American psychopath of Las Vegas who is charged with triple murder lived with victim’s dead bodies for days

An arrest reports claims  Spencer McDonald, killed two people and lived with their bodies for days before killing another.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Spencer McDonald, 30, was arrested June 27 and charged with three counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and one count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.

Authorities say McDonald killed his grandmother, Dina Vail, and her boyfriend, Andrew Graden, and lived with their bodies for several days in their apartment. He then allegedly killed maintenance worker Chris Brassard during a welfare check.

This all began when Vail didn’t show up for a ballet class on Monday night that she normally teaches at a local dance studio. An unidentified friend of Vail’s said they had a close friendship and he would normally drive her to the ballet studio and her doctor’s appointments. He said he showed up to the apartment to pick Vail up for dance class, which he said he does every week. He told investigators he saw a package at the door and no one answered when he knocked on the door so he thought Vail got another ride. However, the friend told police she never showed up to class. He then messaged a family member who said they hadn’t heard from her.

On Tuesday, the report states the friend told police a family member messaged him saying McDonald told him that Vail “took the day off” but that they still hadn’t heard from her. That day, they requested a welfare check.

That’s what led to maintenance workers checking on the apartment. According to the report, the two went to the apartment and Brassard knocked on the door. When no one answered, the report states they used a master key to enter the apartment. When they went inside, the surviving maintenance worker told police they saw a piece of cardboard on the floor covering what they thought was blood and they also saw blood on the walls. That’s when he told police they saw McDonald coming out of the spare bedroom holding a weapon. As the two tried to run away, the maintenance worker said McDonald swung a weapon at Brassard who then yelled out in pain. The surviving maintenance worker was able to get to the leasing office where he called the police.

When officers arrived, they found the surviving maintenance worker bleeding from the back and McDonald had run away from the apartment. However, the report states he was brought into custody after a short foot chase. While processing the scene, investigators said they found a large chef’s knife and sword that were covered in blood.

During an interview with detectives, McDonald said he had lived with his grandmother for about two years. He told investigators that he had killed Vail a few days prior after bludgeoning and stabbing her while she was in bed. After that, McDonald told police he waited in the living room for Graden to return to the apartment. That’s when he was attacked. According to the report, McDonald said he dragged Graden’s body into the master bedroom and lived in the apartment for several days, going about his normal activities. He said he “didn’t get around to disposing of the bodies.”

According to investigators, McDonald did not provide a specific reason for the killings.

 

American father of New York charged with murder after  shooting infant daughter with a crossbow

Patrick D. Proefriedt, 26, had allegedly gotten into an argument with his wife and fired a bolt at her while she was holding their 3-week-old daughter, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office said.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Another news of a helpless baby murdered by a parent in the United States and off course, the killer is a white person. Almost every, such horrendous event takes place

A New York father has been charged with murder after allegedly firing a crossbow at his wife while she was holding their 3-week-old daughter, injuring the mother and killing the baby.  

Patrick D. Proefriedt, 26, - who had a history of domestic abuse incidents including a Stay Away order in place - fired the weapon at his wife, Megan Carey, on Monday at their home in Colesville.

The broadhead crossbow bolt hit the child, Eleanor M. Carey, in the upper torso, exiting near the armpit before striking her mother in the chest, Broome County police revealed in a statement.  

Proefriedt, described by police as 'a repugnant human being', allegedly removed the bolt and attempted to stop Carey from calling 911.

Just a week before the tragedy, the suspect wrote on Facebook that his 'style' was to 'protect his family and friends at all costs.' 

Emergency responders, arriving at the house on State Route 41 near Cass Road around 5:15 am on Monday, attempted lifesaving measures on the baby but she was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Carey, reportedly aged 31, was taken to Wilson Hospital where she was treated for her injuries. 

Proefriedt allegedly fled the scene in a red 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck.

He was quickly found by multiple patrol units using aerial drones in the woods less than a mile from the residence after his vehicle had become stuck in the mud.

He has been taken into custody and charged with Murder in the 2nd Degree, Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree and Criminal Contempt in the 1st Degree.

The criminal contempt charge relates to the violation of an order of protection. 

The incident occurred less than three weeks after Proefriedt posted a picture of himself and baby Eleanor on Facebook, who he described as 'my little baby girl'. 

'This is one of the most heartbreaking and senseless crimes committed in this community in recent memory,' said Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar in a statement. 

'Our thoughts are with the family of this innocent 3-week-old girl, Eleanor Carey. I commend the quick and decisive action of our Law Enforcement division in responding to this tragedy and ensuring Mr. Proefriedt did not escape justice. 

'It’s just a tragic case. It’s a senseless case. Reminder to all of us standing here today that domestic violence is incredibly real,' Akshar told reporters at a press conference. 

 

‘America’s Most Wanted’ subject is arrested after four decades on the run for 1984 murder

Donald Santini, 65, evaded capture for nearly 40 years until he was arrested in San Diego, California

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A man arrested earlier this month in California has been returned to Florida to face charges in the 1984 killing of a woman, authorities said. Officials say Donald Santini, 65, had been serving as the president of a local water board in a San Diego suburb when he was finally apprehended.

Santini was booked into a Florida jail Wednesday morning on a charge of first-degree murder, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office statement. Florida detectives had traveled to San Diego, California, following Santini's June 7 arrest, and he was later extradited to Tampa, Florida.

"The arrest of Donald Santini brings closure to a long-standing cold case and provides justice for the victim and her family after nearly four decades of waiting," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "Let's not forget the tireless work that has gone into this case over the years, the resources, and expertise to pursue justice for Cynthia Wood."

Santini had been on the run since June 1984, when Florida authorities obtained an arrest warrant linking him to the strangling death of Wood, a 33-year-old Bradenton woman.

Wood's body was found in a drainage ditch about five days after she went missing on June 6 of that year, according to the sheriff's office.

Santini was the last person seen with Wood. The arrest warrant said a medical examiner determined she had been strangled and Santini's fingerprints were found on her body, WFTS-TV reported. Authorities previously said Santini may have been living in Texas using an unknown identity.

Santini appeared several times on the television show "America's Most Wanted" in 1990, 2005 and 2013. Over the years, officials said Florida detectives sent lead requests to Texas, California and even as far as Thailand, but Santini was never located. He used at least 13 aliases while on the run, according to an arrest warrant from the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office cited by USA Today.

Santini was arrested while living for years under the name of Wellman Simmonds in San Diego County, where he was president of a local water board in Campo, a tiny suburb of San Diego. He regularly appeared at public board meetings.

"The reason I have been able to run so long is to live a loving respectful life," Santini told ABC 10News in a handwritten 16-page letter sent from jail, the San Diego station reported earlier this week.

Santini wrote that he volunteered with the Rotary Club, owned a Thai restaurant and ran an apartment block, the TV station reported.

Santini previously served time in prison for raping a woman while stationed in Germany, officials said. He was also wanted in Texas for aggravated robbery.

A tip from the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force led U.S. Marshals to Campo, in San Diego County, where they arrested Santini, KGTV reported.

