Previous Page | Next Page
Shaun Rudy was sentenced today to spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of his wife Christine Rudy and their unborn baby. The court did not want to hear any excuses as they handed down the sentencing.
He says Rudy is only 24 years old and without a proper male role model. He said because of his addiction to meth and alcoholism, the crimes may have been a quote, “horrendous mistake.” Darwin Zwieg disagreed.Judge Counsel says Rudy deserves the maximum punishment and receiving anything less would be inappropriate.When the Judge asked Rudy if he wanted to address the court, Rudy had no comment.
(WEAU)
Rudy Sentenced For Killing Pregnant Wife
The lack of remorse and empathy landed a life sentence for this vile individual that would kill his pregnant wife Christine Rudy.
According to pre-sentence investigation reports, Rudy told parole agents he believes he was right in killing his pregnant wife and wouldn’t change anything. Thursday his silence and previous comments spoke volumes. The judge handed down the stiffest punishment for Rudy’s crimes.
“That lack of remorse and repentance, the lack of empathy for the victims, past attempts at any rehabilitation have all failed,” said the Honorable Jon Counsel.
Last November Rudy shot his pregnant wife, Christine, then cut up her body. Thursday her family said their pain is doubled because they also lost Christine’s unborn son.
(WSAW)
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:31pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Christine Rudy, Crime/Murder |
no comments
Once again we are presented with a senseless killing of a teenage girl by animals. Teenagers have to understand though, that they are not prepared for what they may come across in the real world. When they have to sneak out of the friendly confines of their home, they are entering a world that they know nothing of. Such was the unfortunate case of 18 year old Jennifer Moore. The two teenagers that went to NYC for a night of fun were unprepared for things that could have gone wrong. Things went terribly wrong.
The teens drank heavily until 2:30 a.m., police said, when they walked back to where they had parked the car and discovered it had been towed. About an hour later they took a cab to the NYPD impound lot at Pier 76.
Clearly drunk, Kenan cursed loudly after an impound clerk told her she couldn’t have the car back until she sobered up. Kenan continued to argue with the clerk and then collapsed shortly after 4 a.m. After employees called an ambulance, Moore wandered off.
At this point Moore had been separated from her friend, alone and vulnerable. It was only a matter of time before she became a victim.
Lost on the far West Side, Moore used her cell phone at 5:08 a.m. to call her boyfriend, Kofi Boakye, in New Jersey. She told him she thought she was being followed, police said. Boakye, 18, told her to take a cab to the hospital.
But two minutes later, Coleman had Moore’s cell phone and she was never heard from again. Cops believe Coleman lured Moore into a cab by telling her he was going to New Jersey.
Jennifer Moore had been missing for 2 days until her body was found in a dumpster.
The 18-year-old’s body was discovered about 4:30 a.m. yesterday, two days after she got lost walking along 12th Ave. on the West Side, wearing a black halter top and white miniskirt.
Chunks of her long, brown hair had been ripped out of her head and her body horribly bruised.
As ex-con Draymond Coleman, 34, and his prostitute girlfriend were being held in the assault and murder of Jennifer Moore.
“It sounds like somebody got a hold of her very quickly and she never had a chance.” Investigators believe Jennifer Moore was sexually assaulted in a drab room on the third floor of the Park Ave. Hotel in Weehawken, before Coleman strangled and beat her as his lover watched, sources said.
(New York Daily News)
A Teenager’s Last Steps on a Trail of Missed Chances
In a city of random encounters, this one seemed especially touched by chance.
She, a tiny prep-school girl in a miniskirt and halter top, in from New Jersey to go to a club. He, a troubled drifter and convicted felon — a pimp, investigators say, who slept in cheap rented rooms and was in and out of jail for selling drugs.
Then there was the happenstance at play: her boyfriend had not come out with her that night; her friend had gotten drunk, leaving her to wander the streets alone; their cherry red sedan had been towed from a “no standing” zone while they were dancing, leaving her no easy way of getting home.
The rest is just a terrible set of circumstances that lead to her abduction, assault and murder.
