Another case of murder-suicide in the United States wherein an Alabama woman killed her two children before hanging her self

Nancy Johnson allegedly drowned her 2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter before she hung herself

By Edward Era Barbacena 

An Alabama woman allegedly drowned her two children before she killed herself on Thursday in what Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch called a “horrific” murder-suicide, according to Fox 10 News.

The local news station reported that Burch identified the mother as 37-year-old Nancy Johnson and her two children as 2-year-old son Jacob Johnson and 5-year-old daughter Mia Johnson.

According to NBC 15 News, Burch said the mother of two drowned both children in the bathroom and slashed her daughter’s throat before she hung herself with a silk belt around the rod in a hallway closet.

The children's autopsies reveal that both died from drowning, but Mia’s blood loss due to her mother allegedly cutting her with a knife contributed to her official cause of death, Burch said, per NBC 15 News.

“It’s definitely not a typical homicide scene,” Semmes Police Chief Todd Freind told Fox 10 News. “It is more brutal than normal, than what we normally see. So yeah, it definitely will test your character when you say something like this.”

The children’s father, Derek Johnson, discovered their bodies inside their Semmes home on a sofa underneath a blanket, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

“When you enter the back door of the home, there was a sofa to the righthand side, and the children were positioned on that sofa. They had been basically cleaned up by water from being submerged. When the father found the children, they were covered with a blanket,” Burch said, per NBC 15 News.

Both NBC 15 News and the Waco Tribune-Herald reported that Burch said Derek will not face any charges amid the ongoing investigation.

“Somebody within the system dropped the ball,” Burch said, per NBC 15 News. “I'm not necessarily looking at it from a criminal aspect, but I'm damn sure looking at it to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

The Mobile County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, court records reveal that Nancy and Derek Johnson were in the midst of a divorce and custody battle, with Nancy showing signs of mental health issues.

After a Utah judge issued a protection-from-abuse order against Derek at Nancy’s request in August, Derek filed for divorce the following day in Mobile County, per Fox 10 News.

 

American pedophile pastor of New York arrested for child pornography 

Jose Saez admitted he had requested sexually explicit videos from minors in the past

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Long Island pastor was arrested and charged with producing child pornography, the FBI announced on Thursday.

Jose Saez, Jr. was busted after officers from the FBI’s Long Island Child Exploitation Task Force received an online tip that the pastor had been sexually active with children, the agency’s New York office said.

While executing a search warrant, officers went through Saez’s phone and found 15 videos containing child pornography in a saved conversation on Telegram, according to the criminal complaint.

One of the videos included a 16-year-old boy performing sex acts, the complaint said.

Saez — a father of three young children — told officers he knew the minor was a high school student and he had requested the boy send him the videos.

He saved the clips and sent them to at least 10 other people, he said.

Saez admitted to officers that he has engaged in similar conduct with multiple other minors, telling them, “I’m sorry that I cannot stop,” according to the complaint.

Saez is a pastor at the Iglesia Cristiana Alumbrando El Camino Church, News12 first reported.

“The production of child pornography is one of the most horrendous crimes we deal with in our society,” James Smith, Assistant Director in Charge of FBI New York, said in a statement. 

“It is even more concerning when the crime is allegedly committed by a leader in a local house of worship,” he said.

 

Deranged evil American woman of Wisconsin gets life without parole for killing and dismembering ex-boyfriend

Taylor Schabusiness files notice to appeal conviction after life sentence for meth-fueled beheading of lover

By Edward Era Barbacena 

PURE WHITE EVIl

A Wisconsin woman convicted of killing and dismembering a former boyfriend and scattering his body parts at various locations was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.

A Brown County judge sentenced Taylor Schabusiness, 25, for the February 2022 killing of Shad Thyrion, 24. A jury had convicted her in July of first-degree intentional homicide, third-degree sexual assault and mutilating a corpse.

Schabusiness had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, but jury also found that she wasn’t mentally ill when she killed Thyrion.

Prosecutors said Thyrion and Schabusiness had smoked methamphetamine in the basement of Thyrion’s mother’s Green Bay home before Schabusiness strangled, decapitated and dismembered him. She then left parts of his body throughout the house and in a vehicle, authorities said.

Schabusiness was arrested on Feb. 23, 2022, after Thyrion’s mother called police to her house after she discovered her son’s head in a bucket in the basement.

Brown County Circuit Judge Thomas Walsh said Tuesday before announcing her sentence that “the offense in this case can’t be overstated,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

“You seem to run out of superlatives. Where the victim’s remains are cut up? These actions are foreign. They shock the community; there aren’t really words for it,” he said.

Schabusiness’ defense attorney, Christopher Froelich, told the court she would speak on her own behalf before Walsh sentenced her. But when the judge asked Schabusiness if there was anything she’d like to say, she replied simply, “No, there isn’t.”

“She’s not a monster,” Froelich told the court, adding that at age 25 there’s still time for his client to be rehabilitated, WBAY-TV reported.

In February, Schabusiness attacked her previous attorney during a hearing before a deputy wrestled her to the courtroom floor.

 

American teacher of Tennessee charged with raping student, 12, rearrested for telling victim he’ll ‘regret doing this’

Alissa McCommon is also accused of befriending and carrying out inappropriate relationships with other former students online.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The Tennessee teacher who is a white woman charged with raping a 12-year-old student was rearrested Thursday after she was caught texting the victim — warning him that he would “regret” reporting her to police.

Alissa McCommon, 38, was taken into custody at her Covington home and later charged with aggravated stalking, harassment and coercing — just three weeks after she was busted on rape accusations, according to the city police department.

The former fourth-grade educator had been released after posting a $25,000 bond under the condition she ceases any communication with the boy she is accused of raping in 2021.

McCommon tried to skirt around the parameters by allegedly messaging the 12-year-old from a previously unknown phone number.

“The evidence indicates McCommon texted a victim, using a specific code word known to the juvenile as a code word McCommon would previously utilize to confirm that the juvenile was alone, often before sending nude photographs on SnapChat,” Covington police said in a statement.

The mother of two then sent a flurry of messages warning the boy he would “regret doing this.”

McCommon then admitted to a sexual encounter with the boy during their text exchange, police said.

The victim immediately reported the harassment to police, who arrested the teacher the same day.

“The actions of McCommon are not only appalling, but CPD is also concerned about this apparent violation of her bond conditions. Due to the nature of the communications, we are concerned others may have been contacted,” Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said.

McCommon was rebooked into the Tipton County Jail, where she is being held without bond.

In addition to allegedly sexually assaulting her former student inside her home in 2021, McCommon is also accused of befriending and carrying out inappropriate relationships with other former students online.

Police said she sent them inappropriate photos and requested to have sex with them.

She was booted without pay from her Charger Academy post Aug. 24 after a parent came forward with the allegations.

