List of All Articles with Tag 'crime'

A 20-year-old Arizona man who allegedly confessed to shooting four people dead and wounding a fifth person told police he carried out the killing spree due to a hatred of drugs and homelessness, court documents show. Iren Byers claimed responsibility for the shootings after he was taken into custody for trespassing near Main St and Extension Rd in Mesa, Phoenix, on Sunday, according to a statement from the Mesa Police Department. Mr Byers was cooperative and told police where they could find a 9mm handgun and clothing he had been wearing during the shootings, according to the release. Shell casings from each of the shootings in Mesa and Phoenix were linked to the 9mm pistol found in a fanny pack in his room at his grandmother’s apartment, police said. The first shooting occurred at around 2.45pm on Friday near 26th and Oak St, in east Phoenix. According to the documents obtained by The Independent, Mr Byers said he had been walking along a canal with with 41-year-old Nicholas Arnstad. Mr Byers told police he shot Arnstad in the head because he was smoking fentanyl, which had angered him because his brother had also abused the deadly opiate. Police found Arnstad’s body soon afterwards. Mesa police officers were called to Beverly Park at about 10.30pm on Friday night where they found the body of 41-year-old Julian Cox, according to the statement. Mr Byers later claimed he had shot Cox in the head after he started talking about using “blues”, which is a street name for fentanyl, according to the court papers. Mr Byers told investigators he then met Stephen Young, 41, at a Circle K and rode with him on light rail. Mr Byers claimed that he wanted to smoke marijuana, and that Young spoke about using fentanyl. He allegedly confessed to shooting Young in the head before taking off. Police found Young’s body near a Greyhound station on Country Club Rd at about midnight. Mr Byers told investigators he then met 40-year-old John Swain, who he said was homeless and not from the Phoenix area, while walking on nearby railroad tracks, according to the probable cause statement. He said he shot Swain once, and continued to shoot him as he fell down a hill, according to the court papers. Officers found his body near Extension Road and Main Street at about 1am on Saturday. Mr Byers then met his final victim, identified as 36-year-old Angela Fonseca, while walking on Main St. He claimed to have shot her in the face after getting angry at her. Ms Fonseca was found just after midnight, and was taken to hospital where she was underwent several surgeries. Doctors say she is expected to survive. Mr Byers was initially arrested on a trespassing charge, and was reportedly cooperative with police officers. He allegedly told investigators they could find the 9mm handgun and clothing at his grandmother’s house, police said. At least one shell casing from each crime scene matched the weapon, according to documents. Security footage also showed Mr Byers wearing clothes that matched the recovered items, the papers stated. Mr Byers has been booked into prison without bond on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. “Knowing that Iren Byers will have to face the consequences of his unjustified actions is the start of justice to be seen,” Mesa Police Detective Brandi George said in a statement. Read More Aderrien Murry called 911 to help his mom. A police officer shot the 11-year-old as he complied with commands Succession finale review: Kendall’s wretched past comes back to bite him in poetic, violent last episode Fight over photograph sparks New Mexico biker brawl that leaves three dead and six injured

A fight over a photograph between the Bandidos biker gang and its rival Waterdogs sparked a brawl on Saturday that left three people fatally shot and six wounded, New Mexico police said on Sunday. State police had already increased their presence in the town of Red River, less than an hour north of Taos, in anticipation of thousands arriving for the Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally, New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnston told the Santa Fe New Mexican. Shots rang out at around 5pm on Saturday and responding officers found two dead and six injured, authorities said on Sunday. All were members of organised motorcycle gangs. One injured person was airlifted to Denver for treatment and five were taken to area hospitals, where one was pronounced dead. According to Chief Johnston, a confrontation over a photograph had been sparked in Albuquerque between the Bandidos gang from Texas and New Mexico-based Waterdogs. The disagreement continued in Red River and escalated, he told the New Mexican. “Something as stupid as that,” he said, referring to a picture that showed “somebody taking a picture with a different gang.” The three dead have been identified as Anthony Silva, 26, of Los Lunas, NM; Randy Sanchez, 46, of Albuquerque, NM; and Damian Breaux, 46, of Socorro, NM, police said on Sunday. Jacob David Castillo, 30, of Rio Rancho, NM has been charged with one open count of murder; injured in the incident, he remained hospitalised on Sunday and will be booked into Taos County Detention Center upon his release, officials said. Also injured was Christopher Garcia, 41, of Texas, who was charged with possession of cocaine when he was released from the hospital and booked into jail, according to a release from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Matthew Charles Jackson, 39, of Austin, Texas was charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm in a liquor establishment and booked into the Taos County Detention Center, too, police said. Four other injured people, aged between 31 and 53, “will not be identified unless they are eventually charged with a crime,” the DPS release said. Chief Johnston said that area hospitals had been locked down following the Saturday incident. “It’s been our experience, and I think it’s been the experience around the country when dealing with these types of gang bangers, is that when somebody gets shot or is killed and they go to the hospital, all their friends like to go there to be with them or pay respects or to protect them,” he told the New Mexican. “But again, we had a mess here. We didn’t also want to have a mess at all the hospitals because there’s obviously a lot of innocent folks there that needed our protection.” He said: “I’ll apologise initially to the law-abiding citizens that came to Red River to have a good Memorial Day weekend, not the gang bangers that are ruining it for all of them.” Officials said the investigation was ongoing and appealed for witnesses or anyone with footage to contact New Mexico State Police. Read More Jail term increase for killer of biker ambushed by rival motorcycle gang members Three bikers jailed for killing rival for wearing wrong colours on their turf New Mexico shooting victims mourned by their children, 64 grandchildren What now for the Proud Boys? The far-right street gang has a new target after January 6 convictions Sonny Barger, figurehead of Hells Angels, dies at 83

