U.S.! El Paso Walmart shooter, Arkansas parents trap their 4 children in hot car, Oklahoma City bombing, FSU Shooting, A woman struggling with mental illness and her disabled son, Two Sioux Falls day care employees charged with child abuse, 30 years since the Oklahoma City Bombing, Uber driver killed in shooting targeting passenger, Burglars tunneled through concrete into LA jewelry store, brothers contributed to their deaths by cycling while impaired, postal worker killed in NY deli stabbing, 29-year-old woman’s stabbing death, corpse was sexually violated on NYC subway train, Cody Balmer faces domestic abuse charges, Teen charged with killing parents, ‘Slender Man’ stabber, Man arrested for robbing woman, Connecticut house of horrors stepmom 2025.4

El Paso Walmart shooter pleads guilty to state charges, sentenced to life in prison

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty to 22 counts of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the 2019 Walmart shooting and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Monday morning.

The hearing took place at the County Commissioners Court under Judge Sam Medrano.

WATCH THE FULL PLEA AND SENTENCING:

The judge asked Crusius’ lawyers if their client was competent to enter the plea.

Attorney Joe Spencer said, “After numerous conversations with our client, we believe he is competent to proceed.”

The judge asked Crusius, “Where were you born?” to which he replied, “Dallas, Texas.”

The judge then asked Crusius how he pleaded for the charges of 22 counts of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He replied, “Guilty.”

The judge then asked him, “Are you pleading guilty, because you are guilty and for no other reason?” to which he replied, “Yes, your honor.”

El Paso District Attorney James Montoya withdrew seeking the death penalty for Crusius last month.

The DA’s office extended an offer to Crusius to plead guilty to capital murder and a sentence of life in prison without parole in exchange for the office not seeking the death penalty.

Montoya then read the names of the 23 victims who died in the shooting.

Crusius’ attorney, Joe Spencer, gave a statement following the plea and sentencing.

“Crusius infected a wound in our community that may never fully heal. He brought violence and terror to a place of peace and forever changed the landscape of El Paso,” said Spencer.

He has accepted responsibility for this horrific action. In federal court, Patrick Crusius publicly expressed remorse for the first time when confronted by one of his victims. He will spend the rest of his natural life in prison. He will never again walk free,” said Spencer. “Patrick will leave prison only in a coffin on God’s time.
Spencer said health professionals have concluded that Crusius suffers from severe mental disease.

“This illness involves profound breaks from reality, including hallucinations and deep delusional thinking. He became consumed by extreme ideology found online,” said Spencer. “He latched onto hateful rhetoric, particularly the dangerous and false narratives surrounding immigration.”

“He also stated that the attack was a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” said Spencer. “He believed he was acting in response to the president at the time.”

“Let me be clear, this explanation of his illness does not in any way justify or excuse the horrific violence he committed,” said Spencer. “Patrick failed in his mission to solve the division because the bonds of this community are strong.”

Judge Sam Medrano then addressed Crusius.

You traveled nine hours to a city that would have welcomed you with open arms. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. Your mission failed,” said Judge Medrano. “You did not divide this city, you strengthened it. You did not silence its voice, you made it louder. You did not install fear, you inspired unity. El Paso rose stronger and braver.
Montoya gave thanks to first responders and law enforcement to responded to the scene on Aug. 3, 2019.

Montoya also apologized for the misconduct of former DA Yvonne Rosales.

Following his plea and sentencing, victims and families of the victims gave impact statements:

Crusius was convicted last year on federal charges against him for the death of 23 people from the Aug. 3, 2019, shooting at a Walmart in Cielo Vista. He acknowledged targeting Hispanics after driving more than 700 miles to El Paso from his home near Dallas.

Crusius was sentenced to 90 life terms in 2023 in his federal trial after pleading guilty.

—

Gunman in racist attack at a Texas Walmart pleads guilty and families confront him in court

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Maribel Hernandez and her husband, Leonardo Campos, were shopping at a Walmart in a Texas border city in 2019 when a gunman who wanted to stop what he believed was a Hispanic invasion opened fire, killing them and 21 others.

On Monday, Hernandez’s daughter, Yvonne Loya Gonzalez, spoke directly to the gunman, Patrick Crusius, after he pleaded guilty to capital murder in the El Paso massacre: “Their absence in my life has left a deep void in my heart.”

The statements by victims’ relatives and survivors that began Monday afternoon could continue through Wednesday. Some, including Gonzalez, told Crusius he is forgiven.

“I have no more room for hate in my heart,” Gonzalez said.

Crusius, a white 26-year-old community college dropout, showed little emotion, kept his head up and eyes trained ahead on those who spoke. Many expressed hope he would reflect on his actions in prison.

Crusius, who wore a striped jumpsuit, shackles and a protective vest during the hearing, did not address the families when he accepted a plea deal, which he made after local prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table. He had already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms on federal hate crime charges.

‘What would be the point of forgiving what was easy to forgive?’
Liliana Munoz of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, said she had been shopping for snacks to resell across the border when Crusius opened fire, forever changing her life physically, economically and emotionally.

In her statement, which was read by someone sitting beside her in court, she said she used to be a “happy, dancing person,” but now she is afraid every morning when she awakes. She now uses a cane to walk and wears a leg brace to keep her left foot from dragging.

“It left me sad, bitter,” said the 41-year-old mother.

But she also granted Crusius forgiveness “because what would be the point of forgiving what was easy to forgive?”

‘El Paso rose, stronger and braver’
Crusius drove more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) from his home near Dallas to carry out the shooting on Aug. 3, 2019.

“You came to inflict terror, to take innocent lives and to shatter a community that had done nothing but stand for kindness, unity and love. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters,” State District Judge Sam Medrano said.

“Now as you begin the rest of your life locked away, remember this: your mission failed,” he continued. “You did not divide this city, you strengthened it. You did not silence its voice, you made it louder. You did not instill fear, you inspired unity. El Paso rose, stronger and braver.”

Medrano sentenced Crusius to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

While one of his lawyers, Joe Spencer, told the court, “We offer our deepest condolences,” Crusius did not explicitly apologize Monday for his actions.

Crusius also pleaded guilty Monday to 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which were enhanced with violence and prejudice findings, in relation to the 22 people who were injured but survived the shooting. He was sentenced to 22 additional life sentences on those counts.

“Patrick will leave prison only in a coffin on God’s time,” Spencer said.

Racial hatred fueled the attack
In a posting to an online message board just before the massacre, Crusius said the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” He said Hispanics would take over the government and economy.

Crusius appears to have been consumed by the immigration debate, posting online in support of building a border wall and praising the hard-line border policies of President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time. After the shooting, Crusius told officers he had targeted Mexicans.

“He latched onto hateful rhetoric, particularly the dangerous and false narratives surrounding immigration being repeated in political discourse,” Spencer said.

The attorney said Crusius was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings. “His thinking became increasingly divorced from reality,” he said.

“We share this not as an excuse, but as part of the explanation for the inexplicable,” he said.

The people who were killed at Walmart ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to elderly grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, a teacher, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.

Adriana Zandri’s husband, Ivan Manzano, was killed after crossing into the U.S. from Mexico on a shopping run. She lamented that her husband lost the chance to teach his son to drive and shave or to give away his daughter’s hand in marriage.

“When all this happened, my daughter was 5 and my son was 9,” she said in her statement to the court. “The only thing that I wanted was for them to not grow up with hatred in their hearts.”

Two Arkansas parents were each handed a 70-year prison sentence for leaving their toddler to die in a hot car with three other children – in a case prosecutors labeled as one of the most “disturbing” they’ve seen.

The mother and father, Deja and Justin Rollins, learned their fate Friday after admitting they trapped their four children – ages 2, 4, 7, and 10 – inside a stifling car as they rushed their fifth child – a 3-year-old – to a Little Rock children’s hospital on July 7, 2024, the Pulsaki County Attorney’s Office announced.

