UPDATE:William Curl, was arrested over the weekend in Covington, Louisina and charged with first-degree murder, criminal sexual assault and arson. Investigators say he is the man responsible for the death of Northern Illinois University freshman Anitnette “Toni” Keller. Curl had his first court appearance this morning and pled not guilty. Currently, he is being held on a $5 million bond.
It appears this was a crime of opportunity, and there does not appear to be any initial connection between Curl and Toni. The victim’s body still has not been positively identified, but authorities classified the case as a homicide.
This is a case I have personally been covering since it began six years ago. Charles County investigators in Maryland confirmed to me that they have made an arrest in the Chris Mader cold case. The suspect, Matthew Correll, 29, was taken down in Virginia and did not fight extradition back to Maryland. Correll is charged with first degree murder, attempted robbery and other charges. Authorities do believe that Chris was targeted that Thanksgiving morning he was shot and killed as he made his way home from his bartending job. Investigators do not believe the suspect acted alone and more arrests may occur. Authorities continue to ask the public for information. Although most of the pieces have come together, the one mysterious item is still the 9-1-1 call. Investigators do not know who made that call from a payphone at a nearby shopping center.
An international manhunt to find an active-duty navy sailor who police say brutally murdered his pregnant wife is over and the suspect will be extradited back to Illinois this week. An arrest warrant was issued for Eric A. Gilford, 31, for stabbing his wife and his unborn child to death. Gilford was arrested on August 6th in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he was living at a homeless shelter. A court order late last week passed down indicates he signed a waiver of extradition and will return to face charges.
Investigator Todd Kubish from the Villa Park Police said on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, Gilford tracked down his wife Kristine at another man’s home in Villa Park, Illinois. She was at the apartment with her 4-year-old daughter, Gracie May, but the man who owned the property was not there. An argument ensued, and Kubish says Gilford allegedly stabbed his wife repeatedly and fled the scene. Gracie May ran upstairs to get help for her mother, but by the time police arrived, Gilford was gone.
The man suspected of stabbing 18 victims and trying to flee from the country was taken down Wednesday night at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Elias Abuelazam, 33, was booked on a Delta flight for Israel when a tip developed into a strong lead that put investigators hot on his trail. As he was waiting to get on his plane, Abuelazam was taken down around 10 p.m. I spoke with Lt. Gene Kapp of the Michigan State Police and he said since Monday they’ve received 600 tips in this case, one of which turned out to be an excellent lead. Abuelazam had his first hearing today and will not fight extradition to Michigan to face one inital charge of assault with intent to murder for a July 27, 2010 incident.
Lt. Kapp realizes that if the tip had come in just a few hours later, the alleged suspect may have been on the flight across the world. “Everyone was working hard to place him there, and the fact that we had the contacts and the communications with the federal agencies to move that quick to make the apprehension for us,” added Kapp.
UPDATE: The remains found in Malibu Canyon Monday have been positively identified as Mitrice Richardson. The official cause of death has not been released… Stay tuned for more on this case.
Mitrice Richardson was only 24-years-old when she disappeared in Malibu, California on September 17, 2009. This beautiful woman is a California State Fullerton graduate, and was set to begin a doctoral program. She was arrested around 10 p.m. the night before she went missing for not paying an $89.00 tab at Geoffrey’s restaurant. Investigators in Malibu released the young woman around 1 a.m. without any identification, money, cell phone or a vehicle to drive. According to the websitedesigned to find Matrice, she does suffer from mental and health issues. There were at least two possible sightings the next morning, but they didn’t pan out. Early on, nearly 300 volunteers turned out to search Malibu canyon for Mitrice, where they covered nearly 18-square-miles. This was the fourth search conducted for her.
Recently, Mitrice may have been spotted in Las Vegas. This is a lead investigators are looking into, but so far this beautiful woman has not been found.
