A mother's mind before killings. Audio recording of missing mom. Plus, rap lyrics as evidence. - Dateline NBC

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We can get going. It's the start of another workday for the DATELINE team.
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C
There's a video, you know, false confessions, coercive interrogation tactics.
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Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. Is the family saying it's a murder? There were no other suspects or anything, right? Welcome to DATELINE, True Crime Weekly. I'm Blaine Alexander. It's August 13th, and here's what's on our docket. In Northern California, prosecutors prepare to use a recording of a missing mom against the man they say killed her.
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You could hear Nikki just describing the brutality of the abuse and just how terrified she was.
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In DATELINE Roundup, former Only Fans model Courtney Clenney takes a plea for killing her boyfriend. And Luigi Manioni, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is back in court, possibly for the last time before his state trial.
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Both the defense and prosecution have strong takes on how open the trial should be.
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Plus, should prosecutors be allowed to use song lyrics or memoirs as evidence? NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos isn't convinced.
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How do we know what is a nexus between violent lyrics and a crime of violence?
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But before all of that, we're off to a Boston suburb where it's week three in the trial of a former labor and delivery nurse accused of murdering her own children. And just a warning that some of what we'll be discussing is quite upsetting and and includes mentions of suicide. For weeks, prosecutors have been laying out their case against Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom they believe intentionally killed her three young children, Cora Callen and Dawson, on January 24, 2023. Lindsay doesn't deny killing them, but says she cannot be held criminally responsible. She says she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time, that she was overmedicated and not in her right mind. Lindsay' ex husband, Patrick, who was standing by her, has testified about watching Lindsay struggle with her mental health. But this week, jurors got to hear from the doctors who treated her. Chief among them, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, the psychiatrist who saw Lindsay just the day before her children's deaths. Here now to tell us what Dr. Tufts had to say and why he thinks it led to one of the most contentious moments in court so far is Nate Eaton of East Idaho News and host of the podcast Courtroom Insider. Nate, thank you so much for being here with us today.
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F
Hi, Blaine. Thanks for having me.
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You know, I mean, the first thing I have to ask you, Nate, is that this is a case that has clearly grabbed the country's attention. I mean, we're talking about a trial in Massachusetts. You've been covering it all the way from Idaho. Just tell me, what do you think it is about this case that has resonated with so many people?
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F
I think that mental illness affects so many people. And you have a mother who says she was dealing with postpartum anxiety, depression. That is an issue that people relate to. She was a very loving mother by all accounts, according to the. And you see her in the courtroom every day sitting in her wheelchair because she was paralyzed after she threw herself out of that second story window. A lot of people feel sorry for her. A lot of people say she should be held responsible. Most cases, you have a feeling that the defendant may be found guilty or not guilty. This is a case that I don't know. I don't think anyone knows how this trial is going to end.
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B
So let's talk about Dr. Jennifer Tufts. She first met Lindsay Clancy back in September of 2022. This is just a few months before the children killed in January of 2023. What makes her stand out here as a witness in this case?
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F
Well, she is the psychiatrist who met Lindsay 14 times, actually, leading up until the children's death. And if there's anyone who could describe kind of a through line for her care over the months leading up to this tragedy, it would be Dr. Tufts.
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B
So when the prosecution brought her up, they first asked Dr. Tufts about when she had her first appointment with Lindsay. What did she say that Linds told her during that first appointment?
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Lindsay told her that she was anxious, that she was overwhelmed caring for her three children. Lindsay was a labor and delivery nurse herself. And so she went to the doctor saying, I need a little bit more time to stay home with my children. The prosecutor read aloud the message that Lindsay sent after two appointments with her.
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Hi, Dr. Tufts. While I am feeling just better enough to function without medication, I did reach out to my employer about extending my leave for reasons of postpartum anxiety, depression. I don't feel mentally well enough to return to taking care of patients with a baby at home that still won't take the bottle. Gosh, you know, just hearing that, I think that that's something that a lot of new mothers would certainly relate to. The no sleep, the baby won't eat. Dr. Tupps initially diagnosed Lindsay with generalized anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder with depressed mood. But notably, nothing in there mentioned psychosis or hearing voices during that initial meeting, right?
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F
No. And Lindsay filled out a form about suicide for that initial meeting, one of those intake forms. And in it she said that she wasn't contemplating suicide, self harm or hurting other people. Tufts testified that she asked Lindsey at several of their sessions over the next few months about this. And each time, Lindsay said that she was not suicidal or homicidal. Now, their last session, this is notable, took place the day before the children were killed. Here's how Dr. Tufts described that visit.
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Did you ask her if she had suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation on the 23rd? Yes, I did. What was her response?
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No.
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B
And did you notice any symptoms or signs of psychosis that day?
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A
No.
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B
That's just so chilling to hear that this took place, this conversation took place literally the day before she killed her children. Now, I have to ask Nate, what about medication? Did Dr. Tufts help explain this kind of cocktail of medication that the defense has been talking about? Several times?
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Dr. Tufts explained that she recommended to Lindsay that she take the lowest dose of Zoloft, which is a very common antidepressant. Even though Lindsay was prescribed the medication, when Dr. Tufts met with her two weeks later, she told the doctor she hadn't started it.
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B
Now, eventually, Lindsay did start taking that medication. Zoloft. Right. That's according to the doctor's testimony. And she prescribed a different medication to her as well, Ativan, which helped her sleep. So not necessarily a lot of medication. But we should say that Dr. Tufts didn't really have the complete picture because Lindsay was also seeing other doctors at the same time. Were they kind of at least cross referencing her prescriptions to see what other medications she was taking and what. How they could possibly interact with each other or have issues?
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Not really. And the defense made a big deal about that, saying, why didn't these doctors request the records from the other providers? Now, the psychiatrist countered that Lindsay told her. Lindsay Clancy told her, well, I've gone here, and I've gone here, and they've prescribed me this. But as far as getting actual documentation, those records were never requested, at least by Dr. Tufts.
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B
So that ended the prosecution's questioning of Dr. Tufts, but she was back on the stand for defense cross. On Monday, Lindsay's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, really pressed Dr. Tufts on her experience. And it sounded like he was really working to kind of discredit her there on the stand.
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Yeah.
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This is a young doctor who had only been practicing independently for a little over a month when she first saw Lindsay Clancy. She said she had become board certified in psychiatry the same day that Lindsay Clancy reached out to her.
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I have to ask, Nate. Do we know how Lindsay found her? Did she just Google her? How did she happen upon this doctor?
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According to court documents, an Internet search. Now, on her webpage, Dr. Tufts does say that she is an expert at perinatal issues. Kevin Reddington really pressed her on that issue to be like, what were you saying to the public? Maybe you were exaggerating your claims about your resume.
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And just to be clear about what's actually on Dr. Tuft's webpage, she has a column titled areas of expertise, and underneath that, it lists perinatal psychiatry. Now, in her biography, she writes perinatal psychiatry as a particular interest. Let's listen to a little bit of that testimony. So you understand that if, in fact, it's determined that you advertise as an expert in postpartum and in postpartum psychiatry, would you consider that to be negligent or misrepresentation? I do not believe that I have been negligent. Do you understand what misrepresentation is?
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Yes.
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With a month under your belt, plus your residency, do you really want this
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jury to believe that you were an expert?
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Can you advertise that? I just think the wording was that it's an interest of mine. I don't believe I call myself an expert. Are you an expert in postpartum? I. I may be.
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C
I don't know.
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I think it depends on what you define an expert as. So during that cross, it was also revealed that Dr. Tufts only met with Lindsay virtually on telehealth.
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Right. In fact, Kevin Reddington, the attorney, pointed out that the first time Lindsay Clancy and Dr. Tufts saw each face to face was in the courtroom during this trial. And those appointments were relatively brief meetings on the Computer screen. And Kevin Reddington repeatedly said, could she have been doing something off screen showing signs of anxiety or other conditions that you're not able to see through the screen? And the doctor said the standard of care these days for a lot of practices is telehealth.
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B
And the way that you're describing all of this, Nate, it sounds like these were some very tense moments of testimony. Any other tense exchanges that you saw during during this cross?
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Several.
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Perhaps the most tense moment was when Dr. Tufts was confronted with notes she took following a session that she had with Lindsay. On those notes, she wrote the phrase, not hyper, comma, pressured speech.
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B
What is pressured speech? What exactly is that describing pressured speech?
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Could be speaking too fast, you're speaking too slow, you have signs of mania in your speech. But according to Dr. Tufts, that's not what she meant to write.
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Can you just read this paragraph here for us? Not hyper pressured speech. What was that? Not hyper. Not pressured speech is what I meant. I know it doesn't say not, but that is exactly what I meant. Wait, when did you see this? That you noticed that it did not say not? I don't care what it says. I know what I meant. She did not have pressure speech. Doctor, I wrote that. But you're misinterpreting my notes. Am I reading this correctly? And the jury will be able to look at it that you put not hyper pressured speech. Did I read that right? Yes, but your interpretation is incorrect.
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F
As opposed to yours, she meant to write not pressured speech, but she forgot the not.
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But that completely changes the meaning of those notes.
