Return to Transcripts main page

Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Not a Lucky Day for Bad Folks; Teen Bloody Brawl at School; Preacher Planned Wife`s Death. Aired 6-8p ET

Aired February 01, 2018 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield and this is Crime and Justice.

Sometimes justice is messy and sometimes justice comes in neat little packages. Like this latest development in a story of a couple caught on

surveillance videos stealing packages from a porch in Washington State.

We first brought you this video when the two alleged porch pirates were still on the run somewhere out there after snapping up packages on video

from several homes. And then this really lucky break in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: help

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I broke my ankle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Yes, that`s got to hurt. That`s got to hurt. After the woman`s fall in which she said I broke my ankle, the allege accomplice had to carry

his friend back to the car, but a savvy witness was able to jot down the license plate number and investigators connected the dots leading right to

Alicia Treat and Brian Devere.

Now she and her partner in crime allegedly had to show up in court and she was in a wheelchair, wearing a new fancy shirt. Do you have any urge at all

to feel sorry for Ms. Treat?

You can consider this. One of the packages that she is alleged to have swiped contained medicine for that homeowner. Medicine that was valued at

about $5,000 and was really necessary.

Sorry about the fuzzed out face. We did everything we could to get that video without the fuzzed out face, we`re still working on it. When we do

get it, we`re going to bring it to you.

I want to take you to Kansas City now, Kansas City, Kansas. A 20-minute high speed chase as a group of cops go after this guy. He is not just any

guy, he is a murder suspect. The driver at times is racing the wrong way into oncoming traffic.

So imagine you`re the guy coming at this one. Police were able to catch up with him knowing this use this nifty tactical maneuver of bringing the car

to a stop in a spinout.

Moments later, the driver has got his hands up, the driver is crawling on the roadway followed by two more alleged perps as well which leads us to

that one word catch phrase, and I stretch catch, it`s called got you.

Now to Illinois, where a deputy is caught on dash cam doing the heroic thing. He pushes fellow officers out of the direct line of danger. Watch.

Look how close that car comes to swiping them. Speeding car heading straight for them. They are just at a traffic stop.

It`s another reminder to all of us watching, please when you see those flashing lights, slowing down and giving them some space. This is not

optional, folks. It is deadly for them to approach these people out on the street, it is even more deadly for them when you are not driving safely in

their office.

That`s where they work. Please be careful. They`re looking out for you.

Tonight we are on verdict watch. Verdict watch in the murder trial of Alexandria Duvall, she is accused of driving her SUV off a cliff in Hawaii

killing her identical twin sister.

A witness testified that the sisters were at it in the front set of seats, hair pulling each other in a horrible fight right before that car plunged

200 feet down.

How she survived and her sister didn`t is a miracle in itself, but how she was charged with murder and as appearing before the judge on this one,

well, like I said, verdict watch. We`ll see what the judge had to say. No jury involved in this one.

Now to San Antonio, Texas where just like everywhere else. The parents take their kids to school, they drop them off each morning and they expect the

staff to not only teach the kids, but also keep those kids safe.

There is one mother however who says the staff at her son`s middle school failed, failed to protect her son from a bully, forcing her to turn to

social media for justice instead and posted video of a terrible fight her son was in all in an effort to shame the school into action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the (muted)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God. He`s bleeding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:04:58] BANFIELD: So you heard someone say he`s bleeding. Take a look at the still shot after. He was really, really bleeding. And along with those

disturbing photos posted to social media of eighth grader Michael Ella lying bloody on the pavement there, it`s what Valerie Lozano, his mom saw

when she arrived to pick her kid up at the school. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIA ANN LOZANO, MOTHER OF VITIM: I was waiting for my son in the truck and I was wondering why it was taking him long. I`ve seen this big crowd

and I looked on the floor and my son was covered in blood. He think that he was knocked out. I just remember seeing my son on the floor full of blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: According to Valerie and her son, Michael, this bloody fight could have been prevented because the eighth grader says he went to his

P.E. teacher before any of this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I heard is I`m going to beat you up after school and that`s when I told the coach. I said hey, sir, can you please look out for

the student that`s bullying me? He said yes, I got you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I got you, he says. Well, after P.E. class, the fight did happen and Michael ended up a bloody mess on the concrete and now the school

district is responding to the incident with a statement and it reads this way.

"We had two students who were involved in an altercation in the bus loading area of Resnik Middle School. The altercation lasted about six seconds and

was immediately intervened by one of our SWISD officers and a teacher."

The school goes on to say that both students received minor injuries and they go on to say this, too. "This is an ongoing investigation and

appropriate administrative action will be taken as needed."

Is that good enough for the mom though? Got to ask her. Valerie Lozano is that mom of that teenager in that video and she joins me from San Antonio.

Valerie, can you hear me?

LOZANO: Yes.

BANFIELD: So, Valerie, just give me a bit of a description of your arrival to the school to pick up Michael. Take me from there. What did you see

next?

LOZANO: I see my son on the floor covered in blood. Purple and couldn`t breathe.

BANFIELD: And then what did you do?

LOZANO: I panicked. I told the officer I`m going to call SAPD. He told me I didn`t have to do that.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: The San Antonio -- San Antonio Police Department? You told the school officer you wanted to call the city police?

LOZANO: Yes.

BANFIELD: And what did they say?

LOZANO: They told me I didn`t have to, he will take care of it.

BANFIELD: And did they take care of it? Valerie, are you still there?

LOZANO: They have -- they have not -- they have not finished the police report. I`m waiting. And we are still waiting for the -- for the -- I`m

sorry.

BANFIELD: It`s OK, it`s not easy to look at these pictures. I can imagine it would not be easy to have been on the scene especially since you know

that blood is predominantly from your son.

I actually do want to ask a little bit about that. When I saw those pictures, I thought this had been a fight that had going on and on, leaving

a trail of blood everywhere. And the school says it was only six seconds. Is that accurate?

LOZANO: Yes, but they say it`s minor. My son has bad anxiety and depression and his depression is really bad right now. He doesn`t eat, he don`t sleep.

So I don`t see it as minor about any of this.

BANFIELD: OK.

LOZANO: It`s very, very serious.

BANFIELD: And the scene looks very serious. Certainly the aftermath looks terrifying. The six-second fight between Michael, your son, who you

identified and this other eighth grader who we are not identifying because he`s a minor.

Up until now, I think you`ve described this other boy and your son as best friends right up until eighth period. So what happened? What happened

between two best friends that led to this?

LOZANO: They said that rumors started that my son was telling him he needed to get his papers and go back to where he is from. I asked my son did he

say that, he said no, mom, I would never say about my best friend. He is my best friend.

[18:09:54] BANFIELD: But then the other boy told the school principal that your son and the other boy were fighting over a girl. Is there any shred of

truth to that, is there a grain there that you can follow?

LOZANO: No. My son said I would never talk to any of his girlfriends, we are best friends, mom.

BANFIELD: So what is the reason that Michael, your son believed this happened? What`s Michael`s reason for the fight?

LOZANO: Michael said he don`t know what happened. He does not know.

BANFIELD: But that`s hard to believe two best friends don`t just erupt into a fight without some knowledge of something going sideways.

LOZANO: He said maybe there were rumors going on. But he said I`ve never done anything bad to my best friend. He was like a brother to me.

BANFIELD: So let`s go to sort of how the school is dealing with this because Michael, his story to you is that he went to this gym teacher. P.E.

teacher and said I`m getting threatened and I`m scared about what`s going to happen after school.

And Michael, your son said that the teacher said he would have his back.

LOZANO: Yes.

BANFIELD: Where did -- where did that sort fall short of what Michael says he was expecting. What happened after school? Where were the teachers?

LOZANO: The teachers were out there, but as you can see my son didn`t have his backpack on and he had his shoes off, he was trying to rush to the

vehicle. He didn`t want to fight. He was just trying to get home.

BANFIELD: And the teachers were out there but nobody was with Michael. Is this why this was able -- I mean, it was a six-second fight which can

happen to anyone with anybody even within an arm`s length, but were there teachers close enough to him who may have been able to get in between them

before this happened?

LOZANO: I didn`t see, no teachers.

