On Monday, a California court ruled that the grandson of cult leader, Charles Manson, is to retrieve the serial killer’s body that has been on ice in Bakersfield morgue since he died in November. The decision ends a bizarre battle over who has the right to Manson’s remains.

According to Kern County court commissioner, Alisa Knight, at least five people had petitioned to take possession of the cult leader’s body since his death at age 83 on November 19.

Jason Freeman, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter from Florida was granted permission to retrieve Manson’s body.

Charles Manson had been hospitalized in Bakersfield while serving a life sentence for orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress, Sharon Tate, and eight others. Manson died of natural causes.

While many had contested the fact that Freeman was actually Manson’s grandson, Knight determined that he was “the surviving competent adult next of kin.”

The fight over Manson’s body transformed into a circus-like battle with friends filing competing wills signed by the late serial killer and kin appearing out of thin air. They not only battled for the rights of possessing the cult leader’s remains but also for Manson’s estate that could include the rights to songs Manson wrote or license his image and other assets.

The case was brought by the coroner’s office, which said that it wanted to urgently dispose of the body because corpses were piling up at the morgue from the methamphetamine and opioid epidemics.

Manson’s grandson described the cult leader as a “kind and giving person” saying that he befriended Manson in a series of phone calls he made to the prison over the past decade.

Manson, who had been serving multiple life sentences in Corcoran, California, struggled with gastrointestinal problems in his later years.

Freeman, a 41-year-old married father of three, said that he just wants to give his grandfather a proper burial.

“I will definitely speak with the inner circle of people who love my grandfather and who may know more of where we would want to be. I’m working on doing my part,” Freeman said.

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The State Department did not spend any of the $120 million put in place to counter Russian meddling in US elections, according to media sources.

While the massive budget was allocated ever since 2016, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, did little to improve the Global Engagement Center, which is responsible for addressing Russian interference. The lack of spending was so apparent that not one of the 23 analysts working at the office speaks Russian.

Last month, Tillerson was skeptical of the department’s ability to combat Russian interference, saying that if Moscow wanted to meddle, it was “going to find ways to do that”.

Just before the end of the Obama administration, Congress told the Pentagon to give $60 million to the State Department so it could better coordinate efforts to tackle Russian and Chinese “anti-democratic propaganda”, according to media sources.

Tillerson had seven months to decide whether to spend the money, however, due to the imminent end of the fiscal year, the Pentagon said that the State Department could no longer receive the budget.

In addition, the State Department had another $60 million available for the next fiscal year, a figure which the department brought down to $40 million last Monday.

According to department officials, the State Department expects to get the money come April.

The lack of spending is a symptom of president Trump’s passive response to Russian interference, something which he made little effort to combat Moscow and defend democratic institutions.

After Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians last month for interference, the president tweeted that his campaign was innocent of any wrongdoings and reiterated that there was “no collusion!”.

While Trump continues to defend his campaign and dismiss the idea of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, intelligence officials warned last month that Russia was using the internet to sow doubt among American voters.

“There should be no doubt that Russia perceives its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 US midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations,” Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told Senate last month.

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The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is building a criminal case against the Russians involved in the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). According to the report, the cyber attack resulted in the Russians getting a hold of thousands of emails from servers belonging to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the DNC.

A number of current and former US officials have said that the new charges are supported by the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The DNC announced in July 2016 that Russian hacking groups known as “Cozy Bear” and Fancy Bear” had hacked into their servers. These breaches came after federal investigators cautioned the DNC in September 2015 that its servers had been breached, however, the DNC did not act on the warnings.

Once they breached the DNC servers in 2016, Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear distributed thousands of stolen emails through the hacker known as Guccifer 2.0 who leaked the information to WikiLeaks.

US intelligence agencies believe that Guccifer 2.0 is merely a front for Russian military intelligence and that Wikileaks is a propaganda tool of the Russian government.

Mueller’s latest endeavor adds another layer to the special counsel’s Russia investigation. The cyber attack was just one piece in a larger campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to US intelligence agencies.

The news of the potential indictment comes a few weeks after Robert Mueller charged 13 other Russian nationals with using social media, illegal ad-buying schemes and other actions that undermine American democracy to help elect Donald Trump.

Mueller’s new list of charges reportedly includes violations of federal election laws, criminal conspiracy, and computer fraud.

According to the sources, Mueller has had plenty of evidence to file charges against the Russian hackers, however, he abstained citing strategic issues and timing. More so, the sources said that unveiling high-profile indictments without exhausting all intelligence angles would have exposed sensitive information.