July 28th, 2006 at 10:09am
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, arrested, Crime/Murder, sexual assault |
3 comments
We hear and read about the Nigerian money scams all the time on the internet. We get emails from long lost friends and relatives in Nigeria promising us fortunes if we would just help them. I did not even realize I had family living in Nigeria. The fact that this scam is so widely known just makes it all the more amazing that it involved Mary Winkler and the eventual killing of her husband Matthew Winkler. I just never knew people could still fall for this. It is a sad event where “Nigerian scam” not only caused financial hardship, but also death.
Mary Winkler, who is charged with murder, had gotten tangled up along with her husband in a swindle known as an advance-fee fraud, or the “Nigerian scam,” in which victims are told that a sweepstakes prize or some other riches are waiting for them if they send in money to cover the processing expenses, her lawyers say.
“They were always kind of living on the edge of their budget,” defense attorney Steve Farese said, “so I’m sure this would have just wrecked their budget.”
The financial problems gave rise to arguments between the couple that wound up in Matthew Winkler shot to death, Mary Winkler charged with his murder and their children without parent. Who said that the Nigerian scam only affect people monetarily.
“He had really been on me lately, criticizing me for things – the way I walk, what I eat, everything. It was just building up to a point. I was tired of it. I guess I got to a point and snapped.”
Advance-fee scams became associated with Nigeria in the 1980s when government corruption and a failing economy left many well-educated, English-speaking Nigerians unemployed. “But we see it from all over the world,” said John Kane, research manager for the National White Collar Crime Center.
(Seattle PI)
July 19th, 2006 at 06:34pm
Posted by
Administrator |
arrested, Crime/Murder, Mary Winkler |
one comment
Kevin Newland was charged with the murder of 19-year-old Jamie Lynn Drake. The alleged motive was robbery. Kevin Newland has allegedly admitted to strangling Jamie Lynn Drake; however, it appears she was suffocated by a bag placed over her head.
Even though Newland, 20, allegedly admitted strangling Drake to death, Spokane Medical Examiner Dr. Sally Aiken says it appears she was suffocated by a bag placed over her head.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says Drake was a truly innocent casualty of crime.
(KXLY)
What an absolutely pointless murder.
Video
July 16th, 2006 at 07:42pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Jamie Lynn Drake |
2 comments
Police have located the mini van of Tammy Gardner and two victims were found inside murdered. They had mysteriously disappeared from a bar where Gardner reportedly had words with an unidentified ex-boyfriend.
Police in Delaware had been searching for the minivan for days. They hoped it would lead them to a missing man and woman. Apparently, it has.
The vehicle, a 2000 Ford Windstar, was found on a remote path near a man-made hill at a park that is under construction.
That’s when police converged on the scene, but investigators don’t know how long the vehicle had been there or what happened to the man and woman inside.
An autopsy will confirm the identities, but police know the van belongs to 40-year-old Tammy Gardner, who has been missing since last Sunday, along with her companion 41-year-old Gabe Gabrielli.
Both mysteriously disappeared after being last seen at a bar where Gardner reportedly had words with an unidentified ex-boyfriend.
(6ABC)
July 15th, 2006 at 02:24pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Found Deceased, Missing, Missing Adult, Tamela Gardner |
no comments
The minute Jennifer Hagel Smith signed her name to the Royal Caribbean Cruise 
settlement; we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was only a matter of time before the family of missing honeymooner, George Allen Smith IV, went ballistic and after Jennifer Hagel. Personally, I do not blame them one bit. The once united Smith & Hagel family vs. Royal Caribbean cruise lines is over. Although it would appear that the Smith family may have had their suspicions regarding Jennifer Hagel as to what she may have known regarding their son’s disappearance; Jennifer’s actions of settling all but sealed the deal for this family feud to erupt.
They mourned together and shared anger at how Royal Caribbean responded after George Allen Smith IV disappeared in the Mediterranean last July after a night of heavy drinking. They sat together at a congressional hearing last year as they lobbied for changes in how cruise lines report suspected crimes at sea.
But quietly behind the scenes, Smith’s family harbored doubts about his widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith. Those doubts grew into suspicions that erupted after Hagel Smith reached a settlement with Royal Caribbean two weeks ago while Smith’s family sued the cruise line.
