Category: True crime
Career criminal with over 20-year-long rap sheet reportedly gets sweetheart plea deal — now a beloved teacher is dead
A career criminal killed a beloved North Carolina teacher in a horrific home invasion, according to police — and new reports suggest the suspect previously received a sweetheart plea deal that allowed him back on the streets.
The Raleigh Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a report of a burglary just after 6:30 a.m. Jan. 3.
‘It was like a horror movie.’
Police said the victim — 57-year-old Zoe Welsh — indicated a man was inside her home.
“While still on the phone with dispatch, the suspect began to assault her,” police stated.
Police said Welsh was suffering from life-threatening injuries when officers arrived at her home. However, Welsh later died at a hospital.
Officers arrested 36-year-old Ryan Camacho, and he was taken into custody without incident.
Camacho was charged with murder and felony burglary. He was denied bond and is being detained at the Wake County Detention Center.
Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce said of Welsh, “I am deeply heartbroken for this mother, friend, and mentor to many in our community, and for the unimaginable trauma her family must endure.”
Boyce added, “The arrest of the suspect sends a strong message that criminal acts will not be tolerated in the city of Raleigh.”
This investigation remains ongoing.
Welsh had taught AP biology and forensic science at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh since 2006, a school spokesperson told WTVD-TV.
“Her loss is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege of working with her and learning in her classroom,” the school spokesperson said.
Calysa Sauls, one of Welsh’s former students, told WRAL-TV, “She really cared for her students. She definitely was one of those teachers who was passionate about the subject that she taught.”
Olivia Alvarez — Welsh’s house cleaner for years — added to WTVD, “I’ll remember her smile; she was always happy.”
Alvarez added, “I love you, Zoe, so much, you are now with God, and this man is going to pay, he’s going to pay.”
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) wrote, “Zoe Welsh, by all accounts, was a special teacher and person. My heart goes out to her family and students, who have suffered a traumatic loss from another senseless act of violence.”
Camacho reportedly has a lengthy criminal history spanning over 20 years but allegedly has benefited from generous plea deals.
In December, a judge dismissed breaking-and-entering charges against Camacho after a mental competency examination, WRAL noted in a separate story.
Prosecutors recommended that Camacho be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital, but that request was denied by Judge Louis Meyer, according to District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
Freeman told WRAL, “Based on the evidence that was available to the court at the time, the court did not find that he met the threshold for involuntary commitment. For involuntary commitment, the judge has to make a finding that they are a danger to themselves or others.”
Meyer did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
WRAL reported that Camacho’s lengthy rap sheet includes charges of assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, malicious conduct by a prisoner, injury to personal property, injury to real property, trespassing, stalking, and probation violations.
In 2025, Camacho reportedly got a sweetheart plea deal that allowed him back on the streets.
Citing public records, WRAL reported that Camacho faced up to a four-year prison sentence for four felony charges — but all the felonies were reduced to a single misdemeanor.
What’s more, Camacho in 2021 attempted to escape from the Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
Freeman on Monday said “he has spent a lot of time bouncing between the prison system and the local jails over the last few years and has really been in custody all but maybe a total of 12 months within the past six years.”
Wes Phillips — a long-time Raleigh resident — claimed he was forced to move after Camacho, his former neighbor, allegedly harassed and stalked his family nearly a decade ago.
In the spring of 2016, Phillips said he discovered two tires on his car were slashed and a mirror was torn off while a mirror on his wife’s car also was torn off.
According to the Raleigh News and Observer, Phillips questioned Camacho about the vandalization of the cars, “The lightbulb sort of went on for me at that point, and I asked him, ‘Did you touch my [expletive] car?'”
Phillips alleged that Camacho walked toward him and “cocked his fists into a fighting position.” Phillips’ wife reportedly broke things up.
In October 2016, as Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina, Phillips noticed Camacho outside his home.
“It was like a horror movie, like he was standing there in a black jacket, staring at us in front of our house during a hurricane,” Phillips told WRAL-TV. “Not talking, like making sure that we knew who he was.”
Just days later, Phillips alleged that after he entered his vehicle and locked the doors, Camacho “was pulling on the door, trying to get in.”
