Murder and Homicide

Latest Articles

Dead Kids

Startling sociological findings about violence and Boston's inner-city youth
Boston's violence promotes more violence, and its murders beget even more murder.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 15, 2010

Death penalty possible for Watland

Prison Murder
Gary Watland, the brilliant and mentally ill convicted murderer whose 2006 scheme to have his wife smuggle a loaded handgun into the Maine State Prison in Warren was foiled when another prisoner tipped off officials, faces a possible death penalty if convicted of a second murder.
By LANCE TAPLEY | May 26, 2010

Cookie monster

Senseless tragedy at FIU; plus, late-night fun at Marshall and some Oregon fallout
The Florida International University football program was rocked recently when running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death in front of eight witnesses — allegedly by an ex–FIU teammate.
By MATT TAIBBI | April 14, 2010

Murderabilia

A serial killer seeks a payoff
Incarcerated in a maximum-security prison in Cranston, Rhode Island, Jeff Mailhot grabbed a pen and a sheet of stationery and traced an outline of his beefy left hand.
By JOHN LARRABEE | April 05, 2010

Review: The Mother

The power of maternal love
A girl is found murdered in this latest effort from Korean director Bong Joon-ho, and the police, at a loss, pin the blame on Do-joon (Bin Won), a childlike local with not much going on upstairs, alternately brutalizing and bamboozling him into a confession.
By PETER KEOUGH | March 22, 2010

Ask A Black Woman: Criminal intent edition

Diverse City
Ask A Black Woman: Why are Blacks committing all the crimes lately in Maine and doesn't this say something about Black people's natural inclinations?
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | March 03, 2010

The US Supreme Court has saved us from financial ruin

Not a modest proposal
There has been powerful criticism of the recent US Supreme Court ruling that corporations are truly people, and deserve all the rights people have, including the right to spend as much as they wish to support or oppose candidates in elections.
By JEFF INGLIS | February 10, 2010

The war over peace

A decade after the 'Boston Miracle,' violent crime has again overtaken parts of the city. Can the miracle makers create a new peace?
In the early infancy of this five-week-old year, Boston has been rocked by four homicides and 10 non-fatal shootings. By the time this goes to print, there may well be more.
By CHRIS FARAONE | February 05, 2010

Slap shot

Murder hits minor-league hockey. Plus, Chris Chelios gets whistled for DUI.
Bogdan "Rudy" Rudenko, a minor-league hockey player who was most recently with the now-defunct Colorado Springs Gold Kings, has been arrested in connection with the Stallings, North Carolina, shooting of a friend and former teammate of his (some reports describe him as an "associate") named Yuri Kharitonov.
By MATT TAIBBI | January 20, 2010

Dangerous slurs

Gay rights in prison
A heavily tattooed, self-described Satanist serving a life sentence for savagely murdering two people in Augusta in 1998 — his 16-year-old stepdaughter and his 87-year-old former landlady — inmate John L’Heureux, 39, is probably not the man Maine’s gay-rights groups would choose to represent their cause in the state prison, if they were inclined to choose anyone there.
By LANCE TAPLEY | October 01, 2009

The punch that took two lives

Nearly 17 years ago, Joe Donovan initiated a tragic chain of events with a brutish act of machismo. But should he be in jail for life?
When he was 17 years old, Joseph Donovan made the first of two stupid, and even reckless, mistakes. On the evening of September 18, 1992, in a brutish act of machismo, the East Cambridge native and minor-league delinquent punched out Norwegian MIT student Yngve Raustein.
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 05, 2009

White-supremacist code printed nationwide

One man's death spread the numeric code for "Heil Hitler" across the world.
While von Brunn survived to face federal criminal charges and may yet die slowly in federal prison, he did manage to get newspapers around the globe to print a white-supremacist code praising Adolf Hitler right next to his name.
By JEFF INGLIS | June 17, 2009

Right-wing terror

The murder of Dr. George Tiller
Conservatives scoffed in April when the Department of Homeland Security warned that the United States could face another wave of homegrown attacks.
By EDITORIAL | June 03, 2009

