CRIME HUNTER: True crime cornucopia of American mayhem

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Since it’s the August long weekend, I’m going to veer from my normal course and pound out a notebook of the criminal madness that afflicts our neighbour to the south.

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Of course, Canada is not much better these days when it comes to stupid crime, although we remain more in the vein of stupid judges, stupid crowns, and stupid bureaucrats. But here’s a buffet of nonsense from the good old U.S.A.

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MILE HIGH CLUB

There was something about the woman in seat 25B. Her head was moving in an up-and-down motion on Jet Blue Flight 163 from New York City to Sarasota, Florida, on July 23.

One female passenger flying with her two children noticed that a woman was “jerking off” her male companion on take-off.

“She noticed that my two kids was [sic] watching them and they didn’t stop,” the woman recalled. “After that, she was laying on him like if she was doing oral sex.”

As a result, married Connecticut couple Trista Reilly, 42, and Christopher Arnold, 43, face felony charges for their alleged attempt to join the Mile High Club. She’s a medical secretary and he’s a contractor. Now, their reputations have crashed and burned.

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LET’S KILL GRANDPA

Britney Andrus wanted to skip town and escape her drab, small-town Florida life. She wanted to go to Michigan to be with her boyfriend.

How do you make that happen? Rob and murder hubby’s 88-year-old great-grandfather!

Cops say Andrus, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder, burglary and grand theft of a motor vehicle in the 2020 beating death of James Little at his Sebring home. Beau Travis Best, 25, pleaded guilty to the same charges and then pointed the finger at Andrus in court.

At the time of the murder, her husband was in jail, and Andrus and the boy toy were staying in an in-law suite at Little’s home. We’d say grandpa was being quite sporting! The plan was to steal the old boy’s car and his late wife’s jewelry, then hit the road to Motown.

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On Oct. 22, 2020, Andrus told a neighbour that the old man was dead after being brutally beatens. He died five days later. Missing was $1,500 in cash and a safe. To sweeten their Michigan journey, some of the stolen money was used for methamphetamine.

Best said it was all HER idea.

BEAT GRANDDAD WITH GOLF CLUB; SPRAYED WITH WASP SPRAY

A Iowa man allegedly teed off on his grandfather with golf clubs before spraying wasp repellent into his wounds.

For Joshua Ragen, 38, it was par for the course.

Cops were called to a domestic disturbance in Davenport on Monday, where they found a 71-year-old man in the basement with “serious injuries” in the form of cuts to his head and body as well as blunt force trauma.

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It’s alleged the grandson “sprayed wasp spray into the victim’s wounds while he was injured on the floor of the basement, telling the victim he was going to kill him and threatening to (electrocute) him.”

Ragen now faces a slew of charges, including assault while participating in a felony, three counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, and willful injury – all felonies.

SIS BURNED HOME TO STOP WINDFALL

Cheryl Gibson didn’t much like the idea of her sister making money from the sale of the family home. So, she called 911 and asked how to acquire a burn permit for the Springfield, Missouri, home.

Cops claim she set the home ablaze an hour later.

Now, Gibson is charged with second-degree arson.

Investigators allege the arson “involved in a family dispute (we’ll say!)” with her sister over “their late father’s residence.” Both women have a financial interest in the property.

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Gibson allegedly warned of her intention to “burn the place down.” The accused firebug also allegedly asked her brother-in-law for help.

She allegedly poured gasoline all over the home, then ignited it using a match.

DON’T TELL, GRANDMA

A Wisconsin man is likely to spend the rest of his days in prison after murdering his grandmother to stop her from telling police she found his gun.

Sean C. Couture, 25, was convicted of shooting to death his 74-year-old grandmother, Nancy Lovejoy, in 2024.

Couture was sentenced to 26 years to life for the murder. Other charges were dropped. Lovejoy had been shot several times.

His parents, who were out of town, told detectives that Couture told them: “It’s over, it’s over.”

“The Defendant ultimately admitted that he and his grandmother began arguing the night of Aug. 25, 2024, after she discovered the firearm in his room,” the affidavit said. “The defendant stated he believed his grandmother was going to call the police about the defendant having a gun, and he shot her as she was just outside the side door to the residence.”

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MURDER ON THE BEACH!

John Wayne Gacy remains one of the most terrifying serial killers in history. For nearly a decade, he terrorized suburban Chicago, kidnapping, torturing and raping young men and boys before murdering them.

The Killer Clown got the big adios in 1994, and cops always believed there were more than the 33 known victims. In my book, Inside the Mind of John Wayne Gacy: The Real-Life Killer Clown( (www.amazon.ca») ), I update the story.

Love, money and sex are the three big-ticket items for homicide. And they’re all there in my first book, Cold Blooded Murder: Shocking True Stories of Killers and Psychopaths( (www.amazon.ca») ).

ENJOY YOUR LONG WEEKEND!

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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