodies, and put

them in a mass grave, and now he's trashing them online. I don't care what they did or who they are. That's the reality. Well, but there goes, that has to do with the delusions again, Nancy. I mean, for him, they deserve to have this happen. You know, I'm sorry, Karen. I just had to roll my eyes at you, your delusions. You know, he had the wherewithal to be a dope dealer.

He had the wherewithal to pull off, according to him, the murders of four innocent people. And I'm not saying that he's innocent, Nancy. And elude cops for all this time. How can he be crazy? He can still have schizophrenia. He can still have, be paranoid and function, you know, function, sell drugs, sell guns, but he is not seeing things the way a normal person would see things. Schizophrenia does not allow you to see the world the way you or I would be able to do it. If you notice, there are also pictures of him, I think it's him, with a gun.

And in one of the pictures, he really does seem very, very insane. I can't believe that just came out of your mouth. As long as I have known you, you saw a picture of him and you think he's insane. What about this? When he's asked, in the same

exchange Jamie Stover from WFMZ TV was just telling us about. The friend goes on, why did they go to your property? And he goes, because no reason for people to come to my place

where we don't live. I have no clue, bro, but it's weird. People keep hitting me up. I have no idea what's up. So you're telling me, Karen Stark, no offense, because you know you and I have been together a long time now.

But, Karen, you're telling me. And always disagreeing about this. That this guy, who has millions at his fingertips through his parents, can be given any kind of mental treatment at the best facilities in the world. Can have a dope operation, can sell stolen cars or try to, can sell guns, can pull off a quadruple murder, conceal the bodies in a mass grave, elude police, and then form lies about it online? That is not crazy karen well it is it is if you look at the definition of schizophrenia in the in this instance he's crazy but he's functioning so i don't know if he knew

the difference between right and wrong nancy you could say that about 95 of america functioning crazy and i i'm raising my hand. I plead guilty to that one. But schizophrenia is a real disease, and it doesn't always include somebody being violent. But if, in fact, he's untreated and he has been hospitalized with schizophrenia, his parents were in denial, and he was not medicated, and anything is okay in that situation you think you got you think you got me over the barrel just hold on hold on okay the legal definition of insanity in our country is not knowing the difference between right wrong at the time act that's the old mcnaughton rule and it was a case from great britain and the defendant was mcnaughton

right it came over when the pilgrims came here and as part of our common law which means cases court cases all the way up to the u.s supreme court have verified it and it is legal precedent here, and if he knew enough to burn the bodies, conceal the evidence, lie, evade police, he knew it was wrong. That means under the law he is not insane. But that is a legal definition. How about that, Missy? That's a legal definition versus the psychological description of an illness. And it happened. Uh-oh. Wait a minute, ladies. And he's apologized.

I think I hear Alan Duke tuning up. All right. Go ahead, Alan. And he's apologized. He did. He said he was sorry. Let's listen to his apology. He apologized last night.

Let me play that. Let's hear the apology. Cosmo, what do you say to these families? Cosmo, you admitted to killing four people. Why'd you do it? What do you have to say to these families, Cosmo? Anything to say? Even if it's the best Cosmo? Anything to say? I'm sorry. With me, in addition to Karen Stark, psychologist out of New York, is Jamie Stover from WFMZ-TV. So where does it stand now? Jamie

reporting from Bucks County. What's happening now? Well, right now, everybody's waiting to find out, you know, who is this additional person that they're looking into in this case. We were expecting the district attorney to maybe come out with that this morning. But now we're finding that he's postponing his news conferences again, likely not until the afternoon. So it appears, at least from our standpoint, that perhaps there's a lot more work to be done in this case, even though despite that confession, according to Cosmo's attorney last night, about him, you know, fessing up and saying that he was forthright and doing all this to avoid the death penalty, there has not been a single homicide charge filed. So we're still waiting on that. Perhaps they are working on that as we speak or, you know, perhaps they're still waiting to talk to this other individual that they think may have been involved in this to find out more on what exactly happened at the DiNardo property. You know, another thing when you said we're waiting and you finished that sentence, Jamie Stover, by

talking about, you know, are there going to be charges? Is there a mystery accomplice that helped him dispose of the bodies? What I thought you were going to say, just from me projecting, is we're waiting to identify the other bodies. And Karen Stark, I got to tell you something, just to say that brings up the worst feelings because you know for crime victims that have been through it that have lived through someone you love more than anything in the world being murdered it's horrible and you really never get beyond it you never it's just part of your dna from then on and i know they're trying to solve the case i know they're trying to find out if there's a mystery person. But, you know, I have my twins this morning.

