(DETROIT) — A man has been arrested and charged with murder in Michigan after a call for help suddenly cut off, police said.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning around 6:45 a.m. when police in Shelby Township, near Detroit, received a 911 call from a man who immediately hung up the phone, according to a statement from police.
Officers were then sent to the apartment to check on the welfare of the occupants, police said.
“Upon arrival, officers were met at the door by Terrance Lamar Bowie, a 29-year-old male from Casco, Michigan,” authorities said. “Bowie made statements to officers indicating that there was a dead body located inside of the apartment.”
Officers then found the body a 27-year old woman in a bedroom. She has not been identified.
“Evidence gathered from the scene indicates that this was a homicide, and the suspect, Terrance Lamar Bowie, was placed under arrest,” police said.
Authorities confirmed that this “was not a random act of violence, as the victim and Bowie were both known to each other.”
Bowie was arraigned on Tuesday in district court and charged with second degree murder and scene tampering. His bond was set at $2 million by Judge Stephen Sierawski.
Bowie’s next court appearance will be in August, officials said.
“Think twice before committing a crime in Shelby Township. Our team is committed to the safety and security of our residents and business owners,” said Police Chief Robert J. Shelide. “However, if you commit a violent crime in Shelby Township, we will leave no stone unturned and pursue you until you are brought to justice.”
Erik Menendez, 54, is in the hospital and has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, his family confirmed to ABC News.
The condition has not been disclosed.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced in May to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them eligible for parole — the latest step in a yearslong battle for the brothers trying to get released after 35 years behind bars.
The brothers have a parole hearing on Aug. 21.
His attorney, Mark Geragos, appeared on TMZ calling for Erik Menendez’s immediate release.
“It’s a serious condition,” Geragos told TMZ.
“I just think he should be parole furloughed, I think is the proper term, and he could be medically furloughed in advance of the hearing so that he can work with the parole attorney and get up to speed and be ready and do it and give it his best shot. I think that it’s the only fair and equitable thing to do,” he said.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has fought against their release, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” But the brothers have the support of over 20 family members in their efforts to be freed.
Photo Credit: Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
(Mass.) — The deadly fire at an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, was accidental, however, the cause is classified as undetermined because investigators found two possible origins, officials said.
State Fire Marshal Jon Davine there are two possible causes that “were clearly accidental”: an electrical or mechanical failure involving an oxygen concentrator, or improper use or disposal of smoking materials.
Officials will continue to investigate, but may not be able to narrow it down to one cause, Davine said.
Ten people died and dozens were hurt in the July 13 blaze at the Gabriel House, which was home to about 70 people. The 10 residents killed ranged in age from 61 to 86.
The fire-alarm fire began in a second-floor resident’s room, where there was an oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials, Davine said at a news conference on Tuesday.
There were no signs of issues from cooking, candles, lighting, heating, electrical outlets or other appliances in the room, he said.
Responders did find the damaged remains of a battery-powered scooter, but Davine said investigators believe that was a product of the fire, not the cause.
The resident of the room was among the 10 people who died, so investigators could not get an account of the fire in its earliest stages, Davine said.
Investigators believe the presence of medical oxygen contributed to the fire’s rapid spread, Davine added.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III called the blaze an “unprecedented tragedy.”
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon again commended the first responders who rushed into the flames.
“We mourn the lives lost and the decades of family memories were erased,” Bacon said. “I ask that you say a prayer for these families and I also ask that you spare a thought for the first responders confronting their own trauma.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey held a separate news conference earlier on Tuesday to discuss steps to ensure “tragedies like this don’t happen again.”
Healey announced the state is giving $1.2 million to Fall River to hire more emergency response personnel, stressing the importance of supporting firefighters and first responders.
Healey also said the state is launching a fire and life safety initiative to ensure all 273 assisted living facilities in Massachusetts “are prepared to prevent fires and protect residents during emergencies.”
