Notorious Child Killer Ian Huntley Dies After Brutal Prison Attack | Crime House 24/7

Good morning, everyone.

We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about,

and we're starting with the biggest one.

Ian Huntley, the man who murdered 10-year-old best friends, Holly Wells, and Jessica Chapman

in one of Britain's most infamous crimes has died after a brutal attack inside a maximum

security prison.

This is Crime House 24-7, your non-stop source for the biggest crime cases developing

right now.

Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Vanessa Richardson, and we have quite a lineup for you today.

Here's what you need to know.

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Ian Huntley, the former school caretaker who murdered 10-year-old best friends Holly Wells

and Jessica Chapman in one of the most shocking crimes in modern British history, died the

morning of March 8, more than a week after being attacked by another inmate inside a maximum

security prison.

52-year-old Huntley had been on life support at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary

since the attack on February 26 that HMP Franklin, a high security prison that houses some

of Britain's most dangerous offenders in County Durham, England.

His life support was switched off on March 6 after brain tests showed he was in a vegetative

state with no prospect of recovery.

He was confirmed dead March 8.

Durham Constabulary set a police investigation into the incident is ongoing and that a file

is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.

On August 4, 2002, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman vanished from the village of Sohom in

Cambridge, here in England after leaving a family barbecue to buy candy.

The two best friends were wearing red Manchester United shirts and a photograph of the pair

together in their matching shirts became one of the most recognizable images in British

criminal history.

For 13 days, police conducted a massive search holding out hope the girls might still be

alive.

Thousands of people traveled to Sohom in an enormous outpouring of concern leaving hundreds

of bouquets outside the local church.

Upon the search, Huntly, who was the caretaker at a nearby school, Sohom village cottage, spoke

to reporters and told them he believed he was one of the last people to see the girls

alive.

His then-girlfriend, Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica's

primary school, told the media she would always keep a card Holly had drawn for her.

Suspissions grew when investigators noticed Huntly appeared to take an unusual interest

in the case.

The girls' bodies were found on August 17, 2002, in an irrigation ditch near R.A.F. Lake

and Heath in Suffolk, approximately 12 miles from Sohom.

Investigators believe Huntly, then 28 years old, lured them into his home and killed them,

most likely by a spexiation.

He later returned and cut their clothing off to burn it.

The charred remains of their red Manchester United shirts were found in a bin by police.

In the days after Holly and Jessica were found, Sohom became the center of national mourning.

Thousands of people traveled to the small Cambridgeshire village to pay their respects, filling

the churchyard with flowers, candles, and stuffed animals.

Huntly was arrested and initially denied responsibility for the murders.

At trial, however, he offered a different explanation for what happened inside his home.

He claimed Holly suffered a sudden nosebleed and drowned accidentally in his bathtub,

and that he then killed Jessica while trying to silence her screams and prevent her from

raising any alarm.

Jurors rejected that account.

On December 17, 2003, Huntly was convicted of both murders at the Old Bailey in London

and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

In 2005, a high court judge said a minimum term of 40 years, meaning he would not have been

eligible for parole until 2042.

This for his girlfriend at the time, she was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the

course of justice for providing Huntly with a false alibi.

Car served 21 months and now lives under a new identity.

In the years that followed, it was revealed that Huntly had been the subject of multiple

prior complaints of sexual assault and other sexual offenses before he was hired as a school

caretaker.

Complaints never properly shared between agencies.

This led to the Vichard inquiry in 2004, which resulted in sweeping reforms to police vetting

and the creation of a national police database, combining intelligence from 43 forces across

England and Wales.

Inside prison, Huntly was repeatedly targeted.

In 2005, a convicted murderer threw boiling water on him at HMP Wakefield.

In 2010, another inmate slashed his throat with a homemade weapon at HMP Franklin, leaving

a seven-inch wound that required 21 stitches.

He was kept under close protection alongside other high-profile prisoners.

The February 26 attack was reportedly carried out by Anthony Russell, a 43-year-old triple

murderer serving a whole life order for the 2021 killings of 58-year-old Julie Williams.

Her 32-year-old son, David Williams, and pregnant 31-year-old Nicole McGregor.

British media have also reported that tensions had risen against Huntly after he wore a Manchester

United shirt, resembling those worn by the girls at the time of their disappearance, which

caused friction with other inmates.

And while that story closes a painful chapter in one of Britain's most notorious cases,

here in the United States, a Florida man is finally going to trial after being accused

of trying to strangle and drown his girlfriend during a boating event.

26-year-old Cole Preston Goldberg is standing trial on March 9 in Palm Beach County on a charge

of attempted second-degree murder for what prosecutors say was a violent attack on his

then-girlfriend, 32-year-old Carolyn Schwitzke, during a popular boating event in South Florida

nearly four years ago.

