From the Crime category

by Abigail Isaacson in Crime

Attorneys for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allege that Manhattan prosecutors wrongfully obtained Mangione’s medical records from his insurance carrier, Aetna. A court filing reveals the District Attorney’s office obtained over 120 pages of Mangione’s medical information, including diagnoses and complaints, without court approval or informing the defense. The defense claims the prosecution used a false court date and a fraudulent subpoena to compel Aetna to send the records directly to their office, bypassing the court system. The DA’s office claims the extra information was an error, and they deleted it after discovering it, notifying the defense and the court. The defense disputes the relevance of the obtained records to the case and has requested an evidentiary hearing and access to all communications between Aetna and the DA’s office. Mangione faces the death penalty in federal court for the murder. Diary entries reveal Mangione’s detailed planning and his targeting of the insurance industry. While Mangione was not insured by UnitedHealthcare at the time of the shooting, he allegedly expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry in his writings. A friend and online postings corroborate Mangione’s past back problems and spinal surgery. The relevance of the obtained medical records to the back injury is unclear.


by Andrew Ismail in Crime

Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students murdered in 2022, expressed shock and anger over a plea deal reached between prosecutors and Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of the crime. Just days before the deal was announced, Goncalves and other victims' families had explicitly stated their opposition to a plea deal and their desire for the death penalty. The deal would see Kohberger plead guilty to all four counts of murder in exchange for the death penalty being dropped. While some families, like those of Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin, support the deal, Goncalves and Jeff Kernodle, father of Xana Kernodle, have voiced strong criticism, calling it "hurried" and "secretive." They argue the deal should have included provisions requiring Kohberger to confess details of the crime. Legal experts explain that plea deals are often shrouded in privacy and that the costs and time commitment of a death penalty case may have influenced the decision. The judge must still approve the deal and will question Kohberger to ensure he understands the implications of waiving his right to a trial. The possibility of an Alford plea, where Kohberger maintains innocence while accepting the deal, is also discussed, although considered unlikely. The article highlights the conflicting emotions and opinions of the victims' families and explores the legal intricacies of the plea agreement.


by Amir Izad in Crime

Bryan Kohberger has accepted a plea deal in the murders of four University of Idaho students, agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. This deal was confirmed by Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims. The Goncalves family, along with others, expressed outrage at the decision, stating they feel betrayed by the State of Idaho. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, but the families have requested a delay to allow for travel arrangements. Kohberger, a former criminal justice graduate student, was arrested in Pennsylvania after his DNA was linked to evidence found at the crime scene. The murders occurred on November 13, 2022, and shocked the community. While no motive has been established, investigators have revealed Kohberger's presence in the neighborhood prior to the killings. Prosecutors stated that Kohberger's lawyers initiated the plea deal negotiations, and that the decision to offer the deal was made after consulting with the victims' families. The prosecutors emphasized the certainty of a life sentence and the avoidance of lengthy appeals as reasons for their decision.


by Abigail Isaacson in Crime

Federal authorities announced the indictment of seven individuals involved in a massive jewelry heist, believed to be the largest in US history. The suspects allegedly stalked an armored truck carrying $100 million worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies, and luxury watches from a San Francisco jewelry show to a rural freeway rest stop north of Los Angeles. Two suspects have been arrested and charged with federal theft and conspiracy, while four remain at large. One suspect is already incarcerated in Arizona for an unrelated crime. The heist involved the theft of 24 bags of jewelry out of 73. Some of the stolen items have been recovered. The indictment also includes charges related to other robberies, totaling $240,000 in electronics.


by Aaron Irving in Crime

The retrial of Karen Read, accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, is underway. The jury is currently deliberating after hearing closing arguments that presented starkly different narratives. The prosecution claims Read struck O’Keefe with her car and left him to die in the snow, citing her high blood alcohol content and a volatile relationship. The defense argues O’Keefe was killed in a conspiracy involving police misconduct, pointing to alleged evidence planting and the lead investigator's dismissal for offensive texts about Read. The jury has already posed several questions to the judge regarding evidence and charges, including clarification on the timeframe for OUI charges and the admissibility of interview clips from a documentary. The defense highlights that a previous jury was reportedly poised to acquit Read on two charges before deadlocking on a third, resulting in a mistrial. Read faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence.


by Amanda Ireland in Crime

Karen Read, 45, is on trial for the second time for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46. The prosecution claims Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die in the snow. The defense, however, alleges a conspiracy among O’Keefe's fellow officers, including planting evidence against Read. The first trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. This retrial saw the prosecution focus on evidence from the scene, such as broken pieces of Read's taillight, while the defense highlighted inconsistencies and questioned the actions of other individuals at the party where O’Keefe died, including flirtatious text messages between Read and a federal agent present at the party. The defense also presented evidence suggesting O’Keefe was beaten and bitten by a dog before being left outside. The defense claims that the lead investigator, since fired for sending sexist and crude text messages about Read, may have been involved in a conspiracy to frame her. Read faces a life sentence if convicted.


