.png&w=3840&q=100)
Human remains found in fire pit 9 months after man vanished, Ohio officials say
National Human remains found in fire pit 9 months after man vanished, Ohio officials say
Xavier Menefee was reported missing in 2024. His remains were found in Akron, Ohio, officials say.
Screengrab from Melanie Woods' Facebook post in Summit County Ohio Missing Persons' page.
Officials in Ohio are investigating after they say human remains were found in a fire pit.
Around 4:50 p.m. May 2, the Akron Police Department was called to a homeless encampment, according to a May 5 Facebook post by the Summit County Medical Examiner.
Officers were called for a report of two men fighting. As they spoke with the men, one of them mentioned the human remains, WOIO reported.
Nearby, officers found human remains in a fire pit, officials said. Akron police also found remains in a trash bag, WJW reported.
Officials used dental records to determine the remains belonged to 22-year-old Xavier Menefee, the medical examiner's office said.
Menefee was reported missing out of Canton in August, according to WJW.
Anthony Fields, 54, and Kurth Conaway, 34, are charged with abuse of a corpse, according to court records. The two were arrested in connection with the remains found, WOIO reported.
Akron is about a 40-mile drive south from Cleveland.
Jennifer Rodriguez
mcclatchy-newsroom Go to X Go to Facebook Email this person 330-781-1998
Jennifer Rodriguez is a McClatchy National Real-Time reporter covering the Central and Midwest regions. She joined McClatchy in 2023 after covering local news in Youngstown, Ohio, for over six years. Jennifer has made several achievements in her journalism career, including receiving the Robert R. Hare Award in English, the Emerging Leader Justice and Equality Award, the Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and the Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Kristi Noem said undocumented immigrant sent Trump death threat. Police say he was framed.
Kristi Noem said undocumented immigrant sent Trump death threat. Police say he was framed. Milwaukee police quickly suspected a man arrested by ICE was framed in Trump death threat. Then DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accused him of the crime. Show Caption Hide Caption Community rallies against ICE raids after high school student detained Communities in California and Massachusetts protested recent ICE raids that resulted in arrests of restaurant workers and a high school student. A suspect awaiting trial on robbery and battery charges in Wisconsin had a brazen idea to get off scot free: Get rid of his victim, the main witness in his case, by persuading authorities to deport him. So Demetric D. Scott, pretending to be the victim, wrote a series of letters to state and federal officials threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, prosecutors say. The letters had the return address and name of the victim, Ramón Morales-Reyes, and noted he would "self-deport" after killing the president. The Department of Homeland Security took the bait. One day after receiving the letter, immigration agents arrested Morales-Reyes, 54, after he dropped his daughter off at school in Milwaukee. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem soon blasted out news of the arrest, noting in a press release that a dangerous threat from an undocumented individual had been removed. 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars,' Noem said. But the story quickly began to fall apart. Morales-Reyes' attorney and family said he cannot speak or write in English. Within days, Scott admitted his ruse and police searched his cell and found a pen and an envelope containing the Milwaukee ICE office's address and phone number. Scott was charged June 2 with felony witness intimidation, identity theft and two counts of bail jumping. His attorney, Robert Hampton III, declined to comment to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. But the man he framed is still in federal custody, due to appear at an immigration hearing June 4. And Noem and DHS have yet to retract their false allegations he was behind the threat to kill Trump. As of June 4, Noem's original statement remained online without any correction or additional information. The agency has said he is in the country illegally and has a criminal record so will remain in custody. Morales-Reyes' deportation defense lawyer Cain Oulahan has said he is trying to find ways for Morales-Reyes to receive any form of immigration relief to be protected from deportation while his case is pending. How investigators unearthed the plot to frame Ramón Morales-Reyes Authorities sussed out Scott's scheme in part by listening to calls he made while in jail, court records show. "This dude is a (expletive) illegal immigrant and they just need to pick his (expletive) up," according to a call recording linked to Scott's jail inmate ID that is cited in the complaint. The man later added on the same call: "And the judge will agree cause if he gets picked up by ICE, there won't be a jury trial so they will probably dismiss it that day. That's my plan." On May 22, the day Morales-Reyes was arrested and six days before DHS sent out it's press release, Milwaukee Detective Timothy Keller, who is assigned to the FBI-Milwaukee Joint Task Force, interviewed Morales-Reyes. He learns Morales-Reyes cannot read, write, or fluently speak English. He also notices Morales-Reyes' handwriting is "completely different" from what is on the letters. Keller asks Morales-Reyes who might want to get him in trouble. Morales-Reyes tells him the only person he can think of is Scott. Undocumented crime victim applied for U-visa but could still be deported Morales-Reyes' attorney Kime Abduli described her client as humble, soft-spoken and hard-working. She said he has three children who are U.S. citizens. 