SERIALously - 197: 2 Women Fed to Pigs, Woman 'Pureed' in Blender by Husband, UCLA Student Stabbed 46x, & Father Stalks and Murders His Own Daughter

Episode Date: September 26, 2024

Today’s episode dives into everything happening this week in true crime. From new cases to updates on existing ones and more. Miracle Made Go to https://www.TryMiracle.com/AE to try Miracle Made sh...eets today! If you order now, you can save over 40% and get 3 free towels by using code AE at checkout. Beam Greens For up to 40% off go to https://www.shopbeam.com/ANNIEELISEGREENS and use code ANNIEELISE at checkout. Karen Read Deep Dive: https://audioboom.com/posts/8481598-karen-read-cold-blooded-murderer-or-cover-up-the-very-controversial-case-a-deep-dive-of-every We're going on TOUR!! Come see one of our episodes LIVE in a city near you! Head to https://annieelise.com/blogs/events for dates and ticket info! Shop the Merch: www.annieelise.com Follow the podcast on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@serialouslypodcast   Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serialouslypod/       Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annieelise     All Social Media Links: https://www.flowcode.com/page/annieelise_    SERIALously FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/SERIALouslyAnnieElise/    About Me: https://annieelise.com/   For Business Inquiries: 10toLife@WMEAgency.com Sources:  Boston Herald NBC Boston WCVB News Law&Crime CBS News Audio Sources:  NBCLA News Nation

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode is brought to you by FX's American sports story, Aaron Hernandez. From executive producer Ryan Murphy comes the first installment of FX's American sports story. The limited series charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide, and their legacy in sports and American culture. FX's American sports story, Erin Hernandez. All new Tuesdays on FX. Stream on Hulu. Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of the True Crime Podcast serialously.
Starting point is 00:00:59 It's me, your host Annie Elise, and I am here to break down everything that's really going on in the true crime world this week. Now I'm currently host, Annie Elise, and I am here to break down everything that's really going on in the true crime world this week. Now I'm currently on the road. The live tour officially kicked off this week. We had our show in San Diego on Monday, our show in Phoenix on Wednesday. It was incredible. I mean, meeting all of you guys in person
Starting point is 00:01:18 truly is the highlight of my day. I was gonna say highlight of my life, but that sounded a little aggressive, but you know what I mean. It was like totally a highlight for me because we did it at CrimeCon I loved that but I just love getting to speak with you guys in person and meet all of you So it's been such an amazing time so far. We still have some cities left. We have Salt Lake City. We have Denver We have Orange County, California. So if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, I think we still have some available So you can check them out at Annie Elise calm and head over to the events page and see all the breakdown of the dates
Starting point is 00:01:50 The city's everything but it's definitely a good show. We have exclusive merch there We have special guests that join the episodes and it's just you know a great time So anyways today it's headline highlights So in our headline highlights episode as reminder, if you're a new listener, this is where we break down everything going on this week in the true crime world, whereas our Monday episodes are more of our deep dives that focus in on a singular case.
Starting point is 00:02:15 So we're gonna go through everything you need to know about that's going on right now. We're gonna start with Karen Reed, because as many of you know, this summer Karen Reed ended up going to trial for second-degree murder She was accused of hitting her boyfriend John O'Keefe with her car And I had covered this trial as it was going on and it's interesting because so many people thought that for sure Karen was going to be found not guilty for this because there was evidence or
Starting point is 00:02:41 Suspicion I should say of colludinguding and conspiracy that there was corruption with the law enforcement agencies that were working on this case and nobody thought that she was going to be found guilty and certainly nobody thought that, you know, she was going to be retried because ultimately the trial ended in a hung jury and the state said they are going to prosecute again. She is going to face a retrial in 2025. If you aren't familiar with this case, let me give you the Cliff Notes version, but I will link the deep dive in the show notes below. But basically this woman in Boston, as I said,
Starting point is 00:03:14 is accused of hitting her boyfriend and killing him with her car, John O'Keefe, who was also a police officer. And nothing really seemed right with that case from the jump. I mean, there were weird Google searches on some of the homeowners' phones who had that house party that night where he was found dead in front of. She had some voicemails.
