California woman accused of murdering fire captain wife captured in Mexico after 33 days on the run



A California woman suspected of murdering her fire captain wife finally has been captured in Mexico after being on the run for 33 days.

Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi was taken into custody after being located at a hotel roughly two miles south of the U.S. border in the city of Mexicali — approximately 175 miles southeast of where her wife was found stabbed to death at her house in Ramona, California.

'We had a big fight, and I hurt her.'

The Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat said in a statement that once Mexican law enforcement agents confirmed her identity, she was taken into custody and transferred to the border "allowing U.S. authorities to proceed with legal action."

Marodi was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service after being returned to America at a U.S. port of entry, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement, adding that "Yolanda is being processed and will be booked into custody for murder."

U.S. officials reportedly had asked Mexican authorities to assist them in locating Marodi.

The search for Marodi included assets from Mexican law enforcement, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service San Diego Fugitive Task Force.

U.S. officials said in an arrest warrant for Marodi that they had a video showing the suspect crossing the southern border into Mexico in her vehicle via the San Ysidro port of entry just hours after 49-year-old Cal Fire Captain Rebecca “Becky” Marodi was found stabbed to death Feb. 17.

As Blaze News previously reported, Rebecca Marodi was found dead inside her home with multiple stab wounds on her neck, chest, and abdomen.

Law enforcement previously said the incident was being treated as a "potential domestic violence incident."

Police immediately considered Yolanda a prime suspect after she fled the residence following Rebecca's murder.

Security camera video from the home reportedly provided investigators with the chilling last moments of Rebecca Marodi's life.

According to the arrest warrant, the home surveillance video shows a female — suspected to be Yolanda — "chasing after" a female, who appears to be Rebecca.

A voice believed to be Rebecca's reportedly is heard screaming in the video, "Yolanda! Please ... I don’t want to die!"

A voice believed to be Yolanda allegedly replied, "You should have thought about that before."

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office pointed out that Rebecca reappeared in the video and seemed to have blood on her back.

"Yolanda can be seen at one point standing in front of Rebecca with what appeared to be a knife in her right hand," the report noted.

Yolanda allegedly had blood on her arms in the video.

The home’s security camera reportedly captured Yolanda wearing different clothes, placing belongings, luggage, and a dog into her silver Chevrolet Equinox SUV and driving away.

Citing Department of Homeland Security records, the affidavit states that on the same night as Rebecca's murder, Yolanda's SUV crossed into Mexico — approximately 45 miles south of Ramona.

Citing the affidavit, NBC News reported that an unnamed witness received a dubious text message from Yolanda a day after Rebecca was killed.

“Becky came home and told me she was leaving, she met someone else, all the messages were lies. We had a big fight, and I hurt her ... I’m sorry,” the text message from Yolanda read, according to the affidavit.

Yolanda and Rebecca reportedly had been married for about two years.

Rebecca had served Cal Fire for more than 30 years. She helped battle the Eaton fire in January near Los Angeles as seen in an Instagram video shared by the Cal Fire’s battalion in Temecula.

The Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department thanked authorities after Yolanda's capture.

“We thank our law enforcement partners in San Diego and Mexico for their hard work,” spokesperson Maggie Cline De La Rosa said in a statement. “Becky was a beloved member of our community and Department, and we miss her greatly.”

Last month, Cal Fire San Diego launched a benevolent fund to assist Rebecca's 77-year-old mother with financial challenges.

"She [Marodi] was the sole caregiver for her mother, who is now falling on some hard times due to no longer having a caregiver, so we're there to help support her in any way she needs," said John Clark, battalion chief and chief operating officer for the benevolent fund.

Yolanda is an ex-convict who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of her husband — James Olejniczak — and she was in prison from February 2004 to November 2013 for that killing.

In an eerie similarity, Yolanda allegedly attempted to flee from law enforcement with her two young children before turning herself in to police in connection with her husband's killing.