WRAL reported, “Security video from that day showed a man throw a rock into the windshield of Phillips’ car and then through the sunroof, before punching and kicking the vehicle.”
Phillips’ landlord let him end the lease early so he and his family could move away from Camacho, but the suspect allegedly showed up at Phillips’ new townhome with a gun.
Phillips explained, “He shot into our building where he thought that we lived. That’s something that stays with us.”
Citing court documents, WRAL reported that no one was injured in the shooting, but Camacho was arrested and spent two years in prison.
In fear of violence from Camacho, the Phillips family armed themselves with “lethal and non-lethal protection measures.”
Phillips noted, “It’s not like there weren’t signs. We were really adamant about the danger that we felt we were in, and perhaps other people were in, and it just wasn’t taken seriously.”
Phillips said that there was a complete failure that led to a “woman being killed.”
Phillips continued, “My wife and I are asking ourselves right now as we think about what happened this past week, how close did we come to being that person, and could that have been prevented?”
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Pregnant woman found dead; now sordid family-affair accusations and mystery of her baby’s grisly fate emerge: Court docs
The mother of a slain pregnant woman found in a Michigan forest has confessed to committing grisly acts against her daughter and her unborn grandson, according to new court documents. The case also has taken a shocking twist as sordid accusations of illicit family affairs have emerged.
As Blaze News reported earlier this month, 22-year-old Rebecca Park — who was approximately 38 weeks pregnant — was reported missing Nov. 4, according to the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office.
‘Your baby is gonna die.’
Following weeks of intense searches for the missing pregnant woman, Park’s body was found in the Manistee National Forest on Nov. 25 — just three days after she was due to give birth. However, Park’s child was no longer in her womb.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General stated that 40-year-old Cortney Bartholomew and 47-year-old Bradly Bartholomew “lured” Park to their home in Wexford County. Cortney Bartholomew is Park’s biological mother, who gave up her daughter for adoption as a young child; Bradly Bartholomew is her stepfather.
“The couple then allegedly tortured Park in an attempt to remove the unborn infant, resulting in the death of both,” the attorney general said.
According to MLive, Wexford County Prosecutor Johanna Carey said, “Mr. Bartholomew brought Rebecca to their home, forced her into another vehicle, and took her into the woods, where they stabbed her, forced her to lie on the ground while they cut her baby out, ultimately causing her death and the death of the baby.”
Cortney initially denied any involvement in the murder of her daughter, according to police.
However, Cortney later confessed to cops that Park was still conscious when she cut the baby out of her daughter while Bradly held a knife to her throat, according to court documents.
Cortney claimed she cut the baby out of Rebecca in an attempt to save the child so she could then take him to his father, court documents allege.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by UpNorthLive, “When she cut the baby out, Cortney said that Rebecca was still conscious, and Bradly was holding the knife to her throat.”
Court docs added that Cortney told Rebecca to lie back and said, “Your baby is gonna die.”
The affidavit said Bradly told law enforcement that the baby was not alive when the child was cut out of the womb. Cortney informed investigators that the baby was not breathing or crying when the child was removed from the womb, court documents state.
Court docs also indicate that Bradly told detectives that after Cortney couldn’t revive the baby, she said, “The bitch killed my baby.”
According to the affidavit, Bradly accused Cortney of killing her daughter because she wanted another child, but the couple couldn’t adopt because he’s a convicted sex offender.
“Bradly agreed that he believes that Cortney is capable of slicing open her own flesh and blood and taking a baby out,” the affidavit reads. “He agreed that Cortney is obsessed with wanting another baby in her care and custody.”
When Cortney asked about her grandson, who had just been cut from his mother’s womb, Bradly replied, “Oh, I stuck him in a cooler, stuck him in a trash bag, threw him in the trash,” the affidavit states.
“I slit her f**king throat, bitch deserved it,” Cortney claimed her husband told her, according to Law & Crime.
In a strange twist, Cortney allegedly admitted to having a romantic relationship with her daughter Rebecca’s fiancé — 43-year-old Richard Falor — who also is the father of Rebecca’s unborn child.
“Cortney then reports how Rebecca and Richard Falor were initially dating, and [when] they broke up, a relationship between herself and Richard then commences,” the affidavit indicates.