All facilities must submit an emergency preparedness plan to the state within 30 days, she said. The state is also requiring all facilities to give residents and their families a letter outlining fire safety protocols, evacuation safety procedures and points of contact for questions or concerns, she said.
(LOS ANGELES) — The gun allegedly used in the killing of an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband at their home in Los Angeles belonged to the victims, according to prosecutors.
Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, both 70, were found shot to death in their Los Angeles home during a welfare check on July 14, authorities said. Kaye had been with “American Idol” since 2009, according to a spokesperson for the ABC television show.
Responding officers found the victims dead with multiple gunshot wounds, including to the head, police said.
It is believed the couple was killed four days earlier, when the Los Angeles Police Department said it received two calls about a possible burglary at the Encino address.
The suspect — 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian — is accused of scaling a fence onto the property that day, entering the home through an unlocked door and then shooting and killing the couple when they arrived home from the grocery store about 30 minutes later, authorities said.
A firearm recovered from the suspect’s Encino residence came from the victim’s home, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
“It was a gun that he had recovered from the actual house. It was Robin and Tom’s gun,” Hochman said during a public safety forum in Encino on Monday. “It wasn’t his gun. Which is exceptionally tragic.”
Boodarian was arrested on July 15 and has since been charged with two counts of murder and a count of residential burglary, with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary, the district attorney’s office said. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges. He is being held without bail and his next court hearing is Aug. 20.
Hochman said officers were led to Boodarian after the suspect called police.
“Mr. Boodarian got caught because he used his cellphone to contact police concerning this situation,” Hochman said during Monday’s meeting. “Police were able to ping the cellphone, find out where he lived, go to his residence and arrest him.”
LAPD Deputy Chief Marla Ciuffetelli told attendees of the packed forum that police are continuing to assess the initial July 10 response to the couple’s home.
Officers were unable to make entry into the home, which Ciuffetelli said was “quite fortified.” Police flew a helicopter over and saw no signs of a burglary or any other trouble and cleared the scene, detectives previously said.
“We’re always striving to try to respond better,” Ciuffetelli said. “We’re taking a very close look at the response. I’m not saying that there was any mistakes made, but we’re making sure that in similar circumstances, that we respond appropriately.”
In the wake of the killings, LAPD Capt. Michael Bland said the department was upping patrols overnight in Encino.
“This is not something we take lightly,” he told the crowd.
(NEW YORK) — A woman accused of impersonating four nurses from other states and using around 20 aliases since 2020 has been arrested and charged with dozens of counts, police said.
Shannon Nicole Womack, 39, has been charged with 43 counts, including endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, identity theft, forgery and falsely pretending to hold a license, according to court records.
Womack is also charged with use and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
Womack was arrested on Monday, court records show.
Womack gave police false identification when she was pulled over by police in a routine traffic stop in April on Interstate 79, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
An investigation revealed that approximately 20 different aliases and seven different Social Security numbers were associated with Womack, according to police.
A search warrant was then executed on her vehicle, and investigators found multiple forms of identification, prescription medications prescribed to different victims, medical documents and various pieces of medical equipment, police said.
Womack posed as a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse and registered nurse supervisor at multiple rehabilitation and nursing home facilities throughout Pennsylvania, police said.
She was using the identities and credentials of four confirmed nurses from southern states, police said.
“Womack was able to secure these nursing positions through staffing agencies by submitting fraudulently signed documents and also by creating a false LLC to self-deploy herself to multiple jobs,” police said in a statement.
“Womack obtained employment through staffing agencies and even … was able to create her own host agency,” Pennsylvania State Police trooper Rocco Gagliardi said at a press conference. “So she was picking up the phone and transferring those employment jobs, careers, to herself.”
Police believe she began the deception in 2020 and continued it across many states on the eastern side of the country.
“During that COVID time, they got hit hard, and they needed help,” Gagliardi said. “So it wasn’t uncommon for these different residence locations, agencies, to reach out to host agencies and say we need some extra shifts filled. That started in 2020 and it was such an easy transition, she just kept going after that.”
