True Crime Arizona
Arizona’s Family journalists Briana Whitney and Serjio Hernandez take a deep dive into both unsolved and solved cases around Arizona — retracing steps, uncovering new evidence, and revealing new theories from those involved in the investigations.
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Who killed teen horse trainer Rachel Hansen?
05/09/2024
Who killed teen horse trainer Rachel Hansen?
On June 4 2022, 19-year-old Rachel Hansen woke up to a stranger in her Gilbert, AZ apartment. The suspect shot her, then left, and Rachel later died at the hospital. The teen had been working for years as a horse trainer and had just moved into that apartment after living on a ranch. Nearly two years later, her murder remains unsolved, but her parents feel two odd circumstances in the days leading up to her death weren’t properly investigated.
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Movie armorer from Arizona sentenced for ‘Rust’ movie set death
04/25/2024
Movie armorer from Arizona sentenced for ‘Rust’ movie set death
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer from Bullhead City, AZ, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for an involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Hutchins was the cinematographer on the movie ‘Rust’ starring Alec Baldwin, when in 2021, a prop gun the actor was rehearsing with on set had a real bullet inside instead of a fake one. When Baldwin fired it during the scene, the bullet struck Hutchins and killed her. We hear what was said at the sentencing hearing during victim impact statements, and why the judge delivered scathing remarks in the courtroom. Alec Baldwin will be facing the same charge in a trial this summer, so does the armorer’s conviction and sentence help or hurt the A-list actor? A criminal defense attorney weighs in.
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Phoenix Suns Superfan Mr. ORNG Arrested for Child Sex Crimes
04/10/2024
Phoenix Suns Superfan Mr. ORNG Arrested for Child Sex Crimes
The high school basketball coach and man famously known for his “Mr. ORNG” character at Phoenix Suns game has now been arrested for soliciting sexual videos and pictures from teen boys. According to police, 37-year-old Patrick Battillo asked male students at the school he coached at to send explicit videos of themselves via Snapchat, in exchange for money. Another teacher at the high school as arrested for hindering the investigation after telling Battillo the police were at school so he could leave before they could question him. True Crime Arizona host Briana Whitney describes the disturbing messages and details we learned about in court documents, the shock from the community, and how “Mr. ORNG” used to portray himself in the media. Reporter Michael Raimondi phones in from the school grounds as students and parents learn about what happened.
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911 calls & police report released in the death of Preston Lord
03/30/2024
911 calls & police report released in the death of Preston Lord
Queen Creek Police released 42 minutes of 911 calls from the Halloween party where 16-year-old Preston Lord was fatally beaten on October 28, 2023, including the desperate call when people on scene were trying to save his life before police arrived. They also released more than 1,100 pages of the police report. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney, chief investigative reporter Morgan Loew, and senior producers Mac Colson and Cody Lillich discuss and analyze the new and notable information, including who allegedly hit and stomped on Preston Lord, which suspects incriminated themselves on Snapchat and through text, who bragged about the horrible actions, what witnesses told police they saw, and the actions one family took to try and cover up their son’s involvement. Seven suspects face first degree murder.
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Pro basketball player confesses to murder of girl on vacation
03/26/2024
Pro basketball player confesses to murder of girl on vacation
Chance Comanche was a well-known name in Arizona—a former University of Arizona basketball player that had gone on to play in the professional NBA G-league. Comanche was in Las Vegas in December 2023 for a basketball tournament, when he and his ex-girlfriend were the last ones to see Marayna Rodgers, from Washington state, alive. As detectives searched for Rodgers, the investigation led to a trail of hidden text messages, thousands of dollars, a Rolex watch, and a disturbing jailhouse confession.
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Arrests made in the murder of Preston Lord
03/07/2024
Arrests made in the murder of Preston Lord
Months after Preston Lord died after being beaten at a Halloween party, multiple suspects, including several teenagers, have been arrested and indicted for first-degree murder and kidnapping. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney, investigative reporter Morgan Loew, and Arizona’s Family anchor Nicole Crites analyze how prosecutors got to these charges, the shocking new information that was revealed in their first court appearances, what Preston Lord’s family and the community is saying about the arrests, where we go from here with this case, and the other cases related to the alleged “Gilbert Goons.”
