Category: National

(DELPHI, Ind) — Prison staffers are revealing the alleged confessions made by Delphi, Indiana, murder suspect Richard Allen while behind bars.

Allen is accused of killing Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams 13, on a hiking trail in rural Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. He’s pleaded not guilty to murder.

John Galipeau, the former warden of the Westville Correctional Facility, where Allen was held for 13 months after his October 2022 arrest, took the stand on Tuesday.

Galipeau told jurors Allen wrote a note requesting an interview with him on March 5, 2023. He said Allen’s note said, “I am ready to officially for confess killing Abby and Libby. I hope I get the opportunity to tell the families I’m sorry.”

Galipeau said Allen admitted to throwing out a box cutter in the dumpster behind the CVS where he worked in Delphi.

An expert has testified a box cutter may have been used to slash the girls’ throats.

Asked about Allen’s mental state at Westville, Galipeau said Allen was quiet for the first month and then began acting “erratic” after he got mail from his attorneys.

Galipeau said Allen washed his face in the toilet, went to the bathroom in his cell, tore up mail and ate paper.

Allen’s attorneys have argued he was treated poorly at Westville and was called a “baby killer,” which led to a decline in his mental health.

Galipeau testified that Allen was allowed to shower three times a week, was provided three sets of clothing, had access to tablets and was allowed recreation time five days a week in an indoor room. Allen was on suicide watch and received a medical check daily, Galipeau said.

Another corrections officer, Brandon Fisher, testified that Allen confessed on April 29, 2023. According to Fisher, Allen said his plan was to rape Abby and Libby, but he panicked and ended up killing them.

Allen allegedly told Fisher he killed the girls with a box cutter and threw it into a dumpster behind CVS.

Westville corrections officer Michael Clemons also took the stand, telling jurors he was assigned to record everything Allen said and did while on suicide watch.

According to Clemons, Allen said, “I’m so glad no one gave up on me after I killed Abby and Libby,” and, “I, Richard Matthew Allen, killed Abby and Libby by myself. No one helped me.”

Clemons said Allen would shout to other inmates, “I’m not crazy, I’m only acting like I’m crazy.”

During cross-examination, Clemons testified that he never felt Allen’s behavior was genuine.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked Clemons, “Can prison get to a man?” and the corrections officer admitted, “Yes it can.”

Corrections officer Michael Roberts testified that Allen was coherent and talkative, but a little scared when he arrived at Westville. After a few months, Roberts said Allen’s behavior changed and he started confessing.

Roberts had a detailed log of the four confessions he said he heard.

On April 7, 2023, Roberts wrote that Allen said, “Dear Lord, forgive me for molesting Abby, Libby, Kevin, and Chris. I want to confess. I know a lot more.” The identities of Kevin and Chris were not explained in the testimony.

On April 23, 2023, Roberts wrote that Allen said, “I killed Abby & Libby. My wife wasn’t involved. I want to confess.”

On April 26, 2023, he wrote that Allen said, “Can I talk? Can you listen I killed Abby & Libby? How do I prove I’m insane?”

On June 18, 2023, Roberts noted that Allen said, “Why are you doing this? Do you know God? Do you know why I’m here? I killed Abby and Libby.”

During cross-examination, Roberts admitted that Allen had smeared feces all over his cell and put feces on his face for two hours.

Roberts also said Allen refused food for long periods of time, and recalled one incident where Allen hit his head on the wall for so long that his face turned black and blue.

After 13 months at Westville, Allen was transferred to Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Jason Bedwell, a corrections officer there, testified that on Feb. 4, 2024, Allen cried and talked to himself, saying, “I am sorry for what I did. Sorry for killing them.”

ABC News’ Janel Klein contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — The suspect in the murder of a woman at a high-end Hamptons resort has died from apparent suicide, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

A staff member at the Shou Sugi Ban House found Sabina Rosas, 33, of Brooklyn, New York, dead in a guest room on Monday afternoon, Suffolk County police said.

The luxurious, exclusive spa retreat is popular with celebrities and is in Water Mill, located between Southampton and Bridgehampton.

A law enforcement source told ABC News that Rosas checked in with a man who left alone on Monday morning.

The suspected killer appears to have been a boyfriend of the victim, the sources said.

The victim’s cause of death has not been released.

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(SAN FRANCISCO) — David DePape was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the state trial over the hammer attack against Paul Pelosi.

A jury found DePape guilty in June of false imprisonment of an elder by violence or menace, residential burglary, threatening a family member of a public official, dissuading a witness by force or threat and aggravated kidnapping.

Before the sentencing, DePape’s attorneys asked for a new trial. That motion was denied.

