Leigh Egan

Leigh Egan is a crime-fighting journalist and editor who specializes in breaking news and investigative true crime coverage. With more than a decade of experience under her belt, Leigh’s work can be found in a number of high-profile national publications. For Leigh, learning didn’t stop after college. She considers herself a lifelong learner who frequently takes media and journalism courses to keep abreast of the latest happenings and innovations in her field. Tips: legan@crimeonline.com

Mollie Tibbetts: Alleged killer’s confession is unreliable from lack of sleep, expert testifies

 Mollie Tibbetts: Alleged killer’s confession is unreliable from lack of sleep, expert testifies
Court

A defense expert testified Thursday that Mollie Tibbett’s alleged killer, who was interrogated for hours last year, provided an unreliable confession, given his lack of sleep. FOX28 reports that Brian Leslie, an interrogation expert, testified inside a Poweshiek County, Iowa, courtroom that after watching an 11-hour interrogation video between suspect Cristhian Bahena Rivera and investigators, …

Jealous Ohio mom gets 37 years in prison for killing her 3 sons
Murder
November 19, 2019

Jealous Ohio mom gets 37 years in prison for killing her 3 sons

An Ohio mother was spared the death penalty after taking a plea deal in connection with the deaths of her three sons. The Columbia Dispatch reports that 27-year-old Brittany Pilkington pleaded guilty to killing her three sons. The Ohio woman appeared at the Logan County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, after spending four years in jail …

SEE: Moment PERV snatches 8-year-old girl as screaming mom begs for help
Police
November 19, 2019

SEE: Moment PERV snatches 8-year-old girl as screaming mom begs for help

Texas officials released police bodycam footage video showing officers as they rescued an 8-year-old girl, who was ripped from her mother’s arms and taken in broad daylight. As CrimeOnline previously reported, the little girl was walking with her mother in the Ryan Place neighborhood of Fort Worth in May, when 51-year-old Michael Webb snatched the …

‘Somebody’s going to end up dead in that school’: Bullies corner autistic boy, shatter his jaw & leave him in a pool of blood [Cops]
Bullies
November 18, 2019

‘Somebody’s going to end up dead in that school’: Bullies corner autistic boy, shatter his jaw & leave him in a pool of blood [Cops]

Four Kentucky high school students have been arrested after a brutal beating that left an autistic teen unconscious. The Herald Ledger reports that 18-year-old Damon Simmons was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief. Simmons, along with three other minor teens, are accused of barricading the victim inside a bathroom at Iroquois High School …

Did you know her? Cops find tot girl’s decomposed remains, need help in identifying her
Unsolved
November 18, 2019

Did you know her? Cops find tot girl’s decomposed remains, need help in identifying her

Delaware authorities are asking the public’s assistance in identifying a toddler girl found so decomposed they used facial reconstruction technology to reveal what she may have looked like. Delaware’s Smyrna Police Department reports that the child has likely been deceased for at least several weeks, possibly longer. Authorities found the unidentified girl close to the …

‘I was already seen as guilty’: Skylar Richardson, teen cheerleader who buried her newborn, opens up following high-profile murder acquittal
Famous Murder Cases
November 18, 2019

‘I was already seen as guilty’: Skylar Richardson, teen cheerleader who buried her newborn, opens up following high-profile murder acquittal

Skylar Richardson, an Ohio teen acquitted for murder after burying her baby girl in her backyard, has opened up for the first time since her acquittal. Richardson was 17 in 2017 when her doctor told her she was pregnant. Richardson said she was already in her third trimester when she learned she was pregnant and …

‘Don’t take me downstairs’: 26 toddlers found stuffed behind a fake wall in a ‘dingy’ daycare basement: Reports
Child Abuse
November 15, 2019

‘Don’t take me downstairs’: 26 toddlers found stuffed behind a fake wall in a ‘dingy’ daycare basement: Reports

The state of Colorado suspended the license of a Colorado Springs home daycare after 26 children were found cramped behind a fake wall in the daycare owner’s basement. NBC8 reports that officials visited the home of 58-year-old Carla Faith, the owner of Play Mountain Place, a home daycare. Authorities, and along with Colorado’s Department of …