Paradise News

Tag: Americas

  • Baltimore dad arrested for allegedly fatally shooting 2-year-old daughter in the head

    BALTIMORE (TCD) — A 28-year-old man faces murder and several other charges for allegedly shooting and killing his daughter last week.

    According to Baltimore Police, on Dec. 17 at 7:10 p.m., officers from the Northwest District were called to a local hospital regarding a 2-year-old girl with a gunshot wound. Investigators learned the girl was shot at a home on the 6100 block of Park Heights Avenue, then taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

    On Dec. 20, detectives from the Homicide Unit arrested the girl’s father, Christopher Gamble, and said he was “responsible for the shooting death” of the 2-year-old. Court records show he is being charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, child abuse causing death, assault, and multiple firearms-related charges.

    Charging documents cited by WBAL-TV say Gamble was at home with the victim, Charlee, and three other children. He and Charlee were reportedly in the master bedroom when she sustained the fatal gunshot wound.

    Gamble allegedly made contradictory statements to investigators about what led up to the toddler’s death. He reportedly said he purchased the gun off the street that day and put it on his nightstand, making it seem as if Charlee shot herself. However, he allegedly later said he was with his daughter in the room but then claimed he did not know where he put the gun.

    WBAL reports Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, “There is nothing more tragic in the world than the loss of a life of a child, especially that young. This is something that should not have happened, and we have to make sure that any and everybody that could be will be held accountable. We should be looking at the adults around that child.”

    He continued, “There is no way on Earth that a 2-year-old baby should be gone from a gunshot wound suffered in a place full of people that love that young person.”

    MORE:

    • Northwestern District Death Investigation – Baltimore Police Department
    • Northwest District Homicide Arrest – Baltimore Police Department
    • Baltimore City District Court case information
    • Father arrested after toddler’s fatal shooting in northwest Baltimore – WBAL

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • 8-year-old Arizona boy reportedly killed by air rifle while riding on quad

    ST. DAVID, Ariz. (TCD) — An 8-year-old boy died in the hospital this week after he was reportedly shot with an air rifle.

    According to a news release from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, Dec. 18, shortly after 5 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the 1000 block of Pottery Lane. Once there, deputies found an 8-year-old boy, identified by KGUN-TV as Bradley John, and learned he “had been shot in the center of his chest cavity with a high powered air rifle that shoots 22 caliber pellets.”

    Officials performed emergency procedures at the scene but eventually transported the boy to Benson Hospital for emergency care, where he later died at around 6 p.m.

    The victim’s family told KOLD-TV the shooting was an accident. John allegedly rode on the back of a friend’s quad in a target practice area. The family reportedly said the boy was told not to be in the location.

    The investigation is ongoing.

    MORE:

    • Sheriff’s Office Investigates St. David Shooting Incident – Cochise County Sheriff’s Office
    • Family releases name and photos of 8-year-old killed by air rifle in St. David – KGUN
    • Southern Arizona family mourns young boy killed by high-powered air rifle – KOLD

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • 53-year-old Louisiana man arrested after allegedly raping 10-year-old child

    HOUMA, La. (TCD) — Deputies arrested a 53-year-old man this week on suspicion of raping a 10-year-old child.

    In a news release, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet said the 10-year-old victim reported the abuse on Tuesday, Dec. 19, and the sheriff’s office patrol division was called in to a local school to investigate. Investigators gathered evidence and determined Lawrence Voisin had allegedly been in a “sexual relationship” with the child.

    The victim reportedly told deputies about the “sexual encounters” the child had with Voisin. Terrebonne detectives from the Special Victims Unit interviewed the victim further.

    Detectives found substantial evidence which led to the arrest of Voisin at his home. He was booked into the Terrebonne Parish Jail on two counts of first-degree rape and remains held on $250,000 bond.

    The sheriff’s office did not disclose the relationship between Voisin and the child.

    Sheriff Soignet said in a statement, “Our detectives are working closely with the victim and family to bring a resolution to this unfortunate investigation. As always, we ask for patience and privacy for the victim and those affected by this investigation.”

