2025.2.20 Davis Islands dog park attack: Teen suspects facing upgraded charges as adults
TAMPA, Fla. – Five teens arrested for beating another teenager in the Davis Islands Dog Park attack that happened last week have all been charged as adults by the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office.
What we know: All five teens who were arrested have been identified as 17-year-old Owen Callahan, 17-year-old Jacob Ely, 16-year-old Joseph Gesuale, 16-year-old Jace Villanueva and 15-year-old Grayson Shearer. The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office also said an 18-year-old, Orian Robinson, was also arrested in the brutal attack.
The backstory: This comes after a video shared anonymously with FOX 13 showed the chaos that unfolded last Thursday at the dog park. According to detectives, the night began with everyone involved in the incident gathering for a bonfire at Davis Islands.
The cell phone video, confirmed by the Tampa Police Department to be part of their investigation, shows the chaos that ended the night. A group of teenagers, which includes one person holding a knife, could be seen surrounding a black pickup truck with a teenage driver and passenger. Police said another teenager threw a rock, which can be heard hitting the vehicle.
Moments later, the video shows several teens attacking the passenger, including another person holding a knife. The victim was pulled from the truck and beaten until he was unconscious.
Police arrested six of the suspected attackers, and all were charged with battery or assault and a 17-year-old faced an attempted murder charge.
2025.2.20 Woman angrily fired shot after traffic crash, killing driver
February 20, 2025 6:56 PM CWBChicago Roseland
CHICAGO — An 18-year-old woman is facing first-degree murder charges, accused of angrily firing a single shot following a traffic crash, killing the driver of the other car. Aaliyah Cain is being detained pending trial.
Prosecutors say she was a passenger in a car occupied by three other people when her driver struck a vehicle being driven by 47-year-old Mychal Evans in the 10500 block of South State late on July 6, 2024.
The collision immobilized the car she was in, prosecutors said. She and her three companions all stepped out of the vehicle. Possibly feeling threatened, Evans pulled a U-turn to escape the scene.
At that point, Cain allegedly took out a gun and fired one bullet, which struck Evans in the upper left side of his chest. He died a short time later.
Judge James Murphy ordered Cain’s detention. He said the other three people who were in the car identified her as the shooter. Her phone data, video footage, and her own admissions placed her at the scene, according to Murphy’s detention order.
2025.2.20 Nicaraguan man accused of sexual battery faces immigration hold in Broward
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A woman said she had known Mario Lopez for about a month when he sexually battered her in Broward County, according to police. Now he faces the possibility of getting deported.
The woman said she agreed to meet Lopez, 29, on Jan. 25 at the Amsterdam Nightclub in Hallandale Beach and later nearby at his place, according to a police arrest report.
The woman said she was sleeping on the couch at Lopez’s apartment when he sexually battered her and she managed to get away to lock herself in the bathroom, according to the report.
“While the victim was locked in the bathroom, [Lopez] began to send several texts to the victim stating he was sorry for what happened,” Officer Carolyn Rose wrote in her report.
The woman called police officers for help. Rose arrested Lopez, who was born in Nicaragua, on Jan. 25, at his apartment in Hallandale Beach.
Court records show prosecutors filed a felony case against Lopez, who did not have a criminal record in Broward County, on Jan. 26, and his defense filed a written plea of not guilty.
Lopez appeared in court on Thursday morning for his arraignment on charges of sexual battery and battery before Broward County Circuit Judge Andrew L. Siegel.
Inmate records show Broward Sheriff’s Office correctional deputies were holding Lopez at the Joseph V. Conte Facility and he had an immigration hold. The battery charge did not have a bond; the bond for the sexual battery charge was $20,000.
2025.2.20 Woman suspected of stealing $800K in ‘Trump coin’ cryptocurrency from Miami ex
Police say she called him a ‘loser’ just before her arrest
MIAMI – A Tunisian woman who Miami police say stole her ex-boyfriend’s American Express card and spent $4,200 on an Airbnb is also being investigated as a suspect in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
According to an arrest report, Anthony Bravo went to Miami police headquarters on Feb. 12 to report that he woke up on Feb. 9 to find that his ex-girlfriend of six months, Maissa Jebali, was no longer in the yacht where they both lived. Police said he then checked his crypto wallet and found that $800,000 worth of his “Trump coin” had been sent to a wallet that didn’t belong to him.
Bravo, 26, then found the Amex charge, police said, and received notifications that his card was being used throughout Miami-Dade County. The two had fought beforehand.
“When I woke up she was gone, she was just gone,” Bravo told Local 10 News.
The report states that Bravo hired private investigator David Bolton, who tracked down Jebali on Valentine’s Day to the Yotel at 227 NE Second St. in downtown Miami. Bolton discovered that Jebali has overstayed her visa.
Police said they went to the hotel about 30 minutes later and saw Jebali, 22, sitting at the bar, later questioning her about the case in private.
“That loser is my ex-boyfriend,” police said Jebali told detectives. “He lets me use his credit card.”
Bravo said being called a “loser,” on top of being a crime victim, “made me feel horrible.”
“I loved her with all my heart,” he said. “I did everything I could to be there for her.”
He said he met Jebali at a marina about six months ago and said she expressed an interest in learning about crypto.
At this point, she hasn’t been charged in connection with the crypto theft, Bravo said, though police are investigating.
“I was able to identify her address and it was the same address used to transfer my trump coins into her phantom wallet,” Bravo said.
Jebali is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bravo and Bolton are worried that she’ll be deported before police complete their investigation.
“The concern is that we are giving her a free ticket from the U.S. government back to Tunisia with $850,000 in her pocket,” Bolton said. “I think this was a long-term plan from someone very sophisticated who targeted him because he’s wealthy.”
Jebali is facing two felony counts of grand theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.
2025.2.20 Husband and wife found dead at Long Island home in apparent murder-suicide
A husband and wife were found dead with gunshot wounds at their home in a quiet Long Island town, and police believe the incident may have been a murder-suicide.
Officers responded to the home on Parsons Landing in Islip around 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning after a 911 caller told them about a man who had been shot outside the house, according to Suffolk County police. It was a garbage collector going on his typical route who found the man, later identified as 73-year-old William Clifford.
The garbage truck driver tried to help the man, but to no avail.
After officers got to the scene, they found a woman dead inside a bedroom at the home as well, police said. The woman was identified as 68-year-old Eileen Clifford, the man’s wife.
William Clifford is believed to have shot and killed his wife in the bedroom before turning the gun on himself in the driveway, according to police.
“Neighbors described them as very nice. It’s a tight-knit community. They were very friendly with the neighbors,” said Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer.
The couple had been married for 20 years, and police said there was no history of domestic violence.
William Clifford graduated from the Merchant Marina Academy and was a tugboat operator, according to police. It was not clear what could have caused him to carry out the violence.
An investigation is ongoing.
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2025.2.20 1983 cold case murder: Investigators seek new leads for justice
Investigators in Orange County are asking the public for help Thursday in their search for leads after uncovering new information in connection with a cold case murder from 1983.
