True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Creepy

Missing Scam Artist’s Foot Found on Remote Australian Beach

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Financial advisor Melissa Caddick is accused of stealing millions from clients

SYDNEY, Australia — The mystery surrounding a financial fraudster who disappeared after being accused of bilking her clients out of millions took a sinister turn when her decayed foot was found washed up on a remote Australian beach.

Melissa Caddick’s rotting foot was found three months after she disappeared from her Sydney mansion, shortly after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission charged her with stealing around $10 million.

She vanished just a day after cops raided her home. 

Police had found no trace of her until last week when campers spotted a running shoe containing a decomposed foot on a beach 250 miles south of Sydney.

DNA testing matched the foot to Caddick.

New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Mick Willing said: “It remains a mystery as to when and how she came into the water. At this point we can’t rule out anything.

“We have kept an open mind, however given the circumstances of her disappearance, we have always considered the possibility that she may have taken her own life.”

He said ocean drift modelling done by the police had shown it was possible that Ms Caddick could have entered the water near her Sydney home, where she lived with her husband and teenage son.

Her disappearance gripped Australia and earlier this month police reiterated their belief that Ms Caddick was still alive.

She had reportedly been living a lavish lifestyle, including taking overseas holidays and buying expensive clothes and jewellery.

Cheryl Kraft Reid entrusted around £600,000 of her pension with Caddick, whom she considered as a friend and last heard from her two months before she vanished.

“Wow, that’s a sad tragic outcome for her son but it’s also just a sad tragic outcome for us because we just don’t get closure,’ she told 2GB radio.

“Besides the news we’re unlikely to see any return of that, it’s pretty devastating.’

Suspect in Triple Homicide Admits Cooking Victim’s Heart for Supper

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CHICKASHA, Oklahoma — A triple murder suspect who had recently been released on parole,  admitted he killed his neighbor and cut her heart out to eat at home, authorities said.

Lawrence Paul Anderson is accused of killing neighbor Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, at her home and then returning to his home , where he allegedly killed his uncle and his 4-year-old niece. Anderson is also accused of stabbing his aunt, but she survived.

“He took the heart back to 214 West Minnesota, Chickasha,” an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation told a judge in a request for a search warrant.

“He cooked the heart with potatoes to feed to his family to release the demons,” the agent wrote.

The case has sparked outrage because, Anderson, a repeat felon, had been released early from prison in January, the Oklahoman reported. He had been sentenced in 2017 to serve 20 years behind bars but got out after Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted his sentence.

The governor commuted the sentence to nine years at the recommendation of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Anderson served a little more than three years. He had been staying with his uncle, Leon Pye, and aunt, Delsie Pye, since his release.

Anderson, 42, now faces possible death penalty charges.

Chickasha police went to Anderson’s uncle’s house on Feb. 9 after a woman called 911 for help. An officer forced his way into the house after hearing a woman yelling. Inside they found Leon Pye, 67, dead and his granddaughter, Kaeos Yates, injured. “She was pronounced deceased in the ambulance on scene,” the OSBI agent wrote in the search warrant request.

Delsie Pye suffered stab wounds to both eyes, police said

Anderson was arrested inside the Pye home. “Chickasha Police Officers observed Anderson throwing up in the living room into some pillows,” officers wrote in their report.

Blankeship was discovered Feb. 11 after investigators interviewed Anderson at an Oklahoma City hospital where he was being treated for injuries and he confessed to the additional slaying.

Anderson was first sentenced to prison in Oklahoma in 2006 for four years for attacking his girlfriend, pointing a gun at her and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, records show. He was out in less than two years.

He went back to prison in 2012 to serve a 15-year sentence for selling crack cocaine near an elementary school in Chickasha. He also was ordered to spend 20 years on probation after his release. He was out in less than five years and four months.

He was sent back to prison in December 2017 to serve 20 more years when a judge both revoked his probation in full and sentenced him for new crimes.

He had been out less than five months in 2017 when police arrested him after he confronted a woman at her car in a church parking lot in Chickasha. Police reported he was carrying a handgun, which was illegal for him to have because of his past convictions.

At the jail, a detention officer found a vial of PCP hidden in his underwear. He pleaded guilty to gun and drug offenses.

Chicago Man With History of Impersonating Cops, Arrested Again

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Vincent Richardson

CHICAGO — A man who has been repeatedly arrested for impersonating a Chicago police officer — including once when he was just 14 — has been charged again with posing as a cop,  authorities said.

Vincent Richardson, 26,  is accused of pretending to be a Chicago police sergeant on three occasions in recent weeks and has been charged with felony impersonation of an officer. 

Richardson was first arrested in 2009 at age 14, when he was so convincing as a cop that he was assigned a radio and went on patrol with a real officer.  In that episode,  14 officers, including the captain running the watch during Richardson’s shift and seven sergeants, were brought up on departmental charges, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In 2013, at age 19, Richardson pretended he was an officer and was arrested when he tried to buy police equipment. 

