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Prince Harry and Meghan Introduce Children to Princess Diana’s Ancestral Home

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It appears Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have taken a meaningful trip with their children to a place rich with family history—Princess Diana’s former childhood home.

Meghan has shared pictured from her summer holiday with Harry

Meghan has delighted fans by posting photos from her summer escape with Harry.

Images recently shared by Meghan offer a glimpse into their summer holiday with Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie, now seven, and Princess Lilibet, aged five. The photos hint at a touching family visit to the serene Althorp estate, which holds special significance as the childhood home and final resting place of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, who passed away in 1997.

The snap, which was seemingly taken at Althorp, shows Harry and Archie walking ahead through an avenue of trees and hedges holding bouquets of flowers with Lilibet trailing behind.

Meghan posted the image on Instagram with the caption: “Summer Holiday”

Teen Charged in Fatal Shooting of 15-Year-Old Girlfriend and Her Younger Brother After Threats

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In a shocking turn of events, a teenager allegedly shot and killed his 15-year-old girlfriend and her younger brother, driven by jealousy and a threat he made about her interactions with other boys, as revealed by court documents.

The accused, 16-year-old Keith Maurice James Jr., currently faces first-degree murder charges. He is alleged to have taken the lives of Giovanna Myrie and her 9-year-old brother, Steve Allen, inside their home in Baltimore on July 7.

In the days leading up to the tragic incident, Myrie was reportedly distressed, expressing her fears in text messages to a friend. She recounted how James had ominously warned that he would “have to kill” her if she became involved with other boys, as highlighted in charging documents reviewed by the Baltimore Sun.

In a desperate text, she wrote, “Keith said if I cheat he finna put the gun inside me. Help me,” underscoring her growing fear of his threats.

This troubling situation escalated further when, on the Fourth of July, just days before the tragic event, Myrie and James Jr. were on a Facetime call with one of Myrie’s friends while lounging in bed. Alarmingly, James was seen holding a gun during the video call, as testified by the friend to the investigators.

On the day of the shooting, Myrie said James Jr. was due to come over to her house around 4 p.m., the friend told police. 

The accused killer’s cellphone data and neighbors’ surveillance footage placed him near the crime scene around 4:20 p.m., according to charging documents.

Myrie’s mother found the teen girl and her younger brother dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the home around 7:20 p.m.

Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said that Allen had been an “innocent bystander.” 

James Jr. told police he had been seeing Myrie for about two months, but had not seen her in person since July 4. He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday.

He appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit on Thursday and remained silent as his attorney waived his request for a bond hearing, WBFF reported.

“This case highlights for me a couple issues,” the police chief told reporters, according to WBAL. “One is juvenile violence itself, violence by juveniles on other juveniles, and it also highlights the point that, as parents, we need to make sure that we know who our kids are associating with,” McCullough said.

 “It’s just dating violence, teen violence between people who have relationships, so we need to be mindful of those things.”

Squatter Takes Over $1.9M California Airbnb, Won’t Budge

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A renowned poker champion is grappling with a nightmarish ordeal after discovering that a French squatter had set up camp in her $1.9 million Airbnb property in California and then refused to vacate the premises.

Wendy Weissman, aged 60, is now embroiled in a difficult fight to evict the unwelcome occupant from her picturesque townhouse located in Hermosa Beach.

Identified by Weissman as French national Evhan Lamarck, the guest initially arranged to rent the luxurious $12,500-a-month property for 48 days but ceased payments midway through his stay.

The saga is further complicated by California’s relaxed occupancy laws, which granted Lamarck tenancy rights after living in the home for a mere 30 days, thereby hindering any immediate eviction efforts.

Upon reaching out to law enforcement, Weissman was informed that the matter falls under civil jurisdiction and would need to be addressed through the courts—a process that could drag on for six months.

Her nightmare only came to an end when a huge water leak forced Lamarck to allow Weissman into the property.

Once inside she found her gorgeous rental completely trashed, with cigarette butts piled high, damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt and trash and dirty linen strewn everywhere.

When confronted by a reporter from ABC7, Lamarck arrogantly defended his right to be in the property.

