Category: News

A Mendocino County woman’s explosive, online claims that her elderly father is a prolific serial killer, responsible for murders across multiple states and countries since the 1950s, became a viral sensation over the past week and half.

But more than two years after launching an investigation, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, in an extensive rebuttal Monday, said it found no evidence linking the man, now 86, to any homicides.

“We’re spending a lot of time trying to keep up with this social media post,” Sheriff Matthew Kendall told The Press Democrat.

The woman, who identifies herself as Maria “Galina” Trefil, first made her claims in a March 13 Facebook, writing: “I am Galina. I’m the daughter of a serial killer and need your help.”

The response was almost immediate and immense.

The original post and several subsequent ones are open to the public and have produced thousands of comments, a large number from followers voicing their support for Trefil or expressing shock over the allegations.

The Press Democrat reached out for an interview and Trefil indicated she would be available, but no interview could be scheduled by Friday afternoon.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Trefil lives in Fort Bragg and identifies as a rabbi and author of historical fiction and Gothic novels.

She has not said where her father is living, nor have authorities, though they indicated he is not in good health.

In the initial March 13 post, which has been shared more than 13,000 times, Trefil alleged that her father admitted to killing at least one person a month from 1965 to 1999 — or more than 400 people, which would make him, by far, the deadliest killer in modern U.S. history, an extraordinary claim on its own.

Trefil also listed specific locations — including California, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Virginia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and the U.S.-Mexico border — where she says her father committed murders.

Trefil, who said she lived with her father on an 18.5-acre property in Albion, on the Mendocino coast, in the late 1980s, said she began uncovering details of the alleged killings in 2012. She described three of the victims as relatives, while others were friends, acquaintances or vulnerable individuals.

“My father is a very intelligent predator,” she wrote to a Facebook follower. “He knew which victims to pick that society doesn’t pay as much attention to. Hitchhikers, hippies, patients who were poor, runaways, minorities.”

She said she has two murder weapons, including a vial of strychnine, a deadly poison, and said her father was connected to at least two other serial killers who were aware of each other’s crimes.

The Press Democrat is not printing the father’s name, as he has not been charged with a crime. Trefil describes him throughout her Facebook posts as a doctor who also worked in psychiatry. He was an avid reader, with an interest in books about serial killers. He was also soft-spoken and gentle, she said.

“It wasn’t common to see him switch over to the darkness, but when that did happen, there was no warning,” Trefil wrote in a Facebook post March 15. “His eyes, which were already dark brown, would go black. His face would flush dark red. He was incredibly physically strong. You did what he told you to. Period.”

Sheriff disputes key claims

Despite the widespread attention her posts have received, law enforcement has cast doubts on Trefil’s allegations. Sheriff Kendall stressed that after pouring significant resources into investigating the claims, his office but found nothing to support them.

Sheriff’s Capt. Quincy Cromer said Tuesday he couldn’t recall a case garnering as much attention in his time as the department’s public information officer. Investigators are familiar with details Trefil has referenced in her posts, though everything now coming out is new to the public.

At least one detail in her Facebook posts is being disputed.

Trefil alleged that her father was willing to cooperate with authorities and lead them to burial sites — something the Sheriff’s Office denied.

“The Sheriff’s Office has not interviewed (the father) directly regarding these allegations due to his fragile medical state and information provided by his family that he will not cooperate with law enforcement,” officials said in a statement.

On Monday, after the Sheriff’s Office announced its findings in an 819-word statement, Trefil doubled down, posting on Facebook a new name of a person she believes was a victim of her father’s.

“I shouldn’t be having to do this research,” she wrote. “My posse should not be having to do this research. You the public shouldn’t be having to do this research. I’m doing it, and now a lot of you are too, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Tell me about your mum.

My mother is a complex person. I don’t remember much about her because she left when I was very young. My starkest memory of her is the long trip we took from Warri to my father’s village in Edo. She left me at my grandmother’s doorstep and said she’d be back soon. I was only 6 or 7 years old, but I remember feeling anxious. Something in me just knew she wasn’t coming back.

I tried to follow her, but she hopped on a bike and rode off. My grandmother wasn’t even home; she returned from the market to find me waiting outside.

I wouldn’t learn much about my mother until many years later. My father and his family never talked about her. It was like we all silently agreed to pretend nothing had happened. 

Do you know why your mum left you there??

I didn’t know for sure until 2018, when my uncle — her younger brother, who also doesn’t speak to her anymore — reached out to me on Facebook. 

I was wary about what I heard from my father and his family because I didn’t want to be a pawn in any of their agendas. But my uncle explained that both my parents were very similar: hot-headed, impatient, and stubborn. The family had advised against the relationship, but they went ahead, got traditionally married, and had me and my brother. 