And in 2015, at age 21, Richardson was arrested after police stopped his car while investigating a call of shots fired. He was wearing a protective vest and had a police duty belt, scanner, BB gun and stun gun in his possession. 

He received 18-month sentences for impersonating an officer after each offense.

Texas Trucker Nabbed in Slaying of Model Found on Side of Pennsylvania Highway

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Rebecca Landrith’s body was found with 18 bullet wounds

MILTON, Pennsylvania — A Texas truck driver has been charged with the murder of model whose bullet-riddled body was found near the interstate in Pennsylvania after cops found the man’s name and number in the dead woman’s pocket.

Rebecca Landrith’s body was found in a wooded area near Interstate 80 on Sunday, with 18 gunshot wounds to her face, neck, chest and hands, police said. The 47-year-old was a native of Virginia and had worked as a model in New York. 

Investigators found a note in her coat pocket with 28-year-old Tracy Ray Rollins Jr.’s name, telephone number and email address written on it, PennLive.com reported. He was arrested Wednesday in Connecticut and charged with homicide and abuse of a corpse.

Investigators have not revealed what the possible motive may have or if a weapon was recovered.

Landrith had been a professional model in New York City, a finalist for Miss Manhattan in 2014, an accomplished violinist and a champion for numerous charities. She had appeared in numerous product advertisements, video commercials and in multiple runway shows including Fashion Week.

Tracy Rollins was busted at a truck stop in Connecticut

Police say that using receipts found in Landrith’s pockets and Rollins’ cell phone records, they were able to trace his travels from Wisconsin to Maine with a stop at the interchange late Saturday where Landrith’s body was found. 

According to an affidavit, a search of Rollins’ truck ound flesh and brain-like matter on the bottom bunk mattress behind the passenger seat and flesh-like matter beneath the exterior top stair gate. There was evidence that a cleaning agent had been used on the front seat to cover up signs of blood. And investigators found six 9mm shell casings on the floorboards and signs of bullet strikes on the rear wall behind the passenger seat and above the bottom bunk.

Rollins was tracked down in Mildale, Connecticut, where state police stopped his rig after it left a truck stop.

Rollins told investigators he did not know Landrith or recognize her from a picture but that he had traveled with a woman named Leslie he had met at a truck stop near Milford, Conn.

Police in Milford have determined that Landrith made hotel reservations there in December under the name Leslie Myers.

According to Rollins, “Leslie” accompanied him to Maine, back to Connecticut, then Brooklyn and on to Wisconsin where he picked up a load to be delivered in Maine.

One telling exchange, according to the affidavit, was when Rollins replied to questions about his travels by saying: “I hate to start lying to you cause this is a murder investigation.” Police say that at that point Rollins had not been told it was a murder investigation.

Georgia Teacher Charged With Masturbating in Front of 19 Second Graders

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CARROLLTON, Georgia — A substitute teacher working at a Georgia elementary school has been busted for  allegedly masturbating in front of a classroom filled with 19 second graders, police said. 

Amelia Ressler, 30, was arrested after staff members at Mt. Zion Elementary School reported allegations of misconduct involving her engaging in “indecent and immoral acts while in the presence of school-aged children,” the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. 

The school is near Carrollton, a city about 54 miles west of Atlanta.

Investigators obtained photos and video of Ressler masturbating in front of a second-grade classroom, authorities said.

Investigators are continuing to conduct interviews with the 19 children who were present in the classroom during the alleged incident and additional charges could be added, police said.

“We appreciate the dedication Carroll County Schools has for the safety of their students as they are working diligently to communicate with all parents of students affected and we will continue to work closely with them during the remainder of the investigation,” the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

95-Year-old Gunman Charged With Killing Assisted Living Employee

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LAFAYETTE, Colorado — A 95-year-old resident of a Colorado assisted living facility has been charged with gunning down an employee there he believed had been stealing from him.

Police in Lafayette say Okey Payne had confronted the employee, Ricardo Medina-Rojas, in the facility’s lobby and then pulled out a handgun and opened fire. He then aimed the gun at two other employees before walking back to his room.

Deputies took Medina-Rojas to a nearby hospital where he was later declared dead. A small handgun was recovered from Payne, who told cops he was sorry to have killed Medina-Rojas but was happy “the thievery would stop.”

Payne had told the facility’s administrators about the alleged thefts, but police say the matter was investigated by adult protective services and no evidence was found. Payne had also said he believed the facility’s employees were trying to kill him.

Cops say Payne had been told he couldn’t have a gun in the facility and that two pistols had earlier been taken from him and put into a safe. He told cops that the .45 caliber gun he allegedly used for the shooting had been given to him by his father when he was 23-years-old after the father used it in World War I.