Schwitzke, a Miami-based talent agent and founder of the agency Urge Talent, also appeared

on the 2016 season of TLC's 90-Day Fiancé, happily ever after.

The attack occurred on April 24, 2022, during Boca Bash, a massive annual boating gathering

that draws hundreds of vessels to Lake Boca Raton, where boats anchor side-by-side and

thousands of people swim between them.

According to the arrest report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,

the couple had been dating for approximately one year and got into a heated argument

while aboard a boat at the event.

Multiple witnesses told investigators that the argument escalated and that Goldberg became

physically aggressive, grabbing Schwitzke and preventing her from leaving the boat.

Witnesses said this went on for approximately 20 minutes, with Schwitzke punching at his

arms, trying to free herself.

She eventually managed to jump off the boat and attempted to swim to a nearby vessel

for safety.

But Goldberg followed her into the water.

According to the police report, he caught up to her and grabbed her by the throat with

both hands, attempting to strangle her while holding her under water.

Witnesses screamed at him to stop, but he appeared unresponsive and kept holding her under.

Several people jumped into the water to pull Schwitzke away from him.

They managed to get her onto their boat while another witness used a boat pole to keep

Goldberg from climbing a board.

Other boats in the area also refused to let Goldberg on board and someone called 911 while

he clung to the side of a vessel.

Officers with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who were patrolling the waters

for the crowded event, were waved down and responded.

Goldberg was pulled from the water and taken into custody.

He was initially charged with attempted first-degree murder and battery.

Meanwhile, Schwitzke sustained bruises to her arms and legs.

She was also arrested at the scene on an unrelated warrant from another county and released

the same day on a $1,000 bond.

Goldberg was booked into the Palm Beach County jail and released on a $60,000 bond.

A judge issued a no-contact order barring him from contacting Schwitzke or any witnesses.

More than a year after the incident, the charges against Goldberg were adjusted to attempted

second-degree murder.

Prosecutors offered him a plea agreement that would have required six months in jail,

three years of probation, and a 500-word letter of apology.

Goldberg turned it down, saying he would not accept a plea to a felony.

Goldberg has opted for a bench trial, meaning a judge, rather than a jury, will be solely

responsible for deciding his fate.

The trial is now underway in Palm Beach County.

If convicted of attempted second-degree murder, he faces a significant prison sentence.

And from a trial that's beginning to a case that has left a Bronx community in mourning,

a mother of three was stabbed to death in front of her children by her boyfriend.

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45-year-old Juan Rivas appeared in Bronx Criminal Court on March 5th, pleading not guilty

to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and endangering

the welfare of a child in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, 42-year-old Yasenia

Hall.

The attack occurred in the early morning of February 28th, inside the family's apartment

at 956 Sherman Avenue in the concourse village section of the Bronx.

According to prosecutors, three children were inside the home.

Hall's 16-year-old son heard his mother screaming and ran to the bedroom where he found

Rivas with a knife.

Hall was stabbed in the neck, back, and torso.

The brave teen tried to intervene and de-escalate the situation, but Rivas turned the knife

on him, stabbing him multiple times in the neck, cheek, and shoulder.

Hall's 22-year-old daughter, Jela Maldonado, who also witnessed the attack called 911.

A 12-year-old son remained in his bedroom during the violence.

Both Hall and her son were rushed to Lincoln Hospital.

Hall was pronounced dead.

Her son survived and is expected to recover, though the wound to his neck has left him

temporarily unable to speak.

Rivas fled the scene wearing a construction vest, but was taken into custody several hours

later after he turned up at a local hospital seeking treatment for his own injuries.

His right hand was bandaged at the wrist and palm when he appeared in court.

Rivas told the court that police had responded to five prior violent incidents between Rivas

and Hall, including arrests for assault in 2011, 2012, and 2018, and a 2022 arrest for

punching her in the face.

Rivas also has a prior violent felony conviction and six prior arrests over the past decade, mostly

on assault charges.

Relatives said the couple had been together for approximately five years.

Hall's brother, Edwin Maldonado, a commercial airline pilot and retired army officer, told

reporters that the family had long been concerned about the relationship.

A neighbor told the New York Post she heard Rivas yell that he was going to stab Hall.

A judge ordered Rivas held without bail at Riker's Island.

The case has been adjourned until April 20.

Jela wrote on a GoFundMe page that her mother's last words were, quote, I'm sorry, I'm dying.

I'm sorry," end quote.

Family members described Hall as a loving and energetic mother and asked that she be

remembered for those qualities rather than the violence that took her life.

From that case in the Bronx, we move west to Los Angeles, where police say a woman fired

multiple shots at the Beverly Hills home of singer, Rihanna.

