List of All Articles with Tag 'americas'

Lori Vallow’s defence attorneys have filed a notice of appeal a month after she was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of her two children and her husband’s former wife. After a grueling weeks-long trial, the so-called “Doomsday Mom” was found guilty in May of killing 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Their bodies were found buried in the backyard of her husband Chad Daybell. Daybell is also awaiting trial on murder charges. The pair got married just weeks after Daybell’s wife was found dead.

Elon Musk has threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for billions of dollars after quixotically blaming the Jewish rights organisation for spreading antisemitism on his social media platform X. The self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, who has amplified and reinstated neo-Nazi and far-right accounts since acquiring X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44bn last year blamed the ADL for “destroying” $22bn in the company’s value in a series of posts on Monday. “Since the acquisition, The ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic,” Mr Musk wrote. He claimed that the site’s United States advertising revenue was down 60 per cent “primarily due to pressure on advertisers by ADL”. “If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the ‘Anti-Defamation’ League.” An ADL spokesperson told The Independent in a statement that it did not comment on legal threats, but added that Mr Musk was helping to boost a coordinated “Ban the ADL” campaign being waged by self-declared antisemites. “ADL is unsurprised yet undeterred that antisemites, white supremacists, conspiracy theorists and other trolls have launched a coordinated attack on our organisation. This type of thing is nothing new,” the ADL spokesperson said. “Such insidious efforts don’t daunt us. Instead, they drive us to be unflinching in our commitment to fight hate in all its forms and ensure the safety of Jewish communities and other marginalised groups.” Mr Musk’s threats to sue the ADL, a century-old NGO that describes itself as the “leading anti-hate organisation in the world”, were met with anger and disbelief from some commentators on X. “In his pursuit of some kind of utopian free speech universe, Elon Musk has turned Twitter / X into a free-for-all for Neo Nazis and White Extremists to unleash a torrent of unprecedented antisemitism and Jew hatred,” wrote Israeli human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky. NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat posted: “So it's the Jews manipulating others. Elon Musk that is so original!” Since Mr Musk’s takeover, advertisers have fled the platform or reduced their ad spend as hateful content was allowed to spread unchecked. Mr Musk, the world’s richest person with an estimated net wealth of $248bn, fired an estimated 80 per cent of its workforce, including most of its content moderators, and reinstated previously banned accounts. X’s US advertising revenue over a five-week period from April to May this year came to $88m, a 59 percent decrease from one year ago, according to the New York Times. In August, X filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after it published a report showing that moderators had failed to take action on 99 out of 100 examples of harmful content by verified “blue check” users that the organisation had flagged. “Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created,” CEO Imran Ahmed said in a statement. “CCDH has no intention of stopping our independent research – Musk will not bully us into silence.” The Independent attempted to reach Mr Musk through X, Tesla and via a personal email address but did not hear back. Read More Elon Musk calls Burning Man ‘best art on Earth’ amid chaos that saw thousands stranded and one dead Elon Musk promotes transphobic content as hate speech surges on his far-right platform X threatens to sue researchers who accused Twitter of allowing ‘hate to prosper’ on platform

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in Georgia connected to a sprawling case surrounding Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. John Eastman, a Trump-linked attorney and chief architect of a plot to unlawfully swap presidential electors for Joe Biden with Trump loyalists, and former assistant US Attorney General Jeffrey Clark have also pleaded not guilty and waived their Fulton County court appearance that was scheduled for 6 September. They join 16 other defendants in the case, including the former president, who have pleaded not guilty to the mountain of charges against them, including an alleged racketeering scheme prosecuted under the state’s RICO statute. Only Misty Hampton, the former elections director in Georgia’s Coffee County, has yet to enter a plea. Former Coffee County Republican Party chair Cathy Latham, former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer, and current state Senator Shawn Still – all of whom were among the 16 fake electors – also entered not guilty pleas on 5 September and waived their appearances. The former president and his 18 co-defendants were formally booked earlier this month on a range of charges connected to an alleged criminal enterprise orchestrated by then-President Trump and his allies to overturn election results, one of the largest criminal cases yet against the former president to date for crimes allegedly committed while he was in office. Last week, Mr Meadows testified in US District Court in Atlanta as part of his effort to move the