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Police: Suspect murders man inside Cherokee home, dumps body in ditch

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man is facing serious charges after police say he lured a man to his home to rob him and then murdered him in cold blood.

According to police, it all began July 4 when Baba Said’s vehicle was found abandoned on the interstate. Said and the juvenile runaway he was supposed to be in the company of were nowhere to be found.

The next day, that juvenile turned herself into police. She claimed that she met Said at a home on Amarillo Street and that he had tried to kidnap her. She fled from his vehicle and called her friend Jalen Braden to pick her up.

Authorities noted that Braden lived at the home on Amarillo Street. Said’s phone showed that he was in the same area shortly before he disappeared.

On July 9, officers with the Missing Persons Bureau went to Braden’s home where they discovered that a couch with blood stained cushions had been moved to the curb. Inside the home, investigators found a cleaning rag and a bottle of bleach along with additional blood spots in the living room.

Foul play was suspected and additional officers were called to the scene.

When questioned by authorities, Braden admitted that he and the juvenile lured Said to the house to rob him. He took Said’s money and car keys before shooting him once in the back of the head. Braden stated he then wrapped the victim in black garbage bags and threw him in a ditch near Goodman Street and Healey Avenue.

He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

WREG is working to learn if the juvenile has been charged in connection to this case as well.


Serial killer may be linked to Arkansas woman’s 1994 slaying

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PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Authorities are investigating whether possibly the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history is behind the death of an Arkansas woman in 1994.

Police in Pine Bluff say Samuel Little has confessed to the murder of Jolanda Jones. The 26-year-old woman’s death had been determined to be drug-related.

Investigators have linked the now-79-year-old Little to more than 60 killings in at least 14 states dating back decades. He said he killed 93 women as he crisscrossed the country.

The Pine Bluff Commercial reports that a police memo shows Little indicated he killed Jones in October 2018 when he was in custody in Dallas, Texas.

He has been convicted of killing three women and pleaded guilty to killing another. He’s serving life sentences in California and is cooperating with authorities.

Southaven man charged with murder after body found in shallow grave

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SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — The man whose home was recently at the center of an investigation after a body was found in a shallow grave in the backyard has been charged with murder.

Michael Guidry, 38, was denied bond after he was charged with capital murder, Desoto County court records show. Guidry was first arrested on Monday, July 9, after police removed a body from the backyard of his home on Burton Lane in Southaven.

Police identified the victim as 82-year-old Grady DeBoard, who lived with Guidry for some time before his death. DeBoard had previously lived in Trumann, Arkansas but left around 2017. His former house burned down, Trumann police said.

His family said they had not seen him in about two months.

Chenita Pryor says she met Guidry before he was charged with murder. "He was a very, very mysterious guy. I want to say he was always kind of a little angry and had a few altercations with some of my family members."

Southaven police became involved at least a month ago. Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.

On the day the remains were found, Guidry was charged with credit card theft.

MS-13 used machetes, cut out victim’s heart in Los Angeles-area killings: officials

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LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles-based MS-13 gang members carried out a series of grisly homicides over the past two years, including hacking a victim to death with a machete in the Angeles National Forest and carving out his heart, according to a newly unsealed indictment detailed by officials at a news conference Tuesday.

That incident happened March 6, 2017, officials said. Suspecting the victim had defaced an MS-13 graffiti, they allegedly abducted him, choked him and drove to a remote location in  the Angeles National Forest where six people killed him with a machete.

They dismembered him, cut out his heart and threw his body parts into a canyon, officials said in a 73-page indictment.

Members of the group also battered a 17-year-old girl with a rock at the San Gabriel Mountains, shot a 34-year-old homeless man in a Valley Glen park because they “wanted to see the victim’s tattoos to determine if he was from a rival gang," stabbed a 26-year-old man in an abandoned property near downtown L.A. before dumping his body in a suitcase on the 14 Freeway in Agua Dulce, beat an 18-year-old to death with a baseball bat on the rooftop of a Hollywood building and fatally shot a man in Malibu Hills, prosecutors allege.

Another victim, 16-year-old Brayan Andino, was lured by two female gang associates to Lake Balboa, where he was then abducted by other gang members, officials said.

Andino’s body was later found at the bottom of Lopez Canyon, triggering the investigation that eventually led to the indictment, Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Horace Frank said.

