February 2022 | Page 17 of 28

Nicholas Scurria Seen Decapitating Girlfriend

Nicholas Scurria has been charged with the murder of his ex girlfriend after police watched him attempt to decapitate the victim. According to police reports a loud argument broke out between Nicholas Scurria and his ex girlfriend which led to police being called. When the police arrived on the scene they witnessed Nicholas Scurria attempting to decapitate the victim. The police would break down the door and take Nicholas Scurria into custody however it was too late to save the woman. Nicholas Scurria has been charged with murder with more charges on the way.

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A man has been arrested in connection to the gruesome murder of his ex-girlfriend in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Police were called to the Willow Apartments on the 400 block of Springfield Road in Clifton Heights around 4:15 a.m. Friday.

Police say a fight between the two turned deadly.

Arriving officers found Nicholas Scurria, 32, in the process of beheading the woman, according to police.

“It’s shocking to me, and it’s shocking to everybody else that this had to happen in our hometown,” remarked Bill Mehok of Clifton Heights, who lives nearby.

Scurria was taken into custody.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I’ve been an officer for 32 years, this is absolutely horrible,” said Clifton Heights Police Chief Timothy Rockenbach. “I don’t even know what words I could describe to you how actually incredibly insane this is, especially in my town.”

Rockenbach and other officers are now haunted by what they saw inside the apartment.

“He saw a, uh, male,” said Rockenbach. “He was dismembering the body of a female.”

Police said Scurria had a number of weapons with him.

“One was described as a machete,” said Rockenbach.

Officers say Scurria was using the machete to cut the victim’s leg. Police saw the woman’s decapitated body with rolled-up plastic nearby.

“I believe the intent was obviously to hide the crime,” Rockenbach said of the plastic and the attempt to dismember the body.

Police credit the neighbor who called to report the fight. They say the call prevented Scurria from getting away with the crime.

“Domestic violence is a major crime everywhere,” said Rockenbach. “Sometimes a neighbor interceding allows us to solve a crime, stop a crime or prevent a crime from happening.”

Scurria was arraigned and charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. He is being held in prison.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office is continuing to investigate.

https://6abc.com/boyfriend-arrested-decapitating-girlfriend-clifton-heights-delaware-county/11554895/

Pastor Victor Mateo Guilty Of Wife’s Murder

Former New York Pastor Victor Mateo has been convicted in the brutal murder of his wife. According to court documents Victor Mateo was involved in an argument with his wife that would end with him running over the woman repeatedly with his car before stabbing the woman several times with a machete in front of their Grandchildren. Victor Mateo would be arrested and ultimately plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and be sentenced to 23 years in the New York Department Of Corrections

2022 Victor Mateo Information

Victor Mateo More News

A former pastor was sentenced to 23 years in prison for running over his estranged wife and stabbing her with a machete in front of her grandchildren.

Victor Mateo and his wife, Noelia Mateo, had been estranged for about a month when he killed her, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.

“The defendant not only took the life of a Bronx grandmother, but also inflicted a possible lifetime of trauma to her grandchildren who were witnesses to this horrific crime,” Clark said.

As his estranged wife left her Bronx home to take her grandkids to school on Oct. 3, 2019, the former pastor struck her with his vehicle, Clark said. When Noelia Mateo hid beneath her car, Victor Mateo got into her vehicle and ran his estranged wife over with it. He then hacked her with a machete.

Mateo, 65, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Nov. 17, 2021

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/bronx/former-pastor-sentenced-for-running-over-stabbing-estranged-wife-to-death-with-machete-bronx-da/

Victor Mateo Other News

When a Bronx pastor hacked his estranged wife to death with a machete in front of her grandkids, he stole their grandmother and their innocence.

The children and their parents lamented the 2019 slaying of beloved matriarch Noelia Mateo in victim impact statements as her killer Victor Mateo was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Thursday.

