A 52-year-old US man has been accused of stabbing his fiancee to death a day after he publically proposed to her in a video shared on social media. According to The Independent, the man, identified as Jose Melo, has been charged with first-degree murder after his 31-year-old fiance, Naket Jadix Trinidad Maldonado, was found dead at a home in New Jersey last week. He has also been charged with one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed.

According to The Independent, Jose Melo, professionally known as DJ Melo, was a registered sex offender. He was previously arrested in 2010 when he allegedly threatened a woman with a box cutter and sexually assaulted her. 

A day before allegedly stabbing his fiancee, the 52-year-old shared a video on his Facebook page that showed him getting down on his knee and proposing to Ms Maldonado. In the clip, the 31-year-old is visibly shocked. She covers her mouth with her hand before taking the ring and hugging and kissing Melo. In the caption on the Facebook video of the proposal, Melo wrote: “I love you baby.”

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Following the incident, Ms Maldonado’s family created a GoFundMe page where they described her as a mother-of-two. Ms Maldonado’s aunt said that the 31-year-old had been “senselessly taken from us” in “an act of evil”. 

“This horrible act by someone she trusted left her two children without either parent and with very little options for their future,” she wrote, adding, “I am also doing all I can to ensure her young daughters are safe and have the things they need.” 

In an update, Ms Maldonado’s aunt also thanked the public for their support. She also said that the victim’s daughters are being taken care of and that permanent arrangements are being worked out.

The page had raised almost $27,721 of a $35,000 target as of Tuesday. 

A 73-year-old woman in the United States was duped into sending at least $20,000 to a scam artist posing as an MSNBC news anchor. According to the New York Post, Patricia Taylor from Seatle began a month-long dialogue on Facebook earlier this year with someone pretending to be Ari Melber, the Emmy-winning journalist who hosts the nightly show ‘The Beat with Ari Melber’ on MSNBC. The 73-year-old was convinced she was speaking with the news host. However, she was exploited by the scammer who was operating the Facebook account. 

According to the Post, Ms Taylor, a former Boeing employee, was duped of at least $20,000 as of November 1. The fake news anchor initially asked her to send money and gift cards to treat his sick dog, Penny. She was reportedly also seduced by the scammer into thinking they were in love and going to get married. The fraudster sent the 73-year-old an engagement ring as well. 

Last Monday, Ms Taylor even flew from Seatle to New York to meet the man that she thought was the MSNBC host. Her trip included a layover in Portland, where a relative intercepted her by tracking her cell phone. Meri Taylor, the 73-year-old’s daughter, believed that if her mother had landed in New York, the scam artist would have met her, taken her hostage and demanded ransom in exchange for her release. 

According to Meri Taylor, when her mother grew suspicious she was being duped, the fraudster texted her saying, “When did Ari Melber turn into a scammer?” The fraudster even used an AI-generated voice message that resembled the sound of the anchor speaking. “You’re reading my messages and not responding. I’d never (scam) you. Have you found someone else?” the fake Melber said in the voice note. 

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The daughter said that the family staged two interventions with Patricia Taylor in an effort to convince her that the individual she was talking to wasn’t the real Melber. “Our mother is not a dumb person. How did she fall for this? How did she not see what was going on? You try to explain the logic and it doesn’t sink in,” Ms Meri said. 

“She is not in her right mind, missing medication and cancelling doctors appointments. She is not taking care of herself with the food she eats (she is diabetic) and sometimes not changing her clothes for days at a time,” she separately wrote in a Facebook post. 

Ms Meri also added that she is concerned that her mother may still try to meet with the individual pretending to be the news anchor. 

Scam artists usually target the elderly. Citing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report, the Post said elder fraud generates $3 billion in ill-gotten gains annually. 

A 2-year-old boy in the US fatally shot his 22-year-old mother inside their apartment in Northern California, police said on Monday. According to CBS News, Jessinya Mina died on Friday from a single gunshot wound to her upper body after her toddler son picked up an unsecured gun inside a bedroom of the home and pulled the trigger. The loaded gun belonged to Andrew Sanchez, Ms Mina’s boyfriend. Mr Sanchez is now facing criminal charges in her death, officials said. 

“At some point in time while handling that particular weapon, the toddler was able to manipulate the trigger, and it actually struck Mina as she was lying in bed,” Lt. Paul Cervantes said during a news conference, per the outlet. 