Starting point is 00:03:33 I mean, there was just like a lot going on in this case. And that's why so many people thought that she was going to be found not guilty. So the state said, no, we're going to retry her. Even though it was a hung jury, we believe she's guilty. My personal opinion in all of that is that it's more about ego than anything else, especially because so many people who were directly involved in that first trial have now come out and said nobody really thought that she was guilty. See, after the initial decision came out about Karen's trial in early July, multiple jurors contacted Karen's legal team. They claimed that all of them, they were all in agreement and they were all ready to acquit Karen
Starting point is 00:04:11 of the second degree murder charge. However, when they came back with the hung jury results, it was on different charges. And the judge, I can't remember if the judge never asked them or just like never did anything with the information of, okay well what about all of these charges isolated? Did you come to any agreement or ruling on these? Had they, the judge definitely would have heard that unanimously they allegedly all found her not guilty of the murder charge. So because of all of this and with these jurors speaking out, in August, Karen's legal team filed to dismiss the second degree murder charge altogether, and also to dismiss the charge of fleeing the scene after a fatal accident. But the judge denied this appeal.
Starting point is 00:04:52 So a little over a week ago, Karen's lawyers filed to Massachusetts' highest court to appeal the decision. They want to acquit her of all of these charges, and the reason that they're citing is double jeopardy. They're saying that they're citing is double jeopardy. They're saying that Karen would be facing double jeopardy if her case went to trial again because again, she was essentially acquitted, just never asked by the jury from the judge, you know, what are your findings? What's your verdict on this charge? So a loophole and a technicality, but definitely a frustrating one, which I'm curious what
Starting point is 00:05:24 you guys think about all of that because do you think that Karen should be acquitted of the charges? I mean, I personally do if that is true. In fact, if all of these jurors were going to vote not guilty anyway, then why would she be retried? That's what makes me believe that it is ego driven and that it's something else
Starting point is 00:05:42 and that they're trying to dig their heels in so that they're kind of, isn't that colluding and conspiracy allegation? I don't know. But in any event, if she isn't acquitted, she's set to go to trial again on January 27th, 2025. And you know, we will be there front and center covering the entire thing.
Starting point is 00:06:00 Now, moving into a newer case that is breaking. A few of you have already messaged me about this next case because it's really crazy and it's just disgusting, to say the least. This past February, 38-year-old Kristina Joksemukvic, a finalist in the 2007 Miss Switzerland pageant, was found dead in the basement of her home. Because Switzerland has very tight laws regarding ongoing criminal investigations, the information about her death wasn't revealed until just a little over a week ago. And the details of this death are vile and shocking.
Starting point is 00:06:39 Christina was married to a man named Thomas, and the two of them had two young children together. In mid-February, Christina's father, Mark, received a call from the children's school saying Christina didn't pick them up. So Mark then picked up the children and brought them home. Her husband Thomas was home at the time and told Mark that he wasn't sure where Christina was. Thomas then offered Mark a drink and they all proceeded to have dinner together, waiting
Starting point is 00:07:02 for Christina to come home. Thomas, the husband, was acting normal. He put the kids to bed. He insisted he had absolutely no idea where Christina was, but her dad Mark was getting concerned and he insisted that he search the house for Christina. So obviously some sort of red flag went up to where he wasn't really trusting her husband. And he was right. He followed his gut intuition and it was telling him something and it unfortunately proved to be right. Because when he went down to the laundry room in the basement, he noticed blonde hair sticking out of a trash can. When he lifted the lid, he found Christina's severed head and torso.
Starting point is 00:07:38 Her dad obviously freaked out like all of us would, and he ran out of the house and he asked somebody who was passing by to call the police. Eventually, the police came and her husband Thomas was taken away for questioning. He initially told police that he did find Christina dead at the bottom of the basement stairs and that in a panic, he proceeded to dismember her, which I don't know how he thought that this was at all a good argument because I can't think of a single person whose initial reaction to finding their dead spouse at the bottom of the stairs would be to cut their head off, to dismember them. Uh, no bro.
