8-year-old girl murdered on way to church — 65 years later, cops uncover shocking suspect in cold case



An 8-year-old Illinois girl vanished while walking to church in 1960 and was later found shot to death in a wooded area — sparking a chilling murder mystery that remained unsolved for more than 65 years.

Now, a stunning breakthrough in the decades-old cold case has led investigators to a very unlikely suspect: a Chicago police officer who spent nearly 30 years investigating sex crimes and homicides.

'And as far as we’re concerned, he’s a murderer who was acting as a police officer.'

On Nov. 12, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz left her family's home in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood to go to church just three and a half blocks away, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Kowalewicz had just received her first Holy Communion, and a nun at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church urged her to receive the sacrament every day for two weeks.

On the day she went missing, Gloria's mother, Esther Kowalewicz, dressed Gloria in a pink-and-brown checkered dress and blue leotard before kissing her goodbye and watching her walk away. It would be the last time Esther saw her young daughter alive.

Gloria never reached the church. Hours later, her body was discovered in a secluded spot in the suburbs. Gloria was shot twice in the head. She also had bruises on her neck.

A driver for a laundry company discovered the Chicago girl's body in a ravine in Palos Park, more than 15 miles southwest of Gloria's home.

Investigators determined that Gloria had been killed in the area where she was found because of the large amount of blood at the crime scene.

Police discovered a bloody trail from a nearby road to the crime scene. Investigators made plaster casts of tire tracks found nearby.

Investigators recovered Gloria's shoes, her purse, and a single bullet casing near her body. Police discovered fingerprints on the strap of Gloria's purse and on her Bible. Gloria's coat was found several miles away.

Police interviewed more than 1,300 people, but the extensive investigation failed to identify the killer.

"The search bogged down, mired in a morass of tips and futile investigations and arrests," stated a Chicago Tribune story published six months after Kowalewicz was murdered. "The tangible clues have been sifted and submitted to microscopic examination, all to no avail. Somewhere, perhaps in the same neighborhood, the criminal still walks the streets."

The cold case remained unsolved for more than 65 years before advances in DNA testing and investigative genetic genealogy helped police identify a suspect this year.

Chicago Police cold-case detectives said they believe Gloria's killer was one of the very people sworn to protect her — a Chicago police officer, the Tribune said.

Following a years-long investigation involving ballistics tests, fingerprint comparisons, DNA tests, and data from family tree websites, detectives identified their suspect as Thomas Francis McInerney — who was a 24-year-old police officer at the time of Kowalewicz's murder.

RELATED: Woman missing for over a year found buried beneath garage after chilling tip from suspected killer's friend: DA

The Tribune reported that McInerney was the son of a Cook County Jail corrections officer, whose parents lived only a few blocks away from the Kowalewicz family home.

McInerney — also a U.S. Army veteran and paratrooper in the Rangers — worked for the Chicago Police Department until 1987. He died in Las Vegas on Aug. 30, 2006.

The Tribune said McInerney’s family could not be reached for comment.

McInerney's obituary stated:

He retired from the City of Chicago Police Department after 28 years of service as a homicide detective. He then worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in both Las Vegas and Reno as an investigator until retiring in 2004. He was honored as the Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator in 2003 and received numerous commendations during his years with the Chicago Police Department.

Kevin Bruno, chief of detectives at the Chicago Police Department, stated:

When you look at the level of work that went into this investigation throughout these six-plus decades — from that initial group of detectives that did everything they could to move this forward, to different detectives picking this up and trying to move it forward, to, finally, this group here — putting in all this time and effort and taking advantage of technological advances to finally bring this case to closure, it just shows you that we don’t forget, and these guys never stopped. The fact that he was a police officer is deeply troubling to all of us that have made a career out of this most noble profession. But at the same time, it’s not something we’re going to minimize or shy away from. And as far as we’re concerned, he’s a murderer who was acting as a police officer.

Adam Kowalewicz, who was born only a few months before his sister was abducted and killed, told the Tribune: "Now I know my mom and dad’s souls can rest. Gloria can rest."