“I remember my grandmother’s death like it was yesterday,” the older of the two kids, 13, said in a statement read in Bronx Supreme Court.

“Victor Mateo stole my grandmother and my innocence,” continued the child, whose name was withheld. “I lost so much within a few hours; I had nightmares and PTSD.”

Family members recounted Oct. 3, 2019, starting out like any other, with Noelia Mateo whipping up a smoothie for her older grandchild as she readied to take the kids to school.

But Victor Mateo drove to his estranged wife’s home on Ellsworth Ave. in Throggs Neck, waited for her to leave and mowed her down with his car. The younger grandchild thought the reverend, 65, was going to call an ambulance, but he emerged with a machete in hand and hacked the 58-year-old victim to death.

“He was just getting ready to cause more damage and pain to my family,” recounted the young witness, who is now 11.

Noelia Mateo was estranged from her husband, the former pastor at the Christian Congregation The Redeemer Church for about a month when she died, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s office.

Her family denounced the killer as they mourned their loss.

“She was a beautiful lady with a man who was horrendously controlling and not what he vowed to do when marrying her,” her older grandchild said. “His animalistic act against my grandmother was done in cold blood.”

Noelia Mateo’s son Kenneth Zunigia Fernandez recounted years of worry over Victor Mateo’s treatment of his mother.

Victor Mateo allegedly demanded his wife give him all her paychecks from her work at a cheesecake business and threatened bloodshed when she finally said she was leaving him.

“Mateo used the Bible, religion and his ‘pastor’ role to manipulate not only my mother, but his church members,” the grieving son said.

For Angie Romero, the loss of her mother is “unbearable.”

“I long deeply to see her again, to sit and drink coffee like we used to,” she said, “to get a phone call from her … to just see her hug my kids and to share all the great things we have accomplished.”

Victor Mateo went on the run after the murder and was arrested days later in Hazelton, Pa. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November.

“The defendant not only took the life of a Bronx grandmother, but also inflicted a possible lifetime of trauma to her grandchildren who were witnesses to this horrific crime,” said Bronx DA Darcel Clark.

“I would have wanted more time with my beautiful grandmother,” said the 13-year-old grandchild, adding that Noelia “did not deserve to leave the Earth in such a sad way.

“May my grandmother rest in peace in Heaven, never having to see the man who killed her again.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nyc-kids-witnessed-grandmother-machete-210400142.html

Victor Mateo Now

Victor Mateo is currently incarcerated within the New York Department Of Corrections

Victor Mateo Release Date

Victor Mateo is not eligible for release until 2042

Braulio Gonzalez Miami Cop Guilty Of Rape

Former Miami police officer Braulio Gonzalez was convicted of the sexual assault of an eight year old girl. According to court documents the victim would tell her psychologist that she was sexually assaulted by Braulio Gonzalez when she was just eight years old which would lead to an investigation and the arrest of Miami police officer Gonzalez. According to police reports the little girl was sexually abused from the time that she was eight years old til she was ten years old. Braulio Gonzalez would start the two years of abuse by kidnapping the little girl and putting a gun to her head before she was sexually assaulted. Now the former police officer is facing between 25 to 48 years in the Florida Department of Corrections when he is sentenced

Braulio Gonzalez 2022 Information

DC Number:	E81415
Name:	GONZALEZ, BRAULIO F
Race:	WHITE
Sex:	MALE
Birth Date:	11/08/1973
Initial Receipt Date:	06/20/2022
Current Facility:	WAKULLA ANNEX
Current Custody:	CLOSE
Current Release Date:	SENTENCED TO LIFE

Braulio Gonzalez More News

A jury on Thursday deliberated just 15 minutes before convicting a former Miami-Dade police lieutenant of molesting two young girls. Braulio Gonzalez was convicted of armed kidnapping and multiple counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. Miami-Dade police first arrested Gonzalez in September 2018, after a girl who was known to him told a psychologist that he fondled her several times when she was between 8 and 10 years old. She also told a Florida Department of Children & Families interviewer that the first time Gonzalez fondled her, he pointed a gun at her head and threatened to kill a relative

Another girl also told investigators about her own molestation. Both testified at this week’s trial. Gonzalez had been jailed since 2019, and he’ll remain behind bars to await sentencing. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Miguel de la O will sentence him in the coming weeks.

