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THIS JUST IN ~ CURRENT CRIME STORIES #2

Video report at link also.

ide Tonig LifeporCommunitWe the Peo

Man stabs woman in throat on Charlotte light rail minutes after she sits down, records say​

Woman who recently fled from Ukraine killed in stabbing on Aug. 22, 2025

By Connor Lomis
Published: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM BST|Updated: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM BST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A woman was stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail just minutes after sitting in front of the man accused of attacking her, according to an affidavit obtained Thursday.
On Friday, Aug. 22, a woman identified as 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on the light rail in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, officials reported. Zarutska’s family said she had recently fled to Charlotte from war-torn Ukraine.
Records showed that 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. was charged on Thursday, Aug. 28, with murder in Zarutska’s killing. An affidavit published on Aug. 23 and obtained by WBTV on Thursday, Aug. 28, accused Brown of stabbing Zarutska in the throat.
Brown was being held without bond.

Decarlos Brown Jr.
Decarlos Brown Jr.(Courtesy: Mecklenburg County Jail)
---> Related: Woman killed in Charlotte light rail stabbing recently fled from Ukraine, loved ones say

Affidavit outlines graphic new details

The stabbing happened on Friday, Aug. 22, on a Lynx Blue Line train at the East/West Boulevard station along Camden Road in South End, according to officials.
Video retrieved from inside the light rail showed Zarutska getting on the train car and sitting in a seat in front of Brown, according to an affidavit obtained by WBTV on Aug. 28.
The train traveled for about four and a half minutes before Brown allegedly pulled a knife from his pocket, unfolded it, paused, stood up, and stabbed Zarutska three times.
Zarutska was stabbed in the middle of the throat at least one of those times, officials said.
It was believed that Zarutska and Brown did not know each other. There “appeared to be no interaction” between the two on the light rail before the stabbing, the affidavit said.
--> Related: At least 5 injuries reported on Charlotte light rail in 2025 prior to deadly stabbing
Police reports said Brown walked away as Zarutska began bleeding out. She became unresponsive shortly after being stabbed, officials said.
Zarutska was pronounced dead from knife wounds at the scene.
Brown was reportedly found shortly after the stabbing, arrested, and taken to the hospital for a laceration on the outside of his hand. It was not immediately clear how Brown was injured in the attack.
Officials had not given a motive for Brown’s alleged attack on Zarutska, as of this writing.


Brown previously arrested

Records showed that Charlotte police had arrested Brown before -- most recently for reportedly misusing 911.
According to a January arrest record, Brown told responding officers during a welfare check that he believed someone had given him “man-made” material that was inside his body, controlling when he ate, walked, and talked.
--> Also read: Off-duty officer dies after crashing into car in York County, coroner says
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.
 
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Good mix of interviews. Crime Con.

There is a Crime Con cruise next November Nate is invited on. This might explain Crime Con being in May as the cruise is in the fall.

 

What you missed inside courtroom as Erin Patterson was jailed for 33 year​

9308bc78644887fca795a347899eed07

Erin Patterson’s defiant last act inside a Melbourne courtroom was witnessed by only a handful of journalists. This is what we saw.

Listen to this article

Erin Patterson glared at media.
It was a final, defiant look witnessed by two benches full of 12 journalists from Australia and around the world — those who had lined up early enough to claim one of the dozen seats with a view of the triple murderer as she learnt her fate.

For almost 10 seconds, she refused to break eye contact. With her hair down, dressed in a camel coloured jacket and floral shirt, Patterson’s glare struck as an act of intimidation or loathing.

She was not visible on the livestream broadcast of her sentencing. Those in the public gallery, many of whom had travelled from around the state to witness this moment, could not see her face.

In the dock, Patterson did not look around. Had she looked left, she would have spotted Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor of the poisoned lunch that killed three of her in-laws and thrust her into the global spotlight as one of the world’s most evil killers.

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: NewsWire / Jason South

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: NewsWire / Jason South
Had she looked up, she would have noticed familiar faces craning in the public gallery’s upstairs section to get a glimpse at their former neighbour, friend and acquaintance.

