Tiffany Haddish mentioned the nationwide campus protests over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in her Netflix Is a Joke standup set in Los Angeles, and the response to what she said is just the latest controversy to face the comedian.

Haddish’s comments went viral online, and in them, she said, in part,

There’s not genocide at the college. I give a f**** about what’s going on, on the other side of the world, but why would I give a f**** about the college? … This the s*** I’m talking about, stupid motherf***ers at the college. Ain’t never worked a goddamn day in your life.”

via The Hollywood Reporter

Haddish later clarified her position, speaking with TMZ in New York. ” … If you want to protest? Protest. But if you really want to be effective and make change, go up to the legislation office, go up to your Senator, call your council. Go to Congress. [Go to the people] who make change … it would be way more effective,” she said, in part.

Tiffany Haddish’s post-Oct. 7 trip to Israel

Before her divisive Netflix bit, the comedian also courted controversy when she visited Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks inside the country, telling TMZ in a video,

I can’t believe everything that I read. I need to go see for myself. I want to talk to the actual people that’s here, the people that actually experienced the situation that happened on the 7th.”

via TMZ

Tiffany Haddish also mentioned her trip to Israel in her Netflix is a Joke appearance. “Palestinians was there and they was telling me what it was like over there in Gaza and they was telling me how hard it is to be from there, and I was like, ‘Damn, you describing South Central L.A. on 10, b****,’” she said, in part.

“It was crazy, and I’m very upset about the whole thing. I want there to be peace. We deserve peace; they deserve peace. Peace! And us over here causing turmoil over here don’t create peace. You know what creates peace? Take your a**over there,” Haddish added.

Tiffany Haddish’s 2022 child sex abuse civil suit

Haddish’s controversial Israel-Hamas war comments came roughly two years after she and comedian Aries Spears were named in a civil suit alleging child sex abuse. According to the suit, Haddish and Spears groomed two minors who were 7 and 14 years old at the time to simulate sex acts and appear in a sexually suggestive video posted on the Funny or Die website, according to NPR. The video was taken down, the website said.

Haddish later said she regretted appearing in the skit, and though it was intended ” … to be comedic, it wasn’t funny at all.” The plaintiffs in the case later dropped the suit. Trizah Morris, their mother and Haddish’s longtime friend, sued the comedian for defamation after Haddish suggested the civil suit was an extortion attempt. As of Feb. 2024, the defamation suit was in arbitration, according to The Root.

Other Haddish controversies

Other high-profile controversies have followed the Girls Trip actress over the years. Among them, in 2023, she shared a post on X seemingly in support of actor Jonathan Majors, who was later convicted of reckless assault and harassment.

Sharing Haddish’s since-deleted X post, Chris Evans (no relation to the Marvel star) wrote,

“Tiffany Haddish is a mess. Let’s not forget she and her friends bullied a Black woman doctor into a suicide attempt because she was trying to give them factual information about COVID.”

via Chris Evans/X

Weeks before the Netflix is a Joke appearance, Haddish had opened up about her Jewish heritage in a Marc Maron WTF podcast interview. Israel has said Hamas killed approximately 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7. Since then, Israeli forces have killed an estimated 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom are civilians, in what Israeli officials call a war against Hamas. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has been described as an attempted genocide by some outside observers.

In 2013, Benita Alexander produced an NBC documentary on Paolo Macchiarini — a medical superstar credited with using plastic tracheas to treat throat conditions. While doing so, Alexander and Macchiarini grew close and fell in love. Macchiarini, however, was already married, and when Alexander found out, the surgeon’s complex web of lies fell apart.

At that time, Macchiarini was hailed as a visionary, and there was no reason for Alexander, or anyone else, to think otherwise. The Swiss-Italian surgeon — the subject of the three-part, 2023 Netflix documentary true crime series Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife — belonged to the international medical elite, and his purported innovations, like plastic organs, were seen as groundbreaking innovations.

Based on that acclaim, Alexander’s NBC Macchiarini documentary, A Leap of Faith, was produced in 2013 and broadcast a year later, according to Esquire. By that point, Alexander and Macchiarini — who told Alexander he was divorced — were engaged to be married. The date was set for 2015, with Pope Francis set to officiate their marriage, according to Macchiarini.

