TRUE CRIME ROUNDUP: How a ‘Sandy Hook’ outcome was averted during synagogue attack, plus another twist in the Guthrie case

Testing season is right around the corner.

And this is when confidence really matters.

When kids take time to review key concepts

and strengthen their skills before assessments,

it can make all the difference.

IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now.

So they walk into every test feeling prepared,

capable and confident.

IXL is an award-winning online learning platform

that helps kids truly understand what they're learning,

whether they're building math confidence,

strengthening reading and writing skills,

or reviewing science concepts.

Designed for students from pre-K through 12th grade,

IXL delivers personalized interactive practice

that adapts to your child's level and pace.

It's an easy, effective way to support learning

as the school year heads into its final stretch.

Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests,

proven in all 50 states.

IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US.

Make an impact on your child's learning.

Get IXL now,

and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership

when they sign up today at IXLlearning.com slash audio.

Visit IXLlearning.com slash audio

to get the most effective learning program out there

at the best price.

Do you have a dark curiosity?

Heart starts pounding.

Horror's hauntings and mysteries

is a weekly podcast hosted by me, Keelan Moore.

Each week, I'll take you on a dark journey

through terrifying, true urban legends,

bizarre, true crime cases,

chilling tales of backwards horror and more.

So if you're looking to join a passionate community

of the Darkly Curious,

check out Heart Starts pounding on the free Odyssey app

or wherever you get your podcasts.

And remember, stay curious.

So if you are targeting Nancy Guthrie,

are you going to park your very identifiable car

in front of her house?

Are you gonna walk up with your very identifiable

goatee and probably pinky ring

up to the front ring doorbell camera?

You're a ski mask.

The whole thing is so weird.

This is a true crime and real time update

from Odyssey's on-deadline podcast.

We dive into true crime stories reported

by Odyssey newsrooms across the country.

And you just heard Dana Wright and Scott Parks

of the Dana and Parks show out of Odyssey Station KMBZ

in Kansas City.

They were discussing the ongoing investigation

into the disappearance of today's show host

Savannah Guthrie's 84 year old mother Nancy.

Nancy was last seen on February 1st.

In this episode, we'll explore the latest developments

in the case.

We'll also check in with W.W.J. News Radio's coverage

of the attack on a Michigan synagogue this week.

That resulted only in the death of the perpetrator.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer noted

that law enforcement prevented

what could have been another school massacre.

How did they do it?

From there, we'll go to WBEN in Buffalo, New York

for the latest on the top's grocery store mass shooting case

as it winds through the court system.

To end the show, we'll also take a look at coverage

from Henry Lake of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities

and the Dave Glover show out of KMOX in St. Louis

about a prank that turned deadly.

But now, let's go back to Dana and Parks's discussion

of the Guthrie case.

According to sources, additional images have been recovered

from the cameras at Nancy Guthrie's home, okay?

Just now?

The FBI has recovered additional imagery

from cameras at the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie.

The images were recovered in recent weeks

from the motion-activated cameras trained on the backyard,

the side yard, the swimming pool,

and, according to Fox News, the front yard, okay?

Investigators were unable to recover video footage

but reduced size thumbnail images captured

whenever the cameras were triggered by motion.

According to the source, the cameras recorded

nothing suspicious.

Investigators were able to observe several people

in the back and side yards over an unspecified period

of time prior to the abduction.

However, the cameras captured nothing on the night

of the abduction and picked up again only

when police were looking around

after 911 had been called in the side yard.

Investigators have drawn no conclusions as to why

but one source describes that as odd.

So you mean to tell me,

one guy, just one guy, goes in that house,

takes her out of there, goes in the front,

only comes out the front with no help, back, side,

otherwise, and never cased it on the back or the side

or otherwise.

And there's not a single image showing anyone else.

That is weird.

Why would you need to cased it

if you're only going in and out of the front door?

Why would you go in and out of the front door period?

Where the most recognizable immediate ring

doorbell camera greeted him.

Yeah.

I don't know.

Here's what I do know.

I do watch the Today Show.

I switch from Good Morning America to the Today Show

because God love him.