The ex-cop faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, and almost 48 years at the bottom of sentencing guidelines. The former cop was prosecuted by assistant state attorneys Natalie Snyder and Khalil Madani. At trial, his defense argued that the molestation never happened. His defense lawyer, Bruce Lehr, said Gonzalez plans to appeal. “My client maintains his innocence and did throughout this whole ordeal,” Lehr said. Gonzalez was a Miami-Dade police officer since 1999 and before his arrest he was assigned to the Special Response Team, which handles hostage situations, warrants and dangerous fugitive searches. He’d been allowed to keep his job despite multiple allegations that he’d repeatedly beaten and abused his former lovers, according to internal police files. Miami-Dade police cleared him of those allegations.

Braulio Gonzalez Now

Braulio Gonzalez is currently awaiting sentencing

Steven Downs Guilty In 29 Year Old Murder

Steven Downs was convicted of a murder that took place 29 years ago. According to court documents while Steven Downs was a college student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1993 he would sexually assault and murder a young woman, Sophie Sergie. Sophie Sergie who was visiting a friend would be found by janitors murdered by a .22 gunshot as well as being stabbed, choked and tased. The murder would go unsolved for decades until DNA found at the crime scene was eventually matched to Steven Downs through his maternal aunt. When officers tested Steven Downs DNA down in Maine he was found to be a direct match to the person responsible for the murder of Sophie Sergie. Steven Downs would be charged with sexual assault and murder and the jury quickly convicted him of both charges. Now Steven Downs faces sentencing where he would spend the rest of his life in prison

Steven Downs 2022 Information

Steven Downs More News

Steven Downs, 47, was found guilty on the charges of murder and sexual assault in the April 1993 death of 20-year-old Sophie Sergie at the University of Alaska Fairbanks by a jury in Fairbanks Superior Court on Thursday morning.

Content warning: This article contains information about sexual assault that might be difficult for some readers.

Downs was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault in the trial that began on Jan. 12. The case had been cold for 26 years before genetic genealogy linked Downs’ DNA to the case in 2018. He was then arrested in February 2019 and he was extradited from Auburn, Maine, in August of that year.

The jury deliberated for two days after closing arguments in the case that concluded on Monday.

Sergie’s body was found in a second-floor bathroom at Bartlett Hall on the UAF campus shot, choked, stabbed and shocked with a stun gun. Chief Assistant Attorney General and prosecuting attorney for the state Jenna Gruenstein provided details during the trial that Sergie, who was from Pitkas Point, visited the Fairbanks dorms not as a student, but to have orthodontic work done there.

Sergie stayed with her former roommate and left to smoke a cigarette when prosecutors say Downs shot her with a .22 caliber gun. Her body was discovered by janitorial staff on April 26, 1993.

Evidence was collected and sat dormant in a national genetic database until Downs was identified through genetic genealogy. Prosecutors say that Downs’ DNA was the only DNA collected at the scene, although Downs’ defense attorney James Howaniec argued that there were other hairs and fingerprints on the scene at the time.

Forensic consultants who testified during the trial said that the bullet that struck Sergie was “heavily damaged” and “unsuitable” for a firearm comparison. Law enforcement officers seized a .22 caliber rifle from Downs’ home in Maine, but Howaniec argued that the gun was not the same weapon used to shoot Sergie and called on a man he said sold Downs the weapon long after Sergie’s death.

No bail for Downs will be allowed. A sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 26 and 27.

Sergie’s brother, Alexie, also listened to the verdict on Thursday. He said after listening to parts of the trial and closing arguments, he knew Downs would be found guilty.

