National

(DALLAS) — Jurors heard closing arguments Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Yaser Said, who is accused of fatally shooting his two teenage daughters, 18-year-old Amina Said and 17-year-old Sarah Said, in a taxi in the Dallas area in 2008.

Said was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list and evaded arrest for more than 12 years. Said, who had worked as a cab driver, was arrested in August 2020 in Justin, Texas. He entered a not guilty plea and faces an automatic life sentence if convicted.

Prosecutors claim Said, who is Muslim, murdered his daughters because he was upset that the girls were dating.

“He wouldn’t even let these girls go to a movie. He wouldn’t let them date,” a prosecutor said during closing statements Tuesday.

ABC News local affiliate WFAA reported that police have described the murders as “honor killings” — defined as the killing of a relative, especially a girl or woman, who is perceived to have brought dishonor on the family in certain cultures.

During the trial, prosecutors read a December 21, 2007, email Amina wrote to her history teacher 10 days before she and her sister were killed, saying their father “made our lives a nightmare” and that she and her sister wanted to run away.

“I am so scared right now,” Amina wrote, according to prosecutors. “OK, well as you know we’re not allowed to date and my dad is arranging my marriage. My dad said I cannot put it off any more and I have to get married this year.”

“He will, without any drama nor doubt, kill us,” she also wrote.

The girls, along with their mother and their boyfriends, fled their Texas home to Oklahoma on Christmas Day 2007, four days after Amina sent the email. Witnesses said the girls returned to the Dallas area on New Year’s Eve when their mother, Patricia Owens, said Said convinced her to return home.

The girls’ bodies were found on New Year’s Day 2008 in a taxi cab prosecutors said Said drove.

Last Wednesday, the prosecution played the 911 call Sarah allegedly made the night of her death. During the call, a woman can be heard frantically screaming that her father had shot her and that she was dying.

During her testimony in court last Thursday Owens pointed to her ex-husband, calling him “that devil.” She testified that Said was controlling and abusive throughout their relationship, adding that she and her daughters left him several times over the years, but they always returned out of fear.

Owens declined to comment on the case until her ex-husband is convicted, she told ABC News.

In a letter written to the judge overseeing the case, Said said while he disapproved of his daughters’ “dating activity,” he denied killing the girls.

“I was upset because in my culture it’s something to get upset about,” said Said, who took the stand Monday. He testified that he immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt in 1983 and later became a U.S. citizen.

Said told jurors that the evening his daughters were killed, he was taking them to dinner because he wanted to smooth things over and “solve the problem.”

However, Said claims he left the vehicle, fleeing into a wooded area before the girls were killed because he thought someone wanted to murder him, testifying that he spotted an unknown person in a car stalking them while they were driving to dinner.

Said said he did not turn himself in after the murders because he didn’t think he would get a fair trial.

The defense team claims that Said was targeted by law enforcement because of his Muslim faith and cultural beliefs.

“Everybody has a preference and how they discipline their kids, just like they have a preference for what kind of food they eat, what kind of people they date, what religion they want to practice,” Baharan Muse, Said’s defense attorney, said in closing arguments Tuesday. “Discipline does not mean you murdered your children. Your culture does not mean you murdered your children.”

Said’s defense team alleged prosecutors sought to “generalize” and “criminalize an entire culture, to fit their narrative.”

The prosecution rejected the claim that Said was unjustly accused for his religious beliefs.

“If you intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another in Dallas County, we are coming for you. Period. You will be prosecuted. Period. It has nothing to do with your race or religion,” prosecutor Lauren Black said in her closing argument.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TRUCKEE, Calif.) — Lindsey Rodni-Nieman got a text late Friday night from her teenage daughter, saying she was planning to leave a party in about 45 minutes and would be coming “straight home.”

“I told her to be safe and that I loved her. And she said, ‘OK, mom, I love you, too,'” Rodni-Nieman recalled in an interview with ABC News on Monday. “She never came home.”

