The Crime Ledger: October 7, 2026

Bellingham: Resident Charged Over Tumbler Ridge Shooting

James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country over the Feb. 10 mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, the U.S. Justice Department said. The charge carries up to life in prison. Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed her mother and half-brother at home, then five students and an education assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, before killing herself.

According to the federal complaint, Bryant and Van Rootselaar met online about three years earlier and spoke daily on Discord for about six months before the attack, discussing weapons, ammunition stolen from her family’s gun safe, an incendiary device, targets and livestreaming. Prosecutors allege he gave tactical advice, sent her $14.33 by PayPal for a lighter to be fixed to an explosive device, ran a test livestream with her on Jan. 4, and on the day of the attack told her how to get her car started after she had killed her mother and half-brother. Twitch records show the only account that watched her livestream was registered with his date of birth and email, the complaint says. He admitted to investigators two days after the shooting that he used the Discord account “meldritch_.”

“Bryant had the information and ability to alert law enforcement, and even discussed that possibility with the shooter, but he chose not to. Instead, he encouraged and offered assistance to a murderer,” acting U.S. Attorney Neal Floyd said. A preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 20. Bryant is presumed innocent. Update: A Seattle judge denied bail to James Bryant; see The Crime Ledger: October 14, 2026. Update: A U.S. grand jury indicted James Bryant; see The Crime Ledger: October 15, 2026.

Fort Hood: Army Sets Dec. 3 Firing-Squad Execution

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle on Tuesday, Oct. 6, directed that Nidal Malik Hasan be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. Central time, the Army said. President Trump approved the death sentence on Oct. 2, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended it. The memo names the commandant of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks as execution officer. It would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 6, 2026.

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, opened fire on Nov. 5, 2009, at the Fort Hood processing center where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, killing 13 people and wounding 32 while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Civilian police officers shot him, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. A court-martial jury convicted him of all 42 counts on Aug. 23, 2013, and sentenced him to death five days later; he had represented himself and told jurors “the evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter.” The Supreme Court declined to review his case on March 31, 2025.

Under Army Regulation 190-55, the Army secretary must set the date between 60 and 150 days after presidential approval. The regulation now leaves the method to the president. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote. Update: The European Commission warned platforms on Oct. 12 not to livestream the execution; see The Crime Ledger: October 12, 2026.

Auckland: Crown Abandons Tamihere Retrial

David Tamihere will not be retried over the 1989 murders of Swedish backpackers Heidi Birgitta Paakkonen, 21, and Sven Urban Höglin, 23, Crown prosecutor Claire Paterson told the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday, RNZ and 1News report. Justice Simon Mount discharged Tamihere on both murder charges and told him he was free to go.

The couple were last seen in Thames, on the Coromandel Peninsula, in April 1989. Tamihere was convicted in 1990 and served 20 years. In March 2026 the Supreme Court quashed the convictions, finding the trial “fundamentally unfair” because the jury heard the perjured evidence of a fellow remand prisoner, Roberto Conchie Harris, who claimed Tamihere confessed. It also said the discovery of Höglin’s body in 1991 forced a “radical recasting” of the Crown case. It ordered a retrial but left the decision to prosecutors.

“As a result of the passage of time, some 36 years, significant pieces of evidence that the Crown adduced in the 1990 trial are no longer available, or if available, will likely be subject to reliability challenge,” Paterson said. Some witnesses are unavailable, some evidence would now be inadmissible, and the latest forensic testing was inconclusive, she said. Solicitor-General Anna Adams KC said the evidential test for prosecution was not met. Tamihere told 1News he was “half surprised, half pissed off,” because he had been happy to face a retrial, and said he would discuss compensation with his lawyers.

Dersingham: Husband Appears Over GP’s Death

Mark Cain, 45, of Fern Hill, Dersingham, appeared at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with murdering his wife, Hannah Cain, 45, a GP known to her patients as Dr Hannah Terry, BBC News and the Lynn News report. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 6, 2026. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charge on Oct. 6.

