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I’m Ashleigh Banfield, and I’m Drop Dead Serious!
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Brian Hooker has officially been spotted for the first time since leaving the Bahamas after his wife, Lynette Hooker, vanished. An exclusive photo obtained by Drop Dead Serious shows Brian at his mother’s home in Sacramento as the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service continues its federal murder investigation into Lynette’s disappearance. Do the feds finally have enough evidence to make their move, and if so, why hasn’t Brian Hooker been arrested?
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani joins Ashleigh Banfield to explain how federal murder investigations work, why prosecutors often build nearly their entire case before making an arrest, and what the delay could mean for Brian. Brian Hooker has not been charged with a crime and denies any wrongdoing.
Instagram Influencer & OnlyFans Model Courtney Clenney was facing the possibility of life in prison for the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, Christian “Toby” Obumseli. Instead, the 30-year-old Instagram influencer has secured the plea deal of a LIFETIME that could have her walking free in as little as 18 to 20 months. Clenney, known online as “Courtney Tailor,” was originally charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon after stabbing Obumseli inside their Miami apartment on April 3, 2022. Just weeks before her murder trial was expected to begin, she pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of manslaughter with a deadly weapon and received six years in prison, five years of probation and credit for the four years she has already served.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg to examine how a murder case built around disturbing videos, explosive audio recordings and disputed claims of self-defense ended with such an astonishingly lenient sentence.
Was 35-year-old Lindsay Clancy a mother consumed by severe postpartum mental illness or a calculating killer who sent her husband away before strangling their three children? Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, admits killing five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan with exercise bands inside their Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023, then cutting herself and jumping from a second-story window. Prosecutors say she deliberately created an opportunity to be alone with the children and knew her actions were wrong. Her defense argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by renowned criminologist, attorney, and Criminal Appeal host Dr. Casey Jordan to dissect the most pivotal testimony and evidence to emerge from the Lindsay Clancy trial. They examine the disturbing evidence pointing to both psychosis and planning, and the question now facing the jury: Was Lindsay so mentally ill that she could no longer distinguish right from wrong, or was she fully aware that murdering her children was wrong?
Strange new clues are surfacing in the unsolved murder of Brooke Hanlon, the 35-year-old psychotherapist and new mother found stabbed to death inside her secluded Chester Township, New Jersey, home on June 6. Nearly two months later, no arrest has been made and investigators have not named a suspect. Now, Daily Mail reporter Dana Kennedy has uncovered troubling new details about the investigation, including questions surrounding Brooke’s husband Conor Hanlon’s frantic 911 call, the couple’s baby daughter, the family’s silence and when police began questioning neighbors.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield speaks with Dana Kennedy about what she discovered while reporting from the scene, the unusual response she received from Conor Hanlon’s family and the critical questions authorities still have not answered. Conor has not been accused of any crime or wrongdoing, but with Brooke’s killer still unidentified, the mystery surrounding her brutal death only continues to deepen.
For the first time, the full Nancy Guthrie ransom notes reveal the alleged kidnappers’ complete series of demands, deadlines and chilling threats, including claims that Nancy “perished” and was “buried in nature.” But another bombshell is now raising serious questions about the investigation: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says no one has been ruled out, including two individuals previously detained in connection with this case and members of Nancy’s own family.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield examines the ransom notes in full, breaks down the mystery DNA details, the latest evidence, and the troubling questions still surrounding the search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing 84-year-old mother.
Brian Hooker’s stepmother is revealing a shocking claim she says he made decades ago: that he “had to have someone killed” after running into trouble while living on a beach in Hawaii. Now, as Brian remains the prime suspect in the disappearance and suspected murder of his wife, Lynette Hooker, sources with knowledge of the investigation say the alleged Hawaii killing is being investigated.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield speaks exclusively with Donna Hooker, who was married to Brian’s late father for more than 40 years. She describes the disturbing statement Brian allegedly made in the 1980s, his estrangement from his dying father and why she now believes he killed Lynette aboard their sailboat, Soulmate, before reporting that she disappeared from a dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.
Six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is making startling new admissions about the troubled investigation. In an explosive interview, Nanos takes aim at FBI Director Kash Patel, acknowledges the two have not spoken, and finally confirms investigators are using forensic genetic genealogy to trace the unidentified male DNA found inside Nancy’s home.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the biggest revelations from Sheriff Nanos’s interview with journalist Wyatt Sharp, host of The Sharp Exchange.
EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Guthrie Sheriff Weighs In On The Investigation | Full Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWEgc-GHQK8
The Sharpe Exchange:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheSharpeExchange
Explosive new reporting from The New York Times reveals that Bryan Kohberger is now declaring his innocence and fighting to reopen the University of Idaho murders case. In his first public comments since his arrest, Kohberger told reporter Mike Baker he has an “absolute claim of innocence” and declared, “My actual innocence is my truth.” Kohberger is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming it was “hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation,” and says, “I really do want that to be heard.” Now serving four consecutive life sentences for the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, Kohberger says he wants his case taken to trial, even if prosecutors seek the death penalty again.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield speaks with veteran criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Mark Eiglarsh about Kohberger’s stunning attempt to undo his murder convictions.
Messages recovered from singer d4vd’s phone indicate fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez became pregnant by him at thirteen and later had an abortion. During David Anthony Burke’s preliminary hearing, prosecutors also revealed sexually explicit evidence, matching tattoos, blood spatter inside his Hollywood Hills garage, and a disturbing series of purchases allegedly made before Celeste’s severely decomposed and dismembered remains were discovered inside the front trunk of his Tesla.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield reconstructs the nearly three-year timeline prosecutors presented in court, beginning when Celeste was only eleven years old. From the alleged sexual relationship and abortion messages to chainsaws, body bags, an inflatable pool and the millions Burke potentially stood to lose, Ashleigh examines the graphic forensic evidence, the prosecution’s alleged motive and the significant gaps the defense could use if the d4vd murder case goes to trial.
Just days before an affluent Houston man was supposed to stand trial for allegedly strangling his pregnant wife, authorities say he vanished, crossed an international border, and resurfaced in Italy under a fake identity. Lee Gilley, a 38-year-old software consultant, and his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, appeared to be building an enviable life together in Houston’s historic Heights neighborhood. But behind that picture of success, prosecutors allege something horrifying was unfolding. On October 7, 2024, Christa was found unresponsive inside the couple’s Houston Heights home as their two young children slept nearby. She was nine weeks pregnant with their third child. The medical examiner later ruled her death a homicide caused by compression of the neck and upper back, and Lee Gilley was charged with capital murder in the deaths of Christa and their unborn baby.
In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield speaks with Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne about Gilley’s alleged escape from house arrest and the growing international showdown over whether Italy will send him back. Italian authorities are demanding that Texas take both the death penalty and life without parole off the table before extradition can move forward, potentially limiting the punishment Gilley could face before he ever sets foot in a Texas courtroom.
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