(Boston Globe)
The parents of George Allen Smith IV and his sister Bree Smith have been extremely skeptical of Jennifer Hagel Smith. Hagel was found passed out on a floor far from the couple’s cabin, says she has no recollection of what happened to her honeymoon husband. It was suggested that Hagel may have been drugged as to the reason why she was found in the manner she was.
“She’s definitely hiding something,” said Smith’s sister, Bree. “It’s not clear to us whether Jennifer is hiding behavior that is just embarrassing or of some greater importance to the investigation. We have reported all such behavior to the FBI as it occurred.”
The Smith family plans to depose Jennifer Hagel Smith in their law suit. The Smith family claims that they broke off communication with Hagel Smith last fall after she indicated she did not want to be deposed in a civil or criminal case.
What is truly most puzzling, sad and bizarre is the fact that Jennifer Hagel Smith agreed to a settlement with Royal Caribbean. This after she sat with the family of George Smith through out the Congressional proceedings in an attempt to enact change for how the cruise lines deal with crimes aboard their ships. One of the problems with the untold crimes that go unreported and that actually are committed is all too often their is a settlement and the crime is swept under the run in a shroud of confidentiality.
The parents of George Allen Smith and his sister Bree have been resolute in their fight against Royal Caribbean. The Smith family wants answers, not money. The beauty of the Smith family is that they have same strong qualities as Beth Twitty and Dave Holloway, who have fought to find answer to their daughter’s disappearance in Aruba. The Smith’s show the fight and determination that they want answers and they want change. Settlement does seem to be an option for this family. They are not going to let the cruise line off the hook so easily. Maureen Smith put everyone on notice last summer when she stated, “My son’s life is not going to be in vain.”
“We have truth on our side,” Mrs Smith says firmly. “My son’s life is not going to be in vain.”
That is what makes what Jennifer Hagel Smith did all that horrific. How long was she 
actually married to George in that she would up in settle with the enemy vs. providing a united front with the Smith’s against Royal Caribbean. What was she really in this for? What did she want her husbands legacy to be? Money? Why would she have not honored her husband George Smith’s memory with the truth of what happened to him and laws which will dictate cruise ship standards for for how they handle and report crimes.
Jennifer Hagel Smith’s actions seem rather unfortunate. How really could blame parents for wanting to know the truth as to why their son is missing and presumed dead? If that means going after his short term bride for answers who took the easy way out and settled with the agenda ridden cruise line, then so be it. She states she wanted closure as to why she settled after one year. However, how could one really have closure without knowing what really happened? She saw the blood stains outside her cabin and still she settles for money rather than for answers.
One thing is for certain … no change or truth will come out of Royal Caribbean if only settlements are reached with confidentiality clauses attached.
July 12th, 2006 at 12:14am
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Cruise ship, George Allen Smith IV, Jennifer Hagel Smith, Missing, Missing Adult |
15 comments
Mary Winkler who has allegedly confessed to the murder of her husband Matthew Winkler is to seek bond today on the murder charge. Mary Winkler has been held in jail without bond since March 23, 2006.
A medical examiner has said Matthew Winkler was shot in the back at close range with a shotgun. No motive has ever been disclosed.
Defense lawyer Steve Farese plans to call members of Matthew Winkler’s church as character witnesses for his client at the hearing.
Farese said a statement Winkler made to police may be presented at the hearing.
Investigators call the statement a confession, though defense lawyers disagree with that description.
(Eye Witness News Memphis)
Mary Winkler appears in Selmer courtroom
Mary Winkler appeared in a Selmer courtroom just after 10:45 Friday morning, as part of a judge’s routine docket.
Winkler is accused of killing her husband, Matthew Winkler, who was pastor of the Fourth Street Church of Christ. Members of his congregation found him dead in the couple’s bedroom at the parsonage on March 22nd after he failed to appear for an evening church service.
(WMC-TV)
Town looks for answers in preacher’s killing
Minister’s wife accused of murder asks for bond
SELMER, Tennessee (CNN) — For three months, the 4,500 souls of this God-fearing town have been left to wonder if a demure preacher’s wife shot her husband in the back and ran off to the beach with their three girls.
