Trump Preemptively Questions Election Results, Florida Mother Charged for Child Neglect, and DNA Breakthrough Solves A Cold Case Murder

Mimi Brown (0:05)

President Trump is raising questions about accepting the midterm election results just days before Americans head to the polls.

SPEAKER_2 (0:12)

You'll respect the results, whatever happens? I will if they're on a selection deal.

Mimi Brown (0:16)

And a Florida mother takes a five-day trip to Vegas, leaving her four children at home alone. But a 911 call changes everything.

SPEAKER_3 (0:24)

To leave your children without any full-time supervision, it's just a recipe for disaster.

Mimi Brown (0:30)

In a murder mystery, more than 50 years old is finally solved with DNA evidence pointing to one of America's most notorious serial killers. It's Thursday, October 29th. From The Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Mimi Brown. This is FrontPage, and here are the day's biggest stories. Stay with me.

The midterm elections are now just five days away, and President Trump is raising questions about whether he'll accept the results. Speaking to reporters earlier this week before leaving for Texas, Trump was asked whether he would respect the outcome, regardless of which party wins.

SPEAKER_2 (1:08)

If you do not prevail in this election, despite having worked as hard as you have, how do you intend to work with Democrats if they have control of the House or the Senate?

Mimi Brown (1:16)

We'll figure a way. Look, I have strong veto.

SPEAKER_2 (1:19)

I hope that that won't be the case. But if it is, that's happened before with many presidents. You have strong veto and you end up working on deals. And you'll respect the results, whatever happens? I will if they're honest elections, yeah.

Mimi Brown (1:31)

Trump's response comes as his administration continues taking legal action over how elections are being run in several states. The Justice Department has pursued cases involving Alaska, California and Washington, including challenges related to voter eligibility and election procedures.

Trump and his allies say the federal government needs to do more to stop people who aren't legally allowed to vote in casting ballots. But study and election reviews have consistently found that non-citizens voting in federal elections is extremely rare. And there's another concern heading into Election Day misinformation. The Washington Post analysis found allegations of election fraud spreading across thousands of social media accounts, including claims that have not been backed up by evidence. Remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.

And now to Florida, where a mother of four is facing child neglect charges after police say she left her kids home alone for five days while she went to Las Vegas. Police arrested 50-year-old Irene Miller as soon as she got off her plane. But here's how they found out the children were alone. Two nights before Miller returned, her daughter called 911 because a dumbbell had fallen on her brother's little head.

SPEAKER_3 (2:45)

We get a 911 call from an 11-year-old girl saying her 9-year-old brother had been injured. To leave your children without any full-time supervision for that length of time, for days, it's just a recipe for disaster.

Mimi Brown (3:01)

When deputies arrived at the family's home in Kissimmee, Florida, that's near Orlando, they discovered the children were there without an adult. And these kids are 9, 11, 12, and 14 years old. The 9-year-old was taken to the hospital, treated, and later released to his father, who agreed to care for all four children. Miller is now facing four counts of child neglect. And if this story sounds familiar, there's a reason. We recently told you about another mother in Florida accused of leaving her four children, including a two-month-old baby home alone, while she went on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas. And there's an update in that case. 29-year-old Natalie Belisari is now out of jail on $10,000 bond. She's facing four felony counts on child neglect and has been ordered to stay away from her children who were placed in foster care. Belisari denies the allegation and is due back in court November 24th.

And finally, imagine waiting more than 50 years to find out who murdered someone in your family. That's what happened in Utah where investigators say they finally saw the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith.

And the man they say killed her is notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Now Bundy has been dead since 1989, so how did investigators find this out? DNA evidence. Smith disappeared in October of 1974 Her body was later discovered by deer hunters, but her murder remained unsolved for decades. Recently, investigators solved another Bundy murder involving a woman named Laura Aime. They went back and compared DNA evidence from that investigation to evidence collected during Smith's autopsy more than 50 years ago, and they found a DNA profile that closely matched Bundy's. Authorities say that evidence, along with similarities to his other crimes, is enough to close Smith's case. Bundy was responsible for killing at least 30 women and girls across several states in the 1970s. He was executed in Florida in 1989, but investigators have continued working to identify additional victims. And this case is a reminder of why police preserve evidence even when a murder goes unsolved for decades. Because technology that didn't exist back then can now help families finally get answers. Authorities say they've contacted Smith's surviving family members.