The mother of two was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but she couldn’t make it. “It’s devastating and definitely serves as a stark reminder of the significance and importance of being able to properly store your weapon,” Mr Cervantes said. 

According to the police, Ms Mina’s children and her boyfriend were planning to spend the evening out and were relaxing at home when the shooting happened. The little boy’s 8-month-old sibling was also at home during the incident. 

Officials said that Mr Sanchez left the loaded 9mm gun, which did not have an external safety feature, in the bedroom, in an area accessible by the children. He was taken into custody after Friday’s incident and was charged with felony child endangerment and felony criminal storage of a weapon. 

Mr Sanchez has no criminal history, Mr Cervantes said, adding that detectives were working to learn to whom the gun is registered. For now, he has been released on bail. 

“This is a very tragic and a very much preventable and avoidable incident,” Mr Cervantes said.

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In an online fundraiser created by Ms Mina’s sister, Jessica Rodriguez, called her a woman “full of love and life and an amazing beautiful mother”. Separately, in a statement to the outlet, she said, “My niece and nephew will have to live off of memories and stories of my sister rather than her presence. We will never be able to witness my sister carry out her lifelong goals and accomplishments due to his negligence”. 

Meanwhile, this incident comes after a 7-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old brother inside a truck parked in a shopping centre in California. It also days after a 3-year-old accidentally shot and injured a 1-year-old sibling with a firearm stored in their home. 

A 23-year-old man in the United States has been arrested for allegedly murdering his father and attempting to kill his mother in Bartow, Florida. According to The Independent, Joseph Voigt on Monday admitted to shooting his mother, 58-year-old Susan Voigt, and killing his father, 63-year-old Marvin Voigt, over the weekend. Authorities said they arrived at the scene after Ms Susan called the cops and said she and her husband had been shot by their son who took off. 

After reaching the scene, police found Marvin Voigt dead in the driveway from apparent gunshot wounds. Susan Voigt, inside the family’s home, had sustained a “serious gunshot wound” but was given “life-saving measures” by a fire and emergency medical service team and is now in “critical condition, but stable” in an area hospital, police said, per the outlet. 

The 23-year-old fled the scene after the shooting and was later arrested in Orlando, officials said. 

According to the authorities, Joseph Voigt said that he shot his parents because his father was upset with him about “spending the majority of his time playing video games” and “riding his ass about making something himself and getting a job”. 

“Everything we’ve heard about this couple was that they were really good people,” Stephen Walker of the Bartow Police Department said. “It’s sad, you know, to see something like this happen,” he added. 

“Thanks to the rapid response of the Bartow Police Department this violent and dangerous suspect was quickly apprehended,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “My detectives will continue their thorough investigation into this crime to ensure Voigt will face the full consequences of his actions,” the sheriff continued. 

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Joseph Voigt appeared in court in Orange County on Monday morning. He will be brought back to jail in Polk County, where he’ll face murder and attempted murder charges. 

According to Fox News, his criminal history includes arrest for firing a weapon in a residential area and battery. He was released from jail on December 1. 

“A wife has lost her husband and basically lost a son also, at the end of the day,” Mr Walker said. “So, it’s going to be a real tough, tough road for her. I feel really bad for her… We are deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless shooting,” he added. 

A lawyer in the United States allegedly shot his 20-year-old son, burnt his body and then called the cops to tell them what he claimed was a “horrible accident”. According to the People, 68-year-old Michael Howard from Houston, Texas, was arrested on Monday and charged with murder and tampering with evidence. His son, Mark Howard, was diagnosed with Down syndrome and held a job. The father allegedly told the cops that he had “mistaken” his son “for an intruder at his property” and shot him. 

Sabine County investigator JP MacDonough said that the 68-year-old showed officers around his property when they arrived at the scene, the outlet reported. He provided them with the shotgun he allegedly used to shoot his son before leading them to the wood pile where the 20-year-old’s burned body was. 

Michael Howard “had taken the body of the deceased, placed it in the front loading bucket of a backhoe tractor, and carried it to a remote area on his property and placed the body on a pile of wood and other burnable material, which had been previously set up and then, his words, ‘cremated’ his son in accordance with what he felt his son would have wanted,” the investigator said, adding that the crime scene appeared to have been “washed” with a “water hose”. 

Howard says the “whole thing was a horrible accident,” JP MacDonough alleged. 

“It is a bizarre crime. Mr Howard committed this act and then in the furtherance of that, burned the body and then cleaned the crime scene, which as an investigator I would take as indicative of nefarious purposes,” MacDonough said. 

