Daily Breaking True Crime Briefing
As of: October 12, 2026 (afternoon ET)
Scope: Monday’s board covers cases reported from Sunday, Oct. 11, through Monday, Oct. 12, ET, from police, court and prosecutor statements and newsrooms in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Australian Simon Carman pleaded guilty in Pattaya to hiding 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla’s body in a suitcase but denied murdering her, and a 14-year-old was held in Aubagne after a shotgun hidden in a guitar case wounded a principal and a teacher. A forklift operator was charged with a double murder at a Christchurch housing complex, a retired San Francisco police sergeant is suspected of killing his wife, a former deputy chief, and their daughter in Marin County, and a Ukrainian criminology student was jailed in Lublin over an alleged plan to kill a stranger. Brussels warned platforms not to livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution, and charges against three held over the 2010 Marfin Bank firebombing in Athens were upgraded. Cold cases moved in Wicklow, Dublin and St. Tönis; a Memphis jury convicted a man in the killing of Blake Rhea after eight minutes; sentences came in Waterford and Kannur; trials opened or advanced in Vannes, Malta, Dundee and Réunion, and a Nagoya father petitioned for a murder charge against the man who fell on his daughter. New charges or arrests came in Kai Tak, Seoul, Kuantan, Delhi, Kowkoor, Kochi, Villahermosa, Rosario, Americana, Ceilândia, the Gironde, Mount Druitt, Kingston, East Singhbhum, Atlanta, Manhattan, Oakland, San Antonio, Indian Township and West Drayton. Four of today’s cases continue from earlier Ledgers.
Pattaya: Australian Simon Carman Admits Concealing Body of Tunchanok “Cake” Donhomla, 17, but Denies Murder

Simon Peter Carman, 45, of Western Australia, pleaded guilty in Pattaya Provincial Court on Monday, Oct. 12, to concealing the body of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla, known as “Cake,” but maintained his innocence on the three other charges: intentional murder, moving or destroying a corpse, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes, RNZ (via ABC) and 7NEWS reported. Murder can carry the death penalty in Thailand. He has been held at Pattaya Remand Prison since June, and was reminded in court that bail had been refused.
Police say Tunchanok was last seen on CCTV at about 3:30 a.m. on June 25, walking hand in hand with Carman into the lifts of his condo building. He was later recorded dragging a large suitcase out of the lobby and strapping it to a motorcycle. Two days later her body was found in a suitcase dumped beside railway tracks near his accommodation. Pattaya police said the autopsy found a brain injury and death by suffocation. He was arrested at Bangkok’s main airport trying to board a flight to Perth.
The presiding judge urged him through a translator to plead guilty to concealment because CCTV showed him with the suitcase, and to murder so he could argue self-defence. “Why should I plead guilty? I would be lying to myself and everyone,” Carman replied. He told the court the teenager held a knife to his neck and that he squeezed her jaw, not her neck, and said, “Cake is responsible for her own death.” Asked about compensation, he said: “I’m not guilty so I cannot plead guilty.”
Her family has filed a civil claim for 1.65 million baht. Her aunt, Miruntree Thanachai, said the family was glad he denied murder because a confession can spare a defendant the death penalty in Thailand. “If it wasn’t intentional, then why was she beaten so severely that her face is unrecognisable?” she said.
Aubagne: Boy, 14, Held After Shotgun Hidden in Guitar Case Wounds Principal and Teacher at Collège Lakanal

A 14-year-old pupil in his final year at the Collège Joseph-Lakanal in Aubagne is in police custody after opening fire with a hunting shotgun inside the school on the morning of Monday, Oct. 12, wounding the principal, 53, and a teacher, 37, the Marseille prosecutor’s office and the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture said, Made in Marseille and Stéphane Larue News reported. Neither injury is life-threatening. The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for attempted assassination, the French offence of premeditated murder, and the boy’s father has also been taken into custody. The boy, a minor, has not been named.
“He came in with a guitar case,” the deputy Marseille prosecutor said in remarks broadcast by BFMTV; the shotgun was inside it. Prefect Jacques Witkowski told AFP several shots were fired in succession. He said the principal was hit by shotgun pellets in the thighs and lower back and the teacher in the thigh; another outlet, citing the prosecutor, said the teacher was hurt by a ricochet. Another shot was fired in a corridor. The town hall said the senior education adviser overpowered and disarmed the boy before police arrived. No pupil was physically hurt, and the prefecture reported a third person lightly grazed.
The deputy prosecutor said the motive was “not yet established” and investigators do not know whether the two adults were targeted. The prefect said the boy was not known for delinquency or radicalisation. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the criminal brigade has the case and searches are under way; several weapons were reportedly found at the father’s home. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said the school would close on Tuesday to pupils. Martine Vassal, president of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, said the school’s board had refused security equipment the department offered, and that she would now impose it. The boy is presumed innocent.
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Christchurch: Forklift Operator, 58, Charged With Murdering Glen Tukaki and Nigel Robinson at Phillipstown Housing Complex

Rodney Stewart Smith, 58, a forklift operator, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Monday, Oct. 12, charged with murdering Glen Allan Tukaki and Nigel John Robinson at a social housing complex on Olliviers Road in Phillipstown early on Saturday, Oct. 10, 1News and RNZ reported. He is also charged with the attempted murder of James Alan Dell, wounding Shantay Marie McQuade with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and intentionally damaging the tyres of a car belonging to one of the men he is accused of killing. He appeared by audiovisual link from prison, entered no plea, and did not seek bail or name suppression. He was remanded in custody to appear in the High Court on Oct. 29.
Police were called to the complex at about 12:50 a.m. on Saturday and found two people dead and two seriously hurt, the NZ Herald reported. Police have not described what happened or a motive.
Tukaki, known as “Lizard,” was remembered in Facebook tributes as “a kind, caring fulla deep down” with “the biggest heart.” One friend wrote, “My brother, my president, see you over there some day.” His sister, Jayne Tukaki, wrote: “Rest easy, Glen, love you always.” Robinson, known as “Rooster” and “Big Red,” was described as a generous man who “would give his last dollar if he had it, even if it meant going without himself.” Smith is presumed innocent.
Marin County: Retired SFPD Sergeant Suspected of Killing Wife, Ex-Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, and Their Daughter

Kevin Mannix, a retired San Francisco police sergeant, is suspected of fatally shooting his wife, retired SFPD Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, and their daughter, Katie, before killing himself at their home on Strawberry Circle in unincorporated Marin County on Sunday, Oct. 11, sources told KGO, according to reports carried by WPDE and the Sonoma Index-Tribune. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 5:03 p.m. reporting shots fired. Deputies made safe contact with the caller, who had left the house unhurt, and found three people dead inside.
“The nature of those victims and their connection to one another are all part of our active investigations,” said Miguel Almaguer of the sheriff’s office, which said there is no known threat to the community. The San Francisco police union said Kevin Mannix served 27 years with the department and called the shooting “horrific” and “senseless.” It said Ann Mannix was “a trailblazer in our department, becoming the first woman to join and lead the SWAT team, and rising to lead both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.” She also coached youth basketball and served on a parents’ guild at St. Ignatius High School. On Monday, Oct. 12, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office identified the dead as Kevin Mannix, 68, Ann Elizabeth Corriea Mannix, 65, and Katherine Elizabeth Mannix, 24, and said: “The preliminary investigation indicates a suspected double-murder suicide involving three individuals,” the Marin Independent Journal reported. NBC Bay Area reported officials as saying Kevin Mannix is suspected of shooting his wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself. The sheriff’s office and its coroner’s division are investigating, and autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Sources:
- WPDE (TNND): Retired police sergeant suspected of killing ex-deputy chief wife, daughter
- Sonoma Index-Tribune: Retired SFPD sergeant killed wife and daughter in suspected murder/suicide, reports say
- Marin Independent Journal: Three Strawberry residents dead in suspected murder-suicide
- NBC Bay Area: 3 people dead after shooting in Marin County
Lublin: Ukrainian Criminology Student, 21, Jailed Over Alleged Plan to Kill a Stranger in “Bloody Friday” Challenge

