Category: Metro

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A 33-year-old woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars for fatally stabbing her father and attempting to kill her mother after being told to move out.

The Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office announced that on April 16, a jury found Christina Adams guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. A judge subsequently sentenced Adams to two life sentences for the murder of 74-year-old Richard Langer and the attempted murder of another victim, identified by the Miami Herald as the defendant’s mother.

According to prosecutors, on Sept. 16, 2022, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded to a possible stabbing at a home in Ocala and found the victims with stab wounds. As responders rendered aid, Langer told authorities that his daughter had stabbed them. Law enforcement issued an alert bulletin, and officials performed a traffic stop on Adams’ vehicle. Adams’ wife was also in the car at the time.

Investigators took Adams and her wife into custody for questioning. The spouse reportedly said she had finished errands and then met her wife at the grocery store. Adams’ wife also allegedly said she “did not notice anything out of the norm for the defendant, nor did the defendant mention any altercation prior.”

The state attorney’s office said Adams’ statement was not consistent with her wife’s. The defendant eventually admitted that she “attacked both victims after getting upset for being told she’d have to move out.”

According to the Miami Herald, Adams was living in a converted studio apartment on her parents’ property. Her father allegedly told her to move out so her other sibling could move in. On the morning of the stabbing, Adams reportedly went to the main house to do laundry, and her father told her she needed to move out by the next day.

Adams allegedly went back into her apartment, put on gloves and shoe covers, and retrieved a “Taser pen” and knife. Adams reportedly said she went back into the main house, shocked her father with the Taser pen, then stabbed him in the arm. Her mother allegedly heard the commotion and went into the room to check on the situation. Then, Adams stabbed her in the chest.

Adams purportedly claimed she then stabbed her father in the chest multiple times and assumed both her parents were dead. Adams allegedly washed the clothes she was wearing and cleaned the knife with bleach before going to the grocery store to meet her wife.

The Miami Herald reports that Langer called 911 to report the stabbing and said his wife was “fading fast.” The couple was transported to the hospital, where they underwent surgery. Langer died from his injuries two days later.

Langer was reportedly a veteran and pilot and leaves behind nine children.

In a statement, Fifth Judicial Circuit Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie said, “Our fundamental duty is to seek justice, and in pursuing this goal, we strive to provide closure for the victims and their families while ensuring accountability for those responsible. Today, as difficult as it has been for the victims and their families, I believe we’ve gotten just that.”

• Marion County Woman Found Guilty and Sentenced to Two Life Terms for Murder of Father ad Attempted Murder of Second Victim – Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office
• 30-year-old daughter told to move out kills dad, stabs mom, Florida cops say – Miami Herald

Source: True Crime Daily

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (TCN) — Detectives arrested a missing 23-year-old woman’s boyfriend and her uncle after she was found dead in a wooded area last week.

Lesbia Mileth Ramirez Guerra’s boyfriend, Keycy Robinson Alexi Barrera Rosa, reported her missing to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office on April 2 and said she was last seen March 31 at their home in Waldorf. Investigators, however, reportedly “identified unusual and suspicious activity at Guerra’s residence the day after she was last seen,” which led them to suspect foul play was involved in her disappearance. Officials searched the home, but Guerra was not there.

On April 17, detectives from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and Prince George’s County Police Department discovered a body buried in the woods near Cedarville State Forest. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later positively identified the remains as Guerra’s.

After locating Guerra’s body, detectives obtained warrants to arrest Barrera Rosa for murder and her uncle, Rolvin Eduardo Bererra Bererra, “as an accessory for actions he took in Prince George’s County following her murder.”

Barrera Rosa, 24, is reportedly the father of her two children.

The sheriff’s office said Barrera Rosa is in custody out of state, but he will be extradited to Maryland.

Autopsy results are still pending.

Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry said, “While this was not the ending that we all hoped for, I am grateful to all those who worked so hard to find Ms. Guerra. On behalf of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, I offer our most sincere condolences to all of her family and friends.”

• Detectives Investigating Suspicious Disappearance of Waldorf Woman – Charles County Sheriff’s Office
• Body of Woman Believed to be Lesbia Ramirez Guerra Located: Arrest Warrants Obtained for Two Suspects – Charles County Sheriff’s Office

Source: True Crime Daily

In this episode of “True Crime News,” Kaylee Whitehall and Kuston Johnson’s volatile relationship ended in death after Kaylee stabbed Kuston in what she said was an act of self-defense. Plus, Stacey Smart was a loving mother who vanished out of sight the same day Sherri Papini’s high-profile and ultimately fake kidnapping made headlines. Years later, Stacey’s family is still searching for answers.

Source: True Crime Daily

ALBANY, N.Y. (TCN) — A 53-year-old woman will spend the next 25 years in prison for smothering her newborn son to death, leaving him in a park, and lighting his blanket on fire to cover up her tracks nearly 30 years ago.

The Albany County District Attorney’s Office announced Keri Mazzuca’s sentencing on April 18, saying she pleaded guilty in February to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of her son known as “Baby Moses.”

Baby Moses’ body was found in Washington Park on the morning of Sept. 7, 1997. Investigators searched for answers, but it would take 27 years and new DNA technology for them to identify Mazzuca as the child’s mother. She was arrested Sept. 14, 2024, on charges of second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.

