A guilty plea does not always end a prosecution, a conviction does not always survive an appeal and a parole hearing does not guarantee freedom. Across some of America’s most closely watched criminal cases, the next courtroom fight could prove as consequential as the proceedings that first put them in the headlines.
Lindsay Clancy’s mistrial has sparked an increasingly bitter controversy over the lone holdout juror, while Bryan Kohberger is attempting to undo the plea agreement that spared him a possible death sentence. Alex Murdaugh is preparing for another murder trial, and Erik and Lyle Menendez have secured an earlier opportunity to argue for their release. Other defendants are still waiting for a jury to hear the allegations against them.
With overlapping hearings, competing claims and developments scattered across criminal courts, civil lawsuits and television interviews, keeping track can be difficult. Here is where thirteen major cases stand as of today, what remains unresolved and which dates could bring the next significant developments.
Status: No acquittal, no conviction and no confirmed retrial decision.
Lindsay Clancy’s first trial ended with the jury deadlocked 11–1 in favor of finding her not criminally responsible for killing her three children. Attorney Kevin Reddington is now asking Judge William Sullivan to enter an acquittal, arguing that prosecutors failed to establish criminal responsibility. That motion is scheduled for September 29.
The fallout from the mistrial has increasingly shifted toward the lone holdout. Majority jurors claim he acknowledged reasonable doubt but still refused to acquit, while Paula Devlin revealed that the final holdout was the jury’s only Black member and acknowledged that dissenting jurors felt attacked during deliberations. Another juror, Nick Dargie, accused the holdout of using an exercise band around a water bottle to demonstrate strangulation.
NBC10 Boston subsequently reported allegations from the holdout’s personal history, including a restraining order, domestic-violence allegations and an eviction case. None of that establishes misconduct during deliberations, and the holdout has not publicly given his version of events. Ron DeSantis has meanwhile offered him “asylum” in Florida, while a fundraiser supporting him reportedly approached $85,000.
Reddington has also publicly appealed to Donald Trump for a pardon, despite presidential pardon power not extending to Massachusetts state crimes. Separately, a fundraiser benefiting Clancy’s parents has reportedly reached approximately $1.2 million and increased its target to $3 million.
What to watch: September 29 is the next major date. Beyond the legal battle, the treatment of the holdout, including the disclosure of his race and scrutiny of his private life, is becoming a story of its own.
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Status: Ordered to stand trial and pleaded not guilty.
Judge Tony Graf ruled September 1 that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to send Tyler Robinson to trial over the killing of Charlie Kirk. He faces seven charges, including aggravated murder, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty. His defense continues to challenge the prosecution’s evidence and its justification for pursuing capital punishment.
No firm trial date has yet been established. Kirk’s family has pushed for one to be set when the case returns to court in October.
The first anniversary of Kirk’s September 10, 2025, killing has brought another surge of attention to the prosecution, including the unveiling, and subsequent vandalism, of a memorial statue outside Turning Point USA’s Phoenix headquarters.
What to watch: The October hearing and whether prosecutors and the defense finally receive a trial date.
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Status: Charged with murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, jailed without bail and pleading not guilty.
The criminal case against singer David Anthony Burke has moved firmly into the prosecution stage, with Burke ordered to stand trial on charges including murder, mutilation of Celeste’s remains and continuous sexual abuse of a child.
His private attorneys withdrew on August 31, leaving the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office to take over his defense.
Celeste’s family has also filed a wrongful-death lawsuit targeting Burke and members of his professional and personal circle, alleging that others knew about or enabled his relationship with the teenager. Those allegations remain unproven.
The family has now publicly called for Burke to receive the death penalty if convicted, describing him as a “perfect” candidate for execution. District Attorney Nathan Hochman has confirmed that capital punishment is under consideration but has not announced a final decision.
What to watch: Whether prosecutors formally seek the death penalty and when a criminal trial date is established.
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Status: Held without bail and charged with murdering his parents. His next hearing is September 15.
