Trials

Cases

• ▶Video · WRAL

  Criminal trialSentenced

  State of North Carolina v. Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares

  Durham Cnty. Super. Ct. · No. Pending

  A Durham County jury found Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares guilty on Oct. 23, 2026, of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary in the 2012 killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, 19. He was sentenced to life without parole. He has filed notice of appeal, and on Nov. 3 his lawyers asked for a new trial.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read

• ▶Video · WDIV Local 4

  Criminal trialPretrial

  United States v. David E. Taylor et al.

  E.D. Mich. · No. No. 2:25-cr-20560

  Federal prosecutors say leaders of the Kingdom of God Global Church used threats of damnation, physical punishment and other abuse to make members work unpaid in church call centers. David E. Taylor, Michelle Brannon and Kathleen Klein are charged and have pleaded not guilty. Nothing has been proven. On Nov. 9, 2026, the judge refused to dismiss the case, and trial is set for April 20, 2027.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 4 min read

• ▶Video · Bench Watch

  Criminal trialVerdict

  Commonwealth of Virginia v. Naresh Bhatt

  Prince William Cir. Ct. · No. Pending

  A Prince William County, Va., jury convicted Naresh Bhatt on Nov. 10, 2026, of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old nurse and mother who disappeared in July 2024. It also convicted him of concealing and defiling her body, which has never been found. He testified she died by suicide; the jury rejected that account. Sentencing is March 12, 2027. He faces 20 years to life.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read

• ▶Video · WCBD News 2

  Criminal trialPretrial

  State of South Carolina v. Richard Alexander Murdaugh

  S.C. Cir. Ct. · No. 2022-GS-15-00592 to -00595

  Alex Murdaugh is awaiting a retrial in the 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his murder convictions in May 2026, finding the county clerk improperly influenced the jury. The retrial is set for April 5, 2027, in Sumter County. He remains in prison for financial crimes.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

• Criminal trialVerdict

  State of Tennessee v. Matthew Konen

  Montgomery Cnty. Cir. Ct. · No. 63CC1-2025-CR-627

  A Clarksville, Tenn., jury on Oct. 8, 2026, convicted former Nashville paramedic Matthew Konen of first-degree murder in the 2021 death of his father-in-law, David Rodgers, and criminally negligent homicide in the death of his wife, Rachel Konen. His lawyers argued that his father-in-law shot Rachel and that Konen fought back in self-defense. Sentencing is Jan. 13, 2027.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

• ▶Video · Bench Watch

  Criminal trialVerdict

  United States v. Matthew Farwell

  D. Mass. · No. 1:24-cr-10259-DJC

  A federal jury in Boston convicted former Stoughton, Mass., police officer Matthew Farwell on Nov. 10, 2026, of killing Sandra Birchmore, 23, and her unborn son in February 2021. Jurors found him guilty on both counts, of killing a witness and of causing the death of an unborn child. Life in prison is mandatory. Sentencing is Feb. 3, 2027.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 4 min read

• ▶Video · LOCAL 12 (WKRC)

  Criminal trialOn appeal

  State of Ohio v. Caleb C. Flynn

  Miami Cnty. C.P. · No. 26 CR 88

  Caleb C. Flynn, 40, a former “American Idol” contestant, was sentenced Oct. 5, 2026, to life in prison without parole for the aggravated murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn, 37, in their Tipp City, Ohio, home. He must first serve 16 years of consecutive terms. A Miami County jury convicted him Sept. 29. His appeal is pending before Ohio's Second District Court of Appeals.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read

• ▶Video · WCVB Channel 5 Boston

  Criminal trialMistrial

  Commonwealth v. Lindsay Clancy

  Plymouth Super. Ct. · No. 2383CR0019

  Lindsay Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three young children in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She pleaded not guilty and argued she lacked criminal responsibility because of postpartum mental illness. Her trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4, 2026, after the jury deadlocked. On Nov. 9, Judge William F. Sullivan ruled that she can be tried again. The case returns to court Nov. 16, when he plans to set a trial date.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read

• ▶Video · East Idaho News

  Criminal trialOn appeal

  State of Idaho v. Lori Norene Vallow Daybell

  Idaho · No. Idaho Sup. Ct. No. 51091-2023

  Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted in Idaho in 2023 of murdering her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, and in Arizona in 2025 of two murder conspiracies. She is serving life without parole. Her appeals in both states are pending. The Idaho Supreme Court heard arguments on Nov. 2, 2026, and has not yet ruled.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Trackers

• Issue tracker

  Judge Jeannine N. Pratt's record in serious criminal cases

  Bench Watch logs the sentences Judge Jeannine N. Pratt of Miami County Common Pleas Court has imposed in serious criminal cases since she took the bench in 2015, from court opinions and news reports. It isn't a complete record. In the nine cases logged so far, she went above a sentence prosecutors and the defense jointly recommended once, followed a joint recommendation twice, and went above the prosecution's recommendation once.

  9 figures · Updated November 14, 2026

Stories