Latest news with #Branham
San Francisco Chronicle
02-06-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
A Bay Area high school teacher was stabbed in her classroom in 1978. Police just identified her killer
Recording grades on the last day of the school year nearly 50 years ago, a Bay Area high school teacher was stabbed in the chest by a man police wouldn't be able to find for decades. Diane Peterson, a 26-year-old English teacher at Branham High School in San Jose, had just been told she would be laid off because of dwindling enrollment in the school, newspapers reported in 1978. But she was stabbed in the chest before the day's end. Bleeding profusely from the wound, she ran screaming across the campus for 70 yards before collapsing on the floor. Her colleagues tried to stop the flow of blood, but she died at a local hospital. In the immediate aftermath, police said they were mystified as to a motive and had no suspects. No weapons were found; the only clues were some fingerprints on the doorknob. But on Monday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced they had solved the cold case and identified her killer: Harry 'Nicky' Nickerson, a student at the school who was 16 years old at the time. Nickerson was not her student. Nickerson emerged as a suspect in the killing, but for years, police were unable to corroborate witness accounts or develop any usable forensic evidence, district attorney's spokespersons said. A booking photo of the teenager four days after the killing 'bore a strong similarity' to the sketch based on eyewitness accounts of the attack, spokespersons said. Five years later, the family of a Branham student told police that their son claimed to have seen the murder and had identified Nickerson as the murderer — but the student later denied making that statement. The following year, in 1984, a witness told police that Nickerson had 'implicated himself' in the murder, allegedly admitting he killed Peterson after she discovered him in the act of a drug deal. Nickerson allegedly was carrying a knife that had 'Teacher Dear' written on it, a witness said. But with no murder weapon or clear DNA linking him to the crime, police were unable to arrest Nickerson, who in the years following the murder was arrested and convicted of other charges, including armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, spokespersons said. In 1984, the same year a witness claimed Nickerson had implicated himself in the shooting, Nickerson was shot and critically injured while attempting to commit a drug robbery. No charges were filed 'given the circumstances,' spokespersons said. In 1993, Nickerson shot and killed himself. Investigators finally broke the case in 2025, after meeting with one of Nickerson's family members who admitted that the teenager had come to their home 'minutes after the killing' and confessed to the stabbing. District Attorney's spokespersons said because the relative was not involved in the killing or an accessory after the fact, no crime was committed and thus the witness would not be subject to arrest, even if '(we) think they should have come forward earlier.' Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement that he was pleased by the work the office's cold case unit had done to solve the case, even if the murderer was not alive to face justice. 'This marks the end of a terrible and tragic mystery,' said Rosen. San Jose police chief Paul Joseph said he hoped the resolution would bring a measure of peace to Peterson's loved ones — and to a 'community that has carried this loss for too long.' Since being established in 2011, the DA's cold case unit has solved over 30 cold case murders from as early as 1969, officials said. Peterson's case is the fourth to be solved by the office in 2025. In a statement, Peterson's family member — who wished to stay anonymous — thanked investigators for 'not giving up for 47 years.' 'Diane was a beautiful and wonderful person who is missed dearly,' the relative said.
