2024 | Page 36 of 38 | My Crime Library

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff Murders Yuping Jiao

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff is an alleged killer who was charged with the Utah murder of Yuping Jiao

According to police reports Yuping Jiao was working in a massage parlor in Midvale Utah when she was brutally beaten and stabbed more than fifty times. When Yuping Jiao loved ones could not reach her on the phone they would go to the massage parlor and discovered her body

With thanks to DNA officials were able to tie the brutal murder to a convicted felon, Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, and days later the US Marshals would arrest him back in California

Now Steven Chance Brinkerhoff is being extradited back to Utah where he faces charges of murder

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff News

A California man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a brutal attack at a Utah massage parlor that left one woman dead in early January and prompted police to warn employees in similar occupations to “exercise extreme caution.”

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, 39, is facing one count of first-degree felony murder for the death of 45-year-old Yuping Jiao, who was working alone in the spa when she was brutally attacked and stabbed approximately 56 times, according to an indictment.

Brinkerhoff, who was not a Utah resident, fled back to his home state of California, where he had an extensive criminal record, including possession of a dangerous weapon, assaulting a peace officer, fighting in public, drugs, possession of stolen property and a domestic violence violation.

According to the indictment, Jaio, who had immigrated to the U.S. from China, had been working at the A+ Massage in Midvale on Jan. 4. When Jaio’s brother could not get in touch with her, he went to the parlor to check on her and found her lifeless body in one of the massage rooms, riddled with stab wounds.

The Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner found 56 stab wounds total on Jiao’s body, as well as slice marks on her fingers, prick marks on her ankles, and a small chunk of skin that had been removed, according to documents.

Investigators sent evidence to a lab for testing, where a DNA profile connected Brinkerhoff to the case.

Video surveillance matched the description of Brinkerhoff, who only has one leg and was seen using a wheelchair to access the parlor at 12:30 p.m. and then leaving the building just before 2:30 p.m.

“Detectives were able to identify that cell phone data placed Brinkerhoff in the area of A+ Massage on the day of the incident,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “Additionally, Brinkerhoff had made contact via text messages with Jaio prior to the incident.”

After learning about Brinkerhoff’s involvement in the crime, officials enlisted the help of federal partners to take him into custody in California. He was arrested outside a California massage parlor on Jan. 19, two weeks after Jiao’s murder.

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, now considered a flight risk, is being held without bail while awaiting extradition to Utah.

https://www.courttv.com/news/one-legged-man-charged-in-brutal-murder-of-utah-massage-parlor-worker/

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff More News

On January 24, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF), in coordination with the USMS District of Utah Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, located and safely arrested a man wanted by the Salt Lake City Police Department for a murder committed on January 4, 2024.

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, 39, was wanted in connection to a murder in Salt Lake City in which a female victim was stabbed multiple times in a massage parlor in the 7400 block of S. State Street.
PSWRFTF investigators determined Brinkerhoff fled to Las Vegas, and then to California. When investigators developed information that placed Brinkerhoff in the city of Orange, CA. PSWRFTF requested the assistance of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Investigators narrowed the search to the 2100 block of N. Tustin Street in Orange where they located and arrested Brinkerhoff inside a sandwich shop, then transported him to the Santa Ana Jail.

The PSWRFTF began operations in August 2002. The PSWRFTF has partnership agreements with more than nine federal and 57 state and local agencies and operates throughout California and Nevada.

The PSWRFTF has apprehended more than 102,000 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer.

The USMS District of Utah Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team began in 2015 and has three federal and 26 state and local partnerships that assist in the location and capture of dangerous fugitives.

https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/us-marshals-nab-ut-murder-suspect-ca-sandwich-shop

James Spencer Murders Sean Showers In Texas

James Spencer is an alleged killer from Texas who is charged with the murder of Sean Showers

According to police reports James Spencer was interacting with Sean Showers online which seems normal until you learn that Spencer was acting as a juvenile and Showers was a convicted sex offender. The two would come up with a place to meet

While Sean Showers was walking towards the meeting spot he was allegedly shot and killed by James Spencer.

The murder which took place back in May of 2023 would go unsolved until the arrest of James Spencer. Now Spencer has been charged with murder. Sean Showers had been convicted of child pornography and spent time in Federal Prison, he was also convicted of failing to register as a sex offender

James Spencer Case

A 22-year-old man has been charged after allegedly targeting a child predator and fatally shooting him last year.