Santini was being represented by the public defender's office, which didn't immediately respond to an after-hours telephone message seeking comment.

He told ABC10 News that his public defender told him to be quiet in court at his extradition hearing.

"Things are not as they seem," he wrote to the station. "I need a lawyer that doesn't try to push me through the system to keep me quiet. The problem is I have no money."

 

A devastated Ukrainian mother bids farewell to twin daughters killed in Russian strike

By Edward Era Barbacena 

REUTERS: Outside an apartment block scarred by the missile strike that struck a bustling restaurant in Ukraine's city of Kramatorsk this week, a mother sat still on Friday, resting a pale hand on the head of each of her two dead twin daughters.

Fourteen-year-olds Anna and Yuliia Aksenchenko were among 12 people who were killed when a Russian missile hit a pizza restaurant in the eastern city on Tuesday evening. They had been in the vicinity of the restaurant during the attack.

On Friday morning, the family held a mourning ceremony for them at their apartment several hundred metres away from the site.

The missile came hurtling out of the sky on a balmy summer evening, when the restaurant and its large outdoor terrace were packed with customers.

Three days later, the middle-aged mother of the twins looked completely drained of vitality as she sat by the graves of her daughters in a black leather jacket.

She sat motionless with one hand on each daughter for half an hour, her body slumped and her head bowed.

The woman could scarcely walk, as if incapacitated by her grief. She had to be supported when walking by the girls' father and another relative.

None of the family members were in any condition to speak to reporters, the girls' godfather said.

The girls lay in coffins with open caskets, but were covered with a glistening white and gold sheet.

Mourners said the girls had been dressed in wedding dresses for their burial, a custom in Ukraine for girls who die too young to marry.

Initially unable to find two wedding dresses in a city not far from the front and where wedding parlours are closed, friends and family issued an online appeal for well-wishers to donate two dresses so that the girls could be buried.

"This is a tradition. If girls become angels, go up to heaven before getting married, they are dressed in wedding dresses so they can find their other half there," said Viktoria Kushka, 50, a teacher who taught Anna and Yuliia in first grade.

Speaking in one of the classrooms at the nearby school where the girls studied, Kushka recalled her memories of the girls.

Some of the school's windows had been shattered by the strike.

"I remember them in first grade. They were two little sunshines. With fair hair, always (tied) with a big white ribbon, smiling, big light blue eyes. Always together, always supporting each other."

At the ceremony, a crowd of around 30 relatives, friends and local residents gathered to pay their respects.

 

American man of Idaho charged with murder of 2-month-old daughter who died from brain injury and had several broken ribs

By Edward Era Barbacena 

More and more news of helpless children being murdered by their legal guardians or parents in the United States and majority of the juvenile murderers are white.

An Idaho man has been arrested and charged in the horrific death of his 2-month-old baby girl.

Roger Aaron Denig, 21, stands accused of one count of murder in the first degree after Ammarie Denig died last Friday, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by East Idaho News.

At around 9:40 last Wednesday morning, the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the girl’s mother. Her daughter, she said, was not breathing. Deputies were told that the entire Denig family – father included – were going to a local hospital in the area. The eastern part of Lemhi County, named after a Mormon missionary, borders Montana.

“[Roger] Denig had started CPR,” the affidavit obtained by East Idaho News Director Nate Eaton reads. “[The girl’s mother] kept saying she’s not breathing, then barely breathing, to she isn’t moving at all.”

An ambulance intercepted the family en route to the hospital, the affidavit says. There, paramedics noticed what appeared to be “yellow bruises on the forehead from eyebrow to eyebrow, and some bruises to the infant’s upper body” that signified older injuries, a deputy wrote.

The defendant allegedly told paramedics his daughter suffers from laryngomalacia, which is congenital, meaning a baby is born with it.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the congenital disability is “characterized by the softening of the tissues above the larynx,” and babies “with this condition usually have stridor (noisy or high-pitched breathing).”

This condition, Denig allegedly said, caused his daughter to choke.

At Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, doctors resuscitated the child and recovered her heartbeat. Then, she was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. A CT scan showed “multiple brain injuries,” the affidavit says. Once again, the child was airlifted to more apt quarters – this time to Primary Children’s Hospital. A doctor there specializing in child abuse and neglect determined that the girl’s brain was no longer functioning.

“Additional signs show tearing of the brain, which is consistent with a sudden, external, physical assault,” the affidavit says. “There is retinal hemorrhage in both eyes, which is present with traumatic head injuries, (and) the CT scan showed several broken ribs in various stages of healing that could be between 10 to 14 days old, (and) signs of old bruises on the child’s chest.”

Ammarie Denig, the doctor determined, had traumatic brain injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. The baby was on life support for several days before dying late Friday night.

An autopsy determined the presence of even more broken ribs in various stages of healing. The medical examiner determined the young girl died from a traumatic head injury.

Investigators followed up with the infant’s parents. On the day in question, her mother said she and the defendant twice left the baby with her grandmother when they went to the dump to drop off some garbage. When they returned home for the final time, the mother told law enforcement she and her daughter went to lie down. She said the baby woke from a nap crying, and her father came and got her.

“Denig came into the room and got Ammarie from the bed and took her to the other room where they have a rocking chair to rock her because she likes that,” the girl’s mother told investigators.

The girl’s mother fell asleep but woke to the sound of her husband saying their daughter could not breathe and had turned blue.

“[W]hen the medical staff advised Ammarie had traumatic brain injury, [the girl’s mother] stated she thought it may have been from driving on the rough road to get to the ambulance, or the lack of oxygen to the brain had caused this,” the affidavit says. “[The girl’s mother] stated she did not have physical control of Ammarie from the time Denig took her from the bed and went to the other room.”

The defendant allegedly had a similar explanation, saying his daughter’s brain injuries came from the rough road to the hospital.

But detectives asked Roger Denig about the girl’s other injuries as well.

“Denig stated maybe they patted her too hard because one time while he was patting her back, he heard crackling noises,” the affidavit says – in response to a question about the girl’s broken ribs.

A deputy also confronted the defendant with a rejection of the rough road theory – instead saying that someone battered the girl. The affidavit says: “This detective believes the infant’s injuries were not a medical issue and the child was willfully and deliberately tortured.”

The affidavit documents what allegedly happened next:

Denig stated, “You think I caused this?” I advised, “Yes.” I asked if he shook her due to his frustration or anger with Ammarie due to her fussiness and/or crying.

Denig stated he didn’t think so. He stated he was bouncing her … and maybe he shook her harder than he thought.

Roger Denig was arrested Saturday in Lemhi County, East Idaho News reports. He was arraigned Monday and given $500,000 bail by Magistrate Judge Andrew Woolf. The defendant is currently detained in the Lemhi County Jail. His next court appearance is slated for July 7.

 

British mom and step dad arrested for repeatedly abusing an innocent 16-month-old baby before killing him.

Gemma Barton and Craig Crouch  referred to their baby as the "devil", fed him vomit and smacked him for "crying for no reason"

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A mother and stepfather accused of murdering their baby son subjected him to "repeated physical abuse" over a six-month period prior to his death, a court has heard.

