Police did not name the suspect, but said the 31-year-old man surrendered to the Bellevue Police Department on Wednesday and has been booked into the King County Jail for investigation of murder.
The 19-year-old female victim was found stabbed to death in a laundry room in a housing building on campus Sunday night, police said.
UW President Robert J. Jones offered his condolences in a statement on Monday, saying, “There are no words that can express the profound loss of a student.”
Although police did not release a motive, Jones said, “I want to recognize that when violence affects a trans person it can be especially worrying to our LGBTQIA+ community members.”
“Our Division of Student Life is reaching out to students affected and providing support and resources to help them through this very difficult ordeal,” Jones said.
Luigi Mangione (R) appears for a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 18, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The judge overseeing Luigi Mangione’s state murder case ruled Monday that certain evidence seized from his backpack during a search at the Pennsylvania McDonald’s where he was arrested must be suppressed, while evidence seized at the stationhouse in Altoona, Pennsylvania, will be allowed.
New York Judge Gregory Carro decided a magazine, cellphone, passport, computer chip and wallet should be suppressed, but the alleged murder weapon and a notebook of Mangione’s writings will be allowed.
Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Carro’s decision will help define the contours of the high-profile criminal trial.
Defense lawyers have argued that the search of the backpack without a warrant violated Mangione’s rights, and have repeatedly urged Carro to block prosecutors from using the evidence.
“At the hearing, Altoona law enforcement officers repeatedly attempted to justify their warrantless search of Mr. Mangione’s backpack … instead, all these officers demonstrated was an utter disregard for a defendant’s constitutional rights and a shocking ignorance of basic search and seizure caselaw,” Mangione’s attorneys wrote in a state court filing.
Lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney’s office pushed back on those claims, arguing the officers acted “in deliberate and painstaking fashion” when they searched the backpack.
“At every step, the Altoona officers responded to this unexpected and alarming situation reasonably,” Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a court filing, adding that officers later obtained a warrant for the bag “establishing an independent source for recovering the backpack’s contents.”
Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a husband and father of two, on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.
As Mangione prepares for his upcoming state trial in September, his supporters continue to fund part of his legal defense. Earlier this month, on Mangione’s 28th birthday, his legal defense fund surpassed $1.5 million.
His federal trial is scheduled to begin in January 2027.
A smartphone screen displays a folder containing AI applications Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot, and DeepSeek. . (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Visual investigation: Scores of online resellers are using AI to fool customers by pretending to be mom-and-pop stores
Scores of online companies are increasingly turning to generative AI technology to deceive consumers, falsely portraying themselves as struggling small businesses to charge a premium for lower quality products, an ABC News visual investigation found.
ABC News has identified dozens of similar online retailers — selling everything from clothing to jewelry to lamps — that used AI images and videos to portray themselves as down-on-their-luck craftsmen or small business owners in need of support.
These kinds of sites have proliferated online and take advantage of consumer trends. Experts warn that by the time others leave reviews or complain about the misleading claims, the sites often go offline or move on to selling another product.
“You can use AI to create very realistic media, right? So you can take and create photos of people who look like someone who might be making handmade goods,” said Marshini Chetty, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Chicago. “You can create reviews at scale. You can create testimonials. And then even when you generate these sites, they already use these kind of manipulative tactics.”
According to Denny Svehla, a musician from Rockford, Illinois, the ad he saw for a retiring craftsman selling flat caps appeared completely normal at first.
“I’ve been making flat caps and newsboy caps by hand since 1973. Closing the workshop next Wednesday and I’ll be honest, I’ve still got way more inventory than I know what to do with — just needs to go,” one slickly produced ad said. “Every cap on that shelf has hours of my work in it — real materials, hand finished, built to outlast the man wearing them. 53 years and not one shortcut.”
For Svehla — a Neil Diamond tribute artist who runs a small business with his wife — the story felt personal, and he wanted to help.
“I get the pressure, so I thought, ‘Man, I am going to buy a cap,'” Svehla told ABC News. “I even gave him a tip.”
According to Svehla, he first became suspicious about the purchase when he got an update showing that the “handmade” hats he bought were being shipped from mainland China. When the hats eventually arrived, he said he was disappointed at their quality and even more annoyed at the deception.
