List of All Articles with Tag 'us crime news'

Binace, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will pay over $4bn to US officials after admitting to unlicensed money transfers, sanctions violations, and willfully failing to institute anti-money laundering protections, federal officials announced on Tuesday. The oversights allowed trading with sanctioned nations like Iran, Cuba, and Syria, and failed to institute systems to report suspicious potential transactions with terror groups, according to the Treasury Department. “Binance was allowing illicit actors to transact freely, supporting activities from child sexual abuse to illegal narcotics to terrorism,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid on Tuesday. Changpeng Zhao, the founder of and CEO of Binance, is also stepping down, and will pay a $50m fine after pleading guilty to related charges. He could face up to 18 months in prison. “I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility,” the executive wrote on X. “This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.” Federal officials described a wide-ranging set of problems at the crypto exchange, which at times handled two-thirds of global crypto trades. “It willfully enabled hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions between American users and users subject to US sanctions,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in remarks on Tuesday. “And its platform accommodated criminals across the world who used Binance to move their stolen funds and other criminal proceeds. “Binance prioritized its profits over the safety of the American people.” The massive penalty, one of the largest in US financial regulation history, will also go towards resolving inquiries from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. On multiple occasions, Binance leadership intentionally took steps that allowed dangerous and illegal transactions to take place, according to the Justice Department. Binance knew it served US customers, meaning it had to register with FinCen and implement anti-money laundering controls, but “chose not to comply,” per the DOJ. Rather than set up these protections, the company created a separate Binance.US platform in 2019, while seeking to encourage VIP customers to obscure their accounts and continue using the main exchange, officials said. “Binance executives, including Zhao, made a plan to contact VIP customers and help the VIP register a new account for an offshore entity and transfer holdings to that account,” the DoJ said in an announcement of the agreement on Tuesday. “Binance employees also called US VIPs to encourage them to provide information that suggested the customer was not located in the United States.” The company, knowing it had US customers, also failed to introduce controls that would stop them from making trades with sanctioned jurisdictions like Iran, resulting in over $898m in trades between US and Iran-based users between January 2019 and May 2022. At one point, according to the DoJ, Zhao told employees it was “better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” while in another instance, a compliance employee wrote in a message, “We need a banner ‘is washing drug money too hard these days - come to binance we got cake for you.’” In a statement on Tuesday, Binance acknowledge making “criminal violations.” “These resolutions acknowledge our company’s responsibility for historical, criminal compliance violations, and allow our company to turn the page on a challenging yet transformative chapter of learning and growth,” the company wrote. “With the compliance and governance enhancements enshrined in our commitments, we can begin to share our vision for Binance’s exciting future and the future of the crypto industry.” The company also emphasised that the resolutions don’t allege Binance misappropriated user funds or engaged in market manipulation. Richard Teng, the company’s former global head of regional markets, will take over as CEO, according to Binance. The massive agreement with federal regulators will also require Binance to accept the appointment of a government monitor to oversee the business and bar Zhao from involvement with the company until three years after the monitor is appointed, according to court records viewed by The New York Times. Notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission was not a part of the Binance agreement. The SEC sued Binance and Zhao in June, alleging that they used companies beneficially owned by Zhao to inflate trading prices and make money off customers, allegedly mixing customer funds with Binance money. “While we take the SEC’s allegations seriously, they should not be the subject of an SEC enforcement action, let alone on an emergency basis. We intend to defend our platform vigorously,” the company responded at the time in a statement. “And, to be clear: any allegations that user assets on the Binance.US platform have ever been at risk are simply wrong, and there is zero justification for the Staff’s action in light of the ample time the Staff has had to conduct their investigation,” the company added in the statement. The massive settlement comes just weeks after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty in federal court of defrauding customers on his popular cryptocurrency exchange out of billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried’s defence team has vowed to fight the charges.

