Man Kills Estranged Wife and Her Parents in New Jersey Murder-Suicide | Crime House 24/7

Good morning, everyone. We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need

to know about, and we're starting with the biggest one. Before dawn in New Jersey,

a man went to his estranged wife's parents' home and shot and killed her mother and father,

chased his wife into the street and killed her. Minutes later, as police arrived and his

three children slept inside the house, he turned the gun on himself.

This is Crime House 24-7, your non-stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now.

Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Vanessa Richardson, and we have

quite a lineup for you today. Here's what you need to know.

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We're leading this morning with a devastating story out of New Jersey that unfolded in the early

morning hours of March 10th, in a quiet residential neighborhood near the Jersey Shore.

Four people are dead, and three young children have lost both of their parents in what the Ocean

County Prosecutors' Office is calling a triple murder suicide. According to Ocean County

Prosecutor Bradley Bill Heimer, officers with the Berkeley Township Police Department were

dispatched to a home on Fairwood Drive in the Bayville section of the township at approximately 5 AM

after receiving reports of shots fired. When they arrived at the scene, officers observed a man

entering the residence. Within moments, they heard additional gunfire coming from inside the home.

The situation was immediately classified as an active threat. Authorities quickly secured

the area and called in additional resources. The Ocean County Regional SWAT team was

dispatched and made entry into the home to secure the scene and search for any additional victims

or suspects. Inside the residence, officers found two people dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

They were later identified as 61-year-old Alan Russell and 60-year-old Michelle Russell,

the homeowners. Both had been shot inside their own home, and what investigators say appears to

have been a targeted attack. Also inside the home were three minor children. Remarkably,

none of the children were physically harmed during the violence. As officers continued to clear

the rest of the house, they located a man later identified as 37-year-old Vaughn Stewart of Maplewood,

New Jersey. Stewart had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical personnel

transported him to Community Medical Center in Tom's River in critical condition, but he was later

pronounced dead. But investigators soon realized the violence had not been confined to the house itself.

As officers expanded the perimeter of the investigation beyond the residence,

they discovered multiple shell casings scattered on the street outside. Approximately 50 yards

from the home, along the side of Fairwood Drive, officers located the body of 38-year-old

Diona Stewart. Diona Stewart was the daughter of Alan and Michelle Russell and the estranged wife

of Vaughn Stewart. Authorities say she'd been shot multiple times. Prosecutors believe she was

attempting to escape when she was chased down and killed in the street. Diona had been living at

the Fairwood Drive home with her parents and her three children since separating from Vaughn.

The couple shared the children but had been living apart. Prosecutors have not yet disclosed how

long the couple had been separated or whether there had been prior domestic incidents reported

between them. When investigators have been able to reconstruct, however, is the timeline of what

happened that morning. Sometime before 5 a.m., Vaughn Stewart arrived at the house on Fairwood Drive.

Investigators say he entered the residence and shot Alan and Michelle Russell inside the home.

When Diona Stewart attempted to flee, authorities believed he chased her down the street,

firing multiple shots before killing her. After that, prosecutors say Stewart returned to the home

where the three children were still inside and turned the gun on himself. The entire sequence

appears to have unfolded in just a matter of minutes. By the time officers arrived and the

SWAT team made entry into the residence, the violence had already come to an end. For neighbors,

the morning began with the sound of gunfire shattering the quiet of the neighborhood.

Several residents told local media they were jolted awake by the shots.

One woman told ABC7 New York that she heard approximately six gunshots at around 4.45 a.m.,

and later reviewed footage from her doorbell camera that captured the sound. Others describe

the scene as surreal. Fairwood Drive sits inside the Mill Creek community of Berkeley Township.

A suburban neighborhood made up largely of single-family homes where residents say the streets are

typically quiet and safe. Authorities have not yet disclosed what type of firearm was used in

the attack, and officials have not released information about whether Vaughn Stewart had any

prior arrests or documented history of domestic violence. As of March 10th, prosecutors say the

investigation remains active as detectives work to determine what may have led up to the violence.

Meanwhile, the three children who survived the attack are now in the care of the New Jersey

Department of Child Protection and Permanency. Officials say they're working to ensure the

children receive support and assistance in the aftermath of the tragedy. And now we turn to a

courtroom in Tennessee where prosecutors laid out how a former NFL star allegedly turned to

artificial intelligence for help covering up a murder.

On March 10th, Hamilton County prosecutors in Tennessee presented disturbing new evidence

during the preliminary hearing for 31-year-old Darren Lee. The former New York Jets first-round

draft pick now charged with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend, 29-year-old Gabriela

Carvello Perpetuo, a judge found probable cause to send both charges, first-degree murder,

and tampering with or fabricating evidence to the grand jury. Perpetuo was found dead on February

5th, 2026, inside the couple's rented home on Snowconway in Ultua, a community near Chattanooga.

