Free Republic

For the first time in the U.S., an identical twin has been convicted of a crime based on DNA analysis. The breakthrough came from Parabon Nanolabs, who’s scientists used deep whole genome sequencing to identify extremely rare “somatic mutations” that differentiated Russell Marubbio and his twin, John. The results were admitted as evidence in court, making last week’s conviction of Russell in the 1987 rape of a 50-year-old woman a landmark case. Case background On Dec. 19, 1987, the victim, a 50-year-old woman, was working as a clerk at a gas station in Woodbridge, Va. She left the store to...

A Florida homeowner who asked not to be identified shot an alligator attacking his dog in his backyard. The man, who lives in Deltona, said he let his dog Winston outside. He noticed the dog sniffing around, so he told FOX 35 Orlando he wanted to see what Winston was interested in. The man spotted the alligator at the same time the reptile spotted his dog. The nearly 8-foot-long gator and homeowner lunged forward at the same time. “The gator got Winston, chomping down on the side of his head, and the homeowner shot the gator four times in the...

A Deltona, Florida man who stalked the six-year-old daughter of his neighbor with creepy promises, like 'I'm going to make you famous,' was arrested on Sunday and charged with aggravated harassment. Mark Greenburg, 55, who lives on Fayson Circle, has racked up 11 complaints over the last eight months from about a dozen neighbors who feared for their children's safety, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. He would yell at kids and their parents using a megaphone and drive past their houses while recording the children playing outside with his cell phone, authorities said. On Friday, the father of...

DELTONA -- Attention nationwide has been turned to immigration policies after a man who had previously been deported five times, was charged with murdering a young woman in San Francisco, a so-called "immigration sanctuary city." Now, leaders in two local cities in Central Florida said they have been mislabeled as immigration sanctuaries, which in turn is worrying residents. "We're kind of shocked that we would be placed on the list. We had no idea we were on that list," said Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett. "We received several phone calls Tuesday from residents. They were concerned," said Lee Lopez, the spokesperson...

DELAND -- The accused ringleader of a mass murder that left six Deltona residents dead used as inspiration a movie in which people were killed with pipes, according to a teenager who said he was supposed to take part in the bloody attack. Investigative reports released by the Sheriff's Office on Monday indicate the plot was hatched two days before the six friends and a dog were found bludgeoned to death in their Telford Lane home, the witness said. According to the report, Troy Victorino fired a gun at several of the victims days earlier in a car near Telford...

Police: Xbox Theft Spurred Fla. Slayings   Aug 8, 3:55 PM (ET) By MIKE BRANOM (AP) Troy Victorino, 27, of Deltona, Fla., Robert Cannon, 18, of Orange City, Fla., Jerone Hunter, 18,...Full Image DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday. The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep,...