Nine bodies were found Wednesday in a northern Mexican state reeling from a wave of drug cartel-related violence, authorities said, in the second such discovery in as many days. A homicide investigation was launched after the bodies of nine men were found in the city of Morelos in Zacatecas, the state prosecutor’s office said.
It came just one day after nine bodies were found on an avenue in the city of Fresnillo, also in Zacatecas state. Messages addressed to a criminal group were found with those remains, authorities said. The bodies were dumped near a market two days after gang members blocked roads and burned vehicles in response to the capture of 13 suspected criminals. A pickup truck was being examined for evidence, officials said.
The state prosecutor’s office said five of the victims in Fresnillo had been identified and their bodies handed over to relatives.
Members of the investigative police stand next to bodies wrapped in blankets and covered with duct tape left by unknown persons on a street in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico, May 7, 2024.
JESUS ENRIQUEZ/AFP/Getty
Fresnillo is considered by its residents to be the most dangerous city in Mexico.
Around 450,000 people have been murdered across the country since 2006, when the government launched a controversial anti-drug offensive involving the military, according to official figures.
Cartel activity and violence in Zacatecas
Zacatecas, which has one of the highest per-capita homicide rates of any Mexican state, is a key transit point for drugs, especially the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl, moving north to the U.S. border.
Zacatecas has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Jalisco and Sinaloa drug cartels. The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration told CBS News in 2022 that the two cartels were behind the influx of fentanyl that’s killing tens of thousands of Americans.
Last September, a search team looking for seven kidnapped youths in Zacatecas found six bodies and one survivor in a remote area.
Authorities in Zacatecas confirmed that a U.S. resident was among four people killed in the state around Christmas 2022. Earlier that year the bodies of five men and one woman were found dumped on a roadside in Zacatecas, and the bodies of eight men and two women were found crammed into a pickup truck left near a Christmas tree in the main plaza of the state capital.
The U.S. State Department has issued a “do not travel” advisory for Zacatecas, warning Americans to avoid the state due to the threat of crime.
“Violent crime, extortion, and gang activity are widespread in Zacatecas state,” the advisory says.
Adre Baroz, nicknamed “Pyscho,” was sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 homicides of five people in the San Luis Valley, according to court records.
Korina Arroyo, Selena Esquibel, Xavier Zeven Garcia, Myron Martinez and Shayla Hammel were killed and their bodies dumped near the Colorado-New Mexico border.
Co-defendants Julius Baroz and Francisco Ramirez also pleaded guilty to charges related to the murders in February. Julius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received 25 years in prison with credit for 1202 days served. Ramirez pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and was served three eight-year sentences.
It was 1 p.m. on May 8, 2018, when Massachusetts State Police detectives arrived at a farmhouse in Westfield. 51-year-old Amy Fanion lay dead in the dining room from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Amy Fanion’s husband, Brian Fanion, a detective in the Westfield Police Department, had called 911 minutes earlier, reporting that his wife had shot herself.
Det. Mike McNally:Amy was essentially … in a pile of blood that was beginning to congeal under her left side.
The dining room, rearranged to accommodate medical personnel, was in disarray as detectives worked to identify clues of what may have happened.
Det. Mike McNally: There was a … blood spatter around that window frame from that dining room into the breezeway. … There was a pair of glasses that looked like it had some kind of red-brown spatter on it.
A spent bullet casing on the dining room floor of the Fanion home, where Amy Fanion was found dead with a gunshot to the right side of her head. “I saw the entry wound to her head. … It didn’t seem right in that moment,” said Massachusetts State Police Det. Mike McNally. “How would something like that happen?”
Hampden County District Attorney’s Office
And then there was the bullet.
Det. Mike Blanchette: The actual projectile … was in that front … enclosed porch area. … The spent shell casing was still in the dining room.
Det. Mike McNally: We could see the direction that it traveled, through Amy’s head … that round impacted that dresser, came to a rest right around there in the breezeway.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Brian was sitting in a chair with his back to the wall and … he’s with the chief of police from the Westfield police department, who’s talking with him. … Everyone was in a state of shock.
Everyone, including Amy Fanion’s brother, Eric Hansen, who told detectives that he had just finished playing disc golf behind the house when he heard Brian Fanion’s cry for help.
And that’s when he walked into the house, saw Amy Fanion on the floor, a gun next to her, and Brian Fanion holding Amy’s hand.
Det. Mike Blanchette: So he picked up the gun himself and moved it, uh, out of Brian’s reach.
Nikki Battiste: — because he was worried about Brian’s state of mind having just lost his wife.
Det. Mike Blanchette: Yes.
Nikki Battiste: What kind of gun was used?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: A Smith & Wesson, uh, M&P 45. … Brian Fanion’s duty weapon.
Nikki Battiste: That give you any pause that it was Brian Fanion’s weapon?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Yes. It gave me pause … at this point I know that I’m going to really do a detailed investigation.
THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS
To avoid conflict of interest, O’Toole said he decided that his unit, the Massachusetts State Police, would be the sole investigators, and he wanted to get Brian Fanion away from the house to get a statement.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: I asked if he would accompany me to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Russell. … And … I took a uh, tape recorded statement from him.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police statement): Tuesday May 8th. It’s 2:41 p.m. … I’m with Brian Fanion. Brian, um, do you understand I got a recorder on right now?
BRIAN FANION: Yes.
Brian Fanion told O’Toole that he left his office at the Westfield Police Station around 11:45 a.m. and drove to North Road to meet his wife who was on her way home to prepare their lunch.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police statement): What was she making?
BRIAN FANION: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Brian Fanion said that when he arrived, they continued an argument from the night prior — an argument that had gotten pretty heated that evening.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police statement): When you say heated, I guess what —
BRIAN FANION: Just, uh, I don’t know … She just, uh, was very angry.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: What was the argument about?
BRIAN FANION: Um, I’m retiring soon … We were discussing what each of us expects retirement to be.
Brian Fanion said he told Amy that he didn’t want to spend his retirement maintaining their 200-year-old home, which Amy still loved. They also discussed their aging dog, and his reluctance to get another one.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): I don’t want to be tied down by a dog. … Yeah. … She always wants to have a dog. … I want to travel more than she does.
According to Brian Fanion, that afternoon, during lunch, Amy Fanion told him she had scheduled them to attend a family member’s play on the day Brian wanted to attend a disc golf tournament.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): I just said, “oh I don’t like that stuff. Why would you commit me when — or without asking?”
That’s when, according to Brian Fanion, things soon took a turn for the worse.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): I took my gun out of the holster and put it on our hutch because I had to use the bathroom.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Where is the hutch located?
BRIAN FANION: In the dining room.
Brian Fanion said he closed the bathroom door, and when he came out, Amy Fanion had the gun in her hand.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): She has the — the gun pointed up to the right side of her head.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: What did you hear her say?
BRIAN FANION: I — I think she said, I guess you don’t want — you don’t want me around or you don’t want to be around me.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Was she seated or —
BRIAN FANION: No. She stood up.
BRENDAN O’TOOLE: She was standing. OK.
According to Brian Fanion, he was four to five feet away when he tried to stop his wife from pulling the trigger.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): I tried to get to her. I almost did. … The gun just exploded. … It was just so quick. She didn’t hesitate at all. … I just went over, and I just held her hands. Tried to — just held her hands (crying).
Brian Fanion called 911 and yelled out to Amy’s brother, Eric Hansen, for help.
Hansen told detectives that Brian Fanion said he and Amy had been having a tense argument.
ERIC HANSEN (police interview): And she grabbed the gun … he just was so distraught.
DET. MIKE BLANCHETTE: Did he say what they were arguing about?
ERIC HANSEN: No. I was just trying to console him, say, it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault.
Amy’s Fanion’s death had shocked the Westfield community.
Stephanie Barry is a reporter for The Republican in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Stephanie Barry: Amy’s maiden name was Hansen. She came from a fairly large family … She and her sisters … were all known as some of the prettiest girls in school, some of the smartest, and some of the nicest.
It was 1983 when 16-year-old Amy Hansen met 19-year-old Brian Fanion. Fanion came from a long line of police officers and politicians, and in Westfield, the Fanion name was a source of pride.
Stephanie Barry: The Fanions were kind of like the Kennedys of Westfield. They were well regarded.
Brian and Amy Fanion
Firtion Adams Funeral Home
Brian and Amy tied the knot in 1985, and the couple eventually had two children, Travis and Victoria. Amy Fanion’s close friend, Teri Licciardi says Amy loved being a stay-at-home mom.
Teri Licciardi: Amy’s focus was raising her children. … she thought that being a parent was the best job in the whole world.
The Fanions, deeply committed to their faith, dedicated their lives to God and community service, with Brian Fanion serving as a church deacon and working as a missionary to build wells in Mexico.
After 30 years of marriage, the Fanions were planning their next phase of life when those plans derailed.
Nikki Battiste: Is there any knowledge that Amy Fanion had any mental health issues or suffered from depression?
Brendan O’Toole: So, I — I asked Brian … And, um, he mentioned, um, many years earlier … she was having some psychological issues, in which she was on medicine for a period of time … other than that, nothing — nothing recent.
But what Brian Fanion did stress was that his wife had bouts with anger.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): She had a temper, but she hid it well from everyone but me. She only got that angry when we were alone.
Midway into the interview, O’Toole asked Brian Fanion if there were any female friends in his life.
BRIAN FANION (police statement): I have a woman who lives in Pittsfield that I met recently, I did a mission trip to Mexico, and we become good friends.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: What’s that lady’s name?
BRIAN FANION: Cori.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Does she have a last name or —?
BRIAN FANION: Cori Knowles, K-N-O-W-L-E-S. You guys aren’t going to contact her. Are you?
BRIAN FANION’S DELETED TEXTS RAISE SUSPICION
For Detective O’Toole, Brian Fanion’s admitted friendship with another woman raised questions.
Fanion had told detectives that Corrine Knowles, known as Cori, was a fellow missionary at a nearby church. The two met in November 2017 on a mission trip in Mexico, and a friendship developed, but it had never gone beyond that.
Cori Knowles and Brian Fanion
Hampden County Superior Court
Nikki Battiste: An emotional affair?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: He said there was some flirting, but he qualified it, that it wasn’t —
Nikki Battiste: Sexual?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: — a sexual. It was not a — his term was it was not a friends with benefits.
At the end of the interview, O’Toole asked Fanion to turn over his personal phone.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: I turned off the recorder and that’s when Brian told me … He’s like, you’re going to see some things on there and it’s not what it appears to be.
Nikki Battiste: Red flag for you?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Yeah. … There’s several red flags … as a — an investigator … you have to keep an open mind.
Within a week of Brian Fanion’s interview, on May 14, 2018, Amy Fanion’s wake was held.
Brian Fanion planted a tree in nearby Stanley Park in his wife’s memory, but the investigation into her sudden death was just beginning.
Detectives recovered a treasure trove of deleted text messages from Brian Fanion’s phone including these exchanges on May 4 and 5:
MAY 4, 2018:
CORI KNOWLES | 9:42 AM: Mmmmm … To feel your hot breath on my skin!!!
CORI KNOWLES | 9:48 AM: Have I told you that I love being your Angel? …
BRIAN FANION | 9:59 AM: I swear God made you for me …
CORI KNOWLES | 1:11 PM: I so need to hear your voice … I love you!!!
BRIAN FANION | 1:19 PM: Amy is still being attentive and clingy …
BRIAN FANION | 9:08 PM: Thank You for being you, the most amazing woman that I have ever known.
MAY 5, 2018:
CORI KNOWLES | 4:31 PM: My heart belongs to you…
BRIAN FANION | 4:26 PM: … I would be lost without you :):):):) I am eternally yours.
BRIAN FANION | 7:39 PM: I love you Cori!!!
CORI KNOWLES | 7:43 PM: I love you so much Brian!!!!!
