Suspect in Precious Doe murder comes to court

He'd like some more recreation time, please.

Kids watch Dad kill Mom with sword, police say

Awful story from California ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

The Murder of Frank Morris

CNN has a story about DOJ investigators trying to dig up new leads in a brutal homicide from 1964, when Morris, a black Louisiana shoe repairman, was burned alive in his store. His case is one of several dozen that civil-rights groups have pushed the government to review. The authorities hope that enough time has passed, so witnesses will feel safe to talk.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Golfer!

Man accused of using teen's head as bowling ball, puppet

Story is from Australia. Prosecutors allege that a night of drinking went horribly, horribly wrong.

Life without parole for women who killed homeless for profit

See you, ladies! I hope the door DOES hit you ...

Also, thanks again for being stupid enough to discuss your scheme while you were both in a police interrogation room. Because it's not like the police would secretly record you from behind the two-way mirror, right?

The jury that convicted the women in April saw a secretly recorded videotape of the defendants in a lockup after their arrests. Rutterschmidt berated Golay, saying her actions in taking out 23 insurance policies raised a red flag when the men died.

"It's your fault," Rutterschmidt told Golay. "You can't have that many insurances. ... You were greedy. That's the problem."

AP photo of the hotties in question.

Is it possible that you misheard God?

A New Zealand man says God told him to behead two women with a samurai sword and fatally shoot another man. The prosecution suggests that he might be fibbing.

Who killed Chandra Levy?

The Washington Post spent a year looking back at the case and is now publishing a 12-part series about Levy's murder -- focusing on the mistakes and missed connections that have kept police from catching the killer.

GA c-store clerk shot and killed over $5 T-shirt

Unbelievable ...

Ex-wife tracked down, killed traveling circus worker, police say

A Florida woman is accused of tracking her ex-husband down in an Iowa parking lot, where he was working for a circus, and stabbing him to death. The guy had restraining orders against her in three states -- not sure if Iowa was among them.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

"The thing is, none of this had to happen"

A local good-guy / neighborhood crank gets killed after he tries to block traffic while watering a traffic circle. Things escalate to the point where somebody gets out of their car and punches him, just once, and he dies. Really interesting, though sad story from the Seattle area ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Patty PV

There's always someone else who's worse off

Juarez, Mexico, has had 500 homicides so far this year, the El Paso paper reports. A lot of the deaths are tied to cartel infighting.

Memphis woman accused of fertilizing yard with missing boyfriend

It was the lawnmower man who alerted the authorities -- after the lady told him not to mow that part of the yard because it was where Wayne was buried.

"Blood must be paid with blood"

Blood feuds are still a fact of life in Albania, the New York Times reports. The country has a code that goes back hundreds of years, and the rules are pretty simple: If somebody kills one of your relatives, you're allowed -- hell, ENCOURAGED -- to kill another male in their family, so long as that person is 17 or older.

Communist rule tamped it down, but hundreds of people have been killed as a result of blood feuds in the last 17 years. Hundreds more, many of them young men, are literally trapped in their homes. (The code says the family residence is a safe zone.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, goshel!

Defendant in ATL courthouse shooting pleads insanity

That's pretty much the only defense left for Brian Nichols, who's accused of killing four people during his escape from an Atlanta courthouse in 2005.

IL teen convicted of killing man who allegedly raped him

Story is from the St. Clair County area, near Belleville. The sexual assault allegedly occurred after a night of booze and pot, so the defendant says he doesn't remember it -- but he says his roommate saw it and described it to him.

The Barefoot Killer

Really interesting case from the Houston area. It's been 23 years since Roy McCaleb was shot as he lay sedated in his bed. His wife said the killer was a barefoot man who broke into their room and raped her before firing the fatal shot. Now? Police say there was no "barefoot man" and pointing the finger at the wife.

DA: JonBenet's family is cleared because of DNA evidence

The authorities apparently tested a different part of the little girl's clothing. And while the DNA matched an earlier sample, it does not connect with anyone in her family or law-enforcement databases. So the Boulder DA is releasing a letter officially clearing the Ramseys in their daughter's death.