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Leftist Lawfare Aims To Keep Illegally Present Murderers And Child Rapists Roaming U.S. Streets

Biden dropped off airplanes full of illegal aliens around the U.S. and now every state is a border state, as proven by arrests in most states

How a Hollywood hairstylist's murder by wife's ex-porn star lover revealed secrets, lust, and desire for life insurance payday



More than eight years have passed since a popular Hollywood hairstylist was stabbed to death on the patio of his home in an affluent San Fernando Valley neighborhood outside Los Angeles, California.

Now a high-profile murder trial has opened — and it has revealed secrets, lust, and a desire for a huge life insurance payday, all stemming from a deadly love triangle.

'Deny everything and don’t talk.'

Celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli, 49, was found bleeding to death on the patio of his Woodland Hills home on Jan. 23, 2017. His 16-year-old daughter Isabella called 911 while trying in vain to save her father.

Sementilli suffered seven sharp force wounds to his face, jawline, chest, neck, arm, and thigh — and his wounds proved fatal.

Initially, police believed the stabbing death was connected to burglars who had committed a string of home thefts in the San Fernando Valley. The bedroom of Sementilli's home was ransacked, and his Porsche was stolen. The vehicle was found abandoned two days after his murder about five miles from the crime scene.

However, detectives noted that the alleged burglars didn't steal the Hollywood hairstylist's $8,000 Rolex watch — it was still on his wrist.

A neighbor's security camera also captured video of two hooded figures running near Sementilli's house around the time of the slaying.

In addition, on the day Fabio Sementilli was murdered, a neighbor's security camera caught his 52-year-old wife, Monica Sementilli, driving her black Ford F-150 pickup truck. Prosecutors said she drove to a Target retail store, and video appeared to show an individual getting into her truck in the parking lot.

Prosecutors accused Monica Sementilli of making a trip to Target to establish her alibi, according to CBS News.

Another man emerges

Detectives discovered that Monica Sementilli had a close relationship with Robert Louis Baker — a former porn star and convicted sex offender.

The pair reportedly met at the West Hills L.A. Fitness, where Baker was a racquetball coach.

Police said Monica Sementilli and Baker were seen together in cars, bars, a comedy club, and on two trips to Las Vegas, as well as an excursion to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

LAPD detectives hatched a plan to secretly listen to Monica and Baker from a van parked near the home she previously shared with her late husband.

With that, police pulled over the pair when Baker was driving Monica's black Ford Mustang GT on June 14, 2017 — less than six months after the murder. Officers allegedly told the couple that the car they were in might have been stolen. Monica and Baker were handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a police cruiser.

But little did the pair know that cops had wired the police vehicle to record their conversation.

Monica was recorded telling Baker, "Somebody must have talked. Somebody is doing this to us."

She also reportedly told him, “Deny everything and don’t talk.”

'Prosecutors have argued that Monica Sementilli "was the mastermind" of the plot to kill her husband, a Canadian hairstylist and executive of the German hair-care giant, Wella.'

The pair was arrested and taken to the LAPD Van Nuys Station for questioning.

On the day of her arrest, a detective told Monica that Baker's blood was found inside her home.

She allegedly said she "cracked" Baker on the finger with a racquet and he bled all over a racquetball court. Monica added that she gave him a towel and then brought that bloody towel home with her.

Investigators allegedly found DNA belonging to Baker at the crime scene. What's more, his DNA already was in a police database because he was a registered sex offender after being convicted for lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor in 1993.

According to prosecutors, Baker cut his left index finger when he killed Fabio.

The Los Angeles Times reported, "In more than 50 days of trial, prosecutors have argued that Monica Sementilli 'was the mastermind' of the plot to kill her husband, a Canadian hairstylist and executive of the German hair-care giant, Wella. Her goal was to pocket $1.6 million in life insurance and avoid the complications of getting a divorce, prosecutors allege."

