406: Mackenzie’s Dad is SPIRALING, 2nd DNA Sample Found in Anna Kepner & Serial Killer in Mexico?

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to an all new episode of Serialist League with me, your host Annie E. Lease. I hope you're having a fantastic day and week so far. It's Thursday, which for those of you who are brand new and maybe a new or listener and you don't know the whole rundown over here. Let me just kind of break it down for you. Mondays, we do a full deep dive together where I go through a singular case, the full rabbit hole,

all the details, all the red flags, everything. And then on Thursday, I come back on and we do a headline highlights together where I talk through everything that's going on this week in the True Crime World, case updates, trial updates, brand new cases, you know, everything in between just so that you can really stay on the pulse of everything that is going on in the True Crime universe. So thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening, coming off of Crime Con weekend, which was in Vegas

and was a lot of fun. We will talk more about that in a little bit. But we have a lot to get into today and you know, I have an announcement that I was a little nervous to make, but I feel like sometimes you had to just, you know, throw it out into the universe, put breath into it, make it reality,

“and then you won't be scared anymore. And that announcement, is that Amy Colette is here today?”

I'm so glad you just ripped that bandaid right off. It's been, it's been a wound. I'm glad it's

okay. I hate that work. Yeah, that's it. Well, here's what I really want to say to you. Hello,

hello. And the reason we want to say hello is a special shout out. Hello to our friend Alyssa. We met Alyssa for the first time a couple of years ago at Crime Con and she and her husband are absolutely like incredible human beings and they've come out and seen me on tour. They go to Crime Con, they've become friends. And so she came by the booth this weekend and actually brought Amy and I, these, the cutest, cutest sweatshirt sweatshirts ever. If you're watching YouTube, you can see

they are embroidered and they say hello on them. So I was like, oh, we're 1,000% going to wear that and have mine highlight. So Alyssa, if you're listening shout out, we love you so much. Thank you so

much. And we miss you guys already. So yeah, Crime Con, how you feeling? It was our third year. I feel

re-energized. Yeah, it was a really great weekend. Vegas, I'll be honest. Vegas wasn't my favorite out of the years. Denver has been my favorite so far, just because the hotel layout. And I know you and I talked about that a little bit. But overall, really great crowd had great conversations, spoke with Steve Gonzalez, Kaylee, González's father. We spoke with make-and-tracelle's mother. We spoke with bitty politics. I mean, so many great conversations throughout the weekend meeting

all of you incredible viewers and listeners as well, speaking with family members, survivors and

“just being together, it's always a great feeling. Yeah, and I think it's just, um, it's a little,”

it's a huge reminder, like I always say. But it's like you're in the booth, you're taking photos

with people, you're saying hello, you're meeting the community. And most of that is all very positive and light. And then you're introduced to a family member who unfortunately has lost somebody. And it's just a very big, strong reminder of what the work is that you do in hearing their story and hearing them, just trying to bring awareness and just having to relive all of those details with each person they're trying to share it with in honor of their loved one. And

I just put myself in their shoes, which you know, I get emotional and they come up to the booth, because I think of myself suffering a loss like that and going out and of course wanting to spread awareness. But then you are forced to be very bright, brave, and courageous yourself and share that story over and over again and hope that you're getting the reception that you want. And you know what, I'm not going to put anybody on blast, but I am going to say, I'm going to share

a little story that we heard while we were at crime gone. We were speaking with a family member of a victim and I'm not going to say which case or anything like that. Because again, I don't want

“to put anybody on blast. But we sat with her and we chatted for maybe 15 minutes. I think it was.”

And at the very end, someone who was with her came up to us and just was overly thankful saying, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with her. Thank you for listening to her. She just was at another podcasters booth who said basically, and I'm going to paraphrase here, because I don't want to again get too specific to where then and identify these people and makes them uncomfortable. But where the podcaster basically said to them, like,

"Well, if you want this story to get picked up, you need to make sure that it's really compelling."

member. Like, "Oh, it's not compelling enough for you." Like, "What are you even talking about?" And so, like, I can't even imagine the audacity of saying that. Like, it's just unbelievable. And so, it was heavy weekend, but also, you know, had really great pockets of some levity and meeting all of you guys and fun moments. And I have to say to, "Does it officially mean that I have made it?" When Chris Hanson comes up to the booth and asks for a photo for me.

That was my fan girl moment. Not only, I heard the voice before I saw the face. You didn't want him to say, "Take a seat." And I was like, "I know that voice." It means someone's in trouble. He's a guest. He's a guest in a predator. When he came over and wanted to meet you and wanted to shake your hand and then he got in our photo booth and everyone was like, "I told everybody who was like, "Waiting in line

for a photo." I was like, "Hold on, guy." Like, for a photo with me, which sounds so stupid saying that. But I was like, "Hold on. This is the Chris Hanson booth until further notice." He has taken over. Like, he trumps every fan. And his wife is just so sweet.

“This is sweetest human being. I think about a power couple.”

No, I know. And so, yeah, came over. I wanted to do a photo with asking how we can collaborate together. So, stay tuned for that. And he had a great panel on the dangers of roblox, which, I mean, it's a no secret. I've talked about roblox at nauseam on this channel. But how dangerous it is and how I don't believe that any child should be on it. And that's not to fear among girls because of what I have seen.

And I think I have to talk with Josh a little bit about it because he sat in towards the end of the panel. And I something happened during that panel where they were doing a live demonstration where in a count, tried to lure someone off platform onto Snapchat and the count got banned like in real time. Within seconds. So, again, do your research into roblox. Actually, I know Josh from Dad Challenge podcast. That's his YouTube channel. I don't think he's on a podcast.

