Investigations

Olutosin Oduwole: Should Student Who Wrote of "Murderous Rampage" Remain in Prison?

Olutosin Oduwole, a 27-year-old former Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student who was convicted of attempting a deadly mass shooting, was released from prison last week after an appeals court overturned his verdict. But this might not be the end of his legal troubles. Prosecutors are no ... More >>

Matthew Barnett: Granite City Dad Accused of Breaking Six-Month-Old Son's Legs

Today in terrible parenting news, we bring you the case of Matthew Barnett, a 24-year-old Granite City father who, police say, badly injured his six-month-old child. On Friday at around 1:40 a.m, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services alerted the Madison County Sheriff's Office to ... More >>

Guns: Bruce Humphrey of St. Louis Gets Seven Years On Federal Illegal Weapons Charges

Bruce Humphrey, a St. Louis resident, was sentenced today to 92 months behind bars on federal charges of illegal firearm possession. The decision comes at a time of intense debate in Missouri around gun laws, gun rights -- and how gun crimes are prosecuted. In this federal case, it seems Humphre ... More >>

Washington University Frat Scandal: "Very Sad and Painful," Says Vice Chancellor Sharon Stahl

We reported yesterday that the Washington University chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was suspended this week after allegations surfaced that pledges played a racist prank on fellow students. Now, officials are pushing forward with an investigation into the matter, and Vice Chancellor f ... More >>

Murdered Man Discovered in Cadillac; St. Louis Homicide No. 92

St. Louis homicide detectives are investigating the shooting of a man found dead last Thursday in the 4600 block of Riverview (above).

Lost Boy Child Pornography Case: Court Documents

​The Los Angeles-led FBI investigation into the online child pornography group known as "Lost Boy" resulted in the indictments of 19 Americans and fourteen defendants abroad. The men were charged collectively for running a child exploitation enterprise, among other crimes. The investigation, a ... More >>

Ten Suspects Netted in FBI Heroin Sting

Members of an FBI task force blanketed the St. Louis metropolitan region during the early hours of yesterday morning in a three-county sting operation in attempt to dismantle a heroin trafficking ring. The roundup resulted in ten arrests in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles C ... More >>

Lori Vaughn: North County Woman Murdered Inside Her Home

​St. Louis County police are investigating the murder of a 29-year-old woman shot dead inside her Flordell Hills home Saturday. Police arrived to the residence on Manette Drive around 10:20 p.m. July 16 to discover Lori Vaughn dead from gunshot wounds. As of yesterday, police knew of no motive in ... More >>

Five St. Louis Men Arrested In Federal Sweep of Biker Gang, Wheels of Soul

​Five St. Louis men have been arrested as part of a federal investigation into racketeering, drug trafficking and murder involving the Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. The St. Louis men arrested are:Dominic Henley, 33, of central St. Louis, described as the chapter president;Lawrence Pinks ... More >>

Milton Ohlsen III: Indicted for 2008 Clayton Parking Garage Bombing

Milton Ohlsen III, a.k.a. "Skip," has finally been charged in the 2008 parking garage bombing that rocked the Clayton legal community.​The man previously identified only as a "person of interest" in the bombing of a Clayton parking garage, Milton "Skip" Ohlsen III, has been indicted on five felony ... More >>

St. Louis Police Seek Help Solving Cold Cases

​The St. Louis police department issued a request for public assistance today in the hope of unraveling two unsolved murders. The first occurred back on May 23, 2007, when police found the badly burned body of  39-year-old Ralph Cato in an alley in the 4700 block of St. Louis Avenue. Cato ... More >>

Patients at Area VA Hospital Denied Soft Foods

Hospital officials get saucy.​No applesauce for you! In a devastating account of medical malpractice, four nurses who work at the John Cochran VA Medical Center have come forward to reveal a litany of violations occurring inside their facility. Their disclosures were made public during a pres ... More >>

Kenneth Cany: East St. Louis Man Murdered Early This Morning Outside Cahokia

Illinois police are investigating the pre-dawn murder of a man in unincorporated Cahokia today.According to the St. Clair Sheriff's Department, the victim from East St. Louis was sitting in his girlfriend's car parked on Violet Drive (below) around 4:15 a.m. this morning when he was shot multiple ti ... More >>

St. Louis Police Board to Release Full Investigation into World Series Ticket Scandal

​The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners today announced that it would not fight a judge's order requiring it to turn over its entire Internal Affairs investigation into the so-called World Series Ticket Scandal. The case stems from the 2006 World Series in which police officers were accused o ... More >>

Louis Ray Finchem: Man Found Dead in Holly Hills, Homicide Investigating

Louis Ray Finchem, a 67-year-old south St. Louis resident, was found dead in his home in the 5200 block of Dewey Ave. yesterday around 7 p.m. 5200 block of Dewey​Initially ruled an accidental death, St. Louis police are now investigating the case as a possible homicide after the medical examiner d ... More >>

Mary Catherine Moran: The Other Scandalous St. Louis Resignation

Image Via Mary Catherine Moran is not pictured here​We missed this among all the Vincent Bommarito hubbub, but Mary Catherine Moran, the St. Louis circuit court official at the heart of an ongoing investigation into suspicious bail bonds, resigned from her post last week.The Post-Dispa ... More >>

FBI Investigating St. Louis County Executive's Office?