On March 9, Los Angeles police identified 35-year-old Ivana Lizette Ortiz, as the woman

arrested after gunfire erupted outside the Beverly Hills home of nine-time Grammy

winner, Rihanna, the day before.

Ortiz has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder, and Jale Records show her bail has

been set at $10,225,000.

Authorities say the shooting occurred on March 8 at approximately 1.15pm pacific time when

officers responded to reports of gunfire outside the singer's home.

According to police and radio dispatch audio, the suspect drove up in a white Tesla, parked

across the street from the property's front gate, and fired seven to ten rounds from what

investigators described as an AR-15-style rifle.

Bullets struck the exterior gate, the outside wall of the residence, and a vehicle parked

outside the home.

At least two neighboring homes were also hit by gunfire, though no injuries were reported.

Police tracked the suspect's vehicle with the help of an LAPD helicopter following it

roughly eight miles to the Sherman Oak Scaleria shopping center, where officers conducted

a traffic stop and took Ortiz into custody without incident.

Officers say seven rifle casings, and the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting,

were recovered at the scene.

Public records link Ortiz to Florida, where a woman with the same name is listed in state

licensing records as a speech-language pathology assistant.

Authorities say Ortiz also has prior arrests linked to Florida.

In June 2023, she was arrested after a confrontation with her former husband, Jed Sangalang, during

a child custody exchange outside her apartment.

According to an Orlando police appidavit, Ortiz had texted Sangalang beforehand, saying,

you'll be socked on the nose tonight.

Officers later determined she was the primary aggressor and arrested her on suspicion of

domestic battery.

The Beverly Hills property targeted in the shootings belongs to Rihanna, whose legal

name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

She lives there with her partner, rapper ASAP Rocky, and their three young children.

Their youngest child was born just over five months ago.

Authorities have confirmed that Rihanna was inside the home at the time of the shooting,

though it remains unclear whether ASAP Rocky or the couple's children were also present.

Investigators are still working to determine whether Ortiz intentionally targeted the

residents or whether the property was selected for another reason.

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High listeners, it's Vanessa Richardson.

I wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about another show from Crime House that I

know you'll love.

America's most infamous crimes, hosted by Katie Ring.

Each week, Katie takes on a notorious crime, whether unfolding now or etched into American

history, revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our society.

Serial killers who terrorized cities, unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night,

and investigations that changed the way we think about justice.

Each case unfolds across multiple episodes, released every Tuesday through Thursday,

from the first sign that something was wrong to the moment the truth came out, or didn't.

These are the stories behind the headlines.

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Before you go, let me tell you what else is happening at Crime House today.

On Crime's Of, we examine the story of Rudy Kerniawan, a man who convinced some of the

wealthiest wine collectors in the world that he possessed rare and extraordinary bottles

worth millions.

He cultivated the image of a prodigy, a savant with a refined palate, and access to legendary

ventures.

For years, auction houses, connoisseurs, and billionaires accepted his authority.

The wine was fake.

What makes cases like this compelling is not just the money involved, it's the mechanism.

The fraud did not rely on brute force or overt manipulation.

It relied on performance, on credentials, on the illusion of mastery.

Fake expertise is one of the most powerful tools in deception.

When someone convincingly performs knowledge, the audience often stops asking questions.

The trappings of authority, jargon, confidence, social proof, selective access, create a shield.

Here are five major frauds built not merely on lies, but on carefully constructed reputations

of expertise that turned out to be illusions.

Number one, Elizabeth Holmes, the visionary who was not.

Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos with a bold promise to revolutionize blood testing

with a device that could run hundreds of diagnostic tests from a single drop of blood.

She adopted the uniform of Silicon Valley genius, black turtlenecks, minimalist messaging,

and an unwavering belief in disruption.

She spoke fluently about biotechnology, precision medicine, and democratizing health care.

High profile investors, including former secretaries of state and military leaders, joined

her board.

Media outlets celebrated her as the next great innovator.

Behind the scenes, the technology did not work as advertised.

Investigations revealed that Theranos relied on traditional machines for most tests while

presenting its proprietary device as fully functional.

Internal whistleblowers described systemic deception and pressure to conceal failures.

Holmes' authority was built less on proven scientific success and more on projected brilliance.

The image of expertise preceded the evidence.

When the company collapsed and Holmes was later convicted of fraud, it exposed how thoroughly

performance can substitute for verification, especially when audiences are predisposed

to believe in visionary narratives.

Number two, John Darcy, the fabricated researcher.

In the early 1980s, John Darcy was a promising young cardiology researcher affiliated with

Harvard Medical School.

He published prolifically and earned praise for groundbreaking work in heart disease.