The couple had moved in just 10 days earlier. Body camera footage played in court showed Lee

wearing a Kansas City chiefs hoodie, telling responding deputies that he had been asleep for a

long time, came downstairs, and found his girlfriend lying on the couch unresponsive.

He told officers he did not know what had happened, and suggested she may have fallen in the shower.

He also claimed the broken glass found throughout the home was the result of a rapid temperature

change from leaving a window open, saying the glass just exploded when the house was reheated.

Investigators painted a very different picture. Detective Brian Lockhart testified that

Blue Star testing revealed blood in virtually every room of the house. He told the court there

was blood going up the staircase on the hand railing, on the walls, and on the floor in the living room,

in just about every room except one. Perpetuo's injuries were devastating.

Severe brain and facial trauma, a broken neck, stab wounds to her legs, black eyes,

circular bite marks on her shoulder and thigh, and blood coming from her nose and mouth.

The cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma. Then prosecutors revealed the chat GP

team messages. Late on the night of February 4th, a full 24 hours before Lee ever called 911,

he began sending messages to the chatbot. In one, he wrote that his fiance did her crazy thing

again, that she had two swollen eyes he claimed were self-inflicted, that she appeared to have

stabbed herself and that she was not waking up or responding. He created a fictional stand-in named

Allie and asked the chatbot what to tell a friend who was dealing with an unresponsive person

and wanted to call the police. He also asked whether a fall could produce what he described as

two stabby-looking wounds. District attorney Cody Wamp told the court that Lee had dozens of

conversations with the chatbot over a two-day span, asking how to cover it up and what to say to

911. Wamp called it using chat GPT as a legal advisor and defense attorney. She added that she

had never seen a local homicide case in which chat GPT was used as a key piece of evidence.

Bleach wipes and spray bottles were also found in the home, which led to the additional

charge of tampering with evidence. Lee's public defender, Mike Little,

argued that the evidence is circumstantial and that no one knows what happened inside that house.

General Sessions judge Tori Smith found probable cause stating she was even more convinced the

offense was especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. Lee remains in custody without bond.

Prosecutors have identified two aggravating factors that could make him eligible for the death

penalty. Perpetuos' mother has filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit. From a case built on

digital evidence, to one built on years of investigation, a Michigan farmer was convicted

this week of killing his wife and hiding her body in a place no one was supposed to find.

On this show, we spend a lot of time focused on details because details can change how you understand

a case and in travel, details change how you understand a place. For travel that gets the details

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and coverage match limited by state law on March 10th a Leno way county jury found 58 year old

Dale Warner guilty of second degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife 52

year old D Warner the jury of seven men and five women deliberated for approximately nine

hours over two days before returning the verdict Warner was charged with open murder meaning

the jury also had the option of first degree premeditated murder but ultimately settled on second

degree D Warner was last seen on April 25th 2021 at the couples home near to come some Michigan

her family reported her missing but the investigation initially struggled Michigan state police

took over the case from the Leno way county sheriff's office in august 2022 Dale was arrested and

charged in November 2023 months before D's body had even been found prosecutors believed they could

prove she was dead based on circumstantial evidence alone then on august 16th 2024 state police

discovered human remains sealed inside a fertilizer tank on property belonging to Dale in the rural

community of tipton the tank had been re welded shut and repainted dental records confirmed the

remains were these a medical examiner testified she died from strangulation and blunt force trauma

with bruises on her temples and the back of her head over a five week trial featuring 12 days of

testimony from 35 witnesses prosecutors laid out a picture of a marriage in collapse D wanted a

divorce and to sell the family's farming and trucking businesses Dale did not evidence showed he

attract D's Cadillac Escalade more than 2100 times using a mobile phone app between January 2020

and April 2021 he also had an employee clone her phone and another by a GPS tracker for her vehicle

when Dale learned investigators plan to bring cadaver dogs to the property drone footage captured him

using a front end loader to move a rusted fertilizer tank from a burn pile his fingerprint was found

on the tank that held her body one of the last things D told her daughter was that she watched

date line every night and that Dale could do something like that to her after five years of

fighting for answers D's family is finally seeing a measure of justice her brother Greg Hardy

who led the public campaign justice for D became emotional after the verdict saying the long

fight for validation was often difficult Warner will be sentenced May 7th and faces up to life

in prison and our final story today is the sentencing of a Nevada woman whose own prosecutor called

her a master manipulator and whose crime shocked even veteran investigators

a Las Vegas woman apologized in court as she was sentenced to decades in prison for the brutal

killing of her on and off again boyfriend 47-year-old former adult film star Devin Michaels received

