TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Melanie Davis with me today.

In August 2012, 15-year-old Zachary Davis murdered his mother, Melanie Davis, while she slept in their Tennessee home, striking her repeatedly with a sledgehammer. After the killing, he attempted to murder his older brother by setting the house on fire, a plan that ultimately failed when his brother escaped and police intervened.

Zachary was arrested and later convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated arson. He received an automatic life sentence, despite his young age.

Years later, the case resurfaced in a disturbing television interview on The Dr. Phil Show. During the interview, Zachary spoke publicly about the crime for the first time, giving evasive and unsettling answers when confronted about killing his mother. The segment raised renewed questions about his mental state, responsibility, and how someone so young could commit such an act of extreme violence.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kelly Bullwinkle with me today.

On September 13, 2003, 18-year-old Kelly Bullwinkle, a college student from Redlands, California, vanished after finishing her shift at a fast-food restaurant. Her abandoned car was found at a nearby mall, and weeks of searching followed until paintball players discovered her body in a shallow grave in San Timoteo Canyon.

Kelly had been lured there by two of her friends, Kinzie Noordman and Damien Guerrero, classmates from Redlands East Valley High School. What began as a friendship within their goth subculture spiraled into jealousy, betrayal, and violence. Police later determined that Guerrero shot Kelly in the head, and Noordman also fired at her as she lay dying.

After the murder, the pair attempted to cover up the crime: they buried her body in a grave they had dug beforehand, abandoned her car in a parking lot, then went about their night as if nothing had happened.

In 2005, Kinzie Noordman was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. Guerrero’s trial initially resulted in a hung jury, and he faced retrial proceedings for the killing.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Heather Rich with me today.

In October 1996, 16-year-old Heather Rose Rich, a high school cheerleader from Waurika, Oklahoma, disappeared after leaving home to meet a local teen on what was supposed to be a first date. Her body was found days later in Belknap Creek in Montague County, Texas, shot nine times with a shotgun and left in the water near a rural bridge.

Investigators discovered that Heather had been plied with alcohol by three local boys, Joshua Luke Bagwell, Curtis Allen Gambill, and Randy Lee Wood who then drove her to the remote location. After raping her while she was incapacitated, they shot her and dumped her body before attempting to cover up the crime.

The case drew intense law enforcement involvement, including the Texas Rangers and the FBI, as authorities worked to unravel the teenagers’ conflicting statements and motives. All three were eventually convicted: Bagwell received life plus 99 years, Gambill two life terms, and Wood a life sentence.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Stoni Blair and Stephen Berry with me today.

In 2015, authorities in Detroit, Michigan, made a horrifying discovery while carrying out an eviction: the bodies of two of Mitchelle Blair’s children, 13-year-old Stoni Blair and 9-year-old Stephen Berry, hidden inside a deep freezer in the living room of her apartment.

Investigators uncovered a history of extreme abuse and neglect. Mitchelle eventually pled guilty to killing both children and placing their bodies in the freezer. Court testimony revealed that she had beat, suffocated, and tortured them over time, committing the murders months apart.

At sentencing, Mitchelle Blair showed no remorse and told the judge she would do it again. She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Katlyn "Katie" Collman with me today.

In January 2005, 10-year-old Katlyn “Katie” Collman was sent on a simple errand in her small Indiana town of Crothersville but she never made it home. Her disappearance sparked an intense search across the community. Five days later, her body was found in a lake about 20 miles away, her hands bound and her life cut tragically short.

Police initially followed multiple leads, including a false confession, before DNA evidence from the crime scene led them to Anthony Ray Stockelman, a 38-year-old man with no obvious connection to Katie. The rare cigarette brand found near her body matched cigarettes he was known to have purchased, and further forensic evidence tied him to the abduction, molestation, and murder.

Stockelman ultimately pleaded guilty to murder and child molestation as part of a plea deal that spared the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kerri Mcauley with me today.

In January 2017, 32-year-old Kerri McAuley, a mother of two, was found beaten to death in her flat in Norwich, England, at the hands of her former partner, Joe Storey. Their relationship had been marked by a long history of violence and abuse and despite warnings, restraining orders, and previous attacks, the danger was never fully addressed.

Storey’s assault was savage and sustained: Kerri suffered 19 separate fractures to her face, and police later found a disturbing image on his phone showing him with her blood smeared on his face after the attack.

At trial, prosecutors described the murder as one of the worst cases of domestic violence to come before the court. In 2017, Joe Storey was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 24 years.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jennifer Morey with me today.

In April 1995, 25-year-old Houston lawyer Jennifer Morey woke up in the middle of the night to a nightmare: an intruder on top of her, a knife at her throat. The attacker wasn’t a stranger off the street, he was Bryan Wayne Gibson, a Pinkerton security guard assigned to her apartment complex, hired to keep residents safe.

Jennifer fought back fiercely as Gibson stabbed her and slashed her throat, missing a major artery by millimeters. Bleeding heavily, she barricaded herself in the bathroom, then managed to call 911 on a cell phone and in a terrifying twist, the man knocking at her door claiming to be “security” was Gibson returning to finish the job. She refused to open it, and police arrived in time.

Gibson was arrested that same night. He was later convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released in 2015 and is listed as a registered sex offender in Texas

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kaysi McLeod, LeAnn Emry, Jennifer Marcum, and Terry Kimball with me today.

In the early 2000s, convicted con-man Scott Kimball reinvented himself as a federal informant and used that identity to hide something far darker. After meeting Lori McLeod, he quickly married her, gaining access to her life… and to her 19-year-old daughter, Kaysi McLeod.

Not long after the marriage, Kaysi vanished. Kimball claimed she had run away but investigators would later uncover that he had lured her away and murdered her. Over time, more disappearances emerged around him: Jennifer Marcum, LeAnn Emry, and Tamara Polson all connected to Kimball, all missing.

For years, Kimball fooled law enforcement, family members, and even the FBI, who believed he was assisting them while he continued to kill. It wasn’t until patterns of lies, financial fraud, and forensic evidence began to surface that the truth finally unraveled.

In 2009, Scott Kimball pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. The case remains one of the most disturbing examples of manipulation, a predator who used trust, marriage, and authority as weapons.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Bjork with me today.

In 1996, Icelandic singer Björk became the target of an obsessive and dangerous stalker: Ricardo López, a 21-year-old fan living in Florida. Over the course of months, López isolated himself and recorded hundreds of disturbing video diaries, documenting his fixation on the singer and his growing resentment when he learned she was in a relationship.

The obsession eventually escalated into a violent plan directed at Björk. Before law enforcement could intervene, López took his own life and the recordings he left behind revealed the full extent of his delusions, anger, and fixation. Fortunately, Björk was not harmed.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Susan Lee Hutson with me today.

Rachel Hutson was just 19 years old when she carried out a shocking and calculated crime. Armed with a handgun she had taken from her father’s safe, Rachel shot and killed her mother, Susan Lee Hutson, inside the family home. Moments later, she took a photograph of Susan’s body and sent it to her father as a message.

Investigators said the killing was motivated by anger and resentment, and that Rachel showed little emotion in the hours that followed. She later confessed to the murder, and in court, prosecutors described the act as deliberate and cold-blooded. Rachel Hutson was ultimately convicted and sentenced to prison for her mother’s murder.