Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides

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    DNA on Discarded Cigarette Helps Lead to Arrest in a 1981 Homicide

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    A detective in Indiana helped crack a cold case more than 40 years after his father started working on the original investigation.The 1981 fatal beating of a steelworker in northwest Indiana remained unsolved for so long that the son of the original detective on the case started reinvestigating it in 2018 — and helped solve it.Blood from the crime scene and a discarded cigarette tossed out a vehicle window at a 2023 traffic stop in Illinois eventually led to the arrest of Gregory Thurson, 64, of Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 29 on a murder charge in the death of John Blaylock, Sr., 51, who was killed in his apartment in Griffith, Ind.That capped an investigation that began on Nov. 3, 1981. On Wednesday, Mr. Thurson, who was arrested in Oregon and extradited, is to appear in a Lake County, Ind., courtroom. His lawyer with the Lake County Public Defender’s Office could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.It is unclear what the motive for the killing was and what relationship there may have been between Mr. Blaylock and Mr. Thurson.“I can’t say enough about his hard work and how gratifying it is to me that he was able to come behind me some 43 years later and put this all together,” Retired Detective John Mowery Sr. of the Griffith Police Department said of his son, Detective John Mowery Jr. “When he sinks his teeth into something, he just he stays with it.”On Nov. 3, 1981, two worried steelworkers went to Mr. Blaylock’s building on a Tuesday afternoon, after he didn’t show up for his shifts on Monday or Tuesday morning. The Sunday newspaper was still outside his apartment door, which was locked, and they waited while two building employees used a master key to get inside.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      N.Y.C. Helped Migrant Accused of Killing Laken Riley Move to Georgia, Witness Says

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      In other testimony, law enforcement witnesses placed the suspect, José Ibarra, at the scene of Ms. Riley’s killing, mainly through cellphone and GPS tracking data.Details of how the Venezuelan migrant charged with killing Laken Riley ended up in Athens, Ga., came into sharper focus on Monday, the second day of a trial that is being closely followed by supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s planned immigration crackdown.The migrant, José Ibarra, was apprehended by the Border Patrol when he entered the country illegally in 2022 near El Paso. Like many migrants, he was released with temporary permission to stay in the country, and he headed to New York.A former roommate of Mr. Ibarra’s testified that she met Mr. Ibarra last year in New York City and traveled with him to Athens in September 2023 after Mr. Ibarra’s brother told them they could find jobs there.They lived for a while with Mr. Ibarra’s wife and mother-in-law at a Crowne Plaza hotel in Queens that had been converted to a migrant shelter, the roommate, Rosbeli Flores-Bello, said. And for a few weeks, she added, she and Mr. Ibarra lived in a car parked on the street by the hotel.Ms. Flores-Bello said that Mr. Ibarra’s brother Diego had constantly called him in New York, telling him to move to Athens because there were good work opportunities.Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University in Georgia.Augusta University, via Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Man With Neo-Nazi Ties Sentenced to Life in Killing of Gay Ex-Classmate

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      Samuel Woodward, who espoused anti-gay rhetoric and had ties to Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi group, stabbed his victim 28 times in a hate-fueled murder, prosecutors said.A California man who expressed allegiance to a neo-Nazi group and espoused anti-gay rhetoric was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after a jury found him guilty of brutally killing a former high school classmate who was gay in a hate-motivated murder, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said.The man, Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 26, of Newport Beach, Calif., had reconnected with his former classmate, Blaze Bernstein, then a 19-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania, on a dating app for men seeking men, the authorities said.On the evening of Jan. 2, 2018, Mr. Woodward drove Mr. Bernstein, who believed they were going on a romantic encounter, to a park in Lake Forest, Calif., where Mr. Woodward brutally stabbed Mr. Bernstein 28 times and buried his body in a shallow grave in the park, the district attorney’s office said.On Friday, more than four months after a jury found Mr. Woodward guilty of first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement, a judge in the Superior Court of Orange County sentenced Mr. Woodward to life in prison without parole, according to court records.“With every hateful stab of his knife, Samuel Woodward stabbed at the very heart of our entire community,” Todd Spitzer, the district attorney for Orange County, said in a statement.He added that “those who commit acts of hate against others will be punished and those who are victimized by hate will be protected.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      After Deadly Car Rampage, Chinese Officials Censor and Obstruct