Michael Strayhand cannot read well.

And it drives me crazy.

I love Michael Strayhand.

I like him as a character.

Like when he's on the football programs on Sundays,

but the man cannot read a teleprompter.

And it drives me insane.

So I switched over to the Today Show a couple of years ago.

And it become quite a fan.

Every day, the Today Show with Savannah Guthrie

and Craig Melvin.

And then every morning, Craig Melvin has to say,

Hota Kotby is filling in for Savannah

while she's with her family.

I don't know how, and I know she has announced

that she is coming back.

Obviously she hasn't yet.

And I don't know how you can do that.

At least not in the short term.

And then how long do, you're gonna say

how long do they keep covering it?

Listen to this from Matt Finn with Fox News.

A law enforcement official close to the case tells Fox

that new photos have been recovered from all three cameras.

He reports that includes the driveway,

the backyard, and the front door camera, the driveway.

Fox has told the images did not show anything suspicious,

but did show people and cars.

Did he not have a car?

Well, he probably, if he did, and I'm assuming he did,

she had a driveway camera.

And you're telling me there's nothing suspicious

on those cameras.

Well, he's not gonna park in front of the house.

So to be clear, we have no update.

I was just gonna go there.

Thank you, Sam.

We have nothing.

The update on the story is we got nothing.

The first.

No, the update is they do have,

they have all the images from the three different cameras

that show nothing.

That in and of itself is insanity.

It should have picked up something.

And then there's just this blank space,

and then it picks up again when police are there.

But I need you to put yourself in the mind of a criminal, okay?

One who's not done, okay?

And so somebody who has planned this out,

even the sheriff says this week,

this was a targeted, yes, targeted.

So if you are targeting Nancy Guthrie,

are you going to park your very identifiable car

in front of her house?

Are you gonna walk up with your very identifiable goatee

and probably pinky ring up to the front ring doorbell camera?

Ski mask.

The whole thing is so weird.

This scares me for a completely different reason.

Because this tells me that even if you don't have a subscription,

ring is storing your data.

People who come up, come to your door,

people who leave your house.

Right, it's usually the mailman.

Why do they have the data except then there's no data

and then police just show up?

Hold on.

Why does that concern you?

Because we are welcoming a surveillance state

that we don't even know the depth of.

No.

That didn't even work in this case, Sam.

You have put that on your house.

That's what I said.

We're welcoming it.

Okay.

It creeps me out as a ring camera user.

I'm well, and we have the sensors inside our house

and the sensors on our windows.

Okay, so is it a complete false sense of security then?

It's weird.

Because we have cameras everywhere.

And it's like, so did she.

And she probably thought,

I mean, nobody's going to come in here.

She didn't have a subscription.

She wasn't paying for the service.

And I, I went and sought out services

and subscribed after this happened.

If there's a subscription, I bought it.

I know that I will be switching

as soon as I can afford the camera package

to the in-home system that is not connected

to ring or Amazon or whatever.

We have exterior service.

We don't have interior service,

but I also have guns.

So if I'm in the house and you break in,

we have two people and three guns.

I'm coming double blazing.

And so that doesn't concern me

that we don't have interior cameras,

but we do have exterior ones.

And so does everybody on the block.

So did everybody on her block side.

Yeah, but her block was not lit.

Lights were not allowed.

Street lights were...

I'm putting up flood lights if I live in Tucson right now.

I don't think that's leaked.

I know, they're not supposed to be able to do it.

No. Look at that where that's got us.

Well.

She loves it hot.

He loves it cold.

However you sleep, the pod by eight sleep adapts to you.

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Testing season is right around the corner.

And this is when confidence really matters.

When kids take time to review key concepts

and strengthen their skills before assessments,

it can make all the difference.

IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now.

So they walk into every test feeling prepared,

capable and confident.

IXL is an award-winning online learning platform

that helps kids truly understand what they're learning,

whether they're building math confidence,

strengthening reading and writing skills,

or reviewing science concepts.

Designed for students from pre-K through 12th grade,

IXL delivers personalized interactive practice

that adapts to your child's level and pace.

