Category: murder

Teens Charged After United Methodist Church Leader Is Killed

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—A 15-year-old boy was charged Tuesday with murder in the fatal shooting of a pastor and leader of the during a carjacking in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev. Autura Eason-Williams was shot Monday afternoon outside of her home, the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church said. She was found in her driveway with…


Trial Begins for Man Accused of Killing Father, Father’s Girlfriend

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 30-year-old man allegedly walked downstairs, racked a gun, fatally shot his father and his father’s girlfriend, and wounded two other roommates in their Aliso Viejo home, a prosecutor told jurors July 19. But the defendant’s attorney suggested evidence will show that someone else fired the shots. Luke William Ferguson is charged with…


Alex Murdaugh Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering Wife and Son

WALTERBORO, S.C.—The once-powerful and now disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he murdered his wife and son 13 months ago, with one of his defense attorneys calling for a speedy trial to clear his name and prod authorities to “go for the real killers.” Wearing a white face mask…


NASCAR Star Bobby East Murdered, Police Identify Suspect as Homeless Man

Former NASCAR driver Bobby East has died after being stabbed to death at a California gas station. East, 37, was at a 76 gas station in Westminster on July 13 when he was stabbed in the chest, according to the Westminster Police Department. Responding officers found the three-time U.S. Auto Club (USAC) champion on the…


Alex Murdaugh Charged With Murder in Deaths of Wife, Son

COLUMBIA, S.C.—More than 13 months after disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh called 911 after finding his wife and son shot outside their home, a grand jury indicted him Thursday on murder charges in their killings. But the legal documents shed little light on the ongoing mystery over the deaths that captivated the public, who…


Fatal Stabbing at Sweden Annual Event Now Labeled as Terror

STOCKHOLM—The killing of a woman at an annual political event in Sweden earlier this month is now being investigated as an act of terror, authorities said. Sweden’s domestic security agency, known by its acronym SAPO, said that the 32-year-old man who is in custody over the July 6 knife attack is now suspected of “terrorist…


Shinzo Abe: He Will Be Missed

Commentary Statesmen come along only once in a great while. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was murdered on July 8 in Nara, Japan, was a statesman. He was the first of the 20-odd Japanese prime ministers to deserve the title in the last 35 years since Yasuhiro Nakasone held office. Even though Abe…


UK Loner Jailed for Life for ‘Planned’ Murder of Police Community Support Officer

A loner who ambushed an off-duty police community support officer as she walked her dog in woodland in southern England has been jailed for life for her murder. Callum Wheeler, 22, used a railway jack to beat Julia James, 53, to death in Ackholt Wood, near her home in the former coal-mining village of Snowdown…


Driver Who Killed Woman and Three Daughters in Brampton Seeks to Appeal Conviction

A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters in Brampton, Ont., two years ago is challenging his conviction on drug-impaired driving charges as well as his sentence. In a notice of appeal filed last month, Brady Robertson’s lawyer alleges the trial judge was wrong to uphold the constitutionality of Canada’s…


Man Charged With Murder in Overdose Deaths of Model, Her Friend

LOS ANGELES—A Beverly Hills man who was already facing sex-related counts involving seven women over a 13-year period has been charged with murder in the overdose deaths of a model and her friend, who were dumped outside Southland hospitals last November, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced July 5. David Brian Pearce, 40,…