Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

When Linda Brown misses the first day of school after winter break, loved ones know something is wrong. Linda would never let her students down. Linda is a beloved special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, happily married to Antwon Brown. Chicago PD is desperately searching for the missing school teacher. The special educator was last seen by her husband on Friday evening and by neighbors Saturday morning. Linda misses a weekly appointment that day, and isn’t answering her phone. Concern turns to fear when Linda hasn’t returned home on Sunday. Though Antwon last saw Linda Friday night, neighbors say they spotted her Saturday morning near their home.Linda’s purse, with her wallet and phone, is missing from the home, and her phone rings when called. Family members and friends retrace the teacher’s last known steps, but don’t find any leads. Her sister’s husband, Lorenzo, tells “Crime Stories” staff that Linda’s vehicle has been located at 35th and Lake Park. Security footage also shows her walking across a pedestrian bridge alone on January 3, at around 3 a.m., according to the husband. Linda is 5 feet tall, 130 pounds, with brown hair and eyes, last seen wearing a long, puffy black coat with shiny Ugg-style boots. Authorities are searching the area where her blue Honda Civic, plate number CX57470, was located on Wednesday afternoon. Anyone with information on Linda Brown should contact Chicago PD SVU detectives at 312-747-8380. Joining Nancy Grace today: Matthew Mangino - Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County, PA); Author: "The Executioner's Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States" Dr. Janie Lacy - Licensed Psychotherapist and CEO of Life Counseling Solutions, Author of "How To Heal From A Toxic Relationship: A Guide To Reclaiming Your Mental Health and Happiness," and Host of “The Resilient Professional” Podcast on YouTube; Instagram & Facebook: @JanieLacy Brian Fitzgibbons - Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security (leads a team of investigators specializing in locating missing persons), and Former Marine and Iraq War Veteran; Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security Rhonda Dequier- Founder of Missing In America Network Leslie Moreno - Reporter at FOX 32 Chicago; Instagram: LeslieMorenoTV Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, "Crime Stories" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fatal Festivities: A negligent neighbor is facing manslaughter charges after accidentally gunning down a granny while testing out a new Glock he got for Christmas. A man stabs his ex-GF dead in her apartment, files a bogus missing report -then, bolts to India...before cops close in. Plus, an arrest that wasn't par for the course! Jennifer Gould reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Reiner appears in court to enter a plea to the killings of his parents. While Reiner already had an opportunity to do so in December, defense attorney Alan Jackson asked to delay the arraignment for a true chance to speak with his client, whom he had only had about half an hour before his initial appearance. Just ahead of his arraignment, Nick Reiner is moved off of suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Reiner no longer has to wear a padded smock and is now allowed a yellow shirt with his blue uniform pants. Reiner isn’t completely off the hook, still held alone in High Observation Housing until a judge orders he can move elsewhere. Even if Reiner is released from HOH, he will still be closely monitored and have a cell to himself. Experts say Nick Reiner trading a suicide smock for a standard uniform is a tactical victory for the District Attorney, preventing Reiner’s attorneys from arguing he’s too catatonic to participate in his own defense. The court will soon determine if this perceived stability is a result of medication or a genuine return to legal competence. Prosecutors will pounce on Reiner’s statements about cycles of homelessness and rehabilitation, painting him as someone who has long operated outside conventional stability, then use Being Charlie against him—the film demonstrating Reiner’s high level of self-awareness and creative agency. The outcome of the Reiner trial may set a new standard in California law: how mental disability is weighed against special allegations. Joining Nancy Grace: Heather Michaels - Reiner Family Friend and Neighbor, Investigative Reporter, Producer and Social Justice Advocate; Instagram: HeatherMichaelsTV, Facebook: HeatherSMichaels Chris Melcher - Celebrity Lawyer and Partner at Walzer Melcher & Yoda with Deep Experience in Complex Family Law Litigation Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Rob Shuter - Host: Naughty But Nice Podcast, Author of Newly-released Novel, “It Started With A Whisper;" and Former Publicist of Sean Combs; IG: @naughtygossip Dr. Thomas Coyne - Chief Medical Examiner, District 2 Medical Examiner's Office, State of Florida; Forensic Pathologist, Neuropathologist, Toxicologist; X: @DrTMCoyne Alexis Tereszcuk - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, ‘Crime Stories’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prominent California Farmer Pleads Not Guilty To Fatally Shooting Estranged Wife | Crime Alert 6AM 01.07.2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private investigator Steve Fischer tells Nancy Grace that a chainsaw was found in the home rented by D4vd, and the chainsaw was still unwrapped. PI Steve Fischer claims he also found a "burn cage" inside the home rented for Burke by his manager. Employed by the property owner to determine what took place in his house, Fischer uncovered items still in their original packaging that were unused. The incinerator is illegal in Los Angeles, delivered to the residence under a fake name, and claims to reach a temperature of 1,600 degrees. The LA police department Chief Jim McDonnell is remaining silent about the Burke investigation, saying public statements could "potentially jeopardize the case." The LAPD obtained a court order to keep the medical examiner's full autopsy findings sealed to maintain the integrity of the investigation. David Michael Burke will likely be indicted in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Joining Nancy Grace today: Danny Rubin (Los Angeles) - Criminal Defense Lawyer and Founder of Rubin Law, PC Caryn Stark - Forensic Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Steve Fischer - Missing Persons Private Investigator, Search & Rescue Specialist, & Owner of Search Investigations (he has been hired by the owner of the Hollywood Hills property where D4vd had been staying to look into this case); Facebook: SearchInvestigations, X: @SF_Investigates Brian Fitzgibbons - Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security, Leads a team of Investigators Specializing in Locating Missing Persons; Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security; Former Marine and Iraq War Veteran Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author of "Blood Beneath My Feet," Host of "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;" Instagram @JoScottForensic Melissa McCarty - Investigative Journalist, Author of “The Confident Voice: Speak with Calm, Clarity and Connection" and "The Making of a Crime Reporter;" Instagram: MelissaMcCarty1 Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.