(WEST RICHLAND, Wash.) — A former police officer suspected in the killings of his ex-wife and girlfriend has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials said Tuesday night. The child he was accused of abducting was “uninjured” and taken “safely” into custody, the police added.
Oregon State Police Captain Kyle Kennedy said the suspect — Elias Huizar — led Troopers on a chase after a failed traffic stop on the I-5 in Eugene around 2:40 p.m. PT.
There was a gunfire exchange between the suspect and officers, he said. No troopers were hurt in the incident, according to Kennedy.
The suspect continued on, crashed into a commercial vehicle and spun into the median. Huizar then shot himself, authorities said Tuesday night.
The abducted 1-year-old child, Roman Santos, who was previously identified by the authorities as Roman Huizar, was taken “uninjured” and “safely” into custody by OSP troopers, police said.
As police searched for the suspect throughout the day on Tuesday, he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder for allegedly shooting and killing his ex-wife, 31-year-old Amber Rodriguez, outside Wiley Elementary School on Monday afternoon, officials said.
Authorities allege Huizar shot and killed Rodriguez during school dismissal and was waiting behind a portable area where he knew she would be.
Hours later, authorities said they found another homicide victim, “a known associate of the suspect,” while serving a search warrant at Huizar’s residence. Authorities said in the amber alert for the then-missing child that Huizar was also suspected of killing his girlfriend.
The Amber Alert was issued Monday following the alleged abduction of the 1-year-old. It was canceled late Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, police said there was a possible sighting of Huizar in Portland, Oregon, overnight, driving a black sedan. A clerk at a convenience store in the city called 911 just before 1 a.m. to report he believed Huizar had stopped to purchase a drink and had a child in the backseat of the car, Portland police told ABC News. Officers responded but did not locate Huizar, the child or the vehicle until Tuesday afternoon.
Huizar was previously employed by Richland School District as a substitute teacher from Nov. 2021 to June 2023, an official confirmed.
Huizar served as a police officer in Yakima, Washington, from June 2013 to February 2022, the department said. He resigned “immediately following discipline,” a spokesperson for the department told ABC News.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the circumstances of the discipline.
“The tragedies we are learning about in West Richland are heartbreaking. Words cannot express the deep sympathy we feel for all affected by these terrible acts of violence,” Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray said in a statement. “We remain ready to assist in any way we are able.”
(FAIRBANKS, Alaska) — A Douglas C-54 aircraft transporting fuel crashed into a frozen river shortly after takeoff Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Two people were on board the plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is also investigating the incident.
Preliminary information showed that the Part 91 fuel transport flight operated by Alaska Air Fuel crashed into the Tanana River after taking off from Fairbanks International Airport around 10 a.m. local time, officials said.
“The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement shortly before 2 p.m. local time.
The NTSB deployed agents to the scene of the crash and will recover the plane, the agency said.
The airport said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation.
NYPD officers detain pro-Palestinian students and protesters who had set up an encampment on the campus of New York University to protest the Israel-Hamas war, in New York on April 22, 2024. (Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Protests calling for the divestment of college and university funds from Israeli military operations have continued to spread on campuses across the country, including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and more.
The student protests — some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments and have led to hundreds of arrests — have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University.
More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus.
At New York University, more than 150 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on April 22, police said. At Yale, about 45 protesters were charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing and were arrested on April 22.
The protests on campuses have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials and protesters including the NYPD blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.
Some students have said the on-campus tension have created concerns about safety, which some universities have responded by opting for remote or hybrid learning options.
“Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns,” said Columbia University President Minouche Shafik. “The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas. We need a reset.”
Tensions have been high on college campuses nationwide since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. The Israeli military then began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,183 people and injured 77,143 others in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,700 people have been killed and 8,700 others injured, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Here’s a look at what’s happening elsewhere across the country:
Yale University
For the past week, hundreds of student protesters have been advocating for Yale’s divestment from military weapons manufacturers.