A grief author accused of poisoning her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail has claimed a damning letter found in her jail cell is merely an excerpt from her new book. Kouri Richins, 33, is facing charges of aggravated murder and three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute over the March 2022 death of her husband Eric Richins. Ms Richins allegedly killed her husband of seven years and father of her children by slipping a lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow Mule he later drank. Before her arrest earlier this year, Ms Richins self-published a children’s book about grief based on her children’s experiences after they lost their father. Last week, the 33-year-old was charged with witness tampering after a letter was found in her cell in which she allegedly asked her brother to “falsely” testify that her husband died after ordering drugs and pills from Mexico. But now, in a phone call to her mother, Ms Richins has claimed the incriminating letter was simply part of a fictional book she is writing about her stay in a Mexican prison, according to court documents. “When I first got in here I was telling you how I was writing a book … those papers were not a letter to you guys, they were part of my freaking book … I was writing this fictional mystery book,” Ms Richins says in the call, according to a court filing. “I go to Mexico and I’m like trying to find these drugs … I’m writing about Dad … like me and Dad went to Mexico to find these drugs … you can very much tell that the whole thing is very much a story … then I get in the Mexican prison … I said have Skye sneak me in some white strips because my teeth are getting yellow because all we do is drink coffee in the Mexican prison.” In the jailhouse letter, Ms Richins told her mother to instruct her brother, Ronald Darden, to testify that her husband got fentanyl from Mexico. “Here is what I’m thinking but you have to talk to Ronney,” Ms Richins wrote in the letter. “A year prior to Eric’s death, Ronny was over watching football and Eric and Ronny were chatting about Mexico trips. Eric told Ronny he gets painkillers [and] fentanyl from Mexico.” Ms Richins went on to write that Mr Darden “would probably have to testify to this but it’s super short not a lot to it”. She also said in the letter Mr Darden could take some liberties with the narrative as long as he got the point across. Prosecutors have previously said there is no evidence suggesting Mr Richins bought the fentanyl that killed him. In a request to the court filed on Tuesday, prosecutors said Ms Richins’ motion about the letter “contains factual errors and legal misunderstandings, rendering it unpersuasive at best”. Prosecutors have claimed that Ms Richins had previously tried to poison her husband after he consulted a divorce attorney on learning that his wife was $2m in debt. Ms Richins had also reportedly taken out at least four life insurance policies on her husband before allegedly poisoning him. Ms Richins has denied all the allegations against her. If convicted, she faces between 25 years to life in prison. Read More Grief author accused of killing husband with fentanyl allegedly asked brother to lie in letter found in cell Mother accused of killing husband with fentanyl-laced cocktail ‘misses her children’ in prison, lawyer says Utah woman who allegedly sold author Kouri Richins fentanyl used to poison husband appears in court

Authorities in Illinois reportedly believe former NFL player Sergio Brown could be in Mexico, days after his mother was found dead in a creek behind her home. Mystery erupted around Mr Brown on Saturday after a concerned family member filed a missing persons report for the 35-year-old New England Patriots alum and his mother Myrtle Brown, 73. Myrtle was found dead less than 100 yards from her Maywood home the following day. Her death was ruled a homicide as the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office found injuries resulting from an assault. The case took a bizarre turn as videos emerged from an Instagram account linked to Mr Brown. Authorities had said they were investigating the authenticity of the posts, in which a man identified as Mr Brown claimed he was kidnapped by the FBI and that his mother was on vacation. Maywood police has now determined that one of the videos was recorded in Playa del Carmen, Forbes reports. The Independent has not received confirmation from authorities that Mr Brown is in Mexico. Eagle-eyed social media users previously pointed out that a building’s logo in the background of the video appeared to spell the words “Sabbia Condos.” Read More Missing ex-NFL star posts bizarre Instagram about police and FBI after mother found dead in creek Ex-NFL star Sergio Brown and his mother went missing. Police say she was murdered and he has yet to be found Sergio Brown posts second strange video about Finding Nemo while ‘missing’ after mother’s death

Authorities in North Carolina have accused a man of murdering his wife and tossing her body in a lake. Omar Matthew Ibrahim Drabick, 34, is facing charges of first-degree murder and concealment of unnatural death in connection with the killing of his wife Hadeel Ghadhanfer Hikmat. The victim’s body was pulled from Jordan Lake in New Hope Valley on after a boater spotted the remains on 29 August. Law enforcement believes Mr Drabick reportedly dumped her body off a bridge. Hikmat, who was found wearing a pearl necklace, was not immediately identified, prompting authorities to share a sketch with the public. Hikmat’s brother Firas Hikmat reported her missing to police in Apex, where the victim and her husband lived, after she failed to answer his calls, according to ABC11. Hikmat was eventually positively identified through fingerprint analysis. “I don’t know exactly if I’m happy that Omar is in jail or sad because of my sister’s murder, Hadeel. Nothing can get her back,” Mr Hikmat told the