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Man who fled the US after murder indictment in Ohio was apprehended in Somalia



Hanut Abdulle, 23, was arraigned in an Ohio court on Monday over murder charges stemming from the death of Bryce Persang in Sept. 2021.

Persang was found with a gunshot wound in the passenger seat of a silver Honda Fit behind an apartment complex in West Columbus. He was transported to a hospital but later died.

'We're not going to quit. You know, these fugitives take days off.'

After an investigation, Abdulle was indicted on numerous charges along with a co-defendant named Tahir Said.

Prosecutors said both Abdulle and Said fled the country after the shooting, but Abdulle was caught in Mogadishu, Somalia, and extradited to the U.S. He was placed into custody of Columbus police on Thursday, according to a Franklin County Sheriff's Office press release.

Abdulle had been charged in 2023 with one count of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated robbery, and two counts of murder. The four felony counts additionally carried gun charge specifications.

His bond was set at $2 million, and he is subject to GPS monitoring as well as passport surrender if he's released.

Law enforcement officials indicated that they are continuing to seek Said in Somalia.

"We're not going to quit. You know, these fugitives take days off. We don't take days off," said U.S. Marshal Michael Black of the southern district of Ohio.

RELATED: Mississippi massacre: 6 people shot and killed at 4 different scenes by one man, police say one victim was his ex-wife

Abdulle was apprehended through the cooperation of the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Somali Police Force.

"Bryce's life mattered, and our story is important," the victim's mother said in a news video report from WSYX-TV.

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Woman missing for over a year found buried beneath garage after chilling tip from suspected killer's friend: DA



The body of a Massachusetts woman who was missing for more than a year was discovered by police buried under a garage after a tipster revealed to authorities a chilling confession his friend allegedly made, the district attorney said.

Jill Kloppenburg, 47, was reported missing on Feb. 26, 2025.

'At some point, he made a jerking motion, which caused him to pull the trigger, discharging a firearm and shooting Jill in the chest.'

According to the FBI, Kloppenburg was last seen leaving her residence in Lowell on Jan. 2, 2025. The FBI said Kloppenburg was living in temporary housing with roommates.

While there had not been any promising leads regarding the location or status of the missing woman, authorities received a tip last week that broke the case wide open.

On March 10, 2026, a tipster reported a possible homicide to the Nashua Police Department in New Hampshire, according to a press release by the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office.

The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office revealed:

The reporting party told police that his friend, a man named Shawn Sullivan, had allegedly told him that he had killed a woman named “Jill” at this home in or around January 2025, and that he had allegedly shot her and buried her under the floor in the garage of the Audrey Avenue home in Tyngsborough where he was living.

On March 15, officers from the Tyngsborough Police Department, Tewksbury Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police executed a search warrant at the home.

Officers saw what appeared to be a "large, patched area in the garage," the district attorney's office said in a statement.

Investigators utilized ground-penetrating radar technology to scan the entire garage floor and confirmed an "area that appeared to be cut and patched."

WCVB-TV reported that the patched area in the garage measured approximately five feet long and three feet wide.

Police discovered human remains in a bag buried under the garage floor of the home. The DA said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has identified the remains as Jill Kloppenburg.

The preliminary findings by the medical examiner also indicate that Kloppenburg sustained a gunshot wound.

Officers with the Tyngsborough Police Department arrested 40-year-old Shawn Sullivan on March 15.

On Tuesday, Sullivan was arraigned in Lowell District Court on charges of murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and improper disposal of human remains in connection with the shooting of Kloppenburg.

Sullivan was ordered held without bail.

RELATED: 'Want him buried': Family's explosive words surface after cheerleader's stepbrother reportedly charged in her death on cruise

Prosecutors claimed Sullivan said he shot the woman while showing her a gun in his bedroom, WCVB reported.