state case out of Fulton County and into federal court, marking one of the first courtroom battles between the 19 defendants and prosecutors under Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. It also marked some of his first public statements in months, and his first as a criminal defendant. His surprise testimony in federal court on 28 August comes two weeks after a grand jury indictment presented the largest and most significant case yet facing Mr Trump and others who allegedly “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election” to ensure he remained in power. He faces two counts in the sprawling 41-count indictment outlining dozens of acts that encompass the conspiracy: one count of violating Georgia’s RICO statute, and one count of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer. Attorneys for Mr Meadows have asked for the “prompt removal” of the case from Fulton County, citing federal law that allows US officials to remove civil or criminal trials from state court over alleged actions performed “under color” of their offices, with Mr Meadows performing such acts during his “tenure” as White House chief of staff, they wrote in court filings. The Georgia case is separate from the US Department of Justice investigation and federal charges against Mr Trump for his efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington DC set a tentative trial date in that case for 4 March, 2024 – one day before Super Tuesday primary election contests. This is a developing story Read More Trump hits back at push to ban him from 2024 race: Live updates Trump angrily refutes claim that 14th amendment disqualifies him from being president again Ashli Babbitt’s mother makes death threat against officer who shot daughter on Jan 6 and Nancy Pelosi Mark Meadows grilled on witness stand over Trump’s Georgia call to ‘find’ votes and false election claims Georgia official told by Trump to ‘find’ votes testifies phone call was ‘extraordinary’

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh is demanding a new trial for the murders of his wife and son – claiming that mysterious “newly discovered evidence” has come to light since his conviction. In a bombshell motion filed on Tuesday, his attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin allege South Carolina Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill tampered with the jury at his trial – because she was driven by fame and a desire to secure a book deal. Details will be revealed at a press briefing at the South Carolina State House near the Court of Appeals in Columbia at 2.30pm local time. The latest development comes one week after the convicted killer lost some of his inmate privileges after he fed information to Fox Nation documentary “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh” without permission from prison officials. In it, Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster also broke his silence to give his first TV interview. He insisted that he still believes his father is innocent but admitted that he may be a psychopath. Murdaugh is behind bars at the McCormick Correctional Institution where he is serving two life sentences for the 7 June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul. Read More Alex Murdaugh claims mystery evidence will prove need for new murder trial Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh loses prison privileges over recorded phone call for documentary Buster Murdaugh breaks silence on Stephen Smith killing – and calls father Alex a ‘psychopath’

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has accused a South Carolina court clerk of tampering with the jury at his high-profile double murder trial – because she was driven by fame and a desire to secure a book deal. The disgraced legal scion and double murderer filed a motion on Tuesday requesting a new trial on the basis that Walterboro Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill allegedly pressured jurors on the case. In the motion, Murdaugh’s attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin claim that Ms Hill “tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense”. Specifically, they claim that the clerk instructed jurors not to be “misled” by evidence presented by the defence and told jurors not to be “fooled by” his testimony. The motion also claims that Ms Hill had frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson – with the pair often disappearing to private rooms for five to 10 minutes at a time. “During the trial, Ms Hill asked jurors for their opinions about Mr. Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence,” the motion reads. “Ms Hill invented a story about a Facebook post to remove a juror she believed might not vote guilty. “Ms Hill pressured the jurors to reach a quick verdict, telling them from the outset of their deliberations that it ‘shouldn’t take them long.’” Murdaugh’s attorneys claim that she “betrayed her oath of office for money and fame” and, off the back of her work on the case, secured a deal for a book titled “Behind the Doors of Justice”. “She did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial,” the motion claims. Just hours after they returned a guilty verdict, his attorneys allege Ms Hill flew with jurors to New York as some of the panellists waived their anonymity to appear on NBC’s Today show. In conclusion, they claim that the court clerk’s actions violated “Murdaugh’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury”. Further details are expected to be shared by Murdaugh’s attorneys at a press conference