Jennifer Delgado

Warning, this episode contains graphic crime scene detail. Please listen with discretion. Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie. Let's talk right now in true crime, and then together we're going to work. On warming up some cold cases. Let's go. Hey guys, welcome to this week's episode of Primetime Crime. It's Kylie. I do have a couple of housekeeping things I want to talk about before we get into right now in true crime and before we get into the episode. So I'm going to be doing my first official interview with true crime YouTuber Danny after Dark, also one of my good friends who I met at Crime Con last year. I'll be seeing her again in May at Crime Con. Check out her YouTube channel, Danny after Dark. And if you're listening to this on Friday, I recorded a live episode with her Thursday evening, so be sure to go check that out. And Danny is amazing. I don't know how she does it, but she does lives multiple times a week with different guests. She has a lot of different people on Her interviews are always so so fascinating and I am honored and grateful that she has asked me to come on and talk about all things true crime and podcasting and crime con and all of the things. So be sure to check out that interview. Once I get a link for it, I will link it below in the show notes for you guys as well, so you have easy access to it. But check out all of her content. She is the best. Also, I'm going to be recording a interview with Hope Houton. She actually just released her book earlier this week. Hope tragically lost her two children, Alec and Lydia to fill aside, and she has taken this tragedy that has happened in her life and has made major moves. And when I talk about making major moves, we're talking like legislation, getting up in front of lawmakers, in front of state reps and introducing the Alec and Lydia Act. She is doing such amazing things. And she wrote a book about her journey, and it's an amazing book. It is a very easy read. We're going to be, like I said, talking about all of that with Hope, talking about the process of the book and everything that went into it and where she is now with everything. But the book is available on Amazon and I am just going to put a link for it below in the show notes, if you want to go ahead and grab a copy read the book. Like I said, it is a very quick read. You can get through the book in a day. It is that good of a book. It's an easy read, and honestly, you will not want to put it down. So if you want to grab it so that way you can read it, support Hope and her mission because this is truly a amazing thing that she's doing. She has taken this. Horrible tragedy that in her life and she is making moves and making changes and inspiring so many people in this whole journey. And I can't wait to sit down with her and have a conversation about her book, about her life, because what I tell you, I learned so much from reading this book. I met Hope at Crime Con last year. I was introduced to her and her story through Rachel and Heather from Like Mother, Like Murder, and I knew that Hope was this amazing person. She experienced this horrific loss and she was doing everything she could to make changes in the legislature and the laws to protect children, and that is really what her mission and everything is about. But I learned so much about. Who hope is as a person, and I think all of that has led her to where she is today and why she's the person that is taking these projects on head on and really making a difference. So I highly encourage you guys to get the book and stay tuned because my interview with her is going to be coming soon. All right, let's get into right now in true crime, so we have an update in the Lacin Snelling case. Now. Lacan was a former cheerleader for the University of Kentucky. In August of last year, Lacan gave birth to a baby boy around four a m at her off campus house in Lexington, Kentucky. Her roommates, who. Had very much suspected that Lacan was pregnant and was concealing her pregnancy. They told police that they heard. Some loud and really strange noises coming from her room kind of throughout that whole morning. So Lacan allegedly cleaned up the blood from the scene of having this child, she showered, left home and went to a McDonald's. So upon her leaving, her roommates ended up going into her room and they found a blood soak towel on the floor and a plastic bag that contained evidence that a child had been born, and then inside of a black plastic bag inside of a closet they discovered a newborn. They called nine to one one and they had told the operator that the infant was in fact cold to the touch. When Lake and returned home, cops were there and she was arrested. Now, she did initially tell cops that the baby had fallen on the floor after she gave birth to him, but she didn't think that the baby was breathing or alive. She then said that she passed out on top of the baby and woke up and found that the baby was turning blue and purple, and then she said she wrapped the baby up like a burrito and ended up laying next to him. But then later in the investigation, it was revealed that she had told medical staff that the newborn had in fact shown a little bit of fetal movement and made a whimper after he was