After getting ice cream with friends, Rachel DelTondo is gunned down in a hail of bullets in the parent's driveway. It was Mother's Day 2018. No one has been arrested in her death.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Ashley Willcott - Judge and trial attorney, Anchor on Court TV, www.ashleywillcott.com
- Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Beverly Hills, follow on Instagram at DrBethanyMarshall
- James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer (RET) Attorney
- Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author of "Blood Beneath My Feet"
- John Paul - Journalist, Founder of Beavercountain.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
How does a beautiful young girl who has just ordered
a designer wedding gown end up debt shot dead and
her parents driveway? What a twisted turn of events? Crime
(00:27):
Stories with Nancy Grace. I Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories.
First of all, take a listen to our friends at
CBS Pittsburgh. It was Mother's Day night, just before eleven
o'clock when al Equippa police got a nine one one
call about shots fired on Buchanan Street near Broadhead Road.
(00:49):
They found thirty three year old Rachel del Tondo outside
her home in the driveway. She had been shot several times.
Neighbors say they heard as many as ten to twelve shots.
Family members say del Tondo was returning home from getting
ice cream with a friend when she was shocked. It's
very sad. You have a very quiet, very quaint neighborhood.
The al Quippa name gets thrown out there a lot,
(01:12):
and it should not. This was a very nice, quiet neighborhood.
And to have this invade any family as sad, you
know that sheds a whole new light on it. Another
wrinkle to be discovered and figured out. Multiple shots, It's
not like a an accident drive by. This girl was
(01:34):
targeted with me an all star panel. Ashu Willcott, judge
and trial lawyer, Court TV anchor. You can find her
at Ashe Wilcott dot com. Doctor Bethany Marshall, psychoanist joining
us out of Beverly Hills. You can find her on
Instagram at doctor Bethany Marshall. James shell Nutt twenty seven
years Atlanta Metro major Case swat Now lawyer, Joseph Scott Morgan,
(01:57):
Professor Forensics, Jacksonville State University, an author of Blood Beneath
My Feet on Amazon and special guests joining us. John Paul, journalist,
founder of How do I pronounce it correctly? I don't
want to mess this up, John Paul, Beaver County en
dot com The Beaver County Okay. I can't believe I
got it on the first drive. But first to Joseph
(02:18):
Scott Morgan, Professor Forensics, there's a big difference, and I
may have to go to our shrink, doctor Bethany Marshall
on this. When somebody is shot once, like in a
bar fight, I just always use that example. And somebody
that's shot multiple times seemingly it's not necessarily a drive by,
Joe Scott, because with a drive by, you don't think
(02:41):
of the person who's stopping and shooting. A drive by
is more like a high and bye, you're dead, but
multiple shots is an entirely different scenario. Joseph Scott Morgan. Yeah,
that can go to kind of two states of mind, Nancy.
You can have an individual that's unfamiliar with weapons that
will just fire in a rapid succession, particularly with a
(03:02):
semi automatic handgun, where it's ejecting the shells immediately. Or
you can have an event where an individual much like
a much like an over kills with a stabbing or beating,
where they just keep firing and firing and firing and firing,
and one of the singular motivations is that they're very
angry at that point in time. So you've got those
two things to kind of choose from them. Also, when
(03:23):
you think of a drive by, you think of somebody
just Willy Neely bam bam, bam bam. If you hit
your target multiple times, and I mean even more than once,
that means you have stopped, you have aimed kind of
sniper ish at this particular person. That is a much
more complex crime you know, I was mentioning to you
(03:46):
about Rachel Deltondo having ordered a wedding dress. I want
to go to a discussion of that, because, as it
turned out, that became centerpiece of the investigation, the ordering
of the wedding dress. But who is her fiance? Take
(04:07):
a listen to our friends at CBS forty eight hours.
I've known her since we were kids. Rachel was dating
a wonderful young man. Crank was engaged, but they both
agreed to break up with a significant others and came together.
They quickly became al Equippa's eight couple. Frank the son
(04:29):
of a retired police officer, was building an empire and
trucking cable and energy, so successful that a local online
magazine dubbed Kadropa the Wolf of al Equippa. Rachel was
a teacher with a soft heart who liked to help
troubled students and at first were you happy with the relationship? Yes,
(04:51):
Frankie was generous. What drew you to her? Obviously, she's
a pretty girl. She's nice, genuine, big hearted. She was
a good girl. In love with Rachel. Yeah, one time,
I was absolutely you're hearing Frank the fiances had to
deal with the murder of Rachel Deltondo. But now let's
get to the designer wedding dress. Take a listen to
(05:14):
again to our friend Aaron Moriarty. Wedding plants commenced immediately,
and so did a Shakespearean battle over who was running
the show. You know how you get engaged and you
let the woman take over. Frank, you didn't want to
do that. He was in charge of banner everything. Want
(05:34):
to go to the hall, wanted to see the flowers,
wanted to I mean, if he could have saw her dress,
he'd be happy. There was just a lot of outside
interference with some of her family, particularly her mom. Yes,
Lisa bought her daughter a ten thousand dollars wedding dress
and a pair of three thousand dollars shoes. Never got
(05:56):
to wear him now brand new. Frank asked for a
prenuptial agreement, and I said, you know, how do you
feel about that. She's like, I'm fine with it. I'll
sign it. I don't want him to think that I
want him just for his money. But in the end
Rachel refused. In the end, she refused the pre nup.
Let's go out to journalist and founder of Beaver County
(06:17):
and dot com John Paul, John, I want to focus
right now on that wedding dress. A ten thousand dollars
wedding dress. Now, ladies don't judge me, but when David
and I got decided to get married, we decided on
a Tuesday that we would get married on Saturday. That's
how that went down. I ordered a wedding dress in
two different sizes from a catalog and it came just
(06:41):
in time. I thought about wearing my boots, my cowboy boots,
which I wore twenty four seven, three sixty five, but
in the end bowed to peer pressure and got a
beautiful pair of shoes, gorgeous Jackie at DSW. I think
that's designer shoe outlet warehouse, right. So I'm having a
hard time, John Paul, trying to get my mind around
(07:01):
a ten thousand dollars dress and a three especially at
three thousand dollars pair of shoes. But the mother, Rachel
Deltona's mother insisted on it. It was going to be
a fairytale wedding. Just my first question, John Paul, and
I don't know if you've been asked this yet. What
pair of shoes cost three thousand dollars. They were designer
shoes that the mother purchased, and she was proud of them.
(07:24):
I mean, Rachel Deltano was her only daughter, and she
was the center of their life, and they adored her,
and they're kind of a traditional Italian family and this
was a major milestone, not just in her life, but
in the life of her parents. And they're not people
(07:45):
of extraordinary means, and buying the shoes was no doubt
an extravagance, but I think it was a loving mother's
way of letting a daughter know that she was proud
of her. John Paul, John Paul, you're making me think
of Cinderella and the glass slippers. And to you, doctor
Bethany Marshall. Just last night, you know my daughter is
(08:06):
just turned twelve. Well, she went online and she found
out about a face mask, as if she, at age twelve,
needs a face mask, and it was like eighteen dollars.
But I know this is nothing compared to a three
thousand dollar pair of shoes, But I just want her
to have the things that she wants. I mean, I
didn't even know what a face mask was till I
got out of law school for Pete's sake. But I
(08:28):
get this mother and the three thousand dollars pair of shoes.
