Unsolved Tennessee
In 2020, WKRN launched a special reporting project dedicated into investigating some of Tennessee’s most notorious cold cases. The series was launched on-air with additional in-depth digital features on News 2 Plus. My pieces focus on the missing pieces in a cold case and elements that draw question. I work closely with the families still searching for answers while encouraging witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers, where tipsters can remain anonymous.
"What happened to Chad Wiles?"
"Will Sheila Bradford ever be found?"
"Family pleads for answers 4 years after loved one killed in Nashville over road rage"
Citizens Police Academy
In 2017, I completed the Champaign Citizens Police Academy through the Illinois Police Training Institute. As a reporter, I was able to learn more about use of force training for law enforcement and how officers investigate the types of crimes journalists often cover.
Medill Justice Project
Selected as one of 12 Northwestern graduate candidates to investigate potentially wrongful convictions.Investigated sentencing of Andre Gonzales, a Miami man who was serving life in prison based on questionable evidence provided in trial. I took the lead in tracking down jurors who had served on Gonzales’ trial. We were successful in locating several jurors who agreed to participate in our investigation. As a team, we communicated with Gonzales in prison, interviewed law enforcement and questioned both the prosecution and public defender in the case. After gathering all the facts of the case and mapping out a timeline of the crime, our report unveiled serious holes in the case made against Gonzales.In 2018, a Miami-Dade judge ordered a new trial for Gonzales and a month later the court overturned his murder conviction.
"Medill Justice Project investigation leads to release of Miami man convicted of murder"
"With help from journalism students, Miami man freed after 12 years behind bars for murder"
The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative
National Security Reporting Specialization Certification
The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative
National Security Reporting Specialization Certification
A rigorous curriculum and focused on terrorism and conflict reporting, aimed at covering everything from war-zone conflict to homeland security.
To earn the National Security reporting track includes curriculum on Pentagon reporting, covering global security, special classes at the National War College. Candidates undergo Hostile Environment Training where they are trained in battlefield first aid and participate in staged hostage situations to understand flight, fight and flee responses.