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- This Week in Crime: Feb 24 - Mar 1, 2024
This Week in Crime: Feb 24 - Mar 1, 2024
Top Stories of the Week
Former WWE Wrestler Billy Jack Haynes Charged With Wife’s Murder After Body Found at Couple’s Home
Billy Jack Haynes; Janette Becraft
Portland, Oregon - Former wrestling star Billy Jack Haynes has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting his wife, Janette Becraft, inside their Portland home earlier this month. Haynes, 70, whose real name is William Albert Haynes Jr., was released from the hospital and transferred to Multnomah County Detention Center on Wednesday following an arrest warrant.
The incident occurred on February 8 when Portland police responded to a call of shots fired in the Lents neighborhood on Southeast 100th Avenue. After a two-hour-long standoff with SWAT teams, Haynes was taken into custody. Officers discovered Becraft’s lifeless body inside the home, and her death was determined to be a homicide caused by a gunshot wound.
Two Men Found Guilty in the Murder of Jam Master Jay
Jam Master Jay
New York, New York - Two men from Queens, Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, have been found guilty on all counts in the murder of Jam Master Jay, a member of the iconic hip-hop group Run-DMC. The verdict was reached in a Brooklyn court on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Jordan, also known as “Little D” and “Noid,” and Washington, also known as “Tinard,” were charged with murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and firearm-related murder for the fatal shooting of Jam Master Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell.
Former US Ambassador to Bolivia to Plead Guilty in Cuban Spy Case
Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia
Washington DC - Former US Ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, has informed a federal judge that he will plead guilty to charges related to a decades-long effort to spy on the US government for communist Cuba. Rocha, 73, agreed to a deal offered by federal prosecutors, which will see 13 criminal counts against him dropped in exchange for his admission to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government.
The charges against Rocha include wire fraud and making false statements. However, the specific details of his sentence have not been disclosed. For the two counts, he will plead guilty to carry a maximum sentence of between five and 10 years in prison. Rocha is scheduled to formally enter his guilty plea and receive his sentence at a hearing on April 12.
In Other Crime News
San Juan, Puerto Rico - U.S. couple likely thrown overboard and presumed dead after catamaran hijacking in Carribean. Read More.
Bradenton, Florida - A biology professor and researcher featured on NatGeo’s “Shark Week” was arrested after police said she stole money from a nonprofit. Read More.
Spatansburg, Pennsylvania - A pregnant Amish woman was found dead is suspicious circumstances. Read More.
New York, New York - Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a lawsuit against hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, accusing him of sexual harassment, drug use, and non-payment for his work on the Grammy-nominated album. Read More.
Crime History
Jane Stanford
February 28, 1905 - Jane Stanford
Jane Stanford, the wife of industrialist Leland Stanford and co-founder of Stanford University, was poisoned to death in her room at the Moana Hotel in Honolulu, HI, on Feb. 28, 1905. That evening, Stanford, 76, asked for bicarbonate of soda, prepared by her personal secretary, Bertha Berner. At 11:15 p.m., Stanford cried out, “I am so sick. Run for the doctor! I have no control of my body. I think I have been poisoned again!” Despite the best attempts of the hotel physician, Stanford died.
A forensic analysis found the poison strychnine in the soda and in Stanford’s tissue sample. One month earlier, in her Nob Hill, CA, mansion, someone served Stanford a bottle of Poland Spring water that was also laced with strychnine. After taking a sip, she realized something was wrong with the water and made herself throw it up.
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