outlet about news of Mr Drabick’s arrest. Mr Hikmat said that he had been concerned about his sister’s safety before she was killed. The grieving brother said his family is originally from Iraq and that Hikmat had moved to the United States following her marriage to Mr Drabick last year. Hadeel Hikmat studied engineering in Iraq and had recently taken a job at a Walmart. “My sister Hadeel was so ambitious, so dedicated ... she was working two places because she wanted to help her husband,” Mr Hikmat told ABC11 before Mr Drabick’s arrest The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office added that detectives conducted searches on 8 September at two separate locations that were known to be frequented by Hikmat. “These kinds of incidents are a reminder of the tragedy of domestic violence,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement. “It’s a scourge that affects far too many lives and causes immeasurable pain and suffering. We urge anyone who may be in an abusive relationship to reach out for help and support.” Mr Drabick is being held without bond in the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. His next court hearing is scheduled for 25 September. Read More Student accused of fatally shooting UNC professor may be mentally unfit for trial A family of four and their three dogs were fatally shot in a quiet Illinois town. The suspect was found dead days later Suspect in murder of family of four outside Chicago found dead states away in Oklahoma

Two suspects sought by police in the murders of a family of four outside of Chicago were found shot inside a burning car states away in Oklahoma, authorities said Wednesday. Nathaniel Huey Jr., 31, of Streamwood, Illinois, and an unnamed woman were identified as persons of interest in the slayings after the two adults, two children and three dogs were found inside a home in the small Illinois town of Romeoville over the weekend. Romeoville Deputy Chief Chris Burne told local news outlets that a car linked to the man was spotted by a license plate reader in Catoosa, Oklahoma, sparking a traffic stop. But when officers tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away, crashed and caught on fire. Officers on the scene reportedly “heard two noises believed to be gunshots,” Chief Burne said. Officers found the man fatally shot in the driver’s seat and a critically wounded woman in the passenger seat. “This is still an active and evolving investigation and this portion of the incident is still unfolding,” Chief Burne said. He did not say what the relationship was between Huey and the family who was killed over the weekend, but said evidence “has shown us a nexus between our suspect and the victims, as well as a possible motive.” It comes just days after a family of four was gunned down in a Chicago suburb. Police were called in for a welfare check at the home in Romeoville, Illinois, on Sunday morning. Officers arrived to find the bodies of Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their dogs. “I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband and WHY?” Bartolomei’s sister Bryana wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. The loss of the Rolon-Bartolomei family has shocked many friends and family members – with Bartolomei’s sister Bryana stepping forward and sharing her heartache with the community. In the description of a GoFundMe, Bryana wrote: “This fundraiser has been created with the aim of helping the Rolon-Bartolomei family with funeral expenses, as well as to create awareness of this ongoing case. Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their kids Adriel & Diego (ages 10 & 7) were involved in a horrific crime that took their lives and shattered countless others.” Bryana said her sister and brother-in-law had just brought their first home together and described the children as “the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away.” “The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them,” she added. Read More A family of four and their three dogs were shot dead in a quiet Illinois town. Their killer is still at large Illinois police say family of four shot dead in Illinois home were ‘targeted’ – as killer remains at large

Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are being sued after being accused of beating a grandmother in a so-called “torture warehouse,” a new lawsuit alleges. Baton Rouge resident Ternell Brown was detained in June; but rather than taking her to the police station, Baton Rouge police officers drove her to an unmarked warehouse, according to a 18 September lawsuit she filed. Officers referred to this facility as the “Brave Cave,” where the street crimes unit held people in custody, assaulted them, and conducted strip and body-cavity searches on them, the lawsuit claimed. Police officers wrongfully informed Ms Brown that it was illegal to have different prescription medicines in the same pill container, according to the complaint. Ms Brown, 51, was allegedly arrested on suspicion of illegal drug activity – after officers discovered a legal prescription medication in her car during a traffic stop. She was taken to the warehouse and held there for two hours, the filing states. There, officers “forced her to spread her vagina and buttocks for inspection and examined her vagina using a flashlight,” despite not having a warrant, probable cause, or consent to conduct a strip or body cavity search, the suit states. After a couple of hours, Ms Brown was released without charge. The 51-year-old isn’t the first one to flag the “Brave Cave.” Jeremy Lee, a Baton Rouge resident, was arrested in January, and police took him to the warehouse, which one officer called the “Brave Cave,” WAFB previously reported. Bodycam footage captured Mr Lee sitting in a wooden chair in what appeared to be a warehouse. There, the 22-year-old was punched and kicked – although that happened off-camera, the outlet noted. After