    MORE:

    • Houma man arrested by SVU on Rape charges – Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office
    • Terrebonne Parish Jail Records

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • Chicago man accused of killing missing teen girlfriend who was found dead in his apartment

    CHICAGO (TCD) — A 24-year-old man accused of strangling his missing 15-year-old girlfriend to death allegedly made incriminating searches online, including “how to explain an asphyxiation death.”

    According to NBC Chicago, Amarise Parker was reported missing to Chicago Police on Sunday, Nov. 26, but then she came home the next day. Soon after, she disappeared a second time. On Dec. 10, she reportedly called her mother and asked her to pick her up near Joshua Williams’ apartment. When her mother arrived, Parker wasn’t there.

    On Dec. 11, Parker reportedly called her mother a second time. Her mother picked her up, and Parker returned home. Court documents cited by NBC Chicago say Parker explained to her mother than Williams did not let her leave the apartment, but she “escaped when he thought that she was in the restroom.”

    Parker went to school that day, but when her mother went to pick her up, she was once again nowhere to be fund.

    On the night of Dec. 11, Parker reportedly stayed over at Williams’ apartment on the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue. A neighbor allegedly heard the couple arguing into the late hours of the night and into the next hours of the morning.

    CBS Chicago reports Williams called his cousin on the night of Dec. 12 because Parker was “foaming at the mouth, and he did not know what to do.” Williams’ cousin called 911, and paramedics arrived at the scene. They went into the apartment and discovered Parker “lying in an open closet with a blanket covering all but her head.”

    Her neck reportedly appeared “red and cut,” and her necklace had been wedged into her throat.

    According to court documents cited by WBBM-TV, Parker also had a crushed windpipe due to the strangulation.

    Detectives obtained videos from Williams’ phone that allegedly showed him touching his girlfriend’s body. He also allegedly searched 50 topics on Google, including information on the death penalty, murder, “how to explain asphyxiation death,” as well as additional “inculpatory” subjects.

    WBBM reports Williams is wanted in Colorado Springs on a strangulation charge from 2019.

    WGN-TV reports Williams was booked on charges of murder and being a fugitive from justice. He is currently being held without bond.

    MORE:

    • Prosecutors provide new details in Chicago teen’s strangulation as charges filed – NBC Chicago
    • Man charged in strangling death of Chicago teen Amarise Parker – WBBM
    • Docs: Man accused of strangling teen girl searched death penalty, how to explain incident – WGN

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • 2 teens sentenced for fatally shooting 11-year-old girl who was getting milk for her mom

    SYRACUSE, N.Y. (TCD) — Two teenagers will spend a minimum of 25 years in prison for fatally shooting an 11-year-old girl who got caught in crossfire while going to pick up milk for her mother.

    WSYR-TV reports a judge handed 19-year-old Ra’sean Patterson and 16-year-old Deckyse Bridges the sentences on Dec. 19 and said they could face up to life in prison in connection with the shooting death of Brexialee Torres-Ortiz. WSTM-TV reports Patterson pleaded guilty Oct. 19 to second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and illegal possession of a weapon. Bridges initially pleaded not guilty, but then entered a plea for murder five days after Patterson.

    A third suspect, 21-year-old Dahviere Griswold, will stand trial in February.

    On Jan. 16, Syracuse Police Department officers were called to the 400 block of Oakwood Avenue regarding a shooting and found Torres-Ortiz suffering from “evident” gunshot wounds. Medics transported her to a hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Another victim, 19-year-old Isael Cruz, checked in to Upstate Hospital with gunshot wounds. He was treated and later released.

    According to WSTM, on the night of the killing, Torres-Ortiz and her family had plans to watch a movie. She reportedly offered to pick up milk from a nearby store because they needed it was needed for their dinner recipe. As she was walking back home, she got struck by gunfire when the suspects were allegedly shooting at Cruz.

    Bridges expressed remorse at the sentencing hearing, saying, “I would like to apologize to the victim’s family. I made a terrible mistake and I take responsibility for that mistake. I think about this event every night. I am truly sorry for the role I played in this situation.”

    Patterson’s attorney reportedly said Patterson is “not a bad kid but got caught up in a terrible situation which he takes responsibility for.”

    According to Torres-Ortiz’s obituary, she was an honor student at Blodgett Middle School, class president, and beloved friend who “loved math, dancing, and hugs.”

