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Ynyshir dad-of-three died from bleed on brain, inquest hears

Ynyshir dad-of-three died from bleed on brain, inquest hears

BBC News08-07-2025
A father-of-three found dead at his home by a neighbour died from a bleed on the brain, an inquest opening has heard.Christian Dean, 36, was found at his property in Ynyshir, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 26 June.Thomas Griffiths, 34, from Ynyshir, has been charged with his murder.The inquest opening heard Mr Dean was found lying face down on the kitchen floor with blood around his head.
A post-mortem examination gave an initial cause of death as bleeding on the base of the brain, pending further investigation.Coroner Kerrie Burge adjourned the inquest until the outcome of the criminal proceedings and sent her condolences to Mr Dean's family.Speaking after his death, Mr Dean's family said he was a "devoted" father-of-three and "much loved" son, brother and partner.They said Mr Dean was a "well-known" and "loved character" who brought "energy, humour, and warmth wherever he went".
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Ex-Marine convicted of killing three people in Spain released to US in prisoner swap deal
Ex-Marine convicted of killing three people in Spain released to US in prisoner swap deal

The Guardian

time13 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Ex-Marine convicted of killing three people in Spain released to US in prisoner swap deal

A Venezuelan American murderer and ex-US Marine, who killed three people in Spain in 2016, was released to the US during last Friday's high-profile prisoner swap between the US, El Salvador and Venezuela, according to media and NGO reports. Dahud Hanid Ortiz, who was convicted last year in Venezuela of a triple homicide in Madrid, is one of the 10 US nationals that arrived in Texas last Friday. 'The United States welcomes home ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela,' Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said in a statement after the exchange. 'It is unacceptable that Venezuelan regime representatives arrested and jailed US nationals under highly questionable circumstances and without proper due process. Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.' Ortiz had been tried, convicted and sentenced last year in Venezuela of the murders. The White House did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment by time of publication. A state department spokesperson did not discuss specifics of Ortiz's case when asked by the Guardian. 'The United States had the opportunity to secure the release of all Americans detained in Venezuela, many of whom reported being subjected to torture and other harsh conditions,' the state department spokesperson said. 'For privacy reasons, I won't get into the details of any specific case.' Ortiz can be seen in two separate images, shared by a state department social media account. In one image, Ortiz is smiling and looking at the camera while sitting on a plane. Last week, the US state department, coordinating with the Salvadoran and Venezuelan governments, participated in a large-scale prisoner swap between the three countries. 252 Venezuelans, previously detained in the US and expelled to a notorious Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act, were returned to Venezuela. In exchange, the US received 10 American nationals who were detained in Venezuela. Among them was Ortiz. The Venezuelan NGO, Foro Penal, which tracks the movement of political prisoners in the country, released a notice on Monday, mere days after the prisoner swap, confirming the release of the 10 American prisoners. But, in their statement, they clarified that only nine of the US nationals released were 'political prisoners'. 'One of the 10 Americans/residents, who were formerly detained, was not classified as a political prisoner, which is why we only documented nine formerly detained,' the organization wrote, alluding to Ortiz's case. Ortiz carried out a violent murder in Madrid, Spain, in 2016 which made international headlines. According to press reports, in a fit of jealousy, Ortiz drove from Germany to Spain to track down his ex-wife's new partner, Víctor Joel Salas, an attorney based in Madrid. Ortiz had previously threatened Salas, a Spanish newspaper reported. Ortiz entered Salas's office and instead found two women, employees of the law firm. He stabbed the two women and waited for Salas to enter the office. When a taxi driver and client of the law firm entered, Ortiz stabbed the man, set fire to the law firm offices and fled. Salas arrived shortly thereafter and discovered the three bodies, El País reported. The ex-Marine and Iraq War veteran quickly left Spain and arrived in Germany shortly after the murders. Spanish officials, who investigated the case, began an international manhunt to track him down, but due to bureaucratic holdups, German police were unable to arrest him. Ortiz fled to Colombia and crossed the border into Venezuela, where he was later caught by officials in 2018. Despite Spanish authorities' requests for Ortiz's extradition, Venezuela refused, deciding to try him for the murders there because he had been a Venezuelan citizen. In January 2024, he was sentenced by a Venezuelan court to 30 years in prison for the triple murder. This Friday, Ortiz was released to the US and arrived in Texas on a flight, welcomed with open arms by Trump administration officials. Salas, who was almost killed by Ortiz, told the Spanish TV program Vamos a Ver on Tuesday that he and the victims' families had been shocked by news of Ortiz's release. 