"The defendant said he was with Jill and holding a firearm while falling asleep. At some point, he made a jerking motion, which caused him to pull the trigger, discharging a firearm and shooting Jill in the chest," prosecutor Ceara Mahoney said.

Mahoney added, "He stated that Jill soon died, and if there was a chance for her survival, he would have called for help. Instead, the defendant kept Jill’s body in his room for a couple of days."

"He then brought Jill’s body to the garage, where he dug a hole in the concrete, placed her body in the hole, and then filled the hole," Mahoney stated.

The Boston Globe reported that Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a press conference on Monday, "Police were able to learn that the last record of any communication from Ms. Kloppenburg’s cell phone was on Jan. 14, 2025.

Ryan added, "Police were able to learn that Ms. Kloppenburg was someone known to Mr. Sullivan, that she had been in his home, and that he had allegedly been with her around the time of her disappearance."

Sullivan's attorney, Ryan Sullivan, described his client's actions as "inexcusable," but said they still warranted a charge of involuntary manslaughter rather than murder.

"He's been emotional in speaking to the police and speaking with me," the attorney said. "This has been something that’s been greatly weighing on him. His decisions in the aftermath, although regretful, don’t equate to him having malice of committing any sort of act designed to do this. It’s a tragic, tragic accident."

Teresa Brink, a friend of Kloppenburg, told reporters outside the courthouse, "She didn’t deserve that, no. Absolutely not. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody does. Nobody. She's a human. She's a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter."

Sullivan is scheduled to appear in court on April 17.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information about the case is urged to contact the Massachusetts State Police at 781-897-8300.

The Massachusetts State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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How a pack of cigarettes helped solve a cold case murder mystery that haunted police for nearly 50 years



Police have made an arrest in connection with the murder of a young woman that occurred nearly 50 years ago — and investigators were tipped off about a suspect in the cold case because of a pack of cigarettes.

On Feb. 1, 1977, police discovered the body of 24-year-old Jeanette Ralston wedged tightly in the back seat of her Volkswagen Beetle in the carport area of an apartment complex in San Jose, California.

'Cases may grow old and be forgotten by the public. We don't forget, and we don't give up.'

Ralston was last seen leaving the Lion's Den bar in San Jose with a man just before midnight the night before.

"Jeanette was at a bar with two of her friends, and they were just dancing and hanging out and having a fun night out, and she ran into the man who killed her," Santa Clara Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker told Fox News this week.

At the time, the medical examiner concluded that her cause of death was strangulation from a long-sleeve dress shirt tied around her neck. The autopsy allegedly showed evidence of sexual assault.

The killer reportedly tried to set the Volkswagen ablaze, but it did not catch fire.

Law enforcement could not identify a suspect at the time, and the murder case went cold for decades.

But last August, investigators managed a major breakthrough in the cold case — thanks to a pack of cigarettes.

Willie Eugene Sims — now a 69-year-old from Jefferson, Ohio — was named as the suspect in Ralston's 1977 murder.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, "Sims — an army private assigned to Fort Ord at the time — was convicted in 1978 for an assault to commit murder in Monterey County. Sims moved out of state before his DNA could be entered into CODIS, the state’s DNA database."

Investigators found Sims' fingerprints on one of Ralston’s cigarette packs.

'I am hopeful with Mr. Sims’ arrest, the family can hold on to hope that justice will be served and, although several years later, they can finally bring some closure to their loss.'

Earlier this year, investigators with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office's Bureau of Investigation and the San Jose Police Department traveled to Ohio to collect a DNA sample from Sims with the assistance of Ashtabula County authorities.

Weeks ago, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office's Crime Lab reportedly found DNA consistent with Sims on Ralston’s fingernails and the shirt used to strangle her.

"This is a case that's been haunting all the cold-case prosecutors for literally since 2011, when [our] Cold Case Unit was established," Baker explained. "About a year ago, we decided, ‘Hey, let's have the fingerprints in this case checked again.’ We caught a break last summer when we sent the fingerprints out, and we got a hit, which led us to the front door of Mr. Sims’ home in Ohio."

