Hidden True Crime - Teacher has Student’s Child, Influencer Poisons Baby, & Mother Blames Son for Murder

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Subscribe for additional episodes and seasons coming in 2025 What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a Princeton educated forensic psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an award-winning investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Start the New Year well-rested with up to 35% off when you click https://shopbeam.com/hiddentruecrime and use code TRUECRIME for a limited time only. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime Kouri Richins Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnLc7I2gyWtRnlrSpKa1de1zZiB3xzY_H&si=D-dLnPickla_fGOr Lindsay Clancy Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnLc7I2gyWtRszFml1pEJBz_KkwFn_niw&si=OQFnSgU9Ac_WyBXm Patrick Clancy Article Sources: KSL News Fox13 Now Boston 25 News WCVB News Law&Crime KRQE KOAT  ABC News Australia Audio Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Og7HK0Gie8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utTm2mIbf4Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qINt76uUD4w Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Armoire and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.armoire.style* Check out Effecty and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.effecty.com* Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://happymammoth.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/hidden-a-true-crime-podcast1836/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Get started today. My name is Lauren Matthias. I'm a former TV reporter and investigative journalist, and this is hidden true crime, where we delve into the hidden motives of unimaginable crimes. In Utah, four men have been arrested after 17-year-old Kaylee Dutton was shot and killed in Cedar City on Friday night. Police haven't released too much information yet, but what we do know is that that evening, Kaylee and her good friend left the house to find something to do, like most teenagers do on a Friday night. night. And I know Cedar City. I used to report there. This is, this is considered a smaller,

safer Southern Utah City, home to Southern Utah University. And so this Friday night, they go out. Kaley was driving her red truck. And on the way home, she was followed by a black truck for a few miles before the black truck pulled up next to them and fired 12 rounds into the truck. 17-year-old Kaley was shot and the truck went off the road, Kaley's truck, crashing into a vinyl fence. Her friend, who luckily was not shot, had shrapnel in her leg, but she was able to call 911. And when emergency personnel arrived at the scene, they did everything they could to save young Kaylee, but were unfortunately unable to save her life. As police began trying to figure out how this could have happened to this young, innocent girl, they spoke to the friend who was with

Kaylee and who was now a witness, and she told police that they were at a townhome complex before they noticed they were being followed. When police went to the complex, they were able to find a black truck matching the description of the truck her friend saw. Police plan to serve a search warrant, but before that, three men, roommates exited the town home to leave, and they were taken into custody. A fourth man, and another roommate was taken into custody later, as he was not home at that time, the four men are 23-year-old Michael Hess Whitaki, 23-year-old Ethan Galloway, 21-year-old, Ethan Galloway, 21-year-old Aldrich Philippe and 22-year-old Matthew Sorbetit. The affidavit says, quote, during the execution of the search warrant, several firearms

and ammunition matching the caliber used in the homicide similar to the shell casing recovered at the crime scene were recovered. Additionally, controlled substances and drug paraphernalia were recovered in the suspect's residence, narcotics, including mushroom vapes, marijuana vapes, and an assortment of pipes used to smoke marijuana, were identified and recovered. End quote. During interviews, law enforcement learned that only two people, Michael and Ethan, were in the car at the time of the shooting.

They told police the reason they followed Kaylee's truck was they believed Kaylee and her friend were stalking them since they thought that they had seen her truck in their complex before. Michael and Ethan borrowed Matthew's gun with his knowledge and Michael drove while Ethan shot at Kaylee's truck. After the shooting, all four of the suspects talked about what had had had. happened and they all knew that the shell casings were removed from the truck by Michael placed in a container and then taken into the townhome. The investigation revealed that the girls

were not stalking the suspects and in fact they weren't even at the townhouse complex for anything that had to do with any of the suspects at all. As of now, Michael and Ethan have been charged with one count of murder, 12 counts of felony discharge of a firearm, one count of obstruction of justice, one count of being a restricted person in possession of a gun, and one count of count of drug possession. After confessing, Ethan wrote a letter to Kaylee's parents, apologizing for what he had done and giving them an explanation for why he shot their daughter. Matthew and Aldrich were both charged with one count of obstruction of justice, one count of being a restricted person in possession of a gun, and one count of drug

possession. Even though Aldrich did not give Michael and Ethan a gun, his charges come from the fact that he was there at the house. And they all talked about the shooting after it happened. was aware of what was going on, and he did not report. Since the arrest, Kaylee's parents have spoken out about the pain they are experiencing after losing their daughter. Take a listen. We get out there and they tell us that she's in the ambulance and I just ran up to the ambulance and they came out and they said that they were doing everything they could and Life Flight was on their way and my heart just sank. She's my baby. She's been my baby since I was 15 years old. Our whole was just gone. It's not the same. No one can fill her shoes. Kaley's dad, Whalen, said that

