The TWITCH: 2/25
This Week In True Crime Happenings
This new roundup is something that came out of a conversation about our regular feature, This Week In Books, which is primarily put together by Ariel Lawhon and Abby Belbeck. Marybeth joked that she’s not much help with book news because the only news she really pays attention to is true crime news. This led to the idea of offering a true crime weekly roundup, and everyone agreed that it might be content some of you would enjoy— especially those of you who gravitate to crime novels, mysteries, and thrillers. The truth really can be stranger than fiction, as it were.
This isn’t all the true crime news there is, just the cases that we’ve been paying attention to this week.
If this isn’t your cup of tea, feel free to skip it. (It’s true crime, so trigger warnings abound!)
A lot happened this week. More than we could cover. But here are 13 cases that had our attention:
Athens, Georgia: A nursing student, Laken Hope Riley, 22, was found murdered after she went for a jog on the University of Georgia campus and never came back. In the wake of the shocking news, fear struck the UGA campus, as well as the campus of Augusta University, where the victim was studying. Late last night a suspect was arrested and details are developing quickly in this recent story. We will be watching closely and come back with an update next week.
Manchester, New Hampshire: Justice for five-year-old Harmony Montgomery! On Thursday, a jury found her father, Adam Montgomery, GUILTY on all counts! As justice seekers, we are celebrating this bittersweet victory for a little girl who lived a sad, tragic life, but is happy and safe in heaven now. Adam Montgomery was, again, not in the courtroom for the verdict, which still doesn’t sit right with us.
Polk County, Texas: As we all feared, Audrii Cunningham, the missing 11-year-old girl that captivated much of the country when her Amber Alert was issued, was found in the Trinity River on Tuesday. The last person to see her and a friend of the Cunningham family, Don Steven McDougal, is being held as the only person of interest in the case. Sheriff Byron Lyons was especially touching in his heartfelt support of and commitment to Audrii’s case and we trust that, with his leadership and the continuing joint efforts of many law enforcement officials, the truth about her death will come out and justice will prevail for this little girl.
Washington County, Utah: Both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, You Tubers who became notorious for telling people how to parent, were sentenced on Tuesday for four counts of aggravated child abuse. (They pled guilty back in December.) While Franke gave a statement proclaiming her sorrow and regret over what she did, Hildebrandt was less verbose in court, mostly letting her attorney speak for her. The judge seemed to believe Franke, but was not as soft in his words to Hildebrandt. Both women are to serve 1-15 years consecutively for the four counts. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will ultimately determine how much time the two serve.
Sarasota, Florida: The Petito and Laundrie families have reached a settlement through mediation in the lawsuit Gabby Petito’s family filed against Brian Laundrie’s family, saving everyone the added stress of a trial, which had been set for May 13. The Petito family alleged that the Laundrie family knew Gabby was dead, yet lied to them and the public. Gabby Petito was the influencer traveling across the country with her boyfriend while living “the van life,” as it’s become known. Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby Petito, then fled across country back to his home in Florida, where he later ended his own life. Any monies received from the settlement will go towards The Gabby Petito Foundation, which assists organizations that support missing persons searches and domestic violence assistance. We commend Gabby’s family for making positive ripples flow out of such a senseless tragedy.
Polk County, Florida: The classic show America’s Most Wanted is back, and is already leading to the capture of criminals. An episode that aired February 12 led to the apprehension of a dangerous pedophile. Wanted for child molestation of two girls under the age of 12, Davie Albarran was captured last Sunday night after his 2 daughters, with the added aid of a Tik Tok campaign, turned him in. We commend these girls for their bravery, and their commitment to justice.
Duval County, Florida: In the ongoing case against accused conspirator, Shanna Gardner, in the murder of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, there are two additional suspects listed in a recently released document. Though the names are redacted, this makes a total of five people possibly involved in the murder of the Microsoft exec and father of four children— one of whom was in the car when he was gunned down in the street after stopping to remove a tree branch that was in his path. Bridegan and Gardner, daughter of the founders of Stampin’ Up (anyone ever been to one of those downline marketing parties?), had been in a contentious custody case over their twins at the time of his murder. One of her co-conspirators (the actual shooter) has already confessed and will testify against his fellow conspirators when the trial finally does take place. Her other co-conspirator is her new husband, though the two are now estranged. Jared Bridegan had remarried and had two children with wife Kristen Bridegan, who has actively sought justice for her husband, who was murdered two years ago this month. There are those cases that stick with you, and this is one of them.