You have your wonderful husband. We all have our loved one with us. Alan, you're newlywed. I mean, these parents, they're waking up this morning trying to figure out if they were part of a bad dream, the worst dream they've ever had in their life, a nightmare. And they hit the ground. Their feet touch the floor off the side of the bed, and they realize it's real. Their son is dead, most likely in a mass grave, waiting for a body to be identified.

So I'm going to leave all the legal machinations to the DA as it unfolds, as we send up our prayers for the victims' families at this hour. Jamie Stover from WFMZ-TV and Karen Stark, psychologist out of New York. Thank you for being with us as we stand by and wait for the latest along with these families. Thank you, ladies. Abby and Austin Connor on a family getaway with their entire family in tow to Cancun, Mexico. It's like a dream. I know with the twins, I'm so busy getting up at 530 every morning, getting everything ready for them to school, taking them to school, trying to get to work on time, trying to get all the bases

covered. And I really look forward to vacation time when I can just be with them. You know, I waited my whole life to have them and you get bogged down in everyday life, but you finally get away. The parents get away with Abby and Austin Connor within just two hours of arriving at their vacation destination in Cancun, the brother and sister Abby and Austin found face down in the resort pool. Face down. Abby dead. The last thing Austin can remember is being with a group of men. They were supposed to meet their parents after the pool for dinner and they never showed up. It is now going on six months and Cancun authorities have done nothing. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories and I

want answers. You pay out the nose for some so-called luxury vacation. This is Paraiso del Mar near Playa del Carmen. Bottom line is Cancun and Americans flood to Cancun, which is part of Mexico. It's nearby. It's on the beach, white sandy beaches. But what they don't know is just recently a Department of Justice report details the facts. And now you better think twice before you vacation in Cancun. Joining me right now, longtime friend and colleague, syndicated talk show host Dave Mack. Dave, you've got children. I've got children. What do you make of this story? Nancy, I've actually got children in these age groups. You're talking Abby is a 20-year-old

swimmer. So is that Austin is 22. They're very close. They were together in the pool. And what I'm looking at is they were just typical college-age kids having a couple of adult beverages at the pool bar. That's all they were doing. The thing is, Nancy, as you dig deeper in this, you're going to find out that their mom and stepdad actually came and hung out with them for a little while and watched them swim. Then, about an hour before they were to meet their mom and stepdad for dinner, they were left alone in the pool, and they ran afoul of somebody. Because you don't drown by yourself and have a golf ball size. Well, both of them. Yeah. She had a broken collarbone. She had a broken collarbone and was drowned in four feet of water. They're also conflicting reports among the police reports. You mentioned that Cancun is this resort place

and it's beautiful. But you know what? For for 30 years, they told Americans, don't go off the property. Don't go into the town. Well, in the last three years, the trouble has come to these resorts. And these types of scenarios are playing out on a more than regular basis. All you have to do is take a quick Google. There are stories coming out of these resorts where people are experiencing. They're at the bar. They're having a couple of drinks. Next thing they know, they've got body damage and they wake up in either a hospital room or a hotel room that they don't know where their stuff is.

