National

(LOS ANGELES) — After investigating the case for more than a year, the Los Angeles Innocence Project has filed voluminous evidence it says shows Scott Peterson did not murder his wife and unborn son in 2002.

In a nearly 400-page petition to the California Court of Appeals, filed Friday night, the LA Innocence Project argued Scott Peterson is innocent and his conviction should be overturned.

Laci Peterson, who was 27 years old and eight months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her body was found in San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

Scott Peterson, now 52, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son. A jury found him guilty following a six-month trial in 2004.

The Los Angeles Innocence Project claims Scott Peterson was denied his rights to due process and a fair trial because jurors did not hear evidence over two decades ago that they argue could have affected the outcome of the trial, and police and prosecutors did not fairly investigate the case, and even destroyed possibly critical evidence.

“In my opinion, once the police locked onto Mr. Peterson as the prime suspect, they had no interest in finding evidence showing that someone other than Scott may have abducted Laci Peterson because that evidence did not fit with their working theory of the case,” LA Innocence Project director Paula Mitchell stated in the filing. “In addition to ignoring the eyewitness reports, the police turned a blind eye to other exculpatory evidence that would have exonerated Mr. Peterson.”

She said she believes police press releases included information “indicating to the public that police did not believe Mr. Peterson’s alibi, almost from day one.”

“This created a domino effect and ultimately created a tidal wave of media attention focused on Mr. Peterson as the prime suspect in the case,” she continued.

In their filing, the LA Innocence Project claims they have new scientific evidence that shows the date of the death of the Petersons’ unborn child was later than claimed at trial, and that an expert in water movement can prove that Laci Peterson’s body was not dumped where police said it was in December 2004 — two points they say would undermine the prosecution’s case.

“This new evidence undermines the prosecution’s entire circumstantial case against Petitioner, and shows that the jury relied on false evidence, including false scientific evidence, to convict him,” the petition states. One of the attorneys on the case said that in her entire career, she has never seen exculpatory evidence this strong.

The filing also makes multiple claims of new evidence and witnesses involving two crimes they say happened around the same time as Laci Peterson’s disappearance near the Petersons’ home — a burglary at a neighbor’s home and a burned van in Modesto’s Airport District.

Last year, a judge did not let them test for Laci Peterson’s DNA on a bloodstained mattress found in the van, so his attorneys do not know if her DNA is on that mattress. Prosecutors have argued that testing on one of the mattress cloths found male DNA, so no further testing would be required. The LA Innocence Project said it has sought “more precise DNA testing to determine if there is a link to the crimes in this case.”

A judge did grant them access to review some discovery in the case from the trial in 2004, including police interview transcripts and case files.

“Every aspect of the prosecution’s theory as to how the crimes in this case were committed has now been shown to be false,” the petition states.

The petition also includes a 126-page declaration from Scott Peterson, who did not testify during his trial, in which he maintains his innocence and says he was wrongfully convicted of murder.

“It is important to me that whoever killed my wife and son be found and held accountable,” he stated. “If whoever committed such violence against Laci and Conner is still at large they are a danger to public safety. It is also important to me that I clear my name and my family’s name because I did not and could never harm or kill my family.”

The filing asks the court to vacate the judgment and sentences, among other possible forms of relief.

The LA Innocence Project also submitted an application seeking permission from the court to file the oversized petition, as it is in excess of the allowed 25,500 words.

The Court of Appeal said Monday that a decision on the application may take several days. If the application is granted, the court said it will then file the petition and lodge the exhibits. If the application is denied, it will reject the petition but may allow a shorter one to be filed.

The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, said it won’t comment on the petition until it is filed by the court and they read it.

Scott Peterson has previously appealed his conviction, claiming he received an unfair trial based on possible jury misconduct.

A judge denied him a new trial in 2022 following his appeal on stealth juror accusations.

Prosecutors and police who were involved in the original trial have stood behind the 2004 conviction.

Scott Peterson was initially sentenced to death for the murders. In 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing that his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty, according to court documents. He was later resentenced to life in prison without parole.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PHOENIX) — Lori Daybell, the mother convicted of murdering two of her children in a so-called doomsday plot, delivered her closing argument Monday during her latest trial in Arizona, where she is charged with conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband.