Prosecutors said the 3-year-old died of severe malnutrition, prompting cops to investigate the state of the deranged couple’s other kids.

“This case is one of the most disturbing and heartbreaking our office has ever encountered,” prosecuting attorney Will Jones said in a statement.

“Protecting children is the top priority of this office. There is no greater responsibility, and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that those who harm a child are held fully accountable.”

Officials said Deja, 28, and Justin, 30, left their four kids locked inside the sweltering car parked at Arkansas Children’s Hospital as their 3-year-old received “urgent medical treatment.”

Police responded to the hospital after receiving a report of child abuse and neglect – resulting in them finding the car outside the facility, despite the disgraced couple failing to provide authorities with the vehicle’s location, according to the Jacksonville Police Department.

The kids were each treated for heat exhaustion at the hospital, where the youngest tot, Jay’Dien Rollins, died of fatal heat exhaustion and severe malnutrition the next day.

Another child, who survived the harrowing ordeal, was also found with physical injuries consistent with ongoing abuse, prosecutors said.

Police allegedly discovered a malnourished dog at the unhinged couple’s home. The animal was taken into the custody of Jacksonville Animal Services, cops said.

The disturbed pair each pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and first-degree domestic battery.

“Thanks to the coordinated efforts of these dedicated professionals, we were able to secure a resolution that reflects the gravity of these crimes and ensures these children will not be forgotten,” Jones said.

The 20-year-old suspect, an FSU student, was shot and taken into custody.

The Florida State University community is reeling and police are searching for a motive after a gunman opened fire on the Tallahassee campus on Thursday, killing two and injuring six.

Tallahassee police have laid out how the shooting unfolded.

The suspect, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, arrived at a campus parking garage at about 11 a.m. and stayed in the area for around an hour, moving in and out of his car, police said.

Ikner left the garage at 11:51 a.m., police said, and then between 11:56 and 11:57 a.m. he started firing a handgun, police said. The shooting was reported to 911 by 11:58 a.m., police said.

At noon, Ikner was shot by officers and taken into custody, police said. He’s expected to survive and remains hospitalized as of Saturday morning.

“When I heard what had happened, I was frantic — thought he might be the one hurt. And then when I found out it was him I just collapsed at work,” Ikner’s biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, told ABC News on Friday in her first comments since the shooting. “There’s so much that needs to be said about this, but I just can’t talk without crying. We need time to process all this.”

One slain victim was identified as Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old husband and father of two who was an employee of a campus vendor.

“Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” their family attorney Bakari Sellers said in a statement. “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare.”

The other victim was identified as Robert Morales.

Morales was formerly an assistant football coach at Leon High School, where he demonstrated “dedication, integrity, and a true passion for mentoring young athletes,” Leon High Athletics said in a statement.

“His commitment to the game and to shaping the lives of his players extended far beyond the field,” the statement said. “His legacy of leadership, compassion, and service will forever remain a part of the Leon Lions tradition.”

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare officials said the hospital received six patients, all in good condition. One patient has been discharged, the hospital said Saturday.

All six are expected to make full recoveries and two of them may be released on Friday, officials said.

Officials revealed that the suspect’s stepmother, Jessica Ikner, is a current deputy with the local Leon County Sheriff’s Office. While authorities identified Jessica Ikner as the suspect’s mother, court documents indicate she is his stepmother.

Phoenix Ikner had access to one of his stepmother’s personal guns, which was one of the weapons found at the scene, Sheriff Walter McNeil said. He is still in the hospital and will not be charged or arraigned until he is discharged, police said. He’s also invoked his right to remain silent.

Jessica Ikner — who was on duty as a school resource officer at a middle school at the time of the shooting — has taken an indefinite personal leave of absence, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said it’s launched an internal investigation, but so far has not found any signs that the veteran deputy violated any policies.

In a statement to the Florida State University community, President Richard McCullough called the shooting a “tragic and senseless act of violence.”

FSU canceled classes and sporting events through the weekend, but said classes and business operations will resume Monday.

“Our hearts are heavy after the tragedy that took place April 17,” McCullough said in a statement Saturday. “We are grieving with the families and friends who lost someone they love. And we are with all those who were injured and are now recovering. This has shaken all of us, and I want you to know: We are here for you.”

The university said it was offering mental health support services and other counseling services for students and employees.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he has an “obligation to protect” the Second Amendment when asked by a reporter in the Oval Office if he sees anything “broken” with America’s current gun laws.

“Look, I’m a big advocate of the Second Amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it, and these things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting. The people do. It’s a phrase that’s used probably too often,” Trump said.

“I will tell you that it’s a shame,” he said of the shooting.

A woman struggling with mental illness and her disabled son were found dead in a Bronx house of horrors Friday, with her 4-year-old daughter apparently trapped alone inside with the bug-covered corpses for days, subsisting on chocolate, according to authorities and relatives.

Lisa Cotton, 38, and her 8-year-old son, Nazir Millien, were declared dead at the tragic scene.

The woman’s 4-year-old daughter, Promise, was found covered in chocolate on her mom’s bed by an older sibling who came to check on the doomed family.

Neither body had signs of trauma.

Cotton, who had asthma, may have died of cardiac arrest, authorities told her dad, Hubert Cotton, while Nazir, who was born prematurely and had a feeding tube, might have tragically starved.

Promise was brought to a local hospital in stable condition, the family and cops said.

It’s unclear when the mom and her son died or how long the girl had been alone inside — but neighbors had been complaining of a foul odor that smelled like “death” for weeks.

Cops conducted a welfare check on the family Tuesday at the East 231st Street apartment in the Wakefield section after receiving an anonymous 911 call.

No one answered the door of the second-floor unit. Neighbors told the officers they hadn’t seen Cotton or her kids in two weeks, sources said.

But responding officers did not hear any noise or notice any odor, and had no reason to break down the door, police sources said.

“They said they’d be back in a few days,” a neighbor said of the cops. “One of the social workers said she was trying to get a court order to have the door broken in.”

The shocking discover was finally made Friday night after a concerned Hubert, 71, got a call from his daughter’s landlord asking if she’d moved out.

“I had been trying to call her for days and she never answered . . . I figured she didn’t answer me because she didn’t want me to talk to me,” Hubert told The Post Saturday.

He sent Cotton’s oldest daughter to the apartment to check on them.

“When she came in, [Nazir] was slumped over,” still in his chair, he said.

The young woman then looked for Cotton, and instead found Promise “feeding herself with chocolate” on her mother’s bed, he said.

“She picked her up and ran out and called the police,” the weeping father said.

According to a transcript of the young woman’s Friday night 911 call, the young woman had seen “bugs crawling on” Nazir’s body.

Nazir was “so small. I held him in my palm. Like a bird, like a young bird,” the devastated grandfather recalled.

He is now caring for Promise in his Bronx home.

The traumatized girl was curled up in a chair in her grandfather’s home Saturday, silently watching cartoons when The Post visited.

“She hasn’t said anything. She’s a baby. She looks at me sometimes, you know? Like she knows something,” Hubert said of the child. “We don’t know anything, we’re trying to find out.”

Hubert, who is originally from St. Kitts, said his daughter struggled with what may have been bipolar disorder.

He now wonders how he’ll lay her and his grandson to rest.

“I’m sorry. . . . Two of them,” he said through tears. “How am I going to get the money? To bury both of them?”

The horrific deaths “feel fake,” said Lisa Cotton’s brother, Raheem Smith.

“I don’t understand what happened,” he said.

Neighbors were also left with questions.

“The landlord hadn’t done wellness checks, people had called, neighbors called,” said Eric Perez, who lives upstairs from Lisa Cotton. “It just smells like rat infested . . . the exterminator said the same thing — the smell is similar to rats and even death.”