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      Workers cleared away flowers laid at the site of the attack, while censors scrubbed online criticism. The goal is to stifle potential questions and criticism.Two days after the deadliest known violent attack in China in a decade, officials were working to make it seem as if nothing had happened.Outside the sports center in the southern city of Zhuhai where a 62-year-old man had plowed an S.U.V. into a crowd, killing at least 35 people, workers on Wednesday quickly removed bouquets of flowers left by grieving residents. Uniformed police officers and officials in plainclothes shooed away bystanders and warned them not to take photos. At hospitals where patients were taken after the attack — at least 43 more people were injured — local officials sat outside the intensive care units, blocking journalists from speaking with family members.“I’m here keeping watch,” one man, who identified himself as a local community worker, said when reporters entered the ward. “No interviews.”On the Chinese internet, censors were mobilized to delete videos, news articles and commentaries about the attack. Almost 24 hours had passed before officials divulged details about the assault, which happened on Monday, including the death toll. Their statement offered limited details, and they have held no news conferences.The response was a precise enactment of the Chinese government’s usual playbook after mass tragedies: Prevent any nonofficial voices, including eyewitnesses and survivors, from speaking about the event. Spread assurances of stability. Minimize public displays of grief.The goal is to stifle potential questions and criticism of the authorities, and force the public to move on as quickly as possible. And to a large degree, it appeared to be working.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Italian City in Amanda Knox Case Wants to Move On. A New Series Won’t Let It.

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      When a show produced by Ms. Knox about the murder of Meredith Kercher was filmed in Perugia, an outcry by residents led the mayor to apologize.Seventeen years after Amanda Knox, the American exchange student, was arrested and charged with killing her roommate in Perugia, a picturesque university city in central Italy, some of its citizens are outraged that their city is once again being dragged into a tragedy that they would prefer to forget.This month, when cast and crew arrived there for a two-day shoot for a Hulu series about the case — a show for which Ms. Knox and Monica Lewinsky are executive producers — Mayor Vittoria Fernandi felt obliged to write a heartfelt letter of apology to the city for the hurt caused by their presence.One resident, honoring the memory of Meredith Kercher, the slain roommate, draped a sheet from a balcony with “Respect for Meredith” painted in bold red letters. A council member questioned on social media whether the mayor should have allowed the production to shoot in Perugia, where the crime has long overshadowed the city’s “history, art and beauty.”An editorial in daily newspaper La Nazione wrote, “Perhaps Meredith and Perugia would have deserved more respect without having to sacrifice the dignity of a murdered student and a brutalized city to business.”It hardly mattered that after spending four years in prison, Ms. Knox was acquitted for the death of Ms. Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England who was murdered in the house they shared.People forget “that she, too, is a victim in this case,” said Luca Luparia Donati, the director of the Italy Innocence Project, who is representing Ms. Knox in a slander case.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Man Arrested in Shooting That Killed One at Tuskegee University

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      The shooting, which wounded 12 people, happened early on Sunday as crowds gathered at the historically Black school to celebrate the final day of its 100th homecoming week.A 25-year-old man was charged in connection with a shooting on the campus of Tuskegee University in Alabama early Sunday morning that left one person dead and a dozen others wounded as crowds gathered for the school’s homecoming celebration, the authorities said.The man, Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery, was arrested on Sunday and charged under federal law with possessing a machine gun, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said on Facebook.Officers found Mr. Myrick leaving the scene of the shooting with a handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device, the agency said. It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting, which took place about 1:40 a.m. on the campus.The identity of the person who was killed, 18, was not released. The victim was not a student at the university, the university said in a statement.“The parents of this individual have been notified,” the university said. “Several others, including Tuskegee University students, were injured.”Twelve people were wounded in the shooting and taken to hospitals, the authorities said. Their conditions were not immediately clear on Sunday. Four other people were also hurt.The shooting took place as crowds gathered at the historically Black liberal arts university, which has 3,000 students, to celebrate the last day of its 100th homecoming week, which began on Nov. 3.In a video posted on social media, a young woman could be heard shouting “Get down! Get down!” as she and others ducked behind a car during the gunfire.The university is in the city of Tuskegee, which has a population of about 8,700 residents and is about 40 miles east of the state capital of Montgomery, Ala.The homecoming celebration included a parade, concerts and a football game between Tuskegee and Miles College on Saturday.“We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted and pray for healing and justice,” Miles College said in a statement on Sunday. “Miles College stands with you in this difficult time.”Tuskegee University said that it had canceled Monday’s classes. More

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      Two Militia Founders Are Convicted of Plot to Kill Federal Agents

