Many of the proposed bills would increase penalties for rape, kidnapping and other violent crimes and require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test rape kits faster.

When highly publicized crimes shake a community, as recently happened in Memphis, the emotional and mental aftershocks linger. And leave behind the most uncomfortable of questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? 

Dessie X, 64, of Millington and Fay Eschoe, 62, of Education Is The Key Children’s Center were indicted on felony counts of aggravated child neglect of a child under age 8 and criminally negligent homicide. 

Speakers during the panel discussion represented each of the steps against gun violence outlined in the Safe Community Action Plan: focused deterrence approach, violence intervention, federal prosecution of gun crime, communications campaign, reduction in theft of guns from vehicles and Memphis Police Department Gun Crime Unit.

“It’s important to this community. … It’s one step in a number of steps that we will continue to make to support the process,” the governor said.

The autopsy was released by the West Tennessee Forensic Center.

The Cold Case Unit is expected to begin reviewing cold cases as early as the end of next week. The goal is for the unit to review up to 200 cold cases per year. 

In an indictment obtained by The Daily Memphian, Ezekiel Kelly is charged with 26 counts in addition to the first-degree murder charged in the death of Dewayne Tunstall.

Related story:

Ezekiel Kelly indicted on 26 additional charges

President Joe Biden nominated Ritz for the position July 29, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him unanimously Sept. 22.

The additional counts include five counts of reckless endangerment, four counts of criminal attempt first-degree murder and commission of an act of terrorism.

While some murder victims are remembered publicly as real, complex people, others are seen as simply statistics. And for their loved ones, that can make the pain even worse. 

The resolution also requests MPD work with the city administration on a proposal to open one or more overnight curfew centers. 

The suit claims Varsity and other defendants, including the United States All Star Federation and Premier Athletics, engaged in a conspiracy to cover up abuse. 

Catilena “DC” Collier, 22, was arrested Monday, Sept. 26, according to a press release issued by the Memphis Fire Department. 

The amount of time needed to process a rape kit at TBI’s West Tennessee crime lab in Jackson ranged from 33 to 49 weeks over the past year. The statewide backlog was up to more than 950 kits awaiting testing as of last month. 

Juvenile records, a longtime girlfriend and a casual acquaintance seem to suggest Kelly was a person who got into trouble as early as middle school, who was exposed to drugs, violence and gangs and who was perhaps dealing with the recent violent losses of both his best friend and his half-brother. 

The city’s discussion on what to do about violent crime is different after two high-profile crimes have raised larger questions. The difference is among the topics discussed on “Behind The Headlines.”

A Collierville police officer is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle at a Fairfield Inn in Collierville early Saturday morning, Sept. 24.

Collierville took time to pause and reflect on its collective grief. However, the community also remembered its strength and resilience which shined in the wake of tragedy.

The Memphis Fire Department said they are looking for a 21-year-old woman named Catilena “Delina” Collier. She is described as a white female with colorful hair. 

The shooting at the Kroger on New Byhalia Road showed police and fire had trained for times such as these. The resilience of the community continues to shine.

Related stories: 

Collierville residents injured in 2021 shooting sue Kroger

Employee sues Kroger after Collierville shooting

Ritz was recommended to the White House by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis and succeeds Joe Murphy, who had been acting U.S. Attorney since February 2021.

Two residents wounded in the Sept. 23, 2021 shooting spree at Kroger in Collierville, have filed suit against the grocery store chain and the third-party company who hired the employee who went on the rampage.

A former teacher at Oakhaven Middle School and Wells Station Elementary School has been indicted for crimes against children, according to a statement from Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

As the woman who police think was raped last year by Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer takes her story to a national audience on ‘Good Morning America,’ community leaders are demanding answers about law enforcement’s slow-moving investigation of the 2021 rape.