True Crime

"Serial" subject Adnan Syed's legal battle drags on ... 'cause the Maryland State Supreme Court affirmed a lower appellate court's ruling reinstating Syed's murder conviction.

The highest court in Maryland upheld the ruling that determined Syed's case should be kicked down to the trial court to once again consider whether his conviction should stand ... essentially undoing the 2022 court ruling that overturned the conviction and set AS free.

The new hearing has not yet been scheduled ... but when it does happen, the family of his alleged victim, Hae Min Lee, will almost certainly be present in court.

Convicted child killer Susan Smith should not be paroled, because her bad behavior in prison included performing sex acts and doing drugs ... so says the former correctional officer with whom she hooked up.

Alfred Rowe, the disgraced prison guard previously employed at Camille Graham Correctional Center in South Carolina, tells TMZ ... Susan is not ready to be released.

Smith becomes eligible for parole in early November for murdering her two children, Michael and Alexander, according to a South Carolina corrections official.

Killer mom Susan Smith’s ex-husband isn’t the only one standing in the way of her potential release -- her trial's lead prosecutor is also battling to keep her locked up for killing her two young sons back in '94.

Tommy Pope, the former solicitor for South Carolina’s 16th Judicial Circuit, tells TMZ he’s joining forces with the current solicitor, Kevin Brackett, to keep Susan behind bars at S.C.’s Leath Correctional Institution for the rest of her life ... saying he'll do anything to ensure she doesn't get out of prison. Smith has her first parole hearing set for Nov. 4.

Pope says actions have consequences ... and while mental health issues can be a factor in cases of taking someone’s life, he thinks Susan’s decision to drown her young kids just to stay with a man who didn’t want children was an extreme example of selfishness.

Susan Smith, locked up for life since 1994 for killing her 2 young sons, is up for parole -- and has reportedly begged her ex-husband not to fight her potential release.

Her parole hearing is set for November 4 ...  and while the killer mom asked her ex, David Smith, not to oppose her bid for freedom, David's made it clear he’ll do everything in his power to keep her behind bars.

A family source told the New York Post David's firmly against Susan getting out of Leath Correctional in South Carolina ... adding he has every right to block her parole ... because she murdered his kids.

Karen Read is getting sued by her late BF John O'Keefe’s family ... and the family is also going after the two bars they say overserved her booze before she allegedly struck O'Keefe with her SUV in '22.

TMZ obtained the docs ... John’s brother Paul O'Keefe and other family members just filed a civil suit for wrongful death and emotional distress against Karen ... who’s still staring down a second murder trial after her first ended in a mistrial.

Paul and family claim Read was reckless and ignored the risks after drinking ... adding she allegedly left John -- a Boston police officer -- on the ground to die after hitting him with her SUV in a snowy yard.

Greg Swindell -- a former MLB pitcher who helped the Diamondbacks win the 2001 World Series -- is pleading for the public's help ... after he says his daughter has gone missing.

The 59-year-old wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend that Brenna Swindell, a single mom of three, went missing from the Austin, Texas area last Thursday -- and he and his family are worried sick about her.

Greg says her phone's been turned off and she has not been in contact with any one of her Swindell relatives -- including her own children.

Scott Peterson is finally speaking from behind bars ... 20 years after he was convicted of killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child.

In the new "Face to Face with Scott Peterson" Peacock doc, the convicted murderer maintains his innocence ... and sticks to his guns about his long-standing theory his pregnant wife Laci was abducted by strangers who were burglarizing a neighboring home.

Scott spoke on camera for the first time from California's Mule Creek State Prison ... detailing his assertions about Laci's death with interviewer Shareen Anderson for the 3-part doc, which digs into alternate theories about Laci’s death.

There have been arrests in the murder of "General Hospital" star Johnny Wactor ... TMZ has learned 3 people have been arrested and booked on murder charges.

TMZ broke the story ... LAPD swooped in early Thursday and executed multiple arrest and search warrants in connection with the shooting death of the soap opera star.

We're told the LAPD now has in custody 3 members of the Florencia 13 gang for murder, and one gang member has been arrested on charges of being an accessory.