Flanked by two security guards, she sat still inside a courtroom full of intricate ornate plaster ceilings, decorative cornices and a giant chandelier — a stark contrast to the tiny prison cell she will today return to, one described by fellow inmates as a “pig sty”.

For 45 minutes, Patterson looked ahead towards Justice Christopher Beale.

She blinked rapidly as Justice Beale told her “only you know why you committed (the murders)”.

She did not react when Justice Beale recalled her online comments labelling her estranged husband “a deadbeat”.

Then she closed her eyes. They remained closed from 9.52am until 9.59am.

They remained closed while Justice Beale scolded her for “pitiless behaviour”.

They remained closed while he thundered at her about the “elaborate cover up of your guilt” and the “untold suffering” and “enormous betrayal of trust” towards her victims, victims he said “were all your relatives and who had all been good to you”.

Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate's Court in Morwell, Australia. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP

Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate's Court in Morwell, Australia. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP
She refused to open her eyes while Justice Beale described “the terrible way your victims died” and “anger at the callousness” of her crimes.

Her lips pursed while Justice Beale asked how anyone “could sit there and watch those four kind people eat that meal” — a reference to the beef wellington lunch she laced with fatal deathcap mushrooms in a deliberate attempt to kill her own family.

She opened her eyes only when Justice Beale spoke about an opportunity she now has, specifically to accept the forgiveness of Mr Wilkinson, a gesture inspired by his Christian faith during his victim impact statement bravely read out last month.

Details of Patterson’s upbringing were read out in court. Her relationship with her estranged husband, the birth of her children, family holidays, the death of her father and mother, her separation. Through it all, her eyes were closed.

“There is no evidence of remorse,” Justice Beale told her.

Then she would learn her fate.

“Is it inappropriate to fix a non-parole period? This is the main dispute that I have to determine,” he told her, hinting at the slightest of mercies.

“You have effectively been held in solitary confinement for 15 months and will continue to be held in solitary confinement for years to come.”

“Please stand,” he said. She opened her eyes, stood up straight and braced herself as he told her she would spend the next 33 years at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre — Victoria’s only maximum security women’s prison. She will be 82 when she’s served her non-parole period.

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria Monday 25th August ahead of her sentencing. Picture: Jason Edwards/NewsWire/AFP

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria Monday 25th August ahead of her sentencing. Picture: Jason Edwards/NewsWire/AFP
Patterson, heavy under the weight of the sentence, swayed briefly before she made her slow shuffle back out of court. She did not say a word, nor did any member of the public gallery. A silent, disgraced end to a saga that has gripped so many inside the courtroom and around the world.

As Patterson made her way from the dock, she grabbed a bannister. On her way out the door, she touched every piece of sculpted timber that lined her walkway.

Then she knocked twice on the media desks — a less than subtle message at those who have scrutinised her every action and reaction since the murders.

Those outside court celebrated. Some had woken as early as 1.30am for a 2am departure from Leongatha to close this chapter in person.

A chapter that ends in infamy — Patterson’s 33 year sentence is among the longest of any woman in Victorian history.

The only woman in Victoria serving a longer sentence is Momena Shoma, the Bangladeshi exchange student turned terrorist who was jailed for 42 years for an act of terrorism.

Shoma, fittingly, is in the protection unit right next to Erin Patterson.

The two have much in common now. But as Justice Beale alluded to during his remarks on Monday, they refused to speak, despite sharing an adjoining courtyard and having access to one another through a chainlink fence
 
Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia (Photo credit x/@SCVSupremeCourt)

Melbourne [Australia], September 8 (ANI): A woman in Australia convicted of triple murder has been sentenced to 33 years in prison without parole for killing three of her estranged husband's relatives with toxic mushrooms.Erin Pattersonwas convicted of murdering three relatives by serving them lunch laced with death cap mushrooms in July 2023, local media reported.Australian Associated Press reported that Erin Patterson, 50, was sentenced to life in prison with a 33-year non-parole period by a Supreme Court of Victoria judge. The trial marked the first time that the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday allowed a television camera into the court to broadcast the judge's sentencing remarks live due to overwhelming public interest.Justice Christopher Beale's sentence of Erin Patterson was livestreamed and televised on September 8.Justice Beale made the decision the allow the television camera to broadcast to increase understanding of the work of the court."Given the intense public interest in the case, the broadcast will provide an opportunity to inform the public of the reasons for sentence promptly and completely," he said.Following a jury trial which ran from April to July this year, Patterson was found guilty of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson.She was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of Heather Wilkinson's husband, Ian, the Australian news agency reported. All of the sentences are to be served concurrently.

