Idaho
Judge says Bryan Kohberger’s family can attend upcoming trial in University of Idaho killings
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger’s immediate family members may attend his upcoming quadruple-murder trial in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, even if they might be called to testify, a judge ruled in an order made public Thursday.
Witnesses in criminal cases are sometimes excluded from attending trials to prevent them from shaping their testimony in response to what other witnesses have said or what evidence has been presented. But Judge Steven Hippler wrote that Kohberger’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial also entitles him to have his parents and siblings present if they want to attend.
“Courts recognize that having defendant’s family members present at trial advances the values served by the right to public trial, i.e., ensuring fair proceedings; reminding the prosecutor and judge of their grave responsibilities; discouraging perjury; and encouraging witnesses to come forward,” Hippler wrote.
Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University, is charged in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Prosecutors have said they intended to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted at his trial, which is set to begin in August.
Hippler said the court must balance Kohberger’s right to a public trial with the state’s interest in obtaining forthright testimony from witnesses. But, he added, there is little risk of Kohberger’s family members shaping what they might say from the witness stand in response to what they observe at the trial: The scope of their proposed testimony is narrow, and they have previously given recorded interviews that will help guard against them altering what they say.
Hippler previously ruled that family members of the victims may attend the trial.
New York
Man charged with trying to kidnap a child from a school in Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — An Illinois man tried to kidnap a student from a school in Buffalo, New York, and fled after punching and shoving an employee who confronted him, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Shane Cronin, 30, of Lombard, Illinois, was arrested a short time later near the school. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attempted kidnapping, burglary, attempted assault and other charges, and was ordered to be held without bail.
Cronin entered the Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet school without permission Feb. 11 and approached two children he did not know in a hallway, authorities said. He was attempting to lure and abduct one of them when a school employee saw him and directed him to leave, District Attorney Michael Keane said.
Cronin punched the employee and shoved her to the ground before a security guard intervened and Cronin ran from the building, the prosecutor said.
The school is adjacent to the Buffalo Museum of Science. Cronin’s attorney said his client may have been in the midst of a severe mental health crisis when he legally entered the science museum and from there “was somehow able to gain access to” the attached school.
“By all accounts, most of the employees did what they were supposed to do upon making contact with any person not authorized to be on the school premises,” attorney Daniel DuBois said in an email. Cronin didn’t have any tools or weapons on him or in his vehicle, which was searched by police, DuBois said.
A spokesman for Buffalo Public Schools declined to respond to questions about how the intruder gained access to the school and what security protocols may have been breached. The school includes students in grades three through eight.
The Buffalo Board of Education last month authorized an independent investigation after a veteran Buffalo police detective discussed the case on an April 26 podcast and accused the district of cover-ups.
“Due to ongoing investigations and to not compromise the integrity of the investigation, the district will not make a comment at this time,” district spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said.
Keane said he is aware of the detective’s comments.
“My office has been conducting an investigation. We are committed to upholding the law, pursuing justice for victims, and preserving the integrity of the investigative process,” he said.
Minnesota
Drunken driver who plowed into Minneapolis restaurant patio, killing 2, pleads guilty to murder
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who was driving drunk when he crashed into a patio at a popular Minnesota restaurant, killing two people and injuring nine others, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges Wednesday.
Under the terms of his plea deal, Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, agreed to a sentence of 25 to 30 years. His sentencing is scheduled for July 28.
Prosecutors say Bailey already had five drunken driving convictions on his record but got his license back before he drove into the crowded patio at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park on Sept. 1. His blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit.
Bailey pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder in the deaths of restaurant employee Kristina Folkerts and hospital worker Gabe Harvey, as well as three counts of criminal vehicular operation. He admitted in court that he knew he was drunk when he drove to the tavern. He tried to flee after striking another vehicle while trying to park, he acknowledged, but plowed into the patio instead.
The incident prompted calls for stricter drunken driving laws. The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously for a bill that includes stricter license revocation rules for people with multiple drunken driving convictions, and measures to encourage the use of ignition interlock devices. The bill now goes to a conference committee to resolve minor differences with a version that passed the House last week.
California
Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and vandalism after crashing car through her front gate
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors said Wednesday that a Mississippi man who harassed Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his vehicle through the front gate of the “Friends” star’s Los Angeles home has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism.
Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, 48, of New Albany, Mississippi, also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest Monday, is set to be arraigned on Thursday. His bail has been set at $150,000. It was not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney.
Carwyle is accused of repeatedly harassing Aniston — referred to by the district attorney only as Jennifer A. — by sending her unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages starting in 2023.
Then early Monday afternoon in LA’s wealthy Bel Air neighborhood, Carwyle crashed his vehicle through her front gate, causing major damage, prosecutors said. A security guard stopped him in her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.