Det. Mike Blanchette: There were just hundreds of texts that expanded on the relationship that he was having with Cori.
On May 7, the day before Amy Fanion died, Brian Fanion and Knowles exchanged 72 text messages until 9:47 p.m. that evening.
In one exchange at 9:23 p.m., Brian Fanion writes, “Good night my love!!! I hope you have wonderful dreams of amazing days and nights to come:):):):).”
At 10:33 p.m. Knowles responds, “Good night My love … I will dream of you and all that they (sic) future holds for us!”
The next morning at 10:30 a.m., Knowles texts, “When can I hold you again?????”
To which Brian Fanion responds, “… not soon enough. Turning into a very long morning.
Nikki Battiste: And within an hour or two, Amy Fanion is dead.
Det. Mike Blanchette: Yes.
At 12:47 p.m. on May 8, Brian Fanion texts Knowles, “Please don’t call or text for a while. I’ll call when I can really bad pray for my family please.”
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Brian has not been entirely truthful to us at this point. And so we want to speak with him again.
Brian Fanion is questioned in a second interview with detectives from the Massachusetts State Police on May 17, 2018.
Hampden County Superior Court
On May 17, 2018, three days after Amy Fanion’s wake, Brian Fanion arrived at the District Attorney’s State Police Office for another round of questioning.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): So we just needed to, you know, uh, clarify some things. … you know your Miranda rights, but I — I’m going to read them off this form.
BRIAN FANION: Now — the other day you didn’t do this. Has something changed?…
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: You’re not, you’re not under arrest or anything.
BRIAN FANION: Well, I know that.
And on that same day, across town, detectives met with Cori Knowles to learn more about her involvement with Brian Fanion.
DET. MIKE MCNALLY (police interview): If somebody was to say, who’s Cori, who are you?
Cori Knowles, a 48-year-old wife, grandmother, and member of her church’s choir, told detectives that Brian Fanion’s friendship helped her work through a troubled second marriage.
CORI KNOWLES: Brian is very easy to talk to. … nothing but affirmation and love, and I’m here for you.
But over time, their relationship moved from friendship to flirtation.
CORI KNOWLES (police interview): Did I feel passion for him? Absolutely.
By April 16, 2018, five months into Brian Fanion and Knowles’ relationship, their texting gave way to something more intimate when Knowles visited Fanion’s house before they left for volunteer work.
DET. MIKE MCNALLY (police interview): Was that the first time you were intimate that you kissed, at, on that April day, the 16th?
CORI KNOWLES: Yeah.
DET. MIKE MCNALLY (police interview): And then where was that?
CORI KNOWLES: I wanna say the kitchen. … ’cause I got there before Amy got home.
Knowles told detectives that by late April, she and Brian Fanion were having passionate make-out sessions in her truck.
At 5:29 p.m. on April 23, 2018, Knowles texts Brian Fanion, “I can feel your … lips on mine!!!! LOVE that Memory!!!:):):)
At 5:34 p. m., Brian Fanion replies, “… I’m thinking of the one with your legs around my waist … Oh my … “
Det. Mike McNally: Brian left work early, met up with Cori in Westfield at Stanley Park and they made out … there was, some sexual touching.
But according to Knowles, Brian Fanion could not perform.
CORI KNOWLES (police interview): It was more like because I’m still married to — to Amy —
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): We’ve seen the text messages. In all honesty, Brian, it looks like it’s a lot more than a friendship. You know.
BRIAN FANION: I know it escalated … and I’m completely embarrassed by it, ashamed of it and shouldn’t happen.
Nikki Battiste: But a lot of people have affairs and —
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Correct.
Nikki Battiste: — don’t kill their wife.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Correct.
O’Toole then asks Brian Fanion to go back over his statement of what happened, beginning at the moment when Fanion said he placed his gun on the hutch and went inside the bathroom.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): All right. So, you come out of the bathroom, right, and she’s at the table. Where — where just indicate like where —
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Between the table and the hutch?
BRIAN FANION: Yeah.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: In — in a chair right there?
BRIAN FANION: I don’t know if she was sitting or standing. I think she was standing. I mean, um, shoot — I think she was sitting.
Det. Mike Blanchette: Now, when we were trying to get these, step-by-step details, he seemed to be wavering.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: So, you come out of the bathroom. OK? … And then what’s the first thing that happens?
BRIAN FANION: I just remember her saying that — that you obviously don’t want me around.
And then O’Toole asks Brian Fanion to demonstrate what Amy Fanion did with the gun.
BRIAN FANION: I just remember seeing her hand come up with the gun.
DET. MIKE BLANCHETTE: Towards her head?
BRIAN FANION: Yeah.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: So, she puts it to the side of her head?
BRIAN FANION: Yes.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: OK.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: And — and where was the gun when it went off? Was it in the same —
BRIAN FANION: Right to her head.
But there is a problem. What Brian Fanion did not know was that a CSI report and Amy Fanion’s autopsy results had arrived.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: … the gunshot entrance wound was not consistent with a self-inflicted wound.
Nikki Battiste: Fair to say it took this case in a whole new direction?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Yes.
QUESTIONING BRIAN FANION’S STORY
During the second interview with Brian Fanion, O’Toole And Blanchette found themselves facing a challenge that tested their experience as investigators.
Det. Brendan O’Toole: This is not a — a normal interview for myself and Mike. We’ve done thousands of interviews. You know, we’re pretty good at it, but it’s hard when it’s a police officer, because he knows exactly how we work … it was … a difficult interview.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): There’s a problem. I’ll be straight up …
Detectives laid out with what they considered to be crucial evidence in their investigation.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): There’s no indication – whatsoever, so far that she had a gun close to the side of her head.
BRIAN FANION: Well, then you’re wrong ’cause she did. ‘Cause I saw it and it happened.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: You — you know
BRIAN FANION: How do you say there’s no indication?
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Well, I mean, that’s what — that’s what, you know, that’s what it’s showing us right now.
The medical examiner listed Amy Fanion’s manner of death as undetermined. And combined with CSI findings, investigators did not believe that she died of a self-inflicted wound.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): I mean, there’s no doubt she — was shot was, but the question is, from what distance?
BRIAN FANION: It was right freaking there. I’m telling you. . . well do what you need to but I’m telling you it was right there.
In Amy’s case, distance mattered. This is because with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, debris, known as gunshot residue, is expelled from the firearm. It leaves a distinct pattern on and inside the wound known as stippling.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE (police interview): Like, if Brian, you — you understand like guns and stippling and all that stuff?
BRIAN FANION: I do and I can’t —
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: There’s none on her, Brian. There’s none on her!
BRIAN FANION: There has to be ’cause the gun was the — right freaking there!
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: There’s none on her.
BRIAN FANION: Then they’re wrong. I’m telling you they’re — they’re flat out wrong, ’cause it was right freaking there.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: The other option is you got pissed and you’re a foot — or a few feet away and you shot her in the head —
BRIAN FANION: No, no.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: — when she’s sitting eating a peanut butter sandwich.
BRIAN FANION: Didn’t happen.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Didn’t happen?
BRIAN FANION: Did not happen.
DET. BRENDAN O’TOOLE: Alright.
With Brian Fanion’s affair exposed and CSI reports in hand, detectives suspected Fanion had likely shot his wife, but they still needed more evidence.
On May 24, 2018, detectives obtained a search warrant for Fanion’s home, and when detectives arrived —
Det. Brendan O’Toole: Brian … asked if I was there to arrest him. And I told him I wasn’t. And then he asked me if I thought he did it.
Nikki Battiste: Were you surprised he asked you that?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: I was noting it. I didn’t know how to feel … and I didn’t answer his question.
Detectives took additional measurements to analyze the trajectory of the bullet.
Fanion’s home electronics were confiscated. And at the same time, his desktop computer and laptop at the Westfield Police Station were seized for data extraction.
Nikki Battiste: Did you see any signs that Brian Fanion planned to kill his wife? Any evidence that points to that?
Det. Brendan O’Toole: We see a totality of all the evidence here. … Um, we’re not the fact finders. Um, we’re, we’re detectives, so we, we collect all this information and then … it’s going to be presented … and someone else is going to make a determination on that.
Andthat someonewould be Hampden County Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom. New to the homicide division, Sandstrom had arrived in Massachusetts by way of New York.
Nikki Battiste: Is it fair to say you were a fish out of water a bit?
Mary Sandstrom (laughs): It’s always hard not being from the area in which you prosecute. … uh, it’s a very small, very intimately connected town. … So, yes, you’re never at an advantage where you don’t know everybody by name.
Nikki Battiste: Adding to the difficulty, Brian Fanion is a detective.… And respected.
Mary Sandstrom: Very much in — in that community.
As spring gave way to summer, Knowles ended her relationship with Brian Fanion. By early 2019, Fanion retired from the police force.
The investigation into Amy Fanion’s death continued.
Mary Sandstrom: We’re still trying to get some testing done … because we wanna have a strong case as possible before we go in before the grand jury.
And a complication in the form of a letter was among the case files.
Amy Fanion’s family members expressed their “unfailing support” of Brian Fanion, saying “we are certain Amy took her own life.” The letter was signed by Amy’s siblings, and even her own mother.
Nikki Battiste: That’s gotta be tough for you.
Mary Sandstrom: It’s an awkward position for a prosecutor, where your victim family isn’t supporting you. … It was an odd spot to be in.
An odd spot, perhaps, but not a deterrent. On Nov. 6, 2019, 17 months after Amy Fanion died, detectives arrived at Brian Fanion’s door.
Det. Mike McNally: Brian … came to the dining room door … pretty quickly as I recall it, and he said something to the effect of, come in. … Then Mike Blanchette began to describe to Brian, “Brian, we have an arrest warrant for you.”
NEWS REPORT|WBTZ:Police say Brian Fanion told them that his wife shot herself with his gun while he was at home on a lunch break last year.
Det. Mike McNally: I remember telling him, put your hands behind your back. I took out my handcuffs.
NEWS REPORT: AUDREY RUSSO | WESTERN MASS NEWS: … through their investigation, they only solidified their suspicion that Brian pulled the trigger.
Det. Mike McNally: He was eating … assorted nuts … just popping some in his mouth … And as he put his hands behind his back, he let them drop to the floor.
Det. Mike McNally: We transported Brian to the Russell State Police barracks. … he’s processed. Photographed. Fingerprinted.
NEWS REPORT | CHRIS PISANO | WESTERN MASS NEWS: … stands accused of killing his wife in what was originally reported as …
Det. Mike McNally: I assessed a feeling of despair on Brian’s face, like … I can’t believe this is happening.
FORMER DETECTIVE GOES ON TRIAL FOR MURDER
Stephanie Barry, a crime reporter at The Republican newspaper, recalls the unusual scene that played out 15 miles away, in Springfield, Massachusetts, inside the Hampden County Superior Court in early November 2019.
Stephanie Barry: There’s no one who spent any amount of time in Westfield who didn’t know who Brian Fanion was.
Stephanie Barry: It was a pretty full house. And the kind of palpable shock remained throughout the entire proceeding.
Retired Det. Brian Fanion
Hampden District Attorney’s Office
Brian Fanion, who appeared for his initial arraignment, entered a plea of not guilty. And sitting right behind him were members of both Brian’s and Amy Fanion’s family.
Stephanie Barry: I can’t think of another instance when I’ve seen the family of a victim … sticking up for the accused murderer of their loved one.
And despite the absence of support from members of Amy Fanion’s family, ADA Sandstrom continued to build her case.
Amy Fanion
Court exhibit
Nikki Battiste: What was Amy Fanion like?
Mary Sandstrom: She sounds like a fairytale. … giving, selfless. … completely dedicated to her family.
According to Sandstrom, the night before Amy Fanion died, she was making a gift for an upcoming baby shower that she planned to attend, and was texting her daughter, Victoria.
Nikki Battiste: Did anyone ever say that Amy was ever suicidal?