A district court in Lublin (Sąd Rejonowy Lublin-Zachód) has ordered three months’ pretrial detention for a 21-year-old Ukrainian criminology student at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), charged with preparing to murder a randomly chosen person with a knife, motivated by racial hatred, prosecutors said on Monday, Oct. 12, Najwyższy Czas and Radio ESKA reported. Outlets identify him as Yaroslav F., also written Jarosław F. The charge falls under Article 148 § 5 read with Article 148 § 2(3) and Article 16 § 2 of the Polish Criminal Code. He faces up to 15 years in prison. He denied the charge and disputed the findings.
The case began when a KUL staff member reported that women in a seminar had heard a classmate repeatedly praise crimes, including racist crimes, and say he intended to kill random people as part of an online challenge called “bloody Friday.” Prosecutors said he tried to get one of the students to join. Police received a report that he had announced he would kill someone that day and was “very agitated,” said Supt. Anna Kamola of Lublin police.
Officers arrested him on Friday, Oct. 9, while he was driving for a ride-hailing app, and seized a knife he was carrying; two throwing knives were found at his home. “The suspect motivated himself to commit the crime by watching graphic material on the Telegram app,” the prosecutor’s office said, adding that analysis of two phones and a laptop showed searches for content about torture and inflicting pain. Prosecutors also said he tried to recruit another person to carry out a killing together and offered that person a knife. He had no psychiatric treatment history and was seen by fellow students as quiet, spokesman Marcin Kozak said. He is presumed innocent.
Brussels: EU Warns Platforms Not to Livestream Nidal Hasan’s Firing-Squad Execution

The European Commission on Monday, Oct. 12, warned social media platforms against livestreaming the planned execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, Proto Thema reported. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that Hasan, 56, would be executed by firing squad in public, and a defense official said the execution would be broadcast live. President Trump said on Friday, Oct. 9, that he “absolutely” authorized the plan; later reporting says he will make the final decision. The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3.
Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that under the EU’s Digital Services Act, platforms must “diligently enforce their own terms and conditions.” “If we look at certain platforms, Meta explicitly prohibits livestreaming executions, while X and TikTok prohibit content that is shocking or glorifies violence,” he said. He declined to comment on how platforms operate in the United States: “But in Europe, we have clear rules.” If companies fail to enforce their rules, the EU will use its powers under the act to prevent the broadcast, he said. The Trump administration has called the EU’s digital rules a form of censorship.
Hasan was convicted by court-martial and sentenced to death in 2013 for the shooting, which also wounded more than 30 people.
This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 7, 2026.
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Athens: Charges Upgraded to Homicide in a Terrorist Act for Three Held Over 2010 Marfin Bank Firebombing

Three people held on remand over the firebombing of a Marfin Bank branch on Stadiou Street in central Athens in May 2010, which killed three employees including a pregnant woman, now face charges upgraded to homicide in the context of a terrorist act, Kathimerini reported on Monday, Oct. 12. The revised charges also include the attempted murder of 24 bank employees who were in the branch. They are based on evidence from the latest round of investigation, and the three are expected to be called to testify again on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and to ask for time to prepare.
The suspects are two men, both 42, who were remanded in custody in July, and a woman, 46, who was extradited from the United Kingdom and remanded a month later. They have not been named in the report. Firebombs were thrown into the bank during a general strike march against Greece’s austerity measures. When the investigation is complete, a judicial council will decide whether they stand trial. No one has been convicted over the deaths in 16 years. Proto Thema reported that the Athens Prosecutor’s Office brought the supplementary charges under Article 187A of the Criminal Code at the request of the third regular investigating magistrate handling the file, and that the new prosecution also concerns a terrorist organisation. Once the three have given their statements, the investigation will close and the file will go to the Athens Judicial Council of Misdemeanours, which decides on referral to trial. The three are presumed innocent.
Memphis: Eddie Wurl Convicted of Murdering Southern Avenue Bassist Blake Rhea After Eight-Minute Deliberation

A Shelby County jury on Saturday, Oct. 10, found Edward “Eddie” Wurl guilty of first-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun in the 2024 killing of Blake Rhea, bass player for the Grammy-nominated soul blues band Southern Avenue, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, Oct. 12, Action News 5 and FOX13 reported. The DA’s office said the jury deliberated for “just eight minutes.” Wurl testified in his own defense and was cross-examined. He is to be sentenced on Nov. 13.
Rhea was killed just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, outside Louis Connelly’s bar on South Cleveland Street in Midtown. Officers found him in his parked car with multiple gunshot wounds and cuts. Prosecutors showed surveillance video they said captured Wurl following Rhea to his car holding what appeared to be a knife behind his back, leaning into the open driver’s door and struggling with him, then raising his right hand as several flashes consistent with gunfire appeared, before walking away.
Investigators also recovered digital evidence from Wurl’s phone. A week before the killing, someone searched, “If I haven’t fired my gun in years will it work?” Prosecutors said Wurl had also repeatedly visited Rhea’s Facebook page in the months before the shooting. Rhea also taught at the School of Rock Memphis. “The sadness will resonate and will be felt for a long time,” former bandmate Marcella Simien said in 2024.
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Lwandle: Man, 32, Faces 14 Murder Counts Over Shisanyama Massacre and July Street Shooting

A 32-year-old man appeared in the Strand Magistrate’s Court on Monday, Oct. 12, charged over two mass shootings in Lwandle that killed 14 people, the Cape Argus and Eyewitness News reported. He faces 14 counts of murder, counts of attempted murder (the Cape Argus reported 10, EWN 12), and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He cannot be named until an identity parade is held. He abandoned his bail application, and the case was postponed to Nov. 20 for further investigation. The State told the court the case is a Schedule 6 matter, the most serious bail category in South Africa.
Eleven of the murder counts relate to the attack on KwaNdelu Shisanyama at about 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, during the Heritage Day weekend, when three gunmen opened fire on patrons, killing 11 and wounding 10. The other three relate to a July shooting in Lwandle in which two men opened fire on a group playing music from their cars in the street, killing three and wounding four, police said.
Police arrested him at a house in Lwandle on Friday, Oct. 9, during a tracing operation, and recovered a Norinco pistol and six cartridges. Preliminary inquiries show the gun belonged to a dead person and had not been reported stolen. Ballistic tests are under way to establish whether it was used in the massacre. Detectives are still working to identify any other gunmen.
Outside court his lawyer, who asked not to be named, told IOL the man alleges police tortured him at arrest to force a confession. “He alleges that at the time of arrest he was tortured, kicked and hanged. It was like that of a person being hanged on a cross,” the lawyer said, adding that a plastic bag had been put over his head. Police have not responded publicly to the claim. The man is presumed innocent. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: September 28, 2026.
Diepsloot: Pastor and Two Wives in Court as Fraud Charge Is Added Over Funeral Policy on Baby’s Mother

