Over the past two decades, instances of bank crime have dropped from over 7,000 recorded offenses in 2003 to fewer than 2,000 in 2021, according to FBI data.
Improved surveillance and security could be contributed to the decline, prompting offenders to pursue cybercrime instead of an in-person heist. However, some still prefer the old-fashioned route.
Last week, Bonnie Gooch, 78, was arrested in Pleasant Hill, Missouri for carrying out a bank heist. The almost octogenarian allegedly passed a note to a teller demanding “13,000 small bills” and also wrote “sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” The Kansas City Star reported.
It’s Gooch’s third arrest for bank robbery to date. Her first conviction was in 1977 for robbing a California bank, and she faced a second conviction in 2020 for robbing a bank in a Kansas City suburb.
Gooch was caught by police later that same day at the Pleasant Hill Animal Clinic (less than two miles away from the incident). She allegedly smelled of alcohol and had a large amount of cash scattered across her car’s floorboard.
Police told The Kansas City Star that Gooch had no “diagnosed” ailments, but they are working to discern whether any underlying health factors may have contributed to the incident, adding that “it’s just sad.”
“When officers first approached her, they were kind of confused … It’s a little old lady who steps out,” Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright told the outlet. “We weren’t sure initially that we had the right person.”
Gooch remains in Cass County Jail with a bond set at $25,000. There is no attorney is listed according to online court documents, the AP reported.
Although Gooch’s move to rob a bank with a note passed to the teller may seem old school, about 77% of bank crimes happened directly at the counter in 2021, according to data from the FBI.
The actress said during her depo Sanderson’s team asked her questions concerning “highly irrelevant, inadmissible and prejudicial evidence that pushed the limits of discovery standards.” Further, Paltrow said the video was unnecessary since she will stand the stand and testify.
Paltrow is expected to take the stand later this week.
Neighbors from Hale’s suburban community — where her parent have lived in their $700,000 home for over three decades — said they were unaware that the suspect had transitioned but recalled her being a “skater, tomboy type.”
“She introduced herself about a year and a half ago as Audrey,” one neighbor claimed. “I treated her like a female and she didn’t correct me.”
“She seemed artistic, quiet, and well-mannered,” the neighbor added.
Police claimed Hale intended to attack her family members but was killed at the school by responding officers before she could.
Here’s something Florida-based psychic Rose Marks perhaps didn’t see in her future: a ten-year prison sentence.
But maybe she should have. She was, after all, stealing a lot of money from unsuspecting clients. Rose Marks and eight members of her family were accused and convicted of bilking approximately $25 million out of her customers over the course of several years. The scam was as simple as it was wicked. Mentally manipulate vulnerable people, and convince them that the “temporary” surrender of large amounts of cash and jewels would serve as a sacrifice that would appease evil spirits and make them go away. Once the bad luck vanished, the cash and jewels would be returned.
That is, of course, unless you happen to “misplace” the sacrifices and never give anything back.
On this episode of Dirty Money, co-hosts Jon Small and Dan Bova speak with author Tori Tefler, who chronicled Marks’ crimes and the dastardly deeds of other female criminals in her book Confident Women. Tefler breaks down Marks’ scheme, explaining how and why she was able to convince so many people that she was the answer to their prayers rather than the beginning of their worst nightmares.
We just looked into our crystal ball…and see you really loving this episode. Thanks for listening!
A 24-year-old man was arrested as a suspect in connection to the kidnapping of four Americans that left two dead, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Last week, Latavia “Tay” McGee, 35, Eric James Williams, 38, Shaeed Woodard, 33, and Zindell Brown traveled from South Carolina to Mexico and were kidnapped at gunpoint on Friday.
On Wednesday, hours after two of the four Americans were rescued, Jose Guadalupe N., 24, was taken into custody.
Update, March 2, 2023: After deliberating for three hours on Thursday evening, a jury found Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, on June 7, 2021.
Murdaugh still faces a host of serious charges, including money laundering, insurance fraud, and alleged misuse of funds from a settlement related to the death of his housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. He will face sentencing in his wife’s and son’s murders on March 3, 2023.
The story of the Murdaugh murders stems from a 100-year-old family legal dynasty in Hampton, South Carolina, that was put in the hands of fourth-generation lawyer Alex Murdaugh.
But what took a century to build came crashing down in June 2021, when Alex called authorities after finding his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, shot dead in their 1,770-acre hunting lodge at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton,South Carolina.
These crimes led to a series of revelations about the family, which HBO Max unpacked in the new true crime documentary, Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, that aired on November 3. Followed by another true crime series based on the once-prestigious family Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandalwhich is set to release on Netflix on February 22.
Image credit: Courtesy of Maggie Murdaugh via Facebook.
Now in the same courthouse where generations of Murdaughs laid down the law, Alex is set to go on trial for murder, with jury selection beginning on January 23.
“Murdaugh will not be shackled during the trial, which begins Monday in Colleton County,” a South Carolina Public Radio reported. “He faces life behind bars if convicted. Meantime, a portrait of his grandfather that hangs in the courtroom will be taken down.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about the case and the Murdaugh family.
Who Are the Murdaugh Family?
The Murdaugh family began in South Carolina at the turn of the century and have beenprominent lawyers in the state fordecades. Beginning with Alex Murdaugh’s great-grandfather Randolph Murdaugh Sr., who started Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick in 1910, generations of his family have continued to work at the firm, including his son, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh II, grandson, Randolph Murdaugh III, and his great-great-grandsons Randolph “Randy” Murdaugh IV and Alex Murdaugh.