Global News
07-05-2025
- Global News
Pet raccoon holding a meth pipe in driver's seat surprises Ohio police
Police officers respond to a lot of strange calls, but a recent incident involving a pet raccoon and a methamphetamine pipe in Ohio may take the cake for most unusual interaction. An officer in central Ohio encountered Chewy, a pet raccoon, during a traffic stop Monday evening. While the car was initially pulled over for an active warrant on the driver, who also had a suspended licence, it was Chewy who alerted the cops to additional potential crimes. Springfield Township police officer Austin Branham first approached the vehicle and detained a cooperative 55-year-old woman by the name of Victoria Vidal. When Branham turned his attention back to the car, however, 'things took an unusual turn,' the Springfield Township Police Department wrote in a press release shared to Facebook. Story continues below advertisement 'As Officer Branham returned to the vehicle, he observed a raccoon named 'Chewy' sitting in the driver's seat with a meth pipe in its mouth. Chewy had somehow gotten hold of a glass methamphetamine pipe, leading officers to further inspect the vehicle.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Body camera video released by police showed the calm raccoon playing with the meth pipe, and at one point putting it in his mouth, while the officers laughed, incredulous at the sight. View image in full screen A zoomed-in video still shows Chewy with the meth pipe in his mouth. Handout / Facebook / Springfield Township Police Department Chewy's adventures in drug paraphernalia led the officers to further search the car, where they found a bulk amount of methamphetamine, crack cocaine and three used meth pipes, police said. Vidal was charged with possession of drugs and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and was cited for driving under suspension, authorities said. She was also subsequently turned over to Cuyahoga Falls Police on her active warrant, where additional charges related to crack cocaine possession will be presented at a grand jury pending lab results. Story continues below advertisement 'Thankfully, Chewy the raccoon was unharmed, and notification was made to the proper authorities to determine that she has the proper paperwork and documentation to own the raccoon,' police said, adding that Vidal did have all the right papers. 'While our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, finding a raccoon holding a meth pipe is a first!' 'No raccoons were hurt or injured in this incident,' authorities confirmed. 'As always, we remain committed to keeping our community safe — no matter what surprises may come our way.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Boise rock shop owner's reduced charges called ‘appalling' by survivor
The criminal case involving a man known for his popular local rock collecting group ended Friday with an agreement that the judge called 'unusual and substantial.' Craig Branham, the 40-year-old owner of Idaho Rocks & Gems in the Boise Bench, in November was charged with two felonies, one count of rape and one count of attempted strangulation. But by April, those charges were reduced to a single misdemeanor count of domestic battery. Branham, a Boise resident, led outings through the Idaho Rockhounders Club, as well as a Facebook group he created that has grown to more than 35,000 online members. He met the woman who filed charges against him at his rock shop, according to his attorney. Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Samuel Camp alleged in court last year that Branham grabbed a woman by her throat on Nov. 11, shoved her into a wall, then pushed her into the bedroom and held her down by her throat while he 'forcibly raped' her, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. Camp said in November that the woman repeatedly asked Branham to stop, and physically resisted during the roughly 30-minute assault that included choking and hitting her in the face and chest. Officers who spoke with the survivor noticed bruising on her cheeks, redness on her neck and chest, and bloodshot eyes, according to Camp. Prosecutors reduced the charges despite saying they believed everything the survivor said. 'It's both a substantial reduction and it's an unusual reduction,' Magistrate Judge Michael Dean said at the Ada County Courthouse during Friday's sentencing hearing, according to an audio recording obtained by the Statesman. The prosecution also struck the deal without the survivor's approval. In her impact statement, the woman expressed unhappiness with the court's decision to reduce the charges and accept a plea agreement. Prosecuting Attorney Denise Monn in court read the statement written by the survivor, who said she was 'within moments of losing my life at this man's hands.' 'I am a survivor of an attempted strangulation and sexual assault, an attack that has changed every aspect of my life,' the woman wrote. 'I think the fact that someone can inflict such horrific injuries and commit such a violent, calculated act, only to see the charges reduced to misdemeanors, is absolutely appalling.' The defendant pleaded guilty through a rarely used legal device known as an Alford plea. In this type of plea, the defendant maintains his innocence but is willing to plead guilty because he believes that a jury could find him guilty. Both the prosecution and the defense expressed the need for the deal because they feared the other could win if it went to trial. Defense attorney Mitchell Coats, of Coats Law, said Branham and the survivor had been dating for less than three months when they got into an argument, causing him to leave her residence. The attorney alleged the woman eventually followed Branham to his home, where they consensually engaged in rough sexual behavior that 'falls under the umbrella of BDSM.' 'My client is willing to admit that he was there,' Coats said. 