A self-proclaimed pastor, Caiphus Mkhwane, 36, appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Oct. 12, with Ntsako Makhubela, 24, and Amanda Mnguni, 25, who are believed to be his wives, over the murder of a four-month-old girl and the rape of her 43-year-old mother at the Hennops River, Eyewitness News and Jacaranda FM reported. Jacaranda spells his surname Mkhawane. The State added a fraud charge after investigators found a funeral policy had been taken out in the mother’s name. The case was postponed to Friday, Oct. 16, for bail investigation and Legal Aid, and all three remain in custody.
“The allegations are that before the incident on the 7th of October, the pastor and his three wives took out a funeral policy against the victim,” said Lumka Mahanjana, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Gauteng spokesperson. “They then took her to the Hennops River, where the pastor allegedly raped the victim and killed the four-month-old baby.” According to court papers reported by EWN, the woman was made to take out the policy about two months ago with the payout directed to the accused.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the mother, an extended relative of one of the accused, went with Mkhwane and Makhubela to the river for a ritual and left her baby in Makhubela’s care. The State alleges the two acted together to restrain and assault her while the child was strangled. The baby was later found in a shallow grave.
Mkhwane and Makhubela face premeditated murder, rape, two counts of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, human trafficking, fraud and conspiracy to commit murder, Mahanjana said. Mnguni faces fraud and conspiracy to commit murder. The church’s name is not known; Mahanjana said it is “one of those churches that do not have a structure and that meet in the bushes under trees.” Further arrests have not been ruled out. All three are presumed innocent. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 11, 2026.
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Kai Tak: Helper Arrested for Murder After Home Camera Shows Six-Minute Assault on Bedridden Woman, 93

Hong Kong police arrested a 52-year-old Indonesian domestic helper at 3:50 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, on suspicion of murdering the 93-year-old woman she cared for at Tak Yiu House in Tak Long Estate, Kai Tak, after the woman’s relatives found home camera footage of an assault, police said at a briefing reported by The Standard and DotDotNews. The helper has not been named.
The woman, surnamed Kwan, had lived alone in the 150-square-foot public rental flat for about 30 years after her husband died. She had chronic conditions, had recovered from colorectal cancer 17 years ago, and suffered a stroke more than two years ago that left her unable to speak freely or use a phone. Doctors advised round-the-clock care, and relatives hired the helper, who started work in January 2023. Family visits were about once a month.
Police said the camera recorded the helper, between about 8:03 a.m. and 8:09 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, striking Kwan’s head, face and neck with her bare hands about 20 times and using her foot on Kwan’s abdomen to move her as she lay in bed. At about 8:10 a.m. Kwan was unresponsive. The helper tried to give her water and patted her face, called Kwan’s niece at about 8:20 a.m., then went downstairs to the security desk, which called an ambulance. Kwan was pronounced dead at United Christian Hospital at 9:12 a.m.
Officers first found no ransacking and no obvious fatal injuries, and the case began as a sudden death. Relatives then reviewed the footage, and police retrieved it in the early hours of Monday. A preliminary forensic examination found two bruises on the chest, bruises on the lower and right abdomen, a bruise on the right jaw and an abrasion on the left side of the neck. Police said inquiries pointed to near daily mistreatment over the previous two weeks. An autopsy will establish the cause of death. The helper is presumed innocent.
Seoul: Man, 20s, Held on Court Arrest Warrant, Accused of Stabbing Mother-in-Law to Death and Abducting His Wife

Songpa Police Station applied to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday, Oct. 12, for an arrest warrant for a man in his 20s surnamed Kim, suspected of killing his mother-in-law and abducting his wife, Chosun Biz and Korea JoongAng Daily reported. The suspected offences are parricide and special unlawful confinement. Police are also weighing a charge of retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, which carries death, life imprisonment or at least 10 years.
Police say Kim stabbed his mother-in-law, a woman in her 50s, at about 5:40 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, in Songpa District. She was taken to hospital in cardiac arrest and died. He then fled by car with his wife, Choi, 23. Police tracked the route and at about 10:30 a.m. found his car and Choi on a wooded hill in Yangyang County, Gangwon Province. Her injuries were not life threatening. Kim was arrested in the surrounding hills at about 12:35 p.m.
Kim was already under investigation for allegedly habitually assaulting Choi. In August, Suwon Gwonseon police booked him and carried out a search, but Kim, then a social service agent, had been absent without leave and ignored summonses, so police could not take him into custody. Under questioning, police say, he largely admitted the killing and abduction, citing resentment built up during a marriage annulment lawsuit, but claimed it was impulsive and that he went to Yangyang “to get some air.” Police are investigating premeditation, noting he routinely carried a weapon. Judge Seo Beom-jun of the Seoul Eastern District Court held the warrant hearing at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, The Fact reported, and the court issued the arrest warrant that day, citing a risk of flight and of destruction of evidence, Seoul Shinmun reported. Kim did not answer reporters’ questions on the way in. He is held on the warrant, has not been indicted and is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Chosun Biz: Police seek warrant as Kim kills mother-in-law, abducts wife in Seoul case
- Korea JoongAng Daily: Police seek arrest warrant for man accused of killing mother-in-law, kidnapping wife
- Seoul Shinmun: Seoul Shinmun: court issues arrest warrant in mother-in-law killing case
- The Fact: The Fact: man in his 20s attends arrest warrant hearing over mother-in-law killing and wife abduction
Wicklow: Man, 49, Charged With 2005 Murder of Eoin McCarthy, Found Shot in Remote Woodland

Declan O’Brien, 49, of no fixed abode, appeared before Bray District Court on Monday morning, Oct. 12, charged with murdering Eoin McCarthy, 27, more than 20 years ago, RTÉ reported. Detective Sergeant Donal O’Sullivan said he arrested O’Brien at Bray Courthouse at 10:23 a.m. and that he made no reply to the charge. Judge David Kennedy remanded him in custody at Wheatfield Prison to appear again by video link on Thursday, Oct. 15.
McCarthy, of Ashwood Park in Clondalkin, Dublin, was found in a wooded area at Ballinagee, Hollywood, Co Wicklow, on Nov. 4, 2005. A postmortem found he died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, The Irish Times reported. In March of this year, nearly 21 years after his death, gardaí arrested a man in his 40s and questioned him before releasing him without charge. Monday’s appearance is the first time anyone has been charged in the case. After his March arrest a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, The Irish Sun reported. Det. Sgt. O’Sullivan, of Arklow Garda Station, gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution. Defence counsel Sorcha Dianamh Ni Neill Fulham, instructed by solicitor Michael O’Connor, asked about the timeline for the book of evidence, and Sgt. Mick Canavan said it was expected within eight weeks. Only the High Court can grant bail in a murder case. O’Brien is presumed innocent.
Dublin: Trial Date for Man Charged With 2006 Murder of British Spy Denis Donaldson to Be Set Nov. 9

Antoin Duffy, in his 40s, of no fixed address, appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin by video link from prison on Monday, Oct. 12, charged with the murder of Denis Donaldson at Cloghercor, Doochary, Co Donegal, between April 3 and 4, 2006, the Irish Examiner reported. The case was adjourned to Nov. 9, when a trial date is expected to be fixed. Duffy was extradited from Scotland earlier this year.
He is also charged with possessing a shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life at the same time and place, and with the attempted murder of Liam Copeland McGinley at Meenaboll, Co Donegal, on Nov. 19, 2007, with related firearm charges. His barrister confirmed he has been served with the book of evidence and will seek legal aid. Justice Caroline Biggs gave him the alibi warning: any alibi must be detailed within 14 days.
Donaldson, 55, a former Sinn Féin administrator at Stormont, was shot dead at a remote cottage near Glenties months after he was exposed as a paid agent for Special Branch and MI5 since the 1980s. The Real IRA claimed the killing in 2009. Duffy is presumed innocent.
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Waterford: Marcus O’Neill Gets Life for Murdering Partner Gillian Curran, Who Had 143 Injuries