Jacob Crouch was 10 months old when he was pronounced dead in his cot at home in Linton, near Swadlincote in Derbyshire, as a result of peritonitis - an infection of the lining of abdominal organs caused by a traumatic bowel injury.

Jacob was found to have 39 rib fractures and 19 visible bruises at the time of his death, on 30 December 2020.

His mother, Gemma Barton, 33, and stepfather, Craig Crouch, 39, are standing trial at Derby Crown Court for murder and child cruelty offences, which they deny.

The couple are said to have "encouraged and applauded each other" as they assaulted Jacob "on a regular basis", the prosecution told the court.

Texts shown to the court showed the pair apparently referring to Jacob as the "devil" and revealed how they allegedly fed him his own vomit.

They also discussed bathing him in bleach and would smack him if he "cried for no reason", jurors were told.

In June 2020, Crouch told Barton she needed to be "more regimental" with the infant in a bid to "not let this take over us", prosecutors said.

Giving evidence, consultant paediatrician Dr Sarah Dixon said the peritonitis was likely to have been "inflicted" by a "kick, stamp or punch".

She told the jury it was "not remotely" possible the injuries were caused by Jacob playing.

Barton, as well as people observing proceedings in the public gallery, sobbed as Dr Dixon revealed her findings to the court, while Crouch remained silent in the dock.

Dr Dixon told the court: "Jacob suffered repeated physical abuse over a six-month period resulting in bruises to the face and body and many broken ribs.

"In my opinion, many of the bruises present at the time of death were inflicted injuries."

Jacob, who was last known to be well a day before his death on 29 December 2020, "suffered inflicted blunt force trauma to the abdomen, perforating his bowel and causing internal bleeding," Dr Dixon said.

The symptoms of peritonitis are "not subtle" and would "undoubtedly have been present and obvious" in the hours before his death, she added.

According to the NHS website, signs of the condition can include sudden tummy pain that gets worse with movement, a fever, rapid heartbeat and struggling to urinate.

The infection would have caused the infant's body to shut down within hours or at most, a "small number of days", forensic pathologist, Dr Michael Biggs, earlier told the court.

But had he been taken to hospital, "in all likelihood he would have survived", jurors heard.

Jurors were also shown text messages from Barton to Crouch in October 2020 claiming the infant "gets bruises all the time".

But Dr Dixon said many of Jacob's bruises, seen from July 2020, were the result of "inflicted injury" and were "non-accidental".

Marks on his face and hip - seen in pictures shown to the jury - could be explained by pinching or grabbing, while bruises on his chest were likely caused by "forceful squeezing" of his ribs.

Barton, of Heanor, Derbyshire and Crouch, of Moira, Swadlincote, both deny murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, causing a child to suffer serious physical harm and three further counts of child cruelty.

 

Australia's most notorious homosexual pedophile Catholic priest makes deathbed confession

Gerald Ridsdale will soon be sentenced after confessing to a 72nd crime against a young boy.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Notorious prolific paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale has pleaded guilty to another charge relating to a historical sex offences. 

Ridsdale was charged in 2022 with one count of indecent assault of a minor in the 1980s, and on Thursday he pleaded guilty to that charge. 

It comes after the victim-survivor came forward after he was assaulted at St Brigid's College in Horsham by the then-assistant priest between 1987 and 1988.

The Ballarat Magistrates Court heard this afternoon the priest told the then-13-year-old boy "it's alright" as he molested him.

He was acting as a counsellor to the teenager at the time.

The college student is the 72nd known victim-survivor of Ridsdale's abuse.

The plea brings the former priest's charges to a total of 192, the court heard he had been dealt with by the court on seven previous occasions.

Ridsdale has admitted to offending the over 70 minors between 1961 to 1988. 

Last year Ridsdale was sentenced for the seventh time over the sexual abuse of two boys in Mortlake in the 1980s.

He is currently serving a near 40-year sentence and is expected to be eligible for parole in 2027 — when he will be 93 years old.

The former priest from South West and Central Victoria appeared via video link into the Ballarat Magistrates Court from St John's at Port Phillip prison.

The court heard the 89-year-old had a fall in his cell in Hopkins Correctional Centre last November, and was left lying on the floor for hours before he was found.

He is now bed-bound and a hoist is required to move him. 

The frail-looking, elderly man appeared from a reclining bed with blankets and said little during the proceedings.

Ridsdale will be sentenced for his 192nd charge in August.

An American evil mistress of a wealthy dentist who killed his wife Bianca Rudolph on safari sentenced to 17 years

 

An American evil mistress of a wealthy dentist who killed his wife on safari sentenced to 17 years

Lori Milliron encouraged Lawrence Rudolph to kill his wife Bianca Rudolph for her

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The girlfriend of a dentist convicted of murdering his wife on an African safari was sentenced Friday to 17 years in prison for being an accessory to the crime during a hearing where relatives of the slain woman told her she had destroyed their family.

Ana Rudolph, daughter of 57-year-old victim Bianca Rudolph, said that Lori Milliron, 65, had "plotted to eliminate" her mother.

"Lori, you have taken my parents," Rudolph said directly to Milliron, but "despite everything you have done you will never take my soul. This might be difficult to understand ... because you don't have one."

Milliron was convicted last year of perjury, being an accessory to a murder after the fact and obstructing a grand jury in a case that's garnered national attention. She was charged alongside Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph, a U.S. dentist who was convicted last year of fatally shooting his wife while on a 2016 hunting trip in Zambia. His sentencing, originally set for this week, has been postponed.

“Lori Milliron encouraged Lawrence Rudolph to kill his wife for her,” the document reads. “She told him to divorce Bianca Rudolph. When he said he couldn’t afford to do that, Milliron responded by helping Rudolph procure propofol – a lethal anesthetic drug that could be used as a poison – before he took the trip where he did what she had wanted: get rid of Bianca.”

John Dill, an attorney for Milliron, said the prison sentence was longer than what is typically dolled out for such charges, calling it "excessive" and vowing to appeal. Dill argued that the convictions were merely based on Milliron's perjury charges and do not implicate her in the execution of the crime.

Standing in front of the judge on Friday, Milliron insisted she was innocent of the crimes but said she was "sympathetic" to the Rudolph family.

Judge William J. Martínez argued that the long sentence was deserved because evidence pointed to Milliron "encouraging" the crime. Martínez added that Milliron seemed "unrepentant" in part because he judged her emotionally unmoved when she was shown graphic images and listened to wrenching testimony during the trial.

After Bianca Rudolph's death in 2016, Lawrence Rudolph claimed his wife accidentally shot herself while packing to leave Zambia for the United States. Later, Rudolph collected millions in accidental death insurance payments. After an FBI investigation, however, authorities charged Rudolph in 2021 with her murder.

Rudolph maintains that his late wife of 34 years accidentally killed herself, but prosecutors countered that evidence showed that that was impossible because the wound to her heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet (60 centimeters to 1 meter) away.

 

Mass shooting took place again in the United States that killed three people in Kansas City, Missouri 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

At least three people have been found dead, and at least five others are thought to be injured, police in Missouri said while investigating two shootings with multiple victims in the same area of Kansas City early Sunday morning.