Wendy Weissman, 60, was thrown into every homeowner's nightmare after a squatter moved into her Airbnb

Wendy Weissman, 60, was thrown into every homeowner’s nightmare after a squatter moved into her Airbnb

She accused Frenchman Evhan Lamarck of refusing to leave her $1.9 million Hermosa Beach townhouse

She accused Frenchman Evhan Lamarck of refusing to leave her $1.9 million Hermosa Beach townhouse

When she finally got inside she found the property in disarray, with cigarette butts piled high as well as damage to her closet and dirty linen strewn everywhere

When she finally got inside she found the property in disarray, with cigarette butts piled high as well as damage to her closet and dirty linen strewn everywhere

When asked if he thought it was ‘fair’ to remain at the rental without paying, Lamarck scoffed: ‘Yeah it’s really fair.’

‘He just refused to leave,’ Weissman said. ‘It’s squatting. It’s definitely squatting.’ 

Weissman said that problems arose when his rental period came to a close and she did not receive a further payment.

She said that Lamarck told her that he had lost his credit card and had to remain in the Airbnb until he got a new one.

Facing the prospect of losing out on around $70,000 in rental income plus astronomic court costs, Weissman took to social media in an attempt to name and shame Lamarck, who still refused to move.

A break in the situation came when a neighbor reported that water was gushing out of the Airbnb which constituted an emergency and granted Weissman the necessary permission to enter.

‘I first sent him the video and when he did not respond I called the police,’ she explained. ‘The police would not go in and the squatter tried to tell me that he was not aware of the flood he caused. 

‘I did not give up and eventually told him that I would have a plumber come over and if deemed a hazard I would shut off the water.’

Weissman got a break in the case after water damage (pictured) which constituted an emergency meant she was allowed to enter the home

Weissman got a break in the case after water damage (pictured) which constituted an emergency meant she was allowed to enter the home

The situation appears to have spooked Lamarck, who was seen packing up into a U-Haul van shortly after Weissman resolved the issue. 

Surveillance footage showed Lamarck loading up the vehicle with help from a woman before she places a towel over the camera to obscure it.

Adding insult to injury, Weissman said that Lamarck was allowed to leave her a negative review following his stay which remained live for several days while she tried desperately to remove it. 

Weissman is now warning others of the dangers of renting in the Golden State, which were exacerbated for her due to specific rules in Hermosa Beach that forbid short term lets of less than 30 days.

‘Booking it on Airbnb with the lax eviction laws in California – they just get away with it,’ Weissman told ABC7.

She also hit out at Airbnb for what she described as a lackluster response.

Lamarck vacated the property swiftly after the water incident

Lamarck vacated the property swiftly after the water incident

Further horrors awaited inside including backed-up toilets

Weissman said it appeared someone had tried to break into her closet

Further horrors awaited Weissman inside including backed-up toilets and damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt

Weissman rents out the townhouse for $12,500 per month and faced losing up to $70,000 in rental income if she went through the courts

Weissman rents out the townhouse for $12,500 per month and faced losing up to $70,000 in rental income if she went through the courts

‘Airbnb did like the absolute minimum. I mean, they said: “Call your local law enforcement,”‘ she said. 

Airbnb said in a statement to ABC7: ‘Issues like this on Airbnb are very rare. In this case, we are in contact with the host and have removed the guest from our platform.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Weissman and Airbnb for comment.

Mrs Hinch Welcomes Third Son: Unveils His Charming Name

Exciting news from the world of domestic bliss as Mrs Hinch has celebrated the arrival of a precious baby boy!

The beloved housekeeping star, better known as Sophie Hinchliffe, shared the joyous update through an endearing Instagram post on Thursday. Sophie and her husband Jamie welcomed their third bundle of joy into the world on Tuesday.

In a heartfelt reveal, Sophie delighted fans with charming photos of their newborn shortly after his birth, along with sharing his adorable name.

A touching video followed, showcasing Jamie’s proud walk through the hospital corridors, as the happy family prepared to head home with their newest member.

Accompanying her post, Sophie penned, “Welcome to the world. Vinnie Alan Barker Hinchliffe. Born 18th February at 12:21 pm, weighing 6lb 7oz.”

