On October 6th, a deadly limo crash in upstate New York killed 20 people, making it the deadliest transportation accident in the U.S. since 2009. The crash occurred just before 2pm on Saturday in the town of Schoharie, about 25 miles west of Albany. All 18 people inside the limo, including the driver and 2 pedestrians were killed.
The limousine, a 2001 Ford Excursion, ran a stop sign and crossed the intersection of State Route 30 and State Route 30A, traveling at about 50 mph. The limo struck an unoccupied Toyota Highlander in a parking lot of a local country store, which then hit and killed the two pedestrians. The limo then barreled through the parking lot before landing in a shallow ravine beyond the road.
The occupants, a group of 17 family and friends, had just set out to celebrate one of the victims, Amy Steenburg’s 30th birthday and were headed to a brewery in Cooperstown. Among the dead were Amy Steenburg and her husband of four months Axel Steenburg, and her brother-in-law Rich Steenburg who is survived by a 10-year-old daughter and 14-year-old stepson. Amy’s three sisters and two of their husbands were also killed in the limo crash. Mary Dyson, 33, one of Amy’s sisters, along with her husband, Rob Dyson, 34. Amy’s sister Abigail Jackson, 34, and her husband Adam Jackson, 34, left behind two daughters, Archer and Elle, ages 4 and 1. Amy’s other sister Allison King, 31, was also killed.
Also in the group were newlyweds Erin McGowan, 34 and Shane McGowan, 30; Amanda Halse, 26, and her boyfriend Patrick Cushing, Amanda Rivenburg, Rachael Cavosie, Michael Ukaj, a marine who served in Iraq and Matthew Coons and girlfriend Savannah Bursese. The limo driver, Scott Lisinicchia, 53 and two pedestrians; 46-year-old assistant professor Brian Hough and his 71 year old father-in-law James Schnurr were also killed. Hough and Schnurr were standing in the store parking lot talking when they were killed.
The limo involved in the crash, which was owned by Prestige Limousine, had failed a Sept. 4 safety inspection in part due to an Anti-lock braking system (ABS) malfunction indicators for the hydraulic brake system. The driver, Scott Lisincchia also did not have the appropriate driver’s license required to drive a vehicle that can hold more than 15 people. Joseph Morrissey, spokesman for the New York State Department of Transportation, said in a statement. “The assertion that the limousine was cleared to be on the road following the September inspection is categorically false. The vehicle was subject to inspections and the owner was warned not to operate the vehicle; the vehicle was placed out of service.”
Just days after the deadly crash, the operator of the limo company, Nauman Hussain, 28, was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide. Hussain’s car was packed with luggage when he was stopped Wednesday on a highway near Albany. Police say he was charged because he put a defective vehicle back on the road and hired a driver whom he knew was not properly licensed to drive the vehicle. Hussain pled not guilty was released after posting $150,000 bond that same day.
Hussain’s lawyer, Lee Kindlon, said his client only handled marketing duties and phone calls, while his father, Shahed Hussain, is the owner of Prestige Limousine, and the person responsible for the day-to-day operation of the limo company. Shahed Hussain is currently in Pakistan. Police say Nauman Hussain is the one who put the vehicle back on the road despite it failing inspections and hired the driver who did not have proper licensing to operate the vehicle.
What do you think of this story? Should more charges be filed against the limo company owner and operator? Hit the comments section and let us know!
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Comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in a state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago. Cosby, 81, will be eligible for parole in three years and could be released from prison and allowed to serve out the rest of his 10-year sentence under supervision in the community.
Judge Steven O’Neill said the evidence that Cosby planned the drugging and sexual assault of his victim was “overwhelming,” based on Cosby’s own words in a civil deposition. In the deposition, provided the year after the alleged assault, as Constand pursued a civil suit against him, Cosby admitted that he procured Quaaludes for women he wanted to have sex. Cosby also admitted that he asked a modeling agent to connect him with young women who were new in town and “financially not doing well. Judge Steven O’Neill ruled that the 2005 testimony could be presented to the jury in his criminal trial.