On May 29, 2023, shortly before 4 a.m., the Houston Police Department responded to a report of an unresponsive man with multiple gunshot wounds in a ditch at 900 Northwood St. Houston Fire Department paramedics also went to the scene and pronounced the victim, later identified as 37-year-old Sean Showers, dead.

Police allege James Spencer fatally shot Showers from inside a vehicle while the victim was walking along a roadway. According to KPRC-TV, the suspect pretended to be a minor and planned to meet with Showers under the guise of a sexual arrangement.

KPRC reports that Spencer believed law enforcement officials weren’t doing enough to keep child predators in prison, and he wanted to take matters into his own hands and hurt them.

Officers arrested Spencer nearly nine months after the fatal shooting, on Wednesday, Jan. 31. He was booked into the Harris County Jail on a charge of murder and remains held on $250,000 bond. Spencer faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Prior to the shooting, Showers pleaded guilty in 2009 to possessing child pornography, according to the Houston Division of the FBI. The victim reportedly served time in federal prison, and he failed to register as a sex offender.

In a statement obtained by KPRC, Victim Services Director of Houston Crime Stoppers Andy Kahan said, “This was diabolically cunning.”

Kahan added, “When I look at this, I’m going, ‘This is the stuff you see in movies.'”

https://truecrimedaily.com/2024/02/02/houston-texas-james-spencer-murder-child-predator-sean-showers-shooting/

James Spencer More News

A Texas man is charged with murder after allegedly posing as a minor to meet and kill a convicted sex offender, according to authorities.

The Houston Police Department alleges that in May 2023, James Spencer III, 22, shot and killed victim Sean Connery Showers, 37.

Police claim Showers approached a vehicle in the early morning hours of May 29 and then was shot by the suspect, who at the time was unidentified. Upon further investigation, police arrested Spencer, who they claim admitted to the killing.

Showers was found in a ditch with multiple gunshot wounds, police say.

Citing authorities, Click 2 Houston and ABC 13 report that Spencer allegedly claimed to be a minor online, in an attempt to lure Showers under the guise of sex, who he believed was a sex offender.

Showers pleaded guilty to possessing child sex abuse material in 2009, federal authorities said at the time, ABC 13 reports. Showers was sentenced to 30 months in prison and then to two years in 2019 for failing to register as a sex offender, per the outlet.

In a press conference aired by ABC 13, prosecutor Rehaman Merchant said Spencer set up a meeting and knew exactly where Showers was going to be the night of the murder.

“Regardless of the likability of the victim, we’re a nation of laws,” Merchant said at the press conference. “So no one gets to be judge, jury and executioner depending on how they feel.”

It is not immediately clear if Spencer has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

https://people.com/man-allegedly-posed-as-minor-online-meet-child-predator-then-fatally-shot-him-8558143

Alonzo Mingo Murders 3 In Minnesota

Alonzo Mingo is an alleged killer from Minnesota who has been charged with a triple murder in a home invasion robbery

According to police reports Alonzo Mingo would dress up as a UPS worker and one of his accomplices would be holding a box. They would make their way into the home where Mingo would fatally shoot 42-year-old Shannon Patricia Jungwirth, her husband, 39-year-old Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada, and her son, Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth in front of two younger children before fleeing

When Officers arrived at the scene they would find the bodies of the three victims and two children who were under the age of five years old who were not hurt in the home invasion

Using surveillance video inside of the home officers would be able to watch Mingo execute the victims

Alonzo Mingo would be arrested and has been charged with three counts of murder along with an assortment of other charges

Alonzo Mingo News

A Minnesota man accused of killing three people inside their Anoka County home was a former UPS worker who appeared to wear a company uniform as he carried out the fatal shootings last Friday, court records show.

Alonzo Pierre Mingo faces three counts of second-degree murder, according to a criminal complaint filed in Anoka County Court. He did not enter a plea during a hearing Monday, and he’s being held in the county jail in lieu of $5 million bail. No attorneys were listed for Mingo on Tuesday, and the presiding judge denied his request for a public defender.

His second court appearance is scheduled for February 8, according to court records.

Police went to the home after a 911 call “captured a female in the background of a possible domestic situation,” according to a statement of probable cause written by a detective with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers found three dead victims, identified by the sheriff’s office as Shannon Patricia Jungwirth, 42; her husband, Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada, 39; and her son, Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth, 20. Two children under the age of 5 who were also at the home were not harmed, police said.

Surveillance video shows a blue Nissan Altima parking outside the home at 12:21 p.m. and three suspects exiting the vehicle and approaching the house, according to the probable cause statement. Two of them were “wearing clothing similar to UPS delivery driver uniforms,” and one was “carrying a cardboard box as if he is delivering a package” as he entered the home, the document states.

