The Crime Ledger: August 20, 2026

This briefing includes an 18-year-old college athlete, a teen homicide, young children present at a domestic killing, and a family-annihilation appeal. Victim names below are those officially released.

Daily Breaking True Crime Briefing
As of: Thursday, August 20, 2026, afternoon ET
Scope: Verified charges, pleas, convictions, and major court moves from August 18–20. Blotter and tabloid-only items were cut. Lawandcrime.com and People.com/crime were reviewed; neither had a matching fresh homicide filing in this window. The New Yorker released a Patrick Clancy interview video dated August 20.

Pennsylvania State Police charged an 18-year-old and his mother after Karoline Heintz, a PennWest California soccer player, was found stabbed in the hatch of her Jeep near campus. In Pinellas County, Steven Gress pleaded guilty Wednesday to kidnapping and first-degree murder in the 2025 killing of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette and asked a judge, not a jury, to decide whether he dies for it. A Tarrant County jury took 17 minutes Wednesday to convict Frederick Spears of capital murder in the stabbing of his estranged wife, Mary. Los Angeles prosecutors charged a man with a prior murder conviction in a Hollywood triple shooting. Lakewood police and Jefferson County prosecutors charged a husband who told 911 his wife had cut her own throat. Miami-Dade charged a man already serving life in a 2021 stabbing. In Fairfax County, a 19-year-old charged in a Great Falls park killing offered a full confession and was held without bond in Maryland. Mississippi’s Supreme Court affirmed Carly Gregg’s convictions. In Melbourne, a neighbour who suffocated an 85-year-old woman was jailed for eight years.

PennWest Player Found in Jeep Hatch

Karoline Heintz, 18, a PennWest California soccer player, was found dead in the rear hatch of her Jeep Cherokee near the California Area Public Library shortly after midnight August 20. Pennsylvania State Police Troop B charged her boyfriend, Royce Moser, 18, with homicide, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. His mother, Rachel Moser, was charged with hindering apprehension, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy, and obstruction. Both remain in custody. Both are presumed innocent.

Troopers say Heintz met Moser on the evening of August 19 in the driveway of his father’s North Strabane home. After an argument he went inside, took a large kitchen knife, and stabbed her in the chest. He then put her in the hatch and drove to his mother’s house in Beallsville. The charging release says Rachel Moser helped clean the Jeep with cleaning sprays, gave him latex gloves, and directed that the vehicle be left near campus. A welfare check after Heintz failed to return found blood inside and outside the Jeep. Pennsylvania State Police Troop B Major Case Team; Washington County District Attorney’s Office.

A college athlete killed, then allegedly cleaned up with a parent’s help. The charging documents are the new public record, not a trial.

Sources:

• Pennsylvania State Police — Troop B files charges in university student homicide
• WTAE — Mother and son charged in PennWest student’s death
• WPXI — State police announce charges Thursday afternoon

Gress Pleads Guilty in Corsette Killing

Steven Gress, 37, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Pinellas County to kidnapping and first-degree murder in the February 2025 death of Miranda Corsette, 16, of Gulfport. He waived a jury for the penalty phase and told the court he wants the death penalty. A status hearing is set for November 4. Co-defendant Michelle Brandes, 38, is charged with first-degree murder and has a pretrial date of October 22. Gress’s plea is entered. Brandes is presumed innocent.

St. Petersburg Police say Corsette was lured via Grindr on February 14, 2025, held for days, and killed. Investigators say her body was later dismembered. Graphic mechanics stay in the charging file. Judge Philip Federico is handling the case. St. Petersburg Police; Pinellas County courts.

An on-the-record capital plea and a second defendant still headed to trial. That is the public record as of Wednesday night.

Sources:

• FOX 13 Tampa Bay — Man asks judge for death sentence in teen’s death
• Tampa Bay Times — Gress pleads guilty, wants the death penalty
• Tampa Bay 28 — Gress pleads guilty to killing 16-year-old girl

Arlington Jury Convicts in 17 Minutes

A Tarrant County jury on August 19 convicted Frederick Spears, 57, of capital murder in the September 22, 2025, stabbing death of his estranged wife, Mary Spears, 53, at her Arlington home. Deliberations lasted 17 minutes. Because prosecutors had waived the death penalty, Judge Amy Allin imposed the automatic sentence: life without parole.

