Category Archives: US crime

Teen murder suspect who escaped from US hospital caught with handcuff key in pocket

Posted on by

Shane Pryor, 17, awaiting trial over October 2020 homicide, escaped from Children’s hospital of Philadelphia last week

A teenager awaiting trial in a homicide case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital last week was captured on Sunday – with a handcuff key in one of his pockets, police said.

The key that Shane Pryor had on him at the time of his arrest is used to get out of restraints. But there is no evidence he ever used it, said Robert Clark of the US Marshals Service, who caught Pryor, according to the local news outlet WTXF.

Continue reading...

Jury to decide fate of LA socialite for fatally striking two kids with her car

Posted on by

Prosecutors allege Rebecca Grossman, 60, was speeding when she hit brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jakob Iskander, eight

More than three years ago, a Los Angeles socialite allegedly fatally struck two young boys as they were crossing the street. Now a jury will decide whether Rebecca Grossman is guilty of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving.

This week jurors heard opening statements in the long-awaited trial of Grossman for the deaths of brothers Mark Iskander, 11, and Jacob Iskander, eight.

Continue reading...

Death, guns and ‘corrupt cop’ claims: saga that gripped New Orleans reaches its end

Posted on by

The verdict in the manslaughter trial over the 2016 death of Saints star Will Smith brings to a close a turbulent eight years of legal wrangling

Ever since the New Orleans tow-truck company owner Cardell Hayes shot the retired local pro-football champion Will Smith to death and wounded the former athlete’s wife on a city street late on the night of 9 April 2016, people on all sides of the case have made it as complicated as possible in their fight for what they consider to be justice.

It is a case that has gripped south-eastern Louisiana – where football players are huge celebrities – and also involved dark, if unsupported, allegations of another deep south staple: police corruption. Competing theories and narratives have vied for supremacy, with almost as many different ideas of what happened as people willing to voice them.

Ramon Antonio Vargas covered the New Orleans Saints in 2013 and 2014 at the New Orleans Advocate and also covered the case of Hayes and Smith before joining the Guardian in 2022.

Continue reading...

Convicted serial killer confesses to 1980 Florida spring break murder, police say

Posted on by

Police in Jacksonville draw confession from Billy Mansfield, sentenced to life in prison for five other murders decades ago

After confessing to the murder of an Ohio high schooler on her spring break outside Jacksonville, Florida, in 1980, a jailed serial killer is continuing to talk to detectives investigating other homicides whose clue trails have gone cold, according to authorities.

Billy Mansfield’s confession of the killing of 18-year-old Carol Ann Barrett of Zanesville, Ohio, means officials have now confirmed that he has committed at least six murders. He had previously been handed life sentences in five of the killings, four of which were in California and one of which was in Florida, though officials investigating Barrett’s death made clear in a statement on Thursday that those numbers could grow.

Continue reading...

‘The Lord told us to’: US pastor says he stole $1m from Christians to remodel home

Posted on by

Couple are charged with creating and selling their cryptocurrency, known as ‘INDXcoin’, to Christian community in Denver, Colorado

A Colorado pastor who is charged with stealing more than $1m from his Christian community in a cryptocurrency scheme has admitted to the fraud but argued that God instructed him to carry it out.

Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn, are charged with creating and selling their cryptocurrency, known as “INDXcoin”, to Christians based in their home town of Denver, Colorado, allegedly telling would-be investors that the Lord had told him people would become rich if they invested, the state’s division of securities announced in a press release on Thursday.

Continue reading...

‘You will not replace us’: a deadly attack on a Slovakian gay bar – and its link to a fast-spreading racist ideology

Posted on by

Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremist

The October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Tepláreň bar on Zámocká Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matúš, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.

Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajčík. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Tepláreň sat down, Krajčík stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand.

Continue reading...

Alleged Long Island serial killer indicted on new murder charge of fourth victim

Posted on by

Rex Heuermann was indicted for killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found in marshland along Gilgo Beach

The accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann has been indicted on a new murder charge in the killing of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who investigators believe was the first of the “Gilgo Four” to be killed, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

The unsealing of the indictment came after authorities announced Heuermann would face “a major development” in the investigation of the Gilgo Beach killings, which all targeted sex workers and lay unsolved for more than a decade.

Continue reading...

Former LA sheriff’s deputy gets 30 days in jail for 2019 killing of Ryan Twyman

Posted on by

Andrew Lyons and another sheriff’s deputy shot at Twyman 34 times while he was inside his car in south Los Angeles

A former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot an unarmed 24-year-old man in his car in 2019 was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Friday.

Andrew Lyons, one of two deputies who fired a barrage of bullets at Ryan Twyman in a parking lot in south Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm and assault under color of authority, said the district attorney, George Gascón.

Continue reading...

‘You can’t forget it’: FBI agent recounts decaying bodies at Colorado funeral home

Posted on by

New details emerge about 200 bodies found in October, including fluids, maggots and incriminating texts between owners

Investigators who entered a Colorado funeral home where nearly 200 abandoned bodies were found encountered stacks of partially covered human remains, bodily fluids several inches deep on the floor, and flies and maggots throughout the building, an FBI agent testified on Thursday.

Prosecutors also revealed text messages sent between the funeral home’s owners showing they were under growing financial pressures and had fears that they would be caught for mishandling the bodies. As the bodies accumulated, one of the co-owners even suggested getting rid of them by digging a big hole and treating them with lye or setting them on fire, according to the texts.

Continue reading...