Alexie Sergie described a “feeling of relief that they found, the jurors found him guilty.”

He described the toll the case has taken on the Sergie family over the years. Their mother passed away in 2021, after Downs had been arrested but before the trial.

“On special occasions, she’d just burst out crying for a little bit,” Alexie Sergie recalled. “And she’d start a prayer and start praying. … I said to myself, you know, one of these days they’ll find they guy, they will find him. Nobody can hide for so long.”

He said that over the years, he’d forgiven the man who killed his sister even before authorities found and arrested Downs.

“If I was there face-to-face with him, I’d say ‘you took something precious from us,’” Alexie Sergie said. “… Even though we were a small family, her uncles, her aunties, her cousins — we were all close. … But I forgive you for what you did.”

“Forgiveness,” he continued. “But I’ll never forget.”

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/02/10/steven-downs-found-guilty-29-year-old-murder-trial/

When Was Sophie Sergie Murdered

Sophie Sergie was murdered in April 1993

Steven Down Now

Steven Down is currently awaiting sentencing in Alaska

Alexander Kraus Teen Killer Murders Grandparents

Alexander Kraus was a seventeen year old Teen Killer from Wisconsin that would fatally shoot his Grandparents. According to court documents Alexander Kraus planned for sometime the murders of his Grandparents as police officers found a notebook filled with notes on how he was going to get away with the murders and plans he had for his high school.

Police say that Alexander Kraus, who did not live with his Grandparents, would shoot and kill the pair with a long gun. A welfare check at the home the next day would reveal the two bodies. Alexander Kraus would be found guilty of the double murder but his mental health has come into questions as the court are seeking a mental health evaluation before sentencing will be passed. In the end Alexander Kraus was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for forty years

Alexander Kraus 2023 Information

Alexander Kraus was sentenced to life in prison

Alexander Kraus More News

The two people found dead Sunday at a home on West Edgewood Drive were the grandparents of the 17-year-old boy accused of killing them.

Dennis L. Kraus, 74, and Letha G. Kraus, 73, were found by police responding to a welfare check at the home shortly after 11:30 a.m., the Grand Chute Police Department said Monday afternoon. Alexander M. Kraus, 17, was arrested at the scene.

The two victims were shot to death with a long gun at the home in Grand Chute where Alexander Kraus was arrested, Travis Waas, a spokesman for the Grand Chute Police Department, told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

Kraus wasn’t living with his grandparents at the time, but was only visiting, Waas said. Waas wouldn’t discuss exactly what investigators have learned from Kraus since his arrest, but indicated more details would be released when he appears in court.

Kraus is being held at the Outagamie County Jail on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He was expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

Kraus had also planned to “cause harm” at Neenah High School, authorities said Monday.

An email sent to Neenah High School parents from the Neenah Joint School District confirmed that Grand Chute police had learned of the potential threat as part of the investigation of the two deaths, said Jim Strick, Neenah Joint School District communications manager.

“The student is in custody in Outagamie County and police believe there is no danger to students and staff at Neenah High School,” the email said. “The school day on Monday will proceed as planned. Additional counselors will be available to assist students.”

Kraus was a junior at Neenah High School. The Neenah Police Department wasn’t aware of the threat to the school prior to the investigation in Grand Chute and hadn’t had contact with Kraus in the past, Neenah Police Chief Aaron Olson said Monday.

https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2019/04/15/boy-held-grand-chute-homicides-planned-cause-harm-neenah-high/3471263002/

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A jury ruled Thursday that Alexander Kraus is criminally responsible for the murders of his grandparents.

Kraus, 19, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for shooting Dennis and Letha Kraus on April 14, 2019, at their Grand Chute home, but also entered a plea of not guilty by reason or mental disease or defect.

This week, a jury had to decide if Kraus suffered from a mental disease at the time of the crime, and if, as a result, he lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions or to conform to the law.

