Transcript

Stripper caught murdering new husband on home security footage

From True Crime News · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 39 min · 6,107 words · 172 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Stripper caught murdering new husband on home security footage", an episode of True Crime News published December 12, 2025 (39 min, about 6,107 words). It mentions 14 people, works and ideas, including Crime Watch Daily, Donald Melon, Rebecca Cha, William Sears, Danny Sears.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Crime Watch Daily, Rebecca Cha, Chris Hansen, Karen Melon
  2. – 10:00: Ashley Melon, Rebecca Cha
  3. – 15:00: Donald Melon, Marcus Adair, Jennifer Wilmont, Thaddius
  4. – 20:00: Crime Watch Daily, Donald Melon, Rebecca Cha, Jennifer Wilmont
  5. – 25:00: Donald Melon, Crime Watch Daily, William Sears, Chris Hansen
  6. – 30:00: Linda Sears, Crime Watch Daily, William Sears
  7. – 35:00: William Sears, Crime Watch Daily, Danny Sears
  8. – 39:25: Crime Watch Daily

Notable quotes from "Stripper caught murdering new husband on home security footage"

  • I'm Chris Hansen right now on Crime Watch Daily from here in New York.
    about Crime Watch Daily · at
  • Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. And that means Donald, his wife Karen, and their three kids have a pretty comfortable life.
    about Donald Melon · at
  • In a tape so shocking and gruesome, police won't let us show it. Rebecca enters the living room while Donald's leaving that message for his daughter.
    about Rebecca Cha · at
  • Karen says the clips only show his violent reaction and not Rebecca's terrorizing of Donald.
    about Karen Melon · at
  • Her attorney, Jennifer Wilmont, still argues Rebecca never intended to kill Donald.
    about Jennifer Wilmont · at
  • Welcome back to Crime Watch Daily here in New York. Now, we head to the opposite coast where the LA County Sheriff's Department is breaking news only to us about a high-profile missing.
    about Chris Hansen · at
  • To this point now, we've been able to confirm that blood in fact is our missing person's William Sears.
    about William Sears · at
  • Daniel, I want to talk to you. What happened with your uncle Will?
    about Danny Sears · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Donald Melon — Person · Victim / central figure in Phoenix homicide case · 6 mentions · first at
    Wealthy Phoenix McDonald's franchise family member whose shooting death anchors the first half of the episode and the self-defense vs. murder narrative.
  • Rebecca Cha — Person · Shooter / defendant (later Rebecca Melon) · 4 mentions · first at
    Introduced as an exotic dancer who marries Donald; she shoots him on camera and later claims abuse/self-defense and memory loss, shaping the legal outcome.
  • William Sears — Person · Missing person / presumed homicide victim · 4 mentions · first at
    Center of the Santa Clarita disappearance case; blood evidence in and outside the home escalates the case to a homicide investigation.
  • Danny Sears — Person · Person of interest in William Sears disappearance · 2 mentions · first at
    Will Sears' nephew and the last known person with him; surveillance video and blood evidence make him the focal suspect in the second case segment.
  • Jennifer Wilmont — Person · Defense attorney (Rebecca Melon) · 2 mentions · first at
    Frames the battered-spouse/self-defense narrative, references extensive surveillance footage, and explains the plea deal strategy and sentencing context.
  • Chris Hansen — Person · Host / anchor · 3 mentions · first at
    On-camera host introducing and narrating both crime stories for Crime Watch Daily from New York.
  • Karen Melon — Person · Ex-wife of Donald / family counter-narrative witness · 3 mentions · first at
    Provides background on Donald's alcoholism, divorce, and disputes the defense portrayal by alleging Rebecca antagonized Donald and that he feared her.
  • Linda Sears — Person · Spouse of missing person / primary reporting witness · 2 mentions · first at
    Will Sears' wife who discovers him missing, files the report, and identifies the surveillance discrepancy that conflicts with Danny's timeline.
    Linda immediately called her nephew Danny, hoping he'd know where Will went.
  • Marcus Adair — Person · Housemate / witness to abuse and substance use · 3 mentions · first at
    Alongside Kea, provides testimony-like observations about violence, drinking, and Rebecca's sobriety/impairment cues in the 911 call/voicemail audio.
    Marcus and Kea, who've both seen Donald and Rebecca at their very worst. Here they listen to that horrific voicemail for the very first time.
  • Ashley Melon — Person · Donald Melon's daughter / key evidence discoverer · 2 mentions · first at
    Her voicemail from Donald captures the moment of the shooting, becoming a pivotal emotional and evidentiary element in the story.
    My sister Ashley, she was He called me last night. He left me a voicemail. Let's listen to it.
  • Kea Adair — Person · Housemate / witness to abuse and substance use · 1 mention · first at
    Lived with Donald and Rebecca for a year; corroborates heavy drinking and mutual violence, influencing the self-defense vs. murder framing.
    Their friend Kea Adair says parties with this odd couple were a blast.
  • Thaddius — Person · Child witness context (Rebecca's son) · 2 mentions · first at
    Rebecca's young son is repeatedly referenced as present during violent incidents, heightening the stakes and context of domestic abuse claims.
    Donald sets himself up in a new home with his new wild child bride and her young son That Thaddius.

