3 Children, Dead Mom Abandoned When Dad Commits Arson In Fake Home-Invasion In PA, DA Says 3 Children, Dead Mom Abandoned When Dad Commits Arson In Fake Home-Invasion In PA, DA Says
3 Children, Dead Mom Abandoned When Dad Commits Arson In Fake Home-Invasion In PA, DA Says "He lied since day one," Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ponessa said of Carlos Montalvo-Rivera.  The 55-year-old Lancaster liar had concocted a wild story "that intruders broke into the home, killed his wife, and set fire to it out of retaliation for the victim’s brother, who had cooperated with the DEA in an unrelated case," according to a release by the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office on Friday, April 7, 2023. Really, he started the blaze to cover up a murder that he himself had committed, authorities said. Montalvo-Rivera's lies started on the night of t…
Diplomat's Daughter Gets 35 Years For Maryland Margarita Murder Diplomat's Daughter Gets 35 Years For Maryland Margarita Murder
Diplomat's Daughter Gets 35 Years For Maryland Margarita Murder The 30-year-old daughter of George W. Bush's national intelligence director was sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing her friend in a margarita-fueled, Maryland argument in 2020, authorities said. Sophia Negroponte, whose father is John Negroponte, had been drinking the night she killed 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen on Feb. 13, 2020, according to the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. She was convicted of the murder on Jan. 3, 2023. In the heat of an argument, Rasmussen tried to leave the scene at an apartment on the 400 block of Montgomery Avenue, but coul…
UPDATE: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico UPDATE: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico
Update: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico An aging Connecticut ex-con would have to turn 90 to taste freedom again after he was sentenced for stabbing a political consultant to death and then torching his Jersey City apartment in a murder-for-hire hit with a longtime crony from Philadelphia. The odds are stacked against George Bratsenis, 74, of Monroe, who reportedly has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. There's also no parole in the federal prison system. Unless he’s granted a compassionate release for health reasons, Bratsenis will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained 16-year sentence approved by …
Friends Led Police To PA Mom Killed By Son: Authorities Friends Led Police To PA Mom Killed By Son: Authorities
Friends Led Police To PA Mom Killed By Son: Authorities The friends of Lois Gift knew something was wrong when she didn't come to local activities she regularly attended, little did they know her son had killed her, police explained in a release on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.  The 62-year-old had a disagreement with her son when he tried to take her purse, and during the fight he strangled her to death, then he stole her car and fled— only to crash it a few hours later and be hospitalized until he confessed to the killing on March 19, Ephrata police said.  Officers ultimately discovered Lois when "multiple friends" filed reports for a welfare ch…
4-Week-Old Infant Murdered By PA Parents, Police Say 4-Week-Old Infant Murdered By PA Parents, Police Say
4-Week-Old Infant Murdered By PA Parents, Police Say A Central Pennsylvania couple has been "charged with murder and endangering the welfare of a child," police said in a release on Thursday, March 23, 2023.  The child killed was the 4-week-old son of now 26-year-old Corey Dale Robbins, and 25-year-old Breanna L. Witten, 25, Harrisburg police detailed in the release. Witten was arrested on Monday, March 20 at 12:30 p.m. followed by Robbins on Tuesday, March 21 at 7:45 a.m., according to the police.  The pair have been held in the Dauphin County Prison after being denied bail due to the nature of the charges per state law, both the …
Baby Clinging To Life After Lower Paxton Drowning Dies, Dad Charged With Murder, Police Say Baby Clinging To Life After Lower Paxton Drowning Dies, Dad Charged With Murder, Police Say
Baby Clinging To Life After Lower Paxton Drowning Dies, Dad Charged With Murder, Police Say On August 18, 2022, a Lower Paxton Township dad was spotted screaming his "infant had drowned"— now the baby has died, authorities announced on March 8, 2023.  Devine Davis, 29, was arrested on assault charges for the drowning in the 4900 block of Wynnewood Road after an investigation, according to the Lower Paxton Township Bureau of Police.  The infant had suffered life-threatening injuries but clung on until Feb. 22, 2023, the police say.  Davis was charged with murder on March 7, 2023.  He has been denied bail and remains in prison.  No additional information …
