2025.7.11 ‘A single moment of anger’: Man who shot his wife of 31 years to death while she was trying to divorce him is found guilty
A Mississippi man who told 911 dispatchers that he shot his wife of 31 years is now going to prison for her murder.
Tony Morris, 67, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday after going on trial for the first-degree murder of his wife, 64-year-old Kathleen Morris. According to reporting by local ABC affiliate WAPT, Hinds County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the couple’s home in Terry, Mississippi at about 7:15 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 26, 2024 and found Kathleen Morris dead from a gunshot wound to her upper body.
The one who called 911 to report the shooting was her estranged husband, Tony Morris.
WAPT spoke at the scene to the brother of Tony Morris, who told the station that the couple were in the process of getting a divorce. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones confirmed that Tony Morris “did call into dispatch and state that he shot his wife.”
Tony Morris was taken into custody and named the sole suspect.
While no specific reason was given for the shooting, Hinds County District Attorney Jodi E. Owens II stated, “A single moment of anger ended a 31-year marriage and took a life. Kathleen Morris lost her life during a moment of escalation that should have never happened.”
Owens added, “This case is an example of how quickly violence can overtake reason, and why prevention matters just as much as prosecution. As a community, this is why we must create space for people to ask for help, and support systems that respond before violence becomes the outcome.”
Tony Morris was convicted of deliberate design murder and sentenced to life in prison in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
2025.7.10 Casper Man Admits Being Drunk, Fleeing Police At 100 MPH And Crash That Hurt 2
A 20-year-old Casper man pleaded guilty Wednesday to being drunk and leading police on a high-speed chase at more than 100 mph. He then crashed, nearly killing himself and two passengers.
CASPER — A 20-year-old Casper man pleaded guilty in Natrona County District Court on Wednesday to being drunk while leading police on a high-speed chase at more than 100 mph before crashing and nearly killing himself and two passengers last August.
Phillip Angel Gaspar agreed in a deal with Natrona County Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson to plead guilty to two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury and one of aggravated eluding.
Under the deal, a minor in possession charge will be dropped.
Gaspar’s attorney, Marty Scott, said he would argue for the Department of Correction’s youthful offender program at sentencing.
The DUI charges both carry potential penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines of $2,000 to $5,000. The eluding charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison.
Gaspar, who appeared before District Court Judge Daniel Forgey in glasses and an orange jumpsuit and shackles, pleaded guilty to the three charges and then answered the judge’s questions respectfully about the case, agreeing he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
“Were two other people seriously injured in the crash?” Forgey asked.
“Yes, sir,” Gaspar said.
A 20-year-old passenger sustained traumatic brain injuries and fractures to his pelvis, sternum and back. A 19-year-old passenger suffered traumatic brain injury, and fractures to his pelvis and back as well as lung issues caused by the trauma.
Gaspar also agreed that he tried to outrun police after an attempted traffic stop.
A police affidavit in the case states that Gaspar and his two passengers were involved in stealing beef jerky from from a Loaf ’N Jug store in the 1900 block of 2nd Street about 1:15 a.m.
The 911 dispatch center also received calls about a window in South Forest Drive being broken out at 2:20 a.m. and the occupants of a dark colored car driving away from the scene at a high rate of speed.
Second Call
A second 911 call to the South Forest Drive location at 3:12 a.m. described a male similar to the one who stole the beef jerky from the Loaf ’N Jug, the affidavit states. At 3:51 a.m., another 911 call reported three males harassing people at the Loaf ’N Jug on Curtis Street in Evansville.
The affidavit states that the harassment turned into a physical fight with two of the three males beating up on a third male. The trio left in a black car at a high rate of speed.
About an hour later, a Casper police sergeant spotted the suspect on Beverly Street and the intersection of Yellowstone Highway. It turned onYellowstone traveling east at speeds of about 100 mph.
A Natrona County Sheriff’s Office sergeant on Yellowstone saw the vehicle approach behind her at a high rate of speed and then slow down and stop next to her for a red light.
She attempted to pull the car over once the light turned green and the maroon-colored Malibu took off on Interstate 25 northbound.
She followed them with lights on and was joined by officers from the Evansville Police Department and another NCSO deputy.
“Although pursuing vehicles were traveling at approximately 95 mph, the Malibu was still pulling away from police vehicles,” the affidavit states.
The Malibu exited at Bryan Stock Trail and F Street. When officers followed, they found it crashed on the west side of the intersection of F Street and Bryan Stock Trail.
Injuries
The affidavit states Gaspar was driving, another 20-year-old was in the front passenger seat and a 19-year-old in the rear seat.
All three were transported to Banner Wyoming Medical Center for treatment. Gaspar woke up as he was being removed from the vehicle and gave officers his name.
In addition to the severe injuries to his passengers, Gaspar suffered fractures to his ankle, right leg, rib and a vertebra.
Nelson told the court Wednesday that it was “remarkable that people lived through this.”
The subsequent investigation found video evidence that linked the trio to the previous incidents at the Loaf ’N Jugs and residence.