These guys are so young, Abby and Austin Connor. And if it were just one of them, I wouldn't find it as suspicious, Dave Mack. But you've got the brother and sister. And their last recollection was sitting there with some other guys. It was a restaurant right there at the pool they were sitting there then they recall they're coming to the brother is abby floating in the pool face down foam coming out of her nose austin also found floating face down in the pool abby was declared brain dead there in cancun this family had gotten there from Pewaukee, Wisconsin,

and they were only on this resort property just a couple of hours with mom, Jenny, and stepdad, John, before both found in the pool. Abby, of course, as I mentioned, was declared brain dead before she was eventually taken off life support. And there's something so scary. It's bad enough when you are familiar with the territory. Much less when you're not. Now, catch this. The last thing Austin remembers is being there at the pool with his little sister.

And a group of guys invite them over for a drink with their group. That's important, Dave, Matt. Remember. One drink. That was it. One drink. And the next thing the boy remembers, Austin, is waking up in an ambulance. He says he's been in college for five years and he's had a couple of drinks, but no way would he put his face down in a pool and go to sleep they are victims of some sick person that drugged them he said he never felt drunk they had one drink he's 6'2 and 155 pounds they were meeting their parents just 45 minutes later and they never made it So what do you make of the fact that this group of guys, unbeknownst to them, never seen them before, say, hey, come over here and have a drink with us.

They're all at the little outdoor restaurant together. So they do. He wakes up in an ambulance, Dave Mack. Yeah, Nancy, there's a lot more to this. I mean, what you're laying out is scary enough, but it actually is worse when you look at the police report and what they're claiming happened. All right. First of all, Abby and Austin were together the entire time. They were swimming together. They were playing together. They were in their first hour of their vacation. They were preparing to meet their mother and stepfather for dinner. Somewhere in the midst

of all of this, mom and stepdad come back from a walk on the beach. They say, we'll meet you in an hour. And in that hour time, they run afoul of this group of thugs who are roughhousing in the pool. And it's a big pool. It's a huge pool, but nobody sees what happens. And that's the catch. This is a five-star resort. You have a young brother and sister that are in the pool together watching one another, but they run into this group that invites them over for a drink. They have one shot with this group and then everything goes to blackout. But look at the injuries. Austin is six foot two and 155 pounds. He's got a golf ball size knot on his head. And the doctor said it was a severe concussion. And his sister, she is dead in the pool for all intents and purposes. And she's got a broken

collarbone. But nobody saw what happened. You're at a fivestar resort. You've got one person claims that she saw them struggling to get out of the pool and she went to get help, but the police never talked to her. On top of all that, Nancy, when the hospital crew got them out, they sent them to the hospital that was the smallest hospital and the furthest away. There was a much bigger, much better prepared hospital, much closer to the property than the one they sent these to. This five-star resort did everything they could to get it as far away from them, and now they've shut down the investigation. 22-year-old Austin, 20-year-old Abby. Abby's gone, and Austin doesn't know what happened. I just don't see how it could be.

With me also, in addition to syndicated talk show host Dave Mack, is Alan the Duke. Duke joining us on the story. Alan, I just don't see how this is a simple drowning when he has no recollection of what happened after one drink with that group at the pool. He has a concussion and she has a broken collarbone and slips into a coma. That's not a drowning, Alan. No. Unfortunately, the local police don't appear to have done much of an investigation, talking to maybe three of the resort staffers about what happened. So that's why the family has now hired an American lawyer with the Mexico office to pressure the police to reopen the investigation and find out what happened. It is a place I wouldn't go to after what happened in 2010 to Monica Burgos.

Remember that, the survivor producer's wife? He's now doing a dozen years in a Mexico prison for that. That was only 32 miles away from this resort. You know, when you have the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice, issuing a warning, I would listen. And you know, Alan, and Dave, I don't know if you know this, we had planned to take the children on a surprise Disney cruise when they got out of school. And this was in May.

And we went down there when they got out of school to Cape Canaveral. And when I woke up, and we were going to board the ship the next morning. When I woke up, it was about 6 o'clock in the morning. And David, my husband, was gone. And I texted him. I said, David, where are you? P.S., how's your mom? His mom had been sick.

