Jan. 5, 2026

"KILLER MOM PLEADS NOT GUILTY, KOHBERGER'S PRISON MELTDOWN & MANGIONE FIGHTS DEATH PENALTY"

Show Notes
Transcript

Reid Carter returns from the 12 Crimes of Christmas special with updates you may have missed. Ashlee Buzzard pleaded not guilty to murdering her nine-year-old daughter Melodee, whose body was found in rural Utah with gunshot wounds to the head. Courtroom erupted in gasps. Bryan Kohberger is "not responding well" behind bars - guards call the Idaho student killer a "diva" filing constant complaints about food and fellow inmates. Supporters sent him $28,000. Luigi Mangione's lawyers claim Attorney General Pam Bondi has conflict of interest seeking death penalty because her former lobbying firm represented UnitedHealthcare's parent company.

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WEBVTT

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Callaroga Shark Media. Good morning. I'm Reed Carter. Monday, January fifth,

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twenty twenty six. Hope you enjoyed our twelve Crimes of

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Christmas special while the courts were closed. From John Benet

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Ramsay to Drew Peterson, we covered some of the most

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infamous cases in American history. But the courts are open again.

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A new year of crime and justice and trials begins today.

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Before we look ahead, let's catch up on some stories

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that broke over the holidays. Melody Buzzard, nine years old,

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went missing in October. Her mother, Ashley, wore wigs, switched

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license plates, and led police on a multi state wild

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goose chase. Two weeks ago, Melody's body was found in

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rural Utah, gunshot wounds to the head. Her own mother

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charged with murder. Friday, Ashley Buzzard stood in a California

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courtroom and pleaded not guilty. The gallery erupted Brian Cooberger,

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the Idaho student killer who murdered four college students in

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twenty twenty two. He's been in maximum security prison since July,

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and according to sources inside, he's not handling it well,

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complaining about food filing grievances, threatening self harm. Guards are

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calling him a diva. His supporters have sent him twenty

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eight thousand dollars for commissary an. Investigators say he's transforming

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into his own vision of Hannibal Lecter and Luigi Mangoni.

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The CEO Assassin is fighting the death penalty with a

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new argument conflict of interest. His lawyer's claim Attorney General

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Pam Bondi should have recused herself from the case because

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her former lobbying firm represented United Healthcare's parent company. A

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hearing is set for January ninth. I'm reed, Carter Courts

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are back in session. Let's get to work. This is

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celebrity Trials. Friday, December twenty sixth, Santa Maria, California, Santa

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Barbara County Superior Court. Ashley Buzzard, forty years old, walked

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into the courtroom for her arraignment. Natural blonde, curly hair,

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no makeup, a blouse instead of jail attire. The woman

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who'd spent months wearing wigs and evading police now stood

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before a judge. The gallery was packed melodies, family media,

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true crime observers, everyone waiting to hear what this mother

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would say about murdering her nine year old daughter. Judge

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John McGregor asked for her plea not guilty. The courtroom

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erupted gasps. Someone muttered, oh my God. Officials had to

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quiet the gallery. Family members broke down in tears erupted

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in anger. Ashley also denied the special allegations lying in

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wait and discharging a firearm causing death. Her attorney requested

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and received a temporary gag order, preventing Sheriff Bill Brown

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and his employees from speaking further about the case. Ur

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prosecutors announced they won't seek the death penalty, but they're

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asking for life in prison without parole. Ashley remains in

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jail without bail. Preliminary hearing set for January seventh. Let

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me tell you how we got here. October fourteenth, twenty

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twenty five, a school administrator in Lompoc, California, called the

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Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office. They were concerned about nine

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year old Melody Buzzard. She'd been homeschooled, required to pick

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up coursework from the school district with a parent, but

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nobody had seen Melody since August. Two months a nine

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year old girl hadn't been seen for two months, deputies

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went to the family home on Mars Avenue. Ashley Buzzard

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was there, but her daughter wasn't and Ashley wasn't talking.