DePape was also sentenced to 30 years in prison in May in the federal case, in which he was convicted of seeking to hold former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband with a hammer.

DePape had broken into the Pelosi home in San Francisco looking for Nancy Pelosi, who was not home at the time.

Following the guilty verdict in the state case, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the conviction ensures that DePape “will face consequences for his heinous crimes against the Pelosi family and our democracy.”

DePape’s public defender, Adam Lipson, said at the time they were disappointed by the verdict.

“I don’t believe that this was a kidnapping for ransom, I think that it’s really unfortunate that he was charged this way,” Lipson told reporters, adding that his client had lived a “very isolated” life and had gotten “wrapped up in a lot of conspiracy theory-type situations.”

DePape did not testify during the three-week state trial. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Paul Pelosi testified that on the night of the attack, DePape woke him by asking, “Are you Paul Pelosi?” and had a hammer and zip ties, according to San Francisco ABC station KGO.

“He seemed very intent on what he was going to do,” Paul Pelosi said, according to KGO.

DePape apologized for the attack during his sentencing hearing in the federal case.

“I’m sorry for what I did, especially what I did to Paul Pelosi,” he said during the resentencing hearing, according to KGO. “I should have just left the house when I realized Nancy Pelosi wasn’t home.”

A federal jury found DePape guilty in November 2023 of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer or employee, and assault of an immediate family member of a federal official.

After a judge sentenced DePape to 30 years in federal prison in May, the sentencing was reopened when prosecutors noted that the defendant was never formally given the opportunity to address the court during his sentencing. He was again sentenced to 30 years in prison at a subsequent hearing.

DePape admitted during the federal trial that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi to question her about Russian influence on the 2016 election and planned to hold her hostage, but only Paul Pelosi was at their San Francisco home when he broke in on Oct. 28, 2022.

Paul Pelosi said on the stand during the federal trial that DePape repeatedly asked him, “Where is Nancy?”

DePape hit Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, with a hammer, causing major injuries, including a skull fracture, but told the court that Paul Pelosi was “never my target.”

“I’m sorry that he got hurt,” DePape said during the federal trial. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”

The incident was captured on police body camera video by officers who responded to the scene.

Paul Pelosi was hospitalized for six days following the attack and underwent surgery to repair the skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.

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(NEW YORK) — The owner of a day care where a 1-year-old boy died of fentanyl poisoning and three other children were sickened pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges, resolving a case that horrified New York City and underscored the scourge of the nation’s fentanyl epidemic.

Grei Mendez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in serious bodily injury. The three counts carry a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Prosecutors said the children were poisoned because Mendez, her husband and a co-conspirator chose to operate a large-scale fentanyl packaging and distribution facility inside her day care, which she ran out of a small apartment in the Bronx.

On the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2023, when 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici and another child became unresponsive, prosecutors said Mendez placed a series of phone calls: first to the community center that had referred the children to the day care, then to her husband, and then 911.

Moments after Mendez called 911, but before emergency personnel arrived, prosecutors said her husband was seen on surveillance camera rushing through the front door and then leaving out of the back of the building with two heavy bags.

Nicholas died from the fentanyl and three other children — ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years — were hospitalized and treated with Narcan, police said.

At the day care, authorities discovered a one-kilogram brick of fentanyl, two kilo press machines and two trap doors that revealed concealed compartments under the floor tiles of the playroom, authorities said.

Inside the traps were more than 11 kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl and heroin, as well as tools used to brand, package, distribute and traffic narcotics, the indictment said.

Federal prosecutors said they have surveillance footage and a voice message in which Mendez said that running a day care is not her “thing” in order to prove that the facility was a front for the narcotics operation.

“Grei Mendez has just admitted she conspired to maintain and distribute large quantities of dangerously toxic fentanyl in a Bronx Daycare center, a place where parents expected their children would be protected and safe,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement Tuesday.

“This case has shown the senseless collateral damage caused by the fentanyl epidemic, and should remind us all that the demand for illegal narcotics so often puts innocent bystanders at risk while drug traffickers ruthlessly pursue profits,” Williams added.

Earlier this month, Mendez’s husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug charges. The third co-conspirator has also pleaded guilty.

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(FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.) — A Virginia au pair pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter in connection to the 2023 murders of her employer’s wife and another man.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes’s employer, Brendan Banfield, was charged with murder last month in the case — a year after Magalhaes was arrested and charged.

Prosecutors said Magalhaes and Banfield began an extramarital affair in August 2022, and by the fall of that year, Banfield expressed his desire to “be rid of” his wife, Christine Banfield, according to the plea agreement obtained by ABC News.

