A 16-year-old Turkish girl found dead in a hole last December was probably buried alive, judging by the amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, authorities claim, the BBC reports.

Medine Memi may have been the victim of an “honor killing.” An “honor killing” takes place after one family member commits an act that serves to dishonor the rest of the family. Members of the family then kill the one who committed the act, as defense of honor is seen as a justifiable reason for murder. Memi’s father and grandfather have been arrested, but not yet charged.

Memi’s neighbor noticed she’d been missing for a month before calling the police. Officers then visited Memi’s house, and found her body “in a hole, newly covered with concrete, next to the hen-house,” the BBC reports. She was found dead with her hands tied behind her back and minor bruises on her body.

Memi lived in Kahta, Turkey, a heavily conservative and religious south-east town. The BBC reports that while many “honor killings” are carried out by muslims in Turkey, the practice has more to do with the regional customs of this mainly Kurdish town than with religion. Apparently, if a female child is seen even speaking to a boy, there is “strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honor.”

The United Nations Population Fund estimates the number of worldwide “honor killings” at 5,000 per year. Both men and women are targeted, though women are much more often victims. According to the Turkish prime minister’s office, there were 16 honor killings in Adiyaman, the province where Memi lived, between 2003 and 2007.

A dead Boston man has been named as the prime suspect of a 1972 murder in Boston’s Back Bay, local police reported Wednesday.

Michael Sumpter died of cancer in 2001 while serving a 15- to 20-year sentence on an unrelated rape committed in 1975. In 2002, DNA evidence connected Sumpter to the 1985 rape of a 21-year-old woman on Marlboro street. Three years later, the family of a deceased woman names Ellen Rutchick, 23, contacted the Boston Police Department’s Cold Case Squad to see if Rutchick’s murder could be reviewed, as no one had yet been convicted.

Rutchick was also sexually assaulted on the day of her death, so the police department sent evidence from the crime scene to an independent laboratory for analysis. The analysis yielded a genetic profile, which, in 2009, matched Sumpter’s.

"Today’s announcement marks another success for the Boston Police Cold Case Squad while also hopefully providing the Rutchick family with a long-awaited sense of peace and justice for their loved one," says Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis.

His colleague, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, says the evidence is strong enough to hold up in court. "Were Sumpter alive today, we would indict him for murder and expect to prevail at trial.”

Two men have been arrested in Worcester in connection with an August 24 fatal shooting.

William Madison, 23, and Cassie Ago, 24, were issued after a Worcester County grand jury indicted them for accessory before the fact to commit armed robbery and murder, police said in a statement.

The arrests are part of the investigation into the death of 21-year-old Michelle Diaz, who was gunned down as she sat in her car on Fairfax road. Diaz died several days after the shooting, police said.

Worcester police detectives are still looking for other suspects, including the actual shooter.

In Boston’s worst multiple-murder in at least half a decade, four people, including a 2 or 3-year-old toddler, were gunned down on Woolson Street in Mattapan early Tuesday morning.

The shooting follows a continuing trend of innocent children being gunned down on the streets.

“We know who you are. Cowards kill. Cowards use guns to settle their scores. Cowards hide. Mattapan is strong and will not let them hide,” an angry Mayor Thomas M. Menino said Tuesday.

The other victims were adults. A fifth victim, another adult, was on life support and is not expected to survive.

“I think we share the same horror, the same outrage, and the same unwavering commitment to see justice done,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “There can be no justification for what happened at Woolson Street. There can be no excuse for aiding the person or persons who murdered a helpless child.”

Officials promised to bring every asset to bear on the Mattapan neighborhood to find those responsible for the worst shooting since four men were killed in the basement of a home on Bourneside Street in Dorchester in December 2005.

“We will not rest until the facts are known,” Conley said.

Police did not speak to any possible motive for the killings.

“In our experience, though, violence of this magnitude is not committed randomly,” Conley said. “There is usually some connection between the victims and the killers. For this reason, we believe that there may be people out there with helpful information and, again, we urge them to come forward. The call is free and you may remain anonymous. In light of these horrible facts, silence is not a moral option."

The Boston Globe reported on Saturday that Boston has seen a 32 percent increase in homicides this year compared to this time last year.

Officials urged neighbors to call police with any information and not to seek vengeance directly.

"Now is not the time for vengeance or retaliation. Investigators are proceeding carefully and deliberately as they gather evidence, not only to identify the killer or killers but also to ensure that everything they gather will support a conviction down the road,” Conley said. “That’s where accountability lies — not in the street with vengeance and retaliation. We’re imploring the public to join us and share whatever they might know, whatever they might have seen or heard, with investigators.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Boston Police CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, text the word "TIP" to CRIME (27463), or contact the Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470. You may remain anonymous.