BANFIELD: So I want to play, you know, a quick interview with your son, Michael. It has to do with sort of how he feels now. What`s happening now?

You know, he`s mad. He`s definitely mad at what`s happened. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time I look at my face, I get mad. I feel like I can see his face. I feel like sometimes I`m still at the school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Valerie, Valeria has taken Michael out of the school and Valerie also has said that she has not been told what kind of disciplinary

action will happen to the other boy. That`s standard.

But I want to bring from Los Angeles right now, Segun Oduolowu. He is a former eighth grade teacher and a high school basketball coach, he`s also

an entertainment journalist. So you kind of know how to bring this all together and report as well as, you know, bring your experience to sort of

analyze as well, Segun.

It`s very hard to make sense of this given the fact that one boy in the fight says we were fighting over a girl. Michael who is the injured party

in that video says I don`t know why we were fighting. We were best friends up in the eighth grade.

And the rumor mill out there has apparently Michael allege to have said something derogatory about the immigration status of his said best friend.

How does the school even begin to deal with that in advance of say, a threat, if there was a threat?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, FORMER EIGHTH GRADE TEACHER: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. Second of all, to the mother, Valerie, my heart goes out.

The video, I mean, it looks like a slasher flick with all the blood on the floor. And I`m not using that as hyperbole. I`m saying that to throw all of

my anger and vitriol towards the teacher and the school.

Kids don`t typically snitch on one another. And if they are friends, kids typically don`t walk up to a teacher and say, hey, I think I`m about to get

jumped or I think I`m about to get beat up as a joke.

I think when kids do approach in authority they are doing it because they are genuinely frightened. For a teacher to say hey, I`ve got your back,

that is quite possibly the dumbest thing in all of my days working with kids or teaching or coaching.

If a kid comes up to you and is afraid that they are going to be beaten up after school, you alert the authorities, you take him to the principal`s

office, you call their parents. You do everything in your power that humanly possible so that something like this does not happen.

I`m happy that Valerie did videotape this and has these still pictures and this video depicting how horrific it is and hopefully more teachers will

learn not to look the other way and do something when a kid comes up to them and says they`re threatened.

Everybody in authority that knew about this or could have prevented this should lose their job or at least at the very slightest be reprimanded.

BANFIELD: So, Segun, I do want to just say that there is evidentiary trail right now, there`s no e-mail, there`s no recording there is nothing to

suggest with hard evidence that Michael had this contact with the teachers in advance.

[18:15:00] This is Michael`s story that he told the teachers in advance he was worried. So in that respect I need to give some due to the school

because that is Michael story only and the school has given the response that are still investigating this as well.

ODUOLOWU: But they`re not -- they`re not denying. They may be investigating but they`re not denying.

BANFIELD: But they often well, fell off and say we can`t comment on this. We`re under the investigation.

Hold that thought for a minute, I want to put up two things from the Southwest ISD, that`s the school district from their improvement plan for

2017 to 2018.

Goal number two for that Independent School District was that it will foster an environment in which social and emotional support is a priority

for all. Goal number four is that they will create a safe and nurturing and engaging environment where all students succeed.

I want to bring in Troy Slaten from Los Angeles, he`s a defense attorney. I just want to sort of get your read on this, Troy. Because if there is a

lawsuit and I always assume that`s going to happen because this is America.

Is there -- are there grounds for this mom given that there is no evidentiary trail that Michael made this overture to the police in advance

of the attack that we clearly saw happen on video?

TROY SLATEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that although I`m sad and I feel for the boy that got beat up, not every fight is a bullying situation.

Not every fight is something that a school or people in authority can protect someone from and defend against.

I think that the school if they did have notice, then that puts them potentially in a situation where they can have liability, but the kid`s

story doesn`t have the ring of truth. He has no idea why this happened? Nothing at all was said to anyone? Everything that he told his mom just

doesn`t have the ring of truth to it.

BANFIELD: Yes. I want to thank Troy and ask you to stand by, if you will. Also my thanks to Segun Oduolowu and Valerie Lozano.

You know, there is that old expression. It`s not mine. It`s out there, though. You heard it. Karma can be a bitch, especially when you are living

a double life. Stephen Allwine knows that all too well after the jury did not see things his way with the ridiculous story about how his wife died.

You will not believe what his story and was what the jury said. We have it next.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There is a certain kind of satisfaction when a hypocrite gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Sometimes it`s called karma,

sometimes it`s called sweet justice, but whatever you call it, Stephen Allwine just got that book thrown at him for shooting his wife, shooting

Amy in the head and then staging it to look like a suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE SHERMAN, NEIGHBOR: Very sweet lady. Whenever you talk to her, she was always upbeat and everyone is pretty much shocked about it. They always

seemed like they got along very well and we`ve never heard issues or anything like that. Pretty shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Maybe Stephen Allwine should have watched more forensic files because then he had known that the cops are going to test you for gunpowder

on your hands. They are going to investigate the crime scene with a fine tooth comb and they`re probably going to look for blood throughout the

house.

So, he might have known to at least really scrub that blood in the hall. Stephen Allwine isn`t just any murderer, he`s a preacher man. Preacher man

who counseled other couples on how to save their marriages.

All the while, learning about the Ashley Madison web site and how you can get away with cheating on your own wife. And if that isn`t enough, Stephen

Allwine was making deals on the dark web too, with an Albanian gang of thugs for them to do the dirty work and off his wife for $6,000 worth of

bitcoin.

But as I said, Stephen Allwine just got his and his justice is sweeter than the sweet tea at your mama`s house in Georgia.

Samantha Sansevere is a producer with Justice and Drew on KTLK 1130AM. She joins me from Minneapolis. So effectively, how long did it take the jury,

Samantha, to come to the determination that Stephen Allwine wasn`t just a liar or a hypocrite, he was a down and dirty murderer?

SAMANTHA SANSEVERE, PRODUCER, JUSTICE & DREW KTLK 1130AM: It doesn`t really take them that long. They deliberated on it for about hours once they got

all the information. This guy was just really sloppy.

BANFIELD: Yes. To say the least. And we`ll get into the sloppy stuff in a minute. But did the jury say anything? Because sometimes they have the

right to talk and sometimes they just exit out the back door. They don`t want any media at all. Did they say anything about this case of this guy?

SANSEVERE: No, there wasn`t a lot that we heard. They just kind of -- they just kind of got the verdict and they just kind of -- now it`s just -- now

everybody is talking about all these crazy details.

BANFIELD: So tell me about the lowlights, I guess. I always think they are highlights, but talking about a woman who died in this horrible fashion, a

gunshot to the right upper head.

SANSEVERE: Sure.

BANFIELD: What were the lowlights in terms of his sloppiness?

SANSEVERE: So, yes. So this guy, I mean, when you get away from the actual murder and you look at what he did on the dark web, is when he - he`s

sloppy there too.

[18:24:59] He -- this service that he contacted based on mafia they claim to have ties with the Albanian mafia that they had hit man for hire, he got

really sloppy and he ended up being a big scam in the end.

BANFIELD: So I have never -- I mean, I honestly in the number of years, 30 of them that I`ve been covering Crime and Justice in courtrooms and I don`t

think I heard of the Albanian mafia being brought in.

But I want to bring in Kyle Peltz, as well, because he`s been working on this story all day. Can you walk me through a little bit of this basa (Ph)

mafia and how, by the way, they strung him along and he became a victim of them?

It was just a big old scam. But walk me through a little bit about what this mafia was offering him and what he was paying them and how they were

like wiggling out of every excuse as to why the hit hadn`t happened.

KYLE PELTZ, PRODUCER, CRIME AND JUSTICE: Right. So we`re know his wife, Amy died in November. Back in February, he was in contact with this web site on

the dark web and he had asked about the cost of a hit on his wife. He was told it would cost 5 grand, 6 grand if you want to look like a car

accident.

Now about a month after finding out the cost and then arranging payment, this user who we now know as Stephen then messaged again saying they,

quote, "lead this bitch dead." But he got scammed by the site. Authorities say he posted back and forth for weeks on that site. It was excuse after

excuse from this mafia as to why his wife wasn`t dead yet.

