Summary4 min read

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: FEDS: Chicago Man Who Lit Blue Line Traveler on Fire a Terrorist | Crime Alert 12.12.25
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Sydney Sumner (for Crime Alert section, with Nancy Grace as the titular host)

Episode Overview

This Crime Alert episode delivers an intense, fast-paced update on some of the week’s most shocking and disturbing crime stories. The headline topic is the brutal and apparently random attack on a woman aboard Chicago’s Blue Line train, which federal authorities are now prosecuting as a terrorist act. Additional coverage includes harrowing tales of neglect, concealed death, and vehicular homicide.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Terror Attack on Chicago Blue Line ([00:35])

Incident Overview:
- Lawrence Reed, 50, is charged federally with terrorism after dousing a woman in gasoline and setting her on fire aboard a downtown train.
- The attack occurred just before 9:30pm at Clark Lake station.
- The victim, 26, remains in critical condition with severe burns to her body and head.
- Surveillance video captured the horrifying attack, showing the victim desperately fleeing before being set alight.
Attack Details:
- The suspect and victim reportedly argued before the incident.
- Reed poured gasoline from a plastic bottle onto the woman and tried to ignite it while she resisted.
- Reed fled the scene, but bystanders extinguished the flames, likely saving the woman’s life.
Investigation & Charges:
- Reed was apprehended with burns on his hand and made incriminating statements.
- He acted erratically in court, claiming guilt, asserting Chinese nationality, and asking to represent himself.
- Authorities highlight his extensive violent history and pending criminal cases, expressing frustration that Reed was free at all.
Memorable Quotes:
- ATF Special Agent Christopher Aman:
  “Reed had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system and as a result you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life.” ([01:55])
- U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutro:
  “If the victim dies, Reed would be eligible for the death penalty because he's been charged in federal court.” ([02:14])

2. Oregon Child Neglect Case ([02:20])

Incident Overview:
- Ruby Itzayana Gadina Velledor, 32, arrested after her 11-year-old son (low functioning, non-verbal) is found unsupervised in unsanitary conditions.
- Home contained excrement, garbage, and pervasive filth; the boy was naked and watching videos, alone.
Investigation Timeline:
- Police responded after truancy and a missed sibling pick-up; a family member and later a neighbor raised alarms.
- Officers forced entry and found the overwhelmed boy and mother in neglectful and bizarre circumstances.
Child Welfare:
- Authorities have not disclosed the children’s current whereabouts.

3. Illinois Woman's Death Concealed for Two Years ([03:18])

Incident Overview:
- Nancy Corbin, 65, found dead, wrapped in plastic in a backyard garbage bin nearly two years after her passing.
- Her husband, Adam Corbin, 59, charged with concealment and abuse of a corpse after a convoluted attempt to mislead police.
Key Facts:
- Family in Texas requested a welfare check after two years of silence.
- Adam Corbin first claimed his wife was elsewhere, then produced another woman to impersonate her.
- Eventually, police found Nancy's remains and learned Adam had collected caregiver payments long after her death.
Memorable Moments:
- Officers found multiple firearms (Corbin, a convicted felon, was not permitted to possess them); seven were seized.
- Charges include weapons violations in addition to corpse abuse and fraud.

4. Deadly Las Vegas Car Crash ([04:36])

Incident Overview:
- Jose Gutierrez, 19, allegedly intentionally caused a 12-car pileup, killing his pregnant girlfriend and another driver.
- Prosecutors, citing video and witness accounts, state there was no evidence of intoxication—rather, his actions were purposeful.
Investigation Highlights:
- Gutierrez sped through a red light at approximately 100 mph, failed to brake, and did not have a restricted view.
- Faces two counts of murder, attempted murder, reckless driving, and battery.
Memorable Quotes:
- Clark County District Attorney Steve Wilson:
  “We believe he was not impaired by alcohol or drugs...including a very descriptive video, that his actions were intentional which gives rise to a charge of murder.” ([05:09])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

ATF Special Agent Christopher Aman (re: Chicago attack):
“Reed had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system and as a result you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life.” ([01:55])
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutro:
“If the victim dies, Reed would be eligible for the death penalty because he's been charged in federal court.” ([02:14])
Clark County DA Steve Wilson (re: Las Vegas crash):
“We believe ... that his actions were intentional which gives rise to a charge of murder.” ([05:09])

Timestamps for Important Segments

[00:35] – Main segment: Blue Line terrorist attack
[02:20] – Oregon child neglect arrest
[03:18] – Illinois woman’s body found after two years
[04:36] – Las Vegas intentional car crash/murder charges

Tone and Style

The coverage is brisk and unflinching, sticking to facts but highlighting the raw gravity, outrage, and urgency of these cases. Host Sydney Sumner relays news in a direct and somber manner, true to Nancy Grace’s signature style: relentless focus on victims, justice, and the failures of the criminal system.