The only problem? Macchiarini was already married.

Who is Emanuela Pecchia?

Long before he became embroiled with Benita Alexander, Macchiarini was living the married life with his first wife and the mother of his two children, Emanuela Pecchia. He kept her concealed from Alexander, and a bulk of the people he interacted with, but Pecchia was among the first women to fall for Macchiarini’s lies.

Ahead of his would-be marriage to Alexander, Macchiarini buttered the producer up with endless fabrications. On top of deceiving her about Pope Francis, he also spun lies about other A-list celebrities attending the wedding and concealed his marital status. While carrying on his relationship with the NBC producer, the surgeon was still married to Pecchia, who lived in Barcelona with his two children. And they weren’t even the only women Macchiarini made a habit of misleding.

Since 2010, Macchiarini and Ana Paula Bernardes — the mother of one of his transplant patients — had been in a relationship and even had a child together. But after Macchiarini’s operation on Bernardes’ son, her son died. And like Bernardes’ son, most of Macchiarini’s patients later died as well.

Because of that fact, Macchiarini’s claims about medical innovations like plastic organs were exposed as frauds, much like everything else, including his research, education, and even romantic life.

Where is Emanuela Pecchia now?

According to The U.S. Sun, unconfirmed reports say Paolo Macchiarini and Emanuela Pecchia split and possibly divorced around 2016. Otherwise, little else is known about Pecchia’s life, or Pecchia and Macchiarini’s two children.

Since Macchiarini’s personal and professional lies came crashing down, the once-prominent surgeon has been embroiled in legal issues related to his false claims and fraudulent surgeries. In 2023, Reuters reported that Macchiarini was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for “gross assault” stemming from plastic trachea procedures. Macchiarini says he’s innocent and will appeal the ruling.

Controversial TikToker Daniel Larson was arrested on May 1, 2024, in Colorado on federal charges, according to court filings. Larson had been arrested in the past and had reportedly arrived for a probation hearing when he was taken into custody by federal agents.

Larson was already infamous online for producing erratic content that drew accusations of racism and pedophilia. And in 2020, Larson announced he would run for president. About a year before his most recent arrest, Larson posted a clip on TikTok where he pulled an Olive Garden fire alarm announcing everyone inside was under “citizens arrest.” Larson was taken into custody for the incident.

Daniel Larson was arrested for a series of bomb threats

According to court filings, Daniel Larson was arrested in May 2024 for a series of bomb threats the notorious TikToker made over the phone throughout 2023, targeting places like a Colorado courthouse and state government building, a nonprofit center in the state, and even the White House. He also threatened FBI headquarters and one FBI agent, specifically.

About a month before Larson was arrested, he shared a TikTok post in April 2024 stating FBI agents were at his door after he ordered “7,000 pounds of Tannerite” to his Colorado home. Meanwhile, Larson has not commented publicly about his arrest on explosive charges. On May 1, however, he uploaded a comment stating he was going “into the mountains” for the foreseeable future over “safety concerns.”

Daniel Larson’s arrest drew strong reactions online

News that Daniel Larson was arrested drew comments from fans and posts from other high-profiler TikTokers like Noah Glenn Carter. “I don’t think there’s any getting out for Daniel this time,” Carter said.

In the comments section on Carter’s post, Daniel added, ” … Daniel Larson is obviously mentally ill and being influenced by others around him.” In another Carter post about Larson’s arrest, Yeetman commented, “Bro Daniel Larson just needs help. He does not need prison.”

Larson faces six counts of “Use or Threatened Use of Explosive Material” and one count of “Interstate Communication of Threats.” If convicted he could be fined $250,000 for each charge, and face up to 65 years in prison.

A day of celebration was marred by tragedy at Ohio State University when 53-year-old Larissa Brady fell from the stands at the school’s 2024 graduation ceremony, The Washington Post reported. The tragic incident happened on Sunday, May 5 around the same time commencement began.

