Idaho murders victim’s mother makes emotional plea at CrimeCon – live
Follow live updates as The Independent attends the true crime conference CrimeCon 2023 in Orlando, Florida
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Thousands of true-crime enthusiasts, media personalities and survivors travelled to Orlando, Florida, to take part in CrimeCon 2023 this weekend.
The Independent was at the event which included talks with Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, the attorneys of Alex Murdaugh; and Kerri Rawson, the daughter of BTK serial killer Dennis Rader.
During one panel at the event, the mother of murdered University of Idaho student Ethan Chapin made an emotional plea to the crowd.
“But I just wanted you all to know that these were four of the greatest kids. And all the great things you read are legitimately true,” she said, before adding “don’t forget these kids”.
Also at the event, Ms Rawson spoke about the moment that she confronted her father over two cold cases that he is now being investigated over – years after he was convicted of 10 murders.
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, I’ll make sure to do everything I can to protect you. But if you did, I’ll come back and nail you to the wall,” Ms Rawson recounted telling him. “He’s been playing games for years, with me, and with you...”
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Special CrimeCon campaign raises nearly $9K for Gabby Petito Foundation
A special CrimeCon campaign for the Gabby Petito Foundation has raised nearly $9,000.
The foundation was created by Gabby’s parents and stepparents, Nichole and Jim Schmidt, and Joe and Tara Petito, to turn the family’s tragedy into purpose.
The purpose is to spread awareness of domestic violence’s warning signs and assist organisations that provide immediate, tangible help to survivors, according to the campaign.
The Gabby Petito Foundation is CrimeCon’s CLUE Award recipient for the event’s Crimefighter of the Year award.
Who will be at CrimeCon this year?
Attendees and special guests at the convention range from top experts in the field to notable news personalities to a plethora of true crime podcasters.
Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz, Cold Justice’s Kelly Siegler, and Nancy Grace are among the big names in attendance to discuss their years of work in the industry and insight into their most memorable cases.
On the second day of the conference, Gabby Petito’s parents participated in a panel to discuss their daughter’s life and the events that led to her tragic murder in 2021.
“Gabby’s parents and stepparents, Nichole and Jim Schmidt, and Joe and Tara Petito are changing the narrative and stigmas associated with domestic violence. Through the efforts of the Gabby Petito Foundation and the spirit of who Gabby was, the hope is to make sure this kind of tragedy never befalls another family,” the event description reads.
Another big story dominating the conference this year is the trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh. His attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlianand and the prosecutor Creighton Waters will be on hand for meet and greets.
Visit the CrimeCon website for a full list.
WATCH: Thousands attend CrimeCon in Orlando
Thousands of true crime fanatics - along with some of the biggest names in the popular genre - have converged in Orlando this weekend for CrimeCon, a three-day conference focused on murder and mayhem and all things true crime.
It’s a unique opportunity to rub elbows with top investigators, forensic experts, and well-known true crime television and podcast personalities.
CrimeCon is an immersive, educational experience that gives attendees the chance to be citizen detectives by participating in crowd-solving and learning how to dig into a case properly without hindering the investigation.
Gabby Petito’s mother becomes emotional as she credits daughter’s solved case in part to true crime enthusiasts
Gabby’s parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, and her step-parents, Tara Petito and Jim Schmidt, took the stage at CrimeCon 2023 for a powerful session about domestic violence, “Missing White Woman Syndrome,” as they took the audience through what they went through since Gabby was killed.
It was Petito’s posts that inspired enormous interest in the case and were seized on by an army of online sleuths who joined the effort to help locate Petito when she was first declared missing. They pored over her Instagram posts, searching for any inconsistencies, clues or possible causes for concern.
While law enforcement was searching for Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie in Florida on 19 September 2021, investigators announced they had located a body believed to be that of Petito in the eastern portion of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The discovery was aided by another travel YouTuber who spotted Petito’s van in a video they had been editing.
“It’s thanks to all of you that we found her,” Nichole Schmidt said on Saturday.
Karri Rawson opens up about candid conversation with BTK serial killer father
Kerri Rawson confronted her father Dennis Rader also known as BTK, after it was announced that he was being investigated in at least two cases years after he was convicted of 10 murders.
Ms Rawson, who is an advocate for victims and survivors, said she went in calm, then also pushed to talk about his crimes.
