Arrests

Betty Broderick -- the woman who fatally shot her ex-husband and his new wife back in 1989 -- died in the ICU Friday following a number of health issues, TMZ has learned.

Betty's son, Daniel Broderick, tells TMZ ... she had a number of septic infections -- including one infection that she had years ago and came back. Plus, she had a serious fall at the Californian Institute for Women where she was locked away about 3 weeks ago ... which resulted in broken ribs.

Daniel says Betty ended up in the ICU at a hospital off the prison grounds. She was on life support at the end of her life and unable to communicate.

Investigators looking into the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart say they've found evidence of human remains on a property linked to her convicted killer.

This is a potentially huge deal ... because Kristin's body was never found.

She was declared legally dead in 2002, and Paul Flores -- who went to school with her and was the last person to see her alive -- was found guilty of first-degree murder 20 years later.

Investigators have been running soil tests on the home of Paul's mom, Susan Flores, for the past couple days ... and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson told reporters they found compounds related to a human, decomposing body.

Kodak Black is a free man again after getting locked up for alleged drug trafficking -- but he now has to abide by some strict court-ordered conditions, TMZ has learned.

The rapper was freed from a Florida jail Thursday after posting $75,000 bail. As you know, Kodak was busted Wednesday after police say they linked him to some MDMA -- a synthetic hallucinogenic drug -- during a 2025 incident in Orlando.

According to new court docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge imposed special conditions on Kodak's release from jail, requiring him first and foremost to stay away from illegal drugs.

A Florida high school teacher has been arrested after he was allegedly found carrying cocaine and fentanyl in his backpack.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office booked 44-year-old Lely High School teacher Christopher D. Toukonen into the Collier County Jail Thursday after detectives interviewed him and determined he was in possession of a "mixture" of narcotics. He is charged with felony counts of possessing the drugs and is also facing a charge of possession of narcotic paraphernalia.

Police say Toukonen was caught after school administrators were notified he might be using narcotics "while he was alone in the classroom with no students present." Admins searched his backpack and located the suspected illegal narcotics ... and swiftly contacted the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

The man accused of shooting up the White House Correspondents' Dinner wants some top government lawyers cut from the case ... arguing there's a conflict of interest because they were at the event and among those allegedly targeted.

Attorneys for Cole Allen submitted a motion Thursday night asking the judge to disqualify U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche because they're "purported victims and witnesses in this case." The motion cites Justice Department rules advising employees to recuse themselves from criminal investigations where they may have a conflict of interest.

His legal team further argues Pirro and Blanche have a personal relationship with President Donald Trump and have made numerous media appearances -- such as a CNN interview by Pirro -- and social media posts about being at the shooting, exemplifying a personal interest.

A former inmate who was Jeffrey Epstein's suicide-watch companion in a New York jail says the convicted pedophile definitely killed himself ... telling TMZ the guy in the cell next to Epstein heard him ripping up bedsheets to hang himself.

Bill Mersey -- who was locked up with Epstein back in the day at the since-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday, and we asked him about the alleged Epstein suicide note, which was just released.

Bill spent hours talking to Epstein in lockup and says he watched Epstein lose all hope after being denied bail. He also says Epstein worried about what life in prison would look like and how he could stay safe from other inmates, particularly Black people.

8:46 AM PT -- In the arrest affidavit, obtained by TMZ, cops said officers in Orlando found a pink bag with MDMA and $37K in a car during a bust in November.

Kodak Black is back in the clink -- and this time it's for allegedly trafficking drugs.

The rapper was arrested Wednesday in Florida and booked into the Orange County Corrections Department for trafficking "METHYLE.-METH (MDMA)" -- a synthetic drug that acts as a stimulant, according to official records. 

Kodak posed for his "Kodak moment" behind bars ... as you can see, he looks pretty darn serious with his wild dreadlocks sprouting in all directions.

Several Disney cruise ship staff members were reportedly arrested in April as part of a larger federal investigation into child sexual abuse material (CSAM) crimes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents boarded 8 cruise ships in San Diego as part of an ongoing Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) enforcement operation between April 23 and April 27, a CBP spokesperson tells TMZ. One of the cruise ships belongs to Disney, the California Post reported.

After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers determined 27 of the 28 people were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM, the CBP spokesperson tells TMZ.

D4vd's younger brother, Caleb Burke, is trying to separate himself from the firestorm surrounding the Celeste Rivas Hernandez murder case … while also trying to launch a music career of his own online.

In a lengthy IG Story, Caleb said Thursday he’s stayed silent because the case is an "ongoing legal matter," but felt compelled to speak out after social media users accused him of helping cover for his brother.

"I’ve seen people say that I knew what was going on and was protecting my brother. This is not true at all," he wrote.

D4vd's TikTok account no longer exists ... weeks after he was charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, TMZ has learned.

See for yourself -- you can search his page, but its content has been erased, and a message that it's been banned pops up.

TikTok's Community Guidelines prohibit the promotion of violence or graphic content, which may be the reason he got the axe. TMZ has reached out to TikTok for more information.

Authorities carried out a search warrant Wednesday at a California property linked to Paul Flores, who was convicted in the 1996 killing of 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement the search took place in the Central Coast city of Arroyo Grande, at Paul Flores' mother Susan's property. Smart's body has never been found.

In the statement, the sheriff’s office emphasized its continued commitment to finding Smart’s remains and returning her to her family ... adding that no further details are being released at this time.

A teacher at a Christian school in Florida has been charged with battery after an alleged incident that sounds like something out of “Matilda.”

Cops say Michael Alvarez put green painter’s tape on a student’s mouth because he allegedly laughed while another student read scripture in class on Monday ... this according to an arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News Miami.

The report says this went down at the First United Methodist Christian School in Homestead, just south of Miami ... where the alleged victim says he was singled out for causing commotion.

JaYy Wick looked totally unconcerned before cops took him into custody and prosecutors charged him with attempted murder ... lounging in a chair and rapping along to one of his new tracks in a TikTok vid.

The clip, posted Monday -- the day before the police caught up with him in Florida -- shows Wick, cap pulled low over his eyes, lip-syncing to his bars playing on the speakers and flipping off the camera in a studio.

A couple of dudes behind him add to the hype ... throwing up their hands as well -- though it's Wick who really commands attention during the vid.

Luigi Mangione turned 28 Wednesday inside a federal lockup as he awaits 2 murder trials ... but he has a lot to celebrate ... at least when it comes to his legal defense fund!

The alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson received a $28,038 donation today from a man named Carl ... putting Luigi at a whopping $1.5 million in overall contributions to his fund.

Carl mentioned in his post about the donation that he also directed funds to "victims in comparable situations." He added it's unfortunate that private support is needed in Luigi's case due to the pile of charges against him. 

JaYy Wick -- an independent rap artist based in Atlanta -- has been arrested after allegedly shooting a man in Florida.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office said Wick -- government name Donald Anderson -- was arrested after they say they received a report of a shooting late at night on Saturday, April 25 ... and found an 18-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

During the course of the investigation, cops say they spoke to the alleged victim ... who identified Wick as the man who shot him.