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Bombshell arrest in cold case murder of baby left in Phoenix airport
02/23/2024
Bombshell arrest in cold case murder of baby left in Phoenix airport
In 2005, a baby girl was found dead in the women’s bathroom trash can at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The medical examiner rule she was suffocated, and lived just 24 hours. She became known as “Baby Skylar.” For nearly two decades, police had no idea who the baby’s mother was, or why she was killed. Now, detectives have found and arrested 51-year-old Annie Anderson of Washington state for first degree murder; the baby’s own mother. How they found her so many years later, her checkered past in Washington, and what a detective says “divine intervention” may be the reason Baby Skylar was ever found at all.
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The First Female FBI Agent in the Behavioral Science Unit
02/14/2024
The First Female FBI Agent in the Behavioral Science Unit
She’s analyzed the behavior and words of serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ed Kemper. She’s received videos from one of the most famous cult leaders to live. She trained Jodie Foster for her role in The Silence of the Lambs. She helped investigate where the 9/11 plan was hatched and who the bombers were. And she brought a new sense of empathy and intelligence to the behavioral science unit at the FBI. This is the story of Jana Monroe, the first female agent who ever worked in the FBI’s behavioral science unit. Told in her own words with experiences unimaginable, she details what it was like to break through gender barriers as she made a name for herself as one of the sharpest agents in the bureau.
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Gilbert Goons, Brass Knuckles, & Families Break their Silence
01/25/2024
Gilbert Goons, Brass Knuckles, & Families Break their Silence
Host Briana Whitney and Arizona Family reporters Alexis Dominguez and Casey Torres dive into and analyze the latest string of developments in the East Valley teen violence investigations, including an exclusive interview with the parents of a suspect in mutliple assaults, a teen victim's fight for change in Arizona law, and the community fallout from the Gilbert police chief's first press conference. UPDATE: We also discuss the three new arrests that happened during the recording of the episode.
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New Arrests, Possible Ties to the Gilbert Goons, & Preston Lord Investigation Update
01/11/2024
New Arrests, Possible Ties to the Gilbert Goons, & Preston Lord Investigation Update
True Crime Arizona host Briana Whitney and Arizona’s Family reporter Emma Lockhart break down the details in the five new arrests in East Valley teen violence cases, both admitted and possible ties to the “Gilbert Goons,” and the possible impact these arrests may have on the ongoing Preston Lord murder investigation. We hear from Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell on where the Lord investigation stands with evidence and charges, and hear from the victim’s father in one of these cases after arrests were made.
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JoAnn Dudek - Missing or Killed?
01/09/2024
JoAnn Dudek - Missing or Killed?
Just before Thanksgiving 2022, JoAnn Dudek was getting ready for a holiday trip to NYC to visit family, when communication suddenly stopped. JoAnn lived in Anthem, AZ with her husband and daughter, who were there the day she allegedly disappeared and told investigators she left behind most belongings. But it’s a case full of twists and turns: Bizarre phone calls that may or may not exist, another unexpected death, and the sheriff’s office officially naming this a homicide investigation even though JoAnn’s whereabouts are unknown.
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A Major Break in the Preston Lord Murder Investigation
12/29/2023
A Major Break in the Preston Lord Murder Investigation
Exactly two months after 16-year-old Preston Lord was beaten to death at a Halloween party in Queen Creek, Arizona, police announced they are recommending charges against seven juveniles and adults involved in his death. It is now up to the Maricopa County Attorney to decide who and what to prosecute. This comes as other investigations into teen violence in the East Valley have been reopened with possible ties to a gang police have recognized as the "Gilbert Goons." Host Briana Whitney and Arizona Family reporters Morgan Loew, Emma Lockhart, and Casey Torres discuss what is likely to happen next, the possible evidence in the case, and historical parallels to prior gang violence in the East Valley.