Prosecutors also pointed out that Monica Sementilli upgraded the security camera system at her home six months before Fabio's brutal murder — but the upgrade allegedly allowed her to remotely access her surveillance cameras from her cell phone.

Prosecutors accused her of forwarding the security camera system's log-in credentials and user manual to Baker on the same day of the upgrade.

At the time Fabio Sementilli was killed, phone records reportedly showed Monica Sementilli's iPhone was connected to her home's IP address and that the phone was consuming a large amount of data consistent with streaming live video.

Prosecutors allege that she was watching live video from her home security cameras.

According to the indictment, detectives discovered thousands of phone calls and text messages exchanged between Monica and the ex-porn star.

During a grand jury hearing in August 2017, friends of Monica Sementilli and Baker testified that they went out on double dates and saw affectionate behavior between the pair.

Baker also allegedly admitted to buying burner phones — one of which was in Monica’s purse when she was arrested in her Ford Mustang GT.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman spotlighted that Monica Sementilli actually used the burner phone during her late husband's funeral proceedings in his hometown of Toronto, Canada.

Baker also allegedly admitted that Monica Sementilli sent him naked photos of herself with her wedding ring still on her finger shortly after her husband's murder.

“Everyone grieves differently,” Baker proclaimed.

At the conclusion of the grand jury hearing, Monica Sementilli and Baker both were indicted for murder and conspiracy, and they both pleaded not guilty to the murder of Fabio Sementilli.

However, Baker on July 7, 2023, changed his plea in connection with the hairstylist's murder from not guilty to no contest.

Baker was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

An alleged accomplice surfaces

Police determined that Christopher Austin, a parole officer in Oregon, was Baker's accomplice in killing Fabio.

Detectives said Baker transferred money between two of his bank accounts for Austin. Baker also bought an airline ticket for Austin to travel from Anchorage, Alaska, to Los Angeles before the slaying, according to the police.

Austin was arrested in October 2024 and then convicted of second-degree murder in connection with his role in the killing.

He is scheduled for sentencing next month and is facing up to 16 years in prison.

Austin said he and Baker had been to Sementilli's house before and knew the layout — and Austin also told the jury that Baker revealed to him a crucial piece of information.

He said Baker "told me ... she is gonna leave the door unlocked," and Austin allegedly testified that he opened the patio door and grabbed Fabio Sementilli by the mouth to muffle any screams while Baker repeatedly stabbed him.

In addition, Austin reportedly told the jury that the hairstylist’s widow “wanted him dead” so she could collect the life insurance payout and avoid a messy divorce.

But Baker testified at Monica Sementilli's trial last week that she had nothing to do with her husband's murder.

“I murdered him because I wanted her,” Baker told jurors in a Los Angeles courtroom. "She had nothing to do with it."

You can view video here of Baker explaining in court why he killed Fabio Sementilli.

Monica Sementilli’s attorney, Blair Berk, said during opening statements that there was no evidence that her client plotted to kill Fabio Sementilli.

"There is no statement, no text, no recorded phone call,” Berk said, adding that Monica Sementilli was “duped into believing that Robert Baker” didn’t do it.

Despite Baker being in prison, the pair reportedly continued to communicate via three-way calls using a third-party number.

"Baker acknowledged that in one secret message sent to him in prison, Monica Sementilli asked him to send her something personal of his," the Los Angeles Times reported. "Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies later seized a toothpaste tube that contained Baker’s semen, and prosecutors say he intended to have it delivered to the defendant."

Monica Sementilli, through her attorneys, has maintained her claim that she had no part in her husband's death.

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JFK docs: Internet makes hay of suicided spook's supposed confession that CIA killed Kennedy



President Donald Trump made good on another campaign promise this week with the release of thousands of additional files related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. By 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 2,182 files totaling 63,400 pages were uploaded to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's website in accordance with Trump's Jan. 23 executive order.