Court documents claim Cortney rejected Falor and that he then resumed his relationship with Rebecca.
“Cortney also reported that Richard had returned to her residence and raped her, forcefully, causing her to have a miscarriage of the baby she was carrying,” the affidavit states, adding that “a report of this incident was made with the sheriff’s office, however, Cortney said Richard was not charged.”
Cortney claimed that Falor had been abusive and aggressive with Park, and she encouraged Rebecca to leave him.
The affidavit reads, “[Cortney] again claimed that this was a revenge plot because she had a sexual relationship with Richard and because Richard got Bradly put in jail. She claimed that Bradly wanted to hurt Richard.”
The 18-page probable cause affidavit alleges that Falor turned in Bradly last year on a sex offender registration violation.
Bradly received a 180-day jail sentence for an unspecified violation related to his being on the sex offender registry, according to court records obtained by People magazine.
Court documents indicate that Cortney told authorities that Bradly said Falor also deserved what’s coming to him, and it “just happened to be your daughter that’s going to pay for it.”
Cortney claimed Bradly told her that he planned to cut the baby out of Rebecca right in front of Falor after doing an internet search about C-sections, court docs say.
The stepfather asserted that Rebecca’s sister — 21-year-old Kimberly Park — also had a “relationship” with Falor.
“Bradly reported that Kimberly is jealous of Rebecca, and that he is aware that Kimberly has had a relationship with Richard in the past,” the affidavit states.
Over the last two weeks, Rebecca’s mother, stepfather, sister, and fiancé have been arrested.
People magazine reported that Kimberly has been charged with tampering with evidence, lying to a police officer, and filing a false report. She is on house arrest after her bail was reduced from $750,000 to $5,000.
Falor was charged with distributing methamphetamine, according to the New York Post. He pleaded not guilty Dec. 2.
Cortney and Bradly each were charged with one felony count of first-degree premeditated murder, one felony count of murder, one felony count of torture in a place of confinement, one felony count of conspiracy to commit torture, one felony count of assault of a pregnant woman with the intention to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, one felony count of conspiracy to commit assault on a pregnant woman with the intention to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, and one misdemeanor count of removal of a dead body.
If convicted of any of the felonies, the pair faces up to life in prison.
Court records identify Bradly Bartholomew as a habitual offender, which could result in harsher penalties.
The Bartholomews were jailed without the possibility of bond.
Court appearances by Cortney and Bradly have been postponed until Jan. 13, 2026, WWTV-TV and WWUP-TV reported.
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Thanksgiving nightmare: Woman gives chilling ‘independence day’ confession about slashing boyfriend’s throat, police say
An Arizona woman allegedly admitted to trying to murder her sleeping boyfriend on Thanksgiving, according to court documents. What’s more, authorities said the woman told her boyfriend, “Today is my independence day.”
Tamala Rudeseal — a 52-year-old from Mesa — was arrested on Thanksgiving night and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges. Her bond was set at $1 million.
‘God, I hope he is dead; it’d be a favor to me, his wife, and his children.’
Police said Rudeseal called 911 around 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving and reportedly made several alarming remarks.
Citing court records, KPNX-TV reported that Rudeseal was heard saying during the 911 call, “I’m sick of what you do to me, today is independence day.”
Court documents also claim Rudeseal was heard saying, “Yes … I did just try to murder you,” and “I’m ready to go to prison.”
Police said when officers arrived at the residence, they found Rudeseal’s boyfriend with a cut running from his left ear to the center of his neck.
The wounded man was rushed to a local hospital and underwent emergency surgery for a neck laceration, according to KSAZ-TV. Officials told the news outlet that the man is expected to survive.
The boyfriend informed investigators that the couple had argued earlier in the day, court docs stated.
Arizona Family, citing court documents, reported that the man told detectives he was asleep when he woke to a sharp pain in his neck. Court records also state that he told investigators that he thought he was going to die but controlled the bleeding with his shirt until police arrived.
The boyfriend said he’d been in a relationship with Rudeseal for 11 years and that she is often depressed around the holidays, according to court records.
According to court docs, Rudeseal informed police that she told her boyfriend, “I’m going to slice your (expletive) throat.”