Dubbed the “doomsday mom,” Daybell has maintained that her brother shot her then-husband of 13 years, Charles Vallow, in self-defense in her home in Chandler, Arizona, in July 2019. Her brother, Alex Cox, died from natural causes months after the shooting.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said the shooting was a ploy for Daybell to get rid of her estranged husband so that she could get his $1 million life insurance policy and be with her current husband, Chad Daybell, whom she married four months after the shooting. Prosecutors further said she invoked their religious beliefs as justification for the murder and gave her brother “religious authority” to kill Vallow because they believed he was possessed by an evil spirit they referred to as “Ned.”

Lori Daybell, 51, represented herself in the Phoenix trial. She has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

During her nearly 20-minute closing argument, she told jurors the shooting was not a premeditated murder but a “tragic family event.”

“This event was not planned or expected. It was shocking,” she said.

She argued that officers neglected to conduct a thorough investigation, though she also said the Chandler Police Department “did treat this event just like it was: self-defense.”

“This is an attempt by the state to try to retrofit a crime that doesn’t exist,” she said.

Daybell also urged the jurors to watch her entire police interview conducted after the shooting, part of which was shown during the trial.

The judge sustained several objections during her closing argument after she referred to testimony that had not been entered into evidence during the trial.

During her nearly two-hour closing argument on Monday, Maricopa County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Treena Kay said the evidence at the scene shows that Vallow was not shot in self-defense, but was “executed” and the scene “staged.”

She began by recounting text messages sent from Lori Daybell to her husband, Chad, seven days after Vallow was killed, discussing her now-deceased husband’s life insurance policy. Kay said that, upon learning she was no longer the beneficiary of the plan, the defendant messaged Chad that “Ned” probably changed it “before we got rid of him.”

“Her words tell us that she was involved in this killing, her actions and her words of texting Chad Daybell tell us the motives behind this murder — Chad and money,” Kay told jurors.

The prosecutor also revisited witness testimony that she said spoke to what she called Lori Daybell and Alex Cox’s “twisted religious beliefs” and a text message the defendant sent her brother days before the deadly shooting that mentioned Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon who God commanded to kill Laban.

“Lori Vallow wanted the million dollars, and she wanted Chad Daybell, and she and Alex used that twisted religious beliefs they had so that they could kill the evil, possessed Charles and ‘be like Nephi,'” Kay said.

Kay said Alex Cox showed up at his sister’s home with a loaded gun, “ready for his mission,” and shot Vallow twice. She argued that the evidence shows the second shot was fired while Vallow was lying on the ground.

“That is premeditated first-degree murder, no matter what you believe before that,” Kay said.

Daybell countered in her closing that Nephi “signifies strong faith, perseverance and courage.”

“The state’s attempt to misconstrue the positive text message about a wonderful religious figure, Nephi, and try to turn it into an order to kill someone is absurd,” she said.

Kay advised jurors that even if you don’t hear someone explicitly talk about conspiring, “a conspiracy may be inferred from circumstances showing a common criminal objective.”

In this case, the conduct inferred a “conspiracy of Alex coming over with his gun to shoot and kill Charles,” she said.

The jury is now deliberating the verdict.

Over two weeks, the state called more than a dozen witnesses, including Daybell’s other brother, Adam Cox, who testified that he had “no doubt” his two siblings conspired to kill Vallow upon learning that his brother had fatally shot him.

Daybell did not call any witnesses in the trial and did not take the stand in her own defense.

In her cross-examination, Daybell tried to question the thoroughness of the police investigation into the shooting. She asked several witnesses, including her brother Adam Cox, if they personally saw her conspire with her brother Alex Cox to murder her husband, to which they responded no.

Throughout the trial, the judge often sustained frequent objections from the prosecution over Daybell’s questions for testifying, hearsay, relevance and speculation.

After the state rested its case on April 16, Daybell presented a motion for acquittal due to insufficient evidence. The judge denied it, saying the court finds there is sufficient evidence that a reasonable juror could find her guilty.

Both Lori and Chad Daybell were found guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, who went missing months after Vallow was killed. In two separate trials in 2023 and 2024, prosecutors argued that the couple thought the children were possessed zombies and murdered them so that they could be together. The children’s remains were found on an Idaho property belonging to Daybell in June 2020 following a monthslong search.