‘Our beautiful little heart healer entered the world In the month we needed him most, February.

Mrs Hinch has given birth to a baby boy!

Mrs Hinch has given birth to a baby boy!

The cleaning guru, aka Sophie Hinchliffe, announced in a sweet Instagram post on Thursday that she welcomed her third child with husband Jamie on Tuesday

The cleaning guru, aka Sophie Hinchliffe, announced in a sweet Instagram post on Thursday that she welcomed her third child with husband Jamie on Tuesday

‘February is my Dads birthday month my birthday month … And now, it’s our Vinnies

‘The signs, the comfort ,the joy, you really are just everything we have needed and more Vinnie. Now it’s time to meet your beautiful big brothers, and start the next chapter in our Hinch story

‘@mrhinchhome I love you beyond words❤️ ILYD , I feel you Barker always xx’

In a separate video she shared on her stories, walking out of the hospital, she wrote: ‘Home time’.

The couple are already proud parents to sons Ronnie, five, and Lennie, three.

In September 2024, Sophie sobbed in an emotional social media video as she appealed to her fanbase for support during her ongoing battle with grief after losing her father.

She said: ‘When you’ve been through something like this, it’s a bit like an out of body experience. 

‘The world looks different, feels different, smells different, just everything is different,’ she said in her stories in August. 

Sophie shared adorable photos of the new tot just minutes after his delivery, while revealing his cute name

Sophie shared adorable photos of the new tot just minutes after his delivery, while revealing his cute name

She later shared a sweet video of Jamie walking through the hospital as they headed home with their newborn

She later shared a sweet video of Jamie walking through the hospital as they headed home with their newborn 

The influencer, who goes by Mrs Hinch on social media, are already proud parents to sons Ronnie, five, and Lennie, three

The influencer, who goes by Mrs Hinch on social media, are already proud parents to sons Ronnie, five, and Lennie, three

Sophie then shared in a gushing post and said she was convinced her third son was a gift from her father in heaven  (Mrs Hinch and her father pictured together)

Sophie then shared in a gushing post and said she was convinced her third son was a gift from her father in heaven  (Mrs Hinch and her father pictured together) 

Sophie announced her father’s death on Instagram in May, writing that he ‘passed suddenly but so peacefully whilst he slept. 

‘My life, our whole world, has been turned upside down. A deep unimaginable pain I cannot put into words.’

Sophie continues to struggle with her grief as she told her fans: ‘I thought I was doing alright or managing a bit yesterday.

‘And then I had a dream last night… I don’t understand how we have this grief that is with us all the time but when you try and do better you’re sort of knocked back on the floor again.’

‘I really want to do better but I can’t. I don’t know if anyone’s got any advice on starting again every few days it seems.’ 

Sophie recently has left fans in stitches after giving a behind-the-scenes look at her baby bump photoshoot fail.

Showing off her bare baby bump in a sweet new black and white snap, Sophie draped a shirt off her shoulders as she kneeled on the floor with a sheet backdrop. 

She looked stunning as she cradled her growing bump before being joined by her adorable pet pooch Henry. 

During her pregnancy, Sophie revealed she has had a major baby bump photoshoot fail as she took to Instagram to show off her DIY set up

During her pregnancy, Sophie revealed she has had a major baby bump photoshoot fail as she took to Instagram to show off her DIY set up

The cleaning influencer showed off her bare baby bump in a sweet new black and white snap as she kneeled on the floor with a sheet backdrop - but it didn't quite go how she wanted

The cleaning influencer showed off her bare baby bump in a sweet new black and white snap as she kneeled on the floor with a sheet backdrop – but it didn’t quite go how she wanted

But unfortunately the set up wasn’t quite what Mrs Hinch had in mind and she described the process as hilarious, telling her 4.8million Instagram followers that she had a camera roll full of ‘fails’ after spending the afternoon trying to get the perfect shot. 

She said: ‘Look at the set up guys, um yeah. We’ve tried. You just need to not get the edge of the sheet but the hilarious thing is, it is what it is’.