Kiely Rodni, 16, was last seen early Saturday around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Prosser Family Campground in the small, Northern California town of Truckee, some 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe. She was at a party with more than 100 people when she vanished along with her vehicle, a silver 2013 Honda CRV with California license plates.

Her phone has been out of service since then, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the ongoing investigation and search.

“Her cellphone went dead and became virtually untraceable shortly after,” Angela Musallam, public information officer for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News during an interview Monday.

When Rodni’s mother awoke that morning to find her daughter still not home and her car missing from their driveway, panic began to set in.

“I called her and sent her texts too, and she didn’t answer,” Rodni-Nieman said. “That’s when I knew something was wrong.”

She said she doesn’t believe her daughter ran away because all her clothes and belongings are still at home, and “it was already so out of character” for her to not call or text back.

Rodni’s friend, Sami Smith, said she was the last person to speak with her at the party early Saturday.

“She was having a fun time at a party, just being a teenager,” Smith told ABC News during an interview Monday. “Everything she drank, I drank out of, and there was nothing that seemed off about her.”

“I never expected this to happen ever,” she added. “Nobody in this town did.”

With no trace Rodni or her car, detectives are now investigating the case as a possible abduction.

“Our detectives are looking into any and every possibility about Kiely’s whereabouts,” Musallam said. “We are only treating this case as an abduction because we have not yet located her vehicle.”

“We’ve received dozens of leads since early Saturday morning, and our detectives continue to investigate each and every single one of them,” she added. “We have no plans to leave any stone unturned until we get Kiely home.”

Other local, state and federal agencies, including the Truckee Police Department, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and the FBI, are assisting the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s in the investigation, according to Musallam.

On Tuesday, helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office continued to conduct aerial searches for the teen and her car.

Authorities, as well as Rodni’s family, are urging anyone who attended the party to cooperate with the investigation. In particular, investigators are asking for any photographs or videos from that night to help them piece together a timeline. A $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to Rodni’s safe return.

“We’re just begging, begging for you to please come forward and share your story,” Rodni-Nieman said.

Anyone with information about Rodni or her whereabouts can call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s tip line at 530-581-6320 and select option seven. Callers can remain anonymous.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Back-to-school season is in full swing — and running up against the ongoing national teacher shortage.

In 2019, the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, estimated that by 2024, the U.S. would need more than 300,000 teachers to fill the demand for educators nationwide.

Several factors have worsened the problem in the last two years: Teachers have retired or walked away from the profession citing the coronavirus pandemic, higher levels of disrespect from students and parents, excessive lesson planning and safety concerns among other things.

Dr. Christy Foust, a former teacher, said a low salary was just one factor that drove her out of the profession.

“Would you stay in your job if you’re not paid enough based on your education and your experience?” Foust told ABC affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa, Florida.

Teacher Aubriele Jarman said once she realized her work life was negatively impacting her personal life, she decided to step back from her job.

“I was definitely very emotional about leaving the kids, but I just started to realize that I needed to do it for myself,” Jarman told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I felt a lot of guilt leaving because I know that there is that shortage.”

In the midst of this crisis, many school districts around the country say they are struggling to fill dozens to hundreds of open positions.

“As an elementary principal back in the ’90s, I would have 100 to 150 applicants for a kindergarten to second grade position. And I’m currently sitting at five for both,” Rich Appel, superintendent for the School District of Horicon in southeastern Wisconsin, told Green Bay, Wisconsin, ABC affiliate WBAY-TV.

The American Federation of Teachers or AFT, a union that represents approximately 1.7 million educators, presented several solutions in a July report to address the teacher and staff shortages, including increased pay and benefits, improving teacher-administrator relations, decreasing class sizes, reducing standardized testing and paperwork, and diversifying the teacher workforce.

“We have a teacher shortage because we have a shortage of respect for public school educators. A shortage of the professional working conditions which makes it difficult for teachers and other staff to meet their students’ needs. We have a shortage of pay for what is arguably the most important job in the world. And we have politicians who want to ban books and censor curriculum rather than help teachers meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of kids,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement to GMA, in part referencing efforts by a growing number of state, local and federal politicians to ban certain topics from the classroom, including references to racism and LGBTQ+ issues.

