Latest Homicide News
Woman wins appeal in death of allegedly abusive boyfriend
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Maple Grove woman who said she shot and killed her boyfriend because he was abusive could get a new trial after the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled jurors in her trial got an incorrect instruction. Stephanie Louise Clark, 32, was convicted of second-degree...

Q&A: Prosecutors open up about prisoner's fatal beating
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Three former Illinois prison guards will spend years behind bars for fatally punching, kicking and stomping a 65-year-old inmate after dragging him out of sight of security cameras. Larry Earvin was just four months from the end of his six-year sentence...

Ousted Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz takes Oklahoma church job
(RNS) — Carl Lentz, the ousted pastor of Hillsong New York City, has landed on staff at Transformation Church, a predominantly Black, nondenominational megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that is led by pastor, author and popular YouTuber Michael Todd. Transformation, a juggernaut in a...
DNA evidence solves 1984 homicide case in Lincoln County
TROY, Mo. (AP) — After nearly four decades, a cold case killing in eastern Missouri has been solved, thanks to DNA evidence. Authorities in Lincoln County announced Wednesday that a DNA match identified the victim as Jack Langeneckert, 50, a real estate agent from the St. Louis...

Murdaugh judge Newman not surprised by jury's quick verdict
The judge who presided over Alex Murdaugh's murder trial in South Carolina told his law school he wasn't surprised the jury came back with a guilty verdict in three hours. Judge Clifton Newman returned to Cleveland State University where he earned his law degree in 1976 to discuss...
Missouri man found not guilty in deaths of five people
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis County man has been found not guilty in the deaths of five people who were shot at an apartment complex in 2019. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a jury deliberated less than two hours Wednesday before acquitting 33-year-old Anthony Watkins...

Oscar Pistorius eligible for parole, could be free this week
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has applied for parole and is expected to attend a hearing on Friday that will decide if he can be released from prison 10 years after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in...

Freed ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Paul Rusesabagina arrives in US
HOUSTON (AP) — The man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” and was freed by Rwanda last week from a terrorism sentence returned Wednesday to the United States and joined his family after being held for more than two years. Paul Rusesabagina's arrival in San Antonio was...

Remembrances, calls for reform at Irvo Otieno's funeral
NORTH CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — Family, friends and other mourners gathered Wednesday at a Virginia church to remember Irvo Otieno at a funeral service, celebrating his life and calling for mental health care and policing reforms after the 28-year-old Black man's death earlier this month while in...

Minneapolis council to discuss post-Floyd policing lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis City Council is set to hold a special meeting Thursday to discuss a potential settlement in a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights over the city’s policing practices following the murder of George Floyd. City and state...