Prosecutor Jacqui Hanlon told the court that police were called by the ambulance service at about 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, after reports of a suspected robbery in which a 45-year-old man said he had suffered stab wounds. Hannah Cain was found “in an upstairs bedroom not breathing, not conscious.” A preliminary post-mortem examination found a blunt force injury to the right side of her head and an injury “that could be suggestive of compression of the neck,” Hanlon said. Cain, in a black tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his details.

On Thursday he appeared by video link from HMP Norwich at King’s Lynn Crown Court and was remanded in custody until a plea hearing at Norwich Crown Court on Dec. 3. The mother of three was described by her family as “kind, generous and loving.” Norfolk and Suffolk’s Joint Major Investigation Team is running the inquiry as Operation Moxley. Cain is presumed innocent.

London: Kerry Faces Terror Charge Over Farage

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Byrley Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with one count of preparing acts of terrorism, contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2006, between May 31, 2024, and July 8, 2026, BBC News reports. Kerry is already charged with murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe, 78, who died after an attack at her home in Haytor, on Dartmoor, on July 8. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 6, 2026.

The court heard he is accused of carrying out online reconnaissance of “prominent people and institutions,” identifying Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s home address, travelling there on April 20, 2025, and trying to get in. In April 2025, Farage’s partner found damage to the front door of their house in south London and a bottle of lighter fluid in the porch, the BBC reports. Prosecutors said the “inference” from the damage was that Kerry tried to break in.

Kerry, bearded and in a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his address and date of birth. He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday, Oct. 9. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans of Counter Terrorism Policing called it “a hugely intensive and complex investigation.” He is presumed innocent.

Lasne: Ullens Trial Halted Until Nov. 4

The Brabant wallon assize trial of Nicolas Ullens de Schooten, found guilty on Tuesday of the premeditated murder of his stepmother, Baroness Myriam Lechien, 70, at her home in Lasne, was suspended on Wednesday until Nov. 4 after his lawyer filed a request to recuse the three professional judges, Le Soir and L’Avenir report.

The jury’s verdict was split 7 votes to 5. Defense lawyer Jean-Philippe Mayence argued the judges went further than allowed by voting on a secondary question, and asked that they step aside before the sentencing phase. After the verdict, Mayence told L’Avenir he was disappointed and questioned the procedure that followed the 7 to 5 vote. Prosecutors had been due to make their sentencing arguments that day, DH reports.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, the three judges refused to withdraw, La Libre and RTBF report, which sends the recusal request to the Court of Cassation, which must rule within eight days. The guilty verdict stands; only the sentencing phase is on hold until Nov. 4.

Dallas: Guyger Release Set for Oct. 16

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been granted parole and is set to be released from the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville on Friday, Oct. 16, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records reported by CBS News Texas, NBC 5 and The Dallas Morning News. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 6, 2026.

Guyger, off duty but still in uniform, entered Botham Jean’s apartment at the South Side Flats on Sept. 6, 2018, mistaking it for her own unit on the floor below, and shot him in the chest as he sat on his couch eating ice cream. Jean, 26, an accountant from St. Lucia, died. A Dallas County jury convicted her of murder in October 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years. In the courtroom, Jean’s younger brother, Brandt, forgave her and asked to hug her; the moment drew national attention.

She has served about seven years. According to the reports, the parole board cited no documented pattern of violent crime, satisfactory adjustment in prison and completion of treatment programs.

Bronx: Unlicensed Practitioner Indicted in NAD Death

Luis Rojas Cabrera, 56, of Passaic, New Jersey, has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of a profession in the death of Elizabeth Baron, 27, after an anti-aging NAD+ injection, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced. He turned himself in and was arraigned on Oct. 6 before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goldsmith, who set bail at $2 million cash or $7 million bond. He is due back on Oct. 27.

Prosecutors say that on July 19, Rojas Cabrera gave Baron a NAD+ intravenous injection at a business he ran at 3190 Riverdale Avenue in Kingsbridge, the Bereshit Lifestyle Center, though he is not licensed to practice medicine in New York; CBS New York reports he was licensed in the U.S. only as an esthetician. Baron lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after the injection. The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death a cardiac air embolism, caused by air introduced into the IV catheter. Investigators found two other people who received injections from him.

