True Crime Arizona

On July 31st 2024, Elizabeth Byrd's longtime best friend knew something was wrong when Liz didn't show up for their workout class. After calling police for a welfare check when loved ones found out three young kids were left alone, officers found Liz Byrd dead in her bedroom. Her husband, John Byrd, was a detective for the Maricopa County Attorney's office, and specialized in justice for domestic violence victims. He was nowhere to be found, and once police caught up to him, he confessed to killing his wife. Liz' brother and best friend detail what happened that day before and after the murder, what they've learned since, and how they're helping care for the Byrd's kids who lost so much in this tragedy. 

True Crime Arizona takes on a haunted tale for Halloween in Globe, Arizona, exploring the unsolved murders in Room 18 inside a former brothel above a saloon that is still in business today. The team gets access to where the mysterious crimes happened, learns about the paranormal spirits that the owner, bartender, and patrons see regularly upstairs and at the bar. The owner also tells us who she believed killed the victims and why, based on history preserved in the saloon and archived newspaper articles. 

The True Crime Arizona team heads out to the Arizona desert where Ginger and Christina's remains were found, and the detectives in the case reveal whether they believe there are more victims of John Flowers and where they may be located. The victims' families share personal final thoughts about John Flowers getting out of prison in a short number of years, and Flowers himself messages back and forth with Briana from inside his prison cell – telling a story in his own words. 

After detectives positively identify the other Jane Doe victim, detectives sit face to face with an incarcerated John Flowers in Reno, Nevada, where he puts on quite the performance when questioned. We learn about how each murder case unfolds in the court system, and it's not how anyone wanted. Detectives reveal their biggest fears with this case.

When Ginger Rios' remains are discovered in the Arizona desert, so are the remains of another unidentified girl. For years nobody knew who the Jane Doe was. Around 2008, when Myspace comes about, a Phoenix woman can't find her long lost friend on the new social media network. She grows concerned and reports her missing to police. That ended up opening a controversial investigation, but ultimately led to the identity of the Jane Doe, and what police believe happened to her at the hands of the spy shop owner, John Flowers.

Detectives find the remains of Ginger Rios in the Arizona desert and make another horrific discovery while there: Another girl was dead and buried in the same area. While police try to figure out who the Jane Doe victim is, spy shop owner John Flowers goes on the run but is eventually caught and arrested for murder. For the first time, we hear Flowers' side of the story as to what happened to Ginger Rios, and a new witness comes out of the woodwork with concerning information about possible other victims. 

A new teenage employee of the Vegas spy shop is asked to do bizarre tasks while the owner, John Flowers, heads to his Phoenix, AZ spy shop. Meanwhile, we learn about his obnoxious antics in Phoenix, and his wife makes a shocking and unexpected confession to officials.

In April 1997, a young woman named Ginger Rios visits the Spycraft store in Las Vegas while her husband waits outside. When she seemingly vanishes after going inside, a frantic search by family and police begins with an odd response from the spy store owner, John Flowers. Police uncover a slew of odd happenings surrounding her disappearance, as we learn what Ginger's childhood was like up to the last day before she went missing.

Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey made millions, publishing cutting-edge journalism in alternative weekly newspapers across the country. Larkin and Lacey were considered champions of the First Amendment, and their brand of journalism won thousands of awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. But the duo also created Backpage.com, a website that was known for its adult section, and according to federal prosecutors – prostitution. In this episode, Morgan Loew interviews Stephen Lemons, an investigative reporter who worked for Lacey and Larkin for two decades. Lemons details Lacey and Larkins' rise from college paper publishers, to newspaper moguls, to Backpage, to Larkins' death by suicide, and Lacey's conviction in federal court.

The four-part television series "Stolen Innocence" explores the manipulation and abuse of the FLDS cult that led to the new self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman's reign and downfall as he awaits sentencing for sexually abusing and kidnapping child brides. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney and former AZ Family reporter Mike Watkiss discuss in detail Samuel Bateman's rise to power, the roots of the FLDS and its corruption, the bizarre encounter Mike Watkiss had with Bateman, and where the FLDS community stands now. 