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Or the doctor was not accurate in taking notes. And so if a juror wonders if the doctor was wrong on this, what else was she wrong on? And this was probably the most tense moment we've seen in the trial thus far.
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Well, Nate, you've been following every twist and turn of this case. What do you expect to happen next? In this trial, of course, the big
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question is, will Lindsey Clancy testify herself? Because that could really sway jurors opinions one way or another. If you get up there and you have a mother who confesses to doing it, doing all of these things, but then talks about her mental state, that will be very, very compelling testimony.
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Well, either way it goes, this is just a tragic story all around. We really appreciate you bringing us up to speed on it. Thank you.
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F
Thank you, Blaine.
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Coming up, a California mother of four has been missing for two years. Will prosecutors finally be able to take her husband to trial for her murder?
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dozens of people reached out to Dateline about the same missing woman out of Northern California. Her name was Nikki Chang Salima Cain, a 39 year old mother of four who had seemingly vanished on May 18, 2024, her three sisters told our DATELINE Missing An America Team that they were desperate to find her and they were adamant that Nikki would never just walk away. Then, more than a year later, in August of 2025, even though Nikki's body had never been found, the sheriff of Shasta county made an announcement.
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The detectives has determined that Nikki is a victim of homicide. Detectives also further concluded that Nikki's husband, Tyler Scott McCain is responsible for Nikki's death.
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Tyler has pleaded not guilty to charges including first degree murder at A preliminary hearing, prosecutors revealed some of their evidence against Tyler, ranging from forensic analysis of Nikki's truck to a recording that she made in the weeks before her alleged death. Tyler's defense team, however, is pushing back on this, arguing that there was another person in Nikki's life who could have harmed her. Her alleged lover. Tyler was expected to go on trial in just a few weeks time, but on Monday, his defense team asked for a delay. We're joined now by Blake Mayfield. He's a reporter with our affiliate, NBC 24 Action News. Now, Blake, thank you so much for being here and bringing us up to speed. First, let's just talk about Nikki. I want to give our listeners a sense of who she was. What have you learned about her through all of this?
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D
Yeah, Nikki was 39 years old. She was from the Reading area. She was one of four sisters. And all the sisters were really close with each other. I think family was a big emphasis for all them. And her sisters described her as just being goofy and funny. She was also feisty and outgoing. They described her as the one with the big personality.
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Well, when you talk about her siblings, I mean, her siblings have been very clear from the beginning. She would not get up and leave. It was completely out of character. What was the first sign for Nikki's siblings that something was wrong?
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She stopped responding to their text messages. Chloe, one of her sisters, reported her missing on May 22nd. And then days later after that, I think just three. On May 25th, Nikki Chevy Avalanche, was actually found off Highway 36 in Western Tehama County. But Nikki was nowhere to be found.
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And at the time, I remember that the public heard from Tyler actually basically appearing at a press conference and asking for help in this case. Let's listen to some of that.
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I'm the husband of Nikki, but I would like to thank sheriff's office, FBI
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for getting involved, any efforts that that might help bring my wife home, you know, safely. We miss you.
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What people don't know while they were watching that presser is that six months before that happened, six months before she disappeared, Nikki had actually accused Tyler of assaulting her. Walk us through that accusation.
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Yeah.
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So In December of 2023, Nikki went to the hospital. She had black eyes and other injuries to her head and face. And according to the sheriff's complaint, she told police that Tyler had attacked her and held her down, repeatedly punched her, and even dragged her across the floor. She also said that he taped her wrists and ankles together and put tape over her mouth and threatened to kill her. She said there had been previous incidents, but this one in particular was one of the worst ones. Oh, gosh.
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B
Those allegations are terrifying. Now, tyler has denied hurting nikki, but prosecutors pressed charges against him at the time nikki disappeared. He had a court date that was coming up. What happened to those charges, those charges on her allegations of abuse after nikki disappeared?
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Well, the d. A. Explained at the time that without nikki there to testify, Prosecutors couldn't move forward with the case.
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And getting those charges dropped Is why prosecutors think that tyler murdered nikki. It's his alleged motive. But what did prosecutors have to even prove that she was dead? I mean, again, to this day, they've never found her body.
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D
I should say. This is actually the first no body case that will be prosecuted in shasta county history. So it is a big deal here. We learned a lot at the preliminary hearing. It was six days long, A lot of witnesses. I was in the court for all of them. And it almost felt like a mini trial. It was. Investigators starting out with what they found in nikki. Chevy avalanche sheriff's deputy testified that when he approached that truck, he smelled what he described as death coming from the covered truck bed. And investigators, they later opened the truck bed. They found a white sheet with blood stains on it. A california department of justice criminalist testified that the blood on the sheet Was overwhelmingly likely belonging to nikki, Based on DNA comparisons with her sisters and other relatives. And the criminalist testified that other biological material on that sheet Showed very strong support for tyler's inclusion.
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B
Wow. So that's just what they found in the truck. But investigators also testified about finding something suspicious at their home. At nikki and tyler's home.
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D
Yeah, that's right. So investigators were looking for physical evidence that could indicate something happened to nikki in the house that they lived in together. As part of that search, they used a chemical that's designed to, like, reveal traces of blood that may have been cleaned up or otherwise just naked to the human eye. And investigators testified that the chemical reacted on the garage floor, Basically indicating that there was possible blood or hemoglobin there in the. In the garage.
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B
We talked earlier about a tape recording that nikki made. Tell us what that was about.
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D
Yeah. So this was from the December 2023 incident. It was a recording that was taken at the hospital. You could hear nikki just describing the brutality of the abuse and just how terrified she was. You can imagine how impactful it was to hear not just testimony about what happened to nikki, but. But to hear it in her own voice.
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B
Wow. So the defense also showed its hand at the preliminary hearing. Right they got a chance to cross examine witnesses. What are some of the big takeaways from the defense that we heard?
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D
The bloody she found in Nikki's truck. That was really, really big. Prosecutors alleged that Tyler's DNA was on it, but the defense pointed out that there was actually DNA from another man on it. That other man's DNA belonged to Luis Brahas. He actually testified that. That he was Nikki's lover at the time of her disappearance. And what's more is that he told police he was with her on May 17, which was the last day that she was known to be alive.
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B
How did he possibly explain that?
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D
Yeah, Louie testified that they had sex at his house that night on a couch with a sheet over it. He said Nikki would sometimes take dirty laundry back to the home that she shared with Tyler, and he wasn't sure whether she took that particular sheet with her that night.
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And Blake, there's more here. According to Louise, he and Nikki actually had an argument that night.
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Yeah. Louis testified that he and Nikki argued by text and phone. In one text, he told Nikki she was, quote, going to pay. Louis testified that those messages came from jealousy and insecurity and said that he did regret them. At the preliminary hearing, prosecutors asked him directly whether he killed Nikki, and he told them, quote, I did not.
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B
Now remember, all of this is happening last fall. These are preliminary hearings. But the judge did decide that there was enough evidence for Tyler to stand trial. But actually, getting to that trial has been a completely different story.
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D
It was originally scheduled to begin last November in 2025, but the judge granted the defense's motion to delay it until March 2026. The trial was again pushed to August, which was supposed to be a couple weeks from now.
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B
And then on Monday, the judge heard yet another motion to delay from Tyler's defense team. This time, they said that they needed more time to file a motion to move the trial, arguing that Tyler cannot get a fair trial in Shasta county given all the media attention that this case. So, Blake, I'm curious, what did the judge decide here?
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Blaine? It actually got delayed until February of next year. So three delays now. Four different dates overall have been set. We'll see if this one sticks.
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B
Gosh, I can't imagine how frustrating this is for the family in all of this. Just waiting to finally see all of this be presented in court. Well, Blake, we know that you will continue to follow all of this. We thank you, as always, for your reporting on this and. And we'll talk to you again soon.
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D
Sounds good. Thanks, Blaine
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B
up Next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. Former OnlyFans model and accused murderer Courtney Clinney takes a plea and Luigi Mangione's final court hearing before his state trial begins. Plus, rap lyrics as evidence. NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos tells us why he thinks it's a bad idea.
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Tennessee 2012. Welcome back to DATELINE roundup. Today I am joined by DATELINE field producer Brittany Morris. Brittany, thanks so much for joining me today.
[25:44]
C
Hey there, Blaine. Thanks for having me.
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B
Well, first off, we are headed down to Miami for what looks like it might be the final chapter in the case of 30 year old former only fans model Courtney Clenney. Courtney was accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend Christian obumseli back in 2022 in a fit of rage. A prosecutor said that it wasn't the first time she had been violent with Christian. Her defense team, however, said she has been the long standing victim of his abuse and that Courtney threw a knife at Christian from across the room out of fear. When he charged at. So, Brittany, just bring us up to speed. On Monday, Courtney was back in court, and this was a pretty big moment in this case, Right?
[26:22]
C
It was blaine. So she was there to enter a guilty plea. Judge Andrea ricker wolfson walked Courtney through what we usually see in these types of situations, a plea colloquy. So in other words, the judge makes sure Courtney has spoken to her lawyer about the plea deal and understands the ramifications of taking a guilty plea.
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B
Have you reviewed every line, every word, every page of this plea agreement with your attorney?
[26:51]
C
Yes.
[26:52]
B
So I want to take a look at this deal itself and just what exactly it entails. Courtney was originally charged with second degree murder. Under Florida sentencing guidelines, she was looking at at least 21 years in prison if she was convicted. So with this plea deal, what is she facing now?