The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
Womack’s bail was set at $250,000. Her next court appearance was scheduled for July 29.
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it is disciplining more than 70 students over anti-Israel protests that took over Butler Library on the New York City campus earlier this year and during Alumni Weekend last spring.
The disciplinary action came as the university seeks to work with the Trump administration, which in March accused the school of “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
Most of the disciplined students received two-year suspensions or expulsions in the first punishments meted out by the university’s Provost’s Office. The Trump administration is withholding $400 million in federal grants from the university.
Columbia and the administration have been trying to work out a deal to restore the funding.
“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community. And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules,” the university’s statement said. “Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.”
The University Judicial Board (UJB), which was placed under the Provost Office in March, determined the findings and disciplined the students. The UJB panel is comprised of professors and administrators who, the university said, “worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes.”
The university did not disclose the names of the disciplined students.
The punishment stemmed from violations that occurred in May, when students took over the Butler Library during a pro-Palestinian protest, and from an illegal encampment students established on campus during Alumni Weekend in the spring of 2024, according to the university.
“The speed with which our updated UJB system has offered an equitable resolution to the community and students involved is a testament to the hard work of this institution to improve its processes,” the university said in its statement.
Following the Butler Library protest, which the university said affected hundreds of students attempting to study, the school launched an investigation, banned participating individuals from affiliated institutions and non-affiliates from campus, and placed Columbia participants on interim suspension.
“The University Judicial Board held hearings, in which respondents had an opportunity to be heard and make their case, and then determined findings and issued sanctions approximately 10 weeks following the incident,” according to the university’s statement.
In a March 13 letter to the university, the Trump administration listed nine demands Columbia must comply with “as a precondition for formal negotiations” regarding federal funding being withheld, including enforcing existing disciplinary policies.
Columbia also agreed to ban masks on campus, one of the Trump administration’s key demands, saying in the memo, “Public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday that a U.S. citizen was killed in Syria after disturbing videos surfaced showing him among a group of men apparently being executed by Syrian government forces.
“We offer condolences to the family on their loss and are providing consular assistance to them,” the State Department said in a statement. “We are greatly concerned when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas, wherever they are. The United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad.”
Family and friends confirmed to ABC News that one of the men executed was Hosam Saraya, an American citizen.
The confirmation came after videos shared on social media last week showed eight men kneeling next to each other in civilian clothes, with a group of soldiers filming. In one video, the soldiers are seen talking to each other. Then, without warning, they open fire, shooting the unarmed, kneeling men dozens of times at close range.
The videos were filmed in Tishreen Square, in southern Syria, on the afternoon of July 16 amid ongoing fighting there.
ABC News has spoken to friends and family of Hosam Saraya, a American-Syrian citizen, and confirmed that he and other relatives were among those seen in the video being gunned down.
Besides Saraya, the family said his brother, Karim, their father, Ghassan, and their uncles and cousins were also shot to death in the incident.
The family showed ABC News Saraya’s American passport, confirming his U.S. citizenship.
The State Department is “looking into accounts of the death of an individual reported to have been a U.S. citizen in Syria,” a spokesperson said.
The Saraya family are Druze, the largest ethnic group in the city but a minority in Syria. Sectarian clashes broke last week between government forces and Druze, Sunni Bedouins and other Sunni factions.
A close friend of the Sarayas who worked with Hosam told ABC News that he spoke with Hosam and his relatives last Tuesday night and that they told him bombs had been falling around their home. On Wednesday, the friend, who only wants to be identified as Omar, heard from other family members that Hosam and the others had been taken from their home by government forces.
Saraya’s mother was left in their ransacked home, Omar said.
Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Image
(BOISE, Idaho) — Bryan Kohberger, the admitted killer in the University of Idaho quadruple murders, will be face-to-face with the victims’ families on Wednesday at his high-profile sentencing hearing, with President Donald Trump even weighing in on how it should unfold.