The investigation also found a video of them buying Olde English “800” 40-ounce malt liquor from the Moonlight Liquors store in Casper, the affidavit states.
During an initial police interview, Gaspar admitted to driving and that he “drank a little that night.” His alcohol level was 0.136%. Legal intoxication in Wyoming is 0.08% or more.
Scott asked the judge to consider dropping Gaspar’s $75,000 bond to $25,000 cash or surety.
Nelson argued the higher bond was appropriate and that after the crash, Gaspar left the state and went to California. He said his bond had already been reduced from $85,000 to $75,000.
Scott responded that when his client went to California there was not yet a warrant for his arrest. He also told Forgey that Gaspar’s dad lives in the city.
Forgey agreed to reduce the bond to $50,000 cash or surety. He said he would order a pre-sentence investigation.
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2025.7.10 NYC maniac who viciously attacked 60-year-old straphanger with hammer 13 times sentenced to 25 years to life
Nina Rothschild, seen here on July 10, 2025, was attacked by Blount on February 24, 2022.
Judge John Zoll berated Blount for his attack, saying, “You’re three times her size and you kicked her back,” while commending Rothschild for her strength.
A deranged maniac who viciously beat a 60-year-old straphanger with a hammer 13 times in the head at a Queens subway station got the max sentence Thursday — as his battered victim slammed him in an emotional courtroom statement.
“Please ensure that he never sees the light of day outside the walls of a prison,” Nina Rothschild asked the judge during William Blount’s sentencing. “I don’t believe that he can be rehabilitated.
“His attack was brutal,” Rothschild said. “I encourage you to give him the maximum sentence with no opportunity for parole so that he never assaults anyone again.”
Judge John Zoll complied, sentencing Blount to the maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life for the senseless Feb. 24, 2022, attack.
“You’re three times her size and you kicked her back,” Zoll berated Blount, 60. “She didn’t fall right away so you kicked her again until she fell. You hit her in the head 13 times with a hammer.”
Rothschild was walking down the stairs at the Queens Plaza E,M and R station when Blount came up behind her, slammed her in the head with a hammer and threw her to the ground.
He kicked her repeatedly and took her bag, leaving her screaming and bloodied on the ground of the station.
Blount was arrested and convicted of robbery and assault charges by a Queens jury in April, but acquitted of attempted murder.
In court Thursday, Zoll praised Rothschild’s resolve.
“I’ve never seen someone as forthright, honest, with such a sense of decency, and the fact you stayed after this attack – a miracle,” Zoll said of victim Nina Rothschild. “I can’t believe her strength.”
The judge said he had never sentenced a defendant to the maximum prison sentence — until now.
Blount’s lawyer, Garnett Sullivan, bizarrely argued on behalf of his client during the proceedings, claiming that the brute thought his victim was “a nice lady.” He was also aspiring to be a fashion designer.
“All the bowties he has worn were made by my client with a paperclip,” Sullivan said. “He’s become a fashion designer. He will have a show on Aug. 14, 2025.”
But Rothschild wasn’t buying it, and berated her attacker.
“Why on earth would you have come up behind me, fractured my skull multiple times with a hammer and then grab bag?” she told Blount. “Why me? What did I ever do to you?
“I am not a lawyer, but I am quite certain you would have faced a lesser punishment if you had simply robbed me,” she said.
Authorities in Washington state have conducted a widespread manhunt for Decker, a US Army veteran, since June 2 when his three daughters — Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5 — were found murdered at Rock Island Campground, about 55 miles east of Seattle.
Despite multiple false alarms, Decker hasn’t been seen since his disappearance. He is believed to have wilderness survival training from the military, and was reportedly suffering from PTSD and other mental health problems.
2025.7.9 St. Croix Woman Arrested After Wielding Knife During Public Dispute While Police Were Present
While police managed a crowd during a disturbance at Walter I.M. Hodge, a woman emerged with a kitchen knife and allegedly threatened to kill anyone who approached her or her son; she was arrested and later released on a $1000 unsecured bond.
ST. CROIX — A woman was arrested after brandishing a kitchen knife during an argument while police officers were present.
According to court documents, two officers of the Virgin Islands Police Department were conducting an investigation at the Walter I.M. Hodge Housing Community on Monday when they noticed several people fighting in front of a building.
The officers went over and separated the fight. Kaylah Joseph and her minor son were then escorted by police upstairs to their apartment, but began arguing with others in the vicinity. During the verbal altercation Joseph’s teenage son reportedly shoved one of the officers, who restrained him and guided him back upstairs. He was eventually followed by his mother into their apartment, and Joseph closed the door behind her.
Officers say they were outside managing the large crowd of people who were present when Joseph came back out of her apartment with a white-handled kitchen knife. They saw her hit the knife against the railing “several times,” according to the police, and heard her threaten to kill anyone who approached her or her son. After her pronouncement, she returned inside.
Joseph’s mother reportedly then began a verbal altercation with those in the crowd, further escalating the situation according to police. This prompted Joseph and her son to come back outside and down the steps. One police officer restrained the teenager, while the other called for backup.
