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Document: Kristin Smart once buried in suspect’s backyard
Document: Kristin Smart once buried in suspect’s backyard

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California college student missing for nearly 25 years was once buried in the backyard of the home owned by the murder suspect’s father, authorities said in a court document. The body of Kristin Smart, which has never been found, was recently moved from the home of Ruben Flores, a prosecutor […] More

April 21, 2021

EXPLAINER: What next after Chauvin’s conviction on 3 counts?
EXPLAINER: What next after Chauvin’s conviction on 3 counts?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd’s neck, was handcuffed and taken into custody Tuesday after being convicted of all three counts against him. >>>READ MORE: MN v. Chauvin Daily Trial Highlights Twelve jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, ultimately deciding that Chauvin […] More

April 21, 2021

Jury reaches verdict at trial over George Floyd’s death
Jury reaches verdict at trial over George Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The jury reached a verdict Tuesday at the murder trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck in a case that set off a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S. […] More

April 20, 2021

Judge in Chauvin trial calls Waters’ comments ‘abhorrent’
Judge in Chauvin trial calls Waters’ comments ‘abhorrent’

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge overseeing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the death of George Floyd on Monday called recent comments by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters “abhorrent,” saying they could lead to a verdict being appealed and overturned. >>>READ MORE: MN v. Chauvin Daily Trial Highlights Waters, a California Democrat, had joined protesters on Saturday outside the police department […] More

April 20, 2021

Defense criticizes evidence in Kristin Smart slaying arrests
Defense criticizes evidence in Kristin Smart slaying arrests

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for a father and son charged in the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart criticized the evidence used Monday to make arrests, with one saying it was “so minimal as to shock the conscience.” A prosecutor shot back that lawyers for Paul Flores, 44, who is charged with […] More

April 20, 2021

Verdict: Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges
Verdict: Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges

After about 10 hours of deliberation over two days, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of all charges including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. More

April 20, 2021

Murder case against ex-cop in Floyd’s death goes to the jury
Murder case against ex-cop in Floyd’s death goes to the jury

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The murder case against former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd went to the jury Monday in a city on edge against another round of unrest like the one that erupted last year over the harrowing video of Chauvin with his knee on the Black man’s neck. The jury of six white people […] More

April 19, 2021

Prosecutor: Chauvin ‘had to know’ Floyd’s life was in danger
Prosecutor: Chauvin ‘had to know’ Floyd’s life was in danger

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Officer Derek Chauvin “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried out over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent, a prosecutor told the jury Monday during arguments at Chauvin’s murder trial. >>>HOW TO WATCH: Court TV’s Live Coverage of MN v. Derek Chauvin […] More

April 19, 2021

Pig’s head left at former home of Chauvin defense witness
Pig’s head left at former home of Chauvin defense witness

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Vandals left a pig’s head at the one-time California home of a use-of-force expert who testified on behalf of the officer accused of killing George Floyd, police said. Blood was also smeared on the house in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, that once belonged to Barry Brodd, a retired […] More

April 19, 2021

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

Attorneys at Chauvin trial in Floyd death make final pitch
Attorneys at Chauvin trial in Floyd death make final pitch

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd are set to make their closing arguments Monday, each side seeking to distill three weeks of testimony to persuade jurors to deliver their view of the right verdict. >>>READ MORE: MN v. Chauvin Daily Trial Highlights For prosecutors, Derek Chauvin recklessly […] More

April 19, 2021

Chicago police critics call for charges in shooting of boy
Chicago police critics call for charges in shooting of boy

CHICAGO (AP) — Newly released video that shows a Chicago police officer fatally shoot a 13-year-old will be key evidence when prosecutors consider a case against the officer and are confronted with both the emotions surrounding the chilling footage and legal precedent that makes it difficult to bring charges against law enforcement.   Video of […] More

April 19, 2021

Police ID gunman in FedEx shooting as young male in 20s
Police ID gunman in FedEx shooting as young male in 20s

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police scoured a Fedex facility in Indianapolis and interviewed scores of witnesses Friday in search of a motive for the latest mass shooting to rock the U.S., as family members of the eight victims spent agonizing hours waiting for word on their loved ones. Authorities identified the shooter as a young man […] More

