Latest news with #ColdCase
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘American Nightmare' rapist pleads guilty to additional charges
Matthew Muller, a convicted kidnapper whose crimes were portrayed in the Netflix documentary 'American Nightmare,' pleaded guilty to an additional, 32-year-old kidnapping and sexual assault on Wednesday, according to the Sacramento County district attorney's office. In 1993, a 16-year-old Muller held a couple at gunpoint while they camped at Folsom Lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Muller then tied up the male victim and proceeded to carry away and sexually assault the female victim, according to the district attorney's news release. The district attorney's Cold Case, Science & Technology Unit was 'instrumental' in uncovering additional evidence in the case, the news release added. The latest conviction is part of a string of similar sex crimes committed by Muller, who is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence for a 2015 kidnapping and sexual assault in Vallejo, Calif., and a life sentence for two 2009 kidnappings and assaults in Santa Clara. The 2015 crimes and a subsequent, flawed investigation were the subject of 'American Nightmare,' which premiered last year. Muller was sentenced to 11 years to life for the latest conviction. The sentence will be served consecutively with his other sentences. In 2015, Muller broke into a Vallejo home and drugged and bound a couple, Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins. Muller then kidnapped Huskins in Quinn's car and held her for three days in his family's cabin in South Lake Tahoe. Muller sexually assaulted Huskins until he eventually released her in Huntington Beach. Huskins was accused by Vallejo police and FBI officials of fabricating her accusations before more of Muller's crimes were uncovered. Huskins and Quinn were treated as suspects until an attempted home invasion in Dublin, Calif., revealed Muller as the perpetrator. 'We knew there was more to this from the beginning, and clearly how things were handled from the beginning led to a lot of errors,' Huskins told The Times earlier this year. According to court documents, Muller drugged his victims with a cocktail of '¼ of a bottle of Diazepam and Nyquil,' and threatened them with violence if they did not comply. Muller's tactics apparently became more sophisticated after the 1993 gunpoint kidnapping, court documents said. Muller, a Harvard-educated immigration lawyer and former Marine, later admitted his involvement with the 1993 crimes to law enforcement, the news release said. 'This case is a powerful reminder that the pursuit of justice never ends. Matthew Muller's admission to the horrific kidnapping and sexual assault of a young girl in 1993 brings long-overdue justice for the victims,' Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Thien Ho said in the release.
Daily Mirror
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Netflix's Department Q star details hopes for future if season 2 goes ahead
Netflix's Department Q is a hit with viewers, but will the series be renewed for a second season? Netflix's Department Q has quickly become a fan-favourite, and now its stars are eagerly hoping for a second season. Despite Netflix not officially renewing the show for season 2 yet, it has garnered acclaim from both critics and audiences. The compelling new mystery crime drama series boasts an impressive cast and sees DCI Carl Morck, played by Matthew Goode, leading an Edinburgh police department Cold Case unit. In an exclusive chat with Reach, Department Q's own Alexej Manvelov and Leah Byrne—who play Akram and Rose respectively—shared their aspirations for the future of the storyline. As we delve into the series, it becomes apparent that these characters have complexities beyond what meets the eye, leaving viewers with numerous unresolved questions about Akram's mysterious past in Syria. When asked about their greatest wishes for a second instalment of Department Q, Alexej's response was straightforward: "Just for it to happen!" Get Netflix free with Sky from £15 Sky Get the deal here Product Description Alexej further expressed: "I look forward to unpacking a bit more about Akram because I feel there is a lot more to tell." The series draws inspiration from Jussi Adler-Olsen's Danish Nordic noir crime novels that share the same title, reports the Express. Leah also mentioned: "For sure, we've got so many books worth of stuff waiting for us there to mine." The series, boasting 10 books, offers Netflix a treasure trove of content to potentially extend the show's life for many seasons should they opt for renewal. Both lead actors shared their excitement about portraying such intricate roles in the new detective series without divulging any spoilers. Leah was effusive about her character as she said: "I think it's just how incredible Scott writes that character. And I think something we see throughout the series is that we've got these people who are so multifaceted who appear one thing one level but then are hiding or have so much going on and it's such a joy as an actor to get to play someone like that because there's so much to explore with her." Alexej also expressed his appreciation for the complexity of his role, saying: "For an actor, it's such a perk to do a multifaceted character but also not to just reveal it. But just to do a little bit at a time and all these subtle things and stuff." Discussing the collaborative process, he continued: "And we worked on the backstory quite a lot on paper and references and stuff like that but then Scott let me do my thing and then he directed me, you know. And to maintain that mystery is also a trick of the trade that I really appreciate." Netflix describes Department Q as follows: "DCI Carl Morck is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. His razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh Police. "After a shooting that leaves a young PC dead, and his partner paralysed, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Dept. Q; a newly formed cold case unit. "The department is a PR stunt, there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him. "But more by accident than design, Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove. "So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best - rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer." All episodes of Department Q are available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix.