Mary Sandstrom: She wasn’t a person who was ready to die. … Amy was healthy. She was happy.
Nikki Battiste: What do you think Brian Fanion’s motive was?
Mary Sandstrom: He was ready to start a new chapter of his life that did not include Amy Fanion. … He’s chosen his life partner in Cori. Amy is the only thing standing in the way now.
Nikki Battiste: And that’s always the million-dollar question. Why not divorce?
Mary Sandstrom: He can’t divorce Amy for how he is going … to be seen in this community. … divorce is public. But, in his mind, murder doesn’t have to be.
On Feb. 23, 2023 – in what would be Westfield’s most publicized case, Brian Fanion’s trial began. He faced a life sentence for the first-degree murder of his wife.
“48 Hours” made several interview requests to Brian Fanion, his attorney, Jeffrey Brown, as well as family members of both Amy and Brian, but never received a response.
Nikki Battiste: This is a big case, a lot of attention. … How are you feeling?
Mary Sandstrom: For any trial, you’re always nervous. And … this was probably the most high-profile case I’ve ever done.
Opening statements revealed conflicting accounts of the circumstances surrounding Amy Fanion’s death.
MARY SANDSTROM (in court): The defendant was a deacon at Wyben Union Church and an officer for the Westfield Police Department … The evidence will show that while the defendant was repulsed by continuing his marriage with Amy. He couldn’t divorce her either. … Leaving him trapped. … And once that evidence is before you, I will ask you to find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.
Brian Fanion’s defense focused on Amy Fanion’s anger issues and claimed she suffered from anxiety. Brown alleged that on the day of Amy’s death, an argument over Brian’s retirement plans and his refusal to attend a family member’s play pushed her over the edge.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): In the days before Amy shot herself, Amy was very mad at Brian. … You had to tread lightly around Amy for fear of setting her off.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): And at the conclusion of the evidence in this case, I’ll ask that we find Brian Fanion not guilty. Thank you.
Anna Hansen, Amy’s younger sister, was the first witness for the prosecution. She was the only family member who signed the letter of support that willingly testified against Brian Fanion.
Anna Hansen, Amy Fanion’s younger sister, was the first witness for the prosecution. She was the only family member who signed the letter of support that willingly testified against Brian Fanion.
Pool
Anna Hansen stated that during the investigation into Amy’s death, her brother-in-law confided that he was worried about searches he had conducted on his computer.
ANNA HANSEN (in court): I asked him what that search was, and he said, “how to make a murder look like a suicide.”
MARY SANDSTROM: He specifically said he searched quote “how to make a murder look like a suicide?”
ANNA HANSEN: Those were his exact words.
Anna Hansen told the jury that when she asked her brother-in-law why he made this search, Brian Fanion told her that Amy asked him to do it after they watched a “CSI” show. It was a show that Anna Hansen questioned if Amy had ever watched.
MARY SANDSTROM (in court): Did she ever state that she liked those shows?
ANNA HANSEN: She never shared that with me.
The prosecution’s next witness was Brian Fanion’s former lover, a divorced Cori Knowles, now Cori Hasty, who told the jury that Fanion was concerned about ending his marriage.
MARY SANDSTROM (in court): Did the defendant ever talk about what could happen to him if he were to divorce Amy?
CORI HASTY: Yes. … If Amy was to ever leave — excuse me, or he divorced her, that she would take him for everything that he’s got. … because he wouldn’t be able to sustain on retirement at that point.
The prosecution called Tom Forest from the Cyber Crime Unit. All of Brian Fanion’s devices were examined, but it was Fanion’s office computer that produced some curious results.
Forest said Brian Fanion visited these sites:
DET. TOM FOREST (in court): “Common and dangerous poisons,” … “Which drug causes the most deaths each year? … Sixteen common household items that could kill you.”
DET. TOM FOREST (in court): “Carbon monoxide the invisible killer” … “Household poisons” … “Common prescription overdoses” …
Mary Sandstrom: But it’s only when this affair starts up … that all of these incriminating searches start to appear.
And 11 days prior to Amy Fanion’s death, Brian Fanion used his office computer to view a news report on YouTube called, “What gunshot residue tests tell us.”
Mary Sandstrom: He wasn’t assigned to any active investigations in April and May of 2018. … that would necessitate looking up gunshot residue. … Nobody in the Westfield Police Department does gunshot residue testing.
Stephanie Barry: I was trying to keep a very open mind about what the evidence was going to show. … but I didn’t think that was great news for Brian Fanion.
Detective John Schrijn, a ballistics expert and a crucial witness for the prosecution, testified that Amy Fanion’s wound was not self-inflicted.
Citing the absence of gunshot residue near the wound coupled with the trajectory of the bullet, Schrijn concluded that Amy Fanion was shot from downward angle and at a distance of at least 18 inches — not at close range as Brian Fanion had claimed.
MARY SANDSTROM (in court): So, did you form an opinion … as to whether or not … the defendant’s firearm was discharged at a distance of 18 inches or greater.
DET. JOHN SCHRIJN: Over 18 inches, without anything intervening. That’s correct.
After 12 days of testimony and 27 witnesses, the prosecution rested. But waiting in the wings was a defense poised to introduce a significant element that could potentially unravel the DA’s case.
Mary Sandstrom: Any prosecutor who is not worried about a defense, probably isn’t a good prosecutor.
THE DEFENSE MAKES ITS CASE
Defense attorney Jeffrey Brown, whose client faced life in prison, launched a counterattack. He cross-examined Brian Fanion’s former lover, Cori Hasty.
According to the state, Brian Fanion’s affair was the primary motive for murdering his wife. But Hasty admitted to the defense that when she ended their relationship, Fanion didn’t try to stop her.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): When ultimately you ended it with Brian, his response was, OK, isn’t that right?
CORI HASTY: To my recollection.
JEFFREY BROWN: He didn’t say to you, oh, my God, I killed Amy for you and you’re leaving me? He never said that, right?
CORI HASTY: Correct.
And what about the websites Det. Forest from the Cyber Crime Unit said Brian Fanion visited?
The defense argued that some of the websites he visited were related to an aging house, an old wood-burning stove, and the potential hazards it might pose to a young family member.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): Did you know that the Fanions, um, were beginning to have a young niece a child stay in their home during that time frame?
DET. TOM FOREST: No, I did not.
But what the defense couldn’t reconcile were Brian Fanion’s searches about gunshot residue days before his wife’s death.
And there was Amy Fanion’s sister, Anna Hansen, the only family member who willingly testified for the prosecution. She claimed that Brian Fanion told her he searched “how to make a murder look like a suicide” on his computer.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): You didn’t find any sites that were searched or visited relating to the terms, how to make a murder look like a suicide, isn’t that true?
DET. TOM FOREST: That is true.
The defense narrowed its focus and scrutinized Amy Fanion’s personality by cross-examining Amy’s own mother, Patricia Tarrant.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): Did your daughter Amy have a temper?
PATRICIA TARRANT: Yes.
A temper, according to Amy’s sister, Holly Fanion, that would typically be directed toward her husband.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court): Well, did she snap at Brian in front of you?
HOLLY FANION: She would. … I was embarrassed for him. You don’t usually talk to your husband kind of in that way. Maybe you reprimand a child, but not a husband.
But would Amy Fanion’s temper lead to an impulsive decision such as grabbing Brian Fanion’s gun? According to Amy’s son Travis Fanion, it would.
TRAVIS FANION (in court): I could easily picture or envision her, grabbing the gun impulsively … to make a point … that she picked it up intending to complete a trigger pull and — and shoot herself.
But what would explain the lack of gunshot residue on Amy Fanion?
Alexander Jason: Her wound is consistent with a close-range gunshot wound based …
Alexander Jason, a senior certified crime scene analyst, testified for the defense.
Alexander Jason: That’s the foundation of the whole prosecution. … And this whole idea that it had to be 18 inches because of the absence of gunshot residue is not valid.
Jason says the lack of gunshot residue was not due to distance. It was due to Amy Fanion’s hair.
Nikki Battiste: What could Amy Fanion’s hair have told us?
Alexander Jason: Amy Fanion had very dense, thick hair that will block the gunshot residue.
Jason’s research “Effect of Hair on the Deposition of Gunshot Residue” was published by the FBI’s forensic science journal in 2004.
Jason says there could have been gunshot residue, commonly known as GSR, embedded in Amy Fanion’s hair. The crime scene analyst did not test her hair.
Alexander Jason: What they should have done is taken the hair … and then analyze those little specs to see if they’re gunshot residue or not. … which was a mistake.
Jason’s testimony was limited at trial, but to support his theory he and his daughter Juliana met “48 Hours” at a gun range in California to demonstrate what may have happened to Amy Fanion.
Alexander Jason: I’m going to fire two times.
Using a .45 caliber gun and ammunition identical to what was found at the scene, Jason fired a single round into a mound of hair, backed by a ballistic skin simulant.
Nikki Battiste: So, you just shot a .45 caliber gun, three inches away through hair.
Alexander Jason: Yes.
Alexander Jason: Amy Fanion had considerable hair, maybe more dense than this where the bullet entered … and the hair will act as a filter and prevent the gunshot residue from reaching her skin.
For comparison, Jason positioned the gun at the same distance, using identical ammunition, and fired into the skin simulant without hair.
Alexander Jason: And I pull this away.
Nikki Battiste: Wow.
Alexander Jason and “48 Hours” contributor Nikki Battiste at the gun range. Jason demonstrated how Amy Fanion’s hair may have acted as a filter, preventing gunshot residue from reaching her skin.
CBS News
Alexander Jason: You can see there is a big difference. … Now, look at that. That’s a very clean wound. That’s a very dirty wound.
Nikki Battiste: That’s incredible, all from the hair.
Alexander Jason: All from the hair. The hair acted as a filter.
Nikki Battiste: Pretty fascinating.
While Jason believes this scenario is what happened to Amy Fanion, he stops short of saying whether or not Brian Fanion killed his wife.
Alexander Jason: You see the hair filtered that stuff out.
But what he does believe is that basing the case on the absence of gunshot residue is wrong.
Alexander Jason: And he should not be convicted on that basis. … That’s my bottom line.
After 40 witnesses and 15 days of testimony, closing arguments began.
JEFFREY BROWN (in court) She raised the gun up to her head in a fit of rage … and in effect caused her own death.
MARY SANDSTROM (in court): This defendant murdered Amy Fanion with deliberate premeditation.
On March 21, 2023, the jury got the case. And after two days of deliberations, came the verdict.
Brian Fanion was found guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife, Amy Fanion, and sentenced to life without parole that same day.
Stephanie Barry: Brian’s side of the aisle just collapsed in sobs. … these people love Brian and sincerely thought that he was innocent.
For Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom, Brian Fanion’s conviction was bittersweet and hard won.
Mary Sandstrom: It’s never a victory. … Amy Fanion should be here. … She should be with her daughter and son and her now grandchildren … And she’s not. … And … it was all for nothing … so that … Brian Fanion … could … enjoy his life and end hers.
Brian Fanion’s conviction is under appeal.
Produced by Marie Hegwood. Morgan Canty is the associate producer. Wini Dini, George Baluzy, Greg Kaplan and Chris Crater are the editors. Sara Ely Hulse and Elizabeth Caholo are the development producers. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
A Silver Spring, Maryland, man was found guilty of second-degree murder Friday for the death of his wife. He faces 40 years behind bars.
A Silver Spring, Maryland, man was found guilty of second-degree murder Friday for the death of his wife.
A jury found Dennis Hinnant, 30, guilty in the 2023 death of Taresha Pendarvis, 28.
He faces 40 years behind bars.
According to a news release, Hinnant turned himself in on Feb. 1, 2023, at the Rockville City police station while holding a baby that was unharmed during the incident.
“He told officers that he needed to talk to a homicide detective about something that happened hours prior in Silver Spring,” the release said.