The news report said that Patterson sat glum-faced in the court dock, dressed in a paisley top and brown jacket, as the judge read out his sentencing remarks.Patterson invited the three murder victims and Heather Wilkinson's husband, Ian, to her house in Leongatha for a family lunch on July 29, 2023.Unknown to the guests, their beef Wellington portions contained toxic death cap mushrooms.She had pretended to have been diagnosed with cancer as a reason to bring them together, and claimed to have wanted advice on how to break the news to her two children, who were not present at the lunch.The day after the lunch, all four guests were in hospital and their health began to rapidly decline in the days that followed.Sisters Heather and Gail died on August 4, while Don Patterson died on August 5. Ian Wilkinson survived after a long stint in hospital.The judge said the crime involved "substantial premeditation" and was planned about two weeks before the lunch, when Patterson invited the guests..In his sentencing, the judge also drew attention to Patterson's apparent lack of remorse over her offence.Patterson has been in custody since she was charged on November 2, 2023. She now has now has 28 days to appeal her sentence, local media reported
 
Video report at link also.

ide Tonig LifeporCommunitWe the Peo

Man stabs woman in throat on Charlotte light rail minutes after she sits down, records say​

Woman who recently fled from Ukraine killed in stabbing on Aug. 22, 2025

By Connor Lomis
Published: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM BST|Updated: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM BST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A woman was stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail just minutes after sitting in front of the man accused of attacking her, according to an affidavit obtained Thursday.
On Friday, Aug. 22, a woman identified as 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on the light rail in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, officials reported. Zarutska’s family said she had recently fled to Charlotte from war-torn Ukraine.
Records showed that 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. was charged on Thursday, Aug. 28, with murder in Zarutska’s killing. An affidavit published on Aug. 23 and obtained by WBTV on Thursday, Aug. 28, accused Brown of stabbing Zarutska in the throat.
Brown was being held without bond.

Decarlos Brown Jr.
Decarlos Brown Jr.(Courtesy: Mecklenburg County Jail)
---> Related: Woman killed in Charlotte light rail stabbing recently fled from Ukraine, loved ones say

Affidavit outlines graphic new details

The stabbing happened on Friday, Aug. 22, on a Lynx Blue Line train at the East/West Boulevard station along Camden Road in South End, according to officials.
Video retrieved from inside the light rail showed Zarutska getting on the train car and sitting in a seat in front of Brown, according to an affidavit obtained by WBTV on Aug. 28.
The train traveled for about four and a half minutes before Brown allegedly pulled a knife from his pocket, unfolded it, paused, stood up, and stabbed Zarutska three times.
Zarutska was stabbed in the middle of the throat at least one of those times, officials said.
It was believed that Zarutska and Brown did not know each other. There “appeared to be no interaction” between the two on the light rail before the stabbing, the affidavit said.
--> Related: At least 5 injuries reported on Charlotte light rail in 2025 prior to deadly stabbing
Police reports said Brown walked away as Zarutska began bleeding out. She became unresponsive shortly after being stabbed, officials said.
Zarutska was pronounced dead from knife wounds at the scene.
Brown was reportedly found shortly after the stabbing, arrested, and taken to the hospital for a laceration on the outside of his hand. It was not immediately clear how Brown was injured in the attack.
Officials had not given a motive for Brown’s alleged attack on Zarutska, as of this writing.


Brown previously arrested

Records showed that Charlotte police had arrested Brown before -- most recently for reportedly misusing 911.
According to a January arrest record, Brown told responding officers during a welfare check that he believed someone had given him “man-made” material that was inside his body, controlling when he ate, walked, and talked.
--> Also read: Off-duty officer dies after crashing into car in York County, coroner says
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.

What you missed inside courtroom as Erin Patterson was jailed for 33 year​

9308bc78644887fca795a347899eed07

Erin Patterson’s defiant last act inside a Melbourne courtroom was witnessed by only a handful of journalists. This is what we saw.