I think it's only YouTube. He just did a whole recap of the Chris Hansen presentation. So, you can go check that out and it will give way more details. But yeah, overall, a fantastic weekend. We were sad that our girl Elizabeth couldn't make it. She was under the weather last minute. So, we're going to have to make up for it in Orlando. Yeah. That's where crime con will be next year. It's next September. So, September 20, 27 or Orlando. I don't think you

I can use my promo code now, but you could try other ways soon. I think they go on sales soon. So, yeah, the promo code whenever you get your tickets will be Annie Elise. So, just try whenever you're going to buy tickets, try to use that promo code because you'll get a huge discount. But yeah, it was really great. I'm trying to think whatever big I sat in on the Nancy Grace panel. Of course, where she talked all about Nancy got three. Yeah, chatted with Vinny offline a little bit about the

David case. I think for me, I always just love connecting with the community. I think the feedback we

get at crime con is the most valuable of the year because you hear across all audiences, why they tune in, what cases they're interested about hearing, what really meant a lot to them that

“we did cover and I think that's the most important for you. It's just getting out there. Yeah. I mean,”

like not being alone in a studio with a camera and like talking to people. Well, that's why I love doing the live tour so much too because it's kind of like crime con just on a smaller scale where you're talking to people every night meeting everyone. And that's one of the fun parts, too. It's like how many people we see time and time again, whether it's a crime con or out on tour who are wearing merch from like three years ago or later fourth time we've seen that, which is really cool.

Like Beth, shout out if you're listening to saw her in the home like, hey, like it's you start to recognize each other and I don't know. It becomes fun. Then you're having drinks together in the lobby and like hanging out and yeah. And one other thing, just I was I'm constantly impressed

by, but I think being newer in the space on the first crime con and now it's our third,

I'm beyond impressed with fellow creators and how supportive they are with one another. I mean, Annie was recording on a Thursday when we arrived. So our team got there. She arrived shortly after, but before she got there, Josh stepped up, CC stepped up. Her husband Tony is so helpful, just helping us set up the booth. No questions asked. Obviously, our friends at crime weekly, one creator of the year. We're not even next guys. We were up for the award and we lot which

I was kind of thankful because I was like dreading speaking, but I'm so happy they won. It's their second year in a row. So well deserved. We love Derek and stuff. We're not with them literally. I know,

“but that's what's so cool. There's not both of us going into the clue where it's we're like,”

good luck, good luck. Like awesome for whoever wins. Yeah. And I just, I, it's really nice to go somewhere where there isn't competitive energy and there's a sense of community. Yeah, and it's awesome. I know. It was great. And we went and saw the very first night we got in on

Thursday. We went and saw Wizard of Oz at the sphere. Highly, highly recommend. It was incredible.

underlying, yeah, competition to where it's like, we what's the thing, like there's plenty of seats at the table, like, and it courage each other. Everybody's going, working towards the same

“goal purpose. Yeah. Exactly. For a victim advocacy and awareness. Exactly. Why would there be competition?”

I remember even like, I love to pick other the brains of other creators too, just because like, I want to get their opinion on cases or their insight. And I, where it was, it must have been during Wizard of Oz or right after because Derek and Steph came with us and their team actually came with us as well, which their team, they've, like, some of the nicest people on their team. And it was either at Wizard of Oz or dinner at a following night. And I remember asking him, like,

all of these questions about the David case, because of his time working in the field, because he's obviously he's seen so many different homicides and things like that, where I was asking him some details, which I don't want to get, like, overly gory. But like, because I wanted to increase my knowledge on this subject. And like he was like, yeah, let's talk about it. And I don't know. There's just, like, again, it's so nice when people can come together

rather than be like, just want to help weird energy. Yeah. So we don't like haters. Um, that was a fucking 11 minute recap. I'm really sorry. And I'm sorry if that gave you phomo or I'm sorry if you just felt like any, I don't even care about crime con. Um, what are you talking about? But I wanted to at least talk about it, because I do think sometimes crime con gets a bad rap. People think that it's sensationalism or that it's all about like exploiting people. But what they don't realize is that

a lot of these victims families go there for the purpose of either not only doing a panel, like Kaylee's family from Idaho, um, from Idaho for a case, but families going because they want the coverage. They want to keep their story in the spotlight. Like, it's not about, oh, we're fans of true crime. Let's talk about our favorite things. No, it's more purpose-driven. And then I've heard directly from a few of the family members that they choose this convention intentionally because of

the ethics around it. Yeah. And I, I was saying to you, I feel like the panels have gotten just

“better and better over the years and more of them because I think more people want to participate.”

A great example of that is there was a panel. Actually, I think there may have been more than one

with the Epstein survivors. And they came, they never, they, they're obviously advocating in public

and they're being very vocal about things. But they were extremely wrong vulnerable in these sessions talking about it because they felt like they were in a safe space. So I think sometimes crime con can get a bad rap. But really, it's such a moving weekend. And like, Doc said he's never going to miss another one. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, because this was, yeah, his first one. So yeah, there you go, chew on that. I don't know why I said, wow. Okay. Well, let's go into this first update. Okay.

We are going to talk about a major update that actually happened well. I was at crime con in the case of Baby Emanuel Harrow. So you'll probably remember this one. Back on August 14, 2025, a manuals mother Rebecca had reported that her young son who was under one year old had been kidnapped from the parking lot of a big five sporting goods center. This was in Yucapa, California. Rebecca claimed that

“she had gone to the big five because I think she had just dropped off her son at football practice.”

