Mother and her adult son allegedly beat up 65-year-old woman on cruise ship amid argument



An Alabama woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting a passenger on a cruise ship. Meanwhile, the woman's son was kicked off the ship after allegedly striking the same senior citizen victim.

Kelli Lyn Ryan, 49, and her 23-year-old son Dylan Ryan sailed on the MSC Seascape cruise ship on Oct. 5. A day after leaving Port Miami, the mother and son from Huntsville allegedly got involved in a physical confrontation with a 65-year-old woman in the ship’s two-deck theater.

Authorities did not specify whether the victim and alleged assailants knew each other or what ignited the altercation.

WHNT-TV reported that the ship's deputy chief of security informed the Miami-Dade Police Department that Kelli Lyn Ryan was seen "hitting the victim with an open hand" after an argument around 9:30 p.m. Oct. 6.

The Miami-Dade Police Department said the altercation was captured on surveillance video.

The ship's deputy chief security officer said Dylan Ryan was caught on video striking the victim multiple times.

The police report said the senior citizen victim suffered multiple injuries on her face and head.

Dylan Ryan was booted from the MSC Seascape at the first port of call in Falmouth, Jamaica. Authorities said he was removed from the ship for unspecified “excessive behavior.”

Kelli Lyn Ryan was allowed to remain on the week-long cruise as it made stops in the Cayman Islands, Mexico, and MSC Ocean Cay — the cruise company’s private island in the Bahamas.

However, Kelli Lyn Ryan was arrested once the ship docked in Miami. She was taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and charged with battery on a person 65 or older.

Authorities did not specify whether the victim and alleged assailants knew each other or what ignited the altercation.

MSC Cruises has not commented on the incident.

The FBI said it had received 180 reports of alleged criminal activity on board cruises in 2023.

FBI Tampa Special Agent Mat Pagliarini and FBI Los Angeles Special Agent Matt Parker noted that incidents of sexual assault were the most common crime on cruise ships, followed by physical assaults.

The Department of Justice said there were 24 physical assaults with serious injury on cruise ships in 2023 — 14 physical assaults happened on Carnival cruise ships. There were reportedly 33 sexual assaults on cruise ships last year.

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Teen thug accused of beating, robbing 83-year-old woman in broad daylight — but 3 adults allegedly put him up to it



A 15-year-old male is accused of beating and robbing an 83-year-old woman in broad daylight in front of a New Jersey supermarket last week — but three adults allegedly put him up to it.

Somers Point police said officers responded just before 11 a.m. Oct. 3 to an Acme supermarket in regard to a strong-armed robbery.

'Hoping for a judge who will put them away.'

Police said someone approached an 83-year-old Somers Point woman from behind near the store's entrance and then assaulted her and stole her purse. Somers Point is on the south Jersey shore about a half hour southwest of Atlantic City.

The accused — described as a younger male, possibly white, wearing a mask and dark clothing — fled the scene toward Bethel Road, police said.

The victim suffered facial and upper body injuries, after which she received medical treatment and was released, police said in a follow-up post.

Arrests

Police said they executed multiple search warrants on residences and a vehicle in Atlantic City and Egg Harbor Township to obtain evidence — and then arrested the following individuals:

  • A 15-year-old male from Egg Harbor Township on charges of robbery, aggravated assault, and theft. The teen was taken to Harborfields Juvenile Detention Center.
  • Maria DeSantis, 60, of Woodbine on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit theft, using/employing a juvenile to commit a crime, and receiving stolen property.
  • Charles Ogelsby Jr., 23, of Atlantic City, on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit theft, using/employing a juvenile to commit a crime, and receiving stolen property. Ogelsby also was charged with possession of a defaced firearm.
  • Emily Labaco, 22, of Atlantic City, on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit theft, using/employing a juvenile to commit a crime, and receiving stolen property.

All three adult suspects were taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility.

How are observers reacting?

Nearly 300 comments have been posted underneath the police department's Facebook post about the incident, and most seemed pleased with the police response. One offered, "Great work! Hoping for a judge who will put them away."

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70-year-old woman accused of tricking boy into sending her nude photos of himself, sextorting teen



An elderly woman from Tennessee is accused of sextorting a teen boy from Minnesota, according to authorities.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office reportedly was notified of a financial sextortion plot involving a 17-year-old boy in Linwood Township on Sept. 30, 2022.

The woman allegedly threatened to share the explicit photos with his friends and family if he didn't pay her money.

The victim — now 19 years old — allegedly began communicating with an unknown woman online.

KMSP-TV reported that the boy sent nude photos of himself to the woman. The woman allegedly threatened to share the explicit photos with his friends and family if he didn't pay her money.

Authorities said the geriatric alleged sextortionist demanded he send money to her Venmo account, after which the teen purportedly sent an initial payment of $1,700.

