All articles tagged with #murder
In Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, the cousin of 10-year-old Lily Peters was sentenced to life in prison for her murder, closing a high-profile case that sparked memorials and deep community grief.
A Florida jury convicted Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, of first-degree murder and solicitation of murder in the 2022 killing of Jared Bridegan, a Microsoft design manager, on a Jacksonville Beach road. Prosecutors said the murder was the culmination of a long-running child-custody dispute with Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and involved a hired gunman who received $10,000 in payments. Bridegan was shot after stopping to remove a tire; his children were in the car. Gardner’s trial is upcoming, while the gunman Henry Tenon had testified before backing out of a deal.
Former Illinois deputy Sean Grayson, convicted of second-degree murder for Sonya Massey’s 2024 killing, died in prison while serving a 20-year sentence after battling colon cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs; his medical-release request was denied, and Massey’s case spurred reforms and a DOJ civil-rights review of local policing.
A jury found Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar guilty of murder in the 2023 ambush shooting of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer in Palmdale, proving he intentionally killed a peace officer and found all related special-circumstance charges (lying in wait, firing from a vehicle, and use of a .22-caliber revolver). Salazar’s sanity at the time will be decided in a subsequent phase; a sane finding could lead to life in prison, while insanity would result in confinement to a state hospital.
A man died after a stabbing in southeast Portland around 2:20 a.m. The suspect, 32-year-old Patrick Nshizirungu, was located nearby and charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon. The victim was taken to a hospital where he died. Police released case number 26-245245 and asked anyone with information to contact them.
The parents of Karoline Heintz, an 18-year-old incoming PennWest California University women’s soccer recruit, spoke out after she was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Royce Moser. Moser and his 57-year-old mother, Rachel Moser, were arrested on charges including criminal homicide, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension, with investigators alleging they helped dispose of Heintz’s body and clean up the crime scene. Heintz’s death followed a meeting about her future, and campus teammates remembered her fondly while a GoFundMe was launched to honor her memory and support domestic-violence prevention efforts.
An 18-year-old Pennsylvania teen, Royce Moser, fatally stabbed his girlfriend Karoline Heintz, a PennWest California freshman and soccer player, in what investigators described as a domestic dispute. He then, with his mother, moved her body and cleaned the scene, abandoning Heintz’s body in the back of a Jeep near a California, PA library. Rachel Moser is charged with hindering a fugitive, tampering with evidence, and related offenses, while Royce Moser faces homicide and multiple counts including tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and obstruction of justice. PennWest California issued condolences as authorities continued their investigation.
Two men have been detained in connection with the murder investigation into Sonia Bellina, a 29-year-old social media influencer whose scorched body was found among vines in a Saint-Gilles vineyard near Nîmes. Authorities confirmed her identity after DNA tests, and initial evidence led police to custody. The family has faced online harassment as relatives wait for answers amid a case that has sparked speculation and concern.
Fairfax County police charged Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, with the murder of Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, whose body was found stabbed near Difficult Run Park by Great Falls. Investigators say Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together and were in an intimate relationship; prosecutors allege he planned the attack, left a restaurant with a knife, gloves and a gasoline-filled bottle, stabbed Puch, attempted to set her on fire, and confessed to detectives. He was arrested in Maryland within 48 hours.
A 19-year-old man, Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, who was found stabbed and doused with gasoline in a parking lot near the Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls, Virginia. Police say Cedillos-Campos and Puch, who had worked together and were in an intimate relationship, met at the park; investigators allege he armed himself at a restaurant, stabbed her repeatedly, poured gasoline on her, and attempted to set her on fire, an attempt that failed. He reportedly offered a full confession to homicide detectives and was arrested in Prince George’s County, Maryland, awaiting extradition to Virginia. Puch is described as a loving mother of a 3-year-old.
A 24-year-old Winooski man, Hassan Haji, surrendered to police and faces a second-degree murder charge in the downtown Burlington stabbing that killed 24-year-old Deng Dau. Investigators tied Haji to the scene using surveillance video and blood evidence; he pled not guilty and is held without bail ahead of a weight-of-evidence hearing set for Aug. 27.
An 81-year-old man admitted at the opening of his Koblenz trial to sexually assaulting and killing American tourist Amy Lopez in 1994. Prosecutors say he killed her in a treacherous, base-motive act to satisfy sexual urges after luring her to a secluded room in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress; her body was later found by children. The cold case was solved years later through new DNA analysis linking the attacker to evidence on the victim. He was arrested in February and is in pretrial detention; eight trial days are planned with a verdict expected in September.
Prosecutors opened the murder-for-hire trial of Mario Fernandez Saldana, charged with arranging the killing of Jared Bridegan, a Microsoft design manager, on a Jacksonville Beach road with Bridegan’s young daughter in the back seat; the case centers on an alleged plot by Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her husband amid years of bitter divorce disputes over religion and parenting, with a key witness who previously pleaded guilty but later withdrew his plea.
In Birmingham Crown Court, 65-year-old John Anslow and his daughter Hayley‑Marie Ferguson face murder-related charges for the death of 36-year-old Chereiss Bailey, who was found in a canal after an alleged attack at Anslow’s home; Anslow admits obstructing a lawful burial but denies murder, while Ferguson denies murder-related charges and pleads not guilty to obstructing a burial and aiding an offender. Prosecutors say Bailey, described as a vulnerable sex worker, was attacked, possibly strangled, and then disposed of in the canal after being transported in a wheelchair, with CCTV showing the duo moving the body and Ferguson disposing of evidence.
Louisiana man Tyronne Brazille, 50, allegedly shot his wife Lanessa Bradford, 50, during an argument, strapped her body into the passenger seat, and drove about 400 miles through Mississippi to Memphis, where a traffic stop led police to discover her body; Brazille was arrested as a fugitive and will face extradition and a second-degree murder charge in Louisiana.