Two men have been indicted for the May 8 shooting death of a 14-year-old honor’s student.

Timothy “Toolman” Hearns, of Dorchester, and Ramon “Double R” Silvelo-Miles, both 20, face murder charges for allegedly gunning down Jaewon Martin at a basketball court near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Heath Street, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

The indictments come down after a four-month investigation led by the DA’s office at the Boston Police Department.

The shooting was a senseless crime, as Martin was not tied to any gang activity or disputes in the neighborhood, police have said.

The two suspects are also charged with three counts of armed assault with intent to murder for allegedly attempting to murder another teenage boy and two teenage girls who were also at the scene. They allegedly shot one of those victims, and they face an additional count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and fired at but missed two of those victims, incurring two additional charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, Conley said.

Hearns is charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition; Silvelo-Miles is charged as a joint venturer in the shootings but not with physical possession of the firearm.

Both men are expected to be arraigned tomorrow at Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow morning.

State and local police are investigating a fatal shooting Wednesday night in Revere.

Police responded shortly after 7 p.m. The victim, identified only as a man in his 20s, was killed on Reservoir Avenue. His name was withheld pending notification of family, said Jake Wark, a spokesman the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

No arrests have been made. Authorities did not release any details on a possible motive or suspect.

Steven Hayes, 47, was found guilty Tuesday in the deadly home invasion that left a woman and her two daughters brutalized and murdered.

According to ABC News, the jury deliberated for several hours before finding Hayes guilty of 16 of the 17 counts he faced. Hayes was convicted of six capital crimes, including the murder and kidnapping of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, all of which are punishable by execution.

The same jury will now decide if he will face the death penalty.

As the verdict was read, Dr. William Petit, who was the only survivor of the slaughter, clutched his sister but remained stoic. Relatives of his slain wife wept while Hayes hung his head.

Hayes was quickly handcuffed and led out of the courtroom by officers.

As he left the courthouse, Petit thanked the jury for their “appropriate verdict” and said he and his family had kept their “faith in God that justice would be served.”

After less than a day of deliberations, a Suffolk County jury found Sultan Omar Chezulu, formerly known as Robert Louis Scott, 62, guilty of first-degree murder for the 1984 homicide of Elsie “Yolanda” Hernandes in Roxbury.

He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is automatic in first-degree murder convictions. His case will also be automatically appealed.

According to officials, Chezulu was identified as a suspect in the 18-year-old girl’s cold case homicide after DNA evidence was developed from decades-old crime scene evidence.

Chezulu raped, beat, and strangled the victim to death, attacking her as she walked to a friend’s house from work through a garbage-strewn field off of Washington Street.

In their first day of deliberations, jurors found Xzeniyeju Chukwuezi guilty of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm on Tuesday.

He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at 2 p.m.

Chukwuezi, of Roxbury, was tried for the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Soheil Turner as he waited for a bus to school around 7 a.m. on May 7, 2009.

“A 15-year-old boy’s life was snuffed out as he did what thousands of teenagers do every day,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “He stood waiting for a bus to school. His life and all his potential ended when a coward walked up and shot him in the head for no good reason at all.”

The case garnered massive media attention last year because of the boy’s age and the public location of the murder, which occurred in broad daylight on busy Dudley Street.

Shortly after 7 a.m., prosecutors said, Chukwuezi crossed the street and started talking to the younger boy, Turner.

“Turner showed no outward signs of apprehension during that verbal exchange. Soon, with no provocation, hesitation, or warning, Chukwuezi reached into his pocket, produced the handgun, and fired twice. One shot went straight through Turner’s head, killing him,” Prosecutors said.

The entire exchange was captured by surveillance cameras.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police have rearrested a man suspected in the killing of 14-year-old Ahlyja Pinson in 2007.

Antero Cruz, 23, was booked Thursday night on a murder warrant, with bail set at $1 million. He was held at the San Diego County Jail.

Ahlyja was found dead in the basement of a vacant home at 2900 E St. on December 31, 2007. A homeless man had found her and called 911.

Cruz, an acquaintance of Pinson, was originally arrested ten days after the teen was found beaten and stabbed. His arraignment was canceled pending further investigation, but he was held in jail for violating a 2006 car theft conviction. He was later released.

The case has been reviewed regularly and new evidence links Cruz to the murder. He is set to be arraigned Monday in San Diego Superior Court.