A man has been convicted in the murder of a scientist shot dead on a family camping trip while sharing a tent with his young daughters in a California state park. Anthony Rauda, 46, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tristan Beaudette, 35, who was fatally shot in June 2018 at Malibu Creek State Park. He was also convicted of multiple burglaries and three counts of attempted murder: two counts related to opening fire in the direction of Beaudette’s daughters and a third related to shooting a Tesla driver, the Los Angeles Times reported. The defendant, who has been convicted of attacking two sheriff’s deputies since his arrest in late 2018, declined attendance at trial but will be present for sentencing next month. Prosecutors painted a picture of Rauda’s “pattern of stalking and preying upon campers.” He had been charged with seven other counts of attempted murder but was acquitted this month after he could not be definitively tied to the scenes. Mr Beaudette had been sleeping in a tent with his daughters, aged two and four, in the early morning hours of 22 June 2018. when he was fatally shot in the head. During the trial, his brother-in-law emotionally described awaking to hear one of his niece’s crying and saying “Wet, wet,” ABC7 reported. He attempted to wake up his brother but found his own hand “covered in blood,” realising in shock that he should remove Mr Beaudette’s girls from the tent. “I noticed there was nothing in his eyes,” he said of his brother-in-law. Mr Beaudette, a research scientist from Irvine, “was the last of 11 people Rauda was accused of shooting at over the course of two years,” the LA Times reported. In several instances, Rauda shot at moving vehicles or at campers in hammocks, wounding people on more than one occasion, prosecutors said. “Most of the early attacks involved the use of what prosecutors described as an ‘improvised shotgun’ filled with pellets that did not cause anyone life-threatening injuries,” the paper reported, but the defendant “at some point upgraded to a sawed-off rifle, the weapon used in each of the counts he was convicted of Friday.” Prosecutors said that Rauda sought to kill victims in creative ways during his spree. “He’s actively trying to do something that you know would cause death when he researches how to blow up a car by shooting out a gas tank, and then you see that he shoots at a BMW,” LA County Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu said in closing arguments, according to the LA Times. Rauda is due in court on 7 June for sentencing. Mr Beaudette, who met his wife in high school, had been planning to move with his family to the Bay Area the week following the shooting. His widow, Erica Wu, filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, State Parks and others following her husband’s murder, alleging authorities had failed to adequately warn the public at shootings in the area where Mr Beaudette was ultimately killed – but a judge in 2021 ruled against her. Read More British man left in Sudan shot by sniper before wife dies of starvation Mother-of-six killed in road-rage incident after driver shot into her moving car Family speak out after scientist dad shot dead on California camping trip with daughters, 2 and 4 On 1st anniversary of Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, Biden will push for more gun control