“A young woman seeking health benefits instead had her life cut tragically short,” Clark said. Homeland Security Investigations and the FDA’s criminal investigators assisted. Rojas Cabrera is presumed innocent.

Newport: Arrest in 1985 Hellewell Murder

William “Billy” Morton, 61, of Smithfield, was arraigned on Oct. 6 in Newport County District Court on one count of murder in the death of Hillary Hellewell, 22, in Newport, Rhode Island, on or about May 19, 1985, Attorney General Peter Neronha and Newport Police Chief Ryan Duffy announced. He is held without bail, with a status conference set for Oct. 20.

The original investigation went cold. The attorney general’s Cold Case Unit, created in 2023 with a full-time forensic genealogist, reopened it that year with Newport police. Fox News and WPRI report that investigators used DNA analysis to narrow the search to a family line, then collected a water bottle Morton discarded at a concert in Woonsocket; DNA from it was consistent with evidence from Hellewell’s clothing. The Boston Globe reports Morton has a prior assault conviction.

“Victims and their loved ones deserve answers and ultimately justice,” Neronha said, adding that DNA advances had produced answers in four unsolved cases in the past year. “The passage of time does not diminish our commitment to seeking justice for victims and their families,” Duffy said. Morton is presumed innocent.

Durban: First Witness Testifies in AKA Trial

The State called its first witness on Wednesday in the Durban High Court trial of seven men accused over the Feb. 10, 2023, killings of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane outside a restaurant on Florida Road, EWN, TimesLIVE and News24 report. The judge also reversed an earlier ruling that had barred the media from reporting witness evidence. This case continues from The Crime Ledger: October 6, 2026.

The witness, a former police officer, testified about the May 2022 shooting of taxi boss Gift Khanyile at a petrol station in Mayville, Durban. He told the court that 30 spent 9mm cartridges were found at that scene and a white Toyota Etios was recovered nearby. Prosecutors say ballistic testing links a firearm fired in Mayville to the gun used to kill Forbes and Motsoane, and they are starting with the firearm count to build that chain.

All seven accused have pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent.

Wynberg: Life Sentence for Duncan Hoorn

Acting Judge Amanda van Leeve sentenced Duncan Hoorn to life in prison on Wednesday for murdering his wife, Chantel Pasqualle-Hoorn, the Cape Times and Cape Argus report. The Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Wynberg Regional Court, had convicted him of murder and acquitted him of kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice. The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.

Van Leeve called the killing “the murder of a wife by her husband” and a “grave manifestation” of violence against women. She said voice notes played at trial showed an intention to hurt Chantel. “The killing of women is a pervasive social problem and cannot be accepted as normal,” she said. The court heard that Warrant Officer Robin Basson and Sergeant Bongolethu Gwada went to the couple’s Hanover Park home after Chantel’s sister asked police for help because she feared for her safety, but left without meaningfully intervening. “Whatever the reason, the conduct of the police falls far short of what was required of them,” the judge said, while stressing that responsibility for the death rested with Hoorn. “You have seen the red flags. We don’t want to create more Chantel Pasqualles,” she told the public.

Afterward, Hoorn told the Cape Argus: “Whatever is put out for me, is put out for me.” Chantel’s sister, Ramona Hendricks, questioned the “goodness” he asked her family to remember.

Sydney: Alleged Gang Figure Arrested at Airport

Reece Fakhr, 18, alleged by NSW Police to be a “key player” in the self-styled Coconut Cartel gang, was arrested at Sydney International Airport on Tuesday morning, The Sydney Morning Herald and ABC News report. He faces 10 charges, including conspiracy to murder, soliciting a murder, kidnapping, arson and firearm supply offences tied to the gang’s war with the Alameddine crime network. Police refused him bail, a bail court adjourned his case on Wednesday, and he is due back on Dec. 8.