Taking to the caption, Sophie explained: ‘DIY Baby month “photo shoot” if you’ve watched my story today guys you’ll know why me and Jamie have only just stopped laughing! 

‘A camera roll of fails later, we did manage to capture these and we definitely have memories behind these pictures that’s for sure.

‘As for my Henry, who turns 10 this year, I am so pleased he joined me. But now, it’s time for the final baby prep … We can’t wait to meet you this month baby boy, especially your big brothers.

‘Thank you everyone for following yet another chapter to our crazy story , all the best, always. Ps for Photographer bookings contact: @mrhinchhome xxx’.

It comes after it was revealed that Sophie made a jaw-dropping 4.4million last year thanks to her £3 cleaning sprays. 

Sophie, who took a step back from the spotlight last year to grieve the sudden loss of her father, has made a fortune from an Instagram account focusing on cleaning tips.

It comes after it was revealed that Sophie made a jaw-dropping 4.4million last year thanks to her £3 cleaning sprays

It comes after it was revealed that Sophie made a jaw-dropping 4.4million last year thanks to her £3 cleaning sprays

She made an eye-watering £4,364,134 profit, compared to £2,789, 729 in 2023, selling brand-new cleaning products for household brands, The Sun reported

She made an eye-watering £4,364,134 profit, compared to £2,789, 729 in 2023, selling brand-new cleaning products for household brands, The Sun reported

The stunner nearly doubled her earnings from 2023, making an eye-watering £4,364,134 profit, compared to £2,789, 729 in 2023.

New Companies House documents show that Sophie has multi-millions in the bank and in the financial year to April 5, 2024, she experienced her most profitable year since bursting onto the social media scene in 2018.

The bumper earnings represent her first financial year after cutting ties with Tesco in April 2023 to focus on other exciting projects. 

Tesco’s Mrs Hinch collection launched in January 2021 and included items such as luxury bedlinen, loungewear, heart-shaped bowls and candles. 

However, her main focus for 2024 was to design brand-new cleaning product scents for household brands, such as Lenor and Bold. 

Her company reported that she had made £4,179,283 for 2024, while she was still due £748,130 and had tangible assets at £81,123.

The mother created her Instagram account @mrshinchhome, in March 2018 and accumulated an incredible two million followers in just one year. 

She now has 4.8 million loyal followers who rely on her for the best home cleaning tips and tricks. 

Brazil Employs Forensic Science to Identify Gold Origins and Combat Illegal Amazon Mining

BRASILIA – In a bid to combat the rampant illegal gold mining plaguing the Amazon, Brazil is harnessing the power of forensic science. This illicit activity poses a significant threat to the rainforest’s future, endangers Indigenous communities, and has contributed vastly to deforestation and perilous mercury pollution.

Leading the charge is the National Institute of Criminalistics, nestled in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. Here, federal police have established a state-of-the-art “gold lab” designed to gather and scrutinize samples from around the nation.

The lab’s mission is to identify whether newly obtained gold — perhaps confiscated during a police operation — originates from areas under protection, thus being mined illegally. This meticulous process, known as “gold fingerprinting,” involves tracing the precise origins of gold with remarkable accuracy.

Experts liken the process of tracing gold to analyzing human DNA, highlighting its precision and detail.

Within the confines of the lab, glistening gold flakes rest in small, coin-sized containers. However, their true worth lies not in their shine but in the information they carry. Each piece is distinct, having absorbed unique particles, such as silver and copper, from its environment — be it rock or riverbed.

And that’s the fingerprint. It allows the investigators to determine if gold seized during a police raid was actually mined in the area its purported owner claims it came from, or if it was illegally sourced from a national forest or Indigenous land — in which case its analysis would match stored data from the protected area.

Gustavo Geiser, a federal police forensics expert, says the method has been developed since 2019 in collaboration with Brazilian universities. The investigators use tools such as X‑ray fluorescence spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and laser ablation mass spectrometry.

“As we advanced, the forensic examinations became increasingly complex,” Geiser said, but the question before them was always the same: “Where did this gold come from?”

If the forensics prove a gold sample was illegally mined, the information then helps police build a case and move forward with further investigations and possibly charges.