Lori Daybell is currently serving life in prison without parole for the murders of her two children. She has denied killing them.

Chad Daybell was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering the two children, as well as his first wife, Tamara Daybell, and now awaits execution on Idaho’s death row.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Harvard University is suing President Donald Trump’s administration for threatening to withhold federal funding if the school did not comply with its list of demands.

The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts federal court, asks a judge to block the funding freeze from going into effect, arguing the move is “unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.”

In it, lawyers for the university argue that the administration is unlawfully using billions of dollars in federal funding as “leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard.”

They also allege that the funding freeze violates the First Amendment, flouts federal law and threatens life-saving medical research.

“All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote.

Earlier this month, following the school’s refusal to budge on the government’s demands, the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism – alleging the school has failed to confront antisemitism on campus – froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts, and it reportedly plans to pull an additional $1 billion in funding for medical research.

The decision followed Harvard University President Alan Garber’s letter on April 14, which said that the school “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” by agreeing to a series of terms proposed by the Trump administration.

The lawsuit is the school’s latest effort to push back against the administration’s threats.

“The Government has not—and cannot—identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation,” the lawsuit said. “Nor has the Government acknowledged the significant consequences that the indefinite freeze of billions of dollars in federal research funding will have on Harvard’s research programs, the beneficiaries of that research, and the national interest in furthering American innovation and progress.”

In addition to arguing the funding freeze violates the First Amendment, Harvard’s lawyers alleged the Trump administration failed to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which sets out a series of procedures needed before funding can be frozen.

“The Government made no effort to follow those procedures—nor the procedures provided for in Defendants’ own agency regulations—before freezing Harvard’s federal funding,” the lawsuit said.

The school asked a federal judge to declare the funding freeze unlawful, block it from taking effect and enjoin the government unilaterally freezing furniture funding without following the steps laid out by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Garber announced the lawsuit in a letter published to the school’s website on Monday, saying the administration’s demands sought to impose “unprecedented and improper control” over the university.

“Doubling down on the letter’s sweeping and intrusive demands—which would impose unprecedented and improper control over the University—the government has, in addition to the initial freeze of $2.2 billion in funding, considered taking steps to freeze an additional $1 billion in grants, initiated numerous investigations of Harvard’s operations, threatened the education of international students, and announced that it is considering a revocation of Harvard’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status,” Garber’s statement said.

“These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world,” it continued.

The Trump administration has also cut funding at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern — with Harvard being the most high-profile and first university to explicitly refuse the government’s demands.

“Today, we stand for the values that have made American higher education a beacon for the world. We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best fulfill their essential role in society without improper government intrusion,” Garber said in his statement announcing the lawsuit on Monday.

The White House did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A jury has found Nadine Menendez guilty in her federal bribery trial, following the conviction of her husband, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, on similar crimes.

Prosecutors argued the two were “partners in crime” while accusing them of accepting cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for political favors.

The defense argued there was no proof Nadine Menendez was involved in the scheme her husband was found guilty of perpetrating.

Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon before reaching their verdict Monday afternoon.

She will be sentenced in June, the same month her husband is due to report to prison to begin serving an 11-year sentence.

She pleaded not guilty to 15 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Several of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January after being convicted on all 16 counts last year in his federal corruption trial, becoming the first sitting member of Congress to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.

A jury found him guilty of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes — including gold, cash, a luxury convertible, payments toward Nadine Menendez’s home mortgage and compensation for her no-show job — from three New Jersey businessmen, who have also been convicted.

“Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime,” acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement following the verdict in the corruption and foreign influence scheme. “Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes — including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job — all in exchange for the Senator’s corrupt official acts. Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve.”

“Today’s verdict sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale, and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions,” he added.

The FBI said it found $70,000 in cash in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box and the rest inside congressional jackets bearing Bob Menendez’s name.

Shortly after the two began dating in 2018, Nadine Menendez introduced Egyptian intelligence and military officials to then-Sen. Bob Menendez, according to federal prosecutors, who alleged those introductions helped establish a corrupt agreement in which they accepted bribes in exchange for her husband’s actions to benefit Egypt.