As the 4th of July turned to the early morning hours of the 5th, Phoenix Police got a call to the ritzy Renaissance hotel in downtown Phoenix after a security guard found a woman dead in a hotel room. But it turns out that wasn't the only call they got to the hotel during that time—a man was also walking around naked in the lobby telling staff he was concerned about demons upstairs. Eventually this would all come together and Phoenix Police would charge that man with the murder of 28-year-old Desiree Serpas, a mother to two young kids. But his defense attorney casts suspicion on two other people who allegedly were in the hotel room at the time. 

On July 1st, 2024, 25-year-old Doris Aguilar went missing in Phoenix after leaving for the store. A week later, her car was found abandoned in a mall parking lot. Her family expressed concern about a man who was possibly stalking her outside the gym, but there seemed to be no movement in the case until they hired a private investigator in mid-July. He was able to uncover new information that led to the discovery Doris Aguilar was actually the woman found shot to death inside a car on July 7th. But alongside her also found dead? The man her family says was the stalker: 51-year-old Juan Cuellar. His cause of death: suicide. Her cause of death: homicide. Now, we've learned new crucial timelines and disturbing details as Phoenix Police continues to investigate what went so wrong. 

On June 30th, 2024, Kelly Paduchowski was reported missing by the Flagstaff Police Department after her family said she never came back from a run and swim while training for a race. Her car was found at a local trailhead, but cell phone data put her at another trail hours prior. What then unfolded was an arrest of someone close to Kelly, damning evidence inside her home, a homicide investigation, an all-out search for the mother for days, an unexpected plea deal, and the discovery of Kelly's remains.

On July 29, 1994, 21-year-old Angela Maher was killed in a crash while going to pick up her friend from Old Town Scottsdale as the designated driver. The woman who hit and killed her, 31-year-old Gloria Schulze, was charged with manslaughter and endangerment after admitting she had been drinking and smoking weed. But after her first court appearance, Schulze vanished and was never seen again. Now, 30 years later, the fugitive was unexpectedly found and questions about where she fled and how she lived since are finally answered, officially closing the case.

In March 2020, as the world was shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic, Sandee Hines disappeared from her Mesa, Arizona home. But she didn't just vanish alone. Her husband, Jason Hines, was also gone. Hines was a convicted criminal and became a fugitive on the run for sex crimes against children. The last known surveillance video of Sandee Hines' car, shows Jason getting out of it. But ever since, no one has heard from them. Now, Sandee's mother gives insight into what happened in the days leading up to their disappearance, as she fears her daughter is dead. 

For nearly two months, the Idaho man known as the “Doomsday Prophet,” Chad Daybell, faced witness after witness as he stood on trial for the murder of his wife Tammy Daybell, and the murders of Lori Vallow's two young kids Tylee Ryan, and JJ Vallow. The killings were all tied to radical religious beliefs that a Second Coming was approaching, and people were “light and dark” spirits. Come with us as we dive into some of the most important, powerful, and emotional testimony during the trial, and the moments after the the verdict and sentencing decision on the death penalty were announced.

On May 17th, 2024, police are called out to a home in Surprise, AZ for an unknown shooting. They learn a woman, Allie, had escaped from being held hostage, but her 6-month-old baby, Jaxson, was still inside with his father and in danger. That man, Todd Marchetti, then shoots his own baby multiple times, and officers go inside to rescue Jaxson. A standoff then ensues, until the house unexpectedly goes up in flames during negotiations. What we learned next from family and friends was Marchetti had planned out days of torture and was in the middle of carrying that out when Allie escaped, after a history of domestic violence.  Link to donate to Jaxson and Allie's recovery: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-allie-and-jaxsons-path-to-recovery

On May 17, 2024, police are called out to a home in Surprise, AZ for an unknown shooting. They learn a woman, Allie, had escaped from being held hostage, but her 6-month-old baby, Jaxson, was still inside with his father and in danger. That man, Todd Marchetti, then shoots his own baby multiple times, and officers go inside to rescue Jaxson. After, a standoff ensues, until the house unexpectedly goes up in flames during negotiations. What we learned next from family and friends was Marchetti had planned out days of torture and was in the middle of carrying that out when Allie escaped, after a history of domestic violence. Link to donate to Jaxson and Allie's recovery: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-allie-and-jaxsons-path-to-recovery

The newly released incident report and 911 calls from the day 22-year-old Mercedes Vega's body was found in a burning car reveals new details about what was seen on the freeway that day in April 2023. We learn who made the 911 call, what he saw from the road, and what kind of car she was found in – a car that was not hers. Mercedes Vega was shot, hit, and eventually burned alive after going missing from her Tempe apartment complex. Mercedes's case remains unsolved. Her parents discuss the new details we learned from the report, their frustration with investigation, and share their emotions as they prepare to spread her ashes in Hawaii.  

