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Australia

Woman found dead in Bluewater bushland was in relationship with man arrested over her death, Queensland police say

Police tape near a quad bike on a sandy track

Detectives say a man arrested over the death of a woman in north Queensland had been in a relationship with the victim for several months.

Mother of four Tania Trickey, 44, was killed at Bluewater, near Townsville, some time on Saturday morning.

A group of teenagers riding quad bikes discovered the body on a sandy track in bushland that afternoon.

Police arrested a 38-year-old Deeragun man at a service station in Proserpine around 8:30pm on Sunday after his car was spotted by patrolling officers.

“Police were basically able to take him by surprise,” Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd said.

Police have seized the man’s vehicle, which will be subject to forensic examination.

“We hope to obviously find evidence that will link our person of interest and the vehicle to the crime scene [at Bluewater],” Detective Inspector Shepherd said.

Pair allegedly drove to remote area together

Witches hats line a sandy path at the crime scene
Police believe the woman died on Saturday.(ABC News: Lily Nothling)

Police said the man and Ms Trickey had been in a relationship for a few months.

The pair allegedly drove to the remote area at Bluewater together on Saturday where the woman was later found dead.

Detective Inspector Shepherd said they were able to identify the man after his vehicle was captured on dash-cam footage near the scene.

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Categories
Australia

Homicide detectives probe potential domestic violence link in fatal Ayr house fire

Firefighters stand stand to a burnt-out home

Detectives have launched a homicide investigation after a suspicious house fire in north Queensland claimed a woman’s life.

Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson said detectives believed the fire was deliberately lit.

The 47-year-old woman suffered severe burns and died in hospital after the blaze in the rural town of Ayr on Tuesday morning.

The woman’s partner, a 65-year-old man, remains in a serious condition in the Royal Brisbane Hospital and police have been unable to speak with him.

Police attended the home for a welfare check just hours before the blaze broke out and spoke to the couple.

A police officer and fire fighter stand outside a burnt-out home surrounded by police tape
The burnt-out home was declared a crime scene.(ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)

Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said that interaction was now the subject of an internal police review.

“We don’t want to rule anything out at this stage and we don’t want to speculate — until we actually speak with this male [it] it is difficult for us to establish exactly what the reasoning behind the whole incident was,” he said.

“The man and woman were in a domestic relationship and there was a current domestic violence protection order protecting the 47-year-old female.

“We’re working closely with the staff at the hospital to ensure that as soon as [the man] is able to, he will be speaking with the police.”

Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said the domestic violence order had been in place since 2018 and did not prohibit the couple from living together.

He said they had lived at the property in Ayr for about a year before the fire and were known to police.

A police officer in uniform stands in front of police signage
Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson in Townsville.(ABC North Qld: Lily Nothling)

He said officers had been called to the property before the fire.

“We received a call for a request for service and we attended the scene,” he said.

“At that stage, police received assistance from the Queensland Ambulance Service to conduct investigations into the matter that was before them, and as a result of that they left both parties at the address.

“It’s not a great result and that’s why we have the Ethical Standards Command and the CCC [Crime and Corruption Commission] overviewing the investigation into that initial interaction with the couple.”

Police have been doorknocking residents in Ayr and have urged anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to contact them.

“The Queensland Police Service has launched a homicide investigation, codenamed Operation Uniform Turmeric, in relation to this investigation,” Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said.

“Our investigators will be looking to glean as much information from the community around the couple and what their interactions were with them.”

