Category: Crime and Incidents

Former ABC Reporter Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

A reporter who was employed by ABC News has pleaded guilty to transporting and possessing child pornography. James Gordon Meek, 53, pleaded guilty to using an online messaging platform to send and receive child porn, according to a plea agreement made public on July 21. Mr. Meek acknowledged knowingly violating 18 U.S. Code § 2252,…


Coroner Identifies 2 Victims Killed by Man Who Later Died in Police Shootout in Louisiana

HARVEY, La.—Louisiana authorities have identified the former shipyard worker who was killed in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies Monday, and the two ex-coworkers the man had gunned down hours before he was killed. The suspect killed Monday afternoon at an apartment complex in suburban New Orleans was Willis Thomas, 31, of Harvey, Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich,…


Indiana Police Recover 2 DNA Profiles From Human Remains Found at Property of Long-Dead Businessman

WESTFIELD, Ind.—Indiana authorities have recovered two complete human DNA profiles from bones and bone fragments found on property once owned by a long-deceased businessman suspected in a string of killings in the 1980s and 1990s. Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said Indiana State Police’s laboratory was able to produce the two DNA profiles this week…


Ex-Police Officer Convicted in Death of George Floyd to Appeal to US Supreme Court

The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction after the Minnesota Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court is asked to look at thousands of cases each year, out of which it agrees to…


NYC Agrees to $13 Million Settlement With BLM Demonstrators

New York City has agreed to pay out $13 million in a settlement with more than 1,300 protesters who were arrested or allegedly being brutalized by police officers while attending 18 different protest events in the city in the summer of 2020. On Thursday, a group of law firms representing the protesters in a federal…


Alabama to Carry Out First Lethal Injection After Review of Execution Procedures

ATMORE, Ala.—Alabama plans to execute an inmate on Thursday for the 2001 beating death of a woman as the state seeks to carry out its first lethal injection after a pause in executions following a string of problems with inserting the IVs. James Barber, 64, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening at…


Oklahoma Executes a Man for the 1995 Butcher Knife Slaying of a Tulsa Woman

McALESTER, Okla.—Oklahoma executed a man Thursday for stabbing a Tulsa woman to death with a butcher knife in 1995 after his escape from a prison work center. Jemaine Cannon, 51, received a lethal injection at 10:01 a.m. and was pronounced dead 12 minutes later at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It was the second…


Police Cast Doubt on Carlee Russell’s Kidnapping Claim After Reporting Toddler on an Alabama Highway

Authorities in Alabama cast doubt Wednesday on the story of a woman who set off a frantic search when she disappeared for two days after calling 911 to report a toddler wandering on the highway. Carlee Russell told investigators she was abducted and forced into a car Thursday, but they have been unable to verify…


Wife of Alleged Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Rex Heuermann Files for Divorce

The wife of the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has filed for divorce, according to court documents. Asa Ellerup, 59, the wife of Manhattan architect Mr. Heuerman—who police have confirmed is the suspected serial killer in the case—filed for divorce in Suffolk County Supreme Court against her husband of more than 20 years…


Texas Elementary School Teacher Arrested for Allegedly Promoting, Transmitting Child Pornography

An elementary school teacher in Flint, Texas, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the promotion of child pornography, according to officials. Fabrizio Olague, a teacher with the Chapel Hill Independent School District (CHISD), was arrested on July 17 following a two-month investigation by a detective with the Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constable’s office, according to…