True Crime

Donald Trump would've used his lasso of truth to make Bryan Kohberger spill on the motive for his heinous crimes ... so says the White House Press Secretary.

Karoline Leavitt spoke from the White House Briefing Room Wednesday ... and, she kicked it off by addressing the families of Kohberger's victims -- telling them the administration is so sorry for the grief and pain caused by the murderous Kohberger.

Leavitt then added, "If it were up to the President, he would have forced this monster to publicly explain why he chose to steal these innocent souls."

Kaylee Goncalves' father looked Bryan Kohberger in the eye when he spoke to him ... turning his podium to stare directly at the man who killed his daughter before tearing into him.

Steve Goncalves addressed the courtroom at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho in a victim impact statement Wednesday ... one of many made by the family and friends of the four people Kohberger pled guilty to murdering earlier this month.

While the speakers who went before Steve mostly stared ahead at the judge during their statements, Steve reconfigured the room ... turning the podium so he could look directly at BK.

12:49 PM PT -- Erik Menendez is undergoing treatment for kidney stones ... TMZ has confirmed.

Erik Menendez is battling a health issue that is so serious his lawyer is asking California Governor Gavin Newsom to release him immediately, ahead of next month's parole hearing.

Attorney Mark Geragos was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told Harvey Erik's medical condition is "serious" ... serious enough to warrant immediate action by the Governor.

Geragos said Erik is getting treatment in prison, but -- although Geragos wouldn't say -- it seems treatment by specialists outside the prison would be appropriate and possibly essential.

President Trump is weighing in on the Bryan Kohberger case — and he's demanding answers from the confessed killer of 4 University of Idaho college students.

The commander-in-chief took to his Truth Social platform Monday and fired off one of his usual not-so-subtle messages, kicking things off by describing the murdered students as "wonderful young souls."

Trump then pointed out Kohberger cut a plea deal that spared him the death penalty ... noting that the butcher will spend the rest of his days doing hard time behind bars.

Alan Dershowitz is calling on the feds to cut a deal with Ghislaine Maxwell and release her from prison ... in exchange for spilling secrets on the dealings of Jeffrey Epstein.

The famed defense attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked him about his crusade to get Ghislaine sprung from a federal penitentiary.

Ghislaine was Epstein's one-time girlfriend and co-conspirator and she's doing hard time after being convicted of aiding Epstein in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minors over the course of a decade.

With the “Epstein Files” all the rage right now, Ghislaine Maxwell has been thrust back into the spotlight as she wages a legal battle to win her freedom from prison, but what awaits her on the outside is federal oversight that will keep her every move under a microscope.

TMZ did some digging and unearthed Maxwell’s 5-year post-conviction supervised release conditions after she completes her 20-year sentence unless she gets out of prison early on appeal. Maxwell's appeal argues that she should never have been prosecuted in the first place because of a previous plea deal between the government and Epstein in his earlier trafficking case in Florida.

Winning on appeal, though, is always an uphill battle for any defendant, let alone one like Maxwell, who's connected to Epstein – arguably the most reviled criminal in U.S. history. As you probably know, Maxwell was Epstein's longtime girlfriend and associate.

The Idaho judge overseeing the Bryan Kohberger quadruple murder case has lifted the gag order ... but one victim's family says that's not enough -- calling for every single case document to be immediately unsealed.

Here's the deal ... on Thursday Judge Steven Hippler lifted the gag order -- allowing prosecutors to talk to media about the case -- but refused to release case docs, including evidence critical to the case. He may do that in the future.

Steve Goncalves, Kaylee's dad, blasted the judge's inaction as complete BS -- telling TMZ ... the victims' families need to have access to every piece of info to properly address "the monster" Kohberger at sentencing.

The suspect who police believe killed an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband has been charged with murder and burglary ... according to reports.

Fox 11 Los Angeles broke the news ... announcing prosecutors have charged 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian with two counts of murder and one count of burglary in a residential neighborhood.

The outlet also reports the murder charges include special circumstances related to allegations of multiple murders, and murder during the commission of a burglary.

Raymond Boodarian -- the man accused of committing the grisly double homicide of "American Idol" music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca in a botched burglary -- had long alarmed his neighbors with alleged bizarre and erratic behavior ... TMZ has learned.

