US7 min(s) read
Published 13:29 18 Jun 2026 GMT
A woman whose mother was killed in an unsolved homicide more than three decades ago has revealed the chilling three-word phrase her three-year-old sister repeatedly told investigators after the shooting.
Nicole "Nikki" Wasilishin was just 10 years old when her mother, Stacy Wasilishin, was found fatally shot inside the family's Sedona, Arizona home on July 9, 1993, following an alleged argument with her longtime boyfriend, Russell Peterson.
Now 43 and working as a pre-K teacher, Wasilishin has launched a true-crime podcast called Papi Killed Mommy in an effort to keep her mother's story alive and push for a new investigation.
The title comes from words that have haunted her for more than 30 years.
In an exclusive interview with VT.co, Wasilishin revealed her younger sister, Kristina, was just three years old when their mother died.
In the hours after the horrific shooting, the little girl repeatedly told adults and investigators: "Papi killed Mommy."
"According to police records, she made that statement numerous times during her interview and in conversations with adults following the shooting," Wasilishin said.
"In various forms, she repeatedly communicated the same basic idea: that Mommy was dead and that Papi had killed her."
Kristina's statements became part of the official record, but the pre-K teacher believes investigators failed to fully explore what the child may have witnessed.
"My belief is that Kristina was awakened by the events that occurred inside the home and witnessed something that no child should ever have to see," she explained.
"I cannot say with certainty exactly what she saw, but I do believe her repeated statements were meaningful and deserved careful consideration."
The podcast host told us that one of her biggest concerns is the way Kristina was interviewed after the shooting.
She argued that child interviewing standards in 1993 were very different from those used today.
Instead of being questioned by a specialist trained to work with young children, Kristina was allegedly asked to lie on the floor and show investigators how their mother had been positioned.
"She was essentially being asked to reenact aspects of a traumatic event at only three years old," Nikki said.
Even though investigators noted Kristina's statements, Wasilishin believes there was never an opportunity to look back on them using modern child forensic interviewing techniques.
As a result, she says many questions were left unanswered.
"I understand that memories can be complicated, especially when they involve very young children. However, what cannot be ignored is that a three-year-old repeatedly made statements identifying her father in connection with her mother’s death.
"Those statements became part of the official record," she said.
"More than thirty years later, I still believe Kristina’s words deserve to be taken seriously and examined within the totality of the evidence."
"Whether people agree with my conclusions or not, her voice is one of the most important voices in this case because she was the only eyewitness known to have been awake inside the home when my mother died," she added.
What makes the case even more troubling is what happened in the hours before her mother's death.
According to phone records, Stacy spent nearly two hours speaking with Nikki's father, Craig Daly, on the evening of July 8, 1993.
During the conversation, they reportedly discussed getting back together after years apart.
"My father has consistently stated that my mother sounded happy and hopeful," she said.
"He had a home available, and they made plans to get back together while Russell was away attending a culinary seminar."
The call ended shortly before 10PM, and less than four hours later, she was found lifeless.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner later ruled Stacy's death a homicide.
Despite the homicide ruling, nobody was ever charged with the crime.
Prosecutors later refused to pursue a case, saying there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wasilishin believes several investigative opportunities were missed, including how her little sister's interview was handled.
She also argues that evidence, phone records, and witness statements were not fully examined.
"As for who I believe is responsible, I can only speak for myself," she said.
"I believe Russell Peterson knows exactly what happened inside that home that night."
Nikki noted that Peterson was the only adult present when her mother was killed.
"He gave multiple statements to law enforcement, and many of those statements have raised questions that remain unanswered more than thirty years later," she added.
While the 43-year-old's fight for justice has become a mission spanning more than three decades, she says she wants people to remember who her mother was beyond the unsolved case.
"My mother, Stacy Wasilishin, was first and foremost a mom," Wasilishin said. "She never seemed interested in climbing a corporate ladder or building a career.
"What she wanted most was to have children and be involved in their lives.
