Brandon Nichols of the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services, said that Anthony Avalos "liked boys," prompting speculation that his sexuality played a role in his death.

German authorities launched a probe into a string of deaths at a metal fittings company after an employee was caught trying to poison a co-workers lunch. Police found quicksilver, lead and cadmium in the man's home. The man was arrested for the incident in the town of Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock, northwest Germany. However, police now suspect he may be responsible for up to 21 deaths of people working for the same company.

A French couple who tortured their nanny to death before burning her body on a bonfire in a bid to get away with murder have both been jailed for at least 30 years.  Sabrina Kouider, 35, and Ouissem Medouni, 40, subjected 21-year-old Sophie Lionnet to weeks of punishing interrogations to extract a false confession that she had betrayed them. 

A man who raped, killed and buried a 6-year-old Bremerton girl in a mud bog in 2014 has been sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison. Superior Court Judge Jennifer A. Forbes read the ruling Monday in a Kitsap County courtroom, nearly four years after the girl's horrific death. Gabriel Gaeta pleaded guilty in February to first-degree murder with sexual motivation and child rape in the death of Jenise Wright.

A newly-convicted murderer in Florida repeatedly punched his defense attorney after a judge handed down his verdict last Friday. The American Bar Association Journal reported Monday that defendant Travis Jamaar Davis and his three co-defendants had just been convicted of felony murder related to the 2016 death of Courtney Levar London when the courtroom fracas began. Davis, the reported triggerman in London’s shooting death, punched lawyer Daniel Hernandez repeatedly in the back of the head and soon after, his co-defendant Kelvon Grimmage joined in.

Fernando Puron Johnston, who was running for Congress in the northern state of Coahuila was murdered late Friday at the Autonomous University of Coahuila after participating in a debate with his three main political rivals. Security footage shows Puron, a former mayor of Piedras Negras, was posing for a picture with a supporter when a man walked up to him and shot him twice in the back of the head.

The South California mother and her boyfriend who tortured and killed a 7-year-old boy have been sentenced to life in prison and death, respectively. Last October, we shared with you the news that 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez had died while seeking emergency care. When medical staff examined the boy, they discovered signs of torture. Fernadez’s skull was fractured, his ribs were broken, he showed signs of being hit with a BB gun, he had burn marks, and more.

German authorities investigating the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl said Thursday they are seeking a fugitive Iraqi asylum-seeker and have arrested a Turkish man in the latest high-profile case involving migrants. The body of the girl, who had been missing since May 22, was found Wednesday on the outskirts of the western German city of Wiesbaden.

A man who admitted to killing his nine-year-old son in 2016 has been jailed for up to 41 years. Canberra man Graham Stuart Dillon pleaded guilty to murdering son Bradyn in court last year. Dillon was sentenced to 36 years for the murder, with the remaining years added for grievous bodily harm and assault charges including choking and threatening to kill.

The Haditha massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of the Iraq War. This is the true story of why none of the perpetrators were brought to justice. By Adam Linehan.

A mother was taken into police custody early Tuesday after she allegedly struck her boyfriend and their 7-month-old daughter with a car, injuring the father and killing the child. Sarah Gomez, 19,  was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the Ontario Police Department tweeted. The incident happened on the driveway of a residence in the 500 block of West D Street around midnight, Sgt. Jeff Higbee said.

Mary Turner and her unborn baby were killed by a racist mob in 1918 in an atrocity that was nearly forgotten. By Michael Sainato.

The days, weeks, and months after the worst mass shooting in modern American history. By Amanda Fortini. Photographs by Joshua Dudley Greer.

Indonesian man throws shipmate over board following a knife fight on Taiwan fishing boat .This morning the coast guard dispatched a rescue team to apprehend a murderous fisherman aboard a Pintung fishing boat after receiving reports of a deadly knife fight. 

The four men, who were employed as security guards for a private US contractor, were convicted in 2014 of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. By Joanna Walters and agencies.

Marchers from last year’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville who attacked a black counter-protester made a claim that has often worked for police officers: They acted in self-defense. By Adam Serwer.

Mexican investigators say two European cyclists did not die in an accident as first claimed - they were murdered. The bodies of Holger Hagenbusch, from Germany, and Krzysztof Chmielewski, from Poland, were found at the bottom of a cliff in Chiapas state. Local authorities had said the pair appeared to have fallen after losing control. However, relatives and fellow cyclists suspected it was more sinister, and had called for a deeper investigation.

Deputies had to restrain the mother of a 3-year-old boy Friday when the 15-year-old boy accused of killing him appeared to smirk while waiting for his bond hearing to start. “What’s funny? What’s funny?” yelled Roshanda Craig, as deputies rushed to separate members of the victim’s family and the defendant’s family. Christopher Cullins, 15, an eighth grade student at Sylvan Hills Middle School, was arrested at his school 10 days after the April 1 shooting that claimed the life of 3-year-old T’Rhigi Craig. Cullins is charged as an adult with murder.

A TOURIST who travelled to India to tackle her depression was drugged, raped and beheaded before her corpse was left hanging upside down in a forest. Cops revealed Liga Skromane was lured by two men who then sexually assaulted her before butchering her body.

A 16-year-old girl in India was burnt alive after her parents complained to village elders that she had been raped, according to police. Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the attacks in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. Police said the elders had ordered the accused rapists to do 100 sit-ups and pay a 50,000 rupee (£550; $750) fine as punishment.