Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Satanic Ripper Crew Killer Eyed in 20 Slayings to Be Let Out on Parole

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Ripper Crews killer Thomas Kokaraleis has served about half of a 70-year sentence

ELMHURST, Illinois —  A member of the satanic Ripper Crew, who kidnapped up to 20 women in the early 1980s and tortured, raped and killed them, will be released from prison on parole at the end of the month, authorities said.

Thomas Kokaraleis, 59, will walk out of the Illinois River Correctional Center on March 29 after serving half of a 70-year sentence for the slaying of 21-year-old Lorry Borowski in 1982.

Police believe he and his brothers and two other men were responsible for the murder of up to 20 women in and around Chicago during the 1980s.

His brother, Andrew Kokoraleis, received the death penalty and was executed by lethal injection in 1999 before it was abolished in Illinois. Two other men connected to the murders are still behind bars, with one eligible for parole in 2042.

The men were part of the satanic cult group known as the “Ripper Crew,” which stalked the streets of Chicago and its suburbs, in a red van looking for women to kidnap, beat, rape, torture and kill. The men would often cut off their victims’ breasts as part of a cannibalistic ritual.

Victim Lorry Borowski

Borowski was kidnapped in May 1982 from outside a real estate office where she worked. She was then tortured, raped and killed. Her body was found five months later and the crew was finally arrested in November of that year.

Sicko Graphic Novelist Ordered to Pay $41.6M in Scalping Slay of Fiancee

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Blake Leibel modeled the slaying of gal pal Iana Kasian after a graphic novel he wrote

LOS ANGELES — A sicko graphic novelist heir to a powerful Canadian clan has been ordered to pay $41.6 million to the family of his fiancee who he brutally tortured and scalped just weeks after she gave birth to their daughter.

Blake Leibel, who is serving life in prison in the 2016 slaying he modeled after a graphic novel he’d written, was found liable in a wrongful death suit brought by Iana Kasian’s family.

“This murder didn’t just kill one person, it really did kill the family, it shattered the family. And the family has had a hard time crawling back from this,” said Jake Finkel, an attorney representing Kasian’s family told the Los Angeles Times.

Leibel, whose family built their fortune in Canadian real estate and chemicals manufacturing, once had a fledgling Hollywood career as a writer and illustrator.

But in 2016, cops found him barricaded in his West Hollywood apartment with Kasian’s mutilated body.

Prosecutors said during Leibel’s trial that he had cut off  Kasian’s scalp, letting all of her blood drain from her body, killing her.

Experts testified that Kasian was alive during much of the torture and died “a very slow, excruciating, painful death.” Prosecutors said the grisly slaying was modeled after the story of “Syndrome,” a graphic novel that Leibel helped create years earlier. I

Leibel moved to California in 2004, married and had a son, living off an allowance from his parents — payouts that totaled $1.8 million over about seven years.

He worked on the animated series “Spaceballs,” based on the 1987 film by Mel Brooks, and collaborated with a team of writers and an illustrator to develop “Syndrome.”

In 2015. he filed for divorce and met Kasian who became pregnant. Prosecutors argued at trial that Leibel had been driven by jealousy over the attention Kasian gave to their newborn, Diana, when he committed the gruesome slaying.

Kasian hailed from Ukraine, where she worked as an attorney prosecuting tax crimes and moved to the U.S. in 2014. The $41.6 million will go to Kasian’s mother, Olga, who is raising the now-3-year-old girl in Ukraine.

“The most precious thing to take away from a little girl, from a woman, is her mother. [Diana’s] mother was taken away from her before she even got a real chance to learn about her, get to know her,” Finkel said. “At one point, she’s going to learn about the reality of her mother, and what happened to her, and her biological father and what he did to her mother.”

 

Phony Uber Driver Took Pics of Unconscious Women in His Car: Cops

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Phony Uber driver Tommy Wayne Beard was found with an unconscious college student in his car

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — A creepy perv posing as an Uber driver was taken into custody after cops found him driving around with an unconscious University of Alabama student in the back seat of his car.

The Tuscaloosa County sheriff’s office said they also found numerous photos of unconscious young women in 61-year-old Tommy Wayne Beard’s phone, the Tuscaloosa News reported.

Cops began investigating Beard when they spotted the woman passed out in the back seat of his car around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. He told them he was an Uber driver and was taking the woman home.

But the 22-year-old woman told cops she had no recollection of getting into Beard’s car and could only remember leaving a bar in downtown Tuscaloosa earlier in the evening.

Beard then confessed that he was not actually a driver for Uber but had simply purchased a placard identifying him as one and was picking people up and giving them rides, cops said..