Marcus O’Neill, 36, formerly of O’Brien Street, Waterford, was sentenced on Monday, Oct. 12, to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering his partner Gillian Curran, 47, originally from Sweetbriar in Tramore, The Irish Times and the Munster Express reported. Ms. Justice Caroline Biggs passed sentence at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin. A Central Criminal Court jury sitting in Waterford convicted him on July 30 by a 10 to 2 majority after a three-week trial. His counsel, Roisin Lacey SC, said he does not accept the verdict.
Curran was found unresponsive at O’Neill’s home on the morning of Jan. 25, 2025. He told gardaí she had fallen several times while drinking the night before. State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers found 143 external injuries and internal injuries including a perforated small bowel and a torn kidney, “most consistent” with a sustained assault, plus strangulation marks on her neck. There was evidence he moved her body and changed her clothing. Det. Sgt. Mick Bourke agreed the relationship was “volatile and abusive.”
Her brother Michael Curran called her “intelligent, loving, kind and vivacious.” He said: “Trying to blame Gillian for his actions resulting in her horrible death was doubly cruel. His complete lack of remorse and taking no responsibility for the 140-plus injuries he inflicted on her is beyond evil.”
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Forbes: Daniel Billings Lodges Notice to Appeal His 28-Year Sentence for Murdering Molly Ticehurst

Daniel Billings, 31, who pleaded guilty to murdering his former partner, Forbes childcare worker Molly Ticehurst, has lodged a notice of intention to appeal his 28-year sentence, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed on Monday, Oct. 12. The move comes days after the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions let last Friday’s deadline pass without seeking a longer term, saying it had “carefully considered the sentence imposed and the circumstances of the case.” The Herald reported he will be eligible for parole in 18 years, before his 50th birthday.
“He’s got a hide,” said Phil Donato, the independent MP for Orange, who with state Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane had urged prosecutors to appeal. “He’s entitled to appeal, but he’s got a hide to do it because this will just anger the victim’s family and the community.” He called the ODPP’s decision “weak.”
Billings broke through Ticehurst’s window in Forbes just before midnight in April 2024 and stabbed her more than a dozen times. He was on bail at the time after she had told police he sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her; he had also killed her 12-week-old dachshund puppy with a hammer. The Crown argued he should be the first offender since 2018’s early plea laws to receive no discount, because he killed a witness. Justice Natalie Adams gave him 20 per cent rather than the available 25. In a letter in May he wrote: “I’m not a heartless monster like they say.”
This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 11, 2026.
Sources:
- The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘He’s got a hide’: Molly Ticehurst’s killer to appeal 28-year sentence
Dundee: Kyler Rattray, 21, Denies Race-Aggravated Murder of Scottish Water Scientist Dr Fortune Gomo

Kyler Rattray, 21, pleaded not guilty on Monday, Oct. 12, to murdering Dr Fortune Gomo, 39, near her home on South Road in Dundee on July 5, 2025, in an attack prosecutors say was aggravated by prejudice relating to race, nationality or ethnicity, Rayo (MFR) reported. He is accused of striking her repeatedly on the body with a knife and faces a separate charge of having a knife in a public place. He entered his plea by video link at the High Court in Glasgow.
His lawyer, Iain Paterson KC, said Professor Simon Baron-Cohen had been instructed to assess whether Rattray has autism, which could bear on a mental health defence or diminished responsibility. “This is a troubling case, there is no getting away from it,” Paterson said. An eight-day trial was set for January 2028 at the High Court in Dundee.
Gomo, a mother, graduated from the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe and earned a PhD in geography and environmental science at the University of Dundee. She had joined Scottish Water as a senior service planner in its water resources planning team months before she died. Prof. Simon Parsons of Scottish Water called her “an exceptional scientist.” Gomo, originally from Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe, was the eldest of four siblings and was called the family’s “deputy parent.” She was found fatally injured on South Road in the Lochee area, The Herald reported. Her brother, Regis Nyatsanza, said in July 2025: “Two weeks ago we were laughing about throwing her a big 40th birthday bash but she said she had achieved most of what she wanted.” Paterson told Lady Hood that if the report is not favourable to Rattray, “I will accelerate the diet and tender a plea.” Prosecutor John Keenan KC agreed the trial date. Rattray is presumed innocent.
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Réunion: Appeal Trial Opens for Young Man Sentenced to 30 Years Over Ambush Killing of Shana, 15

An appeal trial opened on Monday, Oct. 12, before the juvenile assize court on Réunion for a young man convicted of the premeditated murder of 15-year-old Shana, Imaz Press reported. He was 16 at the time and has not been officially named. On Nov. 11, 2025, the juvenile assize court in Saint-Denis found him guilty and sentenced him to 30 years of criminal imprisonment, the maximum available in that court, after ruling that the gravity of the facts and his personality justified setting aside the reduced sentence normally given to minors. Jurors followed the prosecution’s request in full. The court also ordered 10 years of socio-judicial supervision after release and barred him from contacting his co-accused. His defence appealed on Nov. 20, 2025.
Shana’s body was found on Sept. 16, 2023, in the former Pierrefonds sugar factory. According to the prosecution, two minors, a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, lured her through social media to a bus stop, took her to the disused factory and beat her to death. Both admitted causing her death during questioning. At the first trial he was described as “disconcertingly calm” and gave mostly one-word answers; experts raised concerns about the risk of reoffending. The girl was sentenced on Sept. 12, 2025, by the Saint-Pierre children’s court to 20 years, a decision that is now final. “We are not surprised but terribly disappointed for the victim’s family,” Julien Barre, lawyer for Shana’s father Mickaël Alicalapa, said when the appeal was filed. The verdict is expected Friday. On appeal, the young man is presumed innocent until the appeal court rules.
Vannes: Christophe Raule Goes on Trial for Rape and Murder of Iris Coëtmen, Pulled From the Blavet in 2023

Christophe Raule, 53, of Hennebont, went on trial on Monday, Oct. 12, before the Morbihan assize court in Vannes, charged with the abduction, rape and murder of Iris Coëtmen, 23, in Lorient in May 2023, CNews and Ouest-France reported. He denies the charges, faces life imprisonment if convicted, and a verdict is expected on Friday, Oct. 16. The first day focused on his personality; Ouest-France reported he showed no empathy in the dock.
At about 4:25 a.m. on May 27, 2023, Coëtmen, who had been drinking, was outside the Lorient sub-prefecture when, on camera footage described by prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger, a man approached, left, came back, lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her out of frame. A van passed seconds later with its lights off, and another camera picked it up outside the police station as it switched them on. Her body was found the next morning by the Saint-Guénaël pontoon in Lanester, in the Blavet river. Forensic examinations found violence, sexual injuries and strangulation, and concluded she was still breathing when she was thrown into the water.
Raule was arrested on June 8, 2023, and charged the next day. His DNA was found under her fingernails. Investigators found straps, tape and gloves in his van, Ouest-France reported. He first admitted taking her in his van and said he wanted to help her and that she scratched him getting out. He later said four people forced him to drive her to a bridge. A reconstruction was held on Oct. 8, 2024.
He was sentenced in 2015 to nine years in prison for a rape committed in Lorient in 2001 and identified by DNA, and benefited from a dismissal in another Morbihan rape case in 2012. A psychiatric report delivered shortly before Coëtmen’s death found “no risk of reoffending,” Ouest-France reported. He is presumed innocent.
Saint-Louis-de-Montferrand: Neighbour, 30, Charged With Murder of Rico, 16, Shot by the Garonne