the incident, Mr Lee “was so badly beaten that authorities at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison refused to accept him” into its custody, “insisting that Mr Lee be taken to the hospital,” according to a lawsuit he filed. He was treated for broken ribs and other injuries. After the incident, Mr Lee filed a lawsuit; in August, the city’s mayor ordered the facility’s operations to be suspended “in light of the serious allegations.” The FBI is now investigating the claims, and an officer involved in Mr Lee’s alleged “Brave Cave” assault have resigned. An attorney for Ms Brown called out Police Chief Murphy Paul at a Monday press conference. “Chief Murphy Paul, instead of bringing BRPD policy in compliance with the constitution, decided to double down and endorse what his officers were doing and to insist that the illegal strip search policy that BRPD maintains was appropriate,” said Thomas Frampton. As a result of the chief’s decision, Mr Frampton said, “countless Baton Rouge citizens have been subject to illegal, sexually humiliating strip searches.” Chief Paul was interviewed by the Washington Post, although he declined to comment on the pending lawsuits, adding that an internal investigation is underway. He did, however, address the “Brave Cave” at a news conference last month, explaining that it was a narcotics processing facility owned by the parish that had been used by the police department for “approximately 20 years.” However, up until Mr Lee’s lawsuit came out, he was unaware of the term “Brave Cave,” he said. “We made a mistake on this one,” Mr Paul told the Washington Post. “I’ve got to own that.” The police chief also addressed other accusations made in Ms Brown’s complaint. The filing claims that the Baton Rouge Police Department’s strip search policy “violates the legal standard” by allowing officers to subject non-arrestees to such searches based on an officer’s suspicion alone. The suit also accuses the department of ignoring misconduct complaints by the street crimes unit. “We’ve been pretty consistent in our discipline,” Mr Paul told the Post, disagreeing with the suit’s claims. “We’ve terminated officers for bad behavior.” To demonstrate this, he noted that two officers who were once involved in the street crimes unit were placed on administrative leave on Tuesday. He added that the department has moved operations — which used to be conducted at the warehouse — to other facilities. The police chief said that before restoring the street crimes unit, he was waiting for the internal investigation to be completed. Ms Brown is suing the Baton Rouge Police Department for unreasonable search, unreasonable seizure, Monell liability, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, negligence, and state constitutional violations. Read More A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They're still waiting for new maps Louisiana moves juveniles from adult penitentiary but continues to fight court order to do so Prosecutors set to lay out case against officers in death of unarmed Black man in Denver suburb

Over the last few weeks, the sprawling crime saga surrounding Alex Murdaugh has once again been catapulted into the spotlight. Six months after he was convicted of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul on 7 June 2021, Murdaugh filed a motion demanding a new trial based on a damning accusation against Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill. His attorneys claim that Ms Hill tampered with the jury, pressuring them to find him guilty and breaking her oath as an elected official. New details continue to emerge about this – including a random Georgia man’s unlikely links to the case – and legal experts have warned that if the allegations are in fact true, a new trial is almost certain. At the same time, Murdaugh’s other criminal charges are progressing through the courts. He appeared in court on 14 September for a hearing on a slew of state financial charges – marking his first court appearance since his murder trial sentencing. On Thursday, he is slated to appear in court to plead guilty to 22 federal financial criminal charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering – after signing a plea deal with prosecutors on Monday. Now, Netflix has dropped its second series of “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” – bringing new details and claims about the Murdaugh saga to light. Here are some of the key revelations from the new series: Cousin Eddie claims Murdaugh all but confessed to murders Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith has claimed that Murdaugh made a bombshell confession about his wife and son’s murders before orchestrating the now-infamous botched hitman plot. On 4 September 2021, Mr Smith – Murdaugh’s former law firm client, distant cousin and alleged drug dealer – allegedly shot the double murderer in the head along the side of a road in Hampton County in an assisted suicide scheme. Mr Smith claimed in the show that Murdaugh begged him to shoot him but he refused. When he asked Murdaugh why he wanted him to kill him, Mr Smith revealed that Murdaugh had given a chilling response. “Because they’re going to be able to prove that I’m responsible for Maggie and Paul,” Murdaugh allegedly said. Cousin Eddie also asked Murdaugh “what did happen” that fateful night. Murdaugh is said to have given the damning response: “Things just got all f***ed up.” Randolph Murdaugh published obituary as ‘warning’ to wife Murdaugh’s now-late father Randolph Murdaugh once wrote and published a fake obituary for his wife when she was still alive as a “warning” because she wanted to divorce him, it has been claimed. In 1976, an obituary for Libby Murdaugh – Murdaugh’s mother – appeared in the local paper The Hampton Guardian. The obituary has long been a source of mystery as to who published it and why. In the Netflix show, Paul Murdaugh’s former girlfriend