Murder Case

Relatives and friends of the grandmother and stepmother charged with running a 9-year-old girl to death as a punishment have been defending and attacking the women on Facebook and in at least one case nearly divulging what could be considered evidence. A judge has warned prosecutors and defense lawyers not to discuss the murder case, and so far they have obeyed. But experts say the hundreds of messages posted online since Savannah Hardin died in February show the legal system has yet to catch up with the social media explosion.

Court officials in Mauritius say the trial of two men charged with murdering a honeymooning Irish woman is set to begin Tuesday. Michaela Harte's body was discovered by her husband in January 2011 at the four-star Legends Hotel, where the couple was staying. The 27-year-old bride was the daughter of a prominent manager in Gaelic football, Mickey Harte. She married Gaelic footballer John McAreavey only days before her death. A jury of six men and three women were selected Monday to hear the murder case against Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea.

Around 8 a.m. on March 29, 2010, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala punched out of her overnight shift as a paramedic in Springfield. That evening, police found her wife, Cara Lee Rintala, crying and cradling Annamarie's lifeless body in the basement of the Granby home they shared with their 2-year-old daughter, Brianna. In October, following a 19-month investigation, Cara was charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation death of Annamarie, 37, making it the first murder case in Massachusetts in which the victim and suspect are same-sex spouses.

A Southern California woman was sentenced to life in prison Friday for helping her lover, former NFL linebacker Eric Naposki, murder her live-in millionaire boyfriend for financial gain nearly two decades ago. Nanette Ann Packard, 46, was convicted of murder earlier this year in the cold case slaying of William Francis McLaughlin, who made his fortune in medical technologies and was shot dead in his kitchen in December 1994. Packard was living with the much older McLaughlin when he was murdered, but the divorced mother of two was also dating Naposki, a former linebacker for the...

The case against two men accused in a 2009 slaying in Walpole in which the victim's body was believed to have been dismembered appears to be in jeopardy after the death of a key witness. The former fiancée of one of the defendants said that murder charges are being dropped against the suspects and that she fears for her safety if the men are freed. They are currently in prison awaiting trial in the slaying. Shannon Murphy, who is in her 30s, had a child with one of the suspects, Daniel P. Bradley, 50. She said a prosecutor recently told her the case against Bradley and a...

A Connecticut judge has declared a mistrial in the murder case against a man charged with killing a romantic rival at a Groton hotel. Ryan C. Wright was convicted last week of conspiracy to commit murder, but jurors informed the judge Wednesday they had deadlocked on the separate murder charge. The 32-year-old New London man was charged in the 2008 shooting death of Jamel Campbell. Prosecutors said they were feuding over a woman they had both dated. Wright remains in prison on $1 million bond awaiting sentencing July 15 for the conspiracy conviction.

DEDHAM -- The prosecution of two lifelong friends who were accused of agreeing to murder each other's worst enemies abruptly ended today when Norfolk prosecutors dropped all charges against Paul Moccia and Daniel P. Bradley. Moccia and Bradley, who met while students at Catholic Memorial High School decades ago, shuffled into Norfolk Superior Court with their legs hobbled by shackles and their arms restrained by handcuffs attached to short chains. But a few moments later, the men were freed of their chains, and Moccia was mobbed outside the courtroom by joyous relatives of the...

CONCORD, N.H. -- A woman who first lied about a murder case as a teenager and then helped solve it as an adult should remain in prison, the murder victim's family said yesterday. Melanie Paquette Cooper asked a three-judge panel to reduce her prison sentence to the six months she has served, arguing she cooperated with police on a 20-year-old murder case that had stalled. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin said that he supported the shortened sentence, because without Cooper, the case probably would have remained unsolved.

WORCESTER -- A jury began deliberating yesterday in the murder case against Joseph Druce, whose lawyer says was insane when he strangled John Geoghan in the former priest's prison cell. The jury got the case after prosecutors argued that Druce, 40, planned the slaying for weeks so he could be a "big shot" in prison. But Druce's lawyer John LaChance said the inmate was under the delusion that God had chosen him to kill Geoghan, a central figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal that engulfed the Boston Archdiocese, and send a message to all pedophiles.