It's an easy, effective way to support learning

as the school year heads into its final stretch.

Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests,

proven in all 50 states.

IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US,

making an impact on your child's learning.

Get IXL now.

And listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership

when they sign up today at IXLlearning.com slash audio.

Visit IXLlearning.com slash audio

to get the most effective learning program out there

at the best price.

I'm Sarah Austin-Geness, the Moths Executive Producer

and longtime host of the Moth Podcast.

Every week, we share true stories told live and without notes

by real people from all walks of life.

Stories about disastrous haircuts,

may December romances, photographing Pluto,

fighting for justice, and so much more.

Some stories make you laugh, some make you think,

and many stay with you long after they're told.

Discover the power of story.

Follow and listen to the Moth wherever you get your podcasts.

In an interview released Friday by NBC News,

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that his office

is still working to identify the masked man

seen at Nancy Guthrie's home.

He also said investigators now have a theory

for a motive for the alleged kidnapping,

and that they believe that the Guthrie case

was, quote, targeted.

Another crime described as targeted this week

was the attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit area

on Thursday, March 12th.

A man identified by federal officials

as 41-year-old Iman Muhammad Ghazali,

a naturalized US citizen born in Lebanon,

reportedly drove his truck into the synagogue.

He died during the attack, but no students, teachers,

or staff were killed during the incident.

Here's Jennifer Runyon, the FBI special agent

in charge at the Detroit Field Office,

leading the investigation.

Discussing the case during a Thursday press conference

covered by Odyssey Station, WWJ News Radio.

This is a deeply disturbing and tragic incident,

and our deepest sympathies are with the victims,

their family, and the entire Jewish community.

The FBI is here working with our state, local,

and federal partners to investigate this incident,

and I confirm that we are leading the investigation

right now as a targeted act of violence

against the Jewish community.

As my partners have said, this is an active,

an ongoing investigation with an active crime scene,

and I ask for your patience as we process this evidence

and pursue every lead that has come to us

and that we have developed thus far.

What I can't share is this.

There was one subject involved in this incident

who was now deceased.

As my partners have said, we've had no victim fatalities.

We'll not be able to provide additional information

at this time on the subject or his motive,

as our goal is to protect the integrity

of this investigation and to make sure

that we give you accurate and timely information

in the citizen plan.

The FBI is notified of active reports,

excuse me, of active shooter at Temple Israel

approximately 1245.

We immediately activated and deployed

all of our crisis response resources,

which includes our SWAT team,

our new crisis negotiation team,

our evidence response team,

our special agent bomb techs,

our weapons and mass destruction team,

our cellular analysis survey team,

and our victim services,

as well as more than 100 agents and analysts

to ensure that we are actively mitigating

and responding to the active threat,

but also pursuing diligently and methodically

every lead that we have.

My ask to the public is a few things.

I know everyone wants information now,

but I ask that you be patient

as we are still processing the scene

and still pursuing everything that we can

and that has come to us today.

Second, we've activated a digital media tip line

for any witnesses who has photos or videos

of the incident today.

They can upload those at www.fbi.gov

forward slash West Bloomfield attack, all one word.

But the public can also report through our call line

at 1-800-call-FBI.

If you have any information about this incident

and or any other suspicious activity

that you see around in your community,

your life, your place of the worship, your schools.

As the sheriff said, we all need to remain vigilant

and it takes the whole community

to ensure that we remain safe.

Gazali was a restaurant manager

per the Detroit Free Press.

CBS News reported Friday that he had recently learned

of the death of his two brothers

and two of their children in an Israeli air strike

in Lebanon citing a source from the Lebanese

American community in Michigan.

In addition to the war in Gaza that began in October 2023,

the US and Israel recently began strikes

on Iran.

Air strikes have been raining across the Middle East,

claiming lives on all sides of these battles.

According to CBS's source,

Gazali called his ex-wife and told her

to take care of their children shortly before the attack,

something that alarmed her.

The source said that his ex-wife

then contacted police and relatives to check on him.

Here's Steve Smith, a witness who saw the attack

on Temple Israel describing it to W.W.J.'s Amanda Forester.

Okay, right now there are police outside every entrance.