My dad was a roaming worker, so he would travel out of Warri a lot. After a while, he and my mother fell out, and she started using my brother and me as leverage for money or as a way to punish him — refusing to let him see us. Eventually, he got tired and stopped trying to reach out. So, she simply dumped me at his mother’s house and kept the child she could manage.

That’s a lot. How did your grandmother tell your father?

Phones and communication weren’t like they are today, and my father was constantly on the move for work. I stayed with my grandmother for nearly eight months before he even found out that I was there. I had already started school by the time he came to the village to get me. 

Memories of my brother were already getting vague. I heard his name floating around in conversations in my father’s family, but he wouldn’t confirm this till I was almost 18 years old.

After you were reunited with your father, how did the rest of your childhood without your mother go?

It was both eventful and hard. I moved around a lot with my father at first. He tried to get some of his extended family to take me in, but no one wanted to. We moved from Kogi to Abuja looking for odd jobs for him to do, until we eventually settled in Suleja, Niger State in 2006. That’s where he got a job as a contractor with MTN. 

Not long after, he started dating someone, and she moved in with us. One time, in 2007, I went on a two-week excursion with my Catholic school, and when I came back, I found out they’d gotten married. Just like that, she was my stepmum. It was shocking, but by then, I’d learned to get over things quickly.

That’s also around when I started having questions about my actual mother. Who was she? Where did she go? Why did she leave me? I’d go through my dad’s things when he wasn’t home and find photographs of her, which only made me more curious. 

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READ ALSO: My Sister Is My Biggest Opp, And I’m Cutting Her Off

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Did you ever try to contact your mother?

Yes. Once, in 2014. I had gone to my paternal grandfather’s village for a transition-to-adulthood ceremony. Most of my father’s male relatives were there, and during a conversation, one of my aunts casually mentioned that she had my mother’s number. 

Excitedly, I begged her to let me call her. When she picked up, I introduced myself as her son. She immediately hung up, and then she blocked the number. 

It felt like emotional whiplash.

I’m sorry. How did this rejection affect you??

I mean, this wasn’t the first rejection. When she first left me, I had nightmares for months. I got so sick that my grandma had to call a travelling Fulani herbalist to treat me. 

After I started living with my father, I became very reserved. I also started stealing petty things. I also used to be constantly angry, and I couldn’t keep friends because I would cut people off at the slightest hint of stress or negativity. 

How was your relationship with your father through all of this?

I used to think he was the better parent —  until 2017, when a young woman knocked on our gate and told us she was his actual first daughter. She was getting married and needed him for the traditional rites. 

My stepmum was stunned because it turns out he had always known and just never told her. That removed him from whatever pedestal I had placed him on in my mind. I’m still in contact with him, but I keep my distance because I don’t trust him very much either.

What about your younger brother? Are you in contact with him?

Yes, he’s 17 now, but we’ve never met in person, and we’re not close. I don’t want to burden him with our family’s complex lore just yet. I’ve told him that when he’s a bit older, he can come to me, and I’ll answer all of his questions. 

I’m also cautious because I don’t know what our mother may have told him, or whose side he’s on. I want a relationship with him, but I don’t want to expose myself to more turmoil by doing so.

How have you managed your emotions throughout these events?

I have ADHD, so it hasn’t been easy. But I recently started therapy, and it has really helped me let go of a lot of the anger, blame and resentment that I was holding on to. I now look at my past as facts — they happened, but they don’t define me. 

I also started making music as a way to express myself, and I was surprised when people started connecting with it. Music is my favourite means of coping, but therapy has also helped a lot. I also go to the gym regularly, and that has had a good impact on my mental health. Now, I’ve made peace with it, I’m free, and my life can be anything I want it to be.

If your mum tried to contact you to reconcile, would you consider building a relationship with her?

Definitely not. And it’s not even because I harbour any ill emotions towards her — I’ve resolved those. I’m just very cautious about anything that can contaminate the peace I have built for myself right now. 

Like I said, I’m open to connecting with my brother, but only if I feel he won’t jeopardise my peace. But other than that? I’m good, thanks.

If you’d like to connect with Dre, you can find him on his X profile here

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There’s a moment towards the end of Adolescence, Netflix’s unflinching drama about a teenage child killer, that left my partner and I in bits. Stephen Graham, as a father struggling to reconcile what has happened to his son, tucks his teddy bear into his childhood bed, and cries “I’m sorry, son. I should have done more”. It was devastating. Not just because of Graham’s sublime acting ability, but because it captured what so many parents fear deep down: that they have somehow lost their sons.

