Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Womb raiders cut Savanna Greywind open to steal baby, dump dead mom near river

Episode Date: October 10, 2018

Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was eight-months pregnant when she was kidnapped and her baby was cut from her wound in 2017. The 22-year-old's body was later found wrapped in plastic near a North Dakota river. Nancy Grace explores the horrible story of the womb raiders, why they did it and what happened to them. Her experts include death scene investigator Joseph Scott Morgan, Fulton County, Georgia, medical examiner Dr. Jan Gorniak, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Bober, North Carolina family lawyer Kathleen Murphy, and Crime Stories reporter John Lemley. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Just when you think crime cannot, will not happen to you, it does in a flash and there are no second chances. I can't stop predators from coming into this world. I can't stop crime all alone, but I can sound the warning and I can pass on to you what I have learned about keeping you and your family safe. And that is why we are announcing a brand new online course, Justice Nation Crime Stops Here. This brand new five-episode video series allows you to go at your own pace as world-class experts in personal safety and child protection share life-saving tips and resources all for you.

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. The prosecution says Hain returned home from work to find his girlfriend, Brooke Cruz, cutting the baby from the womb of a semi-conscious Savannah Graywind.

Prosecutor Ryan Youngren says Cruz looked up and said, help me. He rolls up the sleeves, goes and gets a rope, puts it around her neck, pulls it tight, says if she's not dead, she is now. But defense attorney Daniel Borgen says the timeline is different. Will came home and he found Brooke in the bathroom, blood all over the floor, a baby wrapped in a towel in the bathtub. Morgan says Hain helped clean up the crime scene and dump Gray Wynn's body wrapped in a sheet, garbage bags, and duct tape into the Red River where kayakers found it a few days later. When he walked into that bathroom door and he saw the woman he loved next to a dead body begging him for help, he helped her. He shouldn't have. We all know he should have immediately called the police,

but he didn't. He made the wrong choice. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. How do you go from wanting a baby to allegedly targeting a pregnant friend and cutting the baby out of her stomach? I can recall when that was first raised as a defense in the Scott Peterson case that Scott Peterson had nothing to do with his pregnant wife Lacey's disappearance, that maybe some nefarious unknown woman had kidnapped her and cut her womb open to steal the baby. I totally poo-pooed it. A, it did not fit with the physical evidence that the baby washed ashore, baby Connor, 24 hours later, the mom washed ashore, apparently the baby coming out of her uterus after her uterus had decomposed in the water. But still that thought stuck in my mind, the crazy defense allegation by a great trial lawyer, Mark Geragos, that some woman had stalked Lacey and stolen her baby from her stomach.

Well, never say never. John Limley, CrimeOnline.com and Crime Stories investigative reporter. Let's just start with what we just heard. We know the victim is a gorgeous young woman, Savannah Graywind, whose body turned up wrapped in a plastic tarp, but in the Red River. Okay. Her stomach had been sliced open. Okay.

So that's no accident, number one. And somebody strong enough to wrap her in a tarp and drag her to the water had to be involved. Let's just start with the discovery of the body because I find this defense lawyer story fantastical that the boyfriend just walked in and finds a baby wrapped in a blanket in the tub and goes, is she dead? Because that's not what I would have said, okay? But let's just start with finding the body

of this gorgeous young mom, Savannah Graywind in the Red River. Yes, she was a beauty. She had a natural beauty about her. She was a young woman in her early 20s. She had just earned a certified nursing assistant license. She was working at a local nursing home. All of this happened days before the body is discovered on one of the last Saturdays of August in Fargo, North Dakota.

Savannah LaFontaine Graywind is a Spirit Lake tribe member living on a ground level North Fargo apartment with her mother, father, a sister and a brother. She and her boyfriend. OK, wait, stop right there. Stop right there. Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. Don't you know that family was overjoyed when they found out Savannah was going to have a baby. I mean, you know what, Kathleen? One of the best things, no, the best thing I have ever done is to have the twins. And I will never forget how happy my dad and my mom were when we all found out, A, I was pregnant, and B, it was twins. It's one of the happiest times. I'm just so glad my father was here to see it before he went to heaven.

