TheNewsGuru

Tag: Murder

  • ‘Murder, She Wrote’ star, Angela Lansbury dies at 96

    ‘Murder, She Wrote’ star, Angela Lansbury dies at 96

    Angela Lansbury has died at the age of 96, her family has announced.

    The Irish-British and American actress was best known for her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in American drama series “Murder, She Wrote”.

    According to a family statement, Lansbury died in her sleep five days before her 97th birthday.

    The statement said: “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1.30 am today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday.

    “In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great-grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.

    “She was proceeded (sic) in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined.”

    With a career spanning more than eight decades, Lansbury was a three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner.

    She was born in London in 1925 and later moved to the US during the Second World War where she studied at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York.

    Lansbury’s first film role was in George Cukor’s “Gaslight” as a young maid named Nancy Oliver who worked in the home of the film’s protagonist Paula Alquist, played by Ingrid Bergman.

    The then-19-year-old Lansbury received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in the 1944 film.

    Lansbury garnered a great deal of recognition and is perhaps best known for her portrayal of “Murder, She Wrote” novelist and sleuth Jessica Fletcher.

    She played the character in the crime drama TV series for a total of 12 years and nine seasons, after first starring in the role in 1984.

    In 2013, Lansbury was given an honorary Academy Award for her lifetime achievements in the film industry.

    Lansbury was married twice, first to American actor Richard Cromwell in 1945 when she was 19 and he was 35. The couple divorced in 1946, but remained friends until Cromwell’s death in 1960.

    She married her second husband, actor and producer Peter Shaw, in 1949 and they remained together until Shaw’s death in 2003. The couple had two children of their own, Anthony and Deirdre, and Lansbury also became a step-mother to David, Shaw’s son from a previous relationship.

    Anthony went on to become a television director and directed 68 episodes of “Murder, She Wrote”.

    Lansbury was made a CBE in the Queen’s 1994 birthday honours and was made a DBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to drama, charitable work and philanthropy.

    Of the damehood she said: “It is a very proud day for me to be recognised by the country of my birth, and to meet the Queen under these circumstances is a rare and lovely occasion.”

    In 2002, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Bafta and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    More recently Lansbury starred in the 2017 BBC adaptation of “Little Women”, playing Aunt March in the three-part-series based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.

    She also had a cameo part in the 2018 Mary Poppins sequel “Mary Poppins Returns”, in which she featured as an elderly colourfully-dressed balloon seller.

    In addition to her success on screen, Lansbury became a star on Broadway after her performance as the titular character in “Mame”.

    Lansbury was criticised for comments she made about women taking the blame for sexual harassment in the wake of allegations made against Harvey Weinstein and others in Hollywood.

    In response to the 2017 criticism she said: “There is no excuse whatsoever for men to harass women in an abusive sexual manner.

    “And I am devastated that anyone should deem me capable of thinking otherwise.”

  • #JusticeForUmmita: Chinese national who killed Nigerian girlfriend remanded in prison

    #JusticeForUmmita: Chinese national who killed Nigerian girlfriend remanded in prison

    A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kano, on Wednesday, ordered that a 47-year-old Chinese National, Geng Quanrong, be remanded in a correctional centre for alleged murder of his Nigerian girlfriend, Ummukulsum Sani, 22.

    The police charged Geng, who lives in Nassarawa GRA Quarters Kano, with culpable homicide. Chief Magistrate, Hanif Sanusi-Chiroma, who did take the plea of Geng, ordered that he should be  remanded in Kurmawa Correctional Centre, pending legal advice.

    Sanusi-Chiroma adjourned the matter until Oct.13,  for further mention. Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mr Khalifa Auwal-Hashim, said that Geng committed the offence on Sept.16, at Janbulo Quarters in Kano.

    He alleged that on the same at about 9.30 p.m, Geng attacked Sani with a knife after a misunderstanding. The police said that Sani was rushed to  the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano were she was pronounced dead by a medical doctor”

    Auwal-Hashim in his prayer urged the court to seek legal advice because the matter was a capital offence and the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it. The offence, he said, contravenes the provisions of Section 221 of the Penal Code.