The mother had an Administration for Children’s Services case pending against her, police sources said.

She was arrested in June 2021 on child abandonment charges after she was caught acting erratically, swinging her then infant daughter around in a stroller and lighting a wig on fire in front of a commercial strip on White Plains Road, the sources said.

When cops arrived, they found her walking away from the child. The case was later sealed, authorities said.

The mom had “episodes,” claimed another neighbor who declined to give her name.

“One time she threw paint out the window and she has been talking about the devil,” the neighbor said, adding, “About a year ago, she was out here talking about the devil. . . . I didn’t know what was going on.”

The mom appeared to be suicidal, said another resident who claimed the mom had gone to the building’s rooftop a couple of years ago with her son with apparently deadly intent.

“She wanted to commit suicide with the boy,” the neighbor, who gave her name as Sharlene, said.

Another time, the mom proclaimed, “I am going to kill everybody on the block,” Sharlene, a home health aide, recalled.

“It hurts because it’s somebody who you know, somebody who you see, somebody who you were close to, and now it’s gonna be when you come outside, you see no one there and that’s gonna hurt,” she said. “I hope the little girl is going to be okay.”

An ACS spokesperson said the situation is now under investigation.

ACS should have done more for the kids, said another resident who gave his name as Mark.

“We called police and they took her away,” he said of the roof incident. “In a sense I blame ACS. They should have done more from the first.”

“Why leave the kids with her?” he added. “When they came to check on her, they shouldn’t have left. They should have been forceful.”

Oklahoma City bombing survivor was ‘getting ready to die’ after being trapped in 10 feet of rubble
Amy Downs recalls her rescue in the docuseries ‘Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America’

April 19, 1995, started off as a beautiful spring day for Amy Downs, a teller at a credit union inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

“I remember the red buds were blooming,” Downs recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was so excited. I was getting ready to close my very first house. I don’t think I did any work in that first hour of the day. I was running around talking to all my friends about the house.

“And then I was looking at my watch, thinking, ‘Oh gosh, it’s almost nine o’clock. I’m going to get in trouble. I had better get back to my desk.’”

Downs flew past her boss. A co-worker who was six months pregnant sat beside her. Downs asked if she needed anything.

“I don’t know if the words even came out of my mouth or not, because that’s when the bomb went off and everything went black,” Downs said.

It was 30 years ago when a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in America’s heartland, killing 168 people in the deadliest homegrown attack on U.S. soil. Downs and other survivors and witnesses are speaking out in a new National Geographic docuseries, “Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America.”

“I think it’s so important to remember what happened and the lessons that were learned,” Downs said of why she chose to come forward.

Downs was 28 years old when she found herself trapped upside down in her office chair. She had fallen three floors down and was buried under 10 feet of rubble. Whenever she gasped for air, it burned down to her chest. Her body was pierced with glass.

“I remember hearing roaring and screaming, and this powerful rushing sensation, like I was falling,” said Downs. “I found out I had fallen. … I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. It was very hard to breathe. I had no idea what had happened. I just knew it was bad.”

Downs screamed for help, but no one replied. In the darkness, she heard silence. Suddenly, after what felt like an eternity, there was a sudden commotion of firefighters. One said, “Let’s split up. Let’s look for the daycare babies.”

They were referring to the children at the America’s Kids Daycare inside the building.

“I was confused,” said Downs. “I thought, ‘Why are they looking for the daycare babies here? The daycare is on the second floor, and we’re on the third floor.’ I had no idea that we were at the bottom of what was once this nine-story building.”

Fire Chief Mike Shannon heard Down’s cries for help. Just as he was about to go get her, his crew learned there was a possibility of another bomb that was about to go off. It forced them to immediately evacuate, leaving Downs behind.

Shannon was determined to stay with Downs, but fellow firefighters refused to leave him behind. In the documentary, Shannon described how he heard the echoes of Downs sobbing, begging him to save her, as he was being rushed out.

At that moment, Downs believed her life was coming to an end.

“I now knew it had been a bomb, and it looked like there was another one,” she said. “I was getting ready to die. I prayed, or maybe you could call it bargained with God. I kept promising God anything, just to be able to live. I prayed for a second chance. My reality was that I was 28 years old and getting ready to die, and I’ve never really lived. I had a lot of regrets about how I had not been living.”

In between tears, she began to recite portions of Psalm 23 to comfort herself.

“The only thing I could remember was, ‘I walked through the valley of the shadow of death,’” said Downs. “I couldn’t remember what came next. I thought that was awful. And then, of all the weird things to do, a song popped into my head that we used to sing growing up in church. I started singing this song, and I felt peace. This was the first time that I thought I was at peace with what was getting ready to happen.”

There was no second bomb. Once the firefighters realized this, they rushed back in. Shannon remembered to look for Downs. When Downs heard the sounds of men again, she promised in the darkness to bake them, anyone, chocolate chip cookies if they could save her.

Six and a half hours later, she was free.

“I was in the hospital for about eight days,” she said. “The biggest injury was my leg, which had been split open. My bone was intact, but the leg was open. But the hardest part was finding out that 18 of my 33 co-workers were killed. … Grief is something that I couldn’t comprehend. Dealing with the grief and trauma was the hard part. The injuries were nothing.”

Downs was one of the last survivors to be pulled from the rubble after the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. Nearly 700 others were injured.

Downs struggled with survivor’s guilt.

“I remember on the eighth day in the hospital, they found my best friend’s body,” she tearfully said. “She had baby girls at home.”

As Downs grieved, the community banded together. In just 72 hours after the bombing, 7,000 people waited in line to donate blood, FOX25 reported.

“We have our differences, and differences are not a bad thing,” she said. “But I think it’s cool when we know when to put aside those differences and come together for good.”

Downs was still in the ICU when she saw a group of nurses glued to a television screen. It was revealed that the bombing was orchestrated by two former U.S. Army buddies, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

They shared a deep-seated hatred of the federal government fueled by the bloody raid on the Branch Davidian religious sect near Waco, Texas, and a standoff in the mountains of Ruby Ridge, Idaho, that killed a 14-year-old boy, his mother and a federal agent.

“When I found out that it was an American, not only that, but somebody who also served in our military … I struggled with that,” she said. “I could not wrap my brain around that. My father is from the Greatest Generation. He lied about his age when he was 17 years old to fight World War II. It just didn’t add up. How could you be an American? How could you serve our country? How could you do this?”

According to the documentary, Downs later faced McVeigh in court.

“It was very disturbing,” she said, shuddering. “He almost seemed proud of it.”

McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001. He was 33. Nichols, now 70, is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Downs was ready to embrace her second chance at life. She went from a 355-pound “couch potato” to losing 200 pounds and completing a full ironman triathlon. She went on to work for the same credit union, now called Allegiance Credit Union, where she served as president and CEO.

“I’d flunked out of college because I couldn’t pass a math class,” she said. “But I was very fortunate to have bosses who mentored me and believed in me. … I had promised God that I would never live my life the same if I survived, and I meant that. … I went back to college, got my degree, did all the things. … And just this week, I retired. So, I decided to launch a new chapter.”

Today, Downs is a full-time speaker. She also created a new bucket list. She and her sister are planning to walk about 160 miles of Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage known as “The Way of St. James.” She’s also eager to ride her bicycle across the United States.

“I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up,” the 58-year-old chuckled.

Downs hopes viewers watching the documentary will learn how a community became united during tragedy.

“It showcases the strength of the human spirit and the courage of these men who rushed in to help,” she said. “And the way we came together. The thing is, we are all going to face times in our lives when we’re buried under the rubble, where devastation comes to us. … We will face difficult times.

“I think the lesson from this is that, as people, we can come together. And when you come together during times of difficulty, you are stronger than you realize. And together, you will get through it.”