According to the Albany Times-Union, Mazzuca confessed at her plea hearing that she killed her son by covering his mouth and nose with her hand. When he died, she reportedly covered him with a blanket, put him in a bag, and left him in the park under a statue of Moses, which is why he was named Baby Moses. Then, she reportedly lit the blanket on fire. The pathologist said the child was born healthy and was alive for less than 12 hours. The boy’s umbilical cord was still attached.

Mazzuca reportedly testified that she did not know she was pregnant before giving birth in her bathroom. Baby Moses’ father allegedly told detectives he was not aware that Mazzuca was pregnant or that she killed the child.

At the sentencing hearing, Mazzuca apologized and called herself a “great mom,” adding, “I’ve lived a law-abiding life.”

She admitted she “did a horrible, unimaginable thing. And I lived with remorse and regret.”

Mazzuca’s attorney said, “What occurred here was done under extreme emotional disturbance.”

Albany County Judge Roger McDonough, however, called it a “tragedy beyond measure.”

He said, “How can I measure what he would have accomplished in his life? He’d be 27 now, probably have children of his own.”

District Attorney Lee Kindlon said following the sentencing, “Albany is one of those places that just doesn’t quit. We take care of our own and we stick together, and today’s outcome in this case is a demonstration of that resolve. The men and women of the Albany Police Department, the FBI, New York State Police, the DA’s office, the students and professors who came together in this case, they helped their own, they helped Baby Moses. And I couldn’t be more proud of their efforts.”

• Case Closed – Albany County District Attorney’s Office
• Keri Mazzuca sentenced for death of infant, bringing a close to ‘Baby Moses’ case – Albany Times-Union
• Arrest Made in Twenty-Seven-Year-Old Cold Case Homicide, 9/16/2024 – Albany Police Department

Source: True Crime Daily

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (TCN) — A 53-year-old cold case has come to a close after investigators recently identified a suspect in the death of a 26-year-old woman whose body was found in a ditch near her young daughter.

According to a news release from Indiana State Police, on July 7, 1972, Phyllis Bailer was traveling from Indianapolis to Bluffton, Indiana, with her 3-year-old daughter to visit her parents. Bailer and her daughter never made it to her parents’ home, prompting her family to call police and report Bailer missing.

The following morning, the borrowed car Bailer was driving was reportedly found abandoned with the hood up in Grant County. Around an hour later, a passerby discovered Bailer deceased and her daughter unharmed in a ditch in Allen County.

An autopsy later revealed Bailer had been sexually assaulted and died of a gunshot wound.

DNA testing wasn’t available at the time, and the case went cold. Years after Bailer’s death, investigators created a partial DNA profile from her clothing and ruled out the main suspect in the case.

According to state police, in 2024, authorities developed a “stronger” DNA profile from Bailer’s clothing. As a result, on April 16, state police announced that they identified Fred Lienemann of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, as the primary suspect. He was 25 years old when Bailer died. He reportedly had no known connections to Bailer, but officials said he had a “significant criminal history.” If he were alive, state police said the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office would have charged him with murder.

Lienemann was killed in Detroit in 1985. According to a 1985 article from The Detroit News posted by state police, Lienemann was beaten with a baseball bat and placed in a dumpster that had been set on fire while he was still alive. His arms were reportedly broken, and his face had been sprayed with silver paint. Per the article, two suspects, Clifford Copley and Kevin Reece, allegedly got into an argument with Lienemann over some property before beating him with the bat in Copley’s basement apartment.

• 53 Year Old Murder Case Solved, Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit Identifies Killer – Indiana State Police

Source: True Crime Daily

CHICAGO (TCN) — A 34-year-old woman was taken into custody last week for allegedly killing a man with lung cancer who was also unable to speak.

The Chicago Police Department announced that detectives from the Area One Homicide Investigation Support Team arrested Catherine Perry on April 15 on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated attempted arson in connection with the stabbing death of a 61-year-old man on Oct. 14, 2024.

According to WLS-TV, Tony Landers’ sister went to check on him at his home in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood and reportedly noticed a red footprint when she walked inside.

She told WLS, “I look again, and I see another red footprint. And then, I seen my brother laying there. I seen blood all over the door.”

She said there was “blood everywhere” in his home.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports police and paramedics arrived at the residence and pronounced Landers deceased at the scene. The Cook County Medical Examiner determined Landers died from sharp force injuries.

Fifth Ward alderperson Desmon Yancy told the newspaper Landers’ death was “an extremely heinous crime.”

WLS reports Landers was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022 and later had his voice box removed.

Another one of Landers’ sisters said, “He couldn’t defend himself. He was weak. He was sickly.”

She added, “I feel bad that my brother had to die like this. He didn’t deserve it.”

Cook County Jail records show Perry is being held without bond.

• Offender Charged with October 2024 of 61-Year-Old Male – Chicago Police Department
• Mute man with lung cancer found beaten to death inside South Shore home, family says, 10/14/2024 – WLS
• South Shore man with cancer stabbed to death in ‘extremely heinous’ crime, 10/15/2024 – Chicago Sun-Times

Source: True Crime Daily