Stay ConnectedNancy Grace dives deep into the day’s most shocking crimes and asks the tough questions in her new daily podcast – Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace had a perfect conviction record during her decade as a prosecutor and used her TV show to find missing people, fugitives on the run and unseen clues. Now, she will use the power of her huge social media following and the immediacy of the internet to deliver daily bombshells!
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Brian Shaffer drives 30 minutes from Columbus to celebrate the start of Spring Break with a steak dinner at his father’s house.
During dinner, Brian eagerly discusses his upcoming vacation to Miami with his girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner. According to his family, Brian plans to propose during the trip. He also mentions plans to go out that evening with his former roommate, William “Clint” Florence.
At 9:00 p.m., Brian meets Clint at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a popular college bar on the second floor of the Gateway Building. Around 10:00 p.m., Brian calls Alexis to check in before he and Clint head to another bar in the Arena District. They visit several bars, each having a shot, before meeting up with Clint’s friend, Meredith Reed, around midnight. The group then returns to the Ugly Tuna in Meredith’s car for one last round.
At 1:15 a.m., Brian, Clint, and Meredith ride the Gateway Building escalator back to the Ugly Tuna and have another round of shots while listening to the band. Brian steps outside the bar to chat with two women, leaving Clint and Meredith to spend some time alone. Surveillance footage captures Brian speaking to the women until 1:55 a.m.
Five minutes later, as the bar begins to close and patrons head down the escalator, Clint and Meredith realize Brian is missing. Assuming he walked home to his off-campus apartment, located six blocks away, they leave.
On Saturday morning, Alexis calls Brian to finalize plans for their upcoming vacation. Her call goes straight to voicemail, but she assumes he is still sleeping off the previous night. That afternoon, her second call also goes unanswered.
Brian’s father and brother, Randy and Derek Shaffer, also fail to reach him. On Sunday, Derek visits Brian’s apartment. He finds Brian’s car parked outside, and nothing seems out of place inside the apartment, but Brian is nowhere to be found.
When Brian doesn’t show up at the airport on Monday morning, Randy reports him missing.
Investigators review surveillance footage from the Gateway Building. Brian is last seen walking off camera toward the Ugly Tuna’s entrance but never comes back down the escalator. He is not seen exiting the building through an emergency door or other exits.
The only other way out from the second floor is a service door leading to an area under construction. This door provides access to a temporary freight elevator and a service ladder. Climbing down would have been challenging for a sober person, let alone someone intoxicated.
Nearby surveillance cameras from other bars should have captured Brian if he had exited the Gateway Building through the first-floor doors, but no footage shows him leaving.
Columbus police search garbage leaving the building, the sewers below, and use dogs to comb a miles-wide radius. Despite extensive efforts, no trace of Brian Shaffer is found.
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Cops shocked when they discover a body in the backseat of a suspected DUI driver. Woman is looking for her drug dealer, but finds a sheriff's deputy!
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A final look at items brought up in the recent Netflix documentary about JonBenet Ramsey and her death. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack talk about the crime scene with Joe breaking down the mistakes that were made and how they have nothing to do with technology. Also, a question that has never been answered regarding the "ransom" note. What type of "kidnapper" kills the person and leaves a "ransom" note? Who would pay a "ransom" for the "safe return" of a loved one when the "loved one" is already dead and in the house?
Transcribe Highlights
00:00.41 Introduction
02:00.28 No excuses for evidence mistakes
04:54.75 Never Ask Father of missing 6-year-old search the house
10:06.27 The physical things seen in strangling
14:34.80 Why leave the body AND ransom note
19:53.52 Why ask for $118,000?
24:28.50 The reason for the ransom note is dead
29:07.64 JonBenet was beaten, skull was fractured
32:10.35 Conclusion
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Two people were shot on the set of Alec Baldwin's movie Rust.
Director of photography Halyna Hutchins died, and director Joel Souza was wounded. Reports say first assistant director David Halls picked up one of three prop guns set up by armorer Hannah Gutierrez and yelled, “cold gun.”
"Cold gun" is industry slang meaning the gun does not contain live rounds. Halls gave the gun to Baldwin, who used it to rehearse a scene. According to the search warrant, Baldwin aimed the weapon at the camera when he fired, striking Hutchins and Souza.
Reports suggest crew members used the weapon for target practice earlier that morning.
A judge dismissed charges against Baldwin. Now the actor is suing.
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Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert
Here's three of our top stories this week:
Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert
Here's three of our top stories this week:
"Im Not a Psycho, "a Florida Teen tells police as he's accused of killing his parents.
Wendy Williams claims she is being held against her will.
An 11-year-old girl in Syracuse, New York, mistakenly handcuffed by deputies, searching for a car theft suspect..
Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”
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Two girls stab their best friend 19 times. Why? They wanted to appease the fictional horror character, Slender Man. Both girls serve time in a mental health facility.
Anissa Weier was granted conditional release in September 2021. She was required to receive outpatient psychiatric treatment and was subject to GPS monitoring – though the monitoring was waived in September of last year.
Now a Wisconsin judge decides Morgan Geyser is well enough to be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute she has been in for the last seven years. She will be moved to a group home where her mental health will be continue to be monitored. Three medical experts testified that Geyser has made considerable progress, which convinced a judge that she doesn't pose a safety risk outside hospital walls.
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Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo,is demanding that prosecutors hand over multiple videos of Combs’ infamous "freak-offs," arguing the tapes prove his innocence.
Prosecutors describe the tapes as elaborate, produced sexual performances, but Agnifilo contends they show private, consensual activity between Combs and Cassie Ventura, stating she "not only consented but thoroughly enjoyed herself."
In the same filing, Agnifilo criticizes the prosecution as “sexist and puritanical.” He claims the government’s case perpetuates stereotypes of female victimhood and denies women agency by assuming they cannot make their own decisions about sex or consent to activities outside the "norm."
Meanwhile, documentaries about the disgraced rap mogul continue to surface. Peacock's The Making of a Bad Boy explores Combs' early life, featuring interviews with childhood and college friends who describe him as a "shy rich kid" trying to prove himself.
Additionally, a Making the Band 2 cast member has accused Combs of sexual assault, and another alleged victim has spoken publicly for the first time
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Mom makes disturbing symptom searches for clearly injured baby instead of seeking medical treatment. Man goes for a casual swim...in the Bass Pro Shop aquarium.
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Alex Murdaugh's former housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, joins Nancy Grace.
South Carolina's Supreme Court has granted Alex Murdaugh's request for a new trial in the murders of his wife and son. At the heart of the appeal and review is whether former South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal fairly denied Murdaugh a new murder trial. The Supreme Court could reverse or overturn that ruling – and could order the court to give him a new trial.
Another allegation is that claims that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, being involved in talking improperly to jurors. A hearing was held with Judge Jean Toal presiding one juror, identified as Juror Z, said Becky Hill told jurors to watch Murdaugh "closely" and "made it seem like he was already guilty." When asked if this influenced her vote to find Murdaugh guilty, the juror said “Yes, ma’am.” Toal said Becky Hill was not a credible witness and denied Murdaugh a new trial.
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After causing crash by break-checking a mom of 2, driver severely injures her with a body slam. "Paper dope" smuggled into prison by attorney for an 'extra fee.'
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