murder

Read the latest murder news stories, recent child murder cases, and other reports on Newser.com

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In One Year, Huge Declines in Murder, Violent Crime

CCJ report finds largest recorded single-year drop in the US murder rate

(Newser) - The US murder rate appears to have fallen to its lowest level in well over a century. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice —based on incomplete FBI data, crime figures from 40 cities, and other sources—estimates the 2025 national homicide rate will be the...

NC Mom Accused of Poisoning 3 at Thanksgiving Dinner

After investigation of daughter's death, Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel was also charged in 2007 murder

(Newser) - North Carolina investigators say a 2025 poisoning death has cracked open a homicide case that had been cold for nearly two decades. Authorities on Wednesday announced the arrest of 52-year-old Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel of Hendersonville, who is accused of killing her adult daughter, identified as Leela Livis, last November. An arrest...

Suspected Serial Killer's Tally Raised to 6

DNA evidence links Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. to 2 additional Colonial Parkway murders

(Newser) - A string of unsolved killings that loomed over Virginia's Colonial Parkway for decades just came into sharper focus. The FBI on Tuesday revealed a dead man previously implicated in two of at least eight killings and disappearances of young people along or near the parkway between 1986 and 1989...

Texas Executed a Black Man With an Alibi. Now, Contrition

Dallas County resolution seeks symbolic justice in racially charged 1956 case

(Newser) - Texas' Dallas County is poised to say out loud what many Black residents have believed for decades: that the state executed an innocent man in 1956. In a special meeting Wednesday, county commissioners are expected to hear evidence and vote on a symbolic resolution clearing Tommy Lee Walker, a 21-year-old...

Loggers Accused in Amazon Protector's Contract Killing

5 go on trial for the killing of an Indigenous Kichwa tribal leader in Peru

(Newser) - The trial is due to start Tuesday for five men over the killing of an Indigenous Amazon leader, in a rare legal case that prosecutors and advocates say could test whether Peru can hold perpetrators accountable for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking in one of the world'...

Nick Reiner's Ex-Conservator Calls Case 'Horrible Tragedy'

Arrangement in 2020 underscores the severity of his long-standing mental health struggles

(Newser) - Nick Reiner's mental health history is emerging as a key backdrop as he faces charges of killing his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and activist-producer Michele Singer Reiner. Two people familiar with the matter tell the New York Times that the younger Reiner, 32, was under a court-ordered mental health...

Arrest Made in Couple's Double Murder in Ohio
Suspect in Ohio Murders
Sees Charges Upgraded
UPDATED
Jan 12, 2026 12:12 PM CST

Suspect in Ohio Murders Sees Charges Upgraded

Chicago surgeon, ex-husband of one of the victims, could face the death penalty

(Newser) - The man accused of killing his ex-wife and her husband in Ohio had his murder charges upgraded on Monday. Michael McKee now faces two counts of premeditated aggravated murder, which means he faces the possibility of a life sentence without parole or even the death penalty, reports the Columbus Dispatch ...

Drifter's Crimes of Infanticide Were 'Pure Evil'

Paul Allen Perez convicted of multiple counts of murder related to deaths of his 5 children

(Newser) - A California drifter has been convicted of killing five of his own infants over the course of a decade, according to reports. A Yolo County jury on Tuesday found 63-year-old Paul Allen Perez guilty of one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, and one count of assault...

Killer Who Claims 100 Victims Admits One More

'Torso Killer' Richard Cottingham confesses to 1965 slaying of Alys Eberhardt in NYC

(Newser) - One of the New York City area's most notorious serial killers has confessed to another killing, per the AP . Police in New Jersey announced Tuesday that Richard Cottingham, known as the "Torso Killer," has admitted killing Alys Eberhardt in 1965. The 18-year-old was found dead in her...

Pamela Smart: My Conviction Should Be Reversed

In prison for life without parole for setting up her husband's 1990 murder, Smart says trial was flawed

(Newser) - Pamela Smart, serving life in prison for orchestrating the murder of her husband by her teenage student in 1990, is seeking to overturn her conviction over what her lawyers claim were several constitutional violations. The petition for habeas corpus relief was filed Monday in New York, where Smart is being...