When cops found the pictures in Beard’s phone they took him into custody although he was not immediately charged.

Minnesota Samaritan Confuses MyPillow Founder Cutout for Deranged Man

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Passersby confused a cutout of the MyPillow CEO for a crazed man wandering around hugging a pillow

JORDAN, Minnesota — It’s not surprising that there are some who might think MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is bit deranged.

Officers in Minnesota were called  to check on the welfare of a man standing outside a home with no coa in the frigid cold and hugging a pillow.

But when cops arrived at the scene they discovered the man was “actually a cardboard cutout of MyPillow CEO and inventor Mike Lindell.”

“Those cardboard cutouts sure can look real from a distance and the caller certainly was not wanting to get too close thinking who is this deranged person standing outside in the cold hugging a pillow; always better to call the police,” the Jordan, Minnesota police wrote on their Facebook page.

Lindell is well known for his commercials in which he jumps out of people’s medicine  cabinets to sing the praises of his patented pillow. He is also a vocal supporter of Donald Trump who he says was “chosen by God” to be president.

Lindell, 57, spent many years struggling with cocaine and alcohol addiction and built his multi-million dollar pillow business after becoming sober in 2009. He has also created a faith-based foundation to help addicts.

Tennessee Man Charged With Dipping Testicles in Cheap Tipper’s Salsa

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Matt Webb and his testicles took double-dipping to a whole new level

MARYVILLE, Tennessee — What a nut!

A Tennessee man has been charged with dipping his testicles into a container of salsa being delivered to a low-tipping restaurant customer.

Howard Matthew Webb, 31, of Tuckaleechee Pike, was arrested after police in Maryville were contacted by the Dinner Delivered service about a video that seemed to show someone tampering with food being delivered to a diner.

The 14-second video, apparently shot from the driver’s seat of a vehicle, shows a man in the passenger seat take a white cup and hold it to his groin area while moving his pants.

In the background a voice that sounds like a woman is laughing and saying, “This is what you get when you give an 89-cents tip for an almost 30-minute drive.”

The man says, “Ah, this feels good on my nuts.”

Webb is charged with “adulteration of food, liquids, or pharmaceuticals,” the Daily Times in Maryville reported.

Aliyah Wilson, a general manager for Dinner Delivered, told the paper that the driver, who was an independent contractor, no long works for the company. “She will never drive for Dinner Delivered again,” Wilson said.

 

Calif. Woman Charged With Impersonating Cop, Groping Woman Outside Bar

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Denise Latta allegedly has a thing for posing as a cop in order to grope women

TUSTIN, California — A depraved fraudster posed as a cop to force a female patron out of a southern California watering hole where she allegedly groped and robbed her, authorities said.

Denise Latta, 54, of Huntington Beach, went into a bar in Tustin on Sept. 13, and whipped out a badge as she approached the bartender and female patron, police said.

Investigators say Latta instructed the woman to produce an identification card, which the phony cop then cut several pieces. Latta then demanded the victim leave the bar with her.

Once outside, Latta forced the victim to put her hands on a wall and spread her feet, and while searching her, touched her breast and groin through her clothes, police said. Latta then told the victim that she wasn’t going to arrest her and told her to leave and never come back to the bar.

In late November, Tustin police tracked Latta down and charged her with kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment, sexual battery, and impersonating a police officer. She is being held on $100,000 bond.

When Latta was arrested, officers found fake badges, identification cards that read “agent,” and clothing that read “fugitive recovery agent,” among her belongings.

Latta told detectives that she worked as a private detective and bail enforcement officer, but lacked any identification to prove it. Latta was also in possession of several items that led detectives to believe this may not be an isolated incident and cops are looking for additional victims.

Florida Woman Pulls Knife on Man Who Complained of Her Loud Fart in Store

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Shanetta Wilson’s loud fart led to an ugly standoff

DANIA BEACH, Florida — He smelled it and she dealt it.

A Florida woman was busted for pulling a knife on a man and threatening to “gut him” after he complained about her loudly farting while on line a store.

Police in Dania Beach say Shanetta Wilson, 37, was on line at a Dollar General when she let one rip. When the man standing behind her, John Walker, complained, things got ugly.

According to the police report, Wilson allegedly pulled a small “lock back knife” from her purse, “opened the knife and told the victim she was going to ‘gut’ him.”

Cops say that while Wilson mad the threat, she pulled back her right hand with the knife as if she was going to attack the victim with it.

Walker told officers he  was “in fear that he was going to be stabbed by the defendant,” the affidavit read.

When cops arrived at the scene, they managed to track Wilson down a few blocks after Walker identified her.

Wilson was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and held on $2,500 bail.