A grand-jury indictment unsealed August 12 added a lying-in-wait special circumstance to the case against Nick Reiner over the December 2025 killings of Rob and Michele Reiner.
He has pleaded not guilty to two murder counts carrying allegations of multiple murders, lying in wait and personal use of a knife.
A conviction as charged could result in either death or life imprisonment without parole, although prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek capital punishment.
September 15 is a pretrial hearing rather than the beginning of Reiner’s murder trial. A separate dispute over his attempt to access trust funds to finance his legal defense is scheduled for October.
What to watch: Tomorrow’s hearing, the eventual trial timetable and whether prosecutors pursue the death penalty.
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Status: Convicted of first-degree murder, awaiting sentencing and promising an appeal.
A Las Vegas jury convicted Keffe D on August 31 after approximately three hours of deliberations. Prosecutors argued that he orchestrated the retaliatory attack that killed Tupac Shakur and supplied the weapon, meaning they did not need to prove that Davis personally fired the fatal shots.
His numerous public accounts of the killing, including interviews and his memoir, became central evidence against him. The defense argued that those statements were exaggerated, financially motivated and inadequately corroborated.
Davis has already announced his intention to appeal, declaring, “I’m getting out on an appeal.” Attorney Michael Sanft says the challenge will target disputed evidence, including Davis’ old police statements and references to other alleged wrongdoing.
None of that currently changes the verdict.
What to watch: Sentencing on October 13 and the filing of the promised appeal. Davis faces a possible life sentence.
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Status: Still imprisoned, with both brothers granted earlier parole consideration tentatively scheduled for March 2027.
The Menendez brothers have won another opportunity to seek freedom considerably sooner than expected. Their next parole hearings had been anticipated in August 2028, but the board granted petitions to advance them by roughly 17 months.
Their original life-without-parole sentences were reduced to 50 years to life in May 2025, making both brothers eligible for parole. Both were subsequently denied release in August 2025.
The March 2027 proceedings would therefore be new suitability hearings rather than guaranteed release dates. Exact individual hearing dates have not yet been confirmed.
Family members have welcomed the accelerated timetable, pointing to the brothers’ rehabilitation and the declining health of elderly relatives.
What to watch: Confirmation of the March dates and whether either brother can persuade the parole board that circumstances have changed sufficiently since the 2025 denials.
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Status: His convictions and life sentences remain intact while he seeks post-conviction relief.
Bryan Kohberger is attempting to undo the July 2025 plea agreement under which he admitted murdering four University of Idaho students and escaped the death penalty.
His challenge alleges ineffective assistance of counsel and claims that his guilty plea was coerced. Those remain defense allegations, and no court has overturned his convictions or sentences.
The next significant development comes October 15, when the court considers Kohberger’s effort to disqualify Judge Steven Hippler from handling the post-conviction challenge. Prosecutors are seeking dismissal of Kohberger’s petition and point to his previous admissions of guilt.
Even successfully removing Hippler would not itself invalidate the plea. Kohberger would still have to win the underlying constitutional challenge.
What to watch: October 15. If Kohberger somehow succeeds in ultimately undoing his plea agreement, he could reopen the door to a capital prosecution.
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Status: Murder convictions overturned and retrial scheduled for April 5, 2027.
Alex Murdaugh will face another jury over the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his original murder convictions because of improper influence by former court clerk Becky Hill.
The latest major development is the decision to move the retrial away from Colleton County. Judge Debra McCaslin selected Sumter County after concluding that extraordinary publicity, community prejudice and difficulty qualifying jurors made another Colleton County trial problematic.
His next scheduled court appearance is November 13.
Murdaugh remains behind bars regardless of what happened to his murder convictions because he is serving lengthy sentences for separate financial crimes. The reversal therefore neither freed him nor represented a finding that he did not kill Maggie and Paul.
What to watch: November’s hearing and preparations for what promises to be another enormous trial in April.
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Status: Pleaded guilty federally but continues fighting the separate New York prosecution.
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty August 14 to two federal stalking charges and admitted killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The plea came after federal murder and firearms charges were dismissed, eliminating the death penalty from the federal case.