On June 4 2022, 19-year-old Rachel Hansen woke up to a stranger in her Gilbert, AZ apartment. The suspect shot her, then left, and Rachel later died at the hospital. The teen had been working for years as a horse trainer and had just moved into that apartment after living on a ranch. Nearly two years later, her murder remains unsolved, but her parents feel two odd circumstances in the days leading up to her death weren't properly investigated. 

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer from Bullhead City, AZ, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for an involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Hutchins was the cinematographer on the movie ‘Rust' starring Alec Baldwin, when in 2021, a prop gun the actor was rehearsing with on set had a real bullet inside instead of a fake one. When Baldwin fired it during the scene, the bullet struck Hutchins and killed her. We hear what was said at the sentencing hearing during victim impact statements, and why the judge delivered scathing remarks in the courtroom. Alec Baldwin will be facing the same charge in a trial this summer, so does the armorer's conviction and sentence help or hurt the A-list actor? A criminal defense attorney weighs in.

The high school basketball coach and man famously known for his “Mr. ORNG” character at Phoenix Suns game has now been arrested for soliciting sexual videos and pictures from teen boys. According to police, 37-year-old Patrick Battillo asked male students at the school he coached at to send explicit videos of themselves via Snapchat, in exchange for money. Another teacher at the high school as arrested for hindering the investigation after telling Battillo the police were at school so he could leave before they could question him. True Crime Arizona host Briana Whitney describes the disturbing messages and details we learned about in court documents, the shock from the community, and how “Mr. ORNG” used to portray himself in the media. Reporter Michael Raimondi phones in from the school grounds as students and parents learn about what happened.

Queen Creek Police released 42 minutes of 911 calls from the Halloween party where 16-year-old Preston Lord was fatally beaten on October 28, 2023, including the desperate call when people on scene were trying to save his life before police arrived. They also released more than 1,100 pages of the police report. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney, chief investigative reporter Morgan Loew, and senior producers Mac Colson and Cody Lilich discuss and analyze the new and notable information, including who allegedly hit and stomped on Preston Lord, which suspects incriminated themselves on Snapchat and through text, who bragged about the horrible actions, what witnesses told police they saw, and the actions one family took to try and cover up their son's involvement. Seven suspects face first degree murder.

Chance Comanche was a well-known name in Arizona—a former University of Arizona basketball player that had gone on to play in the professional NBA G-league. Comanche was in Las Vegas in December 2023 for a basketball tournament, when he and his ex-girlfriend were the last ones to see Marayna Rodgers, from Washington state, alive. As detectives searched for Rodgers, the investigation led to a trail of hidden text messages, thousands of dollars, a Rolex watch, and a disturbing jailhouse confession. 

Months after Preston Lord died after being beaten at a Halloween party, multiple suspects, including several teenagers, have been arrested and indicted for first-degree murder and kidnapping. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney, investigative reporter Morgan Loew, and Arizona's Family anchor Nicole Crites analyze how prosecutors got to these charges, the shocking new information that was revealed in their first court appearances, what Preston Lord's family and the community is saying about the arrests, where we go from here with this case, and the other cases related to the alleged “Gilbert Goons.”

In 2005, a baby girl was found dead in the women's bathroom trash can at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The medical examiner rule she was suffocated, and lived just 24 hours. She became known as “Baby Skylar.” For nearly two decades, police had no idea who the baby's mother was, or why she was killed. Now, detectives have found and arrested 51-year-old Annie Anderson of Washington state for first degree murder; the baby's own mother. How they found her so many years later, her checkered past in Washington, and what a detective says “divine intervention” may be the reason Baby Skylar was ever found at all.

She's analyzed the behavior and words of serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ed Kemper. She's received videos from one of the most famous cult leaders to live. She trained Jodie Foster for her role in The Silence of the Lambs. She helped investigate where the 9/11 plan was hatched and who the bombers were. And she brought a new sense of empathy and intelligence to the behavioral science unit at the FBI. This is the story of Jana Monroe, the first female agent who ever worked in the FBI's behavioral science unit. Told in her own words with experiences unimaginable, she details what it was like to break through gender barriers as she made a name for herself as one of the sharpest agents in the bureau.