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged Sims with the murder of Ralston. If convicted, Sims faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen stated, "Every day, forensic science grows better, and every day criminals are closer to being caught. Cases may grow old and be forgotten by the public. We don't forget, and we don't give up."

"Our guiding principle at the Cold Case Unit here in Santa Clara County is we never forget. We never forget the victims. We never forget the family of those victims, and we never forget the loved ones of those victims," Baker declared. "And we're always going to seek justice, whether it takes 10 years, 20 years, or 50 years."

Baker added, "I talked to Jeanette's son. He was 6 years old when she died, and he was very appreciative of the work we did and the work that we had done in the case."

Ashtabula County Prosecutor April Grabman stated, "I am hopeful with Mr. Sims’ arrest, the family can hold on to hope that justice will be served and, although several years later, they can finally bring some closure to their loss."

Sims is awaiting extradition to California.

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Assistant principal at Alabama middle school charged with murder in connection with triple-homicide cold case



An assistant principal at a middle school in Alabama is behind bars and awaiting extradition to Georgia after he was charged with murder in connection with a savage triple homicide that occurred more than a decade ago.

Last week, Keante Harris — a 45-year-old assistant principal at McAdory Middle School in McCalla, Alabama, about 20 miles southwest of Birmingham — turned himself in to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on a fugitive of justice warrant. A few days later, he signed the necessary paperwork so that he could be extradited to Georgia, where he awaits much more serious charges: three counts of malice murder.

'My brother didn’t deserve the death that was put on him.'

These murder charges relate to a case that occurred all the way back in January 2013. On the 13th of that month, police officers found the deceased bodies of three victims — Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quinones King, and Rodney Cottrell, all of Alabama — in a vehicle abandoned on an I-85 exit ramp in Fulton County, Georgia.

Investigators believe the three victims were lured to a residence in Jonesboro, Georgia, forced inside at gunpoint, and then tortured before they were ultimately murdered and left in the abandoned vehicle. Two of the victims died of asphyxiation, and the other was found strangled.

Harris is one of four suspects arrested and charged with three counts of malice murder in connection with this case. The others are: Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris, and Darrell Harris. It is unclear whether any of the suspects are related or how they might have known the victims.

For now, law enforcement has remained tight-lipped about how investigators cracked the case after 11 and a half years. However, Tony Garrett with Central Alabama Crime Stoppers did hint that advancements in "technology" may have played a role.

"We are seeing DNA investigations, agencies combining more resources," Garrett said. "We are seeing that is a better solution or a better way to investigate. So, we are seeing technology catch up, and we are seeing better communication."

Garrett, who has been working with the victims' families since the murders occurred, cautioned that these arrests are only the beginning of yet another long legal process. "I have to tell them to be mindful because this is only just the start of it," Garrett said. "Now they have to still investigate and still take this to court, so it’s still a long process for the family. So my prayers and my heart go out to them."

Over the years, members of the victims' families have spoken out in hopes of bringing justice for their loved ones. "My brother didn’t deserve the death that was put on him," said Bridget Miller, Rodney Cottrell's sister. "He just left a lot of people who love him. It was personal because of the way they were killed, and it just hurts."

Lakita Lewis, who was related to two of the victims, is likewise tormented by the brutality of the crime and how callously the victims were dumped by the side of the road. "They were killed in one place, but the people who did it there, they put them in their cars," she said. "They put my uncle and Rodney in the backseat, and they put my sister in the trunk of her own car."

Harris is expected to be transferred to custody in Georgia by May 28. His fugitive of justice charge in Alabama will likely be dropped.

For now, Harris has been placed on administrative leave per district protocol.

"We have been made aware that Mr. Keante Harris was arrested [on May 8]," Jefferson County Schools said in a statement. "At this time we still are gathering facts about the specifics of this situation. However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools. Per standard procedure, Mr. Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave. As more facts become available, we will act according to our district’s policy."