A 30-year-old man with no criminal record has been placed under formal investigation for murder (homicide volontaire) and remanded in pretrial detention over the shooting death of Rico, 16, on the banks of the Garonne in Saint-Louis-de-Montferrand, Gironde, Bordeaux prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul said on Sunday, Oct. 11, ici and Actu.fr reported. The man, a neighbour of the boy, has not been named. He denied the killing in police custody and exercised his right to silence before the investigating judge.
At about 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, walkers along the river heard a gunshot and alerted the gendarmerie, the prosecutor’s office said. Gendarmes found the boy’s body with a bullet wound to the head, and a girl of the same age in a state of shock. A forensic doctor at the scene found two openings in the skull, and the autopsy the next day confirmed death by firearm. The prosecutor went to the scene and handed the case to the gendarmerie research section of Bordeaux-Bouliac.
The neighbour was arrested and taken into custody on Friday, Oct. 9. “The search of his home led to the discovery of several firearms, which were seized,” Gaudeul said. Prosecutors have not stated a motive or described the link between the man and the two teenagers. The town has called a silent march for Rico at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from the town hall square to the place where he died. The man is presumed innocent.
Malta: “Please Tell Me He Didn’t Die,” Polish Tourist Accused of Spinola Killing Allegedly Told Police

Sebastian Malinowski, 27, a Polish man pleading not guilty to the wilful homicide of Abdellatif Oumakhlouf, 31, a Moroccan national, cried and asked officers whether the victim had died when they approached him, a Rapid Intervention Unit officer testified in a Malta magistrates’ court on Monday, Oct. 12, Lovin Malta reported, citing Times of Malta. Oumakhlouf was found dead last month in a public garden in Spinola, St Julian’s. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know what happened,” Malinowski allegedly said at St George’s Bay, his shirt reportedly stained with the victim’s blood.
The court heard CCTV allegedly showed him approaching Oumakhlouf before the victim collapsed, collecting his belongings and fleeing, returning to walk around with his hands on his head, then fleeing again. Questioned, he admitted punching Oumakhlouf once but said he never meant to kill him and felt provoked during an altercation involving a woman. He told investigators the victim came towards him, but police said footage from a nearby establishment showed Malinowski advancing instead. He said he had been drinking and taking an unidentified drug on holiday. An inspector confirmed under cross-examination that Oumakhlouf died of blunt force trauma.
Magistrate Nadia Helena Vella presided. Lawyers Franco Debono and Nicholas Mifsud represent Malinowski, who is presumed innocent.
St. Tönis: Arrest 31 Years After Lidl Manager Sonja K., 24, Was Strangled in a 1995 Robbery

Mönchengladbach police have arrested a suspect in the 1995 robbery and murder of Sonja K., 24, the manager of the Lidl store at Hochstraße 33 to 35 in St. Tönis, Kreis Viersen, Krefeld police said, Wochenblatt Reporter and Bild reported on Monday, Oct. 12. The Krefeld prosecutor’s office will give details at a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m. with prosecutor Rahel Plass and detectives Boris Vieten and Stefanie Kohnen. The suspect has not been named or described.
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, 1995, robbers who had slipped into the store before opening tied up the manager, used her keys to open the safe and took several thousand Deutsche marks, Bild reported. When other staff arrived, the robbers had gone and she lay dead on the floor; she had been strangled. She had planned to marry her boyfriend that summer.
The case, known as “MK Lidl,” was reopened under the Lower Rhine campaign “Murder does not expire,” in which police, the North Rhine-Westphalia state criminal office and prosecutors re-examine old killings. Police appealed again for witnesses in September 2026. “With modern methods that were not available 30 years ago, it has been possible to secure DNA traces that could lead investigators to the perpetrator or perpetrators,” a police spokesman said then. Comparison samples were taken from paramedics, police officers, colleagues, acquaintances, delivery drivers and cleaners. Her parents died without learning who killed her; her two brothers survive. The suspect is presumed innocent.
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Delhi: Retired IAS Officer and Son Held After Man Dies in Metro Seat Fight

Delhi Metro Police have arrested Sanjay Pratap Singh, 65, a retired 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, and his son, Sidharth Singh, 36, both of Noida, after Pawan Sharma, 48, died following a fight over seats reserved for senior citizens on a Metro train, The Hindu and The Times of India reported. Both are held under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, read with Section 3(5), acts done with common intention, and have been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Police said Sharma was travelling with his mother, Durga Devi, 65, toward Yamuna Vihar on Thursday, Oct. 8, after visiting his brother in Gurgaon, and both were sitting in senior citizen seats. The Singhs boarded at Mandi House, and an argument over the seats turned physical. Sharma collapsed on platform 1 at Supreme Court Metro station. Police received the call about an unconscious passenger at about 5:47 p.m., and he was declared brought dead at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital.
“They rudely asked us to vacate our seats. We got up, and my son then told them they could now lie down on the seats,” Durga Devi told police, according to The Times of India. “The older man grabbed Pawan by the collar and slapped him. When he objected, the man’s son assaulted him. When I tried to intervene, the older man restrained my arm.” The FIR was registered on her statement on Oct. 9.
Sanjay Pratap Singh was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in December 2015, while principal secretary of the Delhi government’s welfare department for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities, on an allegation that he demanded and accepted a ₹2.2 lakh bribe from a manpower agency owner, The Hindu reported. Both men are presumed innocent.
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Kowkoor: Fired Guard Held for Killing Girl, 5, Hidden in Clubhouse Sump After ₹20 Lakh Ransom Call

Malkajgiri police in Hyderabad have arrested Vikram Kumar, from Nalanda district in Bihar, over the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old Aurelia, known as Monu, whose body was found in an unused water sump in the clubhouse cellar of the Villa Orchids gated community in Kowkoor, Police Commissioner B. Sumathi said on Monday, Oct. 12, The Hindu and Telangana Today reported. He has been remanded in judicial custody. Police said they will ask for a fast-track trial and seek the death penalty.
Kumar worked as a security guard at Villa Orchids from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, four days before the girl disappeared. Aurelia, a PP-2 pupil and the daughter of research scientist Milton Fernandes Moses, 44, usually rode her bicycle and played near the clubhouse from about 6 p.m. and came home by 7 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 10, she did not return. When her father got home at about 7:45 p.m., he learned a caller had told the family he had the child. The same number then called him, demanded ₹20 lakh and claimed to be in Secunderabad.
Bolarum police registered a kidnapping case and 10 special teams traced the phone, call records and CCTV. When outside searches found nothing, officers searched the community and found her body in the sump. CCTV led them to Kumar, who was picked up at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11.
“During interrogation, he admitted to murdering the child as part of a plan to demand ₹20 lakh from her parents,” Sumathi said. Police said he entered the community at about 6:40 p.m. on Oct. 10 intending to kidnap her, and killed her when he realised he could not keep her captive until a ransom was paid. The commissioner said he wanted to become rich and did not want to keep working as a labourer. Relatives have called for the death penalty. Kumar is presumed innocent.
Kochi: Two More Arrested Over Mini Cooper Crash That Killed Devika, Gopika and Iyas; Family Demands Murder Charge