The firm was successful with personal injury cases by taking advantage of a South Carolina law that allows people to sue in any county and not where an incident may have occurred — which can often result in favoritism and landed Hampton County on the 2004 list of “Judicial Hellholes“. However, this made the Murdaugh group the “go-to” lawyers in the county.
Randolph Sr. also became the first elected solicitor, (or district attorney), of the 14th judicial circuit (district) in 1920. Randolph Sr. held the role for 20 years until his death. His son, Randolph “Buster” Murdaugh II, was elected to the position next. He worked from 1940 to 1986, until his son Randolph Murdaugh III took over, working from 1986 to 2006. Alex volunteered and worked part-time in the solicitor’s office after graduating from USC Law School in 1994 until 2021.
The Murdaugh family were solicitors in South Carolina for 86 years straight; leading criminal prosecutions for their district, and playing a key role in deciding which cases get prosecuted (and when) from 1920 to 2006.
What Happened to Paul and Maggie Murdaugh?
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot dead on June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh called 911 at around 10 p.m., claiming he had discovered the bodies. However, the coroner found that the two had died between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., per NPR, and they had been shot with different weapons — Maggie with an assault-style rifle and Paul with a shotgun.
In October 2021, Alex was named as a person of interest in the case, although his lawyer denied the allegations and said he had no motive for the crimes, according to People.
According to NBC News, sources close to the investigation said authorities found cellphone video evidence that places Alex at the scene of the crime.
On July 14, 2022, he was indicted by a grand jury in connection to Paul and Maggie’s murders. He was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers maintain his innocence.
Image credit: Courtesy of Maggie Murdaugh via Facebook.
What Other Crimes Were Uncovered After the Murdaugh Family Murders?
As investigators looked into the deaths of the mother and son, other unsolved crimes relating to the Murdaugh family were discovered.
Two years beforehis death, in February 2019, youngestson Paul, 22,had been involved in a boat crash that left his friend, Mallory Beach, dead after being thrown from the boat. Though various witnesses said Paul had been driving the boat while intoxicated, according to a previous NBC documentary on Peacock, key evidence had gone missing in the case.
Paul was charged with one count of boating while intoxicated and two counts of causing bodily injury, though people suggested he received special treatment thanks to his family’s legacy. He was released on bond and a date for his trial was never set, per People.
Additionally, two weeks following the double murders that took place in June 2021, the state reopened an investigation into a 2015 case of a man, Stephen Smith, who had been found dead on the side of the road.
While South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)has not revealed what evidence caused them to reopen the case, per NPR, the Murdaugh name kept coming up in relation to the case. Sources speculated that Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaugh’s eldest son who also worked at the family law firm, had a relationship with Smith, according to the Daily Mail.
Furthermore, although Smith’s death was ruled a hit-and-run, he had a gunshot wound above his right eye and his injuries were not consistent with those sustained from vehicle trauma, according to the Daily Mail.
Buster has not been named a person of interest in Smith’s death.
What Happened to Gloria Satterfield?
In addition to Smith’s death, SLED began investigating another case involving the Murdaugh family. In 2018, the family’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died after Maggie Murdaugh called 911, claiming Satterfield had fallen down the stairs. It was noted that Paul was present during the call.
Satterfield was a longtime caretaker of the family, and according to sources featured in Discovery + documentary Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty, she had told several people that Paul would kill small animals and often disregarded authority.
Her cause of death remains unclear.
At the funeral, Alex approached Satterfield’s sons and said since the accident happened on his property, he was going to sue himself for wrongful death so the boys can get some insurance money, according to The New York Times.
With all legalities handled by Alex, the sons were told to wait for a settlement.
Alex and his insurers did reach a $4.3 million settlement in the months after Satterfield’s death, but the Satterfield family didn’tsee a dime.
The Satterfield sons filed a lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh in September 2021, and SLED decided to exhume the body for an autopsy in June 2022, according to South Carolina’s WCSC. That same month, Alex agreed to pay the Satterfield family $4.3 million.
Where Is the Murdaugh Law Firm Now?
The alleged misappropriated funds in the wrongful death suit uncovered various other financial crimes including Alex stealing millions from clients and his family law firm, according to The New York Times.
He was then forced out by his partners in September 2021, just three months after the double murders. The firm changed its name to the Parker Law Group, LLP in January 2021, according to WOTC South Carolina.
Alex was also stripped from being a lawyer in the state of South Carolina indefinitely, and his name was removed from the firm that was once known as the “Murdaugh Law Firm.”
What Happened to Alex Murdaugh?
The following day, after Alex was forced out of the firm, he was shot in the head while changing a tire on the side of the road. The shot only caused minor damage and he was able to call for help.
Days after he was shot, he checked into rehab for opioid addiction. It was there that he admitted to lawyers that he had hired Curtis Eddie Smith to kill him so his son Buster could collect $10 million in insurance money.
On Sept. 16, 2021, he turned himself in to Hampton County Law Enforcement in connection to the suicide-for-hire scam, per People.
Later, on Oct. 14, 2021, Alex was arrested on felony charges for misusing millions from the Satterfield estate and obtaining property under false pretenses, per NPR, and was hit with tens of charges in the months that followed concerning numerous financial crimes and deaths.
He was indicted on murder charges for the deaths of his wife and son in July 2022.
Image credit: Tracy Glantz/The Island Packet/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Where Are the Murdaughs Now?
Alex Murdaugh is currently in jail and is set to go on trial for the June 2021 murders of his son Paul and his wife Maggie in January. If convicted, he could face 30 years to life in prison without parole and could be eligible for the death penalty, according to USA Today.
Murdaugh faces a total of 90 charges, many of which include financial crimes such as stealing from the family law firm, money laundering through a drug ring, and committing insurance fraud.
