ISIS Terrorists Claims They Have Beheaded American Hostage Peter Kassig

ISIS BEHEADS AMERICAN HOSTAGE PETER KASSIG.

ISIS appears to have done it again. In a VIDEO, ISIS terrorists claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig. That now makes the 5th Westerner that ISIS has brutally murdered. The 26 year old Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as he converted to Islam, was an aid worker in Syria prior to his capture. Kassig was a U.S. soldier and returned to the Middle East  as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war. Kassig’s parents had previously asked for mercy for their some; however, as we all know … ISIS has no mercy.

Kassig was an Army veteran who served in the Iraq war before he was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2007.

Kassig later became an emergency medical technician and volunteered as a medical assistant in border hospitals in Lebanon in 2012, treating Palestinian refugees and those fleeing from the Syrian conflict.

In the fall of 2012, Kassig founded an NGO called SERA, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, eventually moving its base of operations to Turkey, according to a family spokesman. From there Kassig “sourced and delivered food and medical supplies to the growing [refugee] camps on both sides of the Syrian border.” He also gave primary trauma care to children caught in the crossfire.

CNN:

Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.
ISIS reportedly beheads Peter Kassig.

The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.

Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.

He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.

Kassig’s parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son’s death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.

UPDATE I: Western Leaders React To Peter Kassig Beheading Video Posted By Islamic State.

Leaders of Australia and the U.K., as well as a representative of the U.S. National Security Council, have publicly denounced the contents of a video that allegedly shows members of the Islamic State militant group in Syria beheading Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American aid worker who was born Peter Kassig. The militant group formerly known as either ISIL or ISIS purportedly posted the video online Sunday: It appears to show so-called Jihadi John, a militant responsible for previous hostage beheadings, holding Kassig’s head.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott denounced the footage at a press conference covered by the Guardian. Abbott would not comment on the video’s authenticity or whether he had seen any additional footage, saying only that the Islamic State group should be called a death cult.

British Prime Minister David Cameron posted on Twitter earlier Sunday, saying  he was horrified by what he called Kassig’s “cold-blooded murder”

Suspect in the Hannah Graham & Morgan Harrington Case Jesse Matthew Pleads Not Guilty to the 2005 Sexual Assault of “RG” in Fairfax County, VA

Jesse Matthew, the suspect in Hannah Graham’s disappearance and the death of Morgan Harrington, appeared in court Friday to answer charges on another case of  abduction and sexual assault from 2005.  Jesse Matthew is facing three felony charges: attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile and sexual penetration with an object. Matthew’s plead “not guilty” to all three charges related to the September 2005 incident. The victim is only referred to as “RG”. Authorities state that on September 24, 2005, a 26 year-old woman was returning from a grocery store in the city of Fairfax when someone grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her. The victim was raped and beaten nearly to death and only spared because her attacker was scared off by a passer by.

At Friday’s court hearing, lawyers for the 32-year-old Matthew waived the hearing of the charges against him. But according to the indictment in the 2005 case, he “did feloniously, willfully, deliberately, intentionally and with premeditation attempt to kill (the victim) in the commission of or subsequent to an abduction with the intent to defile.”

The woman now lives in India and is prepared to fly to the United States to testify Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh told reporters Friday.

The victim “RG” now lives in India; however, is ready to travel back to the United States and testify against her attacker in the upcoming trial, Fairfax County. Judge Dennis Smith set a trial date of March 9.

CNN:

While he awaits the next legal steps in the death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, Jesse Matthew appeared in court Friday to answer charges on another case — an alleged abduction, sexual assault and attempted murder from nearly a decade ago.

During a brief appearance at the Fairfax County Courthouse in northern Virginia, Matthew only uttered two words — “Not guilty” — to all three charges related to the September 2005 incident.

Judge Dennis Smith set a trial date of March 9. The trial is expected to last six or seven days.

Authorities say that on September 24, 2005, a 26-year-old woman was returning from a grocery store in the city of Fairfax when someone grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her.

Linkage of the three cases of Hannah Graham murder … Morgan Harrington murder and “RG” sexual assault and attempted murder

Linkage of the three crimes against victims: Hannah Graham, Morgan Harrington and “RG”.

Most recently, DNA recovered from underneath the fingernail of the sexual assault victim linked Matthew to the abduction of University of Virginia student, Hannah Graham.

Graham was last seen on Sept. 13 on surveillance video walking with Matthew in downtown Charlottesville. In October, remains found on an abandoned property on Old Lynchburg Road in Albemarle County were identified as those of Graham.

