Southeast
True crime podcaster attempts to solve father’s 'strange' murder: ‘He did not deserve to die in this way’
Madison McGhee always believed that her father died from a heart attack – but that all changed in 2012.
The Charleston, Virginia, native, who was 16 at the time, was visiting her family at her grandmother’s house. She suddenly had a strange feeling that she couldn’t breathe. The patriarch was on her mind.
“I remember after saying goodbye, I got in the car and asked my mom a very weird question,” McGhee recalled to Fox News Digital. “I wasn’t even sure I understood what I was asking at the time. I asked her if my cousin Omar was with my dad when he died, thinking that he had died of a heart attack.”
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Madison McGhee is determined to solve her father’s murder and has launched a true-crime podcast, “Ice Cold Case.” (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
“That’s when my mom told me the truth,” said McGhee. “The truth was my dad was murdered, and it’s still unsolved.”
McGhee, who now resides in Los Angeles, is on a quest to find out what happened to her father. She’s the host of the true-crime podcast, “Ice Cold Case,” where she interviews those who may lead her to answers.
“For 10 years, my dad in my mind had died of a heart attack,” said McGhee. “But to then find out he died a completely different way? I had to start the process completely over. I had to grieve him all over again. I’ve had to grapple with the truth of what happened to him.”
For years, Madison McGhee thought her father, J.C., died from a heart attack. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
On July 11, 2002, John Cornelius McGhee, also known as “J.C.,” was shot in the head in the doorway of his home in Belmont County, Ohio. He was 45.
McGhee was six years old at the time.
“My most vivid memories of him are almost like a movie,” said McGhee. “I remember being in the car listening to music with him. The song ‘Hot in Here’ by Nelly had just dropped. My dad also loved playing the ‘Space Jam’ soundtrack. Nothing special happened on those days. I don’t remember birthday parties or anything like that. I just remember those little moments listening to music with him in the car. I remember being loved by my dad.”
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“Ice Cold Case” is available for streaming now. (Beck Media)
It wouldn’t be until 2020 that McGhee was compelled to find out what happened to J.C. and why his death remains unsolved. The coronavirus pandemic was ongoing, and work had slowed down.
“I knew I needed to do something big if I wanted answers,” said McGhee. “I was furiously making phone calls, trying to get these case files, trying to put in requests, just trying to get any access to any records. I started talking to people and making connections. It was a tough journey.”
McGhee said the popularity of true-crime podcasts inspired her to launch “Ice Cold Case.” She believed it would raise awareness and encourage anyone with information to come forward.
Madison McGhee hopes anyone with information about J.C.’s death will come forward. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
“I feel pretty confident that I will get to the bottom of this,” she said. “The podcast has already opened up a conversation that no one has had for 22 years. It’s shaken people up a bit, but I also think it opened their eyes to this unsolved case. The locals are talking about it. People who remember this happening are now having epiphanies. . . . It’s shaken up the community and people are wondering why this case isn’t solved. . . . The impact is undeniable. And I don’t want anyone to get away with this.”
The podcast revealed that J.C. had been a drug dealer-turned-informant. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
According to the podcast, J.C. had been a drug dealer-turned-informant. He helped police arrest several people, including one of his nephews, who was sentenced to life in prison. While the police concluded that J.C.’s murder had been a home invasion gone wrong, McGhee had her doubts.
“This investigation was very inconclusive and incomplete in my opinion,” McGhee explained. “. . . And I think people who have information are afraid to talk. If the person who killed my dad isn’t in prison for something else, then that means there’s a killer on the loose. That element makes people afraid to talk. They don’t know if my dad got killed potentially because he was a snitch. What message does that send to people who would want to come forward with information?”
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Madison McGhee said it was her mother who revealed the truth. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
That hasn’t deterred McGhee.
“I’ve heard from family members that they are less than thrilled about this show,” she admitted. “I think they’re upset about the skeletons coming out of the closet. Some of them, I think… are worried about how they would be implicated in this. So, they are sending crazy messages. And I think that’s also interesting. It’s a bit telling when someone is feeling so openly defensive. It almost sheds a light on them that maybe they didn’t want.”
McGhee said that after being in the dark for so long, she didn’t think twice about putting the spotlight on those who may have answers.
“I want people to see my father as human. He was a victim, regardless of the circumstances. My dad was a drug dealer, but he was also my dad,” Madison McGhee said. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
“My dad used to talk to my mom quite a bit about thinking that someone was going to kill him,” McGhee claimed. “I think he knew and dealt with the weight of his decisions and his lifestyle. My mom used to say, ‘Oh stop, you’re going to be OK. Don’t say that.’ It’s very easy to brush it off, like, ‘You’re a little paranoid. You’re being a little dramatic.’ I think my dad just had a very strong intuition that something was going to happen to him. And it did.”
Madison McGhee said her father J.C. feared for his life shortly before he was killed. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
When McGhee heard the 911 call for the first time, she was left with more questions than answers.
“It didn’t make a lot of sense,” she said. “When I think of a home invasion, I think of a robbery. . . . Nothing was stolen. . . .You would have also heard the gunshot. My dad’s house was on this small hill, but the hill kept going. Then there’s a highway. It echoes. . . . But nothing was brought up about a gunshot. It just seemed strange for a home invasion. It’s all strange.”
