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- [00:01]
Grainger Maintenance Engineer Advertiser
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there's no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [00:30]
Grainger Procurement Manager Advertiser
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [01:02]
Brandi Churchwell
This week, three people are dead after a gunman opened fire at a packed In N out restaurant. A reality TV star is now facing shocking felony charges involving a child. And nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was murdered, the man who may have talked himself into prison is finally heading to trial. This is the 13Zero podcast where we explore the trials, investigations and true crime stories that everyone is talking about. I'm your host Brandi Churchwell and this is Court Report, your weekly roundup of the biggest courtroom headlines, breaking stories and the legal developments shaping the nation's most talked about cases. It was a relatively quiet week in courtrooms across the country with no major nationally watched murder trials reaching a jury verdict. But that doesn't mean that the legal world slowed down. We saw several significant arrests, new criminal charges and one high profile plea agreement that could avoid trial altogether. This week. I want to begin in Twin Falls, Idaho where a Saturday afternoon trip to In N Out turned into absolute chaos. At approximately 2:29pm on Aug. 1, dispatchers began receiving 911 calls reporting gunfire at the restaurant. According to the police chief, screaming and gunshots could be heard in the background of at least one of those calls. The restaurant had opened only about a week earlier and hundreds of people were reportedly in the surrounding shopping center when the shooting began. Police have identified the gunman as 24 year old Chad Williams. Investigators believe that Williams acted alone, but as of Monday they had not determined what motivated the attack. Authorities say that three victims were killed and seven others were injured. Williams was later found nearby with what police described as a self inflicted gunshot wound. Police say three victims were killed, 23 year old In n Out employee Ashley Garabe, 59 year old Christopher Klaunch, who dedicated his life to addiction recovery after overcoming alcoholism himself and 66 year old retired Air Force veteran Dale Schultz of Utah, who was traveling with his wife when the shooting occurred. Two victims have since been released from the hospital. Three remain hospitalized in stable condition while two continue to fight for their lives in critical condition. But amid the terror, two people made the extraordinary decision to run toward the danger. An off duty Idaho state police trooper and an unarmed civilian returned fire at Williams. Police believed that their actions actually forced him away from the restaurant and prevented even more people from being killed. The civilian had been identified as 35 year old Jordan Salinas, a healthcare worker who says that he began taking firearm training seriously following the 2021 Boise Mall shooting. Salinas exchanged gunfire with Williams in the parking lot and former law enforcement officer Austin AJ Scott also reportedly attempted to intervene and was critically injured during the attack. Now something else I found really interesting here. Jordan Salinas actually later said that the shooter appeared calm while he was firing at cars, but panicked once people began shooting back. And I think that's kind of a powerful detail because it really illustrates how the intervention likely disrupted this entire attack. Now there's still a lot that investigators don't know, including why Williams selected this location or whether his victims were chosen at random at the time of this recording of that is answered. Yet police say that his family is cooperating with the investigation and that there is currently no evidence that anyone else participated. So they say that he appears to have acted alone. And despite extensive interviews with family and acquaintances, they have not yet identified a motive. But authorities also say that he had no known criminal history in either Idaho or Arizona. As investigators continue trying to determine why this happened, families are left grieving loved ones who basically just stopped for lunch. And investigators are now working to piece together what caused this completely senseless act of violence. In N out owner Lindsay Snyder released a statement mourning the loss of employee Ashley Garabay and thanking first responders as the company continues to cooperate with investigators. All right, next up, a reality television personality known for appearing on Love and Hip Hop New York is facing multiple felony charges involving a child. Sydney Star, whose legal name is Sydney Favors, was arrested Sunday, Aug. 2 after officers responded to the Embassy Suites hotel in Hapeville, Georgia. That's just outside of Atlanta. Now this was apparently for a reported sexual assault involving a juvenile so according to Hateville police and Georgia court records, Starr has been charged with aggravated child molestation, sexual battery against a child under the age of 16, and sodomy. And Star was transported to the Fulton County Jail, where she remains in custody, or at least as of the time of this recording. Now, star is a 37 year old transgender model and reality TV personality who appeared during the ninth season of Love and Hip Hop New York. But outside of Starr's identity and the charges filed, police have released very little information about what allegedly happened inside of that hotel. According to the incident report, officers responded after an employee had reported that someone had sexually assaulted a minor there. So police had first met with the minor and the miner's parents at the hotel, and then they talked to Star. The report said that Starr told officers that a tall black man had approached her in the hotel lobby, and they talked for a little bit, and then she asked his age, and he said he was 18. And then he went with Star to her room, and she said that she performed oral sex on this person. So at this point, they detain her after she tells them this, and they pat her down. According to the reports, while doing so, an open condom fell out of one of her pockets, and they found another condom in