Murder and Homicide

Three Men Charged in Boca Raton Bartender Murder at Josephine's Italian Restaurant

Three men are facing charges in connection with the shooting of a manager/bartender at Josephine's Italian Restaurant in Boca Raton.According to WPEC, Channel 12 news, Quinton Redell Sylvestre, 26, of Fort Lauderdale; Samuel Magic Walker, 27, of Lauderdale Lakes; and Adalberto Junior Montalvo, 29, o ... More >>

Pain & Gain: Former Coral Springs Firefighter Denies Connection to Infamous Murders

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives think that former Coral Springs firefighter Santiago Gonzalez maybe, possibly, might have been part of the infamous Pain & Gain killings (now a major motion picture starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, based on a New Times stor ... More >>

NRA Holds Press Conference, Rick Scott Still Silent

It took them exactly one week after the Newtown tragedy to come up with things to say, but the NRA finally held their much ballyhooed press conference Friday to let all of America know that guns are totally awesome so don't stop buying them, please. NRA Head Honcho Wayne LaPierre joined our very ow ... More >>

Hallandale Teens Charged With Murdering Homeless Man Were Looking to Hire a Prostitute

The two teens who were charged with murdering a homeless man behind an auto parts store were looking to hook up with a prostitute on that fateful night. Juan Xolo, 17 and Jose Carlos Llano, 14, who confessed to police of stabbing the man with a pen, had been introduced to a hooker by the man they a ... More >>

Mexicans Pay in Blood for America's War on Drugs

Death on Coconut Drive: Five Things About Ron Vinci's Death That Don't Make Sense

In this week's cover story, we explore the strange living situation and gruesome death of Ron Vinci, who had just moved into the Tarpon River home where he was found dead in a bag by the side of the bed. His girlfriend, Catherine Pileggi, faces trial for the murder.According to Pileggi's attorney, t ... More >>

Dalia Dippolito Murder-for-Hire Story on Investigation Discovery Tonight

Improbable as it may sound, there is an entire television series devoted to people who hire hit men to kill their loved/hated ones. The Investigation Discovery show Nothing Personal is hosted by Steve Schirripa, the jovial comedian who played Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos. Now ... More >>

Morning Juice: News From the South Florida Justice Scene

​There were developments in multiple prominent South Florida criminal cases over the weekend. Sorry to start your week off on a down note, but here's a quick sample of the news you may have missed:Set free: Lineten Belizaire, the 21-year-old Miami man accused of killing three people (includin ... More >>

Second Suspect Arrested in Jimmy McMillan's Death Identified by Alleged Shooter's Mom

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested a second suspect in the death of Belle Glade grocery store owner Jimmy McMillan, after he was identified by the mother of the alleged shooter.Jonathan Jones now joins Corey Graham Jr. in the Palm Beach County Jail on charges related to McMillan's death ... More >>

Melissa Britt Lewis Murder Trial Postponed -- Again

​It's been nearly four years since Melissa Britt Lewis, a 39-year-old Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler attorney, was found murdered, her body dumped in a Plantation canal. The man charged with killing her avoided trial for years because he was initially deemed mentally incompetent. Tony Villegas, 48, wa ... More >>

Rothstein on Melissa Lewis Murder: "Everyone Knows I Wasn't Involved"

​He's a Ponzi schemer, a fraudster, involved with corrupt politicians and the Mob, but Scott Rothstein insists he's not a murderer.Under intense questioning by attorney Mary Barzee Flores during a deposition last month, the  "Prince of Darkness" vehemently denied being involved in the 2008 mu ... More >>

Cheryl Hepner Allegedly Shot Her Son-in-Law, Which He Recorded on His iPhone

Broward Sheriff's OfficeCheryl Hepner​Expecting that some sort of confrontation might take place when he picked up his son from his estranged mother-in-law's house, 39-year-old Salvatore Miglino started the video recorder on his iPhone.Sure enough, the cops say she shot him.Cheryl Hepner, 66, is n ... More >>

Fort Lauderdale Men Killed Six Days and a Few Doors Apart; Cops Say Homicides Not Related

​The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is currently investigating the deaths of two men who were killed six days apart and only a few doors down from each other.The first victim was 51-year-old Eugene "Bow-Leg" Lynch, who was found shot to death in a residence at 837 NW Tenth Terrance on the after ... More >>

