I originally titled this column “Murder Was the Case,” but just recently new inspiration – only coincidentally derived from another rapper (don’t listen to a lot of hip-hop, to tell the truth – some Lupe Fiasco, a little Kanye and eminem, that’s all) dictated a slight name change. I wanted to give myself room to post about non-homicide cases on occasion as well as crime-related subjects. I also realized that I’ve grown to dislike the concept of a crime blog, in many ways. It may just be the word “blog” that bothers me. Many in the media seem to have a view of blogging as a marginal activity, and blogs as secondary, glib additions to whatever else they do. I reject that notion. I’ve written a ton of non-serious blog posts in my time and throwaway, ‘dumb criminal’ entries in crime blogs, and I’ll certainly do these things again – happily, even (we all need a break from serious stuff). But I’ve realized I take this seriously as a medium for original reporting. I’ve proven that I can do original reporting elsewhere, and proven that I can break news. All of it on a blog. And I am by far and away not the first blogger to do these things. So I don’t want to saddle myself or the reader with the notion that they’re just reading ’some dumb crime blog.’ I’m going to work to make it more than that. Or at least change the readers’ idea of what a blog really is, and can be.

Guy Heinze Jr.

Guy Heinze Jr., the 22-year-old loser who was jailed shortly after the deaths of his family in a Brunswick, GA trailer park, has been arrested by Glynn County authorities and charged with 8 counts of first-degree murder. Police believe Heinze was responsible for the deaths of the following people:

• Russell D. Toler Sr., age 44
• Russell D. Toler Jr., 20
• Chrissy Toler, 22
• Michelle Toler, 15
• Michael Toler, 19
• Brenda Gail Falagan, 49
• Guy Heinze Sr., 45
• Joseph L. West, 30

A ninth, critically injured victim is still in a Savannah-area medical facility.

Heinze was arrested just about an hour and a half after his release on bond. He’d been incarcerated since reporting the deaths of his family and friends to 911 on August 29, 2009, charged with drug possession, lying to police and tampering with evidence.

Police chief Matt Doering never did refer to Heinze as a suspect, but it was clear from very early on in the investigation that he was a person-of-interest. If nothing else, his curiously flat and surly tone on the 911 call the morning the murders were reported was a bit of a giveaway.

Glynn County authorities will hold a press conference at 9 p.m. ET tonight.

Ashley Nicole Lilly

Ashley Nicole Lilly was tall and well-built, with endless legs and a winning, knowing smile. Shrewd intelligence glimmers in photos of Ashley – as if she was the girl who was always in on the joke.

Ashley was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 7, 1984. She later went to high school in Columbia, MO, where she was known for her skills on the basketball court.

After high school, this pretty midwestern girl, like many before her, succumbed to the lure of fame. She headed out to Los Angeles, California, where she intended to pursue a modeling career. Ashley eventually attended the Art Institute of Santa Monica and began the groundwork for a magazine titled TUHT.

TUHT stood for “The Undiscovered Hottie Takeover.”

Ashley’s dreams – her magazine, modeling - came to an end on August 21, 2009. That was the day Ashley Lilly was found dead in Garden Grove, California, not far from Disneyland. Ashley died in a room inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel, at 12021 Harbor Blvd.

Police said she was murdered.

Ashley Lilly’s death was tragic enough, but it also revealed that she had been leading a secret life, under another name.

Death revealed that the midwestern girl just 5 years from those Missouri high school basketball courts was also a sassy, confident escort who worked in Garden Grove, Orange County and Los Angeles.

Ashley Lilly, known to some as Queen Sugar.

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Police say Benjamin Hilburn may have believed his father was too harsh. They say the boy told them he’d been punished too much.

Benjamin allegedly decided to do something about it.

Police arrived at the Hilburn residence some time after 7 p.m. last Thursday to find Benjamin’s father dead. Byron Hilburn, age 42, had been shot to death. Police think Benjamin used his own rifle to kill his dad.

Benjamin Hilburn is only 10. He has a 6-year-old sister who may have witnessed the murder of their father.

There were warning signs. Hints, at least, that something might be going on inside the home. The New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Services Department sent investigators to the Hilburn residence some 7 times in the past few years. The CYFD says they never found any evidence of abuse. Since Benjamin is now in their custody and may have murdered his father (a bullet to the back of Byron Hilburn’s head), the CFYD is, naturally, reviewing the case.

A neighbor boy interviewed by a local TV station went to school with Benjamin. He seemed to connect the crime with his view of Benjamin as a boy who was friendless, alone at school.

Benjamin Hilburn is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. If he is found guilty of 1st-degree murder, he could simply get one year of probation. He could be incarcerated until he turns 21.

The story of a boy who may have stood behind his father and pulled the trigger on his own gun – a CFYD worker told one press outlet that shooting was “a family sport” – is the sort of thing that could be politicized. People who have trouble with the way others use guns could use it as a football. Ardent supporters of the 2nd amendment would find a way a way to defend the right, citing this as an anomaly.

But it isn’t about anyone’s politics, in the end. Or at least, it shouldn’t be. No, it will be about that 6-year-old sister who may have been standing there when her brother, for reasons real or imagined, took the matter into his own small hands.

Christ Holy Sanctified Church, where Carol Daniels was killed

No one likes to admit they are interested in murder. I was, for years, uncomfortable as hell with the fact that I liked to read true crime books. But eventually I realized that it’s just human to be intrigued with the worst we can do with one another. After all, in a sense, I’d inherited my interest in true crime accounts from my mother, who is a gentle, kind person and loving mom.

It is human to find yourself fascinated – and frequently, haunted – with the most inhuman behaviors.

The horrific death of Anadarko, OK pastor Carol Daniels may be one of the most haunting crimes I’ve encountered in recent years. Rev. Daniels’s murder is rendered all the more awful by details of the crime only recently released to the Oklahoma press. Somehow, the monstrousness of what happened to this committed, 61-year-old woman of God is emphasized by evidence that a cool, precise hand was behind the dramatic staging of the crime. From NewsOK.com:

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