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Categories
US

Nancy Bennallack’s killer identified by genetic genealogy analysis

Nancy Bennallack's killer identified by genetic genealogy analysis

More than five decades after Nancy Bennallack was stabbed to death in her Sacramento County apartment bedroom, her cold case has been solved with the same technology used to solve the Golden State Killer’s case, authorities said. “Time is the justice that examines all offenders. Nancy was never forgotten,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said while referring to the 51 years the case spanned. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday that Richard John Davis killed the then-28-year-old Bennallack in 1970. Davis had lived in the same apartment complex as Bennallack when he murdered her, authorities said. He died in 1997 from what investigators believe was related to alcoholism. “Due to the fact that Richard Davis is deceased, sadly, there won’t be any form of legal justice, but Linda and Tom, I hope this brings you, Nancy, and your family some peace,” said retired homicide detective Micki Links, who started working on Bennallack’s case in 2005 Timeline of murder Bennallack, who worked as a court reporter, and her fiancé returned to her apartment after a night out around 11:30 pm on Oct 25. Her fiancé, who also worked in the court system, returned to his home later that night.The following day, Bennallack did not show up for work. Her co-worker called her son de ella and asked him to check on her. With the help of the apartment manager, the co-worker’s son opened up Bennallack’s apartment and found her murdered. Sometime between 11:30 that night and the early morning hours of Oct. 26, Davis broke in. Links said Davis put tape over her fingertips, climbed up the second-story balcony of Bennallack’s apartment and stabbed her over 30 times, almost decapitating her. Bennallack also had wounds on her body de ella that indicated she fought with Davis, Links said. Davis had cut himself during the assault, and a trail of blood led from her apartment to the middle of the apartment complex parking lot. His DNA profile from the blood had been in state and national databases for years, and no matches were found. Then in 2019, the Sacramento County cold case team began a forensic genetic genealogy investigation, which is where the DNA profile is matched with relatives to narrow down who the suspect is. Links said a relative of Davis provided their DNA, and he was confirmed as the murderer on July 21. “All the while, time was passing these past 50 years, science was evolving,” Schubert said. The sheriff’s office said 11 cases with 17 murders, 59 rape cases and three unidentified remains have been solved using the new genetic testing. The technology is the same that linked Joseph DeAngelo to the murders of 13 people. Davis lived near Bennallack in the same apartment complex “In one month of Nancy’s murder, the sheriff’s office interviewed over 500 people,” Schubert said. Davis and his roommate were included in those interviews, but both alibied each other, she said. Davis, who was 27 years old at the time, had lived in apartment 23, while Bennallack lived in apartment 17. Investigators believe Davis could see across the pool into her apartment de ella, which could have led to the motivation behind her murder de ella . “Clearly, I intended to do what he did that day,” Links said. “This man put masking tape over every one of his fingers, I guess gloves weren’t that easy to find those days to conceal his fingerprints. Were he alive, I think we’re talking premeditated murder.”Links said Davis had no previous violent felony convictions but did have a DUI arrest.Family reactsThe Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office read out a letter from Nancy’s sister Linda Cox at Wednesday’s conference.“ After almost 52 years of missing my sister, we owe Micki Links so much gratitude. How many times my husband, Tom and myself have said Nancy would love our ranch, all our animals and land with wide open spaces. We have missed sharing our children and grandchildren and so much more,” part of the letter read. Bennallack’s fiancé, Sacramento County’s chief public defender Farris Salamy, died in 2014, “no doubt always wondering who was the man who took his fiancé,” Schubert said. Schubert made references to how different the times were back in 1970. “To give everyone a perspective on the meaning of this case, being here today, we have to start with 1970,” she said. “In 1970, the United States population was 200 million people, today it sits at 332 million people. The population in Sacramento County was 635,000. Today it sits at 1.6 million.”Schubert referenced how much a home and a gallon of gas cost compared to now. Richard Nixon was president at the time, and Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California. Reagan won a second term just a few days after Bennallack’s murder, Schubert said. She went on to say that Reagan died 20 years ago, “that tells you how long we’re talking about.””There’s no doubt that justice, in this case, was dormant for decades,” Schubert said. “It is passion and persistence that brings these answers.” Previous coverage in video below.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —

More than five decades after Nancy Bennallack was stabbed to death in her Sacramento County apartment bedroom, her cold case has been solved with the same technology used to solve the Golden State Killer’s case, authorities said.

“Time is the justice that examines all offenders. Nancy was never forgotten,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said while referring to the 51 years the case spanned.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday that Richard John Davis killed the then-28-year-old Bennallack in 1970. Davis had lived in the same apartment complex as Bennallack when he murdered her, authorities said. He died in 1997 from what investigators believe was related to alcoholism.

“Due to the fact that Richard Davis is deceased, sadly, there won’t be any form of legal justice, but Linda and Tom, I hope this brings you, Nancy, and your family some peace,” said retired homicide detective Micki Links , who started working on Bennallack’s case in 2005

Timeline of murder

Bennallack, who worked as a court reporter, and her fiancé returned to her apartment after a night out around 11:30 pm on Oct. 25. Her fiancé, who also worked in the court system, returned to his home later that night.