He wrote back, texted back, my mom passed away. Okay. We were stunned. Very, very close to his mom, Miss Lynch. And, um, you know, a lot of people don't like their mother-in-laws. I loved mine deeply. Anyway, we turn around and come straight back. So we rebook and we rebooked and there were some different islands that it was going to we would go on the disney approved outings on those islands because i've covered so many tragedies of american tourists when they go to islands it's never good but maybe dave it's in my line of business i only really hear about the bad things, but I would take them off the ship at every stop.

But we only went to the Disney offerings because, you know, I felt secure that Disney would offer something that was age-appropriate and safe for nine-year-old children. And they all were. But venturing off or trusting these all-inclusive resorts, that just gives me a bad feeling. Is it because we know what we know, Dave? You know, Nancy, it could be. But you know, since I started looking at this story today, I went ahead and just did a little research to see, are there other complaints about this resort or similar complaints to the story we're doing? do you realize there are pages, Nancy, pages and pages of people who are posting of similar incidents where they're not robbed, but they're

physically abused in some way and they don't recall it? I mean, we're not talking one or two. We're talking 12, 15, 16, all in Cancun. This apparently is something that's going on. That's why we've got the State Department issuing the warning to Americans. But you think about it, you talk about, you know, you're going on this dream vacation. You expect your children to be safe. Maybe we are a little jaded because this is what we cover. But then again, 15, 16 stories in the space of two minutes of looking, there's more to this story than meets the eye. And this family is desperate for answers. Well i mean just common sense dave common sense alan duke i could understand one of them hitting their head somehow maybe on a diving board maybe on the side of the pool but two of them both of them hitting their head with that severity and even if it was some freak accident which of course it's not for both

of them to be harmed like this. Where were the lifeguards? Where were the staff? Even if it's an accident. It just, none of it makes sense. So, Dave Mack, what have we learned about any police investigation in King Kemp? What we've learned is that the police talked to a total of three people at the hotel. We don't have any real investigation. They closed

it within a week by just saying it was an accidental drowning and they've left it at that. And the family is trying to get more answers. That's why we're talking about it six months after the fact, because they still don't know what's going on. This police investigation is an embarrassment. And Americans, you know what? You talk with your money. Stop going to Cancun until we solve this and that will wake them up. know what's crazy you're going to fall over when i tell you this dave mack you know how involved i was in covering the natalie holloway disappearance and death in aruba do you know the more the story was covered the higher the american tourism rate went yes ma'am i I do. I remember.

Why? Why is that? We were right. You know what was bad is, you know, I was doing a radio show in Birmingham and had actually done services at Natalie's home church the month before they went on the senior trip. We were intimately familiar with all those people involved. And there were people dying to go to Aruba.

They wanted to see Carlos and Charlie's. It was almost like some kind of weird, you know, tourist attraction. Okay. That's, that's ghoulish. Yes. That's just ghoulish. It is sick. Listen to this, Dave Mack. This is what Abby's dad says. I still can't believe this happened. I'm still waiting for my daughter to walk through the door. This couldn't have happened. It's, I think, two things, Dave Mack. One, the shock of losing his child. And two, the facts do not add up. The facts do not add up.

And that is why he's still turning it over and over in his mind like a Rubik's Cube. He can't make it fit because it doesn't fit because it's a lie. We're doing this story, and I'm thinking the same thing. There's got to be a problem. There's got to be a mistake. It doesn't happen like this. In four feet of water. You're right.

And the boy doesn't even remember getting in the pool. There's no way you have an accidental drowning in a pool with your brother where he's hit on the head and has a severe concussion, and you have a broken collarbone that my friend is not an accidental you know i think that we were talking about whether we were jaded i don't think we're jaded i think i love my children and i want to protect them in every way and i want other people to hear this story and to be able to protect their children, to be armed with the knowledge that we have, that we have gotten from studying this and investigating this.

Dave Mack, I'm not done with this investigation. Thank you for being with me. Absolutely. Thank you, Naxon. A hardworking husband is dead. Now, claims that his brand new wife, his bride, his newlywed bride, orders a hitman just four months into the marriage. Why? So she could collect his $100,000 life insurance policy.