Months after his depositions, Cosby settled the case with Constand and the accusations quickly faded. In October 2014, a Philadelphia magazine reporter at a Hannibal Buress show uploaded a clip of the comedian calling Bill Cosby a rapist and commenting on his Teflon image. The clip went viral and soon after many accusers stepped forward. More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault or harassment, stretching back to the 1960’s but Constand’s case was the only one that led to criminal charges against the comedian. During interviews, all of the women gave similar accounts of blacking out after having a drink supplied by Cosby and later waking up during or after a sexual assault. Most said they stayed quiet because they never thought anyone would believe them since Cosby was wealthy and at the height of his career.
On April 26, he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison but Judge Steven O’Neill said that the charges had been merged into one because they all stem from the same event. Constand, a 31-year-old Temple women’s basketball official he was mentoring at the time of the assault. She testified in detail at the trial about losing control of her limbs after taking pills given to her by Cosby, who served on Temple’s board of trustees and was the public face of the university. The pills, Constand said, left her unable to stop him from violating her at his suburban Philadelphia estate.
At the sentencing hearing, O’Neill aid, “No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently or disproportionally.” “This was a serious crime,” O’Neill added. “Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come.” Cosby was also ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 plus the costs of prosecution — a total of $43,611 — as part of the sentence. Cosby’s attorneys have repeatedly said they plan to file an appeal in the criminal case.
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On September 13, dozens of explosions erupted in three towns in northern Massachusetts. As many as 70 fires, explosions and suspected gas leaks were reported to state police. At least 39 homes were affected in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. An 18 year old man was killed when a chimney collapsed on his car and at least 25 more people were reportedly treated for injuries. The fiery explosions forced residents of the three towns north of Boston to flee for their lives as the rapid-fire explosions took place.
Officer Ivan Soto of the Lawrence Police Department, whose own home went up in flames, tried to save Leonel Rondon, 18, who was killed after a chimney toppled by an exploding house crashed into his car. “We jumped on the car, and we were trying to pull the chimney,” Soto said. “We just want to get it off of him, you know. We wanted to save him.” Rondon was rushed to a Boston hospital but pronounced dead that evening.
Soon after the first fires, Lawrence City Councilor Marc Laplante was warning residents in the Colonial Heights neighborhood to evacuate but said traffic had become a problem. “People need to get out of this area safely,” he said at the time. “It’s really difficult because the traffic right now is horrendous.” Entire neighborhoods in the three towns were evacuated as crews scrambled to fight the flames and shut off the gas. Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield told reporters “It looked like Armageddon, it really did. There were billows of smoke coming from Lawrence behind me. I could see pillars of smoke in front of me from the town of Andover.” Aerial footage of the area showed some homes that appeared to be torn apart by blasts and engulfed in flames. Authorities believe up to 80 houses were damaged or destroyed.
Lawrence resident Ra Nam says he was in his yard when the smoke detector in his basement went off around 4:30 p.m. When he ran downstairs and saw the boiler on fire, he grabbed a fire extinguisher and put it out. Minutes later, Nam said he heard a loud boom from his neighbor’s house and the ground shook. Nam said a woman and two kids had made it out of the house but the basement was on fire. The three communities have more than 146,000 residents about 26 miles north of Boston, near the New Hampshire border. Lawrence, the largest of them has a population of about 80,000.
Officials say the cause of the explosions is still under investigation but that it could have been caused by an over-pressured gas line. Columbia Gas was upgrading the gas lines in the three towns when the dozens of homes suddenly went up in flames. Governor Charlie Baker has said it may be days or weeks before the 8,600 people displaced could return to their homes. He added that state and local authorities are investigating and checking each house serviced by Columbia Gas company, to shut off the gas line and make sure the home is safe. “This is still very much an active scene,” he said. “There will be plenty of time later tonight, tomorrow morning and into the next day to do some of the work around determining exactly what happened and why.”