McCommon maintains her innocence, with her defense attorney claiming social media is carrying out a “witch hunt” against her.

 

American woman of Ohio sentenced for killing her own mother

Sydney Powell, 23, convicted of killing her mother by stabbing her multiple times in the neck was sentenced by a Summit County Common Pleas Court judge to life in prison.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

An Akron woman convicted of killing her mother by stabbing her multiple times in the neck was sentenced Thursday by a Summit County Common Pleas Court judge to life in prison.

Sydney Powell, 23, will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of her sentence, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement. The sentence from Judge Kelly McLaughlin comes after Powell was convicted by a jury last week of two counts of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors say that in March 2020, Powell killed her mother, Brenda Powell, 50, at a home on the city’s northwest side. Sydney Powell struck her mother in the head with an iron skillet before stabbing her in the neck nearly 30 times.

Brenda Powell died of multiple sharp and blunt force injuries, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. She had worked for 28 years at Akron Children’s Hospital as a child life specialist.

Sydney Powell graduated from Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in 2018 and was enrolled at the University of Mount Union from August 2018 to December 2019.

 

UN experts say the United States' jail practices are racist and an 'affront to human dignity

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Reuters: UN. human rights experts have called for major reforms of the U.S. criminal justice system to combat systemic racism, citing testimonies that jailed Black women had been shackled during childbirth while male inmates were forced to work in "plantation-style" conditions.

In a report published on Thursday, three U.N.-appointed experts said they had found practices in U.S. prisons that amounted to "an affront to human dignity" in visits in April and May.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public.

One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said.

The experts "heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies", it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to "several" cases and confirmed they all involved Black women.

The experts also collected direct testimonies of conditions at a Louisiana prison where it said thousands of mostly Black male prisoners were "forced to labour in the fields (even picking cotton) under the watch of white 'freemen' on horseback, in conditions very similar to those of 150 years ago".

It described the stories from the so-called 'Angola' facility as "shocking" and said they amounted to "contemporary forms of slavery". It also voiced alarm at the widespread use of solitary confinement, which it said appeared to be applied disproportionately to inmates of African descent.

One Black man told the experts he had been kept in isolation for 11 years without interruption, the report said.

"Our findings point to the critical need for comprehensive reform," said one of the experts, Juan Mendez.

U.S. prison conditions have been a concern for decades and rights groups have long called for facilities with the worst records to be reformed or shut down.

The investigation was set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, of which the United States is a voting member, in 2021 after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after his neck was pinned to the ground by a police officer.

The report was based on testimonies from 133 individuals in five U.S. cities as well as those collected from five detention centres. It contained a list of 30 recommendations for U.S. authorities, including a call for a new commission on reparations for people of African descent.

 

74-year-old homosexual paedophile imprisoned for sexually molesting young boys 

Michael Copeland pleaded guilty to 15 charges of non-recent sexual abuse.  

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A white sex offender who abused a young boy in Sheffield in the 1980s/1990s has been jailed for over 16 years.

Michael Copeland, aged 74,  groomed the victim over a number of years when he was aged between eight and 12 years old.

The victim, who is now an adult, bravely reported what had happened to him in November 2022. Copeland, who lived in Sheffield at the time of his offending but later moved to Cornwall, was arrested at his home in Truro. Following a thorough investigation, he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of non-recent sexual abuse.  

At Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (26 September), Copeland was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigating officer Wendy Howe, who led the investigation, said: “The victim in this case showed tremendous courage in coming forward to tell us what happened to him when he was a child. I am pleased Copeland has been handed a significant prison sentence for his vile actions and hope it may help the victim to begin to find closure and move on with the rest of his life.

“As this case demonstrates, it is never too late to report sexual abuse to us, even if it happened many years ago. If you have suffered sexual abuse in the past, please tell us. We will investigate and we will pursue justice on your behalf.”

 

Mass shooting in Netherlands leaves several people dead  in Rotterdam 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

People have been killed in the Netherlands after a man wearing military clothing opened fire at a Rotterdam home and a hospital, police said.

City police said a shooting erupted at a classroom inside the Erasmus Medical Center, a university hospital.

Another person was injured earlier inside a residence on Heiman Dullaertplein about 1.5km away in the Lloydkwartier neighbourhood of the port city.

‘The two shooting incidents in Rotterdam resulted in fatalities,’ police said on X, formerly known as Twitter, at 5.30pm local time.

Officers are informing the next of kin before realising any further details.

Rotterdam police said an hour earlier that a man, 32, had been arrested.

He was handcuffed on the hospital’s helipad. Detectives do not suspect there was a second shooter.

‘His possible role and involvement in the shooting incidents is being investigated,’ the force said.

RTV Rijnmond reported that two children were inside the home at the time of the shooting.

There was a fire at the house, which has since been put out, the Dutch news agency NOS said.

Photographs posted on social media show another fire tearing through the teaching hospital, which is affiliated with Erasmus University.

An eyewitness told the Dutch news network RTL that a ‘molotov cocktail’ was allegedly used.

The medical student claimed up to five bullets were fired on the fourth floor of the hospital before the weapon was thrown.

 

Catholic priest of Texas accused of sexually abusing parishioner in her 70s: 

Rev. George Mbugua Ndungu was reportedly removed from the church once the allegations were made

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Fox: A Texas Catholic priest was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a parishioner in her 70s, police say.

Rev. George Mbugua Ndungu, 42, was charged with aggravated sexual assault.

A native of Kenya, Ndungu had served at multiple churches in the San Antonio area since 2017. Authorities say he most recently worked at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

According to KSAT, an employee first told the archdiocese that Ndungu had said inappropriate things to her. Another victim — a woman in her 70s — alleged that Ndungu sexually assaulted her three different times.

The victim was reportedly a parishioner who turned to Ndungu for spiritual guidance. The archdiocese hired their own private investigator to review the matter.

"An elderly lady did come forward, a member of that parish came forward and indicated that on three separate occasions, beginning on November of 2022, this suspect did attempt to sexually assault and was successful in sexually assaulting her," Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a presser. He also described Ndungu as a "predator."

The suspect was reportedly removed from the church once the allegations were made. The Archdiocese of San Antonio released a statement affirming that they take sexual assault allegations seriously.

"The safety and well-being of all people are very important, and the church’s safe-environment policies seek to protect everyone, most especially children and vulnerable adults," the statement, which was obtained by FOX 29, read. "We encourage anyone who is a victim of sexual abuse to contact law enforcement."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office for additional information but has not heard back. Fox News Digital also reached out to Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church for a statement.

 

Philippine airport screening officer Irency Morados  found guilty of stealing $300 bill from foreign passenger 

Morados was caught on CCTV swallowing the said money

 By Edward Era Barbacena 

Philippine Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista announced that the security screening officer Irency Morados who was caught on closed circuit television (CCTV) swallowing a roll money of $300 bills was found guilty of theft.