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The victim’s mother and his two siblings were not at the home at the time of the incident, police said. 

Separately, the district attorney said that his office is looking into possible additional charges including the desecration and mishandling of a corpse as well as other charges related to tampering with the scene of a crime.

Currently, the 68-year-old is in custody. His bond is set at $10 million per charge. 

A 27-year-old model allegedly fatally shot her husband before taking her own life inside their luxury home in Florida, US. According to the New York Post, the incident occurred on Wednesday at 12:30am. Cops responded to a report of multiple shots fired at the Beach Club II Hallendale at 1830 South Ocean Drive. Upon arrival, they discovered Pajtim Krasniqi, 34, and his wife, Sabrina Krasniqi, 27, lying on the balcony of their lavish condo. They were both pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

In a heartbreaking Facebook post, Albana Krasniqi Munrett wrote, “My Thanksgiving Eve wasn’t spent with my husband and children. It wasn’t spent with friends. It was spent with police officers, detectives and news reports talking about the vicious and senseless murder of my youngest brother by his wife.” 

“Pajtimi’s wife chose to take my brother’s life away from him when she shot 5 bullets into his chest. The person he trusted the most, the person he chose to spend his life with was the one who took his away from him. She betrayed him, his love and his trust. She shattered my family. My siblings and I will never be the same. I’m terrified my mother will not ever recover,” the post continued.

According to The Post, aerial footage of the police investigation revealed what appeared to be bullet holes in a glass door, with pools of blood nearby. Inside the unit was a teddy bear, a box of roses with a heart on it and the TV still on, per the outlet. 

The cops responded to the scene after receiving an alert from ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection program. This program captured at least five shots erupting in quick succession, followed by a brief pause and then a sixth gunshot. 

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Police have ruled their deaths a murder-suicide but they still are investigating what led up to the fatal shooting.

According to reports, Sabrina Krasniqi was a model featured in a 2021 Inside Edition segment. The incident also made headlines in Albania as the duo were Kosovar Albanian nationals with ties to New York and Peja, Kosovo. 

A 14-year-old boy in the United States has pleaded guilty to breaking into a 91-year-old woman’s home and sexually assaulting her at night. According to People, Jesse Stone, who was charged with sexual assault and burglary, entered the plea last week. Marion County Sheriff’s Office said that the teenager was arrested in June after the woman called police to report that she was sexually assaulted in her Florida home. She was awakened to find the 14-year-old sneaking through her home and was then beaten and sexually battered by the boy, the 91-year-old told the cops. 

After the attack, the 14-year-old told the cops that a neighbour captured a video of a person wearing a dark T-shirt and shorts jogging in the area the night before. Though he denied that it was him in the clip, a detective noted that he was wearing similar clothes to the person in the footage. 

According to People, Jesse Stone was arrested after forensic investigators identified him through DNA evidence. The 14-year-old later admitted to “unlawfully entering the victim’s home, striking the victim, and then sexually battering her”. He told the investigators that he entered the home through the living room door and had watched pornography on her iPad. 

The woman, on the other hand, told the police that she had spoken to the teen in the past and considered him a “good boy”. 

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“This type of unimaginable violence is still shocking to me after all of my years in law enforcement,” Sheriff Billy Woods said after the arrest. “It came as a shock that any individual would commit such an act on a 91-year-old, but it is truly disturbing when we see the young age of the arrestee. Although I firmly believe he should be held accountable for his crime, as a father, my compassion goes out to his family. Hopefully his arrest will lead to getting him help that prevents any further such acts,” he added. 

After being arrested, the 19-year-old was delivered to the Department of Juvenile Justice. According to The Mirror, the teen has been charged as an adult with one count each of sexual assault by someone under 18 years toward a victim over the age of 12 and burglary of a dwelling with battery. He is due back in court to be sentenced on December 19.

A tragic incident occurred when a 10-month-old baby was left critically injured after allegedly being thrown into the air and bearhugged by his mother’s fiance. Jordan Boggess has been arrested on a felony child abuse charge after the toddler was found in critical condition in Newtonia, Missouri, on September 14, the New York Post reported. 

The Newton County Sheriff’s Office responded to the family’s home around 8 p.m. following a report of a baby struggling to breathe. When first responders arrived, they found the baby unconscious but breathing, according to Law & Crime.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital and then transferred to a children’s hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, about two hours away. Medical examinations revealed bruises on his forehead and ear, along with collapsed lungs and two brain bleeds.