In a statement, Columbia Gas said a total of 8,600 customers will be without service until safety teams can ensure that their homes and businesses are leak-free. Around 18,000 customers of National Grid electric company are also without power, after the lines were shut off to prevent any sparks that could ignite stray gas. By late Thursday, all of the fires had been doused but many areas remained silent and dark after residents fled and power companies cut electricity. Schools in all three communities were canceled for Friday and some schools were being used as shelters for residents.
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Many are outraged after a Dallas police officer has only been charged with manslaughter after shooting and killing 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean in his own apartment. Police Officer Amber Guyger, who was off-duty at the time of the shooting, says she thought she was in her own apartment and fired after thinking she was confronting an intruder in the dark apartment. She turned herself in and was released on $300,000 bond. Investigators have taken a blood sample from the officer to test for drugs and alcohol but the results have not been released.
As more details of what happened that night are released, the incident seems more and more confusing, adding to the mystery of the case. According to Guyger’s account, she arrived home around 10pm after working a 15-hour shift to the South Side Flats apartments on September 6th. She didn’t realize she had parked her car on the wrong level of the parking garage and entered the wrong floor of her building. Guyger lives on the fourth floor while Jean lived on the third floor. Once she entered what she thought was her own apartment, she says she saw a “large silhouette” in the dark apartment and she thought she had walked in on a burglary. She fired, hitting Jean in the chest, ultimately killing him and only realized that the apartment was not hers when she turned on the lights in the apartment. She then called 911 and checked the apartment number outside the door as she explained what occurred to the dispatcher.
Details of a September 9 arrest affidavit filed after Guyger turned herself in only add to the confusion. The affidavit, which was written after an interview with Guyger, states that Jean was actually shot farther into his apartment. In that account, after Guyger returned home and entered the wrong floor of the building, she attempted to use an electronic key to open the apartment front door. However, the door was slightly ajar and the force of using her key pushed the door open, despite the fact that her key did not open the lock. Guyger then entered the apartment and after seeing a “large silhouette” issued verbal commands and then fired twice.
Attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing the family, said they are skeptical that Jean would have left the door to his apartment ajar, saying the PricewaterhouseCoopers worker was a “meticulous” person who would have made sure his door was locked for his own safety. Merritt also said that two sisters who live in the building had come forward giving details that contradict the affidavit. The sisters claim that before the shooting, they heard knocking followed by a woman’s voice saying, “Let me in. Let me in.” Then they heard gunshots, followed by a man’s voice saying, “Oh my God, why did you do that?” One of the women also took a video after the shooting, which shows what appears to be Guyger pacing outside the apartment as emergency responders arrive.
The case is still under investigation by the Texas Rangers and separately by the district attorney’s office– and will be presented to a grand jury. A grand jury will decide whether to indict Guyger on a different charge than manslaughter or not to indict her at all. Jean’s family and community members have raised a number of concerns about the pace of the investigation and how it is being handled. They argue that Guyger is receiving deferential treatment that a civilian suspect would not receive, noting that she was charged with manslaughter rather than murder and that the charge did not come until three days after the shooting.
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Enfield, CT Police have made a second arrest in connection with the death of 16-year-old Justin Brady, who was fatally stabbed during a fight with another teen outside an Enfield home late Sunday evening. Police have charged 20-year-old Michael Joseph Cerrato, who lives at the home where Brady was killed, with hindering prosecution in connection with the murder. On September 11th, an 18-year-old Hartford teen identified as Shyheim “Trey” Adams was charged with manslaughter in the first degree and is being held on $1 million bail. The most profound question is why no one called 911 sooner.