As for the rest of the surviving Murdaugh family, eldestson Buster was last reported to be “not doing well at all” since his father was arrested for the double murders, sources told People in July 2022.
Meanwhile, Alex’s brother Randy still works as a practicing lawyer at the now-renamed Parker Law Firm. He denounced Alex’s actions and claimed he had no involvement in his mishandling of company funds in a statement to Peoplein September 2021.
It’s unclear exactly how much wealth the Murdaugh family once had, but several accounts and properties were found to be worth millions.
When Murdaugh was held on a $7 million bond for 51 criminal charges, the court detailed Murdaugh’s assets, which included numerous real estate properties and even small islands, according to Greenville News.
Additionally, the court found a retirement account worth between $2.1 and $2.2 million, and an IRA retirement fund valued at $350,000 to $400,000.
He was also supposed to receive a trust for an undisclosed amount after his father Randolph Murdaugh III’s death in June 2021, plus probate assets after his wife’s death that same month.
Furthermore, the family hunting lodge where Paul and Maggie were killed was listed in February 2022 for $3.9 million.
In what can only be described as truly impeccable timing, Netflix dropped their latest true-crime offering just hours before the main character in the case was called to the stand at his own double-murder trial.
And while the title of the three-part documentary ostensibly references the 2021 killings of Alex Murdaugh’s son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, the episodes focus on series of tragic accidents, mysterious deaths, brutal murders and financial crimes that all converged to take down a family that seemed to believe they were above the law.
The case at hand
Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial for the murders of 52-year-old Maggie and 22-year-old Paul. He is accused of shooting Paul twice with a shotgun and Maggie five times with a rifle at the family’s hunting lodge on June 7, 2021.
On Thursday, he tearfully told the South Carolina courtroom that he maintains his innocence, but admitted that he lied about when he last saw his family members.
Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defence at his double murder trial Thursday to present his version of events. He denied killing his wife and son.
The Associated Press
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them,” Murdaugh said, tears running down his cheeks, mucous dripping out of his nose.
Taking the stand five weeks into his trial, Murdaugh admitted he lied to police about being at the hunting property’s dog kennels with his wife and son shortly before the killings, but he blamed his addiction to opioids for clouding his thinking and creating a distrust of state law enforcement agents.
Prosecutors contend that Murdaugh killed his wife and son because he wanted sympathy to buy time to cover up his financial crimes that were about to be discovered. He faces roughly 100 other charges — from stealing from clients to arranging his own shooting on the side of a highway.
And while Murdaugh’s trial will likely last at least another week, and it could be some time before the jury shares a verdict, the downfall of the Murdaugh dynasty began many years ago.
Where the story begins
For 86 years, the Murdaugh family were the unofficial rulers of South Carolina, with three generations controlling the local prosecutor’s office from 1920-2006 for the Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale and Colleton counties.
Alex Murdaugh’s great-grandfather, grandfather and father all served as the region’s solicitor (known as a district attorney in other states), while the rest of the family ran a successful litigation firm in Hampton, making the Murdaugh family powerful on both sides of the law.
And while Alex Murdaugh was not appointed solicitor, the docuseries examines how the civil litigation lawyer used his power to influence and manipulate those around him.
On Feb. 24, 2019, Paul Murdaugh, along with five friends, was travelling home by boat after a night of heavy drinking when he crashed into a bridge footing, throwing them overboard. One of the teens, 19-year-old Beach, went missing and her body was found washed up on shore five days later.
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Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal reveals the shocking true story of how the accidental death of a teenage girl led to two more murders and exposed a century of corruption by one of South Carolina’s most prominent families. Now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/rU6QbeFrhY
Murdaugh Murders interviews the other teens that were on the boat that night, including Paul’s girlfriend Morgan Doughty, Beach’s friends Miley Altman and Connor Cook, and Beach’s boyfriend Anthony Cook. They all say that Paul had been drinking excessively that night and detail how, after the accident, they witnessed Alex Murdaugh attempting to use his influence and power to protect his son.
The case gained so much attention that this was one situation the Murdaugh family could not control, and a month later Paul was indicted on charges of boating under the influence.
Paul pleaded not guilty to multiple felonies, and according to several documentary sources, tried to pin one of his friends as the boat’s driver that night. The documentary also explores how Paul was not given a field sobriety test, taken to jail for booking, or even handcuffed.
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The Beach family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaugh family and a hearing in the case was supposed to go ahead the first week of June 2021. If found guilty, Paul was facing 25 years in prison. However, he didn’t live long enough to face court.
The gravesite of Mallory Beach.
Netflix
On June 7, Alex Murdaugh called police to report that he found his wife, Maggie, and Paul shot dead at the family’s hunting property in Islandton, S.C. Murdaugh told investigators that he returned to the sprawling estate late at night after visiting his elderly mother and found the bodies of his wife and son.
Police began investigating Paul and Maggie’s deaths and, two weeks later, on June 22, announced that they were reopening an investigation into a 2015 death of a local teen, citing new information gathered while investigating the deaths of the slain Murdaughs.
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Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh pose together in an undated photo.
Courtesy / Netflix
On July 8, 2015, the body of 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County. Investigators ruled the death of the openly gay teen as a hit-and-run, but his family doubted the ruling from the beginning.
The documentary reveals how, in early August 2015, shortly after Smith’s death, authorities received several tips that Smith and Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s eldest son, may have been involved in a secret romantic relationship. While there have been no recent updates from police in the reopened case, sources in the documentary allege that many in the area believe that the Murdaugh family may have had something to do with Smith’s death, and believe the Murdaughs wanted to cover up a homosexual relationship tied to the family.
Buster Murdaugh, the son of Alex Murdaugh, listens as his father testifies in his own trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 in Walterboro, S.C.