The OSU graduation ceremony happened in the school’s football stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Brady was pronounced dead at the scene, and later identified through her fingerprints. The initial coroner’s report did not specify whether Brady’s death was accidental or intentional, according to The Columbus-Dispatch.

In a statement, OSU spokesman Ben Johnson said the following,

An individual fell from the stands. They are deceased. We have no additional details to share at this time. Police and emergency responders are on scene. For anyone affected by today’s incident, we will make counseling and other support resources available.”

via The Columbus-Dispatch

No foul play was suspected

Days after Larissa Brady died, Ohio State University officials released a statement that said Brady was a family member of an Ohio State graduate, and no foul play was suspected. Brady’s death was also not believed to have been accidental, the school said. “Our hearts go out to her family and friends during this exceptionally difficult time,” the school officials stated.

Despite the tragic development, Ohio State University’s graduation ceremony proceeded as planned, as around 13,000 students received their diplomas before exiting the stadium near where Larissa Brady’s body was found. Brady’s death was not mentioned during the ceremony. The school also didn’t say what happened on social media days after the event, drawing sharp criticism from some Ohio State students.

OSU graduate Anthony Mullen told News 5 Cleveland that the news ” … sent shock waves throughout the entire section of the graduates. That is such a tough thing to feel and also to feel like that is not being addressed — just kind of ignoring it — it just happened, Mullen added. His heart went out to Brady’s family, he said.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. A list of international crisis resources can be found here.

Baddies: Caribbean season 5 premiered on May 5, 2024, and in it, musician Ahna Mac, who stars in the reality series, revealed what happened to her face. But while some details are now known, questions remain about exactly what happened to her.

In the season premiere, Mac disclosed what happened to her appearance in a verbal altercation with Rollie Pollie, another character on the show. Mac and Rollie have long had beef, as Baddies fans are well aware, and in the premiere episode, Rollie asks her, “Where you injured at though?”

Ahna Mac’s face was fractured in three places

Responding to Rollie Pollie, Ahna Mac said her face “fractured in three places,” and in keeping with Rollie and Mac’s contentious relationship, Rollie responded, “Don’t get it fractured in three more.” Mac did not, however, say how her face was fractured, but it’s reported that it likely happened in a fight.

Isaiahjaay1 alleges on TikTok that Mac beat up Mariahlynn Araujo, another character on the show, and her mom sometime before season 5 taped, but that’s just an unconfirmed accusation.

Some people wondered if the rumored Baddies: Caribbean “injured reserve list” might have something to do with Mac’s injury. A Reddit post shared an Instagram story, which said that Rollie Pollie and Mac would return to the show “after they heal.” Apparently, “injured reserves” refers to the long-running feuds between the women on the show and not Mac’s facial fractures.

About two months before season 5 premiered, Bayjoony commented on Reddit, “It wasn’t confirmed exactly but [Mac] was in the hospital a couple days ago. Ppl saying dehydration/food poisoning but idk where they getting that from.” It now seems possible that Mac’s time in the hospital could relate to whatever happened to her face.

We’ll likely learn more about what happened to Mac’s face in the rest of season 5. We’ll be watching.

Telehealth may be the way of the future. For one TikToker, Capturingclouds, however, her experience with a telehealth provider, Teledoc Health, led to a potential stalking situation. It began when a Teledoc Health representative used the information she provided in her session to contact her on WhatsApp.

In the first TikTok post, Capturingclouds explained she ID’d the guy, Josh Robles from Dickinson, Texas, when he sent her a WhatsApp message. “Josh decided I sounded cute on the phone,” she said, “saved my phone number, and hit me up on WhatsApp.”

Capturingclouds said that Robles admitted what he’d done in a WhatsApp message, and she was seeking information about Robles and whether he was still working at Teledoc (he told her he quit) so that she could “remedy” the situation.

According to Capturingclouds, she tried to contact Teledoc Health services about what happened via email, phone calls, and DMing the company on two separate platforms. “Very f***ed up, and I need someone to contact me,” she said.