Places & events

  • Maricopa County — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Location where the murder case took place and where the trial was held.
    Despite her claims of abuse, the plea deal still puts Rebecca Melon behind bars for 20 years for the murder of Donald Melon.

Media & podcasts

  • Crime Watch Daily — Media · Broadcast · 9 mentions · first at
    Primary media platform discussing the murder case and providing exclusive coverage.

Full transcript with timestamps

I'm Chris Hansen right now on Crime Watch Daily from here in New York. A murder case that starts with a bizarre 911 call.

What's your husband doing? He's bleeding. Why is he bleeding? I don't know. But this Phoenix wife knows exactly what happened because she pulled the trigger at point blank range. and every second of the coldblooded crimes been caught on tape.

She sat next to him and smoked a cigarette thinking die, die, die die. Today, the murder of a fast food king was the motive pure evil.

My first thought was this evil or pure payback. It was a matter of time until something horrible happened.

Then a California man spends the day with his favorite nephew watching golf and going on a beer run. Danny was the son he never had.

But this convenience store video will be the last time he's ever seen. Do you think Will is dead?

His wallet, his keys, his car left behind. And then his aunt catches the nephew in a lie.

You're sure that's Danny's car? Crime Watch Dy's Anna Garcia joins forces with the LA County Sheriff.

This is now a homicide investigation and confronts the man at the center of the mystery.

What happened WITH YOUR UNCLE WILL? Right now, Andrea Iser with Crime Watch Daily.

Jason Mater with Crime Watch Daily. This I'm Elizabeth. I'm here with Crime Watch. Michelle from Crime Watch Daily. Anna Garcia from Crime Watch

is Crime Watch Daily. Stay off my property. We'll find you again. We always do.

Welcome to Crime Watch Daily, everyone. I'm Chris Hansen. First up today, a wealthy Phoenix man is shot to death while on the phone with his daughter. The entire incident captured on surveillance video. But that's not all those cameras recorded. In fact, those other videos would raise some serious questions about the murder. It's a picture of domestic heaven. And Donald Melon is your typical doting daddy. A cleancut family man his little girls admire and adore.

He always helped people without them asking for help. He really was a nice, caring guy.

Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. And that means Donald, his wife Karen, and their three kids have a pretty comfortable life.

We used to go on road trips a lot, family trips to Disneyland and Hawaii, and we got to do a lot of cool things with him like that. But there are also trips down darker roads.

Unfortunately, he turned to the alcohol and he just wasn't strong enough to give up the alcohol for his family. And with raising three kids, I couldn't do it anymore.

Karen divorces Donald, but how does this cleancut all-American dad go from this to this? [screaming]

The newly single dad is now under the influence of more than just liquor. drowning his sorrows in the intoxicating charms of an exotic dancer, Rebecca Cha.

She was some young girl that was stripping, drinking, and she met an older man that had money, and she needed money. He needed company.

Turns out this is no rebound romance. It leads down the aisle and to big trouble. Donald sets himself up in a new home with his new wild child bride and her young son That Thaddius. Now Daddy can really cut loose.