UPDATE: Admitted Hit Man From Philly Gets 20 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico UPDATE: Admitted Hit Man From Philly Gets 20 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico
Update: Admitted Hit Man From Philly Gets 20 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico A currently incarcerated career criminal from Philadelphia was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the contract killing of a veteran campaign consultant in New Jersey. Bomani Africa, 62, previously admitted accepting payment from former political operative Sean Caddle to whack former associate Michael Galdieri. Galdieri, the 52-year-old son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City), was stabbed to death in his Jersey City apartment, which was then set on fire, in May 2014. The killing had publicly remained a cold case until January 2022, when Caddle pleaded guilty in U.S…
Homeless Man Who Strangled Woman In Her PA Apartment Charged With Homicide: Police Homeless Man Who Strangled Woman In Her PA Apartment Charged With Homicide: Police
Homeless Man Who Strangled Woman In Her PA Apartment Charged With Homicide: Police A man accused of strangling a Schuylkill County woman to death in her home now faces murder charges, authorities say.  Destiny Duckett, 22, was found dead in her Market Square Apartment residence on Monday, Feb. 13, Pottsville police have said in a statement. Her manner of death was later ruled a homicide by manner of strangulation, they added.  Detectives and forensic experts analyzed evidence at the scene as well as surveillance video and eyewitness accounts.  The investigation led them to 22-year-old Jared Rahim Abdul-Ali, who was already locked up at the Schuylkill Count…
Bucks Gunman Faces Murder Charge In Slaying Of Temple University Officer Bucks Gunman Faces Murder Charge In Slaying Of Temple University Officer
Bucks Gunman Faces Murder Charge In Slaying Of Temple University Officer An 18-year-old Bucks County man is facing various charges including murder in connection with the shooting death of Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, authorities said. Miles Pfeffer was captured at his home on the 2300 block of Quarry Road in Buckingham Township by members of the US Marshals — who used Fitzgerald's handcuffs to take him into custody — at 7:12 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, according to Daily Voice sources and the Bucks County DA's Office. Miles Pfeffer was captured in the shooting of Temple U officer Chris Fitzgerald.US Marshals Office/Miles Pfeffer Instag…
Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA
Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA A former PSE&G employee shot and killed his supervisor outside the utility company's Somerset County facility on Wednesday, Feb. 8,  authorities say.  But this "one-of-a-kind" man's legacy will live on through his daughter, according to his family. Russell "Russ" D. Heller, 51-year-old councilman in Milford, NJ, was gunned down by 58-year-old Gary T. Curtis on Weston Canal Road in Franklin Township shortly after 7 a.m. Feb. 8, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Curtis soon turned the gun on himself, and both men died the same day, as Daily Voice previously reported.  H…
12-Year-Old Raped, Strangled, Hid In Freezer ID'd As PA Girl Who Would 'Light Up The Room' 12-Year-Old Raped, Strangled, Hid In Freezer ID'd As PA Girl Who Would 'Light Up The Room'
12-Year-Old Raped, Strangled, Hid In Freezer ID'd As PA Girl Who Would 'Light Up The Room' A girl who was raped, strangled, and hidden in a basement freezer by her mom's ex-boyfriend has been identified by the Lancaster Coroner as of Monday, February 13, 2023.  Elaina Smith, 12, of Columbia Borough, has been identified as the girl who died in this horrific way, according to the coroner's office. Her death was ruled a homicide as a result of strangulation, the coroner’s office says. Her mom's ex-boyfriend 39-year-old Jason Jerod Shackelford, of Columbia, was arrested on Friday, Feb. 10.  He is accused of raping Elaina at his ex-girlfriend Tiffany Smith's home in the…
12-Year-Old Raped By Mom's Ex-BF Who Hid Her Body In The Freezer, LanCo. DA Says 12-Year-Old Raped By Mom's Ex-BF Who Hid Her Body In The Freezer, LanCo. DA Says
12-Year-Old Raped By Mom's Ex-BF Who Hid Her Body In The Freezer, LanCo. DA Says A  39-year-old kidnapped a mother and a child separately and raped them at a local hotel— then killed the daughter and tried to hide her in the mother's freezer, authorities announced on Friday, Feb. 10 just a few hours after the girl's body was found in the home.  Jason Shackelford, of Columbia, "raped and killed his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter on the night of Feb. 8 into the morning of Feb. 9 at a home in the 500 block of Avenue H in Columbia. He stated he attempted to conceal the victim’s body in a freezer in the basement," the Lancaster County District Attorney says. …