Josh Robles wasn’t a doctor

In her second TikTok post, Capturingcloud said she found out Josh Robles wasn’t a doctor but a customer service representative gathering her information for an appointment. “He pulled my information and was sending me inappropriate messages on WhatsApp that did pertain to my medical information,” she said. A HIPAA complaint was filed, she added.

Several people had contacted her with Robles’ contact information, she continued. She said she didn’t want him to be doxxed but wanted to find out if he lied about quitting Telehealth or if he still worked there. She also wanted to know if he had a wife. “I thought that might be someone who wanted to know about this,” she said, and according to her TikTok post, those questions were answered.

Robles has an arrest record

According to Capturingclouds, she also found out Josh Robles has an arrest record for “indecency with a minor,” she alleged. “Now I’m wondering why this guy was hired into healthcare in the first place,” she said. She said Teledoc’s vice president of privacy and compliance had contacted her.

“I’m a little overwhelmed. Enraged is putting it lightly,” she added. “I don’t want you to doxx this guy. I’m looking into a lawyer. So, we’ll see where this goes,” she said.

The Netflix series Baby Reindeer took the world by storm when it introduced legions of viewers to the thinly veiled semi-autobiographical tale of Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) and his stalker, Martha Scott. According to the Daily Record, Martha’s real identity has now been revealed.

While the seven-episode series is terrifying as fiction, Baby Reindeer is based on a true story, which adds new shades of horror to the story. The show’s writer and creator, Richard Gadd, plays a fictionalized version of himself, and the experience Gadd says he had in 2015 when the real Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning) started stalking him.

Like any film or television show that claims to be based on a true story, internet sleuths tried to crack the case around who the real-life version of Martha might be shortly after the show premiered. The quest to uncover her identity was heightened by the fact that Baby Reindeer includes news articles referencing her former stalking victims as well as emails received by Dunn that seem directly pulled from Gadd’s real inbox.

All the while Gadd has refused to answer the ultimate question, despite his show’s resounding success: Who is the real-life inspiration for Baby Reindeer’s Martha? Now, according to the Daily Record, the mystery has been solved.

Martha Scott’s real name is Fiona Harvey

It wasn’t Richard Gadd who revealed Martha Scott’s real name, but Fiona Harvey herself — i.e., the woman who said she’s the real person the character is based on, and Harvey takes issue with several points in the show compared to what she says really happened.

Harvey told the Daily Record, “I give you my permission to name me because people have to know what is going on.” In Baby Reindeer, the Martha Scott character spends time behind bars both before and after she stalked Gadd’s character, Donny Dunn, but according to Harvey, she never went to jail.

“Gadd needs to prove I went to jail which just didn’t happen. I’ve never been sent to jail. That is blatantly obvious,” Harvey told the outlet. “Police at your door would be the first thing, then you’d be charged, then you would have a trial. Then you’d be fined or something or go to prison. This is all made up and hyperbole. There are no restraining orders, injunctions, or interdicts anywhere. There’s just no way. I’ve not had the police at my door about any of these things.”

But like the fictional Scott, Harvey says she’s a lawyer. She told the Daily Record she planned legal action against Gadd and Netflix. “It’s a load of rubbish,” Harvey said, referring to the show. “I don’t have any money, but I’m a perfectly capable lawyer so I will represent myself.”

Some online sleuths figured it was Fiona Harvey all along

News that Fiona Harvey is the real Martha Scott likely came as no surprise to some online sleuths. Much of the online chatter around Martha’s real identity had already pointed to Harvey when X/Twitter posts from 2014 were uncovered, in which she mentions Gadd by name multiple times, and claims to have appeared at his stand-up comedy sets — as the character of Martha does on the show. 

Making the case more convincing, Harvey’s posts have similar spelling errors as those depicted in Martha’s emails on Baby Reindeer. Additionally, many of Harvey’s social media posts mention visiting a pub in Camden — the same location as on Baby Reindeer — while her Facebook bio claims she is a lawyer.

Perhaps the most damning evidence came from a post on X in 2014, in which Harvey wrote that she needs her “curtains hung badly.” This is a direct reference to early episodes in Baby Reindeer, when Donny makes the same joke and kickstarts Martha’s infatuation with him. Another name put forward by internet sleuths in relation to Martha’s identity is Helen Faure, a stalker who was convicted last year for harassing a civil litigation barrister in the U.K.

