Despite charges that the officer hired a man to kidnap and kill two people, a judge freed him Wednesday. Audrey Faye Moorehead reasoned that prosecutors had no probable cause to support the charges against Bryan Riser. The 36-year-old was arrested last month on suspicion of murder for the 2017 deaths of Albert Douglas, 61, and Lisa Saenz, 31.
Pasadena police have arrested and charged 35-year-old Raymeon Means with capital murder for fatally shooting his 6-year-old relative, Laurionne Walker, on Friday.
In the North Carolina murder case of Casey Johnson, prosecutors against Joseph Ray Carroll sought the death penalty Monday.
According to the Richmond County Daily Journal, there were “aggravating circumstances” in the 15-year-old’s death. Carroll, who dated Johnson’s mother, was indicted on a murder charge Feb. 15. Johnson’s mother, Michelle, is also charged with murder. Since the initial arrest of Carroll, his murder charge has been upgraded to capital murder.
Johnson was horrifically beaten and taken to the hospital Jan. 20. Soon after, he was declared brain dead. His death was ruled a homicide, and the medical examiner declared his death as the cause of “severe trauma to the head, consistent with that of a car accident.”
According to WSOC TV, investigators found signs of physical abuse in the home prior to Johnson’s death. They also found videos of the abuse on Carroll’s cell phone, where he would record Johnson and his siblings being punished.
Carroll will appear in court this summer to face the death penalty trial.
Dallas police officer Bryan Riser was arrested Thursday and charged with arranging the kidnappings and murders of two unrelated victims back in 2017.
Shaun Michael Ryan was charged with capital murder for the deaths of Kayla Glover and Gary Wayne Baskins Wednesday night.