Academics, amateur sleuths, and others keen for additional insights into precisely what happened on Nov. 22, 1963, at Dealey Plaza are currently poring over the documents. Already, a few files have stood out, including a provocative document that wasn't exactly a secret.

Numerous influencers seized upon the document numbered 104-10170-10145 in the latest tranche as new proof that the Central Intelligence Agency allegedly killed a sitting president.

The contents of the document — a July 19, 1967, CIA memo marked secret — consist of excerpts from a June 1967 article in Ramparts, a now-defunct leftist magazine that was deeply antagonistic of the CIA and suspected by the FBI of "acting as the agent of a foreign principal" during the Cold War, along with notes about the persons and allegations referenced in the article. The allegations contained therein were discussed at length in a Playboy interview with a district attorney months later.

'They say he attributed the Kennedy murder to a CIA clique.'

The Ramparts article noted that John Garrett Underhill Jr., better known as Gary Underhill, "left Washington in a hurry" following the assassination, then showed up to a friend's house in New Jersey in an agitated state. Underhill, who served with the Military Intelligence Service during World War II and then worked on special projects for the CIA, supposedly told his friends that a cabal of CIA agents was responsible for the assassination and indicated that he feared for his life. Six months later, he was found dead of a gunshot wound in his Washington apartment — this, Ramparts noted, was ruled a suicide.

According to the excerpt of the article included in the memo:

The friends whom Underhill visited say he was sober but badly shook. They say he attributed the Kennedy murder to a CIA clique which was carrying on a lucrative racket in gun-running, narcotics and other contraband, and manipulating political intrigue to serve its own ends. Kennedy supposedly got wind that something was going on and was killed before he could "blow the whistle on it." Although the friends had always known Underhill to be perfectly rational and objective, they at first didn't take his account seriously. "I think the main reason was," explains the husband, "that we couldn't believe that the CIA could contain a corrupt element every bit as ruthless — and more efficient — as the mafia."

The article noted further that Underhill was on a first-name basis with senior officials both in the Pentagon and the CIA and served as one of the agency's "'un-people' who perform special assignments." The leftist magazine spiced things up with the suggestion that Underhill had also been a one-time friend of Samuel Cummings of Interarmco, "the arms broker that numbers among its customers the CIA, and, ironically, Klein's Sporting Gods of Chicago, from whence [sic] the mail-order Carcano allegedly was purchased by Oswald."

Before meeting with Jim Garrison, a district attorney from Louisiana who investigated the assassination, Underhill was found dead in his apartment with a bullet wound behind his left ear. His death certificate stated he "shot self in head with automatic pistol" on May 8, 1964.

The wound's location behind Underhill's left ear has prompted some suspicion it wasn't actually a suicide, especially since Asher Brynes, his writing partner who found his body, indicated that "Underhill was right-handed," according to the Ramparts article.

Paul Ogle, apparently an old friend of Underhill's, indicated in a letter months after the apparent suicide that, "Gary had been, for a short time, under psychiatric treatment about a year and a half ago. He unfortunately, did not carry on with it and deteriorated to quite an extent."

'I don't believe it and I don't disbelieve it.'

The agency memo provides some of its records on Underhill and Cummings, noting, for instance, that "CIA memoranda of February and October 1949 show that there was interest by the New York office of OO, Contacts Division, in using [Underhill] as a contact for foreign intelligence. Name checks were conducted with various military members of the intelligence community, but these yielded insufficient information, and OO was advised that contact should be developed with caution, on a limited basis, and that Subject was not to receive information classified higher than confidential."

Underhill had apparently also brought the CIA's attention to photographs of Soviet military subjects that a man named Herman Axelbank was trying to sell in 1949.

The memo indicated that Cummings also worked for the CIA, "traveled abroad extensively, buying foreign weapons," bought weapons for the CIA "intended for resistance elements behind the Iron Curtain," and "engaged in sharp practices in his conduct of business and was also extremely difficult to control."