Morgan Doughty claimed that Maggie once told her that the obituary came about because Libby told Randolph she wanted to divorce him. Randolph then took the step to write Libby’s obituary himself and have it published in the paper. “I think it was a gesture to scare her into staying,” said Ms Doughty, who also took Maggie confiding in her as a warning. “I think that was her way of letting me now what I was signing up for. I think it was kind of like a warning.” Paul Murdaugh hosted booze-fuelled boat party weeks before murder Paul Murdaugh was pulled over by police for hosting a booze-fuelled boat party just days before he was brutally murdered by his father – and at a time when he was awaiting trial over a 2019 deadly boat wreck. Housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson revealed that the 22-year-old had a fresh brush with the law in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 murders. The incident took place around a week before Memorial Day weekend, when Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said Maggie told her that “Paul got in trouble again”. “He was on the boat with friends and they were drinking,” she said. “But they called Alex and he said he was going to take care of it.” Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill also confirmed that the DNR had stopped the 22-year-old with a boat full of people and confiscated a cooler “full of booze”. At the time, Paul was awaiting trial over a February 2019 drunken boat wreck that killed friend Mallory Beach, 19. Court clerk reveals daughter was ‘almost’ on jury The South Carolina court official at the centre of Murdaugh’s bid for a new murder trial has revealed that her own daughter was almost seated as a juror in the case. “So my daughter almost became a juror,” said Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill. She added: “She was so excited.” Ms Hill went on to describe her first encounter with Murdaugh on the opening day of the trial – an encounter that appeared cordial and as though the now-convicted killer expected the saga to soon be over. “The first day of trial, Alex was coming in and said ‘good morning Ms Becky, how are you?’” she said. “It was more of a lightheartedness. It was a ‘we’re going to get through this in about a week or two, we’re all gonna go home. All of this is going to go away’.” Ms Hill – who is a regular feature throughout the new three-part series – is an elected official of the court whose role was to maintain the courtroom proceedings and even read out Murdaugh’s verdict. Now, she has been accused of jury tampering by Murdaugh’s attorneys as the convicted killer fights for a new trial. Bubba the dog’s new life Among the familiar faces from the Murdaugh saga returning in the Netflix series is Bubba the dog. Bubba’s name cropped up multiple times during the murder trial as he was likely something of a witness to the killings of Maggie and Paul. That night, Paul, Maggie and Alex were down by the dog kennels. Paul was filming a brown labrador named Cash on his cellphone for his friend Rogan Gibson. In the video, Maggie and her husband are heard shouting off-camera about Bubba catching a chicken in his mouth. Just minutes later, Maggie and Paul were shot dead at the kennels. It was this video – and Bubba’s antics – which led to Murdaugh’s voice being caught on camera at the kennels at the time of the murders. In the Netflix show, Bubba is seen with Ms Turrubiate-Simpson – after the dog began a new life with her in the wake of Maggie’s death. Ms Turrubiate-Simpson, who was a close friend of Maggie’s, and Bubba are also seen visiting Maggie’s grave. “Maggie loved Bubba,” she said. “He was her prized possession, he was not a kennel dog.” Read More Alex Murdaugh’s alleged co-conspirator shares convicted killer’s bombshell confession in documentary - live Paul Murdaugh hosted booze-fueled boat party days before his murder – as he faced charges for deadly crash Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell confession before infamous botched hitman plot revealed Court clerk accused of jury tampering in Alex Murdaugh trial says daughter was ‘excited’ to be on jury

A missing woman is feared dead after a blood stain was found in her home and police discovered evidence that something was dragged into a lake in her backyard. Sheryl Ann Siddall, 57, was reported missing on Monday after she failed to answer phone calls from her family. Family members say they last spoke to Ms Siddall, who lives in Liberty County, Texas, on 12 September. A Texas deputy searched the 57-year-old’s home and found a 52-year-old man who said he was buying the home from Ms Siddall. He also told police Ms Siddall told him she was going to visit her sister in Oklahoma. The man was arrested and booked into the Liberty County Jail on a charge of felon in possession of firearms, police said. In a statement, police said the deputy found a bloodstain on the floor of Ms Siddall’s home. “Suspecting that foul play may be involved, the deputy immediately backed out of the room and called for investigators,” the statement continued. Investigators also said they found evidence that suggested something was dragged into the lake that borders Ms Siddall’s backyard. A Texas game warden searched Horseshoe Lake using a sonar system on his boat, deputies said, but he did not find any other evidence. Another search of the property was carried out by investigators using cadaver dogs on 19 September. Ms Siddall’s cellphone was last pinged near her home, deputies said, and her car and purse were both found at the home along with other personal possessions. An investigation is ongoing. Read More Husband of mother missing with three young children says he’s ‘not concerned’ Family sues department store after cleaner’s body lay undiscovered in bathroom for four days Teen found drenched with accelerant and set on fire after mother begged her to stay home