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During a Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, top officials from the FBI, CIA, NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency said that they would not recommend smartphones made by Huawei.

According to officials, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer poses a security threat to Americans. The six top US intelligence chiefs also extended their concerns to the telecommunication company, ZTE, for the same reason.

FBI director, Chris Wray, spoke for all opposing parties when he expressed concern about the risk involved of allowing foreign companies which are “beholden” to their governments to act within the US’s telecommunication network.

“It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information,” Wray said. “And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”

The Huawei opposition became apparent when Republican Senator, Tom Cotton, of Arkansas asked the group to raise their hands if they would recommend private American citizens to use products or services made by Huawei or ZTE. None of the officials raised their hands.

A 2012 Congress reports stated that the two Chinese companies should be treated “with suspicion”. Both Huawei and ZTE dismissed the reports’ findings, with Huawei calling them “baseless”.

Other research conducted in previous years by US intelligence agencies have repeatedly said that the China-based company poses a security risk.

Talks between Huawei and US telecommunications carrier, AT&T, to sell its smartphones came to a halt. Wray lauded the effort of telecommunication providers which try to “raise awareness on this issue”.

On Wednesday, Huawei said that they are monitoring development in Congress, however, it didn’t comment directly on the intelligence committee hearing. The company noted its popularity in regions outside of the US with notable examples in Central and Eastern Europe, according to research firm Canalys.

Huawei repeatedly declined allegations that they provide information on any citizen, government, or organization.

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On Tuesday, an Ohio Court of law found 22-year-old Ricki Williams IV guilty for the 2014 stabbing murder of 16-year-old Gina Burger. The Austintown murderer has been ordered to spend the next 62 years behind bars. No legal measures have been taken against Williams’ accomplice.

Austintown Murderer Tried to Sell the Girl’s Body to her Mother

Following Williams’ Tuesday conviction, Gina Burger’s family can now be at peace now that they know that the murderer is behind bars. The Austintown murderer was found guilty of stabbing to death 16-year-old Gina Burger in June 2014 and trying to hide the evidence by placing the body inside a portable playpen.

According to the Austintown murderer’s affidavit, back in June 2014, Williams invited young Gina Burger to his apartment to have sex. As soon as the teen stepped inside the apartment, Williams, armed with a kitchen knife, stabbed her in the chest several times without any motive.

The commotion was heard by Ronisha Johnson who was also present during Williams’ trial. According to the woman, when she went to the man’s apartment, Williams was pulling the knife from Burger’s chest. The perpetrator also smelled the knife before discarding it.

Seeing his neighbor at the door, Williams asked Ronisha to help him get rid of the teen’s body. Agreeing to help him, the two individuals took the body and placed it inside a portable playpen After that, Williams and Johnson carried the playpen outside and threw it in a dumpster.

Allegedly, after killing Gina and placing her body in the playpen, Williams called Gina’s mother and attempted to sell the playpen to her. Gina’s body was discovered the following day by the garbage transfer workers.

The Austintown murderer was apprehended several days later and charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, and tampering with evidence.

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The Scottdale Police and Tempe Fire Department are gathering to pay their respects to their colleague, 34-year-old Kyle Brayer, a Tempe Fire Captain, who passed away on Sunday at the hospital following an altercation with an armed individual.

Tempe Fire Captain Gunned Down Without Provocation

Following the death of Firefighter Captain Kyle Brayer, Mark Mitchell, the Mayor of Tempe, declared that this is a senseless act of violence and that the perpetrator will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

According to the Scottdale Police report, on Sunday evening, Brayer, who was off-duty, went with a couple of friends to the nearby golf course. After renting a golf cart, the party set out to begin the game.

One eyewitness recalls that, at one point, the gold cart carrying Brayer and his friends was overtaken by a red Scion coupe. The car circled a couple of times and soon began hitting the back side of the golf cart. Irked by the reckless driver, the Tempe Fire Captain left the cart and went to confront the individual.

As he approached the vehicle, Brayer could not have guessed that minor altercation could turn into a tragedy. After confronting the individual about the accident, the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Hezron Parks, allegedly took out his gun, shot the off-duty fire captain in the head and fled the scene before Brayer’s friends could apprehend him.

Conclusion

The man was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, but, unfortunately, he passed away later that day due to his extensive injuries. Parks was eventually tracked down by the Scottsdale Police Department and arrested.