Bautista was informed that aside from Morados. three other personnel of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) are now facing administrative and criminal charges.

Bautista said the investigation report has been forwarded to his office indicating that there was actually an illegal activity among screening officers 

The $300 bills were allegedly stolen from a foreign passenger where upon reviewing the CCTV footage a morados was seen in the act of swallowing something.

Despite of the CCTV footage as a solid evidence, Morados denied the accusation against her and insisted that she only swallowed a whole chocolate.

The said incident caused the resignation of OTS administrator Ma. Aplasca after House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that he will personally block the agency's budget if he does not leave.

Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe will summon the OTS to strictly implement a one-strike policy against its personnel and officers who are involved in any type of modus operandi or criminality, particularly stealing from passengers.

Poe said that when such a proposal is implemented, the undersirables will be "pulled out" from the ranks of good individuals and they will help maintain the integrity of the office that has been tainted by corruption and controversy.

"What we need in our airports are security guards, not thieves," said Poe.

The chairperson of the Senate committee on public services said that tough actions should be implemented against corrupt personnel to send a signal that the office is serious about reforming their ranks.

"The investigation must be conducted quickly and based on solid evidence that leaves no room for interference," he said.

According to Poe, the last incident of swallowing $300 allegedly stolen from a passenger to carry out the illegal act cannot be justified.

The senator further asserted that the OTS should be boldly shown to be conducting a shake-up of its system which has been shrouded in malfeasance and corruption for many years.

Poe also suggested reviewing the recruitment policy along with conducting a thorough background check on current employees.

The agency also needs to act to improve employee compensation and benefits, the senator added.

“We need to identify the rotten eggs that is destroying the image of OTS. Honest personnel who are honestly doing their duty are aggravated and this will be an hindrance when it come to delivering and providing better services to our people," according to Poe.

 

American pastor David Zandstra who murdered 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington in 1975 to be extradited back Pennsylvania 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

David Zandstra is expected to return to Delaware County on Thursday to answer for the 1975 murder of 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington in 1975.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Zandstra, 83, would be arriving in the afternoon by plane from Marietta, Georgia, where he was taken into custody earlier this year and allegedly admitted to Delaware County investigators that he had kidnapped and killed the Marple Township child nearly 50 years ago.

Zandstra is charged with criminal homicide, murder in the first-, second- and third-degree, kidnapping and possessing an instrument of crime for the abduction and beating death of Gretchen on Aug. 16, 1975.

“It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders,” Tray said. “It was extraordinary to see. It was like a different person. Even when he was told he was going to be placed under arrest that day, he was OK with it. He was resigned to, ‘This is my fate,’ I guess.”

Zandstra was charged following his confession and was taken into custody without bail in Cobb County, Georgia. He eventually waived extradition Sept. 14, clearing the way to bring him back to Delaware County.

Investigators interviewed a witness in January 2023 who had been a friend of Zandstra’s daughter around the time of Harrington’s disappearance. That witness said she had been awakened during sleepovers on two consecutive nights by Zandstra touching her inappropriately, according to the affidavit.

The witness also provided a diary from 1975 indicating another girl was almost kidnapped twice around that same time and that she suspected Zandstra.

Troopers Martin and Tray interviewed Zandstra in Georgia on July 17, 2023, where he admitted to touching the witness during the sleepovers as well as his involvement with Gretchen’s disappearance and murder, according to the affidavit.

Zandstra allegedly admitted to seeing the girl walking along Lawrence Road and offering her a ride. Stollsteimer said Zandstra was the father of one of her best friends, so she accepted and entered his Rambler station wagon. Zandstra then drove to a wooded area and parked.

“Zandstra stated that while they were driving, Harrington asked if she could go home,” the affidavit reads. “Upon parking, Zandstra instructed Harrington to take off her clothes but she refused. He indicated that at this time, or around this time, he ejaculated. At some point after this, Zandstra struck Harrington in the head with his fist.”

Gretchen began to bleed from the blow and Zandstra checked for a pulse, but soon believed she was dead, according to the affidavit. He allegedly covered her half-naked body with sticks and left the area.

Tray previously said Zandstra seemed relieved to confess to the crime.

Stollsteimer described Zandstra, a retired minister, as “a monster” and “every parents’ worst nightmare” during a press conference announcing the charges in July. He is expected to provide an update on the prosecution after Zandstra’s arrival.

Defense attorney Mark Much provided this statement Wednesday:

“David Zandstra is an 83-year-old man with no prior criminal history. He has been charged with murder and kidnapping in a case that is 48 years old. The government alleges he made a statement admitting to these crimes. It is my intention to challenge the knowing, intelligent and voluntary nature of that alleged disclosure.

“David Zandstra is presumed innocent,” Much continued. “False confessions occur more than most people think, and result from a variety of factors, including the use of coercive and deceptive police tactics of a frail 83-year-old, among other factors. This case will be contested and decided in our Courts, not in our newspapers or press conferences. I am looking forward to challenging the Commonwealth’s evidence, or expose the lack thereof.”

What happened that day

Gretchen was last seen by neighbors at 9:20 a.m. as she made her way from her home on the first block of Lawrence Road to a vacation Bible school at Trinity Chapel Christian Reform Church, 140 Lawrence Road, according to an affidavit of probable cause for Zandstra’s arrest written by Pennsylvania State Police troopers Andrew Martin and Eugene Tray.

Students would begin classes about 9:30 a.m. at Trinity Chapel, where Zandstra served as minister from 1969 through 1976, then half would be transported at 10 a.m. to the Reformed Presbyterian Church at 144 Lawrence Road, where Gretchen’s father, Harold, served as the reverend.

Zandstra was the one who called Marple police at 11:23 a.m. to report Gretchen’s disappearance at the request of her father, the affidavit reads.

Zandstra told police the girl left her home at 9:20 a.m. but never arrived to the Presbyterian Church at 144 Lawrence.

Zandstra said in an interview shortly after Gretchen went missing that he had been out picking up children for an earlier session that began at 9:10 a.m.

One of his stops was along Lawrence Road, but he denied seeing Gretchen that morning. He said he was back at Trinity Chapel by 9:30 a.m. but did not know of the disappearance until 11:05 a.m., when he met with Harold Harrington.

Zandstra did provide some inaccurate information to police, or things he could not have known, however. Gretchen was supposed to be going to Trinity Chapel, for instance, not the Presbyterian Church. Zandstra also gave a detailed description of the clothes she was wearing that morning, but had said he never saw her.

Nearly two months passed before the girl’s skeletal remains were discovered Oct. 14, 1975, in Ridley Creek State Park.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was cranial cerebral injuries and the manner of death was homicide. Several articles of clothing belonging to the girl were also recovered at that time.

