Facebook Shirt

Facebook has become one of the world’s most wide and popular social networking site. It is highly accessed in the UK as well; it is seen as a way to keep in touch with friends and colleagues, but also one to meet new people from all over the world.

Recent events prove that, apart from the above, Facebook has also become a reason for crime; the victim is Emma Forrester, 34. She and her husband Wayne broke up a few days ago, and he moved out of the house they were living in with their two children.

After a few days, she changed her Facebook status from ‘Married’ to ‘Single’, which made the husband drive to their home in Croydon, South London, and violently murder the mother of his children.

He arrived at the house very early in the morning, grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her to death while she was sleeping. He had been drinking and he had also been consuming drugs, but that was not a circumstantial evidence.

He pleaded guilty to the murder charges and the jury sentenced him to life in prison, with the possibility of getting out after a minimum of 14 years, for good behaviour.

Michele Anderson

Michele Anderson and boyfriend Joseph McEnroe are still on trial for six murder charges, in Seattle. She is accused of having shot six members of her family (parents, nephews, brother and sister-in law) in December 2007, right on Christmas Eve. Her boyfriend is accused of aggravated murder as well.

Immediately after the killings, she admitted her guilt and she seemed to be conscious of the terrifying massacre she told the press all she wanted was to die.During the trial, it was clear that the prosecutors aimed at obtaining a death penalty sentence and Anderson initially agreed to that, but she has changed her mind since then and now she had decided to put up a fight, because she does not want to die anymore.

Her lawyer, Stephen R. Illa, will now have to work twice as hard, because on the first trial Anderson did not allow her defendants to present evidence on her behalf.

According to his declarations, he is very confident that his client will not face the death penalty. He did not comment on the only remaining option, that of life in prison without any possibility of getting out on parole.

Michelle Gardner-Quinn

After exactly two years since the tragic death of Michelle Gardner-Quinn, justice has finally been made. Her killer has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole or release on good behaviour. The prosecutors could not ask for the death penalty, as Vermont does not have it yet.

The man accused of the murder is Brian L. Rooney, a 38 year old construction worker, and he claims to be not guilty although he was condemned on DNA evidence.

The victim, aged 21, was an environmental studies senior and she came in contact with Rooney in downtown Burlington, October 2006.

On the 13th of October her body was found in Huntington Gorge, Burlington; it presented signs of sexual abuse and violence and the cause of death was suffocation by strangling.

Rooney was convicted based on a video tape which proved he and the victim had interacted the night of her disappearance and also on the semen found inside the victim’s body, which showed they had sex.

Judge Michael Kupersmith sentenced Rooney to life in prison, although the family and friends would have wished to see him on death row; unfortunately Vermont law does not allow that.