The murder victim, identified only as “Jane Doe” for decades after her remains were discovered in a culvert in the area of Old Trabuco Road in what is now the city of Lake Forest in April of 1983, was positively identified as Maritza Glean Grimmett in March of last year.
Now, investigators have also identified two persons of interest in the case including Grimmett’s ex-husband Howard Grimmett, and his current wife Isabel “Terry” Cruz-Grimmett. Authorities are hoping this information provided to the public will help solve Maritza Grimmett’s murder.
Maritza Grimmett, a Panamanian native, married U.S. Marine Howard Grimmett in the summer of 1978 and gave birth to a daughter, the Sheriff’s Office stated in Thursday’s news release. In late 1978, the family moved to the United States and lived in Columbus, Ohio then in Millington, Tenn., but began divorce proceedings in July of 1979.
Howard Grimmett later married Isabel “Terry” Cruz and subsequently moved to California. Maritza Grimmett later told her sister that she was going to go to California but her family never heard from her again.
“Investigators are actively investigating Maritza’s homicide and are interested in any details that might help establish how and when Maritza arrived in California,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.
Authorities also mentioned that they were interested in speaking with former military service members who may have seen her at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station between late 1979 and April 1983.
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2025.2.19 Armed robbers allegedly follow couple from NYC to NJ suburbs before gunpoint attack
Police in Morristown said it appeared the couple was targeted in Manhattan and followed from there to the Windmill Pond community; a neighbor confirmed one of the victims is an NFL player for the New York Jets
A couple was stalked and followed for more than 30 miles from New York City to the suburbs of New Jersey, then robbed at gunpoint by a group in an SUV, according to police.
Morristown police say they got several 911 calls around 8 a.m. Saturday about an alleged armed robbery in the Windmill Pond community. A witness reported seeing three men carrying guns get out of a dark SUV and rob two people in a second vehicle at gunpoint, officials say.
“To be honest, I cannot make sense of what happened. I saw them take something from the garage – I was thinking ‘OMG ‘Oh my God, this is a robbery,’” said one woman who did not wish to be identified.
The suspects allegedly took money and personal items before taking off. Further details were not immediately clear.
No injuries were reported. A neighbor confirmed that one of the victims is an NFL player for the New York Jets; the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office would only confirm to NBC New York that “the incident remains under investigation.”
Morristown police canvassed the area for available surveillance footage. They say the case appears to have been an isolated incident, and the victims were likely targeted and followed from Manhattan.
There is no presumed threat to the public, and police believe it was an isolated incident.
2025.2.19 Illinois woman accused of stabbing mother in head with kitchen knife
VERNON HILLS, Ill. – A 20-year-old Vernon Hills woman has been charged after allegedly stabbing her mother in the head early Thursday morning, according to police.
Mother stabbed in Vernon Hills
What we know: Officers responded to a home in the 900 block of Jackson Court around 7:06 a.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting a mother had been stabbed in the head by her daughter. The caller told police the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Sashary Almanza, had run away following the alleged stabbing.
Vernon Hills police found Almanza about 10 minutes later, roughly half a mile from the residence, and took her into custody without incident. Officers also recovered the suspected weapon, described as a kitchen knife, at the scene of the arrest, police said.
Investigators determined that the stabbing stemmed from an encounter in the home’s kitchen just before the 911 call.
Almanza was charged with aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, both felonies. She remains in custody at the Lake County Jail following a detention hearing.
Almanza’s mother, 46, was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with a stab wound to the head. She was treated for a cut and was later released.
Vernon Hills police were assisted in the arrest by officers from the Libertyville and Mundelein police departments.
2025.2.19 Chicago man charged in murder of 66-year-old last summer
CHICAGO – A man was charged with the murder of a 66-year-old last July in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood.
The backstory: Phillip Akins, 23, allegedly shot and killed a man on July 27, 2024, in the 7100 block of South Crandon Avenue, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Akins was arrested Monday in the Lawndale neighborhood. He was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder.
No further information was provided.
Matthew Cadena, 35, recorded more than 500 videos, according to police
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police officers said they arrested a man accused of secretly recording workers at a veterinary hospital while they were using an employee-only restroom.
Matthew Christopher Cadena, 35, faces 11 counts of invasive visual recording.
According to an arrest affidavit, employees of Babcock Hills Veterinary Hospital called SAPD in October 2024 after one worker found a tiny, pinhole-type camera in a restroom.
Investigators then examined the camera’s memory card and found more than 500 videos that were recorded without the knowledge of the people in them, the affidavit stated.
In all, police identified 11 victims, including both women and men, SAPD said.
The affidavit stated that police noticed two clips showing a man, who they identified as Cadena, setting up the camera in the restroom.
Officers said they also collected surveillance video that showed him entering the restroom where the camera was found.
KSAT 12 News called and emailed the hospital for more information on Tuesday morning.
Hospital Administrator Vanessa Mitchell released the following written statement several hours later:
“We would like to take a moment to address an incident involving a former employee and an internal, employee-only bathroom at Babcock Hills Veterinary Hospital. Upon discovery of a recording device, we immediately took action and reported to the authorities. We continue to actively assist the authorities with their investigation. As this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our patients, clients, and staff. We appreciate your understanding and will continue to support law enforcement in any way we can.”
Cadena was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on Sunday night. Court records show he posted bond on Tuesday afternoon.
2025.2.18 West Chicago man who had cocaine in his system sentenced for fatal DUI crash
DUPAGE COUNTY – A West Chicago man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a fatal head-on collision.
The crash, which occurred in September 2023, claimed the life of one man and seriously injured his wife.
What we know: Jaime Damian, 22, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated DUI – accident causing death and one count of aggravated DUI – great bodily harm.
The charges stem from a head-on crash on Sept. 14, 2023, when Damian crossed a double yellow line on Roosevelt Road and collided with a 2004 Lincoln sedan driven by Jose Correa. Correa’s wife, Maria, was a passenger in the vehicle.
Both Jose and Maria were taken to a hospital, where Jose later died from his injuries. Maria suffered a broken wrist and bruises on her legs. Damian was also hospitalized following the crash.
Authorities later determined that Damian had cocaine in his system when the crash occurred.
What they’re saying: DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin commented on the case.
“This afternoon, Jaime Damian learned that his decision to drive after he had been using cocaine will cost him the next ten years of his life,” Berlin said. “This cost however, pales in comparison to the price that Jose Correa’s wife, family and friends must now pay with just memories of Jose to comfort them and see them through the rest of their lives. The sad truth is that this tragedy, like all driving-impaired fatalities, was 100% avoidable had Mr. Damian not gotten behind the wheel that afternoon.”
What’s next: Damian will serve his sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, where he must complete at least 85% of his term before becoming eligible for parole.
2025.2.17 Sioux woman found dead on South Dakota reservation more than a year after going missing
The remains of a woman found dead on a reservation in southwestern South Dakota in January has been identified as Michelle Elbow Shield, a Sioux woman who went missing more than a year ago.
Elbow Shield’s body was discovered on the state’s Pine Ridge Reservation in January, according to the forensics laboratory that helped solve her case and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Sioux woman from Pine Ridge went missing in September 2023 and the BIA created a profile for Elbow Shield in the wake of her disappearance.