My first thought was, "Wow, this lady's fun." Their friend Kea Adair says parties with this odd couple were a blast.

He was very charismatic, funny, one of the most amazing giving individuals I've ever met in my life. Rebecca was young, beautiful feisty fun.

But if you ask Donald's ex, the hard parting expper Rebecca was too much fun. Way too much.

She showed my daughter a picture of her giving him oral sex. She was taking them to go egging houses and the amount of alcohol in the house. I I knew that that was not any situation for any child to be in. All that alcohol isn't good for Donald either.

What was that? Donald, the cleancut family man, starts to change. First on the outside, then on the inside, answering to Rebecca's nickname for him, DJ.

The minute he met her, he turned into DJ, into something that I had no idea who he was anymore. And DJ and Rebecca are arm in- arm, racing down a path of destruction, stocking up not only on liquor, but a terrifying arsenal of guns. Friends say they're locked and loaded in every possible way. And even their party buddies smell trouble.

They woke up, their breakfast was a big old bottle of Chardonnay. By lunchtime, they were drinking vodka mixed with something, doing shots, wine all night long, and it seemed like they never slept or ate. It was just a recipe for disaster.

And on a hot night in July, that simmering tension explodes. Phoenix 911, where's your emergency?

Hello. Yeah, my husband is bleeding and I need a vehicle. Now, if Rebecca wants Donald to live, she's not helping. Just listen to her incoherent call to 911.

And what's your husband doing? He's bleeding. Okay. What happened to him? I don't know. He's bleeding.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Ma'am, you're not really giving me any information. Why?

Okay, he's going to die if you don't set an ambulance. Why is he bleeding? I don't know.

But by the time EMS arrives, there's no saving Donald from a single gunshot wound to the head. He's dead at the hospital 2 hours later. And responding officers find this pistol stuffed between the seat cushions. At the police station, a woozy Rebecca tells cops she had been drinking and has no idea what happened to her husband. drank like two drinks. He drank two drinks. I like came out of the room and then I was like, "Why are you like laying on the ground? Like, what are you doing?" And then I was like, "Oh my god." had like like there was like blood coming out of his head.

Okay. And I like I called 911 like right away. Rebecca may not know. But Donald's own daughters hear the awful truth for themselves. A message from their father at the very moment Rebecca kills him.

My sister Ashley, she was like, "He called me last night. He left me a voicemail. Let's listen to it.

Received yesterday at 9:44 p.m. So he put the phone on speaker and my dad said,

"Hey, call me. What the?" It was like he looked up and he saw her with the gun cuz then he says,

"What the?" And then you heard a boom. And just to know, wow, I heard my dad's last words. You know,

Donald's daughters are sure that's Rebecca sounding so determined just before she pulled the trigger.

My first thought was this evil. I I knew that she was capable of something like this.

Turns out a camera on the living room wall would prove Darcy right. When investigators view security footage at the moment marked 9:44 p.m., full story of that night suddenly emerges.

She flipped out. She killed him. In a tape so shocking and gruesome, police won't let us show it. Rebecca enters the living room while Donald's leaving that message for his daughter. Rebecca raises a gun to Donald's face, takes aim, and fires. the bullet grazing his skull and lodging in Rebecca's wedding picture.

She went and changed shirts. She went and put on a shirt that said shooters world and then she went back and shot him in the head.

What the tape reportedly shows after that fatal gunshot is just as horrifying. Cops say while blood pours from Donald's head, Rebecca sits down on the couch right next to her dying spouse for 23 full minutes and casually smokes a cigarette.

I think she sat next to him and smoked a cigarette thinking, "Die, die, die, die."

Donald's daughter believes those 23 minutes were the difference between life and death for her dad. By the time Rebecca finally makes that rambling call for help, it's too late to save him.

That to me is what confirms she's evil. How do you not only do that to someone, but then sit and let them die and watch them die?

The video proves it. This is an open andsh shut case of coldblooded murder. Or is it? When cops dig deeper into the rest of the home security tapes, shocking discoveries turn the case on its head.

Coming up, the fear that's going on was a daily occurrence for her. She never knew when it was going to happen.