The following day, Bennallack did not show up for work. Her co-worker called her son de ella and asked him to check on her. With the help of the apartment manager, the co-worker’s son opened up Bennallack’s apartment and found her murdered.

Sometime between 11:30 that night and the early morning hours of Oct. 26, Davis broke in.

Links said Davis put tape over his fingertips, climbed up the second-story balcony of Bennallack’s apartment and stabbed her over 30 times, almost decapitating her. Bennallack also had wounds on her body de ella that indicated she fought with Davis, Links said.

Davis had cut himself during the assault, and a trail of blood led from her apartment to the middle of the apartment complex parking lot. His DNA profile from the blood had been in state and national databases for years, and no matches were found.

Then in 2019, the Sacramento County cold case team began a forensic genetic genealogy investigation, which is where the DNA profile is matched with relatives to narrow down who the suspect is. Links said a relative of Davis provided their DNA, and he was confirmed as the murderer on July 21.

“All the while, time was passing these past 50 years, science was evolving,” Schubert said.

The sheriff’s office said 11 cases with 17 murders, 59 rape cases and three unidentified remains have been solved using the new genetic testing. The technology is the same that linked Joseph DeAngelo to the murders of 13 people.

Davis lived near Bennallack in the same apartment complex

“In one month of Nancy’s murder, the sheriff’s office interviewed over 500 people,” Schubert said. Davis and his roommate were included in those interviews, but both alibied each other, she said.

Davis, who was 27 years old at the time, had lived in apartment 23, while Bennallack lived in apartment 17. Investigators believe Davis could see across the pool into her apartment, which could have led to the motivation behind her murder.

“Clearly, I intended to do what he did that day,” Links said. “This man put masking tape over every one of his fingers, I guess gloves weren’t that easy to find those days to conceal his fingerprints. Were he alive, I think we’re talking premeditated murder.”

Links said Davis had no previous violent felony convictions but did have a DUI arrest.

Family reacts

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office read out a letter from Nancy’s sister Linda Cox at Wednesday’s conference.

“After almost 52 years of missing my sister, we owe Micki Links so much gratitude. How many times my husband, Tom and myself have said Nancy would love our ranch, all our animals and land with wide open spaces. We have missed sharing our children and grandchildren and so much more,” part of the letter read.

Bennallack’s fiancé, Sacramento County’s chief public defender Farris Salamy, died in 2014, “no doubt always wondering who was the man who took his fiancé,” Schubert said.

Schubert made references to how different the times were back in 1970.

“To give everyone a perspective on the meaning of this case, being here today, we have to start with 1970,” she said. “In 1970, the United States population was 200 million people, today it sits at 332 million people. The population in Sacramento County was 635,000. Today it sits at 1.6 million.”

Schubert referenced how much a home and a gallon of gas cost compared to now. Richard Nixon was president at the time, and Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California. Reagan won a second term just a few days after Bennallack’s murder, Schubert said.

She went on to say that Reagan died 20 years ago, “that tells you how long we’re talking about.”

“There’s no doubt that justice, in this case, was dormant for decades,” Schubert said. “It is passion and persistence that brings these answers.”

Previous coverage in video below.

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Categories
Australia

Peter Dansie allowed to appeal against his conviction for murdering his wife who drowned in an Adelaide pond

Peter Dansie outside the Supreme Court

Australia’s highest court has allowed a man found guilty of murdering his wife by pushing her wheelchair into a pond to appeal against his conviction.

Peter Rex Dansie, 73, was sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife, Helen Dansie, in Adelaide’s southern parklands.

Mrs Dansie drowned in a pond in Veale Gardens in April 2017.

Dansie lost a bid to appeal his conviction in South Australia’s Court of Criminal Appeal two years ago.

Today, two High Court judges dismissed Dansie’s application to appeal, but Justice Kevin Nicholson said he would have quashed the conviction as the evidence did not rule out the possibility that Mrs Dansie might have accidentally drowned.

“It would be dangerous in all the circumstances to allow the verdict of guilty of murder to stand,” Justice Nicholson said.

The High Court then granted Dansie’s application for special leave to appeal the majority decision of South Australia’s appeal court.

