Latest news with #murderCase
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Custody battle ends in brutal murder of 3-year-old girl in Maryland
On Friday, new details surfaced in the case of 3-year-old Nola Dinkins, the young girl who was reported missing Tuesday night in New Castle County, Delaware. Court documents show there was a years-long custody battle between the child's father and her mother, who was charged with murder on Thursday. The most recent document was filed just three months ago, signed by both parents, agreeing that three-year-old Nola Dinkins would spend four weeks this summer with her father after he petitioned to keep Nola in their home state of Indiana. Then, in June of 2023, Nola's mother, Darrian Randle, filed a notice of relocation to take her daughter out of Indiana. That request was later withdrawn after pushback from Dinkins' father, and the two landed on an agreement to share custody of the little girl, but the document names Randle as the designated custodial parent. Nola Dinkins' final moments On Tuesday night, Randle reported Dinkins was abducted by an unknown man at gunpoint in Delaware, but she later admitted that report was fake. Charging documents reveal Randle was living with her boyfriend, 44-year-old Cedrick Britten of Cecil County. According to the documents, Randle admitted to beating the little girl with a belt until she died, and Britten helped her dispose of the body. It is not clear at this point how long Randle and Dinkins had been living in Maryland or if Dinkins' father knew the two had left the state. However, neighbors say they never saw a woman or child at the home. "I saw him a couple times in the backyard to wave, that kind of thing. But that was it, the only contact I really had," said.. Randle has been charged with murder, assault, and child abuse. He is awaiting extradition to Maryland.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
Former lawyer of missing Connecticut mom's husband pleads guilty to interfering with police
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — The former lawyer and friend of the late, estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut mother of five who went missing in 2019 and is now presumed dead, pleaded guilty Friday to interfering with police in the case. Kent Mawhinney had originally been charged with the more serious crime of conspiracy to commit murder. A court clerk in Stamford confirmed Mawhinney was sentenced to serve 11 months. That equates to the time Mawhinney has already served behind bars since his arrest. Outside court on Friday, Mawhinney denied knowing the whereabouts of the missing woman and said he would tell authorities if he did. Dulos, who was last seen dropping off her children at school in New Canaan on May 24, 2019, was declared legally dead in 2023. Prosecutors allege the late Fotis Dulos killed his wife at her New Canaan home and drove away with her body. He died by suicide in 2020, soon after being charged with murder. He had denied killing his wife. The couple were going through a contentious divorce at the time of her disappearance. Last year, his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, was convicted of helping Fotis Dulos plot and cover up the murder of Jennifer Dulos. Troconis was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison. Mawhinney's attorney, Jeffrey Kestenband, said in a statement his client was not part of a conspiracy to kill Jennifer Dulos, noting the state acknowledged there was not enough evidence to prove the original charge. 'The state's acknowledgment is not surprising because Kent was not involved,' Kestenband said. 'He has been through a lot since his arrest, and he can now move on with his life.' Friends and family of Jennifer Dulos said in a statement they do not believe Mawhinney has been absolved of conspiracy to murder, saying the charge was dropped for multiple reasons and they supported the decision to do so.
Fox News
13-05-2025
- Fox News
Karen Read defense floats theory that ‘jealous' Brian Higgins fought John O'Keefe before death
Graphic content warning Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe's 2022 death could have been the result of a violent love triangle involving an ATF agent and his girlfriend, suspected killer Karen Read, who began texting each other just weeks before he was last seen alive, her defense posited on Monday inside a courtroom in Dedham, Massachusetts. Read, now 45, is accused of killing her 46-year-old boyfriend, a Boston police officer, on Jan. 29, 2022. Police allege she hit him with the rear end of her Lexus SUV and drove off, incapacitating him and leaving him to die during a blizzard. Read has pleaded not guilty and denied striking O'Keefe at all through her attorneys. "You were just asked about your opinion whether or not there was a motive that you found for Brian Higgins to want to murder John O'Keefe," defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik of the Massachusetts State Police. "I'm asking you a different question. Did you, in your mind, in your opinion, after having read those texts, find a motive for Brian Higgins, perhaps want to confront John O'Keefe because of jealousy?" "If you're asking for my opinion, my opinion is that he wouldn't need to confront Mr. O'Keefe," Bukhenik said. "Mr. O'Keefe was not the one pursuing Mr. Higgins. It was your client that was pursuing Mr. Higgins." On Friday, Jackson had Bukhenik read through a lengthy string of texts between Read and Higgins exchanged in the weeks before O'Keefe's death, where they flirted, invited one another over, discussed a kiss outside O'Keefe's house and frequently brought up heavy drinking. Read began the conversation, and Higgins' response was to ask how she got his number and why she was reaching out to him. Read stopped responding a few days before O'Keefe's death. Higgins, Read and O'Keefe were all present at the Waterfall Bar and Grille on Jan. 28, 2022, and Jackson asked Bukhenik whether surveillance video showed Higgins being aggressive toward O'Keefe. That same night, Higgins sent two unanswered texts to Read. "After weeks of communicating with Miss Read in a romantic manner, and then … seeing her walk in the door with John O'Keefe and sending the text message, 'Umm. Well,' after having been intoxicated, do you see that, detective, as an investigator, as a reasonable, objective investigator, as a possible scenario for Brian Higgins to be jealous about John O'Keefe?" "There's a possibility there, but I didn't see it," Bukhenik said. "Did you explore that possibility?" Jackson said. Bukhenik testified that he did not but said he relied on the "totality of the investigation," which led to charges against Read. Bukhenik returned to the stand for his third day of testimony and spent hours answering questions. His testimony concluded at the end of the day and Judge Beverly Cannone told him he would not have to return on Tuesday. Under re-direct examination from special prosecutor Hank Brennan, Bukhenik testified that green marks on the back of O'Keefe's jeans looked like grass stains that he surmised had been sustained when O'Keefe fell to the ground after being struck. On cross-examination, defense attorney Alan Jackson asked if grass stains could come from someone being dragged. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "My common sense dictates that it was not a drag mark because it would have linear characterizations, and it would be both buttocks that are engaged in contact with the ground while being dragged," Bukhenik said. Earlier in the day, Bukhenik read text messages from former state Trooper Michael Proctor, who has since been fired over his off-duty behavior during the initial investigation. During questioning by Jackson, Bukhenik confirmed that Proctor called Read "retarded," said he hated her other defense attorney, David Yannetti, and wrote about searching her phone for nude selfies. Jackson also played video that appears to show Brian Higgins at the Canton Police Department headquarters about an hour after prosecutors say O'Keefe died. Higgins was seen on surveillance video among a group of people at the Waterfall Bar and Grille along with Read and O'Keefe on Jan. 28. He also went to an after-party at 34 Fairview Road, a home owned by another Boston cop, Brian Albert. O'Keefe was discovered dead outside the following morning. Multiple witnesses have testified that they heard Read repeatedly saying, "I hit him," the morning Read and two former friends found O'Keefe dead under a mound of snow on Albert's lawn. After sending jurors to lunch Monday, Cannone held a quick voir dire hearing and ultimately said she would not allow Jackson to question Bukhenik about what he knew about the relationship between Proctor and relatives of Albert, including one of his brothers, Chris, who was also at the Waterfall on Jan. 28. Read could face up to life in prison if convicted of the top charge, second-degree murder. She is also accused of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident. Police have not accused Higgins of a crime, and prosecutors say Read is the only suspect in O'Keefe's death.
