Murder is still a horrible crime even if the defendants look good

Meredith Kercher was a beautiful girl. She was 21 years old with dark, dancing eyes and glossy hair. She was clever and determined - she worked for months to raise the money to fund her year in Italy to study the language.

She was kind and much loved not just by her immediate family - her mother, her father, her sister and her brothers - but also by her many friends to whom she was known as just Mez.

Her mother Arline, who suffers from severe kidney disease, remembers her girl as "full of life. She loved music, she loved to dance. She was full of joy in her heart."

Meredith was murdered in Perugia in 2007. But in the years that have followed it is not her picture that instantly springs to mind when her horrific killing is discussed.

It is the image of her flatmate, Amanda Knox - Foxy Knoxy as she styles herself - the American student whose appeal against her conviction for the murder has attracted such enormous global coverage this week.

Amanda Knox may have been cleared of murder. But her despicable behaviour immediately after the savage killing of her flatmate, in particular her evidence against an entirely innocent man, her lies and her slander show her for the vile piece of work that she is.

Miss Knox is undoubtedly a looker.

She is rich and from a family with the clout to sustain, as they have done, an impressive PR campaign on her behalf.

But it is hard to escape the fact that it is primarily because Knox is female and good looking that this case has attracted such insatiable public and media attention.

Or that amid the acres of worldwide news coverage, Meredith Kercher, the victim, has been lost.

The verdict in the Knox appeal hearing this week was greeted with the sort of frenzy in the streets outside that would mark an Oscars award ceremony. Among the crowd was a supporter carrying a small statue of Amanda Knox cast in ceramic as if she was some latter day saint.

Or martyr.

Cameras flashed and crowds jostled for a better look as the defendants arrived. A pizza bar across the street was packed out as customers crowded round a television screening live pictures. Some jeered, booed and cried "Shameful!" as the verdict was announced.

Would the case have garnered even a smidgen of the coverage if Knox had been older and ordinary and male?

It's doubtful.

And let's be honest, this isn't just an Italian thing or an American thing. Locally would the case of Hazel Stewart have commanded such an avid audience had it not been for her looks? In fact we can even narrow it down in Stewart's case to that one memorable image of her tarted up for an evening out.

We don't think of murderers,or even those charged with the offence, as pretty people. Our brains tell us that, of course, attractive women can be criminal or killers. But somewhere deep down inside we're programmed to expect an almost cartoon vision of evil.

Charles Manson looked like a killer. Blonde hair, cleavage and high heels throws us. And, yes, it intrigues.

But should it be allowed to dazzle us to the point where we blank out the victims?

Trevor Buchanan. Leslie Howell. Those were the real victims in the Hazel Stewart case. But like Meredith Kercher they were eclipsed by the woman in the dock.

Meredith's poor family have carried themselves with such dignity.

But how much must it have piled upon their grief the circus that has surrounded - and will continue to surround - this case?

Their gentle, innocent girl has been all but forgotten. Foxy Knoxy looks set to make a fortune flogging her story.

To some extent interest in that story is understandable and human.

But when we lose sight of the victim - the real victim - it doesn't make justice look good.

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Birther Joe Arpaio Makes 92 Arrests in Maricopa County Crime Sweep

Arizona birther Joe Arpaio is known for his "posses" and swift crime sweeps that render several people in tent city wearing pink and eating green bologna. His most recent crime sweep netted over 90 arrests, many of which were illegal immigrants.

Sources report that Joe Arpaio's latest crime sweep focused on human smuggling, DUI and drug related charges. Over 23 illegal immigrants were also apprehended. Recently, Arpaio came under media scrutiny when he announced his plans of piecing together a birther posse to investigate Barack Obama's birth certificate and citizenship. Not only is this man a vile, hateful sack; he's feeble. Barack Obama showed his short-form birth certificate in 2008, and then showed his long form birth certificate earlier this year. Furthermore, it's been repeated by nearly every news source around and the photographic evidence exists, of newspaper announcements of the POTUS's birth in Hawaii.

Although it's good that Arpaio is doing his job of protecting Maricopa County from human smuggling and druggie filth, he should probably focus less time and money on his moronic birther ideas. They're nonsensical and a total waste of resources. Hopefully no taxes are being used in his stupid posse.

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©2011 Chelsea Hoffman is the Author of "Chloe and Louis," and the "Fear Chronicles," series of books. She also covers a myriad of true crime stories online. Click here to visit Chelsea Hoffman's official blog and contact website. Be sure to like the page to become a fan!

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Protests underscore Bulgarians' fear of Roma, organized crime

Houses set ablaze; far right activists and football hooligans chanting racist slogans; vigilantes arming themselves with swords, knives, and clubs; riot police charging through normally peaceful streets.