“We do have this opportunity as students at an institution like this, that if we can sway our institution to stop investing in weapons manufacturing that is contributing to the deaths of Palestinians, then we can maybe sway a lot of universities — or at least be a part of a movement, the tide turning against war and for peace,” Zoe Kanter, a student protester with Yale Jews For Ceasefire, told ABC News.
The university has policies against occupying outdoor spaces and warned students about the use of law enforcement and disciplinary action, including reprimand, probation, or suspension to clear the space.
University administrators said in a statement to ABC News that it “spent several hours in discussion with student protesters yesterday, offering them the opportunity to meet with trustees” in exchange for clearing the encampment.
Students declined their offer, telling ABC News that their demands are clear: disclose investments and divest money from Israeli weapons manufacturers. Students pointed to successful movements that motivated Yale University to divest from the fossil fuel industry and its holdings in U.S. companies conducting business in South Africa due to the South African government’s apartheid policy.
“It’s easy to look back at history and look back at the moral and political conflicts that have gripped the country and the world throughout history and discern what side you would have liked to have been on,” said student Elijah Bacal, another member of Yale Jews for Ceasefire. “But the hard thing is to, in the moment, seize on those opportunities to do the right thing and have the courage to stand up for what you think and know is right. I think we are on the right side of history here.”
University officials said that many of the students participating in the protests have done so peacefully, but are “aware of reports of egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts.”
The statement continued: “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities.”
Early Monday at 6:30 a.m., almost 50 students were removed and arrested, according to the New Haven Police Department. A group of over 200 protesters later took their place, and the department told ABC News it has no plans to arrest any non-violent protesters.
In a letter to students from President Peter Salovey, he said the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility decided to not recommend a policy of divestment from military weapons manufacturers. The university school did not disclose if or how much the school invests in Israeli military forces.
“The ACIR—a committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni—arrived at this conclusion after hearing from student presenters and engaging in careful deliberation,” Salovey said in the letter. “This is part of a formal process and relies on the university’s guide to ethical investing that has served Yale well for decades. Any member of the Yale community is invited to write to the ACIR or to attend future open meetings. There are available pathways to continue this discussion with openness and civility, and I urge those with suggestions to follow them.”
Yale Jews for Ceasefire told ABC News that they would like to see more openness from the administration: “It is impossible for us as a community to make a decision about divestment without transparency and disclosure .. and they weren’t open to that,” said student Gabriel Colburn, a member of Yale Jews for Ceasefire.
New York University
More than 150 people were arrested at New York University on Monday night, police said.
Students, faculty and others were arrested after school officials asked the New York Police Department for help clearing a plaza on NYU’s Manhattan campus, police said. Many of those arrested were “still being processed through the night and most, if not all, will be released,” the department said.
“There is a pattern of behavior occurring on campuses across our nation, in which individuals attempt to occupy a space in defiance of school policy,” Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for operations, said in a social media post. “Rest assured, in NYC the NYPD stands ready to address these prohibited and subsequently illegal actions whenever we are called upon.”
The NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition — a group that launched an encampment on campus Monday said — they were met with “violent arrests of NYU students and faculty members by the NYPD directly facilitated by NYU President Linda Mills,” and over 130 students and faculty were arrested, the group said in a statement Tuesday.
The group said over 100 NYU students faculty and community members were released as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
“We want to underscore how this event demonstrated on a smaller scale the globalized violence of an institution like NYU,” NYU PSC said. “We recognize that this violence reflects institutional desperation to suppress the student movement, resistance and the truth.”
According to the university, protesters at NYU on Monday broke through barriers that had been set up around Gould Plaza, a square outside the Stern School of Business, the school’s Global Campus Safety department said in a statement.
Protesters began a demonstration in front of the business school “without notice to the university, and without authorization,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement.
Officials warned those who’d entered the square on Monday that they needed to clear the plaza by 4 p.m.
“If you leave now, no one will face any consequences for today’s actions—no discipline, no police,” safety officials said in a message delivered to those in the plaza. That message was also shared on the university’s official social media channels.