A Wisconsin bride unexpectedly died as a result of a fire on the very day of her wedding. Paige Ruddy suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage caused by smoke inhalation following a fire in a Reedsburg home on Tuesday (23 May). The 19-year-old, who was planning to get married on the day of the tragedy, died at the hospital the next day. “She was just a precious human. There was nothing about her that you couldn’t like,” Ruddy’s aunt told NBC affiliate WMTV. “She was this presence you never knew you needed in your life, but always did.” Family members had prepared to attend Ruddy and her fiancée’s Logan Mitchell-Carter ceremony at Sauk County Courthouse but instead received news of her sudden death. A funeral will take place next week, Ruddy’s aunt told the network. Ruddy, who had graduated last summer, was planning to attend a vet tech program at Madison Area Technical College this upcoming fall. A preliminary investigation into the fire and Ruddy’s death is underway, according to Sauk County authorities. Her grieving family has created a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs. “There are enough good qualities about Paige to fill up a room. Since she was a toddler Paige was full of life, ready to help anyone with anything, and an absolute joy to be around,” the description of the fundraiser read. “She was kind, fun, and according to her family had lots of spunk. Paige always worked hard at everything she did.” Read More Videos, 911 calls capture frantic response to deadly New Mexico rampage Ex Met-police officer gets ‘hundreds of hate messages’ over Couzens probe Three Black men convicted of murder launch legal appeal claiming ‘institutional racism’

Three members of a far-right anti-government extremist group who joined a mob inside the US Capitol on January 6 were sentenced to federal prison after their convictions on a range of charges connected to the attack. The hearings in US District Court in Washington DC follow the 18-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted by a jury on a treason-related charge of seditious conspiracy after a nearly two-month trial last year. His is the longest sentence, to date, related to the assault at the Capitol on 6 January 2021. Kelly Meggs, another member of the Oath Keepers who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in that same case alongside Rhodes, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 25 May. Jessica Watkins, a US Army veteran who was convicted of several other charges in that same trial, was sentenced to eight and a half years. A jury found Watkins guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and guilty of conspiracy to obstruct. “My actions and my behaviors that fateful day were wrong, and as I now understand, criminal,” she told US District Judge Amit Mehta on 26 May. “Violence is never the answer.” Federal prosecutors argued that Watkins mobilised a group in Ohio alongside the Oath Keepers, and joined a mob in Washington DC in tactical gear to upend the results of the 2020 presidential election, fuelled by Donald Trump’s false narrative that the election was stolen and rigged against him. “I was just another idiot running around the Capitol,” she said on 26 May. “But idiots are held responsible, and today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible.” Prosecutors argued that she marched from the former president’s rally at the Ellipse and breached the halls of Congress in a military-style stack formation, encouraging members of the mob to push through law enforcement. According to messages and recordings shared at trial, Watkins declared the group “stormed the Capitol” on a radio-like communication app on the day of the attack. Judge Mehta, noting her apologies, said that her efforts that day were “more aggressive, more assaultive, more purposeful than perhaps others’.” “And you led others to fulfill your purposes,” he added “And there was not in the immediate aftermath any sense of shame or contrition, just the opposite. Your comments were celebratory and lacked a real sense of the gravity of that day and your role in it.” Kenneth Harrelson was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties, and tampering with documents or proceedings. He was sentenced to four years in prison on 26 May. In his plea for leniency, Harrelson, weeping as he spoke, apologised to US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who testified during the trial that the Oath Keepers that the group failed to support law enforcement and ignored his warnings that they were endangering officers’ lives. “I am responsible and my foolish actions have caused immense pain to my wife and children,” Harrelson told Judge Mehta on Friday. The judge noted that, in evidence from federal prosecutors, “there is not a single word in a single communication that anyone would consider extremist, radicalized” or “encourages anyone to engage in violence.” Read More Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for January 6 sedition Who are the Oath Keepers?

By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN One of the Rwanda genocide's most wanted remaining suspects, accused of ordering the

