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- This Week in Crime: September 30 - October 6, 2023
This Week in Crime: September 30 - October 6, 2023
This Week in Crime:
September 30 - October 6, 2023
Top Stories of the Week
“Happy Face Killer” Victim Identified from 1994 Florida Case
Suzanne Kjellenberg and Keith Hunter Jesperson aka “Happy Face Killer”
Okaloosa County, Florida - Another victim of Keith Jesperson, infamously known as the “Happy Face Killer,” has been identified. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden announced on Tuesday that the body discovered next to a Florida freeway in September 1994 belongs to Suzanne Kjellenberg, strangled at the age of 34 by Jesperson. This identification marks the seventh out of Jesperson’s eight confessed victims to be named.
Sheriff Aden revealed that Jesperson had encountered Kjellenberg hitchhiking near Tampa in August 1994. According to Jesperson, after Kjellenberg woke up screaming in his parked truck, he strangled her to avoid attracting attention from a nearby security guard. Her body was found by a work crew a month later.
Suspect in Kidnapping of 9-Year-Old Charlotte Sena Caught After Leaving Ransom Note
Charlotte Sena and Craig Nelson Ross Jr.
Gansevoort, NY - New York authorities have made a significant breakthrough in the case of the missing 9-year-old girl, Charlotte Sena. A ransom note found in the Sena family’s mailbox led investigators to arrest suspect Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, and successfully reunite Charlotte with her family. The fingerprints left on the note played a crucial role in identifying Ross and locating him at a residence, where law enforcement found Charlotte hidden in a cabinet. The girl appeared physically unharmed and was taken to a hospital for examination.
Ross has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and is currently held without bail at the Saratoga County jail. The arrest brought relief to the community, with Governor Kathy Hochul expressing gratitude for the successful rescue operation.
Ethan Crumbley’s Parents to Face Trial on Involuntary Manslaughter Charges
Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley, and James Crumbley
Detroit, Michigan - The parents of Ethan Crumbley, the teenager who killed four students at Oxford High School in Michigan, have lost their appeal and will face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of making a gun accessible to their son and neglecting his mental health needs. The Michigan Supreme Court upheld the state appeals court’s decision, allowing the case to proceed to trial.
The shooting took place in November 2021, resulting in the deaths of Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling. Six students and a teacher were also injured. Ethan Crumbley, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder, will be sentenced on December 8 and could face life in prison without parole.
In Other Crime News
Topeka, Kansas - Homeless Topeka Man Charged in Rape and Killing of 5-Year-Old Zoey Felix. Read More.
Tehran, Iran - 16-Year-Old Iranian Girl Falls Into Coma After Alleged Beating by Hijab Police. Read More.
Baltimore, Maryland - Senior Pentagon Official Arrested for Involvement in Dogfighting Ring. Read More.
London, England - British Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Plotting to Assassinate Queen at Windsor Castle. Read More.
Chicago, Illinois - Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Over Death of Kenneka Jenkins. Read More.
Bogota, New Jersey - Newly Released Footage Shows Sen. Bob Menendez’s Wife Involved in Fatal Pedestrian Crash. Watch Video.
CrimeDoor Blog
The Truth Behind False Confessions: Memory Distortion and Its Impact on the Criminal Justice System
Confessions play a critical role in the criminal justice system, often serving as key evidence in prosecuting individuals for crimes they have committed. However, not all confessions are given voluntarily or truthfully.
Individuals may sometimes provide false confessions due to factors such as interrogation techniques, individual vulnerabilities, and memory distortion. To understand the implications of false confessions and their connection to memory issues, we must examine the contributing factors, relevant case studies, and potential preventative measures.
Crime History
SEPTEMBER 30, 1888 - Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth Stride left her London rooming house at number 32 Flower and Dean Street sometime around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, 1888. Stride, 44, had spent the afternoon cleaning the rooms of the house, where she’d lived for the past six years. Around 11 p.m., she was seen in the company of an unknown man in the doorway of the Bricklayer’s Arms on Settles Street. Over the next several hours there were several sightings of her with an unknown man, including a 12:45 a.m. sighting by Israel Schwartz near Berner Street across from Dutfield’s Yard. At 1 a.m., a vendor returning from Westow Hill Market came across a dark form outside the Working Men’s Educational Club in Dutfield’s Yard. Upon further examination, it was clear that the form was a woman whose throat had been cut.
Police arriving at the scene discovered Stride dead on the ground. She had a 6-inch incision across her throat, which cut her carotid artery and killed her. When questioned, Schwartz was able to give a description of the man he saw with Stride just 15 minutes before her body was found. He said this person was 5-feet, 5-inches tall, with dark hair and a brown mustache. He estimated his age was around 30. Schwartz claimed the man threw Stride to the ground and she screamed. He said did not intervene because he said he believed he was witnessing a domestic dispute.
Stride is believed to be a victim of Jack the Ripper, the notorious serial killer who terrorized the Whitechapel district of London in late 1888. As Jack’s identity has never been determined, Stride’s murder remains unsolved.
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