Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert I Nancy Grace breaking crimes Now Mama, he
shot me on purpose, A startling claim from a nine
year old Trey Michael ledwise and a ten year old
friend playing when shots ring out. Family says Trey Michael
lost his right kidney, half his left lung, and his
intestines were shattered by the bullet. The unnamed ten year
(00:24):
old friend arrested for ag battery and Gevian possession of
a gun. Jennifer Gould has the details, Nancy.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
A routine playdate in Alexandria, Louisiana exploded into a scene
of unthinkable violence when that ten year old boy allegedly
pointed a handgun at his nine year old friend and
pulled the trigger, leaving the child with life altering internal carnage.
The shooting on Chester Street was initially written off by
(00:55):
authorities as a tragic mishap between two children handling a five. However,
the narrative took a sharp, sinister turn when the victim,
Tray Michael, had his breathing tube removed. In his first
moments of consciousness, the boy gasped out a bombshell accusation
to his mom, Lakeisha Lgurgis. She spoke to ka LB
(01:20):
News five when the two first came out his mouth
and he was able to talk. The first word was mama, mama.
He shot me on pravase. The sheer force of the
bullet shattered Trey Michaels intestines, forcing surgeons to perform a
brutal triage that included removing his right kidney and half
(01:41):
of his lung. As of late January, the resilient survivor
is back home, but his body remains a road map
of the trauma he endured. Ligurgis, who rushed to the
hospital in a blind panic, has now since become a
vocal advocate for gun safety, begging parents to take the
(02:02):
guns away before another kid is mangled by unsecured weapons.
The ten year old suspect, whose name is shielded by
juvenile law, was hauled off to the Renaissance Home for
Youth after detectives determined the shooting was a calculated active battery.
He faces charges of aggravated second degree battery and juvenile
(02:27):
possession of a handgun. While the boy sits in detention,
though a major question remains how did a ten year
old gain access to a loaded weapon. Rumors within the
community suggest the gun belong to a family member of
the suspect, but no adults have yet been charged for
the negligence that allowed this playdate to turn into a
(02:51):
firing squad. The investigation continues. For the latest crime and
Justice news, follow Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on your
favorite podcast app. You can also watch crime stories on
Fox one and YouTube, and of course, follow the Crime
Alert hourly update wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Nancy, Thanks Jennifer. More Crime and Justice news after this.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
A cold blooded teenage gunman who turned a quiet North
Carolina neighborhood into a suburban slaughterhouse has finally surrendered his
fight in court. Austin Thompson, the now eighteen year old
accused of a twenty twenty two shooting spree that left
five people dead and a community shattered, followed a bombshell
(03:43):
notice of a plea flip that he is guilty of
all charges. Robert Steele's fiance was among those killed. He
spoke to WRL.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
News that young man took the best person I had
ever met away from me. I don't care why, but
I want to look him in the face when he
faces justice.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The move bypasses a February trial and sends the case
straight to a sentencing phase where Thompson faces life behind
bars for the carnage he unleashed in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The massacre began on October thirteenth, twenty twenty two, when
a then fifteen year old Thompson donned camouflage and allegedly
(04:30):
executed his own sixteen year old brother, James Thompson, inside
their Sehe Lee Way home, armed with a shotgun and handgun.
He then stocked the Hendingham neighborhood and Noose River Greenway,
picking off victims who never saw him coming. The fall
and include off duty Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres twenty nine,
(04:54):
who was shot in his car, Mary Marshall thirty four,
killed while walking her, Nicole Connor's fifty two gunned down
on her porch, and Susan Karnat's forty nine, who is
murdered while out for a jog. Thompson was eventually cornered
in a barn after a five hours standoff, suffering from
(05:15):
a self inflicted gunshot wounded the head that left him
with permanent severe brain injury. In a three page court filing,
Thompson's attorneys admitted that while the teen's brain damage leaves
him quote unable to explain his homicidal motives end quote,
he accepts full responsibility for the quote unquote deep pain
(05:38):
he caused. Thompson faces five counts of murder and multiple
counts of attempted murder for the wounding of Marcillan Gardner
and Officer Casey Clark. Because he was a juvenile at
the time of the killings, he is ineligible for the
death penalty under state law, but is staring down the
barrel of life without par role. The teen's father, Alan Thompson,
(06:03):
has already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for the negligent
storage of the firearms used in the bloodbath. His motive
remains unknown and finally talk about a parenting master class
in doing the right thing In Love Joy Georgia Laqwan Stephens,
sixteen found out that blood isn't thicker than the law.
(06:27):
In the ultimate reality check, the teen's dad made the
heartbreaking choice to turn him in after a two day manhunt,
an amazing parental pivot to school his son. Dad's house
is not a safe house for suspects. Stevens is accused
of blasting another kid in the face and neck through
(06:47):
a car window, plus a second separate shooting spree. While
the teen tried to play hide and seek with the GBI,
his father decided to play by the rules, which meant
calling the precinct Instead of enabling a fugitive, This dad
chose justice over a jailhouse, proving that sometimes the most
(07:09):
inspiring act of love is tough love. Nancy.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
For the latest crime injustice news, go to crimeonline dot
com and please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories,
where we do our best define missing people, especially children,
and help solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm
Nancy Grace.