Host Briana Whitney and Arizona Family reporters Alexis Dominguez and Casey Torres dive into and analyze the latest string of developments in the East Valley teen violence investigations, including an exclusive interview with the parents of a suspect in mutliple assaults, a teen victim's fight for change in Arizona law, and the community fallout from the Gilbert police chief's first press conference. UPDATE: We also discuss the three new arrests that happened during the recording of the episode.

True Crime Arizona host Briana Whitney and Arizona's Family reporter Emma Lockhart break down the details in the five new arrests in East Valley teen violence cases, both admitted and possible ties to the “Gilbert Goons,” and the possible impact these arrests may have on the ongoing Preston Lord murder investigation. We hear from Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell on where the Lord investigation stands with evidence and charges, and hear from the victim's father in one of these cases after arrests were made.

Just before Thanksgiving 2022, JoAnn Dudek was getting ready for a holiday trip to NYC to visit family, when communication suddenly stopped. JoAnn lived in Anthem, AZ with her husband and daughter, who were there the day she allegedly disappeared and told investigators she left behind most belongings. But it's a case full of twists and turns: Bizarre phone calls that may or may not exist, another unexpected death, and the sheriff's office officially naming this a homicide investigation even though JoAnn's whereabouts are unknown.

Exactly two months after 16-year-old Preston Lord was beaten to death at a Halloween party in Queen Creek, Arizona, police announced they are recommending charges against seven juveniles and adults involved in his death. It is now up to the Maricopa County Attorney to decide who and what to prosecute. This comes as other investigations into teen violence in the East Valley have been reopened with possible ties to a gang police have recognized as the "Gilbert Goons." Host Briana Whitney and Arizona Family reporters Morgan Loew, Emma Lockhart, and Casey Torres discuss what is likely to happen next, the possible evidence in the case, and historical parallels to prior gang violence in the East Valley.

In August 1992, remains of an unidentified teenager were found by somebody walking their dog in Apache Junction, Arizona. 30 years later, DNA and forensic genetic genealogy have helped identify her as a girl from South Phoenix who went missing in June of 1992. Her family was able to answer some things, but how she got to the remote desert and her cause of death is unknown. The timing of her disappearance and death is eerie though, it all happened while two known serial killers were operating in the Phoenix area. Could she have been another one of their victims? True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney and Chief Investigative Reporter Morgan Loew analyze what we know.

Sixty years ago, in November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while driving through downtown Dallas. It's a historic event that has fueled theories and conspiracies about what happened. But now, with modern technology, an engineering and animation lab has found something new that they said proves the “single bullet theory” is not possible scientifically. As they explain their findings, meanwhile former Mafia underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano reveals details during his time as a government informant when the FBI questioned him about JFK's death. It's an ominous and eerie meeting, and Gravano shares what he believes happened that day in Dallas. 

In April 2023, 22-year-old Mercedes Vega was leaving her Tempe, Arizona apartment to meet friends for dinner. The next morning, her body was found burning in a car off the I-10 freeway 60 miles away in the rural desert. Once the autopsy report was released, the details revealed one of the most gruesome murders and causes of death. Now 7 months later, her parents are sitting down for the first time to open up about what they know, the last known surveillance footage of Mercedes, and what the desperately seek as her killer, or killers, still walk free.

In 2004, 5-year-old Josh Eberle Martinson was found dead on a bunk bed in his father's Phoenix apartment, while his father, Jeffrey Martinson, was in the next room passed out from an attempted suicide with prescription drugs and liquor. The medical examiner ruled Josh's death was from an overdose of prescription meds, and his father was charged with his murder. However, multiple years and trials later, he was set free. It's something Joshua's mother has struggled to comprehend.

More than four years after Jamie Yazzie disappeared on the Navajon Nation, her boyfriend learned his fate in a federal courtroom after being charged with her murder and assaulting other women.

DNA cracked the case in the brutal murder of a college student over three decades ago along a popular hiking trail. The Prescott, Arizona murder of Cathy Sposito in June of 1987 was unsolved but remained open and active for 36 years. In September 2023, the Yavapai County Sheriff named Bryan Scott Bennett as Sposito's killer, but the investigation found Bennett also had more victims who were attacked and sexually assaulted in northern Arizona. While the discovery solved several cases, an unexpected twist is the reason why there's no arrest now.

