Murder

Lindsay Clancy just lost her recent bid to have the murder case against her thrown out ... TMZ has confirmed.

New court docs, obtained by TMZ, show Judge William Sullivan denied Clancy's motion to find her not guilty of murder after the trial resulted in a hung jury. 

Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued in court earlier this week that the prosecution failed to prove she murdered her kids.

However, the judge found prosecutors presented enough evidence for a "rational" jury to "find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the charge of murder."

Christa Pike made some horrific noises for nearly an hour during her botched execution ... and one local TV news anchor who was there is describing it for us ... and it sounds unpleasant.

Tori Gessner -- an anchor for WKRN news in Tennessee -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss what she saw and heard during Wednesday night's execution attempt ... which she says got off to a weird start when they didn't open the curtain for nearly an hour.

Tori says it's normal for the curtain to be closed at first ... and that during this time, it's generally assumed IVs are being attached to the inmate.

However, Tori says this usually takes 10 to 15 minutes ... but this time it took about an hour. During this time, she says she could hear some moaning, whimpering, and crying.

Christa Pike's attorneys are calling on Tennessee to commute her death sentence after her failed execution ... saying Pike was actually helping the execution team try to place her IV lines.

Randy Spivey and Stephen Ferrell both urged the state to take another execution attempt off the table Thursday ... arguing Pike had already endured a cruel and traumatic ordeal.

Spivey said Pike remained "kind, cooperative and at peace" as workers struggled to establish access ... even telling them to try higher up toward her shoulder and thanking them when they thought they'd gotten a line.

Christa Pike's botched execution was a total disaster ... according to the mother of the girl Christa murdered in 1995.

May Martinez -- Colleen Slemmer's mom -- told NBC News in a phone interview Thursday ... "It was a mess."

As you know, Christa survived 2 lethal injections Wednesday night in Tennessee during her attempted execution for Colleen's murder.

Nashville reporter Tori Gessner described the execution during a news conference, saying she could hear Pike say ... "My arm feels like it's about to burst open."

Christa Pike survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her Wednesday night ... and years before the botched lethal injections, she was fighting the state over another part of death row -- decades spent virtually alone in solitary confinement.

In a 2022 federal lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Pike asked to be released from mandatory segregation ... with her attorneys saying she had spent more than 25 years with virtually no meaningful human contact.

Her lawyer wrote Pike's life had been defined by "four concrete walls and bare floor" ... adding, "She is fundamentally alone."

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted the remaining executions this year ... after an attempt to put Christa Pike to death was botched.

In the wake of the failed execution attempts, Lee ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review" to determine what went wrong ... according to AP News.

He added in his statement ... "Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the state's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective."

Tennessee can move forward with convicted murderer Christa Pike's execution, the Supreme Court has ruled.

On Wednesday, the court decided to lift the stay of execution that had been ordered just an hour before her lethal injection. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

Pike's lawyers were trying to get her sentence changed to life in prison, arguing that her attorneys had failed to present her history of sexual abuse and mental health conditions. That's why her execution was paused just an hour before her scheduled lethal injection.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was supposed to be executed this morning ... but her execution was paused just an hour before her scheduled lethal injection.

According to a court notice obtained by PEOPLE, Pike was granted a stay "until further order" by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The court reportedly said it needed time to consider Pike's latest filing, where her attorneys claim the state had reversed its position that she'd fabricated her claims of sexual abuse.

10:47 AM PT -- Closing arguments have concluded and the jury is now deliberating.

Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn is entering the home stretch of his murder trial ... it's time for closing arguments ... and TMZ is streaming live.

Both sides rested their cases Monday ... prosecutors called 40 witnesses. Flynn did not testify, and his defense did not call any witnesses ... his attorneys argued there was no direct or forensic evidence tying him to his wife's fatal shooting.

Now, prosecutors and the defense will make their final speeches to the jury before deliberations.

A Brazilian model was found stabbed to death in her ex's car ... after she'd texted her mom that he'd turned up at her home.

Larissa Brito's body was reportedly found during a random customs check of her ex Mathieu's car in Brignoles, France.

A local outlet says she was hidden under plastic bags in the backseat ... and her 29-year-old ex was arrested.

Nick Reiner says he hasn't even received $5 for the jail commissary from his family's trust ... as his legal team says he's owed $558,000.

Nick's legal team says he hasn't been able to access the family's trust account -- which is worth $1.6 billion -- for even the most basic necessities ... this according to new filings obtained by PEOPLE.

Nick's legal team wrote in the filing ... "Nick still has not been able to access even $5 from his trust to buy basic subsistence items from the jail commissary."

A Massachusetts mom accused of murdering her two young children before fleeing to Vermont is asking the judge to release her from custody or dismiss her case.

Janette MacAusland's lawyer, Joseph Krowski, asked the judge to either let his client go or dismiss the case on Thursday ... as prosecutors in Vermont told the court they're still waiting for the official cause and manner of death from the medical examiner's office.

Krowski argued that there wasn't enough information to keep his client locked up ... but a judge shot him down and said she'll continue to be held without bail.

Karmelo Anthony expressed his hatred for Black women and gay people in a flurry of text messages that prosecutors didn't present at trial ... according to new court documents.

The convicted killer's alleged prejudiced messages were included in new court documents first obtained by The Daily Mail ... writing to one friend that he "f***ing [despises] black bitches."

He goes on to say "all tht wig glue getting to they f***ing brain" and adds they "need to go die.

The Los Angeles home D4vd was renting when he was arrested for murder is now up for grabs ... TMZ has learned.

According to property records obtained by TMZ, the furnished Hollywood Hills home above the Sunset Strip hit the market Saturday for $15,950 a month.

The 3,153-square-foot property features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a pool, spa, cabana, and a steam shower in the primary bathroom. The recently updated home also has new flooring, high-end Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, and marble countertops.

Convicted Tupac Shakur murder mastermind Duane "Keffe D" Davis is maintaining his innocence ahead of his sentencing, saying he didn't do "s—t" and wasn't anywhere near the murder scene.

Davis was interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter for an article published Friday after he was recently convicted of the 1996 murder of the iconic rapper during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. At his trial, prosecutors said Davis did not pull the trigger but passed a gun to the shooter, who then pumped Tupac full of bullets.

Davis told the Hollywood Reporter ... "I’m innocent, man. They got an innocent man sitting in jail." But he vowed to be released from prison, saying he had already filed an appeal with the state court.