All Blog Posts from Crimesider

NEW YORK - Nude, yes. Lewd, no.

A New York judge dismissed public lewdness and other charges Monday against 26-year-old model Kathleen Neill who posed for a nude photo shoot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while visitors looked on.

Neill, also known as "K.C.," was arrested in August during photographer Zach Hyman's shoot in the arms and armor department in the Met.

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WASHINGTON - They are unusual bedfellows.

Homosexuals and religious groups, who are often at loggerheads over gay marriage, seem to have at least one thing in common. Reports of hate crimes against both groups were up sharply in 2008, according to an annual FBI statistics report released on Monday.

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SAN FERNANDO, Calif. - Authorities are searching for a man suspected of robbing a nun in the parking lot of a grocery store in San Fernando, Calif., and the heist was caught on surveillance tape.

A pair of nuns in full religious dress were putting their groceries into their vehicle in the parking lot of a Food 4 Less store on Glen Oaks Boulevard, when police say a man in a white t-shirt approached them and asked a question.

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OKLAHOMA CITY - Former Marine David Allen Tyner has been arraigned on six counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of four people whose bodies were found in a burning home, including prostitute Brooke Phillips featured on the HBO reality series "Cathouse."

According to the Oklahoman, prosecutors believe that Tyner, a member of a Native American gang called the Native Brotherhood, was gunning for his old boss, Casey Mark Barrientos, 32, a Hispanic man with a history of drug offenses. Tyner once worked for Barrientos as a body guard, the paper said.

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LOS ANGELES - Erin Andrews' alleged peephole stalker is definitely sorry he got charged with a crime. But Michael David Barrett also says he's not guilty.

Barrett entered that plea Monday in Los Angeles, on one count of interstate stalking, for allegedly shooting secret nude videos of ESPN reporter Andrews.

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ATLANTA - Was it murder, or sickle-cell anemia that caused the death of "A.J." Jewel, the on-again-off-again fiancé of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member Kandi Burruss?

A preliminary report on Jewell's autopsy is labeling the death a "homicide," saying it was the fight Ashley "A.J." Jewel had in the parking lot of a strip club that caused his rare sickle-cell anemia condition to be fatal.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - More than 2000 people joined Shaniya Davis' father, Bradley Lockhart, Sunday, at an emotional funeral for the North Carolina 5-year-old, who, police say, was raped, murdered, then thrown in a pile of trash bags and deer carcasses like she was someone's garbage.

"Don't let God's words and don't let his actions get you down," Lockhart told the packed congregation. "He did this for a reason."

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NEW YORK - Police in Southern California say an attack Friday on a redheaded middle school student may have been inspired by an episode of "South Park."

Authorities say a 12-year-old boy was assaulted by a group of middle school classmates in Calabasas who may have targeted him after an Internet posting urged students to beat up redheads.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Richard Erickson says the boy, who has red hair and freckles, was kicked and hit in two incidents Friday at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas. As many as 14 students participated in the attacks.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Alyssa Bustamante, the 15-year-old accused of killing her 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten, was sent to a mental hospital after her lawyer said she showed signs of severe depression and anxiety.

A judge ordered Bustamante to be taken to the Fulton State Hospital for up to 96 hours, but it was unclear exactly when that clock started. The order by Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce is dated Thursday but did not have a time stamp; it was released Friday.

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MIAMI - His story captured the attention of the South Florida community and the world. A 15-year-old boy set on fire by five teenage friends in a dispute over money. Michael Brewer suffered burns over two-thirds of his body and now, his parents and grandmother have spoken exclusively to CBS affiliate WFOR reporter Shannon Hori.

His parents say their son hasn't been able to fully grasp what happened to him. But even with all the drugs he's on for the pain, he has horrible flashbacks. He asks for water in order to put out the flames.

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