While Faure’s case feels eerily similar to the one depicted in Baby Reindeer, fans were quick to point out that Faure would have been in prison around the time that the events of the show took place in 2015.

In any case, Gadd himself had refused to name the real-life inspiration for Martha, reiterating the woman’s mental illness and saying the character presents “an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone … We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself.” Gadd did say that given how events played out in real life, he isn’t concerned that Baby Reindeer will elicit a response from the real-life Martha.

Perhaps more pressing than the real-life counterpart of Martha is that of the character Darrien ( Tom Goodman-Hill); however, defamation laws in the UK will prevent him from being publicly named. Either way, Baby Reindeer chatter won’t die down anytime soon, especially now that the real Martha Scott has spoken publicly.

The article mentions child sex abuse. Please read with caution.

Madison Bergmann, an engaged 24-year-old female Wisconsin school teacher was arrested for allegedly “making out” with one of her 5th-grade male students, and her fiancé has spoken out about the status of their wedding, the New York Post reported.

Bergmann told the police her abusive relationship with the 11-year-old boy began when she accompanied the kid’s family on a ski trip. Why Bergmann was invited is unclear. Bergmann and the boy exchanged cell phone numbers while skiing, she said, and he called her several times on the outing.

Bergmann and the child then started texting each other and speaking on the phone, passing inappropriate notes to each other in class, and allegedly “kissing” when the boy stayed after school and during lunch. Bergmann is also accused of secretly touching the child in class. Reportedly, Bergmann told her student she loved him and was “obsessed” with him.

The boy’s mom caught Bergmann and her son on the phone

In late April 2024, the boy’s mother caught her son and Bergmann talking on the phone. She told her son he had crossed a boundary and emailed Bergmann, telling the teacher to no longer contact the boy. The child’s father, however, discovered inappropriate messages between Bergmann and his son and reported Bergmann to the school.

Bergmann was placed on administrative leave and arrested on first-degree child sexual assault charges, according to CBS News. She was expected to appear in court in late May. Bergmann was engaged to marry her fiancé, Sam Hickman, just a few months after she got caught. Speaking with the New York Post, Hickman’s friend said the wedding was “indefinitely postponed.”

Hickman’s friend said the following,

“Sam is really upset and heartbroken. He’s embarrassed and p****d. He didn’t deserve this. Everyone is p****d … He says it’s f***ed up that she cheated with a little kid. He’s really, really hurt. Not talking too much about it, just like, ‘This is f***ed up.’ He’s still in shock.”

via the New York Post

Bergmann tried to break off the relationship

In one of the written messages she sent to the boy, Madison Bergmann reportedly mentioned her cousin was also in the 5th grade. “I can’t imagine a man talking to her how we talk,” Bergmann said, according to Fox 9. “I know we have a special relationship and I do love you more than anyone in the world but I have to be the adult here and stop.”

After Bergmann was placed on administrative leave and arrested, the principal at the boy’s school wrote to parents, “We are shocked and disturbed by this news. Our greatest concern is for the River Crest School community and the children impacted.”

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

A recent Chipsanddip127 TikTok post had us holding our breath based on the first few seconds alone. “I have recently discovered that my husband has an Instagram account, and he has secretly been taking pictures,” Chipsanddip said. “A husband with a secret Instagram account?” we thought. This can’t end well.

And we weren’t the only ones assuming that something dark and disturbing was about to come next. In the comments section, Salma wrote, ” … ‘[S]ecret Instagram account…’ oohh no .” In the meantime, Elder Elderberry added, “OK I was scared when this started.” But as Elder Elderberry points out, the outcome is “incredibly wholesome.”

It’s cute little crocheted animals!

As Chipsanddip explains in her post, her husband has been sneaking around on her, sharing pictures on a secret Instagram account, but he’s not up to something nasty. He shares photos of the cute little crotcheted animals his wife makes, instead. And the pictures are pretty high quality, we might add.

