crime

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As Foreclosures Rise, Fraud Cases Balloon

Equity scammers take advantage of ignorant, desperate owners

(Newser) - Running parallel with spiking foreclosure rates, so-called “foreclosure rescue scams” have reached epic proportions, and many state and local agencies aren't equipped to fight back, MSNBC reports. Companies that promise to help floundering property owners keep their homes and avoid the stigma of foreclosure are instead milking them for...

Fed Porn Probe Targets Spears Photo Thief

Underage breastfeeding pics could carry pornography charges

(Newser) - A stolen photo of teen mom Jamie Lynn Spears breastfeeding has turned what seemed to be a breach of Wal-Mart security into a federal case, TMZ reports. Copies of a dozen snapshots, allegedly purloined when baby daddy Casey Aldridge had legit copies made at a Louisiana store, could result in...

Husband-Killer Gets Custody of 3 Daughters

Says she and former in-laws now 'love each other'

(Newser) - A woman convicted of killing her minister husband 2 years ago was granted permanent custody of their three daughters today and said she has resumed a cordial relationship with the grandparents who fought to take the children away from her, the AP reports. A judge in Huntingdon, Tenn., returned full...

Kenyan Robbers Raid Grandma Obama's Home

They fail to remove solar panel on house in African village

(Newser) - A band of thieves broke into the Kenyan home of Barack Obama's 85-year-old step grandmother yesterday, Reuters reports. "These are just people who think that Obama has been sending me a lot of money," said Sarah Obama. Nothing was stolen from the home in tiny Kogelo village. The...

Elisabeth Fritzl Describes Life Under Josef

Father would threaten to hurt kids if daughter resisted rape

(Newser) - Elisabeth Fritzl describes as horrific life under the control of father Josef in the Austrian cellar where she and her children lived, the Telegraph reports. "He was very brutal against me," the 42-year-old said of the man who fathered seven children with her. Elisabeth, discovered in April, detailed...

Chloroform Found in Caylee Car Trunk

Chloroform web searches also found on mom's computer

(Newser) - FBI tests have found traces of chloroform in the trunk of the car belonging to the mother of missing toddler Caylee Anthony, a source told CNN. Mom Casey Anthony's computer also revealed web searches about chloroform, which can be used to incapacitate people but is fatal in excessive doses.

Mom: Accused Wash. Killer 'Desperately Mentally Ill'

Isaac Zamora, 28, recently finished jail time for drug possession

(Newser) - Authorities in Washington are still piecing together what triggered Isaac Zamora’s murderous rampage yesterday, the AP reports, in which the 28-year-old described by his mother as "desperately mentally ill" killed 6 people, including a sheriff's deputy. Zamora recently completed 6 months in jail for drug possession; the deputy...

Philly Corpse-Plundering Case Ends in Guilty Pleas

Masterpiece Theatre host among corpses

(Newser) - Two brothers who ran a Philadelphia funeral home pleaded guilty today to selling corpses, including that of Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, to a company that trafficked in stolen body parts, the AP reports. They may get life sentences for allowing the remains of 244 clients to be dismembered for...

Casey Anthony Rejects Deal
 Casey Anthony Rejects Deal 

Casey Anthony Rejects Deal

Mother of 3-year-old Caylee—missing, feared dead—rebuffs limited immunity

(Newser) - Jailed Florida mom Casey Anthony today refused a deal that would have given her limited immunity in dealing with investigators probing the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter Caylee, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The agreement would have protected her from having statements she made directly to investigators used against her, but...

Brutal Monk Beatings Shock Italy
 Brutal Monk Beatings Shock Italy

Brutal Monk Beatings Shock Italy

Hooded attackers bound, gagged victims in Clockwork Orange -like attack

(Newser) - A manhunt is under way to find the three hooded men who gagged, bound, and beat four Franciscan monks in an Italian monastery Tuesday night, the Times of London reports. Father Sergio Baldin, the monastery's 48-year-old guardian, was having dinner with three elderly monks when they were attacked. Baldin remains...