Police said Aniston was at home at the time. There were no reports of anyone being injured. Messages left with her representatives seeking comment were not immediately answered.
Carlyle could get up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.
“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorize others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Hochman said in a statement.
Aniston bought the midcentury mansion on a 3.4-acre lot for about $21 million in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.
She became one of the biggest stars in television in her 10 years on NBC’s “Friends.” Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.
Oklahoma
Feds to seek death penalty for federal inmate charged with murdering his cellmate
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday they will seek the death penalty for an inmate accused of strangling his cellmate at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
U.S. Attorney Robert Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against 27-year-old Jasper Reed. A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City on Tuesday returned a three-count indictment charging Reed with first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ federal transfer center, which houses about 1,400 male and female inmates, is a main hub for federal prisoners who are being transferred to prison facilities across the country.
Prosecutors allege Reed, who was serving time in federal prison for a firearms offense out of New Mexico, attacked and seriously injured his first cellmate, referred to in court documents as T.R., on April 27, 2024. A corrections officer saw Reed lying on top of the man with his hands around his neck and blood on both men before he and other officers were able to separate the two, according to an affidavit signed by a federal agent.
The other inmate suffered multiple broken bones in his face and neck, but survived.
A little more than a week later, Reed was housed with another inmate, referred to as R.P., who was found dead inside his cell on May 8, 2024, the affidavit states. An autopsy determined the cause of death of that inmate to be homicide by manual strangulation.
Reed’s attorneys in the Federal Public Defender’s office declined to comment on the case.
Just hours after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he signed a sweeping executive order on the death penalty that directs the U.S. attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.
Trump’s order compels the Justice Department to not only seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases but also to help preserve capital punishment in states that have struggled to maintain adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs.
Before Trump’s election, federal executions had been on hold since a moratorium was imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021. Only three defendants remained on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.
Utah
Judge to decide if convicted killer with dementia can be executed
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys for a Utah man who has been on death row for 37 years sought to convince a state judge Wednesday that the convicted murderer should be spared execution because he has dementia.
Ralph Leroy Menzies was sentenced to die in 1988 for the killing of Maurine Hunsaker, a mother of three. His attorneys said the 67-year-old inmate’s dementia is so severe that he cannot understand why he is facing execution.
If he is deemed competent, Menzies could be the next U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad after the method was used on two South Carolina men in recent weeks: a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001 and a man who killed an off duty police officer in 2004.
Medical experts brought in by prosecutors have said Menzies still has the mental capacity to understand his situation, while those brought in by the defense said he does not. Prosecutor Daniel Boyer urged the judge Wednesday to move forward with the execution.
The hearing was the last in Menzies’ competency case. Judge Matthew Bates said he would have a decision within the next 60 days.
Lindsey Layer, a lawyer for Menzies, described how the inmate often forgets to renew his medications and can no longer do laundry because she said he has forgotten how washing machines work. She compared his aptitude at using a tablet to that of her 3-year-old child.
“I imagine your 3-year-old also understands that if he sneaks a cookie out of the cookie jar, he’s going to go on time out,” Bates responded. “So it seems like what you’re arguing is that Mr. Menzies’ understanding of his impending execution needs to be more than that of a 3-year-old.”
Layer agreed.
Menzies is not the first person to receive a dementia diagnosis while awaiting execution.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 blocked the execution of a man with dementia in Alabama, ruling Vernon Madison was protected against execution under a constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Madison, who killed a police officer in 1985, died in prison in 2020.
That case followed earlier Supreme Court rulings barring executions of people with severe mental illness. If a defendant cannot understand why they are dying, the Supreme Court said, then an execution is not carrying out the retribution that society is seeking.
“It’s not just about mental illness. It can be also the consequence of brain damage or stroke or dementia — the fundamental question being whether he has a rational understanding of the reasons he is being executed,” said Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
More than half of all prisoners sentenced to death in the U.S. spend more than 18 years on death row, according to the organization.
Menzies earlier chose a firing squad as his method of execution. Utah death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 were given a choice between that and lethal injection. For inmates sentenced in the state after that date, lethal injection is the default method of execution unless the drugs are unavailable.
Since 1977 only five prisoners in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad. Three were in Utah, most recently in 2010, and the others in South Carolina. Only three other states — Idaho, Mississippi and Oklahoma — allow the execution method.
Hunsaker, a 26-year-old married mother of three, was abducted by Menzies from the gas station where she worked. She was later found strangled and her throat cut at a picnic area in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah. Menzies had Hunsaker’s wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes.
Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back.
Matt Hunsaker, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed, testified Wednesday that the ongoing case has caused his family emotional turmoil. He expressed gratitude that it might finally be over soon.
“This has gone on for decades,” he said. “Thirty-nine years, two months and nine days ago, my mom was murdered. We miss her. We love her.”