Witnesses in the trial included Jose Uribe, a New Jersey businessman who pleaded guilty last year and testified for the government. Prosecutors said Uribe paid for Menendez’s $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for helping disrupt a criminal investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office related to Uribe.

Nadine Menendez was supposed to stand trial alongside her husband, but the judge allowed her to stand trial separately to accommodate her breast cancer diagnosis. Her trial was postponed several times while she underwent treatment.

The trial itself was also suspended for several days because she was ill.

On March 17, on the eve of jury selection in Nadine Menendez’s trial, the former senator posted on X that his wife was being “forced by the government to go to trial” despite having recent reconstructive surgery for breast cancer.

“Only the arrogance of the SDNY can be so cruel and inhumane,” Bob Menendez said in the post, which tagged President Donald Trump. “They should let her fully recover.”

Following his sentencing, Bob Menendez called the prosecution a “political witch hunt” and that he hopes Trump “cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”

In issuing Bob Menendez’s sentence, Judge Sidney Stein said the former senator would not have to report to prison until June 6 so that he could be available during his wife’s trial.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Lawyers for the Justice Department, facing pushback on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport alleged migrant gang members under the wartime Alien Enemies Act, told a federal judge in Colorado Monday that they would give such migrants at least 24 hours to file a habeas petition contesting their removal.

The move came during a hearing Monday in which U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney heard arguments over a temporary order she issued barring the administration from removing any noncitizens from Colorado under the 18th century authority that lets noncitizens be removed with little-to-no due process.

Regarding individuals who file for habeas corpus, the DOJ attorney said “the government, at this time, has no intent to remove those individuals pending litigation.”

In response, ACLU Colorado Legal Director Tim Macdonald argued that it is “preposterous” to suggest that a 24-hour notice would be enough time to allow people to file a habeas petition.

“I guess we should be peppering this court with hundreds of habeas petitions to the extent the government even allows us in the facility to talk to those people,” said Macdonald. “That’s not the way the rule of law should work.”

The hearing came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the AEA deportations of Venezuelan migrants being held in northern Texas after attorneys for the men said the accused gang members had received notices saying they were about to be deported.

Macdonald on Monday argued that the notices are “chilling to anyone who cares about due process” and requested the judge grant a temporary restraining order blocking such deportations in Colorado.

“If your honor were to deny the TRO, [the government] could either begin removing people immediately from the District of Colorado or find another jurisdiction where they don’t yet have a TRO and begin removing people there,” Macdonald said. “This has life or death consequences.”

The Trump administration last month touched off a legal battle when it invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged that “many” of the men lack criminal records in the United States — but said that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”

“The alleged harm to the government being unable to remove someone from a statute that was last seen more than 75 years ago … is trivial in comparison to the harms the humans that have been sent to the CECOT, potentially for the rest of their lives,” Macdonald argued Monday.

Judge Sweeney said her existing order would remain in effect until she issues a new ruling in 24 hours.

Also Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco will consider next steps after that judge last month put a temporary pause on the Trump administration’s plans to end legal protections and benefits for up to 350,000 Venezuelan migrants.

The hearing comes after an appeals court on Friday denied the Trump administration’s effort to block that pause.

The alleged Venezuelan gang members deported to El Salvador last month were sent to CECOT as part of a $6 million deal the Trump administration made with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for El Salvador to house migrant detainees as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In a post on social media on Sunday, Bukele proposed repatriating the 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. in exchange for the release of an equal number of “political prisoners” from Venezuela.

“I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that includes the repatriation of 100% of the 252 Venezuelans who were deported, in exchange for the release and surrender of an identical number (252) of the thousands of political prisoners you hold,” Bukele wrote to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on X in Spanish.

Last week, Venezuelan Minister of Interior Relations Diosdado Cabello claimed that the Venezuelan government has “proved” that none of the Venezuelan migrants the Trump administration deported to El Salvador are members of Tren de Aragua.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Federal judges in Colorado and California are hearing arguments Monday over the Trump administration’s deportation policies as government officials press to remove accused migrant gang members.

In Colorado, a federal judge will weigh arguments over a temporary order the judge issued that bars the Trump administration from removing any noncitizens from Colorado under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process.

