Crime Alert 02.03.25 | Children's Author Abuses Three Adopted Children

A children's book author and her husband abuse and neglect their three adopted children. New York drug counselor is dealing crack under the table!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace, breaking crime news now. Jennifer
and John Wolfthall, adoptive parents to three young children, rushed
their eight year old daughter to the hospital unconscious in
organ failure and injured. The eight year old extremely malnourished.
Doctors don't think the swollen bruise on the back of
her head and severe cuts are related to a fall.

(00:22):
On a visit to the home, police officers find their
two older children, nine and eleven, also showing signs of
neglect and abuse.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Nancy Jennifer Wolfthall is a children's author, but her book
A Real Friend has now been ripped from shelves. The
wolf Thals adopted their children in twenty fourteen and did
not regularly feed or bathe them, spanked them to the
point of drawing blood, and douse them in bed with
cold water, leaving them to sleep in wet bedding. The
little girl was diagnosed with pneumonia in a staph infection,

(00:53):
but is said to be doing better after weeks of
round the clock care.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Jennifer and John wolfthaal convict that have aggravated child abuse
and neglect resulting in great bodily harm, sent us to
twelve and ten years in prison, respectively.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
In a plea deal.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Prosecutor struck to avoid re traumatizing the children at trial.
This dealer thought he had the perfect cover for his
cocaine business. Alvin Lewis works as a drug counselor at
a New York rehab all while distributing cocaine under the table.
After multiple reports from the public, cops sent under covers
to visit Lewis, who happily collects their money. Lewis shot

(01:30):
when he's pulled over and arrested. A few hours later.
Searches off his home and car revealed a large number
of prepackaged baggies of crack. Alvin Lewis, fifty four, charged
with delivery and seal of a controlled substance. More crime
and justice news after this Now with the latest crime

(01:50):
and justice breaking news.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Crime Onlines. John Limley, the man who shot and killed
a Kentucky Sheritt's deputy during a routine traffic stop, will
spend the rest of his life life behind bars. Forty
seven year old Stephen Shingshang pleaded guilty in a Scott
County courtroom to multiple charges, including the twenty twenty three
murder of Deputy Caleb Conley. He was sentenced to life

(02:12):
in prison without parole plus seventy years, though that time
will run Concurrently, authorities say Shingshang fled after the shooting,
committing a string of crimes across Scott and Fayette Counties.
In total, he admitted to fourteen felonies. Kentucky Attorney General
Russell Coleman has declared that the outcome is justice served.

(02:33):
Deputy Conley served four years with the Sheriff's Department and
was an eight year US Army veteran. At sentencing, his
family delivered emotional victim impact statements. Coleman says this case
sends a clear message those who take the life of
a Kentucky law enforcement officer will face the toughest penalties
allowed by law. A troubling case has emerged out of

(02:56):
Washington State involving a young woman connected to the fatal
shooting of a US Border Patrol agent. As Crime Online
Sidney Sumner tells us, the story has expanded nationally, linking
to multiple homicide investigations.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Twenty one year old Teresa Youngblood has been ordered held
without bail facing federal firearms charges tied to the death
of Border patrol agent David Mayland, who was shot on
January twentieth during a traffic stop in Vermont. Young Blood
allegedly open fire, resulting in a shootout, then also claimed
the life of her companion, Felix Backholt. Authorities revealed that

(03:30):
the weapon used in the Vermont incident was linked to
prior killings in Pennsylvania, where Richard and Rita Zoshko were
murdered in their home on December thirty one, twenty twenty two.
Both young Blood and the alleged gun buyer have ties
to a person detained in the Zoshko case, which is
also a person of interest in a homicide in California,
complicating matters. Jack Lesoda, another individual implicated in these events,

(03:54):
faces separate charges of obstructing law enforcement. He was arrested
a short distance from the Zoshcode crime scene as authority
son the murder weapon. Lesoda has a checkered history, including
a bizarre incident in twenty twenty two where he was
falsely reported dead after a boating accident, only to re
emerge later in connection with criminal activities. Additionally, a federal

(04:15):
alert has been issued regarding a woman named Michelle Jocklin
Zoshko reportedly involved in purchasing firearms associated with the Vermont shooting.
She shares a home address in Pennsylvania with the Zashkos
from twenty sixteen.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
A preliminary hearing for young Blood is scheduled for February seventh.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Thanks John, despite a medical condition that leads to memory loss.
Valerie Smiley, forty one, is a wonderful mom to four
children and runs her own business in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Friday afternoon,
she leaves home in a red Ford expedition to run errands,
but oddly isn't home by dinner time. Family checked life
three sixteen. It looks like Valeries all the way in Decatur,

(04:55):
an hour north. She's reported missing, and over the next
two days her phone pings Fayeville and Union City, Georgia,
before cutting off entirely. No one has any explanation for
why she would have gone there. Police still searching for
Valeries SUV with Tennessee license plate zero seven nine B
brother F Frank Q, Queen D Dog and a TSU

(05:20):
mom sticker on the back window. Valerie Smiley African American
five five two hundred pounds long, black curly hair. Her
name tattooed on her outer right CAF wearing Pastelle yellow
polo shirt denim shorts. If you have info on Valerie Smiley,
called Chattanooga, TENNESSEEPD four two three six nine eight two

(05:45):
five two five. For the latest crime and justice news,
go to crime online dot com and please join us
for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our
very best along with you to find missing people, especially children,
and all of unsolved homicides. With this Prime Alert, I'm
Nancy Grace