    MORE:

    • Two of Brexialee Torres-Ortiz’s killers headed to prison for at least 25 years – WSYR
    • Two admitted killers of Brexialee Torres Ortiz sentenced 25 years to life – WSTM
    • Arrests Made in Brexialee Torres-Ortiz Homicide Investigation, 1/26/2023 – Syracuse Police Department
    • Brexialee “Brexi” Torres-Ortiz obituary

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • Wis. man allegedly hit man with beer pitcher, tied cord around his neck, and beat him to death

    GREEN BAY, Wis. (TCD) — A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man he claimed was an intruder was found dead with a cord around his neck and a shirt over his head.

    On Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m., Green Bay Police Department officers went to a residence on the 1700 block of Western Avenue to investigate a disturbance, and when they arrived, they found a 30-year-old unconscious male inside. Police rendered aid until he was pronounced deceased. The man’s identity was not released per request of his family.

    Police learned the suspect, Owen Backus, called 911 from a neighbor’s home and reported being in a physical altercation with the victim. Officers arrested Backus and booked him into the Brown County Jail on suspicion of murder.

    On Thursday, Dec. 21, Green Bay Police announced the Brown County District Attorney’s Office charged Backus with first-degree intentional homicide and bail jumping.

    According to the criminal complaint, Backus allegedly claimed the victim entered his home and “came after him with a wrench.” He said he beat up the victim because the victim was allegedly attempting to do the same. When officers searched through the residence, they found the victim “lying face down on the floor with blood all around him.”

    Shards of glass were littered around the floor, some of which had blood on them.

    The victim had a white cord wrapped around his neck and a black shirt tied over his head. The officers cut off the cord and shirt, but they reportedly located another cord wrapped around his head.

    The complaint alleges Backus was in the shower when the victim came into his home and “started to go crazy.” Backus said the victim “came after him and started to flail around.” They reportedly began fighting, but Backus allegedly took action to prevent the man from coming after him again. He allegedly picked up a beer pitcher and “clubbed” the victim in the head with it. After that, the man allegedly stopped “flailing around,” but he appeared to still be breathing.

    Backus reportedly picked up a cord and tied the man’s ankle. The victim reportedly came to, then he “flipped out and they wrestled for another 15 to 20 minutes.” He picked up the black shirt and put it over the victim’s head, then tied it with a cord.

    The autopsy showed the victim died from blunt force injuries and asphyxia. He had bruising on his eyes, arms, legs, stomach, and back, as well as other cuts on his body.

    Backus allegedly claimed he killed the victim in self-defense because the victim was “relentless.”

    According to the complaint, investigators believe it was “clear that Backus and Victim 1 knew each other and had mutual friends.”

    Backus reportedly said the victim was “rearranging the house and taking things off the walls and was going to paint,” which Backus did not approve of. He claims the victim attacked him, which is why he fought back. Backus allegedly told police the victim had a pulse by the time he left the house to call police, but the complaint said that was “inconsistent with the way Victim 1’s body was located, face down, with two different cords wrapped tightly around Victim 1’s neck and a T-shirt wrapped around his face.”

    Backus’ bond was set at $1 million.

    MORE:

    • Suspicious Death Being Investigated as Homicide on Western Avenue; Green Bay Police Arrest Suspect, 12/10/2023 – Green Bay Police Department
    • Western Avenue Homicide Suspect Identified; Autopsy Complete, Results Withheld, 12/12/2023 – Green Bay Police Department
    • Western Avenue Homicide Suspect Charged; Owen Backus, 45, Green Bay – Green Bay Police Department
    • State of Wisconsin vs. Owen Backus

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • Texas man accused of fatally shooting his mother and grandmother amid 'conflict'

    KILLEEN, Texas (TCD) — A 26-year-old man faces charges after allegedly fatally shooting his 75-year-old grandmother and his 53-year-old mother this month.

    On Friday, Dec. 8, shortly after 1:30 p.m., the Killeen Police Department responded to the 2300 block of Basalt Drive to a report of a domestic incident. According to an affidavit obtained by KWTX-TV, Tina McGruder called 911 and said “her son had threatened to shoot her and her mother and had struck her.”

