Crime

The inmate who beat the hell out of wife-killer Scott Peterson during a prison pickleball match has sidestepped criminal charges, TMZ has learned.

In March 2025, TMZ broke the story ... Peterson and fellow inmate Charles Miles got into a fight while playing pickleball at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California -- and it ended with Peterson getting his ass whooped.

Now, after an investigation, it looks like Miles is off the hook -- criminally speaking. Amador County District Attorney Scott Riebe tells TMZ ... "Mule Creek (State Prison) will not be referring the case to our office for prosecution."

As for why the case won't be referred ... Riebe declined to comment, pointing us to prison officials for the answer. We've reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ... so far no word back.

An expatriate American hotel owner from a prominent surfing family in California was brutally killed in Costa Rica this weekend … and local police are on the hunt for suspects.

Kurt Van Dyke -- a 66-year-old Northern California native who owned a tourist hotel in Costa Rica -- was found stabbed and strangled in bed in an apartment in Hone Creek, Cahuita, Talamanca, according to local reports ... his girlfriend was found tied up but otherwise uninjured at the scene.

Police responded to a report of a break-in and attack at an apartment at 10:50 AM local time Saturday in Cahuita, on the Caribbean coast near the Panama border … about 10 miles from the hotel Van Dyke owned. They found Van Dyke with multiple stab wounds and signs of asphyxiation.

The search for Nancy Guthrie is hitting new extremes ... members of the public are now crowdsourcing crypto, with one "concerned citizen" launching a GoFundMe to help bring her home.

The page, started by Tucson, Arizona native Shawn Breeden and titled "Help Find Nancy Guthrie," says the plan is to funnel donations straight to the Guthrie family so they can buy bitcoin ... hoping it’ll help pay for info about Nancy’s whereabouts.

As we reported, TMZ received an email Wednesday demanding 1 bitcoin in exchange for the alleged kidnapper’s identity. That’s no small ask -- a single bitcoin is currently worth about $65,000.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos isn't taking any crap from people criticizing how he and his investigators are handling the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping.

On Sunday, Nanos was interviewed by a Daily Mail reporter about the case and, at one point, their convo turned to the sheriff's critics, who have slammed him and his detectives for allegedly packing up and leaving the crime scene early.

But Nanos stood his ground, insisting his officers thoroughly investigated Guthrie's property and he feels confident they did their job properly before the FBI swooped in and did another sweep.

The sheriff noted, "My officers were there for almost 20 hours, and they processed their scene, got it done, and brought in all the evidence." Nanos then said the FBI came in and "did their thing."

Authorities are using advanced Bluetooth detection technology as part of the search for Nancy Guthrie, who has been missing for two weeks.

A Pima County Sheriff's Department helicopter has been flying in a low, methodical grid pattern over the Tucson area near Guthrie’s home in an effort to detect a signal from her pacemaker, according to Fox News. Investigators are using specialized equipment capable of identifying nearby Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Guthrie was last seen around 9:30 PM on January 31 and was reported missing February 1. According to reports, her pacemaker disconnected from its companion phone app shortly before 2 AM on February 1. Around the same time, her Nest home security camera also went offline.

The investigation into Nancy Guthrie's case just took a major forensic turn ... TMZ has confirmed.

An FBI spokesperson tells TMZ ... a glove recovered in the case appears to visually match the gloves worn by the unidentified subject captured on the security camera footage released from Nancy's front door camera ... and DNA found inside the glove has been sent for analysis.

According to the feds, investigators collected roughly 16 gloves scattered around areas near the house. But authorities say most of those belonged to volunteer searchers who tossed them aside while combing the neighborhood.

Nancy Guthrie could be found one hour from now ... or it could take weeks ... or even years to locate her.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos made the sobering remarks in a recent interview with the New York Times, underscoring the very real possibility Nancy's kidnapping case could drag on for quite some time.

But Nanos also assured the public that investigators will ultimately "find" the suspect, or suspects, responsible for abducting Nancy from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the wee hours of February 1.

Another clue about Nancy Guthrie's potential kidnapper is tucked into an email from a man who claims he knows the individual who abducted Nancy ... and it sounds like the suspect may have crossed the border.

The latest money demand sent to TMZ ends with this ... "for the man hunt of the main individual that can give you all the answers and be prepared to go International."

It sounds to us like the guy demanding the $100,000 FBI reward implies that Nancy's kidnapper is hiding out in Mexico.

Nancy was abducted from her home near Tucson, Arizona ... and Mexico is a short drive south.