Helen Dansie smiling.
Helen Dansie drowned in a pond at Veale Gardens in Adelaide in 2017.(Supplied: SA Police)

The High Court unanimously found South Australia’s Court of Criminal Appeal misapplied the law and has allowed Dansie to appeal against his conviction.

The matter will be remitted to the South Australian Supreme Court for rehearing.

In allowing the appeal, the High Court said the Supreme Court needed “more than mere satisfaction” to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“The appellant argues that the majority (of the Court of Criminal Appeal) misinterpreted and misapplied the approach required to be taken,” the judgment said.

“The appellant’s argument is well founded.

“The appeal must be allowed.

“What each member of the Court of Criminal Appeal needed to do in order to apply the test … was to ask whether he was independently satisfied as a result of his own assessment of the whole of the evidence added at the trial that the only rational inference available on that evidence was that the appellant deliberately pushed the wheelchair into the pond with intent to drown his wife.”

Divers in Veale Park pond
Police divers searching evidence in the pond at Veale Gardens in 2017.(Supplied: ABC News)

Mrs Dansie’s son Grant said he was “massively disappointed” the appeal had been granted.

“It’s like a never-ending story,” he said.

Dansie previously lost appeal

When Dansie was sentenced to a non-parole period of 25 years two years ago, Justice David Lovell said Mrs Dansie’s murder was the “ultimate act of domestic violence” and described it as an “evil and despicable act”.

“This was a chilling, planned murder of a person whose only mistake was to trust you,” he said.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Dansie murdered his wife because he regarded her as a cost burden.

Mrs Dansie, a former microbiologist, suffered a stroke in the 1990s that left her with long-term disabilities.

The court at the time heard she was on an indexed pension for life, a large portion of which Mr Dansie was entitled to as her full-time carer.

Justice Lovell established a “dual motive” for the murder—a deterioration in Dansie’s feelings for his wife and an interest in pursuing a sexual relationship with another woman overseas.

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Categories
US

Grand jury declines to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham in connection with kidnapping of Emmett Till

Grand jury declines to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham in connection with kidnapping of Emmett Till



CNN
—

A grand jury in Mississippi has declined to indict the White woman who accused 14-year-old Emmett Till of making advances toward her nearly 70 years ago, allegations that led to the Black teen’s brutal death.

A Leflore County grand jury last week heard seven hours of testimony from investigators and witnesses but said there was insufficient evidence to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, according to a statement from District Attorney Dewayne Richardson.

The grand jury heard the testimony from witnesses detailing the investigation of the case from 2004 to the present day and considered both charges, according to the statement.

“After hearing every aspect of the investigation and evidence collected regarding Donham’s involvement, the Grand Jury returned a ‘No Bill’ to the charges of both Kidnapping and Manslaughter,” the statement said. “The murder of Emmett Till remains an unforgettable tragedy in this country and the thoughts and prayers of this nation continue to be with the family of Emmett Till.”

Carolyn Bryant, shown in September 1955 sitting in the office of her husbands' lawyer.

Family members of Emmett, whose killing in the Jim Crow-era South spurred the civil rights movement in America, said earlier this summer that they had unearthed an unserved arrest warrant for Bryant Donham, her late husband and his brother.

The warrant is dated August 29, 1955, and signed by the Leflore County clerk. The image of the warrant shows the current clerk certified the document as authentic on June 21.

A note on the back of the warrant says Bryant Donham was not arrested because she could not be located at the time, according to the New York Times, which cited filmmaker Keith A. Beauchamp, who was part of the team that discovered the warrant. CNN reached out to Bryant Donham at the time but didn’t hear back.

Emmett’s family had hoped the warrant would lead to charges and, ultimately, justice.

“Justice has to be served,” Emmett’s cousin Deborah Watts told CNN in late June, adding, “Emmett led us to it. I know that in my heart.”

CNN reached out Tuesday to Emmett’s family for comment but did not hear back.

While Emmett’s killing remains a touchstone moment in the United States’ long struggle with racial injustice and inequality, to this day, no one has been held criminally responsible.

Emmett, who lived in Chicago, was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he had his fateful encounter with then-20-year-old Carolyn Bryant in the summer of 1955. Accounts from that day differ, but witnesses alleged Emmett whistled at the woman at the market she owned with her husband in the town of Money.