With help from local officials, federal authorities have charged 22 MS-13 members linked to this recent spate of violence they believe to have resulted from certain factions of the transnational gang attempting to exert dominance in Los Angeles.

One faction, the Fulton clique, required potential recruits to kill someone before they could officially join the group, officials said.

“We haven’t seen this level of violence associated with MS-13 in Southern California,” said Paul Delacourt, who’s in charge of the FBI’s L.A. field office.

Many of those accused are young individuals who came to the country within the last four years, Delacourt said. Only three of them are over 24 years old.

They communicated about their crimes through social media, posted photos of themselves online throwing MS-13 hand signs and dealt in narcotics to fund their activities, according to authorities.

Several of the victims are also recent immigrants, some of them suspected of belonging to rival gangs who had cooperated with authorities in their home countries, Delacourt said.

“They are preying on their own community and that is what we are here to stop,” Delacourt said.

Most of the defendants had already been in state or federal custody. Officials said the indictment was unsealed after the final four defendants were arrested in the past three days.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said her office has also charged seven adults and 10 minors in connection with six murders in the county between 2017 and 2019.

“These gang members sought out young victims in their teens and in their early 20s who were new to this country,” Lacey said. “Many had recently immigrated from El Salvador and Honduras. They were alone, looking to fit in with others from native countries but instead they met their demise quickly at the hands of gang members who preyed upon them.”

MS-13 was formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s and has since grown into a transnational gang that counts thousands of members in the U.S. and other countries, officials said.

Although officials continue to investigate gang activities in Southern California, Delacourt said the recent indictment "is a major step taking out some of the most violent members of MS-13."

Activist Sadie Roberts-Joseph’s alleged killer was behind on rent, Baton Rouge police chief says

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Activist Sadie Roberts-Joseph’s alleged killer was likely a tenant in one of her rental homes and behind about $1,200 on his rent, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said Tuesday.

The chief emphasized investigators believe Ronn Jermaine Bell killed Roberts-Joseph but they have yet to establish “a complete, solid motive at this time.”

Bell, 38, who is a convicted sex offender, has been charged with first-degree murder, Paul said. Bell was initially arrested Monday on a warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, according to authorities.

Bell’s sex offender status stems from a guilty plea Bell entered in 2007 in a sexual battery case after he was accused of the aggravated rape of an 8-year-old girl in 2004, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar C. Moore, III, told reporters. Bell served seven years in prison, Moore said.

The arrest came after Paul expressed confidence that someone would apprehended in the case of the community stalwart and museum founder who was found dead in the trunk of her car last week.

Paul said phone calls poured in from the community and family members gave police leads since the killing.

“Thank you, Baton Rouge, thank you for caring,” Paul said.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office had determined the preliminary cause of death was “traumatic asphyxia, including suffocation.”

Roberts-Joseph, 75, did not die by strangulation, coroner Beau Clark told CNN. Her nose and mouth were blocked, he said without elaborating.

A toxicology report will be available in three weeks, Clark said.

“All my mother ever wanted was for this community to come together. It’s ironic that that happened in death,” Roberts-Joseph’s daughter, Angela Machen, told reporters. “What she wanted to happen in life came to fruition in death. However, we will see to it that her legacy continues.”

She wanted to unite the community

The Baton Rouge community came together Tuesday for a vigil at the Odell S. Williams Now and Then African American Museum, which Roberts-Joseph founded in 2001. Together, they sang and praised God, the police and one another for finding the man accused of taking the leader from the community.

They also prayed for the suspect, saying that he and his family were also struggling.

Pastors, community leaders and Roberts-Joseph’s family members urged those remembering her life to continue her mission of teaching people their own history and creating a safer, more unified community.

“She let her work speak for her. When you look at this crowd, the number of people out here today, don’t you hear Sadie?” Roberts-Joseph’s friend, 100-year-old Johnny Jones told the audience. “They’re all speaking for her.”

Roberts-Joseph hosted the city’s Juneteenth festivities, which celebrate the last slaves in the Confederate states learning of their independence more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, at the museum every year.

She also founded Community Against Drugs and Violence, a non-profit organization focused on creating a safer environment for children in north Baton Rouge.

“Her motto was roll up your sleeves and get the job done. So, in closing, I say to you: roll up your sleeves and get the job done,” said Reverend Reginald Pitcher.

Her family saw her earlier that day

Roberts-Joseph’s body was recovered about 3:45 p.m. Friday after an anonymous caller reported finding her, according to Baton Rouge police spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola.