Alex Murdaugh’s accomplice and friend Corey Fleming is now cooperating with the FBI over the convicted killer’s scheme to steal millions of dollars from his dead housekeeper’s family. Fleming, a longtime friend and law school classmate of the disgraced legal scion, accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors this week over his involvement in Murdaugh’s financial fraud schemes. He appeared in federal court in South Carolina on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. At the court hearing, Fleming confessed that he had taken part in one of Murdaugh’s financial schemes – and admitted that he knew what he was doing when he did so. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh orchestrated a financial fraud scheme which included stealing almost $4.3m from the estate of Gloria Satterfield and its insurance carriers. Satterfield was the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious “trip and fall” accident at the prominent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate in South Carolina in 2018 – the same property where Murdaugh shot dead his wife Maggie and adult son Paul three years later. Following her death, Murdaugh recommended that Satterfield’s sons hire his friend and fellow attorney Fleming to represent them in bringing a wrongful death claim against him, so that they could collect from his homeowner’s insurance policies. The insurance companies ultimately settled the estate’s claim for more than $4m – two payments of $505,000 and $3.8m. Murdaugh and Fleming then stole the settlement money for themselves and the housekeeper’s sons didn’t get a dime. Much of the stolen money was funneled through a fake “Forge” bank account which sought to imitate the legitimate and totally unrelated business Forge Consulting. In accepting the plea deal, Fleming admitted that he helped Murdaugh steal the insurance money meant for Satterfield’s sons and has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and US Attorney’s office in the case. He has also agreed to submit to polygraph tests and to turn over his law licences in South Carolina and Georgia. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced at a later date. He was released Thursday on a $25,000 unsecured bond. He is also facing separate state charges over the Satterfield case. Ronnie Richter, an attorney representing the Satterfield family, welcomed Fleming’s guilty plea. “This was a good day for justice because this is the first time anyone associated with the Satterfield case has pleaded guilty to anything,” he said. Fleming’s plea deal comes the same week that Murdaugh was indicted on a slew of new charges over their scheme. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury had returned a 22-count indictment against the 54-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The convicted killer was already awaiting trial on more than 100 financial crimes charges over a decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme where Murdaugh stole millions from his law firm and legal clients – a scheme he confessed to orchestrating when he took the stand at his murder trial. But, now he has been hit with a further 22 charges for what prosecutors describe as three separate schemes to steal money from personal injury clients he represented through his law firm. As well as the scheme with Fleming, prosecutors allege that Murdaugh ran a second scheme from at least September 2005 to September 2021, where he allegedly routed and redirected clients’ settlement funds into his own pocket including by directing his law firm colleagues to pay the funds directly into his personal account. In the third scheme, Murdaugh and his banker Russell Laffitte allegedly conspired from July 2011 to October 2021 to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Laffitte, who was CEO of Palmetto State Bank at the time, acted as Murdaugh’s personal banker and as a custodian or conservator for some of his law firm clients. Laffitte then conspired to defraud those clients, with the two men diverting the money to themselves. Laffitte was convicted in November of financial fraud charges in connection to Murdaugh’s alleged white collar fraud schemes. Murdaugh faces up to 30 years in prison on the highest charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the new indictment. His other financial charges already amount to more than 700 years in prison if convicted. Even without the financial charges, Murdaugh will already spend the remainder of his life in prison after he was found guilty on 2 March of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul on the family’s Moselle property back on 7 June 2021. Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison the day after the verdict. Satterfield, who worked for the family for more than 20 years, was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the family’s home. She never resumed consciousness and died from her injuries three weeks later on 26 February. At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall. However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out. Questions have been swirling around Satterfield’s death for the past few years as the string of deaths, stolen money and corruption surrounding Murdaugh came to light. In September 2021, an investigation was reopened into her death and investigators said they planned to exhume her body. Satterfield’s death isn’t the only mystery death tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. A homicide investigation has also been opened into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in the middle of a road in Hampton County. The openly gay 19-year-old had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But Smith’s family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours. At the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Alex Murdaugh indicted on 22 new financial fraud charges for stealing money from dead housekeeper’s family Audio reveals Alex Murdaugh blaming dogs for housekeeper’s death – after he walked back claim five years later Stephen Smith’s body is exhumed after murder near Murdaugh home – as family offers $35k reward to catch killer

A Delaware woman is facing decades in prison after pleading guilty to killing her 3-year-old daughter and dumping her burned remains on a softball field. Kristie Haas, 31, pleaded guilty Thursday to murder by abuse or neglect, abuse of a corpse, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 50 years in prison on the murder charge, suspended for non-custodial supervision after 30 years behind bars. The murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors are recommending probation for the other counts and will drop several other felony and misdemeanor charges. “Yes, your honor,” Haas repeatedly intoned softly as Superior Court Judge Noel Primos asked whether she understood the nature of the charges and the consequences of entering a guilty plea. At the request of attorneys, Primos, who is not bound by the sentencing recommendation, deferred sentencing until July 10, the date on which a trial for Haas was to begin. Prosecutor Kevin Smith said the delay will allow time for relatives of the victim, Emma Grace Cole, to make arrangements to travel from out of state to attend the sentencing. Attorneys, in the meantime, will prepare sentencing memoranda. Smith said prosecutors are recommending a mental health evaluation of Haas. Defense attorney Patrick Collins told the judge that Haas is already being treated for bipolar disorder and depression. “She is current on her medications,” he said. The defense and prosecution disagree on whether Haas should be barred from having any contact with her three other children, as recommended by prosecutors, or whether she should be allowed contact pursuant to court orders. Collins declined to comment as he left the courtroom. The court entered a partial gag order in June 2021 restricting what attorneys could say about the case, which has drawn widespread media attention. The child’s body was found in September 2019 by a person walking a dog through Smyrna-Clayton Little Lass Fields, a softball park near Smyrna Middle School in central Delaware. At the time, Emma lived with her parents and siblings less than a mile from the ball field. Authorities believe Emma had been dead for several weeks before her body was found. Haas and her husband, Brandon Haas, who was the child’s stepfather, were arrested in Pennsylvania in October 2020, more than a year after the child’s body was found. Both were originally indicted on felony charges of child abuse, child endangerment and hindering prosecution involving Emma’s death, as well as misdemeanor child endangerment charges involving her siblings. Kristie Haas also was charged with felony assault, abusing a corpse and reckless burning. The charges against her were later upgraded to include two counts of murder. Authorities alleged that the couple withheld food and medical care from Emma and subjected her to “torture or maltreatment,” while also subjecting her and her siblings to excessive forced exercise and inappropriate physical discipline. A trial for Brandon Haas is set to begin July 10. He faces more than 40 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Economy Minister Robert Habeck's constituency office said on Thursday it had received an envelope containing a white