A federal judge in San Francisco will consider next steps after that judge last month put a temporary pause on the Trump administration’s plans to end legal protections and benefits for up to 350,000 Venezuelan migrants.

The hearing comes after an appeals court on Friday denied the Trump administration’s effort to block that pause.

The Trump administration last month touched off a legal battle when it invoked the AEA to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged that “many” of the men lack criminal records in the United States — but said that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, in ruling over the weekend, blocked the AEA deportations of Venezuelan migrants being held in northern Texas after attorneys for the men said the accused gang members were about to be deported without due process.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — After his deportation was temporarily blocked by a Supreme Court order, 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant Alessandro Paredes spoke to ABC News from a detention center in Texas.

“This is not being done by law, this is totally illegal and it’s out of the blue,” Paredes said, recounting the attempted deportation on Friday.

“We get grabbed in the morning, about four in the morning, and just get taken into a van. They tried to put us into a plane,” he said from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas.

Paredes said that before arriving at an airport, the van he was in suddenly turned around and returned him and other detainees to Bluebonnet.

In a statement to ABC News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the order from the Supreme Court that blocked deportations from the Northern District and said the White House is confident the actions by the administration are lawful.

“President Trump promised the American people to use all lawful measures to remove the threat of terrorist illegal aliens, like members of TdA, from the United States. We are confident in the lawfulness of the Administration’s actions and in ultimately prevailing against an onslaught of meritless litigation brought by radical activists who care more about the rights of terrorist aliens than those of the American people,” Leavitt said in her statement.

Paredes claimed to ABC News he and others were “forced to sign a paper” saying they are part of a gang. On Friday, the ACLU submitted a document they say their clients at Bluebonnet received from immigration officials. The document, titled “Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” says, “You have been determined to be… a member of Tren de Aragua.”

“We have been forced to sign a paper, right here, basically saying that we are part of a gang, that we are part of it, and they’re forcing us to sign it,” Paredes said.

Stephen Miller, Trump’s homeland security adviser, responded to a post on X by a FOX News reporter that includes a list allegedly provided by a DHS official of “suspected Venezuelan TdA gang members” detained in Texas that the Trump administration “was planning to deport before SCOTUS stepped in.”

The list included Paredes’ name and photo and says that he is a confirmed TdA member and says that he is facing criminal charges for “aggravated assault with a weapon, pointing, and presenting firearms at a person.” The post also includes photos of Paredes’ tattoos of a cross and a clock.

“This is who the Democrats are fighting to keep in your neighborhood,” Miller said in response to the social media post of the list.

A review of court records found one charge against Paredes in South Carolina for “pointing and presenting firearms at a person” in February. The case is still ongoing and Paredes is scheduled to have his second court appearance in August.

According to WCIV, an ABC News affiliate, Paredes turned himself in on the gun charge and was booked into Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston County, South Carolina in February. The ICE detainee locator confirms Paredes is currently at Bluebonnet Detention Center.

Paredes’ mom told ABC News in a statement through their attorney that she denies the allegation that her son is a member of TdA.

“My son is only 19 years old,” the mother said, who did not want to be named. “He was a good student, a talented football player, and a loving son. He is a devout Catholic. He carries his faith on his body and in his heart — he even had a large cross tattooed on his body to mark his lifelong commitment to God.”

“He’s not a terrorist,” she said, adding that she wishes for her son to be sent to Venezuela.

“Please do not send him to El Salvador — a country he has never known, where he faces grave danger and has no support,” she added.

Earlier this month, SCOTUS lifted an injunction that barred deportations under the AEA and ruled that any person the administration sought to deport under the proclamation must be given due process. The ACLU argued Friday that the Venezuelan migrants who are being held in a detention center in Texas are at risk of deportation and have not had adequate notice or enough time to challenge their removals, violating the court’s requirement that the men have “reasonable time” to practice their due process rights.When asked by ABC News if he fears being deported to El Salvador, Paredes said he is “very scared” because he and the other detainees are not from El Salvador.

“We are very scared [that] everybody here will get deported to El Salvador,” Paredes said. “Because, first of all, we are not from there. Most people in here got no criminal records. Not even a ticket, nothing.”