Was this a heartless killing or a desperate act of self-defense? The officers told Rebecca that DJ was going to be arrested and she said, "You've killed me. You just killed me. He's going to kill me."

Donald Melon has been shot and killed by his wife. The whole thing caught on tape. However, those surveillance cameras also captured some other disturbing moments. Images that would play a huge role in Rebecca Melon's murder case. 911. Where's your emergency?

He's gonna die if you don't. Donald Melon murdered one brutal gunshot to the head. The shooter, his young wife, Rebecca. There's no doubt she pulled the trigger. It's right there. All caught on home security video.

The first thing I said, I was like, "She did it." I just knew she did it. It's even in a voicemail. Donald was leaving for his daughter.

What the? And police say in disturbing home surveillance footage, Rebecca just sits there for 23 long minutes smoking a cigarette, patiently waiting for her husband to die.

That to me is what confirms she's evil? How do you not only do that to someone, but then sit and let them die and watch them die? in.

But is this a case of coldblooded murder? They were so out there towards the end.

Kita and Marcus Adair lived with Donald and Rebecca for a year, witnessing firsthand the outofcontrol drunken parties and much more. It would be so calm and chill. And then somebody had too much to drink and Rebecca could be nagging and annoying and not know when to stop.

Would he get upset? He would get upset. There were times where she would instigate. There were times he would hit her.

The boozing is non-stop and the violence is so frequent. Kita and Marcus finally have had enough.

It got to a point where they were just both so bad that we just we we couldn't stay anymore. Something bad was about to happen and we didn't want to witness it.

Phoenix police witness it a lot. In just one year prior to the murder, cops are called to the home an alarming 21 times. calls for welfare checks, domestic violence, and assault.

Normally, you don't see police going out and interacting with one specific home with that frequency.

It all adds up not to a party, but to relentless abuse and a tragedy waiting to happen. On a visit dated March 13th, an officer notes swelling and redness around both of Rebecca's eyes and a chilling exchange with the battered woman, writing, "She was mouththing the words, help me." And cops say, "When Rebecca hears Donald being arrested, she says this in the police report. You have no idea what you guys just did to me. You have killed me. He's just gonna kill me." She became extremely terrified because she felt like DJ was going to be thrown into such a a state of anger that he would kill her in the future.

Donald tells cops they're all lies. But were they? Jennifer Wilmont is Rebecca's attorney, well known for defending Jodie Aras, a notorious murderer convicted of killing her allegedly violent lover. Wilmont says Rebecca's horrific abuse is all there caught on tape. There's surveillance in almost all the rooms of the house and outside. When we actually looked through hours and hours of tape, we actually found quite a few more incidents.

Terrifying incidents like this. Rebecca on the receiving end of a ferocious roundhouse slap here. Rebecca smudging Donald's computer screen gets her dragged to the ground right in front of her son That Thaddius. Then in the kitchen, an attack Rebecca never sees coming. A punch to the back of her head is followed by a humiliating dose of water. And the fights aren't just behind closed doors.

One of the other incidents that we found on the surveillance was in their backyard.

Watch closely. The backyard camera catches a furious Donald chasing down a family pet, then going after other prey. Rebecca comes outside and she walks towards Mr. Melon. He walks towards her and then he just grabs her by the shirt and he's dragging her um by her feet and then he pulls her up by her shirt um and ultimately tosses her in the pool where he comes inside and he locks the door.

Then there are the guns, a locker full of pistols, shotguns, and assault weapons adding an alarming level of danger to the couple's combustible war of the roses. He would pull guns on her. He pretended to play Russian roulette one time with her.

Here's the result of messing with Donald's gun locker. That's just in one week's time. And that just happens to be caught on tape. And so, who knows what was going on before that and how often it was.

According to Wilmont, Rebecca writes in her journal, "There was one final threat that sent her over the edge." What Rebecca remembers is that he had been talking about how he was going to hire somebody to break into the house and make it look like a burglary and she was going to get killed in the process. All I need to do is make the call.

But Donald's family says the defense has it backwards. Donald's only threat was to leave Rebecca and he feared retribution from his violent bribe.

