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Jury deliberations begin in Lindsay Clancy murder trial after her attorney blames medical system

The state concludes: ‘This wasn’t a woman suffering from a lack of care’ or ‘a lack of resources’

The jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has moved into deliberations as jurors decide whether the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three children in January 2023.

Over the past five weeks, the trial, which has been called “America’s saddest murder trial” , has renewed nationwide attention on postpartum mental healthcare. Clancy’s defense maintains that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis – a condition estimated to affect around two women per 1,000 births – and therefore should not be held criminally responsible for her actions.

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© Photograph: Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

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Judge orders mental health evaluation for man found with gun at Trump golf course in LA

Judge ruled Jeanine John Taele, discovered with firearm days before Trump visit, was unfit to face felony charge

A judge in California has suspended criminal proceedings against a man found with a loaded gun near Donald Trump’s golf course in Los Angeles, and instead ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, California, was arrested for weapons violations days before the president spoke at a 5 August Republican fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Final witness in Lindsay Clancy trial says he doesn’t believe she heard a voice during killings

FBI psychiatrist Gregory Saathoff says he has treated only two women with postpartum psychosis, both decades earlier

Testimony finished in the Lindsay Clancy trial on Wednesday, as a final witness for the prosecution laid out that he believed the Massachusetts mother knew right from wrong when she took the lives of her three young children before attempting to commit suicide in 2023.

Closing arguments are expected to begin on Thursday. The jury will then start deliberating.

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© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

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Judge blocks Minnesota bid to extradite Texas ICE agent accused of shooting man

Christian Castro charged with assault after allegedly shooting Venezuelan man and remains in custody in Texas

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent accused of firing his gun and wounding a Venezuelan man in the leg is caught in an interstate extradition dispute between Texas and Minnesota – and could walk out of a Texas jail as soon as Wednesday after a federal judge refused to intervene.

Christian Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime by another, in relation to the incident in which he was involved in the wounding of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January.

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© Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP

© Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP

© Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP

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Sonya Massey’s family says death of sheriff’s deputy who killed her ‘doesn’t feel like justice’

A cousin says death of Sean Grayson in prison ‘doesn’t give Sonya back her life or return her’ to her children

The death in prison of the former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of murder after fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home “doesn’t feel like justice to me”, a cousin of the woman has said in an emotional statement.

“It doesn’t give Sonya back her life or return her back to her [two] children”, who were aged 15 and 17 at the time of the killing, Sontae Massey wrote in the statement on Monday. Referring to Sonya Massey’s mother, the statement continued: “It doesn’t give my aunt back her daughter. And it doesn’t give our family the accountability were still waiting for …

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© Photograph: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images

© Photograph: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images

© Photograph: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images

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Polygamous sect leader serving 50 years for child sex abuse gets another 24 years

Samuel Bateman, 50, is convicted of three state child abuse counts after previous conviction on federal counts

A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was given another 24 years in prison Tuesday on separate state convictions for child abuse for hauling girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.

Samuel Bateman, 50, was convicted of three child abuse counts stemming from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff that led to the discovery of three girls, aged 11 to 14, in the trailer. It had a makeshift toilet, sofa and camping chairs and lacked air conditioning and seat belts. Someone tipped off authorities about the trailer after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors.

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© Photograph: Coconino County Sheriff's Officer/AP

© Photograph: Coconino County Sheriff's Officer/AP

© Photograph: Coconino County Sheriff's Officer/AP

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Expert witnesses challenge claim that Lindsay Clancy experienced psychosis

One more day of testimony expected as closing arguments set for Thursday and jury likely begins deliberations Friday

One more day of rebuttal testimony was expected this week in the trial against Lindsay Clancy, followed by closing statements likely on Thursday.

The jury, which will likely begin deliberations on Friday, will decide whether the Massachusetts mother was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children in January 2023.

In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger/AP

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FBI raided Spanish vacation rental of wealthy leftwing funder James ‘Fergie’ Chambers after his arrest

Lawyer Baltasar Garzón, representing Chambers, said case against his client is ‘very strange’ as US requests extradition

FBI agents raided the Ibiza, Spain, vacation rental of 41-year-old James “Fergie” Chambers, a US citizen and wealthy donor to leftwing and humanitarian projects worldwide, in the days following his arrest last month, the Guardian has learned.

Baltasar Garzón, a human rights lawyer representing Chambers, revealed the details in an exclusive interview. Chambers is wanted for extradition by the Trump administration for alleged financial support of Hamas, as well as other charges.

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© Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via Getty Images

© Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via Getty Images

© Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Man kills eight relatives, including children, in shooting at Montana home, officials say

Home in Billings was also set on fire, with victims representing four generations of a blended family

A man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, on Sunday evening in a shooting at a home in Billings, Montana, that was also set on fire, according to authorities and local media reports.

