Brother Who Smothered Sister, 17, To Death In Millbrook Gets Decades In Prison (Update)
A Dutchess County man will spend over two decades in state prison for killing his teenage sister in a case that dates back more than four years, prosecutors announced.
Mark Dedaj, 34, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Dutchess County Court after pleading guilty in January to first-degree manslaughter in the death of his 17-year-old sister, Maureen Nelson-Lanzi, the Dutchess County District Attorney's Office said on Tuesday, April 21.
The incident happened on Sept. 4, 2021, at a home on Harts Village Road in the Village of Millbrook. Dedaj admitted to causing his sister’s de…
Man Rapes, Kills Susquehanna Township Woman, Flees To Puerto Rico: Police
A woman was found dead on a bathroom floor after a violent assault inside a Dauphin County apartment, Susquehanna Township police announced on Monday, April 6.
Amanda Abeana Makor, 25, was discovered by officers responding to a report of an “unconscious female” at an apartment in the 300 block of North Progress Avenue, Harrisburg, around 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 30, according to police.
She was lying on the bathroom floor and was cold to the touch when officers arrived, authorities said.
Makor was a Penn State University graduate who earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Analytic…
US Travelers Warned Of Terror Risks At Tourist Destinations, Universities
The US Department of State has issued new warnings for Americans traveling or living abroad, citing heightened risks of terrorist attacks at tourist destinations, transportation hubs, and American-affiliated institutions, including universities.
The advisory, updated Thursday, April 2, comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions and specific threats targeting US citizens and interests overseas.
A Worldwide Caution alert, first issued on Sunday, March 22, remains in effect, urging Americans to exercise increased vigilance globally.
The State Department has highlighted potential threat…
Duo Convicted In Brutal Beating That Left Victim With Brain Injuries At Liberty Motel
Two men have been convicted in connection with a violent group assault at a Sullivan County motel that left a victim with serious injuries, including brain bleeding.
A jury found Richard Olsen Jr., 41, and Jonathan Nipitella, 44, guilty of attempted gang assault in the first degree following a six-day trial, Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty announced Friday, March 27.
The charges stem from a March 28, 2025, attack at the Knights Inn on Route 52 in Liberty, where prosecutors said the two men, along with co-defendants Michael Maus and Dante Vandunk Jr., brutally beat Dy…
DC Inmate Stabs Corrections Officer Nine Times, Then Draws, Signs Sick Tribute To Attack: DOJ
An inmate in DC who stabbed a corrections officer and then made a mockery of it has been indicted on a host of federal charges, authorities announced.
Ovid Gabriel, 21, who was already behind bars for separate offenses, is now facing serious prison time after stabbing a DC Jail corrections officer on Aug. 3, 2025, and making threats days later.
According to the government's evidence, Gabriel was standing in the doorway of his cell as corrections officers were performing lockdown.
When an officer approached him and ordered him to go into his cell, he allegedly refused and attacke…
'I Let You Live': Taxi Driver's Knife-Point Kidnapping Ends In Jury Verdict Against NY Man
A Schenectady County jury convicted a 26-year-old man of kidnapping and violently robbing a taxi driver during a knife-point attack.
James Parker, of Cobleskill, was found guilty Tuesday, Jan. 13, of five felony and misdemeanor charges tied to the Nov. 13, 2024, attack, according to the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office.
Parker climbed into a taxi on State Street in Schenectady, then attacked the female driver from behind, pressing a knife to her throat and ordering her to drive him and his girlfriend to Cobleskill, prosecutors said.
During the drive, Parker cut the victim’s fo…
Carmel Drug Dealer, Rehab Worker Killed Customer, Buried Her In Out-Of-State Grave, Jury Finds
A Putnam County drug dealer with a lengthy criminal history has been convicted in federal court of murdering a woman whom he suspected of stealing crack cocaine from him and burying her in a shallow grave in another state, federal officials said.