“The teacher shortage is the direct result of the culture war and the shortage of conditions, respect and pay — and we are not going to fix the one without addressing the others,” Weingarten continued.

“Some people will say this will never happen, it costs too much money,” Weingarten added. “But many things can be started today at no cost — taking steps to build a culture where professionals work together and with parents to provide the best possible education to students, reduce paperwork and focus more on teaching than testing. These are all important steps that can help make this a more sustainable, respected profession.”

How school districts are responding to the shortage

Education officials across the country are testing a variety of methods to combat teacher fatigue and boost morale, in addition to upping pay and benefits. Here are a few ways school districts have tried addressing the problem so far:

Financial incentives

Some school districts are providing bonuses and stipends to retain and attract new teachers, in addition to boosting base pay.

District of Columbia Public Schools, in the nation’s capital, is offering teachers signing bonuses of $2,500 if they commit to teaching one of the “highest need content areas,” such as special education, elementary education and visual and performing arts.

In Nevada, school districts including Clark County School District, the fifth largest school district in the U.S. where students returned to school Monday, is offering $5,000 retention bonuses for teachers who stay for the 2022-2023 school year and $4,000 relocation bonuses for teachers who move over 100 miles or out of state in order to teach in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. Washoe County School District in the northwestern region of the state is offering teachers a one-time stipend of $1,500 for new teachers and $2,500 for returning teachers.

For the upcoming school year, the Austin Independent School District is offering a $2,000 retention stipend for teachers and other staffers. The district is also adding on a $500 signing bonus for pre-K teachers and physical education teaching assistants as well as a $1,000 signing bonus for special education teaching assistants.

Relaxed qualifications

Some states are dropping certain requirements for those interested in teaching. Individuals in Arizona, for example, will no longer need a bachelor’s degree to teach after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill last month. They can start working within a classroom before they finish a degree program and while they’re in school to complete their degree.

In Arizona, as well as Alabama, teachers with expired licenses will also have an easier time renewing them, with Alabama offering teachers a one-time renewal option without any academic requirements.

Shortened school weeks

Some school districts, especially those in rural areas, have switched to four-day school weeks already; Marshfield R-I School District in southwestern Missouri and Jasper Independent School District in southeastern Texas, will switch to a four-day week starting this fall.

John Seybold, superintendent of the Jasper Independent School District, told GMA in April that teacher burnout “has been an issue for a long time, but since COVID, it has seemed to expand, and it’s becoming more and more of an issue.”

“The four-day week kind of makes it a little more manageable for them because there’s so much pressure placed on our teachers,” he said at the time. “As a school district, ultimately the best thing we can do for kids is put the best possible teacher in front of them every day.”

Housing help

It’s no secret that the cost of living has increased and inflation remains high enough that some districts have looked into providing a longer-term solution for bringing in and keeping teachers in their local communities.

Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City, California, south of San Francisco, for instance, has developed a housing complex for teachers and district staff that offers more than 120 rental units at below-market rates.

Recruiting foreign teachers

Okeechobee County School District in central Florida has recruited teachers from overseas, and has hired educators from multiple countries, including India, the Philippines, Mexico, Jamaica and Peru, in part to help ease their local teacher shortage.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — The fourth Muslim man killed in a possible string of murders in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been identified as a 25-year-old native of Pakistan, according to police.

Naeem Hussain was found dead from a gunshot wound on Friday near Truman Street and Grand Avenue in Albuquerque’s Highland Business neighborhood, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.

Police are investigating whether the killing is connected to the shooting death of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, on Aug. 1, as well as the murder of Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26 — both of whom are also from Pakistan.

The November 2021 murder of Mohammad Ahmadi, another Muslim man from Afghanistan who was killed outside a business he ran with his brother, could be connected, as well, police said.

A dark gray or silver Volkswagen with four doors and tinted windows is suspected of being used in the recent homicides. There is a possibility that the model of the car is a Jetta, police said.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has sent additional state police to provide support to the Albuquerque Police Department and FBI, she announced on Saturday.