He gave officers his wife’s address and police found her dead in the bathtub. She had been stabbed multiple times and strangled with a belt.
According to the release, they had been arguing about their marriage before her murder.
“We remain dedicated to aggressively prosecuting domestic violence in any form. The defendant was appropriately found guilty of murder, and we will be seeking the maximum penalty under the law,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in the release.
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A Louisiana man accused of fatally stabbing a woman during a date was arrested after his bike got a flat tire, deputies say.
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A man’s call for help for a flat bike tire ended with his arrest in a woman’s stabbing death, Louisiana deputies told news outlets.
Christopher Jerome Wilson, 25, was arrested May 1, nearly a week after Carol Allen was found stabbed to death inside her car, WGNO reported, citing the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
She was taken to a hospital and later died, according to the station.
McClatchy News reached out to the sheriff’s office for more information May 3 and was awaiting a response.
Investigators said Wilson and Allen, 31, met up for a date in Hammond on April 27, Nola.com reported. While they were together, Wilson attacked the mom of four and tried to steal her car, authorities told Nola.com.
“There was a struggle, and she was stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife,” Tangipahoa Chief Jimmy Travis told WWL-TV. He said Allen was able to call 911 after she was attacked.
Wilson had fled by the time authorities arrived, according to Nola.com
On May 1, he called deputies seeking roadside assistance because one of his bike tires was low on air, WWL-TV reported, citing Travis. Authorities ran Wilson’s information and saw he was wanted on a warrant on an unrelated charge of domestic battery, according to the station.
Wilson was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in Allen’s killing, WGNO reported.
He remained in custody at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail as of May 3, online records show, and no attorney information was available.
Tangipahoa Parish is about a 70-mile drive northwest of downtown New Orleans.
Tanasia is a national Real-Time reporter based in Atlanta covering news across Georgia, Mississippi and the Southeast. Her sub-beat is retail and consumer news. She’s an alumna of Kennesaw State University and joined McClatchy in 2020.
A judge gave a 17-year-old a $300,000 secured bond on Thursday, reversing a an unsecured bond another judge set in April.
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A Charlotte family was left outraged in April after a Mecklenburg County judge allowed the person accused of killing their family member, Abijah Barkley, out of jail on an unsecured $300,000 bond.
But on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Carla Archie granted a prosecution motion to modify 17-year-old Christopher Butler’s bond, and instead place him under a $300,000 secured bond. Butler was placed in handcuffs and taken away in court. He is being tried as an adult.
“I feel a sense of relief,” said Taylor Johnson, Barkley’s girlfriend and the mother of his child, to the Observer on Thursday. “It won’t bring him back of course, but I do feel a bit better.”
Johnson spoke before the judge on Thursday, pleading with Archie to side with the state and revoke the unsecured bond set by Judge Aretha Blake in April.
“His killer, and anyone that was involved in this horrible gruesome act shall be penalized the maximum sentence for his wrongdoings,” Johnson said to the judge. “And if he does not face consequences, there may be another victim like Abijah. Butler “has caused tremendous pain to me, his daughter, and his family.”
Butler was accused of plotting to rob Barkley, 21, in March at Southside Homes on Griffith Street with another person, Cortez Springs. Assistant District Attorney Nikki Robinson said the two planned it together over Instagram messages.
Barkley was delivering food with Springs riding in the passenger seat, prosecutors said. And at some point, they went to the Southside Homes so Springs could sell marijuana.
Butler, who Barkley didn’t know, allegedly approached the car like he was going to buy marijuana, prosecutors said, and got in the backseat. Both Butler and Barkley had guns, prosecutors said, and Butler fatally shot Barkley.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Butler getting out of the car and running away. He briefly returned, prosecutors said, when he remembered he was wearing an ankle monitor, but Cortez told him that it was okay and he could run away.
Butler ran away, allegedly cut off his ankle monitor, and was on the run for 21 days.
Butler’s defense attorney argued that Butler was not planning to rob Barkley. If he was going to rob him, she said, he would have acted more quickly.
She said Barkley was the aggressor in the encounter, not Butler. He had no choice but to act in self-defense once he saw Barkley’s firearm.
An administrative hearing is set for July 18.
Related stories from Charlotte Observer
Jeff A. Chamer is a breaking news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He’s lived a few places, but mainly in Michigan where he grew up. Before joining the Observer, Jeff covered K-12 and higher education at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts.
The Orlando Police Department recently announced another 18-year-old was arrested for a 2023 woman’s murder at the JerniganGardens Apartments.
Recently, 18-year-old Christian Amari Childs was apprehended by the Orlando Police Department’s Fugitive Investigative Unit in Osceola County.
On September 22, 2023 at approximately 2:34pm, Orlando Police responded to 1440 Mercy Drive in reference to a large group of people fighting with shots fired in the courtyard at JerniganGardens Apartments. According to OPD, three individuals on scene were struck by gunfire and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A fourth gunshot victim succumbed to her injuries.
The victim, Macayla Queen Patterson, was transported to the hospital and declared deceased by medical staff.
On September 22, 2023, 23-year-old Delray Shundale Duncan Junior was arrested for Attempted Homicide and First Degree Felony Murder in connection to this shooting. 18-year-old Gary Lee Williams III was apprehended by the OPD Fugitive Investigative Unit and charged with First Degree Murder with a Firearm.
According to OPD, Childs is charged with three counts of Attempted First Degree Murder with a Firearm, Shooting at, within or into a Building, Discharging a Firearm on Residential Property and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony.
The Orlando Police Department arrested a 15-year-old in a deadly Central Florida Fairgrounds shooting that killed a woman.
On March 2, 2024 at approximately 10:37pm, the Orlando Police Department began receiving calls in reference to shots being fired in the area of the flea market parking lot of the Central Florida Fairgrounds at 4603 W. Colonial Drive.
A short time later, the Orlando Police Department was notified that a woman had been shot.
Responding officers located the victim in the parking lot with an apparent gunshot wound and began life-saving efforts.
The victim was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Veronica Ramirez.
Members of the OPD Fugitive Investigative Unit recently located and arrested 15-year-old Jadon Maxey.
Maxey is charged with Second Degree Homicide with a Firearm.
Mexican journalists held a vigil and protest Saturday a day after one of their colleagues was slain in the southern state of Morelos. They demanded a transparent investigation into the case and vented anger over the dangers news workers face in Mexico, which is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists.
Dozens joined in the demonstration over the killing of Roberto Figueroa, who covered local politics and gained a social media following through satirical videos. After disappearing Friday morning, he was found dead inside a car in his hometown of Huitzilac in Morelos, a state south of Mexico City where drug-fueled violence runs rampant.
He was the first journalist to be killed this year in Mexico, which is the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere and has the highest number of missing journalists in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom watchdog.
In a tweet, press freedom organization Article 19 demanded that officials investigate and also called for protective measures for Figueroa’s family and coworkers.
Hoy, periodistas de Morelos protestaron para exigir el esclarecimiento del asesinato de Roberto Carlos Figueroa.
Nos sumamos a su exigencia y recordamos a @Fiscalia_Mor que debe investigar tomando como prioridad la labor periodística.
Mexican prosecutors promised a serious investigation, and the Morelos state government strongly condemned the killing.
But in a country where press activists say pervasive corruption and impunity long have endangered reporters, Figueroa’s colleagues carrying signs saying “Investigation now!” and chanting outside government offices in Morelos said they were losing patience with authorities.
“Neither the state government nor the attorney general do anything to stop the crimes that are multiplying,” Jaime Luis Brito, a correspondent for left-wing magazine Proceso wrote in a statement of protest. “No one in Morelos is safe. … Every day we count victims.”
Mexican media said Figueroa was abducted by gunmen after taking his daughters to school in Huitzilac, which is about 43 miles from Mexico City. The kidnappers called his family demanding a ransom in exchange for his life, but he was killed even though Figueroa’s wife delivered the payment, the reports said.
Police discovered Figueroa’s body along a dirt road Friday night. Prosecutors declined to discuss details or the case or speculate on who killed him and why.
Media workers are regularly targeted in Mexico, often in direct reprisal for their work covering topics like corruption and the country’s notoriously violent drug traffickers.
Figueroa focused his reporting in recent months on the upcoming Mexican elections. His colleagues described him as critical of governance in Morelos.
Since 2000, 141 Mexican journalists and other media workers have been slain, at least 61 of them in apparent retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists says. 2022 was one of the deadliest years ever for journalists in Mexico, with at least 15 killed.
All but a handful of the killings and abductions remain unsolved.
“Impunity is the norm in crimes against the press,” the group said in its report on Mexico last month.
“On the rare occasions when authorities do secure convictions, they tend to be against those who carried out the attacks but not those who ordered them,” the report said.
Mexico has also seen a spate of violence targeting politicians this year ahead of the June 2 elections. Earlier this month, a candidate for mayor in norther Mexico was killed just as she began campaigning. At least 14 candidates have been killed since the start of 2024.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A murder and several robberies at marijuana grows in Okfuskee County and Stephens County has now resulted in the arrest of 10 people.
However, state agents say they are not stopping with just the 10, they are still looking for more people involved.
“It was on March 7th when we were able to come together and identify multiple suspects who were involved in each of these crimes,” Hunter McKee, PIO for OSBI said.
Multiple robberies and assaults at marijuana grows have created a months long investigation. 10 people have been arrested so far.
“We’re still looking for suspects,” McKee said.
The OSBI is working with Okfuskee County, Stephens County and the US Marshal’s saying they believe the same group of people are involved.
“Each of our robberies had slightly different modes, but they were all very violent, very sudden, and were out of our county very quickly,” Rick Lang, Undersheriff for Stephens County said.
“We’ve had a few robberies in the past at grows, but not to the extent that they accelerated to a homicide,” Roy Wilbourn, Sheriff for Okfuskee County said. “Again, this was a brutal and in my words, a tactical entry to this road.”
The marijuana grows that were robbed are in rural areas. Both sheriff’s believe it was a well planned out attack.
Original Author Link click here to read complete story..
Former Edgewater police officer McKinzie Rees hopes to serve and protect again, but first she must get her name removed from a so-called “bad cops list” maintained by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. It landed there, she said, as retaliation after she reported sexual assaults by a supervising sergeant.
That sergeant went on to work for another police department until this year, when he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and misconduct and was sentenced, more than four years after the assaults and retaliation against Rees.
She testified to the state’s House Judiciary Committee this week that, even after her attacker was exposed, her complaint about still being listed as a problem police officer “is falling on deaf ears every time.”
Rees’ testimony, echoed by other frontline police officers from Colorado Springs and Denver about retaliation they faced after reporting misconduct, is driving state lawmakers’ latest effort at police oversight. Fresh legislation would require investigations of all alleged misconduct and increase protection for whistleblowers.
But the bill, titled “Law Enforcement Misconduct,” faces resistance from police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys and the Fraternal Order of Police who contend it would complicate police work and lead to unnecessary prosecutions.
While state leaders “are committed to addressing police misconduct,” the requirement that all allegations must be investigated could create “a caustic culture” within police agencies, said Colorado Department of Public Safety executive director Stan Hilkey in testimony to lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday.
“This bill is harmful to the mission of public safety,” Hilkey said, raising concerns it would lead to police “watching each other … instead of going out and responding to and preventing crime.”
The legislation, House Bill 1460, won approval on a 6-5 vote in the House Judiciary Committee. It would require investigations of all alleged misconduct by police, correctional officers and others who enforce the law in Colorado. Officers who report misconduct would gain the ability to file lawsuits if complaints aren’t investigated or they face retaliation.
Key elements under discussion include a provision bolstering the attorney general’s power to add and remove names from the Police Officer Standards and Training database, which bars future employment, and to compel police agencies to provide information for managing that list.
Other provisions would require longer retention of police records and prohibit government agencies from charging fees for making unedited police body-worn camera videos available for public scrutiny.