FSU shooting suspect used stepmom’s service weapon and had far-right views, police and classmates say
The 20-year-old is the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy who had access to one of her weapons, officials said.
April 19, 2025, 2:12 AM GMT+8 / Updated April 19, 2025, 4:44 AM GMT+8

The suspect in the Florida State University shooting that left two people dead and several others wounded is the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy and Trump supporter who harbored white supremacist views and had a troubled childhood, officials and classmates said Friday.

Phoenix Ikner, 20, who is believed to be an FSU student and was arrested in the aftermath of Thursday’s shooting, was treated for multiple mental and physical health issues as a child and was at the center of a years-long custody battle, court documents from 2015 obtained by NBC News revealed.

Ikner allegedly used one of his stepmother’s weapons — a handgun — to wreak havoc on the campus, police have said.

Officials said that Ikner’s mother had purchased her former service weapons and that it was her personal property at the time of the shooting.

Police said the gunman also had a shotgun but have not yet confirmed whether it was used. A motive has not been identified.

“There does not appear to be any connection between the shooter and again, even one of the victims,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told reporters Friday.

It was not a surprise that Ikner had access to a weapon, Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said earlier, as he was a member of the sheriff’s office’s citizen advisory or youth advisory council.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office described the council as a means to “provide an open line of communication between the youth of Leon County and local law enforcement” in a news release announcing its 2021-22 class.

The gunman opened fire near the student union around 11:50 a.m., FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said. He shot multiple people, killing two, before FSU police were able to engage, neutralize and apprehend him.

One of the victims was identified Friday as 57-year-old Robert Morales. Morales was working as FSU’s dining coordinator and worked in the student union center.

“The suspect continues to receive treatment at one of our local hospitals,” Revell said. “He did receive significant injuries in this event, and will require a significant amount of time in that facility. Once he is released from that facility, he’ll be taken to a local detention facility where he will face the charges up to and including first degree murder.”

A student who witnessed the gunman approach campus and begin opening fire said the shooter pulled up to campus in an orange Hummer and got out, holding a rifle and shooting in her direction.

“I think he was shooting and he missed. So he goes back into his car and grabs a pistol, then he turns and shoots the lady in front of him. That’s when I just started running,” McKenzie Heeter, a junior at FSU, told NBC News.

Heeter described the shooter as a “normal college dude.”

In June 2020, Ikner changed his name to Phoenix Ikner from his previous name, Christian Gunner Eriksen, an FBI official told NBC News.

Classmates say suspect had white supremacist views
Ikner is a registered Republican, according to public voter records. He registered in 2022, midway through President Joe Biden’s term in office, records show.

Reid Seybold, a senior at FSU who was around the corner from the shooting when it unfolded, said he knew Ikner from a political discussion group at Tallahassee State College, where he spent the first two years of his education before he transferred to FSU.

Seybold, the group’s president, said Ikner was asked not to return to the group because of views that Seybold said aligned with white supremacy.

“He espoused so much white supremacist rhetoric and far-right rhetoric, as well,” Seybold said.

Since then, Seybold said, he has seen Ikner only a couple of times in passing.

The current president of the same club, Riley Pusins, said that at meetings, the suspect advocated for President Donald Trump’s agenda and often promoted white supremacist values, even though the club was nonpartisan and was about debate and political discourse.

Pusins said many people in the club had labeled the suspect, who attended regularly as recently as last semester, as a fascist.

After the meetings, Pusins said, the suspect often made more “inappropriate” comments. He would “go up to the line” in the meeting and then cross the line in comments made after the fact, Pusins said.

Seybold said he was working on a group project when he heard about the shooting. He said he immediately locked down in the classroom where he was working as he heard gunfire nearby.

“I was texting everybody I loved, letting know that I loved them. I was getting ready to die, which was harrowing,” Seybold said.

“I don’t know why he would have done something like this,” Seybold said. “I don’t know where it would have come from, but I’d sure like to find out.”

Lucas Luzietti, a junior studying political science, shared a national government class with Phoenix Ikner in 2023 at Tallahassee State College.

He recalled how Ikner shared hateful comments about minorities and denied the 2020 election.

“He espoused the election denialism belief that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president, he said that Rosa Parks was in the wrong, he also talked about how Black people are ruining his neighborhood and Stonewell was bad for society. He would also talk about how multiculturalism is dangerous,” Luzietti told NBC News Friday.

“Everyone [in the class] would just look at each other like, ‘Did he really just say that?’” Luzietti recalled. “I got into an argument with him over the legitimacy of the 2020 election because I felt that one was especially dangerous to the fabric of our democracy.”

In that class, Ikner had spoken about having a gun.

“He would joke about mass violence. I don’t remember specific quotes but I know he would laugh about violence against minorities. And he did talk about how he used guns and had access to them,” Luzietti said.

In January, Ikner was quoted in FSU’s student newspaper in a story about anti-Trump protests that took place a week before the presidential inauguration.

The rally, organized by Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, also called for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and “racist attacks on immigrants,” the article says.

“These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons,” said Ikner, who was described as a political science major, according to an archived online report from FSUnews.com. “I think it’s a little too late, he’s [Trump] already going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and there’s not really much you can do unless you outright revolt, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

After Thursday’s shooting, the student newspaper removed Ikner’s quote from the article “at the decision of our editors to maintain ethical journalistic standards and avoid amplifying the voice of an individual responsible for violence.”

Custody battle and health problems
Ikner, according to the court documents, was treated for multiple mental and physical health issues as a child and was at the center of a years-long custody battle.

His biological mother, named in a sheriff’s affidavit as Anne-Mari Eriksen, is a U.S.-Norwegian dual national. She was charged with removing a minor from the state contrary to a court order after taking him from Florida to Norway.

It had been agreed that Eriksen would take her then-10-year-old son to South Florida for spring break, the court filing says.

“Instead of staying in South Florida, the defendant allegedly fled the country with him in violation of their custody agreement,” the court filing says.

The filing added that the boy had “developmental delays and has special needs” that his father, Christopher Ikner, feared would not be properly dealt with without access to doctors in the U.S.

These conditions included a growth hormone disorder and ADHD, the filing says.

Eriksen then failed to return Ikner to his father at the agreed-upon time in March, staying in Norway for several more weeks, according to the filing.

On April 21, 2015, the court ordered his biological mother to return to the country with Ikner after the father had filed an emergency order, The pair returned to Florida at some point after that.

A separate document from June 2015 indicates that Eriksen pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to 200 days in prison, of which she had already served 170 days, followed by two years of “community control” and two years of probation.

Eriksen was also ordered not to contact the family or her son’s school for the length of the sentence.

—

FSU shooting suspect’s complex past comes to light — yet motive remains a mystery
In recent years, Phoenix Ikner became known for far-right, white supremacist rhetoric, classmates said. It’s unclear if that had any tie to the violence.
April 19, 2025, 7:31 AM GMT+8

Years before he was named a suspect in this week’s fatal shooting at Florida State University, Phoenix Ikner had sought a new beginning. Traumatized by a complex custody battle between his parents that had ended in charges against his mother when he was younger, the then-teenager asked a Leon County, Florida, circuit court for a legal name change.

Ikner appeared at his court hearing in 2020 via videoconference, dressed in his naval junior ROTC uniform. An honors student in high school at the time, he made a good impression.

“This court found him to be a mentally, emotionally, and physically mature young adult, who is very articulate, quite intelligent, very well spoken, and very polite,” wrote administrative magistrate James Banks in his approval of the legal switch from Ikner’s birth name, which had been Christian Gunnar Eriksen.

Ikner chose to adopt his father’s surname and selected a first name brimming with symbolism.

“He chose the name Phoenix because of its representation of rising from the ashes anew,” Banks wrote.