Summary

This episode of Crime Stories with Nancy Grace (Crime Alert) offers a sobering look at violent crime in America—spotlighting systemic failures, heinous acts, and the law’s pursuit of justice. Through vivid reporting and unvarnished details, listeners are taken into unfolding investigations, left with the chilling reality behind the headlines and the urgent hunt for accountability.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
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This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
[00:04]
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At Hinge, we found Gen Z daters want deeper conversations, but they're 36% more hesitant than millennials to start them. I'm Logan Urie, Hinge's lead relationship scientist. We call this the communication gap, the space between wanting connection and actually starting the conversation. But here's the good news. It doesn't have to be this way. Ask one better question or share something honest and watch the connection grow. Find more in Hinge's 2025 Gen Z report, now live at Hinge Co. Crime.
[00:35]
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Alert Hourly Update Breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Sumner. Federal authorities stepped in on Wednesday and charged a man who set a woman on fire on a Chicago Transit train with terrorism. The federal charge against 50 year old Lawrence Reed carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The 26 year old woman was hospitalized in critical condition after the attack on Chicago's Blue Line train downtown. The incident took place just before 9:30pm Monday. As the train pulled into the Clark Lake station, the suspect poured gasoline on the woman and lit it. He fled the train ahead of the woman, engulfed in flames, who has not been named. Bystanders had extinguished the blaze by the time first responders arrived, but the victim was severely burned on her body and head, although witnesses said the suspect and the woman argued before the incident. Federal court records say Reed doused her with gasoline from a plastic bottle without comment and tried to ignite it as she tried to fight him. Surveillance video showed her running from one end of the train car to another before Reed lit the bottle he carried the gasoline in and used it to set the woman on fire. Chicago police said Reid made incriminating statements after he was taken into custody and had burns on his right hand. Reid was erratic during his initial court appearance on Wednesday, claiming he was guilty, a Chinese citizen and that he wanted to represent himself. Federal officials complained at a news conference that Reid should have been in jail because of his violent criminal history and his pending criminal cases, although they declined to say what those were. ATF Special Agent Christopher Aman said Reid had plenty of second chances by the criminal justice system and as a result you have an innocent victim in the hospital fighting for her life. U.S. attorney Andrew Boutro said that if the victim dies, Reed would be eligible for the death penalty because he's been charged in federal court. An Oregon woman was arrested last week after Police found her 11 year old son, who is low functioning and non verbal, unsupervised in the home filled with excrement, rotting garbage and piles of clothes and trash. Ruby itzayana Gadina Velledor, 32, was charged with three counts of criminal mistreatment. Police were initially called when the boy did not go to school that day and a nine year old sibling was not picked up after school. A family member asked for a welfare check, but no one answered the door and the family member requested to file a missing persons report. Later, a neighbor called to say she could hear the boy moving around inside the apartment. Again, no one answered the door when police responded, but this time they made an emergency entrance. They found feces smeared on the walls, floor and an air conditioning unit, and the home smelled overwhelmingly of urine, feces and rotted garbage. The boy was sitting naked on a couch watching videos on his phone. His mother was not in the room, but police found her in another room not wearing pants, police said. Gadina Velledor got dressed and was taken into custody. It's unclear where either of the children are now. More crime and justice news after this. A 65 year old Illinois woman was found dead, wrapped in plastic in a garbage bin in a backyard shed and her husband has been charged with concealing her death for nearly two years. Family members living in Texas sought a welfare check for Nancy Corbin, saying they hadn't heard from her in that time and feared her husband, 59 year old Adam Corbin, may have harmed her. Adam Corbin first told responding officers that his wife was in Florida, then that she was staying with friends. Later, he said she was in the home and brought out a woman who claimed to be her officers, however, quickly determined she was impersonating the missing woman. That woman ultimately told police she had lived with the Corbins and Nancy suffered from significant health issues. Adam Corbyn told her he found his wife dead in bed one morning and put her body in a blue trash bin, poured chemicals on it and left it outside for nearly two years, police said. Surveillance video showed Corbin moving the trash bin into a shed after police left inside the shed, officers found human remains in the trash bin. The Sangamon county coroner identified the remains as Nancy Corbin. Corbin admitted to moving the body after police visited the home and admitted to receiving state's payment as his wife's caretaker long after she was dead. During their initial visit to the home, officers saw multiple firearms in plain view and then found that Corbin did not have a firearm owner's identification card and during a follow up visit he admitted he was a convicted felon. Police seized seven firearms. Corbin has been charged with seven counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon one count of abuse of a corpse, removal without authorization and one count of concealment of a death. Las Vegas prosecutors told a court last week that a teenage driver intentionally caused a 12 car pileup, killing his pregnant girlfriend and the driver of one of the other vehicles. They said they planned to charge 19 year old Jose Gutierrez with murder. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wilson told the court, we believe he was not impaired by alcohol or drugs and therefore we believe based upon all the evidence to date, including a very descriptive video, that that his actions were intentional which gives rise to a charge of murder. Adeline Duran Rincon, 20, and Edward Garcia, 38, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash last Tuesday and another person was hospitalized with life threatening injuries. Rincon was a passenger in Gutierrez's Infinity coupe. Wolfson said Gutierrez's view was not restricted and he did not appear to brake as he approached a traffic light at a high rate of speed. Witnesses told police he appeared to be traveling around 100 miles per hour. Gutierrez was charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, reckless driving and battery. For the latest crime and justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Sydney Sumner. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.