Kaylee was a strong girl, and he held on to every hope that his daughter would pull through. We got out there. All I could think is, like, just hold her mom, you know. I just hold her so tight because I just prayed. I just prayed that she'd pull through, even though he said it didn't look good. I just still prayed. I pray, I'm like, she's tough. She's a tough kid. She'll pull through. It was a tragic day for the Dutton family, a day that still doesn't feel real. We just keep thinking maybe she's out on a ride or her friend's truck is still here and it's like every time her friend's truck's here, it's because they're in her truck and it's like, okay, well, they're just out driving around. They're going to be home soon. It just doesn't feel real.

And she deserves so much better than that. Kaylee is remembered as a smart, driven, loving 17-year-old who had her entire life ahead of her. She graduated high school early, loved dirt bikes, and was looking forward to going to the upcoming supercross race with her dad in Salt Lake City. A 34-year-old Australian influencer is behind bars after allegedly poisoning her baby so she could raise money on a go-fund meet. Police say that it all started on October 15th when a hospital, in question. Queensland Australia reported child harm.

Literal concerns about the mother poisoning her own child, a baby. When the report came in, police immediately took action to protect the child and ran their own test. Well, on January 7th, the test results show the little girl was given unauthorized medication. Police say that not only was the mother somehow getting unauthorized prescription medicine that she then gave to her child, she was also getting medicine from someone else that she lived with, someone unnamed, and giving it to the baby. Police say the poisoning of the little girl began August 6th, continuing through October 15th, when the baby was then admitted to the hospital with the initial report that was then made. Police say, quote, while the child was being subject to immense distress and pain,

it is alleged the woman filmed and posted videos of the child, end quote. Posing her child on the internet led to her gaining thousands of followers on social media and raising over $37,000 on GoFundMe. GoFundMe is now in the process of refunding every donor. After learning all of this last Thursday, police arrested the mother, charging her with five counts of administering poison with intent to harm. Her own child, three counts of preparation to commit crimes with, dangerous things, and one count each of torture, making child exploitation material and fraud.

So right now, you are under arrest for the administration of poison. She has not been named to protect the identity of the victim, her baby. On Friday, the mother appeared in a Brisbane court where her attorney requested she be placed into protective custody. He also requested CCTV footage and another recording and said that she plans to apply for bail later this month. Police say the baby is currently safe and doing well. Thank goodness. In New Mexico, 46-year-old Elizabeth Ortiz Chavez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last

week after being charged with murder in 2023 for a murder in March of 2022. So I'll explain this. Here's the twist. Prior to her arrest for the murder, Elizabeth's son had been in January. jail after he took the fall for the murder that his own mother has now been convicted of. Yeah. So I'm going to take you back to March of 2022 to set the stage and explain what happened. On March 4th, 2022, the Albuquerque police were alerted to a shooting in an alleyway. When they arrived, they found 16-year-old, Hussway Ruiz, dead with a gunshot to the head.

A couple of months later, police arrested another 16-year-old. Angelo Baldinado and charged him with the murder. At the time, police said that Angelo's sister had been dating Hoseway and was pregnant with Hoseway's baby. She disclosed that Hoseway had hit her. And after this, the boys had apparently scheduled to meet up and fight in the alleyway, but then it turned deadly, deadly for these two 16-year-old boys. But after being arrested, Angelo would talk to his mom on the phone in jail. So, of course, phone calls are recorded.

So investigators began noticing some sketchy things being said, like Angelo telling his mom not to testify in court because she would have to answer questions and that he also needed her to be out of jail so she could take care of his kids since he was a teen parent. The call seemed to progressively give more and more information. And at one point, Elizabeth told her son that she was actually the reason he was in jail.

Fast forward to March of 2023, so a year after the murder. A woman went to the police with a tip saying that she knew the full story. She had been messaging Angela's brother who told her that Angelo and his mom, Elizabeth, had set up a fight in the alleyway and Jose pulled out a gun before Angela was able to pull his gun. And so Elizabeth shot him when she realized that her son, Angelo, was in danger. Angela's brother told his friend that the crazy part about it was his brother was not telling on his mom. He was not snitching on his own mother. His brother also said, quote, I hate her for what she did.

