Crime

Influencer Sara Gilson's ex-husband says their young son narrowly escaped the terrifying violence that claimed his mother's life ... telling TMZ the child never witnessed the fatal shooting, but did hear the gunfire as he ran for help.

Lyle Landers, who shares two children with Sara, tells TMZ there has been a lot of misinformation circulating since Sara's death, and he wants to make one thing clear -- their son did not see his mother after she was shot.

According to Lyle, his son was in another room playing games on his computer when he heard a commotion. He walked into the entryway and saw Sara and Jeremiah 'Shawn' Duffey in the kitchen, where Shawn was allegedly holding a gun. Lyle says Shawn told the boy, "You need to leave," and Sara -- realizing how serious the situation had become -- instructed him to run and call 911.

Ian Diaz may be locked out of Netflix in prison ... but he's heard all about "A Toxic Love Story" ... and TMZ has learned he thinks the doc got him all wrong.

Sources connected to Ian tell TMZ ... he doesn't have access to the electronics needed to watch it, though people have filled him in, and he's disappointed but hardly shocked the film didn't take his side.

Ian maintains he had nothing to do with the emails used to frame his ex-fiancée, Michelle Hadley ... and believes his then-wife, Angela Diaz, acted alone. Sources note Angela pleaded guilty and never implicated him.

Anthony Smith is still behind bars at a county jail, but the former UFC star may soon be walking free, 'cause a judge set bond at $500K ... a day and a half after he was arrested on three felonies.

The 38-year-old appeared before a judge for the first time in Sarpy County, Nebraska, on Wednesday morning, where bond was granted. Once Smith comes up with the cash, he'll be released pending trial.

But he won't be free and clear to do whatever he wants.

Smith cannot have any contact with his wife, Mikhala Smith, as a condition of his bond. Anthony is also prohibited from leaving the state without permission. He also must steer clear of any trouble.

James Farthing picked the right Powerball numbers once ... but since banking Kentucky's biggest jackpot ever, another number keeps popping up -- 4, as in four arrests.

The latest came Monday, when the $167.3 million winner was busted in Scott County for allegedly strangling a woman after a boating trip.

The woman claims Farthing grabbed her by the neck during an alleged argument Sunday morning ... leaving visible welts. She also told investigators the alleged attack may have been captured by a Ring camera inside the bedroom.

Savannah Guthrie's plea Monday to her mother's kidnappers contained a very intriguing phrase -- "We have done our part" -- and now we know what she meant.

Our FBI sources tell us, they knew in advance Savannah was going to post another plea to the kidnappers. Our sources say it was an issue of timing -- this week marks 6 months since Nancy's kidnapping, and, as one FBI source tells us, "Anniversaries are the time to go back to the public and reignite interest [in a case]."

As for what Savannah meant by "We have done our part," we have checked the Bitcoin address from the first ransom note and no money has been recently deposited (The FBI deposited several hundred dollars months ago in an attempt to trace the account, to no avail). Our FBI sources say they continue to work with the Guthrie family and they have not sent the kidnappers money.

Angela Diaz from Netflix's "A Toxic Love Story" has seemingly turned a new leaf since she framed Michelle Hadley for cyberstalking ... we've learned she now works at an abortion support organization.

Angela -- who now uses her maiden name Connell -- goes by Angi C. and is the Director of Peer Counseling Services for Exhale Pro-Voice, an organization that provides support services for people who have had abortions.

Her bio even mentions she'd spent time in prison before pursing a Master's degree in psychology and justice studies and "deepening her commitment to transformative justice."

Ian Diaz from Netflix's "A Toxic Love Story" is making moves to try and get out of prison ... and he's throwing his former lawyer under the bus in the process.

TMZ obtained a petition Ian filed, in which he argues his 10-year prison sentence should be vacated due to ineffective counsel at his trial. 

Ian claims his former attorney failed to file appropriate paperwork to challenge the government's claims, failed to gather evidence, accept evidence provided to them, and various other things. 

Bryan Kohberger pled guilty to 4 horrific murders of Idaho college students, but he says it's all his lawyers' fault ... claiming they advised him to confess when he was innocent all along.

On Monday, Kohberger shocked the world by filing a petition to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2022 stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, inside a house in Moscow, Idaho. All four victims attended the University of Idaho while Kohberger was enrolled at Washington State University.     

In July 2025, Kohberger admitted in open court that he murdered the 4 students ... pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty under a plea deal that sent him to prison for life without parole.

