Domestic Violence

LAS VEGAS -- Rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was jailed Wednesday on assault and drug charges after he was accused of beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife, police said. Knight, 43, the founder of bankrupt Death Row Records in Los Angeles, was arrested about 6:40 a.m. on a busy street near the Las Vegas Strip. Police responding to a domestic violence call found Knight standing over his longtime girlfriend with the knife in his hand. "He did not stab her," said Officer Jacinto Rivera, a department spokesman.

NFL great Junior Seau was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home in Oceanside on Wednesday morning, according to multiple reports. Seau, 43, among the best linebackers in NFL history, was found by his housekeeper with a gunshot wound to his chest, the North County Times reported, citing an unnamed source. A former USC star, Seau was selected fifth overall in the 1990 draft by San Diego. He played for the Chargers from 1990-2002, then spent three years with the Miami Dolphins before finishing his career with New England.

A 33-year-old mother stands accused of the unthinkable crime of murdering her four sons in a grisly scene that shocked even sheriff's deputies who have grown accustomed to violence. "It was horrible," said Deputy Brian Perry, one of the first officers at the house.

LAS VEGAS — The volatility that defines Floyd Mayweather Jr. is rooted partly in the complex relationship with his father. Floyd Mayweather Sr.'s boxing lessons helped propel his son to unimaginable riches. The younger Mayweather gets another huge payday Saturday for his title bout against 154-pound champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But there's tragedy in the familial connection, too, of lessons outside the ring that were left for the son to learn painfully on his own. On June 1, Mayweather Jr., 35, is scheduled to report to Clark County (Nev.)

Children who are exposed to violence experience wear and tear to their DNA that is similar to that seen in aging, according to a new study that may help explain why they face a heightened risk of mental and physical disorders as adults. In a long-term study of 118 pairs of identical twins, researchers at Duke University found that boys and girls who had experienced violence had shorter genetic structures called telomeres than youngsters who had more peaceful upbringings. The children in the former group had been physically abused by an adult or bullied frequently, or had witnessed domestic violence between the ages of 5 and 10. And the more types of violence a child had experienced, the faster his or her telomeres eroded, said study leader Idan Shalev, who published the findings Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

ON A MILD SUNDAY last summer, a string of "popping sounds" drifted through the lazy night air of Beverly Hills around 10 o'clock. "I didn't think anything of it," said Tom Zlotow, a neighbor who soon learned that the noises he'd heard from the house right behind his were echoes of the most sensational crime in the history of Beverly Hills. "I didn't even think it could be gunfire, especially around here."

A criminal wife-beating charge against actor Harry Morgan was dismissed Wednesday by a West Los Angeles Municipal Court judge who had promised to drop the case if the "MASH" star completed a violence counseling program. Morgan, 81, was charged July 7 with misdemeanor spousal battery after a confrontation in their Brentwood home left Barbara Morgan, his 70-year-old wife of 10 years, bruised and bloodied.

A man with an alleged history of domestic violence has been arrested in connection with the killing of Norma Lopez, a 17-year-old Moreno Valley girl who was abducted last year while walking home from school, authorities said Friday. Former Moreno Valley resident Jesse Perez Torres, 35, was arrested Thursday in Long Beach, where he had recently been living, authorities said. "We are confident we have the suspect in custody. He's not out on the streets, and I think the community can breathe a sigh of relief," Riverside County Sheriff's Capt.

The defense attorney for a man accused of killing his wife, the daughter of a former California state senator, has asked a judge to dismiss the case, alleging that a deputy district attorney who was once leading the investigation illegally tape-recorded the defendant. In a motion filed at Norwalk Superior Court, defense attorney Henry Salcido asked that, at minimum, the Los Angeles district attorney's office be recused from trying the case against Bruce Koklich. Salcido alleges that Deputy Dist.

It took nearly 5 1/2 years to convict David A. Brown in the death of his wife, Linda Marie Brown. February, 1985: Patti Bailey, at the request of her lover and brother-in-law, David A. Brown, takes a gun into the room of her sister, Linda Marie Brown (David's wife) at the Garden Grove home where they all live, intent on killing her. She gets scared and backs out.