The Smoking Gun has an archive of old case documents.
A Wikipedia entry about the case.
A memorial site.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

(AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)

Murder on the Appalachian Trail

A creepy loner murders two hikers on the Appalachian Trail, goes to jail for 15 years ... and then tries again. Long read, but it's one of the best things you'll see today. Absolutely chilling work from the Washington Post.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

TX man gets 35 years in "stinky feet" slaying

The defendant was convicted of fatally stabbing his roommate, who had the nerve to complain about the man's stinky feet. Authorities say the two of them had been drinking.

Boy, 5, buried alive on beach, chokes to death on sand

What an awful story. It's from California ...

Worst. Breakup. Ever.

In Washington state, a couple broke up, but continued to share a house and, surprisingly enough, A BED for three months after they split. Which really upset the woman's new boyfriend, police say. Apparently, the ex had explicit photos of her and was allegedly using them as leverage to keep living in the house.

Something, something, they found the ex stabbed and beaten to death in that bed they shared. Now the woman and her new man are facing murder charges ...

FBI: Serial kilers aren't as much fun in real life

The feds' National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime has completed a new report on serial killers, who usually aren't like they're portrayed on TV and in movies, authorities say. For one thing, they're not all white -- the report says that serial killers tend to reflect the overall population.

And they're not ALL loners who can't hold down jobs or families. Exhibit A: Dennis Rader, BTK, who's referenced several times in the report. Available here as a PDF.

File Photo: Rader, as ugly and angry-looking as ever.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Jim!

GA man accused of strangling daughter for "disgracing" their family

She reportedly wanted to get a divorce from her husband, whom she had wed in an arranged marriage. You know what else might bring disgrace to one's family? Forcing your daughter to have an arranged marriage and then killing her ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM

A 'frenzied, brutal, horrific attack'

That's from a detective talking about the mysterious murders of two French college students who were bound and stabbed multiple times in the head, neck, torso, and back.

Britain's Press Association reported that the students had been tied up and tortured, suffering up to 250 injuries.

| Sara Shepherd

NY foster parents accused of 3-year-old's death -- THEY blame HIM

From the New York Daily News:

"He looked pale (and) I didn't know if he was playing a trick because he does that a lot," Cheatham, 31, told cops. "He put on more of a performance...I popped Kyle open hand because he was acting out."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Cheatham continued.

Accused cop-killer, age 19, found killed in his cell, authorities say

Story is from Upper Marlboro, Md. Cause of death is strangulation and asphyxiation -- a homicide, the authorities say. Snip from The AP:

Prince George's County Officials say seven guards and an unspecified number of supervisors had access to White at the time of his death a day after he was arrested.

Now? The FBI is investigating, too ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

Australian man uses ax to kill wife, 2 grandkids, police say

The only survivor was his daughter, a policewoman who suffered a head wound. The grandkids were practically babies, just 5 and 7.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

Good luck, kid. You're going to need it.

A baby boy has been born to Kim Trenor -- the mother of "Baby Grace," a little girl who was murdered, stuffed in a storage box and then thrown into West Galveston Bay. Trenor and her husband are both facing charges in that case. The newborn has been placed with Texas CPS, the people who brought you the Yearning For Zion raid.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

How Eve Carson died

She was at home, just studying ...

Homeless man beaten to death in Cleveland -- police suspect teens

The man's name was Anthony Waters. He lived at a homeless shelter, worked as a welder when he could and struggled with alcoholism. He was walking to his mother's house when he was murdered.

Police are looking for three suspects, at least, between the ages of 13 and 18. Surveillance video filmed part of the murder -- and caught some passing cars slow down to watch.

Man convicted of killing 11 in Los Angeles train wreck

The wreck actually happened in 2005. The defendant says he intended to kill himself, so he parked his SUV, which was soaked in gasoline, on the tracks. Only he says he lost his nerve and couldn't get the SUV started again. The train derailed and hit two others, one parked, one moving.

Prosecutors, however, say he was trying to get his wife's attention. He had wanted to kill her, and when he couldn't find her, he staged the train wreck instead, they allege.

MS man convicted of hiring hit on daughter-in-law because she was black

The rest of the family is Indian.

In a Monday, June 16, 2008 file photo, Chiman Rai, right sits along side Don Samuel, left, part of his defense team, during jury deliberation in Atlanta. Rai was convicted Thursday, June 26, 2008, of plotting to have his black daughter-in-law killed because she was not Indian. (AP Photo/The Journal & Constitution, Joey Ivansco, File)

A ruling that might get more victims killed?

