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Criminal law and penal justice

3,576 articles

Murder of Cherish Perrywinkle

Murder of Cherish Perrywinkle: 2013 kidnapping, rape, and killing of an 8-year-old Jacksonville girl by sex offender Donald James Smith, who lured her from a Walmart; he was sentenced to death in 2018 and remains on death row pending appeals.

Murder of Chiara Poggi

Murder of Chiara Poggi (Delitto di Garlasco): 26-year-old killed 13 August 2007 in Garlasco, Pavia. Boyfriend Alberto Stasi convicted to 16 years in 2015; in 2025-2026 prosecutors instead accused Andrea Sempio and sought revision.

Murder of Collin Small

Murder of Collin Small: 2024 Bronx killing in which 44-year-old Collin Small was shot and dismembered in his Highbridge apartment; Sheldon Johnson, a released ex-con and Joe Rogan podcast guest, was indicted for first-degree murder.

Murder of Connie Dabate

Murder of Connie Dabate (the "Fitbit murder"): December 23, 2015 Ellington, Connecticut killing staged as a home invasion; her Fitbit contradicted Richard Dabate's timeline; he was convicted in 2022, sentenced to 65 years, and his 2025 appeal was affirmed.

Murder of Courtney Wilkes

Murder of Courtney Wilkes: 15-year-old Georgia girl killed June 16, 2011, in Seagrove Beach, Florida, by Steven Anthony Cozzie, 21, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, affirmed in 2017.

Murder of Dale Harrell

Murder of Dale Harrell: Arizona man, 34, bludgeoned with a hammer as he slept in Gilbert on January 14, 2009, dying February 9; wife Marissa Devault, convicted of first-degree murder in 2014, received a life sentence.

Murder of Damico Watkins

1996 killing of Damico D. Watkins, a 17-year-old Black inmate, by Aryan Brotherhood head John C. Stojetz and five inmates at Ohio's Madison Correctional Institution; Stojetz was sentenced to death, affirmed 1999.

Murder of Daniel Morcombe

Murder of Daniel Morcombe: 13-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy abducted 7 December 2003 at Woombye, killed by Brett Peter Cowan near Beerwah; convicted 2014 after a Mr Big sting; legacy includes the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and Queensland's Daniel's Law.

Murder of Danielle Jones

Murder of Danielle Jones: 15-year-old Essex schoolgirl Danielle Jones disappeared 18 June 2001 in East Tilbury; her uncle Stuart Campbell was convicted of her abduction and murder in 2002 without her body ever being found.

Murder of Danielle van Dam

Murder of Danielle van Dam: 2002 San Diego case in which 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was abducted and killed; neighbor David Westerfield was convicted on blood, fingerprint, and dog-hair evidence and sentenced to death.

Murder of Danny Parrish

Murder of Danny Parrish: January 18, 1991 killing of Fort Pierce, Florida police sergeant Danny Thomas Parrish, 29, shot with his own gun by Billy Leon Kearse, 18, during a traffic stop; Kearse was executed March 3, 2026.

Murder of David Knapps

Murder of David Knapps: 1999 killing of Angola prison captain David Knapps during a failed escape by six inmates, the "Angola 5" prosecutions, death sentences for Clark and Brown, life terms for Mathis, Edge, and Carley.

Murder of Debra Jackson

Murder of Debra Jackson, also known as Orange Socks Doe: 23-year-old Abilene, Texas woman strangled near I-35 in Georgetown on October 31, 1979; Henry Lee Lucas falsely confessed, and genetic genealogy identified her in 2019.

Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard

Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard: the June 2015 stabbing of Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, 48, in Springfield, Missouri, by Nicholas Godejohn at the direction of her abused daughter Gypsy Rose Blanchard; a Munchausen syndrome by proxy case. Gypsy Rose received 10 years, Godejohn life without parole.

Murder of Denise Amber Lee

Murder of Denise Amber Lee: 2008 abduction, sexual battery, and killing of a 21-year-old North Port, Florida mother by Michael King; her 911 call failed, leading to the Denise Amber Lee Act and King's 2026 execution.

Murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan

Murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan: July 31, 2022 Strongsville, Ohio crash in which Mackenzie Shirilla drove a Toyota Camry about 100 mph into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend Russo, 20, and friend Flanagan, 19; convicted of murder in 2023.

Murder of Donna Fitzgerald

Murder of Donna Fitzgerald: June 25, 2008 killing of a Tomoka Correctional Institution officer by inmate Enoch Hall, who was sentenced to death in 2010 and remains on appeal.

Murder of Dru Sjodin

Murder of Dru Sjodin: 2003 abduction and killing of a 22-year-old University of North Dakota student by Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a released Level 3 sex offender; led to Dru's Law, the NSOPW registry, and a federal death sentence later reduced to life.

Murder of Dylan Groves

Murder of Dylan Groves: two-month-old Ohio infant killed by parents Jessica and Daniel Groves of Scioto County in 2019; body found in a 30-foot well; both convicted of murder in 2020.

Murder of Eklutna Annie

Eklutna Annie, Jane Doe UP10217, is the only unidentified victim of Alaska serial killer Robert Hansen; her body was found near Eklutna, Alaska in July 1980 and genetic genealogy identification efforts continue.

Murder of Elianne Andam

Murder of Elianne Andam: killing of a 15-year-old schoolgirl stabbed with a kitchen knife near the Whitgift Centre, Croydon, on 27 September 2023 by Hassan Sentamu, 17, after a dispute over a teddy bear; he was convicted in 2025 and given a 23-year minimum term.

Murder of Elisa Nelson

Murder of Elisa Nelson: 1980 abduction and killing of 10-year-old Elisa Nelson, also called Lisa, in Palm Harbor, Florida, by Larry Eugene Mann, convicted 1981 and executed 2013.

Murder of Elizabeth Olten

Murder of Elizabeth Olten: the October 21, 2009 killing of 9-year-old Elizabeth Kay Olten in St. Martins, Missouri, by 15-year-old neighbor Alyssa Bustamante, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action and received life plus 30 years.

Murder of Elizabeth Reiser

Elizabeth (Liz) Reiser, 17, of Dover, Ohio, was stabbed to death in May 2000 after giving a ride to Matthew Vaca outside a New Philadelphia video store; Vaca confessed, pleaded guilty, and is imprisoned with parole eligibility in 2112.

Murder of Ella Bennett

Murder of Ella Bennett: the February 2007 killing of 4-year-old Ella Bennett in Abilene, Texas by her 13-year-old brother Paris Bennett, who stabbed her 17 times to punish their mother; also called the Paris Bennett case.

Murder of Emani Moss

Murder of Emani Moss: 2013 starvation death of a 10-year-old in Lawrenceville, Georgia, also called the Emani Moss case; father Eman Moss got life without parole, stepmother Tiffany Moss was sentenced to death in 2019.

Murder of Emma Caldwell

Murder of Emma Caldwell, Glasgow 2005 killing of a 27-year-old sex worker; killer Iain Packer convicted in 2024 after 19 years; subject of the Emma Caldwell Inquiry into Strathclyde Police failings.

Murder of Emma Walker

Murder of Emma Walker: 2016 killing of a 16-year-old Knoxville cheerleader, also known as the Emma Walker-Riley Gaul case, shot in her sleep by ex-boyfriend William Riley Gaul, convicted of first-degree murder in 2018 and sentenced to life with 51 years before parole.

Murder of Ennis Cosby

The murder of Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby's 27-year-old son, occurred in Los Angeles on January 16, 1997, during an attempted robbery; Mikail Markhasev was convicted in 1998.

Murder of Eric Richins

Murder of Eric Richins: Utah mason, 39, died March 4, 2022 of fentanyl poisoning near Park City. Wife Kouri Richins, grief-book author, convicted of aggravated murder March 2026; sentenced to life without parole May 13, 2026; appeal pending.