Crime & Arrests

Sean “Diddy” Combs is in a real nail-biter after a partial verdict was reached Tuesday in his federal criminal trial -- and the mogul tried to calm his family's nerves.

Diddy turned to his mother, Janice, seated behind him in the second row, after she asked him a few muffled questions inside the NYC courtroom. Diddy then leaned in and whispered to his mom, "I'll be alright" and "love you," while thumping his chest.

The Bad Boy Records CEO also said something under his breath to his six adult kids, who were present in the gallery, including Christian, Justin and Quincy. The children then exited the courtroom with sad faces.

The family of Kaylee Goncalves is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and now it appears they're hoping the feds will step in.

Here's the deal .... Kohberger will plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, but prosecutors will take the death penalty off the table and recommend life without the possibility of parole. But some families of the four victims say the plea deal is unacceptable -- and unfair to them.

The Goncalves family is now asking supporters who are just as upset as they are over the major development to get loud ... and send their criticisms to the United States Department of Justice.

5:30 PM ET -- Judge Arun Subramanian just dismissed the jury for the day ... jurors will come back Wednesday morning and head straight for the jury room to continue deliberations.

Diddy is one step closer to learning his fate ... because the jury in his federal criminal trial says they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts against him ... but they don't have a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

The music mogul is huddling with his lawyers in the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where he's stood trial for the past 7 weeks ... he was brought out of a holding cell after jurors sent a note revealing they had reached a verdict on 4 counts.

The note says jurors are unable to reach a verdict on Count 1 as they have jurors on each side. Count 1 is racketeering conspiracy.

A gruesome discovery is adding to the mystery surrounding a missing teenage TikTok star -- authorities have confirmed her identify after her mutilated body was found at a Peruvian water-treatment plant earlier this month.

The chopped-up body of 19-year-old Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Piña -- who went by "China Baby" on social media -- was located by plant workers during a routine inspection of a river filtration grid in Lima on June 9, according to multiple reports.

Forensic crews were able to identify Fabiola thanks to her tattoos, including one on her back that read "Paula Sophia" alongside a date, according to Panamericana.

The Bryan Kohberger plea deal in Idaho is not the first controversial bargain struck by the same District Attorney's Office ... because the top prosecutor made a similar deal nearly 29 years ago to the day ... and it also involved murders and the death penalty.

TMZ did some digging and we found out that back in July 1996, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson -- who still holds the same position today -- struck a deal to spare the life of a man who admitted to killing two people.

The parallels here are eerie ... because in that case, two Chinese nationals were stabbed to death in their Moscow, ID apartment ... and a former University of Idaho student copped to the murders.

Todd Chrisley's revealing one of his biggest behind-bars blowups ... and it wasn't with just any inmate. Nope, it was with the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scam ringleader himself, Rick Singer.

Just weeks after scoring a presidential pardon from Trump, Todd sat down with wife Julie on daughter Savannah’s 'Unlocked' podcast -- where he spoke about how he hit his boiling point when he caught Singer badmouthing Savannah over her taking the Bureau of Prisons to task on behalf of her dad.

Todd claimed he marched straight up to Rick and warned him he didn’t care about the consequences -- saying, "I’ll rip your head off and s*** down your neck if you talk about my child again!"

Two of the families of the Idaho college student murder victims are furious over the Bryan Kohberger plea deal ... but the other two families are fully behind the move.

Jim Chapin, father of Ethan Chapin -- who was murdered along with three other college students -- tells TMZ the family will appear in court Wednesday to support the plea deal.

Jim Chapin is not alone. Ben Mogen, father of Madison Mogen -- who was also stabbed to death -- says he supports the plea deal, which takes the death penalty off the table ... because Kohberger will have to think about what he did for the rest of his life behind bars.

The family of Wess Roley --  the man accused of sparking the horrifying Idaho tragedy that left two firefighters dead and another clinging to life -- is speaking out.