Joseph was then arrested and taken to the Wilbur Francis Command police station, where she was charged with brandishing, exhibiting or using deadly weapons, carrying or using dangerous weapons, and disturbance of the peace. Unable to post the initial $25,000 bail requirement, Joseph was remanded into custody to await her advice of rights hearing.
In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Venetia Velazquez lowered bail to a $1000 unsecured bond, and dropped the charge of carrying or using dangerous weapons. Joseph will be banned from the Walter I.M. Hodge housing complex while the matter is pending.
Her next scheduled court appearance is on July 23.
2025.7.9 Convicted murderer Derrick Groves eludes law enforcement as last New Orleans jail escapee on the run
Nearly two months after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet, authorities have recaptured all but the man with the most violent rap sheet: Derrick Groves.
Following the May 16 jailbreak, law enforcement tracked down three escapees within 24 hours and most of the others within the next few weeks.
While some of the fugitives roamed through nightlife hotspots and another made Instagram posts, Groves has so far kept a low profile.
The 28-year-old New Orleans native has the most at stake, authorities say.
Last year, a jury convicted Groves of killing two people after he opened fire on a family block party with an assault rifle in what prosecutors said was a feud with rival drug dealers.
Groves faces life imprisonment without parole, but administrative delays have kept him in jail for years rather than a more secure prison facility.
“He’s got nothing to lose,” said Forrest Ladd, an Orleans Parish assistant district attorney who prosecuted Groves. “That’s a dangerous thing from anybody, much less somebody capable of causing mass harm.”
How likely is it Groves will be recaptured?
More than 90% of people who escape from US correctional facilities are recaptured within a year, said Bryce Peterson, adjunct professor of criminal justice at John Jay College.
“The longer you are out there, the more likely you are to stay out,” said Peterson, though he believes Groves will be caught eventually due to the high level of media attention.
Most escapes occur when low-level offenders seize spontaneous opportunities, Peterson said. The New Orleans jailbreak stands out because of its level of “sophistication and pre-planning” and the alleged roles current and former jail employees played in the escape, he added.
How has Groves avoided law enforcement for so long?
Multiple defense attorneys who have worked with Groves described him as intelligent and polite. Prosecutors in his cases say he is violent, manipulative and remorseless.
“He’s the worst human being I’ve ever come across in my life,” said Ladd, the Orleans Parish assistant district attorney. “But he is a very charismatic, and I think that allows him the ability to kind of control people.”
A former jail employee who became Groves’ girlfriend during his incarceration is accused of helping him coordinate the escape in advance by arranging phone calls that avoided the jail’s monitoring system.
She is one of at least 16 people — many family members of the escapees — facing charges for providing transport, food, shelter and cash to the fugitives, most of whom stayed within New Orleans.
Several days after the escape, authorities received information that Groves was hiding in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward, the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged neighborhood where he grew up, according to court documents.
State and federal authorities declined to provide details on Groves’ suspected whereabouts. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges indicated he believes Groves is receiving assistance from friends or family.
“Sometimes we think we are incredibly close,” Hodges said during a June 27 news conference, adding that authorities would arrive at a location to find a fugitive “just moved because they have help.”
There is a $50,000 reward for tips leading to Groves’ recapture.
Mistrust in the criminal justice system
Likely impeding the search for Groves is widespread skepticism toward law enforcement from city residents following decades of abuse, often against the Black community.
In 1994, a corrupt police officer ordered the killing of Groves’ grandmother, Kim Groves, after she reported him for beating up a teenager. Her three children settled a federal civil rights lawsuit with the city for $1.5 million in 2018.
“For my family, it’s been like reliving a constant nightmare,” Groves’ aunt, Jasmine Groves, told WDSU, saying the family has been interrogated and remains under law enforcement surveillance. She has urged her nephew to turn himself in.
Groves’ mother and aunt did not respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment for this story.
In 2014, at the age of 17, Groves was arrested and incarcerated for nearly two years on a charge of attempted second-degree murder for which he was later acquitted by a jury, though his own father had testified against him, according to court records and a prosecutor in the case, Mike Trummel.
Tom Shlosman, Groves’ defense attorney in that case, said that Groves’ prolonged incarceration as a teenager and his grandmother’s murder likely undermined his faith in the criminal justice system. Shlosman remembered Groves as “young and scared.”
“None of that’s going to affect a kid in any positive way,” Shlosman said. “And it’s certainly not going to instill trust in law enforcement.”
A series of killings
Groves, who goes by “Woo,” dropped out of school in ninth grade and sold heroin in the Lower Ninth Ward for years, according to court records. The FBI began monitoring his social media while he was still a teenager, and Groves pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in 2019.
Groves has been in jail since at least 2019, after his involvement in four killings during an 18-month period.
In October 2024, a jury convicted Groves of second-degree murder for using an assault rifle to spray dozens of bullets into a family block party on Mardi Gras, killing 21-year-old Byron Jackson and 26-year-old Jamar Robinson and wounding several others.