His productivity was so extraordinary that colleagues began to question how he could generate

results at such speed.

Eventually, investigators discovered that Darcy had fabricated data in multiple research

papers.

Entire experiments had been invented.

Results were manipulated or wholly fictitious.

The damage extended beyond his own career.

Other scientists had relied on his findings.

Academic journals had published his work.

prestigious institutions had endorsed him.

Darcy's fraud succeeded initially because of institutional trust.

His affiliation with elite organizations created a presumption of competence.

The culture of academia, which values publication and innovation, provided cover for exaggerated

productivity.

His case demonstrated that expertise, once institutionally validated, can shield deception

until anomalies become impossible to ignore.

Number three, Frank Abagnale Jr., the imposter professional.

Before becoming a security consultant, Frank Abagnale Jr. built his reputation on impersonation.

In the 1960s, he posed as a commercial airline pilot, a physician, and a lawyer.

He forged checks and exploited systems that relied heavily on credentials and uniforms

as proof of legitimacy.

Abagnale's success did not stem from deep technical knowledge.

It stemmed from understanding how institutions authenticate authority.

A uniform, an ID badge, and confident language were often sufficient to bypass scrutiny.

He exploited assumptions, airline staff deferred to pilots, hospital personnel deferred

to doctors, law firms deferred to attorneys.

Although Abagnale's story has been dramatized in film and media, court records confirmed

that he successfully deceived multiple institutions before his arrest.

His case illustrates how perceived expertise can operate independently of actual competence.

The performance of authority often precedes verification of it.

Number four, Han Van Migren, the art forger who fooled experts.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Dutch painter Han Van Migren forged paintings in the style

of Johann Vermeer and other old masters.

He did not simply imitate their brushstrokes.

He studied chemical compositions, canvas aging techniques, and historical context to produce

works that experts authenticated as genuine.

The art historians and museums endorsed the paintings.

Wealthy collectors paid enormous sums.

After World War II, Van Migren was arrested for selling a forged Vermeer to a Nazi official.

To avoid charges of treason for selling national heritage, he confessed that the painting

was fake and demonstrated his method in court.

The art establishment had been fooled not by ignorance, but by overconfidence in connoisseurship.

Most believed they could identify authenticity through stylistic analysis.

Van Migren exploited that belief.

The case revealed that expertise can become vulnerable when it relies on subjective evaluation

rather than rigorous testing.

The more prestigious the gatekeepers, the less likely they were to imagine being deceived.

Number five, Clark Rockefeller, the manufactured aristocrat.

One Gerhard Strider reinvented himself as Clark Rockefeller, claiming membership in the

famous American industrial family.

He embedded himself in elite social circles, married into wealth, and cultivated an aura

of education and global sophistication.

He spoke with authority about finance, art, and history.

He implied connections to powerful institutions.

For years, those around him accepted his persona without verifying its foundation.

In 2008, after abducting his daughter during a custody dispute, his true identity unraveled.

Investigations revealed that he had constructed his entire biography.

Gerhard Strider's deception thrived because of social signaling, wealth and exclusivity often

discourage intrusive questioning.

His assumed expertise in finance and art was rarely tested because his identity itself

was taken as evidence.

The fraud underscores how environments built on status can become especially vulnerable

to fabricated authority.

Why fake expertise works?

Fraud's built-on fake expertise exploit a fundamental human shortcut.

People rely on signals of authority to navigate complexity.

In medicine, science, finance, and art, it's impractical to verify every claim independently.

Financials, reputation, and social validation function as proxies for truth.

When someone convincingly performs expertise, those proxies activate automatically.

Confidence reinforces perception.

Jargon signals competence, institutional affiliations discourage doubt.

When others appear convinced, skepticism diminishes further.

These dynamics are particularly potent in elite environments, wealthy collectors, venture

capitalists, and academic institutions often operate within networks of mutual validation.

If one respected figure endorses a supposed expert, others follow.

The deception persists until hard evidence contradicts the narrative.

Rudy Korniawan did not invent wine.

He invented authority.

He cultivated a persona of extraordinary taste and access.

He relied on the prestige of auction houses and the confidence of collectors.

By the time doubt surfaced, millions of dollars had changed hands.

For the full examination of how one man built a counterfeit empire in the world of rare wine,

listen to today's episode of Crimes of, because sometimes the most convincing lie is not

about the product, it's about the person selling it.

You've been listening to Crime House 24-7, bringing you breaking crime news.

I'm Vanessa Richardson.

We'll be back tomorrow morning with more developing stories.

Stay safe and thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening to today's episode.

Not sure what to listen to next, check out America's most infamous crimes hosted by Katie Ring.

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Each week, Katie takes on a notorious criminal case in American history.

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