The murder trial for the mother and grandmother of Marchella Pierce—the severely malnourished 4-year-old girl who was found dead in her Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment with bruises all over her body last year—began this week. Prosecutors showed the jury shocking photos of Marchella's battered, stick-thin body, with all of her ribs visible—she weighed just 18.9 pounds when she died in Sept. 2010. And today, her six-year-old brother testified—but he didn't repeat his previous claims that his mother, Carlotta Brett-Pierce, forced pills down his sister’s throat and beat her with a belt. He did, however, refer to her as "my old mommy." more ›

The disclosures in the embezzlement trial of disgraced State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. just keeps getting more Pedriculous. In yesterday's testimony, it emerged that the the Bronxchester Senator submitted receipts to the nonprofit Soundview Health Clinic so that he could be reimbursed $697 for a new picket fence outside his Westchester dream home. To be fair, it is a pretty sweet fence—the Daily News has a photo of it. But here are a few other noteworthy items Espada submitted receipts for: more ›

The Long Island mother who is accused of killing her 8-year-old disabled daughter with a poisonous dose of peanut M&M's pleaded not guilty to charges yesterday. Veronica Cirella has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of her daughter Julie, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant and was confined to a wheelchair. Julie was also apparently deathly allergic to peanuts—and she died July 23 after her mother had given her the peanut M&Ms as a special treat for her participation in their cousin's wedding the following day. more ›

The young man on trial for fatally stabbing a stranger whom he mistook for someone else was splattered in blood when police apprehended him shortly after the murder, an officer testified yesterday. Joel Herrera, who is accused of fatally stabbing Glenn Wright because he thought Wright had stolen from his cousin, is currently on trial for murder in the second degree. Yesterday the officers who arrested him testified that Herrara claimed he just had a bloody nose when they caught him. more ›

Today, the trial of the former Rutgers college student accused of spying on his gay roommate's intimate encounter via a webcam began in New Brunswick. A prosecutor said of Dharun Ravi, "These acts were purposeful, they were intentional and they were planned. They were mean-spirited, they were malicious, and they were criminal," but his lawyer said, "He's an 18-year-old boy... You gotta put that in perspective... I can't stand here and tell you Dharun didn't act like a boy... We all do stupid things in our lives and we all make mistakes. It doesn't mean we're hateful and we're bigoted or we're a criminal. Dharun never intimidated anyone." more ›

Yesterday, Manhattan prosecutors accused a Canadian businessman of raping a Brooklyn bartender at the Plaza Hotel in 2010. And the businessman happens to be part of a "member of the traveling entourage of a Saudi prince." more ›

The majority of Occupy Wall Street protesters who were arrested on September 24th during a demonstration at Union Square have rejected dismissal deals, and insisted that their cases go to trial. Over 50 of the 78 protesters—76 of whom were charged with minor, disorderly conduct violations—rejected prosecutors offers that charges be dismissed in six months time. "I was falsely arrested...It's unjust, what happened," said 47-year-old Lizzi Dierken, who claims cops "kettled" her and four other protesters that day. more ›

Hugues Akassy, who is accused of raping a woman in Riverside Park in 2010, forcing a different woman to give him oral sex, and stalking numerous other women, took the stand yesterday. And though he has been portrayed as a homeless squatter, Akassy wasted no time portraying himself as an irresistible ladies man skilled in the fine art of seduction, from his love of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sex And The City to his four college degrees and sonorous French accent. “You say sex—I say ‘making love,’” he corrected his defense lawyer yesterday. more ›

The trial of accused rapist Hugues Akassy continued yesterday with testimony from a gallery director who said he stole the venue's keys and copied them, so he could hide out there. The Post reports that 25CPW's Bess Greenberg spotted him hiding behind a pillar. When asked about her reaction, she said, "Shock... And disbelief. And then -- that sort of fear, of not being able to register what was behind the mind of the person who had just broken in and who I was alone with in the back of the gallery." more ›

Viktor Bout, the Russian national whose arms dealing allegedly brought him billions and the nickname "Merchant of Death," is going on trial for terrorism charges in New York federal court. And the judge overseeing the case is making jurors sign a pledge promising they will restrict their Internet and social media urges. more ›

Over three years ago, Barbara Sheehan shot her husband in their Howard Beach home while he was shaving. At the time, neighbors alluded to various domestic disturbances coming from the Sheehan house—one neighbor even clapped when Barbara Sheehan was led out of the house by cops while another said, "There's a reason she did this. He was free with his hands and she probably couldn't take it." Now, Sheehan is finally on trial and is claiming she killed her retired cop husband Raymond in self-defense. more ›