Officers were called to the intersection of 57th Street and Prospect Avenue just after 4:30 a.m. where they found three shooting victims — two men and one women — dead in a parking lot and in the street, Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Jake Becchina said in an email.

Police were told that five other shooting victims with injuries that were not life-threatening arrived at various hospitals by private vehicles or ambulance, Becchina said, adding: “Preliminary information indicates there was a large gathering of people in a parking lot at the intersection when the victims were shot.”

An initial investigation by police indicates the gathering took place outside an auto mechanic shop, where police have been called to before,

“My condolences to the families of three people killed in a shooting this morning at an apparent after-hours gathering near 57 and Prospect. If the business knew persons would be present, without security, selling alcohol, and thwarting our laws, that business should be closed,” Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on Twitter.

There was no immediate information about any arrests being made, KSHB-TV reported. Police also responded to a nearby shooting on Prospect Avenue near 31st Street around 3 a.m. and said critical injuries were suffered, though they did not say how many people were injured.

 

Another mass shooting again in the United States leaving 2 dead and 15 others injured in a street party in Michigan 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Two persons died and about 15 persons suffered injuries in a shooting at a large street party in Michigan on Saturday midnight. According to police, no suspects have been arrested.

The shooting occurred around midnight Saturday in Saginaw, about 164 kilometres northwest of Detroit, state police said. The deceased were a 19-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, police said. “Fifteen people were injured by gunshot or being struck by a vehicle,” police said in a statement. According to reports, the party was promoted on social media.

CNN quoted police as saying, “A fight broke out between partygoers resulting in gunshots being fired. In response, others in the crowd began shooting into the crowd, striking several victims. As people fled the scene, many were injured after being struck by fleeing vehicles.”

According to reports, police were present nearby the street, preparing to disperse the crowd when multiple callers reported to 911 that people were shooting into the crowd.

Police initially said about 200 people were in the area of the party and that officers had been dispersing the crowd prior to the shooting, MLive.com reported.

Investigators determined five different guns had been fired in the shooting. No arrests were made.

 

3 American police officers of San Antonio  charged with murder after unprovoked fatal shooting

By Edward Era Barbacena 

"They placed themselves in a situation where they used deadly force which was not reasonable given all the circumstances as we now understand them," McManus said.

The San Antonio Police Department released a YouTube video detailing the incident on Friday.

According to McManus, one of the three charged officers opened fire after Perez first threw a glass candlestick at the officers then swung a hammer at them. All three officers then fired when Perez approached them again with the hammer, hitting her at least twice, according to McManus.

Perez was suspected of cutting the wires to a fire alarm, a felony, at the apartment complex and was talking to fire officials about 12:30 a.m. Friday when an officer approached and tried to get her to walk toward a patrol car, McManus said.

Perez was speaking to a fire department official outside the complex when an unidentified officer arrived and is heard on body camera video calling "hey lady, get over here," with Perez refusing and walking away.

"It appeared that Miss Perez was having a mental health crisis," McManus said without offering further explanation, and she then ran into her apartment.

The video then shows an officer on the patio of Perez's apartment removing a window screen as Perez shouts "stop it" and "you ain't got no warrant."

An unidentified officer shouts "you're going to get shot," to which Perez replies "shoot me - you ain't got no warrant."

The sound of glass breaking is later heard followed by two volleys of gunshots.

Perez was pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS.

McManus took no questions, citing ongoing investigations into the shooting.

Both the SAPD Shooting Team and the Internal Affairs Unit are conducting separate inquiries, and their findings will be sent to the Bexar County District Attorney's office for an independent review, according to SAPD.

Other officers were also at the scene, but none are expected to be charged, although all will be investigated for their actions, McManus said.

"This incident will continue to be thoroughly investigated, as are all officer involved shootings," McManus said while expressing condolences to Perez's family

Flores has been with SAPD for 14 years, while Alejandro and Villalobos have been with the department for five and two years, respectively, according to CBS affiliate KENS 5. All three were being held on $100,000 bonds. On Saturday morning, KENS 5 reported that all three had bonded out of jail.

 

Mass shooting again in the United States leaves 1 dead and 5 injured in a nightclub in South Carolina 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

One person was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting near a South Carolina nightclub on Memorial Day, authorities said. No arrests have been made in Monday night's shooting in the Hollywood area of Charleston County, the county sheriff's office said Tuesday.

Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of gunfire and multiple shooting victims near an intersection at about 9:50 p.m., the sheriff's office said in a statement. One person was found inside a vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, and five others were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said.

CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reported the shooting happened near a nightclub.

No detailed description of a suspect was available, the sheriff's office said. Detectives were trying to determine what led up to the shooting.

About two hours before the shooting, deputies responding to a report of a large crowd found a neighborhood party but no unlawful activity, the sheriff's office said.

 

American governor of Florida  DeSantis signs death warrant for convicted American murderer James Phillip Barnes

James Phillip Barnes, now 61, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 3 in the murder of Patricia “Patsy” Miller.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a death warrant for an inmate who in 1988 raped, murdered and set on fire a woman in her Brevard County condominium — a crime that a circuit judge said was “committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.”

James Phillip Barnes, now 61, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 3 in the murder of Patricia “Patsy” Miller, according to documents posted Thursday on the Florida Supreme Court website.

If the execution is carried out, Barnes would be the fifth inmate to die by lethal injection this year in Florida. DeSantis did not issue a statement about the decision to sign the death warrant.

Barnes in 2005 admitted committing the murder after DNA testing linked him to the crime and as he was in prison for the 1997 murder of his wife, according to a 2007 decision by then-Brevard County Circuit Judge Lisa Davidson that sentenced Barnes to death.

Davidson’s 37-page decision gave a detailed account of the murder, saying Barnes on April 20, 1988, entered Miller’s condominium in Melbourne through a bedroom window. The judge wrote that Barnes raped Miller twice, tried to strangle her with the belt from her bathrobe and then bludgeoned her in the head with a hammer.

Barnes, who said he did not know Miller, then set fire to a bed where the woman was nude and bound to try to conceal the crime, the judge wrote. A medical examiner determined that Miller died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

“She knew he was going to kill her for the duration of her conscious state, and she was unable to resist due to being bound and overpowered by the defendant,” Davidson wrote in the Dec. 13, 2007, decision. “Patricia Miller suffered, over a period of time, a terrifying ordeal culminating in a horrifying death at the defendant's hands.”

The judge also wrote that in Barnes’ “detailed recounting of the murder, he stated unequivocally that he went there to murder Ms Miller and that it was not an afterthought. The defendant maintained control and worked calmly and coolly towards his goal throughout the entire time that he was in the victim's home, which was approximately 45 to 60 minutes. The murder was carried out in a brutal and ruthless manner.”

“She knew he was going to kill her for the duration of her conscious state, and she was unable to resist due to being bound and overpowered by the defendant,” Davidson wrote in the Dec. 13, 2007, decision. “Patricia Miller suffered, over a period of time, a terrifying ordeal culminating in a horrifying death at the defendant's hands.”