The Associated Press
An attempted hit job?
After Paul and Maggie’s deaths, things quickly began to fall apart for Alex Murdaugh.
The very next day, after being confronted by a longtime friend and fellow lawyer over the alleged theft, Murdaugh called 911 from the side of a road near his home, telling the dispatcher he had been shot in the head. A shooter, he claimed, had pulled up beside him while he was inspecting a flat tire. The bullet had grazed his head, causing only a superficial wound, and he was treated in hospital.
Two days after allegedly being shot at, Murdaugh issued a statement saying that he would be resigning from the law firm and entering rehab, citing an opioid addiction.
“The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret. I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders. I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships,” read Murdaugh’s entire statement.
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A major confession
One week into his rehab treatment, Murdaugh confessed to police that he was the mastermind of his own shooting. He told police that he had orchestrated his shooting as part of a botched assisted suicide plot.
On Sept. 13, 2021, Murdaugh told police that he had hired a former client, distant cousin and drug dealer, 62-year-old Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith, to shoot and kill him. The reason, he said, was so that Buster, his surviving son, could claim a $10 million life insurance payout. Police arrested and charged Murdaugh and Smith, but Murdaugh was released on bond and sent back to rehab to finish his program.
Buster Murdaugh, the only surviving son of Alex Murdaugh, wipes away tears as witnesses are called in Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Jan. 26, 2023.
Joshua Boucher / The State/Pool/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Smith, to this day, denies shooting Murdaugh. His lawyer, Aimee Zmroczek, told media last month: “I believe that when he (Alex Murdaugh) lured Eddie out to the side of the road, he was gonna kill him and blame (the deaths of Paul and Maggie) on him … I firmly believe that was what was gonna happen.”
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Another mysterious death
Two days after sending Murdaugh back to rehab, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced they were opening a criminal investigation into the mysterious death of the Murdaugh family housekeeper.
Two-and-a-half years after Stephen Smith’s death on Feb. 26, 2018, longtime housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, Gloria Satterfield, died.
According to the Satterfield estate lawyer, Eric Bland, her death was described as a “trip and fall accident” at the Murdaugh home, where she had served for more than 20 years as an employee.
According to a pair of affidavits released on Oct. 16, 2021, Murdaugh allegedly went to Satterfield’s sons following her death, under the guise of altruism, and convinced them to sue his insurance companies with the promise he would admit fault so they would get a large settlement. The sons said they didn’t see a dime of the money and claimed Murdaugh conspired with two fellow lawyers to have the insurance payout diverted to his own account.
Murdaugh Avenue, a dirt road as seen on Sept. 16, 2021, connects Moselle Road to S.C. Hwy. 63, also known as Sniders Highway. The intersection is about 3 miles from Alex Murdaugh’s Islandton home, where on June 7, he found his wife Maggie and son Paul murdered.
Drew Martin / The Island Packet/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
A month later, on Nov. 19, 2021, Murdaugh was charged with almost 30 counts over the Satterfield wrongful death settlement. His bond was set at $7 million and he remained in jail.
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At a hearing the following month, Murdaugh’s lawyer said his client agreed to pay $4.3 million to the Satterfield family.
The documentary speaks with Satterfield’s family, who believe her death was not investigated properly and have suspicions of foul play by the Murdaugh family.
Last year, authorities announced plans to exhume Satterfield’s body. (As of this writing, it’s not publicly known if this was ever completed.)
“The decedent’s death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled ‘Natural,’ which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident,” the coroner’s request to the law enforcement division said.
Murdaugh’s eventual murder charges
Through December of 2021 and into January of 2022, dozens more criminal charges piled up against Murdaugh, all relating to allegations of defrauding clients of millions of dollars. By the end of January 2022, Murdaugh faced 71 charges stemming from accusations that he defrauded victims of nearly $8.5 million in various schemes.
Between January and June of 2022, things were quiet. Murdaugh was indicted on four more crimes related to a scheme to defraud multiple insurance companies in March. While all of this was happening, Murdaugh remained in prison.
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During this time, investigators told media that Murdaugh was a person of interest in the murders of Paul and Maggie, and no additional suspects had been named.
On July 12, the South Carolina Supreme Court announced that Murdaugh had been disbarred and two days later, on July 14, Murdaugh was indicted on two counts of murder and two weapons counts in connection with the killings of his wife and son.
What’s happening now?
Between last summer’s charges and now, Murdaugh has been charged with further financial crimes related to tax evasion, money laundering and computer crime.
On Jan. 23, Murdaugh’s trial for the murders of his wife and son began in Walterboro, S.C.
Alex Murdaugh listens to testimony during his double-murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Feb. 10, 2023.
Joshua Boucher / The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the docuseries’ filmmakers, Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, say they have uncovered additional crimes since they began putting the series together in the fall of 2021 — and they’re hoping Netflix greenlights a second season of the show.
“There is so much more to tell in this story,” Furst told Vanity Fair. “There are additional crimes that have occurred that we have the scoop on — corruption that goes far wider than Hampton, South Carolina. That goes to the state and to the federal level.”
Rita Curran, 24, was a Burlington, Vermont, elementary school teacher who was just beginning her career when her life was brutally cut short in July 1971. A roommate found her nude, beaten, and strangled to death. The case eventually went cold, languishing for over fifty years. Now, thanks to DNA and advancements in forensic research, Curran’s killer has a name, according to Vermont investigators — William DeRoos.
There won’t be any justice in the courtroom for Curran — DeRoos died in San Francisco in 1986 from a drug overdose.
In 1971 he was a 31-year-old newlywed living in the same building as Curran. DeRoos’s story was that he and his wife had been together that night, and neither had heard anything.