another pocket. So I guess that was taken for evidence. But according to authorities, the victim was not, in fact, 18 years old. He was actually younger than. Because the accusations involve a child, authorities are protecting the juvenile's identity and have said that no additional details will be released at this time. So now the case has been transferred to Fulton County District Attorney's office for prosecution. So we don't know the child's exact age or her alleged relationship with that child or what evidence other than what was just in that report actually led to file these charges. Now, those answers will likely emerge only if prosecutors obtain an indictment and the case begins moving through the court system. But y', all, if convicted, Star could face up to 27 years in prison. As of now, she has denied any wrongdoing and has hired an attorney. All right, and finally, in new charges, filed one of these stories that is just stranger than fiction. Okay, so in Mexico, there has been a major development in the murder of 23 year old beauty influencer Valeria Marquez. Now, Valeria was shot and killed inside her salon in May of 2025 while live streaming on Tik Tok. Now, Mexican authorities have arrested Ramon Angel Alvarez ayala, known as LR1, an alleged leader of a violent faction connected to the Jalisco New Generation cartel. So this is where it gets really wild. So authorities believe that Valeria had this beauty. Influencer had been involved with this cartel boss's son, Francisco. And they say that Francisco went to his father, the cartel boss, and had him arrange her murder after their relationship ended. Now, I do want to be precise here because the cartel boss, guy Alvarez Ayala, has been linked to Valeria's killing. But the publicly reported charges surrounding his arrest actually involve drugs and firearms. So authorities are still searching for his son and the alleged gunman. So this investigation is far from over. But how crazy is this? A cartel boss arranges an influencer's murder because she was dating his son and it went wrong? That's crazy. Stranger than fiction. Truth is stranger than fiction. We'll be right back.
- [10:10]
Grainger Maintenance Engineer Advertiser
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts, and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [10:40]
McDonald's Advertiser
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McDonald's Advertiser (Supplement)
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- [11:17]
Brandi Churchwell
All right, let's talk about trials to watch. One trial kicking off next week that I'm really interested in is the long awaited murder trial of Dwayne Ke D Davis, the only person ever charged in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. Now, here's what makes this case so fascinating, y'.
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McDonald's Advertiser (Supplement)
All.
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Brandi Churchwell
For years, investigators had very little to work with. Then in 2008, Keefe D sat down with law enforcement as part of what's known as a proffer agreement. In simple terms, it's an agreement that allows a suspect to provide information under limited protections. I've heard it called a Queen for a Day agreement, which I thought was kind of funny, but I guess it's just because people sometimes believe that they can tell investigators everything without those statements being later used against them. But, y', all, this is where this is important to understand. This is not the same thing as blanket immunity from prosecution. This was limited. And according to prosecutors, Keefe d believed that he was protected. So over the years, he didn't just talk to investigators. He gave media interviews, appeared in documentaries. And then this is the big part. In 2019, he co authored a memoir called Compton Street Legend, where he described being in the Cadillac the night that Tupac was shot and claimed that he supplied the gun used in the murder. So now, 30 years after Tupac's murder, prosecutors say that those public statements are some of the strongest evidence against him. Now, his defense argues that the book was exaggerated for entertainment, and he only said that to make money for his family. It was just for profit, and that his earlier police statement should still be protected by that proffer agreement. But in a series of recent rulings, the judge decided that the book and his police interview can be played for the jury. Now. It's incredible to think about how much this case actually still resonates three decades later. I was actually in Las Vegas recently, and we drove down that stretch of road where Tupac was shot, and there's, like, a utility pole right there near the intersection, and people still stop to take pictures. We literally saw somebody standing there taking pictures when we went by, and they sign their names on the pole and leave handwritten messages. It's kind of become like this unofficial memorial. And standing there, you realize that this isn't just another cold case. To so many people, Tupac's murder is still something that people feel, and they still want answers. And I think that's what makes, or at least part of what makes this trial so significant, because it's not just about finally holding someone accountable. It's about a case that has left an impact on generations of fans and has remained one of the biggest unanswered questions in modern music history. So this trial isn't just about what happened on the Las Vegas strip, though, in 1996. It's also about whether a man who believed that he could not be prosecuted ultimately talked himself right into a murder trial. So it's going to be fascinating to watch, and I will be following it very closely. All right, and now let's talk about a trial that I told y' all that we will be watching this week, but we did not watch it this week because it did not actually start. Jury selection in the trial of Sarah Grace Patrick was supposed to have begun on Monday, August 3, in Carroll County, Georgia. But shortly after proceedings were scheduled to get underway, the prosecution and defense agreed to postpone the trial once again. So a new trial date has not yet been announced. Court Officials previously indicated that they hoped to select one by the end of the week, but multiple reports suggest that the case could ultimately