Here’s what to expect:
The case Roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022, sending shockwaves through the small college town of Moscow and capturing the nation’s attention.
Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University at the time, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home nearly seven weeks later.
After proclaiming his innocence for more than two years, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing. The deal took the death penalty off the table; Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count. The sentencing hearing begins on Wednesday and could last through Thursday.
Families and survivors Sentencing is the first time the victims’ families — including the Goncalves, who have expressed anger with prosecutors over the plea deal — can speak directly to their children’s killer. They’ll get the chance to read victim impact statements in open court, though the parents of victim Ethan Chapin have said they’re not planning to attend.
“I would almost describe this as like a legal funeral, in the sense of, it’s your ability to give your last goodbyes in a situation where you’re talking about your pain, your anxiety, how you feel about the loss of a loved one,” ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said. “Everyone grieves differently. Some people grieve by going to the funeral and speaking, some people grieve by going to the funeral and saying nothing, some people grieve by not going at all. And I think all are healthy, all are correct.”
The victims’ roommates, who have avoided the spotlight, might also speak at sentencing. The night of the murders, two roommates inside the house survived, including one woman who told authorities she saw a man in a mask walking past her in the middle of the night, according to court documents.
It’ll be up to the women whether they speak in court themselves, have an attorney or relative read a statement on their behalf, or decline altogether, Buckmire said.
Moscow police and the victims’ friends are also expected to be in the Boise, Idaho, courtroom. Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said last week about sentencing, “Our hope is that not only the families, but the friends, even the Moscow community and all the communities that were affected by this, can start to heal and bring some sort of closure to this horrendous act.”
Will Kohberger speak? After the victim impact statements, Kohberger will have the opportunity to address the court, but he’s not required to do so, Buckmire said.
With a set sentence of life in prison, “there’s no incentive for him to speak,” Buckmire explained. “The [criminal justice] system just doesn’t operate that way — it’s not a rehabilitative process.”
“I think there’s a less than 50% chance he does speak, and a zero percent chance that he says anything that makes anyone walk away from this sentencing feeling any better,” Buckmire predicted.
Kohberger’s change of plea hearing on July 2 marked the first time his voice was heard in years. Judge Steven Hippler asked him a series of questions and Kohberger gave brief responses, showing no emotion. Defense attorneys have attributed Kohberger’s “flat affect” to autism spectrum disorder.
Kohberger’s attorneys said they will not speak until sentencing is finished.
Motive still a mystery Despite Kohberger’s admission of guilt, a motive for the killings has not been revealed, and Kohberger is under no legal obligation to disclose one.
Asked if police were able to find a clear motive, Dahlinger told ABC News last week that he could not answer.
Trump weighed in on social media Monday, saying he thinks Kohberger should be required to give a motive, “I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders. There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING. People were shocked that he was able to plea bargain, but the Judge should make him explain what happened.”
Buckmire said a motive is not likely to ever surface.
“This isn’t a 30-minute true crime show where everything gets wrapped up in a nice bow at the end,” he said.
Police are, however, planning on releasing a large amount of information from the case later on, according to the department. Buckmire said those documents will likely relate to evidence and witness statements.
Once the hearing concludes and the judge formally sentences Kohberger, the convicted killer will be placed into the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction. He’ll then be evaluated to determine where he’ll be sent to prison.
(NEW YORK) — A 4-year-old child was attacked by a mountain lion at a national park in Washington state, officials said.
The incident occurred Sunday afternoon in Olympic National Park, near the Victoria Overlook area on Hurricane Ridge, according to the National Park Service.
The child was bitten by the mountain lion while walking with their family on a “popular trail,” park officials said.
Paramedics and park staff responded and transferred the victim via an air ambulance to a Seattle hospital, where the child is undergoing treatment, park officials said Monday. No additional details on the child have been released to protect their privacy, park officials said.
Following the attack, park rangers immediately began searching for the collared cougar, which was located and dispatched Monday morning, park officials said.