28 years to life for the first degree murder of 46-year-old Jonathan Willett a Clark County jury

convicted Michaels in November after a two week trial the prosecutors described as disturbing

and bizarre the case drew national attention not only for the brutality of the killing but for the

complicated relationships surrounding it will that's body was discovered on August 6th 2023

inside his mother's home in Henderson Nevada he'd been beaten to death and decapitated

his body was found wrapped in blankets and doused with chemicals and investigators believe

his head was discarded in the trash near Michaels home in northwest Las Vegas it has never been

recovered during the investigation Michaels told police she had been giving Willett a massage

when she struck him in the head with what she described as a candlestick like object

causing him to go limp officers later found Willett's phone wallet keys and social security card

among her belongings prosecutors described Michaels as manipulative and pointed to her

relationship with Willett's own son Devere Michaels had previously been married to Jonathan Willett

and had two daughters with him but after their divorce she later married his adult son 29-year-old

Devere Willett testimony revealed the relationship began years earlier while Michaels was still

involved with Jonathan Willett creating what prosecutors described as a tangled love triangle

inside the same family according to investigators Jonathan Willett had recently gained custody of

the couple's daughters and was preparing to move back into Michaels home to help care for them

but that home was also where Michaels was living with Willett's son Devere

prosecutors argued that Willett's return threatened the life Michaels had built with Devere and

the children Michaels had initially accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder that would have

made her eligible for parole after 15 years but during a 2025 sentencing hearing she withdrew

the plea and proclaimed her innocence sending the case to trial where jurors ultimately found her

guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon at the hearing Willett's father told the court

that Michaels' daughters will grow up knowing their mother killed their father Judge Tiara Jones

sentenced Michaels to 20 years to life for the murder plus an additional 8-20 years for the deadly

weapon enhancement the sentence means she will not be eligible for parole until she served at least

28 years after years of investigation and court proceedings the sentence brings a measure of

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i'm your host stasi shroder welcome to tell me lies the official podcast what's the most

unhinged thing of season three Steven because he's so evil i do think he is misunderstood you see

everyone based consequences it's intoxicating the writers just know how to trick yeah there's always

a twist in this show tell me lies the official podcast January 6th and stream the new season of tell

me lies January 13th on hulu and hulu on disney plus hi listeners it's vinesa Richardson i wanted to

take a brief moment to tell you about another show from crime house that i know you'll love america's

most infamous crimes hosted by katie ring each week katie takes on a notorious crime whether

unfolding now or etched into american history revealing not just what happened but how it forever

changed our society serial killers who terrorized cities unsolved mysteries that keep detectives

up at night and investigations that changed the way we think about justice each case unfolds across

multiple episodes released every Tuesday through Thursday from the first sign that something

was wrong to the moment the truth came out or didn't these are the stories behind the headlines

listen to and follow america's most infamous crimes Tuesday through Thursday on apple podcasts

spotify amazon music or wherever you listen to podcasts before you go let me tell you what else

is happening at crime house today on serial killers and murderous minds we examine a case where

violence unfolded inside a home that appeared from the outside completely ordinary the street was

quiet the neighbors kept their routines nothing suggested that something catastrophic was happening

just beyond the walls after cases like this break a familiar phrase emerges we had no idea

it's not always denial often it's genuine shock the rhythms of daily life male delivery lawn

care weekend errands create a sense of predictability people assume that extreme violence would be

visible that it would make noise that it would disrupt the pattern but many of the most disturbing

crimes do not announce themselves they unfold in silence in private spaces sustained by the

architecture of domestic life and the social boundaries that keep neighbors from looking too

closely here are five cases where neighbors truly did not know what was happening next door

where horror coexisted with routine number one Dennis Raider the man known as BTK

for decades Dennis Raider lived in wichita cancess in a modest home that gave no outward

indication of the crimes tied to his name he worked as a compliance officer he attended church

regularly and eventually served as president of his congregation he participated in community life

behind that structured exterior raider was responsible for ten murders committed between 1974

and 1991 he bound tortured and killed his victims then returned to his family life

after a long period of silence he reinitiated contact with media and law enforcement in the early