Judge says Bryan Kohberger’s family can attend upcoming trial in University of Idaho killings
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger’s immediate family members may attend his upcoming quadruple-murder trial in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, even if they might be called to testify, a judge ruled in an order made public Thursday.
Witnesses in criminal cases are sometimes excluded from attending trials to prevent them from shaping their testimony in response to what other witnesses have said or what evidence has been presented. But Judge Steven Hippler wrote that Kohberger’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial also entitles him to have his parents and siblings present if they want to attend.
“Courts recognize that having defendant’s family members present at trial advances the values served by the right to public trial, i.e., ensuring fair proceedings; reminding the prosecutor and judge of their grave responsibilities; discouraging perjury; and encouraging witnesses to come forward,” Hippler wrote.
Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University, is charged in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Prosecutors have said they intended to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted at his trial, which is set to begin in August.
Hippler said the court must balance Kohberger’s right to a public trial with the state’s interest in obtaining forthright testimony from witnesses. But, he added, there is little risk of Kohberger’s family members shaping what they might say from the witness stand in response to what they observe at the trial: The scope of their proposed testimony is narrow, and they have previously given recorded interviews that will help guard against them altering what they say.
Hippler previously ruled that family members of the victims may attend the trial.
New York
Man charged with trying to kidnap a child from a school in Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — An Illinois man tried to kidnap a student from a school in Buffalo, New York, and fled after punching and shoving an employee who confronted him, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Shane Cronin, 30, of Lombard, Illinois, was arrested a short time later near the school. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attempted kidnapping, burglary, attempted assault and other charges, and was ordered to be held without bail.
Cronin entered the Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet school without permission Feb. 11 and approached two children he did not know in a hallway, authorities said. He was attempting to lure and abduct one of them when a school employee saw him and directed him to leave, District Attorney Michael Keane said.
Cronin punched the employee and shoved her to the ground before a security guard intervened and Cronin ran from the building, the prosecutor said.
The school is adjacent to the Buffalo Museum of Science. Cronin’s attorney said his client may have been in the midst of a severe mental health crisis when he legally entered the science museum and from there “was somehow able to gain access to” the attached school.
“By all accounts, most of the employees did what they were supposed to do upon making contact with any person not authorized to be on the school premises,” attorney Daniel DuBois said in an email. Cronin didn’t have any tools or weapons on him or in his vehicle, which was searched by police, DuBois said.
A spokesman for Buffalo Public Schools declined to respond to questions about how the intruder gained access to the school and what security protocols may have been breached. The school includes students in grades three through eight.
The Buffalo Board of Education last month authorized an independent investigation after a veteran Buffalo police detective discussed the case on an April 26 podcast and accused the district of cover-ups.
“Due to ongoing investigations and to not compromise the integrity of the investigation, the district will not make a comment at this time,” district spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said.
Keane said he is aware of the detective’s comments.
“My office has been conducting an investigation. We are committed to upholding the law, pursuing justice for victims, and preserving the integrity of the investigative process,” he said.
Minnesota
Drunken driver who plowed into Minneapolis restaurant patio, killing 2, pleads guilty to murder
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who was driving drunk when he crashed into a patio at a popular Minnesota restaurant, killing two people and injuring nine others, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges Wednesday.
Under the terms of his plea deal, Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, agreed to a sentence of 25 to 30 years. His sentencing is scheduled for July 28.
Prosecutors say Bailey already had five drunken driving convictions on his record but got his license back before he drove into the crowded patio at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park on Sept. 1. His blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit.
Bailey pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder in the deaths of restaurant employee Kristina Folkerts and hospital worker Gabe Harvey, as well as three counts of criminal vehicular operation. He admitted in court that he knew he was drunk when he drove to the tavern. He tried to flee after striking another vehicle while trying to park, he acknowledged, but plowed into the patio instead.
The incident prompted calls for stricter drunken driving laws. The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously for a bill that includes stricter license revocation rules for people with multiple drunken driving convictions, and measures to encourage the use of ignition interlock devices. The bill now goes to a conference committee to resolve minor differences with a version that passed the House last week.
California
Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and vandalism after crashing car through her front gate
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors said Wednesday that a Mississippi man who harassed Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his vehicle through the front gate of the “Friends” star’s Los Angeles home has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism.
Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, 48, of New Albany, Mississippi, also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest Monday, is set to be arraigned on Thursday. His bail has been set at $150,000. It was not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney.
Carwyle is accused of repeatedly harassing Aniston — referred to by the district attorney only as Jennifer A. — by sending her unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages starting in 2023.
Then early Monday afternoon in LA’s wealthy Bel Air neighborhood, Carwyle crashed his vehicle through her front gate, causing major damage, prosecutors said. A security guard stopped him in her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.