The officer who interviewed Payne noted that other than difficulty hearing, there were no other apparent issues. Payne was “clear headed” and “lucid” while providing detailed information about what happened and did not appear “confused or unable to comprehend questions.”

Payne has been charged with first-degree murder.

Rhode Island Boy Scout Leader Sentenced to 40 Years in Sex Assaults of Young Scouts

By HardBoiledNews Staff

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — A former Boy Scout leader has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after admitting he sexually assaulted six young men in Rhode Island, including one with developmental disabilities, prosecutors said.

James Glawson, 76, said in court that it made him “sick to think of what I have done,” and that he prayed that his victims could find peace.

Five of the assaults dated back to the 1980s, when Glawson served as a scout leader but the most recent, involving the disabled young man, occurred in 2019, prosecutors said.

“When a person sexually assaults a child whose safety has been entrusted to them, we know the consequences – they are severe and long-lasting” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. “The defendant’s criminal conduct here, over a long period of time and involving multiple sexual assaults against multiple victims, warrants the long sentence imposed by the court..”

The Rhode Island State Police began investigating Glawson in 2019 following reports from staff at a Rhode Island group home of inappropriate contact between him and an 18-year-old resident there. The resident later told investigators that he was victimized by Glawson multiple times throughout the years.

Under questioning, Glawson admitted he had sexually assaulted the developmentally disabled victim, but also that he had victimized several other young men while he was a scout leader with the Boy Scouts during the 1980’s.

During the investigation, five victims came forward and pressed charges against Glawson. Glawson’s illegal conduct occurred as far back as 1981, prosecutors said.

Fang-Tooth Felon Out on Bail Charged With Killing 12-Year-Old in Drunken Wreck

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CHICAGO — A man who sports teeth sharpened into fangs and is out on bail for three felonies, allegedly killed a 12-year-old girl in a drunken crash in which his blood-alcohol level was five times the legal limit, prosecutors said.

Daniel Regalado, 27, was driving in South Cicero with two passengers when he crossed the median and plowed into an oncoming Cadillac Escalade, cops said. 

The collision killed Cire Robinson, a 12-year-old girl riding with her father, Prosecutors say that five seconds before the crash, Regalado was driving 66 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.

Regalado’s girlfriend was ejected from his Chevy Impala’s passenger seat and suffered a broken femur, facial fractures, and other injuries. She was hospitalized in critical condition. She allegedly told police that Regalado was the driver and was responsible for the crash, CWB Chicago reported.

A passenger riding in the back of Regalado’s car and Robinson’s father were also hospitalized as was Regalado himself. Prosecutors said Regalado’s blood-alcohol level was .457 when he arrived at Stroger Hospital after the crash.

Judge David Navarro said Regalado’s alleged intoxication level “is, I’ll say, the highest I have seen with an individual who is still alive.”

At the hearing, Regalado tried to explain himself. “I was running away. I was running away because I was being shot at,” he told the judge via video. “This has been on-going…this isn’t fair. This isn’t fair at all.”

Lying in a hospital bed with his head and neck braced, Regalado insisted, “they were chasing us!”

When the judge cautioned Regalado against speaking without an attorney present, he continued talking.

“I don’t need an attorney. People that need an attorney are guilty. I don’t need an attorney. Why would I need an attorney? For what?”

Prosecutors charged Regalado with reckless homicide with a motor vehicle, aggravated DUI causing death, and two counts of DUI.

Navarro set his bail at $500,000. But the judge also ordered Regalado held without bail for violating the terms of bond in three separate pending felony cases.

In one pending matter, Regalado is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and reckless discharge of a firearm stemming from a July 2018 incident that prompted a SWAT stand-off in Oak Park. In January 2019, prosecutors charged him with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis. 

Seven months later, with both of those cases still pending, Regalado was again arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of another gun, court records show.

In each case, he was released on a few hundred dollars bail

In December 2015, Regalado was indicted on five counts of attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and possessing a defaced firearm, but Cook County prosecutors dropped the case two years later

Body Found in Freezer Leads to Arrest of Missing Oklahoma Woman’s Roommate

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Talina Galloway had been missing since April

WAGONER, Oklahoma — A woman has been charged with murdering her roommate who disappeared in Oklahoma last spring, after a freezer containing her remains was found hidden in the woods in Arkansas last week, authorities said

Investigators had been searching for Talina Galloway since April 17, when her roommate, Kore Bommeli, reported her missing from their Oklahoma home near Fort Gibson Lake, the Wagoner County Sheriff’s office said.

Police said they initially treated Bommeli as a witness but that she immediately began behaving suspiciously and as her story began to change, she became the top suspect in the case. She was eventually arrested for obstructing the investigation and destroying evidence.

The break in the investigation came last week when a woman walking in the woods near the Ouachita National Forest outside  Mena, Arkansas, spotted a freezer with its lid taped shut and a foul smell coming from it.