Starting point is 00:08:13 It's more like call the police or figure out what's going on, get the kids to safety. It just makes absolutely no sense. So eventually, of course, because we see this all the time with criminals, Thomas changed his story. He then claimed that he did kill Christina, but that it was in self-defense after she came after him with a knife. However, an autopsy was performed and what was found completely contradicted his claim of self-defense. Investigators determined that Christina was strangled, and this is something we've talked about on this channel and this podcast a lot, that strangulation
Starting point is 00:08:48 is such an intimate method of murder. Oftentimes, when somebody is strangled, the police will automatically look at who's close, who's in the inner circle. Is there a spouse, a partner, a friend, a family member? Because, and this is grotesque, I know, but when you think about it, if you were
Starting point is 00:09:05 to strangle somebody, you're wrapping your bare hands around their neck and strangulation takes some time. It takes several minutes. So you are holding and you have to be strong. You have to be very forceful. You're literally taking the life out of them while you're staring at them essentially in the eyes as they're looking back at you. It's very personal, it is barbaric in every sense of the word, and so that's why a lot of the time they look to who's close because sometimes for somebody who's maybe like a burglar or a robber or just a predator, a random predator, they will use a weapon, they will do some or blunt force trauma, they will do something not so up close and personal. So the fact that she was strangled had huge red flags in and of itself.
Starting point is 00:09:46 So after that, they say that the body was then dismembered with a jigsaw knife, also with gardening shears. Her husband severed her upper spine, split her torso in two from above her pelvis, removed her uterus, snapped her hip joints, and he separated some of her limbs from her body. Now this is disgusting, so I just wanna give you a warning.
Starting point is 00:10:09 The parts that were removed were then put into a blender. They were pureed, and then they were dissolved in a chemical solution. The blender was an industrial grade blender that Thomas just happened to have at the house apparently, which the fact that he had this and also had the chemicals to dissolve a body also proved to the police that Thomas didn't just panic and dismember Christina's body after she attacked him. You remember his second version of events. It was
Starting point is 00:10:38 clear that this was something that he had been plotting and planning. A true monster through and through. And what's even more disturbing is that he was very calm when he was talking about all of this with the police. It was like he was just talking about any normal afternoon. Investigators even discovered that during the time that they think he was dismembering Christina, he was casually just watching YouTube videos on his phone. He also took Christina's phone and hit it on a local delivery truck. So that takes planning. That takes thought and strategy. Now let's talk about Christina for a moment. Christina was a former beauty pageant contestant. She was also a model. Before her death,
Starting point is 00:11:18 she had been working as a business coach and also a quote catwalk coach, somebody who teaches people how to walk the runway. She basically helped models perfect their runway walk. And looking at Christina's social media pages, you would think that she and Thomas truly had the perfect marriage. However, Christina's friends have come out and said that she was planning on leaving him. In 2022, he apparently started his own business, which caused his behavior to suddenly change. He became very short-tempered, violent, and according to her friends,
Starting point is 00:11:49 Christina was very scared of him. Then in July of 2023, police were called to the couple's home because Thomas strangled Christina. Only this time she survived it. She had multiple marks on her neck and witnesses were able to corroborate the story. The court documents that were released a little over a week ago also revealed that Thomas'
Starting point is 00:12:09 ex-girlfriend came forward and said Thomas, quote, used massive violence against her on several occasions. He often choked her, and one time during a fit of rage that she said he had often, Thomas drove over her foot with his car. On a different occasion, he threatened to throw her out of the car completely, and he purposefully slammed on the car brakes so hard that she flew forward and hit her head.
Starting point is 00:12:36 Thomas has since claimed that when he learned that Christina wanted to leave him, his mind got into a, quote, tunnel, because he feared he was going to be losing his children, his house, and his company. He claims that he was so stressed out by all of this that he, quote, did not give himself time to reflect on his decisions and question his actions, all while his control mechanisms were missing due to shock.