Officers later returned to speak with Boggess, 28, who was found sleeping. He told authorities that he had been lying in bed watching TV when the boy’s mother left the room to use the bathroom. According to Boggess, the child began to vomit and scream. To calm him, Boggess claimed he tossed the baby in the air, but on the second toss, the child fell and landed on his head.

The probable cause affidavit, obtained by the media, states that Boggess admitted he panicked and tightly “bearhugged” the child after he fell, potentially injuring him further. Medical professionals diagnosed the baby with “abusive head trauma” and signs of physical abuse.

Boggess remains in the Newton County Jail without bond. The baby was discharged from the hospital on October 24 and is now recovering at home with his mother. The child’s father told NBC affiliate KY3 that the injuries are likely to have long-term effects on his son’s life.

“He basically took my son’s life. He took my son’s future. You don’t toss a baby into the air,” Tyler Burbridge told the outlet.

Travis Merrill, 51, has been charged with the murder of his co-worker Tamhara Collazo, at Allegiance Trucks, reportedly due to an obsession with her and frustration over her long work breaks. Merrill was arrested on Thursday after fatally shooting Ms Collazo at her desk, according to Fox 10. 

Allegiance Trucks is located near the temporary headquarters of the Lewisville Police Department, allowing officers to respond within minutes, arrest Merrill, and attempt to save Ms Collazo’s life.

Unfortunately, Ms Collazo died from injuries at the hospital. 

An arrest warrant obtained by Fox News revealed that Merrill had become increasingly angry over what he considered unauthorised long breaks by Ms Collazo and her lack of attention to him. Ms Collazo had even reported his behaviour to HR after telling him to stop watching her during breaks. Ms Merrill was required to see a counsellor before returning to work. 

Upon his return, Ms Collazo avoided him, which further escalated Ms Merrill’s anger. He admitted to detectives that he had begun buying guns and practising with them at home. On several occasions, he brought them to work but didn’t act because it “didn’t feel like the right time.”

On the day of the shooting, Merrill followed Ms Collazo during her lunch break, watched her sit in the car like usual and went to his vehicle to retrieve two revolvers.

“As she re-entered after lunch, he followed her inside to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times,” the affidavit says.

He’s now being held in jail on a $10 million bond, the media outlet reported. 

Melody Sasser, a 48-year-old Tennessee woman, was sentenced to 100 months in prison for attempting to hire a hitman to kill the wife of a man she met on a dating website. According to People, Sasser used the dark website “Online Killers Market” to seek a hitman, offering $9,750 in Bitcoin for a “random” or “accident” killing. According to court documents, Sasser met David Wallace on Match.com and became obsessed after he revealed his engagement. 

Mr Wallace told investigators that their relationship was limited to hiking companionship. Sasser had assisted him on an Appalachian Trail hike and they had also explored trails together in the Knoxville area before he relocated to Alabama and married his now-wife.

However, Sasser’s interest evolved into an unhealthy obsession. After learning of his engagement, she showed up at his Alabama home, making disturbing threats and beginning a campaign of harassment against his now-wife. Sasser monitored the couple’s activities using a fitness app and harassed the wife with six phone calls in one day.

”It needs to seem random or accident. or plant drugs, do not want a long investigation. She recently moved in with her new husband,” she wrote on the website, including details such as the couple’s license plate numbers and the wife’s workplace. 

Sasser also notified the website administrator when he left her home for a mere two-mile walk.

“I have waited for two months and 11 days and the job is not completed. 2 weeks ago you said it has been worked on and would be done in a week. The job is still not done. Does it need to be assigned to someone else? Will it be done? What is the delay? When will it be done,” Sasser wrote in a follow-up message to the website’s administrator.

Ultimately, the plan was unsuccessful. During the search of her home, law enforcement uncovered incriminating evidence, including a journal detailing multiple hitman websites and a handwritten account of her communications with the notorious “Online Killers Market”. Additionally, investigators found a stash of cash hidden beneath a sticky note bearing a Bitcoin address. 

As a result, a federal grand jury indicted Sasser in June last year for utilising interstate commerce facilities to facilitate murder-for-hire. Sasser ultimately accepted responsibility for her crimes through a plea deal. On Wednesday, she received her sentence: 100 months in prison, accompanied by an order to pay over $5,300 in restitution to the victim.