'He's willing to maintain his innocence, but also say this is what we did. This is how she accepted this.' Ada County Prosecuting Attorney Denise Monn denied that the woman had consented to Branham's violent behavior but worried that a jury would misinterpret texts sent before the incident. In those texts sent less than two weeks before Nov. 11, the survivor sent a photo showing 'substantial bruising' around her neck and chest, and messaged him 'suggesting he needed to be easier the next time they had consensual, rough intercourse,' Monn said. Monn said the Ada County Prosecutor's Office was concerned that the texts used wording and emojis that a jury could 'classify as playful or flirty,' making it difficult to meet the burden to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. 'I believe (the victim),' Monn said. 'I don't want to misstate that. I think everything she has told me is the truth. That doesn't mean that there aren't text messages that exist that make my burden extremely hard to meet.' Moments of the sentencing became heated, notably when the defense attorney referred to this as a 'trash case with a trash can victim.' 'I don't consider domestic violence (to be) trash cases, and when someone pleads to that, I consider that to be serious,' the judge reprimanded him. Dean agreed to accept an Idaho Criminal Rule 11 plea agreement from Branham, which meant that rather than making his own sentence, the judge would agree to the sentence decided ahead of time by both parties. Through the plea, Branham could receive a year of jail time. He will get credit for 12 days served, and will not have to serve the rest of them so long as he successfully completes his two-year probation and complies with any additional terms ordered following a psychosexual evaluation. Dean also signed a 50-year no-contact order and said Branham is not allowed to discuss the survivor or her children in public or private. 'This is exactly why so many women choose not to come forward. This is the reason we stay silent,' the woman wrote in her statement criticizing the plea deal. 'We fear not only our attackers but a system that so often minimizes what we've endured. Because of this man, I now live in constant fear.' The defense requested Dean issue a withheld judgment in the case, which removes a conviction from a person's record after fulfilling the sentence and probation requirements. The survivor urged the judge not to grant Branham one, saying she was 'terrified at the thought of him being allowed to continue living as if nothing happened,' and a withheld judgment would 'endanger countless others.' Dean denied the requested withheld judge and instead gave Branham a judgment of conviction. It will remain on his record.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alleged Scarlett Johansson stalker appears in court, ordered to undergo psych exam
The man accused of stalking movie star Scarlett Johansson, and threatening to blow up the 'Saturday Night Live' set where her husband Colin Jost works, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday where he was ordered to undergo psychological testing. Michael Joseph Branham, 48, was taken into custody in Manhattan last week after he allegedly sent text messages saying he planned to detonate a bomb in the Midtown studio where the NBC sketch program airs live on weekends. Law enforcement said the threat was not deemed credible, according to NBC News. Branham was arraigned on Thursday, where he pleaded not guilty to falsely reporting an incident and making a threat of mass harm. His bail was set at $100,000. He appeared again in court on Tuesday, where a judge ordered Branham to undergo a mental examination before another court date later this month. His public defender suggested last week that a scammer could be responsible for the bomb threat, alleging that Branham had previously been scammed by people posing as Johansson online, according to E! News. Johansson, 40, filed a restraining order against a man fitting Branham's description in November 2023, according to The Blast. The 'Black Widow' star said he had been harassing her for more than a year at that point, repeatedly loitering outside her California home and claiming to have fathered one of her two kids. However, five months later, Johansson's request for the restraining order was forced to be dismissed after the papers were unable to be served to her alleged stalker. Johansson has been married to Jost since October 2020. Together they share 3-year-old son Cosmo. Johansson also has 10-year-old daughter Rose with ex-husband Romain Dauriac.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Bomb 'Saturday Night Live' Venue in N.Y.C.
A man has been arrested following a bomb threat in New York City, with outlets reporting that the target was the Saturday Night Live studios. The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed to PEOPLE that they received a report of a bomb threat within the Midtown North Precinct at approximately 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, April 1. They added that Michael Branham of Glen Head, N.Y., has since been arrested as a result of the investigation. Public court records show that Branham, 48, was arrested on Wednesday, April 2, on charges of making a threat of mass harm and falsely reporting an incident. Court records show that he pleaded not guilty to both charges. His bail is set at $100,000. SNL did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, April 5. According to NBC News, Branham allegedly communicated a threat to the SNL studios at 30 Rockefeller Center to a college in Connecticut, which subsequently reported the threat to authorities. The outlet added that the threat was not deemed credible. NBC also reported that Branham's name matches that of a person whom actress Scarlett Johansson has sought a restraining order against in California, though the outlet said the order was denied on a technicality. Johansson, 40, is married to Colin Jost, an SNL castmember and head writer. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The New York Post reported that Branham's attorney, Jamie Niskanen-Singer, requested the court lower his client's bail, arguing that Branham has been scammed in the past by people posing as Johansson online and that these scammers could actually be the ones behind the threats. 'He has given out information. He may have been hacked, your honor. It's very possible here that there is someone that is setting him up,' Niskanen-Singer said, per the outlet. PEOPLE reached out to Branham's attorney, representatives for Johansson and NBC on April 5, but did not receive an immediate response. Read the original article on People