JUNGLE JIM points to another Supreme Court ruling that's getting lost in the shuffle today. The Supremes say a convicted killer should get a new trial because the prosecution introduced statements from the victim. Before she was killed, she told the authorities that her ex-boyfriend -- the defendant -- was going to kill her.

That's not fair, the Supremes say, because the defendant deserves a chance to challenge witnesses in court.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

They wouldn't turn the music down, so he killed them

A Miami man is on trial for killing three people during a party at a neighbor's apartment. The partygoers kept playing loud music into the early morning, so the man, after telling them several times to knock it off, got his gun. He said he would've killed them all if his gun had not jammed.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

The Entwistle Murders

A Massachusetts jury has found a British man guilty of murdering his wife and their 9-month-old daughter -- deaths that defense attorneys claimed were a murder-suicide. It sounds like they had a hard time explaining why Neil Entwistle didn't call 911 after the deaths, drove 50 miles to take the gun back to his father-in-law and then fled the country.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tam and JUNGLE JIM!

Daddy, daughter accused of ex-boyfriend's murder

Shocking story from the Miami Herald about a young woman who told her dad -- a strip-club owner with, prosecutors allege, mob ties -- that her ex-boyfriend had raped her. Only authorities say there's no proof there was ever a rape.

There has, however, been a fatal shooting. The ex-boyfriend ended up dead, shot twice in the head. Police say it was an ambush. The defense says the shooter, one of Pop's bouncers, was acting in self-defense to protect the girl and her mom. Daddy and Daughter are now facing trial.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

6 dead in Kentucky factory shooting

The shooter is among the dead.

UPDATE: The death toll, unfortunately, has gone up again.

Randy Jr. and Denim

Awful case from Houston, where a man led police this weekend to the remains of his two missing children. Randy Sylvester Jr. was 7 years old. His sister, Denim, was 3. The children had been burned, then hidden in a chest and a suitcase in the woods.

The authorities have charged their dad, Randy Sylvester Sr., with their murders, but he says he's innocent -- he says the kids were killed because he owed somebody money.

Hat Tip: Many thanks to AllNADaysWork

(AP Photo/Pasadena Police Department via The Houston Chronicle)

Convicted ax murderer would like not to die, please

And if the court could please overlook his confession, that would be awesome.

Hat Tip: Many thanks to that hero of the people, The Mighty FanDanGo!

Crime writer accused of drumming up business

Unusual story from Macedonia, where police accused a reporter of actually committing two murders that he wrote about. (His stories included details that police hadn't released, the authorities say.) That writer is dead now -- an apparent suicide in his jail cell.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Killer who claimed to be pedophile-slaying angel is NOT insane

Story is from New Hampshire, where a woman has been convicted of killing her two boyfriends. The defense tried insanity because she, uh, claimed to have died and been brought back to life so she could kill pedophiles -- with the magical powers that God gave her. (Though the story says she offed one man because he was mean to animals and the other was an "accident.")

But the jury decided she was NOT crazy ...

The Honeymoon Murder?

An Alabama man is facing a murder charge after his wife died during a scuba outing on their honeymoon in Australia. Snip:

The groom, an experienced diver who had completed a dive-rescue course, was acting as a so-called dive buddy for his less-experienced wife. He told police he decided to go for help rather than following her to the sea floor and attempting a rescue.

... Queensland state coroner David Glasgow's inquest heard that police, who initially believed the death to be an accident, started to become suspicious when Watson changed some details of his account.

Sorry, Sadie Mae

A top prison official is advising AGAINST compassionate release for Susan Atkins, aka Sadie Mae Glutz of the Manson Family. She has terminal brain cancer. The good news for her is that her case doesn't hinge on the official's recommendation.

Atkins allegedly stabbed Sharon Tate and wrote "PIG" in blood on the door of Tate's house.

5 CA boys accused of killing 81-year-old, taking his aluminum cans

The oldest suspect is 15. The youngest in the group is 13.

UPDATE: Man shot neighbor because he thought he was terrorist, gang member

This story from Milwaukee is a little longer, but it's worth reading just to see how far-out this murder defendant is.

TX man gets life for letting baby suck cocaine off his fingers

The kiddo, who was teething, died. Dennis Driver Jr. was 8 months old.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM

Chicago boy, age 14, murdered over a bicycle

From the Sun-Times.

