Three men found guilty of murdering black jogger in Georgia

Published

4 years ago

November 24, 2021

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Three white men who chased and shot a black man in Georgia last February have been convicted of his murder.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was pursued and cornered by Travis McMichael, 35, his father Gregory McMichael, 65, and their neighbour William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, 52, on 23 February 2020 in Satilla Shores just outside the city of Brunswick.

Mr Arbery was then shot by Travis McMichael.

All three defendants had pleaded not guilty to nine charges each including murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment for the killing of Mr Arbery who was out running.

As the first of the verdicts was read out in court, one of Mr Arbery’s family members screamed with relief.

He was removed from the court before the remaining verdicts were read out by the judge one by one for each of the three men.

Mr Arbery’s murder was caught on video which had been filmed by the third defendant, Mr Bryan.

He was seen being chased by the three men in two vehicles. After being pursued for about five minutes, Mr Arbery was cornered by the vehicles. He was then shot with a 12 bore shotgun held by Travis McMichael.

The jury had been presented with two different accounts of what had happened. The defence lawyers had argued that their clients had pursued Mr Arbery because they’d seen him entering a house under construction without permission.

It had been argued that he was not a jogger but a burglar. The three defendants had claimed that they had tried to carry out a citizen’s arrest and that Travis McMichael had only opened fire in self-defence after Mr Arbery violently resisted.

“Ahmaud Arbery was not an innocent victim,” the defence attorney had argued.

But the prosecution rejected this account, saying that the men had “penned him in like a rat” and that they had no cause to chase him when he was running through their neighbourhood.

It was argued successfully that citizens arrests require immediate knowledge of a crime. Trespass is a misdemeanour, not a felony and no evidence was ever presented to show that Mr Arbery had stolen anything.

Mr Arbery’s family lawyers said that the three men who chased and killed him were a “posse who performed a modern lynching in the middle of the day”.

At the time of the murder, then-President Donald Trump had commented on the case saying: “My heart goes out to the parents and the loved ones of the young man.”

President Joe Biden had said that “the video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood.”

At the time, the police did not arrest the three men and no charges were brought. They were only arrested months later.

All three men faced 27 charges including malice murder (intentional murder), felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and a criminal attempt to commit a felony.

Travis McMichael, who fired the weapon, was found guilty of all charges – one count ‘malice murder’, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of a criminal attempt to commit a felony.

His father, Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of the malice murder charge but guilty of all the other charges.

Their neighbour, William ‘Roddie’ Bryan, who was in a separate car in pursuit of Mr Arbury, was found not guilty of the malice murder charge, not guilty of one of the felony murder charges and not guilty of one of the aggravated assault charges but guilty of all remaining charges.

Outside court, referring to the jury, civil rights activist, Rev Al Sharpton said: “A jury of eleven whites in court said that black lives DO matter… All whites are not racist and all blacks are not worthless.”

Following the guilty verdicts, Mr Biden said: “Ahmaud Arbery’s killing – witnessed by the world on video – is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country.

“Mr Arbery should be here today, celebrating the holidays with his mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, and his father, Marcus Arbery.

“Nothing can bring Mr Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished.

“While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the colour of their skin.

“My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the Supreme Court, but a reality for all Americans.

US

Ghislaine Maxwell could use ‘government misconduct’ to challenge imprisonment

Published

13 hours ago

July 16, 2025

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Ghislaine Maxwell could use 'government misconduct' to challenge imprisonment

Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell could use “government misconduct” to challenge her imprisonment, her family has claimed.

The 63-year-old, who was jailed in 2022 for luring young girls to massage rooms for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Maxwell’s family have frequently claimed she “did not receive a fair trial”, but legal appeals against her sex trafficking convictions have been rejected by the courts.

The latest challenge from the Maxwell family comes as President Donald Trump faces questions over whether or not he will order the release of the so-called Epstein “client list”, following a backlash from Republican loyalists who have called for any list to be made public.

Judges previously dismissed arguments from Maxwell’s lawyers that she “should never have been prosecuted” because of a “weird” agreement drafted more than 15 years ago.

The family argue that Maxwell should have been protected under an agreement Epstein had entered with the US Department of Justice in 2007, which agreed not to prosecute any of his co-conspirators.

During her trial in 2021, Maxwell was described as “dangerous” by prosecutors, who told jurors about how she would entice vulnerable girls to go to Epstein’s properties for him to sexually abuse.

In a statement, her family said: “Our sister Ghislaine did not receive a fair trial.

“Her legal team continues to fight her case in the courts and will file its reply in short order to the government’s opposition in the US Supreme Court.”

David Oscar Markus, one of her lawyers, said in the statement released by her family: “I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal.

“He’s the ultimate dealmaker and I’m sure he’d agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it.

“With all the talk about who’s being prosecuted and who isn’t, it’s especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the US government made and broke.’

“These are sentiments with which we profoundly concur.”