He deserves to be home with his daughter. She'll never know her dad at all because my mom's a selfish bitch, end quote. And she's, quote, the worst of the worst, end quote. A few days after this woman came forward, Angelo asked if his charges could be dropped if he was truthful about what actually happened that day. He told him that his mom, Elizabeth was the one who had actually set up the fight and pulled the trigger. And the reason she had him take the fall was because, well, she thought he would be charged as a juvenile and wouldn't serve as long of a sentence. So it made sense that he'd take the fall for killing a 16-year-old boy. Soon after, Elizabeth was arrested and charged in Angelo, while he ended up taking a plea deal for his involvement,

pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and to assault with the intent to commit a felony, and he was sentenced to four years in the juvenile detention facility. And finally, last week, nearly three years after Hussway's murder, Elizabeth took a plea deal herself. She has yet to be sentenced, but is facing 18 years in prison. On top of that case, she also has another pending case after a search warrant revealed that she had 23 pictures of child sexual abuse in her possession. As a busy mom and as a journalist, I need to make every minute count, whether that's working or creating more family time. And insomnia, when it comes to that, is not my friend. It can throw everything off.

When it comes to work, I like my alone time before the sun is up. I like to be able to sit there and work so that as soon as the family wakes, I can focus on them. And so if I am dealing with insomnia the night before and I'm up until 3 a.m., fretting and worrying and tossing and turning, I pretty much can kiss the next day goodbye. And it's not just work the suffers, but the entire family. I used to try over-the-counter sleep aids, but those caused groginess like no other. It didn't matter how much caffeine I drank the next day.

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stay asleep longer, and then I wake up refreshed without the groginess. I wake up, energize and ready to get to work. I actually feel less stress, so it helps my emotions. I feel completely rested and alert all day, even feeling like I can be more emotionally present as a parent. It is an amazing bedtime routine that I have now used for nearly a year. Our whole family has benefited and knows the routine. And mostly they've benefited because better sleep means a better you. It is a low calorie drink. I wind down each night, just 15 calories, no added sugar. I sip it about a half hour before bed, give or take. I've also made Dream popsicles. I've recently been loving the capsules. Dream has given our gems an awesome deal for their first

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Let us know what you think. I hope it changes your life as much it has changed. Last week, news broke that an elementary school teacher in New Jersey, a teacher who had been teaching at the same school for 11 years, 34-year-old Laura Kara was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child after having a child with a 13-year-old student. Back in December, police were notified by a concerned parent. You saw photos of Lara's now five-year-old child. So this child is now four. five and thought that the baby resembled his son, who was 13 at the time that that baby would

have been born. Well, Laura was the boy's fifth grade teacher. And after getting close with a family, the parents would allow their two sons and daughter to stay at Laura's house overnight. One to two times a week. Well, fast forward, and the three siblings end up living with Laura from 2016 to 2020, so four years as she became their foster parent. During that time, the kids shared a room, but despite falling asleep in their room together, all four of them, a sister told police that she would often wake up and realize her brother was in Laura's bed. Not only that, but she noticed that when her brother would shower, Laura would follow the child into the bathroom and then lock the door.

The other brother also told investigators that at one point he saw Laura assaulting his brother, but Laura didn't know he was awake and witnessing what he saw. After Laura had the baby in 2019, the boy secretly told his sister. It's not a secret anymore, but the boy told his sister that he was the father of the baby. And when police interviewed the boy, who was now a legal adult, he told police that he and Laura did have a sexual relationship and that he was the father of the child. Well, Laura was arrested on December 17th. However, news about her arrest didn't make headlines until last week.

In response to her arrest, the school district in New Jersey released a statement saying, quote, when the district was first advised of the allegations, the staff member was immediately placed on and continues to be on paid administrative leave, end quote. Laura had a court hearing on Tuesday and despite prosecutors arguing that she should be held in jail, considering that the boy was 11 when the abuse started and it went on for a period of at least four years. The judge ordered that she could be released while she awaits trial. Laura's attorney argued that there is no DNA evidence at this point linking the child to the alleged victim. He also argued that up until this point, there were never any complaints about Laura to the school. And in his words, quote, not one complaint, not one thing other than high praise, end quote.

While Laura is out, awaiting trial, she has been ordered to have no contact with the victim or his family. it is unclear where the child is. In West Jordan, Utah, police are investigating the death of 39-year-old Autumn Mercado, who was a wife, a mother of three, and a nurse. Autumn was found last Monday, the 13th, when a co-worker called the police asking for a welfare check. After calling multiple times and getting no response, police went to her house. When they arrived, Autumn's husband, 47-year-old Carlos Mercado opened the door, telling them that he was just a about to call them. Oh, what do you know? Here you are. I was just about to call you. At that point, though, autumn was laying on the ground at the bottom of the stairs with significant bruising

