Nancy Grace calls shocking NYC murder 'an example of lawlessness taking over our country'

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Is the rise in violent crime the new norm?

An 18-year-old was stabbed and set on fire in Bronx, New York; Fox Nation’s ‘Crime Stories’ host Nancy Grace reacts to the unrest across America on ‘The Daily Briefing.’

Lawlessness is taking over the country as a result of calls to defund the police, Fox Nation host Nancy Grace told "The Daily Briefing" Friday.

Grace, the host of "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace," told host Dana Perino she was "so disturbed" by the murder this week of 18-year-old Winston Ortiz in New York City.

"You know, he had already survived a brain aneurysm and he had a second lease on life, even at this tender age," she said. "He was very shy, very quiet, a real churchgoer, close to family. And he was very despondent. His first real girlfriend had broken up with him. Then he gets a call for him to come over and see her. [He] bounded out [of] the apartment, raced over. He was met in the hallway, stabbed multiple times in the torso, then set on fire to die."

NYC TEEN WHO WAS BURNED ALIVE HAD DATED SUSPECT'S YOUNGER SISTER

Adones Betances, 22, is facing murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Ortiz.

The New York Post, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that Betances had grown infuriated over the roughly four-year age gap between Ortiz and his sister, who had been dating.

"This in itself is horrific, but it is an example of lawlessness taking over our country," Grace said. "I prosecuted for a decade in inner-city Atlanta ... one of the murder capitals of the world, when drug murders were out of control. I'm really worried we're going back to that now."

Perino asked Grace what could be done to combat the lawlessness.
 
"One thing, get rid of bond reform where you can't keep a perp behind bars," Grace responded. "And number two, get real."

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Grace blasted politicians, but saved particular scorn for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortiz, D-N.Y., who recently blamed an increase in New York City crime on citizens shoplifting to feed their children.

"For somebody like AOC to suggest that these crimes are because people are trying to feed themselves, kind of like [Les Miserables] but in New York ... that's crazy talk," Grace said. "That's not what's happening here. And these are quality of life crimes where people can shoot up on the street or urinate ... It just leads to a snowball effect. And defunding the police is ... the antithesis of what we need."

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