  • #JusticeForUmmita: How my daughter met killer Chinese lover – Bereaved Mother

    #JusticeForUmmita: How my daughter met killer Chinese lover – Bereaved Mother

    The mother of Ummakulsum Sani Buhari, the 23-year-old Nigerian who was killed by her Chinese lover, Mr Gheng Chu, has broken her silence. The victim was killed by the Chinese at Janbulo Quarters in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State on Friday night.

    The deceased, who was popularly known as ‘Ummita’ attended the Kano School of Nursing and Midwifery. She was buried around 10 am on Saturday, according to Islamic rites.

    Speaking on the unfortunate incident, the bereaved mother said, “She was my daughter; he (the Chinese man) always comes around wanting to see her and she has been refusing. This time around when he came, he kept knocking on the door. When I was fed up with him hitting the door loudly, I opened the door and he pushed me aside and got in and started stabbing her with a knife.

    “I started shouting and people came running. We rushed her to the hospital but before we arrived, she was dead. It happened around 9.30 pm. We were at home with her two younger sisters when it happened. Her brother was out and her father is dead. It was raining then, people were indoors and couldn’t hear me shouting until when someone came and tried going in through the window.

    “I want the authorities to see to this criminal act. It was a long time since their love affair ended. She got married and later got divorced. That was when he came back to her life, pressing that he must see her. He used to come in although we don’t like it he doesn’t understand. We used to chase him out. When I attempted to inform the police, my children would refuse and say let’s not take the matter public.

    “The man that came to her aid and went through the window; he was the one who caught him and brought him out. He ran off and they chased him and brought him back. He is now with the police. She was my eldest daughter but she has two elder brothers.

    “He understands that she doesn’t want to see him. When he calls, she doesn’t pick up. That’s when he decided to invade. He knocked at the door for almost an hour. She was the one who asked me to go and send him away after which he pushed me away upon opening the gate.

    “He went straight to her room. He knows where the room is because he used to come in. In most cases, it’s her brother that used to send him away. They first met at Shoprite when she went to buy perfume and they exchanged phone numbers. That’s how they started making out on calls.

    “When she got married, they separated until when she was divorced. Her husband suspects they were chatting with him on the phone although that was not what led to the failure of her marriage. Of course, she told him that she was going to marry him, but because her paternal uncles saw issues coming, they refused and I agreed with them”.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa confirmed the incident and promised to provide more information later.

    According to Haruna, the command received a distress call on Friday evening at around 10 pm and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Lawal Abubakar, dispatched a team to the scene.

    He said, ”the 47- year-old Chinese visited the residence of his girl friend, Miss Ummukulthum Sani, 22 and they engaged in an argument before he allegedly stabbed her many times with a knife.”

    Haruna explained that when the Police team reached the scene of the incident they rushed the victim to Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital where she was confirmed dead.

    Furthermore, Haruna confirmed the arrest of the suspect, saying that an in-depth investigation into the case had been launched on the orders of the Commissioner of Police.

    Narrating the incidence to newsmen on Saturday, the mother confirmed that her daughter was in relationship with the suspect before she got married about three years ago.

    She explained, ”the marriage failed after three months which made the Chinese to stalk their house although her daughter never paid attention to him.

    “But on that fateful Friday evening, the sound of his knock on the gate was too disturbing and I decided to open it and he pushed me and gained entrance to her room.

    “He stabbed her multiple times with a knife in spite my struggle to rescue her and my cries for help were also not noticeable due to heavy rain.”

    The late Ummukulthum’s mother said that a passerby over heard the scream in the room, gained entrance to the room through the window and got hold of Chu.

    She said that the deceased was rushed to the hospital people who came to rescue and she was eventually confirmed dead.

    It was gathered that the late Ummukulthum Sani was a youth corps member serving in Sokoto state before her demise.

    It was gathered that she was in a relationship with the suspect when she met her ex-hubby and he supported  the marriage.

    It was also learn that when he heard of her divorce, he returned to her and she reportedly refused to accept him back.

  • Man stabs brother to death over N1,500 in Lagos

    Man stabs brother to death over N1,500 in Lagos

    A 21-year-old man, a mechanic identified as Monday Nnime has allegedly stabbed his brother, John Okoh to death over N1,500 in Lagos State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Nnime was arrested by the Police in the State over the sad incident.