Listen to this article

Erin Patterson glared at media.
It was a final, defiant look witnessed by two benches full of 12 journalists from Australia and around the world — those who had lined up early enough to claim one of the dozen seats with a view of the triple murderer as she learnt her fate.

For almost 10 seconds, she refused to break eye contact. With her hair down, dressed in a camel coloured jacket and floral shirt, Patterson’s glare struck as an act of intimidation or loathing.

She was not visible on the livestream broadcast of her sentencing. Those in the public gallery, many of whom had travelled from around the state to witness this moment, could not see her face.

In the dock, Patterson did not look around. Had she looked left, she would have spotted Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor of the poisoned lunch that killed three of her in-laws and thrust her into the global spotlight as one of the world’s most evil killers.

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: NewsWire / Jason South

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: NewsWire / Jason South
Had she looked up, she would have noticed familiar faces craning in the public gallery’s upstairs section to get a glimpse at their former neighbour, friend and acquaintance.

Flanked by two security guards, she sat still inside a courtroom full of intricate ornate plaster ceilings, decorative cornices and a giant chandelier — a stark contrast to the tiny prison cell she will today return to, one described by fellow inmates as a “pig sty”.

For 45 minutes, Patterson looked ahead towards Justice Christopher Beale.

She blinked rapidly as Justice Beale told her “only you know why you committed (the murders)”.

She did not react when Justice Beale recalled her online comments labelling her estranged husband “a deadbeat”.

Then she closed her eyes. They remained closed from 9.52am until 9.59am.

They remained closed while Justice Beale scolded her for “pitiless behaviour”.

They remained closed while he thundered at her about the “elaborate cover up of your guilt” and the “untold suffering” and “enormous betrayal of trust” towards her victims, victims he said “were all your relatives and who had all been good to you”.

Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate's Court in Morwell, Australia. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP's Court in Morwell, Australia. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP

Erin Patterson arriving in the back of a prison transport vehicle at Latrobe Valley Magistrate's Court in Morwell, Australia. Picture: Martin Keep/AFP
She refused to open her eyes while Justice Beale described “the terrible way your victims died” and “anger at the callousness” of her crimes.

Her lips pursed while Justice Beale asked how anyone “could sit there and watch those four kind people eat that meal” — a reference to the beef wellington lunch she laced with fatal deathcap mushrooms in a deliberate attempt to kill her own family.

She opened her eyes only when Justice Beale spoke about an opportunity she now has, specifically to accept the forgiveness of Mr Wilkinson, a gesture inspired by his Christian faith during his victim impact statement bravely read out last month.

Details of Patterson’s upbringing were read out in court. Her relationship with her estranged husband, the birth of her children, family holidays, the death of her father and mother, her separation. Through it all, her eyes were closed.

“There is no evidence of remorse,” Justice Beale told her.

Then she would learn her fate.

“Is it inappropriate to fix a non-parole period? This is the main dispute that I have to determine,” he told her, hinting at the slightest of mercies.

“You have effectively been held in solitary confinement for 15 months and will continue to be held in solitary confinement for years to come.”

“Please stand,” he said. She opened her eyes, stood up straight and braced herself as he told her she would spend the next 33 years at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre — Victoria’s only maximum security women’s prison. She will be 82 when she’s served her non-parole period.

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria Monday 25th August ahead of her sentencing. Picture: Jason Edwards/NewsWire/AFP

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson arrives at Supreme Court of Victoria Monday 25th August ahead of her sentencing. Picture: Jason Edwards/NewsWire/AFP
Patterson, heavy under the weight of the sentence, swayed briefly before she made her slow shuffle back out of court. She did not say a word, nor did any member of the public gallery. A silent, disgraced end to a saga that has gripped so many inside the courtroom and around the world.

As Patterson made her way from the dock, she grabbed a bannister. On her way out the door, she touched every piece of sculpted timber that lined her walkway.

Then she knocked twice on the media desks — a less than subtle message at those who have scrutinised her every action and reaction since the murders.

Those outside court celebrated. Some had woken as early as 1.30am for a 2am departure from Leongatha to close this chapter in person.

