Ex-captain for the University of Florida football team arrested and
charged with murder
A former captain
for the University of Florida football team has been arrested and charged with
murder, making him the second player from that team to be accused of murder.
Tony Joiner, whose
full name is Earl Antonio Joiner, was arrested and charged with second-degree
murder on Saturday June 8th in Lake Wales, Florida, for the 2016 killing of
Heyzel Obando, according to Fort Myers, Florida Police.
Police said that
officers worked with the Oxygen Television series "Cold Justice" and
the Office of the State Attorney to make the arrest. Obando's body was
discovered in an apartment on February 14, 2016, police said.
Joiner, 33, played
as a safety for Florida from 2004 to 2007 and was a key part of the 2006
national championship team. In his final season he tallied 64 tackles and was a
captain of a team that included Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and a freshman
tight end named Aaron Hernandez who played for the Gators from 2007 to
2009 and went on to star for the NFL's New England Patriots, was convicted of
the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015.
A man has been
arrested in connection with the murder of a female student of Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state.
22-year-old Chinasa
Pauline Agbata, who was a 300 Level Linguistics student of the institution, was
murdered in March this year and her body was dumped at the gate of the campus.
The Public
Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed,
told newsmen that one Onudili Somtochukwu, 25, has been arrested following
a discreet investigation.
He said the suspect
was assisting the police with useful information that could help in solving the
murder.
Tension in Delta community as gunmen kill Polytechnic staff
There is serious
tension in Ogwashi-Uku community in Aniocha South Local Government Area of
Delta State as gunmen trailed and shot dead a senior administrative staff of
the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, Mr. John Chukwudi, at a relaxation
spot.
It was learnt that
the gunmen, who shot sporadically in the area, made residents scamper for
safety.
The assailants also ensured that the deceased died before they left the scene.
When contacted, the
Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Adeyinka Adeleke confirmed the report,
saying information about the incident was still scanty.
CP Adeleke added
that the command has launched investigation just as he pointed out that the
deceased was an administrative staff of the polytechnic and not a lecturer.
Also, the Public
Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Manfred Oyibode confirmed the killing.
Oyibode added that the police were already handling the matter hence, “It will
not be wise for me to make categorical statement on it now”.
“He was not killed
in the school premises. The news that filters in say the young man was just
coming out from the place when he was attacked and shot. He is not a lecturer
but a non-teaching staff.”
Man whose wife disappeared during their honeymooned has
been sentenced to 8 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter
A man whose wife
disappeared while they honeymooned at sea has been sentenced by a federal judge
to eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
Lewis Bennett,
42, apologized to the family of Isabella Hellman during a Tuesday
hearing before U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno in Miami. He waived
his right to appeal.
Defense attorneys
sought a 7-year sentence, a year lower than the maximum number spelled out in a
plea agreement reached last November. Bennett was originally charged with
murder, with investigators alleging he intentionally tried to sink the boat,
but later dropped the charges. "It's not because I expect that he
will commit this crime again," Judge Moreno said. "Sentencing is for
punishment."
Before Moreno
announced his decision, Bennett, a dual citizen of Australia and the United
Kingdom, asked the judge that he let him get out of prison sooner so he could
continue to raise the couple's daughter, who was an infant when the mother
vanished. Emelia Bennett turns 3 in July and is being raised by his parents in
Scotland.
"If you may
permit me to be with my daughter as soon as possible," Bennett said.
"I want to bring her up in a manner that is respectful to my wife's
wishes." But Moreno sided with prosecutors and chose eight years in prison
as the sentence and three years on supervised release.
Hellman disappeared
as the couple sailed off the Bahamas in May 2017. A statement from the U.S.
Attorney's office says Bennett had experience sailing, including training on
emergency procedures and had previously traveled from St. Marteen to Australia.
His wife, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Cuba, had not trained in emergency
sailing procedures and had less experience, prosecutors said.
The couple had been
married for three months when they set sail to St. Marteen, Puerto Rico and
Cuba for a delayed honeymoon in late April. After they left Cuba on May 14,
Bennett asked Hellman take over control of the boat for the night so he could
go rest in the boat's cabin, according to court documents. He didn't require
her to wear a life jacket, harness or personal locator, prosecutors said in the
statement.
He said he woke up
when the craft hit something, and Hellman was missing. Assistant U.S. attorney
Kurt Lunkenheimer said on Tuesday that Bennett "did not search for her
diligently enough despite him being an experienced sailor."
Appeal Court upholds death
sentence for retired NNPC staff, Godwin Elewana for killing his daughter’s
boyfriend in 2015
The Court of Appeal in Cross River
State, has affirmed the death sentence by hanging of one Godwin Elewana,
a retired staff of NNPC, for shooting to death, a 22-year old, Douglas Ojugbo,
in 2015.
Elewana who shot and killed Douglas
Ojugbo whom he suspected was having an affair with his
daughter, Mercy, on March 10, 2015, was sentenced to death by hanging in a
judgement that was passed on Wednesday 21st March, 2018 in the Federal High
Court.
He, however, approached the Court of Appeal
in Calabar, where Hon Justice Y. Nimpar, in his judgment, on Wednesday, upheld
the decision of the High Court.
When the initial judgment was passed in
2018, mother of the deceased, Maria Ojugbo, said, “I thank God for
doing what should be done. It is stated in the Bible that anyone who kills by
the sword, will die by the sword. Elewana had no reason whatsoever to kill my
son in such a manner and conceal the act by burying him. It was Almighty God
that gave approval for this judgement.”