born. There was also allegedly several photos that were taken by her while she was in labor, but those were deleted in an attempt to hide the fact that she had this baby. So this has all been very interesting. She's bet on house arrest, they were more going to charge her with tampering with the corpse and tampering with evidence, but on Tuesday, she was charged by a Fayette County grand jury after the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office determined that the baby boy was born alive and that his cause of death was asphyxia by undetermined means. So they were able to officially bring these charges against Lincoln and that is kind of where things stand today. With these new charges, she faces a maximum of twenty years in prison for the first degree manslaughter charge and an additional eleven years for the remaining charges if she is found guilty. So this was pretty huge breaking news this week in the true crime world. So I will be sure to stay on top of it, and I'm sure there's going to be more developments coming and I will be sure to bring them to you. Here. There has been a person of interest identified in a forty year old cold case. So Christy Luna, who was eight years old went missing on May twenty seventh of nineteen eighty four, and she was going to a general store that was less than two blocks away from her home. She went there to buy cat food. Now, this was in a Palm Beach, Florida. So she did make it to the store to buy the cat food, but after that she was never seen again and there has been no trace of her ever since. So authorities announced this week that they do have a newly identified person of interest. This jewel is named Warren Gilbert Williams, Junior, and he is a convicted sex offender and he passed away in twenty sixteen. Law enforcement said that they received an anonymous tip last year that this individual, Warren Gilbert Williams, was remodeling a home near the general store on the day that Christy went missing, and this person said that he ended up leaving the home and the remodeling job to go buy cigarettes at Belk's General Store and he never returned. Now, he was convicted of sexual battery on a child under twelve and lewd and lascivious molestation and he was in prison in Florida from two thousand and seven to twenty thirteen, and once he finished that sentence, he went to prison in Alabama where he was wanted for sexual abuse of a child. So they do have reason to believe that he could potentially be involved in Christie's disk appearance and for good reason. Now, detectives also learned through their investigation and this anonymous tip, that he installed a concrete pad in his backyard a week after Christy went missing. Now they were able to obtain the permission from the current homeowners to search the property. They excavated the yard, they unfortunately did not find anything. They of course thought that they were going to find something, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't something more here and that they are going to be able to connect him to her disappearance and possible murder. So I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on this one. But this is a huge lead and the tipster, whoever this person is, I'm so glad that they came forward with this tip because it literally could break this case wide open and it could lead investigators and Christy's family to finally having answers after all of these years. Investigators have said that they do want to learn more about him him. They say that they realized that this was a long time ago, but they want to talk to anybody people, friends, neighbors, witnesses who saw anything that day that might have seen him. They are telling people to please come forward and also important to note that if he was involved in Christy's disappearance, he was forty six years old at the time. Investigator Bill Springer, who is actively working on this case, has urged anyone with information to come forward, and he is quoted as saying, I want people to come forward. I'm not going to question why you didn't come forward, because I don't care. My job is to find Christy, not to judge people because they didn't come forward. So if you've got information and you've been sitting on it for thirty forty years, I don't care, bring it out and we'll look at it and see what we can do with it. End quote. And that is amazing. I think that is so perfectly said, because I think a lot of people want to come forward, but after so much time passes, they feel like they can't because they have sat on it for so long. But honestly, that doesn't matter. What matters is doing the right thing and coming forward with what information you may. Know, because it could crack a case wide open. So if anybody does have information on this individual, Warren Gilbert Williams Junior, please come forward. The last thing we're going to talk about, Nancy Guthrie There isn't really much more of an update. It has been over a month now. There has been little to no movement in the last couple of weeks. People have kind of stopped talking about it, which I still think it's important for us to talk about it and keep her name out there. But I just wish that they could get a breakthrough and figure out what exactly happened, because I can't imagine the family's agony just having to deal with day to day knowing that she's missing and not having answers, and it's it's just heartbreaking and tragic that we're still kind of in the same boat as we were over a month ago, and we don't have any more answers. We have way more questions because this case and this investigation has just been a wild dry to say the least. So that is the update for now. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on any Nancy happenings. If there's any more breaking news along the way, I will be sure to be posting all of that on my social media. And we are going to go ahead and get into today's episode. Okay, guys, we are jumping in to a brand new unsolved case I am going to be sharing with you about the nineteen eighty eight unsolved homicide of eight year old Jennifer Delgado out of San Antonio, Texas. This story is a very sad and tragic one. Jennifer's family and friends still search for answers about what happened to Jennifer and why. This one is a little different, I feel than most of the stories I cover, because to me, this one truly feels random, and it's very easy to question what would have happened If Jennifer and her mom weren't targeted the night that they were, would this have happened to somebody else? The person that did this is dangerous and unstable and likely has reoffended sense. And it's been almost thirty eight years and that individual is still unidentified and likely walking free. Let's go ahead and get into Jennifer's story now. Jennifer Sue Delgado was born on August twenty fourth of nineteen seventy nine to her parents, Roe Helio and Melita Delgado, where Helio worked as a construction worker and did his best to provide for the family of five. Jennifer was the oldest out of the three. Delgott of siblings that included Dorade and Roger Junior. Jennifer was the oldest at eight years old. The family settled into life in San Antonio, Texas and lived off of West Oak Road in the quiet Westwood Village neighborhood, which was in close proximity to the Lachland Air Force Base. Jennifer was in her last week of school of her third grade year at Westwood Terrace Elementary and was eagerly awaiting summer and making plans. She had hopes that she could spend some time at her grandmother's house in Catula, Texas, but unfortunately, she would never get that chance. Her classmates at school remember her fondly as being a sweet and quiet girl who was kind and smart. They remember that on school picture day she wore a Mexican style dress, and unfortunately, these memories are all that remained of Jennifer for her classmates. Our story takes us to June sixth of nineteen eighty eight. It was a Monday evening and one just like any other for the Delgado family. It was almost summertime, so Jennifer was eagerly awaiting summer break. The family of five had just completed dinner, and it was then that Melita decided she was going to go ahead and go across the street from the Delgado family home to do some laundry at the laundrymat. It was less than one hundred yards away and it was called West Rock Coin Op. Wash and Dry. This was a place the Delgado family had been many many times before. Now it was getting a little later on in the evening, but daylight was still holding on. It was just before eight pm when Melita and Jennifer, who had decided she was going to tag along with her mom that night, made their way over to the laundrymat. Like I said, this laundrymat was located less than one hundred yards away from the family home. Rohelio stayed back with Jennifer's younger siblings and to an eye on everything. A short while later, the Delgado's neighbor heard screaming. Once they went out to look to see what was happening, they saw Jennifer and Melita running towards them, obviously in distress. They were severely injured and I can't even imagine what was going through their minds. So the Delgado's neighbors, who were a mom and daughter, a young girl very close in age to Jennifer, who played with Jennifer all the time, heard screaming went outside, only to find that Jennifer and Melita had been severely injured and were running, literally. For their lives. Jennifer's dad also rushed outside and was met with his worst fear his daughter and his wife had been stabbed. They of course called nine one one called for help, and within minutes paramedics arrived and Jennifer and Melita were taken to Wilford Hall Medical Center. Melita had been stabbed and was in critical condition. Jennifer had been stabbed in the stomach and was rushed into surgery, where they attempted to save her life, but unfortunately, the stab wounds had hit a major artery and she was unable to be saved. By eleven PM that evening, Jennifer Delgado was gone. So what happened? How did we go from a mom and her eight year old daughter going across the street to do laundry to both of them being stabbed and Jennifer losing her life. All of this happened while they were minding their own business at a laundromat that was right across the street from their home. So here is the account of what happened. And I am going to warn you that the details of this are terrible, and you are going to be mad, You're going to be sad, you're going to be frustrated that all of this happened, and even more that this person is still out there. So