Britney Spears’ father Jamie suspended as conservator of her estate
Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears has been suspended as conservator of her estate after 13 years, during the latest court hearing in the long-running dispute.
The judge in Los Angeles said it was in Spears‘ “best interests” to remove her father from the legal agreement and that the “current situation is untenable” and “reflects a toxic environment”. A temporary conservator will be appointed, before a hearing to terminate the conservatorship at a later date.
The decision is a huge victory for the star, who spoke out against her father during dramatic court hearings in June and July, claiming she had been medicated against her will and denied the right to have children.
For Spears, pictured in 2016, the removal of her father from the conservatorship marks a pivotal moment in the long-running dispute. Pic: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
Her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has pressed for an investigation into the conduct of those who have administered the conservatorship, which has been in place since 2008, after Spears, now 39, was said to have suffered a mental breakdown.
Jamie Spears had been the conservatorship’s main controller for most of that time. In 2019, he stepped aside as conservator of Spears’ person, with control over her life decisions, but remained in charge of her $60 million (about £44.7 million) estate – and her finances.
However, following his daughter’s bombshell evidence earlier in the year, he finally conceded and had asked Judge Brenda Penny to end the conservatorship before the hearing on Wednesday.
Hours before the hearing, a major street near the court was closed to vehicles, and dozens of Spears’ supporters rallied and waved placards outside. There were cheers from fans as news of the judge’s decision was conveyed.
Spears and Mr Rosengart had emphasised in court papers the importance of removing her father, calling it a necessary first step toward her freedom and “ending the Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her”.
Mr Rosengart claimed in another filing earlier this week that Mr Spears “crossed unfathomable lines” by engaging in illegal surveillance of his daughter, including communications with her lawyer, after the allegations were made in the new Controlling Britney Spears documentary from The New York Times and the FX network – a follow-up to Framing Britney Spears, released early in 2021.
The star and her partner Sam Asghari announced their engagement earlier in Septe,ber. Pic: Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
Earlier in September, Spears announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend, Sam Asghari – which means putting together a prenuptial agreement that her father should not be involved in, her court filings said. In her statements given to the court in the summer, she said she had not been allowed to get married and have children under the conservatorship.
Jamie Spears has always denied acting in anything other than his daughter’s best interests. He has said in court papers that he does not know of “a single medical professional nor the report of a single probate investigator” that concluded that his presence as conservator was harming his daughter or that he should be replaced.
His lawyers had argued there was no need for him to step down because all sides had agreed the contentious arrangement should end.
Despite giving evidence earlier in the year, Spears did not take part in Wednesday’s hearing but was represented by Mr Rosengart – who said it would take time to wind down the conservatorship entirely. He also said Jamie Spears wanted to avoid having to answer questions about his actions.
The fight to end the conservatorship has been a long one for Spears, who said through her legal team in November 2020 that she would not perform live again while her father was still in control.
The world’s best golfer has suffered a freak injury while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to undergo surgery.
Scottie Scheffler sustained a puncture wound after cutting the palm of his right hand on broken glass.
The world number one required surgery as small glass fragments remained in the palm after the accident.
The injury has forced him out of the first tournament of the season, next week’s The Sentry in Hawaii.
Pic: Reuters
But the 28-year-old has been told he will recover in three to four weeks, and he hopes to be back in action at The American Express tournament in California on 16 January.
Scheffler won an Olympic gold and seven PGA Tour titles in the last year and was recently named PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for a third season in a row.
In May, he was arrested by police during the US PGA Championship after he was accused of trying to drive around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident.
Scheffler’s arrest became a major story at the US PGA Championship. Pic: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Just hours later, he was released and allowed to return to Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky to play his second round of the tournament.
Criminal charges against Scheffler were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence and a police officer who arrested him was disciplined for not having his bodycam on at the time of the incident.
The man accused of burning a woman to death on a New York subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges.
Sebastian Zapeta is accused of setting a sleeping woman on fire and then fanning the flames with a shirt, which caused her to be engulfed by the blaze.
He allegedly sat on a platform at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station, opposite the stopped train, and watched as she burned to death.
Authorities are still working to identify the victim.
Zapeta, 33, has been charged with one count of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of arson in the first degree.
After a brief hearing in which the indictment was announced, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: “This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system.”
Mr Gonzalez said police and medical examiners are using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques to identify the victim, while also retracing her steps before the murder.
“Our hearts go out not only to this victim, but we know that there’s a family,” he said. “Just because someone appears to have been living in the situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not going to be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life.”
Officers patrol the platform where the woman died. Pic: AP
Zapeta was initially charged with murder and arson in a criminal complaint earlier this week.
Such filings are often a first step in the criminal process because all felony cases in New York require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial, unless a defendant waives that requirement.
Zapeta was not present at the hearing. The most serious charge he is facing carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole and the indictment will be unsealed on 7 January.
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Zapeta is a Guatemalan who entered the US illegally having already been deported in 2018, officials say.
He was taken into custody last Sunday, after three children called 911 when they recognised him from an image shared by police.
During questioning, prosecutors say he claimed not to know what happened, and noted he consumes alcohol – but did identify himself in photos and videos showing the fire being lit.
A pizza delivery woman stabbed a pregnant customer over a $2 tip, authorities in the US say.
Brianna Alvelo, 22, is charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing the woman multiple times at a motel in Kissimmee, Florida.
The victim, her boyfriend and her five-year-old daughter were staying at the Riviera Motel to celebrate a birthday and ordered Marco’s pizza on Sunday, according to a court document reported by Sky News’ US sister outlet NBC News.
Alvelo delivered the pizza which cost around $33 (£26) and was asked to provide change for a $50 bill but did not have the change, the affidavit said.
The woman then searched for smaller bills and in the end gave Alvelo a $2 tip.
Brianna Alvelo Pic: Osceola County Jail
She told police that some time later she heard a loud knocking on the door. A man and a woman wearing masks and all black forced themselves into the room when she opened the door, she said.
The man brandished a silver revolver and demanded that the woman’s boyfriend go into the bathroom and the other person, believed to be Alvelo, pulled out a pocketknife, the document said.
As the woman turned to shield her child she felt a strike on her lower back, she said.
She then “threw her daughter onto the bed and attempted to pick up her phone”, the affidavit said, but Alvelo grabbed it and smashed it.
Alvelo then “began striking her multiple times with the knife”, according to the affidavit. The man who had the gun then yelled it was time to go, stopping the assault, it said.
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The woman received 14 stab wounds and discovered she was pregnant while being treated in hospital.
Alvelo is charged with attempted murder, home invasion with a firearm, kidnapping and aggravated assault, according to court records.
A man alleged to have accompanied Alvelo during the incident has not yet been identified.
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