The car was located behind a vacant home, Paul said. Two residents who reported the body in the car have been cleared as suspects, the chief said.

Her family had seen her earlier that day, Coppola said. She had been making cornbread with her sister, according to her niece, Pat LeDuff.

Roberts-Joseph’s car was found about three miles from her home, Baton Rouge police said.

Bell, who was about two months behind on his rent, had intended to contact Roberts-Joseph on the day of her death, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant.

Surveillance video captured Bell leaving the area where Roberts-Joseph’s body and car was found. He admitted to being there and at the same time the car was abandoned. But Bell said he was not in the vehicle, the affidavit said.

A witness told police someone fitting Bell’s description was seen abandoning the car and walking away, according to the police record.

Bell told police he didn’t see Roberts-Joseph on the day she was killed and hadn’t seen her for several days.

Bell’s DNA was found on Roberts-Joseph’s body, the affidavit said.

Roberts-Joseph extended Bell grace with the past due rent.

She told him he could stay at the home as long as he paid her some money, he told police.

Roberts-Joseph’s son, Jason Roberts, told CNN affiliate WBRZ his mother’s life should not have ended the way it did.

His message to her killer: “You stole light. You stole a warm, loving, giving and caring woman. And it wasn’t just for her family. She cared for the city. She cared for you. She would want forgiveness for you.”

Arkansas murder suspect arrested at Tunica casino

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HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — A Mid-South man wanted in connection to a recent murder in Helena-West Helena was arrested at a casino in Tunica this week.

Dashon Hawkins was charged with first-degree murder and terroristic acts in the death of LaPatrick Otis on June 21. Authorities said Hawkins shot Otis in the head and then left him to die in the 500 block of Elm Street. A motive for the shooting was not released.

Four days after the incident, Hawkins and his mother Francine Hawkins went to the police station to speak with authorities about the investigation. During a video recorded interview, the suspect allegedly asked to speak with his mother who then tried to stop police as her son took off running.

Francine Hawkins was charged with hindering apprehension and obstructing governmental operations.

Dashon Hawkins was able to evade police until Tuesday, July 16, when he was apprehended at Fitzgerald Casino in Tunica. He was accompanied at the time by his girlfriend Erica Williams and two other women.

Williams was charged with hindering apprehension and obstructing governmental operations.

The other two women were not charged.

Who was Ally Kostial? Friends, social media show college student’s life

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ally Kostial, the 21-year-old Ole Miss student whose body was found in rural Lafayette County, Mississippi last Thursday, was well-liked and heavily involved in athletics and activities, according to friends and school officials.

Photos from one of Kostial’s social media accounts show her at events with her accused killer, Brandon Theesfeld. It’s unclear when and where those photos were taken.

Ally Kostial and Brandon Theesfeld attending an event together. (VSCO)

Theesfeld, a fellow University of Mississippi student who is now suspended, is charged with murder.  He faced a judge in an initial court appearance Tuesday, a day after he was taken into custody at a gas station on South Parkway in Memphis.

Kostial graduated from Lindbergh High School in St. Louis in 2016, said Beth Johnston, chief communications officer for the school.

“Lindbergh is a close community and Ally will be deeply missed by all of the friends, families and teachers whose lives she touched,” Johnston said. “Our hearts are broken for the Kostials, and we extend our deepest sympathies to her entire family during this time.”

News partner KTVI in St. Louis reached out to two of Kostial’s high school friends, who said she was involved in track and field and cheerleading at Lindbergh High School, and that she started a golf club in college.

“She would do just about anything,” Sammie Martin said. “She loved outdoors, she loved just hanging out with her friends, she was the person you always wanted to be around.”

Margaret Illig added: “When I was around her, I just felt like my spirit being lifted.”

Both women said they had seen her recently.

Kostial’s sorority at Ole Miss, Alpha Phi, issued a statement on Facebook: “The Alpha Phi community is grieving the loss of Ally Kostial, and we send our deepest sympathies to her family during this incredibly difficult time. We hope that those who were closest to Ally can find peace as they reflect on the lasting impact she made on the lives of her family members and friends.”

Kostial’s father, in a Facebook post, said his daughter had been attending summer school and teaching fitness classes at Ole Miss.

The relationship between Kostial and Theesfeld is unclear. One of Kostial’s friends told a St. Louis station that the two had dated at Ole Miss.