According to court docs, when asked by investigators if she was attempting to kill her boyfriend, Rudeseal responded, “Yes. God, I hope he is dead; it’d be a favor to me, his wife, and his children.”
According to court records, Rudeseal also told authorities, “I planned on doing the other side and then stabbing him in the heart.”
Records show Rudeseal complained to officers that her boyfriend “does not do anything around the house” except sit, smoke, and drink.
Police detained Rudeseal at the crime scene and recovered a large folding hunting knife close to where she was found, authorities said.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office told People magazine that the case is “currently under review by our office.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday afternoon told Blaze News that Rudeseal “is still in custody.”
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Cop torches career after home invasion, physical attack on former lover — and his girlfriend — plus threat to burn down house
A New Jersey police officer has lost her law enforcement career in the state following a home invasion, physical attack, and threats to burn down a former lover’s residence.
Rebecca Sayegh, 32 — formerly with the Toms River Police Department — pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal mischief, and simple assault on Nov. 17.
‘I’m going to f**king burn your house down next, you piece of s**t.’
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced in a statement that his office wants Sayegh to serve 180 days in jail when she’s sentenced on Jan. 26. As part of her probation, prosecutors also want her to have no contact with the victims and to pay restitution.
Sayegh — who had been suspended without pay since her April arrest — was required to forfeit her position with the police department effective Nov. 17; she’s also barred from any future employment with the state of New Jersey, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Sayegh’s guilty plea stems from a violent home invasion of her ex-boyfriend’s home in Berkeley Township.
As Blaze News previously reported, Sayegh used her baton to smash through the front door of her ex-boyfriend’s home around 11:20 p.m. on April 25.
But the violent incident didn’t stop there.
Sayegh — who was off-duty at the time — engaged in a verbal confrontation with her former lover and his new girlfriend that quickly escalated into a physical attack, according to court documents NJ.com obtained.
Citing Assistant Prosecutor Isabella Young, NJ.com reported that the girlfriend suffered swelling to the eye when Sayegh poked her with her fingernail.
The couple was able to restrain Sayegh before she “broke free” and smashed items in the house and knocked photos off a wall, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Billhimer said Sayegh damaged the hood of a vehicle belonging to one of the victims that was parked in the home’s driveway.
The New York Post reported, “As Sayegh continued on her chaotic rampage, the new girlfriend retreated into the backyard, where she called 911.”
The prosecutor’s office stated: “Sayegh was taken into custody at the scene — after having resisted efforts to peacefully place her under arrest.”
Citing police bodycam video, the Daily Mail reported that Sayegh appeared to tell her ex-boyfriend: “I’m going to f**king burn your house down next, you piece of s**t.”
Sayegh caused $2,000 in damage to the house and another $500 to a vehicle, Young said.
Just months before the violent home invasion, Sayegh sued the Toms River Police Department, alleging sexual harassment, being passed over for promotions due to her gender, and a “boys club” culture.
Sayegh’s lawsuit alleges that she “has been victimized by a campaign of disparaging, degrading, harassing, and discriminatory conduct by defendants and the de facto ‘boys club’ culture cultivated and maintained in the department,” the Asbury Park Press reported.
The October 2024 suit also claims that fellow officers “spread false and defamatory rumors throughout the department that [the] plaintiff was sleeping with various male co-workers, commented on [the] plaintiff’s appearance, and insinuated that [the] plaintiff could not complete the responsibilities of her position simply because she is a woman.”
The defendants’ attorneys have described the lawsuit as “frivolous and without legal basis” and “baseless and/or meritless.”
Sayegh — who joined the department in 2017 — claimed that her former captain, Shaun O’Keefe, “shamelessly” pursued a sexual relationship with her.
Sayegh’s lawsuit alleges that O’Keefe followed her into the women’s restroom, took out his penis, and told her to perform oral sex on him during a Toms River Police Foundation event at the Bey Lea Golf Course in June 2022.
O’Keefe retired from the police department in 2021.
In April 2025, Superior Court Judge Robert E. Brenner dismissed the claims against O’Keefe without prejudice, ruling that the lawsuit was filed after the two-year statute of limitations had expired, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Sayegh’s lawsuit against the police department is still pending, according to the Daily Mail.