You know why there were surveillance cameras? Because she he was afraid she was going to kill him. He knew somewhere in his head she was going to hurt him.

Karen says the clips only show his violent reaction and not Rebecca's terrorizing of Donald.

I know she antagonized him. I know she would do things to purposely hurt him and then get in his face and say, "This is what I did. Did it hurt you? And what are you going to do about it?"

I think people hear her version and they think, "Oh my god." Well, good for her. Good for her for getting him. And it infuriates me. It infuriates me because it's not true. You're literally hearing one side of the story which is being told by a pathological liar. He never ever ever raised a hand to me, much less his voice.

And there's something else that could call Rebecca's version of events into question. Remember Rebecca's 911 call?

He's going to die if you don't set an ambulance. quiet. Marcus and Kea, who've both seen Donald and Rebecca at their very worst. Here they listen to that horrific voicemail for the very first time. You

got to be kidding me. Rebecca, who just minutes later was so incoherent here on tape sounds oddly composed.

She seemed very poisoned together. Usually her when she has been drinking, she slurs. She doesn't make sense. And that was just clear as as day.

They both sound like not impaired to me. That to me that sounds not impaired knowing them.

Whatever her state of mind, authorities know Rebecca's the shooter, but her fate is for a jury to decide. Rebecca maintains she doesn't remember what happened. Is that true? Coming up, Rebecca makes one last plea, this time to a judge.

He hated me and wanted me dead. And Crime Watch Daily tries to jog the memory of a murderer.

You say you didn't even realize what you had done. That's a little hard to for the rest of us to comprehend. Donald Melon was sitting on the couch when his wife walked in the room and shot him. And while he lay dying on the floor, she didn't call 911. Instead, she calmly sat down on the couch next to him and lit up a cigarette. So, how does Rebecca explain what happened today? She's telling all to Crime Watch Daily. Rebecca Milan in custody for the point blank shooting death of her husband, Donald. His family says he never had a chance.

Someone's going to do something when they're blitzed out of their mind. Rebecca claims she never had a choice.

She believed that that was it and that he was going to kill her. Rebecca is charged with firstdegree murder held on a $1 million bail. Her defense claims she was a battered woman who shot her husband in self-defense. These disturbing videos could sway a jury, but she's gambling with her life again by going to trial.

Had Rebecca gone to trial and lost, she would be facing the rest of her life in prison. She would never ever get out. She didn't want to risk it.

So, before a jury gets to decide on guilt or innocence, Rebecca takes a plea deal. Seconddegree murder. Her attorney, Jennifer Wilmont, still argues Rebecca never intended to kill Donald.

Why would a woman who had been continually abused for years fire one shot that just grazes his head um if she was truly intending to kill him? What would be the point of that? It would be much more likely for her to fire numerous shots to make sure she got him and then call 911 once she knew he was dead. State of Arizona versus Rebecca Melon.

At her sentencing, Rebecca admits she was drinking that terrible night and maintains she doesn't remember the crucial 23 minutes after the shooting. The 23 minutes that could have been the difference between life and death for Donald Melon when he lay bleeding to death while she sat and calmly smoked a cigarette. But it's evidence the Maricopa County judge can't ignore. She's seen the video.

I have a recollection of it. I watched it. I watched as you sat on the sofa, slowly smoking a cigarette, patiently waiting as Mr. Melon died.

Despite her claims of abuse, the plea deal still puts Rebecca Melon behind bars for 20 years for the murder of Donald Melon.

It seems crazy to me. I mean, my dad's gone forever and she gets to kill someone and be free.

With more than 15 years still left in her sentence, Rebecca Melon agreed to talk about that tragic night for the first time on national television. In a phone interview from behind bars with Crime Watch Dies Anna Garcia,

Rebecca, when you look at that videotape of you shooting your husband Mhm. what do you think? I think it looks horrible and it's it just sucks cuz it's like I don't I don't remember it happening.

And Anna grilled her about that smoke she had while her husband's life slipped away.

But you had the ability and the concentration to sit down and have a cigarette. And based on the video, it appeared like you were watching.

Yeah. I didn't even I didn't remember even smoking or any of that. and I didn't come back into focus until I saw him um on the couch.