In June 1976, Phoenix newspaper journalist Don Bolles was blown up by a bomb placed under his car while he took a business meeting at the Hotel Clarendon about a possible land fraud story. Because of Bolles' reporting on Mafia involvement in Arizona and poor business dealings, rumors swirled about who was behind the murder. This is the story of the daughters–the daughter of the man twice convicted for masterminding the attack who says her father was framed, and the daughter of Don Bolles, who shares her thoughts on the new revelations and who she believes was involved in her father's death.

Barry Jones was convicted of first degree murder for the death of 4-year-old Rachel Gray in 1994,  and sentenced to death. But as the decades went on, several attorneys and officials found issues with how the case legally played out. In 2023, the AG's office granted Barry Jones a plea deal and said he did not cause the girl's injuries, but should have sought out medical care for her. He walked out of death row after 29 years, with the unexpected support of the victim's sister.

Tiffany confronts her dad, Edison Sorrell, about her belief that he was involved in her mom's disappearance. Briana interviews Edison on the phone, who shares his side of the story. The True Crime Arizona team learns there are more people among ‘The Forgotten' who they interviewed, sharing details they never have before. The team gives updates on what's happened since the documentary came out, and where the MMIW crisis progress stands in Arizona.

We ask top Arizona officials how they are going to fix the MMIW crisis, and for the first time, they are putting plans in motion.

We learn the details of what happened to Jamie Yazzie, an arrest is made, and court documents reveal a sinister discovery.

In summer of 2019, Jamie Yazzie disappeared from the Navajo Nation, after hanging out at her boyfriend's house. Her family frantically begins to search for her, when Jamie's aunt makes a stunning discovery.

We question the FBI, state, and tribal officials about how disappearances and murders have escalated to crisis level, and what's been going wrong in their departments. Reporter Briana Whitney and her team head up to the Navajo Nation to get a first-hand look at what's going on themselves.

On the 4th of July in 2002, Laverda Sorrell went to an anniversary dinner with her husband on the Navajo Nation, and asked to be dropped off at her workplace after around 11:30 p.m. She was never seen again. Her family describes what happened in the day leading up to her disappearance, and we learn how her case falls into the growing crisis and epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. (MMIW)

The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women – known as MMIW- is an issue that has exploded as years have gone on, yet in the shadows with little to no attention and focus. Native women in Arizona are disappearing at staggering rates, yet the media coverage their cases have received doesn't compare to the media spotlight on cases of white women who have gone missing, or been murdered, in the United States.  The True Crime Arizona team set out to uncover why this has spiraled out of control, where the problems stem from, and who is going to step up to fix it. We took our investigation to the Arizona governor, attorney general, head of the FBI in Phoenix, and Navajo Nation president, just to name a few.  Episode one drops on the True Crime Arizona feeds on July 10.

It's the end of the Zombie Hunter trial after eight months. The judge sentences Bryan Patrick Miller for the Canal Murders, and explains how she came to her decision between life in prison or death penalty.

In a wild "Hail Mary" move, the "Zombie Hunter" Bryan Patrick Miller spoke to the judge and the court for the very first time before the judge decides whether Miller will face the death penalty or life in prison. Briana and Morgan discuss what Miller said...and didn't say.

Angela Brosso's mother and Melanie Bernas' sister describe their loved ones, and how the murders and the trial have affected their families. Briana Whitney and Morgan Loew discuss what happens next in the trial.

After days of investigation, police have arrested Zion Teasley, the suspect in the brutal murder of Lauren Heike. Briana Whitney and David Caltabiano discuss shocking new details that led police to the arrest, what he told detectives, and his criminal past. Two former FBI special agents analyze his psyche and his escalation of violence.

Lauren Heike, a 29-year-old woman and employee at a north Scottsdale golf club, was on a popular Phoenix hiking trail when she was attacked and murdered. Aided by video of the suspect fleeing the scene, police are on the hunt for her killer. After her family and friends made a tearful plea for the public's help, host Briana Whitney examines the rapidly-evolving case as it unfolds in real time and discusses the latest developments with reporter Sarah Robinson. Click here for more coverage on AZFamily.com