Her image appeared on a section of the federal website dedicated to missing and murdered Indigenous people, which says Elbow Shield was last seen in Rapid City, about 100 miles from the reservation.
Investigators with the Rapid City Police Department recovered a woman’s remains in January but she could not be immediately identified, forensics lab Othram, Inc. said in a news release. Rapid City police partnered with the BIA’s missing and murdered unit to determine whether advanced DNA testing, which Othram performs to assist law enforcement agencies around the U.S. with unsolved cases, would lead somewhere.
The lab said its scientists were able to locate a potential relative of Elbow Shield using an analysis technique called forensic-grade genome sequencing, where DNA profiles are built out from a sample of crime scene evidence. A direct DNA sample later provided by the relative allowed investigators to confirm the biological match and confirm Elbow Shield’s identity, according to Othram.
An investigation into Elbow Shield’s disappearance and death is ongoing.
“Thousands of hours have been invested into the investigation into Michelle’s disappearance, and we hope this recent news can offer some sense of closure for her loved ones,” Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick said after her identity was confirmed, CBS News affiliate KELO-TV reported.
The frequency with which Indigenous women are missing or murdered is a crisis in the U.S., where Native American women are disproportionately targeted in murders, sexual assaults and other acts of violence, both on reservations and in nearby towns.
There were more than 5,700 reports of missing Native women and girls in 2016, according to the anti-sexual assault organization RAINN, which cites statistics from the National Crime Information Center. The BIA estimated more recently that roughly 4,200 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people remain unsolved.
2025.2.17 Police arrest apparent leader of cultlike ‘Zizian’ group linked to multiple killings in the US
BOSTON – The apparent leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians has been arrested in Maryland along with another member of the group, Maryland State Police said Monday.
Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, of Media, Pennsylvania. They face multiple charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in the vehicle.
A bail hearing for the the two is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allegany District Court.
The Zizians have been tied to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California.
Maland, 44, was killed in a Jan. 20 shootout following a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
Officials have offered few details of the cross-country investigation, which broke open after the Jan. 20 shooting death of Maland. Associated Press interviews and a review of court records and online postings tell the story of how a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and became increasingly violent.
Their goals aren’t clear, but online writings span topics from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.
At the middle of it all is “Ziz,” who appears to be the leader of the strange group members who called themselves “Zizians.” She has been seen near multiple crime scenes and has connections to various suspects.
LaSota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the name Ziz and, in one section, described her theory that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and “often desire to kill each other.”
LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.
LaSota, 34, has not responded to multiple Associated Press emails in recent weeks, and her attorney Daniel McGarrigle declined to comment when asked whether she is connected to any of the deaths. Before her weekend arrest, she missed court appearances in two states, and bench warrants have been issued for her arrest.
Reached on Monday, McGarrigle would only confirm that he has represented LaSota and wouldn’t confirm her arrest or any details of the latest case.
2025.2.17 Topless woman wanted in Vine City burglary
ATLANTA – Authorities in Atlanta have released images of a topless woman wanted in connection with a burglary at a Vine City apartment.
The break-in happened on February 11.
What we know:According to the Atlanta Police Department, the woman was seen in the video entering an apartment along Rock Street NW.
Multiple items were taken from the apartment.
What we don’t know:Police are searching for the identity and location of the woman.
The Atlanta Police Department’s Burglary Unit is investigating.
2025.2.17 ‘Woodline Rapist’ takes plea deal, gets 15 years in Orlando sex assaults from 2002
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man linked to two cold case sexual assaults from 2002 through DNA evidence has accepted a plea deal, bringing long-awaited justice for his victims, News4JAX’s sister station WKMG reported.
Dwight Harris, once facing a life sentence, pleaded no contest in court Monday, securing a 15-year prison sentence with credit for time served. Upon release, he will be on five years of supervised probation and must register as a sexual predator.
Harris was arrested in 2021 after investigators used advanced DNA technology to link him to two sexual battery cases that had remained unsolved for nearly 20 years.
Authorities said Harris targeted women returning to their apartments, attacking them in nearby wooded areas.
“They thought this day would never come. They thought these were cold cases forever and that they would never be solved,” Orlando police Detective Graham Cage said.
One of Harris’ victims addressed the court Monday, sharing the emotional toll the attack had taken on her life.
“Twenty years of fear, anger, and grief,” she said. “Now, 15 years of a prison sentence is a fraction of the time I have spent trying to live in the wreckage you left behind. Even now, I know the difference between us, I did not choose what happened to me, you did.”
Now a mother of two, she said she refuses to let Harris’ actions define her.
Judge Diego M. Madrigal III acknowledged her bravery in speaking out.
“I just want to tell you how lucky your family is to have somebody like you,” he said. “You’re incredibly strong, incredibly brave, to come in here, even if it’s by video and share what you’ve been through for the last two decades.”
Orlando police said they are now preserving DNA evidence from sexual assault cases for 50 years, hoping advancements in technology will help bring justice in other unsolved cases.
Harris will remain in prison until at least 2036.
2025.2.17 Woman accused of killing her boyfriend after going through his phone
HOUSTON (Gray News) – A woman in Texas is accused of killing her boyfriend after discovering texts from another woman on his phone.
According to a statement from Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, 23-year-old Tatyana Evans was arrested and charged with murder on Feb. 11 after the body of 28-year-old Geovanni Montague was found.
“Montague and Evans were reportedly involved in a volatile relationship,” Gonzalez wrote.
He added that the shooting “possibly stemmed from jealousy.”
On Feb 9, Evans allegedly confronted Montague about messages from another woman, KHOU reported.
Montague had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was lying on the ground outside of his home, which he shared with his mother.
Gonzalez wrote that Montague was a “decorated Army veteran” and had been working for Amazon at the time of his death.
Evans’ bond was set at $250,000 and she is due in court on April 3.
2025.2.16 Three kids live alone in Pontiac home for years, found living in severe filth; mom arrested
Three kids left in squalor for years; mother arrested in Pontiac
Three children were living in filth for years, sleeping on pizza boxes and unable to even flush a toilet, the Oakland County Sheriff said.
The Brief
Three children were found living alone and in filth in a Pontiac home.
Their mother abandoned them roughly four years ago.
The home was overflowing with mold and human waste, the sheriff said.
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) – Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he’s never seen anything like what deputies uncovered at a Pontiac home on Friday.
Bouchard said three children, a 15-year-old boy and two girls, 13 and 12, are all now living with a relative after the horrific discovery on Friday afternoon.
“Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order,” Bouchard said.
WARNING: The details of this story are horrific. Proceed at your own risk.
What we know:
Bouchard said deputies were called for a welfare check at a home on Lydia Lane. The landlord called after he said he had not heard from the mother since December and that rent was last paid in October.
He told officers that he was concerned something had happened.
Deputies arrived and found the home full of garbage – piled as high as four feet in some rooms. The rooms were also covered in mold and human waste. The toilet was overflowing, and the bathtub was full of feces.
The home was being lived in by the three children, alone.
The boy, the oldest of the siblings, said they lived in the home with their mother but that she abandoned them in either 2020 or 2021 – at least four years ago – when the children would have been just 11, 9, and 8.