Starting point is 00:12:59 The court also revealed that Thomas had clear indications of a mental illness or severe psychopathological personality disorder. Also a high level of criminal energy, lack of empathy, and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife. I mean, I'll say, he literally, how cold-blooded you have to be to sit there with her dad across from the dinner table eating a meal, acting calm, all while her head and torso are in the trash can downstairs and you've pureed her organs. Like, you have to be so sick and so twisted.
Starting point is 00:13:34 Thomas is still in police custody, thank God, and it seems he will remain there until his trial. He asked to be released and offered to be placed on house arrest, but this request was denied. So as I said, this case was kind of locked up since February. They didn't release a lot of information due to the laws in Switzerland, but now more and more is emerging. So if you do want a deep dive into this case, please let me know. You can let me know either in the review section on Apple or the Q&A section over on Spotify, because I definitely think there's more, you know,
Starting point is 00:14:06 underneath the surface of this. So we will be doing some digging. Next, we're gonna revisit a case that we talked about on the podcast a few months back, and it's the case of Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelly. A few months ago, I covered this case. It's the missing moms from Oklahoma, Veronica and Jillian.
Starting point is 00:14:24 And if you haven't listened to that case, I really do recommend that you do. But to give you a quick recap, Veronica and Jillian went missing back in March of 2024. At the time of their disappearance, they were driving to pick up Veronica's children because she had split custody with the children's father. They were going to go to a birthday party,
Starting point is 00:14:41 but then they just never arrived. It was discovered that the grandmother of Veronica's children, Tiffany Adams, and also a group of Tiffany's friends, ambushed Veronica and Jillian while they were on that drive. The group, which consisted of Tiffany, her boyfriend Tad, their friends Cora and Cole, and a guy named Paul Grice, killed these two women before then burying their bodies on a rural farm nearby.
Starting point is 00:15:06 Sorry, it's so hard for me to say rural, guys. It's one of those ones that will always twist my tongue. So there's a lot more to this case, and everybody's been wondering, how did these women die? What happened? Why? What exactly are the details? At one point, people were speculating that they had been shot. But now, court documents were released that revealed that after the group stopped Veronica
Starting point is 00:15:27 in Jillian's car, Paul stabbed Veronica to death, all while Tad did the same thing to Jillian. Then after they stabbed the women, they put their bodies in this large chest type freezer, think like a deep freezer, one that might be in like a garage, and then they brought that freezer to the farm and then buried it. When the investigators found the freezer, they also found discarded clothing. The clothing belonged to Paul and Tad, and the clothes belonging to Paul
Starting point is 00:15:55 tested positive for he and Veronica's DNA. The clothing that belonged to Tad tested positive for he and Jillian's DNA. So obviously they were trying to dump it, hoping that, know they could get rid of all the evidence. The court documents also revealed that Cora and Cole, the couple who also helped, served as lookouts during this whole thing. Their daughter was actually the one who gave the police a lot of this information about where her parents were that day because apparently they told their daughter what they were doing in hopes that she would just you know make up an alibi for them But she didn't she's the one who is cooperating and these people are literally so stupid Because they thought that their teenage daughter would make up a believable alibi for them while they went and killed two innocent women
Starting point is 00:16:38 I mean, we love to see when criminals are this dumb, but like you are so dumb So the document also states that Tiffany Adams, the grandmother, was the one who purchased the other items that were found buried with the bodies. These items were stun guns, burner phones, yellow straps that were wrapped around the freezer. I mean, all of the supplies to really commit this double murder. It also says, quote, Tiffany hated and despised Veronica and she wanted her dead. And I just find it ironic that Tiffany was the one
Starting point is 00:17:08 who wanted to kill Veronica, yet she had other people do it for her while she just stood by and watched. She didn't even dare do it herself. Now, again, the deep dive's on the channel, but they have like referred to this little grouping of theirs of all these people who like committed this double murder as God's misfits. There's a lot more to this story and of theirs, of all these people who committed this double murder as God's misfits. There's a lot more to this story and it's unsettling, but these people are just like
Starting point is 00:17:30 weirdos. The state is requesting that all five of them should face a preliminary search hearing together. However, Cora and Tiffany's lawyers have argued that they should all have separate hearings. So we'll see what comes from that. Now I know that was a mouthful guys, so I'm gonna just grab a quick drink of water and while we do we are going to take a quick break. If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night, whether you're too hot, too cold, you need to check out Miracle Made Sheets. They use silver infused fabrics that are inspired by NASA and they are
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Starting point is 00:18:58 I feel like we are all friends, so I am gonna share an embarrassing fact with you. I don't think that I have eaten an actual vegetable in months, and when I did, it was probably disguised as something else or in a sauce at like a restaurant. I don't know, for me, it's just really hard to eat my veggies, to take my greens. I've tried so many different ones on the market,
Starting point is 00:19:18 some better than others, but I'm telling you, I cannot be more genuine when I tell you this, guys. Beams Greens has changed the game for me. I always loved Beams because of their sleep tea. I've talked to you about that before. They now have greens and I have been doing it for probably what, 45 or 60 days now. Every single morning, it tastes so good.
