An Italian jury freed Amanda Knox today after overturning her murder conviction in the killing of Meredith Kercher in 2007 in Perugia, Italy. Her conviction for defamation, for accusing club owner Patrick Lumumba of the killing. Knox is free to leave Italy. In a statement to the court before deliberations began, Knox said: "I am not what they say I am -- perverse, violent. ... I haven't murdered. I haven't raped. I haven't stolen. I am innocent."
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Results tagged “murder”
State troopers and customs agents arrested Carlos J. Lanns, 24, of Hamilton, N.J., was arrested at Logan Airport on Monday with two kilograms of cocaine stashed in his shoes' insoles. He hid the drugs in checked bags in a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic to Boston. The drugs reportedly have a street value of $200,000. Lanns was charged with trafficking a Class B substance in East Boston District Court on Tuesday and is held on $300,000 with a hearing set for October 5. [WCVB]
Police identified one suspect in the shooting of Woburn officer Robert DeNapoli on Tuesday as Antonio Matos, 25, of Boston. His mother recognized his tattoo and called police through a relative. Matos is in custody and charged with attempted robbery and assault with intent to murder. Three suspects are at-large and are reportedly two medium-skinned Hispanic men and a light-skinned Hispanic woman, 5'4" with long, dark straight hair. Police are searching for a stolen gray 1998 Toyota Camry with a Massachusetts plate of 77HB52. [WCVB]
Onyango Obama, President Obama's uncle, pleaded not guilty in Framingham District Court last week to drunk driving and other charges after his arrest on Wednesday. Obama was ordered deported in 1992 and ignored the order. He had a Massachusetts driver's license and a Social Security number, and was a long-time employee at a liquor store in Framingham. He's being held at the Plymouth County House of Correction. The president's aunt Zeituni Onyango was granted asylum to avoid deportation in 2010. [Globe]
Morris County (N.J.) prosecutors allege that Nazish Noorani, 26, of East Boston, was shot and killed on Tuesday as the result of a plot hatched by her 26-year old husband Kashif Parvaiz and Antionette Stephen, 26, of Billerica. Noorani's husband allegedly gunned her down while the couple walked with their three-year-old son on Tuesday in Boonton, N.J. after a Ramadan celebration.
A woman who allegedly punched her infant son on the Route 23 bus yesterday afternoon was confronted by passengers after leaving the bus in Roxbury at the intersection of Warren and Brunswick streets and held there until police arrived. The mother, identified as Erica Ryan in the Globe, reportedly hit "her child in the mouth with a closed fist" and yelled "Little bastard, you got one more chance." Police said he had dried blood around his mouth and had been crying. She was charged with domestic abuse. [Globe]
The clerk shot during an attempted robbery of a Fitchburg liquor store on Wednesday died this morning. Scott E. Person of Ashby was 40. Earlier today, police arrested Rafael Garcia-Concepcion, 32, in connection with the shooting. He will now be charged with murder. [WCVB]
Former high school wrestling coach David Castricone was indicted on child pornography charges today by an Essex County Grand Jury. Castricone faces two counts of illegal possession of child pornography. He was arrested in February after police allegedly found child pornography at his home. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail. [Boston.com]
James "Whitey" Bulger returned to federal court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to a 32-count indictment for 19 murders. U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler scheduled his next court date for September 14.
Eighteen-year old Nathaniel Fujita of Wayland is being held without bail for the weekend murder of his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Lauren Astley. The teens reportedly met with each other Sunday night. Middelex County DA Gerry Leone said Astley was killed by strangulation and a stab wound to her neck. Police allegedly found substantial evidence at the Fujita home in Wayland that included blood in the garage, kitchen, and bathroom, a bungy cord, and bloody clothes and sneakers in Fujita's bedroom. [WBZ]
James “Whitey” Bulger needed a Coast Guard helicopter, an SUV convoy and several men armed with big guns to get to court on time. We finally got to see Whitey waddling from the helo to the SUV, so that makes it all worth the ridiculously expensive charge taxpayers covered. His dramatic arrival at Logan Airport and subsequent short ride to the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse was, uhhh, necessary because he had two hearings to deal with today.
With James "Whitey" Bulger not due back in court until Thursday, when the court will decide if he gets a taxpayer-funded attorney, lawyers on both sides continue working on the case. Bulger did make an unexpected appearence in court today.
Two men face charges after a Quincy woman was shot by a gun fired from an apartment on the floor above her. Joshua Perry, 26, fired the gun and pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, and firing a gun within 500 feet of a dwelling. The gun belongs to Christopher King, who will likely be summoned to court for improper storage of a large-capacity firearm. The victim was released from Boston Medical Center. The men had reportedly been drinking. [Globe]
A 51-year old Brockton grandmother was shot and killed on Saturday allegedly by a Brockton teenager.
The teenage shooter suspected of killing 19-year old Derek Matulina on May 7 at the Savin Hill MBTA Station was arrested in Portland, Maine on Thursday. Dorchester resident Nhu Nguyen, 19, was arraigned on fugitive charges in Cumberland County Court in Maine and held without bail.