on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in Columbia at 2.30pm local time on Tuesday afternoon. The duo – who are longtime friends of the killer and represented him at his high-profile murder trial – had announced on Monday that new evidence had come to light since his March conviction over the brutal 7 June 2021 slayings. Murdaugh is currently behind bars at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina where he is serving two life sentences for his wife and son’s murders. Last week, it emerged that Murdaugh had lost some of his prison privileges after he fed information to a Fox Nation documentary without permission. South Carolina Corrections Department officials said on Wednesday that, during a jailhouse phone call on 10 June, Mr Griffin had recorded him reading aloud entries from the journal he had kept during his double murder trial. Mr Griffin had then handed over the recordings to producers working on the new Fox Nation documentary about his high-profile case titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh”. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the media without permission because the agency “believes that victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” state prisons spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement. The media interview violation, along with another violation for using a different inmate’s password to make a telephone call, are prison discipline issues and not a crime, Ms Shain said. As a result, the disgraced legal scion has had his phone privileges revoked and his prison tablet computer confiscated. Murdaugh also lost his ability to buy items in the prison canteen for a month. He will now have to get permission from prison officials to get another tablet, which can be used to make monitored phone calls, watch approved entertainment, read books or take video classes, the prison spokesperson said. Mr Griffin was also issued a warning from prison officials that if he knowingly or unknowingly helps Murdaugh violate rules again, he could lose his ability to talk to his client. Phone calls between lawyers and prisoners are not recorded or reviewed because their conversations are considered confidential. But prison officials said they began investigating Murdaugh after a warden reviewing other phone calls heard Murdaugh’s voice on a call made in a different inmate’s account. Murdaugh claimed that his phone password had not been working. He also told the prison investigators about the recorded journal entries, according to prison records. Murdaugh’s use of a jailhouse tablet previously hit headlines when selfie images he took on the device were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by FITS News. In many of the images, the convicted family killer appeared topless. South Carolina prison officials later clarified that the photos are automatically taken as an inmate uses their tablet that is individually assigned to them – as part of inmate monitoring. Now, Murdaugh has lost the use of his tablet indefinitely due to his unauthorised communication with the documentarymakers – which marks his first media interview of sorts since his conviction. His eldest – and now only surviving – son Buster Murdaugh also broke his silence speaking out in his first TV interview as part of the three-part series. In the interview, Buster insisted that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders of his mother and brother – but admitted that he may be a psychopath. Maggie and Paul were found shot dead on the family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate back on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh had called 911 claiming to have found their bodies. During his high-profile murder trial, jurors heard how Paul was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun while he stood in the feed room of the dog kennels on the affluent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate. The second shot to his head blew his brain almost entirely out of his skull. After killing Paul, prosecutors said Murdaugh then grabbed a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on Maggie as she tried to flee from her husband. During the dramatic six-week trial, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders but continued to claim his innocence of the killings. The jury didn’t agree and the disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders. Beyond the murder charges, Murdaugh, 55, is also facing a slew of financial fraud charges for stealing millions of dollars from his law firm clients and his dead housekeeper’s family. He is expected to plead guilty on 21 September to federal charges – marking the first time he has pleaded guilty to a crime in court. Murdaugh is also facing around 100 financial charges in state court as well as charges over a botched hitman plot where he claims he paid an accomplice to shoot him dead. Murdaugh’s high-profile conviction also shone a spotlight on some other mystery deaths tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. Following Maggie and Paul’s murders, investigations were reopened into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield and the 2015 homicide of gay teenager Stephen Smith. Meanwhile, at the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the 2019 boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys to unveil ‘mystery evidence’ as he demands new murder trial – live updates Buster Murdaugh breaks silence on Stephen Smith killing – and calls father Alex a ‘psychopath’ Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh loses prison privileges over recorded phone call for documentary

