Amelia Neath

JOURNALISM PORTFOLIO

The Independent •

Ruby Franke, former parenting YouTuber, pleads guilty to child abuse

Former family vlogger Ruby Franke pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated child abuse brought against her earlier this year for abusing and starving two of her children.

Ms Franke, 41, a mother of six, who gave parenting advice via a once-popular YouTube channel called “8 Passengers”, wore a gray and white striped jail uniform as she stood before a judge in the Washington County, Utah courtroom on Monday.

She pleaded guilty to each of the first three charges individually, with two othe
The Independent •

YouTuber Ruby Franke used to offer parental advice. Now she’s accused of child abuse

“8Passengers” was a space where Ruby Franke would share her and her family’s life in Utah on YouTube.

The channel was focused on sharing parental advice as well as family vlogs featuring the 41-year-old mother, her husband, Kevin Franke and six children.

The couple first founded their now-deleted channel back in 2015 and accumulated over two million subscribers before speculation began to mount in 2020 about their activities.

Viewers were often concerned about the couple’s harsh parenting sty
The Independent •

What we know about the Bronx apartment building collapse

Over 100 people have found themselves unexpectedly homeless after their apartment building in the Bronx partially collapsed.

But, somewhat miraculously, no one was killed or seriously injured.

The building, which contains roughly four dozen apartments, was having facade work done as recently as a few days ago.

Then, on Monday, a whole corner of the building collapsed out of nowhere, exposing apartments and creating a massive pile of debris on the street below.

No cause has yet been given by
The Independent •

Nancy Ng went missing on a Guatemala yoga retreat. Could a key witness help find her?

Nancy Ng, a Californian woman, mysteriously disappeared while kayaking on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala more than a month ago.

Ms Ng was allegedly out on the kayaking excursion with 10 other people from a yoga retreat where she was spending a break away from work.

Authorities believe that Ms Ng drowned while out on the lake. But that theory has been challenged by family members questioning why the last people to see Ms Ng allegedly haven’t cooperated with the investigation from the state.

After w
The Independent •

A chemical train derailed in Kentucky. As residents return home, questions remain

In the small, remote town of Livingston, Kentucky, residents had been preparing their turkeys and setting their tables for Thanksgiving the following day.

The roughly 200 people had no idea that a train carrying chemicals had derailed off the tracks nearby.

In total, 16 large train cars derailed – two containing molten sulphur. The chemicals instantly caught fire and sent large clouds of smoke billowing into the air.

The atmosphere quickly filled with toxic sulphur dioxide, prompting authorit
The Independent •

Seven key takeaways from Robert De Niro and Graham Chase Robinson court case

A four-year legal battle has come to a head as Robert De Niro and his former employee face off at trial in a federal court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit was brought against the Hollywood actor by Graham Chase Robinson, 41, who worked for Mr De Niro between 2008 and 2019 at his company Canal Productions.

Mr De Niro also has sued Ms Robinson, seeking three years’ worth of her salary for allegedly stealing items such as airline points from him.

Alleged back-scratching, urinating while on the phone a
The Independent •

A judge made a key ruling in a couple’s divorce. He was shot dead hours later

A typical day for Maryland judge Andrew Wilkinson ended in unspeakable tragedy as he was gunned down in his own driveway.

Mr Wilkinson was sworn in as a judge in 2020 to the Washington County Circuit Court, excited to serve his community.

His life was cut short on 19 October - and a manhunt is now underway for 49-year-old Pedro Argote, who is considered a person of interest in the case.

The two men crossed paths - albeit not physically - hours before the killing, when Wilkinson presided over
The Independent •

Tupac Shakur murder suspect asks why no media captured his arrest in bodycam video

Bodycam footage of the arrest of the man charged with the murder of 90s rap star Tupac Shakur reveals him questioning police as to why they didn’t show up with a media entourage.

Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis, 60, was arrested on 29 September in Las Vegas in connection to the murder of Mr Shakur, widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in the history of hiphop.

