Weeklong Search for Murderer Fugitive Ends With Arrest of 22-Year-Old Woman | Crime Alert 9AM 04.23.25

A woman in Virginia is now in custody after nearly a week on the run, accused of shooting a man outside his home in Nelson County. A jury in Connecticut finds a man guilty of murder and tampering with evidence in the 2019 beating death of his girlfriend, while their infant daughter remains missing. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert hourly update, breaking crime news Now.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Drew Nelson. A woman in Virginia is now in
custody after nearly a week on the run, accused of
shooting a man outside his home in Nelson County. Caitlin
Ann Hipes, twenty two years old, was arrested Tuesday afternoon
in Harrisonburg. Please say she shot forty seven year old
Kevin Scott Small in the chest Friday in Shipman, a
rural area about one hundred miles west of Richmond. Deputies

(00:26):
found Small unresponsive in his yard. He was pronounced dead
right there. Authorities launched a multi agency manhunt after naming
Hypes as the suspect. We believe that she was floating
from residents. Her family is in the Verona area of
Augusta County, and we believe between Augusta County and Nelson
she was over here relatively frequently. Pipes was located with

(00:47):
help from the US Marshall's Task Force. About four pm.
Harrisonburg police served the search warrant at a house on
Lee Avenue. A shelter in place order was issued in
the neighborhood. Pipes was taken into custody without a fight
She's charged with second degree murder and use of a
firearm and a felony. Court records show Hypes had been
in legal trouble before, including assault and battery charges involving Small.

(01:10):
A protective order he filed against her was later dropped
just two days before the killing. She was found not
guilty in one of those cases. Investigators have not released
a motive for the killing or explained the nature of
her relationship with Small. Authorities thank several agencies for their help,
including the Virginia State Police and multiple sheriff's offices. The
victim's family described Small as a quote devoted son, brother,

(01:34):
and uncle who never met a stranger. A GoFundMe campaign
has raised one three hundred and sixty dollars toward a
ten thousand dollars gold to help with funeral costs. More
crime and justice news after this, a jury in Connecticut
finds a man guilty of murder and tampering with evidence

(01:56):
in the twenty nineteen beating death of his girlfriend while
they're in daughter remains missing to this day. Jose Morales,
forty eight years old, was convicted on Monday. The verdict
followed a two week trial in Milford Morales faces up
to sixty five years sentencing set for July eighth. The victim,
Christine Holloway, was found dead in her Antsnia apartment. Their

(02:16):
fourteen month old daughter, Vanessa Morales, was not there. She
has not been seen since. Morales told the jury he
was high on PCP and said two men broke in,
killed Holloway with a crowbar, and kidnapped Vanessa. He claimed
he couldn't help because of the effects of the drug.
He said he cleaned up the blood and later dumped
evidence in a donation bin. Prosecutor said his story made

(02:37):
no sense. They said Morales struck Holloway in the head
several times and then cleaned the scene. They pointed to
his delay in telling police about the so called intruders,
and said his texts showed he was controlling and angry.
Morales said he stayed in the apartment for more than
a day after Holloway's death. He said he moved her
body to the bathtub, took off her clothes and threw
them in the washer. He said at some point he

(02:59):
stepped over her body to leave the house to buy
cigars and more PCP. State's attorney Howard Stein, asked the jury, quote,
why would you believe that home invaders committed murder and
kidnapped a child would leave behind a living witness. He
also questioned why Morales never tried CPR. The jury deliberated
for less than three hours. Morales kept his eyes closed.

(03:19):
When the jury verdict was read. Holloway's family cried in court.
Her sister in law said, quote, now that this portion
of our lives is done, we can now focus more
on bringing Vanessa home to us again. I no, we
never stopped looking for Vanessa, and Sonia Police save Vanessa's
case remains active. She would be six today. A reward
of ten thousand dollars is offered for information about her.

(03:41):
Anyone with information should call Antsnia Police at two three
seven three five, eighteen eighty five. Erica Lee Frasier was
last seen between nine and ten pm October twenty first
of nineteen ninety seven. She had been with friends near
the video in Tan store in Brooksville, Kentucky. The next
her black four door nineteen eighty eight Pontiac bon of

(04:03):
ale Ssese was found unlocked in an abandoned hay field.
Her purse, wallet, checkbook, and money were still in the car.
Her keys were missing, but were later found under leaves
across the road. No one has seen her since Erica
was seventeen. She had brown hair, blue eyes, and a
strawberry birthmark on the back of her neck. Five six

(04:23):
one point fifteen. She wore jeans, a purple sweater with
white stripes, white keads, a gold chain, and four gold rings,
including one with a sapphire and diamond heart. She also
wore a Winnie the Pooh watch. One man questioned by
police later shot his wife and himself. Police said he
had an alibi and ruled him out. The last person
known to see Erica was Shane Simcox, eight twenty. He

(04:46):
said she dropped him off at his step grandfather's house
at nine pm. Simcox had a criminal record, had been
expelled from school for threats, and refused a light detector test.
He denies any role in her disappearance. Police found no
signs Erica plan to leave. She didn't pick up her
last paycheck, she didn't tell friends about any plans to
run away. She had a steady boyfriend, and she was
making good grades. In her case, foul play is suspected.

(05:09):
Today she'd be forty four. Anyone with information should call
Bracken County Sheriffs at six oh six seven three five
twenty seven hundred for the latest crime and justice news.
Follow crime alerts hourly update on your favorite podcast app
with this crime alert. I'm Drean Nelson.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
How could a beautiful young first grade teacher be stabbed
twenty times, including in the back, allegedly die of suicide? Yes,
that was a medical examiner's official ruling after a closed
door meeting. He first named it a homicide. Why what
happened to Ellen Greenberg? A huge American miscarriage of justice.

(05:56):
For an in depth look at the fact, see What
Happened to Ellen? On Amazon. All proceeds to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.