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Murder & Mayhem

Delve into the chilling realm of crime, where murder, mystery and chaos reign, and the ultimate battle for justice that follows.

Jury recommends life in prison for Missouri man in 2 deaths
Jury recommends life in prison for Missouri man in 2 deaths

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A jury recommended on Friday that a Kansas City man receive the maximum sentence for killing two women nearly a decade apart and leaving their bodies in the same field. The Cass County jury recommended that Kylr Yust, 32, serve life in prison for second-degree murder in the death of Jessica […] More

April 19, 2021

Jury finds Missouri man guilty of murdering 2 women decade apart
Jury finds Missouri man guilty of murdering 2 women decade apart

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Scripps News Kansas City) — Kylr Yust has been found guilty of manslaughter and murder in the deaths of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions. It’s a verdict more than a decade in the making. A jury empaneled in St. Charles County found Yust guilty Thursday evening of voluntary manslaughter in Kopetsky’s death and […] More

April 16, 2021

Son, father appear in court for hearing in 1996 killing
Son, father appear in court for hearing in 1996 killing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former California college student charged with murder in the 1996 disappearance of classmate Kristin Smart and the defendant’s father, who is accused of helping hide the young woman’s body, made their first court appearance Thursday but did not enter pleas. Paul Flores, 44, was charged with first-degree murder for the […] More

April 15, 2021

Prosecutor: Missing student killed during 1996 rape attempt
Prosecutor: Missing student killed during 1996 rape attempt

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The suspect in the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart killed her while trying rape her in his dorm room and his father helped hide the body, the San Luis Obispo County district attorney said Wednesday. District Attorney Dan Dow said prosecutors would seek to prove Paul Flores tried […] More

April 15, 2021

Expert: Ex-cop justified in pinning George Floyd to pavement
Expert: Ex-cop justified in pinning George Floyd to pavement

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The defense for a former police officer charged in George Floyd’s death challenged the heart of the case against the officer, calling a use-of-force expert who testified that Derek Chauvin was justified in pinning Floyd and said it might have gone easier if the Black man had been “resting comfortably” on the pavement. >>>READ MORE: MN […] More

April 14, 2021

Body missing, suspect arrested in ’96 student disappearance
Body missing, suspect arrested in ’96 student disappearance

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Flores was the last person seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished from a college campus on California’s scenic Central Coast nearly 25 years ago and suspicion has followed him ever since. He went from being a “person of interest” to a “suspect” to “the prime suspect.”   Investigators never […] More

April 13, 2021

Court rejects appeal of killer of 3 in home invasion
Court rejects appeal of killer of 3 in home invasion

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man convicted of murder, sexual assault and other crimes in the killings of a woman and her two daughters, ages 11 and 17, in a 2007 home invasion. Justices issued a 7-0 decision Monday upholding the convictions against Joshua Komisarjevsky. He appealed […] More

April 13, 2021

Expert says cop was justified in pinning down George Floyd
Expert says cop was justified in pinning down George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Officer Derek Chauvin was justified in pinning George Floyd to the ground because of his frantic resistance, a use-of-force expert testified for the defense Tuesday, contradicting a parade of authorities from both inside and outside the Minneapolis Police Department. Taking the stand at Chauvin’s murder trial, Barry Brodd, a former Santa […] More

April 13, 2021

Judge refuses to sequester jury in George Floyd murder case
Judge refuses to sequester jury in George Floyd murder case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge in the George Floyd murder case refused a defense request to immediately sequester the jury Monday, the morning after the killing of a Black man during a traffic stop triggered unrest in a suburb just outside Minneapolis. Amid the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, Daunte Wright was shot and killed during a […] More

April 12, 2021

Medical examiner blames police pressure for Floyd’s death
Medical examiner blames police pressure for Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The chief medical examiner who ruled George Floyd’s death a homicide testified Friday that the way police held him down and compressed his neck “was just more than Mr. Floyd could take,” given the condition of his heart. Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, took the stand at the murder trial of […] More

April 9, 2021

Expert: Lack of oxygen killed George Floyd, not drugs
Expert: Lack of oxygen killed George Floyd, not drugs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck, medical experts testified at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, emphatically rejecting the defense theory that Floyd’s drug use and underlying health problems killed him. >>>READ MORE: MN v. Chauvin: Daily Trial Highlights “A healthy person […] More

April 8, 2021

Remains in Missouri identified as missing Chinese woman
Remains in Missouri identified as missing Chinese woman

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Decomposed remains found in a Missouri park have been positively identified as those of a Chinese woman who had been missing from Columbia, Missouri, since 2019, authorities said Tuesday. Columbia Mayor Brian Treece said forensic experts used dental records to identify Mengqi Ji’s remains, which were found by a hunter on March 25 […] More

April 7, 2021

Delphi murders reward up to $325K after anonymous donation
Delphi murders reward up to $325K after anonymous donation