Last week’s ethnically-charged protests and riots in Bulgaria presented a series of grim images to the world. The country, which rarely makes waves internationally these days, even on the sports pages, is suddenly in the headlines, and it is not a pretty sight.

The events, which started with the killing of a teenager on Sept. 23, are widely seen as the worst outbreak of ethnic tension in Bulgaria since the end of Communism in 1990. The death of Angel Petrov, run down by a van in what many claim was a killing ordered by a Roma underworld boss, sparked protests and riots that have led to several hundred arrests. As gangs of youths clad in Bulgarian flags took to the streets shouting anti-Rom and anti-Turk slogans, police have protected mosques and Roma neighborhoods. Gendarmes in riot gear have been gathering at major intersections in Sofia every evening.

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Mr. Petrov’s death has been widely blamed on associates of Kiril Rashkov, a Roma clan leader from the same village, Katunitsa, near the central Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. Mr. Rashkov, the self-styled “Tsar [King] Kiro” has been linked to a range of underworld activities. He was convicted of illegal transactions during the communist period and is under investigation for tax evasion and bootlegging. Locals also accuse him of extortion and illegal appropriation of land. Several of Rashkov’s properties in Katunitsa were torched on Saturday night as villagers vented long-held grudges against the alleged kingpin.

The subsequent incidents have caught the attention of Bulgarians, who have been spared the ethnic conflict that tore apart other parts of the Balkans in the 1990s. Though, a particularly unpleasant government campaign against the country’s Turks took place in the 1980s, leading to (as was intended) many fleeing to Turkey.

Last week’s events should be put into perspective. The demonstrations gathered only a few thousand – a paltry 2,200 nationwide on Tuesday, according to local press reports, following a relatively small gathering of around 1,500 in Sofia the day before. The protestors are predominantly young, and the fringes of Sofia rally outside parliament on Monday evening had something of a party atmosphere, with people drinking and chatting, breaking off to chant “resign!” and jeer at police.

Since the Katunitsa blazes, there have been no major clashes, and the Roma vigilantes showing off blades on television have not been called into action to protect their homes.

More important are the issues in Bulgarian society that underlie the outpouring of anger: the exclusion and perceived impunity of both the Roma community and the power of criminal classes who have profited in the post-Communist era. In the popular imagination, Tsar Kiro is an avatar for what is wrong with Bulgaria, and Petrov a martyr for the ordinary Bulgarian, even though allegations are as yet unproven.

'Bulgarians are discriminated against'

Bulgarian Roma make up between 5 and 10 percent of the country’s population and are among Europe’s poorest and most marginalized people. Those who live in cities often inhabit gruesome ghettos, some of which are even walled off from roads and surrounding communities. Access to jobs tends to be very limited and attendance at school lower than the national average. On the other hand, relations in mixed-ethnicity villages and small towns are often very good, and differentiation between ethnic groups blurred.

But many – most – Bulgarians feel that the Roma have an easy ride. The latter are accused of not paying taxes or utility bills and of involvement in crime. Regular complaints are that the police will not press charges against Roma, and even that ticket collectors on public transport will give them a wide berth.

“If a Bulgarian kills a Gypsy, he’ll go to prison, but if a Gypsy kills a Bulgarian, he goes free,” Aleksandar Damov, a marketing manager leaning on his bicycle at Monday’s rally in Sofia told Christian Science Monitor. “Bulgarians are discriminated against. The police don’t do anything.”

Another demonstrator related that his grandmother had been attacked and left in the snowy street by Gypsies who stole her purse. “I’m not racist,” he said, “but I pay 120 leva a month for water and electricity bills, and pay taxes, while people who haven’t done a single day’s work get government money.”

These views are not the preserve of the far right and associated football hooligans, but are widely shared among the Bulgarian middle classes.

Wealth and crime

Bulgarians are also increasingly frustrated with successive governments’ inability to deal with organized crime and corruption. The European Union has suspended tranches of funding to Bulgaria over graft on several occasions. Stories about the wealthy’s ability to bribe their way out of trouble and buy political favors abound. It is alleged that local tax inspectors turned a blind eye to Rashkov’s expensive properties. Over recent years, a number of senior politicians have been accused of involvement in organized crime, from contract fixing to drug trafficking, forcing several out of office.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who styles himself as a no-nonsense man of action in jeans, was elected on the strength of his promise to break the old, corrupt elites, but has himself been accused of being too close to business interests. Even the muscular “Big Brother Boyko” has proved unable to cut out the corruption, and protestors now see him as part of the problem.

“Enforcing the law against the rich and powerful has always been a problem in Bulgaria,” Daniel Smilov, of the Sofia-based think tank Centre for Liberal Strategies, told The Christian Science Monitor. “What is distinctive is probably the arrogance of the rich in living above the law, which in the case of Tsar Kiro and his associates became particularly visible. So, the unrest was in its core started as anti-oligarchic, but soon turned racist.”

