Kent Leppink - found shot to death in May 1996 in Hope, Alaska
Mechele Hughesn Linehan, now 38 - convicted of murder in April, 2007; conviction overturned by the Alaska Supreme Court Februrary 5, 2010
Anchorage, AK

Mechele Linehan, the former exotic dancer convicted for killing a romantic interest for a million dollar life insurance policy, will get another chance at freedom. The Alaska Court of Appeals overturned her conviction Friday, leaving the door open for a new trial. Linehan's murder trial made national headlines in 2007, in part because prosecutors alleged that Linehan had convinced three men that she was engaged to them at the same time and two of them lived in the same house with her.

One of those men, Kent Leppink, was shot to death 90 miles south of Anchorage, and the other, John Carlin III, was convicted for his murder. But prosecutors also convinced an Alaskan jury that Linehan was the mastermind who lured Leppink to his death and pushed Carlin III to do the shooting.

The story was made all the more shocking because it took more than 10 years for investigators to bring anyone to trial at all. Leppink, a fisherman, was killed in 1996. By the time cold case investigators hauled Linehan back to Anchorage, she had left Alaska and exotic dancing behind, married a doctor in Washington State, and had become a PTA mom.

Read more: Deadly Angel: The Bizarre True Story of Alaska's Killer Stripper

Frederick Holgate, 69 - found murdered by joggers in Santa Maria, CA; body had been nearly decapitated
Nicholas Bendle, 20 - arrested at his home for the murder of Frederick Holgate
Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County), CA

A 20-year-old Santa Maria man admitted to a police detective that he brutally killed an elderly man he encountered on the street last summer, running up behind the victim and striking him in the neck with a hatchet. Santa Maria police Detective Michael McGehee gave that testimony Thursday in the preliminary hearing for Nicholas Bendle, who is accused of murder in the death of 69-year-old Frederick Holgate of Santa Maria on Aug. 1, 2009.

McGehee also testified that Bendle told him he was wrought with inner turmoil in the hours before the slaying, eventually losing the battle to a part of himself that he felt had to kill. “He said at one point that he thought he was controlled by evil,” McGehee said.

Despite evidence revealed under cross examination of McGehee by Bendle’s attorney Tom Allen that the defendant might have been struggling with mental illness at the time of the homicide, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Edward Bullard ordered Bendle to stand trial for murder. The judge also held Bendle to answer a special allegation that he used a weapon to commit the crime.

Raymonde Joseph, 76; Makayla Sitton, 6; Carla Merhige & Lisa Merhige Knight (pregnant), 33 year old twin sisters - shot and killed at a Thanksgiving gathering on Thursday, November 26, 2009; one other victim was wounded
Paul Michael Merhige - sought by police for allegedly shot five people, killing four, at a Jupiter, FL Thanksgiving gathering
Off Site Link: Jupiter Thanksgiving massacre (Palm Beach Post)
Jupiter (Palm Beach County), FL

The man accused of murdering four family members on Thanksgiving in Jupiter, was in court Friday-- the first time since right after his arrest. A contingent of deputies escorted Paul Michael Merhige into the courtroom. Merhige is charged with killing his two sisters, an aunt, and his cousin's six-year old daughter, Makayla Sitton, as she slept in her bed.

Friday's hearing was set to hear a motion by Merhige's lawyer, Public Defender Carey Haughwout. She originally asked for a gag order for all parties and witnesses in the case, and the sealing of all records until trial. It was an unusual request, and one that had a very high legal burden, according to local attorneys.

But under a deal worked out just before the hearing, and approved by Judge John Hoy, when prosecutors hand over evidence in the case, the Public Defender will have 10 days to review it. Should parties disagree on which records should remain sealed, the judge will decide.

Perley Goodrich, Sr., 76 - shot to death in his home October 26, 2008
Sandra Goodrich, 64 - severely beaten but was able to escape her home and call 911 from a neighbor
Perley Goodrich, Jr., 45 - son of the victims accused of the murder of his father and beating his mother; subject of a massive manhunt and is considered armed and dangerous
Newport (Penobscot County), ME

The man accused of murdering his father and assaulting his mother in Newport last year entered pleas of not guilty and not criminally responsible by reason of insanity at his arraignment in Bangor Monday.

Perley Goodrich Jr., 45, entered the pleas during a brief court appearance at the Penobscot Judicial Center. A mental health examination has been scheduled.

Goodrich Jr. was arrested on Oct. 30 at a Newport truck stop drinking coffee after an intensive police manhunt that lasted more than three days. At the time of his arrest, he was charged with fatally shooting Perley Goodrich Sr., 76, and beating Sandra Goodrich, 64, around 11:40 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, at the Rutland Road home they shared.

Julissa Brisman (26) - NYC model who advertised massage services on Craigslist shot and killed in a Boston hotel on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Philip Markoff (22) - Boston University medical student arrested for the murder of Julissa Brisman and on other charges
Boston, MA

Philip Markoff, the former Boston University School of Medicine student who was arrested in April 2009 for the murder of a Craigslist-advertised masseuse, has had his court hearing postponed for the third time. The hearing which was supposed to have taken place Friday, has not yet been rescheduled. Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jake Wark said no evidence will be heard and no conclusions about the trial will be reached during the court appearance. This hearing is also expected to set a date for his trial.

“The next court date is meant to be purely administrative in nature rather than substantive,” Wark said, explaining that Friday’s court date will involve exchanging papers with the defense attorney only. Wark said he is unsure when the trial will take place. “In all likelihood the trial will probably be rescheduled because the prosecutor will be sentencing another murder at the same time,” Wark said.

Markoff is charged with the April 14, 2009 murder of Julissa Brisman at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel and the April 10, 2009 armed robbery and kidnapping of Trisha Leffler at the Westin Copley Place hotel.

Get the book "Seven Days of Rage: The Deadly Crime Spree of the Craigslist Killer (48 Hours Mysteries)"