Death toll from Texas floods rises to 43, many still missing
Among the missing are 27 young girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp. Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said there could be more people missing in the region.
"We are kind of looking at this in two ways called the known missing, which is the 27... We will not put a number on the other side because we just don't know," he said at the same press conference.
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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I lived with a serial killer for 6 months before I learned what he'd done - he mentored me and even taught me to shave
A man has spoken of how he lived with a serial killer as a roommate before he found out what he had done. Jesse Crosson shared the experience when he was staying at Nottoway Correctional Centre in the US state of Virginia. He explained he had gotten a job in the wood shop, and when he was moved into a new prison cell, he realised he was already occupied by an 'old little man'. He explained in a TikTok video: ' I remember the pop the door to the cell for me to go in and there was this old little man sitting in front of the TV drinking his coffee and I was like "This is a roommate I can deal with, he's not young and crazy, he's not going to be loud." 'It worked out great. Sometimes he worked night shift, and I worked day shift, so I got the cell to myself. He was quiet, we had good conversations, we watched Jeopardy. I really liked the guy. He even taught me how to shave because when I first got locked up, I couldn't grow a beard, so I never learned.' In the video, he goes on to explain, the roommate never received any mail from family or spoke to anyone on the phone, and as he knew he had previously been a decorated officer in Vietnam, he asked his stepmother if he could write him a letter. He said: 'And then my stepmum comes for a visit and she's like 'You know Jesse, your roommate is a serial killer.' 'I said 'okay...' 'So she tells me this whole story and I got back to have this conversation like "Greg, remember how I said I was going to try to get my stepmum to write to you? Well, she doesn't really feel comfortable" and he says 'yeah, you did your homework' and he laughed and it scared the s**** out of me.' In the video, he went on to say that the roommate was 'connected to dozens of murders across the country ,but I didn't know that at first' He added: 'Finding out one day that I was living with a serial killer was uncomfortable and it didn't really mesh with the things I knew about him. 'He had been a decorated officer in Vietnam. He had served three tours and used to recite the names of every soldier he had lost. 'The man was helping me work on my vocabulary... He was really where I started to understand that one is just one thing.' In 2002, Crosson was originally sentenced to serve 32 years in jail just as he turned 18 after committing two separate and unrelated crimes: being caught in a robbery and a shooting. After spending 19 years behind bars, the 38-year-old shares his jail tales to his 1.2 million TikTok followers, revealing the fascinating facts of what life is really like in prison - and what it was like to readjust to life outside when he was released. In a recent clip, the former inmate shared the moment he was released from prison 'felt like a dream.' He recalled walking outside for the first time and getting into a car felt 'awkward and weird' - and he even had a 'breakdown' in Costco after shopping with his newfound freedom. 'I started to feel two things,' he recalled. 'One was a sense of grief for everything that I lost and beginning to realize all those years had passed, and the other was a sense of joy.' Crosson, who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, recalled shifting his mindset from his life as a free man 'being a dream,' to it being 'waking up' from a bad one. 'It was back to reality for the first time,' the ex-convict explained. 'And it was where I belonged.' The motivational speaker, who has started the Second Chancer Foundation in 2022 to provide direct services for prisoners, admitted he suffered from a breakdown and PTSD, as well as struggling in different environments and relationships. Crosson has also recalled the moment he found out he was being released from prison - saying it had been a 'surprise' - and he woke up that day thinking he still had 10 years left on his prison sentence. However, he was called into the counselor's office who told him the good news - he was a free man. After being given 'ridiculous' release clothes - oversized khaki pants and a large khaki-colored shirt - he left the prison and was picked up by his mom, who he could finally embrace after spending 15 minutes filling out the final paperwork. In one video, Crosson has also recalled the moment he found out he was being released from prison - saying it had been a 'surprise' 'I picked her up and I started swinging her around,' he reminisced. In a TikTok posted in June, Crosson explained he was arrested after he and his co-defendants had run out of money, and were trying to get a fix - making the decision to rob the home of a restaurant owner someone had worked for. Although they justified the crime by convincing themselves the restaurant owners weren't good people. However, someone ended up being home and it turned into a home invasion, which left Crosson paranoid and afraid they were after him. Wanting to defend himself, Crosson purchased a handgun from a friend - which turned out to be stolen - and was involved in a fight that ended in a car chase and him firing his gun. He was caught and sentenced to 32 years - double the recommended sentence. 'When I got arrested I looked absolutely insane,' the ex-criminal recalled, saying he was dressed like a gangster inspired by his friend's uncle, who legitimately was one. 