A chapter that ends in infamy — Patterson’s 33 year sentence is among the longest of any woman in Victorian history.

The only woman in Victoria serving a longer sentence is Momena Shoma, the Bangladeshi exchange student turned terrorist who was jailed for 42 years for an act of terrorism.

Shoma, fittingly, is in the protection unit right next to Erin Patterson.

The two have much in common now. But as Justice Beale alluded to during his remarks on Monday, they refused to speak, despite sharing an adjoining courtyard and having access to one another through a chainlink fence

33 years for what she did? They're lenient in Australia.
 
It IS an outrageously light sentence. For three people dead and one injured? Wow.
Wouldn't killing 3 mean she qualifies as a mass murderer?

ETA. She just missed out being classed a mass murderer because one recovered.
(The FBI criteria is killing 4 in one event.)


 
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Next, the nearby passengers leap backward into the windows, shouting in terror but frozen by fear. The sight of the killer striding nonchalantly away down the aisle leaves eyes wide and jaws agape at the nearness of pure evil.

But as the world now knows, reality was far more disturbing. The girl, who had fled the war in Ukraine to the safety of a proud U.S. city, did not die instantly nor painlessly, but slowly and consciously, at first not understanding what had happened, and then not believing the truth: that an anonymous man’s pocket knife had pierced her neck for no reason, and that her life was winding to a close in bafflement and terror as she crumpled to the floor
 
Video report at link also.

ide Tonig LifeporCommunitWe the Peo

Man stabs woman in throat on Charlotte light rail minutes after she sits down, records say​

Woman who recently fled from Ukraine killed in stabbing on Aug. 22, 2025

By Connor Lomis
Published: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM BST|Updated: Aug. 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM BST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A woman was stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail just minutes after sitting in front of the man accused of attacking her, according to an affidavit obtained Thursday.
On Friday, Aug. 22, a woman identified as 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on the light rail in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, officials reported. Zarutska’s family said she had recently fled to Charlotte from war-torn Ukraine.
Records showed that 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. was charged on Thursday, Aug. 28, with murder in Zarutska’s killing. An affidavit published on Aug. 23 and obtained by WBTV on Thursday, Aug. 28, accused Brown of stabbing Zarutska in the throat.
Brown was being held without bond.

Decarlos Brown Jr.
Decarlos Brown Jr.(Courtesy: Mecklenburg County Jail)
---> Related: Woman killed in Charlotte light rail stabbing recently fled from Ukraine, loved ones say

Affidavit outlines graphic new details

The stabbing happened on Friday, Aug. 22, on a Lynx Blue Line train at the East/West Boulevard station along Camden Road in South End, according to officials.
Video retrieved from inside the light rail showed Zarutska getting on the train car and sitting in a seat in front of Brown, according to an affidavit obtained by WBTV on Aug. 28.
The train traveled for about four and a half minutes before Brown allegedly pulled a knife from his pocket, unfolded it, paused, stood up, and stabbed Zarutska three times.
Zarutska was stabbed in the middle of the throat at least one of those times, officials said.
It was believed that Zarutska and Brown did not know each other. There “appeared to be no interaction” between the two on the light rail before the stabbing, the affidavit said.
--> Related: At least 5 injuries reported on Charlotte light rail in 2025 prior to deadly stabbing
Police reports said Brown walked away as Zarutska began bleeding out. She became unresponsive shortly after being stabbed, officials said.
Zarutska was pronounced dead from knife wounds at the scene.
Brown was reportedly found shortly after the stabbing, arrested, and taken to the hospital for a laceration on the outside of his hand. It was not immediately clear how Brown was injured in the attack.
Officials had not given a motive for Brown’s alleged attack on Zarutska, as of this writing.


Brown previously arrested

Records showed that Charlotte police had arrested Brown before -- most recently for reportedly misusing 911.
According to a January arrest record, Brown told responding officers during a welfare check that he believed someone had given him “man-made” material that was inside his body, controlling when he ate, walked, and talked.
--> Also read: Off-duty officer dies after crashing into car in York County, coroner says
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.
Another article that includes a graphic video of the murder of Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Light Rail. No paywall on this one.

