Month: April 2024

A federal judge sentenced Alex Murdaugh to 40 years in prison in connection to his federal charges in April 2024. According to NBC News, a district judge is allowing Murdaugh to serve his prison sentences for state and federal crimes simultaneously; Murdaugh was previously sentenced to 27 years in prison, imposed by South Carolina for related crimes, and was also ordered to pay more than $8 million in restitution to his financial victims. At his sentencing hearing, Murdaugh apologized to the victims of his scheme, saying he felt “guilt, sorrow, shame, embarrassment, humiliation. There’s not enough time and I don’t possess a sufficient vocabulary to adequately portray to you in words the magnitude of how I feel about the things I did.”

Murdaugh, 55, pleaded guilty in September to the 22 federal charges (which included bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering) for stealing millions of dollars from his South Carolina law firm. Prior to sentencing, federal prosecutors said in a filing last week that Murdaugh failed a polygraph test that he agreed to undergo as part of a plea deal, and identified 11 new financial victims and another $1.3 million in stolen money. Murdaugh has admitted to his financial crimes, saying he was in the throes of opioid addiction for many years.

Murdaugh was convicted last March for the double murder of his wife, Margaret, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22, who were found dead at the family’s hunting lodge with gunshot wounds in 2021. He is already serving two consecutive life sentences without parole for those murders.  Murdaugh has never admitted to the killings, which prosecutors say he carried out to divert attention from the financial wrongdoing he believed was about to be revealed. He is attempting to appeal those convictions.

Editorial credit: Al Munroe/ Shutterstock.com

Former Miami Dolphins CB Vontae Davis, who retired in 2018, has died at the age of 35. No cause of death has been released pending an autopsy. According to the Miami Fox affiliate WSVN, David was found dead in Southwest Ranches, Florida on Monday morning, with the Davie Police Department confirming to PEOPLE that Davis’ body was found in a home owned by Davis’ grandmother, Adaline Davis.

Police said that officers responded to the residence in reference to a medical call that was made by “the house assistant, who found the homeowner deceased. Preliminary information suggests that foul play is not involved  The investigation remains ACTIVE.”  A statement from The Davie Police Department read: “This morning, Davie Police Officers responded to 6051 SW 178th Avenue in reference to a medical call. Officers were called to the residence by the house assistant, who found the homeowner deceased. We can confirm that the deceased individual is Vontae Davis age 35. Preliminary information suggests that foul play is not involved.”

Davis’ former coach Chester Frazier also confirmed the death on X: “#illinination we lost a great today!!! RIP TO @vontaedavis man nothing but good memories of that dude in school!!! Praying for the Davis family!!”  The Miami Dolphins also posted on X: “We are heartbroken by the sudden passing of former Dolphins CB Vontae Davis and extend our deepest condolences to his family & loved ones during this difficult time.”

The Miami Dolphins signed Davis in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, trading him to the Indianapolis Colts during 2012 training. A two-time Pro Bowler, Davis played across 10 NFL seasons with various teams including the Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills.

Editorial credit: dean bertoncelj / Shutterstock.com

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said that seven minors between the ages of 12 and 17 were injured in a shooting outside a shopping mall in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday night.  NBC News reports that Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers were on patrol when they heard gunshots just after 11:30 p.m. and arrived on a block outside the Circle Centre Mall. According to police, they arrived to find “a large group of juveniles” at the scene, including six who had gunshot wounds.

A police spokesperson said: “Officers rendered aid to the victims. Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services (IEMS) arrived and transported all six juveniles to area hospitals.” A seventh victim with a gunshot wound arrived separately at a hospital, also under the age of 18. One victim is in critical condition and the other six are stable.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Tanya Terry told reporters at a news briefing early Sunday that all the victims were now in stable condition, adding that investigators believe more than one gun was used in the shooting.  Terry said: “Once again, we have a situation in which young people are resolving conflict with firearms, and it has to stop,”  adding that officers have noticed a pattern of young people leaving the mall after it closes at 7 p.m. and circulating in the nearby downtown area for hours. She noted that if parents don’t know where their 12-year-old is at 11:30 p.m. before Easter, that should “be a priority .. I think everybody sees the messages in the evening at 10 o’clock, ‘Parents, do you know where your children are?’  And we would ask for our parents to get involved in what their children are out doing, especially at these hours of the evening.”

Police have not made an arrest in the case and have not provided information about a potential suspect. Detectives with the department have begun an aggravated assault investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact Detective Albert Teaters at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317 327 3475 or e-mail him at Albert.Teaters@indy.gov, or they can anonymously call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317 262 477 or TIPS.

Editorial credit: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

Pope Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square, delivering a heartfelt prayer for peace and making several loops around the piazza in his popemobile to greet well-wishers. Francis, 87, arrived in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday two days after he missed the Way of the Cross procession on Good Friday, with the Vatican press office sharing in a statement that he did so “to preserve his health” so that he’d be able to attend the Easter Saturday vigil and Sunday Mass and blessing.

NBC News reported that Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica looking healthy and in good spirits as he waved to crowds gathered for Easter services on Sunday. The pope has been battling health issues over then last month, including bronchitis and the flu, with regular visits to the hospital for checks on his lungs. Respiratory problems and a chronic cough have often been cause for his aides to read passages of speeches for him.

Francis delivered his Easter message and blessing, the Urbi et Orbi, or “to the city and the world” blessing, and during the address appealed for peace around the world, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as a call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, increased humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages taken on Oct. 7: “Jesus alone opens up before us the doors of life, those doors that continually we shut with the wars spreading throughout the world …May the risen Christ open a path of peace for the war-torn peoples of those regions. Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming. Peace is never made with arms, but with outstretched hands and open hearts … Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have grave repercussions on the civil population, by now at the limit of its endurance, and above all on the children.”

Editorial credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com