The children survived on food that was dropped off on the front porch each week by either their mother or a stranger.
But they had no access to toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff said they were unfamiliar with personal hygiene and didn’t even know how to flush a toilet.
They had also not attended school since she left them and instead passed time by watching TV or playing games. The sheriff said the girls had not been outside in several years.
The boy slept on a mattress on the floor, but the two girls slept on pizza boxes.
“This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children. They have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years. The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that this mother faces the consequences of her actions,” Bouchard said.
According to deputies, neighbors were unaware that children lived in the home and had never seen them. They said they had seen their mother at the home each month.
The kids were all wearing soiled clothing with matted hair and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk.
Their 34-year-old mother was found at a different location and arrested. She told deputies that the kids’ father was not involved in their lives.
What we don’t know:
The sheriff did not say why the mother abandoned the children or what she was doing when she wasn’t at the home.
2025.2.16 Transgender man from MN killed in NY: No indication murder was hate crime, troopers say
New York authorities arrested five people after a missing Minnesota man was found dead in a field. Investigators say the victim was tortured for months before he was killed.
CANANDAIGUA, NY (FOX 9) – The murder of a missing transgender man from Minnesota, who officials say was tortured, killed and had his body dumped in a field in upstate New York, doesn’t appear to be a hate crime, authorities said Sunday.
Death of Sam Nordquist
The backstory:
Sam Nordquist traveled to New York from Minnesota in September 2024. According to a GoFundMe, Nordquist was set to meet his online girlfriend in Rochester, New York. Rochester is located along Lake Ontario, about an hour east of Buffalo.
He was supposed to return home in October but never made his flight. The last time his family heard from him was on New Year’s Day.
His body was found in a field on Feb. 13 in Yates County, a rural county about 30 miles southeast of Rochester.
Investigators said Norquist had been staying at a motel called Patty’s Lodge, which is located just north of Yates County in Canandaigua, New York.
Five arrested in Nordquist’s killing
What we know:
After the body was discovered, authorities brought charges against five people linked to Nordquist’s killing:
Precious N. Arzuaga, 38, of Canandaigua, New York
Emily Jean Motyka, 19, of Lima, New York
Jennifer A. Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York
Kyle R. Sage, 33, of Rochester, New York
Patrick A. Goodwin, 30, Canandaigua, New York
All five suspects are facing charges of second-degree murder.
Dig deeper:
Investigators said he had been tortured for weeks with a table, broomsticks, and more until he died.
“In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated,” said Kelly Swift, New York State Police Troop E’s captain of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
“We have determined that Sam endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals,” said Swift.
Was it a hate crime?
What they’re saying:
In a news release on Sunday, authorities said that while the investigation is still in its early stages, authorities do not believe bigotry was behind the murder.
In a joint statement, New York State Police and Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts said there is no indication that Norquist’s murder was a hate crime.
“We urge the community not to speculate into the motive behind the murder as we work to find justice for Sam,” the statement reads. “To help alleviate the understandable concern his murder could be a hate crime, we are disclosing that Sam and his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense.”
HARTSELLE, Ala. — The Hartselle Police Department has announced the arrest of 34-year-old Cody Lance Hitt of Decatur, Alabama, in connection with a series of burglaries across North Alabama.
The investigation began on February 10, 2025, after Hartselle City Parks and Recreation reported a burglary. Investigator Hardin quickly identified Hitt as a suspect and launched an intensive search.
Authorities linked Hitt to a white truck, which was identified as the vehicle used in multiple burglaries. Detectives later located the truck in Lawrence County, Alabama.
Hartselle investigators worked closely with Moulton Police, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, and Athens Police Detectives as Hitt repeatedly attempted to evade law enforcement. As the investigation progressed, detectives uncovered additional leads that directed them to the City of Decatur.
The execution of multiple search warrants resulted in the recovery of stolen property from numerous locations throughout North Alabama.
Hitt was located and apprehended by officers at a local hotel without further incident.
Hitt was taken to the Morgan County Detention Center, where he was booked for Burglary 3rd and given a $2,500 bond. Hitt is facing more charges as this investigation continues to unfold.
2025.2.15 Convict who called himself a ‘serial killer’ gets 261 years for 5 murders, Shelby County DA says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Joshua Dotson, who previously referred to himself as a “serial killer” during his trial, has been sentenced to an additional 159 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
This sentence is consecutive to his prior conviction of two counts of first-degree murder in August, bringing his total sentence to 261 years for five murders.
In August 2024, Dotson was convicted of the murders of his former girlfriend, Jamesha Covson, and her unborn child, resulting in two consecutive life sentences totaling 102 years.
Dotson also pleaded guilty to three counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.
2025.2.15 Police identify woman accused of critically injuring man in Southwest Side stabbing
Jessica Molina, 29, was taken into custody on Friday
SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE 2/15/2025: San Antonio police have identified the woman accused of stabbing and critically injuring a man on the Southwest Side.
Jessica Molina, 29, was taken into custody on Friday.
On Saturday, police said the 32-year-old man is still in critical condition.
ORIGINAL STORY: A woman was taken into custody after San Antonio police said she stabbed and critically injured a man Friday on the Southwest Side.
Officers were dispatched to the stabbing just before 10:30 a.m. in the 200 block of Caddo, which is located east of Somerset Road.
When officers arrived, they found a 32-year-old man with a stab wound in his chest. First responders transported the victim to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, SAPD said.
According to SAPD’s investigation, officers said they learned the man and a woman, 29, were verbally arguing with each other before the argument became physical.
The dispute escalated further when the woman stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, officers said.
Authorities said they later questioned the suspect, who remained at the scene, before she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Two children at the location, who were not injured, were released to a family member, SAPD said.
The department said its investigation is ongoing.
Magee Police Department
On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at approximately 05:45 AM, the Magee Police Department was notified of an individual pulling on vehicle door handles and entering residential carports on 13th St NE. Upon arrival, officers made contact with a homeowner who reported that the suspect, Alexis Franks, had entered her yard and attempted to open the doors of vehicles parked in her front yard. The homeowner stated that this was not the first time Franks had trespassed on her property and attempted to open the doors to her vehicles and residence.
Further investigation revealed that Franks had walked onto multiple residents’ properties, attempting to open the doors their cars and homes. Officers obtained video surveillance footage confirming her actions. Franks was later located walking on 6th St SE, where she was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Magee Police Department. She was booked on the charge of Attempted Burglary.
2025.2.14 Tennessee newlywed punched wife to death in bathroom at luxury honeymoon resort
Bradley Robert Dawson was arrested shortly after the body of his murdered wife was found in a gruesome scene and the suspect had fled the scene on a kayak paddling to the neighboring island
A Tennessee man beat his newlywed wife to death during a drunken argument while on their honeymoon in Fiji.
Now Bradley Robert Dawson, 41, could spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of the July 2022 murder of his wife Christe Chen, 36. Her brutally beaten body was found slumped in the blood covered bathroom of their hotel room with one of her arms submerged in the water tank.
The couple were just five months into their marriage and two days into their stay at the luxurious Turtle Island resort in the Yasawa Islands, part of the Western Division of the Melanesian island country.