According to the memo, the Office of Security "recommended against [Cummings'] use by Domestic Contact Service as a source, and in December 1964 the CI Staff advised that it had no operational interest in Subject."

Citing the memo, the popular X account Geiger Capital concluded, "The CIA assassinated JFK, the sitting President of the United States."

ZeroHedge shared the document, writing, "Interesting."

"This seems to be the biggest doc so far from the JFK files," wrote Joshua Philipp, a senior reporter at the Epoch Times.

Underhill's story similarly appeared to be news to evangelical media personality Lance Wallnau, who tweeted, "From the JFK data dump, we have a mysterious death of a CIA whistleblower who believed the agency was involved with the assassination."

Although many online were quick to pounce on the memo, it contains virtually nothing revelatory about Underhill's allegations and demise, which were discussed in Garrison's October 1967 interview with Playboy.

When asked whether he believed Underhill was murdered, Garrison said, "I don't believe it and I don't disbelieve it. All I know is that witnesses with vital evidence in this case are certainly bad insurance risks. In the absence of further and much more conclusive evidence to the contrary, however, we must assume that the plotters were acting on their own rather than on CIA orders when they killed the President."

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Cops catch man drenched in blood after he allegedly bludgeoned wife to death with clothing iron, dumped her dogs on freeway



Police allegedly discovered a Texas man drenched in blood inside his home — where his wife was found bludgeoned to death.

Chance Zane Chavez, 34, was arrested and hit with a murder charge in connection with the death of his wife.

'I got a phone call, and I was told as I was driving that my daughter was no longer living.'

Just before 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, police were called to a house in the central northwest area of Houston to investigate a "suspicious event."

The Houston Police Department said in a statement, "Upon arrival, they observed a male, Chavez, standing in the doorway with his hands up. The male had blood on his arms, legs, and clothing."

After arresting Chavez and securing him in the back of a police cruiser, officers searched the home.

Police discovered the battered body of his 32-year-old wife — Kristen Chavez — in a bedroom.

"She had suffered blunt force trauma to her body and was pronounced deceased by paramedics," the Houston Police Department stated.

Chavez is accused of beating his wife to death with a clothing iron, according to court documents.

Police and court documents did not reveal a possible motive for her murder.

Kristen's mother, Laura Bell, told KHOU-TV that she has been struggling to come to terms with her daughter's brutal death.

“Emotionally, it’s been very difficult,” Bell said while trying to hold back tears. “I got a phone call, and I was told as I was driving that my daughter was no longer living.”

“As a big sister, she was my role model. You just don’t think it could ever happen to your family,” said Kristen's sister Julia Green.

Not only is Chavez accused of murdering his wife, but also he reportedly dumped Kristen's beloved dogs on the side of a freeway before the alleged murder.

Of the four dogs Chavez allegedly abandoned, three of the animals have been found thanks to the efforts of friends and strangers on social media.

The fourth dog — a 10-year-old dachshund named Peaches — remains missing.

'Kristen deserves that justice, and countless victims of domestic violence deserve to see that justice applied.'

“We’re so thankful for the support we received from people we don’t even know. Finding the dogs felt like a miracle,” Bell said.

Chavez was detained at the Harris County Jail on a $250,000 bond, according to jail records. Prosecutors initially requested a $500,000 bond, but a magistrate judge set it at $250,000.

Kristen Chavez's family launched a petition to call for a higher bond for her husband and "seek justice for her tragic and senseless loss."

"Kristen was a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and friend whose life was stolen, leaving behind a grieving family and community," the petition reads. "To make matters even more heartbreaking, her killer cruelly abandoned her beloved dogs, showing a complete disregard for the beings she loved most."

The family alleged that Kristen Chavez was a "victim of incessant domestic violence and abuse, which ultimately led to her murder by her own husband." The family added that Kristen's "brave attempts to break free from the destructive relationship ended tragically."