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California grandfather shot dead in front of granddaughter after answering front door,  $30,000 reward offered to find killer



A California grandfather was gunned down after answering his front door. The beloved husband was murdered right in front of his granddaughter, according to police. After not being able to track down the killer for months, law enforcement is now offering a considerable reward to bring the murderer to justice.

Hector Ascencio Sr. was at his home with his granddaughter around 9 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2023, in the South Gate neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Ascencio heard a knock at the door while his 10-year-old granddaughter was sitting in the living room nearby, KABC-TV reported. When the 57-year-old grandfather answered the door, he was shot dead by the killer.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department noted that Ascencio's granddaughter "witnessed" her grandfather's murder.

The murder suspect immediately fled the crime scene, allegedly speeding off in a dark-colored 4-door vehicle. It is unknown whether there were any other people in the vehicle.

Law enforcement has yet to track down Ascencio's killer after months on the hunt.

Investigators do not have a motive for the senseless murder.

Hector's family said the grandfather didn't have any enemies and they are still shocked by the murder.

Los Angeles Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement, "Hector was in his own home with his family when someone savagely took his life. His granddaughter watched Hector die. We need to bring his killers to justice as soon as possible, and I ask for the public’s help."

On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the City of South Gate both authorized a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect who killed the grandfather.

"If you saw something or you were with the person just speak up. It’s not right. Why did they shoot him? He just opened the door and just took him like that," said Andy Ascencio, one of Hector's sons.

Anyone with information regarding the murder is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-550 (Attention Detective Esteban Soliz or Detective Mike Rivas). Anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

SoCal grandfather gunned down answering front door; reward offered www.youtube.com

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Ex-gang leader arrested, charged with the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in long-awaited breakthrough



One of the last living witnesses to the notorious drive-by shooting death of Tupac Shakur has been arrested and charged with the 1996 murder of the iconic rapper.

Las Vegas law enforcement officials announced on Friday that 60-year-old Duane "Keffe D" Davis had been arrested and charged with one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement in connection with the fatal shooting of Tupac.

A Clark County judge reportedly denied Davis bail during his court hearing Friday.

Clark County prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said evidence was presented to the grand jury that Davis acted as the "on-ground, on-site commander" who "ordered the death" of Tupac "for the purpose of seeking retribution."

"Many people who did not believe the murder of Tupac Shakur was important to this police department, I am here to tell you: that was simply not the case," Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

"Our goal was always to hold those responsible for Tupac's violent murder accountable," McMahill added.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lieutenant Jason Johansson explained, "This case has been reviewed by our homicide team and our homicide detectives for over two and a half decades, and our persistence in this investigation has paid off."

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters, "It has often been said that justice delayed is justice denied. Not in this case. Today, justice will be served."

The long-awaited breakthrough in the cold case is decades in the making. Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip 27 years ago.

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight attended a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Arena. Following the fight, members of the Death Row Records entourage allegedly physically assaulted Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson – the nephew of Davis.

True Crime Daily reported, "Davis and other members of the Crips reportedly found out about the incident with Anderson, which prompted Davis to allegedly 'devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Knight and Shakur for what occurred.'"

Shakur and Knight then drove in a black BMW to an afterparty.

Davis – a leader of the South Side Crips gang – was reportedly in a white Cadillac with three others, including Anderson. Davis allegedly handed a gun to someone in the backseat. When the BMW was stopped at a red light, the Cadillac pulled up beside the car and someone in the backseat executed a deadly drive-by shooting. Shakur was shot four times. The Cadillac sped off.

Tupac, 25, was taken to University Medical Center and died six days later on Sept. 13, 1996.

Anderson was reportedly a suspect in Shakur’s killing, but he was fatally shot two years after Tupac's death.

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Gilgo Beach murders: How a pizza crust, Tinder account, and 'sadistic' Google searches helped police locate Long Island serial killer suspect



After more than a decade, police have arrested a New York man believed to be responsible for the deaths of three sex workers and the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman. An avalanche of evidence – including a pizza crust, a Tinder account, and "sadistic" Google searches – led police to the Long Island serial killer suspect in the cold case murders.