According to CNN, one of the first big developments in the case occurred in 2014:
A break in the case finally came in 2014 when a DNA profile was extracted from a cigarette butt that had been found next to Curran’s body, Detective Lt. James Trieb said at the news conference. Though the profile was submitted to a national criminal database for DNA, he said, no matches were made. That meant the person with that DNA likely never had genetic material entered into the database, possibly because the person didn’t have a felony conviction.
In a Wednesday press conference, Detective Lt. James Trieb described how he began investigating the case in 2019, approaching Curran’s murder as if it had just occurred.
According to his report on the investigation, Trieb discussed the case with detectives and “expert technicians.”
Evidence was retested, and Trieb said his team used DNA found on a cigarette butt near Curran’s body to do genetic genealogy.
Genetic genealogy is a research method that uses DNA test results to find relationships between individuals and to discover ancestral roots. By comparing genetic markers with those of others, genetic genealogy can trace family trees back through generations and across continents. In Curran’s case, an expert tied DNA from the discarded cigarette to DeRoos’s relatives on both sides. The expert was unequivocal, according to the police report, in saying the killer had to be the dead man.
After also finding DeRoos’s DNA on Curran’s torn housecoat, police re-interviewed his former wife, and she admitted she’d lied regarding his whereabouts in 1971.
This marks yet another cold case closed by combining DNA and genealogy research, the most famous perhaps being the 2018 arrest of Joseph DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer. Since DeAngelo’s arrest, the new field has expanded in popularity and public recognition, as more unsolved crimes have been surprisingly solved after years of mystery.
Four decades later, the anomalous incident remains a morbid fascination. Following a 1990 TV-movie adaptation starring Barbara Hershey and a Hulu limited series last year starring Jessica Biel, Emmy-winning writer and Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley tackles the stranger-than-fiction story in the HBO Max miniseries Love & Death. The seven-episode project, which premieres on April 27, stars Elizabeth Olsen as Candy, Lily Rabe as Betty, and Jesse Plemons as Betty’s husband, Allan, whose affair with Candy precipitates his wife’s death.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Olsen says she leapt at the chance to explore Candy’s complicated psychology—and to “figure out how to be on her side and the life that leads up to that moment.” Director Lesli Linka Glatter drew from Texas Monthly’s two-part account of the incident as well as Evidence of Love, a book from the same writers, Jim Atkinson and John Bloom. The journalists describe Candy as the kind of type A housewife who meticulously prepared meals, volunteered at church, and enjoyed country-western dancing with her friends. Before embarking on an affair with Allan, Candy had created the family she always envisioned for herself—yet found herself yearning for something more fulfilling.
Speaking about Love & Death, which is set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, director Glatter (Mad Men,Homeland) says, “This is about women and men in this time period—they did everything right. They got married at 20, had kids. [Candy’s husband] Pat was a wonderful supporter and scientist. They moved to the suburbs. They built their dream house. Then why do you feel so profoundly empty inside? Why is there a hole in your heart and psyche a mile wide? She makes a horrible choice how to fill that void.”
Ex-Lakers star Trevor Ariza’s estranged wife has rushed to court pleading for a restraining order against the father of her two children, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Bree Anderson Ariza filed a petition for a protective order against Trevor. She wants him ordered to stay away from her and not contact her, claiming she fears for her safety.
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Source: mega
She wants the judge to order Trevor to not be allowed inside her home. Further, she wants sole custody awarded to her with the NBA star having supervised visitation.
In the restraining order petition, Bree said that during their marriage, Trevor “engaged in acts of extreme physical abuse towards me.”
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“He was verbally and emotionally abusive to me. Some of the abuse occurred in the presence of our children,” she said.
“I have been financially dependent on Trevor throughout our marriage,” she explained as to why she stayed until she had the courage to leave. She said she hoped filing for divorce would put an end to the alleged abuse but she said it hasn’t.
However, she said Trevor has continued and called her a “h—” and a “b—-” in front of their children and says he “threatens me on a regular basis.”
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She said Trevor lives half a mile away which makes her uncomfortable. Bree said he has entered her home without her knowledge, “as he thinks he has the right to come and go from my residence as he pleases.”
She said at one point he threatened to change the locks and leave her homeless if she didn’t obey all of his directives. Bree said Trevor is still refusing to pay her child support and has threatened to take away the kids.
In the petition, she detailed an alleged incident in August 2021 where she said Trevor showed up at her home. Bree said he was “very angry” and demanded she turns over her cell phone. She refused.
Bree claims he threw her on the bed and started choking her but let go right before she passed out. She accuses Trevor of having punched her with a closed fist and then continuing to punch her multiple times.
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Bree said another incident went down on February 17, 2020, where Trevor allegedly choked her until she passed out. “He immediately grabbed me by the throat and started choking me until I was unconscious.”
She pointed to a September 9, 2020 text that Trevor allegedly sent her that read, “Me putting my hands on you has cause me to feel like I’m nothing.”
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Bree said, “I strongly believe that Trevor’s physical, verbal, and emotional abuse warrants a” protective order.
Bree included several photos of her injuries from Trevor’s alleged acts as part of her request.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Trevor and his estranged wife Bree have been fighting in court for months.
Last year, Bree filed for divorce from Trevor after four years of marriage. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split.
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Bree listed the date of marriage as April 2018 and the date of separation as “TBD”. The two dated for years before getting hitched.
Bree demanded primary physical custody of their two kids and asked that Trevor receive visitation. She requested temporary child and spousal support from the NBA star.
Source: mega
In response, Trevor demanded joint physical and legal custody of their kids. He asked the court to terminate Bree’s right to spousal support. The case is ongoing.