Investigators discovered dismembered human remains inside, Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott said. 

The same woman had in June spotted a suspicious pickup truck pulling an enclosed trailer in the same area that had similarly had a bad odor with a foul-smelling liquid pooled on the floor of the trailer, police said. She reported it to police at the time and a deputy came to investigate but never connected with the witness, Elliot said.

But the person had taken down the vehicle’s license plate number and when police checked it, that discovered that it belonged to Galloway. 

After several days, the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s office identified the remains as being Galloway and ruled the cause of death as homicide. 

Kore Bommeli

On Thursday, Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp obtained an arrest warrant for Bommeli, who was out on bond and living in Wisconsin. 

She was arrested in Dane County, Wisconsin on Thursday where she will remain until she is brought to Oklahoma to face charges of first degree murder and desecration of a human corpse.

Sheriff Elliott stated that they are glad they are bringing closure to this case, but that it is still active and urged anyone with information to call the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office.

“Our hearts go out to the family of Talina Galloway,” Sheriff Elliott said. “They are certainly in our prayers.”

Oklahoma Legislator Proposes Bill to Establish Bigfoot Hunting Season

By HardBoiledNews Staff

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — It’s Bigfoot hunting season.

An Oklahoma state legislator has filed legislation to establish an official Bigfoot hunting season as a way to draw tourists.

The bill proposes to have the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Division establish annual dates of the season and set specific hunting licenses and fees.

“Tourism is one of the biggest attractions we have in my House district,” said State Rep. Justin Humphrey, a Republican from Lane, in southeast Oklahoma. “Establishing an actual hunting season and issuing licenses for people who want to hunt Bigfoot will just draw more people to our already beautiful part of the state. It will be a great way for people to enjoy our area and to have some fun.”

Humphrey said he doesn’t want people to actually kill Bigfoot, so he will be working with the state wildlife and tourism departments to craft final language for his bill that specifies only the trapping of Bigfoot. He also hopes to secure at least $25,000 that can be used as a bounty for the first person to trap the creature.

“A lot of people don’t believe in Bigfoot, but a lot of people do,” Humphrey said. “Just like some people like to go deer hunting, while some don’t.”

Humphrey said the town of Honobia, Oklahoma, already has an annual Bigfoot festival each October, so the hunting season ideally would coincide with that.

“Having a license and a tag would give people a way to prove they participated in the hunt,” Humphrey said. “Again, the overall goal is to get people to our area to enjoy the natural beauty and to have a great time, and if they find Bigfoot while they’re at it, well hey, that’s just an even bigger prize.”

Sicko Son Kills Dad, Stepmom With Machete For Trying to Stop Sex Assault

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jesus Medrano III

KENOSHA, Wisconsin — A deranged sicko has been charged with killing his father and stepmother with a machete after they tried to stop him sexually assaulting a young relative, police said,

Investigators in Wisconsin say Jesus Medrano III, 24, had brought the weapon into the bedroom where he planned his assault with the intention of using it if anyone tried to stop him.

“This is as violent, assaultive and tragic a set of crimes that one can commit against their own family members,” said Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley, according to the Kenosha News. 

Police called to the house encountered a horrific scene with “blood all over the floor and along the walls.” According to the criminal complaint, Jesus Medrano Jr., 49, was lying in front of the door with his arm nearly severed and a stab wound to his stomach. His wife, Latrice Meyers-Medrano, 36 was lying face-down on a mattress. The scene was soaked with blood.

Cops say Medrano III confessed to having sexual thoughts about one of his young relatives, and went into her bedroom that night planning to sexually assault her, bringing a sock to gag her and a machete he planned to use in case his father tried to stop him.

According to the complaint, when he woke the sleeping girl she struggled, waking up another sibling that shared the room and alerting Medrano Jr., who came to find out what was wrong.

Graveley said that as soon as Medrano III realized his father did not believe him when he said nothing was wrong, so he stabbed his father in the stomach, then struck him in the shoulder. When his stepmother came into the room, he stabbed her as well.

Jesus Medrano Jr. and Latrice Meyers-Medrano

Medrano III said he fled when he heard his father saying they would call police, running to the home of a relative who lived a few blocks away. Other kids ran from the house to a neighbor who called 911.

Cops later found Medrano III, covered with blood and with a machete in his right hand. “Just kill me,” Medrano said, according to police who took  him into custody without incident.

Medrano III has been charged wiith two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree sexual assault and child abuse. He was held on $2.5 million bond.

Sick Border Agent Charged With Pouring Urine on Boss’ Desk on Last Day on Job

By HardBoiledNews Staff

TONAWANDA, New York — He crossed some serious borders here.

A former Border Patrol agent has been hit with federal charges after allegedly spraying urine on his supervisor’s desk on his last day on the job at a station on the Canadian border.