The manhunt for convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante has now widened and local schools have been shuttered after he was spotted on trail camera footage breaking past a police parimeter on Monday night. Cavalcante, 34, escaped from Chester County Prison, Pennsylvania, on Thursday days after he was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão, 31, to death in front of her two small children. He is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil. During the six-day search for the escaped prisoner, multiple sightings have been reported with law enforcement setting up a two-mile parimeter around a wooded area where he was believed to be holed up. On Monday, officials then broadcast a message from the killer’s mother urging her son to surrender. But, in a morning update on Tuesday, police revealed that Cavalcante had been caught on camera managing to sneak past the parimeter the night before. As a result, police have now expanded the police parimeter and shuttered the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester Count “out of abundance of caution”. Members of the public have been urged to secure their homes, outbuildings and vehicles from the dangerous killer. Read More Search for escaped murderer prompts Pennsylvania school closures after mother’s surrender message Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break

Pennsylvania police have shuttered local schools “out of abundance of caution” as the search for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante enters its sixth day. In a memo sent to parents, the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County said that schools across the district would be closed on Tuesday as the “search situation” to find the convicted killer has now changed. “We were informed early this morning by law enforcement that the search situation has evolved and out of an abundance of caution, schools and offices will be closed today,” Superintendent Dr Dusty Blakey said in the letter. “We understand that situations like these can be unsettling. The safety and security of our KCSD community remains our top priority. We are committed to taking all necessary precautions and measures to ensure the safety of our students and staff.” The Spt urged the community to stay informed about the situation which continues to rapidly evolve. In a press conference on Tuesday morning, officials said that Cavalcante had been caught on a trail camera on Monday night managing to escape the two-mile radius which had been surrounded by law enforcement. The escaped murderer was captured on the trail camera at Longwood Gardens in East Marlborough Township, Chester County, at 8.21pm travelling one direction. He was then spotted coming past the camera again at 9.33pm local time. As a result, police have now shifted and expanded the police parimeter and shuttered nearby schools. The images show that Cavalcante has obtained a backpack and a hooded sweatshirt during his escape. Members of the public were urged to secure their homes, outbuildings and vehicles and to contact police if they spot the killer. The latest sighting comes hours after authorities broadcast a message from the killer’s mother into the wooded area where was believed to be holed up. Cavalcante, 34, escaped from Chester County Prison on Thursday days after he was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão to death. The killer attacked Brandão in Schuylkill Township, back in August 2021, in front of her two children, who were just seven and three years old. He is also wanted for a murder in 2017 in Brazil. Following his prison escape and huge manhunt to find him, the search has been reduced down to a two-mile radius of a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township, Chester County, where Cavalcante is believed to be currently hiding. On Monday, law enforcement resorted to a new tactic of blasting a message from his mother, speaking in Portuguese, into his hiding place from police helicopters and patrol cars. Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US Marshal for the Easter District of Pennsylvania spoke at a conference on Monday afternoon, explaining why these tactics were being deployed. “As desperate as he is, maybe he has a change of thought and hears his mother telling him to surrender, and his family cares about him,” Mr Clark said. “Perhaps this is what puts him over the edge where we can get a peaceful surrender.” While Mr Clark did not confirm the exact wording of the message to Cavalcante, he said that that the killer’s mother was urging him to turn himself into authorities. “She’s just encouraging that his family loves him, and that she wants him to surrender. And that’s what our hope is as well,” he said. The new tactic comes as District Attorney Deb Ryan announced in a press briefing on Monday that the Pennsylvania State Police were taking over the investigation and search for Cavalcante. “The goal right now is to find and capture this dangerous fugitive. We are doing everything in our power to get this guy,” said DA Ryan. Since the manhunt started, there have been four credible sightings of the escaped inmate. Cavalcante has been seen at the intersection of Routes 926 and 52, north on Route 52 to Parkersville Road, southeast to Route 926 and west to the intersection of Routes 926 and 52 in Pocopson Township, police said. There have also been two reported burglaries in the area that police have investigated, but these are not currently confirmed to be