Tracy Connor

As the manhunt for escaped murder suspect Casey White and prison guard Vicky White stretches into a second week, federal officials have released new photos that could be used to identify them. One set of pictures shows what Vicky White, 56, who was the deputy director of the Lauderdale County, Alabama, jail, might look like if she died her blond locks or wore a dark wig. The other set contains photos of the tattoos all over the body of Casey White, 38, who was serving a 75-year sentence for a violent crime spree and awaiting trial after confessing to a 2015 […]

The family of the South Carolina mom who was torn apart by a pack of dogs is taking a break from their bedside vigil to face the animals’ owner in court. Justin Minor has been charged with breaking three animal-control laws for having his dogs loose to attack Kyleen Waltman as she walked home in Honea Path in March. Waltman, 38, lost her arms and her colon and has been in the hospital ever since, fighting to survive. She underwent yet another surgery this week, her sister Amy Wynne wrote in a GoFundMe update. Wynne said the family will attend Minor’s […]

A manhunt is underway in California after a stranger kidnapped a 3-month-old baby while the child’s grandmother was unloading groceries from the car. The terrifying abduction of Brandon Cuellar happened Monday afternoon in San Jose. Police released video of a suspect carrying the infant’s car seat, with a white blanket draped over it. San Jose Police Sgt. Christian Camarillo said at a news conference that the abduction happened in just a couple of minutes. “[The grandmother] came to this apartment, she took the baby in the apartment, went downstairs to unload some groceries. “In that short amount of time, someone entered […]

If you thought Elon Musk had better things to do than insult Bill Gates on the social-media platform he is maybe trying to buy, you would be wrong. The world’s richest man, seemingly tweaked that his fellow billionaire has shorted Tesla stock, mocked him on Twitter with a crude post that compared the Microsoft founder’s potbelly to a pregnant man emoji. Musk captioned the puerile tweet: “in case u need to lose a boner fast.” The gibe came hours after Musk confirmed on Twitter the authenticity of screenshots that appeared to show him confronting Gates about his half-billion-dollar bet that Tesla […]

Amber Heard says she is dreading the upcoming trial in a defamation lawsuit filed by ex-husband Johnny Depp but hopes that the two of them can “move on” after it’s over. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she discussed being a domestic violence survivor. The trial begins Monday in Virginia, and Heard said on Instagram that she plans to go silent on social media while the legal drama plays out over the course of several weeks. “I never named him,” she said of the 2018 op-ed, “rather I wrote […]

The owner of a Georgia gun range, his wife, and their 19-year-old grandson were murdered on Friday at the facility in what appears to be a robbery. Grantville Police reported that 40 weapons and a security camera recorder were taken from Lock, Stock and Barrel—which is about an hour southwest of Atlanta. Cops say the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was called in to investigate because of the number of weapons that were stolen. “Anyone having driven by the shooting range during the time frame of 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm that may have seen vehicles other than a […]

A woman who was almost six months pregnant had an abortion after she learned that her fertility doctor gave her a stranger’s embryo—some two decades after he allegedly did the same thing to another woman, according to a federal lawsuit. In the complaint filed this week in Manhattan, the woman and her husband say they could have terminated the pregnancy earlier but the clinic, New York Fertility Institute, kept giving them the runaround and insisting there was no mistake, even after DNA tests proved otherwise. The mixup is all the more shocking, the lawsuit says, because in the late 1990s, NYFI’s […]

The remains of a teenager kidnapped from a Walmart parking lot in Nevada two weeks ago were found in a grave in a remote area days after her accused abductor was arrested. Naomi Irion’s family had been holding out hope the arrest of ex-con Troy Driver last week would lead to police finding the 18-year-old alive. Instead, investigators got a tip that brought them to an out-of-the-way area in Churchill County on Tuesday. “The body of an adult Caucasian female was recovered from that gravesite,” the county sheriff said in a statement, adding that the remains were identified as Irion on […]

They called her Little Miss Nobody. The partially buried remains of a 4-year-old girl found in the Arizona desert by a teacher and his family on a rock hunt went unidentified for six decades until DNA testing revealed her name. On Tuesday, police announced the slain child was Sharon Lee Gallegos, who was abducted in 1960 while she was playing with two other kids in an alley behind her grandmother’s Alamagordo, New Mexico, home. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said the question of whether the body could be Sharon’s was raised within days of the discovery. Sharon Lee Gallegos, 4, was […]

Monaco’s Princess Charlene is back home in the tiny city-state after a mysterious medical odyssey that kept her apart from her husband, Prince Albert, and their young children for nearly a year. The palace issued a statement Saturday confirming the 44-year-old royal had been reunited with her family, while also saying that she is still recovering from the aftereffects of what’s been described as an infection. “She still needs peace and calm,” the statement said, adding that she was having an “encouraging recovery.” The princess’ health has been the subject of speculation since she reportedly came down with an ear, nose, […]

The enigmatic pop singer Sia has been keeping a big secret that she just revealed on Twitter. The Australian artist says she is a crypto influencer and NFT collector known as Bianca ’de Medici. “Dear frens Thanks for being so cool and letting me into your world,” she wrote, adding that she got into Bitcoin in 2016 and bought some other cryptocurrency in 2017 “but was never much of a speculator. ” But she said the advent of non-fungible tokens—unique digital assets, often art, that mostly exist on the Ethereum blockchain—changed everything. “It wasn’t until I saw the birth of punks, […]