“The one safety requirement we made was that no additional protesters could enter Gould Plaza,” the message said. “With the breach of the barricades early this afternoon, that requirement was violated, and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community.”
The university said additional protesters suddenly breached the barriers that had been put in place and joined protesters in the plaza and that “many refused to leave” after being told to disband within an hour.
NYU officials appealed to the NYPD for help, according to a letter shared by Daughtry, the NYPD deputy commissioner.
The NYU PSC said its demands are for NYU to end all war profiteering and investment in what protesters are calling a “genocide,” a complete academic boycott of Israel, IOF-trained cops off of campus and that NYU protect free speech on campus and provide full amnesty to all students and faculty penalized for their pro-Palestine activism.
It is unclear if or how much the school invests in the Israeli military.
Harvard suspends Palestine Solidarity Committee
Harvard University suspended the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, a student group that has been under a spotlight, as debate raged on college campuses around the country.
The group said in a statement that it has faced “unprecedented repression” over the past six months, including doxxing, racist harassment and targeted administrative crackdowns.
“Harvard has shown us time and again that Palestine remains the exception to free speech. After standing idly by as pro-Palestine students faced physical and cyber harassment, death threats and rape threats and racist doxxing, Harvard has now decided to dismantle the only official student group dedicated to the task of representing the Palestinian cause,” the group said in a statement to ABC News.
Harvard University has not immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
In January, top Harvard officials implemented new guidelines and restrictions for protests on campus amid heightened scrutiny regarding on-campus debate around the Israel-Gaza war, according to student newspaper the Harvard Crimson.
“Harvard can suspend our organization, but it cannot suspend our movement,” PSC said.
The group became the center of debates on college campuses after it released a statement on the conflict after the Hamas attack, saying the Israeli regime is “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” — the group announced in a post on Instagram Monday.
“Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence,” the Harvard student groups said in their statement last October, after the Hamas attack.
Tuesday evening, Harvard announced the closure of the Harvard Yard through the end of the week. “Harvard Yard is closed to the public through Friday, April 26,” a Harvard web page for visitors read. “During this time no tour groups are permitted in the Yard.” The Harvard Crimson noted that the decision was made in anticipation of further protests
Massachusetts universities camp out
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are also camping out in protest, calling for an end to the university’s funding to the Israeli Ministry of Defense that has been captured in past university financial reports, including projects such as “autonomous robotic swarms.”
“These are really direct ways in which MIT is complicit in this genocide that’s going on,” said student protester Quinn Perian, referring to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Perian is a member of the MIT Jews for Ceasefire group that is among those protesting on campus: “What we’ve seen is this community that’s formed around our demands that basic human dignity be recognized, as this community of fighting for liberation for all.”
In a statement to local news outlet WGBH, MIT said it is “aware of the tents, and are determining next steps with a focus on ensuring the campus is physically safe and fully functioning. MIT Police were on scene throughout the night and will continue to be present.”
MIT has yet to respond to ABC News’s request for comment.
Similar encampments have also taken over Tufts University.
In a statement, Tufts spokesperson Patrick Collins told ABC News that officials are “actively and closely monitoring the situation.”
“While students are permitted to express their views, including demonstrating on campus, we will hold accountable any community members who engage in conduct that violates university policy,” Collins said. “Regarding the students’ demands, our position on this has been clear and consistent for several years: We do not support the BDS movement.”
The BDS movement refers to a pro-Palestinian “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” movement against Israel’s policy in Palestinian territories.
Sanya Desai, a Tufts student and protester, pointed to Tufts’s celebration of former student activists who fought for Tuft to withdraw investments related to South African apartheid: “It’s very two-faced, and it’s very, very much painting an image of being on the right side of history.”
The movement against apartheid investments began in 1977 at Tufts and ended in 1989 when the university divested, according to the Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History.
Desai told ABC News she hopes Tufts won’t take 12 years to divest in Israeli military operations.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul and Matt Foster contributed to this story.