What's wrong with him? Can you be more specific? He's bleeding. But Rebecca, anyone who endured what we saw you endure in those videos, how could you not want to hurt him back for the way he treated you? I mean, that that to me almost sounds logical.

It's I mean, it it's just not the type of person I am. I've never been like that and I've never done anything to hurt anybody and you know I had like never even been in a fight or anything like that. I'm not that type of person.

Then she reminds Anna of her shocking claim that on the same night she pulled the trigger, Donald was planning to have her killed.

When the gunshot went off, it was everything went blurry and it I didn't mean for it to go off, you know. I just was trying to plead my case before he made, you know, this phone call that was supposed to be um the hitman coming for me.

For Donald's heartbroken daughter, the memory loss is all just another excuse from Rebecca.

That's just screams bull crap to me. That's just a dumb story. Um, now that I hear that, I'm just like, that's a lot of crap. You know,

he wasn't a bad guy and he wasn't this man that is being put out there. That's not who he was in any way, shape, or form. Rebecca is really good about portraying herself as this meek little battered woman, and that's she's far from that.

And Darcy believes justice should have been life for the life Rebecca stole from her. I wanted her to be locked up in there forever.

Now, we want to hear from you. Do you think Rebecca deserved more or less than 20 years behind bars for what she did? Join the debate right now on our Facebook page. Up next, a woman comes home to dinner on the stove, but no sign of her husband. How did William Sears just vanish? So, you think someone yanked him out of that house?

He didn't go on his own free will. The clues caught on surveillance video and new evidence revealed exclusively to Crime Watch Daily.

Is that helping you zero in on a potential suspect? It is coming up. Welcome back to Crime Watch Daily here in New York. Now, we head to the opposite coast where the LA County Sheriff's Department is breaking news only to us about a high-profile missing person's case. For that, let's bring in our Anna Garcia. Hey, Anna.

Chris, it is a puzzling mystery. The wife comes home from work and she finds her husband missing, but dinner's on the stove and his keys and his wallet are on the counter. A beer run to 7-Eleven is believed to be the last trip of Will Sears's life. He's not the type of person who would just decide to start a new life and run away.

After preparing dinner for his wife, the California man vanished. Do you think Will is dead

right now? All the indications are are are grim. The disappearance has bitterly divided his family. Isn't it weird that you haven't seen your brother and your nephew in months?

Yes. And surveillance video has put one of them under a dark cloud of suspicion.

What happened with your uncle Will? Now, in a Crime Watch Daily exclusive, detectives from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department reveal new evidence that's turned this missing person's case.

So, you think someone yanked him out of that house? He didn't go on his own free will

into a homicide investigation. Religious man Will Searsan rarely strayed far from home.

He's somewhat of a homebody. He enjoys staying home watching sports. He enjoys golf very much and plays it. And he collects Coca-Cola memorabilia.

It was a simple life shared with his wife of 28 years, Linda, and their two dogs in this modest home in Santa Clarita, a Los Angeles suburb. Will working part-time in the gift shop at nearby Six Flags Magic Mountain. Will was happy. He loved his life.

And though Will and Linda never had kids of their own, his close bond with one of his nephews is very important to him.

Danny was to uh my brother sort of like uh maybe the son he never had. On a chilly day in January, according to his family, Will invited Danny over to watch his favorite sport.

Will was very excited that day cuz Tiger Woods was back. But before Tiger would tee off for his big PGA return, the two men headed out to buy beer.

Sometime, I believe it's around noon. Uh, two individuals are seen leaving the residence and driving away. At some point, uh, Will is seen at a nearby 7-Eleven purchasing some beer.

Detectives say video from a neighbor's security camera shows the two men returning to Will's home.

Do you ever see Will leave the house again? We do not. So, you don't know how he got out of the house.

Correct. By all accounts, the rest of the afternoon was quiet at the Sears home. The next time anyone heard from Uncle Will or Daniel was around 4:30 when Will called his wife at work.

He was in a really good mood. He was happy. He was telling me he was making dinner cuz he likes to cook now and that he had a good day watching golf. But strangely, that's the last time Linda heard her husband's voice. When she arrived home a couple of hours later, dinner was ready. But Will was gone.