A jury found Dwayne Pulliam, 63, of Carmel, guilty of Travel Act murder, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin, and multiple narcotics distribution charges following a one-week trial in White Plains before US District Judge Philip M. Halpern, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New …
‘We Will Find You’: Persistent Violent Felon Gets 12-To-Life, 3 More Convicted In Orange County
Four men have been convicted in recent gun-related cases in Orange County, including a persistent violent offender and another who tried hiding narcotics in his mouth during a traffic stop, prosecutors announced.
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced the convictions on Wednesday, Oct. 22, saying that they stem from separate investigations in Newburgh and Middletown and demonstrate the county’s continued focus on prosecuting violent firearm offenses.
Repeat Offender Gets 12 to Life
On Thursday, Oct. 16, James Price, 63, of Brooklyn, was sentenced in Oran…
Man Who Pistol-Whipped Burger King Employee In New Windsor Robbery Learns Fate: DA
A Dutchess County man will spend more than a decade in prison for carrying out a violent armed robbery at a Burger King in Orange County earlier this year, prosecutors announced.
Joseph Rico of Poughkeepsie, 50, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Orange County Court on Tuesday, Oct. 14, after previously pleading guilty to first-degree robbery in connection with a March 2025 incident, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
The robbery happened on Thursday, March 27, at the Burger King on Windsor Highway in New Windsor, where Rico e…
'Sadistic Sex Maniac' ID'd Six Decades After Albany Woman's Grisly Slaying
Six decades after Catherine Blackburn was mutilated and raped in her Albany home, police have identified her likely killer.
Blackburn, 50, was found dead in her Colonie Street home in North Albany on Sept. 13, 1964, the victim of what a coroner decried as “a sadistic sex maniac.”
Investigators said Blackburn was bludgeoned, leaving her skull fractured, before her unconscious body was raped, slashed, and stabbed in the throat, Albany Police said. The killer then heated knives on a stove and seared marks into her lips and breasts.
Blackburn, a supervisor at Mohawk Brush Co. on Fuller Road, h…
'I Carry Deep Anxiety, Sadness': Man Who Strangled Former Fiancée In Ardsley Learns Fate
A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for a violent domestic assault against his former fiancée in Westchester, prosecutors announced.
Jason Cabassa, 41, of Mount Vernon, will serve three years in state prison following his conviction for a March 6, 2024 attack in Ardsley, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office said on Friday, Oct. 3.
Cabassa was sentenced by Judge George Fufidio to three years for second-degree strangulation, a violent felony. He also received one to three years each for aggravated criminal contempt and criminal contempt, plus 364 days each …
Rape, Strangulation, Attempted Homicide In West Chester: Police
A West Chester man is accused of brutally assaulting and sexually attacking another person during an incident at his home, police announced on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Ariel Delgadillo, 43, was arrested after West Chester police were dispatched to the 500 block of West Biddle Street around 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, for a report of an assault with injuries, according to court documents.
Officers found a woman with severe swelling and bruising to her face and head. She reported that Delgadillo, identified by passport and by her directly, had attacked her outside the residence. The affidavit …
Double Murder: Elderly Couple Burned, Stabbed After Letting Stranger Into NYC Home, Cops Say
A manhunt is underway for a parolee with a violent criminal history wanted in the deaths of a couple in their Queens, NY home, authorities said.
Jamel McGriff, 42, is wanted in the killings of Frank Olton, 76, and Maureen Olton, 77, which happened Monday, Sept. 8, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Tisch said McGriff went to the Oltons’ home that morning, claiming his cell phone battery was dead and he needed to charge it. Video shows McGriff speaking with Frank Olton before being allowed into the couple’s backyard, Tisch said. The two then walked inside through the back door of the…
Box Cutter Stabbing: Homeless Man Stabs Victim In Face, Back In Unionda, Police Say
A 31-year-old man was stabbed during a violent fight in Uniondale Park, Nassau County police announced on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Ronaldo Tomlinson, 23, who is homeless, approached the victim at 710 Uniondale Avenue around 12:45 p.m. when a dispute began, detectives explained. The argument escalated, and Tomlinson allegedly punched the man in the face before pulling out a boxcutter, investigators said.
The victim was stabbed twice in the back and slashed near his right ear while trying to defend himself, police detailed. He left the park but was followed by Tomlinson, who remained armed with the…