Prosecutors say Eduardo Flores Jr. was caught on camera splashing urine all over Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Brandon Steele’s desk, chair, keyboard, clothing, books and personal items, including picture frames, in the cubicle at the station in Tonawanda on Aug. 24.

Flores retired from the Border Patrol four days later and the day of the alleged vandalism was  Flores’ last day in the office.   

Steele, upon returning to work after three days off, “noticed an unpleasant scent” at the cubicle, according to the criminal complaint.

Video surveillance footage showed that Flores “began to spray/pour a substance throughout the cubicle” and over the supervisory agent’s belongings and “continued this action for about one minute,” the complaint states.   

Authorities said it cost $458 for a cleaning company to sanitize the cubicle.

Flores was charged with destruction of property. He faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

Husband Charged in Murder of Pregnant Schoolteacher Wife

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Richard Guichelaar

KENTWOOD, Michigan — A Michigan man has been charged with murder for allegedly strangling his pregnant school teacher wife in their bed, police said.

Richard Guichelaar, 35, was ordered held on $2 million bail for the Nov. 16 slaying of his 32-year-old wife, Amber, in their home in Kentwood, Michigan.

At the time of her death, Guichelaar called the cops to say he found his wife — a teacher at Kentwood Public Schools — dead in their bed. The couple had two kids and Amber was pregnant with their third.

Investigators said they immediately found the scene suspicious and eventually the medical examiner ruled that Amber had been strangled and had injuries consistent with having been assaulted. 

Detectives determined that her husband was the only one in the house at the time capable of strangling his wife and that his explanations of what had happened didn’t add up.

Guichelaar, who works for a landscaping and snow plowing business, argued at his arraignment that he was not a flight risk.

“Just know that I will show up for everything I’m supposed to and I’m not a risk, your honor,” he said, according to MLive.com.

His lawyer argued for some bail as his client had strong ties to the community.

Tomb Raiders Busted Stealing Skulls from Florida Cemetery for Religious Rituals

By HardBoiledNews Staff

MOUNT DORA, Florida — Cops nabbed a pair of ghoulish grave robbers who had been stealing skulls from a Florida cemetery for use in religious rituals.

Investigators with the Lake County Sheriff’s office managed to track the suspects down with the help of DNA evidence recovered from cigars found around the busted open crypts at the Edgewood Cemetery in Mount Dora.

The reprehensible robberies date back to Dec. 6, when cemetery workers found four tombs broken open and the bodies within mutilated, cops said.

When crime scene investigators found the cigar butts, they sent them off to the lab as possible evidence. In early January, analysis of the DNA retrieved from the cigars came back with a hit: 43-year-old Brian Montalvo Tolentino, of Davenport.

On Jan. 6, detectives obtained a search warrant for mouth swabs from Tolentino for a direct DNA comparison. When detectives interviewed Tolentino, they say he confessed to going to the cemetery with his pal, 39-year-old Juan Burgos Lopez, of Lake Wales, and committing the crimes. 

Tolentino stated that Lopez used a crowbar to open the vaults and then removed the skulls that were taken to be used for religious practices.

Detectives then obtained a search warrant for Lopez’s residence where they say they recovered the human remains from what appeared to be some sort of religious shrine. 

Both men were charged with four counts of disturbing the contents of a grave and four counts of abuse of a dead human body. They were each held on $40,000 bond.

Family Renovating S.C. Home Find Baby’s Remains Hidden in Wall

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The bones were found hidden in the wall of this house

PACOLET, S.C. — A family remodeling a house in South Carolina found bones from a baby inside a wall, the county coroner said.

Authorities gathered the remains on Saturday from the home in Pacolet, an old mill town. and will send them to a forensic anthropologist to study, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said in a statement.

It wasn’t immediately apparent how long ago the baby died, or how old it was at the time. The coroner described the bones as “fetal human skeletal remains.”

“Based on our limited information, it is believed the remains have been concealed for a long period of time,” Clevenger said.

Coroner’s Office investigators will work with an anthropologist to determine the identity of the baby, how the child might have died and how the remains ended up inside the wall of the home.

It will likely take several months to finish the work, the coroner said.

Man Kicks In Ex-Boss’ Door Over Slow Reply to Facebook Friend Request

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Caleb Burczyk just wants to be friends

WILLISTON, North Dakota — There’s a reason this guy doesn’t have many friends.

A North Dakota man has been charged with terrorizing his ex-boss by kicking in his door after the man didn’t respond to his Facebook friend request quickly enough, authorities said.

Police say Caleb Burczyk, 29, started sending aggressive Facebook friend requests to his former employer starting the day before Christmas, some which included threats.

“Accept my friend request or I’m going to murder you,’” investigators quoted Burczyk as writing in an affidavit filed in court, according to the Williston Herald.

On Dec. 26, Burczyk said there would be trouble for his former boss if Burczyk had to fire up his pickup and come find him, the document said. That message included a photo of his truck.

