All posts tagged: convicted

They Made D4vd a Star. Now They Want Him Convicted of Murder

They Made D4vd a Star. Now They Want Him Convicted of Murder

Published by skeptic

“He was grinding. He was posting every day, playing every day, he was trying his hardest to get somewhere,” says a 21-year-old New York–based gamer who goes by the username Sacred WTF. “Bro, I would just wake up sometimes and it would just be multiple posts from him. He was just trying to pop off, just get one good video.” By 2021, D4vd was 16 and already building a brand as a socially awkward outcast who spent nearly all of his time online. (It helped that he was homeschooled.) Sometimes, it paid off: When he started catering to the YouTube algorithm by adding popular songs to his Fortnite videos, they racked up hundreds of thousands of views and generated “a lot of money” in ad revenue, he’d later tell musician Benny Blanco in an interview. But those massive views also brought copyright strikes—warnings from YouTube, prompted by record labels, to remove the songs or risk getting booted from the platform. That’s when, according to the now mythic origin story that D4vd has relayed in the …

Man convicted of causing his wife’s suicide – why this is a landmark moment for abuse victims

Man convicted of causing his wife’s suicide – why this is a landmark moment for abuse victims

Published by Sam Flores

Kimberly Milne was 28 when she climbed over the barrier of a motorway bridge and jumped to her death. That night, witnesses saw her cowering from her husband, Lee Milne, in a retail park in Dundee, as he trapped her against a wall. CCTV footage showed her trying to get away while he shouted, drove a car at her and pulled her back into his orbit. In the year before her death, he had choked her, dragged her by the hair, hit her until she fell and lost consciousness, and apologised, promising he was “not that type of guy”. He went through her phone, controlled her movements and, according to messages shown in court, created a situation where leaving felt impossible: “How can I leave him if he’s saying he’s going to do himself in without me?” In a first-of-its-kind case in Scotland, Lee Milne has now been held criminally responsible for his wife’s suicide. The 39-year-old was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to eight years in custody. In Spain, Noelia Castillo, 25, underwent …

Convicted spyware maker Bryan Fleming avoids jail at sentencing

Convicted spyware maker Bryan Fleming avoids jail at sentencing

Published by skeptic

The first convicted spyware maker in over a decade has avoided jail time after earlier pleading guilty to U.S. federal charges associated with running his surveillance company. Bryan Fleming was sentenced on Friday in a San Diego federal court to time served and a $5,000 fine, confirmed a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, whose office brought the charges against Fleming. During a plea hearing in January following a years-long federal investigation into his spyware company, pcTattletale, Fleming admitted to making, selling, and advertising spyware for unlawful uses. Prosecutors had previously asked the judge for Fleming to receive no custodial sentence or fine. Image Credits:YouTube (screenshot) Fleming’s criminal conviction marks the first successful prosecution of a spyware maker by the U.S. Department of Justice since 2014, potentially opening the door to future prosecutions against others with illegal surveillance operations.  Fleming’s attorney, Marcus Bourassa, did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, brought …

China executes Frenchman convicted in 2010 for drug trafficking

China executes Frenchman convicted in 2010 for drug trafficking

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS: A Frenchman sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking has been executed, France’s foreign ministry announced on Saturday (Apr 4), expressing its “consternation”. Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a ministry statement. His defence team did not get access to the final court hearing, in violations of his rights, the ministry added. The sentence was carried out in Guangzhou, in the south of the country. The ministry reaffirmed France’s opposition to the death penalty “everywhere and in all circumstances” and called for “its universal abolition”. China’s foreign ministry did not comment on the specifics of the case when asked on Sunday about the execution. “Cracking down on drug-related crime is a shared responsibility of all countries,” a statement provided to AFP said. China “treats defendants of different nationalities equally, handles cases strictly and fairly in accordance with the law and protects the lawful rights and treatment …

China executes French national convicted in 2010 for drug trafficking

China executes French national convicted in 2010 for drug trafficking

Published by Sam Flores

A Frenchman sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking has been executed, France’s foreign ministry announced on Saturday. Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a ministry statement. His defence team did not get access to the final court hearing, in violations of his rights, the ministry added. The sentence was carried out in Guangzhou the south of the country. The ministry reaffirmed France’s opposition to the death penalty “everywhere and in all circumstances” and called for “its universal abolition.” China’s foreign ministry did not comment on the specifics of the case when asked on Sunday about the execution. “Cracking down on drug-related crime is a shared responsibility of all countries,” a statement provided to AFP said. China “treats defendants of different nationalities equally, handles cases strictly and fairly in accordance with the law and protects the lawful rights and treatment of the parties involved”, it said. (FRANCE …