I get it. Nancy, I get it too. Hey, I
practice in the heart of Beverly Hills, and I'm thinking,
oh Lord, what okay? So what brand of shoes did
the mom get? I can only think Lubutans with Trovski crystals.
That's I'm sure what she had, and they probably had
(08:48):
to order them. I'm sure there's no Lubutan that store
there in Aliquippa. But back to the psychology. When you
buy a pair of shoes like that, it's not the
shoes that you're buying. You're buying hopes, and you're buying
the future. You're buying an idealized life founded on love
and attachment. And you're thinking about grandchildren, right because the
(09:11):
mother brought her, brought her the shoes. You're thinking about
grandchildren in a home. And then all of that is
cut short. And I think what's tragic is the grand
and beautiful and poignant nature of the dreams juxtaposed between
multiple shots in her daughter's chest. Oh, in the driveway
(09:31):
and in her driveway. In the driveway, time stories with
(09:51):
Nancy grace. Guys, we were talking about the unsolved murder
of a young girl planning her way, And as you
just heard from our new friend John Paul, journalist and
founder of Beaver County and dot com, the parents were
by no means wealthy, but this is their only daughter,
(10:12):
so they go overboard and they buy her a Cinderella
address for ten thousand dollars and a three thousand dollars
pair of shoes. When you said, John Paul, their only daughter,
it just broke my heart. It just broke my heart.
Joining me, Ashley Wilcot, judge, trial lawyer, court TV anchor
and mother of one girl, I happen to know that
(10:36):
for a fact, like me, Ashley, you know, I would
never spend that kind of money on myself. Forget it.
I mean, I get my shoes resold, but for Lucy,
I might just put it on a credit card. I mean,
I don't see myself buying a three thousand dollars pair
of shoes, but I would do something much more extravagant
for her than I would ever dream of doing for myself. Absolutely,
(10:57):
that's how we do for our kids. And so while
it sounds outlandished to think you'd spend that much money,
you know, keep in mind the description of terms of
their community, right, and so maybe as a parent, you're
gonna do whatever it takes to make that day shine
for your daughter. I think it's extravagant too, But let
me just mention Clark Howard that I listened to about
money and spending. Do you know how many parents and
(11:20):
young ladies take out loans to cover extravagant expenses like
these because weddings are so important to them. You know,
it reminds me of senior year. We went on a
senior trip and I came home and my dad actually
had tears in his eyes. I mean, they did not
have this kind of money. And he had bought me
(11:41):
a car. It was Toyota Corolla Tudor skyblue metallic blue,
and I just it was the biggest thing that ever
happened to us, For me to get a car, It's
just unheard of. And he was so proud what parents
to do for their children. But then everything went sideways.
(12:03):
Take a listen to our friends at kd KA Pittsburgh.
This is Marty Griffin. When Rachel got engaged, mom took
over planning a big time wedding including a nearly ten
thousand dollar gown to be handmade by a New York designer.
There was a custom dress had to be made to
her measurements. The family put down a deposit of more
(12:23):
than four thousand dollars that, according to the contract, was
nonrefundable and non transferable under any circumstances. Lisa del Tondo
says she got that from day one. I was told
that this is binding. I knew what this thing said.
They bought the dress and and Gregory for the bride.
In doormant Rachel del Tondo was measured. The family put
(12:44):
down nearly half. It's made to order and there's no
exchanges and by about no refonds. I understood that. Four
months after the contract was signed, the wedding was called off.
Lisa del Tondo called the New York designer to see
if they had started on the dress and asked for
a fun I called New York. I did yeah. He
told me it couldn't be done. Del Tondo says. She
(13:04):
told the local bridal salon she'd pay the balance and
take delivery of the dress. I wanted to gown so
I could sell it. Deltondo says the salon never delivered
the dress and refused to refund her money, so she
took the owner two small claims courts. Wow, all this
the mom is trying to sort through to John Paul, journalists,
founder of Beaver County and dot com, John Paul in
(13:26):
a nutshell, And I know you don't run the column
for the love lorn, But why did they break up? Um?
I have anything to do with her not signing the prenup.
I think their relationship had been described to me is
kind of on again, off again for a very long
time anyway, So they would they would be real close
and then they kind of distance and then date. And
(13:49):
so the lack of signing the pre nump at the
time I think was an impetus for them to kind
of break apart some But they continue to see each
other after that. They continue to date, so it's not
like they went their separate ways in life at that point.
And to correct myself something real quick, I might have
mistakenly earlier said that she was hurt their only child.
(14:11):
She was their only daughter. They have a son that
they're also very proud of. Just to be clear, right,
only daughter, just like me, just like ask you. We
have one daughter and then all those nasty little boys.
So let me ask you a question. To doctor Bethany Marshall,
the reason I'm focusing so much on the fiance is
because that's who you look to initially in everybody. You
(14:32):
know what, Sorry, Bethany, let me throw this to James
shell Nutt, twenty seven years Metro major case swat Now
lawyer James shell Nutt. No offense to all the husband's ex'es, lovers,
boyfriends out there. But that's where the investigation has to start.
Bottom line. That's what you sign up for when you're
in a relationship. If that significant other goes missing, you're
(14:53):
the first one police come. So why is that, shell Nutt? Well,
the reason is is because those other people who often
commit the crimes against women who come up missing her debt.
You start as an investigator with the most logical suspects,
which generally are the people closest to the victim. That's right. Statistically,
it's overwhelming that the perpetrators typically someone very close to you,
(15:17):
if not romantically linked. Okay, so the wedding is called
off and that's not an aspersion on either one of them.
Weddings are postponed, people turned down engagements all the time
for very intricate reasons that we may not understand. But
take a listen now to KDKA Marty Griffin. She took
the owner two small claims court and it says disposition
(15:38):
default judgment for plain of court. Papers indicate the salon
owner did not appear for the hearing. As a result,
he was ordered to pay the del Tondos more than
forty six hundred dollars. He had thirty days to write
us a check or file a pill and he did not.
He didnither. Salon owner Gregory Jericho in an email he
told me, December got by me with two deaths in
(15:59):
the Emily. We will be sending a certified check out
to Deltondo. Thanks for your efforts. His attorney sent us
a letter stating, mister Jericho denies that Anne Gregory owed
any money to miss Deltondo. As she was given the
purchase contract, had an opportunity to review the terms of
the contract, which unambiguously advised her that the custom order
(16:20):
for her bridal gown could not be refunded. The reason
this is significant to John Paul, founder Beaver County and
dot Com, it's because the engagement the break off and
the dress brew haha ends up on local TV with
one of those consumer report specialists. Is that that true,
(16:41):
John Paul? The case was featured on the local news
and everybody in that metro area saw Rachel Deltondo, saw
the dress and learned the wedding was called off. Is
it that true, John Paul? Yeah, it was certainly. It
kind of a I guess a novel to use the
word at the time, and obviously this is before her murder,
(17:01):
and you know, novelty is not the word I would
use anymore, but at the time it was like a
novelty and something everyone kind of spoke about. And Frank
Tropa described it as something of an embarrassment at the
time because he was a successful businessman by any major
and to have this sort of consumer report feature on
the local news about disputes over his ex fiance's wedding
(17:25):
dress was a little humiliating. He said, exactly, so you've
got all that brewing to doctor Bethany Marshall's psychoanalyst of
Beverly Hills, Bethany, why are we so there's even be
in a movie Runaway Bride? Remember that? And then when
what was her name? Jackie Jennifer. I'll think of it
in a moment. The real runaway bride that took off
(17:45):
and claimed she was abducted. Blah blah blah. That was
a big line the night before her wedding. Why are
we so obsessed with calling off the wedding? The runaway
bride jilted at the altar? Why? Why? Why do people
love that so much? I don't get it. I can
tell you why, because when you have a fairytale wedding
and you have a princess, you put that person on
(18:07):
a pedestal, and if you've seen pictures, long brown hair,
each photo has beautiful makeup, high heels, sequin and bellish dresses.