And if she did it, why?
Mary Carol Winkler, 32, pleaded not guilty to killing the charismatic new preacher of the Fourth Street Church of Christ and the congregation has turned the other cheek.
But the residents of Selmer haven’t come close to understanding why it might have happened.
UPDATE: Winkler states that she was arguing with her pastor husband about money before she shot him
A TBI agent today read a statement Mary Winkler gave to police after her preacher husband was found shot to death in Selmer.
Agent Brian Booth quoted from the statement, saying Winkler told investigators she and her husband, Matthew Winkler, had argued about several things, including finances. Advertisement
In the statement, Mary Winkler is quoted as saying she doesn’t remember getting the shotgun from a closet at the parsonage, but recalls holding it and said the blast wasn’t as loud as she had expected.
The statement said Matthew Winkler rolled out of bed onto the floor and asked why she had shot him.
Mary Winkler said she wiped blood from his outh and said she was sorry and that she loved him.
(WBIR)
CNN: Mary Winkler told authorities she didn’t remember getting gun
Booth testified that Winkler told police she knew her husband kept a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun in the closet of the home where they lived with their three daughters. She said she didn’t remember getting the gun.
Mary Winkler’s statement of the time leading up to the shooting was as follows:
Winkler said the two had argued throughout the evening about several things, including family finances. The problems were “mostly my fault,” she said, because she was in charge of keeping the family books.
“He had really been on me lately criticizing me for things — the way I walk, I eat, everything. It was just building up to a point. I was tired of it. I guess I got to a point and snapped,” Booth read to the court.
June 30th, 2006 at 12:21pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Court Hearing, Crime/Murder, Mary Winkler |
no comments
How else can a victim and family be violated? The confession of sex offender John 
Evander Couey that he murdered Jessica Lunsford has been thrown out by a judge on the grounds that sex offender, rapist and murdered John Couey had previously asked for a lawyer on multiple occasions prior to his confession.
The confession of a man charged with kidnapping, raping and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford isn’t admissible in court, but the discovery of her body can be used as evidence, a judge ruled Friday.
John Evander Couey, a 47-year-old convicted sex offender, gave the confession to detectives, but also told them that he wanted to consult a lawyer. He wasn’t given the opportunity to do so.
(AP)
This is the face of a sex offender that our legal system seem to provide more right to than the innocent victims that they rape and kill
Although it is reprehensible that this judge has thrown out the confession of this child rapist, murdering pig who buried poor 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford alive after he had violated her; one has to wonder what the hell the police officers were thinking? Did they want to blow this entire case for the prosecution? The unfortunate facts of life is that scum bag child killers are afforded rights even though it is unimaginable that they should be afforded anything. Especially since Couey was already convicted of sexually molesting a 5 year old. The fact remains that the police violated the most simple of legal protections afforded to people accused of crimes.
“This is a material and a profound violation of one of the most bedrock principles of criminal law,” Circuit Judge Ric Howard said in issuing the ruling Friday.
On the taped interview, parts of which were played in court, Couey spoke freely with the detectives about his criminal past, use of crack and relationship with his family. When the topic crept closer to Lunsford, however, Couey repeatedly mentioned wanting a lawyer.
The overall outrage of this case comes from the fact of what was done to 9 year old 
Jessica Lunsford by this previously convicted sex offender and that he buried her alive. These actions shocked the collective conscience of a country and the fact that the police acted so recklessly in jeopardizing a case is just pathetic. Its like the family being violated all over again. Mark Lunsford, Jessica’s dad, has already been through a living hell having his daughter ripped from him. Now he gets the slap in the face that his daughter’s murderer has more rights than were afforded her.
Jessica was found kneeling and clutching a stuffed animal, hands tied with speaker wire and fingers poking through the garbage bags in which she was buried alive in February 2005. Two days earlier, Couey told detectives he had kidnapped, raped and killed the girl, and he told them where to find the body.
Maybe the police and the prosecution need to be asked as well why the other people that lived in the house where Jessica was raped and murdered were not also arrested. They knew what was going on.