Nancy, you don't know this, but my daughter is expecting a baby in December, a little girl. Congratulations. Yeah. We also have a one-year-old little grandson. That to hear that your daughter was ripped open and that she was in and out of consciousness during this, and that she had gone up to help this girl do a motherly thing such as sewing, breaks my heart. Breaks my heart. And there's no doubt in my mind that the parties were in on this together. Yeah, I'm having a hard time believing the boyfriend had nothing to do with it. To Dr. Jan Gorniak, renowned medical examiner joining us

today out of the Fulton County jurisdiction. Dr. Gorniak, how long can a baby survive inside the womb after mommy is dead? Oh, well, it depends. But I would say minutes, because once mom's blood supply stops, you know, supplying blood to the baby, then the oxygen level is going to go down to the baby. So it sounds like it wasn't an immediate death and that she probably was shocky. So she was going into shock. And so when that happens, your body shunts all the blood to the vital organs, i.e. the heart and the brain. And so I would say that the baby was still getting some blood flow and some oxygen. But once the blood flow stops, then it's minute that the baby has to survive. Oh, you know, forensic psychiatrists and boy, do we need to shrink dr daniel bober joining me dr bober i i haven't even finished the fact scenario or with john limley or the crime scene investigation with joseph scott morgan but dr bober how do you go from wanting a baby to actually killing a woman cutting her stomach open as she is alive to take her baby.

I don't understand that thinking. Well, you know, Nancy, some people, you know, have certain traits in their personality where if they can't get what they want, then they're going to make someone else suffer. So I've actually seen this before, but it's almost incomprehensible. Joe Scott Morgan with me, death scene investigator, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, and author of a book on Amazon, Blood Beneath My Feet. Joe Scott, hold on a moment. I've got to establish the crime scene before you jump in. John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Okay, so I didn't mean to interrupt you. I've got to get the crime scene because that's

critical. John Limley, so the story is the boyfriend claims he walks in and finds the baby in the bathtub in a blanket and says, is the mom dead? Because really, that's not what my reaction would have been. Right. In fact, just moments after he sees this, she, as we've heard you know ties the the rope around the the mom's neck and says if she wasn't dead before she certainly is now he also claims that i'm sorry but i just can't hear those words without stopping because i remember after keith's murder my fiance fiance, I just felt that this horrible act, this vicious act had occurred and nobody even stopped. The world just kept chugging right along. I had to stop for a moment. She wasn't dead. She is now. I mean, what kind of barbarian, animal, savage says something like that about a pregnant mom. And earlier we were saying, why would you do this? Well, listen to this for a little insight.

Morgan says Cruz misled Hayne for months, telling him she was pregnant to keep him from leaving her. Morgan says there was no conspiracy to commit a murder. William Lovebrook, they argued a lot. Things were going to end. She told she was pregnant. William believed her. He wanted to believe her. He wanted this to be true. But Prosecutor Youngren says Cruz and Hain conspired to get a baby. Defendant William Hain is willing to break the law and really oath to all of us, to human beings, that we won't kill each other and that society functions the way it's supposed to. He was willing to conspire to meet an unspeakable act of murdering a pregnant woman and cutting out her baby. Youngren says Hain and Cruz

named the baby girl Phoenix. The child was returned to her birth father and renamed Haisley Jo. Her boyfriend and her were texting on Saturday afternoon. Yes. Around 1.30, all of a sudden the text just stopped and there's been no communication with you, you, him, nobody since then. None. I texted from her at 1.24,

