Category: Crime and Incidents

Murder Trial of Rapper YNW Melly Ends in Mistrial After Jury Deadlocks; Retrial Likely

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday in the South Florida trial of rapper YNW Melly on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago. The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will…


Austin Peay State Freshman Football Player Dies in Single-Car Crash

Clarksville, Tenn.—A freshman football player at Austin Peay State University died Friday night in a single-car crash near the school’s campus in Clarksville, Tennessee, officials said. Jeremiah Collins, 18, was driving too fast while exiting Briley Parkway West at Clarksville and his pickup truck rolled several times before coming to rest in a grassy area,…


Auto Thefts Skyrocket in Cities Across the United States

According to a new crime report, car robberies have skyrocketed in dozens of cities across the United States in the first half of 2023. The Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) released its “Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2023 Update” on July 20, which examines monthly crime rates for ten violent, property, and drug offenses in 37…


Man Who Ambushed Fargo Officers Likely Had Bigger and Bloodier Attack in Mind, Attorney General Says

FARGO, N.D.—The heavily armed man who ambushed Fargo police officers investigating a fender bender last week likely had a bigger and bloodier attack in mind, with at least two fairs taking place at the time in and around North Dakota’s largest city, authorities said Friday. Mohamad Barakat killed one officer and wounded two others and…


Prosecutors Want Rapper Back in Jail After He Crashed Car While Awaiting Trial

SAVANNAH, Ga.—Prosecutors want the rapper Quando Rondo sent back to jail after he crashed a car while free on bond pending trial on gang and drug charges. The 24-year-old rapper, whose given name Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was indicted last month in his hometown of Savannah. He was released from jail June 26 on a $100,000…


Mother and 3 Children Dead in Possible Oklahoma Murder-Suicide

VERDIGRIS, Okla.—A woman and her three children were found dead in an Oklahoma home Thursday evening in what may be a murder-suicide following an hourslong standoff, authorities said. The names of the victims weren’t immediately released. The standoff began in the small town of Verdigris, a suburb east of Tulsa, when a police officer driving…


Police Say DNA Technology Has Identified the Killer in the Unsolved Death of a Woman in 1981

CONCORD, N.H.—More than four decades after a young New Hampshire woman was killed, law enforcement officials have solved the crime through DNA analysis and the use of forensic genealogy technology, the state attorney general said Thursday. But solving the case doesn’t bring with it the satisfaction of seeing justice: The man responsible for killing 23-year-old…


He Came Face to Face With an Alleged Serial Killer; 12 Years Later, His Tip Helped Crack the Case

NEW YORK—In the winter of 2010, shortly after police discovered the remains of his roommate and three other women buried on a remote stretch of Long Island shoreline, Dave Schaller provided detectives with a description of the person he believed to be the killer. More crucially, Mr. Schaller told them about his truck. The man…


Body of Girl Found in River Believed to Be That of 2-Year-Old Lost in Pennsylvania Flash Flood

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa.—The body of a young girl was recovered Friday in the Delaware River and was believed to be a 2-year-old who was one of two children swept away from their family’s vehicle by a flash flood last weekend, authorities said. The body was found in the early evening near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment…


FTX Sues Bankman-Fried, Others to Recoup More Than $1 Billion

FTX Trading on Thursday sued founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other former executives of the cryptocurrency exchange, seeking to recoup more than $1 billion they allegedly misappropriated before FTX went bankrupt. The complaint filed in Delaware bankruptcy court also names as defendants Caroline Ellison, who led Mr. Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research hedge fund; former FTX technology chief…