401: Disney Cruise Busted, Missing Scientist & Makayla Settles’ Dad Pleads Guilty
Episode of Serialously with Annie Elise · May 21, 2026 · 55 min
Annie Elise and guest Amy Colette review true crime headlines: the Makayla Settles plea, Kouri Richins' sentencing, Murdaugh's retrial, Disney cruise CSAM arrests, and Melissa Casias.
Summary
In this Headline Highlights episode, host Annie Elise was joined by guest Amy Colette to discuss several true crime updates. Elise opened with the Makayla Settles case, in which the 18-year-old's father pleaded guilty to felony incest, supplying alcohol to a minor and abuse of a position of trust. Because he maintained the encounter was consensual and Settles had died by suicide, no assault charges were brought, and he faced a maximum of three years at his June 23 sentencing. Both hosts expressed outrage at the outcome.
Elise then covered Kouri Richins' sentence of life without parole for poisoning her husband Eric, criticizing her courtroom statement to her sons, which was played in clips, as performative. Colette summarized the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision to grant Alex Murdaugh a new murder trial over clerk Becky Hill's jury misconduct. Elise predicted a conviction would still follow but noted concerns that financial-crimes evidence might be limited at retrial.
The longest segment covered a federal operation in San Diego in April in which agents boarded eight cruise ships, including the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and removed 28 crew members over alleged involvement with child sexual abuse material. The workers were deported rather than publicly charged. Elise stressed the unanswered questions and suggested the story was being buried online. Colette then presented the June 2025 disappearance of Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant who left behind two factory-reset phones, and outlined the theories surrounding the case. Elise believed Casias left intentionally, possibly out of fear. The episode closed with Elise promoting her episodes on the Netflix documentary The Crash about Mackenzie Shirilla.
Chapters
Linked moment · 0:02Skip to 0:02 using a listen link in the info box.
0:02Introduction and guest reveal
Annie Elise introduces the Headline Highlights format and welcomes guest Amy Colette.
- 2:38
Makayla Settles' father pleads guilty
Elise explains how Settles' father pleaded guilty to felony incest and related charges, which carry a maximum sentence of three years, and the hosts react with outrage.
- 9:28
Kouri Richins sentenced to life
Elise recaps Richins' conviction and life-without-parole sentence and plays clips of her statement to her sons.
- 18:52
Alex Murdaugh granted a new trial
Colette explains how clerk Becky Hill's jury misconduct led to the overturned convictions, and the hosts speculate about the retrial.
- 26:33
Cruise ship CSAM arrests in San Diego
Elise details the federal operation that removed 28 crew members from eight ships, a passenger's account, and the unanswered questions that followed.
- 40:17
Disappearance of Melissa Casias
Colette walks through the timeline of the Los Alamos employee's disappearance and the theories it has fueled, and the hosts give their views.
- 49:45
The Crash and Mackenzie Shirilla
Elise promotes her deep dive and bonus episode on details she says Netflix's The Crash left out.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Annie Elise
Elise reported that, because the father maintains the encounter was consensual and no assault charges were brought, he faces at most three years at sentencing.
“the maximum sentence that he will face when he is sentenced, which is scheduled for June 23rd, get this, will be three years”
- Annie Elise
Elise said that California prison overcrowding and good-behavior credits could mean Settles' father serves only a year or so.
“he could be out in as little as a year or a year and a half, which is so appalling”
- Annie Elise
Elise characterized Kouri Richins as a narcissist, while noting she is not a licensed medical professional.
“I would safely and confidently use the term narcissist here, 100%”
- Annie Elise
Elise predicted that Murdaugh would still be convicted at the new trial.
“I think that it's going to be still a slam dunk conviction on the new trial”
- Annie Elise
Elise said she had heard that evidence of Murdaugh's financial crimes may be limited or excluded at the retrial.
“I don't think, from what I'm hearing, they're allowed to bring the financial crimes in as much or at all into this new trial”
- Annie Elise
Citing her work with the Child Rescue Coalition, Elise said the Philippines is a major hub for exchanging such material, making the nationality of most detainees upsetting.