You don’t need to be a teacher like me, a social worker, or policymaker to see that boys are in trouble. The statistics are stark. Girls outperform boys at nearly every level of education. They are more likely to engage in school life, get better results and go to university in greater numbers.

Meanwhile, boys – particularly from working-class backgrounds – are disengaging. They aren’t reading, to a scary degree. (Perhaps we should urgently try to give boys books they actually want to read?). They are also more likely to be excluded and increasingly likely to tune out of education entirely.

Adolescence understands the restless energy of teenage boys, the bravado masking deep uncertainty, the way friendships are built on survival and unspoken hierarchies. It captures the slow-motion tragedy of a generation of boys who feel school isn’t for them. But it also grasps something even more complex: the battle over what it means to be a man in 2025.

For generations, traditional “male” traits – physicality, resilience, stoicism – were seen as strengths. Schools, keen to promote emotional intelligence and self-expression, often struggle to articulate what positive modern masculinity looks like today. Many boys feel they are under attack. Into this vacuum step pernicious “influencers” like Andrew Tate.

To many boys, Tate is less a person than an ideology: a mix of material excess, hypermasculinity, and seductive sense of grievance. He tells boys what they want to hear: that the world is against them, that traditional masculinity is oppressed and success comes through dominance. Adults might dismiss him as a misogynistic charlatan, but his influence is real. Boys are torn between authority figures urging them to “be kind” and a culture telling them kindness is weakness.

Adolescence highlights those teachers who battle eye-rolls, blank stares and open hostility. Teachers need to model to boys that being a man doesn’t have to mean being cruel or closed off. Boys need to hear that working hard, caring and striving to be better aren’t frailties, but acts of courage.

How can parents navigate this minefield? Most aren’t social commentators or experts on masculinity. They’re just trying their best. They watch despairingly as their sons retreat into YouTube and TikTok algorithms they don’t understand, adopt attitudes they don’t recognise and slip through their fingers.

“I should have done more.” That’s what so many parents feel. My partner and I shed tears because we recognise that helplessness.

Adolescence should be a salutary lesson, yes, but across British culture, we also need to give young men a break and remember they are not somehow inherently “bad”. Because for all the debates, statistics and think pieces, the truth remains: raising good men has never felt harder.

Princess Beatrice has given a rare glimpse into her second pregnancy with Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi in a new essay for British Vogue. The Princess of York welcomed baby Athena early on January 22, 2025.

The joyous news was announced by both Buckingham Palace and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Now Beatrice, who has recently been named patron of Borne – a prematurity research charity – has spoken about her own experience with welcoming her daughter prematurely. The Princess, who said baby Athena is doing “really well,” wrote: “Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early. There’s so little control.

“You know that when your baby arrives the doctors and midwives are going to be there, doing everything they can to ensure she makes it through those challenging first few days. But you have no idea how these things will play out, what happens next. The uncertainty leaves you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown.”

Elsewhere, she explained how she “learnt so much” from her second pregnancy when she and husband Edo were made aware that their baby daughter could come early.

Beatrice wrote: “What I learnt in this process has been humbling: understanding so much more about our remarkable human bodies, but also, more than anything, what we don’t know.”

She added: “I’d describe myself as a technology optimist, and my career to date has been focused on how research and better data analytics can offer tools to those in search of a deeper understanding.

“With this experience in mind – and following on from my own pregnancy journey – I’ve found myself in the position of being a passionate new mother who wants to work to find answers for women globally. I want to do all I can to reassure those families whose babies might arrive early that they are not alone.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve come from, so many elements of pregnancy are universal. I’ve had a life that is out of the ordinary, but my joys and fears in pregnancy and motherhood are the same as those experienced by millions of other women around the world. Like countless other expectant mums, I lay awake in the weeks leading up to birth, trying to monitor each movement of the baby in my tummy and asking myself a thousand times: ‘What if this happens, or what if that happens?’”

The Princess, who gave birth at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said Athena “arrived healthy” just a few weeks before her due date.

She said her daughter was “so tiny it took more than a few weeks for the tears of relief to dry and for life with our healthy baby to feel real”.

She added: “Her feet were so small – almost the same size as the paws on one of my older daughter’s soft bunnies.

“I’m extremely pleased to let you know Athena is now doing really well, I have a few more answers as to what happened, but still no precise explanation.

“Looking back over those months of sheer worry, I am filled with a sense of determination that more can be done to help others find answers to those questions around the complications that can lead to preterm birth – questions that defined my days (and nights) during pregnancy.”