'We all feel like we've been deceived, betrayed and let down,' he said. 'We feel deceived because Dahud Hanid Ortiz was never a political prisoner; he was a murderer who was convicted and sentenced by the Venezuelan authorities. The case record makes it quite clear that he's a criminal.' Salas also questioned how José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero – the former Spanish prime minister and a mediator between Venezuela and the US – could have acted as he did knowing 'who it was that he was freeing'. He called on Zapatero and others who had been 'kind enough to free someone who murdered three people' to take all necessary action to 'undo this injustice'. The lawyer said he and the victims' families were afraid Ortiz could decide to return to Spain. 'The fear's always there,' he told the TV programme. 'The surprising thing in all this is that it was the German authorities who contacted me to say they were activating red alerts so that he's not allowed back into the Schengen area.' Salas renewed his criticism of the Spanish government in an interview with TeleMadrid, saying the authorities had neither informed them of the murderer's release, nor offered them protection. 'The message they're sending out is that anyone can come to Spain, kill three people – and get away with it,' he said. The lawyer added that 'the governments of Donald Trump and Maduro have just handed a killer his freedom – someone who's a real danger to society – without anyone bothering to provide a real explanation'. In March of this year, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, declaring that the Tren de Aragua gang was invading the US at the behest of the Venezuelan government. Hundreds of Venezuelan men, accused of being gang members, were quickly expelled to El Salvador and detained in the notorious CECOT prison. The accusations that the men were all gang members was based on flimsy evidence by homeland security officials. After the quick and quiet expulsion to Venezuela, news organizations began revealing the identities of some of the men, including a gay Venezuelan makeup artist who was seeking asylum in the US. 'In the four months that the men were imprisoned in CECOT, the Trump administration repeatedly insisted that they were not under US custody,' said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy analyst with the American Immigration Council, in a blog post. 'Rather, they claimed that El Salvador maintained sole custody over the men and the United States had no control over their fate.' Reichlin-Melnick points out that the prisoner swap undermines the US's past statements, especially with the state department taking credit over the exchange, saying the deal happened 'thanks to President Trump's leadership'. The American nationals detained in Venezuela made a quick stop in El Salvador before being flown into Texas. The 252 Venezuelan men detained by the US and El Salvador were flown to Venezuela. The American nationals released include Wilbert Joseph Castañeda, Jorge Marcelo Vargas, Lucas Hunter, Jonathan Pagan Gonzalez, Ronald Oribio Quintana, Erick Oribio Quintana, Fabian Buglione Reyes, Renzo Huamanchumo Castillo, Juan Jose Faria Bricen and Ortiz, per CNN. Although the nature of their arrests in Venezuela is not entirely known, one particular case stands out. Castañeda was detained by Venezuelan authorities in August 2024, along with two other Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen. Although the US government and his family have repeatedly claimed Castañeda was in Venezuela for a personal trip, the Venezuelan government accused the group of men of participating in a CIA-led plot to overthrow the government and assassinate the president, Nicolás Maduro. Records accessed by confirmed Casañeda was a Navy Seal at the time of his arrest. Earlier this month it was reported that the prisoner swap deal had been underway for some time, but that miscommunication between Trump administration officials botched it, the New York Times reported. The US government has engaged in a number of prisoner swaps with Venezuela in recent years. Under the Biden administration in 2022, the US swapped seven Americans in exchange for two of Maduro's nephews. In 2023, the Venezuelan government released 10 American nationals and a US-wanted fugitive, for the exchange of Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally and former US government informant. And earlier this year, Venezuela freed six Americans after a Trump administration envoy met with Maduro. Officials accused Ortiz of unsuccessfully attempting to pay Venezuelan authorities so that he could be included in the 2023 prisoner swap related to Saab, according to reporting from a Venezuelan newspaper.

