After a 5-year-old was found alone on the street on January 10th, the search for 4-year-old Athena Brownfield began. Her remains were found in rural Grady County a week later, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has now confirmed her identity. Her caretakers are being questioned in connection with her disappearance, and the investigation is ongoing.
Posts published in “Crime”
The FBI has taken down the website of the notorious Hive ransomware group, which has extorted over $100 million from 1,300 companies worldwide. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department had dismantled the international ransomware network, following a hospital attack in October. The FBI is urging organizations to take steps to protect themselves from ransomware, and encouraging victims to report attacks to law enforcement.
Peaches Stergo, a 36-year-old Florida woman, was arrested by the Department of Justice on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor of over $2.8 million over the course of four years. Stergo is facing charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft, and if convicted, could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and money laundering, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
A San Francisco County Superior Court Judge has granted a motion filed by a coalition of 13 news organizations to release evidence in the case against David DePape, the man accused of assaulting Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This evidence includes video from a body camera, a 911 call, parts of a police interview, and security video taken during the break-in. The footage is expected to be released to the public on Thursday, providing more insight into the incident and the subsequent investigation.
Alex Murdaugh is on trial in Walterboro, South Carolina, for the 2021 murders of his wife and youngest son. Prosecutor Creighton Waters presented evidence that included gunshot residue, bullets, and cellphones, while the defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial. The jury will decide whether Murdaugh is guilty of the charges.
Prosecutors in Northern California have charged 66-year-old Chunli Zhao with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for the shooting of eight farm workers in Half Moon Bay. This is the highest number of people murdered at one time in San Mateo County's history, and the investigation is ongoing with no motive determined yet. Zhao is currently in custody and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Alex Murdaugh is on trial for the cold-blooded murder of his wife and youngest son, with prosecutors alleging he used a shotgun and rifle to kill them at close range. State prosecutor Creighton Waters said Murdaugh called his wife twice after she had been killed while he was a third of a mile away, and described the injuries as horrific. The trial is expected to last several weeks, with the outcome still uncertain.
In the last 44 hours, California has experienced three mass shootings, leaving 24 people dead and prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to call for action to address the gun violence epidemic. The suspect in the Half Moon Bay shooting, Zhao, is facing seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been 40 mass shootings in the US so far in 2021, more than at this point in any year on record.