“I am angered and saddened that this is happening in New Mexico, a place that prides itself on diversity of culture and thought,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement after Hussain’s death was announced. “This is not who we are.”

The community has “never gone through anything like this before,” Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, said during a press conference Saturday, ABC Albuquerque affiliate KOAT reported.

“This is really a surreal time for us. We’re in fear of the safety of our children, our families,” Assed said.

ABC News’ Patricio Chile and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BOSTON) — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu extended the city’s heat emergency through Tuesday as Bostonians deal with a marathon of at least 95-degree days.

“With the weather forecast now showing the high temperatures and humidity lasting through Tuesday, we’re extending the heat emergency to make sure all of our Boston residents and families are safe,” Wu said in a statement.

Boston set a new record on Monday, reaching 98 degrees, surpassing a previous high of 96 degrees from 1983, the National Weather Service tweeted.

The city has reached a high temperature of at least 95 degrees for five days straight, according to NWS Boston.

The majority of Massachusetts is under a heat advisory until 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Approximately 16 cooling centers will be open to Bostonians looking to stay cool through Tuesday, the mayor’s office said in a news release.

Residents will have some reprieve on Wednesday when temperatures are expected to drop to 76 degrees, the NWS said.

Millions of people in the Northeast experienced high temperatures over the weekend, as temperatures in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Hartford, Connecticut, were in the 90s, according to AccuWeather.

Officials said that two heat deaths had been reported in the Northeast over the last two weeks, one in New York City and one in Philadelphia. Authorities have warned residents of the danger of more fatalities.

For more information on staying safe in the heat, click here.

ABC News’ Kyla Guilfoil and Max Golembo contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ATLANTA) — Brianna Grier, the Georgia woman who died after falling out of a police car last month, died from a severe blunt force injury to the head, according to the preliminary findings of an independent autopsy ordered by her family.

“In this case, the cause of death is consistent with the severe blunt force injury that occurred inside of the head,” Dr. Allecia Wilson, a pathologist and the director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan, said at a press conference Monday to announce the findings.

Grier’s medical records from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta showed she had two fractures, hemorrhaging and a subdural hematoma after falling out of a moving police car while handcuffed on July 15, according to Wilson.

The 28-year-old mother of two was arrested by Hancock County Sheriff’s Office deputies Lt. Marlin Primus and Timothy Legette on July 15 after Grier’s mother called 911 to report that her daughter was experiencing a mental health crisis. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Grier fell out of the car’s rear passenger door after it was not closed prior to transporting her to the sheriff’s office. She had been handcuffed in front of her body and was not wearing a seatbelt.

The results of an official autopsy being conducted as part of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s review of Grier’s death are still pending.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation told ABC News it did not have any investigation updates or comments to share at this time.

Body camera footage released in late July showed that the deputy thought he had closed the door, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The 10-minute clip shows officers struggling to get Grier into the backseat of the police car, but does not show how she ended up falling out of the vehicle.

“To put a handcuffed person in the back of a police car unrestrained … you can use your own common sense as to what likely happened, especially when we look at the pathology from the MRI reports about the violent trauma — the severe trauma and severe blunt force trauma — that caused her to be knocked into a coma and to succumb six days later,” attorney Ben Crump said Monday.

“So we continue to demand answers for this young Black mother who was experiencing a mental health crisis. She hadn’t committed a crime. She deserved to be protected like somebody worthy to protect and serve,” Crump added.

The body camera footage showed one deputy approach Grier as she lies in the road after falling out of the vehicle while saying, “How is your back door open?” to the other deputy.

Grier’s mourning parents spoke at the press conference asking for transparency and answers for their grandchildren, 3-year-old twins Maria and Mariah. They said they still haven’t been able to explain the tragedy to them.

“That’s why we’re here. We’re trying to get answers so we can finally tell them what’s going on and what’s happened to their mama,” Brianna’s father, Marvin Grier, said.