INDIANAPOLIS (Scripps News Indianapolis) — The reward for an arrest in the murders of two teens in Delphi is now up to $325,000 after Indiana State Police received an anonymous $100,000 donation. Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams were dropped off near the Old Monon High Bridge on the afternoon of February 13, 2017. […] More

April 6, 2021

Meet the Chauvin prosecutors, each with their own role
Meet the Chauvin prosecutors, each with their own role

Viewers watching the trial of a former Minneapolis officer charged with murder in George Floyd ‘s death may be struck by the array of prosecutors taking turns presenting their case. The choice of who does what is no accident. While Derek Chauvin ’s attorney, Eric Nelson, works alone, the prosecution is being handled by two assistant attorneys general, Matthew Frank and Erin […] More

April 5, 2021

How Chauvin trial has impacted its witnesses
How Chauvin trial has impacted its witnesses

The first days of testimony at the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death were dominated by witnesses to his arrest and countless videos that forced them to relive the trauma of it all over again. More

April 2, 2021

George Floyd’s girlfriend recounts the couple’s drug use
George Floyd’s girlfriend recounts the couple’s drug use

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s girlfriend cried on the witness stand Thursday as she told the story of how they first met in 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where Floyd was a security guard with “this great Southern voice, raspy.” She also recounted how they both struggled with opioid addiction. >>>HOW TO WATCH: Court […] More

April 1, 2021

Store cashier expresses `disbelief, guilt’ over George Floyd
Store cashier expresses `disbelief, guilt’ over George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The convenience store cashier who was handed a counterfeit $20 bill by George Floyd — setting in motion the Black man’s ill-fated encounter with police — testified Wednesday that he watched Floyd’s arrest outside with “disbelief — and guilt.” “If I would’ve just not tooken the bill, this could’ve been avoided,” 19-year-old Christopher Martin […] More

March 31, 2021

Man charged with smuggling after California crash kills 13
Man charged with smuggling after California crash kills 13

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Mexican man was charged Tuesday with coordinating a smuggling effort that left 13 people dead when their overloaded SUV was struck by a big-rig after crossing the border into California. Jose Cruz Noguez, 47, of Mexicali, was arrested Monday night as he crossed into the United States at the Calexico […] More

March 31, 2021

Witness in George Floyd case: ‘I witnessed a murder’
Witness in George Floyd case: ‘I witnessed a murder’

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who was among the onlookers shouting at a Minneapolis police officer to get off George Floyd last May testified Tuesday that he called 911 after paramedics took Floyd away, “because I believed I witnessed a murder.” Donald Williams, a former wrestler who said he was trained in mixed martial arts, […] More

March 30, 2021

Woman convicted of killing husband, burying him in yard up for parole
Woman convicted of killing husband, burying him in yard up for parole

CINCINNATI (Scripps News Cincinnati) – In March 1985, Linda Lee Couch was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband, Walter Douglas Couch. On March 30, 2021, she once again has the opportunity to prove to the Ohio Parole Board that she should be released. Investigators said Linda fatally shot Walter in […] More

March 30, 2021

Jurors shown video at ex-officer’s trial in Floyd’s death
Jurors shown video at ex-officer’s trial in Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The video of George Floyd gasping for breath was essentially Exhibit A as the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on the Black man’s neck went on trial Monday on charges of murder and manslaughter. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell showed the jurors the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, after telling […] More

March 29, 2021

Former officer’s trial in George Floyd’s death gets underway
Former officer’s trial in George Floyd’s death gets underway

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd went on trial Monday, with prosecutors promptly showing the jury the video of Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on the Black man’s neck for several minutes as onlookers yelled at Chauvin to get off and Floyd gasped that he couldn’t breathe. >>>HOW TO WATCH: Court TV’s […] More

March 29, 2021

3 arrested in killing of married couple in eastern Sierra
3 arrested in killing of married couple in eastern Sierra

BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (AP) — Three people have been arrested in connection with the killings of a married couple found slain last year on a remote stretch of U.S. 395 in the eastern Sierra Nevada, prosecutors said Thursday. The bodies of William Adrian Larsen, 35, and Yesenia Larsen, 30, were discovered November 9 on the shoulder […] More

March 26, 2021

The Unsolved Casefile: Who Killed Liberty German & Abigail Williams?
The Unsolved Casefile: Who Killed Liberty German & Abigail Williams?

DELPHI, Ind. (Scripps News Indianapolis) – The year 2021 should be filled with cap & gowns, graduation parties, and college choices for Libby German and Abby Williams. Instead, their families are holding on to the hope that this is the year their killer is brought to justice. “We will get answers. We will get answers. […] More

March 26, 2021

Ex-Idaho nurse resentenced, released in 2018 murder case
Ex-Idaho nurse resentenced, released in 2018 murder case

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A former nurse in Idaho who admitted to helping a Colorado rancher cover up the killing of his fiancee Kelsey Berreth was released on parole after receiving a reduced sentence. Krystal Jean Kenney, 34, was released Tuesday from Denver Women’s Correctional Facility after being resentenced to 18 months in prison […] More

March 24, 2021