Police in Kerala on Monday, Oct. 12, arrested two more people, Ameer and Joel, over the crash that killed three people aged about 21, Devika, Gopika and Iyas, when a speeding Mini Cooper rammed their scooter at Nedumbassery near Kochi early on Sunday, Rediff reported. The alleged driver, Suhail Sajeevan of Kochi, was arrested soon after and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. His friend Ninav was taken into custody on Sunday. Police say Suhail was driving at over 120 km/h and that all four had been drinking.
Police said Suhail’s mother gave him the car for his birthday, and that they found videos purportedly showing him driving at over 200 km/h on several occasions. The Excise Department registered cases against three bar hotels for allegedly serving Suhail and Ninav liquor, which is barred for people under 23.
Devika’s uncle Sandeep said the charge should be murder “because he drove the vehicle in such a reckless manner.” Devika, from Wayanad, was her family’s sole breadwinner and planned to move to the Gulf for a job; the family had sold their land to fund her education. “Devika was the lamp of this house,” he said.
The crash happened at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, near Moozhiyal in Nedumbassery, close to Kochi airport. Iyas was from Karnataka and Gopika from Palakkad; the Sunday Guardian reported all three were students who worked part time at a showroom near the airport and had gone out for tea. Hindustan Times reported that Ameer and Joel had come to Nedumbassery to collect a friend from the airport, joined Suhail for a high-speed ride when the flight was delayed, and fled in another vehicle after the crash before being picked up in Alappuzha. Police said Suhail and Ninav had been drinking at bars in Ernakulam before the others joined them, and that the four kept drinking while heavily intoxicated. Suhail is the first accused; the other three are accused of abetting. Police plan to seek Suhail’s custody for further questioning, and the inquiry is supervised by the Aluva deputy superintendent. The Sunday Guardian, citing Kerala Kaumudi and ANI, gives Suhail’s age as 19 and spells one accused’s name Ameen. All the accused are presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Rediff: Kerala Mini Cooper Crash: Family Demands Murder Charge
- Hindustan Times: Three more named accused in Mini Cooper crash; victim’s family seeks murder charge
- The Sunday Guardian: Nedumbassery Mini Cooper Crash Latest News: Four Arrested, Culpable Homicide Case Filed After Three Killed Near Kochi Airport; Check Crash Details, Police Investigation & Latest Update
Kannur: CPM Worker Gets Life for 2009 Hacking Death of BMS Worker V.C. Vinayan; Seven Acquitted

Jammindavida Biju, 44, a CPM worker and labourer from Champad, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹2 lakh on Monday, Oct. 12, for the 2009 murder of V.C. Vinayan, 39, a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh worker, Onmanorama reported. Third Additional District and Sessions Judge Ruby K. Jose in Thalassery ordered any fine recovered to go to Vinayan’s heirs. Seven other CPM workers were acquitted because the prosecution failed to prove their involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
Vinayan was hacked to death at Kurichikkara near Champad on the evening of March 12, 2009, as the funeral procession passed for CPM worker Parambath Ajayan, killed the day before by suspected RSS workers. Within 45 minutes, CPM activist Chanbatt Chandran was also hacked to death. Of 24 people accused in the three killings, Biju is the only one convicted; the other two cases ended in acquittals. A fourth killing, of BJP worker K.C. Rajesh, alias Yesu, in 2010, is still awaiting trial.
The court convicted Biju on eyewitness testimony placing him in the group that attacked Vinayan, though the prosecution could not prove he personally carried a weapon. It cited lapses in the investigation, including no identification parade, and the case against the others weakened when the driver of the vehicle allegedly used turned hostile.
East Singhbhum: Man Surrenders After Allegedly Hacking His Two Sisters to Death With an Axe After a Faith-Healing Ritual

Swarup Tudu, a man in his forties who lived alone in Bawaida village in the Dhalbhumgarh police station area of Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, allegedly killed his elder sisters, Dulari Soren, 55, and Lakshmi Mandi, 50, with an axe as they slept in the early hours of Monday, Oct. 12, the Times of India reported. He surrendered to police on Monday and was sent to judicial custody.
Police say Tudu had been unwell for several days and called a traditional faith healer late on Sunday. His sisters came to look after him. After a puja was performed at the house, the sisters went to sleep, and police say he attacked them while they were sleeping. “Preliminary investigations indicated that superstition and occult practices might have played a role in the killings. However, the exact motive was yet to be established,” said Dhiraj Mishra, officer in charge of Dhalbhumgarh police station. The bodies were sent to MGM Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination. Tudu is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- The Times of India: Man hacks 2 sisters to death in East Singhbhum district, arrested
Kuantan: Jobless 19-Year-Old Charged With Murdering Polytechnic Student M. Elisa Jonova, 19

F. Alan Stevekumar, 19, an unemployed man originally from Perak, was charged in Kuantan Magistrate’s Court on Monday, Oct. 12, with murdering M. Elisa Jonova, 19, a student at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (Polisas), Malay Mail (citing NST) and The Sun reported. The charge sheet says the killing happened between 4:32 a.m. and 4:55 a.m. on Oct. 6 at a house on Jalan Air Putih 2 in Taman Pauline. He nodded and said “faham” (understand) when the charge was read through an interpreter. No plea was recorded, because murder is tried only in the High Court.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, carries the death penalty or 30 to 40 years in prison with at least 12 strokes of the cane if death is not imposed. He was unrepresented. Pahang prosecution director Mohd Sabri Othman asked for time to obtain the completed post-mortem and toxicology reports, and Magistrate Tuan Ruzuaini Tuan Lah set Nov. 12 for mention.
Elisa was found unconscious on a bed in her rented room early on Oct. 6. Police said there were pressure marks on her neck and that she had been strangled after a domestic dispute. Kuantan district police chief Ashari Abu Samah said earlier that the suspect, described in reports as her boyfriend, himself reported to police that the two had argued, and he was arrested at the scene. He is presumed innocent.
Mount Druitt: Boy, 13, Refused Bail on Murder Charge Over Stabbing of Father of Three Joshua Smith

A 13-year-old boy who cannot be legally identified was refused bail by a children’s court on Monday, Oct. 12, charged with murdering Joshua Smith, 36, a father of three, near the Mount Druitt Westfield and railway station in Sydney’s west shortly before 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Police say about 12 young people witnessed the stabbing. Smith had stopped to talk to a group of young people he recognised as family friends and went to an ATM to withdraw cash so they could pay for their trip home, Mount Druitt Police Area Commander Darrin Batchelor said. He was stabbed twice in the torso and died at the scene.
“Another group of young people took offence to the conversation,” Batchelor said. “In my 30-year career of policing, I find this absolutely senseless.” Detectives identified the boy from CCTV. He was arrested on Sunday night when he arrived at Mount Druitt police station to report under bail conditions for a separate offence, which police say he was already breaching. He is also charged with breach of bail and an unrelated robbery. A 16-year-old was arrested at home in Cabramatta and charged with being an accessory after the fact; police say the knife was recovered from a drain outside his apartment. He was also refused bail. Both return for a bail review on Oct. 23.
Police expect to charge at least two more young people and urged them to surrender. Detectives are examining any gang links. Supt. Brendan Gorman said Smith was believed to be known to police. A friend, Lauren Partridge, wrote that Smith “made people smile, laugh and most of all lived for his children.” Both boys are presumed innocent.
Sources:
- The Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney father allegedly killed by 13-year-old in ‘senseless’ attack on way home from work
Nagoya: Father of Tomoki Inaba, 23, Killed by Man Who Jumped From 11th Floor, Petitions for Murder Charge