April 16, 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

Video: Chicago boy wasn’t holding gun when shot by officer
Video: Chicago boy wasn’t holding gun when shot by officer

CHICAGO (AP) — Disturbing bodycam video released after public outcry over the Chicago police shooting of a 13-year-old boy shows the youth appearing to drop a handgun and begin raising his hands less than a second before an officer fires his gun and kills him. A still frame taken from Officer Eric Stillman’s jumpy nighttime […] More

April 16, 2021

At least 8 killed in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility
At least 8 killed in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility

INDIANAPOLIS (Scripps News Indianapolis) — Eight people are dead and five others remain hospitalized after a mass shooting Thursday night at the FedEx Ground-Plainfield Operation Center in Indianapolis. Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called around 11 p.m. on the report of shots fired at the FedEx facility in the 8900 block of Mirabel […] More

April 16, 2021

Wright family demands more severe charges for Minn. ex-cop
Wright family demands more severe charges for Minn. ex-cop

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — Daunte Wright’s family joined community leaders in demanding more severe charges against the white former police officer who fatally shot the young Black man in a Minneapolis suburb, where hundreds of protesters again filled the streets in front of the police station.   The protesters — shouting obscenities, shaking the […] More

April 16, 2021

Judge: R. Kelly to be moved to NYC for sex-trafficking trial
Judge: R. Kelly to be moved to NYC for sex-trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge gave the green light Thursday to move jailed R&B singer R. Kelly to New York City to go on trial this summer after several delays. Kelly has been held in Chicago, where he’s facing a potential second trial in the fall in a separate federal case related to a […] More

April 15, 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

‘Strangulation is deliberation’: Kylr Yust murder trial handed to jury
‘Strangulation is deliberation’: Kylr Yust murder trial handed to jury

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Scripps News Kansas City) — The prosecution and defense in Kylr Yust’s double-murder trial took very different approaches in closing arguments Wednesday afternoon. After hearing testimony from the defendant himself, jurors heard final perspective from each side before the case was handed over to them for deliberation. Yust is accused of murdering Kara […] More

April 15, 2021

Both sides rest in Chauvin trial, closing arguments Monday
Both sides rest in Chauvin trial, closing arguments Monday

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The defense at the murder trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd rested its case Thursday without putting Chauvin on the stand, presenting a total of two days of testimony to the prosecution’s two weeks. >>>HOW TO WATCH: Court TV’s Live Coverage of MN v. Derek Chauvin Closing arguments are set […] More

April 15, 2021

Ex-Minnesota cop faces hearing in shooting of Daunte Wright
Ex-Minnesota cop faces hearing in shooting of Daunte Wright

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — A white former police officer faced her first court appearance Thursday in the traffic-stop shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright that has engulfed a small Minneapolis suburb in four straight days of bitter conflict between protesters and police. Kim Potter, who quit her job on the Brooklyn Center force two days after […] More

April 15, 2021

Search for Ohio teen missing since 2007 turns up animal bones
Search for Ohio teen missing since 2007 turns up animal bones

CLEVELAND (Scripps News Cleveland) — The FBI dug up land in Cleveland on Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of Ashley Summers, a Cleveland girl who went missing in 2007 at the age of 14. Animal bones were found at the property, but no sign of Ashley. The dig occurred in the area of West […] 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

Defense expert: Floyd died from heart trouble, not restraint
Defense expert: Floyd died from heart trouble, not restraint

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd died of a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease, a forensic pathologist testified for the defense at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, contradicting prosecution experts who said Floyd succumbed to a lack of oxygen from the way he was pinned down. >>>READ MORE: MN v. Chauvin Daily Trial […] More

April 14, 2021

Former Minnesota cop charged in shooting of Daunte Wright
Former Minnesota cop charged in shooting of Daunte Wright

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — A white former suburban Minneapolis police officer was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter for killing 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright in a shooting that ignited days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police. The charge against former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter was filed three days after Wright was killed […] More

April 14, 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