Katherine Schaffstall

More than two decades after Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City bedroom, she is sharing more details about the experience in Netflix’s documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. Us Weekly breaks down everything you need to know about the new documentary, including insight into Smart’s notorious, headline-generating case, why she wanted to tell her […]

UPDATE — 12/31/25 at 6:52 p.m. ET: Police officially confirmed late Wednesday, December 31, that the body found in a field the day before does belong to Camila Mendoza Olmos. It is believed she died by suicide. UPDATE — 12/31/25 at 12:45 p.m. ET: Sources told the San Antonio Express-News on Wednesday, December 31, that […]

A couple in Wisconsin was arrested on multiple charges of child abuse and neglect after authorities discovered that they were living in a dirty RV with a ton of weed that was accessible by their eight children. Wilber Copeland and Megan Cis were arrested on Friday, December 12, after Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies received a […]

A man in Kansas is facing multiple charges after his 13-year-old neighbor was found dead following an apparent animal attack. Damon Leonard was charged on Monday, December 22, by Missouri authorities with abandonment of a corpse, according to online records viewed by Us Weekly. He was arrested after Airen Andula‘s body was found at the […]

An elderly woman in Seattle, Washington, found herself in a terrifying situation when she was the victim of a random attack, in which a man gouged her eye out with a nailed board. Fale Pea has since been charged with first-degree assault with a deadly weapon enhancement, according to charges filed in King County Superior […]

A first-grade teacher in Tennessee was recently arrested on two counts of child abuse after an alleged incident that involved two of her own children. Heather Pecht’s estranged husband reported the alleged abuse to Chattanooga Police on Friday, December 12, after he picked up two of his children from her home, according to The Chattanoogan. […]

A great-grandmother in central Florida was arrested after she was caught carrying out an apparent murder-suicide plot that involved her disabled great-granddaughter. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shared in a news release that deputies started looking for Deborah Collier around 4:20 p.m. on Monday, December 29, after her family discovered a suicide note that she […]

A 16-year-old boy in Arizona died 10 days after he was allegedly shot by his girlfriend’s stepbrother while the teen was at her family’s home to make Christmas cookies. Gilbert Police said that the teenager died on Tuesday, December 23, after he was allegedly shot by his girlfriend’s stepbrother, Rael Sanchez, while spending time at […]

A 13-year-old girl was found safe in Maryland on Friday, December 26, more than two months after she was reported missing from Kentucky. Wynter Wagoner was found inside a home on Dalewood Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland, by Montgomery County Police, U.S. Marshals and the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office, according to Lex 18. Wagoner was […]

Sixteen years after 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson went missing, police have new leads to look into regarding the baby’s disappearance. Gabriel was last seen in San Antonio, Texas, on December 27, 2009, after his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, fled Arizona with him despite a court order, according to Fox San Antonio. Elizabeth was later arrested and was […]

The Wilmington Police Department have identified the victim and suspect in a deadly traffic accident that took place at a bar in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the early hours of Tuesday, December 30. Alec Chambers died at the age of 31 after he was hit by a Jeep while standing near the edge of the […]

A Wisconsin man has been arrested for allegedly fatally beating a female security guard on Christmas day inside a Minnesota hospital where he was a patient. Jonathan Chet Winch has been charged with second-degree murder following the deadly incident. Winch, 35, was leaving the emergency department of M Health Fairview Lakes Hospital in Wyoming, Minnesota, […]

A former substitute teacher has been arrested in Texas along with her boyfriend after they were accused of child sex offenses. Madison Jones was arrested after Midlothian Police Department patrol officers were “dispatched to investigate a report of a potential sexual assault involving a child” on December 17, according to a press release from the […]

A woman in North Carolina has been accused of exposing her 1-year-old daughter to illicit street drugs, which led the baby to overdose and die. Brionce Parks has been charged with child abuse and exposing a child to a controlled substance, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confirmed in a statement. The investigation into the baby’s death […]

A woman in Tennessee has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after police accused her of intentionally striking her ex-boyfriend with her SUV and running him over multiple times as he tried to escape her. The incident took place around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 27, on Gilleas Road in Memphis, Tennessee. Authorities claimed that […]

After Kentucky State University student De’Jon Fox Jr. was fatally shot by his classmate’s father, the victim’s parents are now facing criminal charges after they allegedly intimidated their son’s shooter. De’Jon Fox, Sr., and Chardnae Cleveland were both charged with intimidation, according to Indiana online court records. WTHR reported that the duo are the parents […]

A fifth-grade math teacher in Louisville, Kentucky, was arrested after she was accused of having “sexual conversations” with one of her students during remote learning. Sydnee Graf was taken into custody and charged with procuring or promoting use of a minor by electronic means, according to a Louisville Metro police arrest citation viewed by People. […]

A woman in Oklahoma was fatally shot while sitting on her front porch with her family on Christmas as her neighbor was testing out his new gun. The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement on Thursday, December 25, that Cody Wayne Adams has been charged with first-degree manslaughter for his alleged involvement in […]

Teenager Jarrod Noll was taken into custody in West Virginia on Saturday, December 27, after he allegedly shot his parents on the day after Christmas in their family’s Pennsylvania home, killing his mother and injuring his father. Noll, 18, has been charged with homicide and attempted homicide in connection with the Boxing Day shooting. It […]

Texas woman Courtney Renee Hooper was arrested after she was accused by police of killing her boyfriend on Christmas Eve following an alleged fight. Authorities confirmed in a press briefing on Thursday, December 25, that they responded to a report of a shooting at a residence in Bexar County, Texas, on Wednesday, December 24. Once […]

A brave 11-year-old girl in Washington state found herself in a scary situation when a man allegedly tried to kidnap her — though she managed to escape by kicking him in the groin and running to safety. The young girl was playing soccer with friends on Monday, December 15, in Vancouver, Washington, when the incident […]