McGhee said that since “Ice Cold Case” launched, she has gotten tips and is exploring new leads. She is hopeful that, eventually, she will discover the identity of the person who shot J.C.
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Madison McGhee was six years old when she lost her father. (Courtesy of Madison McGhee)
“Everyone deserves justice – there’s no such thing as the perfect victim,” said McGhee. “I dealt with a lot of uphill battles to get this show out into the world because no one wanted to help me. They just saw a drug dealer-turned-informant from Ohio. But my dad was so much more than that.”
“I want people to see my father as human,” she continued. “He was a victim, regardless of the circumstances. My dad was a drug dealer, but he was also my dad. He did not deserve to die in this way. It’s very easy to say, ‘That’s what he signed up for,’ but no one deserves to be murdered.”
Through the grief, McGhee has gained a deeper appreciation for the man she only knew for six years.
Madison McGhee is determined to find out what happened to J.C. (Beck Media)
“My dad was a good dad,” she said. “He was dynamic and a good person. I’m now learning from people how he was so generous and helped the people he loved. When you needed help, he was there. . . . Now I’m there for him.”
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Southeast
Redistricting battles brewing across the country as parties compete for power ahead of 2026 midterms
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Ahead of the rapidly approaching 2026 midterms, Republicans and Democrats in states across the country are engaged in heated redistricting battles. What started with Texas’ effort to redraw its congressional map earlier in 2025 has led to other states, including California and Missouri, to do the same.
Now, redistricting battles are shaping up in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland and Virginia.
Florida
Florida Republicans are engaged in a fight over the creation of a House map that has the potential to net the GOP several seats, The Hill reported. Currently, Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts.
Despite the fact that a Florida House redistricting panel has already met twice to begin the process, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and state Senate Republican leadership appear to be interested in holding off on the discussion until a special session in spring. However, some fear that this could be too late, as April 20 is the deadline for federal candidates to qualify and file paperwork.
Florida Republicans are also facing challenges because of language in the state’s constitution that puts tight restrictions on gerrymandering, NBC News noted.
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Florida Republicans face challenges due to language in the state’s constitution that puts tight restrictions on gerrymandering. ( Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Illinois
Democrats could possibly pick up more seats in Illinois, but the move has gained little ground. Black lawmakers have expressed concerns that a new map could undermine minority representation, according to NBC News.
Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., said his state could be forced to respond if neighboring Indiana were to move forward with its own redistricting effort. However, he later applauded Indiana when it rejected a new map.
“Our neighbors in Indiana have stood up to Trump’s threats and political pressure, instead choosing to do what’s right for their constituents and our democracy,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Illinois will remain vigilant against his map rigging — our efforts to respond and stop his campaign are being heard.”
After Indiana rejected their map, Illinois state Sen. Willie Preston, D, urged Pritzker to drop the idea, The Hill reported, noting that others have suggested that the Prairie State is still mulling the move.
Jon Maxson, a spokesperson for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, told The Hill in an email that “all options remain on the table in Illinois.”
Illinois faces a larger issue, as the November candidate filing deadline has already passed.
Trump once said aboard Air Force One he could invoke the Insurrection Act to tackle violent crime in Chicago and urged Pritzker to “beg for help,” escalating their political standoff. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images; Talia Sprague/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Kansas
Kansas is the other major redistricting target for Republicans.
GOP lawmakers in the Sunflower State have said that they would discuss redrawing the map when they reconvene this month. However, just last year, lawmakers tried but failed to bring the issue forward.
Kansas Republicans need two-thirds support in the Legislature to hold a special session to address the map. While State House members didn’t have enough support for the issue, Republicans were able to secure enough signatures in the state Senate, The Hill reported. Additionally, they will need to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Kelly recently told the Kansas Reflector that she would be “surprised if they even really bring it up.”
“I don’t think a lot has changed in terms of where legislators stand on the issue,” she added.
In November, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson (R), who’s running for Kansas governor, claimed in a statement that “California Democrats are working overtime to silence Republicans and steal the House majority.”
“Even Governor Laura Kelly admitted that there’s a bigger risk in doing nothing. On that, we agree. States across America are standing up, and Kansas will be part of that fight,” he added.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore holds a press conference in Oct. 2025 outside the State House in Annapolis, Maryland. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
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Maryland
Maryland Democrats have resisted pressure to redraw maps. In November, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, formed a redistricting commission to explore the issue despite a lack of appetite for the move within his own party. The commission voted in secret to move forward with the plan, to the dismay of Democrat critics.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has been a vocal opponent of redistricting.
“The overwhelming majority do not want a new congressional map,” Ferguson said in a statement, according to The Hill. “They want their government focused on fostering growth, affordability, and real protections against this lawless federal Administration.”
The commission is asking the public about congressional map proposals ahead of the state’s Feb. 24 candidate filing deadline.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Virginia
In late October, just before the state’s gubernatorial election, Virginia Democratic lawmakers took a major first step in a complex political maneuver aimed at redrawing the state’s congressional map.