Shortly after midnight on September 10th, Enfield Police responded to calls of several teens standing around someone laying on the ground. In one call, a neighbor tells the dispatcher that some of the teens kept going in and out of the house next door. Officers found Brady bleeding from multiple stab wounds, clinging to life in a front yard near 15 Hoover Lane. Brady, who was a junior at Enfield High School, where he played football and basketball, was rushed to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Michael Cerrato’s father, the Enfield Assistant Town Attorney, Mark Cerrato, who lives at 15 Hoover Lane where the killing took place, was placed on indefinite paid leave pending the investigation. Mark Cerrato told police he went to bed around 11pm just after telling his son, his son’s girlfriend and a friend he knows as “Trey” to keep the noise down as they were playing video games. In his first interview, Cerrato told police he was awakened shortly after by a knock at the door and a “tall kid was at the door holding 2 phones in his hand saying that his friend needed a doctor and asked Mark if he could bring him.” Cerrato told police he tried to use one of the phones but couldn’t dial because it was locked. In his second interview he told police that he was awakened when he heard the garage door open and saw his son taking his Toyota Rav4. Police searched the home and removed blood stained clothing found in the basement and a knife that was hidden under a mattress in a bedroom.
Police said Brady and Adams had been arguing on social media throughout the day and eventually met outside the Hoover Lane residence to fight. In initial interviews, Michael Cerrato claimed he didn’t see anything and left the house around 11pm. He later admitted that Trey and Brady had been arguing over the phone and thru Snapchat. Trey left the room to take a call and returned saying Brady was on his way over to fight. Cerrato stated that he didn’t believe Trey because he lies a lot and that Justin Brady had previously called him out on it. Cerrato said Brady arrived 15 minutes later and they went outside. Brady and Trey were in the street yelling at each other when Brady hit Trey in the chest. They were wrestling and ended up on the ground. Cerrato says that he heard Brady yell “he’s cutting me” and witnessed his friend stabbing Brady fast from about 10 feet away. Trey took a step back and Justin looked down and was covered in blood, yelling to call 911. Trey ran inside the house and Cerrato followed and saw him washing his hands. Cerrato, who never called 911, says the knife came from inside his home but he did not know Trey had it until the stabbing occurred. Cerrato and his girlfriend left in his father’s SUV and dropped Trey off in Hartford.
Another witness says that after the fight he went into the house through the garage and witnessed Trey and Mike in a room, Trey was changing his pants and Mike kept saying “we gotta get out of here”. The witness went back outside to check on Justin and that Tre, Mike and his girlfriend came out saying to get Justin out of there. After they left the witness started banging on the front door of the home for help after he saw Mike’s father close the garage door. He says Mike’s father came to the door and when he asked for help, Cerrato’s father told him “I don’t know what to tell you.” He says Cerrato’s father started to call 911 but stopped halfway thru. Thirty minutes had elapsed between the time the trio left the scene and officers arrived and found Brady.
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In Cincinnati, a gunman opened fire at a downtown bank, killing three people and injuring two others before he was shot and killed by police. Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the gunman, who they believe acted alone, fired more than a dozen shots from a legally purchased 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol. Authorities have identified the gunman as Omar Perez, though a motive for the shooting is still under investigation. The gun used in the shooting was recovered at the scene along with multiple magazines and around 200 rounds of ammunition.
Police say Perez, 29, of Northbend, Ohio, has no known connection to the bank and it is unclear how he got to Fountain Square but that he entered multiple businesses before going to the bank. He opened fire in the building’s loading dock before continuing into the lobby area and firing more shots. Officers responded to a 911 call around 9:10 a.m. local time about an “active shooter” at the bank. Multiple officers then “engaged” the suspect, who was fatally shot multiple times.
Five people were shot, some multiple times, including three who died from their injuries. One person died at the scene and two victims died at the hospital. Those killed in the shooting were a grandfather, a father and a son. Richard Newcomer, 64, a father of 3 and grandfather of 8, who was supervising a construction project on the building’s third floor was shot as he entered the building. Luis Calderón, 48, a father to a 13 year old and 16 year old, was also killed as he arrived to work. He had moved to Cincinnati last year to work for the bank and provide a better life for his children. The third victim was identified as Prudhvi Raj Kandepi, 25, a programmer and consultant for Fifth Third who was described by family as someone who would give everything he could to friends and family.
