A judge has sentenced an Ohio woman to four consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole after 60 years after she pleaded guilty to charges alleging she used fentanyl to kill four men she was trying to rob. Thirty-six-year-old Rebecca Auborn of Columbus was indicted in 2023 following the accusation that she met men for sex before fatally drugging them. Auborn initially pleaded not guilty but changed that plea late last year. A Franklin County judge sentenced her to the four consecutive life terms, each of which carries the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law to suppress the opposition. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday found Yoon guilty of mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a considerable time. Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict. Yoon fell from office after an ill-advised attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the legislature on Dec. 3, 2024. A special prosecutor had requested the death penalty, saying Yoon deserved harsh punishment for the threat his actions posed to the country’s democracy.
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2026. There are 316 days left in the year.
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have pressed Charlotte-area leaders about crime-fighting efforts after recent light-rail stabbings. The August fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska and a December non-fatal stabbing on the same rail system have fueled GOP critiques. During a legislative committee meeting on Monday, GOP Rep. Brenden Jones cited failures in criminal justice functions for Zarutska's death. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and others have highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail. Democrats on the committee pushed back on Jones’ words and accused the panel of engaging in “cynical partisan theatre."
The sentencing of Hong Kong’s onetime media magnate and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai is raising an outcry from international governments and rights groups. Authorities in China and Hong Kong defended the court's decision Monday, saying it reflects the spirit of the rule of law. The 78-year-old Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiring with others to publish seditious articles. Foreign governments and rights groups are calling for the release of the British citizen. But China's Foreign Ministry says Lai is a Chinese citizen and urges countries to respect China’s sovereignty.
China critic and former media tycoon Jimmy Lai is sentenced to 20 years in a Hong Kong security case
Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in one of the most prominent cases prosecuted under a China-imposed national security law. The maximum penalty of his conviction was life imprisonment. His daughter Claire said that if this sentence is carried out, he will “die a martyr behind bars." The case has raised concerns about declining press freedom in Hong Kong. His sentence could heighten Beijing’s diplomatic tensions with foreign governments. Six former Apple Daily staffers and two activists received prison terms between 6 years and 3 months, and 10 years.
A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed 189 decomposing bodies and gave families fake ashes has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for corpse abuse. Family members of the deceased called defendant Jon Hallford a “monster” during Friday's sentencing hearing. Hallford co-owned Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs with his then-wife Carie. They pleaded guilty in December. Investigators discovered the bodies in 2023 after reports of a stench. Families of the deceased were devastated to learn that the ashes they received were not their loved ones. Carie Hallford is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes in 2023 alongside his home on Maui, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place overlooking her grandchildren. The FBI called Johnson a year later. They said his mother’s remains weren’t in the ashes he buried. Instead, his mother was among nearly 200 decomposing bodies found inside a Colorado funeral home. The funeral home owners had given families fake ashes for years. Jon and Carie Hallford were arrested in 2023 and charged with abusing corpses. On Friday, Jon Hallford will be sentenced. Johnson will be among the grieving families to speak, advocating for the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes in 2023 alongside his home on Maui, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place overlooking her grandchildren. The FBI called Johnson a year later. They said his mother’s remains weren’t in the ashes he buried. Instead, his mother was among nearly 200 decomposing bodies found inside a Colorado funeral home. The funeral home owners had given families fake ashes for years, trying to conceal the bodies. Jon and Carie Hallford were arrested in 2023 and charged with abusing nearly 200 corpses. On Friday, Jon Hallford will be sentenced. Johnson will be among the grieving relatives to speak, advocating for the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
Two decades after Jeffrey Epstein was first reported to police, the Justice Department has started to publicly release investigative files on the late sex offender and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The Epstein Files Transparency Act signed into law by President Donald Trump required the Justice Department, the FBI and federal prosecutors to disclose all unclassified documents and investigative materials by Friday. The release is the culmination of a yearslong fight over the records underpinning one of the Justice Department’s most high-profile and highly debated cases. Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.