Later that day, the victim’s door was kicked in.

Burczyk layer posted a photo of himself on Snapchat with a message about his boss’ family needing a new door. That photo showed him in a black cap, black vest and red and black plaid long-sleeve shirt, court documents state.

Security footage from Dec. 26 showed the man who kicked in the door of the home on Creekside Drive wearing the same outfit.

Burczyk has been charged with counts of burglary and terrorizing. He was held on $25,000 bond and  is due back in court Jan. 27.

Hungry Thieves Make Off With Brooklyn Restaurant’s Pasta

By HardBoiledNews Staff

NEW YORK —  Pasta la vista, baby.

A bolognese-loving burglar broke into a Brooklyn restaurant and made off with all its homemade pasta while leaving behind its pricey booze and kitchen equipment.

Workers at Borsalia — a recently opened eatery in Williamsburg — say the thief got inside the night of Christmas Eve by breaking the lock on a hatch on the sidewalk and then drilling a hole into the wall that separated the entrance from the kitchen.

Once inside, the thieves cleared out all 15 pounds of the restaurant’s pasta, which had been made the day before by the kitchen staff. The purloined pasta included ravioli, cappelletti, tagliatelle and gnocchi.

The haul was so unusual, that staffers didn’t even notice the pasta was gone until the cops arrived and were taking a close look around.

“We went downstairs and found this big hole in the wall…but everything in the restaurant was perfect,” Manager Cristiano Rossi told Patch. “When the police came we went into the kitchen and we opened the pasta storage — it was empty.”

He said that aside from the carbo-haul, the only other thing missing was about $40 from a tip jar

Rossi said cops fingerprinted the kitchen and collected camera footage from nearby businesses, but have not had any updates in the case since. He said Borsalia had not yet set up its own camera system since it opened only a month ago.

The heist left Borsalia’s kitchen crew working all day and night on Christmas to replace the pasta supply.

Rossi said the only reason he could imagine why someone would go to the trouble is because their pasta is so good.

“Our pasta is in high demand and is of the highest value,” he said.

Serial Killer Charged in Cold Case Murder of 9-Year-old Girl in California

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Michaela Joy Garecht and David Misch

OAKLAND, California — A jailed serial killer has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old girl who disappeared without a trace from a store parking lot 32 years ago, authorities said.

David Misch, 59, was connected to the unsolved disappearance of Michaela Joy Garecht in Hayward, California on November 19, 1988, through a partial palm print and two eyewitnesses who picked his photo out of a lineup.

The brazen kidnapping occurred in broad daylight outside the Rainbow Market after she and a friend had taken their scooters there to buy snacks. Her body has never been found. 

“The kidnap and murder of a child is horrific. The pain to the family and friends is indescribable, especially when their child is not found. This crime shocked not just the local community, but the entire Bay Area and the nation,” said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley. 

After Garecht and her friend came out of the shop, they found that one of their scooters had been moved behind a car parked in a nearby space. When Garecht went to retrieve it, the driver of the car grabbed her as she walked past his door. He forced her screaming into the front seat of the car and sped away, authorities said.

All detectives had to work with was a partial palmprint found on the scooter.

Prosecutors say that around the 30th anniversary of the kidnapping, they took another look at the evidence and had a fingerprint examiner review a list of names of persons of interest, one being Misch’s.The print was a match.

Authorities say their ability now to compare prints has been significantly advanced through software and technology.

Misch, who is currently incarcerated for a 1989 murder of a woman. He has also been charged with two other notorious cold case killings — the 1986 slayings of Michelle Xavier, 18, and Jennifer Duey, 20, who were brutally raped and murdered on their way back from a birthday party.

When police tried to interview Misch about Garecht’s disappearance, he refused. He also refused to comply with a warrant for his fingerprints and DNA, even after being told it could exonerate him from the crime, police say.

His attorney, Ernie Castillo, described his client as a “loving father, a caring son and a good brother.”

“He is not someone who would hurt or kill a child. David denies the allegations against him and will fight these charges,” Castillo said in a statement to this the East Bay Times.

Parents Lose Lawsuit Over Destruction of Son’s Porn Stash

By HardBoiledNews Staff

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan — An elderly couple took a real legal spanking when a judge ordered that they must pay their son for destroying his massive pornography and sex toy collection.

Paul and Beth Werking, of Grand Haven, were sued by their 42-year-old son David Werking after they destroyed his collection of DVDs, VHS tapes and other pornographic materials in 2018. The younger Werking estimated the value of the collection to be around $25,000.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, David Werking claimed his parents illegally destroyed his porno stash after he left it behind at their home when he moved out at the “request of local law enforcement” in 2017. He now lives in Indiana.

