Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. was given two 48-year prison sentences for killing 12-year-old Sheila and 10-year-old Katherine Lyon in March 1975.
Publication: Crime
Snopes→ Police: At Least Eight People Dead After North Texas Shooting
Police shot dead the suspect in a shooting at a home in Plano, northeast of Dallas.
Snopes→ Does Equifax’s Credit Monitoring Service Bar Users From Joining a Class-Action Suit Against Them?
After a massive data breach, the terms of service for an Equifax product spawned allegations that the company was trying to curb potential legal action.
Snopes→ Police Shoot Armed Man at Miami Airport Amid Irma Evacuation
Police investigated an officer-involved shooting at Miami airport which shut down a terminal as people fled Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma.
Snopes→ Equifax Breach Exposes 143 Million People to Identity Theft
The credit tracking company says "criminals" accessed files between May and June 2017.
Snopes→ Former Manson Follower and Convicted Murderer Leslie Van Houten Approved for Parole
Van Houten has been in prison for more than 40 years for her role in two brutal murders committed by disciples of Charles Manson.
Snopes→ Racist Twitter Trolls Pose as Houston Looters
Amidst devastating flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, fake Twitter accounts were used sow fear and racial hatred.
Snopes→ IRS Issues Warning On Ransomware ‘Questionnaire’ Scam
A phony email targeting tax professionals is "a new twist on an old scheme," agency Commissioner John Koskinen said.
Snopes→ Can Animal Rescuers Be Prosecuted for Theft for Saving Animals from Harvey?
A rumor exaggerates the (vanishingly small) likelihood that those who rescue animals in danger during a tropical storm in Texas will be prosecuted.
Snopes→ French Police Hunt for Girl, 9, Who Vanished at a Wedding
A message posted to the Gendarmerie Nationale Twitter account reads in French: "Call for witnesses" - "Worrying disappearance of a minor[."]
Snopes→ Shelby Township Meijer ‘Human Trafficking’ Warning
One of many human trafficking warnings spread on Facebook in August 2017 involved a purported kidnapping attempt at a Shelby Township, Michigan Meijer store.
Snopes→ Gunman Kills Two People and Injures Four in New Mexico Library Shooting
The attacker surrendered and was taken into custody after the shooting in the city of Clovis, 200 miles east of Albuquerque.
Snopes→ Judge Gives Indian Guru 10-Year Jail Sentence for Raping Followers
The conviction of Dr. Saint Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim Insan sparked violent protests by his followers in the town of Rohtak, leaving 38 people dead.
Snopes→ German Prosecutors Believe Nurse May Have Killed at Least 86 Patients
Police in the city of Oldenburg suspect Niels Hoegel of deliberately inducing cardiac arrest in dozens of patients.
Snopes→ Wendell Callahan Pardoned by Obama, Kills Three Victims?
President Obama did not pardon a convicted drug dealer named Wendell Callahan, who was later charged with murdering three people after his early release from prison.
Snopes→ Robbers Using Rubber Bands to Break Into Houses?
A viral Facebook post warned that robbers were using rubber bands on door latches to break into homes, but its validity was questionable.
Snopes→ Bill Clinton Was Expelled from Oxford Over a Rape Incident?
A long-circulating but completely uncorroborated rumor holds that Bill Clinton raped an Oxford classmate named Eileen Wellstone.
Snopes→ Fired Dishwasher Shot by Police After Killing Chef, Taking Hostage at Charleston Restaurant
Police said the killing was the "act of a disgruntled employee."
Snopes→ White Supremacist Christopher Cantwell Turns Himself in to Police in Virginia
Cantwell was wanted on three felony charges, including malicious bodily injury, for pepper-spraying a counter-protester at a Charlottesville rally.
Snopes→ Mugshots of Antifa Members Arrested at Charlottesville?