Groves later pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in two separate shootings, according to the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office.
Eyewitnesses in cases involving Groves have been threatened and physically attacked by him, and others were so intimidated they refused to testify against him, according to three current and former prosecutors and court records.
In court, Robinson’s aunt, Janis Robinson, said she had cried every night since her nephew died: “I don’t know how we are going to get through it.”
In response, records show, Groves swore repeatedly at her in court.
2025.7.9 Georgia teen Sarah Grace Patrick accused of killing mom, stepdad — as younger sister discovered bodies in their bed
Kristen Brock, 41, and James Brock, 45, were murdered in their bed on Feb. 20.
A 17-year-old allegedly gunned down her church-going mother and stepfather inside their Georgia home before her younger sister discovered the dead couple.
Sarah Grace Patrick turned herself in at the Carroll County jail on Tuesday after she was charged with the Feb. 20 murders of Kristen Brock, 41, and James Brock, 45, WSB-TV reported.
Their bodies were discovered in bed at their Tyus home by the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, and investigators said the alleged 17-year-old killer was the one to call 911.
“From the very moment the 911 call was received, a relentless investigation began,” Carroll County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ashley Hulsey said during a press conference Tuesday.
At the murder scene, investigators immediately noticed there were no signs of forced entry into the home — although one door of the house was left slightly ajar — and nothing had been taken.
“Our team has sifted through mountains of physical and digital evidence and collaborated with the FBI and GBI crime lab,” Hulsey said
Hulsey also said another key piece of evidence they used to charge the teen was her tearful speech at her mother’s funeral, which investigators believe was a ploy to help cover her tracks.
Authorities said it took months to charge the teen because investigators wanted to ensure they got the right person, who they believe orchestrated the “horrific crime.”
Patrick — who will be tried as an adult — has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Investigators are still working to discover a motive for the killings.
“We don’t know what goes through the mind of a child who wants to harm their parents,” Hulsey said.
“She’s 17. She’s kind of been out on her own. She’s lived with different family members and moved all over the place.”
Even though Patrick has been charged, Hulsey said investigators aren’t ruling anything out in this case, and are pursuing the possibility that more arrests will be made.
“Any information, no matter how small it may seem, could be just that key that cracks this case wide open,” she said.
Hulsey said the tragedy of the murder is the trauma the couple’s 5-year-old daughter will face finding their bodies.
“A little girl who was in the home, to me, she is probably the saddest victim in all of this,” she said.
The couple were active members of the Catalyst Church, with parishioners telling Fox 5 Atlanta that they are remembered for their kind-hearted and generous loving nature.
“Kristen was bubbly and fun and she loved hugs. She never met a stranger. And James, he was a comical kind of guy. He would always crack jokes and always say something to make you laugh,” Tasha Meza said.
“[Kristin] always encouraged you. She was definitely the friend that you would want to have around,” another member of the church, Janelle Thompson, told the outlet.
Before the 17-year-old’s arrest, members pleaded for the killer to turn themselves in.
“I just wish they would turn themselves in,” Jonan Daniel said in February. “We all make mistakes, but this family doesn’t need to suffer more.”
The couple is survived by their seven children, whom they had together in their combined family.
If Patrick is convicted, she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
2025.7.8 Serial killer-inspired baby names are trending — revealing how culture can ‘creep into our minds,’ experts say
Expecting parents are taking a stab at it — quite literally.
Villains, crooks and knife-wielding nuts. Although they’re bad guys of society, their first names are becoming bloody good options for moms and dads-to-be, per a nightmarish new report.
Baby names inspired by true crime icons, such as accused con artist Anna Delvey and mass murderer Ted Bundy, are on the rise, according BabyCentre UK and its Top 100 Baby Names of 2025.
But the bloodcurdling trend has less to do with wrongdoer-worship and more to do with Hollywood’s outlaw obsession.
“These names aren’t being chosen because of crime,” SJ Strum, a BabyCentre naming expert and author, explained in a statement. “More often, parents are unconsciously absorbing popular culture, and these names creep into our minds via gripping TV, podcasts and viral content.”
“It’s a fascinating lens on how culture shapes language, and by extension, baby names,” she added.
Nursery rhymes and true crime. The killer kiddos of Generation Beta — tots born this year and beyond — can blame the theme on the streams.
Streaming platforms, like Netflix, have recently made a killing off of shows, documentaries and movies that spotlight salacious sins of notorious rouges. Think Zac Efron as Bundy in 2019 flick “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” Joe Exotic’s story in 2020 series “Tiger King” and Delvey’s “Inventing Anna”-inspired thriller in 2022.
In a number of cases, the cinematic sneak peek into the lives of the offenders has offered audiences a new perspective on the men and women behind the crimes, humanizing the antiheroes as misunderstood martyrs.
And the names currently flooding the maternity are living proof of the media’s freaky influence.
Here are the true crime-inspired monikers featured in BabyCentre’s top 100 baby names for 2025.