The jury found the killing occurred in the course of obstruction or retaliation. Five days earlier, Spears had been arrested after a knife threat and placed under an emergency protective order. Prosecutors said he then bought a knife-and-saw kit, waited in the backyard on the 1000 block of Shortleaf Pine Drive, and stabbed her when she stepped outside. Police later found him behind a church, where he stabbed himself and tried to attack a police dog. Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office; Arlington Police.

A protective order on paper, a 17-minute verdict, and a life term that does not require a second jury.

Sources:

• Fort Worth Star-Telegram — Arlington man guilty of capital murder in wife’s killing
• KERA News — Automatic life without parole after capital-murder verdict
• CBS Texas — Jury convicts in 17 minutes after “murder kit” evidence

Prior Convict Charged in Hollywood Triple

Los Angeles County prosecutors on August 20 charged Patrick Kevin Spurlock, 57, with three counts of murder in the July 24, 2026, shooting deaths of Jeremiah Badeker, Jack Cartegena, and Michael Bogacz inside an apartment in the 1900 block of N. Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood. Special allegations include multiple murders, a prior murder conviction, and personal discharge of a firearm. He is held without bail. A competency hearing is set for August 31. He is presumed innocent.

The DA’s office says Spurlock ordered the three men to the ground during an argument and shot them at close range. He was arrested August 13 near the scene. In 2005 he was convicted of second-degree murder in Washington state and released in 2022 after 17 years. Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; LAPD.

A triple homicide, a prior murder conviction on the charging sheet, and a first appearance still ahead.

Sources:

• Los Angeles County DA — Spurlock charged in Hollywood apartment killings
• County of Los Angeles — Charging announcement, August 20, 2026
• Los Angeles Times — Arrest of man with prior murder conviction

Lakewood Husband Charged After Throat Wound

Patrick Theodore Barnett, 40, is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with physical evidence in the August 13 death of his wife, Lindsey Barnett, 37, of Lakewood. He is held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail. He is presumed innocent. The couple’s two young children were in the home and uninjured.

Barnett called 911 at 6:01 a.m. and said Lindsey had cut her own throat in the shower of their home on the 1700 block of South Welch Circle. The arrest affidavit, reported Thursday, describes most of the blood on the bedroom side of the bed, fresh scratches on Barnett, and an admitted affair. The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced the charges August 19 after reviewing Lakewood Police’s file. A status hearing is set for Friday morning in courtroom 410.

A suicide story on the 911 tape, a bedroom blood pattern in the affidavit, and two small children who were home. This is a charging decision.

Sources:

• First Judicial District Attorney’s Office — Lakewood man charged with first-degree murder
• NBC News — Husband claimed wife cut her own throat; police cite scratches
• CBS Colorado — Charged while children were home

Life Inmate Charged in 2021 Stabbing

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives charged Itiaba Ekong, 36, with first-degree murder, burglary with assault or battery, and grand theft in the February 4, 2021, stabbing death of Lenoris Henry Marlowe, 45, also identified in some coverage as Alexis Marlowe. Ekong is already serving life at Liberty Correctional Institution for a 2022 armed-robbery conviction. He is presumed innocent of the new counts.

Officers on a welfare check found Marlowe wrapped in a blanket and stabbed multiple times in the Northeast 199th Street area. Detectives said Thursday that Ekong admitted he stabbed the victim. The charges were filed while he remains in prison. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

A five-year-old homicide now has a named defendant and an alleged admission. That is a charging decision, not a conviction on this case.

Sources:

• Local 10 — Suspect charged years after body found wrapped in a blanket
• NBC 6 — Man serving life admits to 2021 stabbing, MDSO says
• Miami Herald — Miami-Dade detectives make arrest in cold-case slaying

Great Falls Stabbing Ends in Confession

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, of Reston, found Monday beside her car at Difficult Run Park in Great Falls, Virginia. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Wednesday that Cedillos-Campos gave detectives a full confession. On Thursday a Prince George’s County judge ordered him held without bond as a fugitive from Virginia. He is presumed innocent.