"She started her family young and poured her energy into creating a loving home for us."
Wasilishin credits her mom, who was a pastry chef, with encouraging her lifelong love of storytelling and books.
"Many afternoons, I would come home from school to find a new book waiting on my bed," she said.
"She understood how much I loved stories and quietly encouraged that passion long before I ever became a storyteller myself."
Some of her fondest memories involve her mom's efforts to make her feel special, from finding outfits inspired by the TV show Clarissa Explains It All to making Halloween costumes by hand.
"She was present. She was involved. She genuinely enjoyed spending time with her children," she said.
"When people ask what I remember most, I remember a mother who loved being a mom. I remember laughter, books, baking, holidays, and feeling loved."
Those memories are one reason why Wasilishin has struggled to accept suggestions that her mom may have taken her own life.
"The woman I knew was deeply devoted to her children.
"She had spent the evening making plans for the future and talking with family members.
"She was not someone who would intentionally leave her children behind while they slept just feet away," she said.
Papi Killed Mommy was launched in July 2025 to coincide with the anniversary of Stacy's death.
The podcast includes police reports, witness statements, court documents, interviews, and Wasilishin's own memories of growing up without her mother.
"My mother was 32 years old when she was killed," Nikki said.
"She was a daughter, a sister, a mother, and a friend. The fact that thirty-three years have passed does not make her life any less valuable, nor does it lessen the obligation to pursue the truth."
Despite the decades that have passed, Nikki remains convinced the case can still be solved.
"Most importantly, I refuse to believe that justice has an expiration date," she said.
"As long as evidence exists, as long as people are alive who may have information, and as long as there are investigators willing to look at the case with fresh eyes, I believe my mother’s homicide can still be solved."
"That belief is what keeps me fighting, and it is one of the reasons I created the podcast in the first place," she added.
You can listen to Wasilishin's Papi Killed Mommy podcast here.
You can also follow her on Instagram
3 min(s) read
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uk5 min(s) read
Published 10:33 29 Apr 2026 GMT
The one phrase that a toddler repeatedly said to his mom after she was brutally murdered has been revealed for the first time.
An upcoming Netflix documentary titled The Murder of Rachel Nickell is set to delve into the infamous killing of the young British mother.
Just 23 at the time, Nickell was stabbed 49 times on Wimbledon Common, in London, while she was walking her dog with her son Alex, back on July 15, 1992.
The crime shocked the nation, as Nickell was also sexually assaulted by the attacker before he fled, with Alex, three, later found next to his mom's body in the park.
Decades on from the grueling crime, never-before-seen footage is being broadcast to the public, showing the boy and his father having a harrowing conversation about what happened that day.
But Alex has previously addressed what happened in the immediate aftermath, in a 2021 interview.
Now in his mid-30s, he spoke to the Daily Mail about the ordeal around five years ago, recalling: "My strongest memory is of waving goodbye to my father at home.
"Then it moves on to walking hand-in-hand with my mother on the common. I remember making our way into the trees, walking with our dog, Molly.
"I remember a stranger walking up towards us. I remember being grabbed and thrown around roughly."
He horrifyingly explained: "And I remember my mother being grabbed and thrown around, collapsing on the floor beside me. And I remember the realization of what happened.
"I said: 'Wake up, Mummy.' And she didn't respond. So I said again: 'Wake up, Mummy,' and she didn't respond... I knew my mother was gone. She wasn't coming back."
Before long, a passerby found the boy and his mother's body, as he kept telling her to "wake up," in a heartbreaking recount of events.
Home video footage, which will be included in the documentary, as per the Daily Mail, shows Alex speaking to his father, André Hanscombe, about what unfolded on that fateful day.
The pair can be seen sitting at a table, with the former in a Thunderbirds outfit as he asks for help in drawing his mom on a piece of paper.
"Alex, look at me. When you saw the bad man, was he in front of me like I am, or was he on this side, or was he on that side?" André calmly asked.