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Detectives started digging found evidence that Ashley and Melody had

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taken a road trip in a rented vehicle multi state Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona,

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Nevada back to California. And here's where it gets to

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start herbing. Ashley and Melody were last seen together on

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surveillance footage on October ninth, near the Colorado Utah border,

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both wearing wigs. Ashley had switched the license plates on

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the rental car. She backed into gas stations to avoid

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surveillance cameras. This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking,

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Sheriff Brown said, given the calculated, cold blooded, and criminally

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sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it. On

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October tenth, Ashley returned home to California alone. Where was Melody?

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Ashley wouldn't say. Detectives described deliberate efforts to prevent them

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from locating Melody and uncovering the truth. The mother was

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uncooperative throughout the investigation. For two months, police searched the

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FBI joined the case. Search warrants were executed on Ashley's home. Then,

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on December sixth, the break, two people taking photographs near

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Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne count On A, Utah,

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discovered human remains in a rural area badly decomposed. Authorities

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couldn't immediately identify them, but FBI crime lab analysis confirmed it.

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The remains were a familial DNA match to Ashley Buzzard.

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December twenty second, the identification was confirmed December twenty third,

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Ashleigh Buzzard was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

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The coroner determined that Melody died from multiple gunshot wounds

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to the head. Her own mother shot her in the

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head multiple times. And here's the evidence linking Ashleigh to

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the murder. Cartridge cases found at the crime scene in

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Utah were positively linked to an expended cartridge case found

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in Ashley's home during one of the searches. Also matched

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a live round of similar ammunition found in the rental car.

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The gun has never been recovered, the motive has never

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been determined. This is an extraordinarily tragic case involving the

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murder of a child by the very person she relied

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upon and trusted the most. Sheriff Brown said, while maternal

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phylicide is rare and difficult to comprehend, the evidence in

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this case clearly indicates a calculated, deliberate, and ruthless act.

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Melody's family has spoken out. Her paternal uncle, Marvin Mesa,

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called Ashley's actions despicable. Her paternal grandmother, Lily Dean's told

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reporters outside the courthouse, You're a mother, I'm a mother,

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I'm a grandmother. How can you do that to a baby.

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Family members say Ashley isolated Melody after her father's death.

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Rubiel Misa, Melody's father, died in a motorcycle accident. After that,

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Ashley cut the girl off from the world, suffered from

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mental health issues, lost custody of Melody. At one point,

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was in significant debt. There were so many hurdles, just

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so much going on within the family. Melody's aunt, Elizabeth Masa,

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said the system failed her by giving her back to

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a mother time and time again when she was unstable.

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The system failed her. Those words echo through every case

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like this. How does a nine year old go missing

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for two months before anyone reports it? How does a

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mother with known mental health issues, who'd previously lost custody,

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end up alone with her child on a cross country

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road trip. How does she allegedly murder her daughter in

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rural Utah and drive home without anyone noticing The system failed? Melody, Buzzard,

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and now she's dead. Melody was nine years old. Should

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be in fourth grade, should be learning multiplication tables and

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making friends and dreaming about what she wants to be

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when she grows up. Rest in peace, Melody, someone has

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to say your name. We'll be right back. With Brian

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Coberger's prison meltdown and Luigi Mangione's fight against the death penalty.

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Brian Coburger murdered four University of Idaho students on November thirteenth,

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twenty twenty two. Kaylee Goncalves twenty one, Madison Mogan twenty one,

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Xana Kernodle twenty Ethan Chapin twenty stabbed to death in

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their beds in the middle of the night. In July

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twenty twenty five, Coburger pleaded guilty, entered the plea himself,

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controlling his own narrative, showed no emotion in court, refused

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to reveal his motive, refused to say where the murder

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weapon was He was sentenced to life without parole, transported

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to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Kuna, eighteen miles

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south of Boise, a five hundred and thirty five man

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prison that bail bondsman Kevin Corson calls an awful dark place.

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Five months later, according to sources inside the prison, Coburger

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is falling apart. Murder is about control, said Howard Blum,

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an investigative reporter who wrote a book about the Idaho murders,

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and prison is the ultimate situation where you have no control.

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He's not responding well to that. Guards at the facility

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view Coburger as a diva. According to Chris McDonough, a

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retired homicide detective who works for the Cold Case Foundation,

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the prison is already short staffed. McDonough said they're working

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twelve hour shifts and then they are also dealing with

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his constant complaints. He takes up extra time because whenever

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a complaint is in writing, they have to respond to it.

