Tag: Americas

Fourteen-year-old April Millsap took her dog for a walk on a popular walking trail but never made it home alive. However, she managed to solve her own murder thanks to an app on her phone.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TCN) — Authorities recently arrested a 65-year-old man in connection with the death of a 29-year-old former Army soldier whose remains were found nearly 32 years ago.

According to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, in 1992, Michelle Miller, a mother of two, “had fallen on hard times” and “was abused by a jealous and violent partner, Daniel Innis, who had threatened to take away custody of her children.” On July 27, 1992, Miller told her social worker she planned to obtain a restraining order against Innis, but she disappeared the following day.

Approximately two weeks later, the district attorney’s office said a neighbor complained of a foul order, leading to the discovery of Miller’s body in the “filthy” basement of an abandoned building. She was partially naked and her face had been covered by a blanket. Investigators determined she died in a murder-for-hire plot.

In a Dec. 16 news release, the district attorney’s office announced that officials arrested 65-year-old Edward Watson on a charge of first-degree murder. Ryan said Innis had ordered Watson to carry out the killing. Innis received a sentence of 15 to 20 years in state prison for an unrelated manslaughter charge in 1994 and died in 2012.

MORE:

• District Attorney Announces Arrest of Edward J. Watson in 1992 Cold Case Murder of Michelle Miller – Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office

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The brother of Brad Simpson, the man arrested on suspicion of killing his missing wife, is speaking out and pleading for his brother to work with law enforcement as investigators continue to search for Brad Simpson’s wife, Suzanne.

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Cole Thomas offered to drive two of his co-workers from Minnesota to North Carolina on Thanksgiving. Somewhere along the way, Thomas disappeared and has yet to be found.

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BELEN, N.M. (TCN) — Police took a 16-year-old into custody after he reportedly called police and said he killed his parents and two teenage brothers.

According to New Mexico State Police, on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 3:30 a.m., Diego Leyva contacted the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office and made the admission to the dispatcher. Deputies arrived on scene and located Leyva, who walked outside his residence with his hands in the air and appeared “extremely intoxicated.” Following his detainment, deputies went into the home and discovered 42-year-old Leonardo Leyva, 35-year-old Adriana Bencomo, 16-year-old Adrian Leyva, and 14-year-old Alexander Leyva deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.

Deputies reportedly found a handgun on the kitchen table.

Law enforcement took Levya to a hospital for detox, then booked him into the Juvenile Justice Center on the morning of Dec. 15 on four counts of open murder.

In a statement, the Valencia County Fire Department said Bencomo worked as an active volunteer firefighter for many years. A letter written by the Belen Consolidated Schools superintendent identified the suspect as a Belen High School student.

MORE:

• New Mexico State Police Investigate Quadruple Homicide in Belen – New Mexico State Police
• Sent on behalf of the Rio Communities Fire Department – Valencia County Fire Department

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ROSSVILLE, Ga. (TCN) — A man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting his girlfriend before trying to take his own life in their shared home.

The Lookout Mountain Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced that on Dec. 5, Christopher Bullock was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony in connection with Tammy Cropper’s death. The court subsequently sentenced him to life in the Georgia Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole.

According to prosecutors, on the morning of Oct. 5, Bullock shot his girlfriend numerous times in their bedroom and then “shot himself in the head in an attempt to take his own life.”

Cropper’s 7-year-old grandson reportedly came home after school and found Bullock on the bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to the side of his head. Further investigation revealed the weapon used to kill Cropper belonged to Bullock, and authorities obtained surveillance evidence showing that no one else entered the apartment on the day of the shooting.

The district attorney’s office said Bullock confessed to officers at the scene that he shot himself.

Bullock reportedly had a “lengthy history of failed romantic relationships and had recently been terminated from his employment.” Days before the shooting, Cropper allegedly told Bullock he “needed to start providing more financial assistance to the household or their relationship would end.” According to prosecutors, Bullock then sent “goodbye” messages to his friends and family, conveying to them that he planned to end his life before shooting Cropper and himself.

MORE:

• Rossville Man Convicted of Malice Murder – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office

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Shakeia Allen’s boyfriend, Amir Johnson, was caught on camera fatally shooting her in her apartment parking lot. Johnson fled the area following the cold-blooded killing, and Allen’s family wants information about his whereabouts so they can finally get justice.

