Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Jessie Marie Peterson, 31, an attorney with Type 1 diabetes, was admitted to the hospital for a diabetes-related illness.

Two days later, she called her mother around 2:30 p.m., asking to be picked up and taken home. When her mother arrived two hours later, hospital staff told her that Peterson had checked herself out against medical advice.

Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack examine what really happened to Peterson and why the hospital claimed she left when records show she was pronounced dead at 4:27 p.m. at the medical center. While her family spent more than a year searching for her, her body had been in a storage facility.

Transcript Highlights

00:05.18 Introduction

01:59.25 Hospital tells family patient left AMA

06:53.65 Family is looking for Jessie Peterson, attorney

11:48.34 Jessie is ready to leave hospital, accomplished woman

16:11.54 Lawsuit filed

21:10.19 She calls her mother at 2:30, two hours later she is gone

25:20.07 Hospital claims she left AMA

30:22.43 Mother begins looking for Jessie

35:15.51 Jessie Marie Peterson was dead and for a year the family is looking for Jessie

40:06.21 Body is placed into cold storage

45:08.31 Her body is found after a year, remains are not viewable

49:01.24 Conclusion

Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student, traveled to the Dominican Republic with five college friends on March 3, staying at the all-inclusive Riu República resort in Punta Cana.

Days later, on March 6, she disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

On the night of her disappearance, Konanki and her friends were dancing at a disco when parts of the resort experienced a 25-hour power outage. At some point, the group decided to take a moonlit walk on the beach. Surveillance footage captured Konanki walking toward the beach with five women and two men around 4:15 a.m. Approximately an hour later, five women and one man were seen leaving the beach, while Konanki remained behind with 24-year-old Joshua Riibe, a U.S. college student from Minnesota.

The next morning, Konanki’s friends went on an excursion she had not signed up for and only realized she was missing later that afternoon. When they confronted Riibe, he claimed he had fallen asleep on the beach after passing out and assumed Konanki had left before him. By this time, she had been missing for over 12 hours.

Dominican authorities launched an extensive search by land, air, and sea. They discovered her clothes near the beach but found no evidence of foul play. Riibe was questioned multiple times by investigators, including Dominican Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso. His passport was confiscated, and he was monitored by police as a key witness. Riibe stated that he and Konanki were swept into the ocean by a large wave but managed to return to shore. He last saw her in knee-deep water before vomiting and falling asleep on a lounge chair.

Konanki’s parents, Subbarayudu and SreeDevi Konanki, have since requested that Dominican authorities declare their daughter legally deceased. In their letter to officials, they acknowledged Riibe’s account and expressed their belief that she likely drowned. Despite ongoing investigations, no evidence of foul play has been uncovered.

Riibe has since returned to the United States after restrictions on his travel were lifted. The case remains open as Dominican authorities continue their investigation into Konanki’s disappearance.

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It has been eight years since the Buckner family has seen or heard from Shapammela Latrisha Buckner.

She was 20 years old when she disappeared from the Houston apartment she shared with her boyfriend, shortly after a neighbor and a family member received concerning texts from her. They believe she was involved in an altercation just before she vanished, but police have released few details about the circumstances of her disappearance.

After reports of a disturbance the night before, Shapammela’s landlord stopped by to check on her. When no one answered, the landlord found her door unlocked and called Shapammela’s emergency contact. Family members arrived and found all of her belongings—including her phone, purse, ID, and keys—still inside. It was highly unusual for her to go anywhere without those items. After several days with no sign of her or any communication, Shapammela was reported missing. She was last seen at home the evening of March 21.

Late Tuesday night, a neighbor heard what sounded like an altercation next door. Knowing Shapammela should have been home alone, the neighbor texted to check on her. Shapammela responded that she wasn’t okay and needed help. When the neighbor asked if she should call police, Shapammela said yes—but authorities did not make contact with her that night.

Shapammela’s aunt also received a call from her, claiming she was being attacked in her home. The aunt rushed to the apartment, but someone else answered the door and refused to let her inside, claiming Shapammela wasn’t there. Shapammela did not respond to any more texts or calls that night.

Houston Police and Texas EquuSearch searched the area for Shapammela, believing she may have left the apartment on foot. However, the searches turned up no further clues. Investigators interviewed the neighbor and aunt, then spoke with several more possible witnesses.

Shapammela’s boyfriend was confirmed to have been on base that night, far from their Houston apartment.

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Kansas nanny comes face to face with 'monster' while trying to prove nothing is under the bed. All the pressure on this suspect results in diamonds!