Dateline NBC - Death by Suitcase. The Missing Virginia Mom. Plus, Tips to Avoid a Carjacking.

Episode Date: October 3, 2024

Listen to this week's episode of the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast with Andrea Canning. On the show, Sarah Boone is heading to trial in a Florida courtroom, accused of murdering her boyfriend with a suitcase. And the latest details in the prosecution's case against Naresh Bhatt, a Virginia man charged with concealing the dead body of his wife after she vanished from their home this summer. Plus automotive expert Lauren Fix has tips on what to do if you come face to face with a carjacker. To get new episodes every Thursday, follow here: https://link.chtbl.com/dtcw_fdlw

Hi everyone, it's Andrea Canning back with the latest episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Episodes drop first thing every Thursday morning, and you can also find them by searching for the Dateline True Crime Weekly feed. So give us a listen and follow the show wherever you get your podcasts. And tell your friends. Good morning. Good morning. Let's get started. You're listening in to Dateline's morning meeting in 30 Rockefeller Center. You probably heard the big news, right? Our editorial team is catching up on breaking crime news around the country.

The prosecutor finally says, I think he killed her and I think I can prove it. Isn't the truck full of silver, the model? They were really, really, really trying to cover their tracks. I'm Andrea Canning. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. It's October 3rd, and here's what's on our docket. After a young mother went missing from her Virginia home this summer, her friends and neighbors gathered at the police station demanding answers. We're just taking care of the child.

I don't want to wait too much. Somebody look. Now, with her husband behind bars accused of being involved in her disappearance, we've got our first look at the prosecution's case. In Dateline Roundup, Brian Koberger back in court in a new courtroom and in front of a new judge. Plus, we've got some big developments in the case of the Brazilian au pair accused of helping her boss murder his wife. Police found a plane ticket to Brazil on his

phone. The prosecution is saying that he and Juliana were planning to start a new life there. And for our safety tip of the week, we're talking about cars and what you can do to protect yourself from carjackers. You always need to be thinking in your head, escape route. But before all that, we're heading to a courthouse in Orlando, Florida, where a sensational murder trial is about to begin. After more than four years and eight defense attorneys, the woman at the center of the so-called suitcase murder will finally see her day in court. Sarah Boone stood before a judge today accused of committing one of the most bizarre murders in recent Central Florida history. Sarah Boone, a 46-year-old woman from Winter Park, Florida, is charged with the second-degree murder of her boyfriend,

George Torres Jr. Prosecutors say she zipped him into a blue suitcase in her living room and, despite his pleas, left him to die. Boone told police it was all just a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong, but investigators quickly unearthed cell phone videos that they say paint a much more sinister picture. Joining us to break down everything that's happened so far and what we can expect as the trial starts is Orlando Sentinel reporter Chris Tobol Reyes. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Okay, so Sarah Boone talked to investigators about what happened that night. What did she have to say?

The way she reported it to law enforcement was that the two were drinking together. They decided to play a game of hide and seek. He goes inside of a suitcase. It gets zipped up, and it was a broken zipper, so they locked it in with, I believe it was a paper clip. And then she fell asleep upstairs, never tended to him, found him the next morning dead. And at that point, she calls her ex-husband to come over. And the first thing that he tells her is to call the police, which is what she did. Were the police buying that she fell asleep and it was all just an accident

resulting from this bizarre game? Not for very long. What ends up happening, she willingly gives over her cell phone to detectives. And what they find is videos of her taunting him. This is how it feels like when you choke me. This is what it feels like when you hit me. As he's begging her to get him out. We'll hear one of those videos now. And just a warning that this audio is disturbing.

For everything you've done to me. So, so, I can't breathe, babe. Seriously. Yeah, that's when you do when you choke me. Why record this? And then why willingly turn over your phone if it seems to contradict what you've told the police about how this all happened. At the heart of the defense of this case is her contention that she suffered

from battered spouse syndrome, that this was the culmination of years and years of physical and emotional abuse in her relationship with Torres that brought her to this point. I have not touched him. I don't think you all understand. He comes at me all the time. He comes at me. You actually found court records that show that there was a documented history of alleged domestic violence between the couple. What you had was Torres being arrested three times in the summer of fall of 2019 for domestic violence, though it just it didn't quite go anywhere with the prosecution.