Bernie Madoff’s sister and brother-in-law are dead in a murder-suicide at their Florida home—the latest grim chapter in the family’s history. The Palm Beach Sheriff”s Office said detectives were called to the elderly couple’s Boynton Beach residence on Thursday afternoon by a 911 call. Inside they found Sondra Wiener, 87, and her husband Marvin, 90, dead of gunshot wounds. Authorities did not release Marvin’s name at the request of his family, but Florida media outlets reported it. The sheriff’s office did not make the incident public until Sunday morning. “After further investigation it appears to be a murder/suicide,” the sheriff’s office […]

Canadian police who succeeded this weekend in clearing “Freedom Convoy” trucks from the Ambassador Bridge began arresting blockaders who remained on foot Sunday morning. Only about 30 demonstrators had remained overnight in freezing temperatures, and police had set up cement barriers to prevent vehicles from getting back on the bridge. Authorities had said they were trying to avoid any kind of violent clash as they slowly pushed the anti-vaxx, anti-lockdown demonstrators further from the bridge that accounts for one-fourth of all trade between Canada and the U.S. “The priority is still on protecting human life and that includes the demonstrator, despite […]

Fitness influencer Lexi Reed, who ended up on a ventilator in the ICU with an undisclosed health crisis, announced on social media Saturday that she is “back home and ready to overcome the next part of this part of my story.” “Happy to be alive when it wasn’t seeming to be not possible and i was unresponsive in the trauma room,” she wrote on Instagram, thanking her fans for support. Reed, 31, is best known for losing 312 pounds and chronicling her weight-loss journey on social media. Earlier this week, her husband, Danny Reed, shocked followers by posting a photo of […]

Two years after Joel Hollendorfer allegedly strangled aspiring model and escort Kara Nichols in Colorado, he confessed the crime to his wife and told her he buried the body on his parents’ farm, newly released court documents say. Kristina Hollendorfer kept that secret for eight years—until investigators dusted off the cold-case file, tracked her down to Virginia, and knocked on her door. Now known as Kristina Palmer, she told detectives about the night in 2014 when her then-husband asked her to go for a ride in his new truck and unburdened himself. “She related Joel told her he hired an escort […]

The mystery of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s well-being intensified Sunday with an interview she gave—with a government official at her side—denying she was sexually assaulted by a powerful politician. “I would like to know: why such concern?” the 36-year-old athlete said of worries that she was essentially forced from public view after posting an accusation on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Peng’s comments to French newspaper L’Equipe are unlikely to quell concern that she is not free to speak her mind. A member of China’s Olympic committee was with the doubles champion as she spoke from a hotel room […]

Two Florida sheriff’s deputies who were in a romantic relationship were found dead of an apparent murder-suicide while traveling with other co-workers on vacation. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office said Detective Daniel Leyden was heard arguing with the other deputy on Saturday night just before gunshots rang out in a rental home in Augustine. Both were found with fatal wounds. Leyden’s appeared to be self-inflicted, authorities said. “Our Sheriff’s Office family is still reeling from the shock of this unthinkable tragedy. My prayers for strength and comfort are with the families and loved ones of these deputies, and every member of […]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday that she has tested positive for COVID, has symptoms, and is recovering from home. The brief statement posted to Twitter—along with a plea that everyone get their booster shot—is certain to rile up conservatives who last week seized on photos of her maskless in Florida. Right-wing writer Brendon Leslie immediately jumped on the announcement, noting that AOC had been infected even though she is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. “Their vaccination narrative is collapsing before our eyes,” Leslie tweeted. Of course, public health officials have long said that being vaccinated does not stop people from being […]

Sinead O’Connor says her teenage son, Shane, is dead two days after he went missing while under suicide watch in an Irish hospital. In a tweet, the singer said the 17-year-old “decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example.” Shane was O’Connor’s son with Irish folk musician Donald Lunny. She revealed that seven days ago he made “two severe suicide attempts” and was being treated at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin. If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out […]

Alaska police say they have found the young mother of a newborn baby who was abandoned in a cardboard box on a freezing street with a heartbreaking note. “The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the baby being abandoned is ongoing, and no criminal charges have been filed at this time,” Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday, adding that the “juvenile mother” was taken to a hospital for evaluation and care. The infant boy was nestled under blankets in the box, which was left near some mailboxes in Fairbanks on New Year’s Eve, when the temperature was just 1 degree. The woman who […]

A newborn boy was found abandoned in a cardboard box in freezing weather in Alaska on New Year’s Eve—with a heartbreaking note saying the parents did not have food or money. The temperature was just 1 degree when a Fairbanks woman spotted the blanket-filled box near her home. Alaska police said the child was taken to the hospital and “was found to be in good health.” The note left with the infant—headlined “Please help me!!!”—indicated he was born 12 weeks premature, though authorities did not confirm that. ‘My parents and grandparents don’t have food or money to raise me,” the handwritten […]

If you are planning on taking a little break from the ever-grinding news cycle this holiday weekend but are still looking for reading material, The Daily Beast has you covered. All year, our reporters have been diving deep and dishing up delicious long-reads that are just as fascinating as the day they were published. Sit back and put your feet up. Here are some of our favorites from 2021. 1. Anyone who has ever been lulled by the dulcet tones of Bob Ross explaining how to paint “happy little trees” will lose themselves in this gripping examination of a bizarre legal […]