The alleged victim ended up sending the woman a total of $2,204.54 by September 2022, according to law enforcement.

Authorities identified 70-year-old Stephanie Godby as the alleged sextortion suspect.

Law enforcement reportedly linked Godby’s birth date, social security number, phone number, and address to the Venmo account that received payments from the boy.

Police have yet to locate Godby.

Godby — of Dandridge, Tennessee — was charged in absentia with one count of coercion and one count of theft by swindle.

Law enforcement noted that there could be additional sextortion victims. Godby's Venmo account had received similar payments from people around the country, according to subpoenaed records.

According to the records, one payment sent to Godby's Venmo account had a message that read: “Leave my husband alone for good, this is all you’re getting from me.”

Detectives are still investigating the alleged sextortion scheme and are attempting to collect additional information regarding her bank account and phone records.

Law enforcement did not disclose how the alleged victim and Godby initially met.

The FBI defines financially motivated sextortion as: "When predators pose as someone else online to coerce victims into taking and sending sexually explicit photos and videos — and then immediately demand payment or threaten to release the photo to the victim’s family and friends."

According to FBI data, financially motivated sextortion victims are typically males between the ages of 14 and 17.

From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations had received over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors. The sextortion schemes involved at least 12,600 victims — mostly boys — and led to at least 20 suicides.

As Blaze News reported in August, a young man from Pennsylvania allegedly believed he had met a girl online and sent her sexually explicit images of himself. However, the recipients of his photos reportedly turned out to be two Nigerian males who were financially sextorting the alleged victim — who committed suicide after not having enough money for the blackmail demand.

Blaze News previously reported about a 16-year-old Mississippi boy who committed suicide after being hoodwinked in a sextortion scheme in 2023.

In 2022, a 17-year-old Michigan boy committed suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scheme orchestrated by three Nigerian men.

South Carolina state lawmaker Rep. Brandon Guffey (R) lost his 17-year-old son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide in 2022 because of a sextortion scheme.

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Police: Driver pulled 78-year-old woman from cab by her leg as she tried to fight back with cane — then plowed into witness who attempted to intervene



An Access-a-Ride cab driver pulled a 78-year-old woman out of a vehicle by her leg in New York City earlier this week, police told NBC News. Video caught the moment the elderly victim tried the fight back by hitting the driver with her cane.

But the drama didn't end there. Police said the witness who was recording the incident on video tried to intervene by confronting the driver — who proceeded to plow into the witness with the cab, NBC News added.

What are the details?

The woman had been in the backseat of the cab — Access-a-Ride serves those with permanent or long-term disabilities — when she got into a dispute over her drop-off location around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, New York City police told NBC News.

The woman reportedly was on her way to a physical therapy appointment before an argument broke out, and the driver pulled her out and onto the street on East 35th Avenue near the corner of Avenue N in Marine Park in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.

"The driver pulled her out of the vehicle by her leg and took her phone for a short period of time," police noted to the network.

Police added that the driver used the vehicle to hit the 35-year-old man who was recording the incident on video and trying to intervene, NBC News said, adding that the suspect drove away from the scene.

In the video, the witness recording the video asks, "Guys, what's going on?" as the woman is on her back on the street, hitting the driver with her cane.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

"Call the police!" the victim shouts before saying the driver took her phone.

The driver then appears to hand the phone to the witness behind the cab and then walks off and gets into the driver's seat.

"This is an old woman!" the witness protests. "Hello? Can you not do that? Can you not stop and run away?"

Apparently believing the driver wouldn't plow into him, the witness then appears to get in front of the cab before declaring, "You’re going to have to run over —” and then yelling in horror as the driver hits him with the vehicle, NBC News reported.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Police said both the woman and witness were taken to a hospital, the network reported, adding that the investigation did not lead to an arrest as of Friday morning.

The son of the 78-year-old victim told the Post his mother is "very scared because that guy is still out there. She is sore and has a headache, but she is very scared because the guy hasn’t been arrested yet.”

The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers identified the driver as Mohamed Ahmed Elsakran, the Post said, adding that the group called for the immediate suspension and revocation of his Taxi and Limousine Commission driving privileges.

“The video is brutal and shows no compassion or respect for the elderly,” the group said in a statement, according the the paper. “Mohamed’s actions will not be tolerated, there is NOTHING that can justify throwing an elderly women out of a car and into the street.”

The statement added that the driver’s actions “are criminal in nature," the Post said.

The man who tried to intervene, Ezra Halawani — who was wearing a sling on his right arm in the aftermath of the incident — told the paper he saw the attack about a block away from where he worked.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

“First instinct was to pull out my phone and start recording,” Halawani recounted to the Post. “When I realized it was an elderly woman, I came to help her out, see what was going on.”

