toilets. because i'm in hotels. a lot. there's always a phone by the hotel. i'm like, how much time are people spending in there? always a phone. but, emergency calls? yeah, i know it's for emergencies. i was going to say, right, right. i'm not gonna make it, but, no, i don't, leave the seat. i grew up with women. yeah. so i always leave the seat. the rim bit down, but the seat up because i used to really annoy the wom i'm anna garcia right now on true crime news. we brought you the story of hannah and john on the run. the capture of a suspected wife killer and his teenage lover. >> you heard john said jump. and hannah said. >> how high? now, after a dramatic trial, the details come out and the shocking to do list that sealed his fate. then confronting a con artist, lacey. >> a lot of people are accusing you of ripping them off.

>> she scammed everyone. her fiance, even people she called family. >> she came to me stating that she had untreatable cancer. >> bogus medical treatment, identity theft, fake charities. now you can help catch this fraudster. plus, it was one of the most high profile murder cases in history. the menendez brothers, wealthy parents gunned down in their beverly hills mansion by their own suns back in the headlines, their new play to get themselves set free. what do you think the chances are that the menendez brothers being released? your daily source for true crime starts right now. we start with an update on a case in south carolina that we told you about. john blauvelt, a 27 year old army staff sergeant who stood accused of stabbing his young wife to death, then running off with his 17 year old girlfriend, dumping her and then living life as a fugitive for

years. the case came to a dramatic, close and true crime news has new details about the night of the murder. >> it was john and perfect husband. absolutely not. absolutely not. >> as trials go, this one was fast and furious. >> but as being a terrible husband make you guilty of murder? no >> just four days from gavel to gavel. and in the end, the guy who got away with murder for almost eight years finally pays the price for his crime. we, the jury, unanimously find the defendant, john kate lavelle. >> lavelle. guilty. >> some of the details revealed for jurors. so disturbing. >> john bournival did not hesitate when he plunged that knife into katie blackwell's neck. >> family members urged the judge to put him away forever. >> john gave me a life sentence, a life sentence without katie. john deserves the same life sentence, my friend. >> she's been missing for, i think, 30 hours now. and we

found her in the. in the bottom part in the basement, covered up with pieces of wood. >> it wasn't long before john blauvelt became the prime suspect, but he was on police radar. long before he killed katie. all starting with john throwing underage parties at their house shortly after he married katie. one of those partygoers was 17 year old hannah thompson. katie didn't like those illegal parties, and katie left their new marriage. now, never before heard details about that time spilled out in court. prosecutors told jurors he became obsessed with his wife, sending hannah to spy on his ex to see who she was dating. he even had a to do list on his fridge. one of the items on it. get rid of katie. and that's exactly what john blauvelt did. >> john takes a steak knife and she looks at him and she says, please let me go. if you let me go, i won't tell anyone. and he

plunges it six inches deep into her throat. >> prosecutors say in the days before and after the murder, john googled how to sharpen a steak knife. and when can police get phone records? leaving the murder scene, he drove katie's car and met up with hannah. all caught on surveillance video taking a screwdriver and he is taking off the license plate, trying to remove any identifiable markers of that car belonging to katie blauvelt because he knows where katie really is. at this point in time, nabbing the killer was a long time in coming. detectives interviewed john blauvelt twice in the days following the murde, but just when police were ready to make their arrests, john was gone and so was hannah until he abandoned her and went awol for nearly six years, living under a false name, ben klein. marshals finally nabbed him in medford, oregon, in his new girlfriend's backyard. she had no idea she

was living with a fugitive. >> and for them, the answer was john did it. and so when you already have the answer, you can ignore everything else. >> it was hard to ignore the moment when now 25 year old hannah thompson took the stand, revealing testimony of her conversations with john while they were on the run. >> he told me that he stabbed her in the neck. >> more evidence showed that hannah drove john to and from katie's workplace the day she was killed. he in turn left his cell phone with her, hoping to make it look like he was nowhere near the murder scene. in court, jurors heard what john wrote in his private journal to his daughter from another marriage. >> someday, i hope you understand why i did it. that girl was evil to me. she treated me like dirt and took everything from me, including you. i'm sorry that i had to do that, but there was no other way for me. >> they were also read an

apology. he wrote to hannah. >> i love you so much, hannah. no matter what they say, i'm sorry i got you involved. >> and perhaps the most confession of all, an entry about investigator morecraft with the capitalized letters at the end. >> i did it. >> the judge sentenced john blackwell to life in prison without the possibility of parole. up next, the menendez brothers guilty of killing their parents in cold blood in their beverly hills mansion. now their decades old case is getting new attention. (mom) how was everyone's day? (doughboy) it was great! we made this taco crescent ring, i saw a weird bird, you came home, you came home, i rode the vacuum... ...now we're eating dinner! ♪ bosch dishwashers use water less ♪ ♪ add finish tabs more success ♪ ♪ work well together every time ♪

