List of All Articles with Tag 'person'

A death row inmate in Nebraska who was convicted of killing his Tinder date has now been accused of concocting a fake murder-for-hire scheme from behind bars – with a little help. Aubrey Trail, 56, was sentenced to death in June 2021 for the brutal 2017 murder and dismembering of Sydney Loofe after meeting her on the dating app Tinder. While in prison, he met 55-year-old Samantha Al-Rekabi of Lincoln, Nebraska, who was writing a book about Loofe’s murder and the two began hatching a plan to swindle a nurse at the Lincoln prison out of $25,000. On Sunday, Ms Al-Rekabi was arrested and has since been charged with felony theft by extortion in the case, according to court records. Investigators began the probe after being tipped off by another inmate in 2021. They say the two “manipulated” the nurse into smuggling in contraband, including a phone and chewing tobacco, according to a recent arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Lincoln Journal Star. The nurse, who has not been named because she is not charged, worked at the Nebraska Diagnostic & Evaluation Center, now known as the Reception and Treatment Center. She quit just before the Nebraska State Patrol’s investigation began in March 2021, was interviewed by the FBI in December of that same year. She told the FBI she’d been manipulated by Trail and admitted to smuggling him contraband, the affidavit states. The affidavit revealed that Trail told Ms Al-Rekabi to befriend the nurse, which she did, and the two bonded over being “true crime buffs” and confided in each other about marriage troubles. In the interview, the nurse talked about how Trail exploited her friendship with Ms Al-Rekabi, and alleged that Trail had told her he’d hired a hitman to kill her husband and that he would only call off the hit if she paid him $25,000. She agreed to pay the money and went to the bank with Ms Al-Rekabi to withdraw the funds. The affidavit revealed the nurse had withdrawn $25,000 in cash from her account. The affidavit also revealed that in a number of phone recordings investigators believe to be between Ms Al-Rekabi and Trail, she was allegedly heard bragging to Trail about getting the blackmail money from the nurse, gushing “she’s gonna get her pension out just [to] give it to us.” A response from a male can be heard, “She don’t have a choice.” It was revealed that investigators came to “believe that there was never a legitimate plan” to pay a hitman to kill the nurse’s family. Other calls detailed Trail’s alleged desire to have a gun smuggled into the prison. In one of the calls, a male’s voice is heard telling the nurse to “bring me a gun so I can just kill everybody,” according to the affidavit. Ms Al-Rekabi later admitted that she helped Trail because she was afraid he would hurt her son, who is also in prison. She appeared in court on Monday where her bond was set at $5,000. An interview with a Nebraska State Patrol investigator in April 2023 also revealed that Ms Al-Rekabi had admitted to working as an intermediary between Trail and his girlfriend, Bailey Boswell, a former store clerk who was also convicted for her role in Loofe’s killing, KLKNTV reported. Boswell, who was at the center of a wild outburst by Trail during his 2019 trial, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in November 2021. Trail had tried slashing his throat and yelled “Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all!” Read More Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to committing crime for first time Extortion trial against Joran van der Sloot, suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance, is delayed Teenager arrested over murder of girl, 10, who was shot while being driven back from Mother’s Day party

By Toby Sterling and Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday its

The group that pursued a successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the consideration of race in collegiate admissions

Scientists say climate change made the devastating storm along the Libyan coast up to 50 times more likely and 50% more intense

House Republicans are still struggling to reach consensus on a plan to fund the government, with lawmakers going back-and-forth over the issue during a closed-door party meeting on Tuesday morning.

For nearly 100 years every ball used in MLB has been rubbed down with a very particular variety of mud before use. The league is experimenting with alternatives but nothing has stuck yet.

Azerbaijan’s launch of reportedly intense artillery firing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has raised fears that another full-scale conflict with Armenia could be underway

An Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot

Ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes Carlos Sainz would be a “good fit” for a seat with Audi when they enter Formula 1 in 2026. Sainz, two weeks after securing pole position at Monza, stormed to a lights-to-flag victory in Singapore on Sunday to claim his second F1 victory. The Spaniard is under contract at Ferrari until the end of the 2024 season but has been linked with a move to Audi – who will take over Sauber/Alfa Romeo in 2026 when new engine regulations come into force – as the German powerhouse targets an impressive driver pairing. And former British Grand Prix winner and Sky F1 pundit Herbert insists Sainz, much like his rally world champion father Carlos Snr., has the right mentality to succeed at a new team like Audi. “If you’re trying to bring in your brand like Audi will be, your expectations have to be really high,” Herbert said. “You are trying to get the best and also the best of the future. Carlos has proved that he has got everything but he has got to be more consistent. “Monza was a sign that if he gets it right he can do it and would be a good fit. “Like his dad, he has the right mentality. He is very strong in the head and has a very good understanding about cars and that is what Audi will need. But I also think he will want to stay at Ferrari.” Last week, Alfa Romeo confirmed that Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will pair up for the third year running for the 2024 season. Bottas has a contract with the team until the end of 2025, while Zhou is on a shorter, year-by-year deal. Read More Ferrari finally find their chief strategist – and it’s Carlos Sainz Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to miss Japanese Grand Prix Max Verstappen makes prediction for Japan after his winning run ends

The U.N.’s refugee agency says more than 1,200 children under age 5 have died in nine camps in war-scarred Sudan in the past five months because of a deadly combination of measles and malnutrition

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON The top Senate negotiator of the United States' largest farm spending package is looking

Ukraine has just four weeks to hold a "knife at Crimea's throat" and force Vladimir Putin into peace talks before Russia's army recoups over winter, experts have warned. Professor Mark Galeotti, academic and author of more than 20 books on Russia, said Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops need to move another 10 miles southwards to be in range of striking key Russian supply routes in Crimea. He claimed this is the only “serious” chance Ukraine has to force Mr Putin into negotiations before the Russian army has the opportunity to regroup over winter. “They’ve got about another month of campaign season. But if things slow down, the Russians will use the winter to regroup themselves and the whole thing will start up again in spring,” the professor, who teaches Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London, told The Independent. “If Ukraine can move another 10 miles southwards, Russian road and rail links used to resupply Crimea will be in range of their artillery. “The only serious chance Ukraine has of forcing Putin to the negotiating table is by holding a knife at Crimea’s throat. But I think that is going to be next year’s campaign.” It comes after President Zelensky admitted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive was progressing slowly, but insisted that more territory was being reclaimed every day. “The situation is tough,” he told CBS’s 60 Minutes. “We stopped the Russians in the east and started a counteroffensive. Yes, it is not that fast but we are going forward every day and de-occupying our land.” Ukrainian generals claimed they had recaptured the eastern villages of Klishchiivka and Andriivka near Bakhmut over the weekend. Earlier this month, Ukrainian forces also breached Russia’s first line of defence near Zaporizhzhia in the south of the country, taking the village of Robotyne. This Zaporizhzhia area is a “key” battlefield, as breaking through would allow Ukrainian forces to strike out towards the Sea of Azov, Professor Galeotti said. This would allow Ukrainian forces to disrupt and destroy supply lines linking Rostov-on-Don, in Russia, and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed in 2014. But Dr Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London war studies department, it was "very unlikely" there would be a major breakthrough for Ukraine this year as its "window of opportunity" was now closing ahead of winter. “The rain is already starting,” she said. “The weather will get a lot worse.” Ukraine launched its counter-offensive in June to push Mr Putin’s forces out of land captured by Russia after the invasion began in February 2022, striking along the 600-mile frontline in areas including the Bakhmut, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. But as the offensive slows it is now “touch and go” as to whether Ukraine can make a “real, pivotal difference” in the war by the end of this year, Dr Miron said. “The main effort will be to sustain troops throughout the winter. Ukraine will not be in a position to carry on the offensive,” Dr Miron added. She explained Ukraine had a “heavy logistical” footprint with German Leopard and British Challenger 2 tanks, but they would be harder to use in wetter, muddier conditions, to assist a full breakthrough. “They’re just not designed for those types of terrains,” she said. “They would risk losing more equipment getting bogged down in winter conditions than waiting it out until getting F-16 fighter jets.” In August, Denmark promised the delivery of 19 F-16 jets to Ukraine. Six will be delivered by the end of this year, followed by eight in 2024 and five in 2025, according to Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen. However, Ukraine admitted it could take up to six months to train its military to use the jets and they would not be in operation this winter. With fears growing around wavering Western support as the war draws on, Dr Miron said: “Neither side have an infinite supply of money or manpower. But Russia does have time. And that’s what they are betting on.” Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s brigades ‘suffer heavy losses’ as counteroffensive advances around Bakhmut Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them US defense chief urges nations to dig deep and give Ukraine more much-needed air defense systems