The same thing happened with Sarah just once a year before in July 2018. But that charge was later dismissed. So ultimately, this was a history that was pretty well documented, but no one has really been held accountable, at least not in the court system. This case has been a roller coaster to follow over the last four years. So many attorneys that have cycled through. What has been going on? Why has it been so complicated to get this to trial? So from what we've heard from the different court hearings and the different court filings was that they couldn't seem to be on the same page, meaning the lawyers with Sarah Boone. She had accused them of being inept, of being cowardly, of not wanting to present the best defense in her favor, of not

meeting with her or treating her with respect. Of course, the lawyers dispute this, saying that they have tried to put forth the best defense possible, but this was someone who was completely unworkable, someone who tried to present her own legal defenses without really much knowledge of the law. And so what you had was, like you described, lawyer after lawyer after lawyer after lawyer quitting on her. There have been disputes about payment. She was going to represent herself at one point. She even created her own wanted ad for a new attorney from jail. It is amazing that she's now on her ninth defense attorney. Right.

And the poster itself was pretty fascinating. Like this was something that was pretty detailed. And it just kind of speaks to how bizarre this case has been from the way that Torres's death played out and just the courtroom theatrics that have ensued since. It just really stays within the character of this case so far. Her latest attorney, James Owens, told NBC affiliate WASH that the defense would do a forensic review of Boone's phone, searching for evidence that Torres had abused her. Right. And that's kind of at the heart of the battered spouse syndrome, that

because there is a history of this, because there is a level of trauma that's, of course, associated with domestic violence, that that's what brought her to allow Torres to die that night. But as the prosecution has said, battered spouse syndrome is not a defense to murder. There would have to be certain mitigating circumstances, extenuating circumstances that make that defense applicable and that defense to be convincing. And it's not like that's never happened before. Earlier this year, there was a defendant named Marsha Thompson out of West Palm Beach who used that same defense in shooting and killing her husband. And she got acquitted. Obviously, the circumstances are somewhat different in this case. But if the defense can properly stage a defense that showed

that not only was she a battered spouse, but also that she was acting in self-defense. It makes it that much more credible as a defense once they make it to trial. All right. So jury selection is expected to start on Monday. This is certainly a wild one that we will be keeping an eye on. Thank you so much for all your insight and knowledge on this case from following it for so long. Appreciate you having me. Up next, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., a young mom misses her daughter's first birthday. Two days later, her husband is arrested for concealing his wife's body. But he says she's still alive. This summer, a young mom, a pediatric nurse named Mamta Bhatt, disappeared. She's been missing now from her Manassas Park home since July 31st.

A little less than a month later, police made an arrest. The news that Bhatt's husband is in custody and charged with concealing a dead body sent shockwaves throughout our region. In their complaint, police say they believe Naresh Bhatt, Mamta's husband, killed her on July 30th. But prosecutors haven't charged him with murder. Police haven't found her body, and Naresh has pleaded not guilty, saying he thinks she's still alive. NBC4 Washington reporter Darcy Spencer, who has been covering the case near the nation's capital, is here to tell us what's going on. Hey, Darcy, thanks for coming on the podcast. Well, thank you for having me. First of all, the body of Mom Tabat has never been found, which is always such a big challenge

for investigators and prosecutors. Absolutely. They call them no-body cases. And so we know that prosecutors can be successful, but it's definitely challenging. And from what I've seen so far, prosecutors really try to lay out a circumstantial case because they don't have that body. Can you tell us the story of Naresh and Mamta? Our understanding is that they're from Nepal and that this was an arranged marriage. She came here to marry him and live here by all accounts of everyone who knew her, whether it's family, friends, co-workers. She was just so happy to be a mom and she was very devoted to taking care of her baby.