Four days later, Roy Bryant and JW Milam later took Emmett from his bed in the middle of the night, ordered him into the back of a pickup and beat him before shooting him in the head and tossing his body into the Tallahatchie River.

But they were both acquitted of murder by an all-White jury following a trial in which Carolyn Bryant testified that Emmett grabbed and verbally threatened her. The jury deliberated for barely an hour.

The men later admitted to the killing in a 1956 interview with Look magazine.

Emmett’s death captured attention far beyond Mississippi after a photo of his mutilated body was published in Jet Magazine and spread around the world. Her mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, had demanded he have an open-casket funeral so the entire world could see her son’s injuries and the results of racial terrorism – a decision that helped fuel the civil rights movement.

Milam died in 1980 and Bryant died in 1994. Bryant Donham is in her late 80s.

In 2007, a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict Bryant Donham on charges. And according to archived FBI documents, Milam and Roy Bryant were arrested on a kidnapping charge in 1955, but a grand jury failed to indict them. “The original court, District Attorney, and investigative records related to the 1955 investigation have apparently been lost,” the FBI said in a 2006 report.

Bryant Donham testified in 1955 that Emmett grabbed her hand, her waist and propositioned her, saying he had been with “White women before.” But years later, when professor Timothy Tyson raised that trial testimony in a 2008 interview with Bryant Donham, he claimed she told him, “That part’s not true.”

The prospect that the woman at the center of Emmett’s case had recanted her testimony – which the US Justice Department said in a memo would contradict statements she made during the state trial in 1955 and later to the FBI – sparked calls for authorities to investigate the case anew.

The DOJ, which had already re-examined and closed the case in 2007, reopened the probe into Emmett’s killing in 2018. But the case was closed in December after the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division concluded it could not prove Bryant Donham had lied. When questioned directly, Bryant Donham adamantly denied to investigators that she had recanted her testimony from her.

Emmett’s legacy, however, lives on: In March, President Joe Biden signed into law the landmark Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which made lynching a federal hate crime.

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Categories
US

Four Muslim men were killed in Albuquerque. Here’s what we know about them

The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here's what we know



CNN
—

After ambush-style shootings of three Muslim men and the recent killing of a fourth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Muslim community in the city is on edge and fearful.

A well-liked city worker who had aspirations of a future in politics and a proud new US citizen are among the victims of a spree of police shootings say they may be related.

The killings of Mohammad Ahmadi, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Naeem Hussain have one obvious commonality though: They were all South Asian Muslims, according to Albuquerque police.

The three most recent killings happened within the span of two weeks, with local and national Muslim groups warning residents to remain vigilant. They’ve also put a spotlight on an unsolved homicide from November 2021.

Here’s what we know about the lives lost. CNN will continue to update this story with more details as we learn them:

Mohammed Ahmadi.

Mohammad Ahmadi was shot and killed outside of a business he and his brother ran together in November 2021, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

Ahmadi was from Afghanistan, police said.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain.

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain had been living with his brother, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, in the same apartment complex for almost five years and had never had any problems.

The brothers came to the US on student visas, studying at the University of New Mexico, and they would often take early morning or late night walks to the university library without any fear for their safety – until now.

Afzaal Hussain was shot, killed and found on a sidewalk on August 1, his face distorted from gunshot wounds, Imtiaz Hussain said.

“This is not a random killing,” said Imtiaz Hussain, who had to witness his brother’s wounds himself. “This is extremely motivated and extreme hatred.”

Afzaal Hussain was loved by everyone and a student leader excited for a future in politics once he gained US citizenship.

“We are in extreme fear,” Imtiaz Hussain said. “Living in this place is very painful.”

Hussain worked on the planning team for the city of Española. He had studied law and human resource management at the University of Punjab in Pakistan before receiving both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico, according to a news release from Española Mayor John Ramon Vigil.

“Muhammad was soft-spoken and kind, and quick to laugh,” Vigil said in a news release last Wednesday. “He was well-respected and well-liked by his coworkers and members of the community.”

Naem Hussain.

Naeem Hussain, 25, had been a US citizen for less than a month when he became the latest shooting victim found by Albuquerque police officers just before midnight Friday.