Kenji Inaba, whose daughter Tomoki Inaba, 23, a restaurant worker, was crushed to death in July when a 29-year-old man jumped from an 11th-floor balcony in a busy downtown district of Nagoya, is demanding that prosecutors charge the man with murder, TV Asahi reported on Oct. 11, according to Tokyo Reporter. The man, who has not been named, fell into a coma but recovered. He was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence resulting in death and is undergoing psychiatric evaluation to determine his criminal responsibility. Experts estimated the force of the impact at one to three tons. Tomoki was walking with a friend at about 1 a.m. and died almost instantly.
Inaba has visited the man in detention three times. “I asked him, ‘You jumped thinking you didn’t care if there were people below, or if they lived or died, right?’ And he replied, ‘Yes, that’s right,’” he said. He wants the charge upgraded on the basis of willful negligence (mihitsu no koi), and says that when he watched the spot himself, nearly 300 pedestrians passed in under two hours, even at 1 a.m. An online petition launched last month has more than 45,000 signatures.
Lawyer Yasuo Sawai said proving murderous intent would be hard: “When jumping from the 11th floor, it is entirely unpredictable whether you will actually hit a pedestrian below.” The day before she died, Tomoki had messaged her father to arrange dinner, their first meal together in nine months. “A third party is dead. I don’t want this treated as just an accident,” he said. The man is presumed innocent.
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Rosario: Ex-Officer Jailed for Drug Trafficking Held in Femicide of Bárbara Aragón, Found Wrapped in a Blanket in a Suitcase

A 37-year-old former Santa Fe police officer, identified by prosecutors as Eliel Gerónimo Noel S., has been detained on a charge of aggravated homicide by femicide, as principal, after the body of Bárbara Aragón, 26, of Villa Gobernador Gálvez, was found in a boarding house at Juan José Paso 6200 in Rosario’s Empalme Graneros district, La 100 and Desarrollo Zonal reported. Argentine authorities have not released his full surname. Prosecutor Bertolotti of the Highly Harmful Violence Unit (UVAL) of the Public Prosecution Ministry ordered his arrest.
A relative said a remis driver took Aragón to the address on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 10, and minutes later got a WhatsApp message asking him to come back for her. When he returned and sounded his horn, no one came out. Her family searched for her through Saturday. In the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 11, police entered with the owner’s permission and found, in an upstairs flat, the 37-year-old man and a bundle wrapped in a blanket. La 100 reported the body was inside a suitcase next to a delivery box in the kitchen area. Paramedics confirmed she was dead.
The suspect was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to six years in prison for drug trafficking, and was dismissed from the Santa Fe police for belonging to a gang that moved cocaine from Rosario to Reconquista, both outlets reported. His phone was seized for forensic analysis. An autopsy will determine how she died. He is presumed innocent of the femicide charge.
Villahermosa: Alleged Barrio 18 Leader “El Cabra,” Wanted in El Salvador Over 15 Killings, Captured

Mexican forces have detained Óscar Ariel “N,” alias “El Cabra,” described by authorities as one of the leaders of the Mara 18 gang, also known as Barrio 18, in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch announced on Monday, Oct. 12, El Financiero and Infopoder reported. Mexican authorities withhold the surnames of people under arrest.
García Harfuch said the man is subject to an international arrest warrant for his alleged part in at least 15 homicides in El Salvador, as well as sexual offences and small-scale drug dealing, and was a target of Salvadoran security forces. Infopoder reported that a Salvadoran court order also covers unlawful association and aggravated homicide. The arrest was carried out by the Navy, the Defence Ministry, the National Guard, the federal Security Ministry and Tabasco state forces. García Harfuch thanked El Salvador’s government for sharing intelligence and Tabasco Governor Javier May for local support.
Officials have not said when the arrest took place, how long he had been in Mexico, his age, or whether he will be handed over to El Salvador. Barrio 18, which began in Los Angeles, is one of Central America’s two main street gangs alongside MS-13, and has been a principal target of President Nayib Bukele’s state of exception since March 2022. Óscar Ariel “N” has not been convicted in either country and is presumed innocent.
Americana: Pastor Arrested After Stabbing Ex-Wife Jeane Cristina Mattes at Son’s 15th Birthday Party

Military Police in Americana, São Paulo state, arrested pastor Jonatã de Jesus Batista, 40, in the act for femicide on Sunday, Oct. 11, after his ex-wife, Jeane Cristina Mattes, 43, was stabbed at his home during the 15th birthday celebration of their elder son, Diário do Estado (citing Metrópoles) and Rápido no Ar reported. She was taken to Hospital de Americana and died. The attack happened shortly after noon on Rua Nereu Seleghini, in Jardim Nascente Boer.
Mattes had a protective order against Batista but went to the barbecue for their son’s birthday. Police said he questioned her about a new relationship, and when she confirmed it, he took a knife and stabbed her seven times, four in the chest, according to Rápido no Ar. Both sons, aged 15 and 8, saw the attack, as did his parents, a sister and a brother-in-law. When officers arrived, residents who had tried to lynch him had tied his hands and feet, and he was injured and bleeding from the nose. Police seized the knife and a phone.
The couple lived together for 16 years. Police found he had a history of domestic violence: two incident reports were filed in 2024 when he began having drug problems, and in June 2026 he was arrested in the act for domestic violence against her, after which she left with the children. He told police he had used drugs from 9 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday and had been drinking. Mattes’ funeral is set for Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Cemitério Parque Gramado. Batista’s defence could not be reached; he is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Diário do Estado (Metrópoles): Pastor é preso após matar ex-esposa durante festa de aniversário do filho em Americana
- Rápido no Ar: Pastor é preso em Americana após matar a ex-mulher a facadas
Ceilândia: Neighbour Held After Sertanejo Singer Alan Tons and Girlfriend Larissa Rodrigues Shot Dead at Home

A neighbour, João Victor Rodrigues Alves de Oliveira, has been held in flagrante over the shooting deaths of sertanejo singer Alan Tons, 26, and his girlfriend, Larissa Rodrigues, 23, inside their home at QNM 22 in Ceilândia, in Brazil’s Federal District, in the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 11, Plox reported, citing Metrópoles and Correio Braziliense. He turned himself in at Ceilândia’s 15th Police Precinct late on Sunday afternoon with a lawyer and denied the killings. A custody hearing was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12.
Tons, a member of the band 4Tons, had played a bar in Ceilândia on Saturday night and posted videos of the show shortly before he died. Relatives told Correio Braziliense the couple had come home and were preparing food. Neighbours heard shots at about 2:30 a.m., and the bodies were found on Sunday morning by the Federal District Military Police. Rodrigues was a confectioner who planned to start a pedagogy degree in 2027. They had been together about a year and a half.
The suspect lived with his partner on the same lot as the couple. According to Metrópoles, he is accused of frequently beating his partner, and Tons and Rodrigues had stepped in to defend her. Their relatives said the couple received death threats about a month before the killings after saying they would report the abuse. Revenge is one line of inquiry, but the Federal District Civil Police have not officially stated a motive and are still investigating. He is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Plox (Metrópoles, Correio Braziliense): Cantor sertanejo e namorada são mortos a tiros após supostas ameaças de vizinho no DF; suspeito é preso
Kingston: Technician, 30, Charged With Murder for Allegedly Renting Car and Driving Gunman to Kill Omiela “Naana” Walker

Antoneo Palmer, 30, a technician of Marlboro Avenue, Kingston 20, has been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and misprision of a felony in the killing of Omiela Walker, 25, known as “Naana,” at her gate on Hibiscus Avenue, Kingston 11, on Sept. 26, the Jamaica Gleaner reported on Monday, Oct. 12. Misprision of a felony is knowing about a crime and failing to report it. Hunts Bay police say Palmer rented a 2015 Toyota Axio that he and an alleged accomplice used to reach the area. At about 7:25 p.m. the car was parked near Walker’s gate; a man got out, approached her and fired, hitting her in the upper body and head, then got back in and the car left. She died in hospital.
Police say the car was identified through CCTV footage and seized for processing. Palmer later surrendered and was charged. His court date is being finalised, and the gunman has not been publicly identified as charged. Palmer is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Jamaica Gleaner: Man charged after allegedly driving gunman to fatal St Andrew shooting
- Abeng Media: Technician Facing Murder Charges
Manhattan: Queens Man, 25, Charged With Murder After Man, 60, Stomped to Death Outside Chelsea Adult Store