Multiple mugshots were falsely claimed to show Antifa members who were arrested during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
Snopes→ Is It Legal in Texas to Use Deadly Force to Protect a Statue from Vandalism?
A viral Facebook post falsely suggested that it is legal in Texas to use deadly force to stop Confederate statues from being vandalized.
Snopes→ Police in Finland Shoot Man After He Stabbed Several People
Authorities in the city of Turku said they were looking for other potential suspects after shooting the man in the leg and arresting him.
Snopes→ Holocaust Memorial Vandalized for Second Time This Summer
Police in Boston say a person is in custody for allegedly vandalizing the Holocaust memorial, the second time it was damaged this summer.
Snopes→ 640,000 NYC Warrants For Unpaid Summonses Tossed In 1 Day
District attorneys in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens requested courts throw out a total of over 640,000 warrants in a single day.
Snopes→ Socialite Daughter of Ballet Dancers Charged with Burglary
Police say 21-year-old Talicia Martins and a friend broke into The Smoothie Shack, Francine Bistro and Camden Cone, taking more than $1,000.
Snopes→ Lawyer: UK Model’s ‘Strange’ Tale of Italian Kidnap is True
A British model says she was lured to Italy, drugged, shoved in a suitcase, and held in an isolated farmhouse for almost a week.
Snopes→ Sgt. Gregory Hayes Killed Two Syrian Refugees for Raping His Daughter?
A popular meme proclaimed that Sgt. Gregory Hayes beat a pair of Syrian refugees to death for raping his teenaged daughter, but we found no record Hayes even exists.
Snopes→ Hacker Who Helped Stop Global Cyberattack Arrested in the United States
Marcus Hutchins helped derail the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, but now he is accused of creating malware of his own.
Snopes→ Kidd Creole Awaits Arraignment in NYC on Murder Charge
Police say 57-year-old Nathaniel Glover, also known as The Kidd Creole, was arrested on 2 Aug 2017 on murder charges after a deadly argument.
Snopes→ Does a Meme Accurately Advise Sexual Assault Victims?
A meme posted to Reddit made statements of mixed accuracy about the rights of victims of rape and sexual assault.
Snopes→ Three Defendants Killed in Shootout at Moscow Courthouse After Attempted Escape
The men were part of a group dubbed "the Grand Theft Auto gang", accused of 17 murders or attempted murders in the Russian capital.
Snopes→ Germany: 1 Dead, 4 Wounded in Knife Attack at Hamburg Market
German police say one person died after a man with a knife attacked several people on 28 July 2017.
Snopes→ Immigrants Wept, Pleaded for Water and Pounded on the Truck
Ten people died after a people-smuggling operation went badly wrong in San Antonio, Texas.
Snopes→ Burundanga/Scopolamine Warning
Criminals in the U.S. are not using burundanga-soaked business cards to incapacitate their victims.
Snopes→ Man With Chainsaw Wounds Five People in Swiss City, Sparking Police Manhunt
The man attacked five people at an office building in the city of Schaffhausen.
Snopes→ O.J. Simpson Granted Parole After Nearly 9 Years in Prison
O.J. Simpson was granted parole on 20 July 2017 after more than eight years in prison for a conviction related to memorabilia he maintained was stolen.
Snopes→ OJ Simpson Making Case for His Freedom on Live TV
O.J. Simpson is seeking his release after more than eight years for an ill-fated bid to retrieve sports memorabilia.
Snopes→ Where to Watch O.J. Simpson’s Parole Hearing
O.J. Simpson faces a parole board hearing in Nevada on 20 July 2017.
Snopes→ 16-year-old from Minnesota Finally Identified as Victim of John Wayne Gacy
Jimmy Haakenson is one of eight previously unidentified victims found under the serial killer's Chicago-area home in 1978.
Snopes→ Ex-Texas Officer Indicted on Murder Charge in Teen’s Death
A white former Texas police officer has been indicted on a murder charge in the April 2017 shooting death of a black teen.