At one point the web site said they actually followed Amy, but didn`t get a chance to kill her. At another point they said the hit man was on the way

to kill her and then burn down the family house which is apparently what Stephen had agreed upon, but that the hit man had been stop by local police

and taken to jail for driving a stolen vehicle.

BANFIELD: And then didn`t they then after all these excuses other than the dog ate my homework, every excuse in the book, didn`t they say but I will

tell you what? And I think his user name was `dogdaygod.` I tell you what `dogdaygod,` we can guarantee you 100 percent satisfaction and it was just

a little more money. What did ask from him?

PELTZ: Right. They guaranteed him 100 percent success rate if he was willing to fork over another $12,000.

BANFIELD: Did he?

PELTZ: It seems that he was prepared to fork over that money.

BANFIELD: So he basically got scammed, double scammed, triple scam and was about to get quadruple scammed and ultimately decided to do something else.

As it turns out and honestly, this is where it gets even more sideways.

Kyle, he then chose to try to get her to kill herself. And in that, he sent an anonymous e-mail to his wife. I`m going to read it. It`s going to take

time so bear with me here.

He wants her to kill herself and this is the anonymous e-mail that beautiful Amy gets. "How -- here`s how you can save your family. Commit

suicide. If you do not, then you will slowly see things taken away from you and each time you will know that you could have stopped it which will eat

you apart from the inside. The best way to do it are, shotgun to the head which you might not have, cyanide which you probably do not have.

Gunshot to the head, which you might not have. Shotgun to the chest which you might not have, explosives which probably do not have, hit by a train,

jump from height. A lot of bridges around. Hanging and household toxins, anti-freeze, ammonia, and bleach, inhaling gas, carbon monoxide, slitting

wrists or throat.

Unless you are a heartless selfish pitch then I expect to see your obituary in the paper in the next couple of weeks."

How did they connect, Kyle, that e-mail to Stephen Allwine?

PELTZ: That e-mail was sent anonymously and they had trouble connecting it, but that e-mail also is much longer than what you read actually, and it

references threats to specific members of his wife`s family and the day before they found out Stephen on his computer devices had actually visited

a web site that lets you look into someone`s family and find out who their extended family members are.

BANFIELD: It sounds like a pile of evidence. I want to bring in Stephen Allwine`s attorney, Kevin DeVore joins me now live from Minneapolis. Kevin,

thank you so much for joining me tonight. This looked like it was a massive uphill battle from the get-go. But you took the case and you fought. Where

do you think it went wrong for you?

KEVIN DEVORE, STEPHEN ALLWINE`S ATTORNEY: Well, obviously we knew there was a lot of evidence that they intended to bring against my client, but as you

know this is pretty highly scientific stuff. Very complicated and complex.

And for the state to pull it all together, took a massive undertaking, and so they didn`t have much in terms of the traditional evidence,

fingerprints, DNA, admissions, eyewitness for the state.

[18:29:57] None of that kind of stuff. So they really lacked that kind of evidence that related to the November 13, 2016 incident, so it was really

driven largely and almost 100 percent by the computer forensics.

BANFIELD: Yes. And boy, those will bite you every time. And to that end, since everyone is talking about bitcoin lately, I think it`s worthwhile to

mention the bitcoin connection here because as I understand it, Stephen worked in computers.

So if anybody knows how to get to the dark web or somebody who, you know, has good knowledge of computers, and out there somewhere, investigators

find this is out there on the dark web, suggesting that Amy Allwine is going to get a hit, right?

There is communication between a dog day god, that`s the username, and it`s all about Amy Allwine details about her daily routine and her family

members, et cetera. Who would know that? So ultimately, the cops come to Amy and Stephen to warn them that somewhere out there on the deep dark web,

someone is trying to get you.

And then it`s the bitcoin connection that got him. And you will have to -- you will have to pardon my knowledge here, but the bitcoin token has a

code. It has an address. And that code, that address, that the deep dark web had as payment for the hit, that was also found deleted off Stephen`s

phone and Stephen`s computer. That`s next to impossible to fight, don`t you think, Kevin?

DEVORE (via telephone): Well, yes, it became nearly impossible. The computer forensic expert testified that a phone that was named "S Allwine"

as some point connected in August of 2016 and downloaded a bitcoin alphanumeric code of 34 digits that was on at some point was the phone and

it downloaded to the Mac book. And so there was a -- that was the smoking gun, so to speak, for the state.

BANFIELD: Yes. Sassy (ph) was on his phone, his phone was researching bitcoin shortly after this deep dark web conversation, too. It`s a hard

case, but you did what the constitution asked all to do and give someone the best defense. Kevin, thank you that. My thanks also to Samantha

Sansivir (ph), Kyle Phelps (ph) as well. Appreciate that.

Straight ahead, a beautiful model ends up in a BMW and that would not be weird if she weren`t cut into pieces and neatly arranged in the trunk in

two pieces of luggage. How did that happen and what on earth is the connection to the guy they caught?

[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Any aspiring model will tell you that it`s a dream come true to end up on television. Don`t ask. But Sara Zghoul`s dream came true while at

the same time her worst nightmare did, too.

These are pictures of Sara and she is absolutely beautiful. In better times, Sara might had a real shot at modelling in the big leagues, but

tonight she is on TV for a whole different reason. Somebody killed her. And cut her up into pieces.

According to reports, Sara was decapitated, dismembered and packed into two different suitcases before being neatly nestled into the back of a luxury

BMW. And Sara`s alleged killer?

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LARSEN, WITNESS TO ARREST: You know, we couldn`t see him, but we could hear him. The officers said that he went down there and he cut

himself. I`m pretty sure he had a knife down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, he probably did because he was found screaming his own head off in a ravine several miles away after police say he tried to slash his

own throat. If Jeremiah Johnston`s mug shot is any indication, it`s not clear that he was trying too hard.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF TALBOT, WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: This is the first step in a long process of bringing justice for the family and for the victim and

her loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So with me now, Annette Newell, a reporter for FM News 101 KXL in Portland, Oregon. Real quickly, if you would, Annette, tell me what just

happened, because I think it was only about 38 minutes ago, he was scheduled for an arraignment.

ANNETTE NEWELL, REPORTER, FM NEWS 101 KXL (via telephone): That`s right. He was arraigned in court and he basically stayed violent for 60 seconds in

the hearing in which an attorney entered a not guilty plea under two charges against him. He was wearing lime green that indicates he is on

suicide watch. It`s the uniform that they wear when they are on a suicide watch.

He was wheeled into the courtroom by sheriff`s deputies and you can tell about this guy, if you would underline a statement about him, it would be

trouble with drugs. He is 35 years old. He spent several days in a hospital before they were able to book him in jail and charge him.

Police say he cut his own throat and slashed his wrists as you mentioned in an apparent suicide attempt. You can see scars in his neck in the mug shot.

So court record shows that he had a long list of charges.

He was convicted of cocaine, heroin, meth, and possession of a firearm, three counts of I.D. theft. He was still on probation for a long string of

drug charges. He was living with his mother

[18:40:00] at a home in Aloha. Court record showed he had been allowed to go into a treatment program. He was taking anti-depressants originally

(INAUDIBLE) 2015 in Washington County to 23 months in prison for drug and firearm charges.

He got out. And guess what? He was rearrested in August of 2016 in (INAUDIBLE) County which is nearby in Portland for cocaine possession. He

told the court he just got out of prison three months earlier at that time. In September, he pleaded guilty to the cocaine charges and sentenced to a

year --

BANFIELD: Can I ask you to just go over this criminal history, because if you see it up on screen, it`s easier to sort of follow it. I`m just going

to go over the lowlights of the convictions, not the ones where he was hauled in and had to deal with it et cetera.

But in 2015, delivering of cocaine and commercial drug, convicted. Possession of cocaine, convicted. Possession of heroin, convicted.

Possession of meth, convicted. Possession of a firearm, convicted. Back to 2014, a couple of charges that were dismiss and then identity theft, three

counts, which he was convicted of as well.

And then just really quickly if you would, Annette, what is the story with this Chase Haverfield who apparently is a jailhouse snitch who spent time

behind bars with this guy at some point.

Chase was with Jeremiah Johnston, the suspect in this case, and then sort of went on to talk about a drug rehab that the two of them were in

together, but then also a drug rehab that Chase was also in with the victim.