“What should have been a truly joyous and memorable vacation was turned into a nightmare for the deceased and her family, causing much pain and sorrow to them,” Justice Riyaz Hamza of the High Court of Lautoka wrote in a sentencing opinion obtained by Fox News. The convicted murderer faced a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The court recently determined that Dawson will be eligible for release after serving 18 years of his sentence. After a noise complaint from a fellow guest at the upscale resort, hotel staff made the horrifying discovery. Chen was found with severe blunt-force injuries to her head propped up against the broken toilet.
On the night before, the couple had been overheard arguing, and on the following day, they missed both breakfast and lunch. Other guests reported to the police that although the Dawsons appeared content on the night of their dispute, “loud banging sounds” were later heard from their room.
When a hotel manager sent a cleaner into the room, despite the Do Not Disturb sign, a grisly scene unfolded. Blood spatter coated the bathroom, and Chen’s lifeless body, bloodied and strewn with shattered glass, was slumped against the shattered toilet.
Christe Chen Dawson, an award-winning pharmaceutical scientist and University of Tennessee Health Science Center alumna, focused her research on social determinants of health in underprivileged communities. She was employed as a pharmacist at Kroger in Memphis before her tragic demise.
“No mother should have to know this is how her daughter’s life ended, and by the hands of the very person who took a vow to love, honor and cherish her,” Xiao Wei Liu, Chen’s grieving mother, expressed in a victim impact statement to Fox News. “I can only hope that the rest of your life is filled with misery, loneliness and despair.”
During the proceedings, housekeeper Tomas Mawi gave testimony about his observations post-incident, when changing bed linens and tidying up the couples garments.
“While he was doing this, he looked at the louvres of the washroom,” the judgment reads. “When he looked through the louvres, he could see blood stains on the wall. When he saw the blood stains he had felt scared. The witness had then walked to the washroom. The door was closed. He had then pushed the washroom door open just to peep inside. At that stage he had seen Christe sitting beside the toilet seat leaning on the toilet. All her hair was falling down covering her face.”
Dawson, however, claimed his wife was simply too intoxicated that night and had fallen during a heated argument in the bathroom. The court dismissed his account.
An autopsy also revealed that Chen had a “gaping wound” near the top of her back above several smaller cuts. The court’s judgment stated, “This Court is of the opinion that the injuries to the deceased were caused as a result of the accused punching her several times while she was in the toilet.”
2025.2.13 Omaha Police make cold case arrest in 1979 murders of boy and his mother
Omaha Police said Wednesday that a man has been arrested in connection to a 1979 cold case double-murder.
OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha Police announced an arrest Wednesday in a 46-year-old double-murder case.
Abdulmalik Husain, 67, who OPD said had previously been known as Louis Walker, was booked into Douglas County Corrections on Wednesday, charged in the deaths of 26-year-old Deroshia Matthews, a former Clifton Hills teacher’s aide at from Jackson, Miss., and her 7-year-old son, Kamal, who was a second-grader at the school.
According to the police report, two officers responded to a report of a possible abduction and burglary on the morning of Tuesday, April 24, 1979, at a home near 42nd Avenue and Binney Street.
When they arrived, it appeared “the house had been ransacked with contents of drawers emptied out onto the living room and bedroom floors.”
Responding officers found the boy and his mother dead in the residence.
The boy was found lying on the floor of one of the bedrooms; his mother was found in a corner of the basement.
According to the OPD cold case listing, Deroshia Matthews had studied music and psychology at Jackson State University. In Omaha, she taught music lessons and also worked with the Omaha Girl’s Club.
She was also a crossing guard at Clifton Hills School, now closed; and helped her son with his paper route for the Omaha World-Herald. Kamal loved riding his bike and also enjoyed comic books, according to the OPD cold case description.
Wednesday’s update from police said recent DNA testing had led to Husain’s recent arrest by the OPD Cold Case Squad. But he had been previously arrested — as Louis Walker — on charges relating to the Matthews’ death in January 2004 in Aurora, Colo.
Another court record from 2019 lists Husain with an Omaha address. He had been sued by a bank for about $3,200.
“Murders are never forgotten, and justice has no expiration date,” OPD Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a statment Wednesday. “The depraved nature of this double homicide — one victim being a child — was bound to receive our utmost attention. Our commitment to these victims and their family never wavered.”
Bach Quang Truong charged with indecency with a child — sexual contact and injury to a child with intent to commit bodily injury
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A taekwondo instructor was arrested in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct and physical abuse involving an 11-year-old boy, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Bach Quang Truong, 24, was taken into custody on Feb. 12 on charges of indecency with a child — sexual contact and injury to a child with intent to commit bodily injury, BCSO Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Truong was formerly employed as an instructor at the Paramount Tae Kwon Do Center in Boerne, Texas, according to BCSO.
The sheriff’s office said Truong was one of the boy’s coaches for the past five years. He had traveled with the boy’s family on numerous occasions for tournaments.
Salazar said that Truong went to the boy’s home on Feb. 8 to discuss whether the child would be going out of town for a tournament.
There was a disagreement between the boy’s family and Truong about the situation, which escalated. Salazar said Truong placed the boy “in a chokehold” and also injured his stomach once the child’s mother had left the room.
According to BCSO, there were other incidents where Truong would “rough wrestle” inside vehicles with the boy. The encounters would often turn sexual, Salazar said.
The sheriff’s office said Truong would skip Taekwondo practices with the boy after picking up the child in a vehicle. The child’s mother was using a tracker because she suspected that Truong was missing practices with the boy, according to Salazar.
Truong also threatened to ruin the boy’s career after the child’s mother told Truong she no longer wanted him around her son, the sheriff said.
BCSO said there could potentially be more victims.
2025.2.13 Second suspect charged in death of 12-year-old Dalilah Batey
Prosecutors on Wednesday accused a 19-year-old of child endangerment in connection with 12-year-old Dalilah Batey’s shooting death Sunday.
Tyler Q. Wright, of Calumet Heights, faces one felony count of child endangerment. Prosecutors said in court filings that he had invited Dalilah and five other children under 14 to the home, where there was a ghost gun and a loaded, semiautomatic gun with an extended magazine and a laser sight attachment. A 14-year-old boy was allegedly seated on the bed and handling one of the guns when it went off, striking Dalilah in the face and killing her where she sat on the floor.
Authorities on Tuesday charged the boy with manslaughter.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara also alleged that Wright and the children were drinking and smoking, and that Wright had given the children weed to roll.
Wright was previously on pretrial release for an August 2024 case in which he was accused of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Police had found him carrying a gun during a traffic stop, records show. Judge Antara Rivera on Wednesday ordered Wright detained, records show.
Court records list Wright’s residence as the same home where the shooting occurred, though the city filed a case against the property’s owners in 2021 declaring it “dangerous and unsafe.”
Records show the house’s owner has been cited 11 times since 2022 over failures to post the owner name and contact information, maintain the structure and keep a watch on the premises overnight, among other failures.
Wright is next set to appear in court Thursday morning before Judge Shauna Boliker, records show.