Image Via Charlie Dooley's words exactly​That's the word coming from KMOX this morning. Citing anonymous sources, the station's Kevin Kileen reports that the FBI's "probe goes all the way up the elevator." Here's the issue at the heart of the rumored wrongdoing:  The feds are looking ... More >>

Tarnished Legacy Still Haunts St. Louis Police, Former Chief Singled Out in Audit

www.im4mokwa.comJoe Mokwa​State Auditor Susan Montee released this morning the findings of a much-anticipated financial review of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners. The audit is the first look into the finances of the board since former police chief Joe Mokwa stepped down last year in th ... More >>

Cold Case Featured in Riverfront Times, Now Focus of "America's Most Wanted"

amw.comThe only items on the body of "Jane Doe" were this bloody sweater and a length of rope.​Twenty-seven years ago this February the headless body of a young black girl was discovered in the basement of an abandoned building in St. Louis. Police have never been able to identify the child, and h ... More >>

Blown to Peaces: Weather Underground leaders claimed their bombings were devised to avoid bloodshed. But FBI agents suspect the radical '70s group killed a cop in the name of revolution.

Milton "Skip" Ohlsen: Person of Interest in Clayton Bombing

​Well, I got to hand it to the Post-Dispatch. They beat us to the story. For the last few days my colleague Kristen Hinman and I had been working a rumor that Milton "Skip" Ohlsen -- the man at a the center of a federal investigation into state politicians Jeff Smith and Steve Brown -- was also a ... More >>

Jeff Smith Resigns Missouri Senate, Pleads Guilty to Two Felonies

Jeff Smith​Jeff Smith pleaded guilty today to two counts of obstructing justice. The first stems from an initial investigation into his failed 2004 campaign for U.S. Congress. The second charge comes from a follow-up investigation into his 2004 campaign conducted this year. According to a breaking ... More >>

Ohlsen's Former Wife Testified that He Was Behind "Voters for Truth", Used Multiple Aliases

Jeff Smith​The former wife of Milton "Skip" Ohlsen testified last year that her ex-husband operated Voters for Truth, the political committee at the center of a federal probe into state Senator Jeff Smith (D - St. Louis) and state Rep. Steve Brown (D - Clayton).  Smith and Brown are reportedl ... More >>

Milton "Skip" Ohlsen -- The Man Behind State Sen. Jeff Smith's Possible Downfall

Ohlsen arrested last summer for an outstanding warrant. ​Last time I reported on Milton "Skip" Ohlsen was back in February when he'd just been indicted on gun charges and mortgage fraud. Back then, a source of mine hinted that Ohlsen might make news again on an unrelated matter but couldn't go int ... More >>

Parade for Christian Ferguson, Missing Boy, Saturday

Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the disappearance of 9-year-old Christian Ferguson. His family has organized the Christian T. Ferguson Sixth Annual Memorial Parade in his honor, though families of other people involved in unsolved cases are encouraged to participate as well.The parade begins at ... More >>

Vanishing Act, Part 2: Missing since 2003, little Christian Ferguson is almost surely dead. Police think they've fingered the culprit — and there's nothing they can do about it. A Riverfront Times Special Report.

Larry Bigbie's Day in the Sun

Larry Bigbie is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore! Well, that's not quite true. He's not all that angry, to be honest. He does, however, refuse to take it anymore. americanrhetoric.comOkay, okay. I'm still exaggerating. He actually seems fairly resigned to his fate, if tru ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 2.2

In today's news: peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter.

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 8.13

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 7.31

FDA Links Salmonella Outbreak to Specific Farm

Basketball by the Book: Documentary Evidence

Basketball by the Book: Documentary Evidence

Timothy Krajcir: Inside the Mind of a Serial Rapist and Murderer

Action Taken in Solidarity with Phoenix New Times

Alt-Weeklies Provide Web Links to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaios Home Address

Rick Ankiel: Bambino or Bonds?

Rick Ankiel: Bambino or Bonds?

No news is good news.

The questions Steven Colbert didn't ask.

David Fincher's type-A approach to filmmaking pays off.

Zodiac

Legal Loopholes

Vandalism isn't a crime in St. Louis. Just ask the police.

Joker's Wild

Casino lawyer Michael Lazaroff cheated for years -- and the insiders knew. Now that he's cut the deal of his life, why does anybody believe him?