“I just want justice for what happened to my daughter Brianna Grier,” Mary Grier added, saying that she doesn’t want this to happen to any other mother.

Grier’s funeral is set to take place Thursday at West Hunter Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ATLANTA) — The father and son convicted of federal hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Monday to life in prison.

Gregory McMichael, 66, chased 25-year-old Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020, with his son, Travis McMichael, 36, who fired the fatal shot.

The McMichaels’ neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, who joined the chase and recorded video and was also convicted of federal hate crimes, was sentenced Monday to 35 years.

“I would like to say to Mr. Ahmaud Arbery’s family and friends how sorry I am for what happened to him on that day,” Bryan said in court, according to WSB radio. “I never intended any harm to him, and never would’ve played any role if I knew then what I know now.”

Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, told reporters after the sentencing, “When you get caught up and it’s looking bad for you, that’s when you’re trying to apologize? That’s a long time.”

“He should’ve did it day one,” he said. “‘Cause Ahmaud was lying on the ground dying and he didn’t do nothing to help him.”

Gregory McMichael said in court to the Arbery family, “I’m sure my words mean very little to you but I want to assure you I never wanted any of this to happen.”

“There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day,” he said.

Travis McMichael did not make a statement.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside the Brunswick, Georgia, courthouse, “I feel every shot every day that I wake up.”

All three men are already serving life in prison for Arbery’s killing after being found guilty of murder in a Georgia state court last fall. The McMichaels were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole while Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

The three white men were convicted in the federal case in February by a jury who decided that they followed and killed Arbery because he was Black.

After deliberating for less than four hours, the federal jury convicted all three men of being motivated by racial hate in interference of Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping. Travis McMichael and his father were also convicted of carrying and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence. Travis McMichael was also found guilty of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

The McMichaels chased Arbery in their pickup truck after they saw him jogging in their neighborhood, falsely believing he had been responsible for several break-ins in coastal Georgia’s Satilla Shores neighborhood. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, blocking Arbery from escaping, and recorded cellphone footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun after a brief struggle.

During the trial, prosecutors released text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly used racist slurs. Witnesses also testified to hearing both McMichaels make racist comments.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The family of Gabby Petito announced Monday that they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the police department in Moab, Utah, where Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie were questioned last year about a possible domestic dispute.

Shortly after Petito and Laundrie were questioned by police on Aug. 12, 2021, Petito, 22, went missing.

Petito’s body was discovered last September in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. Laundrie, who was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, wrote in a notebook that he killed her, according to the FBI.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, an attorney for the Petito family, Brian Stewart, said officers from the Moab City Police Department “failed to properly investigate the reported domestic assault, and thus failed to fully appreciate or respond to Gabby’s life-threatening situation.”

“While the full evidence has not yet been made public, when it is released, it will clearly show that if the officers had been properly trained and followed the law, Gabby would still be alive today,” James McConkie, another of the family’s attorneys, said in the press release. “Failure to follow the law can have deadly consequences, as it did in this case.”

In a notice of claim sent on Aug. 5, attorneys representing Joseph and Tara Petito and Nichole and Jim Schmidt said they are seeking $50 million in damages.

Body camera images from the Aug. 12 incident show Petito and Laundrie talking to an officer after her 2012 Ford Transit was pulled over by Moab police. In one image, she appears to be crying while sitting in the back of a police vehicle.

The couple told police they were arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie, according to the police report. The couple also stated to police that Laundrie did not hit Petito.

In a statement at the time, Moab police said that “insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges” in that incident.

Petito had told police she suffered from severe anxiety and other medical conditions, which were redacted from the police report, and that the couple’s argument had been building for days. Police labeled the incident as a “mental/emotional break” rather than a domestic assault, according to the police report.

The incident took place about two weeks before Petito, who was on a cross-country trip with Laundrie, last spoke with her family, who reported her missing on Sept. 11.

Officials confirmed on Sept. 21 that a body found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming was Petito. A coroner later ruled that she had died of “blunt-force injuries to the head and neck, with manual strangulation.”