2025.2.13 Investigators seek public’s help in search for CalArts student’s murder suspect
California college student found dead in apartment was murdered: LASD
The LA County Sheriff’s Department identified the woman found dead in her Santa Clarita apartment on Feb. 4 as 23-year-old CalArts student Menghan Zheng, also known to friends and family as Emily King. Authorities are asking for the public’s help identifying a person of interest in her murder.
The Brief
Menghen Zhuang, known to friends and family as Emily King, was found dead in her apartment in Newhall on Feb. 4.
Surveillance video showed a man exiting her second-story bedroom window on the afternoon of the day she was found dead.
Authorities believe this to be an isolated incident.
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Officials have identified a woman found dead in a Santa Clarita apartment last week as 23-year-old Menghan Zhuang, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced during a press conference Thursday.
Zhuang, who also went by the name Emily King, was a Chinese national on a student visa. She was a senior at CalArts in Valencia, where she studied art. She has been in the U.S. for nearly four years, authorities said.
What we know:
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, authorities responded to The Vistas condominium complex near Nandina Lane and Dockweiler Drive in Newhall around 7 p.m. to investigate a death at a residence, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Sheriff’s deputies discovered Zhuang inside a two-bedroom apartment, suffering from several injuries to her upper body. Zhuang was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation revealed Zhuang had a “male companion” that arrived at her home the night before. Surveillance video shows that man exiting through her second-story bedroom window the afternoon of the day she was discovered dead, authorities said.
Homicide investigators believe people in the area may have seen the man, who is considered a person of interest in the case. Zhuang’s roommate has been cooperative with investigators and is not considered a person of interest, authorities said.
What we don’t know:
Authorities are asking for the public’s help identifying the person of interest. It’s unclear what his relationship was with the victim.
While authorities said Zhuang suffered from “injuries to her upper body,” they did not specify what those injuries were as the investigation is ongoing.
What they’re saying:
“It is clear this was not a random act of violence, and she somehow knew the person of interest,” authorities said.
“We hope people will have the courage to come forward and help investigators identify the individual responsible for this senseless and violent act and help bring closure to the family.”
Authorities believe this is an isolated incident and not related to any crimes in the area.
What you can do:
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in this case. Anyone with information is asked to call 323-890-5500. Those wanting to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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Investigators seek public’s help in search for CalArts student’s murder suspect
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify a person of interest in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Menghan Zhuang, who was a student at The California Institute of the Arts.
On Feb. 4, Santa Clarita deputies and fire personnel responded to a condominium complex in the city of Newhall for a person unresponsive call around 6:47 p.m.
Lt. Michael Modica said deputies found Zhuang inside her condo in the 21000 block of Nandina Lane with several injuries to her upper body. Fire personnel responded with medical aid, but she died at the scene.
Investigators said a man had arrived with Zhuang at the condo the night before on Feb. 3., and there is video of the same man exiting the condo through the second-story bedroom window on the afternoon of the day she was discovered.
During a Thursday news conference, investigators released a photo of the man they hope to identify and locate. Modica said he couldn’t confirm if the suspect is a CalArts student or not. Homicide investigators believe that people in the area may have seen this person of interest.
“It is clear this is not a random act of violence, and Menghan somehow knew the person of interest, evidenced by bringing that person into her apartment,” Modica said.
Investigators said Zhuang’s roommate has been cooperative and helpful and is not a person of interest in this case.
Zhuang was a Chinese national, here on a student visa, and a senior at CalArts College in Valencia. She had been in the country for three and a half years.
CalArts issued the following statement: “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that Menghan Zhuang, whose preferred name was Emily King, has died off campus, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. Emily was an undergraduate in her fourth year at CalArts and a valued member of our community. Our community is devastated by this loss, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, classmates and teachers. The death took place off campus, and the LASD has told us that there is no evidence of any threat to the CalArts community. CalArts is cooperating fully with the investigation.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to approve a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Zhuang’s murder — scheduled for the board’s Tuesday, Feb. 18 meeting. The reward will be in effect, when approved, as of Thursday, Feb. 13, according to Modica.
2025.2.12 Three girls are dead after a Wyoming woman shoots her four daughters and herself
2025.2.12 Wyoming mother shoots 4 young daughters, killing 3 — then turns gun on herself in horrifying murder-suicide
Three young girls are dead and another is in serious condition after their mother shot them in the head before turning the gun on herself in Wyoming, authorities said.
The mom called 911 on Monday afternoon to report that her four daughters had been shot in her home in Big Horn County, the local sheriff’s office said.
The woman — whom local media later identified as 32-year-old Tranyelle Harshman — told the dispatcher where the girls were located in the house before abruptly cutting off the call.
When officers arrived, they discovered the girls with gunshot wounds to their heads, along with their mother, who had apparently turned the gun on herself.
Only one of the girls, a 7-year-old, survived. Her three sisters — a 9-year-old and two 2-year-olds born less than a year apart — were dead, according to MTN News.
Harshman was found alive but later succumbed to her wounds.
Police are still investigating the circumstances behind the tragedy, but Harshman’s husband, Cliff Harshman, told Cowboy State Daily that his wife had been receiving treatment for severe mental health issues, including PTSD and postpartum depression.
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What we know about a Wyoming mom who shot 4 daughters before shooting herself
Three girls — one 9-year-old and two 2-year-olds — were killed.
Police are investigating after a woman allegedly shot her four young daughters and then herself inside a home in northern Wyoming.
The 32-year-old mother, Tranyelle Harshman, and one daughter survived, but their condition was unknown on Tuesday, according to a press release issued by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office one day after the shooting. Three girls — one 9-year-old and two 2-year-olds — were killed.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office initially reported Monday afternoon that “multiple people” had been shot at the residence, including at least one fatality. The sheriff’s office did not immediately identify the relationship of the people involved.
Harshman’s sister, Savannah Rose, told the Scripps News Group on Tuesday that her sister shot her daughters and then herself. She said one of the girls named Olivia is still alive and being treated at a Salt Lake City hospital where she is sedated but responding to some touch.
“When you’re in a small community like this, you know, everyone rubs shoulders with everyone. It’s just devastating,” Byron Mayor Allen Clark told the Scripps News Group. “I just hope and pray that the family can endure and hopefully brighter days ahead.”
The sheriff’s office states in the press release that the shooting in the small town was first reported at about 1:30 p.m. Monday when a 911 call was made from a woman reporting gunshots inside a residence and “further reported her daughters had been shot.”
The woman told the 911 dispatcher that she believed the children were dead.
The woman also told the dispatcher the locations of the girls inside the house. Two children would be located upstairs in their cribs and two children would be located downstairs in the bedroom they shared, the press release states.
The woman then told the dispatcher she could be found in her upstairs bedroom and that she was going to shoot herself.
“The dispatcher pleaded with the female caller over the phone for the female caller to remain on the line until responding suits arrived,” the press release states. “The female caller stated multiple times that she could not do that and that it was too late. Multiple attempts to keep her on the line failed and the call was disconnected.”
Sheriff’s deputies and local law enforcement responded to the residence and arrived within minutes, the press release states. Officers entered the residence and found two children ages 2 and 9 deceased with gunshot wounds to the head and two other children — ages 2 and 7 — also with gunshot wounds to the head but still alive.