"Initially set at $500,000, Chance Zane Chavez's bail has been unfairly lowered to $250,000," the petition states. "We insist on a bail increase and on the application of the maximum sentence for such a heinous crime."

The petition continues, "This case must serve as a standard, ensuring that domestic abusers understand the definitive consequences of their actions, hopefully deterring potential offenders."

"Kristen deserves that justice, and countless victims of domestic violence deserve to see that justice applied," the petition concludes.

The family received news Monday that a judge increased Chance Zane Chavez's bond to $500,000 during a hearing. The state had requested the bond be raised to $1 million.

The hearing was delayed for hours because Chavez refused to appear, KRIV-TV reported, adding that a "containment squad eventually escorted him into the courtroom."

If Chance Zane Chavez uses bond to get out of jail, he is ordered not to have any contact with anyone else who may have lived in the household or any member of his wife's family. As part of his potential release, he also is not allowed to possess any firearms, ammunition, or weapons.

If he is released, Chavez will not be permitted to use, possess, or consume alcohol or drugs. Chavez will have to submit to random urinalyses.

Chavez also will be required to submit to electronic monitoring and will have to comply with stipulated curfews and rules. He also will be considered under house arrest.

Bell said, "For him to be held accountable for what he's done — that’s the primary goal right now."

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After allegedly killing teenager he found in bed with wife, husband tells detectives he's worried about his marriage



A Tennessee man is accused of killing a teenager whom he found in bed with his wife. After the wife's alleged lover was purportedly killed, detectives asked the homicide suspect what he was concerned about, and he said "his marriage."

On Saturday, 41-year-old Jonathan Belk allegedly returned to his home in Dunlap, Tennessee, roughly 40 miles north of Chattanooga. Upon his arrival, Belk reportedly found a man in bed with his wife.

'He enjoyed hunting, fishing, four wheelers, and working on everything.'

Police suspect that Belk stabbed Billy Jean Floyd to death.

Floyd, whose 18th birthday was just three days before his death, was found dead in the fetal position, stuffed in a garbage can.

When police arrived, they found Belk “standing in his doorway covered in blood,” with cuts on his hands, according to an affidavit.

Belk's wife, 31-year-old Jada Gholston, also suffered several stab wounds that required her to be hospitalized at the Erlanger Sequatchie Valley Emergency Department in Dunlap, according to WTVC. Gholston's stab wounds are said to be non-life-threatening, according to WDEF-TV.

The wife initially told law enforcement that a "man had jumped on her boyfriend while they were in bed," police wrote in an affidavit.

Belk was arrested and jailed on criminal homicide charges.

Detectives allegedly asked Belk if he was concerned about any major issues other than his legal woes.

“I am worried about my relationship with my wife due to the fact that I offed him,” Belk allegedly responded.

Floyd, of Jasper, Tennessee, went by the nickname “Lil Bill,” according to his obituary.

“He enjoyed hunting, fishing, four wheelers, and working on everything,” the obituary reads. “He mostly enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.”

A family friend launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Floyd's funeral expenses.

Belk remains detained at the Sequatchie County Jail.

Belk is scheduled for his bond hearing on March 21.

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Florida couple accused of stuffing billiard ball in tortured teen mom's mouth, suffocating her, ditching her dismembered body



A Florida couple allegedly kidnapped, tortured, and murdered a teen mom, according to authorities.

Miranda Corsette — a 16-year-old mother to an 11-month-old baby — allegedly met 35-year-old Steven Gress on a dating app, then went to his St. Petersburg residence on Valentine's Day.

Gress and Brandes 'held the victim against her will for more than seven days and tortured her by repeatedly beating the victim and eventually stuffing a billiard ball into her mouth and wrapping her face with plastic wrap, causing her to suffocate.'