They just brought in several dogs.

Tacticals have been in there.

They've got some of the officers have gas masks on.

I don't know, they're still smoke coming out

of the inside of school.

So I think they're searching for somebody.

Sorry, I was sitting here for the food pantry

and I was about 10 cars back in a grayish darker

like a smoke colored pickup truck

pulled into a little half circle

where everybody picks their food up later

and then came back out of it, went down to door number five,

cut across the grass, backed up and gunned it

and slammed into school.

I think they're still evacuating people

if they can find them.

And what have you heard from police?

Not a thing from police, other than everybody back up.

And what time was this?

11, no.

12, about 1230.

And have you guys seen anybody coming out

that appears to be injured or is it just...

No, they've evacuated a few of the staff

and hopped them in vehicles and drove them off

down to the end of the parking lot, fire departments here,

medical squad here, officers are standing like it said

on all the doors that I can see.

And is there anything I haven't thought to ask you?

I know this is kind of like an unfolding situation

but is there anything at this time that I haven't asked you

that you wanna make sure that our listeners know as of right now?

Not much, I don't know if anybody else did

that I did call 911 as soon as I saw him slam into the building.

He went right in the doors.

So I don't know how far he went down

but the smoke seems to be coming for him probably 30 foot

inside the school.

Oh, I just heard some kind of boom.

Oh, that's the second time I've heard of boom.

The other one was about 15 minutes ago.

Testing season is right around the corner.

And this is when confidence really matters.

When kids take time to review key concepts

and strengthen their skills before assessments,

it can make all the difference.

IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now

so they walk into every test feeling prepared, capable

and confident.

IXL is an award-winning online learning platform

that helps kids truly understand what they're learning

whether they're building math confidence,

strengthening reading and writing skills

or reviewing science concepts.

Designed for students from pre-K through 12th grade,

IXL delivers personalized interactive practice

that adapts to your child's level and pace.

It's an easy, effective way to support learning

as the school year heads into its final stretch.

Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests,

proven in all 50 states.

IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US.

Make an impact on your child's learning.

Get IXL now.

And listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership

when they sign up today at IXLlearning.com slash audio.

Visit IXLlearning.com slash audio

to get the most effective learning program out there

at the best price.

Life can feel overwhelming,

but on my podcast,

from the heart with Rachel Brayton were in it together.

Every Friday brings you a new story.

Listen to from the heart with Rachel Brayton

wherever you get your podcasts.

Oakland County Executive, David Colter,

also joined WWJ to explain how his team

at the Oakland County Emergency Operations Center

monitored the situation.

Well, I was horrified.

You know, this is, it breaks my heart.

And this is the third situation like this

inside Ben Executive, if you think about Oxford High School

and then the Water Park and Rochester Hill.

So it's just breaks my heart that this is,

this is where we are as a country,

but I'm proud of the fact that our team has responded.

I'm at our Emergency Operations Center right now.

We're coordinating all the response to this

and they're doing an amazing job

and we're doing everything we can to keep the synagogue

and the people there in the community safe.

At this point, how does the Oakland County Community

support West Bloomfield in the wake of this?

Well, the media thing is to stay away from the area,

which I'm sure the sheriff has said,

it's still an active scene

and there's still a lot of things going on there.

Prayers are always helpful, a person to prayer myself.

So I think that's a wonderful thing to do.

But look, we're responding in all sorts of different ways.

The children that were at school in the synagogue

have now been moved off site.

We're gonna provide mental health counselors.

We actually provided parts buses to get them there.

I mean, we spare no effort to try to figure out exactly

how we can assist them, but right now,

there'll be more details on what folks can do to help,

especially as we know the extent of any possible injuries,

which there's no confirmation of serious injuries

at this point, which is very fortunate,

unlike some of the other incidents that we've had.

So that's the good news.

I should also add, I've been in contact with our governor

and both of our senators, our Congresswoman Stevens

from here and they've all just pledged the state

and federal support that we need.

And so I'm grateful for them.

The response from Oakland County

and from police departments all throughout the county

exceptional, the time they took to get there,

almost no time at all.