    Nnime was apprehended by operatives attached to the Denton Police Division, Ebute Meta on September 7, following the death of Okoh, who is 28.

    He allegedly stabbed the deceased in the neck with a broken bottle during a scuffle over N1,500 at their workplace along Sam Freeman Road.

    It was gathered that a customer had given Okoh N1,500 after working on his vehicle but the suspect wanted equal share from the sum.

    Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said Okoh was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, for treatment but was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.

  • 37-year-old arrested for murder of parents

    37-year-old arrested for murder of parents

    The Police in Jigawa State have arrested a 37-year-old man for the alleged murder of his parents in Gagarawa Local Government Area of the State.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jigawa Command, DSP Lawan Shiisu, confirmed this in a statement in Dutse on Thursday.

    Shiisu said the suspect was arrested after he allegedly attacked his father, mother and two others with a wooden pestle.

    Those attacked by the suspect are Ahmad Muhammad, 70, Hauwau Ahamadu, 60, Kailu Badugu, 65 and Hakalima Amadu, 60.

    The PPRO said that a team of policemen evacuated the victims to Gumel General Hospital, where Ahmadu Muhammad and Hauwau Ahmadu were certified dead by a medical doctor due to the injuries they sustained in the attack.

    Shiisu said the other two victims were on admission at the hospital for treatment.

    “Today, at 11:30 a.m., information received had it that one Munkaila Ahmadu of Zarada-Sabuwa village in Gagarawa LGA of Jigawa, used a wooden pestle and attacked the following persons:

    “Ahmadu Muhammad, the village Head of Zarada-Sabuwa, Hauwa Ahmadu, Kailu Badugu and Hakalima Amadu, all of Zarada -Sabuwa village in Gagarawa LGA.”

    He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased were the biological parents of the suspect.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aliyu Tafida, directed for a discreet investigation into the case, after which the suspect would be charged to court.

  • Attacker of Rushdie to face murder charge

    Attacker of Rushdie to face murder charge

    The suspect in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie at an event in New York state, Hadi Matar has been charged with attempted murder and is being held without bond, prosecutors in Chautauqua County said on Saturday.

    Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, was arraigned late on Friday, accused of attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree, the county’s district attorney, Jason Schmidt, said in a statement.

    Indian-born author Rushdie, who spent years in hiding after Iran urged Muslims to kill him over his novel “The Satanic Verses”, was stabbed in the neck and torso on stage at a lecture on Friday. After hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak as of Friday evening.

    Schmidt said state and federal law enforcement agencies, including in New Jersey, were working to understand the planning and preparation which preceded the attack and determine whether additional charges should be filed.

    Matar bought a pass to the event at western New York’s Chautauqua Institution, and had legal representation.

    Police said on Friday they had not established a motive for the attack on Rushdie, 75, who was being introduced to give a talk to an audience of hundreds on artistic freedom when the attacker rushed to the stage and lunged at the novelist. Rushdie has lived with a bounty on his head since 1989.

    A preliminary law enforcement review of Matar’s social media accounts showed he was sympathetic to Shi’ite extremism and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), although no definitive links had been found, according to NBC New York.

    Matar was born in California and recently moved to New Jersey, the NBC New York report said, adding that he had a fake driver’s license on him. He was arrested at the scene by a state trooper after being wrestled to the ground by audience members.

    FBI officials went to Matar’s last listed address, in Fairview, a Bergen County borough just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, on Friday evening, NBC New York reported.

    Police in New York declined to comment on the report. New Jersey police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

    The IRGC is a powerful faction that controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces that Washington accuses of carrying out a global extremist campaign.

    Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in Bombay, now Mumbai, before moving to Britain, has long faced death threats for “Satanic Verses”. The 1988 novel, viewed by some Muslims as containing blasphemous passages, was banned in many countries with large Muslim populations.

    In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran’s supreme leader, pronounced a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to kill the author and anyone involved in the book’s publication for blasphemy. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of the novel, was stabbed to death in 1991 by an attacker who fled.

    There has been no official government reaction in Iran to the attack on Rushdie, but several hardline Iranian newspapers expressed praise for his assailant.

    Iranian organisations, some linked to the government, have raised a bounty worth millions of dollars for Rushdie’s murder. Khomeini’s successor as supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said as recently as 2019 that the fatwa was “irrevocable.”