MIAMI — Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents on Wednesday arrested Pedro Antonio Martinez Escobar a.k.a. Pedro A. Martinez, 37, who is wanted in Honduras for murder.

Martinez Escobar was taken into custody without incident in Miami, where he was living in the country illegally. He had been previously deported, but ICE said he made his way back to the country four times after getting continually kicked out.

“Criminals who think that they can use the United States as a safe haven are sorely mistaken,” said Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge of ICE in Miami. “ICE is committed to ensuring the integrity of our nation’s immigration system. As such, it is one of our top priorities to locate foreign fugitives hiding in the United States and turn them over to our foreign law enforcement partners to face justice in their native countries.”

Martinez Escobar was born in Olancho, Honduras. He entered the US illegally in 1994 and was deported after being caught in San Antonio, Texas by the federal agency then called Immigration and Naturalization Service on December 14, 1997. He was removed a second time in 1999 after he was captured in Laredo, Texas. We was captured again on August 17, 2003 and May 1, 2008.

Three young people were indicted Tuesday by a Suffolk County Grand Jury, charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of 58-year-old pizza deliveryman Richel Nova in Hyde Park.

The indictments charge Alexander Gallett, 18, of Hyde Park, his girlfriend, Yamiley Mathurin, 17, of Mattapan, and Michel St. Jean, 20, of Hyde Park, with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and breaking and entering for the death of Nova shortly after midnight on September 3.

Gallett, Mathurin, and St. Jean will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The trio allegedly called for a Domino’s Pizza to be delivered to the vacant house at 742 Hyde Park Ave. Nova arrived to make the delivery and was allegedly lured inside by Mathurin and butchered to death, with stabs to the chest, back, and throat.

His assailants stole the food, his cash, his keys, and his vehicle, which they allegedly used to make their escape. Police said the three actually ate the dead man’s pizza after killing him.

They are being held without bail.

Convicted murderer Steven Hayes was sentenced to death on Monday for the horrific home invasion of a Cheshire, Conn. home that left three people dead.

Hayes was convicted last month in the strangling of a woman with her two daughters tied to beds, doused in gasoline, and left to die in a fire.

After four days of deliberations, the jury that convicted Hayes unanimously decided to send him to death row.

Lawyers for Hayes tired to avoid the death penalty by portraying him as a drug addict who never committed violence until the 2007 home invasion. They also case blame on co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, saying he masterminded the break-in.

Hayes’s lawyers also said he was sorry for the acts and wished for death.

Connecticut has only executed one prisoner since 1960.

In the 2007 home invasion, the two men allegedly broke into the home of Dr. William Petit, beat him nearly to death, and forced his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to take money out of her bank account while the rest of the family was kept home. Hayes then, according to prosecutors, sexually assaulted and strangled her.

Komisarjevsky will be tried next year. He is charged with sexually assaulting their 11-year-old daughter, Michaela.

Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied up and had gasoline poured over them. They died of smoke inhalation in a fire the two men allegedly set.

It was one of the worst acts of violence in recent Connecticut history. Governor Jodi Rell used the case as an example when she vetoed a recent bill to abolish the death penalty there.

A 50-year-old Chelsea woman was found dead in her driveway early Tuesday morning, and her husband has been arrested for beating her, police said.

A passerby found Theresa Wilkes lying in the driveway of her home at 123 Maverick St. around 6 a.m., said Captain Keith Houghton, a Chelsea Police spokesman.

Shortly after Wilkes was found, an investigation led police to her husband, Frederick Wilkes, 54. While Houghton did not detail the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, he said that Frederick was arrested for domestic assault and battery on his wife. He will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Chelsea District Court.

Police have a history with the Wilkes family. On September 16, Frederick was arrested for assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon. Theresa did not pursue a restraining order at the time, police said.

According to police, alcohol was involved in Theresa’s death, both for her and Frederick.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said State Troopers from their office are investigating. Conley investigates unattended deaths in Chelsea and other parts of Suffolk County, including state property in Boston.

An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to determine the cause of death.

After a homicide-free year in 2009, Chelsea has had at least a half dozen homicides.

This latest death follows a startling trend of domestic homicides all over Massachusetts.

A Providence man was arrested there Tuesday morning and charged with murder, home invasion and armed robbery in the June attack on an Attleboro home, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter.

Jose Polanco, 23, is scheduled to be arraigned in Providence District Court on a charge of being a fugitive from justice, where police will arrange to extricate him to Massachusetts.

“The arrest today resulted from an intensive, almost five month long investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, the Attleboro Police Department and the Providence Police Department,” Miliote said. “In particular, District Attorney Sutter would like to commend Attleboro Police Detective James Cote. Detective Cote’s tremendous efforts and investigative work have allowed us to take this important step in seeking justice in this case.”