We spoke with multiple neighbors who live in the same Los Angeles apartment complex where Boodarian resided with his mother, stepfather, and teenage sister -- and where he was taken into custody on Tuesday. All described disturbing encounters with the 22-year-old, and they claim he regularly walked around the complex in a trance-like state.

The neighbors tell TMZ he would wander the property for hours, sometimes barefoot, just staring at the ground. The neighbors said he never seemed present, and recalled him always being "out of it."

Cops arrested a double homicide suspect after "American Idol" music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband were found shot to death inside their Los Angeles home ... TMZ has confirmed -- and it appears the couple came home and surprised a burglar who'd broken into their Encino house.

Law enforcement tells us 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian was arrested on suspicion of double homicide. LAPD detectives believe he has no relationship to Robin and her husband ... and we're told this was an isolated incident. Boodarian is believed to have entered the house through an unlocked door on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Police said when the couple arrived home and discovered the suspect, a confrontation ensued and they were both shot multiple times. The suspect fled on foot, police said. Officers responding to a call for a welfare check on Monday discovered the couple dead inside the house.

The man accused of murdering a Minnesota politician and seriously injuring another left a handwritten letter to FBI director Kash Patel, confessing to the shootings and claiming Minnesota governor Tim Walz approached him about killing 2 U.S. Senators ... at least according to federal prosecutors.

Vance Boelter was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Minnesota on murder and stalking charges in the killing of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.

Acting United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson said the incident was a "political assassination, the likes of which have never occurred here in the state of Minnesota."

As President Trump's administration faces a whole brouhaha over newly released details in the disputed "Epstein Files" over the last week ... we're getting a peek at Jeffrey Epstein's one-time girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell warming the track at the Florida penitentiary where she's doing time.

Check out these pics and video ... Maxwell's getting some brisk outdoor exercise at FCI Tallahassee, where she's currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, with lots and lots of barbed wire as a backdrop.

Maxwell was accused of soliciting and grooming minors for abuse and sex crimes from 1994 to 2004 ... and was convicted on 5 counts, including sex trafficking of a minor in December 2021. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison about 6 months later.

Shawn Ashmore and his wife Dana are speaking out on the horrific 2023 murder of their friend Mei Li Haskell ... finally feeling some sense of closure after the suspect, Sam Haskell IV -- the son of legendary TV agent Sam Haskell -- died by suicide and spared them the agony of a trial.

The "X-Men" star and his wife tell TMZ in a statement ... "Our hearts are heavy, but we feel some small sense of peace knowing there is finally a bit of closure. We are mourning the loss of an extraordinary mother, someone who poured her entire heart into her three boys and never stopped putting them first."

The couple was not allowed to speak out about the case until now ... because they were working alongside authorities as a representative for their close family friend.

D.L. Hughley says President Trump's attempt to downplay the Jeffrey Epstein controversy seems to implicate Trump ... and he's calling for the Epstein files to be released so folks can see who was hanging out with the pedophile.

The comedian joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" and ripped into Trump for even associating with Epstein back in the day ... and he says if Trump has nothing to hide, it should be a no-brainer to release the files.

Trump promised to release the files if he was elected to a second term ... but earlier this month the DOJ and FBI sent out a memo saying there was no "little black book," that Epstein killed himself in jail, and that no one else in the case would be prosecuted.

There's been a huge outcry over the feds' bombshell announcement about the alleged Jeffrey Epstein "files" last week ... and now Kevin Spacey has joined the chorus of the outraged public demanding answers.

The Department of Justice and the FBI announced there's no evidence Epstein kept a “client list,” or was murdered in his jail cell -- a shocking revelation to some who immediately called BS.

Many big names have cried foul -- and even speculated something is being hidden at the top levels of government ... and the two-time Oscar winner joined their fold Tuesday.

Sam Haskell Jr. -- the accused wife-murderer and son of legendary TV agent Sam Haskell -- left a suicide note referencing his children, but there's a twist ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... before taking his own life at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles last Saturday, Haskell left behind a note proclaiming he would miss his 3 best friends -- his children.

What's interesting ... Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told us Haskell had purchased a one-way plane ticket for himself to Japan with his girlfriend before he was arrested, so there's evidence he was going to abandon his kids.