    Ali Tehfe, mayor of Yaroun in southern Lebanon, said Matar was the son of a man from the town. The suspect’s parents emigrated to the United States and he was born and raised there, the mayor added.

    Asked whether Matar or his parents were affiliated with or supported the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon, Tehfe said he had “no information at all” on their political views.

    A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Saturday that the group had no additional information on the attack on Rushdie.

    The stabbing was condemned by writers and politicians around the world as an assault on freedom of expression. REUTERS

  • 12-year-old who shot Nigerian mother dead in US remains with family

    12-year-old who shot Nigerian mother dead in US remains with family

    A 12-year-old Nigerian boy has killed his mother, Ayobiyi Cook, after he accidentally discharged a firearm at their home in Forestdale, Alabama, United States.

     

    It was gathered that the firearm struck and killed his 29-year-old mom on Monday.

     

    His father, Djuan, a policeman, was said to be at work when the incident happened.

     

    A statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the boy had initially lied to detectives about the cause of his mother’s death after cops arrived at the scene some minutes past midnight.

     

    The 12-year-old Nigerian was reported to have said an intruder broke into the house, shot his mother and fled.

     

    But on further investigation of the killing, he reportedly admitted to killing his mother.

     

    The statement read in part, “The child originally fabricated a story that detectives determined was not possible; the child eventually gave a true account of what happened.

     

    “The boy’s family, who he will remain with, has been cooperative. The case will be addressed through the family court system.”

     

    A prior statement by the Jefferson County deputies stated that there had been no forced entry into the home when they arrived at the scene.

     

    It read, “On Saturday, August 6, 2022, at 12:10am, Jefferson County Deputies received a 911 call for help at a residence in the 2400 block of Freemont Avenue in the Forestdale community. Deputies arrived and found a 29-year-old woman deceased on the scene.

     

    “There appeared to be no forced entry into the home and a man was seen fleeing from the residence shortly before the 911 call was made. Sheriff’s detectives were able to recover evidence on the scene and are continuing to investigate.”

     

    The deceased’s husband, Djuan, in a Facebook post, said Ayobiyi was known as “Yo” or “YoYo.

     

    He wrote, “The funeral arrangements would be held on August 12. Orange was Yo’s favourite colour so feel free to wear it as we celebrate her life.”

  • BREAKING: Uduak Frank Akpan sentenced to death by hanging for gruesome murder of Iniubong Umoren

    BREAKING: Uduak Frank Akpan sentenced to death by hanging for gruesome murder of Iniubong Umoren

    Uduak Frank Akpan has been sentenced to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of Iniubong Umoren.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Akpan was sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Bassey Nkanang of the Akwa Ibom State High Court on Thursday.

    Late Umoren, a graduate of Philosophy, University of Uyo (UNIUYO) was raped, murdered and buried in a shallow grave by Akpan in April 2021.

    Akpan lured the victim, who was 26 years old, to his family residence at Nung Ikono Obio village in Uruan local government area with a job offer.

    The body was later exhumed from the shallow grave by the Police team, who were guided by the prime suspect, described as a serial rapist.

    TNG reports the remains of Umoren had been laid to rest.

     

    Details shortly…

  • Italian who beat Nigerian man to death arrested

    Italian who beat Nigerian man to death arrested

    The Italian police have arrested a  32-year-old Italian man over the brutal killing of a Nigerian street-seller, Alika Ogorchukwu.

    Alika, a 39-year-old Italy-based Nigerian man, was attacked and beaten to death by a white man on the streets of Civitanova Marche, a city located in the Province of Macerata, in the Marche Region of Italy.

    A video from the attack, which found its way to the internet last week, showed how the white man hit and choked Alika while people stood by and watched.

    It was gathered that Alika was attacked by the white man because he complimented his partner’s beauty.

    Confirming Alika’s death, the Nigerian Embassy in Italy says the deceased was assaulted by the Italian man on a busy road in the full glare of passersby.

    In a new development, the Italian police say 32-year-old Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo has been detained in connection with the killing.

    He was tracked down using street cameras after the attack. The police say he is being held on suspicion of murder and theft.