Police have released security footage of the gunman “firing shots at anyone he sees” while inside the lobby of the building. The security footage shows Omar Enrique Santa Perez walking in the lobby with his gun held up and carrying a briefcase containing hundreds of rounds of ammunition over his shoulder. A security officer was seen helping people get to a safe location as the gunman was randomly firing shots at anyone he sees. Perez then turns toward the windows and fires shots at approaching officers. The body camera footage shows officers approaching the gunman and shooting through the glass of the lobby. The officers on the scene engaged the shooter within three and a half minutes of the first 911 call and fired 11 shots, taking out the gunman. Police later found that Perez’s gun had jammed during the four-minute rampage.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley praised the officers for ending the shooting quickly. “You could see in the video … the guy is shooting at the cops, you can see them not being afraid and engaging and ending it.” “If he had gotten on the elevator, gone up to a floor, if he had been there earlier or a little bit longer, many more people would have been killed.”
Fifth Third Bank is headquartered in Cincinnati but has locations across 10 states. The company released a statement via Twitter. “Earlier today, an active shooter entered our headquarters building in downtown Cincinnati. The situation is contained and the shooter is no longer a threat. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone caught up in this terrible event. We continue to work with law enforcement as we ensure the safety of our employees and customers. We are grateful for the support and concerns from our neighbors throughout Cincinnati and the country.”
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The father of murdered Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts is demanding politicians and white supremacists stop using his daughter’s death to promote hate against immigrants. In an article for The Des Moines Register, Rob Tibbetts wrote, “Do not appropriate Mollie’s soul in advancing views she believed were profoundly racist. The act grievously extends the crime that stole Mollie from our family. The person who is accused of taking Mollie’s life is no more a reflection of the Hispanic community as white supremacists are of all white people. To suggest otherwise is a lie. Sadly, others have ignored our request, they have instead chosen to callously distort and corrupt Mollie’s tragic death to advance a cause she vehemently opposed.”
Tibbetts doesn’t want to see his daughter used as a “pawn in others’ debate,” he said. “She may not be able to speak for herself, but I can and will. Please leave us out of your debate. Allow us to grieve in privacy and with dignity. At long last, show some decency. On behalf of my family and Mollie’s memory, I’m imploring you to stop.”
Rob Tibbetts also addressed animosity towards immigrants at his daughter’s funeral when he said “the Hispanic community are Iowans, they have the same values as Iowans. As far as I’m concerned, they’re Iowans with better food.” “To the Hispanic community, my family stands with you and offers its heartfelt apology. That you’ve been beset by the circumstances of Mollie’s death is wrong. We treasure the contribution you bring to the American tapestry in all its color and melody.”
Before she went missing, Tibbetts’ brother dropped her off at her boyfriend’s house so she could dog-sit. Her family reported her missing the next day after she did not show up for work. The last time anyone saw Tibbetts, 20, was around 7:30 p.m. on July 18th as she was jogging in Brooklyn, a community of 1,500 people in eastern Iowa. According to her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, Tibbetts had sent him a message saying she was heading out for some exercise as part of her typical routine. A massive ground search involving more than 200 people broken up into 37 teams was conducted on July 20 encompassing the farmlands and fields within a five-mile radius of Brooklyn, with helicopters hovering above, according to authorities. Investigators had received more than 1,500 tips and conducted more than 500 interviews in the case.
The investigation led to 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera of rural Poweshiek County, an undocumented farmworker from Mexico who has been charged with first-degree murder for her death. Investigators say their search led to Rivera after they acquired surveillance camera footage that showed Mollie running, as well as the travel patterns of a vehicle believed to belong to Rivera. After reviewing the video, they determined that Rivera was one of the last people to see her running.
