Alabama is preparing to execute a man convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife, even though a jury recommended he receive life imprisonment instead of a death sentence. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison on Thursday evening. …
Read More »Texas man executed for strangling his mother and burying her body in her backyard
A man who killed his mother and buried her body in her backyard was executed Wednesday in Texas despite his lawyers’ appeals that he should not be put to death because he had a history of mental illness. Tracy Beatty, 61, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in …
Read More »Deaths of 8 family members, including 6 children, found in burning Oklahoma home investigated as murder
The deaths of eight family members — including six children — found in a burning Oklahoma home are being investigated as a murder-suicide, authorities said Friday. Police are trying to determine whether both adults were involved in the killings. The children, who ranged in age from 1 to 13, were …
Read More »Michigan man to get life sentence in killing and cannibalism of man he met on dating app
A Michigan man who acknowledged killing another man and hanging the mutilated body from a ceiling will face life in prison without parole after a judge said Wednesday that it was premeditated murder. Mark Latunski pleaded guilty in September. But it was up to a judge to determine whether the …
Read More »Court overturns conviction of woman accused of trying to convince her son to kill his father with rat poison
An appeals court has overturned a Mount Vernon woman’s conviction for soliciting to kill her former husband. The Washington Court of Appeals on Monday overturned Vanessa Valdiglesias LaValle’s conviction. The Seattle Times first reported the decision. She had been found guilty in 2021 for trying to persuade her son to kill his …
Read More »$11.8 million worth of cocaine found in baby wipes shipment entering Texas, authorities say
Nearly 2,000 packages of baby wipes were seized in Laredo, Texas, after federal officers discovered narcotics hidden inside, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release. The Friday seizure happened at the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge, which runs over the border between the U.S. and Mexico and is a …
Read More »3 Arkansas police officers suspended following video of violent arrest
Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday following social media outrage over a video that seemingly showed two deputies and an officer striking a suspect under arrest. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, stating two county deputies will be suspended during the course of the …
Read More »Juvenile charged in murder of mother and her 2 young sons in New Hampshire
A juvenile has been arrested and charged in the murders of a mother and her two young sons in New Hampshire, the state’s attorney general announced on Thursday. Kassandra Sweeney, 25, her 4-year-old son Benjamin and her 1-year-old son Mason were found dead in their home in Northfield on August 3, …
Read More »DNA links 76
A 76-year-old man suspected of a 2021 rape has been arrested in the killings of two women that had been unsolved for decades, authorities in California said. James Ray Gary, of Fairfield, was arrested last week in the 1980 killing of Latrelle Lindsay of Union City and the 1996 killing …
Read More »“Princess Doe” identified as teen Dawn Olanick 40 years after remains found; Arthur Kinlaw charged
A girl who was dubbed Princess Doe after her remains were found 40 years ago in a New Jersey cemetery has been identified as a Long Island teenager, authorities announced Friday. Charges have been filed against the man they believe killed Dawn Olanick, 17, of West Babylon, New York, the …
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