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EDITOR’S NOTE: The major breaking news that Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been convicted of murdering Tupac Shakur will not be covered again in today’s Drive-By. Front Page Detectives reported the verdict shortly after it was delivered Monday. Readers can find our full report on the historic conviction Here.
Seventeen hours of deliberations have produced no decision, raising the increasingly real possibility that 12 jurors simply may not agree on whether Clancy was criminally responsible.
The jury deciding Lindsay Clancy’s fate enters a fourth day of deliberations today after spending nearly 17 hours behind closed doors without reaching a verdict in the killings of her three children. Clancy, 36, does not dispute that she strangled Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan inside the family’s Duxbury home in January 2023. The question is whether jurors believe she was legally insane when she did it.
With deliberations stretching into another day, the possibility of a deadlock is becoming harder to ignore. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told PEOPLE that Judge William Sullivan could instruct the panel to continue deliberating if jurors report difficulty reaching agreement. But if they eventually declare themselves hopelessly deadlocked, Sullivan could declare a mistrial.
That would not end the prosecution. Because no verdict would have been reached, double jeopardy would not prevent Clancy from being tried again. Rahmani predicted prosecutors would almost certainly bring the case back before another jury rather than allow Clancy to walk free without a conviction or insanity finding.
Clancy’s lawyers argue postpartum psychosis and medication left her unable to distinguish right from wrong. Prosecutors say she deliberately killed the children because they stood between her and suicide. Jurors have already asked to examine prescription bottles and the bloody knife Clancy used on herself afterward. Now the clock keeps running, and every additional hour without a verdict makes unanimity look a little less certain.
Hot Take: Three children were strangled, and nobody disputes who did it. After 17 hours, the jury is still trying to decide what that means under the law. Sometimes the hardest cases are not mysteries at all. They are rooms full of people staring at the same facts and seeing different crimes.
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The singer entered another not guilty plea Monday as three prominent private attorneys abruptly withdrew from the case against him.
Singer d4vd has lost the team of high-profile private lawyers defending him against accusations that he murdered, sexually abused and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter were allowed to withdraw Monday after a judge determined d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, qualified for representation by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. The decision immediately raised questions because previous testimony indicated Burke earned at least $10 million through his music between 2023 and 2025. The Public Defender’s Office said it conducted a financial review and found him eligible.
Prosecutors allege Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez after she threatened to expose sexual abuse, then dismembered her body before it was discovered months later in the trunk of his Tesla. Burke pleaded not guilty to murder, child sex abuse and mutilation of human remains. Prosecutors are still deciding whether to seek the death penalty.
Hot Take: Celebrity lawyers usually leave fingerprints when they walk out of a case this big. Here, nobody is saying why. One minute there is an A-list defense table. The next there is a public defender and a murder case moving forward.
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Her family accused the federal judge of “sarcasm and disdain” after he dismissed another challenge to Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction and 20-year sentence.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s family has launched a blistering attack on the federal judge who rejected her latest attempt to overturn the conviction that sent Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime associate to prison for 20 years.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer denied Maxwell’s habeas corpus petition August 25, describing her claims as “demonstrably meritless” and saying they rested on speculation, distortions and outright falsehoods. Two days later, Maxwell’s family accused him of displaying “sarcasm and disdain” and argued that the tone of his ruling undermined confidence in judicial impartiality.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on five felony counts arising from her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein. She is serving her sentence at a federal prison camp in Texas. Her family says the legal fight is not over and has pointed toward a possible appeal to the Second Circuit.
Hot Take: Maxwell has spent years trying every legal door in the courthouse. Another one just slammed shut. The family can complain about the doorman, but the conviction is still sitting exactly where the jury left it.
The convicted killer says he was pressured into admitting the Idaho student murders and now wants the judge removed and proceedings moved back to Moscow.
Bryan Kohberger’s new legal team is escalating its effort to undo the guilty pleas that sent him to prison for murdering four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger admitted killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin and received four consecutive life sentences plus 10 years. One year later, he filed a handwritten petition declaring himself innocent and claiming his previous attorneys misled and pressured him into taking the deal. His new lawyers now say the public should not assume everything it believes about the case tells the full story.
They are also seeking to remove Judge Steven Hippler from the post-conviction proceedings, arguing his previous comments questioned Kohberger’s credibility before those issues could be litigated. Prosecutors say Kohberger has not produced enough evidence to justify even an evidentiary hearing. A hearing is currently scheduled for June 2027.
Hot Take: Kohberger confessed in court, escaped a death-penalty trial and accepted four life sentences. Now he wants to rewind the tape. The law allows him to try. Convincing a judge that the confession should disappear is another matter entirely.
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Seven weeks after the preliminary hearing began, prosecutors and defense lawyers will make their final arguments before a Utah judge decides whether the murder case advances.
A Utah judge is expected to decide today whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial for the September 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
Fourth District Judge Tony Graf has set aside four hours for closing arguments following a five-day preliminary hearing and weeks of written submissions. Prosecutors say Robinson planned the shooting, practiced beforehand, discussed the rifle in messages and confessed to multiple people afterward. They also point to DNA evidence, surveillance footage and eyewitness testimony while arguing he should face all seven charges, including aggravated murder.
Robinson’s attorneys say prosecutors have relied too heavily on hearsay and inference and have not established the aggravating circumstances needed for the death penalty. Graf must determine whether there is probable cause to send the charges to trial. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Hot Take: Preliminary hearings are not trials. The state does not have to prove everything yet, only enough to keep the machine moving. Today, one judge decides whether this case leaves the waiting room and heads toward the main event.
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