She needed to get like a mouth guard or she needed to do something. So she said that she was changing Emanuel's diaper, while then somebody came up from behind her, like as she was reaching for the diaper, said, Ola and then knocked her unconscious to the ground and ran off with Emanuel. She claimed that when she woke up after being knocked down, he was just gone. However, a lot of things

just were not adding up from the very beginning. First of all, the fact of like the surveillance

footage or lack there of the time of day and night, it was like nothing in her story made a lot of sense and investigators within days also said that they found a lot of inconsistencies in her story. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, when the detectives confronted her about these inconsistencies, she ended the interview and she and her dirt bag husband Jake completely stopped cooperating with the police. Also come to find out that during all of this,

Jake's past also came to light, where he had a ton of past convictions of child abuse against his previous child so much so that resulted in disabilities, lifelong, ailments, horrible things. So as that was of course coming out, people were like obviously they're where they're smoked their fire, something's not right here. He has a history of this, this whole interview is off-putting. I remember they couldn't even like give a full description of him like

whereas if it were me, it's like, or you, I'm sure you're basically like, oh, my child, you know,

has a little scar on their ear. A freckle over here. They have big eyes. They look blue. Like things that are easily identifiable and characteristics and they couldn't even like list one, which I'm like, but that's weird. So finally, on August 22nd, the authorities announced that this

baby Emmanuel, investigators said that they believed that he was in fact deceased. So then they were shifting their focus in the investigation to finding his remains. That same day, there was a huge raid on the house and both Rebecca and Jake were arrested on suspicion of murder. So as we know, or if you've been following the case, Jake, the father, later pleaded guilty to murder and to filing a false police report. Also, child endangerment. He was sentenced to 25

years to life in prison, plus in additional seven years and two months for a probation violation. So in total, a little over 32 years before he will ever even be eligible for parole.

However, Rebecca pleaded not guilty. And she remained in custody on a $1 million bail. And at first,

“I think that thought was in this was that he was going to take the fall for her. He would take the”

wrap. She would be released. That maybe she was helpful in the cover-up, but didn't really participate in the crime that it was Jake and maybe that's the reason that he was taking the fall who knows. However, all of that has now changed. Because on Friday, May 29th, nearly nine months after a manual was first reported missing. Rebecca has suddenly changed her plea. She pled guilty to felony child abuse in voluntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact. So she was immediately

sentenced to 12 years and eight months in state prison, which personally, I do not believe that.

I was just like 12 years. I know. I know. I know. So the assistant district attorney said quote,

Rebecca's plea incentives today reflects her sins of parental omission. Her choice not to intervene was a choice to allow if not facilitate a manual's death. This defendant had a legal and moral responsibility as a manual's mother. She catastrophically failed in that duty. So even though both parents have now pleaded guilty, there is still, of course, a huge major unanswered question in this case. Because at the time of this recording, not only do we not know

what happened and why not that the why necessarily matters, but like, when did it happen? Why did it happen? Because there also weren't any recent photos. But also, a manual's remains have not been recovered. Now early on, I will say this too. After Jake was arrested, it's believed they did. There was like all of this footage where he brought the police to like this shoulder of the freeway this off like not off ramp. Like the shoulder of the freeway where there's just like all this vast land

and desert. And it's in Yuccaipo, which is like more of like the desert area. So a lot of people believe that, oh, okay, he was arrested. Now he's cooperating. He's leading the authorities to

“a manual's remains. Why else would they be there when it's and take him out? I think he was even”

in his like orange jumpsuit when they took him out. However, they searched and searched and searched and it didn't yield any results. So then the conversation became more of even if they did dispose of his remains in the desert. Animals may have gotten to him. Things could have moved. I mean, so many different scenarios. So I don't know that we will ever know where a manual's remains are. If he was placed in the desert or something like that, and I don't know that they necessarily

will ever cooperate and say that. Maybe they will, since they already pleaded guilty. I mean, maybe there's no where to go. But up from there, if you cooperate and share that information, but as of now, we still don't know the why or the where. So number one, I'm annoyed. Like you wasted so much time and resources. And resources, like that's one thing. But more, I'm curious to know from your perspective. You just said, if they were to give the whereabouts, that might help them

to maybe, you know, get a lighter sentence or shorter sentence, I should say. I don't know that would because they've already been sentenced, but when they're eligible for parole, then or early release, then that would probably go a long way if you're cooperating, you show remorse, you're saying,

let me tell you where he is and everything that happened. Well, because my first thought was,

why not share where the remains are at this point? Like put that little boy to rest, the way he deserves. Like you already fucked up as a parent. Right. There's no coming back. You've admitted to it. So do the right thing at this point and give that little boy the burial he deserves. Which maybe Jake was trying to do that though. Not trying to be the good person, but like trying to lighten his sentence early on and take them to that area where his remains were just was

and unfortunately animals moved him. Oh, so you think the intention was show because I was thinking is that one thing to lose at this point. Well, in the manner of which perhaps that he died,

“could that maybe possibly? Or send their sentence and that's why they're like, if they don't find”

them, then we don't have to find him, then at least we don't have to say. The cause of death and

first degree or something like that, possible. So I don't know, but Jake pleaded guilty to murder.

So maybe he is the one that cooperate who knows. But I mean, these people are just disgusting human beings and his track record, too. I've done a full deep dive on this case. You can go back and search it either in the podcast feed or on YouTube. But when his past, I don't even know what you want to say, not allegations because they were convictions. What he did to his other child when that all came out is like, okay, the writing is on the wall of what happened here. It was from day one.

“And so that's why I'm saying, you just wasted so much time and resources. I know. You haven't”

updated in a case that we just talked about last week. Right. So go, yeah, last week or the week before. Or the week before. Okay. Yeah. So yeah, there's an update in the Melissa Cassius case because after almost a year of searching, there's finally been a really big development. And as Annie said, we talked about this case about two weeks ago on headline highlights in a little more detail. But just as a quick recap, Melissa Cassius was a 53-year-old woman from Tauce, New Mexico,

who disappeared on June 26th, 2025. Now that morning, she took her husband to work at the Los Almost National Laboratory where they both worked. Then she went home and told her daughter that she had forgotten her work badge and was going to work from home instead that day. Around noon, Melissa brought lunch to her daughter at work. But then after that, she seemingly just vanished.