He left his wallet, his keys, his credit cards, his ATM card, um his vehicle, all behind.

He'd also left behind his cell phone. Linda immediately called her nephew Danny, hoping he'd know where Will went.

And she said, "You know, I've called Danny. Uh he said he doesn't know anything that he left at 130 that day and that he doesn't know what could have happened to Will."

But later that night, the worried wife filed a missing person's report. The next day, when Will still hadn't come home, she did a little detective work of her own and made a startling discovery.

The next day, Linda learns of a surveillance video from across the street, and based off of what she sees on video, she believes it conflicts with a previous statement from the nephew.

Everything changed for me at that moment. According to Linda, Dany said he left her house around 1:30 in the afternoon. But at 5:00, grainy surveillance video from across the street shows a vehicle that appears similar to Danny's SUV backing into the driveway.

At that point, only the front grill of the vehicle, the front portion of the vehicle is seen, but about 5 minutes later, the vehicle departs away from the residence. Detectives say they can't be certain it's Danny's SUV backing up to the house, but his aunt Andrea says she has no doubt.

You're sure that's Danny's car? I'm 100% sure it's Danny's car. I helped Danny buy that truck uh because Danny didn't have any money.

When detectives returned to the Sears home to review the footage for themselves, they made another even more disturbing discovery. This time they locate what they believe to be apparent blood stains in the home.

Now in a Crime Watch Daily exclusive, the LA County Sheriff's Department reveals the results of a blood analysis.

To this point now, we've been able to confirm that that blood in fact is our missing person's William Sears.

And inside his home is not the only place where the missing man's blood has turned up. Now, you're saying that you have found Will's blood somewhere outside of the house?

Yes. Can you tell us where? No, we have to hold back some stuff. What does that indicate to you?

Well, it it really appears that an assault occurred and the fact that we can't find Will is the reason why this is now a homicide investigation. And the person at the center of that investigation, Will's nephew, Daniel Sears. Why is the nephew a person of interest?

From our information that we've received, he's likely the last person to have seen Will. Couple that with the fact that the vehicle that's seen on video is very similar to his vehicle. Detectives say Dany is currently their only person of interest, but his aunt Andrea believes others in the family know more than they're telling.

He will not answer the family's questions. He won't stand up to Dany and find out what happened that day or he has done it and he won't tell us.

She's talking about her youngest brother, Chuck, Danny's father. It sounds almost as if you are blaming Chuck even more so than Danny here.

You know, I think I do to be honest with you. Up next, a family's tangled web of unanswered questions.

Do you think your nephew killed your brother? More than 5 months after her husband vanished without a trace, Linda Searsen is desperate for answers. And detectives at the LA County Sheriff's Department believe new evidence in the case has brought them closer to solving his mysterious disappearance. Let's head back now to our Anna Garcia.

Chris, neighbors say they saw a car in the driveway right before that California man went missing. Neighbors also say they've seen that car before. For anyone who lives in Santa Clarita, please take a moment.

Despite desperate pleas for help from his heartbroken wife, what happened to Will Searsanne remains a mystery.

In the end, we have to let the evidence lead us to where it leads us to. Detectives from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and some family members are suspicious that it's leading them to his nephew, Daniel.

Danny was the last person that saw him. Danny knows something. Surveillance video from a neighbor's camera across the street shows what happened shortly after Linda spoke with Will on the phone in the late afternoon as he prepared dinner.

As soon as I saw that snippet of the video, I recognized the car. Will's sister Andrea insists the SUV belongs to her nephew Daniel Sears. But because of the camera's angle, detectives say they can't be certain. The video left Will's family stunned. Everything changed for me at that moment.

That's because Andrea Peek claims Danny and his father, Chuck, had both told the family something different.

Danny had lied that he'd left at 1:30. My brother Chuck lied that he came home at 4:00. And if it was in fact Danny behind the wheel, why would he back into the driveway before leaving?

The car driving up only implied to me that somebody loaded something into the back of that truck. You think that was your brother, Will?