Starting point is 00:19:39 I like drink it so quickly. It tastes like vacation. It's strawberry kiwi flavored. And I'm getting all the greens that I need. So now I'm not it so quickly. It tastes like vacation. It's strawberry kiwi flavored. And I'm getting all the greens that I need. So now I'm not feeling so guilty when I'm not like buying vegetables at the grocery store. Getting your daily greens has seriously never been easier because it has 14 different greens,
Starting point is 00:19:55 including alfalfa, barley, kale, plus these other ones that I can't even pronounce, all these antioxidants to support your daily nutrition that you need. I mean, it's all the good stuff because I'm not ever just like munching on a thing of kale. You know what I mean? You just mix one scoop in water, mix it well,
Starting point is 00:20:11 and then enjoy the benefits. Like I said, 14 different greens, plus vitamins B6, B12, D, magnesium, like ashwagandha, all sorts of different stuff to help reduce stress levels, to be healthy. I've noticed improved digestion. I've noticed my skin is more glowy. I just feel more energized.
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Starting point is 00:20:49 but it's all going to be linked in the episode show notes. Okay, so now we are going back to a case that had literally the entire country up in arms. Nobody thought that it made sense. Everybody was wondering what the truth was. And it was from earlier this year when the three Kansas City Chiefs fans were found dead outside of their friend's house. We talked about the case when it happened, but the three men, Clayton McGinney, Ricky
Starting point is 00:21:14 Johnson, and David Harrington, went to the house on January 7th so that they could watch the Chiefs play the LA Rams. However, they never went home, and that caused friends and family to contact the police. So when the police then went to the house where they were at watching the game on January 9th, a couple of days later, they found the three men frozen to death in the backyard. So everybody was kind of screaming foul play from the jump, like what three grown adult men are just laying outside and freeze to death in the backyard. Then there was of course conversation
Starting point is 00:21:47 of possible drug overdoses, of drug use, things like that. The owner of the house, Jordan Willis, told the police that he had no idea that they were even out there, and he told them that he had been sleeping inside for the past two days. So this also led people to think, okay, who's sleeping inside their house for two days straight
Starting point is 00:22:04 so much so that you don't notice that you have three of your friends in your backyard. But again, drug use, right? So an autopsy later revealed that the men each had three times the lethal amount of fentanyl in their system. And many people thought that the friend Jordan, who had survived, had something to do with their deaths. But just this last week, it was announced that Jordan will not be charged with the men's deaths. Instead, a drug dealer is expected to be charged. My understanding is that within two to three weeks that some type of charges are going
Starting point is 00:22:38 to be coming forward. And reading between the lines, you know, I anticipate that someone's going to get charged with some type of felony murder potentially. I am very confident that it won't be Jordan from day one. We've talked about the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do with causing harm to his lifelong friends. And I think that's been borne out by the law enforcement investigation. So felony murder.
Starting point is 00:23:06 I would assume that is going to be someone who supplied them with the drugs? — You would think. And that would be anybody who was involved in that, whether it would be the person who manufactured the drugs to the person who gave, received the drugs, and then passed those drugs along. And you know, Jordan has had nothing to do with that. And I think the investigation has taken quite a while. We voluntarily surrendered his telephone.