And that was a big key to this investigation, that the daughter was only 11 months old when Mamta disappeared. And every single person who knows her said she would never leave her daughter. And obviously must have a love of children if she's a pediatric nurse. Oh, absolutely. So yeah, there was trouble in this marriage, but it was definitely out of her character, according to everyone, to take off and just leave her baby behind. How do police know that there was trouble in the marriage? Well, that's been the story of a number of people who were personal friends as well as family members. Naresh alleges that they were talking about divorce and they were

planning to separate and things like that, but it's very hard to know what the actual truth is. Take us through the investigator's case of why they believe Naresh concealed Mamta's body. This all came to light because some of her co-workers were very concerned about her. So she didn't show up for work on August 1st, and she doesn't call. And she also doesn't show up on August 2nd. And of course, the co-workers get worried. And they did call police, and they wanted a welfare check. Naresh's first interaction with police was recorded on body cam. Prosecutors played it in court last week. You were there. Yeah, it was really interesting.

It's about a 15-minute video, and they played it from start to finish. You could say from a police perspective that he was being cooperative. He didn't refuse to talk. He was holding the baby the entire time. She, like, on Tuesday, Wednesday, she left and then she says she's going to go either New York or Texas and then... She said she was going to New York. Yeah, her sister, like, one of her sisters. Okay. We just want to see if she's okay because we have an employer calling to check.

Hi. Hi. Did she say why she left? Yeah, because, you know, like, we are about to separate. Did she say why she left? He's saying, oh yeah, she's taken off before, you know, we were going to get a divorce. In the body camera video, you can hear police tell him that he didn't have to report her missing right away. Let's wait a few days, And if she doesn't surface... You can send me a text if you want. Just let me know if she comes back.

Then go ahead and report her missing. And that's exactly what he did. So they searched the house itself on August 21st. And one of the biggest things that they find is blood inside of the house? That's right. During the search of the house, they brought in a cadaver dog, and this dog hit in two places inside the house, in the master bedroom and also in the bathroom. They found blood evidence on the carpets, in the shower, and they also found evidence that a body had been dragged. After they search the house, they end up arresting Naresh. The media was right there.

Our camera was rolling as they walked him out of the house in handcuffs. They took him into custody and charged him with concealment of a dead body. He has been behind bars ever since. Is it that he can't afford the bond or did the judge deny him bond? He's been denied bond a couple of times. It was during that last bond review hearing that they did indicate that they have surveillance video of Naresh going around to these dumpsters and dumping big bags throughout Northern Virginia, going to a trash compactor, throwing a bag in there, credit card receipts. And he apparently bought a pack of knives, and two of those knives are still missing.

So, Narush, he has a very simple defense. He says that Mamta is still alive. Absolutely. The defense is basically saying she's missing and we need to find her. There is no evidence that she was murdered, that she was killed. There's blood evidence, but no evidence of a body. And there was also some video that showed Mamta getting in a car just a few days before authorities believe that she was killed. And so the defense really wants to know more about that. It appears that both prosecutors and defense believe that it was a woman who picked her up from her workplace. But that's still a mystery who that person was. Interesting.

Mamta's friends have said that she had stories of Naresh abusing her. Do any of the friends think that she could actually be alive but in hiding because she fears Naresh that much that she needed to get away? I'd say absolutely not. In talking to her friends, the co-workers, they don't believe that at all. Number one, she missed her daughter's first birthday on August 20th. They said she would never do that. And especially after that bond review hearing, when prosecutors went over that evidence of the trash bags and going to the different dump sites, they were absolutely crushed. Momta's friends and co-workers, they've really tried to keep this case out there. They've held signs outside of the police station. They've showed up

to all of Naresh's court dates. It's hard to name that many cases where people continue to follow it in those numbers. And they packed the courtroom. Of course, on the flip side of that, Naresh's lawyer is complaining, arguing that the crowds and the attention led to Naresh being arrested too quickly. Yeah, there's always that argument on the defense side that this was a rush to judgment. What do we know about a trial date? It's going to start in early December. So that's a pretty short timeline for this case. Very short.

Darcy Spencer, you know your stuff on this case. Thank you so much for bringing all your knowledge to Dateline True Crime Weekly. Thank you so much for having me. When we come back, Brian Koberger is back in court in Boise this time, and a new chapter for Letters from Sing Sing's John Adrian Velasquez. Plus, what to do if you ever find yourself face to face with a carjacker. Welcome back. Joining me for this week's Roundup is Dateline producer Rachel White. Thanks for having me.