This case also shows the reason why most of us have utter contempt for defense attorney and the scum they represent. Defense attorney Dan Lewan falls into that category as he screams that his client, John Couey’s, constitutional rights were violated. Funny, he didn’t seen to care too much about Jessica’s now did he?
Defense attorney Dan Lewan has portrayed the detectives as overzealous and unconcerned about Couey’s constitutional rights. When his client asked for an attorney, Lewan argued, the detectives spoke over him in a confusing interlude before simply dropping the issue.
Lewan also asked the discovery of Jessica’s body be inadmissible in court because Couey told authorities where to find her.
This is the only victim in this case that anyone should have been worried about protecting the rights of. Innocent children like Jessica.
Don’t worry though Attorney Lewan, your client won’t have to worry too much of that in the future because of the fact that the DNA evidence and subsequent finding of Jessica’s body is still allowed in as evidence. With the death penalty on the table, trust me … John Couey won’t have to worry about his right in the future.
A consent search at the mobile home where Couey was living turned up a bloody mattress which tested positive for Jessica’s DNA the day they began excavating at the mobile home following the confession. Further, disturbed ground near a shovel in the yard was suspicious enough to investigate after officers had already singled Couey out as a person of interest, Ridgway said.
“With (DNA results) they would’ve gotten a search warrant for the home,” Ridgway said.
June 30th, 2006 at 09:50am
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Jessica Lunsford, John Couey, Pictures, sex offender, sexual assault |
2 comments
A decision is finally being made in a murder case from the Bahamas in 2002-2003. Cordell Farrington will find out what his fate is in the five pending murder cases as to if each case will be tried separately or as one. The cases became known as the Grand Bahama “missing boys”.
Farrington, 38, is accused of causing the death of Jamaal Kareem Robins, 22, between July and August 2002. He is also accused of killing Grand Bahama school boys Mackinson Colas, 12; Junior Reme, 11; DeAngelo McKenzie 13; and Desmond Rolle, 14. The boys, who became known as the Grand Bahama “missing boys,” disappeared between May and September 2003.
A decision was expected to be handed down by Acting Chief Justice Anita Allen last Friday, but the matter was adjourned to Monday at 10 a.m.
(The Freeport News)
Crucial Decision Expected In Case Of Murdered Boys
Before a 12-member jury can begin to hear evidence in the case of Cordell Farrington, who is facing five counts of murder in one of Grand Bahama’s most notorious mysteries, Senior Justice Anita Allen must make a crucial ruling.
(The Bahama Journal)
June 20th, 2006 at 02:51pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder |
no comments
Mary Winkler, the wife of Tennessee pastor Matthew Winkler, was indicted for 
premeditated murder of her husband. Mary Winkler had previously confessed to the murder of Matthew Winkler; however, has never given a motive. Mary Winkler has not yet entered a plea and remains jailed.
Mary Winkler, indicted by a McNairy County grand jury, has been in custody since the day after the March 22 slaying of her husband, Matthew Winkler. Authorities have said she confessed but they haven’t disclosed a motive.
Matthew Winkler, 31, a minister at the local Church of Christ, was found dead in his bedroom after he failed to show up for an evening service. (AP via Yahoo News)
Mary Winkler indicted on first-degree murder charge
The McNairy County Grand Jury indicted a Selmer minister’s widow Monday on a charge of first-degree murder in the March shooting death of her husband.
Mary Winkler will be arraigned on the charge during a 9:30 a.m. session Wednesday of the McNairy County Circuit Court, a circuit court clerk said.
Police have said Winkler confessed to firing the single shotgun blast that struck her husband, Matthew Winkler, in his back, killing him. Authorities believe she planned the murder. (Jackson Sun)
Slain Preacher’s Wife Indicted with 1st-Degree Murder
A Memphis grand jury returned Monday a first-degree murder indictment against Mary Winkler.
No official details were given. A first-degree murder indictment means she was accused of killing her husband, Matthew, with premeditation. (WTVF)
June 12th, 2006 at 07:54pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Mary Winkler |
4 comments
Previous Page | Next Page
