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Six Counties, Six Homicide Cases, and the Questions Behind the Headlines (October 19–25, 2026)

By Blue hair
Every week, local newsrooms publish reports that may never become national headlines. A name, a neighborhood, a date, and an investigation that will continue long after most readers move on. This week, six stories from six American counties caught our attention. Some involve new arrests. Another concerns an arrest warrant. The events did not all happen this week; the developments below were reported between October 19 and October 25. It is tempting to turn stories like these into a simple argument about how dangerous the country has become. But six reports cannot tell us whether violence is rising or falling nationwide. They can, however, remind us that public safety is personal: it shapes how people trust their neighbors, the authorities, and the ordinary places they visit every day. Six homicide cases in the news this week 1. Chicago, Illinois — A death after an earlier police report Reported October 19 | Incident: October 16–17 | Cook County The Chicago Sun-Times reported ...
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I Read This Week’s Domestic Violence Headlines. Here’s What I Can’t Stop Thinking About.

By Blue hair
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so maybe I should not have been surprised to see domestic violence everywhere in the news this week. But I was. Not because the stories were especially shocking. That is actually what bothered me most. They felt familiar. One headline was about Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, speaking again about domestic violence more than three decades after losing her sister. Another reported that at least 31 people in Minnesota were known victims of intimate relationship homicide in 2025. A new University of Florida study looked at something we still don't talk about enough: the possible brain injuries that can accompany intimate partner violence. Different stories. Different people. Different states. But I kept thinking the same thing: How much suffering happens before the rest of us finally see it? Domestic violence is rarely one terrible night that suddenly appears out of nowhere. From the outside, people often look for the obvi...
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October Begins With a Reminder We Shouldn't Need: Domestic Violence Is Still Happening Behind Closed Doors

By Blue hair
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Every year, we see the purple ribbons, awareness walks, social media posts and reminders to look for the warning signs. But this year, October began with another kind of reminder — one that is much harder to scroll past. A Woman Is Dead. Her Longtime Partner Is Charged. In Philadelphia, 48-year-old Maria Pagan was found dead inside her North Philadelphia home in late September. Police later arrested her longtime partner, 46-year-old Melvin Rivera, and charged him with murder. Authorities have not publicly announced a motive. The case appeared in the news just as Philadelphia organizations were preparing events for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. That timing is difficult to ignore. We spend October talking about domestic violence as a national problem. But for someone, somewhere in America, it isn't a campaign or a statistic. It is happening inside a house or apartment right now. Domestic Violence Rarely Begins Wit...
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Murderer Among Us: People Accused of Murder Across America — September 22–29, 2026

By Blue hair
Eight recent murder cases from across the United States. Who was arrested, where it happened, who died, and what authorities allege. Important: The people listed below have been arrested or charged. A criminal charge is an allegation, not a conviction. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. JaShawn Johnson — Orangeburg County, South Carolina September 28. JaShawn Johnson, 20, of Orangeburg, was arrested and charged with murder following the death of 23-year-old Cortez Davis. The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office said Davis was shot Friday night near Charleston Highway and Woodbine Drive. The investigation remains open. Accused: JaShawn Johnson Victim: Cortez Davis, 23 Location: Orangeburg County, South Carolina Charge: Murder Source: Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office / ABC News 4 Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen — Dublin, California September 27–28. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arrested on suspicion of murder ...
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The Man Who Lived Hundreds of Lives Online

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 The internet has made it easier than ever to stay connected. It has also made it easier than ever to become someone else. For years, one man quietly built an entire world of fake identities online. To friends, coworkers, and strangers who met him through social media, he appeared to be dozens of different people.
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The Delphi Murders: How a Small Indiana Town Became the Center of One of America's Most Haunting Murder Investigations

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 Some crimes fade into the background after the headlines disappear. Others never really go away. The Delphi murders became one of those cases that people across America just couldn't stop thinking about. Even years later, people still search the names Abby and Libby, still listen to the audio, still look at that bridge photo and wonder how something like this could happen in the middle of a quiet Midwestern town. On February 13, 2017, Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, went out to enjoy what seemed like
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The Idaho College Murders: The Case That Shocked America

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 Some crimes disappear from the news cycle fast. Others just refuse to go away. The Idaho college murders became one of those cases that people across America kept talking about long after the headlines faded. It wasn’t just the violence - it was how random and unsettling everything felt. In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022 , four University of Idaho students were found murdered inside an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho , a small college town where violent crime was rare. The victims -  Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin  - had spent the previous evening doing completely normal college things: going out, meeting friends, grabbing late night food. Nothing suggested what was coming. Investigators later determined the attack likely happened sometime after 4 AM. There were no signs of forced entry, which suggested the killer may have entered through an unlocked door - something pretty common in college housing. One of the most ...
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