Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Three U.S.-Based Mercenaries Convicted in Fatal Shooting in Philippines

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Joseph Hunter learned the hard way that being a mercenary isn’t what it used to be

NEW YORK — Two former U.S. soldiers and a professional weapons trainer who led second lives as mercenaries, have been convicted of gunning down a real estate agent in the Philippines in a murder-for-hire plot.

Ringleader Joseph Manuel Hunter, 52, was accused of hiring Adam Samia, 43, and Carl David Stillwell, 50, to gun down the woman in 2012 on behalf of global gun and drug runner.

According to prosecutors, Sami and Stillwell, both of North Carolina, posed as real estate customers and then shot the woman in the face as they drove through the countryside. They left her body on a pile of garbage where it was found days later. The motive for the killing has never been made entirely clear.

The men all face up to life in prison in the killing.

Hunter, a former first class sergeant in the U.S. Army,  had already pleaded guilty to a 2013 plot to kill a DEA agent in Thailand and has been serving a 20 year sentence.

He allegedly ran a private security and mercenary outfit called Echelon Associates for the smuggler, Paul Le Roux. Hunter arranged private security to businessman buying gold in Africa .

 

Newlywed Sentenced to Death in Life Insurance Scalping Slay of Husband

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Annie Abdulla was charged with plotting the scalping death of her husband just months after they married in order to collect his life insurance

NEW AMSTERDAM, Guyana — A newlywed and her cousin have been sentenced to death for the brutal scalping slaying of the woman’s husband on a South American beach as part of a twisted plot to collect his life insurance.

Hemwattie Abdulla, 41, who is known as Annie, and her cousin, Seerojnie Permaul, were convicted earlier this month of plotting to kill Abdulla’s husband, a New York City cab driver, on a trip back to their native country of Guyana back in 2012.

Abdulla fainted after receiving her sentence and had to be revived before she was led away to spend the rest of her days in prison awaiting execution, the Stabroek News reported.

Her newlywed husband Abdool Shakeel Majid’s blood-splattered body was found dead on a beach with his scalp missing in April after he and his wife, whom he had married just four months earlier, had traveled home for a two week holiday.

After he had gone missing, Abdulla returned to New York where she told relatives that her husband had remained in South America for a few days longer while she came back to the U.S. to tend to her daughter who had broken her arm.

But while she was back in the U.S., investigators discovered blood in the trunk of the car the couple had rented as well as Abdulla’s driver’s license. They called her back to Guyana to identify Majid’s body, but arrested her when she arrived at the police station.

Authorities said that after getting married, Majid had taken out a sizeable life insurance policy.

Abdulla admitted to police that she had paid Permaul $5,000 to help her kill her husband, but said it was because he regularly beat her and she was desperate to get out of the marriage.

 

 

Indian Swami Says Penis Cut Off By Woman Alleging Rape is as Good As New

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Swamy Gangeshananda is accused of raping the woman who cut his penis off

KOCHI, India — An Indian religious guru who had his penis chopped off by a woman who claimed he had raped her for years, held a press conference to announce that he had fully recovered and had forgiven his attacker.

Swamy Gangeshananda had undergone numerous surgeries to reattach his penis following the attack eight months ago by a 23-year-old woman who alleged he abused her repeatedly for many years. He has been charged with rape.

On said Wednesday he said  that he had “become a normal person after more than eight months’ life as a third gender person.” Doctors said he was again able to urinate and have sexual relations normally.

He declined to discuss the details of the allegations against him and the legal case, but claimed the attack was part of a bigger plot.

“I helped some people and they were behind the incident. My fate is similar to that of Jesus Christ, who was deceived by people close to him,” he said, according to the Times of India. “I do not have complaints against anyone and have forgiven those who attacked me.”

A month after the attack, Gangeshananda’s lawyer released a letter purportedly from the victim, claiming that the guru had never assaulted her and that her statement saying so had been concocted by police.

The local police say they believe the woman was pressured to change her story.

‘The woman told us that her parents blindly trusted this Swami, and he used to get frequent invites to perform special ceremonies and stay over at their house, where he assaulted her,’ district police chief, G. Sparjan Kumar said last year.

 

N. Carolina Truck Driver Jailed For Lying About Role in Bosnian Massacre

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A woman weeps at a memorial to those slain in the Srebrenica massacre

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — A Serbian man who came to the U.S. in the 1990s as a refugee from the bloody Balkan wars, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying about his role in one of the war’s most brutal massacres.

Milan Trisic, 55, admitted that he was a member of the feared Bratunac Brigade during the war in Bosnia and Herzogovina and took part in the bloody Srebrenica massacre in 1995 in which up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were summarily executed.