Starting point is 00:23:35 We also gave a DNA sample voluntarily. And my understanding is from their investigation that the inspection of everyone's phones is leading to what's going to be charged and the fact that Jordan is not going to be charged. So I'm quite confident of that. Whether Jordan gets charged with another crime or not, that's up in the air and we'll just have to wait and see. When you say he may get charged with another crime, what potential crime could that be? Well, there's a lot of speculation about what he may or may get charged with another crime, what potential crime could that be?
Starting point is 00:24:07 Well, there's a lot of speculation about what he may or may not have done that evening, but none of it has to do with his friend's death. So we're very happy and pleased about that. And I don't want to speculate on what a prosecutor's gonna do in terms of making their charging decision when they haven't told me. So we'll just have to wait and see. But you are convinced that your client A,
Starting point is 00:24:27 is not going to face any kind of serious charges and B, that someone else will? From day one, I was convinced of that. I am right now today that he's not going to be having any type of liability regarding that. And my understanding from the information that I know, right at this time, and I've learned recently recently is that someone is going to be charged and maybe more than one person. With something like felony murder? Yes, sir. And this was such a shocking case and just so strange because for these men to just be sitting dead in a backyard for two days without anybody noticing. I'm sure now it's reassuring to their families that they will have some sort of peace and justice
Starting point is 00:25:09 and accountability soon, but it still makes you wonder what happened. The fact that the drug dealer is being charged or expected to be charged, I should say, makes me think that they maybe purchased Coke or something like that to party and to watch the game and like have a good time and maybe that was laced with fentanyl.
Starting point is 00:25:27 I mean, to have three times the lethal amount in your system, that's a lot. I don't know. We'll see as more information comes out, but I'm happy that they were able to make progress in this case. Moving on to a case that is happening a little bit closer to home for me and definitely more recently.
Starting point is 00:25:46 It's a UCLA student who was stabbed 46 times. On Tuesday, September 10, Shawn Smith was found guilty of the January 2022 murder of 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer. At the time of her murder, Brianna was a graduate student at UCLA. She was studying architectural design. She was also working at an upscale furniture store called Croft House. This case might sound familiar to you. Because on January 13, 2022, Brianna was the only employee in the store when Shawn came barreling in and pretended to be a customer looking to buy a couch. And as Shawn was walking around the store, Brianna started text messaging a friend saying,
Starting point is 00:26:26 hey, a customer's in here, this customer is making me feel really uncomfortable. Then Sean suddenly turned to Brianna and he stabbed her. He stabbed her multiple times before he escaped out the back door of the store. A little while later, another customer walked into the store and that's who discovered Brianna on the floor. She was dead in a pool of her own blood.
Starting point is 00:26:48 The customer called the police, who then used the surveillance footage to determine that Sean was likely the one who killed Brianna. He was the last one inside the store. However, police could not find Sean, and they asked for the public's help to help locate him. Days later, after receiving a tip from somebody saying that they did see Sean sitting on a park bench, police arrested him. Days later, after receiving a tip from somebody saying that they did see Sean sitting on a park bench, police arrested him. This was about 15 miles from the store. It was actually in Pasadena, if you're familiar with the LA area. So he was charged with first-degree murder. In autopsy, the
Starting point is 00:27:18 later revealed that Brianna was stabbed 46 times. Eleven of those stab wounds were five inches deep. She was stabbed in the chest, the abdomen, the pelvis, and also in the arms and legs. Now Sean left the murder weapon and an audio recording device at the store, and the knife that he used to stab Brianna 46 times had been bent because he used so much force. Which that's disgusting. We talk all the time about stabbings and how much force a mass stabbing truly takes. I mean, imagine if you had a pillow in front of you
Starting point is 00:27:52 and you were stabbing it for 46 times. You have to do double that because of the up and down motion. That takes a lot of energy and exertion. And if you're using such force that these wounds are going five inches deep and bending the knife, I don't even know a word aside from barbaric for that. We saw something similar in the Tristan Bailey case with Aiden Foochie. He was the 14-year-old boy and she was 13 years old when he lured her to the woods and stabbed her to death.