The judge also wrote that in Barnes’ “detailed recounting of the murder, he stated unequivocally that he went there to murder Ms Miller and that it was not an afterthought. The defendant maintained control and worked calmly and coolly towards his goal throughout the entire time that he was in the victim's home, which was approximately 45 to 60 minutes. The murder was carried out in a brutal and ruthless manner.”

Police quickly considered Barnes a suspect in the murder, but he denied involvement and gave a blood sample for possible DNA comparison, Davidson wrote. In 1998, as Barnes served a life sentence for murdering his wife, a sperm sample gathered from Miller’s body was re-submitted for DNA testing and matched Barnes.

After the match, Barnes refused to speak to police but contacted an assistant state attorney in 2005. That led to an interview in which Barnes detailed the Miller murder, according to Davidson’s decision. He pleaded guilty to the murder in 2006 and was sentenced by Davidson in 2007.

DeSantis signed the Barnes death warrant a week after Duane Owen was executed at Florida State Prison for the 1984 murder of a Palm Beach County woman.

The state on May 3 executed Darryl Barwick in the 1986 murder of a woman in her Panama City apartment. That followed the April 12 execution of Louis Gaskin in the 1989 murders of a couple in Flagler County. The state on Feb. 23 put to death Donald David Dillbeck, who murdered a woman in 1990 during a carjacking in a Tallahassee mall parking lot.

Dillbeck was the first person executed since Gary Ray Bowles was put to death by lethal injection in August 2019 for a 1994 murder in Jacksonville.

 

American drug addict parents of Nevada charged with murder after 8-month-old dies from fentanyl exposure

Jeffrey Terakami and Kara Marie Dugan are accused of murder in the death of the infant that died after police said the child was exposed to fentanyl

By Edward Era Barbacena 

It is very countless that alot of newborn have died in the hands of white people either as parents or white  legal guardians. In almost everyday, we encounter this insane and horrible news. 

Two Nevada parents have been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after an 8-month-old child died from exposure to fentanyl and methamphetamine last year, police said.

Authorities had responded on Nov. 15, 2022, to a report of an unresponsive infant who was not breathing, police said in a news release issued Thursday.

Emergency responders took the infant to St. Rose Siena Hospital in Henderson, where the child was pronounced dead.

An autopsy report determined the cause of death was "a result of fentanyl toxicity," according to Boulder City Police. "Recent methamphetamine exposure" was listed as a significant condition.

Detectives interviewed the infant's parents and learned the father, identified as 36-year-old Jeffrey Terakami, spilled a bag of fentanyl mixed with meth into their bed. He and the mother, 31-year-old Kara Marie Dugan, then allowed the infant to crawl around the bed, exposing the child to the drug mixture.

Police arrested Terakami and Dugan on June 16 on warrants for second-degree murder, saying the charges are based on "making available a controlled substance resulting in death."

Court records show criminal complaints have been filed against both parents. They are being held at Clark County Detention Center, and preliminary hearings are scheduled for July 18

 

British woman Paris Mayo guilty of murdering son hours after birth

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Perhaps mother and offspring connection doesn’t exist in some white women. It is hard to believe that a young white woman is capable of killing her own child just after birth. 

Paris Mayo a British white woman was 15 when she gave birth to the boy, Stanley, in 2019, after concealing her pregnancy from her family.

A trial at Worcester Crown Court heard Mayo suffocated him by stuffing cotton wool into his mouth and throat.

Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday.

Jurors were also able to consider a charge of infanticide but took eight hours and 38 minutes to convict her of murder.

Mayo gave birth to Stanley at her family home in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire in March 2019.

The court heard how his remains were discovered by her mother the following morning in a bin bag which Mayo had left on the doorstep before going to bed as if nothing horrible happened.

Her mother Coralie Mayo immediately called 999 after she made the discovery and later in hospital the teenager said she had not told her mother what had happened because "she's got a lot going on".

Mayo had claimed she did not know she was pregnant and said Stanley was not moving and did not make a noise when he was born.

However medical experts said it was likely he had been alive for a couple of hours, had taken breaths and may also have cried.

She said she had used the cotton wool found in the infant's mouth and throat to clean up blood and claimed his fractured skull had been caused by him falling on the floor during birth.

However the prosecution said medical evidence showed that was not an adequate explanation and that such injuries were normally found after major trauma, such as a car crash.

The court heard how Mayo had a difficult family life and her father, who was terminally ill at the time Stanley was born and died shortly after, made her feel "worthless".

He had been upstairs receiving dialysis with help from Mayo's mother, Coralie, while the baby was murdered below.

In her testimony, Mayo described how she started having sex at 13 and used it as a way to get people to like her because she was "insecure" due to her family situation.

Experts disagreed about her state of mind, with one of the opinion she had "created a false memory" while another said she was "remarkably well intact".

Mayo cried in the dock after the jury, made up of five men and seven women, returned a majority guilty verdict for murder.

The jurors were thanked by judge Mr Justice Garnham, who said it had been a "difficult and stressful case" for them to deal with.

Following the verdict, Det Insp Julie Taylor from West Mercia Police said it was "a devastating case".

"The death of a new-born baby is utterly heart-breaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby's own mother," she said.

Mayo had concealed her pregnancy from people who "could have, and would have, supported her," she said.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley's "short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved".

"[Mayo] chose to hide her pregnancy, give birth alone and kill her baby, then hide his body despite accepting that she had a family who would have supported her."

Mayo was remanded in custody and is set to return to Worcester Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced.

 

American cops of Georgia blasted for using photo of a Black-American man in target practice 

The Villa Rica Police Department in Georgia has apologized after posting images and video of white people shooting at a picture of a black man during a citizens firearms training class.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Georgia police department has come under fire for using a photo of a black man for target practice in a civilian firearms class — which the agency’s top cop claimed was an “innocent mistake.”

The Villa Rica Police Department, which held a handgun safety class on Saturday, posted images on Facebook of a life-size photo of a black man wearing a beanie and pointing a handgun, NBC News reported.

The agency also shared video of white citizens shooting at the image of the black man, according to WSB-TV.

The images and footage, which have since been deleted, sparked outrage in the community about 33 miles west of Atlanta.

Some took screenshots of the incendiary posts and voiced their anger online.

“While I feel gun safely classes are a good thing, especially with how easy it is for anyone to purchase a gun in the south, there is a huge issue here. If you don’t see anything wrong, please delete me immediately,” resident Jackie Boyd wrote on Facebook.

“My initial reaction was complete fury and anger that this is happening, in 2023, within the small town we CHOSE to move into and raise our biracial family in,” she wrote. “The diversity in this small town is beautiful and part of why we enjoy it. This post makes me feel 100% less safe in the city of Villa Rica.”

Noting that she was already fearful for her black husband, family and friends, Boyd said she felt nauseated by the “ignorance on display from our local police department.”

Another resident, Emmanuel Mincey, was so enraged, he filed a complaint with the embattled police agency and said the images seen online “send the wrong message” to the city’s black residents, WSB-TV reported.