Investigating all alleged misconduct is projected to cost millions of dollars as state agencies face increased workloads, requiring more employees in some agencies, and increased litigation and liability expenses.
Lawmakers sponsoring the bill have agreed to remove a provision that would have established a new misdemeanor crime for officers who fail to report misconduct by their peers.
But the increased protection for whistleblowers is essential, said Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, in an interview.
“People need those protections now. This would ensure good officers can be good officers and bad officers who cover up for bad officers no longer can be on the force,” said Herod, who introduced the legislation on April 17.
Most police officers “do great work,” sponsor says
The bill would build on police accountability laws passed following the 2020 Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd, which sparked street protests, Herod said.
“We still have more work to do. There’s no one-shot bill that will fix police accountability in the state,” she said.
“The majority of police officers in Colorado do great work. We need to make sure we have protections in place when that doesn’t happen. This is just as important as any other issue we are debating in Colorado.”
The late-in-the-session legislation would affect the 246 police agencies and 12,000 sworn officers around Colorado. It began when Rees and other police whistleblowers who had faced retaliation approached lawmakers.
For Rees, 30, who now supports herself by pet-sitting, the feeling of still being punished — and prevented from continuing a career she worked toward since childhood — “is horrible,” said in an interview.
“There should always be checks and balances,” she said. “It is exhausting trying to figure this out. You just get this runaround. There’s no way out.”
Rees told lawmakers that she reported two sexual assaults in 2019 by the sergeant to colleagues, seeking protection under internal agency protocols and as a whistleblower under existing state laws.
“Instead, I got served the ultimate sentence of no protection,” she said.
This year, after his dismissal from the Black Hawk Police Department, former Edgewater police Sgt. Nathan Geerdes, who was indicted by a grand jury in 2022 on four counts of unlawful sexual contact and one count of witness retaliation, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact, first-degree official misconduct and forgery as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced in Jefferson County District Court to four years of probation.
Edgewater police officer Ed McCallin also testified, describing the retaliation he faced after he became aware “that a senior officer had sexually assaulted a junior officer” — referring to Rees — and then “weaponized” the state’s database against her.
“I was asked to cover that up by my police chief,” he said. “I was threatened with internal investigations twice” and “had to meet with a city council member to save my job for doing the right thing.”
When he went to the Fraternal Order of Police for guidance in the case, McCallin said, a contract attorney advised him “to look the other way.”
“We just need more time,” sheriff says
Colorado law enforcement group leaders and police advocates said their main concern was that they weren’t consulted by sponsors of this legislation.
“We just need more time to dive into this,” Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, told lawmakers.
Herod acknowledged “miscalculation” in not consulting with law enforcement brass in advance.
She and co-sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat serving as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said they lined up meetings this week to hash out language and amendments before the bill advances.
Rep. Mike Weissman, who chairs the committee, agreed that support from law enforcement leaders would be crucial but added that he understood the “guardedness” of the bill sponsors, “given how these issues can go in this building.”
District attorneys from Jefferson and El Paso counties objected to the proposed requirement that every misconduct claim must be investigated, saying it would create conflicts in carrying out their professional duties.
Several lawmakers raised concerns about language in the bill, such as “unlawful behavior.” Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, said a police officer who was sexually assaulted and chose not to report the crime “could become caught up in the system” for failing to report misconduct. Or police who might have to make an illegal U-turn while chasing a suspect, hypothetically, would have to be investigated, he said.
But the lawmakers broadly supported the efforts aimed at making sure the Attorney General’s Office manages the database of police transgressors properly.
The committee’s bill supporters said the compelling testimony from the Edgewater officers and other whistleblowers persuaded them that there’s an undeniable problem to address.
Former Colorado Springs police officer John McFarland told of a case in which a fellow officer took shortcuts in DUI investigations and falsely reported “hundreds” of roadside sobriety tests that never happened. When McFarland learned of that misconduct and reported it, he said, “I was sat in the corner and surrounded by the department’s command staff. I was threatened with charges and dismissal if I did not drop the matter.”
Former Denver police officer Holland Wiston, who was a victim of sexual assault, told lawmakers she faced ridicule within the police department and later was relegated to desk duties.
Others who testified included the sister of a man who was killed at a Tesla electric vehicle charging station last year in Edgewater. Crystal Fresquez said family members had concerns about police “inconsistencies” as they tried to find out how Adam Fresquez died, discovering eventually from a coroner’s report that the death involved the use of mace and two gunshots in his back. Jeremy Alan Smith was arrested in the incident.
When she heard what happened to Rees, Fresquez testified, she saw a need to support the legislation as a member of the public who could be affected by misconduct.
“How can we trust a police department that fails to hold its own officers accountable?” she said.
A Milwaukee man on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the death of 19-year-old Sade Robinson.Maxwell Anderson, 33, is accused of killing and dismembering Robinson after the pair went on a first date.During a court hearing Monday, Anderson pleaded not guilty to felony charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson of a property other than a building. Anderson is in custody, being held on a $5 million bond. Here’s a timeline of events in the case, according to court documents: April 1: Anderson and Robinson met at a local restaurant for a first date. The pair then traveled in Robinson’s car to a nearby bar. Robinson’s phone records then show she traveled to Anderson’s home.April 2: Someone found Robinson’s severed leg at Warnimont Park in Cudahy. Someone also found Robinson’s car torched near 30th Street and Lisbon Avenue. April 4: Police arrested Anderson during a traffic stop. April 5- 7: Human remains were found just blocks away from where Robinson’s car was found torched. That weekend, Robinson’s family also found her blanket in the same area. April 12: Anderson made his first court appearance. April 15-16: Robinson’s supporters filled Anderson’s yard with her favorite color, pink. April 18: Someone found a torso and an arm, believed to be Robinson’s, in South Milwaukee. April 19: A sonar boat searched for additional remains in Lake Michigan. That night, family and friends held a vigil for Robinson. The Hoan Bridge was lit pink in her honor. Robinson’s family and friends are continuing to search for the rest of her remains.
MILWAUKEE —
A Milwaukee man on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the death of 19-year-old Sade Robinson.
Maxwell Anderson, 33, is accused of killing and dismembering Robinson after the pair went on a first date.
During a court hearing Monday, Anderson pleaded not guilty to felony charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson of a property other than a building.
Anderson is in custody, being held on a $5 million bond.
Here’s a timeline of events in the case, according to court documents:
April 1: Anderson and Robinson met at a local restaurant for a first date. The pair then traveled in Robinson’s car to a nearby bar. Robinson’s phone records then show she traveled to Anderson’s home.
April 2: Someone found Robinson’s severed leg at Warnimont Park in Cudahy. Someone also found Robinson’s car torched near 30th Street and Lisbon Avenue.
April 4: Police arrested Anderson during a traffic stop.
From Erika Brown via CNN Newsource
Sade Robinson
Jovanny Hernandez/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network via CNN Newsource
Maxwell Anderson
April 5- 7: Human remains were found just blocks away from where Robinson’s car was found torched. That weekend, Robinson’s family also found her blanket in the same area.
April 12: Anderson made his first court appearance.
April 15-16: Robinson’s supporters filled Anderson’s yard with her favorite color, pink.
April 18: Someone found a torso and an arm, believed to be Robinson’s, in South Milwaukee.
April 19: A sonar boat searched for additional remains in Lake Michigan. That night, family and friends held a vigil for Robinson. The Hoan Bridge was lit pink in her honor.
Robinson’s family and friends are continuing to search for the rest of her remains.
A man was arrested and taken to the Jacksboro County Jail on a murder charge after authorities found a woman dead inside a home on Saturday, the Jacksboro Police Department announced in a news release.
Around 12 p.m. Saturday, Jacksboro police were dispatched to the 400 block of North 4th Street about a deceased person.
When officers arrived, they found a man sitting on a chair on the porch and the front door to the residence was open. As officers approached the home, they found a woman laying face down on the floor, according to the release.
She was confirmed to be dead, police said.
Investigators determined the woman had been beaten to death. The man, 35-year-old Lee Martinez, was found to have injuries on his hands indicative of the incident, according to the release.
The suspect was arrested and taken to the Jacksboro County Jail.
Nicole Lopez is a breaking news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied multimedia journalism. She also does freelance writing.
Jarmel Johnson, 33, was arrested Friday and is charged with murder in connection to a Fort Worth robbery or carjacking from Dec. 23, 2023.
A suspect was arrested and charged, on Friday, with murder in a carjacking from Dec. 23 where the victim later died, according to Fort Worth jail records.
Jarmel Johnson, 33, faces a murder charge in the death of 33-year-old Chase Warren DeBerger.
According to a Fort Worth police report, authorities were dispatched to the 150 block of southbound East Loop 820 on Dec. 23 in response to a robbery or carjacking.
Johnson was arrested on Dec. 29 on an aggravated robbery charge.
The victim, DeBerger, died on Jan. 15 due to complications from blunt force injuries, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The manner of his death was ruled a homicide.
Johnson was indicted March 20 on a robbery charge. He “intentionally or knowingly, while in the course of committing theft of property and with intent to obtain or maintain control of said property, cause bodily injury to Chase DeBerger by striking him with his hand, or by kicking him with his feet,” according to the indictment.
The indictment also mentions a habitual offender notice. According to court records, Johnson has a criminal history dating back to 2007, including several charges of robbery, aggravated robbery, theft, and burglary of habitation.
Related stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nicole Lopez is a breaking news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied multimedia journalism. She also does freelance writing.
Scott Sherman is the mayor of Winona, Minnesota, a small city on the banks of the Mississippi. “There’s just something about Winona that keeps pulling you back,” he told “48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant. “Living here in Winona is really cool.”
It’s so cool that TV and film star Winona Ryder is named for the town, as she told the world in a 2020 Super Bowl ad: “There’s something about this place, something that feels so me …”
Madeline “Maddi” Kingsbury
Madeline Kingsbury, 26, also felt that certain “something” about Winona. So, when Mayor Sherman heard that she had gone missing, he wanted to help.
“I felt that Maddi was a daughter of Winona,” said Mayor Sherman. “She was a bright young woman working through school, working … a — a job in Rochester and raising kids all at the same time, that’s a lot. … So, I had respect for Maddi.
And Sherman thought he could help because, as an avid bicyclist, he rides the woodsy paths around Winona all year long.
“You know the back roads of this area?” Van Sant asked. “I do,” said Sherman.
“And you went out yourself.” “I did,” Sherman replied.
But as mayor, Sherman felt his first job was to support Maddi’s distraught mother Krista Naber when she arrived at the search command center.
“She gave me a hug that I will never forget the rest of my life,” Sherman said. “It was a hug that showed fear, concern.”
“And so what were — what message were you sending with that hug?” Van Sant asked.
“I’m here for you. We will do our damndest to find her.”
WHERE’S MADDI KINGSBURY?
Maddi’s family first began worrying about her late in the afternoon of Friday, March 31, 2023, when Naber realized she had not heard from her daughter for nearly the entire day.
Krista Naber: Something in my gut just didn’t feel right.
Peter Van Sant: Mother’s intuition?
Krista Naber: Right.
Naber contacted Megan, Maddi’s older sister, but Megan said she was not overly concerned.
Megan Kingsbury: I sent her a couple of text messages anyway … “Hey mom, hasn’t heard from you. Can you call her? Can you text her back? … She’s concerned.” … and she didn’t reply to that.
Maddi Kingsbury and Adam Fravel
Fravel family
At the time, Maddi was living with Adam Fravel, the father of their children. The two had met in college at Winona State University.
Megan Kingsbury: He was outgoing, and seemed interested in getting to know us, and he seemed very, almost infatuated, I guess, with … Madeline.
While still in college, Maddi and Adam learned they were expecting their first child and decided to settle in Winona.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He manned up, he manned up.
Theresa Sis Mejia, Fravel’s sister, says Adam quit school to support his new family.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He knew he was gonna be a dad. He went and got a job … and he had that job up until COVID, and then he got laid off … while he let Maddi continue college so that she could graduate … and she did. She graduated and he supported her.