And you had to be pleased with what you saw there.

Very much so.

First, starting with the Bloomfield police,

who were on the scene right away, leading the investigation,

but then again, yes, the sheriff department,

numerous police departments from across the area

have come their Michigan state police.

I mean, these fall, and unfortunately,

this is the third time I've watched them in operation,

but I want people to know just how confident

and that they can be and proud of our first responders.

Former Detroit violent crimes, task force lieutenant Tom

Barry, explained to W.W.J.'s Tony Ortiz,

what exactly law enforcement will be doing

as the investigation moves forward?

What's going on now at the scene now that the suspect is dead?

Well, what they're doing now is obviously the violent crime

of FBI is on the way there.

They haven't taken over the investigation

right now.

It's Oakland County, but I'm just a terrorist that did this.

That's dead.

They will take over the investigation.

They'll track it back.

Has he been listening online to rhetoric and brainwashing?

Is that why he did it or didn't do it?

That's what they'll be looking at.

Is there anybody else involved?

So they'll go through his computer.

They go through his phone and check that out

once they identified.

And I'm sure they already got him identified.

But the officers that were out there,

I want to say this personally,

they're all retired officers.

They know what they're doing.

They train for this.

Just like Oakland County does.

They're ready for things like this.

They don't want it to happen.

But that's what they do with all the anti-Semitic things

that's been going on in the world in the past couple weeks.

They're ready for it.

They train for it.

They know what they're doing.

And I'm very proud of them.

And it looks like they know exactly what they're doing.

They neutralize the shooter.

They got the kids out of there.

I believe it's a daycare out there.

Yes.

And nobody else was injured.

It's just a sad situation for the man and the man's family.

But other than that, nobody else appears to have been hurt.

Nobody was injured.

And it worked.

So training does work.

They came together.

They worked together.

And they neutralized the shooter.

And I think.

Tom, I'm kind of curious.

How do authorities now go about investigating a motive

in these type of attacks?

What they do is they'll start with him.

I believe it's a man.

I'm saying it's a man.

And they'll start with him.

Check his background.

They'll go through all his social media.

His phone.

They'll be executing search warrants wherever he lives.

So that you'll expect right now that they've already

getting that done.

They're probably on the way to his house

or apartment awareness right now to search that.

They can find out the clues.

Why did he do this?

Was he ill?

Was he sick?

Was he anti-Semitic?

Was he involved in the political rhetoric

that that happens on this?

And all too often, that's what it seems to be.

They get that thing in their head.

And they're a little bit on.

And it's just the way it is.

And they snap.

They just snap.

Now I'm going to do this.

I'm going to do that.

And unfortunately, that appears to what happened here.

I don't know that.

I'm just giving you my opinion.

But he snapped.

And he went there and he had a mission.

And he completed his mission.

Security, a Jewish and other religious organizations

has been increased in the wake of this attack.

How much can organizations do to prevent these type

of attacks?

You can't prevent crime.

You can't prevent terrorism.

You can slow it down.

You can make them think about it.

But if somebody has that in their mind

and they want to do what they're going to do,

it's unfortunate.

But we can't stop it all.

You can't stop it.

And I call them a crazy person.

They've lost their mind.

They snapped.

It's hard to stop them.

So all we can do in law enforcement

is what we do every day.

And especially Oakland County, they're all over this

along with the former officers that unfortunately

had to shoot the man.

They train for this.

And when you train over and over and over,

when something like this happens, I'll tell you,

we've been involved in that.

It clets.

It just clicks in.

And you just do it.

And half hour later, you get together to a lot,

a lot of that happened.

Well, you train for it.

It's like tying your shoes every day.

We don't have to tie your shoes.

And these officers out there are highly trained.

Oakland County is highly trained.

The local police department for situations just like this.

And this is a great example of training working together,

having that dialogue with the other law enforcement agencies

in the community and coming together.

And this is the result of it.

It's unfortunate.

But this is the end result of all that training.

Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer,

also addressed the attack in a press conference this week.

She stressed the importance of being

vigilant about anti-semitism, a form of hate

that's been on the rise in recent years.

