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The prosecution began as a first-degree murder case and ended with a guilty plea to second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement. SEATTLE, Wash. — A plea agreement, not a trial verdict, ultimately decided the punishment in the killing of Seattle rideshare driver Amare Geda, with Ne’iana Allen-Bailey receiving a 20-year prison sentence after admitting guilt to a reduced murder charge. The outcome matters because the case moved through several distinct legal stages before arriving at …

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A woman stopped to handle a minor collision and was instead left gravely wounded outside a Burger King, police say. MESA, Ariz. — A Burger King parking lot on East Broadway Road became the center of a major criminal case after police say a woman who pulled over following a minor crash was stabbed 19 times there by the other driver, a man later arrested in Las Vegas. The force of the story lies in …

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Police say the broad facts are settled, but many records behind the family shooting have not been made public. HALTOM CITY, Texas — Police have identified who died in the March 27 shooting near Birdville ISD Stadium and say they know why the meeting happened, yet the deadliest family violence case the city has faced this spring still contains major unanswered questions. Authorities say John Mbuyi, 30, lured Raissa Thatukila, 33, and their 6-year-old daughter, …

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Judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers are now arguing over risk, evidence and release conditions in the case against Jabari Bush. BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — What began as an early morning homicide investigation in Stratford has become a pointed debate inside Connecticut courtrooms over pretrial risk, release conditions and the strength of the state’s evidence against the man accused of killing firefighter Terrence Cramer. Jabari Bush faces charges that include murder, home invasion and criminal possession of …

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Prosecutors have reset arraignments as they try to combine a San Gabriel shooting with a Walnut Creek double-homicide prosecution. MARTINEZ, Calif. — A Contra Costa County courtroom is becoming the center of a murder case that began in two different counties and now involves three defendants, three dead victims and prosecutors’ attempt to try the whole matter as one connected prosecution. The immediate focus is procedural. Howard Wang, 43, was already charged in the Sept. …

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Authorities say the killing outside Jefferson Lakes Apartments was tied to a private family dispute that turned into a criminal case. BATON ROUGE, La. — Just before sunrise on March 22, a Baton Rouge apartment complex became the scene of a fatal shooting that investigators say was not a random act but the violent end of a dispute over children, custody and money. The victim, Anthony Wesley Jr., was found dead on a sidewalk outside …

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Police said the toddler’s mother relied on her younger brother for overnight child care before he admitted killing the girl during an April 2024 babysitting shift. NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The death of 2-year-old Fofogafeta Maluia Fields grew out of a family child care arrangement that had become part of daily life, according to police records, and ended with her uncle, Leo’oolo Tevaseu, receiving a 10- to 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to …

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The prosecution now centers on a February killing that police say started as a robbery and ended with a fire set inside the victim’s condo. WASHINGTON, D.C. — A homicide investigation that began with firefighters answering a smoke complaint at a Northwest apartment building has become a two-defendant murder case, with separate preliminary hearings now scheduled for late May and early June in D.C. Superior Court. Rico Barnes, 36, and Alphonso Walker, 39, have each …

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What began as concern when the 21-year-old missed work has grown into a high-profile Arizona investigation. AVONDALE, Ariz. — The disappearance of Isabella Comas began with the kind of absence relatives and co-workers notice first: she did not pick up a friend for work, she did not report to her job the next day, and no one could reach her by phone. From that ordinary break in routine, the case grew into one of Arizona’s …

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Investigators accuse a Denton County man of killing Molly Richards and hiding her remains, though they have not yet located her body. DENTON, Texas — Prosecutors in North Texas are moving forward with a murder case against a man accused of killing his girlfriend and concealing her remains, a step that places unusual weight on forensic findings, digital records and witness statements because the victim has not been found. Christopher Charles Sanders, 53, has been …

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