Rex A. Heuermann, a 59-year-old Long Island architect and married father of two, was arrested at his Massapequa Park home on Thursday night.

Heuermann was charged with murder in connection to the killings of three women who are part of the “Gilgo Four.” He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the killings of 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and 22-year-old Megan Waterman and 27-year-old Amber Costello in 2010.

Heuermann was held on no bail. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on Friday.

Authorities named Heuermann as the "prime suspect" in the death of another victim found on Gilgo Beach. Maureen Brainard-Barnes went missing in 2007.

The New York Post reported, "Suffolk County investigators spent 18 months painstakingly building a case against suspect Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann – the married dad of two who allegedly left a trail of damning evidence behind linking him to the so-called 'Gilgo Four' slayings."

Witnesses say the last client seen with Costello drove "a dark-colored, first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche," according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

Coincidentally, a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche was registered to Heuermann. His pickup truck has since been impounded for evidence.

The suspect reportedly used a different burner phone to book appointments with the sex workers. Tierney said that cell phone tower data showed all of the calls were made from Massapequa Park – where Heuermann lived.

Tierney told Fox News, "So we were able to use that technology, but we still had to develop a suspect. And that's where the phone evidence and the evidence with regard to the car and some of [Heuermann's] other activities came in."

"The FBI and other phone analysts are really skilled in what they can do," Tierney continued. "So they could really analyze phone records and really isolate location areas where suspicious activity occurs. And that really allows you to capture or identify suspects."

Investigators were motivated to arrested Heuermann because continued to use burner phones to make appointments with sex workers, according to officials.

Court documents say Heuermann signed up for Tinder accounts with fictitious names to search for "dates" or "hookups." He purportedly used an American Express credit card via Google Pay to purchase a subscription to Tinder.

"Records obtained from Tinder revealed a burner phone was linked to a fictitious Tinder account for 'Andrew Roberts' using an email that Heuermann also accessed from his personal cell phone," according to the New York Post.

A burner phone was reportedly found on Heuermann at the time of his arrest.

The suspect reportedly used a phone to call Barthelemy’s then-16-year-old sister to say her sibling is a "whore."

CNN reported, "The suspect made taunting phone calls to Barthelemy’s sister, 'some of which resulted in a conversation between the caller, who was a male, and a relative of Melissa Barthelemy, in which the male caller admitted killing and sexually assaulting Ms. Barthelemy,' according to the bail application."

Prosecutors said in the court documents, "Investigators could find no instance where Heuermann was in a separate location from these other cellphones when such a communication event occurred."

Investigators claimed that Heuermann's wife and children were traveling out of New York state on vacation during the time of the victims' disappearances.

Heuermann conducted "thousands" of explicit Google searches for child pornography, nearby sex workers, and other disturbing inquiries, according to court documents.

ABC News reported, "Internet search records from the burner phones showed that between March 2022 and June 2023 indicated the suspect searched for sites 'related to active and known serial killers, the specific disappearances and murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, and the investigation into their murders,' as well as 'sex workers, sadistic, torture-related pornography and child pornography,' prosecutors alleged."

Tierney said, "And there was a lot of torture porn. And what you would consider depictions of women being abused, being raped, and being killed."

The district attorney said, "In a 14-month period, he had over 200 searches pertaining to the Gilgo investigation. Not only was he looking at investigative insight. He was looking, trying to figure out, how is the task force using cell phones to figure out what's happening."

The Google searches reportedly included: "Why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer," "Why hasn’t the long island serial killer been caught," "In Long Island serial killer investigation, new phone technology may be key to break in case."

Investigators reportedly linked Heuermann to the death of Waterman via a pizza crust.

On Jan. 26, investigators witnessed Heuermann throw a pizza box into a trash can in Midtown Manhattan, authorities say. The leftover pizza crust in the box was sent to a crime lab. The DNA from the pizza crust matched a hair found in the burlap used to wrap Waterman's body, according to court docs.