How Ikner went from a teenager with hopes for a fresh start to a 20-year-old accused of killing two people and injuring at least five others in Thursday’s shooting in Tallahassee is a mystery. In interviews with classmates and reviews of legal documents, a portrait of a young man who struggled with a fractured family life and clashed with classmates over his extreme political views has emerged.

But a possible motive for the deadly violence is not yet known.

Ikner had just transferred to Florida State University from Tallahassee State College and enrolled this semester as a political science major. He remains hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after he was shot by law enforcement, police said.

As the investigation widened Friday into what led to the gunfire, students who knew the accused gunman described him as a troubled young man who openly talked about having a weapon.

“He would joke about mass violence,” said Lucas Luzietti, who shared a national government class with Ikner when he was at Tallahassee State College. “And he did talk about how he used guns and had access to them.”

Luzietti said he once argued with Ikner over the 2020 election and said that their classmates would exchange looks over Ikner’s comments. That included Ikner denying the results of the presidential election and sharing hateful comments about minorities, he added.

“He espoused the election denialism belief that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president, he said that Rosa Parks was in the wrong, he also talked about how Black people are ruining his neighborhood and Stonewell was bad for society,” Luzietti said. “He would also talk about how multiculturalism is dangerous.”

Reid Seybold, a senior at FSU who said he first met Ikner at Tallahassee State, recalled Ikner being asked not to return to a political discussion club at his former college because of “white supremacist rhetoric and far-right rhetoric.”

The club’s current president, Riley Pusins, said Ikner often promoted white supremacist values, even though the group was nonpartisan and was about debate and political discourse. After the meetings, Ikner would make even worse remarks, Pusins said.

NBC News has confirmed the identity of the victims who died in Thursday’s shooting: Robert Morales, 57, and Tiru Chabba, 45. FSU grad student Madison Askins was among the injured; the identities of the other wounded victims have not yet been released.

Authorities said Thursday they believe Ikner used a handgun that belonged to his stepmother, Jessica Ikner, a Leon County sheriff’s deputy and a school resource officer at a Tallahassee middle school.

Jessica Ikner and other family members could not be reached for comment. Court documents, however, detail difficulties in Ikner’s upbringing, including health issues and a battle for his custody that stretched overseas.

In 2015, Ikner’s biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, took him out of the country, violating her agreement with Ikner’s father, Christopher, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office viewed by NBC News. Eriksen had shared custody of her son, who was 10 or 11 years old and went by his birth name at the time, but she was required to give advanced notice if she took Ikner out of the U.S. For spring break that year, the affidavit said, Eriksen had told Christopher Ikner they were traveling to South Florida. Instead, she allegedly took their son to Norway, where both she and him had dual citizenship.

Several weeks after spring break ended, Eriksen still had not brought the boy home to the United States and “had no intention of returning” him to Tallahassee, despite pleas from his father, the affidavit added.

When Eriksen did not bring Ikner back, Christopher Ikner contacted authorities to report his son kidnapped and to report that he was being denied medical care for developmental delays and special needs he had been diagnosed with, which included attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a growth hormone disorder, the affidavit said.

“By keeping Christian in Norway, the defendant failed to have Christian in school for scheduled testing, canceled appointments with Christian’s doctors in the U.S., and failed to maintain his medication protocols by her own admission,” it said.

Later that year, Eriksen filed a lawsuit against Christopher and Jessica Ikner plus two other relatives in the Ikner family for allegedly slandering her and causing “psychological harm” to their son by “continuous and vicious litigation in family court.” The Ikners could not be reached for comment.

“Christian Gunnar Eriksen is the victim of psychological and emotional abuse, as well as parental alienation. Christopher Ikner enjoys taking credit for things that Anne-Mari Eriksen has done privately, professionally and parent wise,” the legal complaint read.

Eriksen, who could not be reached for comment, was ultimately charged with removing a minor from the state and failing to return a minor, records show. She pleaded no contest and served a brief jail sentence.

When Phoenix Ikner petitioned to legally change his name from Christian Gunnar Eriksen in 2019, which the court approved the following year, his mother objected to the name change, while his father supported it, papers show.

Banks, the administrative magistrate who approved the change, wrote: “He sees no reason to keep his former name as it is a constant reminder of the 2015 tragedy he suffered through and of his mother who he has not seen or spoken to since 2015.”

Authorities say that at about 11 a.m. Thursday, Ikner arrived at the FSU parking garage, where he stayed for close to an hour before walking toward the student union. He then allegedly stalked buildings and lawns, firing his handgun indiscriminately at people, police added.

Panicked students fled for their lives and called 911. Responding officers shot Ikner when he refused their commands, police said, with the rampage lasting less than five minutes.

Following Thursday’s shooting, Ikner has invoked his right to remain silent, police said.

Seybold, who was locked down in a classroom and could hear gunfire nearby, is anxious for answers.

“I don’t know why he would have done something like this,” Seybold said. “I don’t know where it would have come from, but I’d sure like to find out.”

Disturbing security footage shows the moment an Uber driver was murdered as gunmen appeared to have been targeting his passenger outside a Philadelphia hookah lounge.

Olatunji W. Bolaji, 77, was seen picking up a 22-year-old passenger in his black Chevy Suburban in downtown Philadelphia outside the Byblos Hookah Bar around 2 a.m. Wednesday — moments before the deadly shooting, according to video obtained by NBC10.

The unidentified fare hugged a woman outside Bolaji’s car as two men jumped out of a Jeep Grand Cherokee with Massachusetts plates, police said.

The woman is seen fleeing when she notices the suspects rushing toward them with their guns pointed at the passenger.

The rider jumps into the SUV as the men surround him from the front and back of the vehicle.

One of the suspects is seen pointing his gun into the vehicle and firing, hitting Bolaji in the head and the passenger in the arm, leg and abdomen, police told the outlet.

Despite being shot in the head, Bolaji managed to drive away, but ended up crashing into a light pole a block away.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police took the passenger to Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition.

Chief Inspector Scott Small told CBS News that there was “definitely a physical altercation” between the suspects and the passenger before Bolaji came to pick up the rider.

The suspects have yet to be identified and remain at large.

Police said detectives are investigating the shooting and are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the shooters.

A neighbor who lived next to Bolaji for seven years described him as a hardworking, friendly man from a quiet, respectful family. He leaves behind a son and a partner.

He said the driver loved working for Uber, and his family is distraught over his murder.

“Our hearts break for the driver’s family and loved ones in the wake of this devastating loss,” Uber said in a statement to NBC10.

“We’ve reached out to police to offer our support as they work to bring those responsible for this heinous act of violence to justice.”

There have been 58 homicides across the city since the start of 2025, according to statistics provided by the Philadelphia Police Department. There were 81 total homicides in Philly in 2024.

The city has also had 446 shooting incidents this year, resulting in 239 victims as of April 17.

In 2024, the city had a total of 635 shootings resulting in 296 victims.

One day care worker is accused of handling children in a rough manner, while another is accused of pushing wood chips into a child’s mouth.

SIOUX FALLS — Two Sioux Falls day care employees are accused of child abuse at their workplaces in separate criminal cases filed this week.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens said the first investigation began at approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, when a parent called police to make a report.

Investigators say that at roughly 1:30 p.m. that same afternoon, 38-year-old Chelsa Struss was working at a day care in the 3300 block of West 49th Street, which had camera surveillance running inside.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens said video showed Struss handling four children in a rough manner, pushing them or dropping them onto mats. No serious injuries were reported.

After an investigation, a warrant was issued for Struss’ arrest on four counts of child abuse, and she was arrested Thursday without incident. She’s currently being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond.

In the second case, a day care employee across town is accused of putting wood chips into a child’s mouth.