Prince said Lanez’s security then jumped in and continued to assault him. The reality star claimed he suffered “blunt trauma” to his neck, chest, and back.”
Prince said the entire incident caused him to suffer physical, psychological, and mental distress. In 2020, the Love & Hip Hop star said he had another encounter with Lanez at Vendome Nightclub.
Lanez allegedly punched the VH1 star in the face once again. “Immediately after punching [Prince] in the face, [Tory’s] employee/agent fled and attempted to enter [Tory’s] vehicle. However, [Tory] yelled at the agent/employee and instructed him to leave the premises in a separate vehicle,” the suit read.
You may remember Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker from a viral 2013 interview that turned a homeless surfer into an overnight Internet sensation. He was regarded as a hero, per Esquire, after memorably explaining how he “suh-mashed” a man while hitchhiking to stop the driver from attacking a woman. The clip has garnered over 3 million views since it debutedalmost 10 years ago.
Kai appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”posing himself as a good samaritan at the time and even grabbed the attention of producers for a show of his own, but it never came to fruition, per Decider.However, his 15 minutes of fame came to a hard stop when he was arrested for killing a man just two months after going viral.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new documentary.
Who Is Kai AKA Caleb Lawrence McGillvary?
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, known as Kai, was introduced to the world via viral video in February 2013. He was 24 years old at the time and living a nomadic life in the States after growing up in Canada.
When he recorded his viral interview, Kai was hitching a ride to Fresno, Calif.
At the time, Kai told news station KMPH that Jett Simmons McBride picked him up while hitchhiking, and while they were en route, McBride allegedly told the nomad that he raped a 14-year-old girl. Kai then said that McBride hit a pedestrian with the car on purpose.
Once the ride came to a halt after hitting a pedestrian, bystander Tanya Baker ran to help but McBride attacked her. At that point, Kai said he stepped in and stopped the attack by hitting McBride with a hatchet.
“A guy that big can snap a woman’s neck like a pencil stick. So I f–king ran up behind him with a hatchet. Smash, smash, SUH-MASH!”Kai recalled in the viral interview.
Kai also shared a positive message to the camera, stating, “No matter what you’ve done, you deserve respect. Even if you make mistakes, you’re loveable.”
His remarks garnered viral attention, including an auto-tuned song that garnered 11 million views.
Days later, a KMPH released a follow-up interview with Kai and revealed he may have been more troubled than the world first thought.
According to the report, his past “is darker and more gut-wrenching than you can imagine.”
What Happened to the ‘Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker?’
Just months after Kai’s interview went viral, the nomad was wanted by the police.
A 73-year-old man was found beaten to death in his New Jersey home, according to People, when investigators found evidence in the house connecting Kai to the crime.
Kai was arrested for killing the man, Joseph Galfy, whom he met in Time Square, per Esquire, after migrating from the West Coast to New York City, in May 2013.
Once Kai was found by police at a Philadelphia bus station, he confessed to the murder but claimed it was self-defense after Galfy allegedly sexually assaulted him. He pleaded not guilty to the crime and was held on a $3 million bond after being deemed dangerous, CNN reported at the time.
After spending six year in jail awaiting trial, he was convicted of first degree murder and was sentence to 57 years in prison in 2019.
Where Is Kai Now?
Kai is currently serving his sentence at New Jersey State Prison and isn’t eligible for parole until October 27, 2061, according to Decider. He filed to appeal his sentence in 2021 but was denied.
After the suspect left the apartment, the woman “gathered up her clothes” and fled the apartment.
She sought assistance from a neighbor and explained the alleged torture she reportedly endured from Mills. The neighbor called 911 and the woman was able to identify the suspect by his driver’s license photo.
Upon examination at a nearby hospital, the woman showed visible injuries that included bite marks, severe bruising to the majority of her body, and cuts on her throat and nose.
Mills was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated kidnapping but could face additional charges. The suspect’s bond was set at $50,000. He was released on 24-hour house arrest and prohibited from contacting the victim, per the conditions of his bail.
Mills’ attorney said he’s “presumed innocent.” His court date is scheduled for March.
One eyewitness, identified as Ced Mogul, told reporters he visited the restaurant Thursday night to watch Montana shoot the rap video. At one point during the filming, another person in the crowd was robbed of their watch, keys and wallet. Shortly after, the gunfire erupted.
“[He asked to] call his mother and see if we can get spare car keys and make sure, you know, he’s OK, and then the gunshots went off,” Mogul told WSVN. “At least 13, 14, 15 gunshots. It was very rapid, it sounded like an assault rifle.”
During an episode of crypto journalist Laura Shin‘s podcast, Unchained, Shkreli gave unsolicited advice to Bankman-Fried, advising him to “cooperate fully” and how to navigate life behind bars.
“His best bet, in my opinion, is to plead guilty, try to get 20-years, something like that and hope that your unprecedented cooperation will give you some kind of favor from prosecutors,” Shkreli told the podcast host.
“Sam isn’t exactly gonna be somebody that fit into prison you know my advice for him includes shaving his head, my advice for him includes deepening his voice,” the ex-con continued as he reflected on his prison time.
The ex-hedge fund manager continued to point out “issues” with Bankman-Fried while he expressed concern for the “effeminate” FTX founder.
Before Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Gonclaves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were found fatally stabbed at their Moscow home, Alteneder occupied the residence.
The former tenant spoke to ABC News about his time as a resident in the three-story home.
“It’s definitely an old, creaky house,” Alteneder recalled. “You can’t walk up any of the stairs or on any of the floors without everybody in the house knowing it.”