“There are no current threats to the public,” the National Park Service said in a press release on Monday.
The incident remains under investigation. Witnesses to the attack are urged to contact the parks service at 888-653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov.
According to the National Park Service, cougars are typically elusive and attacks on humans are rare.
Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) — Nearly two dozen whales have died in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent months, according to animal rescue groups.
A total of 19 gray whales, two unidentified baleen whales and one minke whale have died in the Bay Area region so far this year, according to the California Academy of Sciences.
At least seven of the gray whale deaths have been determined to be suspect or probable vessel strikes, according to the organization.
In addition, there has been an “unusually high” number of whale sightings in the Bay Area this year, with more than 30 individual gray whales confirmed in the region via photo identification, the Academy said, noting that the whales’ physical conditions have ranged from normal to emaciated.
About a third of the whales have stayed in the region for at least 20 days and researchers expect more sightings for another couple of weeks before the whales migrate north to Arctic feeding grounds. The whales breed off the coast of Mexico but should be farther north at this time of year, Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., told ABC News.
In 2024, just six gray whales were sighted in the region. Researchers are investigating the potential reasons behind the “massive” spike in sightings this year.
Animal rescue groups in the region have not responded to this many dead gray whale deaths since the unusual mortality event in 2019 that saw more than 70 gray whale deaths on the West Coast, and another event in 2021 in which 15 whales died in the Bay Area, according to the California Academy of Sciences.
An estimated 45% of the North Pacific gray whale population was lost between 2019 and 2023, the California Academy of Sciences said.
In previous unusual mortality events, the gray whale population has typically rebounded but after 2019, the populations have experienced continued declines, George said. The population was estimated to be at nearly 27,000 in 2016 but fell to as low as 13,230 animals in the winter of 2022-2023 as a result of the mass mortality event, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Marine researchers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are monitoring the health of the gray whale population in hopes of gaining further insights into the unusual mortality event, the organization said.
Earlier this year, scientists in Southern California have reported a record-low gray whale calf count, “which is a cause for concern,” according to the Academy.
Only about 85 gray whale calves migrated past Central California on their way to feeding grounds in the Arctic earlier this year, according to NOAA.
“It shows signs of concern for this population as it moves forward into the future,” George said. “What we’re trying to learn is we know that climate change is changing ocean conditions and changing prey available availability for these whales in the Arctic.”
The Bay Area serves as a “puzzle piece” to the gray whales’ lengthy annual migration, George said.
Dead whales have been reported in the San Francisco Bay Area since March 30, when a female gray whale was found dead at Black Sands Beach, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The animal died from a probable vessel strike, according to The Marine Mammal Center.
The latest death occurred on July 7 at the Richmond Long Wharf, located about 20 miles north of San Francisco, according to The Marine Mammal Center. A dead female adult gray whale washed up adjacent to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after suffering from blunt force trauma by a suspected vessel strike, the organization said.
A necropsy revealed hemorrhaging on the animal’s left side, between the head and pectoral fin, likely as a result of the strike, according to the Center.
“This latest gray whale caught everyone a bit by surprise given how late in the season it is and the fact that we had not sighted the species in the bay in nearly two weeks,” George said in a statement.
Gray whales typically have a “very low profile” in the water that can make them difficult to see, unlike other coastal whales, such as humpback whales, according to the Academy.
“It’s vital that all boaters – from large commercial vessels to sailboats – be ‘whale aware’ and continue to slow down,” the California Academy of Sciences said.
Further south, thousands of marine animals have been sickened by an unprecedented toxic algae bloom that has overrun the Southern California coasts.
Species such as seabirds, sea lions and dolphins have been impacted by elevated levels of the neurotoxic domoic acid produced by the algae blooms in the region. However, the harmful algae blooms aren’t related to the recent whale deaths in the Bay Area because gray whales transiting north don’t stop in Southern California to feed, George said.
“That is something we test for, though, when we are doing he necropsies – to see what they may have been exposed to recently,” she said.