After graduation, Maddi began working at the Mayo Clinic and became a clinical research coordinator. And Maddi’s father David Kingsbury said she recently had begun studying for an advanced degree.
David Kingsbury: She was … a graduate student in a master’s program at the University of Minnesota … Had just completed her first semester there and was doing very well.
Fravel, who had studied computer science in college, began taking flying lessons with an eye toward getting his pilot’s license.
Theresa Sis Mejia: When he was taking pilot lessons like that, he felt so accomplished … It made him feel good. And I was so proud of him for doing it, for doing something for himself.
Krista Naber: I enjoyed being around him … I could tell that he really cared for Madeline.
On the evening of March 31, Megan Kingsbury was hours away from Winona when she reached out to Fravel, who said he was concerned.
Megan Kingsbury: He said … I got home today and she was gone …
Fravel and the children were at his parents’ home in Mabel, an hour south of Winona. That’s when Megan Kingsbury messaged Maddi’s close friend Katie Kolka, who lived in Winona: “My parents and I haven’t been able to get in contact with Maddi all day …” Katie responds: “I’m on my way over there right now.”
The house was eerily silent, and it was at that point Kolka called the Winona police.
Peter Van Sant: And you want this missing persons report to be filed, but what did they tell you?
Katie Kolka: They told me that I wasn’t able to report it because it hadn’t been 24 hours yet.
Megan Kingsbury: I was pacing in my kitchen. I was getting really really worried.
So was Maddi’s father who tried to reach her.
David Kingsbury: Where are you? What’s going on?
The next morning, with Maddi now missing nearly 24 hours, the Kingsbury family filed a missing persons report.
And then Fravel went to Facebook asking for help. His post read in part: “If anybody has seen Maddi … please contact the Winona PD, me or any of her family members … Please help me find the mom to our 2 beautiful kids.”
Mary Fulginiti | “48 Hours” consultant: The police went to great lengths, I have to say, to try to … find Maddi quickly … because they know that there’s a ticking clock on these things.
And the investigation took off.
Mary Fulginiti: It’s extraordinary what they did.
“TIKTOK, I NEED YOU TO DO YOUR THING …”
The news that Maddi was missing spread quickly through Winona and beyond. Hailey Scott, one of Maddi’s sorority sisters, wanted to help.
Hailey Scott: I reached out to our sorority … I reached out to news outlets … I was grasping at straws.
At the same time, detectives reached out to Adam Fravel. According to police reports, Fravel told them how on the morning of March 31, the couple dropped off their children at the daycare center.
Maddi Kingsbury is seen on daycare surveillance video the day she went missing.
Friend of Maddi Kingsbury
Investigators confirmed the drop-off after speaking to the daycare provider who gave police security video.
This video has never been seen by the public until now. It was one of the last times Maddi is seen on video before she vanished. Police say Fravel told them he and Maddi returned home after the drop-off and she went to her office in the basement to do a little work before heading to the Mayo Clinic.
Mary Fulginiti: I have taken a look at all the evidence that we have thus far in the Maddi Kingsbury case.
Mary Fulginiti, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, is a “48 Hours” consultant. She says that in his police interview, Fravel told detectives he left Maddi his car and borrowed her blue minivan to haul some boxes.
Mary Fulginiti: He … proceeded to put some boxes in the van that he was going to move to his parents’ house … He said he didn’t see Maddi again … He drove to his parents’ house on Highway 43.
Police say Fravel told them he got as far as the township of Choice, Minnesota, when he realized he had made a mistake.
Mary Fulginiti: The boxes that he had in the van were ones that he actually wanted to put in storage. So he turned around and he went back to the home.
Police say Fravel told investigators he arrived back at his Winona home around 11:30 a.m. and saw his car still in the driveway.
Mary Fulginiti: He said he had texted her a few times, asking about dinner and whether or not she was gonna pick up the kids … There was no response.
Adam Fravel is seen on surveillance video returning to the daycare center alone to pick up the children later in the day.
Friend of Maddi Kingsbury
Police say Fravel told them he’d assumed Maddi had carpooled to work and when he did not hear from her, he went alone to do that pick up of the kids. Again, the video from the daycare appears to corroborate that part of Fravel’s story.
Mary Fulginiti: So he ultimately picked up the children around 4:20 or 4:30, um, from daycare and brought them to his parents’ house in Mabel, Minnesota.
During a police interview, investigators noted that Fravel had “fresh scratches” on his face the day after Maddi disappeared. Fravel’s sister says he told her the scratches came from a friend’s dog.
On Saturday, April 1, police searched the Winona house where Fravel lived with Maddi. Investigators reported they saw no overt signs of foul play.
Mary Fulginiti: But what was in the house was her purse, her jacket, her credit cards, um, but no Maddi.
Two days later, an anxious Megan Kingsbury rushed out of her shower and alerted her TikTok followers to what was going on.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: TikTok. I need you to do your thing. I need your help. This is my sister Madeline Kingsbury. Um, she’s missing …
Megan Kingsbury: I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I was in a towel.
The post eventually had over a half million views.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: … Help us find her. She’s got two kids. She’s my best friend, she’s my little sister. We need to get her back. Please help us.
Peter Van Sant: You’re obviously in terror here … The look on your face. But you’re reaching out for help and people wanted to help.
Megan Kingsbury: Yes.
CBS MINNESOTA | NEWS REPORT: So many people have asked to help look for Madeline Kingsbury that it allowed law enforcement to expand their search …
Hailey Scott: There’s no guidebook on how to search for a missing loved one … and searching for her was easily one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Megan Kingsbury was spreading the word about Maddi Kingsbury’s disappearance wiith posts on social media, mostly TikTok.
Megan Kingsbury/TikTok
By the end of the weekend, there was no sign of Maddi. Day by day, Megan Kingsbury continued to post updates to TikTok.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: It’s Tuesday the 25th … still no Madeline … now next week is May. We’re still in this hell …
Megan Kingsbury: I feel like all of us, like every night, we would look out — it’s cold. It’s dark. Is she like laying out there somewhere? … Is she like trapped somewhere? … and you just — you don’t know what to do.
Behind the scenes though, investigators began taking a harder look at Fravel, especially after Maddi’s friends came forward with some disturbing stories.
Hailey Scott: Madeline called me shortly after an incident happened between her and Adam … where he had told her that if she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up just like Gabby Petito.
The Gabby Petito case fixated the nation in the fall of 2021, after the young woman from Long Island was found dead one month after she seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
Hailey Scott: I told her you need to get out and you need to get it … get out now. That’s not an empty threat.
A FATHER’S WARNING: “HE IS GOING TO KILL YOU”
Years before Maddi vanished, her sister Megan Kingsbury says the on-again, off-again relationship between Maddi and Fravel seemed to be headed for a bad ending.
Megan Kingsbury: He just wasn’t nice to her … He didn’t act like he loved her. He didn’t help take care of the kids. He didn’t clean.
Peter Van Sant: And honestly, did you reach a point where you — you advised your sister, you know, perhaps it’s time to move on in your life from him?
Megan Kingsbury: Many times.
Maddi’s father David said it pained him to see how shabbily Fravel treated Maddi.
David Kingsbury: I think she literally poured out a river of love for him and she got nary a drop in return.
Maddi’s stepmother Cathy Kingsbury says Maddi often called, saying Fravel was of no help with the children.
Cathy Kingsbury: She’d be just sobbing miserably that Adam’s not helping. I hate this.
But Maddi’s family and friends say there was more than just tearful arguments. About three years before Maddi went missing, Hailey Scott says she witnessed Fravel slap Maddi during a video call. Scott and Maddi were talking, Scott says, when Fravel appeared in the background and began shouting at Maddi.
Hailey Scott: He yelled, “I don’t understand why this house is such a f****** mess” … and she said, “I don’t know, maybe you should help me,” um, to which Adam turned, and he slapped her with an open hand across the face.
And in September 2021, some 18 months before Maddi disappeared, she told Scott about Fravel’s dark fascination with the Petito story.
Hailey Scott: Adam had an infatuation, and I would call it an obsession, with the Gabby Petito case.
The Gabby Petito case fixated the nation in the fall of 2021, after the young woman from Long Island, NY, was found dead one month after she seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
Scott says Maddi had told her that one night, after she and Fravel watched a news special about the Petito murder, his obsession turned threatening.
Hailey Scott: He had actually turned and grabbed her by the throat and pinned her down and told her that if she wasn’t careful that she would end up just like her.
Katie Kolka says she tried to get Maddi to do something.
Katie Kolka: And I begged her and begged her, please go to the hospital, document it yourself, do whatever you need to do. You need to get this documented so you can get out of there safely with those kids.
But Kolka says Maddi never reported anything to the police.
Katie Kolka: She was more scared that Adam was gonna get arrested.
Peter Van Sant: She wanted to protect him.
Katie Kolka: She was protecting him.
Maddi did, however, tell her father David and stepmother Cathy about the choking incident.
Cathy Kingsbury: She was like, horribly afraid. She’d been choked and she was very, very scared and wanted help.
Cathy Kingsbury says she and David drove to Maddi’s house and got her and the children out of there.
David Kingsbury: She came with us. We went to the house so she could get some of her things and some of the clothing for the kids and whatnot and put the kids in the van and followed us back to our home in Farmington.
But Cathy Kingsbury says Maddi stayed in the Kingsbury house only three days before returning to Fravel because he was “upset” that she’d left.
David Kingsbury: I did tell her at some point, he — he is going to kill you.
Peter Van Sant: You said that to Maddi.
David Kingsbury: Yeah.
Peter Van Sant: You felt there was enough danger that you had to say to your own daughter, I think he may kill you. … And how did she respond to that statement, or did she?
David Kingsbury: Honestly, I mean, she … became a pro at minimizing things, and it came back to, well, he was — he was joking. She told me he was joking, and she wanted to believe that
When Maddi went missing, her friends and family reported those incidents to police. According to a search warrant, detectives interviewed Fravel and asked if he and Maddi had ever had any “physical altercations.” “He said, ‘oh no.’” When detectives asked about those Gabby Petito comments, police say Fravel admitted them, but “claimed he was trying to make a joke.”
But according to a search warrant, investigators found an old screen shot Maddi had saved of some texts she’d exchanged with Adam:
MADDI KINGSBURY TEXT: You know I’m not really okay with or over the fact that you put your hand around my neck and pushed me down in front of the kids earlier so don’t
Not okay with it at all but especially with them there.
ADAM FRAVEL: You’ll adjust
MADDI KINGSBURY: The f*** I will …
Detectives wanted to know everything about what Fravel did the day Maddi went missing and began collecting surveillance videos from homes and businesses.
Police say a blue minivan that looked like Maddi’s wasvideotaped on Highway 43 — the road Fravel told police he’d taken that morning. But according to a search warrant, the timestamps do not match Fravel’s timeline. The cameras tracked the blue minivan until around noon, police say.
Mary Fulginiti: And then there’s a 45-minute gap.
That gap occurs around Choice, Minnesota. Police say that is where Adam told them he realized he took the wrong boxes, turned the van around and drove straight back to Winona. According to that warrant, “there is a 45-minute window that Fravel could not be tracked.”
Mary Fulginiti: Where was he during those 45 minutes? I mean, that was the big, you know, the big question, right?
For 68 days, Megan Kingsbury documented her sister’s disappearance on TikTok.
CBS News
But with no direct evidence and no sign of Maddi, investigators did not arrest Fravel, and he continued to live at his parents’ home with the children. Meanwhile, Megan Kingsbury continued her updates on TikTok.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST | April 14, 2023: Madeline still has not been located, unfortunately. Um, so we’re still plugging along and looking for her.
As detectives continued to investigate, they uncovered a new lead — a romantic relationship Maddi had been having with another man, an Army veteran named Spencer Sullivan.
