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Crime House 24/7
First Watch: Breakup Texts to MACHETE Bloodshed & Kentucky Mother-Daughter Murder
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Crime House has the perfect new show for spooky season Twisted Tales. Hosted by Heidi Wong, each episode of Twisted Tales is perfect for late night scares and daytime frights, revealing the disturbing real life events that inspired the world's most terrifying blockbusters and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Twisted Tales is a Crime House original.
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Powered by Pave Studios.
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Listen wherever you get your podcasts New episodes out every Monday.
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This is Crime House. Today on First Watch, we're getting into two cases that are making headlines. First, I'll fill you in on the latest developments in the murder of melody Hoffman, a 20 year old woman with an intellectual disability who was killed after a heated breakup. Then I'll get you caught up on the murder cases of Kayla Blake and her daughter, 13 year old Kennedy McWhorter. Let's get into it.
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Evidence was at the heart of testimony today in the killing of Melody Hoffman. She died in February of 2024 after being beaten, stabbed and strangled. A jury found McKinley Luisma guilty of first degree murder in the death of.
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A woman from Marion Melody Hoffman, two.
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Men accused of kidnapping and killing Hoffman over the weekend and that third suspect that is now charged in the foreign.
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Hi, I'm Katie Ring, a true crime analyst, self defense instructor and fierce advocate for victims. And this is Crime House Daily, your essential true crime companion. Every weekday morning and night here at Crime House Daily, we dig into the true crime stories making headlines right now, where justice is unfolding, arrests are happening, and new evidence is emerging. Every morning, First Watch gets you up to speed on today's biggest cases. Every night, Nightwatch takes you deeper. If you want to follow a case from the first 911 call to the final verdict, this is the place for you. Follow Crime House Daily. Wherever you get your podcasts, leave a review and for ad free listening, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. For video, check out our YouTube channel Rimehouse Daily. This episode discusses active criminal cases and breaking news. The information we share is based on what's publicly available at the time of recording and may change as new evidence comes to light. We aim to inform, not to decide guilt or innocence. So everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Before we jump into today's cases, I wanted to bring attention to an absolutely horrific incident that has been circulating online in Cleveland, Ohio. A mother is turning to social media pleading for justice for her five year old daughter after she was beaten and left completely unrecognizable. I want to give a trigger warning before I get into the details of this incident because it involves torture and sexual assault. The mother's social media post claims the young girl was beaten, raped and had her hair ripped out of her scalp by three other children aged 8, 9 and 10. The mom, Antavia Kennebrew, had to have surgery and left her daughter in the care of a family member. 5 year old Amarie ended up walking out of the front door where she was greeted by three kids. They allegedly pretended to be friendly and lured her away from the house to a nearby field where they beat her until her eyes were filled with blood, shoved sticks down her throat and genitals and strangled her with her own shirt. The adult tried to find her and saw two of the kids playing and asked if they had seen her and they said no with no remorse and kept playing. The mother of one of the children brought the kids back and made them show the adult where the five year old was. That's when they found her naked, beaten and unresponsive and rushed her to the hospital. The authorities have told on Tavia that they can only charge the 10 year old because the laws in Ohio prevent anyone under the age of 10 from being tried and sent to juvie. I don't know the right answer on how to handle this, but one thing I do know for sure is that all of the parents need to be investigated because kids this young have learned this behavior somewhere. And although child on child sexual abuse is more common than people think, the level of sheer violence here is extremely concerning and there needs to be some kind of repercussions because doing nothing sends a very scary message to these kids. For today's case we're covering the murder of Melody Hoffman. Melody was murdered on February 17, 2024 in Marion, Iowa. Her ex boyfriend and two other men were all charged with her murder. Two of them have already been found guilty and after a series of delays, the final suspect's trial will hopefully begin on November 18, 2025. If he is found guilty, Melody's loved ones will finally have the closure and justice they deserve. Before we unpack the string of evidence that led investigators straight to Melody's group of attackers, let's talk about the person she was and the life that was taken away far too soon. Melody Hoffman was born in Cedar rapids, Iowa in December 2003. She had two loving parents, Megan and TJ. And everyone who knows Melody says she's an extremely loving person and cares deeply for others, especially animals. After she graduates from high school, she enrolls in community college and says she wants to pursue a career in healthcare. Melody is described as a gentle, loving soul who is at times too trusting, which is very common in people like Melody who have mild intellectual disabilities. Even though she's 20 years old, her intellectual ability is closer to that of a teenager. Melody lives with her mom, Megan, and she doesn't have many friends, but she really wants to