CrimeCon 2026

Part 1: On October 1, 2017, what began as a night of country music at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas turned into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. From the 32nd Floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, gunfire rained down on thousands, ultimately leaving 60 people dead and hundreds more wounded. This year, CrimeCon is presenting 2 sessions that feature eyewitness accounts from the officials who ran toward the danger and investigated this tragic event.

In this powerful, first-ever 2-part session, Det. Kenneth Mead, SWAT Officer Levi Hancock and Officer Ashton Packe recount the evening of the attack, as gunfire erupted over the crowd. Officer Ashton Packe recounts the chaos on the ground, the confusion, the radio traffic and immediate realization that this was no ordinary call. SWAT Officer Levi Hancock will walk you through the tactical response and rapid deployment to the 32nd Floor of Mandalay Bay, where there were tense moments in the silent hallway outside Room 32-135 before explosive charges were prepped and deployed. Det. Kenneth Mead reveals decision-making under pressure and offers a minute-by-minute investigative look at the coordination and psychology into the investigation.

In this unprecedented second session on the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, we shift from the breach on October 1 to the aftermath. Det. Kenneth Mead provides an inside look at how law enforcement reconstructed one of the most complex crime scenes in American history, breaking down what investigators uncovered in the days and weeks that followed.

Officer Ashton Packe shares how officers processed the chaos in real time, while SWAT Officer Levi Hancock walks through how the tactical response unfolded. Det. Mead also explores how behavioral threat assessment and forensic psychology played a pivotal role in the effort to determine motive, including insight from interviews and the interrogation of the suspect’s girlfriend.

Together, the three officials confront the human toll of the tragedy — survival, resilience, trauma, and the lasting impact on first responders, the community, and the nation. This session is not only about what happened, but what changed in the areas of response, recovery, and prevention.

Two days. One city. One of the most pivotal moments in modern American history — examined through raw firsthand accounts, unflinching honesty, and hard-earned insight.

What’s it really like to be a juror on a case everyone’s talking about? In this session, you’ll hear directly from two people who know firsthand. Laura served as juror #4 in the Lori Vallow Daybell trial; Christie was juror #3 in Kouri Richins' case. They’ll talk with investigative journalist Nate Eaton about what surprised them most, what the cameras didn’t show, and how they dealt with the pressure as the world watched. It’s an honest, inside-the-room look at the challenges, emotions, and real human experience of serving on a high-profile jury.

Steve & Kristi Goncalves’ world was shattered when their daughter Kaylee was brutally murdered along with her 3 friends in Moscow, Idaho. To this day, even after the investigation, the court appearances, and the eventual plea deal, the trauma and damage to the family continue. The Goncalves, along with many families like them, continue to be harassed and re-victimized every day in the media and on social media; hurtful things are posted, lies are spread, and most devastating, crime scene photos and police reports are released. The Goncalves’ are here to change all that!

Steve, Kristi, and their daughter Alivea have teamed up with Andy Kahan of Crime Stoppers to create legislation in Idaho that will prohibit the release of photos in death investigations from going public, and that law was just passed thanks to Alivea’s efforts! In this critical CrimeCon Las Vegas session moderated by NCVC’s Renee Williams, the Goncalves and Kahan will help true crime fans be change agents - and use their interest to help victims' families. The panel will also cover how content creators should responsibly strive to empower and not exploit victims, and how the industry as a whole can, and should, work together better to benefit the victims and their families.