True Crime Arizona AZFamily News Podcasts

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

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.