The offspring of Credence Clearwater Revival's drummer isn't feeling like a "Fortunate Son" ... police are calling him a person of interest in a homicide and a woman's disappearance ... TMZ has confirmed.

Brent Clifford -- son of the band's longtime drummer, Doug Clifford -- was arrested at around 4 PM Wednesday in Portola, CA, according to a statement released by the Reno Police Department.

Authorities say they took Brent into custody on an active warrant in connection with the shooting death of William Andrews -- a man cops found dead this past Sunday.

Alex Murdaugh's currently staring down two life sentences ... but he might be getting a shot at freedom with a new murder trial ... because South Carolina's high court has agreed to hear allegations of jury tampering.

Murdaugh’s attorneys claimed the Colleton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca Hill, messed with the jury during the explosive 6-week trial back in March 2023 ... which ended with the ex-lawyer being found guilty of his wife and son's murder.

Hill may have had her own agenda -- she allegedly told jurors not to buy into Murdaugh's emotional testimony, all to make sure he got convicted. Why? Murdaugh's lawyers claim she wanted to cash in on her self-published book, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders."

A firearm registered to notorious cop killer Christopher Dorner was recovered during the arrest of two men suspected in the armed robbery of a $1 million watch ... and the crazy thing is Dorner's been dead for over a decade.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles say Beverly Hills Police officers discovered a handgun registered to Dorner during a Saturday morning search of the suspects' Airbnb.

The firearm is a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun ... and prosecutors say it was loaded and tucked inside a pillowcase when cops found it during their search. Authorities also released photos allegedly showing one of the suspects holding the gun.

Governor Josh Shapiro's actions while Pennsylvania Attorney General stirred up outrage among a dead woman's family -- and may have derailed his VP candidacy.

CBS News reported several of Shapiro's actions while serving as PA AG are receiving renewed attention, including the death investigation of Ellen Greenberg -- a Philadelphia teacher stabbed 20 times -- 10 times in the back -- in 2011.

While first ruled a homicide, local police scoffed at the conclusion ... arguing it couldn't be murder because the door was locked from the inside and her fiancé -- who said he broke down the door to find her -- had no defensive wounds. The medical examiner ultimately changed his determination and called it a suicide.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard seems to have a new ink obsession -- 'cause she’s flaunting a fresh batch of tattoos online ... including one that takes up a good portion of her back.

GRB showed off her body art in an IG clip Thursday ... pulling her hair up to reveal a big one down her back -- and if you couldn’t guess what it was, a follow-up pic she attached makes it crystal clear ... it’s inspired by a phoenix.

She also got a forearm tat inspired by the Unalome symbol from Buddhism and Hinduism, representing a path to freedom. Pretty fitting, considering she’s now living her best post-prison life.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is going to have to hold her horses on cutting all ties from estranged husband Ryan Anderson ... their divorce is not going to speed through the courts.

Ryan's attorney, Jeffrey Carrier, tells TMZ … when married couples without children divorce in Louisiana, they have to live apart for 6 months after divorce papers are served before they can even request a divorce hearing.

Gypsy and Ryan publicly split in March, but we're told he wasn't served until the middle of July ... which is when the 6-month clock starts. As a result, this divorce will bleed into next year.

Karen Read is the Massachusetts woman accused of her police officer boyfriend's death ... and after a hung jury prompted a mistrial, it's fair to wonder if she was being framed.

TMZ Studios' new series, "Strange & Suspicious," dives into weird and unexplained stories -- and here, we're looking into the possibility Karen is getting blamed for a murder she didn't commit.

Remember ... she's accused of drunkenly running over John O'Keefe.

Serial killers limit the risk of capture by drifting from place to place and killing utter strangers ... so, what better profession to join than long-haul truck driving?

TMZ Studios' new show "Strange & Suspicious" dives into weird and sinister stories ... and, this time the team's breaking down the attraction of truck driving to those who hunt their fellow humans.

The "Strange & Suspicious" squad discusses the more than 400 murders authorities believe have been committed by truckers in the U.S.A. ... pointing out prostitute subculture and mental health issues truckers face contribute to the urge to kill for the predisposed.