Mr. Smilov is pessimistic for the future. As even many demonstrators agree, when the protests die down, Bulgaria will still be left with the challenges of race, corruption, and crime, with the background of a worsening European economy.

“Roma exclusion is grounded in the poverty of the minority and its poor education,” Smilov says. “The only conceivable solution to this problem is a massive, inevitably paternalistic, publicly funded effort to educate Roma children, and to increase employment in the Roma community. This effort must be sustained over a generation at least. No one is prepared to embark on such a policy. Moreover, the predominant economic fashion for fiscal discipline and rolling back the state excludes the possibility of such large scale public investment. So, the Roma problem will not be solved, and exclusion will most probably accelerate.”

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Crime Q&A: Murder trial of slain CSUS student's roommate starts Oct. 20

A Sac State student was killed in 2009 in his dorm room by his roommate. What happened to that roommate?

– Jays, Sac

Quran Muhammed Jones, 21, is in Sacramento County jail, accused of murder in the 2009 beating death of his roommate, Scott Gregory Hawkins, 23. According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, his trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 20.

According to a story in The Bee, Jones pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in November 2010. He will still undergo a regular trial. If he's convicted, a jury would then have to decide whether he could understand right from wrong and the consequences of his behavior.

What is going on with the molestation charges against the Rio Linda pastor Tom (Tommy) Gene Daniels?

– SassyMommy, Sacramento

Tommy Gene Daniels, 49, remains in Sacramento County jail in lieu of $4.5 million bail. He is charged with committing lewd or lascivious acts with children under the age of 14, and according to Sacramento Superior Court online records, his trial is to begin Oct. 27.

Daniels, a Citrus Heights resident and senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Rio Linda, was arrested Dec. 9, 2010. He and his wife had been employed as foster parents and day-care providers.

The alleged acts took place between 2002 and 2007 and involved girls ranging from 5 to 13 years old, according to court papers and testimony. Daniels has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

There was a murder of a guy I went to high school with at a Valero gas station on Florin Perkins/French and Florin Road over a drug deal gone wrong. It has to have been four to eight years ago. Was the murderer and thief ever caught?

– Wondering in Sacramento

Four men are in state prison for their involvement in the murder of Clifford Thomas Owens, 22, of Sacramento.

According to stories in The Bee, Owens was shot in the head on the evening of July 26, 2005, during a struggle over a backpack at a Valero gas station in the 8400 block of Florin Road.

Owens' assailants, all in their late teens at the time, reportedly lured him to the station with an offer to purchase marijuana from him.

Juries convicted Daniel Perez, the shooter, and Adrian Frank Andrade of murder. Perez, now 23, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole and is in Kern Valley State Prison in Delano. Andrade, 23, was sentenced to 25 years to life and is in Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City.

Christopher Leo Moyo, 23, and Michael Troy Montano, 25, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. Moyo is serving an 11-year sentence at Soledad Correctional Training Facility in Soledad. Montano was sentenced to 12 years and is at High Desert State Prison in Susanville.

– Cathy Locke

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How A Good Drug Crime Attorney Can Protect Your Rights

You might not know what to do when you first find yourself in a situation where you are being charged for a crime involving drugs. You will find that there are many things you will need to do but finding a top Las Vegas drug crime attorney should be first on your list. You need to find someone that is going to be able to listen to your story to find any injustices that might have occurred as well as someone who is going to work hard to defend your rights.

There are many tips to finding a great drug crime attorney in Las Vegas. One of the things that you will need to do is some research to make sure that you are considering someone who can help you. There are no advantages for you when you are charged with a drug crime.

Once you are charged with a crime it is not easy to try and show someone that you did not commit such a crime. You will want an attorney who is going to work for you even when you need to hear that you are not going to do that well. The attorney should actually be able to show you what you can expect in the worse cases when it comes to being cross examined.

It is going to be hard but you need to convince everyone when you are on trial that a crime did not occur. Charges might not stand if there was a violation of your civil rights so consider this option as well. There are a lot of things that your attorney will be able to tell you about your case after he has reviewed all of the information.

There are many different things that could occur so your attorney needs to be ready for all of them. You are going to have to consider the different things about your attorney like his qualifications and what types of cases he had tried and won in the past. This will help you to make sure that you hired the right attorney for your needs because if you hire someone without any experience in this area you are probably not going to be as successful.

It is also important when you choose an attorney that you find someone who is able to successfully win over a jury and judge. He needs to be able to make everyone relate to him without anyone feeling put out. Something else to look for would be that people believe him and that they like him for a number of reasons.

Another thing to make sure of with finding someone to represent you for a drug crime is that they know the drug laws well. You can ask a variety of questions and you should get answers without the lawyer needing to look things up or consult someone else. Also you want someone who has worked on and won cases like your own.