UPDATE: IL baby was left in carseat for 8 days, starved to death

Story is from the Peoria area. Benjamin Sargent, 5 months old, died earlier this year. Authorities say he was left in a carseat for eight days with no food or water. He was found wearing a snowsuit. Prosecutors won't seek the death penalty for Mom or Dad, the Post-Dispatch reports.

Charges dropped in Haditha killings

Judge OKs $11 million to VA Tech victims, families

More here from CNN.

James Keown

The Boston Herald has coverage of James Keown's trial in Massachusetts. Keown, a former Jeff City radio host, is accused of poisoning his wife so he could profit from her life insurance policy.

UPDATE: Police kill man who stomped toddler to death

We've got more details today about the case, which is from California. The victim was a 2-year-old boy, police say, and his killer was his father, age 27, who worked at a grocery store. Dad had no record, and most people had described him as a good guy.

That was before the murder, of course. He reportedly called the little boy "trash" and said he needed to "get the demons out." When the police told him to stop, the guy allegedly flipped him off.

No word yet if Pop was on anything. I liked how one bystander put it:

"Good shot, thank God," said Deborah McKain, a 51-year-old resident of nearby Crows Landing ... "That guy needed to die."

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV and Rosie!

UPDATE: N.C. boy dies after parents tie him to a tree

Mom and Pop have already had a brief court appearance. CrimeRant has a post here.

"It's been a long night of wondering, 'Why?'"

Story is from California, where a 27-year-old stomped and beat a toddler to death on Saturday -- despite the efforts of several people to stop him. The police finally shot and killed the man. The baby's body was essentially destroyed -- police will use blood or DNA to make an identification.

Here's more from the local paper, the Modesto Bee.

UPDATE: Midtown Miscreant has a good blog post about this and other cases where people did -- or didn't -- get involved.

The people who did little to nothing in these two stories are not good people. They can tithe to the church or go work in a soup kitchen, or do whatever passes for their definition of charity, but it doesn't change reality. The reality is this: When it really mattered, when they could have really done something, they did nothing.

When all of these people were calling 911 as a man stomped a child to an unrecognizable pulp, not one of them stopped the guy. Nobody tackled him, nobody picked something up and split his head open, nobody tried to grab the child and run away, not one of these people did enough, until the fireman and police arrived.

Hat Tip: Many thanks to Jay Tee

A vehicle travels past a blood stain on W. Bradberry Rd. east of Blaker Rd. in rural Stanislaus County, Calif. on Sunday, June 15, 2008. A Modesto Police Department officer flying in a police helicopter landed near a suspect that was beating a infant boy. The officer shot and killed the Turlock, Calif. man Saturday June 14th, 2008 as he attacked and killed the infant boy. (AP Photo/The Modesto Bee, Michael Shea)

Prosecutors want adult charges for 16-year-old in Lawrence shootings

This is related to the shooting about a week ago where two men were killed during a botched robbery, the Journal-World reports. (One of the dead men was an occupant of the targeted house, police allege. The authorities say he killed one robber before getting shot by the 16-year-old.)

Get Whitey

White Bulger -- former FBI informant, murder suspect and longtime "Most Wanted" honoree -- has been on the lam for 13 years, the Boston Globe reports. He's the only guy in the Top 10 with a task force actively hunting for him, though it doesn't sound like they've made any appreciable progress.

NC boy, 13, dies after being tied to tree for 2 nights, police say

Police don't know precisely what caused the kid to die. Mom and Dad allegedly tied him to the tree (and let him free during the day) because he was being disobedient. They've been charged with murder and felony child abuse.

UPDATE: 2 Oklahoma girls shot, killed while walking

No suspects yet, but OK police do have a witness who saw the girls shortly before they were murdered.

A real-life Black Widow?

Interesting story here from North Carolina, where a 76-year-old woman is accused of hiring a hit on her husband. Now police are going back and looking at her four previous marriages -- each of which ended with the hubby dead.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

"Not hating this woman takes tremendous courage"

CrimeRant has a post here about Tiffany Hall, an East St. Louis woman who beat her friend to death, cut the fetus from the friend's wound and then drowned the friend's three children. Hall pleaded guilty this week and received life without parole.