His brother-in-law Ehsan Shahalami identified Hussian to CNN Sunday and said he had migrated as a refugee from Pakistan in 2016 – fleeing persecution as a Shia Muslim.

“He had a lot of dreams and he accomplished some of them,” Shahalami said. “His others of him were cut short by this heinous act.”

Hours before his own death, Hussain attended a funeral for two of the recent victims and expressed concern about the shootings, said Tahir Gauba, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of New Mexico.

Hussain worked as a truck driver for several years from Albuquerque, a job he took immense pride in, according to Shahalami.

“He was not even a citizen at the time but he would say, ‘This is our country, these people need us more than any other time,’ so he drove extra shifts to keep things rolling,” Shahalami said.

After becoming a US citizen, Hussain opened his own trucking business, had plans to bring over his wife from Pakistan and was interested in buying property in Virginia, according to Shahalami.

“He was the most generous, kind, giving, patient, and down-to-earth person that I could ever meet,” he said. “He was very hard working.”

Hussain wasn’t just working to support himself – he would share his earnings with family back home, Shahalami said.

After the funerals Friday, Gauba said, Hussain attended a lunch at the mosque and approached him asking if he had more information on the shootings.

“We (The Islamic Center of New Mexico) thought after burial of these two young men (on Friday), we would have closure and move on and let law enforcement investigate,” Gauba said. “Waking up Saturday morning to his (Naeem Hussain) death, the whole community just feels helpless. There’s a lot of fear.”

About 700 to 800 Muslims on Fridays attend the Islamic Center of New Mexico, the largest mosque in Albuquerque founded in the mid-1970s, according to Gauba.

Aftab Hussein.

Aftab Hussein was a Muslim man from Pakistan, police said.

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Categories
US

The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here’s what we know

The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here's what we know



CNN
—

The ambush-style shootings of three Muslim men and the recent killing of a fourth in Albuquerque have alarmed the city’s Muslim community and triggered warnings for mosque-goers as police investigate how the shootings may be linked.

The killings of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, Aftab Hussein, 41, and Naeem Hussain, 25, all have one commonality: the victims were all Muslim and of South Asian descent, according to Albuquerque police.

The three most recent killings happened within the span of two weeks, putting the city on edge as police probed for potential links between the attacks, and put a spotlight on an unsolved homicide from November 2021.

“While we are still sifting through all the evidence to look for more connections, it is deeply troubling that these three men were Muslim and of similar descent,” deputy commander of Albuquerque Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, Kyle Hartsock, said.

The FBI is assisting with the investigation, and an online portal was set up for residents to upload videos and images which might help authorities investigating the killings. The local Crime Stoppers Board has also voted to increase a reward for information leading to an arrest to $20,000.

Police have not come out with any descriptions of a suspect or suspects in the killings. They have, however, said they are seeking “a vehicle of interest,” which may be connected to the four killings. The vehicle is a dark silver sedan-style Volkswagen Jetta or Passat with tinted windows.

Here’s what we know about the killings and the investigation so far:

The most recent of the killings was reported Friday, when Naeem Hussain was found dead by Albuquerque police officers who responded to reports of a shooting just before midnight in the area of ​​Truman Street and Grand Avenue.

After the discovery, Albuquerque police said the homicide “may be connected” to three previous killings of Muslim men from South Asia.

Those three men – Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Mohammad Ahmadi – were all “ambushed with no warning, fired on and killed,” Hartsock previously said.

Two of them, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein, were both Pakistani men and were killed in Southeast Albuquerque near Central Avenue. Police said they “determined there is a connection” between those two deaths.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain was shot and killed on Aug. 1. He was found on a sidewalk in the area of ​​Cornell Street and Lead Avenue.

Just days before, on July 26, Aftab Hussein was found with apparent gunshot wounds in the 400 block of Rhode Island. He later died as a result of his injuries, police said.

As investigators probed the recent killings, they turned their attention to the Nov. 7, 2021, homicide of Mohammad Ahmadi, a Muslim man from Afghanistan who was killed outside a business he ran with his brother on San Mateo Boulevard.

Naeem Hussain migrated as a refugee from Pakistan in 2016 – fleeing persecution as a Shia Muslim – and had just become a US citizen last month, according to his brother-in-law, Ehsan Shahalami.