Chris Noth’s co-stars from Sex and the City and And Just Like That... are breaking their silence about the sexual assault allegations against him, commending his accusers for coming forward. “We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth,” Sara Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis said in a tweet on Monday night. “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing for them to do and we commend them for it.” Kim Cattrall, who starred in SATC but did not appear in the reboot […]

The Michigan school where a student killed four teens and wounded seven other people is defending its handling of the suspect’s troubling behavior while promising an outside investigation into its actions. In a letter released Saturday, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne admitted that school officials accepted Ethan Crumbley’s explanations into why he was looking at pictures of bullets on his phone and had drawn violent images and statements—and then sent him to class when his parents refused to take him home. “Given the fact that the child had no prior disciplinary infractions, the decision was made [that] he would be […]

The discovery of a mega-mutated strain of COVID in a handful of countries has triggered a global freakout—from a plunge in stock prices to the U.S. banning flights from some African nations. The reaction comes as scientists are rushing to determine how transmissible the strain is, whether it’s more likely to evade the vaccine, and whether it causes more severe illness than other versions. The World Health Organization said Friday it appears to carry an “increased risk of reinfection” and assigned the virus a Greek letter, Omicron. “This variant has a large number of mutations, and some of these mutations have […]

As the world waits to find out how dangerous the super-mutated COVID variant Omicron might be, Dutch authorities revealed that 61 people arriving on two flights from South Africa—where the strain has been spreading—have tested positive. It’s not know whether the passengers were infected with Omicron or an earlier version of the coronavirus, but the discovery underscores the possibility that the new variant has already gone global. Previously, cases had been identified only in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, and Belgium—all of them travelers from countries in southern African. The emergence of Omicron caused an international freakout, with the U.S., the […]

Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim has died at the age of 91, The New York Times reported. The songwriter behind classics like West Side Story, Gypsy, and Into the Woods, passed suddenly early Friday after celebrating Thanksgiving with friends in Roxbury, Connecticut, where he lived, his lawyer told the newspaper. With a career that spanned half a century, Sondheim had a slew of awards, including 10 Tonys for original score, a Tony for lifetime achievement, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Kennedy Center award for lifetime achievement. He even had a Broadway theater named after him. As Daily Beast theater critic […]

A pregnant woman unloading her baby shower gifts was gunned down on the street in Philadelphia this weekend, leaving neighbors shocked and police officials furious. “The person that did this couldn’t be more cowardly,” Deputy Police Commissioner Christine Coulter told reporters, decrying the epidemic of gun violence. There have been 493 homicides in Philadelphia this year—a 12 percent increase over 2020 and closing in on the record of 500. “The city as a whole is doing what we can,” Coulter insisted. “We can’t stop people who are intent on shooting somebody. ” The 32-year-old victim, who was seven months pregnant, had […]

Rocker Chris Daughtry’s wife lashed out on social media Friday against rumors that her 25-year-old daughter’s death was a homicide. “We were not told that and never said that to anyone!” Deanna Daughtry said in an Instagram post in response to speculation stoked by a TMZ report. Her daughter, Hannah Price, was found dead at her home near Nashville on Nov. 12. No cause of death has been released; her mother said in an earlier post that the family was waiting for an autopsy to determine how she got the “injuries” that caused her death. “The day Hannah was found I […]

The 6-year-old girl allegedly murdered by her adoptive parents in Hawaii was starved and kept in a cage with duct tape over her mouth and nose, her older sister told investigators. The horrifying details were contained in arrest affidavits for Lehua Kalua, 43, and her husband, Isaac K. Kalua III, 52, who reported Isabella missing on Sept. 13, triggering a massive search. The couple said she had vanished the previous night, but investigators eventually determined that the girl actually had not been seen since mid-August. No body has been found. Isabella’s 12-year-old sister told investigators earlier this month that the Kaluas […]

Warning: This story contains graphic content The horror and helplessness that unfolded at the Astroworld festival was captured in a graphic social media post by a young woman who was trapped in the deadly crush, barely escaped, and tried to get help—only to have her pleas to stop the music go ignored. “I saw terror in every eye that I met,” Seanna McCarty wrote on Instagram after eight people were killed while Travis Scott performed on a Houston stage Friday night. McCarty—whose efforts to raise the alarm were caught on video—said she and a friend wanted to get as close to […]

The long-running feud between Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin has sunk to absurd new depths, with questions about what it means to be absent from the state, who should step in, and how much they should be paid. McGeachin, who is running for Little’s job, repeatedly used Little’s out-of-town trips—when she served as acting governor—to issue executive orders undermining Little’s COVID restrictions. Little then had to reverse her actions upon his return to Idaho, and he got so fed up that he informed her that substitute services would no longer be needed. In an Oct. 29 letter […]

Hockey player Kyle Beach publicly revealed Wednesday that he is the “John Doe” who accused a Chicago Blackhawks coach of sexually assaulting him a decade ago, resulting in a scandal that led to the general manager stepping down this week. In an interview with Canadian sports channel TSN, Beach said he felt “relief” and “vindication” after a law firm’s report blew the lid off the team’s mishandling of his claim of misconduct by video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. “It was no longer my word against everybody else,” he said. “It was very special and important to me to have that […]