Halawani added to the paper that the driver clipped him with the vehicle: “Got next to his car, and he swerved left and drove right into me."

Elderly Woman Dragged Out Of Car After Disagreement With Driveryoutu.be

74-year-old woman brutally sucker-punched in face by much larger female during stroll down Manhattan sidewalk



An elderly woman was brutally sucker-punched by a much larger female in a broad daylight attack in New York City last week.

What are the details?

The unprovoked punch was captured on surveillance video as the 74-year-old victim was strolling down Madison Avenue near East 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan around 11 a.m. Wednesday, the New York Post reported.

Video shows the suspect standing near a building, bending down to pick up a duffle bag, and then suddenly punching the victim in the side of her face as she walked by, the paper said.

Image source: New York Post video screenshot

The elderly victim stumbled and fell on the sidewalk several feet away as the suspect casually walked away in the opposite direction of where the victim had been walking, video shows.

Image source: New York Post video screenshot

A bystander appeared to come to the victim's aid, the Post said.

Video also shows the suspect – who was still at large Friday, the Post said – looking over her right shoulder toward the scene of the crime while lifting up her left hand apparently as if to blow off what she did.

Image source: New York Post video screenshot

The victim was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Manhattan in stable condition, the paper said.

The suspect was wearing her hair up, was dressed in a white hoodie and black shorts, and was carrying a black duffel bag, the Post added.

Anything else?

A felon accused of sucker-punching a man in New York City earlier this month — fracturing the victim's skull and leaving him in coma — was released with no bail after charges against him were downgraded from attempted murder to assault and harassment.

The suspect was arrested a day later for a parole violation, the New York Post reported, adding that Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul claimed credit despite her refusal to roll back New York state’s controversial bail-reform law.

80-year-old woman stabbed multiple times in broad daylight while loading groceries in supermarket parking lot. Worried witness asks, 'Where are you safe?'



An 80-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times in a southern New Jersey supermarket parking lot while she was loading groceries into her car late Sunday morning, WTXF-TV reported.

What are the details?

Mary Jacobs told the station she saw the "obviously scared" victim sitting on the ground in the Acme parking lot on West Nicholson Road in Audubon "with blood coming out of her side" as others rushed to her and tried applying pressure to her wounds.

"I don't know why he would do this to me," a tearful Jacobs recalled the victim saying, according to WTXF. "I just don't know why."

Image source: WTXF-TV video screenshot

Officials told the station the victim was in stable condition and recovering at Cooper University Hospital.

What happened to the suspect?

Police soon after arrested 40-year-old Altirik Higgins of Philadelphia, WTXF said, adding that he was charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses. Altirik was taken to the Camden County jail, according to the Camden County prosecutor's office.

The motive for the stabbing is unclear, the station said.

'Where are you safe?'

Acme shopper and Audubon native Amy Paratore told the station she's "surprised that something like this happened in Audubon. I've lived here my whole life, and you usually feel safe coming to this store."

Stephanie Moore added to WTXF that she shops at the Acme "all the time by myself, so now it's got me a little leery ... if somebody's stabbing people ... coming out of a grocery store, then where are you safe?"

Moore also told the station the stabbing is "very shocking because this area is not like that. It's very quiet, very quaint."

Another woman outside the supermarket told WTXF the stabbing makes her scared for her kids and the elderly in her family.

"It's crazy that we can't even go shopping, and our elderly can't get their groceries," she told the station. "The lady couldn't come out of the grocery store without worrying about getting stabbed or hurt."

Naked man tackles 67-year-old woman off riding lawnmower. Victim's husband intervenes, but man attacks him, too — so husband shoots him dead.



A Georgia homeowner fatally shot a naked man who tackled his 67-year-old wife off a riding lawnmower and then began attacking both of them, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, told WSB-TV.

What are the details?

Deputies who responded to reports of an assault found a 25-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound to the chest in the front yard of a home in Lizella, the station said. Newsweek said the incident took place just before 5 p.m. Thursday.

The homeowner told deputies that the naked suspect tackled his wife off the riding lawnmower she was using, WSB said.

The homeowner said he tried to pull the man off his wife, but the suspect attacked him — and then started attacking his wife again, the station said.

So the husband said he retrieved his gun and shot the suspect, WSB reported.

What happened to the wife and husband?

The station said the wife was taken to a hospital where she was stable and treated for her injuries. The husband — who is 66, according to Newsweek — had minor injuries and was treated at the scene, WSB said.

The suspect has not been identified pending notification of next of kin, the station added.

Video: Elderly woman screams as thugs physically attack her, leave her with broken bones in carjacking attempt; one even tackles victim as she runs for help



Four unidentified suspects were caught on video physically attacking an elderly woman in a suburb of Washington, D.C., last week in a carjacking attempt that left the victim with two broken bones, WTTG-TV reported.

What are the details?