The killings are considered the worst war atrocity in Europe since World War II, and late last year, former Serbian general, Ratko Miladic, was found guilty by a U.N. tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity for commanding the slaughter at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo. He was sentenced to life in prison.

When Trisic applied for refugee status, prosecutors say he claimed to have lived in Serbia during the war, hiding the fact that he was involved in arresting and beating thousands of  Muslim prisoners and transporting them to be killed and buried in mass graves.

Once he moved to the United States, Trisic settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he became a truck driver and raised a family. He eventually obtained a green card by similarly lying about his wartime activities on his application.

“Those who wish to live in the United States ought to respect our laws, support our national security, and pursue residency legally and honestly.  Anything less is inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Trisic will be deported back to Serbia upon completion of his sentence. It is unclear if he will face war crimes charges upon his return to his homeland.

Sailor Presumed Dead After Going Overboard In Round-the-World Race

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Sailor John Fisher was swept overboard in a remote stretch of ocean between New Zealand and South America

IN THE REMOTE SOUTHERN OCEAN — A veteran rough seas sailor competing in the Volvo Ocean Race was presumed dead after going overboard in a harsh, remote stretch of ocean around 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn, officials said.

John Fisher, a 47-year-old native of Britain who lived in Adelaide, Australia, was swept overboard from the Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag’s 65-foot sloop in fierce weather conditions Monday, the competition’s organizer said.

Officials of the round-the-world race say the team searched for several hours in gale force winds and big waves before increasingly dangerous conditions forced them to resume course toward South America.

Given the ferocious conditions, it was impossible for the rest of the fleet — which was more than 200 miles away when Fisher disappeared — to join the search

“We must now presume that John has been lost at sea,” race president Richard Brisius said in a statement issued nearly 24 hours after Fisher was lost.

“This is heartbreaking for all of us,” Brisius said. “As sailors and race organizers, losing a crew member at sea is a tragedy we don’t ever want to contemplate. We are devastated and our thoughts are with John’s family, friends and teammates.”

Race officials said Fisher was on watch and wearing appropriate survival gear when he went overboard. He  was an experienced big boat sailor who was sailing in his first Volvo Ocean Race, the team’s website said.

Earlier in the race, a crewman on the same ship was swept overboard but was rescued within minutes. Skipper David Witt said at the time that the sailor was lucky to be alive.

The teams are currently on the seventh leg of the round-the-world trip, going from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajai, Brazil. The entire race covers some 45,000 nautical miles.

Cops Seek Shoeless Man in Toothy Moose Stabbing

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Police say the stabbing suspect darted out of the Toothy Moose with no shoes on

HALIFAX, Canada — Police in Canada are on the hunt for a shoeless man who allegedly stabbed two men during a drunken fight at The Toothy Moose bar.

Cops say the bloody brawl broke out at the Halifax watering hole early Sunday morning with the suspect pulling out a knife and slashing two others at the bar before running out into the frigid night with no shoes on.

One victim, a 38-year-old man, was hospitalized but is expected to live. The second victim, a 27-year-old man, suffered a minor stab wound.

Halifax initially arrested a man at the scene but later let him go after determining he was not the suspect. Investigators have described the man they are looking for as being around 30-years-old, standing 5-foot-11 and sporting slicked-back black hair.

He also was apparently wearing black socks, but no shoes, as well as black pants and a light-colored plaid shirt that would likely be splattered in blood.

 

Newlywed Convicted in Scalping Slay of Husband In Life Insurance Plot

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Annie Abdulla was charged with plotting the scalping death of her husband just months after they married in order to collect his life insurance

NEW AMSTERDAM, Guyana — A newlywed and her cousin were convicted of scalping the woman’s husband and leaving him for dead on a South American beach in a sinister bid to collect his life insurance.

Hemwattie Abdulla, 41, who is known as Annie, and her cousin, Seerojnie Permaul, were accused of plotting to kill Abdulla’s husband, a New York City cab driver, on a trip back to their native country of Guyana back in 2012.

Husband Abdool Shakeel Majid’s battered, lifeless was found dead on a beach with his scalp missing in April after he and his wife, whom he had married just four months earlier, had travelled home for a two week holiday.

After he had gone missing, Abdulla returned to New York where she told relatives that her husband had remained in South America for a few days longer while she came back to the U.S. to tend to her daughter who had broken her arm.

But while she was back in the U.S., investigators discovered blood in the trunk of the car the couple had rented as well as Abdulla’s driver’s license. They called her back to Guyana to identify Majid’s body, but arrested her when she arrived at the police station.

Authorities said that after getting married, Majid had taken out a sizeable life insurance policy.

Abdulla admitted to police that she had paid another Permaul $5,000 to help her kill her husband, but said it was because he regularly beat her and she was desperate to get out of the marriage.