In the present

Investigators interviewed a witness in January 2023 who had been a friend of Zandstra’s daughter around the time of Harrington’s disappearance. That witness said she had been awakened during sleepovers on two consecutive nights by Zandstra touching her inappropriately, according to the affidavit.

The witness also provided a diary from 1975 indicating another girl was almost kidnapped twice around that same time and that she suspected Zandstra.

Troopers Martin and Tray interviewed Zandstra in Georgia on July 17, 2023, where he admitted to touching the witness during the sleepovers as well as his involvement with Gretchen’s disappearance and murder, according to the affidavit.

Zandstra allegedly admitted to seeing the girl walking along Lawrence Road and offering her a ride. Stollsteimer said Zandstra was the father of one of her best friends, so she accepted and entered his Rambler station wagon. Zandstra then drove to a wooded area and parked.

“Zandstra stated that while they were driving, Harrington asked if she could go home,” the affidavit reads. “Upon parking, Zandstra instructed Harrington to take off her clothes but she refused. He indicated that at this time, or around this time, he ejaculated. At some point after this, Zandstra struck Harrington in the head with his fist.”

Gretchen began to bleed from the blow and Zandstra checked for a pulse, but soon believed she was dead, according to the affidavit. He allegedly covered her half-naked body with sticks and left the area.

Tray previously said Zandstra seemed relieved to confess to the crime.

“It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders,” Tray said. “It was extraordinary to see. It was like a different person. Even when he was told he was going to be placed under arrest that day, he was OK with it. He was resigned to, ‘This is my fate,’ I guess.”

Zandstra was charged following his confession and was taken into custody without bail in Cobb County, Georgia. He eventually waived extradition Sept. 14, clearing the way to bring him back to Delaware County.

 

3 Young Black-American Men Almost Lynched by Racist White Biker Gang in California 

Seventeen white men as outlaws of Hell’s Angels were indicted in connection to the brutal, racist attack of three Black-American men.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Seventeen people have been indicted on various charges involving an attack on three Black men by members of the Hells Angels biker gang in San Diego this year, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said Monday.

The victims, ages 19, 20 and 21, were suddenly chased and attacked in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood on June 6, subjected to a racial epithet and told they didn't belong there, prosecutors said in a news release.

One escaped injury by running, another was punched, kicked and knocked unconscious, and the third was stabbed in the chest by a Hells Angels leader after being beaten by other bikers but survived, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 13, a grand jury indicted 14 people for allegedly taking part in the assault, including an allegation that it was carried out in association with a criminal street gang. The grand jury included hate crime allegations against 11 of the defendants.

The most serious charge, attempted murder, was brought against the alleged gang leader accused of the stabbing. The grand jury added three more defendants on charges of being accessories after the fact for allegedly helping to drive the leader away from the scene.

"In San Diego County, we cannot, and will not tolerate violence and racism of any nature, much less crimes like this hateful, vicious, and unprovoked attack," District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement.

All 17 defendants were arrested on Sept. 21 and were being arraigned Monday on an array of charges that carry possible sentences ranging from three years to life in prison. Trial was set for Nov. 14.

 

Sadistic Thai man arrested for brutally beating his own children to death after his wife left him

Songsak Songsaeng upon his arrest claims he had history of mental illness 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

The police in Thailand have charged a middle-aged man, Songsak Songsaeng, with beating three children to death after his wife left him.

The BBC reports that Songsaeng allegedly murdered his two-year-old daughter and two infant sons, in a fit of rage in the Bang Khen district in Bangkok earlier this month.

The police also told the court on Monday that Songsaeng had earlier killed two other infant sons from a previous marriage.

The charges, according to prosecutors, follow the discovery of the body of a two-year-old girl buried beneath a kitchen floor by neighbours who informed the police.

They added that the suspect, upon his arrest, claimed to have a history of mental illness, and that he killed his children because he couldn’t tolerate the sound of their crying.

The previous wife was also charged over the death of their two-year-old daughter while his recent ex-wife has been charged over the deaths of the two boys.

“All three have been arrested. Songsak has been married four times. Police were first alerted to a possible case of domestic violence,” the prosecutors said in a statement.

“Songsak’s neighbours reported that his two daughters, aged 12 and four, were being physically abused. Police rescued the two daughters while they were home without their parents.

“The 12-year-old told police that their parents had beaten her two-year-old sister, which led to her death. She also helped police trace the body to where it was buried under a kitchen floor in north-west Thailand last week.

“The police have also charged Songsak with the killing of two other sons he had with his third wife after his DNA matched with that of two infants, whose bodies were unearthed 10 years ago.

“His third wife had said he killed their four infant sons and gave police locations where two were buried,” the statement said.

 

Philippine airport OTS' claim of gulping down chocolate and not stolen $300 - a lame excuse 

Irency morados who was caught on CCTV desperately swallowing stolen money from Chinese passenger insisted they were chocolates 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Alibi" or lame  excuse of the screening officer Irency Morados of the NAIA that she only gulped down a chocolate, and not money, after being suspended for stealing $300 from a Chinese passenger which was caught on camera 

This is the statement of OTS Deputy Administrator Asec. Jose Briones Jr. when asked about the incident in the budget hearing of the Department of Transportation in the Philippine Senate.

CCTV footage of Irency Morados went viral on social media this past week where she was seen as a screening officer  swallowing a roll of dollar bills that were obviously stolen from  passenger's luggage.

"Initially that was the cover up or alibi, but subsequent footages caught by the CCTV... was she swallowed dollar bills," Briones said

Briones said the results of the investigation into the incident will be out within a month.

According to DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista, 19 NAIA employees have already been fired from their positions starting July 2022 because they were caught stealing.

"They were caught stealing, getting something from the baggages of our passengers,"  Bautista said.

The senators were disappointed with the stealing incidents, but on the other hand, according to Sen. Grace Poe, it is necessary to continue installing more  CCTVs to intensify monitoring.

 

British juvenile serial killer to face retrial for attempted murder of baby 

Lucy Letby a former nurse will not face further action on another five counts of attempted murder that a jury failed to reach verdicts on.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

CNN: Former nurse Lucy Letby will face a retrial on a charge of attempting to murder a baby.

She will not face further action on another five counts of attempted murder that a jury failed to reach verdicts on.

A provisional trial date has been fixed for 10 June next year, and is expected to last two to three weeks.

Letby was found guilty in August of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six other infants while working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

The 33-year-old was given a whole-life prison sentence for each offence she committed.

She has filed a formal appeal against her convictions - but a date is yet to be set for any potential hearing.

 

American man of Kentucky produced ‘trampling’ fetish and child rape videos using girlfriend’s children and family’s pet cat for years – and allegedly with the mother’s participation

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Kentucky man will spend the rest of his life in prison – and, legally, then some – for physically and sexually abusing multiple children and hurting an animal to make criminal sexual fetish videos.

Christopher Michael Whittaker, 39, previously pleaded guilty to 92 separate offenses, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office. Earlier this week, he was given 10 life sentences.