In her post, Chipsanddip says “This was my attempt at making a mouse,” and that her husband named him “Derpy.” D’awww that’s so sweet. “Is that just not the cutest thing? I don’t deserve him” Chipanddip said. She then showed her followers a nicely staged picture of a turtle with a red shell. “I have no idea when he even took this,” she claimed.

Not only is Chipsanddip’s husband sharing photos of his wife’s creations, “He’s full-on writing stories about them going on adventures. It’s so f***ing cute,” she said. She does not, however, explain how she discovered her husband’s social media account, or if she told him she found out what he’d been doing.

That’s a ‘Green Flag,’ comments said

In the meantime, most comments agreed that this TikToker seems to have married the nicest guy ever, and based on the quality of his pictures, a talented photographer. “Remarry this man ,” Ami wrote. “This man LOVES you!!! It’s adorable!! ,” Nate Lewis added.

“If this is not the most supportive, Labrador partner stuff I’ve ever seen. girl.. don’t you dare tell him you found it. let him carry on with it and share the stories he wrote!” Spacylacy suggested. And finally, “If he is making backstories for them, he should make a children’s book with the photos and stories! I would totally buy it!” Stephanie said.

If nothing else, Chipsanddip’s post deserves an award for the “TikTok twist you didn’t see coming.” As Madison noted in the comments section, “My fight or flight was immediately activated by the first 5 seconds and quelled right after ”

Amid widespread campus protests and worldwide controversy surrounding Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, Andrew Dudum shared a statement on X leading some to accuse the HIMS CEO of supporting Hamas, a Palestinian militant group behind the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.

In his May 1 X post, Dudum wrote the following,

Moral courage > College degree. If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working. There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline.”

via Andrew Dudum/X

Dudum’s post then linked to job openings at his men’s telehealth company.

The Palestinian-American CEO’s statement drew backlash in comments from Jordan Fried and many others. Fried wrote, “Translation: $HIMS hires antisemites. If there was ever a sell signal, this is it.” In the meantime, Jordan Schachtel added, “Violation of fiduciary duty in support of Hamas. Bold move, Cotton.”

Does Andrew Dudum really support Hamas?

As comments responding to Jordan Schachtel pointed out, Andrew Dudum’s statement alone does not mean he supports Hamas, necessarily. “Condemning the horrific actions of Israel is not the same as supporting Hamas,” Kiwi Investor wrote in response to Schachtel’s criticism.

Perhaps clarifying his position on the conflict, Dudum also reposted a Senator Bernie Sanders interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour in which Sanders stated, referring to the campus protests, “[The students] are out there for the right reasons… they are out there not because they are ‘pro-Hamas.’ They are out there because they are outraged by what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza.”

Dudum, who says he descends from Palestinian refugees who fled the Nakba in 1948 as well as Holocaust survivors, has spoken out in support of a ceasefire in the past. In 2007, he founded LendforPeace.org, an organization “providing direct micro-loans to Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza,” according to its website.

Furthermore, in a Medium opinion piece published after Oct. 7, Dudum wrote that he believed in “… [P]roactively dismantling the overly simplistic perspective that there are two sides to every issue and acknowledge that multiple truths do exist … [I]n the case of Israel and Palestine, the difficulty is not in identifying those truths, but in holding multiple truths together, simultaneously,” he added.

Israel says the Oct. 7 Hamas-lead attack inside Israel killed 1,200 hundred civilians, according to NPR. Israel then attacked Gaza, in what authorities said was an offensive against Hamas, but since then, Israeli forces have killed an estimated 30,000 Palestinians, many of whom were civilians.

This article contains graphic descriptions of murder and sexual abuse. Please read with caution.

A previously unknown serial killer was possibly uncovered in April 2024 in Mexico City when 39-year-old Miguel Cortés was arrested for raping and murdering a teenage girl and stabbing her mother. After his arrest, authorities found evidence in Cortés’ apartment leading some to call him the “Mexican Jeffrey Dahmer.”