She said her father pushed her to talk about the Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger. They also discussed the two cases Rader is being of of, including Cynthia Kinney, who went missing 1976 from a laundromat.
Ms Rawson said she told her father, “I love you but this is out of my hands…”
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, I’ll make sure to do everything I can to protect you. But if you did, I’ll come back and nail you to the wall,” Ms Rawson said. “He’s been playing games for years, with me, and with you...”
Ms Rawson also called out true crime fans in the audience for writing letters to her father.
Alex Murdaugh defence says family out of money for case as new suspect hinted
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh hinted at multiple new developments in the case of the disgraced South Carolina lawyer during their appearance Saturday at CrimeCon.
The lawyers said the Murdaugh family has run out of money to pay for the new murder trial that the attorneys are seeking, though Murdaugh’s defence has offered to pursue the case again for free.
Additionally, during a question and answer session at the conference, the Murdaugh attorneys said they don’t believe Alex killed Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, hinting that new information suggests a different suspect could’ve committed the crimes.
The lawyers said they are working on obtaining more evidence to support that claim.
Dr Katherine Ramsland delves into tragic family past and why she decided to study the criminal mind
NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin interviewed Dr Ramsland — famous for her expertise on criminal minds and for co-authoring a book with the BTK serial killer — at CrimeCon on Friday.
This year is the third time that Dr Ramsland, who also taught Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger at DeSales University, has attended CrimeCon.
When asked why she had decided to study serial killers, Dr Ramsland said that she hoped research about the criminal mind would help prevent tragedies in the future. The expert also said that her own family had experienced trauma stemming from violence.
“... we study these people in a way that helps us prevent future serial killers and that’s probably the most important part of the kind of work we do,” Dr Ramsland said. “My father’s mother was murdered ... and my great-grandfather on the other side of the family tried to poison everybody so he could run off with someone else and that didn’t work but there’s certainly violence in the background that trickled down to me.”
Dr Ramnsland told NewsNation that she won’t be able to discuss Mr Kohberger’s case until after his trial.
Alex Murdaugh prosecutor Creighton Waters draws large audience at CrimeCon
Mr Waters, the lead prosecutor in Murdaugh’s murder convictions, and his rock band The Sole Purpose performed during the event’s kickoff on Thursday.
The veteran prosecutor then took the stage as a speaker on Saturday.
“This was the scene in the vast auditorium at CrimeCon before SC prosecutor Creighton Waters spoke about the Murdaugh murder trial Saturday afternoon,” The State reporter John Munk tweeted. “...estimated 2,000 people hanging on every word.”
Here’s what’s happening on the last day of ComiCon 2023
- 10.15am How A True Crime TV series gets made
- 11.30am K-9 Demo, Missing White Woman Syndrome: Asking the Hard Questions - with Nate Eaton, The Petito Family and missing Daniel Robinson’s father, David Robinson
- 12.45pm Secrets of a Defense Attorney - with Linda Kenney Baden, The Killer Clown: How DNA closed a decades-old cold case, Live Body Bags taping - Dismemberment and the Desecration of the dead, Life Imitating Art: How A Hollywood DNA Analyst was Hunted in a Real-World Decade of Terror
- 2pmA World Turned Upside Down: Tragedy, Triumph, and the Power of Healing - with Kerri Rawson, Tara German. The Murder of Christine Frank: How DNA & Detective Work Led to a Breakthrough After 17 Years
Aunt of Delphi murders victim Liberty German to speak at CrimeCon panel
Liberty German’s aunt will be speaking as part of the panel A World Turned Upside Down: Tragedy, Triumph, and the Power of Healing, which will take place at 2pm on Sunday.
“To close out CrimeCon 2023 we invite you to attend this very powerful session with several people whose worlds were involuntarily turned upside down,” the event description reads. “Though they are at different points in their journey, they share the tragic fact that someone else’s violent actions put each of them at the center of a true crime world they never asked to be in.”
Six years ago, Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, set off on a walk in their hometown of Delphi, Indiana – never to be seen alive again. Last October, a local man was arrested and charged with the teenagers’ 2017 murders.
Richard Allen, a 50-year-old married Delphi man, was taken into custody on 26 October and booked into Carroll County Jail.
He was later moved to a state facility for his own safety.