Throughout the months that followed, Brendan Banfield would allegedly flesh out this plan, according to the prosecution. However, Magalhaes did not want to continue with at several points, prosecutors said, and allegedly did not believe Banfield would follow through with it, according to the plea agreement.

In the leadup to the double murder, Brendan Banfield allegedly created a profile on the sexual fetish site FetLife, where he found a man named Joe Ryan, the plea agreement details. He then allegedly had Magalhaes call Ryan, pretending to be Christine Banfield, to confirm both were willing to engage in sex at her home with the use of “restraints,” according to prosecutors.

When Ryan arrived at the house in February 2023, Banfield allegedly shot him in the head and then stabbed his wife to death, according to the prosecution agreement. Magalhaes then also shot Ryan, prosecutors said.

Magalhaes then allegedly called 911 and pretended Ryan had been an intruder, prosecutors said.

Magalhaes initially faced second-degree murder charges in connection to Ryan’s death. On Tuesday, Magalhaes pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

She could face up to 10 years in prison.

Her sentencing is scheduled to take place on March 21 after Banfield’s February trial.

“Today’s agreement marks a significant step forward in this case, and it is an important development in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement read outside the courthouse. “Much of the information that led to this agreement cannot be made public at this time due to the upcoming criminal trial against the other defendant in this matter.”

ABC News’ Cristina Corbin, Briana Stewart and Gemma Schneider contributed to this report.

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(DELPHI, Ind) — A pattern on the body of Delphi, Indiana, murder victim Libby German showed her blood was mixed with moisture, an officer testified at Richard Allen’s trial. The officer said he believes that moisture was Libby’s tears — which led family members watching his testimony in the courtroom to audibly react.

Libby, 14, and her best friend Abby Williams 13, were walking along a hiking trail in rural Delphi when their throats were cut and they were left in the woods on Feb. 13, 2017. Their bodies were found the next day.

Allen was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Maj. Pat Cicero of the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department took the stand Monday. Cicero was not at the crime scene in 2017, but he said he studied the scene photos and various reports.

Abby’s mother cried quietly in the courtroom as prosecutors showed close-up photos of the girls’ faces, bodies, hands, feet and legs.

Cicero showed the jury an image of a blood stain on a tree. He explained it was a transfer stain, meaning it was left behind when a bloodied object touched it.

Cicero testified that the blood stains and patterns on the tree led him to him believe the attack on Libby started at the tree, with swipes of a weapon possibly causing the splatter on the tree.

Libby died from her wounds in a large pool of blood while leaning against the tree, Cicero said. He said he believes she was then dragged about 20 feet to where her body was found.

Abby was likely restrained or unconscious when she was killed, Cicero said, because there was no blood on her hands or arms and she was found with her hands raised vertically.

“Her final position is almost like she was boxing,” he said.

Cicero said he’s been to hundreds of crime scenes and described the position of Abby’s body as very unusual. “I’ve never seen it,” he said.

He also said Abby likely didn’t die right away. “This would have taken some time,” he said.

Allen has admitted to being on the hiking trail the day the girls were killed but he denies any involvement in the murders.

ABC News’ Janel Klein contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Police are investigating the murder of a woman at a high-end resort in the Hamptons.

A staff member at the Shou Sugi Ban House found the victim dead in a guest room on Monday afternoon, Suffolk County police said. The resort is in Water Mill, located between Southhampton and Bridgehampton.

The woman hasn’t been identified, police said, adding that her cause of death will be determined after an autopsy.

No one has been taken into custody.

Police ask anyone with information to call the department at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

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(ALPINE, TEXAS) — A hiker has been found dead at a national park in Texas after authorities discovered a car had been parked for several days and launched a search and rescue operation, officials said.

The body of the unnamed 24-year-old hiker was discovered in Big Bend National Park in Texas on Monday after an aerial and ground search by National Park Service rangers and U.S. Border Patrol. Supported by helicopters from the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs Air and Marine Operations, they found the hiker’s remains along the park’s “rugged” Marufo Vega Trail, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

“The day before, park rangers observed a vehicle that had been parked for multiple days at the Trailhead for Marufo Vega / Strawhouse / Ore Terminal Trail,” NPS said. “Records indicated that there were no overnight backpackers listed for that area for those nights. A quick search by the park pilot was unable to locate hikers in the area.”

On Monday morning, the park search and rescue team was mobilized across three different trails and air assets were directed to the remote area, authorities said.

“The victim was located along the rugged Marufo Vega Trail. A Department of Public Safety helicopter was utilized to remove the body from the remote area,” NPS said.