Most of those offenses are related to the physical and sexual abuse of his girlfriend’s children; she is also charged. But eight of the offenses concern the torture of the family’s pet cat, prosecutors said.

“I’m limited in what I can say about this defendant because he still has similar charges pending in Grant County, Kentucky, but no matter what happens there, the world is a better place with Christopher Whittaker behind bars,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily J. Arnzen said in comments reported by Cincinnati, Ohio-based CBS and The CW affiliate WKRC, which serves the broader metropolitan area.

“We told everyone we’d bury Christopher Whittaker under the prison since the case began, and this is as deep as Kentucky law allows us to dig,” Arnzen added.

Court documents provided by prosecutors to Law&Crime detail, broadly and specifically, some of the condemned man’s depravity.

Between October and November 2016, Whittaker took part in and sometimes directed the abuse of his girlfriend’s then-7-year-old son, who law enforcement described as “non-verbal” and who “has a feeding tube placed in his stomach,” one criminal complaint says.

Between January 2017 and July 2021, he repeatedly raped, sodomized, promoted in various sexual performances, and otherwise sexually abused Michelle Bray’s daughter on video, beginning when she was under 12, Whittaker’s 24-page indictment says.

Starting in September 2021 and ending in January 2022, he repeatedly tortured the family’s cat, according to the indictment.

All of the above crimes were captured on video, prosecutors say.

And that was apparently the point.

A court document provided to Law&Crime explains that Whittaker admitted to having a “foot fetish” and engaging in “trampling.” Bray, who is a co-defendant and is awaiting her trial that begins next week, also allegedly told police that she and Whittaker “engage in the ‘intimate’ act of crushing or trampling,” described as “a BDSM fetish in which one derives sexual pleasure from being walked on or watching another person be walked on.”

According to one of the complaints, Whittaker and Bray conspire to have the mother walk on her 7-year-old disabled son in three videos.

Another complaint details a series of videos in which Bray and her daughter, wearing bikinis, allegedly take turns stepping on Whittaker, who tells the mother and daughter “what to do.”

Numerous other videos show Whittaker raping Bray’s daughter at numerous points in her life – beginning before she was 12.

The defendant initially blamed one of the victims.

“He stated he had been producing these videos for approximately two years at the victim’s request,” Whittaker’s original criminal complaint reads. “In one of the videos, the arrestee can be observed holding a pet cat down on his bed as he instructed the 14-year-old victim, who was bare-breasted and wearing only underwear bottoms and high heels, to walk across the bed to where he was holding the cat down and step on the cat to the point where the cat screeched in discomfort. This action was repeated in the video several times.”

Between October 2021 and January 2022, Whittaker also engaged in numerous instances of possession of material portraying a sexual performance by a minor, according to the indictment.

Bray is charged with one count of human trafficking, three counts of complicity to criminal abuse, four counts of complicity to promoting a sexual performance by a minor, and one count of complicity to sexual abuse. Her trial is slated to begin on Sept. 26. She faces 70 years in prison.

 

French skydiver gets beheaded by plane's wing moments after jump

40-year-old Nicolas Galy's head was decapitated after he smashed into a plane’s wing just 20 seconds into his jump in the South of France

By Edward Era Barbacena 

In a report by The Times carried by the New York Post, 40-year-old Nicolas Galy's head was decapitated after he smashed into a plane’s wing just 20 seconds into his jump in the South of France. He was one of the two skydivers who were released from the plane at 14,000 feet over the town of Bouloc-en-Quercy in July 2018.

The aircraft’s pilot, identified only as 64-year-old Alain C, subsequently descended the plane until he caught up between him and the skydivers as they were gliding in their wingsuits.

As the distance between them closed, the plane's left wing beheaded Galy before his emergency parachute opened, causing his lifeless body to end up in a field. 

Alain has now been put on trial and is charged with manslaughter. In defense of what happened, he argued in court that the blame lies in the shoulders of the victim, who "did not follow the expected course and should never have been on that course."

The pilot recounted that he had lost track of the wingsuit jumpers and believed that Galy, who has experienced 226 skydiving jumps, was "further south" rather than being parallel to the plane.

“I think my flight path made sense. This has been the tragedy of my life but I am not at fault," Alain asserted.

The 64-year-old pilot, however, confessed that he had not briefed the skydivers and wingsuiters about the jump and acknowledged that there was a possibility that they "can be in conflict with the aircraft." It was also discovered Alain was carrying an invalid license after he violated some restrictions because of an unspecified medical condition.

Alain is now at risk of a 12-month suspension and a fine of more than $10,000 (P567,880) from his employer. The verdict in the manslaughter trial is due in November.

 

An American mom of Nebraska who provided an illegal abortion for her daughter and helped dispose of the fetus gets 2 years in prison

Jessica Burgess, 42, pleaded guilty in July to tampering with human remains, false reporting and providing an abortion after at least 20 weeks of gestation, which is illegal in Nebraska.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Nebraska mother who was accused of helping her 17-year-old daughter have an illegal abortion and disposing of the fetus was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday, the Norfolk Daily News reported.

The sentence comes after Jessica Burgess, 42, pleaded guilty in July to two felonies – removing, concealing or abandoning a dead human body, and performing an abortion beyond 20 weeks – and a misdemeanor charge of false reporting.

CNN has reached out to Burgess’s attorney, the Madison County attorney and the Madison County District Court for comment.

Burgess’s daughter, Celeste Burgess, now 19, was sentenced in July to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to a felony charge of removing, concealing or abandoning a dead human body.

Norfolk police began investigating the women in April 2022 following concerns Celeste Burgess had delivered a stillborn fetus, according to court documents.

Authorities alleged Celeste Burgess had a medication abortion, and that it violated the state’s prohibition of abortion after 20 weeks. Celeste Burgess was around 28 weeks pregnant when her pregnancy ended, court documents alleged.

Earlier this year, Nebraska’s governor signed a bill into law that bans most abortions after 12 weeks, with exceptions for sexual assault, incest and medical emergencies.

Investigators used Facebook messages between the Burgesses to establish that they discussed obtaining abortion pills and burning “the evidence,” court documents showed.

The pills purchased by Jessica Burgess are not prescribed by doctors after a pregnancy has reached 10 weeks, Madison County Attorney Joe Smith said, according to the Norfolk Daily News.

“This defendant actually gave these drugs to her own daughter,” Smith said, according to the newspaper. “The defense lawyer did a good job avoiding a child abuse case. All of this was unnecessary. All of it was foolish.”

Jessica Burgess disputed some of the assertions in the police reports but accepted responsibility for her actions, her attorney Brad Ewalt said in the report.

“I understand that there’s law violations. I understand that there are serious law violations,” Ewalt said, the paper reported. “She understands that she is looking at some serious penalties here, but she’s accepting of that. And she’s ready to take what the court is going to give her.”