The toddler said that he was "in front of me," revealing that he didn't think his mom saw the attacker before he attacked.
After revealing that he had a bag, Alex said he opened it and took out "a knife" before knocking the child over.
Alex draws a chilling picture on paper, with the father asking: "What's he sticking in her?"
"A knife, there's his knife," Alex said, telling his father: "Yeah, I saw the knife. I saw it, yeah, I saw it all.
André moved to rural France with Alex after the incident, to both start a new life and stop him from being found, as he was the only person to have witnessed the murder.
The killer was still at large when they made the move.
Speaking today, André said: "My son witnessed his mother's murder, but nobody could have possibly known how long it was going to take to find the person who did this."
Authorities questioned 32 men after the murder, as the original suspect Colin Stagg, a man who lived locally and also walked his dog on the common, spent 13 months in custody.
He was widely believed to be the killer for over a decade, despite being freed by an Old Bailey judge in 1994.
The judge criticized police for using a "honeytrap" undercover policewoman in an attempt to make him confess to the killing.
Mr Justice Ognall said it was a "blatant attempt to incriminate a suspect by positive and deceptive conduct of the grossest kind".
The case would be reopened by Scotland Yard in 2002, utilising DNA forensic techniques that had recently surfaced to find that convicted murderer Robert Napper was a suspect.
He would later plead guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility in 2008, as he was ordered to be detained indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital.
Stagg would be awarded £706,000 in compensation from the Home Office as a result of his wrongful arrest, though he had spent all the cash by 2017.
'The Murder of Rachel Nickell' will be available to stream on Netflix on June 4
us3 min(s) read
Published 12:35 15 Mar 2023 GMT
A three-year-old girl has fatally shot her four-year-old sister with an unsecured firearm, in an incident officials called "preventable".
The shooting in Texas on Sunday was determined to be "unintentional" after the unnamed three-year-old got hold of a loaded semi-automatic pistol.
As per CNN, the siblings were left unattended and the family came rushing into the room after they heard a gunshot where they tragically found the four-year-old unresponsive.
The group of five adults and two children were in a Houston apartment, with each of the children's parents believing that the other was supervising them.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has stated that incidents like this "likely" end up with somebody facing charges for not securing their weapon.
"It just seems like another tragic story of another child gaining access to a firearm and hurting someone else," Gonzalez said while calling the incident "tragic" and "preventable."
"This basically involves a three-year-old and a four-year-old," the sheriff went on. "The three-year-old is the alleged shooter. It appears to be unintentional."
Per NBC, Gonzalez continued: "You’ve got to be sure you’re being a responsible gun owner, securing your weapons in a safe place. It’s got to be more than just telling young kids not to touch the weapons. You know, we’ve got to do a little more. We see far too many tragic situations like this unfold."
According to data compiled by Everytown Research & Policy, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under 18 years old between 2015 and 2020, resulting in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries.
Sadly, children obtaining unsecured firearms aren't uncommon in the US, as shown recently after a six-year-old allegedly shot his school teacher.
As reported by CNN, the shooting took place on Friday, January 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, when 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot in the abdomen.
Police Chief Steve Drew updated the press at the time, deeming that the shooting was "not accidental" and that "we have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man."
Despite the shooting being determined to be intentional, reports revealed that the six-year-old was not to be charged.
Newport News, Virginia, Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn told CCN affiliate WTKR: "After researching this issue thoroughly, we do not believe the law supports charging and convicting a six-year-old with aggravated assault."
Zwerner reportedly instructed others school children to flee the classroom when she realized that the child had a weapon, and a shot was discharged as she attempted to confiscate it.
The 25-year-old was taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition and she was released a week later.
It is claimed that some members of staff were aware that the six-year-old had brought a weapon into school and failed to act accordingly.
The boy's family told the district that he "suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day," but this was the first week that they had opted not to attend school with their son.