Police have characterized the case as a family disturbance, according to Montana news outlet KULR.

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© Photograph: Billings Fire Department

© Photograph: Billings Fire Department

© Photograph: Billings Fire Department

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Judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking appeal, calling claims ‘demonstrably meritless’

Maxwell sought to vacate Epstein-related conviction, alleging hidden trial evidence and juror’s abuse history

A federal judge has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal effort to throw out her 2021 conviction on sex-trafficking charges and 20-year prison sentence, calling her claims “demonstrably meritless, and generally based on speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods”.

In a 67-page decision filed on Tuesday, the US district judge Paul Engelmayer for New York’s southern district denied the former British socialite’s petition for relief, finding that Maxwell had failed to make a substantial showing that her constitutional rights were denied when she was convicted for her role in crimes linked to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

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© Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

© Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

© Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

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The ex-gang member breaking the cycle of violence among LA youths

‘A child isn’t born to commit gun violence,’ Francisco Villarruel says

Francisco Villarruel and Gustavo Galvez sat in a park in Los Angeles reminiscing on their first boxing lesson together. They had gone to a big commercial gym, where they took turns hitting boxing pads and doing footwork exercises. They then started regularly training together.

For Villarruel, 40, working out together wasn’t really about boxing. It was about giving Galvez, 19, an opportunity to open up and to mentor someone whose pain he understands. “ I think a lot of the traumatic scenarios that he went through are very similar to mine in my upbringing,” Villarruel said.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Francisco Villarruel

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Francisco Villarruel

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Francisco Villarruel

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Massachusetts woman suspected of killing police officer husband found dead

Karen Solomon had been missing for six days after her husband Kurt Solomon was found dead at their home

A mental health advocate suspected of killing her police officer husband was found dead on Monday, six days after she disappeared from her Massachusetts home, authorities said.

Karen Solomon, an advocate who called for improvements and greater awareness of police mental health issues, had disappeared after Worcester police officer Kurt Solomon was found dead at their home just before 5.30am on 18 August. Officials had named Karen Solomon a suspect and said she was believed to be armed.

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© Photograph: Worcester Police Department

© Photograph: Worcester Police Department

© Photograph: Worcester Police Department

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Lindsay Clancy trial: psychologist says he doubts claim she was hallucinating

Dr Kirk Heilbrun says he believes Clancy took children’s lives so they wouldn’t ‘suffer’ after she killed herself

With just days to go before the murder trial for Lindsay Clancy concludes, a forensic psychologist called by the prosecution testified on Monday that he did not believe she was experiencing acute psychosis when she killed her three children.

Kirk Heilbrun, who reportedly performed psychiatric tests on Clancy in April, told the court that he questioned her claims that a hallucinated voice commanded her to commit the act, and that he believed she took their lives so they wouldn’t “suffer” after she killed herself.

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© Photograph: Greg Derr/Reuters

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Reuters

© Photograph: Greg Derr/Reuters

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Man suspected of killing five people in Oregon found dead, officials say

Authorities believe Benjamin Charles ​Parker, 36, died by suicide after he was found in vehicle in Washington state

A man ⁠suspected of killing ⁠five ​people in rural Oregon was found dead in a suspected ⁠suicide, local law enforcement officials said on Sunday.

The five homicide victims were found ⁠on Saturday at a home in a ​rural community near ‌Forest Grove, ‌Oregon, about 30 miles (48km) outside Portland, ‌when authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire.

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© Photograph: Washington County Sheriff's Office

© Photograph: Washington County Sheriff's Office

© Photograph: Washington County Sheriff's Office

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Former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey in her home dies aged 32

Sean Grayson, who was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2023, was serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder

The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home after she reported a possible prowler to 911, has died, his attorney said on Sunday.

Sean Grayson died on Sunday, lawyer Daniel Fultz – who represented the ex-Sangamon county deputy at his trial – told NBC News and CBS News.

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© Photograph: Illinois State Police/AP

© Photograph: Illinois State Police/AP

© Photograph: Illinois State Police/AP

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Social media goes into overdrive with Lindsay Clancy conspiracy theories

Algorithms are responsible for fever pitch content surrounding trial, including misinformation, experts say

As the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, starts to wind down, a now international discussion on social media about the case has hit a fever pitch as viewers examine details of the trial and question the state of maternal mental healthcare in the United States.

Amateur sleuths and armchair psychologists have been creating content throughout the several weeks of the trial, pointing out perceived discrepancies in evidence. They’ve pointed to Clancy’s last recorded heart rate and body temperature as “smoking guns”, suggested that Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s ex-husband and father of the children, actually committed the crime, despite no legal evidence to back up the claim.

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© Photograph: Josh Reynolds/Reuters

© Photograph: Josh Reynolds/Reuters

© Photograph: Josh Reynolds/Reuters

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