The two women face life in prison when they are sentenced at the end of March.

Lightning Strikes African Church, Killing 15 and Injuring 140

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The lightning hit a Seventh Day Adventist church in a mountainous part of Rwanda

NYARUGURU, Rwanda —  A bolt of lightning that struck a church in Africa left 15 people dead and 140 injured, authorities said.

The traumatic weather event at the Gihembe Seventh-day Adventist Church in southern Rwanda struck during a crowded mass on Saturday where hundreds had gathered to listen to a visiting choir.

“Suddenly, there was a big bang, I saw a thunderbolt strike worshippers. We all fell down for minutes,” church elder Emmanuel Ruremesha told Rwanda’s the New Times.

People who rushed to help were struck by the unnerving sight of hundreds of people lying motionless on the ground.

“It was very terrifying to see. I started moving back with my legs shaking. I realized I had to go home for my phone to call local authorities,” said Marceline Mukamana.

Church officials were devastated by news of the event.

“On behalf of the world family of Seventh-day Adventists circling the globe, we have offered our deep sympathy and Christian love to all our members in the Rwanda Union … especially to the families who have lost loved ones and to those who were injured from this traumatic event,” said Pastor Ted. Wilson, president of the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Fifteen members of the church were killed

Serious lightning strikes are not uncommon in that area of Rwanda, which is located in a mountainous region on the border of Burundi. An framer was also killed by lightning at a different location during the same rainstorm, officials said.

Rwandan authorities have urged residents in the region to install lightning rods on all buildings.

 

Femme Fatale Charged in Poison Cheesecake Plot to Steal Lookalike’s Identity

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Russian scam artist Viktoria Nasyrova used poison cheesecake as her weapon of choice

NEW YORK — A devious Russian scam artist has been charged with trying to kill a lookalike with poisoned cheesecake in a bid to steal her identity, prosecutors said.

Viktoria Nasyrova, 42, of Brooklyn had been a client of Olga Tsyvk, a hairdresser to whom she bore a striking resemblance, and became friendly with her. In August 2016, Nasyrova came to Tsyvk’s home and brought her a piece of cheesecake.

But instead of it being a friendly gesture, prosecutors say the cake was laced with a powerful Russian tranquilizer similar to Xanax. Tsyvk, 35, immediately grew ill and fell unconscious, while Nasyrova ransacked her Queens apartment, stealing her passport, immigration papers and a gold ring and other jewelry.

Before leaving, Nasyrova dressed Tsyvk in lingerie and left pills scattered around her bed to make it look like a suicide, prosecutors said.

But Tsyvk survived and after coming out of a coma three days later, fingered Nasyrova to police. Testing revealed the cheesecake contained a near lethal amount of phenazapam.

“This is a bizarre and twisted crime that could have resulted in the death of a Queens woman, whose only fault was that she shared similar features with the defendant,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.

Olga Tsyvk barely survived the tainted cake

Nasyrova, who works a masseuse, is  charged with attempted murder and is also awaiting trial for allegedly drugging and robbing two men she met on online dating sites as well as for allegedly robbing a pawn broker. She is also wanted for the 2014 murder of a neighbor in Russia whose badly burned remains were found in a shallow grave near the city of Krasnodar where Nasyrova is from.

 

Sultry ‘Cocaine Cowgirl’ Pleads Guilty to Drug Smuggling Charges Down Under

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Isabelle Lagace (l) and Melina Roberge chronicled their drug-smuggling tour on Instagram

SYDNEY, Australia — This pleasure cruise has sunk.

A comely Canadian tourist has pleaded guilty to smuggling $30 million worth of cocaine into Australia during a round-the-world voyage she and pal chronicled through sultry photo shoots on Instagram.

Melina Roberge, 25, and her pal Isabelle Lagace, 30, both of Quebec, had been traveling for 40 days aboard the Sea Princess when they were caught with two giant suitcases stuffed with nearly 200 pounds of cocaine as the ship docked in Sydney.

The seizure was one of the largest of its kind in Australian history.

Lagace, a former porn model, pleaded guilty in November, saying she agreed to smuggle the drugs to clear a $20,000 debt she owed. She was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison.

Melina Roberge

Roberge had initially insisted she didn’t know the drugs were in the bags, but changed her story in hopes of a more favorable sentence. An accomplice, Andre Tamine, 65, also pleaded guilty.

The story made international headlines due to the fact that the two women had posted numerous bikini shots online as they made stops in the U.S., South America and the South Pacific.

The two were dubbed “cocaine cowgirls” — a reference to the free-wheeling, south Florida drug importers of the 1980s who were called “cocaine cowboys.”