But now, Kohberger wants to withdraw his guilty plea ... and he says in his petition that his lawyers -- Anne Taylor, Bicka Barlow and Jay Logsdon -- are to blame for his confession.

12:22 AM PT ... Brenda tells TMZ that she was falsely arrested for battery.

"The Young and the Restless" alum Brenda Dickson had some major drama in real life recently ... because she got tossed in the clink for battery ... TMZ has learned.

Brenda -- who played Jill Foster Abbott on the famous soap opera -- was arrested and booked on July 9 for misdemeanor battery on a person, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. She was released that same day on her own recognizance.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers were called to a location in Hollywood on the night of July 8 for a battery investigation.

Eric Bieniemy's wife personally called for help after allegedly being shot twice by her own son ... with local officials sharing the latest on the shocking incident.

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman spoke to WJLA on Monday ... and revealed Mia Bieniemy was the one who dialed 911 around 7:30 PM on Sunday, all while Elijah Bieniemy remained inside the home.

Chapman said once responding officers arrived at the scene, they found the alleged victim with multiple gunshot wounds ... and the suspect was with her.

Celeste Rivas' family is blasting D4vd's lawyers for what they see as an effort to blame a 14-year-old ... after his defense raised the possibility she killed herself and referenced text messages where she threatened to kill him.

Patrick Steinfeld, who is representing Celeste's parents, held court Monday following D4vd's preliminary hearing ... saying he was disturbed by the defense's tactics in court.

Steinfeld blasted the defense for "stopping at nothing" to discredit the prosecution's evidence ... saying Celeste's family was horrified to hear D4vd's defense attorneys attempt to place blame on their minor child.

The man who "No Jumper" cohost Ant Jefe allegedly murdered was high on meth during the 10v1 street fight that ended his life, TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's report for Carl Welch ... and it says toxicology results showed he was high on meth, and had recently done cocaine when he died. 

However, the ME says drugs did not cause Carl's death ... instead, the ME says he died due to blunt force trauma to his head.

Investigators say Carl was attacked by Ant and nine others on January 31 in a parking lot ... and prosecutors charged Ant and a man named Johnnie Gray with Carl's murder.

The family of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves is speaking out after her alleged murderer requested to withdraw his guilty plea ... and they're incensed.

In a statement, the Goncalves family called Bryan Kohberger "the mosquito you just can’t seem to swat."

Kaylee's family recalled how Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin ... saying, "He never cried foul, never claimed he was uninformed or pressured, and never suggested there were problems with the discovery materials he and his counsel had reviewed for two years that should have been challenged. He admitted his guilt."

Savannah Guthrie is taking to social media to once again plead with person who abducted her 84-year-old mom, Nancy ... asking the kidnapper to do the right thing and bring Nancy home.

The "TODAY" host just posted a heartfelt message to Instagram, kicking things off by saying it's been months since her mom's abduction and her family is in agony and living in a never-ending nightmare because their situation is unchanged.

As everyone knows, Nancy, who was in poor health when she was abducted, has been missing for nearly 7 months and the kidnapper has yet to be indentified.

3:25 PM PT -- Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband Patrick Clancy took the stand after opening statements ... and as expected, he defended her. Patrick testified she fell into a shame spiral after the birth of their third child ... and threatened both suicide and harm to the children while on several prescribed medications by at least three different providers.

She also spent several days in psychiatric hospitals in late 2022 and early 2023 because she was still having thoughts of suicide, Patrick said. His testimony is expected to continue throughout the week.

The murder trial for Lindsay Clancy began Monday morning with opening statements ... in a horrific case of the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young children.

Clancy is accused of strangling Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan with elastic workout bands at her Duxbury home -- before she tried to kill herself.

Lindsay's lawyers are expected to make a case for insanity, intending to argue the mom was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she allegedly brutally killed her kids.

2:02 PM PT -- The judge ordered the murder case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas to proceed to trial.

2:02 PM PT -- 2:02 PM PT -- The judge ordered the murder case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas to proceed to trial.

Celeste Rivas' family knew she was hanging out with D4vd before she was found dead in his car ... and in some cases, signed off on her traveling with him on tour and overseas, despite initially saying they didn't know him ... at least according to his defense team.

D4vd's attorneys presented evidence Monday -- during the fifth day of his preliminary hearing -- suggesting the family knew something was going on between Celeste and D4vd and did nothing to stop it.

Celeste's sister allegedly traveled with them to one of D4vd's shows in Las Vegas ... and a notarized travel form to her parents showed they allegedly gave consent for Celeste to travel to London for a week in 2024 without any other family members.