Police said Aniston was at home at the time. There were no reports of anyone being injured. Messages left with her representatives seeking comment were not immediately answered.
Carlyle could get up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.
“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorize others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Hochman said in a statement.
Aniston bought the midcentury mansion on a 3.4-acre lot for about $21 million in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.
She became one of the biggest stars in television in her 10 years on NBC’s “Friends.” Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.
Oklahoma
Feds to seek death penalty for federal inmate charged with murdering his cellmate
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday they will seek the death penalty for an inmate accused of strangling his cellmate at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
U.S. Attorney Robert Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against 27-year-old Jasper Reed. A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City on Tuesday returned a three-count indictment charging Reed with first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ federal transfer center, which houses about 1,400 male and female inmates, is a main hub for federal prisoners who are being transferred to prison facilities across the country.
Prosecutors allege Reed, who was serving time in federal prison for a firearms offense out of New Mexico, attacked and seriously injured his first cellmate, referred to in court documents as T.R., on April 27, 2024. A corrections officer saw Reed lying on top of the man with his hands around his neck and blood on both men before he and other officers were able to separate the two, according to an affidavit signed by a federal agent.
The other inmate suffered multiple broken bones in his face and neck, but survived.
A little more than a week later, Reed was housed with another inmate, referred to as R.P., who was found dead inside his cell on May 8, 2024, the affidavit states. An autopsy determined the cause of death of that inmate to be homicide by manual strangulation.
Reed’s attorneys in the Federal Public Defender’s office declined to comment on the case.
Just hours after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he signed a sweeping executive order on the death penalty that directs the U.S. attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.
Trump’s order compels the Justice Department to not only seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases but also to help preserve capital punishment in states that have struggled to maintain adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs.
Before Trump’s election, federal executions had been on hold since a moratorium was imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021. Only three defendants remained on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.
Utah
Judge to decide if convicted killer with dementia can be executed
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys for a Utah man who has been on death row for 37 years sought to convince a state judge Wednesday that the convicted murderer should be spared execution because he has dementia.
Ralph Leroy Menzies was sentenced to die in 1988 for the killing of Maurine Hunsaker, a mother of three. His attorneys said the 67-year-old inmate’s dementia is so severe that he cannot understand why he is facing execution.
If he is deemed competent, Menzies could be the next U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad after the method was used on two South Carolina men in recent weeks: a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001 and a man who killed an off duty police officer in 2004.
Medical experts brought in by prosecutors have said Menzies still has the mental capacity to understand his situation, while those brought in by the defense said he does not. Prosecutor Daniel Boyer urged the judge Wednesday to move forward with the execution.
The hearing was the last in Menzies’ competency case. Judge Matthew Bates said he would have a decision within the next 60 days.
Lindsey Layer, a lawyer for Menzies, described how the inmate often forgets to renew his medications and can no longer do laundry because she said he has forgotten how washing machines work. She compared his aptitude at using a tablet to that of her 3-year-old child.
“I imagine your 3-year-old also understands that if he sneaks a cookie out of the cookie jar, he’s going to go on time out,” Bates responded. “So it seems like what you’re arguing is that Mr. Menzies’ understanding of his impending execution needs to be more than that of a 3-year-old.”
Layer agreed.
Menzies is not the first person to receive a dementia diagnosis while awaiting execution.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 blocked the execution of a man with dementia in Alabama, ruling Vernon Madison was protected against execution under a constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Madison, who killed a police officer in 1985, died in prison in 2020.
That case followed earlier Supreme Court rulings barring executions of people with severe mental illness. If a defendant cannot understand why they are dying, the Supreme Court said, then an execution is not carrying out the retribution that society is seeking.
“It’s not just about mental illness. It can be also the consequence of brain damage or stroke or dementia — the fundamental question being whether he has a rational understanding of the reasons he is being executed,” said Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
More than half of all prisoners sentenced to death in the U.S. spend more than 18 years on death row, according to the organization.
Menzies earlier chose a firing squad as his method of execution. Utah death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 were given a choice between that and lethal injection. For inmates sentenced in the state after that date, lethal injection is the default method of execution unless the drugs are unavailable.
Since 1977 only five prisoners in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad. Three were in Utah, most recently in 2010, and the others in South Carolina. Only three other states — Idaho, Mississippi and Oklahoma — allow the execution method.
Hunsaker, a 26-year-old married mother of three, was abducted by Menzies from the gas station where she worked. She was later found strangled and her throat cut at a picnic area in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah. Menzies had Hunsaker’s wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes.
Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back.
Matt Hunsaker, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed, testified Wednesday that the ongoing case has caused his family emotional turmoil. He expressed gratitude that it might finally be over soon.
“This has gone on for decades,” he said. “Thirty-nine years, two months and nine days ago, my mom was murdered. We miss her. We love her.”