[27:07]
C
So Courtney pled guilty, not to second degree murder, but to a lesser charge of manslaughter. And so that meant she received a sentence of six years in prison and five years probation after that.
[27:21]
B
So 15 years reduction in prison time, that's pretty major. And the deal factors in time that's already been served. And Courtney's already been behind bars for quite some time now. So how early could she potentially be released?
[27:32]
C
She was arrested in 2022, and according to her lawyers, she could be released as early as 2028.
[27:39]
B
So Christian's family was also there in the courtroom on Monday. Did they speak at all?
[27:43]
C
Yeah, they did. Several members of his family were present, including his cousin Karen. His mom and dad were there, too. They all wore purple bows on their shirts. Karen, the cousin, she was the first to speak. She read a statement on behalf of Christian's mom. It vividly captured a mother's grief.
[28:01]
B
There is simply too much pain to put on paper. Since April 2022, I have lived with fear, anxiety, sleepless nights, heartache, and more tears than I can ever count. Oh, it's just hard to listen to them just speaking about that. I mean, you can imagine their pain throughout this entire ordeal. And Courtney was also, of course, in the courtroom. She sat there in an orange jumpsuit. At times, she looked like she was about to cry. As Christian's family was speaking, did she make any sort of statement, or did she address the family at all?
[28:34]
C
So Courtney did not make any statements herself, but her attorneys, they held a press conference after the sentencing. Her lawyer, Frank Prieto, doubled down on this idea that they'd been ready to go to trial, but the plea deal was too good to pass up.
[28:48]
B
And we also heard from Courtney's father, Kim Kelly, right?
[28:52]
C
Yeah. So, Kim Kelly, he read a pre written statement to the press, and in it, he acknowledged that a young man lost his life. And that is a great tragedy.
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Nothing I can say today diminishes that tragedy with a profound and permanent loss that some may feel.
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What matters to me now is that for the first time in more than four years, there's an end in sight.
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B
Courtney has the future ahead of her. I'm looking forward to the day I can sit across from her face to face and hug her and tell her
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how much I love her.
[29:22]
B
There have been so many chapters to this case, Brittany. I mean, it's just stunning to see it all come to an end.
[29:28]
C
Absolutely.
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B
Well, up next, we are headed up to Manhattan, where we have an update in the case of Luigi Mangione. That's the man who's been accused of gunning down United States UnitedHealthcare CEO Ryan Thompson back in 2024. A pretrial hearing was held on Tuesday ahead of Mangione's upcoming trial in state court. Now, this is expected to be the last hearing before the trial. Can you tell us what was on the agenda here, Brittany?
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C
So this case has captured the nation's attention, no doubt. And that undeniably raises questions about whether the spectacle of the trial could overshadow the trial itself. So both the defense and prosecution have strong takes on how open the trial should be. And a lot of what they talked about on Tuesday involved media access to the trial.
[30:15]
B
You know, this came up a few weeks ago when the New York State Office of Court Administration issued guidelines on how many reporters could actually be inside the courtroom during this trial. And the defense complained that these were far too restrictive. Can you walk us through some of those guidelines?
[30:31]
C
Sure. So that office said that IT had selected 68 journalists to cover the trial from inside the courtroom. And of those 68, only six could be present for jury selection.
[30:43]
B
Wow.
[30:44]
C
And the court administration didn't want to have an overflow room for additional spectators.
[30:50]
B
I could see how that could ruffle a lot of feathers, certainly. Well, Mangione's defense team filed a motion demanding changes to the guidelines and information about how those 68 journalists were chosen. How did that shake out?
[31:02]
C
So it was a very quick hearing where the judge reiterated that there has never been a decision to exclude press from access to the trial. The judge did not comment on how those 68 journalists were selected, but said he will now allow an overflow room for the press. And additionally, he said that for jury selection and in regard to the jury specifically, it will be an anonymous jury.
[31:27]
B
Oh, interesting. What exactly is an anonymous jury?
[31:30]
C
So this is the first time I have ever heard of one. In normal cases, we don't know all that much about identifying information in regard to the jurors. We might know their age, their job, or where they're from. So for an anonymous jury, that identifying information can be withheld from the public, the parties involved, or both for varying lengths of time.
[31:52]
B
Interesting. You know, another thing that we've been watching very closely in all of this, Britney, is whether or not the proceedings can be broadcast live. It's something that the Def had requested. Has the judge made a decision on that yet?
[32:05]
C
He has not. We will have to wait for that ruling.
[32:08]
B
Well, a lot of eyes are going to be on this trial. Of course. We will be watching closely as we approach the start of that trial that's set for September 8th. Brittany, thank you so much for joining us and breaking all of this down. We appreciate you.
[32:18]
C
You're so welcome. Thank you.
[32:22]
B
This week in a Las Vegas courtroom, Dwayne Keefe D. Davis, a former gang leader, went on trial for the 1996 murder of rap legend Tuberculosis Shakur. Davis has pleaded not guilty. But as we told you last week, central to the prosecution's case are Davis's very own words, including a passage in his memoir describing his alleged role in Tupac's shooting. Prosecutors say that it amounts to a confession. Now, this is not the first time that we've heard of a case where prosecutors have ripped a defendant's own words from a book or song lyrics to try and prove guilt in front of a jury. So we asked NBC News legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Savalos to join us and tell us more about this. Danny, thank you so much for joining us.
[33:02]
E
Thank you so much for having me. Glad to be back.
[33:05]
B
Let's talk about the importance of a defendant's own words. Those are something that, of course, can be very powerful tools for prosecutors, right?
[33:12]
E
Absolutely. We always find it reliable when somebody is willing to admit that they did something. We trust when the defendant himself says, I did it.
[33:23]
B
So let's dive into this Keefe D Case a little bit more first. This all kind of goes back to a memory memoir that he wrote. Just kind of remind our listeners what was said in that memoir they're pointing to.
[33:35]
E
The defendant here has essentially said that he may not have been the person who pulled the trigger, but he was in the car and present at the scene of the crime. And at least according to prosecutors, his Words, evidence, his intent to be involved in this specific crime which resulted in the death of Tupac.
[33:54]
B
The defense has said that this memoir was fiction, just basically a way to sell books, to look tough in front of people. I've got to ask, were you surprised that the judge allowed this in as evidence?
[34:04]
E
Well, yes and no. This raises another fascinating issue, the corpus delicti rule. And that is just a fancy Latin word for the idea that you have to have more than just a defendant's words to corroborate a crime. I'll give you an example. If I came to you and said, a month ago I had an illegal firearm and I had a lot of cocaine in my car, well, well, I mean, that's certainly helpful to the government, but the government couldn't charge me for that crime with no other evidence other than my words. So, for example, in this case, it's a little different, right? You do have further evidence of the crime. You have a dead Tupac Shakur. So there is, in a sense, corroboration. But believe me, as a defense attorney, I see it the defense's way, which is that, look, all you have are these words and really nothing else other than a death 30 years ago.
[35:01]
B
You know, all of this, Danny, makes me think of a case out of Georgia right here. It's actually a case that I covered in part, but it was basically a RICO case against a well known rap artist, Young Thug. His real name is Jeffrey Williams. And a portion of that prosecution had to do with rap lyrics. But I got something to do with that. Batting with a shit I got the screens on my back Carry it like I'm moving about it. Prosecutors introduced 17 sets of Williams lyrics to try and prove that YSL, which were the same initials as his record label, Young Stoner Life, was actually a street gang with Williams at the very top of it. They argued that the lyrics weren't necessarily admissions of specific crimes, but rather promoting the gang and their activities. Young Thug or Jeffrey Williams ultimately pleaded no contest to that RICO charge.
[35:48]
E
Yes, that was a case where the prosecution sought to introduce evidence of rap lyrics to show guilt in the sort of the association with people and the conspiracy and all of these other elements. As a defense attorney, obviously I'm biased, but I see a real problem with introducing artists work as evidence against them. Imagine you're an artist and you create something, and then years later, it just happens that a crime occurs that is close to those lyrics. If the prosecution can show a connection between the lyrics and the crime itself, then it may come in but how do we know what is a nexus between violent lyrics and a crime of violence? And I would just add as an asterisk that you see a lot of rap lyrics. But I can show you several songs in rock and some of the other genres that talk openly about crime. There's I shot the sheriff, I shot
[36:46]
B
the sheriff, the sheriff.
[36:52]
E
There's some of these other country music songs are about shooting people and watching them die.
[36:57]
B
I shot a man in Reno just
[37:00]
D
to watch him die.
[37:03]
E
This has always been around.
[37:04]
B
Well, I mean, you make a great point, echoed by the aclu, the American Civil Liberties Union, that it is more likely that rap lyrics are going to be targeted. They say that it exposes a sort of bias in the system there.
[37:16]
E
Sure. You know, there's also a technical reason. I mean, you could argue that rap lyrics are usually at a faster rhythm, a faster beat, and they contain more words than your typical rock ballad. Right. Which has a, you know, a two minute guitar solo and a two minute introduction that's all instrumental. Whereas rap crams in a lot more content into one song.
[37:38]
B
One last thing I want to get you to touch on, Danny. One case that we've been covering very extensively here on the podcast is the case of David the artist who's been charged with the murder and sexual abuse of a teenage who was found dead in his car back in September of last year. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, but there is a lot of online conversation about whether some of his music could possibly play a role in the criminal proceedings.
[38:01]
E
One of David's songs was a track titled Romantic Homicide. It released prior to Celeste Rivas Hernandez's murder. And you have words like in the back of my mind, you died and I didn't even cry even, you know, if I step back and just take those words, should we take them in context? Do we just take them in isolation? How do you even analyze how words may have a connection to the crime itself? So, again, my concern is that we're living on a slippery slope, because if it begins with rap lyrics, where does it end? And should prosecutors be able to bolster a case that might otherwise be a close call by going to an artist's inventory?
[38:43]
B
It's just a fascinating concept all around. Danny Savalos, thank you so much, friend. We appreciate you.
[38:49]
E
Thank you.
[38:51]
B
And that's it for this episode of Dateline, True Crime Weekly. But don't forget to check out the latest season of the Webby Award winning podcast, Dateline Missing in America. Josh Mankiewicz looks into six new cases. The first Three episodes are out now. And to get early access to new episodes and listen ad free, just subscribe to DATELINE Premium. Coming up this Friday on Dateline, we've got one of Andrea's most moving episodes. It's about the murder of a Tennessee high school cheerleader, her family's quest for answers, and the teenage boys that helped lead police to her killer.
[39:24]
F
You're going to have two boys in a car with a guy that's believed to have already killed one person with a murder weapon. You know, this is a huge dangerous thing.
[39:32]
B
Watch Noises in the night Friday at 10, 9 Central on Date Dateline on NBC. Thanks so much for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Caroline Casey and Keani Reed. Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone Groth and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown Kuriloff. Production and fact checking help by Yana Johnson. Veronica Mazeca is our digital producer. Rick Guan is our sound designer. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline.
[40:07]
C
Bye everybody.
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B
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Summary7 min read