Police in Sioux Falls were notified at approximately 8:15 p.m. Wednesday that a child had told a parent about the incident that occurred earlier that day.

An investigation determined that 22-year-old Mia Lopez, of Sioux Falls, was working at a day care in the 5100 block of South Cliff Avenue when, as a result of frustration, she pushed wood chips into a child’s mouth.

A parent reported that there was dirt on the child’s face as evidence of the accusation.

Lopez was arrested at about 10 p.m. Thursday on one county of child abuse and was lodged in the Minnehaha County Jail.

The case against Lopez is not connected to the case against Struss.

Clemens said that issues involving child abuse at day cares are concerning, but doesn’t happen often.

“This type of behavior is uncommon. We’ve all known that there’s been problems at different day cares in the past,” he explained. “I don’t want people to think day cares are all bad and that children are going to get hurt. It doesn’t happen that frequently.”

He said it’s important for parents to find a childcare provider that’s the right fit for them and their child, considering the child-to-adult ratio, whether surveillance cameras are installed and other important features.

“There’s a lot of things day cares are doing nowadays so parents can monitor their children throughout the day,” Clemens said. “When you take your child to day care, you want them to be healthy and not have an injury.”

When issues do arise, however, Clemens said investigators at the local and state level have a common goal.

“Anytime we have day care issues, sometimes they get reported to [Child Protective Services], sometimes they get reported to police. We work closely with child protection, so if they find out about it, they’ll notify police and vice versa,” he said. “It’s one of those things we’re looking to figure out what happened, and obviously the goal is to make sure no other children are further harmed.”

Each count of child abuse is a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Lopez faces up to 15 years in prison plus fines of up to $30,000, while Struss faces a total of 60 years plus fines of $120,000.

SALEM, N.J. (AP) — The family of NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew listened in pain Tuesday as lawyers debated whether the men’s own drinking contributed to their deaths when they were hit by an allegedly drunken and enraged driver as they cycled at night.

After nearly two hours of argument, a judge agreed the issue was moot under New Jersey criminal law — upholding all of the charges against the driver, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

“There’s no credence in the argument there was contributory negligence on the part of the cyclists,” said Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio.

According to the defense, the Gaudreaus had blood-alcohol levels of .129 or above, higher than the .08 legal limit in New Jersey and the .087 blood alcohol content that police recorded for Sean Higgins. His lawyers had hoped to have the manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges reduced or dismissed.

“To say that their BAC’s may have contributed to the cause of death is a reach to say the least,” Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern argued.

Other drivers told police the brothers were riding safely on the edge of the road, not weaving into traffic, he said. Prosecutors have accused Higgins of being impaired by alcohol and fueled by road rage when he ran into them.

“There are four witnesses that witnessed the defendant speeding and illegally passing the Bronco on the right when he struck the brothers. The witnesses also saw the brothers riding single file, with the flow of traffic, on the fog line just prior to being struck by the defendant,” Mestern wrote in a memo this month.

The Gaudreaus were bicycling near their hometown in southern New Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding on Aug. 29. Both of their wives have since given birth to sons. Johnny Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, gave birth to their third child on April 1. The sister’s wedding was postponed until this summer.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” was set to start his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets after eight seasons with the Calgary Flames. Matthew played hockey at Boston College, like his older brother, and was working as a high school coach.

Higgins, 44, of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts each of reckless vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter, along with evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. He was found beside his damaged vehicle, which had stalled about a quarter mile from the crash scene.

A combat veteran and married father of two who worked for an addiction treatment company, Higgins told police he had consumed about a half-dozen beers that day, some while driving, after an upsetting phone call with his mother.

Higgins’ lawyers — while also noting that the Gaudreaus were cycling without lights after dark — said they were not trying to cast blame or contribute to the family’s pain, but only give their client a robust defense.

“Mr. (Richard) Klineburger and I are not blaming the two bicyclists for the incident. That would be ridiculous. That would be wrong,” lawyer Matthew Portella said as the Gaudreaus’ parents and sisters grimaced.

Portella instead argued that the grand jury did not hear all of the facts before it approved charges that allege Higgins was intentionally reckless and left the scene.

Mestern called the indictment sound and the judge agreed, sending the charges to trial and scheduling the next hearing for June 10.

Higgins faces a maximum 70 years in prison if convicted on all counts. His lawyers have rejected a plea offer of 35 years.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Burglars tunneled through a concrete wall to gain access to a Los Angeles jewelry store, making off with at least $10 million worth of watches, pendants, gold chains and other merchandise, police said.

The heist happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday at Love Jewels on Broadway in the heart of downtown’s jewelry district, according to Officer David Cuellar with the LA Police Department.

Investigators were reviewing security camera footage that shows the suspects entering the store from a large hole they drilled from the property next door, he said.

“They tunneled through multiple levels of concrete into the target location,” Cuellar said Tuesday.

An unknown number of suspects fled through the same hole and drove off in a late model Chevy truck, he said. The heist wasn’t discovered until store employees arrived for work Monday morning.

Initial estimates are that $10 million worth of merchandise was stolen, Cuellar said, adding that the number could change. The owner told The Associated Press the loss was around $20 million, and that they did not have insurance. No alarms went off and the feed to their in-store security cameras were cut.

At the store on Tuesday, workers covered up the hole in the wall with a metal plate, repaired other damage and cleaned up overturned display cases and discarded boxes. Two large safes were broken into, containing all the merchandise they had in the store.

Customers and friends stopped by to offer sympathy, with some even asking to purchase items.

Love Jewels’ website advertises items like a 14 karat yellow gold rope chain for $1,200, heart-shaped gold earrings for $200 and a gold cross pendant for $550. Videos on the store’s social media shows glass cases filled with rings, watches and necklaces.

Detectives examined the scene for fingerprints and DNA, police said.

The mom of a postal worker stabbed to death in a Manhattan deli slammed prosecutors Wednesday for striking a deal to let her son’s ruthless killer take a plea deal for just 15 years behind bars.

“She’s going to get out early and kill again,” Ada Rice told The Post after Jaia Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Jan. 2 slaying of USPS postman Roy Hodge at Joe’s Deli Grocery in Harlem.

The plea deal comes less than three months after prosecutors indicted Cruz on a second-degree murder charge for the broad-daylight killing, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life.

But Hodge’s mom said she was left stunned when Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Clerkin told Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro that Cruz “expresses remorse and has asked to accept responsibility for [Hodge’s] death” — despite prosecutors’ admitting Hodge’s family opposed the offer.

Rice said she was left “very upset” with the judicial system in part because she claims the Manhattan DA’s office had told her that they believed in the strength of the case, especially a video from inside the bodega which allegedly shows Cruz spar with Hodge after he cut her in line at the deli counter.

“Initially, the DA told me that there would be no plea deal because they said they saw the video and [that they’re] satisfied,” Rice said, who also expressed regret as to why Cruz hasn’t been charged federally.

“I’m upset this person wasn’t charged federally,” she said. “[My son] died in a federal uniform, which makes him a federal employee.”

The two then got into it when Hodge threw a plastic lemon juice bottle at Cruz before she began to stab him multiple times, prosecutors have said. When Hodge collapsed to the ground, Cruz stood over him and said, “He deserved it.”

Prosecutors said that Cruz had requested an early resolution in the case.

At the hearing Wednesday, one of Hodge’s supporters had to be escorted out by court officer because she flipped out at the offer.

“This is not justice!” the woman screamed inside the courtroom, according to witnesses. “You said you was happy to see him die!”

Cruz’s attorney, Mitchell Schuman, did not immediately respond to comment regarding the plea deal.

Schuman had accused Hodge of being the aggressor at Cruz’s arraignment in January, claiming that video showed he took off his jacket and struck her first — causing Cruz to react and stab him with the knife.

He also said that Hodge berated her with slurs before the altercation.