The 32-year-old woman was found in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head but also still alive.
The 2-year-old who was initially found alive “succumbed a very short time later due to the extent of her injuries,” the press release states.
Friends who knew Tranyelle Harshman told the Scripps News Group that she had struggled with mental health problems, including post-partum depression.
“Everything can change in an instant,” said Briana Baker, logtime friend of Harshman who has a daughter around the same age. “Never allow yourself to think, ‘it couldn’t be me.’ Stay humble and kind. You never know what someone is struggling with inside of their mind. Tranyelle was not the monster this tragedy makes her seem to be. Her loved ones don’t want her to be remembered for her darkest moments. She was sweet, loving, and funny. Her children were her main focus in life.”
Sage Miears was a former classmate of Tranyelle and Cliff Harshman in the 2010s but was unaware of her problems.
“If she was really battling postpartum depression, that’s a serious thing. People needed to be there for her,” he said.
2025.2.12 2 Fayette County teens posed as girl to depict man as “pedophile” and assault him, police say
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) — Two 18-year-olds from Fayette County are facing charges after police said they pretended to be a girl on social media so they could depict a man “as a pedophile” and assault him.
Cooper Sepkovic and David Whipkey of Connellsville are facing charges after police said they “planned, and later executed, the bullying of the victim” back in October.
According to court paperwork filed on Feb. 7, Sepkovic, Whipkey and a small group of friends created a fake profile, posing as a girl “with the intent to sexually seduce, meet with, and physically assault” the victim while trying to “depict him as a pedophile.” Police didn’t say how old the victim was.
Investigators said there was a Snapchat video of the group confronting the victim and trying to coerce him into fighting. Police said the victim refused to engage and tried to run back home on his bike.
The victim told police that the group got into their vehicles and followed him, swerving close to him several times, and he had to cut through the woods to get home.
Police said Sepkovic admitted to coming up with the idea, along with a juvenile, to harass the victim. Court paperwork says Whipkey “didn’t attend the incident directly,” but he had planned on being there and admitted to being part of the group messages leading up to it.
Charges against Sepkovic and Whipkey include recklessly endangering another person, harassment and disorderly conduct. Sepkovic is also charged with stalking.
Both have preliminary hearings scheduled for March 27, according to court documents.
2025.2.12 Woman nearly raped in Brooklyn Heights lobby by fake ICE agent in broad daylight
Cops say the suspect stole her chain, cellphone and purse before running off
Authorities are asking for the public’s help finding a man they say impersonated an Immigrations, Customs and Enforcement officer and robbed and tried to rape a woman in the lobby of a Brooklyn Heights building in the middle of the morning this week.
According to the NYPD, the 51-year-old woman was in a lobby near Montague and Henry streets shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday when a strange man walked up and forced her into a basement stairwell. Investigators say after the man falsely identified himself as a US immigration official, he asked for her identification and, as she looked for it, he punched her, then pulled her down a basement stairwell and tried to sexually assault her.
He stole her chain, cellphone and purse. The man then ran off toward Henry Street.
The woman suffered cuts to her face, along with scratches and bruising; she was taken to a hospital and is expected to be physically OK.
Othram Inc.
2025.2.12 “Jeweled Mom” murder victim identified 43 years after body found by real estate agent in Florida
A woman who was found dead in 1982 has finally been identified, more than 40 years after her death.
The remains were found by a real estate agent assessing land in Loxahatchee, Florida, in December 1982, according to a news release from Othram, a company that uses genetic genealogy to help solve cold cases. Loxahatchee is in Palm Beach County, Florida, north of Miami.
An investigation found that the remains were those of a White woman between the ages of 24 and 34. CBS News affiliate CW34 reported she was believed to have two or more children. She had been shot in the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. At the time, investigators developed a DNA profile that was entered into the national database CODIS, but no matches were found. Details of the case were also entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Alongside the remains were five pieces of jewelry, described by Othram as “a silver handcrafted heart-shaped pinky ring, a gold mariner’s anchor necklace with a 180-degree twist, a wristwatch, a four marquis cut ring, and a diamond ring with 14K white gold setting.” When the remains could not be identified, the woman was nicknamed “Jeweled Mom.”
For decades, the case remained cold. In 2021, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with Othram to use advanced DNA testing. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory. Othram scientists extracted DNA from the evidence and used advanced methods to build another DNA profile.
Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team then used that profile in a genealogy search, which created new leads about the woman’s identity. Forensic genetic genealogy is used to try to find a DNA match to a person’s relatives, rather than finding a direct match to the person. It has been used to identify both victims and perpetrators of crimes.
Those genealogy leads were provided to investigators who launched a follow-up investigation. Investigators interviewed potential relatives, and collected a reference DNA sample from one possible relative. That sample was compared with the DNA profile created by Othram.
The process allowed investigators to positively identify the remains as belonging to Leona Jean Keller. Keller was 37 years old when she died, Othram said.
This is the 36th case in Florida where Othram has helped law enforcement identify a victim, according to the company.
2025.2.12 Man in US illegally wanted for allegedly groping 7-year-old Texas girl on her way home from school
Houston police said Carlos Jose Ayala Morales has a lengthy criminal history and is being sought for his latest alleged offense
A man with a lengthy criminal history who was previously on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold is on the run after being accused of groping a 7-year-old Texas girl as she walked home from school.
Carlos Jose Ayala Morales, 43, has been charged with felony attempted indecency with a child, the Houston Police Department said. He is accused of grabbing the girl Jan. 27 while she was on her way home from her elementary school, Fox Houston reported.
The girl and her mother told the news outlet she was walking behind her older sister and a friend. They said the man ran up, groped her and ran away. The girl didn’t scream because she was in shock and told her older sister when they got home.
“A man came behind me, and he touched my private parts,” the girl told the station.
“I hope he’s caught and put away much longer, so he can’t hurt other children,” her mother said.
Morales has a lengthy criminal history. In 2017, he was charged with four counts of indecency with a child and evading arrest.
At the time, police believed Morales, who they called Ayala, was linked to “at least 10 sexual assault incidents in the northeast Houston and Harris County areas.”
Authorities were investigating a string of “sexual assaults of school-aged juvenile females, 7-15 years of age, as they traveled to and from school,” according to the news outlet.
“Ayala would come up behind the victims and inappropriately touch them through their clothing,” a police news release states.
In one incident, Ayala attempted to abduct one of the victims, a 7 year-old female, as she walked home from school with her 9-year-old brother,” police said.
“Reading that made me so scared, because that could have been [my child],” the victim’s mother said.
When he was arrested in 2017, ICE filed a detainer request for Morales, a Honduran citizen, which was lifted when he was convicted.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice told FOX 26 Ayala was transferred to prison to serve concurrent seven-year sentences for indecency with a child by exposure, three counts of indecency with a child, evading arrest, detention with a vehicle and burglary.
In February 2024, he was released into ICE custody.
Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE.