That's right. Yoloma Walker was set to receive $100,000 life insurance policy benefits when her husband passed away. Reportedly, orders a hit on her groom. He's dead now, but one catch. She forgot to check the life insurance policy. She's not the beneficiary. He's six feet under, and she's getting nothing? Joining me right now, Robin Walensky, my colleague, the senior news anchor at the Blaze Network. Robin, it's great to hear your voice. What happened with Yoloma Walker? Well, Nancy, great to be on your new show. I will tell you this. You ever hear the expression

smart, smart, but dumb? She had this elaborate plot to have him murdered. And then, oh, by the way, his ex-wife, he never changed his ex-wife's name. So she never got a dime of the money. And now she's facing life in prison. It's hard not to laugh. With me also is Alan Duke. The Duke, you know why she was in so much trouble? She ran up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Credit card debt. You name it.

Debt, debt, debt. And she couldn't get out of it. So she orders a hit on her brand new husband um william walker she had just married four months before her plan had one glaring problem from the outset her husband had not changed the beneficiary on his insurance policy. He had not taken his ex-wife's name off and changed it to Yoloma's when he was killed. So the ex-wife, oh, don't you know that is killing her? Killing the bride that the ex-wife gets all the money? Oh, that's insult to injury. So how did the whole thing go sideways? And what do we know about

all the debt that she had racked up? Nancy, first of all, let me say when I got married in May, the very first thing is we stepped off that beach. My new wife made sure that everything was changed over. But I believe from everything I know about this, that you mean your insurance policy, everything. Are you kidding? She couldn't wait. We had to go down to the courthouse today over but i believe from everything i know about this that you mean your insurance policy everything are you kidding she couldn't wait we had to go down to the courthouse today just to see if the marriage certificate was processed so she could go ahead and change her passport and her driver's license she oh good lord i never even changed my name or do people still do that apparently my new wife does people still change their name yes yes people still do that? Apparently, my new wife does. Robin, do people still change their name? Yes. Yes.

People still do that. So all the names match up. Yeah. And then if somebody dies, then you can cash in on the check. Reading this story is making me wonder. Wait, wait, wait. I'm thinking. I don't have time to go change my name.

I'm not changing my name. Let David change his name for Pete's sake. In fact, I'm actually thinking of changing the children's name to Grace. But that's a whole other can of worms. Let me get back to this lady. Now, wait a minute. I want to talk about her debt. What do we know about her debt?

Do we know anything, Robin? Oh, she was deeply in debt. She was racking up all kinds of credit card charges on his account. So here's the thing. They didn't just willy-nilly get married. She was dating him for two years. Then they got married, and she was racking up all these credit cards and purchases. But guess what?

She came up with a grand to hire the hitman. Oh, my stars. Now, tell me, does the husband, William, did he have any children of his own before he got tangled up with this she-devil? I bet he did. Now they don't have a dad. of his own before he got tangled up with this she-devil? I bet he did. Now they don't have a dad. I am not sure if he had kids or not, but I know that she has a daughter who's involved in this plot.

So you have mommy contacts her daughter, who's 17 years old, and says, hey, who do you know that could kill my husband? So the daughter has a boyfriend who's a drug dealer, as you would, and the drug dealer boyfriend gets his cousin to buy the gun. He gets a nine millimeter and then he tries to kill the guy, but chickens out. So then he hires some other dude in the neighborhood who's the shooter. So there's a total of four people involved in this plot. You know, here's another thing, Robin Walensky. Robin Walensky joined me, senior news anchor with the Blaze Network. If you want something done, just do it yourself. Because the minute you bring in other people, somebody always talks.