linked to the escaped prisoner. However, Lt Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said on Monday that the incidents “are of interest to us”. Lt Col Bivens was the last person to spot Cavalcante on Sunday afternoon. From now on, he said authorities plan to use “stress” tactics, such as sharing his mother’s message, to help find him. “I intend to stress him. I want to push him hard. He’ll make mistakes,” he said. “He’ll show himself. He’s already shown himself, we believe, a few times.” Cavalcante is described as a 5 foot Brazilian man with light complexion, shaggy, black curly hair and brown eyes. After his escape, he was seen wearing a light-coloured shirt, pants, and white sneakers. He was also carrying a backpack, but police said they are unsure when or where he obtained the bag. Law enforcement teams, including the US Marshals, SWAT, local, state, and other federal agencies, have joined the search to find him. Authorities are also offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Cavalcante’s arrest. The public is urged not to approach Cavalcante if they see him, as he is considered dangerous. His escape comes after another prisoner escaped from Chester County prison earlier this year. “The prison is very aware of whatever vulnerabilities they had, and they have made efforts to correct those vulnerabilities,” the district attorney said. Read More Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante spotted on surveillance camera in Pennsylvania Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings

A Dallas teenager was charged with murder just hours after an AMBER Alert was issued for the girl when she briefly went missing under “suspicious circumstances.” The Friday morning alert for 17-year-old Natalie Navarro was cancelled when she was found safe, but in a bizarre twist, she now faces a murder charge. Ms Navarro and the suspect in her reported disappearance, 21-year-old Yordy “Jordy” Martinez, are both wanted in the 29 August shooting death of Arturo Pena, also 21. Pena’s body was found in a vehicle along West Oates Road in Audubon Park in Garland, Texas last week. He had been reported missing to the Dallas Police Department on 27 August. Both Ms Navarro and Mr Martinez had warrants out for their arrest in connection to Pena’s death when the AMBER Alert was issued. Further details about Ms Navarro’s arrest were not released and Garland police say they are still “trying to figure out exactly” how the three individuals knew each other. Mr Martinez is feared to have fled across the US-Mexico border and remains at large. He has a criminal history that includes a felony indictment for allegedly shooting a gun into a house in Garland last November. “There’s a lot of stuff going out, we’ve collected a lot of evidence, so we’re trying to process everything right now,’ Lt Richard Maldonado of the Garland Police Department said. “The reason why this happened, we’ve yet to totally determine that,” he added about a potential motive. “We hope to get more when we talk to Natalie to see exactly what was going on if these persons knew each other, if they had a relationship, if there was a falling out.” Anyone with information on Mr Martinez’s location or Pena’s murder is asked to call the Garland Police at 972-485-4840 Read More Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings BTK serial killer’s chilling drawings released amid search for new victims Moment alleged teen killer smiles at camera after double murder arrest

A Texas man admitted to fatally shooting a Texas Christian University student outside a bar, but could not give a reason as to why he committed the crime, a police affidavit revealed. Matthew Purdy Jr, 21, was located by police and arrested shortly after the tragic killing happened around 1am on Friday. Wes Smith, a junior at Texas Christian University, was shot three times while standing on a sidewalk in Fort Worth’s West 7th entertainment district, according to a police affidavit. Purdy told police that he did not know Smith and could not give a reason for the shooting. But did ask if he knew his father, who was assaulted in the area in the past, arrest documents stated. The college student had gunshot wounds to his stomach, shoulder and head, according to the affidavit that also revealed Purdy told police that he shot Smith in the head “because he wanted to make sure he was dead.” He also told police he would have fired more shots “if he hadn’t run out of ammunition.” Surveillance video reviewed by police showed the suspect as he approached Smith and appeared to speak to him before the student fell to the ground. Purdy, who was wearing a white T-shirt, dark pants, red ball cap and carrying a backpack, stood over Smith before running off, the affidavit said. A witness who later described the chaotic scene to police, said the suspect hit an unknown person in the back of the head with a gun. When Purdy was detained by police a short time later, he appeared to have “fresh blood” on his backpack, according to the affidavit. He was placed in the back of a patrol car where he dismantled a 9mm handgun that police say he had hidden, and threw pieces of it outside. At the time of the incident, Purdy was on probation for aggravated robbery. He now faces a murder charge and was booked at the Tarrant County Jail with a bond set at $500,000. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “Smith was shot and killed in a senseless act of gun violence.” Smith was a “remarkable young man who impacted countless lives including my own son as a football coach for his middle school team.” The Tennessee native was a junior at TCU where he was double-majoring in finance and marketing, according to Kathy Cavins-Tull, TCU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, who said in a statement that the university is “devastated.” Read More Shooting outside wedding in Ottawa leaves two dead and six injured Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings BTK serial killer’s chilling drawings released amid search for new victims