Chilling moment phone snatcher leaps from car & stabs aristocrat's footballer grandson to death in savage robbery
Chilling moment phone snatcher leaps from car & stabs aristocrat's footballer grandson to death in savage robbery

The Sun

time13 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Chilling moment phone snatcher leaps from car & stabs aristocrat's footballer grandson to death in savage robbery

THIS is the chilling moment a phone thief jumped from a car and stabbed an aristocrat's footballer grandson to death. Shocking CCTV footage showed Oguzcan Dereli, 27, pull up next to his victim on October 18 last year. 7 7 7 Abdul-Latif Pouget, 20, had been sitting on a moped near Farringdon station, in London, before the brutal attack at around 9.30pm. Dereli can be seen leaping out of a blue Ford Focus estate armed with a machete. Pouget attempts to ride away but Dereli knocks him off his bike and knifes him multiple times. The victim, known as Abz, was in critical condition for three days before he sadly succumbed to his injuries. The horror had taken just 13 seconds to unfold. Abz was the grandson of Baron Bouget, and his great-grandfather had been banker George de Vere Drummond, godson of King George VI. The Pouget family also has links to Chateau Pouget, a winery in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux, France. The 20-year-old was a talented footballer and played on the left wing for Zaza FC in the Barnet Sunday Football League, the Old Bailey heard. Cannabis dealer Dereli denied murder but was today found guilty by a jury. The conviction is the latest on a long list, with 39 previous on his criminal record. He was sentenced to 18 months in 2018 for a string of phone thefts in London. Abz's brother Badruddin, delivered a moving victim impact statement in court. He addressed the defendant in the dock and said: "Mr Dereli, when Abz was nine you had your first conviction. "When Abz was collecting medals you were collecting bank cards and snatching phones from strangers. You were caught hiding under a mattress." 7 7 7 The heartbroken brother described his beloved sibling as "a young man who, unlike you, was loved for who he was, not feared for what he might do." "I hope that justice might speak for Abz now since you never let him speak again," he added. The victim's devastated mother, Kawsar Pouget, also paid tribute to her "kind, respectful, polite and humble" son. "He was a talented and gifted footballer who was a role model to those younger than him. He was young intelligent and full of promise," she added. "He bought warmth and laughter to every room. His murder shattered the natural order of things and has broken something deep within us. "Every member of the family carries this loss. Our family gatherings now taken place at the graveside." Prosecutors argued Dereli had been trying to steal Abz's phone at the time. But the defendant told the court his victim had wrongly accused him of robbery and he was acting in self-defence after a confrontation ensued. Prosecuting, Danny Robinson, told the court Abz was still sat on his moped when Dereli came at him with a machete. "He struck him with the machete and then stabbed him with it to his right thigh. The stab wound severed an artery causing instant massive blood loss and Mr Pouget collapsed on the pavement," he told the court. Abz tragically died in hospital three days later at 11.15am on October 21. Police detained Dereli at the Easy Hotel on October 19, where he was staying with a woman. The court heard his girlfriend had given birth shortly before the murder, but Dereli had not met his baby because he was "scared". Cops were unable to locate the murder weapon but arrested Dereli on October 20. The court heard his family of eleven were Kurdish asylum seekers who all lived in a three bedroomed council flat. His father was unemployed and his mother was too ill to work. Dereli, of Alexander Road, Holloway, denied but was convicted of murder and having an offensive weapon. Judge Sarah Whitehouse said upon sentencing: "I am not satisfied this was a murder carried out in the circumstances of a robbery. "We shall probably never know why you decided to get out of your car and run over and stab Mr Pouget." But the judge added there had been rumours of a disagreement over a debt. "Some of the rumours were that you and Mr Pouget had an altercation that very evening in which he had got the better of you and your friends had encouraged you to go out and seek revenge," continued the judge. "I am satisfied you had formed the intention to cause him really serious bodily harm when you stopped and got out of your car at speed, carrying that machete. "Your actions caused incalculable distress to Abdul-Latif Pouget's family." Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the Met's investigation, said: "My thoughts and that of my team remain with Abdul's family, a much loved brother, friend and neighbour. "A young man has tragically died in a senseless and brutal way. I can only hope that this sentence can go some way in providing a sense of justice to Abdul's family." 7

Bryan Kohberger speaks in chillingly forceful voice when asked if he'd like to give statement on Idaho murders
Bryan Kohberger speaks in chillingly forceful voice when asked if he'd like to give statement on Idaho murders

Daily Mail​

time13 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Bryan Kohberger speaks in chillingly forceful voice when asked if he'd like to give statement on Idaho murders

Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger refused to reveal why he slayed four college students as he faced the music for the shocking murders. Kohberger spoke only a few words at his sentencing on Wednesday, saying in a short, forceful voice that he would not provide his motive. 'I respectfully decline,' he said. He stood up to address the judge moments after the friends and relatives of his victims gave heartbreaking victim impact statements to the court. Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen sobbed as she addressed the 30-year-old killer, and described him as 'less than human.' Goncalves' sister Alivea then delivered a searing statement, demanding he explain himself and tearing him down. She demanded Kohberger 'sit up straight' while she spoke and called him a 'delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.' 'The truth about Kaylee and Maddie is that they would have been kind to you…. In a world that rejected you, they would have shown mercy,' Kaylee Goncalves' sister Alivea began as she spoke to Bryan Kohberger directly. Kohberger watched Alivea intently, showing no emotion or flicker of expression. Alivea continued in her scathing remarks to Kohberger: 'I wont stand her and give you what you want, I won't give you tears… instead I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer.' She then hit him with the very same questions that Kohberger posed in a survey on Reddit as part of his criminology degree at DeSales University. She went on to blast Kohberger's past and all his failings, saying: 'You thought you were so much better than everyone else.' 'The truth is you're basic,' she continued. 'You're a textbook case as insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath.' 'You're as dumb as they come. Stupid, dumb… weak, dirty.' In a damning conclusion, she told Kohberger: 'If you hadn't attacked them in your sleep like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f****** a**.'

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