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Criminal Case News and Headlines

Trial and Investigation Updates

By , About.com Guide

The latest headlines in breaking crime stories:

These are current famous criminal trials and investigations covered by the About Crime & Punishment site. The pages below are updated as events unfold.

The Clark Rockefeller Imposter Case
In August 2008, police arrested a man who called himself Clark Rockefeller for the abduction of his own daughter, but immediately investigators began to connect him to a string of false identities.

The Crimes of Joran Van der Sloot
On May 30, 2005, when Natalee Holloway disappeared after leaving a bar in Aruba. Five years to the day later, Stephany Flores Ramirez, 21, was killed in a hotel room rented to Van der Sloot in Lima, Peru.

The Capture of James 'Whitey' Bugler
James 'Whitey' Burgler fled in 1994 to avoid prosecution of 19 murders among other federal charges. He and his long-time girlfriend, Cahterine Greig, were on the run for 16 years.

The Lauren Spierer Case
On June 3, 2011, 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer, a native of Greenburgh, New York, was last seen walking home to her apartment from a friend's home after a night of partying with friends.

The Celina Cass Case
On June 25, 2011, 11-year-old fifth grader Celina Cass was last seen at her computer in the three-story apartment building in Stewartstown, New Hampshire where she lived with her mother.

The Baby Gabriel Case
Locked into a custody battle with the baby's father, Elizabeth Johnson sent a text message to Logan McQueary saying that she killed their son, Baby Gabriel Johnson, who was last seen Dec. 23, 2010.

The Grim Sleeper Serial Killer Case
For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Police Department worked to solve a series of 11 murders that occurred between 1985 and 2007.

The Diving Death of Tina Watson
In October 2003, David Gabriel Watson and Christina Mae Watson went diving off Australia's Great Barrier Reef on their honeymoon. Tina, an inexperienced diver, drowned.

The Murder of Somer Thompson
On September 18, 2009, 7-year-old Somer Thompson was walking home from her Orange Park, Florida school with her twin brother and 10-year-old sister when she disappeared.

The Disappearance of Haleigh Cummings
On Feb. 10, 2009, five-year-old Haleigh Cummings disappeared from her home in Satsuma, Florida while her father, Ronald Cummings, was at work and she was being cared for by his girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

The Crimes of Drew Peterson
Former Bolingbrook policeman Drew Peterson made national headlines in October 2007 when his fourth wife Stacey Peterson disappeared.

The Jennifer Hudson Family Murders
On October 24, 2008, the bodies of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found in the family's home on Chicago's South Side. Jennifer's former brother-in-law, William Balfour, was arrested for the murders.

Natalee Holloway: Missing in Aruba
Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old graduate of Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, Alabama, traveled to the Caribbean island of Aruba with 125 members of her senior class. On Monday, May 30, 2005, she did not show up for her flight back to the United States.

The Legal Trials of Lindsay Lohan
On Jan. 22, 2011, Kamofie & Co. a custom jewelry store in Venice Beach, California, reported that a $2,500 diamond necklace was taken from the store by actress Lindsay Lohan.

The Allen-Cutshall Murders
Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall, two Christian camp counselors who planned to be married, were shot in their sleep in their sleeping bags as they camped on Fishhead Beach in Jenner, California.

Page 2: Previous Trials and Investigations

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