According to officials, forensic evidence linked to the Fairfax rape also links Matthew to the disappearance of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

Harrington was last seen leaving the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville in 2009. Her remains were found in Albemarle County in January 2010. Harrington was from Roanoke County.

For further updates on the above true crime cases, to provide your opinions and analysis and to read others, go to Scared Monkeys Forum: Morgan Dana Harrington and Hannah Elizabeth Graham.

Charles “Chase” Merritt Charged With 4 Counts of Murder in the Deaths of McStay Family (Joseph, Summer & Their Two Children Gianni and Joseph) (VIDEO)

ARREST FINALLY MADE IN THE MCSTAY MURDERS …

57 year old Charles “Chase” Merritt was arrested Wednesday, November 5th  in Chatsworth, California and charged in the murders of the McStay family. Merrit was charged with 4 counts of murder in the deaths of  Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small children,  4 year old Gianni and 3 year old Joseph. Merritt was a business partner of Joseph McStay’s. According to the LA Times, Merritt had a prior criminal history.  He appeared in court Friday but his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday, there was no bail was set. According to Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office, the cause of death of the McStay family was “blunt force trauma” and that the murders took place inside the McSaty residence in Fall Brook.

The McStay family went missing on February 2, 2010. Their remains were discovered by motorcyclist in a shallow grave between Quarry Road near Highway 15 in the Mojave desert outside Victorville, CA in November 2013.

CNN:

Charles “Chase” Merritt is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small boys, San Bernardino County, California, District Attorney Michael Ramos told reporters at a news conference.

Merritt, 57, was arrested Wednesday without incident in Chatsworth, California, Detective Chris Fisher said.

Police say they believe the family died of “blunt force trauma” inside their home north of San Diego, but they declined to discuss specifics of the deaths or a motive.

Merritt, who was a business partner of Joseph McStay’s, appeared in court Friday but his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday. No bail was set.

Detectives Arrest Charles Ray Merritt in Connection with the McStay Family Murders

For more information, read updates, others opinions and analysis, and to provide your own, go to Scared Monkeys Missing Persons and Crime Forum: McStay Family of 4 missing in So California-Missing since 2/04/10.

Remains Found of Missing Fox Exec Gavin Smith in Palmdale, CA … Gavin Smith Missing Since 5/1/12

Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmedearly Thursday that the remains found in Palmdale, California have been positively identified as Fox movie executive Gavin Smith. The remains were found by hikers in a rural area of Palmdale on October 26. Gavin Smith has been missing since May 1, 2012, when he was last seen between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday leaving a friend’s house in Oak Park, CA. On March 15, 2014 the LA County Sheriff’s Department found the Mercedes-Benz registered to Gavin Smith at a Simi Valley storage facility. The storage facility was linked to John Creech who is currently in-custody at Men’s Central Jail on an unrelated narcotics conviction. Smith had a relationship with Creech’s wife.

Two and a half years after he disappeared, the body of missing Fox executive Gavin Smith has been found, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

The remains were discovered on Oct. 26 by hikers in a rural area of Palmdale, according to Nicole Nishida with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

They were later positively identified as the 57-year-old husband and father.

The autopsy results were not finalized and the cause of death had not been determined, Nishida said.

Mexican Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his Wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda Arrested in Case of Missing 43 Students

Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda were arrested Tuesday morning at a house they had rented in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa neighborhood. The couple is believed to have ordered an attack that killed six people and left 43 students missing in September.  The question still remains following the arrest, where are the 43 students who haven’t been seen being taken away by officers after the deadly attack by police in Iguala on September 26?

Federal police seized Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, in a raid before dawn in Iztapalapa, a working-class neighborhood of the capital. It was a steep fall from their reign of wealth and power as the mayor and first lady of Iguala, a town in southern Guerrero state where the students from a teachers’ college went missing Sept. 26, allegedly at the hands of police and a drug cartel.

A Mexican mayor characterized as a “probable mastermind” in the mass abduction of 43 students has been taken into custody as authorities have tracked down a top target who eluded them for weeks — even if they still haven’t managed to locate the missing.

Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda — dubbed “the imperial couple” by local media for how they presided over their southern Mexican city — were detained early Tuesday morning at a house they had rented in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa neighborhood. They did not resist arrest, authorities said.

The couple had been staying in a house that appeared to be abandoned, and investigators first got suspicious when they saw a woman repeatedly entering and leaving the building, Mexican Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam told reporters. That woman, Noemí Berumen Rodríguez, was arrested alongside the mayor and his wife. Authorities accused her of concealing the couple.

Their capture, which Mexican Federal Police spokesman Jose Ramon Salinas reported on his Twitter account, signals a major milestone in the high-profile case.