Anna – The “Fake Heiress” Anna Delvey
Arthur – Arthur Lee Allen, “This is the Zodiac Speaking,” suspected Zodiac Killer
Bella – Inspired by wellness scammer, Belle Gibson
Erin – Erin Patterson, The Mushroom Killer
Freddie & Rose – The story of serial killer couple Fred and Rose West, featured in Netflix’s “Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story”
Joseph – A nod to ‘Joe Exotic’, Tiger King
Luca – From the documentary “Don’t F** with Cats”
Teddy – A nickname inspired by serial killer Ted Bundy
Ruby – From doc “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke,” an alleged child abuser
Ronnie & Reggie – As in the notorious London gangsters, the Kray twins, featured in film “Legends.”
2025.7.8 ’30-foot wall of water’: Survivors of Texas flooding speak out
More than 100 people have died in Texas as a result of catastrophic flooding.
Swimmer Scott Ruskan is being hailed as a hero for his efforts to rescue dozens of people in the devastating floods at Camp Mystic.
The night that devastating flooding obliterated parts of Texas, Stuart Gross said he was awakened by nearby screams as raging waters swept up homes and citizens.
The Ingram, Texas, resident told ABC News he has lived near the Guadalupe River for more than 45 years and has seen other floods, but “this was the biggest.”
“We had a 30-foot wall of water, 300 yards wide, go down by my house at 85 miles an hour,” Gross said of the flooding that began in the early hours of Friday.
Gross, who was able to get his wife and “fur babies” to safety, said he does not think this tragedy was preventable, but said he doesn’t know “why we don’t have an early warning system on this river, not that it would’ve changed everything.”
Many people like Gross are now surveying the aftermath of the devastating floods, searching for missing family members or grieving the loss of loved ones.
Another survivor, Carlos Valles, began to assess the damage in Louis Hays Park, where he was preparing his production team for a Fourth of July music festival. The area of the festival, which has been going on for more than 20 years, is now surrounded by torn-down trees, mangled metal and flipped-over forklifts and cars. Valles began to cry as he evaluated what had happened.
“Water rose so quick, you couldn’t do anything about it,” Valles told ABC News.
Regardless of the damage, Valles said the “biggest thing” is the lives that were lost in the floods, which includes young campers at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp housing hundreds of young girls.
“Our stages, stuff can be replaced with time, but lives cannot, you cannot bring all these children back,” Valles said.
Devon Williams, one of the surviving camp counselors at Camp Mystic, told “Good Morning America” that prior to the floods, “it was just a normal day” and “nobody had any idea what was going to happen.”
Williams said the counselors had “no idea” people were missing or how grave the situation was “until we saw the helicopters flying over us.”
As of Monday, 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic are still unaccounted for, according to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. William said the tragedy feels “surreal” and “not real.”
“I cry a lot. I try not to think about it. These are babies that were lost. It’s just a lot, like I really can’t even put it into words. It’s a lot to process,” Williams said.
Rev. Jasiel Hernandez Garcia, who was in charge of receiving survivors from the camp at the reunification center, witnessed the children “being offloaded from the bus, missing shoes, having dirt all over them, being hungry, seeing their parents from a distance and their weeping out of joy,” he said.
A short distance away from Camp Mystic is Camp La Junta, a boys’ camp, where everyone was able to get to safety. Katie Fineska, the owner and director of the camp, said she walked to her porch and saw “one of our tables from our dining hall floating across the field from our house,” which is when she knew “something was very wrong.”
Fineska said the “incredibly calm” counselors had the children climb “from their bunks up into the rafters” to keep them safe.
Someone else who was able to survive the deadly floods is Devyn Smith, who was swept away by the waters when she was camping with her family, but was able to climb to safety in a tree, according to her uncle, Travis Reynolds, and Carl Jeter, the Coast Guard who rescued Smith.
Smith was allegedly in the river for about four hours before grabbing hold of a tree, where she dodged RVs, tree limbs and even a refrigerator floating beside her, Jeter said.
Jeter said he was across the street on his deck when he heard Smith screaming for help.
Reynolds said that his niece has cuts and bruises all over her entire body, but should be released from the hospital soon pending blood work. Regardless, he said the trauma of this experience will weigh “heavily on her and the rest of our family.”
Reynolds said five other members of his family remain missing.
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2025.7.7 3 dead, 10 injured in South Philadelphia shooting and a person is in custody, police say
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three people were killed and 10 others injured in a shooting early Monday in a South Philadelphia neighborhood, authorities said.
The three people who died were adults, and two of the wounded were juveniles, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters. The shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. along a residential street in Grays Ferry, he said.
“We have numerous rounds that were shot on the block,” Bethel said.
Police said one person with a weapon was taken into custody.
Bethel said police had already responded to the same block late Saturday into early Sunday and some arrests were made.
It wasn’t immediately known what prompted the shooting.
“This is coward, want-to-be-thugs stuff,” Bethel said.
The shooting happened after other shootings in the city and elsewhere around the U.S. over the Fourth of July weekend. Those included at least eight people struck by gunfire near a South Philadelphia nightclub.