Do we have any connection at this point between the victim and the guy who has been brought in with the slices across his neck who is now charged with

this crime?

NEWELL (via telephone): You know what? I know that the victim and the suspect, their family homes are within a half mile of each other in Aloha.

They all knew each other. This is a very small tight-knit community. There is only about 50,000 people who lived there. It is about 10 miles west of

Portland.

And in that community, there is a sense of anger and anguish and shock because how could this happen in our community where everybody knows

everyone else? As far as the victims, the girl was young, bright, funny, a very loving friend and family member. The Zhgoul family --

BANFIELD: She had a boyfriend. Annette, let`s be really clear here. It`s a small community and they may have known each other and certainly they both,

the victim and the alleged perp in this case, knew that guy named Chase.

But the only connection we really know that this beautiful young woman had with this man who is accused of her killing and her murder, is that Sara`s

sister went to school with him.

But we don`t know -- Sara`s got a boyfriend. She talked all about her boyfriend on Facebook. It wasn`t this guy, it wasn`t Jeremiah. We don`t

really know --

NEWELL (via telephone): Right.

BANFIELD: -- what the connection was between them. Is that correct?

NEWELL (via telephone): Yes. At this point, we don`t know the exact connection between the two, but she indicated also on her social media, a

lot about overcoming adversity. For example, here`s a quote from her on Facebook. Nothing you`ve been through is ever wasted. You past experience

is good and bad. Have the positive something on the inside of you. Those challenges have sharpened you to make you who you are today.

She said in that quote that she knew people who have made poor choices. They have been in years of addiction, bad relationships or bad jobs. She

talked a lot about feeling thankful for her support system and friends and family.

BANFIELD: Here`s something that Chase Haverfield said about the black BMW that Sara was discovered in. Again, decapitated, dismembered, placed in two

suitcases in the back of that. Have a listen to Chase.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

CHASE HAVERFIELD, FRIEND OF JEREMIAH JOHNSTON: I saw him literally last Tuesday. I think Sara was found on Thursday. He was acting quiet and a

little weird. He was really weird because he usually got a black BMW, you know, and I knew he cherished that car. He really liked it. I was

absolutely blown away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He had a black BMW that he cherished, but he didn`t have it that time when he went to see Chase. I want to bring in Tom Fuentes if I can. He

is a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director. Tom is joining me live from Fairfax, Virginia.

Tom, with the evidence we know of and they are being real tight lipped about this. The cops are saying very, very little. In fact, we really don`t

have a lot to go on. You know that he`s got neck slashs. I don`t know if that helps the case. You know you got the evidence of the corpse in the

back of the car. Is this a tough one?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It sounds like a pretty tough one, Ashleigh. I think, you know, one of the keys to this is, is

there any attempt on his part to have a relationship with this young lady in which case if she rebuffed him, made him angry, because the kind of

crime we have here with decapitation and dismembering, that`s not just murdering somebody, that`s punishing them.

That is showing a degree of anger that you don`t normally see in a simple murder.

BANFIELD: Yes.

FUENTES: What happened to her, somebody really, really had a problem with her from an anger standpoint.

[18:45:00] BANFIELD: Or had a problem with how to get rid of what someone had done. Let`s leave it there for now. Tom, I want you to stay on because

I have a couple of other stories I want to ask you about.

There is some outrage, I think it is an understatement, after this case worker who was assigned to check on the well being of this little cutie

pie, 5-year-old boy with special needs, apparently that case worker allegedly took bribes from the little boy`s mom to look the other way at

the treatment in his house. And wouldn`t you know it, that little boy is now dead.

[18:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: I have two children and most days I am under water. And I think you can identify, especially if you got two kids or maybe three kids or God

bless you, four kids. But I don`t think one of us right now can get our heads around Larissa Rodriguez. She has nine kids. She had nine kids. And

her 10th is on the way.

And it is not like she is living the dream with a big fancy house or a bank account. Larissa and her boyfriend were dead broke. So with that many

children and that little money, you would certainly hope the case worker assigned to this family was on the ball, making sure that every one of the

kids in the house had three squares a day and a warm place to sleep.

But that case worker, Nancy Caraballo from Catholic Charities, well, she had her own definition of charity. And it mostly had to do with her getting

something for nothing for herself. That`s the allegation.

She has been charged now with making a deal with Larissa, for buying upwards of $10,000 worth of food stamps that were supposed to be for

Larissa`s nine kids. And then she is also alleged to have paid just half price for those food stamps, you know, 50 cents on the dollar. I will let

the prosecutor explain with a little bit more detail.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL O`MALLEY, CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Larissa Rodriguez in a scheme with social worker Nancy Caraballo. Ms. Caraballo was buying the food

stamps that were intended for that family to feed those children.

The grand jury issued additional (INAUDIBLE) 18 counts about Ms. Caraballo. Nancy Caraballo developed a relationship with Larissa Rodriguez where she

purchased her food stamps for 50 cents on the dollar. Ms. Caraballo who was a mandatory reporter, she had an obligation to report any abuse and neglect

of those children. She was actually in a scheme where she purchased the food stamps that were meant to feed those children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So that kind makes you wonder if that`s the reason that that worker didn`t report the horrors inside that house. Like a child found

eating a sandwich that was filled with cockroaches. No, no joke. That`s the report. More on Nancy, that case worker in a moment, but I want to go back

to mom for a minute, Larissa, the mom of nine, soon to be 10.

She is currently cooling her heels in a jail cell right now because one of those children was found buried in a plastic bag in the backyard of that

bed bug-infested cesspool of a home. Police say his little 5-year-old body showed signs of abuse including broken ribs.

Oh, and the boyfriend, Christopher Rodriguez, he is charged, too. And tonight, I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea when Larissa`s due

date is for baby number 10.

Defense attorney Troy Slaten joins me again now. Troy, I don`t even know where to begin honestly, but I guess I could just say this. The newest

detail in this horror case is that this fraud is now in the midst. And this fraud certainly isn`t going to help her murder case or this other worker`s

case, Nancy Caraballo. They are both in for a world of hurt here.

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They may be really bad people. They may have done really bad things. But that doesn`t necessarily equate to murder,

Ashleigh. This was a 5-year-old developmentally disabled child and he may have died from any number of reasons.

She may very well be guilty for inappropriate disposal of remains, but just because she was involved in a food stamp scheme, doesn`t mean make her a

murderer.

BANFIELD: Well, I will tell you what, if they can tie Nancy, the worker, and Larissa, the mom, to this whole scheme of selling off the food stamps

and that little child was starved as part of the death, then I think they are in for a big world of hurt.

I don`t care if she did do the burying or the beating or any of that other stuff. There is that other little notion as well. Troy, don`t go anywhere.

Stay right where you are.

Apparently, there is just no end to the lengths that people will go to steal an ATM.

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Got one more thing for you tonight courtesy of our law enforcement friends on the other side of the pond. Police in the U.K. are

looking for the people who did this. (INAUDIBLE) stolen Land Rover into a grocery store, not once, but twice.

Police say they were after the ATM that was just located inside that doorway. And no surprise here, they got it. They were crafty enough to hook

it up to a toll line and drag it out the door and then load it up into a different car.

[19:00:00] And the police in (INAUDIBLE) are looking for not only the two vehicles, but also the perps and of course the ATM, if there is still

anything in it.

Next hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD (voice-over): She disappeared more than three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could be out there somewhere. She could have been taken.

BANFIELD: mom finds her bedroom empty and calls police in a panic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart breaks for her family.

BANFIELD: Now years later, a man chopping wood the day after Christmas makes a grizzly discovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not every day they find body in Wayne County.

BANFIELD: Megan Nickels, in a shallow grid out in the middle of nowhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: YNYD, prayers for her family.

BANFIELD: Now the FBI is on the case, but the mystery runs deep. Who is the last person with her?

It looked like she killed herself. A preacher`s wife found dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was found to have a drug in her system.

BANFIELD: But then everything changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The zombie drug.

BANFIELD: BANFIELD: And cops zeroed in on the man of God living right there beside her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the ultimate domestic violence situation.

BANFIELD: Now it`s the jury playing God and his life is on the line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This point in all of this is just a bunch of allegation.