During the police interview, Rivera said that he had seen Tibbitts before and when he saw her running on July 18th, he began following her. He parked his car and began running alongside and behind her. At some point, Mollie took out her phone and told him “You need to leave me alone. I’m going to call the police” and then she took off running. Rivera told police that he got angry and chased her down but that he blacked out and woke up at an intersection in rural Poweshiek County. He told investigators he realized he had put the woman in the trunk of his car and when he took her out, he saw blood on the side of her head. He then drove to a rural cornfield and left the body in the field, covering it with corn leaves. Investigators said that after the interview, Rivera led investigators to her body.
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In Jacksonville, Florida, authorities say a man opened fire at a restaurant hosting a Madden 19 video game tournament, killing two people and wounding 10 before killing himself. One person was also injured while trying to escape. The shooter has been identified as David Katz, a 24-year-old gamer from Baltimore, Maryland. Katz’s motive in the shooting remains under investigation, police said.
Katz, like many other gamers, was in town for the tournament at GLHF Game Bar at the Jacksonville Landing, a downtown shopping and dining complex. Witnesses said he had been eliminated from the tournament the day before when two other players beat him. Dennis Alston, one of the gamers who beat Katz, said that he tried to shake the shooter’s hand after the game but that Katz refused his hand and stared at him blankly. Alston said that he noticed Katz had returned to the tournament the following day wearing the same clothes.
Katz went by the gaming naming “Bread” and previously won Madden tournaments in 2017. Authorities say Katz walked past patrons in other parts of the restaurant and then opened fire on his fellow competitive gamers before killing himself. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Eli Clayton, 22, and Taylor Robertson, 28. Both were competitive Madden players, and Robertson had won the Madden Classic. Authorities said Katz had legally purchased two weapons in Baltimore over the past month and one of the weapons had a laser sight that attached to the gun.
Gunshots and piercing screams echoed through the Twitch live stream of the tournament in real time, leaving millions of helpless online viewers shocked before the live stream was cutoff. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., 911 calls started pouring in about a shooting and officers were on the scene within two minutes. About a dozen firefighters with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department were training in the structure just north of the Landing when the gunfire rang out.
They treated the “walking wounded” outside the restaurant, then made their way inside to find flipped tables and broken dishes scattered across the floor. They made their way through the restaurant and found the three deceased in the gaming room: Taylor Robertson, 27, of Ballard, West Virginia; Eli Clayton, 22, of Woodland Hills, California; and the shooter, later identified as David Katz, 24, of Baltimore.
Both Elizabeth and Richard Katz are cooperating with investigators and have told authorities that their son had mental health issues. Katz underwent treatment for psychological and emotional issues during his parents’ divorce and highly contentious custody battle in 2006. He was once placed on an antipsychotic medicine used to treat schizophrenia. The alleged gunman was also placed on two antidepressants.
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Former Balch Springs, TX police officer Roy Oliver, 38, was found guilty of murder in the shooting of Jordan Edwards, an unarmed teen who was a passenger in a car that had left a party. Oliver was fired by the Balch Springs Police Department just days after the shooting for violating several departmental policies. A Texas jury sentenced Oliver to 15 years in prison and imposed a $10,000 fine for the murder of the 15-year-old honor student. The jury found Oliver not guilty on two counts of aggravated assault.
During the trial Oliver claimed that he fired at the car after seeing it move toward his partner, Officer Tyler Gross, and thought Gross’s life was in danger. Officer Gross testified that he did not fear for his life and didn’t feel the need to fire his own weapon. Oliver faced up to life in prison on the murder conviction. Prosecutors were pushing for at least 60 years in prison, while defense argued for 20 years or less. Oliver’s mother and wife asked for a lenient prison sentence. His wife, Ingrid Llerena, testified that she’s concerned about their 3-year-old son, who is autistic, and the boy’s future without his father at home.