Emails between the father and son, described the collection as including 12 moving boxes “full of pornography plus two boxes of sex toys.” David Werking included an itemized list of the destroyed property, including 1,605 titles of pornographic DVDs and VHS tapes. The collection also included at least 50 sex toys. 

Some of the titles David Werking described as irreplaceable. But his old man didn’t see it that way.

“Frankly, David, I did you a big favor by getting rid of all this stuff for you,” Werking’s father wrote in an email, citing concerns for his son’s emotional and mental health, the Holland Sentinel reported.

The elder Werkings told their son they were unwilling to transport the porn to him in Muncie, Ind., and were uncomfortable having it in their home. 

A final judgment on damages has not yet been determined.

The lawyer for the parents said she has  hired pornography expert Victoria Hartmann, the executive director of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, to help determine those damages.

Male Escort Admits Screwing Uncle Sam Out of Nearly $300K in Taxes

By HardBoiledNews Staff

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — You’ll never get away with trying to screw Uncle Sam.

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to stiffing the feds out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes from earnings he made working as a high-priced male escort, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities say Jami Kopacz, of Fort Lauderdale, admitted using his company, JK Training, through which he booked many of his trysts, as a vehicle to hide his real income and avoid paying tax.

Federal prosecutors say Kopacz ran the scam from 2015 through 2018, filing false corporate and personal tax returns that “substantially underreported” his income.

The fraud ultimately cost Uncle Sam more than $278,000 in lost tax revenue, prosecutors said

He faces a minimum of three years in prison and will be required to pay the money back.

Santa and His Elves Go Undercover, Bust Several Thieves at California Mall

By HardBoiledNews Staff

RIVERSIDE, California — This gives a whole new meaning to SantaCon.

Undercover cops dressed as Santa and his elves made several busts of shoplifters and suspected car thieves at a shopping mall in California.

The Riverside police say they had assigned officers from their property crimes unit to work with store detectives at the Target store in the busy Canyon Springs shopping center last week. 

Dubbing the operation, “Santa’s intervention,” in a matter of hours, the cops made several arrests, including one where Santa tackled a suspect to the ground.

“As the suspects exited the store with merchandise they just stole, Santa and his elf were waiting to take them into custody for the theft,” the department wrote on its Facebook page.

In one bust, the officers nabbed a woman walking out of the store with a shopping cart full of stolen items. They also found illegal narcotics in her pockets.

A second arrest involved a local transient who cops say is a habitual thief at this particular store. Store detectives recognized him as he entered the store but stopped him before he could steal again. He was subsequently arrested for trespassing and being in possession of illegal narcotics.

The third arrest involved 55-year-old Patrick Seilsopour who allegedly stole expensive Lego toy sets totaling $1,000. He was arrested outside the store by Santa and his elf for grand theft. Cops say Seilsopour is believed to have committed similar retail thefts at several Target stores in the region.

Toward the conclusion of the operation, detectives received information about three suspicious men casing vehicles in the shopping center parking lot.  One of the undercover detectives spotted the men in the act of stealing an older white Honda CR-V. 

Two of the suspects saw the detective and ran off but were quickly apprehended by the other officers.  One suspect resisted arrest but was taken into custody with the help of the undercover Santa, who tackled him to the ground. 

Another suspect was detained by the undercover elf, who held him at gunpoint. The third suspect who actually stole the Honda, managed to get away but the vehicle was found abandoned nearby. Cops say they know who the man is.

Florida Woman Hid Dead Roomie’s Body for Months to Keep Collecting His Social Security

By HardBoiledNews Staff

It wasn’t quite Weekend at Bernie’s

BRADENTON, Florida — A ghoulish Florida grifter hid her dead housemate’s body in a garbage bin for months so she could keep collecting social security payments, police said.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s office says Michelle Haney, 48, admitted she found 39-year-old Jon Leonard dead back in July in the mobile home they shared.

But instead of calling police, she first hid his body in a closet for three weeks. When the smell became too unbearable, she moved Leonard’s corpse to a sealed trash can, police said.

Haney then took the trash can to a neighbor’s house and asked if she could store it in his carport for a while. The neighbor agreed, but when she didn’t return for it after several months, the man opened it up and smelled a foul odor, so he called the police.

Investigators discovered a body in an advanced state of decomposition.

Haney told detectives that she failed to report Leonard’s death in order to continue to collect his social security payments. 

She has been charged with abusing a dead body and will likely face other charges, cops said.

Leonard’s exact cause of death has yet to be determined pending the completion of an autopsy.

NY Doctor Pleads Guilty to Writing Opioid Prescriptions in Exchange for Sex

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Joseph Santiamo faces up to 20 years in the clink

TRENTON, New Jersey — A sicko New York doctor has pleaded guilty to writing prescriptions for addicts for powerful painkillers in exchange for sexual favors.

Joseph Santiamo, 65, a geriatric medicine specialist in Staten Island, admitted he handed out scripts for thousands of pills of oxycodone to young clients who were obviously struggling with addiction, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said.