Jessica Burgess will be eligible for release after serving a year in prison, the newspaper reported.

 

American High School Teacher of Washoe County High School Arrested on Child-Related Felonies

Ryley Coker,32, has been charged with solicitation of a child for prostitution and abuse of a child involving sexual exploitation.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A high school teacher in Washoe County was taken into custody after a disturbing occurrence. Washoe County School District Police Department investigators arrested 32-year-old Ryley Coker on Thursday, September 21. Coker is charged with several felonies relating to children, including the solicitation of a juvenile for prostitution and the abuse of a child including sexual exploitation.

The investigation into Coker’s activities was initiated by WCSD PD detectives, who worked in collaboration with the Regional Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit. The investigation was triggered by information suggesting that Coker had been in contact with a juvenile and had engaged in solicitation for prostitution.

In response to the arrest and pending legal proceedings, the school district took immediate action, placing Coker on emergency suspension without pay. Coker, who had been employed by the district since 2014, was most recently serving as a special education math teacher at Hug High School.

The Washoe County School District maintains a stringent hiring policy that requires all prospective employees to successfully pass a criminal background check before being hired.

 

American homosexual old man of California arrested for the 1987 kidnapping, rape and murder of 6-year-old boy

With the help of DNA, Fred Cain III became a new suspect for the rape and murder of Jeremy Stoner 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Another white American man has been identified as the murderer of young and innocent child with the help of DNA.

Detectives have arrested a new suspect in a decades-old Solano County cold case murder of a six-year-old boy.

Jeremy Stoner was abducted from near his Vallejo home in 1987. His body was found four days later on Sherman Island in Sacramento County.

Originally, police arrested a suspect named Shawn Melton and charged him with kidnapping and murder. However, a jury couldn't reach a verdict in two trials. 

Melton has since been exonerated by new DNA technology, the Solano County District Attorney's Office says.

That same technology also identified a new suspect in the case: Fred Cain III.

Detectives say Cain was living in Central Point, Ore.; he was arrested on Sept. 18 and will be transferred to Solano County soon on charges of murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping and sodomy.

"I am so thankful to have such dedicated cold case investigators that no matter how much time goes by they remain steadfast in their commitment to solving these horrific cases," said District Attorney Krishna Abrams in a statement on Cain's arrest.

Advanced DNA technology helping crack cold cases

Advancements in forensic and genealogical DNA technology are changing the game for cracking cases cold cases. 

"It's probably the most exciting time in the world of crime solving, crime prevention, exonerations that we have ever seen in our lifetime," said Anne Marie Schubert, former District Attorney for Sacramento County. 

Schubert is an expert in forensic DNA and in 2018 led her office's investigation and prosecution of Joseph DeAngelo, the "Golden State Killer," who was responsible for 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California. He was identified and caught decades later using forensic investigative genetic genealogy. 

"We are at a point now with forensic DNA that we have the ability to potentially solve 90% of violent crime with DNA," said Schubert. 

CBS13 asked investigators Friday if another cold case could be linked to Fred Cain. 

Less than a month before Jeremy's case, 9-year-old Eric Coy was murdered near his home about half an hour away from Vallejo in Martinez, Calif. 

His killer has never been found.

Could there be another DNA connection to Fred Cain?

"When you have a murder case, particularly a sexually motivated murder case, when that victim has an autopsy there is going to be an autopsy kit. That has been the standard for decades and decades. Pathologists collect evidence at the autopsy and it could be anything from the sexual assault examination, which could be swabs from the body, it could be fingernail scrapings, it could be clothing," said Schubert. 

It's come down to what was collected at the time and what can still be tested. 

Martinez Police told CBS13 Friday, "We been in contact with Solano County District Attorney's Office. We are not releasing any more information at this time. The Eric Coy case is an active investigation."

 

American grandfather of Missouri admits to killing 16-year-old grandson

Thomas Ribby, 70, allegedly shot 16-year-old Royce Hayes Osburn in a Clinton, Missouri home

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Missouri grandfather allegedly admitted to shooting and killing his 16-year-old grandson last week.

Thomas Ribby, 70, allegedly shot 16-year-old Royce Hayes Osburn on Sunday in a Clinton, Missouri home.

Police wrote in a probable cause statement that the grandfather told investigators he didn't know the gun was loaded, but the family told the FOX affiliate that doesn't explain why the gun was aimed at his grandson.

There was a prior conflict between the grandfather and teenager, but family and witnesses didn't think it would end with Ribby killing Osburn.

Charging documents state that Thomas Ribby gave the Glock to Osburn to play with earlier in the evening.

A witness reportedly "observed the victim playing with the firearm and pretended he was clearing rooms," the documents state.

After Thomas Ribby allegedly shot the teenager, Osburn went to his mother, Melissa Ribby, "entered her bedroom clutching his chest and stated ‘papa shot me,'"

Melissa Ribby said, "My baby died in my arms."

Thomas Ribby locked himself in his apartment once police arrived, according to the report.

"I don’t even want to see him. He’s not my dad. He’s not my dad at all. I don’t ever want to talk to him again. And I don’t care if he burns in hell. I don’t care," Melissa Ribby said. "He should have never done that to a child. My child deserved more than that. If he wanted to kill somebody, turn around and do it to yourself. I’m sorry. That’s the way I feel."

Osburn's family said it was the teenager's dream to one day become a police officer.

The grandfather is being held at the Henry County Detention Center under a $100,000 cash-only bond. He's being charged with 1st-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and resisting arrest.

 

American pastor of Southern Baptist Convention being sued again for sexually abusing a member

Paedophile Michael D'attoma of Lexington, South Carolina is being sued for sexually assaulting teens.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A youth pastor, who’s being sued along with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in a potentially precedent-setting sex abuse case, is facing a new allegation of sexual misconduct, dating back 16 years.

This allegation is contained in a police report filed this summer and obtained by The Roys Report (TRR). In the report, a woman claims that former youth pastor, Michael D’Attoma, groomed and solicited photos from her from 2007—2008. This is when D’Attoma worked as a youth pastor at Rural Chapel Methodist Church in Galena, Ohio.

From 2009—2012, D’Attoma was youth pastor at Northside Baptist Church in Lexington, S.C. And, as previously reported by TRR, two women, who were students in D’Attoma’s ministry at Northside Baptist, are suing D’Attoma for allegedly sexually abusing them during their time there.

The women are also suing Northside Baptist Church, as well as the SBC and the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC), which they claim created an atmosphere that allowed abuse. If successful, the lawsuit, filed last year, could be the first to hold the SBC responsible for the actions of one of its churches.

A judge recently denied a motion to dismiss the suit by all parties.