and signs of rigor mortis. So it looks like he didn't call soon enough. And upon further questioning, Carlos told police that he had been up drinking with autumn until around 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning before going back to bed. He claimed that when he woke up at around 8.39 a.m. that she was at the bottom of the stairs. He said that he thought she had fallen down the stairs from her vertigo and that he tried waking her up before covering her up with a blanket and then taking a lift to go get a beer while leaving his two young children ages four and one home alone with his wife who was unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. Well, police were able to smell the alcohol coming from Carlos, proving that he was in fact drinking. He was taken to the Salt Lake County Jail and booked on suspicion of two third-degree

felony counts of child abandonment and one class B misdemeanor count of desecration of a human body. At this point, Autumn's death is still under investigation and he has not been charged with murder. However, over the last few days, more has come out in regards to Autumn and Carlos' relationship, including a long history of DV. In fact, the reason Autumn's co-worker called and asked for that welfare check was because she knew. She knew about the past history and she was quickly concerned for her friend's safety. The documented DV history between Carlos and Autumn goes back to 2019 when he was convicted of third degree felony aggravated assault. In 2021, he was charged with assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child, which was eventually dropped.

Then in 2022, he was charged yet again with the same thing for a complete. separate incident and this time convicted. And in every single one of his previous cases, officers wrote about the smell of alcohol that was on Carlos. Her sister remembers Autumn as a kind and loving sister who loved her kids more than anything in the world and who had goals and dreams of becoming a nurse practitioner. You can see here obviously from her picture she was radiating, but not only was she radiating on the outside. She had a radiating soul on the inside. Full of life and warmth, Autumn Mercado was a second of four sisters. My sister was actually a bride's made at all of our weddings. Her big sister, Summer Christiansen, says the 39-year-olds loved caring for others. It's why she

became a nurse. But her favorite title was mother. She loved being a mom of her three kids. We love each other so much. And we're, I don't know, it's just this is hard. New updates have surfaced in the Lindsay Clancy case. And now we have covered this case extensively. And I will link all of it in the description of this episode. But as a quick refresher, Lindsay is accused of strangling her three young children to death in their basement with an exercise band in 2023. After killing all three of her children, she walked upstairs, she cut herself and she jumped out of the second story window, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

While Lindsay's team has argued that she was dealing with postpartum depression and was over-medicated, the prosecution argued. Louise Lindsay knew what she was doing and that this was calculated and planned as she had asked her husband Patrick go grab dinner and stop by the pharmacy while she murdered their three children. The trial, which was set for the beginning of December, has now been pushed to January of 26. Lindsay's attorneys are planning to argue insanity in her defense and because of that, last week, the judge ordered her to undergo a psych exam with experts chosen by the prosecution.

Both sides have been given a deadline to file any new motions by January 24th. Currently, Lindsay is still receiving mental treatment at a hospital. And in late 2024, going back to just a couple of months ago, Patrick, her husband, interviewed with the New Yorker. It is a long article, but I'm going to link it in the description for anyone that's interested because this is a worthwhile read. And in that interview, he says that he was not married to a monster. he was married to someone who was sick, and he talked about the moment he found his family.

Again, I cannot imagine finding his three young children and that he was talking to Lindsay afterwards and that Lindsay told him that she did not plan what she did. And the latest in the Corey Richens case, also known as grief book mom. I am headed to Utah this week to attend a Corey Richens hearing that is looking to be really interesting Only time will tell, and I will be there to tell you everything that is happening. The defense is saying that the search warrants that were obtained when they seized Corey's computer and phone were done illegally, and thus those pieces of evidence should be thrown out and not used in her upcoming trial this year.

It is a hearing that really will question what is admissible in court. And I'll be bringing you again, the very latest from the courthouse in Utah. This past week at Hidden True Crime, make sure to listen to two very important interviews. Michelle Tishner, she's a sister and guardian of Summer Roney. She talks to Hidden True Crime about her relationship with Summer and who Summer was on the House of Horrors, the charging documents paint the night Summer was murdered. Plus, we have updates in the case of missing Michael, also known as Monkey Vaughn. A little five-year-old boy went missing in 2021, and we interview. his mother brandy and how she still hopes to bring her little boy home.

John also goes over the newly released interrogation video where suspect Stacey Wundra describes two police where to find the five-year-old's body in his yard. Unfortunately, Monkey was never found. And Stacey Wondra, or anyone for that matter, has ever been charged in the little boy's disappearance. And we bring an update on that case to our hidden gems and request that people still remember that Brandy is looking for her little boy.

This week on Patreon, John and I answer a question from our viewer about female power or the lack of female power in particular religions, and if there's any correlation to the crimes we've covered. You can find all of our weekly bonus episodes, including this one, at patreon.com slash hidden true crime. Thank you for subscribing. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing.

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