The Marufo Vega Trail is a “spectacular yet challenging 14-mile loop that winds through rugged desert and along rocky limestone cliffs. No shade or water makes this trail dangerous during the warmer times of year,” park officials continued. “Even though it is late October, daily temperatures along the Rio Grande and desert areas of Big Bend remain extreme; close to 100 degrees each afternoon. Park Rangers wish to remind all visitors to be aware of the dangers of extreme heat. Hikers should be prepared to carry plenty of water, salty snacks, and to plan on being off desert trails during the heat of the afternoon.”

“Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss,” stated Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman. “Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”

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(DENVER) — More than 700 homes were under evacuation orders near the town of Divide, Colorado, as a wildfire burned uncontained nearby, local law enforcement said Monday.

The so-called Highland Lake Fire had burned about 90 acres by 7 p.m. on Monday and was completely uncontained, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told reporters during a news conference.

A local disaster emergency was declared. One structure had been destroyed by Monday evening, the county said in an update.

“You’re going to see everybody throw everything we possibly can at this thing, starting early in the morning,” Mikesell said.

The sheriff’s office was requesting the aid of multiple agencies around the surrounding region, as they were expecting high winds, which may help the fire spread amid red flag conditions. Those winds were expected to be sustained at about 20 mph overnight, before strengthening to about 50 mph on Tuesday, he said.

The evacuation area included Cedar Mountain North to Golden Bell, Wayward Wind, Snowhill, Aspen Village, Broken Wheel, Alpine View, Beaver Lake Circle, Beaver Lake Placeand Star View Trail, the county said.

More homes were expected to be evacuated, Mikesell said.

“We’ll have more of an assessment tomorrow, but we want to get on this fire very quickly and be super aggressive with it,” he said.

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire with incendiary devices early Monday in what authorities believe are connected incidents, police said.

The two arson incidents, which occurred near the Oregon-Washington border, are also believed to be connected to a third ballot box incident that occurred earlier this month in Vancouver, Washington, police said.

In the first reported incident on Monday, Portland police responded to a fire at a ballot box around 3:30 a.m. local time, police said. Security at the Multnomah County Elections Division responded and extinguished the fire, officials said.

“Our officers quickly determined that there was an incendiary device that had been attached to the ballot box, and that is what ignited this fire,” Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner said at a press briefing on Monday.

The bureau’s explosive disposal unit cleared the device, police said.

Fire suppressant prevented further damage and protected “virtually all the ballots,” though three were damaged, the Multnomah County Elections Division said in a press release.

Elections officials will contact the three impacted voters so they can receive replacement ballots, the division said.

“We have multiple systems and security measures in place to ensure your ballot is safe,” Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said in a statement.

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said the limited impact to ballots “shows that our systems are safe and secure.”

“Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable,” Griffin-Valade said in a statement. “Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”

No other ballot boxes or official drop sites in Multnomah County were affected, the division said.

The Portland Fire Investigations Unit is investigating.

About a half hour later, around 4 a.m. local time, officers in Vancouver, Washington, responded to a report of a ballot box that was smoking and on fire, police said.

“Officers arrived and located a suspicious device next to the box,” which was on fire, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement.

The fire was extinguished, and members of the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit safely collected the device, police said.

“Hundreds” of ballots are believed to have been damaged on Monday, though an official number has not yet been determined, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said at the press briefing.

Fire suppression devices are also installed in ballot drop boxes in the county, though they do not appear to have worked well, said Kimsey, who added that they’re going to try to obtain better fire suppression devices.

The Clark County Auditor’s Office will be working to ensure impacted voters have replacement ballots in time, officials said.

“We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process,” Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement. “I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state. Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections official’s ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”

Monday’s incident is similar to an incident that occurred on Oct. 8 in Vancouver, in which a ballot box was smoking and on fire with a “device” next to it, Vancouver interim Police Chief Troy Price said during the press briefing.

“We do believe the incident here [in Portland] is connected to the two incidents in Vancouver,” Benner said.

Police have identified a suspect vehicle, a possible Volvo that was captured on surveillance footage near the ballot box in Portland, Benner said.

A motive remains unclear, Portland Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan said.

“We do know that acts like this are targeted and they’re intentional, and we’re concerned about that intentional act trying to affect the election process,” she said at the press briefing on Monday. “We’re dedicated to stopping that kind of behavior, and we’re working toward that today.”

The FBI is also investigating the incidents “to determine who is responsible,” an agency spokesperson said.

Both Oregon and Washington are one of several vote-by-mail states, with ballots returned by mail or at an official drop box. Washington also has voting centers open to accept ballots.

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