Sayegh previously had been commended and received an award for her “bravery” after rescuing a woman and her pets from a Toms River house fire in January 2021.
“Officer Sayegh went to the front door and made entry, locating Ms. Nicolo and her pets. Officer Sayegh was able to escort Ms. Nicolo and her pets across the street to safety. Officer Sayegh is commended for her swift action, bravery, and lifesaving actions,” the department stated.
The Toms River Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ requests for comment.
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Stunned judge reveals fate of woman involved in deadly kidnapping of 2 young sisters found in a pit — 1 did not survive
Earlier this year, 34-year-old Victoria Cox — a mother of three — pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping after admitting to helping a friend abduct two children.
The friend in question is 38-year-old Daniel Callihan, a resident of Amite, Louisiana.
‘These acts you committed, do you understand how awful these acts were? You understand how innocent these two little girls were?’
On June 12, 2024, Callihan fatally stabbed a mother of two — Callie Brunett — more than 50 times in her home in Loranger, Louisiana, and then kidnapped Brunett’s two daughters, ages 4 and 6, according to court documents.
Indeed, Callihan stole the stabbing victim’s 2012 Chrysler vehicle, placed Brunett’s two daughters inside it, and eventually drove to Amite, court documents show. That’s where he picked up Cox.
Law enforcement tracked down the missing girls to a property in Jackson, Mississippi, where they made a ghastly discovery. Authorities on June 13, 2024, found the body of the 4-year-old girl in a “pit,” according to a statement last month from the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana.
Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade described the crime scene as “sickening” and revealed that he “observed small cages” and “small wired enclosures,” which “led us to believe that it was a location where human trafficking probably could have happened,” People magazine reported.
The 6-year-old sister was found alive and immediately transported to a hospital; she has since been reunited with relatives.
After Callihan was arrested, he admitted to investigators that he stabbed to death the mother of the two girls and kidnapped them, the U.S. Attorney’s office stated. Callihan also confessed that he “smothered” the 4-year-old girl to death “by holding [her] closely against his chest,” according to People magazine.
‘At any point in your mind were you thinking about your children when you did this? And that didn’t cause you to stop?’
United States District Judge Lance M. Africk handed Callihan consecutive life sentences for kidnapping resulting in death and transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Authorities also determined that Cox was Callihan’s co-conspirator in the disturbing crimes.
While Callihan and Cox engaged in sexual battery against the 6-year-old girl, court docs said, the sexual battery charge was dropped.
Cox has three children of her own — ages 6, 8, and 9 — and during her sentencing hearing, a stunned Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd asked her how she, as a mother, could participate in such a vile act against young children, according to WLBT-TV.
“At any point in your mind were you thinking about your children when you did this? And that didn’t cause you to stop?” Kidd asked Cox.
Cox replied, “I tried, but I couldn’t.”
Cox added to the judge that Callihan had forced her to get high on drugs on the day of the kidnapping, according to WLBT, and that she had been out of rehab for just two days before the kidnapping.
Cox also claimed she “didn’t know” Callihan didn’t have “permission” to have the children, WLBT reported.
Cox told the courtroom, “If I could change it all, I would, but I can’t.”
The station added that Cox released a handwritten note in court requesting to plead guilty as quickly as possible.
Cox wrote, “I’ve been trying to get my attorney to come go over my plea deal with me, but he has failed to do so. I would like to accept it. Can you put me on the court docket?”
According to Court TV, Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II noted that his office had never witnessed that happen before — and said of Cox, “She realized, I believe, that this crime was so horrific that the atonement level has to start today.”
Indeed, Kidd told Cox, “These acts you committed, do you understand how awful these acts were? You understand how innocent these two little girls were? This is something you’re going to have a lot of time to think about.”
Kidd last week sentenced Cox to a pair of concurrent sentences: 40 years in prison on the murder charge and 25 years on the kidnapping charge, according to WWL-TV.
Cox had faced the possibility of a death sentence.
The Jackson Police Department did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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Teacher accused of trafficking for alleged Soros-linked, sex ‘dungeon’ financier loses certification: ‘Not a one-man show’
A Texas woman accused of sex trafficking women for her former financier boss has temporarily lost her teacher certification, according to a new report.