So she is a real life, real life princess in
a very small town. So when we see Prince Charming
and his bride, we all inject ourselves into the story
(18:29):
because we want those kinds of lives for ourselves. And
then when they break up, it sparks all kinds of fantasies.
For those who are envious, they're happy that they broke up.
For those who are living through them, they're heartbroken and
they go digging for clues, and then all kinds of
you know, urban myths and stories start to swirl around
(19:04):
crime stories. With Nancy Grace, guys were talking about Rachel
del Tondo, who had just broken off a very public
engagement to the it guy in town. It was all
over the news, the dispute regarding her special made wedding
dress ten grand made in New York City. The mom
(19:28):
took it to the local TV consumer specialist and it
hit the airwaves. What if anything, does that have to
do with the unsolved murder of this girl Rachel del Tondo?
And we were talking about with doctor bethany how people
fixate on other people's romantic problems. You guys, remember when
(19:48):
Princess Diana and Prince Charles got a divorce. It was
the news for so long. Remember that, Ashley, Oh gosh,
are you kidding me? I absolutely remember that. Nancy was
forever I totally blamed him. I'm thousands of miles away,
but I was so furious because of everything you learned
about as affair and everything else. And let's just think
(20:09):
about all the celebrities that people on Twitter. I mean,
that's what people do want to talk about forever. And
then she turns up dead right after this. Okay, take
a listen to our friends at CBS forty eight hours.
This is Aaron Moriarty. Lisa Deltondo was extremely close with
her thirty three year old daughter, Rachel, was still living
(20:29):
at home with Lisa and her father, Joe Deltondo. Every
night she'd come in every night, sit at my bed
and give me a synopsis of the whole day. That night,
there would be no bedside report. After supper, Rachel went
for ice cream with friends, and then just minutes after
being dropped back home around ten forty five pm, Rachel
(20:52):
was shot several times at close range. The information I
have from law enforcement is that they do believe she
knew her killer. They believe it to be a crime
of passion. To Joseph Scott, Morgan forensics expert, Professor Forensics,
jacksonal State and author, let's analyze the same. I know,
Joe Scott, your expertise is forensics. I love that. I
(21:17):
know you probably think I spent too long on the
wedding dress, but I had to set up the moment
because all of that matters too. Now you hit me
with a forensics goat, I gotta tell you, no, I
think the wedding dress is a fantastic idea, because my god,
there are certainly motivation, there a lot of anger. But
from the perspective of the forensics, you know, they mentioned
(21:39):
that this is a close range event. That means that
this individual was able to get close to her, and
they're able to determine range of fire by just saying that. Okay,
that's where that's coming from. So what we think, or
what I would think appostulate putting forward is that there
might be there might be powder and that is unburnt
(22:01):
gunpowder on her person, and that would put the individual
within possibly three maybe two feet away from this individual.
So they're talking about close range. That's significant here, Nancy.
How was this individual able to get so close to
her at the side entrance of the house and then
put this many rounds into her body at that moment?
(22:23):
How many rounds? How many rounds? I don't know from
what I've heard thus far. Do we know, John Paul,
do you know how many times she was actually shot?
The information for investigators is basically the entire handgun had
been unloaded into her. Okay, that is rage she is targeted.
And Joe Scott Morgan is speaking in highly technical terms
(22:45):
as usual, but What are he's trying to say about
gunshot powder? Is police say that it was a close range?
How do you know that if it's point blank a
shot to the head or the body. You see stipling
or burn marks where the bullet comes out of the
gun and it leaves almost like a tattoo on your skin.
(23:07):
Close range gunshot powder residue g s R. When you
fire a gun, it goes about can go about thirty
six inches, which means if they found gunshot residue on
her on her body, that means the killer was about
was within thirty six inches to her body based on
(23:29):
gunshot residue. Right, Joe Scott, Yeah, you're right. And if
you yeah, and I've heard you use this analogy and
this is a perfect in the past. Actually, when we
think about a water hose when you press, when you
press the nozzle on a water hose in the yard,
and it kind of spreads out. The further you go
from the end of that water hose, the further that
(23:50):
that fount of water spreads out. The same thing with powder.
You've got a projectile that is the bullet itself firing
into the body, but you've got all of this other
debris that comes out of the end of the barrel,
specifically unburned powder. And the further it's spread out, the
greater the distance. So after a moment in time, that
(24:11):
powder is going to fall to the earth. It's not
very aerodynamic, so it'll fall to the earth. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Baby powder is the perfect perfect example with this. I
urge anybody at home that wants to know how to
do this, simply put some pal in your hand, standing
in a well lighted room. I teach me students is
at Jacksonville State and blow and you'll see how in
(24:33):
that moment it'll just disperse into the air, this cloud,
and this deposits on the body and it's superheated many times.
And when you said tattooing, that's actually what we call it.
The unburned powder gets beneath the skin and it's embedded
in there, almost like tattooing. To John Paul, journalists, founder
of Beaver County and dot com, John Paul, what time
of the day or night was this? It was at night,
(24:55):
so yeah, you're being shortly before eleven pm at night
seven pm and had been out to an ice cream
parlor with who what friends? Lauren Watkins was the one
driving the car? And how old was she? She would
have been seventeen at the time. So were these her students? No,
so she had friends with younger people, did Okay? That
(25:16):
just strikes me. It's odd. I don't know why, but
maybe it's not odd. But she was with two How
old was the other person? Tyree would have been in
his twenties, I believed. Okay, so a male and a female.
The female was driving. For all I know? They were
previous students? Were they? John Paul? And neither of them
had ever been her students? Interesting? Interesting to me. So
(25:41):
as police are digging through this case, trying to figure
out who, what, where, why, and when information comes to light,
take a listen about a previous event, CBS forty eight
hours Aaron Moriarty. According to the report, it was nearly
two am when Rachel and Sheldon were discovered in her car,
(26:04):
not eleven PM, as Rachel had said, and not at
the circle K, but in this abandoned lot. You obviously
come here not to be seen. You come here to
not be seen. The police said the windows were steen,
which made them believe that the vehicle had been part
for some time, and the passenger seat was fully reclined.
(26:26):
The report states at Rachel told police that Sheldon was
once a student of hers and now a friend and
they were just talking. But it also says she didn't
want her fiance to know because he would get mad,
and he was upset about it. He was upset when
he was about to leave his eyes of the water.
You know, I was more confused than anything angry. I
(26:50):
wouldn't say that I was angry. Frank was allowed to
take home that copy of the report, and a day
or two later someone used it to strike a devastating
blow at Rachel del Tondo's reputation. Man, I can't believe
this happened to that girl. To John Paul, journalists founder
(27:12):
Beaver County and dot com John Paul, wasn't it generally
proven that Rachel was not making out or having sex
relations with this younger guy who was a former student.
They were both clothed when the cops came up to
the car. The car, Yes, it was two am, and,
as I love to argue to juries, nothing good happens
(27:34):
after midnight. Two am and a parked car in an
abandoned parking lot. But when cops came up to it.