In the police video, Mr Davis can be seen walking with a bottle of water in nearby Henderson when Las Vegas Metro officer
The Independent •

Sister of woman whose remains were found in Colorado issues plea for missing hiker

The sister of Suzanne Morphew, the missing woman whose body was found in Colorado, has pleaded for the public to pay attention to a woman whose disappearance led to the discovery of her sister’s remains.

“Today I choose to turn my thoughts and heart to the family of Edna Quintana whose search was the catalyst for my miracle; Suzanna being found,” Melinda Moorman Balzer said in a statement.

Agents from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found human remains on 22 September while searching for
The Independent •

City mourns after shows fatal stabbing of New York activist Ryan Carson

A well-known New York activist was stabbed to death in Brooklyn in the early hours of Monday morning.

Ryan Carson, 32, a community activist and Pratt Institute alum, was walking with his girlfriend back home at around 4am after they had just attended a wedding on Long Island.

In disturbing video footage obtained by The New York Post, the couple, both dressed in formal attire, were seen pausing to sit and speak at a bench bus stop as a stranger in a black hooded jumper strolled past them.

Up a
The Independent •

Man lauded as MeToo ‘victim’ accused of killing and dismembering girlfriend

A man once hailed by Donald Trump’s administration as a “victim” of the #MeToo movement has been arrested for allegedly killing and dismembering the body of his girlfriend.

Joseph Carl Roberts, 42, has been accused of killing Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner after her body parts were discovered in a large trash bag wrapped up in duct tape, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

After he told the news his life was almost destroyed by false sexual harassment allegations he garnered while at uni
The Independent •

Trump shares bizarre court sketch of him sitting next to Jesus at civil fraud trial

Donald Trump shared a bizarre fake court sketch from the first day of his civil fraud trial – depicting himself sitting next to an unmistakable holy figure.

The doctored image, posted on his Truth Social account on Monday night, shows the former president flanked by Jesus Christ inside the Manhattan courthouse where a judge will rule what penalties Mr Trump should face for engaging in decades of business fraud.

“This is the most accurate court sketch of all time. Because nobody could have made
The Independent •

Former teen beauty queen claims she was sex-trafficked and forced into porn

A former beauty pageant queen has made new allegations in a federal lawsuit claiming she was sex trafficked and raped on the orders of an infamous pornography producer.

Kirsty Althaus was the runner-up in the Miss Teen Colorado USA Pageant in 2013, but was forced to give up the title when she was found to be in online pornography videos, with her name in the title.

A copy of the lawsuit, filed on 8 September, was obtained by The Daily Beast, which said she made allegations against a series of
The Independent •

Barry Morphew suggests Suzanne’s death could be tied to other victims

Barry Morphew’s attorney has suggested that the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew could be linked to other victims whose bodies have also been found in rural Colorado.

Morphew’s remains were found last week more than three years on from her disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020 after she was said to have set off on a bike ride.

Saguache County officials said on Wednesday that her remains had been found in Moffat, Colorado – a small rural town of 100 residents, 45 miles south of the Morphew family
The Independent •

US took custody of Travis King following ‘intense diplomacy’ with North Korea

Private Travis King, the US Army soldier who fled to North Korea rather than board a US-bound plane for discipline by authorities at home, is back in American custody nearly two months after he broke away from a tour group in the demilitarised zone that separates North and South Korea and crossed the border into the North.

US officials on Wednesday said the errant American soldier had been turned over to American authorities in China, and has now been transported to a US military installation.
The Independent •

Barry Morphew breaks silence over ‘heartbreaking’ discovery of wife Suzanne’s remains

Barry Morphew has broken his silence following the discovery of his wife Suzanne’s remains – over three years after she vanished without a trace.

Suzanna Morphew, 49, went missing on Mother’s Day 2020 after she reportedly set off on a bike ride in southern Colorado.

Mr Morphew was previously charged with her murder in May 2021, but prosecutors later dropped the charges against him one day before his trial was due to start.

