Top Crime Stories of 2007

A 26-year-old Olathe, Kansas man was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Kelsey Smith, who disappeared from a department store parking lot. Authorities charged Edwin R. Hall with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

Security workers at MySpace.com removed the profiles of 29,000 convicted sex offenders from its social network Web site, more than four times the number the company previously reported. Authorities were concerned about the large number of offenders who had access to the network that attracts 60 million visitors a month and where the minimum age to participate is 14.

It took a Florida jury less than 90 minutes to find 25-year-old Tiffany Cole guilty of first-degree murder in the 2005 deaths of a retired couple who were robbed, kidnapped and buried alive in a shallow grave. The same jury found that Cole should face the death penalty after deliberating less than 40 minutes.

A Wisconsin off-duty sheriff's deputy, apparently upset because his girlfriend dumped him for another deputy, went on a shooting rampage at a home where seven young people had gathered for a pizza and movie party. Tyler Peterson, 20, killed six people and critically wounded a seventh person before he was reportedly shot by police.

After 20 years on death row, Kenny Richey will now be moved to a county jail as he awaits a new trial for the murder of a two-year-old girl. The opportunity for a new trial came after prosecutors decided not to appeal a court ruling overturning Richey's 1987 conviction for the second time.

Dog hairs found on five of the notorious "Atlanta Child Killings" victims matched those of convicted killer Wayne Williams' dog, District Attorney Paul Howard said, disputing defense claims that the DNA tests were inconclusive. Williams had fought to have the new tests done in hopes it would lead to a new trial.

The 'Barbie Bandits' were nabbed. Georgia police arrested two young women, seen in surveillance tapes holding up a bank branch in a supermarket wearing sunglasses, along with the bank teller who was in on the robbery, as well as a man suspected to be their drug dealer.

The founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos, who makes a reported $29 million selling videos of partially nude, intoxicated girls, pleaded guilty to contempt of court charges and was sentenced to 35 days in jail. Shedding tears, Joe Francis apologized to the court for screaming obscenities at the plaintiffs during settlement discussions.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a missing Colorado attorney who authorities say staged his own disappearance and fled to Brazil with millions of his clients' money. Hundreds of volunteers searched in the past several days for Royal (Scoop) Daniel after he was reported missing by co-workers April 27.

Go ahead a pick one. There are now 44 photos in our gallery of teachers behaving badly. This year, Debra Lafave probably made the biggest headlines when she was arrested at the restaurant where she works for talking with a 17-year-old female co-worker. However, 80 percent of our readers said the arrest was unreasonable when they voted in the Crime and Punishment weekly poll.