 
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A former top cop has claimed that the baffling unsolved murder of Alistair Wilson could be linked to his work as a bank boss - and says that should be the focus of the current police reinvestigation.

Alistair was gunned down on the doorstep of his home in Nairn in November 2004. Police Scotland have previously ruled out a link to his job with the Bank of Scotland as a business manager and said the murder may instead have been over a planning dispute with a local hotel, the Havelock.

However former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton disagrees. He and was a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in 30 successful murder inquiries between 2003 and 2011 before retiring. During that time he brought both serial killer Levi Bellfield and notorious rapist Delroy Grant to justice. Both investigations were dramatised in the ITV series Manhunt where Colin was played by Martin Clunes.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Record's Criminal Record Podcast he said of the Wilson murder: "Its one of those cases that you know something caused it. "It is not a random attack. "An old colleague of mine, a former SIO, used to say: 'tell me how he lived and I will tell you how he died.' "And I think that very much applies to Alistair Wilson. ""There was something about the way he was conducting his business, his affairs his marriage that will have led to someone banging on his door, handing him an envelope and all that we now know."

Colin was speaking 12 months after the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain announced a fresh investigation into Alistair's murder. He says the original inquiry was hampered by a lack of CCTV in Nairn and the normal eye witnesses you might expect from people passing in their cars or on foot. Colin added:"All the things we use in big cities to solve murders - we haven't got them here "It is not a case where I envy the investigation team at all because I think it is a difficult one to solve."

Alistair, who had recently resigned his post with the bank to take on a new job in Inverness,, was shot dead as he was about to put his two sons to bed. A mystery man, carrying a blue birthday card-style envelope with the name Paul on it, had asked for Alistair by name before opening fire and fleeing.

Colin added:"There are theories around the envelope and the name contained on it that might be pointers but we will have to see. "It seems quite an extreme reaction to someone objecting to your planning consent. "I think it is more likely to be something around business and deals. "There was a lot of money in things Alistair was involved in and of course he was a bank manager."

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In 2022, Police Scotland revealed the row over hotel decking may be linked to the murder and appealed to anyone who was a customer around then to come forward. The Havelock's owner had applied for retrospective planning permission, which Alistair had objected to. He was shot dead only a few days after this objection was lodged with the local council.

Colin added:"You don't generally come across an assassination on your doorstep from something as mild as your neighbours planning consent. "I would be looking for something more than that. "It is after all a firearms murder and they are not very common. "I think I would be focussing on other aspects of Alistair's life. "You find out as you can about him, his connections and business and see if something falls out."

The front door was initially answered by Alistair's wife Veronica who then went to get her husband. He was handed the envelope and went back inside to show it to his wife before returning to the front door. It was then that the gunman opened fire. Colin added:"It (the murder was obviously targeted against Alistair. "If he had come to door first then probably he would have been shot there and then. "Whoever is there had the confidence to wait for him to come to the door."

The envelope was never found and the gunman is believed to have taken it with him. Dorothy Bain announced the new police investigation after meeting the Wilson family. In 2023, they complained to the Police Investigation and Review Commissioner after they were misled over a plan to arrest a suspect in May that year which was called off. Last year the family said they had "lost confidence" in the force and labelled it "incompetent".

Colin Sutton is also a presenter of the Sky Crime show the Real Manhunter where he looks at his old cases.

He led the inquiry that saw Levi Bellfield sentenced to life for the murders of two women in 2008. Bellfield was later convicted of the 2002 murder of 13 year old Milly Dowler. Colin also led the probe into Delroy Grant - dubbed the Nightstalker - who carried out a string of rapes and sexual assaults on the elderly in the south east of London between 1992 and 2009 after breaking into their homes. Grant is currently serving four life sentences.

Colin is currently touring the UK with his one man show Makings of a Murderer 2 - and is due to appear at the Townhouse in Hamilton later this month.

Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow, Police Scotland, said: "This is a live criminal investigation and our enquiries are ongoing. "Our relationship with Alistair's family is a priority and we are determined to bring those involved in Alistair's murder to justice. "If you have any information that would assist detectives, please contact us on 101 or via the Major Investigation Public Portal (MIPP) or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

You can watch the Criminal Record podcast here
 
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County prosecutors have filed manslaughter and elder abuse charges against 53-year-old Lori Meers, following the death of her 77-year-old mother, who suffered from dementia and died of septic shock earlier this year.