He opened his own trucking business this year and was described as being a kind, generous and hardworking person.

The day he was killed, he had attended a funeral for the two recent victims and expressed fear about the shootings, according to a spokesman with a mosque in Albuquerque.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain worked on the planning team for the city of Española. He had studied law and human resource management at the University of Punjab in Pakistan before receiving both master’s and bachelor degrees in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico, according to a news release from the mayor.

“Muhammad was soft-spoken and kind, and quick to laugh,” Major John Ramon Vigil said in a news release last Wednesday. “He was well-respected and well-liked by his coworkers and members of the community.”

Few details have been released about the two other victims. Police said Mohammad Ahmadi was a Muslim man from Afghanistan and Aftab Hussein was a Muslim man from Pakistan.

So far, police have released a flyer showing a “vehicle of interest” in all four killings. But it remains unclear who the car belongs to, or how they are potentially connected to the attacks.

Police said the vehicle “is suspected as being used as a conveyance in recent homicides of 4 Muslim men.”

“We have a very, very strong lead. We have a vehicle of interest … we have got to find this vehicle,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. “We don’t know at this point what it is associated with, or who owns it.”

While police have not definitively said all four attacks are connected, they have said they are looking into whether it is the case.

“There is one strong commonality in all the victims; the race and religion,” Hartsock said in a Thursday briefing.

Authorities are asking the public to come forward with any information which might help in the investigation. Tips may be submitted to the Albuquerque Metro CrimeStoppers website.

After Friday’s killing, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Saturday she will send additional state police to Albuquerque.

“I am angered and saddened that this is happening in New Mexico, a place that prides itself on diversity of culture and thought. This is not who we are,” Grisham said in a statement. “We will not stop in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families and are bringing every resource to bear to apprehend the killer or killers – and we WILL find them.”

The attacks have also drawn condemnation from President Joe Biden, who said he was “angered and saddened” by the attacks.

“While we await a full investigation, my prayers are with the victims’ families, and my Administration stands strongly with the Muslim community,” Biden wrote on Twitter.

The city is now increasing police presence at mosques, Muslim-affiliated schools and the University of New Mexico.

“Albuquerque is on edge right now, and I want to be clear that we, and our partners across law enforcement, are directing every possible resource to these cases. We will protect our community and bring the perpetrator of these crimes to justice. We unequivocally denounce these senseless killings and stand with our Muslim community against intolerance and violence in every form,” said Keller.

“We have heard from the community that the fear is so strong, there is a concern about even things like groceries and getting meals for certain folks in certain areas of town,” Keller said in a weekend briefing. “Our senior affairs department and our community safety department is going to be providing meals as long as we need, to anyone who needs a meal who is affected by this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, local and national Muslim groups have been warning residents to be cautious.

“We urge everyone to take precautions and be aware of your surroundings including making sure that you are not being followed home and avoid walking alone at night,” Islamic Center of New Mexico posted on Facebook. “This is especially true for our members living in the southeast part of the city where these killings have taken place.”

The center said while there is no evidence its mosque is being targeted, it is still taking steps to provide additional security measures.

“The lives of Albuquerque Muslims are in danger. Whoever is responsible for this horrific, hateful shooting spree must be identified and stopped – now,” stressed Council on American-Islamic Relations National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell.

The Council is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible, the organization announced, calling the series of killings a “horrific, hateful shooting spree.”

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Raytown police investigating homicide of two juveniles

Raytown police investigating homicide of two juveniles

Raytown Police say two juveniles were killed in a shooting Sunday afternoon. One person is in custody. Police say they were called to a shooting just after noon on Sunday at E. 87th Street and James A. Reed Road. Officers found two male juveniles who had been shot. One victim died at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police say one person is in custody and the investigation continues. If you know anything that can help police, contact the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS(8477).

RAYTOWN, Mo. —

Raytown Police say two juveniles were killed in a shooting Sunday afternoon. One person is in custody.

Police say they were called to a shooting just after noon on Sunday at E. 87th Street and James A. Reed Road. Officers found two male juveniles who had been shot.

One victim died at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Police say one person is in custody and the investigation continues.

If you know anything that can help police, contact the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS(8477).