fall in love. But when Melody finally starts dating someone, he's the furthest thing from what she dreamed. In 2023, Melody matches with 20 year old McKinley Luisma on a dating app. McKinley has recently broken up with his long term girlfriend, but he moves fast and him and Melody start dating and become a couple. By now, Melody's parents, Megan and TJ are no longer together. Melody is living with her mom, and between her daughter's disabilities and everything she had just gone through in her own divorce, she wants to protect Melody and sets really strict rules. One of those rules is that Melody and McKinley aren't allowed to hang out unless Melody tells Megan where she is. But McKinley allegedly convinces Melody to break the rule all the time, and Megan doesn't trust him. But the relationship doesn't last long anyways, because around December of 2023, McKinley's ex calls him and tells him she's pregnant. And he tells Melody that him and his baby mama are getting back together. Melody's not only crushed, she's angry. She messages McKinley on social media to express her hurt and rage, and they end up getting into a bunch of heated arguments over Facebook. Things get so bad that Melody threatens to call the police on him. And after that, Melody starts getting texts from an unknown number saying things like, I hate you and your family ain't safe. You're a dead girl. And when you least expect it, we're gonna get you. The messages really freak Melody out, so she shows them to her mom. And her mom immediately suspects McKinley is the one sending the threatening texts. Not only because they had just broken up, but also because she thought McKinley was extremely disrespectful. And her concern grows over the next couple weeks because Melody is still getting these scary texts. In fact, they are both so scared that they decide to hide out at her dad TJ's house while for a bit of extra protection. But By February of 2024, Megan hasn't heard much from her daughter about the frightening texts or about her ex, McKinley. So she assumes the frightening messages have fizzled out and everything has gone back to normal. On February 17, Megan says her and Melody have a typical mother daughter day. They run errands, grab dinner together, and then go home and watch a movie before falling asleep. But at 11.27pm, Megan is woken up by a notification from a location tracking app that's connected to Melody's phone. According to the app, Melody had just left the house, which seems odd to her because Melody doesn't usually go out this late, especially not on her own. So Megan checks the footage from her home security camera a few minutes earlier and sees Melody walking out the door. And her phone lights up with either a text or an incoming call from an unknown number. Now Megan's really concerned. She texts Melody to ask where she is, but Melody says she's with friends and that she'll be back. Megan is not happy about that and continues to text Melody, but she stops answering. But Megan keeps monitoring her location in the app. For the next couple of hours, it looks like Melody's headed towards a park known as Morgan Creek Park. And then it shows she's at an apartment complex just a few blocks from their house. Megan's starting to feel a little more at ease until her location permissions are suddenly disabled. She checks Snapchat, but she can't see Melody's location there either. Megan messages her on Snapchat and tells her to turn her location back on. But when Melody finally responds, Megan knows something is off. Because the messages don't sound like her daughter. They are a little too formal and detailed, and words are fully spelled out, which Melody rarely does. Her mind is racing and she's becoming increasingly worried. And it only gets worse when, around 3am on February 18, Megan receives an automated emergency alert from Melody's phone, saying her device detected a crash. Trash. Melody has been gone for about four hours by this point. Luckily, the alert provides the device's location, and Megan gets into her car and drives there immediately. It says her phone is near an entry ramp on Highway 100. And as soon as she pulls onto the ramp, Megan gets out and spots Melody's phone. The case has been removed and the screen is cracked, but she's still able to use it. However, when she looks through it, she notices something curious. All of the recent activity has been deleted. By now she's got a sinking gut feeling that McKinley has something to do with whatever is going on. So she messages him on Facebook to ask if he's with Melody. He responds saying he's not. But when Megan asks some follow up questions, he doesn't reply. Megan feels like she has no other options. So around 4am she drives to the Marion Police Department and reports her daughter missing. She gives officers Melody's phone and they say they'll start tracking her down right away. But the next time Megan hears from the police, they have devastating news. In the early morning hours of February 18, 2024 in Marion, Iowa, Megan Hoffman reports her 20 year old daughter Melody missing. Megan gives the police Melody's phone which she tracked down on the side of the highway. Officers immediately begin scouring the phone for clues as to her whereabouts. But it's not easy since most of the recent activity has been deleted. But a few hours later, Marion police finally learn where Melody is. Unfortunately, it's not the answer they were hoping for. Melody's body has been found at Lilly Lake, which is about 30 minutes from Marion. Agents from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation responded to the scene after people at the park stumbled upon her remains and called it in. She was found face down with her arms by her sides and lacerations all over her back. Investigators also noticed something strange. To them, it seems like Melody's body is posed as though a sexual assault occurred. However, the surrounding area shows no sign of a struggle, which makes them think that she was killed elsewhere before her body was left at Lily Lake. And data from Melody's Apple watch confirms this theory. According to Melody's watch, she was at Morgan Creek park when her heartbeat