Roommates Mogen, Gonclaves, Kernodle, and the latter’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were found murdered in the home on November 13. Police have yet to identify a suspect to the public or locate the “Rambo” style murder weapon.
Internet sleuths have criticized the ongoing investigation as well as called out the two surviving roommates — who claimed they slept through the horrifying murders.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Adnan Syed, who was released from a Maryland prison this year after his case was the focus of the true-crime podcast “Serial,” has been hired by Georgetown University as a program associate for the university’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, the university said.
Syed started working this month for the initiative, which advocates for others in the criminal legal system, the university tweeted Wednesday.
In his new role, Syed will support Georgetown’s “Making an Exoneree” class, in which students reinvestigate decades-old wrongful convictions, create short documentaries about the cases and work to help bring innocent people home from prison, the university wrote in an online announcement.
“PJI’s team and programming has so much to gain from Adnan’s experience, insight, and commitment to serving incarcerated people and returning citizens,” the organization tweeted.
Syed had been one of 25 incarcerated students at Georgetown’s inaugural Bachelor of Liberal Arts program at the Patuxent Institute in Jessup, Maryland, during the year leading up to his release, the university said.
“To go from prison to being a Georgetown student and then to actually be on campus on a pathway to work for Georgetown at the Prisons and Justice Initiative, it’s a full circle moment,” Syed said in the university’s announcement. “PJI changed my life. It changed my family’s life. Hopefully I can have the same kind of impact on others.”
Syed, 41, hopes to continue his Georgetown education and eventually go to law school.
After spending 23 years in prison, he walked out of a Baltimore courthouse in September after a judge overturned his conviction for the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee, Syed’s ex-girlfriend.
Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn ordered his release at the behest of prosecutors who said they had recently uncovered new evidence.
Prosecutors said a reinvestigation of the case revealed evidence regarding the possible involvement of two alternate suspects. The two suspects may have been involved individually or together, the state’s attorney’s office said.
The suspects were known persons at the time of the original investigation and were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense, prosecutors said.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office also cited new results from DNA testing that was conducted using a more modern technique than when evidence in the case was first tested. The recent testing excluded Syed as a suspect, prosecutors said.
Syed always maintained his innocence. His case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the debut season of “Serial” focused on Lee’s killing and raised doubts about some of the evidence prosecutors had used. The program shattered podcast-streaming and downloading records.
Sam Bankman-Friedstarted the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019 at watched it all come crashing down in 72 hours.
Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Bankman-Fried was once seen as the King of Crypto. He promised big returns for customers and investors and even tried to help the government impose regulations on the industry. That was until crypto giant Binance expressed concerns over FTX’s financial stability and falling crypto prices sparked a bank run, revealing FTX and its sister company Alameda Research were suspiciously working together to pay off debts, according to The New York Times — and leaving an $8 billion hole in its accounts.
FTX attracted major investors including SoftBank and BlackRockand boasted celebrity endorsements from the likes of Tom Brady and Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal. Still, the company’s low-risk, high-reward business model appeared almost too good to be true.And it was.
In the wake of the FTX collapse, between $1 billion and $2 billion in client money has gone unaccounted for, according toReuters.
SBF has since been arrested and charged with several counts of fraud, and prosecutors say he orchestrated “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.” He could face up to 115 years in prison.
While the crypto scandal is still unfolding, here’s everything to know about Bankman-Fried.
Who Is Sam Bankman-Fried?
Before Sam Bankman-Fried was embroiled in the FTX scandal, he was known as a rising crypto wiz and an academic standout.
Also known simply as “SBF,” Bankman-Fried was raised in California by his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who were both Stanford University law professors, according to Reuters. He excelled in mathematics and went on to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2014.
How Did SBF Make His Money?
After graduation, Bankman-Fried worked for Jane Street Capital in New York City, where he traded currencies, futures, and exchange-traded funds. SBF stayed with the company for three years before leaving to start his own crypto trading firm, Alameda Research, in 2017 when he was 25 years old.
Alameda was based in Hong Kong and turned a profit by taking advantage of the price differences in Bitcoin around the world. The company would purchase Bitcoin in Asia and sell it elsewhere, in order to pocket the currency difference, per The New York Times.
Although Alameda operated much like a traditional Wall Street firm, it had no regulatory oversight, which scared investors, the outlet reported. To help generate revenue for Alameda’s trades, SBF launched a cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, in 2019, which greatly benefited from the increased demand for crypto.
The company was valued at $32 billion in January 2022, according to CNBC.
SBF discussed crypto regulations and testified in front of Congress in December 2021, detailing his then-supposedwillingness to add regulations to the industry, something typically feared by crypto-enthusiasts.Despite facing legal troubles for the FTX collapse, SBF said that helping to regulate the industry is still important to him inan interview with The New York Times.
What Is Sam Bankman-Fried’s Net Worth?
Just days before Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire collapsed, he had an estimated net worth of $15.6 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. After his fortune plummeted, he was left with $1 billion. The 94% drop in his wealth is among the biggest one-day collapses the tracker has ever seen.
At his peak, SBF was worth an estimated $26.5 billion, with most of his money tied up in his companies.
Earlier this year, SBF pledged to give away 99% of his fortune to charitable organizations, and his FTX Foundation has donated over $190 million to several causes including animal welfare and global poverty, according to Vox. SBF also outlined his charitable intentions in a post to the Giving Pledge website, which has since been removed.
Image credit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What Is FTX and What Went Wrong?
FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that worked in close collaboration with Alameda Research.
In addition to charging customers to trade on the platform, FTX created the FTT token, which was mainly bought and sold by Alameda on the exchange, per The New York Times. As the token’s main market marker, it was allowed to set the price for the token at a big discount, attracting people to the platform with promises of a high return on their investment.
