A North Carolina woman says a DNA test revealed she was conceived through “medical rape” by her mother’s fertility doctor more than 40 years ago. A Florida mother is accused of threatening to blow up her daughter’s high school after learning that her daughter’s boyfriend had his lunch taken away because his account was out of money. Drew Nelson reports.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Drew Nelson,
a North Carolina woman, says a DNA test revealed she
was conceived through what she calls medical rape by her
mother's fertility doctor more than forty years ago. Now forty
three years old, Summer McKesson of Atlanta made the discovery
after years of medical problems that left doctors puzzled.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Back in twenty twenty, I found out that I had
blood clots in my heart and lungs. A year later,
I had to have open heart surgery.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
That surgery coming at age forty, Her surgeon later noticed
her connective tissue was unusually fragile and suggested testing from
Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that can cause
cardiovascular failure if left untreated. When her geneticist confirmed the diagnosis,
McKesson tells CNN she was shocked. Neither of her parents
(00:48):
had the condition. She turned to genetic testing twenty three
and meters, hoping for clues about her health. Instead, she
found seven half siblings that she'd never met.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
My oldest half sibling a sixty one, and the youngest
is thirty nine.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
One month later, one of those siblings sent a message
suggesting that she asked her parents if they had gone
to see a doctor named Charles Pete. Mckesson's mother, Laurie Kruppa,
confirmed that she had been a patient of doctor Pete
at Duke University Hospital in the early nineteen eighties. Kroppas
said Pete told her that donor sperm would come from
a medical resident. Instead, he secretly used his own.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I didn't even know that they had IVF for sperm
donation back then, and so it was a shock. It
was almost paralyzing when I first found out to find
out my dad wasn't my dad.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
McKesson and another half sibling, Jim Harris, both discovered their
mothers were inseminated by Pete without consent.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Back then, they couldn't freeze sperm, so it had to
be fresh, and it was supposed to be an anonymous
medical student that looks like my dad.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Doctor Pete, who died in twenty thirteen at age eighty nine,
was once a respected obgyn and mentor at Duke. DNA
testing now suggests he father at least twelve children outside
his family, possibly more. Duke Health later acknowledged quote unacceptable
actions by a former physician had said such conduct quote
(02:10):
should never have happened. Fertility fraud, which is when a
doctor misrepresents the source of donor material, is not a
crime in North Carolina, though fourteen other states have passed
laws against it. McKesson and her mother say they have
considered civil action, but see few options since Pete is
deceased and no criminal statute applies. More crime and Justice
(02:32):
news after this, A Florida mother is accused of threatening
to blow up her daughter's high school after learning that
her daughter's boyfriend had his lunch taken away because his
account was out of money. That is so mean, police said,
Forty year old Brandy Covington of Rockledge called rock Ledge
(02:54):
High School and began yelling at a cafeteria worker. The
employee told officers Covington was quotquote irate because her daughter's
boyfriend had his school supplied lunch taken away from him
due to lack of funds. When the worker tried to
explain the policy for students with no balance, Covington allegedly
shouted and cursed before saying she would quote burn the
(03:14):
school down and quote be over there to blow that
school up. According to the arrest daffidavit. Minutes later, Covington
allegedly called the assistant principal's office and repeated the threats.
The vice principal told her he could not discuss another
student's account, but she continued cursing and again said she
would burn the school down before hanging up. Both calls
(03:35):
were reported to the school resource officer, who contacted police.
Investigators went to Covington's home about three hours later. After
being read her miranda rights, she admitted that she made
both calls, but denied threatening to harm the school. She
said she was quote because she had called the previous
week and was told someone would return her call, but
nobody ever did. Covington was arrested and charged with threatening
(03:57):
to throw, project place, or discharge destructive device, which is
a second degree felony under Florida law. She was booked
into the Brevard County Jail Complex and released on a
seventy five thousand dollars bond. If convicted, Covington could face
up to fifteen years in prison and a ten thousand
dollars fine. Her next court appearance is scheduled for November eighteenth.
The incident has sparked a debate online, with some users
(04:20):
criticizing the school for taking food from a student who
couldn't pay. One comment read quote, the real crime here
is that schools are starving poor kids. Rocklitch police said
the threat was taken seriously given a recent rise in
school related bomb threats across Brevard County, including a case
involving a fifteen year old charged the same week for
threatening another local school. The FBI wants to locate Barry
(04:45):
James Deemer, a Pennsylvania man accused of trying to have
his ex girlfriend killed nearly thirty years ago. Investigator say Deemer,
who would now be eighty if he's still alive, allegedly
supplied another person with a semi automatic pistol and ammunition
in Westmoreland County in October over of nineteen ninety five,
asking that they murder his ex girlfriend. He was arrested
and released on bond, but skipped court twice, leading to
(05:07):
multiple bench warrns. In February nineteen ninety seven, federal authorities
charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after he vanished.
Deemer was described as five nine, two forty with brown
hair and green eyes as scars on his right wrists
and ankle, and is known to play multiple instruments, including
the accordion. The FBI says he often sold fake merchandise
(05:28):
at flea markets and liked to attend auto shows and
gun shows, particularly around Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Covington, Kentucky. Agents
believe he may be traveling with his long term girlfriend,
Sally Ann Subtle, who is not a fugitive. Anyone with
information is urged to contact the Pittsburgh FBI Field Office
or the nearest US embassy or consulate. He is to
(05:48):
be considered armed and dangerous. Tipsters can go to tips
dot FBI dot gov or call eight hundred call FBI.
