Crime

Brian Hickerson suffered a legal setback just days before the death of his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Hayden Panettiere ... TMZ has confirmed.

A judge denied Hickerson’s request to have his past felony domestic violence charges reduced to misdemeanors, as well as his request to expunge the convictions, according to court documents, obtained by TMZ.

The ruling came Thursday, August 13 ... just three days before Panettiere died at age 36. Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend following a string of incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020. He had originally faced an eight-count criminal case.

Authorities have recovered what appears to be human remains in a desert 15 miles from Nancy Guthrie's home. The Pima County Sheriff says so far there's no indication the bones are connected to Guthrie, but we have a more definitive answer.

Law enforcement sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the bones were discovered in a "very remote" area of the desert ... only accessible by a long hike. One source said, "Our boots on the ground say the bones are definitively not Nancy Guthrie."

We're told the remains are "bleached white bones" which have been there for a long time. Bleached white bones occur when ultraviolet rays from the Sun break down the organic components of the bones, resulting in a loss of color and turning them white.

Andrew Gillum is swapping jail for rehab ... but the court will still be keeping close tabs on him.

According to new legal documents obtained by TMZ, a judge ordered the former Florida gubernatorial candidate released from the Baldwin County Jail Friday ... so he could enter Cumberland Heights Treatment Center in Nashville.

Gillum must wear a GPS ankle monitor during his release ... and remain at the facility for at least 30 days, or however long it takes him to complete a drug and alcohol treatment program.

Luigi Mangione will not go on trial for murder next month ... the start of his state proceedings have been delayed after his federal guilty plea last week.

A judge in Manhattan has given state prosecutors until October 9 to respond to Luigi's request to dismiss the case ... thus pushing back the previous September 8 start date.

As we reported ... Luigi's legal team filed to dismiss the state case right after he pled guilty to federal stalking charges -- arguing that the guilty plea now bars the state case from moving forward under the federal Constitution and New York's double jeopardy law.

Tupac stuck to street code until the bitter end ... refusing to rat out his murderer to police, while promising his squad would get retribution.

During the first day of Duane "Keefe D" Davis' trial for allegedly murdering Tupac, former Las Vegas Metro Police Department Officer Garry Dale took the stand to answer some questions about his brief encounter with the rapper.

Dale -- who was in the ambulance with Tupac after he was shot on September 7, 1996 -- said he asked Tupac multiple times who shot him ... but the rapper kept his mouth shut.

He said Tupac only responded by saying he and his crew would "take care of it" ... seemingly implying street justice would deal with the shooter.

The murder trial for alleged Tupac Shakur killer Duane "Keefe D" Davis began Monday ... and the much-anticipated opening arguments were 30 years in the making.

The trial's taking place in a Nevada courtroom almost exactly 30 years after Tupac was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip.

Prosecutors say Keefe planned the murder and produced the gun used to kill Tupac -- though they say he's not the man who fired the fatal shot.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Luigi Mangione's legal defense fundraiser is still going strong despite his recent guilty plea in the federal case tied to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ... and GiveSendGo says there's a simple reason why.

A GiveSendGo spokesperson tells TMZ the fundraiser was created to cover Mangione's legal defense costs across three separate cases and remains active because he still faces unresolved legal matters.

As you know ... Mangione pleaded guilty Friday to two federal stalking charges related to Thompson's death. He is still facing a separate New York state case, and his federal sentencing is scheduled for December 18.

The GiveSendGo spokesperson explains the platform's policy requires money raised through legal-defense fundraisers involving violent or weapons-related charges to be received by a licensed attorney or law firm. In Mangione's case, the spokesperson says the guilty plea does not change the status of the fundraiser while his remaining cases are active.

The spokesperson also stresses that keeping the fundraiser online should not be interpreted as an endorsement of Mangione, his alleged actions or his public statements ... adding "Hosting a fundraiser has never been an endorsement of a person, their actions, or their public statements."

GiveSendGo also says it doesn't decide who deserves financial support, and leaves that decision to individual donors.

The fundraiser has drawn continued contributions from supporters even after Mangione's guilty plea. As we previously reported ... donations increased by roughly $1,000 in the hours following his court appearance -- and another roughly $3,000 has been raised since then.

A Luigi Mangione fan who covered the trial via social media showed support for commenters justifying Brian Thompson death after Luigi pled guilty.

Here's the deal ... Lena Weissbrot is one of three Luigi supporters who call themselves the "Mangionistas" -- and they've regularly voiced their support for Luigi over the past year. The trio reportedly received press credentials from New York City as well to cover a pretrial hearing in the case.

Anyway ... Lena hopped on social media to share a video which focused on comments being made in support of Luigi -- writing, "Oh the comment section does not disappoint on this reel!! A plurality of people feel exactly like I do."