The bodies of Barthelemy, Costello, and Waterman were all found wrapped in camouflaged burlap.

Tierney explained, "All the women were bound at the head, the midsection or chest, and the legs using camouflage burlap used in duck blinds, for hunting. So obviously, it was used to purposely hide the body."

By spring 2011, there were 10 bodies found in the Gilgo Beach area.

The investigation is still ongoing.

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Extra Time: Everything we know about the Gilgo Beach investigation www.youtube.com

'He's a serial killer': Texas man, previously convicted of rape and murder of 8-year-old girl, now a suspect in 10 murders after chilling confession to police



A Texas man is suspected of being a serial killer after police arrested him in connection to two murders and possible involvement in up to 10 cold cases. Previously, the suspect was convicted of the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl.

Officials with the Austin Police Department said homicide detectives received a chilling phone call from Raul Meza Jr. on May 24. Meza allegedly confessed to killing his 80-year-old roommate, Jesse Fraga.

During the call, Meza also implicated himself in the 2019 strangulation killing of 66-year-old Gloria Lofton in Austin. Lofton's murder had been unsolved, but police say that the DNA from the crime scene matches Meza's.

Meza, 62, reportedly knew details about both murders that police had not disclosed.

"The caller stated, ‘My name is Raul Meza, and you are looking for me.' Meza then went on to detail his relationship with Jesse Fraga and detailed the manner in which he murdered Mr. Fraga, including details that had not yet been released to the public," said Det. Patrick Reed – who answered Meza's call to the police department.

“Mr. Meza said he was ready and prepared to kill again and he was looking forward to it,” Reed stated.

Following a five-day manhunt, Meza was arrested on Tuesday. Police said Meza had a backpack containing zip ties, a flashlight, duct tape, and a .22 caliber pistol with extra rounds.

He was charged with capital murder and is being held on $1 million bond, according to court records.

The Austin Police Department is investigating the possibility that Meza could be involved in several other homicides going back to 1996.

“Right now, we have between eight and 10 cases that kind of fit the similar circumstances that we’re looking at, but that could obviously grow,” Austin Police Det. Katy Conner said at a press conference.

Meza pleaded guilty in the sexual assault and strangulation slaying of a young girl in the 1980s.

In 1982, Meza pleaded guilty to raping and murdering 8-year-old Kendra Page. The girl's body was discovered behind an Austin elementary school.

At the time of the girl's murder, Meza was on parole for robbing a convenience store and shooting a man, leaving him with permanent injuries, according to police.

Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his crimes. However, Meza was released after only serving 11 years.

CBS News reported, "After being released on parole in the girl's killing, residents of Texas cities large and small protested when he moved there. He was forced to move from El Paso, San Antonio, Wichita Falls, Mineral Wells, and Sweetwater. After moving to rural Uvalde County, west of San Antonio, to live with his grandparents, he was jailed again after his family said he had verbally abused them."

After being boycotted, Meza held a news conference to proclaim that he had changed his violent ways.

"There’s nothing I can do to change my past,” Meza told reporters, according to KVUE. “I can only tell you that in my heart, I know that I will not willfully bring harm to anyone again.”

Bruce Mills – who investigated Page's murder in 1982 and is now the interim assistant city manager of Austin – recalled the horrific case.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Mills said of the 1982 murder investigation. "We were shocked, disappointed with no real explanation as to why this case didn’t go to trial. We never got solid answers to that."

Mills said of Meza, "Here’s a serial killer that justice was not served. It was a travesty of justice."

He added, "Commits capital murder, pleads to murder, is released 11 years later, and has killed how many people? We don’t know."

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Arab billionaire's son admits to murder of 23-year-old student, writes it off as a 'sex accident.' Won't return to UK to face justice because he 'doesn't like the weather'



23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen was raped and murdered in 2008. Her body was found under debris and garbage in a London basement. Her Yemeni killer managed to elude police and avoid addressing his guilt until slipping up recently in an interview with the BBC.