As Houston police investigate the house of horrors where three children and a skeleton of a fourth were abandoned found in “deplorable” conditions, one thing is becoming clear: Warning signs were missed. The siblings, who range in age from 7 to 15, had not been enrolled in school since May 2020. A neighbor found the older boy sleeping in a playground. Another neighbor complained about the persistent foul odor coming from the apartment. In the end, it was the teen who had been caring for the three younger kids— in the absence of any adults—who summoned police to the home over […]

The chief electrician on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust said he blames the producers and a young armorer for the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who bled in his arms. In a blistering Facebook post, gaffer Serge Svetnoy accused movie bosses of putting savings above safety on the western being shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He said he was “standing shoulder-to-shoulder” with Hutchins when Baldwin fired what he believed was a “cold gun”—one that does not contain live ammunition—at the 42-year-old director of photography. “I was holding her in my arms while she was dying. Her […]

Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West was released from the hospital after three days of treatment for COVID—and promptly told his followers not to be afraid of the virus that has killed more than 700,000 Americans. “Do not fear COVID,” the former GOP congressman said in a video posted to Twitter. West, 60, did not get vaccinated against the coronavirus, and when he got infected with COVID, he developed pneumonia and an oxygen-saturation rate low enough that he had to be admitted to the hospital. His wife, Angela, who was vaccinated, did not have to be hospitalized. The couple both got monoclonal […]

Right-winger Allen West has suspended in-person events for his Texas gubernatorial campaign because he developed COVID symptoms after his wife tested positive. In a Saturday morning Twitter thread, the Trump-loving ex-congressman said he has not gotten the COVID vaccine but is “already taking Hydrochloroquine and Ivermectin protocols”—two unproven drugs popular with the anti-vaxxer crowd. “After taking COVID and flu shots, Angela West tested positive for COVID yesterday, Friday,” the tweet said. “Col. West is experiencing a low grade fever and light body aches. Out of concern for public health, Col. West is suspending in-person events until receiving an all-clear indication.” The […]

As the hunt for van-life YouTuber Gabby Petito intensifies—parallel to a search for the boyfriend who returned home from a road trip without her—the FBI has zeroed in on a campground in Grand Teton National Park and is pleading with the public for information. “The #FBI seeks assistance from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between the dates of August 27-30, 2021 who may have had contact with Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito or her boyfriend, or who may have seen their vehicle,” the bureau tweeted this weekend. The appeal came as agents and police shut down the Wyoming campground […]

Florida police said Saturday that they are searching a wilderness preserve for Brian Laundrie, the person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, “van-life” YouTuber Gabby Petito. In a tweet, the North Port cops said Laundrie’s family told investigators they believe he entered the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve earlier this week. Police finally spoke with Laundrie’s family on Friday night and learned that he had gone missing while under increasing scrutiny over Petito’s disappearance. The 22-year-old did not return from a cross-country van trip the couple had documented on YouTube and other social media. Her family reported her missing on Sept. […]

Comedian Kate Quigley, who barely survived a house-party overdose that killed three friends a week ago, says she is “changed forever” by the tragedy. “All I can say is: Tell your people that you love them every day. Stay safe. And please don’t take life for granted. I did, and I never will again,” she wrote in an Instagram post. Quigley was with Fuquan Johnson, 42; Enrico Colangeli, 48; and Natalie Williamson, 33, in Venice Beach on Sept. 4 when they reportedly used cocaine that may have been laced with the painkiller fentanyl. Only Quigley could be saved. She was taken […]

A great blue heron in Central Park has become New York’s latest celebrity after being caught on video devouring a rat in a single gulp. Manhattan Bird Alert, which tracks all things fowl in the park, posted the footage on Twitter—and it already has 56,000 views. It shows the majestic creature (that would be the heron) fishing the urban scourge (that would be the rat) out of the water, its paws and long tail flailing, and swallowing it in seconds. Can we get some of these herons into the subway system? Source link

Just four days before he was set to stand trial for a fatal hit-and-run accident, South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg got a speeding ticket—for going 57 mph in a 35 mph zone. It was Ravnsborg’s seventh speeding infraction in seven years, according to local media—but hardly his most serious traffic violation. That came in September 2020 when Ravnsborg rammed his car into Joseph Boever on a highway shoulder while driving home from a Republican Party function. Ravnsborg, the top law-enforcement officer in the state, left the scene and later told investigators that he thought he had hit an animal. Boever’s […]

Kylen Schulte and Crystal Beck knew the mountains of Moab well, moving from campsite to campsite in the Utah wilderness with ease. But a week ago, reportedly after telling friends they were spooked by a man they encountered, the married couple disappeared. “Kylen and Crystal told close friends that there was a weirdo camping near them that was freaking them out !!! And that they should move campsites,” Schulte’s father, Sean-Paul, wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “Now they have been missing for over 4 days and nights!” As family put out the word that Schulte, 24, and Beck, 38, […]

The daughter-in-law of British billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft is asking for donations to cover the cost of defending her against a manslaughter charge, saying that her bank accounts have been hacked. Jasmine Hartin was the social director at the posh Belize resort built by her common-law husband Andrew until she was arrested last month for fatally shooting police superintendent Henry Jemmott. Hartin has since had a spectacular falling-out with her partner over custody of their two children that briefly landed her back in prison, and a GoFundMe post by her family says she needs money just to live. “We just need […]

