Brazilian gets 21 years for killing and dismembering British teenage girl

By Calvin Palmer
A Brazilian man who confessed to killing and dismembering a British teenager has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
A jury in Goiania, central Brazil, today convicted Mohamed D’Ali Carvalho Santos, 20. He acknowledged killing 17-year-old Cara Marie Burke, of Southfields, southwest London on July 25, 2008.
Santos told the court he had been [...]

Arizona reservist becomes oldest soldier killed in Iraq

By Calvin Palmer
The Army today confirmed that a reservist from Arizona who fought in the Vietnam War has become the oldest soldier to be killed in combat in Iraq.
Maj. Steven Hutchison, 60, of Scottsdale, was killed on Sunday when a homemade bomb went off near his vehicle in Al Farr, according to the Department of [...]

Man found guilty of $1.5m body parts scheme at UCLA

By Calvin Palmer
A man who carved up bodies donated to UCLA’s medical school and sold the body parts to medical research companies was convicted today in Los Angeles Superior Court of conspiring to commit grand theft, embezzlement and tax evasion.
Prosecutors said Ernest V. Nelson, 51, cut up heads, torsos and other parts from bodies donated [...]

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ child star’s home falls victim of demolition drive

By Calvin Palmer
It was a rude awakening this morning for one of the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire as he was ordered out of his home by a policeman wielding a bamboo stick.
Minutes later the home of Azharuddin Ismail, 10, was bulldozed along with dozens of other illegally-built shacks as part of what authorities in [...]

Rap star Willie D charged with iPhone scam

By Calvin Palmer
Rap artist Willie D, one of the Geto Boys, appeared in court today in Houston charged with a wire fraud scam involving Apple iPhones.
William James Dennis was arrested at Bush Intercontinental Airport yesterday as he returned from an overseas trip.
Dennis appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy and is due to appear in [...]

Brazilian stands trial accused of killing and dismembering British teenage girl

By Calvin Palmer
The trial of a Brazilian man who has confessed to the killing and dismembering of a British teenage girl opened today in Goiania, central Brazil.
Mohamed D’Ali Carvalho Santos, 20, became angry with 17-year-old Cara Marie Burke, of Southfields in south-west London  because she refused to marry him so he could apply for British [...]

Stanford executive pleads not guilty to criminal charges

By Calvin Palmer
Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, pleaded not guilty today in Houston to charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Pendergest-Holt, 35, is the first person to be criminally indicted in the federal investigation of R. Allen Stanford’s banking and network of financial services companies.
She was freed [...]

Police find couple and son shot dead at Texas home

By Calvin Palmer
Police called to a Texas home last night, following reports of shots being fired, found a couple and son shot dead.
Sgt. John Jordan with the League City Police Department said the bodies of Lewis Cantrell III, his father, Lewis Cantrell II, and stepmother, Gayle Cantrell, were found of the living room floor of [...]