Developer William O’Connell, 71, of Quincy pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated statutory rape, two counts of soliciting sex for a fee and cocaine trafficking. Aggravated statutory rape covers victims aged 14-16. He posted $150,000 bail after his arraignment and his due back in Quincy District Court on July 14. Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey assigned the case to special prosecutor Andrew DiCarlo Berman.
Three people were stabbed on Saturday night at Mama Blanca’s Restaurant on Saratoga Street in East Boston. Police responded around 10:30 p.m. to a fight in progress and found two bloodied people outside. The three men had a verbal altercation inside that led to a physical altercation outside. The suspect was charged with assault and battery by with a dangerous weapon. [WCVB]
A five-year-old boy was found "unresponsive" on Revere Beach Parkway and his mother's boyfriend was arrested on charges of assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury, wantonly or recklessly permitting bodily injury to a child and child endangerment. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Joseph Testa, 28, will be arraigned Monday in Chelsea District Court. The boy is in Mass. General in stable condition. [Universal Hub], [Globe]
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said three men were indicted for their roles in the December armed robbery of Kohl’s department store in Woburn that led to the murder of police officer Jack Maguire. Arthur Cinelli, 50, of Newburyport is charged with conspiracy to commit masked armed robbery and accessory before the fact to masked armed robbery, Scott Hanright, 19, of Wakefield faces murder, masked armed robbery, firearm violations and other charges, and Kevin Dingwell, 51, of Wakefield was indicted on charges of being accessory after the fact of robbery and willfully misleading a police officer. [Herald]
A New Hampshire jury rejected today the insanity defense presented by Christopher Gribble and Judge Gillian Abramson sentenced him to life in prison without parole for killing Kimberly Cates and wounding 11-year old Jaimie Cates in Mont Vernon in 2009.
Police in Boulder, Colorado arrested Kevin Michael McGregor, 22, of Colorado in the shooting death of University of New Hampshire football player Todd Walker, 20, of Edwards, Colorado on Friday. Walker was home for spring vacation. McGregor confonted Walker and a woman he was walking with after a St. Patrick's Day party and eventually shot Walker after a "botched robbery attempt."
Two Beverly teenagers, Sajan Christensen, 18, and Adam Martin, 17, face murder charges after allegedly killing a third Beverly man in a fight "involving a baseball bat" at Balch Park on Cabot Street in Beverly last night. James Vernazzaro died at Beverly Hospital. The victim had stab wounds. Police said they have evidence including a baseball bat. [Globe]
Amy Bishop was indicted on capital murder and attempted murder charges for her involvement in the 2010 killing of three University of Alabama Huntsville professors. She allegedly shot three other faculty members. Bishop allegedly killed her brother in 1986 in Braintree. She was indicted for first-degree murder by the Norfolk district attorney’s office in June. [Globe]
"Clark Rockefeller" or Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, who became known for kidnapping his daughter in 2008 and is currently serving a 4-5 year prison term for it, is now facing murder charges in the 1985 killing of John Sohus, 27, of San Marino, California. Prosecutors want to extradite him to California to face charges and wouldn't say if he was a suspect in the death of Sohus's wife, Linda Sohus, who disappeared when her husband did. Gerhartsreiter, allegedly known as Christopher Chichester at the time, lived in the Sorhus's guest house. Police say Sorhus died of blunt force trauma to the head and found his remains in 1994. All charges alleged until proven under law. [Globe]
Michael Losee, 41, pleaded not guilty to murder in the stabbing death of his husband, Brian Bergeron, 55, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone called a case of "domestic violence." He was held without bail. Losee turned himself in after police found the body of Bergeron wrapped in a blue tarp at their Clarendon Street home. [Globe]
Police are looking for Luis Guaman, 33, in connection with the death of a Brockon mother and her son. Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela, of Brockton, and her two-year old son Brian were found dead in a dumpster on Sunday. Authorities believe he fled to Ecuador. Guaman has multiple aliases and pending warrants. The Wall St. Journal referred to Guaman as an "illegal immigrant."[Brockton Enterprise]
Police arrested 34-year-old Aparicio Velencia De La Cruz in connection with the deaths of 25-year-old Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela and her 2-year-old son Brian Palaguachi. De La Cruz lives in the same building as the victims will be arraigned Wednesday in Brockton District Court on a charge of misleading police. The victims were found dead in a dumpster Sunday on Warren Avenue. [MyFoxBoston], [Herald]
A Boston man was charged with indecent assault and battery after groping a woman on the thigh and groin outside of her pants on an MBTA Orange Line train on Wednesday. The victim resisted and took a picture of the suspect with her cell phone. She left the train at the Jackson Square Station and told the T about the incident. MBTA police located him at the Forest Hills Train Station. [WCVB]
Three men, one armed, allegedly robbed a D'Angelo's sandwich shop on Route 28 in Randolph and were arrested after fleeing the scene. Police found the suspects in a car less a a quarter mile away from the scene and the men were changing from clothes that matched the robbers clothes. Police found three blue sweatshirts, a black bag with money, a ski mask, plastic flex cuffs, and a BB gun. They were arrested and charged then with armed robbery. The trio is suspected in other crimes. [Globe]