According to charging documents released by District Attorney Sim Gill, Meers is accused of recklessly causing her mother’s death through severe neglect. The case dates back to March, when Cottonwood Heights Police responded to a welfare check at the family’s home. What officers with the Cottonwood Heights Police Department and paramedics discovered led to felony charges.

The elderly woman was found lying naked on the basement floor, covered with a bedsheet and feces. Her twin sister, who had come to visit, described her as “ice cold” and said her sister, who suffered from dementia, had not eaten in four days. Emergency responders noted that the woman cried out in pain with every movement, underscoring the extent of her suffering.

In a statement to police, Meers reportedly admitted, “Me allowing my mom to lay in her own crap is neglect. I don’t care.”

District Attorney Gill emphasized the seriousness of the charges.

“We charged this family member with manslaughter violation as well as abuse of a vulnerable adult,” he said.

Gill said “Elder abuse will not be tolerated.” He also highlighted the broader implications of the case.

“We as a nation are aging. We are more and more elderly,” he said. “And as a community, as a value, we want to be able to take care of our loved ones.”

A medical examiner’s autopsy revealed significant trauma, consistent with prolonged neglect.

Authorities said Meers has since left the state. Prosecutors plan to hold her without bail once she is apprehended.

This case serves as a stark reminder of the legal and moral responsibilities involved in caring for vulnerable adults — and the tragic consequences when those responsibilities are ignored.
Utah is a mandatory reporter state. This means that any person who has reason to believe that a vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected or exploited must immediately notify Adult Protective Services or the nearest law enforcement office
If what you see is an emergency, please call 911. You can also report suspected abuse directly to Utah’s hotline to report abuse/neglect of seniors and adults with disabilities, which is 800-371-7897 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). You can also report abuse online at the Utah Department of Health & Human Resources Adult & Aging Service’s website.
 
February 4th, 2007 – it’s a quiet Super Bowl Sunday in Abilene, Texas, where Charity Lee Bennett is working a busy shift at the local bar, but at around midnight, cops arrive at the bar, demanding to speak with Charity. Just hours earlier, a 911 dispatcher received a frantic call from her 13 year old son Paris, saying he just found his younger sister Ella, covered in blood – with the babysitter nowhere to be found. As Charity rushes back home to her kids, she has no idea that she will be thrown into the most unthinkable and disturbing betrayal: what really happened to Ella that night, and what does Paris have to do with it?

is working a busy shift at the local bar, but at around midnight, cops arrive at the bar, demanding to speak with Charity. Just hours earlier, a 911 dispatcher received a frantic call from her 13 year old son Paris, saying he just found his younger sister Ella, covered in blood – with the babysitter nowhere to be found. As Charity rushes back home to her kids, she has no idea that she will

be thrown into the most unthinkable and disturbing betrayal: what really happened to Ella that night, and what does Paris have to do with it?


In the true-crime case of the "Texas Family Babysitting Murders," Paris Bennett killed his younger sister, Ella, as an act of cold, calculated revenge against their mother, Charity Lee
.
Here is what happened that night:
  • The crime: On Super Bowl Sunday, February 4, 2007, 13-year-old Paris was at home in Abilene, Texas, with his 4-year-old sister, Ella. While their mother was working, Paris stabbed Ella 17 times. He then called 911, pretending to have just discovered the body, and claimed their babysitter was missing.
  • The motive: Paris later admitted that the murder was premeditated and that his true motive was to inflict emotional pain on his mother. He chose to kill Ella as a form of revenge, deliberately selecting a method that would leave no chance of survival.
  • The aftermath: Paris was charged as a juvenile and sentenced to 40 years in prison. His crime gained national attention due to its shocking nature, revealing a highly intelligent teen who had committed murder in cold blood.
This case is often cited in discussions about juvenile murderers and the psychology of teenage killers. In interviews, Paris has shown a chilling lack of remorse and signs of psychopathy. Their mother, Charity Lee, has since become an advocate for trauma survivors, sharing her story of grief and healing



 

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