2025.2.12 CalArts student ID’ed as Newhall murder victim
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(L.A.) Menghan Zhuang, 23, Died at a Residence
Case Number: 2025-02385
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 23-year-old Asian female that occurred at her residence.
The coroner’s office has identified the young woman as Menghan Zhuang.
Manner of Death: Homicide
Cause of Death: Multiple Injuries
RIP MENGHAN ZHUANG (August 15, 2001 – February 4, 2025)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Tuesday at 7:03 p.m.
The decedent’s name appears to be Chinese, possibly Taiwanese.
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2025.2.12 CalArts student ID’ed as Newhall murder victim
The L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a California Institute of the Arts student as the woman found dead Feb. 4 in her Nandina Lane apartment in Newhall.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies found Menghan Zhuang deceased around 6:45 p.m. during a welfare check at her residence, according to an alert from the Sheriff’s Department that was sent out shortly after midnight on Feb. 5.
Homicide investigators also announced Wednesday a news conference would be held 11 a.m. Thursday at the SCV Sheriff’s Station, where they plan to release information about their person of interest in the woman’s death. There is one person sought in connection with the murder.
“Homicide Bureau is seeking the public’s help in identifying a person of interest described as a male seen entering the victim’s apartment the night before and then seen exiting from her second-story bedroom window on the afternoon of the day she was discovered deceased,” said an LASD Nixle alert released Wednesday afternoon.
Zhuang, whose preferred name was Emily King, was an undergraduate student in her fourth year at CalArts, Ann Wiens, vice president for marketing and communication for the Valencia university, confirmed via email Wednesday.
She said the campus’ community has been devastated by the news, and that dedicated grief counselors were available for students who might be struggling with what happened, in addition to CalArts’ regular mental health support.
“A memorial gathering for the campus community is being planned,” she wrote, adding that L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials also notified college officials that there was no evidence of a threat to the campus.
King’s cause of death was listed as “multiple injuries,” although there were no specifics given in the medical examiner’s initial online posting. There was no other contributing cause listed.
Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau officials confirmed she rented the apartment with a male roommate.
The roommate is not believed to be connected to the murder, according to Homicide Lt. Mike Modica.
Modica said no arrests had been made as of Friday, but the investigation was very active, and that no information was being released yet regarding any possible motive or means in the murder.
Neither Modica nor the Sheriff’s Information Bureau were immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Detectives could be seen at the residence throughout the night on Feb. 4 and most of the following day.
2025.2.11 6 men accused of kidnapping family from Chicago townhouse and forcing a transfer of $15 million in cryptocurrency
Six men are accused of kidnapping three family members and a nanny from a Chicago townhouse in October and forcing a transfer of about $15 million in cryptocurrency assets before releasing them five days later near a dry cleaners, according to recently unsealed court records.
The five-day kidnapping is detailed in a 44-page FBI affidavit unsealed last week. Agents collected evidence — including receipts, unused zip ties and surveillance footage — from rental cars, cryptocurrency wallets, a suburban Airbnb and various fast-food restaurants and retail stores, court records show.
One of the alleged kidnappers, 34-year-old Zehuan Wei, was arrested Jan. 17 while trying to enter the United States from Mexico at a California border crossing. He made an initial court appearance in California.
Five other men are charged with kidnapping in the case: Fan Zhang, Huajing Yan, Shengnan Jiang, Shiqiang Lian and Ye Cao. Some of them are believed to have taken flights from Mexico to China last month after Wei’s arrest, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit.
The court records do not say where the suspects are from but indicated that some held U.S. drivers licenses. At least Zhang and Wei also had Chinese passports, documents show.
Four people kidnapped
Authorities were first notified of the kidnapping after a father, referred to as “Individual A” in the affidavit, got a call from his son on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, around 1 p.m. Oct. 27 alerting him that the group had been kidnapped. The victims also aren’t named in the court records and are referred to as “Victims A-D.”
The man’s son, who had moved into a Chicago townhouse a couple weeks prior, told him he was kidnapped with two of his family members and a nanny and that the kidnappers demanded a ransom payment or they’d be killed, the affidavit says. The kidnappers demanded the father send Bitcoin or Ethereum, popular cryptocurrencies, according to the affidavit.
A man wearing a hat and glasses had knocked on the family’s door in Chicago, claiming to have accidentally damaged their garage door, the victims later told the FBI after they were released. When the door opened, multiple unknown men with guns grabbed the family members and nanny, the affidavit says. The son told authorities he was grabbed after getting out of the shower.
The kidnappers immediately asked the son to conduct cryptocurrency transactions, and he said they drove him around multiple times to make additional transactions, the affidavit says. They later made independent transactions after gaining access to his accounts, totaling about $15 million in cryptocurrency assets, according to the affidavit.
The kidnappers put the victims into a white Ford van and drove them for about an hour to an Airbnb in what the FBI later learned was in Forest Park, the affidavit says. After one night, the victims were taken to a different house and were eventually released on the afternoon of Nov. 1. They walked to a nearby dry cleaners, called an Uber and went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the affidavit says.
The son said he was hit on the head with a gun — which he later said may have been fake — but that otherwise they were treated fine, the affidavit said. The victims remembered eating McDonald’s, Culver’s, Subway and PF Chang’s. One of the victims also recalled that the suspects spoke both Mandarin and Spanish.
Surveillance footage reviewed
The FBI reviewed surveillance footage from the Forest Park Airbnb, which showed the alleged kidnappers arriving in a white van and talking on a cell phone. The FBI believed, based on that footage, that there were at least six offenders, the affidavit says.
They compared the footage to Cao’s picture taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jiang’s Illinois driver’s license picture and California driver’s license pictures for Zhang, Yan, Lian and Wei.
Agents found a water bottle, baby wipes and unused white zip ties inside of the white Ford van, which they tracked down to a Chicago auto leasing company. They also found DNA swabs, receipts, clothing, medical masks, cigarettes, an AirPod case and latent prints inside a white Chrysler Pacifica that Wei rented Oct. 29 in Hoffman Estates.
They also spotted some of the kidnappers in surveillance footage at a McDonald’s in far northwest suburban Hampshire, a Culver’s in Berwyn, a BP gas station in Oak Park and Target stores in Streamwood and Schaumburg during the kidnapping time frame, the affidavit says. The son and a family member were able to identify some of the kidnappers in a photo array, according to the affidavit.
By analyzing travel records, authorities learned that Wei and Zhang flew from O’Hare International Airport to Las Vegas on Nov. 1. Lian, Cao, Yan and Jiang were believed to have left Chicago for Los Angeles the same day, the affidavit says.
The six men were charged Dec. 13 with kidnapping.
$9 million unaccounted for
Customs and Border Protection arrested Wei on Jan. 17 while he tried to enter the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa, California, border crossing, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit. The affidavit was filed Jan. 24 in support of a search warrant for two cellphones Wei carried with him. He also had a California driver’s license, a Chinese passport and $661 in cash.
The FBI later learned that Jiang and Yan had boarded the same flight departing Tijuana, Mexico, for Beijing, at about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 19. Lian boarded a flight from Tijuana to Beijing the next morning, the affidavit says.
About $9 million of the cryptocurrency remains unaccounted for, according to the affidavit.
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