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it was one of the most high profile murder cases in america. the menendez brothers, jose and kitty, shot dead in their beverly hills home by their own suns, lyle and erik's case has been the subject of numerous documentaries and a tiktok campaign to free them. and now it's getting renewed attention. a picture perfect family, the pristine image of wealth and high society in beverly hills. >> what's the problem? what's the problem? i'm sorry to tell my parents. pardon me. so true. but it all shattered with a

crime so ruthless. >> it was hard to fathom. erik and lyle menendez viciously shooting their own parents with a shotgun as they watched television at home. now it's the subject of a new netflix documentary, the menendez brothers. >> why would you kill your parents? >> the question captured the attention of america like never before. at the time, the 21 and 18 year old brothers admitted the truth, but everyone tuned in to find out why. >> a lot of people kill for money, but you kill your parents because you hate them. >> veteran journalist shelly ross led the coverage for abc news. >> they were abused. they were emotionally abused. jose menendez, emotionally abused everybody. people who worked for him, people who had meetings with him. he was just a bully and a control freak. the picture

painted by the menendez brothers was a father who also sexually abused both boys for years, leading them to kill him, rape me? >> did you cry? >> yes. >> were you scared? >> very. >> did you ask him not to? >> yes. >> how did you ask him not to? >> i just told him i don't. >> those shocking allegations helped close out the first trial with a hung jury. a second trial went differently after a judge significantly limited the defense's use of abuse allegations. >> you have a prosecutor saying let's just strip down to the facts. the facts are that this was premeditated. they weren't in any immediate danger. >> both brothers were found guilty and sentenced to life in

prison without parole. >> the probation report indicates they are not a danger or a threat to anyone. they have not committed any other crimes. >> the case is now again at the forefront with a newly discovered letter written from erik menendez to his cousin before the murders, talking about sex abuse from his father, saying, i've been trying to avoid dad. it's still happeni. the new evidence is igniting interest on tiktok and in the netflix documentary, the brothers who each got married while behind bars, hold on to hope that it could possibly lead to a new trial or their release. >> i'm not surprised because they don't know the whole story. they don't know all the premeditation. >> former prosecutor matt murphy, who's also an author of a new book called the book of murder, is joining me now. matt, what do you think the chances are that this new information,

this new evidence, will either lead to a new trial or perhaps the menendez brothers being released? >> i'd say slim to none. i would like to say zero chance, but i can't because you never know. but i know that there's a claim that some of this is reflected in a letter from back in the day. but look, these guys killed their parents. they financially benefited. and let's not forget, there were two trials here. >> but in the second trial, they didn't get a chance to introduce that. as part of the explanation as to why they killed their parents, they don't deny they killed their parents. the question is, was it murder? was it manslaughter? >> the idea that in a planned homicide, somebody tries to create evidence for themselves that will benefit them in a potential trial is something that you see all the time. if i was on the court of appeal, given the details of this case, i would give this very little weight. >> thanks, matt murphy up next. she faked having cancer and begged for help. >> i knew the family history and so i just assumed it was true. ended up to be about $28,000.

>> then disappeared. >> and i think that's when reality hit. >> she can run, but can she hide? >> lacey time to call

carshield. now. call (800) 285-5201 for the latest breaking crime news, go to true crime news dot com. >> watch more

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can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ powerful. cough relief with robitussin and find your voice. >> imagine if someone you love told you that they needed money for medical treatment. you'd offer to help, right? well, one california woman raised nearly half $1 million after claiming that she was dying of cancer. there's just one problem. investigators believe that it was all a big scam. now, lacey johnson is on the run, and cops need your help catching this con woman. >> lacey, what do you have to say for yourself? >> she is the queen of the con game. confronted here by crime journalist pat lalama, chasing after the fresh faced fraudster in a long game of cat and mouse. >> lacey, a lot of people are accusing you of ripping them of. >> the mouse is lacy johnson,

aka lacey hall, aka lacey mcallister aka lacey and marble. and she's trapped. let's go back to where it began. dorinda gardner was a close family friend of the johnsons. they asked her to act as lacey's legal guardian if anything ever happened. >> i said, yes, i would, but i also laughingly said, don't let anything happen. >> when lacey's mom died of cancer, dorinda stepped into the role. one day, lacey shared devastating news. >> she came to me and stating that she had untreatable cancer. at that point in time, it was lung cancer, which is what her mother passed from. few months later, she told me it had metastasized to the brain. and the only thing that would counter it would be experimental treatments in tijuana. i knew the family history, and so i just assumed it was true. i didn't have any reason not to