be pushed into 2027. So, Sarah Grace Patrick is now 18, but she was 16 when prosecutors say that she shot and killed her mother and her stepfather as they slept in their home in February of 2025. The couple was discovered by Sarah Grace, Patrick's younger sister, and she placed the 911 call and was arrested several months later and has pleaded not guilty. Now, this trial was originally supposed to begin in January, and that date was postponed after the state request additional time to review a neuropsychological evaluation obtained by the defense. The case was then rescheduled for August 3rd. This time, it was Sarah Grace's new defense team that argued that they needed more time. Her attorney told the court that several issues that initially seemed relatively small had, quote, unquote, snowballed into something bigger. Now, those issues reportedly include questions about forensic evidence and chain of custody records and more than a decade of records from the Department of Family and Children's Services, plus supplemental police reports and the testing of another firearm during the investigation. Now, the defense says that it only recently learned that law enforcement had examined that separate gun after an officer reportedly acted on a, quote, unquote, hunch. So prosecutors pushed back strongly against any suggestion that there was this rogue officer investigating outside the proper channels. They say that investigators tested multiple firearms and this particular gun was not connected to the murders. And they say much of the supposedly new material had already been provided to Sarah Grace's previous attorneys. So that disagreement, I guess, here, is important because the murder weapon has never been recovered. So even if this other gun was ultimately ruled out, the defense argues that it is entitled to investigate why it was tested and who possessed it and how it was handled, and whether any additional witnesses or investigative leads actually came from it. So Sarah Grace remains in the Carroll County Jail without bond, and she faces eight counts. There are two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two weapons charges. So until the court formally announces a replacement date, the trial is officially on hold. All right, I want to turn now to a fascinating legal twist out of Hawaii. So, Dr. Gerhard Koenig, he is the anesthesiologist that was convicted earlier this year of attempting to kill his wife during a hike in Hawaii. And prosecutors argued that after the couple had stopped on this hike to take some pictures near this, like, scenic overlook, that Koenig tried to push her off the cliff, struck her repeatedly with a rock, and then attempted to inject her with syringes that he had brought with him on the hike. So his wife Ariel, survived the attack by fighting back and eventually reached other hikers for help. And after a weeks long trial, the jury found Koenig guilty of attempted manslaughter rather than attempted murder, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. But now his attorneys are wanting a new trial. They argue that comments made by two jurors after the verdict suggest that the jury may have misunderstood one of the most important legal issues in the case, which was intent. So, according to the motion, multiple jurors told reporters that they did not actually believe that Koenig actually intended to kill his wife. That's the intent part. The defense says that that's a major problem because the offense that he was convicted of, which is attempted manslaughter, still requires prosecutors to prove that he acted with the intent to kill. So if jurors actually believe that he lacked that intent but convicted him anyway, then the defense argues that the verdict may have been based on a misunderstanding of the law. The motion also raises another serious allegation. According to the filing, prosecutors received an email from someone watching Law and Crime's Livestream claiming that a commenter had predicted the verdict before it was announced and said that they were communicating with someone inside the jury room during deliberations. Now, obviously, that's not allowed. You can't be in the jury room deliberating and then telling everybody in the long crime chat what's up? But at this point, there has been no finding that any juror actually engaged in misconduct. But the defense says those allegations warrant further investigation. So it will now be up to a judge to decide whether any of these claims actually justify a new trial. All right, now I want to talk about a major decision out of Massachusetts that could have implications well beyond a single case. So the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ordered a new trial for Latarsha Sanders. She is the Brockton mother who was convicted in 2022 of murdering her two young sons, and she was sentenced to life in prison without parole. So Latasha's defense argued that she was experiencing a severe psychotic episode when the killings occurred and that she was not criminally responsible for her actions. Sounds familiar, right? I mean, this is what we're dealing with right now with Lindsey Clancy. But what's even more interesting, it's the same judge, y', all, Judge William Sullivan. At Latarsha's trial, the judge excluded portions of her post arrest medical records that documented her mental illness. But this Week, the state's highest court ruled that those records should have been admitted because they could have helped the jury evaluate whether Latarsha was legally criminally responsible at the time of the crime. The court vacated her convictions and ordered a new trial. So if you didn't hear about this trial with Latasha, this one was actually really sad, too. I mean, anything involving kids is always sad. But she admitted to stabbing her sons to death in February of 2018. Now, her defense, of course, said that she was insane at the time. The prosecutors actually said that her two boys, one was 8 years old and the other one was 5 years old, died in a what he called a ritualistic incident. And they said that Latarsha practiced voodoo. So the jury deliberated for about four and a half hours and found her guilty of two counts of first degree murder. So that's an automatic life without parole sentence in Massachusetts. So this is kind of going to be a big deal in the future because it kind of serves as a reminder that mental