Farouk Abdulhak, the playboy son of an Arab billionaire who fled the United Kingdom to Yemen, admitted to killing the student, writing off her tragic rape and murder as "just a sex accident gone wrong."

Despite this admission of guilt, Abdulhak has made it clear he has no intention of returning to the U.K. to face justice, in part because he is not a fan of the weather.

The murder and getaway

Magnussen, a Norwegian student, was last seen alive on March 14, 2008. She had gone out to celebrate having aced an exam at Regent's Business School. Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., she was seen getting into a taxi with fellow student and friend Farouk Abdulhak, reported the Guardian.

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One of the victim's friends suggested the victim and her killer had a platonic relationship and that she had rebuked him in a prior instance where he had attempted to kiss her.

Magnussen's friends later noted that Abdulhak got angry that evening whenever anybody attempted to take a picture of him and his future victim together, reported the BBC.

Two days later, police found her naked body dumped in the basement of a central London flat where the unrepentant rapist had been living. Abdulhak had reportedly made a "token attempt" to disguise Magnussen's corpse.

The Guardian noted that Magnussen's body showed signs she had put up a significant fight against her rapist. She had suffered 43 cuts and grazes, "many of them typical of assault type injuries or those received in a struggle."

Abdulhak erased his Facebook profile and boarded a March 14 flight to Cairo. A Yemeni national, he then returned to his homeland on his father's private jet.

The rapist's father, whose wealth enabled this escape, was Shaher Abdulhak, the founder of Shaher Trading. Shaher died of cancer in 2020, at which time, his net worth was roughly $8.4 billion, reported the Daily Mail.

While Abdulhak was Scotland Yard's prime suspect, his powerful family protected him. Additionally, Yemen has no extradition treaty with the U.K., so British officials proved powerless to force him back to the island to face justice.

Additional efforts were made, largely by the victim's father, to pressure the British government to use its leverage over the Islamic-terrorist haven to compel Abdulhak's extradition, but these too proved to be in vain.

The admission of guilt

Abdulhak has previously ignored interview requests from Western journalists but agreed to speak to BBC News Arabic special correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi — a fellow Yemeni.

Ten days into a series of text exchanges, the rapist told Al-Maghafi, "I did something when I was younger, it was a mistake."

The rapist expressed apprehension over speaking to Al-Maghafi, recognizing her to be a journalist, but pressed on with his admission, writing, "I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened. 2 regret coming here [to Yemen] should have stayed and paid the piper."

"It's all a blur," said the rapist, noting that he has recurring flashbacks of the murder and that the smell of certain perfumes still make him uncomfortable.

When Al-Maghafi pressed the rapist on whether he would come back to face penalties over Magnussen's rape and murder, Abdulhak said, "I don't think justice will be served. ... I find that the criminal justice system there [in the UK] is heavily biased. I find that they will want to make an example of me being a son of an Arab, being… a son of someone rich… it's way too late."

Having moved the body and left the country, Abdulhak said he is "legally [expletive]."

On another occasion where the two discussed Abdulhak's crimes, the rapist wrote of Magnussen's death as "just an accident. Nothing nefarious. ... Just a sex accident gone wrong."

He claimed that he had been on cocaine the evening of March 14.

Justice delayed but not impossible

After learning of Al-Maghafi's correspondence with Abdulhak, the victim's father, Odd Petter Magnussen, said, "He has no empathy, obviously, with our family, and he doesn't show any sort of remorse or anything."

The interview not only confirmed Odd Petter's suspicions about Abdulhak's character but that there was cause for hope.

"I'm optimistic we might have a solution in the longer term… because we can talk to him. I'm more than ever convinced that there will be a solution to this case. I just hope it will be on… my ethical terms," added Odd Petter.

Magnussen's father previously emphasized that Abdulhak is a coward but "cannot hide forever."

Metropolitan police maintain that they "continue to do everything in our power to have [Abdulhak] returned to the UK to stand trial."

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