A group of black firefighters are back in federal court this week for the next stage in the long-running lawsuit against the FDNY, which they accuse of discriminatory hiring practices. Last year, a judge blocked the FDNY from hiring recruits because he found the FDNY's previous three recruitment exams discriminated against nonwhites. The trial's current phase started off with a bang yesterday, when the plaintiffs submitted a sworn deposition by FDNY official Patricia Kavaler, who testified in 2008 about what she perceived as shady, nepotistic "back room" hiring practices that enabled white firefighter candidates to get hired despite troubling criminal records. more ›

Yesterday, the hotel maid who is accusing former IMF head Dominque Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape and forcing her to perform oral sex met with the Manhattan DA's office to discuss the case. While the Manhattan DA's office believes its case against Strauss-Kahn is on shaky ground enough to agree that he should be free on bail, a lawyer for Nafissatou Diallo the DA's office misinterpreted a recording that supposedly implied Diallo may have been trying to shake down the powerful Frenchman. And not only that, Diallo will also sue Strauss-Kahn. more ›

Previously, one of the attorneys for Levi Aron, the man who confessed to killing and dismembering 8-year-old Hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky last week, abruptly resigned; Gerard Marrone told reporters that his conscious weighed heavy on him because of "the horrific way this boy was killed." Now, a new "heavy hitting" defense lawyer has been brought in to replace him, and she "has a reputation for being an aggressive attorney who diligently represents high profile defendants," according to fellow lawyer Pierre Bazile. more ›

A Brooklyn man currently on trial is accused of robbing his girlfriend's uncle in a terrorizing attack last year. Christopher Carmona allegedly stormed into Julio Boissard's tailor shop in Greenpoint in March 2010, and put a gun to his head while demanding money. But robbery is mere farthings compared to what he did next: Carmona allegedly stomped two of Boissard's pet doves to death. more ›

With more than 400 cops facing possible disciplinary charges, or worse, in a massive ticket-fixing probe currently being investigated, one of the biggest concerns for officials is the ramifications for other cases—prosecutors fear that once the names of those disciplined officers are revealed, it could jeopardize tons of criminal cases, casting shadows on officers' credibility. And already, those fears are being realized: a Bronx jury acquitted a man of attempted murder in the first trial involving a cop accused of fixing tickets. more ›

Almost 10 years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the one remaining wrongful death lawsuit will start on June 13. The family of Mark Bavis, a scout for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team who was on United Flight 175, is suing United Airlines and others including Boeing and airline security companies. But there's a twist: The federal judge overseeing the trial has declared the trial will only take a month; Judge Alvin Hellerstein said, "The time is going to be expressed not in days, but in minutes," with each side getting an equal amount of time. Naturally, neither side is happy about this. more ›

The woman who accuses a NYC police officer of raping her—and his partner of acting as a lookout—was cross-examined yesterday and stood her ground. When alleged rapist Kenneth Moreno's lawyer asked about a statement where she said she believed she was raped, the 29-year-old said, "I never said I believe I was raped. I knew I was raped. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it was the cops." more ›

Six years ago, the world of La Cosa Nostra was rocked by Bonnano crime family head Joseph Massino when he agreed to testify for the government against acting don Vincent "Vinnie Gorgeous" Basciano, who was accused of killing a mob associate. Now, as Massino is expected to sing today, it's time to get sentimental about the mob. Over the weekend, the Daily News' headline declared, "Mafia legends 'turning in graves' as ex-Bonanno boss to rat out Vinny Gorgeous at trial," while the NY Times reports today, "When he takes the witness stand on Tuesday, he will make history as the first official boss of one of New York’s five mob families to break ranks and testify for the government." more ›

Yesterday, jury selection began for the trial of three construction supervisors of the former Deutsche Bank building demolition, which was the site of a 2007 fire that killed two firefighters. The supervisors are charged with manslaughter, and the Post reports, "The courtroom full of 130 prospective jurors echoed with gasps when Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller announced that they were under consideration for a trial likely to last four months." more ›

The trial of the two police officers accused of raping a drunk East Village woman has been delayed another week because the cops have been hit with new charges. Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata now face "11 [more] charges against the officers, including official misconduct and falsifying business records," for their alleged role in the 2008 incident—and there's new evidence, a video showing them entering the woman's apartment building a fourth time." The prosecution and a defense lawyer each claimed that the evidence would help them. more ›