Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First
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Danyel Smith's two-decade fight: A new trial on the horizon? | Behind the Investigation
The state’s highest court will soon decide whether a man convicted of killing his infant son more than 20 years ago will get a new trial.
The case involves the controversial medical diagnosis, shaken baby syndrome. In 2003, a Gwinnett County jury convicted Danyel Smith of murdering his two-month-old son, Chandler. The state’s medical examiner ruled the boy’s death a homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Prosecutors told the jury it was a “shaken baby” case.
In April 2024, Smith pleaded with Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor to grant him a new trial following nearly two weeks of testimony from medical experts who testified the child’s death points to biological issues.
“I asked myself if I could live with that decision for the rest of my life and the answer is no,” Smith told the court. “Only a guilty man would plead out.
“Not every tragedy is a crime,” Smith said. “I’m not a murderer. I did not kill my son."
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/01/16/georgias-highest-court-hear-case-dad-convicted-killing-infant-son/
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Family of missing woman found dead speak out | Behind the Investigation
When Patricia Miele’s family moved her into Greenwood Place Assisted Living and Memory Care in Marietta this past October, they trusted the 89-year-old was in good hands, adding the facility came highly recommended.
Miele moved from Connecticut to Georgia years ago to be closer to her family and two grandchildren. The former schoolteacher and devout Catholic lived by her routines, which involved prayer and meals. She didn’t even have a television in her room.
“Pat was a voracious reader and had a deep faith and understanding of her place in the world,” said son-in-law Garrett Phillips.
Miele’s daughter, Karen Phillips, said the facility should have known her mother’s mental health was on the decline. According to her, Miele once mistook a fire alarm for an elevator button while living at Greenwood Place. Then there was the time when she accidentally locked herself in her room.
Karen Phillips also remembers a nurse called to share her mother repeatedly expressed fear of getting lost. “She didn’t know where she was going and needed help,” she said. They knew that.”
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/01/08/dont-lose-our-mother-i-family-missing-woman-found-dead-speak-out/
Scammers impersonate owners, trick agents, try to sell Ga. land | Behind the Investigation
A rural county south of Atlanta has become a target for scammers trying to make tens of thousands of dollars off people’s vacant property through local real estate agents.
Atlanta News First Investigates discovered a growing issue of sham sellers near Barnesville, where a significant amount of growth is taking place. Real estate agents say the scammers are all impersonating property owners who live out of state.
READ MORE: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/19/scammers-target-rural-georgia-county-with-property-fraud/
Georgia family farm fights land seizure, claims eminent domain abuse | Behind the Investigation
Eminent domain, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is defined as the right of a government or its agent to appropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. In Georgia, the process starts by first condemning the site.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/04/railroaded-georgia-family-farm-fights-land-seizure-claims-eminent-domain-abuse/
Ga. University accused of teaching ‘debunked’ reading methods | Behind the Investigation
For the past 30 years, Georgia State University has run a program for experienced teachers to learn a curriculum called Reading Recovery, which is intended to help children learn how to read.
Reading Recovery is one-on-one instruction in the classroom for the lowest performing students in first grade struggling to read. School districts in Georgia and across the country used its teaching methods for decades.
Once hailed as one of the most effective intervention models, a study published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness in 2023 raises questions about its effectiveness. While the results show the short-term impact to students “largely positive,” researchers say the results completely flipped once the children reach third and fourth grade.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/10/georgia-state-university-accused-teaching-debunked-reading-methods/
Carpet manufacturer claims it was tricked into using harmful chemicals | Behind the Investigation
One of the world’s largest carpet manufacturers claims it was tricked into using a group of chemicals it did not know was harmful to people and the environment.
The allegations are part of a pending lawsuit filed by Mohawk Industries, based in Dalton, Georgia, against 3M and other chemical manufacturers.
The lawsuit claims the chemical companies “concealed and misrepresented material information regarding the environmental and health risks of PFAS chemicals” when it sold “treatment products” to Mohawk for decades.
On Monday, the city of Dalton itself filed a lawsuit against Shaw Industries, claiming one of the city’s largest employers contaminated its sewage system with PFAS chemicals. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia in Rome.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/10/erin-brockovich-you-have-pfas-contamination-its-big-one/
Airline informant received thousands from passenger cash seizures | Behind the Investigation
With a single sentence, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has ended a nationwide program that had seized untold millions in cash from airline passengers without arrests.
“I am directing that the DEA suspend conducting consensual encounters,” wrote Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a Nov. 12, 2024, directive to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The directive was an immediate response to a report from the Justice Department Inspector General that was set in motion by Atlanta News First Investigates. The award-winning investigation, In Plane Sight, has been viewed millions of times on YouTube. One of those viewers took action because of it, setting off a chain of events that led the Justice Department to shut the program down.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/12/03/airline-informant-received-thousands-passenger-cash-seizures/
Georgia owed small business $61K, pinning delays on new payroll system | Behind the Investigation
Zenobia Willis was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Willis is a small business owner who runs a transport service for disabled adults, seniors and dialysis patients. She said the state agency she works with, the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC), owed her $61,000. Willis said the state-funded agency had not paid her since July.