As Blaze News noted in September, a former famed Wall Street financier with money ties to George Soros is accused of torturing women at a secret BDSM sex “dungeon,” according to authorities.
‘During many of these encounters, Rubin brutalized women’s bodies, causing them to fear for their safety and/or resulting in significant pain and injuries.’
On Sept. 26, FBI agents arrested 70-year-old Howard Rubin at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut. On the same day, FBI agents also arrested Rubin’s alleged personal assistant — 46-year-old Jennifer Powers — at her home in Southlake, Texas.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement released in September, “A 10-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging retired New York-based financier, Howard Rubin, also known as ‘Howie’ and ‘H,’ along with his personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, with sex trafficking and transporting women in interstate commerce for sex acts with Rubin.”
Rubin — a former high-profile money manager at Salomon Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch — was also charged with bank fraud in “connection with misrepresentations made to a bank in the course of financing Powers’ mortgage for the Texas home of Powers and her husband.”
If convicted of sex trafficking, Rubin and Powers each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars. Rubin and Powers face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting women to engage in commercial sex acts. Rubin faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years if he’s convicted of bank fraud.
Rubin and Powers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Federal officials said Powers became Rubin’s personal assistant around 2011 and “managed the logistical aspects of their commercial sex operation.”
Federal prosecutors said the alleged sexual abuse crimes occurred between 2009 and 2019 when Rubin and Powers “recruited multiple women to travel to New York City to engage in commercial sex acts with Rubin involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, and sadomasochism, referred to as ‘BDSM’ sex, and some of the women were trafficked.”
According to the Associated Press, Rubin “lured dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as ‘The Dungeon.'”
Federal authorities said the purported sexual encounters happened at luxury hotels and at Rubin’s two-bedroom penthouse apartment in midtown Manhattan, where one of the bedrooms was converted into “what they referred to as a sex ‘dungeon’ that was painted red, soundproofed, and furnished with BDSM equipment and devices, including a device to shock or electrocute the women.”
The federal prosecutor’s office stated in the news release, “During many of these encounters, Rubin brutalized women’s bodies, causing them to fear for their safety and/or resulting in significant pain and injuries.”
Federal officials said Rubin and Powers also forced the women to sign nondisclosure agreements, which would “require the women to assume the risk of the hazards and injury of the BDSM encounters with Rubin, prohibit the disclosure of information about the BDSM sex with Rubin, and require the payment of damages in the event of a breach.”
Special agent Harry Chavis said Powers was quite involved in the alleged sexual abuse, and it was “not a one-man show.”
Chavis stated, “While Rubin dehumanized these women with abhorrent sexual acts, Powers is alleged to have run the day-to-day operations of the enterprise and got paid generously for her efforts.”
The Dallas Morning News, citing online records from the Texas Education Agency, reported Friday that Powers temporarily lost her state teacher certification. The paper added that Powers worked as a long-term substitute teacher for Old Union Elementary in Southlake.
A TEA spokesperson added to the Morning News that the State Board of Educator Certification is required to temporarily suspend a teacher’s certification or permit following an arrest. The paper added that in such cases, a hearing on the temporary suspension “must take place within about two months of the final outcome of the legal case.”
CBS News in September reported that the Carroll Independent School District confirmed Powers had been a substitute teacher but was dismissed.
Cameron Bryan — president of the board of trustees for the Carroll Independent School District — said the district followed all TEA hiring requirements, including fingerprint-based criminal background checks.
An attorney for Powers did not immediately respond to the Morning News’ request for comment.
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Man enters ER with bloody knife saying serial killer took girlfriend’s life. But her mother says she knows ‘savage’ truth.
A Massachusetts man in September walked into a New Bedford emergency room holding a bloody knife in his hand and claiming that a serial killer had stabbed his girlfriend to death, according to multiple reports. But the man now faces life in prison.
Tyler Baglini, 32, reportedly had a history of mental health issues and substance abuse, according to his attorney. After Baglini allegedly experienced an “episode” on Sept. 20, his girlfriend urged him to get help.
‘But I know the truth. I know how savage, how horrific, and how violent his actions were.’