Paul Murdaugh was pulled over by police for hosting a booze-fuelled boat party just days before he was brutally murdered by his father – and at a time when he was awaiting trial over a 2019 deadly boat wreck. In the new series of Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal”, released on Wednesday, housekeeper and family friend Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson revealed that the 22-year-old had a fresh brush with the law in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 murders. His father Alex Murdaugh was said to be taking care of the matter. The incident took place around a week before Memorial Day weekend, when Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said Maggie told her that “Paul got in trouble again”. “He was on the boat with friends and they were drinking,” she said. “But they called Alex and he said he was going to take care of it.” Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill also confirmed that the DNR had stopped the 22-year-old with a boat full of people of board. The group was already drinking alcohol from a cooler “full of booze” and were “ready to go out on the water” in the boat. “The DNR held him back and took all of the booze off the boat,” said Ms Hill. The court clerk said that the incident is shocking given that – just two years earlier – Paul allegedly caused a drunken boat wreck that killed his close friend Mallory Beach, 19. “You would think someone who would be appearing in court to decide if they are going to jail for killing somebody from a boat crash just two years before would not be still found on a boat partying,” she said. It was one night in February 2019 and Paul was allegedly drunk driving the Murdaugh family’s boat and crashed it, throwing his friends overboard. The others survived but Beach as missing. Her body washed ashore a week later. Paul was charged with multiple felonies over the boat wreck and was facing 25 years in prison at the time of his murder. At Murdaugh’s trial, prosecutors revealed that the disgraced attorney was also being sued by Beach’s family. On the day of the murders, Murdaugh was working on the case. A lawsuit hearing had been scheduled for 10 June 2021 – a hearing which prosecutors said would have exposed Mr Murdaugh’s ruinous finances. Murdaugh was also investigated by a grand jury investigation into allegations he tried to influence the other teens who survived the boat crash to get Paul off the hook. Prosecutors said that the boat wreck – and the escalating legal troubles it had brought – was the catalyst for murdering Maggie and Paul. Now, details of May 2021 boating incident – and Murdaugh’s apparent plans to fix it – appear to indicate another “pressure point” for Murdaugh in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 killings. “It makes you wonder if it was another pressure point for Alex knowing that he could not control anything that Paul did,” said Ms Hill in the show. “It just added to the pressures that were adding up in Alex’s life.” Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that the incident also cast doubts on Murdaugh’s claims – and that of his son Buster when he took the witness stand in his defence – that things were “normal” among the family prior to the murders. Jurors had been shown footage of the family and some close friends singing “Happy Birthday” to Murdaugh during a Memorial Day weekend celebration. Buster had described the day as a “normal Memorial Day weekend”. Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that description was “not true”. “That’s not true... There was a lot going on at the time,” she said. At the trial, jurors heard how a “perfect storm” led Murdaugh to kill his closest family members, arguing that he wanted to distract from what later transpired to be a decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme – at a time when it was on the brink of being exposed. On the day of the murders, jurors heard testimony of how he was confronted by Jeanne Seckinger, the CFO at his law firm PMPED, about missing payments. Murdaugh had stolen the money from the firm and his clients – and didn’t have the money to pay back. The boat crash lawsuit was also going to expose his financial crimes. And his father Randolph – the family patriarch – was dying. Randolph died on 10 June 2021 – three days after Maggie and Paul. Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that she thinks the family knew that Murdaugh would “lose it” once his father died. “I think [Maggie] knew at that point that if something happens to Randolph, Alex is going to lose it because he was really close to his dad – like Paul,” he said. “It might not have been spoken but I think the family knew that once Mr Randolph was no longer alive the family dynamic was going to change. There was not going to be that family unity any more.” The disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders after a gruelling six-week trial. Now, he is fighting to be granted a new trial, accusing court clerk Ms Hill of tampering with the jury. Even if he is granted a new trial, Murdaugh will likely spend his life behind bars as he is facing a slew of state and federal charges over a slew of financial crimes. On Monday, he reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors – agreeing to plead guilty to 22 federal charges and admitting that he stole millions of dollars from law firm clients for his own personal benefit. He is headed to court on Thursday to officially enter his plea – marking the first time that he has ever pleaded guilty to committing a crime. Read More Murdaugh Netflix show airs new bombshell claims as Alex strikes plea deal for financial crimes – live Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell confession before infamous botched hitman plot revealed Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to committing crime for first time

