Author: Edward Campbell

A West Des Moines man is facing four counts of attempted murder after authorities say he opened fire on multiple vehicles along Interstate 35 in Warren County, injuring a woman and triggering a major highway investigation. Andrew Tanaka, 27, was arrested Monday, Oct. 5, after law enforcement agencies responded to reports of gunfire on I-35 shortly after 3:30 p.m. Investigators said several 911 callers reported a man firing a gun while traveling northbound. When officers arrived near the 56-mile marker, they found an adult woman with an apparent gunshot wound and several vehicles that had been struck by gunfire. The…

A violent encounter in Midtown Atlanta has led to a string of criminal allegations against a man who police say later stole an Atlanta police cruiser and crashed it into a tanker truck on Interstate 675. Phelan Thorpe, 30, is accused of attacking Georgia State University student Amaris Coleman on Oct. 3 after allegedly following her from the Midtown MARTA station. Investigators say the confrontation happened near 10th Street and West Peachtree Street, where Coleman was assaulted and had her belongings taken. Surveillance video released by police shows a man following Coleman before the confrontation. During the struggle, the suspect…

Kaitlyn Kuhn, 33, was sentenced this week in Belmont County after accepting a plea agreement on a child-endangerment charge. She had faced a possible sentence of up to three years in prison before the two-year term was agreed upon. The case stems from the death of Kuhn’s 9-month-old child on Nov. 29, 2025, at a home in Belmont County, Ohio. According to authorities, Kuhn was sleeping in the same bed as the baby when she rolled onto the child during the night. Emergency responders were called to the home and found the infant dead. Investigators determined that the baby had…

A Minnesota man has been convicted of murder in the shooting death of a St. Paul father of two, bringing a major development in a case that began with a road-rage dispute nearly two years ago. Ian Loi Bursey, 27, was found guilty Monday of two counts of second-degree murder and a charge involving a drive-by shooting toward an occupied vehicle or building in connection with the death of 26-year-old Tajai Evans. The verdict stems from the Nov. 4, 2024, confrontation in St. Paul. The case began on the road, where Bursey and the occupants of a Toyota Corolla gave…

A Reynoldsburg woman convicted in the death of a 5-month-old boy in her home daycare has been sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Tammra R. Straughter, 54, was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for the death of Kashan Roman Crawford-Chatman, an infant who was in her care in October 2023. A jury convicted Straughter in August of murder and endangering children. The sentence brings a nearly three-year legal case to its latest stage, after Kashan suffered severe injuries while at Straughter’s home daycare in Reynoldsburg. What happened to…

A Washington mother is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say she crashed an SUV carrying her two daughters on Interstate 5 and then attacked the girls with a knife. Janieka Amber Marie Ellington, 35, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court following the October 5 incident near DuPont. Prosecutors allege the 35-year-old tried to kill her daughters in two separate ways — by crashing the vehicle and by attacking them with a knife. The charges include four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of vehicular assault and one count of felony harassment involving threats to kill. The attempted…

A burglary investigation in Penfield, New York, led deputies to a much more serious discovery Sept. 13 when they found a woman dead inside a nearby residence. The victim was identified as 60-year-old Amy M. Hogan. Authorities say her son, 39-year-old Joseph A. Petrella, is accused of killing her and attempting to conceal her body inside the bathtub of his trailer. The investigation began around 3 p.m. after Monroe County sheriff’s deputies were called to Ewald Drive following a report that someone had entered a vehicle and a home in the neighborhood and that property was missing. As deputies investigated…

Jonathan Guthrie Houston, 44, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the death of his wife, 37-year-old Aunika Houston, at a hotel in Kingdom City, Missouri. Authorities say the killing happened at the Baymont Inn and Suites on Jade Road in late 2025. The case came to light Sunday after one of Houston’s seven children made a quiet 911 call asking for help. According to court documents, the child told the dispatcher that Houston had been holding the children and abusing them for years. Deputies traced the call to the hotel, where they found Houston and…

A Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, daycare provider is facing a second-degree manslaughter charge after a 7-month-old boy in her care was found unresponsive and later died, with prosecutors alleging that emergency help was not called for more than 20 minutes. Narcisa de Jesus Morales Deleg, 58, was charged this week in Hennepin County District Court in connection with the death of Taylor Eliam Rea Calderon. The child was found not breathing at the in-home daycare on June 30, 2025, and died in the hospital on July 15. According to the criminal complaint, Taylor’s mother arrived at the daycare that afternoon to…

A Bloomington, Indiana, father and stepmother are facing felony neglect charges after investigators alleged their 14-year-old daughter was confined to her bedroom, denied adequate access to food and water, and suffered a severe decline in health before her death. Jerry Lavette Mayfield Jr. and Toris Michelle Mayfield are accused of neglecting Jamiyah Mayfield, who died on July 2, 2025. Arrest warrants were issued for both parents after prosecutors filed probable-cause affidavits in Monroe County on October 6, 2026. The allegations emerged from a lengthy investigation into Jamiyah’s final months. Investigators reviewed home surveillance footage, cellphone records, school information, medical records…