illness evidence can dramatically affect a criminal case. It helps jurors decide whether a defendant can be or should be held legally responsible under the law. And with the Lindsey Clancy trial currently unfolding just a few miles away, where the defense is also centered on criminal responsibility due to mental illness, this ruling is likely to draw even more attention in the weeks ahead. So they are completely different cases with different facts, but same judge, same area, same plea. And it highlights just how significant mental health evidence can be in a jury's decision making. All right, and finally, we have a major development in the case against Courtney Clenney. Attorneys have confirmed that she has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, potentially bringing this four year old murder case to an end without a trial. Courtney was an only fans model, also known online as Courtney Taylor, and she was charged with second degree murder after fatally stabbing her boyfriend, 27 year old Christian Obumseli, inside their Miami apartment on April 3, 2022. Courtney has never disputed that she caused the fatal wound. She told investigators that Christian attacked her and choked her during an argument, and she said that she threw a kitchen knife at him in self defense. Now, prosecutors have portrayed the killing as the culmination of an extremely volatile relationship, pointing to evidence including surveillance video that actually shows Courtney physically attacking Christian on multiple occasions. Now, both Courtney and Christian have been accused by the other side of being the abusive partner. Courtney has remained in custody since her arrest in August of 2022 and had been preparing to take the case before a jury. But now, however, her attorneys and prosecutors and Christian's family say that they have reached a resolution that will avoid a trial. So we don't yet know what charge Courtney has agreed to plead guilty to or what sentence she may receive. Her attorneys emphasize that the agreement will not become final unless it is accepted by the judge. So Courtney is scheduled to appear in Miami Dade county court on August 10, and that's when the terms of the agreement are expected to be placed on the record. So I will be watching that very closely. I'll be watching that hearing and I will have a much more detailed update, including the charge and the sentence and the reaction from Christian's family and all of that stuff on next week's episode. And we'll do go a little bit deeper with the story too, because there's a lot to this. It's actually a very interesting I was planning on doing a whole full episode on this one when we got closer to trial, but the trial keeps getting pushed away. So. And now I guess we're not going to have one. But this is one of those cases where both sides claim that the other was the primary aggressor. But y', all, based on the evidence that's been released to the public, at least at this, at this point, the majority of it all seems to point to Courtney being the aggressor. So I'll go into more detail on the background of this one in next week's episode once we know all the details of the plea agreement. But this is one that a lot of us in the true crime world have really been waiting on. And there's actually another development here that's worth mentioning. Just days before news of the plea agreement became public, Christian's family also reached a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit that they filed against Courtney. So the terms of that settlement have not been made public. And settling a civil lawsuit is not an admission of criminal guilt or anything like that. And it doesn't resolve the murder charge, of course. But the fact that both the civil case and the criminal case appear to be moving toward resolution at nearly the same time suggests that this years long battle may actually finally be nearing its end. So I'll be following the August 10 hearing very closely because that's when we'll learn exactly what Courtney has agreed to, whether the judge accepts it and what this means for Christian's family moving forward. All right, a couple quick updates from around the courthouse. One thing we have to update you on is Bryan Kohberger's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. The Idaho court has now appointed him a new attorney to represent him in those post conviction proceedings. And that doesn't mean that his plea has been set aside. Far from it. But it does mean that the court is allowing the legal process to move forward as it considers his claims. And one quick reminder before we go the Lindsay Clancy trial is moving fast, with new testimony coming out almost every day. So rather than giving you just a few minutes here on Court Report, I'm covering that trial in dedicated weekly episodes of 13th Juror podcast, where we dive deep into the testimony, explain the evidence, and break down what all of it means from a juror's perspective. So if you're following that case or if you want to get caught up on it, now's the time. Be sure to go listen to those episodes once you're done here, and we will be with you every step of the way until there is a verdict. All right, y', all, that's it for this week. If there are any big cases that you want updates on or you want to follow along with, send me an email, let me know brandyrandychurchwell.com let me know what y' all are wanting to watch, what y' all are wanting to hear, and I will see y' all next week. So that's your court report for this week. I'll be back next week with the latest development. Until then, keep asking questions, keep looking at the evidence, and decide for yourself what you believe. My name is Brandi Churchwell, creator and host of the 13th Juror podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave a rating or review. For additional episodes, case updates, and more information about the podcast, visit our website@thirthjurporpodcast.com the evidence has been presented, the arguments have been made, and now comes the same question faced by every what do you believe? Thank you for listening.
- [28:11]
Jake Stauch
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- [29:11]
Grainger Maintenance Engineer Advertiser
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [29:41]
Grainger Procurement Manager Advertiser
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.