Suicide

Man Shoots Ex-Boyfriend at Jamba Juice and Later Shoots Himself at Hospital

An angry lover tried to kidnap and kill his ex-boyfriend from a local Jamba Juice, and later shot himself at a hospital.  The 28-year-old suspect (police have not released any names) had been arrested last month and was in court earlier that day, Phoenix PD spokesman Trent Crump says. Cops pick ... More >>

Arizona's Well Above the National Average! (For Middle-Aged Suicide Rates)

In only a handful of states are middle-aged people killing themselves at a higher rate than Arizona.The Centers for Disease Control and prevention released a report today on Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 committing suicide, Arizona's 24 suicides per 100,000 residents in 2010 was well above ... More >>

Eugene Maraventano Thought He Gave His Wife HIV and Believed His Son Was Handicapped, So He Killed Them Both, He Says

Eugene Maraventano, a 64-year-old Goodyear resident, told police this weekend that he stabbed his wife and son to death and failed to kill himself after multiple tries over the course of the next four days."I killed my wife and I killed my son; I can't kill myself," Maraventano told a 911 dispatcher ... More >>

Jodi Arias Live Blog: Goes Home After Killing Alexander, Wanting to "Deny Reality"

It's about 1:30 p.m., and the afternoon recess in the Jodi Arias trial has ended. Arias is back on the stand, having testified this morning about how she shot Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008, then drove to Utah to meet a guy she liked. She spent a few hours with him, made out, tried to "act normal ... More >>

Arizona had More "Gun Deaths" Than Vehicle Deaths in 2009, Says Anti-Gun Group; Omits Fact That 71 % Were Suicides

Slate, an online magazine, and the Tucson Weekly recently published articles that claim Arizona's "gun death" rate now exceeds the rate of vehicle deaths. The articles, spurred by the Newtown shooting, were based on a May report by the anti-gun Violence Policy Center in Washington D.C., which lists ... More >>

Three Arizona Dummies Accidentally Shoot Themselves or Others in Last Three Days

See also: Russell Pearce Blames Victims for Dark Knight Massacre (w/Update) See also: Russell Pearce Apologizes, Kinda-Sorta, for Dark Knight Massacre Remarks The three Arizona gun-owners whose weapons have accidentally been fired in the past few days probably weren't the men ousted Senate Presiden ... More >>

Valley Radio Legend Bill Heywood and Wife Found Dead in Scottsdale Hotel; Suicide Pact Suspected

​Valley radio legend Bill Heywood and his wife, Susan, were found dead yesterday afternoon at a Scottsdale hotel in what police suspect to be a double-suicide.About 1 p.m. yesterday, housekeeping staff at the Homewood Suites hotel -- near the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard -- f ... More >>

Murder/Suicide Suspected in Crying Baby Deaths

​Phoenix Sergeant Steve Martos confirms to New Times that the deaths of two people found in a Phoenix home last night is suspected to be a case of murder/suicide.Martos says it appears Dylan Bell fatally shot 24-year-old Marilyn Guerra before turning the gun on himself.When the bodies were found, ... More >>

Phoenix Sergeant Sean Drenth's Death a Suicide, Medical Examiner's Office Says. But Phoenix P.D. Still Considers Bizarre Shooting a "Death Unknown"

Phoenix Sergeant Sean Drenth committed suicide -- according to the Medical Examiner, that is.​Tomorrow, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office officially will rule that the bizarre shooting death of Phoenix Sergeant Sean Drenth was a suicide -- more than a year after Drenth' ... More >>

California AG Won't Review Suicide Findings in Bizarre Death of Rebecca Zahau

California Attorney General Kamala Harris will not review the investigation into the death of Rebecca Zahau.​California Attorney General Kamala Harris has decided that she won't review the San Diego County Sheriff Department's findings that the bizarre death of Rebecca Zahau, the girlfriend of Sco ... More >>

American Standards Hosts Benefit Show for Teen Lifeline

American Standards ​For local hardcore band American Standards, performing isn't just about the music, it's about making an impact on the community. Their show this Saturday, July 30 at The Fixx in Tempe is called "Hope for the Hopeless" and serves as a benefit for Teen Lifeline, a local non-profi ... More >>

Morning Poll: Could Rebecca Zahau's Death Been Suicide?