“’Hey, guys. We shoot at you for target practice,’” he told the news outlet.

Another resident wrote: “If you cringe, even a little, at the thought of shooting at a target of a dog or a child and find absolutely nothing wrong with shooting at an image of a black man, it’s an indication of how little respect and regard you have for our life.”

Many questioned why there were no images of white people used as targets.

Police Chief Michael Mansour insisted that photos of white people also were used during the training, according to WSB-TV.

“That day, they started with that target,” Mansour told the outlet while pointing at an image of a white man. “They ran out of those targets at the range and they put these targets up,” he continued, as he pointed to the large photo of the black man.

The top cop told NBC News that it was “just an innocent mistake,” adding that he’s “very transparent in saying that we messed up. But at no time will I accept people telling me I’m a racist, or our department is a racist because we made a mistake.”

The news outlet said it has reviewed photos of targets with images of white people that the chief said were used during the session.

Mayor Gil McDougal told the Macon Telegraph that he was “personally embarrassed” by the incident, “and as soon as it was brought to my attention last night, I and other city staff began to address this situation.”

He said he has ordered an investigation into the incident.

“This incident does not reflect the values of this community,” Hizzoner said.

“Seems like you could see right from the moment you put these pictures up that there was going to be a question,” McDougal told WSB-TV.

Meanwhile, the local NAACP chapter issued an open letter to the police department, calling the target “extremely offensive,” and requested a meeting with city leaders to discuss the matter.

“These types of targets have been used by other police departments within the U.S. and have been deemed racially inappropriate and unacceptable,” NAACP Carroll County leader Dominique Conteh wrote, NBC News reported.

Mansour said he plans to meet with Conteh and McDougal to address the incident.

The police department has apologized and said there was no ill intent.

“The Villa Rica Police Department strives to be conscious of how our relationship with our community members has a direct impact on our effectiveness within the community we serve,” the agency said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“This includes our stance on being equitable to all people regardless of their human diversity factors. The targets utilized in our recent firearms class depict realistic human images and were part of a package which included target images of people from various ethnic groups,” it said.

“It was never our intention to be insensitive, inflammatory, or offensive to anyone. However, we respect the honest opinions of our fellow citizens and apologize for any offense we may have caused. We invite everyone to attend one of our next citizen firearms classes and share in a positive experience alongside us,” the department added.

But Boyd scoffed at the apology.

“After taking a moment to calm down, I returned to their Facebook page and saw their ‘apology.’ After reading it, my anger has returned stronger than it was to begin with,” she wrote.

“The VRPD stated that the targets came from a ‘package which included target images of people from various ethnic groups.’ If you look at the images and video they have posted, they used ONE target image multiple times. If the package included several different targets, who took the time to intentionally pull out all the images of the Black man to use?” Boyd wrote.

 

North Carolina legislature passes ban on homosexual men athletes from girls’ sports teams

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The Republican-controlled North Carolina state House gave final approval to a bill Thursday that would ban transgender girls and women from competing on middle school, high school and college sports teams that align with their gender identity.

The state House voted 62-43, largely along party lines, to approve an amended version of the bill passed in the state Senate by a vote of 31-17 earlier this week. The measure now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, whose office slammed Republicans for “spending their time on political culture wars” rather than “working to invest in our schools and pay our teachers more.”

“Republican governors in other states have vetoed these bills that bully vulnerable children because they know these decisions should be left to schools, parents and sports associations,” Jordan Monaghan, Cooper’s deputy communications director, added in a statement to CNN.

The governor’s office did not share with CNN whether Cooper plans to veto the legislation. However, the legislature’s Republican supermajority has the ability to override a potential veto, as they have done several times this year when Cooper has sought to block controversial measures.

House Bill 574 states that a “student’s sex shall be recognized based solely on the student’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” and would require sports teams to be designated as for males, men or boys; females, women or girls; or coed or mixed.

The bill specifies that “students of the male sex” cannot play on girls’ sports teams but does not address transgender boys playing on boys’ teams.

Supporters of the bill claim that transgender women have a physical advantage over cisgender women and argue that the bill ensures fairness.

“HB 574 is a rational, common-sense bill that requires biological men to compete against biological men, not biological women, in high school and collegiate sports in NC,” said bill sponsor Rep. Erin Paré in a tweet last week. “We need to fight for fairness in women’s sports, no question.”

However, a 2017 report in the journal Sports Medicine found “no direct or consistent research” on trans people having an athletic advantage over their cisgender counterparts.

Opponents say the ban is discriminatory.

The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, called on the governor to veto the legislation.

“As these politicians know, HB 574 does nothing to address the real challenges in women’s sports, which include chronic underfunding, unequal pay, lack of access and harassment and abuse of athletes,” said Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy for the HRC. “This bill only perpetuates discrimination and stigma against the LGBTQ+ community, particularly against transgender and nonbinary people.”

With the passage of this bill, North Carolina joins a slew of states who have advanced several anti-trans bills, including those that limit transgender athletes’ ability to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that limits transgender athletes in college sports and Alabama enacted similar restrictions last month.

 

Dingo Bites Tourist’s  Bum While Sunbathing in K’gari Beach 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A new video has emerged, capturing the moment when a French woman was bitten on the buttocks by a dingo, a wild Australian canine species. The dingo involved in the incident has been subsequently killed by authorities. The incident occurred while the woman was sunbathing at a beach on K’gari Island, Australia.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has stated that the animal was “humanely euthanised” due to its involvement in several “high-risk” incidents. K’gari Island, home to approximately 200 wild dingoes, strictly prohibits feeding them, with heavy fines imposed on offenders.

According to a report by the BBC, another dingo was euthanised earlier this month following multiple attacks on the island.

In contrast, the Malawian authorities have yet to take action against two German Shepherds that brutally attacked a four-year-old boy in Lilongwe. The dogs also injured the boy’s mother and seven-year-old brother. There is currently no update regarding the fate of these dogs from the Malawi Police or veterinary authorities.

 

American Father of California is accused of  his 5-week-old baby 

Detectives subsequently arrested 37-year-old Kevin Van Streefkerk of Cameron Park on suspicion of killing the infant.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

More and more horrendous news of children as young as 2 weeks old are being murdered by their respective guardians in the United States. What makes it worse is some of culprits are their own parents.  Majority of the murderers of the young and innocent juveniles are white 

A 37-year-old Cameron Park father has been arrested and accused of murder in his baby daughter's death.

The infant, who was 5 1/2 weeks old, died on June 18th after being hospitalized for “numerous injuries,” the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday.

Kevin Van Streefkerk was booked into the El Dorado County jail on five charges including intentional murder and assault of a child resulting in their death. Streefkerk is not eligible for bail, the sheriff’s office said.

The alleged abuse happened Saturday, and the child died in the hospital the following day, Father's Day, according to the infant's grandfather on the mother's side.

Streefkerk works at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services as a technician involved in the maintenance of radio equipment and has been employed by the state since 2016, according to the agency.

"We are shocked and saddened to learn of the circumstances around this event," a Cal OES spokesperson said in a statement. "We are coordinating closely with the law enforcement agencies on their investigation, and it is our understanding that the alleged events occurred outside of his capacity as a state employee."