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"Apache Junction Jane Doe" Identified
12/13/2023
"Apache Junction Jane Doe" Identified
In August 1992, remains of an unidentified teenager were found by somebody walking their dog in Apache Junction, Arizona. 30 years later, DNA and forensic genetic genealogy have helped identify her as a girl from South Phoenix who went missing in June of 1992. Her family was able to answer some things, but how she got to the remote desert and her cause of death is unknown. The timing of her disappearance and death is eerie though, it all happened while two known serial killers were operating in the Phoenix area. Could she have been another one of their victims? True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney and Chief Investigative Reporter Morgan Loew analyze what we know.
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New tech finds JFK assassination "single bullet theory" scientifically impossible
11/28/2023
New tech finds JFK assassination "single bullet theory" scientifically impossible
Sixty years ago, in November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while driving through downtown Dallas. It’s a historic event that has fueled theories and conspiracies about what happened. But now, with modern technology, an engineering and animation lab has found something new that they said proves the “single bullet theory” is not possible scientifically. As they explain their findings, meanwhile former Mafia underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano reveals details during his time as a government informant when the FBI questioned him about JFK’s death. It’s an ominous and eerie meeting, and Gravano shares what he believes happened that day in Dallas.
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The Unsolved Murder of Mercedes Vega
11/15/2023
The Unsolved Murder of Mercedes Vega
In April 2023, 22-year-old Mercedes Vega was leaving her Tempe, Arizona apartment to meet friends for dinner. The next morning, her body was found burning in a car off the I-10 freeway 60 miles away in the rural desert. Once the autopsy report was released, the details revealed one of the most gruesome murders and causes of death. Now 7 months later, her parents are sitting down for the first time to open up about what they know, the last known surveillance footage of Mercedes, and what the desperately seek as her killer, or killers, still walk free.
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The Little Boy Found Dead and the Father Set Free
10/31/2023
The Little Boy Found Dead and the Father Set Free
In 2004, 5-year-old Josh Eberle Martinson was found dead on a bunk bed in his father’s Phoenix apartment, while his father, Jeffrey Martinson, was in the next room passed out from an attempted suicide with prescription drugs and liquor. The medical examiner ruled Josh’s death was from an overdose of prescription meds, and his father was charged with his murder. However, multiple years and trials later, he was set free. It’s something Joshua’s mother has struggled to comprehend.
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The Jamie Yazzie Murder Verdict
10/18/2023
The Jamie Yazzie Murder Verdict
More than four years after Jamie Yazzie disappeared on the Navajo Nation, her boyfriend learned his fate in a federal courtroom after being charged with her murder and assaulting other women.
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Cracked Cold Case Murder Leads to Serial Rapist
09/27/2023
Cracked Cold Case Murder Leads to Serial Rapist
DNA cracked the case in the brutal murder of a college student over three decades ago along a popular hiking trail. The Prescott, Arizona murder of Cathy Sposito in June of 1987 was unsolved but remained open and active for 36 years. In September 2023, the Yavapai County Sheriff named Bryan Scott Bennett as Sposito’s killer, but the investigation found Bennett also had more victims who were attacked and sexually assaulted in northern Arizona. While the discovery solved several cases, an unexpected twist is the reason why there’s no arrest now.
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Who Killed Reporter Don Bolles? The Daughters on Dueling Sides
09/12/2023
Who Killed Reporter Don Bolles? The Daughters on Dueling Sides
In June 1976, Phoenix newspaper journalist Don Bolles was blown up by a bomb placed under his car while he took a business meeting at the Hotel Clarendon about a possible land fraud story. Because of Bolles' reporting on Mafia involvement in Arizona and poor business dealings, rumors swirled about who was behind the murder. This is the story of the daughters–the daughter of the man twice convicted for masterminding the attack who says her father was framed, and the daughter of Don Bolles, who shares her thoughts on the new revelations and who she believes was involved in her father’s death.