Rebecca Zahau: murdered or suicide?​The family of Rebecca Zahau, the girlfriend of Scottsdale-based Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai -- who was found bound, naked, and hanging by her neck at Shacknai's Coronado, California, mansion last week -- yesterday rejected the theory that she committed suicide ... More >>

Drunk Gilbert Man Threatens to Shoot Himself -- Shoots Own House Instead

Jeffrey Finkbeiner​A drunk Gilbert man was arrested Saturday after a fight with his wife prompted him to blast a shotgun at his own house.Gilbert police were called to the 3500 block of South Buckaroo Trail early Saturday morning where Jeffrey Finkbeiner, 26, and his wife had been arguing.A neighb ... More >>

Final Exit Network Defendant Portrayed Alternately as "The Godfather" and "Great Humanitarian" as Trial Begins

Opening statements started this morning in the jury trial of two "right-to-die" octogenarians charged in the case of a mentally disturbed Phoenix woman who committed suicide in 2007.   ​A packed spectator's gallery at Maricopa County Superior Court heard dramatically divergent views of c ... More >>

Goodyear Man and Ex-Girlfriend Found Dead in Truck Ruled Murder-Suicide

Police believe Thomas Watson shot his ex-girlfriend Tara Shermerhorn before turning the gun on himself.​The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office announced yesterday that the deaths of a Goodyear man and his ex-girlfriend last week have been ruled a murder-suicide.The bodies of 43-year-old Thomas Watson ... More >>

Valley Man Fails at Suicide. Succeeds in Killing Innocent Victim

David Buot​Instead of thoughtfully blowing his brains out and sparing unsuspecting victims the grief caused by his suicidal intentions, a Valley man failed to kill himself in the worst way possible last year -- he crashed his SUV into an oncoming Mercedes Benz. He survived, but the woman driving t ... More >>

Jared Lee Loughner's Second Amendment Rights and Ray Stern

ebaumsworld.comIt seems I've introduced my dear colleague Ray Stern to the fascinating world of facts, statistics and sources, as he finally breaks down and uses a few in his latest pro-gun nut diatribe, "The Anti-Gun Culture..."In it, Ray returns once again to his us-versus-them, all-or-nothin ... More >>

Jeff Ahlers Shooting: Medical Examiner's Report "Pending" -- Five Months Later

Jeff Ahlers​We've been following the shooting death of 47-year-old Jeff Ahlers, of Tempe, fairly closely, and five months after he was shot, we still have no answer as to what happened.Ahlers was first reported missing on June 1, and was found shot to death in a canal a few days later.By all accou ... More >>

DPS Officer Found Dead at Scottsdale Resort; Suicide Suspected

DPSOfficer Mark Serna​A day after a Phoenix police Sergeant was found shot to death near the State Capitol, a Department of Public Safety officer was found dead in a hotel room at a Scottsdale resort and DPS officials suspect it may have been suicide.Officer/Paramedic Mark Serna, 43, of New River, ... More >>

Tempe Sees Huge Spike in Murder for 2010

​Following the second highly publicized, unsolved murder of an Arizona State University student in six months, the Tempe Police Department has come under fire for its handling of violent crimes. The department responded to media inquiries about crime statistics by issuing a press release yeste ... More >>

50 Cent Caught in PC Snafu After Gay Men Kill Themselves Around the Same Time He Supports Cunnilingus

​A gay rights group is up in arms about tweets from 50 Cent they seem to believe had something to do with the recent spat of tragic, high-profile suicides of young, gay men. "If you a man and your over 25 and you don't eat pussy just kill your self damn it. The world will be a better place," he t ... More >>

Arizona Inmate Housed in Oklahoma Prison Dead in Apparent Suicide

AZDOCPatrick Ross​An Arizona prison inmate, being housed in a private prison in Hinton, Oklahoma, is dead after apparently taking the easy way out, rather than completing his sentence.Officials at the Arizona Department of Corrections tell New Times inmate Patrick Ross was found dead in his cell a ... More >>

John McCluskey Not Allowed Razors After Trying to End it All on Tuesday

John McCluskey being taken into custody last week.​The end of his brief brush with freedom and being away from the blood-related Bonnie to his Clyde appear to be taking a toll on Arizona's most infamous prison escapee.After being captured last week and placed in solitary confinement, John Mc ... More >>

