The DOJ alleged the stepbrother “sexually assaulted and intentionally killed” Kepner. The Florida high school senior died from “mechanical asphyxiation,” officials said.
The boy was initially charged as a juvenile, prosecutors said. He’s now been indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse.
Kepner’s family said in a statement last year that the 18-year-old “loved being around people” and “drew you in with her smile and the way she carried herself.”
She was set to graduate from high school this May and was interested in joining the military, her family said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. (Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public via Getty Images)
(HARTFORD, Conn.) — Former Hartford police officer Joseph Magnano was charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection to the February 27, 2026 fatal shooting of Steven “Stevie” Jones.
The charge and evidence supporting it was laid out in the Connecticut state inspector general’s report, which was released on Monday, and comes after Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced in March that he had terminated Magnano amid a probe into the incident after viewing the police body camera footage. The body camera footage has not been released publicly.
ABC News has reached out to the Hartford Police Department and Magnano’s attorney for comment.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
Tyler Robinson, center, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court on January 16, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Bethany Baker-Pool/Getty Images)
(PROVO, Utah) — Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, allegedly told his boyfriend, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it,” according to newly unsealed court documents.
On Sept. 10, 2025, the day of the shooting, Robinson allegedly sent his boyfriend a message that said, “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
Robinson’s boyfriend told police that he found a handwritten letter under the keyboard, the documents said.
ABC News first reported on the existence of the letter in September.
Police said they reviewed the boyfriend’s photo of the letter. The note read, according to the documents, “If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text.”
“I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence,” the letter continued, according to the documents. “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it. I don’t know if I will/have succeeded, but I had hoped to make it home to you. I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary.”
Kirk was shot and killed in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The 31-year-old was the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, and the Utah Valley event marked the first stop of his “The American Comeback Tour,” which invited students on college campuses to debate hot-button issues.
Robinson allegedly fled the scene of the shooting, prompting a massive manhunt. He surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11.
He was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. He has not entered a plea.
“We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,” Savannah Guthrie said in an Instagram video, speaking directly to the camera.
“We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help,” she said. “Law enforcement is working tirelessly, around the clock, trying to bring her home.”
“She was taken, and we don’t know where, and we need your help,” she said. “So I’m coming on just to ask you … no matter where you are … if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement.”
Savannah Guthrie thanked everyone for their prayers and love, and said she believes her mom is feeling those prayers, too.
The exact time of her kidnapping is not clear. Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m., Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, and then at 2:12 a.m., the camera software detected a person. At 2:28 a.m.,Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker app disconnected from her phone, which was left behind at her house, Nanos said.
This weekend, faced with a demand for a bitcoin ransom and a Monday deadline by someone claiming to be Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings said they’d pay for their mothers return.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said in an Instagram video this weekend. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
The message Savannah Guthrie references in her new Instagram post is the same message the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department said they were studying Friday, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Investigators have not confirmed the authenticity of the latest message, which was received by a Tucson television station, nor any of the other ransom notes mentioning Nancy Guthrie, according to the source.
As the search intensifies, a 5 p.m. Monday deadline set in an initial ransom note from earlier last week is the point of focus for authorities, though investigators are still not certain of the ransom notes’ authenticity and continue to pursue all leads, a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News on Monday.
Investigators have returned repeatedly to the home of Savannah Guthrie’s sister, Annie Guthrie, where Nancy Guthrie enjoyed dinner and a game night before returning to her home a few minutes away on the night of Saturday, Jan. 31.
Investigators have also returned to Nancy Guthrie’s home, where they’ve examined rooftop cameras, towed away a car and made inquiries of neighbors.
The sheriff’s department said it is “an active and ongoing investigation,” but added that “investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to this case.”
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