Per Education Week, there have been 145 school shootings in the US leading to injuries or fatalities since 2018.
us4 min(s) read
Published 16:29 20 Oct 2025 GMT
The case of Amanda Lewis - a Florida mother sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her daughter - has resurfaced after her son, who was the key witness in her 2008 trial, spoke publicly for the first time in nearly two decades.
AJ Hutto, now 24, has shared his thoughts about testifying against his mother when he was just seven years old, telling the Daily Mail he stands by everything he said in court.
"I just told them exactly what I saw word for word. It was heartbreaking. You know, she's my mother," AJ recalled. "But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end."
The tragic events unfolded on August 8, 2007, in the small rural town of Esto, Florida, just near the Alabama state line. That day, seven-year-old Adrianna Elaine Hutto was found unresponsive in the family's backyard pool, per CourtTV.
Amanda Lewis, who had reportedly just returned home after a night shift, told authorities that Adrianna had accidentally fallen into the water while trying to clean bugs from the pool’s surface.
At first, her explanation was accepted, and investigators treated the incident as a tragic accident.
But the case took a shocking turn when her son AJ came forward with a very different version of events.
In a video-recorded interview, AJ told investigators: “She done some stuff that she ain't supposed to, so my mama got mad, so she throwed her in the pool.”
His chilling account suggested that his mother, angry over Adrianna’s behavior, had intentionally drowned her. AJ even submitted drawings to the court showing what he said he had witnessed—his mother holding his sister underwater as punishment.
At trial in February 2008, AJ, then just seven, wore a collared shirt and vest as he took the stand. His testimony became the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case.
After four days of testimony, the jury convicted Amanda Lewis of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In a 2016 prison interview with Piers Morgan on Killer Women, Lewis continued to deny responsibility for her daughter’s death and shared her version of what happened.
"We had went outside. The kids were playing. [I] had to step back inside. Somewhere along the point she had pulled the wagon by the pool. Somewhere along the line she fell in," she said.
"Adrianna was playing in the pool. I looked out the back door and that's when I can barely see her floating in the pool."
Despite the differences in their stories, Lewis made it clear she still cared deeply for her son.
"I love him no matter what, I will always love him. He is in no way blame him for what happened."
Now an adult, AJ has reaffirmed the testimony he gave as a child, insisting he was never manipulated by prosecutors.
“I don't believe I was, what they've called, coached or anything like that,” he said. “I just told them exactly what I saw, word for word.”
AJ also reflected on the emotional difficulty of seeing his mother in court.
"It was heartbreaking. She's my mother. But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end."
Since Amanda Lewis's conviction, AJ has had no contact with her. Adopted by another family, he now lives under a different name and identity for his own safety and peace of mind.
“It’s court-appointed that we cannot see each other,” AJ said. “And I've wanted to keep it that way, just so nothing's getting brought back up… all the feelings, emotions, and traumas coming back into light."
us2 min(s) read
Published 12:27 07 Apr 2021 GMT
A brave nine-year-old girl called 911 after watching her father kill her entire family.
The dad turned up to his daughter's birthday party uninvited where he fatally shot her mother and two sisters before turning the gun on himself.
On Monday night, NYPD officers responded to the little girl's harrowing 911 call bout the murder-suicide, per NBC News. The tragic incident occurred at about 11:30PM at a Brooklyn apartment building in the 360 block of Sutter Avenue.
Upon arrival, the cops discovered two deceased victims in the hallway and one in the living room. All three of the victims had been pronounced dead at the scene, NBC News reports.
Learn more about the chilling story:The three victims were identified as Rasheeda Barzey, 45, and her two daughters Solei Spears, 20, and Chloe Spears, 16.
The perpetrator, identified as 46-year-old Joseph McCrimon, was found dead on the sidewalk near the apartment. He succumbed to his injuries after shooting himself, the authorities said.
According to the Associated Press, two guns were found near his body.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told the Associated Press that Barzey and McCrimon were the parents of the nine-year-old girl and had been together for 20 years.
McCrimon's other two victims were Barzey's daughters whom she shared with a different father. Their surviving nine-year-old sister has not been identified. The family were celebrating her birthday when the shooting occurred.