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      “We were going out huntin’,” one of the men said in a video before a planned trip to the Mexico border, where they intended to shoot at immigrants and officials who might stop them, prosecutors said.Two founders of a militia group who were plotting a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to shoot at immigrants and the authorities who might try to stop them were convicted on Thursday by a federal jury in Missouri of attempting to murder federal agents, prosecutors said.A jury in Jefferson City, Mo., convicted the men, Jonathan S. O’Dell, 34, of Warsaw, Mo., and Bryan C. Perry, 39, of Clarksville, Tenn., of multiple felony counts.Most of the counts were linked to the men shooting at F.B.I. agents who arrived with a search warrant at Mr. O’Dell’s home. Among other charges, Mr. O’Dell and Mr. Perry were also convicted of conspiracy to murder officers and employees of the United States government, prosecutors said.They each face a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to a life sentence. Under federal statutes, neither would be eligible for parole. Lawyers for the men could not be immediately reached for comment on Saturday.Beginning in the summer of 2022, Mr. O’Dell and Mr. Perry tried to recruit others to join what they called the 2nd American Militia, prosecutors said.In September 2022, Mr. Perry posted a video on TikTok in which he said that the U.S. Border Patrol was committing treason by allowing illegal immigrants to enter the United States.In that same video, he said that the penalty for treason was death, court records show. In another video, he said that he was “ready to go to war against this government.”By late September, the two men stepped up their plans. They continued to recruit, acquired paramilitary gear and practiced shooting at targets, according to officials.Mr. Perry posted a video on TikTok in which he said “we’re out to shoot to kill,” and added that “our group is gonna go protect this country.” In early October, he posted another video. In that one he said that “we were going out huntin’,” and that his militia would go to the border on Oct. 8.But on Oct. 7, F.B.I. agents arrived at Mr. O’Dell’s home in an armored vehicle and identified themselves through a loudspeaker. The agents were met with gunfire, officials said, and several rounds hit the vehicle.The agents did not return fire and eventually Mr. O’Dell surrendered, officials said. Mr. Perry was also arrested at the home, but only after he brawled with agents and injured one, according to court documents.Agents found six guns and 23 magazines filled with ammunition inside Mr. O’Dell’s home, officials said. The F.B.I. recovered about 1,800 rounds of other ammunition, two sets of body armor, two gas masks, two ballistic helmets and zip ties. Agents also discovered multiple containers of liquids that would explode upon mixing. More

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      Montana Camper Offered His Killer a Beer Before He Was Murdered, Police Say

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      DNA from a beer can helped lead the authorities to an arrest in the killing of Dustin Kjersem, whose death was originally reported as a possible bear attack, officials said.A Montana camper whose mutilated body was found in a forest last month was brutally killed by a stranger he welcomed to his campsite and offered a beer, the authorities said this week, a gesture they say ultimately led to the killer’s arrest.The stranger, Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, of Basin, Mont., who was working in construction in the Big Sky area of southern Montana, was arrested on Saturday after the authorities linked his DNA to that found on a beer can on the floor of a tent belonging to the victim, Dustin Kjersem, 35, according to court records.Mr. Abbey confessed on Tuesday to killing Mr. Kjersem, 35, and was later charged with deliberate homicide, Dan Springer, the sheriff of Gallatin County said at a news conference on Thursday.Mr. Abbey encountered Mr. Kjersem by chance, the authorities said, noting that they still didn’t know the motive for the killing and that the investigation could continue for months.“This appears to be a heinous crime committed by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem,” Sheriff Springer said.On Oct. 10, Mr. Kjersem traveled to a forested area near Big Sky to camp, the authorities said. He had planned to pick up his girlfriend the next day, a Friday, so the two could spend the weekend camping.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A Jury Is Set for the Trial of Daniel Penny, Accused in Subway Killing

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      Lawyers selected 12 Manhattanites and four alternates to hear a manslaughter case that divided the city. Opening statements will be Friday.A jury of 12 Manhattanites has been chosen to decide the fate of Daniel Penny, a Long Island man who put a homeless man in a fatal chokehold on a subway car last year.Mr. Penny, 26, faces charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 death of Jordan Neely, who had a history of mental illness and who Mr. Penny said had been threatening passengers.The jurors and four alternates, who Justice Maxwell T. Wiley ruled would be kept anonymous, include a cross section of residents from across the borough, including Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Washington Heights and Harlem.On Friday, those jurors will hear the lawyers explain in opening arguments their conceptions of a case that divided New York City as soon as a video of Mr. Penny, who is white, restraining Mr. Neely, who was Black, rocketed around the internet. Some New Yorkers saw Mr. Penny’s actions on the F train as criminal. Others saw him as a champion for frightened riders.Jury selection, which began last week, was contentious. Screening more than 100 prospective jurors, the first step in a criminal trial, took nearly two weeks and at times set off arguments between the lawyers.The defense, led by Mr. Penny’s lawyer Thomas A. Kenniff, hired a jury consultant who has worked with a wide spectrum of defendants, including the president of Brazil, Kyle Rittenhouse and O.J. Simpson. The consultant, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, was in court with Mr. Penny’s legal team throughout the two weeks, taking notes and making suggestions.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More