There is no agreed sentence. Federal prosecutors intend to seek life imprisonment.
The next battlefield is New York. Mangione’s attorneys argue that the remaining state prosecution should be dismissed under double-jeopardy protections because of his federal plea. That argument has not yet succeeded, and the previously scheduled September state trial was postponed.
His defense team lists December 10 for state court and December 18 for federal sentencing. Pennsylvania proceedings currently have no listed date.
What to watch: Whether the New York judge accepts the double-jeopardy argument. Mangione has admitted the killing, but the number and severity of convictions he ultimately carries remain unresolved.
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Status: Timothy Hudson faces adult federal charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse and has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution stems from Anna Kepner’s death aboard the Carnival Horizon. Hudson’s trial was originally scheduled to begin September 8 but has now been postponed until November 2.
Defense attorneys requested additional preparation time and cited difficulties obtaining cooperation from family members.
Prosecutors have also released a more detailed timeline of Kepner’s final hours aboard the ship, adding further detail to their reconstruction of what happened before her body was discovered.
Separate child-support litigation involving Hudson’s parents has generated additional headlines, but that dispute is distinct from the federal criminal prosecution and does not alter the murder or sexual-abuse charges.
What to watch: November 2. Unless there is another postponement or significant pretrial development, that is when prosecutors are now expected to begin presenting their case to a jury.
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Status: Still missing, with no announced arrest or confirmed resolution of the suspected kidnapping.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Arizona home in February. More than seven months later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and investigators have not announced a breakthrough.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI continue to investigate. Evidence previously made public includes blood matching Nancy’s DNA at her home and surveillance footage showing a masked individual outside the property. Her family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return.
Recent coverage has focused on Savannah referring to her mother in the past tense during a television appearance. A source later clarified that the wording was not an announcement that Nancy had died and should not be treated as a development in the investigation.
What to watch: An official investigative update, identification of the masked individual or an arrest. There is currently no criminal trial timetable to follow.
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Status: Sentenced to 50 months in federal prison and challenging both his convictions and sentence. No subsequent appellate decision was located for this update.
Combs’ 2025 trial ended with a split verdict. He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges but convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian later sentenced him to four years and two months in federal prison.
His attorneys took the case to the Second Circuit, which heard oral arguments April 9. They argue that the sentencing judge improperly punished Combs for conduct tied to charges on which the jury acquitted him, effectively treating those acquittals as convictions. Prosecutors dispute that interpretation and defend the sentence.
The defense is also seeking to overturn the convictions themselves, arguing that the filmed sexual encounters constituted protected expressive activity. Prosecutors counter that filming or watching paid sexual activity does not exempt interstate transportation for prostitution from criminal law. The panel questioned both sides and did not immediately issue a ruling.
What to watch: The outcome of the federal appeal, including whether the convictions survive and whether Combs receives a new sentencing hearing. The challenge to his punishment and the challenge to the convictions could produce different results.
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Status: Pleaded not guilty in his Florida child-molestation case, with his next court appearance reported as September 15.
Duggar’s Florida prosecution remains separate from the Arkansas case involving him and his wife, Kendra. The Florida charges concern alleged sexual abuse of a child, while the Arkansas proceedings involve allegations of child endangerment and false imprisonment.
In August, Joseph and Kendra withdrew their not-guilty pleas in Arkansas and entered a court-approved arrangement placing them on a yearlong advisement period. The charges can be dismissed if they satisfy the conditions, including maintaining good behavior and obeying court orders. That arrangement does not resolve Joseph’s Florida prosecution.
The wider family fallout has also returned to the headlines. In a recent podcast discussion, Jinger and Joy-Anna Duggar described the emotional toll of successive scandals involving their brothers, including Joseph’s arrest and Josh’s earlier conviction. Their comments concern the family’s experience rather than new evidence in Joseph’s case.
What to watch: September 15 and any clarification of the Florida trial timetable. The central distinction is that dismissa…