Motion filed to hold accused Ole Miss killer without bond

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A motion has been filed to hold Brandon Theesfeld without bond in the murder case of Ole Miss student Ally Kostial, District Attorney Ben Creekmore said Thursday.

That means Theesfeld would remain in jail until the next court hearing, which will not happen this week.  Creekmoore says the case will be turned over to the grand jury.

Theesfeld is accused of killing fellow the University of Mississippi student, whose body was found in rural Lafayette County on Saturday.

Investigators have not said what they believe the motive in the murder may have been, nor the relationship between the two. Authorities announced Wednesday that Kostial was killed by multiple gunshot wounds, according to preliminary results of an autopsy.


Sherra Wright’s attorneys on guilty plea: ‘She will see freedom’

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Behind closed doors, Sherra Wright and her defense team were deciding whether she would plead guilty to her role in the death of Lorenzen Wright.

That decision was made public on Thursday when she pleaded guilty in front of Judge Lee Coffee, state prosecutors and Lorenzen's family.

After years of denying any role in the murder of her ex-husband, Sherra is doing an about-face. Her defense team says plans to possible plead guilty started taking shape several weeks ago.

"This offer is the best course of action for her," defense attorney Laurie Hall said.

Sherra was given 30 years for facilitating the murder of the former NBA star and an additional eight years for an earlier attempt on Lorenzen's life. The two sentences will be served at the same time.

Sherra's attorney's Juni Ganguli and Lori Hall says this means the mother of six would still have a quality of life upon release, after serving the mandated 30 percent of 30 years.

"She'll serve nine to 15 years, minus jail credit, so she will see freedom. It may be in her 50's," Ganguli said.

Her lawyers said Billy Turner, who's also charged in the case, and Sherra's cousin Jimmy Martin, who led police to the murder weapon, were expected to testify against their client. Their testimonies could have resulted in a life sentence for Sherra.

"You had Jimmy Martin and Billy both testifying against Sherra. Then the defense of 'I had nothing to do with it' wouldn't really be viable," Ganguli said.

Sherra's defense team threw out some serious allegations. They say the reason she had a role in her ex-husband's murder centers around her being "abused by Lorenzen."

Death penalty sought for woman accused of killing ex-senator

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Prosecutors said Tuesday they plan to seek the death penalty against a woman charged in the killing of a former Arkansas lawmaker who investigators say was found dead from multiple stab wounds outside her home.

An arrest affidavit for Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell released Tuesday said O’Donnell was caught on video removing security cameras from inside the home of former state Sen. Linda Collins the last day Collins was seen alive.

O’Donnell has been charged with capital murder in the death of Collins, who went by Collins-Smith in the Legislature. She was found dead June 4 outside her home in Pocahontas, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock. O’Donnell also faces abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence charges.

She pleaded not guilty Tuesday at a hearing in Pocahontas.

O’Donnell worked on Collins’ unsuccessful re-election campaign last year and was a witness in the former lawmaker’s divorce proceedings. Collins divorced retired Circuit Judge Philip Smith last year.

Prosecutors announced their plans to seek the death penalty Tuesday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported . There are currently no women on death row in Arkansas.

The redacted arrest affidavit was released after Judge David Goodson lifted an order sealing documents and statements obtained by police during the investigation. The affidavit said Collins’ son and father found her body wrapped in a blanket under a tarp in her driveway.

Investigators determined that Collins was last seen alive on May 28. Video footage from Collins’ security system showed O’Donnell removing security cameras from inside the former lawmaker’s residence that day, according to the affidavit.

Tim Loggains, O’Donnell’s fiancé, has proclaimed her innocence.

“I’ve been deeply touched by people constantly reaching out to express their belief in Becky’s innocence,” he said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “This situation, and the way this case is being handled, is bigger than us so we are turning it over to God.”

Collins served one term in the state House and was originally elected as a Democrat in 2010. But she switched parties and became a Republican in 2011, the year before the GOP won control of both chambers of the Legislature. She was elected to the state Senate in 2014 and was one of the most conservative lawmakers in the majority-GOP chamber.

Billy Ray Turner sentenced to 16 years in gun case

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  The man accused of helping Sherra Wright kill her ex-husband Lorenzen Wright has been sentenced to 16 years behind bars in an unrelated gun case.

