Albert Cronkite, Author at DR News - News, Retirement, Finance

Police say Florida landlord beat and choked tenant after changing his access code

The criminal case centers on what police say happened when a tenant returned home after a medical examination and tried to regain access. DAVIE, Fla. — When a Davie tenant returned from a medical facility, police say one thing about his home had already changed: The code to the lock no longer let him inside. What happened when he tried to return is now the basis of a felony battery case against his landlord, Lennie …

Boyfriend’s hit-and-run leaves Milwaukee woman wounded and her 4-year-old little girl dying in street

The sentence closes the main criminal case arising from the Milwaukee crash that killed 4-year-old Zekani Hymes-Wilson. MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The criminal case over the death of 4-year-old Zekani Hymes-Wilson ended with a 20-year prison sentence for Donald Crayton, the Milwaukee man who was driving when a car struck the child and her mother as they crossed North Teutonia Avenue in 2024. Crayton, 33, also received 15 years of extended supervision after pleading guilty to …

Mother and longtime partner left Oregon teen dead in garage box as child welfare closed in

Video evidence, an autopsy and a child welfare timeline preceded life sentences for Amanda Edwards and Nathan Cullins. LAKEVIEW, Ore. — What began as a juvenile-death investigation at a Lakeview home in February 2025 ultimately became a murder case that sent two adults to prison for life after investigators found Thomas Strong’s body, documented long-term abuse and recovered recordings authorities said showed abuse inside the home. The progression of the case is reflected in the …

Wisconsin man accused in wife’s murder claimed she had multiple boyfriends

Prosecutors are recommending 25 years in prison for Jared Ler’che in the 2024 death of his wife, Margaret. BALSAM LAKE, Wis. — A Wisconsin homicide case that once appeared headed toward a trial will instead move to sentencing this fall after Jared Ler’che pleaded no contest to first-degree intentional homicide in his wife’s death. Prosecutors are recommending 25 years in prison, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for Oct. 22. The recommendation is now the central …

Woman beat boyfriend’s teething 19-month-old daugher before refusing mother’s CPR plea

The 19-month-old’s mother had sought help after an earlier injury before a second incident ended with the toddler’s death. LINCOLN, Ill. — Weeks before 19-month-old Sophia Davis suffered the traumatic brain injury that killed her, her mother had already reported concerns about injuries discovered after an earlier visit with the child’s father. Four years later, a Logan County jury convicted the father’s former girlfriend, Cierra Coker, of first-degree murder after prosecutors linked Sophia’s fatal injuries …

44-year-old Pittsburgh woman brings twins to her estranged husband and suffers fatal shooting

The investigation has drawn limited new public detail, while Crystal Russ’ relatives have turned toward her children, memorial and legacy. PENN HILLS, Pa. — More than a month after two gunshot deaths inside a crashed SUV brought police to a residential street in Penn Hills, much of the public activity surrounding the case has moved away from the crime scene and toward four children, a memorial fund and efforts to remember their mother. Crystal Russ, …

Police say Missouri woman helped gunmen kidnap young mother before execution style murder

Four years after Dasia Allen disappeared, prosecutors accuse two people of turning a roadside encounter into a deadly abduction. ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A traffic collision near Riverview Drive and Chain of Rocks Drive is now the starting point of a murder case that took more than four years to reach court. Police say 25-year-old Dasia Allen was driving to buy diapers for her infant daughter when the crash occurred in March 2022. Minutes later, …

15-year-old Pittsburgh boy guns down classmate after accusing him of stealing Beats headphones

Jaymier Perry was 15 when Derrick Harris Jr. was killed, and the case remained unresolved for years as courts examined Perry’s competency. PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Jaymier Perry’s murder case spent years stalled over whether he was mentally competent to face the charge. Once the case moved forward, the outcome came without a trial: Perry admitted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 years to life for killing classmate Derrick Harris Jr. The lengthy competency issue …

Jogger allegedly targeted three times by stranger after she gives him innocent good morning greeting

Authorities say the woman and the accused driver were strangers, leaving a central question unanswered after the July 19 encounter. MARIETTA, Ga. — Weeks after a woman said a stranger repeatedly drove a car toward her during a Sunday morning workout, Cobb County police have publicly identified the greeting that came before the alleged pursuit but not a motive that explains why it happened. The known interaction before the driving was strikingly limited. Investigators say …

Mom allegedly stabs 7-year-old son while he plays video games then beats him with hammer as he tries to escape

Emily Spalding faces two felony charges after her son escaped, while her reported mental health evaluation raises a separate procedural issue. MENOMONIE, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman accused of trying to kill her 7-year-old son was reported transferred to a state mental health institute for psychological evaluation after prosecutors charged her with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and child abuse, adding a procedural mental health issue to a case already built on the child’s escape, witness …