If you have any information about Mitrice, please contact the Los Angeles Police Department, Detective Steven Eguchi: (213) 485-2531
Investigators are back on the ground this morning searching for a 12-year-old who went missing over the weekend. Amber White never returned home after swimming in her community pool. Sgt. Bill Goodin from the Shreveport Louisiana Police Department told me she was last seen around 3 p.m. near her home in the 6900 block of Buncombe Road. Amber’s mom and dad called 9-1-1 when they couldn’t find their daughter. Although Amber is only 12, and she may have left with two men, Sgt. Goodin says, “We do not believe there was an abduction.” He told me they have to take every missing person on a case by case basis in order to determine if an amber alert can be issued. I spoke with Mistie Williamson, a neighbor of Amber’s, and she said, “All of the parents are scared, because it happened so close.” Mistie also told me that Amber’s home is near the front of the mobile home park and she is very close to the pool area.
The FBI recently released a new report on “Scareware” and how it preys on innocent computer users and tricks them into purchasing fake antivirus software. Sadly, it’s common for cyber criminals inside and outside the United States to create “botnets.” It’s basically a large network of computers under the control of criminals used to take advantage of your computer. When users click on the fake ads they are directed to other sites controlled by the criminals, which in turn will steal information.
The FBI says in May 2010, three suspects were charged in Illinois with one of these fake scams that affected users in 60 other countries to purchase fake software worth more than $100 million. “Two of the defendants, including an American, are accused of running an overseas company that claimed to sell antivirus and computer performance/repair software over the Internet. A third man operated the company’s Cincinnati call center, which was responsible for technical and billing support to its customers (but in reality deflected complaints from consumers who realized the software didn’t work).” The elaborate scam would take money off credit cards and deposit itinto bank accounts for the defendants.
A Maryland State Police Trooper was shot and killed Friday morning as he worked part-time, and over the weekend investigators arrested a person of interest in the case. Authorities also announced a news conference planned for today at 2 p.m. EST. This is where we will learn more about the shooter, and more arrests made. Investigators say Trooper Wesley Brown was working off-duty at an Applebee’s in Forestville, Maryland when he was shot multiple times as he stepped outside to make a call.
There is a possibility Trooper Brown may have been killed by a customer who he had to escort out earlier in the night. Investigators have released video of the person of interest, and that person may be charged with his murder. At this point he has not been publicly identified. Authorities say TrooperBrown was talking on his cell phone at the time of the incident, and may not have seen the suspect approaching. Cadets were pulled from the Maryland State Police academy and are on the ground right now performing a grid search. They are set to be there throughout the day, and possibly the weekend.
Investigators say they’ve located all four suspects wanted in the April 28, 2010 Craigslist murder. The fourth suspect is identified as Clabon Terrel Berniard, 23, and he was on the run until this afternoon. Investigators say he turned himself into authorities.
Over the weekend, Amanda Knight, 21, Joshua Nathan Resse, 20, and Kiyoshi Alan Higashi, 22, were arrested during a traffic stop in California. All three pled not guilty yesterday in court to charges of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and assault in connection with the April 28th incident.
Investigators say the victim, Jim Sanders, was shot three times as he tried to protect his son during the robbery.
Reports indicate Berniard is a hero. In 2007 he helped to save two people from a house fire in Washington State. Investigators say his home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, and he settled in Seattle after the disaster.
An arrest has been made in the weekend bomb incident in New York City. Investigators say Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested as he attempted to board a flight late last night. Shahzad is an American citizen who was living in Connecticut, and paid cash for the SUV he used as a homemade bomb on wheels.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. said in the middle of the night at a press conference, “It was clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.” Official charges have not been brought down against Shahzad yet, but he will appear in court later today to face formal charges. The key to cracking this investigation so quickly appears to be the vehicle, and the sale of the SUV. Authorities say Shahzad allegedly purchased the car based off an Internet listing.
Michelle Sigona is a crime fighting, victims advocate extraordinaire, but for Michelle -- the good fight doesn't stop there. In her spare time, she is a volunteer firefighter -- and now, she is tackling the issues and cases that mean the most to her....
The FBI recently released a new report on “Scareware” and how it preys on innocent computer users and tricks them into purchasing fake antivirus software. Sadly, it’s common for cyber criminals inside and outside the United States to create “botnets.” It’s basically a large network of computers under the control of criminals used to take advantage of your computer. When users click on the fake ads they are directed to other sites controlled by the criminals, which in turn will steal information. 