Billy Ray Turner will have to serve 35 percent of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.

"It think it was a fair application of the factors involved. That was kinda what we were gunning for, and we got that," Turner's attorney John Perry said.

The prosecution initially asked Judge Coffee to sentence Turner to 20 years behind bars while the defense asked for 12 years. Coffee said he gave Turner credit for pleading guilty to the charges instead of allowing this case to go to trial. He also noted that Turner had a clean record with no other convictions since the early 90s.

During the course proceeding, the state called three witnesses to the stand to testify in the sentencing hearing.

The first was Sgt. Brian Beasley who searched Billy Ray Turner's home and found a loaded shotgun in a bedroom closet along with ammo. They also found 17, 12-guage shotgun shells in the trunk of Turner's Dodge Stratus.

The next witness was an undercover officer who was involved in Turner's arrest. He said at that time he didn't find any firearms but did come across a holster.

Finally, the third was a detective who was involved in the wiretap investigation who said he intercepted a call between Turner and a man. In the background, he said they heard a woman- supposedly Turner's mentally ill sister Sherry Turner - yelling "you better hide that gun."

He said Turner threatened to shoot his sister in that call.

Turner pleads guilty to gun charges

Turner pleaded guilty to the gun charges back in June 2019 and was scheduled to be sentenced on July 26. However, that sentencing hearing was pushed back after Sherra Wright unexpectedly appeared in court on July 25 to announce she had pleaded guilty to facilitation charges related to Lorenzen's case.

In his gun case, Turner was charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun after officers found two guns at his home when he was arrested in connection to the murder of basketball star Lorenzen Wright. Court records show him in possession of a .38 revolver and 9 mm handgun.

Subscribe to the new podcast "Killing Lorenzen" now

Prior Tennessee criminal records for Turner list charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and cocaine sales from 1992. That means he was not allowed to have a gun in his possession.

Turner pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a gun. The second gun charge was dismissed.

Turner is set to face trial in the Lorenzen Wright murder case in September.

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Suspect accused of shooting man in the back pleads guilty

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  A Memphis man was sentenced to 25 years behind bars after pleading guilty to several charges, including second-degree murder.

According to authorities, defendant Joe Ford was involved in a fight with Edward Bullock Junior on July 15, 2017. Ford left the scene but returned some time later with a gun. He then shot Bullock in the back as the victim sat in his truck in the 3500 block of Grey Bark in Parkway Village.

The truck rolled down the driveway and into a yard across the street.

Another man that was standing next to Bullock’s vehicle was also in danger during the shooting but was not hurt.

Ford pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, second-degree murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a gun charges.

A mugshot for Ford was not available.

Suspect charged in Ole Miss student’s death to have bond hearing on Thursday

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OXFORD, Miss. — As friends of murdered Ole Miss student Ally Kostial work to create a memorial in her honor, the man charged in her death will appear before a judge.

An attorney for Brandon Theesfeld filed a motion for a bond hearing that will be heard Thursday in Lafayette County. Tony Farese is representing Theesfeld and says they're requesting a reasonable bond.

“It will based on the defendant’s means. He’s just a student so he doesn’t have much means. The court will look at that. The court will look at the seriousness of the offense which is murder; a very, very serious matter," Farese said.

Kostial's body was found last month in the Harmontown Community of Lafayette County. Investigators say she'd been shot several times. Theesfeld has been in jail since he was arrested last month.

“He’s tried to remain upbeat. He certainly understands what’s going on. He’s been very candid with us about what’s going on, and the facts of the case, and what occurred on the day in question. It’s a very trying situation for him. I think overwhelming at times but he’s trying to maintain a positive attitude," Tony Farese said.

Farese says Theesfeld will have the support of his parents and sister at Thursday's bond hearing. They will testify as character witnesses.

He encourages people to wait for all the facts in this case to be revealed.

"Mr. Theesfeld is presumed innocent at this time and we will go forward and the state of Mississippi has the burden of proving he’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Thursday's hearing will only address the bond motion but Theesfeld's attorneys say he's expected to enter a plea of not guilty at the appropriate time.

Ole Miss student’s accused murderer withdraws request for bond, requests mental evaluation

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OXFORD, Miss. — Brandon Theesfeld, the man charged in the death of Ole Miss student Ally Kostial, appeared before a judge Thursday morning.

