True Crime News Roundup: 6-Year-Old Girl Missing Since 2019 Found Alive In Secret Compartment

Police find a New York girl missing for years hidden in a secret compartment in her grandfather’s home.

Police executing a search warrant on a New York residence discovered a now-6-year-old girl who vanished over two years ago and her mother in a hidden compartment underneath a staircase.

On July 13, 2019, the legal guardian of Paislee Shultis reported her missing in Cayuga Heights. Over the past two years, Saugerties Police Chief Joseph A. Sinagra said, officers received multiple tips and went to the home of the girl’s grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, a dozen times.

“They lied to us for two years, including the father,” Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, “stating that he had no idea where his daughter was,” Sinagra told CNN.

On Feb. 14, authorities acting on a tip secured the warrant and again went to the Saugerties home to search the property. At one point, police said, a detective noticed something seemed off about the staircase. When he shined a flashlight on the steps, he noticed through a crack what appeared to be a blanket. “And as they’re removing the steps off the staircase, they see a set of feet, little feet,” Sinagra said.

In addition to the missing child, officers also found in the wet and cold hiding spot her noncustodial biological mother, Kimberly Cooper, 33.

“It’s quite possible they were under the staircase for four, four-and-a-half hours, almost five hours, before they were discovered,” Sinagra said, according to NBC News. “She stayed so still and so quiet with cops walking around under that staircase, literally, on top of them, above them.”

Paislee was eventually reunited with her legal custodian as well as her teenage sister.

Police charged the child’s father and grandfather with one count each of felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, police said. Both were released on their own recognizance.

Cooper was charged with second-degree custodial interference and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

Sinagra did not divulge why Paislee’s parents lost custody of the little girl. The police chief, however, explained to CNN the issue could have been “rectified by now,” but he added that “this is going to be a major setback for them.”

“We should all wait until the facts come out,” noted Cooper’s defense attorney, Carol K. Morgan. “Everyone should be patient before they draw their own conclusions.”

A Florida man just out of prison allegedly killed his brother and held a woman hostage, officials say.

A recently freed convict in Florida is accused of planning his younger sibling’s slaying and taking a woman hostage.

On Feb. 11, authorities in Citrus County took Daniel Arthur Redman, 29, into custody and charged him with the premeditated murder of his 19-year-old brother, Brenden Ray Redman.

On Jan. 14 around 9 p.m., Redman, who was just released from prison five days earlier, allegedly shot his brother outside a home in Inverness, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Deputies responding to the shooting began searching for Daniel Redman with a K-9 unit, which tracked the suspect to a motor home about a quarter mile from the scene.

“Upon contact, the suspect was observed holding another victim, with obvious injuries, as hostage,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies gave verbal commands for the suspect to release the hostage, which he eventually complied with.”

Once the hostage was safe, the sheriff’s office said, the suspect refused to comply with deputies’ orders and they shot him one time after he reached behind his back and towards his waistband.

The suspect was transported to an area hospital for treatment and then booked into the Lake Butler Correctional Facility on multiple charges, including possession of a firearm by convicted felon, burglary with battery, premeditated murder, and kidnapping.

It’s unclear why Redman was incarcerated prior to his most recent arrest.

R&B singer Trey Songz denies a rape allegation in connection to a newly filed lawsuit.

On Feb. 15, a publicly unidentified woman filed a civil lawsuit against Trey Songz alleging he anally raped her nearly six years ago, NBC News reported.

The woman said in court documents that she was in a consensual relationship with the singer, but she claimed that during a party at his house on March 24, 2016, she repeatedly told him she did not wish to have anal sex with him.

“After entering the bedroom, Trey Songz turned, almost immediately, into a savage rapist,” NBC reported, citing the suit. “Trey Songz threw Plaintiff Jane Doe to the ground, ripped Plaintiff Jane Doe’s pants off, pinned Plaintiff Jane Doe down face first and forced Defendant Trey Songz’ penis into Plaintiff’s anus without Plaintiff Jane Doe’s consent."

The lawsuit states the plaintiff “screamed in pain and begged Defendant Trey Songz to stop.”

The suit states the woman underwent a sexual assault exam at Providence Joseph Medical Center Emergency Care Unit in Burbank and suffered “severe anal tearing that could require surgery.”

A representative for Songz, whose real name is Tremaine Aldon Neverson, has denied all allegations against the singer, according to NBC.

Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre settle her sexual abuse lawsuit.

Prince Andrew has reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her in London, New York, and on Jeffrey Epstein's private island Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands when she was under 18.

Financial terms of Epstein and 38-year-old Giuffre’s settlement were not disclosed, but according to a court document filed in Manhattan on Feb. 15, as part of the deal, Andrew will “make a substantial donation” to a charity “in support of victims' rights,” The New York Times reported.

In the joint court statement, Prince Andrew, 61, said he “has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”

The legal document concludes: “It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

Rapper Kodak Black is shot near an L.A. venue hosting a party for Justin Bieber.

On Feb. 12, Kodak Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, and three other people were shot near West Hollywood’s The Nice Guy restaurant and lounge, where Justin Bieber was throwing a post-concert party.

“There was an unprovoked attack on an individual kodak was with, when security and kodak came to his aid, several shots were fired at them by an unidentified assailant,” Black’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, posted on Instagram. “Luckily, this was all caught on video. Kodak was struck in the leg. It was not life threatening, he will make a full recovery and he is in stable condition.”

The Los Angeles Police Department said the shooting occurred after a “physical altercation” involving multiple people.

The investigation is ongoing.