criminal offenses

Brittany Higgins: Rape case that shook Australian politics abandoned over mental health fears

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Brittany Higgins: Rape case that shook Australian politics abandoned over mental health fears

Sydney, Australia CNN — Prosecutors in Australia have ended high-profile legal action against a former government staffer accused of raping a colleague inside Parliament House, saying a retrial would pose a “significant and unacceptable risk” to the woman’s life. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told reporters Friday that the … Read more

Confusion deepens over whether any of the 4 University of Idaho students were targeted in fatal stabbings

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Confusion deepens over whether any of the 4 University of Idaho students were targeted in fatal stabbings

CNN — Detectives do not know whether one or more of the four University of Idaho students killed in their off-campus home last month were specifically targeted, police said Wednesday – in what may be their strongest departure yet from their earlier statements. Police say they’re reacting specifically to information they say a prosecutor’s office … Read more

The family of the alleged ‘catfish’ killer’s victims in California speak out

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The family of the alleged 'catfish' killer's victims in California speak out

CNN — Une femme whose parents and sister were killed last week in the alleged “catfish” triple homicide in Riverside, California, is urgent families to speak to their children about online safety. Michelle Blandin, whose father, Mark Winek, 69, mother, Sharie Winek, 65, and sister, Brooke Winek, 39, were killed November 25, warned parents to … Read more

Idaho State Police adds patrols to university campus ahead of vigil for four students killed in unsolved stabbings

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Inside the investigation into who killed 4 college students in Moscow, Idaho

CNN — Idaho State Police has added four campus patrols and 14 patrols for the general community as the University of Idaho prepares to host a vigil Wednesday night for the four students fatally stabbed earlier this month. Investigators have yet to identify a suspect or find the murder weapon, and the uncertainty and lack … Read more

Kevin Johnson: Missouri executes man who murdered police officer in 2005 after Supreme Court denies request for a stay

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Kevin Johnson: Missouri executes man who murdered police officer

CNN — Kevin Johnson – who murdered a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer in 2005 but claimed racial bias in his prosecution – was executed Tuesday night by lethal injection. Johnson, 37, was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m. CT. He didn’t give a final statement, according to Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann. The execution … Read more

Kevin Johnson: Missouri executes man who murdered police officer

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Kevin Johnson: Missouri executes man who murdered police officer

CNN — [Breaking news update, published at 9:25 p.m. ET] Kevin Johnson – who murdered a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer in 2005, but claimed racial bias in his prosecution – was executed Tuesday night by lethal injection. Johnson, 37, was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m. CT. He didn’t give a final statement, according to Department … Read more

Riverside murders: The man accused of killing a teen’s family after ‘catfishing’ her was hired by a Virginia sheriff’s office earlier this month. Here’s what we know

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Riverside murders: The man accused of killing a teen's family after 'catfishing' her was hired by a Virginia sheriff's office earlier this month. Here's what we know

CNN — Roughly 10 days after a former Virginia state trooper was hired by a sheriff’s office in that state, he traveled to Southern California and allegedly killed the family of a teenager he had catfished online, officials said. Austin Lee Edwards, 28, died in a shootout with authorities Friday, hours after he allegedly killed … Read more

Buffalo grocery store mass shooter pleads guilty to terrorism and murder charges in racist attack

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Buffalo grocery store mass shooter pleads guilty to terrorism and murder charges in racist attack

CNN — The gunman who killed 10 people and wounded three in May in a racist attack at a grocery store in a efficiently Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty Monday to state charges of domestic terrorism as a hate crime, murder and attempted murder. Payton Gendron, a 19-year-old White man, pleaded guilty … Read more

Riverside murders: Virginia man accused of ‘catfishing’ teen before killing her family, police say

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Riverside murders: Virginia man accused of 'catfishing' teen before killing her family, police say

CNN — A former Virginia police officer, believed to have murdered a teenager’s family in Riverside, California after “catfishing” her online, was killed in a shootout while trying to flee authorities, the city’s police department said in a news release. Officers with the Riverside Police were dispatched Friday to check the welfare of a young … Read more

Thomas James: Navy petty officer who helped disarm Colorado nightclub shooter speaks out for first time

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Thomas James: Navy petty officer who helped disarm Colorado nightclub shooter speaks out for first time

CNN — Thomas James, one of the two men who helped disarm a shooter during last week’s mass shooting inside Club Q in Colorado Springs, issued his first statement about his role in the attack on Sunday. “I simply wanted to save the family I found,” James, a US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class, said … Read more