Starting point is 00:28:20 And he had stabbed her so many times, it was over a hundred times in fact, and he had stabbed her so many times and with such force that the tip of the knife broke off inside her skull. Again, what other word do you use to describe that besides barbaric? So he left that knife behind and then that audio device that he had also recorded the entire thing. In the recording, you can hear Sean make several statements about how much he hated women. And initially, he tells Brianna that he isn't going to hurt her. He commands her to get on the floor,
Starting point is 00:28:52 but says, you know, I'm not gonna hurt you. But you can also hear her begging for her life. Her last words were, I can help you, I can help you, I can help you. Now, in a very angering detail, Sean was out on bond when he killed Brianna. In 2019, he shot a flare gun into a moving vehicle. In 2018, he pled guilty to assaulting a police officer from an incident back in 2016. And in 2021, after vandalizing a car, Sean again was arrested
Starting point is 00:29:21 for assaulting a police officer. During the trial, the prosecution argued that Sean purposefully went out that day with the intent to kill a woman, especially because he had all of that left on the recording about how much he hated women. And apparently he approached several other women working at other stores before then landing on Brianna. Sean's defense team argued
Starting point is 00:29:43 that he didn't plan to kill someone that day and that it was all a spur-of-the-moment decision. But the LA District Attorney said during closing arguments that Sean was looking for a woman who's alone, a woman who's vulnerable, a woman who's isolated, a woman who is unsuspecting, and he went on a crusade to hunt, to destroy, and to kill for the mere fact that she was female. He used her kindness against her and slayed her when he was close and he was safe, and her guard was down.
Starting point is 00:30:14 It took the jury only an hour of deliberation to determine that Sean was guilty. Leave the jury and be above entitled action by the defendant, Sean Alsmith, guilty of the crime of first degree murder. So Sean is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, there are questions regarding his sanity during the crime, and a judge will determine whether or not he will serve his sentence in a prison or in a mental health institution. Brianna's parents attended the trial, and while they find comfort in finally getting
Starting point is 00:30:45 peace and answers, they do say that justice will never be served because Brianna is of course no longer here. But I do feel very relieved the justice system delivered. Justice will never be served because our daughter's not alive but the DA did a wonderful job and the jury really listened to the evidence that they heard. Now we're going to talk about a newer case that's coming out right now, but it's disgusting. And like, not for all of the normal disgusting reasons. It is like, what is wrong with people? Because three men from South Africa are accused of killing two women and feeding their bodies to pigs.
Starting point is 00:31:30 The men are farm owners, Zachariah, Olivier, Andrian, and William. So allegedly this past August, two women, Lucia and Maria, snuck into Zachariah's farm to steal some expired dairy products that had apparently been dropped off at the farm a few days prior. Then apparently after they snuck onto the farm, they were shot. Another man was also with the women, and he was shot too, but luckily was able to crawl to a road nearby and yell for help. When the police searched the farm, they then found the bodies of the two women.