A sheriff’s deputy in Texas who left his infant child in a hot car for three hours has been fired and arrested. Antonio Almaraz, 31, left his two-month-old baby alone in his car on Monday, as temperatures in San Antonio reached around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Mr Almaraz had taken his child to a routine pediatrics appointment at 9am. He returned home an hour later and left his child in the car parked outside. At about 1pm, the baby was found unresponsive in the car. She was rushed to Methodist Hospital and their condition remains critical. The hospital reported the incident to authorities, but according to the sheriff’s office, Mr Almazaz initially gave a different narrative when he was questioned about what happened. Mr Almaraz had been charged with injury to a child, endangering a child and abandoning a child, with a bail set at $80,000. The deputy had only started his job in February and has now since been fired due to the treatment of his child. He will not be allowed to appeal his dismissal nor be eligible for rehire, no matter what the outcome of his case is, the sheriff’s office said. “Given the amount of awareness in the community regarding leaving children unattended in vehicles, there is absolutely no valid excuse for this to have occurred,” Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement. “My family and I are praying for the best possible outcome for this precious baby.” The inside of a vehicle can increase over 20 degrees within ten minutes, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states. It was only in late July that another infant was stuck in a hot car in San Antonio, Texas. The baby was accidentally locked inside the car and the parents took to smashing in the windows before it was too late. Read More Video captures father smashing windshield to rescue baby from hot car Suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir killed in Texas prison Black student suspended again after punishment over his hairstyle

Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith has claimed that Alex Murdaugh made a bombshell confession about his wife and son’s murders before orchestrating the now-infamous botched hitman plot. Mr Smith – a former law firm client, distant cousin and alleged drug dealer of Murdaugh – is facing a string of charges over the 4 September 2021 incident where he allegedly shot the double murderer in the head along the side of a road in Hampton County. Now, in the new series of Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal”, released on Wednesday, the 62-year-old revealed never-before-heard details about the bizarre encounter. Mr Smith claimed that Murdaugh begged him to shoot him in an assisted suicide scheme – a shocking request that he said he refused. When he asked Murdaugh why he wanted him to kill him, Mr Smith revealed that Murdaugh had given a chilling response where he all but confessed to murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul three months earlier. “Because they’re going to be able to prove that I’m responsible for Maggie and Paul,” Murdaugh allegedly said. Murdaugh was convicted of Maggie and Paul’s murders this March and sentenced to life in prison but continues to insist his innocence. He is currently in the midst of a legal fight to be granted a new trial. Mr Smith’s account comes as both he and Murdaugh are facing charges over the bizarre botched hitman plot which unfolded on 4 September 2021 – three months on from the 7 June 2021 double murders and one day after Murdaugh was ousted from his law firm for stealing millions of dollars in funds from clients. Mr Smith said in the show that he had known Murdaugh since the late 80s or early 90s as he knew the legal dynasty heir’s father Randolph. “I’m half Murdaugh – dont tell them that,” he said, laughing. Mr Smith said that he was friends with Murdaugh and he had also done “a bit of work” for him over the years such as running errands or “general land clearing work”. That morning on 4 September 2021, Mr Smith said Murdaugh had called him about 10am or 10.30am and asked what he was doing. “He said can you run over this way in a minute. He told me to meet him at the funeral home in Varnville,” he said. Mr Smith said that he drove to meet Murdaugh and looked up and saw the now-convicted killer driving down the road towards him. He had his sun visor pulled round his windshield and windows rolled up so as to keep his face hidden, Mr Smith said. When Mr Smith asked him what he was doing, he said Murdaugh replied that “I don’t need to be seen in town”. Murdaugh told him that he believed he was being watched by SLED. “And I said ‘why they watching you?’” said Mr Smith. Murdaugh allegedly replied: “Well he said, ‘well you know about what happened.’” “I said ‘what out in Moselle?’” said Mr Smith, about the family home where Maggie and Paul had been gunned down. When Murdaugh confirmed that was what he was referring to, Mr Smith said he asked him “what did happen” that fateful night. Murdaugh is said to have given the damning response: “Things just got all f***ed up.” After that, Mr Smith said Murdaugh asked him if he loved him. “Yeah, I love you like a brother you know that, do ’most anything for you,” said Mr Smith. It was at that moment that Mr Smith said Murdaugh asked him to shoot and kill him. Mr Smith said he refused, insisting that he told him that “ain’t happening, not today, not tomorrow”. When he refused, Murdaugh allegedly told him that he would have to “do it myself” and “took off”. Mr Smith said he went after him in his vehicle out of “pure concern” – not just for Murdaugh but for the family who had just lost Maggie and Paul and Murdaugh’s father (who died just three days after the murders). After catching up with him, Mr Smith said Murdaugh confronted him with a gun – prompting him to try to “scare some sense into him”. “When I pulled up there and I rolled the window down he’s coming up to my window with a gun. I figured I’d scare some sense into him,” he said. Mr Smith