Corsette is said to have returned to her grandmother's home in Gulfport the next day — but soon after that day went back to Gress' house. Police said Corsette remained there for days with Gress and his domestic partner, 37-year-old Michelle Brandes.

Corsette's grandmother on Feb. 24 reported her missing to the Gulfport Police Department. Corsette was homeschooled and lived with her grandmother because Corsette's parents are deceased, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway stated during a press conference.

"We are very familiar with Miranda," said Commander Mary Farrand, who is also Gulfport's acting police chief. "She is a frequent runaway, and she has a history of mental health issues as well as drug abuse. The grandmother is her primary caregiver at this time."

Farrand explained that the grandmother — who didn't report Corsette missing for several days — said her granddaughter "normally comes home," and the grandmother said "she doesn’t report her missing every time she leaves. She just didn’t come back in a timely manner this time."

On March 6, a witness contacted police with a tip about a possible kidnapping and murder of a missing teen, and detectives determined Corsette was the missing teen referred to in the tip.

On Feb. 20, Brandes and Gress accused the teen mother of stealing a ring, according to the arrest affidavit.

Chief Holloway said the couple beat and tortured Corsette because they couldn't find the ring.

The Tampa Bay Times, citing the affidavit, reported that Gress and Brandes "held the victim against her will for more than seven days and tortured her by repeatedly beating the victim and eventually stuffing a billiard ball into her mouth and wrapping her face with plastic wrap, causing her to suffocate."

The St. Petersburg Police Department said of Corsette in a statement, "Sometime between February 20th and February 24th, she was killed."

Police said Gress put Corsette’s body in his car and drove to a home in nearby Largo; detectives found evidence that Corsette was dismembered there.

Chief Holloway said Brandes' mother owns the Largo home .

Police said Gress and Brandes drove about 50 miles to ditch the body in a dumpster in Ruskin.

Detectives located the dumpster but have yet to find the teen girl's remains. On Friday, police said they believe her remains likely are in a landfill.

Gress already was in jail for unrelated charges when the accusations about Corsette came to light.

On March 6, Gress was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, records show. Police said Gress pointed a harpoon at Brandes.

In the missing teen case, Gress was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Gress was being held at the Pinellas County Jail without bail.

An assistant public defender has been appointed to represent him and has entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, according to court records.

Brandes turned herself in to police Saturday morning. She is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Corsette's death.

The St. Petersburg Police Department noted, "This is still a very active investigation, and more charges are expected."

Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780.

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Murderer Freed Early Through DC Criminal Justice Reform Act Is Convicted of Another Murder

A Washington, D.C., man convicted of murder in 1995 and freed early under a controversial criminal justice reform law was found guilty this week of a second murder he committed six months after his 2020 release.

The post Murderer Freed Early Through DC Criminal Justice Reform Act Is Convicted of Another Murder appeared first on .

Florida man accused of stabbing pro-Trump friend to death with trowel found not guilty of murder



A Florida man accused of stabbing his pro-Trump friend to death with a trowel at a construction site has been found not guilty of murder.

During a non-jury trial at an Orange County court last month, 34-year-old Mason Trever Toney was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, according to WKMG-TV.

'There was something wrong with Mason.'

As Blaze News reported in January 2020, Toney was arrested for the murder of his friend and his boss — 28-year-old William Knight.

Citing the arrest warrant, WESH-TV reported that police officers arrived at the crime scene to find Knight’s body next to an excavator with an American flag nearby.

Witnesses told investigators that Knight is a “proud and outspoken American,” who was “pro-Donald Trump.”

Toney was reportedly described by witnesses as having anti-government sentiments and believed “the government is bad and out to get him.”

According to court documents, witnesses said Knight picked up Toney to drive him to another construction site when an argument about politics, including Knight’s support for President Donald Trump, erupted.

The argument allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation. Witnesses purportedly attempted to stop the attack and threw things at Toney.