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He is just relentless in sending communications to the prison guards.

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Coburger's problem started on day one. On his first night

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behind bars, the menu included hot dogs, salad, and jello

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pie not exactly gourmet cuisine, but this is prison, not

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a resort. Within his first two days, Coburger filed two complaints,

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one requesting a move to another part of the prison,

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another complaining about the food. His aunt and unle previously

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said Coburger was o c d about meals, once demanded

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they buy new pots and pans that hadn't touched meat

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before preparing food for him. In a handwritten complaint obtained

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by the Idaho Statesman, Coburger wrote, I have, on several

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occasions not received all items of food on my tray.

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The policy book confirms items missing which are pointed out

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during service will be replaced. I wish to, without exception,

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receive these replacements. The nutritional standard is not being upheld

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unless I receive my full tray. The bananas were the

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wrong type. Let that sink in. A man who stabbed

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four college students to death is complaining that the bananas

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are wrong. By the end of his fifth week in prison,

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Coburger had filed five formal complaints. But it's not just

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the food. Coburger is being held in Isolation Unit two

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of J Block twenty three hours a day in his

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cell one hour for exercise, and his fellow inmates they

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would heckle him through the vents between cells, McDonough said,

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menacing him with warnings of sexual assault. Coburger has complained

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about the abuse, filed more grievances, but complaining about other

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inmates in prison, that's not how you survive. It's a

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bad thing to draw attention to yourself when you're in prison,

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McDonough said. The inmates take note of everything in the facility.

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They've got all the time in the world for the

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rest of their lives, so they watch and they listen.

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Complaining about other inmates is not ever the right position

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to take in prison. You just want to shut your

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mouth and do your time. Last month, a prison source

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told reporters that Coburger was threatening to harm himself unless

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he was moved to another part of the prison, but

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he's still in j block. The prison apparently evaluated him

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and determined he wasn't actually a danger to himself. Making

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threats you don't follow through on smart way to lose credibility.

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And here's what might be making Coburger a target. Money

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supporters of the quadruple Murderer donated twenty eight thousand dollars

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to him while he was in jail awaiting trial. That

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money is available for commissary purchases, hygiene products, extra food,

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writing materials, things other inmates don't have. If two people

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are in for the rest of their lives for murder

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and they have nobody outside and their inmate next door

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has twenty eight thousand dollars on the books and you

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have fifty cents, what are you going to do? McDonough said,

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they are going to say, we're going to share while

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you're in prison. There's a subculture within the prison system,

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and it's a pecking order. Coburger's attitude isn't helping. He

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doesn't talk to people. He talks down to people. McDonough said.

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He thinks he's all that he's patronizing. Doctor Catherine Ramsland,

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a professor of forensic psychology who taught Coburger while he

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was studying for his master's degree, was asked if this

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behavior was in character. Nothing about offender surprises me, she said.

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Howard Bloom thinks Coburger will eventually start talking, seek attention,

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try to control his narrative again. He thinks he's a professor.

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In many ways, Bloom said he's going to be his

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vision of a Hannibal Lecter who can both be a

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serial killer and be above being a serial killer, being

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above the fray, commenting on it, and offering introspection and

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insight into the mind of a killer. Hannibal Lecter, that's

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who Brian Coburger wants to be. A sophisticated monster, an

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intellectual predator, someone who can analyze his own evil from

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a position of superiority. Accept Hannibal Lecter is fiction, and

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Brian Koeberger is a thirty one year old man complaining

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about bananas in an Idaho prison. He killed four kids,

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stabbed them to death, and now he's upset that the

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commissary doesn't have the right produce make it make sense.

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Kayley Goncalves was twenty one, Madison Mogan was twenty one,

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Xana Kernodle was twenty. Ethan Chapin was twenty. They should

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be graduating college, starting careers, living their lives. Rest in peace.