They were in fact sitting there talking. Do I have
that right, John Paul? Yeah? They certainly. There were no
charges filed by police, and their incident report that was
(27:55):
generated at about a year later doesn't mention any witnessing
of inappropriate behavior. That being said, Sheldon Jeter's attorney, Michael
Santa Cola, has said that Sheldon and Rachel had been
having a sexual relationship since Sheldon had been about fifteen
or sixteen. That's something that Rachel's family veheently denies, and
(28:19):
when she was alive, that's something that she had denied
to me. So even though police approached them and they
are dressed and they are in fact just talking, there
was a police report made. The main thing she said
was don't tell my fiance. This is what we learn.
(28:40):
Someone anonymously, someone with that police report anonymously emails and
texts the incident to Rachel's school, the school board, the mayor,
the media. It's unknown who sent it, although how can
you not check the IP on the email? And the
(29:03):
report was sent two days after Frank KaTropa, the jilted fiance,
receives the report. He claims he didn't do it. Okay,
what effect did that have on her reputation? To John Paul, journalists,
Beaver County and dot com. When someone the parents believe
it was the fiance, emailed out, texted out this report
(29:27):
to the school board. What happened, Well, you can imagine
what happened. Happened. She gets suspended from her job. It
makes fun page news that a teacher was caught in
a car with a young person, and it was it
was a matter of a most controversy Time stories with
(30:01):
Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about Rachel Deltondo and what
happened to her. Her past is extremely important to the
fact that she was murdered execution style in her parents'
own driveway ed mushrooms out of control. Take a listen
to our cut thirteen. Less than a month after she
(30:24):
was murdered, there were three police chiefs in that Aliquippa
Police department in the span of one week. Three police chiefs,
and in fact, the third chief actually handed over the
investigation to the county Detective's bureau. So that gives you
a sentence. When you have those kind of distractions, it's very,
very difficult to focus on an investigation, and in fact,
(30:47):
Rachel's murder is actually the ninth unsolved murder in that area,
So people are losing faith in the police department. To
James Shelnot twenty seven years Metroom major case swat officer
now lawyer way, Well, I mean, I think I think
that one of the first things you have to do
is you have to go back and take a look
at all the possible suspects in this case and what
(31:08):
her current relationship was with them. You know, you have
got an awful lot of people that either need to
be eliminated or need to have continued investigation. You know.
The concern that I have at this point in time
is that there are a lot of missed opportunities. There's
missed opportunities as far as taking a look at these
(31:28):
witnesses getting things penned down, and I'm just I'm unsure
with the state of that department, with how things were handled,
whether or not they have lost some critical information to
put them beyond eight ball. You know, to you John Paul,
founder Beaver County and dot Com, the fact that that
police report was leaked, it should never have been given
to the fiance to start with, but it was. Then
(31:51):
it was leaked. Then her reputation was destroyed, then she
was gunned down. Why was it leaked? Well, I think
that's I think that's a very good question. I think
that's one that investigators would like an answer to. Certainly.
The other big issue that created a problem for the
police department is the leak was not just to the
(32:13):
police report, but it also contains sensitive information from a
law enforcement only Justice network database that hand and that
it contained also And if you had that database, what
could you learn? What good is the database? Well, it
provided the photographs, driver's license numbers, social security numbers. I mean,
(32:33):
it was every bit of private information about yourself that
the police department might have or that the state might
have that you could imagine, So that that leak was
much more than just a report. It was a sensitive
personal information that in state of Pennsylvania it's unlawfuled very sensitive.
Fancy could I make a comment about yes, jump my
(32:53):
clinical practice, whenever somebody reports to me that their lover,
their boyfriend, their friend is threatening to expose them to
their employer, I always think homicide. That's my first worry
that crosses my mind, because when you love somebody, when
you want to marry them, when they are your best friend.
(33:15):
When you've cherished that relationship. The last thing you want
to do is cause them to lose their job. The
last thing you want to do is be smirched their reputation,
make them look terrible. But whoever either released that report
or once it gone into the hands of the fiancee,
whoever sent it to the school board had simmering hate
(33:39):
and resentment towards her. They wanted to take her down.
When you report something negative to somebody's employer, you're not
thinking about their future anymore. You're cutting their life short professionally,
and that kind of person might have wanted to cut
her life short in a drum attic physical way too well, Bethany.
(34:03):
Less than one month after Rachel was murdered, three police
chiefs in the span of one week, the last chief
turn the investigation over to county detectives. Rachel's murder the
ninth I saw murder in the area, Okay to you,
Joe Scott Morgan and the aftermath of her murder three
(34:28):
police chiefs. Yeah, it's somebody's covering something up, Joe Scott.
That's all I can say about that. Something is a way.
I'd absolutely agree with you. And also to this point. Look,
I'm a death investigator by trade. That's all I have
literally ever done, and so it is the single most
(34:48):
intense investigation from a forensic standpoint that you can conduct.
If your eyes are not on the ball in a
case like this and other cases that this department is
intimately involved with, you're going to miss You're going to
miss the big picture because you're skipping over the finer details.
(35:10):
They don't have time to analyze the finer details because
they're too busy, uh, you know, not being able to
take care of their own house. Here. This is a
major problem. It's a huge mass. John Paul found to
Beaver County in dot com. Why three police chiefs in
the aftermath of her murder? What's happening? Well, the first
(35:31):
police chief was suspended when a councilman came forward and
said that he was aware that the chief was the
subject of a criminal investigation by the state police. Okay,
what about the second one. The second one was arrested
by county detectives after he had allegedly sent a pornographic
(35:52):
image to Lauren Watkins, who was the friend that dropped
Rachel Deltondo off at home. The night that she was killed.
And then the third chief was the one that eventually
turned it over to county detectives, and that chief has
sense passed and they're now chief was at the moment.
(36:12):
So all of this is stimming out of were connected
to Rachel del Tondo's murder and it's still unsolved. Okay, question,
let's hear now, what's happening. Just hours after Rachel del
Tondo was killed, police weren't Sheldon Jeter's doorstep looking to
(36:33):
question him, and a search warrant application indicates that that
visit raised questions. It states that they asked Sheldon for
the clothing he was wearing that night, and he gave
them other clothing. That's not how it went down. There
was a pile of clothes laying on the floor next
to his bed where he was sleeping. They got up
and side of these as the clothes that you were wearing. Yeah,
(36:54):
all my clothes are right there, so they scooped it up.
Sheldon's attorney ins is it's not his client's fault that
the cops picked up the wrong clothes, but the ward
application also states Sheldon failed to display any emotion when
he was informed of Rachel's death. That's absolutely untrue. He
was shocked. He was in shock. Lauren Watkins, who has
(37:18):
known Sheldon since elementary school, says she doesn't believe he's
capable of murder. She says she never knew Rachel and
Sheldon to have any type of romantic relationship. Guys, what
happened to Rachel Deltando? It sounds like a huge miss,
you know, Askey Wilcott, when you have to hand your
investigation over to somebody else like here, they handed it
(37:40):
over to county sheriffs. That's a horrible sign. It says
to me, something stinks. Oh. I completely agree with you.
And don't forget a couple of little facts that I
want to remind everybody about. Number one is the fiance.
I understood his father was law enforcement at some point.
The one of the girls that she was ice cream
(38:00):
with I believe was related to law enforcements. It is
a tangled web and it's a mess. And let me
just say this, when you have this much turnover, I
work for a county, right when you have this much turnover,
there are bigger issues. You've got major problems. And I
think the major problem here is people know things and
(38:21):
are doing nothing about it to solve this murder. The
murder of Rachel de Altando remains unsolved, her parents still grieving.