'I'm just glad that they have identified who it was or have a better sense of who it was,' said . 'And that Ramon is being cleared of any involvement in this.' Morales-Reyes is in the process of applying for a U-visa, a visa that allows undocumented victims and witnesses of certain crimes to stay in the U.S. for up to four years if they help with the investigation. He applied for the visa as a victim and witness of a robbery Scott is accused of. According to Abduli, his application was delivered to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over a month ago, and no receipt has been issued by the agency yet. Abduli said this is not uncommon. Due to the significant backlog of cases, it takes about two months to get a receipt and at least seven to eight years to receive the visa. In the meantime, a pending application would not protect Morales-Reyes from deportation. Calls for Kristi Noem and DHS to retract statement about Morales-Reyes Since DHS issued its statement, Morales-Reyes' family has received numerous death threats, according to his lawyers and immigrant advocacy organization Voces de la Frontera. At a news conference May 30, the organization's executive director, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, urged DHS to issue a correction to clear his name. "Every minute that passes without the DHS issuing a correction to the serious allegation represents a real threat and danger to the family," Neumann-Ortiz said. On May 29, DHS said the investigation into the threat against Trump was ongoing and that Morales-Reyes would remain in custody, given his undocumented status and record. Publicly available documents show Morales-Reyes is connected to a hit-and-run incident and an incident of disorderly conduct and property damage related to domestic abuse in 1996. Based on the documents, he received a non-criminal conviction for the disorderly conduct charge, which is usually a ticket. The other charges were dismissed or not prosecuted. What was the robbery case against Scott? The trial Scott was trying to avoid had already gone to trial once, in January 2024 but a judge declared a mistrial when the jury could not reach a decision. A new trial date was set for July 14. The case revolved around a bicycle. On Sept. 26, 2023, Morales-Reyes was riding a bicycle his wife had purchased a few weeks earlier, getting some exercise to help with his diabetes, when a man approached him and started shouting, he said in court. The man attacked Morales-Reyes with a corkscrew and cut him under his left armpit, an altercation captured on a neighbor's Ring doorbell camera. When police arrived, an officer interviewed Morales-Reyes in Spanish, getting a description of the suspect. Police arrested Scott within hours and he was charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery, and second-degree recklessly endangering safety and bail jumping. Scott told police, and later a jury, that the bicycle was actually his and had been stolen days earlier. He said he was trying to get his property back and that Morales-Reyes had threatened him first, when they were out of view from the Ring doorbell. 'I told the truth,' Scott later said in court. 'I told him that I accidentally cut him.' At the time of his arrest, Scott had an open warrant for skipping court in a burglary case. He was charged with breaking into his mother's apartment building and stealing a ladder and other items. He was booked into Milwaukee County Jail on Sept. 26, 2023, and has remained there since on $10,000 bail. A list of past convictions Scott has past criminal convictions that date back to 2000 including battery, disorderly conduct and third-degree sexual assault. In 2010, Scott was charged with felony murder in the death of Steve Allen, according to previous Journal Sentinel reporting. Scott was seen punching and kicking Allen, who was lying on the pavement while demanding the return of property, the Journal Sentinel reported. Allen died two days later. Online court records show Scott was convicted of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in that case and sentenced to five years in prison and five years on extended supervision.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RCMP statement regarding media reports on the structural investigation into the Israel-Hamas conflict
LONDON, ON, June 4, 2025 /CNW/ - In light of recent media coverage regarding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) involvement in matters related to the Israel-Hamas armed conflict, we wish to clarify the nature and scope of our activities. In early 2024, the RCMP initiated a structural investigation in connection with this ongoing conflict. A structural investigation is a broad, intelligence-led intake process designed to collect, preserve, and assess information potentially relevant under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. This includes gathering open-source material and voluntary submissions from individuals wishing to provide information. The primary objective is to proactively collect relevant information that may support future investigative steps, should jurisdictional and legal thresholds