and that was the last. And is there anything that's been going on the past few days weeks that you're like wow she just seems to be acting a little bit different or no never nothing nothing at all what was your last communication with her and what was it like um she took me to work that morning around 10, probably. And that's the last I seen her. You are hearing the host of Point of View, our friend Chris Berg, talking with Savannah's mother, Norberta Graywind, talking about her daughter, Savannah, who had been texting back and forth, back and forth, back and forth

until 1.30 in the afternoon, and bam, then all the texting stopped. What happened? How did this gorgeous young mom-to-be, Savannah Graywind, end up wrapped in plastic in the Red River, her torso totally sliced open, and her baby gone? John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. I want to pick up right there. Why do we believe that Savannah Graywind was at Brooke Cruz's home? Why was she there? Because she was a generous woman from all accounts. She, as she had done many times before, was agreeing to help out a neighbor. Savannah was going to help out a woman that lived in a third floor unit, apartment five of their same building.

The woman wanted to know if Savannah would model a dress that she was sewing so that she could pin it. The woman was Brooke Lynn Cruz, who lived there with her boyfriend, William Henry Hain. Cruz even offered Savannah $20 in return for her help, and Savannah agreed. Savannah went upstairs, as we've discussed, around 1.30, but before going upstairs, she ordered a pizza, so she must have thought she was going to be right back. Just before going upstairs, in addition to texting her mother, she texted her boyfriend, Ashton Mahaney, who was house-sitting for his mother in Grand Forks, and these two texts would be the last time that Savannah's family would ever hear from her. So I keep thinking back

about what happened to Savannah Graywind and why it happened. And the baby being raised without a mother, finding out your mom's body was fished out of the Red River, wrapped in plastic. To Dr. Jan Gorniak, renowned medical examiner, joining me out of the Fulton County jurisdiction, Dr. Gorniak, there is no indication that Savannah Graywind had been sedated, nothing. And to have your stomach sliced open and your baby removed, what would that do to a person that was not sedated? Oh, Nancy, I can only imagine the pain level. So I know there's some discussion on whether she was strangled first and then had the incision made to remove the baby. So I would believe that in order to hold someone down enough without them fighting, and you know, you're going to fight for your kid. So I believe that the pain level would have been excruciating if she had not been in an

unconscious state at some point. So she might have been unresponsive, yet not dead, but unresponsive. And so that's why the incision could be made without Savannah feeling any some sort of pain. But if she's coming in and out, she would feel something. And part of that might be that that pain can cause someone to go into shock, too. So that could have been a contributory factor in her, her going in and out of consciousness. But I can only imagine, you know, you cut your finger with, you know, a knife, you know, you may not feel it right away. But then all of a sudden, when you realize that that pain is there. So I can, like I said, Nancy, that I believe and I hope and I pray that she was

unresponsive or unaware of what was going on to her. Well, one thing I want to ask you, I've always wondered about this. When you say the body goes into shock, what does that mean exactly? Because going into shock can have so many different results. Like you can't remember what happened. You can't act. Some people freeze, some people power on and they only break down after the incident. Or here you're saying she couldn't, maybe could not have felt what was happening because your body was in shock. What does that mean? Your body's in shock. Well, when I'm speaking from, you know, your body reacting. So when I use the word shock, I'm using that you're,

it's a multi-system failure. So you're losing a lot of blood. So when you lose a lot of blood, you go into shock because your vital organs aren't getting enough oxygen. So if your body is going into shock that way, it's going to shunt blood someplace else. So therefore your, your, your senses as in to speak into, you know, your brain, some things aren't going to work because you want to preserve life. So that's what I mean by shock. So someone loses a lot of blood, you're losing oxygen, your vital organs aren't going to function properly. Right. Then you're going to shut down and die that way. I understand when you're talking about shock, like you see something and you're like, you freeze. That's different than

what I'm talking about. Okay. So you're talking about physical shock where you're all the blood in your body's rushing to the injured part of your body and away from your brain to Joseph Scott Morgan. I think that was correct anyway. Yes, you were correct. I'm just a JD. You're the MD. Death scene investigator with me, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, Joseph Scott Morgan.