Tipline If You Know Anything eight hundred four PA Tips
eight hundred four seven two eight four seven seven. We
wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace crime Story, signing off
(38:44):
goodbye friend
How does a beautiful young girl who has just ordered
a designer wedding gown end up debt shot dead and
her parents driveway? What a twisted turn of events? Crime
(00:27):
Stories with Nancy Grace. I Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories.
First of all, take a listen to our friends at
CBS Pittsburgh. It was Mother's Day night, just before eleven
o'clock when al Equippa police got a nine one one
call about shots fired on Buchanan Street near Broadhead Road.
(00:49):
They found thirty three year old Rachel del Tondo outside
her home in the driveway. She had been shot several times.
Neighbors say they heard as many as ten to twelve shots.
Family members say del Tondo was returning home from getting
ice cream with a friend when she was shocked. It's
very sad. You have a very quiet, very quaint neighborhood.
The al Quippa name gets thrown out there a lot,
(01:12):
and it should not. This was a very nice, quiet neighborhood.
And to have this invade any family as sad, you
know that sheds a whole new light on it. Another
wrinkle to be discovered and figured out. Multiple shots, It's
not like a an accident drive by. This girl was
(01:34):
targeted with me an all star panel. Ashu Willcott, judge
and trial lawyer, Court TV anchor. You can find her
at Ashe Wilcott dot com. Doctor Bethany Marshall, psychoanist joining
us out of Beverly Hills. You can find her on
Instagram at doctor Bethany Marshall. James shell Nutt twenty seven
years Atlanta Metro major Case swat Now lawyer, Joseph Scott Morgan,
(01:57):
Professor Forensics, Jacksonville State University, an author of Blood Beneath
My Feet on Amazon and special guests joining us. John Paul, journalist,
founder of How do I pronounce it correctly? I don't
want to mess this up, John Paul, Beaver County en
dot com The Beaver County Okay. I can't believe I
got it on the first drive. But first to Joseph
(02:18):
Scott Morgan, Professor Forensics, there's a big difference, and I
may have to go to our shrink, doctor Bethany Marshall
on this. When somebody is shot once, like in a
bar fight, I just always use that example. And somebody
that's shot multiple times seemingly it's not necessarily a drive by,
Joe Scott, because with a drive by, you don't think
(02:41):
of the person who's stopping and shooting. A drive by
is more like a high and bye, you're dead, but
multiple shots is an entirely different scenario. Joseph Scott Morgan. Yeah,
that can go to kind of two states of mind, Nancy.
You can have an individual that's unfamiliar with weapons that
will just fire in a rapid succession, particularly with a
(03:02):
semi automatic handgun, where it's ejecting the shells immediately. Or
you can have an event where an individual much like
a much like an over kills with a stabbing or beating,
where they just keep firing and firing and firing and firing,
and one of the singular motivations is that they're very
angry at that point in time. So you've got those
two things to kind of choose from them. Also, when
(03:23):
you think of a drive by, you think of somebody
just Willy Neely bam bam, bam bam. If you hit
your target multiple times, and I mean even more than once,
that means you have stopped, you have aimed kind of
sniper ish at this particular person. That is a much
more complex crime you know, I was mentioning to you
(03:46):
about Rachel Deltondo having ordered a wedding dress. I want
to go to a discussion of that, because, as it
turned out, that became centerpiece of the investigation, the ordering
of the wedding dress. But who is her fiance? Take
(04:07):
a listen to our friends at CBS forty eight hours.
I've known her since we were kids. Rachel was dating
a wonderful young man. Crank was engaged, but they both
agreed to break up with a significant others and came together.
They quickly became al Equippa's eight couple. Frank the son
(04:29):
of a retired police officer, was building an empire and
trucking cable and energy, so successful that a local online
magazine dubbed Kadropa the Wolf of al Equippa. Rachel was
a teacher with a soft heart who liked to help
troubled students and at first were you happy with the relationship? Yes,
(04:51):
Frankie was generous. What drew you to her? Obviously, she's
a pretty girl. She's nice, genuine, big hearted. She was
a good girl. In love with Rachel. Yeah, one time,
I was absolutely you're hearing Frank the fiances had to
deal with the murder of Rachel Deltondo. But now let's
get to the designer wedding dress. Take a listen to
(05:14):
again to our friend Aaron Moriarty. Wedding plants commenced immediately,
and so did a Shakespearean battle over who was running
the show. You know how you get engaged and you
let the woman take over. Frank, you didn't want to
do that. He was in charge of banner everything. Want
(05:34):
to go to the hall, wanted to see the flowers,
wanted to I mean, if he could have saw her dress,
he'd be happy. There was just a lot of outside
interference with some of her family, particularly her mom. Yes,
Lisa bought her daughter a ten thousand dollars wedding dress
and a pair of three thousand dollars shoes. Never got
(05:56):
to wear him now brand new. Frank asked for a
prenuptial agreement, and I said, you know, how do you
feel about that. She's like, I'm fine with it. I'll
sign it. I don't want him to think that I
want him just for his money. But in the end
Rachel refused. In the end, she refused the pre nup.
Let's go out to journalist and founder of Beaver County
(06:17):
and dot com John Paul, John, I want to focus
right now on that wedding dress. A ten thousand dollars
wedding dress. Now, ladies don't judge me, but when David
and I got decided to get married, we decided on
a Tuesday that we would get married on Saturday. That's
how that went down. I ordered a wedding dress in
two different sizes from a catalog and it came just
(06:41):
in time. I thought about wearing my boots, my cowboy boots,
which I wore twenty four seven, three sixty five, but
in the end bowed to peer pressure and got a
beautiful pair of shoes, gorgeous Jackie at DSW. I think
that's designer shoe outlet warehouse, right. So I'm having a
hard time, John Paul, trying to get my mind around
(07:01):
a ten thousand dollars dress and a three especially at
three thousand dollars pair of shoes. But the mother, Rachel
Deltona's mother insisted on it. It was going to be
a fairytale wedding. Just my first question, John Paul, and
I don't know if you've been asked this yet. What
pair of shoes cost three thousand dollars. They were designer
shoes that the mother purchased, and she was proud of them.
(07:24):
I mean, Rachel Deltano was her only daughter, and she
was the center of their life, and they adored her,
and they're kind of a traditional Italian family and this
was a major milestone, not just in her life, but
in the life of her parents. And they're not people
(07:45):
of extraordinary means, and buying the shoes was no doubt
an extravagance, but I think it was a loving mother's
way of letting a daughter know that she was proud
of her. John Paul, John Paul, you're making me think
of Cinderella and the glass slippers. And to you, doctor
Bethany Marshall. Just last night, you know my daughter is
(08:06):
just turned twelve. Well, she went online and she found
out about a face mask, as if she, at age twelve,
needs a face mask, and it was like eighteen dollars.
But I know this is nothing compared to a three
thousand dollar pair of shoes, But I just want her
to have the things that she wants. I mean, I
didn't even know what a face mask was till I
got out of law school for Pete's sake. But I
(08:28):
get this mother and the three thousand dollars pair of shoes.
I get it. Nancy, I get it too. Hey, I
practice in the heart of Beverly Hills, and I'm thinking,
oh Lord, what okay? So what brand of shoes did
the mom get? I can only think Lubutans with Trovski crystals.