Criminals insert illegally mined gold into legal markets

Those involved in environmental crimes in the Amazon frequently resort to fraud to introduce their goods into legal markets, not just when it comes to gold but also for cattle and timber. Lately, a worldwide surge in gold prices has only spurred on the mining rush in the Amazon rainforest.

Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining, estimates that about 496,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of rainforest have been cut down for mining since 2023, including some 223,000 hectares (551,000 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon.

Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts, its top audit institution, said last year there was evidence indicating that mining permits granted by the National Mining Agency to small-scale miners were being used to pawn off gold extracted from protected areas in the Amazon.

Greenpeace, in its own independent report in May, based on publicly available records, satellite imagery and aerial surveillance, detailed how the scheme works.

On paper, an owner of a legally authorized mine in the Amazon would declare that tons of gold had been extracted at that mine.

However, satellite and aerial imagery would show that there had not been any activity at the site of the legal mine. Meanwhile, images of bordering Indigenous lands, where mining is banned, would reveal large-scale mining operations — a “ghost mine” scam as Greenpeace calls it.

A federal court in Para, a northern state severely impacted by illegal mining, issued an order this month for institutions like the Central Bank and the National Mining Agency to enact effective control and traceability of all gold, from the mines to the markets. Brazil’s federal prosecutors also filed a lawsuit against the National Mining Agency, seeking better oversight of mining permits.

Prosecutor André Porreca, who is leading the case, said the permits have become a front used “to launder gold extracted by criminal organizations from Indigenous territories and protected areas.”

Geiser, the forensic expert, says the Brasilia gold lab is an important piece of the puzzle that helps battle crime and strengthen global gold supply chains.

“Being able to state that it (gold) has a legitimate origin and therefore is valid for inclusion in a country’s or a bank’s financial reserves, I believe provides solidity not only to the market but also to the countries’ financial bonds,” he said.

There is no data on how many criminals the lab has helped put behind bars, but Geiser says crime networks have recently begun exploiting neighboring countries such as Venezuela, French Guiana and Suriname, to launder illegally mined gold. Samples from abroad have made it to his lab, where they have joined the constantly growing database, he said.

The growing crime has also forced regional countries to strengthen collaboration through the Amazon International Police Cooperation Center, headquartered in the Brazilian city of Manaus.

Illegal gold mining leads to devastating mercury contamination

The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate, so anything that degrades it could accelerate global warming, researchers say.

A 2023 analysis by MapBiomas, a nonprofit that monitors land-use, said that over 90% of Brazil’s mining is taking place in the Amazon region, with nearly 40% of it illegal, in protected areas.

Though illegal gold mining is a relatively small driver of deforestation, compared to agriculture, the harm it inflicts on the environment is nearly impossible to reverse — especially because of the use of mercury to extract gold. Once the gold is separated, the mercury is released into the rivers, contaminating water sources and fish essential to Indigenous life.

A 2023 study by Fiocruz, a Brazilian science institute, said 21.3% of fish in Amazonian markets exceeded the World Health Organization’s safety limits for mercury levels — with children between 2 and 4 years old consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times the recommended maximum.

Brazil signed the U.N. agreement known as the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which commits it to eliminate mercury use in gold mining.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy published a draft this month on easing out mercury that’s up for debate, meant to take place until Aug. 7. Federal prosecutors have urged that Indigenous groups — the ones most affected by the contamination — be consulted, but that has not yet happened.

A total ban on mercury would both curb environmental contamination and also bolster forensics investigations, according to Geiser of the federal police, whose lab can detect any traces of mercury in its samples.

“It will make it even clearer that any mining using mercury … is illegal,” he added.

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Madison Branded ‘Corrupt City’ in Heated Anti-Police Protest

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In Wisconsin, a police briefing erupted into chaos on Thursday as a protester commandeered the podium, disrupting an official discussion centered on the recent police shooting involving a homeless man. Emotions ran high throughout the demonstration.

This meeting unfolded a day after a confrontation in which police officers fatally shot a homeless individual who, according to authorities, injured an officer with a knife on Wednesday.