To the latest crime and justice news, follow Krimelaer's hourly
update on your favorite podcast app with this crime alert.
I'm Drew Nelson, MHM.
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Drew Nelson,
a North Carolina woman, says a DNA test revealed she
was conceived through what she calls medical rape by her
mother's fertility doctor more than forty years ago. Now forty
three years old, Summer McKesson of Atlanta made the discovery
after years of medical problems that left doctors puzzled.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Back in twenty twenty, I found out that I had
blood clots in my heart and lungs. A year later,
I had to have open heart surgery.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
That surgery coming at age forty, Her surgeon later noticed
her connective tissue was unusually fragile and suggested testing from
Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that can cause
cardiovascular failure if left untreated. When her geneticist confirmed the diagnosis,
McKesson tells CNN she was shocked. Neither of her parents
(00:48):
had the condition. She turned to genetic testing twenty three
and meters, hoping for clues about her health. Instead, she
found seven half siblings that she'd never met.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
My oldest half sibling a sixty one, and the youngest
is thirty nine.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
One month later, one of those siblings sent a message
suggesting that she asked her parents if they had gone
to see a doctor named Charles Pete. Mckesson's mother, Laurie Kruppa,
confirmed that she had been a patient of doctor Pete
at Duke University Hospital in the early nineteen eighties. Kroppas
said Pete told her that donor sperm would come from
a medical resident. Instead, he secretly used his own.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I didn't even know that they had IVF for sperm
donation back then, and so it was a shock. It
was almost paralyzing when I first found out to find
out my dad wasn't my dad.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
McKesson and another half sibling, Jim Harris, both discovered their
mothers were inseminated by Pete without consent.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Back then, they couldn't freeze sperm, so it had to
be fresh, and it was supposed to be an anonymous
medical student that looks like my dad.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Doctor Pete, who died in twenty thirteen at age eighty nine,
was once a respected obgyn and mentor at Duke. DNA
testing now suggests he father at least twelve children outside
his family, possibly more. Duke Health later acknowledged quote unacceptable
actions by a former physician had said such conduct quote
(02:10):
should never have happened. Fertility fraud, which is when a
doctor misrepresents the source of donor material, is not a
crime in North Carolina, though fourteen other states have passed
laws against it. McKesson and her mother say they have
considered civil action, but see few options since Pete is
deceased and no criminal statute applies. More crime and Justice
(02:32):
news after this, A Florida mother is accused of threatening
to blow up her daughter's high school after learning that
her daughter's boyfriend had his lunch taken away because his
account was out of money. That is so mean, police said,
Forty year old Brandy Covington of Rockledge called rock Ledge
(02:54):
High School and began yelling at a cafeteria worker. The
employee told officers Covington was quotquote irate because her daughter's
boyfriend had his school supplied lunch taken away from him
due to lack of funds. When the worker tried to
explain the policy for students with no balance, Covington allegedly
shouted and cursed before saying she would quote burn the
(03:14):
school down and quote be over there to blow that
school up. According to the arrest daffidavit. Minutes later, Covington
allegedly called the assistant principal's office and repeated the threats.
The vice principal told her he could not discuss another
student's account, but she continued cursing and again said she
would burn the school down before hanging up. Both calls
(03:35):
were reported to the school resource officer, who contacted police.
Investigators went to Covington's home about three hours later. After
being read her miranda rights, she admitted that she made
both calls, but denied threatening to harm the school. She
said she was quote because she had called the previous
week and was told someone would return her call, but
nobody ever did. Covington was arrested and charged with threatening
(03:57):
to throw, project place, or discharge destructive device, which is
a second degree felony under Florida law. She was booked
into the Brevard County Jail Complex and released on a
seventy five thousand dollars bond. If convicted, Covington could face
up to fifteen years in prison and a ten thousand
dollars fine. Her next court appearance is scheduled for November eighteenth.
The incident has sparked a debate online, with some users
(04:20):
criticizing the school for taking food from a student who
couldn't pay. One comment read quote, the real crime here
is that schools are starving poor kids. Rocklitch police said
the threat was taken seriously given a recent rise in
school related bomb threats across Brevard County, including a case
involving a fifteen year old charged the same week for
threatening another local school. The FBI wants to locate Barry
(04:45):
James Deemer, a Pennsylvania man accused of trying to have
his ex girlfriend killed nearly thirty years ago. Investigator say Deemer,
who would now be eighty if he's still alive, allegedly
supplied another person with a semi automatic pistol and ammunition
in Westmoreland County in October over of nineteen ninety five,
asking that they murder his ex girlfriend. He was arrested
and released on bond, but skipped court twice, leading to
(05:07):
multiple bench warrns. In February nineteen ninety seven, federal authorities
charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after he vanished.
Deemer was described as five nine, two forty with brown
hair and green eyes as scars on his right wrists
and ankle, and is known to play multiple instruments, including
the accordion. The FBI says he often sold fake merchandise
(05:28):
at flea markets and liked to attend auto shows and
gun shows, particularly around Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Covington, Kentucky. Agents
believe he may be traveling with his long term girlfriend,
Sally Ann Subtle, who is not a fugitive. Anyone with
information is urged to contact the Pittsburgh FBI Field Office
or the nearest US embassy or consulate. He is to
(05:48):
be considered armed and dangerous. Tipsters can go to tips
dot FBI dot gov or call eight hundred call FBI.
To the latest crime and justice news, follow Krimelaer's hourly
update on your favorite podcast app with this crime alert.
I'm Drew Nelson, MHM.
Host
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