Citing court documents, People magazine reported that Baglini’s girlfriend — 31-year-old Kerri Fidalgo — sent a text message to Baglini at 9:57 a.m. Sept. 20 that read: “Tyler, we can talk later. After you get checked out. You need help. You need to get better. You’re having an episode and you’re paranoid. Everything will be OK, but you need help. I love you. I care about you. Please.”
Police said Baglini wrote back: “Goodbye, I really loved you and I forgive you. Time to go to hell; you were the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Citing court documents, WPRI-TV reported that Baglini appeared at St. Luke’s Hospital at 12:39 p.m. and used a public phone there to call his parents multiple times — as well as Fidalgo twice. Baglini told family and his girlfriend that he was checking himself in for mental health issues — but he didn’t and left the hospital at 12:53 p.m., according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Baglini sent a photo of a knife to Fidalgo around 3:40 p.m.
Baglini later that afternoon reportedly staggered into the emergency room of St. Luke’s while holding a bloody knife and claiming that a serial killer had stabbed his girlfriend to death.
A prosecutor said Baglini’s “kitchen knife” had “blood on the blade,” according to WJAR-TV.
WPRI added that Baglini entered the hospital just before 5 p.m. and said the stabbing took place at her Atlantic Street apartment.
Fidalgo’s oldest sister, Kaila Whalen, reportedly became alarmed when police showed up that afternoon to do a welfare check on her sister.
“As my Portuguese-speaking grandmother fired questions at me in panic, I brushed her off and ran downstairs to Kerri’s apartment, desperate to understand what was happening,” Whalen told WPRI. “I had no idea what I was about to walk into. I didn’t know I would find my sister lying on her living room floor, motionless, surrounded by her own blood.”
Whalen added to WPRI that she remembered seeing her sister’s eyes open and her hands raised as if she was trying to protect herself, which Whalen told the station is an image that will haunt her for the rest of her life.
Whalen recounted to WPRI, “No one should ever have to find someone they love like that. I was frozen in horror, screaming. My mind was racing, but [my] feet wouldn’t move.”
Still, she was able to run back upstairs for the officers, who called for backup and began CPR, according to WPRI.
“I remember how frantic and forceful it seemed, like it was hurting her. It was too much to bear, so I dropped to my knees in her kitchen and begged God to spare her life. I have never felt so hopeless — so useless,” Whalen recalled to WPRI.
Assistant Bristol County District Attorney Karen O’Sullivan said Fidalgo had been stabbed 14 times in the neck, head, and torso, and her injuries were consistent with attempts to defend herself, according to the Herald News.
Fidalgo was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the police report.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said Baglini was arrested Sept. 20 and charged with murder.
Boston.com reported that Baglini was held overnight at Saint Luke’s Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Last week at the sentencing hearing, Fidalgo’s mother unleashed her fury on Baglini.
“I have watched him sit here in this courtroom, quiet and timid, as if he couldn’t possibly have done what he did,” Melissa Fidalgo, Kerri’s mother, told the judge before sentencing, according to the Boston Globe.
“But I know the truth. I know how savage, how horrific, and how violent his actions were,” she continued, according to the Globe. “I hate that he thought he had the right to take my daughter’s life. I hate that he took her from us, from the family that loved her so deeply, from the future she was building, and from the world that was brighter because she was in it.”
Baglini’s attorney, Michael Hussey, said during sentencing that his client has a history of substance abuse and mental health issues that were “probably of little concern to anyone in this room, and probably of little value to this court.”
Judge Raffi N. Yessayan responded, “Whatever other issues he may have, he’s a batterer. He’s a domestic abuser. I look at his record, and that’s clear. That’s why I didn’t let him hide in the corner.”
Baglini pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years, court records show.
Kerri’s youngest sister, Jazelle Fidalgo, described her sister as “a mother, role model, protector, and best friend.”
“Whenever I needed advice or comfort, she was the person I called,” Jazelle told WPRI. “She made me feel safe. She believed in me more than anyone ever could. She pushed me to chase my dreams and see my worth, and to never give up on myself. She was the person who stood by me through everything — my shoulder to cry on and my source of strength when I didn’t have any left.”
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