Stephanie Pistey, Arrested in Boy's Death, Claims She's a Vampire/Werewolf Hybrid

​Stephanie Pistey, 18, is one of five people who have been charged with either murder or accessory to murder in the killing of 16-year-old Jacob Hendershot in Parker, Florida.She also told a local TV station in a jailhouse interview that she became aware at age 12 that she's a vampire with a bit o ... More >>

Amanda Rice Stevenson, 96 Years Old, Arrested for Allegedly Murdering Her Nephew

St. Augustine Police DepartmentAmanda Rice Stevenson, 96, is charged with murder.​Amanda Rice Stevenson is 96 years old.She also allegedly shot and killed her nephew last night by firing a round from a .357 Magnum into his chest.St. Augustine Police Department spokesman Mark Samson says the co ... More >>

Clem Beauchamp Charged With Three Murders, Including Kids Stuffed in Bags Found in Canal

Palm Beach County Sheriff's OfficeClem Beauchamp​Clem Beauchamp has been charged with the murders of his girlfriend's children -- who were found dead and stuffed in suitcases in a canal between Delray Beach and Boca Raton -- as well as the death of the girlfriend herself, who turned up dead at a t ... More >>

Tyler Hadley, Alleged Kid Hammer Murderer, Reportedly Showed Off Bodies, Blames Ecstasy

St. Lucie Sheriff's OfficeTyler Hadley​As is probably the case with most murders allegedly carried out by 17-year-old kids that involve bashing in their parents' heads with 22-inch framing hammers, the Tyler Hadley case is getting weird.According to several reports, Hadley told another friend that ... More >>

Questions About a Father’s Disappearance Led to Answers That Were Far Too Close to Home

Slobodan Dragic's Facebook Page Offers Peek Into Life of Accused Killer

Dragic's Facebook profile photo.​On Thursday, deputies say, Slobodan Dragic's divorce from his wife, Jelena, reached a bloody end. During an argument on their front lawn, Dragic pulled out a .38-caliber gun and shot her in the shoulder. "You are killing me," Jelena cried out, before Dragic leveled ... More >>

Tony Villegas' Competency Hearing Postponed Until Day of Ex-Wife's Sentencing

Tony Villegas' trial is on hold.​Tony Villegas arrived in Broward County Court this morning looking weary after more than two years in jail, his thin face hidden by a scruffy brown beard. He sat quietly, cuffed hands in his lap, wearing a black-and-white striped shirt that set him apart from the d ... More >>

Calvin Williams Murder: Potential HIV Infection Would Not Justify Shooting, Prosecutor Says

PBSOLawrence Hunt has been charged with second-degree murder.​The murder of Riviera Beach middle school teacher Calvin Williams this spring raised a tangle of legal and ethical questions. One of the most troubling: Does the threat of contracting HIV justify killing someone?Lawrence Hunt, 20,  ... More >>

Morning Juice: Geller Denies Role in Gunzburger Investigation; Gallagher Off to Prison

​A look at what's happening in South Florida this Friday morning:On the same day that Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger accused her opponent, Steve Geller, of a dirty campaign trick, Geller admitted having "a number of conversations" with Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, whose office is inves ... More >>

Burglars Got Worst of Saturday Night Encounter With Broward Sheriffs Deputies

Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Geoffrey Brown injured his leg Saturday night after he and his partner interrupted a burglary at an unoccupied Southwest Ranches home. But a BSO news release indicates Brown was released later that night. One of the suspect burglars was not so lucky.

Juarez: The Bleeding Front Line of the War on Drugs

Melissa Britt Lewis Memorial Slideshow

This week's New Times feature story is an-depth look at the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis, a young attorney at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Alder firm who was killed more than a year before Rothstein's massive Ponzi scheme imploded. Melissa's best friend, Debra Villegas, is in a federal courtroom today ... More >>

Debra Villegas, Melissa Lewis, and the Round Up Connection

Debra Villegas (left) liked to party at Round Up.​On the night her best friend was murdered in March 2008, Debra Villegas was partying with friends at the Round Up Country Western Club in Davie.This wasn't unusual for Debra, the former chief operating officer at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law ... More >>