suddenly intensified. Then her heart either completely stopped or her watch was turned off. Based on these details, investigators believe Melody was murdered at Morgan Creek Park. From there, her phone traveled back towards Marion around 1am and eventually ended up at Lily Lake. Melody's body is sent off for an autopsy. And while investigators wait to hear if their theory is correct, they break the heart wrenching news to Megan. Megan is utterly distraught. But she also wastes no time telling police about melody's ex boyfriend McKinley, who she never liked. It turns out that the officers already recognize his name because just one month earlier in January of 2024, McKinley and two of his friends, 18 year old Dakota Van Patten and 18 year old Logan Kimpton were charged in an assault case. Logan's charges had been dismissed, but McKinley and Dakota were out on bail. Police know McKinley is dangerous and want to find him as quickly as possible. Thanks to all of the cell phone data they have, they are able to easily compare that information to McKinley's whereabouts the night before. They quickly obtain footage from traffic cameras along the route that Melody's devices had traveled. And as no surprise to Anyone, they spot McKinley's blue Honda Accord multiple times. First, detectives see the car near Melody's home in Marion a little after 11:20pm Remember, Megan was alerted that Melody left the house at 11:27. Then several cameras show McKinley's car driving to Morgan Creek Park. Shortly after that, the car drives by the same apartment complex where Megan had seen Melody's location. Then the Honda heads toward Lily Lake. After that, it drives to a convenience store in Cedar Rapids. Officers obtained security footage from the store and they find McKinley and another male about his age exiting the car and purchasing cigars. Finally, McKinley heads home. Once detectives gather all of this information, they get ready to bring McKinley in for questioning. But before they do that, Melody's autopsy results come in and they reveal the utter brutality she suffered before she died. There were blunt force injuries to her head, as well as stab wounds, other serrated knife cuts, bruises and other abrasions on her hands and face. There were also ligature marks on her neck and burst blood vessels in her head, which leads the ME to determine that the cause of death was strangulation. But that's not the only crucial finding from Melanie's autopsy. Her lab results test positive for the hormone hcg, otherwise known as the pregnancy hormone, which suggests that she was pregnant or had very recently been pregnant when she died. Megan says Melody never told her she was pregnant and she doesn't know if she told McKinley either. But investigators think this could have been McKinley's motive to kill her. However, when they bring him into the station for questioning, McKinley gives no indication that he knew she was pregnant and denies being involved in the murder. But luckily, authorities already expected him to deny everything. So they had obtained search warrants for McKinley's home and car. In his car, they find a machete, plus packaging for another two machetes just like it. A pocket knife with a serrated edge, A roll of partially used duct tape and a large plastic bag containing a pink blood stained shirt. A pair of black leggings that Melody was known to often wear. A blood stained apple watch band multiple Pairs of gloves, more duct tape with hair stuck to it, a piece of paracord, and Melody's cell phone. Case later analysis proves that the hair on the duct tape was Melody's. Officers also find receipts for the machete in the duct tape. As soon as detectives have these items in hand, they show it all to McKinley. At that point, he finally admits he was there when Melody was murdered, but that he didn't kill her. According to McKinley, his friend Dakota Van Patten did. Dakota is one of the young men involved in the earlier assault case. McKinley says he and Melody were hanging out on the night of the 17th when Dakota asked to come along. At some point, Melody mentioned some expensive gifts she wanted to buy for McKinley. And that's when Dakota realized how much money Melody had. He pulled out a gun and forced McKinley to bind and duct tape her so he could hold her for ransom. Authorities aren't buying his story, but they quickly locate Dakota and bring him into custody. However, when they get the forensic results of the items found in the car, they realize there's more to the story after all, because Dakota's fingerprints are all over the machete, but McKinley's aren't. But when they search Dakota's house, they. They find the two other machetes, plus Melody's eyeglasses. And when they search his phone, they find multiple photos he took on Snapchat the night of the murders, wearing her glasses. From there, authorities want to know who actually planned the crime. So they look at the footage from the Walmart where the supplies were purchased. Not only did they see McKinley and Dakota on the tapes, there is a third person as well. As the investigation into Melody Hoffman ramps up, police identify her ex boyfriend, McKinley Luisma, and his friend Dakota Van Patten as the primary suspects. But when they dig deeper, they realize a third person may have been involved. It's Logan Kimpton, the third suspect from the previous assault case they had all done together. When Logan is questioned on February 22, five days after the murder, he says that all three of them planned Melody's murder together, but that he chickened out and went to his girlfriend's house while McKinley and Dakota committed the crime. Logan's cell phone data backs up his claims, but even though he may not have killed Melody himself, there's still enough evidence to charge Logan with other crimes. When McKinley and Dakota are arrested for her murder, authorities may not have the full truth yet, but they see Melody's case as proof of how dangerous these young men are and how they'll continue to hurt people if they are not put behind bars. McKinley and Dakota are both charged with first degree murder, first degree kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. They