eight year old Jennifer and just over five foot tall and ninety six pound Melita arrived at the laundry maat and started to do their laundry. It was a very quiet night there and nobody else was there. So while they. Waited on their laundry to cycle through, they sat down at a table and they started to discuss the summer's plans. This is when they talked about Jennifer wanting to go visit with her grandmother. And Melita said it was just a innocent conversation and they were just making small talk and talking about the summer plans. An individual walked in, a young guy described as an older teenager, and he went into the bathroom, but he didn't close the door, and Melita said she could kind of see half of his face. He didn't close the door. He was in the bathroom and he looking toward a rear door, and she honestly wasn't sure if he was looking at her or he was just keeping his eyes on this door for some reason or another. So he was in the bathroom for a little while, and then he came out and he walked over to the vending machine and attempted to get a drink out of the vending machine, but for whatever reason, the vending machine wasn't working. And with this he became enraged and mad, and he started hitting and kicking the machine, and he still had no luck getting the drink out of the machine that he wanted. So before she knew it, Melita said that he attacked them. They were the only two people that were there in the laundromat, and he took out a knife and went on the attack. Now, I will say there are numerous reports that detail Jennifer being attacked first. There are other reports that detail Melita being attacked first. From all of the newspapers dot com articles that I found, it does appear that Melito's report was that she was attacked first, and before she knew it, he was stabbing her. And I'm sure she didn't even have time to process what was going on, but her motherly instincts kicked in and she told Jennifer to run, run home and get your dad. Unfortunately, when Jennifer went to run, the suspect grabbed her and also stabbed her in the stomach. Just awful, awful behavior. So Jennifer did exactly what her mom told her. Although she was injured, she ran for her life, Jennifer in front, Melita right behind her, both running in the direction of their home, running for their literal lives. They were both holding their stomachs, and Jennifer was her stomach. She said something to her friend, do you see what they did to me? Before collapsing in her dad's arms. I just cannot even imagine the fear and sheer panic that everybody that was in that situation felt that day. I cannot even fathom, especially poor little Jennifer. She was only eight years old. I can't even imagine what had to be going through her mind that night. Something so innocent as going to do laundry with your mom turned into this horrific ordeal for no. Reason at all. So obviously, Jennifer's death was a huge blow to the community. Nobody could understand how something like this could have happened in their small, little safe community. So law enforcement knew that they had to do everything they could to try and find this person, and they took this. Case very serious. Melita was only twenty five years old, she was a young mother, and Jennifer was eight, and they did nothing wrong and they were senselessly attacked. Melita was released from the hospital a few days later on June ninth, and she was able to give her account as to what happened and also give a description of the attacker. Now, the suspect initially was described as a Hispanic man. However, they did say that he was light. Skinned, and I honestly think that the reason that initially he was described as Hispanic is because of the trauma response. Obviously, Melita was going through a very traumatic time in her life. Obviously she was being attacked by this. Random guy in a laundromat who had also attacked her daughter, and sometimes our brains don't store things the right way when a trauma response is involved. So initially, although he was thought to be Hispanic, although light skinned, he is now described as a white male around seventeen or eighteen years old, about five to two, with a slender build with dark wavy hair, and he was wearing a white flowered Hawaiian shirt. He fled in a vehicle that is described as silver or gray and a compact type of car that is two doors, such as a Honda Civic or a Chevy Chavette. The car was driven by another man who was described as a white male. Now, law enforcement has pointed out that the individual that was driving this car might not have known what the passenger did inside of the laundry maat. They also suspect that the guy who perpetrated this attack could have been on drugs and didn't know what he was doing. Still, there's no excuse for attacking a mom and her daughter for no reason at all. Once the suspect got inside the quote unquote getaway car, the car headed towards I ninety. The car has never been identified to this day and the driver has never come forward, so police very much had their work cut out for them with this one. Malita told police that the person who attacked them was a stranger and unknown, so they didn't really have a whole lot to go on except for the description of the perpetrator and the vehicle description. They