In a statement issued by the family's attorney, Justin Whittenton, the family says they are offering their "most heartfelt condolences" to those who lost loved ones and to the greater community of Coeur d’Alene.

They add ... "There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. ... Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well."

The prospect of Diddy possibly being acquitted in his criminal trial isn't weighing on an ex-girlfriend whose name kept coming up in witness testimony ... 'cause she says she's not scared of him.

Diddy's ex Gina Huynh was leaving a Whole Foods in Las Vegas on Monday when a photog asked her if she thought Diddy was going to walk free.

Gina says she's not sure what the jury verdict will be -- deliberations started a few hours before she was asked the question -- but if he does get acquitted, it sounds like she won't run for the hills.

The family of Kaylee Goncalves is pissed over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they are taking shots at prosecutors.

The Goncalves family tells TMZ ... "The death penalty is merely an illusion in the criminal justice system. When available, it serves as a bargaining tool for the State, and when rarely applied, it’s never enforced due to a highly inefficient appellate process."

As we reported ... Kohberger will plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, but prosecutors will take the death penalty off the table and recommend life without the possibility of parole.

The family of Xana Kernodle is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they told prosecutors they had better not dare go through with it.

Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt -- who was so furious she was in tears -- tells TMZ ... prosecutors floated the idea of a plea deal a few days ago and the family made it clear ... NO WAY.

When we spoke with Kim, she was on a conference call with prosecutors. She says prosecutors told her the defense approached prosecutors with a plea deal, and the prosecution went along to "spare the families" the pain of a trial. Kim says that's ridiculous, because at least 2 of the families -- hers and the Goncalves family -- wanted Kohberger to face a jury.

Wess Roley -- the man accused of setting a brush fire and launching a sniper-style ambush on firefighters in Idaho this weekend -- once had dreams of becoming a firefighter himself, according to investigators.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris revealed the 20-year-old's ambitions at the Monday press conference -- but says it's unclear if that had anything to do with Sunday's deadly incident.

Officials also revealed Roley died from what appears to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound. So far, no manifesto, no confirmed suicide note ... and no clear motive.

Bryan Kohberger may never face a jury for allegedly slaughtering 4 University of Idaho students ... he has just struck a plea deal to save his own life, and the family of one of the victims is furious.

Kohberger was charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder, and prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. Kohberger pled not guilty.

According to the deal, Kohberger will plead guilty, but prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty. Instead, they will recommend life without the possibility of parole.

Hours after jury deliberations in Diddy's federal trial hit a bump when the jury foreperson sent a note about Juror No. 25 being unable to follow instructions ... a second communication from the jury room was sent to the judge.

Just around 4:50 PM ET Monday, Diddy was brought back into the courtroom by federal marshals ... Judge Arun Subramanian announced he'd received two new notes from the jury.

The first note sought clarification on the racketeering-related count -- "If an individual asks for a controlled substance and the person hands it over, it is distribution?" The defense and prosecution attorneys both told the judge they wanted to weigh in on this note.

Diddy's defense made a big deal in court about a scrapbook one of his former assistants -- who testified Diddy raped her -- says she made for his birthday ... and now we're seeing it for the first time.

The ex-assistant, who took the stand under the pseudonym "Mia," testified about making a scrapbook for Diddy's 45th trip around the sun ... Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel showed it to jurors back in May, and it's now been entered into the public record as a defense exhibit.

The scrapbook features a glowing letter to Diddy ... with Mia writing at the end, "I love you forever and eva and eva."

Here's the verdict sheet jurors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial were given as they deliberated his fate ... and you can see the charges laid out against him.

The first count is racketeering conspiracy ... and Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors that in order to convict Diddy here, they must find he agreed with at least one other member of the alleged Combs Enterprise to commit two predicate acts within 10 years of each other.

There are 8 qualifying crimes for the RICO charge ... kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for purposes of prostitution, and drug distribution.