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Good morning, and thanks for joining me for Rise in Crime.

Your morning caffeine hit, All About Crime.

I'm Mama Jules, and it's a trio of crimes centered around loss of control today.

First, we have the completion of a seven-year saga, a murder rooted in the need to gain money for a cheer competition. Then we have a loss of control behind the wheel of a truck. That alleged

vehicular murder has a mother fighting for justice. And finally, a surgeon who couldn't control

his girlfriend's pregnancy choices. And now, he is headed to court.

It's a full Thursday at Rise in Crime. Let's go. All right, let's begin in one of Southern California's

more affluent areas, Rolling Hills Estates. This is coastal California, northwest of Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach,

just strolling up the map of California headed toward LAX. This area is also low crime and includes

an over 40-store mall called Promenade on the Peninsula, a manicured outdoor shopping mecca with restaurants and lunch

spots and entertainment. It's really a place where you should feel safe to relax and enjoy what

California has to offer, but not on May 3rd of 2018. On that day, retired nurse Susan Leeds

was brutally stabbed to death inside her own car inside the parking garage

at the promenade on the peninsula. That murder kicked off a seven-year journey to the trial of

Sherry Lynette Townsend. See, Sherry had been accused of killing Susan to pay for her daughter's cheerleading fees.

Let's get into it.

66-year-old Susan had dedicated her professional career to caring for others, particularly

those with type 1 diabetes.

Susan had reached the time in her life where she could spend moments focusing on her happiness.

...