And by 2pm, Melissa's boss had contacted her husband because she had never clocked in to work that day.

Then at 215pm, Melissa was seen on surveillance footage walking southbound along state road 5-18 near Tauce. And that would end up being the last confirmed sighting of her. Now one of the things that has made this case so frustrating was that there never seemed to be any clear answers as to where Melissa went or what happened after she was last seen walking down that road. But now there has been an update. Last Thursday, May 28th, exactly 11 months and two days after Melissa disappeared,

a hiker found human remains in the Carson National Forest about six miles from Melissa's home. Authorities say the remains were found next to a handgun and the office of the medical investigator was able to quickly identify them as belonging to Melissa. Two days later, her family confirmed the news on the fine Melissa Mondragon Cassius Facebook page saying we confirm that the remains found in Rio, Chiquita, are Melissa. There will be more information to come, but what we can tell you now

is she was located in an area previously searched. This is a lot to process. Our hearts are heavy

and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice. So Melissa has finally been found,

but investigators still don't have all the answers. The office of the medical investigator is still working to determine both her cause and manner of death. And Melissa's family is still trying to piece together what exactly happened before she died. So there's still a lot of unanswered questions here and we'll obviously keep following it and give you those updates as they come up. But one question I have is if this was indeed self-inflicted, what she running from something,

was she afraid, was there any type of clues leading up to why this might have happened? I mean, there's so many conspiracies about the missing and killed scientists and then everything that's been going on, which another shout out to Stephanie Harlow, she has been doing so many deep dives into all of that. When I first saw that Melissa was found, the fact that there was a firearm next to her, I was like, okay, this appears to be probably self-inflicted. She was also only six miles

from her home where it's not like she was out on her own for a long time and then like,

“succumbed to the elements or anything like that. But I think it's interesting because we know”

she factory reset her phone before she left. She lied about her not having her badge and going to the lab that day. Like, it's as if she was trying to shut her life down a little bit, whether that's because she wasn't trouble and hiding from someone or hiding something. I don't know if that's really clear, but what I do think is interested is how in the official statement they say more information to come, what we can tell you now is that she was located in an area that was previously searched,

which I get it sometimes it's difficult to find remains after months and months and who knows like the state of every decomposition and what the terrain is like and all of that. But I mean, Occam's Razor would suggest that there was probably something she was fleeing from. She went off grid, went to like some deserted little area and took her own life so it wasn't in her family home. But I know there's so much more going on right now with different

conspiracies and things like that that maybe there was blackmail involved, maybe there was something else, maybe she was running from someone and wanted to protect her family. Like, I don't know,

“I think there will be a lot more to come. This is obviously big speculation of my part. Okay.”

But I just feel like my gut is telling me that she was afraid or being threatened or something

the sense of like, it's your last day, this was obviously planned and you drove your husband to work. You wanted to take your daughter lunch and like that who knows, this is totally interesting.

“But they can be her way of saying goodbye. That's what I mean. But it is, yeah, and I don't know,”

I just had it is really sad. So it'll be interesting once cause of death and manner of death are released, which at the time of this recording may have not been, but maybe they will be at the time of release. There also have been some updates in the Anna Kepner case and there's a pretty significant update in this and we have a pretty good look into what prosecutors believe happened the night that Anna was killed, which as a recap, 18-year-old Anna was on a cruise ship with her family

in early November 2025. She was sharing a room with her 16-year-old step brother Timothy and another sibling of hers. And on the morning of November 8th, a housekeeper who went into the cabin room made a horrifying discovery. Anna was under the bed, wrapped in blankets, covered in life jackets, and deceased also had been sexually assaulted. The medical examiner later determined that she had

“died from mechanical exphyxiation, meaning that she had been strangled and they believe more”

specifically with a bar hold, meaning like the forearm against someone's neck. So almost immediately, people had started questioning whether her step brother Timothy could have been involved, especially because there were reports that Anna felt really uncomfortable around him that he had previously harassed her. She had confided in someone she was seeing that he would make uncomfortable gestures and comments and different things like that. So obviously, everybody kind of looked

to him, especially since he was sharing the room with her. After the ship returned to Miami, Timothy ended up being hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation, while the FBI then began investigating what happened. Then, about three months later, he was arrested and he was charged as a juvenile in connection with Anna's death. Now, that point most of the court records were sealed,

“because he was being prosecuted as a minor at the time. However, that all changed in April of”

2026 when a federal grand jury indicted Timothy as an adult, and he was indicted on charges of first

to remurter and aggravated sexual abuse. Prosecutors alleged that Timothy sexually assaulted Anna inside that cabin before then murdering her and attempting to hide her body underneath the bed. But here's where it gets even more disturbing and where we're getting some more information as to what really went down, because we now have new court documents from a hearing that took place on May 27th, and these details are pretty disturbing. According to prosecutors, surveillance footage

shows both Timothy and Anna entering the cabin that they shared shortly after 730 pm on November 7th. Prosecutors believe that Anna was still alive at 814 pm that evening. She reportedly sent a snapchat to somebody. But then, at 1013 pm, so about two hours later, Timothy allegedly is seen back on that surveillance footage, opening the door from the cabin, sticking his head out into the hallway, looking up and down the hallway as if he was checking if anyone was around,

and then leaving the room. However, Anna never left the room. The prosecutors also say that