    At the scene, police heard a man, Louis Simpson Jr., screaming, and he left the home. He allegedly seemed “nervous and stated he needed to leave the location.” Police subsequently took Simpson into custody.

    Officers reportedly found 75-year-old Deanne McGruder and 53-year-old Tina McGruder inside the home suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Tina McGruder was having issues talking and had lost a lot of blood, but when police questioned who shot her, she reportedly said “son.”

    According to police, law enforcement officials rendered aid to the two victims until paramedics arrived on scene. Both women were transported to separate hospitals in critical condition, and they died from their injuries the next day.

    During an interview with police, Simpson said he “had been in conflict with his mother that day,” KWTX reports. According to the affidavit, “He also stated words of the effect that he didn’t mean to kill them, as he didn’t shoot ‘headshot.’”

    After the death of his grandmother and mother, Simpson reportedly told police his mother put him in jail, which he said was “the worst mistake she could have made.”

    According to KWTX, he also said he was thinking about shooting one of the responding officers but decided against it because he assumed they were armed.

    The Bell County District Attorney’s Office charged Simpson with capital murder. He remains held in the Bell County Jail on $3 million bond.

    MORE:

    • Killeen Police Charge Suspect with Capital Murder – Killeen Police Department
    • Killeen man accused of shooting, killing mother and grandmother blamed victims for their deaths: affidavit – KWTX
    • Bell County Jail Records

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • Immigration Court Backlog Explodes to a Record 3 Mil, Judges Average 4,500 Cases

    Besides crushing records for letting unparalleled amounts of illegal immigrants into the U.S., the Biden administration’s catastrophic open border policies are slamming the nation’s Immigration Court System with an unimaginable backlog not seen under any president. In November, the Immigration Court backlog exceeded 3 million pending cases, a shocking increase of around a million during a period of just 12 months. A new report issued this week by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University provides the ghastly figures taken straight from the government.

    “Immigration Judges are swamped,” the report states, revealing that they average an inconceivable 4,500 pending cases each. “If every person with a pending immigration case were gathered together, it would be larger than the population of Chicago, the third largest city in the United States,” TRAC researchers write. “Indeed, the number of waiting immigrants in the Court’s backlog is now larger than the population found in many states.” The university data analysts found that previous administrations also failed to tackle the Immigration Court backlog but point out that this is in a class of its own because the “accelerating growth in the Court’s backlog has transformed the problem into an even more daunting challenge.”

    During just the last quarter of fiscal year 2023—which runs from July to September—the backlog spiked by a remarkable 400,000 cases marking an average increase of 130,000 cases per month. Fiscal year 2024 started off with a bang as well with an even higher average of 140,000 cases a month during the first quarter of October to November, according to government figures provided in the document. As a point of comparison, at the end of Obama’s presidency the backlog stood at 516,031, which is around one-sixth of what it is now. At the time 278 immigration judges had an annual caseload of 1,850 and they completed an average of around 750 cases each year, TRAC reveals. Under Trump the number of judges grew to 484 and they had an average caseload of about 2,600 each.

    Even though the Biden administration hired many more judges the U.S. Immigration Court system, which operates under the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), cannot possibly keep up. There are currently 682 immigration judges, according to figures provided in the EOIR’s latest personnel records, and each judge closed an average of about 975 cases during the latest fiscal year. “This is a closure rate nearly a third greater than seven years ago during the final year of the Obama administration,” the TRAC report states. “Even so, more judges and higher case closures per judge have still not been able to keep pace with the flow of incoming cases. Thus, average caseloads of the 682 judges now on the bench have jumped to 4,500 per judge.”

    The crisis began almost immediately after Biden became president thanks to his disastrous open border policies. By the end of his first year in office, illegal immigration was a huge problem and the overwhelmed U.S. Immigration Court system suffered through the largest backlog of cases in history up until that point. At the time it was a then-shocking 1,596,193 cases and few imagined it would skyrocket to the current figures. The COVID-19 pandemic played a role because it caused a partial court shutdown, but the main culprit was an avalanche of new cases filed by the Biden Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now the deluge is so bad that some illegal immigrants seeking asylum may wait a decade before getting a court date thanks to Biden’s catch-and-release policy that allows migrants to live in the U.S. while they wait to see a judge.