Video Shows Person of Interest in Ohio Double Murder

Individual seen in early hours of Dec. 30 in alley near the home of Spencer and Monique Tepe

(Newser) - Police in Columbus, Ohio, have released surveillance footage of a person they want to identify as they investigate the fatal shootings of a local dentist and his wife. The video, recorded between 2am and 5am on Dec. 30 in an alley beside the home of Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, and...

Police Had Been Called to Rob Reiner's Home Before

Police twice answered 2019 welfare and mental health calls

(Newser) - Police had been called to Rob Reiner's Los Angeles home years before the filmmaker and his wife were found dead there last month. Records reviewed by People show LAPD officers went to the Brentwood residence twice in 2019: once in February for a welfare check and again that September...

15-Year-Old Charged With Killing His Uber Driver

Police say Georgia suspect shot driver on New Year's Day, stole his vehicle

(Newser) - An early-morning New Year's Day ride in suburban Atlanta ended in lethal violence for a 58-year-old Uber driver, and a 15-year-old is now facing an adult murder charge, reports Fox News . Police in Lawrenceville, about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta, say Cesar Tejada of Grayson picked up a passenger...

After Dentist Misses Work, Cops Uncover Double Murder

Columbus couple were murdered in their home but their 2 young children were unharmed

(Newser) - An Ohio dentist's missed shift led authorities to uncover a double killing that has left two young children without their parents and police hunting for a gunman. Officers conducting a welfare check Tuesday morning at the Columbus home of Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife, Monique, 39, found the...

It Looks Like Homicides Are Way, Way Down in the US

Or so indicates preliminary data from 550 law enforcement agencies

(Newser) - If you had to guess, would you say the US homicide count went up or down in 2025? Preliminary data suggests the answer is down—way, way down. In fact, the US is poised to record the steepest single-year drop in US homicides since FBI record-keeping began in 1960, crime...

Reality TV Star Accused of Murdering Cellmate

Chad Ollinger of Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch allegedly killed the man in a fight

(Newser) - A reality TV treasure hunter from Utah is accused of killing a man inside a Las Vegas jail. Police say Chad Ollinger, 41, star of Discovery Channel's Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, was arrested Oct. 27 on a fugitive warrant and contempt of court charge, per the Las Vegas ...

In Alaska Murder, Arresting the Boyfriend Was a Big Mistake
In Alaska Murder, Arresting the
Boyfriend Was a Big Mistake
in case you missed it
Dec 28, 2025 10:00 AM CST

In Alaska Murder, Arresting the Boyfriend Was a Big Mistake

ProPublica analyzes 2015 murder of Eunice Whitman in Alaska, still unsolved

(Newser) - Alaska didn't solve who killed 23-year-old Eunice Whitman, but its justice system did manage to lock up the wrong man for seven years, ProPublica reports, in a gripping investigation of two eerily similar murders that police have not linked. Whitman of Bethel, Alaska, was found in May 2015 on...

Mom Accused of Killing Daughter, 9, Enters a Plea

California's Ashlee Buzzard, who pleaded not guilty, faces life without parole if convicted

(Newser) - A California mother accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter in Utah has formally denied the charge and will remain behind bars as the case moves forward. Ashlee Buzzard, 40, of Lompoc, entered a not-guilty plea on Friday to a first-degree murder charge with special allegations in the death of her...

California Farm Heir Charged in Estranged Wife's Murder

Agribusiness scion Michael Abatti faces first-degree murder charge in Arizona

(Newser) - A homicide case in an Arizona mountain town has drawn in one of California's most powerful farming dynasties. Authorities say 63-year-old Michael Abatti, scion of an Imperial Valley agribusiness family, is being held in Imperial County, California, and is expected to be extradited to Arizona to face first-degree murder...

Former Child Performer in Lion King Dies in Stabbing

Imani Smith was Young Nala in the Broadway production

(Newser) - A former child performer on Broadway who voiced Young Nala in The Lion King died after being stabbed in New Jersey—and a man described as her boyfriend is facing murder charges. Imani Smith, said to be either 25 or 26, died after being stabbed on Sunday at her home...

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