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WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (TCN) — Police recently arrested a Texas man and four other suspects from California in connection with the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old doctor outside his family medical clinic in what investigators believe was a murder-for-hire plot.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, on Aug. 23, Dr. Hamid Mirshojae was walking toward his car when a masked man hiding behind the victim’s clinic approached him and shot him in an “ambush-style attack.” The suspect fled the scene. Officers responded and found Mirshojae in the parking lot deceased with an apparent gunshot wound.

Several months later, on Dec. 10, police arrested two suspects, 41-year-old Evan Hardman of Tomball, Texas, and 40-year-old Ashley Sweeting of Reseda, California. Hardman faces a charge of murder with special circumstances, and Sweeting was charged with accessory to murder.

According to KTTV-TV, Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Schwartz alleges Sweeting drove the shooter to and from the clinic in what “appeared to be a murder-for-hire.”

Per court documents reviewed by KTTV, Hardman also faces a special circumstance allegation of murder by means of lying in wait, as well as allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm and that he has one or more prior serious or violent felony convictions

The following two days, police also arrested 26-year-old Sarallah Jawed on a charge of murder with special circumstances, as well as 46-year-old Shawn Randolph and 53-year-old Ahang Mirshojae on a charge of murder each.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Ahang Mirshojae used to be married to the victim, and investigators reportedly raided her home on Dec. 12.

Hardman and Jawed also face one count each of assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly attacking Hamid Mirshojae with baseball bats in a separate incident in May.

Authorities did not provide a motive.

MORE:

• News Release and Update – Los Angeles Police Department
• Ex-wife, 4 others arrested in connection with murder of Woodland Hills doctor – KTTV
• Ex-wife, 4 others conspired to kill Woodland Hills doctor outside his practice, police say – The Los Angeles Times

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CANTON, Ga. (TCN) — A judge sentenced a 24-year-old woman to life in prison for fatally stabbing her 13-month-old daughter in what the judge called a “heinous offense.”

Cherokee County court records show Chloe Driver received a life sentence with the possibility of parole for malice murder, plus 20 years for first-degree cruelty to children. The terms will run concurrently. In November, a jury found Driver guilty but mentally ill on charges of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and cruelty to children for killing her little girl, Hannah Driver.

The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office said at the time of the conviction that the jury “rejected the defendant’s insanity defense and found that she was criminally responsible for her actions.”

On Dec. 8, 2020, Canton Police Department officers responded to a home on Mountain Vista Boulevard for a report of a deceased infant and an adult with life-threatening injuries, and found Driver and her daughter in a bedroom with injuries. Medics transported Hannah Driver to a hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. Chloe Driver was taken to a different hospital in serious condition. About two weeks later, on Dec. 22, 2020, Canton Police Department detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Driver following her release from the hospital.

According to the district attorney’s office, Driver stopped in Canton on the day of the fatal incident while driving from North Carolina to Florida. Driver was reportedly “part of a cult” that comprised two men, three women, and the baby. When they got back to her home, Driver brought her daughter upstairs and stabbed her in the neck. Hannah Driver’s father attempted lifesaving measures on her until paramedics arrived.

Hannah Driver sustained stab wounds to her right carotid artery, proximal esophagus, fourth cervical vertebra, and right upper back.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper said in her closing arguments at Driver’s trial, “No matter how hopeless you feel, no matter how desperate you feel, no matter how angry you feel, no matter how frustrated you feel, you don’t get to commit the act of murder, and that is the law. That was a violent, heinous, horrible way to die. And I don’t care how bad your life is, you do not get to do that to this baby girl, and there be no consequences for you. She chose that life. Hannah did not. Hold her responsible.”

WAGA-TV reports Judge Ellen McElyea told Driver at her sentencing, “A parent killing a child offends us on the deepest levels.”

MORE:

• State of Georgia vs. Chloe Driver
• Notice of Conviction – Guilty But Mentally Ill Verdict in Baby Murder Trial, 11/20/2024 – Cherokee County Prosecutor’s Office
• Press Release, 12/8/2020 – Canton Police Department
• Chloe Driver sentenced to life for killing 13-month-old daughter in Canton – WAGA

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