BANFIELD: After he paid a hitman about bitcoin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want to like paid for their peace.

BANFIELD: Her pictures tell only part of the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never what expect that to happen to somebody that you know.

BANFIELD: An aspiring model dead and dismembered in a luxury BMW.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows if it was like a stranger, if it was like somebody close to her.

BANFIELD: But police say they think they know who did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something just wasn`t right.

BANFIELD: And the suspect is sporting the evidence right around his neck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to the second hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE.

You do not need a lady on TV to tell you just how hard it is to separate teenagers from their phones. It`s like an epidemic, like a psychosis that

is making us all crazy.

So when 15-year-old Megan Nichols scrubbed her cell phone clean and then just left it behind in her bedroom on a Thursday night three-and-a-half

years ago and then just disappeared into that night, well it just made no sense at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY JO HUTCHCRAFT, MOTHER: And I just got this sick feeling that I needed to go check on Megan and I went upstairs and she was gone. And I went

upstairs and she was gone. I just knew it was bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: As is often the custom, the police in rural Illinois treated Megan`s disappearance as a run away. But there wasn`t one piece of evidence

that made sense. That`s not to say that there wasn`t a lot of evidence though. In fact there was a note that she left behind for her mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUTCHCRAFT: I just started crying. I don`t know what to do. And mom said we are going pray. So we went into Megan`s other room and knelt down to pray

and there was a note. Basically it said mom, I love you but I`m never going to be happy here. Don`t come looking for me because why spent a lifetime

looking for somebody who doesn`t want to be found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Megan`s family never believes that she ran off even when confronted with surveillance video showing Megan pedaling her little bike

all the way to the nearest ATM just hours before going off the grid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUTCHCRAFT: She gave me a hug and told me she loved me and that`s the last time I had seen her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Here`s where the story gets more sad, but also much more mysterious. Megan is not off the radar anymore. A man shopping wood in a

remote area came across Megan`s body in a shallow grave. And investigators just determined that that body is Megan.

So now they have to do something else. They have to figure out the who, the what, the why and the where surrounding Megan`s disappearance and

surrounding Megan`s death.

With me now, Michelle Sigona. She is correspondent for "Crime Watch Daily" with Chris Henson and she joins me live from Kansas City, Missouri.

Listen. Michelle, thank you so much for joining me. I understand you had a chance to speak to someone, a woman who apparently saw that shallow grave,

saw those bones. Can you fill me in?

MICHELLE SIGONA, CORRESPONDENT, CRIME WATCH DAILY: This woman`s name is Jackie, Ashleigh. And she is the girlfriend of Carl. Carl is the man who

was out in the woods. He was going to chop down some wood and he noticed something shiny. He thought it was a turtle shell. But when he got closer,

he saw it was skeletal remains. That`s when he contacted police. And almost simultaneously at that point he also goes and picks up his girlfriend,

brings her back to the scene along with investigators. And that`s when they all uncover these bones.

From what Jackie told me, she said it appears that it`s possible her body may have been inside of a shallow grave, but some of the bones in some of

the remains had been scattered. Maybe possibly by animals in the area. That`s not confirmed.

One other thing Jackie did notice was that the skull where Megan`s head was found, there was a blanket nearby. It may have been possible that that

blanket could have been wrapped around her body in some way. We are not sure where the blanket came from.

[19:05:50] BANFIELD: Wow. Michelle, just stop there for a minute because that can provide incredible wealth of investigative - I mean, Lord, if that

blanket had anything to do with this young girl, then there could be DNA still on it. There could be fibers, there could be hair. There could be all

sorts of forensics connected.

So that was my question. Did Jackie, and I`m assuming Jackie is the woman you are telling is the girlfriend of the man who made the discovery of this

corps. So did she say anything about whether there were clothing items, whether -- and I hate to be grizzly about this but all of these things will

come into the investigation. Whether it looked as though there was a gunshot wound to the skull , whether it looked like anything was oust

sorts. I know you mentioned that perhaps the skeleton wasn`t intact. But was there anything else that she could say that she notice that was

unusual?

SIGONA: She didn`t. It appeared to her that maybe those remains had been there for some period of time. It`s unclear at this point. But

investigators were out there. They did preserve the scene. This was on December 26th. Now the FBI did not positively identify her body to the

public until January 26th.

So here we are now. I spoke with Brad from the FBI in the last couple of hours. What Brad told me is that at this point they are not releasing her

calls and or her manner of death at this point. They are still looking into a number of factors and hopefully that will be made available to us in the

near future.

BANFIELD: Well, you are being really gentle and the way you are characterizing it and I won`t be so gentle, Michelle. The FBI is telling us

nothing. In fact, they put out a press release that was a joke. It was less than one line, I believe, and they asking for the public`s help which I

always find shocking. You want the public`s help but you are not giving us anything to go on to perhaps jar our memory. It is the later which gets me

crazy.

But it is the FBI`s case in this respect and it is a rural area I ma SIGONA: It is a rural area.

BANFIELD: Is there any city nearby?

SIGONA: At this point, there are small towns and there is some activity in that area. There are small businesses from what she describe to me. This is

a small patch of land where there are some trees. So it`s possible that maybe someone could have seen something at some point especially in 2014

when this young girl went missing.

BANFIELD: So just -- I don`t know that I got the answers. I`m going to just remind you because we are going at a quick pace here.

Did Jackie say anything about clothing items? I know you mentioned the blanket that could be --.

SIGONA: It could be she did not see anything else. It appears that the area had been disturbed. Again, she described it, and we don`t know, that maybe

there were animals in the area and that could explain why some of those bones were scattered. But once her and Karl took investigators back out to

the area, they were able to really section it off and start to preserve the scene. And that`s when she backed out.

BANFIELD: By the way, did Jackie describe the scene at all? I mean, normally, that sets up a perimeter that is far and wide. But since this is

rural, even far and wide, you can still see what`s going on.

SIGONA: Absolutely. I think within that area is where it was contained. She did not tell me exactly, you know, how far she was until where the bones

were and what was exactly marked off. But what she did tell was that FBI agent did question Carl a little bit further to get a little bit more

information and I think to verify his story. I asked if she had been questioned any further that point she told me she was not. But they did go

back. They did sit down with Carl. They wanted to see exactly where he came from, where he was going, why he was in the area, what he saw and how he

put all of this together.

BANFIELD: Well, let`s be real clear. Carl is not charged in any of this. He is not even named in any of this.

SIGONA: No, not at all.

BANFIELD: And it`s three-and-a-half years after the fact which brings me to my next point. This girl, Megan Nichols, is a sweet girl by all accounts.

Everybody talked about her as being a sweet girl. You and I right now are talking about a skeletal remain that might be in pieces which is probably

about the last thing anybody who ever knew her wants to hear.

In some sense of justice, it has given them at least an answer. Because up until now she had simply vanished for three-and-a-half years. So just, you

now, put yourself in those shoes everyone for a moment. Those parents have been wondering and waiting on news of their 15-year-old beauty.

And I just want to, if I can, just put a little life to this young girl. Jim Fulkerson at the Fairfield public schools. He is a superintendent. And

he described this girl that again, he called a sweet girl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[19:10:39] JILL FULKERSON, FAIRFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: She was involved in our music department at FCHS. A very, very sweet girl, friendly

to everyone. Just a polite young lady. Prayers for her family. That`s the most important thing. My heart breaks for her family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So my correction that`s Jill, not Jim. Jill Fulkerson, you know, just telling us what this young girl was like. This 15-year-old before she

disappeared.

Now I want to get a little bit to the evidence that was found at the time she disappeared. Because that`s really critical as well. There was this

note, a note that was left behind. And I`m going to read a little part of it again.

It said mom, I love you, but I`m never going to be happy for here. Done come looking for me. Because why spent a lifetime looking for somebody that

doesn`t want to be found.

Well that mom, Kathy Jo Hutchcraft had this to say about the note and the wording and whether that really seemed to be her daughter or not. Have a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUTCHCRAFT: This is this does not sound like my daughter at all. To me it was border line cruel. Knowing my daughter the way I know her, if those

were going to be her last words to me, it wouldn`t have been those words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But those were the last words that mom ever got.