That's I'm sure what she had, and they probably had
(08:48):
to order them. I'm sure there's no Lubutan that store
there in Aliquippa. But back to the psychology. When you
buy a pair of shoes like that, it's not the
shoes that you're buying. You're buying hopes, and you're buying
the future. You're buying an idealized life founded on love
and attachment. And you're thinking about grandchildren, right because the
(09:11):
mother brought her, brought her the shoes. You're thinking about
grandchildren in a home. And then all of that is
cut short. And I think what's tragic is the grand
and beautiful and poignant nature of the dreams juxtaposed between
multiple shots in her daughter's chest. Oh, in the driveway
(09:31):
and in her driveway. In the driveway, time stories with
(09:51):
Nancy grace. Guys, we were talking about the unsolved murder
of a young girl planning her way, And as you
just heard from our new friend John Paul, journalist and
founder of Beaver County and dot com, the parents were
by no means wealthy, but this is their only daughter,
(10:12):
so they go overboard and they buy her a Cinderella
address for ten thousand dollars and a three thousand dollars
pair of shoes. When you said, John Paul, their only daughter,
it just broke my heart. It just broke my heart.
Joining me, Ashley Wilcot, judge, trial lawyer, court TV anchor
and mother of one girl, I happen to know that
(10:36):
for a fact, like me, Ashley, you know, I would
never spend that kind of money on myself. Forget it.
I mean, I get my shoes resold, but for Lucy,
I might just put it on a credit card. I mean,
I don't see myself buying a three thousand dollars pair
of shoes, but I would do something much more extravagant
for her than I would ever dream of doing for myself. Absolutely,
(10:57):
that's how we do for our kids. And so while
it sounds outlandished to think you'd spend that much money,
you know, keep in mind the description of terms of
their community, right, and so maybe as a parent, you're
gonna do whatever it takes to make that day shine
for your daughter. I think it's extravagant too, But let
me just mention Clark Howard that I listened to about
money and spending. Do you know how many parents and
(11:20):
young ladies take out loans to cover extravagant expenses like
these because weddings are so important to them. You know,
it reminds me of senior year. We went on a
senior trip and I came home and my dad actually
had tears in his eyes. I mean, they did not
have this kind of money. And he had bought me
(11:41):
a car. It was Toyota Corolla Tudor skyblue metallic blue,
and I just it was the biggest thing that ever
happened to us, For me to get a car, It's
just unheard of. And he was so proud what parents
to do for their children. But then everything went sideways.
(12:03):
Take a listen to our friends at kd KA Pittsburgh.
This is Marty Griffin. When Rachel got engaged, mom took
over planning a big time wedding including a nearly ten
thousand dollar gown to be handmade by a New York designer.
There was a custom dress had to be made to
her measurements. The family put down a deposit of more
(12:23):
than four thousand dollars that, according to the contract, was
nonrefundable and non transferable under any circumstances. Lisa del Tondo
says she got that from day one. I was told
that this is binding. I knew what this thing said.
They bought the dress and and Gregory for the bride.
In doormant Rachel del Tondo was measured. The family put
(12:44):
down nearly half. It's made to order and there's no
exchanges and by about no refonds. I understood that. Four
months after the contract was signed, the wedding was called off.
Lisa del Tondo called the New York designer to see
if they had started on the dress and asked for
a fun I called New York. I did yeah. He
told me it couldn't be done. Del Tondo says. She
(13:04):
told the local bridal salon she'd pay the balance and
take delivery of the dress. I wanted to gown so
I could sell it. Deltondo says the salon never delivered
the dress and refused to refund her money, so she
took the owner two small claims courts. Wow, all this
the mom is trying to sort through to John Paul, journalists,
founder of Beaver County and dot com, John Paul in
(13:26):
a nutshell, And I know you don't run the column
for the love lorn, But why did they break up? Um?
I have anything to do with her not signing the prenup.
I think their relationship had been described to me is
kind of on again, off again for a very long
time anyway, So they would they would be real close
and then they kind of distance and then date. And
(13:49):
so the lack of signing the pre nump at the
time I think was an impetus for them to kind
of break apart some But they continue to see each
other after that. They continue to date, so it's not
like they went their separate ways in life at that point.
And to correct myself something real quick, I might have
mistakenly earlier said that she was hurt their only child.
(14:11):
She was their only daughter. They have a son that
they're also very proud of. Just to be clear, right,
only daughter, just like me, just like ask you. We
have one daughter and then all those nasty little boys.
So let me ask you a question. To doctor Bethany Marshall,
the reason I'm focusing so much on the fiance is
because that's who you look to initially in everybody. You
(14:32):
know what, Sorry, Bethany, let me throw this to James
shell Nutt, twenty seven years Metro major case swat Now
lawyer James shell Nutt. No offense to all the husband's ex'es, lovers,
boyfriends out there. But that's where the investigation has to start.
Bottom line. That's what you sign up for when you're
in a relationship. If that significant other goes missing, you're
(14:53):
the first one police come. So why is that, shell Nutt? Well,
the reason is is because those other people who often
commit the crimes against women who come up missing her debt.
You start as an investigator with the most logical suspects,
which generally are the people closest to the victim. That's right. Statistically,
it's overwhelming that the perpetrators typically someone very close to you,
(15:17):
if not romantically linked. Okay, so the wedding is called
off and that's not an aspersion on either one of them.
Weddings are postponed, people turned down engagements all the time
for very intricate reasons that we may not understand. But
take a listen now to KDKA Marty Griffin. She took
the owner two small claims court and it says disposition
(15:38):
default judgment for plain of court. Papers indicate the salon
owner did not appear for the hearing. As a result,
he was ordered to pay the del Tondos more than
forty six hundred dollars. He had thirty days to write
us a check or file a pill and he did not.
He didnither. Salon owner Gregory Jericho in an email he
told me, December got by me with two deaths in
(15:59):
the Emily. We will be sending a certified check out
to Deltondo. Thanks for your efforts. His attorney sent us
a letter stating, mister Jericho denies that Anne Gregory owed
any money to miss Deltondo. As she was given the
purchase contract, had an opportunity to review the terms of
the contract, which unambiguously advised her that the custom order
(16:20):
for her bridal gown could not be refunded. The reason
this is significant to John Paul, founder Beaver County and
dot Com, it's because the engagement the break off and
the dress brew haha ends up on local TV with
one of those consumer report specialists. Is that that true,
(16:41):
John Paul? The case was featured on the local news
and everybody in that metro area saw Rachel Deltondo, saw
the dress and learned the wedding was called off. Is
it that true, John Paul? Yeah, it was certainly. It
kind of a I guess a novel to use the
word at the time, and obviously this is before her murder,
(17:01):
and you know, novelty is not the word I would
use anymore, but at the time it was like a
novelty and something everyone kind of spoke about. And Frank
Tropa described it as something of an embarrassment at the
time because he was a successful businessman by any major
and to have this sort of consumer report feature on
the local news about disputes over his ex fiance's wedding
(17:25):
dress was a little humiliating. He said, exactly, so you've
got all that brewing to doctor Bethany Marshall's psychoanalyst of
Beverly Hills, Bethany, why are we so there's even be
in a movie Runaway Bride? Remember that? And then when
what was her name? Jackie Jennifer. I'll think of it
in a moment. The real runaway bride that took off
(17:45):
and claimed she was abducted. Blah blah blah. That was
a big line the night before her wedding. Why are
we so obsessed with calling off the wedding? The runaway
bride jilted at the altar? Why? Why? Why do people
love that so much? I don't get it. I can
tell you why, because when you have a fairytale wedding
and you have a princess, you put that person on
(18:07):
a pedestal, and if you've seen pictures, long brown hair,
each photo has beautiful makeup, high heels, sequin and bellish dresses.