You know what? You're the death investigator. I hardly even know where to start. I bow to your greater knowledge, Joseph Scott Morgan. I really seriously would have, it's like me going to the medical examiner's office or the crime lab. You tell me what to ask first in front of this jury, because it's so overwhelming. I really don't know exactly where to start. Yeah, it is, Nancy. And I think that out of all the cases that

we covered, this is one of the darker ones, as far as I'm concerned. And keep in mind, uh, you know, in order to facilitate what this, this person did to this poor woman, um, she had to use a particular instrumentality, uh, to, to remove this body, you know, in the morgue and surgery suites, this sort of thing. We have specific instruments that are utilized in order to open bodies. Um, and I'm really curious, what did she use? I mean, and, you know, what kind of knife did she use? What kind of sharp-edged instrument did she use in order to actually remove this body?

And no matter what you do in this particular circumstance, remember, there's about eight pints of blood in the human body. There's going to be a copious amount of blood at this scene. So I don't, you know, no matter how hard you try, you're not going to be able to get this completely cleaned up. The police, the man had talked about that there was blood everywhere. Yeah, you're damn right. There would be blood everywhere. And, and then to facilitate this in such a barbaric fashion where they're actually removing this little angel from this woman's body is horrific. So at the scene, we would think about things like, well, what kind

of instrument did they use in order to make this happen? Because right now, I'm kind of befuddled over this, that they can think this far in advance. This took some planning. And it would seem to me that they drew this woman in. I'm saying they. She drew this woman in, into this apartment, put her into this position. Right. And it's really curious as to what the findings were at the autopsy. Well, I want you to take a listen to Savannah's mom, Norberta Graywind, speaking to our friend at Point of View, Chris Berg. This is her mom, Norberta, and her sister, Keala. The thing is, she was a homebody.

She was eight months pregnant. You know, she was uncomfortable at that. Her feet were swollen. She wouldn't leave anywhere alone. She always got mad at me for leaving by myself. She would't leave anywhere alone. She wouldn't leave. She always got mad at me for leaving by myself. She would never go anywhere alone. So was she at your house at 1.30 on Saturday and she just left to run an errand or... Yeah, she lives with me.

She went to help a neighbor in... Right upstairs. That's the last we've heard from her. I'm assuming... Nobody's seen her or heard from her since. I'm assuming you and your authorities have spoken to this neighbor, and what's the neighbor say? That she left.

So she was obviously, I'm assuming, going back down to your place? Yes. She ordered a pizza. She ordered a pizza. She should have came home and ate. Just when you think crime cannot, will not happen to you, it does, in a flash, and there are no second chances. I can't stop predators from coming into this world. I can't stop crime all alone, but I can sound the warning, and I can pass on to you what I have

learned about keeping you and your family safe. And that is why we are announcing a brand new online course, Justice Nation Crime Stops Here. This brand new five episode video series allows you to go at your own pace as world-class experts in personal safety and child protection share life-saving tips and resources all for you. 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. It's not like Savannah, so just leave it all to Trace. All I've been doing is watching the door, waiting for her to walk in.

It started as a desperate effort on Saturday, August 19, 2017. Savannah was last seen at her apartment building. A hopeful few who knew Savannah best, looking for any signs, knowing something was wrong. It was only day one. We don't have a single theory at this point of what happened. The so-called womb raider who murders a pregnant mom, a beautiful young mom, Savannah Graywind, slicing her baby from her stomach, actually blames her boyfriend for pressuring her into, quote, producing a child and claims he helped strangle the victim. But that is not what his defense attorney says at all.