Teen convicted of manslaughter after asthma inhaler DNA matched to crime scene cigarette butt | UK News

Teen convicted of manslaughter after asthma inhaler DNA matched to crime scene cigarette butt | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A 19-year-old has been convicted over a fatal stabbing after police matched DNA on a cigarette found at the scene to that on his asthma inhaler. Ali Abdul Basit was convicted at the Old Bailey on Friday for his role in killing Michael Patrick Afonso Peixoto, 27, Metropolitan Police said. Basit’s conviction followed a two-year investigation, after he fled to Pakistan. Mr Peixoto was attacked in Thornton Heath in south London on 19 December 2023, police said. A group of men in a white BMW were seen waiting in the road when Mr Peixoto arrived with a friend in a Vauxhall Grandland on the night of the killing. The 27-year-old father was stabbed multiple times with a knife after he stepped out of the car, including once in the chest as he attempted to climb back in. Image: Michael Patrick Afonso Peixoto. Pic: Metropolitan Police The victim’s friend was threatened with a knife and forced out of the car. The vehicle was later found abandoned nearby. Mr Peixoto was found by police officers on the …

Execution of former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering 11-year-old girl is halted

Execution of former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering 11-year-old girl is halted

Published by Sam Flores

The execution of a former Florida police officer, convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl, has been temporarily halted by the state’s Supreme Court. James Aren Duckett, 68, was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection on Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being found guilty of first-degree murder and sexual battery. As part of his appeals process, he had sought DNA testing, arguing it could prove his innocence. A circuit court granted this request, and the testing is still pending. The Florida Supreme Court has now ordered the state to provide an update on the DNA testing’s status by 5 p.m. on Friday. Should the stay not be lifted by Tuesday, the future timing of the execution remains uncertain. With a record 19 executions last year, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions. According to court …

Convicted killer’s ‘jury tampering’ plot to derail £45m drug smuggling trial from prison cell | UK News

Convicted killer’s ‘jury tampering’ plot to derail £45m drug smuggling trial from prison cell | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A convicted murderer, who once escaped from prison using a grappling hook, orchestrated a plot to collapse a £45m international drug smuggling trial by claiming the jury had been bribed. William Todd, 61, has been sentenced to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He directed the scheme from his cell using a secret mobile phone under the alias Ari Gold – the Hollywood agent played by Jeremy Piven in TV series Entourage. Image: £44m of MDMA was discovered concealed inside a excavator shipped to Australia Pic: National Crime Agency Todd was given two life sentences in 2001 for the attempted murder of his former business partner Arthur de Sousa and shooting dead Mr de Sousa’s bodyguard in the Berkshire village of Pangbourne. He escaped from Winchester prison after sawing through the bars of his cell window before scaling the 30ft wall using a homemade grappling hook and rope ladder – but was caught five days later. Todd was nearing the end of his sentence …

Michigan Man Convicted of Killing His Wife Whose Body Was Stuffed in a Farm Tank Years Ago

Michigan Man Convicted of Killing His Wife Whose Body Was Stuffed in a Farm Tank Years Ago

Published by Sam Flores

ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) — A man was found guilty Tuesday of killing his wife, whose body was found in a empty farm tank in rural Michigan in 2024, three years after she disappeared. Jurors heard evidence of a troubled marriage between Dee and Dale Warner, though defense lawyers emphasized that there was no physical evidence linking him to her death. The case was featured on real-crime podcasts and TV shows. Signs and banners were posted around Lenawee County, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southwest of Detroit, declaring, “Justice For Dee.” Dale Warner was convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Dee Warner, 52, disappeared in April 2021. Dale Warner was charged with murder more than two years later, although investigators still had not found a body. In 2024, her remains were discovered inside a fertilizer tank. A handwritten tag on the side of the tank said, “out of service” and “do not fill.” An autopsy showed Dee Warner was strangled and had suffered blunt force trauma. Prosecutor Jackie Wyse told jurors that Dale Warner …