Wi-Fi routers on the ship show that Timothy then carried Anna's phone all the way away from the cabin onto another deck and disposed of it. Investigators believe he threw it into a trash can rather than overboard, because the phone was later recovered from a trash collection bin by a cruise ship employee, which I have to say, like, error number one, why wouldn't you throw it overboard into the sea? Why would you like dispose of it on a moving ship? You're taking the crime scene

with you, my man. But then there's also the DNA evidence. And here's where it gets a little tricky and where we're not sure exactly what went on during that vacation. According to some newly unsealed documents, investigators found DNA inside Anna's body, and this DNA was determined to have a high probability of belonging to her step-rather Timothy. However, prosecutors also revealed that there was another minor who had sexual contact with Anna during the cruise. He was identified

and also tested. So his DNA was compared against the DNA that was found inside Anna and the investigators determined that it was not his and then that's when they looked and they determined it was Timothy's. The documents also revealed some new details from Anna's autopsy. Prosecutors say that Timothy allegedly had strangled Anna so hard with so much force that her ear drum ruptured. The medical examiner had already determined that Anna had

died from exphyxiation, which we talked about. However, this is the first time that we're hearing

directly from prosecutors where they're describing the injuries in this kind of level of detail, which, again, with a bar hold, that much force to wear your ear drum literally explodes.

demonstration on here in past cases. I'm not going to do it right now, but like where you set a timer for how long it takes someone to suffocate to death. It's a long time. And for someone to have that close personal contact on top of you, looking you in the eyes and letting that timer run and realizing just how long it is, it's incredibly personal with so much hatred I would imagine or like passion. And passion, I hate using word passion, because I think passion is usually affiliated

with like love, which she was obsessed with. Yeah, but you've reached. That's a perfect example. And so it's disgusting. Now, before I get into what's going on with Timothy and why people are in a rage, because he's not being held right now, I want to talk about the other minor. It hasn't been disclosed who this other minor is. We know that they have been identified and that they were tested and that they had sex with Anna. My question, we have heard the allegations that Timothy was

obsessed with her, that he harassed her, that he was infatuated with her. Could she have met someone on that cruise and hooked up with him? Timothy gets pissed off, enraged to your point, jealous,

“and that's what happened, that he almost felt like you belong to me or your minor, we're on this”

cruise together. And he denied me, but you'll let this fire, whatever. And when did that take place? Did it? Is that why Anna went back to the room early when she was complaining about her braces? Like, yeah, obviously all of this will come out in the trial. But it's shocking that we haven't heard from anybody that witnessed the two of her with somebody else. I know, because you think as teenagers, you're like, you meet someone, it's like a fling, you're like running around the cruise ship,

like, total making out or whatever, I don't know. But then this was only what three days in, I believe, into the cruise, right? It was early on. It was early on. It was very early on. So, I don't know,

a lot more to come, but here's what Pete, a lot of people are talking about and what has a lot of

people in a rage. As I mentioned, Timothy is not currently being held in jail. Despite all of these allegations, despite the DNA evidence, despite everything, he's been living with family members while awaiting trial. And prosecutors have asked the court multiple times to detain him, saying,

“he poses a danger to the community. You need to hold him until trial. But during last week's hearing,”

the judge finally said that he's considering the request, but that he wants more information from the U.S. Marshall service about possible juvenile detention facilities that Timothy may be held at while the case moves forward. And here's the problem with that. I get that you're finally like evaluating the request. It's been months, okay? Months and months and months. So much so too, you see that this case and these charges are so severe that they're being upgraded from juvenile

to adult. This guy is a sexual predator. He's going to prey on his own family member. I get it, step, not by blood, but still. His own family member. And he is young. His input. He doesn't have impulse control. He maybe doesn't even recognize consequences and what things truly mean. He had to go into psychiatric facility for evaluation. Like clearly, this is a dangerous and unsettling person to just be out there in the community, especially now that he knows he's going to be tried as an

adult. He probably has nothing to lose at this point. Not to mention that he would maybe possibly flee, but also that maybe do whatever you want to do before you're incarcerated and your whole

“life is ripped away from you. Like this is the exact definition in my opinion of a case and a situation”

where somebody should be remanded without bail and pet until trial. Like I don't understand the decision here at all. And that's been one of the most frustrating parts for a lot of people who are following this case because the prosecutors are laying out exactly what they believe happened yet he's still out in the public, living life as if nothing happened with, you know, maybe a few restrictions

but nothing major. Now, the defense's position has basically been that Timothy will continue to

comply with the court orders that he will show up for the hearings and that he will not pose a danger while he's out on release, which great, but that's also all lip service. How do you know he won't pose a danger? I'm sure that Anis family didn't think he posed a danger when they went on this family cruise like what do you mean? They also have said absolutely nothing about the alleged details of the crime. However, another more shocking detail came out from a different hearing

that happened back in February. According to newly unsealed testimony from an FBI agent who was working on the case, investigators interviewed Anis ex-boyfriend during the investigation and he allegedly described a quote strange incident that happened while he was on FaceTime with Anis one night.

Now, we've heard little bits of this throughout the last few months, but we've never gotten actual

clarity because all the documents have been sealed. But according to this testimony, Anis had fallen asleep during this FaceTime call with her ex. He was doing some work in his garage and then he heard

he said that he allegedly saw her stepbrother Timothy trying to climb into bed with Anna while she was

asleep. So obviously you have a history here, right? You have a pattern. So the ex-boyfriend said he was so shocked by seeing this. He immediately started yelling at Timothy through the phone like, "Get the hell off of her. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Because he probably didn't realize that Anna was on FaceTime. He thought she was just asleep, which, thank God, they were still on FaceTime.

“Can you imagine how they not been and if had nobody had heard that and been able to scare him off?”