Democrats were able to pass an amendment to the state’s Constitution to allow lawmakers to temporarily redistrict mid-decade by 2030, The Hill noted. The amendment will need to be passed again in the spring or summer before voters can have their say. The lawmakers now have the help of additional Democrats in the state’s Legislature following the November 2025 elections.
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“Our congressional delegation is 6-5 — six Democrats, five Republicans. Ten-1 is not out of the realm,” Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said in early December, according to NBC News.
If voters approve of the referendum, lawmakers would be able to pass a new map ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Hill noted that Republicans are highly likely to challenge a new map in court.
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The suspect accused of plotting a New Year’s Eve attack on a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina worked at a Burger King and hid knives and hammers under his bed despite his grandparents trying to secure the potential weapons, prosecutors revealed Friday.
Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill, a town outside Charlotte, was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.
“What we do know is that the grandfather secured the knives in the home, secured the hammers, tried to make sure that Mr. Sturdivant did not have them. And, yet, when we executed the search warrant, they were found under his bed,” Ferguson told reporters at a news conference Friday.
Ferguson added the attack was planned to take place in Mint Hill, and the suspect worked at a Burger King.
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Christian Sturdivant, the 18-year-old suspect from Mint Hill, N.C., accused of plotting an attack on New Year’s Eve in support of ISIS. (Gaston County Sheriff’s Office)
“He was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die. And we were very, very fortunate they did not,” Ferguson said. “I can tell you from his notes he was targeting Jews, Christians and LGBTQ individuals.”
James C. Barnacle, Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, said Friday that Sturdivant first caught the bureau’s attention in January 2022, when he was still a juvenile.
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Prosecutors said “law enforcement seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a blue hammer, a wooden-handled hammer and two butcher knives hidden underneath the defendant’s bed.” On the right is a note titled, “New Years Attack 2026,” that prosecutors said law enforcement found during a Dec. 29, 2025, search of Sturdivant’s home in Mint Hill, N.C. (United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina)
“He was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas. Sturdivant received direction from this unidentified ISIS member to dress in all black, knock on people’s doors, and attack them with a hammer. In fact, Sturdivant did dress in all black. He left this house with a hammer, and fortunately his family stepped in,” Barnacle continued. “No charges were filed at that time. He was referred for psychological care, and he underwent psychological care.
“Christian Sturdivant pledged his loyalty to ISIS and committed himself to commit to killing Americans on New Year’s Eve.
“Law enforcement also seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a list of targets, as well as tactical gloves and a vest, acquired as part of the defendant’s planned attack,” prosecutors said. (United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina)
“We do have some intelligence that he was looking at a grocery store because there would be a lot of people there. He knew there would be a lot of people there grocery shopping. … He was looking for a high-profile place,” Barnacle added.
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“There’s a couple grocery stores in Mint Hill. He wasn’t set on just one. He was looking at multiple, whichever one had the most people in it.”
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Georgia teen charged with murdering Uber driver in suburban carjacking, leaving him to die
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A 15-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with murder after an Uber driver was found shot to death early New Year’s Day after a carjacking in a suburban Atlanta community, authorities said.
The victim was identified as Cesar Tejada, 58, of Grayson, Georgia, who was working as an Uber driver at the time of the shooting, according to a release from the Lawrenceville Police Department. Authorities said that Tejada was a father of two.
Police responded around 5:20 a.m. Jan. 1 to a report of a person lying in the roadway in the suburban community of Lawrenceville, which is approximately 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. Officers found Tejada suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that Tejada had picked up the suspect around 4:13 a.m. and transported him to Groveland Parkway. Police said the suspect exited the back seat, shot Tejada and left him in the road before fleeing the scene.
An Uber driver was found shot to death in the roadway of the nearby 600 block of Groveland Parkway in the Meadow Grove subdivision Jan. 1, 2026. (WAGA-TV)
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Using FLOCK camera technology and working in partnership with Uber, detectives tracked Tejada’s vehicle back to the area where the trip originated. Officers later detained the suspect, identified as 15-year-old Christian Simmons, after observing him walking in the roadway near his residence, police said.
Simmons has been charged as an adult with murder. Police initially withheld his identity due to his age.
Christian Simmons, 15, was charged with murder as an adult after Uber driver Cesar Tejada, 58, was found shot to death in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on New Year’s Day. (Lawrenceville Police Department/Facebook)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, an Uber spokesperson said the company is saddened by Tejada’s death.
“We’re saddened by this devastating loss, and our condolences go out to the driver’s family during this incredibly difficult time,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve been in contact with the Lawrenceville Police Department to help support their investigation.”
Uber confirmed the rider account associated with the incident has been permanently banned. The company said it employs former law enforcement professionals to assist with investigations and offers in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button, GPS trip tracking and rider verification.
The Lawrenceville Police Department discovered a deceased Uber driver in the roadway of the nearby 600 block of Groveland Parkway in the Meadow Grove subdivision Jan. 1, 2026. (WAGA-TV)
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Police described Tejada as a husband and father of two and extended condolences to his family. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Lawrenceville Police Department.
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