So she is a real life, real life princess in
a very small town. So when we see Prince Charming
and his bride, we all inject ourselves into the story
(18:29):
because we want those kinds of lives for ourselves. And
then when they break up, it sparks all kinds of fantasies.
For those who are envious, they're happy that they broke up.
For those who are living through them, they're heartbroken and
they go digging for clues, and then all kinds of
you know, urban myths and stories start to swirl around
(19:04):
crime stories. With Nancy Grace, guys were talking about Rachel
del Tondo, who had just broken off a very public
engagement to the it guy in town. It was all
over the news, the dispute regarding her special made wedding
dress ten grand made in New York City. The mom
(19:28):
took it to the local TV consumer specialist and it
hit the airwaves. What if anything, does that have to
do with the unsolved murder of this girl Rachel del Tondo?
And we were talking about with doctor bethany how people
fixate on other people's romantic problems. You guys, remember when
(19:48):
Princess Diana and Prince Charles got a divorce. It was
the news for so long. Remember that, Ashley, Oh gosh,
are you kidding me? I absolutely remember that. Nancy was
forever I totally blamed him. I'm thousands of miles away,
but I was so furious because of everything you learned
about as affair and everything else. And let's just think
(20:09):
about all the celebrities that people on Twitter. I mean,
that's what people do want to talk about forever. And
then she turns up dead right after this. Okay, take
a listen to our friends at CBS forty eight hours.
This is Aaron Moriarty. Lisa Deltondo was extremely close with
her thirty three year old daughter, Rachel, was still living
(20:29):
at home with Lisa and her father, Joe Deltondo. Every
night she'd come in every night, sit at my bed
and give me a synopsis of the whole day. That night,
there would be no bedside report. After supper, Rachel went
for ice cream with friends, and then just minutes after
being dropped back home around ten forty five pm, Rachel
(20:52):
was shot several times at close range. The information I
have from law enforcement is that they do believe she
knew her killer. They believe it to be a crime
of passion. To Joseph Scott, Morgan forensics expert, Professor Forensics,
jacksonal State and author, let's analyze the same. I know,
Joe Scott, your expertise is forensics. I love that. I
(21:17):
know you probably think I spent too long on the
wedding dress, but I had to set up the moment
because all of that matters too. Now you hit me
with a forensics goat, I gotta tell you, no, I
think the wedding dress is a fantastic idea, because my god,
there are certainly motivation, there a lot of anger. But
from the perspective of the forensics, you know, they mentioned
(21:39):
that this is a close range event. That means that
this individual was able to get close to her, and
they're able to determine range of fire by just saying that. Okay,
that's where that's coming from. So what we think, or
what I would think appostulate putting forward is that there
might be there might be powder and that is unburnt
(22:01):
gunpowder on her person, and that would put the individual
within possibly three maybe two feet away from this individual.
So they're talking about close range. That's significant here, Nancy.
How was this individual able to get so close to
her at the side entrance of the house and then
put this many rounds into her body at that moment?
(22:23):
How many rounds? How many rounds? I don't know from
what I've heard thus far. Do we know, John Paul,
do you know how many times she was actually shot?
The information for investigators is basically the entire handgun had
been unloaded into her. Okay, that is rage she is targeted.
And Joe Scott Morgan is speaking in highly technical terms
(22:45):
as usual, but What are he's trying to say about
gunshot powder? Is police say that it was a close range?
How do you know that if it's point blank a
shot to the head or the body. You see stipling
or burn marks where the bullet comes out of the
gun and it leaves almost like a tattoo on your skin.
(23:07):
Close range gunshot powder residue g s R. When you
fire a gun, it goes about can go about thirty
six inches, which means if they found gunshot residue on
her on her body, that means the killer was about
was within thirty six inches to her body based on
(23:29):
gunshot residue. Right, Joe Scott, Yeah, you're right. And if
you yeah, and I've heard you use this analogy and
this is a perfect in the past. Actually, when we
think about a water hose when you press, when you
press the nozzle on a water hose in the yard,
and it kind of spreads out. The further you go
from the end of that water hose, the further that
(23:50):
that fount of water spreads out. The same thing with powder.
You've got a projectile that is the bullet itself firing
into the body, but you've got all of this other
debris that comes out of the end of the barrel,
specifically unburned powder. And the further it's spread out, the
greater the distance. So after a moment in time, that
(24:11):
powder is going to fall to the earth. It's not
very aerodynamic, so it'll fall to the earth. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Baby powder is the perfect perfect example with this. I
urge anybody at home that wants to know how to
do this, simply put some pal in your hand, standing
in a well lighted room. I teach me students is
at Jacksonville State and blow and you'll see how in
(24:33):
that moment it'll just disperse into the air, this cloud,
and this deposits on the body and it's superheated many times.
And when you said tattooing, that's actually what we call it.
The unburned powder gets beneath the skin and it's embedded
in there, almost like tattooing. To John Paul, journalists, founder
of Beaver County and dot com, John Paul, what time
of the day or night was this? It was at night,
(24:55):
so yeah, you're being shortly before eleven pm at night
seven pm and had been out to an ice cream
parlor with who what friends? Lauren Watkins was the one
driving the car? And how old was she? She would
have been seventeen at the time. So were these her students? No,
so she had friends with younger people, did Okay? That
(25:16):
just strikes me. It's odd. I don't know why, but
maybe it's not odd. But she was with two How
old was the other person? Tyree would have been in
his twenties, I believed. Okay, so a male and a female.
The female was driving. For all I know? They were
previous students? Were they? John Paul? And neither of them
had ever been her students? Interesting? Interesting to me. So
(25:41):
as police are digging through this case, trying to figure
out who, what, where, why, and when information comes to light,
take a listen about a previous event, CBS forty eight
hours Aaron Moriarty. According to the report, it was nearly
two am when Rachel and Sheldon were discovered in her car,
(26:04):
not eleven PM, as Rachel had said, and not at
the circle K, but in this abandoned lot. You obviously
come here not to be seen. You come here to
not be seen. The police said the windows were steen,
which made them believe that the vehicle had been part
for some time, and the passenger seat was fully reclined.
(26:26):
The report states at Rachel told police that Sheldon was
once a student of hers and now a friend and
they were just talking. But it also says she didn't
want her fiance to know because he would get mad,
and he was upset about it. He was upset when
he was about to leave his eyes of the water.
You know, I was more confused than anything angry. I
(26:50):
wouldn't say that I was angry. Frank was allowed to
take home that copy of the report, and a day
or two later someone used it to strike a devastating
blow at Rachel del Tondo's reputation. Man, I can't believe
this happened to that girl. To John Paul, journalists founder
(27:12):
Beaver County and dot com John Paul, wasn't it generally
proven that Rachel was not making out or having sex
relations with this younger guy who was a former student.
They were both clothed when the cops came up to
the car. The car, Yes, it was two am, and,
as I love to argue to juries, nothing good happens
(27:34):
after midnight. Two am and a parked car in an
abandoned parking lot. But when cops came up to it.
They were in fact sitting there talking. Do I have
that right, John Paul? Yeah? They certainly. There were no
charges filed by police, and their incident report that was
(27:55):
generated at about a year later doesn't mention any witnessing
of inappropriate behavior. That being said, Sheldon Jeter's attorney, Michael
Santa Cola, has said that Sheldon and Rachel had been
having a sexual relationship since Sheldon had been about fifteen
or sixteen. That's something that Rachel's family veheently denies, and
(28:19):
when she was alive, that's something that she had denied
to me. So even though police approached them and they
are dressed and they are in fact just talking, there
was a police report made. The main thing she said
was don't tell my fiance. This is what we learn.
