The desert gives up its secrets under a blazing sun. Slowly, nine bodies are unearthed — seven men and two women. They don’t have names, but authorities are certain they are causualties of Mexico’s drug wars.

A former handyman charged in the 2007 fatal shooting of the editor of the Oakland (California) Post will plead guilty next week in his death and another killing, the man’s lawyer said Friday.

The drug cartels’ hitmen spread blood across Mexico as they protect their illegal business, supplying cocaine, marijuana and meth abused in the U.S.. The gunmen mock the dead with pig masks or defile their bodies, all part of their underworld “code of conduct.”

Yes, she is 28. Yes, she is a Sunday school teacher, and yes, her name is Melissa Huckaby.

A man suspected of killing his grandmother and setting her body on fire was returned to Los Angeles, California, after being arrested in Mexico. Joseph Elias George Ettima, 25, was arrested in the Mexican state of Chiapas. He was living on the streets and wasn’t carrying any identification.

Music legend Phil Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his home in Alahambra, California. The jury of six men and six women rejected the defense’s argument that the death could be a suicide.

In a dramatic reversal, the Florida state attorney’s office announced Monday it will seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony, the 23-year-old woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.

Consumers who bought “Caylee Sunshine” dolls and Michael Vick dog toys were misled into believing that a portion of their purchases would go to charity, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

Relatives of slain California 8-year-old Sandra Cantu expressed “shock” at a neighbor’s arrest in the girl’s death. “Just utter shock and disbelief,” aunt Angie Chavez told CNN affiliate KOVR. “I can’t imagine a mother doing this to a child.” The suspect taught Sunday school and her daughter played with Sandra.

The man police say was driving drunk when he ran a red light and struck a car, killing California Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other people has been charged with murder.