This week has been another one filled with lots of examples of people who make bad decisions and hurt others as a result, or at least are accused of doing so. Let’s see what happened since the last TWITCH:
Texas County, Oklahoma: The four people accused of murdering Victoria Butler and Jillian Kelley made their first appearance in court this past week and were, unsurprisingly, denied bond. In an emotional scene, family members of the victims gathered in the tiny courthouse, crying and yelling at the suspects as they were led into court. Tifany Adams, the grandmother of the children at the center of the custody battle that apparently instigated the murders, told authorities in a recorded statement that she was responsible for the murders. The four accused have their next hearing May 15th.
Moscow, Idaho: Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorneys met the deadline to provide his alibi to the court this week, and it was… not what we expected. They insist that Kohberger was at Wawawai Park in Washington doing some stargazing on the night of the murders and therefore not even in the same state as the victims. Using cell phone location technology, they claim they’ve got an expert who will back this up when the trial finally does take place. Do you find his alibi believable?
Long Island, New York: Rex Heuermann, the accused Long Island serial killer, was in court this week asking for FBI files from their investigation of the disgraced former police chief, James Burke. Like Kohberger, Heuermann insists he is not guilty of the crimes he’s been accused of and looks forward to his day in court.
Oakland County, Michigan: The jail calls of James Crumbley, the convicted father of the Oxford school shooter, were released this week. Crumbley uses a lot of curse words in the calls, and theatens to end the career of the prosecutor, Karen McDonald. He also makes some threats as to her physical safety as he says he will “go on a rampage” once he’s out of jail. He calls himself a martyr multiple times and seems fully aware that he’s being recorded, speaking to the prosecutor directly more than once. Now we understand why his communications were restricted during the trial.
Newport, Michigan: Marshella Chidester, a 66 year old grandmother, ran her car into a child’s birthday party taking place at a boat club this past Saturday, killing two children— 5 and 8 year old siblings— and injuring 15 people, two of whom are the older brother and mother of the two children killed. The woman charged had reportedly been drinking at a bar in the afternoon before the incident and was taken into police custody, charged with “operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death” after driving her car at a high rate of speed until it ran through a wall and continued for an estimated 25 feet before coming to a stop. We are sure other charges are forthcoming.
Boise, Idaho: Week two of the Chad Daybell trial took place this past week and included a recorded conversation between him and his daughter that happened as he sat in a police car following his arrest. He alludes to the fact that he is likely not coming home (why would an innocent man say that?) and gives her instructions regarding money and her other siblings. While this had to be a heartbreaking, confusing conversation for the daughter, we thought the most telling point was when she wonders about whether the police will search the house after they’re done searching the property and Chad says, “There’s nothing in the house.” That just seems like an odd thing for an innocent man to say.
Savannah, Georgia: Leilani Simon, the mother accused of murdering her 20 month old son, Quinton Simon, in October of 2022, was in court this week asking for statements she made during questioning to be thrown out because the statements were made after she had requested a lawyer but wasn’t provided one. The judge heard over two hours of testimony and has not yet made a ruling.
Manchester, New Hampshire: A judge ordered that Adam Montgomery must be in the courtroom for his sentencing in the murder of his daughter, 5 year old Harmony Montgomery! (If you have been reading the TWITCH, you know we thought it was all kinds of wrong that he was not in court for his own trial.) The sentencing is May 9th.
Dedham, Massachusetts: The Karen Read trial began this week with jury selection, which will continue this coming week. The trial is expected to be lengthy, with more than 160 potential witnesses.
Nashville, Tennessee: Riley Strain’s family spoke publicly this past week about their dissatisfaction with the way their son’s fraternity brothers responded while he was missing, as well as about their continued questions concerning Riley’s death and disappearance.
Rockville, Maryland: An 18 year old was arrested and is being held without bond after a manifesto he had written plotting a school shooting was handed over to authorities. The student was reportedly in and out of mental treatment programs for several years and has threatened violence like this in the past. Authorities stated that “a potentially catastrophic event was prevented.” The person who alerted authorities about the manifesto did the right thing and exemplifies the adage, “If you see something, say something.”
Columbine, Colorado: And speaking of school shootings, the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting was recognized this week with memorials, interviews, and tributes.
Hendersonville, Tennessee: Sebastian Rogers has been missing for nearly 8 weeks. This week his father, Seth Rogers, started a petition to get the FBI involved in the case. He has also hired two private investigators to aid in the ongoing search for his son. A vigil was held this weekend to pray for and publicize Sebastian’s disappearance.
Knoxville, Tennessee: Robin Howington, convicted of the reckless homicide of her five year old daughter, Destiny Oliver, was sentenced this week to 22 years in prison. At the time of the shooting, Howington changed her stories multiple times, blaming the death on an unknown assailant, the girl’s father, and even her 2 year old son. Thankfully the truth came out and the guilty party is paying the price.
Winona, Minnesota: Maddi Kingsbury’s case was profiled on the TV show 48 Hours this past week. Her husband, Adam Fravel, is awaiting trial sometime this fall. Now that we are aware of this case, we will be sharing updates here going forward. If you’d like to catch up, here’s a transcript for the 48 Hours episode or you can watch it here. It’s a heartbreaking story and we’d like to see Maddi get justice.
Ok that’s it for this week. There will not be a TWITCH next week as we’ve got some travel plans that will conflict. But we will return the following week with the latest on all the cases we are following. We can’t get to all of the cases out there— and there are some that are happening now that we are trying to learn all we can about so we can keep an eye on them going forward— but if you’ve got a case you’d like to see us include here, don’t hesitate to let us know.
As always, let’s keep these victims and their families, friends, and communities in our thoughts and prayers, never forgetting that while we can read a post like this and go on about our days, it is something they live with day in and day out. May justice prevail.