So Timothy then ran out of the room all while Anna, I guess, slept through the entire thing. The next day though, the ex-boyfriend told Anna what had happened and what he saw. According to the FBI agent, Anna then told her ex-boyfriend that she was very hesitant to tell her

father about it. She said that Timothy was, yeah, you know, a little bit weird that he owned a lot of

knives and that she was afraid of him, but she was nervous to tell her dad about it. Which that detail has really stood out to a lot of people throughout this case because family members have described Anna and Timothy as being extremely close. Anna stepmother previously even said that Anna, Timothy and Anna's younger half-brother were like the three Amigos that they were best friends. We also heard that early on to, I think it was the grandmother who had said like,

they were thick, you know, as thick as thieves, they were best friends where it's like, I get that maybe that was the perception and Anna maybe didn't want to rock the family dynamic

“and break up this blended family and that's why she was scared to tell her dad, but obviously there”

was something way more sinister going on here. So now with these newly unsealed documents, the prosecution is painting a very different picture about the relationship between Anna and Timothy than what family members and other people originally believed. Meanwhile, Timothy has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. The case is still moving forward toward a trial and that was originally set to, I believe, start June 1, but it has now been moved to September 8,

which I believe we plan on covering it. It will be, if I'm remembering correctly, it's going to be a federal trial given that it happened on the water and that there's a minor involved, but so there may not be cameras in the courtroom, but we do plan on sending someone in covering that trial. So stay tuned. I mean, I think when you painted the picture and we now know the intensity of how he killed her, I think, well, allegedly, I think that could speak to why he had

that psychotic episode getting off the, I mean, if he had to watch her stuff, you know, yeah. And it's not that any murder is easy, but again, strangulation, it's so personal and it is so, I mean, it's like, it's drawn out. It's a long period and there, I'm not going to go into details, but your body goes through so many reactions to that as the victim that watching those reactions as a minor who isn't fully developed to even comprehend that right. I can't, it probably does,

which good, it should be heavily on you fucking creep. And also, after hearing more detail about that previous FaceTime situation, more evidence of why this person is a risk, it's, he felt entitled

“or comfy enough to do this again. Yeah. And it's like, no, put this guy away. Yeah, that's what”

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while supplies last until 9.2726, see website for more details. Again, that is factormeals.com/aethiftyoff for 50% off and free daily greens per box with new subscription only. Today's episode is sponsored by Better Help. Somewhere is such a mixed bag. On one hand, there are vacations, longer days, more time with family, but on the other hand, schedules get completely thrown off. The kids are at home,

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“Alright, this next case has been one that's getting a lot of attention online because people are now”

asking whether there could potentially be a serial killer in Porto, Byarta, Mexico. Now to be clear, authorities have not said that there is a serial killer. In fact, they're saying that there's not one, but we're going to circle back to that. So the reason people are talking about it so much is because three women were found dead in Porto, Byarta, in a span of less than two weeks in mid-May.

And some of the details have raised a lot of questions. The first woman was found on May 10th near a

viewpoint called Rancho L. Peeruli. Authorities say she died from injuries caused by a sharp object, and her wrists had been cut. Investigators believe she was around 30 years old, but she hasn't been officially identified yet. Then, just five days later on May 15th, a second woman was found at a roadside stop along a highway. She may have suffered a blow to the head and may have had signs of poisoning. Investigators estimate that she was between 35 and 40 years old,

but like the first victim, she is not yet been identified. And then on May 21st, a third woman was discovered on a dirt road in the parka lost Paul Miss neighborhood. Authorities say she showed signs of a fixiation, along with signs of violence and bruising to her face. However, unlike the first two women, this victim was later identified as 25-year-old Elizabeth Gelendo, who had been reported missing in Mexico on April 29th. So as investigators started looking more closely at the cases,

they noticed some similarities. What stood out right away is that all three women had multiple tattoos and seemed to be close in age. But where things started looking a little strange,

was when they looked more closely at the first two women and the way in which they were found.

According to authorities, both women were found in a similar state of partial undress, with their shirts nearly pulled off. They were also both discovered in somewhat isolated or less traveled areas of Puerto Vallarta. And because of those similarities, authorities began looking into whether the cases could be connected. And that's when the rumors really started taking off online with headlines suggesting that there could be a serial killer in the area. Puerto Vallarta police

reviewed evidence, surveillance footage, and investigative reports. They also explored the possibility that the women may have been killed somewhere else and then brought to Puerto Vallarta and dumped. But after all of that, the helisco state prosecutors office made a public statement pushing back on the serial killer theory, saying that investigators are still trying to determine whether these deaths were even murderers at all. And if they were, they needed to figure out if they were

committed by the same person. But everyone is not convinced. One of the legislators representing Puerto Vallarta's fifth district has publicly said that she believes there might be more to these cases than the officials are saying. She pointed to what she sees as a disturbing pattern and suggested that authorities might be downplaying this because Puerto Vallarta is one of the most desired tourist destinations in Mexico, especially with the World Cup coming to Guadalajara. This could

“certainly hurt the reputation of the area. She said, "Let me tell you why I think they did it because”

sadly this news is making international headlines. It is leaving our port city in a very bad light. I do believe this is something that puts us very much on alert, something that compels women to be far more cautious and sadly to live in fear." And another part of this that's getting a lot of attention is that in Puerto Vallarta, five women were murdered during the first five months of 2026 alone. And in comparison, there were only three murders of women reported there in all of

2025. So right now, there are still a lot more questions and answers. Authorities haven't confirmed if these cases are connected, haven't identified any suspects, and they haven't said if any of

they are. But I'm sure there will be more on this and we'll keep an eye out for updates. I know

for us, we go to Mexico all the time, or we used to, because it's so close. And I've always heard

that Puerto Vallarta was a little dangerous. More dangerous than some of the other areas. First, it doesn't surprise me if they're trying to like skirt around the possibility of a serial killer. I feel like we've seen that in Texas. We've seen that everywhere because they don't want the community to be fearful. But also yes, it's a huge tourist destination. World Cup is coming nearby. I feel like just recently what was it? All of the cartel stuff that happened in Puerto Vallarta.

“Whether it fires or something, because I remember people being, it wasn't the fire, it was like the”

cartel up roar and like they were lighting gas stations on fire. They were robbing people and it was like scary and a lot of people were trapped there because the airport was even like shut down.

Yeah. And people couldn't get home. And so I do think that this is just one more thing on that.

