Authorities in California have arrested a man in connection with a shocking homicide that law enforcement officials describe as a “targeted” attack. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has charged 35-year-old David Swank Prince with murder following a grim discovery in Lafayette.

The series of events unfolded on March 21 when the Lafayette Police Department received a call for a welfare check on 34-year-old Christopher Jaber. Officers arrived at Jaber’s residence, a unit located behind his parents’ home, only to find him dead. The call had been made by family members concerned for Jaber’s well-being.

Prince was apprehended shortly thereafter, spotted walking around the same neighborhood where Jaber lived. His arrest came swiftly following his identification as a suspect.

According to reports from the District Attorney’s office, a 911 caller reported seeing a “suspicious” individual in their backyard. This person, carrying a hatchet, was attempting to break into the accessory dwelling unit where Jaber resided. This sighting raised alarms and prompted the welfare check that led to the unfortunate discovery.

Local residents, who were familiar with Jaber and his family, expressed their shock and dismay. Speaking to NBC Bay Area, neighbor Christina Coleridge recounted that a surveillance camera captured footage of a man, later identified as Prince, wandering through the Bay Area locality. Coleridge emphasized the stranger’s calm demeanor, stating, “Never seen him before. He was really calm.” She further noted that Jaber’s parents were not present at the time when the alleged crime occurred.

Several media outlets including KNTV and local Fox affiliate KTVU reported on a Facebook post that was written by a user sharing Prince’s name. The post, originally published on Feb. 19, included Jaber’s full name and a call for “the chaos of the supernatural to end.” The user referred to Jaber as “the eye” and included his full address.

A reply to the comment by the same user was posted six days before Jaber was found dead that read, “Can someone please kill this man.” The posts were later deleted. Authorities have not confirmed that Prince was the one who posted the comments or that the Facebook user was him.

Prince, who had a history of arrests and convictions for assault, is charged with murder and is in custody at the Martinez Detention Center. He is being held on $2 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 2.

A tragic development has emerged from a Michigan prison where a man, recently sentenced for a horrific crime, was found dead in his cell. This occurred just two weeks after Jarvis Butts, aged 43, was sentenced for the brutal killing of a pregnant 13-year-old girl.

The Michigan Department of Corrections confirmed that Butts was discovered lifeless on March 26 at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center located in Jackson. Despite the immediate efforts by staff to revive him, their attempts proved in vain, as stated in a release to Oxygen. Authorities have labeled the death as an apparent suicide, with the Michigan State Police stepping in to conduct a thorough investigation.

Butts had admitted to second-degree murder in February, a charge stemming from the death of Na’Ziyah Harris, and faced additional charges related to multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct. On March 12, the court sentenced him to a prison term ranging from 35 to 60 years.

A significant aspect of his plea deal included Butts agreeing to cooperate with authorities by revealing the location of Harris’ body. However, despite his claims, her remains have tragically yet to be discovered, as reported by Fox 2 Detroit.

As part of the plea, Butts agreed to provide investigators with a statement on where they could find Harris’ body—yet her remains have still not been recovered, according to Fox 2 Detroit.

“One of the most important aspects of the plea agreement was giving Na’Ziyah’s family some semblance of closure,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. “The disclosure of the location of her body was crucial.”

Maria Miller, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, told Oxygen, that Butts did reveal the information before his death.

“We have not revealed what he said,” Miller said. “That is a police investigation matter.”

Police have said they will continue to search for the remains.

“The Detroit Police Department is aware of the death of Jarvis Butts, who was convicted of killing 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris,” Detroit Police said in a statement following Butts’ death. “Although the legal process ended with a conviction in court, our work is not done. Our department will follow all leads for a homicide and continue our efforts to locate the body of Na’Ziyah Harris to help bring closure to her family.”

The 13-year-old disappeared on Jan. 9, 2024, according to an earlier statement from police. 

Worthy said text messages between the two revealed that Butts met up with the missing teen that day, per Fox 2 Detroit. Worthy also alleged that Butts had groomed the teenager for several years.

Prosecutors alleged, per WXYZ, that Butts killed the teen after discovering that she was pregnant with his child.

He was also accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old relative and another young girl, reported WDIV-TV, and received a 10 to 15 year prison sentence in connection to those charges against him to run concurrently with his murder sentence.

In a startling turn of events, a Utah mother has been charged with criminal offenses after what officials describe as a disturbing kidnapping incident involving an 11-year-old boy. The woman, Shannon Tufuga, aged 40, is accused of taking drastic action against a child she believed was bullying her own son, an incident that unfolded months prior to the charges.

The alleged incident occurred on September 17, when Tufuga reportedly compelled the young boy into her vehicle, transporting him to her residence in Provo. Her intention, it is claimed, was to make the boy apologize to her child. According to USA Today, Tufuga threatened the boy by suggesting her husband would assault him and warned that he was fortunate she hadn’t run him over while he was riding his bike.

The boy’s mother provided further context to KSL, indicating that Tufuga’s child had been persistently pursuing her son with romantic intentions for over two years. This persistent attention, described by the boy’s mother as bothersome, eventually led to her son making a rude comment to Tufuga’s child, after enduring what he felt was unwanted attention.

“He was simply at his wit’s end with the constant attention,” the boy’s mother explained, shedding light on the circumstances that may have provoked the unfortunate events.

Further compounding the gravity of the situation, the boy’s mother also accused Tufuga’s husband of wielding a firearm during the incident, adding a layer of intimidation to the already distressing encounter.

“They basically opened their door and told him to get the eff out, and he ran all the way home, she said. “He came in, and he was just hysterical and said, ‘Mom, I just got kidnapped!”

The mother told KTVX that she was hesitant to have Tufaga charged, but that changed after learning Tufaga said she “didn’t care what happened to him, [and] that she’d do it again.”

Tufaga is charged with kidnapping and aggravated child abuse. In a statement to KTVX, Provo police explained that another department investigated the allegations against Tufaga, who was a city employee.

“To prevent any potential conflict of interest, the criminal investigation involving Shannon Tufuga was conducted by the Orem Police Department, as she was employed by Provo City as a crossing guard at the time of the allegation. Shannon is no longer an employee of Provo City,” the police department said.

Tufaga is not in custody, but a summons was issued ordering her to appear in court.