Police say the two were coworkers in an intimate relationship. Investigators allege he left work with a fixed-blade knife, gloves, and a water bottle he filled with gasoline from his motorcycle, then stabbed Puch repeatedly in the park lot and tried to set her on fire. He was arrested in Lanham, Maryland, with help from Prince George’s County police and the U.S. Marshals Service. A further fugitive hearing is set for September 18 in Upper Marlboro. Fairfax County Police; Prince George’s County courts.

A named victim, an alleged confession, and an extradition still pending. Do not treat the Maryland hold as a Virginia conviction.

Sources:

• Northern Virginia Magazine — Man charged in Great Falls homicide confesses
• WJLA — Held without bond in Maryland after fugitive hearing

Mississippi Court Affirms Gregg Convictions

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the convictions and life sentences of Carly Gregg, now 17, for the March 19, 2024, first-degree murder of her mother, Ashley Smylie, the attempted murder of her stepfather, Heath Smylie, and evidence tampering. Gregg was 14 at the time. The court rejected her insanity claim and found trial errors harmless given the evidence.

Presiding Justice Josiah Coleman wrote that Gregg’s conduct after the shooting — texting Heath while posing as her mother, hiding a kitchen camera, and calling friends — gave the jury ample basis to find she understood the wrongfulness of her acts. The justices also held that a juvenile sentence of “life imprisonment” is not automatically life without parole under Mississippi law. Concurrent life terms plus 10 years for tampering remain in place. Mississippi Supreme Court; Rankin County Circuit Court.

A nationally watched juvenile murder file is now an affirmed conviction, with a parole-eligibility footnote the defense will try to use later.

Sources:

• WLBT — Supreme Court affirms Gregg convictions
• WAPT — Life sentence stands; insanity claim rejected
• Clarion Ledger — Appeal denied, August 20

Neighbour Killer Jailed Eight Years

The Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced Milena Bogojevska, 51, to eight years with a six-year non-parole period for the manslaughter of her 85-year-old neighbour, Lolene Whitehand, of Footscray. Bogojevska had pleaded guilty after an original murder charge. She is a convicted killer. Time served is about two years. Parole could come as early as 2030.

Justice Jacinta Forbes called the conduct after the death opportunistic and self-serving. Prosecutors say Bogojevska suffocated Whitehand on July 12, 2024, then dumped the body in the Maribyrnong River, where a fisherman found it two days later, and used the victim’s cards. The judge noted a lack of remorse and serious health issues, including dialysis three days a week. Victorian Supreme Court.

An 85-year-old neighbour, a river dump, and an eight-year term that shocked the people sitting behind the dock.

Sources:

• Brisbane Times / The Age — Calculated neighbour killer jailed for eight years

Also watching

Worcester police are still searching for Karen Solomon, 58, after Officer Kurt Solomon, a 31-year veteran, was found dead Tuesday at the home they owned. Authorities released doorbell video of her walking away in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops minutes after officers arrived, and said Wednesday she was believed to be armed. She co-founded First H.E.L.P., a first-responder mental-health group. No public charging announcement had been made in this window. Do not treat the search as a recovery. CNN.

In Plymouth, the Clancy defense continued August 20 with hospital chaplain Sheila Cavanaugh, who told jurors Lindsay Clancy said she was glad her children were “safe” and spoke of a persistent male voice. On cross, Cavanaugh agreed her notes never recorded the voice. The jury was sent home early. Closings are expected next week. Do not treat the defense as having rested. The victims are Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months. Boston 25; Boston Globe.

In Collin County, a visiting judge recused the trial judge from Karmelo Anthony’s post-trial proceedings Wednesday. A new-trial hearing was underway Thursday before Judge Michael Chitty. Do not treat the motion as decided. AP; NBC 5 Dallas.

In Melbourne, Erin Patterson’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal her mushroom-murder convictions were undermined by a jury hotel mix-up with prosecutors and a key witness. Prosecutors were still answering Thursday. The court is expected to reserve. BBC.

Greater Manchester Police charged Glenn Shitama, 23, with murder in the Saturday stabbing of Zherko Rasul Osman, 24, in a Levenshulme park. He was due at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court Thursday. BBC.

Watch Pinellas for the November 4 Gress date. Watch Hollywood for Spurlock’s August 31 competency setting. Watch Plymouth for Clancy closings next week. Watch Worcester until Karen Solomon is found or charged on the record.