A man walks past Israeli and US flags alongside portraits of Israelis taken hostage by the militant Palestinian group Hamas in front of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in New York on April 23, 2024. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University has said they are making “important progress” with representatives of the student encampment on campus as protests calling for the divestment of college and university funds from Israeli military operations have continued to spread on campuses across the country.
The student protests — some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments and have led to hundreds of arrests — have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City.
“We are making important progress with representatives of the student encampment on the West lawn,” Columbia University said in a statement released early Wednesday, adding that student protesters have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents and that protesters will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave.
Columbia University also said that student protesters in the encampment have agreed to comply with all requirements of the New York City Fire Department and that encampments have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language.
More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus.
The protests on campus have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials, including the NYPD, as well as protesters blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.
(NEW YORK) — An influential, deep-pocketed suspect under criminal investigation.
Secret negotiations with federal prosecutors to hammer out a deal.
A lack of consultation with victims of the crime.
Those are circumstances attorney Paul Cassell says motivate him into action.
A former federal judge who teaches law at the University of Utah, Cassell is hardly a household name. But his work pursuing justice for crime victims has achieved global notoriety.
In particular, Cassell was instrumental in pulling back the curtain on sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement, by persuading a federal judge to order the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over its correspondence with defense lawyers that preceded Epstein’s so-called “sweetheart deal” in 2007.
“And then through years of litigation it became clear that it was just a monstrous deal giving immunity to all sorts of defendants and to a very significant sex trafficking organization,” Cassell said.
Now, Cassell has set his attention on a different kind of case — the DOJ’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing, in a criminal conspiracy to defraud case tied to crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. With just a few months remaining before that case could be dismissed, Cassell is pressing for public disclosure of prosecutors’ negotiations with Boeing’s attorneys.
“Here we are with another well-connected, powerful wealthy defendant who was cutting a sweetheart deal and keeping the victims out of the picture,” Cassel said. “We think that the communications between Boeing and the Justice Department will show that Boeing got concessions from the department that nobody else would ever have gotten.”
The troubled aerospace giant is facing intense scrutiny following the mid-air blowout of a door plug on an Alaskan Airways flight in January and allegations from whistleblowers, which Boeing has denied, that the company has taken shortcuts that compromised safety.
The Alaskan incident came almost three years to the day since Boeing was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, for allegedly lying to the Federal Aviation Administration during its evaluation of the 737 MAX aircraft. More than 300 people perished in two MAX crashes, the first in Indonesia in October 2018; the second in Ethiopia five months later.
In the final days of the Trump administration, the DOJ quietly forged an agreement which fined Boeing $243.6 million and required the company to pay $1.77 billion in compensation to its airline customers and $500 million to the victims’ beneficiaries. Boeing was also required to disclose any allegations of fraud, cooperate with the government, and avoid committing any felony offense. Subject to those conditions, the DOJ agreed to defer criminal prosecution for three years on the conspiracy charge.
In a “Statement of Facts” filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, the government and Boeing pinned the deception on two Boeing technical pilots. The only technical pilot criminally charged was later acquitted by a federal jury. In reaching the agreement with Boeing, the DOJ determined that “the misconduct was neither pervasive across the organization, nor undertaken by a large number of employees, nor facilitated by senior management.”
The DOJ’s conclusions were seemingly at odds with a report on the design, development and certification of the 737 Max, published four months earlier by a U.S. House committee, which found that “design flaws,” “management failures,” and a “culture of concealment” contributed to the “chain or errors that led to the crashes.”
As with the Epstein deal, federal prosecutors neglected to consult with the victims’ families before reaching a deal, a requirement under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
“Epstein was a strikingly similar situation, so it was very surprising that they hadn’t learned their lesson,” Cassell said.
Michael Stumo, whose daughter Samya, 24, was killed in the Ethiopian crash, said families from around the world “exploded in outrage” when they learned of the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
“When the corporation is fined, nobody’s held accountable. It’s just a check written by the corporation,” Stumo said. “We need individual accountability.”