And I want to thank our state and local law enforcement,

the press responders, our federal partners,

for their swift work to keep people safe and to investigate.

I want to thank Temple Israel's security personnel.

They were selfless in their courage and they saved lives.

These heroes threw themselves in harm's way,

engaging the suspect.

And let's be very clear, yes, this is a place of worship.

But at the time that this attack was occurred,

it was a school, 104 children, each five and younger here.

So I want to thank all of Temple Israel staff who

acted quickly to evacuate students and reunite families.

To see to Michigan, we'll wrap our arms around this community

and support our local and federal partners every step

of the way to keep people safe.

I want to share prayers from my colleague,

Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Josh called,

resh out yesterday to check in and see how people were doing.

I want Michigan's Jewish community to know

that we are with you.

Violence in our houses of worship and in our schools

and in our daycare centers like this is especially hard.

Temple Israel is a pillar of the community.

It's one of the largest reformed Jewish congregations

in North America with Friday night Shabbat services

attracting over 1,000 people.

People celebrate bar and bot mitzvahs, weddings,

and holidays here.

Parents bring their children to daycare and school.

And it's a place of peace, unity, light, and life.

Yesterday's attack was anti-Semitism.

It was hate, plain and simple.

We will fight this ancient and rampant evil.

We will stand together as we do it.

And we will call it out.

We must lower the rhetoric in this state and in this country,

especially at this moment where we have seen such a rise

in anti-Semitism and more attacks on the Jewish community.

Must keep each other close.

This community is on the edge very understandably.

We've seen a rise in attacks,

especially over the last decade, especially over the last 10 months.

And so it is important for us to stand up to stand against it

and to thank the people who showed up to support the community,

but also call out where we see acts of anti-Semitism,

where we see threats, where we see something

and how important it is to say something.

And to recognize that each of us has a responsibility.

People like the person that attacked this community yesterday

get fomented by rhetoric that they see online

and that they see on television and they hear on the radio.

It radicalizes people.

And it endangers our fellow Michiganders.

We cannot let this continue.

And so each of us has a duty to take action,

where and how we can.

And with that, I'll hand it over to Senator Slotkin.

Whitmer was referring to Democratic Senator Alissa Slotkin,

a former intelligence analyst.

Thank you, Governor, and just want to reiterate,

I think it's clear that if it were not for the private security

and the staff at Temple Israel,

and then the first responders first on the scene,

local law enforcement, if they had not all done their jobs,

almost perfectly, we would be talking about

an immense tragedy here today with children gone.

This could have been much, much worse.

So I give incredible credit to law enforcement

and the people who are in the room, putting themselves

and their own families at risk.

I think the governor said it very, very well

on the way this community has responded.

It's been incredible to watch neighbors in the community here,

both organizations, and just regular old citizens

open up their homes literally yesterday

to help care for people who are fleeing from this.

And this is a place that I have a very personal connection to.

I feel I've spent a lot of my time growing up

in and out of this temple.

And I feel just an immense amount of pain

as does the rest of the community

that incidents like this even happen.

And I think it's just important to be clear

as the governor said that whether anti-semitism

is coming from the left or the right,

whether it's coming from some group that you like

or don't like, you have a responsibility to call it out.

Because when you don't, it gives permission for people

to climb that escalation, that ladder of escalation

that goes from saying hateful things online

to saying them in person, to graffiti, to ultimately violence.

And the Jewish community suffers 10 times the number

of hate crimes than any other community in this country.

So it is an epidemic.

And until we push back on that permission,

we're gonna see incidents like this continue to proliferate.

The Jewish community spends over a billion dollars

across the country, securing their houses of worship,

their schools, their institutions.

No community in America should be fearful

of having their own kind congregate

for things like education and worship.

So I stand here proud of the community,

but angry that we even are put in this position,

thankful to law enforcement,

but asking the average citizen out there,

if you have a friend, a colleague, co-workers

who are using anti-semitism in their daily life

and feel like it's just normal,

please call that out wherever you see it.

Whitmer also said the situation

could have been much worse

when taking questions from reporters.

When it comes to the lowering of the temperature,

because we talk to each other and work together,

we go down to the mosque and check it.