Tony Farese, an attorney for Theesfeld, filed a motion for a bond hearing that was to be heard Thursday in Lafayette County. During the hearing, Farese said in light of "new information," his client would withdraw the request for bond and instead ask for a mental evaluation.

Farese would not specift what the new information was.

Kostial's body was found last month in the Harmontown Community of Lafayette County. Investigators say she'd been shot several times. Theesfeld has been in jail since he was arrested last month.

Kostial’s closest friends attended the bond hearing while wearing her favorite color pink in support, but they didn't want people to focus on the suspect. Instead, they wanted that focus to be put on their friend.

Kristi Kelley, a cousin of Kostial, said the family was "deeply grateful for the prudent work accomplished by the Memphis Police, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Lafayette County Coroner's office, Ole Miss community and many others who’ve worked tirelessly on this case."

"Our hearts go out to all those touched by Ally’s positive spirit and passion for life who are now feeling sorrow. We pray for strength in the coming days and are grateful for the friends, neighbors, coworkers and many others who have supported us," she said.

Theesfeld had the support of his parents and sister at Thursday's hearing.

Farese said his team will work with the state hospital to schedule Theesfeld's mental evaluation.

Man convicted in murder of Memphis music teacher

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 25-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him Friday in the murder of a beloved music teacher in Memphis.

Nicholas Brooks was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and several other charges. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge.

The victim, 30-year-old Christopher Waters, was a teacher at Belle Forest Community School and taught lessons at Amro Music store. He was an acquaintance of Brooks.

Waters was found dead in his Raleigh home in December 2016 after he didn't show up for school. He had been shot and stabbed, and the home was ransacked.

Investigators say after Waters was killed, his assailants burglarized his home, left the scene and returned later to steal more items.

Brooks was arrested a short time later driving Waters' car in the neighborhood. Five other defendants charged in the case are awaiting trial.

 


D.A.: Theesfeld indicted in Ole Miss student’s murder

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OXFORD, Miss. — Brandon Theesfeld, the man accused of killing University of Mississippi student Ally Kostial last month, was indicted by a Lafayette County grand jury Friday, the district attorney’s office said.

Theesfeld, a 22-year-old former student from Texas, is charged with capital murder.

Last week, as Theesfeld appeared before a judge, his attorneys revoked a request for bond and instead requested a mental evaluation, citing new information.

Kostial, 21, was found dead in Harmontown, Mississippi in July. Theesfeld was later captured at a gas station in Memphis.

Former Oxford officer indicted in Dominique Clayton’s death

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OXFORD, Miss. — A former Oxford police officer has been indicted by a grand jury in the Dominique Clayton murder case, the Lafayette County District Attorney's Office confirmed.

The indictment, filed Friday, charges Matthew Kinne with capital murder, which is punishable by the death penalty.

Clayton, a 32-year-old mother of four, was found shot dead in her Oxford home May 19.

Kinne — who, it later emerged, was in a relationship with Clayton — broke into her home prior to the murder, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors were at the Lafayette County courthouse Friday afternoon meeting with members of Clayton’s family, according to the family's attorney, Carlos Moore.

But Moore said prosecutors initially wouldn't tell the family what the grand jury had indicted Kinne on.

"We don’t know if the indictment is for capital murder, we don’t know if it’s for first degree murder or manslaughter," Moore said following the meeting.

An assistant district attorney told WREG he is “not at liberty to release any information on an open investigation.”

At the time, Moore said prosecutors had told the family they wouldn't release more details until next week. But in a surprise reversal, he said they called the family later in the afternoon to tell them of the capital murder charge.

In June, the Clayton family asked the City of Oxford for $5 million to settle a wrongful death claim.

Moore said they plan to file a lawsuit against the city, most likely at the end of September since they’re required to give the city 90 days to offer a settlement.

Police: Woman charged with murder after man’s body found stuffed in tote in closet

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman was charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with a body found in the Medical District last week, and the details are shocking.

Tkeyah Fullilove, 26, was arrested Tuesday, Memphis Police announced.

Police said they were called to the Lema Place property after a witness called 911 reporting a strong smell coming from a bedroom closet. When they arrived they found a decomposed body wrapped in a plastic tote.

That victim was later identified as Stephen Carter. He had reportedly been stabbed multiple times and was hit in the head before he died.

His roommate T'keyah Fullilove later confessed to the murder but didn't provide a motive, police said.

