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
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.
The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”
“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.
Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.
The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”
Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.
They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.
The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
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The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”
“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”
Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”
Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)
“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.
It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.
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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.
Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.
After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly.
The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.
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A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.
“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”
McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”
“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”
He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.
When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.
“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.
Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”
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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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