Edinburgh Live
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Department Q stars share season 2 hopes as Netflix yet to renew series
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Netflix audiences have embraced Department Q, and its stars are eagerly awaiting news of a second season. Despite Netflix not yet confirming a renewal for season 2, the show has received acclaim from both critics and viewers. The enthralling new mystery crime drama showcases a talented cast, featuring Matthew Goode as the astute but haunted DCI Carl Morck who spearheads a fresh Cold Case division with Edinburgh's police service. Speaking to Reach in a recent exclusive interview, Department Q actors Alexej Manvelov and Leah Byrne, portraying Akram and Rose respectively, shared their anticipation for potential future storylines. Both characters develop significant depth throughout the series, leaving many questions about Akram's background and his life prior to Syria unresolved by the end of season one. (Image: NETFLIX) This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Free Netflix subscription Get Netflix free with Sky Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan. Members can watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish, including hit shows like The Last of Us, Black Mirror and all WWE programming. from £15 Sky Get the deal here On the topic of aspirations for Department Q's future seasons, Alexej kept it simple with: "Just for it to happen!" Leah chimed in with fervent agreement, saying: "Yeah, absolutely." Alexej further expressed his eagerness to delve deeper into his character, noting: "I look forward to unpacking a bit more about Akram because I feel there is a lot more to tell." Adapted from Jussi Adler-Olsen's popular Danish Nordic noir novels, Department Q has an extensive source material to explore, with Leah acknowledging: "For sure, we've got so many books worth of stuff waiting for us there to mine." The book series behind Netflix's latest detective series boasts a total of 10 volumes, which could potentially fuel the show's longevity if further seasons are greenlit, reports the Express. The lead actors shared their views on the intricate layers of the characters they portray in the series, avoiding any spoilers. Leah was full of praise for the intricate writing of her role, saying: "I think it's just how incredible Scott writes that character," noting the delight in playing characters with depth. "And I think something we see throughout the series is that we've got these people who are so multifaceted who appear one thing one level but then are hiding or have so much going on and it's such a joy as an actor to get to play someone like that because there's so much to explore with her." Alexej echoed this sentiment, saying: "For an actor, it's such a perk to do a multifaceted character but also not to just reveal it. But just to do a little bit at a time and all these subtle things and stuff." He also expressed gratitude for the collaborative process, adding: "And we worked on the backstory quite a lot on paper and references and stuff like that but then Scott let me do my thing and then he directed me, you know. And to maintain that mystery is also a trick of the trade that I really appreciate." (Image: NETFLIX) Netflix describes the plot of Department Q as follows: "DCI Carl Morck is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. His razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh Police." It continues: "After a shooting that leaves a young PC dead, and his partner paralysed, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Dept. Q; a newly formed cold case unit. "The department is a PR stunt, there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him. "But more by accident than design, Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove. "So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best - rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer." All episodes of Department Q are available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix.
1News
31-05-2025
- 1News
Mona Blades: 'Steady stream' of tips 50 years after hitchhiker disappeared
Fifty years to the day after 18-year-old hitchhiker Mona Blades went missing while travelling from Hamilton to Hastings, police say they are still receiving a 'steady stream' of tips and information from the public. On the morning of May 31, 1975, Blades hopped into the back of an orange Datsun station wagon and was never heard from again. The cold case into the suspected murder, one of New Zealand's most notorious, remains open. Not one piece of physical evidence has ever been found, and her body was never located. But Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley says, five decades later, police are continuing to seek information regarding her disappearance. ADVERTISEMENT Blades' disappearance was the subject of an episode of TVNZ's Cold Case in 2018, and Yardley said a 'steady stream' of information had been coming in from members of the public since. 'The information is assessed and reviewed as it is received for potential further lines of inquiry, which police can follow up on.' He said no case is ever fully closed, 'and it is not too late to provide Mona's family with answers they have long wanted". Noting the anniversary of her disappearance, Yardley said: 'It has been 50 years since Mona went missing in 1975, and we would like to acknowledge her family who have been left with a number of questions around her disappearance.' The sightings, suspects, and speculation A stretch of road Mona Blades had been hitchhiking on when she went missing. (Source: 1News) On the day she disappeared, she was dropped off on Cambridge Road (State Highway 1), Hamilton, early in the morning. She was wearing light green slacks, a green rugby jersey under a fawn jersey, a black duffle coat and brown shoes with yellow laces. ADVERTISEMENT Fifty years missing: Revisiting one of NZ's most chilling cold cases - Watch on TVNZ+ She was carrying a hitchhiker's brown pack and shoulder bag containing a set of colourful plastic tumblers as a birthday present for her