More than a decade before 5-year-old Summer Wells seemingly vanished without a trace, her aunt also went missing—and was never found. And now Summer’s dad says the disappearance of Rose Bly haunts him when he thinks about his daughter. “When you see cases like that, that’s why I lose hope in Summer,” Donald Wells told WJHL. “I want to keep hope, but sometimes I just lose hope and I think, ‘Well, maybe we’ll never see her again.” It’s been more than two weeks since Summer went missing from her Rogersville, Tennessee, home while her mother briefly left her alone, the family […]

For the first time in 2o years, billionaire real estate developer Douglas Durst was in the same room with his nightmare of a brother, Robert Durst, on Monday. And he made it clear there is no love lost between them. “He’d like to murder me,” Douglas Durst told jurors in Robert Durst’s Los Angeles trial, adding that he so feared his brother that he hired a security team to protect himself. The two heirs fell out in the 1990s over the family estate. Douglas went on to run the Durst Organization, a premier, century-old commercial real estate firm that built skyscrapers […]

Jasmine Hartin—the billionaire’s daughter-in-law charged with killing a cop in Belize—is being tossed back in a notorious prison after her bail was withdrawn by an employee of her estranged husband. The decision followed a dramatic series of events that saw Hartin publicly confront her partner over custody of their children, get slapped with new charges, and be subjected to what her lawyer called “Gestapo” tactics. “I am really shocked by what is happening,” her new attorney, Dickie Bradley, said after Friday’s hearing. “This is persecution not prosecution.” Hartin, whose common-law husband is the youngest son of a powerful British power broker […]

Tennessee police said Thursday that they are “frustrated” by the lack of clarity in the disappearance of 5-year-old Summer Wells—who was last seen planting flowers in her garden before she vanished. “While every case is different, this one is definitely outside of the norm,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Leslie Earhart said at a briefing on the progress, or lack of it, in the case. “Typically in an investigation like this one, we have some idea of where the case is headed and what might have happened within a few days. In this situation, despite doing everything within our power and […]

The Las Vegas Raiders’ Carl Nassib made history on Monday, becoming the first active NFL player to come out as gay—saying he had agonized about doing so since he was a teenager. Nassib, 28, made the announcement in an Instagram video that garnered more than 10,000 likes in an hour and was commented on by the team with three black heart emojis. “What’s up, people?” he said in the video. “I’m at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. “I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys […]

The wild saga of the South African woman who claims she gave birth to a record-setting 10 babies—who have yet to be seen publicly—has taken several more dramatic turns. Health authorities took Gosiame Sithole into custody this week, reportedly for a psychiatric examination, prompting her attorney to threaten legal action to get her released. Meanwhile, a South African media outlet is reporting an exam showed no signs that Sithole had been pregnant—as a top government minister is promising that the mystery will be solved by next week. Finally, the newspaper that broke the maybe-true-maybe-not story claims a private investigation it launched […]

For more than a decade, the death of 13-year-old Hailey Dunn—who vanished from her Texas home and was found three years later—went unsolved. But police reportedly have finally made an arrest: the man who was originally identified as the only person of interest in the case, her mother’s boyfriend at the time of Hailey’s disappearance, Shawn Adkins. Authorities have not said what led them to arrest Adkins after all these years. He was being held on a murder count in lieu of a $2 million bond, jail records show. KCBD reports that Texas Rangers confirmed he was picked up for Hailey’s […]

It’s the case that has rocked Spain, sparking protests, triggering an international manhunt, and drawing the attention of the royal family. A father allegedly drugged and killed his two little girls, put their bodies in duffel bags, and dumped their bodies at sea—all to spite their mother for getting a new boyfriend. Now, days after the remains of the older child were found off the Canary Islands, her devastated mom is speaking out, saying she hopes the deaths will not be in vain and will lead to more protections for children. “They are now two angels… teaching a great lesson at […]

Jasmine Hartin, the daughter-in-law of British billionaire and political power broker Lord Michael Ashcroft, will be released from jail while she is prosecuted for shooting a top police officer in Belize. The Canadian national has been in police custody since her May 28 arrest, with prosecutors calling her a flight risk. But after a Wednesday hearing, a judge decided to grant her bail in the amount of $30,000 and allow her to return home to her 4-year-old twins, local outlets reported. The ruling is sure to be controversial in Belize, where suspicions that Hartin’s wealth and family connection are getting her […]

The mother of the 14-year-old boy charged with stabbing Florida cheerleader Tristyn Bailey 114 times has been arrested on charges of evidence tampering. The state attorney alleges that Crystal Lane Smith, 35, tried to wash blood off the blue jeans of her son, Aiden Fucci, after last month’s shocking murder, News4Jax reported on Saturday. “Tampering with evidence is tampering with justice and cannot be excused or tolerated,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement after Smith was booked into St. Johns County Jail. Aiden, who attended the same school as Tristyn, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder. […]

An Oregon developer and patron of the arts has been declared the sole parent of a boy conceived with his sperm and his ex-girlfriend’s donated eggs—stripping her of any rights to the child. A ruling by the state appeals court overturned a lower court decision that both Jordan Schnitzer, 70, and Cory Sause, 42, had parental rights to the 5-year-old. The 2-1 appellate opinion declared that Sause gave up any claim to male embryos when she agreed to donate her eggs to help Schnitzer, who already had two daughters, sire a son. While Schnitzer’s lawyer hailed the ruling as a victory […]