A former Los Angeles police detective faces 27 years to life in prison when she's scheduled to be sentenced Friday for murdering the wife of her former lover in 1986. Stephanie Lazarus was found guilty in March of killing Sherri Rasmussen, who was bludgeoned and shot to death 26 years ago in the condo she shared with her husband of three months, John Ruetten. During the trial, prosecutors focused on the romantic relationship between Lazarus and Ruetten after they graduated from college.

A former Los Angeles police detective faces 27 years to life in prison when she's scheduled to be sentenced Friday for murdering the wife of her former lover in 1986. Stephanie Lazarus was found guilty in March of killing Sherri Rasmussen, who was bludgeoned and shot to death 26 years ago in the condo she shared with her husband of three months, John Ruetten. During the trial, prosecutors focused on the romantic relationship between Lazarus and Ruetten after they graduated from college.

Relatives and friends of the grandmother and stepmother charged with running a 9-year-old girl to death as a punishment have been defending and attacking the women on Facebook and in at least one case nearly divulging what could be considered evidence. A judge has warned prosecutors and defense lawyers not to discuss the murder case, and so far they have obeyed. But experts say the hundreds of messages posted online since Savannah Hardin died in February show the legal system has yet to catch up with the social media explosion.

Jennifer Hudson arrives each day at the trial of the man accused of killing three of her close family members with her personal bodyguards in tow. She uses a secret entrance to elude photographers, eats in private and waits for proceedings to start in normally off-limits judge's chambers. The Oscar winner, recently named one of the world's most beautiful women by People magazine, slips from the courtroom during particularly gory testimony. Do the accommodations for the actress and singer add up to special star treatment?

NEW YORK - William Finley, a character actor who appeared in many films by Brian De Palma, most memorably as the title character in the 1974 rock opera "The Phantom of the Paradise," died on Saturday in New York City. He was 71 and lived in Manhattan. His wife said he died after undergoing surgery. Mr. Finley, who became friendly with De Palma when they were students at Columbia University, had an offbeat style that complemented the director's quirky sensibility. He played alongside a young Robert De Niro in the 1969 De Palma comedy "The...

The Florida judge overseeing the murder case against George Zimmerman stepped aside Wednesday at the request of Zimmerman's lawyer, who had questioned whether her assignment could create a potential conflict of interest. The judge, Jessica Recksiedler, of Seminole County Circuit Court, signed an order removing herself from the case. In a filing Monday, Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara, outlined a potential conflict because a law partner of the judge's husband is under contract to provide analysis about the case to CNN. The judge disclosed last week that Zimmerman...

SANFORD, Fla. - After weeks in hiding, George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appearance Thursday in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and prosecutors outlined their murder case in court papers, saying the neighborhood watch volunteer followed and confronted the black teenager after a police dispatcher told him to back off. The brief outline, contained in an affidavit filed in support of the second-degree murder charges, appeared...

CHICAGO - Drew Peterson might not take the stand if he goes to trial on charges alleging he killed his third wife, but his words could still play a big role as prosecutors try to put him away. The former police officer, facing arraignment today on first-degree murder charges in the 2004 drowning death of his former wife Kathleen Savio, has never shied from the media that has followed his every move since his fourth wife, Stacy, vanished in 2007 and he became a suspect in Savio's death.

HYDE PARK, Vt. - A man whose murder conviction was thrown out after he boycotted his trial went on trial again yesterday, with his lawyer telling jurors he suffers from a paranoid personality disorder and was protecting himself when he shot a neighbor to death. "This is not a whodunit case. It's more like why dunit," said defense lawyer Daniel Maguire. But Lamoille County State's Attorney Joel Page said Dennis Tribble intentionally shot Michael Borello, 43, five times - firing even as Borello tried to get away.

DEDHAM -- The prosecution of two lifelong friends who were accused of agreeing to murder each other's worst enemies abruptly ended today when Norfolk prosecutors dropped all charges against Paul Moccia and Daniel P. Bradley. Moccia and Bradley, who met while students at Catholic Memorial High School decades ago, shuffled into Norfolk Superior Court with their legs hobbled by shackles and their arms restrained by handcuffs attached to short chains. But a few moments later, the men were freed of their chains, and Moccia was mobbed outside the courtroom by joyous relatives of the...