“one of the main areas where – exchanging like that of that material and even live children happens is the philippines”
- Annie Elise
Elise noted that none of the 28 detained cruise workers had been publicly charged; instead they were deported.
“None of the 28 workers have publicly been criminally charged in the United States. at least not that we know of right now”
- Annie Elise
Elise cautioned that there was no public evidence of a trafficking ring connected to Disney cruises.
“there is no public evidence currently that this was any sort of trafficking ring, that it's, you know, a trafficking ring connected to Disney cruises”
- Annie Elise
Elise speculated that the story's low visibility in search results might reflect a coordinated effort by Disney to bury it.
“so i don't know if that's some like coordinated effort because from from disney who's working with like google adwords”
- Annie Elise
Elise said she believed Casias planned her disappearance, possibly because someone was threatening her.
“She absolutely intentionally planned to leave, for whatever reason that is, to start a new life because somebody was threatening her”
- Annie Elise
Elise noted that Casias leaving her medication behind conflicts with the theory of a planned departure.
“you're always going to need medication if you have an illness”
- Annie Elise
Elise argued that Netflix omitted damaging details about Shirilla because it had secured interviews with her and her parents.
“It's because they were able to secure an interview with her parents and with Mackenzie”
- Annie Elise
Elise said Shirilla's ER blood sample from the morning of the crash was ordered discarded and never tested.
“the physician ordered that it be thrown away. So it was never tested”
People
In the conversation
- Annie EliseTrue crime podcaster and host of Serialously and 10 to Life
- Amy ColetteGuest co-host whom Annie Elise described as a longtime older-sister figure; name as heard in the transcript
Discussed
- Makayla Settles18-year-old North Carolina woman who reported being sexually assaulted by her father and later died by suicide
- Eric RichinsUtah man murdered by his wife Kouri Richins with a fentanyl-laced drink in 2022
- Alex MurdaughFormer South Carolina attorney whose double murder convictions were overturned
- Becky HillFormer Colleton County Clerk of Court found to have influenced the Murdaugh jury
- Buster MurdaughSurviving son of Alex Murdaugh
- Paul MurdaughAlex Murdaugh's son, murdered in 2021
- Maggie MurdaughAlex Murdaugh's wife, murdered in 2021
- Melissa CasiasLos Alamos National Laboratory administrative assistant missing since June 2025
- Mackenzie ShirillaOhio woman convicted over a fatal 2022 car crash and subject of the Netflix documentary The Crash
- Lori VallowIdaho woman convicted of murdering her children, whom Elise compared to Richins
Topics
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From the publisher
This week on Headline Highlights: Outrage is growing after Makayla Settles’ father pleaded guilty to incest and supplying alcohol to a minor, yet only faces a maximum sentence of just three years in prison. Kouri Richins has officially been sentenced to life without parole for murdering her husband, though many are now focused on her emotional courtroom statement where she continued claiming innocence. In a shocking update, Alex Murdaugh has been granted a new murder trial after the court ruled that jury misconduct by the trial clerk violated his right to a fair trial. A federal operation involving multiple cruise ships in San Diego has sparked major backlash and speculation after 28 crew members were removed and deported over alleged involvement with CSAM. And, the disappearance of Melissa Casias has fueled major online speculation after the Los Alamos employee vanished in 2025, leaving behind her belongings and two factory-reset phones before being seen walking alone near a highway in New Mexico… . If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise . . 🔎 Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks. . 🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel! 🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives. 💚 Spotify 🔴 YouTube 🎙️ All Other Platforms . 📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieelise TikTok: @_annieelise Substack: @annieelise Facebook: @10toLife . 👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon . 🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a Case About Annie: www.annieelise.com For Business Inquiries: 10toLife@WMEAgency.com . 📚 Episode Sources Aaron Parnas TikTok | ABC News | AP News | CBS News | Cou…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.