It's unlikely the kidnappers would have taken Nancy on a commercial jet ... that would require ID and the jig would be up. Plus, a previous ransom note sent by the alleged kidnapper themselves indicated Nancy was within a 700-mile radius of Tucson, which further supports the theory this kidnapper may be in Mexico.

Our sources tell us the FBI is hyper focused on the ransom note we received ... and they're also very interested in this latest batch of emails demanding bitcoin in return for information on Nancy's kidnapper.

The phrase "the main individual" is also significant ... it clearly suggest there are accomplices.

TMZ just received a third email from the man who claims he knows the identity of Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper ... and he has upped his price.

The email says he's contacting TMZ because he doesn't trust law enforcement. He's essentially using TMZ as an intermediary, telling authorities -- you don't trust me, and I don't trust you.

He suggests the reward being doubled to $100,000 was a move designed "to discredit me."

Nancy Guthrie's family has taken to social media to beg for her return ... but cops say that doesn't mean they've been cleared of wrongdoing yet -- because no one has.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos sat down with Briana Whitney -- a true-crime reporter for Arizona's KTVK-TV -- who asked him if Nancy's fam has officially been cleared in her Tucson-area disappearance.

Sheriff Nanos explains that everyone -- Nancy's family especially -- has been cooperating with the investigation ... including giving statements and submitting to DNA testing.

Brianna Aguilera, the 19-year-old Texas A&M student who was found dead after the school's football game against the University of Texas, died by suicide according to the Travis County Medical Examiner ... but the family still doesn't believe it.

TMZ obtained the medical examiner's report and it says "the manner of death is best classified as suicide."

In the report, the ME says toxicology testing revealed Brianna had alcohol and Delta-8-THC in her system.

The ME's report references an investigation from the Austin Police Department that found Brianna was last seen alive on the balcony of an apartment building ... 17 stories up and 169 feet above where her body was found unresponsive on the ground.

What's more, the ME says there was no indication another person was involved in Brianna's death ... at least based on the police investigation.

12:39 PM PT -- Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos tells TMZ ... the Guthrie family requested the cleaners come by to maintain the pool.

Another strange development in the search for Nancy Guthrie ... pool cleaners are hard at work at her Tucson home after her alleged kidnapping.

Several reporters on the ground in Arizona shared video of work trucks from the local company Ambiance Pool Service & Supplies in front of her house. Drone footage posted by MS Now reporter Alex Tabet shows two guys dragging nets through the water in her backyard.

It's unclear why they're doing this ... but law enforcement still has the house locked down -- the tweet above shows at least one deputy escorting the pool cleaners to the front door.

The personal chef who accused Stefon Diggs of choking her following a Patriots game in December is speaking out after his first court appearance Friday in Boston, saying she's focused on healing as the legal process begins to play out.

Mila Adams shared her statement shortly after Diggs entered a not-guilty plea in the case, writing that she would "never make false claims for personal gain or to damage someone's reputation."

"I did not seek public attention and reported this matter through the proper legal channels. This is an active criminal matter, and I will continue to respect the legal process. I will not engage in rumors, personal attacks, or respond to misinformation on social media, and I will ask others to refrain from spreading false narratives."

Don Lemon has just arrived at a federal courthouse for his arraignment.

The former CNN anchor showed up at the St. Paul, Minnesota court Friday ready to enter his  plea, which is expected to be not guilty.

Don flashed a smile and gave a wave to onlookers ... but, he kept his thoughts to himself despite the media throwing a few questions his way.

The FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department may be butting heads over the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case, according to a new report.

The two agencies investigating the Guthrie case apparently didn't see eye-to-eye over where recent evidence that was collected should be analyzed.

Citing a law enforcement source, FOX News reported Thursday ... FBI brass wanted DNA from Nancy's home and other physical evidence to be sent to their crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, but Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos denied the request, sending the items to a private lab in Florida for examination.

In response to the FOX article, Sheriff Nanos told NBC affiliate KVOA ... the report was "not even close to the truth," adding that his agency is cooperating with the FBI.

The FBI has a better idea of what the suspect in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance might look like ... and, they've increased the reward to aid in their efforts.

The federal agency posted a statement mere minutes ago ... announcing the reward for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her abduction has been raised to $100,000.

On top of the reward increase, the FBI also announced its Operational Technology Division reviewed the doorbell camera footage ... and the suspect is a male, standing 5' 9" - 5' 10" tall, with an average build. The FBI says he had a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack -- a detail we also ascertained from the video.