both face life in prison and plead not guilty. Logan is charged with willful injury and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and pleads not guilty. McKinley exercises his right to a speedy trial which begins in November 2024. His defense maintains that he was present but not directly responsible for Melody's murder. However, between witness testimony and all of the physical and digital evidence, a jury finds him guilty on all charges. He's sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dakota's trial begins in September 2025. His defense also claims that he was A bystander and McKinley was the actual killer. In the end, he's also found guilty on all charges and this crime comes with an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. Logan's trial has been continually pushed back. There's currently a new trial set for November 18, 2025. Logan's trial might be the last opportunity for authorities and Melody's loved ones to hear an explanation for the true motive behind the attack. We'll be covering all of the updates as they happen. For today's second case, we're covering a shocking crime out of Kentucky. In September 2025, 44 year old Joshua Cottrell was charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing his girlfriend, 37 year old Kayla Blake, and her daughter, 13 year old Kennedy McWhorter. Cattrall's arraignment is scheduled for November 21, 2025. And his recent arrest for Kayla and Kennedy's murders has generated buzz and speculation surrounding his dark past. But before I get into his alleged crimes, I want to talk about the victims at the center of this case. Kayla lived in Moorhead, Kentucky with her two children, 13 year old Kennedy and Kennedy's brother Oliver. Kayla's a nurse at the Addiction Recovery Institute of America. Everyone who knows Kayla knows how much she loves helping others. She doesn't just pour her heart into providing care for her patients either. Her co workers view her as someone who's always ready to step up and would even come in to help when she was off the clock. And it seems like Kayla's raising her children to have those same values. Her daughter Kennedy is beloved by her family, friends and the community. She's a talented softball player whose teammates adore her. She's also an active member of the youth group at her church. Their whole family just has this reputation for being caring. Members of the Moorhead Community as a whole. As a recovery nurse, Kayla believes in people's ability to alter the course of their own lives. And this includes the man she's dating, 44 year old Joshua Cottrell. 20 years before, Joshua had been convicted of second degree manslaughter for the death of a man in 2003 in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, about 200 miles from Moorhead. Joshua had originally been charged with murder after the victim's body was found in a river and stuffed into a suitcase. But the jury gave Joshua a lesser conviction because he claimed he only killed the man out of self defense. According to Joshua, he believed the man was trying to sexually assault him. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but got out a few years early in 2019. It's easy to see how Joshua may have spun the story to make it seem like a one time mistake from his younger days or like he was the victim. If so, that quickly proves untrue. On Friday, September 19, 2025, Kayla doesn't show up for work, which is super unlike her. So her co workers quickly contact the police and request a welfare check. Sometime between 10am and 11am Officers arrive at Kayla's house. No one answers the door, but they find a way in. Details of the state of the house haven't been released, but what we do know is that when officers make their way down the hall to Kayla's back bedroom, they find her there, unresponsive. When officers rush to her aid, they realize she's been stabbed and unfortunately did not survive. Then across the hall, they find Kennedy is killed in a similar way. It also appears that both of their bodies had been moved after they were killed. Reports don't indicate where Oliver was at the time, but fortunately he is safe. From there, the authorities jump into the investigation. They talk to Kayla's friends and learn that she was dating Joshua Cottrell. And pretty soon he's their top suspect. Around 2pm that same day, Joshua arrives at a hospital in Paducah, Kentucky which is about 300 miles from Moorhead. With details still emerging in this case, his reasons for being in Paducah haven't been disclosed, but he receives some kind of treatment for his injury and he has blood on his clothes when he gets there. It's suspicious enough to the hospital staff that they alert authorities. And when his connection to Kayla and Kennedy is discovered, police arrive at the hospital and arrest him. Pretty soon Cattrall is charged with two counts of murder, theft by unlawful taking, and one count of tampering with physical evidence. Cattrall is currently being held on a one million dollar bond and his arraignment is scheduled for November 21, 2025. At that time, his formal charges will be read and he'll have to enter a plea. After that, we'll hopefully learn more about why he allegedly took these two innocent lives and are able to get more insight into this tragic and horrific story. And as always, we'll be bringing you all of the major updates as they come in foreign what did you think of today's cases? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you next time. If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel @Crime House Daily and follow us on social media crime house 247 for real time updates. Because the pursuit of justice never stops.
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Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong is perfect for spooky season.
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Dive into the real events behind the.
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World'S most terrifying blockbusters and beyond. Twisted Tales is a Crime House original. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes out every Monday.
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