A manhunt continues for a dangerous inmate who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison last week as authorities focus on a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township after four confirmed sightings. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, has been on the run in Chester County since Thursday after he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the fatal stabbing of his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend. District Attorney Deb Ryan announced at a press briefing on Monday that the Pennsylvania State Police will be taking over the investigation and manhunt. “The goal right now is to find and capture this dangerous fugitive,” Ms Ryan said, adding that she understands the community’s concerns. “We are doing everything in our power to get this guy.” The search is focused on a two-mile radius of a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township, Chester County where there have been four credible sightings since the escape. Police said on Monday that over the past five days, Cavalcante has been spotted at the intersection of Rt. 926 and Rt. 52, north on Rt. 52 to Parkersville Road, southeast to Rt. 926 and west to the intersection of Rt. 926 and Rt. 52 in Pocopson Township. Ryan said police have responded to well over 100 tips from neighbours in the area, including allegations of possible break-ins within the two-mile radius of the prison. “We are requesting that residents in the area of Pocopson Township remain inside. Lock your doors, lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual. There is evidence to suggest that he’s still in that local residence. We do not believe he has gotten more than one to two miles away from the prison,” Ms Ryan said. “We believe we are getting closer to locating the suspect at this time, and we are narrowing the scope of our search,” she added. Community members were also made aware that an audio recording from Cavalcante’s mother will be played throughout the day from police cars and helicopters. The message, which is in Portuguese – Cavalcante’s native tongue – is of his mother pleading for him to surrender peacefully. He was spotted on cameras around 12.30am on Saturday in Pocopson Township, roughly one and a half miles from the prison. Local authorities received a report of an attempted burglary in the area just an hour before Cavalcante was captured on surveillance but it is not immediately clear if he was involved. Police said residents in the area should scan video from their doorbells or surveillance cameras for anything suspicious. They also advised people to check their cars and any sheds on their property. Cavalcante is described as a 5ft Brazilian man with light complexion, shaggy, black curly hair and brown eyes. He is also wanted for a homicide in 2017 in Brazil, the US Marshals Service for Philadelphia said. Since his escape, he was seen wearing a light-coloured shirt, pants, and white sneakers. He was also carrying a backpack, but police said they don’t know when he obtained the bag. Hundreds of law enforcement teams, including the US Marshals, SWAT, local, state, and other federal agencies, have joined the search. Authorities are also offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Cavalcante’s arrest. Authorities urged people to not approach Cavalcante, who speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Cavalcante killed his ex-girlfriend in Schuylkill Township in front of the victim’s seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old before fleeing to Virginia. Ms Ryan called it a “heartbreaking tragedy”. Read More Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante spotted on surveillance camera in Pennsylvania

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has claimed that mysterious “newly discovered evidence” will pave the way for him to be granted a new trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. Murdaugh’s attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a statement that new evidence had come to light since his March conviction over the brutal 7 June 2021 slayings. This evidence will form the basis of a new motion requesting a retrial in the high-profile case. The attorneys – who are longtime friends of the killer and represented him at his high-profile murder trial – will reveal this new evidence and release the motion at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The briefing is scheduled to take place on the grounds of the South Carolina State House near the Court of Appeals in Columbia at 2.30pm local time. For now, the details remain a mystery. Murdaugh is currently behind bars at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina where he is serving two life sentences for his wife and son’s murders. Last week, it emerged that Murdaugh had lost some of his prison privileges after he fed information to a Fox Nation documentary without permission. South Carolina Corrections Department officials said on Wednesday that, during a jailhouse phone call on 10 June, Mr Griffin had recorded him reading aloud entries from the journal he had kept during his double murder trial. Mr Griffin had then handed over the recordings to producers working on the new Fox Nation documentary about his high-profile case titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh”, released today. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the media without permission because the agency “believes that victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” state prisons spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement. The media interview violation, along with another violation for using a different inmate’s password to make a telephone call, are prison discipline issues and not a crime, Ms Shain said. As a result, the disgraced legal scion has had his phone privileges revoked and his prison tablet computer confiscated. Murdaugh also lost his ability to buy items in the prison canteen for a month. He will now have to get permission from prison officials to get another tablet, which can be used to make monitored phone calls, watch approved entertainment, read books or take video classes, the prison spokesperson said. Mr Griffin was also issued a warning from prison officials that if he knowingly or unknowingly helps Murdaugh violate rules again, he could lose his ability to talk to his client. Phone calls between lawyers and prisoners are not recorded or reviewed because their conversations are considered confidential. But prison officials said they began investigating Murdaugh after a warden reviewing other phone calls heard Murdaugh’s voice on a call made in a different inmate’s account. Murdaugh claimed that his phone password had not been working. He also told the prison investigators about the recorded journal entries, according to prison records. Murdaugh’s use of a jailhouse tablet previously hit headlines when selfie images he took on the device were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by FITS News. In many of the images, the convicted family killer appeared topless. South Carolina prison officials later clarified that the photos are automatically taken as an inmate uses their tablet that is individually assigned to them – as part of inmate monitoring. Now, Murdaugh has lost the use of his tablet indefinitely due to his unauthorised communication with the documentarymakers – which marks his first media interview of sorts since his conviction. His eldest – and now only surviving – son Buster Murdaugh also broke his silence speaking out in his first TV interview as part of the three-part series. In the interview, Buster insisted that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders of his mother and brother – but admitted that he may be a psychopath. Maggie and Paul were found shot dead on the family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate back on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh had called 911 claiming to have found their bodies. During his high-profile murder trial, jurors heard how Paul was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun while he stood in the feed room of the dog kennels on the affluent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate. The second shot to his head blew his brain almost entirely out of his skull. After killing Paul, prosecutors said Murdaugh then grabbed a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on Maggie as she tried to flee from her husband. During the dramatic six-week trial, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders but continued to claim his innocence of the killings. The jury didn’t agree and the disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders. Beyond the murder charges, Murdaugh, 55, is also facing a slew of financial fraud charges for stealing millions of dollars from his law firm clients and his dead housekeeper’s family. He is expected to plead guilty on 21 September to federal charges – marking the first time he has pleaded guilty to a crime in court. Murdaugh is also facing around 100 financial charges in state court as well as charges over a botched hitman plot where he claims he paid an accomplice to shoot him dead. Murdaugh’s high-profile conviction also shone a spotlight on some other mystery deaths tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. Following Maggie and Paul’s murders, investigations were reopened into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield and the 2015 homicide of gay teenager Stephen Smith. Meanwhile, at the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the 2019 boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh loses prison privileges over recorded phone call for documentary Buster Murdaugh breaks silence on Stephen Smith killing – and calls father Alex a ‘psychopath’ Alex Murdaugh to plead guilty in theft case. It would be the first time he admits to a crime

A convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison was spotted by surveillance cameras in an area not far from the prison. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was convicted on 16 August for stabbing his 33-year-old former girlfriend Deborah Brandao to death in front of her children back in April 2021. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Cavalcante, described as an “extremely dangerous man,” escaped from Chester County Prison in West Chester around 8.45am on Thursday, said the county’s district attorney Deb Ryan. The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Cavalcante was seen on cameras at around 12.30am on Friday in Pocopson Township, roughly one and a half miles from the prison. This is a developing story ... check again for updates.