“There’s underage people,” Paredes added. “We even got disabled people right here next to me.”

Paredes said he was not given any information on Friday and he still has not received answers from the officers at the detention center.

“They just tell us that they don’t know anything, and they don’t give us any kind of information,” Paredes said.

“We just want justice, we are humans, we have human rights,” Paredes added. “We just want to go back to our country.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TRILLA, IL) — Four people from Wisconsin were killed on Saturday when their private, single-engine plane crashed in a field near an airport in rural Illinois after reportedly striking powerlines, authorities said.

The Cessna 180G aircraft crashed about 10:16 a.m. local time Saturday in the unincorporated community of Trilla, Illinois, southeast of Coles County Memorial Airport in nearby Mattoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Preliminary information, according to the NTSB, indicated that the plane struck powerlines before crashing.

All of the plane’s occupants were pronounced deceased at the scene, according to the Illinois State Police.

The Coles County Coroner on Sunday evening identified the two men and two women killed in the crash. They are Ross R. Nelson, 46; Raimi A. Rundle, 45; Courtney L. Morrow, 36; and Michael H. Morrow, 48.

All four crash victims were from Menominee, Wisconsin, about 45 miles northwest of Green Bay, according to the State Police.

“My whole house shook,” Kynnedi Goldstein, who lives near the crash site, told ABC News.

Goldstein shared video footage she took in the aftermath of the crash, showing smoke billowing from the wreckage, which was strewn across a field and a two-lane road.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the NTSB, which sent a team to Trilla on Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration, which also sent personnel to the crash scene, is assisting in the investigation, the agency said.

The NTSB said the investigation involves three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.

As part of the investigation, the NTSB said it will review flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records and weather reports from around the time of the crash.

The agency said it is also reviewing the pilot’s license, ratings and flight experience. The NTSB is also conducting a 72-hour background check on the pilot “to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safely operate the flight.”

The agency said it expects to release a probable cause report on the crash in 12 to 24 months.

 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — The Florida State University community is reeling and police are searching for a motive after a gunman opened fire on the Tallahassee campus on Thursday, killing two and injuring six.

Tallahassee police have laid out how the shooting unfolded.

The suspect, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, arrived at a campus parking garage at about 11 a.m. and stayed in the area for around an hour, moving in and out of his car, police said.

Ikner left the garage at 11:51 a.m., police said, and then between 11:56 and 11:57 a.m. he started firing a handgun, police said. The shooting was reported to 911 by 11:58 a.m., police said.

At noon, Ikner was shot by officers and taken into custody, police said. He’s expected to survive and remains hospitalized as of Saturday morning.

“When I heard what had happened, I was frantic — thought he might be the one hurt. And then when I found out it was him I just collapsed at work,” Ikner’s biological mother, Anne-Mari Eriksen, told ABC News on Friday in her first comments since the shooting. “There’s so much that needs to be said about this, but I just can’t talk without crying. We need time to process all this.”

One slain victim was identified as Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old husband and father of two who was an employee of a campus vendor.

“Chabba’s family is going through the unimaginable now,” their family attorney Bakari Sellers said in a statement. “Instead of hiding Easter eggs and visiting with friends and family, they’re living a nightmare.”

The other victim was identified as Robert Morales.

Morales was formerly an assistant football coach at Leon High School, where he demonstrated “dedication, integrity, and a true passion for mentoring young athletes,” Leon High Athletics said in a statement.

“His commitment to the game and to shaping the lives of his players extended far beyond the field,” the statement said. “His legacy of leadership, compassion, and service will forever remain a part of the Leon Lions tradition.”

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare officials said the hospital received six patients, all in stable condition.

All six are expected to make full recoveries and two of them may be released on Friday, officials said.

Officials revealed that the suspect’s stepmother, Jessica Ikner, is a current deputy with the local Leon County Sheriff’s Office. While authorities identified Jessica Ikner as the suspect’s mother, court documents indicate she is his stepmother.

Phoenix Ikner had access to one of his stepmother’s personal guns, which was one of the weapons found at the scene, Sheriff Walter McNeil said. He is still in the hospital and will not be charged or arraigned until he is discharged, police said. He’s also invoked his right to remain silent.