For his deed, the man has been charged with second-degree murder and booked into county jail. No bail was set for Parks and, at this moment, it’s not clear whether the individual hired an attorney or not.

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A woman from New Mexico was recently arrested and formally charged with child abuse and marijuana distribution after the authorities learned that she gave pot brownies to her 13-year-old daughter. The woman admitted to giving her daughter THC gummies but denied supplying the brownies.

School Student Caught with Pot Brownies

According to a Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson, on Tuesday, Sylvia Rubio, a 38-year-old woman from New Mexico, was arrested and brought up on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and marijuana distribution.

The woman’s arrest stemmed from an incident that took place at school back in November. After realizing that one of the students was sharing marijuana-laced sweets among students, the school’s principal decided to call the authorities.

Their investigation led them to the doorstep of Sylvia Rubio. Upon questioning her about the incident, the woman admitted having given her daughter gummy bears with THC back in April. However, she pointed out that she only uses the marijuana for medicinal purposes, giving the ‘medicine’ two daughters in tiny amounts in order to treat her anxiety.

Rubio added that she has a personal license and a permit for marijuana. However, when she was confronted with the pot brownies found on her daughter, Rubio denied ever giving her the sweets.

A close investigation of Rubio’s house revealed that the pot brownies were stored inside an unlocked cabinet which could have been easily accessed by the 13-year-old girl.

Conclusion

The girl was later taken to the hospital where she tested positive for THC. Rubio was arrested and charged with endangering a child’s welfare, distributing marijuana, and for acts contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

At this point, it’s uncertain whether the woman hired an attorney to represent her in court. The girl was placed in protective custody pending the outcome of her mother’s trial.

Image source: Pixabay

Because staying out of trouble or going below the radar are just too mainstream, we give the case of an 11-year-old from California who tried to rob an ARCO gas station clerk at gunpoint. The gas station’s security cameras captured the entire incident.

Skateboarding Pre-Teen Told Cashier to Empty the Drawer

The grand heist allegedly took place on Monday morning, at the Stockton ARCO gas station. According to the authorities, the suspect, in this case, appears to be an 11-year-old boy carrying a firearm. The eyewitnesses told the authorities that the robber simply got down from his skateboard before waltzing inside the gas station with a gun in hand.

Upon reaching the counter, the 11-year-old robber pointed the gun at the cashier, a 50-year-old woman and demanded all the money in the cash register. Panicked, the woman screamed being heard by one of her colleagues who came running towards the pre-teen.

Fearing that he might be apprehended, the boy ran out the door, jumped on his skateboard and disappeared before the authorities arrived. Both cashier and money are safe and sound, but now the authorities have been tasked to discover the identity of the skate robber.

According to the woman’s description, the boy couldn’t have been more than 11 years of age, wore a gray hoodie and a purple bandana to conceal his face. The gas station’s security circuit managed to capture the whole event on tape.

At the moment, the law enforcement officers are trying to identify the suspect based on the security tape and the cashier’s description. During a press interview, the woman and her assistant declared that the event could only be described as being sad, given the boy’s age.

The authorities have reasons to believe that the weapon used during the attempted robbery might have been a dud.

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Because hitting on underage girls is just not enough for some people, we bring you the curious case of a Maryland Man who was caught driving a van which made Hugh Heffner’s Playboy Mansion look like a convent.

Sex Van Contained More Items than a Sex Shop

The man involved in the recent sex van incident is 34-year-old Daniel Dickson of Maryland. Dickson is accused of having tried to accost two teenage girls in order to have sex. Now, according to the Maryland authorities, Dickson was not your everyday child molester, but a capable driver and talented decorator, who designed and build his own love nest on wheels.

The incident which ended with a handcuffed Dickson, allegedly several days ago, when the man parked his vehicle near the sidewalk and just stood there waiting for something to happen. At one point, the man saw two teenage girls walking towards him and decided to accost them.

According to the teenagers’ statements, upon approaching the car, the man got out and started to get really friendly with them. Sensing that they might be in danger, the teens got out their phones in order to record the event.

At one point, the man directed towards the back of his Mazda minivan and proposed to have sex. The girls threatened to call the authorities. That’s when the owner of the Maryland whoopie van panicked, got behind the wheel and fled the scene.

Luckily, both teens managed to get snaps of Dickson’s license plates. Several hours later, the authorities tracked down the suspect and arrested him. They’ve also discovered that Dickson had a regular sex van, the car containing condoms, two mattresses, and body spray.

The owner of the sex van has been arrested and charged and is expected in court.

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