Starting point is 00:32:05 They found that they had been moved and thrown into a pig pen. The bodies were decomposing, and the pigs had been eating them. So these three accused animals, no pun intended, but truly animals, face two counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm. Their case is set to continue in court next month. In another case that takes us over to Utah, we're going to talk about a case where a daughter was stalked and murdered by her father. On August 1st, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Marbella Martinez was found dead in
Starting point is 00:32:41 her Utah home. Her body was found on top of her bed, and it had a blanket pulled up to her neck. She had blood that was pooled in her mouth, and there were fingernail marks on her neck. It was later determined that she had been strangled to death. Again, very up close, very personal. That's the kind of method of murder this is. Her death was also immediately ruled suspicious. However, text messages that were found on her phone
Starting point is 00:33:06 turned police suspicions to her father, Hector. Police said that Hector's text messages to his daughter were more like messages from a jealous ex-boyfriend. The two of them lived together, and apparently at one point, she found a bag of her underwear and her used feminine hygiene products, if you know what I mean,
Starting point is 00:33:25 inside her dad's room. She texted him and confronted him about it because it's weird and disgusting, and he apparently texted her back that he would quote change, which this is just so gross. I really can't imagine what was going through her head when she discovered this in her own father's room. Like, who is saving used tampons or pads and underwear? It is so disgusting and like such a violation, right? So around this same time, in late July, he apparently put a tracking device on her car and he followed her and he followed her
Starting point is 00:33:58 and somebody that she was dating to this hiking area called Bates Canyon. He confronted the couple, which then caused his daughter to stay in a hotel until July 31st, which, again, what father is following you and stalking you and confronting you on a date? Home surveillance footage also shows that she arrived home at around noon on July 31st. Her father arrived home a few hours later. Then, after he got home, the security cameras
Starting point is 00:34:24 at the house were disabled. A few hours later, he texted his twin brother, quote, my brother, you know how much I love you. I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin. Now I'm too scared and I don't know what to do. I think I will never come back. He ended up getting rid of his daughter's phone by throwing it alongside a highway. He used her debit card to remove a thousand dollars from
Starting point is 00:34:48 her bank account. He drove to the Salt Lake City Airport, flew to San Francisco, then to Houston, and then used his brother's ID to fly out of the country. And here's where it's really scary. Currently, his location is unknown. The investigation is ongoing, but they don't know as of this recording where Hector is. I mean, what the motive could have been, it's anybody's guess at this point. Clearly, he was, I will say, obsessed with her to some degree, right? He was stalking her, he was following her, he was keeping her personal effects, like her personal personal effects hidden in his room.
Starting point is 00:35:24 He didn't like that she was dating, so clearly he was fixated on her, but it's horrible. So hopefully he gets locked up, throw away the key, and there's justice for her because that is disgusting. I mean, women have to fear a lot these days, okay? You shouldn't have to fear your own freaking family members. That is horrible. It's like the worst betrayal.
Starting point is 00:35:45 It is just awful. Now I, of course, will keep you updated on this case, on all the others we talked about and future cases. I've also been dropping a lot of like the Puff Daddy P. Diddy updates as those have been coming out. So check those out if you haven't. And then Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday,
Starting point is 00:36:02 we're doing a deep dive into a case that so many of you have been requesting that I never thought I was going to talk about in this kind of way, but it's happening. I've talked about Nicole Kessinger on this podcast. I've talked about her lies. I've talked about her manipulation. I've talked about her interrogation, all of the things.
Starting point is 00:36:19 I've never done a deep dive into Chris Watts and I've never really done a deep dive into the actual case. So we did it. I asked you on the last episode where we talked about the updates in his case where he now has found God, where he's blaming Nicole saying she was a Jezebel, that it's all her fault, that it was premeditated, all these things. We talked about that. And I asked you guys do you want a deep dive on Chris? I never had any intentions of doing it, but I asked you guys if that's what you wanted. The amount of you who for some reason or another still want the Chris Watts deep dive, even
Starting point is 00:36:47 though I feel like so many people are familiar with this case already, the number was astounding. So we did it. We dug into it, went through all the documents, went through all the backstory, all the reddits, the this, the that, everything, and the deep dive is coming Monday. We also will be talking about Nicole Kessinger in that deep dive and what he's blaming her for now, what has been going on since he's been in prison, who he's been confiding in.
Starting point is 00:37:13 We have a lot to talk about. So if you are not following this podcast yet, you don't wanna miss that episode, so make sure you take a quick second right now, make sure you're following, whether you're on Spotify, Apple, iHeart, wherever you're listening, there should be a button in one of the corners that says, you know,
Starting point is 00:37:27 follow or whatever, make sure you are so that you see the second that episode drops. Other than that, I am gonna be traveling back home today from tour and I'm gearing up for the next few cities, so grab those tickets and come see me live. If you're in the Salt Lake area, the Denver area, the Orange County area or LA area, all of that information is at annieelyise.com and then hit the events tab.
Starting point is 00:37:48 Alright, thank you guys so much for tuning in with me today on another episode of Headline Highlights. Until next time, stay safe, be nice, don't kill people, don't join a cult, watch your back, all the things. Alright, thanks guys, talk to you soon. Bye.

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