I want to bring in Larry Kobilinsky. He is a forensic scientist and a professor at John Jay College of criminal justice.

Larry, when a discovery is made like this, three-and-a-half years after disappearance and this is a skeletal discovery, you just heard Michelle

Sigona reporting that she spoke to a woman who at least saw a blanket that was nearby. Help me to understand how much of an uphill battle this is to

solve this crime with what they found.

LARRY KOBILINSKY, Ph.D., PROFESSOR, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE (on the phone): Well, Ashleigh, this is kind of a nightmare of a case. And

I think you described it as very complex. Complicated. Because there is the post mortem interval increases, it becomes more and more difficult to

extract useful information.

Clearly, the bones are scattered as animals will take body parts and move them hundreds of feet away from the main site of the skeleton. And good

crime scene work will pick up trace evidence you may not see with the naked eye.

The blanket sounds very intriguing and could give us more information. But I think in terms of cause of death with a medical explanation for what

killed this teenager, it`s not clear that the FBI had that information.

In some situations, it`s easier to determine cause of death. For example, blunt trauma to the skull or a gunshot to the skull. For example, weapon

marks on a bone. There are times you can look at a skeleton and surmise the cause of death and even the manner of death. But there are other times it

become very, very difficult. And I`m not even sure that they have all the skeleton in one place. The FBI will probably have forensic physical

anthropologists come in and look at that skeleton.

BANFIELD: We hear about these forensic investigations and they will look for, you know, shoe prints and mud, but three-and-a-half years later the

whole dynamic changes. But something like an earing or a belt buckle or a bead or a pin or something tangible is often times, you know, a linchpin to

this case. But when you are dealing with, again, three-and-a-half years later with the elements of this rural nature with a farming community, who

knows if it was tractor.

I mean, again, this is a really - it is better that they have some kind of answer. They have this child finally identified. But going from there and

finding the person who put her there, she did not bury herself, Larry.

KOBILINSKY: Absolutely. It looks like clearly like a homicide. But that - we have to wait and see what the FBI. They have to put all the pieces

together before they come to a conclusion. And I think there needs to be a psychological autopsy clearly document examiners look for the no. We will

have to put all the pieces together.

[19:15:15] BANFIELD: You just hit the nail on the head with the FBI. And I just happened to have CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI

assistant director Tom Fuentes with me now from Fairfax, Virginia.

First and foremost, Tom, I get it. These remains will go to chronicle. They will do the testing. They will get in to the forensic story. But why?

Please answer me why. They are not saying anything this case and yet they are beseeching us, the public for information.

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It could be two reasons, Ashleigh. Number one, a homicide like this or a murder investigation would

normally be the responsibility of the local police. And then whether it`s Wayne County or whether it is Illinois state police, they may ask the FBI

for assistance to come in with the forensic part of the investigation because as your other guest mentioned, the ability to have forensic

anthropologists that could be brought in, the equipment that they would have, and analytical equipment at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

So they would be asked hopefully because of the sophisticated capabilities of the FBI and the ability to cover leads on a worldwide basis.

But it still may be the responsibility of the local sheriff or Illinois state police to actually make statements about this. So normally in a case

like this when I have been involved in the local police asking for FBI assistance and the FBI comes in, the FBI does not take over. You don`t see

him at the podium and the press conferences. You see him provide the information to the local police and stand back.

BANFIELD: I will tell you. This family deserves justice. I have to cut it there, Tom, but we are going to keep on this. And thank you for your

expertise.

My thanks to Michelle and Tom as well on this story.

Tonight, we are also on verdict watch. This is why I`m watching a cough a little bit. It is for that murder trial of Alexandria Duvall. She is

accused of driving her SUV off a cliff in Hawaii, killing her twin sister Anastasia, survived it herself, though.

The beautiful twins, really, the mystery here. The key witness is the victim`s ex-boyfriend who said the two were at it. Fighting all weekend of

this alleged murder. And that the defendant was actually flirting with him the day after the crash that killed her sister. Other witnesses said to

police that they saw the passenger, one of the twins, the victim pulling at the driver`s hair just moments before that car went off the 200 foot cliff.

But if convicted Alexandria Duvall could face life in prison.

Karma can be a bitch when you are leading a double life. But Stephen Allwine knows that all too well after the jury did not buy his ridiculous

story about his wife and how she died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:19] BANFIELD: There is a certain kind of satisfaction when a hypocrite gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter. Sometimes it is

called karma. Sometimes it is called sweet justice. But whatever you call it, Stephen Allwine just got the book thrown at him for killing his wife,

shooting Amy in the head and then staging it to look like a suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE SHERMAN, NEIGHBOR: Very sweet lady. Whenever you talked to her, she was always upbeat. Everybody is pretty much shocked about it. They always

seemed like they got along very well. And we never heard issues or anything like that. Pretty shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Stephen Allwine should have watched more forensic files because then he didn`t know that the cops are going to test you for gun powder on

your hand. They are going to investigate the crime scene with a fine tooth comb and they are probably going to look for blood throughout the house. So

he might have known to at least really scrub that blood in the hall.

But Stephen Allwine is not just any murderer, he is a preacher man. A preacher man who counseled other couples on how to save their marriages all

the while learning about the Ashley Madison website and how you can get away with cheating on your own wife.

And if that isn`t enough, Stephen Allwine was making deals on the dark web too with an Albanian gang of thugs for them to do the dirty work and off

his wife for $6,000 worth of bitcoin.

But as I said Stephen Allwine just got his and his justice is sweeter than the sweet tea at your mama`s house in Georgia.

Samantha Sansevere is a producer with "Justice and Drew" on KTLK, 11:30 a.m. She joins me Minneapolis.

So effectively how long did it take the jury, Samantha, to come to the determination that Stephen Allwine was not just a liar or a hypocrite? He

was a down and dirty murder?

SAMANTHA SANSEVERE, PRODUCER, JUSTICE AND DREW, KTLK (on the phone): It didn`t really take that long. They deliberated on it for about eight hours

to get all the information. And this guy was just really sloppy.

BANFIELD: Yes, to say the least. And we will get into the sloppy stuff in a minute. But did the jury say anything? Because sometimes they have the

right to talk and sometimes they just exit out the backdoor. They done want any media at all. Did they say anything about this case or this guy?

SANSEVERE: No. There wasn`t a lot that we heard. They just kind of - we just kind got the verdict and they just kind of acknowledge -- now

everybody is talking about all these crazy details.

BANFIELD: So tell me about the lowlights, I guess. I don`t think they are highlights, but when you are talking about a woman who died in this

horrible fashion of gunshot to the right of her head.

SANSEVERE: Sure.

BANFIELD: What were the low lights in terms of his sloppiness?

[19:25:02] SANSEVERE: So - yes. So this guy - I mean, when you get away from the actual murder and look at what he did on the dark web is when he

was sloppy there, too. And he - this service that he contacted based on mafia, they claimed to have ties with the Albanian mafia. That they had hit

men for hire and he got really sloppy and then ended up to be a big scale in the end.

BANFIELD: So, I have never - I mean, I honestly, in the number of years, 30 of them that I have been covering CRIME AND JUSTICE in courtrooms, I don`t

think I ever heard of the Albanian mafia being brought in.

But I want to bring in CRIME AND JUSTICE producer Kyle Peltz as well because he has been working on the story all day.

Can you walk me through a little bit of this mafia and how and by the way, they strung him along and he became a victim of them. It was such big old

scam. But walk me through a little bit about what this mafia was offering him? What he was paying them? And how they were like wiggling out of every

excuse so why the hit hadn`t happened.

KYLE PELTZ, CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Right. So we know his wife Amy died in November. But back in February, he was in contact with this website on

the dark web and he has asked about the cost of a hit on his wife. He was told it costs $5,000, $6,000 if he wanted it to look like a car accident.

Now about a month after finding out the cost in an arranging payment, this user who we know as Steven then messages again saying they quote "need this

bitch dead." But he got scammed by this site. As authority say he posted back and forth for weeks on that site. It was excuse after excuse from this

mafia as to why his wife wasn`t dead yet. At one point, the website said they actually followed Amy, but didn`t get a chance to kill her. And

another point they said the hitman was on the way to kill her and then burn down the family house which is apparently what Steven had agreed upon. But

then the hitman had been stopped by local police and taken to jail for driving a stolen vehicle.