On Wednesday, Colorado officials confirmed that the mother-of-two’s re
The Independent •

Surfside collapse victims’ families slam plans to build skyscraper

The families of those who died in the condo collapse in Surfside, near Miami, have spoken out against plans for a luxury skyscraper to be built on the collapse site.

Within the design plans, it can be seen that the trash bay for the new luxury real estate project would be located right next to a memorial park for the 98 people who lost their lives.

Families have labelled this decision as “disrespectful” to those who lost their lives over two years ago, to place a memorial park right by the tra
The Independent •

Armed suspect on run after ‘30 Under 30’ CEO murdered in Baltimore apartment

An “armed” and “extremely dangerous” suspect is on the run after a successful 26-year-old tech executive was found brutally murdered in her apartment in Baltimore.

Pava LaPere was the founder and CEO of EcoMaps Technologies, a custom platform builder for companies, and had featured on Forbes’ “30 under 30” list this year for her social impact on the industry.

On Monday, she was found dead from apparent signs of “blunt-force trauma” inside her apartment in the 300 block of West Franklin Street,
The Independent •

US soldier who fled to North Korea back in American custody

US soldier Travis King crossed over the border from South to North Korea in an alleged attempt to defect from the army after his experiences of “inhumane treatment” and “racism” while in service.

The 2nd ClassPrivate had passed through airport security as he was being sent home from South Korea for disciplinary reasons. He still somehow managed to leave the airport and join a civilian tour of the demilitarized zone near the North Korean border.

As he left the tour group behind, he reportedly l
The Independent •

US soldier who fled to North Korea back in American custody

US soldier Travis King crossed over the border from South to North Korea in an alleged attempt to defect from the army after his experiences of “inhumane treatment” and “racism” while in service.

The 2nd ClassPrivate had passed through airport security as he was being sent home from South Korea for disciplinary reasons. He still somehow managed to leave the airport and join a civilian tour of the demilitarized zone near the North Korean border.

As he left the tour group behind, he reportedly l
The Independent •

Trudeau calls his standing ovation for Nazi ‘deeply embarrassing’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to outrage over the standing ovation he participated in for a war veteran who served in the Nazi Waffen-SS, calling it a “mistake” and “deeply embarrassing” to the country’s Parliament.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit on Friday, Canada’s House of Commons gave a rousing standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran who fought in the Second World War – unaware he had served in a Nazi SS unit.

Leaders
The Independent •

Maryland police identify man in video with Rachel Morin’s suspected killer

Maryland police have now identified and interviewed a man captured in a video with the prime suspect in the murder of mother-of-five Rachel Morin.

Back in August, Harford County Colonel William Davis revealed that DNA found at the scene of Morin’s murder had been matched to DNA found at the scene of a home invasion in Los Angeles back in March where a young girl was attacked.

“Unfortunately that suspect has not been positively identified, but he did leave behind his DNA,” Colonel Davis said at
The Independent •

Gen Milley reveals shocking comments Trump made about wounded vet

General Mark Milley, the soon-to-retire chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made a claim exposing Donald Trump for making “disturbing” comments about a wounded US Army veteran as well as other eye-popping statements.

Mr Milley is the 20th chairman, a role which he started when Mr Trump gave it to him in 2019. Before this, he was the 39th chief of staff of the Army and served in multiple commands throughout his career

In a tell-all interview with The Atlantic to commemorate the end of hi
The Independent •

Ruby Franke’s estranged husband ‘won’t point fingers’ in child abuse case

The estranged husband of YouTube family influencer Ruby Franke won’t be speaking out directly on the child abuse charges against her.

Randy Kester, Kevin Franke’s attorney, told Today that he is “making an effort to rebuild and bridge these relationships rather than sling mud and point fingers,” after Ms Franke’s six criminal counts were announced.

Attention turned to Kevin Franke after the sisters of Ruby Franke - Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellin - jumped online to weigh in on the situ
Load More