Officials stated that the officers had responded to reports about someone stealing bicycles and attempting to open vehicle doors. The individual was later identified by authorities as 38-year-old Corey Durell Ruiz, a person without a permanent residence.

Police maintained that Ruiz wielded a knife and attacked an officer, but protesters vehemently argued that the police used unwarranted force, drawing parallels to the 2020 incident involving George Floyd.

man hurling fist in air at podium

The protest reached its peak when a demonstrator stepped up to seize the microphone during a police briefing in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2026, amid the controversy surrounding a police shooting.  (City of Madison)

One demonstrator then grabbed the microphone from Police Chief John Patterson.

“We don’t want any of that talk,” a protester said. 

The protester then delivered a lengthy denunciation of police, capitalism, imperialism and Zionism, accusing Patterson of participating in a system that he said had oppressed his family for generations.

While the disruption continued, another demonstrator held up a sign that read, “Corrupt cops deserve to die too!!!”

Once the protesters quieted down, the chief resumed his presentation, promising his department’s full cooperation with the state investigation, according to The Associated Press. 

knife on floor near blood

Officials said a man pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured an officer in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 22, 2026.  (Madison Police Department)

Court records show Ruiz had a lengthy criminal history spanning nearly three decades. He repeatedly cycled in and out of jail in cases involving failure to pay child support, vehicle theft, bail jumping, threats to authorities, resisting an officer, theft, attempted invasion of privacy and cocaine possession.

Earlier in the briefing, city officials also called for accountability, questioning the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the shooting would be “rigorously investigated” and that no one should lose their life from a law enforcement encounter. 

“It does not matter who you are or what your past is, you should not lose your life as a result of an encounter with law enforcement,” Rhodes-Conway said, according to the AP. 

Madison Common Council President Sabrina Madison went further, questioning why officers involved in fatal shootings should not be taken into custody.

“My first thought is, when the officer’s walking away, why isn’t he walking away in cuffs,” Madison said, according to the AP. “I’m angry, there’s no way around it.”

Protesters erupt at police briefing

Protesters attend a police briefing in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2026.  (City of Madison)

Gov. Tony Evers also called for transparency and accountability as the investigation moves forward in a statement released Wednesday night. 

According to police, Ruiz fled the area on a bicycle and rode through backyards as officers responded to theft reports.

When officers caught up with Ruiz, officials said he “either fell or was pulled off the bicycle,” leading to a struggle with officers in the middle of an intersection. 

“During the struggle, the man pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured an officer,” the Madison Police Department said. 

After unsuccessful attempts to detain Ruiz with a Taser, the officer injured during the encounter reportedly opened fire. Authorities described him as a veteran officer. 

A second officer was also injured during the encounter, but it is unclear whether the injury was caused by the knife, according to police. 

Officers reportedly attempted to provide life-saving measures at the scene before Ruiz was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

In total, four officers were involved in or witnessed the shooting, and all officers involved will be placed on administrative leave, authorities said.

Heartbreaking Abuse: Parents Arrested for Chaining and Starving 9-Year-Old Girl in Horrific Case

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Inset, left to right: Justin Redd and Brittney Redd (Escambia County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Florida where the couple lived with Justin Redd’s 9-year-old daughter (Google Maps).

Trapped in a nightmare, a young girl from Florida endured severe starvation, allegedly at the hands of her father and stepmother. Investigators reveal that the 9-year-old was confined to a barren room, its door secured with a metal chain, and subsisted mostly on meager servings of oatmeal twice daily. Her caretakers, meanwhile, allegedly duped medical professionals into believing she was plagued by intense behavioral and eating issues.

Facing these grave accusations are Justin Patrick Redd, aged 33, and Brittney Michelle Redd, 28. Authorities have charged the couple with aggravated child abuse, child neglect leading to significant harm, and failing to ensure school attendance, as presented in a probable cause affidavit from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

The case came to light following a hospital admission in late December 2024, when the girl, weighing just 45 pounds, was brought to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital. Her condition, marked by malnutrition and blood in her urine, prompted a transfer to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where her true plight unfolded.