Dateline NBC — True Crime Weekly (August 13, 2026)
Episode Summary: "A mother's mind before killings. Audio recording of missing mom. Plus, rap lyrics as evidence."

Episode Overview

In this compelling episode of Dateline’s True Crime Weekly, host Blaine Alexander and a lineup of reporters and analysts explore three gripping legal sagas unfolding across the country:

The ongoing Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy, a mother and nurse accused of killing her children, with an in-depth look at her psychiatric care.
New developments in the Northern California no-body homicide of Nikki Chang Salima Cain, focusing on evidence and family impact.
Complex legal and cultural debate over the use of defendants’ lyrics and memoirs as evidence in criminal trials, including coverage of high-profile cases in Miami, Manhattan, Las Vegas, and Georgia.

The episode features first-hand courtroom reporting, notable expert commentary, and a careful examination of how American law grapples with guilt, evidence, and mental health.

1. The Lindsay Clancy Trial: Mental Health, Motherhood, and Murder

[02:12–12:57]

Case Recap

Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts nurse and mother, stands trial for the January 2023 killings of her three young children.
- She does not deny causing their deaths but claims undiagnosed postpartum psychosis and overmedication rendered her not criminally responsible.
- The trial explores complex issues of mental illness in criminal culpability.

Key Moments and Testimony

Expert Witness: Dr. Jennifer Tufts
- Clancy’s psychiatrist, who saw her 14 times leading up to the deaths.
- Described as a caring, but young and relatively inexperienced doctor.
Prosecution’s Focus:
- At their final appointment, just one day before the crimes, Dr. Tufts reported no signs of suicidality or psychosis.
  - Notable Quote:
    - (06:36)
    - Blaine Alexander (reading testimony): “Did you ask her if she had suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation on the 23rd?”
    - Dr. Tufts: “Yes, I did.”
    - “What was her response?”
    - Dr. Tufts: “No.”
- Dr. Tufts prescribed low-dose Zoloft, and later Ativan, but there was little coordination with other providers—a key defense critique.
Defense Cross-Examination:
- Dr. Tufts’ credentials and clinical judgment challenged repeatedly by defense attorney Kevin Reddington.
  - Notable Exchange:
    - (09:51)
    - Reddington: "With a month under your belt, plus your residency, do you really want this jury to believe that you were an expert?"
    - Dr. Tufts: "I just think the wording was that it's an interest of mine. I don't believe I call myself an expert. Are you an expert in postpartum? I may be."
- Defense stressed all visits were telehealth, raising doubts about clinical observation quality.
- Tension peaked when defense confronted Tufts about an ambiguous chart note: "not hyper, pressured speech," which the doctor admitted could have been a documentation error.
  - Notable Quote:
    - (12:10)
    - Dr. Tufts: "She did not have pressured speech. Doctor, I wrote that. But you're misinterpreting my notes."

Analysis and Next Steps

Nate Eaton (Courtroom Insider):
- Emphasized intense public interest and the unpredictable outcome of a trial hinging on mental health.
- The big unresolved question: Will Lindsay Clancy testify herself?
  - (12:39)
  - “Because that could really sway jurors opinions one way or another...”

2. The Disappearance of Nikki Chang Salima Cain: California’s No-Body Murder Case

[15:26–23:32]

Case Recap

Nikki Chang Salima Cain, a mother of four, vanished May 2024 in Northern California.
- Her body has never been found.
- Husband Tyler Scott McCain is charged with her murder, with prosecutors alleging history of violence and an effort to avoid prosecution on domestic abuse charges.

Key Evidence and Investigation

Family’s Role:
- Nikki’s sisters reported her missing and have remained convinced she did not disappear voluntarily.
Forensic Finds:
- Nikki’s truck found abandoned with a bloodstained sheet containing her DNA and secondary DNA from her husband Tyler and Nikki's lover, Luis Brahas.
- Investigators detected traces of blood in the home garage using chemical tests.
Chilling Audio Evidence:
- Hospital recording of Nikki describing abuse, played in court.
  - Notable Quote:
    - (20:52)
    - Reporter: "It was a recording that was taken at the hospital. You could hear Nikki just describing the brutality of the abuse and just how terrified she was."
Defense Strategy:
- Focuses on the DNA of Nikki’s lover, with his admission that they were together the night before her disappearance and a fraught argument that followed.
  - (22:06)
  - "Louie testified that he and Nikki argued by text and phone. In one text, he told Nikki she was, quote, going to pay."

Legal Developments

Procedural Delays:
- Trial delayed three times due to defense requests; now scheduled for February 2027.
Historic Significance:
- First ever “no-body” case to be prosecuted in Shasta County.

3. Dateline Roundup: High-Profile Cases in the Headlines

[25:28–32:18]

A. Courtney Clenney Plea Deal (Miami)

Case: Former OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the fatal stabbing of boyfriend Christian Obumseli (2022).
- Accepted a plea bargain: 6 years prison + 5 years probation, potentially out by 2028, instead of facing a possible 21-year sentence for second-degree murder.
- Victim’s family expressed grief in court; Clenney did not speak.
  - (28:01)
  - Karen (cousin, for Christian’s mother): "There is simply too much pain to put on paper. Since April 2022, I have lived with fear, anxiety, sleepless nights, heartache, and more tears than I can ever count."