“There is no reason why it should take three months to get paid,” Willis said. “You cannot run a business, especially a transportation business, without money.”
NEGRC is based in Athens, Georgia, and services 12 counties and 54 cities. It is one of twelve regional commissions in Georgia created “to foster the implementation of joint local, state, and federal programs.”
Acting Director Burke Walker confirmed payment delays to 18 vendors, including Willis.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/22/georgia-department-confirms-statewide-payment-delays-vendors/
Mom fights to get her kids back after drug tests | Behind the Investigation
Daydrianna Hefner is a Cherokee County, Georgia, mother of two who had a history of substance abuse, evident by a string of mugshots from years ago.
Hefner’s addiction led to prison and intervention from the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), which placed her two kids in foster care in October 2021.
While behind bars, Hefner decided to get sober. “I needed to get arrested to have that long clear frame of mind,” she said, and today cites her sobriety date as May 28, 2022.
When she was released, Hefner agreed to a DFCS case plan to get her children back, which included random drug screens. But now Hefner said some of the results make no sense, arguing “the department is saying I failed drug screens and I know I haven’t used any drugs.
“I don’t know what to do and feel helpless.”
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/14/georgias-contracted-drug-labs-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-false-positives/
Atlanta drivers incorrectly ticketed by speed cameras | Behind the Investigation
Since state lawmakers approved a measure allowing cities to install school zone speed protection cameras about five years ago, the number of cameras have exploded, from 39 permits for cameras approved in 2019 to 290 last year. Public records uncovered by Atlanta News First Investigates reveal the cameras have generated more than $112 million in revenue for Georgia municipalities.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/07/atlanta-drivers-getting-refunds-following-traffic-sign-malfunction/.
More than 300 cars stolen from Atlanta’s airport this year | Behind the Investigation
Thieves are targeting airport parking lots, stealing mostly high-end sports cars and pick-up trucks, some of which are later used in other crimes.
Car thefts from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have more than tripled since last year, according to statistics released by the Atlanta Police Department. Through October 2024, 301 cars were stolen, compared with 95 for all of last year.
“You see so many really nice cars at the airport, people just don’t park there thinking that their vehicle is going to be stolen,” said West Clark after his $150,000 BMW M8 Competition was stolen from the ATL international parking garage in October.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/18/more-than-300-cars-stolen-atlantas-airport-this-year/
Controversial ‘BirdLady’ arrested at Atlanta Falcons game | Behind the Investigation
One of the most recognizable Atlanta Falcons superfans was arrested during the Falcons’ game Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium only hours after interviewing with Atlanta News First Investigates denying allegations she misused any money NFL fans gave to her for tailgates and events.
Carolyn Freeman, who calls herself the “Atlanta Falcons BirdLady,” was arrested on one felony count of theft by deception.
The arrest warrant, issued on Oct. 30, 2024, states that Freeman obtained $14,000 dollars to orchestrate a party for the Chiefs-Falcons game on Sept. 22, but did not show up for the event and did not return the money.
Prior to the game, Atlanta News First Investigates asked Freeman about accusations she used money she had collected for tailgates and Super Bowl events in the last 10 years to pay for car repairs, her season tickets or personal seat license at the stadium.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/04/controversial-birdlady-arrested-atlanta-falcons-game/
Erin Brockovich holding Georgia townhalls on contaminated drinking water | Behind the Investigation
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich held two north Georgia townhalls recently discuss the impact of PFAS - also known as “forever chemicals” - in the state’s drinking water supplies.
A continuing series of Atlanta News First investigations has reported on the levels of the chemicals in several north Georgia drinking water supplies, including Rome and Calhoun.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/09/20/erin-brockovich-holding-georgia-townhalls-contaminated-drinking-water/
Georgia city ‘consistently altered’ speeding tickets: state investigation | Behind the Investigation
A South Georgia city has lost its ability to write speeding tickets for nearly six months after a state investigation uncovered it altered tickets to hide how much the city collected from citations.
According to a letter by the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS), the agency suspended the speed detection device permits for the city of Lenox for 180 days this past July. The state’s investigation found the city “consistently altered” tickets that “had the effect of excluding the fines and forfeitures for citations issued for speeding.”
Lenox is located about three hours south of Atlanta on Interstate 75, a popular route to Georgia’s coast and Florida.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/10/03/georgia-city-prohibited-writing-speeding-tickets-following-anf-investigation/
Former police officers speak out after being pressured to write tickets | Behind the Investigation
Two former South Georgia police officers claim they were pressured to write traffic citations to generate revenue to bolster their city’s budgets.
John Masters and Zack Watson, who worked for the Poulan, Georgia, police department about two years ago, said they felt compelled to speak out after Atlanta News First Investigates published a series of investigations the past year which uncovered multiple South Georgia cities relying on significant portions of their municipal budgets from fines and forfeitures, generated by their police departments.
The city of Poulan covers less than two square miles, about three hours south of Atlanta. According to the U. S. Census, the city’s population was 760 in 2022.
Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/10/09/pressured-write-tickets-former-officers-speak-out/