Thirty-three years ago, investigators in St. Lucie County came upon a badly decomposed body in a citrus grove. It was a homicide, but for three decades, no one had been arrested. But now, that cold case has been closed.
By Jenni Bergal
May 14, 2021
A cybercriminal gang that breached the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department’s computer network in a ransomware attack published detailed information this week about nearly two dozen officers, including Social Security numbers and psychological assessments.
The group, Babuk, already had posted on the dark web lengthy dossiers of several officers. It claimed it stole more than 250 gigabytes of data late last month and is threatening to release more information as well as share files containing the names of confidential informants with criminal gangs if officials don’t pay a ransom.
The most recently posted documents contain sensitive information about 22 officers, such as fingerprints, dates of birth, polygraph test results and residential, financial and marriage history, according to NBC News. The hackers claim that they demanded $4 million in ransom and the department countered with $100,000, which they deemed unacceptable.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY A more than 30-year-old cold case homicide involving a stormy relationship and shotgun blasts has been solved as a DNA match allowed St. Lucie County sheriff’s investigators to identify the deceased.
Detective Paul Taylor, the agency’s cold case detective, last month closed the 1988 case against Michael Lewis Akins in the death of 25-year-old Rocky Lane Taylor. The detective and the deceased aren’t related.
Investigators at the time had a strong idea Akins was responsible, but the remains, found under a citrus tree, were decomposed and they couldn’t conclusively identify the body. Prosecutors denied a warrant because the medical examiner’s office couldn’t make the identification.
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Hackers Threaten to Release Police Records, Knock 911 Offline
Police departments large and small have been victimized by cybercriminals who have hacked into computer networks and demanded ransom. They’ve disabled email systems, knocked 911 centers offline and cut off access to investigative files.
Evan Vucci
The Associated Press
A cybercriminal gang that breached the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department’s computer network in a ransomware attack published detailed information this week about nearly two dozen officers, including Social Security numbers and psychological assessments.
The group, Babuk, already had posted on the dark web lengthy dossiers of several officers. It claimed it stole more than 250 gigabytes of data late last month and is threatening to release more information as well as share files containing the names of confidential informants with criminal gangs if officials don’t pay a ransom.
33-year-old cold case in St. Lucie County solved
Body of Rocky Taylor, 25, found in citrus grove in 1987
Thirty-three years ago, investigators in St. Lucie County came upon a badly decomposed body in a citrus grove. It was a homicide, but for three decades, no one had been arrested. But now, that cold case has been closed.
and last updated 2021-05-13 13:58:34-04
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. â Thirty-three years ago, investigators in St. Lucie County came upon a badly decomposed body in a citrus grove.
It was a homicide, but for three decades, no one had been arrested.
But now, that cold case has been closed.