The police report with the new allegations against D’Attoma was filed in June of this year. It reports that a woman told police that between 2007-2008, when she was a teenager, D’Attoma groomed and solicited photos from her. The woman reportedly was a student in D’Attoma’s ministery at Rural Chapel Methodist Church.

According to the report, D’Attoma would request “half-naked” pictures of the teen, but “never physically groped her or anything in that regard.” Two years ago, D’Attoma reached out to the woman to go on a date, the woman told police. She reportedly refused and has not heard from D’Attoma since then. 

The officer writing the report noted that D’Attoma’s behavior, “while certainly inappropriate, would fall beyond the statute of limitation for anything I could investigate” and closed the case. 

TRR contacted Rural Chapel Methodist Church for comments regarding the allegations concerning D’Attoma, but the church declined to comment. 

Church hires D’Attoma despite alleged predatory history

D’Attoma’s alleged abuse of multiple female students at Northside Baptist allegedly followed a similar pattern to the one described in the new police report. The recent lawsuits claim D’Attoma requested explicit photos from the students at Northside Baptist, then sent them obscene messages and photos.

In 2014, D’Attoma left Northside Baptist and was hired by First Baptist Church (FBC) in Grove City, Ohio. As TRR previously reported, FBC Grove City was allegedly told of some inappropriate texts between D’Attoma and a teen when it hired him.

In 2020, FBC Grove City was sent an anonymous letter, accusing D’Attoma of sexual misconduct and D’Attoma resigned from the church. But according to Andrea Nelson, an FBC member, the church didn’t tell students in the youth ministry that D’Attoma had been fired, but instead that he had chosen to stop working in ministry.

“When they got to church, what they were told was that Mike no longer had a passion for student ministry. That’s why he was leaving,” Nelson said. She added that students “weren’t allowed to talk about it because that would be gossip.

“They literally lied. Even the words that they used, that he doesn’t have a passion for student ministry — actually his passion for student ministry is what got him in all this trouble.”

No parents were in the meeting with the students, Nelson added. 

 

Paedophile old man of Southampton imprisoned after travelling to the Philippines 

Paedophile Michael John Ide, 79, flouted travel restrictions by visiting the country "where children are highly at risk" without telling police.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A pensioner sex offender who flew to the Philippines to see his 38-year-old 'girlfriend' told a judge his jail sentence "ain't fair".

Paedophile Michael John Ide, 79, flouted travel restrictions by visiting the country "where children are highly at risk" without telling police.

As Judge Gary Burrell KC jailed him for 16 months, Ide shouted 'no' from the dock.

“It ain’t fair. I will lose my home,” he protested.

As he was taken out of court, he also said: “I have got animals. I have a fridge full of food.”

Ide, of Burgoyne Road, Southampton failed to comply with his notification requirements four times, the court heard.

In 1998 he was jailed for 30 months for gross indecency with a child and indecent assault on a child and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

But when his offender manager visited him on June 30 this year, Ide was found to have a passport he had not told police about.

An examination of the document confirmed he had secretly travelled to foreign countries twice, once in 2017 and once in 2023.

Prosecuting, Keely Harvey told Southampton Crown Court that in 2017, Ide had visited his “girlfriend” in the Philippines who was 38 at the time.

Police also found a Facebook account he had been using for "a considerable period of time" without notifying officers.

Mitigating, Annabel Hazlitt said that for 19 years “when he had a more stable home life”, Ide had stuck to his notification requirements.

She also said Ide he has had a number of operations and health issues.

However, Judge Burrell, sitting as a deputy circuit judge, said the sex offender is “beyond help”.

“You did something that is serious, and you knew what you were doing at the time because those breaches show quite a long period of non-compliance.

“You’re going to a country where it is known that children are highly at risk.

“The prosecution says, and I think there is merit in it, that the country that you went to is such that there was a risk of very serious harm to children from you because you have this problem that hasn’t really gone away.

“You like children.

“I don’t think a community sentence would be appropriate for you.”

The court heard his girlfriend’s child was not present when Ide was visiting.

 

American man of California convicted of attempted murder of his own son with a sledgehammer while sleeping 

Anthony Nardini  was convicted of three felony counts including attempted murder after beating his sleeping 24-year-old son with a sledgehammer 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Anthony Nardini of Bakersfield was convicted of three felony counts including attempted murder after beating his sleeping 24-year-old son with a sledgehammer in March of this year.

A Ventura County jury found Nardini guilty of attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, and assault with a deadly weapon and also found true all felony special allegations which included the use of a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury in the commission of a felony on Wednesday detail Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

According to Ventura County District Attorney's Office, on Mar. 19, 2023, Nardini and his son were staying with family in an unincorporated part of Ventura County near Simi Valley after recently being reconnected after being estranged.

That evening, a physical argument between the father and son had to be broken up by family members and Nardini left in his truck detail Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Ventura County District Attorney's Office relay that Nardini then returned to the home, insisted other family members go to bed, then grabbed a sledgehammer from the property and proceeded to bludgeon his sleeping son with it.

Family members heard the sounds of the beating and found the 24-year-old with a severe head injury detail Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

According to Ventura County District Attorney's Office, Nardini fled out the backdoor and responding Ventura County Sheriff's deputies discovered a blood-covered sledgehammer outside.

The son was placed in a medically-induced coma for several days and ultimately survived his injuries relay Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

“While this conviction will never repair the emotional and physical scars inflicted by his father, we hope that this affirmation by the jury will bring some solace to the young man who experienced an unfathomable attack on his life,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Stu Gardner who prosecuted the case.

Nardini is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 1 of this year in courtroom 46 of Ventura County Superior Court where he is facing a life sentence with the possibility of parole. He currently remains in custody without bail.

 

American woman of Colorado resorts to mass shooting after being denied access to Denver bar that injured 5 people 

Keanna Rosenburgh is at large wanted for 8 counts of first-degree murder.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A shocking mass shooting that left five people injured in Denver over the weekend. According to authorities, the shooter was a woman who was denied entry into a bar near Market 19 on Saturday night. After being turned away, she initially walked away but then returned to speak with the security staff. It was during her second departure that she allegedly pulled out a gun and fired shots in the direction of the club.

Police have since identified the woman as Keanna Rosenburgh who now faces 8 counts of attempted first-degree murder. Authorities say the victims were likely not targeted and are expected to make full recoveries. 

The search for Rosenburgh continues as police investigate the entire ordeal. 

 

American man of Oklahoma executed for 1996 rape and murder of Juli Busken after being caught by his DNA

Anthony Sanchez was put to death by lethal injection on September 21, 2023, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in the town of McAlester

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A man has been executed in the US for the rape and murder of a dance student which went unsolved for years until DNA from the crime scene was matched to him while he was in prison for burglary.

Anthony Sanchez, 44, protested his innocence as he was strapped down in the death chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

He was declared dead 11 minutes after the lethal drugs started to be administered.