The business model attracted major investors including Softbank and Blackrock, in addition to several celebrity entrepreneurs, including Gwyneth Paltrow and baseball star David Ortiz.
However, FTX’s close workings with Alameda went under the radar, including SBF’s reported romantic relationshipwithCaroline Ellison, who worked as Alameda’s co-CEO with Sam Trabucco.
According to an SEC filing, Ellison said she and others were aware Alameda had been using FTX customer funds.
“During a meeting with Alameda employees on or about November 9, 2022, Ellison admitted that she, Bankman-Fried, Wang, and Singh were aware that FTX customer funds had been used by Alameda,” the complaint reads.
Ellison has yet to be charged in the case.
Together, FTX and Alameda provided billions in funding to 246 crypto companies, but despite SBF’s push for more crypto, investors started to back out as a result of fluctuating crypto prices and withdrew funds from their accounts.
As Alameda struggled to pay back its lenders, it began to use customer funds deposited in FTX to pay back its investors. FTX reportedly lent an estimated $10 billion of customer funds to Alameda.
Then, in a last-ditch effort to save Alameda, Binance proposed a deal to buy the company, but it fell through after analyzing FTX’s books, according to The New York Times. After Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao announced he would sell his FTT tokens due to fears concerning the company’s financial stability, he sparked panic and traders withdrew $6 billion from the platform in just 72 hours.
The bank run exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX and Alameda’s accounts.
After struggling to raise more capital for the business, FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. SBF announced he’s be stepping down as CEO that same day and would be replaced by lawyer John J. Ray III.
What Did Sam Bankman-Fried Do and Why Was He Arrested?
U.S. prosecutors have accused Sam Bankman-Fried of defrauding FTX customers by misappropriating funds to pay debts and expenses for its sister company Alameda Research. According to prosecutors, SBF also provided false and misleading information to investors, in addition to attempting to hide his earnings through wire fraud, according to The New York Times.
SBF was arrested in the Bahamas at his apartment complex after the United States filed criminal charges against him on December 12, stating they were “likely to request his extradition,” the government of the Bahamas said in a statement to the outlet. He is facing criminal charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission has authorized charges “relating to Mr. Bankman-Fried’s violations of our securities laws.”
So far, SBF is the only person charged in the indictment.
What Is Sam Bankman-Fried Saying in the Wake of the FTX Collapse?
After FTX imploded, Sam Bankman-Fried has been vocal about what transpired.
Just one day before the company filed bankruptcy, SBF took to Twitter to issue a public apology.
Additionally, he suggested that poor internal organization contributed to their inability to return funds to customers.
5) The full story here is one I’m still fleshing out every detail of, but as a very high level, I fucked up twice.
The first time, a poor internal labeling of bank-related accounts meant that I was substantially off on my sense of users’ margin. I thought it was way lower.
Furthermore, SBF said he “did not ever try to commit fraud” at the DealBook Summit on November 30, stating he “screwed up” and failed to protect his customers. He claims to have been truthful following the FTX fallout, stating, “I don’t know of times when I lied.”
He went on to issue an interview with The New York Times, telling the outlet, “It could be worse.” He explained that he didn’t realize how much borrowing was going on between FTX and Alameda, and the significant risk it posed. Additionally, SBF blamed himself for not seeing trouble ahead.
“Had I been a bit more concentrated on what I was doing, I would have been able to be more thorough,” he said. “That would have allowed me to catch what was going on on the risk side.”
Prior to his arrest, SBF told the NYT he was “working constructively with regulators, bankruptcy officials, and the company to try to do what’s best for consumers.”
Image credit: (Photo by Mario Duncanson / AFP) (Photo by MARIO DUNCANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
What Is Next for Sam Bankman-Fried?
Following his arrest, Bankman-Fried has been at Fox Hill prison in Nassau, Bahamas, and was denied bail. He has agreed to be extradited to the U.S., and a judge ordered his extradition hearing to be held on Feb. 8, 2023, per CoinDesk. Once he is back on U.S. soil, he will be arraigned in Federal District Court in Manhattan and face a bail hearing.
But sources close to the case told CNN he may return to the States sooner and will be seeking bail to hopefully avoid detention.
In addition to the criminal charges SBF is facing, he is also dealing with a class action lawsuit claiming that the celebrities who endorsed FTX, including Kevin O’Leary and Gisele Bundchen, were engaging in deceptive practices to “induce confidence and to drive consumers to invest in what was ultimately a Ponzi scheme,” according to the lawsuit.
It’s possible SBF could work out a deal that includes both his criminal and civil cases, Reuters reported. Additionally, prosecutors will ask for restitution for those who lost money in the collapse.
Prior to Bankman-Fried’s arrest, he was supposed to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee about the FTX collapse.
“The American public deserves to hear directly from Mr. Bankman-Fried about the actions that’ve harmed over one million people,” Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the committee, said in a statement, per NYT. “The public has been waiting eagerly to get these answers under oath before Congress, and the timing of this arrest denies the public this opportunity.”
The hearing went ahead without SBF, and FTX’s new CEO John Ray spoke in his place. He called the relationship between Alameda and FTX “old-fashioned embezzlement” and blamed the collapse and financial fallout on the “absolute concentration of control in the hands of a small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company entrusted with other people’s money or assets.”
His testimony went on for four hours, stating he is in the process of getting to the bottom of the scandal and figuring out how to repay lenders and customers. However, the unorganization at FTX has made that a challenge.
“Even with most failed companies, we have a fair roadmap of what happened,” Ray said, adding, “We’re dealing with a literal paperless bankruptcy.”
When asked what role SBF would play in the company going forward, Ray responded: “Zero.”