As part of the plea deal, Cruz will also be sentenced to five years supervised release.

She is expected to be sentenced on May 28.

Records offer details of Cody Balmer, 38, who is accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania governor’s mansion

The man accused of setting fire to the Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial mansion early on Sunday morning while the governor, Josh Shapiro, and his family were asleep inside was due in court three days later on allegations that he assaulted his wife and stepson after trying to take his own life.

Those records help provide a more complete picture of Cody Balmer, 38, of the Pennsylvania capital of Harrisburg, who was denied bail on Monday on charges of attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated assault and aggravated arson in connection with the governor’s mansion blaze.

Balmer, who stuck his tongue out at news media reporters as he was being led into court on Monday, had been due in court on Wednesday on charges related to domestic abuse allegations.

According to a police affidavit from January 2023, police were dispatched to Balmer’s residence after a child called about domestic abuse. Balmer allegedly told officers responding to the call that he had taken a full bottle of pills in a suicide attempt.

That escalated into an argument between Balmer and his wife, with Balmer allegedly assaulting both her and his stepson, according to court records reviewed by the Hill.

USA Today further reported that Balmer and his wife finalized their divorce in February 2025, and he was subject to a protection from abuse order.

Balmer’s mother spoke to the Associated Press and said her son grappled with mental health issues. She reportedly said she had made calls in recent days about those issues, but “nobody would help”.

Balmer’s bail denial on Monday occurred after prosecutors said he told police that he planned to beat Shapiro with a hammer – and used Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles filled with gasoline to start the fire. Security footage from the residence evidently shows a man who was carrying a bag and wearing a black jacket – as well as black boots – breaking a window into the home and tossing a homemade molotov cocktail inside.

Balmer surrendered to the Pennsylvania state police on Sunday and admitted to “harboring hatred toward Governor Shapiro”, authorities alleged. Asked during a police interview what he would have done had Shapiro found him inside the residence, “he advised he would have beaten him with his hammer”, said the probable cause affidavit justifying Balmer’s arrest.

In court on Monday, county judge Dale Klein asked Balmer if he took any medication for mental illness. Balmer responded that he was not mentally ill and he had not taken medication, adding that it had “led … to different types of behavior” in the past.

Klein said he had denied Balmer bail because he could be a danger to the community and himself.

The arson attack attributed to Balmer followed a series of other attacks targeting US political figures.

Those include against Paul Pelosi, the husband of congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and two separate assassination attempts on Donald Trump.

Supporters of Trump – whose first presidency ended in defeat after the 2020 election before he then won back the Oval Office in November – violently attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. And on 8 April, a California man pleaded guilty to trying to kill US supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022.

ABC News reported that social media pages connected to Balmer appear to show both critiques of Trump and his presidential predecessor Joe Biden.

Balmer seemed to reject Biden’s 2020 presidential win over Trump and criticized him on Facebook during his term. Posts included a picture with the text “Joe Biden owes me 2 grand” and another that said: “Biden supporters shouldn’t exist.”

In 2020, he posted a meme that argued that both Democrats and Republicans “would rather argue with other than work to solve the problems we are facing”.

After the alleged arson attack, Shapiro said: “This kind of violence is not OK.

“I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not OK, and it has to stop.”

Authorities have not disclosed the precise motive for the alleged arsonist. Posting on X, Biden said he and former first lady Jill Biden were “disgusted by the attack on the Shapiro family and their home” – while noting it occurred during the first night of the major Jewish holiday of Passover.

“There is no place for this type of evil in America, and as I told the governor yesterday, we must stand united against hatred and violence,” Biden said.

Trump commented from the White House on Monday that Balmer was “probably just a wack job”.

“The attacker was not a fan of Trump,” the president said. “I understand, just from what I read and from what I’ve been told, the attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody.

“Certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”

Other entries on Balmer’s rap sheet include several additional violations in Pennsylvania. Among them: a guilty plea to forgery in 2016, for which he was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

ABC also reported that Balmer had been dealing with “protracted” foreclosure proceedings. The outlet added that Balmer posted memes urging people to “become ungovernable” and reposted an artwork of a molotov cocktail in 2022 with the slogan: “Be the light you want to see in the world.”

An autopsy on a corpse that was sexually violated on a Lower Manhattan subway train was unable to determine how the man died before the sickening crime, officials said Tuesday.

The victim was already dead when an unidentified necrophiliac had sex with his corpse at the Whitehall Street station on April 8, authorities said — but his cause of death remains a mystery for now.

“The cause and manner of death are pending further study following the examination,” the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement after the initial autopsy.
Sources initially said the victim, who has not been identified pending family notification, was believed to have died of natural causes.

Investigators do not believe the two knew each other, the sources added.

The dead man had boarded the subway around 8 p.m., and the suspect got on about three hours later — although it’s not clear exactly where, sources said.

The sicko first made contact with the dead man around 11:20 p.m., and by 11:45, security footage showed the twisted suspect engaging in sexual acts with the victim.

He is described as having a medium complexion and was last seen wearing a blue Los Angeles Dodgers cap, black hooded jacket, a yellow hoodie, blue jeans, red and white sneakers and carrying a black backpack, cops said.

Police are also looking to speak with a woman who was seen rummaging through the dead man’s pockets after he became unconscious, according to police sources.

The woman, described as having a dark complexion, was last seen wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt, black pants and a black baseball cap, cops said.

Teen charged with killing parents also planned to assassinate Trump, FBI says
Nikita Casap, 17, is accused of conspiracy to assassinate the president.
April 14, 2025, 5:00 AM GMT+8

A 17-year-old Wisconsin teen charged with killing his parents is also accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to an unsealed affidavit from the FBI.

Last month, Nikita Casap, of Waukesha, was charged with killing his mother, 35-year-old Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, 51-year-old Donald Mayer, and accused of living with their corpses for two weeks. Officials are saying he was also conspiring to kill the president.

The FBI accused Casap of conspiracy, attempting to assassinate the president and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

According to the FBI, officials found what they called a “manifesto” while searching for a device that belonged to Casap. The document called for the president’s assassination in order to instigate a race war and sow chaos.

Casap also disclosed his plans to others on TikTok and Telegram, and identified himself as a follower of Order of the Nine Angles, which the FBI describes as a neo-Nazi cult that “advocates for the use of violence and terrorism to overthrow governments and destroy modern civilization.”

According to the FBI, Casap allegedly partially paid for “a drone with a dropping mechanism” to inflict harm by descending “an explosive, Molotov cocktail, or very strong topical poison” on a target.

“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” the affidavit read.

Casap was arrested on Feb. 28 after running a stop sign while driving his stepfather’s Volkswagen Atlas in WaKeeney, Kansas, 800 miles away from his Wisconsin home. The car contained his stepfather’s Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, the victims’ driver’s licenses and spent shell casings, according to a complaint.

The 17-year-old was originally charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and theft of movable property, before eventually being hit with two counts of first-degree homicide, two counts of hiding a corpse, theft of property over $10,000 and two counts of misappropriating ID to obtain money, according to Waukesha officials. According to the FBI, Casap had shared his plans to kill his parents with a classmate.

The teen appeared in court on March 27, where it was revealed that his mother had been found in a hallway covered with blankets and a towel, while his stepfather was found in a first-floor office covered in a pile of clothing.

Casap’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

—

Wisconsin teen charged in shooting death of mother, stepfather found decomposed in their home
17-year-old allegedly left the state in dead parents’ SUV
Published April 12, 2025 11:21pm EDT

A 17-year-old Wisconsin boy has been charged in connection with the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather, who were found severely decomposed in their home in February.

Nikita Casap is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of hiding a corpse, theft of movable property, theft of movable property-special facts, taking and driving a vehicle without consent, and two counts of misappropriating ID information to obtain money, according to court records.