BANFIELD: And then, by the way, didn`t they then after all these excuses other than this dog ate my homework, every excuse in the book, didn`t they

then say to him, but I will tell you what, and I think his user name was dog day God, I will tell you what, Dog day God, we can guarantee you 100

percent satisfaction and it was just a little bit more money. What did they ask for him?

PELTZ: They guarantee him 100 percent success rate if he was willing to fork over another $12,000.

SANSEVERE: BANFIELD: Did he fork it over?

PELTZ: It seems that he was prepared to fork over that money.

BANFIELD: So he basically got scammed, double scam, triple scam that he was about to get quadruple scammed and ultimately decided to do something else.

As it turns out, and honestly, this is where it gets more sideways, Kyle. He then chose to try to get her to kill herself. And in that, he sent an

anonymous email to and I`m going to read it. It is going to take time so bear with me.

He wants her to kill herself and this is the anonymous email that beautiful Amy gets. Here is how you can save your family. Commit suicide. If you do

not, then you will slowly see things taken away from you and each time you will know that you could have stopped it which will eat you apart from the

inside. The best way to do it are shotgun to the head which you might not have. Cyanide which you probably do not have. Gunshot to the head which you

might not have. Shotgun to the chest, which you might not have. Explosives which you probably do not have. Hit by a train. Jump from height. A lot of

bridges around. Hanging and household toxins. Antifreeze, ammonia, bleach, inhaling gas. Carbon monoxide and slitting wrist or throat. Unless you are

a heartless, selfish bitch, then I expect to see your obituary in the paper in the next couple of weeks.

How did they connect, Kyle, that email to Stephen Allwine?

PELTZ: That email was sent anonymously. And they had trouble connecting it. But that email also, it`s much longer than what you read actually, and it

references threats to specific members of his wife`s family. And the day before, they found out Steven on his computer devices had actually visited

a website that lets you look into someone`s family and find out who their extended family members are.

BANFIELD: It sounds like a pile of evidence.

I want to bring in Steven Allwine attorney, Kevin DeVore who joins me now live from Minneapolis.

Kevin, thank you so much for joining me tonight. This looked like it was just a massive uphill battle from the get go. But you took the case and you

fought. Where do you think it went wrong for you?

KEVIN DEVORE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR STEPHEN ALLWINE (on the phone): Well, obviously, we knew there was a lot of evidence that they intended to bring

against my client. But as you know, this is pretty highly scientific stuff, very complicated and complex. And for the state to pull it all together

took a massive undertaking. And so, they didn`t have much in terms of traditional evidence, fingerprints, DNA, admissions, eyewitnesses for this

date. None of that kind of stuff so they really lacked that kind of evidence that related to the November 13th, 2016 incident. It was really

driven largely and almost 100 percent by the computer forensics.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST: Yes, and boy, those will -- those will bite you every time. And to that end, since everybody is talking about Bitcoin

lately, I think it`s worthwhile to mention the Bitcoin connection here because as I understand it, Stephen worked in computers so if anybody knows

how to get to the dark web, that somebody who, you know, has good knowledge of computers, and out there somewhere, investigators find business out

there on the dark web, suggesting that Amy Allwine is going to get a hit, right? There`s communication between a "dogdaygod," that`s the username,

and it`s all about Amy Allwine -- details about her, daily routine and her family members, et cetera. Who would know that?

So, ultimately, the cops come to Amy and to Stephen to warn them that somewhere out there on the deep dark web, someone`s trying to get you. And

then it`s the Bitcoin connection that got him. And you`ll have to -- you`ll have to pardon my knowledge here, but the Bitcoin token has a code, it has

an address, and that code, that address that the deep dark web had as payment for the hit, that was also found deleted off Stephen`s phone and

Stephen`s computer. That`s next to impossible to fight. Don`t you think, Kevin?

DEVORE: Well, yes, it became nearly impossible. Their computer forensic expert testified that a phone that was named "S. Allwine", at some point,

connected in August of 2016 and downloaded a Bitcoin alphanumeric code of 34 digits that was on -- at some point was on the phone and it downloaded

to the MacBook. And so, there was a -- that was the smoking gun, so to speak for the state.

BANFIELD: Yes, plus, he was -- plus, he was on his phone or at least his phone was researching Bitcoin shortly after this deep dark web

conversation, too. It`s a hard case, but you did what the constitution asked us all to do and give someone the best defense. Kevin, thank you for

that. My thanks also to Samantha Sansevere, Kyle Peltz, as well. Appreciate that.

Straight ahead, a beautiful model ends up in a BMW and that would not be weird if she weren`t cut into pieces and neatly arranged in the trunk in

two pieces of luggage. How did that happen? And what on earth is the connection to the guy they caught?

[19:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Any aspiring model will tell you that it`s a dream come true to end up on television. Don`t ask. But Sara Zghoul`s dream came true, while

at the same time, her worst nightmare did, too. These are pictures of Sara and she is absolutely beautiful. In better times, Sara might had a real

shot at modelling in the big leagues. But tonight, she`s on T.V. for a whole different reason, somebody killed her and cut her up into pieces.

According to reports, Sara was decapitated, dismembered, and packed into two different suitcases before being neatly nestled into the back of a

luxury BMW. And Sara`s alleged killer?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LARSEN, WITNESS TO ARREST: You know, we couldn`t see him, but we can hear him. The officers said that he went down there and he cut himself.

So, he -- and pretty sure he had a knife down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, he probably did because he was found screaming his own head off in a ravine several miles away after police say he tried to slash his

own throat. And if Jeremiah Johnston`s mug shot is any indication, it`s not clear that he was trying too hard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF TALBOT, WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: Well, this is the first step in a long process of bringing justice for the family and for the

victim and her loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So, with me now, Annette Newell, she is a reporter for F.M. News 101 KXL in Portland, Oregon. Real quickly, if you would, Annette, tell me

about what just happened because I think it was only about 38 minutes ago, he was scheduled for an arraignment.

ANNETTE NEWELL, REPORTER, F.M. NEWS 101 KXL (via telephone): That`s right. He was arraigned in court and that he basically stayed violent for 60

seconds for the hearing in which an attorney entered a not guilty plea on the two charges against him. The (INAUDIBLE) green which indicates that

he`s on suicide watch. The uniform that they wear when they`re on a suicide watch. He was wheeled into the courtroom by the sheriff`s deputies. And

what we can tell about this guy, if you would underline a statement about, you know, the trouble with drugs. He is 35 years old, he spent several days

in a hospital before they were even able to book him in jail and charge him. As they say, he cut his own throat and slashed his wrists, as you

mentioned, in what was an apparent suicide attempt.

You can see his scars on his neck in his mug shot. But court record show this guy had a long list of charges. He`d been convicted of cocaine,

heroin, meth, and possession of a firearm by (INAUDIBLE) three counts of I.D. theft. He was still on probation for the long string of drug charges.

He was living with his mother at her home in Aloha. And court record showed he`d been allowed to go into a treatment program. He`d been taking anti-

depressants originally sentenced in 2015 in Washington County to 23 months in prison for drug and firearm charges.

[19:40:00] He got out and guess what? He was rearrested in August of 2016 in (INAUDIBLE) county which is nearby in Portland for cocaine possession.

He told the court he just got out of prison three months earlier at that time. In September, he pleaded guilty to the cocaine charge, he was

sentenced to a year.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Can I actually just go over this criminal history? Because if you see it up on screen, it`s easier to, sort of, follow it.

NEWELL: Right.

BANFIELD: And I`m just going to go over the lowlights of the convictions, not the ones where he was hauled in and had to deal with it. And there were

maybe dismissals, et cetera, but in 2015 --

NEWELL: Sure.