Separate surveillance recordings from cameras inside the home showed Mingo holding two adults at gunpoint and demanding money, the probable cause statement says. Later, the video captures a woman being shot at point blank range.

Surveillance footage shows the three suspects exiting the home at 12:28 p.m. and leaving in the vehicle, which was registered to Alonzo Mingo. He was arrested several hours later while leaving his home in the same vehicle.

Alonzo Mingo denied having ever worked at UPS while being questioned by detectives, but investigators found “UPS delivery uniform tops and a UPS vest” in a backpack in his car. Police ultimately confirmed Mingo was employed by UPS until early January, the statement says.

A UPS spokesperson confirmed Alonzo Mingo had worked for the company “for a short time” as a seasonal employee.

“His temporary employment ended in mid-January,” the spokesperson said. “As this is an active investigation, we will defer to investigating authorities for additional questions.”

A prosecutor notified the judge in a filing Monday that they intend to ask for a sentence above the normal guidelines if Mingo is convicted, saying, “The victims were treated with particular cruelty for which the defendant should be held responsible.”

Mingo pleaded guilty to a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm in an unrelated case and was sentenced in November 2020 to a 57-month prison term, court records show. He was let out on supervised release in February 2023.

Attorneys who represented him in his federal case did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNN.

The shooting remains under investigation, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/us/minnesota-delivery-driver-uniform-killings-suspect/index.html

Justin Mohn Murders Father In PA

Justin Mohn has been arrested in Pennsylvania and has been charged in the brutal murder of his father Michael F. Mohn

According to police reports the wife of Michael F. Mohn would call police to tell them that she had found her husband deceased. When police arrived they would discover a horror scene. Michael Mohn had been decapitated and his head was found in a plastic bag near the bathroom. Officers would find an assortment of evidence to the horrific murder

Justin Mohn became an immediate suspect and would be located two hours later and placed under arrest

Apparently before he fled the murder scene Justin Mohn would post a video on YouTube where he basically showed off his fathers head

Justin Mohn would be charged with murder and abuse of a corpse

Justin Mohn News

A Pennsylvania man has been charged after his father was found beheaded inside their family home Tuesday night in Middletown Township, Bucks County.

The victim’s son, identified as 32-year-old Justin Mohn, has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, among other charges, according to police

Mohn is accused of not only beheading his father, identified as Michael F. Mohn, but also posting the video of him committing the act to YouTube.

Officers responded to the 100 block of Upper Orchard Drive around 7 p.m. after reports of a decapitated body after the victim’s wife came home to discover him beheaded and covered in blood.

When officers arrived, they found the victim’s body in the first-floor bathroom and his head inside a plastic bag in a kitchen pot placed in a first-floor bedroom, according to a police affidavit.

Officers said they also found bloody rubber gloves in a bedroom on the second floor, as well as a machete and a large kitchen knife in the bathtub.

“As far as the crime itself, it’s not something we typically see here,” said Middletown Township Police Captain Pete Feeney.

The wife then told police her husband’s white Toyota Corolla and her son were both missing.

Police said the more than 14-minute long YouTube video, titled “Mohn’s Militia – Call to Arms for American Patriots,” showed Justin Mohn picking up his father’s decapitated head and identifying him by name. Police said it appeared Mohn was reading from a script as he railed about the government.

Mohn referred to himself as a militia leader and called his father a traitor to the country for being a federal employee for 20 years.

He also spoke about President Joe Biden and threatened multiple federal agencies in the gruesome YouTube video while reading from a script.

“There’s plenty of evidence to process, I’m sure they’ll be reviewing that video,” Feeney said.

The video was viewed at least 5,000 times before being taken down.

Police said they were able to track Mohn by pinging his cell phone and he was taken into custody in Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, about 100 miles from the crime scene.

It is unclear why he was in that area.

There is a National Guard training base there and on its website, it is referred to as “America’s busiest National Guard Training Center.”

“I think the neighborhood can rest easy because I think they were a little uneasy for a while before they knew where the person of interest was,” Middletown Township Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla said.

Bartorilla said the son lived inside the home on Upper Orchard Drive in Levittown.

“That was upsetting, so very very upsetting in our neighborhood. In any neighborhood,” said Ellen Stupak, from Middletown Township.

Mohn, who also was arrested on a weapons possession charge, was arraigned early Wednesday and held without bail. He is scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 8. A spokesperson for the Bucks County district attorney’s office said they did not expect to comment publicly about the case Wednesday.