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The Man Wrongfully Convicted to Death Row
08/31/2023
The Man Wrongfully Convicted to Death Row
Barry Jones was convicted of first degree murder for the death of 4-year-old Rachel Gray in 1994, and sentenced to death. But as the decades went on, several attorneys and officials found issues with how the case legally played out. In 2023, the AG’s office granted Barry Jones a plea deal and said he did not cause the girl’s injuries, but should have sought out medical care for her. He walked out of death row after 29 years, with the unexpected support of the victim’s sister.
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THE FORGOTTEN: No Longer Forgotten
08/15/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: No Longer Forgotten
Tiffany confronts her dad, Edison Sorrell, about her belief that he was involved in her mom’s disappearance. Briana interviews Edison on the phone, who shares his side of the story. The True Crime Arizona team learns there are more people among ‘The Forgotten’ who they interviewed, sharing details they never have before. The team gives updates on what’s happened since the documentary came out, and where the MMIW crisis progress stands in Arizona.
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THE FORGOTTEN: The Beginning of Change
08/08/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: The Beginning of Change
We ask top Arizona officials how they are going to fix the MMIW crisis, and for the first time, they are putting plans in motion.
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THE FORGOTTEN: Abandoned Evidence
08/01/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: Abandoned Evidence
We learn the details of what happened to Jamie Yazzie, an arrest is made, and court documents reveal a sinister discovery.
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THE FORGOTTEN: Jamie Yazzie’s disappearance
07/25/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: Jamie Yazzie’s disappearance
In summer of 2019, Jamie Yazzie disappeared from the Navajo Nation, after hanging out at her boyfriend’s house. Her family frantically begins to search for her, when Jamie’s aunt makes a stunning discovery.
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THE FORGOTTEN: The Crisis
07/18/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: The Crisis
We question the FBI, state, and tribal officials about how disappearances and murders have escalated to crisis level, and what’s been going wrong in their departments. Reporter Briana Whitney and her team head up to the Navajo Nation to get a first-hand look at what’s going on themselves.
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THE FORGOTTEN: Where is Laverda Sorrell?
07/11/2023
THE FORGOTTEN: Where is Laverda Sorrell?
On the 4th of July in 2002, Laverda Sorrell went to an anniversary dinner with her husband on the Navajo Nation, and asked to be dropped off at her workplace after around 11:30 p.m. She was never seen again. Her family describes what happened in the day leading up to her disappearance, and we learn how her case falls into the growing crisis and epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. (MMIW)
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COMING JULY 10: The Forgotten
06/27/2023
COMING JULY 10: The Forgotten
The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women – known as MMIW- is an issue that has exploded as years have gone on, yet in the shadows with little to no attention and focus. Native women in Arizona are disappearing at staggering rates, yet the media coverage their cases have received doesn’t compare to the media spotlight on cases of white women who have gone missing, or been murdered, in the United States. The True Crime Arizona team set out to uncover why this has spiraled out of control, where the problems stem from, and who is going to step up to fix it. We took our investigation to the Arizona governor, attorney general, head of the FBI in Phoenix, and Navajo Nation president, just to name a few. Episode one drops on the True Crime Arizona feeds on July 10.
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THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: Sentenced to Death
06/20/2023
THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: Sentenced to Death
It’s the end of the Zombie Hunter trial after eight months. The judge sentences Bryan Patrick Miller for the Canal Murders, and explains how she came to her decision between life in prison or death penalty.
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THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: The Killer Speaks
05/23/2023
THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: The Killer Speaks
In a wild "Hail Mary" move, the "Zombie Hunter" Bryan Patrick Miller spoke to the judge and the court for the very first time before the judge decides whether Miller will face the death penalty or life in prison. Briana and Morgan discuss what Miller said...and didn't say.
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THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: Victim Impact Statements
05/11/2023
THE ZOMBIE HUNTER TRIAL: Victim Impact Statements
Angela Brosso’s mother and Melanie Bernas’ sister describe their loved ones, and how the murders and the trial have affected their families. Briana Whitney and Morgan Loew discuss what happens next in the trial.
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