Yes. Now 21 years old, the high school dropout quickly became the only person of interest in his uncle's disappearance. And new blood evidence has detectives fearing the worst has happened to William Sears.

Do you think Will is dead? It's likely the case. We've been able to confirm that it is in fact Will's blood that we found inside his home as well as at a source outside of his home.

Investigators tell us both Dany and his father were brought in for questioning and have given statements. Danny's SUV has been searched for evidence.

And did you find anything in the vehicle? Well, we're not commenting on what evidence we located inside the vehicle.

Apparently, Danny is no longer commenting either. Andrea Peek says she hasn't seen her nephew or his father since 2 days after Will vanished.

Isn't it weird that you haven't seen your brother and your nephew in months? Yes. We had Easter recently and they never showed up.

She also feels they haven't done enough to help find Will. I had to sort of force them to look for Will. Danny was extremely calm, very monotoned. My brother Chuck, I would say, acted as if he was sad and concerned, but really wasn't showing that kind of depth. Andrea believes without a doubt her nephew knows what happened to her brother. And she's tried repeatedly to get him or his father to tell the family what they know.

I did many times um leave, you know, call my brother Chuck on the phone and say, "Why are you not telling the truth? Why is Danny lying?" And whenever I would do that, they would say, "I can't discuss this case with you because our attorney told us that we can't discuss the case with family."

And they didn't want to discuss it with us either. Hey, Daniel. Crime Watch Daily caught up with both men at their home.

Daniel, I want to talk to you. What happened with your uncle Will? But he was in no mood to talk, quickly tearing out of the driveway.

Well, that was Daniel. And like father, like son. Chuck, could we talk to you please about your brother Will? Chuck, your sister says that she leaks you no more. With both Danny and his dad going silent, the family can only speculate about what may have happened that January afternoon. Andrea Peek claims her nephew has led a troubled life since dropping out of high school.

I think unfortunately Danny got involved with some gang activity. He got involved with some kind of drugs. I think that they might have gotten into an argument. It either was something to do with uh drugs that Danny was dealing with.

Police confirmed to Crime Watch Daily that Daniel has an arrest record on drugrelated offenses.

When he came back, my brother uh will talked to me early January and said, "Danny's a little distant. Danny isn't something's not right." And so he was going to get to the bottom of it and I never heard the rest of that.

And then your brother disappeared. Then my brother disappeared. And even though no money was taken from Will's home that day, she thinks there could have been a dispute over money.

My brother Will had alluded that there had been money, little tiny things missing in the home. Like there had been some money taken. There had been a gift card taken. And so I think he was starting to be suspicious that something was going on with Danny.

Neither Dany nor his father have been charged with any crime in the disappearance of William. Still thinking about the blood evidence found by cops along with video from the driveway. Andrea Peek has a hard time facing the grim reality of what may have happened to her brother.

Do you think your nephew killed your brother? I never want to believe that. You know, you just your mind will not let you believe that. But I can't find anybody else that knows where my brother is.

And Andrea still wonders, does someone in her own family possibly know? You know, I can forgive people who make mistakes, um, but I can't forgive people who won't do the right thing. I just want to bring Will home one way or another.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Stripper caught murdering new husband on home security footage"?

In order: 0:00 Crime Watch Daily, Rebecca Cha, Chris Hansen, Karen Melon; 5:00 Ashley Melon, Rebecca Cha; 10:00 Donald Melon, Marcus Adair, Jennifer Wilmont, Thaddius; 15:00 Crime Watch Daily, Donald Melon, Rebecca Cha, Jennifer Wilmont; 20:00 Donald Melon, Crime Watch Daily, William Sears, Chris Hansen; 25:00 Linda Sears, Crime Watch Daily, William Sears; 30:00 William Sears, Crime Watch Daily, Danny Sears; 35:00 Crime Watch Daily.

What is mentioned in this True Crime News episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Crime Watch Daily, Donald Melon, Rebecca Cha, William Sears, Danny Sears, Jennifer Wilmont. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Stripper caught murdering new husband on home security footage"?

The episode runs 39 min; the transcript is about 6,107 words in 172 timestamped sections.

More from True Crime News

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 25, 2026.