Sources told the ABC that the allegations against Fakhr came to light after his phone was found at the Norwest apartment where an 11-year-old boy was fatally shot in the face last month. Fakhr is not accused of any wrongdoing in, or involvement with, the boy’s death, the ABC stresses. Police have said several people, including three teenagers, fled the complex soon after that shooting, and that investigation continues. The boy’s family has underworld links, the ABC reports.

Police attribute at least four deaths to the conflict, two of them believed to be mistaken identity. The leaders of both networks are overseas. Fakhr is presumed innocent.

Petah Tikva: Accused Plotter Named as Shahar Nevo

A Bar-Ilan University mathematics professor accused of plotting to murder hundreds of Arabs was named on Wednesday as Shahar Nevo after a gag order expired, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz report. An indictment filed Monday at the Lod District Court charges him with preparing terrorist acts, extortion by threats and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors allege Nevo planned coordinated attacks by 72 armed participants organised in 12 cells, aimed at Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians, with the goal of killing hundreds and forcing mass flight to Jordan, Lebanon and Gaza. The indictment says he sought help recruiting participants from far-right politician Moshe Feiglin and then tried to blackmail him. Bar-Ilan suspended Nevo pending the proceedings. Haaretz reports that his identity was kept under the gag order through the investigation and the filing of the indictment on Monday, Oct. 5. The Jerusalem Post describes him as having led a double life as a respected academic while drawing up the plans.

Nevo is presumed innocent.

Tulse Hill: Life for Murder After Prison Release

Robert Sabat, 60, has been jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years for murdering his former partner, Dickiesha “Keisha” Nurse, 42, a mother of two, at her flat in Tulse Hill, south London, in October 2025, BBC News and The Standard report. He had pleaded guilty.

Sabat was released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on Oct. 17, 2025, one day after being sentenced to 12 months for knife possession and harassment. He was freed under the SDS40 early release scheme, which moved the automatic release point for eligible prisoners from 50 percent to 40 percent of their sentence. Days later he killed Nurse. Crimewatch reports that she was stabbed to death. MyLondon reports that Sabat was from Balham. The Standard reports that afterward he begged to be sent back to jail and said, “I’m gonna go on a murder spree.”

GB News reported the case as a killing by an offender freed under the early release scheme.

Offida: Nurse Wick Sent to Trial Over Another Death

A preliminary hearing judge in Ascoli Piceno sent nurse Leopoldo Wick to trial on Oct. 6 on a charge of voluntary homicide over the Aug. 3, 2017, death of a 92-year-old woman at a care home in Offida, Rai News, ANSA and Corriere Adriatico report. The trial before the Macerata assize court is set to open on Feb. 18, 2027.

Prosecutors allege Wick repeatedly gave the woman long-acting insulin although she was not diabetic, causing hypoglycemic crises that killed her. Corriere Adriatico reports the indictment says he administered drugs that had not been prescribed. Wick was already sentenced to life by the Perugia assize court almost a year ago for seven murders and one attempted murder of elderly patients at the same Offida care home. Rai News describes the new case as a second trial arising from suspicious deaths at the home.

The new case adds an eighth alleged death. Wick is presumed innocent on the new charge.

Gwangju: Jang Appeals Life Sentence

Jang Yun-gi, 23, filed an appeal on Wednesday, the last day allowed, against the life sentence he received a week earlier for the killing of a 16-year-old high school student in Gwangju, Chosun Biz and Digital Times report. Prosecutors, who had sought the death penalty, filed their own appeal on Oct. 2 arguing that life was too lenient.

The Gwangju District Court found that on May 5, Jang tried to abduct the girl, Lee Chae-won, as she walked home in Gwangsan District, intending to sexually assault her, and killed her. Digital Times describes the case as rape and murder. The court found no special circumstances justifying a death sentence. Korea has carried out no executions since 1997, and debate over whether life sentences should rule out parole is expected to be central at the appeal, Seoul Ilbo reports.

The case now goes to the Gwangju High Court, where both sides will argue the sentence again.

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