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2025.7.7 St. Thomas Man Charged After Striking Girlfriend in Head and Neck While She Drove With Their Children
The victim told police that Guy Vicars, allegedly intoxicated after drinking around 20 beers, punched her in the shoulder and neck, then struck her forehead with a metal key bracket while she drove with their children in the car.
ST. THOMAS — A man is facing domestic violence charges after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with their minor children in the car.
According to court documents, the woman and her three children turned up at the Richard Callwood Command Police Station late Friday night to report the assault.
She said the incident occurred the previous night while she was driving down Hospital Gade with her boyfriend Guy Vicars. The children were also in the vehicle, she told police.
Vicars was reportedly drunk and shouting, the woman said, having consumed approximately 20 beers since he began drinking earlier that day. She said she tried to ignore him, but he then began punching her – once on her right shoulder and then on the right side of her neck.
She was still trying to drive when Vicars reportedly removed the key from the ignition and struck her twice in the forehead with the steel mounting bracket connected to the key. At that point, the woman said she exited the vehicle and began screaming for help and attempting to flag down passing cars, all while bleeding from the forehead.
The woman said she dialed 911 and told them what was happening, while Vicars walked away. He returned, however, seemingly calm, and thus the woman informed dispatchers that she would drive the father of her children to the police station.
When they arrived, Vicars was handcuffed and arrested. Officers noted an injury to the woman’s forehead which according to the police report left her with blood stains on her face, her blouse, and running down her left shoulder to her wrist.
Vicars was charged with third-degree assault as a crime of domestic violence, reckless endangerment, and disturbance of the peace. He was remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing, which had not occurred as of press time.
2025.7.6 New age-progressed photos revealed of 24-years-missing Bradley sisters
The Brief
The two sisters, Diamond and Tionda Bradley, have been missing since July 6, 2001 from Chicago.
New photos reveal what the girls would look like all of these years later.
Chicago police say the investigation remains open.
CHICAGO – It’s been 24 years since the disappearance of Diamond and Tionda Bradley.
The two sisters have been missing since July 6, 2001 from Chicago. They were last seen near 3526 South Lake Park Avenue.
According to their mother, a note, written by Tionda, said that the girls were going to the store and to the school playground.
Police did an extensive search of the area and neighborhood but found nothing.
New photos reveal what the girls would look like all of these years later. Diamond is aged to look 23-years-old and Tionda is aged to look 30-years-old. Diamond was three-years-old when she went missing, and Tionda was 10.
Tionda is reported to have a quarter-sized scar on her left arm. Diamond is reported to have a scar on the left side of her head in her hairline.
The backstory: Their mother, Tracey Bradley, told police she last saw the girls around 6:30 a.m. when she left for work. She returned home around 1 p.m. to find a note saying they had gone to play at a nearby school.
Their disappearance sparked a massive search.
Hundreds of Chicago police, federal law enforcement officers and civilian volunteers spent days checking sewers, lagoons, abandoned buildings and factories. They also interviewed nearly 100 registered sex offenders living in the area.
“To have to wait in limbo like this,” said Sheliah Bradley Smith, the girls’ great aunt, “Nobody said nothing. Nobody’s prosecuted. Nobody’s in jail. But the girls are still gone.”
“It’s hard to go through life knowing that you have loved ones out there that you have no idea where they are,” said April Jackson, the girls’ aunt.
The family believes there are primary suspects – one, possibly two family members – who had access to the girls the day they vanished.
“There was a planned trip for these children, to go on a camping trip. That camping trip is all fraudulent. That camping trip never manifested,” said P. Foster, a private investigator who’s been working with the family since the girls first disappeared.
April Jackson says the girls had been taught to be suspicious of strangers.
“We know stranger danger. It’s just embedded into our heads. So that being said, it would’ve had to be somebody who was very trustworthy, she really, really trusts,” said Jackson.
But because there are no bodies, and the evidence is circumstantial, the family believes police and prosecutors are reluctant to file charges.
“So we’re looking for that next small piece, and I do believe somebody out there has that information,” said Foster.
Chicago police say the investigation remains open, telling FOX 32 in a statement:
“(Area One) detectives have and will continue to follow up when tips are received. At this juncture, there are no new leads.”
2025.7.4 Tennessee death row inmate makes last-ditch effort to prevent Aug. 5 execution
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate have launched a last-ditch effort to prevent his Aug. 5 execution.
In Nashville’s Chancery Court, they are asking a judge to require the Tennessee Department of Correction to deactivate an implanted defibrillation device similar to a pacemaker in the moments before Byron Black’s execution. If the judge rules in their favor, such an order could potentially delay the execution until the state finds someone willing to do the deactivation.
Meanwhile, at the state Supreme Court level, they want judges to order a lower court to consider their claim that Black is incompetent to be executed. The attorneys also have filed a general challenge to the state’s new execution protocol, but with a trial scheduled for 2026, any ruling there will come too late for Black.
Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Prosecutors said Black was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting and wounding Clay’s estranged husband.
Black has already seen three execution dates come and go, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and a pause on all executions from Gov. Bill Lee after the Department of Correction was found to not be testing the execution drugs for potency and purity as required.