'I had these hiking boots on but I had dress socks, I didn't have any boxers on cause we're so strung out, we can never get organized to do laundry but I was wearing dress clothes, [I] wanted to be just like him,' he said. 'I also had this long overcoat that my stepfather had given me and besides thinking it made me look like a gangster we had a strap on the AK, so I can put it over my shoulder with a regular clip in there, you couldn't even tell it was under the jacket,' he added. The free man said he was arrested in that outfit and had to wear it again when he was transferred from jail to the receiving center before starting his sentence. While he was being processed, he was given the options of sending the garments home or leaving them there. He instead opted to throw the clothes away. 'With limited money on the books, there was no way in the world I was gonna pay for the postage [when] I could buy food and hygiene instead,' he explained. 'Maybe that's why I was so hesitant to start wearing dress clothes again, because for about a year-and-a-half or almost two years all I wore was T-shirts and jeans. I was like no, I don't need that fancy stuff,' he added thoughtfully. In other videos, Crosson revealed more information from his time in prison - including his unusual mentor, who turned out to be a serial killer. 'I was surprised because I said you know I really like this guy,' he recalled in a clip posted to TikTok. 'I get along with him, he teaches me something every day, he helped me a lot in kind of seeing the world in a different way.' Although Crosson appears to be remorseful about his actions, he isn't remorseful about being arrested. 'I needed to be arrested,' he said in a video explaining why he was put behind bars. 'I was an active threat to other people.' 'In many ways being arrested, being pulled me out of the crazy lifestyle, the tail spins that I was in is what saved my life,' he added sincerely. Crosson also said with 'great love and support,' he was able to put his life back together in prison. 'I mentored other men, earned a Bachelor's degree, became a journeyman electrician, wrote articles for publication and found a way forward,' he said.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Heartbreak as first details of Texas flooding victims emerge
Devastating floods in Central Texas have claimed the lives of at least 51 people, including 15 children. The catastrophic flooding was triggered by unexpected torrential downpours on Friday evening, causing the Guadalupe River to rise rapidly. The disaster severely impacted Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp, where several children were killed and 27 were initially reported missing. Identified victims include young campers such as Renee Smajstrla, Sarah Marsh, Janie Hunt, and Lila Bonner, as well as adults like camp director Jane Ragsdale and Julian Ryan, who died saving his family. The floods destroyed homes and swept away vehicles, with authorities continuing to identify and release details of the deceased.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
DNA technology helps solve mystery of British man found dead in US
A British man found dead in the United States more than a decade ago has finally been identified thanks to advancements in DNA Sidney Hill was believed to be visiting a friend in the Phoenix area of Arizona when he died in 2013 aged was said to have arrived at his friend's home with no belongings other than the clothes he was wearing and was carrying no identification. With US authorities unable to confirm his identity, he was known only as "Maricopa County John Doe 2013" until researchers at Sheffield Hallam University and Ramapo College in New Jersey made a breakthrough using investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). IGG combines DNA analysis with family history searches to identify distant relatives."IGG offers the potential to return names and dignity to unidentified deceased people and closure for families who have missing loved ones," said Dr Craig Paterson, who led the Sheffield research Paterson said the US had already capitalised on its "significant potential", perhaps most famously to identify and capture the man known as the Golden State Killer, Joseph was the first time it had been used to trace a UK citizen, he added."There's an incredibly large number of people from the US who are on DNA databases, and there's an enthusiasm for it that's above and beyond that in Europe and the UK," said Dr Paterson."Once you get the DNA it allows you to project the distance you can look to try and trace some of the connections and identify who the person is." The story of Mr Hill's death has been a subject of interest to internet sleuths amid a wider fascination with the true crime genre in recent friend in Phoenix was able to provide authorities with a name, but with no known relatives to contact they were unable to identify to research, Mr Hill was born in Lambeth in 1937 but went missing from public records in the is not known where he had been living when he died, although a DNA match was found with two first cousins once removed living in Surrey. His family is believed to have links to London and the surrounding areas."Lots of us leave traces as we go through life and certain places and he just didn't," said Dr Paterson."It did look like he just disappeared."Dr Paterson said identifying Mr Hill was "proof" IGG could be used in the UK despite ethical concerns around privacy and data protection law."There are lots more unsolved cases in the UK where IGG can be used and we will continue to work with our partners and students to ensure that as many cases as possible benefit from this expertise," he added. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