Man who attacked Las Vegas judge has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, says lawyer

Posted on by

Deobra Redden’s foster mother says his mental health was not taken into consideration in his court sentence

The family of a man who was filmed attacking a Las Vegas judge has come forward to say that, while they don’t condone Deobra Redden’s actions, his mental health had not been taken into consideration before the court appearance.

“Oh my god, I went into a state of shock,” Karen Springer, Redden’s foster mother, told local CBS affiliate 8NewsNow. “I mean it was heartbreaking really to see him and, like I said, at the end of the day it’s about his mental state.”

Continue reading...

Release of Epstein documents crashes court website but details are less scandalous

Posted on by

The majority of those whose names appear in the documents are not accused of wrongdoing and have been mentioned previously

When legal documents related to the case of convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were made public on Wednesday night, it caused an online frenzy that crashed the court website hosting the files in minutes.

More than 900 pages of papers were unsealed late in the day, identifying numerous Epstein associates and public figures as mentioned in proceedings of the case Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre filed against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.

Continue reading...

Courtroom video shows defendant attacking judge in Nevada

Posted on by

Mary Kay Holthus and court officials injured in incident which has led to new charges against Deobra Delone Redden

A defendant has attacked a judge during a felony battery case, dragging her to the floor and sparking a brawl involving court officials and attorneys, officials and witnesses have said.

In a violent scene captured on courtroom video on Wednesday, Deobra Delone Redden jumped over a defence table and the judge’s bench, knocking the Clark county district judge Mary Kay Holthus from her seat and against a wall then pulled her to the floor. She sustained some injuries but was not sent to hospital, courthouse officials said.

Continue reading...

Bob Menendez faces fresh corruption allegations involving Qatar

Posted on by

Democratic senator offered gifts in return for making positive comments about Gulf state, superseding indictment says

Bob Menendez, already the subject of sensational charges concerning the acceptance of illicit cash, gold bars and a Mercedes Benz car, faces new corruption allegations, outlined in a superseding indictment made public on Tuesday.

The New Jersey Democratic senator has already pleaded not guilty on charges involving interests linked to Egypt. He is now accused of corruption involving Qatar, although he does not face new charges.

Continue reading...

Police arrest man they say held guard at gunpoint at Colorado supreme court

Posted on by

Man reportedly shot at the building and fired additional rounds while inside, but no one was injured by the gunfire

Police have arrested a Colorado man who they say broke into the state’s supreme court building and held a security guard at gunpoint.

Authorities have said the break-in is not connected to previous threats received by Colorado supreme court justices after their decision last month to remove Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. Rather, they said it resulted from a nearby car crash in which one motorist pulled a gun on another.

Continue reading...

New York upstate car crash that left two dead investigated as terrorism – report

Posted on by

Suicide note and journal reportedly discovered after crash outside music venue in Rochester kills two and injures five people

The FBI and local police are investigating the cause of a fiery car crash that killed two people and injured several others outside of an upstate New York concert venue.

Two people were killed and five were injured early Monday after a vehicle filled with gasoline canisters crashed into a crowd of people leaving a concert in Rochester, upstate New York.

Continue reading...

New York sergeant, wife and two sons found dead in murder-suicide, police say

Posted on by

Man fatally shot his wife and their sons before dying by suicide in a suburban New York home, according to police

A police sergeant, his wife and their two sons – ages 10 and 12 – were found dead in a suburban home in New York in what police said was a triple murder-suicide.

Watson Morgan, 49, a sergeant with the Bronxville police department, fatally shot his wife, Ornela Morgan, 43, and their sons before dying by suicide, police said. They were discovered just past midnight Saturday at the family’s home in Clarkstown – 18 miles north of Manhattan – after Morgan failed to show up for work at the police department in nearby Bronxville.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Continue reading...

New law designates special counsels to prosecute sex crimes in US military

Posted on by

Military sexual assaults and harassment have increased almost every year since 2006, prompting Congress to pass new legislation

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault have been on the rise across the US military for roughly the last 15 years. Now, a new law has been passed that will change how they are dealt with, putting independent lawyers in charge of decisions and sidelining commanders.

“It’s the most important reform to our military justice system since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950,” the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

Continue reading...

Texas police release surveillance video after pregnant teen and boyfriend killed

Posted on by

Police release footage in investigation of deaths of Savannah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, whose bodies were found on Tuesday

Texas police have released surveillance footage they hope will lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend. The couple were found shot in the head in a car and may have been dead for days.

Police on Friday had not named a possible motive or suspects as family and friends mourned the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22. Soto went missing before Christmas just before she had been scheduled to have an induced labor.

Continue reading...

Florida senator Rick Scott’s house ‘swatted’ by police

Posted on by

Prank call to police claimed a shooting occurred at Scott’s Naples home, prompting a Swat team to deploy before standing down

The Republican Florida senator Rick Scott has said that his home was “swatted” on Wednesday night.

While he was dining with his wife, Ann, local Naples authorities responded to what was revealed to be a prank call intentionally made to lure resources like a Swat team to a location to respond to a false threat of danger, otherwise known as a “swatting call”.

Continue reading...

Idaho house where university students were murdered in 2022 is demolished

Posted on by

Owner of property donated it to the University of Idaho, which said that its demolition was a key step towards finding closure

Demolition began on Thursday of the house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year, marking an emotional step for the victims’ families and a close-knit community that was shocked and devastated by the brutal stabbings.

The sounds of construction equipment pierced the early morning air as an excavator started tearing down the front part of the house. The former walls formed a large pile of crushed and smashed wood on the ground as debris was picked up and loaded into a dump truck.

Continue reading...