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

US

James Craig: Dentist in Colorado poisoned wife’s protein shakes with cyanide, murder trial hears

Published

22 hours ago

July 16, 2025

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James Craig: Dentist in Colorado poisoned wife's protein shakes with cyanide, murder trial hears

The trial of a dentist accused of murdering his wife by poisoning her protein shakes has begun in the US state of Colorado.

James Craig denies using cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient in over-the-counter eye drops, to kill Angela Craig in a suburb of Denver.

During the trial’s opening statements on Tuesday, prosecutors claimed the 47-year-old was having an affair with another dentist, had financial difficulties and may have been motivated by the payout from his wife’s life insurance.

Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley told the jury at Arapahoe District Court that the 43-year-old victim – who had six children with her husband – had been suffering worsening symptoms including dizziness, vomiting and fainting.

She died in March 2023 during her third trip to the hospital that month.

Mr Brackley accused Craig of poisoning her protein shakes – then giving his wife a final dose of poison while she was in hospital, and said: “He went in that [hospital] room to murder her, to deliberately and intentionally end her life with a fatal dose of cyanide … She spends the next three days dying.”

Craig, who shook his head at times during the prosecution’s opening statement, has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury.

Prosecutors said Craig had tried to make it appear his wife of 23 years had killed herself. His internet history showed he had searched for “how to make a murder look like a heart attack” and “is arsenic detectable in an autopsy”.

In an argument, captured on home surveillance video, his wife also accused him of suggesting to hospital staff that she was suicidal.

After Craig’s arrest in 2023, prosecutors alleged that he had offered a fellow prison inmate $20,000 (£14,993) to kill the case’s lead investigator and offered someone else $20,000 to find people to falsely testify that Angela Craig planned to die by suicide.

Craig’s attorney, Ashley Whitham, told the jury to consider the credibility of those witnesses, calling some “jailhouse snitches”.

Ms Whitham argued that the evidence didn’t show that he poisoned her, instead seeming to suggest she may have taken her own life.

She described Angela Craig as “broken”, partly by Craig’s infidelity and her desire to stay married, since they were part of The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints.

Hospital staff had said Craig had been caring and “doting” while Angela Craig was in the hospital, said Whitham.

The defence argued prosecutors had overdramatised Craig’s financial problems and dismissed the prosecution’s suggestion that Craig was motivated to kill because of an affair he was having with a fellow dentist from Texas.

“That’s simply not the case,” Whitham said, adding that Craig had many affairs over the years that his wife knew about. “He was candid with Angela that he had been cheating.”

The trial continues.

US

Trump to ‘refine trade deal’ with UK during Scotland trip

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2025

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Trump to 'refine trade deal' with UK during Scotland trip

Donald Trump has said he will “refine the trade deal” with the UK during his private trip to Scotland later this month.

The US president told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday that he will meet with Sir Keir Starmer “probably in Aberdeen”.

Politics latest: Reeves committed to ‘non-negotiable’ fiscal rules

Mr Trump is expected to travel to Scotland in the coming weeks to visit his golf courses ahead of an official state visit in September.

“We’re going to be meeting with the British prime minister, very respectful, and we are going to have a meeting with him, probably in Aberdeen, and we’re going to do a lot of different things.

“We’re going to also refine the trade deal that we’ve made.

“So we’ll be meeting mostly […] at probably one of my properties, or maybe not, depending on what happens, but we’ll be in Aberdeen, in Scotland, meeting with the prime minister.”

The UK and US signed a trade deal earlier this year that reduced car and aerospace tariffs, but questions have remained about a promise from Washington to slash steel tariffs.

In May, the White House said it would exempt the UK from plans for a 25% tariff on global steel imports but that is yet to be ratified and the levy has since been doubled on all other countries.

Mr Trump had insisted that unless Britain could finalise the details of a metals trade deal with the US by 9 July, when wider “Liberation Day” tariff pauses were expected to expire, he would slap the UK with a 50% rate as well.

However that pause was extended until 1 August, with the US president saying nations would instead get letters informing them of his plans.

As Sky News’ economics and data editor Ed Conway has reported, the metals deal has floundered on two key issues, including that while the government has taken control of British Steel, the company itself still legally has Chinese owners.

Downing Street is still hoping it can secure 0% tariffs on steel.

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On Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson played down the significance of the meeting in Scotland, stressing it was a private trip so it “will not be a formal bilateral”.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has imposed tariffs on countries across the world in a bid to boost domestic production and address trade deficits.

As well as sector specific tariffs, there is a baseline tariff of 10% for most other imports, though some countries face higher rates.

The UK was the first to hash out a deal on exemptions after a successful charm offensive by Sir Keir.

Mr Trump has praised the PM, telling the BBC earlier on Tuesday: “I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he’s a liberal.”

There are also plans for Scottish First Minister John Swinney to meet Mr Trump during his trip.

It will be followed by the official state visit between 17-19 September, when Mr Trump will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle and accompanied by his wife Melania.

It will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, having previously been hosted during his first term in 2019.