homicide news stories on Newser

China Denies Lawyer for Chen's Nephew

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:46:10 CDT

The Chinese government has denied Chen Kegui his choice of lawyers, saying he must use a pair of government-appointed attorneys in his "intentional homicide" trial. Chen was slapped with that charge because he brandished a knife on April 27 when authorities burst into his home after his uncle's escape . No...

What Huguely Told Cops

Polly Davis Doig — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:26:31 CDT

As the black of May 2, 2010, faded into the gray of dawn, George Huguely—unaware that ex-girlfriend Yeardley Love lay lifeless in a morgue—sat down with Virginia cops to tell the story of the flowing booze, the heated emotions , and the violence of the night before. The tape...

Convicted Murderer Won't Get New Trial...

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:45:33 CDT

The medical examiner changed her opinion on the cause of a toddler's death, but the Supreme Court won't consider giving the man convicted in the child's death a new trial. The high court today refused, without comment, to hear an appeal from Neil Hampton Robbins, convicted in the death of...

Most Peaceful State: Maine

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:57:14 CDT

Apparently the moose-on-moose violence is next to nil, because Maine has scored the title of most peaceful state in the union, according to a new survey by the Institute for Economics & Peace. It finds the nation as a whole at its most peaceful point in two decades. Louisiana, meanwhile,...

Two in Alaska Coast Guard Shot Dead

Rob Quinn — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:02:00 CDT

Police fear a killer is on the loose on Alaska's Kodiak Island. Two members of the local Coast Guard were shot dead at their work stations at a base on the island in what officials say appears to be a double homicide, reports the Anchorage Daily News . The rest of...

Girl's Death From School Fight Ruled a Homicide

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:35:05 CST

A coroner ruled today that the death of a 10-year-old Southern California girl in an afterschool alley fight is a homicide, the AP and Long Beach Press-Telegram report. Joanna Ramos of Long Beach apparently faced an 11-year-old girl in a fight without any weapons Friday, and never fell down—but...

Human Head Found Near Hollywood Sign

Rob Quinn — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:05:59 CST

It's the kind of discovery a producer might make a movie about. Hikers in the Hollywood Hills found a human head in a plastic bag on a trail below the famous Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Times reports. They made the grisly discovery after their dogs started playing with it....

CDC: Murder No Longer a Top Cause of Death in US

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:00:40 CST

Some semi-encouraging news from the CDC's not-so-cheery annual report on death: For the first time since 1965, homicide did not make the top 15 causes of death in the US last year. But something had to take its place, and that was pneumonitis, a respiratory illness that mainly plagues older...

Mexico's Bloody Toll in 2011: 12K

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:49:53 CST

The sixth year of Mexico's murderous war against drug cartels claimed a staggering 12,000 lives, according to bleak tallies being reported in the Mexican press that show upticks in beheadings, torture, and violence against women and children. There is no official number from Felipe Calderon's government, which the Washington...