Children who are exposed to violence experience wear and tear to their DNA that is similar to that seen in aging, according to a new study that may help explain why they face a heightened risk of mental and physical disorders as adults. In a long-term study of 118 pairs of identical twins, researchers at Duke University found that boys and girls who had experienced violence had shorter genetic structures called telomeres than youngsters who had more peaceful upbringings. The children in the former group had been physically abused by an adult or bullied frequently, or had witnessed domestic violence between the ages of 5 and 10. And the more types of violence a child had experienced, the faster his or her telomeres eroded, said study leader Idan Shalev, who published the findings Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

SAN FRANCISCO — A judge Friday refused to reinstate suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, paving the way for a city ethics commission and the Board of Supervisors to determine whether the elected sheriff should be removed for a domestic violence-related conviction. Mirkarimi, 50, elected keeper of San Francisco's jails in November, argued that Mayor Ed Lee did not have authority to suspend him for an action that occurred before Mirkarimi was sworn in as sheriff in January.

There were some questionable decisions made in the food and beverage industry last week and their consequences are still being felt Monday. Belvedere Vodka posted an ad that horrified customers with an implied rape scene while a Georgia steakhouse based a new burger on Chris Brown's 2009 attack on singer Rihanna. And Kraft Foods is discovering that its global snacks business' new name, Mondelez, has an unexpectedly vulgar connotation. Belvedere has removed a spot it posted on Facebook over the weekend depicting a shocked-looking woman trying to get away from the grip of a smiling man. “Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly,” the ad crows.

Reporting from San Francisco -- A day after Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was sentenced in a domestic violence case, a somber San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee said he would suspend the sheriff — the first step in removing him from office for "official misconduct. " After reviewing the city charter, evidence in the case and consulting with the city attorney, Lee said, he gave Mirkarimi an opportunity to resign. The sheriff refused, the mayor told reporters Tuesday, "and now I must act. " "As public officials, our first responsibility must always be to fulfill the obligations entrusted to us by the people of San Francisco," Lee said.

Reporting from San Francisco -- A contrite and tearful Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, sentenced for falsely imprisoning his wife during a New Year's Eve argument, apologized Monday for the pain he has caused and said that "I accept full responsibility. " In a plea agreement reached as the high-profile case was about to go to trial, the district attorney's office dropped misdemeanor charges of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness. Mirkarimi was sentenced to three years' probation.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Just days before going to trial on domestic violence charges, San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi pleaded guilty Monday to one misdemeanor count of falsely imprisoning his wife during an argument on New Year's Eve. The family drama, complete with video of Mirkarimi's bruised and tearful wife, Eliana Lopez, and allegations of other incidents from an ex-girlfriend, has transfixed the city and raised questions about...

A former California Highway Patrol officer fell to the floor overcome by emotion in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Monday as a jury convicted her of murder in the shooting death of her husband. In a case filled with allegations of anger management and domestic violence, the verdict in the rare prosecution of a law enforcement officer on murder charges proved to be dramatic. As the guilty verdict was read, veteran CHP Officer Tomiekia Johnson shook, then slid under the table where she had been seated alongside her attorneys.

A jury decided Wednesday that Marcus Wesson should be put to death for killing nine of his children in a cult-like murder-suicide pact in this city's worst mass murder. Jurors deliberated nine hours before deciding on the death penalty for the 58-year-old Wesson, who had been convicted June 17 on nine counts of homicide in the March 2004 shooting deaths, even though he probably did not fire the murder weapon.

  The thicket of television cameras outside Department 15 of San Francisco County Superior Court was a sign of the real-life soap opera unfolding inside - a case marked by conspiracy theories, political bad blood, deportation fears and child custody questions. The alleged crime has been recounted on video by a tearful Venezuelan telenovela star. Her husband, an ambitious politician, is facing domestic violence charges. And there are the lawyers, lots and lots of them.

The guard at the front door of Grauman's Chinese Theatre won't let me in even though I've been invited there to promote Floyd Mayweather's next fight. Fight officials are still rehearsing inside how they are going to use the arriving media to push pay-per-view sales, so I thank the guard for doing a good job. And I leave. By that time I've already been there an hour, and while waiting outside I get to thinking how ridiculous this is. Here are hundreds of reporters, broadcasters and bloggers waiting with great anticipation to get fight talk from someone who has pleaded no contest to threatening to beat up two of his own children.