be met. It is important to emphasize that a structural investigation is not a criminal investigation. The RCMP employs a well-established structured protocol to efficiently triage and process incoming information related to global conflicts, this standardized initial procedure serves as a foundation for every case, after which specialized investigative techniques are applied to address the unique aspects of each investigation, including the Israel-Hamas structural investigation. Should a perpetrator of core international crimes—such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity—with the appropriate nexus to Canada be identified, the RCMP will initiate a separate criminal investigation. To date, the RCMP has not initiated any related criminal investigations. Although this work has been underway in a developmental capacity since early 2024, it has not been publicly announced as the RCMP continues to develop essential supporting operational tools. This includes a secure online portal available in French, English, Hebrew and Arabic, to facilitate the structured and secure any submissions of information by the public and potential witnesses. Unfortunately, technical challenges have resulted in delays to the rollout of this critical tool; once this online portal is ready for access, we will advise the public. The RCMP remains committed to its mandate under Canadian law, to assess credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. We conduct this work with impartiality, relying on evidence-based assessments in alignment with the principles of the rule of law. Given the sensitivity of the matter, we urge the public to refrain from drawing premature conclusions about the RCMP's role or intent. This initiative is solely focused on collecting relevant information and does not target any community or group. Further updates will be provided once the public reporting portal has been made available. Contact information RCMP Central Region (Ontario)Communications & Media RelationsEmail: CR Media Relations RCMP / Relations Médias GRC RC CR_Media_Relations_RCMP-Relations_Medias_GRC_RC@ Twitter: @RCMPONTFacebook: rcmpontarioYouTube: RCMP_Ontario_GRCWebsite: RCMP in Ontario SOURCE Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Central Region View original content: Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NYC says it will support Bronx student from Venezuela detained after attending immigration hearing
New York City said it is standing behind a Bronx high school student from Venezuela who was detained last month by immigration agents after attending a routine court hearing. The city filed an amicus brief on behalf of Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old student at Ellis Preparatory Academy, arguing that he is being detained without cause and in violation of his right to due process. Contreras has no criminal history and was pursuing a green card, according to the city's news release Monday. He is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. "Dylan Lopez Contreras was going through the exact legal proceeding that we encourage new arrivals to go through in order to be able to work and provide for their families — and even accessed the center that we created for migrants to be able to avoid city shelters and become independent," Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. "But instead of being rewarded for following the law, he was punished for doing what we all asked him to do," the mayor added. The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X that Contreras illegally entered the country more than a year ago, and that under the Biden administration, he was encountered at the border and released into the U.S. He was detained May 21 and placed in expedited removal proceedings. "Biden ignored the law and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been," DHS said. "If individuals have a valid, credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation," the DHS added. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the city's amicus brief. The New York Legal Assistance Group, which is representing Contreras, said he came to the U.S. legally to seek asylum and is arguing for his immediate release. The brief said that using Contreras' mandatory immigration hearing as an opportunity to detain him "threatens to deter people from accessing the court system on which local governance depends." Detaining migrants immediately after their court hearings has become one of the tactics used under President Donald Trump's mass deportation operation. Billy Botch, who works for the American Friends Service Committee Florida, previously told NBC News that the arrests happen almost immediately after the person's case is closed or dismissed. Contreras arrived in the city in the spring of 2024, according to the brief. He has accessed multiple services intended to help immigrants, including visiting a city asylum help center and attending a program at Ellis Prep to help him learn English, the brief stated. He was also working part-time to help support his family, the brief added. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said Contreras was "by every standard, contributing to his community and making good on the promise of the American dream." Torres demanded an explanation from the Trump administration. City Council member Carmen De La Rosa said Contreras should be "in school with his friends, not shuffled around a disgraceful immigration system." This article was originally published on