Black’s attorneys have previously tried and failed to show that he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled, and that would violate the state’s Constitution.
In a new twist on the same theme, his attorneys now argue that the court should consider Black’s competence to be executed under older English common law standards. The state counters that Black does not meet the criteria for incompetency because he understands his conviction, his pending execution, and the relation between the two.
Separately, Black’s attorneys are asking a different court to rule that his implanted cardioverter-defibrillator must be deactivated just before the execution. They suggest that otherwise the device will continually try to restart his heart, prolonging the execution and causing Black to suffer unnecessarily.
Because most medical professionals are unwilling to participate in executions — considering it a violation of medical ethics — it could potentially be time consuming and difficult to find someone willing to deactivate the device in order to kill Black more easily. A hearing on the motion is set for July 14.
2025.7.3 Knife-wielding maniac accused of stabbing officers in courthouse tantrum pleads not guilty as crew of cops look on
Wohl is currently held without bail while being charged with two counts of first degree attempted murder.
Jonathan Wohl, 37, accused of stabbing three officers in a Manhattan courthouse attack pleaded not guilty Thursday.
The knife-wielding maniac accused of stabbing three officers in a Manhattan courthouse attack pleaded not guilty Thursday – as more than a dozen uniformed cops glared at him.
Jonathan Wohl, 37, was ordered held without bail on two counts of attempted murder in the first degree for the June 16 of knifing three officers inside the lobby of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, the same building where he faced the judge.
Wohl, who allegedly has been antagonizing law enforcement for years, was remanded by Judge Michele Rodney — as several court officers lined the walls of the courtroom in a show of support of the officers injured in the attack.
“Court officers have the incredibly challenging job of keeping everyone in our courthouses safe, including judges, staff, attorneys, victims, witnesses, the public, and those facing criminal charges,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“We have absolutely no tolerance for any attack on their safety, and the significant charges in this indictment reflect the seriousness with which we are treating this matter.”
Manhattan prosecutors said that Wohl began his attack when he entered through the security conveyor inside the courthouse — before charing an officer at the station and pulling out a folding knife from his bag.
He then allegedly cut the first officer twice in the face before knocking him down.
When another officer jumped in, Wohl then cut the officer’s face and the side of his neck — before stabbing him in the upper back five times, prosecutors said.
Wohl continued to struggle with the officer before he allegedly knifed a third officer in the back of his protective vest — where he was then subdued and arrested, according to prosecutors.
A sergeant who responded to the scene suffered broken ribs, and another sustained bruising, according to court documents.
Prosecutors have said that Wohl used a curved knife to slash the officers — adding the attack could have been fatal if the weapon had been a straight-edge blade.
Wohl is due back in court on Oct. 9.
2025.7.2 Man who killed his family after his wife sought a divorce is set for execution in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A man who killed his wife and two children in 1994 after she sought a divorce is scheduled for execution in Florida under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Edward J. Zakrzewski, II, is set to die July 31 in the ninth execution scheduled for this year in the state. He pleaded guilty in 1996 to three counts of first-degree murder and received three death sentences in the killings of wife Sylvia Zakrzewski, son Edward Zakrzewski, 7, and Anna Zakrzewski, 5.
The man beat his wife with a crowbar and machete and strangled her to death and killed the children with a machete June 9, 1994, in Okaloosa County.
He eventually turned himself into law enforcement after the case was profiled on the television show “Unsolved Mysteries,” according to court documents.
Another man on death row, Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is set to die by lethal injection July 15 at Florida State Prison. He’s convicted of killing two people outside a bar.
Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, who was convicted of raping and killing a woman in Florida, was executed following a lethal injection at the same prison last week.
The state also executed six people in 2023 but only carried out one execution last year.
On June 7, 1992, Sherrill Levitt, Suzie Streeter, and Stacy McCall disappeared from a quiet home in Springfield, Missouri, leaving no trace. No signs of a struggle, no witnesses, just an eerie mystery that’s baffled investigators for over 30 years. Join us as we dive deep into the chilling details, explore the theories, and uncover the questions that keep this case alive. Was it a targeted abduction, a random predator, or something else entirely?
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Three Women Vanished. More Than 30 Years Later, No One Knows What Happened
Over 30 years after their unexplained disappearance from a home in Springfield, Missouri, the unsolved case of three missing women continues to confound both authorities and online detectives alike.
Known widely as “The Springfield Three,” the case has captured national attention for its lack of evidence and absence of resolution.
On the night of June 6, 1992, friends Suzie Streeter, 19, and Stacy McCall, 18, had just celebrated their high school graduation. They spent the evening attending parties before deciding against staying at a friend’s crowded house. Instead, they went back to the home of Suzie’s mother, Sherrill Levitt, 47, a small house on East Delmar Street.
It was a routine night turned historic mystery. By morning, all three women were gone.
Decades later, there’s been no confirmed sighting of the women, no arrests, and no credible suspects. The Springfield Police Department has processed more than 5,000 tips, conducted numerous searches across rural Missouri, and enlisted help from the FBI and other agencies.