confiscated coins from the coke machine, hoping that they would be able to identify some fingerprints on them and that would help lead them to a suspect, but this ended up not turning into anything at all. They were basically looking for a needle in a haystack and they didn't really have much to go on. Jennifer was laid to rest and more than four hundred people attended her funeral to celebrate her life. This was a community loss. When Jennifer's life was taken in such a heinous way, it really struck a chord with the whole community, and everybody came together to try and support the Delgado family. They had lost their sweet, precious daughter, but also had lost her in such a heinous way, and Melita was a victim too. There were initially some suspects and persons of interest that kind of were introduced through tips and stuff, but all of those people were eventually cleared and ruled out due to having alibis. So the case was kind of back at square one and it went cold pretty quickly, and unfortunately that is exactly where it stands today. But the fight isn't over because somebody knows something about what happened to Jennifer that night. We have not just the suspect, but we also have the. Getaway drive who might not have known he was a ghetaway driver. But that person who was driving the car that night knows the identity of the man that got into the car. Maybe he is fearful of coming forward, obviously not wanting to be connected to the murder of an eight year old girl and the attempted murder of that eight year old girl's mom. But I can't imagine knowingly living with that on a daily basis, knowing that I had the power to end all of this by coming forward. And that is the importance of keeping these stories out in the public eye, because you never know when someone is going to come across a story that maybe they have knowledge of and they're finally going to realize that the time has come and they need to come forward with what they know. And now we get to the part of the story where you turn your pain into purpose. So there is a guid named Christopher Palmer, and he was a classmate and a friend of Jennifer's, and he has worked so hard to keep her name in the headlines and has spoken out about the fact that Jennifer's death not only had a impact on the community, but it also had an impact on him. Although he was only a child when Jennifer was taken, as he got older, he started to realize how many important things that Jennifer was robbed of doing, finishing school, going to college, getting married, having children. In two thousand and one, he organized a candlelight vigil at the site where Jennifer had been attacked. The laundromat had since been torn down and was replaced by a new building, which at the time in two thousand and one was a drive through bank. He was hopeful that this event would draw people in and possibly even bring new tips forward. Unfortunately, they saw no new movement in the case, but in twenty twelve, the San Antonio Police Department officially reopened Jennifer's case. However, like I said, it still remains unsolved as we speak now. In twenty twenty six. Christopher Palmer, however, has continued his fight for Jennifer and has really helped to keep her name out there. In twenty twenty one, he attempted what turned out to be a super difficult task of changing a portion of the roadway where the laundrymat once sat to Jennifer Siue Delgado Memorial Way. He began raising money and they ended up getting the funding they needed and it was approved by the city council and the signs were put up in June of twenty twenty two. Obviously it was. A feat, but he did it because he was dedicated to what he was doing, and on the thirty fourth anniversary of Jennifer's death, they had a dedication at the site. He also learned that the elementary school that he and Jennifer attended were opening up a new wing and he talked to the principal about putting a plaque in the building in honor of Jennifer. He then went on to start a nonprofit in Jennifer's name. It is called the Jennifer Sue Delgado Foundation and it was founded in twenty twenty one. In June of twenty two, they were. Able to award a college scholarship to a John Jay High School graduate and they also work every year to raise enough funds to purchase new books for every student at Westwood Terrace Elementary to take home and read over the summer for their summer reading program. And like I said, this is something that they strive to do annually and make it a part of. The Jennifer Sioux Delgado Foundation. And the sweet part about this is Jennifer was a bookworm, loved reading. It was one of her favorite things to do. You could always find her with her nose buried in a book. So I think the fact that they have carried on Jennifer's love of reading into getting enough books to give every single student a book to take home for summer, I think it's amazing. Her name being attached to a foundation that helps raise money to put books in the hands of students. Is what it's all about. Christopher is so important in the story, and I truly think it's amazing what he's done with everything. He was so young when Jennifer was taken and the fact that all of these years later, her life continues to impact so many is truly incredible. I'm going to go ahead and