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Someone has to say their names. Luigi Mangione, the twenty

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seven year old Ivy League graduate accused of assassinating United

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Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk in December

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twenty twenty four, Mangoni faces federal charges that carry the

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death penalty. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that

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she was directing prosecutors to seek capital punishment, calling it

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a premeditated, cold blooded assassination that shocked America. But Mangioni's

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defense team has a new argument, conflict of interest. In

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a court filing late Friday, Mangione's lawyers contend that Bondi's

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decision to seek the death penalty was tainted by her

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prior work as a lobbyist. Before becoming Attorney General, Bondi

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was a partner at Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm, and

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Ballard Partners represented United Health Group, the parent company of

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United Healthcare. The company Brian Thompson led. The defense calls

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this a profound conflict of interest that violated Mangioni's due

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process rights, and it gets worse. Bondi made a vow

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before taking office that she would follow ethical regulations and

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bow out of matters pertaining to Ballard clients for a year.

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Mangoni's lawyers say she broke that vow by involving herself

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in the death penalty decision. They also argue Bondi continues

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to profit from her work for Ballard through a profit

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sharing arrangement and a defined contribution plan. The firm administers

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the very person empowered to seek Mangioni's death as a

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financial stake in the case she is prosecuting. His lawyers

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wrote her conflict of interest should have caused her to

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recuse herself from making any decision on this case. Mangione's

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defense team, led by husband and wife attorneys Karen Friedman

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Agnifilo and Mark Agnifilo, wants prosecutors barred from seeking the

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death penalty and some charges thrown out. They also want

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to exclude evidence from the case, including the gun police

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say match the one used to kill Thompson, and a

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notebook where Mangioni allegedly described his intent to whack a

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health insurance executive. A hearing is scheduled for January ninth.

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This follows a marathon pre trial hearing that ended last week.

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In Mangoni's state case, his lawyers are fighting to suppress

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the same evidence the gun, the notebook, and other items

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found during his arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

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A ruling isn't expected until May. In previous filings, Manjones

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lawyers argued that Bondi's public statements about the case, including

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Instagram posts and a TV appearance where she suggested Mangoni

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deserves execution, showed the death penalty decision was based on politics,

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not merit. They also cited a highly choreographed perp walk

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where Mangione was led up a Manhattan pier by armed

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officers as evidence the government was more interested in spectacle

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than justice. Federal prosecutors have pushed back. They argued that

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pre trial publicity, even when intense, is not itself a

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constitutional defect. They say concerns about publicity can be addressed

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by carefully questioning prospective jurors, but the conflict of interest

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argument is different. If Bondi had a financial stake in

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United Health Group's success, and she personally directed prosecutors to

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seek the death penalty against the man who killed their CEO,

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that's a problem. Mangoni's lawyers say they want to investigate

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Bondi's ties to Ballard and the firm's relationship with United

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Health Group. They're asking for documents about compensation from the firm.

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Any direction she's given Justice Department employees regarding the case

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and sworn testimony from anyone with knowledge of the relevant matters.

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The January very ninth hearing will determine whether the defense

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can pursue this line of attack. Meanwhile, Mangione remains in custody.

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He's pleaded not guilty to both federal and state murder charges.

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Neither trial has been scheduled. Brian Thompson was fifty years

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old CEO of United Healthcare, shot in the back while

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walking to an investor conference. Whatever grievances Luigi Mangioni had

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about the healthcare system, murder isn't activism, it's terrorism. The

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trial will determine guilt, The legal battles will determine punishment.

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But the victim deserves to be remembered as more than

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a symbol rest in peace. Brian Thompson. That's celebrity trials

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for Monday, January fifth, twenty twenty six. Ashley Buzzard pleaded

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not guilty to murdering her nine year old daughter, Melody.

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Body found in Utah with gunshot wounds to the head.

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Preliminary hearing January seventh. Ryan Coberger is struggling in prison,

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complaining about food filing grievances, threatening self harm, guards call

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him a diva, has twenty eight thousand dollars from supporters

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and an attitude problem, and Luigi Mangione's lawyers are fighting

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the death penalty, claiming Attorney General Pam Bondi has a

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conflict of interest because her former lobbying firm represented United

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Healthcare's parent company. Hearing January ninth, courts are back in session.

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The new year of crime and Justice begins. I'm reed, Carter,

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see you tomorrow. This is celebrity trials.