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Boy playing with loaded gun fatally shot teenager

Boy playing with loaded gun fatally shot teenager

Baltimore police say a 9-year-old boy is responsible for fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl Saturday night. City police said officers were called to the 600 block of Linnard Street near Edmondson Avenue for a report of a shooting. Sunday identified the girl as Nykayia Strawder and said homicide detectives identified a 9-year-old boy as the suspect after speaking with witnesses. Witnesses told police the boy was playing with a loaded handgun when it accidentally fired, hitting Nykayia in the head. The boy then dropped the gun and fled. Police said they obtained a search-and-seizure warrant, found the gun and ran the serial number. Officers learned that the weapon is registered to a woman, who is a relative of the boy and is an armed security guard. In accordance with state law, and due to the age of the boy, he cannot be charged with a crime, police said .An investigation continues, and police are working with the state’s attorney’s office. Potential charges are pending. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.

BALTIMORE—

Baltimore police say a 9-year-old boy is responsible for fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl Saturday night.

City police said officers were called to the 600 block of Linnard Street near Edmondson Avenue for a report of a shooting.

Police on Sunday identified the girl as Nykayia Strawder and said homicide detectives identified a 9-year-old boy as the suspect after speaking with witnesses.

Witnesses told police the boy was playing with a loaded handgun when it accidentally fired, hitting Nykayia in the head. The boy then dropped the gun and fled.

Police said they obtained a search-and-seizure warrant, found the gun and ran the serial number. Officers learned that the weapon is registered to a woman, who is a relative of the boy and is an armed security guard.

In accordance with state law, and due to the age of the boy, he cannot be charged with a crime, police said.

An investigation continues, and police are working with the state’s attorney’s office. Potential charges are pending.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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Lake Mead: More human remains found in receding waters

Lake Mead: More human remains found in receding waters



CNN
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More human remains have been found in the receding waters of Lake Mead, authorities announced Saturday.

This is the fourth time human remains have been found at Lake Mead National Recreation Area since May.

In the latest incident, park rangers got a call Saturday morning about skeletal remains at Swim Beach area, National Park Service officials said in a statement.

Rangers set up a perimeter at the beach to recover the remains with help from divers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, according to the Park Service. A coroner was also called to determine the cause of death.

At least three different sets have previously been found at the lake, where water levels have plunged to unprecedented lows amid an unrelenting water crisis in the West.

The previous remains discovered, including a body that was found in a corroding barrel with a gunshot wound, were in advanced stages of decomposition and thus difficult to extract DNA from, officials said.

It’s unclear how long the latest remains found have been in the lake. The homicide division of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police is not currently handling the investigation, Lt. Jason Johansson told CNN.

The police department is, however, leading the investigation into a different body, one found in the barrel on the lake’s Hemenway Harbor on May 1. The body had an obvious gunshot wound and investigators immediately treated it as a homicide investigation, Johansson previously told CNN .

“Anytime you have a body in a barrel, clearly there was somebody else involved,” he said.

Since then, Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse has preliminarily ruled the cause and manner of death a homicide by gunshot. The remains, dubbed Hemenway Harbor Doe by the coroner’s office, belonged to someone who died in the mid-’70s to early ’80s, according to police.

A second set of remains – found on May 7 at Calville Bay – are believed to belong to someone who was approximately between ages 23 and 37, according to Rouse.

It’s unclear how that person died. The Calville Bay remains are more skeletal than the other two sets, which both still have organ tissue available for examination, Rouse said.

A third set of remains – found at the lake’s Swim Beach on July 25 – are only partial and are still at early stages of examination, according to Rouse.

The lake straddles the border of Nevada and Arizona.

While the grim discoveries in the shrinking lake quickly generated theories of mob involvement, Johansson said those ideas are “mere speculation” at this point in the investigation.

A National Park Service spokesperson told CNN one possible explanation for the remains could be that they belong to people who previously drowned at the lake when water levels used to be high.

At its height in ’80s, Lake Mead – the largest manmade reservoir in the country – was 1,225 feet above sea level. But as the mega-drought persists, water levels have plunged this year to the lowest level since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s.

Lake Mead was filled to just 27% of capacity as of July 18, 2022, according to NASA.

Water levels have plummeted so much that, in addition to several bodies, they have exposed a sunken World War II-era vessel, the Park Service announced in early July.

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