Spencer Sullivan: I’m Spencer Sullivan and I was dating Madeline Kingsbury at the time of her disappearance.
And now police were interested to know Sullivan’s whereabouts the day Maddi went missing.
A NEW LOVE INTEREST FOR MADDI KINGSBURY
In the spring of 2023, Maddi knew her relationship with Fravel was falling apart, and she was brutally honest with her father.
David Kingsbury: She says, you know, dad … I know that I’m in a bad relationship. I know my family knows it. … I know my friends know it. And I’m embarrassed about it, but I don’t know what to do about it.
But Maddi had joined Tinder, which is where she reconnected with Sullivan, who she knew from college.
Spencer Sullivan: We were friends on Facebook, so I knew that she had kids … I wasn’t sure what the status of the relationship was exactly with, uh, Adam Fravel.
As it turns out, Sullivan also knew Fravel from Winona State.
Spencer Sullivan: He was in the same fraternity as I was.
Peter Van Sant: Tell me about the Adam you knew back then.
Spencer Sullivan: He and I didn’t really talk all that much.
Maddi told Sullivan that she and Fravel had reached the point of no return. Maddi and Sullivan began dating, but quietly.
Spencer Sullivan: We both kind of agreed to keep it secret between us until she was on her own.
Mostly, the relationship was a secret from Fravel. Maddi’s family and girlfriends knew about it, and they told police about Sullivan when Maddi went missing. That’s when investigators called Sullivan in for an interview.
Spencer Sullivan: They were … just kind of asking me general questions about when we had started dating. … where were you at this point, what were you doing at this point?
Peter Van Sant: What were you doing on March 31st, 2023?
Spencer Sullivan: Uh, that morning I was at work.
Sullivan surrendered his phone while investigators checked out his alibi. As they looked into his story, they also learned from Maddi’s friends and family that only six days before she disappeared, she finally had told Fravel about Sullivan.
Megan Kingsbury: She didn’t want to lie and she just — it bubbled up inside of her the — this guilt.
Peter Van Sant: Is it true that Maddi told Adam about Spencer?
David Kingsbury: Yeah.
Peter Van Sant: That’s a pretty gutsy thing to do.
Cathy Kingsbury: Uh, we wish she had not.
It all came pouring out and Megan Kingsbury says Maddi told Fravel she was leaving him and looking for an apartment where she would live with their children.
Peter Van Sant: And did she tell you how Adam reacted to the news?
Megan Kingsbury: I think she said he cried, and he was really hurt at the time.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I’m sure he was personally hurt and heartbroken — all of a sudden, you find out … she has feelings for somebody else and it’s over.
Ryan Fravel and Theresa Sis Mejia
CBS News
Fravel’s sister Theresa, as well as his brother Ryan, say news of the break-up hurt them as well, because Maddi was a cherished member of their extended family.
Ryan Fravel: Maddi was a sister to all of us, and our hearts are … broken. … We lost a close family member.
They point out that, although Adam Fravel and Maddi always had an on-again, off-again relationship, they stayed together for seven years.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I was completely shocked when I learned that she was dating Spencer behind my brother’s back.
Maddi’s best friend Katie Kolka says tensions between Maddi and Fravel were sky high after her revelation about Spencer. It was the day before she disappeared.
Katie Kolka: She called me crying and she asked if she could come work at our house … She said that Adam was hovering over her while she was working and making comments about some other man raising his kids and, you know, are you really gonna leave me for another man? … She felt very threatened.
Maddi left her house and went to Kolka’s before ending up at Sullivan’s home, also in Winona.
Spencer Sullivan: She came over to celebrate my birthday with me … she brought a couple donuts that we could split with each other. She had a gift for me. … It was a little LEGO set, a little Star Wars LEGO set. I got a card from her and it was a Star Wars card.
Peter Van Sant: That last time you saw her person to person.
Spencer Sullivan: I remember she’s standing at my front steps. She turned around and smiled at me and waved and (sighs) that was the last time I saw her.
Within days of his interview, police confirmed Sullivan’s alibi and returned his phone. Eventually, police say, he was cleared. Maddi’s friend Hailey Scott says Spencer was the best thing to happen to her in a long time.
Hailey Scott: Spencer showed her that she deserved so much more than Adam.
Spencer Sullivan
CBS News
Sullivan says he was devastated in the wake of Maddi’s disappearance.
Spencer Sullivan: I thought to myself, like, stuff like this doesn’t — doesn’t happen here, you know. … we were talking about her moving into her new place and … She wanted me to come over and help her decorate, do stuff … and then the next day she’s gone.
He says he couldn’t stop thinking about the birthday card Maddi had given him.
Spencer Sullivan: I think I re-read that card at least a hundred times … (sighs) that like all I could think was this — this (LEGO) kit — sorry. (emotional).
Four days after Maddi vanished, her parents were given temporary custody of her children.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: My niece and nephew are no longer in the custody of their father. … you know we appreciate the concern for them but they’re — they’re in good hands.
When Maddi’s friend, Lauren Debois, thought about Maddi’s children, she recalled a conversation she’d had with Maddi a month earlier and she reported it to police.
Lauren Debois: She told me … that she needed me to know that if anything were to happen to her or her children, that Adam did it. She would never leave her children for anything under any circumstances.
Ten days after Maddi disappeared, police had received a tip that Fravel had been seen riding near his parents’ home with a shovel in his family’s utility vehicle. Police seized his vehicle and, according to a search warrant, cadaver dogs alerted to a scent in the vehicle and on the shovel.
Mary Fulginiti: You know, it’s my understanding that they are trained and specifically trained to find human — human remains.
Two days later, Adam put out a statement through his attorneys. It read, in part: “I have cooperated with law enforcement at every turn … I did not have anything to do with Maddi’s disappearance. I want the mother of my 5-year-old and 2-year-old to be found and brought home safely. I want that more than anything.”
Maddi had been missing 35 days when Kolka and others gathered to remember her at a local church.
KATIE KOLKA (crying): “She was the kindest most beautiful soul … even on the brightest days, it still feels dark and gloomy without her here.
David Kingsbury, center, and Cathy Kingsbury, right.
David Kingsbury addressed the crowd.
DAVE KINGSBURY: We know that Madeline is around her somewhere. She just didn’t vanish. Someone knows something. Somone saw something. Make this your battle cry. “Where’s Madeline? Where is she?” Make it loud and don’t stop until she’s found.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE
For Megan Kingsbury, June 7, 2023, started out like every other day since Maddi disappeared.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST | June 7, 2023: Hey TikTok. Good morning. Happy Wednesday. …Maddi’s still missing … Please continue to spread the word about my sister, Madeline…
But hours later — 68 days after Maddi disappeared — a sheriff’s deputy found human remains along a lonely country road.
David Kingsbury: While it hadn’t been certified by the medical examiner, they’re fairly certain that it was my daughter.
Megan Kingsbury: I was on the floor and like screamed, crying … you know what do you say when somebody tells you something like that? There’s nothing that you can say.
For Maddi’s best friend Katie Kolka, the news was shattering; her reaction captured on her video doorbell camera.
The very next day, Maddi’s friends heard the news from Winona’s police chief.
POLICE CHIEF TOM WILLIAMS (to reporters): Law enforcement has confirmed the remains are those of Madeline Kingsbury.
Krista Naber: You can’t ever prepare yourself for one of your children, um, to — to die, much less be found somewhere outside, found as she was.
Megan Kingsbury: She was wrapped in, um, a gray fitted bed sheet that had black duct tape around the ends. And, um, there was a towel wrapped around her head.
Adam Fravel
Winona Police Department
Adam Fravel was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The grey bed sheet wrapped around Maddi, according to a criminal complaint, seemed to match a set found in Maddi’s home.
And the isolated road where Maddi’s remains were found, according to that criminal complaint, had been maintained by the Fravel family at one point. This area is also close to the township of Choice, where, police believe, there are 45 minutes unaccounted for in Fravel’s timeline.
Maddi’s body was found in a culvert.
Maddi’s autopsy listed her cause of death as “homicidal violence” — nothing more.
In October 2023, Adam Fravel was indicted on additional first-degree murder charges. Fravel’s possible motive for murder? In a warrant, investigators allege Fravel was in distress due to “his financial dependence” on Maddi and was upset about “the end of their relationship.” Investigators also learned that Maddi had a “death benefit of $170,000” but had not listed a beneficiary.
Mary Fulginiti: She was his — his meal ticket … she was the one who provided for them.
According to a search warrant, when police entered the couple’s house, they noticed that surveillance cameras inside the home had been removed. Former prosecutor Mary Fulginiti says it’s the way they appeared to have been taken down that caught detectives’ attention.
Mary Fulginiti: They found that the surveillance cameras that he had installed have been ripped out, that they were no longer there … so all of those are indicators of, you know, he’s up to something in consciousness of guilt.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He had those down weeks before … they were in the process of moving.
Fravel’s sister and brother say at one point, before Maddi and Adam broke up, the couple was planning to move together to Adam’s parents’ home.
Ryan Fravel: We want people to know that there are two sides to the story.
Take, for instance, those cadaver dogs alerting to the utility vehicle and shovel. Fravel’s family says that’s because on the previous weekend their dad used that shovel to move a dead raccoon.
Peter Van Sant: A raccoon.
Ryan Fravel: A raccoon.
Theresa Sis Mejia: They used a shovel to pick it up.
Theresa Sis Mejia: … every time we would try to clarify anything to the investigators, we were just treated with that. Like — like we’re just delusional.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I believe Adam 150 percent that he is innocent … he would never harm Maddi, the mother to his children, you know, he’d never do such a thing.
Fravel’s defense team has asked a judge to suppress Adam’s police interview because they claim he wasn’t read his Miranda rights. It’s the interview where he admitted making comments about Gabby Petito but said he was only joking.
In preliminary hearings, his lawyers also say there is not enough evidence to warrant the first-degree murder charge. Fravel’s siblings insist authorities should take a closer look at Spencer Sullivan.
Ryan Fravel: We’re trying to — trying to expand, uh, the investigator’s eyes that something else could easily have happened.
Peter Van Sant: What do you think of that?
Spencer Sullivan: I mean, they’re trying to protect Adam … they kind of need to come to terms with the fact that — my personal opinion, uh, they got the right person.
David Kingsbury: There is a presumption of innocence in our legal system, of course, that everybody is entitled to … But there is also a court of common sense. And in the court of common sense, all roads lead to Adam Fravel.
The Kingsbury family is speaking out now in hopes of saving someone else.
David Kingsbury: That’s the reason why we’re here and that’s the reason why we’re talking about this because we don’t want it to happen to anybody else.
Peter Van Sant: This is emotionally very powerful right now for you. Are you — you don’t blame yourself for this. Do you?
Cathy Kingsbury: I think we all blame ourselves to some degree. When I would talk to her, I didn’t push, you know. I wanted her to be able to say things when she was ready to say things.
David Kingsbury: He had his hooks in her, and the kids make it really difficult.
For Maddi’s father, whatever the jury decides, there is a larger truth that haunts him.
David Kingsbury: I’ll always be the father of a murdered girl.
Spencer Sullivan told “48 Hours” he too feels haunted by a conversation he and Maddi had weeks before she vanished.
Spencer Sullivan: She told me that she was in love with me … And unfortunately, I was too chicken s*** to say it back, but (sighs).
Peter Van Sant: Does that bother you?
Spencer Sullivan: Every day.
Spencer Sullivan: I saw a future with Maddi and it felt like somebody just ripped the next 60 years out of my life.
Maddi, left, and Megan Kingsbury
For Megan Kingsbury, who was so close with her little sister, she still can’t imagine a future without Maddi.
Megan Kingsbury: I feel like even just saying that we’re sisters doesn’t describe being the closeness that we had. We were confidants for each other.
Peter Van Sant: How do you want Maddi to be remembered?