The parents of Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have been subpoenaed to testify before an investigative grand jury in the family’s home state of Pennsylvania, says a report. Mr Kohberger’s father is expected to testify before the grand jury in a sealed proceeding in Monroe County on Thursday, a source told CNN. It was not immediately clear in what potential crime they were being investigated. His mother has already given evidence to the grand jury, the source told the news outlet and added that their testimony, which will be given under oath, may be shared with Idaho prosecutors. Meanwhile, the families of two of the slain University of Idaho students are preparing to sue the university, Washington State University and the city of Moscow over their murders, it has been revealed. It comes after their accused killer Mr Kohberger appeared in court for his arraignment in Latah County Court in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday. Mr Kohberger is accused of killing Goncalves, Mogen, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November in a horror attack that rocked the college town of Moscow and sent shockwaves across America. Read More Bryan Kohberger’s sister searched his car for evidence before police swooped in There was a glaring mistake at the Idaho murders hearing Bryan Kohberger allegedly broke into female student’s home and spied on her months before Idaho murders Who is Bryan Kohberger? The criminology graduate being arraigned over the Idaho college murders

The parents of Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have been subpoenaed to testify before an investigative grand jury in the family’s home state of Pennsylvania, says a report. Mr Kohberger’s father is expected to testify before the grand jury in a sealed proceeding in Monroe County on Thursday, a source told CNN. His mother has already given evidence to the grand jury, the source told the news outlet and added that their testimony, which will be given under oath, may be shared with Idaho prosecutors. Pennsylvania judges are permitted to share transcripts of grand jury witness testimony with other law enforcement agencies. A lawyer for Mr Kohberger’s parents, Michael and Maryann Kohberger, tried unsuccessfully to have the subpoenas cancelled, the source told CNN. Mr Kohberger is accused of brutally killing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November in a horror attack that rocked the college town of Moscow and sent shockwaves across America. Mr Kohberger appeared in court for his arraignment in Latah County Court in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday. During the arraignment, he refused to enter a plea on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary with his attorney Anne Taylor saying that he was “standing silent” on the charges. The judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. Mr Kohberger’s sister feared that her brother was involved in the stabbings of four University of Idaho students before police swooped on their parents’ home in December and arrested him for murder, according to a new report. Sources told NBC’s Dateline that one of the accused killer’s older siblings grew increasingly suspicious of her brother and his behaviour when the family gathered to spend the holidays together. Her suspicions were so great that – at one point – several family members searched Mr Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra for possible evidence of the crime, they said. Read More Families of slain University of Idaho students prepare to sue college over murders Idaho murders – update: Bryan Kohberger’s alleged victims’ families prepare to sue Moscow Four students stabbed to death, a weeks-long manhunt and still no motive: What we know about the Idaho murders Bryan Kohberger ‘stands silent’ and refuses to enter plea in murders of four Idaho college students Bryan Kohberger’s sister searched his car for evidence before police swooped in

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has been indicted on a slew of new charges for stealing money from the family of his dead housekeeper. A federal grand jury returned a 22-count indictment against the 54-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh orchestrated a financial fraud scheme which stealing almost $3.5m from the estate of Gloria Satterfield and insurance carriers. Satterfield, who worked for the family for more than 20 years, died on 26 February 2018 – three weeks after she was found at the bottom of the steps leading into the Murdaugh family’s home. At the time, Murdaugh claimed that she had tripped over the family’s dogs and hit her head, and her death was regarded as an accidental fall. However, her death certificate cited her manner of death as “natural” and no autopsy was ever carried out.