by Alex Ingram in Crime

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Silentó, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin. The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement. Hawk also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possessing a gun while committing a crime and concealing the death of another. A murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. DeKalb County police found Frederick Rooks III shot in the leg and face in the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 2021 outside a home in a suburban area near Decatur. Police said the found 10 bullet casings near Rooks’ body, and security video from a nearby home showed a white BMW SUV speeding away shortly after the gunshots. A family member of Rooks told police that Silentó had picked up Rooks in a white BMW SUV, and GPS data and other cameras put the vehicle at the site of the shooting. Silentó confessed about 10 days later after he was arrested, police said. Ballistics testing matched the bullet casings to a gun that Silentó had when he was arrested, authorities said. Rooks’ brothers and sisters told DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson before sentencing that Silentó should have gotten a longer sentence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The rapper was a high school junior in suburban Atlanta in 2015 when he released “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” and watched it skyrocket into a dance craze. Silentó made multiple other albums, but said in an interview with the medical talk show “The Doctors” in 2019 that he struggled with depression and had grown up in a family where he witnessed mental illness and violence. “I’ve been fighting demons my whole life, my whole life,” he said in 2019. “Depression doesn’t leave you when you become famous, it just adds more pressure,” Silentó said then, urging others to get help. ”And while everybody’s looking at you, they’re also judging you.” “I don’t know if I can truly be happy, I don’t know if these demons will ever go away.” Silentó had been struggling in the months before the arrest. His publicist, Chanel Hudson, has said he had tried to kill himself in 2020. In August 2020, Silentó was arrested in Santa Ana, California, on a domestic violence charge. The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department charged him with assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said he entered a home where he didn’t know anyone looking for his girlfriend and swung a hatchet at two people before he was disarmed. In October 2020, Silentó was arrested after police said they clocked him driving 143 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour) on Interstate 85 in DeKalb County. Hudson said at the time of Silentó's arrest in the killing of Rooks that he had been “suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.”


by Amanda Ireland in Crime

Ten men who escaped from a New Orleans jail over two weeks ago by cutting a hole behind a toilet received assistance from at least 14 people, many of whom were friends and family. Court documents detail how these individuals provided food, money, transportation, and shelter. Some aid was given before and after the escape, with some individuals named in police reports but not yet charged. A former jail employee is accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen to a relative's home and facilitating a FaceTime call with his family. Another friend provided a hiding place. Others sent money, lied to authorities, or contacted the fugitives. Many face felony charges of accessory after the fact, with bonds exceeding $1 million. The reward for capturing the two remaining escapees, Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey, has been raised to $50,000 per fugitive. Authorities emphasized the crucial role of friends and family in apprehending the remaining escapees. A former jail employee, who previously faced charges (later dropped) for bringing contraband into the jail, is linked to the escape. Phone records played a key role in several arrests, with escapees using internet phone services to avoid detection. One woman accused of helping Massey had a history of abuse at his hands and misled authorities. At least seven individuals charged with aiding the fugitives have ties to Lenton Vanburen. Authorities are appealing to the public for help in locating the remaining fugitives.


by Abigail Isaacson in Crime

A key witness, Jennifer McCabe, is providing crucial testimony in the retrial of Karen Read, accused of killing her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. McCabe recounts the events leading up to O’Keefe's death, including a gathering at a bar and an after-party. She saw Read's SUV parked outside her sister's house where O'Keefe's body was later found. McCabe's testimony details Read's erratic behavior after O’Keefe’s death, including statements like "Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?", and "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him." The defense, however, alleges a cover-up involving off-duty law enforcement officers at the after-party location, suggesting O’Keefe's death was not caused by Read. The defense is trying to highlight McCabe's ties to law enforcement and inconsistencies in her statements, including a discrepancy about a Google search related to hypothermia. The prosecution aims to counter the defense's claims with expert testimony and evidence. Read's first trial ended in a hung jury, and she has pleaded not guilty to all charges.


by Albert Inestein in Crime

A thief allegedly stole Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's Gucci bag, which contained approximately \$3,000 in cash and other personal belongings, from a table next to her at The Capital Burger restaurant in Washington, D.C. Surveillance footage shows the suspect strategically positioning himself near Noem, then using his foot to slide the bag away before leaving. The bag contained Noem's wallet, driver's license, medication, keys, passport, DHS access badge, makeup, checks, and the cash, which Noem stated was intended for family Easter gifts and activities. The Secret Service, who were present in the restaurant with Noem and her family, are investigating the incident and tracing the use of Noem's financial instruments. Law enforcement experts, such as former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow, have raised concerns about the security lapse and the potential need for operational changes in protecting high-profile officials.