The court commissioner set his bail at $1 million and dismissed a prior auto theft case against him, according to a report from affiliate FOX 6 Milwaukee.

The bodies of Donald Mayer and his wife, Tatiana — reportedly Casap’s stepfather and mother — were found severely decomposed in their home on Feb. 28, according to the report.

Prosecutors allege Casap shot and killed his parents on Feb. 11, more than two weeks prior to when their bodies were found.

Officials said the 17-year-old “fantasized” about killing his parents and committing suicide, having told a female classmate about the plot to kill the couple.

Footage from a surveillance camera showed a camera pointed toward Donald Mayer’s body, covered with blankets and pillows, according to the report.

Casap was allegedly seen on footage going into the room to “keep candles lit,” and even looking into the camera saying, “so you can see him there. I can literally see the (expletive) rotten body there,” FOX 6 reported.

On Feb. 23, authorities claim he left the home in his parents’ SUV, traveling through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado before he was arrested in a rural area in northwest Kansas.

Police investigators were able to track down telegram messages prior to the alleged murders, where Casap was asking a Russian speaker, “…while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even when it’s found out I did it.”

According to the report, Casap told the female classmate he had been in contact with a man from Russia.

Authorities claim the Russian knew about the boy’s scheme to take passports, a car and the family dog and flee to Ukraine, according to the report.

Morgan Geyser was committed to a Wisconsin mental health center for the 2014 stabbing of her classmate to appease the fictional character ‘Slender Man’

The Wisconsin woman who attempted to kill her 12-year-old classmate to appease the fictional character “Slender Man” will be released despite the state’s claims there are still “red flags” concerning her behavior.

A judge has ruled Morgan Geyser, 22, can continue with her planned conditional release from a Wisconsin mental health institute, rejecting a last-minute petition from the State Department of Health Services asking for her to remain in custody.

The decision comes after failed attempts by Geyser’s defense team to have her released.

Officials asked Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren to reverse his initial decision after he ordered Geyser’s release in January, citing Geyser’s relationship with a murder memorabilia collector and her interest in violent books.

In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the violent stabbing of Payton Leutner but claimed she was not responsible due to her mental illness. She told investigators she tried to kill Leutner to please the horror character Slender Man and was ultimately found not guilty by reason of mental defect.

Geyser’s defense team and the state’s prosecuting attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“Being found to be mentally ill as the cause of the crime has a pretty high standard,” Dr. Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, told Fox News Digital. “The standard is an identifiable illness that impacts your ability to understand that what you’re doing is wrong and that you have the capacity to understand that. That’s true regardless of age. So, it is quite a high standard.”

Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, were 12 when they lured Leutner into a wooded park during a sleepover in May 2014. Geyser, encouraged by Weier, stabbed Leutner 19 times.

Leutner miraculously survived the attack.

Geyser has been in custody at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for the last seven years. She was initially sentenced to 40 years in the psychiatric hospital and was permitted to ask the court to consider her conditional release every six months.

The Wisconsin State Department of Health Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Health officials asked Bohren to reconsider, citing Geyser’s relationship with a man who collects murder memorabilia. Prosecutors also said Geyser failed to inform her therapy team about a violent book she was reading.

Geyser’s defense attorney, Tony Cotton, refuted the claims, telling the court the center’s staff members were aware the collector had visited Geyser three times in June 2023 and that she only read books that were permitted by her care team. Cotton added that after Geyser discovered the man was selling items she sent him, she broke things off.

“Morgan is not more dangerous today,” Cotton said.

Bohren also listened to testimony from three psychologists who initially recommended Geyser be released during her hearing in January.

While Geyser’s apparent interest in violent topics concerns prosecutors, experts say some individuals may gravitate toward materials that offer a controlled way to indulge in their morbid curiosity.

“This is a gray zone in the sense that many people read violent material as a way of partaking and thinking about that sort of fantasy material,” Saltz said. “Horror movies exist because many humans have sadistic and masochistic urges that are satisfied by reading about or watching material of this sort.”

However, agency officials argued Geyser remains a danger to the community, citing the book “Rent Boy,” which features topics such as murder and selling organs on the black market.

Prosecutors told Bohren they believed it was concerning that Geyser reportedly only disclosed the information when confronted by her care team.

“The state has real concerns these things are, frankly, just red flags at this point,” Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie said during a hearing last month.

While morbid curiosities may be normal for some, experts believe those with violent pasts could be influenced by materials about their crimes.

“Thought does not equal behavior,” Saltz said. “That being said, [with] somebody who has committed the behavior, we do worry that ultimately that will increase their urge to do something that they truly [want] to do and lead to a behavior that is considered a problem.”

Despite the state’s pleas to keep Geyser institutionalized, Bohren determined she was no longer a danger to society. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 28, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

“There are many people who commit horrible assaults with the intent to kill and serve their time and the evaluation is that they acknowledge their crime, which [Geyser] clearly has,” Saltz told Fox News Digital. “They fall under all the ingredients that have to do with rehabilitation, who don’t even have a finding that mental illness was a factor and were then released into society. So, I’m saying this isn’t a totally unique situation.”

Weier also pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. In 2021, she was released on the condition she must live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.

Attorneys for Weier did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“You have to think about the victim in this case too,” Saltz said. “The attack was unbelievably traumatic. But, at the end of the day, it’s highly unusual to essentially lock up a 12-year-old for life.”

Accused child abuser Kimberly Sullivan’s attorney says she has a “giant target on her back”

The attorney for Kimberly Sullivan, the Waterbury, Connecticut woman facing a litany of charges for allegedly abusing her stepson for 20 years, denied that his client is responsible for any abuse in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Referring to bodycam footage released by the Waterbury Police Department last week, Ioannis Kaloidis said he completely disagrees with how his client has been portrayed.

“I have seen the photos, I have seen the videos,” Kaloidis said. “I disagree with the characterization of those photos and videos. They’ve been made out to be the worst that anyone has seen in 20 years. I do not see that as the case.

“Her face has been plastered all over the TV, the news, the internet, social media. Her life has been turned upside down. She has a giant target on her back. She has essentially become public enemy number one. It is a tremendous weight that she is carrying. It is a tremendous upheaval to her entire life.”

The allegations came to light after authorities responded to a house fire in Waterbury on Feb. 17.

Inside the home, they said they found a 32-year-old man in an emaciated state, later identified as Sullivan’s stepson. He said he intentionally set the fire because he wanted his freedom.

“This has been an extreme shock to her,” Kaloidis told Fox News Digita. “She lived a relatively quiet life.”

“Her side of the story is quite simple,” he added. “She did not harm him, she did not restain him, she did not imprison him.”

According to an arrest warrant for Sullivan, her stepson, identified as “Male Victim 1,” said he was held in a windowless 8-foot by 9-foot storage closet with no air conditioning or heat and without access to a bathroom for 20 years. He was allegedly kept inside the closet 22-24 hours per day.

The man told police he was allowed two sandwiches and two small water bottles each day, one of which he would use for bathing. He said he disposed of his waste using water bottles and newspaper. The man weighed less than 70 pounds when first responders found him after the fire.

After an investigation, Sullivan was arrested on March 12 and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment.

She has been released from jail on $300,000 bond.

While Kaloidis conceded that he does not know what happened inside the home at all times during the past 20 years, he said that Sullivan denies imprisoning her stepson.

“She recognizes that given these allegations, the rest of her life is on the line,” he said. “She’s hopeful that through the process she will be vindicated.”

“I can tell you that the allegations were that this individual claims to have been imprisoned in that home up until the day of the fire,” Kaloidis said. “And my client adamantly denies that there was any imprisonment. As for the whole history, there’s a lot that I anticipate will come out over the course of the trial, hopefully, because I think that’s the appropriate place for the release of any additional information.”