Female Inmate at Arizona Prison Dead After Apparent Suicide

AZDOCGeshell Fernandez​A female inmate at an Arizona prison won't be serving the remainder of her sentence behind bars. That's because she's dead -- and it seems she did it to herself.Prison officials announced this afternoon that 28-year-old Geshell Fernandez was found dead in her cell just after ... More >>

Two Arizona Prison Inmates Commit Suicide in One Weekend

​The Arizona Department of Corrections media relations department has had a busy few days. Last week, there was an apparent shanking, which left one inmate dead. Within minutes of relaying that news to media outlets, prison officials were charged with explaining to the public how a different inmat ... More >>

Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections Death Was Suicide, Inside Sources Say

Jamie Peachey A suicide prevention kit at Adobe Mountain School. ​Staff at Adobe Mountain School in Phoenix are reporting that the death of a youth yesterday was a suicide. And they wonder if the incident is tied to the "hush hush" suicide earlier this month of a corrections officer ... More >>

Elderly Woman Pleads Guilty Plea Today in Phoenix "Assisted-Suicide" Case

​Readers may remember our story on the so-called "assisted case" of Jana Van Voorhis, a 58-year-old Phoenix woman who died mysteriously in her bed in the spring of 2007.  It was a particularly sad and bizarre yarn (even by our standards), and had a slew of dicey legal and ethical is ... More >>

Suicidal Tendencies: The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections Is a Bloody Mess

ASU Grad Student Shoots Himself in Professor's Office; Building on Lockdown

Arizona State University police are reporting that a graduate student shot and killed himself inside a professor's office a little over an hour ago. ​

Dr. Deception: Joseph Franzetti Dispenses $300 Psych Evaluations Like They’re Flu Shots, but the Reports Are Useless

Scottsdale Police Make Arrest In Murder of 42-Year-Old Mesa Man

Police arrested 21-year-old Nicholas Renner in connection with the murder of 42-year-old Alberto Gonzales​At around 10 a.m. Friday, police responded to what they initially thought to be an attempted suicide at the 322E unit of a residential community at 6721 E. McDowell Road.A man was found shot i ... More >>

Independent Film Series: Ben X

Independent Film Series: Ben X

Andy Thomas Announces Busts in Landmark `Assisted Suicide' Case

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced a few minutes ago that investigators from his office have busted four people on murder charges in the 2005 "assisted suicide" death of a seriously mentally ill Phoenix woman. New Times broke the news of this unusual and tragic case in 2007 in ... More >>

Prosecutor Calls Doug Grant "Black Angel of Death" in Closing Argument

Closing arguments started Tuesday in the closely watched trial of former Phoenix Suns nutritionist Doug Grant, and prosecutor Juan Martinez immediately went for the defendant's throat -- proverbially, of course. We'll be writing a postmortem about this remarkably weird trial when (and if) ... More >>

Key Prosecution Witness Finally Finishes Testifying In Mormon Murder Case

Jenna Stradling -- the 18-year-old stepdaughter of murder defendant Doug Grant (the smiling guy in the photo) and a key prosecution witness in the high-profile case -- finally finished testifying a few hours ago after several tense days on the stand. The Brigham Young University freshman ... More >>

Strangers on a Train

Cormac McCarthy play is Black, White, and shades of gray

Land of the Rising Moon

Bowing before the orb on Third Avenue

A Gilbert Detective Crossed the Line to Turn Doug Grant’s Wife’s Bathtub Drowning Into a Murder Case

Heath Ledger's untimely death, and that milestone performance

Theater Scene

What's running now

Jump Street

Once ruled a suicide, Phoenix finance chief Kevin Keogh's leap to his death on a busy thoroughfare is a true medical mystery

XO, Elliott

Elliott Smith, 1969-2003

Gross Negligence?

Parents say state let their son die

Doctor Derailed

Fen-Phen conviction results in prison sentence

Nirvana: The Day By Day Eyewitness Chronicle

By Carrie Borzillo (Thunder's Mouth Press)

Pride and Prejudice

Nobody can say why Loi Nguyen fell through the cracks. All they can say is they're sorry.

Love Story

Well-researched book fans the flames of the "Kurt Cobain was murdered" theory

Public Pays in Jail Death

County pays $50,000 in case of inmate who committed suicide while jailers watched a video of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

REQUIEM FOR A FIGHTERYOUNG MAN WHO BATTLED MENTAL-HEALTH SYSTEM TAKES HIS OWN LIFE