After dialing 911, she told the dispatcher: "Daddy's coming from my birthday... he didn't bring presents," Essig revealed to AP.
"It’s really heart-wrenching," he said of the tragic incident.
There had been no known incidents of domestic violence between Barzey and McCrimons and there had been no previous emergency calls. However, Essig explained to the outlet their relationship was "very rocky."
"We know he left in an agitated state to meet her," Essig said, according to AP.
Per AP, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, who reviewed footage from the officers’ body cameras, said seeing the nine-year-old who called 911 "would tear your heart out."
McCrimons had once been convicted of manslaughter and was in state prison for more than eight years, according to jail records. He was released in 2003.
us4 min(s) read
Published 15:23 11 Jul 2025 GMT
A seven-year-old boy had to take the stand to answer heartbreaking questions after he watched his mother murder his sister.
On August 8, 2007, seven-year-old Adrianna Elaine Hutto was found unresponsive in the family’s backyard pool in rural Esto, Florida, near the Alabama border, per CourtTV.
Her mother, Amanda Lewis, told authorities she had discovered Adrianna face-down in the water after the little girl tried to clean bugs from the pool’s surface. Adrianna was rushed to a nearby hospital but tragically died an hour later.
Initially, investigators ruled Adrianna’s death as an accidental drowning. But the case took a shocking turn when her older brother, AJ Hutto, came forward with a different version of events that would change everything.
AJ, who was just seven at the time, told police in a video-recorded interview: “Mama dunked my sister. She done some stuff that she ain't suppose so my mama got mad, so she throwed her in the pool.”
The statement led prosecutors to charge Amanda Lewis with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, and in February 2008, AJ took the stand to testify against his mother in court.
Wearing a collared shirt and vest, AJ struggled through emotional testimony, at one point breaking into tears while explaining to the court what he had seen.
The prosecution began by asking AJ simple questions about his age and school before moving to the heart of the matter, per Yahoo!
“I told them today, that Adrianna was dead. Is she dead?” the lawyer asked. AJ nodded but was urged to respond verbally, answering: “Yes, sir.”
The lawyer pressed on, saying: “They want to know how Adrianna died, now I wasn't there AJ was I?”
AJ responded: “No, sir,” before confirming that he was there when his sister died.
“Can you tell them how she died?” the lawyer asked.
AJ told the court that his “momma killed his sister” and even drew a stick-figure illustration showing a person pushing another’s head underwater.
“That's my mama,” he said, “killing my sister.” AJ added that his mother was “putting her hand over her face.”
The testimony proved decisive. Amanda Lewis was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, with an additional 30 years for child abuse, per the Daily Record.
Following the trial, AJ was adopted by another family and given a new name and identity for protection.
Now, at 24, AJ has spoken publicly for the first time since the trial, reaffirming that he told the truth all those years ago.
Speaking to MailOnline under the condition that his current identity remains private, AJ rejected claims that he had been manipulated by prosecutors or other adults during the investigation.
“I don't believe I was, what they've called, coached or anything like that,” he said. “I just told them exactly what I saw, word for word.”
AJ described the experience of testifying against his mother as “heartbreaking,” explaining: “She's my mother. But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end.”
While Amanda Lewis has continued to maintain her innocence, telling Piers Morgan in 2016 that she wanted to prove “what he said I didn’t do,” AJ has made it clear he stands by his testimony.
He explained that he has had no contact with his mother since her conviction, saying: “It’s court-appointed that we cannot see each other, and I've wanted to keep it that way, just so nothing’s getting brought back up… all the feelings, emotions, and traumas coming back into light.”
AJ also reflected on the abuse he and Adrianna experienced growing up, revealing, “For the most part, I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn't even see it coming. It was literally sometimes we were blindsided.”
Today, AJ describes his adoptive family as a “happier” place, acknowledging that while the tragedy changed his life forever, he is certain he did the right thing by speaking up.
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