nephew, who she was planning to visit in Hastings over the Queen's Birthday weekend as a surprise for his birthday. At around 10am she was seen getting into the back of the orange Datsun. A poster showing the orange Datsun. (Source: 1News) Later that morning, a fencing contractor spotted the vehicle parked about 200 metres down a dirt road off the Napier-Taupō highway. He claimed to have seen a woman matching Blades' description in the back, with a middle-aged man in the front. When he drove past a short time later, the car was empty. Blades' disappearance sparked what was, at the time, one of the country's largest manhunts. ADVERTISEMENT Hundreds of police officers from Taupō, Rotorua, Hamilton and Auckland combed a 200km stretch of highway between Tokoroa and Napier. People search during the 1975 manhunt for Mona Blades. (Source: 1News) But nothing was ever found. More than 500 suspects, many of whom owned or had driven orange Datsuns, were investigated. Auckland police tried to make the case that John Freeman, a man who had rented an orange Datsun the same weekend Blades went missing, was responsible. Two weeks after police announced they were searching for a similar car, Freeman shot and wounded a student at St Cuthbert's College in Auckland before killing himself. John Freeman, one of the suspects in the Mona Blades murder. (Source: 1News) Another person of interest for police was Hamilton man Charlie Hughes, who had since moved to Australia. He has vehemently denied he had anything to do with the alleged murder, and said the constant doubt over his innocence ruined his life. ADVERTISEMENT Charlie Hughes was another suspect in the case. (Source: 1News) In 2003, police investigated a report that Blades' name had been etched on a concrete garage floor at a house in Huntly with fears it could be a makeshift grave. it turned out to be a joke and the former property owner apologised. In early 2012, police dug up the concrete floor of a Kawerau house's laundry room in an attempt to find her body. Nothing was found. Blades' disappearance was then the subject of a 2018 episode of TVNZ's Cold Case, where investigators reassessed every aspect of the file. Experts believed the original investigation had focused too heavily on the orange Datsun. They also believed witnesses may have been misled by the photo of Blades issued by police as her hairstyle was different. A mockup showing Blades as she was believed to have looked when she went missing. (Source: NZ Police ) The investigation also concluded Blades spent longer in Taupō than initially thought, with multiple sightings being made. ADVERTISEMENT Inspector Mark Loper, who led the inquiry then, believed Blades did not leave Taupō alive. Detectives also said they had discovered Blades had some links to gangs in Auckland and Hamilton. Those gangs might have been on the roads travelling to a gathering that weekend. A red car that could have been travelling with a bike gang was also a focus of the new inquiry. A witness had claimed they saw Blades get into a red Toyota station wagon outside the bottle shop at the Spa Hotel. Another said they saw two people carrying a rolled-up piece of carpet into the back of a vehicle matching the description. A red station wagon similar to the one witnesses had described. (Source: NZ Police) However, despite a steady stream of tips and possible leads, no physical evidence, suspects able to be charged, or body have been found. It's now been 50 years since Blades left Hamilton, and her family, as well as police, are still waiting for answers. Sgt Yardley said this week: 'If you have information that may assist in our investigation not yet reported to us, please contact police.' ADVERTISEMENT Anyone with information on the disappearance of Mona Blades was asked to call police on 105.
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Sirens' Dethroned In Netflix's Top 10 List By A New Show
Sirens Sirens has had some time on top of Netflix's top 10 list for a while now, performing well, but as a miniseries, it probably doesn't need to go on past this initial run (plus one of its leads needs to go be the new Supergirl). Now, the show has been unseated by something rather strange. It is not WWE RAW, which is actually in a surprising third place behind both Sirens and the new #1, Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders. Uh, what? Yeah, this happened. Here's the synopsis of what happened there: This happened in 1982, and I'll admit that I never knew this took place. It was a series of poisoning deaths in Chicago where people died from taking cyanide-laced Tylenol, something that was obviously not a factory defect. The most chilling part of all of this is that no one was ever found responsible for what was at least seven deaths from the poisonings. Top 10 The new Cold Case series is the length of a movie split into three parts, about 120 minutes in total. I'm not exactly sure why Netflix does this instead of just making it a movie, but it's been a tradition. Another high-profile entry in the Cold Case series was the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey, as the series focuses on well, Cold Cases that went unsolved, as the name suggests. I just finished Sirens which I thought was okay. It has good performances from its stars, albeit mired in what was not the greatest plotline and I think it's going to be an ultimately forgettable series. Even if it wasn't a miniseries, I would not be in favor of it returning for season 2. Another new entry to the list comes in at #4, She the People, a Tyler Perry show that spans eight 25-minute episodes as a quick watch, and one that seems to be angling for more series past that. It's about a politician, her 'wacky family' and a bodyguard she seems to have a crush on. It's a comedy, in case that wasn't clear. Further down the list, we have the overperforming The Four Seasons which was greenlit for a second season already. Then the 100%-rated murder mystery, Secrets We Keep, which I'm going to say is probably a 60% at best after having watched it. But hey, make your own judgment. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