believe it. >> then came the plea for money. dorinda just couldn't refuse the young woman she considered to be her own daughter, even on her limited retirement income, ended up to be about $28,000. lacey reportedly promised to pay it all back. that promise would prove to be empty. >> i called her and her cell phone was disconnected, and i think that's when reality hit. >> reality had not hit yet at temple beth emeth in burbank, california, where rabbi mark harris sobel prides himself on providing a warm, welcoming place of worship. >> i watched lacey grow up. i watched her older brother morgan get bar mitzvah here at the temple. >> when lacey announced to the congregation that she had cance, everyone embraced her just like they did her mom. lacey claimed she had breast cancer, not lung cancer, and desperately needed gene therapy from the mayo clinic in new york, not tijuana. the kind hearted people at temple beth emeth gave

thousands, but there is one big problem there is no mayo clinic in new york. >> i googled her name to find out if there was any posting, and that's when the website popped up about bringing lacey johnson to justice on that site. >> scores of statements from people she allegedly scammed, sob stories claiming she had various types of stage four cancer, and this fake charity asking for money for veterans. >> she disguised herself as a victim herself and people out of the goodness of heart should help her. and she's entitled to that help. >> that includes the men in lacey's life. >> i'm always questioning whether the same thing could happen again. >> daniel garcia met lacey through an online dating service. >> i thought it could develop into essentially a marriage and the family. >> over time, lacey tells daniel she lost her mother, grandmothe, uncle and cat and that her

father was suffering from stage four colon cancer. >> she did say that medical bills were starting to pile up. she was spending most of her time working to try and cover the cost, but it was just overwhelming for her. she had asked me for a total of $15,000, just thinking about somebody having cancer. i wanted to help out. however i could. >> luckily for dan, he says he only gave her $1,200, but it was a lot worse for clinton, who asked us to use his first name only. >> do you still love her? no, no, no, because because of what she's put me through. >> clinton was once engaged to lacey. she used his name and social security number to open three credit cards without his knowledge, and put him over $40,000 in debt. >> lacey comes across a very nice miss innocent clinton testified that lacey didn't want him to see the credit card statements that would show she racked up $42,000.

>> he didn't learn lacey was up to no good until a private investigator called urging him to check out this website created by victims of lacey's alleged scams. >> what did you think there was a long list of basic information that she had been accused of. >> the same website daniel found on his own. >> i just got on my computer. i googled her first name and her date of birth, and i came across this website that detailed everything that she was accused of. >> lacey would eventually cut plea deals with the los angeles county district attorney, and she was sentenced to just 180 days in county jail, 30 days of community service, 30 days of community labor and an order to pay $127,000 of restitution, plus five years probation. as for lacey's godmother dorinda, her gut wrenching victim impact statement reveals a cruel irony.

lacey now i have lung cancer. eight tumors, to be exact, not responsive to conventional treatment. the money you stole from me is no longer available to help me in my time of need. profound words that will likely fall on deaf ears. investigators are looking for lacey johnson. she is on the run. she violated her probation by not showing up for a hearing. and that could put her back behind bars if they can find her. cops also believe there are even more victims out there, and they're asking anyone who might have been targeted by lacey johnson to reach out to the l.a. county sheriff's department. you can also contact our tip line at (888) 845-7555. up nex an update

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>> remember sarah boone, the florida woman accused of killing her boyfriend, george torres jr, by suffocating him in a suitcase? she claimed it was an accident. they were playing a game of hide and seek and he got in the suitcase and suffocated. she recorded it all on her cell phone. boone's ninth lawyer, who she found through a handwritten ad, says it was self-defense. meanwhile, her sixth, seventh and eighth attorneys told a judge they want to get paid. they were awarded $15,000 each. now, an update on a story we covered here. ali abu laban, aka gym kid, the tiktok star known for his scarface impressions. well, he's posted an apology to social media for murdering his wife and another man before heading to prison. part of his statement to the victim's family and his fans reads i am so sorry for my actions and i am ashamed

at how pathetic and selfish i had been. he goes on to say i'm sorry for letting you all down and now i must pay my dues. abu laban was given two life sentences without parole for the murders and 50 more years in prison for gun charges. that's it for today's true crime news. i'm ana garcia. join us next ti , everyo - was there any question this was a murder? - travis seiber is obviously deceased. his whole upper face was covered with blood. (tense music) - i roll up, i see detective gladson. i knew it was a murder at that point. (tense music) - an affair that travis was having with the neighbor that had been going on for several years. - if he had enemies, we weren't aware of any, and it wasn't a kind of situation that travis would get into where, you know, guns would be involved. (tense music) - was the waiting the worst part? - i was pretty much helpless. there was nothing i could do about it to find out who did it. (tense music)