What's the message you can deliver

to help lower the temperation?

I think I'm trying to deliver that message right now

that we are Michiganders.

This was a school.

These are zero to five year olds

that were targeted yesterday, 104.

My friend Brian said this could have looked a lot more

like Sandy Hook, right?

Like let's not lose sight of that.

This is not a political moment.

This is not a political debate.

This is targeting babies who are Jewish.

That's anti-semitism at its absolute worst.

And that's why we cannot lose sight of that,

the importance of keeping everyone in Michigan safe

by being responsible and how we talk about issues

and how we treat one another.

Another hate-fueled crime,

the top grocery store shooting in May 2022,

resulted in then 18 year old Peyton Gendron

killing 10 black people and wounding others

at the Buffalo, New York grocery store.

An investigation into the tragedy revealed

that Gendron wrote a self-described manifesto

containing a detailed plan to shoot

and kill black people at tops.

That's according to the US Department of Justice.

This case is still moving through the courts.

Attorney John Almore, who represents some of the families

impacted by the mass shooting, joined a new morning

out of Odyssey Station WBEN this week

to discuss the latest developments,

including the decision to keep the trial in Buffalo.

A junior reaction to the decision

to keep the trial here in Buffalo.

I'm not surprised at all.

The Western District of New York,

Federal District Court, where the case is being tried,

covers eight counties.

There are people that are in the southern tier

that weren't, didn't see too much news

and weren't actually affected by it.

People in Keterogas, county service jurors,

you're all with time, Allegheny, Orleans County.

So they're going to be able to get a fair juror

of people who weren't prejudiced

by the pretrial publicity.

As far as African Americans not being able to serve,

on the jury that's an allegation that the defense

has made in their motions to say

that the jury will not be made up

of a fair cross-section of Western New Yorkers.

I think it's counterintuitive.

Probably, no matter where the case was tried,

it would be difficult to find in African American

that would be completely unbiased.

And more than likely, the defense would use

their primary challenges to challenge African Americans

that did survive the initial jury questionnaire process

and got questioned by the jurors.

So I'm not surprised at all.

The argument that for victims' families

to be able to attend every day,

having to travel to Rochester or wherever else

that might have been, did that, in your opinion,

make a lot or way a lot on the judge's mind?

Absolutely, the judge had to balance the defense right

to have a fair and impartial jury along

with the victim's rights to attend the trial

or the victim's families' rights to attend the trial.

Now, one thing I can say is that there's going to be

a process where the judges are going to receive

a bunch of questionnaires from Western New Yorkers

that the principal attorneys are going to review them.

And if it looks like the defense is not going to have

a fair and impartial jury based upon those questionnaires,

they can renew this motion again.

But the bottom line is for all Western New Yorkers

is that it's important that this defendant

receive a fair trial in front of an impartial jury

because you don't want to have the case tried again.

You don't want to leave any reason

for a higher court to overturn a verdict,

whatever it may be, so that this case doesn't have

to be tried a second time and the families

have to relive the trauma and the community

doesn't have to relive the collective trauma

that they've experienced through this terrible tragedy.

Our last story today is an unusual one.

In Georgia, a prank turned deadly earlier this month

when 40-year-old teacher John Hughes was run over by a truck

driven by one of his students.

Here's Henry Lake of Odyssey Station WCCO News Talk

in the Twin Cities, explaining what makes this case

unique.

When grief shows up at your door

with an unexpected accidental death,

there are many ways that one can react.

But knowing that you don't want to make a bad situation worse,

that is the best way to go.

We know that life happens.

We oftentimes, when we're raised, we have this script

and your life does not go according to plan.

In Laura Hughes, she defines what I'm talking about right now.

She is a woman that's dealing with the tragedy

and I think that she's dealing with it the right way.

So Laura Hughes is the wife in now widow

of a high school teacher by the name of Jason Hughes.

He was killed in a prank gone wrong

and Laura is asking for, in literally is begging for charges

to be dropped against the students that are involved

in this prank.

