Chicago Grandmother Murders Infant, Slits Throat with Power Saw Before Attempting Suicide

At approximately 9:30am on Monday, March 9th, 52 year old Manuela Rodriguez murdered her infant granddaughter (reports range 7mo-9mo old) after the baby would not stop crying. According to the autopsy, baby Rose Herrera died due to “blunt force injuries to the head with suffocation from a sock being placed in her mouth a contributing factor.” The incident took place in the Little Village district of Chicago, Illinois on the 2800 block of South Avers Avenue where Manuela lived with her two daughters and their children (one child each). After Herrera had a sock forcibly inserted into her mouth and was severely beaten in the head with a pipe wrench, her throat was slit with a power saw, postmortem. Barry Quinn, assistant to the state’s attorney described, “Visible blunt force trauma to both sides of head, sock shoved into mouth. They [investigators] also observed deep cuts to baby’s neck, throat and chest.” Following the murder, Rodriguez called her sister and admitted to having killed Rose. Rodriguez was found by a relative in her home while in the process of slitting her own throat in an attempt to commit suicide. Although Manuela Rodriguez was on anti-depressants and had recently sought further mental health care, her neighbors say she had never exhibited any bizarre behavior before. Neighbor Maria Gentil said, “She would help everybody and if you needed a glass of milk or something, she would give it to you.” and Raul Chavez stated, “I can’t believe this. I knew them. I knew them real good.”. Manuela Rodriguez has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Rose Herrera and is currently residing in a mental health facility to undergo a full evaluation.

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America’s Next Top Model’s Mirjana, Murdered

On Tuesday February 24, former America’s Next Top Model contestant Mirjana Puhar was one of the victims of a triple-homicide in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mirjana, who was only 19 years old, was shot to death alongside her boyfriend, Jonathan Alvarado (23) and his best friend/roommate, Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia (21). The shooting took place in the home of Alvarado and Gonzaga-Garcia shortly after Mirjana had moved in with her boyfriend, who she had only been seeing for a short time, according to those closest to the murdered model. Their bodies were discovered by friends of the couple after hearing gunshots coming from inside the home. The friend who saw the crime scene before police also noted large amounts of money scattered throughout the house. The murderer, 19 year old Emmanuel Jesus Rangel is currently in police custody and has been charged with three counts of 1st degree murder. Rangel has also been charged with a separate murder which he committed on the morning of Sunday February 22, although it is unclear if the shootings are in any way related. Investigators claim Emmanuel Rangel knew the victims of the triple-homicide and their shooting deaths may have been drug-related. Mirjana Puhar, who was born in Serbia, was the 8th place finalist on the recent 21st Cycle of America’s Next Top Model: Guys & Girls. Coming into the competition with a “boyfriend back home”, Puhar immediately struck up intimate relations with Matthew, a fellow competitor, cuddling with him in her bed at night. Once Matthew learned of Mirjana’s relationship status, he broke things off with her. On the very next episode, Mirjana turned her affections towards Denzel, another male model in the house (the man with the horrible beard weave) and quickly began referring to him as her “boyfriend”. As the two continued their affair, flagrantly advertising their sexual relationship, Mirjana would occasionally comment that she should call her long-term boyfriend back home to end her relationship with him. After learning Denzel was not interested in a serious relationship with her, she ended their courtship and called her boyfriend to admit to her unfaithfulness. Failing to mention Matthew, or the fact that she and Denzel had engaged in intercourse on several occasions, her boyfriend forgave her. It would seem that relationship ended as well after he watched the reality show and found Mirjana had been openly cheating on him for quite some time and had not been entirely truthful in her confession. Mirjana’s North Carolinian boyfriend during her time on America’s Next Top Model had nothing to do with her murder and that of her new beau as far as police know. When interviewed by The Charlotte Observer, Marjana stated she was a “wild child” and did not “have the best influences around” her. More information on the murder of reality TV star Mirjana Puhar as it becomes available.