BANFIELD: -- delivering of cocaine, commercial drug, convicted; possession of cocaine, convicted; possession of heroin, convicted; possession of meth,

convicted; possession of a firearm, convicted. Back to 2014, a couple of charges that were dismissed and then an identity theft three counts which

he was convicted of as well. And then, just really quickly, if you would, Annette, what is the story with this Chase Haverfield who, apparently, is a

jail house snitch who spent time in -- behind bars with this guy at some point. Chase was with Jeremiah Johnston, the suspect in this case, and

then, sort of, he went on to talk about a drug rehab that the two of them were in together, but then, also a drug rehab that Chase was also in with

the victim. Do we have any connection at this point between the victim and the guy who has been brought in with the slices across his neck who`s now

charged with this crime?

NEWELL: You know what, I know that the victim and the suspect -- their family homes are within a half mile of each other in Aloha. They all knew

each other. This is a very small, tight knit community and Aloha, there`s only about 50,000 people who lived there, it`s about 10 miles West of

Portland. And in that community, there`s just a sense of anger and anguish and shock because how could this happen in our community where everybody

knows everyone else. And as far as the victim, Sara Zghoul, she was young, bright, funny, a very loving friend and family member. The Zghoul family is

definitely not --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: She had a boyfriend. Let`s be really -- let`s be really clear here. It`s a small community and they may have known each other and

certainly, they both, the victim and the perp, the alleged perp in this case knew that guy named Chase, but the only connection we really know that

this beautiful young woman had with this man who`s accused of her killing - - of her murder is that Sara`s sister went to school with him. But we don`t know -- Sara`s got a boyfriend, she talked all about her boyfriend on

Facebook, and it wasn`t this guy, it wasn`t Jeremiah. We don`t really know what the connection was between them, is that correct?

NEWELL: Yes, at this point, we don`t know the exact connection between the two, but you know, she indicated also on her social media, a lot about

overcoming adversity. For example, here`s a quote from her on Facebook, "Nothing you`ve been through is ever wasted, your past experiences, good

and bad, have deposited something on the inside of you. Those challenges have sharpened you to make you who you are today. And she said in that post

that she knew people who had made poor choices including years of addiction, bad relationships to a bad job. And so, she talked a lot about

feeling thankful for her support system and her friends and family.

BANFIELD: Here`s something that Chase Haverfield said about the black BMW that Sara was discovered in, again, decapitated, dismembered, placed in two

suitcases in the back of it. Have a listen to Chase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHASE HAVERFIELD, SUSPECT`S FRIEND: I saw him literally last Tuesday. You know, I think Sara was found on Thursday. He was acting quiet and a little

weird. It was really weird because, you know, he`s usually got a black BMW, you know, and it`s -- you know, I know he, like, cherished that car. I

really liked it. I was absolutely blown away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He had a black BMW that he cherished but he didn`t have it that time when he went to see Chase. I want to bring in Tom Fuentes if I can.

He`s CNN Senior Law Enforcement analyst and former FBI Assistant Director. Tom is joining me live from Fairfax, Virginia. Tom, with the evidence we

know of and they`re being really tight lipped about this, the cops out there are saying very, very little. In fact, we really don`t have a lot to

go on. You know that he`s got neck slashes. I don`t know if that helps the case. You know you`ve got the evidence of the corpse in the back of the

car. Is this a tough one?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it sounds like a pretty tough one, Ashleigh. You know, I think, you know, one of the keys to

this is, is there any attempt on his part to have a relationship with this young lady, in which case if she rebuffed him, made him angry, because the

kind of crime we have here with decapitation and dismembership -- dismembering, that`s not just murdering somebody, that`s punishing them,

that`s you know, showing a degree of anger that you don`t normally see in a simple murder (INAUDIBLE) but I think what happened to her, somebody

really, really had a problem with her from an anger standpoint.

BANFIELD: Or had a problem with how to get rid of what someone had done. Let`s leave it there for now, Tom. I want you to stay on, though. I`ve got

a couple of other stories I want to ask you about.

[19:44:58] There is some outrage -- I think that`s an understatement after this case worker who was assigned to check on the wellbeing of this little

cutie pie, 5-year-old boy with special needs, apparently, that case worker allegedly took bribes from a little boy`s mom to look the other way at the

treatment in his house. And wouldn`t you know it, that little boy is now dead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:59] BANFIELD: I have two children, and most days, I am underwater. And I think you can identify, especially if you`ve got two kids or maybe

three kids or, God bless you, four kids. But I don`t think one of us right now can get our heads around Larissa Rodriguez. She has nine kids. She had

nine kids. And her 10th is on the way. And it is not like she`s living the dream with a big fancy house or a bank account. Larissa and her boyfriend

were dead broke. So, with that many children and that little money, you would certainly hope the case worker assigned to this family was on the

ball, making sure that every one of the kids in the house had three squares a day and a warm place to sleep.

But that case worker, Nancy Carabello, from Catholic Charities, well, she had her own definition of charity. And it mostly had to do with her getting

something for nothing for herself -- that`s the allegation. She`s been charged now with making a deal with Larissa for buying upwards of $10,000

worth of food stamps that were supposed to be for Larissa`s nine kids. And then she`s also alleged to have paid just half priced for those food

stamps, you know, $0.50 on $1.00. I`m going to let the prosecutor explain with a little bit more detail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL O`MALLEY, CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Larissa Rodriguez, in a scheme with social worker Nancy Carabello. Ms. Carabello was buying the

food stamps that were intended for that family to feed those children. A grand jury issued additional counts pertaining this, 18 counts about Ms.

Carabello. Nancy Carabello developed a relationship with Larissa Rodriguez where she purchased it -- purchased her food stamps for $0.50 on the

dollar. Ms. Carabello was a mandatory reporter. She had an obligation to report any abuse and neglect of those children. She was actually in a

scheme where she purchased the food stamps that were meant to feed those children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So, that kind of makes you wonder if that`s the reason that that worker didn`t report the horrors inside that house like a child found

eating a sandwich that was filled with cockroaches. No, no joke, that`s the report. More on Nancy, that case worker, in a moment, but I want to go back

to mom for a minute, Larissa, the mom of nine soon to be 10, she is currently cooling her heels in a jail cell right now because one of those

children was found buried in a plastic bag in the backyard of that bed bug infested cesspool of a home. Police say his little 5-year-old body showed

signs of abuse including broken ribs. Oh, the boyfriend, Christopher Rodriguez, he`s charged, too.

And tonight, I wish I could tell you but I have no idea when Larissa`s due date is for baby number 10. Defense attorney Troy Slaten joins me again

now. Troy, I don`t even know where to begin, honestly, but I guess I could just say this, the newest detail in this horror case is that this fraud is

now in the midst. And this fraud certainly isn`t going to help her murder case or this other -- this other worker`s case, Nancy Carabello. They`re

both in for a world of hurt here.

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They may be really bad people. They may have done really bad things, but that doesn`t necessarily equate to murder,

Ashleigh. This was a 5-year-old, developmentally disabled child. And he may have died from any number of reasons. She may very well be guilty for

inappropriate disposal of remains, but just because she was involved in a food stamp scheme doesn`t make her a murderer.

BANFIELD: Well, I`ll tell you what, if they can tie Nancy, the worker, and Larissa, the mom, to this whole scheme of selling off the food stamps and

that little child was starved as part of the death, then I think they are in for a big world of hurt. And I don`t care if she did do the burying or

the beating, or any of that other stuff, there`s that other little notion as well. Troy, don`t go anywhere, stay right where you are. Apparently,

there is just no end to the lengths that people will go to steal an ATM.

[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: And we have "ONE MORE THING" for you tonight. This comes to us from the law enforcement friends that we have on the other side of the

pond, in jolly old England. Police are looking for the people behind this little number. They took one of those fancy SUVs, a Land Rover, and they

rammed it into a grocery store two times because they wanted that thing, right there on the left of your screen. Just inside the door was an ATM and

guess what, they got it because they hooked up a tow line to it and dragged it right out of the door and then got smart enough to shift it into another

vehicle. And the police in this community are now on the lookout for three things, the busted-up vehicle, that Land Rover also the VW Golf that made

of with the ATM, and of course, they`re looking for those perps who got the ATM. Hopefully, they`ll get the ATM back.

Thanks for watching, everybody. We`ll see you right back here Monday night, 6:00 Eastern. Now, you can listen to our show any time. You can download

our Podcast. Stitcher and Apple Podcasts and Tune In are all the places you can get it. In the meantime, "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.

END