An attorney for Mohn wasn’t listed in court records Wednesday morning and a message seeking comment on his behalf was left at a phone listing for him. The court clerk’s office said it had no record of a lawyer representing him.

A motive for the killing is still under investigation.

https://6abc.com/justin-mohn-levitttown-middletown-township-pa-father-killed/14373700/

Justin Mohn Video

Kenneth Eugene Smith Execution Scheduled For Today

Kenneth Eugene Smith is to be executed today, January 25 2024. unless the Supreme Court steps in

According to court documents Kenneth Eugene Smith and John Forrest Parker were paid a thousand dollars to murder the wife of Rev. Charles Sennett, Elizabeth Sennett. The woman would be found dead she had been badly beaten and stabbed to death

Rev Charles Sennett would never go to trial as he was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest.

Kenneth Eugene Smith and John Forrest Parker would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

John Forrest Parker was executed in 2010

Kenneth Eugene Smith execution if it goes through is suppose to be done using nitrogen gas which is controversial as it has been untested in recent history on humans. Smith who was almost executed before however the execution would be stopped after authorities failed to find a good vein for the lethal injection process

Kenneth Eugene Smith Execution

Kenneth Eugene Smith News

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to halt Alabama from proceeding with the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas to carry out the death penalty on convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who survived a botched lethal injection in 2022 that helped prompt a review of the state’s death penalty procedures.

The justices denied Kenneth Eugene Smith’s request to stay his execution, which is scheduled for Thursday, and declined to hear his legal challenge contending that a second execution attempt by Alabama – after the first failed attempt caused him severe trauma – would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

No justice publicly dissented from the decision.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, is separately contesting the legality of Alabama’s nitrogen gas protocol on Eighth Amendment and other grounds. That litigation still could come to the Supreme Court, potentially giving the justices another opportunity to decide whether to halt the execution. A judge ruled against Smith concerning the protocol on Jan. 10. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision on Wednesday.

Kenneth Eugene Smith’s attorney Robert Grass declined to comment.

A majority of the Supreme Court’s justices in 2022 cleared the way
, opens new tab for the first attempted execution of Smith, who was sentenced to death for his role in a 1988 murder-for-hire plot. The nine-member court’s three liberal justices dissented from that previous decision.

Alabama’s gassing method – called nitrogen hypoxia – was designed to deprive Smith of oxygen by placing a mask connected to a cylinder of nitrogen over his face.

Kenneth Eugene Smith’s botched execution was the third consecutive instance in which Alabama officials encountered problems or delays inserting intravenous lines for a scheduled lethal injection, with two of the executions, including Smith’s, eventually called off, according to court filings.

The problems prompted Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, to announce a review of the state’s execution procedures. Officials completed the review a few months later, saying they obtained new equipment and would add to the pool of available medical personnel for executions.

Smith in May 2023 challenged Alabama’s plan for a second execution attempt, asserting in state court that it would violate the Eighth Amendment after the first attempt, according to his lawyers, caused him severe physical and psychological pain, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

State officials during that first execution attempt repeatedly tried but failed to place the necessary intravenous lines or a central line in his collarbone area before calling off the execution after 11 p.m. Smith’s lawyers have characterized the experience as torture and said that it “exposed him to the severe mental anguish of a mock execution.”

Lower courts in Alabama dismissed Smith’s challenge. Smith’s lawyers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, calling Alabama’s nitrogen-gas protocol “recently released and untested,” and “a novel method of execution that has never been attempted by any state or the federal government.”

Alabama Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall in a filing called the method “perhaps the most humane method of execution ever devised.”

Ivey set Smith’s execution to take place within a 30-hour time frame beginning at 12 a.m. on Thursday and expiring at 6 a.m. the following day.

Smith was convicted in the 1988 killing Elizabeth Sennett after he and an accomplice were hired by her husband Charles Sennett, a Christian minister who had taken out a large insurance policy on his wife, according to prosecutors. She was stabbed repeatedly and beaten with a blunt object.

Charles Sennett later committed suicide. Smith’s accomplice also was convicted and sentenced to death, with the execution carried out in 2010.

The U.N. human rights office on Jan. 16 called on Alabama to halt the planned execution, saying it could amount to torture and violate American commitments under international law.

U.S. states that still allow the death penalty have found it increasingly difficult to obtain barbiturates used in lethal-injection execution protocols, in part because of a European ban preventing pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs to be used in executions. Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma have introduced new gas-based protocols.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/supreme-court-declines-halt-first-us-nitrogen-gas-execution-alabama-case-2024-01-24/