Beatrice also spoke about her new role as patron of Borne, saying: “I am now a patron of Borne, a very personal appointment that – as with lots of the organisations I support – I take great pride in. They say a problem shared is a problem halved, and as with my work around dyslexia, I hope to do as much as possible to support others like me.

“During this time, I found comfort in being as open as possible with family, friends and even other mums at the school gates, and in trying to learn as much as I could.”

She added: “Maybe it’s to do with getting a little older, and hopefully a little wiser – or maybe it’s something to do with my mother’s breast and skin cancer diagnosis last year – but for me, nothing feels more vital than facilitating the necessary research into the health challenges that women face daily. “

Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based drug smugglers.

An FIR has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at the State Special Operations Cell , Amritsar, he said.

“In an intelligence-led operation, Counter Intelligence , Amritsar, busts a narco-terror module and apprehends four persons and recovers 4 kg of heroin from their possession,” the DGP posted on X.

Those arrested have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh and his son Navjot Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran road in Amritsar; Aniket, a resident of Chheharta in Amritsar; and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, a resident of village Sheron in Tarn Taran.

Meanwhile, a Punjab Police statement said the police teams have also impounded a black-coloured auto-rickshaw and a motorcycle, which were being used by the accused for transporting drug consignments.

According to the statement, DGP Yadav said that the CI, Amritsar had received reliable inputs that some individuals, who are in direct contact with the Pakistan-based drug smugglers, recently received a drug consignment from Attari area to further supply to local peddlers.

Acting swiftly, police teams from CI, Amritsar conducted a raid near Government Hospital in Naraingarh in Amritsar and arrested the four accused and recovered 4kg heroin from their possession, he said.

The DGP said preliminary investigations have revealed that the gang was being managed by a foreign-based individual identified as Bhullar.

Probe also revealed that accused Sukhwinder and his son Navjot had received 4kg heroin consignment from an unknown person in Rajatal village in Amritsar, of which, they distributed 2kg to Aniket and Gurpreet Singh for further supply.

According to the statement, Sukhwinder’s another son identified as Harmanjit Singh alias Harry and Aniket’s brother identified as Sagar were arrested in a drug-related case by Anti-Narcotic Task Force in SAS Nagar in January 2025 and are currently lodged in the Amritsar jail.

Yadav said that their involvement in this smuggling network is also under investigation.

The DGP asserted that the Punjab Police remains resolute in its commitment to dismantle organised crime and ensure peace and harmony in the state.

Further probe is on to uncover deeper connections within this network by establishing backward and forward linkages, he said, while adding that more recoveries and arrests are expected in the coming days.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Zara Tindall and her husband Mike couldn’t have looked happier as they enjoyed a family day out with their three children; Mia, Lena and Lucas at the Cirencester Races on Saturday. 

For spectators, a point-to-point is far less formal than a professional race meeting. The Tindalls, evidently in their element, looked care-free as they enjoyed the countrified occasion in the Cotswolds.  

An onlooker told HELLO! the Tindall family “burst into the arena playing tag and messing around, with not a care in the world.”

Parents in the Channel Islands have expressed a need to “come together” after watching the four-part Netflix series Adolescence.

Vicky O’Neil, from Jersey, has a 10-year-old son and said she found the show “sobering”.

Adolescence follows the family of a 13-year-old boy arrested for killing a female classmate and tackles themes of bullying, incel (involuntary celibacy) culture, and navigating social media as a young person.

Ms O’Neil said the show “reiterates this safeguarding crisis that we’re having”.

‘No easy answer’

She said: “It’s quite easy I think sometimes to say ‘oh just don’t give your child the phone’, but I know from experience that our very restrictive approach to technology resulted in social exclusion for one of our children.”

She added she wanted to start talking about it and to try and do something as a community.

Ms O’Neil said: “We’re seeing how deeply entrenched misogyny…is becoming with our boys and I think we should be really, really alarmed by this.

“I’d just love us to start talking about it, accept there’s no easy answer and try and do something”.

She said schools should support parents who did not want their kids to have smart phones at an early age.

Adolescence – which stars Graham as dad Eddie and Owen Cooper as Jamie – was the most-watched show on Netflix around the world in the days after its release last week.

Sally Rochester, from Guernsey, who has children aged 14 and 16 said she found the final episode of the show “harrowing”.

She said: “As parents we find ourselves wanting to protect our children but letting these devices into their lives for various understandable reasons puts them at some extraordinary risk.”

Constable Richard Vibert, minister for children and families in Jersey, was questioned about online safety in a States Assembly meeting in February.

