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- This Week in Crime: September 16 - 22, 2023
This Week in Crime: September 16 - 22, 2023
Top Stories of the Week
Kansas Man Charged in Two Decades-Old Cold Case Murders
Christina King and Pearl Barnes
Kansas City, Kansas - Kansas City Police have charged 52-year-old Gary Dion Davis with two counts of second-degree murder, cracking cold cases that have lingered for nearly three decades. Davis was arrested following a DNA match, according to Police Chief Karl Oakman and Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree. Held on a $500,000 bond, Davis is accused of killing 26-year-old Christina King and Pearl Barnes in the 1990s. King was found beaten to death behind an abandoned building on Christmas Day 1996, while Barnes was fatally stabbed a month earlier.
Russell Brand Denies Accusations of Rape and Sexual Assault
Russell Brand
London, England - British comedian and social influencer Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and abuse by four women who knew him over a seven-year period during the peak of his fame. The allegations were reported by three British news organizations – The Sunday Times, The Times of London, and Channel 4’s “Dispatches.” One woman claimed she had been raped, while three others accused Brand of sexual assault. Additionally, one of the women alleged physical and emotional abuse.
James Bulger’s Killer Jon Venables Granted Parole Hearing Amid Public Outrage
Jon Venables and James Bulger
London, England - Jon Venables, one of the two individuals convicted in the notorious 1993 murder of toddler James Bulger, is set to make a new bid for parole in a two-day hearing scheduled for November 14. Venables, along with Robert Thompson, became the youngest individuals to stand trial for murder in the UK when, at age 10, they were found guilty of killing two-year-old Bulger in a case that continues to evoke potent public emotions even 30 years later.
In Other Crime News
Charleston, South Carolina - Alex Murdaugh Pleads Guilty to Financial Fraud, Already Serving Life for Double Murder. Read More.
Canberra, Australia - Arrest Made in 1999 Canberra ‘Sneaker Murder’ Cold Case, Suspect Hospitalized. Read More.
Denver, Colorado - Iraq Refugee Killed in Overnight Carjacking, Four Suspects at Large. Read More.
Atlanta, Georgia - Great-Nephew of Nat King Cole Stabbed to Death in Georgia. Read More.
Vincennes, Indiana - Man Arrested for Operating Power Wheels Jeep While Intoxicated. Watch Video.
CrimeDoor Blog
Honor Before Life: The Unforgettable Tragedy of Shafilia Ahmed, Twenty Years Later
In 2003, the disappearance of 17-year-old Shafilia Ahmed in the United Kingdom marked the beginning of a grim investigation that would eventually reveal a deeply troubling family secret.
As we reach the 20-year mark since her disappearance – her story is a tragic reminder of the existence of honor killings. An estimated 5,000 women are killed annually by honor-based violence, according to the United Nations Population Fund, and it’s likely these crimes are actually underreported.
Justice may have been served in Ahmed’s case, but many other stories will go untold. However, Ahmed’s story continues to impact conversations around why, for some, life is deemed of lesser worth than family honor.
Crime History
Edward Wheeler Hall and Eleanor Mills
SEPTEMBER 16, 1922 - The Hall-Mills Murder Case
Two teens walking through a field on the morning of Sept. 16, 1922, stumbled upon the bodies of the Rev. Edward Wheeler Hall, 41, and Eleanor Mills, 34, who was a parishioner in Hall’s congregation. The two were lying under a crabapple tree, next to each other. Their bodies had been posed. A Panama hat sat atop Hall’s head, covering his face, while a scarf had been tied around Mill’s neck. Hall’s calling card was placed at his feet and love letters between the two had been torn up and left between them.
Wheeler was shot once by a .32-caliber pistol just above his right ear. Mills was shot under her right eye. Mills’ throat was cut. She had a bruise on her arm and a cut on her lip. An autopsy performed four years after the murder revealed Mills’ tongue had been cut out. Police used the fact there were maggots in the wound to determine they’d died at least 24 hours earlier. The official date of the murders was listed as Sept. 14.
Jane Gibson, the farmer who owned the land where the bodies were found, said on Sept. 14 her dog barked around 9 p.m., which led her to go outside where she saw a man standing in her cornfield. She got on a mule and headed toward him. As she approached, Gibson said she saw three other people under the crabapple tree. Before she arrived, she heard a gunshot and saw someone fall to the ground. This led her to turn around. She then heard a woman scream “Don’t” three times and more gunshots.
Hall’s wife, her brothers, and a cousin, were arrested and charged with the murder. The trial became a media spectacle with the press dubbing Gibson the “pig woman” and seriously damaging the credibility of her story. The accused were acquitted and the murders remain unsolved.
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