The suspects approached the victim around 6:40 p.m. March 29 as she arrived at her Capitol Heights, Maryland, home after running errands, the station said.

They pushed the victim to the ground and demanded her car keys, WTTG said, adding that they searched her pockets and ripped belongings from her hands. The woman — who's in her 60s, the station said — can be heard screaming "Help me!" in the video.

When the suspects got her keys, they began to run away, WTTG said. However, as the victim ran toward a neighbor’s house for help, one of the fleeing suspects changed course, chased her down, and tackled her to the ground, WTTG said.

Image source: WTTG-TV video screenshot

The victim suffered two broken bones, the station said, adding that the suspects fled the area without taking her vehicle.

Here's video of the attack:

What did law enforcement have to say?

"The shameless act of violence is very sick and disturbing to me and everyone who has watched the video," Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz said, according to WTTG. "Our seniors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and not be violently accosted in our neighborhoods where we live peacefully. We need our community’s help in arresting these suspects so that they may be brought to justice and held accountable for their senseless act of violence. We are asking the community to look at this video and the pictures of the suspects and call us with information."

The station said that those with information can call the Carjacking Interdiction Unit at 301-516-3788 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS, adding that a cash reward of up to $2,500 is being offered.

Here's the video report from WTTG:

Thugs caught on video attacking 76-year-old woman, tossing her to floor, stealing her purse. Victim hospitalized with fractured hip.



A 76-year-old woman suffered a fractured hip after a crew of crooks attacked her, tossed her to the floor of a Bronx building lobby, and then stole her purse just after midnight Sunday, the New York Post reported.

WANTED-ROBBERY: On 4/3/22 at approx. 12:30 AM, vicinity of Roberts & Hobart Ave @NYPD45PCT Bronx. The suspects forcibly removed a 76 year-old victim's purse. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS or anonymously post a tip on our website http://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org\u00a0 Reward up to $3,500pic.twitter.com/7VzI3YvCEU
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPD Crime Stoppers) 1649039330

What are the details?

Police said the victim was entering a lobby at Roberts and Hobart Avenues in Pelham Bay around 12:30 a.m. when the suspects approached her, and one of them pulled her hair, the Post said.

At that point in the video, the victim is outside the entry door and flush against it.

But the clip immediately cuts to the victim standing just inside the entry door and trying to prevent the troublemakers from intruding. But she isn't strong enough to prevent them from opening the door.

Soon two of the three suspects are inside the lobby, and one of them — who appears to be a female teen or young adult – grabbed the victim's purse and swung her around until she fell to the lobby floor, the Post said, citing police and the video.

With that, the crooks took off with a purse that contained $50, a wallet, a debit card, and insurance cards, police reported to the paper.

The victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center with a fractured hip, police told the Post.

The suspects fled on foot toward Hobart Avenue and are still being sought, cops noted to the paper.

Anyone with information can anonymously call police at 800-577-TIPS; there is a reward for up to $3,500, police said.

Thug punches 77-year-old woman in face in broad daylight — then rips away her purse and her Bible



New York City police are looking for a man they said punched a 77-year-old woman in the face, after which he ripped away the woman's purse — along with her Bible.

What are the details?

Police said the man is wanted for robbery after approaching the elderly woman in Queens around noon Sunday, punching her in the face, and then yanking away her purse and Bible.

Police provided video of the incident that shows the assailant fighting the woman for her belongings and violently pulling on the woman's purse until she no longer can hold on.

Here is a closer look at the suspect. Again, if you have any info, DM @NYPDTips, or anonymously call them at 800-57… https://t.co/nhD5wc1aYj

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) 1631624199.0

What happened to the victim and her attacker?

The woman suffered cuts to her hands and was evaluated on scene by EMS, but police told the New York Post she refused additional medical attention.

The suspect ran off after he took the victim's belongings, police told the paper, adding that he was still on the loose as of late Monday.

Anything else?

The Post said the clip came from surveillance video, but a number of observers questioned that conclusion — and wondered why no one helped the victim, among other things:

  • "Why didn't anyone intervene?" one commenter asked. "Was it more important to record the event to get your 15 seconds of fame or to stop the perp to get him 15 years in lockup? SMH!"
  • "So glad you have pieces of s**t filming this and not trying to help her," another user said. "What a great city and great citizens you have there. Disgusting!"
  • "I'm sure this piece of fecal matter stole the purse just to get a Bible...if only he could read so he could get something to guide him in a different direction," another commenter wrote.
  • "I hope you catch this one," another user said. "What a bum, and the person recording is a piece of s**t."
  • "Good thing everyone stood around and watched; wouldn't want to actually do anything or help outside of pulling your phone out..." another commenter said. "This is what happens when you encourage crime and let criminals run a city. I always assumed 'Escape from NY' was a movie, not a prediction."