It's right off the heels of them. And so it's like they're probably trying to contain it as much as possible. But it doesn't look good. No, especially, I mean, that's a big spring break destination. Yeah. And I'll tell you one thing. It doesn't make me want to go to Mexico anytime soon. Or Hawaii, you would think, Hawaii, but there's just a serial killer Hawaii. Well, and I read last night that an American citizen was killed in Cabo.

Several innocent bystandards caught in gunshot. They were shot because there was some sort of a feud and it was in Cabo and gosh. All right. Well, I want to talk about McKenzie Shirella again.

“And like, I know, I know, but you know what? I'm really hopeful that this is like the last week”

or the last two weeks. But we FOIA'd McKenzie. We've already had been sitting on so many documents. But we've been, they've been like kind of tight lip to give a lot of like the digital stuff. And what I mean by that is like photos, videos, all the show calls, things like that. And we have like terabytes and terabytes worth of data now. And I'll talk about more of that in a minute here. But what I really want to talk about right now is something going on with her dad

because ever since this documentary, things just keep piling up and getting worse and worse. Now, as a quick recap, just in case you've been sleeping under a rock, McKenzie Shirella is the Ohio girl who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend Dominic and their friend Davi on. After prosecutors said that she intentionally drove her car in nearly 100 miles per hour into a brick building back in July of 2022. She was convicted in 2023 and then she was sentenced

to two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life in prison. Now, one of the biggest things that people are talking about this week is a recent interview that McKenzie's dad Steve Shirella gave. And he gave this interview on a podcast called True Crime This Week. During this interview, Steve talks a lot about, quote, "the facts of the case that the prosecution didn't present, how this case should have gone a lot differently and that the documentary should have also gone

differently." But more notably, he says that McKenzie did not intentionally kill Dom or Davi on. He was even talking about McKenzie being remorseful at one point and said that if she had truly planned to kill Dom, it wouldn't make sense that Davi on was in the car also.

Specifically saying that Davi on quote would have never been in that car if that had been

her intention. Take a listen. This has nothing to do with the boys. It's again, tragic that those boys died. And she has some response to the boy into it. But what that is, nobody is ever going to know. And because nobody's with a neck car and there's no evidence and there's no story. There's no paper. There's no note. There's no video. My daughter and the remorse. That's another thing that's huge. I sat with my daughter for three months in that room right there.

Three months. Watching her, watching every video, every song, every picture. About that boy. He had it over the shrine to him and that room was shrine. Criter selflessly pervenite. I know the children are doing good. She should cry or selflessly. She has remorse. She was upset. If you would have heard her when she found out that Dom died, if you'd have heard the sound that came out of her, it would have crushed you. She's 17. She's a dumb

kid. She wasn't breaking up. She didn't do it on purpose. And I asked her, "Do you do this on purpose?" She's going, "No." And I would think if my daughter was that mad, that mad at that boy to want to kill him that way. She's deviant on what had ever been in the car. Right. Now, not for nothing, but we know that Mackenzie is selfish and titled and only cares about

“herself. So I don't think it would have mattered at all who else was in that car. I think she”

had laser-focused vision on what she was planning to do. And it didn't matter if it was deviant in the car. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a rosy in the car. It wouldn't have mattered. Anybody else was in the car. Just my opinion. But he also talks a little bit about how he was put

at a Catholic school. And he said that the school apparently had a problem with some of the things

“that he said about drugs, which I kind of agree with. Okay? Because I don't know what he thought”

when he went on a literal Netflix documentary and said he doesn't care if his child smokes dope or smokes weed. And that he thinks that that's better than other drugs. Obviously, if you're supposed to be setting an example for children, maybe you don't give them a pass on drugs if they're miners. Like, or at all, it just makes no sense to me. So now he's saying like he kind of wants to play the whole poor me card saying he doesn't have a job. My daughter's innocent. She's remorseful even though,

you know, your daughter caused something incredibly horrific and devastating and life-ending

with THC in her system. And yet your hot take is that you don't care if she smoked weed. It just

obviously did not land right for anyone. But then he went on to double down what he said. And he tried to explain why he was okay with it and said that he needed to do it to learn for herself,

“which take a listen. I know you you come from an art background graphic design. Yep,”

graphic design. Yep. And then you were teaching art. Yes. Yes. Now what's happened since the documentary came out? Well, apparently the diocese had a problem with something I said in there. Along with the people contacted me. Yes. That's my understanding. There's a there was a website out of Parma. Parma something. And they I guess they just called in and made all kind of stupid,

baseless accusations. And then the diocese has an obligation to protect the kids, which I understand.

But the problem I have with the diocese is doing how they did it. They didn't talk to me. They just acted when I just paired it as a poem. So you were teaching for like a Catholics Catholic school. Yes. And they're saying that that you know because of the drugs or something. Something I mean, in the in the documentary, we were talking we were talking about her. I don't have a problem with her. I don't have an idea. As you know, as a parent, I pick my battles. I'm sorry if I find marijuana

not that dangerous as I find alcohol or cocaine or whatever. You know, my daughter beyond whatever else it seems to think or wants to interpret or glean. She seemed mature enough to handle it. I didn't see a issue. It wasn't. It wasn't causing her to be late for this or not do this or or get it an exit. Get an exit. You know, I'm saying there was there wasn't anything that was and I just I had other battles I wanted to fight with her and I taught her.

Right along this look, you can't be driving with it, blah, blah, watch with, you know, you can't be careful with with Dominic. You know, if you get caught, he gets caught, you get caught, you know it. All I can do is teach her and try to make her learn. She's a lot like me. When I was little, I needed to do it, experience it, to learn it, you know, and don't touch the stove. Steve don't touch the stove and I go touch the stove and it got burned. You know, it's who she is.

“You know, she has to learn for herself and make her own choices and that's what I was doing.”