The women’s personal items—cars, purses, keys, cigarettes, and even a Yorkshire terrier named Cinnamon—were left behind.
The house showed no signs of forced entry or struggle, aside from a broken porch light globe. The TV in Suzie’s room was left on, and an untouched can of soda sat near a pack of cigarettes.
2025.7.1 Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to killing 4 University of Idaho students in deal to avoid execution
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim’s family said Monday.
Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it.
“We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,” Goncalves’ family wrote in a Facebook post. “They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”
A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger’s trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho.
Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times.
At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) west of the University of Idaho. He was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings.
The murders shocked the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn’t had a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive hunt for the perpetrator. That included an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan that was seen on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home, to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect through the use of genetic genealogy and to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings through cellphone data.
In a court filing, Kohberger’s lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed.
In the letter to families, obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Kohberger’s lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal. The defense team had previously made unsuccessful efforts to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger’s autism diagnosis made him less culpable.
The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer.
“This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,” the letter said. “This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.”
In a Facebook post, the Goncalves family wrote that Kaylee’s 18-year-old sister, Aubrie, had been unable to attend the meeting with prosecutors. But she shared her concerns in a written statement.
“Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,” Aubrie Goncalves wrote. “Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims’ pasts.”
In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea.
Earlier Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defense attorneys would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger’s trial.
The defense subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Kohberger’s and a third man whose significance was not explained.
A gag order has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
2025.7.1 Children’s grief book author and alleged murderer Kouri Richins slapped with 26 new charges
Richins, 33, allegedly took out massive high-interest loans, forged documents, and shifted money through shell businesses in the months before her husband, Eric Richins, died from being poisoned in 2022.
Richins authored the children’s book “Are You with Me?”
Children’s author Kouri Richins — who wrote a popular book about dealing with grief after allegedly killing her husband — was slapped with over two dozen new charges involving financial schemes linked to his death.
Summit County prosecutors announced on Friday that Richins, 33, allegedly took out massive high-interest loans, forged documents, and shifted money through shell businesses in the months before her husband, Eric Richins, died from being poisoned in 2022.
They claim investigators found the mom-of-three used a power of attorney to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit on Eric’s premarital home without him knowing.
She is then suspected of funneling that money into her real estate business, K. Richins Realty.
Eric learned about the secret line of credit in October 2020, which prosecutors allege was a “source of tension” between the couple.
After the discovery, Eric met with a divorce lawyer and an estate planning lawyer to protect himself and his children from any abuse and misuse of his finances.
However, the mom-of-three assured him that she would repay the loan, but it had not been repaid by the time of his death.
“The Defendant informed Eric Richins that she would repay the loan and led Eric Richins to believe that she had repaid it. The HELOC was not paid off on the day of Eric Richins’ death,” the filing states.
The charging documents also allege that Richins borrowed millions more through hard money loans as her business was already defaulting on existing debts and burning through cash.
“By that day, she had already defaulted on one loan and was delinquent on several others. She continued efforts to borrow from new high-interest lenders to meet her existing obligations,” court documents state.
“By the end of 2021, the Defendant stood on the precipice of total financial collapse.”
Prosecutors said in December 2021, Richins was so deep in debt that she agreed to buy an unfinished $2.9 million mansion and was scheduled to close on the property on March 4, 2022, the day of Eric’s death.
“On the day of Eric Richins’ death, K. Richins Realty owed hard money lenders at least $1.8 million and the day after Eric Richins’ death it owed them nearly $5 million,” the filing states.
Before his death, Eric had also cut his wife out of his will and changed his life insurance policy as he sought a divorce.
Richins allegedly attempted to name herself the beneficiary of the policy but was caught, and Eric reversed the move, reinstating his sister to the plan.
Both sides of the family have spent the past several months in court battling over Eric Richins’ $3.6 million estate.
Prosecutors also said Richins stole about $134,000 from her husband’s business, withdrew $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 with his credit cards.
The alleged murderer was charged with seven counts of money laundering, five counts of mortgage fraud, one count of communications fraud, and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity — all second-degree felonies.
She is also facing an additional five counts of forgery and seven counts of issuing a bad check, which are third-degree felonies.
“This sudden push to file new fraud charges over two years later underscores the weakness of the state’s pending murder charges, since these fraud charges would not even come into play unless they fail to secure a conviction,” her defense attorneys, Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis, said of the new charges, according to Court TV.
“The timing is also extremely troubling in light of the fact that the parties are trying to seat an impartial jury in Summit County.”
Richins was charged with Eric’s murder in May 2022 after she allegedly poisoned him with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule at their home on Willow Court in Kamas.
Her case gained attention around the nation after it was revealed she had self-published a kids’ book titled “Are You with Me?” about a father who passed away and looked down on his sons as an angel and promoted it on TV and radio shows.
Richins’ murder trial is slated to begin jury selection in February 2026.
Prosecutors stated that the looming financial charges may be dealt with in a separate legal proceeding.
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