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Jabez Spann was 14 years old when he disappeared from Sarasota, Florida, over Labor Day weekend in 2017. It would be two years before his remains were recovered and his death was ruled a homicide.
In this episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum welcomes back Jabez’s mother, Tawana Spann, and her husband, Joe Spann, to mark nine years since Jabez went missing and renew their call for anyone with information about his murder to come forward. Tawana and Joe discuss the advocacy work they have built out of their grief, including the Jabez Spann Foundation, the Missing Our Voices podcast, and a new initiative called If We Could Speak.
Highlights:
(0:00) Sheryl opens the episode with a call to action for anyone who knows what happened to Jabez Spann
(2:00) Tawana explains the one question she still needs answered about her son’s murder
(5:00) How living without answers can become its own kind of prison for families of missing and murdered children
(9:00) Why Jabez’s disappearance led Tawana to create resources for other families searching for loved ones
(11:45) How Missing Our Voices gives families a place to talk about the people they lost
(14:00) Joe Spann introduces the rapid response readiness kit, and the common misconceptions families can face when someone goes missing●
(17:00) Why organization during the first 72 hours can help families become more proactive in a missing-person investigation
(19:00) How If We Could Speak uses digital avatars to make people stop, listen, and remember the victim
(22:30) Jabez’s digital avatar focuses on the life he should have had and the future that was taken from him
(24:45) Joe appeals to anyone who has information about Jabez’s murder to do the right thing
(27:00) Joe reflects on Tawana’s strength and how she has channeled her grief into helping other families
(33:15) Tawana credits her mother, Lucille Tillery, with helping her turn her anger into advocacy for other families
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Tawana Spann is the mother of Jabez Spann and an advocate for families of missing and murdered loved ones. Through the Jabez Spann Foundation, Missing Our Voices podcast, and other initiatives created in her son’s memory, she works to provide families with practical resources, keep their loved one’s stories visible, and give them a place to be heard. Her husband, Joe Spann, works alongside her as a co-advocate through the foundation.
Related Episode
Who Killed Jabez Spann? | Seeking to Expose a Killer's Secret
Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.
Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.
Social Links:●
Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
X: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram:@officialzone7podcast
TikTok: @Sheryl.McCollum
Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.
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Fourteen years after UNC Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth was found brutally beaten to death in her off-campus apartment, emotional testimony and revelations of misplaced evidence mark the opening days of Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares's murder trial in Durham County. In California, the parents of an eight-year-old girl who died from a severe asthma attack face felony child neglect charges after allegedly waiting eight hours to seek medical help inside a squalid, cockroach-infested San Jose home. And in Illinois, Good Samaritans intervened at a suburban Chicago shopping mall to rescue a senior citizen from a koi pond after a man allegedly attacked her and held her head underwater. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hayden Panettiere’s ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko filing urgent court petitions seeking temporary guardianship of their 11‑year‑old daughter Kaya’s inheritance. He already has sole custody, but he said the suit is an attempt to protect his daughter's inheritance from being lost. He cites missing jewelry, including Hayden's engagement ring, destroyed emails, and other property concerns.
This as we learn Zach Hickerson, the brother of Hayden's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson, performed CPR on the actress when she was found unresponsive. A 911 dispatcher then guided him through the emergency response steps until first responders arrived to take over.
Hayden Panettiere's death has been ruled an accidental overdose involving fentanyl and several other drugs. The Greenville County Coroner's office says Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effect of multiple drugs, fentanyl being number one in her system. Also found, Xanax and Seroquel. According to this report from the coroner's office, Hayden Panettiere was found face down in a sitting position on the sofa bed, and the description is that she was sitting "crisscross applesauce."
According to Brian Hickerson, this is something she did often, and would lean forward and fall asleep. When they found her, she had already turned deep purple, Hickerson then administered Narcan twice, when that failed to wake her up he instructed his brother, Zach, to call 911, while Brian Hickerson did chest compressions. The report states that Brian Hickerson saw Hayden for the last time as she was applying makeup in the bathroom around 10:30 in the morning, they had a bowl of cereal, he went back to sleep and was woken up by his brother Zach just before 2pm that afternoon. That's when they found Hayden already purple laying on that sofa bed. Investigators reportedly found on the scene blue pressed pills that were on a table right next to Hayden.
The pills tested positive for fentanyl. A straw was found next to the pills and a white powder substance was found inside a sunglasses case in her suitcase. This is significant because investigators previously had been looking into whether Hayden Panettiere obtained counterfeit oxycodone pills - that were filled with fentanyl which is what led to her death. One of the newest developments is Brian Hickerson told investigators that Hayden Panettiere had a long history of drug abuse with drugs, alcohol, and nitrous oxide. He even added she had recently been in rehab in Malibu and was just out from that.