Although the panel ruled Kraus indeed had a mental disease, the panel found he still had the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.

Kraus now faces two life prison terms, with Judge Mitchell Metropulos deciding if Kraus will be eligible for parole and, if so, when. Sentencing was set for Aug. 16.

Earlier Thursday, the jury asked about the scenario it ultimately returned with, asking if it answered “Yes” to Question 1, but “no” to Question 2, would Kraus still go to jail. The jury was referred back to the jury instruction for direction.

Unlike the guilt or innocence phase of a criminal trial, the defense had the burden of proof in the competency phase of the case. The trial started Monday. Jury deliberations started Wednesday afternoon, and continued for about five hours Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, Kraus admitted to shooting his grandparents but a motive was not disclosed. During the investigation, police found “several pages containing Alexander’s typed out plans for killing his grandparents,” the complaint states

https://fox11online.com/news/local/jury-deliberating-in-kraus-murder-case

Alexander Kraus Sentencing

A Neenah teenager who shot and killed his grandparents at their home in Grand Chute in 2019 will serve at least 40 years of a life sentence.

Alexander M. Kraus, now 20, showed little emotion in court Friday as Outagamie County Judge Mitchell Metropulos sentenced him to life in prison and ordered that he serve at least 40 years, minus the 3½ years he’s already been in custody, before he can petition for supervised release.

“Obviously, the severity of the offense is significant,” Metropulos said, “as horrible of a crime as we have. Mr. Kraus killed his grandparents, and he killed both, one right after the other, and it was without mercy, and it was with intent, and it was well planned out.”

Kraus previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of Dennis Kraus, 74, and Letha Kraus, 73.

“I loved my grandparents,” Kraus told the court before sentencing. “I’m so sorry.”

The mandatory penalty for first-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin is life in prison, but Metropulos was empowered to decide when Kraus would be eligible for supervised release.

He set that at 20 years for each count and that the periods run consecutively for a total of 40 years.

Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis recommended that Kraus be sentenced to life in prison without release. She said the killing of his grandparents was part of Kraus’ larger plan — developed over 18 months — to carry out mass murder at Neenah High School. Kraus was a junior at the school.

“I do not believe the community is or will be safe with the defendant in it,” Tempelis told the court. “I also believe significant punishment for the horrific murder of two wonderful people in our community is not only appropriate but is expected.”

“In light of this investigation,” Tempelis continued, “I believe the murders of Dennis and Letha Kraus saved the lives of countless students at Neenah High School.”

Gregory Petit, an attorney for Kraus, requested eligibility for supervised release after 20 years, which is the minimum under law. He said Kraus’ plan for a mass shooting at Neenah High School “was so delusional, there was no way that would have happened.”

“This wasn’t a case of an evil person,” Petit said. “It was a kid with mental health issues that did something horrible.

During a June 2021 trial, Kraus tried to convince a jury that a mental illness kept him from being able to understand what he did was wrong, but he wasn’t successful.

Kraus had been awaiting sentencing ever since because, two months after the trial, Metropulos determined Kraus wasn’t competent to proceed to sentencing and ordered him to get treatment until his competency was restored.

After three separate evaluations, Metropulos ruled in June that Kraus was competent to proceed.

Kraus was 17 when he called 911 shortly after 11:30 a.m. April 14, 2019, telling an emergency dispatcher “he had just killed his grandparents and needed to be arrested by the police,” according to a criminal complaint filed two days later in Outagamie County.

That same day, police found the bodies of Dennis and Letha Kraus at their home on Edgewood Drive in Grand Chute. A police officer who searched the victims’ home found a backpack with a folder inside that contained Kraus’ typed plan for killing his grandparents.

https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/crime/2022/09/02/neenah-teen-who-fatally-shot-grandparents-sentenced-life-prison/7960872001/

Frequently Asked Questions

Alexander Kraus Now

Alexander Kraus is currently undergoing a mental health assessment before he is sentenced