When Cassell first appeared in December 2021 to assert the victims’ statutory rights, the DOJ initially took the position that the families had no valid legal claim, because Boeing was not charged with negligent homicide and the government did not allege that the crashes were caused by the fraudulent conduct.
Attorneys for Boeing wrote that the company “acknowledges and profoundly regrets the inestimable impact of these tragic accidents,” but agreed with the government that the victims’ had no standing to intervene.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor disagreed, ruling after an evidentiary hearing that the DPA was negotiated in violation of the victims’ rights and that Boeing’s conspiracy was a direct and proximate cause of the crashes that led to their deaths.
“In sum, but for Boeing’s criminal conspiracy to defraud the FAA, 346 people would not have lost their lives in the crashes,” O’Connor wrote.
The Department of Justice has since hosted two conferral sessions for families to express their views to prosecutors, including one meeting attended by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Yet those positive developments for the families were tempered by Judge O’Connor’s subsequent determination that he had no authority to grant any remedies for the government’s violation of their rights, because charging decisions and DPA’s are solely within the discretion of prosecutors.
An appellate court agreed that Judge O’Connor had no authority to alter or rescind the DPA, but clarified that O’Connor retains authority to ensure that the final outcome is in the public interest and protects victims’ rights. The appropriate time for the families to object, the appellate court ruled, would be when, and if, the DOJ seeks to dismiss the case.
The government has until July 7 to decide whether to move to dismiss the criminal case, to extend the agreement, or to proceed with a prosecution.
“If they move on July 7 to dismiss the charges against Boeing, we need to be ready on July 8, to explain why that’s not the proper outcome,” Cassell said. “The families are pushing. They realize it’s an uphill battle to undo a deal that’s already been done.”
Cassell and other victims’ advocates are now engaged in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, trying another path to obtain the communications between the DOJ and Boeing on an expedited timeline. The government says it has so far turned up 184,000 potentially relevant emails and more than 30 terabytes of data related to its investigation of Boeing. But the DOJ says it needs another several weeks to review documents before it can make even an “initial determination” as to which records, if any, will be provided to the victims’ families.
Separately, in Chicago federal court, families suing Boeing in connection with the crash in Ethiopia have petitioned a magistrate judge multiple times for permission to share with the DOJ confidential deposition testimony and exhibits they’ve obtained in discovery from Boeing. They are seeking to provide the documents to the DOJ and Judge O’Connor prior to a final decision on the DPA. Boeing opposed the families’ motion. The DOJ, which is not a party to the civil litigation, filed a letter in support.
“These materials bear directly on the issue of whether or not it is in the public interest to dismiss the pending criminal charge … that has been filed against Boeing,” attorneys for the families argued in a February court filing.
The magistrate has so far rejected the families’ request three times, but has not closed the door on another attempt.
Prosecutors are scheduled to meet with the families of the victims and their attorneys again on Wednesday, for what may be the final opportunity for the families to press their case for criminal prosecution.
Michael Stumo plans to be there, but he says he’s keeping his expectations in check.
“I do not have high hopes,” Stumo said
Boeing and the Department of Justice declined ABC News’ requests for comment.
The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on the Alaska Airlines flight and is examining whether the company violated the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, three sources familiar with the situation told ABC News in February.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who announced he would step down at the end of the year, said after the January incident, “Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened. An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory.”
(NEW YORK) — A juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found shot to death with bullets lodged in its brain, spinal cord and heart and now authorities are offering a handsome reward for information on who committed the gruesome act.
Authorities from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received a report on March 13 that a juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found washed ashore on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and that it had injuries consistent with being shot by a firearm.
“A member of the public reported the stranding to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline,” read a statement from the NOAA released on Tuesday. “NOAA’s stranding network partner, Audubon Aquarium Rescue, recovered the animal and transported it to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans for a necropsy.”
