Goodizen :: Killing & Murder

Here's a sampling of reaction to a robbery and shooting that took the life of a convenience store worker in Lake City Friday afternoon. Sandy Tice, executive director of Chances for Children, across the street from where the shooting occurred: "A man got up this morning to do an honest day's work and build up his business and someone just took his life. It's cruel. It just makes you think of things that can happen so quickly." Thomas Benson, manager of the Advance Auto Parts and Battery store, in the building next to the convenience store where the shooting occurred, said he didn't know about the robbery until he was told about it by customers. "I heard one shot, one car speed away and one black male run away," he said. "I just thought it was a scuffle between those two individuals and that it had nothing to do with the store itself." Even though the robbery occurred within close proximity of the auto parts store and the shooter had not...

BELLEVILLE • Prosecutors overcame bizarre and contradictory eyewitness testimony in convincing a jury to deliver a guilty verdict here Friday against Aaron "Chill" Jackson for the 2010 murder of Washington Park Mayor John Thornton. The courtroom remained silent after the decision was announced about 4:30 p.m. Jackson faces a possible life sentence. He remained calm but his mother exited in tears, as did Thornton's widow. "I just want to thank God for his justice," Sharon Thornton said later. It was a rocky road to a conviction in a trial that left unanswered questions about why Washington Park's top elected official was slain and whether the community's former top police detective committed serious misconduct. Testimony of what were presented to be two eyewitnesses fell flat in front of the jury earlier this week. One recanted earlier statements that she saw Jackson run from the murder scene; the other told the jury that she saw him, then th...

Click photo to enlarge The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office is asking for the public help in identifying a women whose body was found in Port Costa in 1993. Investigators just released sketch of the victim in the unsolved case. (Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office) PORT COSTA -- The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office wants the public's help identifying a woman whose decomposed body was found in Port Costa nearly a decade ago. The woman died of blunt force head trauma up to a year before a dog walker spotted her body under a pile of debris near Reservoir Street on June 2, 1993, a Sheriff's Office spokesman said. Investigators have never determined who the woman was or who killed her. The victim's DNA profile was recently uploaded to a missing persons database and returned with negative results. The Sheriff's Office is now circulating a composite sketch of the woman that was created based on the shape of the skull. The hairstyle was chosen by ...

PORT COSTA -- The Contra Costa Sheriff's Office wants the public's help identifying a woman whose decomposed body was found in Port Costa nearly a decade ago. The woman died of blunt force head trauma up to a year before a dog walker spotted her body under a pile of debris near Reservoir Street on June 2, 1993, a Sheriff's office spokesman said. Investigators have never been able determined who the woman was, or who killed her. The victim's DNA profile was recently uploaded into a missing persons database, with negative results. The Sheriff's Office is now circulating a composite sketch of the woman that was created based on the shape of the victim's skull. The hairstyle was chosen by the sketch artist at random; the victim's hairstyle isn't known. The woman was white, from 20 to 35 years old, between 5 feet and 5 feet 4 inches tall and likely weighed 90 to 120 pounds. Her hair was a reddish brown, and she had a complete hysterectomy. The...

27 April 2012 Last updated at 11:31 ET The High Court in Edinburgh was told Mr Swailes died after being stabbed and hit to the head A 20-year-old from the Borders has admitted the manslaughter of a man in his own home in November last year. Dean Rippon, formerly of Stonefield Place in Hawick, killed Christopher Swailes at a property in the town's Liddesdale Road. His victim died after suffering a stab wound to his chest and blunt force injuries to the head. The case at the High Court in Edinburgh was adjourned for a background report and Rippon was remanded in custody. The court heard how Rippon had originally told detectives he could not have committed the manslaughter as he had been in police custody suspected of shoplifting. However, the officers had already noticed that his clothes and shoes were bloodstained. He told them: "I'm not getting done for manslaughter. "It couldn't be me because I was in custody at Hawick last night....

EVERETT -- Police on Wednesday were canvassing the View Ridge-Madison neighborhood in Everett after a man was found dead there the night before. A neighbor spotted the man on the ground outside a vacant house at 22 Madison St. He called 911 about 6:20 p.m. The man had obvious signs of trauma to his torso, police said. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. The Everett Major Crimes Unit is investigating the death as a homicide, Lt. Robert Goetz said. Detectives declined to say more about how they believe the man may have died. There are no identified suspects or motives. Detectives received a search warrant around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday and collected evidence at the scene. They returned Wednesday afternoon to look for clues in the daylight, Goetz said. The victim's identity had not been determined as of late Wednesday afternoon. The body was turned over to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office. Anyone with information is asked to call 425-257-8450. Rikki King: 425-...

A 31-year-old man arrested in Green Bay, Wis., last year for a 1998 Atwater homicide was sentenced this week to 18 years in prison. Carlos Roy Ramirez pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and assault of 21-year-old Cody Pate behind an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Winton Way. Ramirez was sentenced Wednesday in a plea agreement with the prosecution. No one from the victim's family was present for the hearing, according to Deputy District Attorney Matthew Serratto, the prosecutor in the case. Ramirez said nothing during the hearing. Serratto said the plea agreement was reached because of complicating factors that could have made a jury conviction less likely. For example, Serratto said, the victim was believed to have been holding a hammer and under the influence on methamphetamine. "I think the (agreement) is fair, given (the defendant's) apparent remorse," Serratto said. Defense attorney Tom Pfeiff said his client would have faced li...