The Nancy Guthrie investigation was in trouble from the get-go because of the team's shocking lack of experience ... so says a sergeant connected to the case.

We sat down with Sergeant Aaron Cross -- the president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, a union representing sheriff's deputies -- to discuss the problems that have seemingly plagued the investigation.

Sgt. Cross notes the relative lack of experience among investigators who jumped on the case shortly after Nancy went missing ... noting many of them had just 3 years' experience -- which isn't much when it comes to homicide.

Bryan Kohberger revealed he was diagnosed with several mental health disorders in 2025 ... and now, the neuropsychological evaluation has been unsealed, giving folks a closer look at his unusual characteristics -- plus four more potential diagnoses.

TMZ previously reported Kohberger's legal team submitted court docs revealing he had been diagnosed with level 1 autism, OCD, ADHD, and ARFID, an eating disorder in February 2025. The diagnosis came after he met with Rachel Lawson Orr, PsyD, ABPP-CN, who was hired by Kohberger’s defense team to evaluate him.

In Orr's evaluation, which was obtained by PEOPLE, she left notes about his socialization skills and tendencies as she observed him ... reportedly saying "almost immediately" he had "restricted range of facial expression, with stoic effect at baseline" and had "inconsistent" or "absent" smiles in social situations.

Luigi Mangione seemed to finally feel the full weight of his crime in court, becoming emotional during the proceedings ... so says the sketch artist.

Christine Cornell -- who has sketched Luigi numerous times during his legal journey -- said on CNN he's always seemed distant in the courtroom ... listening intently to the hearings but not conveying any feeling.

She likens him to a husky ... a beautiful dog -- but it's impossible to tell exactly what they're thinking.

Dr. Terry Dubrow has a whole different kind of "Botched" situation on his hands ... cybercriminals breached his plastic surgery practice and accessed sensitive patient information.

Terry tells TMZ ... cybercrooks have become so sophisticated with A.I. and other technology that "literally no business, big or small, is safe." He says he spent a tremendous amount of money and resources protecting his patients' data -- and stresses there's no evidence any of it has been misused or shared.

Terry's also trying to give patients some peace of mind ... telling us he has a $1 million cyber protection insurance policy for them and set up a free monitoring service going forward.

Luigi Mangione's supporters are still throwing money at his defense ... even though he pleaded guilty to stalking charges this morning in his federal case.

We've learned that -- in the last few hours -- Luigi's GiveSendGo fund for his legal fees increased by about $1,000.

Fans are also sharing their love and support for Luigi in the comments section of the fundraiser ... leaving posts like, "He did what he had to do today, what he thought was best for him. We're still here with you, Luigi" and "You'll see the outside world again one day, I know you will. I'll keep writing to you."

Courtney Clenney is having a rough go of it in jail, getting into fights with other female inmates who have threatened her because she killed her boyfriend ... at least according to her lawyer.

Clenney's attorney, Frank Prieto, tells TMZ ... Courtney has received numerous threats from other female inmates, mostly Black women, in the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Center.

Prieto tells us the other inmates would start the fights, shoving Clenney and saying, "You killed your boyfriend ... I'm gonna f*** you up." Prieto noted the incidents never escalated into full-scale violence, but Clenney felt as if her life was in danger at times.

Luigi Mangione just pled guilty to stalking in his federal case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ... a stunning move that could torpedo his upcoming New York state murder trial.

Mangione spoke to the judge, saying ... "After years of enduring pain from a broken back, I shot Mr. Thompson, and he died. I knew what I was doing was illegal." His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said during a news conference, "He endured years of severe, debilitating pain, following a broken back, while struggling to navigate our health care and health insurance systems," adding, "He believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life."

Agnifilo is previewing what she will argue before the judge when it comes time for sentencing ... that Luigi was so overwrought with pain and anger he was not fully in his right mind when he fired the shots that killed Brian Thompson.

Mangione said he tracked Thompson to a UnitedHealthCare conference, where he posed as an investor to get more info on who was attending. He said he used a gun he printed on a 3-D printer and affixed it with a silencer.

Mangione pled guilty to interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death.

Thompson's family was in court to watch the dramatic turn of events. Afterward, the family said they are happy Mangione has been held accountable for "this heinous act," adding, "Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime."

Luigi Mangione's lawyers are asking the judge in his state case to toss it out on double jeopardy grounds, now that he's pleaded guilty in his federal case ... and they say prosecutors are using him as a "pawn" in a sick game.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ, Mangione's lawyers are asking a judge to dismiss the eight charges still pending in his state case -- second-degree murder and seven weapons charges -- stemming from the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione's defense argues his federal guilty pleas now bar the state case from moving forward under the federal Constitution and New York's double jeopardy law ... while accusing state and federal prosecutors of using him as a "pawn" in a coordinated push to punish him twice.