Laundrie returned to his parent’s home in North Port without Petito and was reported missing on Sept. 17.

Police found Laundrie’s remains in Carlton Reserve several weeks later, in October.

Shortly after Petito’s body was found, the city of Moab announced it would launch an independent investigation into its police department’s handling of the incident involving Petito and Laundrie.

In response to the independent report’s findings, the city of Moab said it planned to implement recommendations including providing additional training in domestic violence investigation and strengthening the review process for incident reports.

“As the Moab City Police Department continues its daily mission to serve our community, efforts are underway to provide additional resources and tools to assist them in addressing domestic violence incidents,” the city said in a statement. “Plans are in place to add a trained domestic violence specialist to oversee incidents investigated by Moab officers. We also will implement added and ongoing training and testing to ensure that the officers understand policies and procedures.”

The city also applauded the responding officers, writing, “Based on the report’s findings, the City of Moab believes our officers showed kindness, respect and empathy in their handling of this incident.”

The city has not yet responded to the announcement of the wrongful death lawsuit.

Stewart, an attorney for Petito’s family, said they hope their planned lawsuit helps to “prevent such tragedies” as Petito’s death.
 
“The Petito family believes that it is important as a society to hold our governmental institutions to account for such failures and to work toward changes to protect victims of domestic abuse and violence and prevent such tragedies in the future,” Stewart said in a statement.

Last week, the Petitos announced a $100,000 donation to the National Domestic Violence Hotline through The Gabby Petito Foundation, which the family formed after her death to support victims of domestic violence.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) —  Sentencing is underway for the three men convicted of federal hate crimes in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shot on Feb. 23, 2020, was sentenced Monday to life in prison.

His father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan could also face life sentences. They’ll be sentenced Monday afternoon at the Brunswick, Georgia, courthouse.

The three white men were convicted in February by a federal jury who decided that they followed and killed Arbery because he was Black.

After deliberating for less than four hours, the jury convicted all three men of being motivated by racial hate in interference of Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping. Travis McMichael, 36, and his 64-year-old father were also convicted of carrying and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence. Travis McMichael was also found guilty of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

The McMichaels chased Arbery in their pickup truck after they saw him jogging in their neighborhood, falsely believing he had been responsible for several break-ins in the Satilla Shores neighborhood. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, blocking Arbery from escaping and recorded cellphone footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun after a brief struggle.

During the trial, prosecutors released text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly used racist slurs. Witnesses also testified to hearing both McMichaels make racist comments.

All three defendants are already serving life in prison for the killing after being found guilty of murder in a Georgia state court last fall.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BOULDER CITY, Nev.) — Human remains were again found in Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir that continues to shrink amid a decades-long drought, officials announced Sunday.

According to the National Park Service, someone made the discovery at the park’s Swim Beach in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, on the Nevada side, around 11:15 a.m. Saturday. This marks the fourth time since May that human remains were found in Lake Mead, where water levels continue to recede at historic levels.

With the help of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s dive team, park rangers responded and set up a perimeter to retrieve the remains, the NPS said.

Officials have said the reservoir’s water levels are so low they could hit “dead pool” status, which means that the water is too low to flow downstream.

The minimum water surface level needed to generate power at the Hoover Dam is 1,050 feet, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Anything below that is considered an “inactive pool,” and a “dead pool” exists when the water level hits 895 feet, according to the federal agency.

Satellite images released last month by NASA show side-by-side comparisons of Lake Mead, one taken on July 6, 2000, and the other more than two decades later on July 6 of this year.

A result of the diminishing water level is that bodies and human parts have been emerging.

On May 7, human skeletal remains were found near the lake’s Callville Bay, according to the National Park Service. The discovery came a week after the decayed body of a man was found stuffed in a steel barrel near the reservoir’s Hemenway Fishing Pier, more than 20 miles from Callville Bay, according to the LVMPD.

On July 25, human remains were also found at Swim Beach.

Officials launched an investigation into the most recent discovery on Saturday, and the Clark County Medical Examiner has been contacted to determine the cause of death.

ABC News’ Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.