Jessica Ikner — who was on duty as a school resource officer at a middle school at the time of the shooting — has taken an indefinite personal leave of absence, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said it’s launched an internal investigation, but so far has not found any signs that the veteran deputy violated any policies.

In a statement to the Florida State University community, President Richard McCullough called the shooting a “tragic and senseless act of violence.”

FSU canceled classes and sporting events through the weekend, but said classes and business operations will resume Monday.

“Our hearts are heavy after the tragedy that took place April 17,” McCullough said in a statement Saturday. “We are grieving with the families and friends who lost someone they love. And we are with all those who were injured and are now recovering. This has shaken all of us, and I want you to know: We are here for you.”

The university said it was offering mental health support services and other counseling services for students and employees.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he has an “obligation to protect” the Second Amendment when asked by a reporter in the Oval Office if he sees anything “broken” with America’s current gun laws.

“Look, I’m a big advocate of the Second Amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it, and these things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting. The people do. It’s a phrase that’s used probably too often,” Trump said.

“I will tell you that it’s a shame,” he said of the shooting.

ABC News’ Alex Faul, Faith Abubey and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — More than 30 million Americans are on alert for severe weather this Easter weekend, as several states in the Heartland have already been slammed with tornadoes, hail and damaging winds.

The National Weather Service’s office in Omaha, Nebraska, confirmed 5 tornadoes in the area on Thursday. The strongest of these was an EF-3 tornado that tracked across portions of Northern Douglas County and Southeast Washington County (about 11 miles north of Omaha). Two more tornadoes were confirmed in Nebraska, and the other two tornadoes were confirmed in Iowa.

On Friday, hail larger than tennis ball size was reported in Evansville and Edgerton, Wisconsin, with hail larger than golf ball size hail being reported elsewhere across southern Wisconsin. Downed trees and power lines were reported across portions of southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, southern Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, central Oklahoma, and northern Texas.

The severe weather threat for Saturday shifts focus to central Texas, southeast Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas, and southwestern Missouri, including the cities of Dallas and Abilene, Texas; Fort Smith and Texarkana, Arkansas; Norman, Oklahoma; and Springfield, Missouri.

The primary hazards for these thunderstorms will be damaging wind gusts and large hail, with a few isolated tornadoes possible, primarily for central Texas and southeastern Oklahoma.

The current batch of heavy rain and severe weather will continue across the area stretching from central Texas up to north-central Illinois until about midday Saturday, by which point it’ll fizzle out.

By early evening Saturday, more storms will begin to fire up across central Texas, west of Dallas, and central Oklahoma.

Later Saturday, these broken lines of storms will start transitioning into messy bands of storms and showers. For the rest of the overnight from here, the main concern will shift from severe storms to heavy rain and potential flash flooding in the region.

The severe weather activity ramps up on Sunday for areas to the east. The severe weather threat for then will be focused on parts of far northeastern Texas, far northwestern Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, most of Arkansas and Missouri, and southwestern Illinois.

The primary threats for Sunday’s severe weather will be damaging wind gusts, large hail, and tornadoes, with the greatest damaging wind gust and tornado potential centered over portions of northern Arkansas into Missouri and far west-central Illinois.

Flash flood threat for Plains, Mississippi Valley

Because of the slow nature of this storm system, an increasing flash flooding threat will be present throughout the holiday weekend for parts of the Plains and Mississippi Valley as heavy rain will track over the same areas for a few days.

Flood Watches are in effect across portions of northern Texas, east-central Oklahoma, northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, south-central Missouri, and southwestern Illinois.

Winter storm and fire weather threats

The same system that is bringing wet and stormy weather for the Plains and Midwest is also bringing a blast of winter weather across parts of the Four Corners and Central Rockies. Winter weather alerts remain in effect cross multiple states for total snowfall between 6-12 inches with locally up to 20 inches in the higher elevations.

Meanwhile to the south of the wintry weather, yet another day of a critical fire weather threat across the Southwest U.S. Fire Weather Warnings are in effect for southeastern New Mexico and western Texas for Saturday for very low relative humidity (as low as 4%) and wind gusts up to 50 mph.

An elevated fire weather threat is also present for the western Florida panhandle for Saturday because of low relative humidity (25%-35%) and wind gusts up to 20 mph.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.