Nude Thief Busted in a String of In-The-Buff Burglaries in Arizona

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jeremy Lawrence’s habit of committing burglaries while nude made it easy for cops to identify him from his tattoos

FLORENCE, Arizona — A naked man caught on video stealing from neighbors’ homes has been arrested and charged in at least five burglaries, authorities said.

Jeremy Lawrence, 47, of Florence, Arizona, was busted last week after several victims provided surveillance video from their homes to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the bizarre series of in-the-buff break-ins.

Investigators were first tipped off to Lawrence after getting a call on Nov. 11 from a man who noticed an exotic tree was missing from his property. He said he suspected Lawrence was the thief and that he may have also been responsible for stealing items from another neighbor’s home the night before, deputies said.

Lawrence also was spotted on a surveillance camera on Nov. 10 while wearing a camouflage hunting suit. Deputies said he stole 25 air conditioner evaporator coils and a radiator belonging to a vintage truck.

After noticing similarities in the cases, deputies linked Lawrence to an incident from August when a suspect — who was nude, except for shoes and gloves — stole plants from a home in Florence. Deputies say the thief sported a distinguishing tattoo on his right shoulder, which later helped investigators connect Lawrence to two more burglaries in 2016.

Deputies said the suspect in those incidents was caught on surveillance cameras without a shirt, allowing investigators to recognize the identifiable tattoo, deputies said.

A search of Lawrence’s home on Friday resulted in the recovery of most of the stolen property from two of the burglaries. Cops say they also found a marijuana grow operation with more than 26 plants on Lawrence’s property.

Lawrence is facing multiple counts of burglary, as well as possession of marijuana, possession for sale and other charges. Deputies said they expect more charges to be filed against Lawrence as they continue to investigate.

Dopey Auto Thief Being Released Tries to Steal Car Outside Jail

By HardBoiledNews Staff

AutoThief Klaid Karpuzi’s likes to steal cars but his itchy fingers know no bounds

LAND O’ LAKES, Florida (Nov. 19, 2018) — If at first you don’t succeed.

A Florida man was busted for trying to steal a car from a jail parking lot, just after he had been released on auto theft charges, police said.

Klaid Karpuzi, 41, was foiled the second time around because the car he chose to steal had an off-duty deputy sitting inside, the Pasco County Sheriff’s office said.

Karpuzi wasn’t free for long as the deputy marched him back inside the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, where he now faces a second charge of attempted auto theft, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Karpuzi was first arrested last Sunday after he stole a vehicle, cops said. He was released last Tuesday on $5,000 bail and that’s when things took a ridiculous turn.

The off-duty deputy, who was sitting inside a parked car outside the jail, saw Karpuzi walk around her vehicle and pull on the passenger-side door handle.

That’s when she got out and identified herself as a deputy and escorted Karpuzi back to jail.

Karpuzi told deputies that he saw a vehicle with the engine on and thought there was no one inside.

Karpuzi was released again Wednesday morning on another $5,000 bail, this time without incident.

Nude Break-In Artist Eats Noodles, Plays Bongos in Florida Eatery

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The nude man just wanted a place to hang out

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — If Florida is a magnet for crazy, this place must be the epicenter.

Florida cops investigating a break-in at a St.Petersburg eatery were surprised to discover a second, nude burglary episode at the same place as they looked further back at the surveillance tape.

While the initial thief just helped himself to a plate of chicken wings and a beer, the second break-in artist stripped nude, ate a bowl of ramen noodles he had brought and then beat on a bongo drum.

Police say a closer review of surveillance video showed a man ride his bike up to The Chattaway restaurant last week, slip through the back gate and go through a storage shed.

The man then gets into a restaurant bathroom and exits stark naked.

He then sat naked at a picnic tables and began chowing down on a meal of Maruchan Instant Lunch ramen. The video also shows him playing the bongos, while still naked.

“He came in with pants on but he rode off on the bike without pants,” Chattaway server Chad Pearson told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m not sure if he took his pants with him but we didn’t find them. We still don’t know where his pants are.”

The intruder also spray-painted a few chairs, the bongos and a pickle jar, but no one noticed until they checked the tape.

“We would not have known about the naked guy without the cop finding that video,” said manager Amanda Kitto.

Police identified the man, who is homeless, but did not release his name publicly. Kitto declined to give his name and said the restaurant will not press charges because he caused no harm.

“His goal was to not break in, his goal was to just hang out at The Chattaway.”

Police still haven’t caught the other suspect who made off with about $500 worth of stuff.

Kitto said that even though the two incidents happened back-to-back, she does not believe they are connected.

“I used to always joke and say that if you were going to break into The Chattaway to make sure to grab a beer. And it finally happened.”