In April 2017, the police were responding to a call about a house party when they encountered Jordan, his brothers and his friends in their car, attempting to leave. The officers first claimed that the boys were “backing down the street toward officers in an aggressive manner,” before later retracting that statement and acknowledging that the teens had been driving away.
Police body cam video shows Oliver fired his assault rifle into the car carrying the five teenagers as they drove away from the officer, hitting Jordan in the head. One of the car’s passengers says the officer never even ordered the boys to stop driving before opening fire. Edwards, was shot in the head as he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, along with his two brothers and two friends.
Jordan’s father Odell, said that his son Vidal, continued driving away so that no one else would be shot. He stopped the car two blocks from the party and called his father while his two friends in the back seat called their parents. “All I could hear was screaming and crying and the boys saying that police had just shot and killed Jordan. Jordan Edwards was a freshman at Mesquite High School and a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA who played quarterback and receiver on the football team. He lived in an upper middle class neighborhood in Balch Springs with his parents, two older brothers and younger sister.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson described Oliver as a “killer in blue” who violated his oath to protect citizens. Johnson said she wished Oliver’s sentence was much longer, but she respected the jury’s decision and realizes a guilty verdict for an officer is rare in police shootings. Charmaine Edwards said she would have preferred a sentence of 25 to 30 years for the killer of the stepson she raised. “That was my exact thought: They gave a year for his age,” Edwards, said outside a Dallas County courtroom after the sentence was handed down. “He can actually see life again after 15 years, and that’s not enough because Jordan can’t see life again.”
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A New York Times report revealed that Italian actress Asia Argento recently quietly paid former co-star Jimmy Bennett $380,000 after he accused her of sexually assaulting him in 2013, when Bennett was 17 and Argento was 37. The age of consent in the state of California is 18. Argento emerged as a leader in the #MeToo movement after she was one of the first of more than 100 women to accuse disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape and sexual harassment. The Times reports that she paid off Bennett months after she spoke out publicly against Weinstein and that it has seen the legal documents that lay out Bennett’s assault claims and the payments arranged between his lawyers and Argento’s.
Bennett’s lawyers sent a notice of intent to sue Argento to her lawyers in November, claiming that the sexual assault was so traumatic that it affected his mental health and stymied his acting career. In the documents, Bennett claims that he arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey to meet Argento in her hotel room on May 10, 2013, with a family member. Argento asked to be alone with Bennett and the family member left. Bennett claims Argento gave him alcohol and also showed him notes she had made on hotel stationery. She then proceeded to kiss him and perform oral sex before having intercourse with him.
The documents say that Argento then asked to take a number of photos with him. Photos of Argento and Bennett semi-clothed in bed, as well as an Instagram post of their faces taken on that day, were included in the notice of intent to sue. Bennett’s lawyers claim that Argento presenting herself as a victim of sexual assault as well as taking a prominent role in the #MeToo movement triggered memories of his own assault, according to the legal documents.
Argento and Bennett worked together on the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, which Argento also wrote and directed. Bennett, a 7-year-old at the time, played Argento’s son in the movie. The two seemingly kept in touch on Twitter up until August 2012 and Instagram until May 2013, though Bennett’s Twitter account is no longer active. Argento and Bennett referred to each other on social media as mother and son, a reference to their The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things characters, and he claims she was a mentor in the legal documents.
Bennett, now 22, had roles in the Star Trek reboot, Poseidon, Evan Almighty and Firewall. His lawyers claim that the assault affected him emotionally and was detrimental to his career. Since the incident, Bennett only has a few film and TV credits to his name. Bennett’s attorney, Gordon K. Sattro, issued a statement on Monday, saying, “Jimmy is going to take the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his response. We ask that you respect our client’s privacy during this time.”
Argento has denied the assault allegation in a statement saying that Bennett tried to extort her and that her then-boyfriend, the late Anthony Bourdain, offered the payoff to make the situation disappear. “I am deeply shocked and hurt having read the news that is absolutely false,” she said, in part. “I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennet.”
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