There were five teenagers that were arrested

after her husband Jason was run over

when he slipped and fell outside of his home

in Gainesville, Georgia, while chasing them

for covering his front yard in toilet paper

as part of a prank war that had been a school tradition for years.

Okay.

And Laura says that her husband was in on it,

in on it in the way that he wasn't trying to confront them

as they're putting the toilet paper

or throwing it all around or whatever,

but he was excited and he was waiting to catch them in the act.

Right?

So this is high school tradition, he's anticipating it.

So he's kind of in on it, he's having fun with it too.

One of the teenagers, Jaden Wallace, 18,

he's facing up to 15 years after police charged him

with a vehicular homicide in the teacher's death.

So what transpired is this, Mr. Hughes,

he stepped outside, it's 1140 on a Thursday night,

walked over to the cars that Wallace

and there were four other teenagers that were in the vehicle

and they were getting into fling after they,

what's the phrase that they use?

Well, what do they call it?

I've never done it where they throw the toilet paper

all over the lawn.

Oh, you're just like toilet papering as always.

That's all that I thought that was going.

Yeah, I mean, I know that that's what they're doing.

I thought that there was like a phrase,

I never did that in my school.

All right, but what ended up happening was

as they're trying to exit and flee,

Mr. Hughes fell into the road

and he was run over by the pickup truck with the students in it.

They stopped immediately, they provided first aid

until emergency responders arrived

and the emergency responders

transferred him to the hospital

where he died from his injuries.

Six, five, one, four, six, one, nine, two, two, six.

The Dave Glover show out of Odyssey Station K-M-L-X

in St. Louis, also discussed the case this week.

That's, it's such a horrible story.

It's awful.

So the widow of a Georgia teacher

who was fatally run over by a student

during a prank at his home

is now asking prosecutors to back off

of the students who killed her husband.

So there were five teenagers

who went to the teacher's house just before midnight

to T.P. his house

and according to the wife of the man who lost his life,

he was like in on the joke

and he went outside to surprise them and prank them back.

But he ended up slipping on the wet ground.

I guess he was running around trying to like,

you know, get around them and scare them.

He fell into the street as the students

got into their vehicles and struck and killed him.

So they did try to provide

but life-saving measures on the scene.

They weren't running from the situation.

They obviously did not mean to hurt their teacher.

It was from all accounts like a lighthearted,

great relationship between the teacher and the students

and it just went too far and it was a terrible tragedy.

Well, now the student who ran him over

is charged with first degree vehicular homicide,

reckless driving, criminal trespass and littering.

And then the four other teens who were with him,

they just face misdemeanor trespass and littering counts.

But yeah, the wife teaches at the same high school

that they all go to and where her husband taught

and she's like, guys, we got to drop these charges.

It's a terrible tragedy,

but let's not also ruin the lives of these students.

This kid could face up to 15 years in prison

if he's convicted as charged.

So why would we play hardball on that?

That is such a good question.

When the person most impacted is flat out saying,

look, it was just an accident.

Like it was literally, I mean, it's horrible.

It's terrible, but it wasn't like they did anything intentionally

to that was harmful.

I mean, you're teaping someone's house.

It's not like you set the porch,

you set a bag of dog crap on fire and the house burned down.

That would be a little different.

I mean, it's an innocent thing

where in playing around with the prank

because he knew it was coming,

the teacher ends up just slipping and falling.

I don't get why you would ruin someone's life over that.

According to a Friday report from People magazine,

District Attorney Lee Dara did indeed decide

to drop charges against the teens.

Thank you so much for listening

to this true crime and real time roundup

from The On Deadline Podcast.

This episode was written and produced by me, Lauren Berry.

Special thanks to the Dana and Parks show

out of KMBZ in Kansas City.

WWJ News Radio in Detroit.

A new morning out of WBEN in Buffalo.

The Henry Lake show out of WCCO News Talk in the Twin Cities

and the Dave Glover show out of KMOX in St. Louis.

You can find and subscribe to these shows

on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also find these true crime updates

by subscribing to The On Deadline Podcast,

the Who Killed Strawberry Podcast,

or The Bitter Academia Podcast on the Odyssey app

or wherever you get your podcasts.

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