Okay, for our first story, we're off to Virginia. And this is a complicated double murder case we told you about two weeks ago. The defendants are an au pair, Juliana Perez Magales, and her boss-turned-lover, Brendan Banfield. Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the death of his wife, Christine, and they've both been charged in the shooting death of an unsuspecting stranger named Joseph Ryan. What is the update right now, Rachel, on this case? Last week, there were two hearings with some rulings. Juliana's defense had been trying to get her initial statements to police thrown out. Her defense attorney said she had never wanted to go to the police station in the first place, and you can actually hear her say that on police body camera.

But the police took her anyway. The prosecution wants those statements in, presumably because of what Juliana said in her initial interview with police, which we actually don't know at this point what she said. Exactly. And the judge denied the defense's request. So the jury will get to hear it. And there was another motion that actually came from the media. The judge has decided to allow cameras in the courtroom during the au pair's trial, which is coming up in November. And what about Brendan? I know that he had requested bond.

Right. The judge denied the request. She said he's a flight risk. It turns out that when he was arrested, police found a plane ticket to Brazil on his phone. And the prosecution is saying that he and Juliana were planning to start a new life there. We also heard about jail phone calls between Brendan and Juliana. Yeah, apparently they've been in contact and those phone calls have been recorded. Juliana allegedly telling Brendan, quote, I hope you're not staying with me so I won't turn on you.

OK, lots of updates in that case. We will keep you posted as it develops. On to Brian Koberger and Idaho, where there was a status hearing in the case of the man accused of murdering four Idaho college students back in 2022. This was Brian Koberger's first appearance in a Boise courtroom. And if you remember, he had a change of venue request that was granted. So what did we learn there in Boise? The new judge set the tone that he expects in his courtroom right out of the gate. There have been quite a few hearings before now with the prosecution and defense attorneys, and they've been getting heated. So I expect at all times for you to remain civil to one another, that you not engage in theatrics. Then the trial date came up, and it's been contentious. Yeah, the families of the victims have been upset it's taking so long

to get to trial. So the prosecution has asked for a May trial date to avoid potential juror conflicts with summer plans, but the defense said that they won't be ready by then. Did the judge make a decision then? Not yet. He said he's going to think about it. Okay, and the next hearing for Koberger is November to decide whether or not the death penalty is on the table. So we'll be back with that. Another story we're following is in New York,

and this is a case that Dateline producer Dan Slapian has been on for over two decades. We had Dan on the podcast recently to talk about his new book called The Sing Sing Files, which includes the story of J.J. Velasquez. And now we have an important update for you. Yeah, it's official. After serving almost 24 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, J.J. was fully exonerated this week. And our own Lester Holt spoke to him outside of the courtroom immediately after this big announcement. You got your name back. I think people maybe don't appreciate how important that is. Absolutely. I mean, when we're born, our name becomes our identity.

And so when we're taken through the system, they strip you of your identity. And I've been fighting for 27 years to tell them that my name is John Adrian J.J. Velasquez. Great news. We are so happy

for everyone involved in this, especially J.J. And one last bit of news in the Sean Diddy Combs saga. Tony Busby, an attorney in Houston, held a press conference on Tuesday and announced that he plans to file 120 additional sexual assault lawsuits against Combs. The accusers, including minors, are alleging abuse at parties and auditions between 1991 all the way to this year. If you wonder why there are so many alleged victims, that's your answer. We're talking about more than 25 years of this type of conduct.

They're planning to file those lawsuits against Combs, who is currently being held at a Brooklyn jail on federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. A few hours after Busby's presser, Sean Combs' lawyer released a statement saying that Mr. Combs denies these new accusations and that he looks forward to proving his innocence. We'll be back next week with more details on that. Rachel, thank you for joining us again. Thank you for having me. In a story that sounds straight out of a movie, just last week in downtown LA, authorities went on an hour-long pursuit of a city bus that had been hijacked. One person was killed.

