Courtroom

Court proceedings are scheduled to begin next month in the murder trial of Robert Howard, an Alabama sex offender accused of killing 12-year-old Pensacola girl Naomi Jones. The Ensley girl went missing from her apartment May 31, 2017, setting off a community-wide search effort that ended when Naomi's remains were found in a creek June 5, 2017. Howard was identified as a suspect early on in the disappearance, and he was arrested two days after Naomi was found. He reportedly confessed to strangling Naomi and now faces the death penalty. In a hearing Friday afternoon, attorneys argued whether the specific details about the condition of Naomi's remains were important evidence or just gory details meant to draw an emotional response from...

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2019/09/06/indiana-homicide-skylea-carmack-amanda-carmack-gas-city-body-trash-bag-shed-abuse-confinement/2232319001/ Court docs: Stepmom killed Gas City girl over charm bracelet. Abuse, confinement marked her last hours. Skylea Carmack had been confined to her room for more than a week, before her stepmother allegedly choked the 10-year-old Gas City girl to death last week, according to court documents. Grant County prosecutors on Friday formally charged Amanda D. Carmack, 34, with murder, neglect, domestic battery and strangulation in Skylea's death. They’re seeking a life sentence in prison without parole, records show. Carmack reported Skylea as a runaway at 9:10 p.m. Aug. 31, but by that...

A Florida man and his father have been indicted in the death of the son’s estranged wife. An Osceola County grand jury formally charged Christopher Otero-Rivera with second-degree murder on Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reported. He faces a possible life sentence. Otero-Rivera’s father, Angel Rivera, is charged with being an accessory after the fact and faces up to 15 years in prison. Nicole Montalvo, 33, was found dead in October on property owned by Rivera, investigators said. The St. Cloud woman had gone missing several days earlier after dropping off her 8-year-old son at the Riveras’ home. https://apnews.com/4552dc6f432a062db033c1c496f89d2f