link the foundation website below, and I encourage you to make a small donation if you can, and I'll be doing so as well. So as much as I wish there was more, that is the story and case of Jennifer suit Delgado, a case that I do believe is very solvable. There has to be more here. I don't know if there is any evidence left from inside the laundromat that day that they could retest with twenty twenty six forensics and advanced DNA technology. I don't know what all they have, but if they did have something else that they could run through with twenty twenty six lens, this case could be solved. I do believe the answers are out there. Obviously somebody knows something about what happened. This person that did this could truly be anywhere, and a lot of time has passed by since nineteen eighty eight. We don't know if this individual who attacked Melita and Jennifer lived in San Antonio or was just passing through. It's also a little unclear as to why he stopped in the laundromat for a coke in the first place, because there was a convenience store right nearby, right next door, So why would he choose to stop in at a random laundromat and then attack the two people that were inside. Although it does seem random, maybe he did want to attack someone that night, and unfortunately that's where he picked to go because there was only two people inside. We don't know his motives or his reasoning or what was going through his head. But I think when that individual entered the laundromat, Melita got a bad feeling because she was very aware of what he was doing and how he was moving about the laundromat. And I think, especially now, we have to trust our gut. When someone makes us feel uneasy, there's typically a reason behind it. I personally don't think it was targeted per se, unless this person just decided he wanted to go in and at attack random people. Because the Delgado family did not have any enemies who would attack a mom and her daughter. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to think that this was a targeted attack. Like I said, investigators do kind of speculate that this guy might have potentially been on drugs and really didn't know what he was doing. But like I said, there's still no excuse for a violent, a vicious attack like this. It just doesn't make any sense. And the Delgatto family doesn't know who this person is. Melita had never seen him before. He was completely random to her. So this is one of those cases that truly is a mystery because it will never make sense why anyone would want to attack an eight year old girl would want to attack her five foot tall, ninety six pound mom, unless they were just looking for easy targets, which is so in furiating that that could have. Been the case. So if you do have information that might be useful, please call the San Antonio Police Department Cold Case Tip Line any time of day or night at two one zero two oh seven seven four zero one, or you can call two one zero two oh seven seven six three five or two one zero two zero seven seven four eight four, or call crime Stoppers at two one zero two two four stop. There are a lot of numbers that I just gave you, but they are very important because somebody out there knows something. Somebody might have seen something that day. Somebody might have seen this car going on I ninety and acting a ratic. They might be able to give a better description of the driver. They might know the driver, they might know the passenger. There are so many opportunities here for the person or the driver that we're responsible to come forward. It's been a long time. This happened in nineteen eighty eight. I was two years old when this happened. That is a long time ago, going on thirty eight years. That is way too long for this family to live with all of these questions and no answers. So rest in peace to Jennifer and Melita. I'm sure every day is difficult for her, and my hope in prayers are that she knows that she did everything she could that night to try to protect her daughter, and all we can hope for is that this person is caught so the family can semi come to terms with what happened and maybe feel a little bit better that this person isn't on the streets anymore terrorizing other people, because obviously this is a very bad human. We do not want this person out on the streets. They were a teenager, an older teenager seventeen eighteen years old, and they were exhibiting this type of violence way back then. It just doesn't track for them becoming a super upstanding citizen and never going on to reoffend. That is my personal opinion. But I just don't foresee somebody killing an eight year old girl and then going on to be a good person. That is again just my opinion. Though, thank you guys so much for listening to Jennifer's story. I appreciate you guys as always for tuning in. Please give this one a share if you live in the San Antonio, Texas area, if you lived in the San Antonio, Texas area in nineteen eighty eight, especially because this one needs to reach far and wide. We never know who's gonna listen and if that person is going to have a change of heart and decide to finally come forward with. What they know. So thank you guys. I hope you have a fantastic weekend coming up, and stay safe and I'll see you next week. Bye.