Medical professionals at Shands described her condition in stark terms: she was “very malnourished and thin appearing,” with significant muscle wastage in her limbs, accompanied by dry and scaly skin—all symptoms pointing to severe malnutrition. Remarkably, during a two-week stay under proper care, the child met her caloric requirements and gained about 19 pounds, shining a light on the severe neglect she had previously suffered.

After arriving at the hospital, the girl told medical staff and investigators that she had been living with her father and stepmother since he gained custody in 2023 and that the couple routinely locked her inside her bedroom “with a metal chain outside her door.”

According to the affidavit, she said she was forced to wear only a pull-up diaper, withdrawn from school, and typically fed only oatmeal twice a day, with cold canned beans on occasion.

“She was not allowed to eat what everyone else ate,” police wrote in the affidavit.

The child also alleged she was denied regular access to a bathroom, forcing her to soil herself because her bedroom door remained locked. Afterward, she said Brittney Redd made her take cold showers before ordering her to “shake off like a dog as they didn’t have a towel for her.”

She further told investigators she slept on the floor without a blanket and was forbidden from having friends or celebrating holidays or birthdays. The defendants repeatedly told her she was a “danger to others” and a “thief.” She also believed the adults’ claim that cameras monitored her room around the clock, despite no cameras being found in the room.

Investigators wrote that the couple offered a starkly different explanation, claiming the girl suffered from medical and psychiatric problems, including self-harm, refusal to eat, bathroom issues, and an obsession with calories that caused her dramatic weight loss. They also denied locking her in her room.

But as detectives gathered medical, counseling and school records, they concluded those claims were repeatedly contradicted by objective evidence.

Hospital records showed the girl consistently gained weight whenever she was removed from the defendants’ custody. During one hospitalization in 2024, she gained nearly 9 pounds in four days. During another admission later that year, she gained more than 8 pounds in less than two weeks. After her December hospitalization, she gained about 19 pounds while under medical care.

Doctors also observed that she would “repeatedly ask staff for more food, not less, and would eat everything they gave her,” the affidavit states.

School records similarly undermined the couple’s account, investigators said.

Although Justin Redd claimed doctors recommended removing the girl from school, detectives found no medical documentation supporting that assertion. Instead, records showed Justin Redd withdrew her from school in May 2024 and did not enroll her again until after her hospitalization months later.

Teachers described the child as a typical third-grader who consistently ate all of her meals at school and exhibited none of the behavioral, bathroom or eating problems the couple described, according to investigators.

The affidavit also alleges Justin and Brittney Redd missed 14 scheduled medical appointments while the child’s condition continued to deteriorate.

Investigators ultimately concluded the evidence — including the girl’s statements, her rapid recoveries outside the home, medical documentation, and school records — supported charges against both defendants.

After being discharged from Shands in January, the girl was placed with another family member. Investigators reported that by March she had nearly doubled her weight, her blood work had returned to normal, and she was back in a traditional classroom, where teachers described her as sweet, shy and eating normally.

The Redds both pleaded not guilty to all charges. They remain in the Escambia County Jail ahead of their July 31 arraignments.

The post Dad, stepmom kept starving 9-year-old locked up ‘with a metal chain,’ made her ‘shake off like a dog’ after cold showers: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.

NYPD Investigates NYC Stabbings Injuring 2 as Possible Hate Crime

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In a shocking incident on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a suspect has been apprehended following a daytime stabbing spree that left two individuals injured, authorities reported on Thursday.

Witnesses and the victims have recounted hearing the suspect shout “Allahu Akbar” during the attacks, shared NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. She mentioned that the police force is investigating whether these acts constitute a hate crime.

The initial attack targeted a 57-year-old Asian man, who was stabbed in the torso near the intersection of West 84th Street and Central Park West, officials detailed.

Shortly thereafter, a 50-year-old Jewish man was assaulted near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, police noted in their report.

Both victims were swiftly transported to hospital facilities where they are reported to be in stable condition and are expected to recover fully, according to Commissioner Tisch.

The suspect — 51-year-old Raul Morales — was arrested in connection with both assaults, Tisch said. He was taken into custody on the Upper West Side, near West 88th Street and Amsterdam