Burnsville, Minnesota: A community is mourning three first responders— two police officers and one firefighter-paramedic— who were killed as they responded to a domestic violence call this week. Seven children ranging in age from 2 to 15, among other family members, were in the home where the subject had barricaded himself. As the officers attempted to negotiate with him, he opened fire. One other officer was injured but survived. A public memorial service will be held at Grace Church in Eden Prairie on February 28, 2024 at 11am. More information about the service and supporting this hurting community can be found at this link.
Madrid, Spain: Missing Florida woman, Ana Knezevich’s husband David has people wondering about him as the search for her continues. He has apparently gone back to Serbia, where he is from, and has not participated in the search for her at all. The couple was going through a divorce that was, at least according to recently shared texts from Ana, not amicable, with a lot of money at stake. Ana was last seen Feb. 2 and disappeared amidst concerning circumstances. A man wearing a motorcycle helmet spray painted her Madrid apartment security cameras, and she had sent odd texts saying she’d met a man in the street who she had an “amazing connection” with, and was going with him to a place where the wifi connection was spotty. Friends and family say the texts were not written in her usual style and rash decisions like that were not like her. Our hearts go out to those who love her and we hope answers emerge soon.
Clermont County, Ohio: The man accused of executing his three young sons on June 23, 2023, Chad Doerman, was in court this week asking to have his murder confession suppressed and claiming his rights were violated. While we understand that the judicial system has its legal machinations, it is hard to muster any sympathy for this man and his rights, when his sons were robbed of their right to live. Our hearts continue to go out to his wife and stepdaughter, who witnessed the horror that day and have so much healing ahead of them.
Samford, Connecticut: The prosecution and defense both rested this week in the trial of Michelle Troconis, former girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, husband of Jennifer Dulos, the mom of five who went missing in May of 2019 and was declared dead last year. Troconis is charged with tampering with evidence, hindering prosecution, and conspiracy to commit murder. Jennifer’s 88-year-old mother, who has raised the five children ever since their mother went missing, testified this week, with all five Dulos children in the gallery watching the testimony. Closing arguments are set for next Tuesday. Maybe by the time this posts next week, there will be a verdict.
Cleveland, Ohio: Pammy Maye appeared in court for a bond hearing on the charges of murdering five-year-old Darnell Taylor. According to the prosecutor, Maye suffers from mental health issues. She apparently smothered the little boy, who was her foster child, before hiding his body in a sewer drain. She was on the run for 48 hours wearing little more than a robe, with plastic bags to cover her feet, in the cold Ohio winter temperatures. Her bond was set at $4 million.
Nashville, Tennessee: Last week in the TWITCH we shared about interviews that the late Gwen Shamblin’s son Michael Shamblin did with a local news station. He had some interesting insights into his mother’s rise as leader of the controversial Remnant Church. Well, this week brought more reporting about Shamblin’s children, this time about her daughter Elizabeth, who is the heir apparent to Gwen’s church, which many have deemed as a cult. If you’ve watched the HBO Max documentary about Gwen, or just know the story, we think you’ll find this article interesting and the recent photos of Elizabeth disturbing.
For all of you who, like Marybeth, gravitate to true crime, we hope this is a post you’ll come back to each week, and that we can find each other in the comments. What did we miss? What should we be following? What are your thoughts about these cases or others? The rest of the world doesn’t really understand us, and we need each other. :) So let’s talk— but let’s keep our comments honoring to each other, and the people involved.
«Disclaimer: We want to be very careful to say that, while these stories are interesting and compelling, they are also, in almost every case, tragic and heartbreaking. We will never make light of this (though we might have to remark on the stupidity of some criminals). We will always, always respect the victims and their families. At the same time we are highlighting news that involves them, we are also thinking of and praying for them. This is news to us, but it’s their very lives. And we always want to respect that.»
Thanks for this.
Living in Jacksonville, FL (Duval County), I’ve been following the Bridegan murder closely. Did you know that Shanna Gardner-Fernandez hired Jose Baez as her attorney? Some might remember him as Casey Anthony’s attorney in that infamous trial ten plus years ago. This was such a cold blooded murder! Hope justice is found for the Bridegan family.