B. Luigi Mangione Trial Prep (Manhattan)

Case: Accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Ryan Thompson (2024).
- Hearing on media access and trial logistics revealed tension between public interest and fair trial rights.
- Ruling: 68 journalists allowed for trial, only 6 for jury selection; overflow press room permitted; jury to be anonymous.
  - (31:26)
  - "For an anonymous jury...that identifying information can be withheld from the public, the parties involved, or both for varying lengths of time."

4. Lyrics, Memoirs, and the Law: Are Words Evidence?

[32:22–38:48]

Use of Defendants’ Artistic Works in Prosecution

Featured Analyst:
NBC News legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Savalos

Case Studies

Dwayne “Keefe D” Davis (Las Vegas/Tupac Shakur case):
- On trial for the 1996 murder, with central prosecution evidence being his own memoir describing presence during the shooting.
- Defense: Claimed memoir was fiction, not confession.
- Savalos: Warns about overreliance on confessions and need for corroborative evidence ("corpus delicti" rule).
  - (34:03)
  - Savalos: “You have to have more than just a defendant’s words to corroborate a crime.”
Young Thug (Georgia):
- Prosecutors used 17 sets of rap lyrics to argue participation in a criminal street gang.
- Savalos: Raises free speech and fairness concerns about targeting artists, especially hip-hop performers.
  - (35:48)
  - "Imagine you're an artist and you create something, and then years later, it just happens that a crime occurs that is close to those lyrics..."
- Points to double standard in different genres (e.g., “I Shot the Sheriff,” Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”).
  - (36:45)
  - Blaine: “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.”
  - Savalos: "This has always been around."
David (Romantic Homicide Case):
- Concern over lyrics of a song released before the alleged crime being introduced as circumstantial evidence.
  - Savalos:
    - 38:01: “Should we take them in context? Do we just take them in isolation? ... If it begins with rap lyrics, where does it end?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the unpredictability of the Lindsay Clancy verdict:
- Nate Eaton:
  - (04:25)
  - "Most cases, you have a feeling that the defendant may be found guilty or not guilty. This is a case that I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows how this trial is going to end."
On the pain of victims’ families:
- Christian Obumseli's mother (via cousin):
  - (28:01)
  - "There is simply too much pain to put on paper."
- Courtney Clenney’s father:
  - (29:14)
  - "For the first time in more than four years, there’s an end in sight..."
On the perils of using lyrics as evidence:
- Danny Savalos:
  - (37:02–38:42)
  - "If it begins with rap lyrics, where does it end? And should prosecutors be able to bolster a case that might otherwise be a close call by going to an artist’s inventory?"

Timestamps for Key Segments

[02:12–12:57] The Lindsay Clancy trial (mental health and criminal liability)
[15:26–23:32] Nikki Chang Salima Cain no-body murder case
[25:28–32:18] Dateline Roundup (Courtney Clenney plea, Luigi Mangione trial logistics)
[32:22–38:48] Using lyrics and memoirs as evidence – in-depth legal discussion

Conclusion

This episode intertwines the deeply personal with the systemic: From heartbreaking family testimony and the razor’s edge of mental illness and justice, to nuanced legal battles over what counts as admissible proof in our courts. The coverage of ongoing and upcoming trials, expert analysis, and the broader questions about art, speech, and evidence offer a comprehensive, reflective look at crime, culpability, and culture in America.

For further updates and in-depth storytelling, listeners are encouraged to follow Dateline True Crime Weekly and its investigative sister series, "Dateline: Missing in America."