While Sanchez maintained he had nothing to do with the 1996 killing of 21-year-old Juli Busken, he took the unusual step of opting not to present a clemency application to the state's pardon and parole board, which many viewed as the last chance to spare his life.

Ahead of his execution, Sanchez criticised his former lawyers and thanked his supporters, including his spiritual adviser who was in the chamber with him.

He said: "I'm innocent.

"I didn't kill nobody."

At one point during the procedure, a member of the execution team entered the chamber and reattached an oxygen monitor that prison officials said had malfunctioned.

Shortly before he was put to death, the US Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay of execution submitted by his new lawyer, who had said he needed more time to go through the case evidence.

Ms Busken had just completed her last term at the University of Oklahoma when she was abducted on 20 December 1996, from the car park of her apartment complex.

Her body was found later near a lake on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.

She had been bound, raped and shot in the head.

Busken had performed as a ballerina in several dance performances during her time at the university and a scholarship was set up in her name at the College of Fine Arts.

Years later, Sanchez was in jail for burglary when DNA from the victim's clothing was matched to him.

He was convicted and sentenced to die in 2006.

None of Ms Busken's family attended Thursday's execution, but state attorney general Gentner Drummond said he had spoken to them several times in recent months.

He said: "Juli was murdered 26 years, nine months and one day ago. The family has found closure and peace."

'False DNA'

Sanchez had long maintained his innocence.

In an interview earlier this year from death row. "That is fabricated DNA.

"That is false DNA. That is not my DNA. I've been saying that since day one."

He said he had declined to seek clemency because even when the five-member pardon and parole board takes the rare step of recommending it, governor Kevin Stitt was unlikely to grant it.

Sanchez said: "I've sat in my cell and I've watched inmate after inmate after inmate get clemency and get denied clemency. Either way, it doesn't go well for the inmates."

Mr Drummond maintained the DNA evidence unequivocally linked Sanchez to Ms Busken's killing.

He said the odds of randomly selecting an individual with the same genetic profile were one in 94 trillion.

'Brutal rapist and murderer'

"There is no conceivable doubt that Anthony Sanchez is a brutal rapist and murderer who is deserving of the state's harshest punishment," Mr Drummond said in a recent statement.

A private investigator hired by an anti-death penalty group argued the DNA evidence may have been contaminated.

Ballistic evidence

But former Cleveland county district attorney Tim Kuykendall, who was the county's top prosecutor when Sanchez was tried, has said while the DNA evidence was the most compelling at trial, there was other evidence linking him to the killing, including ballistic evidence and a shoe print found at the crime scene.

Mr Kuykendall said recently: "I know from spending a lot of time on that case, there is not one piece of evidence that pointed to anyone other than Anthony Sanchez.

"I don't care if a hundred people or a thousand people confess to killing Juli Busken."

Sanchez is the third inmate put to death in Oklahoma this year and the tenth since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 2021 ending a six-year moratorium introduced over concerns about its execution methods.

 

Paedophile American pastor of Georgetown arrested for possession of child pornography 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 57-year-old David Lloyd Walther was sentenced in an Austin federal court Wednesday

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Georgetown man and former Round Rock pastor was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release on an “enhanced charge of possession of child pornography.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 57-year-old David Lloyd Walther was sentenced in an Austin federal court Wednesday. In addition to that sentence, Walther must pay restitution of $61,000.

The DOJ said during a search of Walther’s home and vehicle in November 2022, two computer hard drives were found. The hard drives contained more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sexual abuse material.

A Georgetown man and former Round Rock pastor was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release on an “enhanced charge of possession of child pornography.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 57-year-old David Lloyd Walther was sentenced in an Austin federal court Wednesday. In addition to that sentence, Walther must pay restitution of $61,000.

The DOJ said during a search of Walther’s home and vehicle in November 2022, two computer hard drives were found. The hard drives contained more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sexual abuse material.

 

American woman of Oregon jailed for waterboarding her own  baby, putting him in freezer as ‘test’ for dad

Sharday McDonald, 30 has been jailed for 30 days after she waterboarded her baby before shoving him in the freezer as a cruel “test” to see if the baby’s father “gave a f–k at all.”

By Edward Era Barbacena 

An Oregon mother has been jailed for 30 days after she waterboarded her baby before shoving him in the freezer as a cruel “test” to see if the baby’s father “gave a f–k at all.”

Sharday McDonald, 30, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal mistreatment, ID theft, and tampering with a witness after cops discovered that the baby had been mistreated during a welfare check on Oct. 28, 2021.

When officers showed up to McDonald’s Gresham, Ore. apartment after receiving calls that a baby had been placed in a freezer, cops heard her yelling at the child’s father, Kendrick Neal.

“I’m about to show you real quick. You don’t want him?” McDonald could be heard shouting. “Let me show you about this little f–kng baby, I don’t f–kng give f–k about,” according to WPDE.

McDonald was sentenced to 30 days behind bars on Tuesday, the outlet adds.

Multnomah County Detention Center records show that McDonald will be released on Oct. 6.

She pleaded guilty to the charges on July 28.

When cops paid a visit to her apartment in 2021, McDonald opened the door, according to an affidavit obtained by Fox Digital.

Questioned by officers, McDonald said she wasn’t trying to inflict harm on the child, despite putting the baby under running water before shoving him in the freezer, according to the documents.

The officer who arrested her reported that he reviewed pictures of the child being abused once the father arrived on the scene. The officer said it appeared the baby was trying to hold his breath as water was being poured down his face and over his nose.

Prosecutors who spoke with a pediatrician after reviewing images said it was likely that the child struggled to breathe during the ordeal.

According to KATU, McDonald told the officer that she acted “out of spite.”

 

American traveling pastor facing child rape charges, indicted in Murfreesboro

Benjamin Garlick faces 12 charges, including five counts of aggravated rape of a child 8 years old or younger and five counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor under the age of 13.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A white American man who preaches across the country, including in Tennessee, is behind bars for alleged child rape.

Benjamin Garlick faces 12 charges, including five counts of aggravated rape of a child 8 years old or younger and five counts of aggravated sexual battery of a minor under the age of 13.

Garlick’s wife, Shaantal, was also charged with facilitation and aggravated child neglect.

Murfreesboro Police told News 2, as of Sept. 20, the matter is still under investigation, so it is unclear on the number of victims, how Garlick knew them, or when the alleged rapes occurred.

Garlick was indicted on Sept. 12 and remains in the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on a $750,000 bond.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office told News 2 Garlick’s wife, Shaantal, bonded out two days after she was booked in jail on a $75,000 bond.

News 2 reached out to a Murfreesboro pastor who wished to remain anonymous. He told News 2 that he’s known Garlick since he was a child. He said he is a father with a role model family.

He told News 2 Garlick organized conferences across the country and focused on connecting with the Spanish community.

He said he recently visited Garlick in jail and is not ready to go on camera until Garlick is proven guilty.