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Sandra Birchmore, 23, found dead in her Canton apartment February 4, 2021. Initially, the death was ruled a suicide by asphyxia. Sandra was on the floor, hanging from a duffel bag strap wrapped around a doorknob. Family, friends, and federal prosecutors contested that finding. The Medical Examiner later changed the cause of death to "asphyxia" and the manner of death to "undetermined."
Former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell was indicted by federal prosecutors and is currently on trial. Prosecutors say Farwell groomed Birchmore from the age of 13, through the Stoughton Police Explorer program. Their sexual relationship began when she was 15. He was 27. Birchmore also had a sexual relationship with Matthew Farwell's twin brother.
Investigators say Birchmore told Matthew Farwell she was pregnant. That, they say lead to Farwell to strangle Birchmore and stage her death to look like a suicide to silence her.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
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Nearly fifteen years after Florida mother Michelle Parker vanished following a broadcast taping of The People's Court, Orlando police have arrested her ex-fiancé Dale Smith Jr. on second-degree murder charges. In Virginia, prosecutors in the murder trial of Naresh Bhatt revealed explosive forensic evidence linking a blood-stained power saw to his missing wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. And in New York, the Bronx community rallies to support an eight-month-old infant who miraculously survived a fifteen-story fall in the arms of her dying mother, Nathaly Ramirez. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Selma Blair, 54, arrested after an alleged altercation aboard a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York City. She is facing two felony second‑degree assault charges.
Blair reportedly punched one flight attendant and bit another, causing injuries including a bloody nose and bite marks. One attendant was taken to the hospital. Blair is also accused of kicking a Port Authority officer repeatedly in the face, neck, and chest while being restrained on a stretcher, and kicking a nurse at the hospital.
Blair pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. According to her attorney, said the incident was the result of a medical emergency, saying Blair had missed doses of Nuedexta, a medication for her multiple sclerosis.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Neama Rahmani - former federal prosecutor, trial attorney, President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, Author: “Harvard to Hashtag”, WestCoastTrialLawyers.com, INSTAGRAM: @Neamarahmani, Twitter: @NeamaRahmani
Dr. Cheryl Arutt - Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist specializing in Trauma Recovery, PTSD and EMDR, website: askdrcheryl.com, website: CreativeEMDR.com , IG: @askdrcheryl
Dr. Raymond Gagliardi - General Surgeon specializing in trauma surgery, surgical critical care, and complex gastrointestinal and emergency surgical
Alexis Tereszcuk - Crime Stories investigative reporter
Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
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A grandfather in Erie, Pennsylvania, kills eight people, including a pregnant woman and two young children, before turning the gun on himself in an unthinkable domestic massacre. In Chicago, transit workers and prosecutors demand urgent electronic monitoring reform after a repeat offender on curfew violations fatally stabs a veteran CTA janitor during a daytime fare dispute. And in Delaware, two teenagers face criminal charges after terrorizing suburban homeowners with tactical gear and replica rifles in what police call a dangerous late-night prank. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Christa Pike has returned to prison after her discharged from the hospital. She survived a botched lethal injection attempt of two doses of pentobarbital during her scheduled execution at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. According to reports, the drug likely spread under her skin due to a faulty IV line rather than entering her bloodstream. After spending days unconscious and on a ventilator, Pike woke up, regained speech, and began walking with assistance
Dispatchers initially delayed sending an ambulance for roughly 30 minutes because they suspected the emergency call from the maximum-security prison was a "prank call". Audio logs detailed emergency responders waiting outside the prison gates while officials scrambled to verify if the request for medical help was legitimate. Pike's next court hearing is scheduled for October 23.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
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In Philadelphia, a municipal water employee faces 76 criminal charges, including murder, after an ambush attack claimed the life of a veteran police officer and left his partner critically wounded. In London, comedian and actor Russell Brand stands trial on multiple counts of rape and sexual assault as opening arguments get underway at Southwark Crown Court. And in upstate New York, a woman fought for her life after a male coworker she was driving home allegedly slashed her throat, forcing her to leap from a moving vehicle. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sean Combs rushed by ambulance from New Jersey's FCI Fort Dix to a local hospital over the weekend after suffering a non-life-threatening head injury. Diddy left the prison for about 6 hours. He was conscious and speaking during and after the hospital visit. The exact cause of the head injury remains unclear.
The medical emergency follows a turbulent period behind bars, which included being placed in solitary confinement and losing 41 days of good conduct time after an investigation into contraband (cell phones and alcohol). His projected release date was pushed back to March 2028
Joining Nancy Grace today:
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