What his defense attorney says really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Straight out to John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. We have discussed the scene. We have discussed the disappearance, the search, the family beside themselves. John Limley, I got to ask you a question. When did police hone in on this upstairs neighbor, Brooke Cruz? Nancy, is these two people were actually interviewed three times until a fourth visit when they discover that there is a newborn baby living in the house with Brooke Lynn Cruz and William Henry Hain. And it's at that point that they have strong suspicions that this baby does not belong to them. Well, according to Brooke Cruz, the upstairs neighbor, she had a breakup with the boyfriend, Hane, in December. And then she went so far as to email to him a phony, a fake positive pregnancy test and a sonogram photo.

I mean, how in the world, to Dr. Daniel Bober, a forensic psychiatrist, how do you carry your roots so far that you somehow come up with a fake sonogram and a fake positive pregnancy test? Because she claimed that Cruz told her that he didn't believe she was pregnant and said she, quote, needed to produce a baby. And so instead of breaking up with him or trying to get pregnant, if you want to stay in that kind of relationship, her idea is to kill somebody and get their baby. How do you go so far in a delusion that you think it's okay to fake a sonogram in an email? Nancy, this case is incomprehensible from the first details. I mean, it's such an unrealistic plan

and it makes no sense. But, you know, you see this in relationships, especially unhealthy relationships where one partner will lie and deceive to manipulate the other one. But to think that this plan had any chance of being successful is just, it's beyond comprehension. I'm taking a look right now at the sonogram that she sent from Sanford Medical Center, sent him a photo of the sonogram to Joseph Scott Morgan, a death investigator, author of Blood Beneath My Feet. Joe Scott, how the heck do you get a hold of a fake sonogram? I guess, find one online and cut and paste and send it. Is that how you think that would work? Yeah, absolutely, Nancy. I mean, think about social media. Every time somebody goes for a

wellness checkup, this sort of thing, they post these images all over the place. So yeah, it'd be readily accessible. She could just pull one off the internet and send it off. Take a listen to this. I know the cops are just like kicking themselves over this. When Savannah went missing, there were massive searches for her. And later, Brooke Cruz revealed, this is the female upstairs neighbor, that during one of the searches, they actually came to their apartment and they had hidden Savannah's body in the bathroom closet. And the baby was covered up next to Hayne on a bed as the cops walked right by. The scheming. As a matter of fact, the family was beside themselves regarding the searches for Savannah. Take a listen to Angie

McCall at WDAY-TV News Fargo. Listen. I don't feel the Fargo Police Department has done enough. By day five, what was a community-wide search turned into a statewide effort. The Grand Forks Police Department started going door to door. Even the Fargo Fire Department began searching the Red River every day. Then, day six, Thursday, a newborn baby was found in her apartment building where Savannah was last seen. The couple who had the baby are arrested. When I seen that little girl come out of that back door in that EMT's arms, man,

it was, it was, I don't have words to describe it. The discovery was a heartbreaking miracle, knowing Savannah was alive. The realization that this little girl may never know her mother started to set in. The future looked bleak. You are hearing Angeline McCall at WDAY-TV, and she is speaking with Noberta Graywind, Savannah's mom. So, John Limley, why is the family dissatisfied with the job that they say the cops did or didn't do? What happened?

There just didn't seem to be any traction, even though there were so many suspicions. And hello, the body's in an apartment upstairs. Ding, ding. Exactly. And even all of the trail, even from the very beginning, from the family's standpoint, seemed to lead right up to the third floor of that apartment because of the last moments that they knew of their daughter being alive. Oh, it is just hurting me. To Joseph Scott Morgan, do you remember the case out of, gosh, let me think about it. It's going to come to me. In Florida, I always called her the girl with the pink hat. Jessie, Jessica, that was her name.

And she was taken by a sex predator. And he was about, say, 50 feet, catty corner, to Jesse's home. And the cops even came to the home, and she, the little girl victim, had been stashed in the closet still alive and was later buried alive. I mean, I feel like the cops dropped the ball, but it hurts me to blame the cops. They're not the killers. No, they're not. And you can't predict what these people are going to do when they're in these frenzied states like this. We've already got great deception on her part where she's portraying this as her child.