David Kingsbury: Somebody that mattered. And I think everything we’ve seen and heard from people really affirmed that … she mattered to many, many people … all of her friends … said “she’s my best friend.” She was everybody’s best friend.
Adam Fravel’s trial is expected to begin in the fall of 2024. His defense team has asked for a change of venue.
Produced by Paul LaRosa and Jordan Kinsey. Mike McHugh producer-editor. Mike Loftus is the associate producer. Michelle Sigona and Ryan N. Smith are the development producers. Greg McLaughlin and Jason Schmidt and Michelle Harris are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the TransLatin@ Coalition commemorated a significant milestone as it marked the launch of its 15th Anniversary Campaign during a press conference held in Los Angeles. The event also served as a platform to unveil the organization’s 2023 Annual Report, shedding light on its journey, accomplishments, and ongoing commitments.
Led by Bamby Salcedo, President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, the press conference highlighted the perilous situations faced by transgender and Latinx individuals in their home countries, where they often confront insurmountable violence.
Salcedo emphasized the harsh reality that many flee to cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco seeking asylum, only to encounter further violence and danger, often leading to deportation and, tragically, sending them back to potential harm or death.
A poignant moment of the event was the unveiling of a new logo commemorating the organization’s 15th anniversary, aptly dubbed their “quinceañera.” This symbolizes not only a milestone but also a renewed commitment to advocacy and support for the TransLatin@ community.
In a groundbreaking announcement, Salcedo revealed plans for a $35 million state of the art multiservice and multipurpose space aimed at providing a safe and secure space for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. With $20 million already secured, this initiative underscores the organization’s dedication to addressing the pressing needs of the community.
The TransLatin@ Coalition, founded in 2009 by a group of transgender and gender nonconforming immigrant women in Los Angeles, has evolved into a nationally recognized organization with a presence in 10 states across the U.S. It offers direct services to transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex individuals in Los Angeles, with a focus on empowering and improving the quality of life for its members.
Since its inception, the organization has achieved numerous milestones, including the establishment of the Center for Violence Prevention and Transgender Wellness in 2015, the opening of the first-ever TransLatin@ office in 2016, and the launch of the #TransPolicyAgenda in 2019.
The TransLatin@ Coalition’s advocacy efforts have also extended to legislative triumphs, such as the passage of AB2218 in 2020, which allocates grant funding for transgender wellness and equity programs, and supporting bills like AB1163 and AB 1487, aimed at advancing transgender rights.
With the recent expansion to include the El Monte site and the opening of a new building on Sunset, the TransLatin@ Coalition continues to broaden its reach and impact, reaffirming its commitment to serving the community and creating inclusive spaces where history is made and celebrated.
“Beautiful and amazing people, who are trans, gender non-conforming, or intersex, please know that you are beautiful and amazing and that you are valued. Do not feel alone. There is a whole movement that is fighting for you. Continue to assert your presence within the tapestry of our society. We love you, we see you, we thank you,” Salcedo told the Blade.
As the organization looks ahead to the next 15 years and beyond, its mission to advocate for the specific needs of the TransLatin@ community remains steadfast, guided by values of altruism, respect, transparency, and collaboration.
LOWELL — As officers escorted alleged murderer Timmy Chan into the courtroom on Thursday morning, the mother of his alleged victim, 20-year-old Nathaniel Fabian, broke down into tears as she sat in the courtroom gallery.
The still-grieving mother, Stacey Braley, said afterward that she had hoped Chan would face her as he walked into the courtroom.
“I wanted him to see my face and I wanted to see his,” said Braley, who keeps a trinket containing Fabian’s ashes around her neck. “I wanted to know if he felt any sorrow or guilt for what he did.”
Chan, 21, of Lowell, charged with crimes including first-degree murder for allegedly gunning down Fabian in October 2021, was in Middlesex Superior Court on Thursday for his final pretrial conference. His trial is slated to begin with jury impanelment on April 29.
If convicted, Chan faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the conference held before Judge Robert Ullman, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Ashlee Mastrangelo provided background of the evidence set to be presented during the trial. Mastrangelo and Assistant District Attorney Christopher Tarrant are prosecuting the case.
The shooting occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m. Oct. 13, 2021, in the area of Loring and Westford streets, outside the home of one of Fabian’s friends. Lowell Police reports state responding officers discovered Fabian on the ground, in an alleyway near 89 Loring St. He had a wound to the right side of his chest and the left rear side of his back, according to police. The Lowell resident was rushed to Lowell General Hospital’s Main Campus, where he was pronounced dead approximately 40 minutes later.
The night of the shooting, Fabian had been involved in a dispute with multiple people, including his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Chum, of Lowell, as well as Chan. Fabian was dating another female at the time of the conflict, and that female had become the target of Chum’s ire, according to Mastrangelo.
“Samantha and her friends began sort of bullying this girl online, torturing her, calling her different names … sort of derogatory names about her,” Mastrangelo said during the conference.
The female Fabian was dating contacted Fabian and asked him if he could get Chum and the other people allegedly harassing her to leave her alone.
“That sort of sparks among many group chats … quite a bit of inflammatory and enraged arguments over the course of the evening,” Mastrangelo said.
A police report states there were “numerous threatening messages” sent by Chum to Fabian via text “to the effect ‘You or (Fabian’s girlfriend) is gonna die, which one is it gonna be.’”
Police reports state Chum later told police she had texted with Fabian between 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Police said Fabian was shot “by approximately 10:28 pm.”
Chum told police that she texted people the night of the shooting — including sisters Izzy (identified in police reports as Chan’s girlfriend) and Mirenda Lach, and Jesse “Dia” Segal Wright — informing them of her issues with Fabian. Police added, however, that Chum denied “all knowledge of sending anyone to hurt Nathaniel and denied asking or suggesting anyone to do anything of the sort.”
Police said they additionally spoke to Fabian’s girlfriend — whose name is redacted from reports — who told them just before Fabian was shot he had sent her screenshots of threatening messages people were sending him.
The messages were from Chan, Chum, Wright and Brian Lach, of Lowell, who was 21 at the time. Police identified Brian Lach as the brother of Izzy and Mirenda Lach. The messages included demands that Fabian come outside his friend’s home in the 300 block of Westford Street, which belonged to Ivan Correa.
Police said Wright admitted to them that she drove Chan and Brian Lach to the area of Westford Street, but claimed she “thought they were going there to fight Nathaniel.”
Wright allegedly dropped Chan and Brian Lach off by Leroy and Grove streets, while she circled the block. According to police, Wright said she heard gunshots prior to picking Chan and Brian Lach up by Westford Street and Dover Park.
According to police reports, when investigators showed Wright a photo of Chan during questioning, she positively identified him and quoted him as allegedly saying, “I got him, I got him,” when he got back into the car.
Police said Brian Lach told them during questioning that he was aware Chum and Fabian’s girlfriend were having a feud, and he claimed that Fabian had threatened to shoot his house. Brian Lach also told police, according to a report, that he thought he was going to fistfight Nathaniel. However, police said Brian Lach alleged that Chan showed him a handgun before the shooting occurred.
Brian Lach told police that Chan was walking a few feet ahead of him as they approached two men, who turned out to be Fabian and Correa. Brian Lach alleged hearing Chan say, “he might have something — take off,” at which point he saw Chan raise the handgun and fire. Brian Lach said he heard several gunshots as he fled.
Wright picked them up with the vehicle a short time later.
“Brian asked Timmy where the gun was because he didn’t want it in the car,” police said in the report. “Timmy said he got rid of it.”
While talking about the case in the past, Chan’s attorney, Jeffrey Sweeney, said self-defense played a role in the shooting. Sweeney explained after the shooting occurred, Correa is seen in surveillance footage going back up to his apartment. Sweeney said police later searched Correa’s apartment, where they discovered a firearm.
Police reports state that when Chan first spoke to authorities, he admitted he and Brian Lach went to meet up to fight Fabian, but “Nathaniel showed up with something he thought was a rifle wrapped in a blanket.” When Chan was asked by police if he actually saw a rifle, Chan said, “no but he was carrying it like one,” police reports state.
No charges have been brought against any of the others involved in the case, much to the dismay of members of Fabian’s family.
“It’s not right that they destroyed all our lives and they get to live theirs with no worries,” Alecia Brangan, Fabian’s aunt, has previously said. “They’re all going on with their lives, their careers and we can’t do anything about it.”
In addition to murder, Chan is charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
Jury impanelment is expected to be completed within two days, with jury instructions and opening statements scheduled to begin either April 30 or May 1. The case is expected to wrap up late in the week of May 6.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis
Keshon Wilson, 23, was convicted of first-degree murder and a premeditated attempted murder. The jury also found that Wilson personally and intentionally discharged a firearm that caused great bodily injury or death, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Based on testimony and evidence presented at trial, Wilson was working as a power washer at the 24th Street Mission BART Station on the night of March 29, 2021, when he had an argument with a group of people.
Prosecutors said Wilson left the station and drove around the block, then parked his work truck. He then approached the group on foot with a “ghost gun” firearm in hand, intending to conduct a surprise attack against the group.
According to prosecutors, Wilson fired multiple gunshots in the group’s direction after he emerged from behind a bus shelter. He shot nine times, hitting two of the four men in the group, and shattering the glass door of a nearby McDonald’s restaurant.
Due to the shooting, 26-year-old San Mateo resident Isaiah Cardenas died, and another 23-year-old man got injured. Cardenas suffered three gunshot wounds to his back, while the surviving victim suffered four to five gunshot wounds to his torso and shoulder, prosecutors said.
Wilson fled to Las Vegas, but upon his return to San Francisco in May 2021, police arrested him at his home, where a search revealed the murder weapon and other firearm accessories.
“I am very grateful to the jury for their service as well as their careful and fair approach to this case,” said Assistant District Attorney Charly Weissenbach. “No one deserves to be murdered, especially by ambush in the heartless and violent manner it was committed here. The jury’s verdict rejected the defendant’s false self-defense claim, upheld the rule of law, condemned senseless gun violence, and delivered justice for the victims and our community.”
Wilson faces a sentence of 82 years to life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 3, prosecutors said.
A judge sentenced a North Dakota woman Tuesday to about 19 years in prison in connection with the death of a baby and injury of another boy that authorities tied to her unlicensed home child care center.
Patricia Wick, of Jamestown, was charged last year. She pleaded guilty in January to felony charges of murder and child abuse and a misdemeanor of operating an unlicensed day care center in Carrington.
Patricia Wick
Foster County State Attorney
On the murder charge, state District Judge James Hovey sentenced Wick to 40 years in prison, with 20 years suspended and credit for over a year already served. She must register as an offender against children and serve 10 years’ supervised probation. The judge also imposed lesser, concurrent sentences on the other charges. Wick must also pay $810 in court fees on the child abuse charge.
Wick’s public defender, Samuel Gereszek, and Foster County State’s Attorney Kara Brinster did not immediately return phone messages left Wednesday.
Prosecutors alleged Wick caused head and neck injuries to the 5-month-old boy, according to Carrington Police Chief Christopher Bittmann’s affidavit. On Sept. 26, 2022, police officers and EMTs and responded to the in-home day care, owned by Wick, on a report of an unresponsive five-month-old baby boy, KXNET reported. The baby was airlifted to a Fargo hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
An autopsy found the infant died from “complications of blunt force head and neck trauma,” with his death determined a homicide, according to the affidavit.
Wick told authorities she “may have put (the baby) down too hard,” was not gentle with him and was frustrated with him that day, according to the affidavit.
Wick later said she heard the baby coughing and saw he was vomiting, Valley News Live reported, citing court documents. Wick called the child’s mother and called 911, “and that was it,” Wick told investigators, according to the outlet.
A GoFundMe set up for the baby’s family raised more than $20,000.
Authorities also allege in court documents that the other child broke his arm while in Wick’s care after falling off a swing in her backyard and that she didn’t immediately report the injury to his parents.