Attleboro Police arrived at 508 Washington St. at about 5:30 a.m. on June 23, where they found Dylan Adams, 24, fatally wounded. We died later at Sturdy Memorial Hospital.

Adams had been beaten and show and his 25-year-old girlfriend was also seriously injured.

“Although today marks just the first step in the legal process, nevertheless with all of the time and energy and diligence that went into this investigation, I would like to congratulate those prosecutors from my office, and the detectives from Attleboro Police and my State Police Unit, who have been involved in this case,” Sutter said. “And I would like to single out Detective James Cote, who threw his heart and soul into this investigation, and did it with great skill and effectiveness.”

A 20-year-old Everett man was arrested Tuesday, charged with fatally stabbing another man on Main Street, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Everett Police Chief Steven Mazzie said.

Jamar Leaston was charged with murder and assault and battery. He will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Malden District Court.

Police issued a warrant for Leaston’s arrest after two days of investigation. He was found on Fulton Street in Malden.

“This is another tragic example of people resorting to violence through weapons to deal with conflict, resulting in serious and fatal consequences,” Leone said. “Our thoughts remain with Mr. Mackay’s family and his loved ones as we continue to investigate the full circumstances that led to a life being taken at the hands of another.”

At 10 p.m. Sunday, police responded to 410 Main St. in Everett where they found Nicholas Mackay, 29, of Everett, mortally wounded. He was pronounced dead at Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett.

Steven Spader, 19, was found guilty Tuesday of murdering a woman and maiming her 11-year-old daughter in secluded Mont Vernon, N.H. last year.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Spader on all charges.

Spader will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Spader and other teens charged into the home of local nurse Kimberly Cates on October 9, 2009, butchering her with a machete and severely injuring her daughter, Jaimie.

Christopher Gribble, also of Brookline, N.H., who allegedly cut Cates’s throat in the final, fatal blow, will face murder charges next year.

An Auburn, N.H. man has been charged with murder after his wife and son were found dead in their home earlier this week.

Christopher Smeltzer, 37, was charged with second-degree murder after police said he killed his wife, Mara Pappalardo, 39 either Sunday or Monday.

Their 4-year-old son, whose name was not released, was also found dead.

Police had been quiet for more than a day after the bodies were found.

Autopsies revealed that Pappalardo died of blunt force trauma to the head and ligature strangulation and that the son was also strangled. Both deaths were ruled homicides.

But Smeltzer was not charged with his son’s death.

Smeltzer and the couple’s 7-year-old daughter, whose name was not released either, were treated at a Manchester hospital yesterday for non-life threatening injuries. Police did not say if they think Smeltzer killed his son, hurt his daughter, and/or hurt himself.

Smeltzer is expected to be arraigned in the Candia District Court tomorrow.

MILTON — The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy Tuesday on the body of a young man found butchered on an upscale street.

But officials, even with results in hand, still don’t know how the young black male met his demise.

“Following that examination, the OCME has informed the Norfolk District Attorney’s office that the cause and manner of death in this case remain undetermined pending additional testing, including toxicology testing,” said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s office.

The man’s identity was still unknown late Tuesday.

The victim was found outside a home on Brierbrook Road, and additional body parts were found several feet away. Police said he may have been run over by a street sweeper after he was dumped on the road. Brierbook is a secluded, dark street with large single-family homes lined by trees.

Passersby found the victim around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Police were on scene all night, into Tuesday, as state and local authorities investigated.

Police do not believe the killing is connected to any activity in Milton, a normally quiet and safe town. The body was found in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in the town.

Milton does border the troubled Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, where homicides and gang violence have spiked this year.

In March 2009, Milton was rocked in one of the most horrible incidents of violence in recent memory on the South Shore, when 23-year-old Kerby Revelus murdered two of his sisters, decapitating his 5-year-old sister Bianca and nearly killing a third sister before police shot and killed him.

Worcester police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old local man, found dead in Crompton Park, near I-290, Sunday morning.

According to Worcester Police Sergeant Kerry Hazelhurst, the body of the victim, identified as Kevin J. Shavies, was found by police around 9:05 a.m. He had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe he was shot around 2 a.m.

Police released few other details on the killing. Shavies was the sixth homicide victim in Worcester this year.

“This investigation is ongoing as Detectives are working on establishing a motive to the killing,” Hazelhurst said. “If anyone has information about this incident they can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web base message to worcesterma.gov/police. Calls can also be made at the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at 508-799-8651.”