Imani McColley, 25, of Queens, has been charged with murder and two counts of robbery after a 60-year-old man was beaten to death outside Rainbow Station, an adult store on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, on Sunday night, Oct. 11, NYPD said, WABC reported. Police say the two argued inside the store at about 9 p.m.; outside, the suspect pushed the man to the ground, kicked him in the head and stomped on him repeatedly before fleeing. The man died at Bellevue Hospital. His name is being withheld until his family is notified.
Police said McColley returned to the area later and was spotted and arrested by officers. Police have not given a motive, but a store employee told WABC that McColley became angry after being denied access to a basement club in the business. Police said he has at least five prior arrests, most recently in September 2025 on an assault charge from an incident one block away. amNewYork, citing police sources, reported that the store is at 203 Eighth Ave., that McColley allegedly took the victim’s wallet before fleeing, that an eyewitness alerted officers when he came back, and that his last known address was a homeless shelter in Jamaica, Queens. The killing appears to be the first homicide this year in the 10th Precinct, which had none year to date as of Oct. 4. He is presumed innocent.
Oakland: Reality TV Personality Mackayla “Kash” Paige, 29, Shot Dead Downtown; Woman Arrested

Mackayla Paige, 29, of Richmond, known as “Kash” from Now That’s TV reality shows including Young & Reckless, RoomH8z and Real West Coast Baddies, was shot dead in downtown Oakland early Sunday, Oct. 11, and a woman from Richmond was arrested in connection with the killing, Oakland police said, according to KTVU reporting carried by Yahoo. Officers were called at about 1:30 a.m. to the 200 block of 14th Street near Harrison Street and found her with at least one gunshot wound. She died at a hospital. Investigators believe she opened fire after an argument with other people on the sidewalk, NBC Bay Area reported. As of Tuesday, Oct. 13, police had not released the arrested woman’s name or announced charges, and no charges had been reported.
Hours earlier Paige had posted Instagram Stories from her Saturday night out. Her cousin, Nicky Clayton, said she had modelled for several companies and hoped to open her own business and work as a makeup artist. A friend said: “I’m sorry for all of our loss, because she’s a star,” KTVU reported. “She wanted to be famous so bad,” Clayton said. Citing initial police reports, The Mercury News said she had been in a confrontation with others on the sidewalk before someone opened fire, the Bay Area Brief reported. Video aired by KRON4 and posted to TikTok showed a large police presence outside Cave Lounge near 14th and Harrison streets, where loved ones set up a memorial. Any charging decision rests with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that a security guard was fatally shot at San Francisco’s Warfield theater last weekend after a stage production of Real West Coast Baddies; police have not said whether the cases are connected. The arrested woman is presumed innocent.
Sources:
- Yahoo (Where Is The Buzz): Reality TV Star Mackayla “Kash” Paige, 29, Shot and Killed in Downtown Oakland; Woman Arrested
- KTVU: Reality TV personality Kash killed in downtown Oakland shooting, woman arrested
- Bay Area Brief: Woman Killed on Downtown Oakland’s 14th Street Near Harrison; Police Arrest a Richmond Woman
- NBC Bay Area: Authorities identify woman killed in Oakland shooting
Atlanta: Three, Including Two Teens, Charged With Murder of Music Producer and DJ Tarris Caswell, Allegedly Lured to Robbery

Atlanta police have arrested three people in the August killing of Tarris Caswell, 33, a popular music producer and DJ, WSB-TV reported on Monday, Oct. 12. Timardre Johnson, 20, Kevon McFasion, 17, and a 16-year-old who was not named are each charged with murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Police say Caswell and a friend were lured to an apartment complex on McDaniel Street believing they were picking up two men to take them to a music session they had been invited to.
The friend, Ricky Cooper, told WSB-TV that as they got into the car, two teenage acquaintances in the back seat pulled guns and demanded their jewellery and wallets. “Literally, as we put the car in reverse, they were in the front of the car, having guns to my head,” he said. Caswell started driving and raised his hand, saying “Y’all don’t need to do this,” and “a split second later you heard the shot,” Cooper said. Caswell slumped over the wheel and the car crashed into another vehicle. Cooper ran, but one gunman caught him and took his $30,000 Rolex, he said. All three accused are presumed innocent.
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San Antonio: Man, 26, Charged With Murder of Dujuan Joseph West, 23, Shot Near the River Walk

Jonas Michael Torrez, 26, has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the shooting death of Dujuan Joseph West, 23, near the River Walk early on Saturday, Oct. 10, San Antonio police confirmed on Monday, Oct. 12, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The shooting happened at about 1:43 a.m. in the 200 block of College Street, close to the River Walk’s restaurants, bars and hotels, according to a preliminary police report. Officers found West with a gunshot wound to the head and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.
Police said officers stopped a vehicle suspected of being involved and detained several people for questioning. Torrez was booked into the Bexar County jail on Saturday and is held in lieu of $170,000 total bail. Court records show he also faces felony drug charges from a separate January arrest. KSAT reported that police said West was shot after an altercation broke out between two groups leaving a nearby bar, near College and Navarro streets. It is still unclear what prompted the shooting or whether West and Torrez knew each other. He is presumed innocent.
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- San Antonio Express-News: Man, 26, charged in deadly downtown shooting near River Walk
- KSAT: Man accused of murder after shooting in downtown San Antonio, SAPD says
Indian Township, Maine: Man, 46, Charged With Murder in Shooting Death of Cory Fields on Passamaquoddy Reservation

Jeremy Stevens, 46, of Indian Township, was charged with murder after Cory Fields, 41, of Indian Island, was found shot dead at 312 Peter Dana Point Road on the Passamaquoddy reservation on Saturday night, Oct. 10, Maine State Police said, the Central Maine news site reported. Indian Township police and fire crews responded to reports of a shooting just before 9:30 p.m. Stevens was arrested after an investigation by the state police major crimes unit and evidence response team and was taken to the Washington County Jail in Machias.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta ruled the death a homicide; an autopsy concluded Fields died of gunshot wounds. The Passamaquoddy Tribal Warden Service and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office also responded. Police have not described a motive and said the investigation continues. On Sunday the chiefs of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation, Chief Amkuwiposhehs “Pos” Bassett, Chief William Nichols Sr. and Chief Kirk Francis, said in a joint statement that they felt “shock and deep sadness” at the death of a Penobscot citizen, WMTW reported. “When a life is lost to violence, the pain reaches beyond one family. It is felt throughout our communities and across our Nations,” they wrote. “Every life is precious, and every family deserves to live in peace, safety, and dignity.” They said tribal police were working with state police and that community response teams and mental health support were available. Stevens is presumed innocent.
West Drayton: Saleh Saleh, 33, in Court Charged With Murdering Woman, 36, Stabbed at Park Lodge Avenue

Saleh Saleh, 33, of Park Lodge Avenue, West Drayton, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning, Oct. 12, charged with murdering a 36-year-old woman who was stabbed at an address on the same street, the Hillingdon Times and MyLondon reported. The Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service were called at 2 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. Paramedics treated the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Saleh was arrested at the address and charged on Sunday. The woman has not been named, at her family’s request.
Det. Chief Insp. Alison Foxwell called it “a deeply tragic incident” and said specialist officers were supporting the family. Supt. James Herring said police believe it was an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public. Saleh is presumed innocent.
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