That's why I've always said the O.J. Simpson case, there was no conspiracy amongst the cops. Yes, I'm not saying they didn't screw up. They might have screwed up several things in the investigation. But that was not a planned conspiracy because somebody would have cracked by now. Here you involve a lot of people in a hit, and, of of course they all run and blab. Yoloma Curry Walker charged with aggravated murder murder felonious assault and conspiracy and the slaying of a veteran firefighter William Walker to whom she had just been married four months. She couldn't even wait what a year before she kills him. I mean, I think I need to

shrink on this as well. But you're saying they dated two years before they got hitched, Robin? Yeah, she clearly knew, you know, when you're dating someone for two years, you know if they have a couple of coins in the bank, you know where the credit cards are. You might even know the person's social security number. She's opening up all these accounts, racking up debt here and there, going shopping. And then only four months in, she gets greedy and needs to pay all these debts off or, you know, who knows what she wanted, but she wanted that $100,000 for herself and to take off. This woman is so sick that she left his ashes behind in a car and moved out. I way i didn't know about the ashes that's how they got caught how do you find out these things robin whiskey hey but i do have

another tidbit guess what else she wanted she didn't want just the hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy she wanted his pension he had a city city pension i mean this was not just husband William Walker. This was Lieutenant William Walker, a very well-respected firefighter and member of the firefighting community. He had been a firefighter for years and had a pretty hefty government pension racked up. Mm-hmm. She thought she was going to take home that monthly check. I mean, you would think, though, that his friends, you know, the firefighters, you know, the fancy, the police and the firefighters, it's a brotherhood. So you would think that some of his buddies would if she was shading this woman, that they would have said, Listen, man, what are you doing? Why are you

marrying her? But clearly, no one got involved. He walked down the aisle. And now like you say, he's six feet under. But what's fascinating about this is all the people she involved, the daughter, the daughter's boyfriend, drug dealer, the guy who gets the gun. And, you know, this whole litany of people. And like you say, if you want to plan the party, do it yourself. Don't don't hire a whole crowd. And they also all four of these characters were facing very serious charges and life, and they've all cut deals. The most outrageous thing is that the daughter is facing nothing. She's going to spend a month in a juvenile detention center. The other ones are going away.

Somebody's getting 28 years. The drug dealer boyfriend is getting 28 years, and the other two, one is getting 18 years, and the shooter is getting 23 years. So they actually might get out at some point. Here's another thing. What about this, Robin? Robin, she initially got a hitman for $800. I mean, that's a pretty cheap deal for a murderer. So the husband, Lieutenant Williams, comes home that night around 8 30. He's coming home, long day at work. He comes home with

a bag of McDonald's, okay? That's what he's having for supper after working his rear end off for her to cover her credit card debts. And the shooter that she had arranged was waiting for him near their garage and ambushed him as he was unlocking a side door. You know, I don't even know if he knew what hit him, but I can tell you this, Meryl Streep, you better watch out, girl, because this woman, this newlywed, then calls 911 and gets up in the ambulance with her husband and drives in the ambulance to the hospital where he died.

Don't you know she was putting on some kind of show, Robin Walensky? Yeah, no question. She's a shady character. She's a faker. She also, in her very initial statement to the police, claimed the old, oh, he abused me routine. Clearly, that went nowhere. Nobody's buying that. And you look.

The other defense that she offered. Oh, yeah, I want to hear this. Nancy, the other defense that was offered at trial, there were no domestic violence witnesses there. But the defense lawyer argued that it was the daughter who cooked up this plan to frame her mother. And that, in quote, this is a quote from Closing Arguments, talking about the daughter. This girl is cold and diabolical. She went with him. She wanted to see. In other words, this was the 17-year-old.

And by the way, she only really got caught because the 17-year-old. And by the way, she only really got caught because the 17-year-old turned her into police. You know, it just amazes me that a person like Lieutenant Walker is now dead all because of this disastrous relationship. You know, I've read in a lot of articles and research that the single most important decision you make in life, one of them anyway, is who you marry. And boy, truer words were never spoken. It could give you a lifetime of happiness or pure hell your whole life. Okay, Robin Walensky, senior news anchor with The Blaze Network.

I'm super grateful you were here with all your gory details you brought in. Thank you. Robin, seriously, thank you. No, you're welcome. Yes, you do. We all do. You know, this is the thing with crime fighting. There's never a lack of business.

We're on the case. Thank you for being with us. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.