claimed he fired his own gun up into the air and Murdaugh threw himself onto the ground. The alleged co-conspirator insisted that he didn’t shoot Murdaugh and that there was “no blood on him” so he just “went home”. But Murdaugh called 911, claiming he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while changing a tire on his vehicle. He was taken to hospital where he was treated for what police called a “superficial gunshot wound to the head”. Mr Smith said in the Netflix show that the scratches on Murdaugh’s head came “not from a bullet” but from rocks at the side of the road from when Murdaugh leaped onto the ground when he fired his gun. For several days on from the incident, Murdaugh kept up the lie about being ambushed, and even spent hours constructing an imaginary assailant with a police sketch artist. But, Murdaugh’s story quickly unravelled. One week later on 13 September, he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the whole saga, claiming that he asked Mr Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $12m life insurance windfall. Both he and Mr Smith were arrested and charged over the incident. Mr Smith said that he was surprised and “didn’t take it seriously” when police began asking him questions about what happened. “I didn’t ask for an attorney – I had nothing to hide from them,” he said in the Netflix show. “I really didn’t take it seriously to be honest with you. I knew I hadn’t shot his ass but he damn sure tried to tell everybody I did or he told everybody I did.” Read More Murdaugh Netflix show airs new bombshell claims as Alex strikes plea deal for financial crimes – live Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to committing crime for first time Alex Murdaugh’s request for a new trial complicated by angry husband’s Facebook rant

A quiet community just outside of Chicago was turned upside down when a couple, their two young sons and three dogs were found shot dead inside their home. Police were called in for a welfare check at the home in Romeoville, Illinois, on Sunday morning. Officers arrived to find the bodies of Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their dogs. Investigators determined that the victims died by homicide - with the killer still at large days later. “I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband and WHY?” Bartolomei’s sister Bryana wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. Here is everything we know about the Rolon-Bartolomei family case: ‘Not a murder suicide’ Romeoville police were dispatched on Sunday (17 September) to check on the Rolon-Bartolomei family after relatives shared concern that one of the parents didn’t turn up for work that day. In a press conference on Monday, police said family members called several times throughout the day to check on the adult, but there was no response. Just before 9pm Sunday, officers carried out a welfare check at the family’s home on the residential 500 block of Concord Avenue. The family of four were found dead of gunshot wounds – along with their three dogs. Authorities believe the murders took place between 9pm Saturday and 5am Sunday. “We do not believe the offender is among the victims. It is not a murder-suicide,” Deputy Chief Burne said during the press conference. The killer is not yet known, but police have said they do not feel the need to lock down the area. Deputy Chief Burne added: “Due to the timeframe that has gone by – more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted – we are not asking anybody to shelter in place, we are not actively looking for anybody in the area.” However, authorities have advised residents to “have a good sense of self-awareness” and have asked them to report anything they might see as suspicious. Deputy Chief Burne said that the investigation is in the early stages, so further details will not yet be released due to the sensitivity of the case. ‘Their kids were the sweetest most innocent angels’ The loss of the Rolon-Bartolomei family has shocked many friends and family members – with Bartolomei’s sister Bryana stepping forward and sharing her heartache with the community. In the description of a GoFundMe, Bryana wrote: “This fundraiser has been created with the aim of helping the Rolon-Bartolomei family with funeral expenses, as well as to create awareness of this ongoing case. Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their kids Adriel & Diego (ages 10 & 7) were involved in a horrific crime that took their lives and shattered countless others.” Bryana said her sister and brother-in-law had just brought their first home together and described the children as “the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away.” “The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them,” she added. She also pleaded for anyone with information on the killings to contact police. The post was met with comments from the community sharing their condolences. “We know her and your parents from church, we are so saddened by this horrible news. Prayers for you all,” one user said. Another wrote: “My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.” Neighbours were also grappling with the death of the family. Lynn Phillips, who lives one door down from the home, told The Chicago Sun Times on Monday: “I’ve been crying on and off all day.” Although she said she didn’t know the family well, Ms Phillips said they still had a good relationship. “It was a mom and dad and a couple of kids. The parents would be outside working the yard, and we’d wave hi and bye, that kind of thing,” Ms Phillips said. “Nothing unusual. We all keep to ourselves.” Read More Murder of family of four with their three dogs was not murder-suicide but was not ‘random’, police say Ex-NFL star Sergio Brown and his mother went missing. Police say she was murdered and he has yet to be found Delphi murders suspect makes bombshell claim that victims were ‘sacrificed’ by white nationalist cult