Loading summary

Transcript172 lines

[00:00]
A
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[00:58]
B
We can get going. It's the start of another workday for the DATELINE team.
[01:02]
C
There's a video, you know, false confessions, coercive interrogation tactics.
[01:06]
B
Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. Is the family saying it's a murder? There were no other suspects or anything, right? Welcome to DATELINE, True Crime Weekly. I'm Blaine Alexander. It's August 13th, and here's what's on our docket. In Northern California, prosecutors prepare to use a recording of a missing mom against the man they say killed her.
[01:29]
D
You could hear Nikki just describing the brutality of the abuse and just how terrified she was.
[01:34]
B
In DATELINE Roundup, former Only Fans model Courtney Clenney takes a plea for killing her boyfriend. And Luigi Manioni, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is back in court, possibly for the last time before his state trial.
[01:51]
C
Both the defense and prosecution have strong takes on how open the trial should be.
[01:57]
B
Plus, should prosecutors be allowed to use song lyrics or memoirs as evidence? NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos isn't convinced.
[02:06]
E
How do we know what is a nexus between violent lyrics and a crime of violence?
[02:12]
B
But before all of that, we're off to a Boston suburb where it's week three in the trial of a former labor and delivery nurse accused of murdering her own children. And just a warning that some of what we'll be discussing is quite upsetting and and includes mentions of suicide. For weeks, prosecutors have been laying out their case against Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom they believe intentionally killed her three young children, Cora Callen and Dawson, on January 24, 2023. Lindsay doesn't deny killing them, but says she cannot be held criminally responsible. She says she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time, that she was overmedicated and not in her right mind. Lindsay' ex husband, Patrick, who was standing by her, has testified about watching Lindsay struggle with her mental health. But this week, jurors got to hear from the doctors who treated her. Chief among them, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, the psychiatrist who saw Lindsay just the day before her children's deaths. Here now to tell us what Dr. Tufts had to say and why he thinks it led to one of the most contentious moments in court so far is Nate Eaton of East Idaho News and host of the podcast Courtroom Insider. Nate, thank you so much for being here with us today.
[03:29]
F
Hi, Blaine. Thanks for having me.
[03:30]
B
You know, I mean, the first thing I have to ask you, Nate, is that this is a case that has clearly grabbed the country's attention. I mean, we're talking about a trial in Massachusetts. You've been covering it all the way from Idaho. Just tell me, what do you think it is about this case that has resonated with so many people?
[03:48]
F
I think that mental illness affects so many people. And you have a mother who says she was dealing with postpartum anxiety, depression. That is an issue that people relate to. She was a very loving mother by all accounts, according to the. And you see her in the courtroom every day sitting in her wheelchair because she was paralyzed after she threw herself out of that second story window. A lot of people feel sorry for her. A lot of people say she should be held responsible. Most cases, you have a feeling that the defendant may be found guilty or not guilty. This is a case that I don't know. I don't think anyone knows how this trial is going to end.
[04:25]
B
So let's talk about Dr. Jennifer Tufts. She first met Lindsay Clancy back in September of 2022. This is just a few months before the children killed in January of 2023. What makes her stand out here as a witness in this case?
[04:40]
F
Well, she is the psychiatrist who met Lindsay 14 times, actually, leading up until the children's death. And if there's anyone who could describe kind of a through line for her care over the months leading up to this tragedy, it would be Dr. Tufts.
[04:56]
B
So when the prosecution brought her up, they first asked Dr. Tufts about when she had her first appointment with Lindsay. What did she say that Linds told her during that first appointment?
[05:07]
F
Lindsay told her that she was anxious, that she was overwhelmed caring for her three children. Lindsay was a labor and delivery nurse herself. And so she went to the doctor saying, I need a little bit more time to stay home with my children. The prosecutor read aloud the message that Lindsay sent after two appointments with her.
[05:24]
B
Hi, Dr. Tufts. While I am feeling just better enough to function without medication, I did reach out to my employer about extending my leave for reasons of postpartum anxiety, depression. I don't feel mentally well enough to return to taking care of patients with a baby at home that still won't take the bottle. Gosh, you know, just hearing that, I think that that's something that a lot of new mothers would certainly relate to. The no sleep, the baby won't eat. Dr. Tupps initially diagnosed Lindsay with generalized anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder with depressed mood. But notably, nothing in there mentioned psychosis or hearing voices during that initial meeting, right?
[06:02]
F
No. And Lindsay filled out a form about suicide for that initial meeting, one of those intake forms. And in it she said that she wasn't contemplating suicide, self harm or hurting other people. Tufts testified that she asked Lindsey at several of their sessions over the next few months about this. And each time, Lindsay said that she was not suicidal or homicidal. Now, their last session, this is notable, took place the day before the children were killed. Here's how Dr. Tufts described that visit.
[06:31]
B
Did you ask her if she had suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation on the 23rd? Yes, I did. What was her response?
[06:37]
E
No.
[06:38]
B
And did you notice any symptoms or signs of psychosis that day?
[06:42]
A
No.
[06:43]
B
That's just so chilling to hear that this took place, this conversation took place literally the day before she killed her children. Now, I have to ask Nate, what about medication? Did Dr. Tufts help explain this kind of cocktail of medication that the defense has been talking about? Several times?
[06:59]
F
Dr. Tufts explained that she recommended to Lindsay that she take the lowest dose of Zoloft, which is a very common antidepressant. Even though Lindsay was prescribed the medication, when Dr. Tufts met with her two weeks later, she told the doctor she hadn't started it.
[07:15]
B
Now, eventually, Lindsay did start taking that medication. Zoloft. Right. That's according to the doctor's testimony. And she prescribed a different medication to her as well, Ativan, which helped her sleep. So not necessarily a lot of medication. But we should say that Dr. Tufts didn't really have the complete picture because Lindsay was also seeing other doctors at the same time. Were they kind of at least cross referencing her prescriptions to see what other medications she was taking and what. How they could possibly interact with each other or have issues?
[07:46]
F
Not really. And the defense made a big deal about that, saying, why didn't these doctors request the records from the other providers? Now, the psychiatrist countered that Lindsay told her. Lindsay Clancy told her, well, I've gone here, and I've gone here, and they've prescribed me this. But as far as getting actual documentation, those records were never requested, at least by Dr. Tufts.
[08:10]
B
So that ended the prosecution's questioning of Dr. Tufts, but she was back on the stand for defense cross. On Monday, Lindsay's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, really pressed Dr. Tufts on her experience. And it sounded like he was really working to kind of discredit her there on the stand.
[08:27]
E
Yeah.
[08:28]
F
This is a young doctor who had only been practicing independently for a little over a month when she first saw Lindsay Clancy. She said she had become board certified in psychiatry the same day that Lindsay Clancy reached out to her.
[08:43]
B
I have to ask, Nate. Do we know how Lindsay found her? Did she just Google her? How did she happen upon this doctor?
[08:49]
F
According to court documents, an Internet search. Now, on her webpage, Dr. Tufts does say that she is an expert at perinatal issues. Kevin Reddington really pressed her on that issue to be like, what were you saying to the public? Maybe you were exaggerating your claims about your resume.
[09:07]
B
And just to be clear about what's actually on Dr. Tuft's webpage, she has a column titled areas of expertise, and underneath that, it lists perinatal psychiatry. Now, in her biography, she writes perinatal psychiatry as a particular interest. Let's listen to a little bit of that testimony. So you understand that if, in fact, it's determined that you advertise as an expert in postpartum and in postpartum psychiatry, would you consider that to be negligent or misrepresentation? I do not believe that I have been negligent. Do you understand what misrepresentation is?
[09:47]
C
Yes.
[09:48]
B
With a month under your belt, plus your residency, do you really want this
[09:51]
F
jury to believe that you were an expert?
[09:54]
B
Can you advertise that? I just think the wording was that it's an interest of mine. I don't believe I call myself an expert. Are you an expert in postpartum? I. I may be.
[10:08]
C
I don't know.
[10:09]
B
I think it depends on what you define an expert as. So during that cross, it was also revealed that Dr. Tufts only met with Lindsay virtually on telehealth.
[10:19]
F
Right. In fact, Kevin Reddington, the attorney, pointed out that the first time Lindsay Clancy and Dr. Tufts saw each face to face was in the courtroom during this trial. And those appointments were relatively brief meetings on the Computer screen. And Kevin Reddington repeatedly said, could she have been doing something off screen showing signs of anxiety or other conditions that you're not able to see through the screen? And the doctor said the standard of care these days for a lot of practices is telehealth.
[10:50]
B
And the way that you're describing all of this, Nate, it sounds like these were some very tense moments of testimony. Any other tense exchanges that you saw during during this cross?
[10:59]
D
Several.
[10:59]
F
Perhaps the most tense moment was when Dr. Tufts was confronted with notes she took following a session that she had with Lindsay. On those notes, she wrote the phrase, not hyper, comma, pressured speech.
[11:15]
B
What is pressured speech? What exactly is that describing pressured speech?
[11:18]
F
Could be speaking too fast, you're speaking too slow, you have signs of mania in your speech. But according to Dr. Tufts, that's not what she meant to write.
[11:28]
B
Can you just read this paragraph here for us? Not hyper pressured speech. What was that? Not hyper. Not pressured speech is what I meant. I know it doesn't say not, but that is exactly what I meant. Wait, when did you see this? That you noticed that it did not say not? I don't care what it says. I know what I meant. She did not have pressure speech. Doctor, I wrote that. But you're misinterpreting my notes. Am I reading this correctly? And the jury will be able to look at it that you put not hyper pressured speech. Did I read that right? Yes, but your interpretation is incorrect.
[12:11]
F
As opposed to yours, she meant to write not pressured speech, but she forgot the not.
[12:16]
B
But that completely changes the meaning of those notes.
[12:19]
F
Or the doctor was not accurate in taking notes. And so if a juror wonders if the doctor was wrong on this, what else was she wrong on? And this was probably the most tense moment we've seen in the trial thus far.
[12:33]
B
Well, Nate, you've been following every twist and turn of this case. What do you expect to happen next? In this trial, of course, the big
[12:39]
F
question is, will Lindsey Clancy testify herself? Because that could really sway jurors opinions one way or another. If you get up there and you have a mother who confesses to doing it, doing all of these things, but then talks about her mental state, that will be very, very compelling testimony.
[12:57]
B
Well, either way it goes, this is just a tragic story all around. We really appreciate you bringing us up to speed on it. Thank you.
