Prosecutors ended the four-week trial with a PowerPoint presentation in which they juxtaposed pictures of a seemingly healthy Marchella with ones showing her looking remarkably thinner and bruised. The prosecution showed evidence of drugs in Marchella's system, showed proof that she had been tied to her bed, and let jurors hear Brett-Pierce's prison phone calls in which she referred to her deceased daughter as "that bitch." "The words she chose to describe her show her disregard for her child's life," prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan said. "She couldn't be bothered with her. She didn't care." more ›

The older brother of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who was fatally shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, says that Zimmerman's account of the confrontation doesn't ring true with the Trayvon he knew: "Based on what I heard, with the 911 tapes and all the evidence, he tried to get away from the situation," Jahvaris Fulton told CNN. "He wasn't violent. So for him to actually jump on someone he doesn't even know, to me that's not him. He's smarter than that." Watch the interview below. more ›

The 19-year-old seizure-suffering teen who has been charged in the murder of his 63-year-old LaGuardia High School English teacher mother says he blacked out during the incident, and can't remember anything that happened Monday morning. “I love my mom, she was my rock...I was completely unconscious,” Henry Wachtel told the News. “I don’t remember anything. I didn’t kill her, I lost her. We loved each other.” more ›

The family of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Florida, spoke out today about former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who was charged with second-degree murder yesterday. Martin's parents Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton appeared on NBC, CBS and ABC morning programs today—among other things, they said they were "at ease" that Zimmerman could no longer hold a gun permit. Fulton also said at one point that she thought the incident was an "accident." She later clarified those remarks: "We believe that George Zimmerman stalked my son and murdered him in cold blood. The 'accident' I was referring to was the fact that George Zimmerman and my son ever crossed paths. It was an accidental encounter." more ›

The 19-year-old seizure-suffering son of the 63-year-old LaGuardia High School English teacher who was brutally beaten to death yesterday was charged with her murder earlier today. The lawyer for 19-year-old Henry Wachtel is now blaming the beating death of Karyn Kay on his medication: “It’s a very tragic incident,” said defense attorney Lloyd Epstein. “Everyone knows that Henry is an epileptic and that sometimes with medications unexpected things happen.” more ›

According to AP, George Zimmerman will be charged with second degree murder for the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin—Zimmerman also reportedly gave himself in willingly, and is in custody. Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey will announce the charged formally at a 6 p.m. press conference. We'll update the post once the "new information" has been released. Watch the live feed below. more ›

[Update Below]According to the Washington Post, Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey will announce this afternoon that former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman will be charged in the fatal shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The news comes a day after Zimmerman's lawyers held a bizarre press conference to announce they were no longer representing Zimmerman, due to the fact they haven't been able to contact him lately. It's not yet clear exactly what charges Zimmerman will be facing. more ›

The 19-year-old son of the 63-year-old LaGuardia High School English teacher who was brutally beaten to death yesterday has been charged in her murder. Henry Wachtel suffers from seizures, and was reportedly having one when he started hitting her. Friends told NY1 that Kay was worried Wachtel was becoming angrier; neighbor Leigh Miller said she could hear them fighting often: "It's been a very volatile relationship since he was a young, young boy, and she would scream and yell and say terrible things. Furniture would be flying, and it was just a very sad situation." more ›

Famed comedian Bill Cosby weighed in on the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and he put the blame squarely on the easy accessibility of guns: “We’ve got to get the gun out of the hands of people who are supposed to be on neighborhood watch,” Cosby told the Washington Post. “Without a gun, I don’t see Mr. Zimmerman approaching Trayvon by himself. The power-of-the-gun mentality had him unafraid to confront someone. Even police call for backup in similar situations. When you carry a gun, you mean to harm somebody, kill somebody." more ›