The necropsy, or animal autopsy, revealed “multiple bullets lodged in the carcass, including in the brain, spinal cord, and heart of the dolphin,” according to the NOAA, and the animal appeared to have died from the trauma which occurred at, or near, the time of death.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is now actively investigating the death and are asking the public for any information about who may have been involved in the death of the young dolphin with a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.
“Harassing, harming, killing, or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” said the NOAA. “Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation.”
Anyone with information about this incident should call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. People can leave tips anonymously but to be eligible for the reward you must include your name and contact information.
(NEW YORK) — The district attorney in Stanislaus County, California, has filed new paperwork in court opposing a motion by Scott Peterson’s defense team — the Los Angeles Innocence Project — for DNA testing in the murder case of Laci Peterson and Conner Peterson.
In a more than 300-page filing on Monday, the DA’s office addresses the 14 items the defense is requesting DNA testing for and why they say these have already been tested, litigated, are unrelated, or the burden has not been met to retest them.
Last month, Scott Peterson, who was convicted of killing his wife and their unborn son 20 years ago, appeared in court virtually after the Los Angeles Innocence Project filed three motions in the murder case earlier this year, including one seeking evidence from the original trial.
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, 51, 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. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death in 2005. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Attorneys with the LA Innocence Project have claimed that Scott Peterson’s state and federal constitutional rights were violated, including a “claim of actual innocence that is supported by newly discovered evidence,” according to court documents filed in January.
The LA Innocence Project is also seeking DNA testing of more than a dozen items of evidence, including items from the burglary and van fire. A motion seeking a court order directing the testing of the evidence for the presence of DNA will be discussed on May 29.
Scott Peterson is serving a life sentence in San Mateo County’s Mule Creek State Prison.
Scott Peterson, who pleaded not guilty, has long maintained his innocence. His previous attempt for a new trial was denied in December 2022.
In 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned Scott Peterson’s death sentence, citing that during the penalty phase, his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty, according to court documents.
He was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in December 2021 and moved off death row from San Quentin State Prison to Mule Creek State Prison in October 2022.
The LA Innocence Project — which provides pro bono legal services to people incarcerated in Central and Southern California who may have been wrongfully convicted — previously said in a statement that it is representing Scott Peterson and “investigating his claim of actual innocence.”
Scott Peterson’s attorney, Pat Harris, previously said in a statement to ABC News that they are “thrilled to have the incredibly skilled attorneys at the LA Innocence project and their expertise becoming involved in the efforts to prove Scott’s innocence.”
(NEW YORK) — Day 6 of former President Trump’s criminal hush money trial featured testimony from David Pecker, the veteran tabloid editor, who described in detail the “catch-and-kill” arrangement he struck with Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen during the 2016 presidential election.
The former president is on trial in New York on felony charges of falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Here are the top takeaways from Day 6 of Trump’s criminal trial.
Pecker delves into ‘catch-and-kill’ arrangement
David Pecker on Tuesday let jurors in on the secret “catch-and-kill” arrangement at the heart of prosecutors’ case, describing the very first story he “caught and killed” pursuant to his agreement with Trump and Cohen: a false story from a Trump Tower doorman in 2015.
The former National Enquirer publisher described the allegation: that “Donald Trump fathered an illegitimate girl with a maid at Trump Tower.”
Pecker testified that he “immediately called Michael Cohen” when his team got wind of those allegations being shopped by the doorman, Dino Sajudin.
Cohen told him it was “absolutely not true” — but Pecker testified that he ultimately moved forward with buying the exclusive rights to the story for $30,000 so he could “lock it up.”
Pecker also revealed that his tabloid had never had a “catch-and-kill” agreement with Trump prior to his candidacy for president — a key piece of testimony as prosecutors seek to connect Trump’s efforts to bury negative stories to his electoral ambitions.
Judge weighs whether to hold Trump in contempt
Before trial proceedings got underway Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan convened a hearing to address whether Trump had violated the judge’s limited gag order by targeting prospective witnesses, including Cohen and Daniels.