2000s in 2005 he was arrested after digital forensic evidence linked him to communications he

believed were untraceable neighbors later described him as particular sometimes stern but not

threatening he shoveled snow he maintained his yard he existed within the expected range

of suburban normal what made the case so destabilizing was not only the brutality of the crimes

but the seamlessness of the dual life the man seen mowing his lawn was the same man who had terrorized

the region for years there had been no dramatic rupture in the neighborhood that suggested a serial

offender lived among them number two aerial Castro a house of captivity in Cleveland

aerial Castro's home in Cleveland Ohio stood in a working class neighborhood where residents

recognized one another and daily patterns felt familiar inside that house three young women who

had been reported missing years earlier were being held captive they were confined abused and

prevented from contacting the outside world for nearly a decade neighbors recalled seeing Castro

coming and going some remember unusual behavior boarded windows limited visitors but nothing

that definitively signaled long-term imprisonment the breakthrough came only when one of the captives

managed to escape in 2013 and alert authorities for years the crimes had existed within a few yards

of neighboring homes children played nearby cars passed daily the concealment depended less on a

elaborate deception and more on isolation and the assumption that private homes are private the

proximity did not translate to visibility number three Dennis Nielsen quiet streets in London

in late 1970s London Dennis Nielsen lived in a series of modest residences he worked in civil

service he rode public transportation he appeared reserved but functional inside his home he murdered

multiple young men he concealed bodies within the property sometimes storing them for extended periods

before attempting disposal complaints about plumbing issues eventually triggered investigation

human remains were discovered in drains and within the home itself neighbors later described him

as quiet and unremarkable there were no public altercations no visible signs of violence spilling

into the street the horror existed within the walls the routines of apartment life continued around

uninterrupted the case illustrates how long-term concealment can occur even in densely populated

areas shared walls and close quarters do not guarantee awareness when crimes are methodical

and contained number four Todd Colhep the successful realtor with a secret

Todd Colhep lived in South Carolina and worked as a real estate agent he presented as competent

successful and socially functional he bought and sold property he communicated professionally he

maintained the outward appearance of stability in 2016 authorities searching a rural property he

owned discovered a woman chained inside a shipping container she'd been held captive for months

investigators later connected Colhep to multiple murders including a quadruple homicide at a

motorcycle shop years earlier the property where the captive was found was not an obvious fortress

it was land he owned and used in the course of ordinary business those who interacted with him

professionally described him as direct sometimes abrasive but not overtly dangerous there was no

widespread suspicion that he was capable of serial violence Colhep's case demonstrates how

perpetrators can embed themselves within professional structures that reinforce legitimacy

his real estate career provided both financial cover and a reason to access isolated locations

the crimes did not announce themselves to neighbors or colleagues they existed beneath a layer

of occupational normalcy number five Fred and Rosemary West a house on Cromwell Street

Fred and Rosemary West lived in Gloucester England in a terrorist house that blended seamlessly

into the surrounding neighborhood the street was residential and unassuming inside and beneath

the property multiple victims were assaulted and murdered over years human remains were later

discovered buried in the cellar and garden for an extended period nothing outwardly

suggested the magnitude of violence concealed within the home the exterior did not signal catastrophe

the structure did not attract extraordinary attention when police excavated the property in the

1990s the revelation stunned the community the crimes had been geographically close to

neighbors who moved through daily routines unaware of what lay beneath the floor the case

stands as one of the starkest examples of domestic concealment the violence was not hidden in

distant wilderness it was embedded within a residential block why neighbors often don't see it

there's a persistent cultural assumption that extreme violence must look extreme from the outside

that it leaves visible fractures in daily life in reality many perpetrators rely on predictability

they maintain lawns they pay bills they attend work they exchange brief pleasantries

social norms discourage suspicion without clear cause privacy is respected curtains remain drawn

without comment even when small irregularities arise odd smells unusual schedules abrupt absences

they rarely assemble into a coherent picture until hindsight rearranges them

communities are structured around trust by default to treat every neighbor as a potential

threat would be socially unsustainable that default trust however creates blind spots in cases

like these the statement we had no idea reflects the limits of what proximity can reveal in today's

episode of serial killers and murderous minds we examine a case where the truth was concealed

inside a home that appeared entirely ordinary from the street the violence did not erupt in public

it did not announce itself it remained hidden until it couldn't for the full case study listen now

because sometimes the most disturbing crimes are not the ones that happen far away they are the ones

that happen next door unnoticed you've been listening to crime house 24-7 bringing you breaking

crime news i'm Vanessa Richardson we'll be back tomorrow morning with more developing stories

stay safe and thanks for listening

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listen to next check out america's most infamous crimes hosted by katie ring from serial killers

to unsolved mysteries and game changing investigations each week katie takes on a notorious

criminal case in american history listen to and follow america's most infamous crimes now

wherever you listen to podcasts