And this goes to the heart of it. You know, they're right there. They're within your sphere. And I think that that's what strikes fear into the hearts of everybody in this town that's surrounding this. This happened in among them. And that's what makes it so horrific, Nancy. I remember now it was Jessica Lunford. And the little girl was held about seriously like 50 feet away

to Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist, when we, the public, or family members, like in this case it was Savannah Graywind, find out that the person, either alive or dead, is just within 100 yards of the spot of their disappearance. It's so upsetting and frustrating, and it's hard to deal with that, Dr. Bober. Yes, I agree. I mean, you know, you see these cases where people disappear, and to think that the body is found so close to the spot of the original disappearance

is just heartbreaking. You know, it's just a complete loss of control of your senses. It's terrible. And what's so interesting here, well, it's just a complete loss of control of your senses. It's terrible. And what's so interesting here, well, there's so much interesting, is that she actually, Brooke Cruz, the so-called neighbor,

faking sonograms and pregnancy tests, actually blames the boyfriend. And I'm not convinced the boyfriend did not have anything to do with this. But to then say it was his fault because he pressured me into, quote, producing a child she didn't have a free will of her own to say you know what i'm breaking up if that's all

i'm not a baby factory instead her her plan was to kill somebody and steal the baby she needs the death penalty kayakers in the river discovered uh what appeared to be a life or a body-sized object wrapped in plastic in the river, hung up on a log. Oh, my stars, the heartbreak that family went through when pregnant mom-to-be Savannah Graywind's body found in the Red River. Now take a listen to our friend Angeline McCall at WDAY. The two people arrested in connection to Savannah's death and disappearance formally face charges in court. Do you understand those rates? That's all I do.

Savannah's neighbors, Brooklyn Cruz and William Hayne, face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and giving false information to police, both initially not guilty as the Gray Wins prepared to bury Savannah. On September 7th, Savannah is finally laid to rest. And just five days later, Ashton Matheny, Savannah's boyfriend, finally gets full custody of his daughter. He names her Haisley Jo, a name he and Savannah had picked out.

She's home. I was waiting for this day. You were hearing the father of the little baby, Ashton Matheny, waiting for this day when he finally gets the baby, the baby that was cut out of his girlfriend's body, Savannah Graywind, losing her life. So, long story short, to John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. John, how did police finally figure out it was them? Well, it was evidence once they started tearing that apartment apart. After three searches, nothing had even been noticed amiss or any evidence blood-wise had been discovered. But

once they found that baby in the possession of the couple, that is when investigators went in and didn't leave any stud unremoved from the wall. So to you, Justice Scott Morgan, death investigator and author, how, after there's been a cleanup in a home, how do you find clues of a murder? The fact that these people say that they seriously cleaned it up is still not going to thwart their efforts of the police, the investigators, there is still evidence to be found. Even with the unaided eye, we can use things to illuminate the blood like luminol to make it come forth where they have attempted to clean it up. I've even been on scenes, Nancy, where you can actually see where the blood has been wiped away by an individual in an attempt. You apply luminol to

that area and you can actually see the white marks on the floor where they've attempted to clean it up. So the blood is the big tell here, those things that are left behind. And also, also what's going to be key is could they determine an instrumentality of death, such as a noose that may have been used to affect the strangulation? And also what type of instrument was used to open this poor woman up. Luminol is a chemical and it shows an illuminescence. That's where you get the name Luminol Illuminate, a blue type of glow. And when you spray Luminol across an area, trace amounts of a so-called activating oxidant. Make the luminol blue like a blue light like those glow sticks. That's what it looks like. Now the glow will only last about 30 seconds but you can document it with photos. You can reapply it. It's got to be applied evenly to avoid

confusing results. Blood traces appear more concentrated in some areas that receive more spray. So it has to be very evenly done. If it glows more intensely in one spot, that does not indicate the amount of blood, but really only how much luminol you've sprayed there. So it takes a real expert to use luminol. Joseph Scott Morgan, how is it done? How is it sprayed onto the surface? Well, most of the time, Nancy, it comes pre-packaged now. Luminol, a lot of people, you know, just think about luminol and they think, oh, well, this is kind of a benign substance. Actually, it's not a real stable substance. It can be dangerous. There are people that have put themselves in danger mixing this stuff up.