Passion players

Rap-rock vets Mastamindz stay the course
"If music is your passion, then promote it. Get people to your shows. I honestly think people don't push themselves enough."
By CHRIS CONTI | May 27, 2009

Reggae revival

Booming in Boston's underground, Caribbean riddims are about to burst back into the mainstream
The climate is tropical, sweet skunk fills the air, and reggae jams are hitting such lofty decibels that I can't even feel my phone vibrate.
By CHRIS FARAONE | May 21, 2009

Death by handgun

A public-health crisis; plus, gay marriage advances
A couple of weeks ago, David S. Bernstein wrote about the growing "state sovereignty" movement backed by anti-government conspiracy theorists and gun-rights extremists, and touted on the syndicated radio show and Web site of deranged agitator Alex Jones.
By EDITORIAL | April 08, 2009

Review: Watchmen

As a reimagining of the past, Watchmen is at times jaw-dropping.
When Watchmen concentrates on violence, it comes alive. When it meanders into metaphysics, which it does frequently and at length, it loses its way.
By A.S. HAMRAH | March 06, 2009

Media kills hero pilot

Herd-mentality pack lacks sufficient imagination to find another story
US Airways Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who pulled off the "Miracle on the Hudson" emergency landing, was found beaten to death by the national media.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | January 28, 2009

This Far by Faith

Dorchester Peace Institute fights for its life...and wins
Though the timing was merely coincidental, it seemed extra harsh for Governor Deval Patrick to slash funding for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute right before Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month.
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 17, 2008

Young guns

Menino touting Boston’s gun-violence “best practices”
This past Wednesday at the Capital Hill Hilton in Washington, DC, mayors from across the country were scheduled to sit down to a special session and learn how to combat youth gun violence.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 27, 2008

Husker don't

Sports blotter: "Next Lawrence Phillips" edition
Details right now are still sketchy, but Thunder Collins, a former University of Nebraska running back who was once considered a sure-fire NFL star, has been charged with murder.
By MATT TAIBBI | October 02, 2008

Murder by numbers

Diverse City
Murder isn’t a common occurrence in Maine. You knew that, but let me remind you just how uncommon. In 2006, just 21 murders in a state of around 1.3 million people.
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | September 17, 2008

Murder in six degrees

Peter Ivers — pals with john Belushi to the Circle Jerks — was killed in 1983. A new book recalls his fascinating life — and mysterious death.
You’ve probably never heard of Peter Ivers.
By MIKE MILIARD | September 10, 2008

Murder Weapon, Werewolves on Wheels, Lead Stiletto

Music seen, Geno's, August 28, 2008
Despite a thin crowd, each band was in fine form.
By DAN CLARK | September 05, 2008

A life cut short

Images from the life of Mario Hornsby, Jr.
Images from the life of Mario Hornsby, Jr.
By PHOENIX STAFF | August 28, 2008

Death Race

A B-movie full of crowd-pleasing bullshit
Glistening torso Jensen Ames (the ubiquitous Jason Statham), is framed for the murder of his sweet wife in this loose remake of the 1975 cult favorite Death Race 2000 .
By JASON O'BRYAN | August 27, 2008

Does Boston hate the BPD?

A secret survey shows just how low the Boston Police Department’s reputation had sunk two years ago. Is the mayor listening?
When Kathleen O’Toole served as Boston police commissioner, from early 2004 through mid 2006, she and Mayor Thomas Menino seemed in constant denial of the spiraling violence and shocking police scandals that were roiling the city.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 18, 2008

The deadly cost of ‘honor killings’

Human rights
The United Nations Population Fund estimates that 5000 "honor killings" occur worldwide each year, though they are vastly underreported.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 16, 2008

Criminal intent

Ed Burns on writing Iraq
Ed Burns — former Baltimore homicide detective, Vietnam vet, and long-time writing partner with David Simon, both on the The Wire and on Generation Kill , spoke with the Phoenix about the new series.
By ADAM REILLY | July 07, 2008

More from Tyson

Sports blotter: "Yikes" edition
One of the things about being a non–Pacific Islander guy with a giant tribal tattoo on your face is that people are forever questioning your judgment.
By MATT TAIBBI | June 18, 2008