Rachel White
Appearances
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
So they deliberated for about eight hours and 45 minutes, and that was spread out over three days.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
We, the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant, Monica Sementilli, guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penal code section 187A. Monica was very emotional in court, put her face in her hands and sobbed, but Sementilli's sister said justice had been served and Fabio could now rest in peace. So what's next for Monica now?
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
She's going to be sentenced in June and she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
This was Linda's second trial on these charges, right? That's right, Blaine. And listeners might remember that 15 years ago, Linda was convicted and got a life sentence for this crime. But after just eight years behind bars, a federal appeals court said she should get a new trial, citing ineffective counsel and prosecutorial misconduct. So this is her second go-round now facing a jury.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Yeah, so they came back guilty on two counts of murder, and her bond was revoked, and she was immediately taken into custody. So her sentencing will be in May.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
The hearing was something called a Fry hearing. So this is when a judge hears arguments to decide whether scientific evidence that the prosecution or the defense wants to present to a jury is based on established science and therefore would be admissible. What's under discussion in this case is the prosecution's use of nuclear DNA. Okay, so let's talk about nuclear DNA.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
How does that come up in this case? According to prosecutors, investigators found hair fibers on or around six of the seven bodies that they say Hurman dumped on Gilgo Beach. Prosecutors hired a private lab to analyze those hair fibers using nuclear DNA, which is a cutting-edge DNA analysis.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Ellerup's attorney said it's important for the family to be here to obtain whatever type of closure they're going to get out of this case, unquote. He went on to say that Asa and Victoria's DNA was allegedly found on some of the victims' bodies, but emphasized that the prosecutor has said neither have been charged or are considered suspects.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Prosecutors hired a private lab to analyze those hair fibers using nuclear DNA.
Dateline NBC
Lori Vallow Daybell's phone calls. Karen Read's retrial set to start. And Houston's "lost boys".
Absolutely. So Monica Sementelli was accused of masterminding a plot to have her husband killed. Even though her lover, former porn star and sex offender Rob Baker, and his lifelong friend Christopher Austin confessed to carrying out the murder itself, a jury still had to decide just how involved Monica was with the plan. That was a long trial, a very long trial, about 10 weeks.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
Sure. So Baldwin was holding a prop gun rehearsing for a scene when somehow the gun fired and it happened to contain live ammo. And that bullet killed the film's cinematographer, Helena Hutchins. In 2024, Baldwin ended up standing trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
That's right. And the prosecution said that the evidence was unimportant, but the judge found otherwise and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
He's taken action. Yeah. Last week, he filed a 73-page civil lawsuit against several members of the prosecution team, accusing them of conspiring to cause his, quote, malicious prosecution and violating his civil rights. He says the defendants were driven by ill motives, including to, quote, harass or humble him. Baldwin has asked for damages and a jury trial. Right.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
And we should just quickly note here that the defendants have yet to file a response in court. But one of the prosecutors, Carrie Morrissey, told NBC News that they look forward to their day in court. We will keep you posted on that one.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
Yeah, and it was really something to watch. If you remember back in 2023, Daybell was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of her two children, J.J. and Tylee, and for her involvement in the death of Tammy Daybell. who was her husband's wife. So that meant that she was arguing her case before the judge, but she was wearing an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs while doing so.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
And why is she back in court? So these court proceedings are for murder charges that she's facing in Arizona. So she's charged with the murder of her fourth husband, a man named Charles Vallow, and for the attempted murder of the ex-husband of her niece. I'm so curious. How did she do representing herself? Well, she was definitely confident.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
She claimed prosecutors might be withholding evidence.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
And she asked for all the discovery related to her extradition from Idaho to Arizona. How was her request received by the judge? The judge was pretty firm with Lori, asking her why her extradition documents have anything to do with the underlying charges against her in Arizona. And he ultimately denied this motion.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
That's right. They were only 12 years old when they lured their friend Peyton Lightner into the woods and attacked her. Lightner just barely survived, and she was able to tell investigators that her friends Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser had tried to stab her to death.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
They told investigators they were trying to become servants of Slenderman. And Slenderman apparently is a fictional character that's become somewhat of an urban legend. They allegedly learned about this character on a horror story website. So disturbing.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
That's right. In last week's hearing, psychologists who have been working with Geiser testified about the significant progress made. Even Geiser's attorney was emotional after the ruling.
Dateline NBC
An accused killer's surprising defense. A pharmacist on trial for poisoning. And a medical examiner's strategy for cracking cold cases.
Has Peyton Lightner or her family said anything about Geiser's release? Peyton Lightner's mother listened in on last week's hearing and has opposed Geiser's several attempts to be released. Rachel, thank you so much for these updates. Thank you for having me.