    According to the police, the deceased was selling goods at midday Friday on the main street of Civitanova Marche, a beach town on the Adriatic Sea coast, when an Italian man grabbed a crutch the street-seller used to walk and struck him down. Footage shows him being wrestled to the ground, despite attempts to fight back.

    Police chief, Matteo Luconi, told Italian news channel Sky TG24 that onlookers called police, who responded to the scene after a suspect had fled and attempted to administer aid to the victim. It was not clear if he died at the scene. He said an autopsy will determine how he died.

    Luconi told Sky TG24 that the assailant lashed out after the vendor made “insistent” requests for pocket change. He added that the police were questioning witnesses and had taken into evidence videos of the attack. They said the suspect has made no statements.

    Alika who was married with two children, resorted to selling goods on the street after he was hit by a car and lost his job as a laborer due to the injuries he suffered.

    Daniel Amanza, who runs the ACSIM, an association for immigrants in the Marche region’s Macerata province disclosed the accident left Alika with a limp, and needing crutches.

    Amanza alleged that the aggressor became infuriated when Ogorchukwu told the man’s companion she was beautiful.

    Meanwhile, the wife of the deceased Nigerian man, Charity Oriachi, has called for justice for her husband. Speaking to newsmen in Italy, the bereaved wife said,

    “I need justice for my husband, that is what I want. Because it is too much, the pain is too much for me.”

  • FG talks tough, says killer of Ogorchukwu in Italy must face the law

    FG talks tough, says killer of Ogorchukwu in Italy must face the law

    The federal government of Nigeria has condemned the gruesome murder of Alika Ogorchukwu by an unnamed Italian man in Civitanova, Marche Province of Italy.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that 39-year-old Ogorchukwu was beaten to death by the yet-to-be-identified Italian man on Friday 29th July, 2022 on a busy street in front of shocked onlookers.

    It was gathered that the onlookers made videos of the attack with little or no attempt to prevent it.

    The Nigerian government has called on the Italian government to bring the perpetrator of the heinous act under the jurisdiction of the Law without delay, according to a statement released Francisca Omayuli (Mrs), Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The statement reads: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is deeply concerned and strongly condemns the gruesome murder of a Nigerian, Mr. Alika OGORCHUKWU, in Civitanova, Marche Province of Italy, by an unnamed Italian man, on 29 July 2022.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria condemns in the strongest terms the unjustifiable murder of Mr. Ogorchukwu and calls on the Government of Italy to bring the perpetrator of the heinous act under the jurisdiction of the Law without delay.

    “Accordingly, the Federal Government of Nigeria has directed its Embassy in Rome, Italy, to remain seized of the unwelcome development and work speedily, together with the relevant Italian authorities, to ensure that justice is served, in order to forestall a repeat of the unfortunate incident.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria is deeply saddened and commiserates with the family of the deceased and calls on all Nigerians to exercise restraint as the Law takes its course in the case.

    Meanwhile, a statement released by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has it that the Nigerian ambassador in Italy, Ambassador Mfawa Omini Abam had reassured Nigerians in Italy that citizen diplomacy remained the key thrust of his administration.

    Ambassador Abam in the statement vowed that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that all Nigerians in Italy receive timely, efficient and professional consular services.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Embassy has been drawn to the brutal murder of Alika Ogorchukwu, a 39-year-old Nigerian citizen who was beaten to death by an Italian man on Friday 29th July, 2022, in Civitanova Marche city, located in the Province of Macerata, Marche Region of Italy.

    “The incident occurred on a busy street, in front of shocked onlookers some of whom made videos of the attack, with little or no attempt to prevent it.

    “His Excellency, Ambassador Mfawa Omini Abam has condemned the gruesome murder and has commiserated with Mrs. Charity Oriachi, wife of the deceased and the rest of his family.

    “His Excellency has directed the provision of immediate consular assistance as appropriate. The Embassy is currently collaborating with relevant Italian authorities to ensure justice is served and to provide succour to the family of the deceased.

    “Ambassador Abam wishes to enjoin members of the Nigerian community in Italy to remain calm and to refrain from taking laws into their hands.

    “His Excellency wishes to reassure Nigerians in Italy that citizen’s diplomacy remained the key thrust of his administration and will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all Nigerians in Italy receive timely, efficient and professional consular services. Embassy of Nigeria Rome, Italy”.