Death Comes Ripping

Search Intensifies in Hit-and-Run Case, Now a Homicide

Carolyn Bianco, the 65-year-old woman who was struck last week by an SUV while crossing Las Olas Boulevard, has died. That means vehicular homicide charges against whoever was driving that SUV, last seen heading east on Las Olas.The Fort Lauderdale police news release says that the other woman who w ... More >>

Arrest Made in 2004 Carjacking Murder

Photo: Broward Sheriff's OfficeMcCall​Renalto Obos was shot dead in November 2004 while sitting in a car on Northwest 3rd Avenue with his girlfriend. It was robbery gone awry. The killer wore a mask, and due to the random nature of the crime, Broward Sheriff's Office couldn't find a suspect until ... More >>

Febonio Murder Update: Alfaro Ditches Public Defender, Hires Lauderdale Criminal Attorney

Gearing up for some courtroom drama in the Febonio murder case​It looks like the murder trial of Jose Alfaro, charged with the premeditated, first-degree murder of his friend Steve Febonio, is gearing up to be a cliff-hanger. This month, state prosecutors told West Palm Beach Judge Amy Smith that ... More >>

Mahoney Baloney: Boynton Murders Were Religious Persecution

Mahoney: Fulla baloney​Guess the Christian Defense Coalition hasn't been reading the Juice lately.If they had, they would have figured out that the fatal shooting of Tite Sufra and Stephen Ocean in Boynton Beach on January 30 probably had exactly nothing to do with the fact that they were evangeli ... More >>

Parkland Grow House Raid Raises New Questions About Stephen Febonio's Murder

Was Febonio's frozen body moved in and out of a Parkland grow house while DEA agents watched?​When the DEA raided a Parkland grow house at 7773 NW 124th Terrace on September 12, 2007 -- was Stephen Febonio's body crammed into a freezer in that very garage? Or had the freezer been moved out just da ... More >>

More Questions Than Answers in Murder of Deerfield Beach Man

​Here's what we know: This past Tuesday, Chad Fleming, 31, from Deerfield Beach was delivered to a Massachusetts hospital -- after he had already died. In fact, doctors found he'd been dead for several hours. Fleming had been beaten to death. The man who dropped him off at the hospital, Nelson Mel ... More >>

Morning Juice: Reticent Witnesses in Boynton; Biden Visits Boca

​An extra-spooky, Halloween Eve edition of the MJ:Junior Cesar, the 30-year-old man who was shot dead Wednesday night at a basketball court in Boynton Beach's Pence Park is the older brother of Jesse Cesar, who was 22 when he was murdered just before he could testify against a gang member accused ... More >>

BSO Report: Foul Play in Death of Taco Bell Manager

Tikkitress Johnson, the 39-year-old manager of a Taco Bell on Oakland Park Boulevard did not die this morning from an accidental fall. Rather, Broward Sheriff's Office detectives believe she was murdered. From the BSO release: Just before 9 am, Oakland Park Fire Rescue was dispatched to a reported f ... More >>

We’re Not Impressed Anymore, Toto

Unlucky 13

Pro Wrestling Fusion plans a night of horrors

Curse of the Dead

Anna Nicole's ghost could go home at last — if some trial hotshots get their way

Story of the Day

Weekend Walkup

Muscles, Murder, and a Messiah

Ex-cop and bodybuilder Gil Fernandez Jr. murdered three men in the Everglades. But he only admits to killing the man he was.

Finding Gary, Part 2

A rogue FBI agent, tons of smuggled drugs, a wife in search of her husband's corpse

Unusual Suspects, Part 3

A mercenary knocks, almost everybody talks, and a new light shines on two mysterious deaths

Snitch and Whitewash

The state need not look far when investigating the murder of a Broward deputy. But it will have to look deep.

The Wrong Keith

The case against accused cop-killer Keith King was so weak, he's already out of prison. So why did BSO ignore evidence pointing to Keith Maddox?

A Single Hair

After a severely flawed trial, Michael Rivera was convicted of killing a little girl. New DNA evidence may help him.

Dead Man Waiting

Billy Elledge brutally raped and murdered a woman in Hollywood 25 years ago. He has sat in prison since then, evidence that Florida's death penalty isn't working.

The Gallows and the Deep

The story of the bloody, high-seas crimes and execution of smuggler Horace Alderman is a yarn worthy of Joseph Conrad. Or Quentin Tarantino.