“I’m sitting there thinking I’m trying to help someone,” Svehla said. “He’s going to end up going out of business after 52 years. I’ve been in business for 50 years myself, and I’m looking at, you know, what am I going to do if I can’t go anymore?”
Unbeknownst to Svehla, the website that sold him the hats is one example of a growing trend of sites that use generative AI technology to portray themselves as struggling small businesses. At least three similar sites — George’s Caps, Henry’s Caps, and Walter’s Caps — offered similar pitches to consumers, claiming they are retiring after decades in business and need to offload their inventory.
A representative of George’s Caps, when reached by ABC News, did not address questions regarding whether George is a real person or if claims regarding his retirement are fabricated. They touted the quality of the products they sell, saying, “We are actually well aware that there are some genuinely poor operators in this space. We hear about them directly from our own happy customers who have tried competitors and been disappointed before finding us.” The representative said, “I would also challenge the assumption that foreign made goods are automatically inferior. What matters is the quality standard being maintained and the commitment to the customer.”
Other sites use AI to make emotional appeals. One purportedly New York-based clothing retailer shared an AI-generated image of their damaged storefront — with shattered glass and police tape — to announce their “big sale.”
“Our store has been completely destroyed and after years of love and dedication to our business, we see no other way out. As if we hadn’t fought enough against the big giants with their huge budgets, this has dealt us the final blow,” the ad claimed.
But that store didn’t list an address in New York, and online detection tools suggested the image was made entirely with artificial intelligence.
Another site claimed to be a New York-based lamp company that was closing after two decades in business and now offering customers a massive discount on their remaining inventory.
“It’s not easy to close the doors of something that’s been part of your soul. But the time has come. Aluné, our beloved lamp boutique in New York, is packing up for the very last time,” their post said, showing an image of a middle-aged man and woman laying out their lamps on a sidewalk.
But after weeks online, the site has since been removed, and multiple experts said that the site’s advertising was generated with AI. When ABC News visited their address on one of New York’s priciest streets — between retailers for Chanel and Versace — there was no trace of the company or evidence that it ever existed.
None of these businesses responded to a request for comment from ABC News.
According to Chetty, massive advances in AI technology has made it easier to quickly create convincing sites that can fool even the savviest online shoppers.
“People can do this at scale, create these images, create these websites, put them up quickly, take them down quickly,” she said.
And Chetty noted that those kinds of sites can thrive on social media, where consumers are often distracted and more likely to make a quick purchase. ABC News has identified dozens of videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok where retailers used AI to generate videos showing fake craftspeople making their products. Expert analysis — paired with online detection tools — confirmed they were created with AI technology, and their websites were linked to generic holding companies or companies oversees.
None of the other retailers who were contacted by ABC News responded to a request for comment.
Many of the videos prey on customers’ emotions by showing interactions that try to create sympathy by showing creators being picked on in public.
“This comment says, ‘You’re a 32-year-old man making Mario lamps for kids in your bedroom, let that sink in,'” one video said, mimicking a video format where creators respond to negative comments.
ABC News identified four nearly identical videos, where different middle-aged men — seemingly in the same garage — spoke the same script.
While Chetty said that AI videos like these might have been easier to spot a few years ago, even experts sometimes struggle to identify what’s real from what’s fake.
“Maybe you’re walking down the street in New York, you’re not thinking too deeply and you’re just clicking away. That’s kind of how they get you, right?” she said. “Because they know that they want you to make a quick decision. They know you’re not paying careful attention. And it’s very easy to kind of take advantage of you at that point.”
People walk by the Comcast building which houses NBC Studios in Manhattan on June 29, 2026 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A man is in custody after he allegedly snuck into an NBC building at New York City’s Rockefeller Center on Thursday morning, authorities said.
The suspect said he was looking for “Today” show weather anchor Al Roker, and he allegedly repeatedly uttered a racial slur, police said.
He also made other statements that lead police to believe he is emotionally disturbed, police said.
The man was detained by an NYPD officer working a paid detail, police said.
Charges are pending, police said.
ABC News has reached out to NBC for comment.
NBC News told Variety in a statement, “An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A. The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security.”
“The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured,” NBC said.
NBC said it takes “the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously. We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios.”