Construction Theft Is Building Concern

$5B in annual losses drive home prices up by as much as 10%

(Newser) - Increasing theft of building materials from construction sites, especially residential projects, is driving up the cost of homes to consumers as much as 10%, the New York Times reports. Experts say as much as $5 billion a year is being lost to thieves looking to profit from skyrocketing prices for...

Gun-Toting Granny Foils Would-Be Thief

Pa. octogenarian keeps the heat on burglar until police show up

(Newser) - An 85-year-old Pennsylvania woman foiled a thief by pointing her .22-caliber revolver at him and holding him at bay until police arrived, the Uniontown Herald-Standard reports. A 17-year-old broke into Leda Smith's home Sunday afternoon, but before the intruder could steal anything, the great-grandmother retrieved her gun, forced the burglar...

Fritzls Return to House of Horrors to Help Cops

Mother, children were imprisoned in basement

(Newser) - Elisabeth Fritzl and her children have returned for the first time to the basement where they were imprisoned, the Daily Mail reports, helping police gather evidence for the trial against their father. Police wanted the family to show them precisely where and how they were held captive. The family has...

Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested
 Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested

Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested

Held for robbery, assault

(Newser) - Japanese police arrested a man today for attacking and robbing two people who looked askance at his Winnie the Pooh costume. It was after midnight when the 20-year-old, accompanied by friends dressed as a mouse and panther, approached two unlucky onlookers in Tokyo. “What are you staring at?” the...

'Rockefeller' In-Law: Con Man Wed and Fled

Alleged kidnapper got green card, ditched Wisc. bride in 1981

(Newser) - Alleged kidnapper and con artist Clark Rockefeller tricked a Wisconsin woman into marrying him in 1981 and then bolted with his new green card, the bride's sister told the Boston Herald. “He tells stories and takes advantage of people,” she said. “He screws with people’s heads....

Case Against Ivins Looking Thin
 Case Against Ivins Looking Thin
glossies

Case Against Ivins Looking Thin

FBI evidence full of holes and contradictions

(Newser) - The FBI's case against alleged anthrax killer Bruce Ivins is full of gaps and contradictions, Newsweek reports. Ivins is said to have sent anthrax to NBC's Tom Brokaw—but was retaliating against a reporter at ABC. He also passed a polygraph in the probe and had no anthrax in his...

Man Swaps Murder Plea for Fast-Food Orgy

Life sentence for buffet featuring KFC bargain for taxpayers, too

(Newser) - A Brooklyn man was sentenced to life in prison yesterday—and celebrated the occasion by chowing down on a buffet including fried chicken, pizza, and lasagna, the New York Post reports. One of the stranger plea deals on record saw Tremayne Durham plead guilty in Oregon to aggravated murder in...

German Man: 'Rockefeller' Is My Brother

Con man ran away from Bavaria in 1978, presumed relative says

(Newser) - A German man has identified mysterious con artist Clark Rockefeller as his long-lost brother, the Boston Globe reports. Shown photos of the accused kidnapper, Alexander Gerhartsreiter identified him as Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who left Germany in a student exchange program in 1978 and hasn’t been heard from since 1985....

Kidnap Dad Suspected in Love Triangle

'Rockefeller' may have been involved with missing woman, hubby

(Newser) - A love triangle could be behind a California couple's 1985 disappearance, which police say involved Christopher Chichester—potentially yet another alias for accused kidnap dad Clark Rockefeller, reports the Boston Herald. Authorities theorize Chichester, a tenant of Linda and John Sohus, may have become romantically involved with Linda before growing...

Kidnap Dad Now 'Of Interest' in Calif. Murder

LA officials probing 1985 cold case join grilling of 'Rockefeller'

(Newser) - Los Angeles police have joined officials interrogating accused kidnapper Clark Rockefeller in Boston after declaring him a “person of interest” in the 1985 disappearance of a couple now believed dead. Remains believed to be John Sohus were discovered in 1994, and wife Linda is yet unaccounted-for; authorities think Rockefeller—...

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