Bus jackings are, of course, exceedingly rare, but it got us thinking about car jackings. We asked automotive expert and journalist Lauren Fix, a.k.a. The Car Coach, about what she does to protect herself on the road. Lauren, thank you so much for being here. Hi, Andrea. So I would say just from watching the news anecdotally, I feel like I keep seeing stories on carjackings and some of them turn deadly. Oh, absolutely. And it's very scary. And it's important for you to actually at least be aware of this because if the situation does occur, and I hope it never does to anybody, that you know what you should do and what you shouldn't do. So for me, you know, first thing I do is lock my doors. Is that enough? Not anymore. What you want to do is when you're

at a traffic light, give yourself space between you and the vehicle in front of you. You need enough space to be able to drive away because what will happen is if someone bumps you from behind, which is how they sometimes do it at a traffic light, your reaction will naturally be, I'm going to get out of the car and I'm going to exchange information. Maybe not a great idea. You want to get off the road and into an area that's lit where there's a lot of people. So that may mean a gas station. You can call 911 and say, I'm not getting out of this car until a police officer comes. And typically, if they're honest people, they'll go, fine, I'll sit in my car and I'll wait. But just, it's a beware thing. So you always need to be thinking in your head, escape route. What are some other carjacking scenarios you've seen recently?

We've seen people at gas stations filling up with fuel. They leave their car with a key in the car or their wallet on the passenger seat, and someone will say, hey, can you help me pump my car? I can't figure out how to get this to work. And then someone steals your vehicle. And if you have your purse on the front seat and you're pumping your gas, it. So easy for someone to come along. You might not even know what happened. They could just open the door, grab your purse. And that happens a lot.

When I get out of the car, and this is what I personally do, I get out of the car, I grab the credit card I need to pay, and I lock the door and I take the key with me. Yeah, and so if you are now face-to-face with a carjacker, what do you do? What do you say?

Do you run? You know, most people have never been in that situation. The first thing you want to do is get away from the situation. Get out of the car and run. Let them have the car. You can take your phone with you. You can call the police. You can call your insurance agent. That's why you have insurance. And that will take everything that you need as far as like replacing the car. Yes, it's inconvenient. Yes, it's frustrating. But your life is what's most important. Okay, so slight change in topic here. But since we have you, there was another risky scenario for drivers that we wanted to ask about. This came up because, spoiler alert,

it's in this week's Dateline episode. So what is the best thing to do if you come across a high speed car chase? Right. Obviously, you don't want to be a part of that. If you're watching your mirrors like you're supposed to be doing and not watching your phone and everything else, and you see something coming up from behind, you're like, oh, that doesn't look good. You need to get as far as you can out of the way. That may mean taking an off-ramp if you're on a highway or all the way over on the shoulder, pulling into someone's driveway, whatever it might be, to get away from that. The police are trying to stop a criminal, and you don't want to be a part of that or slow them down.

Lauren, thank you for all these good new tips and also good reminders of what we need to do when we're in our cars. We so much appreciate you coming on. Be safe out there. That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Coming up on Dateline this Friday, when Justin Hilbert's body was found on the side of the road, investigators never imagined another murder would help them solve Justin's case. And the suspected killer? Well, he took them on quite the car chase around L.A. The vehicle drives away and a pursuit ensues.

That pursuit was seen by, I think, nearly everybody in Southern California. Will police catch the suspected killer? You can find out during Josh's all-new two-hour mystery, Wrong Turns, this Friday at 9, 8 central on NBC or stream it Saturday on Peacock. Also, please check out a great new series we've been working on called Dateline, The Smoking Gun, which premieres tonight, Thursday, October 3rd at 8 p.m. Eastern on Oxygen. Each episode tracks the twists and turns of a murder investigation leading up to the moment detectives uncover the one critical piece of evidence that cracks the case. Thank you for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Frannie Kelly and Katie Ferguson. Our associate producers are Carson Cummins and Caroline Casey. Our senior producer is

Liz Brown-Koroloff. Production and fact-checking help by Sara Kadir. Veronica Mazzaca is our digital producer. Rick Kwan is our sound designer. Original music by Jesse McGinty. Bryson Barnes is Bye. Bye, everyone.