Streefkerk's job did not involve contact with the public, Cal OES said.

 

American mom of Cleveland charged with murder after baby is left home alone for 10 days and dies

16-month-old Jailyn Candelario was found "extremely dehydrated" after her mother, Kristel Candelario, went on a vacation and left the child alone, 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A baby girl died after being left home alone in Cleveland for 10 days as her mother traveled without having made any arrangements for the 16-month-old's care, officials said Thursday.

Kristel Candelario, 31, was arrested and charged with murder after her baby girl, Jailyn, was found unresponsive at their home at 3129 W. 97th St., police said.

There were "no signs of trauma" and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office's investigation revealed that "the child had been left alone and unattended for approximately 10 days and had subsequently died," according to a police statement.

Candelario had been traveling to Puerto Rico and Detroit, investigators told NBC affiliate WKYC.

Neighbors of the mom and child told the station that Candelario had asked them to take care of Jailyn in the past and didn't understand why the suspect hadn't reached for their help again.

“Jailyn really didn’t deserve what happened to her. She was amazing and really adorable and I miss her a lot,” a 13-year-old neighbor told WKYC.

It wasn't immediately clear on Thursday if Candelario had hired an attorney or been assigned counsel. 

 

God Fearing Mayor Ousted From Office For Refusing To Fly Pro-Homosexual Pride Flag

In the United States today, when you go against the sinful homosexual ideology, it will cost you your life and your job

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The mayor of Rochelle Park, New Jersey, a Republican, has been ousted from his position after refusing to fly the gay pride flag.

Mayor Perrin Mosca declined to display the gay flag at the town hall, stating that it singles out and gives preferential treatment to a specific group. This decision led to City Council members from both parties voting to remove Mosca from his title, as reported by Townhall.

Mosca explained that there had been a prior agreement among the majority that no particular group would have the privilege of flying a flag on public property. He believed this should have settled the matter.

He further argued that “private flags do not belong on public property” and that only the American flag, state flag, and township flag should be displayed. Mosca believed that any other flags, including the LGBT flag, would only create division.

Rather than receiving support for his moderate stance, Mosca faced opposition from a Democrat and three Republicans, resulting in his removal from office.

Residents of Rochelle Park expressed disappointment with the Council’s actions and criticized their confrontational behavior. One resident stated, “That’s not right, everybody’s entitled to their opinion… I say live and let live, but everybody has a right to their opinion.”

According to the local paper The Daily Voice, Mosca had also faced difficulties with the local Republican party. GOP Municipal Chairman Frank Valenzuela accused Mosca of embarrassing the township and hindering its progress, asserting that he prioritized personal ideals over what is best for the residents of Rochelle Park.

Mosca, who is a local high school teacher, urged people to consider the political motives of Valenzuela, who he believes is “struggling for relevancy within the Republican Party.” Mosca also joined Newsmax for a segment in the wake of the move.

 

Debris discovered near Titanic site amid search for missing crew

By Edward Era Barbacena 

“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the Coast Guard added.

Coast Guard officials will discuss the findings from the Horizon Arctic’s ROV on the sea floor near the Titanic at a 3 p.m. press briefing, officials said in a release

The update coincides with the search’s ramped-up use of ROVs — even as the “breathable air” inside the missing sub likely ran out, by officials’ estimations, at around 7:08 a.m.Thursday morning.

OceanGate Expeditions told the Coast Guard late Sunday that the Titan was equipped with only 96 hours of oxygen after it submerged off the coast of Newfoundland earlier that day.

Less than two hours after the sub reportedly ran out of oxygen, the US Coast Guard announced that a remote-operated vehicle had reached the ocean floor as the frantic search escalated.

“The Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub,” the agency said. The Coast Guard also said that L’Atalante would soon deploy its ROV

The sub was expected to travel 370 miles out into the Atlantic, where the wreck of the Titanic rests about 12,500 feet below the surface.

Five passengers are onboard the Titan, including billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman.

Their status remains unknown as US and Canadian officials work around the clock to try and locate the missing vessel.

US Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said search-and-rescue efforts would continue in full force despite the oxygen depletion.

Similarly, experienced diver Butch Hendrick told The Post the rescue mission will likely not become a recovery effort until at least 24 hours after the estimated oxygen reserve inside the Titan expires — meaning authorities will work under the assumption that the victims are still alive.

 

An American man of Kentucky who claims himself to be medically insane indicted by Jury for the murder of his own mother 

Gavin Perkins was in the care of Central State Hospital where he was scheduled to be released against his family's wishes

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The Kentucky attorney general's office announced that Gavin Perkins has been indicted for murder.

The 44-year-old is accused of shooting and killing his mother in 2018. 

A Jefferson County Grand Jury indicted him on Wednesday.

Perkins was in the care of Central State Hospital where he was scheduled to be released against his family's wishes. As of Wednesday night, he is still at the hospital according to CourtNet.

They called him dangerous but local officials said their hands were tied because of a new law.

The law requires a person to have a previous conviction in order to be held for a long period of time.

The commonwealth's attorney's appeal to hold Perkins was later denied. 

They then called upon the attorney general's office to press charges.

His arraignment is scheduled for June 26, and his bond is set at half a million dollars.

 

Pakistani migrant, Abdul Wahab, jailed 22 years for  attacking and beating 5yr old Nadia  Kalinowska in Belfast

Kalinowska child had suffered more than 70 injuries, including a fractured skull, over many months before being killed

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The stepfather and mother of tragic child Nadia Kalinowska have been handed lengthy jail terms today over the five-year-old's harrowing death.

Abdul Wahab, 35, has been told he will serve a minimum of 22 years of a life sentence after being convicted of carrying out a series of serious assaults against his five-year-old stepdaughter before murdering her on December 15, 2019.

Nadia’s mother Aleksandra Wahab, 29, was sentenced to 11 years after admitting causing or allowing the death of her daughter and two counts of causing or allowing Nadia to suffer serious physical harm in the days leading up to her death and in the preceding months.

At Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice O’Hara sentenced Abdul Wahab for repeatedly attacking and beating Nadia, who had suffered more than 70 injuries, including a fractured skull, over many months.

Setting out the background to the case, Mr Justice O’Hara said an ambulance had been called to the Wahab home on December 15, 2019, and the crew found Nadia unconscious. The only other people in the house were Mr and Mrs Wahab and their two-year-old son.

She later died in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The judge said Nadia had suffered a “horrific collection of injuries”.

This included more than 70 surface injuries and eight rib fractures, which he said could only have been caused by “a significant degree of destructive force”.

She also had a fractured collarbone, fractures of the pelvis, a fractured skull, liver and bowel lacerations and a perforated bowel.

He said these injuries would have been caused by “heavy blunt impacts”.

The judge said prosecution experts had concluded “she was repeatedly assaulted, that these injuries would have caused her obvious pain and distress and any half-observant parent would have known that”.

The judge also said that Mr Wahab now seeks to retract his guilty plea.

He said: “What he admitted to is entirely consistent with the overwhelming evidence against him.