Toney is accused of stabbing Knight to death with a construction trowel. Toney reportedly jumped into a truck and drove away while calling the witnesses “terrorists.”

Knight succumbed to his injuries at the crime scene on Jan. 20, 2020.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office noted that Toney was apprehended in Brevard County on the same day in the truck and charged with murder.

Williams Knight Sr. — the victim's father — told WKMG-TV in 2020, "The gentleman, Mason, he was a friend of the family for years."

The father said his son had recently been promoted to a construction site foreman before his death, and he hired Mason. The deeply distraught mother said she warned her son not to hire his childhood friend because he had been acting strangely.

Julia Knight — the victim's mother — said of a possible motive for her son's death, "I don't know. I can't explain what happened to my son. I don't understand. I never thought Mason would do this to my son."

Julie Knight added, "But it wasn't about politics, I can tell you right now."

"There was something wrong with Mason," she said.

A review hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11.

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Florida woman, who doused herself in Diet Mountain Dew to tamper with evidence, learns her fate in murder of elderly roommate



A Florida woman — who violently murdered her elderly roommate and then doused herself in Diet Mountain Dew soda in a last-ditch effort to tamper with evidence — learned that she would spend decades behind bars.

On Thursday, Volusia County Circuit Court Judge Leah R. Case ordered 37-year-old Nichole Maks to serve a sentence of 35 years in a state correctional facility.

The detective reportedly noticed that Maks appeared to have blood on her leg and on her ripped shirt.

In July 2023, Maks was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of resisting arrest with violence. Maks pleaded no contest to the lesser crime of second-degree murder, as well as resisting with violence, arson of a dwelling, and tampering with physical evidence.

Maks' public defenders argued that she had been sexually abused and sex trafficked throughout her lifetime, dating back to when she was a teen.

Judge Case noted, "We can't lose sight of the fact that she murdered somebody. She knew what she was doing."

"I do feel like, but for her mental health, this would not have happened and her traumatic upbringing," Case said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "The abuse that she has suffered at the hands of (like the prosecutor said) most males she's ever come in contact with, has been horrendous."

Maks was facing a maximum sentence of 75 years, but the 35-year sentence was the least amount of prison time she could receive, according to the terms of a plea agreement.

Police said Maks used a knife and a hammer to kill her roommate — 79-year-old Michael Cerasoli — inside a Daytona Beach home around 1:45 a.m. on July 1, 2023. Police said Maks also set the second floor of the residence on fire.

Police reportedly recovered a bloody knife near the victim’s body and two cell phones at the crime scene.

Law & Crime reported that a detective spotted a shoeless Maks near a restaurant, and she “dropped a knife and a hammer” in his presence when she was confronted.

The detective reportedly noticed that Maks appeared to have blood on her leg and on her ripped shirt.

Maks told the detective that she had been homeless for the last four years, according to court documents.

When the officer showed her a photo of Cerasoli, Maks reportedly "denied knowing the victim."

After being pressed by investigators, Maks allegedly admitted that she had lived with the man for a short time but claimed that she had only seen him "a handful of times." She also allegedly denied seeing him on the day he was murdered. Police said Maks later confessed that she was not homeless and had been living with Cerasoli and that she had been at the house earlier.

While being taken into custody, police informed Maks that they were going to take DNA samples from her.

Maks then asked for a drink and was given a can of Diet Mountain Dew, court docs say.

Maks then allegedly doused Diet Mountain Dew soda all over her body.

"Maks began to procrastinate while drinking the soft drink then ... [a detective] attempted to grab the can of soda from Maks’ hands," a probable cause affidavit stated. "Maks began to resist and began pouring the can of soda all over her body and hair and pulling away from officers in attempts to interfere with the possible evidence on Maks’ body. Maks then began pulling and kicking officers while trying to secure Maks in the vehicle. Due to Maks’ actions, she was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest with violence."

Police said the DNA from blood on the knife found next to the victim matched the sample taken from Maks.

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