[13:03]
F
Thank you, Blaine.
[13:05]
B
Coming up, a California mother of four has been missing for two years. Will prosecutors finally be able to take her husband to trial for her murder?
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[15:27]
B
dozens of people reached out to Dateline about the same missing woman out of Northern California. Her name was Nikki Chang Salima Cain, a 39 year old mother of four who had seemingly vanished on May 18, 2024, her three sisters told our DATELINE Missing An America Team that they were desperate to find her and they were adamant that Nikki would never just walk away. Then, more than a year later, in August of 2025, even though Nikki's body had never been found, the sheriff of Shasta county made an announcement.
[15:58]
D
The detectives has determined that Nikki is a victim of homicide. Detectives also further concluded that Nikki's husband, Tyler Scott McCain is responsible for Nikki's death.
[16:09]
B
Tyler has pleaded not guilty to charges including first degree murder at A preliminary hearing, prosecutors revealed some of their evidence against Tyler, ranging from forensic analysis of Nikki's truck to a recording that she made in the weeks before her alleged death. Tyler's defense team, however, is pushing back on this, arguing that there was another person in Nikki's life who could have harmed her. Her alleged lover. Tyler was expected to go on trial in just a few weeks time, but on Monday, his defense team asked for a delay. We're joined now by Blake Mayfield. He's a reporter with our affiliate, NBC 24 Action News. Now, Blake, thank you so much for being here and bringing us up to speed. First, let's just talk about Nikki. I want to give our listeners a sense of who she was. What have you learned about her through all of this?
[16:57]
D
Yeah, Nikki was 39 years old. She was from the Reading area. She was one of four sisters. And all the sisters were really close with each other. I think family was a big emphasis for all them. And her sisters described her as just being goofy and funny. She was also feisty and outgoing. They described her as the one with the big personality.
[17:16]
B
Well, when you talk about her siblings, I mean, her siblings have been very clear from the beginning. She would not get up and leave. It was completely out of character. What was the first sign for Nikki's siblings that something was wrong?
[17:28]
D
She stopped responding to their text messages. Chloe, one of her sisters, reported her missing on May 22nd. And then days later after that, I think just three. On May 25th, Nikki Chevy Avalanche, was actually found off Highway 36 in Western Tehama County. But Nikki was nowhere to be found.
[17:44]
B
And at the time, I remember that the public heard from Tyler actually basically appearing at a press conference and asking for help in this case. Let's listen to some of that.
[17:54]
D
I'm the husband of Nikki, but I would like to thank sheriff's office, FBI
[17:59]
F
for getting involved, any efforts that that might help bring my wife home, you know, safely. We miss you.
[18:07]
B
What people don't know while they were watching that presser is that six months before that happened, six months before she disappeared, Nikki had actually accused Tyler of assaulting her. Walk us through that accusation.
[18:19]
A
Yeah.
[18:20]
D
So In December of 2023, Nikki went to the hospital. She had black eyes and other injuries to her head and face. And according to the sheriff's complaint, she told police that Tyler had attacked her and held her down, repeatedly punched her, and even dragged her across the floor. She also said that he taped her wrists and ankles together and put tape over her mouth and threatened to kill her. She said there had been previous incidents, but this one in particular was one of the worst ones. Oh, gosh.
[18:46]
B
Those allegations are terrifying. Now, tyler has denied hurting nikki, but prosecutors pressed charges against him at the time nikki disappeared. He had a court date that was coming up. What happened to those charges, those charges on her allegations of abuse after nikki disappeared?
[19:02]
D
Well, the d. A. Explained at the time that without nikki there to testify, Prosecutors couldn't move forward with the case.
[19:08]
B
And getting those charges dropped Is why prosecutors think that tyler murdered nikki. It's his alleged motive. But what did prosecutors have to even prove that she was dead? I mean, again, to this day, they've never found her body.
[19:20]
D
I should say. This is actually the first no body case that will be prosecuted in shasta county history. So it is a big deal here. We learned a lot at the preliminary hearing. It was six days long, A lot of witnesses. I was in the court for all of them. And it almost felt like a mini trial. It was. Investigators starting out with what they found in nikki. Chevy avalanche sheriff's deputy testified that when he approached that truck, he smelled what he described as death coming from the covered truck bed. And investigators, they later opened the truck bed. They found a white sheet with blood stains on it. A california department of justice criminalist testified that the blood on the sheet Was overwhelmingly likely belonging to nikki, Based on DNA comparisons with her sisters and other relatives. And the criminalist testified that other biological material on that sheet Showed very strong support for tyler's inclusion.
[20:13]
B
Wow. So that's just what they found in the truck. But investigators also testified about finding something suspicious at their home. At nikki and tyler's home.
[20:23]
D
Yeah, that's right. So investigators were looking for physical evidence that could indicate something happened to nikki in the house that they lived in together. As part of that search, they used a chemical that's designed to, like, reveal traces of blood that may have been cleaned up or otherwise just naked to the human eye. And investigators testified that the chemical reacted on the garage floor, Basically indicating that there was possible blood or hemoglobin there in the. In the garage.
[20:48]
B
We talked earlier about a tape recording that nikki made. Tell us what that was about.
[20:53]
D
Yeah. So this was from the December 2023 incident. It was a recording that was taken at the hospital. You could hear nikki just describing the brutality of the abuse and just how terrified she was. You can imagine how impactful it was to hear not just testimony about what happened to nikki, but. But to hear it in her own voice.
[21:09]
B
Wow. So the defense also showed its hand at the preliminary hearing. Right they got a chance to cross examine witnesses. What are some of the big takeaways from the defense that we heard?
[21:21]
D
The bloody she found in Nikki's truck. That was really, really big. Prosecutors alleged that Tyler's DNA was on it, but the defense pointed out that there was actually DNA from another man on it. That other man's DNA belonged to Luis Brahas. He actually testified that. That he was Nikki's lover at the time of her disappearance. And what's more is that he told police he was with her on May 17, which was the last day that she was known to be alive.
[21:45]
B
How did he possibly explain that?
[21:47]
D
Yeah, Louie testified that they had sex at his house that night on a couch with a sheet over it. He said Nikki would sometimes take dirty laundry back to the home that she shared with Tyler, and he wasn't sure whether she took that particular sheet with her that night.
[22:00]
B
And Blake, there's more here. According to Louise, he and Nikki actually had an argument that night.
[22:07]
D
Yeah. Louis testified that he and Nikki argued by text and phone. In one text, he told Nikki she was, quote, going to pay. Louis testified that those messages came from jealousy and insecurity and said that he did regret them. At the preliminary hearing, prosecutors asked him directly whether he killed Nikki, and he told them, quote, I did not.
[22:26]
B
Now remember, all of this is happening last fall. These are preliminary hearings. But the judge did decide that there was enough evidence for Tyler to stand trial. But actually, getting to that trial has been a completely different story.
[22:38]
D
It was originally scheduled to begin last November in 2025, but the judge granted the defense's motion to delay it until March 2026. The trial was again pushed to August, which was supposed to be a couple weeks from now.
[22:50]
B
And then on Monday, the judge heard yet another motion to delay from Tyler's defense team. This time, they said that they needed more time to file a motion to move the trial, arguing that Tyler cannot get a fair trial in Shasta county given all the media attention that this case. So, Blake, I'm curious, what did the judge decide here?
[23:09]
D
Blaine? It actually got delayed until February of next year. So three delays now. Four different dates overall have been set. We'll see if this one sticks.
[23:18]
B
Gosh, I can't imagine how frustrating this is for the family in all of this. Just waiting to finally see all of this be presented in court. Well, Blake, we know that you will continue to follow all of this. We thank you, as always, for your reporting on this and. And we'll talk to you again soon.
[23:32]
D
Sounds good. Thanks, Blaine
[23:35]
B
up Next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. Former OnlyFans model and accused murderer Courtney Clinney takes a plea and Luigi Mangione's final court hearing before his state trial begins. Plus, rap lyrics as evidence. NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos tells us why he thinks it's a bad idea.
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Tennessee 2012. Welcome back to DATELINE roundup. Today I am joined by DATELINE field producer Brittany Morris. Brittany, thanks so much for joining me today.
[25:44]
C
Hey there, Blaine. Thanks for having me.
[25:46]
B
Well, first off, we are headed down to Miami for what looks like it might be the final chapter in the case of 30 year old former only fans model Courtney Clenney. Courtney was accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend Christian obumseli back in 2022 in a fit of rage. A prosecutor said that it wasn't the first time she had been violent with Christian. Her defense team, however, said she has been the long standing victim of his abuse and that Courtney threw a knife at Christian from across the room out of fear. When he charged at. So, Brittany, just bring us up to speed. On Monday, Courtney was back in court, and this was a pretty big moment in this case, Right?
[26:22]
C
It was blaine. So she was there to enter a guilty plea. Judge Andrea ricker wolfson walked Courtney through what we usually see in these types of situations, a plea colloquy. So in other words, the judge makes sure Courtney has spoken to her lawyer about the plea deal and understands the ramifications of taking a guilty plea.
[26:45]
B
Have you reviewed every line, every word, every page of this plea agreement with your attorney?
[26:51]
C
Yes.
[26:52]
B
So I want to take a look at this deal itself and just what exactly it entails. Courtney was originally charged with second degree murder. Under Florida sentencing guidelines, she was looking at at least 21 years in prison if she was convicted. So with this plea deal, what is she facing now?
[27:07]
C
So Courtney pled guilty, not to second degree murder, but to a lesser charge of manslaughter. And so that meant she received a sentence of six years in prison and five years probation after that.
[27:21]
B
So 15 years reduction in prison time, that's pretty major. And the deal factors in time that's already been served. And Courtney's already been behind bars for quite some time now. So how early could she potentially be released?
[27:32]
C
She was arrested in 2022, and according to her lawyers, she could be released as early as 2028.
[27:39]
B
So Christian's family was also there in the courtroom on Monday. Did they speak at all?
[27:43]
C
Yeah, they did. Several members of his family were present, including his cousin Karen. His mom and dad were there, too. They all wore purple bows on their shirts. Karen, the cousin, she was the first to speak. She read a statement on behalf of Christian's mom. It vividly captured a mother's grief.
[28:01]
B