As you look for a Las Vegas drug crime attorney you need to realize that it is something that is hard. There are many things that you will need to be able to do in order to win your case and fight for your rights. If there is no chance of winning then you need to be made aware that a plea bargain with light sentencing will be a better bet for you.

If you have been arrested for simple possession or drug trafficking in Nevada you should hire an aggressive Las Vegas drug crime attorney immediately. Having good representation will make all the difference in your case.

Fighting Charges With An Experienced Drug Crime Attorney

When you are charged with a drug crime it is often a situation where you have no clue how to proceed. One of the first things that you will need to think of is how to find a Las Vegas drug crime attorney that you can consult. This attorney will not only be able to defend your personal rights but will also be able to listen to your side of the story and find out if any wrongful doings occurred.

You will want to know exactly what you should seek to find in a Las Vegas drug crime attorney. There is only a little bit of research that you will need to conduct in the process to find out how these things can work for you. No matter who you are after being charged with a crime related to drugs you are going to be at a disadvantage.

It is hard to convince someone that you did not commit a crime that you have been charged with. It is important that you actually find an attorney who is going to tell you the hard truth and not just what you want to hear. Your attorney should be willing to teach you everything that you will need to know even in the most intense cross examinations during trial.

The main thing that you are going to have to prove during your trial is that the alleged crime did not occur. You could also prove that although a crime did occur your civil rights were violated in some way in which the charges would not stand. Your attorney will be able to look at your case and your situation and be able to help you find the right way to proceed.

The attorney that you choose needs to be able to fully handle a variety of different situations and cases. It is very important that you fully understand your attorneys qualifications and whether or not they have tried and won similar cases to yours. It is hard to hire an inexperienced attorney when the stakes are high for you because you really need someone who knows what they are doing.

Your attorney also should be willing to fully win over the courtroom judge and jury. It is important that you choose someone who can speak to a variety of different types of people without offending or upsetting them. You will find it necessary win your case so you really need to have people like your lawyer and what he or she is saying.

Remember that a drug crime attorney should be well versed in drug crimes and drug laws. He should be capable of answering any questions that you have without having to seek further counsel. He should have already tried at least one case like yours and won.

There are many things that you will need to think about during the difficult time when you are looking to hire a Las Vegas drug crime attorney. One of the main things that you are going to need to consider is whether or not you are going to be able to fight and win your case. If you think that you are not and your attorney agrees then you are going to want to enter into some type of plea bargain in exchange for lighter sentencing.

When you have been arrested for a drug charge it is advisable to hire an experienced Las Vegas drug crime attorney to represent you in court. A good drug crime attorney can often get the charges reduced or dismissed.

Know About Cyber Crimes and Protect Yourself From Hackers

In the world of cyber crimes, one has to be very vigilant to prevent loss of highly sensitive information from their system. If you wish to protect yourself from online scams, it is essential to have knowledge about hackers and various cyber crimes.

Hackers

Hackers are individuals who intrude into others system without permission in search of information (hacking). They can be categorized into three groups depending on the degree of their ability to commit cyber crimes. Beginners are generally kids, who intrude for fun. The other two groups include intermediate and advanced where the advanced hackers are difficult to trace.

Cyber crimes

Hacking: Hacking means intruding into other's system without permission and this is the most common cyber crime we come across.

Process of Hacking:

To intrude into a system, the hacker follows the following steps:

·Identifies system that is vulnerable to hacking. In case of large corporations, hackers keeps dialing the extensions associated with that office to find out a phone that is connected to the computer. He uses that system for hacking sensitive information about the company.

·After identifying a vulnerable system, he makes attempts to break the password. If he succeeds in his attempts, he will have all the files of the company under his custody.

·To protect from being identified, the hacker deletes the log file of the system every time he intrudes the system.

In addition to hacking, there are many other cyber crimes that cause huge losses if unidentified.

Phishing cyber crimes:

These crimes are committed by setting up a site that is identical to a genuine bank site or sites like PayPal. Then, the phishing site sends out a mail requesting for bank or credit card details with link to the bank website. If the user clicks on this site, he will be directed to a phishing site which grabs all the details he enters. The hacker can make use of this information to carryout transactions.

Another phishing crime is to request the customers to purchase articles from a phony online store. The offender collects few orders and disappears without delivering the goods.

Trojan Phishing is a phishing scam in which the criminal sets up a connection with Trojan infected systems and continues to obtain information from the systems. He may even install software such as keylogging software, which provides information about each and every keystroke. This sort of cybercrime involving the keylogging software is highly dangerous.

The above cyber crimes can be prevented by practicing the below given two simple measures:

·Proper identification of the URL of the site before logging into the site.

·Use of updated versions of firewall, spyware, browsers and the operating system.

Last note, beware of hackers and avoid becoming victims of cyber crimes. Government bodies throughout the world are working together to identify solutions for cyber crimes.

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