He directed people to the Government of Jersey website, which he said featured practical advice and guidance for parents, including how to talk to children about online risks; parental controls, and screen time.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

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Music composer and singer had recently revealed his decision of cutting all ties with his family and also shared that he has been diagnosed with clinical depression. His father Daboo Malik broke silence by sharing a heartfelt post on social media.

Daboo Malik took to Instagram and shared a photo of Armaan kissing his cheek. Along with the photo, the caption read, “I love you.” Singer Sonu Nigam reacted to the post, commenting, “Everything was fine, everything is fine, everything will be fine.”

Fans too showered love in the comment section and one user wrote, “There is a Michael J. Fox quote that has always stuck by me: “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.,” Take care of each other”. Another user wrote, “Misunderstandings always happen in every house & every family! Inshallah @amaal_mallik himself will become the greatest papa someday and he’ll understand a father’s pure love for his children better after that!”. “Why did he even doubt the parent’s love ? Imagine how much it must have broken the family”, wrote the third user.

Amaal had recently shared a post about his self-worth being diminished by near and dear one. Later, he deleted his controversial post and issued clarification regarding his earlier statement.

Amaal Malik has carved a niche for himself in Bollywood as one of the most prolific music composers in current times, He began his career in music at a very young age. He made his debut as a composer in 2014 with three songs for films Jai Ho, Khoobsurat and MS Dhoni : The Untold Story.

Amaal has composed some of the most popular songs, including Sooraj Dooba Hain, Khwaishein (Rock Version), Soch Na Sake, Buddhu Sa Mann and Bol Do Na Zara among others. He has also sung songs which topped the charts including Aashiq Surrender Hua, Parinda and O Khuda among others.

With Mothering Sunday coming up, we’ll naturally be thinking of what to get Mum on her special day. 

Whether you’re still living at home, a university student or forging your way in life, even building your own family nest, there are some low-cost fundamentals you can give your mum. Here are five tips to show mum how special she is, all based around what most of us want – connection – on Mother’s Day and beyond:

1. Ask how she is feeling – check in on her frequently and ask ‘how are you feeling, mum?’. Your mum might be a person that doesn’t always want to talk about her inner self, yet given the time and space, she might well appreciate talking a bit more in depth about what is going on for her. Whether she’s in a happy space or feeling a little lost in life.
2. Give time and love– it’s said that the two main things children need are our time and our love, and it’s not a bad prescription for mums too.  Put time aside to be with her. Whether it is talking on the phone, face time or in person. We may be put off by our own busyness and think ‘I don’t have an hour or two right now to spend on the phone’, but more frequent 15-minute catch ups may be easier to fit in and work better for you.
3. Presence rather than presents – if we are thinking of a physical gift, very often we assume it’s a nice card, or a bunch of flowers, or a family meal out. And those may well be something she’d enjoy. But we can fall into the trap of assuming. Asking what would bring her happiness on Mother’s Day or beyond may dig a little deeper to what is most important to her.  It might be that some undivided, quality time with you is what she is most wanting.    
4. Sharing and caring – mums usually love to know what’s going on in their children’s lives, but how much do you share? Should you be telling her the ins and outs of your life, work, relationships, deepest thoughts, or should you keep it simple?  If you’re unsure, then perhaps it is worth a conversation between the two of you to establish what she’d like to know and what you feel comfortable sharing, and maybe that works the other way round too with what you’d like to know from her!  
5. Truthfulness – when things don’t quite work out and you have a disagreement or a falling out, aim to re-establish connection as soon as possible. Difficult as the situation might be, honesty about how it impacted you is far better than covering it up to save hurting her feelings. And that works two ways too – active listening is needed to hear what she also has to say about the situation, so that you can come to a better understanding and agreement. 

So when you’re selecting a Mother’s Day card and gift this year, take a brief moment to consider what deeper things might be needed to establish connection and give your mum what she most wants. 

Our series of courses teach you a simple 4-step method towards creating deeper connection with your family, friends and work colleagues.  Find them here https://foryou.commpassion.co.uk/

Penny Newton-Hurley

Stroud-based communications expert Penny Newton-Hurley is launching four online courses designed to support people across the community in navigating difficult conversations with work colleagues, family members, partners, teens, and toddlers.

Penny trained under renowned American psychologist, Marshall Rosenberg in the art of nonviolent communication, a process for supporting partnership and resolving conflict within people, relationships, and society.

A well-known figure in the Stroud community, Penny has worked with leading organisations including the Cabinet Office, Lloyds Bank, and the Ministry of Defence.

She lives in Stroud with her husband Gareth and their two children, Hermione and Sebastian. Outside of her work, she enjoys flying planes, attending military style fitness boot camps, participating in local theatre productions, and volunteering as a prison listener.