“This defendant knowingly prescribed for his patients dangerous quantities of oxycodone, and even more egregiously, solicited sexual favors from certain patients who were struggling with substance abuse in exchange for writing them additional opioid prescriptions,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said.

 “Many of these patients were dealing with pain and addiction, and instead of getting help from their doctor, they were drawn deeper into the cycle of drug abuse. His admission of guilt today ensures that he will be appropriately punished for this behavior,” Carpenito added.

Santiamo admitted in court that from 2012 until 2018 he prescribed large quantities of oxycodone to patients without legitimate medical purpose. 

Prosecutors said that for a number of his patients, there was no medical necessity for Santiamo to treat them with oxycodone, nor to prescribe the large quantities that he did. Santiamo also solicited sexual favors from certain of his younger patients in exchange for oxycodone prescriptions. 

In some instances, Santiamo did this despite evidence that certain patients were abusing opioids, prosecutors said.

“The only difference between him and a person who deals drugs on the street is the white lab coat he wears,” said Susan Gibson, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division.

Santiamo faces up  to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced in April.

Alleged Serial Killer Now Charged With 17 Murders in Texas Retirement Homes

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Billy Chemirmir allegedly posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to his victim’s homes

DALLAS — An alleged serial killer accused of sneaking into retirement homes to smother elderly residents and steal their belongings has been indicted in three new deaths, bringing the total number of capital murder cases against him to 17.

Billy Chemirmir, 48, has been accused in indictments, lawsuits and medical examiner reports with the deaths of 24 elderly people in North Texas. If convicted, Chemirmir could face the death penalty. He has pleaded innocent and is being held in lieu of $11.6 million bail.

The new charges against Chemirmir involved three elderly women killed at the Tradition-Prestonwood luxury senior living complex in Dallas in 2016 and 2017. The women had all been previously identified as possible victims of Chemirmir in civil lawsuits against the facility.

In previous cases, Chemirmir is believed to have smothered his victims with a pillow or choked them to death. Investigators say Chemirmir often posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to the victim’s apartments and later sold or pawned their jewelry.

Many of the deaths now attributed to Chemirmir were initially listed as natural causes with the deaths often not investigated because there was no suspicion of foul play.

In all three of the new cases, jewelry and other valuables were reported missing from the women’s rooms after they were found dead.

Chemirmir’s lawyer, Phillip Hayes, told the Dallas Morning News that much of the evidence against his client is circumstantial, and that while it may put him in the area of an alleged murder, it doesn’t prove he was the killer.

“It seems like every unexplained death they come up with, they’re pinning on him,” Hayes said. “If you look at all of it, it doesn’t stand up.”

The Tradition-Prestonwood home said in a statement that it relied on investigators who initially ruled the deaths as natural causes.

“Those rulings stood for more than 27 months,” the statement says. “The Tradition-Prestonwood has cooperated with all the authorities and will continue to do so.”

Chemirmir’s reign of terror ended in March 2018, when a 91-year-old woman survived an attack by him and reported it to police. She said the man told her to “Go to bed and don’t fight me,” before putting a pillow over her head and then making off with her jewelry.

Cops were able to connect Chemirmir to the attack through his license plate number which a witness had taken down after spotting a suspicious vehicle in the area. Over time, investigators have been able to connect him to many other cases.

Devil Worshipper Awaiting Trial For Killing Teen Charged in New Fatal Shooting

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Edward O’Neal’s parents say he worshipped the devil

HOUSTON — A teenaged devil worshipper who made headlines in 2016 for stabbing a 16-year-old to death and dumping his body in the woods, has allegedly shot and killed another man while he awaits trial for the first slaying.

Edward O’Neal IV, now 23, has been charged with fatally shooting his cousin’s ex-boyfriend, Derrick Mike after being released in August following four years in custody as he underwent mental competency evaluations for the earlier killing.

O’Neal had been charged in 2016 with stabbing his 16-year-old pal, Ryan Roberts, to death and hiding his body in a wooded area. Soon after the killing, O’Neal tried to take his own life.

O’Neal’s mother told authorities at the time that her son, who suffers from mental health issues and developmental disabilities. They said he had recently been worshipping the devil and had killed two family pets. 

Since then, he has been held in the county jail on $50,000 bond until he was deemed fit for trial. Earlier this year, the bond was lowered to $25,000 and he was released in August.

In the more recent slaying, O’Neal allegedly shot Mike multiple times as he came to collect his belongings from his ex-girlfriend’s house and move out. O’Neal’s mother told cops that her son told her his cousin asked him to kill Mike because he cheated on her. 

She then told investigators “that her son had mental issues and that she is afraid of what else he might do,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

The cousin told cops she could not find her gun following the shooting and spotted O’Neal running away after hearing gunfire.