Belize prosecutors said Wednesday they want to keep a British billionaire’s daughter-in-law locked up on manslaughter charges because they fear she is a “flight risk.” An appeals court judge has not yet decided whether Jasmine Hartin can be released on bail, but he ordered her held at least until Monday, and possibly until June 11, while both sides submit their arguments. Hartin—whose husband is the son of Britain’s Lord Michael Ashcroft—is charged with killing a senior police official, Superintendent Henry Jemmott, with his own service pistol. Authorities say the two were socializing after curfew on a deserted pier last week when […]

The daughter-in-law of a politically influential British billionaire was marched out of a Belize jail—and past a shrine to the senior police officer she is accused of killing—for transfer to a prison known for its harsh conditions. Her face shadowed by a red hoodie, Jasmine Hartin concealed her shackled hands with a plastic bag as she was walked to a golf cart that would take her to a boat for the ride from San Pedro to Belize City—where she will appeal the decision to hold her without bail. Hartin, the wife of Lord Michael Ashcroft’s youngest son, was charged Monday with […]

The daughter-in-law of British political and business titan Lord Michael Ashcroft was charged Monday with manslaughter by negligence in the shooting death of a top police officer in Belize. The arraignment of Jasmine Hartin, 38, comes three days after she was initially detained—after being found spattered with blood on a dock where she and Superintendent Henry Jemmott had been socializing alone after curfew. police said. Jemmott, 42, was found dead in the water with a gunshot wound behind his ear. Police said the weapon used was his service pistol. According to local reports, Hartin suggested to responding officers that Jemmott might […]

The daughter-in-law of a politically connected British billionaire was being questioned in Belize on Friday in connection with the death of the high-ranking police official the night before, local outlets reported. Jasmine Hartin, who is married to the son of Lord Michael Ashcroft, was reportedly socializing with Superintendent Henry Jemmott before he was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head. Authorities have not said whether they believe he was murdered, killed accidentally, or died by suicide. “We have to look at every possibility,” Police Chief Chester Williams said at a news conference, according to Belize’s Channel 5 news. […]

A mystery media organization trawling the dark web has helped the FBI thwart another crime—a murder-for-hire plot by a jilted Beverly Hills stalker, federal authorities said Friday. Scott Quinn Berkett, 24, was arrested on charges that he tried to get a hitman to rub out a woman he met on a Facebook anime fan page. “I’d like it to look like an accident, but robbery gone wrong may work better,” Berkett messaged a would-be assassin last month, according to a criminal complaint. “So long as she is dead. I’d also like for her phone to be retrieved and destroyed irreparably in […]

Two federal jail guards who failed to monitor Jeffrey Epstein the night he killed himself and then lied about what they were doing have struck a no-jail plea deal with prosecutors. The agreement with Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, who literally fell asleep on the job at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, was disclosed in a letter to the judge overseeing their case. “After a thorough investigation, and based on the facts of this case and the personal circumstances of the defendants, the Government has determined that the interests of justice will best be served by deferring prosecution,” prosecutors wrote. The pair […]

A manhunt is on for the Nebraska father of two children found dead at his home—on the police’s third visit to the home in less than a day. The youngsters’ mother, Mary Nielsen, asked officers in Bellevue to go to the house because their dad was supposed to check in using FaceTime while they were visiting him, and she had not heard from them since Thursday night. Officers went to Adam Price’s home shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday and again around 9 a.m. on Sunday morning “but did not observe exigent circumstances that would allow them to force entry into […]

After a daylong search, a 13-year-old cheerleader was found murdered in Florida—and police have arrested a 14-year-old boy who attended the same school. Tristyn Bailey’s family reported her missing at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and residents of St. Johns County came out in droves to look for her. The hunt ended tragically that evening when her body was spotted in a wooded area. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office did not provide a cause of death; they said the seventh grader was clothed but did not confirm reports that she had on her cheerleading uniform. Sheriff Rob Hardwick said the teen […]

The announcement that Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced came as a surprise last week, but she has reportedly been talking to lawyers for at least two years—since around the time her husband’s dealings with Jeffrey Epstein made headlines. The report by The Wall Street Journal builds on an exclusive story by The Daily Beast last week that revealed Melinda Gates had deep misgivings about Epstein and warned the Microsoft founder about the pedophile after a meeting in 2013. Bill Gates and Epstein, a fabulously wealthy money manager, had a relationship that stretched back to 2011—after Epstein was investigated for […]

A Kansas politician working as a substitute teacher at a public school shocked students with religious rants about suicide, masturbation, and same-sex relationships—and then assaulted one of them, according to reports. “Did it hurt?” State Rep. Mark Samsel asked the student after allegedly kneeing him in the crotch. The 36-year-old Republican is now charged with misdemeanor battery and barred from teaching again in the Wellsville school district, The Kansas City Star reported. But Samsel doesn’t seem to have any regrets. The newspaper says that after he posted $1,000 bail, he took to Snapchat to say “it was all planned.” “Every little […]

Three-year-old Elijah LaFrance stood in the doorway of the rental house while his parents cleaned up the front yard after a birthday party that featured kids joyfully frolicking in the pool. It was just past 8 p.m. when gunmen armed with semiautomatic rifles rolled by and opened fire—unleashing more than 60 shots at the suburban Miami property. “This was not just a drive-by,” Miami-Dade Homicide Maj. Jorge Aguiar told TV station Local 10. “It was an intended attack on people or someone that was at this residence.” As the bullets tore through the air, Elijah was hit; his aunt found him, […]