There is simply too much pain to put on paper. Since April 2022, I have lived with fear, anxiety, sleepless nights, heartache, and more tears than I can ever count. Oh, it's just hard to listen to them just speaking about that. I mean, you can imagine their pain throughout this entire ordeal. And Courtney was also, of course, in the courtroom. She sat there in an orange jumpsuit. At times, she looked like she was about to cry. As Christian's family was speaking, did she make any sort of statement, or did she address the family at all?
[28:34]
C
So Courtney did not make any statements herself, but her attorneys, they held a press conference after the sentencing. Her lawyer, Frank Prieto, doubled down on this idea that they'd been ready to go to trial, but the plea deal was too good to pass up.
[28:48]
B
And we also heard from Courtney's father, Kim Kelly, right?
[28:52]
C
Yeah. So, Kim Kelly, he read a pre written statement to the press, and in it, he acknowledged that a young man lost his life. And that is a great tragedy.
[29:03]
B
Nothing I can say today diminishes that tragedy with a profound and permanent loss that some may feel.
[29:09]
F
What matters to me now is that for the first time in more than four years, there's an end in sight.
[29:14]
B
Courtney has the future ahead of her. I'm looking forward to the day I can sit across from her face to face and hug her and tell her
[29:21]
F
how much I love her.
[29:22]
B
There have been so many chapters to this case, Brittany. I mean, it's just stunning to see it all come to an end.
[29:28]
C
Absolutely.
[29:29]
B
Well, up next, we are headed up to Manhattan, where we have an update in the case of Luigi Mangione. That's the man who's been accused of gunning down United States UnitedHealthcare CEO Ryan Thompson back in 2024. A pretrial hearing was held on Tuesday ahead of Mangione's upcoming trial in state court. Now, this is expected to be the last hearing before the trial. Can you tell us what was on the agenda here, Brittany?
[29:52]
C
So this case has captured the nation's attention, no doubt. And that undeniably raises questions about whether the spectacle of the trial could overshadow the trial itself. So both the defense and prosecution have strong takes on how open the trial should be. And a lot of what they talked about on Tuesday involved media access to the trial.
[30:15]
B
You know, this came up a few weeks ago when the New York State Office of Court Administration issued guidelines on how many reporters could actually be inside the courtroom during this trial. And the defense complained that these were far too restrictive. Can you walk us through some of those guidelines?
[30:31]
C
Sure. So that office said that IT had selected 68 journalists to cover the trial from inside the courtroom. And of those 68, only six could be present for jury selection.
[30:43]
B
Wow.
[30:44]
C
And the court administration didn't want to have an overflow room for additional spectators.
[30:50]
B
I could see how that could ruffle a lot of feathers, certainly. Well, Mangione's defense team filed a motion demanding changes to the guidelines and information about how those 68 journalists were chosen. How did that shake out?
[31:02]
C
So it was a very quick hearing where the judge reiterated that there has never been a decision to exclude press from access to the trial. The judge did not comment on how those 68 journalists were selected, but said he will now allow an overflow room for the press. And additionally, he said that for jury selection and in regard to the jury specifically, it will be an anonymous jury.
[31:27]
B
Oh, interesting. What exactly is an anonymous jury?
[31:30]
C
So this is the first time I have ever heard of one. In normal cases, we don't know all that much about identifying information in regard to the jurors. We might know their age, their job, or where they're from. So for an anonymous jury, that identifying information can be withheld from the public, the parties involved, or both for varying lengths of time.
[31:52]
B
Interesting. You know, another thing that we've been watching very closely in all of this, Britney, is whether or not the proceedings can be broadcast live. It's something that the Def had requested. Has the judge made a decision on that yet?
[32:05]
C
He has not. We will have to wait for that ruling.
[32:08]
B
Well, a lot of eyes are going to be on this trial. Of course. We will be watching closely as we approach the start of that trial that's set for September 8th. Brittany, thank you so much for joining us and breaking all of this down. We appreciate you.
[32:18]
C
You're so welcome. Thank you.
[32:22]
B
This week in a Las Vegas courtroom, Dwayne Keefe D. Davis, a former gang leader, went on trial for the 1996 murder of rap legend Tuberculosis Shakur. Davis has pleaded not guilty. But as we told you last week, central to the prosecution's case are Davis's very own words, including a passage in his memoir describing his alleged role in Tupac's shooting. Prosecutors say that it amounts to a confession. Now, this is not the first time that we've heard of a case where prosecutors have ripped a defendant's own words from a book or song lyrics to try and prove guilt in front of a jury. So we asked NBC News legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Savalos to join us and tell us more about this. Danny, thank you so much for joining us.
[33:02]
E
Thank you so much for having me. Glad to be back.
[33:05]
B
Let's talk about the importance of a defendant's own words. Those are something that, of course, can be very powerful tools for prosecutors, right?
[33:12]
E
Absolutely. We always find it reliable when somebody is willing to admit that they did something. We trust when the defendant himself says, I did it.
[33:23]
B
So let's dive into this Keefe D Case a little bit more first. This all kind of goes back to a memory memoir that he wrote. Just kind of remind our listeners what was said in that memoir they're pointing to.
[33:35]
E
The defendant here has essentially said that he may not have been the person who pulled the trigger, but he was in the car and present at the scene of the crime. And at least according to prosecutors, his Words, evidence, his intent to be involved in this specific crime which resulted in the death of Tupac.
[33:54]
B
The defense has said that this memoir was fiction, just basically a way to sell books, to look tough in front of people. I've got to ask, were you surprised that the judge allowed this in as evidence?
[34:04]
E
Well, yes and no. This raises another fascinating issue, the corpus delicti rule. And that is just a fancy Latin word for the idea that you have to have more than just a defendant's words to corroborate a crime. I'll give you an example. If I came to you and said, a month ago I had an illegal firearm and I had a lot of cocaine in my car, well, well, I mean, that's certainly helpful to the government, but the government couldn't charge me for that crime with no other evidence other than my words. So, for example, in this case, it's a little different, right? You do have further evidence of the crime. You have a dead Tupac Shakur. So there is, in a sense, corroboration. But believe me, as a defense attorney, I see it the defense's way, which is that, look, all you have are these words and really nothing else other than a death 30 years ago.
[35:01]
B
You know, all of this, Danny, makes me think of a case out of Georgia right here. It's actually a case that I covered in part, but it was basically a RICO case against a well known rap artist, Young Thug. His real name is Jeffrey Williams. And a portion of that prosecution had to do with rap lyrics. But I got something to do with that. Batting with a shit I got the screens on my back Carry it like I'm moving about it. Prosecutors introduced 17 sets of Williams lyrics to try and prove that YSL, which were the same initials as his record label, Young Stoner Life, was actually a street gang with Williams at the very top of it. They argued that the lyrics weren't necessarily admissions of specific crimes, but rather promoting the gang and their activities. Young Thug or Jeffrey Williams ultimately pleaded no contest to that RICO charge.
[35:48]
E
Yes, that was a case where the prosecution sought to introduce evidence of rap lyrics to show guilt in the sort of the association with people and the conspiracy and all of these other elements. As a defense attorney, obviously I'm biased, but I see a real problem with introducing artists work as evidence against them. Imagine you're an artist and you create something, and then years later, it just happens that a crime occurs that is close to those lyrics. If the prosecution can show a connection between the lyrics and the crime itself, then it may come in but how do we know what is a nexus between violent lyrics and a crime of violence? And I would just add as an asterisk that you see a lot of rap lyrics. But I can show you several songs in rock and some of the other genres that talk openly about crime. There's I shot the sheriff, I shot
[36:46]
B
the sheriff, the sheriff.
[36:52]
E
There's some of these other country music songs are about shooting people and watching them die.
[36:57]
B
I shot a man in Reno just
[37:00]
D
to watch him die.
[37:03]
E
This has always been around.
[37:04]
B
Well, I mean, you make a great point, echoed by the aclu, the American Civil Liberties Union, that it is more likely that rap lyrics are going to be targeted. They say that it exposes a sort of bias in the system there.
[37:16]
E
Sure. You know, there's also a technical reason. I mean, you could argue that rap lyrics are usually at a faster rhythm, a faster beat, and they contain more words than your typical rock ballad. Right. Which has a, you know, a two minute guitar solo and a two minute introduction that's all instrumental. Whereas rap crams in a lot more content into one song.
[37:38]
B
One last thing I want to get you to touch on, Danny. One case that we've been covering very extensively here on the podcast is the case of David the artist who's been charged with the murder and sexual abuse of a teenage who was found dead in his car back in September of last year. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, but there is a lot of online conversation about whether some of his music could possibly play a role in the criminal proceedings.
[38:01]
E
One of David's songs was a track titled Romantic Homicide. It released prior to Celeste Rivas Hernandez's murder. And you have words like in the back of my mind, you died and I didn't even cry even, you know, if I step back and just take those words, should we take them in context? Do we just take them in isolation? How do you even analyze how words may have a connection to the crime itself? So, again, my concern is that we're living on a slippery slope, because if it begins with rap lyrics, where does it end? And should prosecutors be able to bolster a case that might otherwise be a close call by going to an artist's inventory?
[38:43]
B
It's just a fascinating concept all around. Danny Savalos, thank you so much, friend. We appreciate you.
[38:49]
E
Thank you.
[38:51]
B
And that's it for this episode of Dateline, True Crime Weekly. But don't forget to check out the latest season of the Webby Award winning podcast, Dateline Missing in America. Josh Mankiewicz looks into six new cases. The first Three episodes are out now. And to get early access to new episodes and listen ad free, just subscribe to DATELINE Premium. Coming up this Friday on Dateline, we've got one of Andrea's most moving episodes. It's about the murder of a Tennessee high school cheerleader, her family's quest for answers, and the teenage boys that helped lead police to her killer.
[39:24]
F
You're going to have two boys in a car with a guy that's believed to have already killed one person with a murder weapon. You know, this is a huge dangerous thing.
[39:32]
B
Watch Noises in the night Friday at 10, 9 Central on Date Dateline on NBC. Thanks so much for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Caroline Casey and Keani Reed. Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone Groth and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown Kuriloff. Production and fact checking help by Yana Johnson. Veronica Mazeca is our digital producer. Rick Guan is our sound designer. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline.
[40:07]
C
Bye everybody.
[40:17]
B
In the US there's a break in every 26 seconds. But when intruders step near Simplisafe, home security steps up.
[40:24]
F
Stop. This is Simplisafe.
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Police are on the way.
[40:27]
B
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D
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[40:44]
B
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