And she was getting older and she was, they were burned down. We're making a life together now. So then there was another thing that also came out this week. Another phone call was released that has sparked a lot of backlash online. In this phone call, Mackenzie is talking with her mom about her future saying that she wants to become a life coach and that that's her plan if she's ever released from prison, which during this call, her mom, who we know, is like not only enabling,

but also just as fucking delusional in my opinion. She says, you're going to be able to help so many more people than you already were. You know what I mean? Just because of your experiences and Mackenzie says, I'm going to be a life coach and stuff. I'm just, I'm going to be everything. I'm going to do everything. Take a listen. What do you say? All the things you have been experiencing, it's so much so many highs and lows and highs and lows and lows and down,

a pillar of strength I love. Yeah, like they all come home and just like, oh, you know, pillar of strength. You're going to be able to help so many more people than you already were. You know what I mean? Just because of your experiences. I'm going to be up like a life coach and stuff and like, yeah. I'm just going to be everything. I'm going to do everything. I like it. I'm going to do everything. I'm going to look, I'm all

for being aspirational and maybe wanting to like, better things. But like, the last person in the world that I would take life coaching advice from would be Mackenzie, Shorilla. I would sooner take life coaching advice from Casey Anthony, like, which says lots of bold statement. I know, but truly,

at least she was smart enough to get out of every one of what she did. But at least she was like

“smart enough and intelligent enough to lie enough to get out. It's like, there's at least some sort of”

skill set there being deceitful and being bad. Mackenzie is just this entitled selfish little creep loser who only cares about her slutty Halloween costumes ripping the ball in the car, selling feet picks and jerking people off with her feet. Like, see, I almost not prefer, but I prefer someone who's just doesn't care. Like, who's openly who they are and like, I'm a nightmare person. But this is what I do. Like, I'm just going to be out there. Whereas Casey Anthony was trying to like,

be this professional universal who was working and like this worried mom where Mackenzie's kind of like, fuck that. I'm jealous. I'm the coolest girl in school and I can smoke weed and drive and like this badass. So the writings on the wall, obviously we hate her. But at least she was who she was. Casey was trying to like be this person that she was not even close to being. I'm going to sign you. I'm going to reach out to Mackenzie and tell her you want to sign it for her

course. And it's going to be a pyramid scheme and you're going to go broke and you're going to take out of the light. Mary Christmas. What kills me is how many people talk about her accent and jail. And then it just like came out of nowhere and she's trying to be about that. I know, I can't with her. So you know what, I take it all bad. I don't want life coaching for many of them. I want life coaching for Mike King at profiling evil. I love that. We love Mike King. I was so happy to get

like see him again this weekend and we love him. Okay. So anyway, the comments obviously quickly spread online with a lot of people questioning whether she has even fully accepted responsibility for what happened at this point, which like I said it last week, I'm not so sure that she has. And then there's the response from Dom's family about all of this. Dom's sister Christine has recently spoken out after the release of the documentary and she did not hold back in an interview.

Christine says that Mackenzie's parents are continuing to defend her instead of acknowledging the findings of the court. She said that Steven Natalie, quote, created a monster and that they have

never shown enough remorse for the deaths of Dom and Davion, specifically saying it's all for show.

She also criticized the documentary itself saying that she believes that it left out important evidence and has forced the victim's families to relive the case all over again, which Amen. They're also has been a major legal development. Mackenzie's attorneys are now asking the Ohio Supreme Court to review her case after one of her post-conviction appeals was rejected because it was filed one day late. Court records show that the issue with the filing was based

on a deadline calculation involving the 2024 leap year. So her attorneys are arguing that that filing shouldn't have been dismissed over what they are calling a calendaring error, which fair argument kind of. I get where it's like you can't really argue if you're one day late normally

“because then you have to make exceptions for everyone, but if there was something with the calendar”

year or like still it's your job you should have been paying attention to it, but like I get where maybe they're now trying to squeeze a little bit more out of that argument because of the leap year, like and trying to do whatever they can do. Now as of this recording, the Ohio Supreme Court hasn't decided whether it will hear the appeal, which is most likely based around, you know,

the apparent medical evidence that was never heard in court about Mackenzie's pots, also about

the text with Davion who really even knows. So we'll keep watching for those updates because if the Supreme Court does decide to hear her case, that is going to be, you know, a whole other new ordeal. And let me say this to you. I talked about it a little bit. We have collected so many terabytes of media, data, calls, everything that I have two bonus episodes coming out this week. Okay. One came out yesterday and it was six phone calls between Mackenzie and her friends

while she's been in jail, which in my opinion she shows no remorse. They're talking about relationships. They're talking about fun things. She drops the forward literally dozens of times. It's unbelievable. How that's just in her vocabulary. But we, I listen to, we have got hours and hours and hours

“worth of calls and we pulled out the most important ones. So that episode is live right now on”

YouTube. And then tomorrow, also releasing another one. There were over gosh, I don't know, tons of calls between her and her mom pulled out the top 16 crazy batshit on hinged calls between the two of them. That is releasing tomorrow. Other than that, we also fun little news at crime con. Whenever I was not at the booth, we had a phone there like a cute little pink phone where you could leave a message. So we did like this whole segment of like, oh, you can either ask for

advice or you can confess to your bestie like everything's anonymous. And so throughout the weekend, people would leave either their little confessions or ask a piece of advice for me to answer.

where we will pull from the recordings, either share the confession with you guys. And again,

“it's all anonymous. Don't worry. Or, well, if it's a real confession, I'm sharing it with the police.”

And then also, you know, the little advice portion. So that'll be interesting fun.

Then we fun. Yeah. All right, guys, that is it for this week's headline highlights. Thank you

“so much for joining us today. And until the next one, be nice. Don't kill people.”

Don't go to Mexico. Don't go to Heller. Goodbye. Heller. All right. Bye, guys.

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