“It is distressing and rather pathetic that he now seeks to disavow his guilty pleas.”

The judge continued: “What Mr Wahab did to Nadia was brutal, merciless and outrageous.

“The contrast with his untouched son, who was then only two years old, is dramatic and shocking.

“I do not believe in any way that Nadia’s injuries relate to her being clumsy or accident prone.

“They are all explained and only explained by a sustained cruelty which his wife knew about and allowed to happen and continue to happen.”

Mr Wahab had already been given an automatic life sentence but was told he could not be considered for release for 22 years.

He was given concurrent sentences for the two GBH offences.

Turning to Mrs Wahab, Mr Justice O’Hara said: “I do not accept for a second that she did not know that Nadia was being repeatedly attacked and beaten by her husband.”

The judge continued: “The unavoidable truth for every parent or adult is that we have an absolute duty to protect children from harm.

“Mrs Wahab brought Nadia into this world but did not do that.

“She completely failed Nadia and for that she must be punished.”

She was sentenced to 11 years, with half to be served in custody.

Speaking after the sentencing PPS Assistant Director and Head of the Serious Crime Unit Ciaran McQuillan said: “This deeply distressing case involved the murder of a helpless and vulnerable child at home where she should have felt safe and secure.

“The evidence gathered by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in a painstaking investigation included the results of a postmortem examination and multiple medical reports that showed that five-year-old Nadia was the victim of gratuitous and sustained violence over a period of time.

"It is difficult to comprehend the level of violence that was inflicted on Nadia. Her injuries included multiple fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, a fractured forearm and extensive bruising and abrasions.

"The violence eventually resulted in her tragic death in hospital from a fractured skull and severe internal injuries. The medical evidence paints a picture of a shocking catalogue of abuse that culminated in her brutal murder.

“Both defendants maintained throughout the case until close to trial that Nadia was injured by accident This, the prosecution argued, was clearly a lie given the sheer number and magnitude of the injuries.

“Every murder is abhorrent, but this was an especially sickening and brutal murder of a young child.

"We in the PPS hope the conclusion of this case brings some comfort to Nadia’s wider family circle and all those who loved her as they try to cope with her death.”

A detective has described the murder of Nadia Zofia Kalinowska by her stepfather as the “ultimate betrayal of trust”.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said Nadia’s extended family in Poland had suffered “unimaginable heartache and pain”.

The detective said: “Nadia, who was a young and innocent child, had been subjected to a campaign of violence by her stepfather, while her mother ignored the very obvious attacks being carried out on her young daughter.

“They failed to ever seek medical treatment for any of her injuries.

“This was the ultimate betrayal of trust by the two people who should have protected, loved and cared for Nadia.”

The extended family of Nadia have said their world has been shattered by her death.

A statement released by the PSNI on behalf of her extended family said: “Nadia was just a child – a child who had her young and innocent life cruelly taken away.

“Our little one was loved and treasured by her family here in Poland.

“We have supported the police investigation over the last traumatic three-and-a-half years, and are truly grateful to everyone for their support.

“We’re still, however, trying to come to terms with what happened to Nadia. And I’m not sure that we ever will.

“To be honest, our worlds have been shattered.

“Nadia will always remain in the heart of her loving grandmother and her closest family in Poland.”

 

US President Biden calls Xi a dictator a day after Beijing talks

By Edward Era Barbacena 

US President Joe Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraising event in California.

His remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Xi for talks in Beijing, which were aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers.

Mr Biden also said Mr Xi was embarrassed after an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the US.

China said it "firmly opposes" Mr Biden's comments.

"The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset, in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it, was he didn't know it was there," Mr Biden said at the event on Tuesday.

"That's a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn't know what happened," he added.

The balloon, which China says was monitoring weather, drifted across the continental US before being destroyed by American military aircraft in February.

Washington later said it was part of a sprawling Chinese intelligence collection programme. Mr Blinken, who was meant to visit Beijing at the time, postponed the trip in the wake of the incident.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called Mr Biden's remarks "extremely absurd and irresponsible". Speaking at a regularly scheduled press conference on Wednesday, she said that the comments were "an open political provocation" that violated diplomatic etiquette.

Mr Blinken's visit over the weekend, the first by a US secretary of state in almost five years, restarted high-level communications between the two countries.

Mr Xi said some progress had been made in Beijing, while Mr Blinken indicated both sides were open to more talks. Major differences, however, remain between the two countries.

Relations have plummeted in the wake of a Trump-era trade war, Beijing's assertive claims over Taiwan and the shooting down of the alleged spy balloon.

 

American husband of Texas arrested for fatally stabbing wife in College station 

Brian Jutson, 45, was arrested by College Station Police after fatally stabbing his wife. He has been charged with murder.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

 College Station Police have revealed the identity of a man arrested around 11 a.m. on Tuesday following a heavy police presence in the 14000 block of Renee Lane.

Authorities arrived at the area after they were informed of a dead body being found by a family member. An investigation was launched, and it was later determined that the deceased individual had been fatally stabbed in an altercation

Brian Jutson, 45, of College Station was later revealed to be the man that had fatally stabbed 44-year-old Sherry Jutson, his wife, in a domestic disturbance. CSPD says Brian fled the scene and was later detained with the help of DPS and Bryan PD.

Brian has been charged with murder, according to police.

 

Six dead after gunfire, blaze erupt where gunman's estranged wife lived, sheriff says

The dead include the suspect; his wife, who lived separately and had an order of protection against him; and her adult daughter, the sheriff of Marion County,

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Six people, including three children, are dead after a shooting and house fire in Marion County, Tennessee, the local sheriff said Friday.

The suspected shooter, Gary Barnett, as well as his estranged wife, Regina Barnett, and her adult daughter, Britney Perez, were identified as the adults who perished, Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnett said in an interview with NBC affiliate WRCB of Chattanooga.

Investigators believe the mother of the children, whose exact ages were unavailable, was Perez, who was visiting, the sheriff said.

Burnett revealed a narrative that had the suspect showing up to the residence in or near the community of Sequatchie on Thursday night and opening fire despite being the subject of an active order of protection for Regina Barnett, who lived there.

The suspect was the subject of multiple calls to authorities in the weeks and months before the shooting and fire, Burnett said, describing the calls as complaints "based on his behavior."

Ages for the deceased were unavailable.

A man, not identified, was shot three times but survived and was recovering at a hospital, the sheriff said.

The suspect may have fatally shot himself, he said. The cause of death for each of the dead will most likely be determined by state forensic pathologists or death investigators. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the bodies have been taken to Nashville for autopsies.

Gunfire was reported to authorities at 8:46 p.m. Thursday, and when Marion County deputies arrived the structure was ablaze, Burnett said. They broke in and pulled out as many survivors out as they could, he said.

The fire roared for a few hours before it was knocked down and bodies could be counted, according to the sheriff.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the homicide probe, said in a statement, "The home had been set on fire."

Multiple other residents were unharmed but without shelter, Burnett said.

Sequatchie is roughly 30 miles west of Chattanooga. Marion County has a population of more than 29,000 people, according to the U.S. Census.