The former neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin nearly two months ago has a new lawyer who has gone on a media offensive the past few days. George Zimmerman's lawyer Hal Uhrig, a former police officer, cited the "Shaken Baby Syndrome" in defending his client, who has claimed he shot Martin in self-defense: "You shake a baby, the brain shakes around inside the skull. You can die when someone's pounding your head into the ground." As Reuters points out, Uhrig's "use of a recognized sign of child abuse to defend a 28-year-old man who killed a kid" seems more likely to stir up controversy against Zimmerman. more ›

One person is dead and another was left in critical condition after both were hit by subway trains in separate incidents early this morning. Police say that a 24-year-old drunk man somehow got onto the elevated tracks at Broadway and 31st Street station in Astoria, Queens, around 5:15 a.m. He was fatally struck by a Manhattan-bound N train. more ›

Two forensic voice identification experts have examined the 911 call made the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot in Florida, and both agree the screams for help heard right before Martin was shot were not from Zimmerman. Tom Owen, forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence, told the Orlando Sentinel he used biometrics voice software to compare the screams with Zimmerman's voice. It returned a 48 percent match—Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent. "As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen concluded. more ›

A 20-year-old Bronx woman who was trying to deliver birthday presents was killed Thursday after she was chased by a knife-wielding attacker and fell 14 stories while trying to jump from one high-rise balcony to another. Kenya Edmonds, 23, has been arrested and charged with second degree murder and first degree manslaughter in the death of Sienna Edwards. According to Ray Kelly, Edwards tried calling 911 for help at one point: “In the background there are voices that say, ‘You’re not going to leave here alive, you’re not going to leave here alive,’” Kelly said. more ›

The new-new investigation into the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin continues, and a new witness came forward last night to discuss what he saw the night George Zimmerman fatally shot Martin. The unidentified witness told Anderson Cooper he observed the struggle from a window, heard multiple "pops," and Zimmerman seemed unharmed following the shooting (you can see video of him describing the scene below). Because of this witness, the reveal of the surveillance video of Zimmerman from that night, and other leaks in the investigation, Martin's family is hopeful that Zimmerman will be charged in the near future: "I think Mr Zimmerman will be arrested very, very soon," said Daryl Parks, attorney for Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. "[The new witness] answers a lot of questions for me. It is clear this witness saw what happened and indicated the person that he saw that did the shooting." more ›

As the new-new investigation into the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin continues, the father of shooter George Zimmerman has spoken out about the night of the fatal shooting. And Robert Zimmerman claims that Martin attacked his son first, broke his nose, and threatened his life the night of Feb. 26: “It’s my understanding that Trayvon Martin got on top of him and just started beating him," the 64-year-old told FOX 35 WOFL. “Trayvon Martin said something to the effect of ‘you’re going to die now’ or ‘you’re going to die tonight.’" more ›

Things just keep getting messier and messier with the investigation into the Trayvon Martin shooting: according to ABC, the lead homicide detective probing the fatal shooting recommended that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter. Investigator Chris Serino, of the Sanford Police Department, expressed doubts about Zimmerman’s claim he shot Martin in self-defense, but Serino was instructed to not press charges because the state attorney's office said there wasn't enough evidence to lead to a conviction. And now, thanks to that and many other leaks, a new special prosecutor and a team of investigators have been assigned to the case, and have begun to quietly re-interview witnesses and examine evidence—CBS says the investigation "is essentially starting from scratch." more ›

Experts are still analyzing the 911 call made by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on the night he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin—but if the U.S. Justice Department decides there is significant evidence that the shooting was racially motivated, then they can prosecute Zimmerman despite the Sanford Police Department dropping the case. Particularly important is whether Zimmerman used the racial epithet "f*cking c**n" to describe Martin in his 911 call before the shooting: “It sounds pretty obvious to me,” Donald Tibbs, a Drexel University law professor who has closely studied race, civil rights and criminal procedure, told the Post. “If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime.” more ›

According to witnesses the suspect was drunk and "looking for a fight." Police say he eventually singled out Basin for no apparent reason, then said, "It's showtime" before starting to punch him. more ›