Amazingly, Jimella Tunstall's survivors say they forgive Hall. From CrimeRant:

The story here is in this family’s will to absolve a woman of her malevolently wicked behavior. This is a killer who literally took out an entire family, methodically, coldly, torturously, and then escaped with her own life.

Not hating this woman takes tremendous courage.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

UPDATE: 2 Oklahoma girls shot, killed while walking

This is the case where two young girls went for a walk in rural OK and were found a short time later, shot to death in a ditch. Authorities are still stumped for a motive. The latest development? Two different guns were used in the killings, leading police to believe there are at least two shooters.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, FanDanGo!

Trial FINALLY starts in James Keown murder case

Keown, a former Jeff City radio personality, is accused of murdering his wife by spiking her Gatorade with antifreeze. This was back in 2004. The trial starts this week in Massachusetts.

UPDATE: OK town haunted by 2 girls' shooting death

We had a little about this case the other day: Two girls went out for a walk in rural Oklahoma and were found a short time later, shot to death. Police aren't sure what the motive could be, and it's set the entire community on edge.

For the love of Pierre, why are the French overseeing a U.S. murder investigation?

Story is from San Francisco, where a French citizen's corpse was found inside his locked home. The original police theory: He stabbed himself while on drugs. Which was complicated after police found NO BLOODY KNIFE and NO DRUGS.

(Authorities floated the theory that he cleaned off the knife after he stabbed himself -- which was greeted by lusty French boos.)

The man's friends have pushed the SFPD from treating this case as suicide to a homicide. And now? A French judge is conducting a probe and subpoenaing witnesses under the authority of the U.S. District Court.

At first, I was really opposed to this, but I think the U.S. should outsource MORE of its crimefighting to other nations. For example, I hear Singapore is aces at fighting vandalism.

Convicted killer beats his defense attorney in court before getting sentenced

Story is from Minneapolis. Deputies pounced on the guy immediately, but the attorney still got worked over a little bit.

The Nameless

Haunting story from The AP, which reports on the Houston Mass Murders, a series of brutal slayings from the 1970s. A man Dean Corll, and his two teenage henchmen, Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brooks, were responsible for the murder of 27 young men, none of them older than 20.

Despite the bodies being badly decomposed, most of the corpses were eventually identified. Except for three. So now authorities are putting forth a big effort to name them ... before their families, friends and anyone who might remember them dies.

"Their families need to know," Derrick said. "If there's an 80-year-old mother who has thought, 'Well, maybe my son just didn't love me and just took off and never wanted to see me again,' I would want her to know that he would have come home, that it wasn't his fault he didn't come home."

Elvina Legarde

Legarde, a 69-year-old Arizona grandmother, was shot and killed following a road-rage incident this weekend. Her grandkiddo, age 4, was in the back seat, and somehow, avoided being killed, too. Maybe I just had a long day Monday, but this one really bothered me.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus

"What possible motive could there be?"

Oklahoma authorities are investigating the murder of two girls, ages 11 and 13, near Weleetka. The two friends had gone for a walk and were later found in a ditch, fully clothed, with several gunshot wounds. Snip from the local law:

"They were little girls, what possible motive could there be?" Choate said. "You have to wonder, did they see something they were not supposed to? Were they at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Is it just me ...

or does tattooing the words "Cut Throat" across your throat seem like tempting fate?

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tam!

Tanzanian albinos hunted, killed for their "lucky" body parts

At least 19 people with albinism have been killed in Tanzania over the last year as witch doctors sell their skin, bones -- even their hair -- as ingredients in get-rich-quick potions, the New York Times reports.

If this isn't worthy of the death penalty, what is?

We've got an update on a gruesome case from East St. Louis, where a woman named Tiffany Hall allegedly killed her best friend, stole the fetus from her belly and killed her three kids, whose bodies she stuffed in a washer and drier. (As a finishing touch, Hall also tried passing the fetus off as her own.)

The prosecutor was going to seek the death penalty, but probably won't because they're putting together a plea deal.

Keith G in PV, who pointed out the story, makes this argument:

This crime seems to rank a PERFECT 10 on my heinousmeter, but it appears the defendant may skip the ultimate punishment because she saves the government some time, trouble and expense. Is that why we fry people? Not because of the crime, but because they've caused the judicial system to perform its work?