Judge Merchan expressed skepticism when Trump attorney Todd Blanche defended Trump’s social media posts by saying Trump was only responding to attacks.
“You have presented nothing,” Merchan said. “I have asked eight or nine times; show me the exact post he was responding to.”
“You’re losing all credibility with the court,” the judge said.
During and after court on Tuesday, Trump assailed Merchan as a “conflicted judge” who is stripping him of his free-speech rights.
It is not clear when Merchan will rule on prosecutors’ contempt motion. If Merchan rules against Trump, the former president would likely face a fine.
But if Trump continues to flout the court’s orders, Trump could conceivably be sent to short-term confinement — a scenario that sources told ABC News the U.S. Secret Service has started making contingency plans for.
Karen McDougal will be addressed next
“Karen McDougal was a Playboy model,” Pecker said, recalling how he learned in June 2016 “that there’s a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year.”
Pecker testified that he immediately called Cohen to inform him, and that “Michael was very agitated.”
The former publisher then recounted a phone conversation he himself had with Trump.
“I said I think the story should be purchased and we should buy it,” Pecker recalled telling Trump. “Mr. Trump said to me, ‘I don’t buy stories. Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.'”
Ultimately, McDougal was paid $150,000 and promised a series of exercise articles in the publication.
The jury was expected to hear more about McDougal upon Pecker’s return to the witness stand Thursday.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Secret Service held meetings and started planning for what to do if former President Donald Trump were to be held in contempt in his criminal hush money trial and Judge Juan Merchan opted to send him to short-term confinement, officials familiar with the situation told ABC News.
Merchan on Tuesday reserved decision on the matter after a contentious hearing. Prosecutors said at this point they are seeking a fine.
“We are not yet seeking an incarceratory penalty,” assistant district attorney Chris Conroy said, “But the defendant seems to be angling for that.”
Officials do not necessarily believe Merchan would put Trump in a holding cell in the courthouse but they are planning for contingencies, the officials said.
There have not been discussions yet about what to do if Trump is convicted and sentenced to prison.
The former president is on trial on felony charges of falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The Secret Service declined to comment on specific plans in the matter.
“Under federal law, the United States Secret Service must provide protection for current government leaders, former Presidents and First Ladies, visiting heads of state and other individuals designated by the President of the United States,” the agency said in a statement. “For all settings around the world, we study locations and develop comprehensive and layered protective models that incorporate state of the art technology, protective intelligence and advanced security tactics to safeguard our protectees. Beyond that, we do not comment on specific protective operations.”
Prosecutors argued that Trump violated the limited gag order — which prohibits statements about witnesses, jurors, and lawyers in the case other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — on at least 10 separate occasions this month.
Trump’s lawyers said prosecutors have not proven that posts Trump made on social media criticizing Cohen and Daniels were willful violations of the gag order, telling Merchan that the former president was defending himself from attacks by the likely witnesses.
Defense lawyers also argued that the gag order is vague and allows Trump to make “political” statements.
(NEW YORK) — A Colorado man has completed a four-month rowing journey that saw him travel from Hawaii to Australia alone.
Tez Steinberg of Boulder arrived on the shores of Australia on Monday after taking off from Hawaii on Dec. 19, 2023.
Steinberg, 36, was greeted in Australia by a crowd of supporters, who handed him the first bottle of fresh, cold water he’d had since December.
Steinberg described the solo rowing journey as a “challenging expedition” in a statement to ABC News. He said he tried to beat the conditions and the solitude of the journey by focusing on his own reaction.
“I try to focus on what’s in my control,” he told ABC News. “I can’t change the wind and the waves. All I can change is how I react to it.”
Steinberg used his rowing challenge to raise awareness for ocean conservation.
His solo trip from Hawaii to Australia was the second leg of an adventure that began in 2020 when he rowed solo for 71 days from Monterey, California, to Oahu, Hawaii.
In an interview prior to his departure in December, Steinberg told ABC News his journey while at sea during the first expedition inspired him to “go back out again” for his second expedition.