Early on April 16, 2024, Cassandra Calles returned to her home in Mexico City to find Cortés, her neighbor, in the bedroom of her daughter, María José Castillo, Fox 11 reported. Castillo had been raped and strangled and was already dead, and when Calles tried to prevent Cortés from fleeing he stabbed her too, but she survived. “[Cassandra] has a stab wound on her leg, neck, left lung, and pelvic area,” Cassandra’s sister, Angela, told the press.

Neighbors intervened and detained Cortés until the police arrived and arrested him. Security footage also showed Cortés approaching the home after Cassandra left that morning. With Cortés in custody, authorities searched the pharmaceutical chemist’s room and made several gruesome discoveries suggesting the 17-year-old’s rape and murder, and the brutal knife attack on her mother, were not isolated incidents.

Miguel Cortés may have killed as many as 20 women

Inside Miguel Cortés’ room, police found blood stains, a saw, bones, cell phones, and ID cards of as many as 20 missing women, the AP reported. “Biological material” was also recovered, although Mexican authorities did not specify what that was. The evidence, Mexico City prosecutor Ulises Lara said, indicates “we are looking at a possible serial killer of women.” Journal notebooks were also found recording Cortés’ alleged murders, Lara added.

Mundo Now says Cortés confessed to being a victim of sexual abuse from his father, and said he was angry at his mother and sister for not stopping what happened. Cortés arrest is controversial in Mexico, where police are often accused of not thoroughly investigating missing women.

To date, Cortés has been linked to at least eight women, including María José Castillo, and authorities were working to identify the remains found inside his residence. One missing woman linked to Cortés was his romantic partner.

What’s known so far about Cortés bears many similarities to how Jeffrey Dahmer killed his victims and dealt with their remains. Like Dahmer, some outlets report that Cortés may have also engaged in necrophilia. The Milwaukee serial killer was convicted in 1992 of murdering and dismembering 15 men and sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences. Dahmer later died in prison.

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

In 2001, Asunta Basterra was a one-year-old child in China when she was adopted by Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, a married couple from Spain. About 12 years later, in 2013, Basterra was found dead on the side of the road near where she lived.

What happened to Asunta captured true-crime headlines worldwide and is now covered in The Asunta Case, a Spanish-language dramatized version of the story, available to stream now on Netflix. Asunta’s adoptive parents were successful and had stable careers, and early on, Asunta showed promise in school with what seemed like a bright future ahead of her, according to The Guardian — so, what went wrong?

Asunta was reported missing

In 2013, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra were divorced over an infidelity on Rosario’s part. Though divorced, Basterra lived nearby and maintained a relationship with his adopted daughter.

On Sept. 21, 2013, Porto said she last saw Asunta Basterra at home doing homework, but when Porto returned later that night, she was gone. Asunta’s body was found only a few hours later along a country road, and a coroner ruled she died from asphyxiation and had about nine times the highest adult dose of Lorazepam in her system, a substance commonly used in anti-anxiety medication.

Asunta behaved strangely in school before she died, telling teachers her parents were making her take something that tasted terrible, and that she had trouble staying awake in class.

The man in black

A few months before Asunta Basterra died, Rosario Porto said she encountered a man attempting to strangle her adopted daughter at around 3 in the morning, but he fled the scene. But she never filed a formal complaint with the police, and didn’t inform any of her neighbors about the purported break-in.

Meanwhile, Porto’s mental health had declined as early as 2009, and she spent time in psychiatric care over suicidal ideation and other symptoms. Over time, Porto’s well-being improved, but in 2013, both her mother and father died in quick succession, and not long after, Basterra and Porto suddenly divorced.

The CCTV footage

After Asunta Basterra’s body was found, CCTV footage revealed that Rosario Porto was in a car with a long-haired girl at the same time she said Asunta was home studying. Porto was arrested at her daughter’s funeral, and a short time later, Alfonso Basterra was arrested in connection to his adopted daughter’s death.

Although little physical evidence linked Porto and Basterra to Asunta’s murder, her adoptive parents were sentenced to 18 years in prison for the crime. In 2020, Porto died by suicide while serving her sentence, and Basterra remains behind bars as of this report. Both appealed their convictions, but neither could explain how or why Asunta had such high levels of Lorazepam in her body.