What Happened To The Perfect Child?
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A truck emerges onto the i-10 in New Orleans. He checks his mirrors. The lane is clear. And then, boom, impact. A pickup truck seemingly out of nowhere scrapes down the side of his 18-wheeler. Multiple passengers inside. One man flees the scene, and the driver of the pickup, he doesn't see him all that upset. It didn't feel like a regular accident, because it wasn't. Across the city, truckers were getting sideswiped, all on the same stretch of the same freeway. And behind most of the cases was one personal injury lawyer, a Hollywood stuntwoman, turned attorney named Vanessa Mota. This podcast is a story about fake accidents that led to real consequences, and a scheme that ends in betrayal and murder. Listen to over my dead body, Operation Sidewipe, wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let's be honest, everyone hates fees, right? That's where time comes in. Time is completely changing the way that people manage their money. Unlike traditional banks that often pile on hidden charges, time offers fee-free banking, with no overdraft fees, no monthly maintenance fees, and no minimum balance requirements. You actually get rewarded for everyday spending, earning 5% cashback in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, all while building your credit without a credit check. And SpotMe has your back with up to $200 in fee-free overdraft protection when life gets expensive. Join the millions who were already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com/48hours. That is chime.com/48hours, a sign-up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a FinTech, not a bank, banking services, and chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com/disclosures for details. How old were you when you were adopted? I was nine, and that's what I wanted. I want to feel loved and I want a family. I wanted a lot of children. You see your friends having children and you try and you can't. It was difficult. When we finally learned that we were going to be able to go over to Russia and pick up a little boy and grow up our own, it was just a tremendous event. And we were very excited. We had seen pictures of the children and they were beautiful. How did the agency describe, currently? A wonderful outgoing, intelligent little girl, loved to be around all ages of children and desperately looking for parents. Was that an accurate description? No, it was not. No. After we returned home, we would see her staring off into the distance blankly in a trance-like state. She started to stand over our bed at night. I wake up and she'd be right over my face. There was a coldness in her and an anger and just a distance. She became someone I didn't know at all. I mean, at all. Carole began stealing everything in the house. She stole all my jewelry. Our knives were disappearing. She would do things like putting a kitten in the middle of a pack of dogs. Cruel type behavior. And then she snapped and tried to kill Joshua. She had him in her hands and was going to throw him over the deck. She had him. Yes. Yes. Over the side here? Yes. And I just started screaming, "Put him down, Carole. Put him down. What are you doing? I'm going to kill him." I called the psychiatrist. What am I going to do? You know, what do we do? She's becoming violent. Doctor, there is no question in your mind that Carole is a very troubled little girl. No, there's no question in my mind about it at all. This child I would consider to be a homicide risk. She has been on all kinds of medication and none of it has worked. We've had cameras installed and we've had alarms installed on her doors. You know, I don't know what the solution is. What am I going to do? I didn't get you the best help we can, okay? I didn't try to kill my brother. I love him. I've done many stories during the course of my career, but this was one that really stuck with me. Do you want to rescind the adoption? We feel like we tried everything. It hit me in my heart. So you plan on taking Carole back to Russia? Yes. Yes. I felt helpless leaving her behind. I didn't know what would become of her. You're a strong girl.
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After a young girl is adopted from Russia, her American parents come to believe she is capable of murder and return her. Years later, "48 Hours" contributor Troy Roberts learns her surprising story.