A 3-year-old boy was killed when gunfire erupted at a children’s birthday party in a Miami suburb—unleashing shock and outrage from community members, politicians and celebrities. Investigators are still searching for the person who shot Elijah LaFrance when an altercation at a short-term rental in Golden Glades turned violent on Saturday night. “As a father and as a member of this community, I am completely devastated. I’m disgusted,” Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez told reporters at the scene. “We talk about accountability. When are we going to hold ourselves accountable for what’s going on in our streets each and every day? […]

A Washington state doctor is behind bars, charged with a diabolical plan to hire hitmen off the dark web to maim a former employee and abduct and extort his estranged wife—a vengeful plot foiled by news reporters. The allegations against Dr. Ronald Ilg, a Spokane neonatologist, contained in federal court papers include a polyamorous relationship, bitcoin payments, chilling text messages, and a suicide attempt. “I fucked it up. Irreparable fuck up,” Ilg allegedly confessed in the note authorities discovered when they found him unconscious from an apparent Xanax overdose, which he survived. The wild tale begins with journalists from an unnamed […]

“Enough is enough.” That’s the message from the grandson of one of the eight FedEx workers slaughtered by a man who was so unstable he had his gun taken away the year before. His grandmother, Amarjeet Kaur Johal, had just picked up her paycheck at the Indianapolis facility when former employee 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole started shooting. “I have several family members who work at the particular facility and are traumatized,” the grandson said in a statement to the Indianapolis Star. “My nani, my family and our families should not feel unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere. […]

The palace intrigue rocking Jordan took a mysterious turn on Monday when the former crown prince, who claimed he was under house arrest after being accused of plotting a coup against his half-brother the king, vowed to “escalate” the situation—only to have the royal family later release a statement suggesting he had acquiesced. In the voice recording released Monday, a defiant Prince Hamzah bin Hussein said that he “won’t obey” government orders to remain silent and isolated—the most confrontational display of dissent Jordan has seen from a royal in recent years. But by evening time in Jordan, the situation had become […]

Texas police checking a home early Monday made a horrifying discovery: six members of a family, spread across three generations, shot to death. What they learned next was just as shocking: It was a murder-suicide carried out by two brothers, one of whom posted the plan on social media. “Hey everyone. I killed myself and my family,” Farhan Towhid, 19, reportedly wrote in the note, which bragged about how easy it was for him and his 21-year-old brother Tarvin to buy guns. “If I’m going to die, I might as well get some attention.” If you or a loved one are […]

The Arkansas farmer charged with murdering and raping a nurse said during a mental-health exam that after he killed the victim he tried “messing with” her corpse—then went home, ate dinner, and “just tried to forget about it.” The chilling confession by Quake Lewellyn, 28, is contained in an evaluation by a state psychologist who found that he is mentally fit to stand trial for the death of Sydney Sutherland, 25, who vanished while jogging in August. “It was all just a blur,” Lewellyn told the psychologist, according to a report obtained by KARK. The married stepfather of three claims that […]

Indianapolis police are investigating a mass shooting that left five people and a pregnant woman’s unborn baby dead and a community reeling from what the mayor called “an act of evil.” Authorities provided little information about the victims or the motive but said the FBI and federal prosecutors had been alerted. “I want those responsible to know that the full might of local, state, and federal law enforcement are coming for them as I speak,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said. “Coming for them today, coming for them tonight, coming for them tomorrow, and the day after that.” Police said the mass murder […]

A Florida man wanted after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot tried to return to the scene of the crime for the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Like many of the MAGA fanatics who have been arrested in the two weeks since the insurrection, Samuel Camargo implicated himself by bragging about his participation on social media, authorities said. “Got some memorabilia, did it myself,” Camargo allegedly wrote under a photo of a hand showing a piece of metal from the Capitol. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors said Camargo posted video clips that show him at the rallies that preceded the riot and […]

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem hosted a dinner for legislative pages on Wednesday night. And if the pictures she posted are any indication, it was a largely mask-free affair. The Republican tweeted two photos: one showing a dozen of the pages crowded together on a staircase, and the second of them seated at a long dinner table. Only one page was wearing a mask, and none of the adults were. A spokesman for Noem did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about why masks were not worn and whether any COVID precautions were taken. Noem has […]

In one of his last acts as president, Donald Trump pardoned cronies and celebrities—including strategist Steve Bannon, fundraiser Elliott Broidy, and rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black—hours before he was set to leave the White House. Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the long-await list was released with pardons for 73 people and commutations for another 70. Many of the names would be unfamiliar to the average American, but the list also included figures from high-profile cases and people with ties to Trumpland. Those who received clemency from Trump on the eve of Joe Biden’s inauguration include: —Death Row records co-founder Michael […]

The United States passed the 2o million mark for COVID-19 cases on Friday, but some people apparently think the pandemic is over. In Florida, which is in the midst of a second surge, huge crowds milled in the streets and packed into bars and restaurants to ring in the New Year. “We are not surprised that everything is open but there is no social distancing at all and people are packing together. No one cares,” Philip Farenholtz, visiting Miami Beach, told WGN. The Florida party scene was red hot even though the state reported 17,000 new cases on Thursday and confirmed […]

Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, a Republican from Louisiana, has died of COVID-19 at the age of 41. The married father of two young children lost his battle with the illness just two days after his wife, Julia, issued a statement on social media saying he was in stable condition in the ICU. “The doctors have told us the road to recovery and the length of time is hard to predict and different for everyone,” she wrote then. “We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of support we have received and feel truly blessed to be touched […]