    Source

  • 'Sahara Sue Doe' who was killed while searching for dad in 1979 is identified

    LAS VEGAS (TCD) — Investigators recently identified a 19-year-old homicide victim whose body was found in Las Vegas nearly 44 years ago after she had left Ohio to find her father in California.

    According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, on Aug. 14, 1979, at around 9 p.m., a man discovered a female body in an open field near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. Officers responded to the location and pronounced the woman dead.

    In a news release, private DNA laboratory Othram said the victim was wearing jeans, a light blue-green button-up linen shirt, and multiple pieces of jewelry.

    The Clark County Coroner’s Office determined her death to be a homicide, and despite their efforts, investigators were unable to identify the victim. The case went cold, and officials named the woman “Sahara Sue Doe.”

    In September 2022, police submitted forensic evidence to Othram, who then launched a forensic genetic genealogy investigation to help identify the victim. Othram scientists built a DNA profile for the woman and developed investigative leads.

    Detectives then reportedly spoke with potential family members and gathered DNA samples. According to police, through their investigative efforts, Othram positively identified Sahara Sue Doe as Gwenn Story on Nov. 15.

    During an interview with Story’s family members, they reportedly said in the summer of 1979, Story left Cincinnati to go to California in search of her biological father. Story allegedly left Ohio with two male friends, who returned to Cincinnati in August 1979. The male friends reportedly told Story’s family members they left her behind in Las Vegas.

    Family members had not heard from Story since she left Cincinnati. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit is investigating the case.

    MORE:

    • LVMPD Identifies Victim in 1979 Homicide Cold Case – Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
    • Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Othram Partner to Identify Sahara Sue Doe – Othram Labs

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source

  • 'Tinder killer' sentenced for torturing woman and killing her lover in 'horrific love triangle plot'

    RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (TCD) — A 31-year-old man will be a minimum of 102 years old before he could get out of prison for holding a woman against her will, torturing her, and killing her other lover.

    The Placer County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday, Dec. 19, that Damon Allen Benson was sentenced to 71 years to life in prison for fatally shooting the other man in a “horrific love triangle.” He was convicted of murder, torture, aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment by violence, criminal threats, and other charges after a jury determined he “murdered the victim with premeditation and intent.”

    Benson met a woman on Tinder, but she was also seeing the victim, which made him jealous. The woman met the victim on Tinder as well. Investigators learned in August 2021 that Benson held the woman captive at his apartment “after being extensively tortured on multiple occasions.” In one instance, he carved a swastika into her back while he tied her to his ceiling with rope. The woman is Jewish.

    The district attorney’s office said Benson maimed her so she would tell him her other lover’s address.

    Benson found the victim, who KTXL-TV identified as Cameron Gabriel, and “ambushed” him before killing him and fleeing the scene. Benson said he killed Gabriel in self-defense, but surveillance footage reportedly showed Benson “running into the victim’s home in the middle of the night, followed by immediate gunfire and Benson running out of the home.”

    The shooting, however, occurred in July 2021, according to KTXL. Detectives from the Rocklin Police Department took him into custody in September 2021.

    Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jeffery Moore said in the statement following the sentencing, “We are humbled to provide justice for this horrific crime to the greatest extent our laws allow. The defendant shows a clear danger to the public and a callous disregard for human life. Removing Benson from society is the only way to ensure he doesn’t victimize anyone again.”

    According to his obituary, Gabriel moved back to California only a few months before he was killed. He was described as having an “energetic personality that would light up the room” and being a person who could “diffuse the most difficult situation.”

    The obituary said, “Cameron appreciated life in every form, shape and way. He always saw the good in people, had a positive personality, and a sense a humor that made you want to be around him.”

    MORE:

    • Tinder killer sentenced to 71 years to life in prison for murder, torture and mayhem- Placer County District Attorney’s Office
    • Placer County Tinder killer sentenced for murder, torture and mayhem – KTXL
    • Rocklin police arrest suspect in July shooting death, 9/2/2021 – KTXL
    • Cameron Gabriel obituary – Blue Oaks Funeral Home
    • Tinder killer Damon Benson sentenced in Rocklin man’s murder, woman’s torture – CBS Sacramento

    TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our True Crime Daily newsletter.



    Source