(28:40):
Someone anonymously, someone with that police report anonymously emails and
texts the incident to Rachel's school, the school board, the mayor,
the media. It's unknown who sent it, although how can
you not check the IP on the email? And the
(29:03):
report was sent two days after Frank KaTropa, the jilted fiance,
receives the report. He claims he didn't do it. Okay,
what effect did that have on her reputation? To John Paul, journalists,
Beaver County and dot com. When someone the parents believe
it was the fiance, emailed out, texted out this report
(29:27):
to the school board. What happened, Well, you can imagine
what happened. Happened. She gets suspended from her job. It
makes fun page news that a teacher was caught in
a car with a young person, and it was it
was a matter of a most controversy Time stories with
(30:01):
Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about Rachel Deltondo and what
happened to her. Her past is extremely important to the
fact that she was murdered execution style in her parents'
own driveway ed mushrooms out of control. Take a listen
to our cut thirteen. Less than a month after she
(30:24):
was murdered, there were three police chiefs in that Aliquippa
Police department in the span of one week. Three police chiefs,
and in fact, the third chief actually handed over the
investigation to the county Detective's bureau. So that gives you
a sentence. When you have those kind of distractions, it's very,
very difficult to focus on an investigation, and in fact,
(30:47):
Rachel's murder is actually the ninth unsolved murder in that area,
So people are losing faith in the police department. To
James Shelnot twenty seven years Metroom major case swat officer
now lawyer way, Well, I mean, I think I think
that one of the first things you have to do
is you have to go back and take a look
at all the possible suspects in this case and what
(31:08):
her current relationship was with them. You know, you have
got an awful lot of people that either need to
be eliminated or need to have continued investigation. You know.
The concern that I have at this point in time
is that there are a lot of missed opportunities. There's
missed opportunities as far as taking a look at these
(31:28):
witnesses getting things penned down, and I'm just I'm unsure
with the state of that department, with how things were handled,
whether or not they have lost some critical information to
put them beyond eight ball. You know, to you John Paul,
founder Beaver County and dot Com, the fact that that
police report was leaked, it should never have been given
to the fiance to start with, but it was. Then
(31:51):
it was leaked. Then her reputation was destroyed, then she
was gunned down. Why was it leaked? Well, I think
that's I think that's a very good question. I think
that's one that investigators would like an answer to. Certainly.
The other big issue that created a problem for the
police department is the leak was not just to the
(32:13):
police report, but it also contains sensitive information from a
law enforcement only Justice network database that hand and that
it contained also And if you had that database, what
could you learn? What good is the database? Well, it
provided the photographs, driver's license numbers, social security numbers. I mean,
(32:33):
it was every bit of private information about yourself that
the police department might have or that the state might
have that you could imagine, So that that leak was
much more than just a report. It was a sensitive
personal information that in state of Pennsylvania it's unlawfuled very sensitive.
Fancy could I make a comment about yes, jump my
(32:53):
clinical practice, whenever somebody reports to me that their lover,
their boyfriend, their friend is threatening to expose them to
their employer, I always think homicide. That's my first worry
that crosses my mind, because when you love somebody, when
you want to marry them, when they are your best friend.
(33:15):
When you've cherished that relationship. The last thing you want
to do is cause them to lose their job. The
last thing you want to do is be smirched their reputation,
make them look terrible. But whoever either released that report
or once it gone into the hands of the fiancee,
whoever sent it to the school board had simmering hate
(33:39):
and resentment towards her. They wanted to take her down.
When you report something negative to somebody's employer, you're not
thinking about their future anymore. You're cutting their life short professionally,
and that kind of person might have wanted to cut
her life short in a drum attic physical way too well, Bethany.
(34:03):
Less than one month after Rachel was murdered, three police
chiefs in the span of one week, the last chief
turn the investigation over to county detectives. Rachel's murder the
ninth I saw murder in the area, Okay to you,
Joe Scott Morgan and the aftermath of her murder three
(34:28):
police chiefs. Yeah, it's somebody's covering something up, Joe Scott.
That's all I can say about that. Something is a way.
I'd absolutely agree with you. And also to this point. Look,
I'm a death investigator by trade. That's all I have
literally ever done, and so it is the single most
(34:48):
intense investigation from a forensic standpoint that you can conduct.
If your eyes are not on the ball in a
case like this and other cases that this department is
intimately involved with, you're going to miss You're going to
miss the big picture because you're skipping over the finer details.
(35:10):
They don't have time to analyze the finer details because
they're too busy, uh, you know, not being able to
take care of their own house. Here. This is a
major problem. It's a huge mass. John Paul found to
Beaver County in dot com. Why three police chiefs in
the aftermath of her murder? What's happening? Well, the first
(35:31):
police chief was suspended when a councilman came forward and
said that he was aware that the chief was the
subject of a criminal investigation by the state police. Okay,
what about the second one. The second one was arrested
by county detectives after he had allegedly sent a pornographic
(35:52):
image to Lauren Watkins, who was the friend that dropped
Rachel Deltondo off at home. The night that she was killed.
And then the third chief was the one that eventually
turned it over to county detectives, and that chief has
sense passed and they're now chief was at the moment.
(36:12):
So all of this is stimming out of were connected
to Rachel del Tondo's murder and it's still unsolved. Okay, question,
let's hear now, what's happening. Just hours after Rachel del
Tondo was killed, police weren't Sheldon Jeter's doorstep looking to
(36:33):
question him, and a search warrant application indicates that that
visit raised questions. It states that they asked Sheldon for
the clothing he was wearing that night, and he gave
them other clothing. That's not how it went down. There
was a pile of clothes laying on the floor next
to his bed where he was sleeping. They got up
and side of these as the clothes that you were wearing. Yeah,
(36:54):
all my clothes are right there, so they scooped it up.
Sheldon's attorney ins is it's not his client's fault that
the cops picked up the wrong clothes, but the ward
application also states Sheldon failed to display any emotion when
he was informed of Rachel's death. That's absolutely untrue. He
was shocked. He was in shock. Lauren Watkins, who has
(37:18):
known Sheldon since elementary school, says she doesn't believe he's
capable of murder. She says she never knew Rachel and
Sheldon to have any type of romantic relationship. Guys, what
happened to Rachel Deltando? It sounds like a huge miss,
you know, Askey Wilcott, when you have to hand your
investigation over to somebody else like here, they handed it
(37:40):
over to county sheriffs. That's a horrible sign. It says
to me, something stinks. Oh. I completely agree with you.
And don't forget a couple of little facts that I
want to remind everybody about. Number one is the fiance.
I understood his father was law enforcement at some point.
The one of the girls that she was ice cream
(38:00):
with I believe was related to law enforcements. It is
a tangled web and it's a mess. And let me
just say this, when you have this much turnover, I
work for a county, right when you have this much turnover,
there are bigger issues. You've got major problems. And I
think the major problem here is people know things and
(38:21):
are doing nothing about it to solve this murder. The
murder of Rachel de Altando remains unsolved, her parents still grieving.
Tipline If You Know Anything eight hundred four PA Tips
eight hundred four seven two eight four seven seven. We
wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace crime Story, signing off
(38:44):
goodbye friend
Host
Nancy Grace
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