A 37-year-old member of the military from Florida has been charged with the random shooting at an Illinois bowling alley that left three men dead and three people injured. Prosecutors said Duke Webb, who was arrested at the scene, has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder. “We believe this is a completely random act,” Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said at a Sunday news conference. “There is no prior meeting or any kind of relationship between the suspects and any of the victims.” Police arrived at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford while shots […]

Three decades after 9-year-old Michaela Garecht was kidnapped off a California street in broad daylight, police say they have matched a palm print left on her scooter to her killer—a man who has been in prison nearly as long for three other murders. The breakthrough, which investigators say was made possible by new technology for print comparison, was announced Monday at a press conference where Hayward Police Chief Toney Chaplin read a gut-wrenching statement from Michaela’s grateful but grieving mother. “In the last year, I had come to a place of accepting that Michaela was probably no longer alive,” Sharon Murch, […]

The owner of a charter-jet company has been charged with sex trafficking after being caught in a sting operation offering sex with a 12-year-old girl and 14-year-old girl for $300, authorities say. On LinkedIn, Paul Alexander was the high-flying CEO of Central Jet Charter—but before he launched the company, he was a two-time felon with convictions for sex assault and child pornography. In March, an underage girl went to the police and told them Alexander, 57, had been abusing her and pimping her out to johns. That sparked an investigation, dubbed Operation Mile High, by the NYPD and the New York […]

A federal appeals court has shot down the Trump campaign’s attempt to overturn the election result in Pennsylvania—with a judge appointed by the president writing the scathing decision. “Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Stephanos Bibas wrote in a 21-page opinion issued Friday. The three-judge panel noted that the campaign’s grievances amounted to “nothing more” than allegations that Pennsylvania restricted poll watchers and let voters […]

The University of Iowa has suspended one its fraternities amid allegations of inhumane hazing practices. An investigative report about the goings-on at the Acacia frat house boggles the mind and is filled with references to dildos, Jungle Juice, vomit, and a “pet” cinder block named Rodney. The report was obtained by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, which reports that alarms were raised by former members about the 5-year-old chapter’s activities in the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020. Pledges were forced to drink insane amounts of alcohol, exercise in the freezing cold, blindfolded and subjected to deafening noise, locked in an […]

The CEO of a Midwest hospital system is out of a job days after he sent a bizarre letter to employees in which he said he would not be wearing a mask because he believed he was immune after contracting COVID-19. Kelby Krabbenhoft, who is not a doctor, had headed Sanford Health since 1996. Just a a few weeks ago, after the announcement of a merger with Intermountain Health, he said he planned on staying another 18 months. But that all changed after his email—which was shocking enough that Sanford officials quickly put out a statement disavowing it. In the note, […]

An Omaha man who was arrested last week at a Sonic Drive-In for charging $57 worth of corn dogs to someone else’s app has been accused of shooting up the fast-food joint on Saturday night, killing two and wounding two people. Roberto Silva Jr., 23, was also charged with arson for setting a vehicle on fire—but he didn’t seem too upset about it. A booking photo from the Sarpy County Jail shows him grinning. Police were called the Bellevue fast-food joint just after 9:30 p.m. to investigate a possible bomb in a truck and found a U-Haul in flames, authorities said. […]

An active-duty Marine assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina has been charged in an illegal firearms conspiracy—which prosecutors allege was run by a cabal of neo-Nazi ex-military men who wanted to create a “modern day SS.” The evidence includes a sickening video of live-fire weapons training that ended with the masked participants giving “Heil Hitler” salutes before a slide with the message: “Come home white man.” It also includes chat logs in which the men discussed shooting anti-racism protesters. Justin Wade Hermanson, 21, was named in a federal indictment along with Liam Collins, 21, and Jordan Duncan, 26, both ex-Marines […]

The health officer for Spokane, Washington, was officially fired on Thursday night despite an extraordinary outpouring of public support from medical professionals, school officials, and activists who were shocked he would be canned in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. A hundred new COVID-19 cases were recorded Thursday in the health district, where the positivity rate is now flirting with 3 percent and hospitalizations are also on the rise. But the board was consumed with a personnel drama that seemed to boil down to a contest of wills between the health officer, Dr. Bob Lutz, who has been described as Spokane’s […]

A tweet from the Washington State Department of Agriculture said it all: “Got ’em.” After an operation that looked like a cross between a lunar landing and a low-budget sci-fi flick, entomologists on Saturday eradicated the first “murder hornet” nest found in the United States. Garbed in bulky protective white suits from head to toe—meant to keep the insects’ long stingers away from their skin and their venom out of their eyes—they descended before dawn on a tree in Blaine. A few days earlier, entomologists had managed to trap several of the Asian giant hornets and affix tiny radio tracking devices […]

Kansas police are hunting for a man they say abducted his two young daughters from a home where two boys were found dead. Donny Jackson, 40, is believed to be driving a black Honda accord, according to an Amber Alert that was issued Saturday. It’s not known what direction he was traveling. Authorities said that shortly after 1 p.m., they received a call from a home in Leavenworth, and deputies found the dead boys and 7-year-old Nora and 3-year-old Aven missing. The relationship between the boys and the girls is not known, but Jackson’s Facebook page contains photos of two brothers […]