Tomond Deberry, a neighbor by the house, was disturbed by what police said happened. Deberry assumed his neighbor was in the hospital after he had not seen him for a month, but the truth is much more difficult to accept.

"I heard his body was in the house for like two weeks, which is 14 days, and they smelt the odor," Deberry said.

Deberry recognized Fullilove as a woman who lived in the house. He said she and the victim often argued about money.

"That's all she was after is his money," Deberry said. "When she don't get money, she gets angry and gets aggressive."

Father arrested in murder of 4-month-old baby, mother

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SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. -- The Shelby County Sheriff's Office has charged a man with the murder of a woman and a 4-month-old baby boy found stabbed in a house that was set on fire.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says that 25-year-old Enoch Zarceno, who is the father of the 4-month-old baby, has been arrested and charged with numerous felonies, including two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated arson.

Family believes he was angry about the possibility of having to pay child support.

Heather Cook, 32, and her son Bentley were found dead in an apartment on Bennington Circle sometime after 9:30 a.m. Friday morning. Shelby County Fire crews found their bodies while responding to a call of a house fire.

Deputies pronounced both of them dead on the scene. Fire marshals later determined that the fire was intentionally set.

According to an affidavit obtained by WREG, both Cook and the baby were stabbed multiple times.

Authorities say a family member told deputies that Zarceno was the father of baby Bentley, and that Zarceno and Cook had recently gotten into an argument over custody issues. Family, however, tells WREG that the argument was about child support for Bentley.

The affidavit says that a vehicle tag registered to Zarceno was spotted near Cook's residence on Friday morning. Deputies located Zarceno, who agreed to speak with them.

Authorities say that after changing his story several times, Zarceno admitted to entering Cook's home through a back window. Zarceno reportedly claimed that he found them both already dead and fled the scene without calling the police.

Just two weeks ago, Cook posted to a private Facebook group for single moms, asking for advice. She said that she and Zarceno had just begun seeing each other when she got pregnant, and he was already in a six-year relationship with someone else.

She wrote Zarceno asked her to “remedy the situation,” offering to pay for an abortion, and that she hadn’t heard from him until she filed for child support last month.

Zarceno is expected to be in court on Monday morning. He has no bond at this point.

No one answered the door at Zarceno's house Saturday. Zarceno’s neighbor – who admits he’s only known him a few months – described him as a “good guy."

Note: Earlier versions of this story, citing court records, used the name Enoch Turner. He is currently listed in the Shelby County Jail under the name Enoch Zarceno.

Suspects accused in string of robberies leading up to Frayser murder

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police have connected two teenagers charged in the murder of a former White Station High football player to a string of alleged robberies that happened within a few blocks of a Frayser neighborhood, court documents show.

Erin Tillman and Talas Bonds, both 18, are accused in police affidavits, either together or separately, with five robberies at homes around Grandview Park in August and early September.

The final incident on Sept. 2 ended in the death of Jack Luibel, who was allegedly lured to a home at 2240 Clifton in a robbery attempt via a dating app. Tillman and Bonds are charged with first-degree murder in that case.

Tillman is also charged with robbing a pizza delivery driver at the same Clifton address a few days before on Aug. 28. Police say the driver got away and called police.

The next day, Tillman was allegedly able to rob another pizza delivery driver of $45, pizza and wings at a house nearby on University.

He and Bonds are also charged with using a dating app to lure another victim to a house on Boone on Sept. 1 — the day before Luibel’s death. In that case, the victim told police that when he knocked on the door of the house, two suspects put a gun to his head, then took his wallet from his pocket and a .40-cal handgun from his BMW parked nearby before escaping into a nearby park.

Bonds is separately charged with robbing a man of $50 from a house across the street on Boone on Aug. 7, after he placed an ad selling a gun on Facebook Marketplace.

Tillman turned himself in to police Sept. 19 and admitted his role in the robberies, police said. Investigators were already looking into  Luibel’s death, and Tillman was taken to the Homicide Division for further questioning.

According to police, Luibel’s cell phone — found in his still-running car in front of the Clifton Street house — showed activity on a texting app that was traced to a user named bondst66. Tillman and Bonds were seen together in a surveillance video from a nearby school, police said.

Tillman told police he and Bonds had used the app to set up Luibel for a robbery, but when Luibel began fighting, he was shot.

Tillman is in jail on $175,000 bond. Bonds is in jail on $80,000 bond.

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