An 18-year-old from Galveston County, Texas will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his girlfriend’s grandmother after she refused to let him spend the night. A Texas teenager will spend 65 years in prison for a drug-impaired crash that wiped out six members of a family on the day after Christmas in 2023. Drew Nelson reports.
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Episode Transcript
Crime Alard hourly update, Breaking crime news Now.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Drew Nelson, an eighteen year old from Galveston County, Texas,
is set to spend the rest of his life in
prison for killing his girlfriend's grandmother after she refused to
let him spend the night. Uriah Urick was convicted of
capital murder for the February shooting death of sixty one
year old Tammy King inside her backlift home. Majory Fine
(00:23):
Junior guilty study filly offense. The caplomber as Charvey I
been signed by the four prison jury. Jurors deliberated less
than four hours before returning the guilty verdicts the mandatory sentence.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Life without parole.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Prosecutors say Urick and his seventeen year old girlfriend, Tara King,
plotted the killing for weeks. Text and Instagram messages show
them planning to rob and kill Tammy for her money, guns,
and other valuables.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
One message read quote kill her at four, while.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Another said quote five point fifty six shred through skin,
referring to rifle caliber. Prosecutor Kate Willis told jurors the
case showed what happens quote when young love turns dark.
Tammy's body was found nude and hidden under a pile
of sheets by her boyfriend. The house was ransacked with
mattresses blocking windows and a dryer pushed against the back door.
(01:12):
Safes were emptied and thousands of dollars were transferred from
Tammy's bank account to Tara's cash shap with unsuccessful attempts
to steal another five thousand and twenty thousand dollars. Investigators
learned Urick had secretly been living in Tara's bedroom, hiding
under the bed. Her mother later told detectives that Tara
hated her grandmother for refusing to let Urik stay overnight.
(01:33):
Urick's mother described him as mentally unstable and violent, saying
she believed he was capable of murder. After the killing,
the pair fled toward Laredo. They cut and dyed their hair,
offered money for rides, and tried to sell the stolen guns.
A cooperating witness, Travis Wayne Hodge, testified that Urick offered
him one thousand dollars for a ride to the border
(01:54):
of Mexico and said he quote couldn't get the smell
of burning.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Flesh out of his nose.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Hodge later helped investigators recover the murder weapons, and is
serving a ten year sentence for drug and firearm charges
in exchange for his cooperation. Defense attorney Bill Agnew admitted
Urik's role, but argued the robbery wasn't proven, calling the
teen's quote two naive drug influence teenagers chasing independence not money.
(02:19):
Jurors sided with prosecutors, concluding that Urik killed Tammy while
robbing her, meeting the legal standard for capital murder. Tera King,
who allegedly told friends that she wanted her grandmother to die,
is set to go on trial in January. If convicted,
she also faces mandatory life without parole.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
More Crime and Justice news after this.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
A Texas teenager will spend sixty five years in prison
for a drug impaired crash that wiped out six members
of a family on the day after Christmas twenty twenty three.
Luke Garrett Reysecker, now nineteen, was convicted in Johnson County
for causing the head on collision near Cleburne while under
the influence of THHC. Prosecutors say he crossed the center
line of US Highway sixty seven in his Chevrolet Silverado,
(03:09):
slamming into a Honda Odyssey carrying a Georgia family returning
from a holiday visit to the.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Resecker's driver's license photo, widely misreported as a mug shot,
shows him grinning, a detail that infuriated victim's relatives and
drew outrage online. Prosecutors later said the image captured his
quote sheer indifference to the devastation he caused. The crash
killed rushield Berry, twenty eight of Irving, and five relatives
from Alpharetta, Georgia, Navina Patabatula thirty six, Critique Patabatula ten,
(03:42):
Nishida Patabatula nine, Najaswara Rau Pananda sixty four, and Sita
Maha Lakshmi Pananda, aged sixty All are Indian nationals who
spoke to Lugu. The family's lone survivor, Lokesh Patabatula, forty three,
was left paralyzed from the waist down, having lost his wife,
two children, cousin and in laws. Investigators said Resecker's truck
(04:05):
was littered with THHC, wax of EIGHTE pen and loose
marijuana flower. Toxicology confirmed active THHC in his system at
the time of the crash. His seventeen year old passenger,
Presston Glass, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him
mentally impaired. Photos showed in court depict a twisted metal
and shattered glass strewn across the highway. The victims' bodies
(04:26):
were flown back to India on New Year's Eve. Family
friend Sunita Gudipali, organized to GoFundMe to help with funeral costs,
writing quote, we want to ease their financial strain during
this difficult time. State Representative Michelle al later confirmed that
Ritique attended Autrey Middle School and Nishidah was a fourth
grader at Dolven Elementary. Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Miller invoked
(04:50):
each name and her closing argument quote justice for Rushiel,
justice for Navina, Justice for Nagashwari Rau, Justice for Sita
Maha Lakshmi, Justice for Critique, justice for Lokesh, and justice
for this community. Resecer was convicted on all fourteen counts,
including intoxication, manslaughter, intoxication, assault, and drug possession. The District
(05:11):
Attorney's office called it quote by no means an easy case,
praising jurors and investigators for their work. Prosecutors said the
tragedy remains a sobering reminder of the irreversible consequences of
impaired driving and reckless driving. For the latest crime and
justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite
podcast app with this crime Alert, I'm Drew Nelson.
Host
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