“I was so surprised by the experience of being on the ocean, by how beautiful the ocean is, and also how much plastic I saw,” he said at the time.
Embracing endurance after mental health struggles
Steinberg told ABC News he began rowing as a way to help his battle with depression, which he said he began experiencing while in college. At the time, he said, he found a solution by participating in endurance sports.
“And it helped me feel better, which isn’t a surprise,” he explained. “But as I went farther and farther, pushing myself through marathons and triathlons, I discovered this belief in myself that I’m so much stronger than I thought I was.”
However, in 2016, his life took a big turn after the sudden death of his father, who died by suicide. The tragedy prompted him to challenge himself even more by solo rowing across an ocean. After successfully completing the task without any prior professional experience, Steinberg said he realized he could use his story to “inspire other people to believe in themselves and their potential to change and grow.”
He subsequently created United World Challenge, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “accelerate solutions for the ocean plastic crisis and inspire a more courageous world,” according to its website. The nonprofit was also born out of Steinberg’s lifelong passion for the environment, having grown up surrounded by forests in upstate New York.
Embarking on the second expedition with a new goal
Inspired by his first expedition, Steinberg said his new mission was intended to focus on “ocean conservation, and specifically ocean plastic,” adding, “All the plastic I saw at sea was just heartbreaking.”
“And I couldn’t come back and ignore it, and [I] needed to find some way to make a difference,” he continued. “And so with [the] next expedition, [we] launched a crowdfund. And we’re raising funds to build river barriers in some of the most polluted rivers of the world, stopping plastic before it flows to sea.”
In the previous interview with ABC News, Steinberg said the voyage from Hawaii to Australia would also be part of an attempt to break a Guinness World Record in combination with his first trip from California to Hawaii. Nevertheless, he said, breaking records wasn’t his priority.
“If I complete this next leg [from Hawaii to Australia] in under 120 days, then I have a world record for solo rowing the entire Pacific Ocean, from east to west,” Steinberg said at the time. “Personally, although a world record is exciting, that’s not why I’m in it. World record is fun for media attention, but really the media attention is just so that we can get more donations and support and action for ocean plastics.”
Training and overcoming setbacks
As preparation for the journey, Steinberg said he ensured he was as equipped mentally as he was physically.
“Things as simple as meditation, gratitude, journaling, just developing more emotional awareness,” he said prior to the expedition. “Because while I’m at sea, eventually my muscles will get tired, but nobody quits an ocean row because their muscles get tired, they quit because it gets too hard … and so a lot of my training and preparation for this comes back to mindset.”
Despite having trained for his first expedition, Steinberg said he had to start from the beginning to prepare for his second expedition after experiencing a heart attack in July 2022, an event he said occurred “out of nowhere, out of the blue,” given his good health record at the time.
“And after that event, I had to completely rest, no exercise, no movement for three months. And I was already planning this expedition,” he said. “I was starting from zero … I could do, like, three curls, I could walk for one minute before I needed to rest. And then five months after my heart attack, my doctors had cleared me to resume training, green light across the board, they gave me their blessing for me to do the expedition.”
When discussing his feelings prior to his second expedition, he said “I’m scared again, for sure.”
“This is a very risky and challenging endeavor. And courage is not the absence of fear. It’s choosing to take that step even when you’re afraid,” he added at the time.
Using rowing as a metaphor in his message to the public, Steinberg noted, “We all have waves washing overboard. I like to say we all have an ocean to cross, something in our life that seems too daunting, too bold or impossible to even consider attempting. And I hope that this can be an example for people to find their ocean and the courage to cross it.”
In his continued efforts to create awareness about his environmental mission, Steinberg shared a reminder that “we all have a role to play in creating clean oceans and a prosperous future and we can take action,” even something as seemingly small as carrying a reusable water bottle or cutlery.
“And it’s really through that level of engagement from a little bit from everyone that we can make a huge difference,” he added.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988. Even if you feel like it, you are not alone.