So now it kind of comes prepackaged, but it's applied through a pump spray over a significant area. And you want to try to cover it. You're absolutely right when you say you have to be an expert at this. Not only do you have to be an expert at applying the luminol, you have to be an expert with alternative lighting sources as well as photography. So this is not just like a single person operation. There has to be several hands on deck in order to facilitate capturing this thing because it is a moment in time that you have to snap at that moment in time and get those images. And boy, does it demonstrate well in court when you apply that. Oh, you know it. To John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter,

what do we know, if anything, about a murder weapon? It's from Cruz's own testimony with Savannah lying on the floor. Cruz testified that she grabbed a small razor blade, either a carpenter's knife or a box cutter from the kitchen, and sliced open Savannah's abdomen, taking the baby out of the womb as Savannah was drifting in and out of consciousness. And this matches up with what investigators discovered when the body was taken in for autopsy, there was a crude C-section with a cut from hip to hip where the baby had been taken out. I guarantee you if you look at her computer searches, you'll find how to do a C-section. I'm talking about the so-called neighbor, Brooke Cruz. Listen. On February 2nd, 2018, Cruz learned she will die in prison for killing Savannah.

She is sentenced to life without parole. I wish I hadn't done this. There is no excuse. As Haisley Jo was being born on August 19th, 2017, she was taking her first breaths as her taking her last. As Brooke Cruz knows her fate, William Hayne maintains his innocence. You're hearing our friend Angelina McCall at WDAY, Brooke Lynn Cruz, pleads guilty to three charges, gets life without parole. I guess she did. I mean, at one moment, you don't have a baby,

and you're faking a sonogram. And the next moment, you have a baby. At first, they tried some cockamamie story that Savannah Graywin had given them the baby and wanted them to take care of it, that was all BS. And you may be wondering about the boyfriend that claims he had nothing to do with it. Listen. Cast County Assistant State's Attorney Leah Visti says she's disappointed with the verdict, but she also wasn't shocked by it.

Visti says over the years she's learned not to guess what goes on in the jury room because you never know what they'll decide. The greatest disappointment for me in this case, and I would assume for the family, is that this young, beautiful woman no longer exists. And the people who did this to her, although one is serving a life sentence and one has pled guilty to some other things, how do you ever vindicate that? How do you ever make right something that's that wrong? There's just simply no way.

You're hearing from KVRR-TV News Fargo reporter Danielle Church, a not guilty in conspiracy to commit murder for the boyfriend who, according to multiple sources, strangled Savannah Graywind as she was dying in that bathroom, tightened the noose around her neck. But that's not the end of the story for him. Is it, John Limley? No, it's not. Before the trial, incidentally, William Hain had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to commit kidnapping and a misdemeanor charge of lying to police in connection with Savannah's death. Sentencing is supposed to be set within 60 days of this trial. I hope he gets the max and then rots in hell.

Take a listen to news reporter Sarah Rudlang talking with Haisley Joe's dad from WDAY. Many parents say there's a special indescribable moment when a parent sees their child for the very first time. Ashton tells me today he felt all those emotions and more. He was able to visit Haisley Joe for the first time yesterday and again today in the hospital and after living in hell for almost two weeks, Ashton described seeing her as the best feeling ever. Seeing her was overwhelming. Not bad. It was overwhelming.

It was, how do I say it, overwhelmed with happiness. She has been in dark times, but she lit my world right up. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.